                                Weapon Ranma

Introduction: Originally, I had started out this story as something to pass
the time with. Eventually, it ended up in my reject pile as I had lost
interest and inspiration. When I had my little contest to see which of my
rejects would become a full-blown project, Fist of the Pikachu came in
first, with Dragon Child a close second and Weapon Ranma as a poor third.

Eventually, Dragon Child made it past the first chapter and though it has
been a while, I am now slowly, but surely continuing where I left off.
However, like Gregg Sharp, I couldn't just stop a story once I started it. I
can't help but wonder if Weapon Ranma could have been continued or if the
previous storyline could have been altered to make it more interesting.

Like Ranmatech, (originally known the Ranma Project), I decided to give
Weapon Ranma a complete makeover and try a different approach. The previous
storyline went a little too fast, so I'm going to take a different route.
I'm certain that a few of my readers will like this one. Hint, hint, wink,
wink, nudge, nudge. (^_^)

Disclaimer: As always, Ranma 1/2 is the property of Rumiko Takahashi, while
Wolverine and any other characters in his universe belong to Marvel Comics.

< >: Thoughts

[" "]: Chinese language

{" "}: English

" ": Japanese language

***: Author's comments

                                 Chapter One

                             Enter the Wolverine

Deep within the forests of the Quing Hai Province of the Bayankala Mountain
Range of China, a young and very attractive girl with long purple hair, was
busy practicing with a pair of heavy war clubs in a clearing near an icy
stream. It was early springtime, and the crisp morning air was a bit cool
and humid. However, the girl paid no mind to the slight chill as she
continued to put her body through the motions of her practice katas.

Shampoo was not much of a morning person, but with her great-grandmother now
grooming her to be her successor and the best warrior of the Joketsuzoku,
the teenager had to force herself to be awake at dawn and start her daily
training regimen. Her relative, the Elder Cologne would arrive shortly to
assess her progress, and Shampoo did not want her great-grandmother thinking
that she had been slacking off in her training. At her top of her list of
things to do, was to avoid making Cologne displeased.

She was dressed in a light blue silk top and matching pants which hugged her
curves and allowed for full body movements as she continued to thrust and
swing the heavy maces about. As with many Amazon girls her age, her figure
was quite lithe and flexible, and would turn the heads of any male one
hundred and eighty degrees. She bounced with every movement, but with her
attention focused solely on her martial arts, the girl mainly ignored the
effect her body had on the opposite gender. However, one male in the village
was quite aware at how lovely his childhood playmate had become and he made
it his lifelong dream to become her husband, at any cost!

Shampoo gritted her teeth as she imagined her unwanted suitor standing in
front of her. She then began thrusting her bonbori into his face, seeing the
thick lenses of his glasses shattering along with that dopey, lovesick look
he always had on when he approached her. That stupid Mousse! Why he couldn't
he just understand that she wanted nothing to do with him? Did she have to
continually pound it into that thick skull of his that she wasn't the
slightest bit interested in that fool? Day in and day out, that near-sighted
Hidden Weapons Master would pester her. And every day, she would pummel him
into the ground. However, the very next day, he would come back like an
annoying cockroach! She didn't mind too much when the other boys tried to
court her, that is if they ever got a chance to do so. Mousse would usually
beat off any others who even came within twenty feet of her.

It wasn't that Shampoo truly hated Mousse, but the way he carried on made
her want to scream. He kept on telling everyone of how she would be his
future bride, chasing off all the other boys and making a total jackass of
himself with his antics to win her. Because of his near-sightedness, he had
mistaken livestock, other villagers and even inanimate objects for her. Just
last week, he proposed to a tree stump! That in itself was insulting and she
kept on having nightmares about her being married to him!

Shampoo shook her head as her movements became even more choppy with her
anger and frustration. She thought to herself that there was no worse fate
than being saddled with someone as pathetic as him! Shampoo wanted a strong
man with whom she could respect and even admire. Mousse did not excite her
or stir any feelings other than disgust and weariness. His Hidden Weapon
Techniques were formidable and would have gained him great respect, but his
personality and the pitiable ways he courted her made him a laughing stock
among the villagers. However, it seemed that he didn't care that he appeared
to others like some buffoon as he continued with his attempts to woo her.

Cologne's great-granddaughter wanted someone who was respected by others as
well as respected himself. She wanted a man who treated her as a person, and
not as some prize. That's all that myopic dope considered her as. She was
the prize, the object of his obsession and he would let none stand in his
way. ***

----------

*** For those of you who think that Mousse deserves to win Shampoo, let me
ask you this question. Doesn't that make Kuno perfect for Akane then? After
all, he's just as obsessed if not more so than Mousse. How about Ryoga? Same
thing. Many people seem to overlook these points as they maintain that Ranma
and Akane are the only couple. That's what makes it so difficult for writers
to pair Shampoo up with Ranma. I think that it's out of pity, in which
writers let Mousse marry Shampoo in fanfics or because Shampoo was depicted
as a cold-hearted, scheming person in the manga.

