Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ Shadows are Stirring ❯ Happosai no Shukyuo Higagoto ( Chapter 17 )

Chapter Seventeen: The Final Mistake of Happosai

It was a few days later that found Ranma in the newly repaired Dojo on his own, performing several rather violent looking katas. His cries were warning people not to enter the training hall, and if the sound of his anger didn't do it, then the crashes and shaking of the entire foundation told them otherwise.

For her part, Akane had no idea what was going on with him. He had been a little brisker than usual with her while they were repairing the building, but she understood that, given how closely Nabiki seemed to be watching them. She couldn't really chalk this up to that at all. It wasn't like Ranma to let his emotions out so openly, even that of anger.

As Akane started towards the Dojo, the door slipped open and Ryoga stumbled out and landed on his face on the concrete just outside. She flipped him over and found him still conscious - just in a lot of pain.

"I wouldn't go in there right now, Akane... he seems a bit upset about something," Ryoga managed before closing his eyes again. "I knew I shouldn'ta tried to help, but I thought he might have just needed a sparring partner..."

Akane left Ryoga on the ground and she slipped the door open and went inside herself just as Ranma cried out and struck the wall again, putting a hole through the wood before he flipped backwards and kicked a practice dummy so hard that it blew apart.

"Ranma?" she called, trying to get his attention.

Instantly, he flipped over as though to strike her, but stopped his hand just inches away from her. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath before turning away from her. "Now's not a good time, Acchan."

"What's wrong, Ran-chan?" Akane asked quietly, putting a hand on his shoulder that he brushed off as he took a step away from her. "Talk to me."

"It's nuthin ya can help with, alright?" he said somewhat angrily. "I can't really talk about it, ya know? And I doubt mom'll say much, either!"

"What does your mother have to do with it?" Akane asked in surprise. He rarely mentioned his mother unless it was important, so she knew it was something. "Did she cross the line in your mother-daughter talks?"

"They're over!" Ranma said angrily as he put his fist through the floor. "I'm not takin that crap anymore. No way. I'm not goin back. I don't even know if I can look at her right now. Or at you. Or anyone! Didn't Ryoga warn ya?"

"I ignored him," Akane admitted. "But what happened?"

"It's not just sumthin I can talk about, Acchan," Ranma said, his voice calming just a little. She sat down against the wall and patted the ground beside her, but he didn't make a move towards her. Instead, he was pacing up and down the Dojo now. "I thought maybe I could talk ta you bout it, but no. That's only makin it even harder!"

"What did she say? Was she trying to tell you about... well..." Akane's face went beat red. "Thattimeofthemonthorsomething?" she said very quickly.

"That woulda been a lot easier, trust me," Ranma snorted. "Besides, I already know bout that. Why do ya think I try so hard ta stay a guy - more than usual - fer a few days each month?"

"I hadn't really noticed," Akane admitted with a curse at herself. "I should have, I'm sorry."

"It's not yer fault, Acchan. I didn't tell ya, just like I didn't ask ya bout yours, right?" He turned quickly and held up his hands. "I'm not askin now, neither, alright?"

"I know Ran-chan," she giggled despite herself. It wasn't often that she saw him quite so embarassed. "But if it wasn't that, then what was it?"

Ranma sank to the ground next to her but didn't say anything for a few minutes. He started to several times, but always cut himself off before more than half a word came out. "She was tryin ta tell me sumthin that Id rather learn from you," he admitted eventually. "And I'm not sayin anythin else bout it, got that?"

"I..." Akane started, and then faltered, her face turning bright red. "Oh."

"Oh?" Ranma repeated. "Oh? That's it, that's all you can say to that?"

To his surprise, she was grinning at him. "You should have heard daddy trying to give me the 'talk' when I got my first period," she explained. "If you think that you had it bad with your mother, then you should just think about my dad telling me about that !"

