Disclaimer:
Disclaim, that I do. Own Ranma or Sailor Moon, that I do not. Watch too
much Star Wars and Rurouni Kenshin, that I did.
-------------------
Tendou Nabiki stared at the letter with a mix of shock and relief. "Wha...
what?" she managed to squeak out through the tidal wave of emotions flooding
through her.
Her best friend, Hino Rei, decided to speak up. "I found that letter in
the hallway," she said.
"Oh," Nabiki responded with a sweatdrop.
"I wonder," Rei mused, "He must have been listening in on us, ne?"
"Yeah," Nabiki replied, "So... who is this 'Tenmou no Heijin', anyway?"
"I don't know," Rei answered, her voice showing her frustration "but I'd
like to find out."
-------------------
Reflection,
By
Aleh,
Chapter Four: Under The Brown Dirt Road
-------------------
Five days later...
Ranma and Ranko were walking home from school, talking.
"So, how'd I do?" Ranma asked, swinging his bag over his shoulder.
"Not bad, not bad at all," Ranko admitted, "You managed to avoid just
about any suspicion."
"Oh?" he replied, "Nabiki seemed curious about something."
"Nah," Ranko answered, "She was just curious about the Saotome Ryu. Her
father never mentioned it to her."
"Oh, so when you mentioned it at the shrine..."
"Exactly."
Ranma chuckled. "Well, that explains some of her questions."
"Oh?"
"Yeah. She was asking me about our family, mainly. She was a little
curious about what we bought the ofuda for, but I just said that we thought that
some of Oyaji's behavior could have been explained by a gluttony demon."
Ranko laughed at that.
"Well, he *IS* worse than some I've met."
Ranko clutched her sides in an effort not to fall over.
Ranma decided that it was time to change the topic.
"I think I've almost convinced the school to let me take that job with
Tofu-sensei," he commented, choosing a subject at random.
"Oh?" his sister asked, curious.
"Yeah. The bureaucracy's been a pain, but I have techniques for that."
Ranma chuckled at something that only he understood.
Ranko's eyes widened as all of her earlier doubts crashed back on her.
Noticing the change in her aura, Ranma stopped in his tracks.
"What?" he inquired, an expression of confusion on his face.
"What kind of techniques?" she asked, her face clouded with suspicion.
Realizing what Ranko thought, Ranma laughed in relief. "Nothing like
*THAT*, Ranko-chan," he said, "Most of 'em are from the Benron Kakutou Hiraguchi
Ryuu."
Ranko stared in shock. "A school of Martial Arts *DEBATE*?!?" she
exclaimed, half in disbelief.
Ranma chuckled. "It's not any weirder than an Art based on cha no yu, is
it?"
Ranko joined in her brother's mirth, her suspicions once again laid to
rest. "No, it's not, 'niichan," she agreed.
-------------------
Meanwhile, Nabiki was talking to Rei over the phone.
"Any luck?" she asked, "I haven't found anything."
"No. I haven't either," Rei replied, "Whoever this 'Tenmou no Heijin' is,
he's almost impossible to find."
"At least when he doesn't want to be," Nabiki agreed. "He's kept up his
morning activities, too."
"You mean the wards?"
"Yep. Every morning just before school. I've been having to take them off
for him. At least the job pays well." Nabiki chuckled over the phone.
"Oh?"
"Yeah, 10,000 yen every morning, plus I now have a rather nice collection
of demon-hunter wards. Good ones, too."
Rei laughed. "True. It's hard to believe that someone like that would take
an interest in the situation over there."
"I just wonder why he hasn't taken a hand more directly."
Rei's voice grew somber. "Grandfather has a theory about that."
"What?" Nabiki asked curiously.
"Well," Rei answered, "Grandfather thinks that he's trying to buy time to
recover."
"Recover?"
"Grandfather said that he's probably recovering from some injuries or
something. He said that anyone good enough to make those wards would easily be
good enough to handle Kunou, even after I told him what Kunou was capable of."
"I know," Nabiki agreed, "The fact that he was able to place them without
being noticed is proof enough of that."
"True," Rei replied, before moving on. "Any luck on finding out about the
Saotomes?"
Nabiki just grunted. "Yeah, I mentioned the name to father. He knew about
them, alright."
"Well?" Rei asked.
"The instant I said that name... instant waterworks. I couldn't get
anything from him."
"Oh." Rei sighed in disappointment.
"That doesn't mean," Nabiki continued in a mischievous voice, "that I
didn't find anything."
"Out with it," Rei amicably demanded.
Nabiki sighed exaggeratedly. "Well, I managed to corner Ranko during lunch
a few days ago. She didn't know much, but..."
"Go on."
"Well, our fathers were old training partners. Ranko didn't know any
specifics, but something happened between them when Ranma and Ranko were just
infants, around the time that Akane was born, in fact. After that, they just...
drifted apart."
"Oh," Rei answered, "Do you know what happened?"
"No," Nabiki replied, "Neither Ranko nor Ranma knew much, and Dad just
breaks out the waterworks whenever I ask."
"Could they be lying?"
"The Saotomes? Nah, I doubt it. They were too young to remember, and if
their father's anything like mine, he's not going to talk about it."
"Oh. Well, what do you know about them?"
Nabiki sighed. "Well, Ranko's..."
The conversation dragged on for several more minutes before winding down.
-------------------
Akane sat on her bed, musing over the events of the past few days. While
she was glad about the relief from having to fight Kunou, Akane just wondered
what on Earth was going on. Nabiki had told her what Hino-sensei had told her
about the wards that the devil-hunter (what else could he be?) had used, but...
why would he bother? Akane dealt with the problem in the only way she could: she
pushed it aside and focused on something else.
