Maybe how she holds herself and her interactions with him? I'll have to reread from the beginning, but how she walks, what words she uses, her demeanor, and such could all cause Ranma ever growing discomfort. When Kaede hugged him and started tracing a spiral on his stomach in the last snippet is something I could see happening again, as long as she's certain she wont get another Mattress Surprise. Perhaps more instances of similar acts of intimacy? Nothing overt or blatant (like grabbing his crotch), but subtle, light touches. Kaede's not of this world (right?), so maybe something about her when they touch dings Ranma's radar.
Ranma ½ Rinne
- Thread starter Lawra
- Start date
Ranma is the one person I don't want to find her off and creepy and malicious though. She dings him as someone relatively safe and likable enough that he'll risk the fury of Akane/Ukyo/Shampoo to go on a short notice trip with her. While Genma on the other hand views her as a harbinger of doom.
Unfortunately the rug is going to get pulled out from under Ranma real quick so I won't have time for them get too buddy buddy at least not before he finds out that she was sent to basically kill him. After that fails though it does leave the option open for secret moments between them before that's arc is resolved.
Unfortunately the rug is going to get pulled out from under Ranma real quick so I won't have time for them get too buddy buddy at least not before he finds out that she was sent to basically kill him. After that fails though it does leave the option open for secret moments between them before that's arc is resolved.
Honestly, she seems a bit too in control. Especially if you want some sort of atmosphere like that. You had her playing video games on the trip, and casually distracting the Amazons (Which considering their experience should be harder than she makes it seem).
If she's supposed to feel malicious to other people, make her exercise her power in other ways. She's an illusionist, and people are going to want to follow Ranma. That's really the perfect setup there.
If she's supposed to feel malicious to other people, make her exercise her power in other ways. She's an illusionist, and people are going to want to follow Ranma. That's really the perfect setup there.
Thinking on it some more, it'd take a little too much effort and extra scenes with Kaede interacting with other cast members to really fit that kind of thing in and there isn't really any pay off to it.
------------
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.â€
“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.â€
“It’s a curse.†He tried to correct her quickly. “Wait-- why were you at Furinkan?â€
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.â€
“Oh-- alright.†He nodded uncertainly. “So what’d you think of the fight?â€
“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.â€
“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.â€
“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.â€
Sitting in silence after being stunned by his sudden shift in temperament, she finally answered him. “Protect the weak is a good code.â€
“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.â€
“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.â€
“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.â€
‘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.â€
“I can drink anyone under the table.†He boasted before gulping audibly. “I just don’t like what happens after.â€
“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.â€
“Drink me under the table and I will.†She challenged.
“I’ll pass.†The red eyed teen grimaced as she poured him some more.
------------
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.â€
“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.â€
“It’s a curse.†He tried to correct her quickly. “Wait-- why were you at Furinkan?â€
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.â€
“Oh-- alright.†He nodded uncertainly. “So what’d you think of the fight?â€
“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.â€
“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.â€
“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.â€
Sitting in silence after being stunned by his sudden shift in temperament, she finally answered him. “Protect the weak is a good code.â€
“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.â€
“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.â€
“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.â€
‘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.â€
“I can drink anyone under the table.†He boasted before gulping audibly. “I just don’t like what happens after.â€
“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.â€
“Drink me under the table and I will.†She challenged.
“I’ll pass.†The red eyed teen grimaced as she poured him some more.
Now so sure about the kitsune girl and apparent connection to the Narutoverse, but the excellent writing and spot-on characterization has got me interested in this story. Haven't read too many other fics that got the personalities of the Ranma cast so perfect. They usually get flanderized to hell or they goofier aspects of their behavior get dropped to make the story more serious.
About the only thing I didn't like was Ryouga fleeing in terror from the fox. Even in piglet form the guy is still insanely durable and strong. He's given Ranma trouble in pig form and survived being cooked alive several times. I doubt any ordinary animal could be a serious threat to him. Unless the fox proved itself to be supernaturally powerful or was unusually large (like the animals at Ryugenzawa) or something I don't think he'd be worried about it and would just ignore it or kick it away if it came too close.
About the only thing I didn't like was Ryouga fleeing in terror from the fox. Even in piglet form the guy is still insanely durable and strong. He's given Ranma trouble in pig form and survived being cooked alive several times. I doubt any ordinary animal could be a serious threat to him. Unless the fox proved itself to be supernaturally powerful or was unusually large (like the animals at Ryugenzawa) or something I don't think he'd be worried about it and would just ignore it or kick it away if it came too close.
I'm skipping over Ranma/Kaede arriving at the shrine because that little scene doesn't really have me worried. For a summary, Kaede asks Ranma what he would do if it was his last day alive, just because it was being neglected the curse is activated by some random water source. As they walk along the long line of torii Ranma notices the words are all wrong. Spell kicks in to transport him and the last thing he sees is Kaede watching impassively.
Not shown is that Ranma goes through a lay over realm where anything not from it is destroyed. So clothing and the dragon whisker are going bye bye. (Though the dragon whisker will wear off so not an issue.)
