Here's part three, for those who care. I've had much debate with myself on
whether or not I should actually continue this, as it seems to be regarded
as "just another SI." I never really considered it an SI, but it might be
just another NC fic. At least it's not an ANC fic anymore, heh, learned my
lesson.
Disclaimer: Ranma and all those other little figments of Takahashi's vivid
imagination are not mine, I have spirited them away for temporary use. Are
you reading this? Does anybody read these? Don't sue me, I can't take
another round with the men in suits. *sob*
Master of Ki, pt. 3
"Not the Spring of Drowned girl, the Spring of Drowned Akane." Ryoga toyed
with a pair of chopsticks the guide had left on the table.
"Akane....? The girl you love? But, this means she's.... oh...." Kijo said,
her eyes widening in shock.
"No! No, she's alive," Ryoga said quickly, holding up a hand. "She *almost*
drowned in the spring, but the magic was so potent it left a curse," he
explained.
Kijo breathed a sigh. "Thank goodness. For a moment there, I was afraid I
was going to have to help you through a major emotional crisis.... Something
I don't think I could do." She leaned back against the wall, then sat
straight up again. She stood up and walked over to a mirror. "So this is
what she looks like...." she mused turning slightly to get a better look.
"Hey!" she exclaimed, snapping her fingers. "That's the girl that malleted
me that one time!"
"Huh?" Ryoga said, walking over.
"I heard sounds of violence," Kijo explained, pouring a kettle of water over
herself, "and rushed over to this wall to see if I could stop it. I climbed
it, and saw her chasing after this other girl.... Ranma? And a panda. She
hit me with the mallet. Hurt like hell," Kijo added, frowning.
"Well...." Ryoga said, rolling his eyes, "she always fights with him."
"Hm. Brother and sister?" Kijo asked, flopping down on the bed.
"Of course not!" Ryoga said quickly.
"Oh?" Kijo said, raising an eyebrow. "Then what?"
"They're... fiancees," Ryoga said bitterly.
"HUH?!?" Kijo grunted, falling over. "You're going after someone who's
already *engaged*?" he asked, in disbelief.
"But they hate each other! He treats her badly, and fights with her, and
goes after other girls!" Ryoga shouted, sitting up straighter.
"I mean, jeez Ryoga, that's really low," Kijo continued, not hearing Ryoga.
"Trying to woo a girl who's already promised to another... I thought better
of you...." he rested his elbows on his knees and swung his head back and
forth, muttering to himself.
"Are you even listening to me?" Ryoga grumbled, bonking Kijo on the head.
"Eh?" Kijo said, snapping his head up. "What were you saying?" he asked,
blinking.
"I said," Ryoga said slowly, clenching his fists, "they hate each other, he-
"
"You were trying to *justify* yourself?" Kijo cried, shocked. "How can you?
That's... dishonorable! And wrong! And... something else!" he ranted, pacing
around the room. "What brought you to this? I never suspected you would
actually DO something like-"
"THEY DON'T WANT TO BE MARRIED!" Ryoga thundered, slamming his fist on the
table, knocking over a vase.
Kijo jumped slightly to avoid the spilt water and shook his head. "That's
not good enough! *I* don't want to be married now, but that wouldn't stop me
from liking someone!"
"But they don-" Ryoga protested, standing up.
"Ryoga, I'm going away. I'll be back tonight. Think about this, and tell me
when you finally see the simple fact behind this..." Kijo sighed and strode
out the door.
Ryoga blinked, staring out the door. "Hey!" he cried suddenly and dashed
out. "You don't understand..." he trailed off as Kijo hunched over. "Kijo!"
he growled. Kijo stood rock-steady, not moving a muscle. "Kijo, what the
hell..." Ryoga grumbled as he walked up to him and reached out to smack him
over the head. "GYAH!" he cried as Kijo rocketed into the air, causing him
to stumble backwards. He watched his form zip over the tree tops and
disappear. Ryoga sighed and unclenched his fist. "Now I'll never find
him...." he muttered, turning swiftly and walked away from the guide's hut.
He stopped, blinked, and turned around. "Ah!" he cried, and rushed past it.
He stopped, looked around, and spotted it again. He took off again and
stopped when he realized he was looking out over the springs. "Damn it
all..." he grumbled and spun on his heel again.
Kijo sat on the top of the cliff overlooking the valley, his chin resting in
his palms. He absently tore the grass surrounding him into tiny pieces.
"Ryoga, I'd thought better of you...." he said softly, gazing out over the
legendary training ground. His head snapped up as he heard a rustling noise
behind him and spun around, focusing on the shape hidden by the shadows.
Kijo gasped.
A snickering sound emanated from the shape. "It.... it's *you*...." Kijo
choked out, eyes wide. Kijo jumped up in terror as the thing stepped out
into the moonlight. He blinked, then rubbed his eyes. Groaning out loud, he
flopped down and threw a clod of dirt at the furry little animal. "Stupid
thing..." he muttered as it scampered off.
