A New Challenge
- Chiba Hiro
(I do not own Ranma ½ or any of its content. All of it belongs to Rumiko Takahashi, and other creators of the series.)
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Chapter 11: The Master Plan
"Say goodbye, all of you." Shin said blankly, and threw a smoke bomb at Ranma. Ranma and the others were veiled in a shroud of black smoke.
"Hey!" Ranma screamed, and the veil lifted. When Ranma opened his eyes, and Shin disappeared from where he was standing a moment ago.
"Where'd you go? Come back here and fight me!" Ranma challenged, but there was no answer.
"Ranma, did you notice that Ryoga's not here anymore?" Mousse said, and they both realized that he was gone.
"You're right. Hmm, I couldn't care less about what happened to him. For all we know, he could be chasing Shin down right now, and is lost too." Ranma suggested sarcastically.
"I highly doubt that, Ranma. For one thing, Ryoga would've left a trail of destruction behind him if he ran after that guy." Mousse said.
"You're right. Hey! Since when were you so perceptive?" Ranma asked.
"I just am." Mousse said.
"Well, we know that Ryoga was standing right next to us when Shin threw that smoke bomb, and a moment later, he and Ryoga vanished. Isn't that weird? If he was here for revenge, or something, then he'll want me, not Ryoga, right?" Ranma theorized.
"No. I think there is some kind of ulterior motive behind Ryoga's disappearance. Maybe he was kidnapped." Mousse suggested.
"Yeah, but Ryoga shouldn't have been kidnapped so easily. If he were, then Ryoga would just beat the snot out of his 'would-be kidnapper'." Ranma said.
"I'm not so sure about that." Mousse said.
"Why not?" Ranma asked.
"He left his bandana here." Mousse said, and picked up the familiar tiger-striped bandana that Ryoga never leaves without.
"Then maybe he was kidnapped!" Ranma said finally.
"Well, we can't just leave him with whoever kidnapped him!" Mousse said.
"But, Shin vanished again. All of his ki signatures have disappeared, and I'm getting a faint trail of Ryoga's just a few kilometers ahead." Ranma said.
"It's the middle of the night. Should we risk it without getting at least an hour of rest before we go after him?" Mousse asked.
"Maybe. But, we can't just leave Ryoga. By the time we recover our strength, their trails will completely disappear." Ranma said.
"Then we'll have no other choice but to go after him!"
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Two hours later.
"I can't believe it's been two hours, and we're not even close to Ryoga yet! I'm still picking up his ki signatures, but it feels like they're ahead of us by about five kilometers!" Ranma said, panting after two whole hours of running.
"I still sense his presence, but it feels like there's more than one." Mousse panted.
"We can't keep running like this! At this rate, we'll never catch up to Ryoga on time. Plus, it feels like it's been forever since I slept! Aah!" Mousse complained.
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Shin heaved a caged pig onto his back, and ran like the wind through the valley of cursed springs.
He stopped at the end of the valley after two hours of nonstop running, but he didn't pant. Shin placed the cage down, and poured boiling hot water over the pig.
The pig was rudely awakened, and he was turned into Ryoga upon contact. Ryoga, startled, went into a panic about where he was.
"So, you're awake?" Shin said, and Ryoga calmed from his panic, and looked at Shin.
"Who are you? And, where is Ranma and Mousse? Tell me where I am! And why I'm in a cage!" Ryoga demanded.
"Oh, everything will be clear in due time. But for now, we must await further orders from my master." Shin said. "As for why you are in a cage, it's to keep you from running amok and causing danger. Now, please refrain from asking anymore crucial questions."
"Master? You mean you're working with somebody? What are you planning?" Ryoga asked.
"That is not for me to explain. But, my master will answer all your questions once he gets here. You and your friends will meet the same fate." Shin said, and disappeared into the darkness of the shadows.
"Hey, don't leave me here! At least tell me your name!" Ryoga shouted.
"My name is Shin, the Shikigami." Shin's voice echoed, and died out.
"A Shikigami? Now I'm really starting to get worried." Ryoga said to himself.
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"Ryoga's ki signatures end right here." Ranma said, and stopped to put a palm on the ground. "Just as I suspected. Ryoga's ki energy is giving off two trails. One is going north by northeast, and the other is coming at us from the east."
