Rinne

[Dumbledork]

Can't imagine Shampoo letting Ranma go just like that. She and the other girls will probably try to follow Ranma.

[LawOhki]

Can't imagine Shampoo letting Ranma go just like that. She and the other girls will probably try to follow Ranma.

Why shouldn't Shampoo be happy that he's going off to try and learn new martial arts techniques? She wants her husband to be strong and amazing. Much like with Ranma spending time with Akane or Ukyo, so long as he's not doing anything marital with them, she's not out to get them. (She is going to track him for a bit though to make sure of that)

[LawOhki]

Watching the pair depart, Ranma scratched at his head in mild confusion. He had expected to see the Amazons a lot sooner and for them to push themselves more forcefully into his business. But having finally caught a break, he didn’t want to jinx it by trying to find out why both the old and young female from China were leaving him be.

Dressed and with a small bag packed with clothes for the weekend, Ranma froze when descending the steps at the sight of Kaede standing next to the entrance. Wearing a blue dress this time down to just above her knees, it was tightened around her waist by a gold belt with several white pearls decorating the buckle.

“Kasumi-san let me in.” The blonde bowed her head slightly in greeting. “Are you ready to go?” She asked cheerfully, hands clasped in front of her hips.

Ranma accepted the explanation and nodded quickly. “Lemme just say goodbye first.”

“Will it take long? If we don’t hurry we’ll miss the train. That puts us really behind the schedule I had planned.” She pointed out. “It’ll cut into our training time if we don’t catch the next train.”

“Then what are we waiting for?” He chuckled and rushed out the door. He was only going to be gone for a few days so who cares if he didn’t say goodbye?

zx

One hour later

“Hey-- Kaede.” Ranma tried to draw the blonde’s attention up from the game system that had consumed her time since they had sat down on the bullet train. The majority of the seats were all taken up and he was very glad none of his fiancees were around to see him sitting right next to Kaede.

“Huh?” She asked absently, not looking up or really acknowledging his presence, her fingers moving over the buttons in a blur.

“Is there anything you could be teaching me right now?”

“Not really.” The blonde suddenly jerked her hands to the side and held the game at a strange angle as she rapidly pressed the same button repeatedly. “I need to beat this anyways.”

Ranma’s face fell, considering reaching over and trying to turn off her video game.

“By the way, do you know a girl with long purple hair, and a very old woman in the shape of a monkey?” Kaede suddenly asked.

“Did the non-monkey have a short chinese dress on?” He asked just to be sure and Kaede nodded. “I do.”

“Forgot to mention that they were trying to follow us.” She paused her game briefly to turn and give him a sly smile. “I let them think we ran into that love hotel we passed by.”

“You what?!” He yelled at her, causing all nearby eyes to turn to him. Laughing nervously he continued in a much lower voice. “Why would you do that?” He hissed.

“Just kidding.” She went back to playing her game. “They never saw us leave.”

Ranma didn’t immediately respond, glaring at the blonde for embarrassing him. “You mind teaching me that? Cause it would be really useful.” He asked slowly, his voice completely without inflection.

“I wouldn’t mind.” She answered enigmatically. “If you can pick it up.”

[ijp92]

still trying and failing to figure out what Kaede's goal in all this is.

[LawOhki]

still trying and failing to figure out what Kaede's goal in all this is.

All according to plan.

Actually she really doesn't want anything to do with the plan. And she is a very big technophile. Has every console, a kick ass computer, lots handhelds with a ton of games, and a fancy smart phone. Her traditional parents are utterly ashamed of her modern ways.

[Dumbledork]

She must have some kind of angle, but guessing what it is is rather difficult.

[LawOhki]

‘I guess this isn’t too bad.’ Ranma thought, letting his eyes roam over the small hotel room without a window. It certainly beat being out in a tent and since he didn’t expect to spend much time here the size wasn’t an issue. The hotel was a mix of traditional and modern amenities, with a small attached bath area, and a large outdoor onsen just for soaking. The only thing he found troublesome about the whole place was that there was a single queen sized bed tucked back in the corner.

“Ready to get started?” Kaede asked cheerfully, having finished her game on the train while he had slept.

‘Floor for me.’ He lamented, tapping his foot against the surprisingly hard carpet. “It’s about time.” He answered the blonde, watching her place a small duffel bag on the bed. ‘She packed less than me.’

“First things first, meditation!” She announced.

“Really?” He deadpanned, glaring at the girl in annoyance. All the hours spent on the train doing nothing and he could have been that much further in her training?

“Unfortunately, if you can’t gather the proper energy in the right way then it’s impossible for me to teach you anything.” Kaede smoothed her dress as she knelt down in the largest open area of the floor. “Well?” She asked noticing that he was still glaring at her.

“So special it had to wait? Two and a half hours?” He asked in growing agitation even as he took a seat.

“Not special, but you’ll need a calm and stable place to focus properly.” She explained. “Obviously you know about ki and from how you reacted during the competition you should know I don’t use that.”

“Yea, I’ve been calling it heavy ki.”