I, for one, try not to follow the original series too closely. As I have
mentioned before, I find that following the original ideas and rules to be
too constricting. For many of my stories, I just toss the original script
out the window and try different approaches each time. For some
personalities, I try to stay in sync, (like in Cat Fist Fury and Tattoon
Ranma, Shampoo IS a scheming Amazon), while in others, (Fighting Blind, Dual
Destinies, and this story, Shampoo is more complex and human), the
personalities will be OOC. It gives me more leeway for new ideas.

As for Mousse, well he isn't a favorite of mine as I feel that he's like
Ryoga and Kuno. He's a hypocrite when it comes to honor. If it helps to get
what he wants, then he'll rationalize his actions, no matter how
dishonorable they may be. His fighting style is more underhanded and I have
seen many examples in both the manga and anime in which he's resorted to
foul play to achieve his goals. Overall, Mousse is like those who refuse to
accept the truth and live in their own fantasy world. I kind of pity him
myself, but I really think that he and Shampoo are not meant for each other.

I would suggest to people to read A Cold Wind Blows, Mirrors Multiplied,
Shampoo 1/2 and Between a Rock and a Hard Place. Those fanfics do explore a
side of Shampoo that a lot of people don't know about.

Enough rambling. Back to the story. ***

----------

["Shampoo, you are letting your anger interfere with you're training!"]

The young Amazon suddenly stopped in her movements as she turned around to
see her diminutive relative sitting on a boulder nearby, with her staff
leaning in front of her. Once again, Cologne had approached without making a
sound, easily masking her presence from Shampoo's heightened sense of
awareness, which was still relatively early in its development.

The three hundred-year-old matriarch shook her head with displeasure. At
only two feet in height with long, white hair and tiny limbs, she looked
like some fairy-tale gnome. However, underneath that wrinkled skin lay a
sharp intelligence and skills that would dwarf most of the premier martial
arts masters of the world. There were only a scant handful of people that
Cologne would consider as her equal or better.

["Sorry, Great-grandmother."] Shampoo apologized as she let herself relax
for a moment, before taking up the proper stance and began her katas once
more.

Cologne nodded slightly as she watched her protge continue going through
the correct movements. <Shampoo's movements have substantially become less
erratic in last few days... when she is not distracted with anger. She
handles the bonbori well and they have become an integral part of her
fighting style. > ["Keep your heart and mind clear and let them flow
together like the waters in that stream over there."] She gestured with her
staff at the bubbling brook.

["Yes!"] Shampoo nodded as she began increasing the pace of her katas.

["I think that you will be ready, when I instruct you in the more advanced
skills. Next week, I shall begin with your training in the Chestnut
Technique, since speed seems to be one of your strong points."]

Shampoo nodded again as she approached the end of her morning routine,
ending in a crane stance with one leg held up and bent at the knee, and both
arms held out and above her head.

It was at that moment that Cologne's heightened senses picked up the
presence of something... or someone nearby. She stiffened for a moment,
before leaping up to balance on her staff. Since her staff was about
three-and-a-half feet higher than she was, Shampoo's great-grandmother often
used it to get around by hopping on it like a pogo-stick.

["Great... grandmother?"] Shampoo began.

["Hush, child!"] Cologne held a finger to her lips, signaling to her
relative to be silent as she began focusing her extraordinary senses on her
surroundings. The aged Amazon was especially attuned to the lines of life
energy known as ki, and how it was connected to nature itself. She began
feeling that something wild and untamed was nearby. At first, she thought it
was some animal, but the impression was not quite bestial. It moved with
nary a sound, and seemed to be... stalking something.

The matriarch immediately became tensed as she readied for any possible
danger that this thing might be present to herself and her
great-granddaughter. However, she relaxed a moment later as she determined

that whatever it was, it represented no immediate threat as it moved away
from their vicinity. Still, there was something... odd about the presence
she had felt and she decided to investigate it. Silently, she motioned for
her relative to follow as she leapt up to an overhanging tree branch some
twenty feet above the ground.

The two made their way deeper into the forest, moving from tree to tree like
a couple of agile jungle cats. When they came near another clearing in the
woods, Cologne suddenly stopped and stiffened. Shampoo immediately went into
a defensive pose when she saw the Elder become tense again.

<It's close... very close! > Cologne thought as she scanned the area for
that strange presence again. She had never encountered such a strong,
intense sensation before. She could tell that whatever or whoever it was,
had massive, untapped potential in terms of ki and inner strength. It was if
they were following some powerful creature, like a tiger. Cologne was
certain that this was no tiger, but something far more powerful and of
course, potentially more dangerous. However, her curiosity to discern just
what had gotten her ki senses so riled up got the better of her. She just
had to know what this thing was.

