This project was an experement in my own personal writing skills; Can I
take a normal relatively unimaginative plot, and make it good? I think it
was pretty successful myself.
The Fighter.
Part 3:
A test of strength.
Ranma walked into the Ucchan and gave a relieved sigh as the girl worked
quietly behind the grill. She looked up and smiled warmly at him,
"Ranchan, you hungry?"
The boy frowned suddenly growing serious. "No, I'm lookin for somebody,
a martial artist guy, gaijin."
The girl gave him a quizzical frown and sighed. "Did he kidnap Akane
again?"
Ranma grit his teeth and relaxed visibly. "No, Akane got beaten up
pretty badly, he took out Mousse and Shampoo too."
Ukyo looked up in surprise. "Both of them?"
"Yea, pretty easily too from what I heard," the boy sat at the counter
with a slight sag in his step. "I'm gonna teach the guy a lesson."
Ukyo snorted lazily, "You came here cause you where worried about me?"
"Yea," replied the boy simply without thinking.
Ukyo smiled to herself and flipped an Okonomiyaki over sending it onto a
plate and in front of her fianc�e with one swift motion. "I'm glad."
Ranma just looked at her and frowned. "Uhh, that's not exactly what I
meant..."
"Ranma! How dare you let somebody do that to Akane!" screamed a familiar
voice as the wall of the small shop crashed in, Konatsu was sent flying
across the room into one of the tables.
"Hey you jackass!" screamed Ukyo angrily as she pulled out her battle
spatula.
"Uhh, hello Ryoga," said Ranma sheepishly as he backed away from the
angry martial artist.
"Don't "hello" me, for what you've done to Akane; I will kill you
Saotome!" Ryoga charged forward slamming into the grill just as his
target vanished a large metal object he hadn't noticed before promptly
flattened him. He looked up and frowned as he pulled the bent metal off
of his face. "Why did you do that?" he asked calmly looking up at Ukyo's
snarl.
"Why? Look what you did to my restaurant!" snapped the girl as she
grabbed him by his collar and forced him to look at the damage.
"Oh, sorry; I'd stay and help clean up but I've got to go kill Ranma
right now," he glanced around and noticed his intended target was gone.
"See ya," Ryoga started for the door and stopped as several spatulas
embedded themselves in the floor at his feet.
"Oh, no you don't," said the girl with an evil looking smile on her
face.
Dan closed the door to his room and frowned as he turned to see someone
standing at the end of the hallway glaring at him. "Who are you?" he
asked looking the boy up and down.
"I have heard tales of a Gaijin who fights any who will put up a
battle," said the boy calmly as he stepped into the light.
"Yea, so?" said the boy in reply as he assessed his new opponent.
"Are you this man?" snapped the intruder.
"Maybe, why do you want to know?" asked Dan with a small smirk appearing
on his face.
"I the mighty Blue Thunder of Furinkan High School shall punish you for
the injury of Akane Tendo!" roared the boy as he charged. Dan gasped as
he heard the sound of metal sliding out of a scabbard as he jumped up and
landed on the ceiling as the boy's slash cut into his door halving it
easily. The sword once again rested in its place at his side as he had
swiftly returned the blade to its place after the strike.
"A Japanese swordsman? Never fought one of you before, should be
interesting," he jumped back down to the floor just behind the boy and
smiled. "This girl you speak of, is she a martial artist as well? Perhaps
at a dojo in the area?"
"The same," replied Kuno as he turned slowly with an angry look still
embedded into his features.
"I recall a battle with such a girl, she was very skilled. Perhaps she
will better herself now that she has known a real defeat," he lifted his
hands and smiled. "Perhaps you can learn this lesson as well?"
"I have no need of lessons from the likes of you!" snarled the Kendoist
as he charged again. Dan ducked under the slash and sent his knee into
the boy's belly as he passed by sending him to his knees.
