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Sorry bout the delay. My comp was in the shop.
Disclaimer
Kuno swaggers forward, holding his bokken at the ready.
"The questionably honorable Flaming Amarant hath requested that I do him
a favor in providing information for you, the reader," he states. "The foul
sorcerer Saotome, the beautiful Akane Tendo, my beloved Pig-Tailed Goddess,
my noble self, and all other characters from Ranma 1/2 belong to the great
Rumiko Takahashi-sama. Also, he states that the esteemed Heihachi Mishima
and the redoubtable Bryan Fury are the property of whoever owns them. He
humbly requests that none who read this work of fiction would bring forth a
lawsuit against him, for he has nowhere near the vast resources of the great
House Kuno."
The author steps forward and pats Kuno on the back, saying, "Good job,
Kuno. You can go home now."
"What?!" Kuno exclaims, outraged. "Foul demon, to deny my right to star
in your work! I shall smite thee!!" He then proceeds to beat the author
into a bloody pulp, and finally leaves.
"Owie...," the author mutters.
Flashfyre5 presents,
In association with Digital Wizardry Studios, Minnesota,
A Flaming Amarant production,
Of Gods and Men
Chapter Four
A Ranma 1/2 fanfic with characters from the Tekken series.
" " = speech
< > = thought
/ / = panda sign
<" "> = other language where the norm would be Japanese
* * = sound effect
* * * * * *
"How very touching," Saffron’s voice intruded upon Ranma. Upon hearing
this, the grogginess that had consumed Ranma left him, and he stood, wiping
away his tears. <Men don’t cry,> he told himself, <No matter how good a
dream that was. I wish she really felt that way about me.>
"Shut up, ya little brat!" Ranma retorted angrily.
"Ooh, the little landling’s feeling uppity today. This promises to be
fun," Saffron mocked, coming into view about a hundred feet away and twenty
feet above ground.
"Just shut up and get on with it. Second challenge, right?" Ranma
shouted.
"That it is. The Challenge of Strength. I must crush you at your
strongest point," Saffron explained.
"Ha! That’s easy, another fight," Ranma smirked superiorly.
"Another fight. The Great Ranma Saotome and his little fights. Ha!"
Saffron mocked. "You claim to be invincible, but in reality the only thing
that’s kept you alive so far is luck. Besides, you lose almost half your
fights anyway."
"WHAT?!" Ranma exploded (ouch. ^_^hehe I wrote this on April Fools Day.
It be showing). "I aint never been beaten!"
"Oh? Just from looking through your memory, I seem to recall a pair of
girls named Natsume and Kurumi that not only beat you, but beat you with the
help of you oh-so-precious fiancee," Saffron mocked.
"I beat them in the end! I still won!" Ranma declared.
"But you lost the first match. A loss is a loss, Saotome," Saffron
argued. "Besides, how about your fight with Ryoga after he learned the
Breaking Point?"
"What about it?" Ranma asked defensively.
"You ran away. You couldn’t beat him up, so you ran away," Saffron
teased.
"It’s the Saotome Secret Technique! I needed time to think!" Ranma
countered.
"Some Secret Technique," Saffron snorted. "A real martial artist would
have stayed and done what he could to hold his opponent off until he came up
with a better idea, not run away like a little girl."
"HEY! I’m a guy, ya brat!" Ranma shouted.
"Ooh, I think I hit a nerve there. Don’t like being called a girl,
femboy?" Saffron taunted, taking a page from Taro.
"SHUT UP, SAFFRON!" Ranma shouted, charging towards the infuriating
bird-man. However, no matter how hard or fast he ran, he made no progress
towards Saffron.
"Give it up, Saotome. You can’t hurt me anymore," Saffron mocked,
grinning. "Besides, even if you did get into a real fight with me, what
makes you think that you’d win? The only reason you beat me the first time
was because of the Gekkja(sp?) and your fiancee. Add to that the fact that
you beat me by pure luck, and even you should understand that you wouldn’t
stand a chance."
"Luck or no luck, I won and you’re dead," Ranma stated coldly, his anger
icing over.