Cologne stood still and remained silent as she continued to use her senses
to find whatever they were following. The undisturbed peace of the forest
began to get on Shampoo nerves as she began wishing that something would
happen. Then... something did.

There was a sudden outburst of noise as the cries of an animal was heard
screeching and squealing. Both females recognized the sound as a wild pig as
it was being attacked. Then they heard a sound. It was like a kind of
rasping noise.

SNIKT!

To them, it sounded like metal rubbing against metal; like a sword being
quickly drawn from a metal scabbard. They both became startled as they heard
the pig squeal again, this time much louder. There was a sickening, wet
noise, followed by a scraping noise. Then the foliage rustled again as
something quickly departed from the area.

Both Amazons hurried to where they had heard the noises, but when they came
to the clearing, all they found was a torn-up area and a small red stain on
the ground.

["What happened here?"] Shampoo asked as she held out her weapons, ready to
counter any threat that appeared.

Cologne motioned for her great-granddaughter to relax as she pointed to the
stain, broken twigs and depressions in the grass. ["Obviously, there has
been a struggle here. By the looks of things and what we heard, a wild pig
had been attacked."]

["Maybe some animal had been hunting it?"]

["Perhaps, but I do not think so. Look over there."] The Elder gestured with
her staff at a large boulder, which also had a large red stain which ran
along some very wide gashes in the stone.

Shampoo gasped as she saw the damage and took a few steps toward the
boulder. She tentatively leaned forward to get a closer look. She noted that
several large shards of rock were lying on the ground.
["It looks like... blood and... something had broken off pieces of the rock.
Sort of like the Breaking Point technique..."]

Cologne shook her head. ["No, child. Whatever it was that caused this did
not use our Breaking Point. As you remember from your history lessons, that
technique was developed for work in the quarries and to increase our
endurance. The method to use one's ki to force rock to break apart has been
one of our most closely guarded secrets. However, the end result of the
technique is an explosion. We heard no explosion. Take a closer look at the
boulder and those fragments. Those pieces had been sheared off as if they
had been cut with a blade."]

["But... a sword cannot cut through rock!"]

["Normally, that is true, though are some magical swords in this world that
can accomplish that. And there are ki techniques which can also cut through
stone. I do not sense any residual magic nor any ki application here. And
those gashes are far too clean and deep for me to believe that this was the
work of some animal's claws and teeth."]

["So what was it?"]

The matriarch paused for a long while before replying. ["I... am not
certain. I can only hypothesize that whatever was hunting that pig must have
cut through that rock when it killed its prey, then ran off with its catch
before we came here."]

Shampoo shivered a bit as she wondered just what had been here and just what
kind of power it had to have easily sliced though stone as if it were
parchment.

---------

A month later...

As the sun began its daily descent toward the horizon, a certain Amazon with
purple tresses was making her way back to her village. Shampoo had spent all
afternoon, gathering rare herbs and shrubs for her great-grandmother near a
waterfall. The terrain was rocky and somewhat unstable, so Shampoo had to be
careful navigating her way down the slopes.

As she found herself heading toward an area of loose rocks and dirt on a
steep incline, she paused and looked about, trying to discern a safer way to
get to the bottom. When she looked up at the setting sun, her eyes caught
the glimpse of something shiny some fifty yards up the slope. The sunlight
seemed to be reflecting off something metallic. She couldn't discern what it
was as dense bushes and other foliage obstructed her view and she was at a
very bad angle.

As she took one step back to get a better look, her foot stepped on a
weakened part of the ridge she was on and crumbled beneath her. Shampoo
fought to keep her balance and prevent her basket from spilling, but was
just a scant second too late. She went tumbling down the slope. Using her
martial arts training to control her fall, Shampoo rolled and twisted to
minimize injury. Thankfully, she had also undergone the Breaking Point
training which toughened her up. When she came to a stop thirty feet from
where she had fallen, the girl winced as she felt the cuts and bruises she
had gained from the tumble. Just as she was sitting up, she noticed that
more and more rocks were sliding down the slope, getting bigger with each
second. She looked up and swallowed hard as she realized that she had
unintentionally caused a rockslide and one very BIG boulder was coming down
toward her.

The Amazon quickly sprang to her feet, but then felt a sharp pain shooting
up her right leg. Looking down at it, she saw a large, purple bruise forming
near the ankle and realized that she must have twisted it during the fall.
As the huge rock came tumbling toward her with increasing speed, she
realized that she had less than two seconds to decide what to do. She braced
herself and hoped that the skill that her great-grandmother had recently
taught her would be enough. So far, she had only used it on mid-sized
boulders. She had never tried it on something this large. She focused her
energy and thrust out with a finger.

"Backusai Ten..."

