
   Dragon Child
   
   < >: Thoughts
   
   [" "]: Telepathic communication
   
   <" ">: Chinese language
   
                                 Chapter 3
   
                                School Daze
   
   "Excuse me, but did you just say that your name is Ranma?" Genma
   stared at the tall young man standing before him.
   
   Kisara was wondering whom this boy was, when she noticed that her
   mother was gesturing for her to come to her side. She went over to
   Nodoka, who embraced her briefly before lifting her child and started
   carrying her from the living room. The tension in the air was so thick
   that the Saotome matriarch could tell that things were about to get
   ugly.
   
   Ranma continued to glare at his pathetic excuse for a father and
   Nodoka could see that his anger was growing by the second. <Well, it's
   not that Ranma doesn't have a right to be angry with his father, and
   Genma did have this coming to him.> She then paused at the hall, which
   led to the kitchen.
   
   "Ranma, I would prefer if you did not wreck the house. Take your
   father to the dojo!"
   
   "Okay Mom! C'mon Pop!" Ranma stepped forward and grabbed Genma by the
   ear.
   
   "Huh? Mom?! Then you really are Ranma? I'm so happy! Now you'll...
   hey! What are you doing?! Ow! Leggo! That's no way to treat your
   father!"
   
   Ranma ignored his father as he dragged him into the backyard and then
   tossed him into the small dojo. He then entered the building and
   closed the door behind him. With a casual flick of his wrist, he sent
   his father sprawling.
   
   "Ranma! You're alive!"
   
   "About time you noticed that Pop!"
   
   WHAM! POW!
   
   "OWEEE! OOOH! SINCE WHEN DID YOU GET THAT STRONG?!"
   
   WHOMP!
   
   "YOW! HOLD ON! IS THAT ANY WAY TO GREET YOUR FATHER?!"
   
   "IN YOUR CASE, YES!!!" Ranma shouted as he continued to dole out
   massive amounts of pain.
   
   KAPOWEE!
   
   "OW! HEY WAIT A MINUTE!"
   
   "I'VE BEEN WAITING TEN YEARS FOR THIS!"
   
   WHACK! SMACK! CRASH! MANGLE!
   
   "THAT WAS FOR THE NEKO KEN TRAINING YOU PUT ME THROUGH!" Ranma roared.
   
   Genma tried to argue his cae. "I was only..."
   
   WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! WHAM!
   
   "THAT WAS FOR LYING TO ME ABOUT UKYO!!!"
   
   "Oh, you know about that?"
   
   "MOM TOLD ME WHOLE STORY!!!"
   
   "Well the cart was a gift and..."
   
   POW! CRASH!
   
   "THAT WAS FOR ALL THOSE TIMES YOU SOLD ME FOR FOOD!"
   
   "Hey, a man's got to eat and..."
   
   The rest of Genma's protest was drowned out as Ranma continued to flip
   his father like a flapjack.
   
   ----------
   
   An hour later...
   
   Genma was feeling very subdued as well as battered as he sat with his
   family in the living room. Nodoka was holding onto Kisara while giving
   her husband the dreaded 'Don't think you' re off the hook' expression.
   After Ranma had finished with his parent, Genma had been told that his
   son had escaped the pit of cats by crawling through an opening near
   the bottom, which led to a sewer. He had hit his head when he had been
   dropped into the pit and suffered amnesia, while spending the next ten
   years traveling on his own and learning the martial arts under
   different masters. Just recently, he had regained his memory and come
   home.
   
   Ranma was sitting beside his father and was also glaring at him. He
   had thought that his parent couldn't sink any lower than he already
   had, but Genma had surprised him. It was just after Ranma had pounded
   his father into the floor of the dojo. Apparently, there was one more
   engagement that Genma had arranged for him. To his mother's and his
   surprise, Genma was actually willing to keep this promise.
   
