Ranmatech

Disclaimer: To disclaim or not disclaim? Disclaim of course.

< >: Thoughts
(* *): Computer responses.

                                  Chapter 3
                                 Having a Blast

     In a small Amazon village near the Bayankala Mountain Range in 
the Quinghai Province of China, the elder known as Cologne watched 
closely as her great-granddaughter Shampoo overpowered her 
sparring partner, the giantess Dowel, with almost no effort at all. The 
seven-foot tall Amazon was thrown backward twenty feet and landed 
on her posterior after she tried to block the smaller girl's bonbori with 
her heavy battle staff. Dowel was breathing hard as she got back to 
her feet. She had been going at it for more than an hour, but Shampoo 
wasn't even working up a sweat. 
     Cologne was more than surprised at the sudden increase in 
performance that her protg had exhibited in the last few days. After 
that mysterious and powerful stranger had healed her, Shampoo had 
displayed increased strength, reflexes and overall hand-to-eye 
coordination. The maces that she was using at the moment were five 
times heavier than what she normally wielded. The purple-haired girl 
had commented that her old weapons were too light and had the 
weaponsmith Razor, create a new set for her.
     The three hundred-year-old matriarch had also noticed other 
improvements within her great-grandchild. Shampoo's sense of 
balance was perfect and acrobatics were so easy for her, that she 
could do a complicated gymnastics routine that would put every gold 
medallist and circus performer to shame. Her learning aptitude for 
fighting techniques had also increased. She was already far above 
the skill level of her nearest rival and had already mastered several 
advanced techniques that would have taken her months to learn. Her 
reflexes and agility were now at a point in which she was fast enough 
to easily dodge machine gunfire. She had recently come across a 
couple of soldiers from the Chinese army that had been snooping 
around the area. Despite the fact that they fired at her with fully 
automatic weapons at less than twenty feet, not one of their bullets 
had come close to touching her. She dispatched the two intruders 
with no problems. 
     After that incident in which one man destroyed an entire regimen, 
the Chinese government had become more wary and pulled back in 
its attempt to bring the area under its rule. As of now, only scouting 
groups were sent out to observe the village and report for signs of 
the powerful individual that had destroyed a mountain. For now, the 
Amazons were left in peace.
     Cologne knew that it wouldn't last though. When it would become 
apparent that the Amazons' mystery savior was not coming back 
anytime soon, the Chinese Army would attack again and even with 
Shampoo's increased abilities; the village would not survive another 
assault from those damned war machines. No, to ensure the safety of 
their ways and the future of their people, the warrior women needed 
whatever or whoever had saved their village a mere week ago. 
     The elder silently shook her head again as she remembered how 
close they had been to getting such power. All it needed was just 
one defeat of her great-granddaughter or other Amazon and a single 
kiss. Cologne sighed as she watched Shampoo effortlessly pound the 
living daylights out of Dowel. They had no idea on where the 
stranger may be and without any more information about him, the 
Amazons had to chalk it up as a loss.

At Furinkan High
     Ranma Saotome nodded as he watched the students run laps 
along the track. It had been a relatively quiet week since he took up 
the position of assistant coach and martial arts instructor at the high 
school and so far, the nanotech warrior had no troubles fitting in with 
his new environment, other than a few nuisances.
     Tatewaki Kuno was bound and determined to make Ranma's stay 
at Furinkan as big as a headache as possible. After his humiliating 
defeat at the hands (make that the baby finger) of Ranma, the 
wannabe samurai had been the subject of ridicule, especially when it 
was revealed that Ranma was the new assistant coach and martial 
arts instructor. The thought of him, a mere peasant, teaching the 
great Blue Thunder how to fight was simply appalling to Kuno. 
When Ranma showed up at the Kendo Club to observe their 
progress, Kuno thought it would be a good opportunity to show this 
newcomer his prowess and reestablish his standing as the greatest 
fighter in school, no the world, no the universe! That little stunt that 
Ranma pulled on him couldn't have been anything more than black 
magic! A fluke! The sun got in his eyes! That was it!