Shampoo's digit hit something, but it wasn't the boulder. Just as she jabbed
forward and called out her attack phrase, her vision was blocked by another
shape as something jumped out in front of her. Her finger tapped into
something that wasn't made of granite, but felt solid nonetheless. Before
she had time to even think, she was shoved back by that shape and then saw
it move forward toward the huge, rolling stone. She heard a familiar rasping
noise and saw a flash of silver.

SNIKT!

There was loud slicing sound and the boulder suddenly split cleanly in half,
with each piece passing by her harmlessly on either side. They came to a
rest some distance behind her as Shampoo looked up in wonder at her savior.

Just as she was looking up, the light of the setting sun reflected off
something metallic into her eyes. Blinded for a few moments, Shampoo had to
raise her arms to shield her eyes and when she lowered them, whatever or
whoever had saved her was gone. She found herself staring at the slope and
then back at the boulder pieces behind her. She gulped as she realized
something. With a boulder that size, if she had used the Breaking Point on
it, the resulting explosion could have caused a much larger landslide. The
Backusai Tenketsu may make her tougher than normal, but it didn't make her
invulnerable. Whatever that thing was, it had saved her.

At that moment, she heard her friend Talcum calling to her. They had both
been out gathering herbs when they had decided to try different areas.
Talcum had been picking shrubs on the other side of the waterfall when she
heard the landslide. Now she was running toward her injured companion.

Talcum was a year younger than Shampoo and was the daughter of a close
friend of Cologne's. She was one of the few girls in the village that wasn't
jealous of Shampoo's superior fighting skills and often looked up to her as
a role model. The two had grown up together and were like sisters. She had
long emerald hair that was done up in two odangoes. Her preferred weapons
was a pair of battle staves that she usually carried within the long, wide
sleeves of her silk shirt. Instead of pants, she wore a short skirt, which
showed off her slender legs.

Shampoo looked back down at her injured foot and applied a few pressure
points to it to reduce swelling and deaden the pain. Among other things, her
great-grandmother was a shiatsu master and had taught her protge several
useful acupressure skills. When the pain lessened, she slowly got back up
and began limping, just as her friend came down another side.

["Shampoo! Are you all right?"] Talcum asked in a concerned tone as she put
an arm around her companion's shoulders and let the Cologne's
great-granddaughter lean against her for support.

["I'm okay... I just hurt my ankle."]

["What happened here?"]

["I'm... not sure."] Shampoo answered tentatively as she tried to recall
everything that had occurred. ["Did you see it?"]

["See what?"]

[IT! I mean... that..."] She looked back at the halves of the massive
boulder and then to her friend. ["I mean... I..."] She soon found herself at
a loss for words as she continued to stare at the neatly sliced boulder.

----------

Some time after that...

Cologne nodded as she continued to watch her great-granddaughter train. She
had fully recovered from her injury and seemed to be substantially getting
better with each passing day. The Annual Tournament was fast approaching and
now that Shampoo had turned sixteen, she was qualified to compete with the
adults. Though she was confident that her great-granddaughter would do well
and bring much honor to their family, the Elder was still concerned about
her overall future. Since Shampoo was the best of her generation, the
majority of the village girls had been giving her the cold shoulder. She had
also been holding the attention of the village males, especially that idiot
Mousse, which further alienated from the other females. Only a few, such as
Talcum, Ling Ling and Lung Lung were on her side. This was not good. As a
future matriarch, Shampoo should have the respect of all the tribe in order
to maintain unity. Childhood grudges of the present could easily develop
into dissidence and rebellion in the future.

Cologne decided that Shampoo needed someone in her life that would ease the
loneliness she often felt. The Tournament would be a good opportunity for
her to catch a husband, since it was not unusual for marriage challenges to
occur during this time. Her great-granddaughter was beautiful, a great
warrior, a wonderful cook and a true Amazon. What more could one ask.

<Yes. > Cologne thought to herself. A strong husband was what Shampoo
needed. However, the one who would become her son-in-law must measure up to
HER standards. Not like that fool Mousse. And if Shampoo was married, then
perhaps the other girls would lessen in their harsh treatment of her, for
the other boys would no longer be pursuing her. And maybe, that would also
get Mousse off her back once and for all. Like her great-granddaughter,
Cologne had grown weary of Mousse's constant pestering and sometimes would
even mistake HER for Shampoo. This was not how a member of the Joketsuzoku
should act, even though he was only a male. And thought of him becoming a
part of the family made her shudder.

However, Mousse was good for one thing, which was getting Shampoo motivated
to train harder. Whenever her great-granddaughter started slacking off,
Cologne would remind her what would happen if Mousse were to defeat her in
combat. That was all that was needed and the purple-haired girl would throw
herself into training with new enthusiasm.

