Subject: [FFML] [R.5/RK][Ruroni Ranma][part 7]
From: Ryoga P Hibiki
Date: 5/2/2000, 4:33 AM
To: ffml@fanfic.com

Ruroni Ranma

Part 7

The Wandering Street fighter.


	Ranma blinked in confusion and shook his head as he sat across from
Yuriko and simply looked at her blankly. "Oro? A street fighter you say?
Looking for me?"

	"Does it sound familiar?" asked Nabiki looking interested usual.

	"Not really, I don't know any street fighters, at least they weren't
street fighters when I knew them," said Ranma calmly. He didn't really
seem all that concerned with this new development.

	"Well, he isn't very smart if he thought the elementary school was a
high school," noted Akane lazily.

	"Maybe he thought Ranma would be there instead? He does look rather
young," noted Kasumi.

	"That could be true," admitted Ranma. "I don't really see any reason to
get worked up about it, we'll meet him soon enough I think."

	"What are you going to do when you meet him Ranma?" said Akane warily.

	"Not sure, I'll think of something," said Ranma with a casual smile.

	
	The next several days passed quietly for the Tendo household. Well as
quietly as they could considering. Ranma mostly sat around with Soun
while Yuriko and Akane, trained. The training mostly consisted of Yuriko
complaining while Akane did her best to teach her the fundamentals of
marital arts. The girl caught on quickly, but not without a fight.

	"I hate her!" fumed Akane as she sat down with the two men and pouted.

	"Have a little patience she is learning after all," said Ranma
cheerfully.

	"Indeed Akane, I think this is a wonderful learning experience for you,
when I leave this world the dojo will fall in your hands. Especially if
you marry Ranma," said the eldest Tendo sagely.

	"Well, I'm not gonna!" retorted the girl angrily.

	Ranma found himself drenched with a bucket of cold water as Yuriko
appeared behind her. "Hey, I need someone to go shopping with me."

	"Oro? What's wrong with Akane?" said Ranma in mild surprise.

	"What do you need to go shopping for anyway?" said Akane with a small
measure of amusement on her face. It left quickly when Ranma's now dark
and somber look crossed her eyes.

	Yuriko blushed slightly. "Nothing, I just need to."

	The pony tailed martial artist seemed to understand. "All right, but
just this once. I don't exactly go around this way normally."

	Yuriko got a relieved look on her face and followed Ranma out the door.

	
	Out in the street she paused and looked at the girl with a knowing
smile. "So, how long has it been happening?"

	"A couple of days, I'm not scared or nothin, but it's embarrassing,"
commented the girl as they walked along. "I don't suppose you'll lend me
the money?"

	Ranma sighed and pulled his wallet out of his gi. "I suppose, I really
wish you'd go to Akane with these things, or even Kasumi if it bothers
you that much. I'm not a real girl you know."

	"I'm just not comfortable with that stuff around them ya know?" said the
girl as her blush deepened.

	"Well, you are at that age I suppose, still. I'm not all that
comfortable dealing with it either," commented Ranma casually. 

	"Besides, she'd just tease me, and if Kasumi found out about it I know
she'd tell Akane." Yuriko smiled at her companion and looked away.
	
	"How do you know I won't tell her?" commented Ranma with a somewhat
pleasant smile on her face.

	"Please, she avoids you like the plague," snorted the girl. "Besides, I
don't know why, but I trust you."

	Ranma nodded at this and seemed pleased. "Well, she is going to find out
anyway you know."

	Yuriko nodded, "I know, but she won't bother me about it if she doesn't
know it's my first time."

	Ranma sighed. "Yuriko, she's your sensei, you have to trust her more.
Besides, I might not be around forever."

	The girl paled at this, "I'm going with you if you leave!" she
announced. "The only reason I hang around is because you're there!"

	Ranma sighed and put his hand on her shoulder. "Yuriko, I want you to
stay with Akane if I go. When you're older and more skilled I'll be glad
to have you along, but right now you need to build your skills. The world
needs strong fighters to keep the peace."

	"I want you to teach me! I don't care if it's Hiten Mitsurugi or not! I
want to be strong like you!" cried the girl.