Ryoga leaned against the guide's office, arms crossed, glaring at the moon,
for lack of anything else to glare at. He had a right to glare, didn't he?
After all, Kijo made it seem like he was doing something horribly wrong,
when all he was doing was following his heart. So what if they were engaged?
They hated each other. It was Ryoga who Akane held close, and treated
kindly. True, he was a pig at the time, and she didn't know the truth, but
that was beside the point.
Akane needed someone better than Ranma. Ranma was never kind to her, he was
a womanizer, and an arrogant jerk, among other things. But.... Although
Ryoga would never admit it, he didn't hate Ranma absolutely. He had his
moments, however few, small, and far between. That was still no excuse, he
didn't deserve Akane.
Ryoga sighed deeply, and hefted his pack. He felt like a little stroll
around the springs was in order...
Kijo lay on his side, a bit of drool coming from his open mouth. He grunted
in his sleep as an itch sprang up, and rolled over unconsciously. He was
awaked abruptly by the branch smacking him in the face. "OW!" he cried as he
sat up. Or tried to. He screamed and hurriedly tried to summon enough energy
to keep himself from being brutally slammed against the ground below.
It didn't work. "AAWWOOFF!!!" he gasped as his breath was slammed out of him
like a sledgehammer to the chest. He doubled over clutching his stomach and
spit out a little bile. He moaned loudly and stood up shakily.
"Mental.... note..." he gasped, grabbing a nearby stick and using it to drag
himself towards the guide's office. "Don't... sleep...o.. on..
cliffssss...."
He collapsed in front of the door and shook his head. After a minute, he
stood up slowly and placed a hand against the wall for support. "Ryoga?" he
called. Receiving no answer, he stepped inside and looked around. Ryoga was
nowhere to be found. He looked over at his pack and realized that Ryoga's
wasn't there.
"DAMN IT ALL!!! HE'S LOST *AGAIN!*"
A low groan came from a nearby room. "Please Mr. Customer, do not scream so
loud so early in morning....."
Ryoga woke up to the sound of a large animal marching nearby. Whipping his
head from side to side, his gaze rested on several men riding... elephants?
White elephants, no less... "Excuse me!" he called out. "Where am I?"
The leading man said something in another language to the other man riding
on his elephant, who replied, "India, sir."
"Damn."
On the way to his house via taxi, Kijo wondered where Ryoga currently was.
He had known that trying to find him in a country as big as China would be
impossible, so he decided to just go home. Ryoga had made it to Nerima from
China once before, he could do it again, right? He glanced out and briefly
watched a young man cross the street behind him. He turned away just to miss
him step on a manhole cover and fall through with a shriek as it crumpled
under his feet.
Maybe Ryoga wasn't even in China?
For some reason, Kijo could find absolutely nothing to do in his house.
Boredom seemed to seep from every square inch of the place. *Funny,* he
thought. *It never was this uninteresting before.* Sighing, he felt that a
stroll would help somewhat. It usually did.
Ranma walked down the street, grumbling. Akane had sent him halfway across
town, and he hadn't even done anything. He thought. Well, he was pretty
sure...
"Uncute tomboy," he muttered, then jumped as Akane walked right by him. He
waited for her to turn around and hit him again, but she apparently hadn't
heard him. "Hey, Akane!" he called.
She kept walking, apparently ignoring him. "Hey!" Ranma called again,
running up to her. She stopped, and turned slightly.
"Me?" she asked, eyebrows raised.
Ranma frowned. "Well, duh, who else? What's up with you?" he asked, tilting
his head to the side quizzically.
"Ummmm," she replied, eyes darting from side to side. "Nothing. Just,
thinking. Yeah, lost in thought. I, um, gotta go... bye!" she said quickly
and dashed off.
Ranma scratched his head. "That was weird...."
Kijo stopped around the corner and leaned against the wall. "Whew! Close
one," she muttered. "Man," she said, looking down at her feminine hands,
"this is weird." She resumed walking. "Everything's so... different," she
mused, walking slowly down the street. "A girl, eh? No, not just any girl,
but 'Akane.' Apparently, Ryoga loves her, and she's engaged to Ranma," she
said aloud, not paying attention to her surroundings.
"They hate each other. Ranma's a lady's man? This is shaping up to be
something odd..." She sighed and stepped into a store. The bells jingled
quietly, heralding the arrival of a customer. "Hello," a voice called from a
darkened hallway. A middle-aged man with brown hair and glasses stepped up
to the desk. Kijo blinked, then remembered that this was the bookstore she
had seen when she first got here.
"May I help you?" the man asked politely. Kijo shook her head.
"Just lookin'," she replied and turned to the shelves. She sat down in a
nearby leather chair and sighed. What to do? What was there to do? She stood
up and paced around the store. *Why worry? Just let Ryoga work it out. Yeah,
it's his business, and if he wants me to do somethin', I will! But, if he
doesn't... then I won't.* She stopped, and looked around.
