Disclaimer: I do not own Ranma ½ or Kingdom Hearts. Thank your for your cooperation.
Author's Note: If you liked the original first chapter then I apologize, but it bugged me. I reread it and it sure looked like a "Ryoga is god" fic, so I'm fixing it. Besides, a story isn't entertaining without a bit more actual effort. I hope you enjoy the fixed chapter. Also, I am trying out something new. Separating the speech from the paragraph for your easier reading pleasure.
A Different Side: Wild Half
Chapter 1
This Couldn't Get Any Worse
(and yet, it did)
The life of the Keyblade Master is fraught with peril. His current goal was to fight Ranma and see how this world's version stacked up to his. Ryoga didn't want to get his hopes too high, however, if his first few battles were any indication. Before he arrived though, he wanted to be male. A birdbath and a Fire spell later, he was male. As he walked around the back towards the dojo, he heard a girl's scream and a man's angry shout. He looked through the window and saw a buxom redhead backed into a corner by a fat man in a white gi. Without thinking, he vaulted through the window and aimed a dragon kick at the man's head. The gi clad man looked quickly towards where the attack was coming from and ducked on reflex, the kick passing over his head. He was snickering about the inexperience of the young fool as he spun around, only to find the boy standing protectively between him and the girl. The redhead wasn't as confused about the maneuver. It galled her that someone believed she needed protection, but the feint to her father's head to put the boy between them was brilliant. Of course, she'd never admit it out loud. The fat patriarch dropped into a ready stance.
"Tch. Ya need to hit what yer aimin' at punk!" he taunted. The boy wasn't feeling talkative, but answered with a lightning fast left towards the jaw. To the man in white, he may as well have been standing still as he deftly dodged to the side. His smirk of confidence turned to horror as he saw the kick approaching, much faster then the punch! The kick was dodged as well, but by a hairsbreadth. The boy in front of him was beginning to smirk.
"Shall I turn up the heat?" he asked. The pigtailed girl just stared at the fight, analyzing his moves, and with a start, realized he was holding back.
"Pops! This guy's playin' with ya!" she cried. Normally, she wouldn't care what happened to the fat fool, but if he was ready, she could analyze the guy's moves some more.
"Pah! I'll show him then. I am Genma Saotome of the Anything Goes Style of Martial Arts!" he proclaimed. The boy seemed definitely unimpressed. Genma finally took the offensive as he let loose a quick punch, which Ryoga knew was a feint and didn't dodge, but was surprised when it really was a true attack! He slid back slightly from the force of the blow, but was otherwise unharmed.
"It's only proper that we know your name." The dumb panda demanded.
"Beat me and I'll tell you." Was the reply.
Before Genma could retort, he found himself suddenly dodging what felt like a maelstrom of punches, throws, and kicks. Each one was getting closer and closer to him, but never hitting. Ranma was getting excited over the prospect of fighting this guy. Just imagining the techniques she could learn from him as she watched. The fat martial artist was panting with exertion, he wasn't even hit once but felt as if he ran a marathon. In desperation he cried out "Umi-Sen-Ken!" and vanished. Ranma knew it was over, no one could see through the Umi-Sen-Ken unless they knew the technique. Even then it was difficult. Ryoga felt himself slip into the mindset. Suddenly, everything seemed to be going in slow motion for him. His danger sense kicked in to warn of an incoming attack and since he had the time to contemplate the direction, he easily avoided the attack. His smile was peaceful and serene, much to the redhead's shock. He was flowing about the room as if dancing on air, before he finally said "End game" and exploded into sudden, harsh action and unleashed a chi enhanced strike into the air before him. A loud shout, followed by a bang against the far wall, showed Genma unconscious. The boy was dusting his hands off before smiling over at Ranma. His expression turned to shock. "Ranko?" and glomped her. The redhead stiffened in surprise, but it didn't feel like a pervert's glomp, more like an old friend. Still, a glomp is a glomp, and the startled fanged boy found himself landing in the koi pond.
