Yeah...so...I couldn't come up with a fitting title for such a ridiculous character...so his name is the philanthropist...but it suits him right?!
I do not own Ranma 1/2
Chapter 6 the battle in the mountain begins!
Ranma wrapped his cloak more tightly around himself, blocking the freezing wind. Three months, how had they eluded him so long. There was a crunch beside him as the Chinese man landed lightly in the deep snow.
"Any luck?"
"None. Wherever they have hidden, they have done so exceedingly well."
"Hn. They have to be around here somewhere, I can sense it." The pigtailed boy said angrily.
"As can I." Mousse said solemnly tucking his hands in his sleeves.
The two walked down the steep slope meeting up with the others. Among all the men gathered the response was the same, nothing.
One of the men from Kobe pointed out a lone figure slowly walking up the mountainside. "Must be someone else looking for his sister or wife." He mentioned in passing.
Ranma scrunched his eyes, there was something familiar about that figure, was that an umbrella?
He jumped up, smiling for the first time in months. "Alright! Finally some luck!"
"Who is it?" Mousse asked curiousely.
"It's Ryoga!"
Mousse nodded pensively, "He does tend to appear in the proper place when needed, it is most odd considering his limitation...this could be good." He stood and followed Ranma.
"Hey! Ryoga!"
The lost boy looked up in surprise. "Ranma? Mousse? I must be in Nerima than...things have sure changed."
The other two face faulted.
"Look around man! Does this look like Nerima to you?!" Ranma yelled.
Ryoga looked carefully around, "No...but I've been wrong before."
Mousse shook his head, "Even I can see that we are in the remote reaches of mountainous country Hibiki."
"So I see...why?"
Ranma fidgeted, the unusually succesfull martial artist finding it hard to admit that he had utterly failed in this mission.
"The girls have been missing for three months." Mousse said without a hint of emotion.
"What! Which ones?!"
Mousse shrugged. "The girls."
Ranma groaned, "Stop being vague its not as cool as you think man, besides Ryoga's skulls to thick to get it."
Ryoga growled, "Tell me whats going on already!"
"Akane, Ukyo, and Shampoo all went missing the same night man. And it turns out they weren't alone, there are eight guys at the top of the hill looking for their women too."
"We all came this far, and have been unable to progress any further." Mousse said stoicly.
"And I've been lost and unable to help all this time, curse my abominable sense of direction!" A black aura began to appear around him.
"No! Not now!" The other two shouted in unison knocking him over the head.
"We'll need that later Ryoga save it!" Ranma yelled.
Ryoga looked a little stunned, "You're right...sorry."
They came to the top of the hill where most the other men had gathered as the night was drawing near.
"Hey everyone, gather round!" Ranma called out.
The others all came close to listen.
"After all this time we might have a shot at finding our women."
"How?"
"What did you find?!"
Ranma grabbed Ryoga, pointing at him with a big grin.
"What, me?" The lost boy asked in utter confusion.
"Yeah man, you!"
"Huh?"
"Ryoga's always lost, but always shows up in the right place at the last possible minute. So I say lets all follow him wherever he leads!"
Ryoga stared at him dumbly, "that's a terrible idea."
"I concurr." Mousse replied.
The other men groaned.
"Well I got nothing else, so I'm gonna go with it." Ranma said confidently.
"Seriously?" Ryoga asked utterly confused.
"Just start walking man. I know! Try to find your way Tokyo."
The lost boy glared at him, "thats not funny."
The pigtailed boy laughed, "sure it is."
Finally he shrugged, "alright then." He looked around for a moment and then began to walk, toward a ravine.
"Man, you sure you want to go this way?" Ranma asked after a while as they scaled the sheer rock face.
"Are you gonna follow me or not?"
"Do you always travel like this?" Ranma asked a few minutes later as they all plowed through heavy underbrush and brambles.
"Shut up Ranma."
"What? I'm just askin."
A huge bear appeared out of nowhere and rose before them on its hind legs with a deafening roar. Ryoga reached up and grabbed it by the forelegs swinging it around once and tossing it away.
