Disclaimer: I do not own Ranma 1/2, nor claim to.

Chapter 3: The Battle:

"So, make the best of this test and don't ask why. It's not a question but a lesson learned in time." Green Day: Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)

"Well, then, Sauske-kun, let's get this started, m'kay?" Keira said loudly, staring at her opponent. The boy nodded, as they both smiled.

Sakura grabbed Mayu by the arm, pulling her back towards one of the walls. "This time, you really need to give them room. Stay back here." She said matter-of-fact-ly. Mayu saw the seriousness in the eyes of the combatants, even through their wide grins. This wasn't child's play. She would understand why soon.

Keira began wrapping the wire around the sword hilt, attaching it tightly to the scabbard. When she finished, the girl flicked the sword up once, checking to see that it would not separate from the sword. That completed, she glanced back up at the boy, before sliding her right foot back, and slowly lifting her arms up, covering the sides of her face. "Are you ready?" Keira said quietly, pushing the weapon back into her belt behind herself.

Sauske did the same, holding his arms steady by his head, lightly bobbing on his toes, before nodding. "Whenever you're ready, Keira." He said quietly.

Mayu saw the girl nod, and waited expectantly for the fight to begin. There was an unusual pause, as if something was about to explode. Time slowed, as the girl strained to see every detail.

That's when Keira kicked. In an instant, they had crossed the entire dojo. The kunoichi's foot swung out, swinging across at the boy's face, in an unbelievably fast strike. Sauske used all his speed to glide under successfully, before Keira body swung around. As she glided through the air, her left foot, behind her, with the turning of her body, moved in range. She shot her foot out in a back kick, straight for the boy's face again.

Sauske reversed his muscles instantly, launching his body upward. His form twisted violently, before his body began to roll backwards, clothes flapping in the breeze, and the foot of the girl rushed smoothly under his back. The rotation continued, as his jump pushed him away from her, until it made a complete turn, and he landed on his feet in a back flip, three feet behind where he just was, knees and legs compressed underneath him to keep balance.

Keira, now spinning around randomly, dropped her right foot back to the ground, twisting it to stop her turn. Using all her speed, she pushed forward, throwing a wide punch towards the boy's face. It swung in quickly, before he caught it in both hands, and held it there.

Sauske, now in control, began to push the girl back, before she attacked again. Reaching across her body with her free hand, she drew out her sword, locked into its sheath by the wire, and swung at his side. He released her hand, turning his arms and bringing them together to block the attack. There was a loud crack as the sheath smacked into his arms. The force behind the blow pushed him back a few feet, his toes sliding on the smooth floor, a small trail of dust forming along the path. He was safe; only his forearms hurt a tiny bit. But they were still at square one.

Mayu stared in amazement at the past few seconds. They had moved faster than . . .well, anything she could think of. Neither of them even seemed to notice any thing unusual about those attacks. Not even Sakura flinched at that loud blow by the sheathed sword.

Keira twisted the sword, and took two more steps forward, driving the sword down to the ground. Sauske rolled sideways on his shoulder, again out of the way safely, before the sheath crunched into the floor. Keira simply twisted the blade again, turning it to face him, and swung across. Sauske rolled back onto his feet just before the scabbard reached him. Driving his hands down, he pushed himself up off the floor, bringing his legs into a split to reach over the blade, before it swung harmlessly underneath him.

The boy swung his body around, throwing his feet forward. It wasn't to hit the girl, just force her to move away. Keira knew that, but being completely exposed, she had no choice, jumping backwards awkwardly, while still in mid-swing. She landed softly on her feet, before stumbling back another step. The boy slid his legs down to the ground, landing almost as softly. But Keira was faster, and so she moved first. Drawing the sword aside, she charged again.

