DYNASTY - CHAPTER FIVE - PART A
By Sydney Kyle <jantzen77@hotmail.com>

Author's note: First of all, thanks to everyone who wrote in with 
their input--you guys really got me out of my writer's block. Keep 
'em coming--I need suggestions! If you missed some chapters, feel 
free to ask me, and I'll gladly send 'em over to you as soon as I 
can. 

One last thing, though. Who could possibly come between Ranma and 
Akane--relationship-wise--and force one of them to finally come to 
terms with his/her feelings? If Death isn't capable of doing that, 
then who is...? 

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                          * * * DYNASTY * * *          
                          A Ranma 1/2 Fanfic
                       =========================
                      
                              * * * * * *
      
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                             CHAPTER FIVE:
                                 Part A
                                Rematch
                       =========================

   Akane elbowed her way past the crowd that had flocked to the 
windows of her home ec class, straining to get a glimpse of the scene 
down below. To her exasperation, all she could distinguish was a dark 
smudge against the brilliant green of the school front lawn.

   "See anything, Akane? Has Ranchan answered their challenge yet?"

   Akane whirled around to face a tense-looking Ukyou, dressed as 
usual in her masculine blue shirt and black tights, complete with the 
bandoleer where she kept her miniature throw spatulas. Akane shook her 
head vehemently. "No. I don't know what's happening. We can't even get 
a good view from this building--I--I just wish I knew what was going 
on, Ukyou!"

   Ukyou nodded. "I wish I did, too, Akane." She clasped her hands 
together in trepidation. "I hope Ranchan doesn't get hurt out 
there..."

   Akane swiveled her head toward the windows again, feeling utterly
helpless.

   <Damn you, Ranma,> she cursed him silently, her chest constricting
with worry. <Why couldn't you let me in on this? Why do you keep 
pushing me away? Why can't you just accept that you _need_ my help? 
Why can't you just accept that I--> 

   "Did Ranchan tell you about his plan?" Ukyou inquired softly.

   Akane clenched her teeth. "No. The baka sure didn't want _me_
involved." She glanced at the other girl at the corner of her eye. 
"But I suppose he told _you_, right?"

   Inwardly she was aghast at the way she'd said it; she hadn't meant 
to inject that much resentment into her words. After all, Ukyou had 
only asked that question out of concern, and she certainly didn't want 
to give Ukyou the impression that she was _jealous_, right?

   Ukyou, thankfully, was too engrossed in fretting over Ranma that 
she hadn't noticed the involuntary venom in Akane's response. 
"Actually, Ranchan didn't tell me anything either. He sent me and 
Akari and Kodachi outta the room after you. Then he sent out Shampoo, 
too."

   Akane gaped at her with growing realization. So she _hadn't_ been 
the only one Ranma and the others had concealed their scheme from. For 
some reason, Akane couldn't decide whether she should be mad or glad. 

   "Aai-yah!"

   Akane and Ukyou were barely able to avoid the bicycle that 
careened toward them. As they watched in annoyance and disbelief, 
Shampoo jumped out of her tinkling two-wheeled transport and made a 
beeline toward the multitude that had accumulated at the windows. 
Amazingly, no one had noticed her arrival.

   Ukyou brushed herself off, vexation registering on her features. 
"Don't waste your time, sugar. You can't see anything from there."

   Shampoo made an annoyed huffing sound and pushed herself away from 
the window. Then her eyes locked on the two girls. "Oh. Is you two."

   "What're _you_ doing here?" demanded Akane, hands on hips.

   "What you think?" Shampoo shot back, crossing her arms. "Shampoo 
make sure Jusenkyo mail-order product is working--and that I be here 
to help Ranma fight Dragon clan!"

   "You're gonna fight _alongside_ Ranma?!" Akane balled her hands into 
fists. She couldn't believe it. Ranma had actually welcomed Shampoo into 
his plan? This was too insulting. Akane was painfully aware that Shampoo 
was a better martial artist than her, but never did she think that Ranma 
would make some sort of decision based on _that_ fact.

   "Yes!" Shampoo bobbed her head. "Of course, Ranma tell Shampoo to 
stay out of fight. If they hurt Ranma, then Shampoo have to hurt them!"

   "Wait a minute," interrupted Ukyou, her turquoise eyes flooding with 
comprehension. "Ranchan tried to make you stay out of it?"

   "Yes," confirmed Shampoo. "He no want anyone to get hurt."

   The enraged look was terminated in Akane's eyes, only to be 
replaced with wariness. "Anyone else--or just us girls?"

   Ukyou glowered. She knew that Ranma had this longstanding belief 
that the fairer sex deserved to be treated like fragile objects that 
would shatter when handled too rough. "Well, I'm not gonna stand here
without knowing what's happening," she announced curtly, heading 
toward the door. 

   "Where you going?" asked Shampoo.

   "To the roof. Can you think of a better place to get a good view of
Ranchan and those Dragon guys?"

   "But..." Akane hedged. "We're supposed to be in class..." 

   "Somehow I think no one's gonna notice, Akane," noted Ukyou dryly.

