Saiyans Lost
Chapter 4:
He felt his heartbeat throbbing loudly and regularly in his temples as he frowned in concentration. Eyes closed he focused on his aura as he vaguely took in and noted the fuzzy words being murmurred by Ranma as he finally just relaxed. With a sigh, he let everything go. He was closer now to realizing pure acceptance of everything he was than he ever had been before. Who and what he truly was were becoming gradually clearer to him. Things he'd never guessed about himself were starting to make sense.
"Hey, your doing it man!"
Ryoga opened his eyes and frowned down at Ranma. Opening his mouth to hurl a few insults at his rival when he realized just how far down he was looking. He blinked in startlement at his feet where they hovered a little over two and a half feet above the backyard at Capsule Corp. the day after he'd arrived.
He grinned, "Hey, it's that easy?"
"Easy?" Ryoga turned to Vegeta as the man stepped out of the house. "It only took you all morning to learn how to hover a few measly feet. Now, I will spar with Ranma."
Ryoga frowned, but Ranma stepped right up and fell into a stance. Ryoga studied Ranma seriously for a moment before slowly backing up to the relative safety of the patio. He watched as Vegeta began attacking Ranma, the boy merely blocking and dodging most of the time except for a few precise blows that he threw only when he knew they would not only hit, but actually accomplish something.
He watched in amazement as the pair simply gradually increased their speed until the point that Ryoga was straining to even see their bodies, let alone make out their actual attacks. He was frowning, obvious strain showing on his brow, when he heard the door open behind him.
"Hey, Ryoga, right?"
He turned to see the short man known as Krillin smiling from the open patio door. Ryoga nodded and turned to face him, "Yeah, that's right. Need something?"
"Nah, Akane just thought you would want to sit in with us for her training today."
Ryoga shrugged and followed the other man down and around the bowels of Capsule Corp. to a room on the second floor. Krillin opened the door and went on in without a backwards glance at the Lost Boy. Ryoga studied the living room quickly, skimming his gaze over the couches and the television. It was a nice place, almost ritzy compared to the Tendos' place. His eyes fell to Akane where she was curled comfortably on the couch. She smiled and waved him over.
Ryoga sat on the couch, self-consciously leaving a large space between them, while the short bald guy sat across the coffee table from the two teens in an armchair.
"Okay, so where were we Akane?"
She frowned and huffed, "I was trying to get more control over my ki. I never have had much control, I guess, with my temper and all." She didn't seem happy to be admitting any of it, but Ryoga was immensly proud of her anyway.
Krillin waved a hand negligently, "Hey, who cares if ya have a temper? I mean, look at Vegeta. He's the meanest guy I've met and his temper is even worse, but he's the strongest guy around right now aside from Goku."
She perked up and leaned forward, "Really? Me losing my temper and getting all angry doesn't affect my ki abilities?"
Krillin nodded, "Of course not. You don't have to get rid of your anger, just use it as a funnel when you do lose your temper. Focus everything through your feelings, no matter what they are, and it can only help. Of course, it's stronger and easier just to grab your energy at your own disposal."
She pondered those thoughts silently, nodding after a moment, then sitting back and biting her lip as she thought his words through. Krillin, meanwhile, turned back to Ryoga.
"Let me guess, you're used to using ki through emotions like Ranma was, right?"
Ryoga nodded, "Yeah, that's how we were taught. I use depression." He looked away at the startlement on the man's face. "I never thought you wouldn't need emotions to harness ki before."
"Well," Krillin said, "There's more to it than just feeling inside yourself for power. Akane here has a lot of energy naturally, she just doesn't have much control. That's why her flying is still errattic. She has a lot of power that she just tosses about. It makes her tired fast because she can't hold back anything, she just pours every ounce of ki into the smallest tasks."
Ryoga nodded, it made sense. "I'm getting used to just harnessing my ki without an emotional channel."
Krillin grinned, "Good! Why don't you hold out your hand then, and make a small ball of ki about the size of an orange."
Ryoga shrugged and held out a hand palm up, concentrating hard as he reached deep inside himself. He searched for a heartbeat, then found the warm swirling mass that was his ki. He reached out and tried to pluck just a small amount of that ki outward. His aura surged ever so slightly to the point that he would have given a very faint glow in a dark room, then a ball of ki appeared in his palm. It was slighlty larger than Krillin had asked for, but not by much.
"Good, now try to shrink it down as far as you can. Concentrate on condencing it, not getting rid or it."
Ryoga nodded curtly, then frowned down at his hand in concentration. He imagined every little speck of the energy in his palm going inward towards each other, and eliminating any space between them. The ball did shrink, but no more than an inch or two in diameter. He frowned, then concentrated once more, this time on wrapping each 'speck' around another, making one small ball out of countless others. Now he had a ki ball in his hand about the size of a grape.
He looked up at Krillin and raised an eyebrow. "How's that?"
"Great. You do have a lot of control actually--"
The ki in his palm flashed brightly, then exploded suddenly outward in a display of pyrotechnics that would have made an appropriate finale at any festival. Ryoga wilted slightly, shoulders slumping as he stared at his slightly singed hand. Nothing else in the room seemed really affected, for which he was grateful.
"Sorry, hope I didn't burn any of your stuff."
Surprisingly, it was Akane who answered, "Oh, it's okay Ryoga, most of this is Bulma's anyway, and I don't think anything got burnt."
Ryoga turned to her and blinked in confusion, "This is your room?"
She nodded, "Yeah, well, mine and Ranma's at least. Isn't Bulma great to give us such a great place?"
He nodded slowly, thinking to himself, 'they're living together?' "Uh, sure." He wanted to curl up and die. She wasn't screaming about the pervert sleeping in the same room as her or that Ranma was a jerk or anything. In fact, the two of them had seemed rather happy together in the breif times Ryoga had seen them together.
"Uh, if you'll excuse me a minute . . ." He got up and left the room, not really sure where he was going as long as he found a queit place to think. He looked up a moment later, surprised that not only had he found his way out of the room, he'd apparently left the building. He sighed and started walking, wondering why he hadn't noticed a forest around Capsule Corp. earlier.
Ranma panted and dragged himself onto a patio chair. Vegeta hadn't been going easy on him, but at least he didn't need a dunk in the tank today. He studied the cuts and bruises, knowing they'd heal up in time for their spar the next day. He leaned back with a smile and closed his eyes. He'd gotten much stronger in his six months training with Prince Vegeta. He could throw off ki blasts like nothing now, and flying sure was handy.
