Ranma 1/2, Fatal Fury fanfic "Wolf in Nerima" by Julian Soullard (e-mail: jnsoullard@hotmail.com) Warning: All caracters from this fanfic are copyright from Rumiko Takahashi (Ranma 1/2) and Masami Obari (Fatal Fury), I never claim them to be my own personal creation, so don't sue me! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AND NOW ON WITH... Chapter 5: The new generation of martial artists. Ukyou sat down on the floor, laid her back against the wall, panting from exhaustion. She didn't even had the strength to pick up her spatulas that were scattered all over the place. Next to her was Terry who was looking rather weary himself. Both of them were covered with sweat and breathing heavily. Terry managed in taking his jacket and put it on again. Neither of them expected this to turn out so exhausting. "Well......" Ukyou began "Satisfied?" "I sure am." Terry responded "I hope I wasn't too ruff with you though." "Don't feel sorry, it wouldn't have felt well otherwise." she stated "I just need to rest a little. How are you feeling?" "I'm fine." he told her "You were great by the way." "Not as great as you though." Ukyou implied "I'm not sure I was even a worthy challenge." "Don't say that." Terry declared "It was a great match. (Well what? Don't tell me you actually thought they had sex! you naughty, naughty person you!) But I think you should practice a little more in hand-to-hand combat in case you ran out of spatulas to throw. It could always come in handy if you lost your weapons." A short pause followed, both were still sitting as they regained their strength. Moments later, both stood up and went inside Ucchan's. Ukyou began to prepare something to eat while Terry took a seat in front of her. "Here's your order." said Ukyou as she gave Terry an okonomiyaki who took it and started to eat. "So..." Ukyou continued "Against who have you fought so far? Besides me that is." "Well let me see..." Terry began "So far I fought Happosai, Ranma, Ryouga, Akane, Mousse and you. It's been quite a month. I never expected to have such workout. But I guess it's a little hard to avoid a fight in Nerima." "I think you should consider yourself lucky for not getting seriously injured with all these fights." she stated "By the way Terry... there's this rumor in town about you." "Rumor?" he asked "What kind of rumor?" "Well... this is just something I heard on the streets by accident." she justified "I heard you've been training Ryouga lately." "That's not true." Terry explained. "I thought so." "I'm training *with* Ryouga." he added. "WHAT?" Ukyou asked in shock "But... but, a month ago, I thought you told him *and* Ranma that you refused to train either of them!" "That's not quite right." Terry pointed out "I refused to tell either of them how to do the Sen Puu Ken. And I'm holding on to that statement. Ryouga isn't learning that." "Okay, I can understand that." Ukyou declared "But what I don't understand is why you choose to train Ryouga instead of Ranma." "Well, it all started like this..." Terry narrated "Do you remember that match I had with Ranma three weeks ago?" "Yeah?" "Well, after the match," he continued "while I was lying on the ring and everybody began to leave, Ryouga came to me asking for my help. I'm not sure if you saw that, I think you were looking at Ranma who was still playing with the toy I made him. Anyway, back to my story, when Ryouga asked for my help, I reminded him what I said about telling how to do the Sen Puu Ken. But he didn't want to learn the Sen Puu Ken. He said he wanted to learn my other moves along with some basic techniques. I told him I'd think about that, and so, that's that. We're training now." "But you still haven't answered my question." Ukyou insisted "Why choose him instead of Ranchan?" "I'll be straight with you, Ukyou." Terry explained "I didn't choose Ryouga because I hate Ranma, or because I like Ryouga better. Both are my friends." "And so?" "Well the point is this." he told her "First, Ranma doesn't need *me* to train him. Personally, I don't think I can learn from him either. His techniques require more speed than strength. That's not quite my style. Second, Ryouga could use the training. His skills are similar to mine, and I can learn from him too. To tell you the truth, I'm quite curious in learning how he does that thing with his finger to blow up rocks." "I'm still not sure about this..." Ukyou pointed out "I mean, what you're doing here is giving Ryouga an edge over Ranma. The first thing he's going to do after training with you is