"Yer a girl, though," Ranma pointed out. "Yer suppos'ta get that talk. But I ain't suppos'ta get it! And I don't really wanna hear my mom talkin bout how to please a woman!"

Akane didn't respond to that right away, and actually looked away from him as she felt the blood rushing to her face at the thought. She knew enough about it from... certain guilty pleasures she took with herself, but she couldn't imagine telling anyone else. Listening to one's mother explain it would make it even harder.

"Look, Ran-chan," she said after a long silence had fallen between them. "I'm sure... I'd be willing to bet that Kasumi's started lunch by now. Could we go in for that, and then come back out to talk some more? Food usually helps you, right?"

Ranma nodded after a moment and stood up. He paused at the door and looked back to Akane before taking a deep breath. They both knew what was coming, but that didn't mean they enjoyed pretending to fight with each other anyway.

"Listen, ya uncute tomboy, why couldn't ya just leave me well enough alone?" Ranma said loudly as he slammed the door open. "All ya had ta do was tell me that lunch was ready!" He stormed out of the dojo and walked over Ryoga, being sure to step on the lost boy's hand as he went.

Ryoga sat up as Akane burst from the dojo. "Fine then, baka hentai!" Akane shouted after him. "See if I care what you do anymore!" She paused next to Ryoga and met his eye, giving him a weak smile and a faint nod before continuing towards the house. "It's not like I care what's wrong with..."

She stopped when she saw Ranma pressed up against the wall, listening to something inside. She crept up next to him and he held a finger to his lips to tell her to keep quiet. Listening carefully, she could hear two people talking.

"All I'm saying is that someone should go after him," Mr. Tendo said. "He is a good friend, and he is your husband, after all. How can you be so callous about his welfare?"

A sigh came from inside before an answer. "I do care, but he is a rather dishonourable man, you have to admit. Even if he was starting to come around with a lot of things, he still had a large stain on him from quite a few different events. This should teach him a lesson." The voice of Nodoka Saotome was firm on the matter.

"But -"

"No buts, Soun. I will ask my son - if he will speak to me - to rescue him in a few months. Until then, he should be learning something important."

"Why wouldn't Ranma speak to you, Nodoka?" Mr. Tendo asked.

Ranma turned before they could hear the answer and ushered Akane away from the entrance and back towards the dojo. Just before he started to say something, though, a loud cry echoed from behind them.

"What a haul, what a haul!" A large bag tied shut at the top landed in the middle of the backyard, and Ranma approached it quickly, waiting for Happosai to arrive. He wasn't disappointed, either, as the old leach appeared a few seconds later on top of the pile, his bandana tied around his face as usual when he returned from his thievery.

"What do ya think yer doing, old man?" Ranma demanded. Before Akane or anyone else could say anything, Happosai leapt aside of Ranma's first attack, and it wasn't long until they were both out of sight as the old master ran away from Ranma's quest of punishing him.

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It wasn't until night had fallen again in Nermia that the silence and calm was broken once again around the Tendo Dojo. Ranma landed silently enough on the roof of the house, dejected that Happosai had managed to evade him yet again. He had returned to his mother's briefly to grab a change of clothes for the next day, and had left again to seek out Akane's room for the night.

He was startled to hear movement directly beneath him in Akane's room - he had assumed that she would have been in bed by then. He carefully lowered himself to look into the window, and saw that she was lying in bed with her blankets pulled up around her.

Before he could react, she suddenly screamed and shot up, swatting at something on the other side of the bed. Ranma swung into the room in an instant and found the leach that had evaded him earlier grinning from ear to ear and trying to approach Akane again.

"You old freak!" Ranma shouted loudly, diving for him while he was sure the man was distracted. He caught him by the head and punted him out the window in an instant. In his anger, his ki followed the attack, sealing the windows off from invasion. At further sound in the house, he reached the door quickly and opened it briefly before slamming it shut as well, ensuring that no one could enter the room and disturb them.

