Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ Ranma 1/2: The Truth and the Tempest ❯ Into the Happo-Fire-Burst ( Chapter 35 )

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

[Author’s Note: The characters and setting herein- with the exception of one or two O.C.’s of my own design- are the property of Rumiko Takahashi. This disclaimer has been printed herein and will appear in subsequent chapters courtesy of the Department of Redundancy Department. And now…]

Ranma ½: The Truth and the Tempest

Chapter 35: Into the Happo-Fire-Burst

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It was the same training hall, and yet not the same.

It was a lot larger, for one thing, with none of the nicks and chips one would have expected to find in the floorboards and rafters. It was also conspicuously devoid of decoration- no calligraphy prints, no weapon racks on the walls, no Tendo family shrine on the upper wall. There was only one decoration of note- a single wooden sign that hung on the far wall, near the door that seemed larger than the one Ranma remembered. The sign bore a single name in sweeping kanji- Saotome Ranma, Master of the Saotome Ryuu.

The pig-tailed young man in question stood in the exact center of the dojo, clad in a pure white gi that almost seemed to breathe in time with him, bathing his face with a pale white-gold luminescence.

This place… feels like I’ve been here before. His eyes scoured the room, taking in every inch of it until they finally came to rest on the sign bearing his name. Still… if this was the real Tendo dojo, Akane’s name and her dad’s would be on that wall, not mine. And it wouldn’t have that title added on to it, either. He folded his arms and breathed in deeply, then slowly exhaled again.

I don’t get it… I figured it’d be like that time we were sharing our dreams. I thought for sure I’d be in a carbon copy of the dojo, or maybe the park again… or the top of Phoenix Mountain, even… or that one time, right after Shin yanked that curse spirit outta me, with the images and the blue water… Ranma glanced around once more, seeing nothing else but the featureless, silent training hall around him. “Sheesh, maybe this really was a dumb idea. Dream your way into your subconscious, why dontcha… should’ve known this wasn’t going to work. But then… why’s this place feel so damn familiar…”

“Maybe because you’ve fought more than a few of your own fights in here, big guy?” Ranma snapped to attention at the sound of a very familiar female voice; turning on his heel, he pulled into a defensive crouch… and stared, wide-eyed, at the sight near the door. Sitting on top of the sign bearing his name, with a goofy grin on her face, was a chibi version of his red-haired female half, red Chinese shirt and all.

Ranma shook his head and blinked twice. “What the… who… how did…” He swallowed hard and took a few steps forward. “Who are you?”

The diminutive girl rolled her eyes and stood up on the sign. “Yep, that’s about what I figured you’d say, Ranma. Never were a very articulate bunch, were we?” the diminutive redhead quipped.

“We? Hey, what’s that supposed to mean? Who the hell are…” Ranma stopped. He blinked and looked at the girl again as an odd sensation began to prod at him. He was still more than a little unnerved by the girl’s sudden appearance, not to mention her size, but the longer he looked at her, the more familiar she felt. It wasn’t anything like the chilling sensation he remembered from his fight with the redheaded succubus, nor what he had felt over a year prior when he had first become cursed. It felt more recent… more personal…

“Wait a minute… I… I know you, don’t I?”

The mini-redhead giggled, then bounced off the sign, landing on his shoulder and leaning casually against his cheek. “Of course ya know me, ding-dong. You were the one that freed me from that prison in our spirit, remember?”

Ranma started. “You mean… you’re that girl I saw that day, the one I… that other half of me…”

“In a nutshell.” The girl looked down at herself and shot him a crooked grin. “Of course, I had gotten a little swelled out of proportion… partly because of that succu-bitch inside us, partly because of all those years o’ being pushed away by yer old man’s advice.”

Ranma nodded slowly. “So it was what I thought it was… yin and yang all along.”

“Yep. And like I said, in our case that whole ‘balance’ issue kinda got out of whack. Genma-baka tried to make you repress me, then that plunge into the cursed spring gets me snared by that demon girl who starts balloonin’ me way outta proportion whenever she got a chance…”

“Okay, I think I get the picture… sorta.” Ranma paused again. “So what exactly does that make you and me? Are you supposed to be the angel or the devil on my shoulder, or what?”

The tiny redhead shrugged. “Not really… I’m just the part of ya that never developed the right way. You know… emotions, actually enjoying yerself, the kind of things you usually preferred doing in our alternate body?”

“Hey, wait a minute, what’s that supposed to mean?”

“Oh, gimme a break; you think I don’t know you had an easier time doing some things as a girl than as a guy? Like showing a little emotion once in a while, or indulging that sweet tooth?” The redhead sighed. “And don’t try denying it either; we’re the same person, Ranma. I know you all too well.”

Ranma started to say something and stopped, tried again and stopped again, eventually giving up and sinking to the floor with a groan. “This is definitely not what I was expecting when I hit the sack,” he mumbled, resting his chin on one hand. “Look at me, I’m talking to… well, myself, I guess…”

“Hey, if it makes it any easier, just call me Ranko, okay?” the chibi redhead piped up as she slid down Ranma’s left arm, coming to rest in the crook of his elbow. “Better than having us calling each other by the same name all the time.”

Ranma nodded, then smirked. “Guess it’s also better than calling you Yin-chan or something like that.”

“Okay, that does sound stupid,” chibi-Ranko snickered. “Accurate, maybe, but stupid.”

A moment of silence passed before Ranma glanced down at the mini-girl who was now rather cheekily lounging on his arm. “Uh… this is gonna sound like a really stupid question, Ranko, but if you’re supposed to be… ya know, my female side, shouldn’t you be… well…”

“Hey, just because we share the same body doesn’t mean we have to be the same size, big guy,” Ranko drawled before hopping off his arm and onto the floor. “I told you, that spirit inside kept stretchin’ me out of proportion; hell, there were a couple times you were way smaller than me. Remember? The way ya got sometimes, acting more feminine than usual?”

“Ugh, don’t remind me,” Ranma replied with a shiver. “Still can’t believe I acted that much like a…”

“Like a girl, I know.” Chibi-Ranko suddenly twitched her head and glowed bright blue- and an instant later, Ranma was staring at a full-sized Ranko, the exact height and proportion of his physical female body. “Fact is, the way we are right now, the fact we can still share the same body without that girl pokin’ you in the brain all the while… it’s probably about the closest we’ve been to balanced in years.”

Ranma shook his head. “Balanced?”

“Like we’ve been talking about. Yin and yang. Where one ends, the other begins. Course, you being naturally a guy and all…” Another flash, and Ranko had returned to chibi form. “Now that you’ve taken control of our balance, I can be as strong or as weak as ya need me to be.”

“Okay… I think I’m starting to get it. You mean I can actually tap into my yin without feelin’ like it’s gonna overwhelm me. Like how I used ta get scared that I was gonna lose myself to the curse, wind up turning into the exact opposite of who I am.” At Ranko’s nod, he continued. “And that’s kinda what kept me confused a lot up till recently- especially when I had ta get around to dealing with who I liked, how they’d react and all that jazz. I remember it now… after Shin did that Spirit Purge thing, it was like a friggin’ weight fell off me, ‘specially when it came to talking to Akane ‘bout how I really felt.”

“Bingo.”

Ranma shook his head and smiled slightly. “So then… why didja wait to show up till now? If I saw you once before in that dream last week, then…”

“Hey, I’ve been around… it’s not like they’re not my dreams too, right?” Mini-Ranko bounced up and perched, cross-legged, on top of Ranma’s knee. “I just didn’t think you needed a third wheel butting in just yet, especially when you and Akane started dreamsharing a few days ago.”

“You saw that?”

“Hard to miss it, big guy; the two of you synched up pretty good.” Ranko paused, then giggled. “I have to admit, that was a pretty steamy kiss session you two got caught up in, in-dream and outside of it. Even Akane-kun agreed with me.”