Monday
     "So you think that a mere peasant such as yourself can even 
presume to teach the great Blue Thunder of his art?"
     Ranma's brow furrowed as he said, "That is no way to address 
your sensei, Kuno."
     "Sensei?" Kuno gave a short laugh. "As if I would ever bow down 
to a mere commoner! And a gaijin at that!"
     "I'm here as an instructor to the martial arts as well as an assistant 
coach." Ranma calmly said. "This school has not won any 
competitions in the last five years. After what I saw when I got here, 
I'm not surprised. The sporting teams need a lot a work, and judging 
from what I've seen of the best fighters, so do the martial arts clubs. 
If you and Akane Tendo are the best that this school has to offer, 
then I've got my work cut out for me."
     "You dare to mock the great Blue Thunder and the beauteous 
Akane?! I will not have it!" Kuno struck forward with his wooden 
sword, but to the amazement of all those present, Ranma's form 
blurred and disappeared before the bokken even started its 
downswing. Kuno found himself swinging at empty air. He then 
turned his head and saw that Ranma was now behind him with his 
arms crossed. "What manner of sorcery is this?!" 
     "I am getting tired of your bluster Kuno. As far as I can tell, you're 
almost all bark and no bite. You say you are the best? Well then, 
would you like to try and prove your superiority in swordplay?"
     Kuno smirked as he said, "You?! You think to challenge me?! 
Don't make me laugh. Why you must be insane to think that you 
have any chance against my prowess with a sword!" 
     Ranma was unaffected by Kuno's scoff and said, "Why don't we 
make this more interesting? Say a little wager? We'll have a duel right 
here and now, and we shall see who has the greater skill with the 
blade. If you lose, then you will resign as captain of the Kendo Club 
and allow me to train the other members. Furthermore, you will also 
call off the morning attacks on Akane Tendo. I have learned that you 
were the idiot who started that mess. I find that decree to be pointless 
and it doesn't help the sports teams or the martial arts clubs. They 
will not be able to improve if they get badly injured every morning 
before I can train them. It is also a bad distraction and is disruptive to 
the other classes. If you wish to challenge Miss Tendo, then you will 
do so after class and off the school grounds."
     "Who are you to dictate terms to the great Tatewaki Kuno?"
     "The only thing 'great' about you is that big mouth that you keep 
flapping around. I couldn't care less if you dated Miss Tendo, but 
this is a place for learning and I won't tolerate these disruptions. I 
was hired to teach and it looks like I'm going to have to start with 
you. We're going to settle this here and now. Do you accept my 
challenge?"
     "And if I should win?" Kuno asked.
     Ranma shrugged, "Then I'll turn in my resignation and leave 
Furinkan. It's as simple as that."
     "Very well, I accept your challenge!" Kuno was confident that he 
had no equal with the art of Kendo and this upstart would soon learn 
the folly of his presumption.
     A few minutes later, in the center of the training area, Ranma and 
Kuno were facing off against each other, each with a bokken in their 
hands. The other kendo members surrounded them in a wide circle. 
They looked with interest at what would decide the fate of their club. 
As Ranma waited for the match to begin, his biocomputer was 
analyzing Kuno's power rating and skill levels.
     (*Opponent's power rating still at 25. Threat level STILL less than 
negligible.*)
     <What's the quickest way to take him out?>
     (*Saridian swordplay techniques. Tenth level ranking.*)
     One of the club members that were acting as the referee signaled 
for the start of the match. "Begin!"
     As soon as the word was uttered, Ranma's form blurred forward. 
An instant later, the telltale sounds of a bokken swishing through the 
air was heard and Ranma reappeared behind Kuno with his bokken 
slung over his shoulder. Ranma stood casually while Kuno was still 
standing in his ready stance.
     The club members were stunned beyond belief at the speed in 
which Ranma had moved. They were also surprised that Kuno had 
not moved since the match started.
     "Huh?"
     "Is that it?"
     "Did you see that?"
     "I couldn't follow it."
     "Is it over?"
     Ranma gave the members a smile as he said, "It's over. It's just 
that Kuno is too stupid to realize that he already lost. Just give him a 
few seconds."
     A few moments later, Kuno gave off a series of moans and groans 
as large bumps sprouted from his head. His robes became tatters as 
large rips formed. Small red cuts appeared all over his body. His 
wooden sword fell apart into seven neatly sliced pieces. He then 
keeled over and landed face first on the ground and was 
unconscious.
     The other kendoists collectively gasped in disbelief. Kuno had 
lost in less than a second! Unbelievable! They all turned to Ranma 
who was calmly walking toward the exit. He stopped at the door and 
turned around, a smirk was on his face. "When ex-captain Kuno 
comes to, please inform him that I expect him to uphold his part of the 
wager. I also expect the rest of you to be here bright and early 
tomorrow to begin your training. Am I making myself clear?"
     After seeing their leader get so badly beaten by the newcomer, the 
other members weren't stupid enough to try and get revenge for 
Kuno. In fact, many of them were actually glad that Tatewaki had 
finally received his just reward, since the pompous jerk had been 
using intimidation to keep them in line. After seeing Ranma's skills, it 
dawned on them that they could get better under his tutelage, maybe 
even better than Kuno himself. The thought of being able to show up 
the high and mighty Blue Thunder appealed to them. This newcomer 
may be a gaijin, but he was a gaijin that could teach them a lot of 
things.
     The entire Kendo Club gave Ranma a collective bow and said in 
unison, "HAI SENSEI!"

Back to the present
     Tatewaki had proven to be a sore loser and Ranma frowned as he 
thought about the following days. When word got out on how easily 
Ranma had defeated him and his loss of his position as captain of the 
Kendo Club, Kuno had lost much of his prestige and respect (not 
that he had very much to begin with). As a result, Kuno had steadily 
attacked Ranma since that time, still maintaining that he was the 
greatest warrior and that his loss to the nanotech soldier had been 
the work of darkest sorcery, and therefore did not count. 
     Unfortunately for him, Ranma had proven to be a far tougher 
opponent than he had ever imagined. Even though it was against 
school rules for a student to continually attack an instructor, Ranma 
made no effort to stop these daily assaults. He had decided instead 
to use Kuno's foolishness as a way of demonstrating techniques to 
the members of the Kendo club. The teaching methods were a bit 
unorthodox to the students, but Ranma had long since learned that 
teaching by example was a very effective method to educate 
youngsters.

