Chapter 3 – Ryoga's New Groove
The courtyard was silent as the young man walked into the school ground, and towards the new guy, the new Saotome. There was something familiar about this situation, but Akane couldn't put her finger on it. The man tried again.
"Get away from her. Now. I won't let you hurt her, you bastard."
Kenshin, meanwhile, knew instinctively that this would end in a fight. Not that he was happy about it, but he could tell, and therefore studied the young man closely. Then it hit him where he'd seen the boy before. It'd been almost two years… This will not be pleasant.
Kenshin didn't let himself slip into the past – time enough for that later – and continued to study his opponent. He was tall, six foot two if he was an inch. And built. Not too overly bulky, but he looked tough enough to take a tank shell at close range to the chest and keep going. He was dressed in a black tank top with matching kung fu pants, which were oddly accented by the light brown jacket and similar combat boots. The only thing that seemed… off… on the entire outfit was the strange yellow and black polka dotted headband.
He was holding an overly large backpack, at least one hundred pounds he estimated, casually in one hand. He let it drop to the ground, leveling his other hand straight at Kenshin, which was holding the largest umbrella he'd ever seen.
At about eight feet long, six feet of fan and two of handle, it was more of an umbrella used over a table or cart than for a person. This umbrella was decidedly different, however, as it appeared to be made of some sort of metal. Another hundred pounds. Easily. And he was handling it like it was nothing.
"Step away from her. Akane! Run!"
Akane tried to stop him, she really did. Having finally placed the boy, she didn't want this to happen. "Ryoga, don't…!"
The lost boy, however, ignored her, and addressed Kenshin. "Well, are you going to just stand there?! Get away from her, or I'll really hurt you! This won't be like last time, even if it's starting similarly…"
Kenshin gulped. Not that he was afraid of Ryoga, but of what had happened last the last time they'd fought. And the worst of it was… he had been the aggressor in that fight, and the angry man in front of him had been in the right. This was not a fight he wanted, but it was coming to get him. Fast.
Ryoga was charging.
Holding his overly large umbrella behind him with one hand, Ryoga was coming in, picking up speed as he went. Kenshin pulled himself into a stance, and waited. Several feet away, Ryoga swung the umbrella, allowing it to pull him into a skidding stop, the charge adding force to the blow. The umbrella would never have hit her, Ryoga knew the weight of his weapon, but Akane dived out of the way even as Kenshin leapt over him. Ryoga acted instinctively as his umbrella shot up, not to strike, but to open.
"RYU TSUI SEN!"
The hammer blow came down, but the opened metal of the umbrella caught it effortlessly. After the blow was caught, he closed the umbrella instantly, not giving Kenshin the chance to recover from the unexpected impact. Still, Kenshin managed to land in a crouch on the ground. Ryoga leapt back and smirked.
"Expecting a repeat of last time, creep?"
---
The bokken came down, easily splitting the umbrella in two. The evil grin on Kenshin's face was enhanced by the look of confusion on the lost boy's.
---
Kenshin wasn't sure what to think. He hadn't expected the results of his strike to be quite that ineffective, but it was unreasonable to assume that… Ryoga, if he had heard right, had learned nothing from their last encounter.
On the sidelines, Nabiki was torn. This fight would undoubtedly make her a lot of money. But there was family involved with this, and the new and improved Nabiki Tendo showed her caring for her family in more than just paying the bills. She turned to an associate. "Go find the sprinkler controls. Don't turn them just yet, but turn them instantly if I send word to."
The boy nodded and ran off. Nabiki smiled, a compromise reached. She would allow the fight to continue, but only to a point. It would be hard for a small black pig to fight off someone like Kenshin after all. Nabiki's grin widened as another bet came in. She might not attend Furinkan anymore, but there was entirely too much money to be made here to cut ties completely. Hence her stint at light office work in the principal's office. She pretty much ran the school now, with minimal effort, and made sure that none of the elder Kuno's more… unique… orders ever left the office.
Meanwhile, Kenshin was recovering. Slamming his bokken up under Ryoga's jaw before he could react, Kenshin used the time to dance away, careful not to get too far and risk another charge. The man was simply too unpredictable when that happened.
Ryoga just smiled at him, and pulled the umbrella back over his shoulder with one hand. Kenshin tensed as Ryoga seemed to ready himself for something. Then, Ryoga's free hand moved, and it was pulling and throwing headbands, each leaving gouges in the ground where they landed around him. Kenshin dodged franticly. Just where is he pulling all those from…? He dismissed it as unimportant. His musing cost him a bandana to the face, stunning him momentarily.
