Chapter Ten
Shaking the Heavens
X X X
The initial exchange of blows was nothing but blurs to most of the crowd. The speeds they moved were unreal, leaving most of the crowd in awe. The first exchange of blows ended with neither opponent scoring a hit, yet it was apparent to all that this would be a fight to be remembered.
Nanashi took a step backwards, then sprung forward. His form seemed to disappear for a moment, only to reappear with a kick in front of his opponent.
Ranma smirked as he caught Nanashi's leg. "Your speed... is nothing!" With that statement, Ranma twisted his body, throwing Nanashi to the ground.
The ninja wasn't so easily taken down, however, as he threw his hands out, springing off of the ground before he struck it. As soon as he landed, he was forced to block several attacks from the Saotome boy. The force of the pigtailed boy's blows astounded Nanashi as the nimble ninja worked his way backwards, weaving between Ranma's punches and kicks.
Ranma gritted his teeth as he threw out some of his best combos, all of which seemed to be easily avoided by his opponent. It irritated him, but he pressed on.
After one combo, which ended in a low kick, Nanashi leapt in the air, avoiding the blow and getting behind his enemy. While still in the air, Nanashi lashed out with a kick.
Surprisingly, Ranma wasn't hit. Rather, the pigtailed youth shifted forward onto his kicking leg and shot out his other leg into a back kick, which intercepted Nanashi's blow. Being on the ground and having a better support, Ranma's kick was able to overpower Nanashi's and knock the boy away.
Nanashi would have landed roughly, but he was sure to right himself in the air before landing. Unfortunately, the time he took to adjust himself was used by Ranma to leap towards him. The ninja was taken off guard when he saw Ranma in the air above him, lashing out with a punch to his chest.
Nanashi landed roughly on his back on the unforgiving ground. The momentum from Ranma's previous kick was still affecting him, making the boy skid along the ground for several feet. Nanashi placed his hands on the ground and flipped himself up, just in time for Ranma to throw a punch to the boy's sternum, driving the wind out of the ninja's lungs.
Ranma relentlessly pressed his advantage... A kick to the stomach drove the young ninja back, another kick to the sternum winded him once again, and a final kick to the side of his head sent him sprawling.
X X X
"Ruthless," Akane muttered.
"This is a serious fight," Kari replied. "He's just taking it seriously. It's not fun and games."
Mr. Suzuhara was in agreement. "It's been a while since I saw two fighters so intent on a battle. I'm glad I called in sick today."
"You know," Nabiki spoke up with a grin, "for a teacher, you're quite irresponsible."
The math teacher's voice turned cold. "Be glad, Ms. Tendo, that I'm no longer your teacher. Be very glad."
Nabiki was.
X X X
As he lied, gasping for breath, Nanashi knew he had to get out of his position. He saw an opening as Ranma tried kicking him on the ground, aiming for the head. Moving his hands up, he was able to grasp Ranma's ankle before his foot struck. Twisting his body to the side, the ninja took his adversary onto the ground. Getting back onto his feet, Nanashi wasn't able to take further advantage of Ranma's position due to his being short of breath.
The longhaired boy leapt back onto his feet and fell back into a fighting stance. "Aren't so confident now, are you?"
Nanashi frowned, though Ranma couldn't see with the ever-present collar obscuring the boy's mouth. He said no words, simply springing into action.
Ranma leapt back onto his hands. Before he could complete the handspring, however, Nanashi was upon him. Realizing he wouldn't have enough time to complete his maneuver without taking a blow and, thinking quickly, the pigtailed martial artist swung his legs around, catching Nanashi in the ribs as the ninja reared his hands back to strike. Using the momentum from his attack, Ranma easily flipped back onto his feet and landed a quick crescent kick to Nanashi's face, sending the boy sprawling onto the ground.
Nanashi knew that Ranma had the upper hand, but it didn't worry him. It didn't even anger him. Instead, it simply told him that he needed to get serious.
As the boy rose to his feet, Ranma smirked. "Ready for round two?"
Nanashi's reply came swiftly. "Dance of the Crescent Moon."
Ranma suddenly found himself faced off against two of his opponent. He remembered the technique; he knew he wasn't simply seeing double. Before he could think of it any more, Nanashi and Nanashi were upon him.
