Private Bet #3 Shadow's Stone
by Shade

Disclaimer: Everyone belongs to whoever owns them. 

WARNING!!! Given the nature of the person 
who made this particular Bet expect some dark scenes
that may offend people and mature themes that may also 
offend people. If offended by etheir stop now or 
face the consquences!!!  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
1b: Within the Darkness of Twilight

The intangible spirit once again found herself 
watching the newcomers to the valley.
Although Ryoko could not go beyond a few 
steps from the mouth of the cave that imprisoned 
her real body she could still see the surrounding 
for quite a distance, a fact that had served her 
well when she secretly observed Tenchi. Having 
been alone for so long she took delight in the company of
the boy no matter how temporary it was. 

And now despite her attempts to deny it Ryoko found herself 
looking for a second face, listening for an energetic laugh that
belonged to a certain pigtailed boy.....
~~~~
*Flashback*

When the Saotomes had arrived the former pirate 
hadn�t known at first, Genma had been recuperating 
in his room from the thrashing he�d taken when trying to fight
the sword master after being discovered stealing from the temple. 

She had noticed when her Tenchi didn�t show up around the cave 
for a few days. This had prompted concern and worry from 
the intangible being. Had something happened to him?
~~~~~~~

Ranma and Tenchi were almost polar opposites, though they shared some
similar events in their lives. Both had lost their mothers at an early age,
Ranma�s to his training and Tenchi�s to the grave. Their fathers were 
equally poor in their own ways. Neglect was almost worst then abuse,
at least there were times when Genma had actually been there for his son
no matter how badly he usually treated him.

Tenchi was well on his way to 
becoming an introvert, burying 
his pain instead of letting it heal. 
Then one day he found himself 
face to face with a boy hanging 
from a branch overhead as he made his 
way up to the Demon�s cave.

�GAH?!!� Tenchi responded intelligently.

�Hi! Wanna be friends!�

�Huh?!� 

�My name�s Ranma!� The boy swung up and off the branch he�d 
been hanging from into a triple somersault and finally touched 
down in a perfect three point landing right in front of Tenchi.....almost.

A piece of loose foliage spoiled his entrance, causing the young 
hyperactive martial artist to stumble and fall flat on his face.

�Ouch!�

The stoic young boy tried to control himself, 
he failed. The humor of the situation had got to him.

�Hahahahahaha!!!�

It was an unexpected feeling, the first real 
crack in the emotional shell Tenchi had built 
up around him to keep others out.

�Hey! Wanna at least give me a hand up?!�
Ranma sputtered literally, his wide open mouth 
had gotten a nice taste of humble pie and it tasted 
like old leaves. Bleechhh.....

�Ah? Sure.� A hand was offered and accepted.

�So what�s your name?�

�Me? Tenchi....Tenchi Masaki.�

�So whatcha doing?�

�Um I�m going up to the....�

�Wanna play?�

�Huh?...ah...I...actually.....�

�Let�s go!�

�Wha...wait...wait a minute!!�

�Wheee!!!�

�AAAAHHHH!!!!�

And so it went....

Tenchi never did make it up to the cave that day.
Or the next day, or the day after that.

After awhile even the stick in the mud Masaki had to 
admit he was having the time of his life, even when he 
wasn�t sure that he would survive the experience.
Ranma�s sheer zest for life seemed to just sweep 
him along for the ride. it was amazing to say the least.

But that first night would turn out to be even more 
startling......
~~~~~~~~~

�You�re challenging GRANDPA??!!!�

Surely he couldn�t have heard him right!

�Yes.� 

�But WHY?!�

Ranma looked subdued for a moment before answering.

�Pops....pops tried to take some stuff from the temple, 
 if I win then me and Pops get to stay here and he 
doesn�t haveta go to jail.�

�And if you lose....?�

�Then the temple gets our Tantos, they�re worth 
enough to pay for what my father tried to take.�

�But what�ll happen to you if your dad has to....?�

Concern filled Tenchi, even though they had just met a few hours
 earlier he found himself worrying for Ranma.

�I...I don�t know.....But I�m not gonna lose!!�

Tenchi swallowed back his misgivings, something about that 
determined tone struck a similar chord within him. 
He found himself believing Saotome.....
~~~~~~

Three figures stood in the courtyard.