"Hmph. Ryoga, you idiot," she said aloud. That pretty much summed it all
up...
"Is something the matter?"
Kijo jumped and turned around. The shopkeeper was standing there, beaming
the essence of gentleness. "Uhhhh.... not... really... Well..." Kijo said
slowly, fidgeting.
"Oh, it's not any of my business, sorry," the man said and turned away. Kijo
watched as he walked behind the counter and sat down in a wooden chair. Kijo
bit her lip, thinking.
*Well, he wouldn't recognize me, I'm in a whole new body, it's not like it
matters...* Kijo cleared her throat. "Well, I have this friend..."
"WHERE ON EARTH AM I NOW?!?" Ryoga screamed, leaning back, fists clenched,
eyes closed as he faced the heavens. Suddenly, a trash can lid bounced off
the back of his head.
"For the hundredth time, get out of my yard!" an old man shouted from his
porch. "Damn kids, never know when to leave well enough alone..." Ryoga
blinked, and walked off, absently kicking down the man's mailbox on his way.
"Hey!" the man shouted from his window. Ryoga ignored him. He had been sure
that the boat he had taken was headed for Japan, but he had no idea which
part. He had been wandering for the past three days, and he thought he was
starting to see familiar landmarks. The fact that he was on a
one-kilometer-square island with only two inhabitants had not yet occurred
to him.
He stopped in front of a building. "I'd swear I've seen that house
before..." he mused.
"Jeez, boy, are you lost or what? This is the forty-seventh time you've been
here!" an old lady called from the porch.
"No, I'm *not* lost! I know exactly where I.... er... where am I?" he asked
sheepishly.
The old lady shook her head in exasperation. "Listen boy, do you need a ride
off this island or what?"
"Um, do you have one?" Ryoga asked, scratching the back of his neck.
The shopkeeper leaned over his counter, tapping his chin. "Well, that's an
interesting little mess, isn't it?" he said thoughtfully.
"You could say that," Kijo said quietly from the chair she was slumped in.
She watched the man tap his fingers on the countertop absent-mindedly. He
sat up straight and adjusted his glasses.
"Well, you might want to- EEEYYAH!" he shrieked as Ranma came crashing
through the door. He lay on the floor twitching for a second, then jumped
up.
"Dirty old goat! I'll get you for that!" he cried and leaped out through the
hole. He stopped suddenly in the middle of the street, and started to turn
around. Kijo looked curiously at him then noticed Akane standing on the
sidewalk.
"Ack!" she exclaimed.
Ranma dashed back into the store and looked around. "That's funny," he said,
scratching his head. Suddenly he perked up. "Oh yeah! Happosai!" he cried,
snapping his fingers. "You old freak!" he yelled, running outside again.
Kijo groaned and lifted the fallen bookshelf off of her. "That... was
close," she said, shaking her head briskly. "I'd better go!" she cried,
taking off down the hallway to the back door.
The shopkeeper stuck his head above the counter nervously. "Is... is it
over?" he asked shakily. Then he saw the gigantic image of a shriveled old
man blast a ball of energy in his direction, missing its true target. "EEK!"
Ryoga stood on a bridge overlooking the city. "I... I've made it..." he
announced triumphantly, clenching his fist and turning his head upwards.
"Now," he cried, jabbing a finger in the air, "nothing can go wrong!"
"Look out!" he heard someone scream, and jumped away from the car that came
barreling his direction, and saw the driver shake a fist at him.
"Eep!" he cried, noting that he had jumped off the bridge. And a bridge is
usually is over water...
"Bu-kee!!!" he squealed, using his pack as a raft. *I spoke too soon...*
"RRRRAAAANNNMMAAAA!!!!!" Happosai roared. "YOU WILL PAY!!!" So saying, he
released a blast of ki at his wildly dodging form. It caught Ranma square in
the chest.
"UMPH!" he grunted as he slammed into the ground. "You... freak..." he
muttered, getting to his feet.
Happosai laughed evilly. "You'll pay for messing with my fun!" he declared,
jabbing an enlarged finger at Ranma. Ranma defiantly glared at the old
pervert, clenching his fist.
"In your dreams, freak!" he said loudly, leaping at him.
"HAPPO FIVE-YEN SATSU!" Ranma's eyes widened upon hearing the words, and he
desperately attempted to calm his aura. Happosai was not so lucky, and got
hit by the brunt of the attack. Ranma looked up at an adult Hinako as she
booted the *very* shriveled Happosai away.
"Th... thanks, teach...." Ranma gasped, leaning forward.
"Senile delinquents must be taken care of," Hinako said simply. Ranma
nodded, getting to his feet slowly. Standing straight, he looked across the
street at Hinako, who looked calmly back.
