A Saiyan Tail.
Part 10
Clash of the Saiyajin.
Two months ago, in China...
Ryoga stood shakily and watched the beam disappear over the horizon. He
frowned and glared at it with hate filled eyes. "Damn you Ranma, How can
I defeat you?! I used all my power in that last blast and I don't think I
can get it back. How could you be so strong?!" He slumped into the hot
water spring below him and suddenly the pain of the experience hit him
like a ton of bricks. He felt incredibly weakened and the injuries on his
body burned in agony.
He clenched his fist and felt something strange. He looked down and
noticed that the necklace Ranma had on under his shirt had somehow gotten
caught on his hand and managed to wrap around his wrist and fingers.
"What the?"
It was a small crystal ball with four stars embedded in the center of
it. "Another one? What are these things?" he wondered as he looked at it
and took it off his hand. He frowned and took a pouch off his belt.
Inside were four other balls just like the one he had just found, but
with a varying number of stars.
Standing before his opponent at Furinkan, Ryoga smiled at the memory and
glared at his opponent with a wild passion that was strangely familiar in
his eyes.
"A tail?!" gasped Ranma as a strange smile spread across his face.
Ryoga just smirked, "I followed you all the way to China Ranma, one day I
was walking across some mountain range when I saw a flash of light in the
center of a spring nearby. A few seconds later a fog was rolling up
towards me from below. I looked at it and realized that it was rising
quickly. When it finally hit me I found out that it wasn't fog at all, I
had wandered into some sort of steam cloud caused by a volcano or
something. I blacked out from the pain of being burned and felt the power
in my body surge far to high for me to take. I thought I was dead when I
woke up, that was when I first challenged you in the Amazon village,"
Ryoga's tail twitched and waved gracefully behind him. "After my fight
with you I found what's called a dragon ball, a few months later I
discovered the rest, That's when I made my wish, I wished that I could be
more powerful than you! The dragon god put me to sleep and when I woke
up, I had this tail. It's the source of my power, and now not even you
can defeat me."
Ranma looked behind himself and frowned slightly, "How can this thing be
so great? Pop lost his a long time ago, and he's still a great martial
artist," he looked at Ryoga and smiled as he thought. "If anything, that
tail is a weakness!"
Ryoga gasped as Ranma shot forward like a bullet and punched him in the
gut, he grunted in pain and lurched forward and flipped through the air
as the boy grabbed his tail slamming him onto the ground. "What the hell
are you doing?" snarled the boy as he rolled over and kicked Ranma in the
face.
The pigtailed martial artist was thrown back by the strike and frowned
as he realized that something was wrong. "He shouldn't have been able to
move! I had a good grip on his tail!" He did notice that Ryoga didn't
seem phased much by the full force punch he had given him.
"What's the matter Saotome, you look upset? Afraid you're going to
lose?" laughed the boy maliciously as he stared his opponent down.
Ranma grinned from ear to ear suddenly as it finally hit him. "If you're
this strong...I don't have to hold back!" he blasted forward and slammed
into Ryoga's chest sending the lost boy to the ground creating a crater
beneath them.
The crowd around the fight started to grow suddenly and Nabiki appeared
on the sidelines taking in bets. A few administrators emerged with angry
looks on their faces and rushed into the crowd.
"What is the meaning of this?" snarled one of the men.
Another teacher was standing nearby watching the sky in awe, he said
nothing but pointed straight up. The angry man turned his eyes upwards
and took of his glasses as he watched the pair float upwards facing off
over the school grounds.
Ryoga laughed as he twirled the umbrella in his had and pointed it at
Ranma. "Don't think you have a chance against me Saotome! I've come to
destroy you!"
"We'll see," said Ranma coolly as he stretched out opposite him. Without
words the pair vanished into thin air and slammed into each other
appearing in flashes at various points in the air to the spectators below
them. Ranma smirked as he stopped suddenly in the middle of the field.
"Come on Ryoga, this isn't getting us anywhere!"
The lost boy appeared behind him and punched him in the back sending him
into the ground. "You're right Ranma! Eat this! Shi shi houkou dan!" he
blasted a dark purple energy beam at the boy who countered immediately
with a beam that merely deflected the energy into the ground creating a
wide crack in the earth. Ranma frowned as he was slammed into the side of
the building and through the outer wall. Ryoga had followed his attack in
and stood where Ranma had once been with a huge grin on his face. "You're
fast Ranma, but no match for me!" laughed the boy.
Ranma emerged from the building huffing as he brushed the dust from his
eyes and stared Ryoga down from the hole. Akane noticed he was tired and
looked slightly beaten, while Ryoga only had a slight gloss of sweat on
his body. She turned to face her fianc�e again and frowned, he was
smiling.
"You're right Ryoga, I'm no match for you right now. This is great!" the
boy tossed his Chinese style silk shirt away and grinned as he pulled the
black undershirt he was wearing over his shoulders, it hit the ground
with an audible thump. A moment later he sat down and removed his shoes
tossing them away, they both landed near by the edge of the crowd with a
metallic clang. One of the male students walked over to one of them and
grunted as he lifted it into his arms. "Hey! This thing weighs a ton!" he
dropped the shoe to the ground in shock.
