Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ Second Chances ❯ Formula for Victory ( Chapter 20 )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]
Second Chances

Chapter 20 - Formula For Victory!

By Lord Archive


Ranma 1/2 characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi, Viz Video, and several other companies and are used without consent. Oh My Goddess characters belong to Fujishima Kousuke, AnimEigo, and others- also used without consent. I'll return them... I just need to get Urd to send them back into time....

"Ranma!" Akane yelled and grabbed a man with red hair.
He looked at her, confused. "Oro?"
"Kenshin! Who is she?!"
"Oro!"
"You're not Ranma." Akane let go of him.
"Oops, over did it. Bye." Urd left 19th century Japan.

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Akane stood at one end of a vacant lot. She idly wondered how much abuse this field would take in the coming years. It was or will be Ranma's third most frequent battleground, after her home and Furinkan High School. That was assuming that the field survived the coming fight.

Shampoo looked around the field of her upcoming battle. It was best to get familiar with your surroundings before a fight, and this 'fiancee' girl had the upper hand in knowing about this place. She detected no traps or any signs that anyone had been here recently. She might be able to trust this girl to a fair fight.

Nabiki sat to the side of vacant lot, munching popcorn. This promised to be a spectacular fight. Too bad she couldn't sell tickets to it. She mentally slapped herself, trying to remind herself what was on the path of the mercenary road for her-- the complete disregard of other people's feelings, especially her family's feelings.

Nabiki tried to calculate the odds of this fight.

Shampoo has been trained to be a warrior, a killer, since she was three or four years old. Many of the publicly preferred martial arts concepts just don't apply to her, and that can be a serious problem in what Akane might consider a martial arts challenge. Shampoo would fight to win at any cost, and death of her opponent was to be honored not scorned. The dead Ranma speculated that Shampoo knew many of the Amazon techniques, but was never in a position to use them effectively. It was kind of obviously Shampoo at least knows Bakusai Tenketsu, considering how many 'doors' she had made.

Akane had trained in martial arts as a hobby off and on for about fourteen years. With her father's lack of guidance in regards to what the school, Musabetsu Kakutou Tendo-Ryu, was really about, Akane developed more of a traditional view of martial arts. Meaning, killing your opponent meant you made a mistake in how you approached the fight. Akane had purposely trained in many secret arts for the purpose of defeating Shampoo. However, the dead Ranma had some major concerns about whether or not Akane was ready to fight Shampoo. Sure, this Shampoo wasn't as skilled, but Akane insisted that her body was not trained well enough to do some of her moves, like Kachuu Tenshin Amaguriken.

This fight was going to be better than some martial arts films, but the risk that Akane or Shampoo would get seriously hurt was a bit high. Which was why Nabiki had insisted on coming along. That and to make sure Shampoo didn't cheat.

Akane watched as Shampoo nodded and went to a spot across the vacant lot from her. "Let's make the terms of this fight clear. Winner will get to claim Ranma. The loser is not allowed to give the kiss of death. Understood?"

Shampoo snorted. "Yes."

Nabiki raised her hand, and then quickly lowered it. "Begin!"

Akane cast a quick glare at Nabiki then had to slam her focus back on Shampoo as she was charging at her, shampoo and comb in hand. She mentally swore as her opponent blurred and then disappeared. She could feel her head being rubbed and massaged.

Shampoo smirked. Such an easy victory, though the move took a lot of energy to pull off. But the 'fiancee' girl would be unconscious when finished. She blinked when her opponent didn't fall but staggered away.

Akane clutched her head. She would not forget Ranma. Who's Ranma? She had never known any Ranma. He was everything to her. Boys meant nothing to her. Without him there was no reason to be in the past. Why was in the past? To live through everything all over again. How did she live through all of that? She would not forget the boy who died in her arms. Maybe she was the one who died. She went into the past because she had died. How did that happen? Happosai's monster attacked us because... because she torched his panty collection and dumped him into a river? Why the hell would she do that? But if that happened how could she have killed Happosai AFTER she died? How did she die? Why did she die? She didn't physically die, did she? She was killed but not because of the monster, but because... someone died. But who? It wasn't her father, Kasumi or Nabiki. Why would she feel like that if it was Ryoga, Kuno, Genma, or even Sayuri or Yuka? Then who? WHO? A girl with a pig-tail? She didn't like girls like that! Not until... wait! She NEVER had those thoughts! Why would she ever think of things so perverted?! She wasn't a pervert! The only reason was because... because....

