Chapter 24
Ranma started the match off by throwing a three punch combination to Geo. Geo blocked all three punches and countered with three of his own. Ranma easily ducked each punch and threw an uppercut. Geo hopped back with a cross, which was blocked. Ranma decided to press Geo and threw some quick jabs. Geo blocked the jabs but did not see the hook that caught him flush on the jaw. Ranma then got into his defense and threw a cross to the body. Geo managed to block it and caught Ranma with a short hook, backing him off. Geo then threw a jab and straight, which were blocked. However, that is what he wanted as whipped his right leg into Ranma's thigh.
Ranma buckled and hopped on one leg. He quickly got some distance and looked at Geo with some concern. What the heck was that just now? That kick was really powerful and stunned him greatly. He was very convinced that he did not know Boxing. He might move as a boxer but it wasn't boxing. Steeling himself, Ranma got right back in it. He decided to take to the air and fight Geo. Geo was surprised by the aerial assault but he was not deterred by it. When he found openings, he would blast Ranma with combination that added kicks. His kicks were aimed at Ranma's legs, forcing Ranma to retreat for a while. It also did something that Geo was planning on and that was to slow Ranma down.
Ranma seem to catch onto the strategy because he noticed that his speed was dropping. Every move he was making hurt a great deal because of the amount of punishment that Geo's kicks gave him. Geo seeing this charged in with punch but Ranma caught it and executed a hip throw. With him on the ground, Ranma put him in an arm lock. Geo grimaced but was able to roll out of the lock. He got on his feet and blasted Ranma with a side kick to the gut. He added a hook kick to the temple which dazed Ranma a bit. In his daze, Geo hit him with five punches that sent Ranma to the ground. Geo was about to finish it when he was blasted away. Geo hit the mat with a thud. He was to his feet quickly and what he saw was surprising.
Ranma's position did not only surprise Geo but several masters who were in the crowd. They couldn't believe that someone had put this young man through that training. What surprised them more was that there was not a cat in sight. Ranma was on all fours and growling at Geo. Ranma attacked, moving faster that Geo could track. He was suddenly bombarded with punched that made the seventeen year old gasped. Ranma finished his assault with a kick that he combined with a backflip. Geo hit the ground but popped right back up again.
Ranma attacked again using his speed against Geo. The Nekoken (Cat Fist) had given him the advantage again. He pushed Geo who was getting pummeled by him. It looked like a victory for Ranma until Geo decided to get serious as well. He dragged his foot across the ground before landed a flaming foot to the side of Ranma's head. Ranma stepped back and watched his opponent. He watched as Geo's other foot ignited as well as his fists, burning off the gloves. Not many were surprised by this because they had seen it before. The sight of the flames made Ranma weary and he did not attack right away. When he did, Geo met the charge and began to use his fist and kicks against Ranma.
The two were going blow for blow, gaining the crowds' excitement. Ranma was hissing because he was beginning to slow down again. The combination of the kicks and flames, Ranma was suffering from burns and bruises. His ability to use air pressure was working but Geo seem to know where they were coming from. Geo suddenly caught him with a blow to the body and a hook to the jaw. The flames had blinded Ranma that he did not see the hook kick that caught Ranma flush. Ranma was sent flying and was sent out of the ring. With that, the match was over.
"That's it, winner of the third match is the "Kajiarashi" (Firestorm), Hikari Geo!" the announcer shouted. Ranma sat up gingerly and looked at his hands. He sighed and suddenly felt low. A hand landed on his shoulder and Ranma looked up to see Happosai. Nabiki was with him and she looked concerned. Happosai helped the boy to his feet and took him to the infirmary.
XXX
The group decided to stay in a hotel for the rest of the day before going home. Ranma was sitting alone and was a little reserved at the moment. While he had changed a lot since he got from under his father's control, he still had of his old persona that was quite hard to break. He never liked losing and his father had also beaten it into him that he had to be the best. When he failed, his father would always insult and belittle him. It made him train twice as hard because of it. It was just something that was embedded in him and he just couldn't handle the fact that he lost.
As he was feeling down, Happosai entered the room. He saw the dejected look on his face and decided against splashing him with cold water. He walked up beside him and waited. After a while, Ranma spoke.
"Are you disappointed that I failed?" Ranma asked.
"Why would you think that? I did not really have hope for you in that match. You did well but that boy was something else. I didn't even see that ability of his with the fire. Even with the Nekoken, I did not expect you to win." Happosai said.
"Thanks for the confidence." Ranma said dryly. Happosai just chuckled at him.
"My boy, you did much better than I thought. I've been in that tournament in my youth and it was much more vicious than before. People actually died. What I'm trying to say is that you have done very well for your first trail run of your style. Next time however, you should use shiatsu points." Happosai said. Ranma just groaned and sighed at that. How could he have forgotten about that? "Besides, you've done what those two idiots haven't done. There were a few in the crowd that is interested in the Musabetsu Kakutō Ryū."
"Was that what you wanted?" Ranma asked.
"Of course. You just don't create a form and don't spread it. I chose those two morons to pass on my style to several people. Soun failed despite having a dojo and Genma only focused on you. You, however, are my last chance to have the Musabetsu Kakutō Ryū known as the best. You are on your way my boy and I can finally pass on without any regrets. Still, you have to get my permission to use your style." Happosai said with a laugh. Ranma laughed as well and he started to feel a little better about it.
"I'll prove to you that my style will be superior and I'll show the world the skill of the Musabetsu Kakutō Ryū." Ranma said.
"I'm so glad to see that fire in your eyes. Now, I have somewhere to be." Happosai said with a perverted grin. Ranma tried to stop him but the old man was slippery one. Happosai somehow splashed him with cold water, groped her chest and flew out the window. Ranma growled but she relented and smirked. She made her way to the bathroom to take a hot shower.