"And how close did you come to making Ms. Tendo pay for your victory with
her life?" Saffron asked, his tone no longer mocking, but serious. "Ranma,
you put everybody around you at terrible risk every time that you do these
things, every time you act before you think." Ranma stood there silently,
unresponsive. "Face it, Ranma. The only thing that keeps you winning in
battle is your incredible luck, luck which does NOT apply to the others
around you. Outside of battle, you’re even more pathetic. You insult and
hurt the woman you love, and you can’t even come right out and tell her how
you feel. The best you can do is imply to her, and hope she catches your
meaning. You’re pathetic," Saffron sneered, turning away. Ranma was silent
for a long time, thinking.
"You may be right, Saffron. I can’t tell Akane that I love her, no
matter how much I want to. And you’re right in that the only reason I’m
still alive is because I AM so lucky," Ranma finally said, prompting Saffron
to turn around. Another silent period passed, in which Saffron floated down
to stand next to Ranma who, he now saw, stood with his shoulders slumped and
his head bowed.
"Then you admit that I am right?" Saffron asked quietly, smelling
victory. Ranma slowly raised his head, an unreadable expression on his face.
"You’re right about those two things," Ranma said softly. Then,
suddenly, he slammed a fist into Saffron’s gut, causing him to double over.
"But I am NOT pathetic. If I was, I woulda just given up on life a long time
ago. But I keep going," he continued, a determined tone in his voice. "And
I’m gonna keep going, no matter what." At that, Saffron vanished into thin
air.
"Congratulations, Saotome. You passed your second test. And, I admit,
you have gained a bit of respect from me. However, you have one more test
before you win, and no matter how difficult this last one was, the next will
be pure Hell for you. Until then," Saffron’s voice said ethereally, fading
slowly. Slowly, fighting against it, Ranma was sent back to the dream state
that he had been in since the first challenge.
* * * * * *
Cologne enjoyed the songs of the few songbirds left in Tokyo in the early
morning air. It was a brisk morning, and would have been a spectacular day
for business had she intended to do business today. However, she had other
plans, plans that would hopefully gain her a son-in-law and eliminate a
competitor for his heart. Even as she planned her day, her heart quailed at
the thought of taking a life so young and promising as Akane’s. In her three
hundred years of life, she’d only been forced to kill fourteen times, and she
had little enthusiasm about brining that number to fifteen. Killing was
something that none should ever grow accustomed to. Taking a deep breath of
morning air from her perch atop the Nekohanten, she cleared her mind of such
disturbing thoughts. What had to be done would be done. Worrying about it
gave you wrinkles.
It was then that, from her perch, she spotted a lone figure approaching
the Nekohanten from down the street. It was clothed in yellow, and had short
black hair. <Akane,> she surmised, hopping from her perch. As her arc
brought her closer, Cologne affirmed that the figure was indeed Akane,
clothed in a pale yellow gi. She bore a determined look on her face, and
walked with purpose. Cologne aimed to land right in front of Akane.
Predictably, the girl gave a start and fell backwards onto her rear.
"Well, girl," Cologne said with an ill-masked grin, "Are you ready to
learn the Breaking Point?"
"When do we start?" Akane simply asked in return, her look of
determination returning. Cologne, assessing her attitude and stance, decided
that she might not need a full week to teach the girl the technique, as she
had originally planned upon.
"As soon as you can make it to the camp. It is twenty miles out of town,
to the west, and I want to reach it by noon. You’d best start jogging,
child," Cologne instructed. She then jumped up onto Akane’s head and sat
down comfortably.
"What do you think you are doing, Cologne?" Akane asked as she
unsuccessfully tried to dislodge the ancient woman.
"Getting a ride. What does it seem like?" she answered, smiling.
Sighing, Akane set out to the West, heading for camp.
* * * * * *
Cayenne sat atop the wall that surrounded Furinkan High, drumming his
fingers impatiently. <Where is that girl?> he wondered. <Three minutes
until her school begins, and she has yet to arrive!>
"Hey," called a voice from below. Curious, Cayenne looked downward and
saw a young woman, probably in her mid to late teens. She had chin length
brown hair and an attractive build to her body, but that attractiveness was
cancelled by the deadly, predatory gleam in her eyes. Something told the God
that this was not a mortal to offend, if he could avoid it. "You waiting for
someone?" she continued, oblivious to his examination.
