Ranma vs. The world 3
The assassin and the bird.
Ranma stretched and stood in the room he and Ryoga had
stayed in the night before. The room was small but comfortable and cozy.
The hotel they were in was a nice middle class vacation type hotel and it
had a small gym. He and Ryoga decided that since they were in the city
that it would be better to stay indoors rather than seeking shelter in a
park or an abandoned lot like Ryoga intended originally. Besides they
could afford it. Ranma and Ryoga had made a suprising amount of cash in
their battles in Japan. Especially the last few. Ranma walked over to the
window and pulled the curtains open to look out at Hong Kong. They were
only on the third floor but the view was still impressive.
Ryoga snored loudly and scratched his head in his sleep. Ranma
smirked and walked over to him. "Hey P-chan wake up." he said giving him
a hard kick. Ryoga muttered and kept snoring.
"C'mon Ryoga we gotta practice you dope." said Ranma getting
irritated at Ryoga's reluctance to wake up. A smile formed on Ranma's
lips. He walked into the bathroom and pulled one of the small plastic
cups from the sink and filled it with water from the sink.
"What are you planing to do with that?" said Ryoga from directly
behind him causing Ranma to start and splash the water all over himself.
Ryoga poked Ranma in the back of the head causing her to fall face first
into the sink. "You let your guard down." he said flatly.
"You jerk! I was thirsty!" cried Ranma
"Yea right, Thats why I heard you giggling to yourself all the
way over here. Besides, you aren't thirsty now." said Ryoga with a smirk.
About an hour later in the gym Ranma and Ryoga had attracted
quite a crowd during their sparring match.
Ryoga jumped up at Ranma and punched at his gut as Ranma kicked
off his chest and blocked. "Hey, ease off P-chan we're only sparing."
said Ranma frowning.
"Quit your whining and fight." sneered Ryoga. "How dare you call
me P-chan in front of all these people!" he roared and lept at Ranma
again. Ranma dodged and weaved around his blows.
"Ryoga you dope, they don't know about that. Besides most of them
can't understand us anyway." said Ranma casually.
"Thats no excuse!" cried Ryoga angrily.
"Here it comes..." thought Ranma tensing himself.
"Hado shi shi houkou dan!" said Ryoga as he shot his blast at
Ranma. Ranma took it in his side and was shot across the gym and into
the wall. He stood and groaned in pain.
"Damn, I still haven't figured it out." muttered Ranma.
Ryoga stood and looked at Ranma as he stood up shakily. "I have
to be careful about that, if I use it on him to often he'll figure it
out." he thought to himself. "Thats enough practice for today Ranma. Lets
go find this Ryu guy." he said as he walked away.
"Ryoga you dope that goes to the pool!" cried Ranma as he chased
after him.
In the crowd someone frowned. "What do they want with Ryu?" he
wondered and turned away.
Ryoga stood and watched the amateur punks beat the crap out of
each other in the alley way behind a restaurant and frowned. "You say Ryu
went through here?" he asked some of the men. The pair had run into a
group of men who spoke very passable Japanese, one of them was even from
a place near Nerima.
"Yea, a few days ago. He beat the hell out of Billy here." said a
man pointing to a heavily bandaged man nearby.
"Did he say where he might be going?" asked Ranma.
"Well he didn't say much. But he asked where the Golden dragon
pan was." said another of the men.
"The what?" said Ryoga.
"Golden Dragon pan. Damn good food, a bit expensive. Maybe they
can help." said one of the better dressed punks.
"Thanks." said Ryoga shoving the group a few bills.
Ranma turned to walk away but was stopped when he nearly ran into
an elderly man in Chinese robes. "You want to find Ryu?" he asked amused.
"Yea, you know anything about that?" asked Ryoga.
"No, I know he is a very capable warrior but not much else. It
has been a few years since I've seen him. I am in search of another."
said the old man. "One who escaped me."
"Well I'm afraid we can't help much old man." said Ryoga walking
away.
"Perhaps not, how ever...I need my skills to be in top form when
I face him again. Perhaps you can help me with that?" said the man
pointing at Ranma.
Ranma caught on quickly. "How much is it worth?" he asked coolly.
Ryoga gave him an odd stare. It was unusual for Ranma to worry
about money that way.
The old man pulled out a bag and set several gold coins on a
trash can lid. Ranma smiled and placed a large bundle of money next to
them. "Stay here and guard the cash." he said to Ryoga.
The punks all watched wide eyed. Ranma wasn't totally stupid, he
and Ryoga had set up an account at the bank of Japan before they left and
put most of their money in the bank soon after receiving it. However the
amount they had amassed coupled with his and Ryoga's savings was
substantial and Ranma carried a good bit around with him.
"Well young man shall we begin?" asked the elderly martial artist
as he took up a strange stance.
"Kung fu? not bad old man, So-ryu right?" asked Ranma as he took
up his own ready stance.
"Perhaps, I am called Gen by the way, not old man." replied Gen
with a small smile.
