The next morning, the Tendo's ate breakfast as usual, except that Ranma noticed that there were none of the normal attempts from his father to steal his food or possibly explosive anger from his fiancée. In fact, everyone in the entire table seemed to have a grim seriousness to them. Everyone must seriously doubt that I'm going to win, he thought to himself. In fact, even the usually annoyingly boisterous master Happosai looked quite distraught. "So, Tendo," the confused boy asked, simply wanting to stop the discomforting silence, "You know when this dojo destroyer is supposed to come here?"
"As the note said son, he is supposed to arrive late in the morning," the father answered in a sad tone that almost sounded like crying. "Any minute after breakfast he could come."
"Ranma, you better not loose," Genma stated in a demanding tone. "The future of this school depends on it!"
"Geez, Pop! I'm not going to loose!" Ranma remarked. "In case you forgot I beat a god. I think I should be able to handle some random challenger!" Hearing a ringing sound and noticing his hand becoming lighter, Ranma looked down to notice that his empty tea cup had shattered and fallen onto the ground.
"If these constant evil omens aren't a sign that something bad could happen in this fight, I don't know what will get it across to you boy!" the Saotome father preached to his son. "It would go against fate if you were to win this fight, but I suppose you're too good to accept fate, right?"
"Look, Pop!" Ranma sneered as he dropped his chopsticks. "I already heard enough from the old ghoul to convince me about how scary this guy's going to be! You don't need to go rubbing it in my face."
The old man pointed at his son as a hint of paranoia flushed upon him. "Foolish boy! I'm trying to rub it in your face how important it is that you win! You wanna be homeless?!"
"I get it! So this is all about your own stomach, isn't it! It has nothing to do with your honor or my victories!"
"No, no, it is about that too!" With that, Ranma dumped his glass of water on the older Saotome, altering him to his panda form.
"Stay that way for the match, why don'cha?" Ranma smirked sarcastically. "I like you a lot better this way."
"But son," Tendo intervened the conversation, "Mr. Saotome is correct to worry. I beg of you, Ranma, do not take this challenge lightly."
"Correct," Happosai added, "I myself have had my run-ins with this Xingu an tribe. Trust me, it's not a pretty sight to see them angry."
Ranma looked over to the senior citizen with an angry scowl. "So freak, wha'cha steal from them?! Girls underwear?! Food?! Magic Love Potions?! Or maybe you pissed someone off there by naming them Bra Lee! If he's here for you we'll hand you right over!"
"Ranma! I am very disappointed in you for thinking of me that way! How dare you speak so disrespectfully to your master!" Happosai barked as he jumped on a table and pointed his pipe towards his reluctant disciple. "For your information Ranma, I actually have once fought against them in a tournament when I was but a little younger than your father! Believe me when I say this, compared to these fighters, your friends here in Tokyo are mere peons! Don't ask me why, maybe it's just because none of you take your art quite as seriously as they do!"
Make Ranma's friends here look like peons? Akane slightly grimaced and turned white from that thought. Those "peons" were the same people who outclassed her and put her back into the "baby sister who always needs help" label she had now. Was this tribe really that good?!
The next couple hours the entire household tried to preoccupy themselves in their own way. After the dishes were done, Kasumi and Nakoda joined Nabiki to watch their usual Saturday lining of television while Ranma took his training tips from Happosai and Soun on how to defeat the new opponent.
Finally, as they heard a knock on the front door, the Tendos and Saotomes anxiously approached the door. As they opened it, they found someone dressed in a black cloak, designed elaborately with dragon and yin and yang embroideries sewn on with shiny golden string. However, the strangest feature of his was the fact that it was pitch black when you looked under his hood at his face. "I am Qin Mao, and I have come for my challenge against Ranma Saotome," the figure introduced himself with a human voice covered up with some sort of radio static.
That figure, that voice, Akane thought to herself in fear. This was the same person, or thing, from her dream!
"Very well, Qin," Soun nodded with a cold expression. "We finally meet you." He went out from the doorway and pointed into the house as the cloaked person simply walked in.
"Bring me to the dojo and give me Ranma Saotome!" the new guest demanded.
Watching the two combatants standing in place, everyone in the Tendo household except for Ranma stood back to watch the match. "Heh," Ranma smirked as he looked at his opponent. "Damn, this guy's freaky. Don't think I've seen someone with no head before, and not to mention the fact that you have the weirdest voice I have ever heard."
"I'm sorry you feel so disturbed by my appearance. Trust me, I am not as intimidating as I may seem," the figure assured him. "I am a mere servant of my tribe. I should pose no threat to you."
"He's not much of a bragger, that's for sure," Genma commented, just turned back into a human.
"Don't underestimate him because of that," Happosai warned him darkly. "That fighter has perhaps spent time under the most demeaning of environments. Their humbleness and insecurity drives the Xingu an youth to spend almost every waking minute working on improving their skill in the art."
"So basically you have no self-esteem, right?" Ranma asked the enemy. "I guess that means you won't feel too bad once I beat the snot out of you."
"I'm tired of your constant bickering," the electronic voice complained as he held his leather glove covered hands above his head. "Let's begin!" A florescent purple flash of light sparked around his hands, and was soon replaced by a bow that dropped into the Dark Mage's hands. As soon as he received it, he lowered into a battle stance and ran towards Ranma, lunging the stick with speed such that it was nothing but a transparent blare to the viewers. However, it was also noted that the attacked opponent was dodging the attacks with relative ease.
"Everyone said that you were supposed to be really tough!" the boisterous martial artist complained as he continued dodging the bow. "So much for that! You can't even touch me!" Ducking down, Ranma aimed for a sweeping attack against the cloaked challenger hoping to cause him to fall. Unfortunately, the figure had a keener eye than Ranma thought and made a quick jump, back-flipping away from the kick and close to the opposite wall of the dojo. Using that opportunity as an opening, the figure transformed his bow into a chain and threw it at the opponent, still in the ducking position from his attempted sweep kick.
