Full circle 2
Thanks again for Betaing this Joe - though I hope it isnt destracting you from your own excellent fics
Ch3: The devil Ranko
Akane stared at the stranger facing off with her sister with worry. The pigtailed youth looked skilled but she knew from experience just how skilled Nabiki was and she was almost certain he would end up getting hurt. Facing an enraged Nabiki wasn't a fate she would wish on anybody; an enraged Nabiki was also a vicious one.
It required a much higher level of skill to defeat a berserk martial artist and she had heard of nobody that had that much of a jump on Nabiki.
With a worried frown she saw Ranma nod solemnly at Soun. Was it right to be so worried about the stranger when he had seemingly baited her sister into her current frenzy. A stranger that had treated her with kindness and equality. Or should she be rooting for her family, a family she hardly knew and had received few acts of kindness from.
It wasn't as bad as she made out – being a member of the Tendo family. There were some benefits and she was better off than those who had lost everything in the big earthquake ten years previously. It was kind of sad that boomer technology had not benefited everybody in the way it had benefited the rich. The earthquake had created a whole subclass of people living in the remains of old Tokyo, that subclass blew away the myth of an equal and prosperous Japan and were often seen as a problem to be disposed of.
Akane shook her head and refocused on the match, she had missed the start of the challenge match because of her absentmindedness. It wasn't looking good for Ranma in her limited experience of martial arts. It seemed that Nabiki was dictating the pace of the fight; Ranma was all over the place trying to avoid Nabiki's seemingly vicious blows. Despite this, she had to admire his skill, from the tournament fights she had seen, the fight was usually long finished by this stage.
He seemed to slide around Nabiki, blocking or dodging the fast paced attacks that were coming from Nabiki. Curiously, the hits that Nabiki slipped past his guard didn't seem to be fazing the young man at all. Wherever he had learnt anything goes it was very different from what they taught at their dojo, the longer she watched the fight, the more she couldn't help thinking that it was also a superior variation to the art they taught at their dojo.
*****
Kasumi glanced at her watch taking her attention away from the fight in front of her momentarily. Half an hour, it surprised her that the fight had been going so long though she didn't let the surprise show. Her sister was good but from the very first blows struck she knew who was going to win this fight. Why the ronin was dragging it on she didn't know it was as if he were plumbing the extent of her sister's skill.
'Yes, that makes sense,' she thought remembering the terms of the challenge. 'If I were teaching at another dojo, I too would want to know the skills of the other teachers. The question remains though, why he wants to teach here. As skilled as he is he could open his own school and steal half of our students.'
It was a question that plagued her, why would such a skilled martial artist want to teach at their dojo. Kasumi considered herself a little bit of a cynic and in a world where lesser martial arts schools had vanished into history her views had paid off. She couldn't see though why this obviously extremely skilled martial artist would want to teach at her families' dojo of all places.
No, when this fight was over she would have to confront him, privately. There was also the matter of where he had learnt her family school. Although what he was using seemed very different to the school Nabiki was using there were some basic similarities. Enough for him to be able to say that he was indeed using anything goes. The questions would have to wait until she could catch him alone though, his answers would no doubt anger her father and younger sister. Not that she cared too much, the school and its continuation was what was important.
Nabiki was getting tired and Kasumi was amazed that she had lasted so long. She was too easily baited, increasing her power enormously at the expense of technique, 'not that it would have made any difference' she almost snorted. Looking around she could see that Akane was engrossed in the fight, ' she would be, it's a rare treat for her' she thought dismissively, Soun just looked as if he believed that Nabiki still stood a chance.
Kasumi sighed - her father was getting old. She had heard that anything goes had the potential to extend life and health once a certain level had been reached. If there was any truth in those tales her father had never reached that level. Those fairy tales that passed themselves as history were fine for her youngest sister but she preferred to look to the future and what she saw in front of her oozed it. This skilled martial artist was just the revitalization their school needed to stay competitive.
A quick palm strike ended the match. Ranma it seemed had finally had enough, again to her eyes demonstrating his superiority by sliding through Nabiki's guard and knocking her into a wall.
"Match" the disbelief in her fathers voice was evident though not surprising, his faith in Nabiki seemed to supersede commonsense on occasion.
"Akane will prepare your room, classes start tomorrow." Announced Kasumi before leaving the dojo, early tomorrow would be a perfect time to confront him. Akane just nodded before hastily following Kasumi.
