DBZR ½
Chapter 27: Side Effects May Include...
Ranma's Dimension
Late night Nerima...
"Hey baby, where you going?"
"Yooo, looking fiiiine…"
"Girl, you should hang with a real man!"
"Honey, I'd show you a time no man ever could."
Ukyo didn't understand a lot of things in this world. Why was McDonald's such a massive thing? What was the point of high heels? How could people bully her when she was younger over Ranma being taken away by his father? The latter was just being cruel to a child.
However, as she walked down the street and receiving all manner of wolf whistle, cat call, and 'compliment,' she was beginning to gain an understanding that she never expected.
Specifically, she was beginning to understand Akane's immense displeasure at boys, and her never ending quest to hammer them. The urge to join in on what was clearly a Holy Quest was growing stronger at every call. "Just keep walking...they are idiots and not worth the trouble." She growled softly, doing her best to follow her own instructions. The chef had attempted to sleep after her 'frisky' actions, but whatever it was that the glow had done to her had given her a significant amount of excess energy, as well as a growing hunger, that made it so she couldn't sleep. In fact, were the bed a living being, it would probably have needed a pack of cigarettes after what she had done in her attempts to burn off the extra energy.
Her relationship with that pillow would certainly never be the same again.
So she decided she would go shopping. Sure, it was late in the evening, but considering Nerima was part of a major metropolitan area, if not one of the most major ones on the planet, she knew for a fact that there would be plenty of shops still open that catered to the late night crowd. Especially those who worked later shifts and so had different hours available to shop for necessary goods. Though, just getting ready for the trip proved to be more problematic than she realized it would be: nothing casual that she had would fit. Even her dogi tops were too snug, and didn't fit properly on her taller, more built form. So she made do with the next best thing, and wore the baggiest outfit she had. Which was why she was walking down the street, her battle spatula on her back, and dressed in her Furinkan High uniform.
Well, most of it. The skirt was showing a fair bit more leg than it used to, and the blouse, while tucked into the tight waist of her skirt, was definitely strained at the shoulders, upper arms and chest/bust. On top of that, the skirt shifted much more noticeably, swaying back and forth with her changed gait, while the flat of her spatula no longer lightly tapped at her posterior, but now rested against it. "I'll have to change the strap length so it hangs better." She thought, filing that bit away for later. The worst part about the wardrobe issue was that not one bra fit, not even the athletic ones. Under the skirt she had to wear formerly baggy shorts for her modesty, and her shoes...well, they were a lost cause, leaving her in sandals that were just this side shy of being unwearable. She also had to tie her hair up a lot more than usual. Perhaps she'd get that haircut after she acquired new attire?
"Hey there hot stuff, where you in a hurry to get to?" Yet another overly lustful call, and she just rolled her eyes as she continued her trek. While she knew she was attractive, especially as Ranma called her 'cute,' she didn't usually gain this much attention. Then again, the time of night likely did not help matters, as that was the time of the degenerates, club goers, party people and those just looking for a good time were out and about.
"Hey, girl, I'm talkin to ya." The same voice from before interrupted her thoughts, giving her pause. Looking over her shoulder she saw that there were what appeared to be several street toughs, one of which looked like he had recently been in a fight and lost. Said Battered Survivor leered at her, his gaze clearly undressing her, instantly setting her blood to a slow boil. "Yea, baby, where ya off to? Come on, you don't need to go anywhere right now, do ya? We can show you a real good time." He sneered, his buddies chuckling darkly.
"Hmph." She snorted, her gaze taking on a sharp edge. "You may have been talking to me. But I was ignoring you, which I'll continue to do. Good night." Ukyo looked forward and started walking again.
"Now come on, don't be a bitch." Mr. Casanova grunted, their footfalls presaging their rushing forward and then passing her to block her path. He leered at her once again, eyes focusing on her bust. "We just want to have a good time with you, and you look like you could put out one. Also, because you were so rude, it's no longer a request." He cracked his knuckles as his buddies began to spread out. The few other people that were out and about determinedly paid no attention, or looked away if she glanced their way.
"Apparently this bunch has been a problem in this area for awhile." She observed before focusing on her target. A small, predatory smile formed on her lips. "Ok. You want a good time?"
"Oh yea, baby, we certainly do! All of us!" He grinned widely, believing that she was giving up. He started to take a step forward…
"Then let's go." In a smooth, fluid motion, she drew her battle spatula, slipped forward and tucked down low, shifting the flat of the spatula directly under his lowering foot, and then under his back foot. "Herafurippu!" She cried, heaving with her arms while lifting with her legs. The man found himself suddenly flying skyward as Ukyo came up into an upraised stance again, the spatula held up and back, torso twisted. Following thru, she kicked her back leg around and spun, light contrails seemingly tracing after the fire in her eyes as she brought the spatula down to the pavement. "Hera bāsuto!"
The flat of the blade hit the pavement and cracked it, sending dust and a burst of visible kinetic energy out that struck the still flying man's comrades, lifting them up and pushing them back, their expressions slowly shifting from lustful leer to shocked surprise, their limbs beginning to flail about. Ukyo didn't waste time, releasing her grip on the spatula to roll forward, placing her hands on the flat of the blade as her shoulder blades touched the metal, legs tucked in tight before she powerfully pushed off the ground and thrust her legs out. Her double legged kick drilled into the gut of a particularly burly individual, knocking the wind out of him and driving him away into the air. Gracefully finishing the arc of her kick, she landed, twisted and rose, her skirt swirling about her as she picked a new target. Pushing off, with the wind whistling at her passing, one hand shifted and then sliced out, sending several shuriken spatula at a side target and pinning him against a concrete wall before she reached her current primary target and unleashed a punishing barrage of punches and elbow strikes before grasping the bearded man's face and slamming him bodily into the concrete, instantly knocking him out.
