Subject: [FFML] [Ranma 1/2 Fanfiction][rewrite/reformat] "Learning Curve" part 4
From: "J. B-Wagner" <jbw@wpi.edu>
Date: 6/30/2003, 1:38 PM
To: ffml@anifics.com
Reply-to:
jbw@wpi.edu


Ranma 1/2 was created by Rumiko Takahashi and its characters belong to
her, and her alone. I'm just kinda borrowing them. The story below is
for entertainment purposes only, and not to be used commercially.
...Obviously.


"Learning Curve"
        Part IV     (v1.3)

by:   J. Wagner



Soun Tendo yawned, blinking at the early morning sun. He loved
mornings - they were so crisp, calm and free... a new day. A clean
slate. Moments like this always gave him the opportunity to escape
from the insanity that, fairly frequently, seemed to encroach on his
home and hearth. Extra fiancees showed up every now and then, crazy
female martial artists many of them, but they came and went. The holes
in the roof were patched up, the floors rebuilt, and as always, a new
day began. Luckily, he mused, things had actually been somewhat calm
for the last few weeks. Akane and Ranma had steadily been getting
along better, ever since that trip they took with Genma to train in
the mountains, and aside from the occasional escapades revolving
around certain busty Amazons and the reappearance of the hated Master,
the destruction and distractions had been minimal.

Stretching, Soun winced slightly at the sound of sirens disturbing his
serene scene. Curious, he walked up to the gate and looked to the
left, were some men in white uniforms were cordoning off the area just
outside the Tendo Dojo. This came as little surprise, really: it
looked like a bomb ...no, numerous bombs had gone off: there were
massive holes in the street and sidewalk, as if some giant hand had
simply scooped out chunks of the ground. Streetlights were bent at odd
angles, a vending machine had been torn in half, somehow, and was
lying on its side in two cleanly cut pieces, a few stray yen and some
broken open drinks lying around it were like blood from a wound. A
telephone pole, made of concrete, was broken into splinters, and stray
wires were hanging limply from its still standing fellows.
Additionally, more than a few walls had deep slashes in them, and
while one car had been just turned over on its side, another looked
like it had its front removed. The engine... half of the engine had
finished leaking fluid, and was now just laying there. Soun could see
that it had been bisected smoothly, and saw the missing half just to
the side, still in the front part of the car that had been cut off.

"Murgh."

"Hmm?" Soun picked up sound from a nearby bush, and parting the
obscuring foliage, saw a familiar pigtail sticking out.

"Ranma? Son?" Soun poked the back of the boy's head, before sighing
and simply pulling him out by his hair.

"Ow ow ow ow OW!" Ranma failed weakly, waking up.  Letting go, Soun
shook his head as his son in law fell forward and back into blissful
sleep.

"Sorry 'bout the mess, Tendo-san."

Soun turned around, and saw just whom he suspected he'd see. Ryouga it
was. His hair seemed a little ruffled, and there was a hint of a
bruise on his left jaw, and more than a little sleeplessness in his
eyes, but it was minor. Otherwise he was normal, right down to that
(he'd heard, but never confirmed) ridiculously heavy backpack and
umbrella. Crossing his arms, Soun debated whether to reprimand the boy
or not. On one hand he seemed to have been the cause of more than a
little damage done on Ranma, not to mention the local area, but on the
other hand, Soun knew all too well that Ranma's wounds would heal, and
his pride would force him to improve. It was just as it had been
between Genma and himself, all those years ago.

"You know, Ryouga, it looks like you and Ranma caused a lot of damage
out there last night."

"Yeah." Ryouga nervously scratched the back of his neck. "Well, we
tried to keep it out of the yard, Tendo-san. You know... keep the
damage here to a minimum."

"Were you two up all night fighting?"

"I think Ranma fell asleep a few hours ago. I kinda did the same.
Figured we could," Ryouga said and smiled. "Continue it another time.
Maybe show him some more tricks I picked up in my travels."

"Well then." Soun mused. New techniques? Soun held no illusions as to
his status in the unspoken martial arts hierarchy in Nerima. Genma had
surpassed him long ago, and he'd largely relegated his skills to
teaching, and more recently, trying to beat on the perverted Master.
The thought of which, plus his natural curiosity, drove the Tendo
patriarch to a decision. "How about tea, then? It's cold out, and it
has been a while since you dropped by."

"I would be most grateful, Tendo-san." Ryouga walked over to the bush,
and casually pulled Ranma out and hefted him over his shoulder. "Lead
the way."

***

"Arigato, Kasumi." Ryouga took the tea, and gave Kasumi a brief bow.
No one else was up, just yet, and Ranma was on a couch in the living
room, still unconscious. It was generally agreed by those awake that
he'd sleep better there than with his father. A man could cut down a
forest and no one would hear it over Genma's snoring. Kasumi smiled,
as she always did, and sat down next to her father. Idly, while
drinking, Ryouga wished he could have had an older sister like Kasumi.
Of course, being related to him, she'd only end up getting lost... and
he doubted she'd be so content all the time with a curse like that
over her head. No, it was best not to even think about subjecting
something like that on sweet, innocent, Kasumi.