   "But dearest! It is a matter of honor that Ranma wed one of Soun's
   daughters! I made that pledge before Ranma was born!" The fat martial
   artist protested.
   
   "And were you just going to conveniently forget about those pledges
   you made to the Kuonji and Daijkoku clans? Not to mention those other
   families?" Nodoka said with a very deadly tone.
   
   "Well... err..."
   
   "Not another word, Genma."
   
   "But..." When Genma saw the faint aura of his wife's battle aura begin
   to emerge, he knew that it was time to shut up. He would have made a
   break for it if his son hadn't beaten him to near-unconsciousness. He
   had tried to fight back against him, but Ranma had proven to be far
   more skilled and possessed enough raw power to make Genma's blows seem
   like a child's. That is, when Ranma allowed him to strike back. Genma
   had become especially nervous when Ranma pulled out that katana of
   his. It was obvious that unarmed combat wasn't the only skills that
   the boy was proficient at. He had that blade at his father's throat
   several times and could have decapitated him at any point. The
   thoughts of his promise of seppuku made a shiver run down that wet
   noodle that he called his spine.
   
   "Genma, I will tell you now." Nodoka said in a stern voice. "I have
   had it with your careless promises and I shall not have my son forced
   into marrying against his will. You have already dishonored our family
   name several times with your broken oaths. I do not know why you wish
   to carry out this pledge to the Tendos, but I will not allow it. Just
   what makes this promise more important than all the others?"
   
   "It was my dream and Soun's to unite the schools of the Anything Goes!
   We made the vow to wed any of our children and have them carry on the
   Art! So now that Ranma is back, we can..."
   
   "Like Hell, I am!" Ranma growled.
   
   "Ranma! Your language!" Nodoka gestured to Kisara. Though her son was
   justified in his anger, she still did want her daughter to be exposed
   to such crude language at such a young age.
   
   "Sorry Mom." Ranma amended. "Like Heck, I am! I'm not going to do it,
   and you can't make me."
   
   "You must!" Genma started crying tears (crocodile tears of course) "Oh
   the shame! My son has no honor!"
   
   "Shut up Genma! You are the LAST person to be preaching about honor!"
   Nodoka then produced a sheet of paper and thrust it in front of Genma.
   "Do you recall this?"
   
   Genma looked at the page and said, "Yes, that was the pledge to make
   Ranma a 'man among men.' But as you can see Ranma is a man so..."
   
   "READ the fine print!" Nodoka said with a slight grin.
   
   "Fine print?" Genma said in confusion.
   
   "Something I added to the agreement before I made you sign it! Read
   it!"
   
   Genma looked down the page and sure enough, there was some tiny
   writing below his signature and Ranma's palm prints. He swallowed hard
   and began to turn pale as he read it. "In the event that Genma Saotome
   dishonors the Saotome name, his wife retains the right to... Gulp!" He
   looked back up at his wife, the pupils in his eyes shrinking to mere
   pinpricks.
   
   Nodoka nodded while smiling in triumph. "Yes Genma. I STILL retain the
   right to have you commit seppuku at ANY time! With all the false
   promises you made and the debts you had incurred over the last few
   years, I could have had you beheaded long ago! However, I did not want
   Kisara to be exposed to such bloodshed. Mark my words Genma. IF you
   try to force Ranma into fulfilling the pledge to the Tendos, I will
   see it as a breach of honor and you will be relieved of having that
   burden on your shoulders; namely that useless thing
   
   you call a head! Ranma shall be given the choice of which he will
   marry and all the engagements that had been made in his name shall
   have equal standing. If he does not decide to marry any of those
   girls, then that will be his choice. I will not tolerate any coercion
   or attempts to influence his decision. Do I make myself perfectly
   clear?"
   
   "But..."
   
   "Oh, and one more thing." His wife added. "This contract also makes ME
   the head of this household!"
   
   "What?!"
   
   "Oh yes! If you would finish reading the fine print, you will also see
   the OTHER clause."
   
