Bettering one-self. By Minako-chan.
A Ranma ½ fanfiction continuation series.
Ranma ½ characters originally created by Rumiko Takashi.

Author's notes:

Alright sorry it took so long to update. I've been really busy, plus I don't have internet access at home. Actually seeing as how I don't have much to do right now. I'm working on my stories. You might see a couple more chapters posted soon ;). Also thank you guys! I officially have more than 50 reviews :D so happy . Minna-san arigatou! ok now let's get on with the story, shall we ;)?

Chapter 6 "A new challenge"

Both girls finally arrived at the dojo. And just as soon as they went in they heard the voices of 3 men. One of it was Mia's father, so the other two just had to be Mia's brother and his friend. She was still feeling sort of guilty for ruining dessert but if she could reach the kitchen before they saw her, she could just fix up the strawberries.

Of course Mia had something else in mind. She pulled the raven haired girl towards the living room and let go of her hand only when she saw her brother. "Onii-san! You're here! Finally!" A young well toned man, probably in his mid-twenties, stood up and turned to look at his sister.

The first impression Akane got off the guy was that he had a warm personality. Taller than Ranma however with basically the same build. He was handsome, one of those brown haired men that resembled sculptured greek-god-like images. But he wasn't Ranma. His hair was short hazelnut brown, his eyes were green and his facial features were refined.

"Mia you haven't changed. You still look like the small brat I left behind." He laughed but was cut off when he received a punch to his ribs. "You're still a tomboy I see."

"Oh shut up!"

Akane stood there just watching them. She felt out of place suddenly, they hadn't acknowledged her presence yet. The other boy that had been sitting stood up and stayed by his friend's side. He turned his gaze towards Akane and smiled. "So Mia who's your new friend?"

Mia turned to him and smiled. "Sorry I didn't introduce you all. Akane this is my brother Akira and his friend Tsutsuki. Tsutsuki-kun this is Akane. You know guys, she's a martial artist also. Akane-chan arrived here like a month ago and dad's been teaching her. She's really good too." She chuckled. "I'm sure she could beat the crap out of you onni-chan."

Akira turned to Akane. "Is that so? Well what do you think Akane-san? Would you like to test your skills with me?"

It took said female just a minute to give a friendly and competitive smile. She had been waiting for a new challenge and this was it. She could push herself with this guy, to see what her limits were. He didn't seem like he would hold back punches, not if he had fought with Mia like she had been told. She could tell he was experienced in the way he moved and stood. "Alright! I'd love to!"

"Hey Akira go easy on her. We don't want a girl as pretty as her getting bruises." Tsutsuki pushed Akira in a friendly manner.

This other male was as tall as Akira but his hair was dirty blond and was tied back in a low ponytail with a thin red ribbon. His eyes were so incredibly blue that Akane could not recall the last time she had seen eyes that were that mesmerizing.

"I don't think Tendo-san will have that many problems. I will go with you to asses her progress and yours Akira." Mr. Kimura who'd been silent up till then stood and started to walk towards the dojo. "Akira and Akane why don't you two go change into something more suited for a fight?"

Before long both youths were in dougis and facing each other in the middle of the doujo.

Mia and Tsutsuki sat on the sidelines next to Mr. Kimura. As Mia watched both prepare for the battle a little smirk appeared on her face, and all she could think was how she hoped Akane could beat her brother.

As soon as both had warmed up, they stood in front of the other. Mr. Kimura waved his hand signaling the start and it took little time for them both to engage in combat.

Akane was impressed at how fast he was, maybe even as fast as her fiancé. In strength he was equally matched to the pigtailed boy as well. The power in his punches and kicks made her skin almost burn. But it was easy to concentrate on the adrenaline rush rather than the sting of the soon bruising spots.

Every minute of the fight was exhilarating. He was not going easy on her and paired each punch and kick she threw at him. He anticipated each movement she made, with his tight defense it was hard to get through.

Where Ranma focused on the offense and used his strength to get through any barriers, Akira exploited the weaknesses in the other's defense and combined the power of each approach to inflict more damage when he put all his energy on each attack. He was treating her like a serious opponent. Analyzing her approach and technique, she could do nothing else but modify her attack quickly before he saw any pattern. She couldn't push her body with all her might because when she did and he saw a breach in her defense, he would inflict double the damage with his hits.

When she did get in some punches was when she changed techniques quickly and put enough force that she could go through his barriers. But mostly she was getting tired fast.

