Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction / Slayers Fan Fiction ❯ Ranma: Mazoku Factor ❯ Ranma: Mazoku Factor 5 ( Chapter 5 )

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

Ranma: Mazoku Factor

Part 5

The plan.

++++++++++++++++++++

Ranma Saotome stood silently on the roof of the Tendo home.
He had a frown on his face as he stared out over the rooftops of
Nerima. "Something isn't right here. I feel a force at work here,
that could be a problem, but not a big one."

His grin slowly returned to his face. A bright aura formed
around his body, but it didn't burn like a fire, it writhed and
took shape in the form of living things, creatures that seemed
locked into his very spirit. "No problem at all really."

He jumped off the roof and down into the street, easily
clearing the wall that surrounded the home. Landing lightly with
his staff appearing in his hand he twirled it around his palm as
he started to stroll forward. His cape flapped dramatically as he
walked into the rising moon. "I'm feeling a bit hungry, time to
hunt down a meal."

++++++++++++++++++++++

Nabiki Tendo woke in the dead of night. Absolute terror
gripped her heart as she sat up and saw a bright light just
outside her window. A shiver went down her spine as she staggered
out of bed and stepped back away from the window. The light died
down and the sight that followed didn't comfort her in the
slightest. Ranma was standing on the roof glowing with power,
there seemed to be things trapped inside his aura struggling to
free themselves. He had a dark grin forming on his face as he
made an impossible jump and landed on the street.

Nabiki Tendo screamed in absolute terror and slumped down
against her door.

+++++++++++++++++++

She found herself shaking violently as she blinked her eyes
open and looked up to see her family and Genma standing around
her with worried looking frowns on their faces.

"Are you all right? Did that pervert try something?" growled
Akane hatefully.

"Wha?" she muttered as she shielded her eyes from the ceiling
light in the room. "Ranma? Ranma!" Her voice went from confusion
to anger in an instant. A quick glance at the clock told her that
it couldn't have been very long ago.

"What has the boy done?!" muttered Genma in horror.

"That pervert!" snapped Akane as she cracked her knuckles.
She quickly grabbed her sister in a rough hug. "He didn't get too
far did he? Do I have to kill him?"

Nabiki blinked at this and stood up. "I'm going." She
strolled between the two older men and Kasumi.

"Oh my!" muttered the eldest girl in shock. "Nabiki! Where
are you going? It's too late to be..."

"I'm going to find out exactly what that man has invited into
our house," she snapped angrily as she pointed at her father.

"Wha?" muttered the man in confusion.

Akane didn't waste a moment. "I'm going with you!"

Nabiki ignored this and continued to walk towards the door.

"Akane!" cried Soun.

Genma grabbed the man by his arm and shook his head. "Let the
boy take care of it Tendo. It's probably best if they find out
this way anyway."

"Wha?" muttered the utterly confused and teary eyed Soun
Tendo.

"Come on Tendo. We've got a few things to discuss about my
son."

++++++++++++++++++++++++

Ranma Saotome walked down the middle of the street as if it
was noon on a bright sunny day. He looked almost cheerful as he
strolled through the darkness and garbage of one of Japan's
slums. Despite the manner in which he moved, he seemed to almost
slither through the shadows as he moved. The darkness around him
seemingly inconsequential to him, almost comforting really.

"Now... Where are you?" he muttered under his breath as a few
bums scurried to the other side of the street opposite him. They
almost stumbled over one another as they instinctively moved away
from his path. It wasn't his bearing that was frightening to him,
but the fact that an aura of purple energy seemed to radiate from
his body. It seemed almost crimson, but with enough blue tint to
it to create a purple haze on the walls and ground around him.

The boy paused as he glanced over his shoulder for a moment.
"Hmmm. Interesting." He turned and walked calmly into the
entrance of a maze of alleyways and dark corners that made up the
back street of the area he was in.

After several moments of walking through the almost pitch
blackness he turned to glance behind him once again. "I think
I've led them enough. It shouldn't be too hard for them to find
their way from here." He chuckled and the aura of power stopped
shining around him. "I'm getting close anyway." He turned a
corner and walked into a large open area behind several small
buildings. It was a small dirty looking courtyard of sorts. Piles
of garbage lined the walls and another large heap of junk made up
the center. A few papers fluttered around the ground because of a
small breeze as Ranma walked towards the junk heap in the center.

