Akane - The Monk Girl (Ranma 1/2 & Jubei-chan - The Ninja Girl fusion/crossover)

[Olvelsper]

Ranma Nibunnoichi is the property of Rumiko Takahashi. Jubei-chan: The Ninja Girl is the property of Akitaro Daichi. All additional references and parodies belong to their respective owners.

AN: This is an experiment with story pacing. Trying to find what's a good mix of plot, normal everyday slice of life, and adventure.

Akane: The Monk Girl

The Not So Bitter End

The night was eerily still and chilly. A dark haired young man in the prime of his youth calmly sat at attention in a room barely lit by two candles and the light sneaking into the hallway from a torch outside the room. His back was ramrod straight and his sky blue gaze was focused on the wall across from him. The brunet's gaze wandered slightly as he gazed around the mostly empty bedroom as he tried to ignore how cold he was through the thin white kimono he was wearing.

A haunting melody carried down to his room.

'Guess it's time.' Ranma Saotome, heir of his martial arts school thought. His bare toes flexed up against the mats in his bedroom. His shoulders twitched as he suddenly felt a crushing pressure settle down on him. 'I'm glad they as least gave me a fair chance.'

The martial artist gulped as he glanced to his right. A shadowy figure cut off the light coming in from the hallway outside. "Your time is up. Our sacred relic has not been returned as agreed upon." The speaker was a female. Her tone of voice was modulated as she tightly held onto control over herself. "Do you have any last words? I will tell them to her when she returns?"

"I didn't do it." Came first to Ranma's mind, but apparently that option had been taken off the table. There was also "You've got the wrong guy.", but that wasn't any good. Especially when said by the student of the man that had robbed them blind.

The teenager hemmed and hawed for a few moments in indecision, but his time ran out when the sound of steel drawing reached his ears. "Well, how about a question?" Ranma asked. He resisted the urge to tug on the short nub of a ponytail he had let grow. The martial artist sadly wished he had let those women cut his hair after his last bath. The urge to scratch at his scalp was driving him crazy right now.

The door slid open.

The chill of winter swept into the dark room. The two candle lights gutted out as the eerie howls lightly pranced around the room along with the funeral dirge he was being played by another of the maidens of the temple.

"That's acceptable." His would be executioner evenly replied as she moved next to him. From the way she stood so close to his kneeling form he couldn't exactly tell how tall she was in comparison to him. Or maybe it was just the flame obscuring her features and his own shot nerves that were making cognizant questions difficult.

Ranma realized he had at least five different ways to get out of this situation. Ten more if he took the girl hostage and made a break by leaping over the wooden railing that the torch was perched on. Various numbers ran though his head as he calculated the fall from the third story on himself and the warrior maiden.

She offered him a sheathed dagger.

More opportunities began to arise in his feverish mind as he added a weapon. The pros and cons of taking down the sword wielding woman versus distance having to watch his back from a hostile prisoner were also considered.

He discarded them. The martial artist reached for the dagger and gripped it with a solemn air. A little voice screaming for preservation above all yelled for his attention in the back of his head. "Thanks." Ranma politely replied. A little bit more inside of him shriveled up in fear as he consciously choice to ignore his instincts once in his life.

Ranma's fingers twitched as he gripped the weapon. It was a bit awkward holding onto the knife. He fumbled it once as he hand jerked as he brought it to hold it in front of his belly. He winced as it clattered to the ground in front of him loudly.

The woman tensed. The partially drawn katana at her side gleamed in the harsh red light emitted from the torch outside the room. Her fingers moved to push it out slightly move as her head moved towards the fallen weapon.

The martial artist held his breath. Scenarios of her just drawing the sword in one quick slash and beheading him ran in his head. His nerves slowly began to relax over the next two minutes as the woman's rigid posture smoothed out.

The swords woman traded deadly efficiency with calm politeness. "Be careful." She quietly chided. The executioner must have realized her own faux pas, though. She breathed out a long, weary sigh as she moved down to kneel in front of him. "For what it's worth...I'm sorry." She plucked the weapon off the ground.

Ranma winced. He had hoped she might have forgotten that. "...well, I am too, I guess." He took the weapon with the assurance that came with coming to terms with death. "So...my question." The martial artist began as the woman rose.

"Yes?" The woman responded as she moved behind him.

The martial artist thought about the harsh words his master had spoken. His rounded cheeks and small frame had visibly shaken as he said things to the maidens he had never heard before. "What did Master Happosai mean by what he said?" Ranma wondered. Best to go facing his death educated instead of wondering about things while stumbling about in the next life.

"Ah..." The swords woman sighed. The woman felt pity well up for the child. "Just never say that to a woman, child. It's not polite." The naivety in his words and tone struck her, but it was time to finish things off.

"I see..." Ranma drew the dagger out of its sheath. "It must be tough to be a woman." With that, the dagger was thrust and twisted. The katana gleamed as it swung. From the distance, one particular torch was put out for the night.

*****

A loud and annoying mixture of cawing and warbling filled Akane Tendo's ears. The long haired brunette was currently staring up at the ceiling of her bedroom with veiny red eyes. Her expression was drooped around her cheeks as she merely kept resting beneath her covers. She had grand plans.

Plans to learn to incinerate things with her mind.

The nuisance that was her alarm continued to aid Akane in attempting to spontaneously master the feat, but even the girl had her limits. She rolled over to her left side. The teenager took a deep, calming breath and gently smacked the snooze button with her right hand.

Her left hand was used to cross her fingers.

The screeching noise swiftly cut off, and Akane was further rewarded by not hearing any of the delicate interior of the alarm clock from breaking apart on her. The tired girl completed her roll off the bed and stretched her arms above her head.

A yawn shot out of her throat as Akane blearily looked out the window directly facing her bed. The empty granite pool in the backyard stood in the middle of a yard that sparkled slightly with dew from the night. The surface of the grass gleamed as the sun just started to rise in the distance.

"Hm...gotta get ready." 

Akane's pajama sleeves and the bottoms of her bottoms both were longer than her body, but the girl merely noisily clicked her tongue and knelt to rolled the material up. She staggered around a pile of manga and school books as she headed for her door. Several toys she had outgrown, music CDs, and both paperback and hardcover books were sloppily stuffed on several bookcases she had along her walls.

The girl grinned a bit as she looked over at her desk. A picture of Akane, her two sisters, and parents were arrayed in front of the front door of her house. Her expression fell though as she considered what had happened sometime afterward.

Akane paused at the trash bin next to the door.

Three broken alarm radios silently rested there. They glared up at her with broken or shattered screens. One of them even tipped slightly to the left as the trio of broken electronics almost shifted in response to Akane's dirty glare.

'Hmph. It was you or me.' Akane justified. She opened the door with a little more heat than necessary as she headed out to the bathroom. The door bounced slightly open with the force she used to close it as she headed out to get ready for school.

*****

Akane hummed to herself as she came out of the shower. A large towel was wrapped around her long hair to dry it out. The girl herself, clad in a thick and flowing bathrobe and fuzzy slippers, paced down the empty and cool hallways. She occasionally made grimaces at her own half-hearted tones as her humming cracked or went flat in comparison to the songs bouncing around her head.

'The Siren, I am not.' She thought in amusement as she lightly placed a hand on the railing for the stairs and descended down to the dark first floor. Her footsteps shuffled as she walked past the empty living room and headed towards the kitchen.

The brown eyed girl hesitated. Akane glanced between the quiet kitchen and the abandoned dojo in the other part of the house for a few moments. Her stomach decided things for her, though. A low rumble quaked through her body as she stepped towards the kitchen.

'Sorry, I'll pray extra hard later.' The young Tendo thought.

Akane reached for the light switch. Artificial light flooded the dim kitchen as Akane set to working. The teenager's motions were stilted as she let her mind go on vacation. Mechanical motions that had been hammered into her body allowed her to prepare plenty of rice along with equally simple dishes. Quantity over quality.

The tools of the trade, assorted pots, pans, and other odds and ends that her mother and oldest sister used to use were used without conscious acknowledgment of them. Water ran quickly from the faucet as Akane twisted the nobs for full flow as her motions started shifting. The mechanical motions grew more and more forceful as the empty look that Akane had forced onto her mind began to slowly twist as she became aware of her surroundings.

Akane let off a soft cluck as she knocked the tip of her tongue against the roof of her mouth. She shook her head and finished up the last of the preparations. The teenager walked past the refrigerator in the kitchen and spotted a white note. Or it might have been white at one point. Several smudges and stains were on the frayed looking paper.

'Akane, call daddy. It's been too long. - Nabiki.' Was written flawlessly. Her middle sister always did have beautiful penmanship.

The young Tendo girl sighed and moved the rest of her dishes onto the table. It had been moved  a month ago by Akane so it would overlook the backyard. "Thank you for the wonderful meal."  Akane mumbled to herself as she sat down at the head of the table and glanced at the yard. She wondered what it'd be like to have some koi and use that empty basin in the middle of the yard as a pond again.

The teenager snapped her chopsticks in two and took her first bite. "Blargh." Akane grimaced. The normal tastelessness of her food tasted vaguely gritty this morning for some reason. She looked at the five dishes she had made for herself and the small rice cooker she had on hand and fidgeted in shame.

Time to break out the sauce.

*****

"I'll be back later." Akane mumbled back to her home. She closed and locked the door before starting down a leisurely stroll towards Furinkan High. The teenager had about an hour or so before class would begin. There was nothing that needed taking care of in her club so she'd just take it easy today.

"Good morning, Ran!" Akane suddenly heard from behind. The long haired brunette grimaced and twisted in place to look behind her. One of the girls from her school raced up to her, clad in the long blue dress and white blouse that Akane was also wearing. She was a pale young girl with oily black hair and freckles along the bridge of her nose. "I didn't know that you lived here!"

Akane waited until the girl caught up to her. "Maybe it's because I didn't want to be found out?" She snarked. A faint smile was on her face, though. "Especially by people that don't bother using my real name?"

"Oh, you're such a tease, Ran!" The other girl laughed it off as she joined Akane. Both girls started walking towards the school side by side. "We're practically neighbors at this point." She decisively concluded.

"Uh-huh." Akane replied. The neighborhood around the two of them was quiet at this time of the day. Many of the people who worked here were from either martial arts families. So either already gone to open the rather large number of dojos in the district or just barely rising to go to more 'normal' jobs. "Is that so?"

"Yeah." The girl continued. "I had always wondered why your house always looked so abandon...ed." She bit down on her lip hard as Akane's brown eyes, which had been warm up to now, hardened as she snapped her gaze over towards the black haired girl.

"Hey..." The young Tendo began. She took a step forward. "Not cool." She enunciated the words with a glare. Her hand, which had been gripping onto a worn leather schoolbag, tightened around the hold on it. The leather creaked.

The girl shook her head and stepped away from Akane. A look of shame entered her eyes. "U-um...sorry about that, Ran!" She turned and practically fled away from Akane.

'Well...that's a wonderful start to the day.' Akane sadly thought. Her head dropped as she stared at the ground for the next few minutes as she plodded along. The fascinating pattern of cracked lines on the sidewalk below terminated.

