History's Strongest/Chaotic Disciples

A Wild Horse Meets A Strong Wimp

"WILL YOU GUYS JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!" Shouted one Saotome Ranma as he tried to run from the large group of people. In this group were his father, his father's friend Tendo Soun, his various rivals and worst of all, his fiancés. Especially, one Tendo Akane.

Ranma signed as he kept running. How could things still be like this? A few weeks ago, he came back from by far the toughest fight of his life against Herb the dragon prince and he and Akane actually had a nice moment together. They even managed to work together during a couple adventures. But now, here he was, running away from her after yet ANOTHER misunderstanding.

He thought they were finally making some head way, but one little slip and here he was once again. He felt such anger at her, at their fathers, at just about everybody in Nerima that kept bugging him and never letting him have one moment of piece.

As he kept running through the streets of Nerima, a young girl in a loose-fitting yellow dress came out of a candy shop, enjoying some sweets when she heard a noise coming from her right. She turned around and was mildly surprised to see her number one delinquent student Ranma, being chased by almost all of the delinquent people of Nerima. She sighed, she did feel bad for the poor boy.

She reached into her pocket to pull out a 5-yen coin, ready to help the pigtailed boy out this one time. As Ranma ran past her, she stepped in front of the crowd of people and held out her coin.

"Happo: 5 Yen Satsu!" She cried out and a wave of energy shot forth and drained the ki from the battle auras of the gathered crowd of people. Ranma heard the voice of his teacher Hinako, stopped and turned around to see his English teacher drain the ki form his pursuers. As she did so, she morphed from her child form into her more voluptuous adult form.

Ranma sighed in relief. For once, he was glad to have bumped into his ki draining school teacher. He walked over to her and patted her on the back.

"Nice move teach." Ranma said in his usual tone. Hinako flipped her coin and caught it before she turned around to look at the pigtailed boy.

"So, Saotome-kun, just what exactly did you do this time?" She asked and she placed her hands on her hips. Ranma gave her a deadpanned look.

"Why does everyone assume that everything is my fault?" He asked. "I'm innocent this time." She looked at him skeptecally.

"Is that so?" She asked in a sing song type voice that almost sounded seductive. "Care to talk about it somewhere a little more private?" She asked him. Ranma scratched the back of his head.

"Um, I don't know..." He started to say but she cut him off.

"Or would you rather deal with these hooligans again?" She said as she waved her hand over to the unconscious group of people. Ranma looked at them, then back at her.

"Anyplace in particular that you'd like to go to talk?" He asked. She gave a cheeky smirk.

"I'm in the mood for ice cream."

A few minutes later, the student/teacher duo were sitting on a park bench eating some ice cream.

"So," Hinoka began. "Just what did you do to start this madness today, huh?" Ranma licked his ice cream and looked at her.

"(Sigh) Honestly, nothing. Me and Akane were walking down the street, not saying a word, then those two idiot dads of ours jumped out of nowhere saying that they should go ahead and get us married. We refused, and that's when Shampoo jumped up, hugged me and said that if I wanted to get married then I should just go back to China with her. Akane got mad and started cussing at me for being a pervert and cheater, then Ukyo jumped out and said that I should marry my 'cute' fiancé instead of the two sluts. Her words, not mine. They started fighting, Happosai came by and added his own chaos, I ran, and before I knew it, I had half of Nerima chasing after me."

Ranma sighed again and started eating his ice cream again. Only this time more angrily, like if he was taking his anger out on the innocent cold treat. Hinako looked sadly at her delinquent of a student. She wouldn't admit this to anyone, but she considered Ranma to be her favorite student. Sure, he wasn't the best scholar, but whenever he was around, things always got more interesting. But she also noticed the hardships he had to endure. In all her years of teaching and dealing with troublesome students, she had never met one who had so many reasons to actually be one.

She sighed as she took a few licks of her own ice cream. After she did, she looked back at the young boy.

"Well," She began again, but Ranma cut her off.

"Oh save it." He said to her, a little more gruff than he meant for it to sound. "I already know what you're going to say, and I am NOT apologizing to Akane!" He said. Hinako looked at him with a confused look.

"What makes you think I was going to say that?" She asked. Ranma got up and started stomping back and forth.

"Because that's what EVERYONE KEEPS TELLING ME!" He screamed into the air, causing her to startle back words.

"Every time we argue or some new fiancé or psycho path comes into my life, everyone thinks it's MY FAULT and they just EXPECT ME to apologize! Look, I admit that sometimes I say things I shouldn't and at least a third of mine and Akane's arguments are my fault, but I'm not responsible for ALL OF THEM!"

He threw his half-eaten ice cream down to the ground and kicked the cone away, all his pent-up anger finally escaping from the dam that he had built up. HIs battle aura started to materialize in a bright scarlet crimson flame, but Hinako didn't use her technique to drain it. In all honesty, she couldn't. She was too scared. For the first time in her life, she was actually scared of Ranma. And she was sure that at this point, just about anyone would be.

"I never even WANTED ANY OF THIS!" He kept screaming.

"I NEVER wanted to be engaged to ANYONE! I don't want to be engaged to Akane, I don't want to be engaged to Ukyo! And I DEFFINITLY don't want to be engaged to that PSYCHO SHAMPOO OR KODACHI! I! DON'T! WANT! ANY OF THIS CRAAAAAAPPPPPPPP!" He screamed even louder, his ki unconsciously amplifying his voice. Gathering her courage, Hinako asked him a question. A question that no one...NO ONE, had ever asked Ranma before.

"Then, what do you want, Ranma?"

"I DON'T KNOW!" He gave one last scream as his gathered k exploded in a large wave of energy that, while not destroying anything, was felt for miles in all directions. Especially, by a group of martial artists and masters in a different district.

Ranma huffed and puffed, panting for breath. He had kept that held in for almost a year. Even still, he had no idea that he had been keeping that much anger and frustration bottled up inside him. He kept panting as he tried to get his breathing back under control. He felt something at the corner of his eyes, falling down his cheeks.

He brought his hands to his face to wipe away whatever it was that was falling down his cheeks. Then he realized, they were tears. His tears. All his life, Ranma had been told that real men don't cry, that it was a sign of weakness. But to be honest, he didn't care anymore. He didn't care what his father said about his manliness anymore. He didn't care what his rivals said. And he really didn't care what any of his suitors that about him. They didn't care, why should he.

