Chapter 9: The Untamable Stallion versus The Wolverine!
"speech"
'thoughts'
[Kao symbiote]
/telepathy/
Okay, one of my long and spontaeneous updates again... Sorry, but I won't be able to work on this as much as I have been in the past... I am starting to write a book. If you're interested about what I am going to be writing, send me an e-mail at or IM me AIM: TouketsuHouou MSN: Syrhk
Still no fanart... several people spoke to me and said they were making it, but I have yet to recieve any... That would be a motivator for me to get more writing done... Hell No one else needs to see it, just me...
Interesting site here... I found a site that calculates the true power and speed of Ranma, pretty interesting... he's doing it scientifically to. According to it, Ranma's Amaguriken is 3 times the speed of sound, average. Max speed is twice that... interesting stuff...
Oh, anyone out there play Ragnarok Online? If so, why not come play with me... I am on the Loki server and my characters names are Syrhk and Tekrhen. Look forward to seeing someone online, if at all.
Yup that's about all I have to say really... poll is still going, Rogue is winning... and this is what you've all been waiting for... Logan versus Ranma...
Ryoko's eyes squeezes shut one last time before finally opening and revealing the surrounding room to her. A small ball of fur lay by her body in the crook of her neck, which she immediately realized was Ryo-Oh-Ki, and she raised a hand and absently pet the cabbit.
She felt much better rested than she had ever felt, and she quickly realized the reason. Sitting up and gazing back at the futon she had been asleep on, Ryoko gave a small smile when she thought of her hosts kindness despite her lack of it. Turning once again, Ryoko yawned loudly and stretched her arms out, scratching at her gut as she turned to inspect the clock.
Ryoko baulked as she realized she had long overslept and quickly dressed and drifted through the wall, praying that the man she was staying with had not left.
The moment her face got through she paused in surprise to see Ranma sitting at the table and busy munching on some eggs and bacon. His eyes widened in surprise to see Ryoko's head just sticking out of a wall and cocked his head to the side a bit, unknowingly making him look all the more cute.
"Another power of yours?" Ranma inquired, taking another bite of food and keeping his eyes on the head sticking out of his room.
Ryoko only blinked before grinning sheepishly and coming all the way through, the rest of her body emerging from the depths of the wall and she stood, taking a tentative sniff of the food. "Smells good..."
Ranma pointed back at the stove, gesturing with his fork. "There is more on the stove if you want it."
Ryoko's eyes lit up. She had not expected him to cook for her. Grabbing a plate from a cabinet, she piled some of the delicious looking nourishment onto her plate and sat at the table, all but devouring the food in record time.
Across from her, Ranma sighed and dropped his fork as he stared at his eggs. He had barely eaten half of them, and here he was not hungry. And it was still his first plate! It wasn't that he was full; it's just that he... wasn't hungry. Like he had received the food he needed already, and that was that. This was definitely odd, he would normally be on thirds or fourths by now...
Ryoko on the other hand, was on thirds and fourths.
"Where is Ryo-oh-ki?" Ranma asked, trying to find some redeeming value for the meal.
Ryoko looked up with bits of egg all over her muzzle and blinked before responding. "Oh, she went back to the shrine. She needed to eat."
"Couldn't she eat here?" Ranma asked, glancing back at the food.
Chuckling, Ryoko answered: "Nah... She loves carrots. Can't get enough of them. The shrine was basically turned into a carrot farm for her."
If Ranma remembered correctly, that shrine was quite large. He hadn't actually seen the entirety of the property, but he had a good idea of just how large the property was.
"Are you planning on working out again...?" Ryoko asked, stirring Ranma from his thoughts.
Ranma looked up and nodded, grabbing his dish and taking it to the sink and beginning to wash it off. "I actually already went earlier this morning. You must have slept well."
Ryoko's cheeks flushed with color and she gave a meek nod to Ranma's back, though she had a feeling he had already known the answer. She should have been upset that he had left without her there to watch her, but she couldn't help but not be angry at the guy. So far he had far more pros then cons.
"What are your plans for today then?"
Ranma paused in his cleaning and turned to Ryoko. "Not much, I don't really have much to do until work tonight, so we could do whatever."
"What do you mean "we"?" Ryoko asked, her eyes narrowing in suspicion.
Ranma blinked, clueless as to the reason why Ryoko seemed angry. "Er... Well if you gotta watch me you may as well be able to do something with me, right? Don't want you to get bored."
Ryoko opened her mouth as if to speak, but closed it again and nodded meekly, the flush becoming more evident in her cheeks.
"You feeling okay? You look sick..." Ranma stated with concern in his eyes as he looked at Ryoko's face.
"I'm fine!" Ryoko shouted, her reaction a bit too much for the simple question.
"Jeez okay, sheesh... Just worried about ya. No need to bite my head off." Ranma grumbled before walking to the bathroom.
Ryoko let out a loud sigh once he left, her heart pounding. What was he? No human she had met had ever made her feel so... uncomfortable. Was that the feeling she felt? She didn't know, but all she knew was that she didn't like it.
Ranma emerged a moment later with a toothbrush hanging from within his mouth and a towel around his shoulders. He gave a wary glance at Ryoko and continued to the kitchen and took Ryoko's plate to clean.
"Thank you." Ryoko meekly said, to which Ranma grunted in response.
As he scrubbed, Ranma curiously took a glance at Ryoko and saw that she was looking better. He took a moment to remove the toothbrush from his mouth before speaking. "So uh, you know where you want to go this afternoon? I am drawing up blanks here."
Ryoko was surprised that he was letting her choose where they would go, but there wasn't anywhere that she could think to go to either. The only sounds in the small apartment were the steady flow of water from the faucet and the delicate clanking of dishes that Ranma was washing.
"We could go to the shrine... I mean, that is if you want to..." Ryoko stated, breaking the awkward silence again. Ranma paused for a moment to consider it and gave a skeptical glance back at Ryoko as he considered it.
"Is that such a good idea? I mean, with what happened last time and all..." Ranma started, but Ryoko cut him off, shaking her head frantically.