Ryoga used this time to gain distance to charge, and did so. Kenshin leapt, as before, but not for Ryu Tsui Sen. Ryoga might expect it, and it was effectively useless at the moment. No, he jumped just as Ryoga reached him… and disappeared.
Ryoga looked around, then his eyes widened, and he instantly dropped the umbrella, and went into a roll, coming up facing the swordsman. Kenshin, who had been standing on the umbrella, recovered as well, spreading his stance a bit as his feet hit the ground. "Ryu Son Sen!"
The bokken flashed in, looking like hundreds of strikes a second. To his credit, Ryoga managed to block some of them, but most eluded him, striking home.
"Ryu Tsui Sen!"
Bokken glowing blue with the power of his ki behind it, Kenshin landed the Dragon Hammer Flash home while Ryoga was recovering from the earlier attack. Ryoga dropped to his knees, but got steadily to his feet. "Not bad. But let's see what you can do with this! Bakusai Tenketsu!"
Ryoga slammed his finger into the ground, sending shards of earth flying. Kenshin whirled his bokken in front of himself to provide a defense, but was not completely successful. Still he was better than Ranma had been at blocking it, and that was something. He smiled. "Interesting. Do Ryu Sen!"
Kenshin slammed the end of his bokken into the dirt, watching as it too exploded into fragments. Ryoga blocked carefully, and came up grinning. "Pretty good, I'll admit. But don't think I'll let you get away from me again."
Ryoga charged in again, but was unable to gain speed over the short distance. Kenshin had immediate advantage, but Ryoga took blow better than most tanks. Finally, Kenshin leapt away from their conflict, leaving Ryoga in the center, breathing heavily. Suddenly, Ryoga dived off to the side and grabbed his umbrella, bringing it up in both hands, tossing it into the air like a baton.
Unsure of what Ryoga was up to, Kenshin had readied himself watching carefully. Ryoga's stance shifted to something more open, and his fist flew towards the ground. Kenshin frowned. This one is too far from him for Bakusai Tenketsu to work… So what is he doing?
Ryoga's fist impacted the ground, not straight on, but at an angle, pointed towards Kenshin. "Bakusai Tenketsu Revised! Jishintai!"
For an instant, nothing happened. Then, starting from Ryoga's fist, the ground began to shake. Kenshin was still standing only through his sheer skill. Then the real attack began. The ground split from beneath Ryoga's fist, rushing straight at Kenshin. Kenshin threw himself out of the way. He would have preferred to jump, but the ground was barely providing stable enough footing for someone with his level of training to stand, let alone jump.
When the crack reached where Kenshin had stood a moment ago, the ground exploded, showering the immediate area with debris. Ryoga's hand shot straight up then, catching the falling parasol.
Ryoga was charging again, and Kenshin got weakly to his knees. He couldn't take too much more, and he knew it. The problem was, how? Further… after last time… did he want to win? He shook the thoughts off. He needed this. Win or lose, they had to settle it. He completed the rise to his feet, and barely had enough time to set himself.
As Ryoga was on him, Kenshin took a half step to the left, spinning as he went, letting his bokken fly out. "Hi Ryu Sen!" The spin added force to the blow, and the blow added a twisting force to Ryoga's charge, sending him through a couple of trees before he came to a halt, bouncing twice on the ground.
It took several seconds of Ryoga not moving except for the rise and fall of his chest for Kenshin to relax. Finally. This one was uncertain if Ryoga would ever go down.
Kenshin turned and began walking into the building. Akane grabbed his arm. "What was he talking about?"
Kenshin hesitated, then regarded the cracked and broken ground with a strange curiosity. "This one does not wish to speak of it."
Akane frowned. "Tell me. Now. Ryoga would never attack anyone without good reason, and I want to know why."
Kenshin sighed. "Very well, this one will speak, but not here… not with all of these people watching."
Akane smiled grimly. "Nabiki! Clear the grounds, please, Kenshin and I need to talk about this."
No one moved for a moment, and then Nabiki frowned. "Well? You heard her. Do I really have to repeat it?"
There was a mad rush for the door. It simply did not pay to mess with either Tendo sister, even if the alternative was a building that could come down on you at any time. Akane turned back to Kenshin as Nabiki strode up. "Well? Get on with it."
Kenshin nodded. "This one… This one is not proud of what happened that day. In fact, this one wishes that period of his life had not come to pass. But growth is required in all beings, and sadly, I did not grow from this experience.
"It was just after this one had left his home…"
Kenshin grinned, a confident smirk on his face as he walked down the street, bokken through a specially designed belt loop. This wasn't the greatest section of town, but that was alright. It was his section of town.