XXX
Ranma returned to the dojo and returned to his creation of a style. He ignored his father's insults and Akane's ribbing to work on it. As he looked over his notes, he realized that he had taken his Aikido and Boxing training as far as he could. He was very interested in that style that guy, Geo, used. Happosai told him that it wasn't what he believed. When he asked about it, Happosai told him that he thought that it was Muay Thai boxing. Confused by what style was that, Happosai recommended that he watched several movies that showed the style. He even told him of some of those movies were being shown at the old theater. Ranma was interested and it would be a cool way to take out Kodachi who had come to him for an outing.
"I don't understand why you're even doing that. Even with the styles and techniques you've learned, you still lost. Maybe you're not as special as you thought." Akane mocked.
"At least I lost to some competition. I could beat anyone in Nerima with the exception of probably Shampoo, Cologne and Dr. Tofu. Maybe the old pervert too if he ever goes all out." Ranma commented. The comment did not sit well with Akane and she was about to say something else but she was cut off by Nabiki.
"Why don't you give it a rest Akane? Look, Ranma did the best that he could in that tournament. He won against some tough competition and got some recognition for his branch. Why are you so jealous of that?" Nabiki asked.
"I'm not jealous of him!" Akane said.
"Oh please, you're so jealous that even though he lost, he can still do better than you. Why don't you, for once, just congratulate his accomplishment and swallow your pride? You're just as bad as the panda." Nabiki said as she pointed at Genma. Ranma snorted at the comment, making Genma growl. Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Kasumi stood and made her way to the door. After a few moments, she returned with two males, both looked like that they were fourteen. Nabiki stood up quickly and looked at the two.
"I thought you guys were coming later?" Nabiki asked.
"Oh, we're sorry. We thought you said to come here at this time." One of them said.
"It's okay." She then faced Happosai. "These are the two that I was talking about before we left."
"Oh yes, I remember." Happosai said, he stood and faced the two boys. "I understand that you wish to learn the Musabetsu Kakutō Ryū?"
"Yeah but we were hoping to learn from this guy. I mean, what you did at the tournament with your lighting fast fists and your aerial attacks were just so awesome."
"Plus, you went toe-to-toe with Geo Hikari, the "Kajiarashi". We saw him in the last tournament and he almost won the damn thing. He was asking about you because he lost in the second round because of the bruises you gave him. Also, what was that thing you did when you were on all-fours?"
"Yeah, some of the masters kept saying something about the Nekoken. Would we be able to learn that as well?"
"As I have said when we talked, Ranma is still in the process of created his branch of the Musabetsu Kakutō Ryū. However, Happosai is the grandmaster and founder of the style. He can teach much more and you may change over when Ranma is finished." Nabiki said.
"We can live with that." One of the guys said.
"Very good, let me show you where we will be learning at. Nabiki, Ranma, please follow me to the dojo." Happosai said. The two did so and they left the dining room. There were many reactions to what just happened. Soun was in tears because his dojo was being used, Kasumi was happy that the three were doing something positive, Akane was pissed but not willing to say anything and Genma was irate. He was angrier than he had ever been before. It was the fact that Happosai was encouraging this behavior of his son. What was more infuriating was that he was very supportive of Ranma completing his creation of a style. It was like a slap to the face because he took it as an insult to everything that he taught the boy. His style of combat was much more superior.
He did know what he was going to do but he was going to put a stop to this one way or the other.
XXX
Ranma and Kodachi were walking out of the theater. Ranma was very interested in this Muay Thai boxing after the movies that he saw. The use of low kicks, elbows and knees in the movies showed him use how devastating the style was. He heard a comment that Muay Thai was the king style of the world. He was interested and he would defiantly get some info. Right now however, he was with Kodachi and it was agreed that all talks of martial arts was forbidden.
"So what did you think of the movies?" Ranma asked.
"I'm not much into action movies. Besides, I've never been a fan of Jean Claude Van-Damme." Kodachi said.
"Really? I thought that he was pretty cool." Ranma said. The two shared a laugh when Ranma accidentally bumped into someone. "Sorry about that."
"It's okay." The person said. When the two looked at each other, they immediately recognized each other. "Ranma Saotome right?" Geo asked.
"Geo Hikari, nice to see you again." Ranma said.
"Yeah, not since the tournament. I was looking for you after I lost the next round. You really did a number on my ribs." He then noticed Kodachi and was embarrassed. "Sorry, I didn't know that this was a date."
"Yeah, we just came from the movies and now heading to lunch." Ranma said. Kodachi was secretly happy because he did not deny that this was a date.
"Well, I'll leave you two to your date." Geo said and began to walk away but suddenly stopped and turned back. "Hey Ranma!" The two turned toward him. "I look forward to our next match!" Ranma nodded and Geo took off. Ranma had a small smile on his face and continued on his way to the restaurant that he was taking Kodachi. He had a smirk on his face.
"A friend of yours?" Kodachi asked.
"Maybe but I think we're more like friendly rivals for now." Ranma said. That was all that was said and the two continued on their way the restaurant.
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Authors' Notes: I hope that I don't get flamed for this but yeah, Ranma lost. I always believe that Ranma was the best in the series because he never gave up and always found a way to win. However, this was against the Nermia gang. When he fought someone else, he would always get dominated for a while before winning. It happened against Herb and Saffron. Either way, Ranma will grow from this lost and get strong. While I mentioned Muay Thai, it isn't what Ranma will learn. I'll let you guy what it is. Anyway, enjoy the chapter.
Oh before I forget, thank you to gh152 for the character. I did change some things and I had him use Savate. I kept his pyrokinitics ability.