Hello again.  This is Part two of the Lone Man and Wolf saga.
Once again, C&C is very welcome.

    Disclaimer.  All characters, settings, and situations are the
copyright of their creators.  I seek no profit, recompense, or credit
for their ideas.  This work is soley for the enjoyment of readers
everywhere, and to honor the countless hours of work the creators put
into their creations.  Any characters I introduce I would like to
claim as my own, but knowing me, I saw them somewhere else and just
forgot about it. ^_^

    <   > indicates words spoken in chinese.

A Ranma 1/2 Fanfic
Lone Man and Wolf
Part Two

    The business district was busy this morning, with a lot of people
bustling around.  Myu and I dodged through the crowds, looking for the
Nekohanten, the resturant that Cologne owned.  After asking several
people, we finally found it.  A nice little resturant, the smell of
cooking food brought back memories of Joketsuzoku, the Amazon village
Myu and I trained in for so long.

Entering the establishment, we were greeted by a tall man wearing
long, flowing robes.  One could almost hear the clinking of metal as
he moved.  "Welcome to the Nekohanten, may I show you to a table?"
His japanese was quite good, but you could still hear the chinese
accent behind his words.

    "No thank you," I replied.  "I am looking for Cologne and
Shampoo."  He looked at Myu and I again, pulling down thick glasses.
"May I ask who is looking for them?" he responded, a small frown on
his face.  "My name is Samuel, and this is Myu.  "We were sent here by
the elders of Joketsuzoku to see how they fared, and to seek training
from them."

    He looked a little shocked at this, and gestured to a table.  "My
name is Mousse, and if you would wait there, I will ask Cologne to
come speak with you."  Myu and I went to the table, and patiently
waited for Cologne to join us.

    After a few minutes, an old woman came out of the back, hopping on
a cane that was twice as tall as she was.  She could only be Cologne,
as only the elders could attain form and balance such as that.  I
nodded to Myu, as it was customary in matters of the tribe to allow
the women to conduct business.

    "<Honored elder, we have come to train with you, and at the behest
of the elders of the tribe, to see how you fare in your quest for
Shampoo's husband.>" said Myu, her Chinese much better than her
Japanese.  I could tell Myu was nervous, she was still inexperienced
with actual person to person communication.

    "<Be welcome in my resturant, and let us talk of your training.>"
said Cologne.  She hopped into the opposite seat, and looked closely
at us.  "<I see the aura of Jusenkyo around you.  What are the nature
of your curses?>"

    Myu figited at that, probably remembering once again the horror
she witnessed at my transformation so long ago.  "<I am a wolf cursed
with Human form, and Samuel is Human cursed with wolf form.>"  Cologne
looked thoughtful at this, and proceeded to delve into our history.

    "<Tell me why the elders sent you to me for training.  There are
plenty of capable warriors to train you at the village.>"  Myu sighed,
knowing full well that Cologne would not be satisfied with anything
less than a full explaination.

    "<Samuel was cursed with his wolf form five years ago.  "He joined
my pack, and took me as mate.  "Two years later, the warriors of
Joketsuzoku found him and saw through the curse.  "An elder of the
village put me in the spring of drowned girl, so Samuel and I could
stay together.  "For three years we trained at the village, allowed to
stay because of my petition to become an Amazon.  "Finally, I was told
that to seal my place in the tribe, I had to seek out the last vote
from the only elder missing.>"

    Cologne looked at me, then at Myu.  "<To think that they allowed
you to stay for that long.  "I am not pleased with this.  "To test
your fitness, I must see you fight.  "Shampoo!  Come out here!>"

    From the kitchen came the perfect Amazon.  She looked to be
strong, fit, and beautiful.  She approached the table, and sat next to
Cologne.  "<Yes, great-grandmother?>"  "<You are to fight with this
woman, and I think Mousse with this man, to see if they are worthy of
becoming members of our village.>"  Cologne looked upset, something
that you do not want an elder to be.

    Myu looked at me, and then back at Cologne.  "<We accept.  We will
meet you this evening here, for we must prepare for the trial.>"  I
nodded at Myu, she managed to buy us a little time to prepare.  "<Very
well, but know that if you do not show, your lives are forfeit
according to Amazon law.>"  Cologne looked at us once again, and then
hopped back into the kitchen.

    Shampoo looked at Myu, and a evil little smirk came over her face.
"<I do not know why Great-grandmother is mad at you, but I will take
great pleasure in beating you to make her happy.>"  With that, Shampoo
also returned to the kitchen.

    Wonderful.  Here we thought we would recieve the training we
needed to help us out in fights like this, but it seems that in order
to get the training, we need to fight unprepared.  Well, there was
always the Tendo dojo to train at, and hopefully, we would live long
enough to recieve that training.

    We headed back to the Tendo home, to get our things in order, and
to talk with Mr. Tendo as to the terms of our training.  He was
generous, offering us room and board while we trained, I think mainly
because I offered to start serious repairs on the structural damage I
has seen earlier that morning.  He also allowed us use of the Dojo to
prepare for the trial by combat this evening.

    "Cmon, Myu!  Shampoo will not hold back!"  Myu came at me, her leg
coming up in a textbook roundhouse kick.  Blocking, I spun with a high
kick to the face, and Myu managed to block it rather well.  We sparred
for a couple of hours, and when we looked up, Ranma and Akane were
sitting in the doorway, watching us.

    "Not bad." said Ranma.  "You have a good form, but there is one
thing you need to know.  "Shampoo fights with Bonbori, and Mousse is a
master of hidden weapons.  "When you fight with them, be prepared to
face armed foes."

