As always I must annoy you with a/note at the start of the chapter, but this one is actually important.

READ THIS, SERIOUSLY!

I decided to RETCON aspects of the story; those affect the story in very minor ways, frankly, so minor that this is more to avoid some continuity headscratches on the more attentive of you.

First is the least important retcon, I just changed the format of the 'Gamer tag' of a character that will appear in the first part of this chapter. You will notice that the only format is different than the first time he appeared, the info is the same

Second is something that was only briefly mentioned, like I don't think most people remember. But there was a passage remarking that Hiroshi has a sister in chapter 6 part II, well there isn't anymore, I retconned Hiroshi's sister before I used her, He only has a brother now.

Now here's the chapter. Thank you for your patience.


Chapter 13


I got to give it to the Ragnarok guy he doesn't do things half-assed.

Several days ago when I'd stepped into the Jiyuu-Ji temple for my first official fighting challenge – Apparently a memory to treasure, according to my martial-art-obsessed friend – the place looked like it's been abandoned for many years. Now... it still looked like it's been abandoned but it wasn't dilapidated anymore.

The layer of weeds and vegetation that was threatening to envelop the temple's grounds have been removed, the tiny spirit statues have been repaired and put in their proper place. There's even been an attempt to fix the half-broken stone floor and I suspect it's been a while since there were that many tiles on the main shrine's ceiling. Every corner I looked at has been cleaned and polished and there wasn't a hint of the usual signs of delinquent habitation I had grown depressingly familiar with.

Gook job Ragnarok guy! I'll make an effort to remember your name next time we meet.

I finished that mental declaration by stuffing the last of the melon bread I was eating inside my mouth.

Superior to actual Melon in every way, I say. God needs to step up.

Licking my fingers, I gave a short bow to the recently painted Torii gate before striding inside. I couldn't find any water pavilion so I just walked directly to the main shrine, gave another, deeper bow, threw a couple of coins in the offering box, rang the ancient little bell that somehow still worked, and clapped my hands twice.

Proper etiquette attended to, I finally raised my eyes to the entrance of the shrine, where the spherical shape of the Illusion Barrier still floats. This time it was the usual transparent rather than the yellow tinge from before.

'Here goes nothing,' I thought as I stepped inside.

The world immediately washed away to a sea of red. Everything beyond the temple ground just stopped existing altogether. In the temple itself, all colors and contrast were replaced by shades of darkness, making it hard to see the contours of everything.

And... And there wasn't any giant monster cow anywhere; the spot Tōtōsai sat on last time lay empty.

God damn it! It's never easy, isn't it? Why can't it be a simple 'go to a location and deliver the card' task? Oh lord, please don't tell me the laws of anime are going to make this into a long adventure or something.

Well, it's not like I didn't plan for this development.

"Hello!?" I called out, putting my hands on the side of my mouth to help project my voice. "Little Kami? Squirrel guy! Kami-sama! Tomaru...Semaru..." What was the squirrel's name again? I remember reading it... oh right. "Semurahamaru-sama! Are you there? I humbly request an audience!"

No answer.

Had he left? Can he even leave? This is his temple, I'm sure of that, but I don't really know if he's bound to it or something, and looking for him is a fool's errand; there weren't many places to hide but the blackness on the floor made it near impossible for anyone to find a small figure if it wanted to say hidden. In retrospect, I really should have done more research on Kami before coming here.

"Semurahamaru-sama, have you got my offering!? Please, I just want to talk!" I tried again.

Feels bad to mention the offering in this context, like I only did so to get his attention, but it really was my only option.

The silence stretched out for a long minute. However, just when I was considering giving up and trying again tomorrow the response finally came.

*Squeak*

Semurahamaru
Kami of small delights
Level: 50

Oh, thank god he's here.

The squirrel materialized seemly out of nowhere. He suddenly bounced over my shoulder, twirled his body in the air, and then promptly landed on the foot of the temple before me, where he spread tiny his arms wide as if he'd just performed an act.

"Hello there, Semurahamaru-sama. Thank up for seeming me." I lowered myself to one knee to be more at level with the little kami. "Err... Do you remember me?"

The squirrel gave me a long look, then he looked to both my sides, confirmed that I hadn't brought girls with me this time, and his little shoulders dropped.

Not gonna lie, it's a bit creepy seeing a squirrel act so emotive, but things like that don't even break my top ten anymore, so it hardly fazed me.

"As I was saying Semurahamaru-sama, I humbly thank you for granting me this audienc— Please don't leave!" I cried out to the Kami who had turned to do just that.