But, the thing was, there were no males in the village with enough skill and
power to defeat her great-granddaughter. Even Mousse's Hidden Weapon
techniques were not enough to beat Shampoo's overall strength, speed, and
most importantly, skill. Cologne feared that she had done too good of a job
in making Shampoo a great warrior. So the problem of finding a husband for
her successor remained. The only other option was that other part of the
Marriage Law of the Amazons which concerned outsiders. ***

----------

*** A lot of people say that if Mousse ever got serious and went full out
against Shampoo, he would be able to defeat her. However, I find that a bit
hard to swallow. Shampoo is the great-granddaughter of one of the greatest
martial artists in the world, and being female in an Amazon village, she
probably started training when she started to walk. Furthermore, Shampoo has
shown various skills in both the manga and anime, such as the Xi Fang Gao
Shiatsu, blowing out walls (Breaking Point), Box-Blower Blow (manga, Miss
Martial Arts Takeout), Chow Mein Strike (manga, Miss Martial Arts Takeout),
and several feats of inhuman strength and speed. I have a feeling that she
also knows the Chestnut Technique and the Hiryu Shoten Ha, (which she will
in this story by the way). In any case, after reading Shampoo 1/2 and that
battle scene between herself and Mousse, she did show that she has great
potential and adaptability, in which I think Takahashi wasted by degrading
her into a bubble-headed bimbo and making Akane seem more than she really
was.***

----------

One week before the Annual Tournament...

Shampoo was entering the final stages of her training as she prepared for
the Tournament, which was only a mere seven days away. As always, Mousse
continued to pester her, but as the competition drew near, he became even
more irritating. Now he was declaring that he would challenge her for
marriage at the Great Tournament.

In recent years, the tournament had been altered to allow the males to
participate. The old contest had been strictly females only, but now the
males were allowed to compete against each other separately. The winner of
that competition would be pitted against the Champion of the females. The
female division always got more attention.

The change was some half-baked idea of the Elders to get the best and
strongest of the males to marry with the best of the females, thus ensuring
stronger future generations. Provided of course if the male champion could
defeat the female winner. In nearly all the cases, the reverse occurred.
Fortunately for the male champion, killing your opponent was grounds for
disqualification. Maiming was allowed though.

Mousse however, was confident that he would be the winner of the male
division and was certain that Shampoo would win in the female division. Then
they would face off against each other and he would finally claim his bride!

However, fate would have other ideas.

----------

Shampoo sighed as she finished with her training and looked up at the
evening sky. In just under a week, the Great Tournament would be held and
she would compete against her rivals for the glory of her clan. Though she
was proud to carry the honor of her family into the competition, she still
felt somewhat empty. She was feeling that familiar loneliness that she had
been carrying ever since her mother died.

Talcum was a great friend and so were Ling Ling and Lung Lung, but she still
felt as if something was missing from her life. Lately, her
great-grandmother had been subtlety hinting that she should settle down and
start her own family. However, with Mousse constantly harassing her and
driving off all the other potential suitors, Shampoo felt that her options
of a suitable mate in the village were extremely limited. Why couldn't that
stupid fool just let her make her own choices of whom she wanted as a
husband?

Shampoo sighed again as she thought about it. There were a lot of nice boys
in the village, but none of them didn't seem to make her want to spend the
rest of her life with. Razor, the apprentice weapon-smith was cute and
polite, but he didn't know how to have fun and was just too serious about
his work. Axe was hardworking and had a steady job as a woodchopper, but he
was crude and was a bit of a klutz. Strap was good with his hands and his
leatherworking was top-notch in the village. However, he was too shy and
didn't speak much.

Shampoo sighed again. There was just no one in the village that could stir
up her feelings and fill in the void that had been growing within her. And
Mousse.... brrr! She didn't even want to think about him! The thought of
being saddled with such a person for the rest of her life?! Never! Never in
an eternity!

Though, if not Mousse, then who? Who could she ever marry? Who could she
call her husband? Who... could she even come to love?

Or was she doomed to spend her life... alone?

----------

The day of the Tournament...

Shampoo was slightly winded as she had just finished the battle with her
fifth opponent, forcing her off the Challenge Log with one swing of her
club. She was given some time to rest and prepare for her next bout as the
quarter-finals of the female division continued. To her displeasure, she had
learned from Talcum that Mousse had easily passed through the preliminary
rounds of the male competition that was being held on the west side of the
village. She had hoped that he would be eliminated early on so that she
wouldn't have to face him later, but she supposed that it was just wishful
thinking. Despite the fact that she despised him, she had to admit that
Mousse was quite good with that Hidden Weapons style of his.

As she sat down to wipe the sweat from her forehead, she noticed a new face
in the crowds. She assumed that he was not from the village and had come in
to watch the festivities. The tournament was one of the few occasions in
which outsiders were welcomed to watch, and if one really pressed the
issue... take part in the competition.

