A New Challenge
-Chiba Hiro
*I do not own Ranma ½ or any of its contents. It all belongs to Rumiko Takahashi and Viz Media.*
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Chapter 8: Unwanted Visitors
"Wow, I can't believe it, guys! It's already been three months since we started working here, and I think it's pretty boring." Ranma exclaimed while cooking their breakfast.
"Why would you say it's boring?" Mousse asked from the table.
"I mean there's not enough excitement around here." Ranma said, not turning back.
"What's there to be excited about?" Ryoga asked.
"For one thing, all we ever do is walk around the damn place on patrol, but I haven't seen anyone foolish enough to actually come into Jusenkyo. Ever since we started this job, people haven't been coming here very often." Ranma explained.
"You're right. The elder told us that Jusenkyo has unlikely visitors almost everyday before we came along. Now, I haven't seen anyone at all. Maybe we're just good at this job, and we might've scared them away." Mousse suggested.
Ranma paused to contemplate all that has been said, and flipped a pancake onto a plate. Ranma finished cooking, and brought the pancakes to the table.
"Well, eat up!" he exclaimed.
"That's it! All we gotta eat is pancakes?" Mousse complained.
"Well, if you want something else, you're just gonna have to make it on your own. I thought we could have something simple today, but you want more than just pancakes. If you're not gonna eat it, go make something yourself!" Ranma lectured.
"No, no, I'm just fine with pancakes. It's just that you make heavy breakfasts everyday." Mousse pointed out, and put some pancakes onto his plate.
"Why do I have to be the only one who cooks and cleans around here? If you haven't noticed, we don't have anything besides pancake batter, milk, juice, and a few eggs! We've spent our three months food supply on heavy meals everyday! We all got bottomless pits for stomachs, and if I made heavy meals that was meant for the entire year, I just used it all!" Ranma exclaimed, and shoved some pancakes into his mouth.
"Well, can't we go buy some groceries? We have enough money, right?" Ryoga suggested.
"Have you noticed that there are no convenient stores around for miles? We need that damned taxi driver again!" Mousse put in.
"Never mind, Mousse. I'll worry about shopping, you guys focus on eating!" Ranma insisted.
"Hey, since when did we ever get to pitch in! You're cooking, cleaning, and feeding us! What do we do? Nothing, except work!" Mousse exclaimed.
"Well, it's your fault. You never asked me, did you?" Ranma said.
"Heck, you do our laundry for us!" Mousse complained. "And now you wanna go shopping for us? That's it! After work today, you're staying home while me and Ryoga do the shopping, and cooking for tonight!" Mousse shouted.
"Fine, whatever." Ranma said. "Now, are you gonna eat?"
… … …
They continue to eat with less tension, but they are unaware that a couple of spies are watching from a distance through a spyglass.
"Well, it seems we have seen it all, brother!" the person with the spyglass exclaimed.
"Yes, after three months of observation, maybe we can carry this to the boss, Jin!" his brother said.
"Let's see. Resident Amazon: Mousse, nothing really special, Age: 18, Special Skills: Hidden Weapon Style, Curse: Duck, Weakness: His eyesight, and Ranma. What do you think? Is he a worthy opponent for the boss, Jan?" Jin said.
"I don't think he will be much of a problem. Once his glasses are taken away, he'll be blind as a bat, and then we can strip him of his weapons. He's close to useless. Moving on." Jan commented.
"Foreigner: Ryoga Hibiki, anger management problem, Age: 18, Special Skills: Hand-to-Hand Combat, and Ki Style techniques, Curse: Baby Black Piglet, and Weakness: His sense of direction, and Ranma." Jin listed.
"Not bad. I say he is a worthy opponent, he'll be tough to beat, but if you take their curses, they'll be much weaker!" Jan commented.
"Well said. Now, Foreigner: Ranma Saotome, arrogance, heir to a martial arts school, and stubborn issues, Age: 18, Special Skills: martial arts in general, Curse: Girl, and Weakness: cats, and girls." Jin finished.
"He is also the most worthy fighter. The boss will want to meet them. We'll go tell him, but first, let us meet up with these people." Jan said.
… … …
Mousse stood guard in the same place as usual, trying to act alert, but he suddenly found himself playing with one of his kunai knives. Mousse got to the point where he was totally focused on the knife, and he threw it at the fence post, which hit its mark.
"Got it!" he exclaimed, and grabbed it from the fence post, then tried it again, but this time, a hand shot out of nowhere, and grabbed the kunai.
"Huh, where'd it go?" Mousse asked himself, and looked everywhere around him.
"Ah! Where'd it go? I never miss a bulls-eye!" Mousse exclaimed.
Suddenly, a kunai hissed at him from behind, and slid past his cheek onto the post where he was supposed to aim. Mousse slid a finger to his cheek, and found that the kunai had cut him as it sailed toward the fence post.
Blood trickled down his cheek, and he turned to the source of the kunai, but no one was behind him.
Mousse grabbed the kunai, and got into a defensive stance.
"Alright, who goes there? Whoever did this will not go unpunished!" Mousse shouted in Japanese first, then he tried the Chinese translation.
Then, a finger tapped his shoulder, and Mousse's heart bounced up and down as the tap startled him, and he turned the kunai at the person, but it was a woman.
"Sorry, was that yours? I wanted to return it, but I had no idea how to return it, so I thought of hitting the mark myself, but when I threw it, I accidentally cut your cheek while I was at it. I'm not very good, you see. But that was a lucky shot, even though you got hurt. Here, let me treat your cut!" the woman babbled, and cleaned Mousse's bleeding cheek.