The frustrated neo-girl remembered something important, this was a different world. Her Ranko wasn't here in this world and she glomped a person who didn't want to be glomped. The two neo-girls were sitting at the table, waiting for the hot water. She was a little bothered by the fact that the redhead was taller then her. She felt like she was almost nonexistent when surrounded by the taller people. Ranma sighed before looking back at the other cursed martial artist. The redhead tried to ask a few times, but each time she was told by Kasumi to be polite and wait for everyone else. The rest of the household gathered around the table just as the eldest Tendo girl brought out a kettle with hot water. Ranma unceremoniously dumped it over her own head, leaving the other girl to stare in shock.
"Ranma! You forgot our guest." Kasumi said in a gently disapproving tone.
"Heh. Sorry 'bout that Kasumi." The boy rubbed the back of his neck nervously.
"Could you get me a glass of water, please?" the short brunette asked politely. She waited for Kasumi to bring the glass and handed it to her. She showed the glass to the other people at the table.
"What's the point of this?" Nabiki drawled in an unconcerned manner. Ryoga knew better, however. When she was this "bored" was when she was the most dangerous.
"I'm gonna perform a lil' magic trick." Ryoga said.
"Get it over with, some of us have homework to do." Akane said with just a trace of irritation. From the neo-girl's experience she could go postal at the drop of a hat.
"Fine. Without further ado…" she said, using a light fire spell to heat the glass, and dumped it on her head. "Voila!" and revealed himself in his male form.
"Ryoga? Wait, you seem smaller…" the currently non-violent but confused girl said.
The rest of the family was just as confused about this as Akane was. It was somewhat funny to watch the Displaced Boy thought as they struggled to think up a good explanation. Finally, though it pained her to do it, Nabiki asked him who he was.
"Five thousand yen." He stated simply. The mercenary girl looked flustered. Ranma tried very hard to keep from snickering. Even Kasumi found it amusing.
"Who are you?" Genma also asked.
"Fine, my name is Ryoga Hibiki. I'm not from this world and have been through more then I should have." The fanged boy said before proceeding to explain his adventures. He also explained that he believed some information should be free. This thought nearly caused Nabiki to go into a seizure. When he got to the part about the Genma of his world engaging him to Ranko, the pigtailed boy almost had heart failure. After the tale of Kingdom Hearts was through, the Displaced Boy could see Akane's mental gears working like Genma, meaning not at all. Apparently, she reached a conclusion that she seemed satisfied with after once again putting two and two together and getting applesauce.
"Hentai!" she screamed and went to mallet him into the floor. Ranma cringed in sympathy before gaping in shock as Ryoga stopped it with a finger. A red glowing finger that caused smoke to come from the end of the mallet just before it became a charred wreck. She collapsed back into her seat, cradling the smoldering ruin in dismay just before bolting up to her room.
"As you can see, I also won't allow anyone to hurt me." The cursed martial artist said before Kasumi cleared her throat.
"Well, there should be enough space in the guest room. Is that all right Ranma-chan..er..kun?" she asked, hoping no one caught her slip. Nabiki was still shell-shocked and Ranma was preoccupied with dinner. Fighting off the Panda Baka who decided to play "I'm a cute lil' panda." Soun was in tears over his poor baby girl's hammer, even if he was, in truth, relieved.
"No problem Kasumi." The pigtailed boy replied before grinning at Ryoga. "Maybe our Ryoga will stop by." He thought, for once with actual enthusiasm. He wanted to see how this Ryoga stood up to the pig boy. Little did he know that his wish would be granted.
The usual activities of bathing and getting ready for bed were interrupted by a familiar little "Bwee!" Akane squealed happily when she saw her adorable pet pig,
chan. He seemed to be having a bit of difficulty breathing. She blinked a few times before remembering to loosen her grip before he died of suffocation. The little black porker had a small trickle of blood from his snout as he sighed happily. He was back where he belonged, in Akane's arms, and snuggled into her wonderful chest. Ranma was standing nearby and was actually happy to see the directionally challenged piglet. He sauntered up with a grin and patted the pig sweetly on the head before heading to the furo. The violent girl seemed at a loss for words.