"Nonononono! I mean, it'll be fine! We are uhm..." Ryoko poked her index fingers together and looked away from Ranma, who was gazing at her intently. "Used to misunderstandings... I am sure they'd love to meet you!"
"Oh..." Ranma said, looking up thoughtfully and smiling. "Yeah sure then, we can go see R-Ryo-ohki again." Ranma said, his voice wavering only slightly at the end. Ryoko smiled and nodded as Ranma began to put the dishes away, causing some white noise to fill the background. "Just let me tell my boss that I am not gonna be in for work tonight..." Ranma said and turned away from Ryoko, looking at the entirety of his apartment and blinking. He blinked several times, glancing around and adopting a confused expression on his face before Ryoko finally asked.
"What are you looking for?"
Ranma turned and acknowledged he had heard her before furrowing his brow again and looking around. "The phone... I coulda sworn I..."
[Host Ranma, you have not yet purchased a phone] The layered voice of Kao said from everywhere, yet nowhere.
Ranma stopped in mid sentence and smacked his forehead, feeling like a fool. "That's right, I don't... thanks for reminding me Kao." Ryoko was about to ask who Kao was but then remberered the sentient being that was living in Ranma's body. She eyed him, still unsure of the beings purpose and intentions.
"So... where is... Kao right now?" Ryoko asked, floating closer and circling Ranma, poking and prodding all around his body and feeling for lumps or mishapen parts. Ranma jumped away and looked at Ryoko as if she was crazy, fright and fear evident in his mannerisms.
"Woah there! Sheesh, ask before you touch... and as for where Kao is... well..." Ranma said, grabbing his shirt and holding it up. "He's right here." Ryoko floated forward and snatched the material from Ranma's hand, and insantly cooed at the feel of it.
"Wow! It feels so soft and smooth... but also really strong! That's really cool!" Ryoko exclaimed, completely oblivious to the fact that Ranma had frozen up with a horrified expression as he gazed at her head. "So can he become any type of clothes or..." Ryoko started, before looking up and realizing how close she was. She appeared several feet away and looked away, finishing her sentence. "... is that all that it could turn into...?" It took several seconds before Ranma regained motor control over his body and shook his head to clear his mind and realzed that she had asked a question.
"Uhm, no, Kao can become all sorts of cool stuff, here see..." Ranma said, willing Kao to shift into several sets of clothes including a tuxedo and a bathing suit before shifting back to his red Chinese tang and black pants with slippers. "It really saves money on clothes since these are usually silk..." Ranma said, pointing at the shirt.
Ryoko nodded from her position and thought that something like that would be very useful. She didn't really wear a large variety of clothing, but for someone who did wear a variety of clothes... never have to buy again!
"Anyway, Kao stated that I don't have a phone... so we are going to have to go and tell my boss I am missing work tonight." Rising to his feet, Ranma headed for the door and waited for Ryoko to come along, which she did right after him and they left for his place of employment.
=-=-=-Some time earlier, The hotel room of one Peter Parker-=-=-=
A soft moan was expelled from the web slingers mouth as he woke up on an uncomfortable surface. He shited several times, trying to find a comfortable place and frowned when he found himself unable to find a comft position. Couch: 1 Peter Parker: 0. Grumbling about uncomfortable sofas Peter reluctantly rose to his feet and stretched, working the many kinks that had developed in his body overnight. Taking a quick peek at the bed, he saw that his wife had already woken up and was not in bed, so he decided to go and use the bathroom quickly, brushing his teeth and taking a quick shower before heading out to the kitchenette to look for any sign of his spouse. Soon after arriving, Peter realized that Mary Jane was not in the room and began to panic, wondering what could have happened to her. Of course, that is until he saw the note sitting on the counter.
Peter-
Went out shopping, hope you didn't sleep in too much! Hope you learned your lesson, there is some cereal in the cupboard. It was the only one in English... didn't want to take my chances with the others. I'll be back for lunch.
-Hugs and kisses, MJ
Peter let a sigh of relief escape his lips before smiling. His wife wasn't worried about a thing, despite his numerous enemies... including Venom. Peter thought that he and Mary Jane should talk about the dangers again... she seemed to be growing quite careless, and it was beginning to worry Peter. Discarding the thought for the time being, Peter reached and opened up the cupboard, reaching and grabbing the box that was held within and pulled it out to see what his wife had chosen for him. His brow raised at the brightly colored box that looked like a clown had vomited on the cover. "Sugar Awesome Yum O's!!??" Was brightly written across the cover, and a bowl showing some cereal that matched the boxes colors within and a kid looking quite happy at the sight of them. "Hoo boy..." Was all Peter said as he snagged a bowl and spoon and prepared to dig into his bowl of clown vomit.
But just before the spoon could reach his lips, a loud reverberating knock flooded the room and Peter looked to the door. The knock had been loud, and almost metallic in sound, and Peter narrowed his eyes slightly, before looking down at his cereal. Deciding that answering the door would probably be better for his health, even if it was an enemy of his, Peter abandoned the bowl and headed to the door, opening it casually, but tensing in case there was an attack.
There was none, and Peter almost immedieatelely recognized the gruff man that was standing before him and a shocked look grew on his face. "Logan? Is that you?" Peter asked, smiling and laughing wholeheartedly. The gruff man that looked like he hadn't shaved for a day or so smiled as well and entered, ducking his head a little for the low door.
"Hello to you to Pete. How's MJ doing these days?" Logan asked, letting himself in and taking a seat on what had been Peter's bed for the night.
Peter smiled and leaned against the wall, the smile seemingly permanently etched on his face. "She's good, real good. Not too happy about what happened yesterday, I kinda swore off the superhero stuff for the trip, ya know?" Logan grinned and nodded, , propping his legs up on the table. "I assume you're here about that mutant I called about..." Peter continued, and seeing Logan become serious and nod again, he nodded and sighed to himself. "Okay then, I'll start from the beginning... it happened yesterday when I heard about a bank robbery... I couldn't just let that go on so...