"Is this guy for real?" One man asked another.
Ryoga turned around, "What? It was just a bear."
They came to the solid rock face of a mountain.
"Now what?" The pig tailed boy asked.
"Bakusai tenketsu!" The eternally lost boy hit the rock with one finger and a portion of the exposed mountainside crumbled away revealing a tunnel.
"I often wondered just how you might travel, this has been most enlightening." Mousse said as he stepped through the rubble.
Ranma shook his head speechless for once.
"What? It was in the way." The lost boy said defensively before walking on.
The other men stood shocked at the entrance for a long moment. "Did you guys see that?" One fellow asked, and the others nodded, before scrambling after the trio.
They walked through darkness for a little ways, and then suddenly saw a dim light ahead. They traversed the dimly lit tunnel a while longer, until they came upon a group of four guards.
The guards were obviously stunned to find themselves facing a group of angry men, and lowered their sticks prodding and stunning everyone they could.
"Is that the best you can do?" Ranma shouted itching at his arm where he had been shocked, then swiftly grabbing the pole and breaking it over his knee. The guard went down with one punch, the others were easily dispatched only a moment later.
"That was easy." Someone muttered, then they continued on.
Another group of guards came rushing down the corridor, alerted somehow to the presence of intruders. These ones were better prepared, yet were still dispatched with relative ease.
"If this is the best they have, then we have an easy fight ahead." Mousse said with a tone of regret.
"And you let them keep Ukyo, Akane and Shampoo all this time! You should be ashamed!" Ryoga yelled grabbing Ranma by the collar.
"Well at least I was looking! You weren't even around!" He retorted.
Ryoga dropped his head, "you're right, I'm the worst of all."
Ranma whacked him over the head. "Snap out of it man!"
"Stop doing that!"
"Lets go boys, it would be a shame to waste time when we're so close." An older man with a shotgun broke in, "I'd like to see my daughter again."
Ranma and Ryoga abruptly stopped, bowing their heads in apology.
They all came around a corner and stopped abruptly in a lavish room filled with finely dressed men watching a fight. They looked on baffled for a moment.
"Well now, I don't believe you men have paid your dues. How did you get in here?" An elegant man in a red sash asked approaching.
The fight stopped, and the reclining patrons all turned to watch.
"He broke your mountain." Someone yelled pointing at Ryoga.
"Excuse me? Did you say broke my mountain?"
"Yes," Mousse said solemnly stepping forward, "but more importantly...WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH MY BEAUTIFUL SHAMPOO!"
"I was wonderin when that would happen." Ranma muttered.
The man easily deflected the barrage of outlandish weaponry that came flying at him from the Mousse's sleeves.
"There, there. Your women have all been highly appreciated here, but I am sorry to tell you I will not give them back." He smiled evily.
"You give them back right now or you'll pay!" Ranma yelled brandishing a fist.
"Oh will I. Luna!" The man barked stepping back.
A woman all dressed in red appeared suddenly, a pile of towels and pitcher of water in her hands. The man raised a delicate eyebrow. "What are you doing Luna?"
"The girl is giving birth, it was a reasonable request." She said in a monotone voice.
"WHAT!" Came a chorus of angry voices.
The man put his head in his hand, "Ughh...it's not what it seems. She came to us that way...it's of no matter however, Luna take care of them." He waved, then turned to adress his patrons.
"Don't you dare ignore me!" Ranma yelled stepping forward.
The strange woman intercepted him, holding a silken blanket much like a torreador might.
"What, you gonna stop me with a scarf?" Ranma laughed.
"Don't be foolish Saotome," Mousse warned. "It's obviousely been dusted with something."
Luna looked up sharply in surprise, turning her attention to him. She raised her crimson cape in order to snap it at the group, but the long haired warrior raised one arm over his face, and sliced the fabric into a thousand pieces with a barrage of blades from his voluminous sleeve.
She growled and pulled two knives from her belt, charging him. She swiped at his face and chest, but he dodged her assault. She came back from behind with a massive spinning kick and knocked him hard on the back causing his glasses to clatter to the ground. He stood carefully, squinting.