"So, Ryouga," Soun began. "Still have the curse?"

Ryouga frowned. "No cure yet."

Soun had found out soon after Ranma had, during the Martial Arts
Rhythmic Gymnastics Competition, when, without thinking, Ryouga had
jumped into the bathtub as P-chan, and came out as Ryouga. While Soun
was in it. The older man had confronted Ryouga about it soon after,
and after a solemn vow from the younger man that it was mainly
innocent, and not perverted, decided to let it pass. Given the attack
by Kodachi in the night, and her training under him for the match,
Soun had decided to give him the benefit of the doubt. They'd even
talked about it occasionally, and Ryouga suspected that Mr. Tendo
actually liked talking to him about things. The man had a similar
past; that of a wanderer, but he wandered by choice, and not by
default.

In retrospect, Ryouga had no doubt why Mr. Tendo had allowed him to
stay as P-chan. It made Ranma jealous, and Soun knew that even as it
did that, it would push Ryouga himself farther and farther away from
becoming a potential romantic interest for Akane. Ryouga had to admit:
Tendo-san was smarter and craftier than he let on, especially when it
came to things revolving around his 'Plans.' He had out and told
Kasumi soon after on Soun's urging, and both had agreed to keep his
secret, trusting him not to do anything ... naughty. He realized now
that his ability to confide in them had drawn him to the Tendo home as
much as his feelings for Akane had, like the two were a kindly (but
eccentric) extension of his wayward family

"I tried to find Jyusenkyo, and I aimed for the more mountainous areas
of China, hoping to hit either the Joketsuzoku, where I could get a
guide, or the Baiyankara Range itself." Ryouga shook his head in
defeat. "But I don't even know if I hit the Quinghai Province, to tell
the truth. Hmm... this is good tea, by the way. It's been a while
since I've had good tea, you know."

"You've been gone a long time, Ryouga-kun," Kasumi spoke up. "Did you
go any place new?"

"Yep. I got to some new spots in Russia this time around, in the
south, and spent some time in the Near East and the Subcontinent. I
doubt I'll end up there again, but you never know... I just got back
three days ago, and made a bee line here. I guess I actually got a
little lucky and made it when I did." Ryouga sipped the tea. "Anything
new going on around here, Tendo-san? Kasumi?"

"The Master returned." Soun's voice was borderline breaking-down-into-
tears.

"Master?"

"Grandfather Happosai." Kasumi held her hand out about two feet over
the table. "About this high, several hundred years old... wrinkly."

"Like a male version of Cologne?" Ryouga couldn't help but start to
laugh when his two hosts nodded. "Seriously? That's hilarious!"

"I wish that was it!" Soun held back the temptation to wail. "He's the
most evil, foul, perverted demon on the planet! He destroys things,
steals underwear, and eats us out of house and home!"

"I ...see." Ryouga still couldn't quite picture this 'Happosai,' and
settled for nodding as if he understood. It was a skill he'd come to
master. "Anything else?"

"Well, there was that Martial Arts Takeout Race..."

"Oh, and that play Akane and Ranma were in," Kasumi added, "Romeo and
Juliet! It was very... entertaining. And they looked so cute in their
little costumes!"

"Romeo and Juliet?" Ryouga frowned, just a little. "Was Ranma Romeo or
Juliet?"

"Both," Soun said and shrugged. "There was this boy... Ukyou, if I
recall, who started coming by and attacking Ranma. He doesn't drop in
here much, though."

"Then there were those Love Pills at the beach. Remember that,
Father?"

"How could I forget, Kasumi?" Soun's voice was the same, but Ryouga
detected a small smile on the older man's face.

"It must've been... amusing," Ryouga ventured.

"Oh my!" Kasumi suddenly remembered. "Ryouga-kun, a few days ago, in
the news... We heard that your dog, Shirokuro, I think, had puppies.
She was looking for you, but I suppose you were still out."

"Yeah. In Hawaii." Ryouga bit his lip. Shirokuro had puppies? And
she'd been looking for him? Silently, he cursed. If he went to look,
it'd almost certainly be weeks before he found home. Hell, he didn't
even know exactly where home was, not that exact locations in general
had any real meaning to a Hibiki. "I'll... have to try and find a way
home later. I don't want to risk getting lost again now that I found
Nerima."

Soun nodded, understanding. "So... what are these new techniques
you've picked up?"