The woman reminded him of Shampoo, because of her hair and eyes, but this woman was speaking in fluent Japanese, which was something that Shampoo could never do.
"Um, I'm sorry to ask this, but what are you doing here? I'm Mousse by the way." Mousse said.
"My name is Jan." She said, and finished by putting a bandage over the clean cut.
"I'm here for training." Jan said, but tried as best she could to hide the evil smirk on her face.
"Training? What are you training for? Are you a martial artist?" Mousse asked.
"Yes, in a way. I am a martial artist, and I came here in search of more powerful techniques. My specialty is the Hidden Weapons Style, but I have a long way to go before it's perfected, so my Master sent me here to train, I don't know why though." She explained.
"Master? Why would your master send you here of all places?" Mousse asked.
"He said it would be refreshing if he sent me to the Jusenkyo valley. I agree with him, but when I saw you, you were playing with your kunai, and I thought I should try it." Jan said.
"But, does your master know of its secret?" Mousse asked.
"No, what secret?" Jan asked.
"Well, is your master a foreigner?" Mousse asked.
"Yes. He comes from Japan."
"Figures. Anyway, this place is too dangerous to train! You will get cursed when you touch the water in this place, and trust me, you will regret it!" Mousse warned.
"Don't worry about it. I'll be extra careful!" Jan exclaimed, and walked past Mousse, but Mousse reached out, and stopped her.
"You don't know what you're getting into here! This place is cursed! Leave before you fall into a spring!" Mousse exclaimed for the last time.
The expression on her face changed, and her eyes turned cold. "Let go of me! I can take care of myself! If you don't believe me, I challenge you to a weapons style match!" she initiated.
"What?" Mousse asked.
"Enough talk! I hereby challenge you to a weapon's battle!" Jan exclaimed.
"If I can't get through to you with words, then maybe my weapons will do the talking!" Mousse shouted, and got into a defensive stance.
Jan followed suit, and held two kunai in the same style.
The two lashed out, and Jan slashed her kunai at Mousse, but Mousse deflected it with his sleeve, and took a couple of chains out, and threw them around Jan, and pinned her to the ground.
"Too much for you yet?" Mousse asked.
"Not quite." She said, and held an ink pen in her mouth.
"What the-?" Mousse cursed, and Jan sprayed the ink into Mousse's face.
Jan broke free of the chains, and wrapped the chains around him.
"I beat you!" she exclaimed, and ran off in the opposite direction.
"Get back here, now!" Mousse shouted after, but was strangled with chains. Damn it, he thought, and lay there until help came.
… … …
Meanwhile, Ryoga stood at his position, and was also bored. He fiddled with his umbrella, and practiced with it like it was a sword.
"Ha, ha! I got you, Saotome, finally! I beat you!" he exclaimed as he finished the imaginary duel with Ranma, and emerged victorious.
"Excuse me." A voice from behind him, startled him.
Ryoga turned to the speaker, and it was a boy, about twelve years old, and he carried a bo staff on his back.
"Can I train here?" the boy asked.
"No, absolutely not! You can't train here! It's too dangerous! How did you get past Mousse?" Ryoga exclaimed.
"I walked." The boy said.
"Okay, now go away before someone starts worrying about you." Ryoga said, but a whack came down on his head.
Ryoga turned to the boy, but he disappeared.
"Alright, punk, where'd you go?" Ryoga asked, and nursed his throbbing head.
"Right here. My name is Jin, and I've come looking for you. Fight me now, Ryoga!" Jin exclaimed.
"How'd you know my name?" Ryoga asked, ignoring the challenge completely.
The boy had drawn his bo staff, and had it positioned at Ryoga's throat.
"Alright, kid, you asked for it!" Ryoga exclaimed, and punched the bo away, only to ave the boy spin it back around.
It hit Ryoga in the side, and Ryoga, somehow, felt it. The boy rushed at him, but Ryoga tilted the bo, and sent the boy flying into the air, but Jin landed on a bamboo pole.
"Face me from up here." He initiated, and twirled his six-foot bo staff.
"Alright, you asked for it again!" Ryoga exclaimed, and leapt at the bamboo pole, but knocked it over.
"Ha, ha! I got you!" he exclaimed, but only the pole came down, and the boy landed safely on another pole.
Ryoga stopped himself from falling into the spring below by catching hold of Jin's pole.
Ryoga unfolded his index finger, and held it behind him.
"Bakusai Tenketsu!" Ryoga exclaimed, and stuck his index finger through the pole, and sent the boy toppling over.
Jin used his bo staff to catch himself like a pole-vault, and he landed safely on the ground. Ryoga leapt onto the ground, and got into a karate stance.
"You wanted a fight, you got it!" Ryoga challenged.
"I'm sorry, but our duel has been cut short. I have to leave now. Sorry about your ribs. I hope they don't hurt in the next three minutes." Jin said, and ran off.
"Damn him!" Ryoga cursed, and fell on one knee, nursing his aching ribs, and finally collapsing.
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A/N: Well, that's it. I wanted to keep this in suspense for as long as possible, until I reveal Jin and Jan's true objectives, and the trio's new opponent. That's what this story's supposed to be called, right? A New Challenge. As for who does the grocery shopping in the end, Ranma has to do it anyway. Why am I making Ranma a housewife? It's because he's the only one who can cook better than anyone else there, right? So, it makes sense. Anyway, please rate, comment, and review this chapter, and I'll see you next time!