Heart of the Immortal

By: Anand Rao (jouve25@hotmail.com)

Ranma 1/2 is owned my Rumiko Takahashi

For previous chapters, go to 
http://tannim.anifics.com/Heart_Immortal/Immortal.html

This is definitely a rough draft.


Chapter Seven: Lost Boy, Found Sempai
--------------------------------------

Ranma sat and stared at the spiral.  He remembered the old woman's technique 
clearly.  She had fought defensively, leading him down a spiral path, and 
then. . .

"Wham!"  Ranma clapped his hands with a loud crack.  (That was an incredible 
whirlwind!  It reminded me of Terry's hurricane kick, but it was so much 
more powerful.)  He slumped down and a determined grin grew on his face.  It 
had been quite some time since he'd tried to figure out a new technique.

Suddenly, the dojo door slammed open and Akane stomped in, her hands on her 
hips.  "Why are you still in here?" she demanded.

"Huh?"  Ranma blinked.

"It's been *three* days!  Kasumi is going sick with worry!  How long are you 
going to stare at that stupid spiral?"

Ranma grinned and motioned Akane to sit next to him. "It really is an 
interesting puzzle, Akane-chan.  Do you remember when I fought that old 
Chinese woman?"

"Yeah, she tossed you in the air like you were a feather."

"Ahem, well, yes."  Ranma shrugged his shoulders a bit bashfully.  "Anyway, 
when she performed that move, she led me into a spiral."

Akane nodded her head in understanding.  "Oh!  So you're trying to figure 
out how she did it. . ."

"Right."

Akane stood up and grabbed Ranma by the ear.  "Well, take a break and get 
something to eat!  I've never seen Kasumi this stressed."

"Ow!  Okay, okay. . ."


*******************

Shampoo stepped into the kitchen of the newly opened 'Cat Caf�' and sighed.  
"Why is this necessary, Great Grandmother?  Why not just grab husband and go 
home?"

Cologne smiled as she slowly stirred a simmering pot of ramen.  "The 
son-in-law was stronger than I expected; more stubborn too.  If we really 
want him, Shampoo, we're going to be staying in Japan for a while."

Shampoo tilted her head quizzically to one side.  "Why not use magic?"

"You are too impetuous, child," Cologne rebuked.  "Magic is unstable at 
best.  The results could be unpredictable."

"Then what we do?"

"Normally, to trap a prey, one exploits a weakness. However, I haven't found 
one in the Son-in-Law yet. He's been sitting in that dojo for days now."  
Cologne thoughtfully nodded her head.  "Perhaps we can exploit a strength."

********************

"So Genma walks back to the camp site, carrying a bowl of rice and two 
cooked fish, and tells me that I'm engaged."

Soun burst out laughing as Ranma shook his head.

"Genma-san sounds like an. . . interesting individual," Kasumi offered.

The family, along with Ranma, sat at the dining table, enjoying one of 
Kasumi's home cooked meals.  The cook in question was relieved to see her 
surrogate brother back in the house and had prepared a rather large meal.

"He sounds like an idiot," Akane countered. "What kind of man trades a 
person for food?"

"The offer of a dowry, however deplorable, is a part of our culture, Akane.  
Besides, Genma wasn't all bad.  In his own way, he was trying to help me."

"Help you?  How?"

"You know about the curse, Akane.  Genma was hoping I'd fall in love," Ranma 
explained.

"Curse?  What curse?"  Nabiki queried eagerly.

"Never mind!"  Akane said quickly before Ranma could reply.  He stared 
quizzically at the younger girl and she blushed and continued eating.

The meal was interrupted by a knock on the front door.  "Oh my. . ," Kasumi 
murmured as she rose from the table.  "Yes?  Who is it?"  She called out, 
opening the door.

A male teenager, slightly younger than herself, stood in front of her.  He 
had a mop of brown hair that was tied back by a yellow bandana.  He was a 
muscular fellow and carried a large back pack.  "Sorry to disturb you," he 
apologized. "Er. . . can you tell me how to get to the Saotome Dojo?"

"I don't know. . . but someone here does.  Please, come inside."

The young man smiled. "Thank you, Miss."  He bowed.  "My name is Ryoga 
Hibiki."

"Welcome to the Tendo Dojo, Ryoga-kun."  Kasumi stepped aside and allowed 
Ryoga to enter the house.  She led him into the dining room and was about to 
introduce him to Ranma, when he suddenly rushed past her and tackled Ranma.