The boy froze in mid step and quickly turned his head towards
a tiny shifting sound in the garbage. "Huh?"

A loud 'meow' answered his unasked question as a rather
ragged looking tom stumbled out of one of the garbage piles along
the wall. It had a ragged black coat and shuffled its feet as it
started to slink towards the shadows away from the stranger.

Ranma narrowed his eyes at the creature and took a single
step back. "How stupid do you think I am?" He raised his staff
and a crackling energy formed on the head.

The cat turned its head to look at him and hissed angrily.

The boy stepped back again and tilted the staff towards it.

++++++++++++++++++

Nabiki Tendo was not having what could be called a good time.
It was the middle of the night, it was getting colder by the
minute, and her little sister was stumbling about noisily as they
tried to tail Ranma Saotome through one of the more unfriendly
areas of Tokyo.

Fortunately, Ranma wasn't leaving much of anyone in his wake
as he calmly strolled through the streets. He didn't seem
concerned at all that someone might be following him. The fact
that he was glowing didn't hurt matters either, Nabiki and Akane
both were able to keep an eye on him from a fair distance away.

"What's he doing? He's just walking around like that?"
muttered Akane.

Nabiki frowned at her sister and narrowed her eyes at the boy
in front of them. "It's different from what I saw though. There
was something inside his aura, a lot of somethings. I can't
describe it."

"Maybe it was just a trick of the light?" said Akane
nervously.

"No," replied the elder girl firmly.

"He doesn't seem to be doing anything besides scaring anyone
he comes across," pointed out Akane as she glanced towards the
boy in front of them.

"He's turning off into that alley," said Nabiki as she nodded
towards where the boy was heading.

"Seems odd that no one has bothered us," said Akane as she
frowned and looked at the area they were in. "This isn't the kind
of place you go without a reason. He's looking for trouble if
he's here."

Nabiki arched her eyebrow slightly at this. It was
surprisingly insightful for her sister to say something like
that. "I realize that, and I don't think it's an accident."

Akane blinked in surprise and turned towards her sister.

"He's letting us follow him," said the elder girl as she and
her younger sister stared into the entrance of the alley where
Ranma had turned off. The light of his aura could still be seen
as he turned a corner.

"He's leading us somewhere?" muttered Akane. It didn't sound
like she liked the idea much.

Nabiki frowned and started jogging so that she didn't lose
the boy. "No. He just doesn't care that we're here."

"What?" said the younger girl as she chased after her sister.
"Hey! Come back here!"

++++++++++++++++++

The small animal screamed in agony as the ball of power
slammed into its side. It fell over and twitched on the ground
for a moment as the energy coursed through its body.

Ranma smirked as he watched this from the other side of the
alley. It was an incredibly satisfying feeling to see the
creature writhe in pain.

"Now, are you quite finished? Or do I have to persuade you a
bit more?"

The thing on the ground growled angrily, a sound much to
large to have come from the small animal. The cat screamed in
anger as it exploded, showering the walls with gore. The pile of
meat that remained behind began to swell and expand into a larger
and larger organ like object that oozed various colored fluids
from pores and cracks in its growing skin.

"Oh, I can see you're quite pleasant after someone has woken
you up," snorted Ranma distastefully.

"What do you seek mortal?" snarled the thing as it finally
stopped growing and uncurled itself. It was a massive oni, its
horn rose high into the air, and a long mane of dark hair flowed
down its back and from its loins.

Ranma chuckled. "Seek? From you? I'm afraid you're missing
the point of this my friend."

"Eh?" grumbled the Oni irritably. "If you have disturbed me
for no reason..."

"You'll what?" snorted Ranma as he raised his staff and
pointed the tip at the monster.

"Heh. Where do you think your power comes from mortal? You
cannot destroy me with magic."

"My power? Oh, I see. You speak of your 'dark master' or
whatever? My power does not come from your master demon. I've got
my own path to walk, and you're just a stone in my way."

The oni roared in anger. "What? You pathetic excuse for a
mortal! I'll see that you'll spend eternity in hell! I'll deliver
you personally!"

"While that is an interesting invitation, I've got another
question for you. Where is your master?"

This gave the oni a moment to pause. "Eh?"