Ranma rushed him and swung for his head. Gen caught his arm and
pressed firmly against his shoulder with two fingers. Ranma cried out in
suprise and pain. "If you try to play with me boy you will die." said the
Gen looking at Ranma coldly.
Ranma shifted his weight and tore out of the painful hold. His
arm hung limply at his side and the man's stance changed. "Whats he up
to?" thought Ranma. "Now he's useing Ko-ryu style..." he mused as the man
attacked. Ranma dodged and blocked with his good arm while Gen took the
offensive. "He's trying to kill me!" thought Ranma desperately as Gen
charged again. Most of the old mans blows could have killed him had they
struck him. "Katsutenshin amaguriken!" yelled Ranma as he charged and
punched at Gen hundreds of times.
"You are too slow with only one arm boy. Hyaku ren Ko." said Gen
calmly as he blocked Ranma's blows with his own variation of the
technique. Ranma felt something jab his side and stomach through the
Chestnut fist attack. He fell to his knees clutching his wounds as he
realized what Gen�s attack was, He was using something similar to the
Chestnut fist to attack his nervous system with pressure points. Ranma
tried to stand and his leg gave out under him causing him to fall again.
Gen smiled and walked over to Ranma.
"A good match boy but now it must end." he said and raised his
hand.
Ryoga watched as Gen prepared to give Ranma the finishing blow
and stood angrily. "No one gets to kill him until I have!" he cried and
moved toward one step.
"Let it be." said a voice from directly behind him. Ryoga froze
as he became aware of a very powerful presence behind him. He quickly
turned and saw no one. He reluctantly took his seat and turned back to
the fight as Gen gloated over the fallen Ranma. He then raised his hand
to strike.
Ranma snorted into the dust and grit his teeth. "I'm not done
yet!" he cried as he rolled and slammed his good arm into Gen's crotch,
hard.
Gen stood motionless for a moment and turned red. Ranma kicked
the elderly man's feet from under him causing him to land on his back. He
rolled away and stood shakily on his good leg. Gen rose from the ground
and glared at Ranma. "I'll teach you about pain before I kill you now
boy." he sneered and stalked toward Ranma. Gen became a blur of motion
and swung at Ranma from all directions shifting his forms to confuse the
desperately defensive boy. Ranma growled as blows struck him almost
causing him to lose his already delicate balance. "What am I going to
do?" he thought desperately. Then it hit him. He was already doing it.
Gen lept at Ranma and cried 'Ouga' as he spun in the air and came
down in a kick. Ranma ducked and shifted to avoid the blow, or so it
seemed to Gen. At the height of his kick Ranma did something he wasn't
expecting. "Hiryu shouten ha!" Gen gasped as the sleeping dragon
enveloped him and shot him high into the sky in the form of a powerful
whirlwind.
As the blast died down Ranma collapsed as Gen came down nearby.
Ranma stood again after a few moments and felt his leg and arm throb in
pain as he regained control over them. He stood and wobbled towards Ryoga
and the amazed crowd.
"Wait. Finish it." said Gen from the ground as he also struggled
to stand.
Ranma turned to face him. "What?" he asked dumbly.
Gen pulled out a bag that jingled with coins, "Take this its
yours just finish what you've started boy. I wish to die in battle." said
Gen weakly.
"Put that away old man. I would have fought you for free if you
hadn't had any money. I can't be bought, and I don't kill." said Ranma as
he left Gen on the ground and walked away.
"Heh, a wise choice." said Gen.
Ranma turned to see that the man had vanished, he looked down to see the
bag of coins at his feet. Embroidered on the bag was, "The only true
assassins are those who use their hands to defeat their opponents."
Ranma picked it up and looked in the bag. He almost passed out
again. In it was a small fortune in gold coins. He pulled out a small
note written with intricate hand writing that said. "For my successor."
Ryoga stood and watched coolly. "Ranma...How dare you beat up
and rob a helpless old man like that!" he cried.
From the shadows a dark figure stood watching. "If he is good
enough to defeat the assassin... Perhaps I should watch this one more
closely." it thought.
A few hours later Ranma walked out of the 1st China bank with a
huge grin. "What are you so happy about?" growled Ryoga.
"You dope! You don't get it do you. We never have to worry about
money again as long as we live. We are set for life!" said Ranma knocking
on Ryoga's head like it was a door.
"So?" said Ryoga sourly.
Ranma sighed and walked on. "There is just no pleasing some
people." he said to himself. Ryoga walked a short distance behind him and
frowned.
"Hey Ranma. I'm board." he said finally.
"Well what do you want to do?" asked Ranma casually.
"If I knew that I wouldn't be board would I?" snapped Ryoga.
"I'll buy you lunch I guess." said Ranma.
"I can buy my own." sneered Ryoga.
"Fine geeze! I try to be nice and this is what I get." said Ranma
throwing his hands into the air in frustration.
Ryoga stood and watched Ranma walk for a moment with a suprised
look on his face. "He was?" he thought before realizing that he would be
lost if he lost sight of Ranma.
