A New Challenge
-Chiba Hiro
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*I do not own Ranma ½ or any of its content. It all belongs to Rumiko Takahashi and viz media.*
Chapter 6: A friendly competition between enemies
… … …
The next morning, the three martial artists gathered around Cologne to see what it is they are to be seeking.
"Okay, the rules for the competition are simple. Whoever finds the most items on this list wins, and you cannot fight over it once one of you claims the item, and it is automatically his and his alone, until the end. Each item counts for a point, and there are currently five items on this list, you have the limit of four days, and you are to find everything on these grounds, is that clear?" Cologne explained, and the boys nodded.
"With that in mind, Ranma is in the lead with one point. That leaves you with four more items to go. I will hold onto the list and the map, and I'll tell you where to go, and from there, you'll have to search on your own. No underhanded tactics, and all if fair play, do you understand?" Cologne finished.
"Yes." They said.
"Good, now your next item on the list is to find the a hydrangea flower. You have until the end of the day to get your hands on a hydrangea, and bring it back to me. Is that clear?" Cologne said.
"Yeah, but I have a question." Ryoga said.
"What is it?" Cologne asked.
"What if there're more hydrangea flowers, and if we happen to each get one, does that mean we're tied again? And another thing, why does Ranma automatically get one point if he started a day ahead of us?" Ryoga asked.
"Well, that's your fault, and the sooner you find me that hydrangea flower first, the better your score will be. Now get going!" Cologne ordered, and the three rushed into the forest to search for the hydrangea.
… … …
They spent the next few hours wandering around aimlessly trying to find the hydrangea flower.
"Wait, if my memory serves me right, hydrangea flowers always grow by the bunch, and if this is supposed to be a competition, then the first one who grabs a hydrangea will have to get it to Cologne. But, she didn't mention anything about who exactly, and whatever it takes to get it to her, we'll have to fight for it!" Mousse explained in a rather loud voice, and Ranma and Ryoga who happened to be near, heard this, and decided to work harder as well.
… … …
Ranma rounded a tree in the bend, and looked through bush after bush, when the feeling of hot, gruff breath went down his neck. This sent shivers down his spine, and he slowly turned his head to meet a big, brown bear snorting at him, and Ranma shot up like an arrow, and attempted to stay still as the bear inspected him.
Whatever I do, don't move! He thought, and it was just bad luck that a trickle of sweat dripped from the side of his face, and fell on the bear's nose, and immediately, the bear rose on its hind legs, and stood a full eight feet tall, and Ranma's eyes bugged out as the bear lashed out, and started chasing him around.
"Ah! Get away from me, you stupid bear!" Ranma shouted back, but the bear kept pursuing him.
… … …
A similar event happened with Mousse, but being blind as he was, even with glasses, the blind geek wandered through the forest aimlessly, and didn't see that there was a branch in front there, and he crashed into it heavily.
Mousse stumbled backward and tripped over a tree's root. But wait! Didn't roots normally stay still? Why is this root moving? Mousse thought, and looked to wear his feet was, and he realized his mistake. The harmless tree root turned into a boa constrictor, and Mousse was screaming for his life as the boa wrapped itself around his legs, preventing him from getting up and running away.
"Ah! Somebody help me!" Mousse shouted out, but the only people within meters happened to be Ryoga and Ranma, but he was busy being chased by the brown bear.
… … …
Meanwhile, Ryoga went through the bushes, trying to find the hydrangea, and mistakenly checked under a bush with a family of squirrels nesting underneath.
"Aw! Squirrels! Well, cute little guys, aren't you?" Ryoga cooed at them, and proceeded to stroke the baby squirrel under its chin, but the older squirrel (possibly the mother) screeched, and scratched wildly at Ryoga's hand, and Ryoga jumped back from pain and startled from the sudden scratches, his hand was covered in blood, which he realized that the mother squirrel's claws are surprisingly sharp.
The mother squirrel got furious, and lashed out at Ryoga, and proceeded to chase him around.
"Oh no! Get away from me, you deranged squirrel! Go back to your babies now, please!" Ryoga shouted back, but the mother squirrel kept on chasing poor Ryoga.
Sometime in the middle of all this, the mother squirrel was joined by a group of squirrels. When Ryoga looked back, he had an exaggerated sweat moment. "You've gotta be kidding me! Now there's a whole swarm of squirrels! I never thought squirrels were this protective! I think they're out to get me!" Ryoga shouted out.
"HELP ME!" they all shouted from different parts of the forest at the same time.
… … …
Meanwhile, Cologne situated herself on a log, and dozed off for a few minutes, until the message reached her. Cologne was rudely awakened by the scream for help from the boys.