It was only then that he turned back to Akane and found that she was crying and trying to wrap herself in her thin bedsheets to almost no end. He lifted up the blanket and wrapped it around her bare shoulders before she turned to him and started sobbing into him.

"Shh... it's okay..." Ranma whispered. It was then that he noticed that Akane's pyjamas were on the floor next to her bed, and he swallowed hard. She wasn't wearing anything at all until the blanket.

Her only response was to sob a little harder and cling desperately to him, practically ripping the fabric of his shirt she was holding onto it so tightly. It was as thought her very life depended on it. Ranma found it odd that such a strong, independant girl would suddenly turn hysterically until the thought struck him as to a possibility as to why.

Happosai had looked happy, as though he had just discovered something very special. Akane was in shambles, crying into him like there was no tomorrow. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes carefully as he held her close. Happosai must have tried to do something to her underneath the bed sheets... where she was completely bare. The thought of the freak getting anywhere close to her female form like that made Ranma shiver violently before he brought his mind back to Akane.

Ranma picked up the bed sheets as gently as possible and wrapped them around Akane's shivering body, overtop the blanket that he had already placed there. "It's okay, 'kane. I promise, it's okay." He wrapped his arms around her again and held her tightly as she sobbed into him.

"I was... I was just waiting for you..." Akane whispered into his ear once her sobs were a little more under control. "I wanted - hic - to surprise you..." she said, hiccupping again. He rubbed her back gently beneath the bed sheet, feeling her soft skin beneath his fingers. "I wanted to..."

"Don't worry, 'kane... It's alright."

"But Ranma... you don't understand..." she said, clutching more tightly to him than ever before and sniffling back tears. "He tried to... he tried..."

A spark of anger flashed before Ranma's eyes, and he closed them tightly, holding her with a bit more force than he intended. "Did he touch you?" he said, his voice cold and unyielding.

"I..."

"Did he touch you?" Ranma demanded again, cutting her off with each accentuated word.

"Yes..." she whispered. "Once, briefly... but yes..."

It took all of his willpower to stay with her then. The anger that was building in him, the rage at the old freak was almost overpowering. He knew, though, deep in his heart, that he couldn't leave Akane like this. He was just thankful he had arrived when he did, and the grandmaster of the School had fled before getting any further. "'kane?" he whispered once he had a firm hold of his anger again. His voice was as soothing as he could make it, but he knew there was still an edge to it.

"Yes, Ranma?" she sniffed. She sounded scared, and that was enough to bring his voice back down again, and hold his anger completely contained until he could better deal with it.

"I love you." He held her as close to him as possible, trying to will away the pain that was wrecking havoc on her mind. "And I always will. It wasn't your fault." He took a deep breath as he rocked her back and forth, trying to comfort her. Although she was naked beneath the sheets, his mind wasn't on that fact right then. His mind was divided - half of it was doing everything it could to help Akane, while the other half was deciding how he would go about killing Happosai.

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Ranma stayed in Akane's room until she was dressed again the next morning, and the two went downstairs to the tearoom together in silence. Kasumi was already serving breakfast to Mr. Tendo and Nodoka, and a groggy Nabiki was just sitting down at the table.

"What happened last night, Ranma?" Tendo asked him, looking up as the two entered the room. "Where you in Akane's room? Was that why she was screaming?"

Before Ranma or Akane could answer his question, Ranma turned his gaze beyond the three at the table, and beyond Kasumi who was waiting to hear his answer. His battle aura started to flare without warning, and even Nabiki could feel his ki rolling off him as he took a step towards the outside.

Looking over, they saw Happosai bouncing over the wall with another stash on his back, shouting with glee. Turning back to Ranma, they missed him moving as he suddenly shot forward into the yard and caught the grandmaster by the head.

"Look here, ya freak!" Ranma said in a loud voice, throwing him to the ground in front of him. "I gotta challenge for ya. If ya don't accept it, ya lose anyway, understand?"