The rows of houses around Akane broke up. A storm drain stretched out the sides of the road.

"Don't resist!" A loud voice boomed, causing Akane to jump in place as she looked up in fear. The source of the voice was a police officer several yards away. He was holding onto a positively ancient looking old man with thin white hair. His body was small and clad in a what appeared to be an excessively dirty looking gi.

Despite his size he was quite readily putting up quite a fight, though. Before Akane's shocked eyes, the old man twisted in place. His tiny hands blurred as they struck the police officer across the chest and stomach. The taller man immediately roared in pain as his arms let go of the old man. He easily landed and began to rush away from the officer.

Yet the old man had clearly underestimated Nerima's finest. The police officer gathered his wits as he grasped a baton from his side. "Stop right there, criminal scum!" And unleashed it with enough force to clear the gap between him and the running old man.

The old man yelped in a high pitched and nasally tone as the baton smacked him in the back. The suspect stumbled down to one knee as the baton bounced off to his side. It was enough to stun him long enough for the officer to cover the gaping distance between the two, but it didn't ensure his capture. The old man shook his head and cackled as he rose to his feet.

"It'll take more than that to capture Happosai!" The old man shouted as he rushed off with all the vigor and power of youth.

"Damn! Get back here!" The officer roared as he raced after the old man.

Akane remained standing where she was in stunned shock. The teenager shook her head to throw off  the sight of the two figures running away. "Oh well. Not my problem, I guess..." She started crossing the bridge over the storm drain. On the way across the bridge, she saw the police baton was lying on the ground in two pieces.

'Yikes. Martial artists are pretty scary people.' The schoolgirl thought as she bent down and picked up the two broken pieces. Akane decided to stuff them away in her bag to toss them away later as she put the whole situation out of her thoughts. The rest of the trip to Furinkan High was made in relative silence.

*****

Happosai wheezed as he rushed through the slowly filling streets. He curious pedestrians while simultaneously dodging strikes and attempts at grabbing him from others who had spotted the police officer that was chasing after him.

'I need water!' The shriveled up man angrily thought. A rotund man in a white martial arts gi dove at him, but Happosai simply leapt high over his grasping hands and bounced off the man's head before flying forwards.

"Get back here!" The police officer kept a hand on top of the brown cap on his head as his long brown coat bounced around his legs. The younger man was quickly catching up to Happosai at the pace he was setting.

'Stupid girl! It's all her fault that I'm so dried out now!' Happosai angrily thought. Another wave of exhaustion hit him as he swiftly turned a corner. His eyes brightened as he saw an old woman cleaning the front of her home with a wooden ladle and a bucket full of water. 'That's it!' He happily reached into his small brown gi and withdrew a ceramic ladle.

The object was cracked and looked like it had to be pieced together with different materials. The top half of the bowl that held the water was creamy brown to the bottom half's darker tone. A black gemstone was embedded in the center of this bowl.

"Hotcha!" The old men cheered as he dove towards the old woman. She let out a shriek of fright as she turned and ran away from Happosai. Her own ladle and bucket were dropped in her rush, and the bucket tipped over and started spilling the precious liquid.

Happosai's eyes narrowed as he sped up as much as his current form could tolerate to try and scoop up at least a little bit of water into his own ladle. However, he was forced to terminate his forward charge as a gleaming kunai, sharpened to a fine edge, slammed down in between Happosai and his target. The ground erupted in an explosive wave of energy that slammed him backwards. The old man yelped and furiously slapped at his gi to put out the tiny flames on his clothing as he slowly crawled to his feet and glared upwards with a soot stained face.

"That hurt, Ukyo!" Happosai shouted up at a silent woman alighted on top of a nearby power pole. She was dressed in a short blue sleeveless kimono with black leggings and long lacquered crimson gauntlets on her arms. A long trail of sandy brown hair trailed down her back from a high ponytail held in place with a white ribbon. She had a thin smile on her face as she held up her left hand, showing off six more kunai in her hands.

"That's good." Ukyo Kuonji mused as her deep blue eyes gazed at him with unbridled hate. "Let's try and repeat that experience, yes?"

"...heh. So you want to go again, right? It's not going to bring him back." Happosai's playful expression went a bit dark as he glanced up at her. "That's fine with me," He bounced back to his feet. "Lady Kuonji!"

Ukyo roared in anger as she unleashed the kunai. Happosai rapidly backpedaled as the kunai explosively tore through more and more of the street around the two. The old man streaked past the police officer, who was stunned still at seeing the gaping holes blown in the street long enough for Happosai to break past him.

The woman snarled and leapt away from the pole she was standing on towards another. She kept the pace going as she continued lobbing more explosive weapons down at her target. The few people on the streets screamed and began to panic as the fighting began to spill over towards the streets they were walking on.

"You're going to kill all these people, Ucchan!" Happosai taunted the mad woman above him. His words incited her to even greater levels of rage as he barely kept away from her attacks. "I don't think Ranma would like you very much now!"

Ukyo took a deep breath to respond, but she was completely blown off feet as a small stop sign came smashing towards her guts at thirty miles an hour. The woman came crashing down to the ground in a dazed heap along with the sign, which still had cement clinging to the bottom of it.

"...hey!" The police officer roared as he pulled his left arm back from where he had flung the stop sign like a spear. "You just crossed the line, lady!" He snarled as he adjusted his hat on top of his head as he glared at Ukyo.

"Hahah! Good work, officer!" Happosai crowed. By now, he had put enough distance that it'd be impossible for either of the two to keep up. He jauntily waved his ladle over at the man. "I'll make sure not to peek at any women undressing for...the next ten minutes, okay?" With a final laugh, he rushed away from scene of the fight.

"Damn." He cursed, but he at least had managed to stop the woman from hurting people.

"Y-you idiot..." Ukyo coughed as she struggled to her knees. Steam hissed off her body as her image wavered. Her silky brown hair grew dry as it began to shrink. Her outfit began getting stains and cuts on it as her overall appearance grew haggard. "Ngh. Now he's free to get water again." The brunette sighed as she brought her hands up. Ukyo's fingers twitched in a odd looking formation of patterns. Her body flickered out of sight as a large collection of smoke erupted outwards from where she was kneeling.

"Damn!" The officer smashed his fists together in frustration. His hat was blown off his head with the air flow generated by the force of his blows. The officer immediately panicked as he turned to chase after his hat. The wind kept taunting him by keeping it just out of reach of the police officer.

'I swear I'll catch you two troublemakers!' Ayato Hibiki angrily thought as he looked over the area. Several damaged buildings spread out as far as the eye could see.  He was so going to get his pay docked again.

*****

"Ran! We need your help!" One of the outliers of the Kendo Club assaulted Akane the moment she stepped through the gates to the school. The brown haired boy looked absolutely panicked as he clasped his hands together in front of him.

Akane groaned as she gazed over at him. "What is it this time, Shutaro-san?" Still, better to get harassed now than when there was absolutely no time before classes started. She offered him a faint smile to try and soften her last statement.

"Ah, Kuno-sempai is forcing everyone to keep practicing! At this rate Jun is going to get kicked out of school!" Aki Shutaro bowed to the manager of the Kendo Club. "She's too timid to go against Kuno-sempai's words. She's going to stay in there until he's satisfied and..."

"Be completely late by the time it's all over, yes." Akane sighed. She wished the absent minded teenager realized that the rest of the members of the club didn't have ins with the principal of the school, and wouldn't have their tardiness tolerated.

Especially by the school's disciplinary committee. That pack of freaks even got her to back down some days.

"So...can you free them?" Aki hopefully asked. "No one else is as strong as you."

Akane raised an eyebrow, causing Aki to blush and amend his statement.

"Uhm. Without being one of 'those' martial artists." He stammered.

Akane chuckled, "I was almost one myself, Shutaro-san." Her teasing remark got the boy to start nervously twitching and trying to correct himself. "But don't worry. I get what you mean. I'll break your girlfriend out."

"T-thank you, Ran!"  Aki grinned. "I'll go tell Jun the good news!" He turned and raced away.

Akane sighed as she shook her head. "Must be nice." She muttered as she slung her bag lazily over her right shoulder. The young Tendo quickly made her way across the open field in front of Furinkan towards the back where the private dojo lay. Principal Kuno quite frankly spoiled his son rotten sometimes.

'Guess visiting California does that to people?' The teenager wondered as she slid open the door to the dojo and entered after trading her shoes for some of the slippers provided for the members. The entire club was gathered together this morning in the large one room dojo beyond the walk in room.

Akane's upperclassman was standing at the head of the club dressed in his white gi and long blue hakama pants as he always did when in club. The older teenager looked cool and fresh as he repeatedly showed off the same swing over and over again for the benefit of the others.

'Ah, as obsessed as ever, I see.' Akane mused.

Several of them looked to be on their last legs, but none of them voiced their complaints. Their various significant others looked to be on the verge of all out assaulting Tatewaki Kuno, though. The older teenager didn't seem to mind their presence.

"You're torturing them!" One of the more melodramatic boys standing along the row of students yelled.

"Are you in this club?" Tatewaki responded.

"...no?" The student questioningly replied.

"Then shut up." Or particularly care, perhaps.

Akane rubbed her forehead as the student was held back by two of their members. She really hated having to be the bridge between the loonies some days.

"I demand passion!" Tatewaki shouted at the group of teenagers before him. "I demand precision!" He continued with another hard swing. "You all have the same drive as I, but we must refine it! Don't let these losers drag you down!"

"Stop adding fuel to the fire, idiot!" In a flash, Akane was firing one half of the police officer's baton straight at Tatewaki. It bounced his head with a particularly loud thump. Almost like if the man's charisma had broken, the other members of the club scattered. Some flew back to their significant others' sides or others just plain ran to get showered off and dressed once they saw the time displayed on the clock above Tatewaki's head. 

"Aah...that hurt." Tatewaki blinked. The mania in his eyes faded as he rubbed at the spot the baton had struck him. He turned his gaze over towards Akane, who was moving towards him like a missile. "Good show, Manager-san!" He raised his boken in salute.

"Not everyone can afford to be missing out on class like you can, Kuno-sempai." Akane declared for what seemed like the hundredth time this month.

"B-but we were simply pursuing the beauty of the Art!" Tatewaki defended himself.

"Yes, but they will get expelled or fed over to the sharks in the Disciplinary Committee." Akane bluntly replied. The dark haired teenager began to energetically wave his bokken about as anger covered his face.

"Then we must ride forth and defeat them!" Tatewaki took a breath to continue, but Akane reached over and pinched his nose, causing him to start coughing and gagging. "Why are you doing that?" He asked Akane in a dry tone.

"You alright now?" Akane merely responded.

"...yes'm." Tatewaki drooped.

"Good." The teenager let go of her upperclassman's nose. "You're learning." She patted him on the cheek.

Tatewaki grumbled as he took slouching steps out of his dojo. "Evil only wins when good men do nothing!" He accused over his shoulder.

