I do not own anything written by Rumiko Takahashi.
As yet another school day ended at Furnikan High School, a tall boy in worn, dust-covered clothing with a black with a yellow bandana around his head and carrying a large backpack with an umbrella strapped across the top stood in the entrance gazing into the schoolyard as exiting students flowed about him. Could it be? Have I finally caught up with that coward? he wondered, eyes scanning the crowd. There! A familiar raven-haired, ponytailed boy had left the school and was running in his direction with a cute raven-haired girl in pursuit. Perfect.
/\
Nabiki smiled as she stepped through the open front doors of the school building. The day had been pretty good, better than in some time. While Nodoka hadn't been able to dispel the curse on Kasumi last evening, she had been able to verify that there was one — deeply buried, but there, demonic in origin. Nodoka had speculated that the curse couldn't be dispelled unless both halves of the curse were present. Beyond that, Nabiki had been able to finally share her worries with a sympathetic ear and would have some backup if things didn't go well Saturday night, as well as perhaps some leads on who had attacked her the previous week. And she was finally beginning to learn how to mute the impact of the emotions constantly assaulting her, especially at school. All told, things were looking up.
She watched Ranma and Akane break away from her at a run, ponytail and long flowing hair blowing back. Ranma had decided Akane wasn't fast enough when it came to distance running, and so had started having her race him home. Akane, on the other hand, had been jogging for years as part of her self-imposed training regimen, and was determined to prove she could match her sensei in at least one area. Unfortunately, if Ranma had decided she needed to get faster it meant he already was, so she was going to be sorely disappointed — especially since he'd decided to mix in improving her ability to jump. That's going to make the atmosphere a little uncomfortable at home, the middle Tendo thought with a grimace. Ah, well, as long as she's getting better —
"Ah!" Nabiki suppressed a shout as a sudden wave of virulent anger mixed with frustration and — was that relief? — smashed into her. She fought the urge to grab at her head, wincing as she swept her eyes across the schoolyard. Where had it come from — ?
Her vision was drawn to her laughing fiancé jumping over the heads of his classmates, and her eyes widened even as she jolted forward into a run with a warning shout at the sight of another boy leaping out of nowhere, even higher than Ranma had, umbrella poised to thrust. Even as Nabiki shouted Ranma twisted to avoid the downthrust point, then the two boys disappeared into the crowd of teenagers and the crowd seemed to jolt back in all directions as what sounded like an explosion jolted her ears.
Frantically pushing through the crowd, Nabiki gasped in relief at the sight of Ranma flipping to land beside Akane on the lip of a new crater. "You haven't changed, Ranma," the strange boy kneeling in the center of the crater said, "you're still good at running away."
/\
Ranma stared at the strangely familiar face of the boy in the center of the crater, as his student and fiancée stepped up on each side. "So, Ranma, anyone you know?" Nabiki asked. Ranma glanced at her in concern — she seemed a little pale and was staring wide-eyed at the crater the stranger's attack had made — then back at the boy.
"Yeah, sure, he's ... he's ... uh ..."
"Don't strain your brain remembering, Ranma," Akane said with a smirk from his other side.
"Just tell me one thing, Ranma," broke in the newcomer, voice rising to a shout. "Why did you run from our fight!?"
"Fight? What fight — wait, I remember now, you're Hibiki Ryoga, from my last school! I waited three days at the appointed place."
"Yes, and when I arrived on the fourth day you'd already run away!" Ryoga retorted angrily.
Ranma shrugged. "Uh, Ryoga, why did it take ya four days to reach an empty lot only five hundred yards from yer house down a straight street?"
Ryoga purpled in rage as he heard the amazed murmurs of the crowd around them. "Bad sense of direction?" ... "Very bad." ... "Very bad, indeed." Yanking his umbrella up from where it was imbedded in the ground, he charged, swinging, as he shouted, "Well, we finish this fight now!"
