Introductions part 3

By Kyokukou

Disclaimer : I don't own the characters from Ranma 1/2 only the characters that 
I write myself . So please don't sue me ! But if you try to use my characters 
.....there will be ...unpleasant consequences if I find out . Do not repost or 
reprint this without my permission , however if you do ASK there is a good 
chance I will let you .


" A man cannot free himself from the past more easily than he can from his own 
body ."
                                            -Andre Maurois 
                                            

Chapter 4
You got to be kidding me !


    All eyes were fixed on the dissipating dust cloud . A gust blew away what 
was left . Revealing a very pissed Ranma . He stood with one side to Ryouga his 
left side to the wall , left hand on the scabbard , the right hand rested on his 
sword hilt .
" Ah shit ." Ryouga readied his umbrella into a wary guard stance . " Now I got 
him mad ."
    Before she knew it she was looking at the fading afterimage where Ryouga had 
been . He resolved only a meter before Ranma , his umbrella already swinging .
    Only to cut empty air . Ranma was nowhere to be found , not even a 
afterimage . For a heartbeat Ryouga furiously snapped his head about , scanning 
for Ranma then his eyes went wide when he found him .
" Damnit !" Ryouga swore before a resolving Ranma slammed into him at a steep 
angle . As Ryouga skidded across the ground Ranma pinned him with the end on his 
scabbard . At the last moment Ranma leapt off and drew his sword . The ground 
where Ryouga had been a instant before slit open even through the tip of the 
outer wall . Ryouga finished his rolling and unhurriedly came to his feet .
" I will concede that you are much more skilled even now with the killing 
techniques of the sword than I am with this ." The bandanna clad boy hefted his 
umbrella . 
" I was not even warmed up yet ." Ranma said with cold disappointment after 
landing a meter in front of them . " Empty hand now ?"
" Hai ." 
" Fine ." Ranma flipped both his sheathed swords over his shoulder . 
    Both were caught by the waiting hands of Genma .
" He's returned ." Genma observed to no one in particular , tucking both swords 
under one arm .
    No one noticed him however , all eyes were on the circling Ranma and his 
mysterious opponent Ryouga . Ryouga's stance was unknown to the spectators 
except for Genma . The new arrival held his fists at a forty five degree angle , 
his elbows cocked out and the back of his fists facing out .
    Ranma held his hands in the bloodfist style . The hand farthest back was 
held shoulder height , the forearm parallel to the ground and his chest . The 
other fist was at a forty degree angle the thumb facing inward .
    The Tendo's gaped . Genma smirked . The two charged one another . The 
exchange of blows was vicious and most of it was beyond anything that the three 
sisters had seen before . But from the start it was clear that Ranma was 
outclassed . Although Ranma was blocking most of what was thrown at him none of 
his blows were connecting . Finally Ryouga let loose a full powered blow . The 
resounding bass shock made most of the sisters slap their hands over their ears 
. Another followed when Ranma's back became intimate with the outer wall again , 
and the lampost across the street from it . 
" Back to pathetic ." Ryouga shook his head before leaping after his prey .
    Only to be sent streaking into the pavement by Ranma who had appeared in the 
sky from apparently nowhere . A follow up sent Ryouga limply skidding along the 
sidewalk and into the Tendo's front yard again . Ranma resolved over Ryouga once 
again , but his fist had already been caught halfway into the blow . Ryouga 
reversed their positions with a joint lock , and followed up with a brutal 
palmstrike to the back that drove Ranma half a meter into the ground . One quick 
leap and Ryouga was across the yard .
    No one breathed as Ranma staggered to his feet . His breathing was labored 
and his cold face promised brutal murder . Ranma stood once more in the 
bloodfist stance . His breathing suddenly became normal .
" Now it ends ." Genma grunted .
    With battlecrys that quickened one's pulse while chilling the blood the two 
charged . At the height of their cry they leapt as one .
    To meet in the air with a brotherly embrace .
" Ryouga ! If you wouldn't have shown up in another day I'd start to get worried 
about ya !" Ranma laughed , thumping Ryouga on the back after they landed .
" I've been hiding for a while , sorry ." Ryouga returned the thump before 
breaking the embrace . He glanced around . " Um...sorry about the wall and 
everything ." 
" We'll fix it tomorrow ." Ranma dismissed . " C'mon let's go inside and catch 
up on the usual . How many this time ?" Ranma asked as the pair walked into the 
house .
" Ah ," Ryouga looked up for a second . " Is Purto Rico a state of the US ?"
" Nope ." 
" Then fourteen and Purto Rico ."
" Yeesh , when did you hide ?"
" A few days in each ."
    Pausing only to retrieve his swords Ranma led Ryouga into the house .
" What's going on ?" She asked Genma in the calmest voice she could muster at 
the moment .
" Those two ." He chucked at the retreating figures . " I'll never know how they 
do it ." 
" DO WHAT ?! What happened !" Akane demanded . " One second they're trying to 
kill each other the next their all buddy buddy !"
" Kill each other ?" Genma blinked . " That was just some roughhousing between 
old friends . You should see them spar ." Explaining something to Soun , Genma 
also headed for the house with his old friend .