"I think it would be most interesting if I had a word with
him. Could you tell me where I might find him?"

"What would you seek with him?" asked the Oni carefully.

Ranma stared at the oni directly for the first time in the
entire conversation. Twin orbs of gold bored into the demon as
the boy smirked at him. "If you tell me, perhaps I'll set you
free...for now."

The oni's eyes went wide. "Golden eyes? It cannot be!" The
muscles in his gigantic body rippled suddenly as he tensed and
backed quickly away. "You're the one they call..."

"Ranma Saotome is enough," replied the boy with a smirk.

The oni roared in rage as his hair puffed out suddenly. His
teeth were bared and his claws extended as he seemed to almost
double in size.

"Oh, very nice. I'm most impressed," said Ranma calmly.

"You'll die!" screamed the oni angrily.

"I think not, I've got a few questions, and I want answers,"
replied Ranma simply.

"The only thing you've found here is death, not answers,"
snarled the oni.

"We'll see," said the boy calmly as he raised his staff in
the air. His aura burned brightly for a moment and a ball of
power formed on the top of the gnarled wooden stick. "Now. Where
is your master?"

"I'll take you to see him personally, in the underworld!" The
monster jumped forward with his claws extended.

"A show of force would seem to be in order," replied Ranma
calmly. The energy building up on his staff shot forward in
tendrils of blue energy. They wrapped themselves around the
demon's body and sent it flying against a nearby wall. The
creature howled in pain as Ranma stepped forward and held his
staff up, keeping the energy flowing without a hint of effort.
"It would seem that your master has taken up a new interest. The
boy Ryoga Hibiki has grown far stronger than he should have. The
knowledge he'd need to do what he did to himself is beyond him.
That means he had help from someone, someone who sees me as a
threat to them, someone who either sent him to me as a
distraction, or as an assassin. Either way it's rather
irritating. Your master has been poking his nose around here
lately, and that leaves me somewhat suspicious."

The thing on the wall growled pathetically as it struggled
against the dark power holding it down. "My master would not
stoop so low as to show interest in such a pathetic creature."

"You're right, he probably doesn't care that I'm about to
kill you," replied the boy with a small shrug. "In any case, I'll
return some of the energy I'm about to gain to him when I meet
him. I'm sure he'll appreciate it."

"What?" snarled the demon dumbly.

"You're useless, hardwired to obey, you couldn't help me if
you wanted too."

The monster roared as he lashed out with his claws. "You're
the weak one!" Ranma's energy field dispersed finally as the
monster shook off the attack and charged forward towards the boy.

"Really?" said the boy as he smirked as the hulking beast
loomed over him. Without blinking an eye he vanished from in
front of the thing and appeared behind it.

The creature was caught by surprise by the maneuver and
stalled for a moment to glance around.

++++++++++++++++++

Nabiki Tendo turned the corner and froze. Her sister jogged
up behind her and took a moment to look around before she had the
same reaction. They had arrived just in time to see Ranma avoid
the demon as it escaped his spell.

"What the?" said Nabiki quietly.

"What the hell is that?" muttered Akane dumbly.

"That's fairly obvious," replied Nabiki without looking away
from the scene.

++++++++++++++++++

Ranma turned his head and glanced at them for a moment as
they stood in the alleyway unprotected. The monster didn't seem
to notice or care that they were there. "Well, I think it's time
I finished this."

"You'll die!" snarled the beast.

"I doubt that," replied the boy as he vanished and reappeared
in order to dodge a massive set of claws that swung for him. The
oni stumbled forward for a moment and quickly turned in another
strike that was dodged in the same manner.

"Really, this is quite interesting, but I've got places to
be," said Ranma calmly as he jumped into the air.

The monster snarled and roared in anger as the staff slashed
across his chest leaving a diagonal gashing wound that bled
freely. "What?"

"You're no match for me," said Ranma as he back flipped after
his landing and came down near a pile of garbage.

"You're strong for a mortal, but..."

"Have you forgotten what your kind calls me already monster?"
snorted Ranma as he shoved the top of his staff forward.

The beast was blown back by a massive force of wind that
slammed it into a wall, cracking the bricks where it had landed.
"No!"

"Pathetic," snorted the boy as his aura burned around him
once again. It writhed around him as if there were dozens of
indescribable creatures trapped within it.