"H-he was nice to
chan?" she stammered. "He actually was nice to you! Isn't that great!" she exclaimed happily. The stunned piglet had a sinking feeling that something had changed. Something big had happened and for once, being in Akane's arms actually scared him. What he saw next caused a very startled "Bwee!" when he saw a clone of himself in his human form. He was a perfect clone except that he was too slim. His build was even more slight then Ranma. The clone smiled at the cute little creature and rubbed him between the ears. The startled
chan bit him in the hand so hard he drew blood. "What the heck?" Akane exclaimed. "Naughty
chan! This boy is nice…" when he's not exploding my mallet, she thought darkly. "I'm sorry Ryo. He's normally more well behaved." She stammered. The boy just waved it off and walked towards the furo as well. They had decided to call him Ryo because it would be too confusing to say Ryoga if the Lost Boy was in the room. Akane went to her room, but set
chan down outside the door. "Not tonight. You were mean. This hurts me more then it does you." She said sadly before closing the door on the small side of bacon. With an angry growl, sounding like a chihuaha, and stormed the furo. He butted the door with all his piggy strength, which is considerable, if the door was made of crepe paper. The door was jarred open however, and the righteously angry porker stormed inside.
"He actually bit you?" Ranma said to his new friend. The bleeding boy was running his hand under the water, scrubbing it out.
"Wild, huh? I thought he was kind of cute. Though I thought I recognized that bandanna…" he mused. It suddenly smacked him between the eyes about who that was. In the lil' piggy's situation, he might've done the same thing. If he was brain dead and had a death wish. As the two kneeled before the buckets for the cold rinse, the two boys looked at each other. "Nothin' to worry about. We're two guys who turn into girls. Right?" Ryo said. Ranma nodded. The two steeled themselves and dumped the water over their heads, triggering the change. They looked at each other again, Ryo feeling vaguely jealous. Ranma's female form was bustier then hers.
"Same thought I had, huh?" the redhead snickered. The Displaced Girl realized how silly it was and snickered as well. The snickering degenerated into laughter and they hit the floor laughing. As they got themselves under control, they heard a soft thump. The pigtailed martial artist looked over towards the door and saw
chan, a red river flowing from his nostrils. The two neo-girls stood over the fallen form and grinned evilly at each other before punting the pig into the furo and triggering his change just before joining him.
The Lost Boy sat and glared at the two grinning young men across from him. This situation wasn't funny to him in the least! There sat a nearly perfect clone of him and there was nothing he could do about it, well almost nothing. The idea was perfect in its simplicity. He would just have to kill the boy named "Ryo" and make sure Ranma watched. As murderous thoughts ran rampant in his brain, the young man in question sweatdropped. The Displaced Boy could actually feel where his line of thought was leading him. Ranma wasn't oblivious to it either. This should be very interesting.
"Why are ya wearin' my face?" the Lost Boy growled out.
"Cuz it's been mine since birth." Was the cheeky reply.
"I'm gonna kill you. Maybe not today, but someday."
"Here's a plan." Ranma interrupted. "Why not challenge him tomorrow in the dojo?"
"For once you got a good idea, Saotome." The bandanna boy said with a feral grin. The Displaced Boy sighed in resignation. He was curious as to how he stacked up against himself, so reluctantly he agreed. The match was set for noon and the place was changed to Furinkan after they informed Nabiki. She really wanted to get a betting pool going on it, and as she informed Ranma, it would go a long way to cover what he owed her. It was agreed that Ryoga would spend the night and be led to the high school by Mousse of all people. The blind martial artist was only too happy to see Ryo led to his doom.
"I get the feeling the duck boy doesn't like me very much." Ryo quipped to no one in particular, but the snarls he was getting let him know he was heard.
The day of the battle was a surprisingly sunny one. The kind of day a person would rather spend sitting at the park and enjoying the beautiful weather, but that's for normal people. In Nerima, they converge for every battle royale that sprang up. This one was going to be interesting, they thought as Ryoga stepped out. From the other side came a rather slight young man, medium height, with his hair held back by a white bandanna. His black shirt said "Save the Trees: Wipe Your Ass with an Owl." He was wearing two belts, crossed gunfighter style. No one could see where his black jeans ended and his steel toes began. He was wearing fingerless gloves and a cocky smirk. The Displaced Boy was enjoying the attention. Mousse stepped forward, he was named as the referee, and announced the match.