Then, they both watched Happosai float in on a breeze.
"He *doesn't* go away!" Ranma yelled, viciously stomping on him. Happosai
crumpled like a dry twig under a steamroller.
"Excuse me," Ranma heard someone say behind him.
"Yeah?" he asked, turning around. A boy about his age stood before, decked
in several layers of clothing. He wore a Maoist cap, a normal shirt and
pants, a vest, then a jacket, then a robe, then a cloak. He had heavy boots
on and wore gloves with open fingertips. All his clothing was black.
"What city is this?" he asked.
"Uh, Tokyo, Nerima District," Ranma answered. The boy shook his hand.
"Thank you so much. I'll be on my wa-AAYY!!!" he yelled as he stepped on a
manhole cover, and fell through as it crumpled. His exasperated voice came
drifting from the street. "Should make those things more sturdy..."
"Hey, you okay?" Ranma called down the hole.
The boy looked up at him. "Oh yeah, just fine," he replied, laughing
casually and waving his hand. Ranma sat back and shrugged, just before the
boy burst from the street in front of him.
"YIPE!" Ranma cried and jumped back. The boy scratched the back of his head
and looked down at the hole in the road.
"Eh, I missed," he said, sounding embarrassed. He shrugged. "Oh well."
"Hey," Ranma said, gesturing. "There was a ladder, y'know."
"It wouldn't work," the boy said, turning away.
"Why?" Ranma asked, confused.
"Never mind. Thank you for your help," he said, turned his head in the
direction he was walking. He promptly tripped over a banana peel someone had
left on the sidewalk, and fell into a street lamp. To Ranma's surprise, it
immediately toppled over, falling on the boy. "Heh, people should be more
careful where they put those..." he said, standing up.
Ranma blinked as the boy began walking away again. "Weird..." he said,
scratching his head.
Kijo jogged down the streets, thinking. *Wonder what that guy was about to
tell me. Ah, couldn't a been that important, anyway...* She slowed to a
walk, and stuck her hands in her pockets. *Where IS that idiot, anyway?*
"Eh?" she said as the ground below her swelled up.
"SHISHI HOKODAN!"
"DYAHH!" Kijo cried as the blast carried her high into the air. Ryoga
stepped out of the hole he had created.
"Now where am I?" he asked no one in particular. Then, Kijo smacked into his
skull. "OH!" he cried, seeing who it was. "AKANE! What have I done!" he said
angrily, shaking her.
"Mm? Ryoga?" Kijo muttered weakly.
"AKANE! I'M SO SORRY!!! PLEASE FORGIVE ME!!!" Ryoga shrieked, kowtowing so
much Kijo was afraid he'd get a concussion from bashing his forehead into
the ground.
She blinked as bits of cement flew upwards. *Or maybe not.* "Ryoga, you're
such a moron...." she sighed, shaking her head.
"What?" Ryoga gasped, looking up her with tears in his eyes. "Do you...
really mean that?" he said pitifully.
Kijo leaned backwards and chuckled. "You should be glad you weren't doing
this in front of Akane, or she'd think you were really pathetic." Ryoga
blinked at her with wide eyes. He glanced down at Kijo's arm, and poked at
her brown leather jacket. He then returned his gaze to Kijo's face.
"Don't DO that to me!" Ryoga exclaimed.
"Heh," Kijo chuckled. "You dope."
"Why you..." Ryoga growled. He stopped, blinked, then handed Kijo a thermos.
"Change back, now. This is really weird."
"Oh, thanks," Kijo said, and dumped the contents over her head. "Ah, much
better!" he said, relieved. "So," he asked casually as they began walking
down the street, "You finally made it back. I knew you would! I mean, you
did last time..." he added, waving his hand.
"Yes, I did," Ryoga said gazing off at the sky. "But it was difficult,
fraught with the terrors of-"
"Oh, stuff it."
They glared at each other for a minute, then resumed walking with a chuckle.
Kijo noticed a woman standing in the middle of the street, turning to see a
heavily-dressed boy run up to her. "Excuse me, ma'am!" the boy called,
reaching her.
"Yes?" she replied, absently shifting her katana to her other hand.
"Do you know where I can get a map of this city?" he asked, glancing around.
"Why yes! You go to the..." she trailed off as she heard a screeching sound,
and they both turned to see a car barreling down the street, straight
towards the two.
"Oh no!" Ryoga and Kijo cried, leaping forward.
"No good! We're too late!" Ryoga yelled.
The boy glanced at the drunk driver, tensed slightly, then rushed at the car
in a shoulder charge.
"Is he CRAZY?!?" Kijo yelled. "He'll be killed!"
"You FOOL!" Ryoga cried out, just before the explosion caused all of them to
turn away.
The woman with the sword stumbled, and Ryoga caught her before she hit the
ground. All three of them stared into the smoke cloud, and Kijo announced,
"He's a goner, for sure." Ryoga gaped in shock.