                          *          *          *

     " Something's bothering him ..." Ranma thought as he watched his old friend 
out of the corner of his eye , only enough for Ryouga to notice , no one else .
" So what's the list this time ?" He asked aloud , still watching the stars 
appear in the darkening sky .
" From when ? The village , or from China on ?" Ryouga acknowledged Ranma's 
scrutiny and suspicions with a flick of an eyebrow . Too polite to sit leaning 
against the porch wall like Ranma , Ryouga sat unsupported between Ranma and 
Genma .
" From China on ." 
" Let's see...Laos , Malaysia , Nepal , Iran , Uganda , Tunisia , Spain  great 
weather there this year , Iceland the hotsprings were wonderful , Panama , Peru 
, Jamaica , Midway , Siberia , Korea , and then it took me a while finding Tokyo 
again ."
" You're veering east this month then ." Genma observed . " Any idea how long 
the trend will last ?"
" None whatsoever ." 
" How can you afford to travel like that ?" Akane asked wide eyed .
" Afford ?" Ryouga stared at her blankly .
" Let me fill ya in Akane-san ." Ranma snorted in amusement . " Y'see Ryouga 
here has the worst sense of direction in the known world except for the rest of 
his family . And it gets worse than that ." Ranma chuckled . " Of course it 
ain't natural , his family was cursed with it long time ago . So when Ryouga 
gets lost he can really cover ground . If you follow him you'll get pulled in 
too . That one second you're paying more attention to him than what's around you 
and Bam ! you look up and you're in Antarctica or England or Kami-sama help you 
the United States ." He paused for a moment before giving in to the temptation . 
" You should see what happens when he TRIES to get lost ." 
    It took him a few moments to pry his head out of the ground , but it had 
been worth it .
" I don't try to get lost , I just harness my condition ." Ryouga corrected with 
as much dignity as he could . 
    After clearing her throat to call attention Nabiki spoke up . " So am I 
right in saying that Ryouga here was with you in your jaunt back in the past ?" 
" Yup ." Ranma nodded . " He tried to follow me and what-do-you-know for once it 
worked ."
" The one time I didn't need it too ." Ryouga grumbled .
" Hai ." Ranma agreed , suddenly serious . "[ Ryouga , something's been 
troubling you since you found me again . What is it , they cannot understand old 
Japanese well enough to follow along .]" 
"[ They can hear it ,]" Ryouga replied equally serious . "[ hell , they will 
know of it any way soon enough .]"
" Alright then , what happened ?" He switched back to modern Japanese .
" Remember what happened in the Amazon village after you got cursed ?"
" Shampoo's found me ?!" Ranma tensed his grip on his katana's scabbard .
" No , but Perfume ..."
" Which one is she again ?"
" Um..could-" Akane began .
" She's Shampoo's cousin or something , the one with the Axes ."
" Oh ! You mean she-"
" It's uncanny . Her tracking abilities almost equal my ability to get lost ."
" You gotta be kidding !"
" Could you tell us-" Akane restated .
" I wish I was Ranma , I wish I was ." 
" HELLO ?!?" 
" What is it ?" 
" Fill us in again ." Nabiki offered .
" Well , I assume you know about Ranma's curse , right ?"
    Nods all around .
" Well after they left the springs I found them again just before we reached 
this Chinese Amazon village . Well..." Ryouga shot a glare at Genma . " They 
were having a tournament and Genma ate part of their first prize , which was a 
huge feast . So the winner say's that she'll have to either kill Genma or make 
him a slave to the village for life to repay honor ."
" Couldn't let that happen ." Ranma snorted . " He IS my dad if not much else . 