	"I can't do that Yuriko, I'm sorry. I won't teach you how to fight with
a sword; and my skill in the Anything Goes school isn't what it used to
be. Akane is a much more capable teacher than I would be," said Ranma
firmly. "Come on, we'd better get to the store."

	Yuriko nodded solemnly and walked with her.


	The next morning Ranma walked to school with Akane. "Where did you two
go yesterday anyway?"

	Ranma looked at her and smiled. "I promised I wouldn't say."

	Akane glared at him and stopped. "What's that supposed to mean?"

	"Mean? Akane, I gave my word, I'm sorry. If she feels like telling you
she will," replied the boy lazily. "She just doesn't trust you enough
right now, she will in time."

	"Doesn't trust me? What does that mean? Why does she trust you so much
anyway?" cried Akane angrily as she chased after him again. Ranma smiled
and kept a steady pace ahead of her.

	
	The day went by quickly. As the classes let out for the day a lone
figure stood waiting at the gates. He reached down and grabbed the first
student to walk close by him. "Where is Ranma Saotome?"

	The boy about shook with fear at the imposing figure holding him by his
collar. The newcomer was dressed in traveling clothes with a white over
shirt on, on his back was a massive pack that seemed weighed down almost
as it hung off his shoulders. Tied across his forehead was a blood red
bandanna.

	"Saotome?" quivered the boy nervously. He pointed to a boy quietly
walking across the schoolyard in a boys uniform blending in with the
crowd accept for the katana that hung from his hip.

	"At last I've found you!" whispered the boy with a dark smile on his
lips.


	Ranma stopped and side stepped as a crater formed where he once stood
moments before. Slowly a figure rose from the dust cloud that formed as a
result of the impact. All those surrounding the scene stopped cold and
stared at Ranma and the newcomer. 

	Akane froze in place and stared at the pair as they watched each other
passively for a moment. Ranma's face was calm and patient, and the new
boy merely had a smirk crossing his features.

	"Tell me. Who are you?" said Ranma.

	The boy laughed out loud and dusted off his pants. "You don't remember
me? I shouldn't be surprised after all these years. I am the street
fighter Kasatetsu. I've come to challenge you as I promised ten years
ago."

	Ranma raised his eyebrow slightly and looked the boy up and down.
"Kasatetsu? I don't recall knowing anyone by that name..."

	Nabiki appeared next to Ranma and stared at the new boy in shock.
"Kasatetsu? The invincible street fighter? Ranma, he's a mercenary, a
thug for hire. He fights locally around the area. I've heard stories
about him."

	The boy smiled and pointed at Ranma. "That's right, I've trained my
whole life for this moment."

	Ranma smiled lightly. "You're Ryoga Hibiki aren't you? It's been a
while."

	The boy nodded his head. "And you're Ranma Saotome, or should I say...
Ranma Battosai?" The small crowd surrounding them froze in place and all
attention turned towards Ranma. The boy merely stood motionless and
watched Kasatetsu silently giving no indication of surprise or any other
emotion.
	"I heard stories of a Japanese soldier in that war, the strongest
warrior. He fought for around five years, the first half as a silent
killer working for the Chinese Government. The greatest that ever lived,
the second half he defended the village of Amazons against the final
attacks of the Musk, even participating in the final assault. I've heard
you've become a gentle vagabond though. I'm curious as to what might
cause that."

	Ranma raised his eyebrow slightly. "I got tired of killing."

	Akane looked at her fianc�e and passed out in a dead faint. 

	"I accept your challenge, we will face each other as we did all those
years ago." Ranma took his sword off his waist and handed it to Nabiki.
"With our fists."

	Kasatetsu merely chuckled. "I don't think so Ranma, our true skills do
not lie in our fists. It would be a joke to fight you without a sword,"
replied Ryoga shaking his head. "You will face me as a true man."

	Ranma paused and stared the boy down. "As you wish."

	"This place is too small, we'll fight in the that field," Kasatetsu
pointed towards a soccer field a short distance away.

