Chapter 9: Ryoga's Fight
Ryoga faced Ran on the field. Both boys were grinning. This was going to be a good fight.
Ryoga scanned the crowds. They were a lot bigger than he had thought they would be. There was Akane near Ranma, watching them. There was no sign of Naru, but that was no surprise. She had said that she was going to be in curse form.
*Come to think of it, I don't even know what her curse form is.* Ryoga frowned. *Every time I start to actually think about it, I forget, or just think it's not important.*
He looked at Ran. *Is it possible.No, it couldn't be.* His frown got deeper. *Could it?*
"Same rules as with Ranma?" Ryoga yelled.
"Yep. Ready?"
"Are you?"
"As ready as I'll ever be."
"Then begin."
It was obvious from the start that the two of them were evenly matched. *No surprise* thought Ranma. *He gave me as much of a workout as Ryoga ever does. This may take a while.*
It did. Fruitless body sparing turned to secret techniques and neither was really gaining the upper hand.
Suddenly, Ryoga backed up. Ranma leaned forward to watch. This was what he had been waiting for. The techniques that he and Ryoga had modified.
Ryoga put up his hands, grinned, and let loose a ball of energy like the one Ranma had produced when he had fought Ran. However, it was a different color, and Ryoga had not needed to shout anything.
"A silent modified version?" Akane asked in awe. "Ranma, when did you.?"
"When you weren't looking." Ranma grinned. "He wanted to impress Naru, so we practiced in secret where the two of you couldn't find us. Did you really think we were adapting the breaking point technique? You can't adapt that. It already breaks trees."
"But you said."
"I lied."
Ran had picked himself up from the ground. He was looking at Ryoga with the same amount of awe that Akane was.
Suddenly a rock the size of Akane's mallet appeared out of nowhere and hit Ryoga on the head.
"Cosmo ROCK? And he didn't have to touch it." Ranma's eyes widened. "I'm going to have to ask him how he does that."
It was Ryoga's turn to stare in awe at his opponent. Still, he did know that the cosmo object technique would only work so many times a day, so he wasn't worried. But the bump on his head did hurt. And Ran had a few more times he could use the technique.
"That could be useful." Ranma mused aloud. "Cosmo hot water." He trailed off.
"Shh." Akane said. Ran had conjured another rock, but this time, Ryoga had dodged, caught it, and thrown it at his adversary. Ran dodged, but it was obvious that the trick wasn't going to work again.
Ran smiled, and conjured his third and last rock of the day. Ranma didn't get it, why was he wasting it?
While Ryoga was distracted by the rock, Ran rushed forward and nearly hit Ryoga. Ryoga dodged, grinned, and began to back up, dodging Ran's punches as he went.
It was only as he began to lead Ran around that Akane realized what was happening. "Oh Ranma, you didn't." She whispered.
"Yes." He muttered, intent on the battle. "I did."
Ryoga led Ran in a spiral, and when they got to the center.
Nothing happened.
"WHAT?" Akane and Ranma yelled together. "NOTHING HAPPENED."
Even Ryoga looked confused. He had executed the technique properly. What had happened?
One look at Ran's smug face told them everything. He knew the technique, and he had not given off any battle aura when he was trying to punch Ryoga.
Ranma whistled. "This guy's really good. But Ryoga's gonna win still."
Ranma was right. When his opponent was still smiling, he scowled and whispered, "For Naru" and let loose another blast of Ki.
Ran should have dodged it. Everyone was expecting him to dodge it. But he didn't. He hesitated just a fraction of a second at Ryoga's words.
And the battled ended as he was slammed into a tree and knocked out.
"Oh no. Is he hurt?" Akane ran to Ran's side.
"Akane, he just got slammed into a tree. Of course he's hurt. But he'll be fine." Ranma had followed her. "What I don't get was, why did he hesitate?" Ryoga shrugged, but looked thoughtful.
"Oh, poor guy." Akane began to check Ran.
"Akane, get away from him." Ranma growled.
Before Naru had come, Akane would have turned this into an argument. Now that Naru was here though.
"Why Ranma, if I didn't know better, I'd say you were jealous."
"J-j-jealous! Of you!" Ranma yelled. "I just." He didn't finish.
He was jealous, but he would never admit it. Not to anyone. Not even to Ryoga. Not even, well, maybe to Ukyo. And maybe to Naru. For some reason he trusted Naru like a sister. But he wouldn't admit it to anyone else.
Ran stirred. He sat up, rubbing his head where it had hit the tree.
"Ouch. I guess I lost."
"Yeah, you lost, but it was a good fight." Akane said smiling at him. Ranma got even more jealous.
Ryoga stepped up to him. "Ran, can I speak to you for a moment."
"Sure." Ran grinned, still rubbing his head. "But I need to get something for this. How bout you talk to me on the way to Doctor Tofu's."
"You know Doctor Tofu?" Ranma asked.
"Where do you think I went to get patched up after my battle with you?"
"Oh."
"I'll come with you." Akane volunteered.
"Umm, no. I need to talk to Ran alone, if it's alright." Ryoga said.
"Oh, ok." Akane muttered, crestfallen.