*****
After propping Nabiki more comfortably against a wall Ranma looked around at the dojo. The Tendo's really had done a marvelous job rebuilding it, it was a pleasure to once again fight in a real dojo. A feeling he hadn't realized he had been missing until now and it had been a challenging fight. He had not realized how much he would have to limit himself during the fight. Sure he had expected a great disparity between their skill levels but not quite as much as it been. Had he really improved so much or had his school decayed to the point where he could hardly classify them as martial artists at all.
Ranma walked past a gaping Soun as he exited the dojo. So much had been forgotten; even raging mad Nabiki couldn't generate a battle aura. Where once their school had specialized in mid air combat and adaptability it seemed that now it was as form driven as kendo with no particular specialty. Fighting Nabiki was almost as bad as fighting Kuno had been.
Kasumi was difficult to read, but during the fight he had paid particular attention to her reactions. She would be vital in any attempt to rebuild his school but he knew better than to only rely on his family. Happosai's multiple heirs came to mind making Ranma grin. So, the old man wasn't just after a harem of pretty bosoms after all. "I knew the dojo's position was a bad omen," he muttered as he jumped over the compounds walls. The positioning of the Dojo among such decay was one of the worse omens that had been borne out which he had seen in his lifetime. He would need to start rebuilding his school tonight while his progeny considered the thrashing their school took.
A pair of eyes widened at the sight of the level of skill displayed so effortlessly during his leap over the compounds walls, "perhaps the old histories aren't all fairytales, certainly something worth taking a closer look at."
*****
Rei was worried, since the local police force had started cleaning up the streets it had become harder for her and the other homeless to live. The streets had been racked by patrols of police whom more often than not detained the people they found. She like all the other people who lived in the old city were seen as little better than vermin. Who better to clean up the cities' vermin than a police force which was snugly in the politicians' pockets?
Rarely were the people detained by the armed police patrols seen again. This led to a giant game of cat and mouse between the AD police and those that tried eeking out a living on the streets. Life on the streets was already hard and it just got harder with the latest crack down on the cities' underclass. No longer was it just a matter of finding your next meal, a place to sleep and knowing whom to pay off and whom to avoid but you had to almost develop a sixth sense about when a patrol was going to sweep by. 'You'd think that with less people living on the streets it would be easier for the rest of us' she thought as she looked around at the people huddled over the fire. Having to be constantly on guard and ready to move at a moments notice had frayed her nerves to almost breaking. Rei hadn't had anything to eat for two days now and she knew that for some of the others she saw crowding around the fire it had been longer. Some of the people here tonight seemed to already be broken. The cities' police had a lot to answer for Rei thought angrily.
Scrambling over to the fire she attempted to warm herself, it hadn't always been like this. She clearly remembered having a home and a family. When the earthquake demolished her home it also destroyed her life. Her mother died saving her from the remains of their rapidly crumbling home and when her father couldn't get a job they had settled into life on the streets. Her father never gave up trying to get a job, but the number of rejections eroded his spirit. He died a lingering death, a death she had seen often on the faces of those around her.
Growing up on the street though gave her an edge when it came to surviving and it was often the difference between surviving another day and laying dead in the gutter. Despite living almost half her life in the slums of old Tokyo she never gave up looking for opportunities for getting back into mainstream society, leaving the life of poverty and despair. She had started her own horde and she knew that one-day, if that same lingering death that came with the sapping of the spirit didn't find her she would be free of this place.
Rei looked around at the faces illuminated by the flickering glow of the fire. In these deadly days of cat and mouse it was rare that she saw anyone. Everyone was too busy hiding from AD police patrols; still it would blow over like it had in the past. More pressing events would move the attentions of the politicians away from their home, leaving them to live as they had for the last ten years.
They had found a good place to gather. The noise of any patrol would be heard long before it arrived, echoing along the corridors of concrete and steel. There were just enough avenues of escape to prevent an ambush while providing easy retreat. She would have to remember this place for later if things got any hotter.
Almost as if thoughts of the approach of AD patrols summoned them, Rei heard the sound of someone approaching. Tensing at the sound she quickly relaxed when the sound resolved itself enough to identify the approach of one person on foot. Another slummer then, it was turning into quite the gathering. Rei wondered if it had been planned like that or whether it was just a coincidence. She shook her head; the police would… No could never be that subtle.