"You're very skilled, but not much of a fighter I'm afraid. You have
excellent form, but your swordsmanship is poor, good only for contests
and shows," the boy glared at Kuno as he slowly rose to his feet and
raised the blade vertically beside his face in a standing stance.
"I will show you the true power of the Blue Thunder, have at thee!" he
charged again with his strikes blurring at an unbelievable rate producing
the effect of several blades.
Dan merely smirked and jumped into the air over the boy's strikes
shifting his weight in midair into a kick that hit his opponent on the
back of the neck. Kuno grunted but managed to perform a back slash that
barely missed.
Dan frowned slightly as several pieces of hair floated down in front of
his face. He snapped a kick upwards taking the boy in the crotch causing
him to drop the weapon in shocked pain. Kuno fell to his knees again
clutching himself and coughing violently.
"A cowardly attack, you dishonor..." Dan punched him in the face sending
him sprawling across the floor on his back in a daze, the boy was clearly
angry at his words. "You would strike such a flower of beauty? I spit
upon such a man, you have no honor," stuttered the boy as he rose to his
elbows and stared at the martial artist who was standing over him.
"Not even a flower more skilled than you boy? I have known many great
fighters in my time, and no weapon is greater than beauty. It was an
honorable battle." Dan smiled at his downed opponent and tensed his body
up for the final blow.
"Lies! Akane Tendo is a flower who must be protected by myself! I shall
not allow this slight on her honor! Thus I will defeat you and regain her
heart! You are a dishonorable warrior who uses tricks and sorcery to win
your battles!" Kuno managed to get to his knees despite the intense pain
in his crotch.
"Who are you to speak of dishonorable? You attack an unarmed opponent
with a sword! Where do you think you are little boy? This is a street
fight, honor and pageantry have no place here, anything goes." Kuno
snarled as the man kicked his sword onto the parking lot's gravel
surface. "You're not even worth my time boy."
"Insolent cur! I will smite you for this dishonor!" roared the kendoist
as his opponent walked away ignoring him. He had not even taken the time
to finish the battle; the boy merely walked on silently not caring about
the fool behind him. He had placed a bigger blow on Kuno's pride by just
walking away than he ever could have by beating him.
Akane frowned as she pushed herself up again from the floor, a rack of
weights was straddled across her shoulders and her injuries were much
better than before. She gasped in strain as she finally let herself fall
to the floor with the weight pushing her chest against the carpet. She
rolled onto her side pushing the metal bar off of her and lay there
staring at the ceiling. After a moment she put her hand in front of her
face opening and closing it a few times before finally making a fist. She
was covered in sweat and breathing heavily, strangely she had never felt
better in her life, despite the injuries. Somehow she knew he would
return to face her again, it was just a matter of how long it would be.
"I will be ready!" she whispered to herself as she brought the fist down
on her chest gently.
Ryoga Hibiki frowned as he walked through the streets of Nerima that
evening. Konji had forced him to work off the damages he had caused in
her restaurant. He snorted angrily as the memory of her attempt to make
him wash the dishes. According to her, he still owed her another two
thousand hours of work to cover it all. "Maybe I should avoid that place
for a while," he muttered under his breath as he walked.
Several hours later the sun began to rise over Nerima Ryoga smiled to
himself, he had camped out in a park that night and gotten an early
start. He was planning to hunt down the boy who had hurt Akane and make
him pay, but unfortunately he hadn't been able to locate him. He shifted
his direction again and looked up to see where he was. The lost boy
sucked in a quick breath at what he saw, not twenty feet in front of him
was a tanned looking gaijin in a dirty white dogi. "That's him!" he cried
triumphantly as he recognized his prey. The boy was about to cross the
street with what appeared to be a bag of groceries. "Hey! You! I'll kill
you!" roared the Ryoga as he rushed forward towards his opponent. A large
gray piece of metal blocked his vision and he fell back on his back as he
rushed into it with an audible clang. Ukyo appeared over him and looked
down smiling to herself as he lay there looking confused.