She also noted another person and recognized the portly man who was walking
beside the stranger as the guide from Jusenkyo. The bald man was pointing
about, gesturing at the many sights and giving his customer a quick tour of
the village. As they maneuvered their way through the throngs of spectators,
Shampoo decided to get a closer look at the newcomer. Seeing that she had
some time before the semi-finals would begin, she got up to follow.

The stranger looked to be about her age, perhaps a year older. He was tall
and she could tell by the way he moved, that he was in excellent physical
condition. His form was lean, but finely muscled. His raven hair was long,
and in a kind of shaggy style, with the end tied in a pigtail. He moved in a
somewhat rough, yet forceful manner. However, his steps were sure and
strong, like some large predator that was certain it could handle whatever
was thrown at it.

The outsider male was dressed in faded, denim jeans with well-worn leather
boots. He was wearing a white, sleeveless, shirt that was stretched taut
over his torso, giving Shampoo a good view of his pectorals and abdominal
muscles. She noticed that many of the female spectators were also eyeing him
with obvious interest. Their eyes roamed over his well-defined biceps and
some couldn't tear their eyes away from that tight butt, which was covered
by the seat of those jeans.

["Who is that?"] Talcum asked as she came up to Shampoo.

["I do not know. I just saw him come into the village just now with the
Jusenkyo guide."]

["He seems to be heading toward the place where the males are competing."]

Shampoo nodded as she and her friend followed the two men.

----------

{"Here sir! This where men of village fight in Tournament!"} The Guide
announced in very broken English.

The young man nodded as he watched two village men duke it out in the ring.
The other competitors and the spectators cheered on the sidelines. He noted
that the crowds surrounding the fighting area were substantially smaller
than the ones that were watching the females fight. Furthermore, there
wasn't a single female spectator watching here.

{"In here, winning Tournament very great honor."} The Guide explained. {"Can
use weapons, but no killing. Rules very simple! Lose if you fall from ring,
give up or knocked out. Winner will face strongest Amazon woman of
Tournament."}

The stranger nodded again as he spoke in a very gruff and low voice. {"Not
bad. Though right now, I could go for a bite to eat."}

{"No worry, sir! Tournament will be over soon and then everyone get to eat
in victory feast!"} The portly man pointed to a large banquet table that was
laden with food.

It was at that moment that a tall teen with thick-lensed glasses, and
wearing, white flowing robes, entered the ring after the two previous
fighters had knocked each other out. He faced off against a more bulkier and
heavyset opponent who happened to be hefting a wicked-looking battle axe.

{"Looks like four-eyes there is going to have his hands full with him."} The
stranger commented.

{"Oh, not be sure."} The Guide said. {"I see this one fight before. Keep
watching."}

----------

Mousse smirked as he faced off against Deodorant. He knew his opponent's
strength and weaknesses. Deodorant relied heavily on his strength and
endurance, but was slow and plodding. This won't take long.

When the referee signaled the start of the match, Deodorant let off a shout
and charged at the Hidden Weapons Master. Mousse dodged the swing from his
axe, then lashed out with his arms, which appeared to be a blur to most
people.

"FIST OF THE WHITE SWAN!"

There was a sound of something large and heavy impacting hard against
Deodorant's face, which sent him reeling backward. Mousse followed through
with a kick to his adversary's midsection, when caused him to topple out of
the ring, thus giving Mousse the win.

{"You see? He is known for special fighting called Hidden Weapons. "} The
Guide remarked as they watched Mousse strut out of the ring, leaving his
opponent in a daze. {"Some say it Black Magic!"}

{"Yeah, right."}The stranger snorted without showing any signs of being
impressed. In fact he looked totally bored with the affair. {"Nothing more
than a cheap bit of sleight of hand, though I am surprised he was able to
hide that lame weapon of his."}

{Sir? You see weapon he use?"}

{"Yeah, I saw it. It was pretty stupid that bigger guy got knocked out of
the ring because of that."}

{"You not impressed by fighting style?"}

The youth smiled as he replied slyly. {"Well... let's just say that I happen
to know a thing or two about concealed weapons. Say, can anyone fight in
this Tournament?"}

{"Yes, outsiders can challenge, but I no think you want to do that."}

{"Why not? I could use some exercise before eating."}

Before the Guide could reply, the visitor's nostrils flared a bit and he
became slightly tense as he detected the presence of someone approaching
them. He turned around and was a bit surprised to see an extremely old woman
hopping on a staff toward him. When she stopped, he noted that she had
perfect balance skills as she remained perched on the long, wooden stick.

{"Yes, you are welcome to participate in the Tournament."} Cologne said in
flawless English. Like her great-granddaughter, she had noticed the stranger
right away, but she also detected a very high potential within him. The
Elder had sensed something vaguely familiar within the teen, but it just
hovered beyond her ability to recognize it. Even so, she saw how easily he
moved and could tell that he was strong... very strong. She wanted to see
what this person was capable of. She gave the Guide a look that warned him,
that she would brook no interference on his part. The fat man gulped and
backed off a bit, steadily becoming more nervous with every passing minute.

