They were powerful. Quick, agile, and strong. In body, they were the epitome of the ideal human condition; toned, flexed, and shaped into powerful machines capable of utterly crushing lesser humans.

"Yuka, I really don't think we should have come this way," Sayuri said nervously as she looked at the large brick graffiti-scrawled walls that made up the seeming labyrinth of alleyways between the apartment buildings.
Yuka swallowed deeply, and clutched her bags of purchases closer to herself. "D-Don't worry! That old man told us that there's almost no real crime in this area despite how it looks! I'm sure everyone uses this shortcut!"
"You don't sound very sure," Sayuri mumbled sourly.

They were not any less nimble in mind. Ranging from the most scholarly of bookworms to the wisest of the street vagrants, as an entity they formed an astounding pool of almost limitless knowledge that they put to use as they saw fit. Within the ranks one could find advice and counsel on almost any manner of subject, from dating to formal protocol to the construction of atomic fission reactors.

Yuka stopped as she rounded the corner, and her breath caught in her throat as she saw three muscular young men leaning against the walls of the next alley. One was big and dark and had a mohawk, another was shorter, with a short ponytail and shades, and the last one wore thick glasses and a pressed business shirt, and would have looked extremely out of place with the other two if he did not possess a pair of thick spike-knuckle gloves.
Sayuri bumped into her friend's back, and her eyes widened as she saw what had stopped her. "Uh oh..."
The man with the mohawk chuckled and stood up, letting a chain dangle from his hand. "Well, well, well. What have we here?"
The guy in shades grinned as he approached, and Yuka whimpered slightly as she saw the knives that were poorly concealed behind his black leather jacket. "Hey now, a coupl'a pretty young things like yourself shouldn't be wandering alleyways like these in an area you don't know! Who knows what kind of filthy characters you might run into? Things can get mighty dangerous 'round these parts!"
The final man continued leaning against the wall, smirking. "It's a good thing you ran into us. Why don't you allow us to escort you to our little clubhouse for a while?" Then he looked up, still smirking. "That is, if you know what's good for you."
Yuka gulped as Sayuri cringed and shied behind her. As the three men approached, she noticed that they all bore a similar symbol; the men with glasses had golden ankh amulets around their necks, while the larger man with the mohawk had the Egyptian mark tattooed onto his right bicep.
"Uh oh..."

They were known as Clan Ra, the most powerful and influential teenage street gang in Tokyo.

"Would you like some more tea?" The man with the mohawk asked, holding up the pot.
Yuka nodded, smiling. "Oh, yes, please!" She waited patiently as he refilled her cup, and then raised it to her lips. "Wow! Is this mint? It's so flavorful!"
Mohawk nodded. "It's a family recipe. Mint with extra honey, and another special secret ingredient!" He smiled warmly at her. "I could tell you, but then I'd have to kill you."
Yuka chuckled lightly at that, and then immediately changed the subject, not daring to speculate upon whether he was joking or not. "This place is absolutely gorgeous! Were all these walls concrete before you decorated it?"
He nodded again, and clapped his hands together. "Oh, I am SO glad you like it! You know, I'm ALWAYS bugging Raven to talk to Hashiru and get him to spend more money on the decor around here, but I swear, the man has NO taste for aesthetics!"
Across the room, Sayuri was chatting amiably with the man wearing sunglasses, who was cheerfully peeling an apple for her.
"I'm very glad you agreed to let us escort you! It really can be a bit dangerous around here, and I'd feel just AWFUL if a coupla girls were hurt on our turf!" Shades finished peeling the apple and handed it to Sayuri, who took it gratefully.
"Thank you for your hospitality!" Sayuri said, nodding her head before taking a bite. After swallowing, she blushed a bit as she looked at him. "You know, the way things had looked for a moment... I actually thought... well, I thought you might-"
Shades cut her off with a chuckle and a wave of his hand. "Oh, don't worry yourself about that. In fact, I'm actually gay!"
Sayuri blinked. "Oh. Okay then." Then she looked across the room, where the mohawk guy was showing off his window box garden to Yuka. "So, is he also...?"
"No, he's just a little too in touch with his feminine side," Shades said bluntly, sweatdropping.
Just then, the third man entered the main lounge of the club, carrying the two girls' bags of purchases.
"Well, I called a cab and paid the fare for you. Here's a snack bar if you get hungry on your way home, and a complimentary collector's edition Clan Ra ankh amulet!" He handed one of each of the items to the girls as they stood up to leave.
Yuka bowed along Sayuri. "Thank you so much for your kindness! Is there any way we can make it up to you?"
Mohawk laughed. "Oh, don't be silly! Helping out innocent pedestrians is our duty as martial artists and concerned citizens! Your safety and well-being is the greatest reward we could possibly desire!"

Yes, the mighty and fearsome Clan Ra ruled the back alleyways of Nerima with an iron fist, hammering chaos into crude order, and forging discipline from rebellious energy. Focusing their body and mind to an extent never dreamed of by the common street thug, they had risen to become an army in and of themselves; a fighting force bound by a level of brotherhood as deep as blood. This is not their story. But it is the story of one would dare to challenge them.


Yagami 1/2
A Ranma 0.5/King of Fighters Crossover
by Black Dragon
black_dragon74@hotmail.com
https://www.angelfire.com/anime5/fanficlair/index.html

Disclaimer: I don't own Ranma, or Iori, or Nodoka, or Ryoga, or Kuno, or the Tendos, or Shampoo, or Yurumi. I think I gave Yurumi to someone else. If whoever I gave her to is reading this, I'd like her back, please. I do, however, own the color purple.

Chapter 11
Body of Iron and Heart of Gold! The Bastard Yamazaki!
**********************************************************************************

Hana yawned as she passed through the gate of the small mansion, her brother falling into step behind her.
"All I'm saying is, you do well enough that you can take a little more time off. You got hurt really bad, and Hashi could set you up to take as much time off as you need to until you recover."
Joshin strode along behind her, remaining silent. He had bandage wrappings around his forehead and jaw and a gauze patch over one eye, testament to the battle he had fought at St. Hebereke. While the man was technically functional in every way that mattered, he still looked rather worse for wear, and while Hana didn't mention it, the medical items applied to his face made his usual over-dignified mannerisms look nothing short of idiotic.
"I'm well enough to partake of regular lessons. A minor fluke like this can't be allowed to damage my reputation any more than it already has." Joshin said, utterly serious.
Hana snorted as the two siblings reached the front door of the mansion. "A 'fluke' you say. Personally, I wouldn't call that girl's last move 'lucky'. She did taunt you right before you lost consciousness."
Joshin twitched, but said nothing.
Hana pressed the doorbell besides the looming white double doors, and then stepped back the proper distance as she waited for the servant to answer.
While Hashiru didn't present a "rich boy" image like Joshin did, his mother was the one of the heiresses of her father, having shared the inheritance with Hana's own mother. While not particularly influential or powerful, their families did possess enough money to live comfortably without any trouble.
Hashiru hadn't taken to a life of easy living and luxury very well, though, and had become far more interested in the side of wealth that had to do with power. Using that power he had managed to acquire training from all manner of street fighters and professional masters, even those who typically didn't do the type of "combat tutoring" that he had always required. After he had exceeded their abilities he dismissed them just as quickly, turning his attention toward talent that wasn't available for hire. All the while he pushed his own body to the limit, while developing his own style that was based entirely off of video footage from the old King of Fighters tournaments.
The reason for why he studied from the flimsy, choppy film was simple: there was no other record, visual or instructional, of Ryuji Yamazaki's fighting style.
The heavy door opened, and Hana bowed as a formally dressed butler bowed back.
"Ah, the young Master and Mistress Keitoro. Master Hashiru will be down in a moment." The servant straightened as he spoke, and stepped to the side to allow the teenagers to enter.
Hana had imagined it had taken some time for Hashiru to train all the servants to call and refer to him as Hashiru rather than his surname Yamazaki. While his mother didn't mind taking the name of her runaway husband, her son found his blood connection to the murderous psycho despicable, and demanded that everyone call him by his first name.
"Ah, I see you've gotten into a bit of a scrape, Master Keitoro. Has Master Hashiru been stepping up your combat training again?" The butler asked. Normally it wouldn't be his place to pry, but there were certain tasks he was expected to undertake if his charge was going to start staying out at night fighting.
Hana smirked. "No, brother dear just got in a fight with a little redheaded girl, and she kicked his face in, that's all."
The servant raised an eyebrow, and waited for the older boy to sputter a contradiction or protest of some sort. When none came, the butler's eye twitched, and he turned away to walk toward the kitchen, mumbling to himself the whole way.
"I warned them about coming to Nerima... 'It's dangerous,' I said, 'there are all sorts of crazy men and women fighting at all hours of the day,' but no, no! I'm just the butler! What do I know?"
Hana sweatdropped, and went back to waiting for her cousin at the foot of the large stairwell that rose up to the second floor of the mansion.
She had wondered why Hashiru didn't get his name changed, and perhaps even break his ties to his family if he despised his father's legacy so much. Whenever people asked him about it, he told them that he kept his surname as a mark of shame for what his father had done to his family; impregnating his mother, stealing as much as he could carry, and then running off to God-knows-where.
"Oh my gosh, I'm SO late!"
Hana jerked her head up as she heard an unfamiliar girl's voice at the top of the stairs, and then watched with a perfectly neutral expression as a leggy brunette rushed down the stairwell, trying to do the buttons on her blouse with one hand while toting a leather bookbag with the other.
Without stopping to acknowledge the siblings standing near the door, the young woman rushed outside, still trying to make order of her dishelved clothing.
Hana's left eye twitched.
After a few moments her cousin appeared at the top of the stairs, smiling down while descending. "Hey, there ya are! You feelin' okay Joshin?"
"Well enough," Joshin replied simply, drawing himself up and looking even more foolish.
Hana rubbed her forehead irritably and jabbed a thumb out the front door. "So Hashi, who was that?"
"Her?" Hashiru smiled, and then rubbed his chin. "Oh, she's just... well... she... uh..." he frowned. "Come to think of it, I don't think I ever got her name."
Hana grit her teeth. "Disgusting! Now you're not even bothering to keep track of your conquests?"
Hashiru frowned at her and looked away indignantly as he finished descending the stairs. "I don't make 'conquests', I just like to have fun! Nothing wrong with that."
"Nothing wrong with being a womanizing slimeball?" Hana challenged, looking quite cross.
"Aw, you're just angry 'cause you can never get a date." Ignoring his younger cousins' livid fury, Hashiru turned toward his older cousin. "Yo, you sure you're alright? You're still looking a bit rickety."
Joshin frowned. "I'm fine. Though my sustained injuries still haven't healed fully, I am fully capable of continuing with my classes. Although..."
"Although what?" Hashiru asked.
Joshin frowned even deeper. "Though I will admit my loss to be... fair, there is the matter of my knockout that I am most displeased with... she broke my monocle."
Hashiru and Hana sweatdropped, the latter feeling her anger evaporate with the distraction.
"That girl almost shattered your jaw, broke your nose, gave you a black eye AND a concussion, and you're worried about that stupid lens?" Hana muttered.
Joshin twitched. "It was NOT a 'stupid lens', it was a custom-crafted monocle with a specially molded platinum frame! I had to search for months to find a shop to craft the glass just right with the-"
"I'll buy ya a new one," Hashiru interrupted, hoping to stop his cousin before he got the opportunity to really start ranting. There were few things the gang leader found more pathetic than a rich man whining about the loss of a needlessly expensive fashion accessory.
He was actually very disappointed in Joshin's battle, not only because he hadn't gotten to see Ranma fight, but because Joshin suffered such a loss against an obviously injured high school girl who hadn't even pulled out any special techniques or abilities. Besides looking like an arrogant jerk for all the ranting he had done, Joshin had been bedridden from injuries that Hashiru or even Raven would have recovered from in a day.
He supposed it couldn't be helped, though. Joshin was a typical rich guy, used to dishing it out rather than taking it. Hardly a wimp, but definitely not cut from the same "rough and tumble" mold that Hashiru was.
Shoving one hand into his pocket per his usual demeanor, Hashiru walked past his relatives while fingering the large golden ankh that hung from around his neck. "Let's hurry. I have to drop someone else off at Furinkan along with Hana."
The brunette blinked in surprise, then grimaced. 'This CAN'T be good.'
__________________________________________________________________________________

