Honoka and Akane Visit Ryozanpaku
In Nerima Japan, something weird was going on...Everything was quiet. Akane sighed. She couldn't believe she was admitting this but, she missed Ranma. But what she couldn't figure out was if she missed having him around or just missed taking her frustrations out on him. She knew that wasn't a good thing, but she was running out of bricks to break and her anger was just not leaving like it usually did after she attacked Ranma.
'No wonder he wanted to leave. Seriously, what's wrong with me?' She thought to herself as Nabiki kept typing away at her computer.
"HELLO AKANE! Happosai shouted as he leapt at Akane. She growled at the dwarf-sized grandmaster and struck out with the hardest punch she could muster.
"LEAVE ME ALONE!" Akane screamed as she struck Happosai hard enough to send him flying. She panted as she calmed down. Or, at least tried to. She felt better, but she was still angry.
"Will you two keep it down." Nabiki said to her little sister and the midget freeloader. "I'm trying to look up some information on that guy I saw at the courthouse who helped Ranma so we can find him and bring him back."
"Psh, who wants that idiot back! I say, good riddance!" Akane said as she crossed her arms. Nabiki shook her head at her little sister.
"Akane, please drop the tsundere act. Out of everyone here, you miss Ranma most of all. After all, who else besides him and grandpa Happosai could survive your rage outs?"
Akane huffed as she tried to deny what her sister was saying.
"That's not true." Happosai said as he appeared behind Akane. "I miss Ranma's big boobs and shapely female figure. If only he didn't run away."
"If I can just find out more about that guy I saw I know I could find Ranma in a heartbeat. But for some reason, I can't seem to find any address no matter how many times I put in his name." Nabiki said as Genma, Soun and Kasumi walked into the room.
"Still no luck?" Kasumi asked. Nabiki looked at her older sister.
"Not a single thing. It's like the man doesn't even exist." She said as she closed her laptop and buried her face in her hands. Soun put a hand on Nabiki's shoulder.
"Nabiki dear, you've been looking for this man for almost two weeks and you haven't even told us the name you where looking for."
"He's right Nabiki." Genma said. "Why don't you tell us the name of this man you're looking for?" Nabiki took a deep breath. It's not like these two would really know who that guy was but hey, at this point, what the heck.
"Well, all I really know is that his name is Koetsuji Akisame."
To the surprise of herself, Akane, Kasumi and Genma, both Soun and Happosai's eyes went as wide as saucers.
"KOETSUJI AKISAME!?" Happosai said. And to everyone's shock, Happosai ran to the door like the devil himself was chasing after him.
"QUICK! We've got to get Ranma back NOW!" He said as he fumbled with the door to the house. Genam and Soun worked together to pull their master away from the door.
"Master! Calm down!" Genma said.
"Look master, I know it's a shock that for Ranma to be in the company of Koetsuji-san, but it's nothing to get all excited about." Soun said. At his words, Nabiki shot up in shock.
"Wait, you mean you actually know the guy?" She said. Soun looked to his three daughters and nodded.
"If he's the same Jiujitsu master I'm thinking about, then I do believe I do." He said. As he did so, Happosai shook free of his two students and jumped into the center of the five people of the household.
"And if it's who I'M thinking of, then if we don't get Ranma back soon then we'll NEVER get that boy back! Not only that, but every minute he stays where I think he is, he becomes an even more powerful and dangerous opponent to that we may never be able to beat!"
That made everyone look at the small master. He looked genuinely scared. And that alone was enough to make them a little worried, especially with him talking about how Ranma might be getting even stronger than he already was.
"What do you mean grandfather Happosai?" Kasumi asked.
"Yes, so Ranma is training with a Jiujitsu master, big deal." Genma said.
"YOU IDIOT!" Happosai said as he jumped up and struck Genma on top of his head as hard as he could.
"If this IS the legendary Koetsuji Akisame I'm thinking of, then it's not just Jiujitsu he's learning." Happosai said in panic.
"And Koetsuji-san is no ordinary Jiujitsu master." Soun added in.
"He is THE Jiujitsu master. Not only is a a grandmaster level fighter of every style of Jiujitsu, but he's also a master of just about all the cultural arts: Music, sculpting, literature, calligraphy, you name it. He's also a world class doctor if I remember right."
Now Nabiki and the other Tendo sisters where really confused. If this guy was so acclaimed, then how come it was so hard for Nabiki to find him? And how come their dad seemed to know so much about him?
"How come you know so much about this guy, daddy?" Nabiki asked.
"Yeah," Akane added in. "And if he's such a master, how come I've never heard of him?"
Soun looked at his daughters and his old friend. He took a deep breath as he sorted through his memories of a man who he had so much respect for.
"It was long ago, back when my dojo was full of students and Nabiki was just a baby, back when your mother was still pregnant with Akane. One day, I bumped into a traveling Jiujitsu master who was also studying medicine and corpocratic studies."
The scene changes to a flashback of Soun's past. A slightly younger Soun is seen walking down the streets of Nerima when he comes across a young Akisame.
"He had heard of me and wanted to test his skills against me. Naturally, I accepted his offer and escorted him to the dojo. We sparred for a bit, and I was amazed by his skill. He was a few years younger than me but his skills rivaled my own. Neither one of us could beat the other, but if the fight had kept going, I'm sure that I would have lost."
Soun almost smiled at the memories of his youth.
"Oh!" Kasumi gasped. "I think I remember that day. That man was such cutie." Nabiki couldn't help but smirk at her sister.
"Had your thing for older men even back then, huh sis?" She said, making Kasumi blushed.
"Anyway," Soun said with a cough. "We stayed in contact for a time, but we lost touch. I always wondered what happened to him."
"I KNOW!" Happosai said, getting the attention of the others.
"And I'll tell you this, Koetsuji Akisame moved into a dojo a few miles from here. One that is home to the most monstrous martial arts masters in the world!" He said. Everyone scratched their heads.
"What do you mean master?" Soun asked. Happosai took a deep breath.
"Ok, listen up. Some time ago, while I was off on one of my, research expeditions,"
"You mean panty raids?" Akane said with a huff. Happosai didn't even flinch from her words as he continued with his story.
"While I was roaming around, I came upon a beautiful blonde girl. I followed her to what looked like a dojo. A dojo named Ryozanpaku. Naturally, I was curious so I snuck in and took a look around. And while I did, I came across the six most insanely powerful and monstrous human beings I have ever seen." He took another deep breath as he remembered his closest brush with death.
"The first one I ran into was a beautiful young woman, but her beauty was only a lure." He said as he pulled away part of his shirt, to reveal a long deep scar. Everyone gasped in genuine shock.
"Grandpa Happosai, what happened?" Akane asked.
"Well, as I tried to get near her, I noticed far too late the blade of a sword slicing right towards me. I only managed to dodge it enough to avoid getting killed, but for the first time in my life, I wasn't fast enough to avoid injury."
"You mean, she actually got you?" Nabiki said in shock. Happosai nodded.
"I'm afraid so. And after that, I fled for my life faster than I ever had in my life. But as I did, I was shocked to see that that ninja she devil was able to keep up with me! As I evaded her, I was confronted by a Chinese man who was also, heh heh, an admirer of the female form."
"Great, another perverted old man." Akane said.
"But," Happosai continued. "It turns out he was not really a fan of intruders in his house and attacked me. His skills in Kung Fu were amazing. I hate to admit it, but in terms of pure skill, I had met my superior in terms of hand to hand. As I tried to make an escape, I ran right into the fists of a Karate master who also called that dojo his home."
Happosai took a minute to rub his face, phantom pain reminding him of the pain of that encounter.
"His skills rivaled the Kung Fu man I mentioned and I knew against the two of them, I had no chance. As I made my escape, I ran into a giant of a man, from the looks of it, he wasn't a native of Japan, but from Thailand. And as I guessed, he was a skilled Muy Thai fighter. As one of his kicks nailed me, it sent me flying into the arms of a Jiujitsu master."
He paused to look at Soun and Nabiki.
