Chapter 5- Duels and Demons
Kaigen was still dressed in his normal training gi and pants. He lifted his clawed hand up and pointed right at Ranma. "Ranma Saotome, I challenge you to a duel. Do you accept?"
Ranma smiled and cracked his knuckles. "I was wondering when you were going to ask me again. Yeah, you have yourself a duel buddy."
The two boys stared each other down for a minute, both of them taking their respective stances. Ranma took his Kempo stance, while Kaigen's took a stance that seemed much more relaxed. Finally the stand-off broke and the two ran at each other with a battle cry.
They met in the middle of the dojo, Ranma getting the first hit in as his fist slammed into Kaigen's gut at near supersonic speeds. For a moment the dog-eared martial artist faltered, and then with a smile he threw out a snap-kick already knowing that Ranma would simply jump above it. But that was just what he was waiting for. He slammed both of his hands to the ground and roared, "Claw wind storm!" The stillness in the air was shattered as a blast of strong wind blew upwards. Ranma was launched like he was on a springboard, slamming back-first into the ceiling of the dojo. He felt little jolts of pain as the force of the wind gave him the equivalent of at least a dozen paper cuts all over his body. As Ranma felt the wind give out he snapped his leg back, rebounded off the ceiling and used his position right over Kaigen's head for an advantage to the jump kick he was throwing. He came down on the other boy's head, sending him to the floor-boards with a crash. Ranma smiled from his perch atop the head of the now floored Kaigen. "You give?"
Kaigen's response came in the form of another surge of ki. "Claw wind storm!"
As Ranma was pressed against the ceiling of the dojo again he muttered, "I guess not."
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"WHERE ON EARTH AM I NOW!?"
Once again, Ryoga Hibiki found himself lost for what must have been the fiftieth time today. Now though he was standing on the deck of a ferry headed across a river. Everyone else on the ferry was all staring at him in confusion. Finally the ferry driver whistled to get Ryoga's attention. "Hey ya Japanese feller. Ya mind quietin down so ya don't scare the zoo animals? Some people came ere a long way to see these ere livin dinosaurs."
Ryoga scratched the back of his head, thoroughly frustrated and confused, and decided now was the best time to scream, "RANMA THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!" This got him hit in the back of the head by a random shoe from someone amongst the passengers. He looked at the shoe and for the second time screamed, "RANMA THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!"
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The next time Ranma came down from the Claw Wind Storm Kaigen had the good sense to get out of the way. "Alright then dog boy if you want to play with special attacks, try one of mine." Ranma charged forward and unleashed hundreds of punches that came in at all angles towards Kaigen's body. "Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken!!"
Kaigen stumbled back from the pig-tailed martial artist's technique. He barely managed to keep out of range of the wave of punches that would have put him down if they connected. He knew he couldn't hope to block them all, so his best chance was to dodge. When he felt the air behind him shift differently though, he understood that he was stuck. In a matter of seconds he was going to hit the wall and get pummeled into defeat. ("I only have one chance to break his attack. I'm unsure whether it'll work against so many hits though. Oh well, here goes nothing.") As his back hit the wall he dropped both of his hands to his side and went still.
"You're making it too easy Kaigen!" Ranma's chestnut fist technique finally got within range of the dog-eared fighter, pounding his body with over a hundred hits in the matter of three seconds. Ranma smiled as he watched Kaigen grit his teeth as he was beaten senseless. "You shouldn't have......" Ranma was cut off as pain hit him from every side. He could barely see straight but could tell that he was moving through the air rapidly. When his back hit the wall at the other end of the Dojo he slid down to the floor and watched dazedly as Kaigen collapsed to his knees as well. A couple of minutes passed and neither of them spoke, both fighters recovering their strength. Finally Ranma broke the silence. "What....was....that?"
Kaigen panted loudly, slowly pulling himself up. "Shifting....Sands...technique..." He shakily came to his feet and flexed his claws, each one of them glowing bright blue. "I'd....advise you....not let me.....hit you with this Ranma." He charged and leaped into the air, bringing the lightly glowing claws down in a cross-slash. "Claws of the wind!"