   "OTHER CLAUSE?!" There was more?! He looked back at the contract and
   became even more nervous. "... furthermore... with the loss of the
   family honor... Nodoka Saotome shall take her husband's place as head
   of the family, with complete control over all of the family assets and
   decisions concerning all members."
   
   His wife smiled smugly as she swiftly put away the document into her
   kimono. "I have already had this document authenticated and it is ALL
   legal. I now have full control over the family savings, the property
   and ALL decisions concerning my children! I could just as easily
   disregard that pledge to unite the schools without a second thought!
   And I STILL can at any time, as well as decide that you don't NEED a
   head." She then put on a knowing smile. "Now then... do we understand
   each other?"
   
   Genma bowed his head and said in a meek voice, "Yes dear."
   
   "Good. Now then, I believe that introductions are in order." She
   looked down at her daughter and smiled while gesturing to her son.
   "Kisara, I would like you to meet your big brother, Ranma."
   
   The little girl looked up at her new sibling and said in a shy voice,
   "Hello."
   
   Ranma smiled down at the little girl and tried to appear as friendly
   as possible. "Hello, little sister. I'm Ranma. Mom told me that you're
   a good little girl and that you're being trained in the martial arts."
   
   Kisara smiled as she replied, "Uh huh! Papa has been training me to be
   the best!"
   
   "Really? And WHAT has he been teaching you?" Ranma gave Genma a glare
   as he remembered his training from ten ago. "Tell me Kisara, did Pop
   teach you a game where you take something from someone and make his
   run after you?"
   
   "Yes!" Kisara said, not knowing that her words were having dire
   consequences. "Every day at lunch, Papa would pick me up and we'd get
   food and stuff from other people and make them chase me. Papa say that
   if they can't catch me, then I get to keep it."
   
   ----------
   
   The Dragon Realm...
   
   ["Hmmm. It's a good thing that Ranma came back home when he did." ]
   Surek commented as he and Sojan watched Ranma via magical viewing
   portal.
   
   
   Nodoka's eyes narrowed when she heard of this. "Genma..."
   
   The fat martial artist began sweating bullets. "Er... well, you can't
   
   blame me for wanting to give Kisara some extra training."
   
   Ranma continued on. "Tell me sis. Did Pop also show you some fish
   sausage and has he been asking people to borrow their cats?"
   
   "Uh huh! He said that I was going to do some special training next
   week!"
   
   By now, Nodoka's anger started to simmer. "Genma, you weren't by any
   chance, planning to have our daughter undergo the Neko Ken training,
   were you?"
   
   "You know about it?" Genma then realized that he had said too much.
   "Er... I mean, uh what is the Neko Ken?"
   
   Nodoka's visage became even darker as she glared at her sniveling
   coward of a spouse. "We are going to have a long talk after this. And
   in answer to your question to take Kisara on a training trip to the
   mountains, the answer is no."
   
   "Awwww!" Kisara pouted a bit. "Does this mean that I'm not going to
   China?"
   
   "China?!" Nodoka gasped, then glared katanas at Genma. "You never said
   anything about taking her to China! I was specifically told that you
   were going to take her on a short trip to the mountains!"
   
   "I was!" Genma protested. It was true. The martial artist had planned
   on a mountain trip. He just didn't mention which mountains.
   
   Ranma turned his attention back to his little sister. "Kisara, how did
   you know that you were going to China?"
   
   Kisara produced a small brochure from her school bag and said, "Papa
   was looking over this when we were training. He said that he was going
   to take me to some special training grounds."
   
   "Kisara! Where did you get that?!" Genma tried to snatch it out of her
   hands, but then noticed the look his wife was giving him. She was now
   fingering the sword that she always had strapped to her back.
   
   Ranma took the brochure and then noticed that he had circled a name in
   red. He read the name and his eyes became wide. He then turned his
   attention to his father and said in a voice that just barely
   restrained his anger. "Jusenkyo?! You were going to take her to
   Jusenkyo?!"
   