"This power..." muttered the oni in awe.

"This is the power that will bring about a new age, an age
where your kind has no place," replied the boy as he narrowed his
eyes at the creature and smirked.

"Never! No matter how strong you've become, you're still just
a mortal human!"

"Am I?" asked Ranma coldly. His aura shot forward, condensing
into a ball on his staff. "We'll see about that."

The oni screamed as the ball of light shot forward into its
chest. Ranma merely chuckled as its death throes tore anything
near it to shreds, the concrete was slashed, papers and plastic
flew into the air as it lashed out violently as the energy seemed
to eat away at its flesh. The creature's skeleton began to become
visible through the burning flesh and the ponytailed boy took a
step back.

"You might want to find some cover, this is pretty messy," he
said to the two girls standing in the alleyway.

Akane dove over her sister and shoved her behind a large pile
of bags.

The oni screamed a final time and exploded in a ball of
flames. Pieces of its body rained down on them from above. Ranma
merely stood calmly and watched as the light dissipated into tiny
white balls of power that floated around the alley like fireflies
for a moment. He raised his staff and they all shot together into
the wood, the runes on it glowed for a moment and he sighed.
"That was more of a waste of time than anything else."

Nabiki stood up and dusted herself off after shoving her
sister off of her forcefully. Akane didn't speak, but stared at
the boy cautiously as she picked herself up off the ground.

"What was that?" asked Nabiki firmly.

"An Oni, rather traditional looking one at that actually,"
replied the boy with a small shrug.

"You killed it," muttered Akane as she stared at the smoking
crater where the thing had once been.

"Hmmm. So I did," replied the boy cheerfully as he looked at
the same spot. "Disgusting creatures."

Nabiki glanced at the still smoking hole in the ground and
turned towards the boy. "You're some sort of devil hunter? That
thing acted like it knew of you."

"I've been causing a bit of a mess in his little circle
lately. Nothing to worry about," replied the boy calmly. "As for
being some sort of devil hunter...I suppose that is true."

"What's that thing in your aura?" blurted out Akane.

"Hmmmm. Now that...is a secret," replied the boy as he
glanced at her. "In any case, it's the reason I can destroy these
things. The most a normal human can hope to do is destroy its
body and return it to where it came from. Takes a bit of time for
it to recover, but it can return eventually. Usually a few
generations down the line or so. That's part of the reason that
hunting them like this usually runs in family lines. Demons have
a thing about holding grudges."

"But, you can do more?" said Nabiki as she frowned at the
hole in the ground.

"More?" asked Ranma with a dumb looking expression on his
face. "Hmmm. That is an interesting question indeed."

"Are you going to answer it or not?" said the elder girl
firmly. She didn't look very pleased at all.

"Not tonight, it's too long of an explanation to get into, at
least at this point. You probably wouldn't really understand it
just yet anyway. Try not to think about it too much."

"If he kills things like this..." muttered Akane as she
stared at the smoking hole.

"I think he has a reason for doing it beyond what he's
telling us," muttered Nabiki under her breath.

"Very good Tendo, the rest is up to you...for now," said the
boy as he twirled his staff around his hand and started walking.
"Come on, we should get some rest. Tomorrow is going to be a busy
day."

Nabiki narrowed her eyes at him. "I'm sure."

Akane didn't look too sure about what to say or do. Ranma was
an enigma like no other boy to her. "If he kills demons...he
can't be all that bad...right?"

Nabiki turned to glare at her for a moment. "I'm not sure."

"Ladies, this is not the best of neighborhoods," said Ranma
as he realized the pair wasn't following. "While I'm quite sure
that you can indeed make it home on your own, your father will
not be pleased with me if I return without you."

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?" snapped Akane
indignantly.

"Exactly what it sounds like," replied the boy with a small
shrug. "I'm sure Kasumi would probably scold me as well. I'd like
to avoid that if I can."

Nabiki blinked at this. It was the sort of thing she'd never
thought she'd hear him say. "Kasumi?"

"Yes, she can be quite...forceful, when she wants to be."

"Right," muttered the older girl half-heartedly.

"They're probably still up, worried about us," said Akane a
little guiltily.

Ranma's cheerful grin returned. "That's the spirit. Come on
now."

Nabiki sighed and started after him with Akane just behind
her. "Why do I get the feeling he wanted us to see that?"