With that thought, Akane gently fingered the age-yellowed scroll that she
had just finished reading. A student in another class, Saotome Ranko, had
confronted her at lunch and given it to her, saying that it had once belonged to
the Grandmaster of their school. Yes, *THEIR* school. Apparently, Ranko was the
heir to the other branch of the Musabetsu Kakutou Ryuu. Who would've thought?
Anyway, Ranko had said that she had already transcribed the scroll for her own
use, and that Akane might find the techniques helpful.
In fact, if the scroll hadn't been so old, it might almost have seemed to
be written just for her. Every technique on it was just above her current level,
just advanced enough for her to understand, yet to make mastering them a
challenge.
They were mostly ki-focusing techniques, methods for accessing her life-
energy and using it to improve her abilities, including strength, speed, stamina
and healing. In fact, going over the scroll, it quickly became obvious that she
had been subconsciously using an anger-based ki-focus. Given that the scroll
waxed poetic on the dangers of doing so, Akane quickly decided to master the
scroll's techniques as soon as she could.
-------------------
"So, 'niichan," Ranko began, turning to her brother.
"Yes, Ranko?" he asked curiously.
"Where'd you get that scroll, anyway?"
Ranma chuckled. "I wrote it, of course."
Ranko's eyes widened. "It was at least sixty years old," she almost
shouted, "The paper was yellow and falling apart!"
Ranma just smirked. "Ginzouzai Kakutou Nisezu Ryuu."
Ranko facefaulted.
-------------------
"Everything's going according to plan," Ranma thought later that night,
"The scroll I had Ranko give Akane should help her with the morning fights, not
to mention helping when I start to train her, later. She still needs a sensei,
though, and I'm not ready yet... I suppose it's time."
With that thought, Ranma stood up and left his room. Taking a moment to
gather his thoughts, he walked up to his sister's door and knocked.
"Come in," Ranko called out.
As Ranma opened the door and stepped in, he noticed a subtle change in his
sister's aura.
"Been studying those techniques I showed you?" he asked.
"Umm... yeah," Ranko acknowledged.
Ranma smiled. "Good. I should be able to start teaching you formally
soon."
Ranko's eyes widened. "You're back in shape already?"
Ranma shook his head. "No, not even close." He chuckled briefly. "Although
I'm probably in better shape than my... err... former self ever was."
Ranko grinned widely. "You've got that right."
"Well, I'm planning on taking a trip tomorrow."
Ranko frowned. "Where?"
"To free Happousai."
"Oh."
-------------------
The next morning, Ranma walked down the street, a satchel (containing
various supplies) over his shoulder. His father hadn't even batted an eye when
Ranma had told him that he wouldn't be back until dinnertime, if then, and Ranko
had been expecting it. Nodoka probably would've made a fuss, but Ranma waited
until she was out of the room to tell everyone. Ironically enough, the shortest
route to the train station from his house passed less than a block from the
Tendou dojo. As he neared the area, he noticed a certain delusional kendoist
rushing by, probably going to proclaim his 'love' to Akane. Feeling utterly
nauseated, Ranma ducked behind a corner and once again invoked the Goshin Dai
Ryu Sei Fu. Kunou never knew what hit him (and Nabiki managed to make still more
money off of him when Akane passed by him during her morning jog).
-------------------
Around lunchtime, Ranma finally arrived at his destination, the cave where
Soun and Genma had sealed their lecherous master in his universe. Unsurprised,
Ranma noticed that the ward-covered boulder that blocked the cave during his
version of Happy's rather brief imprisonment was not present, but wasn't
worried. Ranma quickly sat down and began to meditate, spreading his aura across
the area, looking for traces of Happousai's aura. After slightly over an hour,
Ranma finally picked up a trace, almost three miles from his present location.
Sighing, Ranma boosted his speed and headed off, bounding across the landscape
like a hyperactive grasshopper.
-------------------
Ten minutes later, Ranma stopped to wipe the sweat from his brow. While a
good portion of his athletic performance came from his ki, he had also used the
opportunity to exercise his leg muscles, both because of the workout value and
the fact that he needed to avoid using up his limited supply of energy. He only
hoped that Happy wouldn't force a conflict; Ranma couldn't afford to face off
against an opponent of his caliber at the moment, as he needed his reserves for
other tasks.
Extending his senses once again, Ranma noticed that the trace was actually
active, buried almost directly underneath his feet. Sighing, he began to scan
the area, mentally tracing out the patterns of the local cave system.
Unfortunately, Happousai had been sealed in far more thoroughly this time, and
there were no entrances nearby. In fact, Happousai hadn't even been sealed in a
natural cave, but a manmade pit, which had then been collapsed on him.
"Bakusai Tenketsu," Ranma called out, pressing a finger to the ground and
beginning the lengthy process of excavation.
-------------------
After an hour of blasting the ground with various mining techniques that
he didn't often use for their original purpose (Bakusai Tenketsu for the rocks,
the Tsuta Toukou Ken for roots, and, as reluctant as he was to use it in his
present condition, the Seishouha for loosely-packed soil), Ranma finally got
close enough to Happy's position to begin to excavate by hand. Within twenty
minutes, he had what he had come for, a small ivory bead which Happousai had
kept around his neck as a security precaution. Precisely focusing a small amount
of energy into it in a pattern that he had learned hundreds of years prior,
Ranma released the old man from the former Joketsuzoku treasure.
"Pa... panties...," Happousai gasped, reaching upward with his hand, to
all appearances like a starving man grasping at a loaf of bread.
Ranma took a look at the man and shook his head. Quickly summoning a small
amount of ki into his hand, he held it out to Happy and released it into his
father's master's chest, where it promptly dissipated into his skin.
Happousai almost instantly perked up, feeling himself revitalized by
Ranma's ki-transfusion. Turning towards his rescuer, he instantly gasped at the
sight (and aura).
