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: Sorry for the long wait, but this chapter sure is long… Anyway, please enjoy and any comments and criticism are welcome! I think I made Ranma a bit OOC, so please tell me if my worst fear came through. Ranma is, after all, not the type of person who can use his brains effectively (as much as I hate to admit). But dammit, Ranma looks just SO cool in the manga.

fan-girl squeal>

Oh, and I am going to split this last chapter into two parts. Which means you'll have to wait for the next chapter. I just can't stand writing long chapters… Sorry about it… I just can promise that I will update the last chapter with the epilogue.

It's Gonna Rain

A Ranma ½ Fan-fiction

Part VII: Storm

Ranma stood in front of Shoken, his grey-blue eyes stormy, a faint spark of burning anger in them. A gust of wind blew his plaited pig-tail, dead leaves around him swirling away with the wind, making the whole scene seem more ominous than it ever was.

You'll pay, he seethed. You'll definitely pay for making Akane hurt. I will never forgive you. Never.

Shoken coolly observed his slightly disheveled state with a wary eye. "Are you sure you can win me in your current agitated state?"

Ranma suddenly smiled – or rather, smirked – with a glint in his eye. "Heh! I've always beaten my opponents! What makes you think I'll be defeated this time round?"

"True, but what kind of opponents have you been up against? I have been up against the best martial arts schools in Osaka, Tokyo and Kyoto. What makes you think I would lose to you?"

Ranma was silenced, but not out of intimidation, but rather, as a sudden wave of memories flashed through his mind.

I fought Herb… and survived due to Hiryu Korin Dan. I fought Saffron… and managed to survive and rescue Akane. What makes you think that I won't defeat you, bastard? I am, after all, even better than Ryoga.

He didn't say it out loud, though. Talking about his experience with Herb would mean that the audience (which he had barely noticed until then) would know that he and Girl Ranma were actually one and the same, a secret which he didn't particularly want the school to know. And even if they already knew, he didn't particularly want to remind them.As for Saffron…

Thinking about Saffron opened up painful memories. Despite the time that had passed, he still just couldn't forget about what had happened then. Couldn't shake off the guilty feelings that he had nearly let Akane die then. He could still picture her, turned into the dehydrated doll, acting as his shield, picture her lying in his arms, apparently dead, as he sobbed over her and realized what she actually meant to him.

He realized that he actually loved her then. It was a creepy thought, one that he realized just far too late (or so he thought). And it was an experience that he never ever wanted to repeat again… Even if he had never admitted it aloud and had never really thought about after the failed wedding, those were feelings that could never fade.

"I defeated opponents you wouldn't have dreamed of before." He replied sharply. "They sure put up a hell lot of a fight. Yet I managed to defeat 'em. Goes to show that I actually ain't so much of a wimp, huh?"

Shoken looked slightly curious, but reflecting on the tone Rama had used, decided not to probe more about the opponents Ranma had defeated.

"What makes you think that I am not stronger than them?"

Ranma cocked his head. "Let's just say I know you'll definitely be defeated by me, 'kay?"

Shoken bristled at Ranma's airy tone. He definitely needs to be put down a peg or two. After all, he's too full of himself.

He managed to muster a superior smile. "Well, let's see how you fare after I've finished you off."

Ranma smirked. "Omoshiroi. Bring it on!"

I'll definitely defeat you!

"You hiding secret! Ai-ren go without asking about me? Impossible! Definitely!"

"Shampoo's right! How could Ran-chan just go off like that! He'd better have some reason!"

Doctor Tofu sighed as he continued to treat Akane. Other than a slight concussion, a couple of bruises and some marks on her throat where Shoken had grabbed her with a Deathly Grip, she wasn't in a really bad state.

Removing the ice-packs from Akane's bruises as he covered her up with a thin blanket, he turned to face the accusers.