Ranma jumped straight up and simultaneously kicked to each side, knocking Nabiki out of the way, his other foot hitting only empty air — Akane had already dropped below the threat and was rolling to the side. "Hey, watch it, you could hurt somebody!" he shouted, even as he glanced over — Nabiki was getting up from where she'd knocked another student over, good. As he landed, he glanced to the other side — Akane was rolling to her feet, great, she was remembering her lessons.
"I intend to hurt someone, stand and fight like a man!" Ryoga yelled back, flipping open the umbrella and preparing to throw it.
"I meant — okay, fine. Ya want a fight, ya got one — right now, in the school stadium, before somebody else gets hurt."
Ryoga paused, then nodded. "You're on!" he growled, and started to walk toward the school gates.
"Uh, Ryoga," Ranma called out, then pointed toward the other side of the school. "The stadium's that way."
Ryoga stared levelly at his nemesis, ignoring his faint blush. "Right."
/oOo\
In the middle of the school stadium, the two boys faced off as those school students that had been present for Ryoga's arrival sat on the grass of the inclines surrounding the playing field and used for seating for the spectators. More students were filtering in, mostly called on cellphones by friends already present.
"Ya know, Ryoga, you've gone ta a lot of trouble for a school rivalry," Ranma said quietly. "This is silly. What d'ya say we just put on a sparring exhibition fer our audience and call it good?"
Ryoga growled. "Not a chance, Ranma. Because of you, I've seen hell! There is no way I am going to let you get away with it."
Ranma sighed. I can't believe I'm trying to get out of a challenge — Nabiki must be rubbing off on me. "All right, let's get this over with," he said, falling into his loose, relaxed ready stance.
Instantly, Ryoga charged forward, thrusting over and over with his umbrella as Ranma danced back to avoid the attacks then jumped, spinning over the larger boy and landing behind him.
Snarling, Ryoga whirled, popped open his umbrella, then sent it spinning toward Ranma and charged in its wake. Ranma easily dodged the umbrella but, distracted, failed to dodge the bandana Ryoga had whipped off his forehead and wrapped around Ranma's wrist, binding the two boys together. For the first time, the ponytailed boy struck back and the two boys rapidly exchanged strikes and blocks.
/\
Up on the grassy incline, a tense Nabiki sat by her younger sister, her head already starting to pound from emotion overload from all the excited students around her. "This is madness," she muttered. "What does Ranma think he's doing?"
"Showing off, what else?" Akane responded sarcastically, eyes glued to the two below.
Nabiki shook her head. "That's not fair, Akane," she said reprovingly as the fight began. "You've been training under him for over a week now, you know better. Sure, he likes to show how good he is, but he's no glory hound."
"Well ... maybe," Akane muttered, her eyes tracking the spinning umbrella for a moment as it whirled past the her and her sister, then looked back at the pair now spinning around each other below, now connected at the wrists by a yellow and black strip of cloth.
Suddenly, a student's voice to the side caught the two sisters' attention. "Yow, what's with this umbrella!?" The two Tendos looked over to see a boy trying to hold the umbrella out straight with both hands — and failing miserably, unable to keep the tip from drooping to the ground.
Frowning, Akane got up and walked over. Reaching out a hand, she took the umbrella's grip from the gasping student and, straining every muscle to the utmost, she held the umbrella level at arm's length. Her eyes widened at the effort it took as the memory of Ryoga effortlessly using the umbrella like a sword, throwing it spinning like a top, flashed through her mind. And even Ranma admitted that she was stronger than he was... Dropping the odd weapon, she whirled back to face the two fighters still spinning around each other. "Sensei, get away from him, fast!" she shouted. "He has the strength of a monster!"
Suddenly, the two combatants seemed to twist around each other, and then Ranma was sitting on Ryoga's back, the bigger boy pinned in place by his arm trapped between his legs, held in place by the bandana tying him to Ranma's wrist. "Hey, not a problem!" Ranma called back. "Strength doesn't matter if you can't ... apply it?" he finished questioningly as he felt himself rising, Ryoga lifting both of their bodies up with one hand. A moment later, the crowd gasped as Ryoga actually thrust the two up into the air! For a moment the two combatants spun around each other, exchanging kicks even as they rose and fell, then it was Ranma's turn to land on one hand even as he thrust back with both feet and sent the larger boy flying as the bandana finally tore from the strain. Leaping to his feet, Ranma leaped for where Ryoga landed, onlookers scattering away from him.
