Disclaimer: I do not own Ranma ½, nor claim to.
Chapter Thirty Four: Backroad Crossing:
"If I seem bleak, well, you'd be correct. And if I don't speak, it's because I can't disconnect. But I won't be burned by the reflections of the fire in your eyes as you're staring at the sun!" The Offspring: Staring at the Sun
The door slid shut behind them. "We're home!" Amy shouted loudly as the two children slid out of their shoes.
"Hey!" Nabiki said cheerfully as she quickly walked in. "How was the last day before vacation?"
"Great!" Auska replied, stepping up onto the floor, smiling up at her aunt.
Nabiki was about to reply, when she paused. Glancing back and forth between the two girls, she blinked several times. "Where's Joseph?"
"Oh, . . . something happened, so . . . he said the teacher wanted him to stay after school. He told us we should head home without him." Amy was oddly nervous as she spoke.
Nabiki sighed, leaning against the wall and rubbing her forehead. "What has he done this time?"
> > >
"TENCHUU!" Aki screamed, stopping at the edge of the field.
A swift, quiet breeze could be heard rushing by.
"Aki?" Sauske asked, looking over at the steaming girl, who looked quite confused all of a sudden. "What are you doing here?"
"Where is Tenchuu!" Aki shouted.
The boy looked over at his sister and Keira. They were all standing by the fence behind home plate on the baseball field. Other than the thre of them, and now Aki, the playing field was completely empty. The two girls glanced at each other, then turned to him and shrugged. Sauske turned back to his fiancee. "We don't know."
"You . . . don't know?"
Sauske shook his head. "He should be here soon, though. We think." Sakura replied, glancing at the side of Sauske's bag. He tied a watch there last year so he didn't have to wear one on his wrist. "It's almost three."
Aki paused, before nodding, and turning around in place, reading herself to tackle her brother if he came this way. Which she was almost sure he was going to.
> > >
The lot was a concave, depressed field surrounded by chain link. In all, it seemed almost senseless. It may still be suburb, but its simple fact of being open land was mind-boggling. Why have it? It wasn't a park, it wasn't useful, and it was barren. The only thing unique was the tree which sat in one corner: large, thick, gnarled, and worthless, the dead brown leaves still hanging on. It was nowhere, a seemingly waste of all time and effort. Much like the battle raging atop it. Although, deep down, everything must have a purpose. Both did. But only Nature and the man knew what they were, respectively.
"Are you afraid of death!" Tenchuu shouted, running forward, the scythe blades sticking through the ends of his sleeves were trailing behind him like wings, his feet pulsing on the ground, speeding his form forward in a zig-zagging path.
The man stood, his tall gray-sand tan hair still in its tower shape, spiked tall into a column, his eyes staring through orange sunglasses. "His aura's still haven't been cast yet," he thought to himself, still calm in his stance, arms raised and feet spread apart slightly with bent knees, "but what's hidden below is pretty good. He's got some skill. Plus, it doesn't look like my kick hurt him too bad. The darts might have, but my kick didn't. This could be fun." His smile curled to one side. "Haven't fought like this in a little while."
Ten meters. Tenchuu narrowed his eyes behind his thick glasses, watching intently at his opponent. This man attacked for no reason, bringing him here to no place in particular for a battle just because he seemed to want it. Maybe, if he had been challenged, he would have left, like the man had said. Maybe. But it didn't matter. Five meters away. He was fighting now. He had already been hit, had already witnessed his attacks fail. This man chose to drag him into battle. Three meters. That was already determined. Two meters. Now, Tenchuu would end it. One meter.
"Ebbing Blades!" Tenchuu shouted, kicking himself up straight and twisting his entire body, as well as turning his left arm over, spinning on the ball of one foot, the other holding his body balanced on the one steady leg. The tips of the scythes went against the spin, ready to claw into the nameless man.
Stepping back, the man kept a tiny distance away from the whirling edges, letting them whisk harmlessly past him, only centimeters from his body, each rotation at the same distance from him as it was before, even though both bodies were further along, leaving a thin trail of stomped and parted grass as they moved. The air whipped along his chest, moving with the pirouetting Amazon, each turn a tiny gust against his shirt.