   Akane glanced around. Ask a stupid question, she thought. The entire 
room seemed riveted on what was happening outside, including Miss 
Kaneda, who seemed to be playing Eskimo-kiss with the windowpane. 

   "Shampoo come with you," offered Shampoo.

   A dismayed murmur arose from the students as they continued to watch.

   "Come on, Akane, we're missing the action," Ukyou urged impatiently.

   Somewhere out there, Akane thought that she heard Ranma yelling. All 
the compunctions she had harbored swiftly vanished from her mind.

   "All right," she declared, her jaw set. "Let's go."

   No one noticed the three of them sprint toward the stairwell, least
of all Miss Kaneda, who continued to leave noseprints on the glass.

* * * * * *

   "All right, so what do you want from me?" Ranma asked.

   Shino cocked his head tauntingly on one side. "We didn't come here 
to conduct a conversation, Ranma Saotome. We came here to take you back 
with us. First you, then the other four."

   "Take us where?" prompted Ranma incredulously.

   A touch of irritation wafted by Shino's masked face for a quarter of 
a second. "That is of no consequence. All that matters is that you have 
the curse of Jusenkyo upon you, and that makes you a threat to the 
Dynasty."

   Ranma grimaced. Another prime example of how his curse seemed to 
orchestrate his life. Being singled out because he'd happened to fall 
into a cursed Chinese spring--the Spring of Drowned Girl, no less. 
Fated to switch sex every time he was drenched. Oh, yeah, that sounded 
like fun. Loads of fun. Barrels of monkeys. 

   "Yeah, well, I'm touched that you want me to be your mascot and all, 
but I really didn't _ask_ for this curse, okay? It was an accident..."

   "Accident or not, we don't really care," snapped Shino. His muscles
tingled, ready to launch himself into his battle mode. "So long as that 
curse hangs over your head, so shall the Dynasty hunt you down until you 
are eliminated--ALL of you."

   Through the corner of his eye, Ranma could see the rest of the 
Dragon clan assuming offensive positions. "So this's all about that 
stupid curse, huh? What 'bout Pantyhose Taro? And--" 

   "Disposed of." Shiro smirked, which only made him more maddening 
in Ranma's book. "And you," he drawled, "have no idea what this is all 
about. Just like the rest of them. The Cursed ones. Or should I say 
_Chosen_ ones? It depends, really, on how you look at it..."   

   Ranma fought to keep that veneer of calmness on his face. "Oh, I 
get it. So we're important to you, huh? For some reason, you think 
that this stupid curse gives you a reason to come take our souls." 
He paused. "Well, think about this, smart guy--what if we get cured? 
What then?"

   The other boy pinned him with a steely glare. "There _is_ no cure. 
No matter what you may have heard otherwise, it was the Dynasty that 
was responsible for the destruction of the springs. Insurance in case 
any of the Jusenkyo victims decided to use them in order to save their 
souls from us. Unfortunately for the five of you, that alternative has 
been eliminated, and there are no longer _any_ cursed springs left on 
this earth that can cure you."

   Ranma stood there, stunned, as the significance of his enemy's 
words slowly sank in.

   After a lengthy pause, Shino seemed to reconsider his last 
statement. "Oh, well, maybe the Springs of Jusenkyo are gone, but..." 
There was a ghost of a smirk lurking somewhere in the golden depths 
of his eyes. "...but there is always the Cave of Yasakami..."

   <Cave of Yasakami?> Ranma thought, through the thick fog of shock 
that had penetrated his mind. And somewhere, some part of him began to 
well up with hope.

   "...a pity, though, that you won't live long enough to see them."

   Ranma looked up, still in a daze, and the Clan of the Dragon 
descended upon him.

* * * * * *

   Hiroshi shoved a head out of his line of sight, completely absorbed
in what was taking place down in the schoolyard. From this spot, he 
was able to discern about thirty figures, dressed in fancy samurai-
type armor, along with helmets that flashed in the rays of the sun and 
odd-shaped yet deadly-looking swords.

   <Damn,> he thought. <Ranma, you really did it this time...>

   He froze as the mood of the crowd surrounding him abruptly switched
from curious to horrified.

   Daisuke hopped restlessly, trying to peek over the multitude of 
student heads. "Hey, what's goin' on? What's happening?"

   Hiroshi's lips pulled into a tight line as he observed the events 
that were unfolding down below. "I think the battle's begun," he 
acknowledged, somewhat agitatedly. "And Ranma's right in the middle 
of it..."

   "Have you guys seen Akane?"

   Both Hiroshi and Daisuke were able to tear their gazes from the 
fight long enough to recognize that Akane's two friends, Sayuri and 
Yuka, had been standing behind them.

   "Naw." Daisuke shook his head, eager to focus once more on the 
battle. "Didn't see her. Why?"

   Yuka and Sayuri traded anxious glances. "Well, she's gone," volun-
teered Yuka. "Can you spot her down there with Ranma?"

   Hiroshi met the two girls' eyes, his countenance dead serious. 
"Nope. And I hope she stays outta this, 'cause this fight's getting 
ugly..."