Then, heavy footsteps were heard, and the boy walked into view, carrying the
man over his shoulder. He looked a little burnt, but pretty well off.
"You..." the woman said uncertainly, pointing a finger at him.
"I'm all right. Do you know where a hospital is? He needs attention, now,"
he said, gesturing to the unconscious man draped over his shoulder. She
nodded and pointed off at a large gray building nearby. Wordlessly, he
turned and began to jog.
"Who are you?" she asked shakily.
The boy stopped, and glanced back at her. "I'm called Ranma. Ranma Saotome."
She gasped. Ryoga blinked. Kijo scratched his head.
"R..R...Ranma...?" the woman stammered.
"Yes," he replied, jogging down the street towards the hospital.
The woman stood still for a moment, then cried, "Wait!" The boy, however,
was out of earshot. She chased after him frantically.
Kijo and Ryoga stood there like statues. "What," Kijo said suddenly,
scratching his head, "was THAT all about?"
Ryoga shook his head helplessly.
Happosai was angry. Ranma had managed to escape his wrath, all because of
his former student, Hinako... If he wasn't feeling so weak, and shriveled,
and helpless, and sickly, and if he was able to move... Well, he'd show
Ranma a real fight. He'd make that insolent, arrogant boy PAY for his
crimes. But for now....
"Look, Mommy! It's a little troll!" Happosai tried to blink, then saw a
little girl pick him up. "Can I keep it, Mommy? Can I?"
"Well, I guess so," the girl's mother said sweetly.
"Thank you, Mommy!" the girl squealed, hugging Happosai close.
*Heeeelp...* he thought weakly.
Ryoga and Kijo began jogging towards the hospital. "I wanna know," Kijo
huffed, "what that was all about."
Ryoga nodded, not even slightly out of breath. "I want to know how he
stopped that car so easily," he said, frowning.
"Yeah," Kijo wheezed, "that too."
"Out of the way! She's crazy!"
"Huh?" Kijo said, turning just in time for Ranma to leap off his face.
"Ohohohohoho! Ranma-darling, why do you run away?" Kodachi laughed shrilly,
and Ryoga shivered. She swung a bouquet of black roses around as she leapt
after Ranma, and they caught Kijo square in the face as she leapt over him.
"Akthph!" he sputtered, then his eyes widened. "I..." he started, his eyes
darting around.
"What?" Ryoga asked, an eyebrow raised.
"I cnnt mv," Kijo answered between his teeth.
Ryoga shook his head and picked Kijo up, who was as limp as a rubber band.
He turned back to what he thought was the hospital, and stopped when he
noticed he was standing in front of a floral shop. "Drat it all," he
grumbled, turning on his heel.
"Is she gone?" a nearby flowerpot asked cautiously.
"Eh?" Ryoga grunted, dropping Kijo, who squeaked upon impact with the
street.
Ranma popped up from the display, the flowerpot on his head. He swung his
head from side to side rapidly, then sighed in relief.
"So, Ryoga, what brings you here?" he asked, stepping out of the hole the
flowerpot had been resting in.
Ryoga shook his head and picked Kijo up again. "We were just following some
guy who says he's you," he answered casually.
"What?" Ranma blinked.
"Yeah, he saved this lady with a katana, and she acted all funny when he
said he was you," Ryoga explained, turning. Kijo's head smacked into the
wall. He groaned through his teeth.
"Ka....ta....na...?" Ranma repeated slowly, his eyes blank. Suddenly he
slammed his fist into the door frame. "Not AGAIN!" he shouted angrily.
"Eh?" Ryoga grunted, stepping backwards, accidentally ramming Kijo into a
flowerpot.
"This is the LAST time someone play's with my mother's heart!" Ranma
declared, jabbing a finger into the air. So saying, he turned to Ryoga
quickly. "Which way did he go?"
"Uh, the hospital," Ryoga answered nervously.
"Then I'm off! I'll make him wish he was never born," he muttered under his
breath and dashed down the street. Ryoga blinked then suddenly remembered
what he had been doing. He dashed after Ranma, not noticing that Kijo's head
kept slamming into random objects.
"Nnnnnnggggghhh......." Kijo groaned as a Chihuahua latched onto his hair
angrily.
"Wait!" Nodoka cried, flinging the doors open. She dashed across the waiting
room to the boy who claimed to be Ranma. He had just turned the man over to
the hospital and was about to leave.
"Yes?" he asked tonelessly.
"Ranma..." Nodoka said softly. "My son!" she cried, enveloping him in a hug.
He blinked.
"Umm..." he said nervously, placing his hands against her shoulders and
pushing slightly.
"Ranma... what?" Nodoka said tearfully.
"Do I know you?" he asked quizzically.
"I'm... I'm you mother!" she said, clasping his hands in hers.
He looked at her for a long moment, then turned away. "I've never seen you
before," he said, walking off.