Then, as he finished that last line of thought, a realization finally hit him. Hit him like a barrage of bullets and arrows. They. Didn't. Care. None of them did. His father didn't care about anything except his fat stomach. Tendo didn't care about anything except uniting the schools that he and Ranma's father had separated in the first place. That and a bottle of sake.

Kasumi kind of cared, but did almost nothing to help him with the crap he went through. Nabiki? She'd sell out her own family for a quick buck. How many times had she sold risqué pictures of Ranma in both his forms, Akane, Kasumi, or even herself for money? She didn't care about anyone but herself and her bank account.

Shampoo and her great-grandmother? They didn't care about anything except their stupid amazon pride and traditions that made no sense to him what-so-ever. Sure, Cologne had helped him with some techniques one and a while, but that was just to try and entice him to marry shampoo. Someone who only want to marry him because of a misunderstanding and her tribal laws. She didn't even once try to learn anything about him! She just tried to force herself on him with no consideration for HIS feelings. She didn't care about him at all either.

Ukyo? She was his childhood best friend. Someone he thought he could talk to. But now he could see, she wasn't. Their engagement was built on yet another scam his father cooked up just to fill his belly. Sure, she was cute, sure he felt comfortable around her, but she and had the same problems as Shampoo. She didn't know anything about him either. Not only that, but instead of being a sympathetic friend, she just kept trying to butter him up with food and sweet talk.

Not only that, but instead of helping him with his problems, she just tried to spin her ideas of the two of them getting married and running her food cart and restaurant together. None of which made him at all inclined to see her as wife material. All she cared about was herself. Just like the others in his life.

And Akane? His true fiancé? She made it abundantly clear that she didn't care about him. They did have a few moments together, but to be fair, they felt more like moments with a friend rather than a fiancé. But every time they seemed to make any headway in their relationship, they ended up taking 10 or more steps back. She. Didn't...care. None of them did. No one...did.

And then, the dam finally broke. Ranma fell to his knees, tears falling freely from his eyes. He finally had no way of hiding the truth form himself.

"No one...cares what...I want." He said in-between sobs. He hung his head. Admitting it was harder than thinking about it. It hurt. Hurt more than any blow or attack that had ever struck him. He cried. No one cared about him. It was then, he felt a pair of arms wrap around him. He looked to the side and there was Hinako, hugging him close. But unlike the hugs of Ukyo, Shampoo or even Kodachi, it was a genuine hug. A hug of someone who actually cared.

"I care." Was all she said. Ranma returned her hug. He needed this. He wasn't sure what this was. The hug of a friend, a teacher, a stranger? But whatever it was, he needed this. Needed someone who cared. After a minute or so, Hinako pulled Ranma away and looked at his tear-stained face.

"Ranma," She said. "I'm sorry. I had no idea you were suffering this much." Ranma dried his eyes and got back to his feet, trying to regain his usual composure.

"It's ok teach." He answered her. "It's not your fault." She grasped his shoulder and made him look her in the eyes.

"No it's not Ranma!" She said to him. "I'm your teacher. I'm supposed to notice things like if my student is suffering, especially if it's my favorite student." Ranma was so preoccupied with his own internal turmoil that he didn't register that she had called him her favorite student.

"And I failed." She said, tears threatening to form in her own eyes. "I failed to notice that you were suffering. I was so preoccupied with trying to reform you that I didn't notice the troubles that you were facing on a daily basis."

The tears finally started to win. Ranma shook her off, turning his head away so as not to look at her tears. As much as he hated himself crying, he hated seeing others, especially women, cry even more.

"To be fair," He said, forcing a ghost of his old cocky smile. "I'm pretty good at hiding how I feel." Hinako hugged him again.

"You don't have to be brave in front of me Ranma." She said. Ranma pulled her off again.

"It's all I know." He said with a frown. Hinako pulled Ranma back to the bench so they could sit.

"Ranma," She said, a look of seriousness on her face. "This isn't how someone like you should be living! You're only 16 and you act like you've been through a war and came back home to a life you don't even want. The people who are supposed to care for you try to use you on a daily basis and what few friends you have either want to beat you to death or are too scared to even try to help you!" She seemed almost hysterical. Exactly how Ranma felt and was trying to keep himself from letting spew forth again.

"Ranma," She said again. "I think you need to get out." Ranma looked up at her, a confused look on his face.

"What?" He asked her.

"Out of here. Out on Nerima! Out of this life that your father has forced you into!" She exclaimed, grabbing his shoulders. Ranma was still confused.

"But, how? How am I supposed to get out of this? I don't know if I have any family other than my father, my mother...forget it. Not an option. So what am I supposed to do?" He asked her. Hinako thought for a moment. Then she and Ranma heard the sound. A very familiar sound. They looked around and saw what looked like a dust cloud. They both cursed. It was the Nerima wreaking crew. Hinako looked back at Ranma.

"Run Ranma." She said. "Run as far out of the district as you can. Think of a plan. I've known you long enough to know that you are capable of coming up with a plan to get out of almost any situation you get into. I'll hold them off while you run and cool your head off. But when you come back..." She trailed off as she pulled him to his feet and started pushing him in a random direction.

"You come back with a way to make that bastard father of yours sorry." And with that, Ranma ran. After a few seconds of running, he suddenly took off into a sprint that was close to breaking the sound barrier. Hinako just stood there, watching him go. So young, yet so much pain. Too much for a 16-year-old sophomore to bear.

A few seconds later, the crowd that had caused her favorite student all of his troubles, was right behind her. She dried her eyes and turned to face them, trying her hardest to hide her anger at the crowd of the worst hooligans and delinquents that she had ever met.

"Where is he!?" Shouted Akane. "Where is that stupid son of a bitch fiancé of mine!?"

"Akane!" Exclaimed her father, a man who she had lost a lot of respect for, despite her crush on him.

"Be reasonable! He IS your fiancé! He just needs to understand that you are his only fiancé and marry you to unite the schools."

"That's right!" Said the fat panda man, Genma, the man who had no right to be Ranma's father. "We just need him to buckle down and marry you and all this nonsense will be over."