"Hey, wait up!"
At the Tendo Dojo...
Dear Akane,
Guess what? I'm in China again. Now before you get all mad at me
I just want to say that I'm not in any trouble or anything, I just ended
up here after our little training trip got underway. I guess we got a
little carried away. Me and Ryoga talked about it and decided we are not
going to visit Jusenkyo. If we did we would lose sight of our goal,
possibly forever. I know I didn't explain much for you and your family. I
guess I thought this way would be easier. I am with Ryoga searching for a
technique called the Sho ryu ken. The only man we know of that knows it
is a man named Ryu. We are trying to find him, and it isn't easy. He
travels even more than Ryoga. Well I hope that clears things up a little
for you. I'm sorry I couldn't tell you earlier. I miss every one there.
Well almost.
Yes, I even miss you. You uncute Tomboy.
Ja!
Ranma.
P.S. Ryoga says "Hi"
P.P.S. He's just mad cause I learned a technique first.
Ryoga.
Akane clutched the postcard to her chest and smiled. She started
as Nabiki entered the room and sat down. She quickly composed herself.
"What's that?" asked the middle Tendo.
"Oh, just a post card from Ranma." she said nonchatingly.
Nabiki plucked it from her grasp and glanced at it. Akane reached
for it defensively, but pulled back at the last moment.
"That dope hasn't changed a bit." said Akane laughing nervously.
"I certainly hope not, you'd never forgive him if he did."
commented Nabiki as she handed it back.
Unryu pig farm...
Akari Unryu held an Identical post card in her hand. On the front
was a picture of Ranma and Ryoga standing in front of a large Chinese
building and smiling casually. She almost cried in joy that Ryoga
remembered her even on his voyage of training.
Dearest Akari,
I hate Traveling with Ranma, he's such a jerk. I think I'm going
to kill him. He's always such a pain in the ass. I miss you and hope to
see you as soon as I beat the crap out of Ranma for good. Ranma says to
say 'Hi'. I told him to quit hitting on you and hit him. That guy is
unbelievable. I hope you are doing well.
Until we meet again.
Ryoga.
"He's so romantic. Defending my honor that way. Just like a pig
would." sighed Akari happily clutching the card to her chest.
Back in China...
Ranma stood in a park in one of the nicer areas of Hong Kong and
watched the people go by. He smiled and waved as a group of school girls
walked by giggling and watching him. Ryoga stood next to him at a phone
booth and flipped through the pages of the phone book casually. He
blushed slightly as he noticed some of the girls were watching him as
well. He ignored it and continued his search. "Did ya find it yet?" asked
Ranma.
Ryoga snorted and frowned. "Yea." he said and ripped out the
page. "And don't think I didn't notice you flirting with those girls
Saotome. I won't allow you to cheat on Akane like that." he said as he
smacked Ranma upside his head with the book.
About an hour later Ranma and Ryoga walked into the Golden Dragon
Pan and waited as a pretty young girl walked up and greeted them. They
smiled politely and asked if she spoke Japanese. She bowed and walked
away.
A short elderly woman walked up to them and smiled. Ranma and Ryoga
whinced at the familiarity of the situation.
"What can I do for you boys?" she asked.
"We are looking for a man named Ryu. We understand he came here."
said Ryoga.
The woman frowned and looked thoughtful. "I can't say I remember.
We get allot of customers from all over." she said.
"Oh well, thanks for your time." said Ryoga.
"Sorry I couldn't help." said the woman.
The pair stepped out of the restaurant and walked back towards
the hotel. About half way there they passed an alley. Am obviously female
figure in the shadows stepped out into the light. "I understand your
looking for Ryu." she said.
"Thats right." said Ranma stepping forward.
"I've found them." she said to no one.
Another figure stepped out of the shadows. <This is them?> he
asked with a snort in English.
"These are the men my contact said were sparing in the Gym.
Obviously collectors for Shadowloo." said the woman.
"What the hell are they talking about Ranma?" said Ryoga.
"Got me." replied Ranma coolly. He didn't like the look she was
giving him.
The man standing opposite Ryoga got into a ready stance and Ryoga
followed. "So you want to fight?" asked Ryoga frowning at the much larger
man He had blocked blonde hair and wore camouflage pants with a black
leather jacket. He also stood like he knew what he was doing.
Ranma had his own problems. The woman hadn�t even bothered to get
into a stance. "For my father!" she cried and charged at Ranma with a
kick that sent him into the alley way. "My name is Chun li and your kind
killed my father scum. Prepare to die." she said and charged at him
again.
Ranma stood from the puddle she was in and punched Chun li in the
face. "Now that were both girls, I don't have to go easy on you." she
said as a shocked Chun li stood and faced her new opponent.
TbC...
Next: The sparrow and the eagle
Think Ranma was a bit OOC in that last scene? Then why was
Shampoo trying to kill Ranma when she first appeared?
C&C to Catbert25@aol.com
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