Well, not his precisely, but he was apart of the most influential gang there was around here, and that made it his by proxy. A woman's cry pierced the area. He frowned slightly and moved towards the source of the noise. It was not his intention to protect the woman, but occasionally a good fight could be had over one, and he'd get some practice in.
As he closed on the area, Kenshin swore under his breath. Vash again. Vash was another member of the gang, and much older than Kenshin, in his mid twenties or so. He was called Vash, because, well frankly, no one knew what his real name was. And no one knew because he was crazy. But he did answer to Vash, so that was something. Vash's mind held only the slightest affection for two things. Guns and women. Money was also loved by Vash, but it was really only a step to getting more guns and women.
Vash's fascination with women was… perverse. There wasn't often much left but a sobbing ball of flesh once he was done. Kenshin himself was indifferent. The only thing that mattered to him was being the best at what he did. And he was. He was 'Hitokiri Battousai', and only the foolish challenged him. Even those within his own gang were cautious of training with him. Women, however, held absolutely no interest to him.
Unless Vash was assaulting one.
Their boss didn't really care one way or another about it, other than to make sure Vash's room was soundproofed and the girl wasn't killed, but the girls Vash usually went after were prostitutes, who couldn't go to the police anyways.
Their boss only cared whether to girl lived only because her death would get the police involved. As would this. Vash was assaulting a high school girl right in the school yard, waving his gun around in the other. He stalked quietly on to the field. The only salvageable thing about the situation was that there wasn't anyone else around.
Kenshin outranked Vash in the gang. Simply being sane had gotten him that. So, hopefully, Vash would listen… if he got lucky. "VASH!"
His voice thundered across the field. He would have preferred to do it without attracting so much attention, but this was the only way to get his attention, and it worked. Kenshin reviewed his options at this point, and decided to go with the most expedient route. "Vash! Return to the boss. He would not… appreciate this."
Vash smiled a little. "Do I have to? She's… so young… I really think I'd rather stay and get to know her better."
Kenshin drew his bokken. "I think you'd better leave. Now."
Vash knew that tone of voice, and he wasn't far enough away to keep Kenshin from closing with the godspeed before he could wound him fatally. The boss liked Kenshin better than Vash too, and both knew it. "Fine. I'm out of here."
Kenshin watched Vash until he was sure the unhinged gunman was safely off the scene. He turned to address the girl. "Go. Tell no one of this."
She sneered, obviously thinking she was safe, since he'd sent Vash away. "And what if I don't?!"
Kenshin's face was ice cold as he replied, not that it was often any other way. "Then I break your legs. Painfully. Carefully, too. You'd never walk again."
She gulped and backed away. Then, she screamed again. This time, someone answered. "Get the hell away from her!"
Kenshin whipped his head around to see one of the funniest things he'd seen in quite some time. A boy not much younger than him was running in waving an umbrella around. He snorted, and swung in his bokken with crushing force.
The umbrella stopped it.
He was surprised, but not so surprised that he let it stop him from dodging the boy's follow up. Taking a closer look at the boy he noted the hard muscles moving under the shirt. Unorthodox weapon or not, this wouldn't be settled in one swing. Eventually, Kenshin's superior skill prevailed, and the umbrella was split. Recovering before the other combatant, Kenshin pressed the point of his bokken towards the boy's throat. Kenshin didn't smirk; he just stood there, emotionless except for the burning rage at the entire world inside him. He spoke quietly, but his voice built into a roar as he went. "Did you really believe you could defeat me? Defeat Hitokiri Battousai?! NO ONE CAN DEFEAT ME!"
He was so lost in his own roar he almost didn't hear the whispered reply. Almost. "Ranma wouldn't have lost…"
Kenshin gripped the younger boy's shirt and drew him close. "RANMA! RANMA?! RANMA COULDN'T BEAT ME! NOT EVER!"
The defeated boy still whispered, lost in his own world. "Ranma wouldn't have lost. He'd never have given up. I couldn't ever beat him, and now I can't beat this guy. I'm worthless."
Before Kenshin could reply, or do anything, really, Ryoga threw his head back as his body glowed. "PERFECT SHI SHI HOKUDAN!"
The last thing he saw was a sickly green light sweep over him.
Akane… well, Akane was speechless for once. Nabiki, however managed to get over it enough to speak. "A gang?!"
Kenshin was quiet. "This one would rather forget that period. This one will never be Battousai again."
Akane sighed, changing the subject. "Well, you'd better hope Ryoga believes that."
Nabiki was still curious though. "What happened to change you? You're well…"
Kenshin spun around resolutely. He did turn his head back towards her as he replied though. "That is something this one will not speak of. Even to his parents."
