=========================
      PART IX
Not Tea, and Not Sympathy
=========================



   Tea houses have a generally relaxing effect.  They are a refuge from
the daily grind of society, a haven from the stresses of life, a place to
_relax_. 
   Nerima's tea houses are greatly valued because these places are one of
the few places where fighting just does _not_ occur.  It's an unspoken
rule that everyone obeys.  After all, there has to be some place where one
can negotiate a deal with enemies that would otherwise kill their
adversaries on the spot? 

   Actually, there's one exception to this rule.  The dojo of Martial Arts
Tea Ceremony doubles as a tea house.  At this place, fights often break
out at least once a day.  For this reason, that particular cafe is
incredibly unpopular among the townfolk of Nerima, but does very well with
tourists.

***

   Everyone had gone their seperate ways after they managed to save Mousse
from Shampoo.  Being used to wandering off on his own, Ryouga did just
that.  Before the others realized it, he was gone from their view.
   He was lost.  This wasn't new.
   He had less than 24 hours to find his way to Ucchan's, or at the very
least, Furinkan High.  Time limits and Hibiki navigational skills did not
mix.
   Ryouga sighed in frustration as the evening shadows began to fall.  He
didn't want to think about how long he'd been lost this time.  It was at
this point that he found himself standing in front of a nondescript tea
house of sorts.  He had nothing better to do, and hoped that he would
manage to get directions, so he went in.
   He entered and found it was what it appeared to be, a quiet, relaxing
cafe filled with people.  To his surprise, a waitress immediately went up
to him.
   "The gentleman in that table is expecting you," she said, pointing to a
table in the corner whose sole occupant was obscured by the newspaper he
was reaeding.  He followed her to the table and had a seat.
   "You... were expecting me?" asked Ryouga curiously.
   "You were standing in front of the store like an idiot, I guessed it
was a matter of time until you came in.  Have a seat, let's talk."  The
newspaper lowered.  Ryo gave Ryouga a brief glance, then went back to
reading his paper.
   Ryouga warily looked at the Gosunkugi lookalike.  "What do _you_ want?"
   "To smite you," he replied casually, "crush you beneath my heel.  But
not right now."
   "Then why are we here?"
   "Do not play games with me, Hibiki.  I know you were following me."
   "I was not!"
   "Oh?  Then why are you here?"
   "I was lost!"
   "What a coincidence that we meet here," said Ryo sarcastically.  As a
waitress passed by, he asked her to bring something over.  "The house
special for my companion here," he said.
   "Buying me a drink?" wondered Ryouga suspiciously.  "How generous of
you."
   "Come now, you think I'd start something in a tea house?"  It was
rather... modern for a tea house, but it met all the minimum requirements,
and as such, was supposed to be a no-violence zone.
   Ryouga shrugged.  "Hey, why are you after me, anyways?"
   Ryo narrowed his eyes.  He didn't care to bring past embarrasments to
light.  "You offended some of our sensei."  It was the truth... part of
the truth, anyways.  He'd like to kill Ryouga even without the sensei
sending him to do it.  
   "But what did I do?!" asked Ryouga.
   Ryo shrugged.  "I care not."
   "I do," said Ryouga.  "This needs to stop."
   "Feh."
   They sat there in silence, for a brief moment.  Ryo sipping his tea and
reading through the paper, Ryouga wondering why he was staying there at
all.  Ryo sighed.  Ryouga's presence was getting irritating, especially
when Hibiki was just sitting there doing nothing. 
   "Here," said Ryo, holding out a pamphlet of some sort.
   "Hm?" wondered Ryouga
   "It's the menu.  Look at it."
   "What?  Why?" asked Ryouga crossly.
   "We," said Ryo, "are in an establishment of respectability.  One does
not wish to be seated by a person looking about aimlessly as if he were an
idiot.  Read the menu, will you?  It looks far better than that blank
stare on your face."
   "Shut up," mumbled Ryouga, looking at the menu already.
   "Hey," said Ryouga.
   "Hm?"
   "Where'd you learn the breaking point technique?" he wondered.  He'd
seen Ryo use it before, and the only other person he knew that practiced
that technique was Cologne.  What that meant, exactly, he did not know.
   "I was hunting after _you_" he said, "and was in China, when..."

*

   "...where the hell am I now?" muttered Ryo, trecking through the vast
wilderness of China.  He knew that this area was on Ryouga's list of
places to visit, although narrowing down the list to a few towns would
have been nice.  Thus far, he'd traveled to a few small villages, passed
by an interesting, rather scenic place with many springs and bamboo poles,
but had yet to catch up with him. 
   "Should've taken another year off," he muttered, slashing through the
underbrush.
   Suddenly, a thunderous boom echoed through the forest.  Ryo crouched
down low, watching for an attack.  When nothing happened, he advanced
slowly towards where the sound came from.  More explosions rocked the
earth, and as he peered from behind some foliage, he saw why.