The newcomer looked at the Elder with a bit of suspicion. He was not fooled
by her diminutive and weak-looking stature. He could sense that she was
formidable and was not to be taken lightly. Her very presence spoke of great
experience and she had probably seen and done much in her long life. Cologne
was someone to be wary of.

{"You mean it? I can get into this thing?"}

{"Certainly. It would be no problem. All you have to do is to wait with the
other competitors over there."} She gestured to a group of fighters that
were standing near the far side of the ring as another pair of combatants
were mixing it up. The Jusenkyo Guide was currently sneaking his way toward
the exit as he didn't want to see what was going to happen. The customer was
on his own.

{"Great! I could use the workout. Thank you....? I'm sorry, but I don't know
your name."}

{"My name is Cologne. And you are?"}

{"I go by the name of Logan."}

{"Very well... Logan. We welcome you to our village and we hope that you
will be able to display a true warrior's spirit in our tournament."}

{"I think I can manage it."}

----------

Shampoo and Talcum came up to the Elder after she had finished with her talk
with the stranger. Both girls had not understood the words spoken by the
matriarch or the newcomer.

{"Great-grandmother, who is he?"}

Cologne had a slight smile on her face as she watched Logan head toward the
ring. {"A most... intriguing young man. He is going to be taking part in the
male division of the tournament."}
{Huh?"} Talcum exclaimed as she and the others saw that Logan was preparing
for his first bout, which happened to be against Razor. The metalworker was
wielding a very sharp sword, while the stranger didn't seem to have any
weapons on him.

Cologne kept on smiling. {"This might get interesting..."}

----------

["Who are you, stranger?"] Razor asked as he faced off against his opponent
in the ring.

{"Uhh... sorry, bub. My Mandarin ain't exactly great."} Then Logan perked up
as he tried another language. "Hey, do you speak Japanese?"

Razor was a little surprised, but then nodded as he replied. "Hai. I know
some Japanese. I ask again, who are you?"

"The name's Logan, but back from where I come from, they also called me...
Wolverine." Logan then got into a low crouch, like some wild beast ready to
spring. Razor also got into a stance with his sword held high.

In the crowds, Shampoo turned to her great-grandmother, She had just started
learning to speak Japanese, and was unfamiliar with the word the foreigner
had used. {"What does 'wolverine' mean?"}

Cologne replied. ["It is a very vicious animal that is found in the western
world, in a country called Canada, I believe. It has been known to tear
apart larger creatures than itself and is able to take great amounts of
punishment. Hmmm... if I'm right about this young man, then I'd say that the
male tournament is going to be very short this year."]

["What do you mean?"] Shampoo asked.

["Just watch. Razor might not last more than one minute against this one."]

----------

Razor let off a yell as he charged toward his foe while swinging his sword.
However, Logan smirked as he easily ducked the blow, then countered by
slamming a side-kick to his opponent's gut. The male Amazon staggered back
as it had felt as if he had been hit by a battering ram. He just looked up
and saw that his adversary was swinging a fist toward his face. Razor
brought up his weapon to block, but Logan didn't stop as his bare fist hit
the flat of the blade, broke it like a toothpick and continued on to slam
into Razor's head. There was slight metallic clang heard as the apprentice
metal smith went sprawling and stumbled out of the ring.

The crowds were silent after seeing the display. On fighter rushed over to
where Razor was lying on the ground and checked for vital signs. When he
signaled to the referee that Razor was just stunned, the referee gestured to
Logan and announced him as the winner of the match. The crowds then gave a
small cheer for the newcomer.

["Did you see that? He took out Razor with one punch!"] Talcum remarked.

["So what? Razor isn't exactly the best warrior."] Shampoo said with a
shrug.

["Yes, but the stranger PUNCHED through his sword! That must have been a
half-inch of tempered steel! You how good Razor is at forging metals!"]

["So, he's strong. Maybe he knows some technique that lets him break through
stuff. We've seen Dowel punch through stronger stuff before."] She glanced
back at the other side of the village and saw that the quarter-finals of the
female division were over.

["Where are you going?"]

["I have to get ready for the semi-finals."] Shampoo said as she walked off.
She wasn't too concerned with the outcome of the men's division as she was
certain who would be the winner, which unfortunately would be that stupid
Mousse.

However, if she had stayed to watch as her great-grandmother did, she would
have quickly changed her mind.

----------

Sometime later...

Cologne was more than impressed as she saw Logan polish off his latest
opponent with ease. Strap had been armed with a bullwhip that he had
fashioned, but Logan merely grabbed the other end of it, looped it around
his adversary and used it to toss him out of the ring. It seemed that this
Logan person was living up to his nickname of Wolverine as he fought with
all the ferocity of that same animal, and had taken punishment that would
have put a normal man in traction for a year. He had been hit by fists,
feet, several clubs and other various blunt objects. However, he simply
shrugged off each blow and displayed a level of endurance that was unheard
of. Cologne could tell that he was letting his opponents get in a few hits.
She was certain that he was capable of being faster. It seemed that he
didn't consider any attack to be worth blocking or dodging and was daring
the others to try and knock him down. And she noticed something else that
was strange.