"Bastard…"
Kenshin came back around, eyes widening a bit. Ryoga was, impossibly, getting back on his feet.
Ryoga was also glowing.
Akane and Nabiki glanced at each other, then sprinted off in opposite directions, leaving Kenshin alone on the steps to the school. Ryoga straightened. It took effort for him, but he still did it. "You won't beat me, you jackass. I'll win."
The glow was intensifying, but instead of the dark, depressing green, this was a bright, firey orange. He leveled a single hand at Kenshin, who gulped. "No matter what happens to me, no matter how many times you strike me down, I'll always get back up. Always. You may be stronger, you may be better, but no one hurts Akane. Ever. YUUBUTA SAKIGAKE!"
The orange glow flared to brightness as it encompassed him in an aura, before flooding out of his hand. It was a curious energy blast, because the twisting aura energies took the shape of a boar's head. Kenshin, mesmerized, and too tired to move, allowed the blast to send him into the wall, and into unconsciousness. Ryoga grinned, and shook his fist at the sky. "I did it! You see that, Ranma! I did it!"
Then Ryoga too fell over backwards, to tired to fight off unconsciousness himself. Akane and Nabiki gaped from the sidelines. Ryoga had beaten a Saotome. It might not have been Ranma, but it was as close as he could get now.
If for no other reason than the Kamis decided to add to the surrealistic nature of the situation, Kuno chose this moment to wake up. He looked around for a moment, surveying the broken turf. His eyes finally fell on the knocked out Kenshin. Then, he raised his bokken into the air with both hands. "All bear witness! I have prevailed over the sorcerer Saotome!"
Then, he walked into the school. Akane just fell over where she stood, and Nabiki started muttering under her breath about the damage to the grounds.
Okay, I don't know where it came from, but Ryoga seemed to wax poetic a bit there at the end. And that was the cut down version of it. It won't happen again, but I felt the need for a little drama with the unveiling of the new technique.
Some of you may not like the changes I made to Ryoga, but they needed doing for the story. I need Kenshin to have some strong backup in the future, and a suicidally depressed Ryoga, like he is most of the time, is not that someone.
Speaking of new techniques, I suppose I should go ahead and tell you what they mean. 'Yuubuta Sakigake' I was going for something along the lines of 'Charging Boar' but the more literal translation is 'Brave Pig Charges Ahead of Others'. And that assumes I got the 'Yuubuta' right. I'm a little shaky on that one. But I'm sticking to it.
Yuubuta Sakigake, while we're on the subject is replacing Shi Shi Hokudan, because a non-depressed Ryoga can't use it. This one uses his courage, which he had a lot of prior to his learning the thing. It wasn't as evident afterward.
'Jishintai' quite literally means 'Earthquake Zone'.
If anyone has any problem with these things, and by that I mean the spelling/grammar and not the concept, then please mention it in a review or something.
Reviews:
J writes:
martial arts = no weapons? snorts HA! look at Shaolin, that's martial arts and there's swords/spears/chains. look at iaido (drawing of the blade), that's martial arts and there's katana. ahou. if a weapon using is weak, then how come kendo or kyudo (Way of the Bow) or wushu has survived to our time? tosses Genma back to the Meiji Restoration, one of Japan's bloodiest points in hisotry
and really, Kuno. that he-l-l of a speech will get him killed had not for a change of time. baka. though, Kenshin's vow is that of non-killing.
robes? sighs why does it have to be "samurai robes"? KIMONO and HAKAMA (traditional pants) people. what Kuno wears is a short-sleeved version of the kimono called a gi (a real kimono, on both men/women, has longer sleeves that can double as pockets; a gi is more traditionally seen with martial arts or heavy labor). hakama doesn't change much, except color, length or material depending on the wearer. please, do research! fandom it may be but to the more hardcores, it's a bit eye twitching inducing.
speaking of swords, does Nodoka know Hiten Mitsurugi Ryuu? (Ruroken fan and damn proud of it)
ah, Ryouga! how will the older brother of Ranma deal with this?
My reply:
You brought up several good points here. There are martial arts that use weapons, but those are under a different category as far as I know. By definition, anything used to hurt someone else could qualify as a 'martial art', but I, and Genma by proxy, was speaking of the usage of fists only.
As for the 'samurai robes' thing, I know only that I've heard them refered to as robes. I knew Hakama were the pants, but I wanted to wait until knowing the name of the shirt piece or the entire outfit before calling it anything else. 'Hakama and matching shirt' (best I can come up with at the moment) sounds really dorky, more so than 'samurai robes'.
And yes, Nodoka does know Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu, she taught it to Kenshin. Genma said that Nodoka trained Kenshin in her family's style after they left back in the prologue.