Alright, let's skip the proper respects and get to the point. "Actually, I've come today hoping to speak with Tōtōsai-sama."

The look of utter exasperation the squirrel gave me almost made me flinch.

"It's not for repairs or anything related to blacksmithing, I swear!" I quickly added with a wave of my hand. "I just want to deliver a letter from someone who knows him."

The dubious look continued so I made a quick, risky decision and took out Nezuko's scroll from my storage. Making it look like I came from my sleeves, of course.

"This is the letter I've been told to deliver, I hope this proves my story somewhat."

That... did provoke a reaction somewhat, a lack of reaction to be precise. The kami froze, big rodent eyes blinking at the scroll case and it studied it with an unnatural intensity. I made sure to position the scroll in such way that the emblem on the case was clearly visible.

Another option would be to show Nezuko's 'Favor'; a magical tattoo on my wrist that depicts the very same emblem and only appeared when I wanted. But I felt that pulling the letter would make my objective more tangible. Plus, by the way he reacted I'm sure—

*Squeak!* The tiny head of the rodent turned sharply to the side while his little arms crossed over his furry chest. Even if I didn't understand the squeak the gesture is unmistakable.

"You... won't tell me where Tōtōsai-sama went?" I deduced slowly.

*Squeak!*

"... Even after I showed you the scroll."

*Squeak!*

Okay, calm down, don't straggle your best lead to Tōtōsai. This just means it's time for plan B: Abuse the fuck out of anime tropes, namely the fact that the squirrel is a pervert.

And everybody who is a fan of the show knows how to deal with perverts in Ranma½.

"Alright Semurahamaru-sama, that's your decision. Perfectly understandable." I forced a smile on my face. "But... being the benevolent, kind, humble, powerful kami that you are... would you consider answering me for a... proper offering."

Subtle it was not, but it did get the perverted squirrel to pop one eye open and let out an intrigued *Squeak?*

With a flare of showmanship, I reached into my uniform jacket, accessed my storage from there, and took one particular item.

"Oh, Semurahamaru-sama! For the low price of the answer that I seek, I humbly present you this offering!"

Keeping up the theatrics, I dramatically spread my hands to reveal an unmistakable piece of cloth, a charming triangle of soft blue and white with a tiny bow as its crown. The legendary treasure: white and blue-striped panties!

As soon as it appeared, it was snatched from my hands. The squirrel then started rolling around with the underwear like it was a long-lost lover, its squeaky little cries resonating louder than ever before.

*Squeaktooo!*

I allowed myself to relax just a tiny bit. After weeks in this world, I was pretty confident on the authenticity of anime tropes and how they affect the laws of this reality, but there was a small part of me that didn't quite believe it would be this easy.

And the best part? This wasn't some used panties that I stole from some outdoor rack. I literally bought the thing on my way here – with my delinquent looks, prolonged stare, and fixed smile preventing the clerk from judging me for it – Good to know 'fresh' panties worked just as well as 'used' ones for dealing with perverts. This will definitely be useful when Happosai comes around.

... Though I have brought a used panty that Rin left behind just in case. It was my nuclear option, right after plan K.

"So Semurahamaru-sama." I cut in before his reaction escalates to more graphic levels. "I trust you find my offering to be suitable enough?" I started with humble vagueness, obviously and politely meaning and implying something completely different.

The true Japanese way.

The perverted kami looked annoyed for having his fun interrupted, but nevertheless, he stood up and jumped. Instinctively, I raised my hand to catch him in midair, but he used the appendage as a trampoline and launched himself towards my face instead.

Or foreheads met with a slight bump—

The night shone with hundreds of colors, the hard neon painting countless establishments and highlighting the mass of the bodies passing beneath.

A flashy throb of humanity pulsating on the streets. Destitute old men looking for alcoholic relief. Flashy young men and women offering friendly smiles and charming conversations while dragging others to their dens of pleasure. The lucky and desperate trying their hands at machines that consume their hopes and resources for the chance of earning a thousand times more. Men with few and everything to lose waging bloody wars in hidden corners and back alleys, putting their pride on the line to uphold their honor, depravity, brutality, and conviction. Beings hidden in the shadows walking among unseen and unheard save for the very few.

And at the center of all, a millennium tower of glass and concrete that stretches towards the heavens. The weight of history of what it was and what is to come bathing every inch of its construction, bringing forwards an age of glory, defeat, and redemption over a land that never rest and men that never stop—

I fell down on my ass, the flaring imagery making my head throb and my thoughts ache. After long seconds and some hard blinks, I was finally capable of starting to make sense of what was shown to me.

