Tales of the
Foxcat
By Ozzallos
Part 2
Two ninjas stood over a
small puddle of water inhabited by a thirteen year old boy, their eyes widening
as the water dripped from his person. The fact that he- then a she -had
asked for a cup of warm water in response to their questioning was a minor
thing. The fact that she gave them a sly wink, then promptly upturned it over
her head did come as a surprise. Then came the fact that 'she' changed
into a 'he', prompting the wide eyed stare, which in turn elicited a weary sigh
from the boy. Evidentially he was used to just such reactions.
Sarutobi, Third
Hokage of Konoha studied the boy in front of him carefully, trying to pierce
the illusionary technique he had used, only to discover it wasn't an illusion
at all. The Ranma girl had actually transformed into a boy. His eyes flicked
over to Kakashi, who voiced the Hokage's own thoughts word for word.
“It's real.”
The Elder nodded,
probing further. The girl-turned-boy wasn't expending any energy to maintain
the transformation, which ruled out quite a few possibilities. Was it a natural
ability? A bloodline? And why the water?
“Yes, yes and I'm
a guy.” The boy replied to the as yet unanswered, but inevitable questions with
a crooked smile that no thirteen year old boy had any right owning. “Yes, I
really did just transform from a girl into a boy. Yes, the change is complete,
near as I can tell.” Kakashi arched a single eyebrow, the only eyebrow visible,
in fact. That about answered all his initial questions.
The red and white
robed Hokage arched an eyebrow as well. “Were you born--” He asked hesitantly,
only to be interrupted as soon as the question left his lips.
“No.” Ranma
replied, answering yet another question he'd been asked one too many times.
“It's a curse, very tragic tale, blah blah blah.” The boy in front of the pair
sighed. “Long story short, cold water girl, warm water guy.”
“Cursed.” The
one-eyed ninja commented in a word that was equal parts question and statement.
“Normally you have to do something bad to get cursed.” He added, still playing
the role of devils advocate to the boy's presence.
“Feh.” The boy
rolled his eyes. “Only if you count getting dragged around
“
“A place that
ain't on that map.” Ranma frowned. “Dammit, I am so gonna beat the crap
outta pig-boy if I ever see him again.” The pigtailed boy paused, and the frown
faded into a wistful smile. “Course, that does mean a break from the
fiancées...”
“Fiancée?” Kakashi
asked, somewhat surprised at the turn in conversation. What was a thirteen year
old girl-cursed-boy doing with a fiancée, let alone plural fiancées? Ranma
noticed the look.
“Don't even get me
started.”
Kakashi nodded,
taking the boy's reaction at face value. He still seemed somewhat guarded, but
unless the kid was a master at acting, his body language and facial expressions
read like an open book. The Third Hokage scritched his gray chin thoughtfully.
“So as I
understand the situation, you have no idea where you are, and lack the means of
getting back.” He eyed the boy, who simply nodded at the statements. “You're
also injured, and if your statements are accurate, are totally cut off from
everybody you know.”
Ranma frowned as
the full weight of his predicament rained down him with absolute clarity.
“Damn, you don't have to make it sounds so bleak, but yeah, that's about it.”
“You also have at
least one enemy willing to kill you and suffer from a gender curse.” Kakashi
added in for good measure. “Anything else you'd like to tell us?”
“Mmmmm...” The boy
pursed his lips thoughtfully. “Just that I'm really eighteen years old?”
From nearly
anybody else and at any other time, The Hokage would have dismissed that as
pure fabrication on the boy's part. But after witnessing the boy's
transformation only minutes earlier, he was leaning toward belief. “Another...
curse?”
“Magic mushrooms.”
Ranma stated, waving the fact aside as if it were something that happened every
day. “I am SO going to hurt the pig-boy.”
Sarutobi looked at
the boy, then to Kakashi, and an unspoken agreement seemed to pass between the
two. The Elder nodded, seeming to have come to a decision. “I will allow you to
remain in the village long enough to recover from the wounds. Beyond that depends
on your honor.” He leveled a serious gaze upon the boy, who stared back
unflinchingly. “I will need some assurance that you will not cause harm to this
village or those within.”
“You got my word
as a martial artist.” The Ranma replied with equal gravity. Of the few
possessions he had in this life, honor was his most prized. “And I don't intend
on no freeloadin' either.”
A sour expression
accompanied the last statement, and the Hokage attributed it to yet more of the
boy's obscure history. The title of 'martial artist' didn't go unnoticed
either. “Good enough. After you've recovered somewhat, we'll have one of the
nurses give you a proper introduction to Konoha.”
Ranma
Saotome, Heir to the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts wandered through the
open air of odd village once more, having shaken his regular bedside escort
back at the hospital. Giving him fitting clothing and food was nice and all,
but he just couldn't stand staring at that ceiling all day. Besides, his
healing abilities were already kicking in. The fresh air and sunlight would do
him good. The martial artists made his way down the streets, taking in the
sights and more notably, the village inhabitance. With his introduction to the
village leader, he was now able to explore in a less covert manner, and found
himself staring at the village ninja intently. While one layer of Ranma's brain
took in their physical appearance, another sized up the tactical threat they
posed reflexively. They looked so different from the ninjas of his home that Ranma
began to unconsciously dub them 'combat ninja', as their gear definitely
indicated a role beyond that of behind the scenes subversion. In fact, Ranma
was quite sure they could hold their own on the front lines given their
armament and power levels.