Dropping his foot down, Tenchuu ended his spin, before pushing himself forward faster than a moment ago. His right arm slashed down, ripping through space unhindered. Stepping and rotating his shoulders to allow his movement, his left arm crossed his body and then slashed back across, digging deeply into the breeze.
The man leaned and retreated again as the boy's right blade raced up. He rolled his shoulders away, letting the tip just miss at it's closest point. His height kept him towering over the black haired teen, and his long legs made it easy to retreat as far as he needed. Experience let him stay as close as he wanted.
Tenchuu, losing patience at the man's dodges, raised up both arms across each other, the left blade cutting ever so slightly into his right sleeve before jumping forward and slashing with both scythes together, making a large "X" as they raced towards their intended victim.
Who stepped again, leaning out of the way, although at a bit further distance this time. But it didn't matter, since now, both of Tenchuu's arms were swung aside, and that meant his whole front was open. So, the unknown assailant promptly stepped back in, running his fist straight out into Tenchuu's gut, right on one of the red lines where he had been sliced.
Gasping in pain, Tenchuu's arms drooped a bit under the shock. It wasn't too strong, but soon, it wasn't the last one either. WHUMP! Another punch, this time to the chest with the left hand. WHUMP WHUMP! Tenchuu could feel himself stumbling back. SMACK! His cheek felt the calloused knuckles beat into his jaw, forcing the boy's head to turn and fall back.
Instead of stepping forward for another punch, the man raised his knee, before kicking out straight with his foot, plunging it into the Amazon's stomach again, shoving him back. Stepping into strike range immediately, the man repeated the move, impaling his thick, heavy boot into Tenchuu's abdomen, bringing another struggled gasp from the boy. Allowing the Chinese teen to stumble away a bit more, the man turned his body perpendicular to his prey, before bringing the same right knee up again.
"RAAGH!" he shouted, stabbing out with his heel again in a powerful side kick.
Tenchuu blurted out a labored gasp as he felt the air forced from his lungs and immediately tried to draw it in. Tossed backwards, the white robes whipping on his skin in the air as he flew, the Amazon male had nothing to do but stare at the sun while crashing powerfully onto the ground, sliding back, his head knocking away several small rocks, the blades dragging along the dying grass.
His body crumpled onto itself when it slowed, trying to lower the pain by pulling in on the injured areas, cuddling them with the other painful parts. But the movements did nothing, only amplifying the burning of his wounds and bruises.
The man lowered his foot down, still smirking at his fallen opponent.
Slowly, Tenchuu rolled over, facing away, still curled. His body convulsed a bit, before pausing. Then, he convulsed again.
BLOUUGH!
"Ah, how the mighty Amazons have fallen."
Tenchuu glared at nowhere, his back still towards his opponent, wiping traces of vomit from his chin and ignoring the patch on the ground. Taking a deep breath, he placed his hands flat on the dirt to support himself better. "I not finished."
"Oh, really?" He chuckled once. "You seem to be struggling to hold down your own lunch."
"I not finished."
"Are you hoping for some amazing, miraculous save from the jaws of defeat?"
"I not finished." Tenchuu began leaning onto his feet, continuing to take deep breaths.
"Or, are you just losing your mind?"
The Amazon, prepped, rolled back onto his feet, standing up instantly, turning back with flaring eyes, staring through the thick glass. "I not finished!" he screamed, clenching his hands as he raised the blades around himself, legs bent to run again.
> > >
"Uh, Aki? . . . What are you waiting for over there?" Sauske asked eventually, loud enough for the girl to hear.
She ignored him, working through her own thoughts. "He should have gotten here by now!"
"Aki?"
"He must have been held back a bit. Father must've needed him to fix something in the restaurant. He is never late without a good reason. He must be on his way by now!"
"Aki? Is something wrong?"
"Enough! I'll go after him! He'll come the same way he always comes . . . no, wait, he'll probably take a detour past that abandoned lot; that way he won't pass me going . . . of course! He must be going that way!"
Sauske began to walk towards the Amazon, Sakura and Keira following behind him. "Aki? Are you looking for your brother?" He offered, still hoping for some kind of response.
