RANMA 1/2 - FULL SALVO!
EPISODE 1 : ENTER SALVO - IT'S COLD COMFORT!
By Paul "Happy Hentai" Ervi. All character's portrayed in this
fanfic (save mine, who is copyright of P-P-P-Chan Productions
ltd., all rights reserved) are TM and copyright of the great
Rumiko Takahashi and Viz Video Inc., all rights reserved.
Based on the incomparable world of Ranma 1/2.
CHAPTER 8 : Time to end this!
The attack never came. Ranma remained quiet for a few
seconds before opening his eyes. He saw Akane, Ukyou,
Nabiki, and Kasumi standing to the side a shocked expression
on each of their faces. Then he saw Salvo standing before him,
a puzzled look on his face. "What's the matter with you, ain't
you ever seen a guy in ice before?", Ranma asked sarcastically.
"I-I'm sorry miss, I didn't realize it was you I hit with my
technique until I got closer. I'm terribly sorry!", Salvo said,
regaining his composure. "Huh?", was all Ranma said. "Please,
allow me to get you out of there, and please accept my most
humble apologies!", with that Salvo reared back his fist and
smashed it into Ranma's ice prison. "What are you doing?!
You had me and you let me go? Why?", Ranma asked,
confused. "Because, miss, my fight is with a fellow named
Ranma Saotome, not you. Tell me, have you seen him?", Salvo
explained. "Huh? I'm right....", Ranma stopped himself and
quickly looked down at himself. He was female. "What the?
Somehow, when those snowballs hit me, they turned me into my
girl half! And Salvo doesn't now about my curse.....say, I could
use this to my advantage........", Ranma-chan smiled to herself.
The rest of the crowd suddenly appeared on the scene. "Here
they are!", someone shouted. "Hey, where's Saotome?",
someone else asked. "Hey, who's that girl?", a third person
asked. "Got me.", someone answered. "Perfect.", Ranma-chan
smiled. "Oh, how could you!", Ranma-chan shouted, pretending
to cry, "Here I was just enjoying a day in the park when you
jumped out of nowhere and attacked me!" "What! I...", Salvo
began. "Did you hear that? Salvo attacked some innocent
girl!", someone from the crowd said. "No, wait, you don't
understand! I.....", Salvo blubbered. "And after I just broke up
with my boyfriend to! I was so vulnerable, and you tried to take
advantage of me!", Ranma-chan cried into her hands. "But I,
uh, I...., really miss I'm sorry! I didn't know it was you! I
thought......", Salvo tried to explain. "Why, you......
ANIMAL!", Salvo heard the cry from behind him. Gulping
hard, Salvo turned slowly to see what had yelled. More that
thirty girls were standing behind him, brandishing some sort of
weapon or another. "No, wait, I can explain, wait.....!", Salvo
said as he waved his arms in vain. "You enemy of women!", the
mob leader shouted as she and her colleges jumped on top of
Salvo and proceeded to pummel him. "No, ACK, I can,
OOF!", Salvo gasped as he tried to squirm his way out of the
crowd. "I should win an Oscar.", Ranma-chan thought to
herself with a smile.
As Ranma-chan continued to watch Salvo get pummeled by the
Female Protection Brigade, she felt a familiar tug on her pigtail.
She turned to see Akane looking at her with an annoyed face.
"Just what do you think you're doing?", Akane asked angrily.
"What?! I didn't do anything!", Ranma-chan said, an innocent
look on her face. "Oh my, Ranma, who would of known you
would be such a good actor?", Kasumi smiled. Ranma-chan
just smiled back. "Honestly, Ranma, for someone who keeps
boasting that that he's a guy, you sure cry pretty good.", Akane
teasingly. "Hey, what a second! It's not like that! I wasn't
really crying!", Ranma-chan shot back. "So you say.", Akane
smiled back. "I just figured that since Salvo is getting help from
Shampoo to Ryouga, I figured that two could play at that
game.", Ranma-chan explained, turning her back to Akane.
"And that's for the next time you think of doing something like
that!", Ranma-chan heard from behind her. Turning around,
Ranma-chan, Akane, Ukyou, Nabiki, and Kasumi watched as
the last of the FPB finished wapping Salvo over the head with a
broom. "Oh.... That's gonna hurt.... in..... the morning.", Salvo
groaned as he got up off the ground. Looking up, he saw that
everyone was watching him, particularly Ukyou. "Oh no!
Ukyou, what'll she think of me? I've got to do something to
prove I'm not a pervert!", Salvo said, scared. Salvo stumbled
towards Ranma-chan, trying to make it seem as if he wasn't hurt
(and failing miserably). "Please miss, allow me to apologize, it
really was an accident, I thought, you were someone.....", he
began. "Don't lie to me Salvo, you did that on purpose, taking
advantage of a poor sweet girl.....", Ranma-chan said faking
tears again. Akane just rolled her eyes while Ukyou tried hard
not to laugh. "But miss, I didn't mean..... hey, how did you
know my name if I just met you?", Salvo asked, staring at
Ranma-chan. "Uh, I, uh..... heard someone in the crowd say
it.....", Ranma-chan said with a nervous smile. "Oh.", Salvo
said. "He almost got you there Ranma.", Nabiki said, a sly smile
on her face. Ranma-chan spun around and stared at Nabiki
with a 'I'm gonna kill you' look, "Nabiki, ixnay on the Anma-
ray." "What was that Ranma?", Nabiki asked, playing innocent.