   "Err... is there something wrong with that?" Genma didn't get it.
   
   <"What kind of idiot takes a little girl to a place as dangerous as
   Jusenkyo?!"> Ranma said the words in flawless Chinese. He knew that
   Genma had not fully read the brochure as it was written in Mandarin.
   
   "Huh?" Genma had only understood the word Jusenkyo.
   
   Ranma repeated his question, once again using Chinese.
   
   "What?" Genma replied dumbly.
   
   Ranma snarled a bit as he said, "I said, what kind of idiot takes a
   little girl to a place as dangerous as Jusenkyo!?"
   
   Nodoka nodded, as she understood Ranma's test. "Genma, it is obvious
   that you don't understand a word of Chinese! Yet you planned to take
   Kisara to China and have her train at a place that you know nothing
   about!"
   
   Ranma agreed with his mother as he continued to snarl at his father.
   "It says here in the brochure that Jusenkyo is to be avoided! Of
   course, you don't let a minor detail as not knowing the language stop
   you! Just like you didn't read the entire Cat Fist manual when you
   threw me into that pit!"
   
   Right now, Genma felt as if he had been tied up and lined up against
   the wall in front of a firing squad. Already his wife and son were
   radiating battle auras that made him look very small.
   
   Uh oh!
   
   ----------
   
   Two days later...
   
   "Ranma?"
   
   The dragon warrior looked down at his sibling as she helped him settle
   his things in his old room. She had been staying in this room since
   she was born, but now that her big brother had returned, Nodoka had
   decided to move Kisara to one of the spare guest rooms.
   
   "Yes, Kisara?"
   
   "What's this?" The girl held up a small pouch.
   
   Ranma took it, opened it up and poured out some glittering little
   round beads. "Oh, that's just some candy that I picked up. What's your
   favorite flavor?"
   
   "I like cherry!"
   
   "All right." Ranma picked up one piece and handed it to her. "Think of
   the flavor cherry as you put it in your mouth and suck on it like a
   candy drop."
   
   The little girl did as she was told and smiled as she tasted cherry on
   her tongue. "Mmmm. That's good!"
   
   "Now think of grape flavor."
   
   Kisara did so and amazingly, the candy drop in her mouth suddenly
   change from cherry to grape flavor. She almost spit the candy out her
   mouth in surprise, but continued to suck on it.
   
   "How about orange?"
   
   Kisara only had to think of orange and the candy drop instantly
   changed flavors again.
   
   "Wow!" Kisara exclaimed. "Can it do watermelon? Oh! It can! How about
   chocolate? Neat! Strawberry! Lime! This is great!" The little girl
   continued to suck on the drop until it was all gone a few minutes
   later, then looked up at her sibling with soulful eyes. "Can I have
   another?"
   
   Ranma nodded as he handed her the pouch. "Here. You can have it all. I
   can always get more and the nice thing about this stuff is that it
   doesn't cause any cavities."
   
   "Wow! You have some really neat stuff, Ranma! What's this?" The little
   girl held up the silver medallion that Sojan had given him.
   
   Ranma smiled as he thought about his dragon mentor. He figured that
   his sister's own dragon energies must have drawn her to the talisman's
   magic.
   
   "Oh, a friend gave that to me, a very good friend."
   
   "Pretty! Can I have it?"
   
   He shook his head. "Sorry sis. That one's mine."
   
   "Awwww." Kisara gave her elder sibling her cutest pout.
   
   Ranma chuckled as he tousled her hair, then reached into his pack to
   pull out another item. "Here's something that you can have. Do you
   like music?"
   
   The little girl nodded then gasped as she saw what her brother had
   brought out of his pack. It was about the size of a harmonica and
   looked like it was made of blue crystal. It was ovoid in shape and had
   a mouthpiece protruding out of one side. There were several holes in a
   line on the opposite side.
   