Looking back toward his challenger just in time, Ranma rolled out of the chains way, barely feeling his arm crushed as he rolled out of the way. "Geez," he gasped as he glared at the figure while he stood up.
"I'm actually very impressed. You've put up a good fight that is quite rare for an outsider to give me," the figure claimed as he placed his unfolded hand in front of his face. As the hand was led from one side of his face to the other, an actual human face replaced the black space. As the person took off his hood, everyone noticed that the boy under it resembled Mousse, except with narrower, wiser eyes and short hair with bangs in the front. "I don't usually reveal myself to an outsider," he told Ranma with an emotionless expression and normal human voice, "but you in particular have proven to be capable of handling the challenge. This is a compliment that I only give to those who are truly worthy."
"Heh! Thanks for the complement!" Ranma smirked, shrugging arrogantly. Suddenly, a terrible shiver began to haunt the martial artist. "What the…"
"Ranma!" Kasumi yelped. "Father! What's wrong with him?!"
"You don't feel it, Kasumi?" Akane asked her big sister with an uncomfortable shake in her voice. "This fighter's battle aura! It's incredible!"
"Of course Kasumi couldn't sense it since she is not a martial artist such as ourselves," Soun stated gravely, "but that boy has a chi reserve on par with Shampoo's great grandmother or maybe even the Master. It's just that he hid the full capability under that binder."
"What binder?" Akane asked in a suspicious voice.
Taking his pipe out of his mouth, Happosai decided to join the conversation. "Correct, Akane. Covering himself in darkness like that did more than just hide his identity. It also held back most of his energy, making him seem a lot weaker than he really is to his opponent. The Xingu an are particularly infamous of covering up their full power unless they are in need of using it."
"Why would he want to do that?" Akane asked, quite confused.
"So that his enemy underestimates him and gets cocky. It is a very cheap, but at times useful weapon," the Master informed his audience, afterwards taking another puff from his pipe. "Especially if the enemy is particularly arrogant, which Ranma is."
"This master of yours is correct," the Qin stated, giving Ranma an annoyed look. "Did you honestly think I was fighting you with my full abilities?"
"Well, something did seem strange," Ranma smirked with an evil grin, going back to his defensive form. "Let's see what you got for real."
"Very well," the Mousse look alike agreed. Suddenly, a green fire began to form from both of his hands. "I hope you have been holding back yourself, because that pitiful display is not going to help you now."
Once again, Ranma rushed towards his opponent like before, using his lightning fast chestnut fist. Unfortunately, the pigtailed martial artist found his fists grabbed in place by the fighter. "I said you'd have to do better than that!" Qin stated angrily. With that, the green flame erupted from his palm, transferring onto the other fighter's arms. Ranma winced back and fell to the ground, writhing in pain.
"I told you to take me seriously!" the cloaked boy lectured him. "Honestly! If that's the best you have, I don't see how you could be the legendary being everyone claims you are! You are the one who has defeated the prince of the Musk Dynasty and Saffron of the Phoenix?! Don't make me laugh!"
"I ain't finished yet!" Ranma claimed as he pushed himself back up. "I got plenty of other tricks up my sleeve!"
Taken aback by the opponent's resilience, the dojo destroyer gave an approving smile. "Well, you're a stubborn one indeed," Qin smirked. "It's not every day that I see someone stand up after experiencing the Wrath of the Mother Dragon."
"Wrath of the what?!" Ranma wondered as an eyebrow.
"Correct," the Chinese boy responded. "Just as no man can withstand the anger of mother dragon as you try to steal her eggs, no one is able to survive when one transmits enough negative energy directly into your system. At least that was what I was told, but you seem to be an exception, my friend." The fire began to flow outward from his hands, beginning to give off a mix of purple and green. "I suppose, then, that you want me to increase the intensity of this fight, correct? Very well."
"Shut up and fight ya' stupid magician!" Ranma hissed, avoiding the pain in his body. "You're right about one thing! This fight ain't over! Far from it! But you're confused about who's gonna' do the butt kicking!" This guy's manipulating his battle aura like a separate body part, the pigtailed martial artist told himself. He couldn't even touch the bastard because if he tried that damn energy he was giving off would block.
"You give a pretty impressive battle aura there," Ranma commented in a more serious tone, "but I know a way to deal with it!" With that, the Saotome son backed away, trying to get the other man to follow step.
"That way to deal with it is mostly the Hiriu Shoten Ha of the Amazons, isn't it?" the challenger remarked as he pointed his palm toward his opponent and extended his chi's reach further. Noticing an upset face on the other boy, Qin felt it was necessary to explain. "In case you forgot, my people have been dealing with that tribe for many years. We know all of their most dangerous moves, and how to counter them." As the aura from Qin's hand lunged at the Ranma, he jumped away in fear, only to have to it again as the snake-shaped energy attempted to swallow him again. "You want me to at least tell you what would have happened if you did successfully manipulate that move on me? I would have used my own cold chi, not to negate it, but to use your fear to heat up your chi and ultimately reverse the attack towards you. Besides, wouldn't you prefer to not literally destroy the dojo yourself?"
The tube of fiery energy fell closer to the ground, but not close enough to burn the wood. It began slithering around the ground like a snake, approaching Ranma.
No wonder why there were so many bad omens about this match, Akane thought to herself. Ranma couldn't even touch this Qin jerk! Ranma, please don't loose!
There was no way this fire was an illusion, Ranma thought as he felt the heat from it. He touched it once and it could be the end of him! He also noticed that the "snake" did everything it could to back himself away from its opponent, forcing him back if he seemed to start making success if he came too close for comfort. Suddenly, he noticed it slip away and slip back into his challenger's hand.