"Son?"
He opened his eyes and smiled at his mother as she stepped out onto the patio. "Hey Mom, how's everything going?"
Concern glinted obviously in her eyes, "Ranma, are you alright?" She curled her hands compulsivly around the katana she gripped in her hands.
He nodded and made a show of jumping to his feet and gesturing to the chair next to the one he'd claimed. "Sure, just a little tired. I'm glad I'll get to spend some time with you now. I'll just be real busy training for the androids and all."
She smiled in relief and sat calmly, setting the Soatome family sword on the table. "Ranma, you have brought a great deal of honor to our family by being taken on as King Vegeta's student."
He shrugged and sat down, "Well, it's not like he had a lotta choice, since Saiyans don't exactly grow on trees."
"None the less, I hear he has seen great promise in you, and you have vastly improved from the skills described to me that you had supposedly posessed before you began training with King Vegeta." She paused and began unwrapping the katana, which she then held out to him. "Ranma, you are now head of the Soatome family. I have no doubt that you could defeat your father easily and repeatedly now. Take this, and lead our family well and into safety."
He nodded slowly and reached out. As his fingers curled around the hilt, she released her grip. "Uh, Mom, I don't know much about swordsmanship."
"That's fine, Ranma, I shall teach you what I know. I have no doubt that you will learn it quickly." She paused and seemed to be deciding on something important. "Ranma, I've decided that your father isn't--"
"Ranma?"
Mother and child looked up as Akane and Krillin stepped out onto the patio with worried expressions. "Ranma, have you seen Ryoga? He was training with Akane and I, but he just sort of disappeared a few hours ago."
Ranma slapped his forehead, all traces of the mature young man accepting the mantle of his family's authority swiftly swept away. "The idiot managed to get lost again. Hold on." He closed his eyes and reached out. After a moment, he nodded. "Yeah, found him. I'll go get him and show him the way back."
AKane sighed in relief, "Good, I'll come too--"
Krillin cleared his throat and held up a hand, "Hold on, you and I can still train some before dinner ya know."
She frowned but nodded, "Okay. Let's go." She turned to Nodoka and bowed, "See you at dinner, Auntie Nodoka."
"Yes, dear."
Ranma waved at everyone and stood up before taking a few steps away and shooting into the sky. A few minutes later he was flying over the northern end of Japan, scanning the ground below him with his newly honed ability to sense ki. Finally he found the familiar signature that identifiede Ryoga and he descended into a small park. The Lost Boy was sitting on a log by a pond, throwing rocks from the gravel path into the water.
"Hey man, wandered off again, didn't you?"
Ryoga looked up angrily from the log, "You've done it, haven't you? You finally won."
Ranma stopped mid-step, "Uh, what did I win?"
With a snarl, Ryoga shot to his feet. "You've won Akane's heart and stolen the one shred of happiness that I had left! Must you always ruin my life, Soatome?"
Ranma froze, everything becoming clear. "We have become close since we moved to Capsule Corp., but I don't know about winning her heart or anything . . ."
Ryoga snarled once more and threw his handful of rocks into the pond, sending the ducks flying away in frantic fear for their lives. "Oh please, I've seen the way her eyes look when she talks about you. How she smiles when someone mentions your name. Heck, you're even sleeping together."
"Gah! No Ryoga, it's not like that. We're not sleeping together, just sleeping togehter, ya know?"
Ryoga blinked, "Huh? No I don't get it! It's exactly the same!"
Ranma shook his hands wildly in front of him, "No, we're not, well, you know, we just sleep int the same bed. We don't do anything."
Ryoga stared angrily into Ranma's eyes for a moment, then visibly deflated and sank onto the log once more. "It doesn't matter. She's too good for me anyway. I'll never defeat you Ranma. From what everyone says, Saiyans are just too powerful for Humans to fight."
"That's right, earthling."
Ranma groaned, "Aw man, what are you doing here Vegeta?"
"That annoying woman known as Bulma wants you two back home for dinner. She was harping in my ear and I decided it was safer for my ears to do as she said. She should learn respect for a Saiyan prince, perhaps from your mother." Hovering over the heads of the two boys, he continued, "Saiyans grow stronger with every battle, whether victory or defeat. We are physically capable of far more strength than humans could ever dream of."
Ranma rolled his eyes. "Yeah, whatever, we'll be back soon."
Vegeta glared from his position twenty feet in the air. "Well make it quick so she'll quit snapping at me." He flew off, mumbling to himself.
"Look, Ryoga, you really are one of the best and only friends I've ever had. I'm sorry we've had so many problems, but with the world in danger and all, can't we just try and be friends?"
Ryoga looked out over the pond silently for a long minute, then stood. "I don't know about friends, but I'll forgive you for loving Akane since that's not really something you could control." He looked up with a sad, wry smile, "After all, I fell for her too, didn't I?"
Ranma smiled, and reached out a hand. Ryoga took it and after a brief shake, looked around. "So, uh, where are we?"
Ranma shook his head, "Here, I'll teach you a trick."
Ryoga landed outside Capsule Corp., if a little shakily, with a triumphand smirk. He could sense ki much better now, enough that he could now find Ranma, Vegeta, or Krillin easily no matter where they were in the world. Now, the problem would be getting somewhere where there weren't any powerful fighters around. Ranma landed lightly beside him and clapped him on the back.
"See man, didn't I tell ya it would work?"
Ryoga smiled and nodded, still caught up in the euphoria of finding his own way home so quickly and unaided. The two boys stepped into the building and followed the sounds of a loud argument in the dining room.
"If they miss this great meal that Nodoka and I made just because you were too impatient to bring them back, I'll--"
"You'll what, woman? Hit me? Go ahead, I won't even notice so--" *Clang* "Are you MAD woman?"
"Bulma, I must insist that you quit attempting bodily harm on His Majesty."
"You realize you aren't helping matters, don't you Nodoka? He may have been your prince at one point, but you wouldn't be a legal resident of that planet even if it did still exist!"
Ranma and Ryoga cautiausly poked their heads into the dining room. Nodoka and Bulma were facing off, Nodoka's calm if annoyed expression the exact opposite of Bulma's violent one. Bulma was still holding the giant wok where it rested on Vegeta's head, the warrior silently seething with closed eyes and clenched fists as rice fell from the wok into his hair.