"Huh?" muttered her younger sister in confusion.

"He's been leading us here since we caught up with him in the
street. This is a part of what's going on somehow. He's up to
something."

"Well, if he's killing demons how bad could it be?" said
Akane with a small shrug as she pushed ahead of her.

Nabiki let her move on and followed just behind them. "That's
what scares me."

++++++++++++++++++++

Ranma walked into the Tendo dojo and looked around. "What?
You're all still up?"

Soun rushed forward and grabbed the boy in a hug with tears
in his eyes. "Oh Ranma! It makes me so proud!"

"Eh?" muttered the boy uncomfortably as he struggled in the
man's grip.

"Isn't that dangerous though?" said Kasumi with a worried
frown on her face as she watched the scene.

"What did you tell them?" grumbled Ranma as he stared at his
father over Soun's shoulder.

Akane and Nabiki merely stood behind him with blank
expressions on their faces.

"I told him what he needed to know boy," replied Genma
simply.

"Which consists of what?" asked the boy as he turned his head
towards the man that was crying as he hugged him.

"Soon, the Tendo line will join with a legendary clan of
demon hunters!" cried Soun proudly.

Ranma snorted. "This is a good thing how?"

"Couldn't agree more," said Nabiki. "Daddy, there is no
way..."

"Such an honor placed upon our family!" wailed Soun loudly.
"It is in our clan's best interest to secure the union as soon as
possible! The wedding will be held tomorrow!"

Ranma frowned deeply as he turned to stare at Nabiki.

"Oh my! There's so much to do then!" exclaimed Kasumi.

"You are aware of just how dangerous this is to your family
aren't you?" said Ranma flatly.

Soun finally released him and held him at arm's length. "Why,
you couldn't have chosen a better family! The Tendo School of
Martial Arts would be the perfect compliment to a clan like
yours."

"I'm certain," replied the boy flatly. "However, a wedding
tomorrow isn't such a good idea. I'll be rather busy, and I've
got a few things that need to be taken care of. I'm certain
Nabiki won't mind waiting a bit longer."

The girl growled under her breath. "You have no idea how much
I agree with him."

"So, it seems that the plans should be postponed anyway,"
said the boy with a small shrug. "We can work out when later." He
turned towards the stairs and started towards his room leaving
Soun standing with his arms reached out.

"But..." stammered the man.

"Good night daddy," said Nabiki coldly.

Akane merely shrugged and looked at her father. "Whatever. I
guess I should go to sleep too."

"Oh my! I hadn't realized just how late it was!" cried Kasumi
as she stood up to follow her sisters.

"Long line Tendo?" said Genma as he stared at his old friend.

"Well, I suppose we could count our time with the master..."

"Being in service to a demon is not the same thing Tendo,"
replied Genma calmly. "In any case, I agree that it would seem to
benefit us both to secure this union."

"So, when will the wedding be then?" asked Soun.

"It is hard to say. The boy does not seem disagreeable. It
might be best to let things be for a bit longer before we try
anything. He seems to be planning something."

"But what?" asked Soun.

"I'm not certain, but he seems to be involving your daughter
in his plan somehow. That's a good sign. The boy is usually not
like this with anyone."

"Unfriendly?" asked Soun as he looked towards the door where
Ranma had vanished. He couldn't imagine the boy as anything but
cheerful really.

"Not really, but he's told your daughter more than I've ever
seen him disclose. It would seem that he's warming up to her."

"Excellent!" said Soun happily. "I'll get us some glasses! We
should celebrate!" He held up a bottle of sake and smiled at
Genma cheerfully.

"That's a wonderful idea Tendo," said Genma with a huge grin
on his face.

+++++++++++++++++++++

Ranma stood behind his door and frowned for a moment as he
leaned against it. "Hmmm. The old man is right. It's not like me
to talk this much. I wonder what it is about this girl that I
find so interesting?"

The lights went out in the hallway and Ranma smiled to
himself as he stepped away from his door. He could tell Genma and
Soun were out on the porch drinking. A soft knock on his door
gave him pause and he turned to open it.

Nabiki was frowning at him with her arms crossed over her
chest. "I know you're up to something. I don't know what it is
yet, but I promise you I'll figure it out. Once I do, you can bet
you and that fat leech of yours will be back on the street."