"Honored one," he said, bowing deeply, "What brings one such as yourself
to my humble presence?"
Inwardly, Ranma laughed. This was going to be easier than he'd thought.
-------------------
The trip back to Nerima was far quicker than the trip out, due to the
certainty of the destination, decreased crowding, and, to a lesser extent,
Happousai's presence. On the way, they discussed the situation, Ranma's plans,
and how Happy fit into them. While Ranma was somewhat surprised at Happousai's
willingness to help, he wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth.
Moreover, Happy passed over the title of Grandmaster readily, actually going so
far as to suggest it himself.
"Ranma, m'boy," Happy commented on the train, "I'm getting old. It's well
past time that I train an heir, and you already know all of my techniques. I'd
be honored if you would take on the school's leadership in this world as well as
your own. Besides, you already have the title, even if it's not from here."
Ranma bowed as best he could from where he was sitting ('crowded' is a
comparative term in a Tokyo subway), and answered, inwardly grinning, "I'd be
honored, sensei."
Happousai waved it off. "Please," he replied, "Just call me Happy. As of
now, I'm officially retired as Grandmaster of the Musabetsu Kakutou Ryuu."
"Okay, Happy," Ranma said in response, "but if you start calling *ME*
'sensei', I'll scream."
"Don't like formality, do you?"
At Ranma's nod, Happy burst into laughter.
-------------------
"Well, this is where we part ways," Ranma said as they passed the
intersection where Ranma had warded Kunou earlier. Casually noting that Kunou
wasn't there anymore, Ranma guessed (correctly) that Nabiki had found the moron.
"I'll see you tomorrow, m'boy," Happy replied, turning the corner towards
the Tendou Dojo.
Ranma waved and continued on his way home.
-------------------
"How'd it go?" Ranko said by way of greeting upon Ranma's arrival.
"Surprisingly well, actually," Ranma answered, happily, "He's going to
stop by tomorrow after school."
"Who is, boy?" asked Genma from the dinner table, where he was reading a
newspaper.
"Oh," Ranma replied with a smirk and an unusual glimmer in his eyes,
"Just an old acquaintance."
"Oh. Well," Genma said, beginning to mutter under his breath. Enhancing
his hearing slightly, Ranma began to make out the words. "... probably some
pathetic little weakling..." Having heard enough, Ranma decided to interrupt.
"I'll be sure to tell Happy that you called him that," Ranma called out,
receiving instant gratification in the form of Genma's panicked expression. An
instant later, though, Genma relaxed.
"Nah," he reassured himself, "It can't be."
"Well," Ranma thought to himself, inwardly chuckling, "He can't say that I
didn't warn him."
-------------------
Later that night, Ranko sought out her brother.
"So, what happened?" she asked.
"Well," Ranma answered, "I found him buried around twenty feet
underground..."
-------------------
"... and then I asked him what he'd done to my ki-flows."
Ranko's eyes widened. "What did he say?"
Ranma gently chuckled. "Once again, it was Oyaji's fault."
Ranko cocked her head. "How?"
"Well, Happy saw that I'd come down with something. I'm not sure what, and
Happousai didn't remember. The point is, he was trying to realign my ki to help
me fight it off, when Oyaji came storming by, yelling about how he wasn't going
to let him turn his daughter into some kind of perverted sex-slave."
"Huh?" she asked.
Ranma laughed bitterly. "He found out that Happousai was doing something
to one of us and jumped to conclusions... again."
"Oyaji no baka," Ranko mused.
Ranma rolled his eyes. "You have *NO* idea," he said, "He threw a Kijin
Raishu Dan at Happy, who didn't have an effective counter. After Happousai
dodged to the side, he grabbed me by the leg and ran off. Of all the times for
the moron to actually show a spine..."
Ranko's eyes widened more. "He grabbed an infant by the leg and ran off?"
"Yeah, rather roughly, too. That accounts for the bone damage, ne?"
"Yeah."
"Anyway, he and Soun sealed Happy up before he could finish, and, well...
you get the idea."
"So it was just one giant screwup..."
"Yep," Ranma acknowledged, "Despite what Oyaji says, Happoussai's not
evil. Perverted and rather petty, yeah, but not actually evil. Most of his
reputation comes from how he draws his power."
Ranko blinked. "What?"
"Well," Ranma replied, thinking back to the story that he had been told
years ago, "One of the main problems in drawing ambient ki is that most of it's
not of a type that the we can readily use. You have to convert it to something
that you can, and that process puts a substantial strain on your body."
Ranko nodded in understanding.
"Well, when Happousai was younger, around thirty or so, actually, he found
a way around that."
"What?" Ranko asked, intensely curious.
"With a few exceptions, such as myself and Happousai, people don't make
very efficient use of their ki. A good portion of their internal energy is
wasted, 'bled off', so to speak. Happousai learned how to make use of that
energy."
"Wow," Ranko said, "So what's the problem?"
Ranma laughed. "Well, it wouldn't be a problem if that was all. You see,
there are certain parts of the body that give off more ki than others, and those
are the only parts that give off enough energy to make the process worthwhile."
"Well, what's the problem?" Ranko repeated.
"Where those areas are."
Ranko blinked. "Where are they?"
"As a general rule, the emission of ki increases in direct proportion to
skin sensitivity."
Ranko blinked hard. "You mean..."
"Yep, got it in one."
"Oh."
"Anyway, he doesn't need to absorb it directly, but that actually makes
matters worse in some ways."
Ranko blinked again.
"If something is in direct contact with someone for a long enough time,
it'll absorb a part of their aura, a quantity of ki. Again, it has to be in
direct contact, and preferably with one of the areas that leaks a substantial
amount of energy, or it won't be worth the effort of drawing from."
