Horse and Sword
A Ranma ½ and Rurouni Kenshin crossover
Disclaimer: I do not, by any means, own Ranma ½ OR Rurouni Kenshin. Would I be writing this if I did?
Chapter 6
Happosai Strikes!
Suddenly a scream erupted from the girl's side. Followed by an earsplitting cry of "PERVERT!" Ranma's eyes hardened.
"And, if I'm not mistaken, that's him right now…"
The men galvanized into action. Putting on some bathrobes, they all scrambled to the girls side… To be hit by flying water buckets.
"PERVERTS!"
The only one who wasn't hit was Ranma, who had splashed himself with cold water right before coming in. Jumping above the salvo of water buckets, she landed and ran to the furo from which she heard the scream. Said furo was occupied by a shocked Kaoru and red-faced Akane.
"What happened?" asked Ranma, looking wildly around for Happosai.
"Happosai!" yelled Akane, pointing to a hallway off to the side. "With others!"
"Others?"
Suddenly, Kaoru snapped out of her shock and turned red with rage. "Why that shriveled little old monkey!"
Ranma was helpless to stop Kaoru as she leaped out of the furo and threw on a bathrobe. She then rocketed toward the direction in which Akane was pointing. Wide-eyed, Ranma immediately took action. Diverting her eyes away from Akane as she rose and put on her own bathrobe, Ranma then sped after Kaoru with her fiancée in tow.
"Dammit," swore Ranma. "She's fast!"
"We're going near the exit of the bath house," said Akane.
"That's probably where they-" Ranma stopped in the middle of her sentence and halted running.
Before them was a huge hole that looked like it had been blasted right in the bath house wall.
"What did this?" asked a bewildered Akane.
"This has got Happosai written all over it!" replies Ranma. "Let's go!"
A voice came down from the hallway. "Wait!"
"Huh?" asked Ranma.
Kenshin, Sano and Yahiko came rushing down the hall. All wearing bathrobes and numerous bruises on them. Out of breath, the trio stopped in front of the hole, trying to catch their breath. Kenshin was the first to speak up.
"Any idea where they went?"
"Well," answered Ranma, pointing at the gaping hole. "Does that count as an idea?"
"Most likely, yes…" said Kenshin after picking his jaw off the floor.
"Then let's go!" shouted Sano, charging forward.
"Follow the bird-brain then," said Ranma, following closely behind him.
"Who you callin' a bird-brain?"
Trekking through the tunnel, the gang didn't find much except for a few rats, which Akane "Eeep!"ed at. After what seemed like an eternity, they finally found the other end of the tunnel. However, they had just gone into the blinding light of the outdoors when they were set upon by a group of bandits.
"Ha! Only five of ya?" spouted what seemed to be the leader. "The boss said that this would be hard!"
"Wait," said Kenshin. "You are employed?"
"Hell yeah," retorted the leader. "Youse bunch have got a big bounty on yer puny heads."
"Who are ya workin' for then?" asked Ranma.
"Bah, enough questions," returned the lead bandit. "Makes me head hurt, let's get down to business!"
With that, the group of twenty bandits attacked, brandishing their sword and clubs. Yelling like mad cows in sight of hay, they rushed Kenshin and co. head on. With one swift motion, Kenshin kicked up a screen of sand and dirt, blinding the oncoming bandits.
"Ranma!" shouted Kenshin. "Help me take these fools down! Sano, take Yahiko and Akane and start hammering them from behind!"
"Got it!" said Ranma and Sano.
After giving orders, Kenshin plunged into the thick of the bandit group and commenced to severly pummel them. Unsheathing his sakabato, Kenshin went through the bandits like a demon-possessed whirlwind. A slash took down three whilst another one disabled two more.
While this was going on, Ranma was dishing out her own version of righteous justice. Leaping in with a flying side kick, she took out one bandit. Turning around, she twisted a sword out of another's grasp while elbowing him in the stomach. However, she was then surrounded by five bandits, all carrying nasty looking swords.
"I take it you guys won't back down?" said Ranma with a smirk.
"We don't quit that easily, ya puny GIRL!" spat out one bandit.
"I'm a guy goddammit!" replied Ranma as she knelt down into a sweep kick.
Behind all the fighting, Sano, Yahiko and Akane snuck up behind the bandit leader. Taking out a mallet and using it, Akane quickly silenced him. Sano hefted the leader (along with his swollen head) and silently carried him off. Then Yahiko picked up some rocks and started throwing them at the remaining bandits.
With their leader seemingly gone, the leftover bandits soon gave up hope. Giving themselves in, they were thrown back into the bath house where they were soon picked up by the police.
"Alright then," said Ranma, dusting her hands. "Now, we just gotta find out where Kaoru went…"
"Wait," said Kenshin, visibly confused. "You mean you don't know where she is?"
"You didn't notice that she was gone?"
"I thought she was still at the bath house!" Kenshin panicked. "We have to save her!"
However, just before Kenshin took off, Ranma held him back. Straining against Ranma's light but firm grip, Kenshin questioned her.
"What are you trying to do?"
Ranma turned Kenshin around to face her and looked at him sternly.
"Listen Kenshin," she said. "I know Happosai way better than you. He will not harm Kaoru in anyway until he finds some way to get something out of it."
Kenshin visibly relaxed. "Alright, we will take this patiently then…"
"Ok," said Ranma with a voice of authority. "Happosai probably knows we're coming, so we're gonna have to be stealthy. Kenshin and me will go under the cover of night to Happosai's stronghold, which the police have located to be a few kilometers north of here. Then Akane…"