   "Ooh, it's shiny! What is it?"
   
   "It's a very nice instrument called an ocarina." Ranma replied. "Some
   friends of mine taught me how to play it. Listen." He then held it up
   to his lips and blew into the mouthpiece while manipulating the air
   vents with his fingers to change the pitch.
   
   The little girl clapped her hands happily as a lively little tune
   began to play. She had never heard anything like it. Unknown to her,
   Ranma's instrument had been crafted by elves, specifically the Makani
   Clan that dwelled in the Iron Wood Forests near the Crystal Caverns.
   The ocarina was composed of blue quartz and had been given several
   minor enchantments. As the music continued to play, it began stirring
   the dragon blood within Kisara.
   
   A few minutes later, Ranma ended the tune and then placed the
   instrument in his sister's hands.
   
   "Wow! That was neat!" Ranma's sister chirped. "Can you teach me how to
   play like that?"
   
   "Of course. Oh, I almost forgot! This goes along with it." He reached
   back into his pack and pulled out a thin, silver chain, which he
   attached to one end of the ocarina. "Now you can wear it around your
   neck."
   
   "Neat!" She then held it up to her mouth.
   
   Ranma smiled bemusedly at his sibling. Of course he didn't expect her
   to start playing it as well as he did, and it took him several weeks
   to learn.
   
   Ranma's eyes then widened as Kisara then began playing the same tune
   that he had played, note for note and in perfect pitch. When she
   finished the song, she looked up to Ranma and asked, "How did I do?"
   
   The dragon warrior could only shrug while scratching the back of his
   head. "Kisara... you are... a natural!"
   
   ----------
   
   The Dragon Realm...
   
   ["Yes... a little TOO natural if you ask me."] Surek commented.
   
   ["Well, what would you expect from an elf instrument? It looks like
   whatever magic was in that ocarina has awakened the dragon power in
   Ranma's sister. She must have unconsciously sensed the psychic
   impressions that Ranma left on the instrument when he played it, and
   then just followed them."] Sojan became deep in thought at this new
   development.
   
   ----------
   
   Ranma could only smile as he watched and listened to his sister as she
   played with her new instrument. The little girl quickly repeated the
   same tune that her older sibling had played, then began making up her
   own melodies. They were a bit off-key and unsynchronized, but
   considering that this was her first time, it was quite an achievement
   that the sounds came together as well as they did. Gradually, the
   music began to straighten out and flowed more smoothly. Unknown to
   Kisara, she was actually letting the innate energies of her plaything
   guide her, teaching her on a subconscious level which notes work
   together.
   
   The dragon martial artist realized that the learning spell on the
   ocarina must have activated when it came in close proximity to
   Kisara's hidden power. He remembered back to when his elf friend
   Mintal had given him that instrument, when he was learning to cast
   spells through music. The ocarina had an enchantment which would
   interact with the user's magical aura, to guide him or her through the
   basic patterns of notes that can be used for sorcery. Eventually, the
   user would be proficient enough to know those patterns by instinct and
   be able to cast their own spells, as well as play beautiful melodies.
   
   There were a few stipulations for the spell to work. First off, the
   user had to have some innate talent for magic and Kisara's dragon
   heritage certainly made her qualified. Secondly, the person would have
   to be very open, both in mind and heart. The little girl's youthful
   innocence fulfilled that prerequisite.
   
   As the girl continued to play, the music began to drift outward and
   wafted along the air currents and leylines of nature. People passing
   by the house, stopped for a moment to enjoy the wonderful sounds that
   were coming from the Saotome residence. The music continued to travel
   and even when the sound could no longer be heard by mortal man or
   beast, it still carried far and wide on the spritiual level. Unknown
   to both Ranma and his sister, certain individuals could pick up the
   faint disturbances of such mystical notes... under the RIGHT
   circumstances.
   