That place... city? District? It's somewhat familiar to me. I've never been there myself but there was no Japanese citizen that wouldn't recognize Shinjuku's famous Golden Gai at a glance. Yet it wasn't exactly that, it was somewhere within the Golden Gai, but it was someplace different, a space deep inside...

And Tōtōsai is there... No. No wait, he is not there, he will be there—

"A whole month!" I couldn't help but exclaim out loud.

The Kami hasn't shown me the place Tōtōsai was; he showed me the place where he was going to be. And it also wasn't because the blacksmith told him where he was going. The squirrel genuinely showed me the future.

Still... this was a month from now.

"Fucking hell," I mumbled, massaging the bridge of my nose.

This quest really isn't going to be easy, is it? I mean, yeah at least now I know where I'm supposed to go even if I need to wait a month for my objective to be there, but after a vision like that, of that... weird and eventful place, I know this isn't going to be a case of simply going there and speak to Tōtōsai. That vision raised too many flags, and you don't ignore flags in a goddamn anime world.

But I got what I came here for. Hell, I got everything that I came here for.

This was a resounding success!

"Thank you very much, Semurahamaru-sama." I said sincerely as I got my bearings and rose to my feet.

The squirrel was too busy fussing over his new treasure to acknowledge my thanks, but he did stretch out a paw and make a placating gesture... or gestured for me to fuck off.

Well, who am I to get between a squirrel and a pair of panties, if was saner than some relationships I know. I turned to leave with a suppressed chuckled.

Then, it struck me.

He showed me the future.

This little kami somehow had the ability to show people the future.

"My deepest apologize Semurahamaru-sama." I was kneeling in place once again. "But would you allow me one more question?"

The kami's head pop off from the fabric and looked at me with something approaching anger. But then he paused. I liked to think the seriousness of what I was about to ask was showing on my face. I wasn't playing off the drama anymore.

"There's been a series of unexplained monster attacks in Nerima and the surrounding area over the past few weeks. Can you show me who is responsible for these attacks? Or at least when the next attack will be?"

The rodent widened his eyes at my determination. Our locked gazes told me he understood, despite all the odds he understood what this meant, he knew that lives were at stake, he understand what I'm asking.

*Squeak!* Came his answer as he turned his head to the side and crossed his arms.

The little motherfucker!

... I considered the value of a Kami Killer title for a few moments, before letting out a sigh.

And producing a second pair of panties from my jacket.

-0-0-0-

"I didn't travel far you know? Literally just to the end of the district," I complained softly to myself, trying to make sense of the situation. "I was gone for an hour, an hour and a half at most."

Nerima's Musashiseki Park was trashed, like, utterly trashed. Deep trenches covered the once grassy grounds, pieces of broken benches and vending machines were everywhere – I decided to ignore the collection of vending machines surrounding the broken ones as if they were in mourning for the sake of my sanity – and there was a freaking upheaved tree spearing through the fountain.

I could also see signs of a Kuno-related headache in the form of black petals trailing all around, and a collection of furry creatures lying unconscious among the destruction. Undoubtedly the responsible to, or at least involved with the destruction.

Just like the group of victorious yet ragged-looking delinquents lined before me, with the trio that led them through this disaster on the front.

"Ok, what the hell happened?" I gave up.

Ranma grinned; because of course he'd be involved. Unlike the other two he was immaculate, I got a feeling he was more amused by the whole situation than anything. "Y'know that zoo breakout that happened couple of days ago?"

"One that you help cause yes."

He ignored me and went on. "So a bunch of monkeys banded together and decided to live in the woods right around there." He pointed to an area that was noticeably less forested than before. "Then a monkey guy came, taught them some of the art, rallied them up, and then tried to take over the city." Ranma's grin got cockier, somehow. "They failed."

"Monkey guy?" I asked.

"WRETCHED CREATURES!" A hillariously large roll of ropes and chains with the head of a hairy man who looked like he went through several bar fights, car crashes and kid parties screamed out. The monkey guy, apparently. "Can't you see the righteousness of my task!? Can't you see the truth right before your eyes!? Humans are nothing but mistakes who have stained far too much from their ancestral purity! They are a lie! They are fakers upon this earth! REJECT HUMANITY RETURN TO MON—" That's about as far as he got before the nearest delinquent kicked him into unconsciousness.

"I see," I said slowly. His name was unremarkable but his title of 'Monkey Fist' was mildly amusing.

"We were in the area, Aniki! No way we would let a butch of monkeys steal our territory!" Touji, the self-appointed second in command of my little delinquent gang added his piece. He was bruised and bloodied but was standing proudly and steady on his feet.