Akane dashed toward the two fighters. Nabiki rose to follow her, then froze. Even with the chaos of emotions surrounding her, overwhelming the shields she was just beginning to develop, there was someone nearby with an oddly familiar feel, someone important — then she saw the purple-haired girl not wearing a school uniform, the tight clothes she was wearing grubby from a week's worth of constant wear and less than efficient washing. Shampoo! What's she doing here? She said she wasn't after Ranma...
"Who are ya calling a girl!?" the middle Tendo heard her fiancé shout. Whirling, she watched as the two fighters dashed past her, Ryoga grabbing up his umbrella in passing, and bounced over the fence along the top of the grassy incline and vanished from sight. "Well!? Who are ya calling a girl!?" she heard him shout again, and suddenly a spout of water fountained into the air.
Oh, shit! The water fountain! Nabiki thought even as she ran for the exit with the other students, barely catching sight of Akane and Xian Pu bouncing directly over the fence out of the corner of her eye. Maybe I really should take up the Art again.
/\
Ranma groaned as the water splashed over him, and her soaked clothes fell through the sudden red-haired nature spirit to the ground even as Ryoga spun around looking for his now-vanished opponent. Not again!
Ryoga was glancing wildly around, then shook his fist and umbrella at the sky. "Ranma, you coward! Come back and fight!" he screamed.
Ranma saw red. "Who you calling a coward?" she shouted back. "Come on — if ya can't beat a guy, let's see if ya can do any better against a ... a nature spirit!"
"What? Who? Where are you?" a now totally confused Ryoga queried, trying to find the source of the unfamiliar voice. "Show yourself!"
"Wish I could, but I can't," Ranma replied, shifting so that Ryoga, turning to follow her voice, was facing away from the stadium. She did her best to ignore all of the suddenly next-to-naked girls in the crowd streaming out of the stadium, focusing on the next to naked boy in front of her. "I'm always invisible when this happens."
"Fine, then try to hide from this!" Ryoga snarled, yanking bandana after bandana from around his forehead. He started them spinning and Ranma gasped as suddenly the bandanas seemed to glow ... and then Ryoga released them, sending spinning bandanas across an arc in her general direction. Not good! she thought, frantically spinning so that she was parallel to the ground and kicking up at the bandana passing directly over her — and nodded as her foot knocked it up and away. What I thought, I can hit it like that. And if I can hit it, it can hit me!
Suddenly, the purple-haired girl Ranma had seen haunting the Tendo residence was standing between her and Ryoga, a chúi in each hand, snarling. "What crazy Strong Boy think he doing!?" she shouted. "You maybe kill son-in-law, other people, way you throwing discs around!" Even as Ryoga gaped the strange girl — what had Nabiki said her name was? Oh yes, Shampoo — attacked.
/\
Xian Pu charged forward, feinting toward Ryoga's head with one chúi, then swinging the other hard at his side, only to have the feint effortlessly dodged and the other chúi knocked aside by the massive umbrella he still held. She kept her face closed and stern as she maneuvered around the boy that had been dueling with her son-in-law, away from the hand holding the umbrella. But it was hard, a bubble of pure joy threatening to burst out into a broad smile.
Yes! This 'Strong Boy' isn't as skilled as the Panda — Husband — or even Ranma, but he's tough, like nobody I've ever faced. I'm faster, I think, or would be at my best. But I'm not at my best, the lack of real practice and decent food is probably slowing me down. So Lost Boy actually has a chance to beat me! He has to be better than the Panda. He can't be worse.
Still, no fudging — when the Elders ask if I did my best to win, I have to be able to say 'yes'. And that means getting this over fast, he'd be able to outlast me even if I was at my best. So, charge in and see if I get the opening I need.