He didn't know which one was real and which was fake, so the Jusenkyo-cursed boy simply dodged both of their attacks. He saw an opportunity to strike when both opponents threw mid-level kicks from either side of him. Instead of blocking or dodging regularly, Ranma leapt straight into the air and kicked out with both legs, effectively doing a split in midair.
Each kick hit a Nanashi in the face.
The one to his right staggered.
As Ranma landed, he quickly spun into a kick that went from one opponent to the other, catching them both in the chin. This time, the one to the left was the real one. Instead of staggering, this kick had enough power to send the boy flying into the air. At the same time, the fake disappeared.
As Nanashi landed and rolled along the ground, Ranma laughed. He hadn't spent the last week goofing off. In addition to the extra training, he'd been going over what he remembered of the battle two years ago. He remembered the technique well, allowing Nanashi to create an illusion of a second form and the ability to switch places with the double at will.
Pointing a finger at Nanashi, who was crawling back to his feet, Ranma made a declaration. "You won't beat me with the same tricks you used last time!" Grinning, he continued. "All I have to do is avoid both of you, and make sure all my attacks hit both of you. You won't be catching me off guard with the same attacks!"
Nanashi had to crack his neck when he got up. This fight was proving more troublesome than he imagined. That meant he'd have to start relying on his better techniques. "Dance of the Stirring Leaves." A wind seemed to pick up and Ranma suddenly found himself facing not one, and not even two, but three of his opponent.
X X X
"Something's odd about those clones," Kari muttered as she watched.
"What's that?" Mr. Suzuhara asked. He was interested in the battle, yet didn't seem particularly amazed by the feats shown yet; he was obviously a hard man to impress.
"Yeah," Akane piped up, also curious, "tell us."
Kari paused a moment, wondering if she was being paranoid. As the three of Nanashi started heading toward Ranma, however, she became certain. "Those two clones aren't like the last one. They're more like mine."
"Like yours?" Dr. Tofu asked. "You're capable of creating clones as well?"
"Water clones," was the response, along with a nod.
Akane was thoughtful. "Your clones fought against Mikado... are you saying that these new ones can hurt Ranma, too?"
The young ninja nodded. "That's exactly what I'm saying." She tapped the side of her head. "I thought it was in my head at first, but when they took off I was sure. I heard three sets of feet."
"You have good ears," Mr. Suzuhara said after a moment's pause.
"I hope Ranma can handle them," Akane muttered, worry in her voice.
"I do, too," Nabiki said. Before anybody could get the wrong idea, she added, "I'll lose a lot of money if Nanashi wins this fight."
"Way to have your priorities straight," Kari muttered.
X X X
Ranma stepped back, then to the side, avoiding the first two attacks of the nearest Nanashi. He started blocking the next few attacks, as they were coming too quickly for him to dodge. As his opponent ducked low, throwing out a punch to Ranma's stomach, one of the other boys jumped up from behind him and let out a jumping kick to the pigtailed boy's face. Ranma didn't even see the attack coming, so his stomach was protected, but not his face.
As he fell backwards, another kick took him unawares before he even hit the ground, this one from behind and to the back of his head. He fell forward right into the first Nanashi's uppercut, which took him under the jaw and propelled him into the air.
Despite the pain he was feeling, Ranma was able to orient himself in midair. A Nanashi was above him, waiting to knock him down with a volleyball spike. In the corner of his eye, he also spotted the Nanashi who had launched that uppercut on the ground, awaiting his return to the earth, and also the last one, who was jumping up from below.
Unfortunately for them all, aerial combat was one of Ranma's specialties.
As the Nanashi above him brought both hands down, Ranma was able to block with both of his arms, a necessary precaution for a powerful blow like the one Nanashi had used. With both of his arms on Nanashi's, Ranma quickly moved his hands around to get a grip on his opponent's wrists. With a jerk to the right, the pigtailed youth spun around and threw Nanashi downwards. His opponent's body was used as a missile and, while it missed the Nanashi coming at him, it hit the opponent on the ground.
Using the momentum from his swing, however, Ranma had also changed his course in midair, now out of range for the attack that his midair opponent was already launching. Seeing his opponent miss and had left an opening, Ranma did the only logical thing and took the opening, lashing out with a powerful kick that caught the boy in the ribs.
