Crossover Fan Fiction / Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction / Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ A Different Path ❯ Chapter 4

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

This story contains scenes of explicit sex, naughty words, and other horrible, offensive things.  If you are underage in your house, village, town, city, community, state, province, country, or continent: READ NO FURTHER!  If that type of thing offends your tender sensibilities, or you are stupid: READ NO FURTHER!  All characters are the copyright of their respective creators and/or owners; no copyright infringement is intended by this story.  Any resemblance to people, places, or situations alive, dead, or otherwise is purely coincidental.
 
A Different Path
 
Chapter 4
 
“Uh…Excuse me?”
 
Everyone turned at the sound of that tentative voice to see a black-haired teenaged boy standing at the entrance of the living room looking around uncertainly. A yellow and black bandanna was wrapped around his head as a sweatband and he was wearing a thick yellow shirt and green pants that appeared to have seen a lot of use from their dirty and frayed conditions. Looking over the other boy Ranma immediately judged, Definitely a martial artists and not too shabby a one either I'd guess.
 
“Ryouga! Welcome back! It's been so long!” Ranma's body gave a little twitch of surprise at Akane's welcoming tone of voice and the way she rushed over to lead the other teenager into the room before sitting him down at the table right next to her. The other Tendos also greeted the boy, and from what they were saying it was clear that he had recently returned from some kind of trip.
 
Their fight forgotten, Ranma and Happosai also sat down at the table, earning them a glare from Akane and a quizzical look from Ryouga. His curiosity was soon satisfied, however, when Soun spoke up, “Ryouga I'd like you to meet some surprise guests of ours. The extremely distinguished and powerful individual seated to my right is my venerable Master Happosai. To my left is my old training partner Genma Saotome and finally the young man seated across from you is Genma's son, Ranma Saotome. And this is Ryouga Hibiki, a friend of the family. Ryouga goes to the same school as Akane and Nabiki.”
 
All of the individuals who had just been introduced bowed their heads and mumbled a few words of greeting. Ranma then asked, “So, you're a marital artist, huh?”
 
“Yeah,” Ryouga agreed. “How'd you know?”
 
“Oh, I could tell,” Ranma dismissed with a grin. “So, you're just back from a trip? Was it a trainin' journey?”
 
For some reason, Ryouga blushed a deep red at this question and stammered, “Y, Y, Yeah…It…it was a training journey. That's right…A training journey…”
 
Nabiki snorted in laughter at this, earning her a sharp look from her younger sister, but neither said anything. Ranma frowned again looking over Akane and the blushing Ryouga for several moments, before nodding his head in decision. “I see.” Everyone turned to look at Ranma, unsure of what the cursed teenager might be talking about this time. “Akane? I'm sorry for what I said before. I didn't realize.”
 
“N, now what are you talking about?!” Akane was nervous about what this weirdo would call her next.
 
“I mean,” Ranma gestured toward Akane and Ryouga. “If I'd known that you two were an item, I'd've never called ya a lezbo. Obviously you're a switch hitter.”
 
Ranma's comments caused a short pause of stunned silence before the table erupted. Happosai and Nabiki were laughing their heads off again while Akane and Ryouga furiously shouted at Ranma, simultaneously trying to deny that they were a couple and showing their anger at what he had said. Sound and Genma cautiously tried to interject, but were totally ignored.
 
“So…You guys ain't boyfriend and girlfriend?” Ranma finally managed to ask.
 
“NO!” Akane screamed, before calming slightly. “I mean…Well, I'm a girl and he's a boy and…And we're friends. But, just not…Not friends…Do you understand now?”
 
“Got it,” Ranma nodded his head seriously. “Sorry about that, Ryouga. Just a little misunderstanding, ya know? And sorry again, Akane. So, you are a flat-out dyke like I thought before.”
 
“WWWWWHHHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAATTTTTTTTTTTTTT!!!!!!????!!!!?! ?!” Akane and Ryouga sprang to their feet, their fists clenched and faces red with rage.
 
“Bwa, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!!!!!” The whole thing was too much for Nabiki and Happosai who were rolling on the tatami flooring, tears rolling down their cheeks and holding their sides as they laughed harder than they had ever done before. Kasumi also couldn't hold it back any longer and was laughing as well. Soun and Genma cringed in anticipation of what was coming next. It wasn't Akane who spoke next, however, it was Ryouga.
 
“Ranma Saotome!! I won't allow you to insult Akane anymore!!! I, Ryouga Hibiki, challenge you!!!!!”
 
