Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ Ranma OneHalf: First steps ❯ Book One, Chapter Nine ( Chapter 9 )

Ranma Onehalf: First steps Chapter 9.

Lia sat in the middle of her new room. Until that morning it had been Gendas room but now it was hers. It currently bare, with the exception of Thor on the futon and a dresser and curtains at the window.

She had discovered very early in her life that places and objects became infused with trace amounts of chi and that with the right focus she could feel it. Depending on the person who left the chi she felt it with a different part of her senses.

Some she perceived as taste, others as temperature. Sometimes she felt them as a combination. And by exploring the chi of a place or object she could get to know it. And that's why she was sitting cross-legged in the middle of her new room, so she could know it better and help make it her own.

Exhaling Lia placed her hands palm down on the floor and began her breathing exercises. Calming her mind she focused her senses and began to feel the chi of the room. The most immediate was that of Genda, with a hot, tingly feel.

Beneath the surface of that Lia was surprised to find her mothers chi. It had a strong, sweet and spicy feel and it permeated the entire room. Every board and fixture in the room was infused with her chi.

"This must have been Moms room." she thought as she explored the chi.

Her curiosity piqued, Lia got up and began to explore the house top to bottom.

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"And in the dojo I founds lotsa different chi. Mom and Daddy were there, along with that Ryoga guy, and Kasumi too, and that crazy spatula lady, and-"

Ranma smiled slightly as he listened to Lias monolog of her discoveries that day. She was taking to her new home well, finding it full of interesting things and people. Her Japanese was a bit rough around the edges, and she acted like an American tomboy rather than a Japanese girl though.

"Getting her to wear school uniforms is gonna be interesting." Ranma thought as her remembered her aversion to skirts.

And the fact that Lia was a walking, talking American had raised a few eyebrows. Though Ranma was surprised the biggest resistance to his mothers suggestion that Lia act like a proper Japanese girl had not been Lia, but Akane.

"The fact that she paid for a international subscription to Ms. should have been a clue." he thought wryly.

CRACK!

Ranma scowled at the cracking sound. "Dammit, do we have to start holding dinner in a secure and undisclosed location?" he thought irritably.

Genda and Izu scrambled out of the way as the exterior wall behind them crumbled inwards. Stomping out of the dust came Shampoo, pretty much unchanged from when Ranma and Akane had last seen her.

"-And she was there too." Lia finished as she pointed at Shampoo.

Standing there in a cloud of dust Shampoo looked around for a second. She passed over Kasumi, Ono, Soun, and the boys. She gave Akane a scowl and ignored Lia. Settling her gaze on Ranma she struck an authoritative pose and pointed a mace at him.

"Husband come home with Shampoo now." she ordered.

Ranma chuckled and shook his head. " No thanks, I'm already married." he said.

Shampoo scowled and stomped forward. "Husband not listen to what Shampoo tell him. Husband should listen." she said only to find her way blocked by Akane.

"I think its you who aren't listening." Akane said as she planted her self in front of Shampoo.

Shampoo wasn't intimidated by Akane. In all her dealings with Akane she had proven to be a weaker fighter than her so she expected to be able to deal with her easily. Shampoo didn't know it but was in for a rude awaking.

"Get out of Shampoos way." Shampoo said as hauled back to swing at Akane, leaving herself wide open.

She never completed her swing. Akane saw the opening and summoned her mallet. Using an underhanded swing she gave Shampoo a quick lesson in ballistics. Resting the mallet on her shoulder Akane watched Shampoo arc off into the darkening sky.

"Perfect." she commented as she released the mallet back into Hammerspace.

Turning around she found the judges agreed, giving her solid 10's, except from Izu who had a bad angle to see and was abstaining. Sitting down to light applause Akane smiled and they resumed dinner.

Reaching apogee Shampoo crossed her arms and scowled. "Hmpf! Shampoo go to plan B!" she said as she began her return to earth.

Later that evening after everyone had gone to bed and was fast asleep Shampoo returned. Stealthily she approached the dojo, using every bit cover and shadow to its full potential. Carefully easing open a screen Shampoo gained entry into the house and crept inside.

Moving with agonizing slowness she crossed the living room. Keeping to the walls she slowly placed her weight on each foot as she eased along, thus keeping the floorboards from squeaking. Pausing at the foot of the stairs she made sure no one was awake upstairs before she began to climb them.