"WHAT!?" Screamed Ukyo. "No way in HELL is she marrying MY Ran-chan!"

"What you mean your's?" Said the Chinese Amazon Shampoo. "Ranma is Shampoo's husband not angry home wreaker and cross-dressing trany's." That got the other two girls mad.

"TRANY!?" Ukyo shouted. "I! AM! A! WOMAN! And besides, one splash of cold water and you and Ran-chan won't be able to be near each other." The two glared at each other.

"YOU TWO CAN HAVE HIM!" Akane shouted. "I'd sooner see that cheating bastard DEAD than be married to him!" The father tried to calm her down but as they did, the other occupants of Nerima started to join in on the argument. How on Earth Ranma managed to keep himself under control while dealing with these bastards was beyond her. She took out her coin and was about to use her ki draining technique but was stopped non-other than the very person who gave her the ability to use this technique, Happosai.

"Hold on there, Hina-chan." He said. "Before you try to do your ki draining thing, mind telling us just where you stashed my missing heir?" He asked, only for Akane to knock him away and glare at the older woman.

"I bet you took him home to bang him yourself! Either that or he seduced you and ran off like he always...ddddddoooooeeeesssss..." She trailed off as she and the others had their ki sucked out by Hinako. When they were down for the count, she flipped her coin and pocketed it.

"I honestly don't know where Ranma is." She said, glaring at the large group of trouble makers. "But if I did, I'd never tell you delinquents even if my life depended on it." She said as she started marching away. Before she got too far away, she turned back to look at them.

"And if I had taken him to my home for myself, I'm sure he would've preferred my company over the lot of you bitches and bastards."

As for Ranma, he kept running. He didn't know where he was now, but to be honest, he didn't really care. Hinako was right. He just needed to get out away from Nerima. Away from the rivals, the fiancés, the random nut jobs, the fathers, the engagements...He just needed to get away from it all.

As he finally started to slow down, he started to think about the last thing Hinako had said to him before he ran off. That he could always come up with a plan. She was right, but a lot of the times his plans didn't quite go the way he had planned. But he did come up with a few good ones every once in a while.

But what scheme could he come up with to get out of all of his troubles? As he tried to think, he heard a scream. The scream of a young man in pain. Snapping out of his stupor, Ranma followed the scream to its source, and found a young man, about his age, with fair skin, brown hair and eyes and a lean build, was being but in a very painful leg lock by a rough, wild looking young man who looked like a true straight up delinquent. With his long wild hair, muscular build and a savage look of glee on his face. He looked like he was trying to snap the other boys' legs!

Gritting his teeth, Ranma charged at the fight. While he was confused, he always thought that a good fight always helped to clear his head. Not only that, he just really hated bullies. As he got closer, he jumped into the air and struck out with a flying side-kick that knocked the larger boy off the slimmer boy.

"Hey pal! Cut it out!" He said as he landed from his kick. The bruiser looked at the new arrival with a look of confusion, the same could be said of the boy who was losing the fight.

"Hey, who the heck are you?" Said the muscular delinquent. Ranma glared at him.

"Just a random passerby who hates bullies trying to break someone for no reason." He said as he continued to glare at the creep. The delinquent got back to his feet and got into a fighting stance.

"Oh is that so?" He said. "You have no idea who I am do you? I'm a member of the gang Ragnarök!" He said with a confident look on his face. Ranma was not impressed.

"And I'm supposed to care, because?" He said with a bored expression on his face. The bruiser, Tsuji, was shocked. Did this guy honestly not know about Ragnarok? Just what rock was he hiding under.

"Wait, you don't know about the gang Ragnarok? You really don't know who we are?" He asked. Ranma shook his head.

"No. And honestly, I don't care." He said, his glare never leaving his face. Tsuji growled and readjusted his fighting stance.

"Oh, well then, I'll make you change your tone pal!" He charged at Ranma, but to the surprise of Tsuji, his goons that were right behind him, and the friends of the downed boy, Ranma seemed to vanish from sight and appeared right behind Tsuji, who fell to the ground unconscious a second after.

The blue haired boxer, Takeda, who came to help his friend Kenichi, was shellshocked. This weird guy wearing red and black Chinese clothes with long black hair had jumped out of nowhere and knocked Tsuji out after seeming to vanish. He could tell that whoever this guy was, he was no slouch in terms of martial arts.

In the bushes, Miu and Ma Kensei, where wide eyed at the display. Miu was about to jump in to help Kenichi when this new guy showed up. To the untrained eye, it looked like the guy in red just vanished, but to her and Kensei, they could see that the boy moved at blinding speed and struck the other guy in various pressure points that knocked him out could. She hadn't seen anyone besides the masters at Ryozanpaku move with that kind of speed. And here someone around her age did it without even seeming to have any problem at all.

Kensei couldn't help but whistle. This kid was good, speed and presession at that level for one so young was impressive. And he could tell, the boy was holding back. If he wanted, the bruiser Tsuji would have been dead.

"Well Miu," Kensei said to his blond companion. "I think it's time for us to butt in." As he said that, the other goons tried to jump him, only to get a punch and kick to the solar plexus for their troubles. Ranma watched them fall to the ground and then went over to the fallen boy.

"Hey man, you alright?" He said as he crouched down next to the burnet on the ground. The boy groaned. Ranma was getting worried. But before he could think about taking him to a hospital, which was going to be hard since he didn't know where the nearest one was, he heard someone run up behind him.

"I think we can take it from hear son." He turned around and saw a Chinese man dressed in green strut up to him. By his side, was a young girl around Ranma's age, with a body that would put his female form to shame. Ranma blushed at seeing her...bouncing assets. He had to admit, she was by far the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. None of his fiancés could hold a candle to this girl in looks. And from the way she moved, he could tell she was no slouch in a fight.

He shook his head. This was no time to think like that pervert Happosai. He came all the way out here to get away from girl troubles, not to find new ones. Ranma looked at the two.

"And who are you two?" He asked.

"Their friends of the guy you just helped out, Kung Fu boy." Ranma turned his head to see a guy with light blue hair tied into a ponytail.

"Hey, I'm Ikki Takeda. I guess I should say thanks. I was on my way to help this guy when you beat me to it, so thanks." The blue haired boy, Takeda said to him. Ranma started to lower his guard.