"A Jiujitsu master named Koetsuji Akisame." Nabiki's eyes widened as she heard this. Soun on the other hand, was shocked to hear the man he had talked about before had crossed paths with his master.
"So, Akisame-san was with these other fighters you ran into at this dojo?" He asked. Happosai nodded.
"I managed to get away form them, but not without meeting who I could only assume was their ring leader. A man I was so afraid of, I literally ran through the walls of that dojo just so that I could get away." Happosai took a breath.
"Now, allow me to explain just who those people at that dojo are, and why it's a bad idea to leave Ranma with them. First, is the woman who gave me this scar. Her name is Kosaka Shigure, the undisputed master of all weapons. She is the heiress of what is called the Kosaka style of Ninjutsu, but from what I could uncover, she focuses on the weapons version of the style."
"The next is Ma Kensei, the master of all forms of Chinese Kenpo. A man who's skill in the martial arts was all it took for him to defeat the entirety of the Chinese Mafia. He was even said to be the leader of a group of martial artists called the Phenix Society, But it was said he left for unknown reasons and hasn't been seen since. Only now I know where he is."
"The third member was a man named Sakiki Shiho, master of all forms of Karate. He's also known as the 100 dan street fighter, and he has the scars all over his body to prove it. It's even been said that he's so dangerous that even the Yakuza won't even go near him. And believe me, he has more than earned his title as the greatest street fighter in Japan."
"*Gasp* I know that man!" Soun gasped.
"You do?" Happosai and Genma asked him. Soun nodded his head.
"He was another young martial artist I met during the days when my dojo was at its' peak. He showed up and challenged me to a duel. I accepted and we fought. His skills in martial arts surpassed even mine. I lost, but we laughed and drank afterwards. We kept in touch for a while, but after my wife died I just lost touch with him."
"I see." Happosai said. "I must admit, I am surprised that you know two of those masters in that den of demons."
"Still, I can hardly believe I'd actually hear about those two after all these years. And to think that they'd be living in the same place together." Soun said. Nabiki stroked her chin at what she was hearing.
"So, what about these other martial artists you mentioned?" She asked. Happosai cleared his throat as he prepared to continue.
"Well, to continue where I left off, there's the one that you're already familiar with, Koetsuji Akisame, the master of all cultural arts and of all forms of Jiujitsu. His master of the martial and cultural arts is rivaled only by his knowledge of the healing arts. I've once heard that using only his hands, he managed to bring someone back form the brink of death, without any form of surgery."
'Wow.' Akane thought. 'It sounds like this guy might be an even better doctor than doctor Tofu.'
"And what about this Muy Thai giant you talked about?" Kasumi asked.
"He took a little more time to get info on. His name is Hopachai Apachai. And form what I've heard, he's known as the death god of the Muy Thai underworld. He's been fighting since he was no more than a toddler, and through the years, he battled and defeated many fighters that had years more experience than he did. It's been said that he has no ability to hold back his power, causing almost no one to last more that a few seconds with him."
This caused everyone to gulp. Someone who couldn't hold back their power? Someone who has been beating warriors older and of a higher skill than himself since he was child? They could only imagine what kind of monster this Hopachai Apachai was in person.
"Well, that's 5 masters, who's the sixth you mentioned before?" Kasumi asked. Happosai tried to calm himself down as he prepared to drop the biggest bombshell.
"The ring leader of that dojo, and whom I am almost 100% positive is the grandfather of the blonde girl I followed...is Furinji Hayato."
And upon hearing that...Genma and Happosai both gasped and started acting like they had just seen the scariest ghost in the world.
"F-F-F-Furinji...!" Soun started.
"H-H-Hayato!" Genma finished. They screamed as they fell to the ground. The Tendo girls all looked at the two fathers who looked like they were about to have a heart attack from pure fright.
"Um, who the heck is Furinji Hayato?" Akane asked. Soun and Genma got to their feet.
"Furinji Hayato is the ONE person Ranma must NEVER TRAIN WITH!" Happosai screamed at the girl, causing her to shrink back. Genma took over, his voice filled with fear.
"Furinji Hayato is a martial artist who literally has no equal. No one knows much about his past, but there are some stories that say he may be even older than master Happosai. He is known as the founder of a self made style of ancient mixed martial arts called Furinji Ryu. A style that many martial artists throughout the world have risked their lives to learn."
"It's been said that this style is filled with techniques that could boost a person's martial arts skills to insanely inhuman new heights. And to top it off, the Furinji style is also said to possess what has come to be known as 'The Legendary 108 Techniques'."
"Legendary 108 Techniques?" Akane asked.
"They're a list of powerful techniques that Hayato has either created or learned over his long life. Learning just one of these techniques has been the dream of many martial artists. But in all the years that Furinji Hayato has been alive, it's been said that he has never taken a single disciple except for his own family."
"Wait, this guy never takes any students?" Nabiki asked, not really believing the hype that these three old men where spewing about some guy she's never heard of.
"No he hasn't." Happosai said. "The few times I've met him, I tried to learn one of his techniques, only for him to bat me aside like a fly! Even at the height of my strength, I could never defeat him. In fact, to my knowledge, no one has EVER beaten this man. And I believe it. I wasn't even able to get him to use HALF of his power against me."
"EH!?" The Tendo girls all gasped.
"You're kidding." Akane said. Happosai shook his head.
"I'm afraid not." He said. "And with all that I've said, I'm sure now you can understand why we can not allow Ranma to stay at that dojo."
"You're afraid he'll get even stronger?" Nabiki said with a smirk, only to get hit HARD on the head by Happosai.
"YES!" Happosai shouted. "You just don't get it do you!? If Ranma's at that dojo full of monsters, then he's bound to train with at least one or worse of all, ALL of them! Just one of them could make Ranma around grandmaster level in terms of power and skill, but knowing him, he'll want to train with ALL OF THEM!"
While Nabiki nursed her sore head, Akane, Genma and Soun all started to think of the possibilities of what could happen if Ranma did train with all those masters. Ranma was skilled and powerful already. He already caused the destruction of a mountain and managed to beat a person who by all accounts should have been able to kill him.
Not only that, but he managed to outwit all of Nerima during his big escape. The very idea that someone of his level, training with 5 masters that Happosai was actually scared of...the image of a Ranma covered in an aura of pure power and looking like a demon from hell. This caused them all to shiver. He really was NEVER coming back with the prospect of such training right in front of him.
"But what really makes me scared," Happosai continued. "Is the unlikely scenario of what if Ranma manages to catch the eye of Furinji Hayato." That got the two fathers to drop dead.
"I-I-If he DOES train with the Invincible Superman of Martial Arts..." Soun started.
"Then he may become INCINCIBLE!" Genma said.
"Oh my." Kasumi said. "So, do you think Ranma may have a chance at getting this Hayato person to train him?"
"I HOPE NOT!" Happosai said. "We must find a way to get Ranma out of that place so that, that doesn't happen!"
They all started thinking. And in all honesty, no one really had any idea on how to drag Ranma away from the prospect of training with masters such as this. But of course, Nabiki wasn't worried. She had an idea. And it was easy, she would just play on Ranma's feelings for Akane. There was no way he could say no to her after so much time apart.
"Excuse me." She said. "If I may make a suggestion? I think the answer is obvious, you mentioned that you followed some blonde girl into the dojo right?" Happosai nodded.
"Yes, I'm sure she must be Hayato's granddaughter. The resemblance is absolutely uncanny.""
"So," Nabiki continued. "Why don't we send Akane over there to get Ranma back? It's simple, have her go over there, challenge the heiress of the dojo to a duel, and once Ranma sees Akane win, he'll come back to the dojo on his hands and knees willingly."
"Good thinking Nabiki!" Soun said, pounding his fist into his open hand. Genma jumped in right after him.
"That a girl! Once Ranma sees Akane mop the floor with this supposed granddaughter of Hayato's, I'm sure Ranma will see that the Anything Goes school is the only one for him. HA HA HA!" They both laughed. Happosai shook his head at his two disciples.
"Eh...Why should I go and get Ranma? If he wants to go train somewhere else then I say let him!" Akane said, crossing her arms.