“Akane-kun?”

“Her yang side, brainiac. She and I had front-row seats for that little heart-to-heart you two had.” Ranko made a quick gesture in the air, and Ranma nearly face-faulted as he saw part of the dream he hadn’t even been aware was part of his memory. He and Akane were beneath the tree in her dreamscape, and in the branches of said tree were two tiny figures, watching and giggling. One he immediately recognized as chibi-Ranko; the other was an equally tiny version of Akane dressed in her gi, with a white bandanna over her bangs, just as she usually dressed for a challenge match.

Ranma put one hand to his forehead and chuckled. “Are all yin and yang opposites supposed to look like that?”

“Eh, don’t ask me. But Akane-kun did say something about being glad to relax, not having to be so aggressively masculine all the time. Something about relaxing once she was sure of who you and I really care about.”

“Really…” Ranma quirked an eyebrow for a moment, then just as quickly reassembled a serious look on his face. “Still, why show up and start talkin’ directly to me all of a sudden?”

Ranko sat up straighter and looked her counterpart straight in the eye. “Because I know what you’re trying to do here tonight,” she said in a serious tone.

“And how are ya so sure of that?”

Ranko sighed and rolled her eyes. “News flash, baka. I’m you. I’m pretty sure I know what you’ve got on your mind, since I’m kinda part of that mind. Not to mention the dojo here is pretty self-explanatory.” She gestured around at the walls, some of which were slowly sliding open. “You’ve fought more than yer fair share of personal battles in here, big guy. What your feelings are, some of your big-time fears, insecurities, the lot.”

Ranma blinked and stared at the alcoves which were suddenly revealed, gradually realizing that each one contained a memento- or more precisely, a memory- of a time when he had been pushed to the limit mentally as well as physically. He saw several pictures of grueling training with his father- though several of them had been pushed to one side, overshadowed by images of Genma sprawled in defeat at Ranma’s hands. There was an image of the seppuku contract and a statue depicting his mother as a cold, honor-praising warrior in samurai garb; the contract was in pieces and almost completely obliterated by a lingering fire, while the statue had its katana broken in three places. The samurai garb of the statue was falling away as well, replaced by a more motherly kimono, and the cold face had broken off of the figure’s head, revealing a warmer, more caring face beneath. Along the other walls he could see memories and mementos of some of his more vicious fights- the battle with Herb, a statue of Taro in beast form being toppled by Ranma’s Shooting Star Kick, the body of Saffron, pierced with blades of ice. Then newer visions, fresh in his mind… the night he confessed his feelings to Akane, and she to him. The defeat of the redhead, clad in ecchi ninja garb, that had been pulled from his body. Pictures of animosities laid to rest… Ryoga, the Amazons, even one of him, Akane and Ukyo.

“So it’s more than just a dream dojo,” he murmured at length. “It’s sorta my own private trophy room.”

“More like a catharsis room if you ask me,” chibi-Ranko quipped. “And you came here to fight your biggest fear yet.” She paused, then shivered. “Fact is, this thing’s as much my monkey as it is yours, and neither one of us can deal with it by ourselves.”

Ranma swallowed hard. “It’d be a hell of a lot easier if I could just forget about the whole thing, ya know.”

“Hey, this is just as much a part of you as I am. No one said the Neko-ken was supposed to be easy. Least of all being able to control it.” A sudden grating sound at the far end of the dojo prompted both of them to lift their heads up and stare as two large sections of the wall began to slide apart from each other. Ranma blinked, then shivered. A large reinforced wooden door lay beyond the thin rice-paper walls, with a single narrow window set with iron bars. Beyond the bars, a feral growl was issuing forth.

“That… is that what I think it is?” Ranma muttered in a trembling voice.

Ranko nodded, hopping off his knee and growing until she was roughly the same size as him. “That’s what you’re here to face,” she replied. “Or more appropriately, what we’re here to face.”

The sound of her voice seemed to prompt something behind the door. The growls suddenly jumped in their intensity, followed by a crash and a battering sound as something lunged at the door. The bangs sent further shivers across Ranma’s back as he staggered to his feet, eyes widening as the door rattled on its hinges.

“Great Kami… how…” He hurriedly wiped a stream of cold sweat from his temple. “How do I… how do we deal with… with… ah geez, why’d I have to rush into something like this…”

“You know as well as I do, we can’t keep putting this off forever,” Ranko murmured, a slight tremble in her voice. “That… thing… it’s one more facet of you, and it’s not going to go away- thanks to that stupid panda. You can’t just ignore our neko side and hope it’ll get better on its own, Ranma.”

“I know that,” Ranma snapped, his eyes narrowing. “Ya don’t think this is why I wanted to try dealin’ with it like this in the first place?” His breathing began to quicken. “I… I’m just not sure how I’m gonna wind up taming this thing, or where I’m supposed to start…”

“Where we’re supposed to start.” Ranma blinked and glanced at Ranko, who was staring back at him with fire in her eyes. “This isn’t something you can deal with using just one part of you. I told you, this is my fight as much as it is yours.” She took a breath, then turned back towards the prison door before them. “You know it, don’t you. Yin and yang. Separate, each has their own power. Together… possibly more than you can imagine. And what’s more…” She nodded her head towards the floor. “Don’t forget another part of us is waking up as well.”

A sudden golden glow coming from the floor caught Ranma’s attention. He glanced down and stared, wide-eyed, as a sheathed wakizashi rose directly out of the floorboards, wreathed in a scintillating light. He blinked as he realized it looked like an exact copy of the Sagara clan sword- only this sword appeared to have additional blurred kanji scripted along the saya. It was barely legible, yet somehow Ranma could feel it striking a note inside him somewhere. He couldn’t understand what it meant, only that he felt drawn to it like iron to a magnet.

“Is that… that’s the sword that Shingen…”

“That’s the gift of our bloodline,” Ranko said as she rested a hand on his. “The gift you chose to accept. It’s ours to use… and it’s time we used it.” The pounding on the prison door grew louder, and both Ranma and Ranko cringed as the hinges actually bent from the force.

Ranma tore his eyes away from the door and back to the sword in front of him. Suddenly he blinked and peered at it more closely; for an instant, the sword had blurred and become two swords. Just as quickly, it returned to focus and its aura pulsed, seemingly in time with Ranma’s own heart. He looked up at the shaking wooden door again, then looked into Ranko’s eyes and nodded.

“No going back,” he muttered. “Let’s do this.” His hand snapped out and grasped the wakizashi by the hilt.

A sudden pulse ran through his arm as the sword literally throbbed with power, and the kanji on the scabbard suddenly grew clearer.

The wooden door burst open. Both Ranma and Ranko lifted their eyes up, staring at the figure within… a savage, feral man-beast covered in red and black striped fur, two sharp ears sticking out of a mop of black hair with a waist-length pigtail, and deep blue slitted eyes. A guttural snarl escaped its throat as it sprang forward into the dojo, claws bursting forth from its fingers.

Ranma swallowed hard and drew the sword from its saya. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Ranko pulling into an identical stance- and an identical sword in her hand. She locked eyes with him and gave him a nod, which he returned.

The battle had begun.

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“Ranma…”

The pig-tailed youth stirred. The chaotic sensations of the dream dojo began to depart, leaving him swimming momentarily in the familiar darkness one encounters between dreams- neither fully asleep, but hardly awake. The darkness blurred as new sensations began to creep over him. The lingering chill that was still pervading his system slowly ebbed away, replaced by the familiar feeling of a futon and blankets… and a comforting warmth that seemed most familiar.

“You stupid baka, you’d better be okay…”

Who…? Ranma stirred again as he felt something caress his brow. Is that… Akane? He wrinkled his nose and twisted his head to the left, the last remnants of sleep falling away from him. Gradually the sensations around him grew stronger as he reached out with his aura, bit by bit. It is her, I’d know that aura anywhere… but there’s something wrong with it. Is… is she scared?