"Uh, we're home?"
Bulma 'humph'ed and slammed the wok onto the table as Krillin and Akane struggled to hold their laughter in check from their seats at the table. Nodoka turned a warm smiled to the boys and gestured to their seats as Vegeta impatiently flung rice from his hair and angrily sat down. Bulma's parents were calmly discussing their sick dog they'd taken in that morning, oblivious to the conversation.
"That will keep a slightly warm field just around your skin that will warm any water that gets near ya. The hard part is instinctively keeping it up constantly. If ya forget, you'll get hit and it's all over."
Ryoga nodded and settled his aura in place. "I'll keep that in mind."
Ranma nodded and glanced around before leaning in and whispering, "You'd better, Akane still doesn't know you're P-chan, and I don't think she'd be happy if she found out what had really been sleeping in her bed all this time."
Ryoga burned a bright crimson and gave a stiff nod before turning and walking up to the door. "Uh, Ryoga buddy, that's the closet. Go a little left, no, other left, yeah, that's it, now turn right, okay, you're the next door on the right."
Ranma cocked his head until he heard the quiet sound of the next door down the hall opening and closing before turning back to the television. It was several minutes later when the door opened once more. Ranma reached for another bite of popcorn.
"Ryoga, you had the right door the first time. I swear, you could get lost in a paper bag."
Arms wrapped around his neck, "You should be nicer to Ryoga." He froze at the soft voice in his ear, swallowing with a loud 'gulp' as Akane pulled away with a giggle. "There's a great movie coming on in half an hour. Do you wanna watch it with me?"
He looked at the screen. His movie wasn't going off for another hour. He sighed very, very softly before turning with a falsely bright smile to his fiancee, "Sure Akane!"
She smiled at him as she opened the bathroom door, a pile of clothes in her hands. "Great! I'll just get a quick bath then!"
He nodded with his smile straining, letting it relax as soon as the door closed. He looked at the screen as the hero bounced around in an entirely false fight scene. Oh well, it wasn't that great of a movie anyway.
The bubbles were nice, and she didn't usually use them. The water was warm, she'd lit a candle, and the shampoo was herbal. This was the life. She'd been feeling entirely too boyish lately. She trained all day with Ranma, Krillin, Ryoga, or any combination of the three. Vegeta never seemed to notice her, let alone express a wish to train her. She shrugged, it was fine with her. That guy made her entirely too nervous anyway. Ranma was practically in love with the guy, however, with the way he went on and on all the time. 'Vegeta did this . . .' or 'Vegeta says . . .' all day.
She smiled and sank into the water a little further at the thought of Ranma. Yes, she wanted to feel a little more girly when she was around Ranma. Lately, he'd made her feel girly. He was more courteous than he used to be, and was treating her more as an equal. She'd gathered from Nodoka that women fighters were considered equals of the male ones to the Saiyans, so maybe Vegeta had said something to Ranma.
She sighed and stretched, glancing at the clock. She'd better get out if she wanted to watch that movie with Ranma. She got out and dried off quickly, toweling her hair off before brushing it out quickly. She slipped on her nightgown and robe. She studied herself in the mirror with a frown. She didn't look very girlish.
She shrugged, well, the lights would be off anyway for the movie, and Ranma wouldn't notice if she walked out in a Teddy and fishnet stalkings. She walked out into the living room, content with the thought that Ranma and she were at least becoming friends now. She settled onto the couch beside him, leaning over and resting her head on his shoulder. He stiffened for a second or two, but then relaxed and offered her the popcorn. Yeah, things were looking up, aside from two androids coming that were going to attempt to ruin life as she knew it.
"You what?!" Slack-jawed Ranma studied his mother as she sipped her tea.
"Ranma, I can not abide with the treatent you suffered at the hands of your father. He holds no favor with me anymore. I have not laid eyes upon him since I was informed of the results of your training trip. I have discussed it with Vegeta, and he agrees that it is a small miracle that you turned out as well as you did with that man's genes in you."
Ranma jerked to his feet, "So you divorced Pop?"
She nodded and finished up her tea. Gathering the items from the table, she stood. "Actually, since he was gone for so long without a word, I claimed abandonment. He is no longer a member of our legal family."
Ranma sat down heavily as his mother left the room. This was completely unexpected. He never would have guessed that his mother was capable of this drastic action. He thought she'd be honor bound to stick with the marraige. Sure, Pop had made a couple mistakes, but Ranma had learned a lot from the old panda.
He stared off at the stars, thinking back to how clear the skies were up in the mountains with no cities or other people around. He'd had fond memories of the training trip, too. He would have to put some thought into this new development.
Months passed, then a couple of years, with only a single brief visit from Genma before Vegeta 'hinted' that Tomegen was not welcome. Ryoga didn't quite catch up to Ranma, but he was pretty close. Akane passed up Yamcha and Ranma was forced to agree that she could come when the androids attacked. Akane was a little stronger than Ranma had been before Vegeta's coming to the dojo, but she still felt weak. She stood back and watched Vegeta and Ranma spar every day while performing amazing feats that left both herself and Ryoga speachless. When the two Saiyans would pause for a break, Vegeta would demand that Ryoga spar with Akane. He would watch silently until they finished, then give concise notes on what they did wrong.
She shrugged mentally, it was more attention than he gave her when she'd first arrived. Ryoga always won of course, but she gave a good fight. For some reason Ryoga always seemed angry with her when they sparred, but that he was hiding it deep inside himself. She shrugged and slipped her gi on before stepping into the hall and heading toward the gravity room.
She keyed the door open, and froze. Nodoka pulled away from Vegeta, but the warrior's arms didn't give and she blushed furiously. "Akane, what a surprise . . ."
"Hey Akane, you're early aren't you?" Ranma stepped up behind her in the hallway, also freezing when he caught sight of the pair in the gravity room, a discarded tray of tea paraphanelia on the ground at their feet. "Mom, Vegeta?"
"Good morning, Ranma, did you sleep well?"
He stared blankly at his mother as Vegeta finally released her and snatched up the tray. He looked down at it for a moment before handing it brusquely to Nodoka. "Thanks," he muttered, then turned to Akane and Ranma. "Well? What are you standing there for?"
The two teens stumbled into the room and made way for Nodoka on her way out the door. Vegeta was instructing them to pair up as Ryoga stumbled into the room. "Sorry I'm late, I'm still getting the hang of not getting lost." He studied the stunned expressions of Ranma and Akane. "Did I miss something?"