Rei blinked in surprise as she saw who approached, it was a woman slightly older than her wearing Chinese style silk and wearing her brilliant red hair in a pigtail. No AD policeman or woman would be stupid enough to enter the slums surrounding new Tokyo alone with no backup these days would they? Clearly she wasn't one of the homeless though, she looked too well fed for that and similar events in the past had scared of the other inhabitants of new Tokyo, so who was she?
Some of the men around her had grabbed some metal bars and clubs of wood not taking any chances about her allegiances. Rei tensed again wondering what she should do, she couldn't help the woman against so many people but equally she didn't want to flee. Something about the way the woman moved seemed to tickle her sixth sense, telling her that she was in no danger, rather it was the men that were threatening her that were in danger.
"Your in the wrong part of town lady," grumbled out one of the larger men. Rei had seen this before when the police decided to crack down five years ago. Some of the men had lost friends and decided that they needed some payback. She shuddered as she remembered some of the things that had happened, it had been a real loss of innocence for her. Not even the police deserved some of the things she had seen.
The police force had found some other things to occupy themselves after that and no one ever came visited the slums. They had developed a reputation of being a hard nut to crack and the politicians had found easier nuts. Since noone from the community ever visited they had developed they own underclass. Recently though the AD police had decided it was time for another clean up.
"I don't think so," the young woman whispered softly in response to the threat, she just continued her approach ignoring the men. As she got closer she looked straight at Rei. "Girl, let's talk.
You others get lost," Rei had to mentally shake herself to break eye contact. Was this what she had been waiting for the opportunity to escape to a better life? Her sixth sense continued to tingle but she was reluctant to commit to anything, the streets had taught her the folly of false hopes. Before she could respond though the men who had armed themselves at her approach attacked, they had apparently been offended by her tone.
"No," she heard herself yell, if this was her chance… Rei just blinked. The red haired woman stood in the middle of the street holding up the leader of the thugs by his hair, a seemingly impossible task being that he was almost double her size. The arm that had been holding a weapon was bent at an odd angle and his face was twisted in pain. "I will not ask again," the woman said, throwing the leaders pain wracked body at the rest of the men and continuing her approach. The men took the hint and scattered.
Rei just stared at the woman in front of her suddenly finding herself standing alone with the devil woman, "I didn't even see you move, how?" she stuttered.
"I will teach you if you want, for now I have an offer to make. Will you listen to what I have to say?" Rei just nodded dumbly a little overwhelmed by the whole situation and so was totally unprepared when the she-devil picked her up and started flying. Before she could scream or even voice her surprise and outrage at being manhandled though everything went dark as she lost consciousness.
*****
Nabiki sat slumped in her seat tired, aching and humiliated. The fact that she had lost didn't bother her so much as who she had lost to. She had been beaten before at the tournaments she attended to promote her school, though not by such a large margin. The people who beat her always had years more experience in the art and always came from highly recognized schools. 'Ranma' she thought with disgust had walked in off the street, no older than her and from no apparent school and thrashed her. Not only that but he had even beaten her with her own style, 'no, not her own style but a variation of it.'
"She lost," mumbled Soun. Her father seemed as astonished as she was. Kasumi was as cool as always and was probably thinking how she could use this to promote the school further.
"She didn't just lose father, she was thrashed and in our own style." Nabiki cast a sour look in Kasumi's direction but couldn't bring herself to reply. It wasn't worth the effort and she couldn't remember the last time she had ever hurt so much in her life.
"Yes and I want to know where he learnt it. As the oldest member of our style, I represent the highest authority in our school and to find out that there might be an alternate branch out there is intolerable." Her father seemed to be taking her loss well, considering that he had trained and pushed her all her life to be the best of her generation and to expand their faltering school. At least she could hope, it wasn't likely that he would forget about the loss and retribution would come in one form or another.
"We can always ask him," she again cast a sour look in her sister's direction "he will be teaching in this dojo for the next two weeks. I say the sooner we get rid of the foreign ronin the better."
"You're as short sighted as always Nabiki," Kasumi said barely glancing at her younger sister instead focusing on her father. "This is the best opportunity we've yet had to expand our school. Once news gets out that we have such a skilled master teaching here students will flock to our school. We have two weeks to find out were he learned anything goes, let's try not to alienate him. He could be an incredible asset but imagine if he set up a dojo in opposition to our own."
