Heart of flame, breath of fire. Ch. 2
Ryu vs. Kuno...secret of the Dragon heart. 


	Pantyhose Taro stood at the gates of the Tendo dojo and frowned
as a light shower began. The pervert had not been around for some time
now and he would have to look else where for his prey. His tentacles
twitched in frustration as he jumped onto the roof of the home. "I guess
they won't mind if I borrow a little hot water." he thought as he climbed
through the window. He changed and was about to jump back to the ground
from the roof when someone kicked him in the head from above.
	"What do you think your doing trying to peep on Akane you
withered old goat!" cried Ranma as he attacked the intruder. 
	"What do you think your doing Fem-boy?!" cried Taro in
frustration as he kicked the boy off his back.
	"Well, if it isn't o'l Pantyhose. Its been a while, still tryin
to find the old goat?" said Ranma smugly.
	"Ranma what's going on? Will you keep it down were trying to
teach a lesson over...." cried Akane angrily as she rounded the corner
and stopped cold as she saw Taro standing in the yard by the koi pond.
Ryu jogged up followed by Soun behind her.
	"Well look who it is, did ya ever find who you were looking for
in that book?" said Ryu cheerfully.
	Taro went white. "Uh, yea. He sorta hangs out here." said the man
nervously as he backed away from Ryu. He stumbled back into the koi pond
and fell into the water reverting to the cursed monster.
	"Hey those are new." said Ryu looking at the tentacles.
	"BU-FU." said Taro nervously as he nodded. The beast jumped offer
the wall waving nervously and flew away.
	"What was that all about?" asked Nabiki.
	Ryu stopped and looked as if he had forgoten she was there. "Uh
we met in China a while ago. He was looking for some guy who had been to
Jusenkyo a long time ago."  he answered nervously.
	"Why did he seem scared of you?" asked Akane in wonder, Taro had
never acted like that before.
	"Uhh, Well somehow he got the weird idea that I was uhh, gay, yea
that�s it. He thinks I'm gay." said Ryu as he struggled for an answer.
	"Your not right?" asked Ranma nervously.
	"Of course not!" cried Ryu angrily. "...not that there�s anything
wrong with that."
	"What are you a pervert or something of course there is." snorted
Ranma.
	"I gotta go practice now." said Ryu as he turned back toward the
dojo.
	"Yes, you'll spar with Akane." agreed Soun cheerfully.
	
	Nabiki simply stared at the exchange coolly. Taro was not just
repulsed by the boy, he was terrified of him. This was much deeper than a
simple homophobe. Ryu was hiding something big.

	Ryu stepped from his small one room apartment that was only a few
blocks away from the Tendo dojo and Furinkan high in either direction. He
took a deep breath and started towards the school. The sky was clear and
it was turning out to be a beautiful day. He threw his school bag over
his shoulder and looked at the people scurrying around the street
passively. It took about fifteen minutes for him to walk to the gates of
the school through the crowd. He smiled as Ranma and Akane charged
through the gate and  kicked Kuno to the ground before rushing to class.
"Well its nice to see them early for once." said Ryu to himself.
	"It is unusual, but how would you know that?" said a familiar
voice from behind the boy. He turned and smiled, Nabiki stood with her
arms crossed glaring at him.
	"I pay attention Tendo-san. I hear rumors and I always find out
what I'm getting myself into before I do anything. Its a necessity for
someone like me, I have allot of enemies." said Ryu as he glared at her.
	"And why is that?" asked Nabiki calmly.
	"I'm not a likable guy, I'm allot like Saotome that way I guess.
I suppose that's why I chose your dojo." answered Ryu carefully.
	"He's not telling me every thing." thought Nabiki calmly. "I
suppose, but I think your a little too observant." said Nabiki.
	"I suppose, think what you like Nabiki." said Ryu as he walked
off. "She is more dangerous than I had thought. I'll have to keep an eye
on her I suppose. Maybe I should just avoid her all together." he thought
as he entered the building.

	Akane met Ryu in the hall and waved at him cheerfully. "G'Morning
Akane-san." said Ryu as he bowed in polite greeting.
	"You don't have to be so formal Ryu." said Akane as she blushed.
	"Oh, sorry I'm still getting used to Japanese customs." said the
boy as he blushed and scratched the back of his head in embarrassment.
Akane supressed her smile. He sort of looked like Ryoga when he did that.
	"So your really going to keep studying at our dojo?" asked Akane.
	"Yea, I need some formal training, I've only gotten so far on my
own as you saw..." muttered Ryu as he slowly realized that they were
being stared at.
	"I thought that after the other day you might have thought about
leaving, I'm really sorry. We don't have many students..." said Akane as
a blush formed on her face.
	Ryu smiled as he realized what was going on. Akane was afraid
that she had drove him off after beating him so easily the day before.
"Don't worry Akane, I won't leave the dojo just because I got a few
bruises, in fact I was expecting it. Honestly I was surprised I did as
well as I did considering this is Nerima and all." said Ryu cheerfully.
	"What?" said Akane in confusion.
	"Don't worry about it." said the boy as he walked towards his
class.
	"Wow Akane I'm surprised you didn't drive him off with your
uncuteness. I sure wouldn't train at a dojo if I saw such an uncute
tomboy as a student there." said Ranma as he walked up to her from the
corner he had been watching from. He glared at Ryu as the boy moved
through the crowd, completely ignoring Akane, his words were almost a
reflex. He seemed surprised when she hit him with her mallet.