Tuesday
     "Prepare to taste the wrath of"
     WHAM!
     "Now then students. Did you see how open Kuno was when he 
tried that downward slash? With just a simple twisting maneuver, I 
used my own bokken to disarm him and deliver a solid strike to his 
most vulnerable area, his head. Don't worry about it, since it's not 
like he ever uses it. You may have also noticed that he extended 
himself too far, thereby inviting me to strike him. Don't let me catch 
you doing the same mistakes."
     "HAI SENSEI!" The young boys took Ranma's advice to heart as 
they continued to spar with one another. Kuno was face first on the 
ground with a large lump on his head.

Wednesday
     "And now the great Blue Thunder will."
     SMACK!
     "Kuno's mistake was that he swung in too wide an arc, which 
made it very easy to evade and parry. He's using his weapon like a 
bat and swatting with it. The sword should be like an extension of 
one's own arm. He's putting no effort whatsoever in building up his 
defense. I expect you all to do much better than that."
     "HAI SENSEI!"
     The insane wannabe samurai was seeing birdies as he was 
sprawled on the ground.

Thursday
     "Prepare for your final reckoning you foul"
     WHACK! SMACK! KICK!
     "As the Americans are so fond of saying, talk is cheap. One must 
also remember that it is a distraction. Do it after you have defeated 
your opponent. Furthermore, the way he is telegraphing his moves, 
he may as well give his opponent a written declaration of each of his 
attacks. Now, continue on with those forms that I showed you."
     "HAI SENSEI!"
     Kuno was once again in la-la land.

Friday
     "Now you shall pay."
     WHACK! SLASH! SLASH! CRASH!
     "Unfortunately for Kuno, he still has not learned that a good 
defense is just as important as a strong offense. He left himself wide 
open for low cuts toward his legs. He's always leaning forward, 
thereby leaving his head open to attacks. He may have practiced the 
classic forms of Kendo, however he has made no room for the 
unexpected. He is also gripping his weapon too hard, thereby making 
it easy for his opponent to knock it out of his hands. A blow of 
sufficient force is all one needs to disarm his opponent."
     "HAI SENSEI."
     Kuno's head was now stuck in the far wall after Ranma had 
shoved him.

The present...
     Ranma shook his head. At this rate, Kuno was going to spend 
most of the school year in the nurse's office. He had thought that 
after a few days, Kuno would realize that his fighting abilities needed 
some serious improvements and attend the practice sessions with the 
others. However, the dope seemed to be bound and determined to 
defeat him outright and refused to listen on any commentary or 
advice on how to improve his techniques. Whether it was pride, 
stupidity or a combination of both, Ranma knew that Kuno would 
soon be behind his fellow kendoists. Within a week, the nanotech 
warrior had already analyzed the overall skill levels of the members 
and had started a regimen to increase their techniques. The new 
training methods had proven effective and they had already begun to 
correct the many deficiencies in their combat abilities, including some 
hand to hand techniques in case they were disarmed. One of the 
problems with having Kuno as the team captain was the fact that the 
vain and obnoxious upperclassman would use intimidation to keep 
the others from reaching or surpassing his own skills. There was so 
much untapped potential, but Kuno wanted none to exceed him. He 
liked the title of best fighter, as did another student.
     Akane Tendo had already resented him for interfering with her 
usual morning battles. Ranma couldn't understand why she would let 
it happen in the first place. He had heard that she hated boys. If she 
hated to fight those idiots every day, then why didn't she say so in 
the beginning? Her hostility toward him had become even worse 
during PE class.