Vegeta growled and barked, "Get over here and spar with Ranma. Akane, you and I will go next."
Ranma grumbled to himself and stormed out the door of Capsule Corp. to the throw himself into a lawn chair with a flare of his aura. He began to fidget and jerk a hand through his hair.
"Hits ya like a ton of bricks, doesn't it?" He looked up to see Bulma sitting on the grass nearby, staring at the sky with her knees drawn up to her chest. Her back was mostly to him, so he couldn't see her face until she turned a shaky smile toward him.
"You think you've got it bad that your mother is hooking up with Vegeta, but trust me, it's nothing compared to my problem."
He glared sulkily at her, "What's your problem Bulma? Your family's rich, you're smart, you're pretty, and you're great at what you do without even trying. Where exactly it the problem?"
She continued to smily sadly as a tear slid down her cheek. Shaking her head slightly she looked up at the sky once more and giggled hysterically for a second, "Oh, nothing too big, I'm just pregnant with Vegeta's child."
Ranma winced and bit his lip for a moment before standing and walking over to the woman. He sat stiffly down beside her and wrapped his arms around her. She returned the embrace and cried into his shoulder. He sighed in frustration. Due to the recent turmoil, he'd dropped his sheilds. Bulma's tears had activated his curse for the first time in months.
She sighed and glanced about, the wind blowing her black pants (much like Ranma's) and her yellow gi top. Hard to believe such a peaceful scene would soon be broken by a horror beyond words. Bulma was clutching baby Trunks tightly to her chest, Nodoka standing on the other side of Vegeta with her heavily pregnant stomach. Vegeta paid little attention to either woman as he studied the city beneath them with a frown. Bulma alternated between angry and resigned glares at the Saiyan prince's back, while Nodoka favored her second husband with doting looks.
Bulma had confided in Akane in the last months of the woman's pregnancy. She'd given up on Vegeta, but that didn't mean she had to like it. According to official records, Trunks had no father.
Akane looked up with a smile as she felt Gohan and Goku arriving with Krillin. The three of them landed next to Akane, Ranma, Ryoga, and Krillin where they stood at the edge of the cliff. Goku had come on occasion over the last few years to train a bit with the three teens from Nerima. Just when Akane would fall into a slump, Goku would come for a visit to Capsule Corp. and make a small comment that opened up whole new doors to the girl. The man had a calming presence that everyone seemed to notice and lean on.
"Hey everyone, how's it going?"
Ranma grinned and continued to finger the hilt of his sword as he had been all day, "Hey Goku, we're as good as we can be with a couple a androids coming to kill us."
Goku laughed but everyone else gave Ranma stunned expressions. Goku's eyes fell to Bulma and the baby, and he ran over with a grin. "Hey Bulma, who's this?"
"This is my little Trunks. Isn't he prescious?" The baby looked up with a surly expression and sighed angrily. Everyone laughed and Goku began making faces, causing the baby's frown to disappear. Vegeta grumbled and walked over beside Ranma.
"Are you certain you want to take that silly blade with you into battle?"
Ranma shot his mother a smile, "Yeah, I am."
"Fine," he shrugged, "it's your life. Don't let it get in the way."
"I won't." He then turned back to watch the city. "Shouldn't they be here soon?" He sighed and started to pace, sending his senses out to scan the city.
Krillin shuddered and looked up from little Trunks, "Hey man, don't rush things. Maybe he won't show up after all. The kid did say that things could change from what he knew."
Ranma shook his head, "Nah, I can't see what could have caused that big of a change. I'm sure we'll have to fight these things eventually."
Bulma stepped slightly forward with a confused expression, "But didn't you say that he'd never heard of you? Isn't it odd that you three just appeared in our world and not his, but before he came and changed things?"
Ranma shrugged, "Who knows. I never would have believed time travel was possible."
That brightened Bulma up, "Yeah, isn't it great? I can't wait to do a few experiments with what the boy told me. That's my next planned experiment actually!" She grinned happily as Goku handed Trunks back to her.
"Hey, that'd be great Bulma! I'd like to go into the future and fight myself for a good spar! I'm bound to be stronger in the future."
Bulma shook her head and started to answer when a loud explosion rocked the cliffside. Like a shot the warriors hit the skies. Goku gestured broadly around the city. "Spread out! Send a signal up if you find them."
They seperated in sparks to different sections of the city. Akane followed Ranma out of habit and the two of them landed in a deserted street. She glanced around and stepped aside as some piece of cloth blew past her. Ranma wasn't paying any attention to her as he scanned the area as well, so she shrugged, walking off with her senses wide to catch any trace of the androids.
Ryoga was with Yamcha. Not because he wanted to be with him in particular, but Yamcha was about the only one aside from Akane that he could keep up with when flying, and he didn't want to get lost again, which had happened a couple of times when he slipped and dropped his awareness of the others' ki over the months. Yamcha was shaking nervously and glancing about franticly as Ryoga calmly scanned the streets and buildings.
"C'mon man, tell me again why we're doing this? There's no way either of us can stand up to these androids if they're as strong as that kid said they would be."
Ryoga sent his companion a scathing look, "You know, that's your problem. If you just believed in yourself, you'd double your worth in this whole thing."
Shaking his head, Ryoga wandered off. After glancing about nervously once more, Yamcha followed.
Piccolo was by himself, but not far from Goku or Gohan. He didn't see a thing, and he didn't sense anything either. He was beginning to think this whole thing was some elaborate hoax, but he'd seen the boy defeat Frieza and he'd felt Trunk's power. No, this was real and he was determined to defeat this new threat.
Now, if only he could find those androids . . .
End of Chapter 4, Saiyans Lost.
Author's notes:
You know, I don't feel any great need to go into the Android saga. There isn't a whole lot that can change. Ranma's getting strong and will obviously help, but Gohan will still end up being the one to defeat Cell. After all, Ranma hasn't had a lot of time to really train. By the time the androids arrive, he'll be just below Vegeta and Gohan. I see him becoming great friends with future Trunks as they're the only other teenaged Saiyans they'll ever meet.
How about Nodoka and Vegeta? Quite an odd relationship, but I like it. It's different. Anyway, I'm already starting the next Chapter, so get ready! Next time I'll be skipping ahead to just before the whole Buu deal. I want to get some good background in about what has happened between now and then with Ranma and everyone so the changes will be evident.