"Well, you actually managed to find your way here! Come on, only two
thousand more hours to go!" she grabbed him by the back of the collar and
started to drag him into the Ucchan.
"Wait! I have too," he glanced around at the street and saw the boy had
vanished. "Oh well." He gave up and resigned himself to his fate. "I
don't do dishes."
"Well you broke enough last time, it would have only taken you around
eighteen hundred hours before that mess," said the girl grumpily. "You'll
wash tables with Konatsu today."
"That's even worse!" screamed the boy with a fearful look on his face.
"Jeez, you'd think you where afraid of water or something," muttered
Ukyo with a sour look on her face as she threw him onto the floor and
tossed him a rag.
Ranma staggered into the Tendo home and dropped his bag and his shoes
off at the doorway. "I'm home," muttered the pigtailed youth as he passed
Kasumi in the hallway on his way to report to the two men.
"What did you find?" asked Soun cheerfully.
"Nothing, he's vanished," replied Ranma as he sat at the table looking
dejected.
"Are you sure?" asked Genma warily.
"I couldn't find him all right?" snapped the boy angrily as he grabbed
the elder Saotome by his collar.
"He'll be back," said Akane calmly from her place at the table. She was
no longer wearing any bandages and all signs of her bruises were gone.
"What makes you say that?" asked Soun with a concerned look on his face,
knowing his daughter she might have offered him her hand if he won. All
things considered it would be up to Ranma to free her again.
"He said he wanted to fight me again, he said I was good. This isn't the
kind of man to say it for no reason." The girl looked at her fianc�e and
frowned at the angry look he was giving her. "It's just a matter of how
long I have to wait for him."
That evening Ryoga staggered out of the Ucchan with an angry scowl on
his face. "She didn't have to laugh so hard," he mumbled as he walked
out. Ukyo had promised him drier work tomorrow, if he made it at all that
is. He stopped as someone caught his eye from across the street; a boy
dressed in a martial arts dogi stood staring at him hungrily.
Ryoga stepped back and growled at him, "You! You're the one who attacked
Akane!"
Dan frowned and remembered the girl again. "She must be someone really
special to have all of these people defending her," he commented dryly as
he pushed himself off of the lamppost he had been leaning on. "I don't
see what everyone is so upset about, she did consent to the match after
all."
"Consent?" Ryoga got a confused look on his face as he stepped back and
glared at him.
"Yes, I challenged her dojo and she accepted," replied the boy calmly.
"So, you like to pick fights with people weaker than you?!" snarled the
boy as he clenched his fists in anger.
"I have only one wish, to fight strong opponents to further my own
skills. Akane Tendo was a good opponent, as I'm sure you will be as
well!"
"I am Ryoga Hibiki, I shall avenge Akane Tendo's honor!" cried the boy
as he stepped forward in a ready stance.
"Hibiki? I've heard that name around during a few fights. You fight
locally around the island don't you?"
"Yea, what of it?" asked Ryoga with a frown.
"Let's make this fight interesting," said Dan as he tossed a roll of
money onto the sidewalk.
Ryoga frowned and pulled a roll from his pocket of about the same size.
"This is a battle of honor," he said returning it to its place after a
moment's thought.
"As you wish," replied Dan as he retrieved his own wad of cash.
The pair charged each other screaming their respective battle cries as
they slammed into one another, Ryoga punched out and growled as Dan
ducked under the blow and put several lightening quick jabs into the lost
boy's stomach.
The pair turned slowly to face one another and Dan frowned as he noticed
Ryoga looked like he hadn't even noticed the strikes. "What the? Those
strikes were at several nerve centers! It should have put him on his
knees! He must have some way to deaden his nerves."
Ryoga was giving his own analysis of the situation. "He's fast, but not
as fast as Ranma, I can hit this guy; but he's stronger than Ranma and
accurate too. That hit would have taken me out if it weren't for the
Bakusai Tenketsu, he knows just where to hit me!"