Shampoo was right behind him, their faces a mere inch apart. She looked, for the lack of a better descriptive term, pissed off. The same could be said for Ukyo, who was lounging beside the bed next to the one Akane currently vacated.

"I don't know why he did what he did either," He repliedcarefully, knowing that the slightest remark could set them off again. "He looked very upset and also very angry at the same time and left in a hurry. I have no idea what happened to him, except that he mentioned about "settling things" with someone he probably had a fight with."

Shampoo and Ukyo were all sparkles and glitter.

"Ai-ren taking revenge for me! Absolutely!"

"No, Ran-chan must be taking revenge for my defeat! After all, he was the one who carried me all the way here!"

They squabbled angrily for a long time,Doctor Tofuonly turning half an ear on them. He knew that Ranma was in such a rage and tearing hurry on Akane's account for the most part. After all, from what he'd heard from Saotome Genma, Ranma's father about that incident, he judged that Ranma actually had realized that he did loved Akane.

And about time, too.

He did notice a slight change in Ranma during the times he and Akane had stopped by. For one, he didn't look as convinced when he screamed "uncute" at Akane. He was gentler towards her, and didn't insult Akane as much. Not that Akane noticed, though. Just one "uncute" could send her into a bad temper for the rest of the day.

It sure was pitiful that Ukyo and Shampoo were just as oblivious as Akane was. But he had to admit that it prevented them from going through any heart-break.

Shoken caught Ranma's fist just as he caught Shoken's. They exerted some slight force before releasing, switching to another series of punching, blocking, ducking and dodging and each tried to stay on top of the other. None made any remarkable progress, though.

They had already been at it for five minutes now and nothing was settled. Neither was giving up, as only a few blows actually met flesh.

Shoken was faster, but less adept at using the full strength of a male body and thus dealt less damage with each blow he landed. Ranma was slower, but due to his experience of fighting with a male body, had greater strength, and thus made up for quantity with quality.

Finally, they separated, both with hot, flushed faces.

"You are better than I thought when I crossed blows with you previously," Shoken was forced to admit. "But you won't be able to defeat me!"

"Like hll! I'll defeat you, bastard! What you did to Akane was inexcusable!

"KACHU TENSHIN AMAGUKUREN!"

He sped forwards with lightning-speed, and executed a series of punches which could hardly be detected.

The first punch caught Shoken by surprise, but he managed to dodge the other punches before blocking Ranma's last blow, catching him off-guard, and kicked him – hard – in the ribs.

They separated, Shoken bending over slightly, wincing at the pain in his chest dealt by Ranma's punch. Ranma's ribs ached similarly, and he was smarting with the pain. It wasn't broken, but it hurt.

Shoken locked Ranma's eyes in a level gaze after he managed to deal with the pain. "It is unusual that a person can even catch me off-guard by speed, but I'll show you what it means by real speed!"

Ranma barely blinked before he found himself face-to-face with Shoken, and a second later, he found himself flying through the air as Shoken landed a series of blows on his chest and already-damaged ribs.

He caught himself on his feet and stood up.

Kuso… He's even faster than me… How is that possible?! But mark my words- I won't give up so easily…!

"How did that feel? This is true strength! That is why I can be the best!"

He walked slowly towards Ranma, who braced and readied himself for another round. But Shoken didn't start on him.

"You said there was no need to be the strongest in Japan the last time we crossed blows. It is true – there is no need. But being the strongest is my desire."

He leaned in on Ranma, who grimaced slightly and leaned backwards, apparently not finding Shoken's face just a mere inch from his face appealing at all.

"When you are weak, you will always fall under the dominion of the strong. Only those who are strong 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."

Ranma, being confused, was quite confused.

Fall under the dominion of the… strong? Dreams eventually be crushed by someone stronger than you are? Wait…! That- What he said when we fought earlier…

He recalled Shoken's blazing eyes, his choked voice full of suppressed emotion…

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.

Everything clicked.