Akane beamed him a sunny grin. "Then a good woman will be waiting to kick its ass, then." She skipped past Tatewaki fast enough that she didn't see the faint blush on his cheeks as his eyes followed after her passage.

*****

Two figures clashed high above the rooftops of Nerima late that afternoon. One of them was an averaged sized man in a brown gi. His brown hair gleamed with the luster of rejuvenated energy and his dark gaze was sharper than ever. They both landed, separated by the wide street.

"Ukyo, just give up and go find some water. This is getting just sad." The man held a ceramic ladle in front of him like a weapon. Its stone looked polished and whole.

Ukyo gasped and huffed for breath as she held a rusty kunai at the ready. "I'm...not going away that easily, Happosai!" Her outfit was nothing but dirty brown rags at this point. Her hair was cut boyishly short as dirt and famine clung to her body in equal measures.

"I'm only interested in women, m'boy." Happosai taunted. He twirled the ladle around in his hands as he preened. "Not quite interested in underdeveloped teenagers like you with these looks." He boasted as he tapped his chest with his weapon.

"Ha...you're just like me...you cheat." Ukyo gasped. The teenager found it terribly hard to concentrate on pulling any of her flagging reserves to her. "Just magic you're using. Nothing more!" She angrily retorted. "You're spitting on the memory of Ranchan using that artifact like that!"

"Oh, my heir would have been happy to provide for his master's retirement, I'm sure." Happosai shrugged off his words. "Better than the madness you want to use it for. Giving it back to them isn't going to make Ranma come back to life, you know!"

"It belongs to my family's descendants..." Ukyo retorted. "It's the only way he can be cleared of blame and move on!"

"Well, then just try and take it back from me, then? I'd be happy moving on with my life if you somehow took it away from me." Happosai smiled happily. "Oh wait, I'm afraid you're just not strong enough!" 

"Just remember those words when I enforce them, demon!" Ukyo shouted as she threw herself at Happosai.

"Ready or not, here I come!" Happosai chortled as he jumped straight at her.

Both the ladle and Ukyo's kunai met in mid-air. The magic between the two objects violently reacted as the two opposing elemental forces within clashed. Ukyo and Happosai were sent soaring away from each other as the invisible tension between the two weapons reacted by repelling each other. A growing spark of magic formed between the two flying martial artists that rapidly spread into a massive dome of energy.

Happosai and Ukyo both let out screams of pain as they were each clipped. The man's left foot and woman's right foot spasmed as they felt all of the magic in their bodies be drawn into the sphere. They instinctively curled in on themselves with pain in mid-flight. This was the only thing that saved them as the massive sphere of energy collapsed in on itself before exploding outwards in a rolling wave of force.

Windows shattered and people were knocked to their feet as the kinetic energy slammed Happosai and Ukyo, and aided their fight away from each other. Ukyo felt her kunai dissolve and vision start going to black. She quickly calculated her flight path, and used her life forces to at least have her land somewhere empty.

Ukyo's figure vanished in a burst of light.

*****

Akane let out a shriek as she heard a loud thump echo from the alley she had just passed on her way back home. She quickly spun around and looked at the direction. Only one of the city's garbage cans, tipped over on its side, appeared in her sight.

The brunette sighed, but immediately went bone white as she saw a hand flop out from behind the large plastic can. "Oh no, hey! Snap out of it!" The teenager rushed over towards the can, unheeding of anything besides the teenage girl that was slumped behind the can. She looked absolutely slovenly and was letting out pathetic wheezes as she stirred at her voice.

Akane looked around in a panic.

"W-water...please...I need..." The homeless teenager below her moaned pitifully. Her loose, oily strands of brown hair rubbed against the stained ground. "Just...a little bit." She begged with a hoarse throat.

That made the decision for Akane.

"C'mon, we're getting you home." Akane insisted as she dipped down. She ignored the smell lingering about the woman as she hauled the brown haired teenager up to her feet. Both of them stumbled out of the alley as they headed towards Akane's home.

...

Happosai shakily crawled out of the crater he had created with his body. He had used the last of his life forces to have his magic protect him,but now he had found himself in the middle of a street. Several onlookers gawked at him, but the majority were trying to ignore the old man as he began to wobble away.

One of the more brave pedestrians, a young gray haired foreigner wearing a large traveling pack, moved up to Happosai. "Hey, do you need any help?" He offered a hand towards the wobbling old man.

Happosai angrily slapped the offered hand away, "I'm fine, thank you." He groused. Unlike Ukyo, he willingly gave up mass when he lacked magic, so he would be fine without water. Yet his ears perked up as the gray haired man shrugged and started moving. The sound of several bottles of water could be heard from within the pack.

"H-hey wait! Can I get a bottle of water?" Happosai instantly tried to present a feeble front.

The gray haired man snorted as he turned his green eyes on the old man with a sharp gaze, "500 yen." He replied with a straight face.

"What! That's outrageous!"

"Then you get no water. I'm a merchant, and I'm not in the habit of being friends with thankless people like yourself." The gray haired man turned and started away.

"F-fine, then! Give me a bottle." Happosai angrily took out a coin from his gi. Bottle and coin were tossed at each other from five feet away. The old man was actually surprised the young man was able to catch it so easily.

"Pleasure doing business with you." The merchant smirked as he blended back into the crowd.

"...hmph." Happosai broke the cap on his bottle of water and thirstily chugged it down. He felt his strength start returning to him. The last bit of the water was poured into his ladle. The dark stone at the bottom of the ceramic artifact glowed as it infused the water with magic.

Happosai eagerly grinned as he tensed to splash himself.

"-oops!" The elderly man felt himself get jarred. "-sorry!" A dark haired teenager in a school uniform apologized as the water in the ladle wound up splashing him on the knee.

"Eh." Happosai sweated. A curly haired man dressed in an immaculate white gi and long blue hakama pants stood where a school clad teenager had bumped into Happosai. In his left hand a shining steel katana shone.

The man rapidly blinked as he looked around the area before focusing on Happosai. Then specifically on the item in Happosai's hands. Electricity crackled along the surface of his katana as a look of interested crossed his eyes. Happosai turned to flee, but a bolt of lightning streaked out from the katana to strike the old man down as the man swung at him with his sword.

"Halt, vile troll! You shall not get away from the noble Blue Thunder, Tatewaki Kuno – age 17, so easily!" Tatewaki's voice was oozing with flamboyance as a thunder bolt answered him as he held his sword up. It was indeed blue.

And it was enough to knock Happosai clear out when it struck him down.

"Aah, you killed him!" One of the rubberneckers nearby shouted. Tatewaki put on a sincere smile as he turned towards the crowd around him. The katana vanished from his grasp as he shook his head in denial.

"Do you not see? The foul demon yet breathes." Tatewaki gestured towards Happosai, who was currently face up. His cloaking and hair looked frizzy and lightly burnt, but people could see that the man was still alive.

"Oh."

The crowd murmured amongst themselves as they hesitantly let it go before the man's pleasant facade. Tatewaki walked over towards the old man. "Hm...what an interesting device." He mused as he snatched the ladle away from the man.

Happosai groaned.

"I think we will need to have a little chat." The samurai banished his katana with a thought. He grabbed onto Happosai and started off to his mansion. "A good, long talk."

*****

Akane's nose twitched as her passenger moaned in pain. She immediately chastised herself as thoughts of setting the homeless girl down somewhere crossed Akane's mind. The young Tendo fought back the growing urge to just get a breath of fresh air into the back of her mind. "We're almost there." She told the other teenager as she kept her eyes firmly locked on a corner market convenience store.

The few people who were just gaping at Akane and her passenger were driven away by a sharp look.

Akane began to assist the girl into the store with her. The young man standing behind the counter glanced up. His eyes immediately widened as he focused on how bedraggled the girl with Akane looked. The man dipped down beneath the counter and pulled out a cloth rag and a bottle of glass cleaner.

"Cleaning." He mouthed to Akane as he moved to stand directly in front of the doors and set to clean the glass on the doors.

Akane gave the man a dry look.

'Oh, that's how it's going to be?'

The man merely glanced over at the teenager Akane was holding up. A small group of people began to line up behind Akane as the clerk and Akane entered a staring match. The clerk gave vigorous wipes of the glass while Akane firmly stood in place.

"Hey, are you going to be taking forever?"

"...mommy, what stinks?"

"Hush!"

The young Tendo's temper began to fray at the edges. Her own stubbornness began to set in as she firmly stood her ground. The crowd's murmuring increased as Akane and clerk both locked fierce gazes together.

A particularly noisy woman shouted, "Look, just get out of the way!" The schoolgirl felt someone shift behind her as Akane merely kept holding her ground. The squirming behind the teenager made her think someone was trying to decide on what to do next.

'I would have shoved myself aside by now.' Akane mused to herself as she kept engaging in a staring contest with the clerk.

The homeless girl's painful moan decided it for Akane.

'I can't let myself get into a stupid staring contest.' Akane thought in shame. 'I don't have time to try and 'win'.'

Akane moved aside with a flicker of guilt in her gut. Several people gave her faintly disproving frowns as they were allowed into the store by the clerk. The teenager helped the homeless girl down so she rested up against the store. "One second." Akane begged apology to the homeless girl as she quickly made to move into the store.

The clerk briefly glanced at Akane disapprovingly, but made to move back behind his counter as he allowed the brunette into the store. The teenager swallowed the curses that were bubbling up in her guts as she went in directly towards the bottles of water and picked several up. She felt several eyes on her as ducked in between aisles and picked up some strong aspirins too, just in case.

Akane fairly slammed the items down on the counter.

The clerk frowned.

"...sorry. Ring me up now." Akane said. A moment passed between the girl and the young man. "Please."

Akane fairly flew out of the convenience store once she paid for her purchases. The homeless girl looked as shaky looking as ever as she rested up against the bricks below the window of the store. Akane squatted down and twisted open the top of a bottle of water.

Akane started breaking open a cap of aspirin once she passed the water over to the ragged looking girl."Here, do you need some medicine?" Next to her was a large plastic bag with more bottles of cool water along with other over the counter medicines.

The homeless girl desperately attempted to make her lips fuse around the neck of the plastic bottle as she eagerly sucked down the water. Akane's brown eyes shimmered in worry with the other teenager's reactions as she rolled the bottle of aspirin between her hands nervously.

"...gah!" The brown haired girl cut off her thick gulps off as she wheezed for breath. The bottle limply dropped from her hands as she shook her head as she gazed at Akane in surprise. "No...I'm fine." Her deep blue eyes focused on Akane's brown eyes searchingly. "Thank you. I'm Ukyo Kuonji." The newly introduced girl softly added.

"Oh...well, I'm glad." Akane replied with an honest smile. She let the bottle of aspirin drop back into the plastic bag. She thrust it out towards Ukyo. When Akane saw that Ukyo was looking at her in confusion, she provided an explanation. "Here, this is yours, then."

A look of alarm crossed Ukyo's eyes.

"Wait-" She was cut off by Akane.

"I don't need it." The young Tendo replied as she pressed it into Ukyo's hands. Akane blinked as thick calluses closed on top of the Tendo girl's relatively softer hands.