Ranma could already figure out what that attack was meant to do. He bit back the pain of his new wounds and he flipped to his feet. As Kaigen almost landed his attack, Ranma ducked in under his cross-slash and connected his fist with Kaigen's stomach. He let the force of his punch carry him to the other end of the dojo, stumbling as sweat started to drip down his face.
Kaigen's attack simply cut a few shallow lines in the wood, but what concerned him was the 'punch' Ranma had landed. 't......have.....been.....one....hit......") Kaigen rose and gathered more of his energy into his claws. "Do that again." He charged in again and leaped, throwing another cross-slash. "Claws of the Wind!" Ranma repeated the action he had used before, ducking under the slash and punching Kaigen in the stomach. When the dog-eared boy landed this time he understood what the nature of Ranma's attack had been. He didn't use one punch. ("It was some kind of variation of that rapid-fire punch technique of his. Except that he narrowed the striking area for the attack to one spot on my body. Talk about your ingenious tactics.") He turned to attack again but his body decided it didn't like that idea as it stiffened up in pain. ("Guess it was pretty dumb of me to try and figure out his attack by letting him hit me with it.")
Ranma watched Kaigen cautiously. He was still waiting for some kind of counter-attack. When he realized that no such attack was coming he got ready to strike again. ("Sorry about this man but I'm not a patient kind of guy.") Ranma charged and unleashed an encore of one of his most powerful attacks. "Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken!" A wave of punches engulfed Kaigen's back and he was sent through the wall of the Dojo and out into the backyard.
As Kaigen went through the wall his body reflexively curled into a ball and rolled until he came to a stop at the end of the yard. He flipped to his feet and grimaced in pain at the damage Ranma's attack had caused to him. ("Guess I should have said something. It's too late now.") He watched as Ranma came out of the hole in the dojo, more than ready to fight him until one of them were no longer standing. Kaigen smiled grimly and reached into his mental bag of tricks, prepping a new attack to use. ("I'm glad we're both in agreement that the fight's not over until one of us falls.")
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Genma Saotome and Soun Tendo stopped their game of Shogi to watch the two boys in the yard. "Well Saotome-kun, doesn't it do your heart good to see those two pushing each other to the brink of their abilities."
Genma nodded and quickly re-arranged the pieces on the shogi board until the game was more to his advantage. "It sure does Tendo-kun. It makes me proud to be a martial artist."
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Ranma continued to stare down Kaigen, waiting for him to do something. "You know man this fight is starting to become pretty one-sided. Maybe you want a break?" He let his tone show that he was joking. He didn't intend to show any mercy in this fight.
Smiling weakly, Kaigen realized he needed to come up with some more special attacks. ("I've got a few left he hasn't seen yet, but I'm having trouble getting the energy for them right now.") "You know what Ranma? If you are such a good fighter, try and block this little trick." Hoping his bluff would work, Kaigen charged.
("I'm sure that is just what you want me to do.") Ranma of course had no intention of trying to block whatever attack was headed his way. Smiling, the pig-tailed martial artist leaped forward and landed a fist right across Kaigen's surprised face before he even got a chance to use his special attack. Using his variation of the chestnut fist technique, he landed another hundred blows across Kaigen's cheek in an instant. As the dog-eared boy was hurled backwards by the hit, Ranma sighed. "You're really out of it dude. Maybe you should stop this before you get hurt?" When he noticed Kaigen was already unconscious, he shook his head. ("I hate to sound like my old man, but you lack training.") Hefting Kaigen over his shoulder, he brought him inside.
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Robert knew he couldn't take anymore. It was simply too much pain. No matter how hard he tried though he knew he was incapable of resisting the damage that was being dealt to him. Then he thought back to his fight with the man wearing the bandanna though. He remembered the humiliation that burned his ego as he had been brushed aside like he was some low level piece of trash.
"You look like you are about to break. You sure you want to go on with the training?" The voice belonged to his Master, whose clawed hands were resting on his wrists and pumping him full of disruptive ki. The sheer volume of the discordant energy was starting to shake him apart from the inside.