Ranma-chan looked like she was about to explode. "What are
you doing Nabiki?", Akane asked in a hushed whisper. "Just
trying to make a little profit, dear", she explained non-chalantly,
"People paid to see a fight." "Ranma?", said a voice from
behind them. Swallowing hard, Ranma-chan turned around to
the source of the voice to see Salvo staring at her. "Wait a
minute, I get it now. The clothes, the pigtail, it's all so clear
now.", Salvo said, a look of anger growing on his face. Ranma-
chan just put on a 'sweet little girl' face and laughed nervously.
"So Ranma", Salvo said, his eyes closed, a small smile on his
face, "You think you can just leave a decoy in your place while
you run off!", he shouted suddenly to the air. Everyone face-
faulted. "Oh man, this guy is almost as bad as Kuno!", Ranma-
chan thought to herself. Suddenly, as if he had heard his name,
Kuno appeared. "Pig-tailed girl! I love you!", He shouted as he
tried to latch himself onto Ranma-chan. He was promptly
orbited, bringing the sky's total to two. "What did you do with
my darling Ranma, you brazen hussy!", yelled Kodachi,
appearing on the scene. "Uh, he went that way.", Ranma-chan
said, pointing at random. "I coming Ranma, sweetums!",
Kodachi hollered as she ran off in the direction Ranma-chan
was pointing. "That way, huh? Thank you miss. I'll be sure to
punish Saotome for putting you in danger like this.", Salvo said
as he prepared to leave. "Wait!", Ranma-chan shouted. Salvo
stopped. "I'm probably going to hate myself in the morning for
this, but I can't win like this, or you'll never leave us alone",
Ranma-chan said, looking annoyed, "I'm Ranma Saotome."
Salvo just stood there motionless, staring at Ranma-chan. "It's
beginning to sink through the first three or four layers.....",
Nabiki commented, and was promptly nudged in the ribs by
Akane. "Y-you're Ranma Saotome?", Salvo said, shocked.
"Yes.", Ranma-chan said in a 'sweet and innocent voice', hoping
Salvo wouldn't be too angry if he played cute. Salvo looked
absolutely mad. "You're Ranma Saotome!", he shouted.
Ranma-chan just nodded, smiling. Salvo brought his hand back,
as if to strike, looking totally furious. Ranma-chan got ready for
the punch. "Cool!", Salvo said bringing his hand forward and
grabbing Ranma-chan's chest, "How did you get such a realistic
cos.... tume?" Ranma-chan looked down at where Salvo was
grabbing and then at Salvo's face, which had a look of shock on
it again. "You-you...... PERVERT!", Ranma-chan shouted as
she punched Salvo in the face, sending him to the ground. Salvo
laid there for a moment, still in shock. "Those..... felt.......
real?!", he said in a small voice. "And it sinks through the final
twelve...", Nabiki commented again, smiling as Akane and
Ukyou tried to hide their smiles. Salvo suddenly got up, staring
at Ranma-chan. The hair. The clothes. The fighting style.
The.... breasts? "Ranma Saotome is.... a... girl now!", Salvo
shouted. "Hey, shut up! I don't want everybody to know!",
Ranma-chan said annoyingly. "But..... how?", Salvo asked, a
puzzled look on his face. "Long story", Ranma-chan explained,
"If either of us survive this fight, remind me to tell it you."
"As much as I hate to interrupt this witty repartee, I do believe
the two of you were in a fight?", Nabiki said tapping Salvo on
the shoulder. "Well, uh.....", Salvo began. "I'm ready when you
are.", Ranma-chan said, getting into fighting stance. "I-I can't.....
", Salvo said, lowering his head. "What? What do you mean?
Five minutes ago you were ready to kill me! What do you mean
you can't fight me?", Ranma-chan said, surprised. "I mean I
can't fight you now that you're a girl!", Salvo explained, severely
agitated, "I want to fight, to win, but I can't go against my
personal code not to hit women...." "Can't hit women?",
Ranma-chan said, "But I'm a gu....", she stopped herself, a smile
forming across her lips, "Then does that mean if you get hit by a
woman, you won't hit back?" "Well, uh, yes I guess....", Salvo
began, "But...." "Good enough for me!", Ranma-chan said as
she ran towards Salvo and began kicking, punching and punting
him in every possible direction. The crowd watched on,
wondering where Ranma was but unable to take their eyes away
from the red-haired girl that now fought Salvo. "Honestly!",
Akane said, a bit annoyed, "I can't believe that baka is using
Salvo like that. It's not fair!" "Salvo was asking for it I guess",
Ukyou said, "Ranma is just doing what it takes to win." "But
why? Ranma's never fought unfairly before, why now?", Akane
asked. Suddenly it hit her, "Oh no, I couldn't be..... does
Ranma actually..... care..... about me?", she thought.