"I..."

Akane stood up. She gave her blue skirt a hard shake once before she offered her a hand up. "My name's Akane Tendo." She gave Ukyo a sunny smile. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Ah...the pleasure is all mine." Ukyo matched Akane's smile with one of her own. Her grimy hand grasped Akane's hand as both girls worked together to get the brown haired girl on her feet. Both girls stayed standing next to each other as Akane asked her next question.

"Do you think you could follow me to a clinic nearby?" Akane wondered.

Ukyo softly gripped the plastic bag. Over the years chasing Happosai down, she had run into this sort of situation time and time again. She couldn't afford to give up the chase now. Happosai was at his absolute weakest at this time.

"I'm sorry, but I have to..."

"Please! It'll just be a half hour, tops!" Akane begged. Ukyo suddenly noticed that Akane hadn't let go of her hand. "You might be okay right now, but you did pass out. That can't be normal."

"I..." Ukyo remembered all the times she had been in this situation. She always ran the risk of being chased by truant officers and other government officials if she ever stumbled into a hospital after a devastating loss to Happosai. Especially if her magic failed catastrophically enough to send her back to her original body.

Akane squeezed her hand. Her eyes shone with nothing but concern.

"...okay." Ukyo allowed. The cheer Akane let out was infectious enough to make the homeless girl smile.

'Just wait for me a little bit more Ranchan.' The short haired brunette thought.

*****

The window to Tatewaki's second story room was ajar. The curtains fluttered as the wind came in through where the samurai and his captive had crawled into the building from. The twenty five year old quirked his head from side to side as he inspected his image in the full length mirror in his walk in closet.

"Haa..."

The charred form of Happosai lay on top  of Tatewaki's bed, wrapped up from head to toe in the covers. He hadn't woken up once since he had hit him with that last thunderbolt. It was always good to be cautious, though.

Tatewaki held his hands up to his face and inspected them. He could see where the callouses he had built up over the year were reinforced with more on his hands. Clenching his fists flexed muscles that had been developed along the lines he had always dreamed about.

He twisted in place as he turned towards the ceramic ladle set one of the chairs he had set up in the spacious closet. The object was heavily damaged, but the dark stone embedded within the ladle was whole. The senses he had been granted seemed to react to that gemstone.

'Are you what made me this way?' Tatewaki wondered as he leaned over to inspect the stone more. It was shaped like those club from card decks and glowed with an inner power that had his senses of danger ringing.

"Dangerous..." Tatewaki thought with a smile. "But interesting." He picked the ladle up. The heir of the Kuno estate had been splashed with water coming from this item before he had been changed. Maybe it was best to run some experiments?

The man turned back and walked over towards his bed. The large, four pillar western bed was a bit excessive to Tatewaki's eyes, but it made his father happy. He reached over and roughly shook the old man awake.

"Sha...?" The man wheezed as he blinked his wide eyes up at Tatewaki.

"Tell me your name." The samurai ordered. "Then how to get this to work."

The fog of confusion lifted from the old man's face as he sneered angrily. "What makes you think I'm going to do...yeowtch!" His steadily rising voice was interrupted as Tatewaki ran a small amount of voltage into the old man's leg.

"Your name and function of this." Tatewaki replied as he held up the ladle. "Or I can always smash it. I suppose." He mused. "It'd be disappointing, but I have no need for something I don't know how to use, right?"

Tatewaki was secretly pleased as the old man went pale.

"Nonono! I'll talk! I'll talk! My name is Happosai Saotome!" Happosai babbled. Tatewaki took his hand off the old man at the sign of cooperation. The smaller male frowned, but continued. "It works with water. It grants a transformation ability afterward. Cold water changes the object, person, or animal into whatever they secretly wish to be. Hot water turns them back."

"Well, that just explains part of it." Tatewaki replied. Lightning crackled between his fingers. "I do believe I never wanted to literally be the Blue Thunder." He reasonably mused.

"That's...I'm not sure how that works." Happosai admitted with annoyance in his tone. "I just stole the thing. All I know is that when I got the transformation power, I could use magic. You can too now. But it comes at a cost. Water from the closest source."

Tatewaki gave the old man, and his dried and shriveled looking skin, a piercing look. "Ah, well, I'd best stop my casual displays of magic, then." He dismissed the lightning once he noticed that he was feeling a bit thirsty himself.

Happosai sighed.

"Well, this sort of puts a cramp on things." Tatewaki admitted. A lazy grin crossed his face. The heir of the Kuno fortune didn't notice as the black gem in the ladle gleamed with an inner light. "Still...it's not an unconquerable challenge."

The old man glanced up in alarm. "W-wait! Drop the ladle right now, brat! You don't know what you're dealing with."

Tatewaki snorted. He turned and started out to his bedroom's door. "I imagine you'd say that, but it doesn't matter now, does it? I'll have one of the staff come and attend to you in exchange for the information." He paused as he opened the door. "Oh, and I suppose to repay you for this. It's only fair." Tatewaki had a rather possessive grip on the ladle as he strode out as the old man began to curse and shout.

*****

The clock on the wall five P.M.

The cozy office of Dr. Tofu Ono was only about a ten minute walk away from her home. On arrival, they had managed to get Ukyo seen by the doctor when Akane had explained the situation, and the homeless girl had been lead away by the kind doctor after a few reassurances that Akane would wait. Akane had busied herself by cleaning up the small waiting room and back room that had a mountain of paperwork from the doctor's various patients all clustered in towers of folders.

Akane had gone ahead and tended to the waiting room and front desk as best as she could. She didn't want to mess around with any of the secretary's things here, and she wasn't quite confident enough to go and check behind the third door, which lead up to a staircase that connected the clinic on the bottom floor of Tofu's practice with his residence upstairs.

It was something to help out, but Akane didn't want to walk up into the doctor's home. Even though they had known each other since she was a young girl. A few moments of mindlessly pacing around the waiting room led to boredom as she plopped down on a pleather couch and lost herself by plucking a random magazine off the shelf.

In the blink of an eye, it was now 5:20 P.M.

Akane looked up as Tofu walked out into the waiting room. Moments later, Ukyo stepped out besides him. She gave him a cautious glance, but the man nodded as she took the door leading up to Tofu's residence. A folded set of clothing which resembled the doctor's own usual outfit of a black robe was gently clutched in her hands.

Ukyo glanced at Akane with a small trace of fear in her eyes. Akane gave her an encouraging nod. Ukyo's expression smoothed out as she went upstairs.

Akane set aside the two month old magazine. "Is she alright, Ono-sensei?" She carefully asked once the door leading to Tofu's loft closed behind Ukyo.

"Dehydration." Tofu reached up to take off the small pair of rounded frames on his face. The casual response made Akane relax as he began to clean his glasses as he spoke. "However, it's a good thing you helped out like you did, Akane. Even if it was a minor case at this point, she must have been in much worse shape when you found her, correct?"

Akane sheepishly nodded. "I thought she was going to die..." She mumbled.

"Well, you were always a nurturing type when it counts." Tofu gave her an approving smile. "I offered her the bath to wash herself up." His smile dimmed slightly, though. "I tried to convince her to allow me to contact the authorities, but she was adamant about things. I believe she would have fled if you hadn't been here."

The young Tendo rubbed at the bridge of her nose. She could already feel frustration start to bubble up behind her eyes. "So..."

"Could you try and help me convince her to at least hear me out?" Tofu grimaced, and nodded apologetically.

Akane firmly nodded. "I can do that." It was a much worthier goal than mediating between the various crazies in her school.

The doctor placed his clean glasses back on his face. He placed an encouraging hand on Akane's shoulder as he lead her up to his loft. "At least dinner will be on me tonight?" Akane's stomach rumbled loudly on command. She flushed as Tofu chuckled as the two went upstairs once they turned  the rest of the lights downstairs off.

*****

"...what am I doing here?" Ukyo wondered for the sixth time since she had started scrubbing herself off. Layers of dirt and grim poured off her body in rivets as she firmly and methodically cleaned herself in Doctor Tofu's bathroom.

Another bucket of cold water was upended over her head, bringing both relief from the layers of filth she had accumulated in her constant hunt for Happosai and energy as she felt her body recover with the water. She felt the power of the ladle attempt to change her as a tingle raced up her spine, but she used a spiritual mantra her family had designed to keep the effects at bay.

Best not risk frightening her hosts.

The short haired brunette had her answer as she heard the laughter of Akane faintly bubble through the door to the bathroom.

"...it's best that I recover my energies." Ukyo justified. It had been such a long time she had treated her real body well that it had gotten to such a state. The ever constant search for Happosai as the more skilled man outpaced her could only be made up for a constant doggedness on her part. So while he could play around and have fun, she had worn her body down over a trip that never ended.

Ukyo finished scrubbing herself down and marveled at the soft pink skin exposed beneath all the dirt. 'It really has been a long time since I've seen myself like this...' She stood up and stared at her reflection in the mirror over the sink. Her short hair wetly and limply hung down past her shoulders. Not like the long and luxurious hair of her ideal form, but it was practical.

The girl reached forwards and traced a finger along the fogged surface of the mirror as she just took a moment to look at herself. 'More like a lifetime ago.' She mentally concluded as she stepped away from the mirror and made her way to the bathtub. Ukyo made sure to check herself once more before wading into the water.

"Aah..." Ukyo immediately moaned in bliss. Heat completely surrounded her as the water soaked deep within her body. She could feel her magic and life forces start to rapidly restore themselves from being submerged in the hot liquid. Ukyo let her head lightly rest against the back of the corner of the room the bathtub rested up against.

The smell of freshly cooked food began to assault her nose. Ukyo's eyes began to grow heavy as the combination of sensations began to lull something weary within her to sleep.

...

Ukyo's assault on her father failed. A slim girl, all of thirteen years, hit the wooden floor of the dojo in a rolling maneuver in a desperate attempt to bleed off excess motion. Mostly it was to keep herself from breaking a limb. Ukyo's chest ached from where she had been so easily blown away by her father's palm strike.

The massive bear of a man glanced down at her with deep eyes the color of an ocean. "Get up." He rumbled. The kimono that he wore was entirely restrictive, but he had easily read her moves ten steps ahead of time. "The Saotome Clan will be arriving here soon, and I will not have them thinking a failure of the Maidens of the Kunoji Clan."

"Y-yes..." Ukyo shakily rose to her feet. The kunai she held within her trembling grasp was bent and warped from its attempt at piercing through her father's vitals in his True Self, but it was all her own minor magic could generate until she too received her True Self.

"Good. Now, show me that allowing you to train under Konatsu was not a total loss. Show me your determination or I will pick one of your more worthy sisters to join the Clans!" The dark haired giant went into a standard melee stance as Ukyo snapped to the stance only her mentor, Konatsu, and those he had specifically chosen to teach had been privy to use.

'Ranchan! I'm not going to let you down!' The young girl thought. She roared a challenge as she charged at her father.

...