"Sorry for teasing you that way. I wanted to see how long you would go on without being touched by the Serpent's Hellfire," Qin stated. "I must admit, you have proven to be quite competent in avoiding it. I commend you, however I must end this match." With that, the cloaked boy disappeared, suddenly reappearing directly behind a very freaked out martial artist. Crossing his finger from one side of Ranma's back to the other, a ring of blinding light formed, tightening around the pigtailed martial artist.
"Hey!" the unfortunate victim of this attack screamed as he dropped to the ground, unable to push himself back up.
"Physical force will do nothing to unbind you from that," Kin informed the boy lying down. "The only way you can get out is to concentrate your chi to nullify it."
"Shut up!" Ranma screamed as he struggled to get out of the binding. "I'm gettin' out of this thing before you know it and once I do you're gonna' be so… AHHH!!" He screamed, as the ring wouldn't allow him to move out of place, shocking him whenever he moved any wrong way.
"You let him go, right now!" a female voice yelled from the crowd. "If you don't, you'll have to deal with me afterwards!"
Looking towards the girl who gave the threat, Qin nodded his head. "So then, I suppose I will challenge you afterwards. Don't worry. This isn't going to kill him. If he stayed still, it wouldn't hurt him at all. Given the superhuman endurance he seems to have, it could be a painful time for him until he blacks out." Hearing the screams of torture from below, he stared condescendingly towards the other fighter. "Either find a different way to get out, or give up. This is ridiculous!" Watching the scars begin to form on the stubborn boy's arms, Qin shook his head in disbelief. "You are truly a stubborn bastard! Fine! If you want to keep feeling the pain, keep squirming around! You may have been unable to withhold the Wrath of the Mother Dragon, but there is no way you can do so with this attack! Even if you had the strength of a thousand ox, you couldn't break out of it by physical strength alone."
Ranma continued to scream in pain, pain that he almost never felt before. Tears fell from his eyes as his cries became louder. The skin around his entire body turned red as he gasped for air. "I never loose a challenge!" the martial artist huffed. "There's no way I'm going to let you beat me!"
Qin walked towards a wall and watched with boredom. "I don't know whether to be amazed by your determination or feel sorry for your stupidity. Didn't you hear me?! I said that you couldn't get out that way!"
"GYAAAAAHHHH!!! SHUT UP!!!"
"The more you struggle against it, the more energy you give to the Ring of Despair, hence the more pain you feel," the Chinese boy sighed coldly. "I will admit, however, that you must have much stamina to sustain it for so long."
"Ranma, that's enough!" Akane yelled. "Keep it up and you'll die! And you!" she glared at the dojo destroyer. "How can you be so heartless?!"
"It's not heartlessness. If he would simply give up, I could let him go," Qin shrugged halfheartedly. "Believe me, if I really wanted to put this boy through true hell, this move would be far too soft. Blame him for not having the ability to get out of it."
The family could only watch helplessly as their loved one struggled, crying hopelessly in the electric trap, the challenger callously watching the situation with boredom. Eventually, Ranma gave into the pain and began sobbing on the floor, the electric ring disappearing as lost his will to fight. "I give up…" he whimpered pitifully. "I… I lost."
"Hmph… It took long enough!" scoffed Qin. His expression softened as he watched the pain the people viewing them had experienced.
"NOOO!!" Soun yelped in despair as he went into one of his crying fits. "My Dojo! My beautiful Dojo! It's gone! And I just had it repaired! My poor daughters will become beggars on the street!"
"Don't worry," the Chinese boy sighed as he sat down, staring at the barely awake boy he had just defeated, "your dojo is safe. I'm not really a dojo destroyer."
"But…" the father cried, "You said you were!" still not fully cured of his crying spell. "Why couldn't you just say you were challenging us?"
"I wanted to make sure Ranma didn't see this as a petty fight," Qin answered. "I've heard that he is generally far more formidable when he feels threatened or if he is in a formal match, more so than most people. If I came as a normal challenger and the stakes were not high enough he would not take it as seriously."
Suddenly, Soun ran over to the challenger, his face contorting to that of a demon as he touched noses with the other. "You mean… You fooled us into thinking that you were a dojo destroyer just so Ranma would be more of a challenge."
"I was sent from my tribe to see Saotome's full capabilities or die in my fight against him," the offender mentioned calmly, despite the scary face in front of him. "Don't take it personally, and ask the same of your son. I'm sorry for the torment this must have put you through."
"I still think that was a little much," Kasumi scolded as she watched the looser writhe in pain. "I suppose I should get the medicine."
"Alas," Genma added, "I suppose that's the boy's punishment for underestimating his opponent."
Nabiki watched with the closest she could to awe. "Qin STILL overdid it, I think. Ranma could have been killed!"
"I said, I was making sure that I wouldn't," the Dark Mage said irritably. "It is used as a punishment for children who are misbehaving where I live. It will only affect the person until their rebellious intentions are dissipated. At worst, with a particularly difficult child, it will temporarily knock them unconscious."
"So basically that's the equivalent of spankings here," Ranma huffed heavily as he pushed himself into a sitting position. "Damn, you guys are just as psycho as those Amazons, aren't you?"
"Don't compare us Xingu an people to those damned Amazons!" warned Qin, raising his voice slightly. "For your information, we are far more technologically sophisticated, far less war-mongering, and suffered many needless deaths the last time they attacked us!"
"Hey!" a Nabiki called as she walked through the door, giving Qin a cold stare. "Can we have a little chat?"