He knew he should have simply quit, but something from deep inside him refused to let it happen. "N....o......" He managed to squeak out right before another surge of ki nearly blew his body apart.
A strained cackle reached his ears. "Very well Robert."
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Sighing, Amy applied the wash-cloth to Kaigen's head again. She was sitting in the guestroom of the Tendo residence, with Ranma and Akane sitting on both sides of her.
Akane sighed and looked at the bruise that was starting to develop on the unconscious boy's cheek. "Is he going to be okay?"
Amy frowned and held Kaigen still while he started to squirm. Apparently the pains of his wounds from his fight with Ranma were causing him quite a bit of discomfort, even while he was unconscious. Reaching over she scratched him behind one of his ears gently, giggling as he calmed down instantly. "Even works while he is asleep."
Ranma sighed and put his head in his hands. "Geez, I'd have thought that he would have been a tougher opponent than that."
Akane glared at him angrily. "Why'd you have to hurt him anyway Ranma!?"
Ranma slid back from her, hands up in the air defensively. "I didn't do anything wrong! He challenged me!"
Amy smiled and continued to scratch Kaigen's ear. "Don't worry about it. He'll fix himself up soon enough." She stood and all at once they left the room to give Kaigen some quiet. If Ranma had been paying attention he would have noticed Kaigen's hand blurring momentarily as he passed by.
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Kaigen's eyes slowly opened a minute or two after everyone filed out. He started stuffing items into his backpack. His fight with Ranma had reminded him that he was badly out of practice in his art. With a weak sigh he scribbled a note on a piece of paper and left it on his bed. With one glance back at the doorway to the room he slid the window open and leaped out, backpack in hand. ("I'll return soon enough. I hope Ranma keeps my gift to him safe while I'm gone.")
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Ranma sighed and plopped down on the floor of the dojo, his eyes fixated on the hole he had created when he'd sent Kaigen through the wall. ("What's everyone getting mad at me for? He was the one who challenged me to the fight.") He thought back on the details of the fight and couldn't help but smile when Kaigen had somehow reflected the force of his own chestnut fist technique right back at him. Unfortunately it was the only good move that the guy had used during their entire little spar. ("He threw himself at me in the same way that Ryoga used to.") Because of that he had assumed that Kaigen possessed the almost monster-like endurance that the Lost Boy had. He didn't mean to hit him with a hundred punches when he had struck Kaigen. He just had switched his attacks into the mode he always used when dealing with Ryoga. ("Besides, he'll be back on his feet by the morning.")
The thud of someone running towards the Dojo from the residence assaulted Ranma's ears, and he already had a feeling that he knew who it was. Standing and brushing the dust off his clothing he got into a fighting stance as his father burst into the dojo, the elder Saotome red in the face from anger. "Foolish boy! Do you have any idea what you have done!?"
Ranma frowned and slid into his Kempo stance. It looked like it was already going to come to blows between them. "Whatcha talkin about Oyaji?"
Genma, now out of breath from his charge into the dojo, took a few deep breathes and started yelling again. "You went too far in fighting with the other house guests! Because of you they are considering kicking us out!"
Ranma already knew his father was exaggerating about the getting kicked out of the house part. While Akane and Amy were mad at him they both understood that it was a fight between martial artists. Besides, Kaigen wasn't that badly hurt. "Stuff it old timer. I'm not in the mood to listen to one of your stupid speeches."
Genma got into his own Kempo stance and hmph'ed. "I won't tolerate such disrespect from you Ranma! I thought I taught you better than that!"
Ranma was through listening to his wind-bag of a father. "Shut it ya old fool!" He picked up into a run and started the melee between the two of them.
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Ryoga would have yelled, "WHERE ON EARTH AM I NOW!?" except for the fact that he knew he was in front of the Tendo Dojo. ("Now the question is how do I get inside without getting lost again?") He pondered that until finally a gear in his head clicked. "I KNOW!" He made sure he was looking straight at the Dojo and then slammed his finger into the wall. "Bakusai Tenketsu!" He felt his ki shoot into the stone and with an earth-shattering crack the wall exploded. Now he could see into the yard easily. He strolled in, feeling proud of his accomplishment. ("Now to go see Akane-san.")