Reaching the top of the stairs she paused again to check and then continued down the hall. She had returned earlier that evening and had watched the house. She had seen them turn in and thus had discovered that Ranmas daughter was in Akanes old room and Ranma was in the guest room.

Very carefully she crept past the guestroom and continued on to Lias room. Testing the door Shampoo found that it was open a crack. Very slowly she opened it enough so she could enter. Stepping inside she closed it behind her and turned around.

Turning around she studied the lump curled up on the futon. Plan B was simple: Kidnap Ranmas daughter to make Ranma come to her. And when he did Shampoo would be able use Lia to make Ranma Shampoos husband.

With deliberate slowness Shampoo approached the bed. As she made the last step a cat who had been hidden in the shadow cast by Lia inadvertently flipped his tail under Shampoos foot as she put her weight down.

With a yowl to wake the dead Thor whipped around and buried teeth and claws into Shampoos bare calf. Screeching in pain she hopped backwards and tried to shake the cat off.

Lia snapped awake and threw the bedcovers off. Recognizing Shampoo from dinner Lia saw Shampoo try pry Thor off her leg. And in Lias sleep fogged mind she mistakenly thought Shampoo was trying to hurt Thor. So she did what came naturally to her.

She hissed and attacked.

Akane was awake instantly at Shampoos shriek.

"Whazzit?" she asked as she sat up.

Blinking she forced sleep from her brain and tried to find the source of the racket. She was instantly awake as she realized that it was coming from Lias room. Glancing at Ranma she felt a flash of irritation when she realized that he was still asleep.

"Ranma, wake up! Shampoos after Lia!"Akane yelled at him as she shook him.

"Lia!" Ranma yelled, instantly awake at the mention of her name.

As they scrambled to their feet there was another shriek which was followed by screaming in Chinese. Barging out the door Ranma and Akane headed to Lias room. They weren't even halfway there when the door to Lias room was flung open as Shampoo tried to scrabble her way to freedom only to be dragged back inside.

As he reached the door to Lias room the screaming abruptly died out. His heart in his throat Ranma flipped on the light as he and Akane entered the room. Only to be stopped cold by what they saw.

"WE'LL SAVe you Lia...?" Ranma trailed off as he took in the scene.

Lia was crouched growling on all fours on top of Shampoo, who looked as if she had been through a threshing machine. Her eyes were wide with terror as she stared at the eight year old perched on top of her.

Lias parents stared as the rest of the house hold crowded in the door behind them.

"Oh my..." Kasumi said when she got a look at what was happening.

That snapped Ranma and Akane out of their stupor.

"Uh, Akane?" Ranma asked.

"Yeah?" she asked.

"Are we saving Lia from Shampoo or Shampoo from Lia?" he asked.

"I think we're saving Shampoo from Lia." Akane answered.

"Thought so." Ranma sais as he began to carefully approach Lia.

When he was within arms reach Ranma snatched Lia off Shampoo and skipped back. Lia hissed and spit as she tried to thrash her way free. Shampoo scrabbled back until she was pressed up against the wall, her eyes never leaving Lia.

"Lia, calm down! It's okay, you're safe now!" Ranma told his daughter as he held her by her pajamas.

"She was trying to hurt Thor!" Lia said as she squirmed.

"What?!!" Ranma exclaimed as he looked up at Shampoo.

Narrowing his eyes he handed Lia to Akane. Shampoo looked at Ranma and noticed for the first time his cats eyes. As Ranma walked towards her cracking his knuckles Shampoo promised her soul onto her gods.

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Cologne had just gotten herself a midnight snack when the building shook from something impacting on the ground outside. hopping to the door to the café she opened it and peeked outside, where she was surprised to see Shampoo lying in a crater. Opening the door fully she hopped over the crater.

"Plan B didn't work, eh, Granddaughter?" she rasped as she looked at Shampoo. "What happened? He go Neko?"

Shampoo twitched slightly at Colognes question.

"Ayiaa... husbands demon daughter who do this to Shampoo..." Shampoo whimpered.

Colognes eyebrows shot up in surprise at Shampoos admission. Jumping down from her staff she leaned in close to look at Shampoo.

"An eight year old did this?" she asked as she noticed a note pinned to Shampoos shirt.

"Ayiaa..." Shampoo whimpered in reply as Cologne unpinned the note.