The boy disappeared in a puff of smoke, signifying him as one of the clones. As Ranma landed, he also noted that only one of the boys were left, the clone having dissipated on impact with the real Nanashi.
Ranma smirked, despite the pain he was feeling. "You get it now, don't ya? Ranma Saotome won't lose to a bunch of fancy parlor tricks!" He was beaten and bruised, but he held himself confidently. Like he said, he wasn't about to lose.
Nanashi stood up silently. No words were spoken, but he fell back into a combat stance.
Ranma launched himself forward. Before he reached Nanashi's attack range, he threw himself toward the right, heading past Nanashi and attempting a wheel kick as he passed.
The nimble ninja, however, ducked under the blow. As Ranma righted himself from the attack, Nanashi was letting loose a quick series of kicks. Ranma wasn't able to get his guard up in time and took two blows to the ribs and a final kick to the cheek, which knocked him back.
The pigtailed boy was able to roll when he hit the ground and came up quickly, shaky but still ready to fight. He was quickly placed on the defensive as Nanashi seemed to be fighting at full speed, despite the numerous blows landed against him. Ranma, on the other hand, was feeling every hit landed against him and his movement was sluggish, at least when compared to his normal movement. Nonetheless, the cursed boy's drive to win was great. He managed to get his blocks up in time and avoid any more hard hits.
Nanashi was beginning to feel... not annoyed, but impatient. He expected to have won the fight by this point. Nonetheless, he'd yet to reach the bottom of his bag of tricks. Time for another move. He'd be sure to win with it this time.
Ranma's stance immediately changed to a more defensive one when Nanashi spoke. "Dance of the Blue Lightning," were the words that triggered the pigtailed boy's change in stance. He was startled when he actually saw a bolt of blue electricity run over Nanashi's hand. However, he wasn't given time to ponder anything as Nanashi was in his face a second later.
One blow was thrown, which Ranma easily blocked. Unfortunately for him, as soon as his arm intercepted Nanashi's fist, a jolt of electricity shocked the longhaired martial artist's arm, causing it to spasm. As his arm shot to the side unexpectedly, Nanashi managed to land another blow, this one straight to Ranma's cheek. The boy could feel his entire body spasm from that one as he flew backwards, landing unceremoniously on the ground.
"I can't move," Ranma thought to himself, trying in vain to get his body to get off of the ground. It looked like all of Nanashi's hits were making his body mess up.
X X X
"Amazing," Akane breathed. "That attack is incredible."
"Stop being impressed!" Kari scolded. "You're rooting for Ranma, remember!"
The longhaired martial artist blushed. "Oh, right." She cleared her throat. "Well, it's still an impressive move. I mean, you saw that electricity!"
"I'd be more impressed if it didn't share Kuno's nickname," the young kunoichi replied.
The middle Tendo daughter appeared contemplative. "I wonder if Kuno would be angry about that." She tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Perhaps he'd pay to me tell him about this boy's stealing his name."
"Do you hate Kuno that much?" Kari asked. A moment later, and she added, "Oh, right. Never mind. Go right ahead." She'd enjoy watching the kendoist get beaten down. That was Nerima's favorite passtime, after all.
X X X
Nanashi leisurely walked over. Reaching down, he grabbed Ranma by the arm and yanked him up. The pigtailed boy's arm started to shake as Nanashi held onto it.
The pigtailed boy could begin to feel his arm burn from the electricity. However, the spasms of his arm weren't going any further and he could feel the effects of the previous hit wearing off of his body. His legs were working. With that in mind, Ranma swung his leg into the most powerful kick he could muster, catching the unaware ninja in the ribs.
Nanashi let go and staggered back. Unfortunately, Ranma's leg spasmed and went limp. Apparently simply touching his opponent was enough to trigger the effect, even through the boy's heavy jacket. Yet the pigtailed boy still had one good leg, which he used to hop backwards and away from his opponent. The space was enough for his leg to recover before Nanashi made his way back to Ranma.
The red-clad boy knew he had to dodge all of his nemesis's blows, otherwise he'd likely lose the fight. Another solid blow and he'd be guaranteed another hit, and another. If his defense was shot after the first blow, then there was no way for Ranma to defend himself if Nanashi would simply launch blow after blow, pressing the advantage.
But dodging was useless. He was forcing his body, injured as it was, to dodge blows he should be blocking instead. He was wearing himself out, and he wasn't even going to get in an attack.