"Sempai!"  He cried.  "I've been looking for you everywhere!"

Ranma blinked from his position on the floor and looked at the young man who 
was trying, apparently, to squeeze the life out of him.  "Who are you?"

Ryoga let go of Ranma and 'playfully' decked him across the face.  "Oh 
Sempai, you're such a kidder!"  He laughed.

Ranma's body flew to the other side of the room and impacted on the wall.  
"Ryoga-kun," he mumbled, apparently remembering the newcomer, as he slowly 
slid to the floor.  "You're as strong as ever," he continued weakly.

			************************************

"So did you guys go to school together, or what?"  Nabiki, always one to 
fish out information, put her dinner aside and concentrated on the new 
arrival.

"Not really," Ranma replied.  "I just helped Ryoga-kun find his way to 
school in the morning."

"And find my way back home in the afternoon," Ryoga added.  He gave Ranma a 
challenging look.  "Then he taught me how to fight."

Akane leaned forward at that.  "So you're one of his students?"

"Not in the traditional sense, Akane-chan.  Ryoga here is strong.  Really 
strong."  Ranma smiled and glanced at the youth.  "He didn't have any 
technique or skill though, so I taught him a few things every day for about 
a year or so. . . just before Genma and I took off for China."

"You left me behind!"  Ryoga threw him an injured look.

Ranma rolled his eyes.  "You were too young for such a trip, and besides, 
you still had to go to school."

"How was I supposed to get to school without you're help!"  Ryoga protested.

"Aw. . . did the little boy need Sempai's help?"  Nabiki teased.

Ryoga's face flamed quickly.  "It wasn't like that!"

Ranma chuckled and gently patted Ryoga on the back.  "Ryoga-kun has the 
worst sense of direction.  He can get lost going anywhere.  Before I came 
along, he only made it to school about once every month or so. . ."

"You've never heard of a map?" Nabiki asked dryly.

Ranma just shook his head.  "Believe me, Nabiki, it wouldn't help."

"So how did he end up becoming your student?" Akane asked.

"Ryoga tended to get frustrated a lot because of his lousy sense of 
direction.  That frustration led to anger, and because he's so strong, that 
anger led to property damage."

Ryoga laughed sheepishly and scratched the back of his head.

Ranma just shook his head.  "Anyway, I taught him a bit of the Art in order 
to help him control his emotions and his strength."  He leaned back, putting 
his hands on the floor.  "We were mostly successful.  Still. . . Ryoga 
remained slightly imbalanced."

"Imbalanced?  Who's imbalanced?"  Ryoga yelled.  He hit Ranma across the 
side of the head.  "Sempai, you big jerk. . ."

Ranma rubbed his head and sighed severely.  "Ryoga-kun, I think it's time we 
sparred.  I would like to see how far you've come over the past few years."  
Ranma smiled tightly.

Ryoga paled but then smirked confidently.  "Bring it on!  I have a few new 
moves to show you."

		************************************

"Thank you for the match.  Your new techniques are indeed. . . impressive."  
Ranma bowed and walked away, nonchalantly buffing his finger tips on his 
shirt.

"An- Any time, Sempai!"  Ryoga weakly replied, his bloodied and bruised form 
twitching on the dojo floor.

Akane frowned at the sight and followed after Ranma.  "Sensei, wasn't that a 
bit harsh?"

"Ryoga heals quickly.  Besides, he can handle it."  He paused and turned 
towards Akane.  "You could too, if you trained harder."

Akane just rolled her eyes.  "Think you can quit with the Akane-bashing for 
just a moment?"

Ranma shook his head and sighed.  "If you managed to perform better against 
Ukyo, I would."

Akane blushed.  "She never leaves an opening, using that strange weapon of 
hers!"

"Wrong!  She leaves plenty of openings, you just never seem to find them."

Akane stopped walking and folded her arms over her chest.  "It's never 
enough for you," she muttered.

Ranma stared at her, an incredulous look on his face. "Of course it isn't.  
If you didn't need to constantly improve, you would be a master, instead of 
being my student." He walked into the house and continued upstairs.  "Just 
keep trying," he called out.

"Yeah. . . Right. . ."

"Sempai's a hard trainer, but you'll definitely improve."

Akane whirled around and was surprised to see Ryoga up and walking around, 
albeit a bit slowly.

"Are you okay?"

Ryoga gingerly rubbed the right side of his rib cage and winced in pain.  
"Yeah, I'll be fine.  He hurts me just enough for me to remember not to 
leave the same opening next time."