So I get the idea that if I beat her formally I won the tournament so the prize 
is mine and pop's off the hook , right ?" 
" Oh yeah , you need to know that at this time we didn't know that Ranma could 
change back from a girl ." Ryouga interjected .
" You thought you were stuck as a girl ?" Nabiki chuckled .
" I've had worse things happen ." Ranma shrugged trying to look casual .
" Anyway so Ranma challenges Shampoo , and whips her without even touching her 
once . Then we get introduced to one of the Amazon laws . You see , Shampoo is a 
girl and by their law when a outsider female beats a Amazon female the Amazon 
has to give the outsider the 'kiss of death' and kill immediately to avenge 
honor . So Shampoo walks up to Ranma and kisses him ."
" First time to be kissed as a girl , by a girl , so I kinda froze up ." Ranma 
laughed nervously .
" Yeah , Ranma's in shock so Shampoo draws a dagger and tries to stab him . So I 
do this ." 
    With the ease of an action done countless times Ryouga reached up and 
plucked a bandanna from his forehead , stiffened it and sent it into one of the 
stones by the koi pond with a metallic ring .
" I cut the dagger in two ." Ryouga continued despite the shocked stares . " So 
I go into retreat from hostile territory mode . I grab Ranma and Genma and we 
try to get lost real quick ."
" But ," Ranma picked up . " We got lost in the village instead of outside it . 
Then we get separated about the time I snap out of shock ."
" When I find Ranma and Genma next there's this girl in my way . So I was going 
to go around her but then I see this old crone sneaking up on Ranma . So I shout 
a warning and throw my umbrella , but the girl with the axes jumps in front of 
it and tries to block it with her axes ."
" Big mistake ." Ranma laughed . " Ryouga's umbrella , if you hadn't noticed , 
isn't normal . For one thing it weighs more than five times what he does !"
" Yeah ," Ryouga sighed . " It went through those axes like they were made out 
of cardboard , grazed her head and kept on going . The graze knocked her out for 
a while and the throw distracted the old crone long enough for us to get out of 
there ." 
" Hai , an Amazon is a very persistent warrior indeed ." Genma picked up . " A 
few days after our escape Shampoo and Perfume showed up again . Shampoo looking 
for...what did she say again ?"
" She was looking for 'the redhead girl' ," Ryouga answered . " and we still 
hadn't found out about hot water reversing the curse ." 
" Yes , thank you . So while Shampoo is chasing Ranma about Perfume comes up to 
Ryouga and gives him a different kind of kiss ." Genma paused for effect . " You 
see if a female Amazon is beaten by a male outsider she must marry him and bring 
his strong blood into the tribe ."
" Shampoo's after Ranma's head and Perfume is after Ryouga's hand ?" Nabiki 
raised an eyebrow .
" Hai , exactly ." 
" You got to be kidding me !" Akane huffed . " You can't expect us to believe 
that someone would actually marry for such a stupid reason ."
    As one Ryouga , Ranma , Genma and Kasumi stiffened .
" Hide ME !" Ranma and Ryouga begged Soun .
" Is that them ?" Kasumi asked Genma .
" I'm afraid so ." The big man nodded gravely .
" Kasumi are they really telling the tru-" 
    Akane was interrupted by the caving in of the outer wall behind the Tendo 
koi pond . Out of the Dust sprang two figures . One whirled two Chinese swords 
about , the other held a stout fighting staff .
"< Where is RANMA ! I have come for her life !>" The one with the swords shouted 
in Mandarin .
"< Not you two again .> Ryouga called back . " Next time we hide and hope they 
give up ." He added to Ranma in Japanese .
"< Where is Ranma ?>" The one with swords stepped forward menacingly . "< I have 
hunted her for months and my patience has been worn thin ! My honor calls out 