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Amy had gone out with Nabiki to discuss some things involving Kaigen and the school play, so Akane had some time to herself. She had been about to go and see what all of the commotion in the Dojo was, but the explosion that rocked the building caught her attention first. She ran out of the house and blinked in surprise as Ryoga strolled in through the hole in the wall. "Ryoga-kun!"
Ryoga froze up at the sound of Akane saying his name. For a moment his heart fluttered in the throes of love, but he quickly shook the feeling off. ("No! No more waiting for the right moment! This is the time! I will tell Akane my true feelings for her!") He braced himself and stiffly marched up to her. "Hey there Akane!" He didn't seem to notice he had nearly screamed the words out.
Akane flinched at the sound of his voice. "Are you ok Ryoga-kun?"
His heart started to beat faster in his chest, but with the willpower that can only come from a martial artist Ryoga forced the feeling down. ("I won't let my weak heart stop me!") "I will be in a moment Akane-san. First I have to get something off my chest though."
Akane tilted her head slightly and nodded. "Sure. What do want to tell me?"
If not for the willpower he was expending right at this moment, Ryoga would have been running for the nearest hill. Instead he simply gulped and took a deep breath. "Well Akane, for the longest time I....I....I....I...." Mentally he slapped himself and screamed, ("Snap out of it! This is your best chance to tell her that you love her!") He took another deep breath and tried to tell her once more, only to stutter when he got to the 'I' part of the sentence.
Akane nodded understandingly and tried to be supportive of Ryoga. He had been such a good friend in the past and from the way he was having such trouble now, she knew that being patient was the best way to go about helping him through whatever was bothering him. She rested her hand on his arm and smiled. "Just take your time Ryoga."
("She....she...she's touching me.....") He felt even his unshakable willpower start to slip. Sweat was beginning to pour down his face slowly, leaving him red from embarrassment. "I....I...I...I...." Outside he was overloaded, while inside he was wishing he had the power to slap himself in a more literal sense. ("Stop sounding like a broken record! Tell her now!") "I....lo...lo....lov...lov....love.....y....y...."
Before Ryoga could finish his sentence a crash came from inside the Dojo and the black and white furred body of a panda came launching out of a newly made hole in the wall of building. It slammed right into Ryoga, and was quickly followed up by the jump-kicking body of Ranma Saotome yelling, "I'm not done with you yet Oyaji!" He crashed into Genma and the two of them rolled about on the ground, exchanging punches and kicks until as one they broke away from each other.
Genma signed, 'You need to learn more respect for your elders boy!' He flipped the sign around to show, 'Plus your kick is a little off.'
Ranma felt his right eye twitching in anger. "I'll show you whose kick is a little off, ya stupid panda!" He ran in and was about to land a blow on his father but Ryoga, who was still stuck under Genma, beat him to it. With a roar of frustration Ryoga landed an uppercut on Genma-panda's chin, sending him into the lower atmosphere.
Ryoga watched the panda disappear out of sight, and then slowly he turned his eyes to bring Ranma into his gaze. ("I was so close to saying it....I was almost there.") He felt depression well up inside of him. "Ran....Ranm....Ranma....." He snarled out. His hands cupped together and with a yell he released the depression in a ball of ki aimed at his rival. "Shi Shi Hokoudan!"
Ranma rolled to the side to avoid the blast and smiled slightly at Ryoga. "What's the matter P-chan? Did I interrupt something?" Ryoga's response was to drop his backpack to the ground and charge screaming, "RANMA PREPARE TO DIE!" He came down with his right index finger extended. It slammed into the ground and Ryoga released his ki into the earth. "Bakusai Tenketsu!" The ground around him exploded and Ranma skipped back to avoid the rock pieces that the attack had launched. He was more than ready to fight Ryoga using his full strength. He needed someone to get his aggression out on anyway.
