Hi Guys!
   	Well, here is the long awaited Shoki Saga Chpter 7 hot off the
presses.  I'm already working on Chapter 8--the prose seems to be flowing
swift and smooth right now.
	As always, all forms of C&C--Public, Private or MST are greatly
appreciated.  I recently reposted the first 6 chapters, but if you missed
them and would like them, just let me know and I'll email them to you.
	None of these characters belong to me.  They belong to R.
Takahashi, Viz, Kitty and others.

Shoki Saga
Chapter 7
A Little Date and a new Technique


	"What movie are you going to see?"  Kasumi asked as Ranma, Akane,
Nabiki and Shoki headed out the door.  As was her wont, she was smiling.
	"It's a dubbed American movie called Jurassic Park:  The Lost
World.  It's the sequel to that movie about dinosaurs from a few years
ago,"  answered Shoki.
	"Oh my!  That sounds a bit exciting.  I thought you might want to
see something more, um, dramatic.  Who picked out the movie?"
	"Nabiki did,"  piped up Akane.
	"Hey,"  Nabiki said defensively, "it was one of the top grossing
movies last year.  It must be good!"
	"Oh, then you all have a good time!"  Kasumi watched the foursome
walk out the front door.  As soon as the door shut Genma and Soun jumped up
from their hiding places.
	"Kasumi, you were supposed to say 'romantic' not 'dramatic',"
scolded Genma lightly.
	"Yes, Kasumi, don't you want to see Ranma and Akane get married?"
Wailed Soun.
	"Now, now  father," Kasumi chided.  "Everything will be fine, just
like always."
	"That's what we're afraid of...." muttered Genma under his breath.
	Kasumi just smiled and walked to the bath while humming.

***************

	A couple of hours later four figures walked through the front gate
of the Tendo dojo.  One of the figures was slightly taller and male.  The
other three were girls, one of whom was dripping wet and madder than  the
proverbial wet hornet.  Another was very upset and scowling at the wet
girl.  The last girl merely smirked and looked at the guy who grinned back.
	"Jeez, Akane!"  Shouted Ranma-chan.  "It's not like I expected to
find both Shampoo and Ukyou and the same ice cream bar across town from
where they live!"
	"Oh, and I suppose it's not your fault that you hugged them!"
Akane yelled back, matching Ranma-chan's volume.
	"Hey, they hugged me, not the other way around!"
	"Well, why didn't you tell them to stop!"
	"I did!"
	Shoki spoke up in Ranma's defense then.  "That's true Akane, Ranma
did try to get them to stop."  At that Akane gave Shoki the 'you better
shut up or you are going to get malleted look'.  Since she had demonstrated
a willingness to hammer him before, he allowed Nabiki to pull him away from
the quarreling couple.
	"Fine."  Declared Akane in an almost normal voice.  "I don't care
if that hentai hugs all the girls in Tokyo!  I'm going to bed!"  With that
she stormed off to her room.
	"Fine then!  Maybe I will!"  Shouted Ranma in response.  Just then
a heavy statue came flying out of the dojo and impacted on Ranma's head.
	"You just don't know when to shut up do you Ranma?"  Asked Shoki as
he peeled the statue off of Ranma.
	"Hey, it's not like it's my fault."  Muttered Ranma as he stumbled
off in search of a bath or hot water.
	For a moment, Nabiki and Shoki stood watching the stars in the
heavens.  It was a beautiful moment, and neither of them wanted to ruin it
by talking.  Finally Nabiki sighed.
	"Well, thanks for the movie Shoki.  Next time we go, I'll try to
pick a better one."
	Shoki's heart fluttered at the thought of going out with Nabiki
again.  "Hey, it was a pretty good movie."
	"Well, it was okay until that one dinosaur got loose in San
Francisco and started munching Japanese tourists.  From there out it was
like a Godzilla movie!"  The two teenagers laughed together as they
recalled the scene from the movie.
	"If you pick a better movie, then next time, I won't invite Akane
and Ranma!"
	"Oh, I don't know," said Nabiki.  "I got some good pictures I'll be
able to sell Kuno."
	Shoki smiled and looked at Nabiki for a long moment.  He then
leaned forward and kissed her on the cheek.  "Thanks for a great night
Nabiki.  I better be getting back home.  See you tomorrow."  With that,
Shoki used the super jump Ranma had showed him and leapt up onto the roof
of the dojo.  From there he waved goodbye before jumping over to the next
building.
	For her part, Nabiki just stood there, slightly shocked, with her
hand on her cheek.  She stood there for a long time, until a loud scream
from inside startled her back to wakefulness.  "Hmmm, "  thought Nabiki "it
looks like Ranma surprised Akane in the bath again."   Making sure she had
her camera, she ran into the house to see what else might bring her profit
this night.