The boy blinked as he stared at the girl for a moment. "Ah,
yes. I remember now."

"Remember what?" snorted Nabiki angrily. She kept her voice
low and glanced back at their parent's backs. Neither of the men
had noticed the conversation.

"Nothing to bother yourself with. You should really get some
rest," said Ranma as he turned away and closed the door in her
face.

"Why you!!!" was the last thing he heard as the door shut all
the way.

++++++++++++++++++++

Morning came, birds were chirping and the sky was clear. It
was a beautiful day in Nerima.

Ranma Saotome was already up by this time of course, and was
now sitting at the breakfast table with the Tendo family after
his morning workout with his father.

Everyone in the home but him had a tired and haggard look
about them. Even Kasumi looked like she was about to fall asleep
at the table.

"You over did it last night," said Ranma as he turned towards
Nabiki and smiled at her cheerfully. "Everyone did really."

"How long were we out last night?" muttered Akane under her
breath.

"I bet you did this somehow," grumbled Nabiki as she stared
at the boy.

"You can't blame me because you decided to change your body's
sleep pattern," replied the boy sunnily.

Kasumi tried to smile, she really did, but it came out as a
stifled yawn. "AAAhhh. He's right Nabiki. All that running around
last night wasn't good for us."

"Us? You didn't go anywhere," said Nabiki as she stared at
the older girl.

"Yes, but I was worried," was the simple response.

"Right, I give up," grumbled Akane as she stood up. "I'm
going to school. Maybe I can get a nap or something in before
class starts."

"Not a bad idea," said Nabiki simply as she stood up to
follow.

Ranma continued to eat his breakfast cheerfully and ignored
this.

Soun and Genma both looked at him expectantly. The pair had
taken the loss of sleep rather well considering. Neither one
looked more than a little tired.

"What?" said Ranma as he glanced at his father.

"Boy! Why are you still sitting here?" said Genma gruffly.

"Why shouldn't I finish eating? They'll be fine, and I don't
need a nap before school."

The men looked at each other and then back at Ranma again.

The boy gave a heavy sigh and stood up. "All right. I'll go
look after them if it makes you feel better." He calmly placed
his chopsticks on top of his bowl and started towards the door.

"Oh! Saotome! It is true! The boy is actually starting to
like Nabiki! Oh! My daughter! I had worried you'd become an old
maid!"

"Father really!" gasped Kasumi with a blush forming on her
cheeks.

"Well, I admit, she does seem like the type," said Genma with
a small shrug.

"It's nice she's starting to make more friends I suppose,"
muttered Kasumi as she stood up and started to clear away the
dishes. The comment hit a little close to home for her though and
she found herself fretting as soon as she entered the kitchen.
"Oh my! I hope my own samurai comes soon. I'm not getting any
younger myself..."

She never noticed Ranma walk by the window of the kitchen
with a smirk on his face as he strolled forward. "Hmmm not a bad
idea Tendo. That would definitely get you out of my hair for the
most part."

If he had his way, the beginnings of the solution to that
problem would start today.

He always had his way, in the end that is.

+++++++++++++++++++

Furinkan High, fifteen minutes later...

"I hate boys!"

The familiar battle cry rang out across Furinkan's gates. The
battle had started as it always had, and things were going as
normal, if a bit slower than usual.

Akane spun and slammed her fist and feet into anything within
ten feet of her body that moved. Bodies fell onto the courtyard
in piles as she worked her way through a large portion of the
male populace of the school.

"Really Akane, such a mess so early in the morning."

"Wha?" muttered the girl as she shoved her hair out of her
face and gasped for breath as the last of her opponent's fell.

Ranma was sitting on top of the entrance gate with his chin
in his palm. He was watching quite calmly and seemed to be
enjoying the show.

"What are you doing here?" said the girl irritably.

"Just because you lost some sleep, don't take it out on me.
As for your question, I also attend here, do I not?"

Akane frowned, she was almost an hour early. The goon squad
had been waiting regardless, and she had to fight her way through
them. "They actually have meetings for this?"

"It would seem that way. Such an unimportant detail seemed...
Well, unimportant. They started the meeting here about a half-
hour ago. It was the usual thing, just a pep rally. The same
thing they'd do for any other sport."