"Nabiki," Soun grunted, "by the end of the two weeks I want you to know everything there is too know about this new variation of our school. I doubt you'd be able to beat him, but if we do decide we would be better off without him lets limit any possible damage of expelling him." Nabiki almost groaned at the thought of future challenges, no doubt about it she was going to be sore for the next couple of weeks.
'Which is fine,' she thought to herself 'but I can't even figure out why I lost and until I can anything I can do counter this new variation will be wasted. ' She couldn't help but think that she and her family was still vastly underestimating what he was capable of, it didn't help that no one had thought to ask where he had vanished to after the match.
*****
Ranma roof hopped away from the sound of airships mingled with a contingent of ground vehicles. He had cut that a little too fine for his liking, as it was he had to effectively kidnap the girl. Still, he had taken such a possibility into account and was prepared for the event.
He looked down at the girl in his arms; it had astounded him to find such an ordered aura in a non-martial artist, it was comparable to Nabiki's and she had spent a lifetime practicing the arts, a fact that once again highlighted the degradation of his school. Ranma hadn't caught her name if indeed she had given it he had been to busy concentrating on the rapidly approaching patrol of what looked to be the local law enforcement.
Then there had been those bullyboys, which had tried to intimidate him. Ranma snorted, "tried." He had always disliked bullies and thugs and tried to avoid them where he could since confrontations usually ended like the one had today. The rumors that he had no doubt started would cause him trouble, it was a good thing he had come in female form. If he were careful about not fuelling the usual mass of rumors then they would quickly die down. He could almost see the devil hunters and men of god that would come.
That wasn't the only reason he had visited the slums female, he could sense the female chi in the girls aura. Nabiki had taught him the basics of negotiations and running a dojo had taught him the rest. Hard experience had shown him that in some cases negotiations went smother if he were one gender rather than the other, this he felt was one such case. His show of force with the thugs had also helped though he would have to be careful that the girl not develop some sort of hero worship for Ranko. It would prove troublesome when she found out about his curse and if he wanted her to be his student he would have to handle that subject with care.
Leaving the slums behind Ranma entered an apartment he had bought. In his life he had discovered that things never went smoothly and thus it was always a good idea to be prepared. Besides a well-stocked apartment would no doubt provide a more comfortable environment for what he had in mind to discuss with his potential student.
Thanks again for Betaing this Joe - though I hope it isnt destracting you from your own excellent fics
Ch3: The devil Ranko
Akane stared at the stranger facing off with her sister with worry. The pigtailed youth looked skilled but she knew from experience just how skilled Nabiki was and she was almost certain he would end up getting hurt. Facing an enraged Nabiki wasn't a fate she would wish on anybody; an enraged Nabiki was also a vicious one.
It required a much higher level of skill to defeat a berserk martial artist and she had heard of nobody that had that much of a jump on Nabiki.
With a worried frown she saw Ranma nod solemnly at Soun. Was it right to be so worried about the stranger when he had seemingly baited her sister into her current frenzy. A stranger that had treated her with kindness and equality. Or should she be rooting for her family, a family she hardly knew and had received few acts of kindness from.
It wasn't as bad as she made out – being a member of the Tendo family. There were some benefits and she was better off than those who had lost everything in the big earthquake ten years previously. It was kind of sad that boomer technology had not benefited everybody in the way it had benefited the rich. The earthquake had created a whole subclass of people living in the remains of old Tokyo, that subclass blew away the myth of an equal and prosperous Japan and were often seen as a problem to be disposed of.
Akane shook her head and refocused on the match, she had missed the start of the challenge match because of her absentmindedness. It wasn't looking good for Ranma in her limited experience of martial arts. It seemed that Nabiki was dictating the pace of the fight; Ranma was all over the place trying to avoid Nabiki's seemingly vicious blows. Despite this, she had to admire his skill, from the tournament fights she had seen, the fight was usually long finished by this stage.
He seemed to slide around Nabiki, blocking or dodging the fast paced attacks that were coming from Nabiki. Curiously, the hits that Nabiki slipped past his guard didn't seem to be fazing the young man at all. Wherever he had learnt anything goes it was very different from what they taught at their dojo, the longer she watched the fight, the more she couldn't help thinking that it was also a superior variation to the art they taught at their dojo.
*****
Kasumi glanced at her watch taking her attention away from the fight in front of her momentarily. Half an hour, it surprised her that the fight had been going so long though she didn't let the surprise show. Her sister was good but from the very first blows struck she knew who was going to win this fight. Why the ronin was dragging it on she didn't know it was as if he were plumbing the extent of her sister's skill.