The fact that they
seemed to be an integral part of village life was also a revelation. Nobody
seemed to bat an eye when a high powered, heavily armed Ninja walked by, nor
did it seem as if they acted as the village police force. Ranma had seen
dictoral henchmen before and these weren't them, yet there were enough of them
to form a sizable strike force. All of which begged the question... What does a
quiet village do with an army of combat ninjas? The pigtailed martial artist
looked up at the giant granite heads that hung overhead. Hokages, he noted
mentally. He still didn't know the fullest extent of their deeds, but you
didn't get your face carved into a mountainside for doing nothing, Ranma
thought, turning his attention back to the village he was strolling thought.
The fact that he had the blessing of one of them helped his explorations
immensely. Sure, he had shaken his regular bedside escort, but they weren't the
ones he was worried about. It was the unseen escort approximately five hundred
feet back at his five o'clock that had his attention. Ranma shrugged mentally.
He couldn't really blame 'em, honestly. Even he'd be a bit wary of a
thirteen year old kid with as much baggage just popping up out of nowhere.
“What's up,
'Ruto?” Ranma asked absently, as he rounded a corner, nearly running into an
excited blond haired kid. The chance meeting didn't even register in his brain
until the boy in question stopped in his tracks, staring at the pigtailed
martial artist.
The exuberant
smile disappeared abruptly. “Who're you?”
Ranma paused mid
step as he passed Naruto, then mentally chaste himself for neglecting his
gender curse yet again. “Ranma Saotome, remember me?”
Naruto squinted at
him intently, leaning into his face. “Didn't you have red hair yesterday?”
Ranma blinked.
Yeah, and I was a girl too, dummy. “Uh, yeah. Somethin' like that. Say how'd
you do on the test?”
The change in
subject worked, much to Ranma's relief. There was just no end to the awkward
situations the damn curse could get him into. “I passed!” Naruto's wide smile
diminished. “Well, kinda.”
“Kinda?”
“Well,
Iruka-sensei failed me on the cloning technique.” The sound of bitter
disappointment accompanied the statement, but quickly passed. The word
'technique' captured Ranma's attention in full. “But Mizuki-sensei is gonna let
me retake it tonight!”
Ranma almost
wasn't paying attention to anything after the mention of the cloning technique,
and he began comparing the words to his own vast storehouse of techniques. He
immediately thought of the closest analog in his arsenal, Splitting Cat Hairs,
and began to wonder how the two differed. If he could only see it in action...
“I'm sure to
pass!” Naruto finished brightly, Ranma having missed the bulk of his
enthusiastic explanation as to who, what, where and why. There was only one
thing he was interested in, however.
“Can I see the
technique in action?” Ranma asked and Naruto paused in his narrative.
“Cloning ain't my
best technique, but maybe tomorrow morning...” The spiky-haired blond
considered the question. “Sure! Meet me south of town and I'll show ya
something you'll never forget!” Ranma gave the boy a nod, both smiling at one
another for the exact same reason. They were gonna learn a new technique! More
than that, both were doing it for the exact same reason...
...To be the best.
Naruto
fought to stand upright, and failed, falling to the ground flat on his butt. He
searched somewhere for another ounce of energy, something he could scrape
together for one more pass at the secret technique rolled into the scroll
strapped to his back. The first rays of dawn crept through the ftree line and
Naruto decided a slight break wasn't out of the question.
A shadow broke the
inviting rays of light, and he looked up to find the pigtailed boy stepping out
into the clearing. Naruto threw a clenched smile at the boy, who in turn smiled
back. Ranma was impressed for his part. The kid was exhausted, reminding him of
his style of training... In other words, you don't stop until you got it,
passed out or die trying. It also explained why the smile he returned wasn't
just one of pleasantries... It was one of mutual admiration, and he found
himself barely containing the need to find out just what the kid had stayed up
all night learning.
“Was hopin' you'd
be late...” Naruto huffed, pulling himself up. “Only managed to get one of
em...” Ranma nodded, silently taking in the boy in front of him. He was beat
up, which meant that he was either incredibly dense at learning the stuff or
that was one bitch of a technique. Something was telling him that it was the
latter, given the boy's exhaustion.
New technique!
New technique!
Ranma's brain raced. He formed his smile into a mock frown. “You'd better not
fall asleep before you show me.” The frown didn't last very long and broke almost
as soon as it came into existence. The two grinned wildly at one another with
that of a shared passion.
“I've found you!”
Iruka burst out of the tree line, showing signs of his own exertion. He
promptly did a double-take, noticing the boy with Naruto. “And you!"
Naruto jumped with shock. Ranma didn't, having sensed the incoming presence
several minutes before it manifested itself.
“Heheheh...”