"Hah! Hah! You know Salvo, I've got to thank you. This is
actually fun!", Ranma-chan laughed as she punted Salvo into a
tree for the hundredth time. Salvo just landed with a thud.
"Hey guys!", Ranma-chan shouted, flexing for her fan club,
"Betcha never thought I would win a fight this easy, huh? Man
this Salvo guy is too easy!" Ranma-chan laughed and danced
around a bit before she was suddenly floored from behind.
Shaking off the cobwebs, Ranma-chan looked up to see Salvo
standing over her, an angry look on his face. "Hey, what's the
big idea? I thought you said you didn't hit women?!", Ranma-
chan said, rubbing her head. "You didn't let me finish", Salvo
said through clenched teeth, his eyes closed, "As I was saying, I
don't hit women unless they really, really deserve it!" "Um....
This wouldn't happen to be one of those times would it?",
Ranma-chan asked in her 'sweet and innocent' voice again,
trying to look doe-eyed. Salvo nodded his head furiously, eyes
wide. "Oh boy.", was all Ranma-chan said. Salvo lunged at
Ranma-chan with a Shirokumaken, who dodged and countered
with a kick. Salvo stood unaffected, glaring at Ranma-chan with
glowing eyes. Ranma-chan leapt at Salvo again and jump-
kicked him straight in the jaw, causing Salvo's head to snap
back, but Salvo just brought his head back up and continued to
stare at Ranma-chan. "Geez, he's really mad! He's not feeling a
thing! I knew Ranma'd get himself into more trouble. Baka!",
Akane commented. "No more games Ranma! I've taken
everything you and your friends threw at me.....", Salvo began,
closing his eyes and clenching his fists. "They were all trying to
help you, not me!", Ranma-chan countered. "....... But I've
persevered!", Salvo shouted, ignoring Ranma-chan's remark,
"Now I'm going to finish this and reclaim what is mine!" "Hey!",
Ukyou shouted from the side, "I don't belong to anyone but
Ranchan!" Akane just stood, annoyed. "ENOUGH!", Salvo
shouted, "This ends now!" With that Salvo leapt into the air and
released another Samui Nagusame. Ranma-chan dodged and
began running away. "I can't let him hit me with those again!
I've got to make some distance between us and give him time to
calm down", Ranma-chan thought, running, "I've never seen him
so angry, and I'm not feeling well enough to see just how much
power he has!"
"Ranma! This isn't over yet!", Ranma-chan heard from her side.
Turning around, Ranma-chan saw Ryouga, somewhat worse for
wear, running towards her. "Aw, c'mon Ryouga! Just stay
down and leave this fight between me and Salvo! I've already
put you down twice!", Ranma-chan said in a tired voice as she
leapt to avoid Ryouga's kick. "Shut up!", Ryouga shouted as he
turned around to face Ranma-chan again, "I'm going to make
sure you lose, even if I have to BWEEEEEEEE!"
"Bweeeeeeee?", Ranma-chan asked herself, turning to face
Ryouga. She met air. Looking down, Ranma-chan saw a very
angry black piglet covered in what appeared to be ice and
snow, and a very confused Salvo standing behind it. "That kid
you were always fighting got in the way of my Samui Nagusame,
and he turned into a ....... Piglet? What is this, a freakshow or a
fight?", Salvo said, shaking his head. "Just who are you calling a
freak!", Ranma-chan said as she punched Salvo in the face.
Akane and the others suddenly ran up. "P-Chan! What are you
doing here?", Akane said as she scooped up the little pig and
hugged him tight. P-Chan was still flailing about in an attempt to
kill both Ranma-chan and Salvo. "Hey, looks like your secret's
safe, Porky.", Ranma-chan smiled at P-Chan. P-Chan suddenly
had a look of shock on his face, turning to look at Akane.
"What secret?", Akane asked. "Oh, nothing.", Ranma-chan
answered, noticing P-Chan's look of relief. Ranma-chan felt her
hand being removed, remembering it was still imbedded in
Salvo's face. "No more. I'm getting tired of fighting you
Ranma.", Salvo said closing his eyes. "Does that mean you give
up?", Ranma-chan asked, hope in her eyes. "No", Salvo
answered, "It means that I have no choice but to combine my
techniques in order to defeat you!" "Come on! Give it rest!",
Ranma-chan said annoyingly. "No way! I can't lose, it's too
important to me!", Salvo yelled, clenching his fist, "Combination
Technique: Shirokumaken Flurry!" Salvo lunged at Ranma-
chan , throwing several rapid Shirokumakens at Ranma-chan ,
who dodged the flurry. "Look, no matter what you do, I won't
let you win! Akane loves that pendant too much! I won't let
you take it!", Ranma-chan said, back-flipping away from Salvo.