"Oh, is this guy a friend of yours?" Takeda chuckled.

"I guess you could say that. Yeah, his my pal." Ranma smiled and nodded. He then looked at the other two.

"And what's your connection to this guy?" Miu walked over to Ranma and the downed brown haired boy.

"My names Furinji Miu, and Kenichi's my friend. And I was worried about him. Thank you so much for saving him." She said bowing to him and then crouching down to pick up the downed boy. Kensei walked up next.

"And my name is Ma Kensei. I'm one of this boy's martial arts instructors." He said as he went to help Miu with the boy, who Ranma now knew was named Kenichi.

"If you don't mind boys, would you mind helping with Kenichi here?" Ranma didn't really want to get even more involved in anything at the moment, but his heart kept telling to help so he sighed and slung one of Kenichi's arms around his shoulders and helped to escort him back to, wherever they were going.

A short time later, Ranma's mouth fell to the ground. They ended up in front of a dojo. And not just any dojo, the biggest dojo he had ever seen! And he looked at the sign, it read, 'Ryozanpaku'. The gate alone was massive! And the small Chinese martial artist that had been leading them, pushed it open like it was nothing. Ranma doubted his father and Mr. Tendo could open it even if they tried their hardest.

As he took one step in, he was hit with a huge wave ki, not just from one person, but from a few different sources. They were led around the back to a small clinic that reminded him of the one that belonged to his old friend Dr. Tofu.

"Just place him here and I'll get Akisame. He's much more qualified for this kind of treatment than me." Kensei said as he walked out the door of the clinic. But before he left, he turned to Miu and Takeda.

"While I'm getting Akisame, why don't you two get to know our new friend here?" With that, he walked out. Ranma scratched the back of his head.

'Who's this Akisame?' Ranma thought to himself.

"Hey!" Said the blond girl named Miu. Ranma turned to look at her, trying his hardest not to look at her large assets.

"Thanks again for helping Kenichi. Although, if you hadn't, me and Kensei would have taken care of those jerks." She said. Takeda chuckled as he scratched the back of his head.

"Same. Thanks again for saving our buddy back there. By the way, what did you do to Tsuji anyway?" The blue haired boxer asked the pigtailed warrior. Ranma tilted his head.

"Tsuji? Oh, you mean that bruiser creep? All I did was hit him in a few pressure points." Ranma said like he was discussing the weather. Takeda went pale. Pressure points? Really?

"It wasn't just pressure points." Miu said, her face becoming serious. "Yes you did hit him in various pressure points, but you did it so fast that no one could see that you hit him in three particular pressure points a total of 50 times each."

Takeda nearly fainted. 50 times? He couldn't even see more than 20 punches each. And Miu saw all of them in that one split second? How?

"Oh, you managed to count them all?" Ranma asked, a little surprised. Miu nodded.

"If you wanted, you could have killed that guy, and his two stooges. I'm glad you didn't, but still..."

"I don't kill." Ranma said with a serious face. Miu actually flinched. Ranma looked a little ashamed.

"Sorry." He said. "I didn't mean to snap like that." Miu waved her hands in front of her face.

"No no. It's ok." She said sheepishly. "I didn't mean to upset you." Ranma tried his best to calm her down.

"No, it was my fault. I've been losing my temper a lot lately because of," He paused. "Because of some creeps that I know back home." He said. Takeda and Miu both taken aback by that.

"Really? Is your home life that bad Ranma?" Takeda asked. Ranma turned his head to the side.

"I'd rather not talk about it." He said. Suddenly, the door opened up and in came Kensei and a man that Ranma almost thought was related to Kenichi because of their similar hair styles. He was dressed in a kimono and hakama, with a barely noticeable mustache and white eyes. Ranma thought he might be blind but he could tell, he was definitely not.

"Oh my, someone really put poor Kenichi through the ringer huh?" The white eyed man said. "And this unfamiliar face must be his mysterious savior, Ranma." Ranma smiled sheepishly and scratched the back of his head in embarrassment.

"Oh, I'm not that mysterious." He said. "I just happened to be in the right place at the right time, that's all." The new comer, Akisame, just smiled and walked over to Kenichi.

"If you say so. Now kids, please give me some room to check on Kenichi here. But Takeda, don't go too far. I might as well check on your arm while you're here. Also, I want to have a little chat with our new friend Ranma."

After Akisame finished with Kenichi and Takeda, he finally decided to have his talk with Ranma as he watched over Kenichi.

"So, Ranma, your last name wouldn't happen to be Saotome? Would it?" He asked. This caused Ranma to look at him with shock in his eyes.

"Ok blind eyes, how did you know my name? I'm sure we've never met before?" Ranma was officially on guard. Akisame laughed. Yep, this was indeed the guy he had heard about.

"Ha ha ha! Relax, no need to be on guard. Believe it or not, we actually have a mutual friend. A certain doctor named Ono Tofu." Ranma went slack jawed.

"Whoa whoa whoa! Back up, how do you know doc Tofu?" Ranma asked. Akisame chuckled as he looked back at the young man.

"Well Ranma, it's only natural for us to know each other. I mean, we're both doctors and martial artists, we travel in many of the same circles so we ended up bumping into each other quite a few times. As we did, we ended up exchanging stories with each other. And as I told him about my travels as a martial artist, he ended up telling me about a certain pigtailed fighter he knew back in his home town."

Ranma felt a surge of pride. He knew he shouldn't feel this way, but he couldn't help it. His friend, one of his only friends, actually bragged about him to another seemingly talented martial artist. It made him feel good inside.

"Oh he did, did he?" Said a smug Ranma.

"Yes he did." Replied Akisame. "He told me about a boy with a lot of talent and promise who had a mouth that wrote too many checks he couldn't cash that got in trouble almost every single day." That deflated his ego quite a bit.

"Well, technically he wasn't wrong." Ranma admitted. Akisame seemed taken aback.

"Well, that's odd. He also told me that you didn't like admitting to your own faults." Ranma looked back at the doctor/martial artist.

"Well, let's just say that I've had to do some honest soul searching and made a few revelations. So, I guess I'm not quite the same man I used to be." Akisame took a good look at the boy. He seemed so much more mature in this light than Tofu had made him out to be. Whatever happened to him, it must have had a big impact on him.