Nodoka quickly explained, "You left when you were very young, so you wouldn'
t remember me."
The boy shook his head. "Some things..... aren't as they seem." So saying,
he walked out the doors, leaving behind a very disheartened Nodoka.
"Hey, you!" Ranma cried, jabbing a finger at the boy as he stepped outside.
He stopped.
"What?" he asked, confused.
"How DARE you toy with my mother like that!" Ranma growled, cracking his
knuckles.
The boy raised an eyebrow. "Do you want a fight, or something?" he asked,
gesturing at Ranma's offensive stance.
"You bet!" Ranma cried, leaping forward. He launched a strong punch into the
boy's abdomen. The boy smirked slightly as he gripped Ranma's wrist. He
swung Ranma around and slammed him brutally into the ground several times,
leaving small craters each time.
Ranma grunted with each impact. The guy's grip was incredible! Try as he
might, he couldn't get his wrist out of his opponent's iron grasp.
The boy slammed Ranma into the ground again, and let go. Ranma groaned and
got to his knees. The boy grabbed the back of his neck from behind and
lifted him into the air. Ranma jabbed his elbow back and felt it hit his
target solidly. The boy simply brushed it off, however, and slammed Ranma's
face into the ground viciously.
Ranma groaned and placed his palms against the ground to push himself up,
but suddenly the boy jumped up and stomped on Ranma's back, which drove him
several feet down into the street. He felt all the air get knocked out of
him, and then he passed out.
Ranma woke up to discover a few things. First, his back hurt, a lot. Second,
everything was dark. Third, everything was cold.
"You think he'll wake up soon?"
"He should, he's been out for about a half-hour now."
Fourth, someone was talking, and the voices came from above.
"Don't you think we should have at least pulled him up out of that hole?"
"Nah."
Oh. That would explain it....
Ranma let out a low groan and pushed himself up. He climbed out of the hole
and saw Ryoga and Kijo, who had been drinking tea, turn to him.
"About time," Ryoga said, sipping from his cup.
"Yeah, we almost got worried," Kijo added.
Ranma pulled himself up to the table and joined them. "Man," he said
thoughtfully. "That guy's last attack REALLY hurt."
"What?" Ryoga said quizzically, setting his cup down. "All he did was stomp
on you."
"Eh?" Ranma said with wide eyes. "Geez, it felt like a three-ton boulder!"
"Actually, the last time you got hit by a three-ton boulder, you didn't get
knocked out," Ryoga argued.
Ranma blinked, and rubbed his chin. "Oh, yeah. Okay, then a ten-ton
boulder."
Kijo scratched his head. "What the heck are you guys talking about?" he
asked, giving them both odd looks.
Ryoga and Ranma shook their heads. "Nothing," they answered casually. Kijo
shrugged it off and took another drink of his tea.
"Anyway," Ranma said in a low voice, "I'll make him pay for doing that to my
mom."
"Aaaaactually," Kijo said, rolling his eyes, "we talked to him a little
after you were conked out."
"Yeah?" Ranma questioned, leaning backwards, forgetting his was sitting in
the middle of the street.
Yeah. If you'll sit up straight, I'll tell you. Okay, after he jumped out of
the hole...."
"Neat trick," Kijo commented.
The boy smirked. "It's part of my life-time training."
"Really?" Ryoga asked, arms crossed.
"Yeah, it's in the clothes," the boy explained, lifted his arms a little. "I
've been wearing them for years."
"How does your clothing help you stomp someone five feet into the ground?"
Kijo asked, his eyebrows creased.
"It's heavy," the boy replied simply.
"Alright, but why do you call yourself Ranma?" Ryoga prodded.
"That," the boy said, turning his head to the sky, "is my own business." He
started walking away. "By the way," he said, almost as an afterthought, "Who
is he?" he asked, pointing toward the hole.
"Umm, that's Ranma Saotome," Kijo answered, confused.
The boy's expression changed suddenly to awe, then utter confusion. "But,
that doesn't make any sense..." he muttered, walking off thoughtfully.
"That doesn't explain ANYTHING!" Ranma exclaimed angrily, smacking the table
with his palm.
"It explains why you went from a fight to a spelunking expedition in mere
seconds," Kijo offered. He got a tea-cup in the face for said offer.
"But what about my mom?" Ranma demanded. "I can't let him do that to her!
Once is barely forgivable, I won't be able to live with letting it happen
TWICE!" He was frantic by then.
"Just how heavy IS he, anyway?" Ryoga wondered aloud.
"I dunno," Kijo replied, looking perplexed, "but it doesn't look like he
should be able to do that," he said, gesturing to the hole in the street,
"with just what he's carrying."
"Do you mind?!" Ranma growled. "I'm in the middle of a big family problem
here, and you're not helping!"