Chapter 4:
He felt his heartbeat throbbing loudly and regularly in his temples as he frowned in concentration. Eyes closed he focused on his aura as he vaguely took in and noted the fuzzy words being murmurred by Ranma as he finally just relaxed. With a sigh, he let everything go. He was closer now to realizing pure acceptance of everything he was than he ever had been before. Who and what he truly was were becoming gradually clearer to him. Things he'd never guessed about himself were starting to make sense.
"Hey, your doing it man!"
Ryoga opened his eyes and frowned down at Ranma. Opening his mouth to hurl a few insults at his rival when he realized just how far down he was looking. He blinked in startlement at his feet where they hovered a little over two and a half feet above the backyard at Capsule Corp. the day after he'd arrived.
He grinned, "Hey, it's that easy?"
"Easy?" Ryoga turned to Vegeta as the man stepped out of the house. "It only took you all morning to learn how to hover a few measly feet. Now, I will spar with Ranma."
Ryoga frowned, but Ranma stepped right up and fell into a stance. Ryoga studied Ranma seriously for a moment before slowly backing up to the relative safety of the patio. He watched as Vegeta began attacking Ranma, the boy merely blocking and dodging most of the time except for a few precise blows that he threw only when he knew they would not only hit, but actually accomplish something.
He watched in amazement as the pair simply gradually increased their speed until the point that Ryoga was straining to even see their bodies, let alone make out their actual attacks. He was frowning, obvious strain showing on his brow, when he heard the door open behind him.
"Hey, Ryoga, right?"
He turned to see the short man known as Krillin smiling from the open patio door. Ryoga nodded and turned to face him, "Yeah, that's right. Need something?"
"Nah, Akane just thought you would want to sit in with us for her training today."
Ryoga shrugged and followed the other man down and around the bowels of Capsule Corp. to a room on the second floor. Krillin opened the door and went on in without a backwards glance at the Lost Boy. Ryoga studied the living room quickly, skimming his gaze over the couches and the television. It was a nice place, almost ritzy compared to the Tendos' place. His eyes fell to Akane where she was curled comfortably on the couch. She smiled and waved him over.
Ryoga sat on the couch, self-consciously leaving a large space between them, while the short bald guy sat across the coffee table from the two teens in an armchair.
"Okay, so where were we Akane?"
She frowned and huffed, "I was trying to get more control over my ki. I never have had much control, I guess, with my temper and all." She didn't seem happy to be admitting any of it, but Ryoga was immensly proud of her anyway.
Krillin waved a hand negligently, "Hey, who cares if ya have a temper? I mean, look at Vegeta. He's the meanest guy I've met and his temper is even worse, but he's the strongest guy around right now aside from Goku."
She perked up and leaned forward, "Really? Me losing my temper and getting all angry doesn't affect my ki abilities?"
Krillin nodded, "Of course not. You don't have to get rid of your anger, just use it as a funnel when you do lose your temper. Focus everything through your feelings, no matter what they are, and it can only help. Of course, it's stronger and easier just to grab your energy at your own disposal."
She pondered those thoughts silently, nodding after a moment, then sitting back and biting her lip as she thought his words through. Krillin, meanwhile, turned back to Ryoga.
"Let me guess, you're used to using ki through emotions like Ranma was, right?"
Ryoga nodded, "Yeah, that's how we were taught. I use depression." He looked away at the startlement on the man's face. "I never thought you wouldn't need emotions to harness ki before."
"Well," Krillin said, "There's more to it than just feeling inside yourself for power. Akane here has a lot of energy naturally, she just doesn't have much control. That's why her flying is still errattic. She has a lot of power that she just tosses about. It makes her tired fast because she can't hold back anything, she just pours every ounce of ki into the smallest tasks."
Ryoga nodded, it made sense. "I'm getting used to just harnessing my ki without an emotional channel."
Krillin grinned, "Good! Why don't you hold out your hand then, and make a small ball of ki about the size of an orange."
Ryoga shrugged and held out a hand palm up, concentrating hard as he reached deep inside himself. He searched for a heartbeat, then found the warm swirling mass that was his ki. He reached out and tried to pluck just a small amount of that ki outward. His aura surged ever so slightly to the point that he would have given a very faint glow in a dark room, then a ball of ki appeared in his palm. It was slighlty larger than Krillin had asked for, but not by much.
"Good, now try to shrink it down as far as you can. Concentrate on condencing it, not getting rid or it."
Ryoga nodded curtly, then frowned down at his hand in concentration. He imagined every little speck of the energy in his palm going inward towards each other, and eliminating any space between them. The ball did shrink, but no more than an inch or two in diameter. He frowned, then concentrated once more, this time on wrapping each 'speck' around another, making one small ball out of countless others. Now he had a ki ball in his hand about the size of a grape.
He looked up at Krillin and raised an eyebrow. "How's that?"
"Great. You do have a lot of control actually--"
The ki in his palm flashed brightly, then exploded suddenly outward in a display of pyrotechnics that would have made an appropriate finale at any festival. Ryoga wilted slightly, shoulders slumping as he stared at his slightly singed hand. Nothing else in the room seemed really affected, for which he was grateful.
"Sorry, hope I didn't burn any of your stuff."
Surprisingly, it was Akane who answered, "Oh, it's okay Ryoga, most of this is Bulma's anyway, and I don't think anything got burnt."
Ryoga turned to her and blinked in confusion, "This is your room?"
She nodded, "Yeah, well, mine and Ranma's at least. Isn't Bulma great to give us such a great place?"
He nodded slowly, thinking to himself, 'they're living together?' "Uh, sure." He wanted to curl up and die. She wasn't screaming about the pervert sleeping in the same room as her or that Ranma was a jerk or anything. In fact, the two of them had seemed rather happy together in the breif times Ryoga had seen them together.
"Uh, if you'll excuse me a minute . . ." He got up and left the room, not really sure where he was going as long as he found a queit place to think. He looked up a moment later, surprised that not only had he found his way out of the room, he'd apparently left the building. He sighed and started walking, wondering why he hadn't noticed a forest around Capsule Corp. earlier.
Ranma panted and dragged himself onto a patio chair. Vegeta hadn't been going easy on him, but at least he didn't need a dunk in the tank today. He studied the cuts and bruises, knowing they'd heal up in time for their spar the next day. He leaned back with a smile and closed his eyes. He'd gotten much stronger in his six months training with Prince Vegeta. He could throw off ki blasts like nothing now, and flying sure was handy.