"You.." He said pushing up his sleeves, "will not..." dropping two heavy maces on a chain, "keep me..." Swinging the deadly weapons over his head, "From Shampoo!" He swung them at the woman in red who barely dodged.
The heavy balls crushed the rock walls causing pebbles to fly all around. Mousse advanced mercilessly swinging them after the retreating figure, he finally connected crushing her arm. She yelped in pain dropping her weapons.
"You don't have to die, just tell me where she is." He said crushing her other arm.
The woman glared at him without a word. The man stepped in then glancing down at his minion. "That was most unacceptable Luna."
She withered under the criticism.
"It seems I will have to deal with you gentlemen myself."
"I'm ready." Said the older fellow cocking his shotgun. "You'll give me my daughter back one way or another."
"Oh will I?" He replied wickedly.
The old man merely lifted the barrel in reply.
The other laughed. Then before anyone could say a word, a terrible opressive weight fell on them all.
"What is this?!" Someone asked.
The shotgun clattered to the ground.
"You'll...still..pay!" Ranma gritted out.
Ryoga smiled ironically, slowly straightening as blackness began to appear around him, first barely visible, then growing steadily. He glanced at Ranma conveying a message. The other boy's eyes widened in understanding and he nodded painfully. Then the lost boy turned to the enemy.
"Nice trick, but I can do it too." He sighed sadly as the other man's eyes widened in surprise.
"Impossible!"
"I cannot allow you to get away with the pain you have caused..." A light began to flicker into life in his hand.
Ranma smiled grimly from where he knelt on the ground.
"What's happening?" Someone grunted.
The light grew until it was blinding.
"Shi Shi Hokodan!" Ryoga yelled as a brilliant blast of pure energy hit the philanthropist dead on. The walls shook as yells and general sounds of scrambling and terror filled the room. The various wealthy gentlemen vanished quickly down the hall, wine glasses and cigars abandoned.
The opressive force vanished all at once followed by clattering of stones falling to the floor. Silence reigned, as the men all pulled themselves from the floor. Ranma stepped over to Ryoga who had fallen to the ground.
"Hey man, you alright?"
"Yeah, I'm fine." The lost boy replied weakly.
"That was a perfect one." He said in an impressed voice.
Ryoga chuckled wryly.
A clatter sounded from the opposite end of the room as the enemy detached himself from the crater in the wall painfully. All of his careful manner of nobility vanished as pure rage contorted his face. Blood dripped from various wounds on his face and body as he took one careful step after another.
" . Pay for that!" Spittle and blood flew from his mouth as he advanced towards them.
Ryoga stood up slowly swaying a little.
The pigtailed boy flashed a big smile, "My turn!"
Without warning Ranma launched himself at his opponent laying on a swift barrage of punches.
"Chestnuts roasting over an open fire fist!"
He landed a number before the fellow managed to get one in himself, but much like the eternally lost boy, he seemed to be a man of incredible strength and that single punch sent the spry martial artist sprawling across the large room.
Ranma wiped a little blood from his mouth with a grunt, then ran back to the fight. He knew his speed would be his greatest asset, and jumped over the philanthropist doubling back with multiple kicks to the others back. He dodged a number of swipes with ease, it was clear that the man had not been required to fight in a while. He saw his opening and attacked the villain head on kicking him repeatedly in the face, then jumped flipping over the others head and knocked him from behind with a series of his fastest punches and a final hard kick, felling him. Finally he leapt high in the air and came down connecting with the mans head at impact.
Ranma stood slowly, the man lay there unmoving but for the even breaths in and out.
"I've got this." The older fellow walked up. He yanked a tapestry from the wall, wrapping the villain up in it securely. Then he pulled up a chair, sat down, and levelled his shotgun at the mans head.
The girls who had been fighting whooped for joy and rushed over. One jumped into the arms of a dark haired fellow, the other waved urgently.
"This way!" She said, leading them all down a dim tunnel.