Dan noticed the boy rubbing at his belly for a moment before focusing on
his opponent again. "So, he felt it after all, just not too much. I'm
gonna have to disable this guy pretty fast somehow!" The pair rushed
forward again and Ryoga jumped into the air, Dan smiled and jumped
directly up into his chest touching his stomach for a moment before
falling back down. Ryoga's eyes widened in shock as he felt nothing more
than a touch. He landed on the ground opposite the boy and hunched down
to a low crouch with a look of surprise on his face.
"What the?" gasped the lost boy as he grit his teeth and stood tall.
"So, I was right, you are pretty strong. I think you'll find it a bit
harder to move around now since your center has been disrupted. You're
feeling about four times the earth's gravity right now," Dan smiled as he
rushed forward and planted his fist into the boy's chest taking out a
bundle of nerves in its center. Ryoga screamed in pain as his arms moved
up to slowly to block the strike. He managed to stay standing and grit
his teeth as he pulled out all his strength into a jumping sidekick that
was easily avoided by his opponent. The blow created a large crater as he
landed and Dan smirked as he spun around and kicked Ryoga in his
shoulder. The lost boy screamed in pain as the limb fell limply at his
side. Dan was far from finished however, he jumped forward after skipping
back to avoid a slow punch and kicked him in several different places in
his leg, causing the boy to lose his use of that leg as well sending him
to the ground. Finally, the confident martial artist placed a kick in his
face expecting him to pass out. The boy managed to stay conscious and
grinned at his opponent. "Its gonna take more strength than you've got to
take me out!"
Dan looked at him in shocked surprise as he staggered to his feet again
raising his fists up for battle again. "He's got his arms and legs back
already?" he snarled at Ryoga and rushed forward. "You don't need
strength to win a battle if you know where to hit someone!" His arms
became a blur of motion and slammed into Ryoga's upper body and head in
several places. The lost boy staggered back as his vision blurred as he
struggled to stay awake. Dan frowned as he realized that his center was
still disrupted. With a wry smile appearing on his face he placed his
finger on the boy's forehead sending him to the ground on his back. Ryoga
growled at him again and watched helplessly as the boy closed in on him.
"I won't be defeated so easily! Eat this Shi shi houkou dan!" a blue
ball of light formed in the boy's hands as he pointed them towards Dan.
"What the hell is that?" screamed the boy as he jumped up to avoid the
blast. The Shi shi houkou dan blasted from Ryoga's palms and shot about
two feet into the air before it collapsed under the super gravity that
disrupted Ryoga's chi field. A small shockwave of energy blasted out
twenty feet in every direction no more than two feet high. Cars where
blasted into walls and various brick surfaces were blackened by the
intense energy.
Dan frowned as he looked on in shock at the attack from his place just
below the top of a light pole. Ryoga Hibiki finally passed out in the
center of the street and he jumped down next to him placing his hand on
the boy's chest to realign his center. He smiled to himself as he lifted
the boy onto his shoulders and walked over to a nearby bench to place him
down. "Man, this place is great! This just keeps getting better and
better!" He walked away whistling a tune to himself as Ryoga rested on
the bench.
The next morning Ryoga woke up with something covering his face, it was
cold and remarkably hard. His head was splitting from all the ki he had
used last night and something was making his ears ring. He lifted
whatever it was on his face up and the screaming voice finally became
clear. "Ryoga you jack ass! Wake up! You still owe me a lot of work!"
"How the?" he looked up and found he was lying on a bench just a few
buildings away from the Ucchan. Ukyo snarled as she grabbed him by his
collar and dragged him along behind her as he looked at her in confusion.
To be concluded...
Finally, the final battle as Dan finishes his business in Nerima leaving
all of this tied into a neat little package for my short story section on
my web site.[Shameless plug! Http://www.geocities.com/tokyo/fountain/3203
] Cologne and Shampoo are involved, but will Akane let Ranma fight her
battle for her, or will she face Dan again. If she does, is she ready for
him this time?
C&C to Carrotglace@juno.com