"Two left." Her mind processed, and she picked the next victim. Her yakisoba rope lashed out, twining about the leg of one man just before she flicked it and sent him to crash into his compatriot, sending them both to slam into a dumpster and knocking them out. For good measure, she had thrown an adhesive batter ball after them, sealing them to the dumpster while she turned to her first target, who was just now coming back down. Rushing forward, she ran past her battle spatula and leapt up into the air, flipping and coming down, arms upraised while her skirt flared upwards. Her feet caught the Battered Doofus in the gut and they slammed down into the ground, kicking up a figurative ton of dust.
As the dust settled, she was revealed to be standing over him, one foot on his chest and her hands on her hips, smirking down at him. "That was a good time. Pity you can't hang with me." The man merely grunted and gargled, his eyes rolled up into the back of his head.
The burly man she had double kicked earlier finally landed with a resounding thud in a thick pile of bushes, with his stuck out, twitching legs the only indicator of where he was currently located.
The sound of applause broke her reverie, and when she looked for the source, she found that many of the people, the same ones that had been dutifully ignoring what the gangers were doing, were now loudly clapping and cheering for her. Her face began to flush in embarrassment as she realized why they had ignored what was happening before: they had been terrified. "They're not fighters, just people trying to get by." She realized, feeling saddened for them that these pathetic losers had managed to terrorize them. "Well, that should teach them all a lesson." She decided, moving away from the fool to retrieve her spatula. As she picked it up, she noticed that the pavement was perfectly cracked in a circle directly under the flat of the blade. She also noticed that the spatula itself was badly damaged, bent where the handle and the blade met, and the handle itself now had indentations in it from her grip. "Explains why I came up with a new spatula. This one has seen better days."
Before she could continue her inspection, she was suddenly swarmed by folks, surprising her at their sudden closeness and the bombardment of their questions and comments.
"That was amazing!"
"How did you move so fast!"
"I didn't even see you move!"
"Can you teach me!?"
"Eh, I just trained a lot, I'm not ready to teach anyone else, sorry! Please, forgive me, but I have to be going!" She laughed, waving as she extricated herself from the appreciative throng. "Someone call the cops on these guys, ok?" After receiving many enthusiastic acknowledgements, she finally made her escape and continued on her way. Once she was around the corner, she took a deep breath…
...and the buttons of her blouse popped in the center, revealing the small T-shirt she had underneath. "...dammit…" Her fingers worked to re-button up, and then she adjusted her attire, patting her hair back before striding forward once more, arms swinging freely.
It took a few moments before she realized something: she didn't have her spatula. "Wait...where did…" She thought back, and then, on a whim, reached behind her back, and then drew out her battered spatula once more. "Wow! I didn't know I could do that!" She exclaimed, holding it up in surprise. Apparently, she had learned how to pull off Mai Shiranui's trick with weapons and clothing. Granted, as a ninja type herself, she had access to that kind of space already, and she had attempted to store her battle spatula in that manner before, but it hadn't worked out. The most she had managed to use that space for was for some of her various throwing attacks and shuriken. "Guess I advanced. Huh. Neat."
Ukyo swung the spatula back, and it vanished away once more as her mind replayed the fight, taking into account some of the onlookers comments. "Did I really move that fast?" Rubbing her chin in thought, her memory revealed that they did indeed move rather slowly, even the one she flipped up into the air. Also, where did she learn those two techniques? That answer came quickly as her mind brought up the internal wikipedia of her moves list (recently amended).
Herafurippu - Spatula Flip. Direct strike. Based on elements of Sakura's Shouken and Chun-Li's movements. Has variants based on how she holds the Spatula. Can be executed without the spatula as a rising uppercut strike or grapple.
Hera bāsuto - Spatula Burst. An area of effect strike. Based on elements of Mai Shiranui's Ryuu Enbu. Makes use of hot chi and the kinetic energy of the spatula to unleash a burst of power to knock opponents off their feet and set them up for follow through attacks. Weighted spatula grants a greater amount of kinetic energy. Requires a build up of kinetic energy to execute. Currently no variants.
Kuuhadan. Double kick strike from the ground. Direct technique of the Shiranui-ryuu.
"...wow...and I did it so fast they didn't even get a chance to hit the ground first." She stared with wide eyes at her hand, which was now open in front of her face. In fact, she didn't feel winded in the slightest. Further reflection revealed that when she performed the techniques, there wasn't any thought to what she was doing. Sure, her usual attacks didn't require her to think about either, but these are, at least to her, brand new techniques, and she was pulling them off like they she had been doing them for years, and with speed that was more in the realm of Ranma.
"No, I think that might have been faster than Ranma has managed, even with the Amiguriken." Ukyo considered, trying to recall a time where Ran-chan had moved so quickly that he had taken down all of his opponents before they had hit the ground. It didn't come to mind. To be sure, she hadn't been to all of his battles, but she had seen several of his big ones. Generally, if he was able to do so, he would use his superior agility to simply avoid attacks in the first place, placing himself into the best fighting position before finishing it. But she never saw him actually knock a group of people in the air and strike them all before they had fallen. "Just how strong did that glow make me?"
One thing was for sure, she was going to have to pick out her new wardrobe to appropriately take into account her new abilities and power. As well as a new school uniform, and some casual attire. As a department store came into view, she also began to mentally compile a list of materials she would need to make her improved battle spatula. "This is going to eat into my proceeds, but it will be worth it, once it's all said and done." The chef nodded to herself, determined.
The wafting smell of fast food passed her nostrils, and she instantly froze, her stomach openly roaring at her as her gaze creaked in the direction of what she smelled: it was a McDonalds, and it was still in full swing. Her mouth watered, and before she realized it, she found herself at the door, swinging it open and quickly getting into line. "Well, maybe a small bite before I shop…" She weakly considered, her stomach heartily approving.
Several burgers, fries, at least ten milkshakes and various other items later (holy crap those McNuggets!), she finally felt full, much to the shock of the people behind the counter. She sighed, rose and deposited the remnants of many combo meals into the trash. "Thanks for the food!" She called, not picking up the stares she received from all of the other patrons.