"You mean..."
"Yep, underwear."
"Oh, dear," Ranko muttered, grasping the implications.
"Well, at first he could have drained from anybody, but he preferred
female 'donors' for obvious reasons."
"Obvious reasons?"
"He didn't--and still doesn't--relish the idea of fondling other guys or
rubbing himself up against used boxer shorts."
Ranko burst out into laughter.
"So, he started drawing and drawing more and more female ki. It was,
pretty much, and unlimited source of energy, after all, and he needed as much
power as he could get. Eventually, though, he discovered the side effects."
"What are they?" Ranko asked curiously.
"There are differences between male and female ki. They're not all that
large, but they're more than enough for your body to tell the difference. As he
drew more and more female ki, his body started producing less and less male ki
as it developed a... err... tolerance, or dependency, maybe, on foreign power.
What's more, he was getting older, and needed to use more and more energy simply
to stay alive and keep in good health. As such, he needed to draw more and more
energy..."
"Oh," Ranko replied, somewhat horrified.
"Yeah. He literally needs to grope women and steal panties to survive."
"And he has a reputation as a pervert because of it, right?"
"Oh, don't get me wrong. Even before then, he was a bit of a pervert. He
*DOES* enjoy the process as more than just a way to collect energy."
"So he *IS* a pervert!"
"Just not nearly as much of one as you'd think at first glance," Ranma
agreed.
Less than an hour later, Ranma and Ranko went to sleep.
-------------------
Woo! Another chapter done! Okay, so I didn't get to include everything I
planned to, but it's in time for Tannim's next update, so I hope that counts for
something. Now for the obligatory translation and explanation section.
Seishouha - Ki-blast. Basically a modification of the Mouko Takabisha and
Shishi Houkoudan that uses pure ki instead of an emotional focus. Literally
comes from seishou (spirit, energy) and 'ha', blast.
Tsuta Toukou Ken - Literally, 'Climing Ivy Fist'. Well, if you subscribe
to the school that translates 'Hiryuu Shouten Ha' as 'Rising Dragon Blast', that
is. Personally, I use 'Imperial Dragon Ascending to the Heavens Blast', but...
aww, heck I'm not going to get into the difficulties in translating Japanese to
English. Just trust me, it's not easy. Anyway, it basically gets plant matter
out of the way by shoving it to the side without otherwise harming it. It's
another technique that Ranma's picked up over the years. I have a history worked
out for it and such, but that'll come in later.
Benron Kakutou Hiraguchi Ryuu - To use the Viz technique of translating
schools, this would translate as the 'Hiraguchi School of Martial Arts Debate'.
The *ACTUAL* translation is a bit more complex (and slightly humorous).
Ginzouzai Kakutou Nisezu Ryuu - Again, Viz would translate this as the
'Nisezu School of Martial Arts Forgery'. And, again, the actual translation is
both more complex and somewhat humorous.
Now... why Ranma's... err... pulling weird martial arts styles out of his
metaphorical rear end. Well, keep in mind that Akane died over a year after the
end of the manga. Events in Nerima followed pretty much the same pattern over
that time, at least as far as weird martial arts competitions were concerned.
Add to that Ranma's rather... lengthy time spent wandering around (and learning
every style he came across), and you can begin to see how he's run into so many.
As for why Happousai was so willing to give over the school, please reread
the beginning to middle of Chapter Two. Keep in mind that his ki-senses are
around as sharp as Tofu-sensei's, if not more so.
Now... about the contest that I started with the last chapter. Of all of
the guesses I've received, only three have been 'reasonably close', and no one
has gotten it right. Accordingly, I'm starting a new contest. One guess, same as
before, but previous entries (for the last contest) don't count against you.
Everyone starts with a clean slate. Yes, I know that that's pretty much giving
the contest to those people who got it 'reasonably close' last time, but the
prize is different this time, as well. First prize, for those who get it right,
is a game of 'twenty questions', concerning the story. In other words, if you
win, you can ask me twenty 'yes or no' questions about the story, my future
plans, and whatnot, and I'll answer honestly and without evasion (with a 'yes',
'no', 'I haven't decided', 'it won't show up in the story either way', or
something else to the effect of one of the above). Again, previous entrants are
encouraged to try again, even if you got it reasonably close (and hence got the
runner-up prize) last time. The runner-up prize, again for a 'reasonably close'
guess is the full explanation of Ranma and Ranko's rapport. For those who don't
remember the contest from last time, the goal is to guess why Ranma and Ranko
share said rapport. If you don't know what I'm talking about, *REREAD THE
PREVIOUS CHAPTERS*! And if you haven't read the previous chapters, what are you
doing reading this one? Trust me, you need to do that before you continue;
you'll miss a lot of what's happening if you don't.
Anyway, I hope that you're enjoying this. I certainly am enjoying writing
it. By the way, as always, keep in mind who's talking. Ranma's not perfect and
he doesn't know everything. He's already made several mistakes, and the
consequences of his actions *WILL* come back to haunt him.
Oh, by the way, if you haven't figured out at least three of the matchups
that I'm planning, you really should have. After all, there are several canon
Sailor Moon matchups that I haven't done anything with... and I'm not going to.
I'm striking a balance here between the expected and unexpected, and I think
that I've done a pretty good job. Right now, I hereby promise that the following
couples *WILL* end up together. Usagi will wind up with Mamoru, Naru will end up
with Umino, and Michiru will end up with Haruka. On the other hand, I *REALLY*
doubt that my plans for Hotaru have ever been done before...
One last thing... I forgot to mention this earlier, but if you win, the
prize information is for you and you alone. If I find out that you've shared it
with anyone else, you'll be disqualified from any future contests of this nature
that I hold. The same goes for trying to enter more than once by using multiple
e-mail addresses.