"... And the petals?" I finally addressed the second most worrisome thing in the area.

"Kuno's sister showed up, and I can see why she's Kuno's sister," Ranma responded casually. "She helped up for a while until one of the big monkeys snatched her up and started throwin' barrels. I was fightin' monkey guy so Haruka and some of the guys had to rescue her. She left before you got here."

I looked over the last of the trio with surprise evident on my face. She was mostly uninjured, but her clothes were quite torn up and she was holding a bloodied cricket bat in a tight grip. But even then, she appeared cool and composed to anyone looking; in fact, some of the most injured delinquents were throwing starstruck gazes at her back.

It took someone who knew her well to see how stunned she really was.

"I knocked out a silverback gorilla," Haruka added stoically when she noticed my stare.

"And how in the world did you do that?"

The bloodied cricket bat was raised to my eyes. "With this." She said, like it explained how a skinny teenager girl could knock out a four hundred pound animal. "... I hit it on the head."

At least she sounded just as dumbfounded as I was.

"You know what? I'm shelving that for later." I said it out loud before stepping up and placing a hand on Touji's shoulder, raising my voice for the others to hear. "Good job, Touji, very good job, everyone. You went out of your way to help where most would've run away and you didn't let any civilians get hurt." They were mostly doing for territory but it still counts. "I'm proud of you."

... For fuck sake, why are these guys tearing up!? They can't be that easy to please!

Before Touji pulled me into an emotional hug or did something equally embarrassing I turned my attention to my friends "And you two—" A random thought struck my mind at that moment. "Actually, are you guys part of my delinquent gang or not?"

"Sure, why not." Ranma shrugged.

"My mother would be pissed, so yeah," Haruka answered after a few blinks.

I nodded. "Right, so, executives Saotome Ranma and Tenou Haruka... and the rest. I'm sure you're already got acquainted with each other." I waved my hand between the duo and the ragtag group of delinquents, formally introducing them. With this out of the way, I turned to Touji and the rest of my minions.

"Take the most injured to Tofu's clinic, but leave two here to wait for the authorities... or the animal control, whoever comes first. Keep monkey guy unconscious at all cost and..." I looked around to see and sure enough, there was a crowd of onlookers slowly gathering at the edges of the destroyed park. No one dared to approach yet. "Don't let anyone get hurt. Better gather the monkeys in one place and keep any children away from them. Keep the order."

"Yes, Aniki!" They choired.

Like a good head minion, Touji moved to direct the orders and whip whoever was getting lazy with the victory up to shape. I then turned to my friends, now my gang's executives. Ranma gave me a look as if daring me to order him around.

"We have to get moving, remember? More than ever now that Haruka needs a new set of clothes."

I watched as the realization dawned on both of them.

"Oh yeah, it was today right? Sorry 'bout the delay." Ranma said to Haruka, his arms going up behind his head in a casual manner.

"A-Ah, no I'm the one who should be apologizing, Ranma-senpai." Haruka looked sheepish. "You're the one who invited me, yet all of that happened..."

"Eh, that counts as hangin' out to me."

I made no comment on that as we began to move. But I won't lie and say I wasn't glad they were getting along.

-0-0-0-

Boy, the nostalgia is hitting me hard right now.

How many hours have I wasted glued to my tv watching shenanigans happening in this very room? If there was a setting that could be considered central for the Ranma½ anime this would be it, a place for exposing information, a place to have many characters bouncing off each other, a place where the main plot happens, or where the characters gather to plan what to do about it. Iconic in every sense of the word.

Needless poetry aside, the Tendo's living room was pretty neat, a bit small for the size of the house, and really bare in the decoration department, but that's my rich-kid-side speaking.

"My, it's so nice to finally meet Ranma-kun's friends." Tendo Kasumi commented softly, a hand gingerly placed on her cheek.

Tendo Kasumi
Eldest Daughter of the Tendo's house
Level: 11

Like her sisters, Kasumi was very good-looking, yet her features were softer than her sisters, giving her a gentler, more motherly appearance that was almost sinfully contrasted with the generous curves she hid under that bulky homely dress.

Damn, she was no taimanin, but she's been hitting all my buttons since she came into the room.

"I-Indeed, it's... nice." Tendo Soun answered with a shaky smile and almost comical stiffness.

Tendo Soun
Master Martial Artist of the Anything Goes Style
Level: ?

The man has been like that since he saw me I have no idea why. This would be awkward if it weren't for the fact that I can't for the life of me take him seriously. That long hair and mustache combination makes him look exactly like an 80's porn actor; I kept expecting cringy pick up lines to pour out each time he spoke.