Monday
     "Hello students. I'm Ranma Saotome. I'm the new assistant coach 
and martial arts instructor."
     As Ranma looked over the class, several of the students began 
whispering among themselves over the new teacher.
     "Wow! He's a hunk!"
     "Watch it Sayuri, you're drooling!"
     "I hear that he's from America."
     "Wow, really?"
     "Did you see him take out Kuno this morning with one finger?"
     "He must be one really good martial artist to be able to do that!"
     "Hey, he's way better than that dope Kuno. I'll even bet that he's 
better than Akane Tendo."
     It was that comments like that, which got Akane's temper started. 
How dare they presume that someone was better than she was? She 
was supposed to be the best in Nerima! The attention that this new 
teacher was getting, especially from the girls, was irritating. First this 
outsider shows her up by interfering with her own fights. Secondly, 
she had heard that Kuno had been ousted from his position as the 
Kendo club's captain and that the morning fights were no longer to 
be tolerated. Now he's going to teach HER how to fight in the martial 
arts? A gaijin to boot! Well, she'd show him!
     She also didn't like the fact that he was getting more and more 
attention. If there was one thing that Akane hated as much as boys, it 
was not being the center of attention. So what if this new teacher was 
good-looking? Kuno was handsome and look how he was. This 
teacher may be only a few years older but that didn't mean that those 
other girls had to go drooling over him!
     Ranma was already aware of the comments as his superior hearing 
picked up each every whisper. He smiled at the group before him as 
he began answering questions.
     "Mr. Saotome?"
     "Yes? Your name please?" Ranma replied to a boy with short 
brown hair.
     "Daisuke sir. Are you going to teach us stuff like that trick you 
used on Kuno this morning? That was really cool!" The other boys 
and many of the girls nodded in agreement.
     Ranma smiled as he replied, "Well, I'm afraid that particular 
technique requires a great deal of hard work and training. It's not 
something that one can learn overnight. <But then again, it only took 
me two minutes to learn it.> I'm here to teach mostly self-defense 
classes, assist the head coach, and to help the sports teams and 
martial arts clubs. I thought for today, I'd give a few demonstrations 
and start you all on some simple exercises." Ranma gestured over to 
some stacks of bricks that were set up and a large practice mat.
     The students went and sat around the training mat as Ranma 
stood in the center. "Now then, since my expertise falls within the 
martial arts category, I think that I can be able to teach all of you the 
basic moves and exercises, which will not only help in self-defense, 
but also allow you to attain focus in your daily lives. Now who 
among you have had some martial arts training?"
     In one smooth motion, everyone pointed to Akane.
     "Step up, Miss?"
     "Akane Tendo." Akane said with pride as she quickly joined 
Ranma on the mat. "Heir to the Tendo School of the Anything Goes 
Martial Arts!" She then looked up at the instructor and began 
assessing him. She had taken down larger opponents before and 
didn't think Ranma wasn't anything special. "I really don't need any 
lessons. I'm already a martial artist!"
     "Ah yes, you're the same girl that Kuno had declared that no one 
could date you unless they manage to beat you." Ranma's 
biocomputer began gauging her overall skill. 
     (*Power level rated at 16. Second dan Kenpo level. Threat to host, 
nonexistent.*)
     "No one can beat me, and I really don't think you can teach me 
anything that I don't already know." Akane stated with pride. Her 
many victories over Kuno and the morning mob had given her 
somewhat of an inflated ego. She was also proud of the title of Heir to 
the Tendo Anything Goes
     "Would you care to prove it?" The nanotech warrior gestured to a 
small stack of bricks. "Can you shatter those?"
     Akane shrugged. "No problem." The young girl walked over to the 
stack and took a ready stance. There were five slabs and each were 
about two inches thick. Akane began her breathing exercises to get 
her focus. After a minute, she raised her a hand and made a few 
practice chops at the pile. Then she let off a 'hiyah' and brought the 
side of her hand down on the center of the top brick.
     There was a small, sharp noise as a thin crack appeared at the 
point of impact. The crack split though the slabs, causing a small puff 
of dust to appear.
     Akane frowned as she withdrew her hand, which was throbbing 
slightly. The five slabs were a little more than what she usually 
practiced with. The Stonebreaker technique that she used at her 
father's dojo allowed her to break through to break through two 
cinder blocks with ease, but those targets were not as thick and had a 
space between them. The other students were impressed however, 