She shouted "I've got you now!" before bolting off around the side of the school and disappearing out of sight near the front gate.
They all stared at her running off, unsure what to make of the girl's sudden shout.
For a moment, nobody said anything, before Keira broke the silence by muttering, "What's she doing?" and shaking her head.
Sauske stared. "Does she really want to break up the fight?"
"It makes sense." Sakura replied, staring with her brother. "Tenchuu did say to not tell Aki about the fight."
The boy nodded, as silence began to pervade the trio.
"Is she gone?"
There was a pause, before the three turned at the new voice, looking back towards the baseball diamond again. It only took a moment to see what had changed. There was a familiar boy watching them, while also glancing around for any sign of Aki returning.
"Chii? What are you doing here?" Sakura asked, blinking as the Amazon began to walk towards the three of them, smiling pleasantly.
"Did Aki cleave?" he said hopefully.
There was a pause, before the kendoist nodded for the three of them. "Yes, she left."
"Where's Tenchuu?"
"We don't know." Sauske replied, rubbing the back of his neck with his free hand, leaving his bag in the other hand perfectly still. "He was supposed to be here by now."
Chii tilted his head as he came to a stop in front of them. "What time is it?"
Keira glanced at the watch. "Three o' six."
The Amazon's eyes widened. "He's late?"
The three Japanese teens nodded.
"That late?"
They nodded again.
He sighed, thinking while rubbing his chin. "That's odd. He's always on time for things. Fights influted." Another pause, before Chii meekly repeated, "Included."
Sakura turned back to look down the path Aki had run. "Well, it looks like Aki went out after him. I guess it doesn't matter anymore."
Chii shook his head. "No, I'd wait. Aki will beat him up, I can tell you, but he'll probably show up anyway, if only to challenge you again."
"Really?"
"Yeah, I'd wait. Besides, you never know. He might take you on with a broken wrist. He used to be quite a fighter."
Sakura blinked, before narrowing her eyes. "Why did you come down here, Chii?"
The boy turned to her, a bit shocked. "What? Is it wrong to enjoy watching fights?"
"Is that all?"
"Actually, yes. There is nothing new to see except Sauske fight."
The two Saotomes stared at the Amazon for a moment, before Sauske shrugged and sighed. "Well, I guess I can wait here longer. There's nothing else to do today."
"That's the spirit!" Chii cheered.
Keira stared at the Amazon for a moment. He was wearing a plain, short sleeved shirt, appropriate for the warm weather, with those white bandages along his arms obviously freshly changed, as they were snow white and smooth along his forearms, extending under the white fabric of his sleeves. His pants were a gentle tan, sandy in color, meshing oddly with his shortened silver hair.
"Wait . . ." Keira thought, blinking. "Shortened?" She began to speak. "Chii, what happened to your hair?"
He visibly began to sweat. "What do you mean?"
"You cut it." Keira pointed at him. "You cut off your ponytail."
Chii paused, chewing on his top lip a moment, before smiling. "Oh, that? It, uh, got burned in a . . . kitchen fire. So I brimmed some off."
"Trimmed?" Sakura replied.
"Uh, yeah, I mean, I trimmed some off." He sighed. "Got to be more careful in there."
"Is everyone okay?" Keira asked, concerned.
"Yeah, my parents won't mind about it. It's just hair."
"I meant the fire."
"What fire?" he asked nervously.
"The kitchen fire?"
"Oh, that fire. Yeah, everyone's fine! No worries! Just a little . . . kitchen fire. We put it out, I got my hair burned off, and then we started cleaning everything else up."
Keira stared at him perceptively, before relaxing. It wasn't important. He was right. It was just a little change. Besides, what difference did it make. He seemed okay with it. No need to pursue the issue.
> > >
"You really think you can win?" the man asked, his hands and legs already back in their fighting stance.
Tenchuu nodded strongly, his eyes burning in inner strength. The man simply sighed in reply, before the two of them readied for the final act.
The Amazon knew it was the end. He had gone soft. His body was weak. That powerful beating left him exhausted. He wasn't the fighter he used to be, ever since they had come here. He had let his skills slide. But there was no time to worry about that. He was running out, and so he needed to focus on what he was doing now. Not what happened before.
