Slayers Fan Fiction / Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ Magic in Nerima! ❯ 7 ( Chapter 7 )

“Ranma!” the girl raised her sword into the air, glaring at Ranko. “KILL!” She flew at the other girl in a rage.

 

“W-whuh?” Ranko mouthed in confusion. Just before she Shampoo could cleave her in half, however, Ryoga appeared in front of her and caught the blade between his palms, surprising everyone present, including himself.

 

“Feh,” Ryoga said, looking back at Ranko with a smirk. “What are you trying to do? Do you have a death wish?” Ranko scowled at him.

 

“No, but I do have this,” She said, holding up a glowing hand in Ryoga's face. He gasped and shut his eyes, just as Ranko did the same. “Lighting!” There was a great flash, bright enough to hurt whoever didn't shut their eyes. Ryoga merely opened his eyes when it was done and looked around to see that Ranko was nowhere in sight.

 

“What a coward,” Ryoga thought as he snorted and looked at the purple haired girl. He let go of the sword and she harmlessly dropped to the ground, looking around in a frenzied panic.

 

“Where Ranma!?”

 

“Uh, Ranma's right here,” Akane said, gesturing towards her fiancé, who stood behind her, quivering with fear.

 

“Don't tell her that!” He whispered angrily, trying to make himself seem smaller and more unnoticable.

 

“Lies!” the purple haired girl glared at Akane before turning the glare to Ryoga. “You help Ranma! Die!” She jumped at him with the sword raised again.

 

“Heh. Fine then!” Ryoga said with a smirk as he took a defensive stance.

 

“Ryoga!” Ranma suddenly yelled in a desperate voice. “Trust me, you do not want to fight that girl!” Ryoga looked at Ranma contemptuously.

 

“I can take care of myself,” The lost boy sneered as he dodged the initial sword strike. Ranma shook his head as the two began fighting.

 

“This is bad! If Ryoga beats her…”

 

“What? What happens if Ryoga beats her?” Akane asked her fiancé, who was still hiding behind her.

 

“Well you see, this girl is from China… It's a long story, I'll tell you later. Right now we have to save Ryoga!”

 

“What are you talking about?” Akane asked with a frown as she looked over the two combatants. “He's handling himself just fine.” As she said that, Ryoga redirected a thrust and landed a decisive blow across the purple haired girl's face.

 

“You don't understand!” He said exasperatedly. “If Ryoga beats her, then she has to kill him! Some weird tribal law! She's been after me and the old man since before we left China!”

 

“What?!” Akane asked angrily. “How many of these kinds of people do you have after you?”

 

“They've got quite the collection of loonies after them,” Ranko's voice came from beside them. They turned to look at the girl, who was wearing a trench coat, hat, and sunglasses. “You guys always need me around to figure stuff out for you, don't you?”

 

“Ranko?” Akane seemed to remember something. “Why did she attack you and not Ranma?”

 

“She probably doesn't know about the girl curse. As for now, why don't we just leave? Ryoga can handle himself.”

 

“Did you not hear me?” Ranma asked angrily. “She'll chase him to the ends of the Earth!“

 

“All the more reason for us to let them be,” Ranko insisted.

 

“Ranko! How… how can you say that? He just saved your life!” Akane demanded in a scandalized tone.

 

“He owed me,” Ranko said. “Still does.”

 

“What? How?” Ranma asked incredulously.

 

`I saved him a lot of grief by keeping him away from Akane for one.' “It's personal. But we really should go.”

 

“Ranko… I can't believe you,” Akane said, disgusted. “You two can cower over here. I'm going to go stop them!”

 

“What?! No!” Both twins shouted out simultaneously as Akane ran out to stop the fight.

 

“Ryoga-kun! Stop fighting!” Akane yelled. Ryoga looked at her dubiously as he threw a stunned purple haired Amazon to the ground over his shoulder. “If you win, she'll have to chase you forever and kill you!” Ryoga blinked at that and looked down at the now unconscious amazon.

 

“Huh?” the bandana clad boy asked intelligently as he scratched his head.

 

“You fool!” Ranko yelled out as she ran over to her fiancé and grabbed him. “Raywing!” The trench coat, hat, and sunglasses fell away as they blasted off into the sky. Ryoga's eyes bulged as he was lifted off the ground, and he clung to the girl's leg as they got further and further away.

 

“What are you doing!?”

 

“We're escaping!” Ranko explained. “I can't have her chasing you like that! It would change everything!”

 

“What the hell are you talking about?” Ryoga asked with a growl. “You don't need to fear for my life!”

 

“I'm not fearing for your life,” Ranko said angrily. “I'm fearing for mine!” Ryoga blinked at that.

 

“Huh?” He said again, confusion evident in his voice.

 

“You'll see later,” She said as she floated in the air. “For now…” She started shaking her leg frantically. “Get the hell off!”

 

“No way! All the way up here!? I can't fly!” He shouted at her up at her with an incredulous look.

 

“You think I care? You're hard as rocks! Fall off already!” She yelled back.

 

“You're crazy!” He snapped, tightening his grip on her leg. “Just take me to the ground already!”