Disclaim, that I do. Own Ranma or Sailor Moon, that I do not. Watch too
much Star Wars and Rurouni Kenshin, that I did.
-------------------
Tendou Nabiki stared at the letter with a mix of shock and relief. "Wha...
what?" she managed to squeak out through the tidal wave of emotions flooding
through her.
Her best friend, Hino Rei, decided to speak up. "I found that letter in
the hallway," she said.
"Oh," Nabiki responded with a sweatdrop.
"I wonder," Rei mused, "He must have been listening in on us, ne?"
"Yeah," Nabiki replied, "So... who is this 'Tenmou no Heijin', anyway?"
"I don't know," Rei answered, her voice showing her frustration "but I'd
like to find out."
-------------------
Reflection,
By
Aleh,
Chapter Four: Under The Brown Dirt Road
-------------------
Five days later...
Ranma and Ranko were walking home from school, talking.
"So, how'd I do?" Ranma asked, swinging his bag over his shoulder.
"Not bad, not bad at all," Ranko admitted, "You managed to avoid just
about any suspicion."
"Oh?" he replied, "Nabiki seemed curious about something."
"Nah," Ranko answered, "She was just curious about the Saotome Ryu. Her
father never mentioned it to her."
"Oh, so when you mentioned it at the shrine..."
"Exactly."
Ranma chuckled. "Well, that explains some of her questions."
"Oh?"
"Yeah. She was asking me about our family, mainly. She was a little
curious about what we bought the ofuda for, but I just said that we thought that
some of Oyaji's behavior could have been explained by a gluttony demon."
Ranko laughed at that.
"Well, he *IS* worse than some I've met."
Ranko clutched her sides in an effort not to fall over.
Ranma decided that it was time to change the topic.
"I think I've almost convinced the school to let me take that job with
Tofu-sensei," he commented, choosing a subject at random.
"Oh?" his sister asked, curious.
"Yeah. The bureaucracy's been a pain, but I have techniques for that."
Ranma chuckled at something that only he understood.
Ranko's eyes widened as all of her earlier doubts crashed back on her.
Noticing the change in her aura, Ranma stopped in his tracks.
"What?" he inquired, an expression of confusion on his face.
"What kind of techniques?" she asked, her face clouded with suspicion.
Realizing what Ranko thought, Ranma laughed in relief. "Nothing like
*THAT*, Ranko-chan," he said, "Most of 'em are from the Benron Kakutou Hiraguchi
Ryuu."
Ranko stared in shock. "A school of Martial Arts *DEBATE*?!?" she
exclaimed, half in disbelief.
Ranma chuckled. "It's not any weirder than an Art based on cha no yu, is
it?"
Ranko joined in her brother's mirth, her suspicions once again laid to
rest. "No, it's not, 'niichan," she agreed.
-------------------
Meanwhile, Nabiki was talking to Rei over the phone.
"Any luck?" she asked, "I haven't found anything."
"No. I haven't either," Rei replied, "Whoever this 'Tenmou no Heijin' is,
he's almost impossible to find."
"At least when he doesn't want to be," Nabiki agreed. "He's kept up his
morning activities, too."
"You mean the wards?"
"Yep. Every morning just before school. I've been having to take them off
for him. At least the job pays well." Nabiki chuckled over the phone.
"Oh?"
"Yeah, 10,000 yen every morning, plus I now have a rather nice collection
of demon-hunter wards. Good ones, too."
Rei laughed. "True. It's hard to believe that someone like that would take
an interest in the situation over there."
"I just wonder why he hasn't taken a hand more directly."
Rei's voice grew somber. "Grandfather has a theory about that."
"What?" Nabiki asked curiously.
"Well," Rei answered, "Grandfather thinks that he's trying to buy time to
recover."
"Recover?"
"Grandfather said that he's probably recovering from some injuries or
something. He said that anyone good enough to make those wards would easily be
good enough to handle Kunou, even after I told him what Kunou was capable of."
"I know," Nabiki agreed, "The fact that he was able to place them without
being noticed is proof enough of that."
"True," Rei replied, before moving on. "Any luck on finding out about the
Saotomes?"
Nabiki just grunted. "Yeah, I mentioned the name to father. He knew about
them, alright."
"Well?" Rei asked.
"The instant I said that name... instant waterworks. I couldn't get
anything from him."
"Oh." Rei sighed in disappointment.
"That doesn't mean," Nabiki continued in a mischievous voice, "that I
didn't find anything."
"Out with it," Rei amicably demanded.
Nabiki sighed exaggeratedly. "Well, I managed to corner Ranko during lunch
a few days ago. She didn't know much, but..."
"Go on."
"Well, our fathers were old training partners. Ranko didn't know any
specifics, but something happened between them when Ranma and Ranko were just
infants, around the time that Akane was born, in fact. After that, they just...
drifted apart."
"Oh," Rei answered, "Do you know what happened?"
"No," Nabiki replied, "Neither Ranko nor Ranma knew much, and Dad just
breaks out the waterworks whenever I ask."
"Could they be lying?"
"The Saotomes? Nah, I doubt it. They were too young to remember, and if
their father's anything like mine, he's not going to talk about it."
"Oh. Well, what do you know about them?"
Nabiki sighed. "Well, Ranko's..."
The conversation dragged on for several more minutes before winding down.
-------------------
Akane sat on her bed, musing over the events of the past few days. While
she was glad about the relief from having to fight Kunou, Akane just wondered
what on Earth was going on. Nabiki had told her what Hino-sensei had told her
about the wards that the devil-hunter (what else could he be?) had used, but...
why would he bother? Akane dealt with the problem in the only way she could: she
pushed it aside and focused on something else.