Shampoo watched 'fiancee' girl as she held her head in pain. She wasn't sure what to do. She used this shampoo quite a few times on Mousse to get him off her back for a few days. He never reacted like this. Maybe she should just put the girl to sleep, and be done with it.

Shampoo was standing over Akane ready to deliver a blow to the head when the Tendo girl screamed. Chi flared around her knocking the surprised Amazon onto her ass.

"You can't make me forget Ranma." Akane's eyes spoke of unnatural fury.

"Better than Shampoo thought." The Amazon stood up and got into a ready position.

Akane struck out with an unrestrained punch, which Shampoo dodged easily. The Tendo girl continued the relentless assault. Punch after punch, kick after kick; and none of them came close to connecting.

Shampoo smirked. Her opponent was PISSED. She had rarely felt a battle aura like this. A little farther and this fight would be over. The girl wasn't worth the effort, but might as well prove the true might of the Amazons. She frowned when 'fiancee' girl did a large arcing kick. It was child's play to avoid, but it disrupted the spiral. Upset, Shampoo launched a kick into her opponent's unprotected stomach.

Akane rolled with the blow, but it HURT. She tumbled completely across the field. She immediately got up and charged at her opponent.

Shampoo dodged and grabbed 'fiancee' girl as she passed and slammed her into the ground.

Akane pivoted her legs under Shampoo, sweeping the feet out from under the Amazon. Rather than try to get on top of her opponent, the Tendo girl stood up.

Shampoo leapt to her feet. She had to get calm again. With this much hot chi, she could blast her stupid opponent all the way back to the Amazon village. She needed to be calm and get the annoying girl into a spiral.

Akane launched into another barrage of punches and kicks. She also added insults with each attack, like horny slut and weakling, which were spoken in practiced Mandarin.

Screw the spiral. There was no way Shampoo would tolerate anyone insulting her like that. She attacked.

Akane grunted from the blows she was receiving. But with Shampoo coming on to the offensive, at least she had started to land some hits herself. Unfortunately for every one of her hits, the Amazon stuck four times and probably with more power. She just needed a little more....

Nabiki was glad she brought a lot of popcorn, because it was better to munch on that than her fingers. The battle wasn't going very good for Akane. She could feel the tension in the air, and it was causing her to sweat. It shouldn't feel like it was ninety degrees where she was sitting, considering the night air should be a brisk sixty at this time; but that's what it felt like.

Nabiki winced when Shampoo kicked Akane a couple meters across the vacant lot. She then noticed her little sister smile in a way she had never seen before. The Tendo girl then leapt several meters into the air.

Shampoo looked confused. She had ample time to get out of the way. The Amazon decided to stand near where the girl would land to make sure she would never get back up after she hits.

Akane closed her eyes and focused. Her thoughts changing from everything she had ever hated about Shampoo to the worst moment of her life. At one time it had been her mother's death. Now...

A demon attacking...

Claws striking blow after blow...

Blood soaking everything...

Collapsing after defeating it...

Finally saying 'I love you'...

And then dying...

In her arms...

Leaving her with nothing to live for....

Akane's tears froze as a mist of cold formed around her just before she struck the heated air that was saturated with angry chi from both combatants. Like a drop of water splashing, pushing the puddle it fell in away; the hot chi was expelled away from the Tendo girl in an explosive blast, sending Shampoo flying through a wall.

Nabiki was shocked, not at what she saw, but because she had been thrown across the street from the sudden gust of heated wind.

Shampoo staggered to her feet and went to the freshly made door. She blinked noticing the crimson fire around 'fiancee' girl's hands.

A ball of crimson fire raced toward Shampoo. "Feel my love for Ranma!" Akane was crying. She couldn't stop it. She had lost Ranma once, and she would never, EVER, loss him again-- not to Shampoo, to Ukyou or even to death.

Shampoo flew back from the hit. This girl was toying with her. The kick that disrupted the spiral was no accident, she knew about Hiryu Shuten Ha. That wind attack proved that she knows how to manipulate hot and cold chi. She even knew how to do chi blasts. Who the hell was this girl? How does she know what she does? Shampoo would have to beat the answers out of her.