since they didn't have the capability to break one slab, never mind all 
five. They began applauding her. This comforted Akane as she 
looked back in triumph. "See? I told you that I didn't need any help." 
     Ranma wasn't impressed as he pointed to the stack. "That was 
cute. However, you did not do as I asked."
     Akane became miffed at these words. "What do you mean? I broke 
all five!"
     "As I recall, I asked you to shatter them, not split them. You 
weren't really focused on the task. You just used brute force to break 
those slabs. A real martial artist wouldn't leave a task half done." 
Ranma had no idea that his casual words were irritating his pupil, but 
then again, tact wasn't his strong point. As a former bounty hunter, 
he had been straightforward and didn't mince words. It was always 
go in, beat up the bad guy, drag him back and collect the bounty. As 
a result, he really didn't have much in terms of social skills. 
     Akane felt her temper begin to rise. How dare he say something 
like that? "Do you think you can do better?"
     Ranma walked over to another stack, which had ten slabs. He then 
glanced back at Akane and the class. Without bothering to prepare, 
he casually brought down a fist on top of the stack. It looked like he 
was putting no effort whatsoever into the blow, but the effect was 
still devastating! 
     BOOOOOOM!!!
     In an instant, the slabs and the support table were pulverized into 
tiny pieces. Ranma looked back up at the dumbfounded expressions 
of his class and especially Akane's. The noise of the impact echoed 
throughout the gymnasium, which caught the attention of the other 
classes. 
     "Whoa!"
     "That was awesome!"
     "He IS better than Akane!"
     "Looks like there's a new champion!"
     "No wonder he beat Kuno so easy!"
     "I think Kuno got off easy!"
     The youngest Tendo daughter couldn't believe that the new 
instructor was that powerful. She also did not believe that someone 
could be better than she was. The various comments being made by 
her fellow students were not at all encouraging. He had just shown 
her up in front of her class and she didn't like it one bit. She quickly 
smothered her displeasure as she said, "Okay, so you can break a few 
bricks. Big deal. Anyone can do that with the right training. Besides, 
breaking a stack of bricks isn't like going up against a REAL 
opponent!" 
     Ranma did not like the way she was addressing him. <Hmmm, the 
natives of this world do get angry very easily.> "Well, I will agree 
that bricks don't hit back. Would like to spar with me then? As I 
recall, you fight a mob of boys every day."
     Akane puffed up a little at the statement. "I can even beat that jerk 
Kuno. I am the best of course."
     "If you say so. Then again, I haven't seen you fight yet."
     "Well, let me show you what a true martial artist is capable of!" 
Akane took a stance at one end of the mat. "I promise that I'll go 
easy on you." Akane gave him a smug grin.
     Ranma assessed her stance and then stood in a neutral pose with 
his hands behind his back. "All right, Miss Tendo. Show me what 
you've got. Mind you, I would prefer if you went all out. I can't 
properly assess my skills of my students unless they give me their 
best efforts."
     There was a long moment of silence as the two prepared for the 
match. The rest of the class, in fact all the students and instructors in 
the gym stopped in their activities to watch the battle. There was not 
a sound in the building as the two fighters faced off.
     "Hiyaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!" Akane charged at the nanotech warrior.
     WHAM! WHUMP! POW! THUMP! CRASH!
     There was a huge, collective gasp as the audience stared in utter 
disbelief. Ranma was still standing in his non-aggressive stance with 
a calm expression his face. Behind him, in a pile of fallen sports 
equipment, was a pair of slender legs that were sticking out in an 
ungainly fashion.
     Ranma shook his head as he walked over to the pile. He also spoke 
to his class as he began extricating Akane's dazed form from the 
mess. His bioscanners had already determined that she had suffered 
only minor bruises and was just stunned.
     "As you can see class, Miss Tendo had made several errors. 
Number one, she underestimated her opponent. Number two, she 
overextended her body and left herself wide open. Number three, she 
attacked with anger. Martial arts may be a form of combat, but one 
must remember that it is also a 'discipline.' One must remain in control. 
It is much more than being able to throw punches and kicks. If there 
is no control, then there is no chance to succeed. Do you all 
understand?"
     The class nodded dumbfounded, as the shock of seeing Akane 
Tendo so easily defeated was still akin to a miracle. The nanotech 
warrior had moved so fast, that all they saw was his form blurring 
momentarily when Akane charged. In the next instant, she was sent 
flying through the air.
     Ranma nodded as he carefully set Akane down on a bench. 