'Yes, that makes sense,' she thought remembering the terms of the challenge. 'If I were teaching at another dojo, I too would want to know the skills of the other teachers. The question remains though, why he wants to teach here. As skilled as he is he could open his own school and steal half of our students.'
It was a question that plagued her, why would such a skilled martial artist want to teach at their dojo. Kasumi considered herself a little bit of a cynic and in a world where lesser martial arts schools had vanished into history her views had paid off. She couldn't see though why this obviously extremely skilled martial artist would want to teach at her families' dojo of all places.
No, when this fight was over she would have to confront him, privately. There was also the matter of where he had learnt her family school. Although what he was using seemed very different to the school Nabiki was using there were some basic similarities. Enough for him to be able to say that he was indeed using anything goes. The questions would have to wait until she could catch him alone though, his answers would no doubt anger her father and younger sister. Not that she cared too much, the school and its continuation was what was important.
Nabiki was getting tired and Kasumi was amazed that she had lasted so long. She was too easily baited, increasing her power enormously at the expense of technique, 'not that it would have made any difference' she almost snorted. Looking around she could see that Akane was engrossed in the fight, ' she would be, it's a rare treat for her' she thought dismissively, Soun just looked as if he believed that Nabiki still stood a chance.
Kasumi sighed - her father was getting old. She had heard that anything goes had the potential to extend life and health once a certain level had been reached. If there was any truth in those tales her father had never reached that level. Those fairy tales that passed themselves as history were fine for her youngest sister but she preferred to look to the future and what she saw in front of her oozed it. This skilled martial artist was just the revitalization their school needed to stay competitive.
A quick palm strike ended the match. Ranma it seemed had finally had enough, again to her eyes demonstrating his superiority by sliding through Nabiki's guard and knocking her into a wall.
"Match" the disbelief in her fathers voice was evident though not surprising, his faith in Nabiki seemed to supersede commonsense on occasion.
"Akane will prepare your room, classes start tomorrow." Announced Kasumi before leaving the dojo, early tomorrow would be a perfect time to confront him. Akane just nodded before hastily following Kasumi.
*****
After propping Nabiki more comfortably against a wall Ranma looked around at the dojo. The Tendo's really had done a marvelous job rebuilding it, it was a pleasure to once again fight in a real dojo. A feeling he hadn't realized he had been missing until now and it had been a challenging fight. He had not realized how much he would have to limit himself during the fight. Sure he had expected a great disparity between their skill levels but not quite as much as it been. Had he really improved so much or had his school decayed to the point where he could hardly classify them as martial artists at all.
Ranma walked past a gaping Soun as he exited the dojo. So much had been forgotten; even raging mad Nabiki couldn't generate a battle aura. Where once their school had specialized in mid air combat and adaptability it seemed that now it was as form driven as kendo with no particular specialty. Fighting Nabiki was almost as bad as fighting Kuno had been.
Kasumi was difficult to read, but during the fight he had paid particular attention to her reactions. She would be vital in any attempt to rebuild his school but he knew better than to only rely on his family. Happosai's multiple heirs came to mind making Ranma grin. So, the old man wasn't just after a harem of pretty bosoms after all. "I knew the dojo's position was a bad omen," he muttered as he jumped over the compounds walls. The positioning of the Dojo among such decay was one of the worse omens that had been borne out which he had seen in his lifetime. He would need to start rebuilding his school tonight while his progeny considered the thrashing their school took.
A pair of eyes widened at the sight of the level of skill displayed so effortlessly during his leap over the compounds walls, "perhaps the old histories aren't all fairytales, certainly something worth taking a closer look at."
*****
Rei was worried, since the local police force had started cleaning up the streets it had become harder for her and the other homeless to live. The streets had been racked by patrols of police whom more often than not detained the people they found. She like all the other people who lived in the old city were seen as little better than vermin. Who better to clean up the cities' vermin than a police force which was snugly in the politicians' pockets?