One explanation later
... and then I turn around and... he's gone! Like, gone! I never heard him or anything! He just... vanished!" Peter exclaimed, pinching the bridge of his nose and shaking his head. "I am not sure if he teleported, or is just really fast... hell I don't know if it's even a mutant power! But... you can see why I am worried right? A mutant that can take out Venom so easily is... well, either good or bad, depending on which side he's on."
Logan nodded and went over the tale in his mind, before turning a curious eye to Peter. "What did you say he looked like again?"
Peter furrowed his brow and thought back to when they were facing off and nodded slightly. "He was about my height... lean, muscle was there but it wasn't bulky in any way... he had long black hair tied back in a pigtail and um... blue eyes, bright blue."
"And what was he wearing?" Logan pressed.
"Uh... just a red chinese shirt and some black pants with black slippers... oh and a pair of black bracers on his arms... why?" Peter asked, looking to Logan.
Logan got rid of the smirk he was just wearing and shrugged. "No reason... I'll keep in touch if I see him." Peter thanked Logan as he stood and left, shutting the door behind him. "Knew there was more to that bartender..." He muttered and headed for the exit, destination in mind.
=-= Tenshinoshi Bar=-=
"Well, that was easy..." Ranma said happily, resting his arms behind his head and smiling happily. Ryoko nodded in agreement, the boss didn't seem to care about Ranma's abscence. "So we just need to find a private place and then we can go ahead and teleport to the..." Ranma was interrupted as he opened the door to the bar, and found himself staring into the eyes of a man who was slightly hunched over with long sideburns and a cigar sticking out of his mouth. "Hey, you're that guy from last...!"
Ranma found himself forced to stop talking as a fist flew forward toward his face. Instinctually his arms darted out and caught the fist and he turned and threw the man over his shoulder in a perfectly executed Judo throw. The man who had attacked, Logan, flew across the length of the bar and collided with the wall, causing it to cave in around and atop of him before he slumped onto the ground.
"That works..." Ryoko said, turning a raised brow to Ranma, who chuckled and rubbed the back of his head.
Ranma turned away from his watchdog and approached the rubble casually, sure that the man was knocked out. Of course, he wasn't expecting his foe to have superhuman healing that surpassed even his. As Ranma stood over the rubble an arm shot up and grasped the collar of his shirt, before the rest of the man exploded from under the debris and growled animalistically. "Wrong move, bub." Ranma's eyes widened and he leapt back from another punch, causing the shirt Kao was molding into to rip off in Logan's hand, but not without a strain on his body. However, the ripping sound was not a papery sound, it was wet and almost fleshy, like skin being ripped from a body. "What the hell..." Logan muttered and looked down at the red goop in his hand that was quivering and dissolving as he watched it. He looked up at Ranma with an expression that could be described as cautious and watched the shirt melt into the hole and fill it in, becoming the complete article before his eyes. Logan snarled and shook off some of the dust still left on his body before getting a running start toward Ranma and leaping at him, arms extended out in front of him as if he wanted to punch Ranma. Ranma was about to laugh at the abusrdity of the move. That is, until three claws made of some metal slid out from imbetween the knuckles of Logan's fists and were coming at him faster than he'd like. The ghost of a smile that had been forming on his face disappeared in an instant and he snagged the wrists of his assailant and pushed them up and away from his vital organs. Using the momentum Ranma provided, Logan flipped his legs forward from behind him and slammed them into his gut. Ranma didn't have time to gasp, as he was propelled at an alarming rate through the wall behind him and out into the street and into oncoming traffic. Groaning, Ranma looked to the side and watched as a car propelled at high speeds toward his head. Gathering his wits, Ranma put his arms next to his head and lifted his legs up before launching himself nearly fifty in the air easily, watching as the car zoomed pass beneath before crashing into a store, the driver being distracted by the feat of strength he had just seen.
Logan had exited through the hole in the bar quickly enough to watch Ranma launch himself up through the air and then land on the ground so lightly it sounded as if he hadn't fallen more than a foot. He only raised an eyebrow and smiled, crouching low and raising his clawed hands, preparing for round two. Ranma also got into a stance and narrowed his eyes at the man who had attacked him for seemingly no reason. Around them a large arena was forming in the shape of parked cars and people watching and speaking of mutants and pointing at the combatants. Just before both were about to charge Ranma's eyes flicked behind Logan. "Stop Ryoko!" He called, causing Logan to turn around and see the green-haired woman he had seen earlier behind him with a sword made of pure energy raised above her, ready to strike. He now began to grow slightly worried, turning back to Ranma who was glaring at him openly and seemed unaware of the surrounding crowd.
"This is a fight between me and him, stay out of it Ryoko..." Ranma spat out, getting into a stance quickly and readying himself.
"Got that right..." Logan said, smiling and getting into a low stance of his own. Ryoko narrowed her eyes and the tone Ranma had used with her but decided to let it go... for now, and instead chose to watch the fight. Ranma shifted his foot ever so slightly, pieces of rock grinding against the cement beneath his feet. It was the only thing Logan needed to act as a signal and he immediately ran forward and let a shout out, raising his claws in front of him and preparing for an attack. Ranma instantly shifted his weight down and back to counter the assault and narrowly dodged a swipe from the man's claws, followed by another and another. Bending and contorting to impossible positions to avoid the attacks. Logan was quickly growing frustrated, and cursed loudly each time he missed and finally took several steps back, panting a bit.
"My turn..." Ranma said and popped his knuckles before charging forward and landing a devastating punch on Logan's jaw before he had time to react. After he hit him, Ranma shook his fist and looked down at it, frowning when he saw that the knuckles was raw. 'Already... but, that was only one hit!' Ranma thought and glanced up at Logan, who was shaking his head and struggling to maintain his balance.
'God damn that kid's got one helluva punch!' Logan thought as he tried to clear his head. Even with his adamantium encased skeleton that punch rattled his body to the core. He could already feel his body hurrying the heal the enourmous bruise that was forming on his cheek and easing the sore jaw. "That's a nice punch ya got there kid..." Logan said and spit out some blood that had leaked in his mouth.