"Son?"
He opened his eyes and smiled at his mother as she stepped out onto the patio. "Hey Mom, how's everything going?"
Concern glinted obviously in her eyes, "Ranma, are you alright?" She curled her hands compulsivly around the katana she gripped in her hands.
He nodded and made a show of jumping to his feet and gesturing to the chair next to the one he'd claimed. "Sure, just a little tired. I'm glad I'll get to spend some time with you now. I'll just be real busy training for the androids and all."
She smiled in relief and sat calmly, setting the Soatome family sword on the table. "Ranma, you have brought a great deal of honor to our family by being taken on as King Vegeta's student."
He shrugged and sat down, "Well, it's not like he had a lotta choice, since Saiyans don't exactly grow on trees."
"None the less, I hear he has seen great promise in you, and you have vastly improved from the skills described to me that you had supposedly posessed before you began training with King Vegeta." She paused and began unwrapping the katana, which she then held out to him. "Ranma, you are now head of the Soatome family. I have no doubt that you could defeat your father easily and repeatedly now. Take this, and lead our family well and into safety."
He nodded slowly and reached out. As his fingers curled around the hilt, she released her grip. "Uh, Mom, I don't know much about swordsmanship."
"That's fine, Ranma, I shall teach you what I know. I have no doubt that you will learn it quickly." She paused and seemed to be deciding on something important. "Ranma, I've decided that your father isn't--"
"Ranma?"
Mother and child looked up as Akane and Krillin stepped out onto the patio with worried expressions. "Ranma, have you seen Ryoga? He was training with Akane and I, but he just sort of disappeared a few hours ago."
Ranma slapped his forehead, all traces of the mature young man accepting the mantle of his family's authority swiftly swept away. "The idiot managed to get lost again. Hold on." He closed his eyes and reached out. After a moment, he nodded. "Yeah, found him. I'll go get him and show him the way back."
AKane sighed in relief, "Good, I'll come too--"
Krillin cleared his throat and held up a hand, "Hold on, you and I can still train some before dinner ya know."
She frowned but nodded, "Okay. Let's go." She turned to Nodoka and bowed, "See you at dinner, Auntie Nodoka."
"Yes, dear."
Ranma waved at everyone and stood up before taking a few steps away and shooting into the sky. A few minutes later he was flying over the northern end of Japan, scanning the ground below him with his newly honed ability to sense ki. Finally he found the familiar signature that identifiede Ryoga and he descended into a small park. The Lost Boy was sitting on a log by a pond, throwing rocks from the gravel path into the water.
"Hey man, wandered off again, didn't you?"
Ryoga looked up angrily from the log, "You've done it, haven't you? You finally won."
Ranma stopped mid-step, "Uh, what did I win?"
With a snarl, Ryoga shot to his feet. "You've won Akane's heart and stolen the one shred of happiness that I had left! Must you always ruin my life, Soatome?"
Ranma froze, everything becoming clear. "We have become close since we moved to Capsule Corp., but I don't know about winning her heart or anything . . ."
Ryoga snarled once more and threw his handful of rocks into the pond, sending the ducks flying away in frantic fear for their lives. "Oh please, I've seen the way her eyes look when she talks about you. How she smiles when someone mentions your name. Heck, you're even sleeping together."
"Gah! No Ryoga, it's not like that. We're not sleeping together, just sleeping togehter, ya know?"
Ryoga blinked, "Huh? No I don't get it! It's exactly the same!"
Ranma shook his hands wildly in front of him, "No, we're not, well, you know, we just sleep int the same bed. We don't do anything."
Ryoga stared angrily into Ranma's eyes for a moment, then visibly deflated and sank onto the log once more. "It doesn't matter. She's too good for me anyway. I'll never defeat you Ranma. From what everyone says, Saiyans are just too powerful for Humans to fight."
"That's right, earthling."
Ranma groaned, "Aw man, what are you doing here Vegeta?"
"That annoying woman known as Bulma wants you two back home for dinner. She was harping in my ear and I decided it was safer for my ears to do as she said. She should learn respect for a Saiyan prince, perhaps from your mother." Hovering over the heads of the two boys, he continued, "Saiyans grow stronger with every battle, whether victory or defeat. We are physically capable of far more strength than humans could ever dream of."
Ranma rolled his eyes. "Yeah, whatever, we'll be back soon."
Vegeta glared from his position twenty feet in the air. "Well make it quick so she'll quit snapping at me." He flew off, mumbling to himself.
"Look, Ryoga, you really are one of the best and only friends I've ever had. I'm sorry we've had so many problems, but with the world in danger and all, can't we just try and be friends?"
Ryoga looked out over the pond silently for a long minute, then stood. "I don't know about friends, but I'll forgive you for loving Akane since that's not really something you could control." He looked up with a sad, wry smile, "After all, I fell for her too, didn't I?"
Ranma smiled, and reached out a hand. Ryoga took it and after a brief shake, looked around. "So, uh, where are we?"
Ranma shook his head, "Here, I'll teach you a trick."
Ryoga landed outside Capsule Corp., if a little shakily, with a triumphand smirk. He could sense ki much better now, enough that he could now find Ranma, Vegeta, or Krillin easily no matter where they were in the world. Now, the problem would be getting somewhere where there weren't any powerful fighters around. Ranma landed lightly beside him and clapped him on the back.
"See man, didn't I tell ya it would work?"
Ryoga smiled and nodded, still caught up in the euphoria of finding his own way home so quickly and unaided. The two boys stepped into the building and followed the sounds of a loud argument in the dining room.
"If they miss this great meal that Nodoka and I made just because you were too impatient to bring them back, I'll--"
"You'll what, woman? Hit me? Go ahead, I won't even notice so--" *Clang* "Are you MAD woman?"
"Bulma, I must insist that you quit attempting bodily harm on His Majesty."
"You realize you aren't helping matters, don't you Nodoka? He may have been your prince at one point, but you wouldn't be a legal resident of that planet even if it did still exist!"
Ranma and Ryoga cautiausly poked their heads into the dining room. Nodoka and Bulma were facing off, Nodoka's calm if annoyed expression the exact opposite of Bulma's violent one. Bulma was still holding the giant wok where it rested on Vegeta's head, the warrior silently seething with closed eyes and clenched fists as rice fell from the wok into his hair.
