Author's Note: Wow. It's been a long, LONG time since I updated. Good news, however, my muse is back with me, and Chapter 13 is done (I'm typing it up right now), and I've started writing chapter 14. The whole King of Fighters arc is taking a bit longer than I had planned, but it seems this story just took a life of it's own, which I think is a good thing. Anyway, I'm adjusting the following chapters accordingly, but at the very least, I'm back in business! Again, sorry for the delay, and thanks for reading! Enjoy!
Chapter Twelve: Pride of the Champion
Surprisingly, Ranma mused as he stood on the deck of the Black Noah again, Mousse's team had lost. What was surprising about that was that Mousse was a formidable fighter, and he had teamed up with Ryoga – who had been there on time, for a change – and Saffron, of all people. The pigtailed boy knew very well how good the lost boy was, and he still vividly remembered the frightening power Saffron had wielded in their first battle.
Given the team's impressive lineup, he had expected them to easily defeat their opponents. Against all odds, however, the three people that faced them had made humiliatingly short work of them. Only Ryoga's toughness and Saffron's regenerative abilities had allowed them to last more than a few seconds.
In fact, it hadn't even been much of a battle; the boy in the blue polo shirt whom Toma had introduced as Chris had hopped onto the stage, raised a hand, and beams of light had struck down from the sky.
Mousse and Saffron had gone down quickly – the latter after taking nearly a half-dozen bolts of energy that were powerful enough to be felt up in the lounge. Ryoga, however, had proven his stubbornness once again; the lost boy had kept getting back up, slowly closing the distance between him and Chris. The child had looked up just in time to see Ryoga's incoming fist.
That had been their only victory, however. As hurt as he was, Ryoga had been unable to put up a suitable defense when Yashiro viciously laid into him.
With the first round over, all the remaining fighters and those that wanted to stay and watch had boarded the Black Noah once more. The ship was now en route to the port of Hong Kong, where Geese assured them an arena was waiting for their use.
Ryoga and Mousse were still with them, of course, while Herb and Saffron had taken their leave – after all, they had their respective people to rule. The Sports Team had left as well, as has the Psycho Soldiers Team after their defeat by the Boss Team.
Yamazaki was still there, much to Ranma's chargrin, though the pigtailed martial artist had no problems with the Yakuza's teammates. He had made fast friends with both Billy Kane – who turned out to Geese's right-hand man – and Mary Ryan, though the blonde wrestler insisted he call her Blue Mary.
Kim was also still there, though Chang and Choi had opted to return to Korea – the two would leave once they reached the mainland. Takuma's heirs, of course, remained, both to support their sensei and watch their friends' matches.
"No! Absolutely not!" Iori's voice came from around the corner.
"You saw what they did to that team, Iori. There's no doubt he's awakening." Ranma couldn't quite identify the female voice over the roar of the ships's engine.
There was a pause before Iori spoke again. "I kno. I can feel it. But I don't like working with Kusanagi. That traitorous bastard is probably going to take the first chance to kill me while I'm busy pummeling it."
"I know, and I wouldn't ask either of you if it weren't absolutely necessary, but we need the clans of the Shingi Trioca united if we want to have any chance of defeating it. I ask that you two put your feud aside until then."
Another pause. Then, "Who knows about this?"
"Only the two of us. I haven't talked to Kyo yet. I think Saisyu, Leona, and Yamazaki can feel it, but only Saisyu should have any idea of what it means. He hasn't said anything, so I'm pretty sure even he isn't suspecting anything," the woman replied.
"Any idea who's behind this?"
Ranma assumed the woman had shaken her head negative in response, and Iori let out an irritated grunt.
"Great. So we just wait?"
"There's nothing else we can do. Whoever's responsible for this will only show himself when the awakening is complete."
Not liking the direction the conversation was taking, Ranma slipped into his father's Umi-Sen-Ken cloak and rounded the corner. Iori was standing in front of Chizuru, who was leaning back against the railing, her long black hair fluttering in the wind.
"Should we warn the others?" Iori asked.
"No. There's no point in involving them. They wouldn't stand a chance."
"I don't know." Iori sounded skeptical. "Geese and Krauser are here. Krauser's so strong he'd put up a pretty good fight, at least. And there's always the kid."
Chizuru shook her head. "Ranma may be good, but he can't handle this. I get the feeling this person is strong. Stronger than even Krauser, or you. None of them stand any chance against a fully awakened Orochi."
Orochi. Ranma rolled that word around in his mind. He'd heard it before, a few times, especially in relation to blood-imbued powers. He knew Iori was considered Orochi-blooded, and that it had something to do with his control of the purple Magatama. While not exactly evil, he could feel a darkness in Iori's spirit flame that wasn't present in that of the Kusanagi line. His first instinct was to go ask Cologne if she knew anything about it, but that train of thought came to a screeching halt when he remembered that his mentor was dead.
"Look," Iori growled, drawing Ranma's attention back to the conversation. "I like a good life-or-death fight as much as the next guy, but this ship is carrying civilians. We should at least send them home before the shit hits the fan."
Chizuru smiled sadly. "No, we can't. If we cancel the tournament now, there's no telling what's going to happen. Whoever's awakening Orochi might decide to change plans, and we have no way of finding out what that would do. We need to continue as if nothing happened."
"You're using them as bait." It wasn't a question.
"We'll do whatever we can to keep them safe, but re-establishing the seal is more important. If Orochi awakens completely, there's no telling how many people are going to die." Chizuru sighed.