With that thought, Akane gently fingered the age-yellowed scroll that she
had just finished reading. A student in another class, Saotome Ranko, had
confronted her at lunch and given it to her, saying that it had once belonged to
the Grandmaster of their school. Yes, *THEIR* school. Apparently, Ranko was the
heir to the other branch of the Musabetsu Kakutou Ryuu. Who would've thought?
Anyway, Ranko had said that she had already transcribed the scroll for her own
use, and that Akane might find the techniques helpful.
In fact, if the scroll hadn't been so old, it might almost have seemed to
be written just for her. Every technique on it was just above her current level,
just advanced enough for her to understand, yet to make mastering them a
challenge.
They were mostly ki-focusing techniques, methods for accessing her life-
energy and using it to improve her abilities, including strength, speed, stamina
and healing. In fact, going over the scroll, it quickly became obvious that she
had been subconsciously using an anger-based ki-focus. Given that the scroll
waxed poetic on the dangers of doing so, Akane quickly decided to master the
scroll's techniques as soon as she could.
-------------------
"So, 'niichan," Ranko began, turning to her brother.
"Yes, Ranko?" he asked curiously.
"Where'd you get that scroll, anyway?"
Ranma chuckled. "I wrote it, of course."
Ranko's eyes widened. "It was at least sixty years old," she almost
shouted, "The paper was yellow and falling apart!"
Ranma just smirked. "Ginzouzai Kakutou Nisezu Ryuu."
Ranko facefaulted.
-------------------
"Everything's going according to plan," Ranma thought later that night,
"The scroll I had Ranko give Akane should help her with the morning fights, not
to mention helping when I start to train her, later. She still needs a sensei,
though, and I'm not ready yet... I suppose it's time."
With that thought, Ranma stood up and left his room. Taking a moment to
gather his thoughts, he walked up to his sister's door and knocked.
"Come in," Ranko called out.
As Ranma opened the door and stepped in, he noticed a subtle change in his
sister's aura.
"Been studying those techniques I showed you?" he asked.
"Umm... yeah," Ranko acknowledged.
Ranma smiled. "Good. I should be able to start teaching you formally
soon."
Ranko's eyes widened. "You're back in shape already?"
Ranma shook his head. "No, not even close." He chuckled briefly. "Although
I'm probably in better shape than my... err... former self ever was."
Ranko grinned widely. "You've got that right."
"Well, I'm planning on taking a trip tomorrow."
Ranko frowned. "Where?"
"To free Happousai."
"Oh."
-------------------
The next morning, Ranma walked down the street, a satchel (containing
various supplies) over his shoulder. His father hadn't even batted an eye when
Ranma had told him that he wouldn't be back until dinnertime, if then, and Ranko
had been expecting it. Nodoka probably would've made a fuss, but Ranma waited
until she was out of the room to tell everyone. Ironically enough, the shortest
route to the train station from his house passed less than a block from the
Tendou dojo. As he neared the area, he noticed a certain delusional kendoist
rushing by, probably going to proclaim his 'love' to Akane. Feeling utterly
nauseated, Ranma ducked behind a corner and once again invoked the Goshin Dai
Ryu Sei Fu. Kunou never knew what hit him (and Nabiki managed to make still more
money off of him when Akane passed by him during her morning jog).
-------------------
Around lunchtime, Ranma finally arrived at his destination, the cave where
Soun and Genma had sealed their lecherous master in his universe. Unsurprised,
Ranma noticed that the ward-covered boulder that blocked the cave during his
version of Happy's rather brief imprisonment was not present, but wasn't
worried. Ranma quickly sat down and began to meditate, spreading his aura across
the area, looking for traces of Happousai's aura. After slightly over an hour,
Ranma finally picked up a trace, almost three miles from his present location.
Sighing, Ranma boosted his speed and headed off, bounding across the landscape
like a hyperactive grasshopper.
-------------------
Ten minutes later, Ranma stopped to wipe the sweat from his brow. While a
good portion of his athletic performance came from his ki, he had also used the
opportunity to exercise his leg muscles, both because of the workout value and
the fact that he needed to avoid using up his limited supply of energy. He only
hoped that Happy wouldn't force a conflict; Ranma couldn't afford to face off
against an opponent of his caliber at the moment, as he needed his reserves for
other tasks.
Extending his senses once again, Ranma noticed that the trace was actually
active, buried almost directly underneath his feet. Sighing, he began to scan
the area, mentally tracing out the patterns of the local cave system.
Unfortunately, Happousai had been sealed in far more thoroughly this time, and
there were no entrances nearby. In fact, Happousai hadn't even been sealed in a
natural cave, but a manmade pit, which had then been collapsed on him.
"Bakusai Tenketsu," Ranma called out, pressing a finger to the ground and
beginning the lengthy process of excavation.
-------------------
After an hour of blasting the ground with various mining techniques that
he didn't often use for their original purpose (Bakusai Tenketsu for the rocks,
the Tsuta Toukou Ken for roots, and, as reluctant as he was to use it in his
present condition, the Seishouha for loosely-packed soil), Ranma finally got
close enough to Happy's position to begin to excavate by hand. Within twenty
minutes, he had what he had come for, a small ivory bead which Happousai had
kept around his neck as a security precaution. Precisely focusing a small amount
of energy into it in a pattern that he had learned hundreds of years prior,
Ranma released the old man from the former Joketsuzoku treasure.
"Pa... panties...," Happousai gasped, reaching upward with his hand, to
all appearances like a starving man grasping at a loaf of bread.
Ranma took a look at the man and shook his head. Quickly summoning a small
amount of ki into his hand, he held it out to Happy and released it into his
father's master's chest, where it promptly dissipated into his skin.
Happousai almost instantly perked up, feeling himself revitalized by
Ranma's ki-transfusion. Turning towards his rescuer, he instantly gasped at the
sight (and aura).