"Uh, we're home?"
Bulma 'humph'ed and slammed the wok onto the table as Krillin and Akane struggled to hold their laughter in check from their seats at the table. Nodoka turned a warm smiled to the boys and gestured to their seats as Vegeta impatiently flung rice from his hair and angrily sat down. Bulma's parents were calmly discussing their sick dog they'd taken in that morning, oblivious to the conversation.
"That will keep a slightly warm field just around your skin that will warm any water that gets near ya. The hard part is instinctively keeping it up constantly. If ya forget, you'll get hit and it's all over."
Ryoga nodded and settled his aura in place. "I'll keep that in mind."
Ranma nodded and glanced around before leaning in and whispering, "You'd better, Akane still doesn't know you're P-chan, and I don't think she'd be happy if she found out what had really been sleeping in her bed all this time."
Ryoga burned a bright crimson and gave a stiff nod before turning and walking up to the door. "Uh, Ryoga buddy, that's the closet. Go a little left, no, other left, yeah, that's it, now turn right, okay, you're the next door on the right."
Ranma cocked his head until he heard the quiet sound of the next door down the hall opening and closing before turning back to the television. It was several minutes later when the door opened once more. Ranma reached for another bite of popcorn.
"Ryoga, you had the right door the first time. I swear, you could get lost in a paper bag."
Arms wrapped around his neck, "You should be nicer to Ryoga." He froze at the soft voice in his ear, swallowing with a loud 'gulp' as Akane pulled away with a giggle. "There's a great movie coming on in half an hour. Do you wanna watch it with me?"
He looked at the screen. His movie wasn't going off for another hour. He sighed very, very softly before turning with a falsely bright smile to his fiancee, "Sure Akane!"
She smiled at him as she opened the bathroom door, a pile of clothes in her hands. "Great! I'll just get a quick bath then!"
He nodded with his smile straining, letting it relax as soon as the door closed. He looked at the screen as the hero bounced around in an entirely false fight scene. Oh well, it wasn't that great of a movie anyway.
The bubbles were nice, and she didn't usually use them. The water was warm, she'd lit a candle, and the shampoo was herbal. This was the life. She'd been feeling entirely too boyish lately. She trained all day with Ranma, Krillin, Ryoga, or any combination of the three. Vegeta never seemed to notice her, let alone express a wish to train her. She shrugged, it was fine with her. That guy made her entirely too nervous anyway. Ranma was practically in love with the guy, however, with the way he went on and on all the time. 'Vegeta did this . . .' or 'Vegeta says . . .' all day.
She smiled and sank into the water a little further at the thought of Ranma. Yes, she wanted to feel a little more girly when she was around Ranma. Lately, he'd made her feel girly. He was more courteous than he used to be, and was treating her more as an equal. She'd gathered from Nodoka that women fighters were considered equals of the male ones to the Saiyans, so maybe Vegeta had said something to Ranma.
She sighed and stretched, glancing at the clock. She'd better get out if she wanted to watch that movie with Ranma. She got out and dried off quickly, toweling her hair off before brushing it out quickly. She slipped on her nightgown and robe. She studied herself in the mirror with a frown. She didn't look very girlish.
She shrugged, well, the lights would be off anyway for the movie, and Ranma wouldn't notice if she walked out in a Teddy and fishnet stalkings. She walked out into the living room, content with the thought that Ranma and she were at least becoming friends now. She settled onto the couch beside him, leaning over and resting her head on his shoulder. He stiffened for a second or two, but then relaxed and offered her the popcorn. Yeah, things were looking up, aside from two androids coming that were going to attempt to ruin life as she knew it.
"You what?!" Slack-jawed Ranma studied his mother as she sipped her tea.
"Ranma, I can not abide with the treatent you suffered at the hands of your father. He holds no favor with me anymore. I have not laid eyes upon him since I was informed of the results of your training trip. I have discussed it with Vegeta, and he agrees that it is a small miracle that you turned out as well as you did with that man's genes in you."
Ranma jerked to his feet, "So you divorced Pop?"
She nodded and finished up her tea. Gathering the items from the table, she stood. "Actually, since he was gone for so long without a word, I claimed abandonment. He is no longer a member of our legal family."
Ranma sat down heavily as his mother left the room. This was completely unexpected. He never would have guessed that his mother was capable of this drastic action. He thought she'd be honor bound to stick with the marraige. Sure, Pop had made a couple mistakes, but Ranma had learned a lot from the old panda.
He stared off at the stars, thinking back to how clear the skies were up in the mountains with no cities or other people around. He'd had fond memories of the training trip, too. He would have to put some thought into this new development.
Months passed, then a couple of years, with only a single brief visit from Genma before Vegeta 'hinted' that Tomegen was not welcome. Ryoga didn't quite catch up to Ranma, but he was pretty close. Akane passed up Yamcha and Ranma was forced to agree that she could come when the androids attacked. Akane was a little stronger than Ranma had been before Vegeta's coming to the dojo, but she still felt weak. She stood back and watched Vegeta and Ranma spar every day while performing amazing feats that left both herself and Ryoga speachless. When the two Saiyans would pause for a break, Vegeta would demand that Ryoga spar with Akane. He would watch silently until they finished, then give concise notes on what they did wrong.
She shrugged mentally, it was more attention than he gave her when she'd first arrived. Ryoga always won of course, but she gave a good fight. For some reason Ryoga always seemed angry with her when they sparred, but that he was hiding it deep inside himself. She shrugged and slipped her gi on before stepping into the hall and heading toward the gravity room.
She keyed the door open, and froze. Nodoka pulled away from Vegeta, but the warrior's arms didn't give and she blushed furiously. "Akane, what a surprise . . ."
"Hey Akane, you're early aren't you?" Ranma stepped up behind her in the hallway, also freezing when he caught sight of the pair in the gravity room, a discarded tray of tea paraphanelia on the ground at their feet. "Mom, Vegeta?"
"Good morning, Ranma, did you sleep well?"
He stared blankly at his mother as Vegeta finally released her and snatched up the tray. He looked down at it for a moment before handing it brusquely to Nodoka. "Thanks," he muttered, then turned to Akane and Ranma. "Well? What are you standing there for?"
The two teens stumbled into the room and made way for Nodoka on her way out the door. Vegeta was instructing them to pair up as Ryoga stumbled into the room. "Sorry I'm late, I'm still getting the hang of not getting lost." He studied the stunned expressions of Ranma and Akane. "Did I miss something?"