Akisame smiled. He always wanted to see just what this boy Tofu had told him about could do in a fight. It seemed that not only was he a lot more mature since the last time Tofu told him about Ranma, but he was willing to bet he was stronger too. If the rumors he had heard were true, then he might have same fun.

"Say Ranma, would you mind indulging me in a quick little spar?" Ranma looked back at the man in shock.

"Say what?" Ranma asked him.

"Well, after everything that Tofu-san told me about you, it made me curious. Plus, I haven't had a chance to stretch my limbs and have some fun in quite a while. So come on, what do you say? I can tell you've still got some pent up anger in you so a good match might help you clear your head."

Ranma thought about what he said. It was true, he did still have some anger in him. That bruiser from before didn't really do much to help him get over his anger at the others in Nerima. Plus, facing a master level fighter like this guy in a actual friendly spar might really be just what he needed. He turned to the older man and smiled.

"Sure. I'd like that. I haven't face an Aikido master in a long while, so it might be pretty fun." Akisome chuckled.

"Actually, my style is an ancient form of Jiu-jitsu, but you were pretty close." Akisame then walked over to Ranma and they decided to head over to the dojo so they can have room to spar. But what bugged Ranma was the fact that the older man was bringing the still unconscious Kenichi with them.

"Um, why are you bringing Kenichi with us?" Ranam asked him.

"I'm almost pretty sure he'll wake up before too long. And I'm sure that seeing a good fight between two skilled fighters, one being as young as him, it'll reignite his fighting spirit. Which he'll need when the rest of the masters and I but him through even more hellish training to make up for his defeat at the hands of such a brutish opponent!" Akisame finished with a very scary look on his face. Ranma was actually even more scared of this man at that one point then he ever was of the other so-called masters he met in Nerima.

As they took their places in on opposite sides of the dojo, Ranma took this time to size up his opponent. He seemed to be a middle0aged man who looked harmless enough to the untrained eye. But Ranma could see his fighting spirit blaze like an inferno. It was like inside this man was a caged beast that was begging to be let out. As much as Ranma hated to admit it, there was a good chance he might not win this fight. Of course, if he fought him like he did Herb, he might win. But this wasn't a fight for his life, it was just a friendly match. One that hopefully would stay just that, 'friendly'.

After a while of starring each other down, Ranma charged in! He feigned a right snap kick then came with a right jab and left upper cut. But Akisame simply parried the jab and caught the upper-cut, then followed with a simple joint lock that took Ranma down.

But Ranma managed to break his fall and retaliate with a kick that knocked Akisame's hands away and spun on the ground, shooting out a rising back kick at the jiu-jitsu master. Akisame back steps away to avoid the kick as Ranma spins himself back onto his feet. They stared each other down and circled around one another. Akisame made the next move.

He came at Ranma with the intent to grab his hands and attempt to either throw him or joint lock him again. Ranma was ready this time however. As Akisame came in close, Ranma went past him at a 45-degree angle and attacked. But Akisame blocked Ranma's elbow strike and countered by stepping between his legs and pushing forward with his body to knock Ranma off balance.

But as Ranma hit the ground, he did a spinning sweep kick that took Akisame to the ground. Ranma tried to get on top of his opponent, but Akisame managed to rol aaway and back onto his feet. Ranma came after him again with some quick jabs and followed back a jump back kick that managed to knock the Jiu-jitsu master back. As he charged to follow up his assault, Akisame managed to retaliate by intercepting on of Ranma's follow up kicks and throw him to the ground, trying once more to put him in a very painful leg lock.

As Akisame tried to apply pressure to the leg, Ranma managed to turn just slightly enough to relieve the pressure enough to shoot out another kick to push the older man off of him. Akisame rolled with the momentum and turned to face Ranma, who was back on his feet, staring at him. But not with anger, but with a grin. Ranma was starting to enjoy this fight. Ranma stepped to the side and circled Akisame as the older man did the same.

The two smiled at each other, their auras flaring as they prepared themselves for the next round of their ongoing battle. As they faced off, they didn't notice that Kenichi had woken up and noticed the fight. He was surprised, last he remembered was being saved from Tsuji by a long haired kung fu guy, and now, here was the same guy, facing off against one of his masters! He felt sorry for that poor savior of his, but his fear and sympathy turned to shock as he saw the young man holding his own against the jiu-jitsu master. He felt the power of their auras as they clashed again. All he could do was gawk at the two prepared to continue their fight.

Ranma was cautious now. This man was far superior to many of his previous opponents, he would have to play it cool on this one. The man was a pure Jiu-jitsu specialist, favoring takedowns, joint locks, and throws to take down his enemies. Those kinds of fighters liked to let their opponents make the first move, so he would have to rely on feints and tricky maneuvers to get the upper hand. But his plans were shot as Akisame dashed towards him at speeds rivaling his own.

'Fast!' Ranma thought to himself as he tried to back away from the older man. But Akisame managed to close the distance quick enough to grab Ranma's right arm and strike him with an open palm strike to his solar plexus.

"Oomph!" Ranma exclaimed as the air was knocked out of his lungs and Akisame managed to throw him to the ground and twist his arm into a painful lock! Ranma Screamed in pain, his mind thinking quickly of some way to get out of this mess he had gotten into.

"Ready to give up, Ranma?" The jiu-jitsu master asked with a grin. Ranma grit his teeth.

"I...never...give up." He managed to say. He wiggled and managed to get enough breathing room to get hips under the older man and bucked them enough to push him up and off of him, rolling with the jiu-jitsu master so as not to break his own arm.

Not wanting to get caught off guard again, Ranam charged at Akisame and with a falling axe-kick. Akisame rolled away but found himself avoiding even more kicks as Ranma spun and moved on the ground in a capoeira style of movement so as to stay on the older man. Akisame couldn't help but smile. Either Tofu had downplayed Ranma's skills in the martial arts, or the boy had improved in skill since the other doctor had seen the boy.

He caught Ranma's kick and tired to twist him into yet another lock, but Ranma was ready this time and jumped and spun with the twisting motion so as to launch a spinning hook kick to the head of his opponent. And to Akisame's and Kenichi's surprise, it connected with a loud THUD! Akisame spun from the blow and righted himself, rubbing his temple where Ranma's foot had hit him.