His eyes cracked open as he shook his head slightly, clearing what sleep remained out of his system. He looked up, bleary-eyed at first, to see Akane looking back down on him with a nervous look on her face. He blinked, finally realizing his head was in her lap and she was stroking his hair.

“A… Acchan? Is somethin’ wrong?”

The short-haired girl started, then heaved a long, relieved sigh. “You big dummy, you just about scared the whole house to death!” she said in a chastising voice, giving his shoulder a light swat.

“Huh? What do ya mean, scared the whole house?” Ranma groaned as he pulled himself up on his elbows. His eyes darted towards the windows, noting for the first time that the sky was still darkish gray. “Hey, what time is it anyhow?”

“About ten minutes till sunrise, little bro,” was the mumbled reply of Nabiki, who was slouched in the doorway with a cup of instant coffee, Ice Queen glare at the ready. “Little bit of advice. Whatever it was you ate at dinner last night that gave you a screaming nightmare like that, don’t eat it again. I don’t like being roused at this ungodly hour.” She held out her hand and wiggled her fingers. “And 10,000 yen for interrupting a perfectly good dream, kiddo.”

Ranma quirked an eyebrow at her and smirked tiredly. “Put it on my tab, Nabs.”

Nabiki responded with a yawn and a roll of the eyes. “As you wish… and I’m tacking another 5,000 on your tab for calling me ‘Nabs’ again.” She turned on her heel and slouched back to her room, knocking back her coffee in one huge gulp.

“Guess I forgot she’s never been a morning person,” Ranma quipped, turning his head to face Akane again, then blinking in surprise when he saw her biting her lip.

“Well, that and the fact it’s not really morning yet,” replied the youngest Tendo with a slight edge in her voice. “Ranma, did you really have to do what you did right then and there? Couldn’t you wait and at least warn the rest of us?”

“W-what did I do?”

Akane sighed and scooted closer. “Look, it wasn’t that hard for me to figure out what you were up to, the way you left dinner last night to go ‘meditate’ in your room. You were trying to deal with that ‘thing’ we talked about, weren’t you.” She saw him wince guiltily, then nod. “I wasn’t sure of it then, but I could tell you were tossing and turning by the time I went to bed myself… I heard you cry out a couple times, but you’d always come out of it before, so…”

“Wait a minute- what do ya mean, come out of it before?”

Akane flushed slightly. “On a few of those trips we went on… I… I kind of heard you having dreams involving… you-know-whats, and crying out for help once in a while. I didn’t want to embarrass you; I promise I never told anyone,” she added hurriedly, “and at first I thought you were having another one and that you’d come out of it.” She paused, then looked up with haunted eyes. “But then that scream a little while ago…”

Ranma shook his head. “Damn. That’s something I wasn’t expecting…” He glanced up. “Did I really wake everybody up?”

“Just about. Daddy’s currently in front of the shrine praying his future son-in-law isn’t losing his mind,” Akane replied dryly. “Kasumi’s trying to calm him down, I don’t know what Nabiki’s doing now besides fuming at you for waking her up.” She reached over and placed a hand firmly on his shoulder. “Ranma, what happened? I know you said you wanted to work this thing out by yourself, but that scream… it sounded like something was tearing you apart, for Kami’s sake!” She tried to give him an angry look, but an errant tear spoiled the effect.

“Akane… I’m sorry, I wasn’t tryin’ to scare anyone, ‘specially not you…”

“I know you weren’t trying to, but you could’ve saved me a lot of trouble if you’d told me what was going on in the first place, instead of me having to piece it together bit by bit.” She sniffed. “Besides… what if… what if something happened with whatever you were doing and you’d gone Neko permanently? Did you ever stop and think about that?”

Ranma nodded slowly, reaching up and placing his hand on the one she had placed on his shoulder. “That’s kinda the point of why I did what I did,” he murmured. “I had to deal with this before it got the better of me.”

“I know that, you said the same thing yesterday,” Akane replied. “But what did you do- or dream- that made you scream like that?”

Ranma sighed, brushing his bangs out of his eyes with his free hand. “Had a little chat with myself, that’s all. It’s not really that easy to explain… let’s just say I figured the best way to deal with it was from the inside out. Face what was buggin’ me directly… if that makes sense.”

Akane blinked, then shook her head and sighed as well. “I’m not really sure what makes sense these days,” she replied with a humorless chuckle before looking up and gracing him with a weak smile. “Never mind, it’s too early anyway. We’ll talk about this later… but tell me one thing. Are you all right now? Or am I going to have to worry about you losing it at random?”

“I’m fine, Acchan. I just had something throw a temper tantrum in my head for a bit; I’m okay now.”

“Are you sure?”

“If I say I’m sure, then I’m sure.” He paused, then took hold of her arm and drew her into a gentle embrace. “Thanks for bein’ concerned, though.”

She nodded, then hugged him back. “Don’t scare me like that again, okay?” she whispered in his ear, receiving in return a nod and a kiss on the neck that tickled her slightly and got both of them giggling for a moment. Ranma pulled back to look at her and was about to say something, but was interrupted by a hand knocking on the door frame.

“I must say, I’ve had my fair share of unusual wake-up calls in my time,” said a still-groggy Shingen as he stepped just inside the room, clad in a grey urban camo t-shirt and blue sweatpants. “And this is one I think I’ll have to add to the list. Something wrong?”

Ranma shook his head and staggered to his feet. “Not at the moment, Shin. Just had a bad dream.”

“An intentional bad dream,” Akane piped up as she stood up, giving Ranma another stern look. “Could’ve at least warned me…”

“Come on Akane, I said I was sorry!”

“Intentional bad dream…” Shingen mused, folding his arms and leaning against the doorway. “You were dream-training, then?”

Ranma shrugged. “Somethin’ like that. Hey, you’re the one who said I had to get a handle on my fears, Shingen.”

“That I did,” the taller man replied. “Though I wasn’t implying you needed to do it from the inside out, Ranma. Dream-training is pretty damn useful, especially with facing a fear, but unless you’re also dreamsharing with another it’s a bit of a risky gambit. If someone’s with you, you have a safety net if the dream threatens to overwhelm you.”

“See? You should’ve told me!” said Akane smugly, swatting Ranma on the arm, at which he shot her a sour look and stuck his tongue out at her.

“Okay, I get the message. Don’t try it again unless someone else wants to dream along with me. Can do, sir,” Ranma quipped in a sarcastic military tone, complete with a facetious salute. Shingen merely chuckled and waved him off.

“Well, you certainly sound okay, so I’m guessing whatever you dreamed hasn’t done any severe lasting damage.” Shingen paused, then gave Ranma an inquisitive look. “Say, just out of curiosity… do you recall what happened? Or if the dream-training did what you intended?”

Ranma stretched his arms out, undid a few cricks in his neck and yawned before shooting Shingen a smug glance. “Did what I intended… well, that I don’t know yet. All I know is, it got plenty rough… but I’d really rather not go into that right now. Come to think of it… I‘m not really sure of everything that happened, it’s all kinda fuzzy.” He turned to Akane. “I think I’d rather get a little exercise in before the day starts. What do ya say, ‘kane?”

Akane paused, then smirked and shrugged. “I say you and I are still going to talk about this later today, but there’s also no way I’m gonna get back to sleep now. Might as well make the best of it, I guess.” She took a quick step forward so that her nose was practically touching Ranma’s. “Sparring match in the dojo, and the loser has to wash the winner’s back.”

Ranma raised an eyebrow. “Are you tryin’ to give me an incentive to lose, then?”