"Well." Ryouga thought for a second about where to begin. "On the road
I got a lot of use out of my Bakusai Tenketsu. That's the Joketsuzoku
technique Cologne taught me. It's designed for use in mining,
destroying rocks and the like... and more importantly, the training
for it boosted my durability. I used it to tunnel through some of the
more treacherous mountainous areas, and for general demolition. It's
pretty easy once you get used to it, and I'm comfortable enough with
it that I can control the reaction pretty precisely. I'm experimenting
with a Special for of it... I can already delay the reaction, and have
it explode on contact with things. Ultimately, I want to be able to
make the reaction Ki specific."

"Interesting." Soun finished his tea. Kasumi poured him another, but
both kept listening intently.

"On the other hand," Ryouga continued, "Instead of finesse, I've also
been working to make the Bakusai Tenketsu itself more powerful. It
only took a few weeks to learn to control the strength of the blast,
and direct it from the Blasting Point itself. The trick is to infuse
tightly controlled and confined Ki into the target. I'm working on
perfecting the Bakusai Tenketsu to the point where I can send a stream
of Ki into the ground, and use it to create Blasting Points in areas
far away from myself. A long range attack like that would be a real
asset, because it would force an opponent into close quarters combat,
where I have the advantage."

"A substitute for a Ki attack," Soun said in approval. "Saotome told
me you also picked up the Kachuu Tenshi Amaguriken technique."

"Um... sort of. I have *a* Kachuu Tenshi Amaguriken attack I can do,
but I haven't been able to do much with it. The attack itself is
mainly used to distract or overwhelm an opponent to maneuver for a
single blow. I'm still not as fast as Ranma, and I haven't been able
to narrow down the strikes themselves like Ranma has. His Amaguriken
and mine are really pretty different. To the point where they could be
considered different attacks entirely."

"I see."

"Ah, but," Ryouga said and slowly leaned forward, conspiratorially.
"I'll tell you where I have made my greatest progress, though. You
know the Iron Cloth technique?"

"Of course." Soun answered.

"I've taken it a step forward, mixing it with elements of Martial Arts
Rhythmic Gymnastics, and the Hibiki School of Survival my father
started me on. At first, I just needed a way to make my clothes
stronger... and last longer on the road. Mimicking and adapting what I
knew from before, and had done with my bandannas and belt, I altered
my clothes, and my spares in my backpack. I call it 'Tekimen Kongou
Gishu.'"

"Instant Diamond Hand?" Kasumi piqued up at this.

"Yep. Even saved my life once, while passing through Afghanistan.
...Or I think it was Afghanistan. It might have been Turkmenistan.
Kasumi, could you get a knife, please?"

"Um... of course, Ryouga-kun." Kasumi got up and headed for the
kitchen. A moment later, she came back and put a sharp cutting knife
on the table, though a little hesitantly.

Ryouga thanked her, and picked up the knife. "Now watch."

With a swift movement, he held up his arm, and quickly slashed at the
sleeve, just below the wrist. Kasumi jumped a little, half expecting a
fountain of blood, and then she saw her father, leaning forward, eyes
narrowed - curious, but nothing more. Without hesitating, he reached
out and tugged at Ryouga's sleeve, and felt the material. Leaning
back, he brought his hand up to his chin.

"Incredible."

"You have to 'teach' the material, and it didn't work the first couple
times because I tried to do it all at once," Ryouga explained, putting
the knife down. "But using a steady infusion of Ki, over time,
achieved the desired results. It'll stiffen automatically whenever
something tries to pierce it. It'll stop knives, arrows, needles...
even bullets and swords. It'd even stop my old Iron Cloth belt sword."

"Old?" Soun asked.

"After I finished with this, about halfway through my little trip
around Asia, and had the technique down pact, I decided to see what
else I could do with it. The simplest result was to pre-treat my belt
and bandannas, so they'd be better than before. My bandannas... I
didn't sharpen as much as I could have; in fact I barely changed them
except to make them a little lighter, and thus more accurate, when
thrown. I'm still toying with some ideas for them. My belt, however."
Ryouga reached down, and untied his belt. Holding up his hand, and one
end of the belt, it smiled. Instantly, it straightened out into the
air, forming a blade.

"I call it the Tekimen Kongou Toushin, to separate it from the pure
Iron Cloth technique I used to use." Ryouga was careful with the belt-
sword, and kept it in the air and away from anyone. "Or Instant
Diamond Blade. This was what cut through that car outside. As far as I
know, it'll go through anything... even clothes treated by my Tekimen
Kongou Gishu."

"That's a very dangerous weapon, Ryouga-kun. Could you please put it
away?" Kasumi shifted a bit, and visibly relaxed when Ryouga nodded,
and put it away, reverting it back into the belt he always wore.

"I only used it to scare Ranma a bit last night. I wasn't even aiming
to hit him with it." Ryouga shrugged.

"You mentioned that this was the simplest result of your
experimentation with the technique."