He straightened and inched slightly backwards. "Shoken! You said you want to be strongest. And you tell me it's 'cause you want to fulfill your dreams the fullest, as weak people will get their dreams crushed by someone stronger. I don't know, but I get this feeling that there's gotta be a cause to why you said that.

"What're you tryin' to say? That you had your dreams crushed by someone stronger than you before? That you don't want to fall under your so-called 'dominion of the strong', so that's why you wanna be strong?"

Shoken nearly reeled back in shock (literally, of course).

Because Ranma's words had hit the mark.

He forced a smile as a flood of memories crashed in. "You have spoken right. By being the strongest, nobody can hurt you because you have utter control. People will not dare to hurt you in anyway anymore.

By being strong, nobody can hurt you anymore because you have utter control.

Ranma couldn't help but laugh. It wasn't his usual sort of laugh-over-something-extremely-amusing-laugh. It was a choked laugh, full of suppressed bitterness.

"What's so funny?!" Shoken demanded angrily. "It may sound comical to you, but foolish people like you can never comprehend!"

"No, it's not that," Ranma replied as soon as he stopped laughing. "Just thinking of what you said. 'Cos there was this guy that I fought that I managed to defeat even though he was a thousand times stronger than me. For our own personal goals, do ya think that anyone would just stop to think in the way you think?! Nah, they'd think that it doesn't matter, 'cos there's something that they must do!

"And that's the way I'm thinking now! For Akane, I will defeat you!"

Shoken glared, all icy façade gone. "What would you know!? Fighting for the sake of someone else is stupid, and I shall prove it to you now. Your friend was defeated because of that foolish concept. This is the way of life! And I shall show you the proof of this!"

Akane woke sluggishly, feeling as though she had just run through a treadmill. Blearily focusing her unfocused eyes on the ceiling, she wondered what had just happened to her.

Oh, yeah! I got knocked out… But how did I end up here?

She sat up, her mind still not in tune with her body, and scanned her surroundings. It was a few moments before she realized that she was actually on a bed in Tofu-sensei's clinic.

"Oh, Akane awake already?"

"Looks like it."

Her slightly glazed-over eyes found Shampoo and Ukyo, both sitting on different beds, looking extremely, for a lack of a better term yet again, pissed off. Or rather, only Ukyo was. She was lounging onan adjacentbed, glaring at Akane as though she had done something wrong. Shampoo, on the other hand, was looking incredibly pouty. Mouth set in a pout, her arms were crossed on her chest, and she was determinedly not looking at Akane.

Something was definitely wrong.

For one, why were the two here?

She was spared from further thought when Tofu-sensei bustled into the room. "Ah, Akane-chan. You're already awake?"

"Tofu-sensei!" She replied, somewhat relieved.

"Let me check on you. You look better now, but this is just to be sure."

She bit her lip, but said nothing. The sting of her defeat was still evident, and she didn't particularly want to talk. She felt better physically, but she was hampered with a lot of thoughts. Her easy defeat by Shoken. How Shoken became agitated whenever her reasons for her goal to become the best was touched on. And…

…Ranma! I wonder… I wonder… where he is now?

Not to mention the death-glares she was currently receiving by two pissed-off girls. If not, one pissed-off girl and one pouty girl.

"Tofu-sensei," She broached rather hesitantly as another thought occurred to her. "Ummm…Do you know who brought me here?"

"Ah!" He looked, for the first time, a tad bit nervous as he glanced at the two girls.

She was positive that the death glares were going to burn holes into her body soon.

"As a matter of fact, Ranma-kun brought you here."

Ranma…?!

She felt immensely guilty all of a sudden. For… all the times she'd hit him on the head or knocked him straight out of the roof. Then she remembered the insults he threw at her before she started hitting him and the guilt diminished partially.

But she had never realized how sweet Ranma could actually be until now, except after Saffron. She remembered the sensation of being held in his arms as his tears dripped on to her. She felt so cherished then.