"Common Akane. Lets get back to the Dojo." Ranma said. "I have something to discuss with you. About operation RAN."
Both Ryoga and Ran grinned as Akane and Ranma walked off.
"You want to know something interesting?" Ryoga asked Ran as they walked down the street.
"Hmm?"
"If you spell Naru backwards and take away the 'U' you get Ran."
Ran froze.
Ryoga was amused. "You realize that you just gave yourself totally away don't you?"
"Well, you caught me off guard." Ran/Naru said. "You guessed when I hesitated?"
"I suspected then, but I wasn't sure until you started smiling knowingly as Ranma and Akane left. If you had just come to the area, you couldn't already know about the love/hate relationship."
"I wouldn't be so sure about that." Naru said musingly.
"May I ask how you managed to cheer for me when we were fighting?" He grinned. "You promised you would."
"Just because I was your opponent, doesn't mean I can't cheer you on."
Ryoga brought Naru, still in boy form, home to Tendo's. Yes, Ryoga actually brought Naru there, and didn't get lost. He had been getting where he wanted to go a lot lately, thanks to Naru.
She had watched Ryoga and done some research on the subject of his directional disability. It turned out that he actually didn't have one. It was all mental. His parents were directionally challenged, and because of this, they were sure that he was as well, so he was raised under that assumption. No wonder he got lost.
Now, usually a psychological block as deeply rooted as this one would be hard to remove. But Naru was as stubborn as any Neriman, and she felt that she owed Ryoga one, so she set out to cure it.
It had started with little things, like getting from his room to the front door on his own. Gradually it progressed to getting to school. Finally, he could get just about anywhere he wanted to go if he knew where it was, or what general direction it was in.
Naru was very proud of herself and him.
Now the two of them walked in together. Ranma and Akane were seated just inside. "Umm, hope you don't mind if Ran stays with us for a while."
"Sure." Said Akane. "I'd like that."
Ranma didn't, but this wasn't really his house, so he didn't say anything.
"Mind if I take a bath?" Ran/Naru asked.
"Sure. Hey, why don't I join you?" Ranma said looking up. He was hoping to set some things strait with Ran alone.
"Umm." Ran/Naru sweatdropped. "That wouldn't be a good idea."
"What's wrong? We're both men." Ranma said confused.
"That's just it, we aren't."
"Wha. Look, just because I turn into a girl sometimes doesn't mean." Ranma began heatedly.
"I wasn't talking about you." Ran/Naru interrupted him.
Akane pored the kettle of hot water she had set on the stove as she got home on Ran/Naru.
Ranma fainted in shock.
Ryoga faced Ran on the field. Both boys were grinning. This was going to be a good fight.
Ryoga scanned the crowds. They were a lot bigger than he had thought they would be. There was Akane near Ranma, watching them. There was no sign of Naru, but that was no surprise. She had said that she was going to be in curse form.
*Come to think of it, I don't even know what her curse form is.* Ryoga frowned. *Every time I start to actually think about it, I forget, or just think it's not important.*
He looked at Ran. *Is it possible.No, it couldn't be.* His frown got deeper. *Could it?*
"Same rules as with Ranma?" Ryoga yelled.
"Yep. Ready?"
"Are you?"
"As ready as I'll ever be."
"Then begin."
It was obvious from the start that the two of them were evenly matched. *No surprise* thought Ranma. *He gave me as much of a workout as Ryoga ever does. This may take a while.*
It did. Fruitless body sparing turned to secret techniques and neither was really gaining the upper hand.
Suddenly, Ryoga backed up. Ranma leaned forward to watch. This was what he had been waiting for. The techniques that he and Ryoga had modified.
Ryoga put up his hands, grinned, and let loose a ball of energy like the one Ranma had produced when he had fought Ran. However, it was a different color, and Ryoga had not needed to shout anything.
"A silent modified version?" Akane asked in awe. "Ranma, when did you.?"
"When you weren't looking." Ranma grinned. "He wanted to impress Naru, so we practiced in secret where the two of you couldn't find us. Did you really think we were adapting the breaking point technique? You can't adapt that. It already breaks trees."
"But you said."
"I lied."
Ran had picked himself up from the ground. He was looking at Ryoga with the same amount of awe that Akane was.
Suddenly a rock the size of Akane's mallet appeared out of nowhere and hit Ryoga on the head.
"Cosmo ROCK? And he didn't have to touch it." Ranma's eyes widened. "I'm going to have to ask him how he does that."
It was Ryoga's turn to stare in awe at his opponent. Still, he did know that the cosmo object technique would only work so many times a day, so he wasn't worried. But the bump on his head did hurt. And Ran had a few more times he could use the technique.
"That could be useful." Ranma mused aloud. "Cosmo hot water." He trailed off.
"Shh." Akane said. Ran had conjured another rock, but this time, Ryoga had dodged, caught it, and thrown it at his adversary. Ran dodged, but it was obvious that the trick wasn't going to work again.
Ran smiled, and conjured his third and last rock of the day. Ranma didn't get it, why was he wasting it?