"There! There he is! Now's our chance! Go apologize, now!" Min immediately tried to push her cousin forward down the hall, but the American quickly grabbed his locker for extra leverage as he held his position.
"No way! I'm not getting anywhere near him! Do you realize how lucky we are to be alive right now?!" Tomas growled and tried not to look at the figure across the long line of school lockers, whose black jacket stood out easily among the river of plain school uniforms moving past it.
Min smiled cheerfully, trying to persuade her cousin. "Oh, come on! It's been two days since that whole mess! You don't really think he's still angry about it, do you? Ranma's not the type to hold a grudge! And it's not like he hurt us after you... well, you know."
When the street fighter turned and glared at her, Min felt like smacking herself in the head. While Ranma had stomped off in a rage after revealing that he was the redheaded girl, he had attacked Tomas quite savagely before that point.
"Well, okay, fine, so he hurt you a little."
"He threw a freaking CAR at me!" Tomas hissed between clenched teeth. "And all because of your stupid plan! YOU go apologize!"
Min grimaced and drew away. "I can't! What if he hates me because of that whole mess?"
"Then I don't see how my going first would make any difference," Tomas insisted, crossing his arms over his chest.
After Ranma had left without any explanation other than "I AM Ranma", the two Bogards had eventually run into Shampoo, who apparently knew the whole story, and had explained the curse to them. After all that, Tomas could hardly blame the boy for being more upset than he was about the whole affair; while he had kissed a girl who was really a guy and lost a potential girlfriend, Ranma had to live with turning female on a regular basis.
"Just... please! We can't just avoid him forever! We need to settle this!" Min insisted, grabbing Tomas' hands in her own.
Tomas looked her dead in the eyes. "Min... are you seriously so apathetic about all this?"
The Ninja girl looked startled, and moved back slightly. "What... What do you mean?"
Tomas sighed. "Min, the guy turns into a girl. You really don't care about that?" Min began to say something, but he continued before she could. "I'm not saying you should, or that this makes Yagami any less of a man or whatever, but that's easy for me to say; he's just a friend to me." Seeing his cousin frown, he gently removed his hands from hers. "You have a more serious relationship in mind, and I get the feeling that you're just pretending like it doesn't exist, rather than deciding that it doesn't matter. If you do that... you're just going to end up getting hurt in the long run."
Min flinched, then lowered her head as she sighed miserably. "Well...... I... maybe I haven't thought that much about it... but-"
"Though about what?"
"GEEP!" Both Bogards jumped to face Ranma as he spoke up behind them, and then they started backing away nervously.
"R-R-Ranma! Sorry to bother you! We'll j-just be on our w-way to class!" Tomas stuttered out.
Ranma jabbed a thumb behind him as he spoke with a neutral expression. "Your class is that way."
"We'll go around!" Min shouted, preparing to flee. "Bye!"
Before the blondes could put any speed to their escape, Ranma grabbed each one by a shoulder to hold them in place.
'We're dead.' They each thought, visions of a fiery demise flashing through their minds. Ranma had probably just put off their punishment so that he could show the whole school what happens to those that cross him.
"Min... and... especially you, Tomas..." Ranma began, his tone of voice betraying nothing.
'This is it!'
"I'm sorry," he finally spat out.
Neither of the Bogards unfroze, though their thoughts were busy twisting their minds into knots.
"You're... wait... YOU'RE sorry?" Tomas mumbled.
"F-For what?" Min asked timidly, not daring to turn around.
Ranma looked about, and then realized that his antics had drawn a crowd, as usual. Grabbing the other fighters by the arms, he quickly dragged them into the nearest classroom.
Upon entering, he noted to his satisfaction that the room was empty, save for a single teacher preparing his notes.
The teacher blinked, then frowned. "You're not my students. What are you doing here?"
Ranma cleared his throat, and then pointed past him toward the door. "I just have to have a little chat with my friends here, in private. Could you leave us alone for a little bit?"
The teacher snorted. "No. This is my classroom, and I have to prepare my-"
Ranma interrupted him while raising a single index finger. "Get out NOW, or I'll light your tie on fire," he growled.
*Fwoosh* A small, but highly visible purple flame burst from Ranma's fingertip, and the middle-aged man shuddered a bit in intimidation before grabbing his notes and fleeing into the hallway.
This didn't do anything to help soothe Tomas and Min's nerves, but the two fighters patiently waited for Ranma to begin while trying not to contemplate being pulled aside and then beaten.

Ranma took a deep breath to calm himself, then turned around and bowed to Tomas.
"Tomas, I apologize for going nuts and attacking you without restraint back at St. Hebereke."
The street fighter slowly raised an eyebrow. "So... you're not mad? Really?"
Ranma crossed his arms over his chest. "I WAS, but then I sat down and really thought about it." He sighed. "When you get right down to it, what happened wasn't really your fault, I guess. I deliberately convinced you and everyone who didn't know about my curse that 'Ranko' was a genuine woman. So when I thought of it that way, I decided that I have no right to get angry at you for letting me fool you." He nodded decisively. "I don't have many good friends, so it's not like I can just go kill one whenever he makes some dumb mistake like that."
Looking up at an astounded Tomas, Ranma extended his right hand. "So, do ya forgive me?"
Tomas blinked, then grabbed Ranma's hand heartily, shaking it with a relieved smile on his face. "Oh, sure! No problem! Don't mention it!"
"I won't," Ranma said seriously. "And neither will you. Otherwise I'm going to rip out your intestines and strangle you with them."
After being satisfied that Tomas was sufficiently cowed, Ranma turned toward Min.
"Now, Min... well, I didn't really do anything to ya to apologize for, other than yelling, but I guess I should apologize anyway. I mean, you were just trying to help your cousin get a date, and if I had just been honest then none o' this woulda happened."
"Oh, don't be silly! I understand completely!" Min laughed nervously and scratched the back of her head, thankful for Ranma's limited understanding of what had happened.
"Also, I hope you won't use this as another excuse to try and kill me."
Min blanched as Tomas sweatdropped.
"But-! But I-! I don't wa-"
The young Yagami clansman cleared his throat again, interrupting her.. "Also... I know it may seem odd after what I just said about bein' honest and all, but could you try and keep this quiet? As much as possible, I mean." He sighed. "I don't want you to get in trouble or nothing 'cause I'm hiding it, but I'm still not comfortable enough with the curse that I want everybody knowing about it."
"Oh, of course!" Tomas agreed, trying to shove Min back as she continued to sputter desperately.
Ranma smiled in satisfaction, then turned away and headed out of the classroom. The Bogards lagged behind for a moment, Tomas covering his heart and sighing deeply in relief, Min holding her forehead and groaning miserably.
Upon exiting the classroom, Ranma was about to locate the teacher he had thrown out and inform him that his room was vacant once more, when some commotion a short ways down the hall caught his eye.

Hana wearily lifted her arm and pointed at the pigtailed boy who had just stepped out into the hall. "That's him right there. In the black jacket."
Ranma looked at her questioningly, and she began to panic.
"I-I'm just answering his question! I'm not part of this, I swear!" She shouted helplessly, clutching her bookbag to her chest.
Ranma accepted this easily enough, and shrugged before he returned his gaze to the looming, muscle-bound figure of a man standing behind his classmate. He was a massive seven-foot tall bald man with the build of a wrestler, wearing a gray long coat that seemed to be stretched thin over his frame, despite probably being the largest size of that item that any store kept in stock. The only other items of clothing he wore was a pair of black sweat pants and giant, heavy boots with metal plates on the toes and shinguards. Tattooed on his bare chest was a giant ankh done in black ink.
"Yo." The giant said, sneering at Ranma.
"'Sup?" Ranma responded, hands in his pockets.
The man pointed at the pigtailed boy, his ugly face grinning malevolently. "I challenge you, Ranma Yagami! In the name of Clan Ra, today you will know defeat!"
Gasps traveled throughout the hallway.

"Clan Ra? Seriously?"
"How horrible! A street gang targeting people?"
"I heard they're all bloodthirsty murderers!"
"I heard they're all ex-convicts that broke loose!"
"I heard that they're good Samaritans with an image problem."
"That'd be pretty weird, huh?"
"If the shoe fits..."

Standing behind Ranma and moving away from the conflict to give the fighters room, Tomas was speaking to Min as he looked over the hulking street tough.
"So what is this 'Clan Ra'? Sounds like a street gang, but I've never seen any street punk with an aura like this guy's!"
Min decided to forgo any argument that Tomas and many of his associates could easily be called 'street punks', and just answered his question.
"Clan Ra is the only street gang that ever managed to keep territory in Nerima, because of our unusually high martial artist population. They say that Ra actually uses that to their advantage, recruiting fighters that wish to utilize their skills more often, or students that are rejected from their original schools because of poor discipline or ethics."
Tomas frowned. "That doesn't sound too bad... at least, compared to some of the gangs in South Town."
Min shrugged, though she watched the giant fighter anxiously. "I don't really know how bad they are; there are so many conflicting rumors about Clan Ra that they almost seem more like a secret society than a gang. Some people say they're an evil army, some say they're a community of super-humans with giant IQs and unbelievable physical skills, and some people say that they're essentially violent boy scouts." She shrugged again. "Oddly enough, the rumors about Ra don't fall into any gray areas."