"Well, excuse me," Kijo said, with just a trace of sarcasm in his voice. He
leaned back, temporarily forgetting his position. "Um, I suggest you, uh,
ask him, um, why he's... posing as you?" He suggested from the ground.
"He'd better have a REALLY good explanation!" Ranma cried, jumping up.
"Which way did he go?" he asked suddenly, gripping Kijo's shirt.
"Oh, just down the street. Hey, c'mon, this shirt's new," Kijo protested.
Ranma dropped him and dashed wordlessly down the street.
"Boy, he's easily excited, ain't he?" Kijo said, standing up.
Ryoga shrugged and stood up too. "Should we follow?" Ryoga inquired,
gesturing down the street.
Kijo thought about, holding his chin in his hand. He looked up and grinned.
Sure! There's bound to be a fight. Wouldn't wanna miss that!" So saying, he
bounded off in the direction the other two had gone.
Ryoga followed after a moments hesitation. *What's so special about a
fight?*
"Where is he, where is he, where is he...." Ranma repeated this simple
mantra as he ran through the streets in search of his target. "Stupid moron,
I'll teach him..." A grinding noise caught his ear, and he whipped around to
see... an empty street. He looked back and forth a few times, then turned to
go.
"DAMN those manhole covers!"
Ranma whipped around again at the frustrated shout, and saw the boy leap
through the center of the street.
"I've gotta watch where I'm going..." the boy muttered, starting to walk
again.
"HEY!" Ranma shouted angrily.
"Eh?" the boy said inquisitively, turning around. "You again?" he
questioned, then shook his head. "So, you call yourself Ranma Saotome, eh?"
he said with a chuckle.
Ranma's face darkened. "Why you..." he growled, leaping forward. The boy
waited for Ranma to land a punch, then grabbed at his wrist again. To his
surprise, however, it wasn't there. The next thing he knew, Ranma was behind
him, laying down a painful array of punches.
The boy spun around and swung at Ranma, but he was already gone. He glared
as he saw him standing down the street from him, an angry expression on his
face. The boy rushed at him, pulling both arms back.
"For what you've done..." Ranma started, his foot positioning changing
slightly, "You will PA-OOMHP!!!" He had attempted to slip inside the boy's
defenses and land several blows, and he had succeeded. What he hadn't
counted on, was the boy's momentum, mixed with his incredible weight.
He struggled to toss his burden off of him, and succeeded in tossing him a
short distance. *God!* he thought, in disbelief, *we weighs a TON! No, make
that ten tons.* He watched the boy run at him again, then blasted him with a
blast of ki.
"Moko Takabisha!" he cried. To his surprise, his opponent didn't go flying
backwards, but was knocked to the ground. He made a loud *THUMP* noise upon
contact.
The boy stood up quickly, and shook his head. He then advanced upon Ranma
again.
*Man!* he thought, exasperated, *this guy really takes a beating!*
Kijo ran down the streets, his head whipping around, trying to locate what
he assumed would be, if it wasn't already, a battle. He stopped at an
intersection and glanced down all four streets, then pulled a coin out of
his pocket. "Heads, I go down the....." he trailed off as he noticed Ryoga
wasn't with him anymore.
He gnashed his teeth and threw the coin to the ground. "Dammit Ryoga!" he
growled, frustrated. Suddenly, he heard an explosion and a cry of, "Moko
Takabisha!"
Torn between finding Ryoga and watching the fight, he eventually decided on
the latter. "He'll find his way back, always does," he reasoned to himself.
Ranma grimaced as he drew his opponent into the spiral. He had decided that
just beating on him wouldn't work, he had way too much endurance. The blasts
of ki wasn't doing much, either. The guy was slow, but when he did get a hit
in, it really, REALLY hurt. Maintaining his 'soul of ice,' he thrust his
fist upward, and cried, "Hiryu shoten ha!!"
The boys snarling face abruptly turned to surprise, as he felt himself being
lifted upward, albeit very slowly.
Ranma watched with wide eyes at the sight. It wasn't quite like he had
expected. The boy was being pulled into the tornado, but he was moving like
molasses. He was hardly four feet off the ground by then.
Frustrated, Ranma shot him with another ki blast, accidentally losing his
'soul of ice' in doing so. With an angry bellow, he shot upwards.
The other boy had finally lost his battle against the high-speed wind, and
was being tossed around, more or less, a rag doll. He felt himself being
pulled towards the eye of the storm, and when he reached it, he dropped like
a stone. His eyes widened as he saw the ground rushing towards him at an
amazing rate, and cried out in terror just before he struck.
Kijo turned the corner and fell backwards in surprise. While he had expected
to see a fight, he had not expected to see THIS. Numerous craters were
scattered around the street, and both boys were trapped inside a huge
cyclone. He stood up shakily and peered into the raging winds.
He saw a speck appear, and as it drew nearer, he saw it was the other boy,
and he had a terrified expression on his face.
"Oh my go-" Kijo breathed just as the boy struck the center of the street.