"Now to finally get some new clothes!" Ukyo grinned to herself, humming a random tune as she finally reached the department store to begin her latest quest.
Elsewhere in the forest outside Nerima...
Mousse panted heavily, slowly retracting his blades back into his sleeves. He had managed to duplicate the chi slice effect only a couple more times, and he had come no closer to figuring it out than he had when he first did it. Plus, he was exhausted. Unlike some of the others, he didn't train in chi techniques. His specialty was in Hidden Weapons, of which he was proudly a master of. However, he had to face the reality of the situation: that focus, while he had become quite proficient at his chosen skill set, was insufficient to ending Ranma and freeing Shampoo.
This deficiency in his training was proving to be quite difficult to overcome. He lacked a basis to start from, and didn't even have any idea of the principle methods behind how to use chi in such a manner. Cologne had never felt it necessary to train him in the methods. Then again… "She probably just wanted to keep me weaker than others so as to retain me as a servant! That old wind bag!" He growled, focusing on the tree before him and swinging a fluttering sleeve at it. Three blades extended, slicing the air…
...and doing nothing. He was too far from the tree to physically hit it, and he was too tired to channel his anger any further. Breathing heavily, he dropped to a knee, while slowly retracting the blades. "Dammit. This is much harder than I thought it would be."
"Of course it is. You'll never learn it that way." A new voice called out from behind, surprising and energizing Mousse enough that he hopped over to his target tree, spinning in midair as he did so and quickly casting his eyes about. It was too dark though: even with the light of a full moon above, he couldn't see anyone else.
"Who's there?! Show yourself!"
A cloaked figure stepped out of the treeline, a long pole in hand acting as a hiking staff. Or a bo staff. He was not entirely certain, so he remained on guard as he slowly straightened and took up a stance, legs slightly shaking from the exertion. "What do you want?" He called, doing his best to hide his exhaustion behind a mask of suspicious anger.
The figure stopped a few feet away, holding a pale hand up placatingly. "Have no fear, I do not come to harm. In fact, I come to help, if you're willing to listen."
"I'm not really interested in talking to someone who refuses to show their face, or give their name." Mousse retorted, the shaking in his legs slowly, but steadily, increasing. The few times he had managed those strange chi slices had severely tired him out, more so than he realized.
The figure chuckled, commenting, "I suppose you make a valid point." And then they pulled the hood back. Mousse was surprised. The man looked rather young, but carried himself as being significantly older, exuding confidence. Short hair, rather nondescript face. He was also tall, and looked to be rather stocky, which could explain why he walked with self-assured confidence. ""I have many names for when I travel throughout the world. For example, in China, I go by Jian Tan. Here, I am known as Kado Arashi. But you may refer to me as Guardian Arashi, or just Guardian." The man gave a pleasant grin. "There have been others before me. I am the latest in the line."
"Hmph." Mousse grunted, his legs noticeably shaking, even as he focused to remaining standing. "Sounds...mundane."
"Exactly." Arashi started to walk forward once more. "You don't need notoriety to be a good guardian. Just the ability to get where you need to in order to do the most good. The less people are aware you were there, the better you were at the job." He stopped, and leaned forward, taking note of the teen's physical state. "Ah, yes. You have definitely overexerted yourself. Allow me." He lifted the staff, and then jabbed it at the soft earth below, prompting the upraised tip to burst into light and causing tiny sparkles to erupt out from it in a sphere that quickly enveloped them both. Mousse, startled at the sudden act, lost his concentration, and dropped to a knee, gasping and glancing around at the sparkles.
"The hell are these things?"
Arashi waved it off. "Those are nothing more than just a visual representation of the energy sphere that surrounds us. I find it useful to see just how far out some of my techniques extend. You should find your flagging energy will begin to return now." The Guardian advised, easing himself to the ground and crossing his legs, while leaving the staff planted in the ground. Mousse had to admit, the man wasn't lying. As he kneeled, he could indeed feel his exhaustion starting to slowly pass. With the added benefit of the light source, he could also get a better look at this supposed guardian, taking note of the brown hair and dark green eyes, eyes that gave proof that, while looking relatively young, that the weight of experience was heavy on him.
"You don't look like much." He observed, finally allowing himself to sit fully on the ground.
Arashi simply chuckled. "Not supposed to, remember? But that's neither here nor there."
The nearsighted fighter nodded slowly, deciding to get back to the point. "Then why are you here?"
"To help." The man replied, placing his hands in his lap. "I've been watching you for a little bit, just to see what you would do. At the rate you're going, you will never succeed in learning chi manipulation."
"What do you know of that? You know nothing!" Mousse groused, crossing his arms and looking away.
"Just from watching you, I know you are the one who knows nothing about it." Arashi serenely replied. "You keep trying to channel your anger, your rage into your attacks, but you should know that using anger and rage in attacks, while providing a boost in your combat capability, is always short lived and hollow, leaving you diminished afterward." He gestured to the bespectacled teen with his head. "That's why you're so exhausted. You can't even stand to defend yourself."
Mousse growled, arms twitching. "I can defend myself just fine." He hissed.
"Oh, really?" The Guardian pursed his lips thoughtfully, and then shrugged. "Hmm. Guess you don't need this then." He took hold of the staff, and the field suddenly dropped away, Mousse dropped along with it, unconscious before he had hit the ground. It took only a few moments before the boy was snoring lightly.
Arashi chuckled once more, and released his hold on the staff, bringing the field back up. "I'll just keep that running for now and wait for him to come around." Looking to the prostrate man, he added, "And when that happens, we will definitely begin your training." His gaze turned towards the treetops, focusing on nothing in particular. "Troubling things are in motion. You will need to be made ready."
As a response, Mousse snorted in his coma-drived sleep.