Done.
The courtyard was silent as the young man walked into the school ground, and towards the new guy, the new Saotome. There was something familiar about this situation, but Akane couldn't put her finger on it. The man tried again.
"Get away from her. Now. I won't let you hurt her, you bastard."
Kenshin, meanwhile, knew instinctively that this would end in a fight. Not that he was happy about it, but he could tell, and therefore studied the young man closely. Then it hit him where he'd seen the boy before. It'd been almost two years… This will not be pleasant.
Kenshin didn't let himself slip into the past – time enough for that later – and continued to study his opponent. He was tall, six foot two if he was an inch. And built. Not too overly bulky, but he looked tough enough to take a tank shell at close range to the chest and keep going. He was dressed in a black tank top with matching kung fu pants, which were oddly accented by the light brown jacket and similar combat boots. The only thing that seemed… off… on the entire outfit was the strange yellow and black polka dotted headband.
He was holding an overly large backpack, at least one hundred pounds he estimated, casually in one hand. He let it drop to the ground, leveling his other hand straight at Kenshin, which was holding the largest umbrella he'd ever seen.
At about eight feet long, six feet of fan and two of handle, it was more of an umbrella used over a table or cart than for a person. This umbrella was decidedly different, however, as it appeared to be made of some sort of metal. Another hundred pounds. Easily. And he was handling it like it was nothing.
"Step away from her. Akane! Run!"
Akane tried to stop him, she really did. Having finally placed the boy, she didn't want this to happen. "Ryoga, don't…!"
The lost boy, however, ignored her, and addressed Kenshin. "Well, are you going to just stand there?! Get away from her, or I'll really hurt you! This won't be like last time, even if it's starting similarly…"
Kenshin gulped. Not that he was afraid of Ryoga, but of what had happened last the last time they'd fought. And the worst of it was… he had been the aggressor in that fight, and the angry man in front of him had been in the right. This was not a fight he wanted, but it was coming to get him. Fast.
Ryoga was charging.
Holding his overly large umbrella behind him with one hand, Ryoga was coming in, picking up speed as he went. Kenshin pulled himself into a stance, and waited. Several feet away, Ryoga swung the umbrella, allowing it to pull him into a skidding stop, the charge adding force to the blow. The umbrella would never have hit her, Ryoga knew the weight of his weapon, but Akane dived out of the way even as Kenshin leapt over him. Ryoga acted instinctively as his umbrella shot up, not to strike, but to open.
"RYU TSUI SEN!"
The hammer blow came down, but the opened metal of the umbrella caught it effortlessly. After the blow was caught, he closed the umbrella instantly, not giving Kenshin the chance to recover from the unexpected impact. Still, Kenshin managed to land in a crouch on the ground. Ryoga leapt back and smirked.
"Expecting a repeat of last time, creep?"
---
The bokken came down, easily splitting the umbrella in two. The evil grin on Kenshin's face was enhanced by the look of confusion on the lost boy's.
---
Kenshin wasn't sure what to think. He hadn't expected the results of his strike to be quite that ineffective, but it was unreasonable to assume that… Ryoga, if he had heard right, had learned nothing from their last encounter.
On the sidelines, Nabiki was torn. This fight would undoubtedly make her a lot of money. But there was family involved with this, and the new and improved Nabiki Tendo showed her caring for her family in more than just paying the bills. She turned to an associate. "Go find the sprinkler controls. Don't turn them just yet, but turn them instantly if I send word to."
The boy nodded and ran off. Nabiki smiled, a compromise reached. She would allow the fight to continue, but only to a point. It would be hard for a small black pig to fight off someone like Kenshin after all. Nabiki's grin widened as another bet came in. She might not attend Furinkan anymore, but there was entirely too much money to be made here to cut ties completely. Hence her stint at light office work in the principal's office. She pretty much ran the school now, with minimal effort, and made sure that none of the elder Kuno's more… unique… orders ever left the office.
Meanwhile, Kenshin was recovering. Slamming his bokken up under Ryoga's jaw before he could react, Kenshin used the time to dance away, careful not to get too far and risk another charge. The man was simply too unpredictable when that happened.
Ryoga just smiled at him, and pulled the umbrella back over his shoulder with one hand. Kenshin tensed as Ryoga seemed to ready himself for something. Then, Ryoga's free hand moved, and it was pulling and throwing headbands, each leaving gouges in the ground where they landed around him. Kenshin dodged franticly. Just where is he pulling all those from…? He dismissed it as unimportant. His musing cost him a bandana to the face, stunning him momentarily.