"Honored one," he said, bowing deeply, "What brings one such as yourself
to my humble presence?"
Inwardly, Ranma laughed. This was going to be easier than he'd thought.
-------------------
The trip back to Nerima was far quicker than the trip out, due to the
certainty of the destination, decreased crowding, and, to a lesser extent,
Happousai's presence. On the way, they discussed the situation, Ranma's plans,
and how Happy fit into them. While Ranma was somewhat surprised at Happousai's
willingness to help, he wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth.
Moreover, Happy passed over the title of Grandmaster readily, actually going so
far as to suggest it himself.
"Ranma, m'boy," Happy commented on the train, "I'm getting old. It's well
past time that I train an heir, and you already know all of my techniques. I'd
be honored if you would take on the school's leadership in this world as well as
your own. Besides, you already have the title, even if it's not from here."
Ranma bowed as best he could from where he was sitting ('crowded' is a
comparative term in a Tokyo subway), and answered, inwardly grinning, "I'd be
honored, sensei."
Happousai waved it off. "Please," he replied, "Just call me Happy. As of
now, I'm officially retired as Grandmaster of the Musabetsu Kakutou Ryuu."
"Okay, Happy," Ranma said in response, "but if you start calling *ME*
'sensei', I'll scream."
"Don't like formality, do you?"
At Ranma's nod, Happy burst into laughter.
-------------------
"Well, this is where we part ways," Ranma said as they passed the
intersection where Ranma had warded Kunou earlier. Casually noting that Kunou
wasn't there anymore, Ranma guessed (correctly) that Nabiki had found the moron.
"I'll see you tomorrow, m'boy," Happy replied, turning the corner towards
the Tendou Dojo.
Ranma waved and continued on his way home.
-------------------
"How'd it go?" Ranko said by way of greeting upon Ranma's arrival.
"Surprisingly well, actually," Ranma answered, happily, "He's going to
stop by tomorrow after school."
"Who is, boy?" asked Genma from the dinner table, where he was reading a
newspaper.
"Oh," Ranma replied with a smirk and an unusual glimmer in his eyes,
"Just an old acquaintance."
"Oh. Well," Genma said, beginning to mutter under his breath. Enhancing
his hearing slightly, Ranma began to make out the words. "... probably some
pathetic little weakling..." Having heard enough, Ranma decided to interrupt.
"I'll be sure to tell Happy that you called him that," Ranma called out,
receiving instant gratification in the form of Genma's panicked expression. An
instant later, though, Genma relaxed.
"Nah," he reassured himself, "It can't be."
"Well," Ranma thought to himself, inwardly chuckling, "He can't say that I
didn't warn him."
-------------------
Later that night, Ranko sought out her brother.
"So, what happened?" she asked.
"Well," Ranma answered, "I found him buried around twenty feet
underground..."
-------------------
"... and then I asked him what he'd done to my ki-flows."
Ranko's eyes widened. "What did he say?"
Ranma gently chuckled. "Once again, it was Oyaji's fault."
Ranko cocked her head. "How?"
"Well, Happy saw that I'd come down with something. I'm not sure what, and
Happousai didn't remember. The point is, he was trying to realign my ki to help
me fight it off, when Oyaji came storming by, yelling about how he wasn't going
to let him turn his daughter into some kind of perverted sex-slave."
"Huh?" she asked.
Ranma laughed bitterly. "He found out that Happousai was doing something
to one of us and jumped to conclusions... again."
"Oyaji no baka," Ranko mused.
Ranma rolled his eyes. "You have *NO* idea," he said, "He threw a Kijin
Raishu Dan at Happy, who didn't have an effective counter. After Happousai
dodged to the side, he grabbed me by the leg and ran off. Of all the times for
the moron to actually show a spine..."
Ranko's eyes widened more. "He grabbed an infant by the leg and ran off?"
"Yeah, rather roughly, too. That accounts for the bone damage, ne?"
"Yeah."
"Anyway, he and Soun sealed Happy up before he could finish, and, well...
you get the idea."
"So it was just one giant screwup..."
"Yep," Ranma acknowledged, "Despite what Oyaji says, Happoussai's not
evil. Perverted and rather petty, yeah, but not actually evil. Most of his
reputation comes from how he draws his power."
Ranko blinked. "What?"
"Well," Ranma replied, thinking back to the story that he had been told
years ago, "One of the main problems in drawing ambient ki is that most of it's
not of a type that the we can readily use. You have to convert it to something
that you can, and that process puts a substantial strain on your body."
Ranko nodded in understanding.
"Well, when Happousai was younger, around thirty or so, actually, he found
a way around that."
"What?" Ranko asked, intensely curious.
"With a few exceptions, such as myself and Happousai, people don't make
very efficient use of their ki. A good portion of their internal energy is
wasted, 'bled off', so to speak. Happousai learned how to make use of that
energy."
"Wow," Ranko said, "So what's the problem?"
Ranma laughed. "Well, it wouldn't be a problem if that was all. You see,
there are certain parts of the body that give off more ki than others, and those
are the only parts that give off enough energy to make the process worthwhile."
"Well, what's the problem?" Ranko repeated.
"Where those areas are."
Ranko blinked. "Where are they?"
"As a general rule, the emission of ki increases in direct proportion to
skin sensitivity."
Ranko blinked hard. "You mean..."
"Yep, got it in one."
"Oh."
"Anyway, he doesn't need to absorb it directly, but that actually makes
matters worse in some ways."
Ranko blinked again.
"If something is in direct contact with someone for a long enough time,
it'll absorb a part of their aura, a quantity of ki. Again, it has to be in
direct contact, and preferably with one of the areas that leaks a substantial
amount of energy, or it won't be worth the effort of drawing from."