Two faced each other, the third could only 
watch the drama unfolding in front of him.

�Are you ready?�

�Hai!�

�Very well then, the match will be until the first hit. Is that 
alright with you young one?�

�Hai!�

Tenchi could only watch with mounting horror, there 
was no way his new friend could possibly win this. Grandpa was
a Master of the first rank with the wooden bokken, all Ranma 
could possibly accomplish would be a lot of painful injuries 
as he himself could attest to from hard experience.

Yosho assumed the basic Jurai stance for 
combat as across from him Ranma
settled into a seemingly relaxed textbook 
Kempo stance. His feet were 
positioned funny though, they were too far apart
for the boy to be able to attack effectively and his hips 
were turned slightly at an angle towards his opponent.

The dark shades he was wearing blocked any attempt 
to look into his eyes, making it impossible for the 
venerable warrior to figure out what the boy was planning.(1)

Yosho had decided it was in Ranma�s best interests 
for him to be raised away from the influence of Genma,
perhaps even taking him on as a student of the temple.

Choosing to end this fight quickly the undefeated 
swordsman supreme of the Royal House of Jurai
launched the first attack.......
~~~~~~~

Tenchi�s jaw had buried itself into the ground and 
was making good progress on its way to London.
This fight had been going on far 
longer then he�d thought possible.

And Ranma was still holding his own???

It was unbelievable!!!

Yet somehow, impossible as it appeared to be the 
young martial artist had managed to evade or block 
everything that the half Jurain had thrown at him, no 
matter what direction he attacked from Ranma was 
always a step ahead of him. 

It was as if Ranma didn�t even see any of the
feints or false openings the swordmaster tried, 
Twice the boy had either leapt over or ducked strikes to
his rear that he couldn�t have possibly known were 
coming. Who was this boy?!
~~~~~

The yonug martial artist in question was starting to 
breathe a little hard from the strain he was putting 
his body through. This man was much better this father,
it took all of his newly learned skills along with a big 
dose of luck to keep that weaving sword from 
connecting and even though only a few minutes had 
passed it felt as if he�d been fighting for hours. 

There.

The disturbance of the �wa� came a millisecond
before the actual strike, but long enough to backflip 
out of the sweeping cut. As Yosho twisted his blade 
and took a step forward to turn the cut into a lunge the 
stubborn Saotome boy did a perfect split and dropped 
to the floor, falling as he had been taught. The strike missed
his crotch by less then the span of three hairs as Ranma�s foot 
lashed out in a roundhouse sweep, forcing Yosho to leap up to 
avoid being knocked off his feet. The old man came down with
a flying strike but the boy rolled out of the way, giving himself 
some space to breathe.

{Incredible.....I have the techniques of the Royal House at my disposal 
and still he manages to avoid defeat. And if I�m not mistaken he�s 
already learning how to make use of them himself! His unique style 
is already changing, I can see his posture adjusting to 
compensate for my greater reach and that strike he
just attempted was a variation of the move I just tried 
to use on him less then two minutes ago!
if nothing else I can�t let such potential be wasted! 
Win or no win I will train him,
his skill might one day rival Tenchi�s!}

Ranma was getting desperate, none of 
his normal moves had worked so far against Yosho.

{I�ve got to take the offensive or I�m finished. But I can�t 
get close enough to avoid that damn sword, he�s too 
skilled with it. Even Sensei Kaine�s training is just barely 
keeping me from being hit and I can�t keep this pace up 
for much longer.......I�ve got no choice......I have to try my
special techniques....}

The boy danced back as the warrior resumed his relentless
offense, pushing Ranma back bit by bit until the pigtailed 
boy found himself backed into a corner.

�Well my boy, you�ve done exceptionally well for someone of 
your age and skill. There is no dishonor in surrendering now, you 
have nowhere else to run.�

�No! This fight isn�t over yet! I won�t surrender, 
this fight is until the first hit!�
 
�Very well.�

Yosho sighed, both impressed by the boy�s courage 
and dismayed by his stubborness.

{Here it comes.}

His timing would have to be perfect 
or else it would all be over anyway.