"Let's go Ryoga!" said Ranma confidently as he floated upwards
effortlessly.
The lost boy frowned deeply, he had only been able to barely catch the
boy at the beginning of the fight. If he was much faster now he would
have to settle for wearing him down a little bit at a time.
Ranma vanished from in front of the boy and the battle continued as
before. This time however the next break in the action was when Ryoga
slammed into a large tree cutting it in half as he slammed all the way
into the ground. He glared up at his opponent with a wild anger in his
eyes. "I'll get you for that!"
The pigtailed martial artist hung over the boy still in the finishing
position of his kick with a smirk on his face. It vanished rapidly as he
noticed the aura forming around Ryoga, "Shi shi houkou dan!" the boy
threw his hands forward sending a blast at Ranma that was easily dodged.
This continued for several moments with Ranma seeming to vanish just
before the blast hit him, the boy had a confident smirk on his face as he
grew ever closer to the lost boy.
"You're using up all of your power on this Ryoga!" said Ranma as he
finally rushed forward and slammed a punch and kick combination into his
face and gut. The boy staggered back and countered with a sidekick that
was easily dodged and countered by Ranma.
"I have more than enough strength to deal with you Saotome!" snapped the
boy angrily as he finally connected and sent the boy back. "I'll shove
this one down your throat! Shi shi houkou dan!"
Ranma's eyes went wide as he countered with a beam of his own.
"Kamehameha!" he struggled against the beam and looked behind him at the
students. "Ryoga you jerk! You could kill someone!"
"I don't care! I'm going to destroy you Ranma! If it's the last thing I
do!" Ryoga grit his teeth and pushed even more power into the blast.
"Get out of the way!" screamed Ranma desperately at the students behind
him. Most complied immediately, but a few turned and looked at him dumbly
as he struggled with Ryoga's attack. The pigtailed martial artist turned
towards Ryoga again and pushed his hardest sending the beam back further
towards his opponent.
"Feh, this is nothing!" snapped Ryoga as he chuckled and pushed even
more power into his attack. Ranma screamed as he lost control of his
energy finally, the ball of light in his hand erupted engulfing his body
completely and creating a blinding flash that disintegrated everything
within ten feet of his body.
Ranma pulled the energy back into himself as best he could and turned to
face Ryoga again, only to see him turn his attention towards the
sidelines of the battle. Ranma's heart skipped a beat as he turned and
saw the purple beam of energy slam into one of the students who had not
moved. A soft whisper was all he could manage as he recognized her. "No."
Nabiki Tendo turned in shock as she saw Ranma lose control, something
registered in her mind and she turned to see Akane running towards her
with that ridiculous turtle shell on her back. She smiled at her sister
and stepped towards her. She never even saw the light hit her, Nabiki
opened her mouth in what looked like a scream as the energy enveloped her
body and threw her across the school yard into the side of a tree
creating an explosion.
"Nabiki!!!" screamed Akane in shocked horror as she rushed to her
sister's side and grabbed the charred remains of her arm. Tears flooded
her face as she sobbed into the chest of the body. "NOOOOOO!"
Ranma stared at the scene in silent shock, "Did I?" he gasped in horror.
It took him a moment to realize what had happened. Ryoga had over powered
him, it was his fault.
The lost boy stepped forward staring down at the body of the first
person to ever die at his hands. Ranma was standing across from him
without so much as a broken bone. "No! This isn't supposed to happen!
You're supposed to die! Not her!" tears filled his eyes as he fell to his
knees and stared at his hands in shock.
Akane looked up and glared at him with an intense hatred in her eyes.
"You murderer!" she screamed before she stood and ran towards him,
unfortunately she fell to her hands and knees into the dirt before
reaching him as her sobs increased again. "I'll kill you for this!" she
spat.
Ryoga stared at the girl with a look of shocked horror on his face as he
backed away from her. "I...I'm sorry!" he managed finally before blasting
away into the sky.
Ranma appeared over Akane and she looked up at him. "I'm sorry Akane,
I..." she slapped him hard across the face staring at him angrily.
"Don't even think about apologizing for what that monster did to my
sister!" she threw herself into his arms and cried there for a long time.
Ranma looked at her in confusion.
"I'll fix it, I swear," he said to her.
"How!? You can't bring her back to life can you?!" a flame seemed to
burst to life in her eyes as hope formed there.
"I can't, but I know someone who can," said Ranma with a serious gaze.
Akane gasped and a look of pure joy appeared on her face. "Who? Tell me
Ranma, we'll go right now!"
"We can't, Ryoga said he used the dragon balls already. That means we
won't be able to use them until next year. I'm sorry Akane, we just have
to wait." Ranma's face dropped suddenly as she looked at him in
confusion.
"Dragon balls?" she sat back and adjusted the turtle shell on her back
while giving him a quizzical gaze.
"Yea, if you can get them all we can get a wish and bring Nabiki back,"
Ranma looked at her and smiled gently. "It ain't easy though, if you want
to come along you're gonna have to train a lot harder."