The present
     Ever since that humiliating defeat in front of the class, Akane's 
pride as the best fighter in Nerima had taken a bad beating. When 
Kuno heard of her defeat, he began attacking the new teacher. 
Unfortunately, his assaults were nothing more than jokes to Ranma, 
and he was soundly trounced each time. What was worse was that he 
was teaching the members of the Kendo club, and they were steadily 
improving. It wouldn't be long before they reached her skill level. The 
thought of those boys beating her was too much to bear for Akane. 
Even though the deal Ranma made with Kuno was supposed to end 
the morning fights, Akane still didn't like the thought of those 
perverts being better than she was. She was the heir to the Tendo 
School of the Anything Goes Martial Arts! She was supposed to be 
the best! She had to be the best! It was her true calling! Kasumi had 
her cooking skills; Nabiki had the talent in moneymaking. Akane had 
worked too hard to get to her status as a martial artist, and she wasn't 
about to let some know-it-all instructor take that away from her! She'd 
show him!
     While Akane was planning on how to get back at Ranma, another 
Tendo girl also had her thoughts on the new teacher. Nabiki wasn't 
the only one though. Nearly all the girls in school and even some of 
the female faculty members had their eyes on the tall and ruggedly 
good-looking new assistant coach and martial arts instructor. Ever 
since Kuno had made that stupid declaration, nearly all the female 
students were left without any date prospects, since the boys started 
chasing Akane. Now this mysterious and talented teacher had come 
and the girls at Furinkan High were turning their heads and running 
into things. Crushes began to run rampant, which gave the mercenary 
sister of Akane's, many opportunities to turn a sizable profit. She had 
her lieutenants secretly take photos of him and try to find out as 
much as possible about him. His foreign origins and that air of 
mystery only enhanced his appeal. The photos of him were sold at 
top yen prices.
     If there was one thing that intrigued Nabiki more than money, it 
was a mystery. It also didn't hurt that the mystery was 6' 4', had a 
body that was firm and muscled in all the right places and didn't bow 
and scrape to her spoiled princess sister Akane. This was no 
immature boy. This was a man!
     As she counted the day's latest take, she silently thanked the 
Kami for answering her prayers.
     Meanwhile, just outside the orbit of the moon, a familiar spacecraft 
was hovering in space. Inside the command center, Nagi was going 
over the latest data and looking over recorded Earth transmissions.
     "So there hasn't been any report of Vorak arriving on Earth?"
     "Ciao!" Ken-ohki replied.
     "Hmmm, why would someone like Vorak come to this backwater 
planet?"
     "Ciao! Ciao!"
     "Maybe. Ranma and Vorak do have some bad blood between 
them. He could be seeking revenge against him and following 
Ranma's quantum trail. But if that were the case, then wouldn't he 
already be raising hell on Earth? I mean, following a quantum trail is 
hard but not impossible. I would think by now, Ranma would be 
slugging it out with him and blasting away with that Annihilator 
cannon of his." Nagi shuddered a bit when she thought about 
Ranma's previous battles with Vorak, which had torn up nearly a third 
of the outer quadrants. Vorak would always start the fights and the 
ensuing planetary destruction of several systems has made him high 
on the wanted lists. There was one thing that you could always 
count on Vorak though. 
     "Ciaooooo!"
     "Oh yes. I forgot about that part. Vorak couldn't find his way out 
of an empty room with a proton-powered pathfinder with that sense 
of direction of his. Could be that he got lost on that planet when 
Ranma's ship landed. Guess with the bounty on him, he wants to 
keep a low profile."
     "Well, I guess we're going to have to do the same. The inhabitants 
of this world are pretty skittish. Last I heard, the only non-terrans on 
that world were the Jurai royal family, Ryoko and Ryo-ohki, Washu, 
those two Galaxy Policewomen, the Oni, the Salusians and the Kyrn.
     "Ciao!"
     "Yes I know about those surveillance satellites. Probably Washu's 
work. Looks like its time to see if that new cloaking device I got last 
week was worth the five hundred thousand zentrees."
     "Ciao!" 
     "No I haven't forgotten my promise. You'll see your girlfriend 
soon enough. First, I want to know where Ranma is."
     A minute later, Ken-ohki's ship form vanished from sight as Nagi 
began her search for the fugitive.
     Meanwhile, on the continent of Asia, Vorak was currently 
brooding in his cloaked vessel, as it was parked thirty miles north of 
Peking. Despite the fact that he had access to advanced technology, 
his bid to find Ranma's whereabouts was akin to the proverbial 
needle in a haystack, due his biggest problem; his utter lack of 
direction.
     Ironically, Vorak shared a similar origin to Ranma's. Some time ago, 
another alien scientist, one that was a rival to the genius who 
reconstructed Ranma, had tried to accomplish the same goals and 
infuse a living being with nanites, thereby turning him into a living 
bio-weapon. He had abducted a young boy whose name was Ryoga 
Hibiki. Unfortunately, the nanites that he had been infused with were 
primitive at the time and highly unstable. Due to a flaw in their 
programming, the nanites carried out their orders to enhance the 
subject's greatest traits, literally. Ryoga, who was later renamed 
Vorak, was given superhuman strength and near-invulnerability. Like 
Ranma, his memories of his previous life had been erased. However, 
his greatest trait was the ability... to become hopelessly lost! The 
nanites enhanced this trait to the highest degree. Vorak no longer 
just wandered around Japan or perhaps China. Now he was planet 
hopping!
     Despite given high-tech weaponry and other enhancements, Vorak 
was ultimately deemed a failure. With his utter lack of a sense of 
direction and the mood swings toward depression, Vorak was later 
discarded and the project had been abandoned. With no where to go, 
literally, Vorak began wandering the cosmos. Eventually, he became 
an interstellar bounty hunter to make a living. He did a reasonable job 
of it, despite his tendency to get lost, which made him lose several 
customers. With his new powers and weaponry he soon became very 
famous among the local systems as a powerful fighter and someone 
to be reckoned with.
     That all changed when Ranma appeared on the scene. Vorak soon 