Continuing to maneuver as she ignored the shouts from her invisible son-in-law, Xian Pu glanced around quickly, then nodded as she focused again on her opponent. Slipping to the side and smiling inwardly as Ryoga followed her, she waited until the broken water fountain, still spraying high into the air, came between the two then charged, leaping through the fountaining water.
/\
"Hey, this is my fight, you stay out of it!" Ranma shouted from where the busty succubus floated, invisible to almost everyone around and suddenly ignored by most of the crowd as students cleared a wide circle around Ryoga and his surprise opponent.
The nature spirit was starting to float forward toward the now circling pair, when she felt her arm grabbed. "Ranko, leave them to it!" Nabiki hissed.
"What?! Why?" Ranma asked, looking over at her fiancée, Akane beside her.
"Remember what I told you about how she's attached to Ranma's father?" the middle Tendo whispered. "Well, if his not-so-friend, here, is as good as he looks, he just might be able to solve her problem — and get her out of our hair at the same time. Things are complicated enough without martial artist Amazons from a Chinese backwater with weird laws adding themselves to the mix."
"So then she'll be chasin' Ryoga ..." Ranma started, then a broad grin spread across her face. "Ya know, I think I can live with that. Maybe I should help her out."
"Ranko, martial artists aren't supposed to interfere in each other's fights!" Akane asserted, glaring at the spot she thought Ranma occupied.
"Yeah, well, she already butted inta mine!" Ranma retorted, though her attempt to pull her arm out of her fiancée's grasp was halfhearted.
Nabiki frowned thoughtfully as the three watched Ryoga and Xian Pu circle, then shook her head. "No, stay out of it," she murmured. "We don't know enough about how the Amazons' laws work — you could make things even worse."
Ranma thought about it for a moment, then shrugged. "I guess —" she started, then broke off as Xian Pu suddenly leaped forward.
/\
Ryoga stared intently at his surprise opponent, fighting the panic he felt rising as he took in the strange girl's appearance, hair-style, facial features — in spite of the fact that he'd never seen her before in his life, she looked disturbingly familiar.
All at once he lost sight of the purple-haired girl as the water fountain Ranma had broken, his school uniform still lying scattered around in the spreading puddle, came between the two. He was stepping to the side to bring her back into view, when suddenly she came vaulting through the spraying water, chúi flashing even faster than the first time she'd closed. Ryoga spun to the side, taking him out of reach of one of the heavy weapons, but the girl had planned her attack well and he'd instinctively broken to the wrong side, his umbrella in the wrong hand, and he grunted as the chúi he hadn't cleared grazed his side.
Taking advantage of the impact half-spinning him, his umbrella flashed around, and her attempt to duck and roll to avoid the half-sensed strike from behind wasn't enough — the blow across her back sent her rolling across the grass to smash into a nearby tree. For a moment Ryoga stood frozen in place as the shocked crowd fell silent. Then he was racing forward, dropping to his knees beside the girl, carefully turning her onto her back. Please, not again! he prayed silently as he checked for a pulse, carefully probed for broken ribs.
Suddenly, her eyes fluttered, then opened to gaze up at him, blinking groggily, and she smiled. "You I love," she whispered as one hand caught his shoulder and pulled herself up to press her lips against his for a brief moment before she again went limp, collapsing back to the ground underneath him.
Ryoga stared in stunned amazement. Again?! What is it with these weird girls? Is everyone outside of Japan insane?! He again checked for a pulse, breathed a sigh of relief as he found one, watched her breath for a moment, then slowly rose to his feet. "Ranma, this is all your fault!" he shouted, glaring around, eyes passing over the invisible nature spirit. "If you hadn't gone running off to China, she wouldn't be lying here right now ... I wouldn't have —" The Lost Boy broke off his shouting, took a deep breath, then added, "Your cowardice is responsible for this girl getting hurt, you take care of her. And when I come back, we'll finish this fight and if you haven't helped her I'll kill you!"
And with that, he spun on his heels, walked through the crowd, scattering students like a flock of geese, and was gone.
/\
Ranma watched from where she floated beside Nabiki and Akane as Ryoga finished his rant then stalked away. "Well, that was ... odd," her fiancée murmured.