"How dare the heir to the school challenge me in such a - " Happosai stopped when he noticed Ranma's aura flare even brighter suddenly.

"I wanna fight with you. A real fight. No holds bared, no fleeing or forfeiting available. Got it?" He didn't even give the shrunken man a chance to respond before continuing. "The winner claims the title of the Grandmaster of the School of Anything Goes Martial Arts."

"That's already my title, boy!" Happosai replied angrily. "What happens when you lose?"

"The loser leaves Japan forever, and is never allowed to step on this land ever again so long as either party lives!" Ranma said fiercely, eliciting gasps from those watching behind him. "Further more, if you fail to show up or take this serious, I will destroy your collection and hunt you for the rest of your life to ensure that you stop your thievery. Am I clear?"

"What's all this about?" Nodoka asked in alarm, standing up quickly as she placed a hand on the hilt to her katana instinctively. "What happened to make you challenge grandfather Happosai like that?"

"That ain't fer any of yas ta know!" Ranma snarled, his aura still bright and burning. As he turned slowly to face everyone who was watching, it started to fade visibly until it was only a faint outline around him. "I'm sorry," he said in a softer voice. "But I ain't gonna take him anymore, and I ain't about ta break my honour ta tell ya why."

"Noon, schoolyard," Happosai said firmly.

"I'll be there early," Ranma promised with a short bow before turning on a heel and storming back into the tearoom and right passed everyone gathered there, including Akane. He stopped at the exit to the room and turned to look to each of them carefully. His eyes lingered when he met Akane's and saw the fear found within, and he smiled lightly and nodded before turning again and leaving.

When the front door slammed shut, Nabiki stood up instantly and ran upstairs. Nodoka turned to Akane almost as fast, and found her shaking just a little bit, though for what reason remained a mystery. The matriarch of the Saotome clan made her way over to the youngest Tendo and brought her out of the room slowly and looked to her significantly.

Akane shook her head and continued walking with her until they were well out of hearing range of anyone in the house before turning to her and bursting into tears again. "Oh, mom!" she cried, turning to the older woman and throwing her arms around her. "It was horrible. Happosai... he tried to... he tried..."

Nodoka cut Akane off with a gentle return squeeze. "Say no more, child," she whispered. "Judging by my son's reaction, I think I can guess what that sad man tried to do to you. Can Ranma beat him?"

"I don't know..." Akane whispered in return as she started shaking again.

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Ten minutes to noon found Ranma standing in a rather familiar place. It often seemed that the baseball diamond of Furinkan High School served more like a battlefield to him than a baseball diamond, but he didn't care. He sat on the pitcher's mound with his eyes closed and his hands slightly above his knees, breathing deeply.

He wasn't alone, either. A rather large crowd had turned out to watch the duel that was already becoming the thing of legends. Nabiki had called everyone she thought might be even slightly interested, and was surprised herself by the turnout. She also managed to collect a good deal of bets from most of them - placing the odds at fifty/fifty.

Aside from Nabiki, of course Akane was there, just to the edge of the diamond, as close as she dared to get to Ranma. She hadn't ever seen him so focused before in all their time together. She knew she had been upset last night, but she had no idea at the rage that was flowing through her fiancé.

Nodoka was right next to Akane, along with Ukyo, Kasumi, Dr. Tofu, and Cologne. Nodoka nodded to each of them firmly as they arrived, and noticed without saying anything that everyone gathered around Akane knew the secret that she and her son shared.

Just further down the edge of the diamond stood Shampoo, Mousse, Kuno, Kodachi, and Pantyhose Taro - who had bet on Ranma, hoping that a new grandmaster might be willing to change his name - along with a whole flock of schoolmates.

Five minutes after noon, a rumbling in the ground startled the crowd before Ryoga burst out of it. Right behind him was Akari, riding her Sumo Pig. "See, I told you I'd find the place eventually!" he said with a nod to her.

