Pretty Cure Fan Fiction / Crossover Fan Fiction / Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ Together in Spirit ❯ Training Sessions ( Chapter 8 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Chapter 6 – Training Sessions

After our favorite couple had kissed and made up, Kasumi had asked Ranma to go to the convenience store the following items – a loaf of white bread, a container of fresh cow’s milk, and a stick of butter for their breakfast the next morning.

“Why does that sound so familiar?” Ranma said as he had accepted the task at hand with the needed money already given to him by the older girl.

Upstairs, Akane had giggled at the reminder of the foreign program that she had watched back when she was still a little girl.

The blue haired martial artist then made a hasty retreat to her room unless she wanted to be found out by her pony tailed friend that she had the answers to his questions.

The pony-tailed teen had not gone more than ten steps from the Tendou dojo’s gate when he was attacked by none other than Ryoga Hibiki.

“How dare you shame Akane in such a vulgar manner?” The pissed off bandanna wearing teen said as he had punched or kicked his rival. “Die!”

“Oh jeez,” Ranma replied as he had traded blows with Ryoga. “If I was in control, it wouldn’t have even happened. So butt out of this, bacon breath.”

“Why you?!”

The battle had raged a good two blocks before something unexpected had happened.

Ranma was caught in a dead end and was about to be hit by Ryoga’s umbrella when the bandanna wearing boy had suddenly sidestepped, revealing Kuno in the middle of an overhead sword strike.

The pony-tailed martial artist was so caught unawares that he was not able to put up his defenses for a second. It was that specific second that had cost him the fight.

Ranma had woken up to some pressure on his cheeks as if someone had been slapping him awake.

His vision, even though it was fuzzy, was good enough to see both black and brown hair on top of two blurred faces that were looking back at him.

With a groan, he had told the figures to give him some room. The figures had dropped out of sight until the light of the nearby lamp post had shined on him.

“You ok, Ranma?” came the concerned voice of Hiroshi. “That must’ve been quite a blow to knock you out that long.”

“How long was I knocked out?” Ranma said as he had held his aching head with his left hand. ‘Damn it, I got taken down by that stupid samurai in a moment of weakness.’

“About half an hour,” Daisuke said from Ranma’s right side. “It’s getting late and you’ve still gotta buy that stuff from the convenience store downtown.”

“Gotcha,” Ranma said as he had stood up. “What was that I was supposed to buy again?”

“I dunno,” the dark haired teen said in reply as all three friends had gone on their merry way. “Sayuri had never told us ‘bout it when we left your house after you did.”

“What the heck, I’ll bound ta remember it anyway.” The pony-tailed teen said with a shrug. “Better hurry up, you guys.”

“Easy for you to say, Ranma.” Hiroshi was saying with a bit of a pant after catching up to his brisk walking friends. “I’ve still gotta work on my endurance.”

“So join Akane on her mornin’ jog,” Ranma said as he had looked back momentarily at his light brown haired friend. “I’ve heard that most of our female classmates had been joinin’ her these days.”

“So how ‘bout we do the same then,” Daisuke said as the three were nearing the store. “I mean, most of the guys in class had been tryin’ to keep their strength up for Coach Ikazuchi’s killer laps.”

“Great idea, maybe I’ll join you.”

“Just as long as Kuno isn’t, is ok with me.” Daisuke said as he was the first through the double glass door.   

“Good evening, kind sirs.” The young lady minding the store said to the three teens with a bow. “Welcome to our humble store.”

“Thanks,” the three had replied in the same manner.

“So what do we need to buy anyway?” Hiroshi was saying as the three friends had stared the three aisles lined up before them. “It’s probably something that you could easily remember so the girls didn’t even tell us.”

“That’s it,” Ranma said as his left fist had made contact with his right palm. “I get it now.”

“Hope it’s not catchy.” Daisuke quipped before ducking at the approaching hand. “Just kidding, man.”

“I remembered that one show from childhood about a little girl buyin’ the same things I’m supposed ta,” Ranma said in reply as he saw Hiroshi retract his hand. “I jus’ gotta buy a loaf of bread, a container of milk, and a stick o’ butter.”

“Then let’s get crackin’ since its pretty dark outside,” Daisuke had said upon seeing the darkening sky beyond the store window.

The three had made their purchases and returned to the Tendou Dojo just in time for dinner.

After eating, Kasumi had called the three young men and said. “Could you buy me a stick of yak butter as well?”

Seeing the boys’ dumbfounded look, she had added. “I heard that it is much more nutritious than that made from cow’s milk.”