Sauske dropped part of his control to give himself enough speed to catch the weapon. There was a loud chink as the metal clicked on the leather scabbard when it hit his hand, but it meant nothing. Keira tried to drag the sword away, but this time, Sauske held firm. Pulling with all his might, he jerked the sword from her hand, launching it high into the air. Reacting quickly, he swung one of his feet around towards her, prompting the girl to duck. With the height advantage this gave him, Sauske easily caught the sheathed weapon, and stepped back, out of reach.

Sakura was sitting, tracking the action. Her eyes had been trained to watch for mistakes and errors in an opponent, and to take advantage over them. The same could be said for Sauske, Keira, Kite, Naruto, even if he wasn't good at it, and hers, Kite's, and Keira's parents. Here, she couldn't see any flaws; or, any that she would be able to take advantage of, at least at this point of her training in kendo. Barehanded, however . . .

Keira decided to move to the next level. Both of her hands reached behind herself, into a pair of pouches, before they drew out two kunai. Those are long handled shurinkans, or throwing stars, used by ninjas as a powerful weapon. Sliding her fingers through the small ring at the end of each one, she began to spin them, as she charged again.

Catching them in her palms, she stopped them blade down, before she arrived at her target. A faint glow of energy began to surround her, streaming away from her body in thin lines that dissipated as she ran. Her feet stopped running, and her body simply slid along the floor, as Keira reached her destination. Her arms, swept back while running, swerved around, driving their blades towards the boy.

Sauske swung the sword up, catching the two kunai blades, as his muscles held them back. He waited there, keeping the girl pressing her own weapon back, for a few moments. Then, Sauske released the blade from one hand, twisting it around until it was parallel to the ground, causing one kunai to stay above, and one below. He thrust that hand up, forcing one shurinkan up and away, before releasing the sword. His free hand crossed over, pushing the girl's arm aside. With her front now exposed, he drove the hand previously holding the sword forward, shoving the girl back a few feet, the dust rising from her feet.

The kunoichi spun the kunai around, before crossing her hands across herself, and then swinging her arms forward, throwing the blades towards him. The faint blue trails exuded by her body grew brighter, but remained faint, and only appeared for a moment, before disintegrating into the natural light of the room.

Sauske released any control over his aura-less speed. Moving his fingers quickly, he forced his hands outward, towards the incoming attack, and caught them gently by the handle. Rushing forward, while the girl was still recovering from the last attacks, he swung, still carrying the kunai. His hand drove the handle straight for her face, and this time, she was unable to dodge in time.

The ring slowed in an instant, gently tapping her forehead. The boy held that position for several seconds; one arm extended forward, the other swept back. His legs were spread, keeping his precarious position stable, before his mind recovered, and the body relaxed. Slowly, he stood up, and piled the kunai into one hand, and returned them to the girl.

"Again?" he asked calmly, smiling a bit. The girl only paused a moment, the color surrounding her fading completely, before nodding.

- - -

Mayu had to close her mouth with her hand. Those two had just moved as fast as all those superheroes on TV, and they were barely even sweating. And they were throwing around knives and swords like toys. Now, they were beginning all over again, at slowly increasing speeds.

"Pretty incredible, isn't it?" Sakura said to the girl next to her.

Mayu suddenly broke her vision of the fight when she heard that, and nodded eagerly. "I've never seen anyone do that! Even when he was fighting Naruto, it seemed incredible; but this, . . . I can't even believe it."

Sakura laughed a bit. "And how long have you two been friends?"

The girl sighed a bit. "I never thought about that. We've been friends for years, but he never really talked about martial arts. I knew he practiced them, but I never saw him fight . . . never saw him do anything. I saw Sauske catch a glass of water without spilling it, or run along the fence, or jump from the roof to the ground . . . but never this."

"Aw, that's just my brother for you." Sakura replied, shrugging. "Never likes to brag, never wants to fight, always the pacifist. Weirdest guy to be a martial artist."

There was a loud crack, as Sauske blocked a speedy downswing of the sword with his arms. The boy shuddered for a moment, before he drew back his control, and moved away from the next strike. Mayu turned back to the fight. "You said something about Sauske holding back. If you ask me, he's trying his hardest right now." The boy's face winced, as his concentration grew even more resounding.