Rarely were the people detained by the armed police patrols seen again. This led to a giant game of cat and mouse between the AD police and those that tried eeking out a living on the streets. Life on the streets was already hard and it just got harder with the latest crack down on the cities' underclass. No longer was it just a matter of finding your next meal, a place to sleep and knowing whom to pay off and whom to avoid but you had to almost develop a sixth sense about when a patrol was going to sweep by. 'You'd think that with less people living on the streets it would be easier for the rest of us' she thought as she looked around at the people huddled over the fire. Having to be constantly on guard and ready to move at a moments notice had frayed her nerves to almost breaking. Rei hadn't had anything to eat for two days now and she knew that for some of the others she saw crowding around the fire it had been longer. Some of the people here tonight seemed to already be broken. The cities' police had a lot to answer for Rei thought angrily.
Scrambling over to the fire she attempted to warm herself, it hadn't always been like this. She clearly remembered having a home and a family. When the earthquake demolished her home it also destroyed her life. Her mother died saving her from the remains of their rapidly crumbling home and when her father couldn't get a job they had settled into life on the streets. Her father never gave up trying to get a job, but the number of rejections eroded his spirit. He died a lingering death, a death she had seen often on the faces of those around her.
Growing up on the street though gave her an edge when it came to surviving and it was often the difference between surviving another day and laying dead in the gutter. Despite living almost half her life in the slums of old Tokyo she never gave up looking for opportunities for getting back into mainstream society, leaving the life of poverty and despair. She had started her own horde and she knew that one-day, if that same lingering death that came with the sapping of the spirit didn't find her she would be free of this place.
Rei looked around at the faces illuminated by the flickering glow of the fire. In these deadly days of cat and mouse it was rare that she saw anyone. Everyone was too busy hiding from AD police patrols; still it would blow over like it had in the past. More pressing events would move the attentions of the politicians away from their home, leaving them to live as they had for the last ten years.
They had found a good place to gather. The noise of any patrol would be heard long before it arrived, echoing along the corridors of concrete and steel. There were just enough avenues of escape to prevent an ambush while providing easy retreat. She would have to remember this place for later if things got any hotter.
Almost as if thoughts of the approach of AD patrols summoned them, Rei heard the sound of someone approaching. Tensing at the sound she quickly relaxed when the sound resolved itself enough to identify the approach of one person on foot. Another slummer then, it was turning into quite the gathering. Rei wondered if it had been planned like that or whether it was just a coincidence. She shook her head; the police would… No could never be that subtle.
Rei blinked in surprise as she saw who approached, it was a woman slightly older than her wearing Chinese style silk and wearing her brilliant red hair in a pigtail. No AD policeman or woman would be stupid enough to enter the slums surrounding new Tokyo alone with no backup these days would they? Clearly she wasn't one of the homeless though, she looked too well fed for that and similar events in the past had scared of the other inhabitants of new Tokyo, so who was she?
Some of the men around her had grabbed some metal bars and clubs of wood not taking any chances about her allegiances. Rei tensed again wondering what she should do, she couldn't help the woman against so many people but equally she didn't want to flee. Something about the way the woman moved seemed to tickle her sixth sense, telling her that she was in no danger, rather it was the men that were threatening her that were in danger.
"Your in the wrong part of town lady," grumbled out one of the larger men. Rei had seen this before when the police decided to crack down five years ago. Some of the men had lost friends and decided that they needed some payback. She shuddered as she remembered some of the things that had happened, it had been a real loss of innocence for her. Not even the police deserved some of the things she had seen.
The police force had found some other things to occupy themselves after that and no one ever came visited the slums. They had developed a reputation of being a hard nut to crack and the politicians had found easier nuts. Since noone from the community ever visited they had developed they own underclass. Recently though the AD police had decided it was time for another clean up.
"I don't think so," the young woman whispered softly in response to the threat, she just continued her approach ignoring the men. As she got closer she looked straight at Rei. "Girl, let's talk.
You others get lost," Rei had to mentally shake herself to break eye contact. Was this what she had been waiting for the opportunity to escape to a better life? Her sixth sense continued to tingle but she was reluctant to commit to anything, the streets had taught her the folly of false hopes. Before she could respond though the men who had armed themselves at her approach attacked, they had apparently been offended by her tone.
"No," she heard herself yell, if this was her chance… Rei just blinked. The red haired woman stood in the middle of the street holding up the leader of the thugs by his hair, a seemingly impossible task being that he was almost double her size. The arm that had been holding a weapon was bent at an odd angle and his face was twisted in pain. "I will not ask again," the woman said, throwing the leaders pain wracked body at the rest of the men and continuing her approach. The men took the hint and scattered.
Rei just stared at the woman in front of her suddenly finding herself standing alone with the devil woman, "I didn't even see you move, how?" she stuttered.