"Jumping Crossover Kick!", Salvo yelled as he leapt into the air
and twirled around in a drill kick. Leaping aside, Ranma-chan
watched as the ground exploded where Salvo landed. "Doesn't
he ever get tired?", Ranma-chan thought. Suddenly Ranma-
chan slipped. "Whua....?", Ranma-chan thought, noticing her
surroundings, "Hey, that's what's left of the ice sculpture's head!
Somehow we made it back to the original battlefield! We must
have made a full circle!" "Ranchan! Look out!", Ukyou
shouted, the rest of the crowd following her. Ranma-chan
looked up to see Salvo leaping at her with the biggest
Shirokumaken yet. Rolling to the side, Ranma-chan watched as
the Knuckle hit solid earth, causing it to freeze and explode.
"That does it", Ranma-chan yelled, groping around for the
nearest available weapon. Her hands rested on something that
was very cold and very heavy. "Rrrrrrrgggh", Ranma-chan
grunted as she lifted then swung the object. "Die Ranma
SaoWUGH!!!!", Salvo screamed as he was smashed in the face
with the body of his own ice sculpture. "Aaaaaahhhhhh!", he
said as he crashed into Ukyou, Akane and the crowd. "Ooops.
Maybe I overdid it?", Ranma-chan said, a sheepish look on her
face.
Salvo was in heaven. For the first time in this fight, he got hit
and actually felt good. He was smashed by his own ice
sculpture, the very one he used to try and intimidate Ranma.
But instead of feeling cold like he should, he felt strangely warm,
as if something alive was pressed against him. He noticed that
the sensation was most prominent at his lips. "I must be dead",
he thought, "Why else would I feel so good?" Suddenly he
noticed a faint hit of breath on his face. "Huh?", Salvo mumbled
as he strained to open his eyes. Opening them, he was greeted
by the most beautiful pair of hazel eyes he had ever seen.
"Ukyou?", he thought, "Then that means..... I'm either alive or
I'm seeing an angel!" Salvo noticed that the warm feeling on his
lips was getting warmer.. Getting up quickly, Salvo
remembered that Ranma had knocked him into the crowd.
Realization suddenly hit him. He had fallen on top of Ukyou and
accidentally knocked Akane and a few other people down. But
what shocked him most was that when he had fallen on Ukyou,
his face connected with hers, causing their lips to press together.
He had kissed Ukyou. "Wow.", he thought, suddenly
remembering Ukyou. "Uh, Ukyou.... I, uh....", Salvo started.
"Why you.... You.....!", Ukyou said, getting up, blue glow
surrounding her. "No, wait! Ukyou! I can explain! It was an
accident! I.....", Salvo stammered, backing away from Ukyou,
gesturing wildly. "..... PERVERT!", Ukyou screamed as she
unsheathed her giant spatula and swung it at Salvo.
"Aaaaaaagggggghhhh!", Salvo screamed as he was sent airborne
by the blow, his jacket falling off. "Wow. What a swing! Want
to be on my baseball team?", someone from the crowd
commented as Salvo crashed unceremoniously onto the ground.
Ranma-chan just stared with blinking eyes. "Better get Doctor
Tofu, Kasumi.", Nabiki commented. "Oh dear....", Kasumi said
as she headed in the direction of the clinic. "Hey, what's this?",
Akane said as she picked up Salvo's jacket, examining a pocket
inside. "Huh?", Ukyou said as she re-sheathed her spatula a
walked over to Akane. Akane reached into the pocket and
pulled out a battered photograph. It was a picture of a couple
and their child. Turning it over, Akane read the words 'To Kenji
Yukitora, Always remember who your friends are! The
Salvosons.' in faded writing. "This is a picture of Salvo's
family.", Akane said. "Akane! Look!", Ukyou said pointing to
the front of the picture. Turning it over, Akane stared at where
Ukyou was pointing. Around the woman's neck was the
pendant Akane was wearing. "Oh no. It's the pendant Ranma
gave me. It was really Salvo's all along, and Ranma has been
killing himself over it. We've got to stop this fight!"
"Oh, my head.....", Salvo said as he got up off the ground,
swaying from side to side. "Man, she has a good swing!", he
said, rubbing his hand across his jaw, "Wait a minute..... she hit
me..... the woman I love just called me a pervert and hit me.....
now how can I win her love?!" Salvo stopped swaying, a look
of anger covering his face. "Hmmm. After a swing like that he
still gets up. This guy is good!", Ranma-chan thought.
"Ranma!", shouted Akane. Ranma-chan turned to face Akane.
"You've got to stop!", Akane yelled. "Don't worry Akane! It's
in the bag. He can't keep this up for long.", Ranma-chan said
with a smile, gesturing to Salvo. "No! You don't understand!
Salvo....", Akane tried to explain. "Saotome! Now you've
done it! First you steal my pendant! Now you've caused me to
lose the woman I love!! Now you're going to pay with your
life!", Ranma-chan heard from behind her. Turning around,
Ranma-chan saw Salvo, a look of pure rage in his eyes, glowing
an unearthly shade of blue. "What the....! Hey, uh, what
happened to the number one rule of Freezing Points martial arts?