   Suspended by ropes from several trees were several young women.  They
all had one hand tied behind their backs.  He observed, quietly, sensing
something incredible was about to happen.
   From furthere in the trees, boulders on ropes swung towards them.
Unfazed, they looked right at the boulders, rearing one arm back and
preparing to strike.
   {What are they...} wondered Ryo.
   Suddenly, several of the boulders shattered and exploded into shrapnel
and dust.  Several other boulders merely struck the women, sending them
flying backwards in much pain.  Ryo ignored them, more fascinated by the
talent that they had just shown.  {Is this a technique I can learn?} he
wondered, while also entertaining the potential of such an attack.  The
blast seemed very violent, and sent jagged debris flying everywhere.
   {As potent as a fragmentation grenade.  And... and the damage it could
do when DONE to a human body!  This, I must learn.}

   And so, for the next few days, he watched, and listened, and analyzed.
When the training grounds were empty, he'd climbed up and attempted to
train himself, hanging from the ropes while pushing the boulder back as
far as possible.  When they left no boulders hanging, he practiced on the
ones left on the forest's floor.  This way was actually the one he
preferred, but he realized there must be some merrit in how the amazons
trained in the technique, so he kept to practicing by suspended boulder
propelled at himself whenever he could.  Days turned to weeks, and weeks
into a few months...

*

   "... and so, eventually, after... oh... many bruises, many countless
bruises, I figured it out.  It's a really versatile technique, you know. 
Once you learn it, no prison can hold you and no man dares take you on
unless they're wearing armor... or have incredible endurance."

   The waitress came in with their drinks, contained in black coffee mugs. 
Ryouga ignored the drink, finding himself engrossed by the menu selection.

   "So you weren't properly trained to use the bakusai-ten-ketsu."
   "No.... I'll admit the debris that flies around is annoying, but after
a while in practice it ceased becoming bothersome."
   Ryouga was considering what this meant.  Ryo had boosted toughness as
well, since the exploding debris no longer hurt him, BUT his training
certainly wasn't as rigorous.  Ryouga still had the superior endurance,
but Ryo must have endurance at least as tough as Ranma's.
   "That technique," Ryo said, looking thoguthfully at his glass, "it is
great for getaways... but for some reason it didn't work when I tried to
kill Happousai."
   "So it is true.  You did take on Happousai." 
   Ryo nodded.  "Tough little bastard."  He sighed, in a way that said he
was bored with life and was going to entertain himself in a way that would
make Other People uncomfortable.  "Anyways, there he was stunned at my
feet, and I decided I wanted to scatter his brains across the pavement."
He took a sip of his drink, then continued, "and so, I yell out
'BAKUSAITENKETSU!', jab the runt in the head, and nothing happens."
   "The bakusai ten-ketsu doesn't work on living things.  It only works on
rocks."
   "Is that so?"  Ryo frowned and took another sip of his drink.
"That's... dissapointing."
   They sat there, Ryo very relaxed and Ryouga looking somewhat tense,
although trying to blend in anyways.  Ryo felt that maybe Ryouga had a
point about getting things over with.  After all, Ryouga was the last name
on his target list.  And after Ryouga?  Maybe another vacation.
   "So you prefer an official challange?  Hmm..."  Ryo finished the last
of his drink, slammed it down on the table dramatically, then pointed at
Ryouga dramatically.  "I officially challange you at the last day of the
month, in the evening, seven, at the bridge where we first fought.  Sound
good?" 
   "Fine."  Ryouga then looked thoughtful for a moment (something a little
alien to anyone that knew him for a long time) then turned to Ryo with his
finger pointed dramatically.  "But no more kidnapping, got it?" 
   "Pardon?"
   "You'll leave me and my friends alone."
   Ryo frowned.  "Bah, you stick in the mud.  You have no sense of
adventure." He flipped to the front section of the paper and noticed a
strange headline. [RAMPAGING PIG STRIKES AGAIN] Ryo paused a moment,
thinking, then said "It's a deal."  He didn't mind accepting the offer.
After all, finding ways around the rules was a very entertaining thing to
do as well.
   Ryouga picked up his mug and drank.  In a mild hurry to leave Ryo's
presence, he drank the contents quickly in one gulp.  Then he coughed
slightly.
   Ryo took a small moment to grin.  "Enjoy the drink?"
   Ryouga coughed repeatedly, a frown on his face.  "What was _that_?"
   "House special.  Don't drive home.  Ja ne, lost boy."
   "You mean... it had alcohol?"
   "You shouldn't drink so fast.  Now get thee home, our business is
done."
   Ryouga, realizing that there was nothing else to be achieved by staying
there, left quietly and walked into the quickly darkening streets.  He
fought the ever-increasing buzz that he was feeling in his head, but
feared that in the end, he'd lose his focus.  This was the last thing he
needed... Ryo would pay for this.