Moving into the light from the doorway Cologne opened the note and read it.

Old Ghoul:

Tell Shampoo to knock it off, it's getting annoying.

Ranma.

PS: And also tell her to leave my daughter alone. Next time we might not be there to save her from Lia.

Cologne frowned as she put the note in her sleeve.

"I think some more planning is required before you can claim your husband." Cologne said as she hopped back up on her staff.

Hopping back inside she went to rouse some of the help to drag Shampoo inside.

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Ranma looked up at the knock at the door. Putting down the job listing he got up.

"I'll get it!" he called as he walked to the door.

Opening the door he was surprised to find Mousse standing at the door.

"Mousse?"

"Saotome?"

The two men stood there looking at each other in surprise. They obviously had not been expecting to run into each other.

"You're back." Mousse said.

Ranma nodded. "Yeah, we got back last week." he said.

"Ah. So you and Akane are...?"

"Yes. Eight years. We have a daughter too." Ranma said.

"Well then. Allow me to give you a very belated Congratulations." Mousse said with a small bow.

"Ah, thanks." Ranma said. Scratching the back of his head he looked at Mousse. "So what brings you here?" he asked.

Mousse shrugged. "I was in the area and I thought I'd pay Kasumi and Ono a visit." he said.

"Ah." Ranma said as he stepped aside to let Mousse pass.

"This is odd." Ranma thought as Mousse entered.

"Kasumi, Mousse is here to see you." Ranma called as he walked back into the room.

Kasumi stuck her head out from the kitchen. "Oh, hello Mousse. You're just in time for lunch." she said.

"Thank you Kasumi." Mousse said with a bow. Sitting down at the table he looked around. "Where's Akane?" he asked.

Ranma pointed behind him. "Oh, she's in the furo giving Lia a bath." he said.

Mousse blinked."Lia? Oh, your daughter." he said.

"Yeah." Ranma said with a nod. "What about you? Shampoo is still after me." he added.

Mousse sighed and looked down at the table. "I gave up on Shampoo a long time ago Ranma." he said.

Ranma blinked in surprise. "You gave up? Why?" he asked.

"I'll tell you after lunch." Mousse answered.

Ranma nodded. "Okay."

He and Mousse looked up at a squeal coming from down the hall.

"Looks like Lias done with her bath." Ranma said as his daughter bounded down the hall and up the stairs to her room.

"She's very energetic." Mousse observed.

"That's putting it mildly Mousse." Akane said as she came in. Sitting down at the table she blew a wisp of hair out of her face. "She has two speeds: Full speed and asleep." she said.

Mousse and Ranma chuckled as Kasumi came in with lunch. Putting the tray on the table she looked around.

"Where's Lia?" she asked.

"Upstairs changing." Ranma said, pointing to the ceiling.

Kasumi nodded as she began to pass out plates. Taking her plate Akane looked at Mousse.

"So what brings you here?" she asked him.

"I happened to be in the neighborhood because of work and thought I'd stop by." Mousse said as he poured himself a cup of tea.

"You still work at the Cat Café?" she asked.

Mousse shook his head. "No, I left the Amazons. I'm working as a courier now." he said.

"You left? Why?" Akane asked.

"He'll explain after lunch." Ranma told her.

"Okay." she said as Lia came bounding back down the stairs.

As Lia took he place at the table they dug in. After a few minutes Mousse looked up at Ranma and Akane.

"So, I hear you are both cursed now."he said.

"Yeah." Akane said with a nod Taking a glass of water she splashed her hand. "I turn into a man when hit with cold water now." Akane said as he put the glass down.

Mousse looked at Akanes male form. "So I see." he said.

Taking note of the muscles rippling beneath Akanes shirt and his bishouen features Mousse smirked and glanced at Ranma.

"You had better be careful Ranma, or you're gonna have a lot of women and probably a few men chasing after your wife." he said.

Ranma chuckled at Mousses suggestion. "Tell me about it. We can't go anywhere with out one of us getting passes made at us." he said.

"It's annoying." Akane said as he poured a cup of tea. Picking up the cup he dunked his fingers in the tea. "And awkward at times." she added.

Mousse nodded in agreement. "I know. But it could be worse. You could turn into a duck." he pointed out.

"You change too?" Lia asked Mousse.

"Yes, I do, just like your mother and father." he said to her.

"What kind of duck?" Lia asked.