Ranma jumped to his feet, a smile on his face. “Really? Cool! I haven't had a good fight today! So do you wanna do it here or in the dojo?”
 
“If you're going to duel,” Soun hastily interjected, wanting to save his house from any major damage. “Let's make it official and do it in the dojo.”
 
“Sounds good to me,” Ranma accepted with a shrug of his shoulders.
 
“Me too,” Ryouga stalked over toward the entrance way, pausing to sneer at the other marital artist in passing. “I'm going to make you regret ever saying those things about Akane, you cad! Today's the day you die!!” Not waiting for a response he left the room and made his way toward the dojo. Or so he thought, anyway…
 
“The black string, Ryouga! The black string!” Nabiki's exasperated voice brought Ryouga up short as he had started to turn left toward the kitchen instead of right to where the fighting hall was located. “Honestly! Are you color blind as well as directionless?! Akane? Why don't you go help your…friend, or he'll never get there!”
 
Ranma watched in surprise as the youngest Tendo daughter rushed by him, flashing him a glare in passing, and to the side of a red-faced Ryouga. Then the two of them walked toward the dojo, the boy's hand following one of the pieces of twine on the wall that Ranma had previously thought were for decoration.
 
“That kid's got absolutely no sense of direction,” Nabiki explained as she stood next to Ranma, shaking her head as he scratched his in confusion. “He can get lost in a closet. Since he's around so much we put these pieces of string to help him find different rooms, but it's still not that much help.”
 
“Man! What a loser!!”
 
Nabiki looked at the younger teen sharply as he laughed at his competition. “He may be clueless when it comes to navigating,” She said seriously. “But I'd recommend that you don't take him lightly. He's probably the best martial artist at our school, and that's saying something considering some of the people we've got there.”
 
“Really?” Ranma looked at Ryouga and Akane as they disappeared around a corner in the hallway. He cracked his knuckles in anticipation, “Well, let's just see what he's got then, all right?”
 
In no time at all everyone was in the dojo. Ranma and Ryouga faced each other in the center of the room about fifteen feet from one another. The Tendos, Happosai and Ranma's father were seated, lined up against a wall. Akane had a smug look on her face as she expected a quick victory for Ryouga over the pervert who had been saying such nasty things about her. After all, Ryouga was the strongest fighter she knew! Nabiki's face was expressionless as was Kasumi's, but both expected the same thing as they knew Ryouga's power. Happosai simply sat, smoking a pipe, waiting to observe and comment on his student's performance. Genma's face was blank, but that was because he was starting to fall asleep under the effects of all the sake he'd been drinking. Soun had a serious expression on his face, befitting his position as the judge of the contest. “Bow,” he commanded the two combatants who complied. Then…“Begin!” He shouted, bringing his hand down sharply.
 
“DDDIIIIIIEEEEE!!” Ryouga sprinted forward, going for a knock-out blow from the start as was his custom. This is gonna be easy! He thought smugly, seeing how Ranma was standing so nonchalantly in the face of his attack. I'm gonna punch this idiot into-!!!!
 
CCRRAAAAACCCKKK!!!
 
All of the Tendos watched in shock as Ryouga suddenly went flying backwards, first in the air and then skidding along the floor until he smashed into the far wall. There his body lay twitching, the teenager only half-conscious. Everyone turned their eyes from the body of Ryouga to Ranma, who seemed to have barely moved.
 
“Wh-What happened?” Nabiki asked, speaking for everyone who had been watching the fight, but had been unable to see what had just happened. Well, nearly everyone…
 
“Ranma!!” Happosai shouted at his student, gesturing imperiously with his pipe at the youth. “Don't overextend with your kicks, no matter how weak your opponent is!!”
 
“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Ranma answered sourly. “You keep tellin' me that.”
 
“He kicked him?” Kasumi asked in surprise.
 
“Uh, yes, he certainly did,” her father replied, trying to act like he had been able to see the attack. “And a very fine kick it was, too. Although, as the Master said, perhaps he did extend just a bit too far on it. Wouldn't you agree, Saotome?”
 
“Huh? OH! Yes! Exactly, Tendo! Exactly as you say!” Genma looked around blearily, not sure what exactly had happened while he had been dozing.
 
There was one other person with something to say, though, and that was Akane. Running to Ryouga's side she gently began to shake him in order to help him clear his head, yelling at Ranma as she did so, “You cheater!! You couldn't beat Ryouga in a fair fight, so you had to use some kind of dirty trick, didn't you?!!?”
 