"What could be the problem?" Cologne wondered, and stood alert.
"I think they might be in trouble! But, wait, they're an accomplished trio, I'm sure they can handle themselves out here." Cologne assumed, and resumed her peaceful nap.
… … …
Somewhere in the middle of all this, the bear, the snake, and the squirrels managed to get all three of the martial artists together in the same spot.
"Where'd you guys come from?" Ranma asked, panting.
"That's what we'd like to know!" they both replied.
"Looks like you've been chased around by some animals, huh?" Ranma teased.
"Like you could talk!" Mousse cursed. "You're being chased by a bear, and I gotta snake behind me!" Mousse shouted.
"Oh yeah, well I've been chased around by a gang of vicious squirrels!" Ryoga exclaimed.
Ranma and Mousse exchanged glances, and they broke into a fit of laughter.
"You guys think it's funny? Look at my hand! One of those squirrels scratched me so hard that the blood's coming out!" Ryoga snapped, and waved his blood stained hand in the air in front of the fitful boys.
"S-Sorry…but, ha… you've got yourself into the weirdest spot ever!" Ranma exclaimed through choked fits of laughter.
"So! I've attracted a band of squirrels! You got yourself a bear! I'd rather take my chances with a squirrel, or a snake!" Ryoga joked.
"You take that back, Ryoga! I'll have you know that I attracted the most dangerous animal around these parts! So, ha! I beat you guys!" Ranma shouted back.
"You're one to talk! I've attracted the most feared creature of the Amazon! The Boa Constrictor will choke the living lights out of those squirrels, and the bear before they get a chance on it!" Mousse fired back.
"Why don't you prove it, Mousse!" Ryoga and Ranma shouted at the same time.
"Fine, I will! Boa Constrictor, I employ you to attack the bear!" Mousse ordered. Seemingly, the Boa Constrictor obeyed, and struck at the bear.
"You too, bear!" Ranma ordered, and the bear leaped over him, and dove at the snake, and the two animals engaged in a fierce battle.
"Well, what about you? Aren't you gonna get in there?" Ryoga asked the band of squirrels, but the squirrels were scared of the fighting animals.
"Wimps!" Ryoga shouted back at them.
"I guess that settles it!" Ranma sighed.
"Yeah, I agree." Mousse said.
"That's enough standing around, you guys! Let's get that hydrangea flower!" Ryoga exclaimed, and they raced off to find the flower.
… … …
It was nearly five hours after the boys set off to find the flower, and Cologne decided to cook their meals or them. As she tasted her stew, she thought of the whereabouts of Ranma, Ryoga, and Mousse.
I wonder where those boys have gotten ended up now. I gave them twelve hours to find the flower, yet it's taking this long. Oh well, I guess I shouldn't fuss over it, they'll be back soon enough.
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The sun was nearing the horizon, and the three boys found it extremely difficult to find one measly hydrangea flower, and claim it as one of their own. They decided to stick together in order to find the hydrangea, at least when one spotted it, they would each fight to own one and return it to Cologne.
"We've been wandering around this forest for half a day, and yet we can't find this flower! Are you sure that Cologne told us that this was the right place?" Ryoga asked.
"Ryoga, we've come to far to doubt that Cologne might not be right about this! I want to see this through to the end!" Mousse declared.
"Uh, guys, before you break into a fight in front of me, look to your left." Ranma said, breaking up their argument.
They stopped talking, and looked toward the direction that Ranma had indicated. In the middle of the clearing, there was a hydrangea bush, and it was exactly what they had been trying to find in the first place.
"There it is!" they shouted in unison, and charged at the bush. They began poking around the bush, and tried to pry the leaves of the flowers, but each time one removed one, the other two fought over it and ended up destroying it, and moving on to another flower in an endless cycle.
By the time the bush was completely bare of flowers all three were on the grass, exhausted. "Damn, it's gonna be harder than I thought, huh." Ranma said to himself, and they had to agree with him.
"What do we do now? All of these flowers are destroyed, and it's because of our stupid competition. We can't just go searching for another bush like this." Ryoga sulked.
Ranma was about to assent, but one flower that remained untouched caught his eye, and he silently made a move toward it, but the two of them noticed in time, and they all tried to grab the flower.
All three of their hands cupped around the flower, and it pulled out, and each one of them expressed a triumph of victory, before they realized that they were all holding on to the flower.
"Hey, let go! I saw it first!" Ranma shouted.
"What are you talking about? I saw it too, and I acted first, so I say it's mine!" Ryoga argued.
"No way, I saw it, and grabbed it a fraction of a second before either of you two could, and this flower rightfully belongs to me!" Mousse protested, and they immediately broke into a long standing argument.