Well, Ranma wasn't the kind of guy to go down without a fight. If he couldn't dodge and would eventually be hit, he'd do it on his terms. He jumped back, putting space between himself and his enemy, and stood his ground. He clenched his fists at his side. "I'm not running any more, Nanashi! Give me your best shot!"
Nanashi was lightning-quick with taking advantage of the opportunity. He lunged forward, catching Ranma in the chest with an open palm strike.
As his blow connected, so did Ranma's. Both of his fists sunk into Nanashi's jacket, the double lung punch containing all of Ranma's power.
The sparks flew from Nanashi's hand to Ranma's chest and from Nanashi's chest to Ranma's hands. Both boys went flying.
Ranma's form actually smoked for a few seconds. After about ten seconds, however, his form rose off of the ground.
His opponent stayed down.
The pigtailed boy walked over to check on his opponent. After checking him over, Ranma announced, "I guess I win."
There was an uproar from the crowd. Most of it was positive, surprised that the supposed underdog had won the fight. A loud whoop from Ranma's friend Kari was especially audible.
X X X
Kari smirked as Ranma slumped down against the short wall separating the bleachers from the field. "You looked like you had fun out there."
"Shut up," Ranma muttered half-heartedly.
Genma looked at his son. "Boy, you fought pretty well. You did your old man proud."
"Yeah, you did pretty good, Ranma," Akane admitted. "I was actually impressed."
The boy scoffed. "What? You didn't think I would lose, did you?"
Akane snorted. Why couldn't he just say, "Thanks," instead of being so macho? "See if I ever pay you a compliment again."
Mr. Suzuhara also had a comment to add. "And don't forget, Ranma, you've already lost to one of them." Dr. Tofu chuckled next to him.
"That didn't count!" The pigtailed martial artist seemed positively livid. "I wasn't ready!"
"Don't be such a baby, Ranma," the boy's young ninja friend intoned. She smirked. "Anyway, it looks like Ryoga's match is about to start. Chin up, Ranma, pay attention. You wanna see Ryoga take down the guy that beat you, right?" She hopped over the wall and took a seat next to Ranma.
Ranma looked over at his friend, then back over to where Ryoga and Ryo were on the field. "Yeah, I guess."
Dr. Tofu made his way over the wall as well. "Say, Ranma, mind if I take a look at you?"
"I'm good!"
"Don't be a baby, Ranma," Kari said again.
The boy snorted. "That guy was weak, so I'm just peachy."
The girl poked Ranma's chest, where Nanashi's final blow had landed. She almost chuckled when Ranma's eyes watered. "Just peachy, huh?"
"Shut up. Just shut up."
X X X
Ryoga and Ryo stared at each other from opposite sides of the field. This match had no referee, but they nonetheless started in sync, as if moving by some unseen command.
During the initial exchange of blows, Ryoga found Ryo's strikes to be strong, more so than Ranma's though not at his own level. He blocked all of the other boy's attacks, sometimes with his umbrella, trying to get a feel for his movements. The older boy seemed to enjoy making rapid, forceful blows, though they didn't seem to be used in any useful combinations.
Ryo leapt back to give himself some room to speak. "Looks like you've improved over the last few years."
"You, too."
Ryo smirked. "But I'm still better."
"Don't be so confident!" Ryoga shouted that like a battle cry, leaping forward. His flying kick was blocked, as was the follow-up midair kick. The fanged boy landed in a crouch and lashed out with a sweeping kick, which Ryo jumped over. The lost boy then blocked the kick that Ryo launched in air. As the other bandana-clad boy landed, Ryoga jumped back and fell into a ready stance.
They engaged in another stare down.
"You're not as bad as I thought you would be," Ryo admitted. He didn't say anything else, nor give Ryoga time, instead springing forward. His leg cut through the air as the boy spun into a kick which his opponent blocked. The move's power made Ryoga stagger back, however, and Ryo was quick to press an advantage.
Blow after blow rained down on Ryoga, some of which were blocked. The ones that weren't, however, stung quite a bit. The fanged boy ducked low, avoiding a punch, and lashed out into an upward kick from his crouching position. His kick was almost vertical and caught Ryo off guard, smashing into his chin with the force of a sledgehammer.