“I thought the great, all-powerful Ranma Saotome never loses!” Akane giggled, then poked him in the ribs. “Tag! You’re it!” she added before spinning on one heel and dashing out of the room. Ranma shook his head in amazement and sprang after her, barreling down the stairs at a breakneck pace. It wasn’t long before the sounds of laughter and shinai cracking against one another began to echo through the dojo, accompanied soon after by the Tendo patriarch’s sobs of joy at Ranma’s apparent ‘recovery’. A short while later, the two teens were joined by a third as Shingen decided to teach them a more elaborate sword kata- after retrieving their respective clan swords without Soun noticing. Kasumi merely smiled and hummed quietly to herself as she took her time preparing the morning meal.

Nabiki, for her part, had jammed her headphones on and was grumbling about the fact that the sun hadn’t completely risen yet.

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“How many times do I have to pound it into yer thick skull? GET LOST, TSUBASA!”

It was just past 11 AM, and had for the most part been a relatively quiet morning, but said quiet had finally been shattered as an irate Ukyo proceeded to pummel a nearby signboard senseless- a signboard with a familiar redhead peeking out of the top. Tsubasa had once again attempted to nuzzle up to Ukyo’s leg while she was hanging out her shop curtain, with the result that he received five new lumps on his head. The fuming chef had then pulled her spatula back and smacked the offending costumed masochist with the kind of force one might expect from Barry Bonds. The end result being, several Nerima residents proceeded to phone in reports of a UFO as Tsubasa rocketed over the skies, all the while professing his love for Ukyo.

“Jackass,” she snarled through gritted teeth. “When is that dork ever going to learn?”

“Having another argument with the local garbage, are we?”

Ukyo started, then whipped around to see a certain brown-haired man, now dressed in jeans and his ubiquitous leather jacket, leaning against the restaurant’s door with an amused smile. “Oh, hey there Shin-kun,” she said, returning his smile with an awkward one of her own. “Nah, it wasn’t garbage today, just a signboard costume. Tomorrow it’ll probably be a phone booth.”

“Or a potted plant, perhaps?”

“Yeah, that’s nothing new to him,” she chuckled, leaning casually but also unsteadily on her combat spatula; she was still adjusting to the different weight of her new weapon, as her original had proved to be too damaged to repair. “So… what brings ya down this side of town, sugar? I wasn’t really expecting to see you today.”

“I suppose I could say the same for you,” Shingen replied, putting both hands in his pockets and ambling towards her. “Aren’t you supposed to be in school right now?”

Ukyo shrugged. “Hey, a girl’s got to make a living, ya know. I can’t just leave the lunch rush in the lurch, can I? I’ve been doing it this way for months now- take a day or two off to work full-time, do some make-up work when I get back. Not like the principal made much of a fuss about missing a few days.”

“Yes, I can see that,” Shingen chuckled. “Must make for a tight schedule, shuffling between school and work like that.”

“Eh, it’s not that bad.” She glanced at the pavement and scuffed some dirt with the toe of her shoe. “Just got used to it, I guess. When you’re training and pretty much living on your own- and no real family, either- you either sink or swim, ya know?”

“Well, I do know what it’s like to be on my own for long stretches, at least. I can safely say my life hasn’t been a real bed of roses, but I knew that going into it.”

Ukyo blinked, then nodded. “Yeah, I guess it must be kinda rough, being a Hunter… fighting weird things, bouncing from one place to another…” She paused, then giggled. “Though I can’t say I haven’t had a few of those experiences myself. Remind me to tell you what happened to me and the gang on Toma’s island sometime.”

“I think Akane mentioned some of the weirdness you guys encountered,” Shingen replied with a smirk. “Sounds like it was… interesting, to say the least…” Just then he stopped and shot a quick glance to the left, followed by an annoyed sigh. “Hold on a moment.”

“Huh? What’s the big deal?”

“This.” He jammed his left hand into his jacket; an instant later his arm snapped outward and a runic throwing dart flashed through the air, heading straight for a telephone pole across the street. A sudden, short squeak erupted as the knife caught an invisible something right in front of the pole; the air flickered, revealing a bug-eyed creature with reddish skin and an overdeveloped jaw, not unlike a fanged, horned simian on amphetamines. A second later, the creature imploded into a cloud of white, sparkling shards that quickly disappeared.

Ukyo stared. “What was that? And what was it doing outside my restaurant?”

Shingen straightened his lapels. “Just a stupid lesser oni. Ugly as hell, and that’s their strong point. About as irritating as imps, they love to make things ‘interesting’ for humans. Maybe he was the one who decided to bring that Tsubasa fellow back to visit.”

Ukyo shook her head and groaned. “That sounds just about crazy enough to be the truth,” she mumbled. “Do those things show up around here all the time, by any chance, and nobody really notices?” It might explain a few things if they did… but Kami, talk about an ugly little freak…

“Sometimes they do, sometimes not. It varies… though with the chaos stream winding through this ward, they’re probably more commonplace than some place like the Ginza.” Shingen leaned against the door frame again and folded his arms. “Certainly can’t say Nerima ward isn’t a boring place,” he said jokingly.

“Yeah, you can say that again,” Ukyo replied. She looked up, meeting his eyes with hers for a brief moment before looking away again, putting her hands together behind her back and leaning on the door. “So… I guess you just came down this way looking for a creep or two to knock around, huh.”

“Well… actually, I was just out for a walk, the creep I wound up noticing out of reflex.” Shingen paused, then smirked. “Like I said, I wasn’t expecting anyone to be around at this hour… but I’m certainly not complaining about running into you again.”

Ukyo blushed, scratching the back of her head. “Heh… if I didn’t know better, I’d say you were trying to make a pass at me, Shin-kun,” she giggled, eliciting a friendly laugh from him in the process. “And you’re right, under the circumstances right now there wouldn’t have been anyone here- least now that Konatsu’s flown the coop,” she added, her smile turning wan.

“Any news about where he went? I know you said yesterday you were a little concerned…”

She shook her head. “Don’t know where he went, but I found a note from him on the grill this morning,” she said. “Guess he musta stealthed in when I was asleep. Anyway, effectively he said he needed some time to think… and that he’d be back at some point or another to talk, so that’s a little relief… better than none at all. At least I know he’s not mad at me.” She straightened up and brushed her hair back. “What can I say, he may have been annoying at times but I’d hate to lose him as a friend.”

Shingen nodded. “I know the feeling. It’s never easy, is it… losing a friend.”

“And sometimes harder to make new ones.” There was a pause, followed by Ukyo stretching her arms over her head and bending down to pick up her awning. “Well, I guess I can’t stand around all morning, I got a restaurant to open, Shin-kun.” A quick clack, and the awning was in place. “Say… not to press or anything, mind you, but… you hungry?”

Shingen blinked and scratched a spot just under his bandanna. “Well… actually, now that you mention it I guess I could use a bite.”

Ukyo’s smile perked up a notch. “Then how ‘bout I make you my first customer of the day? My treat.”

“I’m not exactly sure a treat counts as a customer, Ucchan,” Shingen chuckled.

“Ah, who cares? C’mon in, pull up a stool, big guy,” she replied, reaching over and tugging playfully on his jacket sleeve. He gave her a melodramatic sigh and a ‘resigned’ shrug, allowing her to drag him through the doorway- or would have before he suddenly tensed up and dug his heels into the floor.

“Huh? Hey, sugar, what’s the big deal now?” Ukyo glanced up at his face, her smile disappearing as she saw a severe look in his eyes. For a moment, Shingen said nothing, but turned to face outside and scanned the street in both directions slowly and methodically. “What is it? Something wrong?”

Shingen bit his lip. “I just felt something,” he said in a low voice. “It wasn’t there for very long, but there was something inherently wrong about it. I didn’t get a chance to discern if it was human or demonic… but there was definitely a large quantity of negative energy in the area for a split second.” He shook his head. “I’ve got a bad feeling about this…”

--------------------

“I gotta admit I felt pretty goofy carryin’ this thing slung on my back all day; thought for sure Hinako-sensei was gonna zap me just for bringing it into class.”