That accusation made Ranma scowl. “Now, look here! I don't care about ya callin' me a pervert, or freak, or anythin' like that, but nobody calls me a cheater!! I beat that loser fair and square! It ain't my fault he's too weak to touch me!”
 
“I…I am not weak!” Ryouga staggered to his feet, everyone gasping at the large crimson welt on his face from where he had just been kicked. “And you didn't beat me!”
 
Ranma sighed, “I laid you flat out on your ass, stupid! If that ain't beatin' you, then I don't know what is!”
 
“I refuse to accept it!!” Ryouga growled, his hands clenched into fists as he stalked toward the other teenager. “You cheated somehow the first time, but it won't work again! This time I'm gonna knock that smug head of yours right off your body!!!”
 
“Fine. Whatever.” Ranma shrugged. “I tell ya what, if you wanna fight me again, I got no problem with that. I'll even give ya five minutes of free attacks. I won't fight back, I'll just dodge. But after those five minutes are up, I'm tellin' ya right now I'm gonna lay ya out again!”
 
“SHUT UP!!!!” Ryouga bellowed as he ran at his tormentor, flicking out his fists and lashing out with his feet as hard and as fast as he could. It was no use, though. Ranma simply ducked, weaved and jumped his was around the dojo, a taunting smile on his face as he avoided each of Ryouga's attacks with just millimeters to spare. Ryouga felt his rage grow higher and higher as the seconds ticked by and all of his strikes proved fruitless. After nearly four minutes of useless attacking he paused, panting heavily as a result of his efforts.
 
“What's the matter?” Ranma asked teasingly. “Givin' up already, fang-boy?”
 
Ryouga clenched his crossed arms in front of his chest. “You insult me in front of everyone,” He began muttering, his voice starting low, but increasing in strength as he spoke. “You call Akane terrible names. You tease me. You knock me out in front of Akane. You cheat in your fights! And now you're going to pay, Ranma Saotome!! SHISHI HOKODAN!!!!!”
 
Ranma blinked in surprise as a red ball of energy abruptly erupted from his opponent's extended arms and shot toward him. He dropped to the ground, avoiding it, but he could feel the energy's crackling power as it shot past him and exploded through the wall of the dojo. Popping back to his feet, he looked at the large, smoking hole in the wall, then back at Ryouga. “Hey! Ya know some emotion ki attacks, don't ya!?! I never woulda guessed it!”
 
“I missed you,” Ryouga snarled. “How depressing…SHISHI HOKODAN!!!!”
 
“MY DOJO!!!!! WAH!!! WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO MY POOR DOJO!?!?!!” Soun began crying like a baby as Ryouga's furious attacks began blasting gaping rents through the walls, ceiling and even floor of the building. The only thing that stopped his weeping was when one of the teen's stray attacks nearly hit him in the face. At that point he fainted. Despite the power of Ryouga's ki attacks, however, his opponent was still able to avoid them all, leaving Ryouga weaker and weaker as his assault drained his body of energy. Until the point when…
 
“Ranma-kun?” Kasumi's voice, though soft and sweet somehow manage to carry cleanly through the chaos and noise of the fight. “The five minutes are up.”
 
“Thanks, Kasumi!” Ranma somersaulted out of one more attack, asking in mid-flight, “By the way, which wall needs repairs the most, would you day?”
 
“Probably that one,” Nabiki answered, indicating the wall opposite the front entrance to the dojo. “Although I wouldn't call any of them in particularly good shape at the moment…”
 
“All right then.” Ranma was silent for a few moments, continuing to dodge Ryouga's Shishi Hokodan assault, until he was in the right position. Then, even as Ryouga readied himself for another blast at his enemy, he suddenly found that Ranma was already up in close on him, inside his defenses. Before he could react he felt a blow impact him like a sledgehammer and then everything went black.
 
To the Tendo daughters, Ranma's transition from defense to attack was impossible to make out. At one point he was nimbly dodging about and then he was abruptly face-to-face with Ryouga. A blink of an eye after that moment, Ryouga was tumbling though the air, crashing through the back wall, then through the stone wall surrounding the Tendo house, next through the trailer of a truck that was just passing by, then through a neighboring house's wall, then through…
 
“Hmmm,” Ranma looked down at his fist thoughtfully as he scratched his head. “Maybe I put a little too much `Umph' into it…”
 
“Oh, you think so?” Happosai asked dryly, shaking his head at his student. “We really need to work on your control, my boy. You can't just go around blasting your opponents through entire neighborhoods, you know!”
 
“You do it to me all the time!” Ranma pointed out.
 