	The boy pulled a large metal umbrella from his backpack and chuckled to
himself. Nabiki raised her eyebrow slightly and moved closer to him. "Is
that where you got your name?"

	"Kasatetsu? Yes, it means Iron Umbrella, my weapon of choice. I've cut
down many opponents with this," replied the boy with a shrug. He swung
the thing around as if it was made of paper and rested it against his
shoulder.

	Nabiki nodded and moved away. "All right, betting starts at a thousand
yen minimum. Come on and get started before the main event!" A crowd of
students formed around her as her assistants seemed to appear out of
nowhere and start taking down the names of the students.

	Akane woke up in a daze and saw her sister standing over her. "Nabiki I
just had the weirdest dream..." She blinked when she realized she really
was lying on the ground.

	"Does it involve finding out your fianc�e is the legendary Battosai?"
asked Nabiki with remarkable calm.

	The girl sat up and stared at the two men as the patiently stood off
against each other waiting for the betting to complete. "Ranma!"

	Ranma stood facing off against his opponent and smirked casually at him.
Akane approached him carefully from the side. "Ranma, you don't need to
do this!"

	"I made a promise Akane, I have to keep it. Don't worry, no one is going
to die, I promise," the boy smiled at her and stepped back away from her.
She nodded and moved to the sidelines. Ranma looked up at his opponent
again. "This room enough?"

	"More than enough to beat you Battosai," replied Ryoga with a smirk.
"Come on!" The boy charged forward swinging his arm out and opening the
umbrella. It slid open quickly with a loud clank. The boy stopped dead in
his tracks about twenty yards in front of Ranma and heaved his arm
sending the umbrella towards his opponent in a wide spinning arc. 

	Ranma merely moved very slightly to his right to avoid the projectile
and then to his left as it passed by again and returned to Ryoga's hand.
"Impressive trick."

	"This is why I'm called Kasatetsu," replied the lost boy casually as he
pulled several bandanas from his forehead. "Now I'll show you why I've
never been defeated!" His arm shot forward sending waves of spinning
disks flying through the air toward Ranma. The swordsman dodged around
them skillfully and drew his sword knocking a few of the more erratic
spinning projectiles out of the air.

	"You should learn more control before attempting that move. Someone
could get hurt if they fly around to wildly," said Ranma as he landed on
the ground again with his sword still drawn. He was now in a kenjitsu
stance and staring the boy down more carefully than before.

	"They knew the dangers when they chose to become spectators," snorted
Ryoga in reply.

	"You're careless," noted Ranma calmly as he charged forward. Ryoga
smiled and pulled the closed umbrella off his chest swinging it in a wide
arc towards Ranma's head. 
	The pair clashed in a wave of motion that was hard for the crowd to
follow. They stood opposite each other in the field and finally stood
upright.

	"Ranma won," said Nabiki happily.

	Akane shook her head. "Not yet, this isn't a test of skill."

	Her sister looked at her and blinked before turning back to the field to
see Ryoga laughing cruelly. 

	"What happened?" wondered Ranma as he heard the boy laughing behind him.
"That was a definite hit! He's strong, this is going to be tougher than I
thought." His features hardened and he turned around to see Ryoga still
had his back turned to him. The kanji for evil flapped in the wind
against his back as he slowly turned to face his opponent again.

	"This isn't a contest of skill Battosai, the better swordsman isn't
going to win! It will be the last man standing."

	Akane stood with her sister on the sidelines with a worried look on her
face. "This is a test of endurance. Ryoga has much more than Ranma does;
he's not a swordsman, but a fighter. He's used to taking heavy blows. Who
could have guessed he'd be strong enough to take one of Ranma's Hiten
Mitsurugi techniques?"

	TBC...

	Well, I figured I'd be cruel and cut off at the same point as in Kenshin
for this chapter. 
	The opening scene was to show that this isn't really Ranma we're talking
about here. His attitude is much, much different, even concerning his
curse. There's a reason for that, but you'll have to wait for the
answers. Heh heh. The first scene is also to promote the rocky
relationship Yurika has with the Akane.

	Next time: The conclusion. Ranma vs. Kasatetsu.


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