for her blood !!>" 
"< Oh , yes that will really make us eager to give her up .>" Ryouga's sarcasm 
was plain even to one who knew no Chinese at all .
"< My Husband !>" The staff wielder stepped towards Ryouga .
"< BACK !>" Ryouga half gasped half shouted , a stiff bandanna was in Ryouga's 
hand before either Amazon could blink .
" Speak Japanese !" Akane ordered them all . " My Chinese is awful ."
" The one with the swords is Shampoo , the other is Perfume ." Ryouga explained 
without taking his eyes off of either .
" By why doesn't she-" Akane began before Genma clamped a hand over her mouth .
" They don't know about Ranma's curse ." Genma whispered in her ear . " This way 
Ranma has a perfect disguise ."
" So now what ?" She asked Genma after the hand was removed .
" What always happens , we lose them again ." Genma looked to Ryouga . " It's 
your turn this time ."
" Wait , I thought it was mine last time . Don't we rotate by weeks ?" Ryouga 
glanced over his shoulder .
" And you've been lost for two ." The older man raised an eyebrow .
" Oh ." 
"< I'm getting impatient !>" Shampoo shouted raising her swords .
" Too bad ." Ryouga's arms flickered .
"< What in heaven's name....>" Shampoo stared at the severed blades falling to 
her feet .
"< You know the drill 'leave now or get hurt' I'm getting tired of this .>" 
Ryouga retrieved another bandanna . "< Why don't you just SAY you killed Ranma 
and go back to the village ?>"
"< I will hunt Ranma even if it takes the rest of my life !>"
"< She has to bring Ranma's severed head back as proof .>" Perfume explained .
" Oh ." 
"< Enough of this ! I'll take hostages then !>" Shampoo shifted to lunge for the 
nearest Tendo daughter , Kasumi . 
" No , enough of you two for tonight ." Ranma thought . With a faint double tap 
on the floor with his sword scabbard he signaled Ryouga to remain still . He 
checked to make sure the angle was right as he waited for Shampoo to begin her 
lunge . Then as she did he closed his eyes , opened his mind's eye and thumbed 
his katana out of it's sheath .
    The sound cut through everything like a diamond through glass . Even Shampoo 
somehow froze in her tracks .
" 'Only the sound of a killing sword being drawn will gain the attention of one 
who's killing ki burns for blood .'" He remembered his lord's soft but powerful 
voice lecturing him . " Yes , my liege lord , if nothing else you were very wise 
about human nature ." He thought .
    Careful to leave his eyes closed and his loosened sword ready to draw he 
stood . "< Shampoo no hurt anyone tonight . If Shampoo hurt Tendos , Shampoo 
will face this .>" He used the sword spirit technique to make his sword slowly 
inch out of the scabbard a little bit without either of his hands touching it's 
hilt . The effect was to shock everyone but Genma and Ryouga .
"< Shampoo go now .>" He chilled his voice , aiming to make her hot blood run 
cold .
"< I shall return for Ranma's head tomorrow !>" The Amazon vowed before leaping 
off .
"< You ?>" Eyes still closed and head slightly lowered Ranma faced Perfume .
"< I only came for my dear husband .>" The Amazon declared .
"< Since when did we get married ?>" Ryouga took an nervous step back , without 
the familiar element of combat the lost boy's confidence had fled .
"< The moment you bested me in battle my love !>" Dropping her staff Perfume 
lunged at Ryouga , arms wide for a lovers embrace .
" Thankyouforyourhospitalityandsosorrytoleavegoodbye !" Ryouga barely had time 
to bow deeply to Soun before running away a breakneck speed , Perfume in hot 
pursuit . 
" That was better than I thought it'd be ." Ranma smiled as he eased his sword 
fully back into it's scabbard .
" I thought my family was weird ." Akane shook her head .