"Alright, Ranma, Mousse, maybe we should fight to see who is worthy of this flower!" Ryoga proposed.
"That doesn't sound like a bad plan, Ryoga." Mousse said.
"I agree!" Ranma said. "As soon as you guys both let go of the flower, then we can start!"
"Oh no, you're not going to trick me by using some underhanded tactic! You just want us to let go of it so you don't have to drop it, and then you're gonna run away without even fighting, huh?" Mousse caught on.
"So what if I am?" Ranma challenged.
"Why don't we all let go of the flower together at the same time?" Ryoga suggested.
"No, Ryoga, 'cause then you'd be the one who's closest to the flower when we drop it, and who knows what you might do! It can't be any better than what I was thinking of doing!" Ranma protested.
"So, you got any bright ideas on what we should do?" Ryoga asked.
"No." Ranma said. At this moment, Ranma and Ryoga unknowingly let go of the flower, and got into fighting stances. It took a few minutes for Mousse to register that he was the only one left holding the flower, and then a big grin appeared on his face, which grew into a maniacal laugh.
"What the-?" both boys stopped to look at Mousse for a second, before he disappeared, then they too realized that Mousse took the flower with him.
Furious, they followed Mousse. "Hey, you get back here, Mousse!" Ranma shouted after.
"Sorry, but I got the hydrangea, so finders keepers, remember?" Mousse taunted, and increased his speed, before Ranma sped past him, and kicked him in the face.
"Ha, I surprised you, huh?" Ranma shouted, and lifted his foot from Mousse's now foot imprinted face. "Now, hand me the flower before I beat it out of you!" he threatened, and grabbed Mousse's shirt to keep him from escaping.
Mousse looked down at his hands, and he realized that the flower must have slipped out from his hand when Ranma kicked him in the face. "Ah! I don't have it anymore!" he cursed.
"What good are you then?" Ranma said, and inspected the ground for the hydrangea, but it was nowhere to be seen. Immediately, he realized that Ryoga was no longer there, and they turned around to see that Ryoga's retreating figure was hightailing in the opposite direction from where they came in from.
"Hey, Ryoga, you're going the wrong way!" Ranma shouted after, but he had to resort to chasing him.
Mousse just laid on the ground where Ranma left him. "Uh, wait a minute! I'm coming too!" Mousse shouted, and he got up immediately, forgetting that the foot mark was still imprinted on his face, and he chased after the other two as well.
Ranma launched a rock at Ryoga's head, and it hit him right on the mark. Ryoga fell to the ground, and dropped the flower as well. Ranma dived for the flower, but Mousse intervened with his kunai, and chains.
Ranma held them off, but Ryoga sneaked it from behind them, and attempted to run,
Knowing that he had a poor sense of direction, he had no idea of where to go, and he failed to realize that Ranma and Mousse were ganging up on him from behind him.
When they were close enough, they pinned him to the ground before he could run off. "Hey, let go of me!" Ryoga cried, and the flower slid out of his hand once again.
"I got it now!" Mousse declared, and used his chain to catch it, but Ranma broke it, and grabbed the flower with his lightning-fast speed.
He turned around to send them a victory smirk, and then ran in the correct direction.
Both of them were beyond furious, and they ended up charging after the speeding pigtailed martial artist.
By the forest's age, Ranma thought he had beaten them, and turned around for one last look, but was surprised when a blast of energy was sent from behind him, and he dodged it just in time to see that Ryoga had cornered him from the front, and he had his arms folded across his chest, preventing Ranma from exiting the forest.
Ranma turned around, but Mousse blocked his path by closing off his only chances of escaping by using his web of chains. "I got you cornered. There's no way you can escape now! All of the branches above us have been cut down by my amazing blades, and my chains block your only way of escaping, and Ryoga has you cornered from the front, so I'd say that the flower is good as ours!" Mousse declared.
"Oh yeah, well, let's see you guys take it from me!" Ranma challenged, and put the flower inside his pocket to prevent it from being destroyed in the upcoming fight.
Mousse launched his projectile weapons at Ranma, but Ranma ducked just in time. The weapons took Ryoga by surprised, and they wrapped around him. "Hey, Mousse, what're you doing?" Ryoga asked, and struggled to get free, but he fell to the ground.
"Well, that's my ticket out! Thanks a lot, guys!" Ranma teased, and ran past the incapacitated Ryoga.
"Hey, that was an underhanded trick, Mousse! Let me go, and then we'll catch Ranma together!" Ryoga proposed.