“It’s usually called chakra and it’s a combination of spiritual and physical energy.” She placed both hands over her stomach. “Both start and mix together here before circulating out to the rest of your body.”

“And that makes a water dragon how?” He raised an eyebrow, nothing she had said was all that different from what he had figured out.

“By molding chakra in specific ways, that’s how you make the water dragon. Currently you’re just using it subconsciously and uncontrollably to make yourself stronger. So to start, you need to be able to manipulate the chakra within your body and maintain a balance between the two energies. Close your eyes and try to block out everything around you. Then try to focus it to one point on your body.” She instructed.

“Kay.” Closing his eyes, he tried to focus on what she had said, having already spent a significant amount of time this week attempting this very exercise. “Wait-- where am I supposed to focus it?”

“Wherever you want.” She answered and he heard her stand up.

“Where are you going?” He asked, peaking open one of his eyes.

“To take a bath, this is probably going to take you some time.” She answered, taking her entire duffel bag with her towards the attached bath. “You’ll know it when you get it right.”

‘Shows what you know.’ He chuckled to himself. No technique took him significant amounts of time to learn, let alone now that he had a much better understanding to start with.

Ignoring the sound of running water, he slowly breathed in and out while trying to grasp this chakra to focus into one spot. It was harder than he thought, his aura when just ki naturally enveloped his body without much of a focus. He had been figuring out how to manipulate this energy when he had been thinking of it as heavy ki but that was more areas of his body. To one specific point was apparently much harder. It was even more difficult when trying to keep a balance between energies he barely knew anything about.

He barely noticed how long it was taking until Kaede slid open the door from the bath area. Unconsciously he glanced over to see her exiting wearing a simple white yukata. ‘Wow she’s cute.’ He thought before catching himself and looking away, hoping that she hadn’t seen him checking her out.

“Did you get it yet?” She asked teasingly, padding over to walk behind him.

“Almost.” He answered, closing his eyes once again, and trying not to think about what that yukata was hiding. Nope, he certainly wasn’t thinking of her lithe form in that way. He had several fiancees back home he was supposed to be thinking those thoughts about.

“That’s too bad.” Kaede dropped down behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist.

“Wha-- what are you doing?” He stuttered, feeling her press her body against his back.

“Maybe you need something more hands on.” She whispered into his ear, her right hand tracing a spiral across his stomach. “Hmm?”

Ranma eeped and swapped places with the beds mattress before Kaede realized his movement. Glancing back he saw the girl’s surprised face next to the vertically rolled up mattress a moment before the springs kicked in to resume its normal shape. Kaede squawked in surprise before it collapsed on top of her.

“You gonna make it?” He asked, petrified over the girl’s reaction to how he reacted. He could play tricks on Akane, Ukyo, or Shampoo without worry over their response, Kaede was strong enough to make a serious attempt at his life.

“I’m fine.” She responded in a strained voice. “Please-- um-- I can handle it-- give me a second.”

“Huh? It’s not like it’s heavy.” Shrugging, he hopped over to pull it off of her. “What’s the issue?” He asked after he removed the mattress to find her laying on the floor.

“Nothing.” She quickly got to her feet and straightened her belt. “I was just surprised that you used chakra.” She quickly changed the subject.

“That? I just moved really quickly.” That had been just one of the many techniques he had picked up from Genma. A lot of them were intended to be used while stealing. Much like the Saotome cling to the ceiling and pray they don’t look up technique.

“Listen, you go get changed so we can go down to the restaurant and I’ll explain it over dinner, deal?” She pointed towards a small two drawer cupboard for storing guest yukata.

Ranma scratched at his chin and considered the proposal. On one hand he wanted to know right now how chakra had played a part in his replacement technique, but on the other he was really hungry. “Deal.”

[Dumbledork]

Oh yeah. Ranma uses the replacement technique very early in the manga if I remember correctly. He also knows tree walking already.

[LawOhki]

Oh yeah. Ranma uses the replacement technique very early in the manga if I remember correctly. He also knows tree walking already.

The mirror clone one always sticks in my mind. This could even be ascribed to chakra as well. When Cologne shows up he's seen running right up walls.

[Dumbledork]

To me it looks like Ranma has weged his feet between the rooftop and the wall.

[LawOhki]

To me it looks like Ranma has weged his feet between the rooftop and the wall.

That's why I said could.

[LawOhki]

Softly slurping up a mouthful of noodles, Kaede glanced across the small table to where Ranma was eating his food with far more enthusiasm. ‘He cleans up kind of nice.’ She thought, now that he was wearing the hotel supplied light gray yukata. Personally she prefered a more modern western style but that didn’t mean traditional didn’t have its appeal.

The restaurant was in the back of the building with a small area outside surrounded by trees and designed with ornaments and landscape traditionally associated with a Japanese home. Because the weather was warm and pleasant, they had taken a seat in the open area outside at one of the many low tables. The stars were almost completely hidden by the city lights but she could still make out a crescent moon starting to rise.

With a contented burp, Ranma switched to a cross legged sitting position and leaned back to prop himself up with his hands. “Good stuff.” He happily mumbled.