	Ryu was sitting under a tree during lunch and picked at his
school bought meat bread lazily. He had developed quite a taste for beef
in recent months. "I wonder if its a side effect." he thought to himself
as a shadow loomed over him.
	"I understand you had words with Akane Tendo this day, tell me
how it is you are so familiar with her?" demanded Kuno angrily.
	Ryu looked at him and thought for a moment. "How should I handle
this?" he wondered. Kuno pointed his boken at the boy's face and Ryu
decided to be diplomatic.
	"I am studying at the Tendo dojo. It was a business
conversation." said Ryu as calmly as he could, he was not afraid, but
Kuno's tone was irritating. 
	"So you hound Akane Tendo." said Kuno as his eyes narrowed and he
clenched his weapon tightly. "I will not permit this."
	"Weren't you paying attention? I am a student of her father's
school of martial arts, I have no interest in Akane romantically." said
Ryu warily.
	"So you use her father's place of business to get closer to my
beloved. Dishonorable cur! I will prevent your wicked plan." said Kuno
angrily as he stood at the ready.
	"I'm not going to fight you Kuno, leave me alone." said Ryu.
	"How dare you speak to me in such a way coward?!" said Kuno
angrily.
	"How dare you assume that my intentions are less than honorable
with out proof. I have made no advances towards Akane Tendo and I'm not
going to argue with you about this, leave me alone." said Ryu forcefully.
"No wonder there aren't any students at the dojo." he thought bitterly.
	"I will not permit you to speak to one of my standing in such a
way defend yourself cur!" yelled Kuno as he struck out at Ryu with his
bokken. Ryu dodged barely in time and scurried away cursing. 
	"Are you insane? You could kill me you moron!" yelled the boy at
Kuno in anger. 
	"Silence fool!" yelled Kuno as he turned and slashed Ryu in the
face. The blow struck dead on but Ryu had managed to deflect the blade
with his hand enough to turn the edge down. He received a nasty looking
cut on his hand and face and was thrown twenty feet into a tree. 
	He hit it with his back and cried out in pain as he left a dent
in the oak, with that he slumped and browned out for a moment. He shook
his head and stood shakily. His vision blurred and he was aware of a
crowd forming around them. He focused his vision in time to see Kuno
charging him with the boken over his head. 

	Akane stood and gasped in horror as Kuno attacked Ryu across the
school yard. "Leave it alone Akane he probly deserved it anyway." said
Ranma as he downed his lunch nearby with his own group of friends. 
	"Ranma, you know he can't beat Kuno! We have to help him!" cried
Akane in shock and anger.
	"Why do you like him so much all of a sudden?" said Ranma as he
glared at the fight. Ryu was barely avoiding Kuno's strikes and
desperately looking for an opening with his unusual style. "He's doing OK
now." 
	Akane just glared at him and ran over to the fight. She knew she
couldn't help him but if Kuno seriously hurt him he would pay. Truth was
he had paid an extremely large amount of money for the lessons, Nabiki
was shocked into almost complete disbelief and had developed an extreme
new interest in this mysterious new student. Akane however had not see
her father as happy as he had been during the lesson in many years. He
had not taken students since her mother died. He looked better in just a
few days than he had in years. She did not want him driven off by Kuno or
Ranma.
	Silence overwhelmed the crowd for a moment. Akane gasped at what
she saw and Ranma dropped his chopsticks and stood across the school yard
from the fight. A scowl crossed his face and he ran to the fight as he
realized what the boy was doing, he hadn't done it right so it wouldn't
work but the fact that he even had knowledge of it sent chills down
Ranma's spine. 

	Ryu dodged Kuno as best he could but the kendoist was far to fast
for him. He took several blows on his arms and side. He was bleeding
heavily from his face and light spots of blood appeared to stain his
shirt from the lighter shots. He frowned as Akane watched from the crowd,
he was not going to beat Kuno with his hands, it was obvious Akane would
jump in and try to save him in a moment. He had to do something fast if
he wanted to keep his pride intact. Akane stepped forward with an angry
look on her face. Kuno struck out a final time and stopped as he turned
to face her.
	"Stay out of this Akane, I won't lose." cried Ryu as he swung at
Kuno who simply blocked with his boken causing Ryu to smash his hand
against the hard wood painfully. Kuno smirked and prepared to finish the
fight. Ryu gave into the beast in his heart and finally let instinct take
over completely. 
	