"So then, you wouldn't mind if one of the other fiancés or maybe this blonde heiress to claim Ranma for themselves?" Nabiki asked. That one got Akane right in the nerves.
"Eh...FINE! But I'm only doing this for you people!" She said as she got up...only to sit back down.
"Um, does anyone know where this Ryozanpaku dojo is?" She asked. Happosai walked up to her.
"I do. And as the founder of the Musubetsu Kakuto Ryu, I forbid you from going to Ryozanpaku." He said. Akane was shocked, then got angry.
"WHY!? Give me one good reason why I shouldn't go!" She shot back at the midget grandmaster.
"Because if you did go and face that girl, I have no doubt that you would lose." He said with a serious face and voice. Akane looked spell bound. Happosai thought she would lose? Her? The heiress of the Tendo Musubetsu Kakuto Ryu? She was just as good as Ranma or any of his stupid whores! And she was going to prove it.
"DON'T TREAT ME LIKE I'M WEAK!" She screamed. "I can take on what ever that fake blonde bitch can throw at me! And I'll prove it! Just let me know where this stupid place is and I'll DRAG Ranma back here!"
Happosai shook his head. Soun had spoiled this girl too much. Even after seeing what Ranma could do and the enemies that he's fought, she still thought she could hang with the big boys. Maybe this would be a good opportunity to open her eyes. He knew he would regret this, especially since he liked the girl a lot. Oh well, time for some tough love.
"Fine." He said as he drew up a map to Ryozanpaku. "Here's where the dojo is. Just go there, get Ranma and then get out. Trust me, the less time you spend there the better."
Akane took the map and headed out the door, muttering all the way out the door. While Genma and Tendo were laughing and prematurely celebrating what they thought would be a sure victory of getting Ranma back, Happosai went over to talk to Nabiki.
"I'm very disappointed in you Nabiki. Why would you convince your sister to go to a place where she's sure to get her ass handed to her while hyping her up to think that she'll be able to win against someone trained by someone even I'M afraid of?"
Nabiki didn't even look concerned as she regarded the small genome.
"Look Happy, maybe Akane can't win, but it really doesn't matter. All she has to do is show up, talk to Ranma, and even if she does lose, Ranma will remember his feelings for her and step in to save her. And after they have a heart to heart, he'll leave that dojo and come running back here like he always does. Easy peasy."
Happosai shook his head at the heartless woman in front of him.
"You really have no soul at all, do you?" He asked. Nabiki didn't even flinch.
"Nope. Not a one."
Akane got off the bus and marched on her way to the Ryozanpaku dojo, steam fuming out of her ears. She looked at the map that Happosai gave her and marched off. She was ssssoooooo going to beat Ranma to within an inch of his life. She was so wrapped up in her musings that she didn't even notice the small person in front of her until she bumped right into her.
"WAHH!"
"YEAH!"
Came the voices of the two young girls as they collided with each other and fell to the ground. Akane rubbed her butt and was about to yell at whoever she collided with, until she saw that it was a young girl, no more than a kid, who she bumped into.
"Oh! I'm sorry!" Akane said, her anger forgotten. She helped the young girl up and and dusted her off. The young girl with wild brown hair glared at Akane.
"HEY! Watch where you're going lady!" She said. Akane almost jumped back at hearing the girl scream at her like that.
'Sheesh! I said I was sorry.' Akane thought to herself.
"Look, I'm really sorry about that. I wasn't watching where I was going. I was trying to find some dumb dojo and I got lost in my thoughts." That got the young girls attention.
"Dumb dojo? You wouldn't happen to mean Ryozanpaku, would you?" She asked. Now it was Akane's turn to look shocked.
"Yeah. That's the place I was looking for. Do you know where it is?" She asked. The young girl looked at Akane with a questioning glare.
"Why? What's your interest in going there?" She asked. Akane looked a little sad, not really knowing how best to explain the situation.
"Um, let's just say that someone I know is supposed to be training there and I wanted to see him, that's all." She answered. For some odd reason, this seemed to make the young girl mad.
"Don't tell me you're going after my brother too!?" She said, pulling out a Piko-Piko hammer and trying to strike at her head with it. Akane was very confused at this point. But also, a small part of her was feeling a weird feeling of déjà vu.
'Um, this isn't how I treat Ranma is it? And please tell me that this isn't how other people see me!' Akane thought to herself.
"Um, I really don't know who your brother is. I came here looking for a guy with long black hair in a braid named Ranma." She said. This got the young girls' attention as she stopped her assault.
"Huh? Ranma?" She asked. "Never heard of him. But as long as you're not after my big brother I guess I'm ok with it." She said as she put away her hammer and held out her hand.
"My name's Honoka. Shirahama Honoka. What's your name?" She aksed with a smile on her face. This got Akane to smile as she shook hands with the little girl.
"My name's Tendo Akane. Nice to meet you Honoka-chan."
After that, they took off for the dojo. When they arrived, Akane's mouth fell to the ground. The front door of the dojo was HUMONGUS!
"How are we supposed to open that!?" Akane exclaimed in shock. Honoka was wondering the same thing. She looked around and saw an answer.
"Hey, I've got an idea."
Akane looked to where Honoka was looking and saw a bike by a post. Akane had a idea what Honoka was thinking.
"Ok, but let me go up first and I'll pull you up." She said.
"OK!" Honoka replied.
Once Akane had gotten up onto the ledge of the gate, she pulled Honoka up and they both looked at the inside of the compound, only to be met with the gaze of Apachai. All three of them stared at each other for a few seconds...before all three of them screamed at the same time.
"AAAHHHH!" Cried both girls.
"AAAAHHH!" Cried Apachai.
Akane and Honoka jumped back to the ground as they ran behind the post they saw before. They panted for breath, both scared to death of what they had just saw.
"What was that?" Honoka asked the older girl. Akane shook her head.
"I don't know." She said. They both heard the sound of the gate opening and turned to see what was going on.
Apachai peeked out the crack in the gate, looking for whoever he saw a moment ago. He didn't see anyone and just ducked away. Akane and Honoka narrowed their eyes, seeing that with the gate open, they now had an entrance.
"Come on Honoka." Akane said as they lead the way. Honoka nodded.
"I'm right behind ya."
They managed to slip through the opened gate and looked around. Seeing no sign of the strange giant or the either of the boys that they were looking for, the two of them started walking around. But as they did, they bumped into something hard.
"Ow! What the!?" Akane said as they looked up expecting to see another post of poll or something, only to see the very tanned giant they had seen before. Only now they could see just how big the man was. He turned to them.
"Hello! My name's Apachai!" He said with a big smile on his face. And the two young girls...both screamed again.
"HONOKA! RUN!" Akane cried as the two of them took off.
Both girls screamed as Honoka took a few snacks from her backpack and threw them at the Thai giant.
"Run!" The young girl screamed as the two of them ran in the opposite direction. They kept running only for Apachai to appear in front of them once again.
"Hello again!" He said with his big smile. The girls screamed again as Honoka once again threw snacks at the giant man. They ran again, only to once more be cornered by Apachai once again.
"Me again!"
"AAAAAHHHHHHH!" The two screamed once again. Honoka was about to throw more snacks at Apachai, only to realize that all she had left was the bento her mom had made for Kenichi and said boy's favorite cheesy fish sticks.
"Oh no! All I have left are mom's bento and my brother's favorite cheesy fish sticks! I have to protect these with my life, no matter what!"
Akane, seeing this, took a deap breath and stood in between Honoka and Apachai.
"Stand back Honoka!" She said as she charged at the tanned giant.
"HEIYAH!" She screamed as she threw a strong punch at Apachai...only to feel like she had just punched a reinforced brick wall.
"Aaaaaaaaaaawwwwwwwww..." She said as she cradled her hand. It almost felt like she broke something.
"Oh, are you ok?" Apachai asked in concern. Akane looked back at the giant and threw out a kick, only to have the same result.
"OW ow ow ow!" She said, hoping on one leg. Now Apachai was really concerned.