 

“Fine, dammit!” She yelled, speeding off in another direction. Ryoga blinked as he realized they were flying away from Nerima.

 

“Where the hell are you taking me?!”

 

“Far away from the dojo,” She growled as she spotted a swimming pool. “This should keep you busy for a few weeks…” She smirked as she flew into the water with a splash. As soon as they were underwater, however, she noticed that nothing had happened to the boy on her leg.

 

“What's going on?” Ryoga demanded as he looked around at the water in confusion. They were in an air bubble.

 

“I forgot, Raywing lets people go underwater,” she said. “Oh well, I'll just have to dispel it!”

 

“No, wait! I'll leave you alone! Just don't let me get wet, please!” Ranko blinked at that.

 

`Ryoga begging? Oh man, this is too awesome!' She smirked evilly at him from her position.

 

“Why shouldn't I?”

 

“Because…” He trailed off, thinking wildly. Ranko suddenly felt a pang of pity for him and sighed.

 

“Fine. Whatever.” She slowly levitated out of the water and left him on the ground beside the pool. “Listen, Ryoga. You shouldn't come back to the dojo for a while. That girl is from a village where they have to kill outsiders who defeat them in combat. It's a life-long thing too. Wait for her to leave before she can learn anything else about you.”

 

“You're serious…” Ryoga said with a frown. “But I don't have my pack.”

 

“I know you've lived without it before. You can do it again. I'll keep your stuff safe.”

 

“Really…” He gave her a half-lidded stare.

 

“Sure! No worries! After all, what are friends for?” She said with a devious grin. `He'll never see it again, heh heh heh…'

 

“We're not friends.” Ryoga reminded her with a sour frown. “We're engaged.”

 

“Relax,” she said, waving him off. “I'll figure out a way around that. We'll be back to our single status in no time, just watch!”

 

“Uh huh, sure…” he said, giving her a doubtful look.

 

“What, do you doubt me or something?” She asked with a glare.

 

“Sure I do. You're not very impressive.” He plastered as indifferent a look on his face as he could manage. Her glare intensified and she growled before kicking him into the pool and storming away. A small black piglet surfaced the water after a few minutes.

 

`Where did she go?' It thought angrily. Upon realizing the girl was nowhere nearby, it gave a very un-pig like sigh. `At least she didn't see me…' It looked around again, this time trying to figure out where it was. `Where the hell did she leave me, anyway?!'

 

---

 

Akane followed her fiancé to the Tendo Dojo along the fence, watching the back of his head as he wove his tale of sorrow.

 

“…and then she kissed me,” The boy said. Akane blinked at that and glared at her fiancé.

 

“I thought you said you were a girl at that time?” She asked.

 

“Well yes, I was. That's why she mistook Ranko for me,” Ranma explained. “If someone beats her, then she has to give them the kiss of death and then chase them around the world to kill them.”

 

“Well, you can't just expect to let her continue thinking that Ranko is you, can you?” Akane asked. Ranma was silent for a few minutes, obviously thinking about it.

 

“Well, as long as she doesn't know about the girl curse…” he said thoughtfully. Akane gawked at him.

 

“Your own sister? You'd leave her to die for something you did?!”

 

“I guess not,” Ranma said, defeated. “I guess I'll have to show that psycho the next time she shows up.”

 

“Of course you will! I can't believe you were even considering it!” Akane said, angrily.

 

“Hey, hey! I wouldn't have let it gone on for too long. I'd have figured out a way to get rid of her while she was chasin' after someone else.” Ranma said defensively. “And if she realizes that Ranko is my sister, she'll be in danger anyway. That crazy chick would probably do anything to kill me, even if it means taking a hostage.”

 

“Ranko can handle herself,” Akane said, upset at his lack of faith.

 

“That's exactly what I'm worried about,” Ranma said, turning his head to look at her. “Shampoo kidnaps Ranko, Ranko beats her up to escape, and then Shampoo's after her too!”

 

“Ranko would be able to think of a way to escape without fighting,” Akane said confidently. “She's good with strategy like that.”

 

“Well, if you say so,” Ranma sighed, turning back around. Akane ran forward and elbowed him in the back.

 

“Of course I say so! Quit doubting your sister like that!” Ranma shouted in surprise and looked at her.

 

“What the heck was that for, you stupid tomboy-pervert?” The two jumped down from the fence and turned on the street.

 

“Don't call me that!” Akane growled. “And you keep underestimating Ranko!”

 

“It's not that,” Ranma said, and Akane blinked at how serious he was. “You're underestimating Shampoo. She's not just another martial-artist; she's out to kill. And she's come close a few times!” They both stopped on the sidewalk.

 

“Well, whose fault is that?”

 

“It's pops' fault of course,” Ranma nodded sagely as he crossed his arms. “Everything is.”

 

“You said you were eating too, didn't you?”

 

“Well… I guess.”

 

“Then shouldn't you be taking responsibility as well?”

 

“Uh, but I already won the tournament,” Ranma said, scratching his head. “It was technically my food! And we didn't even get to finish! What more do you want me to do?” Akane shook her head.

 

“Forget it, you stupid pervert.”

 

“I'm not the pervert here,”

 

“Are too!”