"I never figured you for the ruthless type, Kagura."
The priestess gave a mirthless chuckle. "Neither did I. But I've seen a vision of what happens if he gets free, and it scares me."
"This is wrong. We should be telling the other fighters. They're stronger than you give them credit for. Especially the kid." Iori snorted in disdain and walked away, leaving a weary-looking Chizuru alone on the deck, until Ranma dropped the Umi-Sen-Ken.
"What's going on here, Kagura-san?"
The woman looked up, startled at the unexpected voice. "Going on? Nothing's going on, Ranma-kun," she replied, forcing a friendly smile.
"Cut the bull, will ya?" Ranma leaned on the railing next to her, crossing his arms across his chest. "I heard your little chat with Iori. Something big's coming, and you know what it is, so spill."
Closing her eyes, Chizuru let out a tired sigh. She began telling of the great nature god Orochi, and how, after millennia, he had turned from a nature god into a chaos god. How, eighteen-hundred years ago, three powerful clans had allied to end his reign of chaos and banish him.
The Shingi Trioca, composed of Clan Yata, Clan Kusanagi, and Clan Yasakani, had formed an alliance to seal away the monster Orochi had become. The warrior of the Yasakani had used their Magatama to hold the monster in place, a Kusanagi clansman had dealt it the final blow with the Kusanagi no Tsurugi, and the Yata priestesses had sealed it away.
The plan succeeded, and Orochi was banished into a divine seal. However, eleven-hundred years later, when the Kusanagi were at their strongest, and the Yasakani at their weakest, the Yasakani, fearing for their clan's safety, made a blood pact with Orochi's spirit to allow them the use of his power. Such power came with a cost: the Yasakani, now known as the Yagami, gained the powers of Orochi, tainting their spirit flame and turning it into the purple Magatama no Orochi. All the clansmen were doomed to short lives, with their matriarchs dying in childbirth.
The Kusanagi, feeling threatened by the new powers gained by the Yagami, assaulted them in the hopes of putting a quick end to the clan and their command over Orochi's powers. The plan failed, degenrating into a deadly blood feud that lasted seven-hundred years and nearly annihilated both clans.
The feud still continued, but the two clans that had once dominated the Japanese islands had been reduced to Iori on the Yagami side, and Kyo and Saisyu on the Kusanagi side. This generation would be the last to carry on the blood feud.
Ranma remained silent for a while. "So someone's trying to, like, resurrect this guy?"
Chizuru nodded. "Yes. Members of Clan Yagami can feel it, because they are directly tied to Orochi's power. The stronger he becomes, the stronger the pull of their blood on them."
"So what do you have to do with this? You're not a Yata, or a Kusanagi, or a Yagami. Why is this happening now?"
"We of the House of Kagura were once known as the Clan of the Yata." Chizuru smiled sadly. "As for why this is happening, the descendants of my family have been maintaining the seal for generations, each training the next to take over their duties. Until very recently, my sister, Maki, was the guardian of the seal. She was assassinated four months ago."
Ranma bowed his head. "I'm sorry."
"What's worse," Chizuru continued, "is that I haven't yet acquired the spiritual power to maintain the seal at full strength by myself. With her death, the seal has been weakened enough that resurrecting Orochi is very possible."
The pigtailed martial artist pinched the bridge of his nose. "You've gotta be kidding me. This can't be happening again." He turned to look at the priestess, and she shuddered at the determination in his eyes. "I don't care who or what they are. I'm going to find out who's doing this, and we're going to stop them. I'm not letting this happen again."
The Kagura heir almost flinched from the repressed anguish in his eyes. "You wouldn't stand a chance! Look, whoever's freeing Orochi from the seal is most likely very strong, and drawing on Orochi's powers!"
Ranma growled, his golden aura exploding around him. Tendrils of angry ki licked up around his body, and Chizuru could feel the heat he was generating.
"You have no idea what I can do," he hissed angrily. "You have no idea what I've fought." The aura blased on for another moment before dissipating. Ranma turned around and walked away, pausing at the stairs that led below deck.
"I'm not going to loose. I'm not going to let some stupid, arrogant god mess with me or my friends again," he said before disappearing downstairs, leaving an awed Chizuru behind.
Wait a moment. He's not going to let it happen again? What did he mean by that?
Geese had somehow managed to get the local authorities to clear a street for them to fight on. Spectators were lining the tape the police had put up around the part of the street that would act as their battlefield.
Cheers went up for the crowd's favorites as the remaining eight teams rounded the corner, taking their seats on one end of the makeshift arena. Rugal stepped into the center of the street holding up a microphone.
"Welcome to the second round of this year's King of Fighters tournament. Sixteen teams joined us this year, and now, only eight remain. Surprisingly, some of our new entrants have put up a spectacular performance during their initial matches, so please welcome returning fighter Yagami Iori and his two new teammates Saotome Ranma and Xian Pu!" Rugal turned, beckoning the trio to step forward. Tentative applause greeted them; Iori was not the type of person to attract many fans, and both Ranma and Shampoo were complete newcomers to the tournament.
"In the first round, they soundly defeated the Korean team, and now," Rugal held out a hand, and a blonde woman handed him an envelope, "they'll be facing…the Hero team!"
Thunderous applause went up for Kyo, Goro, and Benimaru as they joined their opponents. Kyo and Goro stepped back, and so did Ranma and Iori.
Benimaru glanced down at the purple-haired young woman, and smirked. "How about we forget about fighting, and go out on a date, instead, beautiful?" His eyes roamed her form appreciatively, and Ryoga had to hold back Mousse from the spectators' area.