*********
	The next morning, after training with Genma and Soun, Shoki found
Ryouga waiting for him.    This wasn't overly unusual, since Shoki had been
doing a little training with Ryouga off and on for a couple of weeks.
	"Hi Ryouga!"
	"Hi Shoki."  Ryouga looked at Shoki for a minute then came to a
decision.  "Hey, Shoki would you like to learn a technique that would help
you defeat Ranma in a sparring match?"
	"Huh?"  Shoki asked slightly startled.  "Why do you ask?"
	"Well, I notice you haven't been able to learn the chestnut fist."
At that Shoki looked slightly embarrassed.
	"I'm just not fast enough Ryouga.  I don't know how Ranma does it!"
	"Hey, don't feel bad, I can't do the chestnut fist either.  I do
know something more useful that I could teach you.  Ranma doesn't even know
it!"
	"Okay I'm listening."  Shoki was more than a little intrigued.
	"Well, were going to have to take a bit of a training trip.  We
need someplace with lots of rocks."
	"Rocks?"
	"Rocks."

***********

	"Hmm, just where are we Ryouga?"  Shoki asked as he and Ryouga
hiked through a pine forest.
	Ryouga looked around for a moment before answering.  "Well, it's
either northern Japan, or Siberia."  He paused and thought for a moment
before continuing.   "Probably still Japan, I don't remember crossing any
oceans this time."
	Shoki rolled his eyes in disgust.  He was very glad he had decided
to purchase a Global Positioning System before leaving with Ryouga.  Now he
would just have to wait until his companion wasn't looking before using it.
Ryouga was slightly sensitive about his lack of directional sense.
	The two strode on for another mile in silence before they reached
an abandoned quarry.  As they broke through the vegetation surrounding the
clearing, they paused to look about.  Ryouga was the first to speak.
"Well, this place looks as good as any.  Plenty of rocks here."
	"You still haven't told me what technique you are planning to teach
me."  Shoki said somewhat archly.
	"That's because I didn't want Ranma finding out  that I was going
to teach this to you until after the fact."
	"Fine, there is no way he could have followed us here.  Now what is
the technique?"
	Rather than answering, Ryouga reached out and jabbed his finger at
a nearby boulder.  "Beuksai Tenketsu!"  He yelled.  The boulder, for it's
part, blew apart like someone had set dynamite under it.  Shoki jumped back
and covered his face with his arms.  After debris stopped pelting him, he
looked to see the shattered remains of the boulder.
	"Well," drawled Ryouga, "we better set up camp and get started
teaching you."  Shoki merely nodded and swung his pack off of his back.

****************

	Shoki grimaced as Ryouga pushed the boulder away from him again.
He stopped to wonder why he had agreed to such a dangerous training
exercise.  Here he was suspended twenty feet in the air with a boulder
being swung at him repeatedly.  This didn't seem like such a great plan to
him, however Ryouga had insisted this was the way to learn the breaking
point technique.
	"Really Shoki," he had said then, "this is how I learned.  The
purpose is two fold.  Being hit with the boulder repeatedly strengthens you
and gives you endurance.  It also gives you inspiration to master the
technique before getting bashed to death!"  At that point he had begun
chuckling in a way that vaguely reminded Shoki of Kodachi.
	WHAM!
	"You're not concentrating Shoki!"  Scolded Ryouga.  "Clear your
mind if you want to learn.  Let's try it again."
	WHAM!
	"Don't look for the breaking point with your eyes, use your mind!"
	WHAM!
	"That was better, you're getting closer!"
	WHAM!
	"This hurts Ryouga!  Isn't there an easier way to learn this?"
	"No, not that I know of."
	WHAM!
	"Quit clowning around Shoki!  I know you aren't unconscious, I can
see your eyes moving!"
	WHAM!
	"Okay, maybe that is enough for today.  Let's get you down out of
there and get some dinner."