 

“Are not!”

 

“Are too-”

 

“Would you both just shut it with that pervert crap?” Ranko's voice said from above. They both looked up and saw Ranko floating above them. She landed next to them.

 

“When are you going to teach me that?” Ranma demanded.

 

“And when are you going to introduce me to your teacher?”

 

“In time, in time,” Ranko promised. “For now, let's go inside.” She said. Ranma and Akane both took that time to notice that they were standing in front of the dojo. The two merely nodded and followed her into the dojo. Once they made it inside the house, however, they all noticed something strange.

 

Shampoo, Genma-panda and Soun were all kneeling on cushions around a small table, while Kasumi served them tea. It was almost a typical scene of most traditional Japanese fam--

 

“Shampoo!?” Ranma yelled out incredulously. “The hell is she doin here?!” Shampoo's head turned sharply at the shout and she blinked as she looked at Ranma. Ranma's eyes widened and he looked down to Ranko… only to see that she wasn't there.

 

“Oh?” Shampoo glared at Ranma and Akane. “Wimpy man and lying girl. Where Ranma?”

 

“Hey, I ain't no wimp!” Ranma said angrily. The purple haired teen snorted.

 

“Is weak male.”

 

“W-what?!” Ranma growled. “I'll show you `weak male '!”

 

“Don't let her goad you, Ranma!” Akane said as she attempted to restrain him. Shampoo noticed her and frowned.

 

“Ugly lying girl is stupid for keeping mans from getting what deserve,” She muttered. Ranma and Akane suddenly switched positions, with Ranma holding his fiancé back.

 

<You remember what happens if you beat her, don't you!?> Genma-panda signed from his position at the table.

 

“Eheh…” Ranma chuckled and rubbed his head.

 

“Anyway,” Akane said as she calmed down as well. “Don't you have something to show her, Ranma? Something to do with water?”

 

“What?” Ranma asked as he gave her a `you must be crazy' look. “No way!”

 

“But Ranko—“

 

“Hey hey, I never said I'd do it right away,” Ranma said. “There's got to be some way to get her to leave before I show her, right?” He said angrily.

 

“You really are a coward, aren't you?” Akane growled as she ran into the kitchen. “Fine, I'll show her myself!” Ranma's eyes widened as she came back out with a cup of water.

 

“Hey hey, watch it!” Ranma said as he jumped out of the way of the water she slung at him. “Fine, fine! Let's take this outside, though…” Ranma said. Akane glared at him as he turned to Shampoo, who was watching with disinterest. “Hey, Shampoo! I know where Ranma is!” He gestured outside. “Follow me if you wanna find her!” Shampoo nodded and stood up, following Ranma outside as he left through the dojo. Akane sighed at that.

 

“Finally…” There was a sudden shriek and Akane blinked. Before anyone could move, Ranko ran into the room with Shampoo wielding two bonbori hot on her tail. The red head stopped at the table and turned around, looking for a way to escape. Shampoo reared back with one of her maces and swung forward just as Ranko gracefully back flipped over the table, causing Shampoo to miss, and shatter the table with her weapon.

 

“Ranma, you bastard!” Ranko yelled out angrily as Shampoo followed her over the broken remains of the table and she ran around the long way.

 

“What's going on here?” Akane asked irately as everyone followed the two out of the room and into the dojo. When she got into the Dojo, she saw Ranma standing off to the side looking sheepish while Ranko and Shampoo had another standoff. Shampoo slammed her weapon down on the ground where Ranko had been standing and growled before continuing to chase her out of the dojo. Akane looked at Ranma angrily. “What did you do!?”

 

“Err, well, you see, I took Shampoo in here so that when the fight broke out after she saw my cursed form, there wouldn't be any real damage to the house. But Ranko was hiding in here, and before I could show her anything, she started chasing her…” He laughed nervously.

 

“Well? What are you waiting for? Go save your sister already idiot!”

 

“Sheesh, alright already, don't get your panties in a bunch…” He grumbled as he walked out of the dojo after the combatants. Akane glared as everyone followed.

 

When Ranma got outside, Shampoo and Ranko were in the street, with Ranko dodging Shampoo's strikes as Shampoo savagely assaulted her.

 

“Boy, how can you stand there while your sister is attacked by that animal? Go save her!” Ranma glared up at Genma, briefly wondering when he'd gotten the time to change back. There was a loud pained cry and he snapped his head over to see Shampoo standing over his sister as the smaller girl clutched an arm. Shampoo had a victorious smirk on her face as the girl before her sat on the pavement, gritting her teeth to keep from crying out.

 

“Hey SHAMPOO!” the girl blinked as she stopped her fight and looked up to see Ranma hurtling towards her with a foot extended. Her eyes widened just in time for his foot to connect with her face, knocking her down. He landed and took an offensive stance, standing over Ranko protectively.

 

“Normally, I'd be pissed off at you for that, but this was never my battle in the first place,” Ranko growled as she held her arm. It was definitely broken, Ranma noted with a grimace. Shampoo stood up with a sinister look on her face as Ranko ran towards the rest of her group.