challenging Ranma." "And I expect him to do that." "But you just said that Ranma's your friend." she stated getting more confused by the moment "Then why are you..." "Wait, let me finish first." Terry interrupted her "I'm doing this for Ranma's own good also." "Hun?" "You see," Terry said to her "I have a theory. I think Ranma's biggest rival so far is Ryouga. Both of them fight each other constantly. If Ryouga gets any better at fighting than him, Ranma will have to do the same thing. I heard that's how Ranma learned the Mokuo Takabisha in the first place, it was to confront Ryouga's Shi Chi Hokodan, so I've been told." "In other words?" "In other words," he explained "Ranma will have to train and go beyond his limits if he wants to win. And the same goes for Ryouga. That's what being a martial artist is all about. Train so you can be stronger." "Okay, but what if things get out of hand?" Ukyou asked him "Don't you think that Ryouga could end up killing Ranma if he gets any stronger?" "Nah! I don't think that'll happen." Terry responded very confident. "How can you be so sure?" she questioned again "I mean... Ryouga doesn't like Ranma very much. Having him out of the way would make things easier for him to get Akane." "That's where I think you're wrong." he declared "Both of them might fight all the time. But I hardly think they'll end up killing each other. It may not look like it, but they *are* friends." "Friends??" Ukyou asked in disbelief "That's news to me! They could be anything in the world but friends! Where did you get *that* idea??" "I know you can hardly tell," Terry explained "but they are friends. Okay so they're rivals before being friends, but friends no less. It's not your average friendship though. I think you can call it a rival-friendship situation. Either way, I don't think either of them could kill each other. You'll have to trust me on this one." "I really hope you're right." she said "I don't want to be a widow before being a bride." "Well if Ranma did get killed, you could always marry Ryouga." Terry joked. "Yeah, right!" Ukyou declared as she rolled her eyes "As if I ever wanted to have something going on with him!" "Ryouga isn't a bad guy. Or would you rather get engaged to Kuno instead?" he joked again "Or Tsubasa maybe?" "Are you kidding." Ukyou proclaimed not taking Terry seriously "That ain't gonna happen. Ranchan is the only guy for me. End of topic." "Okay, okay! I was just joking." he stated with a smile "Don't get angry over it." *** The next day, inside a forest, Terry and Ryouga are seen sparring. None of them are using their special skills. This is merely a warm up. Ryouga is at the offensive while Terry uses a more defensive technique. After a couple of minutes, both of them break the match and sit down to rest a moment before going on with the training. "Ryouga, you're leaving your left shoulder unguarded too often." Terry pointed out "I think you'll have to work a little more on your defense." "I know." he stated a little upset for being reminded about that once again "I always forget about that until it's too late. I'm the kind of guy who always wants to hit first." "If you fight a little more in the defense, you might take the advantage against your opponent." he explained "Why don't we try something different. This time I'll go on the offensive and you'll try to parry my blows. Sounds good?" "It's okay by me." Both started to fight again. Terry pointed out the holes in Ryouga's defense each time he got hit. Ryouga tried to do the best he could. He wasn't the kind of guy who usually stood there avoiding blows. He always had this fixation of punching first, going all out without hesitation. By being forced to parry he began to notice how hollow his defense has been so far. Usually, his endurance always pulled him out of trouble, that's why he didn't even bothered in stopping an attack before. You had to be exceptionally strong to make any damage on his body. His endurance was a good enough defense by itself. After some time, Terry noticed he was getting nowhere. Ryouga wasn't paring his blows effectively. He decided to stop fighting. "Ryouga," Terry began "this isn't working. You're relying too much on your endurance. We'll have to try something else to improve your defense." he headed towards his pack. "What do you have in mind?" he asked. Terry took out of his bag a few sponges, then tied them on his shoes and hands as if they were fighting gloves and boots. "What are you doing, Terry?" Ryouga asked again, not getting the idea "What are you planning