Ryoga used this time to gain distance to charge, and did so. Kenshin leapt, as before, but not for Ryu Tsui Sen. Ryoga might expect it, and it was effectively useless at the moment. No, he jumped just as Ryoga reached him… and disappeared.
Ryoga looked around, then his eyes widened, and he instantly dropped the umbrella, and went into a roll, coming up facing the swordsman. Kenshin, who had been standing on the umbrella, recovered as well, spreading his stance a bit as his feet hit the ground. "Ryu Son Sen!"
The bokken flashed in, looking like hundreds of strikes a second. To his credit, Ryoga managed to block some of them, but most eluded him, striking home.
"Ryu Tsui Sen!"
Bokken glowing blue with the power of his ki behind it, Kenshin landed the Dragon Hammer Flash home while Ryoga was recovering from the earlier attack. Ryoga dropped to his knees, but got steadily to his feet. "Not bad. But let's see what you can do with this! Bakusai Tenketsu!"
Ryoga slammed his finger into the ground, sending shards of earth flying. Kenshin whirled his bokken in front of himself to provide a defense, but was not completely successful. Still he was better than Ranma had been at blocking it, and that was something. He smiled. "Interesting. Do Ryu Sen!"
Kenshin slammed the end of his bokken into the dirt, watching as it too exploded into fragments. Ryoga blocked carefully, and came up grinning. "Pretty good, I'll admit. But don't think I'll let you get away from me again."
Ryoga charged in again, but was unable to gain speed over the short distance. Kenshin had immediate advantage, but Ryoga took blow better than most tanks. Finally, Kenshin leapt away from their conflict, leaving Ryoga in the center, breathing heavily. Suddenly, Ryoga dived off to the side and grabbed his umbrella, bringing it up in both hands, tossing it into the air like a baton.
Unsure of what Ryoga was up to, Kenshin had readied himself watching carefully. Ryoga's stance shifted to something more open, and his fist flew towards the ground. Kenshin frowned. This one is too far from him for Bakusai Tenketsu to work… So what is he doing?
Ryoga's fist impacted the ground, not straight on, but at an angle, pointed towards Kenshin. "Bakusai Tenketsu Revised! Jishintai!"
For an instant, nothing happened. Then, starting from Ryoga's fist, the ground began to shake. Kenshin was still standing only through his sheer skill. Then the real attack began. The ground split from beneath Ryoga's fist, rushing straight at Kenshin. Kenshin threw himself out of the way. He would have preferred to jump, but the ground was barely providing stable enough footing for someone with his level of training to stand, let alone jump.
When the crack reached where Kenshin had stood a moment ago, the ground exploded, showering the immediate area with debris. Ryoga's hand shot straight up then, catching the falling parasol.
Ryoga was charging again, and Kenshin got weakly to his knees. He couldn't take too much more, and he knew it. The problem was, how? Further… after last time… did he want to win? He shook the thoughts off. He needed this. Win or lose, they had to settle it. He completed the rise to his feet, and barely had enough time to set himself.
As Ryoga was on him, Kenshin took a half step to the left, spinning as he went, letting his bokken fly out. "Hi Ryu Sen!" The spin added force to the blow, and the blow added a twisting force to Ryoga's charge, sending him through a couple of trees before he came to a halt, bouncing twice on the ground.
It took several seconds of Ryoga not moving except for the rise and fall of his chest for Kenshin to relax. Finally. This one was uncertain if Ryoga would ever go down.
Kenshin turned and began walking into the building. Akane grabbed his arm. "What was he talking about?"
Kenshin hesitated, then regarded the cracked and broken ground with a strange curiosity. "This one does not wish to speak of it."
Akane frowned. "Tell me. Now. Ryoga would never attack anyone without good reason, and I want to know why."
Kenshin sighed. "Very well, this one will speak, but not here… not with all of these people watching."
Akane smiled grimly. "Nabiki! Clear the grounds, please, Kenshin and I need to talk about this."
No one moved for a moment, and then Nabiki frowned. "Well? You heard her. Do I really have to repeat it?"
There was a mad rush for the door. It simply did not pay to mess with either Tendo sister, even if the alternative was a building that could come down on you at any time. Akane turned back to Kenshin as Nabiki strode up. "Well? Get on with it."
Kenshin nodded. "This one… This one is not proud of what happened that day. In fact, this one wishes that period of his life had not come to pass. But growth is required in all beings, and sadly, I did not grow from this experience.
"It was just after this one had left his home…"
Kenshin grinned, a confident smirk on his face as he walked down the street, bokken through a specially designed belt loop. This wasn't the greatest section of town, but that was alright. It was his section of town.