As Ryo was lifted into the air, Ryoga leapt back to give himself some breathing room. He examined Ryo as the boy got back to his feet. That blow would've knocked Ranma for a loop, but not Ryo. He seemed a bit shaky as he got to his feet, but it was apparent that Ryo had more endurance than Ryoga's pigtailed buddy.
X X X
Dr. Tofu adjusted his glasses. "Getting up after that blow... Ryoga's opponent is pretty amazing."
"Yeah," Ranma replied with a snort. "He'd better be good, he beat me."
Kari grinned. "I thought that didn't count, Ranma."
"It didn't." Ranma looked away. "I'm just saying, y'know..."
"Shut up or you two will miss the fight," Akane chastised from behind the two.
X X X
Ryoga growled as he opened up his umbrella. "Stay down!" he commanded, throwing his weapon forward.
Ryo dodged to the side and lashed out with a kick, knocking the umbrella off its course and onto the ground some distance away. "Your toy won't take me down," he commented, launching himself at the lost boy.
Ryoga found himself pressed back as his opponent relentlessly struck out with powerful blows. Ryo was definitely a skilled opponent, but Ryoga was still determined not to lose. As the boy in black bandana hopped back for some room, Ryoga saw his opportunity. Rushing forward, the young Hibiki threw a powerful punch that caught his nemesis in the face, sending him flying back.
Ryo clutched his nose, which was bleeding and quite possibly broken. "Oh, you bastard," he growled.
"What's the matter?" Ryoga asked. "Not feeling so hot?"
Ryo wiped away some blood before falling back into a fighting stance. "I'll show you how much I've improved," he remarked. "I won't let you hit me like that again!"
"I'd like to see you stop me," Ryoga replied. He leapt forward, fist drawn back. As his powerful blow shot forward, his opponent leapt to the side.
"Not fast enough!" Ryo cried. His leap had taken him about ten feet away, so Ryoga was surprised when he saw Ryo throw a punch from that distance. Ryoga was more surprised, however, when he felt something hit him in the chest, hard.
The fanged boy flew through the air and tumbled along the ground. What the hell had hit him!
"This is how much I've improved," Ryo remarked, fist still extended from his last punch. "You don't stand a chance!"
Ryoga propped himself up onto an elbow. "What was that?" he asked himself. He looked up at Ryo. "Was that like last time? Throwing a rock?" It hit much too hard to be that, though...
"Not this time," Ryo remarked. "There's no trick to it, it's just a technique I've mastered. You won't last long against it."
The Hibiki boy managed to get back onto his feet. "Maybe, maybe not. But I'm pretty persistent!" He shot forward like an arrow, intent on taking down Ryo this time. He watched as Ryo threw another punch, and he was sure to dodge out of the way of the invisible force heading his way. "All I have to do is," a weave to the right to avoid the next blow, "is avoid your hits!"
Ryo's eyes narrowed when Ryoga made his way to him. With a growl, the boy threw another punch, but Ryoga simply ducked under it.
"I got you!" Ryoga cried, throwing a powerful punch at Ryo's chest.
Instead of taking the blow, however, Ryo's left hand caught Ryoga's fist.
Ryoga's eyes widened. He hadn't expected that in the least. He was unprepared as Ryo yanked his arm upward, leaving his chest wide open for the boy's next blow. In addition to the force of the blow, Ryoga felt a huge rush of air from Ryo's hit that hit him even harder than the punch had, the winds ripping a hole in his shirt.
Ryoga fell back, clutching his chest and staring at Ryo with wide eyes. He had honestly never felt a blow that powerful before.
"Impressed?" Ryo asked with a smirk. "It's true that my technique gives me an advantage at range, but the force dies down the further it travels. So using it at close range," he clenched a fist as he spoke, "is much more deadly."
X X X
"Wow," Kari remarked, "I never knew he had such a technique." She looked over at her pigtailed friend. "Did he use that on you?"
"No," Ranma replied evenly.
"Looks like your friend may lose," Mr. Suzuhara said, watching the fight.
"He'd better not," Nabiki commented. "I want to make money."
"Don't worry," Ranma replied. "Ryoga's not going to lose."
Kari looked back to the fight. "You sound confident."