Akane tried to rein in her emotions. She needed to regain her focus. Shampoo probably hadn't fallen yet. She turned around quickly and saw Shampoo jumping down from a nearby roof and rushing toward her.

Shampoo HATED being toyed with. It reminded her of her great-grandmother's training. Tantalizing her with hints of a secret, but making her figure it out for her own. She would make this girl pay for playing with her. Her attacks were brutal, but most were blocked.

Akane knew she couldn't keep this up. Shampoo was too strong and vicious. She had to stop her somehow. Backed into a corner of the lot, she did the only thing she could think of. She lashed out with each hand and poked the walls, causing them to explode.

Shampoo wasn't hurt, but the debris momentarily blinded her.

Akane couldn't shake the coldness of her soul, and so embraced it as she had when she learned Gansekiken. She felt nothing of herself as she was dead. Dead since the day her Ranma died. She then punched just as the cloud had dissipated enough to see into.

Shampoo felt the chilling punch strike against her face, and then another into her gut. She tried to return with her own attacks, but they were countered. The Amazon was then kicked across the field. She tried to get up but was hit by a freezing chi blast.

"Do you yield?" Even the girl's voice was frozen.

Shampoo's arms wavered as she tried to push off the ground. "Who you? You know many Amazon techniques. But you outsider, so can't know. How you know?"

"I'm Tendo Akane, fiancee to Saotome Ranma, and heir of Musabetsu Kakutou Tendo-Ryu. My father's master left behind some scrolls depicting some Amazon techniques and I've learned some of them. He got them from his first love, Cologne."

Shampoo blinked several times. "What his name?" If girl's father's master was her great-grandfather, that would explain how this Akane girl could come across that knowledge.

"Happosai."

"Happosai?" Shampoo vaguely remembered that name. For some reason the name sounded like it should be spoken with anger. She would have to ask her great-grandmother about this.

"Shampoo, do you wield?"

"You win now. Shampoo go talk to great-grandmother about this. Shampoo be back. Will finish fight later." She really would've preferred to have left by some means other than limping. At least she was staying at a doctor's office, and could get some help from Dr. Tofu.

Nabiki rubbed her bruised shoulder as she walked over to Akane. "Well, you won. Do you think Cologne will be coming here?"

"I don't see how she can't. I know of too many Amazon secrets, Ranma defeated Shampoo as a guy, and I have information on Happosai. All of which would get her attention. I just hope Shampoo doesn't get cursed because of this."

"I've been wondering why Shampoo had gotten cursed in the first place. Cologne has to know enough about that place to avoid training her great-granddaughter there and her dishonor shouldn't have been enough to warrant it."

Akane shrugged. "I don't really know what had caused that." She then winced in pain when she began to walk. "Let's go home."

Nabiki followed her 'older' sister back to their home. Akane was quiet and she could still feel cold emanating from her. The Gansekiken technique had won her the match, but what was the cost of it? It can't be healthy for Akane to be like this.

"Akane!" Ranma ran over to the two girls. "Where have you been? Akane, what happened to you?"

Akane stared up at Ranma and started crying. She then hugged him tightly, unable to say anything.

Ranma looked at Nabiki questioningly.

Nabiki sighed. "Akane fought Shampoo and won."

"She what?!"

"She defeated Shampoo, barely. She used the Gansekiken against the Amazon, and well she didn't master it the same way you did."

Ranma nodded. His suggestion during training had helped Akane learn the trick faster, but she developed some cold aura while doing it. In order for her aura to be like that, her soul would have to be freezing or dead. He wished someone would explain what had happened to her, but didn't know how to phrase the question. He wished he knew how to help her. "Come on. Let's go home and get ya fixed up."

Akane nodded, but didn't let go. It was kind of awkward for Ranma to guide her home, but she had to touch him. To know he wasn't going to leave her.

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Author's notes:

Whoa! Never thought I'd get through all of it. Finally I've finished Volume 2 of Second Chances.

Coming in a few years (I wish I was kidding): Volume 3
Ranma talks to Nabiki about Akane.
Enter Happosai.
How will Akane deal with the man who killed Ranma?
What happens with Nekoken?
Shampoo returns, but does Cologne come as well?
What changes will occur because of the Amazon involvement?

For now it's time to finish the rewrite of The Insanity Continues volume 1 and some parts of volume 2. Can't forget it's time to focus now on 'Nekoken is Out of the Bag?!' and 'The Slayers: Reward.'