Still, some of my confusion must have shown on my face because Ranma leaned close with a hand over the corner of his mouth. "Some city representative came early and put him in charge of dealin' with the 'delinquent problem'." He whispered with a cheeky grin.

Ah.

I didn't have time to respond to that, because Saotome Genma, in his heavy-set human form that actually did resemble Ranma somewhat - if my friend had been through some kind of washed-up Bad End that is - choose this moment to explode.

He banged his hand on the table while shouting. "A DELINQUENT AND A STRANGE WOMAN! RANMA! You scorn your fiancé to hang out with that type! How dare you do that to your own father!" Suddenly, he was on his feet and pointing an accusatory finger at his son.

Ranma went from cheeky to raging fairly fast. "What's that suppose to mean old man!" He growled, rising to the challenge.

"Be silent and take your punishment like a man!"

Haruka and I had to lean heavily to the side to let Ranma's body flying body pass. After the kick that had turned his son into a cannonball, Genma leaped after him and they started to fight in the open garden behind us, where one or both of them would inevitably end up in the pond.

Akane spared the pair an irritated look before turning to Haruka. "I'm so sorry about this."

"No no. I'm used to that by now." Haruka, for her part, still looked cool and collected as ever. She looked handsome even in the frilly dress her mother forced her into, as expected from my cool kohai.

Tendo Nabiki, sitting too close for comfort and showing too much cleavage to be unintentional smirked like the vixen that she was and decided to add her piece.

"Ranma-kun sure has some high-profile friends ne? The second son of the super-wealthy Ōe family, and the talented daughter of the famous racing car driver Tenou Asahi, quite the group."

Hold down, what!?

That revelation brought some audible reactions to the table but I ignored it in favor of looking at my kohai. Who also looked back at me in similar surprise.

"Racing driver daughter?"

"Super wealthy family son?"

Now that I think about it, her house was bigger than the Tendo's, and her family was smaller... you know what, not important right now.

"W-Wealthy... Ōe f-amily—" Tendo Soun choked. Now the guy was started to look frizzed.

"That's not really a big deal." I decided to intervene before this become some anime misunderstanding scene and escalated. Throwing Nabiki an easy smile to show I wasn't bothered by her knowledge I continued. "Anyway, Tendo-san I would like to clear up some assumptions. It is true that, because of me, some armed, thug-looking teenagers began to gather around the area, but I guarantee you that it's nothing like you're imagining. They were going to come anyway with the delinquent war that's going on." The man let out a strangled whimper. "So I decided to use the ones that latched on to me to do some actual good. And, really, their hearts are in the right place." I finished with a warm, honest smile, thinking back on the progress some of those thug-looking motherfuckers are already showing, and it's been less than a week too, good minions.

The master of the Tendo household regarded me for a few moments before sagging in place with great relief, so much so that tears began to comically falling from his eyes while he whined. Kasumi reached out and patted him in the back for some reason.

I sighed... He took that the wrong way, didn't he?

"So you admit that you are a delinquent." Akane accused.

"Bold move, Ōe-kun." Nabiki's grin didn't falter.

I'd eat my shoes if she didn't know about my gang the night it was formed.

"Eh?" Kasumi covered her mouth with the tip of her fingers. Goddamn, woman! How can you be so charming with so simple gestures!? "But you are such a polite young man Ōe-san, you're not like a delinquent at all."

My thought screeched to a halt.

"Y...You the first person to tell me that, Kasumi-san."

"Hey! Don't get overly familiar with my sister!" Akane intervened, but Kasumi's blush had already settled and the memory of it was all mine.

Still, I raised my hands to placate her. "There are four Tendos in the room, this will get really confused really fast if I start calling you all Tendo-san, Akane-tan."

The short-haired girl let out a shocked squawk at my brazenness. Ahn~ That's no good, she's arousing my inner troll with cute reactions like that.

"Flirting with my two sisters right in front of my father. Is this the kind of man you are Ōe-kun?" Nabiki's grin had only gotten bigger as she tilted her head with faux-innocence.

It's amazing what the Japanese consider flirting, really, innocuous things like that would fly right overhead in other countries.

Well, I'm in the deep anyway, might as well.

"Jealousy much, Nabi-chan?"

Unlike her sisters, she was prepared for it, so her mouth immediately opens with something witty on the tip of her tongue, only for a loud, succinct, yet polite cough from Haruka to interrupt her.

Oh right.

My kohai ignored the apologetic look I sent on her way and she move to steer the conversation to the reason we came in the first place.

"Actually, Tendo-san, there is a reason I come here today." She said, talking to the room at large for the first time.