“You eat like a wild animal.” She pointed out, having had etiquette drilled into her head since she was a little kid.

“Ah--.” He chuckled nervously. “It’s habit, my old man always stole my food. So I had to get what I could when I could, stupid panda.”

“Speaking of pandas, how did you acquire your shape changing? If you don’t mind me asking?” She asked feigning ignorance on the subject.

“I think a better question is how you knew about that.” Ranma grabbed a hold of his drink and raised it to his mouth. “You ignored it completely.” He pointed out before finishing the glass.

Kaede’s eyes widened and she almost lost her composure after being called out on her slip up from the tournament. Regaining herself, she took a sip of her own drink to give herself some more time to think.

“The truth is-- I was there for your duel with Happosai at Furinkan.” She told the partial truth before going into a lie. “I saw some of those pictures you used to distract him and asked around. It wasn’t hard to find out that you change genders.”

“It’s a curse.” He tried to correct her quickly. “Wait-- why were you at Furinkan?”

His question stopped her from wondering why such an ability was a curse. “Well-- I graduated several years ago and was stopping by to visit one of my old teachers. The timing just worked out.”

“Oh-- alright.” He nodded uncertainly. “So what’d you think of the fight?”

“There wasn’t much of a fight.” She answered, happy to be moving away from questions she could not or would not answer. “Your finishing move has a glaring weakness though. Without your opponent generating heat it’s useless.”

“Yea, can’t believe I had to show those pictures to get the old freak to fight.” He mumbled and scratched at the back of his head in embarrassment.

“When you master chakra, you’ll be able to create tornados like that at will.” She motioned for the waitress to come over and whispered a special order to her. At her statement a big goofy grin spread over Ranma’s face. “Although if you choose to seriously explore the use of chakra, your life will be in danger.” She said seriously, drawing his attention back away from whatever fantasy he had been enjoying.

“My life’s dangerous enough right now, what’s a little more?” He boasted and laughed loudly as though he had just told a good joke.

“And will it be like when you got your strength back? Destroying everything around you if it suits your fancy?” She asked in disgust after witnessing the destruction he had caused just to celebrate how strong he was.

“It wasn’t that bad.” He protested weakly and bowed his head.

“But that is what you would do. Hold it over the heads of everyone around you and abuse them for your own personal gain or enjoyment.” She looked down sadly as the waitress returned with her order and quickly left.

“I’m sure you’ve never used that illusion trick of yours just to get one over on someone.” Ranma scoffed at her suggestion and crossed his arms. “I saw you toying with Ryoga, he’s a pushover you could have beaten in an instant.”

“That was different.” She tried to interject that it was a competition, that boy had volunteered to be put in that position.

Ranma snorted and continued on. “Sure I’ve destroyed some property. Who hasn’t? But I don’t hurt people who can’t take it, a martial artist protects the weak. You’ve got a long way to go if you really want to pull the wise old sensei route if you ask me something so hypocritical.”

Sitting in silence after being stunned by his sudden shift in temperament, she finally answered him. “Protect the weak is a good code.”

“It is isn’t it.” He dropped the serious tone and laughed to himself. “Funny that I picked it up after the old man beat it into me one day.”

“How did that happen?” Kaede asked, pouring some of the sake she had just ordered into a saucer.

“Well--.” Ranma rolled his head to one side. “When I was real little, there’d always be somebody who wanted to make fun of me for having red eyes. So I’d beat em up.”

“Just for having red eyes?” She poured a second saucer and pushed it over to his side of the table.

“You know Japanese schools, anything different gets singled out.” He shrugged. “Pop got word of it one day and kicked me around to show me that I wasn’t so tough. After that I got pretty good at insulting them back instead. I didn’t want to be a bully-- like my Pop.”

‘Maybe he is different.’ She thought, watching as he realized what she had placed in front of him. ‘A little bit.’

“Sake?” He asked dubiously.

“We’re celebrating, right?” Smirking, she raised her saucer. “You can’t tell me you’ve never drank before.”

“I can drink anyone under the table.” He boasted before gulping audibly. “I just don’t like what happens after.”

“Drink to enjoy, Ranma-dono.” She quickly drank her small saucer of sake and looked towards him expectantly.

“Just one.” He answered her and downed his own saucer. “And no need to be so formal, just call me Ranma, putting dono on it is just weird.”

“Drink me under the table and I will.” She challenged.

“I’ll pass.” The red eyed teen grimaced as she poured him some more.

[ijp92]

wait. Did you mention he had red eye's before this? Does Genma have them too?

damn it. I still can't figure out what your plan with this story is. I used to be able to pride myself on predicting future plot.

[LawOhki]

wait. Did you mention he had red eye's before this? Does Genma have them too?

damn it. I still can't figure out what your plan with this story is. I used to be able to pride myself on predicting future plot.

Yes during the tournament right when Ranma gets changed into a girl it's mentioned that he has red eyes. No to Genma or Nodoka if you want to take a shot at her as well. Although I suppose Nodoka/Genma sort of kind of are the reason for everything.

[Dumbledork]

Very intriguing those red eyes. Don't tell me Ranma is related to Kurenai, lol.