to do with those sponges?" "This is my backup plan," he explained as he began to damp the sponges with cold water "The concept is quite easy. If I hit you: You get wet. If you get wet: You turn into a pig. If you don't want to turn into a pig you'll have to avoid my blows. In this case, your endurance won't help you at all. If I hit you once..." "I think I get the idea." Ryouga interrupted "This is so I can improve my avoiding skills, right?" "Bingo!" Terry stated, he then took a fighting stance "Ready?" Both began to fight again. Terry started easy on him but he gradually increased the speed of his attacks. Ryouga tried desperately to avoid the punches and kicks but couldn't help getting hit once or twice, therefore triggering his curse. After some time, (and after using a lot of hot water!) Ryouga started to get the hang of it. But he still had a long way ahead of him before getting it right. Both took a pause afterwards. "Well, at least we're making progress." Terry declared "But this is still not good enough." "I think I'm getting the hang of it now." Ryouga pointed out "I think the sponge training is starting to work." "Yes it is," Terry began "but it's not paying back enough, you still get hit." "Do you have any other ideas?" he asked. "Well... just one. But I'm not sure... It's quite risky." "That doesn't matter." Ryouga told him "This training is really helping me out, I'm whiling to take the risk no matter what." "Ryouga," Terry said "it's not that simple, if we apply my idea, you'll be putting a lot at stake. The risks of something going wrong are enormous. And the damage caused would be irreversible." "I don't care!" he stated with determination "If it's going to help in boosting up my defense, I'm whiling to risk even my own life! [I have to be better than Ranma no matter what!]" "Are you sure?" Terry confirmed "I mean... we'd both have to make a sacrifice. But you'd be in a lot more danger than me." "I made up my mind!" Ryouga insisted "I'm whiling to take the training no matter what the cost may be!" A short pause followed. Ryouga never looked so determined in his life . Terry was looking a little more preoccupied though. He was fearing the consequences of this training. But Ryouga already told him he accepted. With a short sigh Terry got up and headed outside the forest. "Where are you going?" Ryouga asked "What about the training?" "I'll be back in a couple of minutes." Terry responded "We'll continue the training later." Ryouga was left alone. He had to admit he was worried. So far, Terry hasn't been too specific in telling him what the training was all about. What where the risks? Why did he said they'd both had to make a sacrifice? Where did Terry go? What was he going to bring back when he'd returned? [Maybe I should've ask him about the training first.] he thought. Ryouga began to walk around in circles as he filled his mind with questions, fortunately, by walking around in circles it was hard for him to get lost. After a couple of minutes, Terry came back. He wasn't caring anything with him, which only confused Ryouga even more. "So?" Ryouga began "What's this training all about?" "That'll have to wait a while." Terry explained "Right now we'll move on with the rest of our training." "But what about the training you told me about earlier?" he asked. "Don't worry." Terry told him "You'll get the training to boost your defense as I promised. But we'll have to wait a while for that. Until then, we continue with the rest we planed." "So what do we do?" "You also wanted to learn how to do the Power Wave. Right?" he reminded him "Why don't we start from there?" We now see Terry and Ryouga in a clearing. Terry is standing a few feet behind his friend with his arms crossed over his chest. Ryouga is exactly at the center of the clearing. At his feet, we see a large hole caused by the constant pounding on the floor. So far, Ryouga had managed releasing the Power Wave partially. The odd thing was that, when Ryouga hit the ground, the blast went upwards instead of going in a straight line. Still, Ryouga wasn't the kind of guy who's known for giving up. So he kept on trying, and trying, and trying. In spite of the lack of success, Terry was rather impressed by his friend's habitilies. Each time Ryouga hit the floor, he managed in making a better Power Wave than the last one. The difference wasn't very big, but with a couple of more days, he'd certainly master the move. He was quite a fast learner. [Not bad.] Terry thought [He's with no doubt improving with each blow. It