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: The third-from-last chapter is out. I'm sorry about what I said in the beginning Author's Notes the previous chapter.
And, as some of you probably noticed, I have relabeled the chapters. It's nothing important, though, so you don't have to re-read the other chapters, as the chapter labels doesn't interfere with the content of the chapter. Anyway, please enjoy! Any comments or criticism is welcome, and please review as much as possible!
It's Gonna Rain
A Ranma ½ Fan-fiction
Part VI: Downpour
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."
Ryoga fixed Shoken with a death's glare, his mind already anticipating the outcome of the battle – Shoken at his feet, begging for mercy at his almighty power. The taste of victory would be so nice...
He could never forgive this guy for beating up Akane so badly. He would never forgive him anyway, even if he could. The damn bastard had hurt Akane, gave her so much physical pain. And it was so painfully obvious how superior Shoken was to Akane judging by his battle with the currently unconscious Mousse just a few moments ago.
He had a feeling that Shoken knew. And delighted in showing off the obvious by displaying his skills to a much inferior Akane. It was practically the strong picking on the weak.
"You'll pay for injuring Akane-san," He gritted out angrily. "You'll pay."
"Really? Your agitation will bring your defeat nearer."
"Weren't you the same way when you were fighting Mousse just now and were naïve enough to even fall for his trap?"
A brief sparkle of anger in his eyes, and his normal cool façade came on.
"Observant, aren't you?" It seemed that he was enjoying this... toying around before battle. In battle, he wasted no time in taking down his opponent. But he took the chance to gloat before battle if he there was an opportunity for him to do so. Such as now.
"Well, I'm not a very observant person. You flatter me." He stated simply. No way was he going to tell him how directionless he could be. Even Akane-san knew that...
"However," He continued. "I'm surprised that you know my name. Where did you chance upon it? And while we're at it, I'd like to know your name."
Shoken cocked his head. "My name is Shoken Koname. As for where I heard of your name, it is old news that there are a few unrivalled opponents in Nerima.
"A kind fellow told me of Kuonji Ukyo, Shampoo, Tendou Akane and Kuno Kodachi, and a certain pig-tailed girl, unrivalled girl martial artists, each unique in their own ways. And the guys were even more unrivalled. Kuno Tatewaki. Mousse. Hibiki Ryoga. And Saotome Ranma."
Ryoga's eyebrow twitched. Fancy being put alongside the lines of Mousse and Kuno! That was indeed...
"-Heaping insult upon injury!"
Apparently, Tatewaki Kuno had awoken after falling into a state of unconsciousness when Ranma had kicked him.
"To imagine that I, Tatewaki Kuno, aged seventeen, Blue Lightning of Furinkan High, to be placed alongside trash like Saotome Ranma! Inexcusable! I shall cast you into the depths of hell with my Holy Shinnai! Have at THEE!"
"Baka, you're just jumping straight into his trap." Ryoga jabbed his head at Shoken, who was merely looking at the scene impassively.
Kuno blatantly shrugged off his warning, heading straight for Shoken. When his blade was a mere centimetre away from Shoken, Shoken coolly reached out a hand and caught the shinnai between his foreknuckles, and kicked Kuno in the groin.
Kuno doubled over, apparently caught in an intense wave of pain, before a fist rammed straight into his chest and Kuno crumpled in a heap at Shoken's feet.
"Looks like our fight should commence now, Hibiki Ryoga."
"Akane-chan, my cute baby!! AKAA-NEE!! AKAAAANEEEEEE!!!!"
"Ranma, impudent, uncaring son of mine, how could you let Akane fall into such danger?! Akane is your fiancée, you should protect her!! And-"
Ranma sighed and rubbed his temples. Soun Tendou was already being bad enough. Adding his stupid oyaji into the picture turned the whole mess rather nasty.
"Shuddup, will ya?" He asked Saotome Genma wearily. "I've got to go and beat the crap outta that Shoken bastard. I don't trust Mousse and Ryoga enough to let them handle it on their own."