Akane smiled, thinking about her own sparring matches with the immortal 
master.  "Yeah, he's good at that."  She sighed.  "I just wish he'd 
appreciate my efforts once in a while."

"Sempai's a jerk," Ryoga agreed.

"Have you ever come close to beating him?"

Ryoga laughed. "Are you kidding?  I was thirteen years old when we first 
met!  Even as strong as I was, I didn't have the skill to approach his 
level."  Ryoga paused.  "I still don't."  He grinned in determination and 
walked close to Akane.  "But one day, I will.  I promise you," he said 
quietly.

Akane was encouraged by Ryoga's optimism.  "Me too!"  She held out a fist, 
her pinky finger uncurled.  "Pinky swear?"

Ryoga nodded his head firmly and mirrored Akane's actions.  Their fingers 
entwined, the martial artists' souls brimmed with confidence.

>From his bedroom window, Ranma stared at his two students, a smile unwilling 
tugging at his face.  "Children," he sighed.


		*******************************************

Akane quickly stepped forward and led with a right hook.  Ryoga didn't even 
try to dodge the attack, letting her fist collide with the side of her 
forearm.  Akane pulled back and shook her hand slightly.  It was as if she 
had hit solid rock!  Ryoga smiled knowingly and just waited.

"Quit clowning around, Hibiki-kun!"  Ranma's voice snapped.  "Don't start 
developing bad habits just because you're sparring with an inferior 
opponent"

Akane frowned but otherwise ignored unintentional insult.  (Inferior, am I?) 
  She ran forward, fist held high, and just and as Ryoga was getting set for 
a block, she fell forward, stood on her hands, and nailed him with a scissor 
kick across the side of the face.

Ranma clapped in obvious delight.  "Nicely done, Akane!"

Akane tried hard not to feel too proud of herself.  The kick held little 
power, failing to even knock Ryoga off his feet, but it was the first time 
she had successfully completed that particular technique.

Ryoga, Akane discovered, was a great sparring partner.  She liked Ukyo, but 
the chef's fighting style was too refined, too. . . feminine.  Ryoga was a 
bruiser of sorts and matched Akane perfectly.  Ryoga, in turn, was soaking 
up as much training as he could while he stayed at the Tendo dojo.  He had 
been there for almost a whole week, and was amazed that he had not wandered 
off and gotten lost.

Ryoga smiled again as a bruise started form on his jaw line.  As Akane stood 
back up, he grabbed a hold of her wrist, twisted to the side and threw her 
across the dojo. Weeks ago, Akane would have panicked as she sailed through 
the air.  On this day, however, Ranma's training finally kicked in.  She 
flipped herself over in mid air and managed to land on her feet; barely.

"Not exactly a perfect ten, but then, this isn't gymnastics."  Ranma smiled. 
  "Once again, nicely done, Akane."

Akane allowed herself a measure of satisfaction and bowed in Ranma's 
direction.  "Two compliments in less than five minutes!  I'll remember this 
day forever," she teased.

Ranma gave her a cool look.  "Laugh it up, Akane, your nightmare is just 
beginning, you spar with me next."

"Oh quit bullying her, Sempai."  Ryoga smiled and winked at Akane, who 
simply grinned back.

"Kids these days," Ranma muttered, shaking his head.  "Okay, that's enough." 
  He walked into the middle of the dojo.  (Time to annoy them a bit.)  He 
put on his more arrogant smile.  "Time to get your butts whipped by the 
master."

"How about we make this a bit more interesting, Sempai?"

Ranma's eyebrows rose.  "What did you have in mind?"

"We all know that Akane-san and I have no chance against you by ourselves, 
so how about if we both fought you at the same time?"  He gave Akane a 
questioning look.

"Yeah!  That would be great!  How about it, Sensei?  Think you can take us 
both on?"  Akane warmed up to this idea quickly.  It wouldn't be the same as 
defeating Ranma, but she was certain that they could take him down a peg or 
two.

(Children, children, children. . . You'll never learn.)  Ranma shrugged his 
shoulders, looking almost bored.  "I'm not sure what you hope to accomplish, 
but sure, why not?"  He looked at Akane then Ryoga.  "Begin whenever you are 
ready."