Naruto turned away from Ranma as he recovered, his grin turning to a
mischievous smile. The night's exertion was all but forgotten now. “You've
found me... and I've only learned one skill.”
“But you're all
beat up...” Iruka studied Naruto, who looked as if he'd eaten his share of dirt
in whatever happened. He looked over the blond's shoulder at the the dark
haired boy, who simply shrugged with indifference. Whoever he was, there was
something familiar about him. “You two didn't get into a fight did you?”
“Never mind that!”
Naruto's enthusiasm began to pick up exponentially. “I'm going to try an
incredible skill!”
The teacher's eyes
widened with sudden realization... The trouble maker, his student, had
been practicing hard enough to hurt himself pretty badly and he was still
practically jumping out of his skin to show him the mysterious new technique he
had learned. Iruka studied the boy further and his mind began to make an
unpleasant series of connections. Naruto had something to show him. He also had
the forbidden scroll on his back; the very scroll that had prompted his search
by half the village ninja population. And it all led to the question...
“Naruto, where did
you get that scroll on your back?”
“Mizuki-sensei
told me about it...” Those words sent Ranma to high alert. Unlike the others,
he had sensed the other presence covertly hidden in the tree line, but
assumed that it was one of the kid's instructors waiting to see what Naruto
would do with the new technique. Now the other instructor was here and didn't
know what the first was doing? If there was one thing Ranma Saotome had grown
wary of in his life, it was coincidence. Coincidence never treated the
pigtailed martial artist kindly, and he knew better than to not connect the
dots.
Those same words
turned Iruka's gut to ice. The scroll was a guarded secret. Sure, all the
instructors knew about it, but you did not go introducing students to
techniques that would get them killed. By the looks of Naruto, those techniques
had done their best to do just that. But he had endured, and even he was
wondering just what his student had learned. But why would Mizuki tell Naruto--?
A wave of power washed across him, causing both teacher and student to spin
around on Naruto's pigtailed friend. Iruka's eyes widened. No thirteen year
old had any right to be in possession of that kind of power!
“What the...!”
Were his only words as he tried to comprehend the determined mask on the boys
face, and even that was preempted as a new warning screamed through his brain. They
were under attack! The shiruken blurred in at high speed from another
angle, and there was only one thing on Iruka's mind-- Remove his student from
the threat. He gave Naruto a hard shove even though he knew the inevitable
outcome. He'd take the full assault, but at least Naruto would be... The
pigtailed boy blurred in front of him at impossible speeds and dropped into a
defensive stance. He was going to take the attack himself! The kid would be
killed outright! No armor, no-- The boy's hands burst into distorted after
images as the shiruken sought there targets, only to have their vectors
abruptly altered by his impenetrable defense. Nine of the knives were now
embedded everywhere but their targets, with one held lightly between the
smiling boy's fingers.
It wasn't a
pleasant smile.
“Ya dropped
these.” Ranma absently flipped the blade in his fingers from point to handle,
playing with it as if were a toy. The man- presumably Mizuki-sensei
-stared with incredulity from his tree branch position. Two ninjas and one
student were now wondering just who the hell this kid was.
The tree borne
blue haired ninja's eyes flicked from Iruka and the lightning quick boy to
Naruto and the scroll. The plan had just turned to solid shit. It had started
simple enough, he thought as he picked over his next course of action-- Dupe
vulnerable class clown into stealing the scroll and take possession of the
scroll. If he could turn the kid, bonus. If not, lights out. Then his friend
showed up. He didn't think the little fool had any friends, but that in itself
wasn't a huge departure from the plan. Kill em both, take the scroll. Spilled
milk and all that. Then damn Iruka found them! Okay, three to one, he had
surprise on his side and two were just kids. No problem.
Except that wasn't
the case.
Naruto's friend
had just intercepted his opening salvo, and the element of surprise was lost.
He now had the task of retrieving the scroll, fighting off Iruka and dealing
with the boy, who was an unknown quantity at this point. But maybe it wasn't so
bad. Maybe he could cajole the little fool into cooperating.
“Naruto! Give
me the scroll!”
The blond head
whipped around from the Iruka and his weird friend to Mizuki. What the hell!
“Hey! HEY! What's going on here!”
“NARUTO! Don't
give him the scroll, even if you die!” Ranma's attention narrowed
sharply at the order, and he focused on the scroll strapped to his unlikely
friend's back. That was one tall order for a teacher to be making of his
student, but obviously the other guy was willing to kill for it. “It's a
dangerous scroll that has forbidden Ninjitsu sealed within it! Mizuki used you
in order to get his hands on it!”
The word
'forbidden' captured Ranma's thought process in its entirety. The martial
artist had dealt with more than his share of forbidden techniques, and they
weren't labeled such for nothing. Whatever was on Naruto's back now had not
only torn him up in its learning, but was now worth his life. A gurgling cough
fought its way up Ranma's throat, but he suppressed it in favor of the arrogant
smile he was wearing. It tasted like blood. The deflection technique using his
Chestnut Fist had worked as advertised, but the move hadn't been popular with
his already injured body, and diverting ki away from healing was probably the
fastest way back to the hospital... Or worse. Whatever, he thought, staring a
confident hole into the ninja. Never let 'em see you sweat.