The man began running forward. It was time for him to take the initiative, and bring this fight to a halt. He had wasted enough time here. This would be the end.
Tenchuu lowered himself, his arms sweeping back. The distance was closing, and his arms twisted slightly as he waited for his opponent to approach. He waited three seconds, three agonizingly long seconds. Suddenly, his arms swung forward, well out of striking distance of his assailant. "Dragon's Claws!" he shouted, the man ignoring the strange movement.
When his arms crossed his front, though, something unusual happened. The scythes released, crossing over a little as they shot forward at a blistering pace towards the man, both blades connected to his arms by a thin rope.
The man, while a bit shocked at the assault, continued on anyway. He wouldn't stop, not for some flying blades. The weapons shot up to him, before he leaned far to the right, letting the first one whiz by harmlessly. Reversing his movement, he rolled left to escape the second incoming sickle. SCHINK! But didn't.
The corner scraped through his jacket and shirt, cutting into his right shoulder. He grimaced at it, but the cut was too shallow to worry. Besides, he was close.
Tenchuu reacted immediately. He swung his arms back, grabbing and stopping the chains, attempting to pull the blades straight back the way they came.
Seeing the lines reverse direction, the nameless man simply charged faster, before snapping up his left leg. Jumping the last meter and a half, he kicked out his raised foot.
Tenchuu stumbled as the man planted his boot into one of his shoulders, before he noticed the other one coming towards him. CRUNCH! The right toe of his boot smashed into his face, splitting his glasses in two, and knocking the Amazon down and away again.
The man flipped, letting the returning blades whoosh by underneath himself and over Tenchuu, before twisting his body so that his feet could be planted firmly onto the ground again. He crouched a little as he landed, but Tenchuu had it worse, sliding along the ground a bit, kicking up a bit of loose dirt and leaving another trail in the dead grass. The scythes finally crashed down, fifteen meters away, the ropes reaching their limit and stopping their speedy flight.
Tenchuu turned sideways on the ground, trying to get up when the man ran forward, kicking the boy across the earth. Tenchuu gasped loudly, tumbling and rolling towards the weapons, his robes caked with dirt and bits of plant life. He laid on his back for a moment, panting, before he felt a new surge of pain.
CRUNCH!
"GAAAH!" he screamed, feeling two boots jam into his stomach.
The man scowled, feeling his own stomach knot at the battle, but inside, he knew there was no choice. He had to be ruthless. There could be no prisoners and no mercy. Even if the fight was more than just one sided. He slid his feet back off the boy, who stared up in the air, huffing for what little air he could take in.. The man paused, before quietly muttering, "Sorry."
Then, he jammed his right foot into the boy's stomach again.
"GAAAH!"
"TENCHUU!" a female voice screamed from across the field. The man turned, looking to see a buxom, blue haired Chinese girl staring at them from the other side of the fence. Her face was frozen in pale fear, before the chain began shaking as the girl clambered up and jumped over, running to them.
"It has to be done." he thought to himself, before turning back to the fallen Amazon male. "HWAACH! . . . PTUU!" The spit missed the boy by a wide margin, but the effect was enough, as the girl began running faster. The man turned away and began to walk off. He needed some distance from this girl. If his hunch was right, she was an Amazon, and Tenchuu was her husband, or husband to be, at least. As he walked, he wondered if it might be Aspen that he married. True, he wasn't exactly sure she was an Amazon, with the ordinary Japanese school uniform, but the hairstyle was distinctly theirs.
"Tenchuu!" she shouted again as she dropped to his side, brushing his face with both hands. The girl stared in horror at the scene. He was bruised, bleeding, and unconscious. Most of the bleeding had actually stopped, but the red stains hid that fact. Besides, there was dirt trapped in every wound. And not all of them had stopped.
Now, distanced from the girl at Tenchuu's side, the man turned back. And gasped.
Aki brushed the last of the thick layer of dirt from Tenchuu's forehead, staring at him, her face pale. She hated herself. The whole time, since she heard Keira saying her brother challenged Sauske to a fight, she had been thinking about that argument the two of them had a few days ago in front of Pai. Now, she couldn't remember a single word from it.