They had been all around the dojo, jumping, evading hits, putting some in and at some point weapons had been introduced. Akira had gotten some bombori out of nowhere and she had quickly reached for a long bamboo stick on the wall. He was a dangerous opponent and Akane had seen she could not anticipate anything with him. It probably had to do with the style; whilst in training Akane had noticed that the Ryuken style anticipated and adapted to all possibilities. The philosophy around it was that an opponent might use any means necessary to win –occurrence she had indeed witnessed before, but had not worked on because her father had not really trained her in the Anything-goes sneakiest techniques like Genma had trained Ranma.
The fighting style emphasized training on the transition from hand to hand combat to combat with the use of weapons, which meant that you had to concentrate on your surroundings, as well as your opponent, to use anything you could to your advantage. Fifteen minutes passed and the fight was over. Akane lay on the floor with Akira looming over her with his bombori at hand. Mr. Kimura announced the winner and Akira put his weapons away. "You're good Akane-san; still have to work on your defense and reading your opponent, but you're also perceptive and a fast thinker. Better than other amazons I've fought with."

"Thank you." Akane stood and turned to her friend who had stood and was approaching. "Sorry, would have liked to beat him. But your brother is very strong."

"Hey you gave him a hard time; he's just a big brute, with good instincts. I'm sure you'll beat him sooner or later." Mia chuckled and took her arm to leave the dojo.

The men stayed behind as Akira loosened his muscles.

"She did give you a hard time didn't she?" Tsutsuki stood next to Akira and looked at him. Akira seemed to have something else on his mind, but still answered.

"Yes she did. I could still read most of her moves but she's got a lot of strenght and speed. She hasn't reached her full potential though, she doesn't use the energy in her aura which is a real waste, if she did I might have been the one lying on the floor. Dad, how did she end up here again?" Akira turned to his father who just stared out the dojo into the calm night.

"She helped out Mia with some bandits that assaulted her. When I started training her she wasn't half as good as she is now. But like you said, she has great skills and learns quick. I don't think I can teach her more though, perhaps you or the amazons can however. What do you think Akira?"

"Well we wont be going anywhere anytime soon. And I could use another sparing partner. I wouldn't mind training her, if she learns as fast as she seems to, she'd be a great opponent. Ultimately even the Amazon elders might be interested in having her in the tribe."

"Hey I think a trip to China might be fun. By the way, I've got go to the beach tomorrow. Want to join me?" The blond man turned to his friend and gave him a mischevious smile.

"Jeeze, three days away from her and you already want to go back like a lost puppy."

"Hey I can't help it if she's my reason to be." Tsutsuki laughed outloud before he started leaving the dojo. "Hey how about some food man, I'm starving too. You shouldn't leave your guests hungry you know?"

The other youth followed behind murmuring to his father. "Heh more like free-loader"
Mr. Kimura only chuckled at their antics.

Once inside they heard the girls chatter away in the kitchen. As Mr. Kimura sat on the table in the dinning room, the other two went to where they smelt the food. "Need any help imouto-chan?"

"Yeah you bum, but first go wash. Tsutsuki, could you take the food to the table while we finish dessert?"

"No prob Mia."

When all were seated and the meal had started they all began chatting comfortably.

"You know squirt Tsutsuki and I were thinking we could all go off on a training trip. Maybe even go to China. I'd like to see if you've trained at all."

"Ha! Of course I have. I think I could give you a run for your money. Hey Akane, would you be interested in joining?"

Said girl turned her attention from Mia to Akira. The idea of a training trip with her new friend and both boys that seemed to have great skill would considerably improve her skills. Going to China would increase her time away from home, but it wasn't like she was expected to go back soon. It wasn't that hard of a decision really. "Sure! When would we leave?"

"Well what about the day after tomorrow? It'll give us some time to plan out the trip and get ready for it."

"Alright sounds like a plan. It's decided then! The four of us will go on a training trip. How about relaxing before that? Say at the beach?" Tsutsuki's grin was plastered from eye to eye.

Akira just sighted. "Fine, we'll go to the beach tomorrow."

"Oh my! Tsutsuki-chan will Coral be there too then!"

Akane turned to her friend. "Coral?"

"That's Tsutsuki's girlfriend. It's so adorable to see them together, they're a great couple!"

"I'm not sure, her father hasn't been all that well. But I was thinking of sending her a message just in case she can't meet us there." Tsutsuki's face was still as happy as it had been some moments ago. The young man didn't mind if he could not see his love, as long as he could be in contact with her then all was fine.