Watching the result of the fight, everyone who was still left in the room approached the unconscious boy laying there. Akane and Nakoda watched in shock as the person they cared so much for seemed to be in pain. Soun, Genma and Happosai grimly stared at the event, knowing full well that the challenger was far easier on Ranma than he could have been. Kasumi simply kneeled down, staring at the scars on his wrist. Pointing onto the scar, she noticed him grimace in pain as he fell back down. "Oh my. I suppose it still hurts. I'll have to put some medicine on that."
As the Tendo matriarch merrily hummed as she left the room, Nakoda followed step to go with her. The three old men eventually copied them as they lamented the possibility of a new heir to their school, leaving another possible fiancée if the relation between Ranma and Akane didn't work.
Akane, simply dumbfounded by what she watched, neared closer to the fallen fighter. Kneeing down to eye level, she let out a warm chuckle and let out a hand for him so he could stand up. She was trying to comfort him the best she could, but she knew how hard this must have been for him. He lost a fight. Ranma Saotome, who never did such a thing, lost a match. "Don't let it get to you. We still have the dojo. That's what counts, right?" Watching him stand up without her help, the Tendo daughter lowered her eyebrows and jaw, quite offended. "Hey, dummy! I'm talking here!"
Feeling a hand fall upon her shoulder, she looked up to see her father nod his head as he himself watched the boy leave. "Don't even think about it Akane. He lost a match, he should feel the distress over doing it."
"He's right, little girl," Mr. Saotome added he darkly stared at the open door. "That foolish boy almost cost us this dojo! I guess he's not the man I hoped I raised him to be."
Of course not, Akane thought. He's more of a man than you could ever hope to be!
The abacus beads slapped together, causing the wooden claps to echo through his brain every time. Knowing that each of the annoying sounds represented more money that he would have to pay to the person toying with it, he simply closed his eyes and contemplated other happy thoughts, such as the pleasant meal with his comrades before he left to this new land.
"So then," Nabiki asked in a sarcastic, but slightly sociable manner, "You said you are bitter enemies with the Amazons right?"
"Correct," Qin commented questioningly. "Why do you ask?"
"Oh, just curious," the accountant chuckled. As he heard the clicking stop, he heard a slow breath in and out from her. "In total, I think that five hundred yen a week will be ample rent. Welcome to the Tendo Villa where all sorts of weird freeloaders live."
"You had that number thought of before anyways didn't you?" Nabiki's 'host' grumbled as he stood up from her desk, giving an annoyed stare towards her.
Pointing towards herself, Nabiki gave an irritated, confident smirk. "Sir, I'm a professional here. I don't joke around when it comes to rent. I used one hundred percent foolproof calculations."
Giving a humble, subtle smile back, Qin gave a nod of simple pity. "Dear woman, I have used an abacus many years of my life. If you were actually using it to calculate, I would have heard a definite pattern. In case you haven't forgotten, I am from a wealthy family in the tribe and I am perfectly willing to pay the money."
The middle Tendo dropped her finger, rolling her eyes. He wasn't going to be easy prey after all, is he? And you know, Nabiki lamented, that's the big reason I like you so much, not to mention that 'wealthy family' part? "Very well, it's settled. Five hundred yen per week."
Qin nodded his head and lightly clapped his hands. "I accept. That is a perfectly doable payment."
Nabiki rolled over to her side, leaning on her bed in a provocative, but menacing fashion. "Great doin' business with you kid. So, breaking the news to the family tonight?"
"I suppose," the Xingu an warrior mumbled as he held his hands within his cloak's long pockets. "I feel that if I mention it with all of them around, there will be less surprises, hence less burdensome arguments."
Just from a few minutes around him, Nabiki already loved her new guest. He seemed to be the total opposite scale of intelligence and ability to stand up for himself than her sister's fiancée, and able to kick his ass. "I like the way you think," she chuckled as she narrowed her eyes curiously. "You're interesting. I like you."
Scoffing coldly, Qin rolled his eyes in annoyance. "Last I remember I was threatening to kick you out of your own home, and now you are say you like me. You are indeed a strange one."
Nabiki's evil smirk crossed to the outer end of her eyes. "Hmmmm… you think I'm odd wait until you meet the rest of the folks. I hope you're not allergic to weirdness. Ranma turns into a girl when he touches cold water, his dad does the same except he turns into a panda, my dad cries when my sister yells at him, that two foot old fart you saw makes a habit of stealing girl's underwear, and last but not least our big sister will gladly watch it all with stride." However, she couldn't help but wonder just how long this kid could tolerate it here. He seemed way too uptight for his own good. "Oh well, I guess the only way to really know is to find out yourself."
Hearing a knock on the door, Qin opened it, seeing the three old men from before standing in the hallway. All three stared back at him with serious expressions, telling him that the consequences of the last fight must be quite pivotal. "Qin Mao," the tiny, bald one with the pipe, "Would you be a gentleman and come outside with us?"
The crisp spring breeze flew through the back yard, rippling the koi pond and lifting the hair of the entire Tendo household as they stood outside, watching the two men standing in the center. "You're fight with Ranma has proven something I was well aware of all along," Happosai commented to the other fighter eyeing him in a bored expression. "Coming from where you have, I can't say that I'm entirely surprised that you were able to compete with him."
"I don't need your flattery," Qin claimed in a soft, monotonous voice. "There are fighters far more powerful than me in my village. I am a simple lower class martial artist."
"Perhaps," the sensei admitted with a shrug, "however, there IS that saying I heard. A Xingu an underdog is someone else's worst nightmare."
Nodding his head slightly, Qin gave a slight smirk. "True. My people are quite capable of defending ourselves."
"I would know," Happosai chuckled. "I'll have you know that I once fought in the tournament held in there when I was a wee young lad."
Qin's smile was not one of arrogance, but of politeness. "The Ginghai Tournament? Well, if you were accepted into that you must be quite formidable. I am obliged to commend you on that."