The girl looked at Ranma in horror, "My sister is dead and you're
talking about fairy tales?" she screamed as she slapped him again, this
time he caught her hand.
"It's not a fairy tale, I've seen it for myself Akane. The dragon is
real," he helped her to her feet and led her away from the scene. Police
sirens screamed in the distance as they closed in on the school.
Soun and Goku appeared out of the sky with concerned looks on their
faces. "Son! What happened? Are you all right?"
Akane stared at her father in shock, she had never seen him fly before
and it was unnerving, that coupled with the fact that she was already
very upset sent her into tears again.
"Nabiki, is dead," said Ranma flatly. He grabbed the girl by her
shoulders and held her gently.
"What?!" screamed Soun in shock.
Ranma turned his head in shame. "I got into a fight with a guy who
showed up, his name was Ryoga Hibiki. He hit me with an energy blast and
I lost control of the one I was using to counter it. Nabiki was standing
behind me, I tried to tell her to move, but she didn't. I'm sorry Mr.
Tendo," the boy staggered back away from his fianc�e as Soun fell to the
ground slamming his fists into the grass.
"Come on son, we're going," said Goku with a serious look on his face as
he placed his hand on his old friend's shoulder.
Soun looked up and stopped crying immediately. "That's right! We can use
the Dragon balls!" he clenched his fist and looked dramatically into the
sky. "I'm coming with you Saotome!"
Ranma frowned as Akane looked up at her father. "You mean, Ranma was
serious?"
"So you already thought of that my boy?" said her father looking proud
of the boy.
"Yea, it won't work," said Ranma looking downcast.
"What do you mean son?" asked Goku as Soun got a shocked look on his
face.
"Ryoga used the dragon balls to make himself more powerful, we can't use
them for a year," Ranma scratched the back of his head and looked at his
father. "He's got a tail like me now pop."
"That's interesting, we'll have to find him though. A guy like that
could be serious trouble," Goku turned away and started heading towards
the house giving Nabiki's body a sidelong glance as he passed it. "Poor
girl," he shook his head and continued onward pulling Soun away from the
scene and making sure he didn't get a look at the body of his daughter.
The police would be here soon and they would want some information from
them. Goku frowned at the memory of Ryoga Hibiki, he was an obsessive boy
and had put an entire village in China in danger because of his fight
with Ranma. It had to be resolved soon or more people could die. The last
thing he wanted was another Piccolo, the demon was relatively silent
nowadays.
In the center of the Pacific Ocean Ryoga Hibiki screamed as a vicious
storm blew around him he raised his arms into the clouds as thunder
shattered the wind around him. He screamed as his eyes started to glow a
bright white while his rage only served to increase the force of the wind
around him. The wind, rain, and electric energy only served to fuel his
angry power as he floated just outside the eye of the storm.
The face of the girl as she smiled at her sister appeared in his mind
over and over, she seemed so happy and carefree. The tears of the girl
who had lost a member of her family echoed through his mind as he let the
emotion build up in his body. Her screams of rage and pain tore at his
mind as he tried desperately to push them away. Suddenly without a hint
of warning his power exploded, a column of nothingness surrounded him as
a beam of energy shot both above and below him. The ocean parted as the
blast slammed into the ocean floor, and the clouds parted as the energy
tore through them leaving a cylinder that ran from the ocean floor into
the upper atmosphere as the blast sailed into space and vanished into the
sky.
Ryoga calmed down as the blast subsided finally, he simply hung there in
the air as the waves tried to catch his feet while the rain ran down his
body. The wind picked up and threw his wet hair and clothes violently
behind him and he didn't seem to care or notice the violent environment
around him. He opened his eyes and stared towards Japan again.
"Ranma."
Somewhere in the wilderness of China a demon opened his eyes and smiled
as emotions of pure rage and anger rushed to him from somewhere on the
planet. He smirked and stood from his place before looking out onto the
horizon. He was eternally young and could wait for the two monkeys to die
before beginning his plans again, as long as emotions such as these
existed within humanity he would easily be able to control them. He felt
another wave of power flow from the east and frowned deeply, "What is
this? Such a force..." Piccolo stepped forward over to the edge of the
cliff he had been meditating on and scanned for the source of such power.
He frowned and sat down on the rocks again, this time with a dark smile
on his lips. "Come to me, allow me to feed on your rage," perhaps he
would not have to wait for Saotome Goku and his incessant son to die
before continuing his plans.
TBC...
This is gonna get real good now. Kick ass. Next time: Ryoga meets
Piccolo, and the Tendos come to terms with the loss of Nabiki for a
while. Meanwhile Akane begins her training so that she can accompany
Ranma and Goku on the trip.
I'm gonna give an explanation for something so I don't get spammed to
death on the list later on. The dragon could not make the earthlings more
powerful than the Saiyans that where on the way. It never said anything
about changing them into Saiyans. I figure anything that can raise the
dead and grant immortality can probably mess with someone's genetics as
well.
And no, Ryoga is not going to 'replace' Vegita.
C&C to Carrotglace@juno.com
The rest of this story can be found at:
Http://www.geocities.com/tokyo/fountain/3203