"Yes, but if you had just followed me, we would have been here hours ago!" she retorted as she leapt off her pig onto the ground next to Ukyo.

"Hey, ghoul," Ryoga said when he stepped next to Cologne. After nursing the crack on his head, he continued. "What chance does Ranma have against Happosai?"

Cologne did not take her eyes off the serious Ranma when she answered. "Ranma is a blooded warrior, Hibiki," she said slowly. "The only one he has ever killed was a god, and you know full well why that occurred, do you not?"

"So you think he'll win, then?" Ryoga asked hopefully.

Cologne looked away from the diamond to Akane first before looking to Ryoga. "If Happosai has done anything to threaten or harm Akane, then it might be best for us to prepare a grave marker," she said coldly. "So long as her protector keeps his head on his shoulders."

"Right."

The crowd went deathly silent when Ranma stood slowly from his position and stretched his arms backwards to fully prepare himself. As soon as he adopted the loose stance that everyone understood was his ready position, a flash from a bomb lit the area up to reveal old man Happosai standing across from him.

"Saotome Ranma," Happosai said gravely. "If you relinquish the challenge, I will allow it to pass," he suggested. "Otherwise, you will be rejected from our school of Martial Arts upon your loss as well."

"That goes both ways, ya freak," Ranma said angrily. His battle aura flared to life in an instant, and everyone gathered around to watch was forced to back several steps away as they felt the heat that was radiating from him.

"Happosai is serious about this match," Cologne remarked casually, using her comment as as excuse to see who else was close to Akane at the moment. She smiled when she saw that it was quite the crowd that was in on the little secret.

"So is my son," Nodoka replied, ice in her eyes. "When we arrived, he asked Akane to promise him that she would not get involved in the fight, no matter what. I was surprised by that fact, given that they both told me that they were partners in everything recently."

"He also said not to worry about his control, that he will not lose it in the match," Kasumi added softly. "And that statement alone worries me more than any other."

"Does anyone know what this is about?" Ukyo asked, looking to any of those gathered close to her. "What made Ran-chan so angry that he'd make such a challenge?"

"Only three people know," Nodoka said softly as she gestured to the silent Akane. The youngest Tendo and her future daughter-in-law had gone very quiet after promising Ranma not to step in, which surprised her. Akane's own battle ki had grown impressive as she was talking to Ranma, so she knew that Ranma was not worried about her getting hurt in the fight. It was just something that he had to do on his own.

"After this afternoon is over," Akari said softly. "Only two people will know."

Silence took over then, and spread across the battlefield - no longer was it a place for sports. Without warning two auras started to grow on either side, and many of the spectators were forced to look away out of horror and fear of the power.

It began without any indication, and not even Cologne could say exactly who had started first, and who was just reacting. One minute, both Ranma and Happosai were challenging each other with their ki, and the next they were both only blurs as they attacked.

Six seconds later, Ranma flew from the flurry and landed hard on his back, flipping once to land on his face. When the dust settled, Happosai was standing firm in the centre and Ranma was just standing up again. His red Chinese shirt was torn now, and he threw it to the side before taking a step forward again, leaving him in his blue pants and white tank top.

"Now, let's make things more interesting, shall we?" Happosai asked with a laugh, pulling out two buckets of water from behind his back. Leaping forward, he splashed the first bucket at Ranma to try to activate his curse. Ranma flipped backwards and pushed off the ground into the air to leap over the old man.

Apparently, Happosai had been expecting it, and Ranma was hit fully in the back with the water. A bright flare of ki later showed both opponents separated again, Ranma facing a confused Happosai.

"Why didn't he change?" Akane asked, looking to anyone who might be able to provide an answer. Her eyes fell on Cologne, who was smiling.

"He borrowed some of my soap," she said quietly, not offering any further explanation. "Neither of us wanted to see Happosai going after a female Ranma. He must be in top form for this."