"The Lost Boy of Nerima, the wanderer of the world! The champ, Ryoga Hibiki!" and gestured to the heavily built fanged martial artist. "Will be fighting today a newcomer. A low-down, dirty fighter called Ryo Hibiki." His voice muttered out without as much enthusiasm. The wiry built fanged martial artist still grinned and applauded himself. "The first to get a knockout wins. Anything goes. No move is illegal. Do you understand?" he asked the combatants. They nodded assent. "Get ready! Begin!" he called out. Ryo dropping into a visible ready stance as Ryoga whipped out his combat umbrella.
"Weapons already? Are you that unsure of yourself,
chan?" he shouted. Akane blinked and wondered why he called Ryoga
chan. The Lost Boy snarled. "I'm not obliged to honor any oath, either." He whispered just loud enough for Ryoga to hear. It hit him more effectively than a punch to the face, the boy reeled back in shock. His confusion cleared and became a snarl of pure rage as he launched himself violently at Ryo. The New Boy just smiled as he saw the huge gap in the Lost Boy's defenses and suddenly whipped out the Keyblades, seeking to disarm the enraged warrior, but was shocked when it felt as if he had struck Dragon Maleficent again, the vibrations running through his arms just before getting smashed away by the umbrella. He struck the wall with terrific force, but was still standing. "Wow. He's good." Ryo thought as he panted for air. Avoiding another hit like that became top priority as he set himself to go on the offensive.
Ryoga grinned maliciously as he saw the boy get thrown away by his superior skill and talent. The grin faded slightly when he noticed the boy standing up again and disappear entirely when he struck a bizarre two-weapon stance. It looked like he made himself almost aerodynamic and was preparing to leap. If he leapt at him again it would only end the same way as last time, he thought as he prepared himself to take the hit. His combat umbrella was held protectively in a defensive stance. "Have you given up? It's no use, I can kill you anytime I want." He gloated. The boy just quirked a smile at him before blurring into motion, assaulting the Lost Boy relentlessly with hasty seeming strikes. He wasn't pressured in the slightest as he blocked each attack easily, but something seemed off. He couldn't quite place his finger on it as he dodged again and again before noticing the boy's fingers flicking at the end of each strike. With dawning horror he felt his arms numbing and his hands drop the weapon just before a terrific spinning back kick took him in the jaw and spun him to the ground. The Lost Boy was more durable than that, however, his arms already recovering from the hastily used pressure points. He noticed his combat umbrella was out of commission, it was too badly damaged. With a grim smile he began pulling his bandannas off his head. "Heads up." Was all he said before unleashing a storm of razor-sharp bandanna shuriken.
Ryo gawked in amazement as nearly hundreds of the sharpened cloth weapons came flying at him. "Time to turn up the heat…" he said before twirling the Keyblades rapidly in front of him, joined at the ends and spinning even faster with each revolution, before unleashing a devastating Firaga spell. The cone of fire erupted to a full sixty feet in diameter, incinerating nearly every one of the lethal weapons, but a few escaped the immolation. Several grazed his arms and sliced through his bandanna. With a hiss of pain, he dropped the Keyblades, which disappeared as soon as they left his hands. When he saw the bandanna laying on the ground, his eyes burned with anger. On the inside of the bandanna is a symbol for his strength, the kanji for Shampoo's name and Ranko's, in Chinese. His eyes traveled back to his enemy, the air growing colder and more vicious around him. "Time for the gloves to come off." He growled before attacking.
