Disclaimer: All characters and places are the property of the one and only Rumiko Takahashi. Except for the original characters and places, that is.

Author's Notes: Hehe... Sorry for the long wait. I was trying to take a breather from all the writing for a while Anyway, here's the newest chapter of It's Gonna Rain, and will be, I guarantee, the third from last chapter. Any honest criticism and comments are welcome! Enjoy and please review as much as possible.

It's Gonna Rain

A Ranma ½ Fan-fiction

Part V: Rain

Shoken didn't look the least bit intimidated. He merely looked at the both of them coolly with the slightest hint of boredom.

"If that's what you wish. Bring it on."

Mousse glared at the figure in front of him with barely disguised hate. If there was a person he hated most, it was someone who had touched even one single strand of Shampoo's hair. And this guy had done more than that – he had injured Shampoo, which was all the more inexcusable.

"I will be your first opponent, whoever you are!"

Shoken merely smirked at him condescendingly. "I have heard of you. You must be Mousse. Well, if you think your play-toy tricks are going to work against me, then you're wrong."

Mousse bristled. "You would do well not to underestimate your opponent."

Shoken glanced at him coolly. "You aren't even worth my time. The one next to you though, is his name Hibiki Ryoga? I have heard of him too, and I have to say that he is definitely more of an opponent than you are."

Ryoga smirked with an air of superiority around at Mousse, who was looking quite a bit crushed as his over-large ego was squashed flat like a burst balloon.

Mousse clenched his fists, looking determined but angry. "Well, I don't really care what you think of me. I am your opponent! Revenge for my beloved Shampoo!"

He advanced towards the opponent, hands in his overlarge sleeves, feet in ready battle stance. Shoken looked slightly startled at his vehemence, then smiled slightly, inwardly admiring Mousse, despite his so-called inferior ability, for his commendable courage.

"Here I come!"

He pulled out a large chicken from his sleeves, surprising both Ryoga and Shoken. Before their very eyes, the chicken quickly hatched some eggs into Mousse's hands.

"EXPLODING EGGS!"

He threw them straight at Shoken, who dodged each one of them quickly. All the eggs hit the ground with a loud explosion, but the impact blew up a cloud of dust.

Shoken mentally swore. That was his aim... Not to hit me, but to create this cloud of dust in which he can attack me! But where is he?

He barely detected the long bundles of chains and ropes or snaking out towards him, and dodged each of them by a mere hairsbreadth. All except one, that was.

The cloud of dust dispersed, revealing a smug Mousse looking down at Shoken's bound body with ill-contained contempt. "Now who's calling who weak?"

Shoken only smiled thinly. "Do you think that will hold me off for long? The match isn't decided yet, not until the other is knocked out!"

The ropes snapped, pieces of it falling to the ground limply, leaving Ryoga and Mousse both struck dumb.

Not a trace of a smile appeared on Shoken's deadly serious face. "I admit that I have underestimated you, not realizing you weren't as simple-minded as I originally thought. But then, you have committed an even more serious mistake in underestimating me!"

Ranma reached Tofu-sensei's clinic, panting with the effort of carrying Akane. And here she was just denying how heavy she was yesterday!!

Kicking open the door, he found himself Tofu-sensei right in front of him, looking a bit startled by the appearance of the newcomer. But Ranma wasn't complaining – He had, after all, found the person he needed most urgently.

He started rambling. "Tofu-sensei! Akane got injured, so treat her!"

The infatuated doctor held his hands up in a pacifying manner, and reached for Akane. "Calm down, Ranma-kun, and tell me what's the matter."

Ranma barely heeded his words, but nevertheless slowed down in his speech as he gently placed Akane's limp and unconscious body in his arms. "Akane got injured by that ass-hole! Please treat her!"

Tofu-sensei stared. This was the first time, he realized, that Ranma had actually said "Please". He smiled inwardly. Ranma just wasn't good at hiding the fact that he was actually concerned about Akane many times.

"Very well. I'll check her over and – Where are you going, Ranma-kun?"

A barely audible reply shot back at him. "I've got to settle things with that bastard!"

Tofu-sensei sighed, and turned towards the mini-hospital room where two other female patients currently lay. "Well, I'll see to it that she gets taken care of."

He had barely entered the room when he was bombarded with questions by the two patients in question.

"Did Ran-chan come by?" That was Ukyo, who looked much brighter than when she had woken up to see that Ranma had gone.

"Did Ai-ren come by?" An equally cheerful-looking Shampoo demanded.

He sighed, yet again. If he was right, he would never have his peace if the two knew that Ranma had gone by without even asking about both of them...

Mousse gazed at Shoken steadily after getting over his initial shock. Very few people had managed to get past his ropes and chains attack, which meant that this guy was obviously a very seasoned fighter. He gritted his teeth in annoyance as he thought of Shampoo's admiring face. And that was enough to spur him on.

I'll definitely win this guy, and win Shampoo's heart for sure. Shampoo, my beloved rose, just wait for me and see!

"You're pretty good. But the next attack will definitely defeat you!"

Shoken rolled his eyes mentally. If his attacks were this corny, he doubted that Mousse would even stand another chance against him. The first time he got caught was only due to his underestimation. But the next time, he would not fall for such a simple diversion. He could not.

"Let us see, then. I doubt that you will be able to land even a finger on me again."

Mousse forced himself not to let his temper rise. "Well, let's see then! Revenge for my beloved Shampoo! Take this – Fist of the White Swan!"

He jumped into the air, and removed a child's training potty in the shape of a swan and lobbed it at Shoken with surprising speed, before jumping over his head.

Shoken coolly deflected the potty and glanced above in plenty of time to see Mousse.

"Fear my wrath! HAWK'S TALON!"

Without any obvious effort, Shoken dodged Mousse's attack and flipped so quickly that Mousse could not even detect the attack that was launched above him, and sprawled to the floor, unconscious.

Shoken smiled, like a lion ready to pounce on his next opponent.

"Hibiki Ryoga, you are next."

Ranma leaped lightly from building to building, feeling anxiety constrict him. Akane... would she be alright?

Of course she will, he silently berated himself. She's, after all, stubbornly uncute. But the image of Akane, limp and unconscious in his arms, was still freshly imprinted in his mind, and no matter what, he couldn't chase it away.

His sighed, depression clawing away at him as it never had in his whole entire life before. First I gotta tell Oyaji and Akane's dad...

He could almost imagine their reactions.

My kawaii Akane-chan... Being beaten so badly... Akane-E-E-E!! That was, of course, Soun Tendou, and the tears would definitely start somewhere along the way.

Ranma! Why didn't you protect Akane?! You are her fiancée, after all, and you are supposed to protect her... That was his father, of course. Damn father was the only one who would ramble off in that direction.

He was so not looking forward to it.

Author's Notes: Okay, this sure is a short chapter, but I prefer to write short ones, anyway. If some of you are thinking that I'm diverging from the plot too much, then I'm sorry, but some parts of Shoken's reasons will come through the next chapter.

However, as for the length of the story, another chapter will be added on to it. So it basically means next chapter is Ryoga's fight, then Ranma's, then some epilogue stuff. Believe, I won't just let Ranma defeat Shoken, pounce some stuffing into her, and let everyone be happy. There is stuff I need to develop too.

Gundum M: Thanks so much for your review. Rest assured, I'll continue to try my best!!