--------------

[A little later]

   Ryo looked through his somewhat out-of-date information on the people
in this area.  He flipped through them until he came to one in particular. 
   [Tatewaki Kunou.  Age 18.  Fairly skilled with swords-type weaponry. 
Obsessed with Akane Tendou and anonymous Pig-Tailed Girl.  Large ego. 
Idiot.]

   "Hm...." 

   *DING*DONG*

   Sasuke opened the doors to the Kunou estate, revealing a person in a
suit and holding an umbrella.  {Damn salesmen} he thought to himself. 
   "We don't want any!" Sasuke said, slamming the door. 
   "OPEN THE DOOR!"
   "Sasuke!  Who dares make such noise at this late hour!"  Kunou had
awoken, and he was very much irritated. 
   "I HAVE NEWS OF YOUR MUCH BELOVED PIG-TAILED GODESS!" 
   "Sasuke, open the door." 
   The door opened and Ryo quickly strode in, only to run into a bokken
aimed at his throat. 
   "Gosunkugi?  Why do you disturb the house of Kunou at this late hour?!"
said Kunou.
   Ryo winced once more, hearing himself labeled 'Gosunkugi'..  This threw
him off.  He was hoping to be a total stranger to Kunou.  The plan would
work better if he was.  But then there's this 'Gosunkugi' thing... 
   "Ah... Master Kunou!" Ryo said, getting to his knees.  He didn't like
kneeling before anyone, but according to the file, Gosunkugi wasn't much
at all, so kneeling would probbably be in character.  "I have news to
report!  The villian Hibiki has taken the pig-tailed girl!" 
   "WHAT!  THAT INFIDEL!"  Kuno was about to rush off, then paused in a
rare moment of thought.  He looked at Ryo suspiciously.  "But why does
this concern you, mage?"
   Ryo made a wild guess.  He hoped that it was right. 
   "Er... have I not helped you before in the past?" said Ryo hopefully. 
   "Hm... indeed you have." said Kunou. 
   "And knowing that you are _such_ a mighty warrior, I had sought out
your assistance in this matter.  Are you not the *great* Tatewaki Kunou?" 
   "Indeed I am!" 
   "You can still catch Hibiki now!  He's somewhere near the New Hamma Tea
Shop."
   "VERY WELL THEN!  I AM OFF!"  Kunou stomped away into the night. 
   {How gullable.}  Ryo smiled.  Yes, he would face Hibiki at the month's
end, and yes he did promise to take no more hostages or to no longer
ambush Ryouga, but he didn't say anything about _other_ people ambushing
him. 

   Just then, a sinister laughing began.  It wasn't his.  This wasn't
fitting with his view of the natural order of things.

   "Oh-hohohohoho.  Who do we have here?  Aren't you Gosunkugi?" 
   Ryo turned around.  Kodachi stood there in a nightgown, twirling her
ribbon. 
   Ryo blinked.  He stared.  The nightgown didn't leave much to the
imagination, but it certainly helped Ryo imagine some interesting
recreational activities.  An alarming amount of lust revved up in his
mind.  He also found himself nearly paralyzed.  Was it fear, he wondered?
Lust?  Or that odd smell coming from those roses?

*

   Ryouga discovered something amazing about himself.  When he was drunk,
his sense of direction cleared up sharply.  There were two reasons he
didn't notice this before and will never remember it.  When he was in his
depressed drunk state during those days after Akane and Ranma became on
official couple, he wasn't trying to go anywhere in particular, except for
away from the Tendou residence.  The reason he probably won't keep this
possibly vital bit of information in his memory is because being drunk
tends to fry some brain cells, and particularly those that contain
interesting bits of information. 
   Tonight, he was heading back to Ucchan's.  Ryouga stumbled down the
street, feeling very pleased with himself.  Hey, the world was a cool
place, yes?  Wow, he felt great!  To his great surprise, he didn't feel a
thing when Kunou showed up and hit him multiple times with his stick. 
Kunou even broke his bokken while hitting Ryouga in the head, but still no
pain.  Ryouga grunted, slugged Kunou into a brick wall and went on his
way. 
   He stumbled through the doorway of Ucchan's and announced his presence. 
   "I'm hooome!"
   The few customers within glanced at this rather drunk figure.  Ukyou
was thoroughly embarrased.  She quickly grabbed Ryouga's hand and dragged
him to the attic.  "Dammit, Ryouga, you've been drinking again!"  She
looked over the many cuts and bruises he sported." 
   "Have nooot!  Just had o*hic*one drink!" 
   "Aarrgh.  Look, just stay over here and sober up, okay?  I've gotta
manage the resteraunt."
   "O-kaaaay!!"  Ryouga said, grinning like an idiot.  He ploped down to
the floor and sat, feeling rather happy-happy with the world in general.
He was back at Ucchan's, what was there not to be happy about?

-end part 9-