Ranma extended his �wa� to its fullest, his ordinary 
senses seeming to become hypersensitive as the ki 
flowed through his body.

�Kiiiiya!� Yosho dashed in, his sword held overhead.

Ranma�s hands seemed to blur as he pulled out a large
cloth......

{NOW!!!}

�Saotome Anything Goes Secret Technique! Goshin Dai Ry� Sei Fu!�
~~~~~~~~

�Say what?!�
Several of the non-Japanese speaking watchers asked.

�Translates as �Body-Defense Shooting Star Cloth�,
 a move from the Umisenken School that doesn�t make 
you totally invisible but comes darn close..�

Shadow looked mildy impressed by the fact that 
Ranma had actually managed to pull his daring gambit off.
The kid had balls, too many ethics perhaps, but hey no 
one was perfect.
~~~~~~

Ranma vanished from sight. 

The wooden blade cleaved through the 
air he�d been occupying a heartbeat later.

For the first time in seven hundred years 
Yosho found himself caught off guard by an opponent.
For an endless moment his eyes darted around, searching 
for his missing target. 

The Juraian Prince had had the quickest reflexes in the 
entire Empire while he�d lived on Jurai and age had not 
dulled his abilities. As soon as Ranma reappeared right 
behind him at his most vulnerable angle Yosho knew 
and spun in a dizzyingly blur of motion, his sword coming
at a speed and angle that Ranma couldn�t possibly hope to 
block or evade in time. 

It was over.

{Not yet!}

Ranma could see the blow coming and knew that this was it.
His arm lashed out in a race against time.....

Two separate attacks struck out at unbelievable speeds......

*Pow*

The scene seemd to freeze as a deathly hushed silence
descended.

The seconds passed.......

Ranma gave a small groan and fell with a loud crash to the stone tiles,
a large bump on his side from where the the hit had connected showing.
The strain of those final moments had been too much for the young boy and 
he just lay there, out like a light.

{Oh no......}

Tenchi ran over to see if his friend was all right.

�Tenchi.�

His Grandfather�s voice stopped him.

�Grandpa?� 

�Take Ranma inside, I�ll be there 
in a minute to check on his injury. I need 
to speak with his father first.�

�Grandpa?!�

His eyes seemed to ask what he didn�t state with his words.

�You�d better prepare the other two guestrooms, it 
looks those two will be staying for awhile.�

�Grandpa!!!� Tenchi looked like a person who�d just been 
informed of a stay of execution. Ranma was going to be 
staying with them! So relieved that he didn�t even bother to 
question this, Tenchi carefully supported the now semiconscious 
boy as he made their way back to the main temple.

Yosho watched the two of them go, making 
sure that no one else was around to see.

Then carefully he pulled back the top of his white 
priest robes to reveal a good-sized red 
bruise forming on his shoulder........

{Well I�ll be damned.....}
~~~~~~~~

Remarkably it had taken Ranma only two 
days to recover from the battle. His natural hardy 
constitution had him back on his feet the first day,
the second saw him already running around again.

It was like paradise here, a new friend, plenty of food 
and a warm place to sleep.

And Yosho Sensei had even offered to train him!

Genma couldn�t object, even after his bruises faded 
he had no way to stop Yosho. His natural cowardice 
took a different route for him to get his humilation and 
anger over being defeated out. 

{It�s all the boy�s fault!!!}

He would have to discipline Ranma again, it was his 
duty as his son�s father and master. But it would have to wait until
he could make sure that the priest wouldn�t find out. Genma 
suspected the old man knew far more about the situation 
then he was letting on and only the tantalizing lure of new secret 
techniques kept the bald martial artist from taking his son and running.
~~~~~~~

It had been Ranma�s own natural curiosity that finally 
caused the chance meeting between him and Ryoko.

One day he�d just gone up and introduced himself, 
he knew she was there and even though she couldn�t 
talk to him he could talk to her. And talk he did, Ranma
could feel the spirit�s reluctant amusement every time he 
went to visit her and told her about his life, his friends, and 
what the day felt like at that particular moment. Feeling her 
cheer up from the constant sadness that surrounded her aura 
like a dreary stormcloud made him happy too. 

