part 1: training

Note: Ranma will be referred to by the male pronoun no matter what state 
he is in.

	The scene of this story opens upon the town of Nerima, Japan. As the 
sun broke through the clouds, another peaceful dawn arrived to greet the 
"eventful town". As the early risers set out about their business, they 
all kept an ear out towards the direction of the Tendo household. The 
common thought on all their minds was "what's going to set it off 
today."

	A splashing sound could be heard followed by "Get up boy, you've been 
too lazy lately, it's time to whip you into shape."

	Ranma Saotome wiped the cold water from his eyes as he shook off the 
effects of another rude awakening. "He" ignored the threats and curses 
of the big man standing beside him. 

	Genma Saotome looked down on his "son" as he yelled out the traditional 
insults to start Ranma's breakfast. While his mouth was berating Ranma 
for being all the things that Ranma was, his heart couldn't help but 
feel pride for his boy, his student, the one who he had trained to be 
one of the top fighters in this world. 

	He also felt a bit worried because the boy had not been his normal 
"jumpy" self lately. He knew Ranma's reaction time all too well and 
Ranma normally would have knocked him into the koi pond outside by now. 
The boy had also seemed more withdrawn overall: he even walked away from 
an argument with Akane the other day. 

	Genma's reminicing was cut short as Ranma's leg shot out in an attempt 
to catch his mid-section. Slightly caught off guard, he decided to give 
the boy a real wake up call. Genma took a deep breath and slightly moved 
his body while shooting up his right hand in an attempt to grab Ranma's 
foot.

	Whatever drowsiness left in Ranma evaporated as he realized what his 
father was trying to do. He was feeling a bit tired this morning and 
decided to end the morning sparring session quickly with a few well 
placed hits. The kick was really a manuver to move the old man away for 
his real moves. It was only meant to put her in the most favorable 
situation. Genma would have normally been able to dodge that and retreat 
outside by jumping back. He would have then been able to take advantage 
of his quickness in girl form in aerial combat. Ranma had already 
pressed his hands against the matress in order to receive the extra 
boost of acceleration needed in chasing the old man.

	The slight move that Genma destroyed her quickly formulated plan and 
put her in danger of losing the whole match. Genma has moved his body so 
that her foot would hit an area of "padding" instead of the central 
pressure point she was aiming for. His left hand, which feinted a grab, 
was actually aiming for 2 more pressure points on her leg. 

	Ranma couldn't help but feel some pride in his ability to spot these 
tiny moves for advantage. If Genma had tried the same technique when he 
first moved to the Tendo dojo, he would have lost without a clue. Now, 
thanks to the battle experience he had received here, he was able to see 
through Genma's entire plan.

	This was a dangerous situation for him. He had not lost to the old man 
for so long that his pride was in this. He knew that it would be a big 
blow to his confidence if he did lose. Ranma would think that Genma had 
been purposefully going easy on him. The loss in confidence would also 
mean a loss in skill because he would not be so bold in fights anymore. 
The climb back from this loss would be hard. Ranma's head cleared as he 
sensed the danger to herself. His thought process seemed to speed up 
from that of the Ranma that always put his foot in his mouth.

	Ranma's foot edged closer to moved ever closer as thoughts flashed 
through his head: "The old man seems to be going all out today. I can 
see his moves but how do I stop him. I know that I do not have the speed 
to pull back and avoid him. If I try to change my aim then he will hit 
me before I can hit him......."

	Ranma smiled inwardly as he formulated his plan. The old man would 
never know what hit him. 

	Genma felt the impact of Ranma's foot on his belly as he pressed down 
on both of the pressure points. Genma felt some pain but it wasn't much 
because of his move and because he had been able to direct some of his 
chi to serve as further protection for the impacted area. 

	A curse escaped from Ranma's lips.

	As Genma looked at the surprised expression on his son's face, He 
couldn't help but feel some disappoint in the boy and himself. Martial 
arts at the high level that they were at had long since surpassed being 
just a test of skill. It was also a test of intellect, courage, instinct 
and a thousand other factors. While Ranma might have passed him in speed 
and skill, the boy still was not up to his level in the other 
categories. Most importantly, this was something that he could not teach 
Ranma. Those other things only come with time and experience. This was 
part of the reason why he went all out today: to show Ranma that he was 
not yet at the peak level of top martial artists. Even though he had won 
this battle, he had hoped that Ranma had progressed far enough to be 
able to beat him. Genma Saotome was a selfish man in a lot of things but 
training Ranma was the most important thing in his life.

	"It's not over yet, I can still take you on one leg, " Ranma shouts out 
as he shoots up from the futon and out of the reach of Genma's fist. She 
used her arms to push off the bed and awkwardly sumersaulted out the 
open window. 

	Genma wasn't worried because he knew their skill level and there was no 
way that female Ranma could win now that her speed was hindered. He saw 
her reach out to clutch the bad leg as she tried to twist for a one foot 
landing. 

	"Ha," Genma spit out as he launched himself after his injured 
son/daughter. His fists seemed to blur as he put in an all out attack. 
Ranma's comment angered him because the boy showed no respect for his 
earlier display of skill. Now he is not going to let Ranma save face. He 
knew the boy and also knew that the fastest way for Ranma to recover 
from this loss was to take advantage of his pride. The further 
humiliation would drive Ranma to push himself harder. 