"Ukyo! Dinner's ready!" Akane's voice made the brunette jerk out of her daze. Ukyo nearly drowned as her head briefly sunk beneath the water. Her eyes widened beneath the tepid liquid, but she managed to break the surface. She gasped for air as her eyes teared.

"J-just a minute!" Ukyo gagged out, spitting up water from her lungs.

"...you okay?" Akane's voice sounded concerned as it moved closer to the door.

"Y-yes!" Ukyo fought from letting annoyance sneak into her tone of voice. It wasn't her fault she had fallen asleep, but couldn't she hear the fact she was choking?

'Maybe she's one of those thick type of people?' The brunette wondered as she pulled herself out of the tub. Water poured down her body as she leveraged herself out. 'Well, nothing wrong with the upfront types, I guess. Even if someone could sneak any kind of lie past them.'

Ukyo amused herself as she toweled off by thinking of implausible situations. 'She probably would be able to spot a transformed human a mile away. Even if they looked like an animal.' She thought, shaking off the silly thought.

The Kuonji slipped on Ono's robe and headed out after cleaning up the bathroom after herself. Her nose and stomach were assaulted by heavenly scents as soon as she walked out into Tofu Ono's home. Both Akane and Tofu glanced up at Ukyo. Ukyo suddenly had a pang of self consciousness as their intense looks focused on her.

"Uhm...thank you very much." Ukyo offered them a deep bow. Tofu immediately glanced away as Akane jumped to her feet.

"Ukyo, chest! Your chest! Cover them up!"

"Eh-?!" Ukyo screeched as she realized the robe had parted in the front. She slapped her hands over over chest as she drew the robe closed.

A tense silence descended on the group.

"Aah...and you think stating things bluntly is a bad thing, Akane!" Tofu awkwardly laughed. His reaction made the two teenagers relax as well as the trio made their way to the table. Several dishes of food were waiting for them. "You help keep things from getting even worse there." He mused as they took their seats.

"Thank you for the food." Ukyo pressed her palms together. She bowed her head simultaneously with everyone else as they dug into the foot provided to them by the doctor. Her stomach immediately stopped rumbling, and the awkwardness in the air started to fade away.

"Hmph. I guess so." Akane mumbled around her chopsticks.

Ukyo balked and clutched at her robes a bit in remembrance. "M-may I ask what you mean by that, sir?" She tried to distract herself by seeking clarification.

"You mean about Akane?" Tofu wondered. At Ukyo's nod and Akane grumpy stare, he chuckled as he cleared his throat. "Akane is just annoyed by a nickname she has been given for a while now." He hid his smirk by taking a sip of water as he ate some more of his curry.

Ukyo turned curious eyes at Akane.

"Mmph. Since junior high." The young Tendo grumped. Ukyo quirked her head, causing Akane to sigh and dap at her mouth with a napkin as she pushed her plate of curry away from her. The teenager leaned on the table with her elbows and rested her hands on her cheeks as she gave Ukyo a glum stare. "They call me Ran."

"Huh?" Ukyo's eyebrow raised in confusion.

Akane snorted as her fingers lightly drummed on the sides of face, "I know, right? What kind of message are they trying to give me by calling me a demon?" She groused. Tofu lightly chuckled as he leaned back in his own seat.

"I think it's more chaos."

"But I keep those idiots in line!" Akane turned wounded eyes on Tofu. "Tatewaki would be creating roving packs of wannabe samurais in no time flat if I wasn't there! Not to mention all those other weirdos at the school that would just get overblown heads if someone isn't there!"

"She mothers in her own way." Tofu cheekily explained to Ukyo. The brown haired girl's eyes lit up in amusement as Akane spluttered.

"Nonsense! Like I care about those martial artists and weirdos! H-hmph!" Akane sniffed. The black haired girl gazed flatly over at Ukyo, who had a wide grin on her lips. "D-don't believe stupid Doc Tofu, you hear?!"

"Of course." Ukyo deferred to the flustered Akane as she wholeheartedly joined the two for dinner.

*****

"Hey! Let me go! " Two tall, muscled men in casual dress shirts and slacks carried Happosai out into the night air. The trio moved past ornate rock gardens and past several tall and luxurious looking plants before opening the back door set on a high stone fence. Moments later, the two men flung Happosai out into the darkness of the alley behind the building. Happosai let out an undignified squawk as he landed on his rear and bounced twice before coming to a halt on his side. The old man furiously rose to his feet and tried to rush the door, but the two men slammed it shut on his face.

The old man slammed his fists on the door. "That idiot doesn't know what he's playing with!" Happosai's small hand loudly rattled and shook the door, but his strength in this diminutive form wasn't nearly enough to break through. "Damn!" Happosai cursed as he turned and rushed away from the alley.

He had to get some water, now.

...

Tatewaki glanced at the old man running away on a closed circuit television. The young man had transformed himself back to normal with a splash of hot water. Once he had been assured he was fine, he had called in his two assistants and moved to his father's study, which had several monitors showing practical every inch of the household.

The elder Kuno was very paranoid about his children's safety due to those silly ideas he had picked up from the Americans.

Tatewaki nodded as he saw that Happosai's dirty gi had been exchanged for a clean outfit. He made a mental note to give a raise to the staff of seamsters in the mansion before turning towards two bodyguards that were standing at attention.

"He'll come back for this sometime tonight." Tatewaki held up the ladle he was playing with. "I'd rather not ruin the building, so let him in and stay out of his way unless he decides to start damaging the mansion excessively." The heir of the Kuno family clicked off the monitors and rose from his father's desk as he started walking for the exit.

His bodyguards closely followed after him. "Sir...?" They asked in confusion.

"I'd rather not get in a fight. This ladle could get destroyed. It feels...very fragile at this point." Tatewaki explained. "I want one of you to stay behind with half the staff. The other half is to follow me to Furinkan High School, we have only the rest of the night to prepare!"

Both guards shared uneasy looks. Tatewaki's eyes had glazed over a bit in a fit of mild madness that the Kuno family were unfortunately well known for. Now they had to figure out whether they should intervene or not.

"Sir...what will we be preparing for?" One of the guards carefully asked.

Tatewaki's glazed look cleared a bit as he started, "Oh yes, of course! I forgot...I wish to uplift Nerima with this wondrous artifact!"

The more heavyset of the guards raised an eyebrow, "'Uplift' Nerima?"

"Yes! If we allow this ladle to soak within...say the school's pool, we can then use that magic water to grant everyone amazing abilities! Surely no one will complain about me running my Club ragged if everyone is better, right?!" Tatewaki grinned as a frantic light entered his eyes. "Nerima will once again rise to prominence as martial artists and magic will walk side by side! Then they'll hail the Kuno Family as heroes for these wonderful gifts!"

The guards relaxed. It was just a harmless bit of fun, then. Still, a bit childish of the heir to want to engage in tomfoolery with water.

*****

Akane bowed to Doctor Tofu as she and Ukyo were lead downstairs by the older man. Ukyo shortly followed while keeping a hand on her neckline to keep her cleavage from spilling over again. "Thank you for having us for dinner, Ono-sensei." Both of the teenagers chimed simultaneously as they strode out of the front door of the clinic.

"Think nothing of it." Tofu waved it off easily. "I just wish you'd rely on me more often, Akane..."

"Sorry, but..." The dark haired girl's expression went sombre.

Tofu nodded. "It's fine." He immediately dismissed it.

Ukyo glanced between Akane and Tofu, but remained silent. Akane's expression lightened as she looked over at Ukyo.

"So...want to come see my house?"

Ukyo glanced at Akane's pleading expression. "I...shouldn't take advantage of the charity you two have given me so far." She slowly shook her head. "It wouldn't be fair to either of you if I kept doing this." Ukyo began to back away.

Tofu and Akane traded worried glances.

"Ukyo..." Akane began as she slowly strode towards the retreating homeless girl.

"I...take care of yourselves, Akane and Tofu." Ukyo gave the two a brief smile before turning and racing off into the darkness.

"Akane!" Tofu called out as the young Tendo rushed off after Akane. The man swiftly lost ground to the two teenagers as he had to lock the door before rushing after the two of them. The trio raced around the dark streets, only illuminated by the occasional street light and the golden glows from the windows of the homes around the neighborhood.

...

Tofu huffed for breath as he took a sharp corner. The flickering blue skirts of Akane's school uniform were the only things he used to navigate as his poor vision and the rather intense chase worked against the older man. Up ahead, he saw two blue colors moved to opposite sides of the streets.

The doctor let out a soft curse and chose to head to the left. A girl with freckles and inky black hair let out a yelp as he came crashing into her back.

"I-I'm sorry!" Tofu swiftly apologized as he backed away.

"Doctor Tofu?" The girl blinked, the look of fear on her eyes swiftly being replaced with one of awareness. "What are you doing running around here so late at night?"

"Oh, Gosukugi-san..." Tofu blinked. His own confused expression cleared. "Please, have you seen Akane run down this street?"

"N-no, is Tendo-san alright?" Hikaru Gosukugi fretted.

Tofu shook his head. "Sorry, no time!" He turned about face and raced back the way he came.

Hikaru chewed on her lower lip as she hesitantly followed after the doctor. 'Maybe I can apologize to Ran for what I said this morning?' The pale girl hoped.

...

Ukyo's heart rattled against her ribs as she rushed through the night. Fear pulsed through her veins as her sweaty hands rhythmically squeezed into fists and released as she fled into the night. The back of her head was filled with tingles of static as she sought a source of water to augment her abilities so she could escape.

Occasionally she could hear Akane's shouts behind her. Several curious people peeked their heads out of the nearby buildings.

Ukyo stumbled as she took a corner hard. She hissed as her ankle twinged as it protested the abuse as she nearly collapsed onto her face. 'Water!' The young girl awkwardly hopped to avoid stressing her bum leg as she zeroed in on a water hose on a person's front yard.

"Ukyo!" Akane's pleading caused Ukyo to hurry up her pace. "I just want to talk!"

Ukyo slapped her injured foot down on the ground as she vaulted over the thigh high stone fence and tore across the grassy yard. The grass hose  and spigot were coiled around the side of the building and it was a matter of moments for Ukyo to start up the hose and dip her hands into the cold water.

"Ha! I got yo...ou?" Akane screeched to a halt as Ukyo's body visibly warped before her eyes.

The homeless girl's hair lengthened from shoulder length to nearly pooling down onto the ground. A massive white ribbon appeared on top of Ukyo's head, pulling the long train of hair up in a high ponytail so it was at mid back. Likewise, age was added to the girl as she swiftly aged up to a much more mature and graceful looking woman as the robes she was wearing shifted to a blue tone. They shortened to become a short kimono with black leggings and crimson lacquered armor covered her arms and shins. 

Ukyo's dark blue eyes and Akane's brown eyes locked. The confusion in Akane's eyes faded even as the older woman's hesitance melted away.

"You...you don't have to run!" The teenager offered a hand to Ukyo.

"Sorry..." The mature beauty whispered. Ukyo brought her fingers together in front of her in an odd position. Moments later, she vanished in a burst of smoke.

"Ukyo..." Akane's hand limply dropped to her side.