Ranma looked critically at the hulk of a man before him, and then scratched his chin as he spoke.
"So, you wanna challenge me, huh?" He frowned. "Normally I wouldn't have a problem with that, but..."
The street tough grinned maliciously. "But WHAT?"
Ranma jabbed his thumb down the hall, not reacting to his opponent's attitude. "But my class is starting in two minutes, and I get marked down pretty often for this sort of thing already. So..."
"Oh! So sorry, then!" To Ranma's surprise, the giant smiled and slapped the back of his head. "Stupid me, issuing a challenge in the morning at a school! So, when would be a good time for you?"
Ranma cocked his head to one side. "Well, my English class only lasts an hour. I can fight you during passing period."
"Excellent! Excellent!" The punk said happily, earning sweatdrops from the surrounding students. "I'll just wait right outside for you then!" He happily strode down to the end of the hall, then turned around to wave to Ranma before reaching the exit. "Good luck with your classes!"
"Uh... thanks!" Ranma said, sweatdropping. 'Man, these last few challenges have been really mellow... oh well, I guess I shouldn't complain. Better than having Ryoga after me again.'
__________________________________________________________________________________

Ryoga stifled a sneeze as he stood in front of the restaurant in front of him, focusing his aura for the task at hand.
The Yama-sen ken techniques had proven to be a Godsend for him; his normal style of fighting, which relied upon sheer strength and speed to overwhelm lesser foes, simply lacked any surprises potent enough to combat Ranma's natural fighting ability, never mind his flame powers. While his weapon skills had helped him a little in that respect, they hadn't been enough. A more formidable and dynamic martial arts base was obviously needed, rather than simply another trick that could be worked around.
"FREEZE!!!" Ryoga's voice boomed through the small mountain valley, and he immediately dashed toward the front door of the restaurant.
"Moko kaimon ha!!" He shouted, kicking one leg straight forward while following by sticking his hands into the shattered hole in the doors and then spreading his arms out, completely pulverizing them in a split second. Splintered wood fell down beside him, and he grinned and clenched his hand into a fist as he looked about at all the people staring at him with wide eyes, frozen in fear.
He had taken another scroll, which detailed some other techniques known collectively as the "Umi-sen ken", but Ryoga had skimmed that and then put it back where he'd found it. While interesting, the scroll was very clear in that its principles embodied subtlety. Ryoga knew quite well that he possessed all the subtlety of a hurricane, so he had easily dismissed the entire idea.
The "1000 mountains fist" seemed to fit his repertoire quite well though. In fact, in such a short time after he had left Tokyo, he now only had one remaining Yama-sen ken technique to master.
The shopkeeper gulped and began to inch toward the cash register as the stranger approached. Hopefully the man would simply take the shops money and not rob everyone else; in a location as remote as his shop was, he only had a few regular customers, and he'd never recover if they lost their money too.
Ryoga approached the front counter calmly, and slowly slung his backpack off of his shoulders with one hand while fishing in his pocket with the other.
*Slam!* The shopkeeper flinched back as the wanderer slammed a palm flat on the counter before him.
"Give me all the food that I can get for this much!" Ryoga demanded.
The shopkeeper blinked, as did every other person in the restaurant.
"It's to go," Ryoga added, remembering that the supplies would do him little good if served in open bowls and plates.
"You're... You're paying for it?" The elderly man asked cautiously, glancing at the crumpled bills that Ryoga had placed on the counter.
Ryoga frowned. "Of course I'm paying for it! Do I look like a robber to you?"
"O-Of c-course not sir! Right away sir!" The shopkeeper quickly ducked behind the counter and began sorting through his wares, intent on getting the man before him on his way as soon as possible.
Ryoga grit his teeth and clenched his hand into a fist, raising it up before him. 'Just wait Yagami! With the power of the Yama-sen ken, nothing can stand before me! Your days are numbered!'
__________________________________________________________________________________

Min covertly glanced at Ranma for what she swore had to have been the thousandth time since class begin and shook her head. 'He sure is taking this calmly. Does he know about Ra's reputation? Or is he just that confident in his abilities?'
For what was a truly odd scenario in the classroom, Ranma was the only one paying any level of attention to the lecture. Everyone else was either whispering about the upcoming match after class, passing notes to discuss the match, ask questions about Clan Ra, and make wagers, or staring at Ranma and wondering why he wasn't more interested in his own fight. Even Akane Tendo, as removed as she tried to be from Ranma's affairs, was looking anxious about it.
Ranma, for his part, was paying some attention to the teacher, but mostly doodling on his notebook. In most situations he would be just as distracted as the rest of the class, being busy working out combat strategies, analyzing a foe's fighting style, or experimenting with flame formations in his mind.
However, he found these newest strings of challenges, with fighters coming out of nowhere and asking him to fight battles with no grudge or stakes, oddly soothing. It was rare that he fought anything but battles of purpose, where failure would bring swift consequences or even death; he could get used to fighting matches just for the fun of it.
*BRIIIIIIIIIING!!* The bell rang, jerking all of those students who weren't watching the clock already out of their distractions.
"Okay class," the teacher began, turning toward the chalkboard, "I want you to do exercises-"
The man was cut off by a sudden stampede out of the front door, and by the time he turned around to check if anyone was leaving, the entire room was empty save himself and a singled pigtailed boy.
The teacher blinked. "Yagami? YOU'RE the only one left?"
Ranma sweatdropped. "Uh... looks like it. And you know I'm not gonna do the homework anyway, so..."
Seeing the teacher sigh forlornly and start to pack up his things, Ranma moved toward a window and prepared to make way toward his battlefield.
"Oh yeah. I could definitely get used to this."
__________________________________________________________________________________

Min crept down the hallway along the wall, scanning the flow of students as they rushed past her. Some were heading toward their next classes, but most were headed toward the main field out in front to watch the upcoming battle. She assumed Tomas was with them, and in turn she expected that he assumed her to be on her way.
However, the Ninja girl had a higher priority at the moment. She would have loved to watch Ranma beat down his latest challenger (she was perceptive enough to see that the behemoth of a man lacked the dexterity to fight Ranma on an equal footing), but she had been thinking about the challenge and its link to Clan Ra all throughout English, and had found some leads buried in her memory.
"Ah ha. There she is." Grinning, Min tightened her control of her aura around her as she began to move, and zipped through the crowd toward her target. It was a fairly straightforward, if not difficult to master, Ninja trick that her mother had passed down to her; the user pulled in her natural energies around to make her perceived presence smaller. While the technique didn't allow for anything so fantastic as turning invisible, it did make the user almost undetectable among a crowd, especially to anyone who wasn't looking for her.
Thus, Hana was caught completely by surprise as she was snatched around the waist and then shoved into a broom closet before she even had time to react.
Trying to regain her wits, the brunette stumbled backward into the wall, raising her arms for defense. She immediately gauged that her attacker didn't intend to harm her, seeing how she had been released rather than thrown, so she decided to play it cool rather than try to fight back right away.
Min quickly shut the door behind her as the smaller girl got her bearings. Then the Shiranui Ninja released control of her ki and flicked on the light switch on the wall.
Hana swallowed deeply as she saw who it was who had trapped her. Min looked down at her expressionlessly, standing up straight with a single combat fan in one hand, which she kept closed.
"Wh-What do YOU want?" Hana stuttered, quite aggravated by the whole situation.
"I want to know your connection with Clan Ra," Min said bluntly, "then I want to know everything you know about them. And THEN I want to know why they're targeting Ranma like this."
Hana raised an eyebrow. "And what makes you think I have anything to do with Ra?"
"Two things," Min said, raising two fingers of her unoccupied hand. "One, you were the one who led that big goon in here. Coincidence? Maybe. Two, I saw you sitting next to that group of fighters at St. Hebereke the other day. It didn't really hit me until I thought back on it, 'cause of how quickly everything spun out with the battles and all, but the guy who was announcing said that Clan Ra was responsible for the second match. Another coincidence?" She crossed her arms under her chest. "Well, it falls to you to convince me it is."
Hana growled. "I don't owe you any explanations!"
"True," Min admitted, "now stop stalling and tell me what I want to know, pipsqueak."
"Erk!" Hana flattened her back against the wall at the taller girl's eyes narrowed, and fought the urge to tremble. "Are you th-threatening m-me?!"
"Yes," Min said simply, taking one step forward. Inwardly, she smiled. Lock picking, stealth, and interrogation were all Ninja skills that had been handed down from her mother unto her, and she had worked hard to further all her talents, rather than concentrating almost exclusively on combat, like Mai did. While she recognized that solving her problems with stealth and cunning took some bite out of her efforts when she attempted to resort to brute force, she thought the balance of abilities were far more befitting of a Ninja.
Hana swallowed. If Min was seriously going to hurt her for not talking, there wasn't a thing stopping her, and Hana doubted she was strong enough to hurt the Ninja girl at all in a fight, assuming she could even touch her.
'Okay, just play it cool...' "Fine, whatever. If you want to cause all this trouble over nothing..." She turned her head away. "My brother and cousin happen to be part of Clan Ra, alright? Sometimes I get dragged along with them, that's all."
Min nodded, her face still neutral. "Okay, good. Now tell me what you know about them. Why are they targeting-"
Suddenly the door to the closet opened, and Min grit her teeth and turned around with a glare, intending to quickly scare away the intruder and get back to her questioning.
"What do you wa-T-T-Tomas!" Min squeaked, jumping back as her cousin frowned at her.
Tomas looked past Min toward the schoolgirl that was pressed into a corner, almost sitting on top of a mop bucket. "Min, what is this? I thought you were going to watch the fight, but instead you grab this girl, and... what are you doing to her?" His frown deepened when he saw the combat fan that Min clenched in one hand.
The Ninja girl tracked his gaze, and then chuckled nervously as she snatched both hands behind her back to hide them.
Unfortunately, before Min could began to generate any excuses, Hana pushed past her and dove into Tomas' arms, wrapping the surprised street fighter in a desperate embrace.
"Please help me! She said she'd beat me up if I didn't tell her what she wanted!" She cried fretfully, displaying none of the collected backbone that she had possessed just moments ago.
"Hey! You little brat! I never said I was going to beat you up!" Min protested.
Much to the Ninja's distress, Tomas fixed her with a hard gaze and turned away so that his back was between Hana and Min.
"Min, I can't believe you! Threatening a helpless schoolgirl like this is below you! What were you thinking?!" Tomas glared back at her, and Hana stuck her head out to the side of his body so that she could stick her tongue out at the taller girl.
"But... But I-"
Not waiting for his cousin to offer an explanation, Tomas helped Hana away from the broom closet, as well as the frustrated Shinobi within it. Once he was an appropriate distance away, Tomas gently held the girl at arms' length away from him and looked her in the eyes.
"Hey, are you alright? She didn't shove you around or anything, did she?"
Hana found herself blushing as she stared up into the American's eyes through her glasses. "N-No, she d-didn't hurt me. Yet."
Tomas frowned again. "I don't know what got into her, but I don't think you were in any danger. Min doesn't like fighting people who can't fight back, and she doesn't take the whole 'Ninja' thing as seriously as it might seem at first."
"E-Even so, thank you very much for rescuing me!" Hana said a little too loudly, blushing even harder as she bowed to him.
Tomas smiled slightly and tipped his hat to her. "Hey, no sweat. Take it easy, okay?"