Ranma bounced on his heels and grinned, rolling his neck around and smiled. "You ain't seen nuthin yet!"
Logan crouched low again and readied his claws in front of him, watching Ranma closely for signs of movement. He caught Ranma's eyes flick away from his own for only a second and his smile falter, and he knew what he was looking at.
'Holy shit this guy heals fast... like Saffron... damnit I'll have to use some to the more dangerous techniques for this guy, I don't want to but if he can heal a punch that fast...' Ranma thought as he stopped bouncing and prepared to charge again. Logan however was ready this time, and raised a punch to Ranma as he darted forward, however that wasn't near enough and was easily swatted aside before he heard several words shouted loudly in Japanese.
"Kachuu Tenshin Amaguriken!"
Logan's only thoughts before he was introduced to a world of pain were what the words meant in english. 'Imperial chestnuts roasting on an open fire fist...?' And then it started. It felt like someone was pushing a jackhammer into his gut and the guy behind it only pushed it further in. He could swear that if a hand was placed on his back they would feel the fist pushing all the way through his gut and into his back, or at least that's what it felt like. After what seemed like minutes, but was only half of one, Ranma stopped and took a step back, admiring his handiwork. Logan immediately fell to his knees and emptied his stomach onto the ground, and continued heaving when there was nothing left in his gut to let out.
"Let that be a lesson 'bub'..." Ranma mocked, smiling above him. "Ranma Saotome never loses."
"AND JUST WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?" A voice shouted from behind Ranma, causing him to flinch and jerk around, where he found himself looking into the yellow slitted eyes of Ryoko. "That was some punch, just lookit the guy! He can't stop trying to vomit!"
Ranma laughed weakly and rubbed the back of his head, trying to look innocent. "Hehe, guess I dunno my own strength."
"Y-You little shit!" Logan exclaimed from behind him, attempting to rise to his feet and failing horribly.
"Ryoko, let's get outta here... quick." Ranma said as he glanced back at Logan, who was giving Ranma the gaze of death. Ryoko rolled her eyes behind Ranma and stepped forward and wrapped her arm around Ranma's. Right in front of everyone, both Ryoko and Ranma shimmered and became slightly transparent before disappearing altogether.
Logan panted and finally made it to his feet and retched one more time before wiping the excess vomit from his chin. "Look like we got more then one mutant..." He growled, the throbbing pain in his gut finally easing slightly. He looked around at the crowd that was staring at him with a mixture of fear and awe. Letting his claws slide back into his hands, Logan looked around at the people staring at him. "What are you all staring at!?" The crowd flinched and immediately started to disperse. Logan cursed once more and got his bearings before limping off to Peter's hotel room to tell him the news, Pete wasn't going to be happy, but Logan didn't care. His mind was set on beating that little punk now.
---Masaki Shrine---
"Now Tenchi, don't think of the sword as a weapon or an object... instead think of it as an extension of your body..." Katsuhito said, before a pop interrupted his training. Both he and Tenchi turned and were mildly surprised when they saw Ryoko standing there with the boy they had been chasing not a day earlier. "This is certainly unexpected..." Katsuhito mused, causing Ranma to smile weakly.
Now that he had the chance, Katsuhito did a quick scan over Ranma and was very intrigued by what he found. The boy had skills that impressed even Katsuhito, that was certain. The amount of energy he was putting out was astounding, and even then it was hard for Katsuhito to sense, the boy obviously had quite a bit of training in energy manipulation to be able to conceal it so well. The next noticable thing was his body. Not the shape it was in, but the movements it made, subtle, but there. He was a fighter, and a good one. His muscles were constantly pulsing with power and energy, ready for any sort attack on his being. Katsuhito had a mirthful smile as he decided to test this theory out.
There was almost no warning for the attack, but Ranma noticed it the second the old man had shifted to prepare for it. In a split second, Ranma had ducked to the side and caught the bokken that the man had swung at him. "I thought we were past this..." Ranma grumbled, narrowing his eyes at the old man. 'This isn't an ordinary old geezer...' Ranma thought, 'His speed is amazing...'
Katsuhito laughed loudly and relaxed, before bowing to Ranma. "Quite right, forgive me... I wanted to test something out."
"Did I pass?" Ranma asked with an upraised eyebrow.
"With flying colors." Was all Katsuhito said before turning and walking back to Tenchi. "Well, let's not be rude Tenchi, invite our guests inside!"
Tenchi shook the awestruck gaze from his face and responded, "Oh! Please, come inside!"
Ranma turned to Ryoko as Tenchi headed inside and gave her a skeptical look. "You fell for this loser?"
Ryoko fumed for a moment and her cheeks flushed brightly. "Tenchi is not a loser! He-"
"He's a loser... prolly can't even fight..." Ranma interrupted and walked after Tenchi, raising his arms behind his head. Behind him, Ryoko fumed and clenched her fists so tightly that her nails threatened to pierce the skin.
"Why that little..." She growled and floated after Ranma with violent thoughts playing through her mind.
Ranma let out a low whistle and looked about him as Tenchi led him inside. "Nice place..." He muttered, glancing about and donning an impressed look on his face.
"Oh! Hi Tenchi-niicha-" called a high voice that got Ranma's attention. Turning away from a picture on the wall, Ranma saw that they were in the main room of the house, and a low table was out. A young girl was standing in a doorway to what appeared to be the kitchen.
Ranma smiled happily and waved. "Yo!"
The girl instantly grew happier and smiled back at Ranma. "Hello!"
"I'm Ranma, what's your name?" Ranma asked.
"My name is Sasami!" The girl, who Ranma now knew as Sasami, replied and giggled quite cutely.
Ryoko watched silently behind Ranma, a not so surprised look on her face. Sasami was quick to befriend and quick to trust, so it was no real surprise that she and Ranma hit it off immediately, but Ryoko knew that Ranma and Sasami would be fine, she was more worried about...
"What in Tsunami's name is HE doing here!?"