                         *           *          *

    " So how long have you had this stuff set up ?" Akane asked her .
" Secret ." She dismissed . " Now sit down and listen ."
" Are you sure we should listen in on them ?" Kasumi asked .
" Yes . It took a week for bandanna boy to find his way back so it's a 
opportunity I want to take before he wanders off again ."
    The three sisters plugged their headphones into Nabiki's sound system .
'-ust a fluke I suppose .' Ryouga laughed .
' Now that we won't be traveling for a while we need to put a end to this Amazon 
foolishness .' Genma commanded .
' I hate ta say it but you got a point old man .' Ranma sighed .
' Glad to see you finally recognize my wisdom .'
' Just a fluke .' Ranma snorted with good humor .
' RANMA !'
    Genma's outburst was interrupted my the sound of the door being slid open .
' Saotome-kun , would you care to play a few games of shogi with me ?' Soun 
asked .
' He'll be glad to .' Ryouga answered .
' But-'
' Come Saotome-kun the saké is getting cold .'
' bu- saké ? Ranma I feel that you and Ryouga are old enough to solve your own 
troubles without too much help , but feel free to ask me for guidance .'
    The door slid shut with Genma and Soun's chat fading away .
' Finally .' Ryouga sighed .
' He means well , that's more than many can say .' Ranma sighed as well .
' So my old friend ...' Ryouga prompted .
    Ranma replied in the archaic speech that even after study Nabiki still 
couldn't follow at the speaking pace that Ranma and Ryouga used it . After a 
minuet of listening to them talk like that she gave up and yanked off the 
headphones .
" I'll have to translate the stupid recording ." She grunted .
" How long will that take ?" Akane asked .
" Maybe they want it private ?" Kasumi suggested . " Why else would they talk 
like that ?" 
" Why do I talk Mandarin to my Chinese contacts when they can speak Japanese ? 
Because I like it that way ."
" I'm not sure..." Kasumi pursed her lips .
" I'm not going to force you to do anything , but I want to know what they're 
saying ."
" Why not ask ?" Akane sniffed at her meaningfully .
" More fun this way ," She countered . " they won't know about it . 

                         *           *          * 

    " FINALLY !" She crowed , brandishing the now translated transcript .
" Now what the hell were they talking about ?" She said to herself as she set 
the "High School student's guide to old Japanese" on her bed .
    A line tap machine she had bought from a contact had recorded the 
conversation and with state-of-the-art voice recognition actually printed the 
conversation in something resembling close captioning or a play script . But she 
still had to translate the stupid phonetic romanji into modern Japanese . 

Ryouga : Finally .

Ranma : He means well , that's more than many can say .

Ryouga : So my old friend .

Ranma : I suppose it is time to end at least your Perfume trouble .

Ryouga : And what of Shampoo's claim on your alternate , um , body ?

Ranma : One thing at a time . Your dilemma is simpler to solve . -pause- While 
you were gone this time have been pondering how to end this . I failed to find 
any easy or simple solution with my troubles involving Shampoo .

Ryouga : However ?

Ranma : However , I have come to a conclusion on your Perfume dilemma .

Ryouga : I'm not killing her .

Ranma : I threw any solution involving bloodshed out instantly , besides if that 
had been it then why could not I kill Shampoo ?

Ryouga : True . -pause- then do not keep me waiting , old friend . What is it ?

Ranma : So simple I need to ask you not to hit yourself once I tell you .

Ryouga : Alright , what is it ?

Ranma : Simple , give in . Marry Perfume .

Ryouga : WHAT !

Ranma : Why not ?

Ryouga : Why should I ?