 

“You is idiot attacking Shampoo,” the purple haired girl said darkly. “Shampoo KILL!” She swung her mace overhead at Ranma fiercely, and when he dodged, the weapon impacted the ground leaving a huge crater. Ranma resolved not to let her hit him lest he lose a few limbs or his life, and started dodging follow up attacks. He weaved around several swings and jumped over a thrust. While in the air, he struck out with lightning quickness and punched her in the face ten times in the blink of an eye. There was a visible effect and the girl backed away.

 

“Normally I don't seriously fight girls, but you've been trying to kill me long enough, and you hurt my sister.” Ranma said with a resolute growl. “You're not getting away with that.” Shampoo regarded him in a new light, now that she'd seen his true abilities. The two warily circled each other as the others watched from the background.

 

“You're hurt,” Akane said as she noticed Ranko.

 

“That's right, Akane. What else have you noticed today? The sky is oddly blue, don't you think?” the other girl growled. Akane rolled her eyes at that. “My arm is broken. If I wasn't trying to dodge, she might have pulverized it.”

 

“What?!” Akane asked, incredulously. Now that she looked at it, it did look that way. “You have to go to a doctor!”

 

“Tofu should be good enough,” Ranko said dismissively. “I wanna see how this turns out though. I can take a little pain.”

 

“You're being hard headed,” Akane said with a frown.

 

“She's right. We should get away from her—err, here, and get you somewhere safe.” Genma said as Akane grabbed her friend by the arm she was sure wasn't broken.

 

“Come on!”

 

“Fine, fine,” Ranko sighed as she was dragged away by her friend. Both Kasumi and Soun followed the two as they left.

 

Meanwhile, Ranma and Shampoo were still locked in mortal combat. Ranma ducked under a horizontal swing from one mace and feinted to the left before kicking her in the midriff, and then following up with a few more to vital areas on her chest. Each blow was speedy, precise, and packed with power, and to anyone watching that hadn't been as well trained as the two combatants, his leg would have appeared to blur. The force of his attack knocked Shampoo off of her feet and Ranma warily watched her unmoving form and then relaxed when he saw that she would not be getting up.

 

“Ranma?” Came a familiar voice from the side. Ranma blinked in surprise and looked up in time to see Ryoga standing on the street corner. “There you are!” Ryoga growled and ran over to Ranma, not noticing the unconscious girl as he stepped on her. “What are you doing here? You still hiding behind your sister?”

 

“No way! I just beat Shampoo right now you idiot!” Ranma said, pointing at the purple haired girl. Ryoga blinked and looked down at Shampoo's limp form and blinked.

 

“Oh. So she knows?”

 

“Err, no,” Ranma said. “I just took her on while in the male form. But what the heck are you doing here? Didn't you beat her too, earlier?” Ryoga looked surprised.

 

“Oh yeah,” He said, looking up at the pig-tailed menace. “But you know, I'm not afraid of her. She's not that great. She can chase me for as long as she wants.”

 

“That's right,” Ranma said suddenly in realization. “She'd probably never find you anyway.” Ryoga growled at that but didn't say anything.

 

“Where's everyone else? I'd have thought they would be watching something like this.” The lost boy looked around in confusion, taking note of the various craters and what not.

 

“They all ran away. Well, Ranko was attacked and had her arm broken, but Pops used it as an excuse to run away. Akane, Kasumi and Mister Tendo are with them out of concern. I think.”

 

“Oh.” There was a groan beneath them and they looked down to see the purple haired girl slowly standing up. Both nodded to each other and took up offensive stances. When Shampoo finally stood up, however, she did not attack. She stared at both Ryoga and Ranma with a troubled look, before muttering something in Chinese.

 

“Eh? Isn't she going to attack?” Ryoga asked.

 

“I dunno man, she looks confused.” Suddenly, the girl took a few haphazard steps towards them, and they tightened their stances, watching to make sure she didn't do anything. The girl looked up into both of their faces as sweat poured down her face. “Uh… Shampoo? You okay?”

 

“No,” the girl said. “<I am confused. If I'm defeated by an outsider male, I'm supposed to marry him, but both of you…>” She shook her head and the two stared at her with uncomprehending looks on their faces as she spoke to herself in her native language. “Big problem come up.” She turned around picked up both of her maces before walking away, leaving both boys standing there confused.

 

“Wait a minute,” Ranma asked. “Does this mean you aren't after Ranma any more?” The purple haired girl didn't respond at all however, as she left them behind. “Well that was weird,” He said as he relaxed. “Listen, I'm gonna check up on Ranko. Later,” He said, leaping away.

 

“Wait!” Ryoga called out from behind him. Ranma turned in midair and landed backwards on the roof of his target. “Let me go with you,” Ryoga said as he leapt up to join the boy.

 

---

 

Ranko sat down in the guest room on her futon with her arm in a sling as she perused a large, positively ancient looking tome with the help of a small light spell. Both Genma and Ranma were behind her, on their own futons. Genma was already snoring up a storm, but Ranma was distracted by the small but by no means dim orb of light that hung over the book so that she could read. That, topped off with the fact that it was raining fairly hard, meant that Ranma was not able to sleep easily enough at all.