Well, not his precisely, but he was apart of the most influential gang there was around here, and that made it his by proxy. A woman's cry pierced the area. He frowned slightly and moved towards the source of the noise. It was not his intention to protect the woman, but occasionally a good fight could be had over one, and he'd get some practice in.
As he closed on the area, Kenshin swore under his breath. Vash again. Vash was another member of the gang, and much older than Kenshin, in his mid twenties or so. He was called Vash, because, well frankly, no one knew what his real name was. And no one knew because he was crazy. But he did answer to Vash, so that was something. Vash's mind held only the slightest affection for two things. Guns and women. Money was also loved by Vash, but it was really only a step to getting more guns and women.
Vash's fascination with women was… perverse. There wasn't often much left but a sobbing ball of flesh once he was done. Kenshin himself was indifferent. The only thing that mattered to him was being the best at what he did. And he was. He was 'Hitokiri Battousai', and only the foolish challenged him. Even those within his own gang were cautious of training with him. Women, however, held absolutely no interest to him.
Unless Vash was assaulting one.
Their boss didn't really care one way or another about it, other than to make sure Vash's room was soundproofed and the girl wasn't killed, but the girls Vash usually went after were prostitutes, who couldn't go to the police anyways.
Their boss only cared whether to girl lived only because her death would get the police involved. As would this. Vash was assaulting a high school girl right in the school yard, waving his gun around in the other. He stalked quietly on to the field. The only salvageable thing about the situation was that there wasn't anyone else around.
Kenshin outranked Vash in the gang. Simply being sane had gotten him that. So, hopefully, Vash would listen… if he got lucky. "VASH!"
His voice thundered across the field. He would have preferred to do it without attracting so much attention, but this was the only way to get his attention, and it worked. Kenshin reviewed his options at this point, and decided to go with the most expedient route. "Vash! Return to the boss. He would not… appreciate this."
Vash smiled a little. "Do I have to? She's… so young… I really think I'd rather stay and get to know her better."
Kenshin drew his bokken. "I think you'd better leave. Now."
Vash knew that tone of voice, and he wasn't far enough away to keep Kenshin from closing with the godspeed before he could wound him fatally. The boss liked Kenshin better than Vash too, and both knew it. "Fine. I'm out of here."
Kenshin watched Vash until he was sure the unhinged gunman was safely off the scene. He turned to address the girl. "Go. Tell no one of this."
She sneered, obviously thinking she was safe, since he'd sent Vash away. "And what if I don't?!"
Kenshin's face was ice cold as he replied, not that it was often any other way. "Then I break your legs. Painfully. Carefully, too. You'd never walk again."
She gulped and backed away. Then, she screamed again. This time, someone answered. "Get the hell away from her!"
Kenshin whipped his head around to see one of the funniest things he'd seen in quite some time. A boy not much younger than him was running in waving an umbrella around. He snorted, and swung in his bokken with crushing force.
The umbrella stopped it.
He was surprised, but not so surprised that he let it stop him from dodging the boy's follow up. Taking a closer look at the boy he noted the hard muscles moving under the shirt. Unorthodox weapon or not, this wouldn't be settled in one swing. Eventually, Kenshin's superior skill prevailed, and the umbrella was split. Recovering before the other combatant, Kenshin pressed the point of his bokken towards the boy's throat. Kenshin didn't smirk; he just stood there, emotionless except for the burning rage at the entire world inside him. He spoke quietly, but his voice built into a roar as he went. "Did you really believe you could defeat me? Defeat Hitokiri Battousai?! NO ONE CAN DEFEAT ME!"
He was so lost in his own roar he almost didn't hear the whispered reply. Almost. "Ranma wouldn't have lost…"
Kenshin gripped the younger boy's shirt and drew him close. "RANMA! RANMA?! RANMA COULDN'T BEAT ME! NOT EVER!"
The defeated boy still whispered, lost in his own world. "Ranma wouldn't have lost. He'd never have given up. I couldn't ever beat him, and now I can't beat this guy. I'm worthless."
Before Kenshin could reply, or do anything, really, Ryoga threw his head back as his body glowed. "PERFECT SHI SHI HOKUDAN!"
The last thing he saw was a sickly green light sweep over him.
Akane… well, Akane was speechless for once. Nabiki, however managed to get over it enough to speak. "A gang?!"
Kenshin was quiet. "This one would rather forget that period. This one will never be Battousai again."
Akane sighed, changing the subject. "Well, you'd better hope Ryoga believes that."
Nabiki was still curious though. "What happened to change you? You're well…"
Kenshin spun around resolutely. He did turn his head back towards her as he replied though. "That is something this one will not speak of. Even to his parents."
"Bastard…"
Kenshin came back around, eyes widening a bit. Ryoga was, impossibly, getting back on his feet.