"That looked like it hurt. And why you try to hit Apachai?" The giant man asked the girl who was hoping around on her other leg. Akane glared at Apachai and tried to attack him again. But he just caught every punch in the palm of his hand, his confused expression never leaving his face.
"Wow, you're angrier than Sakaki." He said. Akane stopped her assault and began panting for breath. As this was going on, Honoka tried running to the gate around the compound and tried to climb up it in order to escape. Unfortunately, one of the tiles came loose and she screamed as she started to fall. Akane and Apachai looked back and saw the young girl falling.
"HONOKA!" Akane cried as she ran back to try and catch the girl. But as she did, a blur rushed past her and caught Honoka in his arms.
Akane stopped dead in her tracks. The giant of a man that she and Honoka had been scared of had just saved the younger girls life. Apachai lifted Honoka up and placed her on top of the gate once again.
"Are you ok little girl who looks like Kenichi?" He asked her. Honoka looked back at the giant man.
"You...saved me." She said. Apachai smiled at the young girl.
"Of course! Apachai no want little girl to get hurt. But why you throw stuff at Apachai and why did the angry girl try to hurt Apachai?" He asked. Honoka smiled at the gentle giant.
"I'm guessing your name is Apachai huh?" She asked.
"Apa! That's right. Me Hopochai Apachai! This place is my home! If you wanted in, all you had to do was ask."
As this exchange was going on, Akane couldn't help but feel her blood turn to cold water. This tanned giant was one of the masters that Happosai had told her about. The Shinigami of the Muy Thai underworld. She had hit him dead on with some of her strongest attacks...and all that happened was that she was the only one who got hurt.
This man had taken the hits that usually sent Ranma and Happosai flying like they were nothing and then had moved to save Honoka in the blink of an eye. And now the two of them were having a normal conversation. Was this really the monster of Muy Thai that she was warned about? He seemed so nice. She walked up to the man as he took Honoka in his arms again and placed her on his shoulders.
"Um, Mr. Apachai?" She started to say. "I'm...I'm sorry about before. I thought that you were someone who was going to hurt me and Honoka."
"Apa? Why would I do that?" He asked. "Apachai no like hurting people. Apachai is a good person."
Akane couldn't help but giggle a little at his childish way of speaking. He really didn't seem like the monster Happosai had spoke of, but she could tell that if she had really fought him...she'd be dead.
"Um, anyway..." She started to say before Honoka cut her off.
"Say Apachai, where's my brother Kenichi? I came her to check up on him." She said. Apachai looked up to the girl on his shoulders.
"Kenichi went to do some shopping with Miu. He should be back soon, I think." He said.
"Um," Akane started again. "If it's not too much to ask, is there someone named Saotome Ranma at this dojo?"
Apachai looked at the bob haired girl.
"Yes. Ranma-chan is probably training somewhere right now. He's way more into training than Kenichi is."
That didn't surprise Akane at all. At least she knew Ranma was here. But now she was starting to wonder if she really could convince him to come back to the Tendo dojo if all the masters he was training with were as monstrous as this man.
"Um, do you think I could see him?" She asked. Apachai smiled.
"I think so. Come on, Apachai show you around." And with that, Apachai started walking around, trying to start up another conversation with the two girls.
"You know, I thought that all the people here at Ryozanpaku were real scary monsters, but you seem real nice." Honoka said.
"Sakaki likes to drink, but he's a good person. Kensei likes bikini and underwear pictures, but he's a good person." Apachai said. Akane shook her head.
'If he's like Happosai I highly doubt it.' She thought as Apachai continued.
"Akisame likes a lot of confusing things, but he's a good person. Shigure likes to play with weapons, but she's a good person. The elder likes to keep to himself, but he's a good person."
Akane was in deep thought. It sounded like these people were nice, if Apachai said so, but she wouldn't be sure until she saw for herself. She couldn't help but ask about Ranma, she wanted to hear what the gentle giant thought about that bag of trouble.
"So, what about Ranma? What's your opinion of him?" She asked. Apachai looked at the girl.
"Are you a friend of Ranma-chan's?" He asked. Akane took a moment to think about that. She wasn't sure what Ranma had told this man of her so she decided to play it safe.
"Um, yeah. We're sort of friends. I'm just worried about him, that's all. I haven't seen him in a while." She said. Apachai smiled at the girl.
"Then you're a good person too!" He said, then looked back in front of him.
"Ranma-chan has been through a lot. He told us his life had been full of trouble and bad people. But Apachai can tell, Ranma-chan is a good person. He always smiling and asking everyone to train him. He not like Kenichi, he always want to run from training, but Kenichi is a good person too!"
Akane smiled. It sounded like Ranma hadn't changed a bit. But what version of his life story did he tell them? Sure there were some bad times but his time in Nerima wasn't THAT bad...right? As she thought this and followed Apachai, none of them noticed part of a tree peeling away to reveal Shigure, watching them with a questioning look on her face.
Later, the three of them were inside the house, looking to see if Kenichi or Miu were here or if Ranma was around. But sadly, none of the three in question where there. Akane pouted.
"Typical. Ranma's never around when you need him."
"Chill Akane." Honoka said. "He's got to be around here somewhere."
But as she said this, Apachai gained a questioning look on his face. That name sounded oddly familiar. Why was that?
"Apa? Why does the name sound familiar?" He asked out loud. Akane looked back at him.
"Huh? My name?" She asked. But as she asked, a couple shuriken whizzed past her and embedded themselves into the wall behind her.
"AAHH!" She screamed. She looked to the shuriken and then to where they came from, only to find a buxom woman dressed like a ninja with a nodachi on her back glaring daggers at her. Akane stared at the woman, then her rack, then her own...and dropped her head.
'Why does the universe seem to hate me?' She asked. Then she dodged another volley of shuriken thrown at her by the ninja woman.
"HEY!" She cried.
"Are you...Tendo...Akane?" She asked. Now Akane was starting to get a little worried.
"Ummmm...yes?" She said...then rna for her life as the ninja woman started swinging her sword at her. She ran, only to run into Apachai, his smile gone, replaced by a mask of pure hate.
"YOU'RE THE MEAN GIRL WHO ALWAYS HURT RANMA-CHAN! YOU NOT A GOOD PERSON!" He cried as he started attacking the girl. She screamed and ran as fast as she could. Whatever Ranma had told them about her, it was enough to make them hate her guts.
Honoka was very confused. Apachai had just said that Akane was a good person and now he was saying she was a bad person? And who was this 'Ranma' guy anyway? And just what had he told him and the ninja woman about that girl? And most of all...WHY DID THAT OTHER WOMAN HAVE TO BE AS BIG IN THE CHEST AS THAT BLONDE GIRL!?
Honoka was determined to find out what was going on, so she took off after the others. But as she turned a corner, she ran headfirst into something. Two somethings, that were very soft.
"Hey, what the heck!? Watch where you're going!" Came a female voice. Honoka pulled herself out of the breasts she had found herself in, and found a beautiful looking red-head in a karate uniform glaring at her.
"HUH!?" Honoka said as she looked at the red-haired woman, then to her breasts that, while not as big as Miu's, where definitely as big as the ninja woman's.
'Oh man! Why does every woman around here have to have huge water balloons for breasts!?' She thought to herself. As she thought this, the red head lost her glare as she took a closer look at the little kid who had literally bumped into her.
"Hey, you know, now that I think about it, you look like a midget version of Kenichi but as a girl." She said. Now it was Honoka's turn to growl at the bust woman.
"HEY! I'm not a midget! And just who the heck are you lady!? You better not be after my brother like that blonde bimbo, or I swear you'll be sorry!" She said in a threatening tone.
"Blonde bimbo? Wait, do you mean Miu?" The red head said. Then she started laughing.
"Oh wait, now I know who you are! You're Kenichi's sister Honoka, right? He and Miu told me about you. And Miu was right, you are kind of cute." She said, patting Honoka on her head. The woman then went into the kitchen and went for the sink. Honoka growled again.
"HEY! Don't turn your back on me you...you...you...huh?" Honoka's tirade was cut short as the busty red head splashed herself with hot water...and turned into a taller, black haired, blue eyed boy.