A series of thuds had been the boys’ reply.

“Oh my,” Kasumi said upon seeing the pile of teens on the newly swept floor. “Is it something I said?”

The second trip back to the convenience store had the girls going with their respective loved ones. The reason behind it is that Yuka was also called by her mother to buy some sushi for her lunch the following day.

The six teens had made small talk while going to the said location with Akane patting her sparring partner’s back for forgetting an important part of the chore.

Along the way, they had met Kuh Lon who was still searching for the Tendou compound where her quarry – Ranma Saotome was rumored to be living in.

“I’m Ranma Saotome,” the said ponytailed marital artist said with a puffed chest. “So what’s it to ya?”

“I see…” the old woman had hopped in a circle around the confused teen, separating him from the others. “Not very muscular, but I can still some potential in you, sonny boy.”

The wrinkled old monkey…sorry, I meant the powerful Amazon Elder then changed directions before scanning the similarly confused Akane.

“Hmm, you may need some more training.” Kuh Lon said with frown. “Yet, I can still see the same potential as Sonny Boy if trained properly.”

“What do you mean by that?” Akane was a bit bristled with the given comment as she and the others had done plenty of training already. “I know I didn’t have as much training as Ranma here or even Shampoo but that doesn’t mean I tried.”

“Little girl, I am not saying that you are much weaker as Sonny Boy here.” The Amazon elder replied with a slight rise in tone, ignoring the shared grunt from both Ranma and Akane. “I only meant that if you had trained the same way as he did, you would even surpass him in speed but not in strength.”

“Sorry,” The blue haired martial artist said with a contrite bow. ‘No wonder, Ranma has been telling me to get my speed up whenever we spar. I may not be able to beat him with brute force but if I can speed up, I can probably force him to be on guard for a change.”

“No need for apologies,” the elder said as she had patted Akane’s left shoulder. “All of you were pretty impressive as fighters as my great-granddaughter and her party had told us.”

“You’re Shampoo’s great-grandmother?” Sayuri had finally asked as she was piqued at the given words.

“Yes, I am.” Kuh Lon said with pride. “I am Kuh Lon, one of the elders of the Chinese Joketzu tribe.”  

She then looked at the other four teens and said. “And from what I can sense in your auras and from what Shampoo and the others had said, you four had come a long way in such a short time.”

“Thank you.”

Cologne then added to the teens’ displeasure. “Yet, all of you still have a long ways to go before you could go head to head with an experienced Joketzu warrior.”

“So Sonny Boy, why did you not realize your true calling and marry my great granddaughter?” The Amazon Elder said upon seeing the drooped stances of the other teens.

“The reason for that ‘Honored Elder’…” Ranma nearly spat at the last two words before Akane had given him an elbow for his trouble. “…is I was not the only one who had knocked her out you see.”

“Yes, it was pretty embarrassing for Shampoo to be hit thrice at the same time.” Cologne said with a bit of an embarrassed cough. “Still considering that she was not in control of her body at the time did contribute to her loss.”

“Speaking of which, am I in trouble since I had hit her too?” Akane had asked since she was curious to what the Council of Elders as Shampoo had spoken about would think of her accidental role in the incident.

“It would be better if I would speak to your fathers since they are the masters of your school,” Cologne had replied since it is more appropriate to talk of such things with people of authority.

“Uh, sure.” Both Ranma and Akane said in reply.

After getting their friends home, the part time teachers of the Anything Goes of Martial Arts had escorted the older woman back to their home.

It was Soun who had met them at the gate. The owner of the Tendou dojo was puzzled at the sight of the old woman on a wooden staff and said as much.

“So you must be Soun Tendou who the children had talked much about,” Cologne had spoken up before either Ranma or Akane could have. “The mother of the twins would like to extend her apologies for her children’s behavior.”

“It is fine,” the Tendou patriarch replied quickly, partly realizing who he was talking too. “May I ask on who are you, as well as why are you here with the children?”

“I would tell you both inside,” Cologne said with a bit of a shiver. “It is cold out here.”

“Might as well come in,” Soun said as he had stepped aside. “Dear elder, my home is not much but please…Enjoy your stay.”

“I certainly will, Master Tendou.” Cologne said in reply. “I certainly will.”

After having dinner, Cologne then revealed her true reason for seeing the masters of the School of Anything Goes along with her name.

Judging from the reactions of the Tendou and Saotome families, the given counter proposal was not as well received as Cologne had hoped.

