The Challenge

Ranma slowly came to in the living room and sat up.

What the hell happened? he thought, the last thing I remember is sitting next to Akane. However, he looked all over the room. He saw Soun, Genma, Nabiki, Kasumi, Sho, Ukyo, Ryoga, Mousse, and Shampoo. However, there were two missing, Akane and Ina.

"Akane!" he shouted. He kept shouting and looking around for her. He got back to the living room to find everyone else waking up.

"Ina!" Sho shouted, "she's not here!"

"I know," Ranma replied, "and neither is Akane." Everyone was shocked to hear that.

"Are you sure?" Soun asked sadly.

"I've looked everywhere!" Ranma shouted, "of course I'm sure!" Everyone was stunned at Ranma's behavior.

"We need to keep our calm," Genma suggested, "after all, whoever released that sleeping gas means to keep them alive."

"That make sense," Shampoo agreed, "but where could they be?"

"I don't know," Mousse stated, "but you think they would have left a note."

"They did," Ryoga stated, "right here." Everyone turned to Ryoga to see a note in his hands. "It was in my hands when I woke up." Ranma grabbed the note and read it out loud.

" 'If you want to see them again, meet me at Ina's school when you wake up.'"

"If that's where they are," Sho said as he stood up, "then we need to move now." Everyone stood up and rushed over to Sho's dojo. When they got there, some one did some damage to the dojo. Parts of the walls were shattered and broken, the floor was the same, the plants were ruined and dead, but the indoor training area looked untouched.

"I think that's where they are," Ryoga suggested.

"It's the only place that hasn't been wrecked," Mousse stated, "that's got to be where they are."

"Then we go," Shampoo stated.

"Right," Soun stated. Ranma was already running towards the area. He burst through the area to find a lone figure ahead of him and the lights were off. Only one light was on and it was shining on the figure. Ranma stepped inside and almost immediately, the exits closed off with some type of clear material.

"What the hell?" Ranma asked in shock. He then saw the others got up and couldn't reach him.

"HAHAHAHAHA!" laughed a familiar voice. Ranma turned to the figure to see that it was Goro Suzuki.

"You were the one who kidnapped them?!" Ranma shouted.

"Yes," Goro replied, "after all, we still have a dept to finish." Ranma was getting angry.

"You bastard!" he shouted, "Akane has nothing to do with us. Let her go!" Goro smiled and brought out a remote control. He pressed a few buttons and all the lights turned on. With the lights on, Ranma was able to see Ina in the stands, looking badly beaten up. On the other side of the area, he saw Akane tied to a target with her mouth gagged. This made Ranma angry, but what made him more angry was that she was just wearing her underwear.

"What's the matter Ranma?" Goro asked evilly, "feeling anger towards me. Don't worry, I didn't do anything to her."

"LET HER GO!" Ranma shouted. He rushed at Goro, but then Goro held out another remote.

"Stop or they die!" Goro shouted. Ranma stopped in his tracks.

"What?" he asked.

"Unless you do what I want," Goro explained, "your friends will suffer a painful death. I mean the ones that came with you." Ranma turned around to see them mouthing the words: "We're trapped."

"Why are you doing this?" Ranma asked as he turned back towards Goro.

"Are you that stupid?" Goro asked, "I'm here for my revenge against you and Mia. Which turns out that you were her as well. Clever trick you have there."

"It's not a trick!" Ranma shouted.

"Whatever," Goro stated, "now here is how this is going to work. We are going to fight again. Only this time, you are going to do it Archery Martial Arts style. After watching the contest, I'm sure that you know how it works." Ranma grunted at Goro, but didn't want to risk his friends getting hurt.

"Fine," he finally said with anger, "but where is my target?" Goro pointed at Akane with an evil smile.

"She's tied to it," Goro replied, "she's blocking the bull eyes which you have to get close to in order to have a high stance of winning."

"That's cheating," Ranma said angrily.

"I don't think so," Goro stated, "but this means that you have to shoot Akane to win." Goro tossed Ranma a bow and a quiver with three real arrows in it.

"I don't need to hit Akane to win," Ranma said as he put on the quiver, "all I need to do is make sure that you don't get a single arrow on my target." Goro laughed.

"But that would be impossible," he stated, "and I'll make that impossible right now." Goro took an arrow and put it on his bow and pulled the string back. The arrow was then surrounded by a dark aura and five more arrows appeared.

"Damn it," Ranma cursed.

"My Darkness Arrows," Goro said with an evil smile, "something that you have witnessed at the contest. You can block one, two at best. However, you can't block them all!" Goro released the arrows and they soared towards Ranma.