"Trust me kid, I have NO intentions on your brother." Said Ranma with a smirk. And he couldn't help but chuckle as Honoka stared at him.
Ranma pulled her aside and told her about his curse. Honoka was stunned.
"Wait. So, you have an actual curse? Like, actual magic and stuff?" She asked the boy, who introduced himself as Ranma. Ranma nodded.
"Yep. And believe me, it sucks. One splash of cold water and I'm a busty red head. But one splash of warm water and I'm back to being my good ol' handsome self again." He said smiling. Honoka was stunned. But then she thought about something.
"Say Ranma, do you know someone named Akane?" She asked. Ranma's smile dropped.
"Yeah? Why?" He asked, only to get his answer when he heard a very familiar scream. He and Honoka ran to the door and saw Apachai and Shigure attacking Akane. Ranma's mouth hung open slightly.
"What is SHE doing here?" He asked. Honoka shrugged.
"I don't know. I just bumped into her on my way over here. And when Apachai and the ninja lady found out her name they started attacking her."
Ranma face palmed as he let out a long sigh. Akane looked over to where he was and made a very fatal mistake...she slowed down.
"Ranma..." Was all she got out before she was nailed in the head by Apachai's punch. Seeing Akane being nocked into a wall, Honoka gasped and Ranma...busted out laughing.
"Take that you bad person! APA!" Apachai said as Shigure went over to check on the unconscious girl.
"She's...alive." She said. "Should I...finish...her?" She asked, readying her sword, only for Ranma to grab her arm.
"SHIGURE! NO!" He said. She looked at Ranma, her face showing no emotion.
"But she's...your enemy...right?" She asked.
"I don't like her, no, but that doesn't mean you can just kill her!" Ranma said.
"I wasn't...going to." Shigure said standing up. "I was...just going...to...kick her out."
Ranma sighed as he listened to the ninja girl. Apachai walked up to the two of them, a worried look on his face.
"Ranma-chan? Did Apachai go to far?" He asked. Ranma looked at the guy and smiled.
"No man. Trust me, she had this coming for a looonnnnggggg time."
"Who had what coming for a long time?" Came the voice of Akisame as he came into the room. He looked down at the unconscious girl and soon started to put the pieces together.
"Oh." He said.
After explaining to him what happened, and to Honoka about Ranma and Akane's past with each other, Ranma and Akisame took Akane to the clinic out back while Apachai and Shigure tried to make tea for Honoka. Key word being tried.
Akisame looked over Akane after he and Ranma but her on a bed. Luckily, it looked like Apachai had managed to hold back most of his power and not severely hurt her. But after that was done, he remembered a conversation he had with Hayato a few nights ago, and did a more thorough check on the girl and noticed something odd.
"Ranma," The Jiujitsu master said to his young student and friend. "What do you know about ki pathways?"
Ranma looked back at his master.
"I know enough to know that it's the pathways that let our life force energy flow through us and allows us to use our ki for a bunch of different stuff." He said.
"And do you know that there are ways to affect those ki pathways? Like say to, disrupt them or cut them off completely?" Said the older man. Ranma arched an eyebrow.
"Yeah, why?" He asked. Akisame turned to face the younger man.
"I did a check on Akane's ki pathways and noticed something strange." He said. Ranma leaned forward, suddenly interested.
"What?" He asked.
"It seems that certain parts of Akane's ki pathways have been completely locked." The white eyed man said.
"What? Blocked?" Ranma said with wide eyes. Akisame nodded.
"But what's strange is that, the parts of her ki pathways that are blocked are the parts that focus on filtering her ki." He said. Ranma tilted his head.
"Filter?" He asked. Akisame took a deep breath and continued.
"Yes. There are certain parts of a person's ki path ways, the chakra points, that help t filter a person's ki. You know how sometimes you feel angry at someone for a time and after a few minutes that feeling of anger fades away?"
Ranma nodded.
"Well, the parts of Akane's chakras that are part of helping her manage those emotions are blocked. But what's even stranger is that they are blocked in a way that keeps her from filtering out her anger."
That made Ranma's eyes go wide.
"Wait, so, you're saying that Akane literally can't stop being mad because someone messed up her chakras so that she she'd stay that way?" He asked. Akisame nodded.
"But...doc Tofu's been looking after her for years, surely he would have noticed this, right?" He asked. Akisame shook his head.
"Not to knock on Tofu's skills as a doctor, but this has been done in such a way in that only someone with a very precise knowledge of ki in order to notice it."
Ranma looked back at his former fiancé. Suddenly, he felt very sorry for the girl. He looked back at Akisame.
"Is there anything you can do for her sensei? Can't you, you know...unblock her chakras or something?"
Akisame stroked his chin as he thought for a moment.
"It might be possible." He said. "But I'll need Kensei's and Hayato's help to do so."
He paused as he heard Kenichi's voice coming from outside. A small smile graced his lips.
"Why don't you go train with Kenichi and Miu for a bit while I go talk to the others about our guest here? Trust me, between the three of us, I'm sure we can fix whatever's happened to your friend here."
Ranma looked between Akisame and Akane, then nodded his head.
"Ok." He said with a small smile of his own.
He got up and headed out to see his two friends, laughing slightly as he saw Kenichi be on the receiving end of a big bear hug by his little sister. Ranma shook his head at the sight, in a small way, he was kind of jealous. He was about to say something to them, but his thoughts were cut off when he saw Miu hug Honoka straight into her boobs.
'Man, is it wrong that I feel a little jealous of Honoka right now?' Was the shared thought that went through both Ranma and Kenichi's minds.
After everything was said and done, Kenichi started training with Apachai while Akisame had his talk with Kensei and Hayato.
"Say Ranma?" Miu said to the pigtailed boy. "Since Apachai's busy with Kenichi, would you mind sparring with me?"
Ranma smiled at the blonde girl and nodded.
"Sure." He said, tightening his belt.
After some time had passed, Akane slowly started to open her eyes.
"What happened?" She asked as she looked around. She noticed that she was in a room she didn't recognize. She slowly got up, feeling pain wash over her. She shook her head as her memories of what happened. The dojo, the ninja girl, the tanned giant, Ranma...
"Ranma!" Akane shouted as she rushed to the door. She stumbled a bit but got back to her feet and walked out the door, only to hear the sounds of people training. She looked around a corner, she saw a boy that looked similar to Honoka training with the very same gentle giant that had knocked her out. Then she saw the giant knock him down.
'That must be Honoka's brother. Man, do I feel sorry for him.' She thought to herself. Then she heard what sounded like Ranma's voice mixed with that of a girl's. She followed the sound of the voices and saw Ranma, sparring with a VERY busty and curvaceous blonde girl in a white gi top over a skintight purple outfit.
"ACK!" She said in a quite shout. Then she saw Ranma trip the curvy girl up and pin her to the ground, trapping her right arm in a triangle lock.
"Got cha!" He said, grinning at his downed opponent. Miu giggled, it had been a while since anyone besides the masters had been able to take her down.
"(Giggle) Yep, you got me." She then narrowed her eyes and smirked playfully at him. "Now what are you going to do to me?"
Ranma blushed and hesitated a little bit. But before he could say anything, or Miu could try to pull a reversal, they heard the angry shout of a pissed off woman.
"RANMA NO HENTAI!" Akane shouted as she charged at the two of them, an aura of hatred and rage coming off her body like an inferno. Ranma and Miu turned towards the sound, only to see Akane get tied up by Shigure's chain sickle.
"Akane! You're up already?" Ranma asked as he got off of Miu and helped her up.
"LET ME GO YOU STUPID NINJA SLUT! LET GOOOOOO!" Akane screamed at the top of her lungs as she struggled to get out of Shigure's grasp.
"How...about...hell no." She replied in her usual tone, although everyone who knew her could tell she was slightly pissed off at being called a slut.
"Akane, calm down?" Ranma said to his ex-fiancé. She glared at him and growled.
"Don't tell me to calm down you stupid womanizer!" She screamed as she lunged at him, only for Shigure to wrap her chain around the girl's neck. Akane choked as the chain tightened around her throat.