Shampoo snorted. "I can do a lot better than you, blondie."
"Fine, I'll defeat you and take you out afterwards. Don't worry, I'll go easy on you," the blonde told her with a patronizing smile.
"You're going to eat those words, pretty-boy," Shampoo snarled in Mandarin. Switching back to Japanese, she told him, "and the same to you."
Rugal gave the signal, and Shampoo launched herself at her opponent in a flying kick. Benimaru blocked, only to find himself rocked off his feet with surprising force.
Shampoo didn't allow her opponent time to recover, quickly following him with a series of punches and kicks. She noted with satisfaction that a number of them landed solidly, but before she could press her attack any further, Benimaru's retaliating spin-kick forced her to step back.
Ducking under a right cross, Shampoo flipped, coming up under her opponent's chin in a handstand that propelled her feet-first into his face. The blonde didn't quite manage to dodge in time and caught the blow full-force. He flipped backwards with the impact and got back to his feet, his eyes narrowing in anger as he wiped the blood from his nose.
Shampoo allowed herself a smirk. Drawing first blood on that arrogant jerk had been very satisfying. The amazon reassessed his fighting ability; the fact that he had managed to recover and sneak in a kick during her offensive meant he wasn't just talk. She decided to dig deeper into her collection of techniques, feinting left and, when he refused to fall for it, turned the single fake attack into a hundred real ones with a familiar cry: "Kachuu Tenshin Amaguri-ken!"
Beniamru's eyes widened to impossible proportions as he felt his left side explode into pain. Shampoo continued to pepper him with punches for a few more seconds, then she decided to put her own personal finishing touch on the technique. The last punch stopped an inch short of its target. With a wicked grin, Shampoo uncurled her fist, a miniature ki-blast erupting from her open palm, striking her opponent's torso point-blank.
He didn't go far, and she had intended it that way.Dashing after the blonde, Shampoo reached him just in time to find him rising from the ground. She gasped in surprise when a hand clenched around her throat. The young woman only had a moment to wonder why there was no choking pressure on her neck when she was dangling in the air. The answer came a second later, and she cried out in pain as electricity surged through her body.
The audience quieted down as Benimaru continued to telentlessly force his ki into his opponent's body. Long seconds ticked by as her limbs spasmed in pain. Her cry died out, her lungs devoid of air and unable to draw in a fresh breath.
"Benimaru! Stop it, you'll kill her!" Kyo shouted from the ringside. While he held no fondness for their opponents, he wasn't about to let his friend commit cold-blooded murder out of sheer pride. The blonde, however, wasn't listening. A maniacal gleam had entered his eyes, his face distorted in a sneer as the girl twitched helplessly in his grip.
On the other side, Ranma frowned. He knew all too well what was happening. He rose from the bench, ready to interrupt the fight when Iori stopped him. The Yagami heir pointed, and Ranma followed his eyes to see what had caught his teammate's attention.
No one else had noticed, least of all Benimaru, but Shampoo's face was no longer contorted in agony.
Pain was all she knew. Pain had been her world for the few seconds that seemed like an eternity to her. She couldn't understand how it could have happened, how the fight had turned against her in one quick move. At this point, she didn't care.
All she wanted at this point was for the pain to stop. She didn't realize she had stopped breathing. All she knew was that she would accept even death if it meant an end to her excruciating torture. A part of her mind still capable of rational thought despite the pain managed to see the irony of her situation – defeated by an inferior fighter because of her own carelessness. She had survived the demon invasion of her home; she had fought against her amazon sisters and prevailed. She had survived life-and-death battles with mythical beasts, only to fall here.
There had been no giving up those times, she mused. Failure then meant the death of everyone she held dear. It was almost laughable. The possessed Perfume would have sliced and diced her opponent for breakfast. Ranma would have beated him down without batting an eye.
Ranma.
The pigtailed young man would have found a way to counter this. He would've broken out and then beaten down his opponent.
"Let's make the old ghoul proud," he had told her before the fight. It was a huge part of why they were here, after all; to honor their fallen friends by showing their legacy to the world, and by giving them their victory as a gift to the afterlife.
Failure here would mean her death, Shampoo suddenly realized. It would mean she would be joining Cologne and Ukyo in oblivion. As much as she wanted to see her great-grandmother and best friend again, she wasn't ready for this yet. I can't loose. Not to this arrogant brat.
Cologne would frown on her great-granddaughter's helplessness, and Ranma? Giving up was not in his vocabulary. It was one of the reasons Cologne had respected the boy, and it was the reason Shampoo admired him so much.
Slowly, painfully, Shampoo cracked open an eye as an idea began to form in her mind. Sometimes, the best approach is brute force, she tought.
Sweat beaded on her face as she forced herself to think and act through the haze of pain. Slowly, her limbs began to react. One of her hands came up, closing around the wrist of the arm that held her aloft. The other hand rose to point its palm at her captor's torso. Without air in her lungs, all she could do was mouth the words as she began drawing in ki from around her.
"Ryu Tsui Ame."
The thin, narrow beam of ki drilled into Benimaru's chest, burning through cloth and skin alike as she siphoned off the ki he was trying to force into her and channeled it into the blast.
In response, he tried to force more of his energy into her, completely oblivious to the intensifying beam that was boring into his chest. With a heave, Shampoo dredged up her own reserves. The narrow beam widened for a split second before detonating in a brilliant flash of light.