"Yes. The other one was a lot more difficult to get down. I merged
what I had learnt from developing the Tekimen Kongou Gishu, and the
Bakusai Tenketsu. It's... well; you could say it's my trump card. My
most powerful technique. I didn't show it to Ranma last night because
it would have ended our little fight right then and there."

"I'd love to see it sometime," Soun said, and then added, "Preferably
when used on the hated Master."

Ryouga just nodded, and leaned back, his hands behind his head. His
smile slowly disappeared, though he didn't know it, as the topic faded
away. His mind, that was, just a few second earlier, content to focus
on his martial arts and his training, and even his journey, had
wandered back into darker and more depressing territory. He was having
doubts as to whether he should be around when Akane woke up. He hadn't
seen her since that disaster after the Bakusai Tenketsu training,
around eight months ago, and the last time he'd seen her she was...
irate. That seemed like a nice, intermediate word, though perhaps
'furious' was a more exact description.

How could he blame her? She had every right to hate him. For a little
over a month he'd posed as he pet, LET her take him to bed with her
without telling her the truth, and even almost gone so far as to look
forward to getting to the Dojo not so much for the opportunity to beat
the hell out of his rival, but just to be P-chan. Cringing, he
repeated the hated nickname over and over in his mind, examining and
cataloguing the deep, burning disgust he felt in ever syllable, and in
every stroke of its kanji. Truly, he was fortunate he had gotten out
of the situation when he did. It was torture to be so close to love
and yet, at the same time, so very, very far. That month had, in
retrospect, been one of the most painful in a life of painful memories
and experiences. To degrade himself; to forsake his precious humanity,
the only thing he had left in life to hold onto, just to feel
affection given to an animal, and worse: to become addicted to it?

Indeed, perhaps it was for the best.

Over the last half year, he'd had more than enough time to roll the
situation around in his mind. He still remembered when he asked
himself the critical question... what if anyone else had picked him
up? What if any other girl had shown affection, and in so doing,
trapped him forever? Robbed him of his humanity for the pathetic
security of a pet? What if Kodachi had picked him up? Ryouga felt a
shiver down his spine at the thought of it. He wanted happiness,
yes... oh gods how he wanted some small measure of happiness, but at
any price? At the price of his humanity? ...His soul?

"Never," he growled, softly. Checking the time, he again thought over
how to approach, or whether to approach at all, Akane. Ranma, at
least, wasn't an issue. Ryouga had been hoping to get in a good fight
when he arrived, and Ranma had practically walked into him. It quickly
became obvious that his nemesis hadn't been working very hard the
intervening months, and resolved to find out more about what his hated
foe had been up to later. However, looking back, Ranma had responded
very well when Ryouga used bladed weapons, no doubt a result of
Ukyou's attacks, and remained untouched by either bandanna or belt-
sword. Cursing, Ryouga realized his mind had again wandered off track.


Akane. Akane. What about Akane? What to say? He'd already apologized,
and gotten belted across the face for it, though luckily he hardly
physically felt it. Slowly, indecision and nervousness started to
creep into his thoughts, and Ryouga had to grit his teeth to banish
them. Though he didn't love her, he could see that now, he had been,
before, infatuated with her, and more to the point, still respected
her. He respected her compassion. He respected her martial arts,
meager though they were compared to Ukyou's or Shampoo's, and he
respected her ability to put up with Ranma, in close quarters, for so
long. Ryouga suspected he'd have likely smothered Ranma in his sleep
before spending two full weeks around the pig-tailed boy. Strangely,
he still realized he knew relatively little about Akane, despite the
time he had spent near her as P-chan. What was her favorite color? Her
favorite food? Why didn't she try and grow her hair long, again, after
it got cut?

"Morning Dad. ...Kasumi. ...Ryouga."

"Hmm?" Ryouga opened his eyes, putting aside the annoying thoughts for
later (over) examination. "Oh. Nabiki. 'Morning."

The middle Tendo daughter yawned and sat down at the table next to
him, as if just now realizing he was actually here. "Ryouga. Didn't
expect to see you around. What're you doing here? It's been... a while
since you came by."

"A little less than a year," Ryouga admitted. He'd been gone for about
three months before the Training with Cologne, and around eight after.
Narrowing his eyes a bit, he checked her facial expressions and body
posture, and confirmed that, indeed, she was still a bit groggy from
waking up. That was good - it meant a minimum of hassle and
manipulations from the middle Tendo daughter. He silently hoped she
wouldn't find out about the incident he'd had with Ranma earlier. It
would only make things worse, and blow everything out of...

Nabiki smiled, though her eyes were still half closed. "You're hiding
something, Ryouga-kun."

"What? Huh? Me... nah!" Ryouga shook his head more than a little
vigorously.

"Something happened. Is it something I'd be interested in knowing
about?"

"Look, I... there... no. Nothing at all happened last night. Nothing."