"SHIGURE! CUT IT OUT!" Ranma, Miu and Kenichi said as Akane started turning blue. Shigure hmphed and let the angry girl go.
Akane coughed as she tried to get the air back into her lungs. She looked up at Ranma, only to have her gaze fall on Miu's G-cup breasts. She looked back at her own small breasts...and dropped her head.
'Life's not fair.' She thought to herself. Miu, Kenichi and the others all looked at Akane as she wallowed in self pity.
"Wait, so this is the ex-finance you were telling us about Ranma?" Kenichi asked. Ranma nodded.
"Yep." He answered.
"She doesn't look ugly to me." Kenichi said.
"Me neither." Miu said. Akane shout up in fury.
"UGLY!" She said as she got up and glared at Ranma.
"YOU TOLD THEM I WAS UGLY!?" She screamed. Ranma didn't even flinch.
"I never said you were ugly! All I said was that you were a very UNCUTE GORILLA!" Ranma shouted back as he returned her glare.
"I can't believe I actually was worried about you, you stupid jerk! Here you are, spreading bogus rumors about me, and fooling around with some silicone infused Barbie doll bimbo!?" She ranted. But that last part made Miu start to see red.
"S-s-silicone...Barbie doll?" She said, her eyes twitching and a dark pink aura forming around her body.
"See, this is what I always meant by 'uncute'." Ranma shot back at Akane. "I was always talking about your personality! It's as bad as a gorilla on steroids!"
The two of them glared at each other, making even Apachai feel the need to hind behind Honoka, who was hiding behind Sakaki.
"(Whistle) I don't know who's going to kill that hot headed girl first, Ranma or Miu?" Sakaki said as he took another swig of his beer. Akisame shook his head.
"This is what I meant, the slightest thing seems to set her off."
"I agree." Hayato said, crushing a wooden post with his hand after hearing what Akane said about his granddaughter.
"I told Ranma that his ex-fiancé had a problem with letting her anger infused ki take control of her actions, but I had no idea that it was this bad."
"LOOK!" Akane said, grabbing Ranma by the collar. "Just stop messing around with your newest bimbo and come home to the dojo right now!"
Ranma glared at her, so much that Akane actually started to feel fear. He grabbed her wrist and twisted it until she screamed in pain, then, to her surprise, Ranma punched her...HARD. She went flying straight across the dojo.
"I'm not going with you, anywhere." Ranma said, steel in his voice sharp enough to cut concrete. Akane coughed as she got up, rubbing the spot where Ranma struck her. She couldn't remember if Ranma had ever hit her before, but boy did he hit like a sledgehammer.
"What?" She asked, half angry and half confused.
"I said, go. To. Hell." He said. Akane got up and glared at Ranma as she stomped back over to him.
"WHAT!?" She screamed.
"I said, go back to hell and leave me alone Akane." Ranna said as he turned on his heels and walked away from the girl. Akane growled again.
"What!? So you can 'spar' with Milk Jugs over there!?" Ranma turned back to her and slapped her across the face so loud you could hear it all the way to Nerima. Akane lost most of her anger from the shock as she looked at the pure rage on Ranma's face.
"Look here you pampered little piece of CRAP!" He shouted with such force that Miu actually hid behind her grandfather with Kenichi in tow.
"I'm NOT going back to that HELLHOLE you call a home. I left for a damn good reason, that place was nothing but Hell on Earth and I got sick and tired of it! I left so that I could make my own way in the world and grow as a person! Something you don't know anything about! I found people that actually care about me and want to help me and that's way more than Nerima ever gave me."
Akane was on the verge of tears. This wasn't how this was supposed to go. Ranma had never stood up to her like this. This didn't even feel like their other arguments, this actually felt like something straight from a very bad break up. How was she the bad guy here? Everything was Ranma's fault. Wasn't it? Life in Nerima wasn't that bad right...right?
Anger. She needed to get angry. That always made her feel better, it was always there for her. If she got angry enough, she could beat Ranma down and drag him back. She was a martial artist too after all. And her anger made her stronger, she could take Ranma and that stacked blonde.
"Oh...OH YEAH!" She said, her anger coming back. "I bet the only reason you came here was just to womanize those two girls over there! Hell, I could take that blonde skank down with one hand behind my back!"
That made a very evil grin spread across Ranma's face.
"Is that so?" He said. "Well then you uncute sexless gorilla, I'll tell you what, I'll make you a deal. If you can beat Miu over there in a fight, then I'll come back with you to the dojo in Nerima. No strings, no complaints. Deal?"
Anger filled Akane so much that she didn't even hesitate.
"DEAL!" She screamed. "COME ON SLUT TITS! LET'S GET THIS SHIT OVER WITH!"
That did it...Miu and her grandfather were both seeing murder in their line of vision. Miu got in front of Akane and took up her stance.
"She's dead." Sakaki said.
"Yep." Akisame agreed.
"MIU! Beat the mean, bad, angry girl!" Apachai shouted to his friend.
"Such a shame. Youth and potential beauty wasted on someone who can't keep her mouth shut." Kensie said.
"...Good...riddance." Was all Shigure said. Ranam and Kenichi stood by the elder as Ranma just kept smiling like the cat that caught the canary.
"Anyone got a camera to record this moment?" Ranma asked. Everyone looked at Kensei, who looked from his left to his right. He sighed, then opened his coat to reveal a bunch of cameras.
"Which would you like? Photo or video?" He asked.
"Video." Ranma said. Kensei took one and gave it to Ranma who started it up. Kenichi tilted his head.
"Um, what's that for Ranma?" He asked.
"To record this moment for posterity." Ranma said with an evil grin on his face.
Miu glared at Akane who looked like she was a bomb about ready to explode. Akane channeled her rage, letting it fuel her strength. She could beat this no talent bimbo. But deep down, part of her was thinking this was wrong. Ranma was mad at her, and she knew he had a good reason for it, but she just couldn't stand to be in the wrong. After she won this fight, Ranma would see that she was the real deal and that he needed to come home!
"Alright...BEGIN!" Akisame said as he held up his hand.
But before Akane could take two steps, Miu was already in front of her, throwing a rapid barrage of punches and kicks at such speeds that it looked like she had multiple arms and legs.
'What!?' Was all Akane had time to think before she was pummeled to death by a VERY angry blonde. After a few seconds of being a human punching bag, Akane fell to the ground, unconscious.
"Miu wins." Was the unanimous cry of the masters, Kenichi and Ranma. Honoka however...jsut stood there with her mouth hanging open in shock. Ranma took a look over to the sack-jawed girl and used his free hand to close her mouth.
"AND DON'T YOU DARE CALL ME A BARBIE DOLL BIMBO YOU BRAT! MY NAME IS NOT SLUT TITS! BIMBO! OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT! MY NAME IS FURINJI MIU! GET! IT! RIGHT!" Miu screamed at the unconscious girl.
Ranma laughed as he fell to the floor, holding his sides. Kenichi just clapped his hands together and prayed for the poor girl. Miu took a deep breath and calmed down, then she panicked.
"AAAHHH!" She screamed as she rushed over to the downed girl. "Oh my gosh! I went to far! I didn't kill her did I!?"
Akisame walked up to them and picked the girl up in his arms.
"No, you didn't kill her. But now, it's time to take her back to the clinic. Kensie, Hayato, let's go."
The other two masters nodded.
"Yes, I agree. It seems this girl is way worse off than I thought." Hayato said as the three masters headed off. Miu and Kenichi tilted their heads until Ranma got up to explain.
"So...Akane has an addiction to feeling angry in order to get strong?" Miu asked. Ranma nodded as Kenichi tilted his head.
"Wait. So...Ki is real and it can be fueled by your emotions?" Kenichi asked. Ranma and Miu nodded.
"While my grandpa and I were traveling around the world, he told me about martial artists who specialized in using their emotions to make their energy easier to mold. It's effective, but it causes them to slowly become addictive to using that particular emotion to use their ki." Miu said to Kenichi. Swallowing hard, he turned back to Ranma.