 

“Ranko,” The pig tailed teen said in a gruff, tired voice. “Can't you turn that light down?” He turned his head to look up at the red-haired girl and waited for a response. She merely glanced at him from the corner of her eyes, and didn't respond. “What the heck are you looking in that old book for anyway?”

 

“White magic,” She responded simply.

 

“White magic?” Ranma asked in confusion. Ranko merely ignored the questioning tone in his voice and continued reading. The pig-tailed teen frowned at that and sighed, closing his eyes to try and sleep again.

 

“There is no room for error with this. I do not want to have to cut off a mal-formed arm and re-grow an entirely new one. A bit messier, and quite a bit more draining as well.” Ranma's eyes opened as the descriptive words began to paint a picture that he did not want to see in his mind.

 

“You can do that kind of stuff?” He asked seriously. “Re-growing limbs, I mean?” Ranko chuckled to herself and closed her eyes.

 

“Naw, not really. All the more reason for me not to mess this one up.” She turned back to the book and continued reading. `You'd have to be a master at black, white, and spiritual magicks to do something like that, and that kind of dangerous thing isn't in this one book…'

 

`School is gonna be hell tomorrow. Two fights and this… Good thing there was no school today, though…' Ranma groaned as he settled for putting his head under his pillow.

 

---

 

Monday morning, Akane and two immensely tired Saotome twins walked along a fence towards Furinkan High School. Ranko's situation had drastically improved in that she was no longer wearing the sling, and didn't seem to be any worse off for it. In fact, she made sure to carry her briefcase with the arm that had been injured the previous day.

 

“Yup, it works,” The girl said cheerfully. Akane was staring at her, amazed.

 

“Why have you been keeping that sort of thing to yourself anyway?” She asked with a frown.

 

“Sworn to secrecy,” the girl lied. It came as naturally to her as breathing. “Remember, I've told you before that you have to ask my teacher to show you that stuff.”

 

“Who was your instructor, again?” Ranma asked.

 

“Metallium-sensei,” The girl shrugged. Akane and Ranma boggled at that.

 

“You mean the math teacher?” Akane asked, making certain she'd heard right.

 

“Yep. He taught me most of what I know,” the girl told them with a nod. With a muttered incantation, she lifted off of the fence and rose a foot into the air, spinning around, before hugging herself. “Ah, this is what you call true freedom! Those who are bound by gravity will never know it but for a split second!” the girl said as she floated along just in front of the other two. Ranma frowned at that and Akane rolled her eyes.

 

“We'll see him today, won't we, Ranma?”

 

“Huh? Well I guess. I mean Ranko's been teaching me stuff already…”

 

“Oh yeah…” Akane frowned. “Well fine then, I'll see him by myself!” She huffed and jumped off of the fence as they approached the school, and started a faster pace than the other two.

 

“She's so determined,” Ranko sighed once they were suitably behind. “She won't be able to learn it unless she cools down a little. Xellos purposely angers his students during the teaching process and doesn't stop until you realize what he's doing and don't let it bother you.”

 

“Huh? Why would he do that?”

 

“Well, while it would have the benefits of teaching you to remain cool headed in battle, he… gets a kick out of it,” She said, not bothering to explain the nature of their teacher to him. It would have probably disturbed the boy on several levels anyway.

 

“Hmph, he'll get more than a kick outta Akane if he tries to pull that with her,” The boy said worriedly.

 

“I would worry more about Akane. I'm not sure if she'll be able to handle some of his taunts,” the girl said. “He can be very cruel, worse than any school yard bully by far.”

 

“We'll see, won't we?” Ranma asked. “You sure I don't have to see him?”

 

“I explained your case to him,” The girl said truthfully. “He approved almost instantly.”

 

“Heh,” the teen smirked, although he didn't know whether that was a good thing or a bad thing. “So when are you going to teach me how to fly, anyway?”

 

“Today, if you're good,” the girl said as she looked down and stuck her tongue out at him. “Now come on, we're gonna be late if we don't get a move on!”

 

-

 

Ranko sat with the other girls in her P.E. class as the teacher blew on a whistle. Akane had just finished on a balancing beam and joined her as well as the other girls as they watched the next student start the exercise. Akane was smiling and talking with the other girls while the red-head looked around the room, curiously. All day, it had felt like she'd forgotten something that felt like it should have happened by now.

 

“Hey Ranko, isn't that your brother over there standing at the window?” one of the other girls pointed out. Ranko blinked and looked up, and sure enough, Ranma was standing at a window, looking outside. He suddenly hopped up onto the windowsill and looked down.

 

“Yeah, that's Ranma,” the redhead nodded. The boys were having a separate class in the same gym, so they ended up being in the gym at the same period.

 

“What's he doing?” Akane asked, curious.

 

“We're done for the day, aren't we?” Ranko asked. “It's only a little while before class is over. Let's go see, I'm sure Izura-sensei won't mind.” Akane nodded at this and the other girls watched in curiosity as they both stood up and walked towards the window. Only the boy's feet were visible at that point, as if he was hanging outside the window by them alone. As they neared, the boy pulled himself back up and snorted loudly. He seemed to be watching something just outside the room, and as soon as the two girls got behind him, he spoke.