At a beach in Tokyo Bay…
The moon shone brightly in the night sky, even through the ever present glow of the massive metropolis known as Tokyo, and its connecting neighbors, Kawasaki and Yokohama. Water from the bay lapped at the beaches, piers, docks, concrete and steel seawalls that surrounded it, as if teasing at the eventual fate of all things man made by lightly and continuously caressing man's creations.
However, even the bay had its limits of what it would take, and it proceeded to eject once such thing from its watery substance, sending a tiny, wrinkled mass towards the beach at Marine Park in Yokohama with significant haste.
A large wave crashed onto the beach, reaching halfway up the mostly unoccupied sands before withdrawing and leaving a significantly bedraggled and waterlogged Happosai behind in its wake. For several moments, nothing stirred, beyond the usual waves splashing on the beach, and the call of seagulls as they scrambled back into their preferred spots, having been dislocated by the crashing wave. One approached the bundle, head twisting this way and that, before it pecked at it.
A tiny hand swatted at the gull, sending it flying off in indignation as Happosai slowly lifted himself to his hands and knees, channeling his greatly diminished chi through his body and expelling an amount of water that was likely twice his body weight. And at least one large flopping sturgeon.
After catching his breath, the old Master of the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts coughed, and then sat down, sighing. "Akane hit me with far more strength than ever before. And that boy, I had never seen him before. Who was he?" He grunted, crossing his arms in thought, replaying what little memory he had of the incident. "There was something different about his aura. A child, but...a great aura about him. And Akane's aura was changed as well. I will need to return to the Tendo Dojo quickly and investigate this."
He picked himself up, and hopped towards the nearest tall structure…
...landing about five feet where he had just been. "Uh oh...my chi is low. I need my silky darlings to replenish my lost strength. Ooh, so many were lost!" The old lech cried, looking up to the sky in despair, before pulling himself together. "No matter! There will be new darlings to free!" With a goal in mind, he immediately began trotting off, heading away from the beach and deeper into the city.
In the depths of the mountains of Thailand…
The door hissed open into the observation room, quickly overwhelmed by the heavy footfalls and powerful presence of Shadaloo's iron willed dictator. "Report."
"Sir." The lead researcher dipped his head, before bringing up his tablet while Bison strode towards the window, his pupiless eyes gazing dispassionately at the teen on the other side pummeling a speed bag. "Based on the readings we have, and comparing them to the Dolls, he is ready for your personal test, Master Bison. He is showing some remarkable progress in applying the techniques that have been installed via memory engrams, even if his fighting potential does not yet show significant improvement. I hypothesize that he needs actual opponents for that to change."
"And the progress on the backup?"
"That clone is currently in the early stages of development, and on schedule."
"Good. When that one reaches the final stage, keep it in stasis for the time being." Bison watched Gotenks fists incrementally increase speed, the bag a near solid blur of motion.
The scientist dipped his head again. "Sir. It will be done." He then looked to Gotenks, adjusting his glasses. "We have the sensors ready and in place whenever you wish to test him. I will certainly be on the watch to see if his potential increases during the test, confirming my hypothesis. It will also be interesting to see if the new technique acquisition protocol will work. If you would be willing to allow him to see one, of course."
"Hmm." Bison lifted a large hand to his chin, a small, dark smile creasing his lips. "Perhaps I will. Without my Psycho Power, he would not be able to make use of most of my techniques, but perhaps he will be able to adapt it to his own. That flexibility of mind would be of use."
"Unfortunately, we are unable to apply a protocol that can make such adjustments without destroying his mind. If he has that talent, it should manifest itself." The scientist looked back to his clipboard to review his notes. "That said, his reflexes, eye sight, hearing, and speed are all on par with many other excellent fighters in the world. He is also rather obedient and takes to instruction easily. Should he get out of hand, a simple command will stop him immediately. Much like a well heeled dog."
Bison's eyes narrowed as he noticed Gotenks giving the tiniest of glances their way, with a flicker of...anger, perhaps? His dark grin grew. "I believe there is more to him than your instruments are telling you."
The older man looked up at the towering leader, perplexed. "Oh? Is there something we have missed, sir?"
"You have missed that he can hear through this window." He lifted his square chin in challenge, adding, "Isn't that right, Gotenks?"
The effect was instantaneous. The young man, startled, stopped his swings, and was immediately smacked by the bag, rocking him back a step. Shaking his head and wiping tears from his eyes, he stared at the window for a few moments before finally giving a tiny nod. Bison now grinned widely. "As I thought. He is not exerting himself, merely biding his time."
Turning away from the scientist, he headed for the connecting door, throwing his cap back over his shoulder, adding, "Observe closely."
"Yes, sir."
Gotenks waited patiently, eyes tracking the sound of the heavy footfalls as they approached the door, and then hissed apart, revealing…
...the single largest man that he had ever seen. Not necessarily tall (data acquired: five feet eleven inches/180 centimeters tall), but he was certainly massive in body build (data acquired: 254 pounds/80kg weight, low body fat). There was also a presence about him, an energy (data acquired: analysis inconclusive, more data required) of some kind that was both intimidating, and invigorating. Here was someone of importance, and most certainly of strength and power. The grin that adorned his square jaw was certainly not friendly, seemingly to be more along the lines of arrogant, but Gotenks read it more as challenging. Gotenk's lips quirked up in the tiniest of smirks as he finally, softly, spoke. "Bison."
The large man either ignored the comment, or didn't notice as he continued to walk into the room, heading for an open space away from the equipment, his white eyes never once moving away from the teen. "I have been informed you are ready for testing. Let us see if that is true." His deep voice echoed in the room, full of menace, prompting Gotenks heart to begin to race, while also acknowledging the order.