Sakura shook her head. "Look at Keira." Mayu did as she was told. "Do you see that faint blue glow around her, just barely visible again?"

Mayu stared a moment, before shaking her head. "I don't see anything."

"Eh, you probably aren't trained enough to see it. And it's pretty weak right now, even if it's growing. If you could see them, you would see a faint blue outline around the girl, trailing behind her. And if you looked at Sauske, you would see nothing."

"Well, what is it?"

Sakura turned to the girl. "It's a battle-aura." Mayu stared back blankly. "When a person fights, they build up a lot of energy inside themselves. That's why you sweat, and all that. Some of that energy, however, isn't heat or electricity or anything science talks about. And your body builds that up for a while. When it gets to a high point, which it does extremely quickly, it takes away from your strength and power."

"When you release it out into the world," Sakura continued, "you get all your strength back. That's where the glow comes from. Ever hear about those people who everyone says looks bigger when they fight?"

Mayu nodded, as there were several loud chinks as a group of throwing stars were embedded into the floor. "Yeah, I have."

"Well," Sakura replied, "that's an aura. It's only released, though, when the person let's their control down. So, it stays hidden, except when someone is really angry, or afraid, or determined, or pained. That's when it begins to come out, and it lets a person reach their full fighting potential."

"What does that have to do with Sauske?" the girl asked, watching as the two combatants crossed kunai.

Sakura sighed again, much deeper. "Sauske never lets that control go. He never releases his aura. Not even the slightest amount. And so, he's a lot weaker than he has to be."

Sauske leaned aside, before flipping over the Keira, and landing behind her. She swung her foot back, which the boy blocked with his hand, forcing him to tumble backwards. Reaching his feet, he launched himself back up, passing over the girl's head again.

"That's weak?" Mayu asked.

"Not weak in the traditional sense, but . . . well, it's just a subjective thing, you know." Sakura replied. Mayu paused, then nodded. "Why did you want them to fight?"

The younger girl looked back up, as the fight continued. "What do you mean?"

"Oh, don't think I didn't notice you offering to let them fight. And after you shouted at him for taking five minutes to get out of school, too. Why?"

"Um, well, it's just that," Mayu stumbled through the words, before she looked up into Sakura's eyes. Big mistake. The piercing green-yellow eyes shot straight to her soul, and kept her from being able to lie. "I mean, it's . . . it's just that . . . well . . ."

"I'm listening." Sakura replied, still staring.

Mayu took a deep breath, calming herself, as she turned back to the fight. Sauske stepped back, dodging a kick to his face, before leaning aside as Keira swung a kunai at him, then ducking as the girl leap behind him, and swung across his back with the sword. "I just wanted to see them fight."

Sakura sighed, before shaking her head, smiling, as she turned back to the battle. "Of course." She muttered sarcastically, but let the idea drop. It might be true; it might not. Didn't matter.

- - -

"Bye, Keira!" Sakura shouted finally, as the girl raced down the street, and the rain continued to pour down. She waved as the ninja disappeared, standing safely under the roof, before closing the screen, and walking back into the house. Mayu and Sauske had gone off to the living room to work on their project.

Slowly, she wandered upstairs, and walked down the hall to her room. On the way, however, she noticed her sister's door open, and so, Sakura stopped and looked inside. There was her sister, drawing at her desk again, a pile of schoolwork, all finished, next to her on the floor. "Hey, Auska." The older girl said slowly.

The young girl, jumping a bit from surprise, looked up at her older sister. "Oh, hi Sakura! Let me just finish this drawing, they you can see it!" she shouted cheerfully, a wide grin on her face.

The older sister, deciding to wait, leaned against the doorway, staring at her younger sister. The younger girl was drawing furiously, trying to put the finishing touches on, her red pigtails flicking back and forth. Her blue eyes never looked up, and a small smile spread across her face.