Little did Ranma know that he apparently pushed Ryoga over the edge of anger. Now the Lost boy was somewhere in the realm of temporary insanity. Roaring in fury Ryoga broke free of the ground and slammed his finger into the earth again, creating another explosion. This one though created a chain of explosions all across the yard, creating numerous potholes and ditches all across their battlefield. "I won't forgive you for what you did! RANMA THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!" Ryoga unleashed another Shi Shi Hokoudan, nearly clipping Ranma with the super-charged attack this time. "I'll kill you! PREPARE TO DIE!"
Ranma's eyes shot wide as he realized just how mad Ryoga really was. ("He must have broken his brain or something. He's lost it.") Ranma skipped back from another flurry of punches. He had gotten in a hit or two when Ryoga passed by him, but he knew it wouldn't have any effect on the Lost Boy while he was this mad. In this state Ryoga was beyond feeling pain anymore. ("Looks like I'm going to have to treat this like a serious fight!") Ranma braced himself and got ready as Ryoga approached him again. His timing for this had to be perfect for this to work properly.
Watching Ranma's stop, Ryoga lunged in with another Bakusai Tenketsu aiming it at the pig-tailed boy's feet. As his finger went into the ground, Ryoga saw Ranma bend down at the knees and land a punch on his abdomen. Realization slid across his features as Ryoga felt at least a hundred blows land on his body in the time it took for the first to arrive. Then the energy from the Bakusai Tenketsu went off and both boys were sent flying apart from the explosion.
Ryoga was the first to recover and he smiled. "Do you actually think that variation of your speed technique is going to work again Ranma!? If so then I suggest you reconsider my strength level you fool!" He literally howled out another battle cry and charged.
Ranma couldn't understand it. He had just hit Ryoga at least a hundred times in the same spot. Yet he didn't even flinch from the attack. ("Has his endurance really increased that much?") Ranma rolled out of the way of another dive that ended in a repeat of the Bakusai Tenketsu. "Yo Ryoga, stop it! You're ruining the yard!" When his opponent's response was a snarl of rage, then Ranma knew something was wrong. Ryoga may have hated his guts, but when it came to other people's property Ryoga was actually fairly careful with his Breaking Point technique. Plus the Ryoga that Ranma knew didn't act like an animal when he fought. ("I need some time to look this situation over, but I doubt that Ryoga is going to give me that chance.")
Ryoga didn't know what was giving him so much power, but he didn't care anymore. He had the strength in his hands and now he could kill Ranma. ("At last I will have my revenge!") Channeling the depression that still simmered within him, Ryoga unleashed another Shi Shi Hokoudan that Ranma predictably dodged. It didn't matter though, because now Ranma was in the air and Ryoga was ready to kill him.
As he arched through the air in mid-dodge, Ranma blinked in confusion as Ryoga's body blurred slightly. ("What the hell was that!?") He understood what it was a second later when in an uncharacteristic burst of speed Ryoga was suddenly in front of him, landing a punch right into his chest. He felt a couple of his ribs crack and he was thrown through the air like a baseball, crashing into the wall at the other end of the yard.
Akane screamed for what must have been the fiftieth time during the fight, "Stop it Ryoga-kun!" Once again though Ryoga ignored her, his attention fully focused on Ranma. There was something wrong with him, and that became most apparent when he seemed to disappear only to reappear with his fist planted into Ranma's chest. ("Since when did Ryoga become so fast?")
He could feel the power in his veins, and it wanted out. It wanted to give him what he needed to kill his rival and claim Akane for himself. (We can give you what you want Ryoga.) It was pulsing through him now and his senses felt so very alive. He allowed himself a slight smile as he dove in and threw another punch at Ranma. He already knew that Saotome was going to dodge it, but it didn't matter anymore. He had felt some of Ranma's ribs crack under the force of his fist, and soon enough the damage from his hit would bring Ranma's speed down to a more workable level. ("And as soon as that happens I'll be more than happy to rip you apart Saotome.")