"Oh! So it is!"

"Hey, now..."

"Ranma, right?"

"I... ah..."

Nabiki looked into his eyes, suddenly alert, and followed them to the
living room. Slumped over the side, just barely visible, was a black
pigtail. The middle Tendo nodded, and faced the Lost Boy. "Alright.
Did you have an audience?"

"What?"

"Did anyone see you fight him? Judging by the fact that he's
unconscious, and you look awfully spry, I'm guessing you were holding
back."

"Damn it." Ryouga silently cursed, and concentrated on ignoring her.
She was setting him up again, just like before, when he'd first found
his way to Nerima. He'd bumped into her, and found out (see: paid
through the nose) where Ranma was going to school, and gotten a small
map, too. She'd questioned him thoroughly, and promptly pointed him in
the wrong direction. Whether it was a purposeful misleadment, or her
trying reverse-directional psychology, was unknown.

Needless to say, when he'd shown up for the second time, and he and
Ranma had had their little duel, it was no coincidence she had placed
bets on him winning. That little 'bit' with the vitamins was cute
indeed. He'd never actually seen steroids, or how they were used
(missing gym class will do that to you), and he'd only vaguely known
what they could do. Oh yes - Cute, indeed, that.

"What do you want, Nabiki? Just come out and say it." Ryouga found his
voice again, once he'd distanced her's from his thoughts.

"It looks like you've been on the road a long time, Ryouga-kun."
Nabiki ran her finger down his jaw line, causing the younger boy to
flinch. "You've grown some stubble. You want to know what I want to
know?"

He nodded.

"How good you've gotten. Kuno-chan hasn't exactly been a challenge at
school, and Mousse hasn't issued a real challenge in months. Ranma's
going to train to beat you in the formal match I just know you're
going to write up today. I know your type - they're rare, but very...
very predictable. There's no honor in beating Ranma right off the bat
like that. You want him to get better. You want him to be a challenge,
and you want to overcome that challenge in front of everyone that
matters, which... at this point... is pretty much yourself, even if
you risk losing. If it were me, I'd jump him at school, and flatten
him in front of everyone."

"Yeah?" Ryouga cocked his head a bit, as if losing his attention.

Nabiki continued, regardless. "The question then becomes how good
you've become, and how much time you give for Ranma to improve."

"That's none of your business, Nabiki. This is between Ranma and
myself. No one else."

"And Akane?" Nabiki smirked at the response she got.

Ryouga shuddered. "Akane has nothing to do with this. Maybe she did
once... a long time ago. I'm here for Revenge. Retribution. Not to
pick up a girlfriend."

"Pity." She turned away at the sound of footsteps from upstairs. "I
guess we'll see soon enough, eh? ...Ryouga-kun?"

Nabiki frowned. "Hibiki?"

He'd bolted. Typical. The lost boy could probably face down a speeding
car (from what she'd heard of the Bakusai Tenketsu) without getting
hurt, but he ran at the first sight of something he couldn't deal with
physically. He'd obviously gotten stronger, but emotionally he was as
unsure about himself, and how to deal with the world, as ever,
especially in regards to her sister. It was a weakness. One she could
see, and one she was sure Ranma would and could exploit in a future
rematch. And if that inevitable rematch were to become profitable, for
her, then it was a weakness that would have to be dealt with. ...As
quickly as possible.

Outside.

 Ryouga ran.

A wall was in the way, but it crumbled like rice paper, and he kept
going. It wasn't ultimately a physical barrier that stopped him, or
one of fatigue, but a matter of self-control. The looming threat of
getting hopelessly lost finally kicked in, and broke the barrier his
panic had built up. Stop, he thought, and stop he did. If only that
thought had come a few seconds earlier.

"Where... the hell... am I now?"

***

"You saw him?"

Nabiki nodded, slipping another piece of deluxe okyonomiaki into her
mouth.

Ukyou waited, as if expecting more information. After a couple
seconds, she realized none was forthcoming. "Well?!"

Nabiki chewed slowly, deliberately. "This is very tasty, you know
that?"

"What is it? Money? How much?"

"Free lunch. Two months."

"TWO MONTHS?!"

"Two months."

"One month." Ukyou countered. "That's plenty."

"Forty five days." Nabiki responded. "Don't worry. I won't exactly be
coming in here every day."

Ukyou fumed, but calmed herself, and admitted defeat, at least for the
time being. She was already paying Nabiki not to tell Ranma that the
same boy who attacked him so often was, in fact, a girl. "Ok. You have
my word. Just tell me one thing: How did you know I'd even care?"

"Simple," Nabiki said calmly, and didn't mind letting this information
flow freely. It was good for her healthy ego. "I overheard Ranma
mention that sometimes you fight like Ryouga. I brought the subject to
Shampoo, and she spilled everything. It was too easy."

"Shampoo. I should have known." Ukyou's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Go
on."