Mizuki chuckled,
seeming to shrug Iruka off. “There's no point in you having it... I'll tell you
the truth, Naruto.” Iruka's vehement protests were ignored and the teacher
continued. “Twelve years ago. You know about the demon-fox being sealed, right?
Since that incident, a new rule was created for this village.” Ranma glanced at
Iruka and began to get a sinking feeling. There were few reasons for an enemy
to engage in seemingly useless prattle, and the fact that it was story time
after an attempted murder set him to high alert. “But that rule was never meant
to be told to you, Naruto.”
The spiky haired
blond bit, hook, line and sinker. “Not to me! What is this rule? Why?” Naruto
took an involuntary step forward. “What... kind of rule is it?” Ranma's sense
of dread grew.
“Hehehehehe...” A
cold smile grew across Mizuki's face. “The rule is that nobody is allowed to
talk about the fact that you are the fox demon.”
Ranma blinked as
Naruto hit the earth, the full weight of the teacher's explanations crushing
him. Fox demon? What the hell? Ranma took in all three players, noticing the
dead seriousness of the atmosphere. Ok, so he wasn't bs'ing about the demon,
Ranma decided, digesting this new piece of information. Not exactly a surprise,
I guess. Hell, after the lizard men and Phoenix bird, demons are just par for
the course, he snorted, wondering how these situations always seemed to seek
him out.
“What do you
mean!” Naruto burst, barely comprehending what was unfolding before him.
“It means that
you...are the Nine Tails Demon that destroyed the village and killed Iruka's
parents!” The blue haired Ninja shouted with perverse glee. “You were sealed up
by the Hokage you admire and you have been lied to by everybody! Didn't you
find it odd how everybody hated you?” One of the giant shirukens came off the
rogue teacher's back, twirling in his fingers at high speed. “Iruka is the
same! He actually hates you!”
Naruto and Iruka
were too emotionally invested to react to the immediate threat coming off
Mizuki's hands. Ranma was not. His mind kicked into overdrive and diverted ki
from the healing process in preparation to deliver a decisive blow.
“Nobody will ever
accept you! That scroll was use to seal you up!” The giant star was freed from
the teacher's hand and whistled across the clearing like bladed lightening. A
pigtailed blur cut by it, ignoring the weapon completely. Iruka could deal with
the shiruken, Ranma decided. His target was something else entirely. The next
actions happened nearly simultaneously as Naruto's teacher- off balance
-deflected the star with his arm, sending lacerations up its length in a
bleeding mist. Ranma Saotome was already inside Mizuki's guard before the
wayward ninja could react, his leaping arc taking him behind the ninja where
two fingers darted into a point at the base of his skull. The fingers connected
and his enemy finally reacted with a skillful roundhouse kick. At optimal
health, the heir to the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts could have evaded
the attack with ease, considering his mastery of aerial combat. Today wasn't
that day and the kick clipped him with enough power to send him hard into the
next tree, where he crashed to the ground.
Ranma's eyes
remained open just long enough to watch one teacher leap into the other before
fading out to black.
The
world blurred back into existence where Ranma Saotome found... ceiling tiles.
He slowly propped his head up and quickly identified his surroundings. The damn
hospital, he grumbled. He considered hopping out of bed, but instantly thought
better of the idea, considering the throbbing pain in his skull. It was an ache
that extended throughout his entire body, and for once since his arrival in
Konoha, he was more than content to remain in the bed. A nurse that had been
studying a clipboard of paperwork noticed his return to consciousness and
favored him with a courteous smile, asking him if he needed anything before
promptly exiting the room.
Ranma suspected he
was about to get some company.
Ten minutes later,
he was right. The door clicked open, and the nurse admitted the old Hokage,
one-eyed ninja and Iruka, whose right arm was immobilized with heavy bandages.
“Is he well enough
to talk?” The Elder asked the brunette nurse in a hushed tone, who nodded.
“As long as ya
don't make my headache any worse.” Ranma interjected, rubbing his skull. He
eyed Iruka and smiled. “I take it the good guys won?”
Iruka stiffened
slightly, but chuckled. “Thanks to you and Naruto.”
“Naruto...?”
Sudden realization dawned on the pigtailed boy and he sat up quickly. “I missed
his special technique, didn't I?” The boy quickly regretted the action, as a
dull throb pulsed through his brain. “OOOoooowww...”
“I'll let him tell
you all about it.” Iruka stated, chuckling at Ranma's state.
“Speaking of
special techniques...” Sarutobi broached the topic tentatively. “Iruka says you
acquitted yourself quite well yourself.”
“Feh.” Ranma
dismissed the probe at information. “I'm a martial artist, no big deal.”
“You deflected
every shiruken thrown at you by a Chūnin ranked ninja.” Kakashi noted
quietly.