“It helps toughen you up!” Happosai waved aside the teenager's comment. “But you're missing the point! What I'm trying to say is-”
 
“You cheater!! I hate you!!” Akane stormed past Ranma on her way to track down Ryouga. Ranma frowned after her as she left the dojo.
 
“Is she stupid or somethin'? How was I cheatin'!?”
 
“Oh, don't worry about her,” Nabiki advised the teen. “She's just incredibly violent.”
 
“And stubborn,” Kasumi added as she helped her father to sit back up again as he finally began recovering from his fainting spell.
 
“And loud.”
 
“And has no sense of fashion.”
“And isn't very cute.”
 
“And a terrible cook. But she can be a very nice girl. Occasionally.”
 
“Oh, yeah,” Nabiki smiled at her older sister. “I don't think he's really going to buy that, Kasumi.”
 
“Whyever not?”
 
Ranma was still scratching his head over that when Akane reappeared, the battered, unconscious body of Ryouga slung across her back. Setting him down next to her sisters, she turned to face Ranma with a scowl on her face. “I'm not going to let you cheat like that! I challenge you!”
 
Ranma returned the other teenager's angry look with one of his own at the girl's accusation. “And just how did I cheat, stupid? He attacked me and I defended myself! What's wrong with that!?!”
 
“There's no way a perverted freak like you could've ever beaten Ryouga without using some kind of sneaky, dirty, underhanded trick! And like I said, I'm not going to let you get away with it! Now, as Heir to the Tendo School of Anything Goes Martial Arts, I challenge you! Are you willing to face me or not!?!”
 
Ranma looked at her in disbelief, “Are you kiddin' me?! You're the Heir to the Tendo School??!!” When Ranma looked over to see all of the Tendos nodding in acknowledgement he shook his head. “I can't believe someone so weak is the Heir to the Tendo School of Anything Goes Martial Arts!! There's no way you could beat me! I could take you with both hands tied behind my back and blindfolded!”
 
“Shut up and fight me then!!” Akane started to charge toward the teenaged boy, but was brought up short in surprise when he held up his hand directly in front of her face.
 
“Hold on a sec! I just got a great idea! Just hold on!!” The martial artist abruptly ran out of the dojo, but was back in mere moments, holding a pad of paper and a calligraphy set. Kneeling on the dojo floor he quickly mixed up some ink, asking as he did, “Mr. Tendo, you said you wanted to join your school of martial arts with my Pop's school, ain't that right?”
 
“Uh, yes, but…” Soun replied uncertainly.
 
“Just wait a minute.” The ink prepared, Ranma picked up a brush and with swift, sure strokes began writing something out. When he was done, he stamped it with his personal seal at the bottom, blew on the ink to dry it and then stood up. Walking over to Akane he presented it to her with a deep, formal bow. Everyone rushed over to read the letter over Akane's shoulder, Soun slapping Genma awake and dragging him over as well while Happosai jumped on top of Soun's head to get a good view. Akane's hands began trembling in fury as she read aloud through tightly clenched teeth:
 
`I, Ranma Saotome, Heir to the Founding School of Anything Goes Martial Arts and the Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts, do hereby challenge Akane Tendo, Heir to the Tendo School of Anything Goes Martial Arts, to a duel in one month's time. When I win the battle, I will be formally recognized as the Heir to the Tendo School of Anything Goes Martial Arts, being taught and given access to all of its secrets. Should I, through some miraculous freak accident, lose, all marriage arrangements between the Saotome and Tendo families will be annulled and I will leave Tokyo, never to return. Signed on this day, Friday, April 14th: Ranma Saotome.'
 
“Well, whaddaya think?” Ranma asked.
 
“I think I'm going to kill you!” Akane snarled.
 
“I think we should have it somewhere public,” Nabiki observed. She pulled out a schedule book and began quickly flipping through the pages. “Hmm, how about on Sunday, May 14th? It'll be a day off so we can expect a big crowd…Just leave all of the arrangements to me!”
 
“My! What beautiful penmanship!” Kasumi observed with a smile. “Wherever did you learn to write so well, Ranma-kun? From Grandfather Happosai?”
 
“Ha! Not hardly!” Happosai frowned at his student's reaction, but said nothing as Ranma continued speaking. “Actually, I learned it when I was with the Amazons. They're big into calligraphy, so they made me learn this junk as well as real martial arts stuff. `Course, some of the characters are different between Chinese and Japanese, so I sometimes get those mixed up…”
 
While this discussion on handwriting was taking place, Soun had been working up his nerve to speak. Finally, he was ready, “I-!”
 