“Ranma, how many times have people brought bokkens, bonbori, combat spatulas or weighted umbrellas into Furinkan and gotten away with it?” Akane shifted her book bag in her hands, her knuckles brushing against the dark blue saya of the Saito wakizashi. “Yeah, I felt a little weird carrying this too… more because of the looks we got from the other students, rather than teacher reactions. Besides, Shingen carries that weapon of his around all the time.”

“I know, it just felt weird going from just a book bag to a bag and a sword in tandem. I’m still getting used to using the damn thing.”

They were walking home after what qualified, to them, as the most normal day they had ever had at Furinkan. For the first time in over a year, there had been no Kuno challenges, no walls busted open by Shampoo’s delivery bike, no pavement needing repairs due to Ryoga’s ‘prepare to die’ spiels, nothing at all. Not even an impromptu ‘rule enforcement’ by the principal. There was still a good deal of consternation concerning who would take over administrative duties; for the time being authority had been delegated to a nameless vice-principal who had faded into the background when the elder Kuno returned from Hawaii. But aside from that and a number of students looking much more relieved and happy than they had been in months, it had been an incredibly peaceful day.

The clan swords Ranma and Akane had carried- on Shingen’s insistence, citing the Hell Hound assault and a need to be at the ready at all times- had caused a slight amount of surprise and more than a few stares from fellow students, but as Akane had pointed out, it was as if the faculty had a blind spot where they were concerned. “They probably expect something like this after all that’s happened,” she had quipped when they put their outdoor shoes away. Ranma had shrugged, but didn’t say anything at the time. And now, walking home, he couldn’t help but smile at the peace and quiet the two of them had had. He’d even managed to get some studying done, much to the delight of Hinako-sensei… who had given the class a stern lecture, informing them that as of that day, leather jackets had been prohibited while on campus grounds for reasons she had refused to elaborate on.

“You know, I thought for sure something was going to pop up all day long,” Akane mused. “I kept trying to reach out and ‘see’ with my aura, like we’d learned… took me till lunch to relax and just enjoy the peace.”

“Yeah, me too,” Ranma replied as he inched a bit closer to her. She looked up at him, smiled and gingerly slipped her arm around his- another thing they were still getting used to doing in public. “Although, you gotta admit… peace and quiet was a nice break, but it got a bit dull after a while.”

“I figured you’d say something like that. Always looking for something else to pop up, aren’t you.” She paused, then smiled a bit more. “Well, I don’t know if it was the peace and quiet or something else, I’m just glad I didn’t have the same experience in last period that I usually do.”

Ranma blinked. “Last period? What are you… Oh. THAT class.”

“Right. Home Economics. The one where everyone winces when I step in the door.” She sighed. “I was scared to death I was going to screw up again… but this time I tried following a little advice. And one of the rules you taught me in our sparring matches.”

“Huh?”

She shrugged. “The one where you lose your cool and you lose the fight. I tried keeping that in mind- and I also tried NOT to turn it into a big deal.” She lifted her book bag up and undid the clasp- a bit tricky to do with her arm still through his- and opened the bag just enough to see inside. On top of her books was a small bag of irregularly-shaped chocolate chip cookies.

“You… you made those, ‘kane?” For a fleeting moment, memories of another batch of cookies flickered at the back of his mind, ones that had been okay at first but had laid him out with an upset stomach shortly afterward. He bit back the memory- and a sarcastic comment that normally would’ve just tumbled out into the open. Okay, calm down… it’s not like she was tryin’ to be a bad cook, an’ besides she did mean well… even if she was forcing the stuff down my throat half the time. Don’t say anything yet, maybe they ain’t so bad…

“They didn’t come out quite the shape I wanted, and I may have overcooked a few just a bit,” Akane said softly. “But I tried a few of them myself, and they aren’t really that bad… not the best, I’ll admit… but I think they’re a lot better than my last tries.” She looked up. “It’s not much… but it’s a start, and I have been wanting to get better…”

There was a significant pause as the two of them walked on in awkward silence. Ranma looked at her with a neutral expression, then at the cookies. Then back to her again, then the cookies again. Akane sighed, her expression beginning to fall. Damn… after all those botched things I pushed on him, I shouldn’t really expect him to be that excited about these… but I DID try them… Her internal rant came to an abrupt halt as Ranma’s other hand came into view, reaching into the bag and slowly taking out a single cookie.

“Um… you mind if I give one o’ these a shot?” He gave her a warm version of his usual crooked smile. “Nothing ventured, nothing gained, as the saying goes.”

Akane didn’t say anything, but simply nodded as he popped the cookie into his mouth and chewed.

Her eyes widened a bit when he didn’t turn sickly colors after swallowing; her smile widened more than a bit when he smiled and made a slight ‘mmm’ sound. I… I did it… I actually made something edible… and he LIKED it!

By the time the two of them arrived at the gates of the dojo, they had eaten the whole bag of cookies- even the overdone ones- and were both in a very good mood. Ranma cracked a joke about having to apologize to Kasumi in advance- about not being able to finish dinner, since the two of them had had dessert already- which got Akane laughing a bit and sent her ego upward a few more notches. She mentioned trying other things- starting simple at first, then moving up to harder things once she got the hang of it. “This time I’m going to do it the right way, not my old way,” she added as they entered the foyer and kicked off their shoes.

“We’re home!” Ranma called out, taking a moment to discreetly smuggle their swords into the broom closet- Soun was still unaware of their existence and their bloodline significance, and the two of them had wracked their brains trying to come up with a way to break it to him that didn’t involve fainting or quarts of tears.

“Welcome home, you two,” said Kasumi as she entered the hall from the kitchen with several teacups. “Was everything okay at school today?”

“The best,” Akane replied, still sporting a huge smile.

“Well, that’s certainly good to hear; it’s about time you two had a change of pace from what usually happens at that place.” Kasumi turned and bore the tea tray towards the living room, then stopped and turned back briefly. “Oh, your parents arrived a short while ago, Ranma- and a visitor, too.”

Following Kasumi into the living room, Ranma and Akane both stopped in their tracks and almost burst out laughing at what they saw. For the most part, the room looked normal- Nabiki was lounging on her stomach reading a manga, Nodoka sat at the table reading a letter as she gladly accepted a cup from Kasumi, and Soun and Genma-panda were engaged in another game of shogi. All in all, nothing to laugh at. They had noticed out of the corner of their eyes that Ukyo was the visitor Kasumi had mentioned, and also that Shingen was sitting at the table next to her as the two of them were having a lengthy discussion with Nodoka. That hadn’t been what prompted the near-laugh, although it did prompt a knowing look and a nod between them.

The thing that nearly sent Ranma and Akane into giggles was the leash. In Nodoka’s hand. Attached to a red collar around a rather humiliated Genma-panda’s neck. Akane snorted and managed to rein her giggles in at the last moment, but Ranma wasn’t quite as successful and let loose a short flurry of stifled snickers. Genma looked up and shook his head, holding up a sign saying HAVE PITY ON YOUR OLD MAN, BOY.

“Welcome home, son,” said Nodoka, motioning for him and Akane to sit down. “I trust you’re doing well… and you really shouldn’t laugh at others like that. It’s impolite.” She paused, then smirked. “Even if it might be justified,” she added under her breath.

“Sorry, Mom- I just wasn’t expecting to see that when I walked in.”

“Me neither,” Akane added.

“I don’t think any of us did,” said Ukyo from her place at the table. “I was just mindin’ the shop when Mrs. Saotome here comes along with Mr. Saotome in tow…” She stifled a giggle of her own, Shingen merely raised an eyebrow and grinned. “Not exactly an everyday sight in downtown, ya know.”

“I was simply out running a few errands, and Dearest was ever so kind to offer to carry my things… but, since there was so much, and he is rather stronger in panda form… it just seemed the best way,” said Nodoka with a sly smile. “Oh, and this… it just seemed the best way to keep him from running off.” She motioned to the leash looped around her wrist.