*End FlashBack*
~~~~~~~

{Where are they?}

Ryoko didn�t even notice that she�d started 
thinking in terms of �they�. 

She heard voices coming......

{It�s about time!}

Eagerly the astral form drifted 
toward the mouth of the cave to see 
her friends.....
~~~~~~~~

Genma tried to keep the smirk from escaping, that 
old meddler Yosho had finally left to go down for supplies.
The Saotome stomachs had finally turned out to be good for
something besides eating. With any luck the priest wouldn�t 
be back till tomorrow, more then enough time to �deal� with 
this long overdue discipline problem.

He�d noticed that the boy often came out here and more importantly that
it was isolated and far enough from the temple that even the the loudest 
cry would go unnoticed here.....

Ranma scampered on ahead, wanting to say hello to his spirit friend, 
unaware of the dark looks that his father had been shooting at him 
for the past couple of days. Genma saw this quirk as yet another 
weakness he would have to rid the boy of. 

{Why was I cursed with such a worthless son?!}
~~~~~~~

Ryoko arrived just in time to Ranma and Genma stop 
a short distance in front of the cave.

She disliked Genma on first sight, there was an oily presence 
surrounding him that made her instinctively recoil. But there 
was Ranma........!??!!!!!!

Even though she saw it take place in front of her the pirate
still couldn�t believe it.

She watched as Genma strode up behind his son........

...AND STRUCK HIM DOWN!!!

{WHAT?!!}

Shock and confusion filled her mind at this 
incomprehensible turn of events.

�You need another lesson boy.�
Genma found an adaquate rod 
from the forest�s deadbrush and 
strode over to the sprawled form of his son..

{What is he doing??!!! Oh my god.....he can�t.....he isn�t.....}

*SLASH* 

A choked back whimper escaped the young boy�s lips 
as he tried not to scream. That would just make father mad,
and then the punishment would be worse....

{NO!!!!!!!!!!!! LEAVE HIM ALONE DAMN YOU!!!!! 
I SWEAR I�LL KILL YOU YOU ROTTEN BASTARD!!!! 
OH GODS!!! RANMA!!!!!! STOP IT STOP HURTING HIM!!!!!!!!!!}

Ryoko threw herself futilely against 
the confines that bound her astral form, tears
streaming down her cheeks as she watched 
the horrenous scene before her helplessly.
She wanted to hold Ranma close and stop 
the pain she could see he was feeling despite 
his best attempts to hide it, she wanted to scream 
from the agony that tore through her heart every time she saw
a  blow come down on the helpless boy.

But most of all.......

Ryoko wanted to RIP OUT GENMA SAOTOME�S BLACK 
HEART AND FEED IT TO HIM!!! For the first time ever Ryoko, 
who had slain hundreds against her will for a millennia wanted to 
kill someone she hated with all her heart and soul. Not even Yosho
had inspired such a strong feeling in her, the red fires of rage raced 
through her veins as the demon watched and swore to make that 
*thing* beating the helpless child before her pay.....

Ranma finally slipped into unconsciousness once more.

No matter how long it took to escape.....

The beating finally stopped and the man picked his son 
up and carried him off to arrange a little *accident* that 
would explain away Ranma�s sudden injuries.

A sudden chill filled Genma�s spine but 
was blamed on the cold mountain breeze.

A pair of deadly golden eyes fixed on 
the retreating martial artist�s back
and the limp burden now slung over it.

She would make him pay.....

(To be continued)

*$*$*$*$*

(1) Genma wants to keep this little problem a secret. Ranma�s pretty
 good at being able to cover his handicap so the Masaki�s don�t 
really notice at first.....


"Hope springs eternal in the Human breast: 
Man never is, but always to be blest."

-Alexander Pope

Readers and listeners praise my books;
You swear they're worse then beginner's.
Who cares? I always plan my dinners
To please the diners, not the cooks.

-Martial

In Difficult Ground, Keep moving. 
In Pressed Ground, Make stratagems.
In Death Ground, Fight.

-Sun Tzu "The Art of War"

The Private Bets now have an archive!

Rowan's Sanctuary http://members.xoom.com/_XOOM/Ranma_Tenchi/main.html
(It's rough but it's up!)


____________________________________________________________________
Get free e-mail and a permanent address at http://www.netaddress.com/?N=1