She could feel herself being tossed through the air like a rag-doll by the concussive blast. Shampoo idly realized that the landing was supposed to hurt, but she was too tired to feel anything except the urge to lie down and rest.
Forcing air into her abused lungs, Shampoo was rewarded with intense burning pain. Her vision cleared with the fresh oxygen in her system, and she slowly, shakily rose to her feet. She opened her eyes just barely long enough to see a medical team rush towards her prone opponent, before snapping them shut in pain.
Her legs buckled underneath her, but before she could hit the ground, strong arms wrapped around her.
"Did I win?" she whispered hoarsely.
"Yeah." Shampoo barely recognized Ranma's voice. "You won. You did good, Shampoo. Cologne would've been proud."
"Good." With a smile, she allowed herself to surrender to unconsciousness.
"You did good, Shampoo. Cologne would've been proud of you." Ranma sighed in relief as a smile spread over his friend's tired face at his words.
"Good."
When Shampoo passed out, he knew she was still alive by the, while labored, nevertheless steady rise and fall of her chest. What did concern him, however, was that she had just received the equivalent of an electrical shock that would have killed other people.
"Where's the medics?" Ranma growled. His eyes narrowed when Iori pointed over to the throng of nurses and doctors fussing about Shampoo's opponent.
The blonde's injury wasn't life-threatening, Ranma knew. He had seen the angle of the beam and felt the ki Shampoo had put into it – all it had done was create a localized burn that was more painful than anything – it had been a desperate attempt to get him to let her go. The brunt of the damage had been done by the concussive blast.
Shampoo's condition, on the other hand, was critical.
"Hey! Medic!" Ranma shouted. When no one paid any attention, the pigtailed martial artist growled angrily. He picked up the girl's limp form and walked over, Iori trailing behind him with an equally angry glare.
Ranma stopped in front of one of the doctors on the fringe of the group as Benimaru was wheeled off on the only stretcher. Adjusting his hold on Shampoo, he reached over and picked the man up by his lapel, hauling him in so that he could glare directly into his eyes.
"Yes?" The man seemed undisturbed by the withering glare the martial artist was directing at him, and sounded decidedly bored.
Ranma frowned, flaring his aura. The man shrank away. Ranma dropped him, letting him go as the doctor ran off as quickly as he could. Iori placed a hand on his shoulder and shook his head.
"I'll take care of the rest of these losers. You go make sure she's okay."
Without looking back, Ranma found the group of medics that were moving Benimaru to the hospital and took off. Iori blinked in surprise; when the dust settled, there was a foot-shaped impression in the asphalt at two inches deep.
Letting out a low whistle at the impressive feat, Iori returned his attention to the arena. Goro was the only one left, Kyo having left for somewhere, presumably with Benimaru.
The Yagami heir cracked his knuckles with a feral grin.
Fortunately, the hospital staff was more forthcoming with help and medical attention for Shampoo than the medics that were present at the tournament. Fortunate for the staff, at any rate.
As it was, it had taken some bullying and intimidating to get the doctors to begin treating Shampoo instead of waiting around for the incoming ambulance with Benimaru.
Ranma was sitting in the lounge, attempting to get his temper back under control. It had taken all of his self-control and the fact that he needed both of his arms to carry Shampoo to keep from smacking the staff around. That, and the fact that he needed the doctors actually conscious to treat her.
Right now, a number of specialists were running a battery of tests on Shampoo's inert form. Despite his annoyance at the staff, Ranma was glad they had taken their job seriously after realizing the severity of her condition.
The howl of the ambulance's siren penetrated from the outside, quickly followed by the medics from the tournament wheeling by a stretcher. Ranma barely took note of them, lost in worry about his friend, until a shadow fell over him. His reflexes kicked in when he felt himself being hauled up out of his chair by the front of his shirt. His hand reached up, grabbing hold of the offending appendage and twisting it back and sideways.
Kyo let out a pained cry as his hand was bent backwards at an angle it was never designed to go. He found himself flat on his back looking up at the ceiling a moment later, with Ranma standing over him.
"What's the big idea?" Ranma growled. He had thought the Kusanagi heir's arrogance and overconfidence were kind of amusing, if annoying, but the fact that one of his teammates had taken that pride to the point of nearly killing one of Ranma's friends had suddenly made the situation a whole lot more serious.
Kyo sprang back to his feet, glaring at the pigtailed young man. "Your friend almost killed Benimaru!"
Ranma snorted derisively. "Your friend is fine. And in case you were absent during the fight, he was a second away from killing Shampoo!" He grabbed the front of Kyo's shirt, mirroring the older man's actions a minute ago, and pulled the brunette man down to eye level. "If she dies, I'll personally end his fighting career," Ranma hissed, clinging on to the Soul of Ice to keep his anger under control. The anger and helplessness he had felt not a few months ago bubbled to the surface, and he forced them back down ruthlessly, making sure to slam a lid on top.
Kyo's aura ignited at the barely veiled threat. "Don't you dare," he snarled. "If you so much as touch my friends, I'll kill you!"
"You and what army?" Ranma's eyes flashed dangerously, his pupils narrowing into slits.
"I don't need any help to take down an arrogant little brat like you."
Ranma glared at the older man for a few more moments, before releasing his hold and turning away. "Get off your high horse, Kusanagi. Your friend is going to be fine." So will Shampoo, I hope, he added silently.
"He'll need two months of therapy in addition to treatment! He won't be fighting for a year!"