"He showed up two days ago, at night, and got into a little tussle
with Ranma." Nabiki noted Ukyou's pleased smile, and continued. "I
talked to him in the morning, while Ranma was... sleeping. He'd gotten
a little taller, and started on a little bit of beard, but the yellow
and black bandanna was a dead giveaway. He's planning a formal
rematch, of course, for whenever he shows up next."

"Nani? You mean he isn't there now?" Ukyou didn't sound happy that the
Tendo household had managed to lose him so soon.

"My sister sort of scared him off."

"Is that ...it?"

"There's more." Nabiki thought, briefly, about selling it later as
'breaking news,' but decided Ukyou may well not pay if she felt she
had been too gypped this time around. Skirting the fine line between
alienating customers and milking them for all they have was something
Tendo Nabiki had a good deal of experience in. She'd questioned Ranma,
her father, and Kasumi. The latter two had been hesitant to say
anything at all, apparently keeping the lost boy's confidence, while
the former hadn't had that problem. "From what I gathered, he still
has his curse, even though he went through China at least once. His
martial arts have improved considerably, and he's not interested in
Akane. Afraid, yes, but interested, no."

"I don't care about that!" Ukyou huffed up a bit. "He's just a good
friend."

"Oh. Good." Nabiki let the inference slip in. "By the way, as a
friendly bit of advice, I wouldn't bother Ranma for a few days. He's
wound a little tight right now..."

***

"Fwah!"

"Faster, boy! Kick! Kick!"

Ranma snarled, and whirled into a spinning roundhouse, clipping his
father's practice glove, just below the target. His toes provided his
only means of motion, next, as he rose almost two inches high to
strike again at the target with the same foot. His father danced back,
targets moving erratically left and low, drawing Ranma's attention as
he flowed into another set of attacks. Beads of sweat fell from his
bow, as the tempo of attacks increased, blurring at around half
Amaguriken-level speeds. Ranma knew this was his father's fastest rate
of speed, but knew that the old man could both dodge and attack at
these speeds, and his experience and familiarity showed when the
training had increased to this point, earlier in the day.

Ranma smiled, as his body and mind synchronized. His aura was a
blazing avatar now, fueling the fire that was *him* - he could just
see the edges of it as he struck, dodged, and moved to counter. Tiny
droplets of water, his sweat he recognized, rolled eerily in midair,
as if suspended and caught in the maelstrom of the match. Five Days
had passed since his ...encounter with the Lost Boy. Eyes flashing,
Ranma's fist struck the glove, and it exploded in a spray of palpated
leather and stuffing. Genma rolled back, and broke off the spar. He
looked down at the glove, and back at his son.

At his feet, the tiny droplets finally hit the ground.

"Mr. Saotome, Ranma... dinner!" Kasumi slid open the door to the dojo.


"Already?"

"We're done for tonight, boy." Genma licked his lips. "All this work
makes a man hungry."

Ranma just nodded, and followed Kasumi to the table. He ate quickly,
concentrating on the food, and keeping it away from his father. Soun
and Genma exchanged words, when the latter wasn't trying to steal his
son's portion of dinner. Happosai sat contently smoking his pipe, the
Tendo sisters chatted, and Ranma ignored them all. He caught
occasional glances from Akane, however, and they burned him like hot
coals. Though none of them had talked about it, except Nabiki, once,
Ranma knew his defeat had to be a hot topic while he wasn't around.
He'd been thrashed... manhandled... humiliated, luckily, no one had
seen him and most importantly it hadn't been an official duel. It
couldn't stress that enough. He had gone to school the first day, and
caught the looks of Hiroshi and the rest. They knew, and Ranma knew
Nabiki had told them, most likely just to hype up their eventual
rematch.

He silently cursed her constant interference, but kept eating.

It was the worst seeing that... pity in Akane's eyes. At least in
practice, in battle, he never had to worry about being looked at that
way. He'd skipped four days of school, and trained every waking
moment. Ryouga was lost, Nabiki had told him 'for free,' and out of
the 'goodness of her heart.' She hadn't said anymore on the subject,
even though she obviously knew more. He was working towards asking the
old Ghoul for help, even though he already knew the price she'd ask of
him - even though he knew that price was one he would never pay. Which
left him with his old man, who was, luckily, a skilled and effective
teacher, if not a great father figure.

And one other, he was hesitant to approach.

But Ryouga already had more than half a year's worth of hard training
to his advantage. Time was not something Ranma had to waste. Putting
down his bowl, he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "I'll be
in the dojo."

Ranma left, quickly, purposefully, and without waiting for an answer.

"He's obsessed," Akane finally said what most of them had been
thinking.

Soun arched an eyebrow. "He's taking this very seriously. But this is
a matter of honor, for the both of them. A little extra drive never
hurt anyone, eh Saotome?"