...Ayeka
Ranma turned around to see the purple haired girl that he had seen the last time he was here was glaring at him
"speech"
'thoughts'
[Kao symbiote]
/telepathy/
Okay, one of my long and spontaeneous updates again... Sorry, but I won't be able to work on this as much as I have been in the past... I am starting to write a book. If you're interested about what I am going to be writing, send me an e-mail at or IM me AIM: TouketsuHouou MSN: Syrhk
Still no fanart... several people spoke to me and said they were making it, but I have yet to recieve any... That would be a motivator for me to get more writing done... Hell No one else needs to see it, just me...
Interesting site here... I found a site that calculates the true power and speed of Ranma, pretty interesting... he's doing it scientifically to. According to it, Ranma's Amaguriken is 3 times the speed of sound, average. Max speed is twice that... interesting stuff...
Oh, anyone out there play Ragnarok Online? If so, why not come play with me... I am on the Loki server and my characters names are Syrhk and Tekrhen. Look forward to seeing someone online, if at all.
Yup that's about all I have to say really... poll is still going, Rogue is winning... and this is what you've all been waiting for... Logan versus Ranma...
Ryoko's eyes squeezes shut one last time before finally opening and revealing the surrounding room to her. A small ball of fur lay by her body in the crook of her neck, which she immediately realized was Ryo-Oh-Ki, and she raised a hand and absently pet the cabbit.
She felt much better rested than she had ever felt, and she quickly realized the reason. Sitting up and gazing back at the futon she had been asleep on, Ryoko gave a small smile when she thought of her hosts kindness despite her lack of it. Turning once again, Ryoko yawned loudly and stretched her arms out, scratching at her gut as she turned to inspect the clock.
Ryoko baulked as she realized she had long overslept and quickly dressed and drifted through the wall, praying that the man she was staying with had not left.
The moment her face got through she paused in surprise to see Ranma sitting at the table and busy munching on some eggs and bacon. His eyes widened in surprise to see Ryoko's head just sticking out of a wall and cocked his head to the side a bit, unknowingly making him look all the more cute.
"Another power of yours?" Ranma inquired, taking another bite of food and keeping his eyes on the head sticking out of his room.
Ryoko only blinked before grinning sheepishly and coming all the way through, the rest of her body emerging from the depths of the wall and she stood, taking a tentative sniff of the food. "Smells good..."
Ranma pointed back at the stove, gesturing with his fork. "There is more on the stove if you want it."
Ryoko's eyes lit up. She had not expected him to cook for her. Grabbing a plate from a cabinet, she piled some of the delicious looking nourishment onto her plate and sat at the table, all but devouring the food in record time.
Across from her, Ranma sighed and dropped his fork as he stared at his eggs. He had barely eaten half of them, and here he was not hungry. And it was still his first plate! It wasn't that he was full; it's just that he... wasn't hungry. Like he had received the food he needed already, and that was that. This was definitely odd, he would normally be on thirds or fourths by now...
Ryoko on the other hand, was on thirds and fourths.
"Where is Ryo-oh-ki?" Ranma asked, trying to find some redeeming value for the meal.
Ryoko looked up with bits of egg all over her muzzle and blinked before responding. "Oh, she went back to the shrine. She needed to eat."
"Couldn't she eat here?" Ranma asked, glancing back at the food.
Chuckling, Ryoko answered: "Nah... She loves carrots. Can't get enough of them. The shrine was basically turned into a carrot farm for her."
If Ranma remembered correctly, that shrine was quite large. He hadn't actually seen the entirety of the property, but he had a good idea of just how large the property was.
"Are you planning on working out again...?" Ryoko asked, stirring Ranma from his thoughts.
Ranma looked up and nodded, grabbing his dish and taking it to the sink and beginning to wash it off. "I actually already went earlier this morning. You must have slept well."
Ryoko's cheeks flushed with color and she gave a meek nod to Ranma's back, though she had a feeling he had already known the answer. She should have been upset that he had left without her there to watch her, but she couldn't help but not be angry at the guy. So far he had far more pros then cons.
"What are your plans for today then?"
Ranma paused in his cleaning and turned to Ryoko. "Not much, I don't really have much to do until work tonight, so we could do whatever."
"What do you mean "we"?" Ryoko asked, her eyes narrowing in suspicion.
Ranma blinked, clueless as to the reason why Ryoko seemed angry. "Er... Well if you gotta watch me you may as well be able to do something with me, right? Don't want you to get bored."
Ryoko opened her mouth as if to speak, but closed it again and nodded meekly, the flush becoming more evident in her cheeks.
"You feeling okay? You look sick..." Ranma stated with concern in his eyes as he looked at Ryoko's face.
"I'm fine!" Ryoko shouted, her reaction a bit too much for the simple question.
"Jeez okay, sheesh... Just worried about ya. No need to bite my head off." Ranma grumbled before walking to the bathroom.
Ryoko let out a loud sigh once he left, her heart pounding. What was he? No human she had met had ever made her feel so... uncomfortable. Was that the feeling she felt? She didn't know, but all she knew was that she didn't like it.
Ranma emerged a moment later with a toothbrush hanging from within his mouth and a towel around his shoulders. He gave a wary glance at Ryoko and continued to the kitchen and took Ryoko's plate to clean.
"Thank you." Ryoko meekly said, to which Ranma grunted in response.
As he scrubbed, Ranma curiously took a glance at Ryoko and saw that she was looking better. He took a moment to remove the toothbrush from his mouth before speaking. "So uh, you know where you want to go this afternoon? I am drawing up blanks here."
Ryoko was surprised that he was letting her choose where they would go, but there wasn't anywhere that she could think to go to either. The only sounds in the small apartment were the steady flow of water from the faucet and the delicate clanking of dishes that Ranma was washing.
"We could go to the shrine... I mean, that is if you want to..." Ryoko stated, breaking the awkward silence again. Ranma paused for a moment to consider it and gave a skeptical glance back at Ryoko as he considered it.
"Is that such a good idea? I mean, with what happened last time and all..." Ranma started, but Ryoko cut him off, shaking her head frantically.