“And I'm not sure
what you did to him in that mad charge of yours...” Iruka added, “But it took
effect just in time for Naruto-kun's new technique. Mizuki couldn't even move
to evade it. ”
Ranma began to
snicker. “Hehehe... Would have loved to see the look on his face.” The trio
stared silently at the amused boy until Ranma took notice. “Amazon Shiatsu
pressure point.” He supplied easily. “Body armor was blocking most of the
instant paralysis points, so I took the higher probabilities in hitting a
delayed action one. Figured one of yas would be able to take him out when it
took effect.” He didn't bother adding the fact that it was about all he could
have done in his injured state.
“Just how skilled
are you?” The Third Hokage leaned in, scrutinizing the boy. “No simple 'martial
artist' would have the skill to pluck shiruken out of the air, let alone
incapacitate one of our teachers while being as wounded as you were. Are.”
“I'm the best.”
Ranma shrugged with indifference. Kakashi arched a skeptical eyebrow. Ranma
sighed. “Fine, have it your way. I'm heir to the Anything Goes School of
Martial Arts and hold masteries in over twenty different styles, not to mention
being a skilled ki user.”
“Twenty?” Iruka
Umino mouthed in disbelief.
“Ki?” Kakashi
cocked his head at the unfamiliar term.
It was Ranma's
turn to arch an eyebrow. “What, you ain't never heard of ki?”
“Is ki similar to
chakra?” The robed Hokage asked, earning himself a blank look from the boy.
“Don't know what
chakra is.” Ranma remarked as he leaned back into the bed's pillow. He might
not have like hospitals, but the bed was sure welcome at the moment. “Ki is
spirit energy. Ya can use it lots of ways.”
“What about the
physical side?” Iruka remarked, noting the absence of the key ingredient in any
Ninja's abilities.
“Like strength?”
Incomprehension was writ large across Ranma's face and it became obvious to the
Hokage a disconnect existed in their communication.
“No.” Sarutobi corrected
the boy in a sagely manner. It would have been so easy to lecture him as if he
were a child, but whatever was in front of him was definitely not a
child. “Chakra is the combination of spirit energy and physical energy, not
strength. The two exist independently of one another and can be 'molded'
together to form advanced techniques.” The Hokage noted the way the boy stared
at him in rapture, and shivered mentally. There was something hard at work
inside that boy's head. “Are you sure you've never heard of Chakra?”
“Uh uh.” He shook
his head. “Show me.” It wasn't a request, and given the circumstances, Sarutobi
was more than willing to oblige him.
“Iruka, if you
please?” The Elder asked over his shoulder, and the teacher stepped up to the
bedside next to him. The ninja concentrated, purposely making a big show of the
gathering of his energies and combining them into the point of his finger,
where a small flame sprouted. The boys eyes widened.
“No shit...” He
breathed as he watched Iruka repeat the process. The boy was staring at his
chest, but was also obviously seeing much more. Ranma saw the swirl of ki
first. It was the easiest component of the reaction to pick out. But there was
a subtle energy flowing in with it. The physical energy? Ranma watched the
reaction cumulate at his finger tip and the flame sprout once more. He still
wasn't sure of the exact mechanics behind the physical side of the energy, but
Ranma had seen it, and if there was one thing he knew for certain, it
was that anything he could see, he could duplicate. Even as he studied it,
another part of his brain was hard at work with the implications concerning his
new found knowledge. Breaking Point suddenly became a whole new ball game as
Ranma calculated what would happen if physical energy could be infused into the
technique... The move only useful against inanimate objects suddenly took on a
terrifyingly lethal twist, and he filed the fact away for future scrutiny.
Ranma and the word 'lethal' generally didn't sit in easy company, but after a
Phoenix god and a couple of demons, he wasn't prepared to dismiss the potential
outright either. Thankfully, there were a number of less than lethal
applications that occurred to Ranma as well, and a smile spread slowly across
his face.
“I see you understand.”
Ranma nodded.
“Think you can teach me how to use the physical side?”
Sarutobi
considered the request for a moment. There was no doubt as to the reasoning
behind his question. In fact, the reason as to the one dimensional nature of
his chakra was now perfectly clear... It was all spirit energy the boy was
using. Every special technique in this Ranma's arsenal was probably fueled by
it alone. Whatever training the boy had undergone, it had developed his ki to
the point were it all but compensated for the missing physical component. Oh,
sure, there were probably still things he couldn't do without Chakra, but he
had obviously learned how to work around that particular handicap, and like any
disability, his spiritual energy was enormous given how much he worked with it.
Teaching him how to handle the physical side as well... Sarutobi shivered
mentally once more. They'd have to be absolutely certain about who they were
unleashing upon the village...
And what.
“I think we can
come to some sort of an arrangement.” The Hokage replied amieably, but his tone
grew serious. “However, there is something that I need to confirm. Something I
sensed in your first visit.”
“Sure, whatcha
need?” Ranma replied with ease. Anything that would help him put his newly
discovered knowledge into practice.
“I need to find
out what is inside of you.”
Ranma blinked.
“Uhh, inside of me?”
The Elder nodded.
“There is a restlessness inside of you and I must determine what it is before
we continue.”
Ranma cocked his
head curiously. “Ain't got nothin' inside of me except guts, a couple of curses
and my other body.”
Sarutobi smiled
gently, moving his hand over Ranma. “If I may?”