    "Thank you, Ranma."  I replied.  "How did you find out about the
fight this evening?"  Ranma looked down for a sec, saying "Shampoo
invited me to come witness her defeating an applicant for Amazon
status.  "She seems to think that when I see how well she fights
against Myu, I will be so impressed with her that I will jump into her
arms."

    Akane stood up at that and stormed out of the dojo.  Myu and I
watched her leave, confused, and our confusion grew as she stormed
back in.  "Ranma no Baka!"  she yelled, swinging out with a huge
mallet.  Ranma tried to dodge, but the mallet clipped him, sending him
through the wall.  Akane's mallet was stuck in the wall as well, the
force of the swing to great to stop instantly.  Now I knew where the
holes and structural damage was coming from.

    Ranma-chan stepped back into the dojo, a large bump on her head
and a look of disgust in her eye.  "Given the fact that there is only
a couple of hours left before the match, there is not much I can show
you." she said, "However, I can make sure that the old ghoul doesn't
try anything funny during the fight."  "Thank you, Ranma." was the
only thing I could say.

    That evening, Myu and I stood in front of the Nekohanten, where an
area had been cleared.  Cologne, Shampoo, and Mousse were waiting at
one end of the clearing, while Myu and I approached from the opposite
end.  Ranma and Akane took up positions alongside the clearing, Ranma
keeping a close eye on Cologne the whole time.

    "This contest is to see if the applicants Myu and Samuel are
worthy of joining the Amazon tribe.  "Shampoo, Myu, take your place in
the challenge area."  Cologne hopped out of the ring, followed by
Mousse.  I gave Myu a quick hug, wished her luck, and stepped back to
the edge as well.

    Shampoo and Myui faced off.  Myu started with a series of kicks,
driving Shampoo back to the edge of the ring.  Shampoo lept into the
air, came down behind Myu, and commenced her own attack.  Myu dodged
and blocked desperately, trying to keep from being forced out of the
ring.  Shampoo reached behind her, pulling two Bonbori from god knew
where, and swung at Myu.  Myu flew back, landing just inside the ring.

    "Myu!  Remember the way of the claw and the fang!"  I yelled.  Myu
smiled, and went into a crouch, her hands flat on the pavement.
Shampoo hesitated for a half second, and Myu took full advantage of
it.  Leaping through the air, her hands coming together in front of
her, Myu flew twoard Shampoo.  Forcing the Bonbori apart with her
hands, Myu tackled Shampoo, locking her jaws on Shampoo's neck.

    "Shampoo yields." the amazon said, a depressed look on her face.
Myu then released her, and looked up at me.  I could see why Shampoo
had yielded so fast, Myu had already started to bite down, and there
was a small amount of blood on her lips and Shampoo's throat.

    "The contest is decided.  "Myu has earned her place in the Amazon
tribe.  "Now comes the trial of Samuel, to see if his skills are
worthy."  Cologne looked slightly suprised at the outcome of the first
match, but she also seemed content, knowing that Myu held the spirit
of the Amazons in her.

    I stepped into the ring, not knowing what to expect.  The one
thing I had drilled into me at Joketsuzoku was to know your enemy, and
their capabilities.  Mousse was a complete blank to me, the only thing
I knew about him was the fact he used the hidden weapons style.
Sighing, I entered a defensive stance, and awaited his first attack.

    Only the fast reflexes I had saved me from the first assault.  It
seemed like a dozen chains came arcing out of his sleeves, flying
twoard me with varied blades and maces attached to the ends.  I
landed, rolled to the side, and stood up, several knives thudding into
the pavement where I had landed.  Once again I lept into the air, but
Mousse anticipated this, and I was struck with several chains,
wrapping around me and forcing me to the ground.

    I heard Myu cry out when I landed, and my anger started to build.
I would not fail her, I could not leave her.  I had been told of the
ability to channel your chi, forming blasts and speeding up your
punches, but had never been able to do so before.  I let the wolf
nature of me take over, and I could feel an aura form around me.  The
aura was glowing a bright red, and I could feel the chains falling
slack around me, the very links disintegrating in my aura.  I then
charged at Mousse, snarling, and grabbed his arms.

    Mousse cried out in pain, wrenching his arms free, and lept back.
He had a burn mark on each arm, the sleeves of his robe charred and
smoking.  Ignoring the pain I was feeling, I drove straight at Mousse,
arms crossed in front of me.  He jumped to avoid my charge, but landed
outside the ring.

    "The contest is over.  "Samuel has shown that he too has the
amazon spirit.  "I see that the decision of the other elders was
indeed correct.  "I welcome you both into the Amazon tribe."  Cologne
approached me, as I was still standing in the middle of the ring,
surrounded with the firey red aura, my clothing smoking.  I had never
before done this, and had no idea how to stop.  Cologne poked me three
times with her staff, and I fell to my knees, suddenly very tired.

    "I see that you do indeed need my training.  "You used your aura
in a way new to me, but had no control over it."  Cologne then turned
back toward the Nekohanten, and said, "i will see you tow tomorrow at
noon, when we will begin training.  "Go home and rest, for you will
need it."

    Ranma and Myu helped me to my feet, as I was still too tired to
stand on my own.  Shampoo then came over to Ranma, throwing her arms
around his shoulders and burying her head into his neck.  "Shampoo
lost!  Ranma forgive Shampoo?"  Ranma could only stutter for a second,
and it seemed he was getting ready to say something, when Akane came
up to him and yelled "You Pervert!  How could you!"  Akane pulled out
a huge mallet, I had to remember to ask her where she got those things
from, and belted Ranma in a high altitude flight, aimed toward the
Tendo Dojo.  Ah well, just another bit of repair work for me to do.