Ranma was sitting in the bleachers of the practice field, watching the fight with the same level of awe as everyone else. He could see that Ryo was telling the truth about knowing Anything Goes, but could also see a few moves he wouldn't mind learning. That fire trick was sure awesome to see! Akane sat on the side for Ryoga, which actually surprised Ranma. There were plenty of people supporting the pigskin freak, but not a lot supporting Ryo. He was glad that Kasumi was sitting next to him, though he was feeling butterflies in his stomach. With a wrench, he brought his mind back to the match and blinked in shock as Ryo seemed to mentally transform. "What did
chan do to make him flip out?" he wondered. He looked to Kasumi briefly and saw a small pennant saying "Go Ryo" in her hand. Her face took on a shocked expression that made Ranma concentrate on the match again. Ryoga was defending himself as best as he could from a furious bicycle kick. The smaller fighter was twirling and twisting in midair, raining pain from above on the staggering martial artist. Ranma was glad he could see what was going on, but suspected nearly everyone else couldn't even see afterimages. Nabiki was watching the fight even more intensely then Ranma, he saw. "She must've bet on Ryoga." He thought with a sigh. The Lost Boy finally regained the initiative when he took hold of Ryo's ankle and slammed him forcefully into the ground. The whole crowd gasped at the spectacle. With a mighty heave, Ryoga flung the smaller boy into the wall again just before charging full steam at him. Fully intent on finishing him off, but gaped in shock as he seemingly vanished. With a mighty crash, he struck the wall, cracks forming in the concrete. He had just enough time to look up before a straight down kick took him in the face. He staggered back into an upright position and into a ready stance as Ryo landed. The two glared at each other before the battle began again. Ryoga figured if it worked once, it will work twice, and removed a couple dozen more bandannas and flung them at his adversary.
"This tired old trick again?" Ryo exclaimed, infuriated at the cheap tactic before charging up a ball of pure golden ki. Everyone gasped as it appeared. Ranma was briefly reminded of the Mouko Takabisha. The bandanna shuriken streamed at him with lethal intent. The Displaced Boy crushed the glowing ball into his palm before flinging his fingers outwards "Mouko Takabisha Revised- Starburst Gunner!" he shouted as hundreds of mini light bullets shredded the bandannas before blasting into Ryoga like supercharged buck shot, hurtling him painfully to the ground. "This time, stay down." He suggested before walking off the field. The Lost Boy couldn't even muster the strength to smile at Akane. Now that's saying something.
"Lemme get this straight." Ranma began as the two sat in the furo once again. "My girl half in the other world taught you the Mouko Takabisha?"
"Yep she did. I know both techniques as well as the Breaking Point. The only one of his moves I don't know is that silly bandanna shuriken one and it's only a matter of time before I understand that one." Ryo said. He was happier. Kasumi said she could fix the bandanna easily. He was also excited because Ranma wanted to fight him tomorrow. He was pretty sure that a guy who could defeat a god would be a challenge.
"I can't wait until tomorrow. Ryoga's good, but he's gotten predictable." Ranma said, figuring it would be a good idea to stroke his ego a bit. If he got too cocky tomorrow, he'd have him right where he wants him. They may be friends, but that didn't say he couldn't play a little game of sabotage. Ryo smiled as he figured out what his new pal was thinking. The two martial artists thinking "Tomorrow is gonna be a great day."
That night, Ranma sat on the roof in his usual spot. The sky was beautiful and he wished he had someone to share it with. The Kami apparently decided to grant his request as a ladder landed softly against the roof. "Akane?" he asked softly. The person climbing up giggled softly. Can't be Akane, he thought. He can't sense her usual hostile aura. The person he least expected to see was Kasumi. She was wearing a black jacket, a blue t-shirt, and blue jeans as well as a black baseball cap. Wait. Kasumi in blue jeans? She slipped over tentatively and scooted next to him. With her knee drawn up to her chin, she looked so adorable against the night sky. "Wh-what are you doin' here?" he asked, slightly nervous.
"I saw you sitting here alone. Since I couldn't sleep, I decided to come out here and keep you company." The girl said shyly.
"Why are you wearing that?" he looked her over as he said that. His voice was a little harsher then intended.
"I-I'm sorry, Ranma-chan. I thought you would like it. Also, fewer people will recognize me." She said, blushing furiously.
"Did she just call me 'Ranma-chan'?" he thought in confusion before saying "I didn't mean ta make it sound like that. Ya look good." He said, feeling suddenly shy. The two sat there in companionable silence for an unknown period of time. The two suddenly turned to speak, but nothing came out. Blue eyes peered into brown eyes. The same feeling that made her go up there was making itself known to Ranma. He found himself strangely unable to move away, but could only move forward. Their lips met in a soft and shy kiss. Ranma's mind suddenly went berserk "Akane's gonna kill me! She's gonna murder me! There won't even be enough left to fit onto a microscope slide!" before it finally said "At least I'll die happy."