Ranma was starting to wonder why the public seemed to like the Kusanagi heir so much. He could understand now why Iori hated Kyo with a passion – the Kusanagi heir was almost as conceited as Kuno, and about as blind to anyone but himself as Kuno was to reality. The pigtailed martial artist spun, a sphere of swirling, brilliant golden ki forming in his outstretched hand, just inches away from Kyo's face.
"Shampoo might not fight ever again, you stupid ass! If it were me, I'd have done more than just torching his chest!"
"If she can't handle the tournament, she shouldn't have joined it!" Kyo roared. "You children know nothing about fighting!"
Ranma's chuckle caught the Kusanagi heir by surprise – the last thing he had expected was for the pigtailed young man to laugh in his face.
"What?" Kyo frowned as Ranma broke out into laughter.
Ranma continued laughing for a few moments before stopping abruptly, his face neutral, but absolute fury burning in his eyes. He and his friends had long ago stopped being children. They had long ago grown up, and it had cost them too much for someone like Kyo to simply dismiss that.
"It's about time," Ranma said, no trace of humor in his voice. "Iori should be done by now."
"What?" Kyo blinked in confusion.
"You and me." Ranma turned on his heel and left the lounge. "I'll make you eat those words," he echoed Shampoo's earlier comment to Benimaru.
True to Ranma's prediction, Iori had made short work out of Goro by the time they got back. Considering that Kyo had left for the hospital, Rugal had suspended the fights until they got back, though it appeared that upon their return, Ranma and Kyo had beated the messenger Rugal had sent for them. When Iori saw Kyo climb into the ring, he started to move to meet his nemesis.
A glance from Ranma stopped him in his tracks. His teammate's eyes were reflecting something that made even the Insane Orochi Warrior think twice about denying him the chance to fight Kyo. Iori would never admit it to himself, much less out loud, but what he saw in the Saotome heir's eyes was enough to make him back away, despite the blood feud he had with Kyo. In other words, the Kusanagi boy was in for a world of hurt.
"Last chance to back out and get off without a scratch, Kusanagi." Ranma crossed his arms across his chest as he faced his opponent.
"That's my line."
Ranma's evil smirk went unseen as it flashed across his lips. "Your funeral."
"Begin!" Rugal shouted from the sidelines. He'd seen the look in Ranma's eyes, as well, and, like Iori, he knew what it meant. Thus, he figured it would be a lot safer to referee the fight from the sidelines and busy himself with arranging transport for Nodoka, Kasumi, and Mousse to the hospital. The taxi he'd called should be arriving any moment, and he could already see the Nerima party make their way out of the cordoned-off section of the road.
Ranma and Kyo remained still, their eyes never leaving the other.
"Ranma!"
The pigtailed martial artist spared a quick glance to the side where Mousse had called his name. The amazon hidden weapons master was leaving the crowd around the battlefield, and it didn't take much imagination to know where he was going.
"I won't forgive you if you loose." Mousse shouted over the roar of the crowd.
Ranma turned his head to meet his eyes, a silent promise evident in the look. Satisfied, Mousse nodded and left.
"Orochinagi!"
Ranma felt the ki-buildup long before Kyo called out the name of his attack. The flames of the magatama parted around him easily, courtesy of the Soul of Ice.
The crowd was silent when the attack subsided, and Ranma turned his attention back to his opponent, clearly unscathed.
"That all you got, Kusanagi?" Ranma's voice was deathly quiet. "My turn." Flickering from sight with the first indication of any of his true speed, he dashed across the arena, coming to a sliding halt behind Kyo, the ki around his hands dissipating.
The Kusanagi clan's heir collapsed, coughing up blood as his leather jacket shredded around him.
Ranma waited for Kyo to get back to his feet. The brunette fighter stood shakily, wiping the blood from his mouth with the back of his hand.
"That was nothing," Kyo sneered. He launched himself at Ranma, coming in low and hard with a wicked punch covered in flames of orange fire.
The pigtailed young man twisted his torso as he stepped back, letting the punches flash past him by mere inches. The kicks that followed the barrage of punches did surprise him, and he found himself having to block both of the kicks.
The punch that nailed him square in the jaw came as a complete surprise to Ranma as his opponent contorted in an almost impossible fashin in mid-air. He could almost feel the heat of the magatama before he Soul of Ice kicked in and flash-froze the flames. The force behind the blow was negligible to Ranma, especially after fighting people like Ryoga, but the surprise that his opponent had managed to land a solid hit in this impossible fashion made him turn his head with the blow.
Ranma had to admit, Kyo was good. He relied too much on his magatama, but his form was excellent, and he had decent speed. If not for the Soul of Ice that allowed him to counter the flames, Ranma would have had considerably more trouble fighting him off. However, Kyo was angry. Much the same as in their first confrontation, Kyo's anger proved to be his downfall as he stopped to think things through and blindly charged at the pigtailed martial artist. Ranma himself was angry, as well, but unlike Kyo, he had enough experience with fighting angry and he had the benefit of the Soul of Ice suppressing most of his emotions to fight to his full potential.
Kyo blinked in surprise when Ranma remained standing, albeit shocked.
That shock didn't last long, and the pigtailed martial artist leapt towards Kyo as he landed; the Kusanagi heir jumped, as well, attempting to meet Ranma in mid-air.
That decision was one Kyo would regret, though he didn't have much time to dwell on it. Ranma twisted, grabbing a hold of Kyo's outstretched leg, and pinned his arms to the side with his own legs in a mid-air arm bar.
"Kachuu Tenshin Amaguri-Ken!"