took me about a month to master the technique. But Ryouga will certainly be able to pull out a decent Power Wave in a week or two.] Ryouga continued to pound the earth. With each blow it seemed as if his determination grew even more. Terry smiled as he watched the show. [So this is the new generation of martial artists, hun?] he thought [I never expected all these kids to be so good. Ranma, Ryouga and all the others will turn out to be first-class fighters in a couple of years. That means I still have to train if I don't want to be left behind. And the same goes for Andy, Joe, Mai and Kim.] Time went on, and Ryouga kept on punching the ground expecting to achieve a decent Power Wave. Terry was still watching the whole event when they were suddenly interrupted by an *unexpected* visitor. "Hi, guys!" Akane said joyfully "I'm finally here!" "A... Akane?!?!" Ryouga declared surprised as he stopped hitting the floor "Wh... what are you doing here?" "Terry phoned me about an hour ago." she explained "He said both of you needed someone to cook lunch for you. So here I am!" "He did? [Does he want to kill us!]" Ryouga asked even more confused. "That's right." Terry added "It's really nice of you to accept. How did you find us in this forest anyway?" "It was easy." she said "I just had to hear from where all that noise was coming from." The three of them walked towards the camp site. Once there, Akane took the pots and frying pans and started to *cook* (if that word is appropriate enough). Ryouga took Terry by the arm and dragged him to another part of the campsite where Akane couldn't hear them talk. There were many things that had to be explained. "Why did you tell her to fix us lunch?" Ryouga asked him "Are you nuts?" "It was the only way she'd come." Terry explained "I couldn't come out with a better excuse than that. I told you that we'd have to make a sacrifice both, didn't I?" "But why did you asked her to come here in the first place?" he asked again. Terry smiled at him and then headed towards his pack. He took the sponges and tied them around his fists and sneakers. He then began to damp the sponges with cold water. "I'm using Akane as a stimulator on you." Terry told him "This is where we take back the training to improve your defense. Only this time, Akane is watching. So if you don't want her to find out about your secret..." "Wait!! You can't be serious!!" Ryouga stated in shock "If she finds out she'll kill me!!" "Can't say I didn't warned you about the consequences, I told you there would be a lot at stake." he reminded him "You even told me you were whiling to risk your own life to boost your defense, am I right?" "Yeah but you never were very specific about the risks!" Ryouga declared "Why didn't you tell me earlier about your plan?" "It's more stimulating this way." "Hey, guys?" Akane said as she approached them both "Are you going to train now?" "That's right." Terry told her "Feel free to watch. I don't think Ryouga would mind. Right Ryouga? [It's not too late for him to back down now if he doesn't feel like it.]" Ryouga was now in a serious dilemma. Was he really whiling to risk so much? If Akane saw the transformation, she'd find out about his darkest secret and hate him for the rest of her life. Terry was now giving him a chance to change his mind. But if he back down now, maybe Terry would see him as a coward and refuse to train him any further. "Sure..." Ryouga confirmed nervously "Feel free to watch..." The two of them took their distance. Akane sat on a log to see the whole thing. She wasn't quite sure why Terry was using wet sponges to train Ryouga but she didn't question his teaching techniques. Ryouga, on the other hand, was looking rather nervous. "Ryouga, try to calm down." Terry said to him "It won't do you any good if you can't concentrate on your enemy. Don't let the consequences fog your mind." Ryouga took a deep breath to calm down. He then took a defensive stance and awaited his opponent to launch an attack. Terry started delivering several punches and kicks which Ryouga began to dodge successfully. Then, Terry began to speed up the process and began to attack more intensively. Ryouga avoided those attacks as well, he was paying a lot of attention on every move Terry did. He couldn't afford letting his guard down. Time went on, and the two of them were still fighting. So far, Ryouga kept himself dry but he was starting to tire. Fortunately, Terry was beginning to feel a little weary himself. After another couple of minutes, the two of them stopped