"Another tragic sufferer of CGS." Sakura thought to herself. Yes, CGS, commonly referred to as Cute Girl Syndrome, normally affecting young children, making them unbelievably adorable, unusually smart, and often giving them amazing talents. While normally limited to animation and magna characters, it has been known to spread to normal people. Saotome Auska was one of them.

Her younger sister by four years, with bright red hair, a pair of pigtails, just like her father, and a delightful smile. Auska hadn't hit her growth spurt yet, but she didn't let it get her down. Well, nothing ever seemed to get her down. She loved to draw, and she loved to sing, although she didn't do that in public. Except, of course, when she was . . .

"Done!" Auska shouted, pulling the sheet off the table, and walking quickly to the door. "Whattya think?!" the girl held the drawing up to her sister's face, smiling expectantly.

Sakura took it, smiling back, before looking at it. "I didn't get to color it yet, . . . but I think it's pretty good." Auska said from behind the sheet. Sakura just stared. It was a drawing of Shippo, the fox-demon from Inu-Yasha. If Takahashi Rumiko could draw it better, she hadn't yet.

"This . . . this is amazing!" Sakura replied, holding it for a moment, before handing it back to her sister. The younger girl smiled wider, nodding. It should be known that not only did the girl love school, and art, and singing, and everything like that, she was also amazingly good at those too.

- - -

Akane stormed down the hall on the lower floor. She had just gotten off the phone with a teacher, and she was pissed. It was bad enough that he slept through two of his classes, didn't do any of his homework, and that this had been going on for four years. The kicker was that he was doing this while his mother was still away. Not that he didn't do the same thing when she was around too.

She walked past the old guestroom, where twenty-two years ago, Ranma moved in. Normally, it would give her a good memory or two, but she completely ignored it. Turning the corner, she wandered into the other half of the house. They had added it on about four years ago, to accommodate Nabiki and her family. Since then, it was one of the best ideas she had ever had. It let Akane stay near her entire family, even if it did have its rough parts. Like this.

Turning again, into the second part of the house, she saw the boy's door, shut as always, and knowing him, he was either there, or helping his sister in her room. And since Amy was reading in the living room with Sauske and Mayu, he would be in his own room. She stormed up to the door, and stopped instantly, before banging on the door several times. "Joseph!" she shouted through the panel.

"What?" a boy's voice inside said bluntly.

"Open the door!"

"What is it, Aunt Akane?" There was some shuffling sounds inside.

Akane clenched one of her hands into a fist. "I want to talk to you," she began, trying to stay calm, "about school today."

"What about it?"

"Open the door already!" Akane shouted again, banging on the door several more times.

"All right, all right, fine. Just calm down for a second." There was a pause, before some more shuffling sounds, and the door opened. "What?"

A blond-haired boy, Akane's nephew, poked his head out the door. His face was small, and she had to look down at him, since he was still growing. Joseph was only fourteen, and the older of Nabiki and Brandon's two children. He had no interest in martial arts whatsoever. But that wasn't what constantly got him into trouble. It was the fact that he was an absolute delinquent, and he was smart enough, by a long shot, to pass every class with flying colors.

"What the hell do you think?! I just got a call from one of your teachers, and they said you not only didn't do your homework, you slept through two classes!" Akane shouted, staring angrily at the boy. "What is wrong with you?!"

"I didn't want to do it." He replied coldly.

"Didn't want to?!" Akane shouted louder. "Just because you don't want to do something, doesn't mean you can just not do it! You have to do your work!"

"Why?"

Akane steamed, trying to control her temper, in order to prevent herself from throwing a tantrum at the boy for not getting it for a change. "Why?! . . . Listen, Joseph. School's important."

"I know that!" Joseph shot back, sliding the door open more, and leaning against the wall.

"I know. We've said it so many times, but that's because we mean it. You have to go to school, get an education."