Ranma : Let's see . You speak perfect Mandarin , she is the only woman we know 
of that can track YOU , she loves you already , she is very beautiful , it would 
solve the problem , and did I already say she loves you ?

Ryouga : You did . But what about my feelings . I do not love her .

Ranma : Have you given her a chance ? Could you grow to love her ? -pause- 
besides how long has it been since you had a woman ? 

Ryouga : Too long . Waitamoment ! I still-

Ranma : My friend Ryouga . You know as well as I do that even with those that 
you find the most often such as myself you still are alone . The majority of 
your time is by yourself . She is the only one that can follow you . -pause- you 
don't have to be lonely any more .

Ryouga : I haven't had good experiences with women and relationships .

Ranma : And I have ? But I am willing to give the Tendo daughters a chance .

Ryouga : Not to be lonely any longer -pause- No promises but I shall give her a 
chance . -pause- Now you were saying about the Tendo daughters ?

Ranma : Wait a moment-

Ryouga : I say you either court that short haired one or the oldest .

Ranma : Two of them have short hair .

Ryouga : You pervert . One at a time .

Ranma : That is not what I meant and you know it . I shall give each of them 
three chances before I even consider any final decision .

Ryouga : Yes , it is settled then . -pause- We sound like we are making battle 
plans .

Ranma : Too serious even when we are trying to be lighthearted , neh ?

Ryouga : I suppose we still do have to learn something from your father .

Ranma & Ryouga in unison : But we will never admit it to his face . NEVER !

Ranma : We change so much but still the same in the fourth heart , neh ?

Ryouga : No one can change beyond what is in their nature . You just explore and 
broaden what you know of yourself . Nothing has changed , it's just what we use 
inside of us .

Ranma : How much is inside of us ?

Ryouga : I was once told 'It takes all your reincarnations up onto perfection to 
find all of yourself .'.

Ranma : I was told that one must be reincarnated more times than the number 
leaves on a giant oak to even come close to perfection .

Ryouga : I know .

Ranma : Who would have guessed us to be of the philosophical ilk ?

Ryouga : We are surprising people aren't we ? Look at us , back a year and we 
still speak in the old style instead of the vernacular . We grew up with modern 
but …

Ranma : Do you still think in the old style as I do ?

Ryouga : Most of the time .

Ranma : I told you that I once spoke with my lord about it didn't I ?

Ryouga : Yes , but I forgot what you told me he said .

Ranma : He said that I might alter my thoughts back to the way I was before , 
but it might be only like speaking a second language . The original will always 
be beneath the surface . What he did will never leave me …

Ryouga : Do you hate him for it ?

Ranma : Which part of me ? -pause- I want to hate him . A part of me does with 
all my heart , but another still pledges undying blind loyalty to him as my lord 
and master for all time . -pause- The rest simply wants it all in it's place , 
the past . We are home now , this is after the Meiji era , no more feudal system 
. We're kids again , kids don't worry about those matters .

Ryouga : We are children , yes , but then again we are not .

Ranma : Remember our resolution , right ? Adults only when needed , children the 
rest of the time as we should be . Besides we have more fun now don't we ?

Ryouga : True …May I ask one thing ?

Ranma : Anything .

Ryouga : The youngest , Akane-san , I believe she takes a fancy to me ? Would 
you be offended if I give her a chance as well ?

Ranma : Unless I choose her you have my blessing . We can be friendly rivals in 
women can't we ?

Ryouga : Eternal rivals , eternal friends , our karma's are linked , neh ?

Ranma : Yes , so strange … We are growing serious once more .

Ryouga : There exists only one solution .

Ranma : To beat each other into next year ?

Ryouga : Yes !

Ranma : TO THE DOJO !













Note from the author :  Sorry for the weird transition there . I'd been wanting 
to try out the script form instead of prose for a while now , but didn't feel 
like writing a whole fan fic just to try it out . Gomen ! 
    Whether or not I will use it again depends on reader response . 
Questions , comments , criticisms , et cetera . mail to  Ghaleon_WG@hotmail.com