There was another blur as the fighters attacked each other, only this time they separated without any injury. Happosai leapt into the air then and started throwing his Happo Fire-Bursts at Ranma, who kicked several back before being struck for the first, but certainly not the last time.

All of a sudden, Ranma vanished from sight, along with any and all unused Fire-Bursts. When Happosai landed, he looked around quickly, trying to find where Ranma had disappeared. He knew that the young man would never have just fled...

"Umi-sen ken Ultimate Attack!" Ranma's voice sounded from high in the air, and all eyes looked up to Ranma, who had a large pack on his back suddenly. "Demon God Multiple Strike Return!" All of the stolen bombs were launched at Happosai in an instant, who leapt to the side nimbly and avoided the entire attack. He then proceeded to dodge the wind that had been formed into blades to follow the bombs.

"You do know how this is going to end up, don't you, Ranma?" Happosai asked with a smirk, taking a step back as both fighters observed the other for a moment. "As soon as you are gone, what exactly do you think I am going to do?"

"You will never touch her again, Happosai!" Ranma shouted and shot forward in another attack. He punched the air in front of him when he had made it about halfway there, and a ball of ki erupted from his form. "Moko Tabashi!"

"Catch!" Happosai shouted over the rush of noise, and Ranma instinctively held up a hand to catch whatever had been thrown to him this time.

"No!" Cologne shouted in surprise, only to be echoed by those around her. "Anything but that!"

"If he goes neko now, then he's lost!" Ryoga agreed.

Akane, on the other hand, simply shook her head. "He asked us to trust him. I trust him with my life," she whispered. Only Nodoka heard her, and she loosened her grip on her katana and placed a hand on Akane's shoulder.

Ranma, for his part, looked to the cat in his hand rather forcefully, and ended up holding it directly in front of his face. It took less than a second before he threw the animal aside and crouched down to all fours, arching his back as he did so. Before anyone could react to that, he reared back to his legs again and roared.

That caught everyone who had ever seen the neko-ken before by surprise. Usually, when Ranma when berserk because of his phobia, he would meow, hiss, or purr. The sound that was coming from his throat this time was distinctly more animal, more primal than ever before.

When he shot forward to attack Happosai again, the old freak just dodged to the side and started moving in a slow and deliberate pattern. After making two circles of the field, getting slightly smaller each time, Ryoga took a step forward.

"He isn't..."

"Isn't what, Ryoga?" Akari asked in alarm.

"He's... Happosai's drawing him in!"

"He's been too cold the entire match," Dr. Tofu said with a grim nod. "I understand now. He's planning on using the Hiryu Shoten Ha against the neko-Ranma, isn't he?"

"With Ranma's battle aura the way it is now, coupled with the primal fury of his current condition, Happosai will tear him to pieces, and quite possible all of us, too!" Cologne said urgently. "Nabiki Tendo, get everyone back!"

"Ranma..." Akane breathed in alarm, taking a step forward to try to help him before remembering her promise to him. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes carefully, drinking in her memories of their recent times together. She vowed right then and there that if he somehow managed to avoid being destroyed by the powerful dragon blast, that she would kiss him in front of everyone as soon as it was over.

When the grass as her feet caught of fire from the heat generated by the continuing spiral, she snapped out of her reverie and ran back with the rest of the crowd.

"It should not have ended this way, Ranma my boy," Happosai said calmly, stepping to the side to avoid another swipe of the claws. "If I had to end it for you, I do wish you would have been aware at the time."

Three steps left of the spiral. Two steps. The final step, and Happosai darted in for the final part of the attack. His eyes met Ranma's just as he struck, and was terrified by the awareness he found there.

"Who says I'm not?" Ranma said, his voice laced with traces of the growl that had started his attacked. As the tornado came to tear him apart, he leapt into the air and accepted the wind, shooting to the top of the blast in an instant.