Hana couldn't help but sigh deeply as she watched the American grab his cousin and drag her away through the hall, lecturing the whole time.
'Wow... with all the time I've spent admiring Yagami, I never noticed, but that American guy is really cute... and so muscular... and what timing! Just like a knight in shining armor!'
She began blushing again as she began to lose herself in a bubbly fantasy, the real world fading away around her.
*Rrrrrrumble* The increasing intensity of a local tremor, caused by dozens of students stampeding through the halls, was insufficient to bring her back to reality. And while the dialogue that accompanied it did manage to pierce the pleasant fog in her brain, she didn't realize the incoming danger until it was too late.
"Fight!!"
"Yahoo!"
"Screw math, Yagami's fighting again!!"
"Is it Kuno again?"
"No, it's some new guy!"
"Ow! I just stubbed my toe on something!"
And so the mob of careless martial arts enthusiasts proceeding to the scene of the battle, none ever noticing the helpless girl they had trampled in the process.
"...... Medic..."
__________________________________________________________________________________

"HRAAAAUGH!!" *CRASH!!*
Ranma flipped to the side as the massive iron weight attached to the heavy chain slammed into the ground.
Smirking, the pigtailed boy dove into his opponent's defenses, and began to jab at random points over the man's torso, not even bothering to aim for critical points.
Grimacing, the massive fighter threw his arms down to try and trap Ranma in a bear hug, only to have the wily teen jump straight up through his arms and then kick off his forehead to gain distance.
Ranma landed easily outside of the larger man's arm reach, smiling, but a little disappointed. With two days to heal the throbbing pain and sensitivity caused by Tomas' aurora fang had passed; even if he wasn't technically in top condition yet, he was now able to fight again at top strength and speed.
Unfortunately, that meant that he outclassed this fellow as a fighter in the way that a cruise missile outclassed a pipe bomb. In his current condition he figured that he could fight Joshin again and win without really cutting loose or resorting to his flames; his present opponent wasn't anywhere near the aristocrat's level.
The giant thug brought his chain up and began to swing it around in a tight circle, aiming to fling the weight directly at his opponent.
He did so, and the oversized iron block sailed straight for the pigtailed boy, who merely jump up TOWARD the weight and landed on top of it before running along the large chain that was still held taught by the force carrying the bludgeon at the end.
Ranma smirked as he sped toward the surprised brawler. "It's OVER!! Koto... Tsuki... IN!!"
*Whack!* Smacking his palm into the bigger man's face, Ranma jumped forward off the chain, pulling his opponent with him and slamming the giant into the ground.
*FWOOSH!* Fire exploded around the giant in dark blossoms as the second phase of the attack took effect, and Ranma turned away as the thug cried out in pain.
"Hm. Not bad, I guess..." Ranma allowed, still facing away from his foe. "But really man, if you're too big to start moving, then at least work on the defense. You should be able to take WAY more damage than that."
A sudden gasp came from the surrounding crowd of spectators as a burnt, twitching hand rose up behind Ranma.
Quickly swiping a hand at his prone opponent, Ranma walked away before the nearly unconscious man crossed that critical threshold in a violent burst of purple fire.
'So that's Clan Ra, huh? They're good. Just not good enough to handle me.' Ranma smirked as he walked away from the charred crater, hands in his pockets. 'I have the feeling the next couple of days are gonna be REAL interesting...'
__________________________________________________________________________________

Min whistled to herself as she strolled jauntily through the alleyway, clutching her bookbag behind her as she projected feminine innocence all about.
Of course, the Ninja girl wasn't being quite as subtle as she hoped she was, as just about any girl knew that it was a bad idea to walk noisily through dark alleyways in gang territory. However, Min was confident that her ruse would be accepted anyway; street toughs weren't known for their tact or rationale, and she was confident that she presented an attractive enough package that even a wary thug would be tempted to try his luck.
'Just let those Ra goons try and approach me! If I can't get information from that four-eyed brat, I'll just beat it out of the source!'
It wasn't long before she rounded a corner, and was immediately presented with two young men who were looking over a skateboard critically.
The shorter of the two jerked his head toward her immediately, and his eyes widened in surprise. "Whoa! Check HER out!"
As the taller man turned to look, Min backed away with a fearful expression.
The bigger thug smiled. "Hey there baby! You lost?"
"Um... I... uh..." Min swallowed nervously. 'Come on, you idiot monkeys...'
The shorter one frowned. "Hey there, whatsa matter? A girl with an aura like yours can't be scared o' us!"
"Grk!" Min nearly fell over in surprise as her nervous act collapsed. 'These second-rate goons can detect auras? This might be harder than I thought...'
"So, are you lost, or what?" The taller man asked, approaching. "Or are you here to sign up with Ra or something?"
Min dropped the helpless girl act, and stepped forward slowly while she chuckled nervously. "Well, it's kind of embarrassing."
The larger street fighter stepped up right in front of her. "What? You need help or something?"
"Yes..." Min mumbled, reaching into her bookbag. "Or something..."
*Shing!* *Whack!* *Thwack!* The gang member stumbled backward as Min's fan cut across his chest, and he dropped into unconsciousness as she slammed the handle of that same weapon into the side of his head, followed by a punishing roundhouse to the same spot.
Min was about to turn toward the second man and began an interrogation, but instead barely dodged in time to avoid the edges of three throwing knives that had been aimed at her side.
Before she could arrange an attack, however, that same man threw out a chain in the predicted direction of her dodge, wrapping around her waist before the Ninja girl could adjust to her foe's apparent prowess.
*Slam!* Min grunted as she was swung into the concrete wall of the alley, and glared at her opponent as he rushed forward to kick her before she recovered.
*Crack!* The street fighter winced as Min jumped up high and his sneaker smacked into hard concrete instead. Then he immediately turned around to defend himself... only to find nothing behind him.
*Thump!*
Min grinned as her knee drove the punk's head into the ground, having dropped straight down on top of him from where she had latched onto the wall.
Then she frowned. Two thugs down, and she had already taken a solid hit and had nobody to squeeze for information. If someone found these two, then they would surely alert the other fighters in the immediate area, and after the kind of struggle the small punk had put up, she wasn't quite as confident in her ability to smash her way through the gang's ranks that she was when she had set out on her mission.
A fleeting uneasy feeling was all the warning she had, and before her conscious mind had even worked out a plan, the Shiranui Shinobi dove for the shadows of another alley.

Another young man and a woman of about the same age burst from a nearby door that lined the wall of the back alley, scanning the long, concrete halls that they patrolled.
"I'm sure I heard a really hard impact just now!" The man said through clenched teeth. "It was coming from... oh geez! Hikiochi!"
Spotting his fallen friend, (and not yet noticing the one who had been kicked behind the garbage cans), the street tough gripped his bo staff more tightly and sprinted down the alleyway before his companion could gather the speed to follow.
The girl began to run after him, but then managed to catch a blur of motion off to her right.
*Whack!* Before she knew what was happening, she had suffered a solid blow to her right temple, and was then shoved hard into the alley wall.
The fighter who had rushed over to check on his friend whirled as he heard an attack upon his companion, but was unable to find anything other than her unconscious body, which had been hurled against a wall.
Swallowing deeply, the young man attempted to stretch out his senses, expanding his awareness beyond the flawed receptors of his eyes and ears...
*Ahem* "Can you help me?"
"GYAH!!" He shouted in surprise as a girl's voice came from behind him, and jumped around into a fighting stance. Then his jaw went slack, and he gaped openly at the young woman who had startled him.
Min giggled and straightened, well aware of the effect that the movement had on her breasts while dressed in her special Ninja outfit. After taking out the girl, Min had reasoned that she might not be able to incapacitate any of the gang's fighters without knocking them out completely. With a quick change of clothes, however, she could easily find other ways to extract information.
"So," Min said pleasantly, "do you think you can tell me where your boss is hanging out? I have an appointment to keep with him."
"Oh, s-sure!" The street fighter stuttered, completely forgetting that he was surrounded by the comatose bodies of his companions. "Just take that back alley down the skateboarding court. He should be in the short building right behind that, on the top floor!"
Min nodded scratching her chin. "Thanks hon! Could you do me one other favor?" She smiled. "Come a little closer."
He did so eagerly, not even noticing the combat fan that the Ninja clutched openly in her right hand.
*Thock!* *Pow!* *Thud!*
"Idiot," Min muttered, shaking her head. She couldn't fathom how some men were so easily distracted by a gorgeous body in the middle of a combat situation. It was disgraceful!
Replaying the thug's directions over in her head, Min jumped onto one of the alley walls, and then deflected off of it to land on the opposite wall, before deflecting again for an even higher position, continuing until she grabbed hold of the edge of the apartment building and hoisted herself up. Moving in the alley was fine, but if she was going to avoid fighting every street tough between her and her target, she needed a less conventional route.
'I WILL get to the bottom of this!'
__________________________________________________________________________________

