Chapter 20

Ranma threw a palm strike with amazing speed. You would have to have the eyes of a master to see it. His arm was already back in its' chambered position and the wooden post in front of him had a very deep dent in it. Ranma got back in position and readied himself again. From inside the house, Akane watched him with narrowed eyes. She was petting P-chan who was glaring at Ranma too.

"Look at him, that cocky jerk thinks he so good. I wish someone would just beat him and show him that he isn't as tough he is." Akane spat. She turned away from the scene and sat down at the table. P-chan attempted to gain her attention. She looked at the small piglet and stroked behind the ears. "I'm sorry P-chan for ignoring you. I'm just so angry at him. I don't see what makes him so special? Just because he wants to create his own style, everyone falls over him and think that he's amazing. He owes a lot of that to his father, who he's so disrespectful to, and that old woman, Cologne." P-chan looked at her with curiosity.

"Oh yeah, you've been gone for a while. Cologne is some leader of an Amazon village and a pretty skilled martial artist. Because she was 'so impressed' with Ranma, she decided to teach the pervert what she knows. Personally, I think it's just a ploy so that her floozy of a great grand-daughter can get with him. If they didn't train him, he wouldn't be as strong as he is now." Akane said. Ryoga took the information and stored it. As he thought about it, he suddenly remembered the two that she was talking about. So that old woman was a martial artist and she trained his rival. Perhaps, he would take her up on that offer after all.

XXX

Surprisingly, it took Ryoga one day to actually find the place. He could have done it a little better instead of running up on one of the establishments' workers, scaring the crap out of her, but he had reached his destination without any problems. He asked for Cologne who was curious as to why he was back here. When she heard his request, she was a little smug.

"So now, you want my help? What happened when you engaged my future son-in-law?" Cologne asked smugly. Ryoga snarled at her but he didn't attack her.

"From what I hear, you're one of the reasons that he's so good. I'm asking you to even the playing field." Ryoga said.

"Well, you do have a point." Cologne allowed him stew for a while before speaking again. "Very well, I will teach you something. Meet me here in two days and we will go training." Cologne said. Ryoga thanked her and left. Shampoo watched this and was wondering what her great grandmother was planning.

XXX

Ranma was yawning as he made his to school. He was glad that he was alone today because for some reason Akane had taken off with Ryoga. While he didn't care that they were hanging out together, he was curious as to why Ryoga was smirking at him. As he continued on, Shampoo came up to his side. He looked at her with a smile.

"Hey Shampoo," Ranma greeted but he noticed that she had a concerned look on her face. "What's wrong?"

"I have something to tell you. My great grandmother has taken another student for training. It is that guy you know. I think his name is Ryoga." Shampoo said. Ranma's eyes went wide when he heard that. That explained why Ryoga was so smug and probably why Akane was helping him. Shampoo watched his face and was looking for any signs of betrayal. That's why she was surprised when Ranma started to smile.

"Ranma?" Shampoo asked.

"So the old woman is teaching pig-boy something huh? This might be something interesting." Ranma said.

"You're not mad?" Shampoo asked confused.

"Why would I be mad? I can see what the old woman is planning." Ranma said. Shampoo looked confused. "Well, there isn't really anyone who can challenge me. Kuno is a joke and I haven't seen that guy Mousse around. You're a good sparring partner and so is Kodachi but I haven't had a real good fight in a while. Ryoga is a pretty strong guy and while his reasons are pretty stupid, he has a drive like mine to be the best. At least, I hope so. Besides, when has that old mummy done something without a reason?" Shampoo giggled at that. That's when she remembered a time when Cologne taught a technique to one of her cousin instead of her.

She was so angry and felt betrayed, believing that Cologne had abandoned her. She set out to defeat her cousin to prove to her great grandmother that she was the best. The fight was one of the best that she ever had because she could have lost that match. Later, she came to her and explained that she only taught her cousin because she felt that she was getting too arrogant and not being challenged enough. She let her know that she was her heir but she didn't want her to be arrogant and feel that she was the best.

"I feel like a fool. Great grandmother did the same thing to me." Shampoo said.

"You see it now right? Don't worry about it Shampoo. If the old bat is going to do the same thing that she did with me, then I'm in for one great fight." Ranma said. Shampoo smirked and bopped Ranma softy on the head.

"Do not get cocky. My great grandmother knows almost every technique in our village. Whatever Ryoga is learning will be tough to beat." Shampoo said.

"I'll be ready." Ranma said. Shampoo just smiled and wrapped his arm around her. She saw him blush and pressed the side of her boob into him more. They walked into the school.

XXX

Akane watched as Cologne taught Ryoga this painful looking technique. If anything, Akane would never do this exercise because it looked pretty useless. When they arrived to the area, Cologne began to explain the Bakusai Tenketsu (Explosive-Breaking Point-Hole). She explained that the technique was very important as it would give Ryoga the ability to smash anything with just his finger. Ryoga smiled at the prospect of learning the technique. If he learned it, then he could succeed in completely destroying Ranma.