"Yes," he replied simply, turning back to watch the school’s gates once
again.
"Well, maybe I can help you," she said slyly, "for a price, of course."
<Aah,> thought Cayenne, hearing this. <One of those types. Not dangerous,
as I had originally feared. On the other hand, though...>
"I can pay," he said again, turning his gaze to rest upon her. "How much
do you want?"
"Depends on who you want information on," Nabiki said. <A smart one,>
Cayenne thought, a small grin creasing his lips.
"One Tendo Akane. I need to see her about a matter in regard to a young
man named Saotome Ranma," Cayenne explained.
"Care to elaborate?" Nabiki asked.
"Ranma has done something to my family that my giri will not allow me to
ignore. I bear no ill will to Ms. Tendo," I said.
"Good. In that case, cost is 7,000 yen," Nabiki declared. Cayenne
reached into his right pants pocket and withdrew a small wad of bills.
Casually, he threw it at her feet.
"That should cover the cost and then some," he declared.
Nabiki, surprised that he had paid the requested amount without even
flinching, replied, "She’s off doing some training right now."
"Do you know where?" Cayenne asked.
"No."
"When will she be back?"
"In a few days, hopefully," Nabiki answered.
"Then I will wait," Cayenne said, nodding. Nabiki stood there for a
minute, surprised and a little confused; this was not how most of Ranma’s
challengers acted. However, the warning bell for first period chose that
moment to ring, so she scooped up the money and dashed off to class. I
wouldn’t be until second period, when she got time to count the money, that
she realized that there was over 12,000 yen in the wad.
* * * * * *
*Ring*
*Ring*
*Click*
"Fury here."
"It’s Cayenne. We’ve got a problem."
"What is it?"
"The bait’s left town. Don’t know where."
"Damn. Any suggestions?"
"Just wait a few days. I have information that tells me that she should
be back within a few days."
"That’s gonna be a problem for my timetable."
"Deal with it."
*Click*
"Damn," Bryan swore as he cancelled the call on his cell. <This aint
gonna be good. I hope Mishima’s in a patient mood.> Reactivating it, he
dialed Heihachi’s private number.
*Ring*
*Ring*
*Ri-Click*
"What is it?"
"Heihachi? It’s Fury."
"Fury? Good. I assume you have the merchandise. Am I correct?"
"No."
"What’s the holdup?"
"A critical part of my plan is on hold right now. I can’t continue
without it."
"Can you get one of them?"
"It’s an all or nothing deal. One’s too dangerous, and if I take the
other, the first will be after me for life. Have patience; this should only
add a couple of days to the schedule."
"... I’ll let you get away with it this time, Fury. Don’t mess up."
"Was that a threat?"
"Yes."
"Are you forgetting what I did to your troops after the last tournament?"
"Fury, while you’ve been hiding in the outback, technology has advanced
in leaps and bounds. I have weapons that make the men you killed look like
street thugs. It might cost me, but if this falls through, Fury, I will hunt
you down."
*Click*
***Author’s Notes***
Okay, this is turning out to be longer than I thought it’d be. ::Tosses
hopes for a little 6 chapter story out the window:: I guess things are gonna
be developing for the next chapter, but that should be that last prep
chapter. (I hope) In any case, just what is Bryan planning? What is this
technology that Heihachi’s talking about? Why is Cayenne such a vengeful
bastard? How is Ranma doing in snooze-land? All of these questions and more
answered as soon as I write them into the story! Also, what evil and nasty
plot twist am I gonna throw in there? (Ooh, I’m gonna have fun with this
one......) In any case, if you want to tell me how absolutely wonderful my
fanfic is, write to Flashfyre5@aol.com! Or, more likely, if you want to tell
me just how pathetic this little offering is, compared against other, greater
stories, you can write to Flashfyre5@aol.com. However, I must request that
all death threats be kept to fifteen words or less, please. If you wanna
flame me, do so! If you wanna preread (hint, hint) I need ‘em, and I’m sure
that everybody else would appreciate it as much as I do! In any case, it’s
11:01 and I’ve got work tomorrow. Goodnight, all!
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