*************

	The evening lay heavy in camp as Shoki and Ryouga crouched over the
campfire cooking their dinner.  Shoki's head sported a bandage, and he had
an aspirin bottle tucked into the chest pocket of his flannel shirt.
	"Well, Shoki, that was a good first day.  It took me most of a week
to get the hand of this technique.  Another couple of days and you should
have it all figured out."
	"If I survive that long...." muttered Shoki.  "Oh, yeah, I nearly
forgot!  I'm supposed to call Nabiki!"
	"What do you see in that girl?"  Asked Ryouga.  He didn't exactly
dislike Nabiki, but after that first time she fed him the placebos and told
him they were steroids that would help him defeat Ranma, he didn't exactly
trust her.
	"Hey, she's a nice gal," said Shoki as he rummaged in his nearby
bag for his cel phone.  He dialed the number for the Tendo's and waited for
an answer.  It rang for a long time before it was picked up.
	"Tendo residence," came the voice of Nabiki.  'Wow' thought Shoki,
'she really sounds emotionless over the phone.'
	"Hi Nabiki!  It's me Shoki.  I just called to see how you are doing
tonight!"
	"Oh, Shoki.  Um, not doing so well tonight.  Kodachi was by
earlier, and had a fight with Akane."
	"Oh, no, is she alright?"  At Shoki's concerned tone, Ryouga looked
up from the campfire and mouthed 'Is who alright?'  Shoki put his hand over
the phone and said "Akane."  Ryouga turned pale white.
	"Oh, she's fine.  She beat Kodachi quite thoroughly."
	"Good,  she won't mess with Akane for a while then."  At this
Ryouga breathed a sigh of relief.
	"Actually, it's Ranma that's the problem.  Kodachi gassed him with
some super potent sleeping powder.  Before he hit the ground, Akane nailed
him with her hammer."
	"Oh, that shouldn't be anything unusual."
	"Well, this time it put him in the hospital.  The sleeping powder
hasn't worn off yet, and the doctor's say he probably has a severe
concussion."
	"Oh, no, is there anything we can do for him?"
	"Probably not, but Akane is not taking this well, she is-"  Nabiki
was drown out by the sound of something heavy falling.  Then there was a
loud whirling sound, similar to the blades of a helicopter over the phone.
	"Nabiki!  What's going on Nabiki!"  Shoki screamed into the phone.
	"Some guy......th a sword.......PUT ME DOWN YOU OAF!-"  Then the
line went dead.  Shoki pulled the phone from his ear and looked at it for a
minute.  Then he sat it down and started putting his gear back in his pack.
	"What wrong Shoki?"  Ryouga asked concerned.  "Is something wrong
with Akane?"
	"I don't know.  Ranma is in the hospital, and as I was talking to
Nabiki, it sounded like someone broke into the dojo."  Ryouga again paled
at this statement.  "I'm heading back right now.  Are you coming?"
	Ryouga was already throwing stuff in his pack.  "You bet I am."  He
paused and looked wild eyed at Shoki.  "But we don't know where we are!"
	Shoki had already finished stuffing his gear in his pack.  From one
of the side compartments he pulled the GPS out.  "Don't worry, we can find
our way with this."
	"What is it?"  Ryouga asked as he too, shouldered his pack.
	"A Global Positioning System.  I initialized it at the Tendo Dojo
before we left.  It will point the right direction, and we simply need to
follow the arrow."
	"Sounds good, but you better lead then."
	"No problem," responded Shoki.  With a long stride, he started the
trip back to town.  He figured by using the GPS to walk a straight line it
would take less time to get back then it had to get out to the quarry using
Ryouga's meandering method.  He thought for a moment then fished out his
cel phone again.  "She said sword..." muttered Shoki to himself."
	"What was that?"  Asked Ryouga.
	"Nothing."  A moment later the party he was calling answered.
"Angus?  Shoki.  I need you to air freight me something to the Tendo Dojo.
Spare no expense, I want it there by tomorrow morning...."


Okay, sorry for the cliffhanger.  I'll have chapter 8 out as soon as
possible.  Also, I'm now predicting 10 chapters, but it could run to 12.
Again, all forms of comments are welcome.

Thanks for reading!

Big Bore and the Nitro Express!


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