Which was stating that he thought he had skills which much surpassed them, of course. Ranma wouldn't be Ranma if he didn't have the cocky assurance that he would, somehow, always win a battle, no matter how much stronger the opponent was than him. He would always find a way...
He also had such a fierce determination that it was impossible to imagine him without it. These two qualities made him a very formidable opponent indeed.
A chill crept up his spine, though, as he thought of Shoken Koname. His livid eyes as he got agitated, that façade of coolness he showed as a mask to almost everyone, his near-impossible speed, almost as fast as his Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken...
"But there's a reason I want to be the strongest, and I will never ever reveal it to scum like you who don't even know what it feels like. I won't let anyone get in my way!"
... What was he – no, she – talking about? What did she mean when Ranma didn't know what it felt like?
Well, he didn't have any time to waste. Leaving his reprimanding oyaji and his crying Father-in-Law-to-be-someday (He was shuddering at the thought), he leaped away, adrenaline to its fullest.
Shoken... You're gonna pay...
"Take this!"
A huge score of bandannas flew towards Shoken, who coldly reached to batter aside the bandannas with lightning-fast speed.
Little did he expect Ryoga to jump amid his storm of bandannas to take out Shoken's ass. Shoken quickly leaped out of the way, his feet sliding on the ground.
A trickle of blood ran down his wrist.
"You obviously didn't know about the secret of my bandannas, did you? Even Ranma isn't stupid enough to reach out and batter them aside like that, no matter how stupid he actually is. They can slice a tree in half. I'm amazed you didn't even lose your arm."
Shoken smirked. "This kind of thing can never get to me. Get ready for my attacks. I don't use flashy moves, except my illusions, of course. My attacks are enough to batter you to pieces."
Ryoga couldn't control his laugh. "If you can't even lay a finger on me, then it's practically useless. I use both long-range and short-range attacks. My bandannas is one. My umbrella is another. And there is a third.
"BAKUSAI TENKETSU!!"
He jumped towards an area nearer to Shoken, who dodged out of the way, as Ryoga's finger struck a point in the ground.
Debris flew around, surrounding the duo. Shoken, with practiced (though slightly alarmed at Ryoga's power) ease, deflected all the debris, though the main impact of the blow had gotten him and nearly caused him to fall over. Ryoga, who was used to the tremors caused by the Bakusai Tenketsu by now, merely stood up the impact and debris and came out of it without so much as a single scratch.
When the debris finally cleared, it was clear satisfaction to see Shoken's icy expression falter a little to give way to alarm and total alertness.
So he's finally realized that I am an extremely, extremely strong opponent. Here, the real fight begins!
"That was a good technique." Shoken said, without a change of tone as his normal expressionless mask turned back on. "But however, you can never ever match up to me!"
He jumped into the air, Ryoga following, both exchanging blows. Ryoga aimed a kick at Shoken who coolly twisted and dodged around while reflexively aiming his fist at Ryoga's back. Ryoga ducked, and as Shoken's fist met air, turned around to face Shoken and aimed a fist at his face.
They continued like this for awhile, amidst all the curious students who had gathered to watch. It had, someway or other, turned from a revenge match (From Ryoga's point of view) into a fist fight, with neither gaining the upper hand.
A new transfer student glanced nervously at the fighting. "Won't any of them get injured in the process?"
"Ah, don't worry," Her companion replied easily. "Just don't go too near the fighting. With Ryoga around, expect massive destruction, as that's his style. It's normally Ranma who fights him though, and he's not here. If there's a person who can beat Ryoga, it's Ranma. If Ranma were here, this fight would have been settled within seconds."
The transfer student looked positively appalled. "Are you sure no one gets hurt?"
"Well, that's hard to say. But none of us onlookers have gotten injured before. With Ranma around, school has definitely gotten more interesting, as he always attracts all the trouble."
The transfer student was starting to look sick.
Meanwhile, the fist fight still continued for another 5 minutes. Finally, both separated, looking extremely grim. Ryoga was panting heavily now, while Shoken only looked slightly breathless and not breaking a sweat.