"I will teach you if you want, for now I have an offer to make. Will you listen to what I have to say?" Rei just nodded dumbly a little overwhelmed by the whole situation and so was totally unprepared when the she-devil picked her up and started flying. Before she could scream or even voice her surprise and outrage at being manhandled though everything went dark as she lost consciousness.
*****
Nabiki sat slumped in her seat tired, aching and humiliated. The fact that she had lost didn't bother her so much as who she had lost to. She had been beaten before at the tournaments she attended to promote her school, though not by such a large margin. The people who beat her always had years more experience in the art and always came from highly recognized schools. 'Ranma' she thought with disgust had walked in off the street, no older than her and from no apparent school and thrashed her. Not only that but he had even beaten her with her own style, 'no, not her own style but a variation of it.'
"She lost," mumbled Soun. Her father seemed as astonished as she was. Kasumi was as cool as always and was probably thinking how she could use this to promote the school further.
"She didn't just lose father, she was thrashed and in our own style." Nabiki cast a sour look in Kasumi's direction but couldn't bring herself to reply. It wasn't worth the effort and she couldn't remember the last time she had ever hurt so much in her life.
"Yes and I want to know where he learnt it. As the oldest member of our style, I represent the highest authority in our school and to find out that there might be an alternate branch out there is intolerable." Her father seemed to be taking her loss well, considering that he had trained and pushed her all her life to be the best of her generation and to expand their faltering school. At least she could hope, it wasn't likely that he would forget about the loss and retribution would come in one form or another.
"We can always ask him," she again cast a sour look in her sister's direction "he will be teaching in this dojo for the next two weeks. I say the sooner we get rid of the foreign ronin the better."
"You're as short sighted as always Nabiki," Kasumi said barely glancing at her younger sister instead focusing on her father. "This is the best opportunity we've yet had to expand our school. Once news gets out that we have such a skilled master teaching here students will flock to our school. We have two weeks to find out were he learned anything goes, let's try not to alienate him. He could be an incredible asset but imagine if he set up a dojo in opposition to our own."
"Nabiki," Soun grunted, "by the end of the two weeks I want you to know everything there is too know about this new variation of our school. I doubt you'd be able to beat him, but if we do decide we would be better off without him lets limit any possible damage of expelling him." Nabiki almost groaned at the thought of future challenges, no doubt about it she was going to be sore for the next couple of weeks.
'Which is fine,' she thought to herself 'but I can't even figure out why I lost and until I can anything I can do counter this new variation will be wasted. ' She couldn't help but think that she and her family was still vastly underestimating what he was capable of, it didn't help that no one had thought to ask where he had vanished to after the match.
*****
Ranma roof hopped away from the sound of airships mingled with a contingent of ground vehicles. He had cut that a little too fine for his liking, as it was he had to effectively kidnap the girl. Still, he had taken such a possibility into account and was prepared for the event.
He looked down at the girl in his arms; it had astounded him to find such an ordered aura in a non-martial artist, it was comparable to Nabiki's and she had spent a lifetime practicing the arts, a fact that once again highlighted the degradation of his school. Ranma hadn't caught her name if indeed she had given it he had been to busy concentrating on the rapidly approaching patrol of what looked to be the local law enforcement.
Then there had been those bullyboys, which had tried to intimidate him. Ranma snorted, "tried." He had always disliked bullies and thugs and tried to avoid them where he could since confrontations usually ended like the one had today. The rumors that he had no doubt started would cause him trouble, it was a good thing he had come in female form. If he were careful about not fuelling the usual mass of rumors then they would quickly die down. He could almost see the devil hunters and men of god that would come.
That wasn't the only reason he had visited the slums female, he could sense the female chi in the girls aura. Nabiki had taught him the basics of negotiations and running a dojo had taught him the rest. Hard experience had shown him that in some cases negotiations went smother if he were one gender rather than the other, this he felt was one such case. His show of force with the thugs had also helped though he would have to be careful that the girl not develop some sort of hero worship for Ranko. It would prove troublesome when she found out about his curse and if he wanted her to be his student he would have to handle that subject with care.
Leaving the slums behind Ranma entered an apartment he had bought. In his life he had discovered that things never went smoothly and thus it was always a good idea to be prepared. Besides a well-stocked apartment would no doubt provide a more comfortable environment for what he had in mind to discuss with his potential student.