"Nonononono! I mean, it'll be fine! We are uhm..." Ryoko poked her index fingers together and looked away from Ranma, who was gazing at her intently. "Used to misunderstandings... I am sure they'd love to meet you!"
"Oh..." Ranma said, looking up thoughtfully and smiling. "Yeah sure then, we can go see R-Ryo-ohki again." Ranma said, his voice wavering only slightly at the end. Ryoko smiled and nodded as Ranma began to put the dishes away, causing some white noise to fill the background. "Just let me tell my boss that I am not gonna be in for work tonight..." Ranma said and turned away from Ryoko, looking at the entirety of his apartment and blinking. He blinked several times, glancing around and adopting a confused expression on his face before Ryoko finally asked.
"What are you looking for?"
Ranma turned and acknowledged he had heard her before furrowing his brow again and looking around. "The phone... I coulda sworn I..."
[Host Ranma, you have not yet purchased a phone] The layered voice of Kao said from everywhere, yet nowhere.
Ranma stopped in mid sentence and smacked his forehead, feeling like a fool. "That's right, I don't... thanks for reminding me Kao." Ryoko was about to ask who Kao was but then remberered the sentient being that was living in Ranma's body. She eyed him, still unsure of the beings purpose and intentions.
"So... where is... Kao right now?" Ryoko asked, floating closer and circling Ranma, poking and prodding all around his body and feeling for lumps or mishapen parts. Ranma jumped away and looked at Ryoko as if she was crazy, fright and fear evident in his mannerisms.
"Woah there! Sheesh, ask before you touch... and as for where Kao is... well..." Ranma said, grabbing his shirt and holding it up. "He's right here." Ryoko floated forward and snatched the material from Ranma's hand, and insantly cooed at the feel of it.
"Wow! It feels so soft and smooth... but also really strong! That's really cool!" Ryoko exclaimed, completely oblivious to the fact that Ranma had frozen up with a horrified expression as he gazed at her head. "So can he become any type of clothes or..." Ryoko started, before looking up and realizing how close she was. She appeared several feet away and looked away, finishing her sentence. "... is that all that it could turn into...?" It took several seconds before Ranma regained motor control over his body and shook his head to clear his mind and realzed that she had asked a question.
"Uhm, no, Kao can become all sorts of cool stuff, here see..." Ranma said, willing Kao to shift into several sets of clothes including a tuxedo and a bathing suit before shifting back to his red Chinese tang and black pants with slippers. "It really saves money on clothes since these are usually silk..." Ranma said, pointing at the shirt.
Ryoko nodded from her position and thought that something like that would be very useful. She didn't really wear a large variety of clothing, but for someone who did wear a variety of clothes... never have to buy again!
"Anyway, Kao stated that I don't have a phone... so we are going to have to go and tell my boss I am missing work tonight." Rising to his feet, Ranma headed for the door and waited for Ryoko to come along, which she did right after him and they left for his place of employment.
=-=-=-Some time earlier, The hotel room of one Peter Parker-=-=-=
A soft moan was expelled from the web slingers mouth as he woke up on an uncomfortable surface. He shited several times, trying to find a comfortable place and frowned when he found himself unable to find a comft position. Couch: 1 Peter Parker: 0. Grumbling about uncomfortable sofas Peter reluctantly rose to his feet and stretched, working the many kinks that had developed in his body overnight. Taking a quick peek at the bed, he saw that his wife had already woken up and was not in bed, so he decided to go and use the bathroom quickly, brushing his teeth and taking a quick shower before heading out to the kitchenette to look for any sign of his spouse. Soon after arriving, Peter realized that Mary Jane was not in the room and began to panic, wondering what could have happened to her. Of course, that is until he saw the note sitting on the counter.
Peter-
Went out shopping, hope you didn't sleep in too much! Hope you learned your lesson, there is some cereal in the cupboard. It was the only one in English... didn't want to take my chances with the others. I'll be back for lunch.
-Hugs and kisses, MJ
Peter let a sigh of relief escape his lips before smiling. His wife wasn't worried about a thing, despite his numerous enemies... including Venom. Peter thought that he and Mary Jane should talk about the dangers again... she seemed to be growing quite careless, and it was beginning to worry Peter. Discarding the thought for the time being, Peter reached and opened up the cupboard, reaching and grabbing the box that was held within and pulled it out to see what his wife had chosen for him. His brow raised at the brightly colored box that looked like a clown had vomited on the cover. "Sugar Awesome Yum O's!!??" Was brightly written across the cover, and a bowl showing some cereal that matched the boxes colors within and a kid looking quite happy at the sight of them. "Hoo boy..." Was all Peter said as he snagged a bowl and spoon and prepared to dig into his bowl of clown vomit.
But just before the spoon could reach his lips, a loud reverberating knock flooded the room and Peter looked to the door. The knock had been loud, and almost metallic in sound, and Peter narrowed his eyes slightly, before looking down at his cereal. Deciding that answering the door would probably be better for his health, even if it was an enemy of his, Peter abandoned the bowl and headed to the door, opening it casually, but tensing in case there was an attack.
There was none, and Peter almost immedieatelely recognized the gruff man that was standing before him and a shocked look grew on his face. "Logan? Is that you?" Peter asked, smiling and laughing wholeheartedly. The gruff man that looked like he hadn't shaved for a day or so smiled as well and entered, ducking his head a little for the low door.
"Hello to you to Pete. How's MJ doing these days?" Logan asked, letting himself in and taking a seat on what had been Peter's bed for the night.
Peter smiled and leaned against the wall, the smile seemingly permanently etched on his face. "She's good, real good. Not too happy about what happened yesterday, I kinda swore off the superhero stuff for the trip, ya know?" Logan grinned and nodded, , propping his legs up on the table. "I assume you're here about that mutant I called about..." Peter continued, and seeing Logan become serious and nod again, he nodded and sighed to himself. "Okay then, I'll start from the beginning... it happened yesterday when I heard about a bank robbery... I couldn't just let that go on so...