"If you're already this tired, then the match has already been settled," Shoken said with the slight hint of boredom.
Ryoga summoned all his last strength, looking very serious. "Unfortunately, I won't rest until I defeat you! This is for Akane-san, so I won't lose!"
Shoken coolly ran a finger through his hair. "For somebody? That is where you are wrong. No matter who you want to protect, the weak will lose. The weak will always fall under the dominion of the strong, no matter how noble their dreams are. That is the way of life."
"What are you talking about?"
"Only those who are strong," He continued, "can fulfill their dreams to the fullest. Because if you are weak, your dreams will eventually be crushed by someone stronger than you are. You will be helpless."
Ryoga took a step back, Shoken's words ringing in his ears.
"Because if you are weak, your dreams will eventually be crushed by someone stronger than you are. You will be helpless."
His fist clenched. Images of Ranma defeating him, no matter what terrible skill he had mastered flicked through his mind. Recollections of Akane and Ranma, smiling at each other, hand in hand, even for all their bickering, came to mind.
If he were stronger, he could have defeated Ranma. But that didn't mean that Akane would have liked him instead of Ranma...
"You're wrong." He stated flatly. "Ranma might have always defeated me, but that doesn't mean that Akane-san would like me if I managed to defeat him for once. Your concept of weak and strong, it doesn't work that way."
Shoken glared, fire in his eyes. It was the first time Ryoga had seen visible anger etched on the cold face. "Would you even be able to fathom what Tendou Akane feels when it comes to men? Everyone look up to the strong, and trod on the weak. The food cycle, the lives of men, they all work in the same pattern. Everything has the same pattern – The strong will always domineer over the weak. If you do not want to be domineered, the only way is to become stronger.
"And now, because of my dreams to become the strongest, I have defeated countless martial artists not unlike you who are weak because they believe everyone has equal status. That is wrong. And I shall show you now."
The anger melted from his features as he got into ready battle-stance. Ryoga, a bit shaken by Shoken, got into battle-stance too.
This is no time to ponder. Akane-san, I will end the battle for you... Only you!!
Shoken moved forwards with unnaturally fast speed, far exceeding Ranma's Kachu Tenshin Amagukuren. Before Ryoga could even react, he was met with nine simultaneous blows, all executed in a second.
He felt himself flying through the air, and just managed to catch himself, falling onto his knees instead splat face-down on the floor. He got up, wincing.
"Damn you-" He choked out.
"I'm surprised that you're still standing," Shoken said without the merest trace of a smirk. "I shall finish you off."
"I don't think so." Ryoga replied. He closed his eyes, falling into his depths of depression.
His eyes burned scarlet. "SHISHI HOKO DAN!"
The blast erupted, but as he blanked out his emotions, he felt someone punch him straight in the face.
He really did fall into the darkness then.
Shoken looked unmovingly at the unconscious Ryoga in the midst of a huge crater, feeling the effects of the Shishi Hoko Dan on him.
What... was that?
Dammit... Hibiki Ryoga, you have called forth the emotions which I suppressed, but you were defeated in the end. As was meant to be.
He walked away from Ryoga, as the amazed crowd twittered and backed away, cowering away from Shoken.
I will not be defeated. I will be the strongest of all martial artists, and never let anyone look down on me again.
I will never let such humiliation happen again. To be the strongest – I exist only for that dream.
"MATTE! Shoken Koname, fight me!"
He turned around, to meet a fierce, tough countenance, eyes which blazed with the fire of anger.
Ranma stood before him fearlessly, his fist clenched tightly.
"Now."
Author's Notes: YIKES! That was... wow, long! The plot's starting to darken, and I kinda feel like I'm rewriting Rurouni Kenshin all over again! Tee- hee
Anyway, the 2nd-to-last chapter is probably going to be even longer than this. Yikes. I might, possibly, even split it into 2 parts. Again.
The No Life King of Denton: Wow, thanks for your review! I'm really glad you found this interesting! Hehe...
Gundum M: Thanks for your review once again! I really appreciate all of your reviews!