"Yes, sir." He moved towards the empty space at the same measured pace as the master of this domain, his fists tightening in excitement. As they approached the open area, Bison reached up and deftly unclasped the cape from his armor pauldron covered shoulders, allowing it to flutter to the floor behind him. Once they both reached the middle, Bison took up a stance, his arms going wide and then circling in opposite directions of each other before coming to rest crossed across his chest. Gotenks took a few moments to observe the posture (data acquired: superiority pose hides a close-in defensive posture, providing rapid response in reaction to upper body strikes, weight is balanced but creates a high center of gravity for the body), before he brought up his own fists, one held somewhat low, the other one high, with his legs in a side-horse stance. A moment later, he adjusted his positioning, bringing his low arm up near his chest, and crooking two fingers on his forward, upraised hand. He didn't know why he did it, but it was something that just...felt right.
Bison simply gazed at the young man, before finally grunting, "Attack me. Do make it worth my time."
Gotenks pushed off his back foot, rushing towards the taller man, throwing a reverse punch the moment he was at optimal range, aiming for the big man's gut...only to have it almost lazily deflected by a quick crouch and arm block. Gotenks logged the move away in his mind as he let his fist be moved aside, and lashed out with a mid-range kick, only for that strike to be blocked and deflected as well. "Is that the best you can do, boy? Stop wasting my time!" Bison bellowed, before grasping the young man by the throat and lifting him up into the air. Gotenks grimaced, his lungs starting to burn, just before Bison laughed and then spun, flinging him towards the floor.
The moment he was released, Gotenks tucked and rolled, breaking his fall and coming back up on his feet. He twisted about and jumped into the air, imparting a spin in the process and lashing out with a whirlwind kick, only to have his leg caught and his body flung once again, this time all the way to the far end of the space. Gotenks tucked in and flipped, coming down on his feet and kicking off once again, this time unable to hide the smile on his face. "Finally, a challenge!"
He drew close, and then juked to the side before kicking out, which was blocked. Taking the kinetic energy from the block, he spun about on his foot, and performed a backwards roundhouse kick, which was also blocked. However, he had the satisfaction of noting that Bison was surprised. It wasn't enough of a surprise though, as Bison laughed and slammed an open palm into the center of Gotenks back, a burst of energy flaring at the same time and sending him flying forward onto his face. The teen grunted, flipped over onto his back and pushed off the ground, retaking his stance and observing. He hadn't seen the strike to his back, but he sensed the power. "So there is much more to him. Even better." His smile widened, and he chuckled, before coming at Bison again.
He would come at Bison several times, each time changing up his attack pattern, speed and techniques used. Bison was still able to block or parry everything thrown at him, but his own grin hadn't diminished, with him at one point commenting, "This is more like it." Bison then slipped past Gotenk's outstretched punch and slammed an open palm against the young man's chest, a purplish power flaring around it at the same time and rocking him back, leaving the skin tingling (data acquired: energy unknown, more data needed). Gotenks glanced down at his shirt, finding it was damaged with an imprint of Bison's hand in the center. He snorted, and ripped it off completely, exposing a strongly built, young form, before giving a battle roar and rushing forward. A flurry of punches and kicks followed, blocks and parries leading into counters, leading into combos, and back again. At one point, Bison suddenly slid along the floor, surprising and knocking Gotenks off his feet, only to be struck by a knee and then grabbed by his head and flung away.
Gotenks panted as he picked himself up, feeling some satisfaction at seeing Bison also taking some deep breaths. Before he could continue his assault, Bison surprised him again. "I believe you have earned seeing one of my special techniques. Let's see what you make of it."
"Wha-"
"Blast!" An orb of purple-white energy was launched from Bison's suddenly outstretched palm, and struck the teen before he could react, knocking him off his feet once more to hit the floor and slide. Grimacing as he picked himself up once more, he glared defiantly at the big man, who had crossed his arms once more and waited, his grin and posture trumpeting his belief in his superiority. As he picked himself up, Gotenks took a moment to review what he had just seen (data acquired: energy attack of similar composition as previous open palm strike, launched from an open palm and thrust forward at target. Energy is consistent with the energy aura of the subject. Conclusion: attacks are charged on subjects personal energy, drawn from such reserves for use in combat), and catch his breath. Bison continued to grin, calling out, "So, what will you do now, Gotenks?"
The boy glared, while at the same time, his smile slowly returned. His breath restored, he took up his stance. "I'm going to attack you, sir."
"Hah! Good! There's still plenty of fight left in you! That's stamina!" Bison laughed, still waiting patiently, haughtily. "Then let's see it."
Gotenks, having fully reviewed and processed the data he had acquired, focused intensely, reaching deep into himself. There was a spark in his mind, and then…
"Rrrrrraaaaah!" He threw a hand forward, palm out, sending a golden orb flying towards Bison.
"Impressive!" He crouched and twisted a meaty arm in a block. At the same time, a dark purple shield formed in front of it. The orb connected, and then vanished. As he began to straighten, he realized Gotenks was flying at him, a leg extended in a roundhouse kick and with a look of triumph on his face. Bison crossed his arms, and suddenly vanished, much to Gotenks surprise, causing him to falter in his landing and crash, rolling several times. As he picked himself up, he found Bison a few feet away from where he had been, grinning and laughing. "Excellent, this has indeed proven worthy of my time."
Gotenks growled, his feet tapping quickly on the floor, until Bison held a hand up, palm out, and gave a single order. "Stop."
The boy instantly stopped, and straightened up, intensely frustrated. "Just when it was getting good!" He groused silently, glaring at Bison.
It did not go unnoticed. "You are angry I stopped this, aren't you?" He laughed. "You will get your fill of fighting, and then some!" At Gotenks questioning look, he continued, "I'm entering you into the World Warriors tournament next month. You will face off with some of the best fighters from across the planet, and you will become stronger for it."
Gotenks relaxed, a smile plastering his face. "Good." He acknowledged silently, cracking his knuckles as Bison headed for the door, waving a hand negligently towards his discarded cape, which obediently floated into his hand. "In the meantime, you will begin training with live sparring partners, effective immediately. Your training regimen will become much more vigorous to prepare you for the tournament. Do not fail."