By unspoken agreement, the two teens charged towards their teacher at the 
same time.  Ranma didn't react until they were a mere few feet away from 
him, and then, he jumped straight into the air.  Akane and Ryoga crashed 
into each other, a tangle of arms and legs.  Ranma landed lightly on his 
feet and wait for the two extremely embarrassed teens to stand up.  "Neither 
one of you have any experience fighting in a team environment.  Doing so 
without the proper training can be dangerous."  He gave the two of them a 
hard look.  "So, let's concentrate on training instead trying to get one up 
on your Sensei, hmmm?"

The two students nodded their heads in agreement, properly chastised.

"Very good.  Let's continue, then."  Ranma took on a defensive stance, and 
waited for them to attack.

		*******************************

The training session had long since ended and the sun had began its descent 
into the horizon.  Ryoga and Akane were still in the dojo, too tired and 
sore to even move.

"I had forgotten how great this felt," Ryoga said.  "I've always trained 
hard, but nothing ever compares to what Sempai puts me through."

"Yeah.  Great."  Akane closed her eyes and tried hard not to doze off.  
(God, I still have homework to do!)  She had been lying flat on her back for 
over an hour now, and it took energy just to breathe.

"You're lucky, you know. . . Getting to live with Sempai, like you do."

Akane jerked up and winced as she forced herself into a seated position.  
"What do you mean?"  She stared at Ryoga, who refused to meet her eyes.

"You get to train with him every day!  It's. . . only a matter time before I 
get lost again."

Akane nodded her head in understanding.  Ryoga had already gotten lost in 
house a couple of times, and it was pure luck that he had not left the 
compound entirely.  She had found the situation funny and then a bit 
annoying as she had found Ryoga in the bathroom, on several occasions, with 
a bewildered and lost look on his face. But now, she was starting to 
understand his despair. "I'm sorry, Ryoga.  I wish there was something I 
could do."

Ryoga shrugged his shoulders and looked at her.  "It's not that big a deal, 
really.  I'll eventually find my way back.  I'm just like training with 
Sempai. . . and, well, I like training with you too."  A light blush grew on 
his face.

Akane smiled.  "You know, Ryoga-kun, this is really strange.  I've had a lot 
of problem with boys at school, so I've kind of hated all boys in general 
for the past year or so.  It. . . feels different with you, though.  I don't 
understand why.  It's like you're. . ."

"A brother," Ryoga finished for her. "It makes sense, really.  We both love 
martial arts."

Akane nodded her head thoughtfully.  "We both train under the same master. A 
man we both hate and lo-, I mean, like at the same time."  She cleared her 
throat, and this time, she was the one blushing.

Ryoga smiled.  "You were right the first time."


	*********************************************

"Are they still in the dojo?"  Soun asked with a worried sigh.

"Relax, Tendo."  Ranma took a sip of his tea and continued staring out at 
the sunset.  The two men were sitting on the back porch of the Tendo home, a 
game of shogi just completed.

"They've been alone together for far too long, Sensei," Soun countered.

Ranma snorted.  "Believe me, after the training I just put them through, 
they're not doing anything that would require. . . exertion."

"Sensei!"

"Besides, Tendo, Ryoga is good boy.  He trains hard, he loves the Art, he's 
honest and straightforward. . . Really, a perfect match for Akane."

Soun's countenance grew pensive.  He glanced at Ranma.  "Do you really think 
so?"

"Absolutely.  Of course, they may need a little help here and there, to get 
going in that direction."  Ranma smiled slyly.  "But then again, that's why 
we're here, right?"

Soun sighed once more then laughed.  "As long as Akane's happy.  That's all 
I want."

Ranma put his hand on the younger man's shoulders.  "I'll help make sure 
that happens, Tendo.  I promise."


	********************************************

End Chapter Seven

Authors Notes:

Well, now. . .

It has been almost two years since I have last posted a chapter of anything 
remotely related to fan fiction.  It has been almost as long since I've last 
talked to anyone on the FFML, on FFIRC, on KawaiiMUCK, or hell, even ICQ.  I 
more less dropped off the radar, and honestly, I don't have a reason as to 
why that happened.  I just lost interest in writing for a while, I guess.

I've never been happier in my life, however, and it has been hypothesized to 
me that most of my writing stemmed from angst.  So, two years, no angst, no 
writing.  Dunno if that's true or not, but it's as valid a reason as any I 
suppose.

Of course, the angst hasn't returned, but the interest in writing has.  So, 
expect to see more from me.

Namaste,

Anand




Anand Rao
deranged_otaku@hotmail.com
ICQ# 10869014





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