Never lose your cool or something?", Ranma-chan said as she
backed away. "Shut up! It doesn't apply anymore! You're
going to die! Get ready!", Salvo yelled raising his fists. "No!
Don't!", Akane yelled. "FREEZING POINT MARTIAL
ARTS ULTIMATE TECHNIQUE: GLACIAL BARE
KNUCKLE! HYOUGA-KARANO-GENKOTSU!!", Salvo
screamed as he plunged his fist into the earth, burying it deep.
The blue glow drained from his body, through his arm, and into
the earth. Ranma, Akane, Ukyou, and the crowd all waited in
silence. Nothing happened. "Uh, if it's a ultimate technique and
all, isn't something big supposed to happen?", Ranma-chan
asked, scratching her head. Salvo simply smiled.
There was a rumble. Almost inaudible at first, but it grew with
each passing moment, causing the earth to shake. "Nice sound
effects Salvo, but if you're going to beat me it's going to take
more than a small tremor to.......", Ranma-chan began.
Suddenly the ground before Salvo erupted, shards of pure ice
emerging. The shards continued to emerge one after another
moving towards Ranma-chan, like a giant spike-backed snake.
"Waaaauuuuuugh!", Ranma-chan yelled as she dodged to the
side as ice erupted from the ground beneath her. "Whu... what
was that?", Ranma-chan mumbled as she tried to get up off the
ground. "That is the final, ultimate technique of Freezing Point
martial arts, a technique that took me years to train! By pouring
every last ounce of 'ki' I have into the earth, I can create shards
of pure ice to erupt, destroying anything in their path!", Salvo
said with an evil smile, "Even you!" "Man! This guy is way past
bonkers!", Ranma-chan said as she dodged another attack.
"I've got to stay ahead of Salvo, dodge those spikes, and find
some way to stop him", Ranma-chan thought to herself,
"Knowing Salvo, he'll probably follow me with that Glacial Bare
Whatever over there, so all I have to do is lead his own
technique right back at him!" Ranma-chan smiled as she
dodged an ice shard that erupted below her, and began doing a
series of backflips away from Salvo. True to form, Salvo
followed her movements with the Hyouga-Karano-Genkotsu.
That is, until Ranma-chan decided to backflip in his direction.
"Oh no you don't! I never fall for the same trick twice!", Salvo
screamed as his body began to glow a brighter blue. Suddenly
the whole area began to shake. "You won't be able to dodge
this!", Salvo shouted. The ice spikes began to erupt at even a
faster pace toward Ranma-chan, missing her completely. "Ha!
You missed!", Ranma-chan remarked as she made faces at
Salvo. An ice shard suddenly erupted beside Ranma-chan, who
dodged to the side, only to ram into another ice shard. "Ow!",
Ranma-chan said as she rubbed her head, "What the...?" The
ground exploded in a series of ice shards, pummeling Ranma-
chan left and right, with no chances for her to dodge or counter.
"Can't keep this up...... gonna collapse.....", Ranma-chan said to
herself. "The pendant is mine!", Salvo yelled. Again the ground
shook with terrible force. "AAAAAGGGGH!", someone
shouted from the stands. Ranma-chan, Akane, Ukyou, and
Nabiki all turned to see what had happened. A series of ice-
shards had broken through the stands. The crowd was sent
sprawling. Subsequent shards followed, smashing the area and
the people around them. "What the... Salvo's so mad he's not
even controlling his own technique! I've got to stop this before
somebody really gets hurt!", Ranma-chan thought as she got up
and into battle stance. "All right, Salvo! This has gone far
enough! I don't know why you're doing this for a piece of lousy
jewelry, but you're taking this too far. It's time I put you away!",
Ranma-chan shouted. "SHUT UP!", Salvo yelled, draining his
'ki' into the earth again. "NO, DON'T!", Akane yelled, running
towards the two, Ukyou following, "Ranma, you don't
understand....!" "Akane, look out!", Ranma-chan yelled. The
ground shook again as it split open beneath Akane, a huge
column of ice emerging from the earth, throwing her into the air.
"NO! Akane!", Ranma-chan yelled, running towards the
direction Akane was going to land. "Oh no! What have I done!
I lost my temper again!", Salvo yelled, suddenly becoming calm,
removing his hands from the earth, "Akane!", he said as he to
began running in her direction. Diving hard, Ranma-chan caught
Akane in her arms and landed hard in the ground. They lay
motionless for a while, breathing quietly. "Are you okay?",
Ukyou asked as she ran up to them. "Akane?", Ranma-chan
asked, trying to catch her breath. "I'm okay....", Akane said
quietly, "Ranma, you've got to stop!" "No way Akane! I'm
going to win this fight!", Ranma-chan said, getting up. "No, you
don't understand! Salvo....", Ukyou began. "Salvo is in big
trouble!", Ranma-chan interrupted, an angry look on her face.