"Ran!"

Akane glanced away from where the remaining wisps of smoke vanished. A girl from her school raced up to her. She waved her pale arm around for Akane's attention. The young Tendo felt irritation bubble within her as she calmly waited for the other girl to catch her breath.

"It's...good to see you..." The newcomer breathed out harshly in gulps of air.

"Mmm..." Akane replied. Her expression was unreadable as she gazed at the dark haired girl. She was focusing most of her attention on willing herself from lashing out on someone that didn't deserve it.

'Not her fault. Not her fault.'

"D-Doctor Tofu sent me...w-well, n-not really." Hikaru began to stammer heavily when she saw the unimpressed look in Akane's eyes. "I-I just wanted to help...?" She squeaked.

Akane sighed. "Yeah...I'm sorry about that." She rubbed at her forehead. Recognition entered her eyes as she peered at Hikaru. "Didn't we talk earlier...?" She wondered.

"Y-yes! My name is Hikaru Gosukugi." Hikaru eagerly nodded.

Akane gave another half hearted glance back at where Ukyo had stood. Was it some kind of ninja trick or something? "I need to go see Ono-sensei. Thank you for you help." She gave Hikaru a wane smile.

Hikaru eagerly lapped up the attention. "Of course!" Taking Akane's statement for approval, she eagerly began to walk alongside Akane. "I just wanted to make up for things, y'know?"

Akane's eyes drifted over at Hikaru, "Well, thanks, I guess." She paused. "Hey, do you know anything about martial arts?"

"A little!" Hikaru perked up with happiness. "My cousin studies a lot of mystic stuff and knows about martial arts too!" She was actually having a conversation with Akane!

"Do you know anything about age changing techniques?"

"No. Why?"

Akane frowned. Well, maybe it wasn't the end of the world, but best check with Doctor Tofu.

"I need to go." Akane explained to a panicked looking Hikaru. "Thanks for the concern." She flashed Hikaru a quick grin before she turned and raced back towards Tofu's clinic. She didn't even see the look of disappointment on Hikaru's face.

'...screwed up again.' Hikaru sighed as she dipped her head and kicked at the ground.

Up on the rooftops, Ukyo silently watched Hikaru and Akane. Once she saw the two part ways, Ukyo  fled into the night.

*****

The night blurred around Happosai. High above the skies, the full moon loomed beneath several thick clouds, casting a silver glow across the Nerima skyline as he threw himself from rooftop to rooftop. The fire elemental magic surged in his veins with each leap and flip.

A massive three story tall pagoda loomed high above Happosai.

'Seriously, what's wrong with this town?' The youthened man thought. He began to soar up the side of the building. His weathered hands punched small hand holds as he flipped, pulled, and dashed upwards to the very top of the building.

The wind buzzed in his ears as he gripped onto a jutting pole coming out of the middle of the pagoda's rooftop.

Happosai sighed as he cracked his neck. He held a hand up horizontally against his brow as the light of the silver moon was oddly intense as he stood at the very zenith of the pagoda as he cast his sight out. The western style mansion that the Kuno boy lived in was alight with motion as tiny, ant-like people scattered about far below him.

"Well, good to see them not..." The oddly intense wind gained a strange noise beneath it. "Huh?" Happosai turned upwards.

The light that had been bothering him dramatically increased as a helicopter cut through the clouds. The military vehicle was loaded for bear as its rotary blades sliced through the skies as it kept itself and several ominous looking devices fitted on its sides and below it in the air. A man in a brown trench coat dangled off the side of it through an open door, gripping something within the vehicle to keep from falling.

"Surrender!" Ayato Hibiki shouted down to the martial artist as he kept one of his hands on his hat.

Happosai's eyes bugged out. "What...I just goosed a girl!" The martial artist blurted. "Why are you even here?!"

"We have laws against that! I will not have you endangering the teenage girls of our fine community with your lechery!" The police officer boomed as he swayed outwards a bit from the helicopter as it swung in closer. "Besides, the Kuno Family have told me that you intend on attacking their home, and I will have none of it!"

"How can you even track me?!" Happosai hissed angrily. The transformation made him look completely different!

In response, Ayato Hibiki gave the martial artist a fanged grin. "You think they let you go without bugging you? Nice outfit, by the way." He briefly ducked his head into the vehicle. The helicopter dove towards Happosai. "Ayato Hibiki lets no crime go unpunished!" The police officer boomed.

The launchers on the helicopter loudly clunked. Two missiles were sent streaking outwards from the depths of the devices. The projectiles screamed in the night sky as they belched out smoke and flame as they soared straight at Happosai.

"...what the hell?!" Happosai yelped as he dove off the roof. High above, the front half of the missiles shattered, releasing a massive net that covered the rooftop of the pagoda. The net released visible blue sparks of electricity as it settled down on top of the rooftop harmlessly. The spent missile limply dropped to the ground below with loud thuds.

The second missile's flame trail cut off. The top of the missile was launched into the skies with a small bang as the projectile began to fall below. Beneath the cover were revealed two rows of five smaller launchers a piece. The tips of the smaller rockets within flashed green before being launched high into the skies.

They twisted around in dizzingily patterns after Happosai. Three of them were unable to twist enough to reorient themselves as Happosai soared past the cluster of projectiles, though. All three of them smashed together in a small fist sized burst of flame and a large clouds of thick, green mist.

Happosai found himself crashing onto the street's surface with a bone jarring impact. The high pitched screeches above caused him to immediately make a break for it. His decision was rewarded as three more missiles crashed where he had been standing. The magic user coughed and hacked as a few fumes reached him even from ten yards away. He immediately felt a bit of nausea.

"Are you idiots trying to kill me?!" Happosai shouted. If he had been in the in the middle of that cloud he'd be done for!

"Nonsense! We're the police! We uphold law and order!" Ayato's voice boomed down via the speakers on the bottom of the police helicopter. Three rotating spotlights on the bottom of the helicopter twisted and oriented themselves on the martial artist. "Those missiles, kindly provided to the department by the Kuno Family, have enough tranquilizers to knock out an elephant!"

Happosai was briefly stunned at the stupidity inherent in that statement. "...that's enough to kill a human being!" He angrily insisted. Happosai felt two of the missiles draw frighteningly close and  flung himself at a nearby street light. His feet briefly alighted on the surface before angling himself higher into the air and towards a secondary pole across the street.

One of the missiles smashed into that street pole, making it wobble as a plume of green mist clung to it and the surroundings. A black cat, which had been drawn out of a nearby alley at the echoing thud from the impact, immediately keeled over unconscious onto its back. Its legs were stiffly pointing up at the skies above.

"See?!" Happosai yelled as he bounced off the second light pole and up to the rooftops.

"That's just a feature! It's to paralyze all of you deranged Nerima Martial Artists!" Ayato yelled back into his microphone on the control terminals for the helicopter. The police officer strained against the straps trying to hold him snug in the chair next to the rather eager looking female pilot.

"I'm not from Nerima!"

"What?" Ayato blurted. He was blissfully unaware about how the smile on the pilot's face began to dim. The police officer was suddenly aware of how the woman shoved him back into his seat so she could lean forwards and speak.

"You can't mean that! You're doing weird stuff like them!" She whimpered. Next to her seat were several cartoonishly drawn white skulls painted on the interior of her door. They had  black cross marks through the front of them.

The martial artist twisted and contorted himself in ways that made Ayato wince as the remaining three seeker rockets were avoided in mid-air between two rooftops. Happosai firmly landed on terra firma and rushed towards the Kuno Estate, which was now less than three blocks away.

"That doesn't mean I'm from here!" Happosai panted out.

Ayato and the pilot traded glances. "...you sure?" The police officer wondered.

"Of course!" Happosai angrily responded. He took a brief moment to glance upwards and angrily shake a fist at them.

"I guess we have to stop the rockets, Sono-san..." Ayato mumbled up above. "At least until we determine whether he's telling the truth."

His pilot, Arisa Sono, let out a whine of disapproval before sulkily pressed a button on the control terminal. So much for her streak.

Down below, the missiles began to remotely detonate. An ever expanding cloud of green smoke began to fan outwards in a wave. Each of the remaining rockets made the wave spread out further and further  until the final rocket, which was fairly close to the fleeing Happosai, managed to cause the wave to overtake the martial artist.

Happosai stumbled as he began to hack. His eyes burned and watered as he pitched forwards off the final rooftop. The transformed martial artist came to a rolling stop a few feet away from the front gate of the Kuno Estate.

A strangely unguarded gate.

'They won't catch me unaware again!' The martial artist slapped his hands above his head. A bomb the size of three grown men standing on top of each other's shoulders manifested high above his head. With a hack, he threw it at the wall.

The explosion leveled a large chunk of the walls. Happosai merrily bounded into the gardens, followed by a thick wave of green smoke.

"Swing over into the building again!" Ayato told Arisa as he began to unbuckle himself from his seat. He plucked a gas mask off a hook above his door and placed it over his face as the helicopter swung past the Kuno Estate.

"Sir?" Arisa glanced over at Ayato. Her reddish brown eyes widened as Ayato slid open the door to the helicopter. "Wa..."

"Best make sure the criminal isn't brutalized...too much." Ayato muttered. "He isn't one of our homegrown freaks, after all." The large man kept a tight grip on his hat as he threw himself over the edge of the helicopter. Ayato's coat wildly flapped about his ears as the estate rapidly rose up to meet him.

"Aaah!" Arisa yelped as her hands jerked on the controls. The helicopter wildly wobbled in place for a few moments before the wavy haired brunette managed to control its flight. "Crazy jerk!" The pilot cursed as she began to pull the helicopter high over head once she confirmed that the police officer had landed safe and sound.

Ayato gave her a thumbs up from down below. Moments later, he began to rush around the side of the building through the gardens as he made his way to the front of the building.

'This is making Kyoko's offer to join Mishima Heavy Industries way more attractive.' Arisa groaned as she held the helicopter steady high above.

*****

Happosai let out a yelp as he was punted out of the thick cloud of smoke. Fresh, wonderful air filled his lungs as he smashed into the walls of the Kuno Estate. The two guards that remained after his brief scuffle with them angrily twisted the hilts of their batons. Electricity sparkled along the length of the  weapons as they approached Happosai.

"C-cheats after my own heart." The martial artist choked out a laugh. "Too bad you idiots sent me outside the cloud." He took a deep breath as he focused on the magic running through his system. An aura blasted outwards from the smaller man as he let out an enraged shout.

Both of the guards wobbled on their feet before collapsing on their knees. Invisible waves of force swept past them to smash into the thick cloud of smoke to begin dissipating it. The remaining grogginess within Happoai was dispersed as new energy flooded his body.

"Round Two, jackasses!" The aura flared higher. Happosai gave the two guards the impression of almost having become taller than they were. They rapidly blinked to try and shake the image out as they rose, but it turned out to be terribly real.