“Well… I guess that’s pretty reasonable,” Ranma murmured as Kasumi served him and Akane some tea. Geez, I knew Mom wanted to keep Pops on a ‘short leash’, I didn’t think she’d be so literal about it!

You and me both, Ranma. You and me both, came Akane’s Astral reply.

“Personally, I think it suits him,” Nabiki muttered offhand. “Maybe you oughta just keep him like that all the time.” Soun flinched slightly at the comment, whereas Genma seemed to have turned completely white. His signboard confirmed his sentiment, reading CAN I HAVE SOME HOT WATER NOW? PLEASE?

Nodoka seemed to ponder for a long moment before nodding slowly. “Kasumi, could you be a dear and get my husband a little hot water? I think he’d like to let his hair down a bit… as it were.” Kasumi nodded and headed for the kitchen while the others at the table all snickered. Genma-panda groaned.

“So,” Akane began once the giggles died down, “what brings you here today, Ukyo? I didn’t see you in class today, I thought you might have been sick or something.”

“Actually, I just took a day off to run the store, that’s all. But then me and Shin-kun here ran into the Saotomes, and Mrs. Saotome invited me back here to have a little chat. So I closed up early…” Ukyo brushed a strand of hair out of her eyes. “And we’ve been chatting pretty much all afternoon.”

“You and Shin?” Ranma asked, raising an eyebrow.

“I just happened to be out for a walk when I noticed her place was opening for business,” Shingen added. “We got to talking, and… well, somehow I wound up staying there longer than I expected. I’d only really meant to stay for a bite, but…”

“Anyway,” Ukyo continued, sporting a mild flush, “like I said, we met up with your mom and came back here to talk about things.” She turned and looked at Nodoka. “I still say you didn’t have to, Mrs. Saotome…”

“Please, Ukyo, no need to be like that. Just call me Auntie,” Nodoka replied warmly. “And while you might not feel that I need to be doing this, I do.” She paused, looking down the table at Ranma and Akane. “The matter between her family and ours needs to be cleared up, even if Ukyo-chan doesn’t feel it to be necessary. What happened years ago left a deep stain on the Saotome clan’s honor, as you well know.” She shot a hard look at Genma, who was currently being doused with hot water by Kasumi. “As temporary Clan Leader, it is my obligation to bring to an end what the previous leader failed to rectify.”

Genma’s glum look became even glummer. “I wasn’t thinking properly, No-chan… I said I was sorry…” He fingered the now-loose collar around his neck, pondering how fast he could yank it off before Nodoka noticed.

“In any event,” Nodoka continued, “I do understand your desire to leave it behind, Ukyo, but this issue has to be settled. And I must say, I’m rather glad you hadn’t mailed off that letter to your father yet; I certainly don’t approve of the language you had used.”

Ukyo blushed. “Well, I guess telling him to go straight to hell was a bit much…”

“You actually told your father to go to hell?” Akane half-asked, half gasped.

“Well, to be exact I wrote that I hope he rots in hell,” Ukyo replied with a guilty shrug. “I guess I was a tad emotional when I came up with that… so we’ve been revising that letter pretty much all afternoon. We were almost finished when you and Ran-chan came in, and…” She paused. “Uh… Ran-chan?”

Ranma nodded ever so slightly, but his eyes didn’t meet with hers. In the blink of an eye, he had gone from casual mode to hyper-tense, almost like a coiled spring. His eyes had suddenly locked on the shoji doors leading to the backyard, just beyond Soun and Genma. His fists were clenched and rested lightly on the table, and Akane could see his brow beginning to furrow. She was about to ask him what the big deal was, when a familiar sensation began to wash over her, causing her to tense up as well. She didn’t look to her other side, but Akane could feel Shingen’s aura start to flare in response to the sensation… a pulsing, overwhelming quantity of ki that was barely suppressed.

Nodoka blinked. “Son? Akane? What on earth is the matter?”

Ranma gritted his teeth. “There’s something out there,” he muttered in a voice that was almost a snarl. “Shoulda known this day couldn’t stay peaceful for long. You feel it too, dontcha, ‘kane?”

Akane nodded. “It’s getting closer, too.”

“This can’t be good… it’s exactly the same as what I felt outside Ucchan’s earlier,” Shingen murmured, one hand inching towards his weapon. Soun shot an inquisitive look in his direction, while Genma took a moment to loosen the collar and swap out a shogi piece.

“Oh, this definitely ain’t good, Shin.” Ranma’s eyes narrowed until they were little more than blue slits. “I know that aura all too well…”

“Oh, for heaven’s sake, would one of you please tell the rest of us what…” Nodoka was promptly cut off mid-sentence by a sudden, massive flaring of ki outside the house that caused a prodigious gust of wind to rip through the spaces between the doors. Papers, shogi pieces and teacups were knocked about as the doors viciously snapped open. Nodoka gasped and scrambled to retrieve the letter she and Ukyo had worked on. Soun and Genma both twisted to look out the door and promptly scooted away in a panic, butting up against the table with their eyes glued to the figure on the porch.

“RRRRAAAANNNNMMMMAAAA! TIME FOR YOU TO LEARN YOUR PLACE ONCE AND FOR ALL, M’BOY!” bellowed Happosai, fury etched into every last wrinkle on his face. His ki was boiling over in great gouts of cold blue light, which distracted somewhat from his unkempt and disheveled appearance. His clothing was matted and torn in places, and there were bizarre round marks all over his face- the by-product of the amorous octopus that had seized him while in transit.

Ranma sprang to his feet and glared at the ancient lecher. “I figured you’d be showing up sooner or later; seems like every time things start going right, along comes Happi and mucks it all up again! Why didn’t ya just stay away this time?”

Soun began shivering and spun around to face Ranma. “Son, PLEASE! There’s n-no need to be quite so b-brusque with the Master! L-look, whatever you’ve done to upset him, p-perhaps you might at least consider an ap-pology! For K-Kami’s sake, he IS the f-founder of the school!”

“Like I care about that!” Ranma snapped, cracking his knuckles. “You expect me to suck up to this pipsqueak the rest of my life, just like you and Pops do all the time? Sorry, Mr. Tendo, but I’m not gonna do that today, whatever the hell his beef is!”

“You disrespectful little whelp,” Happosai growled as he stepped into the house. “Have you no concern for the fate that befell your Grandmaster? YOU had the nerve to boot me out of town when it was well and truly YOUR time to be taught a lesson! AND I see you still haven’t evicted that interloper who’s probably still squatting in MY room! And all this time…” He began to shed a ridiculous quantity of something that Ranma, Akane and everyone except Soun recognized as crocodile tears. “I have suffered the greatest injustices at the hands of misguided foreigners and a deranged sea creature; I doubt I shall EVER be the same again!” The fire in his eyes blazed again and he locked eyes with Ranma. “And you DARE not show even a tinge of guilt for being responsible for my misfortune?”

“Don’t even go there, you self-centered, self-righteous, decrepit, impotent old ball o’ perverted wax.”

Happosai’s jaw practically hit the floor. “IMPOTENT?”

Akane winced. Now you’ve done it, Ranma. That creep’s gonna wreck this place for sure now that you’ve gone and riled him up…

Don’t count on it, Acchan, he replied in their mind’s ear. Not if I wreck him first. “Ya heard me, old lech. And don’t bother askin’ me to take it back, because I won’t.”

Genma swallowed hard and started to sweat as Happosai grew even more livid. “M-master, please… you’ve had a long journey, you must be very tired… this must be all some big misunderstanding! D-don’t mind the boy, you know how he is, saying one thing and meaning something else…” He wanted to say more in an effort to buy time, but got cut off as Happosai smacked him inordinately hard on the head with his pipe.

