Chapter 12

"Spirit Robber"

The evening was hot as and as Reiji has said, 'It couldn't get any hotter'. He has left his apartment flat a few hours earlier, and even if he did allow Rakgi to walk alongside him to help cool himself off nothing was able to beat the scorching hot sun from his head. He did not even bother that someone else could spot Rakgi, he just hoped that who ever did will quickly dismiss it as a play on the mind. Something bothered him more than the desert-like heat, it bothered him more than his next impromptu duel; he felt something ominous in the air. He couldn't shake off the feeling that he being followed, he could sense it. It was faint but all together it was strong. Its chi was bouncing from rooftop to rooftop, Reiji had the urge to leap up to whoever it was and quickly get it over it. He had to deny the impulse, too many people were about and he was in no mood to perform for them.

XXX

Ranma looked up the wide open skies, cloudless and perfect. The people who were staying with them had left, nothing else could make this day anymore perfect, the guy with the spike-hair and the one who looked like a blue snowball annoyed him. He breathed in deeply and exhaled with a shout that was followed by his laughter. Storm clouds began to roll in, dark, heavy, and depressing. Rain began to fall as heavy drops, the loud thunder wasn't that far off either. Ranma expected himself (now soaked to the core) to turn to a girl, strangely he didn't. "Something's wrong…" he told himself. Not that he wanted to turn to a girl, it was the heavy feeling that weighed down his shoulders.

He looked up at the dark stormy sky and saw a strange formation of clouds above him. It swirled and it twisted, flashes of lightning struck across its center. Ranma furrowed his brows in wonder and curiosity. He stayed outside, watching the strange sky. The clouds began to take shape, small embers began to drop instead of rain. It singed his skin and his hair, but something told him to stay put… and so he did. The shape of the clouds were unnatural… slowly it turned to a dragon. A dragon that was beyond anything that Ranma has ever seen, its fiery eyes stared down at him with hate, flames dripped like saliva from its gaping jaws. Ranma stepped back as fear began to consume him.

There was a blinding flash and a deafening crack. Ranma was enveloped in pain he screamed in agony as he was struck down by lightning. Everything faded away…

Ranma sat up breathless and gasping for air. Cold sweat fell from his forehead as he shivered. He found himself in a room, his room. "It was just a dream…" he mumbled. Someone was lying down beside him, to his luck… it was Shampoo. Quickly he pushed himself away from the lavender-haired Amazon. As his luck would have it again… he was not quick enough.

"Ranma…!" Akane cried with anger. She opened the door to check if Ranma was awake, but befalling her eyes was Ranma with Shampoo.

"I-It's not what you think!" Ranma stammered as he pushed away. "Honest!" he added to his defense.

"I waited at your bedside for days when you were unconscious…" she fumed. "and I leave for just a few minutes and come back to this!" suddenly she had her mallet in her grasp.

XXX

"I said I was sorry for the nth time already…" Trey whined as he walked with Anna and Yoh. Anna was giving him the cold shoulder and Yoh was… well… being Yoh. Trey happened to do something idiotic again that pissed Anna off, Trey couldn't stand being given the cold shoulder.

There was a loud crash as splinters of wood came flying all over the place. Dust and rubble took to the air as their sight was blocked by a massive dust cloud. When the dust was settled they could see Ranma lying on the floor with Akane breathing down his neck with a mallet.

"I said I was sorry, Akane! I swear! I didn't even know that Shampoo was there!" Ranma pleaded as he leaped away to save his face from the oncoming mallet. Akane was in hot pursuit as she chased Ranma down leaving chaos and broken walls in her trail.

"Don't you dare harm my Ranma!" cried Shampoo as she leaped out of the hole in the wall and chased Akane.

Trey, Yoh and Anna still stood there. Yoh and Trey had a confused look on both their faces, Anna still had her expressionless look on hers. Not moments had passed when there was a deafening crash and a faint 'ow' when Trey mumbled, 'And I thought you had it tough…', to Yoh, it was followed by a slap from Anna.