"Never, Tendo. Speaking of competition, how about a game of Shogi
later?"

"Good idea, Saotome!" Soun clasped his hands together. Gradually, the
family finished dinner and dispersed. As they did, Akane noticed
Nabiki moving with a distinct hurry.

"That's odd."

***
Midnight in Tokyo.

"Where ARE you headed, Miss Kuonji?"

Mousse adjusted his glasses as he landed, carefully slipping his cell
phone back into the voluminous folds of his robe. Far below, on the
streets of Nerima, he watched Kuonji Ukyou run. Leaping to another
rooftop in his silent pursuit, Mousse ran his fingers along his vast
array of hidden weapons in preparation. His purpose for this midnight
jaunt was two-fold. Three fold, actually.

He'd heard of Hibiki.

>From the worst possible source - Shampoo. Worse than the fact that
Shampoo seemed close friends with him, and went so far as to openly
look forward to seeing him again, was that she had repeatedly gone out
of her way, especially over the last few days, to compare Mousse to
this other man. And when it came to jealousy, even Tendo Akane
couldn't hold a candle to Mu Tzu of the Jyusenkyo. It was bad enough
being places side by side with one rival for Shampoo, Saotome Ranma,
who he had repeatedly failed to defeat in combat. At least then,
Mousse suspected, Shampoo's feelings towards Ranma were neither very
fresh nor very strong. This other one, however, would be a problem,
and an obstacle.

And, as everyone who knows Amazons, knows, Obstacles are for Killing.

He leapt again, keeping Ukyou in sight, even as she ducked through the
overhang of a large restaurant for a few seconds. Then, suddenly, some
of the roof under Mousse's foot, despite his light landing, chipped
and fell. Ukyou stopped instantly, and turned around, her practiced
ears and eyes searching. Her right hand rested calmly on the handle of
her main weapon, some sort of giant spatula, almost on instinct.
Mousse flattened himself, and controlled his breathing. He couldn't
see her anymore, from where he hid, and he almost hissed in
frustration. A sharp knife's polished side alleviated the situation,
as he used it to look over the edge of the roof and down into the
street.

Ukyou turned and went back to running.

Mousse followed.

"Almost there." Ukyou smiled, but forced herself to slow down a bit as
she entered the park. She was in her male school clothes, just in case
she ran into trouble, but she still couldn't shake the odd feeling
that she was being followed. Brushing aside such a silly notion, she
kept walking, looking around the area. She'd overheard a woman with a
child talking in her restaurant about a 'wandering martial artist'
camped in the park. It had to be him.

Parting foliage, she got a good look at the campfire, and a large pack
and umbrella leaning heavily against a large tree. It was fall, and a
sudden cold wind reminded her of that fact just then. Leaves were
falling, slowly, to earth, and amid them a single figure, highlighted
by the flames, sat. His eyes were closed, but he seemed to be studying
the inferno that lay, less than a foot from his hands, none-the-less.

"Hey," she called out, just loud enough to get his attention. "Got
room for company, sugar?"

His eyes opened, and dark green orbs seemed to take a second to
register who she was. He jumped up, smiling. "Ukyou! What're you doing
in Osaka?"

"This is Tokyo, dummy."

"Nerima?" He frowned, and the expression stayed, even when she replied
in the negative. "Close, then?"

"Very." She walked up to him, hesitated for a second, and reached out
to give him a warm hug. "It's good to see you again."

"Geez! You've gotten stronger, Ukyou!" He laughed, but it was a
controlled laugh, the ones he preferred to show. It was only
occasionally that he showed genuine emotional laughter, and in those
rare occasions, it was indeed wild, uncontrollable, and even a little
inspirational. She'd only really gotten him to laugh three times, in
the two weeks they'd traveled together. Still, at least, now, his eyes
seemed happy. Distantly, Ukyou realized Nabiki had been right - his
chin was a bit rough with stubble. He gave her a gentle squeeze back
and let her go, and motioned for her to sit down on the soft grass.
"How'd you find me?"

"Someone at the restaurant saw you breaking rocks with your finger.
Who else does that kind of stuff?"

"Good point. Subtlety has never been a specialty of mine." He jabbed a
blackened branch at the fire, causing it to crackle and hiss. "You've
gotten all my packages, haven't you?"

She nodded. "All of 'em. You're spoiling Shampoo, giving her all that
stuff."

"Her great grandmother doesn't pay her," Ryouga said, simply. Ukyou
hadn't known that. Then again, even if it was true, and it must have
been for Ryouga to say it, it would be typical of Shampoo to just take
it in stride and say nothing. The conversation turned to his travels,
and Ukyou listened as he retold what he'd been through and where. At
the same time, around the fire, she couldn't help but remember when
they'd met.

    Months ago...