 

“Humph, get a load of these guys! What's so hot about that macho perv--” The boy was interrupted as the girl in question punched him in the back, knocking him out of the window. As he fell the short distance to the ground, their view of what was outside was cleared and the two girls blinked at the three boys kneeling around one with a camera. Ranko immediately recognized the one with the camera.

 

“Hey, it's Gosunkugi.” She said as she blinked. “Is it already that time?” As she watched, the boy quickly and calmly pulled one of the hairs from Ranma's head with a very precise movement and she blinked again. “The hell?” Ranma winced and immediately stood up.

 

“What was that for?!” He demanded of the other boy as he stood up. The other boy merely glanced at him, and then the two girls in the window before standing and putting a digital camera in his pocket.

 

“It's none of your business, Saotome,” he said calmly as he walked away. “Your brain probably couldn't handle the explanation anyway. It's not a muscle, as much as you would like to believe.”

 

“What the heck are you talking about?” Ranma seemed confused at that point.

 

“My point exactly,” the other boy said as he got further away. When he was at the edge of the building, he turned the corner and vanished around it.

 

“Man, I hope he remembers to give us some of the pictures,” the three students who had huddled around Gosunkugi lumbered off their own separate way.

 

“…Why do I get the feeling I was just insulted?” Ranma asked as he turned to face the two girls still standing in the window.

 

“You were,” Ranko shrugged. “But that was strange…” `Hikaru is completely different. What the hell happened to him?'

 

“I'll show that guy,” Ranma said, growling.

 

“Really? How, you gonna challenge him to something?” Akane asked. “You should think this one through. Honestly, Ranma, do you want to prove his point even more?”

 

“He didn't have a point, he was just trying to sound cool.” The pig-tailed boy said.

 

“Regardless, you were the one who sounded like he didn't know what was going on at the end. You lost, Ranma,” Ranko smirked and her brother scowled at her.

 

“Shut up!” Akane also smirked and joined in.

 

“You lost before you started with that one,”

 

“Damn it!” Ranma turned towards the direction the other teen had wandered off in. “I'll definitely beat that guy…” He had muttered to himself, but both girls heard him.

 

`Hmm, that's really different. Hikaru Gosunkugi becoming one of Ranma's major rivals? I have a feeling I didn't cause this… Then what could have?' As Ranma climbed back into the window, since class was still technically going, Ranko had one last thought concerning the boy who had significantly changed from the wimp she'd known in the manga. `And why was he looking at me with that intense gaze?'

 

---

 

In a dark room with two boarded up windows, and a multitude of arcane symbols painted on the wall, Hikaru Gosunkugi sat, cross-legged. That would not have been so odd, if the boy was not floating five feet off of the ground with a completely empty look on his face, his eyes shut. On the ground before him was a scroll with a magic circle that had the single strand of hair he'd taken from Ranma earlier.

 

“Saotome Ranma is not worth my time,” the boy said as he floated down to the ground, as his eyes opened. “He is magically weak, possesses only mid level martial-arts skills and has several debilitating curses. Defeating him would be child's play.” The boy stood up and looked down at the scroll on the ground. “But his sister…” The boy's face twisted into a dark grin. “It appears I have finally found the master's other student. A confrontation with her should prove interesting…” The moment that he'd locked eyes with her had been enough to assess her full potential, and current skill level as a sorceress. The scroll rolled itself up and shot up just as his left hand rose up from his side to catch it. The hair slowly moved up and he caught it between his right thumb and index finger.

 

The scroll he placed on a wooden desk, but the hair, he studied as a sinister grin appeared on his face.

 

“I still have use for you yet, Ranma Saotome…”

 

---

 

The school days passed fairly quickly, and soon it was Saturday, the half-day. Ranma was still angry about his run in with the creep who he had yet to run into again, but Ranko didn't let that bother her. Luckily, or so she saw it, Ryoga had decided to take a walk the same day of their run in with Gosunkugi, and had yet to return. It was at that time that Ranko started feeling especially confused by the boy's behavior; he had no reason to remain or especially seek out the Tendo Dojo anymore, so why was he staying at all? His rivalry with Ranma wasn't enough to make him spend nights there, or help out with chores whenever Kasumi or Ranko could manage to keep an eye on him. He wasn't in love with Akane; she'd seen to that already, and it was obvious in the way he acted.

 

There was none of the nervous stammering when he spoke to her, none of the envious indignation that he had whenever Ranma mistreated the girl, and he tried to avoid his pig form as much as he could help it. The girl had given up on it, determined to figure it out later when or if he showed up again, whenever that was.

 

Ranko sat in her desk at school with a frown on her face. Akane had not yet returned from lunch, and she was wondering about the other girl. The fact that school was over at the end of lunch told her she shouldn't have been worried, but she had a feeling that something was up. Ranma hadn't shown up either, and it was getting to the point where she wondered if they'd forgotten about her. Usually, the three met up in their classroom before they left to go home on Saturdays, since they weren't always together at lunch, but today she was the only one there. There were only a few other students in the room at all, and school had been over for almost ten minutes already.

 

That was when one of the windows opened by itself, a paper airplane flew in and landed on her desk. She blinked, and looked at the window as it magically shut itself. The other students were all staring at her by that point.