Vegeta growled and barked, "Get over here and spar with Ranma. Akane, you and I will go next."
Ranma grumbled to himself and stormed out the door of Capsule Corp. to the throw himself into a lawn chair with a flare of his aura. He began to fidget and jerk a hand through his hair.
"Hits ya like a ton of bricks, doesn't it?" He looked up to see Bulma sitting on the grass nearby, staring at the sky with her knees drawn up to her chest. Her back was mostly to him, so he couldn't see her face until she turned a shaky smile toward him.
"You think you've got it bad that your mother is hooking up with Vegeta, but trust me, it's nothing compared to my problem."
He glared sulkily at her, "What's your problem Bulma? Your family's rich, you're smart, you're pretty, and you're great at what you do without even trying. Where exactly it the problem?"
She continued to smily sadly as a tear slid down her cheek. Shaking her head slightly she looked up at the sky once more and giggled hysterically for a second, "Oh, nothing too big, I'm just pregnant with Vegeta's child."
Ranma winced and bit his lip for a moment before standing and walking over to the woman. He sat stiffly down beside her and wrapped his arms around her. She returned the embrace and cried into his shoulder. He sighed in frustration. Due to the recent turmoil, he'd dropped his sheilds. Bulma's tears had activated his curse for the first time in months.
She sighed and glanced about, the wind blowing her black pants (much like Ranma's) and her yellow gi top. Hard to believe such a peaceful scene would soon be broken by a horror beyond words. Bulma was clutching baby Trunks tightly to her chest, Nodoka standing on the other side of Vegeta with her heavily pregnant stomach. Vegeta paid little attention to either woman as he studied the city beneath them with a frown. Bulma alternated between angry and resigned glares at the Saiyan prince's back, while Nodoka favored her second husband with doting looks.
Bulma had confided in Akane in the last months of the woman's pregnancy. She'd given up on Vegeta, but that didn't mean she had to like it. According to official records, Trunks had no father.
Akane looked up with a smile as she felt Gohan and Goku arriving with Krillin. The three of them landed next to Akane, Ranma, Ryoga, and Krillin where they stood at the edge of the cliff. Goku had come on occasion over the last few years to train a bit with the three teens from Nerima. Just when Akane would fall into a slump, Goku would come for a visit to Capsule Corp. and make a small comment that opened up whole new doors to the girl. The man had a calming presence that everyone seemed to notice and lean on.
"Hey everyone, how's it going?"
Ranma grinned and continued to finger the hilt of his sword as he had been all day, "Hey Goku, we're as good as we can be with a couple a androids coming to kill us."
Goku laughed but everyone else gave Ranma stunned expressions. Goku's eyes fell to Bulma and the baby, and he ran over with a grin. "Hey Bulma, who's this?"
"This is my little Trunks. Isn't he prescious?" The baby looked up with a surly expression and sighed angrily. Everyone laughed and Goku began making faces, causing the baby's frown to disappear. Vegeta grumbled and walked over beside Ranma.
"Are you certain you want to take that silly blade with you into battle?"
Ranma shot his mother a smile, "Yeah, I am."
"Fine," he shrugged, "it's your life. Don't let it get in the way."
"I won't." He then turned back to watch the city. "Shouldn't they be here soon?" He sighed and started to pace, sending his senses out to scan the city.
Krillin shuddered and looked up from little Trunks, "Hey man, don't rush things. Maybe he won't show up after all. The kid did say that things could change from what he knew."
Ranma shook his head, "Nah, I can't see what could have caused that big of a change. I'm sure we'll have to fight these things eventually."
Bulma stepped slightly forward with a confused expression, "But didn't you say that he'd never heard of you? Isn't it odd that you three just appeared in our world and not his, but before he came and changed things?"
Ranma shrugged, "Who knows. I never would have believed time travel was possible."
That brightened Bulma up, "Yeah, isn't it great? I can't wait to do a few experiments with what the boy told me. That's my next planned experiment actually!" She grinned happily as Goku handed Trunks back to her.
"Hey, that'd be great Bulma! I'd like to go into the future and fight myself for a good spar! I'm bound to be stronger in the future."
Bulma shook her head and started to answer when a loud explosion rocked the cliffside. Like a shot the warriors hit the skies. Goku gestured broadly around the city. "Spread out! Send a signal up if you find them."
They seperated in sparks to different sections of the city. Akane followed Ranma out of habit and the two of them landed in a deserted street. She glanced around and stepped aside as some piece of cloth blew past her. Ranma wasn't paying any attention to her as he scanned the area as well, so she shrugged, walking off with her senses wide to catch any trace of the androids.
Ryoga was with Yamcha. Not because he wanted to be with him in particular, but Yamcha was about the only one aside from Akane that he could keep up with when flying, and he didn't want to get lost again, which had happened a couple of times when he slipped and dropped his awareness of the others' ki over the months. Yamcha was shaking nervously and glancing about franticly as Ryoga calmly scanned the streets and buildings.
"C'mon man, tell me again why we're doing this? There's no way either of us can stand up to these androids if they're as strong as that kid said they would be."
Ryoga sent his companion a scathing look, "You know, that's your problem. If you just believed in yourself, you'd double your worth in this whole thing."
Shaking his head, Ryoga wandered off. After glancing about nervously once more, Yamcha followed.
Piccolo was by himself, but not far from Goku or Gohan. He didn't see a thing, and he didn't sense anything either. He was beginning to think this whole thing was some elaborate hoax, but he'd seen the boy defeat Frieza and he'd felt Trunk's power. No, this was real and he was determined to defeat this new threat.
Now, if only he could find those androids . . .
End of Chapter 4, Saiyans Lost.
Author's notes:
You know, I don't feel any great need to go into the Android saga. There isn't a whole lot that can change. Ranma's getting strong and will obviously help, but Gohan will still end up being the one to defeat Cell. After all, Ranma hasn't had a lot of time to really train. By the time the androids arrive, he'll be just below Vegeta and Gohan. I see him becoming great friends with future Trunks as they're the only other teenaged Saiyans they'll ever meet.
How about Nodoka and Vegeta? Quite an odd relationship, but I like it. It's different. Anyway, I'm already starting the next Chapter, so get ready! Next time I'll be skipping ahead to just before the whole Buu deal. I want to get some good background in about what has happened between now and then with Ranma and everyone so the changes will be evident.