One explanation later
... and then I turn around and... he's gone! Like, gone! I never heard him or anything! He just... vanished!" Peter exclaimed, pinching the bridge of his nose and shaking his head. "I am not sure if he teleported, or is just really fast... hell I don't know if it's even a mutant power! But... you can see why I am worried right? A mutant that can take out Venom so easily is... well, either good or bad, depending on which side he's on."
Logan nodded and went over the tale in his mind, before turning a curious eye to Peter. "What did you say he looked like again?"
Peter furrowed his brow and thought back to when they were facing off and nodded slightly. "He was about my height... lean, muscle was there but it wasn't bulky in any way... he had long black hair tied back in a pigtail and um... blue eyes, bright blue."
"And what was he wearing?" Logan pressed.
"Uh... just a red chinese shirt and some black pants with black slippers... oh and a pair of black bracers on his arms... why?" Peter asked, looking to Logan.
Logan got rid of the smirk he was just wearing and shrugged. "No reason... I'll keep in touch if I see him." Peter thanked Logan as he stood and left, shutting the door behind him. "Knew there was more to that bartender..." He muttered and headed for the exit, destination in mind.
=-= Tenshinoshi Bar=-=
"Well, that was easy..." Ranma said happily, resting his arms behind his head and smiling happily. Ryoko nodded in agreement, the boss didn't seem to care about Ranma's abscence. "So we just need to find a private place and then we can go ahead and teleport to the..." Ranma was interrupted as he opened the door to the bar, and found himself staring into the eyes of a man who was slightly hunched over with long sideburns and a cigar sticking out of his mouth. "Hey, you're that guy from last...!"
Ranma found himself forced to stop talking as a fist flew forward toward his face. Instinctually his arms darted out and caught the fist and he turned and threw the man over his shoulder in a perfectly executed Judo throw. The man who had attacked, Logan, flew across the length of the bar and collided with the wall, causing it to cave in around and atop of him before he slumped onto the ground.
"That works..." Ryoko said, turning a raised brow to Ranma, who chuckled and rubbed the back of his head.
Ranma turned away from his watchdog and approached the rubble casually, sure that the man was knocked out. Of course, he wasn't expecting his foe to have superhuman healing that surpassed even his. As Ranma stood over the rubble an arm shot up and grasped the collar of his shirt, before the rest of the man exploded from under the debris and growled animalistically. "Wrong move, bub." Ranma's eyes widened and he leapt back from another punch, causing the shirt Kao was molding into to rip off in Logan's hand, but not without a strain on his body. However, the ripping sound was not a papery sound, it was wet and almost fleshy, like skin being ripped from a body. "What the hell..." Logan muttered and looked down at the red goop in his hand that was quivering and dissolving as he watched it. He looked up at Ranma with an expression that could be described as cautious and watched the shirt melt into the hole and fill it in, becoming the complete article before his eyes. Logan snarled and shook off some of the dust still left on his body before getting a running start toward Ranma and leaping at him, arms extended out in front of him as if he wanted to punch Ranma. Ranma was about to laugh at the abusrdity of the move. That is, until three claws made of some metal slid out from imbetween the knuckles of Logan's fists and were coming at him faster than he'd like. The ghost of a smile that had been forming on his face disappeared in an instant and he snagged the wrists of his assailant and pushed them up and away from his vital organs. Using the momentum Ranma provided, Logan flipped his legs forward from behind him and slammed them into his gut. Ranma didn't have time to gasp, as he was propelled at an alarming rate through the wall behind him and out into the street and into oncoming traffic. Groaning, Ranma looked to the side and watched as a car propelled at high speeds toward his head. Gathering his wits, Ranma put his arms next to his head and lifted his legs up before launching himself nearly fifty in the air easily, watching as the car zoomed pass beneath before crashing into a store, the driver being distracted by the feat of strength he had just seen.
Logan had exited through the hole in the bar quickly enough to watch Ranma launch himself up through the air and then land on the ground so lightly it sounded as if he hadn't fallen more than a foot. He only raised an eyebrow and smiled, crouching low and raising his clawed hands, preparing for round two. Ranma also got into a stance and narrowed his eyes at the man who had attacked him for seemingly no reason. Around them a large arena was forming in the shape of parked cars and people watching and speaking of mutants and pointing at the combatants. Just before both were about to charge Ranma's eyes flicked behind Logan. "Stop Ryoko!" He called, causing Logan to turn around and see the green-haired woman he had seen earlier behind him with a sword made of pure energy raised above her, ready to strike. He now began to grow slightly worried, turning back to Ranma who was glaring at him openly and seemed unaware of the surrounding crowd.
"This is a fight between me and him, stay out of it Ryoko..." Ranma spat out, getting into a stance quickly and readying himself.
"Got that right..." Logan said, smiling and getting into a low stance of his own. Ryoko narrowed her eyes and the tone Ranma had used with her but decided to let it go... for now, and instead chose to watch the fight. Ranma shifted his foot ever so slightly, pieces of rock grinding against the cement beneath his feet. It was the only thing Logan needed to act as a signal and he immediately ran forward and let a shout out, raising his claws in front of him and preparing for an attack. Ranma instantly shifted his weight down and back to counter the assault and narrowly dodged a swipe from the man's claws, followed by another and another. Bending and contorting to impossible positions to avoid the attacks. Logan was quickly growing frustrated, and cursed loudly each time he missed and finally took several steps back, panting a bit.
"My turn..." Ranma said and popped his knuckles before charging forward and landing a devastating punch on Logan's jaw before he had time to react. After he hit him, Ranma shook his fist and looked down at it, frowning when he saw that the knuckles was raw. 'Already... but, that was only one hit!' Ranma thought and glanced up at Logan, who was shaking his head and struggling to maintain his balance.
'God damn that kid's got one helluva punch!' Logan thought as he tried to clear his head. Even with his adamantium encased skeleton that punch rattled his body to the core. He could already feel his body hurrying the heal the enourmous bruise that was forming on his cheek and easing the sore jaw. "That's a nice punch ya got there kid..." Logan said and spit out some blood that had leaked in his mouth.