"You mean..."
"Yep, underwear."
"Oh, dear," Ranko muttered, grasping the implications.
"Well, at first he could have drained from anybody, but he preferred
female 'donors' for obvious reasons."
"Obvious reasons?"
"He didn't--and still doesn't--relish the idea of fondling other guys or
rubbing himself up against used boxer shorts."
Ranko burst out into laughter.
"So, he started drawing and drawing more and more female ki. It was,
pretty much, and unlimited source of energy, after all, and he needed as much
power as he could get. Eventually, though, he discovered the side effects."
"What are they?" Ranko asked curiously.
"There are differences between male and female ki. They're not all that
large, but they're more than enough for your body to tell the difference. As he
drew more and more female ki, his body started producing less and less male ki
as it developed a... err... tolerance, or dependency, maybe, on foreign power.
What's more, he was getting older, and needed to use more and more energy simply
to stay alive and keep in good health. As such, he needed to draw more and more
energy..."
"Oh," Ranko replied, somewhat horrified.
"Yeah. He literally needs to grope women and steal panties to survive."
"And he has a reputation as a pervert because of it, right?"
"Oh, don't get me wrong. Even before then, he was a bit of a pervert. He
*DOES* enjoy the process as more than just a way to collect energy."
"So he *IS* a pervert!"
"Just not nearly as much of one as you'd think at first glance," Ranma
agreed.
Less than an hour later, Ranma and Ranko went to sleep.
-------------------
Woo! Another chapter done! Okay, so I didn't get to include everything I
planned to, but it's in time for Tannim's next update, so I hope that counts for
something. Now for the obligatory translation and explanation section.
Seishouha - Ki-blast. Basically a modification of the Mouko Takabisha and
Shishi Houkoudan that uses pure ki instead of an emotional focus. Literally
comes from seishou (spirit, energy) and 'ha', blast.
Tsuta Toukou Ken - Literally, 'Climing Ivy Fist'. Well, if you subscribe
to the school that translates 'Hiryuu Shouten Ha' as 'Rising Dragon Blast', that
is. Personally, I use 'Imperial Dragon Ascending to the Heavens Blast', but...
aww, heck I'm not going to get into the difficulties in translating Japanese to
English. Just trust me, it's not easy. Anyway, it basically gets plant matter
out of the way by shoving it to the side without otherwise harming it. It's
another technique that Ranma's picked up over the years. I have a history worked
out for it and such, but that'll come in later.
Benron Kakutou Hiraguchi Ryuu - To use the Viz technique of translating
schools, this would translate as the 'Hiraguchi School of Martial Arts Debate'.
The *ACTUAL* translation is a bit more complex (and slightly humorous).
Ginzouzai Kakutou Nisezu Ryuu - Again, Viz would translate this as the
'Nisezu School of Martial Arts Forgery'. And, again, the actual translation is
both more complex and somewhat humorous.
Now... why Ranma's... err... pulling weird martial arts styles out of his
metaphorical rear end. Well, keep in mind that Akane died over a year after the
end of the manga. Events in Nerima followed pretty much the same pattern over
that time, at least as far as weird martial arts competitions were concerned.
Add to that Ranma's rather... lengthy time spent wandering around (and learning
every style he came across), and you can begin to see how he's run into so many.
As for why Happousai was so willing to give over the school, please reread
the beginning to middle of Chapter Two. Keep in mind that his ki-senses are
around as sharp as Tofu-sensei's, if not more so.
Now... about the contest that I started with the last chapter. Of all of
the guesses I've received, only three have been 'reasonably close', and no one
has gotten it right. Accordingly, I'm starting a new contest. One guess, same as
before, but previous entries (for the last contest) don't count against you.
Everyone starts with a clean slate. Yes, I know that that's pretty much giving
the contest to those people who got it 'reasonably close' last time, but the
prize is different this time, as well. First prize, for those who get it right,
is a game of 'twenty questions', concerning the story. In other words, if you
win, you can ask me twenty 'yes or no' questions about the story, my future
plans, and whatnot, and I'll answer honestly and without evasion (with a 'yes',
'no', 'I haven't decided', 'it won't show up in the story either way', or
something else to the effect of one of the above). Again, previous entrants are
encouraged to try again, even if you got it reasonably close (and hence got the
runner-up prize) last time. The runner-up prize, again for a 'reasonably close'
guess is the full explanation of Ranma and Ranko's rapport. For those who don't
remember the contest from last time, the goal is to guess why Ranma and Ranko
share said rapport. If you don't know what I'm talking about, *REREAD THE
PREVIOUS CHAPTERS*! And if you haven't read the previous chapters, what are you
doing reading this one? Trust me, you need to do that before you continue;
you'll miss a lot of what's happening if you don't.
Anyway, I hope that you're enjoying this. I certainly am enjoying writing
it. By the way, as always, keep in mind who's talking. Ranma's not perfect and
he doesn't know everything. He's already made several mistakes, and the
consequences of his actions *WILL* come back to haunt him.
Oh, by the way, if you haven't figured out at least three of the matchups
that I'm planning, you really should have. After all, there are several canon
Sailor Moon matchups that I haven't done anything with... and I'm not going to.
I'm striking a balance here between the expected and unexpected, and I think
that I've done a pretty good job. Right now, I hereby promise that the following
couples *WILL* end up together. Usagi will wind up with Mamoru, Naru will end up
with Umino, and Michiru will end up with Haruka. On the other hand, I *REALLY*
doubt that my plans for Hotaru have ever been done before...
One last thing... I forgot to mention this earlier, but if you win, the
prize information is for you and you alone. If I find out that you've shared it
with anyone else, you'll be disqualified from any future contests of this nature
that I hold. The same goes for trying to enter more than once by using multiple
e-mail addresses.