	Ranma's expression tightened as he watched the old man. Genma had 
indeed been holding out during their normal morning routine. Genma's 
speed was amazing as he shot out fists, open palms, claws... every 
single style in the anything goes school. As the distance between them 
closed, Ranma could feel the pressure from Genma's multiple feints 
building up. As he looked into his father's eyes, Ranma "felt" his 
father's superiority. 

	Even with his confidence, Ranma was shocked that he could feel this 
way. He knew that this was because Genma had purposely set up this type 
of situation. Genma was sure of his victory he made this pursuit move. 
He built up his anger from Ranma's little comment. But instead of using 
it blindly like Ryoga, Genma used the anger to make himself colder. 
Genma had produced a sense of justice for his actions because of what 
Ranma did. 

	Genma had further shocked his son with his speed and move. Ranma knew 
this move was called "Fisted Sky." It was made for exactly this type of 
situation in Saotome Ryu. Comparing his own technique with Genma, Ranma 
realized that while he was faster in the execution of the move, he could 
not have produced enough power for this type of pressure. 

	If Genma's opponent were any of the other young generation of fighters, 
the move plus all the advantages he'd created for himself would have 
been enough to produce the sure victory. But he was facing Ranma, who 
took on foes such as Safarin, Herb, Cologne and Happosai. 

	In the second after his shock at Genma's hidden strength, Ranma 
gathered his courage and wits. He knew what Genma was doing, he had 
experienced this before while fighting for real against Happosai and 
Cologne. He was only shocked because he never figured that Genma had 
reached this level already. 

	Ranma twisted slightly and used an open palm attack. It looked as if he 
were slowly pushing with both hands. The attack was against all of his 
regular strategies. Ranma is known for his quickness and agility. But 
his open palm moved forward very slowly as Genma's avalanche-like attack 
sped forward. 

	Genma now saw why Ranma was able to beat all of those opponents. His 
son was able to sacrifice the temptation of using the speed against 
speed technique. Ranma's Amaguriken attack was definitely faster than 
Genma's attack. However, Genma has all the momentum in the fight. Genma 
is the initiator; he is attacking from a higher point; he is going 
forward while Ranma is moving back. The Amaguriken technique is good 
offensively but is not what Ranma needs in this situation.

	Genma felt his son becoming steadier and steadier as the air seemed to 
still around Ranma. It looked as if all his moves were figured out: no 
matter what he did, the end result would be to meet Ranma head on. 

	Genma smiled inwardly. Even though this would means sacrificing his 
advantage, he was more than happy to fight strength against strength. 
Genma's 30 and more years of fighting had refined his power to be his 
greatest advantage. It would certainly be enough to take out Ranma in 
female form. Genma's left hand switch from fist to palm to meet Ranma's 
left as he changed his right hand from palm to double finger strike at 
the last second.

	"Ping."

	They finally met head on.

	Ranma felt the initial heavy impact from Genma's left hand against his 
right. But knew the real danger from the finger strike. In the span of a 
second, he felt Genma hit his open palm three times as their other palms 
stayed locked.

	Ranma's foot finally touched the ground as they parted. Genma used his 
push to once again take to the air while Ranma's body shook violently as 
he fell to the ground.

	"Wha," Ranma spit out the blood which had suddenly rushed up. He knew 
injury would be the result before he decided to take this plan of 
action. What he did not anticipate was Genma's ability to gather enough 
chi to break through his own protective chi with the third finger 
strike. This would not have been the case had Genma not had so much of 
an advantageous setup. 

	Ranma took a few quick breathes after spitting out the blood. His 
situation had been pretty bad but most of half of his internal injury 
had healed after spitting out the rushing bread. Years of getting 
injured had told him not to hold it in and make the situation worse. 
Another quality that experience has instilled in him is the ability to 
make the best of an injury. 
	
	"I've really underestimated the old man, his chi level is on par Herb. 
The only way I can win this fight is to take advantage of my 'injuries'. 
" Ranma did not have much time to think as Genma came after him once 
again. 

	This would be the finishing move. Genma thought as he flowed toward his 
fallen son. His arm was up to make the fast and precise cut which would 
knock Ranma out for good. 

	In the second before Genma's arm reached Ranma's seemingly dazed head, 
Ranma pushed off with his arms thus propelling himself toward Genma and 
narrowly missing the knock out strike. 
	
	"Fooled ya old man," he yelled as his "injured" foot shot out along 
with his good one. He perfectly executed the "propellor twist kick" 
manuever as his first strike nailed Genma on the chest. 

	Genma knew that he'd been fooled as soon as he saw Ranma spring to 
life. The boy's ability to undo the pressure point came as no small 
shock to him. It was all too late as Ranma's first strike caught him 
dead on. Ranma's follow up would catch and knock him out in a short and 
embarassing fashion. 

	"Hua," Genma spit out some blood which headed straight for Ranma. This 
was as much a offensive move as any of his previous ones. He'd managed 
to fill the blood with chi and the effect of it striking Ranma head on 
would be as devestating as a full powered punch. 

	Ranma gracefully twisted and ducked the chi powered blood arrow. But 
the momentary breather had given Genma time to regroup and get out of 
danger. 
The two of them now stood in the Tendo backyard, sizing each other up 
with new interest and respect. They were both breathing heavily now. 
While the earlier encounter had taken up a total of less than one 
minute, both father and son felt more tired than they ever had during 
any previous occasion.

	"Breakfast is ready," a female voice rang out to interrupt the 
unusually quiet training session. 

	A small smile slowly crept onto both their faces as they continued to 
lock eyes. Ranma nodded to his father as they both dropped their 
stances.

	"Good" was Genma's only comment as they made their way inside the 
house.

		

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