fighting. "Well, I think that's enough for today." Terry stated as he took off the sponges. "Great!" Akane declared "Lunch is almost ready. But I think we'll need more firewood." "I'll go get some." Ryouga volunteered. The lost boy left the campsite. As soon as he was far enough from his friends, he laid against a tree with both of his hands holding his agitated heart. He opened his mouth trying to let out a scream, but the fear he had only managed in letting out a hollowed moan. It was a close one. Never before did he experience such fear. He could still remember the feeling of water drops flying next to his face while the woman he loved saw the entire match. It was definitively a close call. Ryouga sat down and looked at his hands which were still trembling as much as the rest of his body. He couldn't even feel his legs anymore. He had to rest a little to pull himself together. Meanwhile, back at the camp site, Terry and Akane were left alone. Since Ryouga was taking so much time in gathering wood, a conversation didn't took long in starting. "Er... Terry..." Akane began "Can I ask you a question?" "That question wouldn't by any chance be: Why am I training Ryouga? Would it?" "As a matter of fact," she confessed "yes it is." "Well, for starters," he told her "I'm training *with* Ryouga. I'm learning as much as him. Although I'm not going to tell him how to do the Sen Puu Ken if that's what you were asking yourself." "I see..." she declared "But... I mean... by training Ryouga... wouldn't that be dangerous..." "For Ranma?" Terry cut in "I didn't knew you cared." "I don't!" she pointed out "It's just that... well I... I mean I'd..." "Don't worry." Terry interrupted "No one will get killed. I can assure you that." "How can you be so sure?" "Trust me on this one." he stated "I'm doing this so Ranma doesn't forget to train constantly. If he doesn't get a descent challenge from time to time, he might get careless in a fight... I'm doing this for his own good." "Do you think he'll manage?" "Who? Ranma?" Terry asked her, Akane nodded affirmatively "[So you do care.] Sure! He's a great martial artist. I think he'll manage if he puts his heart in it." In spite of what Terry told her, Akane wasn't looking too convinced. Terry didn't had to be a specialist to notice her look. "Akane..." he said "What I'm going to tell you now, I want it to remain strictly between us. Can you keep the secret?" "Er... sure. What is it?" "Okay..." he began "I don't want you to tell this to Ranma but... I think he'll be able to do the Sen Puu Ken soon." "The Sen Puu Ken?" she asked "How can you know that?" "Well..." he continued "Ranma looked very determined in learning the move. I don't think he's ready to give up, even without me to tell him how to do it. Knowing how to do the Hiryu Shoten Ha will certainly come in handy to master the Sen Puu Ken." "Do you really think he'll be able to master it without your help?" "He wouldn't be the first person who'd accomplish that." Terry declared. "Someone else has?" Akane asked "Who?" "It was about two years ago," he explained "I fought a man called Kim Kaphuam and defeated him using the Sen Puu Ken. Right after that, another man appeared. A rather dark and evil presence. He called himself Wolfgang Krauser..." "From the house of Stroheim?" Akane interrupted. "The same one." Terry confirmed surprised "How did you know?" "Ryouga told me." she explained him "He heard about him while being lost in Germany once." "Figures. Well anyway, when I fought him," he continued "I was really having a hard time. Not only I wasn't in the best condition after my fight with Kim. But on top of that, Krauser took me by surprise by using the Sen Puu Ken." "How did he learned to do it?" "He saw me use the technique in my previous fight." he responded "Incredible isn't it? By just watching the move once he was able to master it. No need to say he cleaned the floor with me afterwards." "But you defeated him later." Akane pointed out "Or at least that's what I heard." "Yes, I did." he went on "But that's another story. The point of all this is that the Sen Puu Ken can be learned without me telling you how. Just like Krauser, Ranma can learn it on his own. It might take him longer than Krauser though, but eventually he might learn it. That's just something we'll just have to wait and see." "I see..." "There's something else." Terry declared while standing up. "What is it?" "We might as well go and look for Ryouga." he said "He's certainly lost now." "Yes, I think we should." she stated with a slight giggle.