'That was some kick.' Akisame said to himself. He snapped back to attention as he saw Ranma charge at him again and tried to hit him with a flurry of punches. Akisame side-stepped, blocked, dodged and parried, trying not to get hit by the onslaught of blows. As he caught another one of Ranma's kicks and struck it with his elbow so as to cause him to lose his focus due to the pain. At which time, he grabbed Ranma's shirt and used his own leg to sweep Ranma's remaining leg out from under him and throw the young man to the side.

Ranma rolled away so as to keep his distance from the grappling master. During another attempt from the older man to grapple him, Ranma struck him in the chest and grabbed Akisame's hand and twisted his body and the other man's wrist so as to throw him. Akisame broke his fall and rolled over Ranam's legs, once more taking him to the ground and attempted to ground grapple him. Ranma's weakest point in his training.

Ranma was a striker, not a grappler. He always intended to fix that flaw in his style, but not many people wanted anything to do with the biggest chaos magnet in Nerima. But he knew enough to know how to keep from being pinned down. He grabbed Akisame's under arms and pulled, erecting a scream of pain from the man as Ranma bucked his hips so to throw him off of him and attempting to put him into an armbar, but as soon as he felt his own grip on the man began to slip, he released his hold and rolled away from him. No point in trying to beat this man at his own game when Ranma himself was only skilled in the basics and had very little grappling experience to fall back on.

The two soon rushed at each other again, sparks shooting between their eyes as they fought. Ranma managed to block and parry Akisame's attacks and attempts to grab him, looking for any kind opening to exploit. Akisame rushed under him and went for his legs, Ranma was ready for this though. As Akisame came in for his grab, Ranma wrapped his arm around the older man's neck and grabbed his belt and pulled him into a back throw that caught the older martial artist by surprise.

As he hit the ground Akisame saw Ranma roll and try to get into a top mount position on top of him. Akisame managed to twist Ranma's wrists to take him back to the ground. Ranma felt the preassure of the next joint lock and fought to get free of it. The two fighters rolled on the ground as they fought to gain a dominant position over the other. Akisame eventually managed to kick Ranma off of him and rolled to his feet as Ranma did the same.

The two stared each other down again. They kept smiling at each other, this fight was just so much fun for them. Their auras kept flaring, Ranma's a bright blue and Akisame's a lighter blue. They walked across the dojo floor, gradually turning the walk into a run. Ranma charged again and attacked with fists and feet flying. He started with a jump-spinning side kick, but dropped it at the last second, catching the jiu-jitsu master off guard, as he turned his attack into a cartwheeling double side kick.

Akisame barely managed to block the kick but stumbled back, allowing Ranma to follow up with punches and round house kicks. Akisame was impressed, it was starting to look like he needed to take this fight a little more seriously. He caught one of Ranma's kicks but was unprepared for the summersault kick that Ranma fired off right afterward. He had to let go of the leg he caught and sloppily back off from the secondary attack. As soon as Ranma landed, he attacked with a two-punch combo before he ended it with a side kick to push the old man back.

Akisame deflected the kick and struck at him with a strike of his own, but Ranma ducked and flipped around to execute a on the ground rising back kick to his torso and Akisame tried to retaliate with a deflection and low kick of his own, only for Ranma to block it while on the ground. The two fighters looked at each other as they held off the others attacks. They grinned, just waiting for the other to make the next move, only to lose their concentration as they heard clapping coming form the other side of the dojo. They turned and saw the man in Chinese clothes from before, Kensei, and the blond girl Miu along with four other people who were clapping.

The first was a girl slightly older than Miu, with a pink kimono with mesh top under it, long black hair in a pony tail and dark eyes. What really caught his attention was the large sword on her back and her rather curvaceous figure. This was Kosaka Shigure, the weapons master of Ryozanpaku.

By her side was a tall Japanese man with black with a very muscular build. This guy looked like a real street brawler, but Ranma could tell, this guy had some serious training under his belt. The scars and calluses on his body spoke volumes of his pervious battles throughout his life. This was Sakaki Shio, all around Karate master of Ryozanpaku. And by his side was a man that Ranma could tell was not native to Japan.

He was tall, very tan, just as muscular as Sakaki, but his hair as a light blue. His arms and legs were covered in bandages, but these were not medical bandages, Ranma could tell, this gut was a Muy Thai boxer. But despite the aura that he produced, and it was monstrous, he had a face that seemed to scream innocence. This was Apachai Hopachai, Ryozanpaku's Muy Thai expert.

And the last man, Ranma almost fainted. This man looked like a giant, slightly taller than the others, and with his long blond hair and beard, he could tell he and Miu must be related. But what was freaking Ranma out was the restrained amount of power that he was feeling from the man. He was WAY stronger than either Happosai and Cologne or even Herb! Ranma wasn't one to back down from a fight, but this was one guy who knew he had no chance of winning against.

"My my! That was quite the show you two put on." Said the blond man. The others nodded. But the scared Japanese man was looking at Akisame.

"Come on Akisame!" He said to his friend. "Don't tell me this little string bean was really giving you trouble." Akisame and Ranma separated from each other and scratched the back of their heads.

"Oh well, I was holding back a bit, but this boy did put up a good fight. I wouldn't take him lightly if I were you Sakaki."

"Tch, yeah right." The man, Sakaki, said. "But I will admit, he did have some nice moves!"

"Apa! YEAH! Pretty boy put up good fight against Akisame!" Said the Thai man, Apachai.

"He's...pretty good." Said Shigure. Miu nodded, however, her eyes were as wide as saucers. Did this guy really go toe to toe with master Akisame? But he was around her age! How was he that skilled!? The older man walked up to the two fighters.

"So, tell me son, just who are you and where did you learn to fight like that?" He asked Ranma. The young boy looked away sheepishly.

"Well, uh, my name's Ranma. Saotome Ranma. And as for where I trained, I kind of trained all over the place, but my fighting style is technically called Musabetsu Kakuto Ryu." That caught the blond man's attention. As for the others...

"Musa-wha? Appachai never heard of that style before." Said the man from Thailand.

"Neither...have I." Said the ponytailed girl. As for Kensei and the others, the name actually stirred something in their memories.