"A white domestic duck." he said.

"Oh. Okay." Lia said as she went back to scarfing her lunch. She soon finished.

"All done!" she said, putting her chopsticks on her plate.

"Okay. You can go play now."Ranma told her.

Lia tucked her legs in and rolled backwards away from the table and onto her feet. Dashing outside she went in search of something interesting. The rest of the meal passed in relative silence.

When lunch was finished and the dishes cleared and fresh pot of tea was on the table Mousse cleared his throat.

"I promised to tell you why I have left the Amazons and quit my pursuit of Shampoo." he said. Staring at his teacup for several moments Mousse gathered his thoughts before speaking. "I don't know if you are aware of this or not, but the Amazons at Jusyenko are no more." he began.

Ranma and Akane blinked in surprise at his statement. "What?" they chorused.

"It was the arrogance of the elders that caused the destruction of the tribe. I will not go into detail on what happened, only to say that they tried to fight a twentieth -century army with spears and swords." he told them.

Mousse sipped his tea for a few minutes to collect himself before continuing. Realizing that was obviously painful for him Ranma and Akane kept silent and waited for him to continue. Finishing his tea Mousse poured himself another cup be fore resuming.

"Only myself and three others escaped. We then spent a year evading the Communists before we were able to hijack a Triad smuggling boat and escape to Hong Kong and from there to Japan. During that year I had a lot of time to think." he said. Pausing, he sipped his tea. "And I realized how out of touch Shampoo and Cologne are, and what my status in the Amazons would be. So I got the survivors to Cologne and I left. I wandered for a couple of years before the Tofus took me in and help me get my head on strait."

Ranma and Akane sat in silence while they thought about what Mousse had told them. Finally Ranma looked up at Mousse.

"So there's only five Amazons left?" he asked.

Mousse nodded. "Yes. And with the tribe almost gone Cologne and Shampoo are going to be very aggressive in pursuing you. They are going to want you so they can rebuild the tribe." he explained.

Ranma chuckled. "So that's why Shampoo went after Lia." he said to Akane.

Mousse nodded. "Exactly. And Akane and the rest of your families are targets as well." he said.

"Joy." Ranma commented.

"I hope you have a plan on how to deal with this." Mousse said.

Ranma gave him a feral grin. "Believe me, we do." he said.

"I hope so." Mousse answered.

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Cologne looked up at the thunder heads that loomed overhead.

"It's going to be bad storm." she thought as she jumped from roof to roof on her way to the Tendos.

She was halfway there when the storm struck, with heavy rain and strong winds. Lightning flashed across the sky and thunder cracked and rolled. Jumping from rooftop to rooftop she made her way to the Tendos.

Cologne landed on the roof of a house with the wind to her back. She was about to jump to the next roof when the wind and rain were suddenly blocked. Faster than the eye could follow she lashed out with her staff.

Only to have her staff cut in half and get a dozen solid strikes to her abdomen and neck before she could react. Knocked backwards she back flipped and landed in a ready crouch.

"So, son in law, you want pla-" was all that she said before a freight train hit her in small of her back.

Ricocheting off a chimney Cologne landed in the street below. Hopping to her feet she wiped her forehead and was surprised when it came away red. Irked that she had been cut Cologne extended her senses and searched for her attackers and was again surprised when she found nothing.

"Impressive. Using the Umi -Sen -Ken in a storm to completely hide yourself. You've still got it." Cologne thought as she searched.

In a flash of lightning Cologne saw a vague shape heading towards her. On instinct she jumped strait up an a large leap. A millisecond later a two and a half meter crater appeared in the concrete where she had been standing. Her eyes wide with surprise Cologne caught the wind with her robes and landed on a street lamp.

Only to have it cut out from under her. As she landed Cologne thought she saw footsteps splashing up behind her. Bounding sideways the instant she landed she missed several blows that cratered the concrete where she had been.

Skipping backwards Cologne scissored her hands out in front of her, sending a spray of water forwards. As it rushed forwards it hit her invisible attacker, revealing a distinctly male shape. Cologne frowned as she turned and dodged down the street.

By all accounts Ranma and Akane were still cursed, which meant that the form she had seen belonged to Akane. Which meant that she was fighting two opponents that she couldn't sense and could hardly even see.

"And the rumor regarding Son in Laws mastering the Neko -Ken is true apparently." Cologne thought as she remembered her staff and the street lamp.