"So THEN the guy reaches up to try and get me from behind, so I just blasted him and walked away," Ranma recounted his earlier battle to Shampoo and Yurumi as he pushed his way through the front door of the sushi bar.
"Wow. So I guess it went pretty quick, huh?" His little sister asked, glad that Ranma hadn't done anything to aggravate his injuries this time. After he and Shampoo had returned home three days ago, Ranma had looked horribly weary and bruised, though he wouldn't tell anyone where he'd been.
Ranma nodded. "Yup. He wasn't much in a fight. Not against me, anyway. Too slow."
Shampoo frowned. "Why men from weird clan all challenge Ranma now? First is Ninja man, then cane man, now big chain man attack at school!"
Ranma shrugged. "Who knows? Not that big a deal, though. For a gang of street thugs, they're keeping things more civil than Kuno or Ryoga ever did."
The pigtailed boy was walking toward the seats at the bar, but was stopped when his little sister grabbed onto one of his pant legs.
"Hey! What's this about a Ninja and a cane man! I never heard anything about that!" Yurumi said hotly, frowning in such a manner that everyone currently in the restaurant wanted to scoop her up and give her a big hug.
Ranma and Shampoo sweatdropped, and the two teenagers stiffly walked up to the bar in front of the kitchen, not answering the little girl Ranma was dragging along on his leg.
"Hey! Answer me!"
Ranma ignored her, and quickly pried her hand off his leg so that he could sit down at the stools in front of the bar.
"Don't ignore me! Were you fighting when you were injured?"
The pigtailed boy calmly tapped the shoulder of a chef who was currently turned away from him. "Yo, can we get some menus?"
To his and Shampoo's surprise, rather than replying right away, the man chuckled with his back still turned.
"Oh, I'm not sure you'll be needing one of THOSE!!"
*THUNK!* Punctuating the last word with a powerful downward stab, the chef whirled and drove a large, pointed knife into the wooden counter in front of Ranma. With the chef turned, Ranma could see that he had a golden ankh amulet around his neck.
"Ranma Yagami! I challenge you to a duel in the name of Clan Ra!" The chef shouted, pulling out two other large knives and sharpening them against each other.
Ranma blinked, ignoring both Shampoo and Yurumi as they scrambled back in surprise. Then he looked down at the knife that had been stabbed into the counter in front of him. Then he looked back up at the chef.
"So... if you were going to announce your challenge before fighting me, why did you bother to disguise yourself as a chef?" Ranma asked, scratching his chin.
"Actually, it's not a disguise," the man explained, "I really do work here."
"Ah," Ranma mumbled, "that would explain why your manager's shaking his head sadly like that." Then he frowned. "You mind if we eat first? Normally I'd just go with you now, but I brought my sister and a friend of mine, so..."
"Oh, no problem!" The knife fighter said, putting down his knives and rubbing his hands together. "So, what can I get ya?"
Shampoo and Yurumi warily sat back down, being slightly overwhelmed by the turn of events. Yurumi wasn't quite used to conflict exploding around her yet, and Shampoo wasn't used to people drawing weapons without actual violence immediately following it.
Ranma snapped his fingers, and grinned. "Hey, how's this: let's put a wager on the duel. If I win, then you pay my tab. If you win, then I'll pay double my tab, and you can keep the extra half. Deal?"
The fighting chef snorted. "Very well! Now order your food! And for dessert, I shall serve you a bitter defeat!"
"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Ranma said, waving off the cheesy bravado. "I'll have six orders of deluxe spider rolls, two orders of fatty tuna sashimi, three Mt. Fuji special roll combos, four orders of combination sashimi, six more orders of kappa rolls, and an unagi bento."
The man's eyes bulged as the pigtailed boy continued looking over the menu.
"Make... half of that... no, a third of that to go. Shampoo?"
The Amazon nodded happily. "Shampoo have same, but with salmon sashimi instead tuna!"
"Drop the kappa rolls and I'll take the same, please," Yurumi said, "and make most of my and Shampoo's orders to go."
The gang member began to sweat as the other chefs stared at him incredulously.
'Why do I get the feeling that I've just been robbed?'
__________________________________________________________________________________

Two members of Clan Ra stood outside of the penthouse door playing shogi out on the balcony, their weapons at their side.
It was a calm day, without any perceptible cause for alertness. Neither street fighter was aware of the conflicts that had taken place in the network of alleys below, nor did either of them catch a glimpse of the blue and white-dressed figure zipping behind satellite dishes and air ventilation outputs on the adjacent building's roof.
One of the men put down a tablet, and his opponent scratched his chin in careful thought.
"Ha! I yield!" He said eventually, bowing his head. "Another match?"
His foe grinned, nodding. "Yeah, I still have time for..." he stopped and frowned, then leaned to side slightly to try and look over his opponent's shoulder.
"Something wrong?" The other man asked, quickly looking behind him as well.
*Thwock!*
He turned back around quickly enough to see his gaming companion fall to the side, unconscious.
Unlike Min's last foe, this man was competent enough not to be distracted by the luscious curves peeking out from the gaps in her uniform, and immediately kicked the gameboard at the intruder before making a lunge for his weapon lying atop a nearby chair.
Min twisted out of the way of the flung shogi table, and then flowed into an attack as she turned. "Ryuen bu!"
*Bwoom!* The cloth tails of her outfit burst into flame and slammed hard into the "guard", who hadn't yet been able to bring his bo staff to his defense. *Crash!*

Min smirked and dusted off her hands as she watched the street tough impact the cheap lawn table heavily, burnt patches all over his side where he was struck.
"Remarkable technique. The Shiranui style is truly a breathtaking art to behold."
Min whirled around at the voice, only to find nothing. Panicking slightly, she hopped to the center of the large balcony and began to scan her surroundings carefully, paying extra attention to any shadowy depressions or unlikely ledges among the taller buildings that surrounded the one she was standing on.
"Who are you?! Show yourself!" Min shouted, taking a combat fan in each hand and moving to a defensive position.
"Show myself? I think not. My own style of Ninjitsu is far less suited to combat than your own; I doubt that I could beat you, even if I had struck when I had the advantage of surprise."
Min continued searching, drawing her senses out, and trying everything she could think of to find her enemy. 'If he alerts anyone else, I'm done for!'
"As for who I am, you may call me 'Raven' like everyone else."
"Great," Min mumbled, "so what are you planning on doing, Raven? Did you just stop by to chat?"
"I've been observing you since after you dispatched the second pair of my fellow members, and I've alerted our 'boss' to your presence. He'll be here shortly to discuss whatever it is you want."
Min was about to question the ambiguous voice further, when her expanded senses locked on to a powerful aura that was approaching her from inside the penthouse.
Steeling herself, Min kept up her defensive stance as the twin doors leading to the penthouse interior opened, admitting three figures.
Two of them she recognized only as people she had seen at the event at St. Hebereke. The third, however, was someone she had confronted even more recently.
"Hey! You ARE involved in Ra! I knew it!" Min shouted, pointing a fan at Hana.
The brunette frowned, and crossed her arms over her chest. "The situation is exactly what I told you when you threatened me this morning." She pointed toward Hashiru, who was observing Min expressionlessly in his usual pose. "This is my cousin, Hashiru Yamazaki." Then she pointed to Joshin, who was staying back slightly. "And this is my brother, Joshin Keitoro." Then she glared at the Ninja girl. "So what are YOU doing here?"
Min scowled. "What do you think?! If you won't tell me what Ra is up to, then I'll just find this boss of yours and beat it out of him! Where is he?!"
The bigger man with long blond hair stepped forward. "That would be me. What do you want?"
She frowned. "First, I want you to tell me if you had anything to do with that attack on our house that happened before the match. Then, I want to know why you're targeting Ranma Yagami all of a sudden!"
Hashiru snorted, and strode forward easily, his left hand still in his pocket. "You're a helluva girl, coming all this way and fighting so hard just for that."
Min shrugged. "If I don't like the answer, I might have to take you down, too. This way you're right in front of me, and out here with the limited floor space, it makes it harder for your punks to swarm me."
The gang leader nodded slowly. "Fair enough." He stepped forward again, and then stopped when he was halfway in-between the Keitoro siblings and the intruding Ninja. "You come into my gang's territory uninvited, attack my friends, and damage my property. That's pretty cool." His expression didn't change when she raised an eyebrow. "I don't mind a challenge at all, and the guys could use a little something to stir 'em up. It's all just a game to us, you know?" Then his neutral expression dipped into a scowl. "But what I will NOT tolerate is people manhandling and threatening my cousin. After I answer your questions I'm going to make you pay for that." Behind him, Hana looked a bit embarrassed and looked down with a hand on the back of her head.
Min blinked. He was going to answer her questions first? 'This is the strangest group of street thugs I've ever met...'
"Your first answer is no. In fact, we wanted to stop the St. Hebereke team from disabling the Furinkan contestants so that we could do that little show afterward with Yagami. Shame he never showed up."
Min sweatdropped heavily, but didn't say anything.
"Second answer is that there's a lot of talk about Yagami, and I'm trying to gauge just how strong he is. I want him with Ra, if possible. If not, fine, but I say if the guy's got a problem with our challenges, he can come and complain himself." Hashiru idly scratched the back of his neck with his free hand. "Any other questions?"
"So you're not trying to hurt him?" Min asked skeptically.
Hashiru chewed on his lip slightly in thought. "Well... I guess, technically, through the course of issuing a challenge and fighting him, yes, we're trying to hurt him, but we're not trying to injure or intimidate him or anything. Just want to see how good he is."
Min snorted. "Fine. Then let's get on with this." *K-shing!* She opened both her battle fans, sunlight glinting off the bladed edges.
Hashiru held his position, with his right arm hanging loosely.
"What's wrong? Is THAT your fighting stance?" Min growled. "At least take your hand out of your damn pocket!"
"You gonna talk, or you gonna chat?" Hashiru taunted, leaning over and smiling.
Min's eyebrow twitched. "Chat this! Hissatsu shinobi bachi!" She cried, cartwheeling toward her opponent to gain momentum for the elbow strike.
To her surprise, Hashiru didn't move from his position of leaning forward and grinning, leaving his face right in the way of her attack.
*Thock!* She was even more surprised when her entire body stopped dead upon striking him, completely paralyzed.
'What? How did he...? I can't move!'
Hashiru held his grin and pulled his head away from Min's elbow, leaving the Ninja girl twitching as she was stuck in the air, still immobile.
"Yamazaki style special counter kuroi shikaeshi. It wears off after a short period of time." Then he pulled his right hand out of his pocket, glowing with a light blue aura that twisted the very air about in violent, distorted waves. "That is... if nothing hits you first."
*Thrack!* Hashiru's aura formed a drill-like image as he thrust his right fist into Min's lower torso, throwing the Ninja girl back and slamming her hard into the thick mesh railing at the edge of the balcony.
Min started to get up, and stumbled as her side throbbed painfully from the impact. Unfortunately, Hashiru wasn't intending to spend the battle showing off, and capitalized on his advantage.
*Wshk!* A flesh-colored streak was all the warning the Ninja girl got before she was yanked violently toward her opponent, having been somehow snatched up by hand while she was three arm lengths away.
"Yamazaki style heavy distance strike hebi tsukai." He said calmly. "You're good, girl, but Ninja should know better than to charge brawlers."
Then he raised Min up in the air by her neck, the blue glow increasing around him. "I'll end it quick. Tsuchi buchikomu!"
__________________________________________________________________________________

*Bwack!* *Pow!* *Smash!*
"Oh, geez!"
"That's gotta hurt..."
"No fighting! No fighting inside the restaurant! I can't-"
*Bwoom!*
"Aiyah! Ranma, you finish off now!"
"Shampoo, can you give me a hand with these take out cartons?"
"So that's the pyro kid everyone's talking about around here..."
*Thwack!* *Wham!* *BLAMMO!!*
The whole building shook from the power of the last explosion, and the knife-wielding chef flew out of the front door of the establishment, his pristine white uniform turned black wherever it hadn't been burnt away completely.