Those who managed to hit Logan with their hands and feet usually ended up
with fractured or broken bones. Many of the competitors claimed that it felt
as if they were hitting a wall of solid steel. Weapons such as metal clubs
usually ended up with dents after impacting against him. Cologne thought
that he had gained some bruises or black eyes from the hit he had taken to
the face, but she never did see them. She also could have sworn that she had
seen him get cut in the abdomen from the point of Hunter's spear, but after
he had knocked him out and turned to face the crowds, she openly saw a small
tear in his shirt where the pointed end had ripped it. There was no sign of
blood anywhere.

And when Logan retaliated, the fighters would drop like sacks of cement
after only one or two blows from the Wolverine. Sometimes she would hear a
clang whenever he hit, but she could detect no hidden weapons on his person.
His fighting style was both fast and brutal as he dispatched each of his
opponents with simple, straightforward efficiency. Cologne recognized some
moves from the Japanese martial arts, mixed in with some boxing, wrestling
and maneuvers that you could find on the mean streets. Since this was a
freestyle tournament, virtually any maneuver was allowed. She felt extremely
sorry for those that were hit below the belt.

Soon, the final match to decide who would be the champion of the male
tournament was about to start. At this point, Cologne found that she wasn't
the only female spectator. The crowds had begun to shift from the female
division to the male half as several dozen Amazons, mostly of the unmarried
kind, had come to watch this newcomer blow through the competition with
ease. However, his last opponent would surely defeat him. He was, after all
the strongest male in the village. Mousse smirked as he stepped up into the
ring and held his arms out with his hands hidden in the sleeves. On the
other side of the ring, stood the newcomer... Logan the Wolverine.

"You fought well to have made it THIS far, but your winning streak is at an
end!" Mousse declared as he prepared to attack.

"Bring it on, bub!" Logan replied.

As soon as the referee signaled the start of the fight, Mousse threw his
sleeves forward and released a barrage of chains and metal darts at his foe.
The Wolverine however, dodged the flight of darts and made a few fast
movements with his arms, knocking the chains away. He moved with surprising
speed and agility, evading even more of Mousse's arsenal as he hurled them
at his opponent.

Cologne's eyes narrowed as she saw that Logan was getting more serious.
<Now, show us your true power!>

Mousse was discovering that his adversary was far more formidable than he
believed, but nothing would stop him from winning the men's division and his
match with his beloved Shampoo. As Logan swatted aside the knives and spikes
that were hurled at him, Mousse charged forward and yelled out his final
attack.

"THIS FIGHT IS MINE! FIST OF THE WHITE SWAN!"

Logan however, swung an arm forward and a brief flash of silver was seen.

SNIKT!

A nanosecond later, Mouse saw a fist hurtling toward him. The punch slammed
into the center in his face. This knocked off his glasses and a metallic
clang was heard. As he reeled back, the weapon that he had been holding
dropped out of his hands and clattered to the ground in neatly sliced
pieces. Before he could fall backward, Mousse was grabbed by the front of
his robes and pulled forward. His forehead met Logan's and another metallic
clang was heard.

KLONK!

Mousse slumped down to the ground beside his weapon, which used to be a
training potty that was in the shape of a duck. The crowds became silent for
the longest time. Then, as the referee checked on Mousse's condition, he
then held up Logan's arm. Mousse was out cold and Logan the Wolverine was
the winner!

As the crowds cheered, Cologne was wide-eyed and silent. Of all the
spectators, only she had seen what had happened during that crucial moment.
She wondered if old age was finally making her see things. She couldn't have
seen what she had just seen, could she? For one, brief instant, she thought
she had seen Logan... with long metal claws.

She looked back down at the remains of Mousse's weapon and then back at
Logan, who was now the champion of the Amazon Male Division Tournament. Her
mind began working as she realized the ramifications of this development.
Now that Logan was the champion, he would face off against the winner of the
female division. Taking one look at the Challenge Log, she knew who it was.
Shampoo was now standing triumphantly after knocking Dowel off.

To be continued...

Author's notes

Well, I hope you all enjoyed the rewrite and to answer your questions; yes
Logan is Ranma, but I'll be getting more into his past in the next chapter
and yes, this story will be continued as I have already laid out a special
eight-part miniseries for Weapon Ranma. I'm sure that Morden Knight, Alex
Burgos, and all the other readers who have requested for this series to be
continued will be happy to hear that. In any case, I'm getting back to
writing the next chapter of Dragon Child now, so stay tuned!