“Don’t try and placate me with your simpering, you fat fool!” the small man snapped. “I’ve had just about all I can take of this boy and his ways… and I dare say you’re the one to blame for failing to teach him some respect!” He folded his arms and glared at Genma. “I think perhaps you’d best assist me in teaching my heir his lesson, Genma… otherwise I may very well strip you of your title as Master of the Saotome school.” His glare turned into a wicked sneer. “Wouldn’t like that, would you?”

Ranma folded his arms and snorted derisively. “That ain’t gonna work as a threat this time, old man. Pops ain’t the Master of the Saotome school anymore.” He brushed his bangs out of his hair and flashed a cool grin at Happosai. “I am.”

“Huh? Wha… You? YOU’RE the Mas… WHEN DID THIS HAPPEN?”

“You’ve been gone a bit too long, Happi. I earned that title when I whipped Pops in an official challenge not more than a few days ago.” Around the table, several people nodded their assent to his statement, accompanied with some nasty looks; Nodoka was rapidly becoming disgusted with the old Grandmaster and bore a look that closely matched Nabiki’s and Akane’s. “Sorry you weren’t here for his ‘retirement’ party,” Ranma added, rolling up his sleeves. “And speaking of which, I’ve had about all I can take of yer bellyaching- so maybe it’s about time you consider retiring yerself.”

Happosai stared. “Are you suggesting that I, your GRANDMASTER, should step down?”

“I’m not suggesting,” Ranma shot back. “I’m telling you to step down and get the hell out of our lives.”

Akane nodded, hesitantly at first, then stood up next to Ranma with a clenched fist. “That goes for me, too.” Nodoka, Kasumi and Nabiki didn’t say anything, but nodded in agreement- Nodoka with her hand on her katana. Soun, for his part, decided on the easy course to escape the high emotions around him, and promptly fainted.

“This… this is absurd!” Happosai fumed. “The arrogance… telling me, of all people, what to do! And I suppose you feel you can’t learn anything more from this learned Master of the Art, then? Want to try and humiliate me a step further, eh? Force me into retirement and leave the school without a Grandmaster?”

“That’s not what I said, you old fart,” Ranma said in a sub-zero voice. “How about this. You wanna teach me a lesson so bad, why don’t you just try it. You and me, right now. Master vs. Grandmaster. I win… and you hand over the entire school, step down and never come back to Nerima.”

“Ahhh… so it comes down to this, does it,” Happi said in a soft, dangerous tone. “I lose, and you take my title… well, you arrogant little whelp, how about this? I’ll accept that term if you accept this- if I win, you and the entire household swear your loyalty to me and become my devoted pupils.” He paused a moment, casting a lascivious eye on every female present in the room. “And that means fulfilling my every desire, whatever that may be.” Nodoka paled. Kasumi gasped, Nabiki looked like she was about to vomit, and Akane began to grit her teeth so hard the others could hear her doing it.

Ranma…

What is, it, Acchan?

She looked up at him with a fire in her eyes he’d seen many times before. You better kick that old geezer’s ass so hard he’ll kiss the moon, otherwise I’m going to do the same to you!

Ranma winced a bit at the force behind her words, but smirked as he noticed a slight playfulness in the tone. Don’t you worry… I ain’t the same Ranma he’s fought before, and this time I ain’t gonna hold back. He shot another icy look at the angry dwarf. “You got a deal, Happy. I lose, I’m yer goddamned servant. Now… let’s DO IT!”

With no additional warning, Ranma planted a foot on the table and sprang headlong at Happosai, right fist shooting towards the lecher’s face. Akane’s eyes widened as she noticed Ranma’s speed wasn’t all that it could be, then winced as Happi snagged Ranma’s wrist with his pipe and sent the pig-tailed teen flying out the door and into the koi pond. She shook her head and started to wonder if Ranma had just made a huge mistake… and then something hit her about the way he had moved. Ranma hadn’t underestimated Happosai’s speed, he had let the old goat throw him!

Happosai, for his part, merely sported a huge grin on his face and bounced over to the koi pond. “Now for a little recharge of the ol’ batteries, then I’ll end this for good!” he cackled, springing onto one of the boundary stones. A figure rose up out of the water, and Happi pounced. “SWEET… o?” His hands had firmly locked onto Ranma’s shirt and his face pressed tight to said shirt, but something was definitely amiss. He blinked twice, looked up… right into a fully male Ranma’s grinning face. The fact that Ranma hadn’t changed escaped him for a moment; the fact that Happosai had just snuggled up to a man’s chest sent a horrific shiver down his spine.

“Looking for something, old bastard?” said Ranma with a grin, followed by a right fist to the top of Happi’s head that drove the tiny man into the ground. Ranma quickly sprang out of the pond; Happosai hopped out of the smallish crater, wobbling a bit before recovering, and in an instant the real battle erupted. With a pint-sized roar, Happosai became a blur, darting over, around and under Ranma in an attempt to smack his arms, legs or head with his pipe- or, failing that, to strike at various pressure points on the young man’s body. He lashed out, feeling fully certain of catching his student- but as seconds ticked away, the certainty faded. He was hitting, to be sure- but he was hitting Ranma’s after-images. All too late something occurred to him- somehow, Ranma had gotten a lot faster than Happosai remembered.

This speed became painfully evident as Ranma began to strike back, hitting Happosai with a succession of quick jabs that by themselves did little, but en masse began to hurt quite a bit. “You think you’re so tough? It’ll be another hundred years before you can defeat me!” Happi snapped, ducking a lightning-fast kick and moving in for another pipe toss. The next thing he felt was a shudder all along his arm, followed by a snapping sound as Ranma broke the pipe with a knife-hand strike.

“Guess time flies then, huh?” Ranma quipped as the two sprang apart. Happosai shook his head, spat on the ground and lunged forward again- but Ranma was nowhere to be seen. In the span of time it took a person to blink once, he had contracted his ki and entered the Umisen-ken faster than even Genma had ever done. Happi stared at the ground blankly, but before he could try to reach out with his other senses he was suddenly attacked from- apparently- all angles as Ranma executed a perfect snake bite strike up and down the Master’s body. The tiny man wobbled and spun, his eyes spinning as Ranma reappeared… with something clenched in each hand. Akane blinked, then turned bright red as she realized Ranma was holding no less than a dozen pieces of lingerie. Nodoka stared blankly at the sight; Nabiki merely shrugged and kept her camera trained on the fight.

Happi slowly stabilized himself, then gasped as he finally noticed what Ranma was holding. “What the… HOW DARE YOU TAKE MY SILKY DARLINGS!”

“I know you too well, old freak,” Ranma shot back. “And as long as you’re drawing yer pervert energy from these, you’re not playing fair. So I thought I’d even the odds a bit.” His ki flared up around his hands, and in front of Happosai’s face every bra and panty was suddenly and violently scorched into oblivion. The old pervert screamed in outrage.

“THAT DOES IT! Now I’m REALLY going to make you pay for your impertinence! HAPPO FIRE BURST!” The next instant, no less than six fuse bombs appeared in his hands, which he promptly hurled with all his might directly at Ranma’s face with the speed of a Roger Clemens fastball. Surprisingly, Ranma didn’t budge an inch, but tensed up and clenched his fists as the bombs streaked towards them… and promptly exploded in a cloud of smoke that encased him from head to toe.

“Ranma!” Akane cried out, her eyes widening at the sight.

“Relax, Akane. He knows exactly what he’s doing.” Shingen stood up from the table and put a hand on her shoulder, pulling her back down. “I felt it from where I was sitting,” he added in a whisper. “Just watch.”

Happosai shook his head and began to saunter towards the cloud of smoke. “What a shame you had to learn your lesson the hard way, boy,” he chuckled nastily. “Maybe now you’ll know just who has the upper hand around here…”

“Yeah… and that would be ME!”