"Send her a message as in a letter? Why in the beach? I saw a post office a couple of blocks away."

All four individuals who already knew Tsutsuki and his girlfriend just gave each other a small smile. "Well Akane, you see, you can't really contact her in any conventional manner"
Akira laughed. "Akane-san, Tsutsuki's girlfriend is a bit different than normal girls. Not all guys would go for her type, I don't think I would."

"You're blind Akira. She's truly perfect."

"Yeah well if you go for her type. I only go for girls that usually walk, rather than swim."

Saying that she was perplexed was not even close to how Akane felt. The cryptic words the boys were using were making it difficult for her to imagine what type of girl this Coral was.

Mia noticing her friend's confusion whispered to her while her brother and friend argued. "You'll see what they mean. It's hard to explain, plus you might not believe us if we told you."

"Alright boys that's enough." Mr. Kimura cut in and stopped the bickering that was soon escalating to a small conflict. "Tendo-san, Mia, this is a wonderful meal."

"Yes it is" Akira continued to eat his salad. "This is good. You've never made this before sis"

Akane smiled shyly. "I made that."

"Well Akane-san it is the best salad I've ever tasted."

The youngest Tendo could do nothing but blush, she was not used to praises, most importantly not for her cooking. "Thank you Akira-san."

"You're welcome"

If there had been a kindest smile in the world, Akane had not seen it elsewhere. The thought of enjoying this man's company was pleasing. If only Ranma was this gentle…

"So Akane, will you come with us to the beach tomorrow?"

"I guess... But… you should know… I don't know how to swim." Her eyesight turned towards the floor. It was so embarrassing that something that came so easy to many, did not quite work well for her. Obviously when they got to the beach they'd might want to go in the water… she'd sink if she went in. Well at least she could always just sit by and enjoy the sun.

"Hey no problem! We can teach you! Right Akira?" Tsutsuki seemed quite enthusiastic about it… Could they really help? Yeah right, Akane had learnt long ago she was lead in water. No one would ever get her to swim.

"I really don't think you should waste your time. I'm really really not good at it."

"I'm sure we can help. Give it a chance." Again that gentle and soothing smile, it almost made her forget that she didn't know how to swim… almost made her forget Ranma… Almost…

Why couldn't she get HIM out of her mind? It was truly annoying and a bit heart wrenching. Who knew being away from Ranma would be so hard?

Then she remembered all those times Ranma teased her about her not knowing how to swim and her blood began to boil. Maybe she could learn; then she'd show him. Thoughts of her pigtailed thickheaded fiancé wouldn't ruin her day, she'd have fun at the beach if it was the last thing she did. With a determined expression Akane spoke up. "I'll definitely have fun."

It was almost like a battle cry. Or at least it felt that way. It would have been perfect, had everyone not given her a perplexed look. She felt the blood come to her cheeks "Ah… I mean… I… I'll give it my best shot to learn how to swim. Hehehehe"

Soo pathetic, the raven haired girl felt her cheeks fill with blood. Thoughts of teasing always did make her loose her cool.

"Very well Tendo-san. These youngsters always leave early before sunrise; they like to watch it at the beach. So you all should rest. I will retire now as well. Have a good night." As Mr. Kimura stood up and left they all wished him a good night and began to clean and put everything away.

Soon they were done and they had all gone to their rooms. Akane lay in bed thinking of today's events. She had finally managed to cook something that was not poison, other than instant ramen. She was going to face her fear of swimming tomorrow and she couldn't stop thinking of Ranma, damn him. She remembered his insults, his taxing ego and his most annoying fiancées.

Akane had tried to stop thinking about him, but almost everything reminder her of him. Even tomorrow… getting in the water… she remembered how he'd tried to help her swim that one time…

Her small pray uttered in a whisper was the last thing she tried to think about. "Dear God do not let me drown tomorrow please." Sleep did not claim her for a couple more hours. It wasn't till she started feeling really tired that her mind shut down completely and allowed her a couple of hours without any thoughts of Ranma in her mind.

End of chapter 5

Hope you guys enjoy :). Please review and let me know what you thought. I know this chapter kind of went slow; wanted to introduce two of my other characters and in the next chapter you'll meet some more ;).

I've been working on a drawing of some of these characters for a while, just haven't finished it u but when I do I'll let you guys know.