"And that's why your friend is so angry all the time?" He asked. Ranma nodded sadly.
"Apparantly, she's been using her anger to make herself stronger for a long time and it's caused her to become addicted to feeling it whenever she gets even slightly annoyed just to make herself feel better. And believe me, she used me as her outlet for all that anger on every occasion she could." Ranma said.
Kenichi and Miu both felt bad for Ranma having to relive old memories that he was trying to leave behind. Kenichi wasn't sure how much of Ranma's story he might have stretched, but after seeing Akane's rage for himself...he was starting to think maybe Ranma had held back a little reached over and gave Ranma a hug, causing him to stiffen.
"Wh...?" Ranma started to say.
"I'm sorry Ranma." Miu said to him. Ranma returned the hug.
"It's ok. I mean, it's not like it's your fault." After prying the blonde girl off of him, Ranma went back to explaining.
"Anyway, according to Akisame-sensei, part of her chakras that focus on filtering her ki are blocked so her anger sticks around longer than it should. He said it was almost like someone blocked her ki pathways on purpose so that she would become an anger addict. But what bothers me is, I can't understand why anyone would want to do that to someone."
Kenichi and Miu could tell that despite how Ranma acted towards Akane, he was genuinely worried about her. Maybe not out of romantic love, but out of the kindness of his heart. Back at the clinic, Akane started to wake up.
"Oh good, you're awake." She looked over and saw the white eyed man smiling at her. She slowly started to get up.
"Wh...what happened?" She asked.
"Well, you lost your fight against Miu and nearly got torn to pieces." Came the voice of Kensie. Akane looked over to him but eeped as she saw the towering form of Miu's grandfather. She got the feeling that after everything she said to Miu, he was not going to be happy with her. It was only NOW that she remembered all the things that Genma, her dad, and Happosai said about this man.
"So, how are you feeling young lady?" Hayato asked with a seemingly innocent smile. Akane gulped.
"Um...fine sir." She said, the fear evident in her voice. She started to cringe as Hayato came closer to her.
"Good." He said, his smile never leaving his face. "Now, we need to have a serious talk."
NOW, Akane was even more afraid for her life. If Miu could beat her down that savagely, what was her grandfather going to do to her?
"So, how much do you know about ki and the effects emotions can have on it?" The giant blonde asked. Akane was confused but then she tried to think about it.
"Um...well," She started to think. "I remember that Ryoga and Ranma tried to learn some technique that was powered by their depression. But what does that have to do with anything?"
"Well," Hayato started to say as he took a seat next to her. "You see Akane, you were suffering from something that those two boys nearly fell into. Have you ever heard of emotional ki addiction?"
Akane thought for another minute. Emotional ki addiction? That did sound like what almost happened to Ryoga when he learned the Shishi Hokodan.
"You mean, like when someone learns a technique that requires depression, and they start feeling almost nothing but depression?" She asked. Hayato and the other two masters nodded.
"Yes," Kensei said. "And it's not just depression, a person can get addictive to any emotion: lust, greed...anger." Kensei trailed off as he and the others gave Akane a dirty look. Akane looked confused.
"Um...is there a reason you guys are looking at me like that?" She asked. Akisame took this time to step in.
"Well, Akane, you know how you always get angry at Ranma or anyone else?" She nodded.
"Have you ever felt like you get stronger when you're angry and it makes you feel better every time you get angry?" Akisame asked.
Akane looked down, a look of shame on her face. She was starting to get an idea as to what these three were getting at, but her pride wouldn't let her feel beaten until she heard them say it out loud.
"Y-yeah." She said, already feeling the answer she knew was coming. Hayato stepped in next.
"That's because you were experiencing an addiction to your own rage fueled ki. That's why you feel the need to lash out at anyone who makes you even a little mad. And also why you always try to attack anyone, say Ranma, every time you get jealous."
Akane felt like her body started to shrink. She started to think back to all the times that she saw Ranma around another girl or when he and her got into a fight. She did love the rush of power she got from those times she got mad. But she did feel kind of guilty afterwards, but every time she tried to apologize, she just couldn't stop getting mad.
"Yo-you mean I've been a rage addict and I didn't even know it?" She asked. "But..."
"It's not entirely your fault." Akisame said. "You see, when I gave you a checkup to see what the extent of your addiction was, I noticed that most of your ki pathways were blocked off so that your rage charged ki wouldn't filter out of your system the way it should."
Akane's head shot up.
"What?" She said in shock.
"You see my dear," Hayato started to say. "If certain chakra points on your body are blocked off, it is possible to make someone feel a certain emotion almost constantly. And in your case it was deliberate, as if someone wanted to make sure you turned into a person who needed their rage to function, much in the same way your styles founder Happosai relies on lust fueled ki to keep himself alive."
"And not only that," Kensei chimed in. "But it seems this was done by a professional. They did it in such a way that only someone who knew how chakras and ki works could detect it."
Akane hugged herself as Hayato put a comforting hand on her shoulder.
"It's not your fault for not knowing, but the fact that this happened means that someone knew they could exploit your anger."
Akane wanted to argue back, but she just couldn't feel the rage that was always there. In fact, the reserve of anger that always seemed to be at the front of her mind was gone. She must have been showing her surprise on her face because Hayato let out a slight chuckle.
"Dont' worry about that little problem my dear. Believe it or not, my two friends here are very accomplished doctors and with my help, we where able to fix the blockage on your ki pathways and expel all your pent-up rage ki."
"So," Akane started to say. "I'm cured?"
"Not quite." Akisame said. "While we were able to get rid of the pent-up ki, you may still feel the urge to channel your rage to achieve the same effects as you did before."
"Oh." Akane said, feeling a little dejected.
"However," Kensei stepped in. "If you truly want to be free of this problem, I recommend that you stop by to see us every once in a while. The three of us do know a thing or two about using meditation to help someone get over addictions such as this, and don't worry about Shigure an Apachai, once we explain things to them I'm sure we can convince them not to try and kill you again."
The thing that creeped Akane out about what he just said, was the fact that he said it all with a smile on his face. But to be fair, now that she didn't have her rage clouding her judgement, she was starting to feel that maybe she deserved what those two were trying to do to her. As she was thinking this over, the four of them heard a knock at the door. They turned to it and saw Ranma standing there.
"Um, can I please see the patient?" He asked. The three masters smiled at their disciple.
"Actually, I think that would be for the best Ranma." Hayato said while standing up.
"I believe you two have a few things to discuss with one another. And the sooner you lay this whole thing between yourselves to rest, the better."
Ranma nodded in agreement, a sad smile on his face. With that, Hayato and the others left the room as Ranma sat down next to Akane.
"Hey." He said.
"Hey." Akane replied with an uneasy smile. Ranma's eyes darted around, trying to find the right words to get the ball rolling.
"So...I know this is a stupid question but, how are ya feeling?" He asked. Akane let out a small chuckle at Ranma's unease.
"Like I just got mauled by a wolverine. But on the bright side, I feel like a huge weight's been taken off of my shoulders." She replied. Ranma smiled at that.
"Yeah, sorry about throwing you to Miu like that." He said, scratching the back of his head sheepishly. "But you have to admit that you had that one coming."
Akane looked down, her smile gone and a look of shame taking its place.
"Yeah...I did." She said. Ranma actually looked stunned.
"I'm sorry, what was that?" He asked, placing his hand to his ear and leaning close to Akane. She glared at the boy.
"I said, yes. You were right. I deserved that beating." She said, only to find Ranma looking her right in the eye like he was interrogating a suspect.
"Who are you and what did you do to Akane?" He said teasingly. Akane returned his stare.
"Ha ha. Funny, that's very funny femboy." That made Ranma smile.
"There she is."
Against her will, Akane couldn't help but laugh. Why did he have to do things like this? Make her mad then find a way to get people to laugh.
"So, Ranma," Akane said, knowing from experience that the moment couldn't last forever.
"Yeah," Ranma said. "It's time to talk. Why the heck are you even here Akane? What made you think that I would want to come back?"
Akane didn't have an answer. Or rather, she didn't want to answer.