Damn it, Ranma thought. However, he didn't back down. He stood ready to block the arrows. When they made contact, Ranma had blocked two with his bow and they disappeared. His legs got two more and they disappeared as well. One hit his left arm and that disappeared with the others. The one that hit his right hand was the real one. He screamed in pain and dropped his bow.

"My my my," Goro stated, "I'm impressed that you managed to block all of the arrows. However, it came with a price. Your string hand is damaged." Ranma then used his fingers to break one part of the arrow, and then he used his other hand to break the other part of it. There was part of an arrow still in his hand, but he left it in.

"Just because I have a little handicap," Ranma said with a serious smile on his face as he picked his bow back up, "doesn't mean that you will win." Goro and Ranma rushed at each other. When they met at the center, they both landed a solid hit on each other. Ranma had lunged his foot into his gut and Goro had his fist on Ranma's cheek. The impact from the hits sent them flying backwards. Ranma and Goro managed to land on their feet and charged at each other again.

******

Ryoga, Ukyo, Mousse, Shampoo, Soun, Genma, Nabiki, Kasumi, and Sho were still trapped in the area where Goro had trapped them. Watching the fight from inside their little prison, they were amazed how Ranma could hold his own while having that wound in his hand.

"He must have been doing some serious training over the last year," Genma stated.

"Well," Ryoga stated, "he did act completely different as a girl. He must have done some serious training to keep his cool."

"However," Ukyo interrupted, "he lost it when he found Akane like that."

"This means that Goro doesn't stand a stance against him," Nabiki said with a smile, "when Ranma gets angry, they are very few people that can beat him." Soun's eyes widened.

"That's it!" he shouted, "I know of a way for Ranma to win!" Suddenly, he coughed.

"Father," Kasumi said as she rushed over to him, "what's wrong?"

"I'm *heavy breathing* having trouble breathing," Soun replied. Suddenly, Genma started coughing and breathing heavily.

"Me too," he said as he fell to his knees at the same time as Soun.

"That bastard," Ryoga stated, "he's going to suffocate us." Shampoo fell to her knees and started breathing heavily.

"Shampoo!" Mousse shouted. However, he too fell to his knees and started coughing. Soon enough, everyone followed suit and fell to the floor.

******

Ranma and Goro connected attacks again and flew back. Ranma landed on his feet and looked back to check on everyone. However, they were all on the ground.

"Everyone!" he shouted. Goro smiled evilly and fired an arrow at Ranma. The arrow hit his left shoulder and he screamed in pain.

"That's what you get for lowering your guard," he said with an evil smirk.

"What have you done to them?" Ranma asked furiously.

"Nothing," Goro replied calmly, "however, they are running out of air." Ranma's eyes widened.

"You bastard!" he shouted.

"Now now now," Goro said while waving one finger, "this isn't the time to worry about that. If you want them to live, you better hurry up." Goro rushed at Ranma like before. Ranma broke the part of the arrow that was sticking out in the front. Ranma landed a swift kick to Goro's gut that sent him flying backwards. Ranma quickly took an arrow and put it on the bow. He hesitantly aimed it at an area of the target that Akane wasn't covering. However, when he tried to pull the string back, pain came sharply to his right hand and left shoulder. This unexpected pain caused him to send the arrow flying into the air, away from anyone.

"HAHAHAHA!" Goro laughed, "you fool. Your wounds are more serious than you think." Ranma grabbed his left shoulder in pain with his right hand and stared at Akane.

I have to think of something, he thought, Goro is serious about killing the others by suffocating them. Yet if I let down my guard, he could do something to Akane. What am I going to do?

******

Ryoga struggled to stay conscious, but it wasn't easy with no air.

I have to think of something, he thought, I can't let it end like this. If I don't do something fast, everyone in here will die. He looked around to see that everyone was barely breathing. He stared the longest at Ukyo. He felt the depression of losing her rush through his body in a icy fashion.

"That's it," Ryoga said with hope in his voice. However, he shook that away.

No, he thought, get depressed. As depressed as you can get. Think about losing all of them. Think, think, think! Depression over took Ryoga again and he aimed his hands at a wall.

"LION'S ROAR BLAST!" he shouted. A large energy beam shot from his hands and flew at the wall. The distance wasn't much and the beam easily destroyed the wall, allowing air to sweep into the small confined area.

Air! Ryoga shouted in his mind.

******

While fighting, a blast was heard from behind the target that Goro was suppose to hit.

"What was that?" Goro asked. Ranma turned to see smoke inside the area where the others were.