Using his free hand, Ranma began slamming punches into Kyo's chest even before gravity had re-asserted itself and the two started falling. The pair plummeted to the ground, hitting the asphalt with bone-crushing force. Ranma was perched on top of Kyo's prone form, having used it to shield himself from the force of the impact.
The audience was silent when Ranma rose, slowly walking away from his opponent. Kyo remained lying in the small crater that had formed around him – it took Rugal a few moments to declare the winner, before paramedics rushed Kyo off to the hospital.
Ryoga had waded through the crowd, meeting Ranma halfway through. The lost boy flashed him a quick grin before his expression turned serious again.
"Let's go," Ryoga said. Ranma acknowledged him with a nod, and the two left the crowd, headed for the hospital, as well.
Iori spared them a glance as they left. The next fighters were entering the arena, but the audience wasn't cheering. In fact, just before Ranma and Ryoga vanished around the corner, the crowd realized what had just happened – their favorite champion, the hero of light, had been utterly decimated by a complete newcomer.
Cries of outrage began to spread, but by the time they were significant, those two were long gone, and the next fight was well underway, regardless of the audience.
Iori smirked as Geese Howard cracked his knuckles as he stood before King.
It was weird, Ranma mused. Watching the doctors fight to keep Shampoo alive through a window, that is. The girl had already flatlined once during the last hour, though the doctors had been able to bring her back. Just now, she'd flatlined again, and all Ranma could do was watch as they applied the defibrillator. It was ironic, he mused. Energy like that was what had caused her heart to stop in the first place, and now they were applying more to get it to start up again.
His fists clenched and he never noticed the fact that he was drawing blood. Shampoo's condition had turned out to be worse that it had looked, and that was saying something. Considering the amount of ki Benimaru had pumped into her, it was surprising she was still alive and that she hadn't been burned inside out. The ki running through her body had stopped all bodily functions, caused muscles to seize up, and fried nerve endings.
Even if she made it, there was no guarantee she wouldn't carry any lasting brain damage.
There wasn't much the doctors could do to help her, either. After the initial tests, they had concluded that there was no operation, no medical procedure, nothing they could do but administer drugs to try and kick-start her organs and relax her muscles. Ranma wished not for the first time that Cologne were with them. With her vast knowledge of esoteric healing and pressure point techniques, the ancient woman would have had no problem speeding up her great-granddaughter's recovery, Ranma was sure of it. If only he had been faster to reach Joketsuzoku, if only the amazons hadn't been so stubborn and tried to reach for power again. If only he hadn't failed Cologne and Ukyo…
Ranma shook his head. Blaming himself for their deaths would not help Shampoo, and would only lead down a road he had been on before. It hadn't been pleasant, and he knew that he would be hurting a lot of people if he did it again. Shampoo would most certainly kick his ass for it when she woke back up.
But Cologne wasn't there, and neither was Tofu. The good doctor had remained in Nerima to maintain his clinic, but he had been on a trip the last few months, and as such had not been reachable. Without either one, the doctors had done all they could. Now, it was up to Shampoo.
Ranma knew Shampoo was fighting for her life – he'd seen it in her eyes for the brief moment she had been lucid. But this was not the kind of fight Ranma felt comfortable fighting. This was not the kind of fight he could help her with. This wasn't a problem he could solve with his fists and his wit. This was something that was entirely up to Shampoo's will to live, and he didn't doubt for a second that the young amazon was fighting, he just feared it wouldn't be enough.
Even so, he silently begged her to survive, urging her on, knowing that she couldn't hear him, but hoping she could feel his support. He couldn't take the loss of another friend so soon.
If anything, a part of him noted absently, it was even more incentive for him to continue studying medicine, as he had discussed with Kasumi seemingly a lifetime ago. In a morbid kind of way.
"How is she?"
The strange voice was heavily accented, but it held the authority of someone very, very dangerous.
Ranma turned around to come face to face with the huge blonde man who had introduced himself on Togenkyo. Wolfgang Krauser, the "Emperor of Darkness," was well deserving of that title. The man practically reeked of dark ki, and the aura of power that constantly surrounded him was almost tangible, even without any effort on Krauser's part. Most of the people in the tournament gave him a wide berth when he passed through, and the only people he really associated with were his half-brother Geese Howard, Rugal, and Iori.
In other words, the man was insanely, frighteningly, powerful.
And now, Ranma, Ryoga, Mousse, Shampoo, Nodoka, and Kasumi had been added to that list. When he had introduced himself on Togenkyo, Krauser had to admit he was surprised none of the fighters from Nerima – or even the noncombatants, like Nodoka and Kasumi – had been scared of him. Awed by his power, yes, but not even that had lasted for long. The German had seen the expression on the martial artists' faces a million times before in the mirror – it was the desire to challenge someone stronger, and this time, it was directed at him. He had felt that they were powerful in their own right, and highly skilled, and he looked forward to fighting them.
He respected them for that, and for the fact that they didn't hold back in their bouts. To see one of them injured like this because of another fighter's pride had been, in Krauser's eyes, a grave slight to their honor. Though the German didn't show it, he was hoping Shampoo would recover, and he knew Ranma was very worried about her.
Ranma eyed the tall man for only a second before returning his attention to the observation window. He didn't know what to make of Krauser. He knew the man was very powerful, and when they had first met, he, much like his friends from Nerima, had been in awe of his power. That awe had quickly faded as they looked forward to challenging him to see if they could match that kind of raw power. Krauser had been a man of few words on Togenkyo, though Ranma suspected the man adhered to some odd code of honor. He also knew that the man was a brutal and merciless fighter who cared little for other people, and so he wondered what exactly Krauser was doing here.