"The Anything Goes huh? That sounds oddly familiar." Said Akisame. "Although, I must admit, you fight very differently from the man I once knew who said he used that fighting style." The bulky tough guy adopted his own thoughtful expression.

"Yeah, I fight someone who used a style with that name once too, but his style was more rooted in Okinawan Karate than that flashier style you were using kid." Ranma thought for a moment, then a thought came to his head.

"Hold on," He exclaimed. "Are you guys talking about a man named Soun Tendo?" The two fighters suddenly looked up.

"YEAH! That was the guy!" The both said at the same time.

"Did you train with him and change his style up or something kid?" The bruiser, Sakaki asked. Ranma shook his head.

"No sir. My father also trained in the Anything Goes style and taught me his version of it. I just add my own flare to it as I made it my own." Ranma said honestly. Kensei stroked his chin in deep thought.

"I see. It seems that you added some Chinese martial arts to your personal style. I must admit, you seem more at home in the air than on the ground." Ranma smirked at this, until Kensei finished.

"Although, you seriously need to work on your ground game. Akisame would have had you if the fight had kept going." Ranma dropped his head in shame. He knew that Kensei was right, but it still hurt his pride. The blond giant, Furinji Hayato, finally added his own two cents in.

"Tell me son, did your father train under a man named Happosai?" The scowl on Ranma's face told him everything he needed to know.

"Yes. And I HATE THAT GUY!" Ranma shouted. "That perverted creep just keeps bugs the crap out of me." That caught Miu off guard.

"But, isn't he your fathers master? Shouldn't you be kinder to him. I mean, isn't he also a master to you as well?" Ranma shot a glare at her that made her shudder.

"That old bastard is NO MASTER TO ME!" He shouted. He realized what he did and looked away in shame.

"I'm sorry. I-I didn't mean to shout like that. It's just..."

"I'm going to take a guess and say that being in the same school as Happosai has put you in a lot of troubling spots, hasn't it?" Hayato asked. Ranma looked at the old master and nodded his head sadly.

"Yeah. You could say that." Before they could ask more, they all heard a thud. They looked over and saw Kenichi, pale as a ghost, and passed out on the floor.

"Hey, Kenichi...looks like he...passed out." Said Shigure. Ranma scratched the back of his head. Akisame just laughed.

"Ha ha ha! I guess he must have woken up during our fight, saw it and passed out." After a moment, Kenichi woke up again and sat down with the others as they requested to hear Ranma's story as to how he ended up saving Kenichi. After telling them his story, all the people in attendance had different but similarly felt reactions.

Kenichi and Miu both looked sad. Kenichi felt really bad for Ranma, unable to beleave that someone as young as him had gone through so much crap in such a short number of years. Miu was thinking the same thing, but was also thinking of just how much she wanted to pummel the people in Ranma's story. Her feelings where shared by Sakaki and Appachai, who were radiating battle auras that could but almost all of the people Ranma had met to shame.

Kensei was very angry. On one hand, this boy who resembled him in his youth was lucky to have so many beautiful women chasing after him and to be so young yet so skilled. But at the same time, he was enraged at the fact that Ranma's own father would use his son to gamble with and try to force him to marry people that he had no real feelings for. And the fact that no one seemed to care about how he felt, it reminded him of some of the reasons why he left China in the first place.

Shigure...had death in her eyes and was gripping her sword so tight that her knuckles cracked and turned white. Akisame looked calm on the outside, but on the inside, he was very upset that his old friend Tofu would censor just how much Ranma went through. But to be fair, he probably didn't know half of what happened behind closed doors or after he left Nerima. But still, he was starting to lose a lot of respect for Tendo Soun, a man who he once respected.

Hayato...just wanted to kill those old bastards. But he was doing his best to keep his composure. He looked at Ranma and put a comforting hand on Ranma's shoulder, who at the moment was female, having activated his curse to prove some of his story. Akisame, Hayato and Kensei just couldn't believe that someone was stupid enough to go to Jusenkyo.

"You've been through quite a lot son. Too much for someone your age to have gone through." He said to the boy turned girl. Ranma sighed.

"Yeah, and it just keeps piling up. I don't think it's ever going to stop." She said as Miu brought a cup of hot water for Ranma to use to change back.

"Thanks, Miu." She/he said. Miu nodded her head.

"You're welcome Ranma." She said as she watched Ranma turn back into a boy. She was surprised. Not at Ranma, but at Kensei. Even after Ranma swapped genders, he had chosen to listen to his complex story instead of trying to keep taking pictures of the gender swapping boy.

'I guess even a serial pervert like Kensei can keep control of himself sometimes.' She thought to herself. At that moment, Kenichi finally decided to speek up.

"Masters, I know I may be asking a lot, but, do you think we can let Ranma stay here for the night?" He asked them. Ranma looked at the other young man in shock.

"Huh?" He said to the burnet boy. Kenichi looked at the pigtailed martial artist.

"Well, from the sound of your story, I seriously doubt that you want to go back to Nerima right now. Not only that but I do kind of owe you one for helping me out earlier." Ranma was slightly taken aback, but nodded with a smile on his face.

"Thanks, Kenichi." He then looked at the gathered masters, who were all smiling at their young disciple.

"I mean, if it's ok with you guys." He said with a sheepish smile. The all looked at each other, then at the elder, Hayato, who nodded his head.

"It's fine with us. You can sleep in one the spar rooms upstairs Ranma." Ranma smiled and bowed to the masters.

"Thank you. I really appreciate it." He said. Miu walked up to Ranma.

"Come on Ranma, I'll show you where you'll be sleeping."

"As for you, Kenichi," Akisame said, his eyes glowing white. "Starting tomorrow, you'll be doing double training to make up for your loss!" Kenichci lost all of his color at hearing that. And Ranma, couldn't help but laugh.

As Kenichi went home and Miu and Ranma went upstairs to sleep, the masters had all gathered to have a discussion.

"Alright! It's time to stop beating around the bush! First of all, I like to propose: The Become a Martial Artist or Die Trying Plan! We have Kenichi move in to Ryozanpaku and incorporate martial arts into every fiber of his everyday life. HE will live, breath, bleed and sweat martial arts until it becomes the only thing he can think about!" Akisame says in an overly dramatic voice. All the masters nodded their heads in agreement. Then Akisame adopted a much more solemn and serious face.