Ranma shrugged
indifferently. “Sure. Why not.”
The Hokage place
his hand lightly on Ranma's stomach and began his mental probe, first tracing
along his nearly nonexistent chakra lines. That was an oddity in itself, he
thought as he continued the examination. Where does a person come from where
they have absolutely no knowledge of chakra? Sarutobi dismissed the quandary
for later discussion and focused deeper. Ah, there it is, he thought as his
probe encountered the dark, restless mass within the boy. It was insubstantial,
having no real physical form, but it was there, stirring within the boy on an
astral plane. The Hokage paused for a moment, considering the implications. He
had to be absolutely sure, and pressed the probe deeper.
Ranma felt cold,
as if a breeze of cool air was blowing across his body. Not just his body,
however. His spirit. A familiar feeling began to grow within him, and it
started to worry the martial artist. “Hey, ah... I think you might wanna stop
that...”
The Hokage didn't
hear the advisement, and pushed the psychic probe deeper into the darknesses.
It was a familiar darkness to him as well, but not as hostile as the last one
he encountered. Still, it was reactionary. Violent. Unpredictable.
The feeling of
unease grew within Ranma and the first wellsprings of panic began to pool in
his stomach. It was getting antsy. It wasn't supposed to get
antsy now, though, he thought fursiously and fought to stay collected. None of them
were around. No reason to panic. But whatever the old man was doing, it was
stirring up trouble.
“Ya really
need to stop that...”
Sarutobi was too
deep and too close to his goal to even notice. He plucked at one layer of
blackness, then another and found himself staring at eyes. They blinked as if
surprised by his manifest presence on the astral plane. The Elder stared in
shock. That was...
Kakashi's eye
widened as the boy's eyes popped open. Ranma jerked up-right and the eyes
glittered with inhuman energy. The Hokage came out of his trance as well, but
was still too lethargic to note the world around him. Iruka took an arm and
pulled the Elder back slowly. That was when a sound curled up from the boys
throat, freezing everybody in the room...
“ReeeoooOOOOOOW...”
Neko-Ranma looked
around the strange room, his head darting from one angle to the next. Somebody
had woken him up early, it noted inside the primitive difference engine
it called a thought process. There were no other cats around to threaten it, no
toys and certainly not a nice, warm, comfortable lap, so what had woken it up?
The Cat's scanning halted when it found the wrinkeled face of the Hokage, and
leaned forward into it. Now that face looked familiar, it decided. He
studied the two next to it carefully. They didn't look like they wanted to
play. That fact only diminished Neko-Ranma's enthusiasm at being awake outside
a life threatening situation only slightly. It was used to making its own fun
anyway.
“Ranma, I need
to...” The feline noticed the Elder's encroaching hand and shuffled off the bed
and away from it.
The hand prompted
a threat assessment from Neko-Ranma, and it quickly found the old man to be at
the top of that list. Even in top condition, the cat that was Ranma's brain
instinctively knew it stood no chance against him and if it came to a fight or
flight situation; Neko-Ranma was a goner in both instances. Next on the list
was the strange one-eyed ninja. He made the cat feel... Uneasy. In his current
condition, he knew there was no way he could take the ninja. At optimal
health... He'd be a challenge, maybe more, with this strange body. The injuries
and strange body were not lost on Neko-Ranma, and it silently wondered where
they had come from. These three? They could be threats, but they weren't
attacking... If it came down to a fight, the cat knew it would take the scarred
ninja out first and escape in the chaos. He was the lowest power level of the
three and well within his ability to deal with, wounded or not.
The hand came
closer and while the cat wasn't certain of its intentions, there were too many
unknowns in the situation he had awoken in. He was wounded, there were no other
cats around and his body was... strange. Add in the fact that these three
didn't register as friends, even if they weren't immediately hostile. The
difference engine registered these facts and clicked down, deciding on a course
of action.
“Sandaime!” Iruka
exclaimed and grabbed at the Hokage's hand, yanking it back. Ethreal ki blades
flashed into existence along Ranma's knuckles and a look of displeasure crossed
his face. The blades came down and sliced the bed clean in half, collapsing it.
Even as it fell, Neko-Ranma hopped off it calculating an escape route. The
three strangers were blocking his primary exit, and the cat really wasn't
looking forward to going through the them, so it turned back to the closed
window and slashed out, cutting the window from it's frame and leaping out into
the sunny day.
The three stood
stunned, starring at the ruined bed and hole carved out of the hospital wall.
The Hokage snapped out of the state first, a hard edge flashing through his
eyes. “Alert ANBU. Bring Ranma back alive, if possible.” Iruka's eye widened
and Kakashi simply nodded.
Sarutobi scratched
the white hairs on his chin thoughtfully. “We may have a Nekomata or Raiju
loose”
Neko-Ranma
leaped from roof-top to roof-top, delighting in the freedom and the beautiful
day. Even though it was a wonderful day to play, however, it was still worried.