found a tough rival in him and it wasn't long before Ranma was 
taking all the best-paying bounty jobs and leaving him barely able to 
eke out a living. Whenever he tried to collect on a large sum, Ranma 
was always there to beat him to the punch, capturing the fugitive and 
getting the reward. Things were made even harder due to Vorak's 
ability to become hopelessly lost. By the time he would reach the 
right world and was ready to apprehend the fugitive, Ranma was 
already counting the bounty after delivering the prisoner. With each 
bounty taken from him, Vorak's bitterness toward the nanotech 
soldier grew. It wasn't long before the two of them were trading 
blows and laserfire. Unfortunately, the worlds in which they fought 
suffered from massive planetary damage whenever the two would 
clash.
     After a few months of this, Vorak decided to settle things by 
challenging Ranma to a duel. He had managed to arrive on time for 
the fight; however, he had arrived on the wrong planet! Ranma had 
been waiting for him on Cyrex IV, but Ryoga had misread the 
coordinates on his navigational computer and ended up on Nigral, 
which was more than one hundred thousand light years away! It took 
him a week to find the spaceport where his ship was parked, then 
another eight days to get the coordinates to Cyrex IV, then a full 
month of aimlessly wandering the gamma quadrant before he had 
finally programmed his navigational computer with the correct 
coordinates. By the time he arrived on the planet, Ranma was long 
gone.
     Vorak took this as an insult and blamed Ranma for running out on 
their fight. He began an obsessive search for the nanotech warrior, 
traveling through more than a billion worlds. In his journey, he 
suffered through intense meteor showers, supernovas, and plasma 
storms, which only served to make him angrier and caused him to 
blame all his troubles on Ranma. Whenever something bad happened 
to him, Vorak would always assume that it was Ranma's fault. If he 
was caught in a super acid storm, it was Ranma's fault. If he was 
trapped on a world with hyper gravity, it was Ranma's fault. If a 
Draraxian Leviathan swallowed him whole, it was Ranma's fault. As 
one could guess, the nanites within his brain also affected his logic 
centers.
     The final straw came when his ship had been caught in a black 
hole. The intense gravity had torn his ship apart and Vorak had just 
barely escaped suffering the same fate by causing a quantum 
explosion near the center of the vortex. He was forced to undergo 
suspended animation to survive the airless vacuum of space. He had 
drifted for over a month before landing onto a garbage transport 
drone. When he came to, he found himself buried under a mountain 
of debris and sewage. This was the final indignity and Vorak erupted 
in a rage and destroyed the entire recycling complex, while screaming 
out, "RANMA! THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!"
     Incidentally, Vorak's search for Ranma had caused incredible 
amounts of damage to several civilizations and it wasn't long before 
he himself was on the hit list of many worlds. The citizens of those 
destroyed colonies deemed Vorak as a destructive force that was too 
dangerous to roam free. As a result, Vorak blamed Ranma for his 
having a price on his head and it became an obsession for him to 
destroy the bane of his existence.
     Now, Vorak was on Earth, ready to deal out immeasurable amounts 
of pain to Ranma for all his suffering. There were some problems 
though. He had lost Ranma's quantum trail when he entered Earth's 
atmosphere. There were more than six billion people on the planet. 
Though it would be an easy matter to just start tearing up the place, 
Vorak couldn't take the chance. His ship's information systems had 
discerned that there were members of the Galaxy Police in the system 
and that the sector was now monitored by the intergalactic law 
enforcement agency. With the outstanding warrants for his arrest for 
causing planetary destruction on several worlds, (they never charged 
Ranma since he maintained that Vorak would always attack first and 
he was acting in self-defense), the former Ryoga had to maintain a 
low profile. Furthermore, he didn't dare try to leave his ship, for he 
would become hopelessly lost within the first ten seconds! 
     No, if he wanted to find Ranma, he would have to employ other 
means. With that in mind, he touched a few buttons on his console, 
which activated several probes, which were loaded with scanning 
devices and miniature cloaking shields. They would scour the planet 
in their search for his foe and transmit his whereabouts back to him. 
When they found him, then Vorak would get others to track him 
down and bring Ranma to him, thereby avoiding any chance of his 
own presence alerting the Galaxy Police. He had recently plugged 
into the so-called Internet and had come across several ads about 
private investigators and bounty hunters. Vorak found it an amusing 
idea for a former bounty hunter to use another bounty hunter to 
catch a rival bounty hunter. It would be a simple matter to manipulate 
the primitives of this world into doing the dirty work. Though he 
didn't have much in terms of wealth, he did had a sizable amount of 
gemstones and metals that were considered valuable on Earth, but 
dirt cheap on the intergalactic trade routes. He did wonder why these 
natives would put such a high price on a useless metal such as gold.
     Meanwhile, at the back of Furinkan High, near the track
     Ranma turned to pick up some of the gym equipment after the 
students had left for the day, when his biocomputer began alerting 
him.
     (*Ranma. Proximity sensors have detected a non-Earth lifeform 
nearby.*)
     <Huh? Are you sure?>
     (*Affirmative. Life readings indicate that it is fifty meters to your 
right.*)
     Ranma looked in the indicated direction and sure enough, there 
was the furry little animal roaming around the soccer field. It was 
sniffing at the ground, as if it were trying to pick up a scent. The 
nanotech warrior dropped what he was doing and began to slowly 
approach the creature. When he got to within twenty meters of the 
animal, his eyes widened in recognition. <A cabbit? Here on Earth?>
     The little white cabbit looked up and caught sight of Ranma. It 
immediately let off a happy sound and bounced toward him. Ranma 
looked down as the cabbit smiled as it began nuzzling its head 
against his leg.
     "Ciao! Ciao!"
     Ranma was a little surprised that this creature was being so 
friendly with him, then his eyes widened even further as he 
recognized this particular spaceship.
     "Ken-ohki? Is that really you?"