	The dragon woke, Ryu stood in the center of the battle and raised
his arm into the air. Kuno's face went white as he realized what had
happened. Ranma had done this to him once and that was enough to make his
blood run cold now. But this was different, Kuno didn't realize it yet
but they had not run the spiral. A blue circle of light formed around
them on the ground and Ryu's eyes seemed to take on a reptilian
appearance as they glowed red. "Shin-Hiryu-shouten-ha!" cried the
battered student in an inhuman voice. A pillar of flame erupted around
the pair within a ten foot circle the top of the pillar took on the shape
of a dragon. The flame began to twist and turn like a giant tornado as
they reached a thousand feet into the air. 
	Ranma stood and stared in disbelief at the blast. the power of
the initial blast had sent the students within thirty feet of it flying
through the air and scurrying away from the intense heat. Akane stood
only twenty feet away and shielded her face covering her shock. "What the
hell was that?!!" yelled Ranma as he ran up to Akane and drug her back
away from the blast site.
	The flames died down and Ryu stood in the center unscathed,
almost thirty seconds later a blackened form crashed to the ground. Kuno
was completely charred and covered in minor burns and a few serious ones.
Most of his hair was gone and he simply lay smoking. Ranma approached him
and turned him gingerly. He was alive, barely.
	"What have you done?" asked Akane in terror.
	"If he had landed that last blow I would have been killed. He
doesn't realize his own strength anymore thanks to Ranma's fights with
him. I couldn't have dodged in time." said Ryu calmly. "This is why I
need your help, If I can become a martial artist I won't have resort to
my powers. I won't have to kill anymore to protect myself. I need your
help." said Ryu as he looked at the both of them.
	"If your not a martial artist how can you do this?" said Ranma
angrily. The blast was more powerful than anything he had ever seen. Not
even Herb or Saffron could compare. Kuno would not simply recover from
this in a few days. The Kendoist was almost killed.
	"Because son in law he has somehow managed to get ahold of the
heart of a dragon. A very powerful and ancient one it seems." said an
aged voice from nearby. 
	"Goul!" cried Ranma in surprise.
	"Where did Ryu go?" asked Akane as she turned and looked for the
boy. He had vanished.
	"It seems he has fled, a wise decision. I will hunt him later."
said the old woman as she jumped away with a grim look on her face. 
	"What?" said Akane in shock as she watched her leave.
	Ranma remembered Taro's reaction to Ryu the other day. "I'm going
to have to talk with Taro." he said to himself. "He might know something
about this Ryu guy."

	As she lept through the roof tops of Nerima Cologne smiled. "A
dragon heart in this day and age. Fortune smiles on me, with it the
amazon tribe could be all powerful." she cackled.
	"I wouldn't bet on it." said a voice from behind her. 
	Cologne whirled around and frowned as she saw Ryu standing with a
huge chi blast ready. "You thing that thing will be strong enough to stop
me?" she asked him.
	"The question is will you be strong enough to stop it?" said Ryu
calmly. 
	"What is it boy?" snorted the old woman.
	"I'm warning you not to pursue your foolish ambition woman." said
Ryu angrily.
	"How will you stop me?" snorted the old woman. "Why shouldn't I
just kill you now?"
	"Because if you could I wouldn't be talking with you now." said
Ryu calmly. "I can easily escape you now and you know it."
	"Still it will not always be so. I will hunt you all across Japan
if need be." said the woman with a cackle.
	"You think your the first to try? Even if you get your hands on
my heart you too will be marked and hunt by other hunters. Not even your
amazon tribe will be able to protect you. They will be slaughtered to get
to you, your family and friends will die. Is my power truly worth the
price?" said Ryu bitterly as the chi blast he had been holding died down.
	"You underestimate my people." said Cologne.
	"You overestimate yourself. Even with my power I may not be able
to kill you old woman, but can you protect your Granddaughter forever?"
said the boy as he stepped off the edge of the roof.
	Cologne stood and simply stared at the edge where he had been and
frowned. She knew he was right about that, Shampoo would not have a
chance against someone like him, Mousse would probably die trying to
protect her. But would it be worth the price she would pay? For the good
of the tribe? "Well that is something to think about isn't it?" she
snorted as she hopped away. In the distance of Nerima the lightening
flashed as a storm approached.
TBC.....

	I've finally returned to the list! Well this should get even more
interesting as time goes on. Wondering about how 'Ryu' got the dragon
heart and how powerful he really is? All will be exsplained. Also Ranma
investigates and discovers Ryu hides a dangerous secret. [Duh, but this
is a different secret.] Will he try to destroy Ryu for fear of Akane's
life? Can he? Find out next time!
ja
Catbert25
C&C to Catbert25@juno.com

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