Everything was wrong. First, it had no idea where it was. Second,
nothing smelled familiar. Third, it couldn't even locate one of its
familiar lap-people. Aggravating the entire situation was the facts that it was
wounded and its body was different. Neko-Ranma's simplistic thought
process couldn't grasp the concept that it was now inhabiting a younger body,
but it could understand that it felt different. Less powerful ...And if
there was one thing the cat didn't like, it was surprises.
The ambient power
levels of its surroundings were also making Neko-Ranma nervous. It may have
been a nice day, but the humanoid cat-boy sensed it was on perilous ground. On
any other day, it would have been more than happy to play with the individual
power spikes pursuing him at a distance, but today it was injured, felt strange
and on unfamiliar ground. Playtime was not tops on today's list, and Neko-Ranma
was desperate for a familiar place or friendly lap, preferably both. Those laps
were its safe harbor and always seemed to protect it from the weird happenings
that it couldn't understand. The cat-intellect inside Ranma's head began to
search the village for just such a lap, selectively scanning the the village ki
for just such a friend.
The
not-so-friendly power levels were beginning to creep around Neko-Ranma's
flanks, and the cat knew the attempt to surround it instinctively. Sure, they
kept out of sight and at distance, but they were there, and like a predator
hunting its prey, it knew their intentions were focused on him. Neko-Ranma cut
right, leaping lightly from a straw hut and onto the solid tiling of a larger
house. It didn't like how its options were rapidly dwindling. If the unknown
power levels came any closer, the cat would have no choice but to engage them,
even if it would rather run or play. There were too many unknowns today, and
the cat's panic level was already red-lined. It couldn't risk allowing one of them
into combat range. Even as the cat-intellect began to roll down it's defensive
options, the search struck gold, causing Neko-Ranma to shift course abruptly.
It knew that the course change would bring it into range versus one of its
pursuers, but it couldn't be helped. Action would be kept to a minimum, and
evasive only. All that was required was to get passed the adversary, not kill
it. Neko-Ranma jumped across another shingled roof-top and sighted the ninja
who was conveniently clad in a dark black uniform and cat mask.
Had the blond
haired Ansatsu Senjutsu Tokushu Butai member's eyes been visible, they would
have registered surprise as the boy, who couldn't be more than thirteen,
suddenly made his concealed position and moved directly for him at high speed.
The plan had been to isolate him away from the more populated districts and
deal with him there, and the kid seemed happy to be herded in such an obvious
matter... Until now. Indecisiveness floated through the Ninja's head a moment
too long as he weighed the fact that the boy was wanted alive, the target's
reported skill level and his current condition, which seemed wounded and
possessed. The straight line approach suddenly turned into an aerial whirlwind,
and he braced for the boy's attack only to step into a feint, a tap on his
head, and then the rooftop as his face was pushed hard into tar and shingling.
The boy bounced off the ANBU's head, using it as a springboard to propel it at
higher speeds away from the human net and towards its new goal, the nice, warm
glow of ki he had found a short distance ahead.
Warm ki meant nice
people. Nice people meant laps. Laps meant safety.
Most
people knew Hinata Hyuga as a nice, dutiful girl. She was shy, but respectful
and had, of course, passed her final prepatory exam on the road to becoming a
real ninja with flying colors. Not that anything less of her was expected,
which is why it would surprise most people to know she was, in fact, a habitual
stalker.
Her target was
always the same, the spiky blond troublemaker known as Naruto Uzumaki and
today, she was concerned. Her last images of him were those of the devestated
boy standing alone and away from the crowd of graduates after creating a less
than ideal clone of himself and failing the final exam. Now the rumor mill was
churning full force, and she had caught wind that the object of her secret
affections had been injured and was currently being treated in the hospital.
How? Why? Nobody seemed to have a clue, and there were also strange rumors of a
girl- or boy -seen around his person as of late. Hinata bit her lip as she
carried a brisk clip down the village streets toward the hospital, silently
hoping it wasn't the former. Her concern for her classmate caused a fierce
blushing, which also might have been the reason why she missed the spike of
power nearing her location at high speeds.
She did, however
notice the shadow obscuring the sunlight overhead and retained enough presence
of mind to instinctual slide left avoiding being landed on by... A boy? Hinata
recovered and backed away. Even the villagers around her looked on curiously as
the boy seemed to test the air with his nose, then stare into the solid cobalt
filled eyes of the girl he had nearly pounced upon. Hinata's bowl of indigo
hair wavered slightly as she took another step back, her already fierce blush
gaining more intensity as the boy made direct eye contact with her. Not just a
boy, a part of her shy mental process noted in spite of itself...
...A cute
boy.
Words tried to
make their way past her lips in order to form something that sounded like a
polite- extremely polite – greeting, only to come out as small,
desperate gasps. The wide-eyed boy had an oblivious smile inhabiting his face,
and he seemed to take her attempt at communication as an invitation. He took a
step forward, almost on all fours and Hinata took a step back, still weazing
with terminal embarrassment at being the focus of a cute boy's affections.
Normally only one cute boy affected her so, but this one...
Ranma-neko smiled
brightly and decided.
Yes, she'd do just
fine.