Ranma walked out a moment later with a bundle of cartons packed under his arm, and though he was smiling, he was also glancing at a cut on his sleeve.
"Can't believe he actually got me. And not just a lucky shot, either; that stab came out of nowhere." He grinned. "Man, these guys are great!"
"I don't see what's so great about cutting you with a knife," Yurumi mumbled irritably. "He could've killed you!"
Ranma snorted. "Yeah. Right. Even if he could have beat me, I can see through his technique easily. He wasn't making lethal strikes; if anyone's ever died from his techniques, it's probably been through blood loss, and any fighter with as much self respect as he had wouldn't let a fallen foe bleed to death." Then he smirked and rubbed the top of Yurumi's head. "But it's nice to know you care, anyway."
"Best of all, stupid man pay for meal!" Shampoo cheered, hauling a majority of the leftover sushi. "Ranma very, very clever!"
"Yeah! Mom won't have to cook for two more days, at least!"
"With your appetite, we'll be lucky to save it until tomorrow," Yurumi murmured.
Ranma stuck his tongue out at her. "So what? I earned it, didn't I?" She stuck her tongue back out at him in response.
Shampoo, meanwhile, was looking ahead and ignoring the exchange, so she was the only one that noticed the incoming arrow before it sunk deeply into the building a few meters ahead.
"Whoa! What's that?" Ranma asked. Looking more closely at the projectile, he could see that there was a small note tied to it. "A messenger arrow?"
Yurumi put down her own small load of cartons, then rushed forward and hopped up to grab the note.
Then she blinked. "It's addressed to someone named 'Junikyo'. That's weird." Frowning, she began to read the message, despite not knowing who the addressee was. "'I need you to make me a fancy-looking monocle. Well polished, with scratch resistant lens and an aluminum frame. Please attach a tag that says that it's made of ridiculously expensive materials that would probably hurt its actual usefulness, like a diamond lens or metal from a meteorite or something. Payment on delivery.'" She looked back toward Ranma. "What does it mean?"
Ranma frowned. "I think it means that somebody's getting screwed over on his eyewear. But other than that, I don't have a clue."
The trio turned as a young man sprinted over to them, panting heavily as he carried a short bow in one hand and a quiver of arrows in the other.
Yurumi held up the note. "You shot this, right? Is this for us?"
He stopped to catch his breath for a moment, then shook his head. "No, *pant* that's the *pant* wrong message. *Gasp* Sorry about that." He took the letter from Yurumi and stuffed it in his pocket, before taking another rolled-up note from his quiver.
As he started breathing easier, he gestured to Ranma. "This is it. This is for you."
Ranma blinked, and then moved to take the message, only to have the bow man back away and attach the letter to an arrow.
Then the man aimed at the sidewalk before Ranma's feet, and shot the arrow straight into the concrete just a meter away.
*Thunk!*
Ranma, Shampoo, and Yurumi all sweatdropped.
"Uh... why you no just give Ranma letter?" Shampoo asked, scratching her head.
"Rules and etiquette, lady, all right? That's just how it's done!" The messenger said irritably, walking away. "I'm just trying to do my job. Yeesh."

"Oh-kay..." Ranma mumbled, reaching down to grab the rolled up note.
Dropping his own load of take out food onto the ground, he began to read his message.
"'Dear Ranma Yagami. I send this letter as another invitation for battle; it is not a challenge. An acquaintance of yours, one 'Min Bogard', violated my territory today and fought me. She was dispatched using force, but has suffered no significant injuries, and will be held at the location marked on the attached map. If you come to this location, you will be forced to fight me for her release. If you do not come, then I will-'"
Ranma stopped reading, and his eyes bulged. Shampoo and Yurumi leaned in closer, nervous but intrigued.
"'If you do not come, then I will release Min to her home at six o' clock tonight, completely unharmed. Sincerely, Hashiru Yamazaki.'"
Shampoo and Yurumi sweatdropped.
"That it? Where this man learn handle prisoners?" Shampoo asked condescendingly. Not that she was hoping for Min to be in danger, but the current scenario had just lost much of its drama.
Yurumi frowned. "It's only five thirty now. I guess she'll be fine in just half an hour then. That's good to know."
Ranma stared at the message for a few moments more, then crushed it in his hand. "THAT BASTARD!!"
*Thud!* Shampoo and Yurumi facefaulted hard.
"But... But she's going to go free in just a little bit!" Yurumi protested.
"Why Ranma upset?" Shampoo asked standing up shakily.
Ranma growled as he looked over the map. "If this Yamazaki jerk lets her go, then I don't get to fight! And I won't get to play hero and look cool, either! He can't do this to me!"
The girls sweatdropped.
"But Ranma! We still have to drop this stuff off at our house!" Yurumi protested.
Shampoo frowned. "If Ranma want go... Shampoo and Yurumi take food home, and Ranma go fight. Can make fight then, yes?"
Ranma shook his head as he pocketed the message. "That's no good. I need more witnesses there so more people know how awesome I was."
The girls sweatdropped again.
"I think all the recent fights have swelled his ego a bit," Yurumi whispered to Shampoo, who nodded mutely.
"Plus, I'm still not sure that Min isn't secretly planning to kill me. I'd like other people there on the way home."
"If Ranma not want be around girl, why save?" Shampoo deadpanned. Ranma ignored her.
Suddenly, the redheaded girl was grabbed from around the waist and lifted into the air.
"WAAUGH!! Hey! What are you doing?!" Yurumi yelled, being slung over Ranma's shoulder.
"We can get home faster this way," Ranma muttered, using his other hand to pick up several bags of take out cartons. "Come on Shampoo, put on the speed!"
__________________________________________________________________________________

"So you're just going to let me go, then?" Min murmured uneasily, looking up at the black-haired man holding position above her. She was bound in special knots at the wrists and ankles, and while she could have managed to get free with some time, she knew that Raven would be able to detect any signs of her work and stop her. Plus, you know, if they were just going to free her anyway...
"That's right," Hashiru said, seated a little distance away from the Ninja, in a short chair. "There really isn't anything else to do with you; I gain nothing from keeping you here, and if I were to anger your family such that they decided to take you back..." The blond brawler shuddered slightly. That would be an ugly scene indeed. Though he'd be interested in testing himself against a man like Andy Bogard, having him, his wife, and his nephew barging into his turf beating the snot out of everyone they saw wouldn't do anybody any good.
Min nodded in understanding. "Makes sense. But if you're going to let me go anyway, why am I tied up here?"
Hashiru shrugged. "Well, I went through all the trouble of knocking you out, so I've got to do SOMETHING with you. It would be shame to waste a hostage without even trying to get something in return."
Min tilted her head to one side. "Huh? I don't get it."
"Lord Hashiru has issued an invitation to Ranma Yagami," Raven informed her, "he has until 6:00 tonight to appear and challenge Lord Hashiru to rescue you, or else you will be returned to your home."
The Ninja girl started at the gang leader, who was lounging comfortably with one hand in his pocket, as usual.
"Uh... then why would he show up?" She asked, sweatdropping. It'd be nice if he did, but rather stupid of him.
Hashiru shrugged again. "I have no idea. But he's only got a few more minutes to get here."
There was a somewhat uncomfortable silence as the three fighters watched the front door of the auditorium, gathered as they were in the middle.
"So!" Min finally said, looking over her shoulder. "Ninja, huh? You were pretty good. I was never able to find you."
"Indeed," Raven said neutrally, bowing. "Unlike your style, my own school of Ninjitsu largely concentrates on the non-combative aspects of the shinobi. My family has been serving as spies and saboteurs for generations."
Min nodded. "That's pretty neat." Then she gestured toward Hashiru with her head. "So is this guy part of the family that yours serves?"
"No, he just pays me."
"Ah."
Hashiru looked up at the clock hanging on the wall of the auditorium, then got up and stretched. "Well, time for you to go. No hard feelings about me beating you, right?"
Min shrugged. "Eh, you could've done worse to me. And I guess I was pretty mean to your cousin."
He nodded. "Good. So now the slate's clean. Raven, you go-" Suddenly, the blond man jerked his head around in surprise.
The two Ninja blinked.
"Lord Hashiru?"
"Hey blondie, something wrong?"
*BWOOOM!!*

Hashiru shielded himself as the front doors to the auditorium exploded outward, trailing ribbons of purple fire. The two street fighters waiting outside the doors rolled into the room immediately afterward, trailing smoke from their charred bodies.
As the flames died down, Ranma strode into the room while breathing somewhat heavily, smirking at the two men lying on the floor.
"Thought you could block ME, didja? Feh." He crossed his arms over his chest condescendingly.
"We... were... m-moving... to open... the door... for you..." the more conscious of the pair mumbled, obviously in intense pain.
Everyone sweatdropped.
"Oh... uh..." Ranma decided to ignore the two men he had blasted, and looked at the others already in the room. He already knew Raven, so he jabbed a finger at the muscular guy with long blond hair. "Yamazaki, you fiend! Ta-"
The gang leader cut him off with a wave of his hand. "Wait, please, just call me Hashiru. Never call me by my surname." Then he turned toward Min. "That goes for you, too."
Ranma blinked. "Uh... okay..." Then he coughed into his hand, slightly annoyed at having the dramatic tension broken. "Hashiru, you fiend! Taking a girl captive to lure somebody into a fight! You're despicable!"
The man raised an eyebrow, though with his hair covering his eyes none could easily tell. "She attacked me, actually..."
Min nodded somberly. "Yeah, I did. Plus, you know, they were just about to let me go..."
"Knock it off!" Ranma yelled, "You're ruining my entrance!"
Raven nodded reluctantly. "Yes. Lord Hashiru, the rescue of a damsel in distress must be conducted in an appropriate manner. I believe you should indulge Yagami on this issue."
Hashiru sighed. "I hate role playing." Then he looked up at Ranma, and pointed his free hand toward him. "I don't yield to weaklings and fools! If you want the girl, you must prove yourself to me!"
Ranma grinned. Much better. "I will prove more than you ever wanted to know, Hashiru! Prepare yourself!"
Min looked up at Raven. "Uh... should I be screaming or something?"
"No, you're good."
Hashiru beckoned to the pigtailed boy. "Come, then. Let us begin."
To his surprise, Ranma held up a finger. "Just a sec."
There was a pregnant pause as everyone remained silent, save the two blasted thugs who groaned painfully as they attempted to rise such that they could treat their injuries.
After a few moments, Shampoo skidded into the room, panting heavily and carrying Yurumi on her shoulders.
"R-*pant*-Ranma! Why *pant* you move *pant* so quick *pant* all of sudden?" Atop her shoulders, Yurumi wasn't physically drained at all, though she was looking a little nervous from traveling at such high velocity in such a manner.
Ranma sweatdropped and tugged on his pigtail. "Well, we were running late. Sorry."
"Uh... they with you?" Seeing his opponent nod, Hashiru shrugged. "Okay, can we get started?"