"No need to, kid. I'm just an old man nowadays," the elder commented wistfully, reminiscing over the 'good old days'. "However," he claimed as he dropped into a fighting stance, "I WOULD like to test your strength."
In a simple effortless skip, Qin skipped into the air standing strait up throughout the jump, giving a ten-foot distance between the other. "I accept," the Chinese boy complied, not changing his tone or expression. "However, before this duel I must ask your name."
"I'm Happosai, master of Anything Goes Martial Arts," the master introduced himself, holding his hands in his pockets. "Pleased to meet you, Qin m'boy!"
"Thank you," the younger fighter responded, "Your first move, Happosai."
"Very well. You're a real gentleman," With that, the small fighter vanished from the air, causing the audience to gape in shock.
"Where did he go?" Kasumi fretted. "He just disappeared."
Standing next to her and leaning in the wall, Ranma gave her his words. "That old freak! For being so old he's fast, that's all I have to say!"
"Hmmm?" Turning to her brother in law, Kasumi wondered what he was talking about. "Ranma, please explain."
"He used that stupid move on me in the bath house!" Ranma answered. "Even if he's not hiding under any buckets it's a pain in the butt!"
Qin moved aback as he found himself repeatedly hit by a rapid flurry of powerful punches and kicks, some of which he managed to block. If he could only find some sort of pattern in his attacks, he might have been able to defend himself better, and possibly be able to find an opening. However, this challenger had no such definite rhythm, leaving his opponent unable to attack.
"I don't understand, though," Soun pondered as he watched. "While I agree that the master is easily above any of our level, I don't see how someone able to defeat Ranma so easily should have this much trouble."
"He IS the master after all," Genma chuckled, being slightly condescending. "I'll give this Qin kid credit for being able to take on m'boy like he did, but the fact of the matter is there's no way some kid can be able to take out such an experienced master. It's a good thing he's so used to defeat."
However, directly after this statement a massive boom vibrated throughout the yard, causing all of the spectators to fall to the ground as the ground below them violently shook. The rock wall behind them crumbled like a mountain of dirt, fortunately tumbling away harmlessly from the innocent bystanders.
Pushing herself up, Nabiki grumbled to herself. "Geez! I'm not even a martial artist!"
"Agreed, Nabiki," Nokoda concluded as she tried to dust herself off. "Hurting innocent bystanders is not honorable!"
"MY WALL!!!" the Tendo father began doing jumping jacks as he stared at his neighbor's house, clear view from the lack of a barrier. "MY WALL IS GONE!!!" Turning around, Soun looked over in a pitiful baby face. "Master! Must you cause so much collateral damage?!" His attitude changed as he watched his sensei barely standing up, burn marks all over his clothes. Even more awe inspiring, the master's opponent was seen standing in a translucent dome of the famous battle aura, magnetic stripes of violet and teal dropping down like a water fountain. As he crossed his arms in an 'X' in front of him and lifted his index finger towards his nose, the energy flowed towards into his standing fingertips.
Ranma watched in amazement as he noticed his peer seemed unharmed, despite the blows that he took "How'd he do that?!"
"Very impressive indeed," Happosai complimented the fighter, still limping. "So the rumors are true. You've developed a technique able to not only completely cure your wounds, but transfer them to your enemy, is that right?" Noticing Qin stay silent as the snake shaped beams of energy slithered from his arms, perpendicularly extended from his body.
Akane watched in shock, unable to believe her ears. He was able to just cure himself and hurt his enemy at the same time like that?! That was such an unfair disadvantage! No one would stand a chance against him!
Happosai gave an evil smirk towards Qin. "I suppose you want to bring this fight up a notch, right?"
"By all means." The Xingu an tribesman lifted his knee to his waist as he extended his arms each to his head and waist.
"Please, please no master!" Soun begged. "This fight has caused enough damage as it is! PLEASE don't do this!"
"Can the drama, Soun! This fight is over when I say it is." As the perverted sensei stared at his opponent his eyes that began to glow red as his own energy began to vaporize into the air. "It's not very common I challenge someone so worthy of my effort nowadays." With that, Happosai inhaled as much air as he could, making a bizarre echoing sound as his breath exhaled. The air around them began to slowly fade to a dark blue as finally the Anything Goes Martial Arts sensei produced a battle aura so large and bright that everyone else watching had to cover their eyes.
"SHREEEEEEEEECCK!!!"
The aura became an enormous twister, rising upwards to the sky then dropping down directly onto the old man's opponent in the form of a ten-foot tall dragon's head, which gave a deafening, high-pitched screech like the chirp of some hideous giant monster bird. Watching indifferently as the giant face dropped towards him, Qin raised his hand and held up a finger. Calmly remarking that "this is such an amazing battle aura", he simply stood idly as the head suddenly fizzled into thin air as it touched his extended limb. Suddenly both the horrible screech and the darkness ceased, leaving everyone to the normal spring day.
The crowd watched in shock, unable to believe what they had just seen. "I don't believe it!" Soun explained in shock. "That boy… he's able to keep up with the Master!"
Ranma kneeled down to his knees, too shocked to stand up. "And here I thought I was impressive."
"Ranma!" hearing his name called by the old geezer, the pigtailed boy looked towards Happosai, who gave what seemed to be an arrogant, haughty stare. "Over the time that I have known you, you have proven to be quite an impressive fighter. However, it seems that this boy is still far superior to you in skill level. Plus, there is the fact that you have shown a great amount of disrespect to me as your master. Therefore, until further notice, Qin shall replace you as my student in the school of Anything Goes Martial Arts." Looking back to the new student, the master guffawed cheerfully. "You know, Ranma has a whole lot of snot nosed punk friends I'd love to watch you teach a lesson to. THAT would be the entertainment of the year! Now then Qin, do you accept my invitation to train as my disciple?"