With neat movements, she slid backward and away from the table and then leaned over the available space in a formal bow.

"Tendo-san I humbly ask to be accepted as a student for the Tendo's dojo."

I nodded in silent support, enjoying the shock spreading in the four pairs of eyes across the room.

Not hearing an answer, Haruka continued.

"Due to various circumstances my life has become quite hazardous lately, and I'm expecting this to continue in the future." Ouch! That's on me. Crap. "But for me to continue on the path I want to take, it's paramount that I grow stronger as fast as possible." Man, she's really hammering it in for this one. Ironically, it's one of the few ways to know she's feeling really nervous, "Hiroshi-sempai and Ranma-sempai recommended this place, and while I've not witnessed myself, Akane-sempai's prowess is talked about even in my school, so please accept me!"

Somewhere along Haruka's plea Soun managed to get out of his stupor and was now... staring at her. I narrowed my eyes at the way his face close off in solemn seriousness.

"I'm sorry young lady, but until Ranma and Akane get married the dojo—"

That was as far as he went before his face slammed on the tatami floor. His three daughters joined forces to hold him there.

"What he meant to say is sure! We'd love to have a student!" Akane declared energetically over her father's pitiful groans.

"Indeed, indeed, you have come to the right place, quality guaranteed, reasonable fees!" Nabiki was in full salesman pitch. "Let's talk business."

Kasumi was the one that almost made me laugh though; she was only doing a token effort at holding Soun down, but her gentle smile was fixed on her face as she spoke.

"This is so nice father! It's been so long since you have a student. Ah! I'll make sure to prepare snacks for each class like mother used to do, don't you worry!"

There was no suggestion, no forceful intentions; it was just a plain statement with her honest excitement behind it. It wasn't even directed at me but even I would hate to disappoint her.

"M...My angels..." Soun whimpered tearfully against the tatami, his pride as the man of the house broken irreparably.

Now I was seriously struggling not to laugh.

Haruka stared at the scene like an innocent soul who never watched a Ranma ½ gag before. Eventually, she found her voice. "Um, yes! I'll be in your care!"

"So what'd I miss?" Ranma asked as he stepped inside behind us. Amazingly, he was still in his male form—

A giant panda surged out of nowhere and judo threw him to the pond.

There we go.

-0-0-0-

Buildings in Nerima rarely exceed three stories height so if you stood on a rooftop you'd notice that the skyline of the city is fairly horizontal and samy.

But there was something special about the view atop the Tendo's home's rooftop, not because it was different, but because it was the same view some of my favorite characters witness each time they came here, and now I'm witnessing the same things they did.

The Tendo's house is making me nostalgic, I guess because I used to see it as the centerpiece for one of my favorite animes a lifetime ago.

Looking away from the field of roofs glowing orange under the slowly setting sun, I directed my gaze downwards, to the neat little dojo within the Tendo's property.

The door was slid open, showing sights of usage inside – it was deceptively well equipped I noticed. It always looked barren in the show – The previous occupants were now on the grass area outside of it. Akane was coaching a sweaty, panting, yet still standing Haruka through was most likely the last exercise of the day. The pair was being supervised by a serious-looking Soun who apparently had left every bit of goofiness in the living room and now was looking rather respectable, almost imposing really.

The father-daughter duo was surprised by how long Haruka managed to keep up on her first day of training, I could see that... Well, I could see that in Akane anyway. I guess our morning's exercises finally pay off, I wonder if we can keep them up now that Haruka began her formal training.

... This was not a spontaneous decision, asking the Tendo's like that. I had the idea for a while, but I actually sat down with Haruka to lie out her options.

I couldn't teach her, that much was obvious. My most coherent knowledge about martial art is Anything Goes, which I'm very much a newbie at. Everything else was more 'record' than 'knowledge', perfect notes about the subject I can pull out of my ass in a bind but had no idea on how to properly impart them to someone else. I knew how to fight, oh I sure as fuck knew how to fight, but to give her a crash course on how to fight like me would mean throwing her into an Illusion Barrier and hope for the best. And she didn't have an overpowered cheat to keep alive.

... As far as I know, that is.

Ranma... couldn't teach her. That particular option was closed up by simply asking him how he planned to teach her... And then asking him again what he considered 'an easy training'.

As I said, she did not have an overpowered cheat to keep alive.

So it was either the Tendos or looking for something else. Tendo was the fastest and most convenient option and their training did have guaranteed results. Akane might be the weakest of Ranma's fiancés but she's still strong enough to wipe the floor with an army of mobs and go to class afterward.