Jumping to the top of a wall Cologne got out of the confined street and began to formulate a battle plan. As she kept an eye out for any splashes in the puddles Cologne noted that on the other side of the wall was a dirt courtyard, now a morass of mud.

"Perfect..." Cologne thought.

Hopping off the wall into the yard she skipped along until she reached the far wall, which bordered a building. Putting her back against the wall Cologne began to scan the yard for a telltale splashes.

She didn't have long to wait as soon she saw footsteps racing towards her. Pretending she hadn't noticed she let them get closer. The footsteps had almost reached her when she was attacked from behind, through the wall.

As she flew forward Cologne remembered Ranma and lashed out with her left arm where she thought Ranma would be. Most of her strikes were blocked but a barely audible oof had told her she had struck home.

Landing easily she turned in the direction she had come with her hands up in a ready position. As she stood there she glanced at her left hand. That's when realized that the index and middle fingers on her left hand were gone.

Realizing how close she had came to getting killed Cologne used her chi techniques to staunch the blood flow and kill the pain. Turning around Cologne jumped to a nearby roof and made her escape.

"Standing and fighting won't work, so I better keep running, try and keep them off balance. And I had better start using the advanced stuff as well." Cologne thought as she bounded from roof to roof. "Only hope that my stamina holds out. I'm not as young as I used to be." she added with a slight smile.

Over the next several hours Cologne ran through all the special techniques she knew. The Shark -fist had only managed to destroy some concrete and a wall. Cologne had managed to get Akane to drop the Umi -Sen -Ken with a few insults. She had then managed to draw Akane into the Hyro -Shouten -Ha. With that last uppercut she figured that she had managed to defeat Akane, only to have the twister she had created be directed back at her.

She had tried every chi attack, trick, illusion, and battle technique she possessed but it had been for naught. Her opponents hadn't committed, only dodging in and out for quick strikes. And they had set and kept the pace early in the fight, keeping her on the defensive.

Cologne knew that while she had the advantage in sheer experience that they had the advantage in endurance. Which is why she had resorted to her special techniques early on in the fight to bring it to a close before her age caught up with her.

Unfortunately she had miscalculated badly and was now paying the price. And now as the storm ebbed and began to clear so did her strength. Now it was a waiting game, with Ranma and Akane standing back waiting for her to slip so they could make the final blow.

Landing on a roof Cologne felt her foot slip on the tile and she shot out into space.

"This is it." she thought.

The blows came literally from nowhere. It was like being tossed into a rock crusher as the blows came from all sides. Cologne felt her ribs give way with a crack, her right leg snapped at the femur. A dozen quick blows to her stomach felt like a jackhammer in the gut. This went on seemingly forever before it suddenly ceased.

Cologne felt a shock of cold as she fell into a large puddle. As she lay there each breath was a struggle as she looked up at the sky. As she looked at the broken clouds highlighted in the predawn she heard Ranma speak the first words since the beginning of the fight.

"Cologne, listen to what I have to say. As of now the Saotome and Tendo clans are off limits to the Amazons, now and forever. Interfere with our families again and I will finish what the Chinese started, understand?"

As she lay there Cologne realized that the purpose of the fight hadn't been to defeat her physically, but to maneuver her into choosing between pursuing her interests (Shampoo marrying Ranma) or duty (The survival of the tribe).

"Well?" Ranma asked.

"I understand." she rasped, barely able to speak. Dimly aware that she was in front of the Cat Café and that the other Amazons were watching she continued. "I hereby release my granddaughter from the Kisses of Marriage and Death and pledge that we are never to interfere with your lives again."

"Good. We'll hold you that Cologne. Goodby." Ranma told her.

Cologne watched the lightening sky as a couple of Amazons came out and brought her inside.

"This is going to be difficult to explain to Shampoo." Cologne thought wryly as she was brought inside.

As they roofhopped home Ranma stopped suddenly and looked out over the city. Akane came to a stop next to Ranma.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Look." Ranma told him, pointing to the horizon.

Akane followed her finger to the horizon where there was a brilliant display of oranges and yellows coloring the eastern sky. He stood there and watched as the sun rose in the east, squinting as the suns full light struck them.

"A new dawn." Ranma told him.

Akane smiled and nodded. "I know." he said.

They stood and watched the rise for few minutes, then turned and headed home to begin building their future.

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End.