 

“Um, I'm guessing this isn't from Ranma or Akane…” She thought to herself as she unfolded the paper airplane. Inside was a message written in some red ink that was probably supposed to scare her into thinking it was blood. Truth was, blood didn't make a very good ink unless one enchanted it to stay permanently semi wet, and she could tell there was no such thing on the paper. As she read the note, her eyes widened in surprise and confusion.

 

-

Ten minutes before, In the Lunchroom…

-

 

Ranma frowned at the note in his hand in confusion. Someone had thrown a paper wad at him from behind, and by the time he'd turned around, they were gone, or hiding it very well. When he looked down at the paper wad, it was partially unfolded and he could see part of his name written inside of it. When he picked it up and read it, he frowned. “If you want to save your fiancée, you must go to the Gym right away…” He snorted as he pocketed the note and stood up from his position on the bench and casually started towards the nearest exit with his hands in his pockets. `Some guys think they can jerk me around, huh? Think its funny, do they? Heh, well we'll see about that…' As he left the gym, some people stopped and looked at the dark look on his face.

 

The gym wasn't far, and it was less than a two minute walk at a very brisk pace for someone as fit as Ranma. Though he wouldn't have been able to tell anyone what it was, he'd been feeling inadequate since the whole camera-guy incident and was looking forward to taking his frustration out on some morons. The boy stopped for a moment at the entrance as he considered something; what if they were good? Should he go get Ranko? After a second, Ranma shook his head and sighed. She'd get in the way if there was a real opponent to be had. Ranma simply grabbed at the handle, and found that the door was indeed unlocked, even though it wasn't scheduled for use by any of the sports clubs on Saturday.

 

As he opened it, however, he was completely surprised. The huge interior of the gym was incredibly dark, and he could barely see even with the light from outside. After a moment of study, his eyes widened as he looked down at the ground and realized that none of the light from outside was even getting into the building, even with the door open.

 

“What the hell is going on?” He thought as he walked in, not bothering to close the door behind him. It would close on it's own anyhow, because of the thing at the top, he thought. He looked around the room and noticed that the stage was lit up with two balls of fire that floated lazily on either side of it. The flames from the fire flickered as if they were candlelit, and he blinked. “That's… magic!” He finally noticed something in the middle of the stage and gasped. Akane was kneeling, bound by ropes, with her head hung over, as if she was unconscious. “Akane!” His thoughts changed as he suddenly realized something. `She must have gone to see that Metallium guy!' He quickly started running over to her, but the girl jerked, as if suddenly awake, and looked at him.

 

“Ranma?” She suddenly looked alarmed. “Ranma, no! There are traps!” She yelled out. The boy immediately stopped where he was and his eyes darted around. His younger years traveling with Genma through certain ancient temples had taught him not to fool around when someone warned of traps. Having almost been squished, or impaled was something that tended to leave a mark even when it didn't. He began to sweat as he remembered a particular event in Central America.

 

“Heh heh heh…” A familiar, smooth voice chuckled deeply just as a thin bubble of darkness appeared floating in the air between him and Akane. It was so black, that even with the limited light in the gym, he was able to distinguish it right away. The bubble of pitch black slowly formed into the shape of a young man that was familiar to Ranma. Ranma's eyes widened and he pointed at the other boy, angrily.

 

“You! You are doing this!” He said angrily.

 

“Yes, I am doing this,” the other boy said with another chuckle. Ranma growled and cracked his knuckles as he prepared to take the other teen on. “Ah, you must be planning to fight me or something,” The boy said with a grin. “You're a fool if you thought I'd ever give you a chance. I know your true fear, Saotome.” At that point, a rope descended from the ceiling and hung just under his grasp. Ranma faltered at that, but only for a second.

 

“Oh yeah? What's this true fear of mine, then?”

 

“Enter the darkness and find out for yourself, my friend,” The man said with a smile on his face as he pulled on the rope. The floor below Ranma immediately opened up and the pig-tailed teen fell into the ground. The trap on the stage had also activated and Akane screamed as she fell, bound as she was, below the floor. The floor panels quickly closed up and Hikaru smirked viciously. “And now for the true prize…” Just then, the door Ranma had used to get in opened once more as Hikaru faded away into the shadows.

 

“Hello?” Ranko's voice came from the doorway, sounding confused. “Ranma? Akane?” The girl walked in, without closing the door and maintained her silence beyond that point. She looked around with a frown on her face as she walked further into the gym. The floor panels beneath her opened up, but before she could fall she muttered a spell and floated up and away from the hole. She peered down into it with a an even deeper frown as she realized that below the hole was even darker than the gym was. She quickly looked up and started thinking of a few more spells as she noticed the floating candle flames on the stage suddenly burn out.

 

“So you've come,” came a familiar voice from all around her. “Ranko Saotome.”

 

“Why am I not surprised?” Ranko asked as she floated up higher in the room. “Lighting!” She held up her hand and a ball of light appeared. The light didn't extend very far though, and she frowned. “It's being magically weakened? No…” the girl looked around the room as she came up with another assessment. “All of the light in this room is being sucked out.”