"Impossible!"

"Kizu no Hiryu Kaze!"

"What?" Cologne said in surprise. "The Scar of the Flying Wind Dragon?"

"What is that, ghoul?" Ryoga demanded, turning to her and away from the attack. "Just what does that move do? And why didn't you mention it before now?"

Cologne met his gaze, and then looked back to the battlefield. "It is not a move I've ever heard of before," she admitted. "I believe Ranma's devotion is forcing him to new heights."

Talking was suddenly impossible. With a rush of noise, wind, and dust, everything vanished and no one had any idea what was going on. There was a great cry through the darkness, followed by the sound of terrible devastation, and then complete silence.

The wind was slow to take the dust away and let anyone see what was going on. The first thing that was evident was the school itself in the background. There was a great crack along one side of it, and almost half the school was literally torn from the rest of the building by a great rent.

The crack continued into the earth itself, and the crowd, as one, followed it from the grass by the school across to the field. The fence was torn in two as well, and then the field came into view as the rest of the dust was blown away.

Ranma was standing firmly in the middle of the field, breathing heavily, his foot on something. Looking more closely, everyone could see that he was standing on the crumpled form of Happosai. The great rent of the ground continued, and they were standing at the edge of it. The damage continued in the other direction, though, and went into the street until reaching a block away.

No one moved or said anything as they looked upon the scene. Ranma had several bruises already forming, and one of his pant legs was missing. There was a tear in his tank top, too, revealing tired muscles beneath, and he had a look of contempt as he ground his foot into the back of his fallen enemy.

Ranma's voice, harsh and unyielding, and still with a hint of the feral quality it had had earlier, ended up breaking the silence. It was quieter this time, though, but in the overwhelming void of quiet, everyone could hear him plainly.

"No one will ever touch her but me, understand, freak?" Several people in the crowd looked over to Akane to wonder just what he was talking about, but no one spoke as he continued. "You made the very mistake that cost Saffron his life... Feel fortunate that I do not prey on the weak!"

It was as though the sound of Ranma's voice had awakened every spectator, and most were now swarming around Akane to try and ask her just what was going on. She pushed passed them all, though, and ran towards Ranma as the smaller crowd that had been around her from the beginning cheered. That seemed to wake Ranma up to the presence of others, and he looked up just as Akane was throwing her arms around his neck. On instinct, his own arms found their way around her and he was kissing her hard, right there in the middle of the field, in front of everyone.

He felt her tongue in his mouth for almost half a minute before he felt the pain gripping him, and he pulled away to look into her eyes carefully. She nodded to him, a large smile on her face, and they both turned as they heard Dr. Tofu walking forward behind them.

Ranma leaned on Akane's support as Tofu looked over Happosai. When the doctor stood up again, he nodded to Ranma. Ranma smiled and turned to the crowd to find Mr. Tendo weeping openly, and he saw several very upset people. He only tightened his hold on Akane at that, and then looked carefully to Cologne, trying to ask her to do something.

Seeming to understand, the Elder Matriarch of the Amazons bounced forward twice on her staff and turned to the crowd. "I present to you the new Grandmaster of the School of Anything Goes Martial Arts, Saotome Ranma!"

After that declaration Ranma allowed his injuries to affect him, and he collapsed to the ground, oblivious to everything around him.

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Kizu no Hiryu Kaze: Scar of the Flying Wind Dragon. The only known counter to the Hiryu Shoten Ha, this is a move that Ranma literally creates with his bare hands thanks to his recently - albeit unusual - mastery of the dreaded Neko-ken. His claws rip assaunder anything in their path, and redirect the entire force of the Hiryu Shoten Ha back at the originator. With his own battle aura, which is already higher than most can comprehend, coupled with the feral prowess of the neko within, this move tore apart three blocks of city streets as well as part of the school.
Oh, and it finished Happosai off as well, but did not kill him.