All she could think of was the time her brother agreed to walk with her into the hills when she was nine. The time he carried her from swimming in the river because she was too tired to walk when she was five. The time he helped teach her to fight with a sword. The time he gave her all the extra food when they got lost in the woods last year. That was all she could think of at the moment. Well, that, and one other thing.
How much she hated the person who did this to her brother.
She turned her head to his attacker, staring with those oval eyes, black hatred set in the center. "Who are you!"
The man, obviously not much older than wether Aki or her brother, a few years at most, was silent for a moment, staring at the Amazon with a bit of fear. Then, he gained control of himself, before relaxing. His voice was calm when he spoke. "Me? The name's Kakekomi. You?"
She glared at him more, before flatly answering, "Aki."
His eye twitched. "You got a problem?"
"Why did you do this?"
In his mind, he reminded himself about ruthlessness. "Cause I wanted to."
"Sounds like a good reason . . . for me too."
His head tilted. "Oh, for what?"
There was a bright flash of red, mixed with the sound of running feet on dirt. Kakekomi saw the girl run, but was caught off guard.
WHAM!
He felt her fist smash into his chest, knocking him back, before he recovered, leaning to the right and out of the way of her next punch.
Aki didn't let up on her assault. Her huge aura, at least eight times her size, and a strong red, gave her the power she so desperately craved right now. Her right arm swung out, punching three times, before she hooked across with her left, then jumping and kicking out with her foot. The man switched between dodging and blocking, keeping all her other attacks after her first hit at bay.
Shoving her foot aside with his right hand, he uppercut the girl in the body, knocking her back. Both fighters stepped away, Aki after landing unceremoniously on her feet, Kakekomi as his arms switched back into a defensive position. They began circling one another.
"She's fast. Much faster than her brother." He examined the damaged part of her green aura, only slightly tinted by his orange sunglasses. "Not quite as tough, but she doesn't seem to want to let up. Her gold aura certainly shows how much she hates me." The spiked golden sphere swirling around her was totally focused on him, just as he thought. It was rage.
Her red aura settled a bit, lowering to about three times her size. For an ordinary fighter, however, that was far above the norm, and Aki knew it. She knew she was angry. But she didn't care as she stared at the auraless man. She wanted to bring this "Stampede" into the ground. And it didn't matter what it took.
Kakekomi openly stared at her, examining the color swirling around. He smiled. The aura burst was quite effective. Being able to both act as a mirage, making it seem like a huge burst of power when it was not, or to actually drive up the strength and speed, depending on the users whims, allowed Aki the ability to trick her opponent's exact understanding of her power. But it's flaw is the same flaw evident in every aura technique. Using it too often will be exhausting. She settled into her normal aura to continue the fight. And so much aura was there.
He smiled more, before curling his fingers and relaxing them twice, giving the "Come on!" sign. Aki responded easily, charging in. And the battle began again, she on the offensive, he withdrawing back and to the side.
> > >
"SAUSKE!" Naruto shouted, running next to the side of the building. "I've got you now!"
"Naruto?" Sauske asked, watching the boy slide to a stop a short distance away, fire in his eyes. "What are you doing here?"
"You didn't go home! We have our fight today!"
Keira sighed. "Naruto, do you have to do this every day?"
"I'm going to beat him, Keira! Today's the day!"
"Will you all stop shouting!" Sakura shouted, bringing about silence, before turning to Naruto. "What the hell did you bring your brother for?"
Kite, rounding the corner of the building with a bottle of water in hand, simply shrugged. "So the nose still works?" Sakura glared at him. "I heard Keira stomped Naruto into the ground. I figured I'd tag along today, just in case she did it again."
Naruto face darkened, but Sakura spoke up first. "You still smell like farm, Kite. How could my nose not work?" Kite began walking a little faster, approaching the group. "I'm sure even you could have smelled your own foul odor from back here. What did you do, roll around in between those trees while you were in . . ."
Kite cleared his throat, bringing Sakura's attention back up to him. She noticed the water bottle, with the cap already removed, being held in an odd position. The perfect one for throwing. "Hey, Sakura, can you feel rain?" The subject was immediately dropped.