"I am not a sport!" snapped Akane angrily.

"They seem to think so. I'd venture as far as to say that
some of them don't really care if they can date you or not. It's
just the thrill of participating really. A rather unusual type of
danger, but no dumber than jumping into freezing water in the
nude during the winter. There are men that do that as well."

"Why you!" snarled Akane angrily as she started to roll up
her sleeve.

"Why are you so angry? I was just making an observation,"
replied the boy as calmly as ever.

"How dare you insult me like that!" cried the girl angrily.

"Insult? I don't recall insulting you. I could if you'd like
though. What would you prefer? I've always been partial to
'uncute tomboy' myself. However, I could get more creative if it
made you feel better."

Akane stopped her aggressive motion and blinked. "What? Feel
better?"

"If that's not what's bothering you, then what is it?" said
Ranma in what seemed like genuine confusion.

"What do you mean creative?" snorted Akane irritably as she
seemed to remember that the boy's comments were very close to
insulting.

"Can't even kick, built like a brick, violent as a gorilla,
you know, the usual. Nothing special, I'm afraid I can't waste
too much creative energy on something so mundane as an insult.
It's not really my cup of tea."

Akane was genuinely unsure of what to say.

"Knave! You dare insult Akane Tendo in such a manner!?"

"Ah, good morning Kuno," said Ranma cheerfully as he turned
to face the older boy.

"Vile cretin! To speak such words in front of the Mighty Blue
Thunder is death itself!"

"Pardon? But I haven't insulted Akane yet," said the boy as
he seemed to think about things for a moment. "I'm quite sure of
it. I was just asking her about her preference in insults. I
mean, I am going to be her older brother at some point. I should
be equipped to deal with the situation, shouldn't I?"

"Huh?" said Akane as she stared at him.

"Sooner or later I'll have to marry Nabiki Tendo. I'm bound
to her by a contract between our families. There's no avoiding
it, I'd rather have gotten it out of the way today actually, but
there's something that I have to deal with first though. Perhaps
next time."

"Contract?" muttered Kuno as he glanced at the boy. "I do not
understand that of which you speak!"

"Well, from what I understand, it's quite normal for an elder
brother to insult a younger sibling with light intent."

"Quite true. I must admit that it is acceptable to barb one's
siblings from time to time."

"Hey!" cried Akane as she stared at Kuno for a moment.

"Do not worry my love. It is but a paltry matter. Once
Saotome becomes my own brother in law, as much as the thought
disgusts me, I shall have to endure such barbs myself. For the
younger sibling often does such things in order to show a twisted
form of affection. The poisoned food is but a gesture of
affection, the traps within my home but baubles of sentiment, the
giant dragon that lurks within the Kuno pond is but a
heartfelt..."

"Okay. That's just strange Kuno," said the ponytailed boy
with a small frown forming on his face for a moment.

The older boy stopped and looked at Ranma for a moment with a
blush forming on his cheeks. "Ahem."

"What the hell is he talking about?" muttered Akane in
confusion.

"I'm not sure it's in anyone's best interest if I explain,
but... I think he has a sibling. Probably a younger one, and I
think he or she is trying to kill him."

Akane stared at Kuno for a moment and couldn't think of a
single thing to say in reply to that. "Ahhh..."

"Rubbish. She simply wishes to convey her feelings towards
her elder brother in a constructive manner. She simply does not
have the knowledge to do so."

"As you say," said Ranma with a small shrug of his shoulders
as he turned away from the pair. "As interesting as this is. I've
got places to be this morning."

Akane shrugged her shoulders and followed after him. "Wait.
How long do we have before class starts?"

"Still plenty of time. If you want a nap, I suppose I could
wake you when class starts," replied the boy without turning back
to face her again.

"Great! Later Kuno!" said the girl as she followed after her
classmate.

The older boy merely nodded towards her and frowned. "Truly,
such a strange boy." He walked towards the tree that loomed over
the courtyard and sat down at its trunk to meditate on the
matter.

+++++++++++++++++

Ono Tofu walked down the road with a frown on his face. He
was on his way to the strangest meeting he'd ever scheduled. That
was saying a lot in his profession.

He turned and waved calmly at one of his regular patients,
who was manning the counter of a small yakitori yattai. He wasn't
sure what to expect when he finally got there. He was supposed to
be there when the first bell rang, and that gave him fifteen
minutes to reach his destination. Plenty of time for him to make
his way there at his current pace.