"Akane!", said a voice from behind them. All three turned to
see Salvo running in their direction. "Salvo!", Ranma-chan
yelled, "This fight was between you and me.....!" "I know, I'm
sorry... I didn't mean..... I mean, I lose my temper sometimes
and put a little too much energy into my techniques, but I never
meant....", Salvo tried to explain. "But now you've involved
Akane into your stupid fight!", Ranma-chan yelled, ignoring what
Salvo just said, "And I'm going to make you pay!"
"Ranma, wait!", Akane pleaded, but Ranma-chan began to glow
red. "This is it, Salvo! I'm going to make sure that this fight
ends now, before you take it to far again!", Ranma-chan
shouted, motioning her hands in a circle formation. "HIRIYUU-
SHOTAN-HA REVISED EDITION: HORIZONTAL
BLAST!!", Ranma-chan announced as a circle of pure aura
appeared around her and shot out in a column towards Salvo.
"What the....", Salvo stuttered, his face showing fear, "Oh man!
Uh, Hyouga, uh, Hyougakarano-genkotsu!" With that, Salvo
plunged his arms into the ground and prayed he was fast
enough. Columns of pure ice erupted before him and
intercepted the Hiriyuu-Shoten-Ha, shattering ice everywhere.
Salvo kept pouring energy into the earth in an effort to keep his
technique alive and to push the Hiriyuu-Shoten-Ha back, but
Ranma's technique was more powerful. They were deadlocked.
"C-can't keep this up..... to much energy wasted.....", Salvo
thought to himself, looking extremely tired. The Hiriyuu-Shoten-
Ha began to push forward. "But I can't lose..... Ukyou, I love
you too much to lose you..... Mother! ..... I will get that
pendant! I must!" Suddenly Salvo got a second wind, pouring
even more energy into the earth, causing the ice-shards to
increase in speed, pushing back the Hiriyuu-Shoten-Ha. "Oh no
you don't!", Ranma-chan said to herself, "No way are you going
to win. For Akane..... I'm going to beat you.....!" Ranma-chan
poured even more energy into her technique, bringing them to a
deadlock again. "Ukyou, we have to do something!", Akane
said, distress and a little annoyance in her voice, "Those two are
going to kill each other!" "Boys will be boys....", Ukyou said,
shaking her head, "Always punching first, asking questions later."
"Ranma won't listen. That baka always gets so stubborn when
his pride is at stake!", Akane thought out loud, "But what about
Salvo? Maybe he'll listen..." "It's worth a shot...", Ukyou said.
Akane and Ukyou ran towards Salvo, dodging the fragments of
ice that flew from the shattering ice shards. "Salvo stop!",
Akane shouted, waving her arms, "You don't have to fight
anymore!" "Like hell I don't!", Salvo yelled, "Maybe beating
Ranma won't make Ukyou like me, but I'm still going to get that
pendant!" With that, Salvo upped his attack. "No, you don't
understand...", Akane began. Suddenly she felt a hand on her
shoulder. "He's not going to listen, Akane", Ukyou said, moving
Akane behind her, "But maybe I can do something..." "Salvo,
you jackass! Stop fighting and listen for a second!", Ukyou
shouted towards him. "Jackass? She called me a jackass!
Saotome this is all your fault! Because of you Ukyou hates
me!", Salvo said, upping his attack even further. "Well that
worked great!", Akane said annoyingly. Ukyou turned, an
embarrassed smile on her face, "Sorry. Guess I'm still a little
upset over that kissing thing..... Wait! That's it!" "What's it?",
Akane asked. Ukyou ignored her and turned towards Salvo,
"Salvo, please, you don't have to fight anymore...", Ukyou said,
a small tremble in her voice. Salvo's expression lightened and
his attack slowed. "U-Ukyou?", Salvo began, sounding
confused. "Fighting Ranma won't make me like you, and I am in
love with him", Ukyou said, looking at Salvo with large eyes,
"But I don't want to see either of you get hurt! We can still all
be friends! So please, won't you stop, for me..... Eric?"
Suddenly Salvo's attack stopped all together. "You called me
Eric!", he said, a smile forming across his face. That was all he
could get out before his was hit with the full force of the Hiryuu-
Shoten-Ha.
"Perhaps I over-acted a bit?", Ukyou mumbled to Akane as
they watched Salvo scrape across the ground, kicking up an
enormous dust cloud. "You think?", Akane replied sarcastically.
"I didn't think that would happen....", Ukyou said, scratching her
head. "Gee, Ukyou, you sounded like you really cared about
Salvo for a while there.....", Nabiki teased. "I was just acting!",
Ukyou yelled. "Ha!", Ranma-chan shouted, "I got him! No
way he's getting up from that!" "Ranma, you baka! What did
you do that for?!", Akane yelled as she ran up to Ranma-chan.
"Why do you think?! He almost hurt yo.... I mean, he was
hurting innocent people! He got off easy! I should have re-
arranged his body!", Ranma-chan countered. "Who.....who
says you just didn't?", came a voice from the blast sight.