Ryoga was also glowing.
Akane and Nabiki glanced at each other, then sprinted off in opposite directions, leaving Kenshin alone on the steps to the school. Ryoga straightened. It took effort for him, but he still did it. "You won't beat me, you jackass. I'll win."
The glow was intensifying, but instead of the dark, depressing green, this was a bright, firey orange. He leveled a single hand at Kenshin, who gulped. "No matter what happens to me, no matter how many times you strike me down, I'll always get back up. Always. You may be stronger, you may be better, but no one hurts Akane. Ever. YUUBUTA SAKIGAKE!"
The orange glow flared to brightness as it encompassed him in an aura, before flooding out of his hand. It was a curious energy blast, because the twisting aura energies took the shape of a boar's head. Kenshin, mesmerized, and too tired to move, allowed the blast to send him into the wall, and into unconsciousness. Ryoga grinned, and shook his fist at the sky. "I did it! You see that, Ranma! I did it!"
Then Ryoga too fell over backwards, to tired to fight off unconsciousness himself. Akane and Nabiki gaped from the sidelines. Ryoga had beaten a Saotome. It might not have been Ranma, but it was as close as he could get now.
If for no other reason than the Kamis decided to add to the surrealistic nature of the situation, Kuno chose this moment to wake up. He looked around for a moment, surveying the broken turf. His eyes finally fell on the knocked out Kenshin. Then, he raised his bokken into the air with both hands. "All bear witness! I have prevailed over the sorcerer Saotome!"
Then, he walked into the school. Akane just fell over where she stood, and Nabiki started muttering under her breath about the damage to the grounds.
Okay, I don't know where it came from, but Ryoga seemed to wax poetic a bit there at the end. And that was the cut down version of it. It won't happen again, but I felt the need for a little drama with the unveiling of the new technique.
Some of you may not like the changes I made to Ryoga, but they needed doing for the story. I need Kenshin to have some strong backup in the future, and a suicidally depressed Ryoga, like he is most of the time, is not that someone.
Speaking of new techniques, I suppose I should go ahead and tell you what they mean. 'Yuubuta Sakigake' I was going for something along the lines of 'Charging Boar' but the more literal translation is 'Brave Pig Charges Ahead of Others'. And that assumes I got the 'Yuubuta' right. I'm a little shaky on that one. But I'm sticking to it.
Yuubuta Sakigake, while we're on the subject is replacing Shi Shi Hokudan, because a non-depressed Ryoga can't use it. This one uses his courage, which he had a lot of prior to his learning the thing. It wasn't as evident afterward.
'Jishintai' quite literally means 'Earthquake Zone'.
If anyone has any problem with these things, and by that I mean the spelling/grammar and not the concept, then please mention it in a review or something.
Reviews:
J writes:
martial arts = no weapons? snorts HA! look at Shaolin, that's martial arts and there's swords/spears/chains. look at iaido (drawing of the blade), that's martial arts and there's katana. ahou. if a weapon using is weak, then how come kendo or kyudo (Way of the Bow) or wushu has survived to our time? tosses Genma back to the Meiji Restoration, one of Japan's bloodiest points in hisotry
and really, Kuno. that he-l-l of a speech will get him killed had not for a change of time. baka. though, Kenshin's vow is that of non-killing.
robes? sighs why does it have to be "samurai robes"? KIMONO and HAKAMA (traditional pants) people. what Kuno wears is a short-sleeved version of the kimono called a gi (a real kimono, on both men/women, has longer sleeves that can double as pockets; a gi is more traditionally seen with martial arts or heavy labor). hakama doesn't change much, except color, length or material depending on the wearer. please, do research! fandom it may be but to the more hardcores, it's a bit eye twitching inducing.
speaking of swords, does Nodoka know Hiten Mitsurugi Ryuu? (Ruroken fan and damn proud of it)
ah, Ryouga! how will the older brother of Ranma deal with this?
My reply:
You brought up several good points here. There are martial arts that use weapons, but those are under a different category as far as I know. By definition, anything used to hurt someone else could qualify as a 'martial art', but I, and Genma by proxy, was speaking of the usage of fists only.
As for the 'samurai robes' thing, I know only that I've heard them refered to as robes. I knew Hakama were the pants, but I wanted to wait until knowing the name of the shirt piece or the entire outfit before calling it anything else. 'Hakama and matching shirt' (best I can come up with at the moment) sounds really dorky, more so than 'samurai robes'.
And yes, Nodoka does know Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu, she taught it to Kenshin. Genma said that Nodoka trained Kenshin in her family's style after they left back in the prologue.
Done.