Ranma bounced on his heels and grinned, rolling his neck around and smiled. "You ain't seen nuthin yet!"
Logan crouched low again and readied his claws in front of him, watching Ranma closely for signs of movement. He caught Ranma's eyes flick away from his own for only a second and his smile falter, and he knew what he was looking at.
'Holy shit this guy heals fast... like Saffron... damnit I'll have to use some to the more dangerous techniques for this guy, I don't want to but if he can heal a punch that fast...' Ranma thought as he stopped bouncing and prepared to charge again. Logan however was ready this time, and raised a punch to Ranma as he darted forward, however that wasn't near enough and was easily swatted aside before he heard several words shouted loudly in Japanese.
"Kachuu Tenshin Amaguriken!"
Logan's only thoughts before he was introduced to a world of pain were what the words meant in english. 'Imperial chestnuts roasting on an open fire fist...?' And then it started. It felt like someone was pushing a jackhammer into his gut and the guy behind it only pushed it further in. He could swear that if a hand was placed on his back they would feel the fist pushing all the way through his gut and into his back, or at least that's what it felt like. After what seemed like minutes, but was only half of one, Ranma stopped and took a step back, admiring his handiwork. Logan immediately fell to his knees and emptied his stomach onto the ground, and continued heaving when there was nothing left in his gut to let out.
"Let that be a lesson 'bub'..." Ranma mocked, smiling above him. "Ranma Saotome never loses."
"AND JUST WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?" A voice shouted from behind Ranma, causing him to flinch and jerk around, where he found himself looking into the yellow slitted eyes of Ryoko. "That was some punch, just lookit the guy! He can't stop trying to vomit!"
Ranma laughed weakly and rubbed the back of his head, trying to look innocent. "Hehe, guess I dunno my own strength."
"Y-You little shit!" Logan exclaimed from behind him, attempting to rise to his feet and failing horribly.
"Ryoko, let's get outta here... quick." Ranma said as he glanced back at Logan, who was giving Ranma the gaze of death. Ryoko rolled her eyes behind Ranma and stepped forward and wrapped her arm around Ranma's. Right in front of everyone, both Ryoko and Ranma shimmered and became slightly transparent before disappearing altogether.
Logan panted and finally made it to his feet and retched one more time before wiping the excess vomit from his chin. "Look like we got more then one mutant..." He growled, the throbbing pain in his gut finally easing slightly. He looked around at the crowd that was staring at him with a mixture of fear and awe. Letting his claws slide back into his hands, Logan looked around at the people staring at him. "What are you all staring at!?" The crowd flinched and immediately started to disperse. Logan cursed once more and got his bearings before limping off to Peter's hotel room to tell him the news, Pete wasn't going to be happy, but Logan didn't care. His mind was set on beating that little punk now.
---Masaki Shrine---
"Now Tenchi, don't think of the sword as a weapon or an object... instead think of it as an extension of your body..." Katsuhito said, before a pop interrupted his training. Both he and Tenchi turned and were mildly surprised when they saw Ryoko standing there with the boy they had been chasing not a day earlier. "This is certainly unexpected..." Katsuhito mused, causing Ranma to smile weakly.
Now that he had the chance, Katsuhito did a quick scan over Ranma and was very intrigued by what he found. The boy had skills that impressed even Katsuhito, that was certain. The amount of energy he was putting out was astounding, and even then it was hard for Katsuhito to sense, the boy obviously had quite a bit of training in energy manipulation to be able to conceal it so well. The next noticable thing was his body. Not the shape it was in, but the movements it made, subtle, but there. He was a fighter, and a good one. His muscles were constantly pulsing with power and energy, ready for any sort attack on his being. Katsuhito had a mirthful smile as he decided to test this theory out.
There was almost no warning for the attack, but Ranma noticed it the second the old man had shifted to prepare for it. In a split second, Ranma had ducked to the side and caught the bokken that the man had swung at him. "I thought we were past this..." Ranma grumbled, narrowing his eyes at the old man. 'This isn't an ordinary old geezer...' Ranma thought, 'His speed is amazing...'
Katsuhito laughed loudly and relaxed, before bowing to Ranma. "Quite right, forgive me... I wanted to test something out."
"Did I pass?" Ranma asked with an upraised eyebrow.
"With flying colors." Was all Katsuhito said before turning and walking back to Tenchi. "Well, let's not be rude Tenchi, invite our guests inside!"
Tenchi shook the awestruck gaze from his face and responded, "Oh! Please, come inside!"
Ranma turned to Ryoko as Tenchi headed inside and gave her a skeptical look. "You fell for this loser?"
Ryoko fumed for a moment and her cheeks flushed brightly. "Tenchi is not a loser! He-"
"He's a loser... prolly can't even fight..." Ranma interrupted and walked after Tenchi, raising his arms behind his head. Behind him, Ryoko fumed and clenched her fists so tightly that her nails threatened to pierce the skin.
"Why that little..." She growled and floated after Ranma with violent thoughts playing through her mind.
Ranma let out a low whistle and looked about him as Tenchi led him inside. "Nice place..." He muttered, glancing about and donning an impressed look on his face.
"Oh! Hi Tenchi-niicha-" called a high voice that got Ranma's attention. Turning away from a picture on the wall, Ranma saw that they were in the main room of the house, and a low table was out. A young girl was standing in a doorway to what appeared to be the kitchen.
Ranma smiled happily and waved. "Yo!"
The girl instantly grew happier and smiled back at Ranma. "Hello!"
"I'm Ranma, what's your name?" Ranma asked.
"My name is Sasami!" The girl, who Ranma now knew as Sasami, replied and giggled quite cutely.
Ryoko watched silently behind Ranma, a not so surprised look on her face. Sasami was quick to befriend and quick to trust, so it was no real surprise that she and Ranma hit it off immediately, but Ryoko knew that Ranma and Sasami would be fine, she was more worried about...
"What in Tsunami's name is HE doing here!?"
...Ayeka
Ranma turned around to see the purple haired girl that he had seen the last time he was here was glaring at him