"What?!", Ranma-chan said, her jaw dropping. Everyone
turned to see Salvo weakly getting up from the ditch that was
created by his body's momentum. "Come on! Give up! You're
just gonna get yourself killed!", Ranma-chan pleaded angrily.
Salvo tried hard to keep his balance, but he was having a hard
time concentrating. "Cute..... trick, Ukyou", Salvo said weakly,
looking severely hurt, both physically and emotionally, "I should
have realized that you were just pretending." "Salvo, I...",
Ukyou began. "Well, Ranma, I guess you've won the second
part of the battle.....", Salvo said, ignoring Ukyou and turning
towards Ranma, "Ukyou seems to care for you, whether you
care or not...." "Hey!", Ranma-chan shouted, "I care!" Akane
looked angry all of a sudden. ".... But I'm not leaving this battle
totally empty-handed!", Salvo continued, getting into a battle
stance as best as he could, "The pendant goes with me!" "No
way, you jerk!", Ranma-chan countered, "I gave that to Akane
as a gift, and there's no way I going to let you take it!" "I'm not
giving you the choice", Salvo gasped, "You have no idea how
much that pendant means to me! It's all I have left!" "All you
have left?", asked Ranma-chan, confused, "What do you mean?
Are you really that hard up for money?" "Money?", Salvo said,
small tears forming in his eyes, "You think I'm doing think this for
money?! This is a matter of honor! That pendant belongs to my
family! All I want is the one thing that I have left to remember
my parents by!" "What?", Ranma-chan asked. "He's telling the
truth Ranma", Akane said as she handed Ranma-chan the
picture she had found, "Look." Ranma-chan took the picture
and stared at it for a while, turning it back and forth. "You
mean.....?", Ranma-chan asked. "It was his all along. Ranma
we've been keeping something that belongs to him, and fighting
him for it.", Akane said, looking Ranma-chan in the eyes. "Oh
man.", Ranma-chan mumbled.
"Your not going to win Ranma!", Salvo shouted, trying to gather
his strength, "I'll win get my pendent, even if I have to die for it!"
Suddenly Salvo fell to his knees, head dropping. "Blast it! I'm
too weak!", Salvo said, "How can I beat him?!" "That won't be
necessary.", came a voice from his front. Looking up, Salvo
saw Ranma-chan and Akane standing over him. "Here.", Akane
said as she handed the pendant to Salvo. "Whuh.....?", Salvo
asked confused, reaching for the pendant, "This another trick?"
"No trick, Salvo", Akane smiled, "We're really sorry. If we had
known that the pendant was really yours, we would have given it
to you before all of this." "Here.", Ranma-chan said as she
offered Salvo her hand and helped him up. "T-thank you",
Salvo replied, taking the pendant. He held it in front of him,
staring at the ruby in the center. The pendant seemed to glow
brighter now that he held, as if to say it had found its owner.
Ukyou walked up as Salvo put the pendent around his neck.
"I'll never forget you mother....", Salvo said, spotting Ukyou,
"Ukyou..... I......." "I hope we can be friends, Salvo?", she
asked, a small smile on her face. Salvo simply smiled back.
"One thing bothers me still....", Ranma-chan piped up, "If that
pendant was yours, how did Pop get it?" "Why don't you ask
him?", Nabiki asked, pouring a conveniently-placed kettle of
water behind a tree. Genma appeared from behind the tree, a
sheepish look on his face. "I guess it's time I told you, now that
fight's over.", he said, taking in a deep sigh. A lengthily story
ensued. "You stole it! I don't believe it!", Ranma said as Ukyou
finished pouring hot water on him. "Try to understand, boy!
Times were hard! We had no money, no food", Genma
explained, shaking his fist in front of closed eyes, "I had to feed
you! So during a swim across the ocean we ran into a small
sailboat....." "Let me guess, it was owned by the Salvosons,
right?", Akane interrupted annoyingly. "Well, yes", Genma
continued, "They were gracious enough to allow us to rest on
their boat, and even provided a meal..... but when time came to
leave, I, uh, borrowed the pendant....." "You stole it! After
they treated you so nicely!", Ranma said as he kicked his father
to the ground. "Try to understand Ranma! We needed the
money! Yes I took it, but when I did sell it for food I managed
to get it back......", Genma explained. "You stole it again.",
Ranma said with half-closed eyes. "I was planning to give it
back after we moved in with the Tendos, I just never got around
to it....", Genma finished.