XXX

Jun looked up at the clear sky with Pilika. A large bird flew overhead; it was silver-ish as its feathers gleamed under the sun. 'What do you think that is?' asked Jun to Pilika.

'It doesn't look much of a bird…' mumbled Pilika as she shielded her eyes to get a clearer view of the flying anomaly. 'I'd say it's a flying lizard.'

'It isn't' mumbled Jun. 'Can't you sense that it's a spirit? What in the world is a spirit such as that doing here?'

'Now that you mentioned it…'

XXX

Reiji stood before a large wooden gate, his clothes clung to his body as they were covered with sweat. 'Are you sure that this is it?' he asked.

'I was just following you, Mas—I mean… Reiji. But I could check.' Rakgi took flight as he viewed the small residence overhead. 'It looks like a dojo, more or less. But I'm not sure if it's the right one.' He said as he landed. 'You could ask before challenging them, or challenge them all the same without asking. There's another dojo not far, want to check that too?'

Reiji smiled and said, 'I'm pretty sure that it's this one, it reeks the horrid stench of their vileness.' He knocked at the wooden gate and waited until someone answered when one finally did he quickly challenged the dojo on the spot.

'You dare challenge the Dragon Fist dojo!' the one who answered exclaimed.

'D-dragon Fist?' Reiji stuttered in surprise, 'Dragon fist… this isn't the Anything Goes Martial Arts dojo?'

'Of course not. We are much stronger than them, do you still dare to challenge us?' the man asked eagerly.

'Since I'm here…' Reiji groaned. 'Do you accept my challenge?'

'Of course, we could never be beaten by such vagabonds.'

Reiji rolled his eyes and waited for the man to walk back inside the dojo, he would shortly but he had other more important matters to attend to before that. He took a small parchment in his back pack and quickly scribbled something down, then he faced Rakgi and said, 'Take the letter and drop it on the front porch of the Anything Goes dojo. I want them to be prepared, I need something challenging after this loser.'

'You can do it on your own?' asked Rakgi as he took the letter. He wasn't actually holding the letter but he kept it afloat using the wind around him. 'You might not be able to handle the wannabe.'

'I have Ryoho with me, he'll help.' Reiji took out the small glowing bottle from his bag and held it up for Rakgi to see. 'Make sure that letter gets to the dojo.'

'You have my word.' With this said Rakgi disappeared the letter suddenly was whisked away.

Reiji sighed and entered the dojo, in a split-second there was a cry: 'Ultimus Dragon Fist!' Reiji was struck with surprise as he was hit square in the chest by something quick and heavy. He flew back and hit the wall hard. Splinters and broken wood was everywhere, Reiji groaned as he gasped for air. The wind was truly knocked out of him. He stood up as he coughed and spat blood. His chest hurt and he was mad.

'That wasn't fair' he wheezed. 'Don't they usually have a go and stop signal for this?'

'You don't know how it works here in the dojo.' The man said with a grin, he had a thick scaly glove on his right hand.

'Well then, you don't how I work… let me give a little preview.' He took the small glowing bottle and popped off the cork, blinding white light flashed in the dojo. In his right hand there glowed a white spherical light, 'You've heard of the Celestial Arts?' (refer to chapter 4)

'Are you from them?' asked the man as he noticed the swelling amount of chi in Reiji's hand.

'Actually, their master works under me now.' Reiji grinned. He pushed the white ball of light into his chest and his eyes began to glow with fury and mischief.

'You had something to do with Nakamura's sudden state…' murmured the man.

'How did you know…' A swirl of gusts and eddies filled the room, the wind is now under Reiji's control. '…that I took his spirit?'

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I can't believe that I finally got this out! Reiji has more surprises up his sleeve heheheh…

I'm so sorry that this took so long… but thank you for supporting me, there are more chapters up my sleeve for this one, by the way.

--pasaway na tigre/ pazaway-tiger/ mischievous tiger