"Then, should we wait here for the one coming from the west, or should we go to the one in the north by northeast?" Mousse asked.
"I'll stay here and deal with Ryoga coming at us from the west just to make sure. You go on ahead, and see if I was wrong." Ranma said, and Mousse ran in the direction Ranma indicated.
Ranma looked around, but saw nothing but cursed springs, and shadows. The air had a slight chill that ran through him like a thin blade of ice, and Ranma didn't like that feeling.
Ranma closed his eyes for a second, and he threw a pebble to a shadow fifteen meters to the right of him.
In return, a red parasol umbrella came hurling toward him like a drill. I knew it! He thought, and jumped out of the umbrella's drilling path. The umbrella hit a boulder some meters behind him with a giant crash.
"So, we finally caught up with you, Ryoga. Why don't you show yourself instead of hiding like a coward." Ranma suggested, and opened his eyes to see the dark figure of Ryoga walking toward him with an aura of malice around him.
"So, Ryoga. Where'd you go? I thought that you were kidnapped, but I guess I was wrong, eh?" Ranma teased.
Ryoga did not respond, instead he kept walking toward Ranma with an air of mystery.
"Uh, I don't know what the heck is going on, but you'd better say something, or at least come to your senses and meet up with Mousse to tell him that I found you first, or rather, came to me." Ranma said.
"Enough talking." Ryoga said in a monotone, and he launched a straight jab at Ranma's stomach, which got him square in the gut.
Ranma was sent flying a couple hundred meters backwards, but he managed to land back on his feet with some of his martial artist's grace.
Ranma clenched his stomach, and managed to get into a defensive stance.
"I admit, you caught me by surprise by one of your wild punches to the gut, but if I hadn't used a ki shield to keep your punch from going any further, and breaking any bones, I would've been down for the count! Not bad, huh?" Ranma taunted.
Ryoga charged at Ranma with the intensity of an ox, but Ranma leapt into the air, and drop kicked Ryoga in the back. Ryoga stumbled a little, but he managed to regain his position. Ranma stood his guard, and held one palm out in front of him, and held a smirk on his face.
"Come at me." Ranma challenged.
Instead of charging at Ranma like he usually does, Ryoga jumped back a little, and disappeared from sight.
"Where'd he go?" Ranma asked himself, and looked around for signs of the directionless boy.
A moment later, Ryoga appeared out of nowhere, and launched a knee to Ranma's crotch, hard. There was a moment of intense sweating, some redness in the face, and then finally the clenching of the worst possible place to get kicked with all the strength you could muster.
Ryoga stood above Ranma, watching Ranma huddled in a ball of shivers.
"Get up." Ryoga ordered, and hoisted Ranma up by his collar.
"You're…not…Ryoga." Ranma managed to say. "The real Ryoga would never resort to this type of fighting. He's too honorable for that."
"You figured it out, Saotome. You're very perceptive. In a way, you're right about me not being Ryoga, but you're only half right. You see, I'm borrowing this form to buy some time." Ryoga said.
"Who are you?" Ranma asked through gasps of pain.
"I am a servant of Master Hikari, the instrument of your demise, Ranma. First, your friends will taste death, and then, you will join them."
"I meant, what is your name?" Ranma reemphasized.
"I am Jin, the shape-shifter." Jin said.
"Well…if you're gonna kill me, you might as well…get it over with. What are you waiting for?" Ranma challenged.
Instead of accepting Ranma's invitation, Jin let Ranma go, and Ranma landed on his back, still recovering from the pain.
"In spite of what you tell me, you're not the one I should kill, although it is tempting, my orders were to stall for time, and now, when you're through, meet us in the secret base of the master. My master wants a duel with you." Jin said, and dropped a rolled up piece of parchment next to Ranma.
"That paper has all the directions you need to get to my master. Until then, your friends are our hostages." Jin said, and vanished from sight.
Ranma painfully grabbed the parchment, and unrolled it.
"Don't worry, guys. I'll…save you!" Ranma said, and got to his feet miraculously.
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A/N: Almost done, this is the three chapter warning, in three chapters' time, I will be finished with this story, and you'll be free to read what will be left of this story. So, enjoy the final countdown. Please rate, comment, and review this chapter, and I'll get you the most exciting chapter yet 'The Final Showdown', but first come the suspenseful parts! Thanks!