Ranma already knew that Ryoga was fighting angry, but it caught him as off when he noticed that one of Ryoga's irises were now an odd red-orange color. Considering how much faster and stronger Ryoga had suddenly become he knew that he only had one option left to disable his rival. Risking a glance over at the house he yelled, "Akane! I want you to go inside and do not look out here!"
Akane blinked in confusion at Ranma's demand. Her face screwed up in anger and she screamed back, "Why should I!? Are you afraid I won't be able to deal with the fight!?" If it wasn't for the fact that Ryoga was attacking him right now, she would have gone over and malleted Ranma for daring to suggest she was weak in any way.
"No stupid! Get yourself inside now!" Ranma side-stepped another of Ryoga's punches, wincing in pain as his damaged ribs protested against the movement. ("Damn....I can't keep this going much longer.") His only chance was to get Ryoga into the koi pond and trigger his curse to turn him into P-chan. That would effectively end the threat. The only problem was his promise to Ryoga about not telling Akane that The Lost Boy was really her pet piglet P-chan. If he threw Ryoga in there he would break his oath and that was out of the question, even in this dire situation.
Ryoga pulled a rock free of the earth and hurled it at Ranma. The pig-tailed boy easily dodged the toss, but his attention was diverted when the rock shuddered and exploded in mid-air, spraying him with sharp rock pieces. ("Since when could he make the Bakusai Tenketsu a delayed reaction technique!?") Ranma went into a series of back-flips as he put some distance between himself and Ryoga. ("Looks like I'm going to have to put all my eggs in one basket, so to speak.") He braced himself against the ground and felt his ki building in his body. He didn't want to put all of his energy into this attack, but he had to end this fight right now. His damaged body couldn't take much more stress from a prolonged fight.
Now both of Ryoga's eyes were the odd orange-red color, and they glinted in the moonlight as he charged for Ranma once more. His rival had stopped moving and looked like he was preparing to fight Ryoga in hand-to-hand combat. "Fool! You'll be killed!" Ryoga lunged once more and cocked back his fist, about to drive it into his rival's skull.
Ranma watched as Ryoga approached, but he knew he didn't have his opening yet. Ryoga got closer and closer, and right before his punch landed Ranma saw his opening. ("Here goes nothing!")
Ryoga felt like skipping in glee. He was less than a second away from caving Ranma's skull in, and then it would over. Instead though he saw Ranma's hands blur, and suddenly he was stopped in his tracks, eyes wide as pain wracked his body.
Akane couldn't understand what was going on. Ranma was crouched in front of Ryoga and for a moment it had looked like Ryoga was going to kill him, but instead Ryoga had suddenly gone stiff and was now starting to bend at the waist slowly.
Ranma was hitting as hard and as fast as he possibly could. Hitting Ryoga's stomach was like punching through brick and considering that he had just reached punch number 1000, he was getting tired. He didn't dare stop though. If he did and it wasn't enough to stop Ryoga's new endurance then he would die. Ranma could feel his energy level plummeting though and he knew that this was going to be a very big gamble. He was putting all of his energy into this super Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken attack. As the number of punches he was landing on Ryoga's body passed the 2,000 mark Ranma knew he was at the end of his rope. He was losing all of the feeling in his arms. He kept hitting though, refusing to submit until he had burned himself out completely.
Akane could see Ranma's fists now and it seemed impossible that he was able to keep hitting for so long. He looked like he was on the verge of a physical collapse.
Ryoga could feel every punch now. His endurance may have been powerful but when your opponent punches you 3,000 times in the same spot on your body it really doesn't matter how powerful you are compared to him. He felt the blows coming in slightly slower now, meaning that quite soon he was going to have his chance. ("Saotome must be completely burning himself out for this attack.") He would have smiled but the pain from the blows was too great.
Ranma had reached the 4,000 mark and with one last hit, he was done. He felt every muscle in his arms start to cramp up all at once, but he knew he had pulled it off. Nothing even remotely human could have withstood that many blows. With a slight smile on his lips he collapsed face-first into the dirt. Ryoga collapsed atop him shortly after.
To be continued...
Next Chapter: A surprise gift