From the way Krauser had demolished his opponents with devastating moves, Ranma didn't figure the man to be one to hang around hospitals very much. "She's hanging in there," he replied, his attention already riveted on his friend behind the glass.
"She has the heart of a warrior." Krauser either didn't notice or didn't care that Ranma wasn't in the mood for conversation. The pigtailed young man merely nodded in agreement.
Unheeding, the blonde man continued. "If she has not surrendered before, she will not do so now. Her spirit is strong, and it is fighting. Can you not hear it? Can you not feel it? Trust in it."
"That should've been me lying in there," Ranma finally said after a long pause.
"Why do you say that?"
Ranma shook his head in regret. "I was lined up for the first fight, but Shampoo insisted she could take him. She didn't want me to hog all three of them again."
Krauser eyed the young man, his eyes boring deep into Ranma; the Saotome heir squirmed, feeling as if Krauser's gaze was boring deep into the core of his being.
"Tell me, why is it that you fight?" Krauser asked suddenly.
Ranma shrugged. "I enjoy the Art."
"That is why you practice it, and live by its code, but why do you fight? Your battles, Herb, Saffron, Firkraag…even the amazons and demons. Why is it that you fight these battles, instead of leaving them to your friends?"
"I wouldn't be a very good friend, then, would I?" Ranma snorted disdainfully.
"Point taken. But why not let someone else deal with them? Why not let those responsible for their problems reap the consequences?"
"I fight…" Ranma suddenly realized what the German was asking. Krauser smiled as the realization dawned on the younger fighter. "I fight so they don't have to. I fight so they don't get hurt."
"You fight because you care." Krauser smiled briefly. "And that is what makes you a true warrior in spirit. That is why we warriors, like you and me and her, continue to fight and why we never give up."
"Because we can't afford to loose when we're protecting others," Ranma finished.
Krauser merely nodded, and Ranma arched an eyebrow in surprise. The German had surprised him. He'd initially taken him for yet another glory-hound who was good at fighting, but ultimately fought for the wrong reasons, but no one who fought for those wrong reasons could have comprehended what Krauser had just asked him. No false warrior would have been able to speak of protecting others.
"I see." Ranma finally said. "I trust her. She'll make it. She's strong."
"Are you all right, Ranma-kun?"
Kasumi's gentle voice drew Ranma's attention from Shampoo's sleeping form. The lavender-haired amazon had been released from the intensive care ward shortly after his conversation with Krauser, and neither of the two had been able to suppress a small smile as Krauser's prediction had turned out to be true. The doctors had projected Shampoo was no longer in life-threatening danger. All that was left now, was to monitor her condition and let her rest until she awoke by herself.
The watch had rotated from Mousse, to Nodoka, to Kasumi, to Ryoga, to Ranma, and finally back to Mousse. Ranma, who had come in with Ryoga, had finally managed to force Mousse to get some sleep in the empty bed on the other side of the room.
"I'm all right." Ranma blinked as the rest of his surroundings began to filter back into his awareness.
"Here." Kasumi handed him a cup of steaming tea with a soft smile.
He took the cup gratefully. "Thanks. What time is it?"
"Almost five in the morning."
"Wow." Ranma drained the tea in a single gulp, the warm liquid quickly banishing the last remnants of his disorientation, leaving him feeling relaxed and exhausted.
"You should get some sleep. Mother is in the room next door, there's a free bed there."
Ranma shook his head. "Who'll watch over her?" He knew Kasumi meant well, but a part of him still felt that Shampoo's injury was his fault. After all, the fight with Benimaru should have been his. He owed it to her to watch over her until she woke up.
"I will." Ryoga closed the door behind him. "Don't worry about it, man."
Ranma smiled tiredly. "Shouldn't you be sleeping?"
"You're one to talk." Ryoga chuckled as he pulled up a chair. "Thanks," he told Kasumi as she handed him a cup of tea, as well.
"You're welcome, Ryoga-kun." Kasumi smiled, but instead of sitting down in the chair Ryoga offered her, she settled in Ranma's lap. She giggled at her husband's slightly surprised expression.
Ranma's surprise vanished quickly enough, and he wrapped his arms around her waist.
"Getting comfy there, aren't we?" Ryoga chuckled as he sat down himself.
Ranma shrugged, his eyes drifting back to Shampoo.
"Idiots," he whispered. The look of pain in her eyes would be haunting him for a long time. It brought back the feelings of helplessness and anger and pain that he had hoped to never experience again after Ukyo and Cologne's deaths.
That particular wound was still raw; sometimes he felt like it was just yesterday that he had found Cologne's body buried under rubble and Ukyo dying with a dagger through her heart.
"There's arrogant asses like them everywhere," Ryoga noted. "Hell, I mean, look at us. For the longest time I didn't care what I did or who I hurt to get my revenge," the lost boy added with a wry smile.
"He almost killed her. Even when you were obsessed with killing me, you wouldn't have killed other people." Ranma placed his chin on Kasumi's shoulder as she leaned back into him.
"I'm not so sure about that." Ryoga frowned. "I was going down a pretty dark path."
"But I'm sure. Don't worry about it, Ryoga."
Kasumi sighed. Her husband's attitude towards the tournament had just done a complete one-eighty. Still, she was glad the doctors had announced that Shampoo would make a full recovery.