"I live under the Tendo house," the boy stated. "It would be impolite for me to refuse."
Everyone was surprised to hear such a statement. Did Happosai just kick Ranma out of the house? "But Master," Soun interjected. "If Ranma is no longer the one to carry it on, then that would mean…"
"It would mean that Ranma is no longer Akane's fiancée," Nokoda answered him. "At least, he is no longer honor bound to be so."
"Wait a minute!" Akane wailed, quite irate. "You can't just kick him out like that!"
"If you still want to marry my son we can gladly stay here," Genma begged her, trying to comfort her at the same time.
"I don't know it if works that way," Nabiki pointed out. "We already have an awful lot of people living here as it is."
Ranma stared emotionlessly at the scene, attempting to digest what had just happened. "I…"
I've lost. After I beat a god, I lost to some random nobody. I feel so weak!
Ranma felt a gentle arm wrap around his chest, pulling him towards its owner. "It's okay, son," the feminine voice of his mother reassured him. "You can come home with me for now. Now you can do so without hurting your honor."
Don't worry! Give us a few weeks to train, and I'm sure you will defeat that man and reclaim your claim to the dojo. Even if you don't, I take pride in the man you've become.
Hours later, Ranma and his mother had just left the Tendo household. Now, the only Saotome that remained there was a certain middle aged man that could turn into a panda and was uncomfortable staying alone with his wife. Soun agreed to keep Genma as company, knowing the freeloading guest was necessary for his sanity. Akane, unable to cope with the situation, ran to her room and was deemed not to be bothered by everyone else. Qin decided to wait in his new room with his master, not entirely impressed with the decorations in it.
However, he was unwilling to make any negative comments, the new Anything Goes recruit unwilling to insult his new master. He was a guest in this house, and within certain limits it was his responsibility to take care of the household. He assured the family's oldest daughter that he would help her however he could with the cleaning, which only seemed to annoy the young mother figure, especially as he continued to push the subject, claiming that he was honor bound to do what he could for the family.
"Please don't feel that way, sir," the girl asked of Qin as she watched him bow to her. "It's okay. You're not a burden. Any guest here is like a child of mine."
"But there must be something I can do to repay my debt to you," the young man begged her. "In exchange for your hospitality, I give you my service."
"You don't have to," Kasumi claimed with a small frown. "I've taken care of my family and their guests since our mother died, but if you really want me to I'll let you help."
Like a child? A total stranger? When Qin was trained, he was always told of certain rules. The first and foremost was that accepting unconditional assistance from an outsider was unforgivable. If they give you something, you were obliged to give back the best you could.
He was trained before in the reading people's personalities and level of honesty, and from what he saw of that person she was indeed an interesting case. She clearly was far more intelligent than she seemed at first glance. It's a common practice for people to use in order to throw someone else off so they could turn against the person when they least expect it. Although, he personally couldn't see how it would benefit her. Nevertheless, she seemed like a nice enough person, so for now at least it would be unnecessary paranoia to be too suspicious of her.
The middle sister, on the other hand, was someone he would honestly have to watch out around. It didn't take a genius to figure out by now that she was a con artist. The way she tried to attempt to hide the extortion before was proof. He also had the speculation that she would most likely spy on him and use the information for blackmail. Overall, it was not safe to let his guard down around that Nabiki girl.
The youngest one was much like her father, overemotional and perhaps a little paranoid. It was clear that she was under a substantial amount of emotional turmoil right now, even before that other boy was kicked out. She had a good heart underneath, but it was hidden underneath a strong barrier. She wouldn't be any true threat to him. He could tell from her reactions that she would be unwilling to fight him, possibly being weaker than the other fighter. However, she could be quite difficult to train if he was too busy trying to deal with a petulant temper at the same time.
"Qin Mao," a crackly old voice called from behind, "would you care to tell me what is on your mind?"
Knowing it wasn't a good idea to discuss what he was really thinking, Qin decided to change the subject. "I was simply thinking of how different the culture is here in Japan," he mentioned as he turned backwards so he could see the old man. "To be honest, this is the first time I have left my village."
"So then leaving China altogether must be TRULY daunting," Happosai responded as he shook his head in understanding. "That's entirely understandable, Qin my boy. I myself had lived in China for a good amount of time, and I have traveled to many parts of the country. Even through all that, it was too much for me to handle when I migrated to Japan."
"Do you mind me asking why you did so?" Qin asked with honest curiosity.
The martial arts master paused as he stared at the person questioning him. "Well, actually I escaped during the country's Communist takeover. Much of their plans involved the disarming of the citizens, which was difficult to do with a martial artist such as myself. That's why many of the tribes nowadays are in regions of the country where the government doesn't feel threatened by them."
"An understandable reason," the Xingu an tribesman assured his new teacher as he unpacked his bag. "I find it amazing that we have been able to avoid their grasp as long as we have." His face contorted to vengeful spite as he continued, placing a golden box next to the wall. "Those damned fools can't stand the thought of anyone in their precious land doing something that doesn't involve them lining their pockets. People say that the rules of Jusendo villages are backwards, but at least our rulers don't trade with their own enemies."
"I suppose you have a grudge against them," Happosai laughed. "All is understood."
Hearing the comments, the Dark Mage practitioner politely smirked. "Yes, well, what do I know? I'm just a savage vagabond from the sticks."
Happosai laughed at the comment, amused by the clumsy expression on the student and the sarcastic statement. His laughter eventually erupted to his crazy battle cry he would use when he rode through town to find additions to his collection. "HO hohohoho! What a haul! WHAT a haul!"
"What a haul? I don't believe I heard that term before," the young boy mentioned, confused.
Sobering from his joy, Happosai gave a fake cough, a serious face on him. "Well, I uh… it's just a saying I use, kid. For times when I do a job well done."