The martial artists' lengthened limbs smashed out. The two guards' gas masks shattered, and the remaining force behind the blows sent them stumbling backwards. "No smoke to help now, huh?!" Happosai grinned and followed it up with strikes fast enough to crack the air as the guard's padded armor proved hilariously ineffective. The martial artist vanished and appeared randomly around the two of them as they were juggled into the air with the force and speed of the strikes as Happosai loudly cackled.

Part way through Happosai's counter attack, Ayato leapt over the stone fence and landed facing the martial artist. "That's enough!" The police officer shouted as he began to rush towards the transformed man.

"Oh? You came down?" Happosai replied as he lashed out with a spinning kick. Both guards were sent flying towards Ayato. The police officer stopped his charge as he dove to catch both of the unconscious men and gently set them down on the ground. "Well, take care of them, then! I have business with the bratty Kuno!" Happosai laughed as he easily vaulted over the stone fence.

"Dammit!" Ayato hissed. He reached into his coat and pulled out a hand-held radio. The police officer switched it on and quickly tuned into the radio of the helicopter high above. "Arisa, get me some paramedics..." Ayato spoke up as he inspected both of the men he had rescued from Happosai. He winced as he heard distant explosions. "Fire trucks and more backup."

The sound of the transformed martial artist's laughter echoed in the night sky.

"Lots more backup." Ayato sighed.

*****

"Perhaps you have bit off more than you can chew, Master Kuno." One of the guards dryly spoke up as he glanced from the monitoring system. Next to him, Tatewaki's eyebrow twitched as he watched the various screens set up in the back of the van. Each of them showed the rapidly growing old man swatting aside the best of the best as he tore through the walls of his home.

"I hadn't realized I had poked Gojira with a stick." Tatewaki weakly replied. He, along with twenty other men and women, were scattered around the back of the Furinkan High School in a fleet of vans and buses. Several of his staff were setting up plastic tents around the school along with banners and signs.

"...hm. There goes the roof over Mistress Kodachi's room. She isn't going to be very happy when she comes back from that tournament." The man idly continued to gently chide his boss. Tatewaki winced as the attack helicopter continued raining missiles almost indiscriminately down at the yard. The few speakers that were still working could faintly hear shouts reach them.

"You're not breaking my kill streak, you bastard!" The pilot's voice shrilly boomed.

Tatewaki sighed and placed his hands in his face. "Kodachi is going to murder me by the time this is all over, isn't she?" He glanced hopefully up at his guard. Currently the man was gently squeezing Tatewaki's shoulder and had an infinitely kind look in his face.

"Yes." The guard softly replied. "Yes, she will." 

*****

Happosai flexed both his arms and aura. The fiery aura burnt through the green knock out gas as quickly as it was produced. Once the attack from the damn helicopter was nullified, Happosai began to charge through the gardens. The female guards out front rushed away from him like he bore the plague as their eyes focused on the countless number of panties sticking out from the pockets of the robe he was wearing.

The male guards were impressive, though. No matter how often the thirty foot tall man swung for the fences, the damnable guards kept returning. It was rather interesting display of endurance, all things considered.

"Brat! Get out here!" The massive martial artist roared as he swung a fist. His attempt at knocking completely sundered the door and walls around it as the heavy steel doors flew deep into the building. Several of the windows in the mansion shattered as the screeching ruckus he had created came to a halt. "Or I can just come into the building~?"

Silence answered his demand. Happosai grinned as he began to step towards the entrance he had punched into the building, but was distracted by a flicker of motion on the side of his vision. His danger senses blared warnings to him - causing the giant to leap backwards - as a scrap of white paper fluttered limply to the ground where he had been standing.

"Huh...?" The giant carefully nudged the piece of paper with his toe. Besides a little static shock, whatever great power it had held was now extinguished.

Ayato cursed as he leapt down from one of the few trees that dotted the mostly devastated garden. In his hands he was holding several more loose strips of paper.

"Hah!" Happosai boomed. The martial artist pointed and chortled at the police officer. "You'll need more than that to stop me!"

Ayato let the loose papers go free from his hands. "I guess I do." The man reached into the shadows of his coat and puckered his lips. "Arisa!" Suddenly the man's voice boomed outwards from him at a level that matched Happosai's own enhanced voice. "Do it!"

"...what?!" The giant's head whipped upwards. The helicopter was hovering in mid-air - as the missile launchers beneath it began to shake. Loud clicking could simultaneously be heard moments before both of them fired. The twin missiles exploded into two massive nets. Tightly wrapped around them were dozens of prayer strips like the ones that Ayato had tried to fling at Happosai.

One of the nets tightly wrapped around his arms, but the other was avoided with a yelp and a backwards stumble. The wards on the net that had tagged him nearly caused him to scream as the energy attempted to purify his monstrous growth aura. The night skies filled with battling blue and red lights as the giant's knees nearly buckled.

Happosai shouted in pain, electricity surging along his body, as he bunched his legs beneath him to retreat.

"Not so fast, criminal scum!" Ayato roared, drawing Happosai's attention to him. The police officer was holding onto a rocket launcher as tall as he was. One hand was used to aim the weapon straight at him. "Think fast!" The weapon howled as it launched a metallic tube out at Happosai. The projectile blurred as it slammed into his side – where it unrolled into yet another ward that clung to his body.

Happosai gaped.

Ayato smiled. "What? You think Tokyo's police don't deal with a dozen of you every day?" He reached up and snapped his fingers. The steel ward on Happosai's side lit up like a fireworks display. The massive martial artist howled as his aura was ripped to shreds between both wards' attacks.

Happosai clutched at his side. His fingers gripped around the metal ward as he tried to rip it off him as it shrunk with him. Worryingly of all was the fact that the nets weren't shrinking. The shrinking martial artist hissed as he turned. 'I have to get out of here!' Happosai angrily thought as he started rushing away.

"Get back here!" Ayato threw the rocket launcher to the side. He broke out in a flat run after the dwindling martial artist.

"I...urk?!" Happosai groaned around a mouth full of geta. His eyes briefly crossed as he stared up Ukyo's short kimono. The brunette looked decided unimpressed before being firing him away from her at a decently clip with her follow up kick.

Ayato jerked to a halt as Happosai, now a foot taller than he had been as an old man, soared past him. The netting that had been holding his arms back flopped down on top of the police officer as the martial artist used the metallic edge of the ward as a blade. The police officer spluttered as Ukyo briefly alighted on top of his head before rushing after Happosai as both of the martial artists flew into the darkened building.

"You're interfering in police business!"

"Sorry, but this is personal." Ukyo called back as she tossed six kunai into the ground in her wake. The weapons glowed as they erected a massive wall of magic in front of the hole Happosai had punched out of the building.

Ayato internally winced as he used his own monstrous strength to tear through the netting. 'That's going to cost me.' He thought as he rushed after the two martial artists, but he was repelled the second his foot came crashing into a rippling wall of force. The police officer let out a yelp of pain as he bounced around outside of the mansion on one foot.

'Goddamned weirdos!' Ayato cursed as he reached up and threw his hat down angrily.

*****

The kunai sliced outwards. It was met by a rain of panties.

"Have I ever told you what a disgusting person you are?" Ukyo coldly stated as she and the gnome sized old man danced around the halls of the mansion.

"Maybe. You can keep repeating yourself for a few more years, though. Surely it will take by then." Happosai cheekily answered as he ducked under a volley of kunai. He turned the motion into a diving forwards roll. His knowledge on the kunoichi's habits was rewarded. The force of the explosion aided him in completely avoiding her follow up stomp.

Happosai sprang to his feet with a cackle as he rushed down a side hall.

Ukyo brushed flakes of pulped wood out of her hair before rushing after the old man. "You're worn down, Happosai! Just give up and give me the ladle!" Her voice gained a razor edge as she summoned more kunai and flung them at the fleeing martial artist.

Happosai snorted as he leapfrogged over a knocked over chair. His foot lashed backwards and kicked it upwards. One of the kunai slammed home into the chair. The weapon and chair briefly vibrated before visibly shattering into pieces. "Not with that kind of attitude, Missy!" The martial artist laughed as he zigzagged to avoid further attacks.

Ukyo let out a low hiss of frustration as she rushed after him. "Wasn't he your heir? What's the point of all this stupidity?! While we're running around like jackasses he's..." She finished her statement with a shout of pain as Happosai flung a small paper sphere in her path. The bomb detonated in a wave of flame and smoke.

"Living is for the living, Missy! You and I have the drive to keep going long past our expiration dates, but he didn't. When everything was said and done..." Happosai chided the woman. Ukyo's charred body erupted from within the cloud of flame and smoke. "...he was too weak when it came to drives outside of martial arts!"

Ukyo's birth skin rippled as she began to heal. "Shut up, shut up, shut up!" She screamed as the woman's burnt flesh mended. Magic wove her outfit together into one piece from where it was barely hanging onto her body by will alone. "Give me the ladle!" The woman demanded as she let another set of kunai fly.

The old man cackled as took rushed up the side of a flight of stairs. "See? Even now you're still coming at me! Forget Ranma! We've wasted how many years?" Happosai replied as kunai swiftly followed in his wake. They tore gouges out of the wooden walls and furniture, but weren't quick enough to pierce his flesh as he made his way to the second story of the Kuno Mansion.

Ukyo, unable to draw a bead on Happosai with her kunai, followed after him, She quickly leapt onto the remaining pieces of the guard rail along the side of the stairs. From there she jumped onto the second story before the broken wood could snap beneath her weight. She let loose with another handful of kunai the second she landed on the second floor.

By this point, Happosai was far down the hallway. He could feel the six kunai Ukyo tossed streaking towards his back, but Happosai knew he'd make it to that Kuno brat's room first. The brunette rushed after the projectiles as she launched more towards him with rage powered tosses.

Happosai physically threw himself at the door. The sixteen kunai Ukyo had tossed went streaking into the room after him, but Ukyo's wasn't able to confirm if she had hit the man with her sight. She reluctantly dove into the room.

"Happo...!" Ukyo began, but was cut off as a terrific blow smashed into her back from a blind-spot. The woman let out a shout as she went crashing down to the ground, and Happosai took advantage of it by leaping onto her back and gripping her long ponytail.

"I'm afraid to say that the ladle isn't in the mansion, Ukyo." Happosai cheerfully replied. In his hand he was wielding one of Ukyo's own kunai as he lightly pressed it into the back of her neck. "So...shall we end this round, then? I'd really like to have a few years of peace until you start haunting me again." He chirped. "Or do you want to consider my words?"

"...I won't team up with you." Ukyo replied. The kunai lingered near her neck. She subtly began to move her fingertips along the ground, which was covered with a thin layer of wood particles from the door being annihilated.

Happosai huffed, "I suppose that's alright. Just don't get in my way. The damn brat that lives here stole it." He glanced around the bedroom of Tatewaki Kuno with a sneer on his lips. "It's mine and no one else is going to keep it."

Ukyo began to shift beneath Happosai, but the older martial artist pressed the weapon up against her again. "You really are a jackass, aren't you? Can you even hear yourself?" Ukyo softly wondered. "You're acting like an obsessed maniac. You aren't even anywhere near what you used to be with your martial arts because of it."

Happosai scowled. "I can still take you down, girly." He angrily retorted for the first time in their rematch.