   When the music began riding a very large, though invisible leyline, it
   was sent directly across the sea of Japan towards the coast of China.
   The magic that sustained the tune on a metaphysical level kept it
   going, and got a boost when it intersected with the leylines of a
   certain cursed training ground known as Jusenkyo. However, since the
   leylines there were in erratic and chaotic patterns, the melody was
   torn apart in different directions and most of it was lost. Only a
   very small fragment of the melody remained and as it traveled toward
   its final destination...
   
   ----------
   
   In his throne room, Herb was in deep contemplation. That trip to the
   lands of the Amazons had been a waste of time as the dragon power he
   had sensed there was long gone. He had lost the trail after following
   it toward the eastern coast of China. There was not much left to do
   but return home. The dragon power that he had sensed from Jusenkyo was
   also gone.
   
   Herb was about to dismiss the whole thing as nothing more than a silly
   notion when his dragon senses suddenly picked up something very faint,
   very small, but had the definite trace of dragons... and something
   else.
   
   A servant walked up to him and noticed that his lord seemed
   preoccupied. "Your Majesty? What is the matter?"
   
   "Did you hear that?" Herb asked as he began straining his ears and
   mystic senses to pick up on it.
   
   "Hear what, my Lord?"
   
   "There it goes again." Herb said as he caught some more bits and
   pieces of the music that only he could hear. Through one fantastic
   series of coincidences, Kisara's little concert had reached the leader
   of the Musk Dynasty, who was also descended from dragons.
   
   "I... hear nothing, my Lord." The servant said as he strained to hear
   what his master was hearing.
   
   Herb remained silent as he used all his senses to try and follow the
   music back to its source. However, the distance was too great and the
   signal was too faint for him to get a definite reading. The best he
   could do was the general direction in which the melody had come from,
   which was the same direction in which he had sensed that stronger
   dragon power depart in... Japan.
   
   <This... bears more looking into...>
   
   ----------
   
   A few days later in Japan...
   
   Ranma was tugging at the collar of his school uniform as he was handed
   a book bag from his mother. Nodoka had wasted no time in getting her
   son enrolled at a high school. Next to him, Kisara was hugging him
   goodbye as she prepared to leave for school.
   
   "Have a nice day Rammie!" Kisara now wore her new ocarina around her
   neck as she waved goodbye.
   
   Ranma smiled at the new nickname that his little sister had given him.
   Over the last day or so, he had spent much time to get to know his new
   sibling and came to like her spirit and innocence. Genma was now under
   strict orders from Nodoka not to try to subject Kisara to the same
   kind of training that Ranma had undergone. She was still angry at the
   fact that her husband had made her commit petty thefts and it had
   taken some doing to get those charges dropped against the little girl.
   
   Genma however, now had to add Kisara's crimes to his long list of
   debts to pay off as he was seen to be directly responsible by the
   authorities. Genma grumbled as he left for his job. However, as soon
   as he got out of sight of the house, he ran to the nearest pay phone.
   There was a certain someone that he had to call.
   
   Ranma waved to his mother as he left for school. Just as he was about
   exit the front door, his mother called back to him.
   
   "Ranma! Aren't you forgetting something?"
   
   The young dragon warrior turned back. "What is it Mom?"
   
   "That." Nodoka pointed to the sword that was strapped to his back. "I
   don't think that they will let you carry that into the school."
   
   Ranma looked over his shoulder and then chuckled as he forgot about
   Crimson Fang. With a dismissive wave of his hand, the sword seemed to
   fade from view.
   
   "Wow!" Kisara chirped. "Where'd it go?"
   
   Ranma shrugged as he said, "A little technique I picked up on my
   travels. Maybe someday I'll teach it to you." He waved to his mother
   and sister again before departing for school.
   
   Meanwhile, in another section of Tokyo, two girls were racing down the
   streets. Well, one of them was racing down the streets. She had red
   hair and was taller than her friend. The other, who had a globe of
   blonde hair and a very cute appearance, was being held by the arm and
   was shouting for her companion to slow down. At the speed they were
   traveling at, the blonde girl's feet were far off the ground and she
   was in the air like a windsock. The red head was barreling down the
   streets at such a pace that people were being knocked down in the jet
   wash of her passing.
   