Kasumi's mind was a whirl of emotions and thoughts as well. "He's my younger sister's fiancé! He has enough problems without me adding to them. Oh what will I do." She thought before another thought overrode those. "She never deserved him in the first place. She had all those boys after her. So does Nabiki. I've been the shy, quiet one that everyone takes for granted. Even Ranma-chan does, but not as badly as the others do." She felt the tears falling down her cheeks as they kissed. She could feel Ranma get ready to panic over her tears, so she did the only thing she could do. She grabbed the back of his head and pushed him down onto the roof. Just because she's Kasumi doesn't mean she doesn't get thoughts too.
The next morning found Ranma asleep on the roof of the Tendo home with Kasumi snuggled gently against his chest, his arms around her protectively. That was how Ryo found them anyway. He was also relieved to note their clothes were still on. "I gotta wake 'em up." He thought wryly as he casually leapt out onto the roof and strolled over to them. He tapped Kasumi a few times, she would be the easiest to awaken. Her eyes opened blearily, a soft smile on her face as she took in the sight beside her before her brain kicked back into gear. She looked up suddenly, and with relief, saw Ryo's smiling face. "Mornin' Kasumi. Before you ask, it's 5:30, a half-hour after you usually get up. I'm the only one awake, and the only one to find you." He noted the girl breathed easier at that. It took their combined efforts to awaken the pigtailed boy. He almost freaked out until Kasumi kissed him again. If it worked once, it should work again. As the two obvious lovebirds expressed their feelings, the Lost Boy's danger sense kicked into overdrive. An enraged Ryoga stood fuming in front of the dojo.
He shouted "Cheating on Akane? Saotome! Prepare to DIE!" and launched himself at the startled martial artist. Ranma went to dodge when suddenly Kasumi jumped in front of him.
"Ryoga, stop!" she cried out, but the berserker didn't hear her. His fist was already flying, he tried to avoid hitting the strange girl, but failed. His fist sunk into her stomach, bending her in half to the roof, where she shed tears as well as vomited blood and bile. Her hat fell off her head to reveal to Ryoga who he just pummeled. His mind was swirling through bleaker thoughts. He knew Akane would never forgive him for this. His eyes turned towards the two martial artists on the roof with something beyond fear. He crossed a line and this was going to hurt. The Lost Boy just hoped it wouldn't last long.
The two stared at the twitching form of Ryoga in anger, but Ranma turned back to Kasumi before he went pig slapping again. She was sobbing weakly, something was literally crushed inside her. "G-get an ambulance, Ryo." He said to the other boy.
"Relax, I can heal her." and placed his hands above her. "Curaga." He whispered and felt the gentle magic flow into Kasumi, restoring her from the damage she took. Kasumi smiled at the two of them just as Ranma pulled her into tight hug. Ryo walked over to Ryoga with a look of pure malice. "I'll heal you too, but you're going to hate me. I learned a lil' trick from my pal Donald. You like your cute lil' piggy features? Heh heh heh…" he chuckled before casting Curaga on him as well, but before the Lost Boy could disappear, he cast a transformation spell on him. His body shrunk down to nearly two feet tall, his clothes adjusting appropriately, little boar tusks jutted from his elongated 'snout', and coarse fur grew all over his body. He looked absolutely freakish. He squealed in horror, a terrified "Bwee! What have you done?" before tearing off down the street. At least he would have if he hadn't fallen head first off the roof and onto Akane's head. A girl's shriek later and a loud "Thump!" saw the piggy fly off into the sunrise. The three teens laughed as they watched Ryoga get his just desserts.
The End
Author's Notes: A much better chapter all around I think. I hope you all enjoy reading this as much as I did writing it. The fight between the newly dubbed "Ryo" and Ranma will take place next chapter. This story won't be as long as the last one, but I hope to get through a few of my ideas shortly. Ja ne!