"I will succeed, Bison." Gotenks replied, placing a fist to his chest over his heart. The dictator grunted, ignoring the lack of an honorific, and left, leaving a tired, but exhilarated teen behind. "That was amazing. I never felt so alive! And there will be more of that? Well, no time like the present!" He concluded, heading back to the equipment with a confident grin on his face.
"Well? What do your instruments tell you?"
The head scientist was still going over the readouts, scribbling down notes as quickly as he could. It was a few moments before he finally responded. "Sir, it appears my hypothesis was correct. If these calculations are correct, his fighting potential increased dramatically. This also validates the technique acquisition protocols effectiveness. He only saw your blast used once, and was able to create a reasonable facsimile of it. And we received the data from his reading, giving us an insight into the technique." He turned to the large man. "He currently doesn't rank among the best martial arts specialists; however, just from the short time he fought with you, his potential increased several times. I'm sure you noticed how he was improving the longer the fight went on."
The Shadaloo master nodded. "I did. It was most impressive. He was also thinking tactically, which improved as he fought. A very unique talent."
"Yes, sir. I believe that, with this training time and with him entering into the tournament, he will become an exceptional warrior, and a tremendous asset."
Bison grinned. "Then everything is proceeding as planned. Begin the training program with him, immediately."
The scientist dipped his head as the dictator turned away to leave. "Yes, Master Bison. It will be done!"
Goku's Dimension
Hundreds of miles from the Lookout…
Shiaku stretched out, feeling the muscles in her long, svelte leg releasing slowly. She was currently dressed in her athletic wear, consisting of a pair of form fitting shorts, athletic bra and T-shirt. It was early in the morning, on a weekend, when there was no school, and she felt she shouldn't waste a minute of the day. In point of fact, she had been awakening much earlier than she used to, full of energy and ready to begin the day, and had taken up exercising to burn off some of that energy. Running was certainly useful in that regard, at least for a short while. "Ever since I got this body, it's like nothing is enough. Nothing is satisfying." She lowered her leg, and raised the other, running her hands lightly along it as she reached her foot with ease, sighing at the pleasant feeling. "After taking down those little bitches, and then going through each of the fighting clubs, I thought I'd have been happy. The staff don't stop me, nobody is strong enough to stop me...I easily run the place. So why am I not satisfied with finally reaching my goal?"
Annoyed, she finished her stretch, and took off at a slow jog down the street, her ponytail bouncing and swatting at her shoulders with each step. As she ran, she continued to focus on why she wasn't satisfied. Coming to a crosswalk, she sped up and quickly crossed the road before the light could change, not really focused on what she was doing. "I have everything I wanted. The school is mine, I put those twits in their place, I have respect, and I have power. I've beaten the best fighters in the school. I could have anyone that I wanted, and they certainly want me, the stupid boys." Her lips quirked in a smirk at the thought, already noticing several other men along her running path staring at her, and she knew they were watching as she ran past. Her attractiveness level was certainly nothing to sneeze at anymore, that was for sure. A massive change from just a short while ago, when she was the most undeveloped sixteen year old in the school.
"Still," She pondered as she crossed another road, deftly jumping up and sliding across the hood of a car before tucking and rolling under a hover truck and coming up back into her run. "There's got to be more challenging things that I could take on. Greater heights, more strength…" A small voice in her head whispered, 'why not go bigger?'' The redhead suddenly froze, coming to a complete standstill, the implications staggering her. "...that's it! I need bigger challenges!" She allowed her eyes to slowly take in the city around her, a smile slowly growing in time with the idea that was forming. "I could start to challenge fighters outside of school...start to take over the city! No...more! I can do so much more!" She punched the palm of her hand lightly. "Goals. I just need goals. The school was first. Now for the city, then the region, and then beyond. I will find the strongest fighters, and prove I am the best, becoming stronger, and running everything! Nobody will ever mistreat me again!"
She jumped up and down, ecstatic, before taking off at a dead sprint, unable to remove the grin from her face. She would get started right after she finished her run. Just the prospect was exciting to her!
The Lookout…
The inhaling of the consumables was rather pronounced, requiring Mr. Popo to have to replenish the table several times. Even the two adult Saiyans were stunned. "Huh, guess you guys were really hungry, huh?" Goku half-heartedly laughed, watching as another hunk of roasted meat was destroyed. Having been the one to do that himself, he certainly wasn't going to begrudge the teens a good meal. It was a similar issue with his teenaged son, now that he thought of it.
"Famished!" Ranma muttered, digging into a bowl of rice.
"Well, we were on New Namek for a long while, and you guys didn't eat there, so that's probably why." Goku laughed again, scratching the back of his head.
Cologne wiped at her brow with a sleeve, breathing heavily. "I can see why the Dragon warned me first...I feel terrible." She thought, wiping her brow again, and finding the sleeve to be soaked in sweat.
Dende, taking note of the elder woman's distress, approached. "Excuse me, are you alright?"
"No, I'm afraid I am not." She admitted, drawing out a paper fan and wafting it at herself. "I...don't think I'm ready for travel home just yet. I'm afraid that the wish I made is beginning to take full effect now." Looking up at the taller Namekian, she added, "I could use some water."
He nodded. "Certainly. In fact, how about I take you to a room here, where you can rest and recuperate until it's done." He held a hand towards one of the entrances, and she, after a moment's thought, nodded. "Perhaps that is for the best. Thank you for your hospitality."
"My pleasure. Mr. Popo? If you would."
"Yes, Dende. Do you need me to carry you?" The dark skinned genie asked, his hands behind his back. The Elder Amazon was about to decline the offer, when, as she took a step, she found herself slowly falling forward. To her surprise, she didn't hit the tile. Blinking her eyes, she realized she was in the hands of Mr. Popo. "When did he even move?" She thought, releasing her hold on her staff, which he also took before it hit the ground.
"Come along miss. Let's find you a nice, cool place for you to finish your rejuvenation." The genie softly cooed, turning away from the rest. The other Z Fighters watched, mostly out of curiosity.