"And now, the second order of business." He was interrupted by Hayato.

"You mean regarding our house guest Ranma, correct?" He asked. Akisame nodded. Sakaki looked at his two friends.

"Look, I agree the kid's had a pretty rough life, but what are we? Some kind of orphanage or something?" He asked, although they could all tell that he was hiding his true feelings. Shigure just kept sharpening her sword.

"Should we...help him?" She asked, a evil glint in her eyes.

"APPA!" Appachai shouted as he jumped to his feet and flared his battle aura. "Appachai will kill those that hurt Ranma-chan!" But Kensei bopped him on top of his head.

"Calm down Appachai." He said. "As much as I want to help this boy out, we can't go around picking fights with random strangers that we don't know." He then looked at Akisame and Hayato.

"So, I'm assuming that you have some kind of plan to help him out too, right?" He asked. Akisame just smiled his devious smile.

"As a matter of fact, I do. And," He continued. "It might even help us with Kenichi too."

"How so?" Sakaki asked.

"Well, think about it." Akisame said to his gather crowd. "Kenichi is the only disciple we have, plus the only person that he trains with is Miu. Sure, he has been gathering other friends, but I figure that if he has another friend, or rather, a fellow disciple to train with, it might just be the confidence boost he needs."

"I see." Kensie said, stroking his mustache. "With a training partner to help spur him on and a friend to share his burdens with, Kenichi may just get the motivation he needs to improve. Plus, form what I saw in your fight with him Akisame, Kenichi might even be able to learn a little from Ranma."

"I agree." Hayato said, his voice steady and serious. "But I must admit, I am a little pensive about taking Ranma as a disciple." Sakaki looked at Hayato.

"Why? Sure, the kid's a little flashy, but it looks like he has a solid background and could stand to learn a few things from us if we took him in." Hayato's face only grew sterner and more serious.

"It's not his skills that worry me." He said to his fellow masters. "It's just that, he almost reminds me of someone Kensei, Akisame and I met a long time ago." Hayato and the other two masters thoughtfirst disciple. How he showed so much promise, but turned down a dark path.

"But," Hayato began again. "I must say, his skills do impress me. In fact, if He used 100% of his abilities, I'd wager that he might stand a chance of actually beating any one of you in a fair one-on-one fight." That got Sakaki, Shigure, and Appachai to go wide eyed.

"What!? You gotta be joking, right?" Sakaki said.

"Appa? You mean, Ranma-chan might be stronger than Appachai?" Said the Thailand fighter.

"I...believe it." Shigure said as she sheathed her sword. "He was...holding back...against Akisame." The white eyed master chuckled at that.

"Yeah, you're right. I could tell that at certain points he wanted to do something, but held back for some reason. Probably wanted to keep the fight fair and square. I'm almost sure he knew I was holding back too." He then looked at the others.

"Even still, the fact that he held back proves to me that Ranma may be a perfect fit for Ryozanpaku." He said. Hayato's stern face turned to a smile.

"I agree." He finally said. "I'm willing to give Ranma a chance if you guys are." Kensie just smirked.

"I'm game. I can tell by his wardrobe and technique that he prefers Chinese martial arts, so it'll be fun to have someone who favors that. Kenichi tends to slack in that department." Appachai smile and cheered.

"Appa! Appachai like Ranma-chan! He's a good person." He started jabbing the air. "Appachai would gladly take Ranma-chan and Kenichi-chan and teach them how to fight!" Shigure...just kept her normal expression.

"Sure...why not. It might...be fun." Was all she said. Akisame smiled.

"Then I guess it's decided. Now, on to my second plan: The Get Ranma Out of Nerima And into Ryozanpaku Plan!" He exclaimed.

"Now wait a minute!" Sakaki cried out. "Don't I get a say in this!?" They all looked at him. Sakaki crossed his arms and looked at at them all.

"K." He said after a while with a smile. "But one question. How do we get him into the dojo legally?" Hayato nodded his head.

"Yes, that is the million yen question. From what he's told us, I don't think his father will willingly let him move into the dojo. So how are we to execute this plan of yours, Akisame?" Akisame grinned.

"I have a few ideas. And I think Ranma will agree with them."

When mourning came, Ranma was getting ready to leave when Akisame stopped him.

"Ranma." He called out. Ranma looked back to the master and bowed.

"Hey Akisame-sensei." He said. "I was just about to leave. Thanks again for letting me spend the night." Akisame waved his hand and smiled.

"Oh, it was no trouble at all." He said. "By the way Ranma, I wanted to ask you something." Ranma tilted his head.

"Sure, what's up?" He said to the older man.

"What do you think of Ryozanpaku? As a whole I mean." Ranma thought for a minute.

"It's nice. And honestly, it's a lot nicer and more lively than the Tendo dojo that's for sure. And honestly, I'm surprised a place like this doesn't have more students with the martial art styles you offer." Akisame laughed at that.

"Yes well, that's actually the main thing I wanted to talk to you about. How would you like to stay and train here with us and our disciple?" Ranma gasped. He looked down though, a bummed out look on his face.

"That would be great sensei, but...It just ain't gonna happen. Not with that bastard of a father of mine pulling my leash." Ranma was about to walk out the front door when Akisame said something that would change his life forever.

"Yes, about that," He started. "Ranma, from what I've seen, you're more than capable of taking care of yourself, right? I bet if you were legally an adult, you'd have almost no trouble with finding a way to make a living or fending for yourself? Am I right?" Ranma looked back at him.

"Yeah, I've been doing just that my whole life." He said as he started out the door.

"Well, in that case, have you ever considered becoming an emancipated minor?" Ranma stopped and looked back at Akisame, a look of confusion on his face.

"What the heck is an emancipated minor?" He asked. Akisame smirked, he took the bait, now to real in the big catch.

"Basically, it means that in the eyes of the law, you're considered a legal adult without having to wait until you turn 18. Meaning legally, your father would have no real say about your life and you could technically end that arranged marriage thing if you wanted to."

"..." Ranma had a blank look on his face. He just stood there for a few minutes, then...

"YOU MEAN I HAD THAT OPTION THIS WHOLE FREAKING TIME!?"