"I...I don't know." She ended up saying. "My dad, your dad, and Nabiki said that I would have a chance of convincing you to come home. And I believed it."
Ranma took a deep breath as he shook his head at the tomboy in front of him. Did she actually miss him enough to believe the bogus bull of two of the least trustful idiots that they knew and the word of someone who only cared about her bank account? If he still cared about Akane like a fiancé, he would be touched. But that time was long gone.
"Akane." He said, tilting her head up to look at him. "While I am touched, I'm not going back to that Hellhole."
"But," She started to say. "But it's your home Ranma." She was starting to get hysterical.
"No Akane, it's your home, not mine. It's never been my home. That's why I left. Because I needed to get away from there. This is my home now." Ranma said to the girl who was now on the verge of crying.
"What's so great about this place!?" She said, her feelings, now not concealed by her anger, even though she wished she could cover them up with her anger. Instead, sadness. That's what she was feeling.
"Dose Nerima really mean that little to you!? Do I mean that little to you!?"
Ranma knew this was coming. Normally he would try to run and hide, but not this time. His new friends and masters told him that it was time to face the one thing that he hated more than cats...a crying girl. And worst of all one he was about to, for all intense and purposes...dumb.
"Akane," He said. "Let's face it, it's been a year and we're no further along in our so called 'relationship' than we were when we first met. We get a little closer, then we take like 5 steps back. Let's face it, we were just not cut out to be a couple."
Akane felt like a knife had just struck her in the heart. What was he saying? No. No, this couldn't be how it ended. They were...they were...just, what were they? The only times they kissed were accidents, they never went on dates, sure they had good times, but those were more like they were friends hanging out. But, they were fiancés. But, not by choice. Akane started crying. Screw being strong or angry at Ranma or herself, the damn finally broke.
Akane flung her arms around Ranma, sobbing into his shoulder. Just how long had she held this in? She didn't know. Ranma held her close, letting her cry into his shoulder. She wanted to hate him. It would be so easy to hate him, but she knew it wouldn't do her any good. Ranma had come to the decision that no one else wanted to...their engagement, just wasn't meant to be.
Ranma patted her on the back and pulled her away. He hated seeing a girl cry like this, but in a way, he felt that a weight had been lifted from his heart.
"Akane." He said. She nodded.
"I know." She said, rubbing tears from her eyes. "I guess...it's over then, huh?"
He nodded.
"Yeah."
"Just answer me one question." Akane managed to say, looking Ranma in the eye.
"Are you happy here?" She asked.
It may seem a silly question, but Ranma knew that it was probably the most important question anyone had ever asked him. He looked back to the door, knowing full well that Kenichi, Miu, and the masters were on the other side, listening to their conversation. He smiled as he thought about them. But the thing that hurt Akane even more, was that this smile seemed different than the ones she had usually seen on Ranma's face. It was genuine.
"Yeah." He said, his smile getting even bigger before turning back to her. "Yeah actually. For the first time in a long time, I actually am happy."
Akane knew that he would say that. She took a deep breath and nodded her head.
"Ok." She said. "If you're really happy then...Ranma...I dump you."
"HEY!" He said jumping back to his feet. "What's that stuff, I'M the one dumping you!"
As the two started arguing about who was dumping who, on the other side of the door, Miu and the masters and even Kenichi and Honoka were laughing at the two on the other side of the door.
"Wow." Kenichi said. "I'm starting to think they're better off as friends or siblings rather than a couple."
Miu giggled.
"Yeah."
"Apa. Why Ranma now talking to angry girl like Sakaki and Akisame do?" Apachai asked. Hayato laughed.
"Because Apachai, those two had bee forced together for so long that they never got the chance to become actual friends. But now that their engagement is officially over, they can finally start getting along like friends rather than two people who are forced to marry."
Ranma stomped out of the door, a snarl on his face, but only a half hearted one that did a bad job of hiding the happiness that many knew was in his heart.
"Come on Kenichi, lets' train or something." He said as he dragged Kenichi off.
"HUH!?" Kenichi asked.
"OH! OH! CAN APACHAI TRAIN YOU GUYS!?" Apachai asked. Even though Kenichi tried to say no, Ranma turned to the tanned man and smiled.
"Sure thing."
Akane was sitting next to Miu and Honoka as they watched Ranma and Kenichi train with Apachai.
"I'm really sorry about earlier." Akane said to Miu.
"It's ok. Just don't ever say those things again." Said Miu. Akane giggled at the blonde girl. She was actually really nice now that she was getting a chance to know her.
"COME ON BIG BROTHER!" Honoka cheered for Kenichi as she checkmated Shigure, who was hanging upside down from the roof while playing with Honoka while giving Akane a death glare.
"I'm...watching...you." She said to the girl. Akane gulped.
"Shigure! Cut that out! And get down from there." Miu said to the ninja girl as Kenichi was sent flying by Apachai's kick. Akane grimaced as she saw this.
"Ouch." She said. "No offense, but I don't think your friend, Kenichi, is very good at martial arts." She said.
"Yeah, truth be told, he's only been training for a little while now. But he really has come a long way. And ever since Ranma came to join us, he's actually gotten a lot better."
That made Akane arch an eyebrow.
"Ranma? Help train someone?"
As if to answer her question, Kenichi did a flip in the air and landed on his feet. Akane knew that form. It wasn't as good as Ranma's, but she could see the signs of Ranma's style in the way Kenichi fipped, landed and flew back at Apachai.
"Ranma's never helped me with my training." She said.
"Did you ever ask him?" Came the voice of Sakaki from behind them.
"From he's told us, you always that you didn't need a teacher and just did your own thing every time he tried to help you out." He said as he took a sip of his drink.
Akane wanted to argue back, but she knew that the man was right. Ever since her dad stopped teaching, she trained on her own, never seeking out another sensei to train from.
"Your dad should have known better than to send you off to fight Miu. He must have gone senile since I last saw him. Your form is decent but full of uncovered openings. You're also too stiff and rigid. Didn't he teach you anything?" He asked.
Akane felt a little insulted that he was saying things about her father and her form, but she just hung her head in defeat.
"Not since I was a child." She said. Then, to her surprised, Sakaki picked her up and took her to another part of the dojo.
"HEY!" She cried.
"Sakaki! What are you doing!?" Miu asked. Her answer was given when Sakaki started forcing her through basic stances and postures of Karate.
"Don't be so STIFF!" He said as he used his foot to readjust her stance.
"Relax. Tilt your hips forward a little more. Squat more. That's better." He said as he guided her through Karate drills. Hayato grinned at his friend.
"Well, look who's decided to take an interest." He said.
"HEY! I'm only doing this because I don't like seeing someone screw up Karate, ok!? Plus if her father really cared about his daughter and heir he would have fixed these problems of hers a long time ago!"
After a while had passed, Honoka was heading home as Akane decided to ask everyone something.
"Would...would it be ok if I came back to train here again?" She asked. She was more worried about what Ranma would say, but he surprised her.
"It ain't my dojo. It it's ok with shisho it's ok with me." Ranma said, his arms crossed.
"Well, since Sakaki was the one to take an interest, I'd say it's up to him." Hayato said as all eyes went to Sakaki. He felt uncomfortable being on the spot like this, but shook it off.
"If she wants to come that's fine. But I expect her to knock off the holier than thou stuff and take her training seriously!" He said. Akane smiled.
"I was about to say she might as well come anyway." Akisame said. "Me and Kensei are going to have to take a look at her every once in a while so that we make sure that she doesn't relapse into using rage powered ki again."
Akane bowed to the masters.
"Thank you." She said as she turned to Ranma.
"So...friends?" She asked. Ranma cracked one of his closed eyes at him, then smiled.
"Yeah, why not? You need all the ones you can get, tomboy." He said. Akane playfully glared at him, saw a bucket on the ground, then grinned.
"Ok then..." She grabbed the bucket and threw it at Ranma before taking off.
"FEMBOY!" She cried.
Ranma, now a girl, glared at Akane as she took off.
"YOU UNCUTE TOMBOY!"