"Aaaaanyy-waaayyyyyy," Naruto began, before turning to his rival. "SAUSKE! Let's go! RIGHT NOW!"
Sauske sighed, speaking in his usual calm voice. "Naruto, I'm busy today. Can't it wait?'
"Busy! Doing what!"
"Tenchuu's already challenge me to a fight. I'm just waiting for him."
"Yeah, sure." Naruto pointed an accusing finger at the boy. "A likely excuse!"
Chii sighed, interlocking his hands behind his head and walking off a bit to get away from the argument. Sauske shook his head. "It's true, Naruto."
"Really? Then why isn't he here yet!"
BOOOM!
WHOOOoooooooo . . .
Everyone froze as the explosion noise filled the air . . . and a thick rumble rolled through the ground for a single moment in time. . . . Nobody said anything as they looked towards the place where they thought the sound came from.
Unfortunately, . . . that view was blocked by the school.
Keira gulped. "Was that . . . an earthquake?"
Kite shook his head. "No, that was definitely not an earthquake. . . . Something exploded." He looked to Sakura and Sauske. "Let's go check it out."
Sakura nodded, and the two seventeen year olds took off without missing another beat. Chii, interested, quickly followed. Keira waited for a moment as Sauske sighed, and then two of them raced off after the other three.
Naruto turned to ask something, before realizing that Sauske and Keira were already gone around the school. There was a pause as he thought over the situation. "Hey! Wait for me!" And then he went off after them.
Next Chapter: The pilot light is on, and the inferno is about to return; who will he take on?
Well, that's the end of chapter 34! Hooray! Sorry it took so long to get this chapter up, especially after I thought I was going to get this one up on time. And I really don't know if I'm going to get the next one up on time. If I do, it will be out before the week is done, probably Friday. If not, I should have it by next week, normal time. I had really wanted to get to the Christmas episode before I reached the one year mark of this story, but if I get everything up on time, I'll only miss it by one. Yes, it will be Christmas in May!
So, that's the plan for the next two weeks. I think I'll be able to get it all done in time. But before we get to the reviews, I want to thank all of you reviewers! It's great for me to get messages from you all, and it keeps me going! Please keep it up! Which brings me to point two: I want to run a little survey through you people, to gauge where I need to work on my story. Who is your favorite couple, or the two people you want to see get together (And it doesn't have to be, although it can be, Sauske x someone)? I think I asked this before, but nobody answered, so I'm going to try again! It's a simple question, and you can just tack the answer right on with any other review you're doing, even if it's just a quick half a sentence response.
(UPDATE: 4/12/05): Okay, there was a mistake in this story, where I forgot to change Kakekomi's name. So, fixed that for those of you who already read it. Just so you know.
Anyway, on with the reviews:
Sleepingbear: Why are you thinking Vash the Stampede? . . . Hmm . . . A better question is . . . why is nobody else thinking that! Because that character is visually based off Vash the Stampede from Trigun, with some minor changes (less complicated clothing design, sandrock-tan hair instead of yellowish blond, etc.). To be fair, though, I only did it because of the sunglasses.
Blueramza: YAY! A new reviewer who likes my story! Thank you!
Shinjiku: Well, I'm glad you still like the story too! As for Aki and Sauske, I can't tell you that, because I hate giving away the plot to any story. But I will say things will improve between most of the characters. That includes not just Sauske and Aki, but also Keira, Chii, Tenchuu, Mayu, Sakura, Ganko, Naruto, Kukri, Kite, Tabakatsu, and a whole list of others! And that's as specific as I'm going to get.
nonengle: Well, you were curious how the fight would resolve, and it's still not resolved! So, hope you enjoyed it. And thanks for clearing up your comments about the fight with Keira and Kukri. I'm glad you liked it!
Paige C: You couldn't wait for this chapter, so . . . there you go! And you don't hate Keira, which I'm sure most people don't, which makes me happy! And I'm glad, albeit two weeks later that I finally get around to officially telling you this, that we have the whole strange email-mess thingy cleaned up! So, thanks again!
Batanga: YAY! Another new reviewer who likes my story! WHOO HOO!