“We accept don't we, Dad? DON'T WE, DAD?!”
 
Soun trembled at the way his youngest daughter was looking at him, but he stayed firm, “Now, Akane. I really think…”
 
DON'T WE, DAD?!?!?!!?
 
“Yes! Yes, we accept!! Now, where's my hanko…?” In no time at all the challenge was signed and sealed by Soun and Akane, he unhappily, she aggressively.
 
“Well, then…That's that. Now, Akane,” Akane glared at Ranma as he addressed her. “I'd appreciate it if you did some hard trainin' between now and the fight. I mean, I know it ain't gonna make any difference, but try not to be too embarrassingly weak out there, all right?”
 
“Shut up, you!! In one month I'm going to pound you into the ground and show you that I'm the best martial artist the Anything Goes Schools have to offer!!!” With that the girl turned on her heel and left the dojo, dragging the unconscious Ryouga along with her.
 
This isn't going so well, Soun thought to himself, observant and on the ball as always. But perhaps we can “Master Happosai? Ranma?” When the two people he had just mentioned turned toward him, Soun continued, “Well, I was just thinking. Since you're going to be here for at least a month, perhaps you could stay here and Ranma, you could go to Furinkan High School with my daughters and Ryouga. It'd give everyone a chance-”
 
“An excellent idea!” Happosai interrupted before the other man could finish talking. “That's just what we'll do!”
 
“High School?!” Ranma objected. “Why the hell would I wanna go to High School, Master?! You always said it was a waste of time! I mean, except for hookin' up with some hotties or somethin'…”
 
“Ranma, my boy,” Happosai walked over to his student and laid a fatherly hand on the youth's knee; not being able to reach his shoulder due to the difference in heights between them. “I think it's time for you to be exposed to another facet of societal structures than we have experienced before.”
 
“Huh?”
 
“Remember the time we spent investigating nurses' dormitories?”
 
“Oh yeah!” Ranma responded enthusiastically.
 
“The flight attendants' seminars?”
 
“Definitely!”
 
“The masseuses' shops?”
 
“Hell yeah!”
 
“And of course there were the nudist colonies, strip bars, hostess clubs, and so on. Just look on this as the same kind of opportunity as those…spiritual adventures. Think of yourself as an explorer delving into the deepest reaches of our own cultural subconscious by spending time among fellow teenagers.”
 
“If you say so, Gramps.” Ranma shrugged in acceptance before suddenly smiling. “But if we're gonna do it, I think we'd better have a little contest first. Same rules as always, if I win, no panty-stealin' or any other kinda lechery here at the Tendos or at school. Ya game?”
 
“Hmph!” Happosai assumed a combat stance. “Do you really think you can best me, Ranma?!”
 
“I'm sure gonna try! Here I come, Old Man!!”
 
With that the sounds of combat resumed within the Tendo Dojo. The speed and fierceness of the fighting, however, was much advanced over what had been taking place between Ranma and Ryouga. As the two martial artists began moving so quickly they seemed to be only blurs of color to the other occupants of the training hall the intensity increased to such a pitch that it couldn't long be contained in a single location. Thus, soon the two combatants were outside of the dojo, continuing their battling in the streets and on the rooftops of Nerima. Needless to say, major destruction of private property accompanied them as well.
 
“`Panty stealing?'” Nabiki observed coolly to her father in the silence that followed after Ranma and Happosai left the dojo. “`Lechery?' Just what kind of master do you have, Daddy?” Soun and Genma shared ashamed looks and laughed nervously at that question, but said nothing. “Oh well. It certainly looks like our new houseguests will liven things up around here.”
 
“Oh, my!” Kasumi suddenly jumped to her feet. “I'd better do some shopping! We're going to need a lot more food with so many guests. Would you mind helping me, Nabiki?”
 
“Not at all, Sis.”
 
When his two elder daughters had left, Soun looked around his wrecked dojo in silence. Finally he turned to his old friend. “Well, Saotome…Things didn't quite work out the way we had hoped.”
 
“True, true,” Genma was forced to admit. “But things could be worse. After all, should Ranma win, the schools will be joined and it'll still be possible for him to marry one of your daughters and join the families as well.”
 
“Yes, that's true. But what about these Chinese wives of your sons? How come you never mentioned them?!”
 
“Tendo, Tendo! You worry too much!” Genma tried to calm his friend, sweating nervously all the while. “After all, China's a long way from here! And you know what they say, `What happens in China, stays in China!'”
 
“I'm not sure that's exactly the right saying,” Soun observed. “But I hope you're right…I hope you're right…”