"She's strong," Kasumi told the two boys, as if it would mean everything.
It did.
"Yeah. She's a fighter, Ranma. Ain't no way she's gonna let herself die to a moron like that."
"Ryoga-kun, language!"
"Sorry." Ryoga smiled sheepishly.
"Even if it's true," Kasumi giggled.
Ranma relaxed. With his studies in medicine lately, he knew enough to at least understand the gist of the medical reportthe doctors had handed them. Kasumi, while no Tofu, with all the books she had read and all the studying she had done over the years, was practically an expert on the subject, and if she confirmed that Shampoo was going to be fine, then he trusted his wife's opinion.
Besides, he could feel it, just like Krauser had said. Shampoo was strong, and she was fighting. And she was winning.
"What're you still doing up again, anyway, Kasumi-chan?" Ranma blinked in an effort to keep his eyes open. The fatigue of the day caught up to him, and he suppressed a yawn.
Ryoga shot him a mock-glare. "She's still up because of you. Girl's been almost as worried about you as she has been about Shampoo."
Slapping Ryoga's shoulder playfully, Kasumi turned towards her husband with a gentle smile. "Don't listen to him, Ranma-kun. I did get some sleep earlier, but I do admit I was getting a little worried about you."
"I'm not the one lying in the hospital in critical condition," Ranma sighed.
"No, but you can't deny it hit you pretty hard."
Ranma could practically see Kasumi's no-nonsense expression. He knew it well – it was the same expression Nabiki had when she was about to close a deal without taking a no for an answer. It brooked no arguyment, but he knew she was right, anyway.
"Yeah."
Ranma and Ryoga shared a quick look. All three of them knew what went unspoken, but only Ryoga actually understood the full weight of the grief Ranma carried around – the lost boy felt the same, after all.
Kasumi noticed the look that passed between the two and sighed. While she was glad that she had not had to bear witness to what had happened, it also meant that all she could do was provide her husband with what little comforting she could, as she couldn't really share the entirety of his emotions.
"Sorry, Kasumi."
"Hm?" The eldest Tendo daughter turned in Ranma's lap at the sound of his voice.
"For keeping you up."
"That's quite all right, Ranma-kun."
The pigtailed martial artist rose, pulling Kasumi up with him. "Sleep sounds good."
"Good." Ryoga smirked. "And don't show your face till morning."
Ranma managed a weak smile. "Coming, Kasumi-chan?" The young woman nodded, and the couple left the room.
Ryoga's eyes wandered back to Shampoo. "You'll be all right, y'hear me?"
Almost as if in reply, Shampoo's head tilted forward in an almost imperceptible nod as she slept.
The lost boy smiled, reached out to cover the girl's hand with his own, and settled in for his vigil through the night, resting easily in the knowledge that his friend would be fine.
Ranma blinked in surprise as he stood before the free bed. The only free bed.
"I'll sleep on the floor," he said reflexively.
"Don't be silly," Kasumi giggled. "We're married, there's nothing improper about it, or did you forget our wedding night?" The young woman blushed slightly in remembrance, as did her husband.
"Oh, right." Ranma scratched the base of his pigtail sheepishly.
"The brunette girl pouted cutely. "Or do you not find me attractive anymore, Ranma-kun?" She knew that physical attraction wasn't even a major point in their relationship; Ranma loved her for who she was, and she loved him just as well, and that was that. But sometimes he was so easy to tease, she thought.
"Of course not!" Ranma's eyes flew open, and he smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, Kasumi-chan. I don't think I'm all there at the moment."
"That's all right." Kasumi smiled and climbed into the bed, pulling back the covers next to her in invitation. She was glad he was feeling better. After seeing his murderous expression when he had arrived at the hospital after trashing the Kusanagi heir, she had feared that he would once again descend into the depression he gone into. It was good to see he was rising to her teasing. She squeaked as she felt a hand pinch her rear, and grinned. "My, you're feeling fresh today, aren't you, Ranma-kun?"
The pigtailed young man matched her smile as he climbed into bed next to her, and quickly pulled her into his arms. It had taken some time, but Kasumi had eventually managed to break him of his shyness around the female body. In fact, considering his curse before the Jusenkyo magic had burned itself out years before, he was…uniquely suited to understand the female body. And that, coupled with the myriad of shiatsu techniques he knew, and his natural dexterity and flexibility as a martial artist had made for…interesting bedtime adventures on their wedding night. Kasumi giggled softly. "Wild Horse," indeed.
"Kasumi?"
"Yes, Ranma-kun?"
"Thanks."
"What for?" Kasumi turned around, puzzled.
"Everything." Ranma leaned forward and placed a long, slow kiss on her lips.
Oh my, was Kasumi's last coherent thought.
"You failed."
"Don't worry, we've got a surprise in store for them." Yashiro grinned at the cloaked figure.
"The two hakkeshu?"
"We made sure they'll do their job in time."
"And that stupid bitch of a Yata still hasn't told anyone about us," Shermie added, flipping her long red hair over her shoulder.
"Good. The time is almost here. Are you prepared?"
The fourth person in the group nodded. "Sure are. Orochi-sama will be most pleased." Chris helt out his palm, a baseball-sized flame of the purple Magatama no Orochi forming in it.
Yashiro placed a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Without the Shingi Trioca, they won't stand a chance, except maybe the Saotome boy. The kid's got more power potential than Krauser, though he has yet to develop it."
"I will take care of him." The cloaked man turned around and lift into the shadows, leaving the newly defeated New Face team to their devices.