"Yeah right, how do I know you won't just make off with it once you have it! I'll do it alone!" Mousse objected, and followed after Ranma, only to have Ryoga grab Mousse with his only remaining arm, and Mousse had to resort to dragging Ryoga after Ranma.
Ranma was only a few meters away from them, but all the adrenaline went to Mousse's head, and he jumped at Ranma from ten meters away, and trapped Ranma under him with Ryoga still holding onto Mousse's leg.
"The ride's over! Give me the flower!" Mousse demanded.
"What's with all the noise over there?" a familiar voice asked, and the bushes rustled, and Cologne stepped through it, and saw that all three martial artists were together again, and their hands all clasped the flower once again.
"I got the flower, Cologne!" they shouted in unison.
"My, that was impressive. You managed to obtain a flower when you all worked together to bring it to me. I think you will do well." Cologne said.
... ... ...
A little while later, they situated themselves near the fire, and food that Cologne prepared, and they were each given a bowl, and they started eating, when a figure hobbled toward them.
They looked up, and Ranma recognized it was the Joketsuzoku elder who assigned him to the task in the first place.
"My, I do seemed to have stumbled upon a troublesome bunch." He commented.
"Uh, I'm sorry, Mr. Chief. It looks like I attracted some unwanted attention. I got a little help, and you told me not to, so you can tell me what to do already." Ranma said shamefully, and the other two joined in.
"We are too. When we heard that Ranma had been chosen for a position like this, we just couldn't resist, so we used his task as an excuse to challenge him." Mousse admitted, and so did Ryoga.
"I don't have a problem with it." the elder said, which completely shocked them.
"I sent my spies to watch over you, and I must say that you are impressive. It seems like today's youth are eager to do us old ones a favor. And because you showed courage, and teamwork, I will grant you permission to join our young friend as 'the Jusenkyo Guardian Trio.' How's that sound?" the elder said.
"But, I thought that you said that I couldn't get help from the outside?" Ranma asked.
"That's right, but they technically did not help you. They unknowingly did it for themselves, and you were focusing on how to find it yourself, and that explains why you impressed me. You worked individually to obtain the hydrangea, and yet you worked together to get the task complete. Which is why I grant you all the position." The elder said, and all three of their faces brightened and they started talking nonsense to the elder, but the elder found it amusing.
"Very well, all three of you could use a night out of the cold, and even though it's the second day, I think that you have all of the requirements from what I could see." He finished.
"Follow me after you're done with supper." He led, and they hurriedly finished their meals, and followed him, leaving Cologne there.
"I won't be long, dear." The elder waved at the young matriarch, and she smiled back.
... ... ...
Later, they were going through the grounds, and a cottage seemed to be waiting for them as the elder led them inside. The cottage on the inside had one table for eating, three chairs, one big bed, a fireplace, a small kitchen, and a TV.
"Woah!" they said in amazement as they went to each of the corners of the cottage.
"Welcome, this is going to be your home while you work, and please enjoy it. You will all get your shifts later, and now it's time to turn in." the elder said, and started to leave, but Ranma stopped him.
"What about the other two tasks? Didn't you say I'd need to complete three of them?" Ranma asked.
"Yes, but I think you've proven it all in one task, so I'll let it slide for now, so get some sleep, and I will see you all in the morning. And, tomorrow, you should all be expecting two more beds so you don't end up having to sleep together in that one." He said, and left the cottage without another word.
"Well, that was weird. And, even if it's one day, I think we can manage to sleep together, we've done it before, haven't we?" Mousse said.
"Yeah, but what do you mean by 'weird'?" Ryoga asked.
"In one moment we're all competing for who would be the best, and we ended up bringing the flower together, now this old guy we hardly even know says we're worthy of a job as guardians, but I don't see the point. If Jusenkyo is meant for curses, why don't we just let it be cursed, and let whoever comes here be dumb enough to swim in them." Mousse said.
"Speak for yourself." Ranma muttered.
"What was that?" Mousse asked.
"Ah, nothing." Ranma said.
"But, should we really just sleep here knowing that we left Cologne alone by the forest?" Ryoga asked with heavy concern.
"Why? Cologne already has a home to go to. It doesn't make sense if she were to live with us when she has a real house." Mousse said.
"Oh, yeah." Ryoga agreed.
"Alright, guys, let's turn in! We got a big first day tomorrow." Ranma said.
"Yeah." they agreed, and they turned the lights off and went to bed.
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A/N: I hope you guys like a little competition for this chapter, it's by far my longest chapter, and I had to push myself to make an effort to create a bigger chapter! I promise that the next chapter I make will be longer that this one! Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, because there's going to be more. Please rate, comment, and review! Thanks for reading!