Still, the boy bothered him for some reason. He had thought
the boy was possessed when they had first encountered each other,
and he had no reason why he had thought that was the case. He was
just sure. It seemed he was wrong, but maybe not. The boy was
quite blatant about his power, and while he didn't exactly brag,
he'd basically hinted that he thought himself very powerful. He
also had an air of just plain wrongness about him.

"But what am I going to do here?"

The boy was planning something, the look was etched into his
squinted eyes and cheerful smirk. He always looked like he was
plotting, Tofu doubted seriously that the look left his face
much, if at all. The boy might have had it so ingrained that he
did it even when he wasn't plotting anything.

In any case, the offer was tempting, and the boy's promise
that he'd have his conscience intact when it was over didn't seem
like a smoke screen. Tofu doubted if the boy was that honest very
often at all.

The thing that bothered him the most though, were the
boy's golden eyes. They seemed to look deeper than they should.
When the boy was near, he could feel something's eyes on him. Not
just his body, but his soul and spirit as well. He could feel the
boy looking at everything about him at once.

"It's damn unsettling..." Tofu walked by a group off somewhat
scandalized looking older women without realizing he'd spoken out
loud. The ladies were patients of his, and would probably assume
that one of them had a serious medical problem. The sad part was
that they would probably each claim it was themselves, and argue
over which one was the sickest. He'd just made himself quite a
bit of money without realizing it.

"Now, which street was it?" he paused at an intersection and
glanced to the left and right. He didn't come this way very
often, but a nearby hospital was down at the school almost daily.
He'd heard horror stories of the 'cleanup' as they had dubbed it.
Some sort of morning ritual was sending hundreds of boys home
with various broken bones and concussions. It might be
interesting to stop by and see exactly what the fuss was about.
Whenever he asked anyone he knew that attended there, they would
grow silent. Well, everyone but the Tendo girls. Akane just
blushed badly, and Nabiki would ask for a large sum of money. It
would probably be easiest to just stop by one day.

"Ah, this one." He turned towards the school and smiled
cheerfully.

After walking a few steps his face fell again. "What am I
going to see here today? If someone like Ranma is worried enough
to ask for my help..." He narrowed his eyes and picked up his
pace a bit more. The gates were within his sight and he moved
along the wall that separated the school from the street.
Finally, he reached the gate and stood just under it. It was open
to release the students at the end of the day. Which was about
five minutes away.

"All right Ranma, let's see what you have to show me."

+++++++++++++++++

Ranma stood outside the doors of Furinkan with a smirk on his
face as he strolled down the stairs and into the courtyard. He
strolled calmly and pulled a pocket watch out of his shirt
pocket. "It's time."

+++++++++++++++++

Ryoga Hibiki had no idea where he was, but that wasn't
unusual. It was a curse he was likely to bear for the rest of his
eternity. However long that might be. He was sullen, and had a
downcast look in his eyes.

"I don't have any idea just how much time I have."

He gave a weak and rather sorrowful smile at the thought.

"How long will it take? I've got to find it! But where do I
even start to look? Sooner or later, it'll get spent, or
collected, or even melted down, broken, cut, flattened..."

Ryoga decided that it was too depressing of a thought and
turned his mind away.

"But, I think I have enough time to find Ranma again. There's
no way he can win this time." His grin turned cruel as he
clenched his fist in front of his face. The forest around him was
thick with brush and trees. He strolled forward and stopped as
the tree line suddenly ended at a large row of hedges.

"Huh?"

With a slight frown he stared at it for a moment before
walking right into an athletics field.

"This isn't the forest?"

He looked around trying to find the name of the school
written on something. A wall, or a flag, or a plaque, anything.

His gaze froze though as his eyes found something of great
interest.

"Rrrrrrrrannnmmmaaa!" he growled angrily.

The boy was standing on the other side of the field in plain
sight. He had just exited the building and appeared to be looking
at something. The only thing between them was the fence that
surrounded the field.

Ryoga snorted and reached up to his head as he began to pull
bandanna's off of his forehead.

+++++++++++++++++

TBC...

Bwahahahahaha hhaaa! You must wait! What power has Ryoga
found? Soon, you'll see!