"Well Ranma, I believe it's time you apologized to Salvo for
taking his pendant", Genma said. "Me?! You're the one who
stole it!", Ranma defended. "But when the opportunity arrived
to return it, you chose to keep it, this fight proves it.", Genma
explained. "I didn't know!", Ranma yelled. "Don't try to make
excuses, Ranma...", Genma replied, pushing Ranma towards
Salvo, "Now apologize." "Why do I have to apologize for
something you did!", Ranma shouted. Suddenly Salvo calmly
pushed Ranma aside and approached Genma. "So you're the
man that stole my mother's pendant...", Salvo said in a cold
voice. Genma tried to smile. Salvo brought his hand up,
causing Genma to cover his face. Genma felt his hand being
moved up and down. A handshake? "You're forgiven.", Salvo
said with a smile. "What?", Genma asked. "You stole so you
could feed your son, and still kept the pendant so that you could
return it. You did what you had to. I can't be angry over that,
after all, I'd probably do the same, me being a actual thief and
all.", Salvo said. "Huh?", Akane, Ukyou, and Ranma said in
unison. "Kidding! Just kidding!", Salvo smiled, "Look, I know
we got off on the wrong foot, but I'd really like to be friends.
What do you say we wipe the slate clean and start again?"
"Deal!", Ranma smiled, shaking Salvo's hand, "One more thing
though. Why didn't you just tell us all this before? If we talked,
we would have given the pendant to you in the first place. Why
challenge?" "Well, I tried to tell Akane, but I guess she didn't
believe me.....", Salvo explained, noticing that Akane seemed to
look a little embarrassed, "And I was going to tell you before I
decided to challenge you, but someone told me that you weren't
going to listen to me, and the only way to get it back was
through formal challenge." "Who told you something stupid like
that?!", Ranma asked. "Hey! It was not stupid!", Nabiki
exclaimed. "NABIKI?!", Akane, Ranma, and Ukyou
exclaimed. "Well, how else was I going to profit? Small fights
don't attract enough people.", Nabiki smiled as she thumbed
through a large stack of yen. "Nabiki, how could you?", Akane
asked, annoyed. "A girl's gotta eat...... and shop.... And......",
Nabiki continued smiling. Again, Salvo pushed his way towards
Nabiki. "So, you mean to tell me that you used me to make
money, and staged this fight so you could make a profit?", Salvo
said in an angry voice. "Well....", Nabiki began, looking side to
side for a way out. "Cool!", Salvo suddenly smiled again, "That
was pretty smart! You'll go far in business if you keep thinking
like that." Everyone face-faulted again. "What?!", Salvo asked,
confused.
"Nabiki, I brought Docter Tofu just like you said.", Kasumi said
as she arrived on the scene. "Uh, Kasumi, wait up!", Doctor
Tofu said before he slammed into a tree. "Oh dear....", Kasumi
mumbled as she walked over to Doctor Tofu and helped him
up. "Gee Kasumi, you really lift my spirits!", Doctor Tofu
remarked as attempted to walk next to Kasumi and proceeded
to walk into another tree. "Maybe you two should go over to
him.", Nabiki commented. "Are you kidding? It'd be safer if
Salvo and I continued to beat each other up.", Ranma replied.
"Ranma?", Salvo said, putting his hand up, "I want to thank you
again for giving me back my mother's pendant. Now I have
something to remember my parents besides a photograph." "Oh
yeah, here's your photo back", Ranma said as he handed back
the picture, "It's no problem, besides I-I-
IYYAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!", he suddenly screamed as he
ran away. "What the....?", Salvo asked, puzzled. Suddenly a
small white-and-pink cat with braids ran by, meowing as it
chased Ranma. "Looks like Shampoo landed in a pool of
water.....", Cologne thought to herself as she hopped down from
the trees, "Oh well, let her chase Ranma. There'll be other
chances, other allies....." "Ranma, sweetums! I've found you!",
Kodachi said as she ran after Shampoo in an attempt to get
Ranma.
"HELPMEGETITOFFHELPMEGETITOFFPLEASEPLEASE
PLEASE!", Ranma shouted as he ran around in a circle, with
Shampoo and Kodachi in close pursuit. "Pig-tailed girrrrrrrrl!",
came a cry as Kuno came crashing back to earth, landing in a
heap. "Oh Kuno......", Nabiki sighed, shaking her head from
side to side. "Shammmppppooooooo!", Mousse cried as he ran
by and clung onto an innocent crowd member, "At last I've
found you!" "What are you doing, you sicko!", the man said,
trying desperately to remove him. "Oh well, now I know what
Uncle Kenji said about Nerima being 'interesting'", Salvo smiled,
picking up his jacket, "Well, gotta run. Thanks again.", he said
as he turned to leave. "Aren't you going to let Doctor Tofu
check you?", Kasumi asked as she guided the still-blubbering
doctor to the scene of the fight. "Maybe later.... Right now, I've
got a sunset to catch.", Salvo smiled, clasping the pendant in his
hand. "Want some company?", Akane asked. "But what about
Ranma?", Salvo asked. "Oh he's got more than enough
company.....", Akane glowered in the direction of Ranma, who
was still being chased by Shampoo and Kodachi. "Don't worry,
I'll help him!", Ukyou said as she unsheathed her spatula. "Well,
in that case, let's go!", Salvo smiled as turned to leave, walking
beside him, leaving the rest of the crowd behind.
"SOMEBODY PLEASE HELP ME!!!", Ranma shouted as he
ran in a circle for the one-hundredth time.