Rather than answer, Ranma dashed forward, not wasting any more time on words. Throwing out a few quick jabs, Ranma watched as Hashiru moved his free hand to block each strike, while keeping his other hand in his pocket.
Pushing forward, Ranma launched a fierce haymaker that Hashiru smacked away instead of merely blocking, and the pigtailed boy followed up with a swift leg sweep that knocked the larger man down and had him rolling backward to get out of range.
Ranma backed up a few steps himself, then jumped toward his foe to attack the chest with a side kick. To the surprise of the girls watching, Hashiru blocked the attack easily with his forearm rather than dodging or trying a less painful defense.
To their further surprise, Ranma had predicted the move, and twisted his body around after the impact to slam his knee into Hashiru's face. The pigtailed boy took immediate advantage of the surprise hit, and dropped down to lay into the gang leader with a series of lightning-fast punches to his midsection.
Hashiru grit his teeth as he felt his body began to weaken before Ranma's strength, and threw his head forward hard, smashing Ranma in the forehead and sending the pigtailed boy stumbling back.
Gaining some distance of his own, Hashiru wiped his mouth. 'I was trying to gauge his capabilities... but he had mine pegged right after that first haymaker, while I was still leaving myself open. I've never had my defenses breached so quickly.'
Then he grinned. "That actually hurt a little bit. I guess it's time for the tricky stuff now, eh?"
Ranma smirked. "If you want. Your funeral, though. Yami barai!"
The fire bolt streaked across the ground, and Hashiru calmly waited until the attack was upon him before ripping his left hand out of his pocket. "Baikaeshi!" A blue aura curved upward to follow his hand as he scooped up the attack, and a large bolt of the same color left his hand as he released it back toward his enemy.
"Eh?" *Wham!* Ranma was thrown back as the aerial bolt slammed into him, smashing him against the nearby wall of the auditorium.
The pigtailed boy shook his head, then stood up unsteadily, staring at his foe across the room. 'Did he just throw my own attack back at me? He did! What the hell?!'
Hashiru smiled as his opponent got up. "The best offense is a good defense, and my 'family' style will crush any attacker. To attack me is to orchestrate your own defeat."
"Nice speech, but I didn't see you defeating me just a few seconds ago!" Ranma growled, dusting off his jacket.
"Oh? You wanna try your luck again?" Hashiru taunted, leaning over and sticking his tongue out playfully.
Min's eyes widened. "Ranma! No! Don't hit him now!"
Ranma grit his teeth as he rushed forward, and purple fire burst from one of his hands. "Don't worry! I'll make sure he doesn't get up again this time! Shikyo hana!"
His fire punched streaked toward his target, and Ranma poured more energy into the attack as it flew to maximize the damage, correctly assuming that Hashiru didn't possess the dexterity to dodge.
*Thud!* Thus, he was absolutely shocked when his flames dissipated right before contact with Hashiru's head, and even more so when his entire body froze still upon impact.
'What?! I can't move!'
Hashiru grinned. "She warned you. Kuroi shikaeshi!" *Thrack!* The drill fist slammed into Ranma mercilessly, throwing him back yet again and causing the Yagami fighter to create another shallow indentation right next to his last one.
Ranma wobbled a bit as he stood up, more from shock than pain. "That... what... how...?"
"You got any other tricks, or are you done?" Hashiru said, taunting the boy once again.
Ranma frowned, and then took off to the side, running around Hashiru in a counter-clockwise motion.
"HYAH!!" Without shouting the name of the attack, Ranma began to hurl waves of dark flame at his opponent centered in the ring he was creating, attacking from all angles.
Smirking, Hashiru pulled out his left hand again and began to toss back the attaks, one after the other, keeping perfect pace with his opponent.
To everyone's surprise, when Ranma had almost completed the circle around Hashiru, he stumbled and nearly tripped, only managing to recover his footing in time to block a returned fireball.
Seeing his enemy struggling to collect himself, Hashiru grinned and dashed forward, aiming to drive an opportune punch into Ranma's skull.
Instead, however, he found himself flying through the air as his legs were swept out from under him again.
Ranma smirked as he rolled upright, and then jumped toward the still-flying Hashiru to smash him into the floor with a swift axe kick.
Hashiru stood up, dusting off his pants with his free hand. 'It was a ruse! He drew me into making an offensive attack, and then put me down easy! This guy's slick!'
Then the gang leader realized that his foe was standing just two feet away, easily within arm's reach.
"A little close, aren't you?" Hashiru asked almost conversationally, his arm in a guard position. At this distance, whoever attacked first would likely have the advantage despite their respective abilities, making it a risky position for either of them.
Ranma snorted. "A little close for what? I've seen through your defense. If you make any attack, then you can't change stances fast enough to reverse a counter-attack! I don't have anything to fear from you!"
The blond man grinned. "If you say so..."
*THOCK!* Ranma doubled over as his foe's left fist drove into his gut, and his eyes widened as he realized that his body had been paralyzed again, if not as fully as before, preventing any reaction on his part.
"Tsuchi buchikomu!" Hashiru lifted Ranma's limp body in the air, his arm glowing brighter as his light blue aura began to grow higher and more powerful.

*SLAM!!* Shock waves of blue energy blasted outward from the impact as the gang leader smashed Ranma into the floor, and the girls watching the fight were forced to adjust their footing as the floor shook under them.
"Ranma! Not again!" Yurumi cried, her hands clasped together.
Shampoo grit her teeth, more concerned for Ranma than angry at Hashiru. With her own expertise in fighting though, she could tell that this man's "hammer drive" didn't pack the type of crippling power that Tomas' aurora fang did, and patted Yurumi's head reassuringly.
"Is okay. Ranma not hurt bad from that. Maybe even get up again." Shampoo nodded as she looked over the crater of splintered hardwood that Ranma's body made in floor. Yup, Ranma was WAY too stubborn to let an attack like that put him down.
A little ways away from the other girls, Min winced as she recalled losing consciousness to that same attack, and then her eyes widened as Ranma began to get back up.
The Ninja girl frowned. This whole incident brought to light exactly how outclassed she was when compared to Ranma's level of fighting. The young man had defeated her with minimal effort, and Hashiru had done her in with even less. Tomas had never beaten her into a comatose state, but then, she had only fought him in sparring duels.
'Hmm... maybe some heavier training is in order...'

Ranma stood up slowly, backing away as he tried to catch his breath.
'Okay... that hurt... a lot...'
"Syah!" Hashiru yelled, leaning over slightly and lashing his arm out.
*Thwack!* Ranma stumbled back as he was struck in the chest in a blur of motion, and his ribcage groaned from the abuse it was put under.
"Wha... What... was that?" The pigtailed boy stuttered, still recovering his senses.
"I made the mistake of giving up an advantage too many times already in this fight," Hashiru said, leaning over once more with his right arm hanging down limply. "I won't wait for you to trick me again! Hebi tsukai!"
*Thwack!* Ranma was thrown backwards into the air as the second attack struck him hard in the face, rocking the Yagami fighter like a bolt of lightning.
Landing out of range, Ranma wiped some blood from his mouth as he stood up again, his expression strangely thoughtful.
"I knew it... that's what it is!"
Hashiru rolled his eyes. "Now what? You have some new strategy you wanna share?"
The shorter man ignored him. "I remember my dad telling me about this old martial arts master that used a technique sort of like that... using a powerful aura to break a foe's aura and freeze them in their tracks!" He frowned. "But you use it differently. You paralyze an opponent on contact, like a poison! The swifter and more charged the attack, the more easily the 'poison ki' spreads, and the more devastating the effect upon the attacker's ki! If an attacker is passive, then you have to force it into the body using your own strength, and even then, it's not as effective, which is how I was able to brace myself for your slam attack."
The gang leader blinked. 'So that's how he was able to get up so easily.' "Uh... well, yeah. So what?"
"Nothing," Ranma admitted, standing up straight, "I just needed a few moments to catch my breath."
Hashiru blinked again, and then his face darkened when he realized that he had been distracted into giving up another advantage.
"You're done!" Ranma shouted, dashing forward with his arms in a ready position, without putting any strength into an early attack.
Hashiru shifted slightly and then leaned forward, wondering what his foe was going to try now that he knew how his some of his moves worked.
Ranma saw his enemy change stances, and grimaced before sliding to a stop within arm's reach of Hashiru, holding his arms up in an "X" to ward off attacks.
Hashiru allowed himself a smirk as he reared back a fist; he hadn't used his reversal technique for fear that Ranma had discovered one of its weak points, such as it vulnerability to throws and very low attacks, and kept his options open in case he had to get some distance or strike back. Obviously the shorter fighter couldn't tell that, and he'd suffer the consequences.
*Thock!* "What?!" Hashiru yelled, feeling his body go numb as he struck Ranma right in the center of his defense.
The pigtailed boy winced. Even with the block, plus the poison ki, that punch had hurt! This guy was seriously strong! "I know it's a pretty crude version of your reversal, but the important thing is that it works! Dokuga gyakuten!" Ranma pulled back and hand, and then slammed his palm fiercely into Hashiru's chest, generating an explosion of flames that tore at the blond man as he was knocked back across the auditorium.
Grimacing, Hashiru rolled with the blow, putting out the dark fire as he also gained some distance.
Ranma walked up to him slowly, and one of his hands burst into a blaze of purple as he approached. "It'll be over... with this next attack..."
Hashiru stood up unsteadily, shaken from the resilience that his opponent had shown, and weary from the damage he had accumulated.
'He's more hurt than I am, though. There's no way he can take me down in one more blow! However, I can...' "Come on then!"
Ranma grinned. "I just wanna say, before I knock you out, that I loved this whole bit with the friendly challenges and all. You guys are all right."
Hashiru turned slightly, and dusted off his exposed leg with his free hand. "Before YOU knock ME out?"
Ranma's grin faded. "Well, yeah. You don't know what I was doing when I was circling you back when we started this, do you?" Then he threw an arm forward. "Yami barai!"
The gang leader snorted as he pulled his left hand out of his pocket and began to scoop up the projectile. "You were bombarding me! So what?!"
"Wrong," Ranma murmured, crouching as his aura flared. "I was just working out your timing. YA OTOME!!"
Hashiru froze just as he was about to release the captured fireball, the broiling energies burning his palm as they struggled for release.
Seeing Ranma streak toward him, the blond man desperately threw his counter-fireball... only to see Ranma duck right under it, straight into Hashiru's unguarded front.
*Thwack!* *Whack!* *Slam!* *Pow!* *Smash!* *Wham!* Ranma pulled his arm out of his opponent's gut, and then flung the larger man onto the floor before leaning over him, palms down on Hashiru's chest. *BLAM!* *BLAM!* *BLAM!*
With a final cry of "It's OVER!!" Ranma brought the final fireball down onto the struggling body of the gang leader, causing tremors to shake the building in a manner quite similar to when he himself had been driven into the hardwood floor.