   "A-Ko! Slow down!" C-Ko shouted as she saw several small automobiles
   nearly get overturned from her friend's frantic run to school.
   
   "Can't stop now C-Ko!" A-Ko Magami said as she hit the overdrive. "We
   just transferred to this new school and we've already been late three
   times! We have to get to class on time! That's why we left a half-hour
   early! If I know B-Ko, she's probably got some of her latest
   battle-mecha waiting for us! If I can beat them early, then we'll be
   able to make homeroom!"
   
   A-Ko's expression became dark as she remembered the reason why she had
   to transfer to this new school. Back at Graviton High, the rivalry
   between B-Ko and herself had escalated to the point in which Graviton
   City could no longer stand the massive destruction and chaos that
   their fights caused. Not that it was any of her fault. B-Ko always
   started the fights with her stupid battle mecha, especially with her
   Akagiyama 23 bio-suit and those stupid missiles! It was getting so bad
   that her parents were forced to move to Tokyo.
   
   Unfortunately, C-Ko, the object of B-Ko's obsession, had decided to
   come with her best friend A-Ko, and that meant that B-Ko would follow.
   As a result, their new school had become a battleground and A-Ko
   wondered just how long it would be before they would be forced to move
   again.
   
   <Damn! I wish there were someone else besides me that B-Ko could fight
   with! I can't afford to be late again!>
   
   Somewhere in reality, Toltiir, the god of mischief, was laughing
   hysterically.
   
   As they came barreling down the homestretch, another very powerful
   individual was just entering the gates of the same school. Ranma read
   the plaque on the wall as Kinasoto High and looked up at the clock. He
   smiled as he saw that he still had a good ten minutes. It was then
   that he noticed something strange. All the students were suddenly
   running for cover when someone shouted out "Look out! Here they come!"
   
   Ranma wondered just what was happening when suddenly, a huge rumbling
   noise was heard and the pavement began to tremble. He looked over to
   where the sound was emanating from and saw a huge horde of battle
   mecha tromping toward the front gate. Each was about ten feet high and
   sported an impressive array of high-tech weaponry. At the front of the
   fifty or so death machines was a girl
   
   that was being carried on the shoulders of the lead power armors. She
   had bluish hair and seemed to carry a haughty attitude about her.
   
   "Hey you! New guy! Get out of the way!" A student shouted from behind
   a tree.
   
   Ranma wondered just what the heck was going on when heard something
   skidding to a halt from behind. He looked behind him and saw two girls
   in a cloud of dust with a large trench dug in behind them.
   
   A-Ko brushed the dust from the skirt of her school uniform then
   noticed that someone was standing between them and B-Ko's latest
   inventions. She saw that he was taller than she was and was very well
   built. The school uniform he wore showed off his muscular frame and
   his face was attractive looking. He reminded her of K, the boy in
   which she had a crush on, but that was a relationship that was doomed
   to fail. That dope liked C-Ko and wouldn't even give her a second
   look.
   
   As for B-Ko, she was surprised that this stranger wasn't flinching in
   the slightest at her army of fearsome battle mecha. Then again, if she
   knew that Ranma had spent ten years with dragons the size of jumbo
   jets, then she would have understood. She had to admit he was a
   fine-looking specimen. Just about as good-looking as K was.
   
   She shook her head at the thought as she focused on the task at hand,
   getting C-Ko! With that in mind, she prepared to give the order for
   her mecha to attack.
   
   "A-Ko! Prepare for your final reckoning! Release your hold on C-Ko or
   suffer the wrath of my new Ultron 3000s!"
   
   Ranma was still wondering what this was all about as he shrugged and
   turned to A-Ko to introduce himself. "Hi, I'm Ranma Saotome. I'm new
   and I was wondering if would you happen to know where I can find Room
   120-E?"
   