Joseph sighed, before looking up at the woman. "And if I don't care?"

Akane sighed. "Well, if you don't really care, eventually, you'll be kicked out of school, then when you're old enough, you'll get kicked out of here, and be on your own, with nothing to set you above anyone else, probably. So I suggest you start caring."

"Phh, yeah right." He shot back again.

"Don't believe me?" Akane replied, all the lessons Nabiki had given her returning. "Or don't want to, because it's true?"

The boy paused a moment, before rolling his eyes. "Well, what if it's too hard?"

"Oh, don't give me that!" Akane shouted again, shaking her head. "You already learned how to speak Japanese and English almost perfectly, and you're really smart! Why can't you just try and do your work?"

"Because I don't see the point! If I'm smart, why do I need to prove it in school?!" Joseph shouted again.

Akane prepared to scream at him again, before she drew in all her anger again. Ranma would need to help her with this later; the rage, not the nephew. How Nabiki could ever stand him, she didn't know. "Just because you're smart, it doesn't mean you know everything they're teaching at school. If you really want to learn this stuff, you got to go and pay attention at school, and do your work. Understand?"

Joseph sighed angrily. "Yeah, whatever." He replied, before closing the door.

Akane caught it in her hand. "Oh, by the way, . . . since your mother isn't here, and since you decided to sleep in two classes, you are grounded here for the next two days, plus another day for not doing all of your homework. Understand?"

"What?!" Joseph shouted back, sliding the door open wide. "That's not fair!"

"Since when?"

"Who said you make the rules?!" Joseph shouted.

Akane smiled. "Well, let's see." She began counting off on her fingers. "It's my house, it's my dojo, it's my job, given to me by your mother, to keep you in line, and it's my decision."

The boy growled angrily, staring his aunt down a bit, before giving up, and turning back to his room. "Who cares."

Akane frowned. That didn't work right, unless . . . "And, since you didn't get any of your homework done yesterday," she said slyly, "you won't get to come with us when we go to Ucchan's this week. I'll just make you some noodles or something, and you can stay home. All right?"

The boy paused, his eyes widening. "You . . . you wouldn't actually . . . do that?" Akane nodded. Joseph paled a bit, before he realized something, and calmed back down. "Wait a minute. We aren't even going to Ucchan's this week anyway."

Akane frowned again. "All right, I'll cut you a deal."

The boy looked back, his head tilted. "What is it?"

"We go to Ucchan's tonight, and you get to come, if you show me all of your homework done by six. Deal?"

The boy paused, thinking it over, before glancing at his bag. Well, just this once, he could work for food. "All right, fine." He said in a gruff voice. Akane smiled, and walked out of the room, towards the kitchen.

- - -

"Ranma, you in here?" she said quietly, walking into their bedroom. She had been searching for him for the past few minutes, and this was the last place to look.

The man looked up, still lying on his back from staring at the ceiling. "Oh, hi Akane. What's up?" he continued, leaning back down.

"I was talking to Joseph, and . . ."
"I figured that was who you were yellin' at." Her husband replied.

Akane shook her head, continuing. "As I was saying, I was talking to Joseph, and I said we would go to Ucchan's if he did all of his homework by six. So, I just wanted to make sure that was okay with you."

Ranma looked up, surprised. "Wow, good timing."

Akane blinked, looking at him strangely. "What are you talking about?"

"Ryoga just called." Ranma replied. "He said he was gonna' go to Ucchan's with his family tonight, and he and Ukyo said we could all meet together again there tonight. So I guess we're goin' to go, huh?"

Akane nodded her head, walking to the door, sighing. She would have to suck it up, meeting him again. It had been so many years, she had almost completely forgiven him. And now she knew that none of what could have happened did. And then, Shampoo and Mousse would be meeting them tonight.

Would this day get any better?

Next Chapter: Ranma, Akane, and their entire family, along with Joseph and Amy, go out to dinner at Ucchan's, and an important secret is discussed.