"Good God..." Min breathed, amazed at what she had just witnessed. 'Was that what happened to me when he used that attack? No wonder I barely remember what happened! I can't believe he's actually this powerful!'
"All right Ranma! Yay!" Yurumi ran up to her brother and jumped into his arms, letting the pigtailed boy haul her up to sit on his shoulder.
"Shampoo knew you beat down big man!" The Amazon said proudly, hands on her hips. In truth, she was quite sure it could have gone either way, but Ranma's remarkable affinity for martial arts had seen him through again.
Ranma made sure he was carrying Yurumi comfortably on his right shoulder, then turned toward Hashiru's Ninja, who was staring at the scene with a perfectly stoic expression.
"Hey, Mr. Ninja!" Ranma called out, grinning.
"Call me Raven, please," the Ninja replied, sighing. Then he took out a small knife and knelt down slowly, cutting Min's bonds.
"Okay, fine, Raven, then. Make sure your boss gets fixed up right away, y'hear? He'll probably want a rematch." Ranma grinned. 'Using the dork's own counter against him! I really am a genius!'
Raven raised an eyebrow. "Really, now?"
Ranma nodded. "Oh yeah. I know these types of guys. So make sure you take care of him, eh? Come on, Min."
The female Ninja followed him mutely, and the small group strode happily out of the auditorium, quite satisfied with the day's conclusion.
The male Ninja stayed behind, of course, staring mutely at the retreating quartet. Then he hauled Hashiru's charred body out of the blackened crater in the middle of the room, and began to treat his employer's injuries. Soon the other members of Clan Ra would begin to arrive, curious as to the outcome of the battle that Hashiru had insisted on fighting without a large audience. But for now, all was silent, and as Raven assessed the burn wounds of the juggernaut brawler lying in front of him, he allowed his mind to wander.
'Is that the man you sought to tame and command, as you do me? Can anyone possibly expect to hold that kind of strength, will, and cunning under their thumb?'
The Ninja allowed himself to smile. Ranma would not join them, nor would he ever be subservient to Hashiru Yamazaki. But that was fine. Hashiru had always preferred having friends over having servants, and either one would ultimately help him reach his peak of power, and his ultimate goal.
'Lord Hashiru Yamazaki, born of Ryuji Yamazaki, the crime lord and murderer, and abandoned before birth. You grew up with riches and luxury, but you drowned yourself in violence and conflict to further yourself as a fighter, ever struggling toward that most elusive of goals: revenge. It would seem Yagami is another stepping stone you must cross, one way or another.'
Raven stood up, having determined that none of the damage was critical enough to justify an ambulance, and having applied tonic and bandages from a First Aid kit that he had kept nearby for the battle.
"You're not strong enough yet, my Lord. But one day you will be. And then, true to your life's designs, you will find, and you will kill Ruji Yamazaki, at last removing the vile stain upon your soul. It is simply a matter of time..."
__________________________________________________________________________________

Min stared down at the sidewalk as Ranma, Yurumi, and Shampoo all chatted excitedly up ahead the four of them all walking back to their homes after the battle.
'Okay... but where can I start? Regular training isn't going to be enough if I want to match even Tomas, never mind Ranma...'
"Hey, watcha thinking about?"
Min started in surprise as Ranma's voice shook her from her concentration.
She put a hand on the back of her head in embarrassment. "Oh, I'm just thinking about training, that's all." She sighed, looking somewhat downcast. "I got myself into a pretty stupid situation by assuming I'd be able to overwhelm anybody I faced. Having reality grab me and smash me into a concrete patio isn't the best way to learn a lesson, but it worked. I have some serious improving to do."
Ranma considered this for a moment, and then moved to put his left hand over her shoulder, as Yurumi was still being supported by his right.
"Look, don't let it bother you. Hashiru is as tough as they come, believe me. I don't think he was holding back at all, but I'm pretty sure we haven't seen the full extent of his abilities. No reason to fret just because he caught you off guard. He did that to me, too!"
"Well, sure, but you got right back up and beat him," Min countered.
Ranma nodded somberly as he patted the Ninja girl on the shoulder. "Well, yeah. But hey, we can't all be the best, now can we?" Shampoo smirked and shook her head from where she walked next to him.
Min sighed. "I guess not." Then she turned and smiled at the pigtailed boy rather timidly. "By the way, I appreciate you coming for me, but... why did you do it, if you knew that they were going to let me go anyway?"
Ranma smirked at her, and leaned his face in closer. "What? You have to ask?"
Min began to blush, and looked down. 'Did he really do that for me? Just so that he could impress me?' It brought a few interesting issues to light, especially the unfortunate truth of Tomas' concerns; the more she thought about it, the more she realized that her vision of Ranma inside her head - the manly, romantic, selfless paladin - didn't fit the arrogant, sex-changing brawler overflowing with dark power quite as well as she liked. Did she really want Ranma so badly, when she barely knew him, that she'd be willing to break up a prior relationship for a shot at him? Before the answer was clear, but now she wasn't so sure.
Ranma saw Min descend into deep thought again, and then shrugged. "Well, since you DID ask, I came for the fight!"
*Thud!* Min landed face-first onto the concrete, and Ranma blinked and extended a hand to help her up.
"You gotta be careful on these walks. Some of 'em are in bad repair, and make you trip," Ranma explained. Not that he ever did, or imagined that Min would, given her dexterity, but it was the only explanation he could think of for her plunge.
'I guess he's not very romantic, either,' Min reasoned, taking his hand to stand up again. "You wanted to fight him, huh?"
Ranma grinned. "Of course! After that Joshin guy and those two others today, I knew that their boss had to be a really strong guy in order to keep all them in line! How could I resist?"
Then the pigtailed boy hesitated, and coughed into his free hand.
"But... well... I DID come to get you, so... I was kind of wondering..."
Min blinked, and raised an eyebrow at him. Shampoo's reaction from the other side of Ranma was more subtle, but the Amazon almost frowned as she wondered where Ranma was going with this.
"I was just wondering if you could lay off trying to kill me in revenge. Please?"
*THUD!* Min's facefault was more forceful this time, and Shampoo and Yurumi felt like joining her.
"I am NOT trying to kill you!" The Ninja girl insisted, standing up and scrubbing a hand through her hair. How did Ranma pick up such a stupid idea?
Ranma frowned in consideration. "Okay... let's say, hypothetically, that you WERE trying to kill me."
Min groaned.
Ranma continued regardless. "Would the rescue thing today convince you not to? You know, even though you were in no real danger?"
Min glared at the pigtailed boy in annoyance. "Fine. Yes, it would. If I were trying to. Which I'm not."
"Right! Cool!" Ranma said, completely satisfied by her response.
"Ranma too, too strange sometimes," Shampoo commented, rolling her eyes.
Ranma grinned and hooked his arm around the back of Shampoo's neck pulling her closer. "Hey, you know that better than most, huh?"

Min watched the trio chuckle at the joke (even though Yurumi didn't understand the full extent of it), and then looked toward the sign that marked her own street, intersecting the path that Ranma was heading to get to his own house.
'Do I love him? ............ No, I suppose not. Not really... Not yet.' She glanced back at him, taking in the large white moon embroidered onto the black frame of his jacket.
Then she turned away toward her own home. No, she didn't have Ranma Yagami as a lover, or even a boyfriend. That could wait until she sorted out her feelings about such things like gender-flipping curses and the like. But for now, it would do to simply have a good friend to be there when she needed him.
"Hey, Min! There you are!"
The Ninja girl blinked, then turned around toward her cousin's voice.
Tomas jogged up to her, wondering why his cousin had returned from her shopping trip without any purchases, as well as why her school uniform looked so rumpled and dishelved.
'Uh oh. I hope she wasn't out doing anything with Yagami... Uncle Andy will kill me!' "I was just about to start looking for you! I thought you were going shopping! Where's all your bags and stuff?" The young shinobi carried nothing with her, save her usual bookbag.
Min frowned, her eyes narrowing. "And where exactly were you all day, hmmm?"
Tomas blinked. "After school I went home. You told me you were going shopping right after school, remember?" Of course, it was quite unusual for high school students to go on shopping trips without at least changing their clothes first, but as Tomas was an American teenager, and mostly unused to changing clothes beyond putting them on in the morning and taking them off at night, he wasn't quite aware of the fact.
Min's frown deepened, and she planted her hands on her hips. "So why weren't you there when Ranma came to rescue me? You should have AT LEAST been there to watch!"
Tomas blinked again. "Rescue? What? Were you kidnapped or something?"
*Whomp!* Min put her fan away and walked away toward her home, fuming silently.
Tomas remained behind for a moment, removing his hat so that he could rub the bump on his head tenderly.
"Why don't I ever know what's going on...?"

**********************************************************************************
End Chapter 11

Moko kaimon ha - Fierce tiger opening gate blast
Dokuga gyakuten - Poison fang reverse
Tsuchi buchikomu - Hammer drive
Baikaeshi - Double reflect
Hebi tsukai - Serpent slash
Kuroi shikaeshi - Black revenge