     "Ciao!" Ken-ohki happily pranced around him before hopping into 
his arms.
     Ranma stroked one of Ken-ohki's ears and said, "What are you 
doing here? Where's Nagi?" Just as he said that name, his 
proximity sensors detected someone nearby. He whirled around and 
saw the athletic and attractive bounty hunter standing before him.
     Nagi gestured for her cabbit to return to her side. Ken-ohki 
hopped out of his arms and stood beside his mistress. Nagi then 
slowly walked up to her former acquaintance and without warning 
gave him a hard slap to his cheek.
     WHAP!
     Ranma hadn't been expecting any hostility from his sometime ally, 
so he did not try to block the blow. They had parted on good terms 
the last time they were together. Though the slap hurt him about as 
much as a flea ramming into a whale, he was still surprised. He 
thought that they were friends. He raised a hand to his cheek and 
said in confusion, "N-Nagi? W-W-What was that for?" 
     Nagi's eyes narrowed as she said, "Shadaria."
     Ranma gave her a sheepish look as he said, "Hey I was just 
doing my job."
     Nagi surprised him yet again as she grabbed the front of his jacket 
and pulled him forward, locking her lips with his in an act of 
osculation that made the facehuggers from Alien seem noncommittal. 
Ranma's eyes bulged out to the size of saucers at the unexpected 
kiss. When the kiss ended, Nagi's face was wearing a smile.
     "N-Now what was THAT for?" Ranma gasped as he tried to suck 
in some air.
     "Mentoka." Nagi replied.
     Ranma gave her the same sheepish look as he said, "Hey I 
was just doing my job."
     Nagi gave him a small laugh as she released her hold and said, 
"Ranma, it's been a long time."
     "I guess it has. " Ranma started scratching the back of his 
head. "So what brings you to this neck of the galaxy?"
     Nagi's expression became serious as she replied; "Vorak is here."
     Ranma's expression matched Nagi when he heard that name.
     Some time later, the two of them were sitting in his office and 
sipping tea.
     "So this is where you've been." Nagi commented as she looked 
around the simple surroundings. She then turned back to Ranma who 
was sitting behind his desk. "One of the best bounty hunters in 
seven galaxies reduced to teaching adolescents on a backwater 
planet. Bounty hunting not paying enough?" The female bounty 
hunter smirked as she took another sip of tea. On Ranma's desk, Ken-
ohki was happily munching on a carrot.
     "Actually, I'm here for a different reason. The teaching job's just a 
cover. In any case, you just said that Vorak is on this planet? I find 
that hard to believe. Last I heard of him was in the Gerudox sector, 
and I thought he went into a black hole."
     "Yeah well, he did get out. I've been tailing him for about a week 
now, in between my other jobs, and I imagine he's after you again."
     Ranma sighed as he said, "Well, if he is here, then I'd better make 
sure that he doesn't end up trashing this planet like all those others." 
     "Just what IS his gripe against you? Don't tell me that he's still 
mad at you for taking all those bounties from him. Or is because of 
that duel you were supposed to have with him?" Ranma's supposed 
fight-to-the-finish with Vorak had been big news in the quadrant and 
more than a thousand worlds had betted on the outcome. All the 
beings that had wagered on the battle were more than disappointed 
when Vorak had not shown up for the fight.
     Ranma sighed and said, "It goes a little deeper than that. The 
bounties weren't the main reason, but they did start our feud. It 
was about a few months before we met and I really don't want to 
talk about it."
     "Ranma?"
     The nanotech solider waved it off. "I don't want to talk about it."
     Nagi was about to press further, but she then saw the sadness in 
his eyes. The sight was a bit surprising to her, as she had rarely seen 
him in such a state. Out of respect for him, she decided to question 
him about it, for now and changed the subject. "So, what have you 
been doing since you got to this planet?"
     Ranma began telling his onetime ally of the events that occurred 
when he landed on Earth. After finishing his tale, Nagi was a little 
alarmed.
     "You used the Annihilator?!"
     Ranma shrugged and said, "Hey, I'll admit that it was a bit extreme 
but I only used one billionth of its setting and it's not like this planet 
has the technology to detect an anti-matter blast. With all the 
primitive nuclear plants, fission warheads and magical sources on 
this world, my Annihilator wouldn't have shown up on their 
sensors."
     "They may not be to detect it, but I have a feeling that Washu and 
the Galaxy Police would have been alerted to it!"
     "Washu? The Galaxy Police? Here?"
     Nagi nodded as she said, "You may not have known it, but the 
Earth does have several non-terrestrial races on the planet."
     "Sounds like you've been here before, Nagi. Just how did you 
know that Washu and the Galaxy Police are here."
     This time, it was Nagi who became a bit uneasy. "Uh well it's 
because I was tracking Ryoko at the time."
     Ranma smiled, "Ryoko? She's here too? Does that mean that you 
still haven't"
     "Oh shut up!" Nagi said in an irritated voice.
     Ranma gave a soft chuckle as he said in a teasing tone. "Now this 
is ironic! Here you are chiding me about my problems with Vorak 
when the one person that you have yet to defeat is on the same 
planet!" Ranma's snickered. 
     "SHUT UP!" Nagi yelled as she suddenly got up and had her 
particle-disrupter sword aimed at Ranma's face. Ken-ohki was startled 
from his meal when he saw his mistress get angered. Ranma stopped 
laughing but still had a slight smile.
     "Now, now Nagi. There's no need for that. I didn't mean anything 
by it. I'm sorry. I won't mention it again, okay?" Ranma knew just how 
touchy she was about her relationship with the infamous space 
pirate. 
     Nagi stood there with her weapon pointed at her fellow bounty 
hunter. As she gazed into Ranma's deep blue eyes, she felt her anger 
melt away. Try as she might, she could never stay mad at him for very 
long. Eventually, she put away her sword and sat down.
     Ranma nodded as he began discussing with his former 
acquaintance over their current situations.

To be continued

Author's Notes
     Well I wasn't really too sure as to where to go with this, so I 
thought I'd end this chapter here. For now, Ranma and Nagi will be 
seeing each other as they help one another and this may cause some 
questions and suspicions. Give me some suggestions on some future 
chapters and I may just use them.