"I trained under shinobi, though. And monks..." Ukyo grinned as she finished drawing a sign on the dusty ground. "I'm not supposed to fight up front!" Ukyo clenched her eyes shut as she slapped her hand on the ground before Happosai could move. Her curse form shattered beneath Happosai as she reverted to normal. The magic that had been brewing within her alternate body was converted into raw power, which exploded outwards from Ukyo to knock Happosai off her.

"The old man let out a pained shout as he was temporarily blinded. Happosai's grip on the kunai slipped, and it loudly dropped to the ground. Ukyo, having expected the action, twisted her body as she knocked Happosai off her. The aged martial artist flew off her body as Ukyo gripped the weapon.

In the darkness of Ukyo's vision, she instantly saw Happosai's form blaze with an aura of the younger girl's magic. She let the kunai fly. The weapon gleamed as it silently soared through the air and into Happosai's body.

"...Ngh?!"

Ukyo opened her eyes. Happosai was staring at Ukyo in shocked amazement as the kunai she had flung stuck out of his chest. She immediately struggled to her feet as he began to taking staggering steps towards Ukyo. The sharpened weapon began to glow in direct opposition to how the old man's figure began to lose definition and color before the teenager's eyes.

"You...win." Happosai grunted out. The martial artist had a faintly bemused smile about him as he looked at her. "Lost my tou..." Happosai trailed off as he imploded in a pile of dust. The kunai he had been pierced with followed him in non-existence.

"Haa...." Ukyo trembled as she staggered to her feet. Now that the barrier on the front door was down, Ukyo could hear distant wails from firetrucks drew the teenager's attention away from the pile of dust in the room. She could faintly hear dozens of feet banging along the wooden ground towards the room she was standing in.

'I need to get out of here.' Ukyo spared one last look at the dust pile before rushing over towards the window in Kuno's bedroom. It only took a few moments before the teenager was once again rushing outwards into the night.

She was going to need some help.

*****

"...we definitely have bitten off more than we can chew, boss." One of the guards gazed upwards at Tatewaki. The heir of the Kuno Estate thoughtfully nodded as he watched the kunoichi flee from his mansion. He glanced at his guards and then at the school's pool, which was glowing with a luminescent blue light as his group carefully dipped the ladle into it.

"I'm going to need a bigger sword." Tatewaki announced with all the calm in the world.

One of his guards slapped his forehead in pained wonder. "Boss, this girl took down someone who was single-handedly handing half the mansion's guards!"

"Yes, but only after Hibiki-san weakened him!" Tatewaki replied. He pondered that for a few moments. "Oh. I know..." He drawled outwards. Tatewaki glanced over at his guards. "Get me Ayato Hibiki on the phone right away!"

*****

So yeah, this will be a short little story to get me some more practice. Hope you all enjoy.

[Olvelsper]

There we go. Sorry about that. Apparently the board didn't like the length of the post.

[Jason_Miao]

This seems fun.  Idle musings: (1) First action at "Ran!" was to see if this was a Touhou fusion.  (2) Time spent on fleshing out characterization worked well.

[Olvelsper]

Thanks. I'm looking forwards to expanding it. Just have to make sure I balance out the two series.

[Dracos]

Amusing.  I think that swapping hikaru seemed a bit pointless in context.

The hero hasn't shown up yet, so sadness!

[Olvelsper]

Hikaru himself is a pointless existence in my opinion. May as well change him up to match the new genre.

[Olvelsper]

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7065029/2/Akane_The_Monk_Girl : The last chapter of the story was too large to post here. Sorry that I have to post this link instead.

I wrapped up my Ranma 1/2 story on a closer to canon note. I was intending to start off as far as I could from canon and work the familiar elements into the story as I went. Did I succeed? Did I fail? Let me know.

[Jason_Miao]

Lots of things popped up at me.  I'm not sure how to do it efficiently, so I'm just going to spit some things out haphazardly.  It feels like there's some principle you're not following, and while I can't figure out what it is right now, I'll see if I can find it and post it for you.


The first scene with Nabiki seems superfluous; the only thing it established is that she's a "Kabbage Boy" fan, and that's only used as a joke (Soun's ringtone).  I think it'd work better if the Soun-ringtone is used to set Nabiki's character playful/silly/bad musical taste (without her even being in the scene!  Nice artistry, if you can pull it off), Nabiki hears about Ukyou when she arrives, Tofu had already called Soun so Nabiki can't really refuse but she calls the cops to check up ...

Regret-mechanic of the ladle wasn't set up at all, and your climactic scene suffers for it.  You need to build up to it, so that doesn't feel like TOTALLY-SURPRISE-BONUS-FIGHT!  Several options are available; Lacing chapter 1 and 2 with discussion of regret, replaying Ranma's death scene, explicit exposition of the regret mechanic early on as why Ukyou was chasing Happosai (ugh, but if you have to do it...), discussion of the ladle easing people's regrets with a glowing gem which makes it seem benign and even beneficial before the end (this is always cool when you pull it off, which is why I like writing that way, but you have to make sure that no continuity errors crop up and that takes work).

Happosai suddenly not-really-dead at the start of chapter 2 was jarring, since chapter 1 felt like it was giving closure, as the long hunt to kill Happosai was over.  If you were going to do this, I'd recommend, at the very last scene of ch 1, have Happosai whine to Ukyou and have her respond as if she'd expected him to, so the reader knows that he's still around.

I didn't understand what you were trying to imply with the Nabiki-dorm bit.

[Olvelsper]

Guess I have a problem with shorter stories. I'm way too used to writing longer ones, and my beta thought I had covered things well enough in the chapter two itself.

I'll tweak chapter one so the Happosai part sounds more whiney/less complete, thanks.

Thought the Kabbage Boy thing was pretty much just how to show Nabiki being whimsy. The bit with the dorms was literally what it said in story. Nabiki stayed because she worried about leaving Akane alone.

Not really sure where I could slip in more backstory about the gem, though. Expand the prologue in chapter one? Show it healing people? I thought Ayato going nuts immediately after transforming was showing the gem's negative traits well.

[Jason_Miao]

Guess I have a problem with shorter stories. I'm way too used to writing longer ones, and my beta thought I had covered things well enough in the chapter two itself.

Perhaps that's it.  It feels like there were a few things you've set up without payoff, and a few things that just happened you didn't set up at all.  Chapter 1 feels like you're going to lead into chapters 5-8, so the completely random climactic battle against the ladle-dragon plus "The end" with chapter 2 was jarring.

I've figured out the basic principle I was alluding to earlier.  You've asked the reader to make emotional investments that aren't leading to anything.  And you're cashing emotional checks where insufficient investment was made in the first place.  Either one detracts from your overall story, and you're doing both.

In fact, now that I think of it, that's really the difference between a short story and a long story.  The length isn't really it, that's just a feature.  The short story model is where the writer is providing emotional payoff all at once.  The long story is where there are a series of investment/payoff as the story progresses -- but where the reader is asked to reinvest that payoff into the overarching story.

That was cool.  It's not everyday I think of a new way to model stories.

Thought the Kabbage Boy thing was pretty much just how to show Nabiki being whimsy.

Which is great.  I liked Nabiki's character as you've established it, and quite a bit at that.  But the ringtone prank, itself, shows that character quite well.  So what was the point of having the first scene with the Nabiki/Tofu call?  It just seems superfluous, since character-wise, it didn't do anything that the very next scene didn't handle, and doesn't seem needed for the plot.

The bit with the dorms was literally what it said in story. Nabiki stayed because she worried about leaving Akane alone.

Okay.  And?

I mean, here's the in-fic scene:

"Akane..." The older man began.

"She's getting into a really prestigious school." Akane idly ran her fingers along the rim of her cup. "Full ride and everything. She even gets to stay at the dorms free."

'Hm... I wonder if I could have seduced the girl with my youthful form.' Happosai singsonged. 'From what I can see, this home is only routinely lived in by those two. Pity you killed me before I could try my luck at keeping her company.'

Ukyo quickly raised her cup to her lips to hide her scowl. 'Bastard' She mentally growled.

'You betcha!'


Akane rubbed the back of her head. "Heh. I'm going to have to try and get some more cooking lessons at school. I'm going to wind up cooking myself to death when she leaves." She joked with a smile.

...

Nabiki frowned as she pulled back into the hallway. 'Is she really okay with that?' She wondered, having seen the lines of worry on Akane's face. Nabiki had thought that her little sister was okay with her getting the house to herself finally, but...

She shook her head and looked at her cellphone in her hand. With the noise of the radio blasting from the kitchen, it had been child's play to take a picture of the brunette's profile from around the corner. 'Now, who the hell are you, miss?'

She turned and quickly headed upstairs. Nabiki would definitely feel better about letting her stay after uploading the picture to the police.

How do you go from three lines (I'll include the cooking line, since that's really a continuation of the conversational thread) to "Soun feels shamed, and turns his life around" in the epilogue?  And story-wise, what's the point?  Since the majority of Soun's contribution in this fic, plot wise, is "Yes, Ukyou can stay", why do I, the reader, care about that?

If you'd established, for example, about Akane feeling like she has to take care of her father, and full of dread that her beloved older sister is about to abandon her, then the dorm bit fits quite well.  That's not really what I walked away feeling after I'd read chapter 1, though - in fact, the first scenes include her making her own breakfast, and imply that she's living mostly independently of both Soun and Nabiki.

Not really sure where I could slip in more backstory about the gem, though. Expand the prologue in chapter one? Show it healing people? I thought Ayato going nuts immediately after transforming was showing the gem's negative traits well.

Oni show up in the last 3/4 of the fic.  That's not a bad point for where "and then everything goes to hell" to start.  The problem is that Oni crashing into the scene is the first point where we have any idea that anything is wrong with getting transformed in the first place.

And even then, was the reader supposed to draw that conclusion?  Chapter 1 has the police firing lethal soporific missiles into Nerima, so why should the reader presume the unreasonable attitudes on the part of the police are a result of the gem, and not just on everything being crazy?

You can handle this in two ways.  You tell the reader that this is why Ukyou is chasing Happosai - it is because the gem represents danger, specified or unspecified, not just because it's a stolen magical clan treasure.  That's the "infodump" method, the one that most published fantasy writers use, which is why most fantasy writers suck.  But for what it does, it works.   Alternatively, you show the gem just somehow affecting the emotions of people it comes in contact with, so it's clearly doing something.  Then, CrazyOniPolice hit, and the reader gets to say "Ah ha, this is where Olguin was going with all those gem hints!"  This is harder, of course, but now you've written in one of those emotional investment/payoffs that I was talking about earlier.  And that's what makes stories interesting.

More: You had that Akane-storeowner staredown match, which seemed like it'd get followed up later.  Except it didn't.  Hikaru, the meek Akane fangirl who was in a good chunk of chapter 1, gets a "she still exists" scene, and nothing more.

[Olvelsper]

Hm. Okay. Not sure when I can go ahead and add any sort of prologue or twist things around, but I'll keep those in mind. Thanks for the help.