He made a horrible, grinding, cracking, crunching noise as he drove deep
into the earth. The resulting hole had a fairly wide mouth, and funneled
downwards nearly two hundred feet.
Kijo looked up again and saw Ranma shoot a large ball of ki into the hole,
presumably just to make sure. Ranma slammed into the street, and stood up
shakily as the winds died down.
Ranma bent over and placed his hands on his knees, breathing heavily. "He
HAS to be down, now," he muttered.
Kijo cautiously walked over to the edge of the hole and peered in. He saw a
form at the bottom, and called out, "It doesn't look like he's moving. I'd
say you won."
Ranma grinned and stood up a little straighter.
Kijo squinted and looked again, only to see a shower of dirt appear from
nowhere, at the bottom. "What the.." he said, jerking back. Ranma stood
beside Kijo, staring down into the hole. They saw the boy's form moving up
the side, but it looked bigger, somehow...
"No way....." Ranma gasped.
As soon as the boy had enough light on him, Kijo breathed a sigh of relief.
"Ryoga!" he exclaimed.
Ryoga gritted his teeth and sunk his hand into the dirt, as there were no
handholds.
Ranma let out a breath. "I knew he wouldn't be able to walk after that..."
Ryoga gripped the edge of the hole, and pulled himself out. He collapsed in
a heap and dumped the boy onto the ground.
"God!" he exclaimed, slumping to his hands and knees. "He's HEAVY!"
Ranma raised an eyebrow. If he was heavy enough to wear Ryoga out, he must
weigh.... who knows?
Kasumi looked up and saw Ranma, Ryoga and another boy carry someone into the
yard, and they all abruptly dropped him to the ground with assorted groans.
"Hello, Ranma!" she called, stepping outside. "Who's your friend?"
Ranma waved a hand at Kijo, who said, "I'm Kijo Kuraki. Nice to meet you."
Kasumi smiled cheerily. "You can use the bath if you like," she offered,
walking into the house.
The boys nodded weakly and flopped down on the grass. Kijo wiped the sweat
off his brow, then froze as a groan escaped the other boy's lips. All three
of them turned to the stranger, who sat up shakily.
"What the hell....?" he muttered, as his eyes focused on his surroundings.
His gaze wandered over Ryoga and Kijo, then stopped on Ranma. He stared at
him for a moment, then looked away. "I guess you really are Ranma," he said
grudgingly.
"Of course I am!" Ranma growled, smacking him over the head. "Just who the
hell are you?!" he demanded.
The boy looked back at Ranma, then shrugged. "My real name is Thyme," he
said simply.
"Thyme?" Kijo asked, smirking. "What kinda name is-"
"You wouldn't be a..." Ryoga interrupted, pointing at Thyme uncertainly.
"A what?" Thyme asked quizzically.
"Where were those guys from, Ranma?" Ryoga asked Ranma suddenly.
"The Musk Dynasty?" Ranma suggested.
"Yeah, that's it," Ryoga said, nodding his head. "Are you from th-"
"Yes," Thyme cut him off, "I have parted ways from the Musk, on less than
agreeable terms."
"So you're an exile?" Kijo blurted.
Thyme smacked him over the head. "Do you have to put it so bluntly?!?"
"Whadja do?" Ranma asked, crossing his legs and leaning forward.
Thyme leaned back and smirked arrogantly. "None of your business."
Ranma narrowed his eyes, then brought a mallet down on his head.
"Yes, it IS my business," Ranma growled, grabbing Thyme by the front of his
shirt.
"Ah, aheh," Thyme stuttered, waving his hand, "of course. You see, they
wouldn't allow me to enter any houses..."
"Why?" Ryoga interrupted.
"Because," Thyme explained, not-so-patiently, "I always broke through the
floor."
Ranma, Ryoga, and Kijo all stared at him.
"Um, ever try changing your clothes?" Ryoga suggested.
"Ah, but it wouldn't matter," Thyme said dramatically, clenching his fist.
"I am under a curse, you see, that increases the weight of my clothing a
thousand-fold. Or something like that."
"Then why do you wear so many layers?" Kijo asked, tilting his head to the
side.
"I come here seeking an artifact," Thyme continued, ignoring Kijo, "that
allows me to control my curse. It is a magic bottle that, when used
properly, sucks away any curse that the user has."
Ranma, Ryoga, and Kijo froze.
"Did you say..." Ryoga started.
"It takes away..." Kijo said.
"Any curse?" Ranma finished?
Thyme nodded. "If I have that, my troubles will be over!" he said, with a
smile on his face. "Although, " he added, looking down at himself, "Having
to spend my whole life dragging this much weight around has certainly been
good training..." He suddenly noticed the three faces bearing down on him.
"Take us to it!" they demanded.
Thyme sweatdropped. "Er, I don't really know where it is...."
"Grrrr....."
End pt. 3
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