Ok, for your reading pleasure, here's TWTA Act II. Any/all C+C
appreciated; and keep it to private email if possible, otherwise I might
lose it in the shuffle. Thanks :)
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Ranma 1/2:The Way Things Are
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all characters copyright of
associated creators, etc., etc.
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Act II
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[2:55, near the Tendo Dojo]
Ranma looked up as the Amazon contingent arrived. He then glanced
down the opposite side of the street and saw the Muhoshins arriving, and
took a quick head-count. Seeing that everyone was there, he shouted "Ok
folks, let's go and have some fun!"
[2:55, in front of the Nekohanten]
He was trapped. There simply was no other way to describe the
situation. There were men on all sides. However, they weren't making a
move. Rather, they had the attitude of trying to hold him there. He
looked past the circle and saw....him. Ishido (yes, that's the young
man, and no, he doesn't remember his name--it's tied in with the
mind-wipe deal that he got from his pursuers. --The Author) screamed in
unholy terror, turned around, and went into a battle frenzy that Ryoga
would have been hard-pressed to match, let alone top.
As his frenzy started up, some of the neurons in his brain stopped
firing-- specifically, those neurons associated with memory. When he
regained control of himself, half the men were out of commission, and his
pursuers' leader was approaching him with an almost...maniacal grin on
his face. The leader started taunting Ishido, trying to goad him into
making a mistake. Ishido, however, had only one option left to him.
He ran. Frantically, only paying enough attention to not run over people
in his path, as he heard the buildup of energy start behind him, an
electric crackle that seared terror-filled memories into his brain.
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[2:57, the Tendo Dojo]
Cologne stopped short when she realized that the letter she had
received from Perfume had said that the young man mentioned in said
letter would be arriving today. Not wanting to bother Shampoo with it
(who was having enough problems with Mousse,) she decided to take a
scenic route trip back to the Nekohanten, positive that the boy hadn't
arrived yet. She notified Shampoo and set off to enjoy herself without
Mousse around. <Really, those two are almost as bad as Ranma and Akane
...no...they're _worse_.>
Cologne arrived at the Nekohanten, noting the minor property damage
to the neighboring buildings, and shrugged it off--after all, such
occurrences as grudge-match fights and the like went on in Nerima far
more often than was Normal(tm) (which actually was Normal.[1]) She cooked
up a bowl of ramen and settled down to wait for the mystery guest.
[1. Normality had decreed, sometime earlier, that such things like
property damage and LEO launches were to be heavily concentrated in
Nerima and nearby Tomobiki. As such, there was a "field" of an undefined
sort which basically let people shrug off the amazement aspect of soo
much damage being done on an almost daily basis--residents of Nerima had
become so used to the incidents that they had a natural field of their
own, reinforcing the Nerima field, and also sustaining them when the went
outside of Nerima (which, for some residents, was often, usually by LEO
express.)]
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[3:00, the nearby park]
Everyone that was attending the impromptu picnic was getting settled
in--blankets were laid out, food and drink unpacked, and the boys were
already getting a game of ultimate frisbee going while the girls sat
around and gossiped. Everyone was having fun--except, perhaps, for Ryo,
because he _really_ didn't like associating with Hibiki and Saotome.
Ryo, instead, was sitting up in a tree, alternating between keeping an
eye on Akari, and watching some really stupid gaijin show about these
teenagers that keep saving this place called Angel Grove...
The bystanders who were watching the game were extremely surprised
to see that, for one thing, the boys weren't attacking each other
(part of a tense mutual truce for the day) and that Gosunkugi was
actually holding his own against the others, a surprise that some
attributed to the newfound confidence he had acquired after asking
Manami Hinako out, a recent (ok, not so recent) addition to the
group of friends/rivals that, together with the similar (if not
slightly larger,) group of teens in Tomobiki-Cho that helped
Normality keep the rest of the world from busting out all over.
Ranma was sitting, holding Akane's hand, during a ultimate frisbee
break when Mousse looked up and said, "Hey, what's that big cloud of dust?"
Naturally, everyone discounted Mousse's statement, due to the condition
of his ocular organs, but then Ryoga looked up and said "Wow....I wonder
who's kicking up that much dust?"
Ranma nodded. "Only person I know who can do that is Akane."
*WHACK* "ITEE!!!!" Akane just smiled, kissed the bruise, and said,
(sugary-sweet) "Ranma no baka." This effectively left Ranma speechless,
as the group watched the could get closer. Suddenly, there was a flash
of light, and an explosion. Several more explosions marched down the
street as the dust cloud got closer and closer.
The group of teens watched, speechless, as a ragged young man ran
into their midst, frantically looking around for a place to go. He
didn't have much of a chance, though, as four men with clubs caught up
and jumped him.
Ranma and Ryoga glanced at each other, nodded, and grimly waded in to
help the guy out of his predicament. To their surprise, he threw the men
off in a whirlwind of motion, only to have twelve more guys rush up...and
the man with his maniacal grin. Ranma and Ryoga watched as the thugs spread
out to surround the man, who was panting heavily and looking around
frantically, again. Then, he noticed the man--and his new companions.