* * * * * * 

   They were good.

   They were very, very good.

   Those had been Ranma's first perceptions of the Dragon clan the 
first time they'd ambushed him, and right now, it seemed that his 
perceptions had been disturbingly right on target. Perhaps it was his 
imagination, but they had actually seemed to get better since their 
first meeting.

   He had to give them credit for that. Instead of catching him off-
guard like last time, they took the chance of directly challenging 
him, duel-to-the-death style. A risky gamble, perhaps, for the 
subjugation of a target like Ranma Saotome, but it was more a of a 
game to the Dragon clan. They'd tarnished their own integrity for the 
first time by defeating him in a sneak attack, and they were 
determined to remedy that by drawing him into some sort of showdown.

   Good thing Ranma had remembered a bit of their fighting style.

   He ducked a wickedly-curved blade, then leaped out of the way of 
an incoming kick. The clan reminded him of miniature tornadoes, 
attacking with alarming speed and dishing out kicks and blows with 
alarming ferocity. Ranma had no choice but to continuously duck, 
unable to even administer offense.

   It was getting repetitive, he realized. Too much time spent on 
evading hits instead of dealing them out. At this rate, he would tire 
faster from all that constant parrying, and against such skilled foes, 
it was inevitable that one of their hits would find its mark. 

   Ranma feinted a dodge and without warning, lashed out with a 
roundhouse that knocked the one nearest him off his feet. Before his
comrades would react, he dropped low and swept his rigid leg across 
the numerous pairs of ankles within his reach, sending them off-
balance. Then he disposed of the ones behind him with an elbow jab and 
a backhand. 

   Ranma retreated to a safer corner of the yard, out of breath, 
trying to collected his jumbled thoughts. 

   All right, so he'd caught them off guard. Sort of like a payback 
for what they'd done with him the first time they crossed paths. It 
was an achievement in itself. He hadn't even been sure if he was 
capable of pulling it off.

   The self-congratulatory grin on his visage was immediately 
extinguished as he realized that the clan had recovered briskly from 
his unexpected assault. They were now all on their feet, as if they 
weren't even fazed by his performance--as if all the power Ranma had 
focused into his attack had been nothing. Even now they were circling 
him, moving with uncanny fluidity, each individual intercepting the 
other's move as if telegraphed via mental transmission. 

   Ranma forced himself to concentrate on summoning all his martial 
arts prowess, in preparation for the more difficult struggle that 
would follow after this intermission. 

   Okay, so he'd surprised them. Caught them off guard. Then what? 
They were onto him now. No doubt they would intensify their blows, 
reinforce their defenses, raise their speed a notch or two, and 
unleash their more elaborate attacks. 

   The stakes on this deadly game had just been raised.

   They clashed again.

   Ranma ducked the first volley of punches, then used the three-
second interval to throw a good number of his own blows, projecting a
bit of the speed he utilized in his Tenshin Amaguriken. It would have 
been tempting to employ that technique against the attackers, but 
Ranma was aware that it would all be for naught. The Chestnut Punch 
technique wasn't developed as an offensive maneuver against multiple 
opponents, and Ranma wasn't about to waste his endurance by testing 
that theory.

   Using the Hiryuu Shouten Ha seemed to be a good course of action. 
A move of that much power and force was indeed capable of wiping out 
several foes at a time. It was potent enough to ensure that they
would remain out of commission for Ranma to be the last one standing.

   There were a couple of hitches to it, though.

   The thing was, Ranma didn't know if he had the stamina to wait 
until he was able to conjure up the proper aura. And he seriously 
doubted that no amount of insults could possibly incense these people 
enough for them to muster even a lukewarm aura. He didn't even know 
how he should insult them. Well, maybe those cheesy-looking helmets 
they wore, but he knew that it wasn't going to be enough to 
completely piss them off.

   Ranma reeled back suddenly as a two-legged kick caught him on the
side of the face. He staggered, lowering his defenses long enough for
another aggressor to deliver a rising punch to his jaw. 

   It almost enough to send Ranma to his knees.

   Almost.

   With a grunt, he reached out and seized an incoming fist. Before 
its owner could react, Ranma swung him to a group of his comrades, 
toppling them like a pile of dominoes. He successfully avoided the 
flurry of kicks and punches that followed before he regained his 
focus.

   In spite of himself, he managed a smile. Not bad. He'd been duking 
it out with the Dragon clan for a full three minutes and he was still 
conscious. This was proceeding rather well...

   ...and then his ears picked up the distinct rippling sound of 
water.

* * * * * *

   "What're they doing?" screamed Akane.

   They glanced down at the melee, all three of them, as they stood on
the relative safety of the high school roof. 

   "That's water," murmured Ukyou, her twisting her fingers together, 
her gaze still fixed on the commotion. "They're using water to trigger
Ranchan's curse."

   "That no fair!" declared Shampoo, looking equally troubled.

   "They're trying to disable him--that's what they're trying to do,"
Akane realized, her voice shaking slightly. "Ranma said they used his
curse to weaken him. If they trigger his curse, then it's all over..."

To Be Continued in Part B


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