 

“Very good, you certainly live up to your reputation.” She turned around and faced the floating teen before her.

 

“What reputation? I haven't exactly been magically active,” the girl said with a frown.

 

“No, you haven't, not in a few hundred years,” the boy said with a wicked grin. “…Lina Inverse.” Ranko raised a brow as she looked at him and almost laughed. “Hmm, it appears you still don't know, even though someone has been dropping hints for years.”

 

“Know what? I know who Lina Inverse is. I'm not her,” the girl said as he held up her chest proudly. “I'm way too top heavy to be her.” The boy before her snickered at that.

 

“You have improved in that area, without a doubt,” the boy said in a jolly voice. Their humor died down quickly though.

 

“What do you want with me, anyway?” she asked, leveling a stare at him.

 

“Perhaps, I should jog your memory.” He gave her a crazy grin and snapped his fingers. There was a burst of magical energy as Ranko floated there and she felt a strange sensation course over her body.

 

“W-what the hell..?” She looked down at herself to see her clothes shimmering before they were replaced with the familiar garb of Lina Inverse. Ranko gawked as she looked herself over; the cape was there, the jewel-adorned shoulder pads, heck, even Lina's sword was at her waist. She quickly became aware of an unpleasant situation, however. “Ow, damn it!” She looked down at her chest and realized that Lina's clothes were a bit more confined than she'd have thought them to be. “What was she, a fricken boy? Geez!” The girl winced. “Can you turn it off now? All this does is hurt, and I'm not exactly remembering anything right now,” she said angrily. When she looked at the boy, however, he was sniggering at her. “Ha ha ha, yuk it up you bastard,” she said as her hand lit up with orange energy.

 

“That's more like it,” the boy said as he stopped his laughing. He held up his hand and as he assessed her.

 

“What's more like it, you chump? Take this, Fireball!” She said. The tossed the ball of flames at him, only to watch him easily dodge it in the air. The dangerous projectile continued on its way before it crashed through one of the windows. There was an explosion that could be heard outside and she narrowed her eyes as she seemed to remember something. `These spells can be a lot more volatile than the martial arts Ranma knows even now! We're going to attract a lot of unwanted attention at this rate…'

 

“Hmph, you lost your focus, Freeze Arrow!” called a voice from below her. Ranko's eyes widened as she performed a backflip in the air, dodging a long, thin blue projectile. When it crashed into the ceiling, the area it hit immediately froze and was covered in thick sheets of ice. Her eye twitched and she was about to go on the offensive, but he wasn't done. “Freeze Britz!” The girl looked around, but didn't notice a second projectile coming at her. Her eyes widened as she looked straight up and noticed the chunks of ice on the ceiling quickly taking the shape of sharp stalactites. The huge ice needles then proceeded to fall from the ceiling, right at her. She screamed as she flew around, dodging the cluster of lethal projectiles.

 

“What's with these lethal spells already, damn it?!” the girl asked as she looked down at the other sorcerer, who was merely looking up at her with a grin. “I should Dragon Slave your ass!”

 

“And destroy Nerima?” He asked with a smirk. The girl flinched - he was right, to do that destructive spell in the middle of the city would have had… repercussions. “My, my, Lina, falling back into your old ways already?”

 

“Damn it! Shut up!” She yelled as she held up her hand. “Flare Arrow!”

 

 

 

 

---

 

“Because less than a year from now, Ranma will defeat Saffron, the immortal phoenix.” Ranko smirked at her opponent's surprised expression as they floated in the air. The surprise was quickly replaced with a look of contemplation, however.

 

“The potential is definitely there, that is true. But I am not interested in him now.” The calculating look on his face was replaced by one of glee. “Ranko Saotome, the one I want, is you!”

 

---

 

Ryoga chuckled deeply as he set his traveling pack down.

 

“Don't be stupid. We're engaged, remember?”

 

“What? Don't tell me you actually want this--!”

 

“Of course I don't,” He said with a snort as he sat down beside the traveling pack. “You've called me an honorless coward and the like several times, haven't you? Well just what would that make me if I ran away from a silly arranged marriage?” He casually opened his pack and reached into it, apparently searching for something. “You did say you'd figure out a way for us to get out of it, though, didn't you?” He asked calmly.

 

“Well, yeah, kind of. But I haven't been thinking about it recently,” she said with gritted teeth. He smirked at her with that and shook his head.

 

“You'll never get it done like that.” He seemed to finally find what he was looking for and brought out a small red box with a ribbon tied around it in a bow to keep it shut. “Here, catch.” He tossed it at her lazily and she caught it just the same. When she untied the ribbon and looked inside, her eye began to twitch.

 

“I hope you don't think you're getting anywhere by giving me these,” She said as she looked down at the chocolates. He snorted at that.

 

“I got one for everyone,” he said, holding up several more red boxes. The girl narrowed her eyes at that, and seemed to realize something.

 

`None of the other ones have a ribbon…' She looked down at the thing that was now resting on the dojo's floor. He ignored her as he continued to rummage around, apparently still looking for more gifts. The girl glanced up at him and frowned, turning her gaze back to the red box. `It doesn't mean anything.'