"I see," Qin hummed as he finished unpacking, leaving his items laying in a corner of the floor. Walking towards the door, he looked back to his roommate. "I'm coming back. I just need to check on a few things."
"Don't let me keep you, kid," the old man nodded. "If you want to talk, you know where I am."
"I'm sure I will," the Chinese boy assured Happosai as he walked out, closing the door.
Seeing his new student walk out, Happosai picked up a random set of panties off of the floor and set the fabric on top of his head, the two curly sets of hair around his ears being revealed through the leg holes. Chuckling to himself, the perverted sensei felt a tingling throughout his body as he patted his head, tickling the bald spots on his skin with the soft, used fabric. After he felt he had done enough of that, he leapt into the pile of women's underwear next to him, rolling in it like a pig rolling in mud.
"Oh what a happy day to be alive," he sighed as he stared at the ceiling, the same type of garments tied across it. "Not only do I have so many silky treasures, but such a perfect student, too."
Qin decided to walk down the stairs of the house, thinking of his current situation, and just exactly how much of a mess he had made for himself. If the ancient myths of the 'Ultimate Evil' were true, this Happosai was the same one who harassed and stole from the women of the Amazon village long ago. While he praised the fact that it was done to those beasts, it didn't deny the fact that it was an evil person. If that old man was the beast that his ancestors claimed to be, he was the sort to let his students fall into the depths of hell for free a meal.
He circled through the house, eventually finding the two older men he was looking for playing board games. As they noticed him walk in, the two stared at him in discomfort, almost as if they were unnerved by his mere presence. Finally, the skinnier man with the moustache cleared his throat. "So then, Qin Mao. How do you enjoy your stay here so far?"
"Actually, I have enjoyed myself for the most part so far," the new guest commented politely. "The hospitality you have shown here is uncanny."
"Well, we do try to take good care of our guests, that's certain," he laughed heartily. "Hospitality is a martial artist's first duty, that's how we work here, son."
"The guests have it really good here, boy. I know that from personal experience," the overweight one with glasses and a white bandana on laughed.
"Do you?" Qin remarked indifferently. "By the way, either way I will work for you, but I want you two to tell me of what you think of this Happosai you work for. What is he like as a person? How do other people in the town think of him?
Rather than giving a good answer, the two men stared back to him, faces becoming pale. "Son," the man with the moustache referred to him in a dry, hoarse voice. "The master is not one who takes it well when people question him. Please don't ask something like that again."
"Very well," Qin told them as he bowed down. "Sorry for wasting your time."
"No problem at all," they both responded as they continued with their board game. As soon as they noticed the boy walk out, Soun asked a question to his friend in a soft voice. "Saotome, isn't it a shame? Watching such a good boy fall into the hands of the wicked Happosai?"
"Indeed, Tendo," Genma grimaced. "My boy would never allow himself to fall under his trap like that."
Meanwhile, the two other sisters decided that it would be best to relax and watch television, not knowing anything else to do. While watching their normal weekend soap operas, they both avoided talking, not wanting to cause an uneasy conversation. However, eventually the older one felt the need to bring it up.
"Nabiki, do you think Ranma might come back?" Kasumi asked in a casual, conversation tone. "I don't think that Akane would be too happy if he didn't."
"I don't know, sis," Nabiki answered in an equally distant tone. "All I know is that it seems to me that the only way he will is to defeat this new Qin person."
A worried, confused moan came from the older sister. "But… but Qin's so strong! You saw what he did."
Shrugging indifferently, Nabiki looked towards her sister with her calm expression. "I guess, but Ranma is pretty tough himself. Maybe he'll beat him."
Humming happily, Kasumi looked back at the television, satisfied by the suggestion. "He might. And even if he doesn't Qin seems like a nice enough person after all."
Ranma had just finished putting away the book-bag, containing all the things he had from his original home. Opening the window to his room, he complacently listened and felt the soft breeze coming in, also over watching a horde of birds fly out of the tree and into the golden, blinding sunset.
As he looked out, the new house member sighed to himself, right before he softly worded the fact as a method to accept it. "I lost." After all he went through before, all the effort he put into getting that tomboy to appreciate him, all of the times he rescued and even the one time he killed for her, he lost Akane. Why? Because of some stupid nobody. Some random person, who claimed he had no abilities, defeated him with hardly any effort then had the nerve to think nothing of it. Not an insult, no arrogant bragging, he just looked with boredom telling everyone else around us that his opponent was silly for trying to escape from his stupid rings.
How was that foolish, the young martial artist asked himself? It was a duel between two guys. Was he being expected to just lie there and accept that everything was going to be taken away from him? Would Qin have done the same thing if it were the other way around?
Only one thing was clear to him. First, he had to go back and defeat Qin. There was no way that he would allow a random challenger run in and best Ranma Saotome. Second, the problem he was more worried about, was that he could not under any circumstances allow anyone else to know, especially Shampoo or Ukyo. If they did, the two would be more determined then ever to win him over. He already remembered what those two and Kodachi did to his mother's house over a little gift for Akane before, and he had no intention of letting it happen again.
It was unlikely his Pop would have been willing to come over to train him, seeing how the old man was probably too scared of mom's katana to come anywhere near here or even call most likely. If Ranma was going to train for his rematch, it would have to be on his own, and on top of that against a fighting style he hardly knew anything about and was apparently revered by even those crazy Amazons. The only way to possibly find a weak spot was probably in that book the old ghoul gave him.
"Son, you're sulking. That isn't manly!" the feminine voice of Nokoda Saotome called from behind her son, causing him to jolt into a turn back to look at her staring at him with a look that said 'this isn't going to be easy'. "Since I'm able to spend some time alone with you, we need to talk."
"Yes, ma'am," Ranma responded as he dropped his head in a polite nod. It was certainly not usual for this particular individual to be so well mannered, but there was always something special about his mother that made him go against such natural reflexes.