   A-Ko was dumbfounded. Here this guy was, about to be made a bloody
   smear on the pavement if he didn't get out of the way of those
   battle-machines, and he was asking for directions?
   
   "Uh... look pal. Now's not the good time to be here. You'd better get
   out of the way before you get hurt!" A-Ko went into a battle stance
   while motioning C-Ko to the side.
   
   Ranma shrugged as he said nonchalantly, "Look, all you have to do is
   tell me where Room 120-E is and I'll be on my way."
   
   "Look! Can't you see that it's dangerous to be here right now?" A-Ko
   said with exasperation.
   
   "What? Those things?" Ranma gestured back to B-Ko's mecha. "Don't tell
   me that those little toys are giving you so much trouble."
   
   <Toys? He called my wonderful, massive destruction creations as mere
   toys?!> If there was one thing that could get B-Ko riled up just as
   much as A-Ko could, it was insulting her inventions. Plus, it was
   quite irritating the way that this stranger and her rival were
   ignoring her. "How dare you! You will suffer alongside my most hated
   rival! Ultron Force 3000s... attack!"
   
   Ranma gave A-Ko a wink as he said in a polite manner, "Excuse me
   
   for just a few seconds." Just as the Ultron 3000s were just taking
   their
   
   first steps, Ranma turned and jumped high. He spread out his right
   palm and raised it high while focusing his ki.
   
   "DRAGON FLASH!"
   
   His hand suddenly emitted a very intense flare of luminescence,
   temporarily blinding all those present. The optic sensors of the mecha
   were rendered inoperative as Ranma came down on them. No one could see
   what was happening, but they could hear the distinctive sound of
   something being sliced. When
   
   everyone regained their eyesight, they saw that Ranma was standing
   behind the group of mecha and was casually sheathing his katana.
   
   B-Ko was wondering what had happened when she heard the sounds of
   metal... falling apart? She looked behind her and saw that her Ultron
   3000s seemingly break up into neatly sliced pieces. The power armor
   she was perched on suddenly caved in, and she found herself buried
   under a pile of scrap metal. Fortunately, she had her Akagiyama 23
   bio-suit under her clothes, which had protected her.
   
   Unfortunately, being buried under ten tons of heavy armor plating with
   no leverage left her trapped. She couldn't blast her way out either as
   she was also underneath several thousand pounds of live ammo and
   ordinance. She had to wait for her cronies to dig her out, who even
   now scrambling to remove her from the wreckage.
   
   <How can this be? My Ultron 3000s were constructed out of the finest
   titanium alloys! He can't have cut through them with just a sword!>
   
   A-Ko and C-Ko stared at the carnage. In less than a minute, the
   stranger had reduced the entire mecha force into recyclable materials.
   They looked over to where Ranma was standing.
   
   Ranma grinned as he said, "Hundred Wind Slash Technique of West. Now,
   how about those directions?"
   
   ----------
   
   Meanwhile, in the Dragon World, Sojan and Surek were both chuckling as
   they looked through a viewing portal at their protg.
   
   ["I see that Ranma had put his lessons in your wind techniques to good
   use."] Sojan commented.
   
   ["Just you wait. Ranma's just getting started!"] The White Dragon King
   of the West let off a snort of amusement.
   
   As the two continued to watch Ranma, flying high over the Sea of Japan
   was another figure. Its form was human-shaped and seemed to be
   disoriented as its flight path made it zigzag all across the sky. It
   seemed to be searching for something... or someone.
   
   To be continued...
   
   Author's notes
   
   Well that takes care of the third rewrite of this story and there's
   more to come. Prince Herb will be encountering Ranma soon and things
   are going to get even more hectic. Rest assured, when two dragon
   warriors get together, property damage is going to skyrocket and
   adding the cast of Project A-Ko will make things even more
   interesting. See you there!