While Ryoga was distracted by the rock, Ran rushed forward and nearly hit Ryoga. Ryoga dodged, grinned, and began to back up, dodging Ran's punches as he went.
It was only as he began to lead Ran around that Akane realized what was happening. "Oh Ranma, you didn't." She whispered.
"Yes." He muttered, intent on the battle. "I did."
Ryoga led Ran in a spiral, and when they got to the center.
Nothing happened.
"WHAT?" Akane and Ranma yelled together. "NOTHING HAPPENED."
Even Ryoga looked confused. He had executed the technique properly. What had happened?
One look at Ran's smug face told them everything. He knew the technique, and he had not given off any battle aura when he was trying to punch Ryoga.
Ranma whistled. "This guy's really good. But Ryoga's gonna win still."
Ranma was right. When his opponent was still smiling, he scowled and whispered, "For Naru" and let loose another blast of Ki.
Ran should have dodged it. Everyone was expecting him to dodge it. But he didn't. He hesitated just a fraction of a second at Ryoga's words.
And the battled ended as he was slammed into a tree and knocked out.
"Oh no. Is he hurt?" Akane ran to Ran's side.
"Akane, he just got slammed into a tree. Of course he's hurt. But he'll be fine." Ranma had followed her. "What I don't get was, why did he hesitate?" Ryoga shrugged, but looked thoughtful.
"Oh, poor guy." Akane began to check Ran.
"Akane, get away from him." Ranma growled.
Before Naru had come, Akane would have turned this into an argument. Now that Naru was here though.
"Why Ranma, if I didn't know better, I'd say you were jealous."
"J-j-jealous! Of you!" Ranma yelled. "I just." He didn't finish.
He was jealous, but he would never admit it. Not to anyone. Not even to Ryoga. Not even, well, maybe to Ukyo. And maybe to Naru. For some reason he trusted Naru like a sister. But he wouldn't admit it to anyone else.
Ran stirred. He sat up, rubbing his head where it had hit the tree.
"Ouch. I guess I lost."
"Yeah, you lost, but it was a good fight." Akane said smiling at him. Ranma got even more jealous.
Ryoga stepped up to him. "Ran, can I speak to you for a moment."
"Sure." Ran grinned, still rubbing his head. "But I need to get something for this. How bout you talk to me on the way to Doctor Tofu's."
"You know Doctor Tofu?" Ranma asked.
"Where do you think I went to get patched up after my battle with you?"
"Oh."
"I'll come with you." Akane volunteered.
"Umm, no. I need to talk to Ran alone, if it's alright." Ryoga said.
"Oh, ok." Akane muttered, crestfallen.
"Common Akane. Lets get back to the Dojo." Ranma said. "I have something to discuss with you. About operation RAN."
Both Ryoga and Ran grinned as Akane and Ranma walked off.
"You want to know something interesting?" Ryoga asked Ran as they walked down the street.
"Hmm?"
"If you spell Naru backwards and take away the 'U' you get Ran."
Ran froze.
Ryoga was amused. "You realize that you just gave yourself totally away don't you?"
"Well, you caught me off guard." Ran/Naru said. "You guessed when I hesitated?"
"I suspected then, but I wasn't sure until you started smiling knowingly as Ranma and Akane left. If you had just come to the area, you couldn't already know about the love/hate relationship."
"I wouldn't be so sure about that." Naru said musingly.
"May I ask how you managed to cheer for me when we were fighting?" He grinned. "You promised you would."
"Just because I was your opponent, doesn't mean I can't cheer you on."
Ryoga brought Naru, still in boy form, home to Tendo's. Yes, Ryoga actually brought Naru there, and didn't get lost. He had been getting where he wanted to go a lot lately, thanks to Naru.
She had watched Ryoga and done some research on the subject of his directional disability. It turned out that he actually didn't have one. It was all mental. His parents were directionally challenged, and because of this, they were sure that he was as well, so he was raised under that assumption. No wonder he got lost.
Now, usually a psychological block as deeply rooted as this one would be hard to remove. But Naru was as stubborn as any Neriman, and she felt that she owed Ryoga one, so she set out to cure it.
It had started with little things, like getting from his room to the front door on his own. Gradually it progressed to getting to school. Finally, he could get just about anywhere he wanted to go if he knew where it was, or what general direction it was in.
Naru was very proud of herself and him.
Now the two of them walked in together. Ranma and Akane were seated just inside. "Umm, hope you don't mind if Ran stays with us for a while."
"Sure." Said Akane. "I'd like that."
Ranma didn't, but this wasn't really his house, so he didn't say anything.
"Mind if I take a bath?" Ran/Naru asked.
"Sure. Hey, why don't I join you?" Ranma said looking up. He was hoping to set some things strait with Ran alone.
"Umm." Ran/Naru sweatdropped. "That wouldn't be a good idea."
"What's wrong? We're both men." Ranma said confused.
"That's just it, we aren't."
"Wha. Look, just because I turn into a girl sometimes doesn't mean." Ranma began heatedly.
"I wasn't talking about you." Ran/Naru interrupted him.
Akane pored the kettle of hot water she had set on the stove as she got home on Ran/Naru.
Ranma fainted in shock.