Ranma's reply gave Kari pause. "You didn't see him training." He looked over at Ryoga. "He pushed himself to his limits and past them. In fact, I'd have to say... for this fight, Ryoga trained even harder than I did."
While Kari mulled that over in her head, Genma reached over the small wall and smacked Ranma in the back of the head. "Boy! Were you slacking!"
The argument between father and son went on, as did the battle between rivals.
X X X
Ryo took advantage of Ryoga's pause in battle to leap forward, launching a blow too far away for the punch to land. The wind created, however, continued forward. Ryoga weaved to the side, barely avoiding the blow, but Ryo was there, launching another punch.
Ryoga dropped to the ground, the only way he could see to avoid getting hurt from the hit. On the ground, he lashed out with both of his legs toward Ryo's chest. The blow was blocked, but it still knocked the elder boy backwards, giving Ryoga time to flip to his feet and leap forward with a punch of his own.
Ryo stepped to the side, avoiding the blow, and lashed out with a punch of his own. Ryoga, too, sidestepped it, and the two quickly found themselves weaving and ducking while lashing out with attacks of their own. It was an impressive sight for the crowd, though both boys found it to be an exhausting experience.
Ryo was the one who leapt back for some breathing room. Apparently, close-range wasn't the way to go. Long-range, then. If he kept room between himself and Ryoga... It's true his hits would be weaker, but Ryoga had no way of hitting him at all from that range.
He set his plan into action, launching a series of blows from long range.
Ryoga was getting used to the unorthodox techniques, and could even begin to perceive them going through the air. He weaved through the blows, all the while pulling bandanas off of his head. "Don't think your technique is flawless," Ryoga commented, "because it's not!" He began to spin the five bandanas in his hand as he weaved through more blows.
"What is he doing?" Ryo thought to himself. His answer came when Ryoga threw out his arm. All five bandanas flew forward like shuriken, flying between two blasts of wind that Ryo had launched.
What were some bandanas going to do? Nonetheless, Ryo knew it had to be more than a distraction, especially as Ryoga was still staying at the same distance. Believing that, but not knowing what the bandanas could do, Ryo decided it was best to dodge, and dodge he did. One, however, still hit him. It was barely a hit, but regardless it cut right through the left shoulder of Ryo's shirt and left a small cut under it.
"What the hell!" the boy cried. "Do you have razor blades hidden in those things or something!"
"Something," Ryoga replied evenly. He began to pull off a few more bandanas.
Ryo growled as he began to launch the next few blows.
"Stop relying on your bloody technique so much!" Ryoga cried, launching five more bandanas. Three flew straight toward Ryo, but two headed off to the right, seemingly missing.
Ryo snorted as he punched straight at the three incoming bandanas, actually knocking them off course and toward the side. He noticed Ryoga's smirk, however, and his eyes got wide. He looked to his left and saw the two bandanas that had missed arcing toward him. "Damn!" he muttered, dodging to the right. He wasn't quite fast enough, however, as one of them dug into his arm and gave him a good-sized wound.
As Ryo turned his head back to Ryoga, he noticed that the boy was gone. "What!" He didn't even notice when Ryoga came down from his jump, laying a powerful punch to the top of his skull and knocking the boy out.
X X X
Kari watched as Ryoga threw five more bandanas. "Who would've thought it'd turn into a long-range battle?" she wondered aloud.
"It's pretty amazing," Akane remarked as she hopped over the wall. She took a seat next to her young ninja roommate.
That's when Ryo blocked the three incoming bandanas, knocking them to the side. One of them, however, began heading straight toward an innocent spectator.
That spectator was Akane.
Kari saw it coming and was quick to react, jumping on top of Akane and knocking the other girl to the ground. "Look out!" she cried as she did so.
The young ninja felt a tugging sensation on the back of her head.
She saw her ponytail fall to the side, landing next to Akane.
Her eyes got wide.
X X X
End Chapter Ten
To be continued...
X X X
Author's Notes: I finished another chapter! Can you believe it? Me either! I had the most horrible writer's block forever, but it suddenly disappeared and I finished this up.
A lot of fighting in this chapter, of course. And Kari got a haircut! Gasp!
Next chapter will have much less action, that I assure you...
Anyway, check my profile page for a link to Differing Fools. There are three fanfics there starring Kari; Crossover, Purpose, and Retribution. Check them out or Kari will cry, then beat you up.