“I can see your concern that our tribal council had rejected your proposal,” Cologne was saying with an incomprehensible face, “Yet, the council’s decision is irreversible. It is a much better option to just agree on their terms.”

“How about we won’t?” Ranma said as he was more inclined in keeping his engagement with Akane as his freedom was not even threatened and he could even continue with his personal quest. To him, going to the Amazon village was a no go.

“Although I admire your fighting spirit, Son in Law, going against 2,000 years of Amazon tradition and history is leaning more on pure stupidity.”

The Amazon Elder could already feel the rising aura levels around her, especially of both her future grandson in law and the Inheritor of the Tendou Dojo.
As much as she would enjoy leading the two youngsters on a wild goose chase to study their forms, Cologne was more concerned on how to make a good impression on the average citizen and law enforcers.

Even her ties with the Chinese Embassy would do her no good if Cologne would commit a misdemeanor in a foreign country especially that of a historical enemy like Japan where racial hate runs pretty deep indeed.

“Honored Elder, if I may suggest, we could make some sort of trial period so that we may know for sure on who Ranma would be more comfortable with,” Soun said before Ranma or Genma would react. “Genma and I had already made such an agreement upon their arrival here. Therefore, we would like to appeal to your good nature in letting us do the same with you and your council.”

“I may have to sleep on that,” the Amazon Elder replied upon realizing that the new agreement may still work in their favor. “And I meant that literally.”

“Allow me to lead you to the guest room,” Kasumi’s sweet and gentle voice was heard while the young woman was similarly helping the elderly woman up.

“Thank you.”

After the eldest Tendou daughter had led the honored guest into her room, the remaining family members and two guests had made a rather animated discussion on how to keep both Ranma and Akane together.

The talks had only reinforced the said pair’s beliefs and thus had excused themselves and retired early.

Genma then quipped while watching the engaged pair walk one after the other up the stairs.

“The boy is only stalling for time. He is much more interested on his concocted fairy tale than his obligations.”

“What do you mean, old friend?” Soun then said from beside Genma as he had poured their sake on their respective ivory cups. The Tendou patriarch did so in the hopes of being more enlightened about the secret talks between her youngest daughter and Genma’s only son.

“I only knew bits and pieces so it may not be enough,” the elder Saotome replied with a frown. “No matter, it would most likely reveal itself in due time.”

“Well, as much as I like to see you both drunk, I’ve got to go to bed.” Nabiki then spoke up with a yawn. “Now don’t make too much noise and a mess, we’ve still got school tomorrow.”

So both old men had drowned their sorrows (Soun more than Genma) for a good two hours before getting to bed themselves.
Kasumi had cleaned up the mess before retiring for the night.

The next morning, Cologne had watched the Saotome family spar in the front yard while waiting for Akane to get home from her morning jogs with her friends.

The Amazon elder had noticed a few things differentiating the spar between Ranma and his father as well as the said Saotome and his fiancée.

Ranma would more or less go all out against his Pop while slightly powering down when fighting Akane. Even then, he did increase both his agility and speed of blows forcing the girl to do the same.

With this in mind, Cologne had realized that Akane was severely lacking in speed compared to her fiancé while being almost equal in terms of strength. It was something that the girl is still working on as much as she could to improve her chances of winning or even surviving in a real fight.

The elder had learned from overhearing Genma that Ranma had slackened a bit in his training during his stay in Hong Kong.

Then again, rumors had also told her that the young man had given up part of his own training to serve as sensei to the youngest child of the powerful Li family and his future fiancée.

Assuming that Ranma had been considered an ally of the Li family, Cologne was forced to be more considerate on the young man and his friends as the Amazons themselves had respected the said clan’s affinity in magic and skills in martial arts as well as its looking after its allies across the globe.

After joining in their breakfast, Cologne then said goodbye before heading back to her own project – the future Cat Café.

For the next five months, everything was peaceful for the occupants of the Tendou compound. It was at the start of Spring break that things got rolling again. This time, it was in a form of a challenge letter.

The said letter had told Ranma to meet him at the Auditorium where the local orchestra had played Chinese and Japanese classics.

Immediately, a light bulb had been turned on in the pony-tailed martial artist’s head. With glee, he told his sparring partner to help him greet an old friend of theirs.

Akane had also figured it out once she had picked up the neatly written letter in kanji addressed to both of them, old friend is right.

The blue haired girl then readied her list of items to make a good welcoming gift for their odd yet good friend – Mu Tzu.