"What's wrong with her?" Krillin muttered, some concern on his noseless face. Goku shrugged. "She wished to be younger, but Porunga said that would have been dangerous for her. So she suggested giving her a year back per minute. Guess it's wearing her out."
"Well, if she's not ready to go home, we should probably just wait." Ranma pointed out, picking at his teeth to remove a particularly annoying bit of celery as he walked up to them. "No point making multiple trips. Besides, we need her for the wards."
Goku thought about it a moment. "Yea, that makes sense. This should give us some extra time to train you then, now that you're all Saiyans!"
"Before you do that, you should take me back home." Bulma instructed, her hands on her hips. "Now that our crisis is resolved, I need to get back so I can check up on Bulla, and work on some new tech. I might even figure out a way to find this Toltir guy if we can't find any other way, but I need my lab to start."
"Oh, sure, Bulma! Whenever you're ready!" Goku grinned. Bulma held up a finger, and moved towards Vegeta.
"You come back soon. Try not to obliterate them right out the gate, ok?" She suggested, prompting him to snort and look away.
"No promises." He grunted.
Sighing, she leaned in and gave him a tiny peck on the cheek before whispering in his ear, "Well, if you don't obliterate them immediately, I'll 'service' you, my King." Vegeta's eyes popped in shock, and she moved away, giving him a coquettish look before joining Goku. "I'm ready. Let's go."
Goku smiled as she placed a hand on his shoulder, and brought his fingers up to his forehead. A moment later, with a slight flicker, they both vanished.
Krillin stretched and groaned in happiness at feeling like his normal sized self as he did so. "Well, we should be heading back ourselves. Don't want to leave Marron alone with Master Roshi for too long."
Tien nodded in agreement. "And I need to return to Chaotzu, and get back to training."
"Good luck, guys!" Krillin waved to the teens, before he and Android 18 flared their energy and took off into the sky, Tien following right after them.
Piccolo observed them leave, before looking over to Vegeta, who glared back. "Not. One. Word. Namekian."
The Namekian smirked. "Wouldn't dream of it, 'Prince.'" He replied, prompting a series of mush mouthed, under-his-breath obscenities from the Royal Saiyan.
The other three teens were still sitting at the table, watching the exchange play out. Or at least, they pretended to. Ryoga was still grabbing food items and shoving them down his gullet as quick as he could, while Akane and Shampoo were both looking to Ranma, chewing more slowly than they had been. Now that their appetite was (mostly) sated, they found their attention being diverted, focusing at the young man's back.
"I never really noticed how...broad...his back was…" Akane thought, letting her eyes roam, taking in the strong, hard lines of his shoulders, tapering down to a firm back, and pushing out to an equally firm backside. She shook her head, and swatted at her face. "Get over yourself, you've seen him for over a year. He looks fine…" Her cheeks flushed slightly, her eyes slowly unfocusing. "...just...fiiine…" She blinked and shook her head again. "What's gotten into me? Come on, get a grip!"
Shampoo was having an equally difficult time diverting her attention. "Aire-no, Ranma, has become a strong, strong man. And now strong Saiyan man. Why have I not noticed before?" Thinking back, the answer came to her pretty quickly: she was just fulfilling tribal obligations, silly ones at that, trying to drag him into the tribe because of some stupid tribal rule saying so, without any regard for the target of said 'acquisition.' She should be trying to earn his love properly. Showing her strength, that she was a fine mate for him, that she knew about him, truly knew about him, and show that they were a good fit. Her eyes hovered over his backside, and her heart thudded: she also greatly appreciated what she saw more than she had before. Blinking and shaking her head, she forced herself to focus on the food. "No, that is not right! I will earn his respect. This will be a fair contest. I am not some horny girl that wants to jump and ride him all the way into next week, screaming and-dammit!" Her face flushed hotly, her mental avatar waving a paper fan in her mind to blow away the images that had appeared. "I am much better than that!"
She looked over to Akane, at the same time as the other girl looked to her, and they both realized they were having the exact same problem. Worse (or not: they really weren't sure), their eyes happened to look over each other, and they found they appreciated what they saw here as well, significantly more so than they were expecting. In Shampoo's case, it wasn't entirely out of line. The Amazons were a matriarchal society, after all, so it wasn't unusual among them to have pairings of the same sex. But the fact that she was having strong feelings along those lines towards Akane really startled her.
"She does have nice body...and she is strong now. Very strong." Shampoo admitted, still looking over Akane's form.
Akane was as equally startled, her eyes having taken their own moment to trace over Shampoo's curves. "What's gotten over me? Why am I thinking she looks good? I mean, sure, I have learned to appreciate Ranma's girl form, but...Shampoo? Why? Is it because she's become stronger, and respects me?" She considered a moment, before admitting, "Well, she is stronger...and she does look good...but...why am I thinking that now? Did my wish to make us Saiyans have a side effect? Or is it that I've always thought it..." The raven haired martial artist looked back up into the other girls eyes, just as Shampoo did the same.
As one, they muttered softly, "We have a problem."
"Are you feeling same way?" Shampoo whispered, prompting Akane to nod vigorously.
"Yea...and about Ranma. This is kind of sudden. I wasn't thinking any of that until just about now."
Shampoo swore lightly in Chinese, taking a deep breath and letting her air out slowly. "Is strange for that to happen so quickly. In tribe, is not unusual for such thoughts to occur, but…with you?" She gave the other girl an apologetic look, which Akane shrugged.
"I was thinking the same thing. It's not like we were friends before."
"Too true." Shampoo nodded. "Considered you an obstacle. But...not so much now."
"Yea, I'm getting that sense." Akane bit at her lip, which Shampoo found rather endearing. "We need to distract ourselves, and not think about such things. We can work this out later."
"Agreed."