Happosai’s eyes bugged out at the sound of Ranma’s cocky voice- and his jaw promptly dropped as Ranma’s aura abruptly exploded, blasting the smoke into oblivion and singing the edges of his hair. The pig-tailed teen stood completely unharmed at the epicenter of the blast, wrapped in a brilliant red aura that grew more vibrant and powerful by the second. An instant before the shock wore off from Happosai, Ranma crouched down and shot forward like a human missile. “Now let’s see what you think of MY power!”

The seconds that followed were nothing short of the most painful ones Happosai had ever gone through. Ranma came down upon him like several wolves upon the fold, first blazing into the Master with a punishing Amaguriken that drove nearly all the wind from his lungs. Happi fell to the ground and staggered back up again, but Ranma gave him no chance to recover, hitting him over the head with a double axe-handle smash and a reverse roundhouse that sent him crashing into the estate wall. Happosai managed to pull himself back up again and began to pepper Ranma with jabs and kicks of his own, but Ranma’s speed and the lech’s own anger worked against him, allowing him to score only a few meager hits. Suddenly Ranma vanished from sight into the Umisen once more, then emerged from behind with his hand wreathed in blazing ki. “JINRAI TEKKEN!” he bellowed, slamming his fist into Happosai’s back and cracking no less than six of Happi’s ribs in the process; as the puny Master fell, Ranma grabbed hold of his brown gi and flung him into the air. He crouched, and suddenly shot skyward, quickly reaching the same height as the now-descending pervert; a quick mid-air flip and Ranma had connected with a devastating ki-enhanced axe kick to the back of Happi’s head.

The final blow sent the pint-sized man crashing to the ground next to the koi pond. Ranma landed next to him, wiped the sweat from his forehead and pulled back into a ready position. Everybody in the house was staring, some in awe, some in shock, and two with knowing smiles, at the sight in front of him. Only Soun wasn’t staring at the fight, still suffering from his fainting spell.

Ranma cracked his neck. “We can keep this up all afternoon, or we can end it right now. Do you yield?”

Happosai twitched. A long groan escaped him from where he had landed in a battered heap. Several things were hitting him at the same time- not only was he in a great deal of agony, he was too far from any lady’s underclothes or a warm bosom to replenish himself; somehow Ranma had not turned into a girl when in the koi pond; and somewhere between the last real duel of theirs and this duel, Ranma’s skill level had either shot through the roof, or he had held back, or both. Despite all of this, however, his own pride would not allow him to surrender while he could still move…

He craned his neck up out of the dirt and looked weakly at Ranma and those around him. “I… I ain’t done yet, you… whipper… snapper…” He coughed, and promptly collapsed on the dirt again.

“Well, I don’t know about you,” said Nabiki with a grin on her face, camera in hand, “but I’d say that qualifies as a win by knockout.”

Genma blinked, seeming to realize several things at once. “He… he did it? He did… he really did it!” He scrambled over and shook Soun back to his senses. “Tendo, my boy did it! The Old Master has been defeated! WE’RE FREE!”

“F-free?” Soun stammered, a slow smile emerging on his face. “Free from the Master? Oh… oh, my… oh, HAPPY DAY! Oh Ranma, you’ve made us so proud!” All other thoughts promptly exited his head as the elder Tendo and Saotome started dancing arm in arm, whooping and shouting with glee. Nodoka shook her head and stood up as Ranma wearily stepped back inside, giving him a powerful hug that was quickly outdone by the near-glomp Akane gave him an instant later. Kasumi was just about the only one who cast a concerned eye in the direction of Happosai, and then only for about two seconds.

“That was incredible, Ran-chan!” Ukyo said, giving him a hearty slap on the back. “Boy, you and that old goat really put on a hell of a show, huh… but how’d you manage to soak all those bombs? Look at you, you don’t even look singed!”

“Yeah, you kinda scared me for a moment before I realized what you’d done,” Akane added, mussing up Ranma’s hair and giving him a quick peck on the cheek. “You used a ki shielding technique, didn’t you.”

“That’s exactly what he did,” Shingen piped up. “I’ve used the Makoto Toku enough times, it’s not hard to tell when someone else is using it. Flared it right at the last second, I’ll bet.”

Ranma shrugged. “Eh, wasn’t that hard.” Another groan bubbled up from Happosai. “Might as well stop your whining, old lech. You accepted the challenge, and you lost.”

“Son,” Nodoka chided gently, “there’s no need to rub it in. Winning graciously is just as important as the win itself, you know.” Ranma rolled his eyes and was just about to explain the fact that Happi had seldom if ever won graciously, along with a few other choice tidbits, when something interrupted him.

That something was a sudden chill that traveled up his spine to the base of his skull and back down again- the same chill he had felt twice on Monday, and each time had been associated with something supernatural. Only this time, the chill felt stronger… much stronger. His muscles started to tense, and he could feel Akane was feeling the exact same thing. “What is that…” he murmured.

“You feel it too, huh,” said Akane in a quiet tone. “That definitely doesn’t feel right.”

“You don’t have to tell me twice,” Shingen added from behind them. “I know negative energy, and this is about as strong as any I’ve ever felt.”

“Hey, what’s the big deal with you guys?” Nabiki queried, one eyebrow raised. “What’s with all the serious looks all of a sudden? A moment ago you guys were all jumping for joy, and now…”

“Oh my goodness!” Kasumi’s voice cut through the air like a knife as she dropped the tea tray and stared out into the yard. “What’s happening out there?” The others turned and looked out, followed by several mouths dropping open. Thick layers of fog were beginning to roll over the top of the estate wall, completely contrary to the late springtime weather they had had the entire day. The fog oozed over and down the walls like a gaseous slug, coming in greater and greater layers that gradually rose high above the walls of the estate. Ranma slowly fell into a ready stance, as did Akane; Shingen flipped his naginata into his hand with the tip of his left foot.

Soun and Genma’s dance of joy had abruptly halted, replaced by both men staring at the sudden fog as if they had seen a ghost. Nabiki stared for a moment, then turned her camera back on out of curiosity. Kasumi began to tremble; Nodoka’s hand strayed to the hilt of her katana.

The fog continued to seep into the yard, growing thicker and gradually obscuring the outline of the stone walls. It crept along the ground, eventually brushing across the crumpled body of Happosai. He flinched at the sudden touch of the chill air, then slowly pulled himself off the ground, still in a daze from Ranma’s last kick. Gradually, though, his vision cleared and he glanced up in surprise… then froze. Several shadows were moving in the fog. He struggled into a sitting position as an amused baritone laugh suddenly echoed through the mist-covered yard.

“Well, now.” The owner of the laugh spoke in a rich, commanding voice that dripped with unmistakable menace.

“It’s been a very long time… hasn’t it, Happosai.”

To Be Continued.

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Author’s Note 2/9/06: This is by far the longest chapter I’ve written yet, simply because there was so much I wanted to get in. I only hope I haven’t rushed it in certain parts; while I tried to take my time on this chapter there are a few parts I’m not entirely satisfied with. Still, overall I think I’ve managed to convey what I wanted to. I won’t deny that this story isn’t entirely perfect and there may be occasional plot gaps(as one reviewer mentioned), but as I have said, I have imperfect knowledge of the series at best. I can only do what I can with my ideas and what I know.

Yes, I know I left the Neko-ken dream-training sequence open at the end, and there’s a reason why. I’m not going to tell you what happened yet. That remains to be seen in a future chapter.

In regards to Astaroth, who one person asked if he resembles Wonrei from Zatch Bell- close, but not quite. His clothing will be discussed a bit more in a future chapter, but facially I always felt he was closer to a violet-eyed Sephiroth. But that, and other images, will have to wait. I will be taking a slight break from writing, as work is burning me out again, but I will have a new chapter up eventually. After all, all hell is about to break loose in Nerima. Until next time.

-Neon Ronin