Of course, other than that, he'd never really shown a lot of physical affection to her. Sure, there was the rare grin meant for her especially, and there was once when he even held her hand on the way home, but moments such as those were few and far in between, and always unexpected when they came. He'd never kissed her before. Nor did he ever utter the words "I love you", even when he'd found out that she, the so-called "oblivious" girl, had realized it already.

It was easy to forget her feelings about him, and easy to have the misconception that Ranma actually cared anything for her at all, whether as a friend… or something more.

"Oh."

A deafening silence swept through the whole room, but Akane wasn't disturbed by it, too absorbed she was in her thoughts.

Not even the Death Glares sent in her direction perturbed her.

Or at least, not until another thought came to her.

"Tofu-sensei, where's Ranma?"

He paused on his way out after checking on Ukyo and Shampoo, something which she barely acknowledged in her preoccupied state, to look at her. It was at this point when she finally noticed the Death Glares, and was starting to feel immensely uncomfortable.

"Well… I'm not sure. I think he mentioned something about 'settling things with that bastard'…"

Akane started. Does he mean… Shoken Koname?! Ranma… Will he be okay?!

"I'm going to find him." Akane replied abruptly, slipping off the blanket and sliding down the bed despite the refusal of her aching body.

"Akane-chan-"

"Don't stop me, Tofu-sensei!"

She ran off blindly, knocking over several chairs and broke quite a few brittle objects in her haste. She, however, could not help but notice the two girls currently tailing her.

"Why are you guys following me?"

Shampoo replied first. "Go see Ai-ren."

"Ran-chan would never just go without asking about us, and I'm worried about him." That was Ukyo.

Akane didn't even pause to think much about what Ukyo said, which, if she had listened closely, basically was implying that Ukyo was worried that Ranma could not defeat Shoken.

"Okay."

Author's Note: I really am going to split this part into two. I just couldn't stand writing such a long chapter, but the next chapter update, I promise, will have both the last chapter and the epilogue. This I promise.

Gundum M: WHEE! Thanks anyway! Well, I really gotta apologize for NOT putting up the other part of his fight with Shoken…

Anonymous Reviewer - Sargon Dorsai Wow, thanks for your compliments. You certainly made me think about some things, which made me think about some edits that I might have to make As for the cat fist, I don't think it will, because there aren't any cats around the area and it would make the battle end too simply, because once he uses it, he would score a total victory. Also, about your other question. Shoken does not have any projectile attacks except his illusions, but there isn't any trick to it - it's just his extreme speed. So, no, he won't use them again.

Anonymous Reviewer - Raen: Thanks for your feedback! As for why didn't Ryoga's blast hurt him, it actually did, but it wasn't as bad as when Ranma received it on the occasion when Ryoga battled Ranma using Shishi Hoko Dan, because of his extreme speed, meaning that due to his speed, the blast didn't hurt as much. Umm... I hope I'm making sense. And as for super endurance, well, I have to edit some of it (Thanks for reminding me!) but the main reason is that Ryoga didn't see the blow coming, and it hit him straight in the face, causing him to black out. I was taking reference from the anime, when Ranma usedthe same method of punching him to knock him out and win the battle. Also, at the moment before he was knocked out, he was experiencing feelings, so the blast he made affected him too. And technically, Ranma is better than Mousse and Kuno at Martial Arts, and is about the same level as Ryoga, except slightly better. Not that they can't compete with Ranma in Martial Arts, it's just that Ranma has a larger variety of attacks which work better against Shoken. Kuno, because of his straight-forwardness, often loses to Ranma. Mousse has his tricks, some of them which made Ranma fluster, but Ranma has real skill and he has the speed to dodge his attacks. As for Ryoga, the main reason why he often loses to Ranma ultimately is because Ranma is better at thinking in battle (Well, sort of) and has more creativity to think of ways to win his battles. And his speed, of course.