"Okyonomiaki. Okyonomiaki. Okyonomiaki." Ukyou sighed, as she cooked.
The roar of the surf had died down from its earlier fury; leaving it
sounding almost content with the fight it had given her hours ago. The
tireless sea had been her opponent, and partner, for years. It had
been her trainer, in preparation for her inevitable revenge on those
responsible for her ruined life. Ukyou cooked slowly, letting the
peace of mind that came from her unique Art seep into her muscles and
body, warming her soul from the continual assault of the cold.

She almost didn't hear the muffled footsteps until they were right
next to her.

"Hey," A tired voice broke her train of thought. "Got room for company
there?"

It was the voice of a boy - obviously, and she checked to see whether
she was in guy-guise at the time being. Realizing that she was, she
deepened her voice just enough to (usually) be convincing. "Huh?"

"I'm starving. Haven't eaten any real food in days."

"You got any money in there?" She looked at his backpack. It seemed
stuffed. There had to be something in there he could trade for, even
if he was some kind of drifter.

The boy shifted the strap on his pack, and looked away at the lights
of the city at the horizon. He smirked, a little. "No cash. And I
don't think you take Traveler's Checks."

"No." She smiled, a bit. "I guess I can let you have some, though."

"Thanks, man." He looked at her, and seemed to examine her features a
bit. "I'll pay you back."

"Sure you will," she humored him, and flipped the okyonomiaki onto a
plate.

"You have my word." He took the plate, but waited for her to accept
what he'd said. When she nodded and waved it off, he folded the
okyonomiaki once, and ate it in a single bite.

"It's good!" He licked his lips, not seeming full in the least.

"Really?" She'd never actually sold her food to anyone, so the
monetary loss was nothing, really. But this was the first time anyone
had actually complimented her cooking. "Want to try another?"

"Sure." He waited as she quickly cooked up another okyonomiaki, and
ate that one more slowly, in only three bites.

"What's your name, anyway?" She started on two this time, at the same
time.

"Hibiki Ryouga." He watched her cook closely, carefully observing her
hand movements.

She blushed a bit, not used to much non-Tsubasa attention. "What?"

He leaned back a bit, and nervously put his right hand behind his
head. "Nothing. Your hands are just very efficient. ...Like a martial
artist's."

"I am a martial artist," she said proudly, and flipped the food to let
the other side cook. "Okyonomiaki Style."

 "Really?" He drawled. His left eyebrow rose a bit.

"What? You've never heard of it before?"

"No..." Ryouga trailed off, but noticed her expression. "Heh. Learn
something new every day, I suppose."

That seemed to placate her. "I guess you're one, too. What style?"

"No real style. Just whatever I can pick up." He shrugged half-
heartedly. "You any good?"

"I'm... ok. Yourself?"

"I guess I'm ok, too. I know some tricks."

"Maybe you could show me them, then. These tricks of yours." She
handed him the two finished foodstuffs.

He took the plate, looked down at the steaming okyonomiaki, and back
up at her. Slowly, a hint of a smile drew up his lips, "Sure. I could
use some good company. And some good food."

"I swear... if I never see that damn country again it'll be a year too
soon!" He shook his fist. "Ukyou-san?"

"What?"

"Who's your friend over there?"

"Huh?" She looked around. Then, the lost boy pointed over her shoulder
and into the branches of a tree. It was dark, but she could just
barely make out the outline of something large - too large, hiding in
the cover of the foliage. She reached for her megaspatula, but Ryouga
shook his head.

"Let me." He reached up, and his fingers just seemed to brush by his
bandanna, and he had one in hand. He spun it, quickly, as he stood,
and let it fly with a flick of the wrist. The figure moved, like a
blur, at the last second, and the bandanna cut into and through the
branch it had been perched on. Now partially lit by the fire, and by
the far off light of a streetlamp, Ukyou immediately recognized the
figure.

"Mousse," she growled.

Ryouga blinked in surprise, then nodded. "Makes sense. Mu Tzu?"

"You must be Hibiki." Mousse stepped forward, long hair moving slowly
in the breeze. "A pleasure."

"Same here. I've heard of you." Ryouga smirked. "From Shan Pu."

"Oh?"

"Nothing good, I assure you." A prominent canine pointed out as
Ryouga's smirk deepened. "Still, it's nice to see you in person,
finally."

"Is that so?" Mousse kept his cool, and his hands in his sleeves. "I
heard you beat Saotome."

Ryouga paused before replying, "I haven't beaten him yet."

"Still. You understand... I simply must see for myself... if you are
everything they say you are!" Mousse's eyes narrowed, and he jumped.
Ryouga stood, watching. Ukyou, however, moved: reaching out for the
Lost Boy's umbrella. It was heavy as hell, but she could lift it, and
he'd need it to fight Mousse. She'd seen the Chinese boy fight Ranma,
though she'd never crossed him herself, and he wasn't a pushover.

Bladed chains rained down.



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