He paled, and was about to break for it, when Ranma and Ryoga jumped
in, taking thugs down like it was a training warm-up. The Maniacal
Man(tm) and friends glared menacingly at the newcomers. Ranma and
Ryoga sized up the situation. <Hmm....three to two, and these guys
look at least as powerful as we are...I sure hope someone comes up to
help us...> Meanwhile, Akari was trying to convince Ryo to go and
help the embattled friends. "Ryo, go help them!"
"Oh come on...even a couple of losers like them can handle a few
thugs. Besides, why should I help them? They've never done a thing for
me..."
"Ryo....." Akari was worried. These were her friends, after all.
She decided to go with the appeal to his vain nature. "C'mon, Ryo, you
know that they can't handle this--so who else is gonna do it?"
Ryo sighed. "All right, all right, I'll go." He switched off his
TV, put into the basket, grabbed his umbrella, and started towards the
confrontation.
Ranma and Ryoga were surprised, to say the least, when Ryo came up
and joined the two in facing off against their new opponents. They
quickly sized up their opponents, deciding to go one on one with them.
The leader gasped as Ryo came up to the group. "You!!!" To his
companions, he said "That one is mine. You may have the others."
Ryo smiled, twirling his umbrella. "Well. I'm glad to see you in such...
good shape. You recovered far better than I expected." Then the two
groups split off and faced their respective opponents, and the fight began.
Ranma's opponent was a man with long hair who wore a orange gi and
hand-guards. They circled each other for a moment, then leapt to the
attack. The resulting flurry of punches and kicks was blocked by both
fighters, and they landed in much the same position. Ranma rushed in for
a punch/throw combination when, too late, he saw the man's palm start to
glow. The following ki-blast hit Ranma dead-center and threw him back
several feet. As he rose to his feet, Ranma spared a glance at Ryoga's
fight.
Ryoga was faring about as well against his opponent, who, to his
surprise, carried an umbrella much like his own. They were hard at work,
parrying and thrusting and dodging and slashing. Ryoga got ready to
throw a Shishi Houkoudan and threw a bunch of bandannas at his opponent.
The opponent threw up his umbrella to block, then loosed his umbrella at
Ryoga in the buzz-saw method. Ryoga quickly loosed his Shishi Houkoudan,
knocking his opponent's umbrella to the ground and blasting his opponent
into a tree. He wiped his brow and said "Well, that was easier than I
thought..." The words trailed off when the other umbrella-ist called his
umbrella back, got up, and said "That felt like a gentle breeze. Is that
was you call fighting?" Ryoga gritted his teeth, and set himself for the
next attack.
"You....will....die...." snarled his opponent, bringing his hands to
his chest. Ryo could feel a ki-buildup starting, and took steps to
counter the incoming blast. Ryo shouted "Ryugeki-ken!" and loosed his
ki-projectile at the guy, who loosed his own blast at the same time.
In a moderately large explosion, the two ki-attacks canceled each
other out, and the opponents were back at a standoff.
Meanwhile, Ranma was getting tired, sore, and angry. He decided that
all bets were off, and the next time his opponent threw a punch, he knocked
it aside and started his Amaguriken, meanwhile building up his ki for a
Mouko Takabisha. After hitting his opponent with 150+ punches (hey, he
was tired :) he blasted him with the Mouko Takabisha, throwing his opponent
for a loop of forty yards. Ranma checked his opponent, satisfied that
he hadn't killed his man, just knocked him out for a while. He then
watched Ryoga finish his fight as he checked himself for
injuries beyond the bruises he'd be feeling the next day.
Ryoga wasn't angry in the least; no, not him. Ryoga was righteously
_cheesed_. This guy, whoever he was, was good, and he had been able to
take everything Ryoga threw at him and come back with his own devastating
attacks. Ryoga's ultra-endurance saved him from serious injury, and
Ryoga was planning an all-out attack when Ranma finished off his
opponent. Seeing this, the leader signaled a retreat and the enemy
umbrella-ist broke, grabbed his fallen comrade, and took off. The leader
sneered; neither him nor Ryo were seriously hurt, or even breathing
hard--they had mostly watched each other. "You!" he said, pointing at
Ryo. "You will pay for this...and for your previous crimes against us."
He turned to include Ranma and Ryoga in his gaze. "You and your kind are
now our enemies--prepare yourself, for we will strike without warning,
and you had best be prepared." Laughing, he took off after his
subordinates.
Ranma and Ryoga were stunned. "Nani? Geez....not another
set of enemies...." Ryo just smirked, and walked off. "Hey! Muhoshin,
what do you know about these guys?" Ryo grinned, and threw "I have no idea
what you're talking about, Hibiki." over his shoulder as he rejoined
Akari. Ranma sighed and said "Well, let's go see how that guy is
doing." Ryoga nodded, walked over, and placed his hand on the young
man's shoulder. Then, for Ryoga, things went black.
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