"Hey guys." Both girls 'eeped,' jumping in their seats as they spun to face Ranma, who returned to the table to pick up a large hank of meat. "Whatcha talkin about?" He tore a chunk off with his teeth and started to chew, his arm and neck muscles tensing from the actions, which neither girl noticed. Not in the least.
Well, the mental avatars representing their desires were currently drooling and had massive throbbing hearts over their heads, but the avatars that represented their intelligence swatted them upside their heads with baseball bats and quickly put them into padded rooms with no windows before throwing away the keys.
"Um, just...talking…." Akane offered weakly, Shampoo nodding quickly. "Yes. Talking."
"What about?" He glanced between the two of them.
Before they had to answer, they were saved by the return of Goku. "Hey guys, I've got an idea!"
"Oh-yes-please-tell-us!" Akane quickly rushed away from the table, Shampoo following and adding, "Yes-we-talk-about-this-never-k-k-thanks-bye!" Goku blinked at the sudden arrival of both young women, as Ryoga and Ranma glanced to each other in confusion before shrugging and moving to join them.
"Uh, well...I was thinking. Since you're all Saiyans now, I was thinking maybe we can show you something we couldn't before." Goku put his fists to his hips, grinning at the four of them, all of whom looked to each other in confusion.
Vegeta was the first to realize what he was getting at. "You can't be serious, Kakarott! Are you really thinking of teaching them-"
"Yup!" His grin grew wider, while his eyes filled with challenge. "We should teach them how to become Super Saiyans!"
TBC...
Like you didn't know that was coming, right? Of course there'd be a turn towards making more Super Saiyans. Plus, we see that while Akane's impulsive wish, as well thought as out as she thought it was, is proving to have unintended consequences. Tune in next time (or just push the next button) to see what comes of it all!
For the following author notes, I'll drop the usual bold and italics, if just for clarity, like I did in the last chapter, so I can explain something I've been working on. What I had decided was that, in order to work out and show how all of the characters stack up against each other, I worked up a power ranking chart of sorts. I probably should have done it sooner, if just to help keep things straight in my own head, if nothing else, but better late than never, right?
However, as is well known, the Dragon Ball method of measuring power is pretty arbitrary and hardly consistent by any means. It also gets pretty ridiculous pretty quickly. So I came up with something that's a little more general. It's a Tiered system, which has some flexibility. Should I decide to edit the earlier chapters, I may apply the Tiers in those chapters just to show where they stack at that time, but for now, it starts here. Obviously, because of formatting requirements, I cannot show you the table here, but I can give you…
1 - the Tier System explanation
2 - where the characters rank currently
Tier System Explanation
The Tier System is as follows: there are currently 18 Tiers of power that the characters can fall within, and each Tier can have increments within them. For example, a fighter could be a Tier 4.5, and another could be Tier 2.75. All increments are done in .25 amounts. This helps to reflect the variable skill levels among the fighters, without getting too granular. This does mean that a fighter could be seemingly 'stuck' at an increment for a time, even though they had been improving. This makes sense, because as one moves higher up the tiers, the harder it is to achieve those higher tiers.
There's still a little bit of arbitrary decision making going on with the tiers, but I'm basing where the characters rank in the Tiers on a combination of their skills, demonstrated physical strength, agility, experience, willpower, natural talent, and any outside assistance in their improvement, all of which is pulled from available documented sources, and with what's gone on in this story to the current date.
Let it be known that this does not mean that a lower tier fighter cannot defeat a higher tiered one, because that's not true, not unless the difference between tiers is exceptionally great, roughly about a 3 to 1 scale. IE, a Tier 2 can take on someone who's twice as strong, such as Tier 5, with the possibility of defeating them, but against a Tier 6, they are pretty much outclassed.
Here are the breakdowns for the first 6 Tiers:
Tier 0 - Base human. No training of any kind, just your typical person going about their business
Tier 1 - Base fighter. Has some level of training.
Tier 2 - Trained Fighter. Has a higher level of proficiency in their combat style. Has unique techniques. Starting to build ki reserves.
Tier 3 - Strong Fighter. Improved proficiency and experience, with good ki reserves
Tier 4 - Exceptional Fighter. A natural talent, significantly experienced, strong ki reserves
Tier 5 - Powerful Fighter. Acquired significant mastery of their skills. Great ki reserves
Tier 6 - Ascended Fighter. Surpassed their natural limits, total mastery of their skills. Deep ki reserves. Likely highest human level achievable outside of some kind of godly, or technological intervention.
Character Rankings
This currently does not include the DBZ characters, because they are stupid powerful at this point. When the gaps aren't nearly as massive, they will appear in the rankings.
After Wish/Current time period
Akuma - Tier 6
Bison - Tier 6
Ranma (Male) - Tier 6
Ryoga (Human) - Tier 6
Geese - Tier 5.75
Akane - Tier 5.75
Ranma (Female) - Tier 5.75
Shampoo (Human) - Tier 5.75
Ukyo - Tier 5.5
Happosai - Tier 4
Cologne - Tier 3.75
Terry Bogard - Tier 3.75
Ken Masters - Tier 3.75
Videl - Tier 3.75
Chun-Li - Tier 3.5
Jo Higashi - Tier 3.5
Mai Shiranui - Tier 3.5
Maki "Air Master" - Tier 3.5
Makoto - Tier 3.25
Maya Natsume - Tier 3.25
Rolento - Tier 3.25
Bob - Tier 3
Teen Gotenks - Tier 3
Zangief - Tier 3
Sakura - Tier 2.75
Shiaku - Tier 2.75
Barsoum - Tier 2.5
Dan Hibiki - Tier 5 (in his mind: reality, Tier 2.5)
Kuno - Tier 1.75
Shampoo (Cat) - Tier 1.75
Ryoga (Pig) - Tier 1.75
Genma (Human) - Tier 1.5
Mousse (Human) - Tier 1.5
Tank - Tier 1.5
Genma (Panda) - Tier 1.25
Soun - Tier 1.25
Mousse (Duck) - Tier 1
Until next time…
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