That blast, Ranma thought, did Ryoga used that move? Goro looked at Ranma and smiled.

Now's my chance, he thought. He quickly fired an arrow at his target. However, what he didn't expect was Ranma shooting another arrow to block Goro's shot. Ranma's arrow collided with Goro's at the tip and didn't break it. Goro stared at Ranma angrily.

"You bastard," Goro grunted, "how dare you block my last shot?" Ranma starting breathing heavily. This sight brought a cold smile to Goro's face.

"I'm going to wipe that smile off of your face," Ranma stated. He put another arrow on the bow, but didn't get ready to fire. He stared at Akane.

I can't risk it, he thought. He dropped the arrow and found Goro was shocked.

"What did you do that for?" he asked.

"They are free," Ranma replied, "so I don't need to play by your rules any more." Ranma dropped the bow he was using and took off the quiver.

"You fool," Goro said angrily, "you just forfeited the match!"

"Think again," Ranma said with a smile and cracking his knuckles, "you are going to lose this." As if on cue, one of the walls was smashed opened and in came the others that were trapped. Sho went right for Ina to make sure that she was alright. Ukyo and Shampoo went to free Akane.

"STOP!" Goro shouted and reached for a throwing knife. However, Ranma landed a solid punch against him on his back. Goro fell to the ground.

"Is she okay?" Ranma asked curiously. Ukyo and Shampoo nodded her head and he saw Akane smile again.

"We'll help you finish him Ranma," Mousse stated.

"I'm in," Ryoga agreed. Out of nowhere, Mousse brought out a scimitar and Ryoga stood in a battle position.

"Don't worry guys," Ranma said while breathing heavily, "I can finish him."

"Son!" Genma shouted, "you've been injured! Let us help!"

"No!" Ranma shouted back, "this is my fight. Don't interfere!" Goro stood and faced Ranma.

"I will have my revenge!" he shouted. He rushed at Ranma, but he dodged his attack. Goro kept attacking fiercely and Ranma kept dodging.

"Why won't he attack Goro?" Soun asked curiously. Akane, Ukyo, and Shampoo joined the others in the stands. Sho had brought the unconscious Ina with him. Akane stared at the battle and smiled.

"It's over," she stated. Everyone stared at her with a confused look.

"What you mean?" Shampoo asked.

"Can't you guys see what Ranma is doing?" Akane replied with a question. Everyone stared at the fight. Ranma was avoiding Goro's attacks, one after the other. And he seemed to be stepping in the form of a spiral. Everyone's eyes widened.

"He's going to do it," Mousse said with a smile. Goro seemed to get more angry by the minute.

"WHY WON'T YOU ATTACK ME?!" he shouted. Ranma smiled.

"You want an attack?" he asked, "I'll give you an attack. HEAVEN BLAST OF THE DRAGON!" Ranma thrust his fist into the air and created a twister inside the training area. Goro was caught in the twister and soared into the air. The roof of the area was taken off by force. The others were clear of the blast, but still felt the intense wind. After if was over, Goro fell to the ground hard. Akane and the others rushed over to Ranma.

"You did it," Ryoga said happily.

"That's my son," Genma said with tears in his eyes, "you've gotten even better in your year of absence."

"Ranma only gotten stronger since we last saw," Shampoo said with a smile.

"It's good to see that your skills haven't rusted," Ukyo stated. Everyone was congratulating him, even though his stare was on Akane the entire time. The voices were getting drowned out. However, a voice shouted through the rest of them.

"RANMA!" Goro's voice shouted. Everyone turned to Goro to see him struggling to get up.

"Stay down," Soun said seriously, "you have lost." Using his bow to support his weight, Goro made it to his feet.

"I won't lose to an outsider," he said weakly. Then, a few figures jumped in from the roof access and surrounded Goro. They all were wearing similar outfits to what Goro was wearing. One of them looked completely different. That one approached Goro.

"That is quite enough," the figure stated, "you have done enough damage."

"Grandmaster!" Goro said in shock. The Grandmaster then delivered a swift punch to Goro's gut. Goro passed out in a matter of seconds.

"Students," the Grandmaster said seriously, "take him back to the school." The others that were dressed like Goro took him and left the building. The Grandmaster turned towards the others.

"Who are you?" Sho asked curiously.

"I am Raj Kato," the Grandmaster replied, "I'm the Grandmaster of the Abyss School of Archery Martial Arts."

Ranma beats Goro and the Grandmaster of Goro's school shows up.

What will happen next?

Find out in the next chapter of. . . .

Ranma ½

Tragic Love

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Author's Note: I hope you guys like this version better. I know I do.