Haruka had to become stronger both because she wanted to, and because of her possible role of preventing the end of the world, as indicated by the gamer system when we met all those weeks ago... I really have to look into that now that I think about it.

"She looks happy," Ranma stated, biting into his taiyaki rather than the yakisoba bread I offered to him, the filthy heretic.

"Yeah. I'm just glad we didn't forget the gi, can you imagine her training in that dress?"

"... Oh right. Haruka too."

Just as I was about to sink my teeth on my melon bread, I paused, my mind processing what he just said. Then I finished taking a bite because wasting bread is a sin.

And there it was, Saotome Ranma's inexplicable attraction to Tendo Akane. They may fight, piss each other off, insult, and abuse each other in various physical, mental, and spiritual ways but they always end up drawn to one another, so much so that they did end up together in the series.

Bit of a bummer for me because I was always more of a Shampoo guy. Still, Akane was the most constant female contact of Ranma's life, and while she was his most boring fiancé she was by far the more stable. I could see her being like a breath of fresh air for him, the one girl his age that wasn't evil, crazy, or obsessed with marrying him, hyper-agressiviness aside. At the high of chaos, Akane was the only one who reached out and had genuine moments with him, so it wasn't like them ending up together was a completely unrealistic outcome.

I let him stew his thoughts in silence. These ponderings will no doubt form the foundation for something beautiful in the future.

PFF! As if!

"Oh my~ falling for the famous 'jewel of Furikan' are we? Poor Kuno's gonna cry."

Losing a teasing opportunity like that would be criminal!

My friend's embarrassed face was glorious, totally worth being almost shoved off of the roof.

"It's nothing like that, you idiot! Tch! I let you close to my pops for a day and you go picking up his weirdness."

Chuckling to myself, I settled back down on the place I was a second ago. I wasn't kidding when I said he almost shoved me from the roof.

To my surprise, Ranma continued.

"It's just- I've never seen her like that. Not for this long anyway." I traced his gaze back to Akane. She certainly looks to be in high spirits, clearly glad for her new training partner. "With me, it's only shouts and insults."

I stared at my pensive friend and sighed.

"I think... That Akane put a lot of stock on first impressions and is too stubborn to easily change her perceived notions of someone once it sets in." By his expression, Ranma clearly didn't expect an answer like that. "By what you'd told me, you completely botched your first meeting, so now she's predisposed to think the worst of you on every interaction." It was as honest of a statement I could give without going into meta-knowledge. "It doesn't help that you're constantly needling and insulting her, yourself."

"I don't insult—" Ranma started, before catching himself. "She's always the one who starts!"

"I know that Ranma." I enunciated. "You don't start shit with her, you only snap back in the heat of the moment. The problem is... well, you're a pretty abrasive guy, Ranma. This side of you shows up a lot in your quips and comments."

"I'm not abrasive!" Argued Ranma, abrasively.

"You sure as hell ain't polite!"

We glared at each other for a few seconds, before Ranma deflated and mumbled something under his breath. I took that as a sign to go on.

"So when you try to, say, suggest something she could do better, or criticize her on something, even if you think you're being helpful, or that your words are innocuous, for Akane, who already have preconceived notions about you from your first meeting, you come off as a giant asshole."

I practically see him progressing my words, his expression shifting a bit before closing off. He let out a breath and turned to look at the girls again, a grumpy silence hanging over him.

"Cheer up, partner." I reach over and patted him on the back. "It's not like it's impossible for you to patch things up, it just requires effort." I couldn't help but think back on the past interactions between Akane and Ranma I'd witnessed. "... A lot of effort."

Ranma just shrugged at that but didn't comment.

Below us, Haruka let out a cry of effort as she struggled against the weights on her limbs, which I'm surprised they actually used for the first lesson. This made my attention go back to her and my early thoughts.

"Say Ranma. You saw Haruka in action today didn't you? Did you notice something strange?"

"Haruka hmmm. What's wrong Hiroshi? Falling for her~?"

His pathetic attempt of revenge teasing was noted and internally laughed at – No, I did not blush, I'm a grown-ass man there is no way such childish attempt would make m-anyway, I didn't! End of story! – I quickly responded by grabbing him by the pigtail and flicking him off the roof.

"Seriously though, did you notice anything?" I asked again when he climbed to his seat.

He shot me a crossed look, but it didn't last long. "What exactly do you mean by strange?" He asked instead.

"I don't know... anything really. I mean, she did take out a gorilla with no training."

"Yeah, so?"

Righttt, this is Ranma. His standards of normalcy are fucked.