"Yeah, I wonder what he thinks I did ta him?" the nature spirit mused, then sighed. "C'mon, let's check on ... what did ya say her name is, Shampoo?"
Nabiki nodded and the three started forward, when Ranma slammed to a stop as three massive life-glows sprang into existence off to the side. She whirled, barely aware of Nabiki whirling around beside her with a gasp, and the two stared at three ... were they human? They felt human, but they were so small and wrinkled, like someone had shrunk whole bodies instead of just the heads like in that documentary he saw once, then animated the corpses. Ranma was so intensely focused on the three blazing powerhouses of life-glow that she barely noticed the six much younger women accompanying the three ... crones.
Akane stopped and turned after a few steps when she realized her sister wasn't beside her. Turning around, she glanced at Nabiki, then followed her gaze to the group of three old ... women? ... and seven much younger ones approaching. She glanced briefly at the three in front, then examined the other seven closely, eyes narrowing. Those seven moved like fighters. "Who're they?" she asked, puzzled.
"I don't know," Nabiki replied. "But whatever you do, be polite to the three ancient ones — be very polite."
"Ya got that right!" came Ranko's soprano voice from empty air beside her, and Akane suppressed a reflexive flinch, then gazed more intently at the three shrunken crones in the front, trying to see what Nabiki and, apparently, Ranko saw in them. There was nothing she could see, outside of the sense of balance required to pogo along on staves like that. Must be something magical, the youngest Tendo thought with a shiver.
As the group approached, the closest of the three crones glanced over toward them, then stared for a moment at the empty air where Ranko's voice had come from before focusing again on the purple-haired girl lying against the tree she'd smashed into.
"Ranko, wait!" Nabiki suddenly hissed, just as the ten strangers came to an abrupt halt.
"Who are ya, and what do ya want with Shampoo?" came Ranko's voice from a spot between the unconscious girl and the group, startling the seven younger women.
The crone that had first noticed Ranko replied, "I am Elder Ku Lon, and we are of the Joketsuzoku, as is Xian Pu. And what is it to a nature spirit what we wish with my great-granddaughter?"
"It's a martial artist's duty ta protect the weak and helpless," Ranko responded instantly. "Wait, you can see me?!"
"Yes, child, I can, as can my fellow Elders," Ku Lon replied with a chuckle.
"Uh ... did ya say yer great-granddaughter?"
"Yes, I did," Ku Lon said. "We mean her no harm. Will you allow Pa Fum to examine her?"
"Uh, sure, but I'm gonna be watchin' her."
The youngest of the women, glancing nervously toward where Ranko's voice was coming from, circled around the spot to kneel beside Xian Pu. She quickly checked the girl's pulse, peeled back her eyelids, and carefully ran her hands along Xian Pu's sides. For a moment, Akane almost thought she felt something ... odd, and shivered.
"Xian Pu has a concussion, and cracked ribs," Pa Fum reported, her light-blue hair rippling as she wryly shook her head. "It's easy to see why she's the Champion — if that had been me, I'd have a broken back if I was lucky. I'll bind her ribs, then we need to get her back to camp for a healing ritual." She motioned one of the warriors over while slipping a backpack off her shoulders to pull out a roll of cloth, and the woman slowly moved around where Ranko's voice had come from, then when no reaction came from Ranko knelt and carefully lifted Xian Pu to a sitting position and held her up while Pa Fum tore open Xian Pu's top and wrapped her ribs securely.
"So, nature spirit, will you allow us to take my great-granddaughter back to our camp to tend to her wounds?" Ku Lon asked.
"Uh, yeah, I guess ..." came Ranko's voice from next to the warrior holding Xian Pu.
The warrior jerked, then wilted slightly at Pa Fum's glare. "Carefully!" the healer ordered. "Pick her up carefully! Let's get her back to camp — slowly."
Blushing with chagrin, the young woman carefully scooped Xian Pu up in her arms, and the ten women slowly walked through the crowd of students the way they'd come and away.