The first day training had Ryoga tied to a tree. There was a boulder tied across from him. He was repeatedly slammed, finger first, into the boulder. Cologne explained that this was going to continue until he figured out the 'breaking point.' Ryoga took to the training like a wrecking ball on a building. He had yet to find the 'breaking point' but he would not give up. He especially wanted to succeed with Akane watching him.

Cologne just sighed as the boy just could not find the 'breaking point.' While this was a very painful exercise to learn a useable technique, many in her village learned it quickly because they could not take the pain. She was impressed with the boy's stamina. If he continued this for a while, he could become very indestructible. After failing for the untempt time, Cologne called for an end of the training today. Ryoga want to continue but the pain finally registered and he was out like a light. Cologne just sighed and cut him down.

XXX

Cologne couldn't help but smile at the stupidity of this Ryoga. How could he just continue to poison himself with Akane's 'so-called' cooking? She just sighed and continued to eat her own cooking. As she continued to eat, she felt the stare of the young girl across from her. She ignored the girl until she finished her food. She could feel the irritation coming off her but she just ignored her. Once she was finished, she looked up at her. She noticed that Ryoga was unconscious, foam coming out of his mouth. Akane was glaring at her and she acted like she was curious as to why.

"Is there a problem?" Cologne asked.

"Was there something wrong with my food tonight?" Akane snarled.

"Other than the fact that you call it food?" Cologne asked calmly. Akane was ready to blow her top. She never liked it when people insulted her when she cooked. Whenever she tried, everyone would run from the room. Ranma did not help matters by sounding off an alarm every time she cooked. She calmed herself, not wanting to give into Cologne's taunting. She turned her attention to her again and gave her a serious glance.

"What are you up to training Ryoga? Aren't you happy that you're training that moron?" Akane asked.

"If you're talking about Ranma, then yes, I do enjoy teaching him. The way he goes at training, I wish most of the males in my village had his drive. I'm actually curious as to what he would do with the technique I'm giving him. His style will be something to see. I thought that I would help his growth by giving him a better rival." Cologne explained.

"A better rival?" Akane asked with confusion.

"Ryoga has the drive and the dedication to become very strong. It's similar to Ranma's and I noticed it when we first met. When he explained his issue with Ranma, I thought it was humorous considering that Ranma thinks he's nothing but a sore loser. While not as skilled, I do believe that he is the only one who could challenge Ranma, further improving both of their potential. Ryoga will continue to train to try and kill Ranma while Ranma will push his training in order to defend against him." Cologne explained.

"So you're just using poor Ryoga to pump that jerk's ego more? You're a horrible person!" Akane exclaimed.

"Call me what you like but at least I am honest about my goals. It is why I'm not too concerned when my great grand-daughter manages to get her love." Cologne said.

"What does that supposed to mean?!" Akane snarled.

"Well, you say that you don't like Ranma but get very jealous when either my Shampoo or that Kuno girl gets close to him. He doesn't respect you as a person or a martial artist but you try very hard to prove him wrong. You mock his goal at creating his own style but you are only jealous because he can do that and you can't. You're not honest with yourself and you will never get Ranma to notice you because of that. Shampoo is honest with her intentions and Ranma is responding to it. That must make you furious." Cologne said with a smirk.

"YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING!" Akane exclaimed. Surprisingly, Ryoga did not wake up.

"Don't I? Either way, I really don't care what you think. Ryoga will benefit from this training and so with Ranma. In fact, I'm pretty sure Ranma with thank me for this. You wouldn't understand, not being a martial artist and all." Cologne said and made her way to the river to wash her dishes. Akane was irate and clenched her fists. She didn't like the words that Cologne had told her. She kept telling herself that the old woman did not know what she was talking about but deep down, she knew that she was right. Yeah, their first meeting did not go as her father had planned but he managed to forget it and become great friends with her sisters. What the hell made her so different?

She quickly buried that thought. She told herself that she didn't need his respect or niceness. If that jerk wanted to be with the floozy Amazon or that crazy gymnast, then that was on him. She didn't need boys as they were all perverts. She mentally hoped that Ranma would lose badly and that Cologne's plan blew up in her face.

XXX

Ranma was throwing punches using the Kachū Tenshin Amaguriken (Imperial Roasting Chestnuts in the Fire Fist) with his boxing. The bag he made was able to withstand the barrage that he threw. He took a small break before continuing his barrage. He was pretty excited about his upcoming challenge. He had told Nabiki and Kasumi about it. Nabiki thought that it was a macho thing but Kasumi thought it was great for him. She told him that she noticed the frustration in his eyes at not having a challenge. His father was a little insulted that he didn't consider him a challenge but Ranma just ignored him.

Ranma stopped training for a while and took a break. As he sat down and meditated, he wondered what he would be facing in Ryoga after his training. He was hoping that it would be a challenge. Despite his growth to change, he still liked a good fight. He couldn't help but wonder what he was in store for.

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Authors' Notes: This is a short chapter but I felt that this was the best place to end it. I will probably get some hate for what I said about Akane but I've read the series, never liking the anime. I always thought of Akane an s a jealous person because she couldn't do the things that others could. Anyway, I hope you like the chapter.