"Wait, there was something." My martial art friend suddenly snapped his fingers, as if remembering something he had put away for later. "I think she knows how to use a sword?"

That... took me by surprise, not gonna lie.

"What?"

"Like." Ranma searched for the right words for a few moments, before closing his mouth and hopping to his feet. His body shifted around in a series of stances I'm sure someone with more martial art knowledge than me would recognize. "She kept falling back to this, this and this. And sometimes she went like this or even this." He gave motion to each enunciation. "Those are sword style moves I believe, nothing like Kuno though, it looked western, long sword or broad sword, definitely one-handed, but I couldn't say there's supposed to be a shield on the freehand or not. But I'd bet not, I didn't see much of it, but it gave the impression of being very aggressive."

I let out a whistle of appreciation for his analysis; it's easy to forget that while Ranma still learning about a lot, he really knows his stuff when it comes to his area.

"So she knows how to fight," I stated. That crashed with everything I knew about her.

"I think." Ranma enunciated. "I'm... iffy about it. It seems less like conscious use and more like her body falling into it during the stress. Like... Like someone trying to learn a new style, but keeps falling back to the principles of their older one if they don't watch themselves. Only it's weirder than that because there is no old style." His finger moved to his chin as he recalled, clearly getting into the puzzle. "Or maybe she knew and forgot about it, and fighting brought back the memories?"

"I crashed too much with the assessment my power gave her, and her home life, and her life in general. She could have learned as a kid, but... why didn't she mention then?"

Everything I've seen of Haruka indicated that she was just a normal girl before we met. But... but she caused a glitch in the Gamer system once, and the world would apparently be in danger if anything happened to her. And now apparently she has buried memories of how to use a sword and could knock out a gorilla if she tried.

Yeah, she might have been living like a normal girl, but she definitely isn't one.

Oh god, I stumbled into the protagonist of another anime, haven't I?

"Do you trust her?" I heard Ranma asking.

"Yeah."

"Then everything'll be fine. We kick some asses and make it so if it isn't. Don't worry too much."

Well, there is some wisdom in that.

"Now come on." Ranma whacked me on the back of the head and moved to the center of the roof. "Been a while since we hunted something, and there's been too much talking already."

He's actually right on multiple fronts. It has been a long time since Ranma and I did a good old monster hunt. With the resident werewolf getting pissy about it at school there simply wasn't anywhere stable enough where both of us could meet and do it, or, to be honest, neither of us seriously stopped to look for it. We've been too busy.

Well, no time like the present. And more – a grin spread on my face – there is another development Ranma didn't know about it. It happened one time when I was dropping Minon in a barrier and I now learned how to tweak with it.

I snapped my finger as I activated the Illusion Barrier Create skill simply for dramatic purposes and didn't bother to hold back my laughter at the face Ranma made when instead of a mirrored version of our world, reality dripped away into a bright, sunny day over an enormous rocky desert, with huge rock formations spreading over the sand and all around us.

"What the hell!?" Ranma shouted, looking around.

"Do you like it? I'm getting better at it." I waved my hand as if holding a representation of my skill. "No longer restricted to the misty city baby! And I'll be able to change further as I grow stronger."

To be more precise, my illusion barrier skill changes the type of barrier according to its level. Level one to four creates a misty reflection of the area around me, with the impressions of the inhabitants mirroring their movements outside. Level five creates this desert. The nearby buildings still appear, but only in the rough shape of rocky formations, and there weren't any ghostly impressions anymore. My guess is that as I level the skill up, I'll 'unlock' more 'stages'.

Though location could also influence the result regardless of level, and in more ways than just changing the shape of the formations. In some areas of the city, the desert would appear at night, or there would be ruins of some ancient city, or a giant oasis right in the middle, things like that. Still hadn't found anywhere that completely changes the 'theme' of the stage.

"So, what do you think?"

"There are zombies over there, Hiroshi." Ranma was already at the edge of what had once been the Tendo's roof, pointing his finger at the figures bursting out of the sand. "We're going to fight zombies!"

I smiled at his enthusiasm. "Not any zombies, my friend. Scimitar-wielding, Arabic zombies right out of Aladdin's worst possible ending." Pretty sure Ranma had no idea what Aladdin was but I wasn't giving up on the joke. "Boy, if you're happy now wait till we get to the ones riding giant scorpions."

My friend actually screeched in pure joy, like a little kid at Christmas.

He really has been missing this huh?

In the end, we both ended up getting scolded by Kasumi of all people for missing diner... It was pretty hot, not gonna lie.

Oh Lord, please give me strenght to not NTR Tofu, because boy I was going to need it!