"As I am aware son, there are multiple young ladies whom by honor have a claim on you as a fiancée. Currently, since you have lost your position in the Tendo Dojo, until further notice your engagement to the Tendo daughters is not valid," Mrs. Saotome reminded her son, keeping to a formal atmosphere. "As the current head of the Saotome clan, given that the father who has caused so much trouble is out of the picture for now, I feel that it is my duty to defend all of the girls' honor as well as I can. Due to the failed wedding, I have become increasingly aware of just exactly how desperate these two really are."
"I wasn't able to just break the engagement between either one of them, 'cause I didn't want either one of them to be hurt," her son explained.
The mother gave her a sympathetic face as thoughts flew through her head. "Son, that's entirely understandable given that you know what their punishment for failing to marry a man they are engaged to," Nokoda excused her son. "You would not only be breaking their hearts, but would be condemning them to a world of misery. That's something that I wish I could convince the Tendo's younger daughter of."
"I have to admit that she's been very stubborn to accept that," Ranma confirmed with a serious face.
"I'm sure she has," Nakoda assured him after a long frustrated exhale. "I have made it quite clear to her that outright canceling their engagements for now would be downright selfish and heartless. If Ukyo Kuonji fails to marry you she will be honor bound to give up the art of Okonomyaki, most likely causing her to live a life of poverty due to the fact that she has no trade to earn a living with. Of course, keep in mind that this is the most fortunate position that she can put herself in. She may as well need to track you down and kill you herself." After saying that, Mrs. Saotome looked down as she shivered, grimly staring at her son's feet. "And that other girl, Shampoo. I've read in their law book what will happen if an Amazon fails to succeed in accomplishing missions based on the laws of outsiders. All I have to say is that the Kuonji clan is far more laid back about laws of marriage. As dishonorable as many of her actions may have been, I still refuse to force her into a situation such as that."
"I agree that we need to help them defend their honor, but I don't know how to, mother," Ranma explained, staring at his hand tapping frustrated on the windowsill. "I just don't know how."
"That's why we are having this talk," Nakoda reassured her son with a forlorn smile. "Ever since the failed wedding I have pondered a way to do so. In fact, I have even called Ukyo's father about the situation."
Ranma looked up with a smile of hope. He had to admit it was amazing she was able to find his phone number like that. "So, he understood, right?"
"Actually, he was rather like your father," Nakoda scowled with a disgusted expression. "He seems to have blamed his own irresponsible actions on his own daughter. In the first place, he should not have engaged her to the son of a relative stranger. Second, since the deal was between the two fathers, it was Mr. Kuonji's responsibility to find and punish your father, not Ukyo. Overall, it seems to me that both parties are irresponsible fathers who left the issue for their own innocent children to deal with themselves."
"So I guess the engagement's still not cancelled," Ranma whimpered as his hopes dwindled. "Well, back to the drawing board, I guess."
"Can you please see if you convince Miss Kuonji to come here?" Nokoda asked her son as she moved away from the door. "There is a lot I, we need to discuss with her."
"I didn't want her to know where we lived, but I'll bring her here if you want me to," Ranma complied as he bowed his head.
More surprised by that statement than angered, Nokoda stared at him with wide eyes. "Now son that would not have been very nice to do to. As far as I know, this friend of yours is only a threat when she feels tricked. We need to be more honest with her from now on. After what she's been through, I cannot blame her for the rash behavior I know she is capable of. Now son, be a dear and find her for me."
With that, Ranma walked out the door's hole to seek the person he was told to, however, stopped in front of the top of the stairs by another command by his mother to "Wait".
Spinning back, the Saotome kin gave his mother his full attention. "Yes, mother?"
Nokoda gave a more casual, motherly look to her son, giving a warm smile. "I overheard that this Shampoo girl may soon loose interest in you."
Ranma clenched his teeth from the fact mentioned. "At the expense of a good friend of mine if she does, but yeah."
"That friend has his own honor to uphold. He shouldn't have put himself in that situation," she mentioned in a slightly condescending tone. However, she retained her kinder demeanor as she continued. "The point is son, if she does marry, then that means both the engagements between the Tendo family and the Amazons are honorably annulled. You understand what that would mean, don't you?"
Ranma nodded his head in comprehension.
Mrs. Saotome approached her son with a happy smile and tears on her eyes, patting her hand onto her shoulders. "From what I know, she perhaps loves you the most unconditionally of the girls you have been engaged to. She is a good childhood friend of yours who I know will take good care of you. I wish you both the best of luck in your future."
Ranma smiled as he shook his head. "Thank you, Mother."
However, as he walked out into the sunlight, he thought of the implication of his mother's words. Was she honestly planning on marrying him and Ukyo now? It was the understatement of the day to say he disagreed with the idea. He just didn't want to argue with her right then out of fear.
The first problem was the simple fact that he was still upset over what Ukyo did before. He always thought of her as a good friend, but he could never feel comfortable around someone whose life revolved around him so much. He could never stand the thought of being stuck taking care of the kids and freeloading like his Pop did. Besides, he remembered the time he became weak after the old goat did that Moxibustion on him. Ukyo said she didn't care. She didn't care about his strength, or his competence in the art. How was he supposed to marry someone that would love him even if he were weak?
Besides, there was too much effort he already invested into getting that uncute fiancée to like him.
Ranma Saotome doesn't know when to quit. Just you wait, Qin! One more week! That's how long you have until I kick your butt back out of there.
Sorry if this chapter was short. I was going to do more but I wanted something to put up. The next chapter will go more in depth as to the relation between the new kid and his new roommates.
In general he's supposed to be a pretty cool guy. It's too bad he's now going to work under Happosai and has Ranma pissed off at him.