Author's
Notes:
Ho Ho Ho! Merry
Christmas! Sorry this Christmas present is slightly late, but it was the best I
could do given the constraints I'm currently working under. Had the itch to
work on this series as opposed to The Best of Times epilogues, so you'll have
to forgive me on that. Anyway, I hope ya alls had a merry Christmas and will be
having a Happy New Year.
Chakra vs
Ranma; I've
changed my definition of this slightly since part one, and hopefully the
explanation given in this chapter was sufficient toward that end. Here, ki is
basically is only one half the ability Narutoverse ninjas rely on. The combined
power source of body and spirit energy is called chakra. Ki is the spirit
element, while the physical element is, um... Wa? Ok, whatever. You get the
idea. It also helps rationalize why Narutoverse characters can learn such
powerful and lethal techniques at an early age... They can't all be prodigies, after
all. Ranma was taught a handicapped method, thus not coming into serious power
until a few years later, while Narutoverse kids are learning complete and
“healthy” methods that enhance the power-age curve.
The downside of
Ranma's training method was that at the same age he would have been behind his
Narutoverse counterparts. The upside is that overcoming this training handicap
has produced in him an inhuman ki reservoir that, while unable to quite
duplicate chakra techniques, can hold its own against nearly anything that can
be thrown at him. As explained earlier, the best example would be a blind man
learning to use his hearing to compensate for the weakness, developing almost
inhuman/stronger senses as a result.
Ki & Ranma;
Ok,
lets get this one out of the way right now, considering the number of reviews
I've seen debating this topic. Seriously, google the words "ki" and
"definition" and nine times out of ten you'll get something like
this--
"The
circulating life energy that in Chinese philosophy is thought to be inherent in
all things; in traditional Chinese medicine the balance of negative and
positive forms in the body is believed to be essential for good health."
--Or if you
want a more comprehensive definition:
"The word Reiki
is composed of two Japanese words - Rei and Ki. When translating Japanese into
English we must keep in mind that an exact translation is difficult. The
Japanese language has many levels of meaning. Therefore the context the word is
being used in must be kept in mind when attempting to communicate its essence.
Because these words are used in a spiritual healing context, a Japanese/English
dictionary does not provide the depth of meaning we seek, as its definitions
are based on common everyday Japanese. As an example, Rei is often defined as
ghost and Ki as vapor and while these words vaguely point in the direction of
meaning we seek, they fall far short of the understanding that is needed.
When seeking a
definition from a more spiritual context, we find that Rei can be
defined as the Higher Intelligence that guides the creation and functioning of
the universe. Rei is a subtle wisdom that permeates everything, both animate
and inanimate. This subtle wisdom guides the evolution of all creation ranging
from the unfolding of galaxies to the development of life. On a human level, it
is available to help us in times of need and to act as a source of guidance in
our lives. Because of its infinite nature, it is all knowing. Rei is also
called God and has many other names depending on the culture that has named it.
Ki is the non-physical energy
that animates all living things. Ki is flowing in everything that is alive
including plants, animals and humans. When a person's Ki is high, they will
feel strong, confident, and ready to enjoy life and take on it's challenges.
When it is low, they will feel weak and are more likely to get sick. We receive
Ki from the air we breath, from food, sunshine, and from sleep. It is also
possible to increase our Ki by using breathing exercises and meditation. When a
person dies, their Ki leaves the physical body. Ki is also the Chi of China,
the prana of India, the Ti or Ki of the Hawaiians, and has also been called
odic force, orgone, bioplasma and life force." --(www)reiki(org)
Long story
short, this is how the real world defines ki and rei (reiki) and fits well
enough into this plot and Ranma's condition for my purposes.
Ranma vs.
Narutoverse; Another
change I'm making from chapter one is that I'm not watering down Ranma's
competence with and versus conventional weapondry. I had originally planned to
give narutoverse characters the edge in this to balance out Ranma's substantial
abilities against the others, but found an even better, more natural way to do
this, which will be outlined in later chapters. As you can see, from the
standoff between him and Mizuki, I'm casting Ranma as having no problems with
those skills.
ANBU; Ansatsu Senjutsu Tokushu
Butai, or loosely translated to "Assassination Tactics Special
Squad". When you need it killed, destroy, neutralized or subverted
yesterday, this is the unit the Hokage turns to in order to get the job done.
Nekomata; A Japanese mythological
creature, believed to evolve from domesticated cats. It was believed that after
a cat reached ten years of age, its tail would slowly split into two tails, and
along the way would develop magic powers, primarily those of necromancy and
shamanism. By gesturing with its tails or with its forepaws (as it walked
upright), nekomata were said to animate and control the dead. Nekomata in the
wild were also said to feed on the corpses as carrion, as well. See the
wikipedia entry for more details.
Raiju;("thunder
animal") is a demon from Japanese mythology. Its body is composed of
either lightning or fire and may be in the shape of a cat, tanuki, monkey, or
weasel. It may also fly about as a ball of lightning or fire (in fact, the
demon may be an attempt to explain the phenomenon of ball lightning). Its cry
sounds like thunder. Another of Raiju's peculiar behaviors is sleeping in human
navels. See the wikipedia entry for more details.