This stuff though is much more difficult then just another little convo between those two I want more time to get feedback on it. And if major revisions are needed it won't be as huge a deal. I'm not going to come out and say exactly what's going on but I do want to confirm several things before the chapter ends.
Since I'll be getting into Naruto before it went kind of full on retarded for power scale, Ranma is a very serious threat in terms of straight of skill. But loses to exotic techniques or numbers. But he's not top dog and the Konoha ninja can be just as good or better.
First scene should be enough to answer most questions on the title.
Rest of it I'd love to know ways to make things clearer from the Konoha perspective. (Being that they just had someone who feels exactly like the Kyuubi appearing next to Naruto)
-------------
Ranma stirred, her mind foggy as she tried to get her bearings. Her memory was hazy, the last thing she remembered was Kaede watching impassively as the world vanished around her. There was something else that came after it but it was escaping her grasp. Laying on a cold hard surface, she struggled against a strange pressure weighing on her mind to come out of her stupor.
“Wake up.†A deep masculine voice pleaded.
Her red eyes fluttered open, feeling a warm and powerful presence overwhelming the cold of the floor. “Bwa?†She rose to a sitting position and stared at the massive gilded barred door before her. Ranma couldn’t make anything out past the bars the small amount of light in the room was being swallowed up by an impenetrable darkness.
“Oh good you’re awake.†The man’s voice reached her again.
“Who’s there?†She asked, rising to her feet unsteadily before looking around the room. The roof was nearly fifteen meters high and the width was about the same. The only way out was a normal sized door directly across the room from the bars.
“I am.†He called out and Ranma finally saw the man standing between two of the bars, a wall of black behind him.
“Where am I?†She asked, cautiously moving towards him. There was something about him that was incredibly familiar.
Standing nearly two meters in height, he had a slim build, and his facial features reminded her a little of herself. Save the two dark markings around his red vertically slitted eyes that extended slightly towards his pointed ears. Long orange hair draped down past his shoulders in a wild spiky mane. Wearing only a black vest and matching pants, it was easy to lose his body in the background.
“There isn’t much time.†He said impatiently, noticing her scrutiny. “Please, remove this seal.†He pointed upwards to a piece of paper pressed against the lock of the bars with an intricate pattern printed on it.
“Who are you?†Ranma’s curiosity was getting the better of her. If she was a man right now it would be almost like looking in a mirror.
“Now isn’t the time for such questions. If you don’t free me soon then he’ll come.†He explained with far more urgency in his voice and a little anger.
“Who will come?†She asked and his face twisted into a scowl.
Out of nowhere an intense feeling of hatred hit her like a physical blow. “I said remove the seal!†He yelled, his body vanishing in a large puff of smoke before she had to leap backwards to avoid claws larger than her body shooting out between the bars.
“What the hell is that?†She asked herself, running nearly back to the center of the room, and watching the giant pair of red eyes that now glared out at her, unable to see anything else.
“I will have my freedom!†A thick red mist rolling through the bars to head towards her like a living river.
“I’m not helping you now!†Ranma didn’t stick around to play with the mist that was moving towards her. But as soon as she started towards the one way out, the liquid like mist moved with startling speed to cut off her escape. “Well-- shit.†She commented, having nowhere to go to avoid whatever the monster was doing.
The creature chuckled deeply, the mist swirling around her, clearly toying with her. “I know you can feel it too. You belong to me!â€
A hand clasped her on the shoulder, nearly making her jump into the air from the shock. Turning around, she only caught a glimpse of blonde hair framing calm blue eyes before everything went black again. A frighteningly loud roar of anger chasing her into unconsciousness.
zx
Naruto woke up in bed and everything was normal. Except for the impossible thing that was laying next to him in bed. Squinting at the figure to see if the form would waver and vanish, it remained as though it was an actual physical being. Shrugging and deciding not to worry about the impossible thing, he went to make himself a nice hot breakfast of instant ramen noodles.
His hunger sated, he returned to his room, and surveyed that impossible thing that was now partially entwined with his blankets. Rubbing at the side of his head, he wondered what he should do about the thing that should not be. The thing that was snoring and laying in his bed.
“Oi.†He reached out a hand to touch the woman with wild unbound red hair after she turned onto her side. His hand never made it as he froze up at the view now afforded to him. The sleeveless green gi top had opened up enough to show off her generous bust. Moaning cutely, she shifted one of her long toned legs up towards her body.
‘So-- so hot!’ He quickly ran out of the room and back in. ‘Okay just calm down, there is an incredibly hot red head in your bed and you have no clue how she got there. What now?’ Cursing that he didn’t have a camera he paced back and forth in frustration.
Taking in a deep breath, Naruto firmed his resolve, and reached out to shake her shoulder. “Oi, wake up.†He was not expecting for a dainty hand to snag him by the wrist and throw him face first into the wall.
“What did you do that for?†He demanded, jumping back from the surprisingly forceful impact. The only answer he got was a unfeminine snort and the woman rolling over to wrap herself up further in his blankets.
“Wake up!†He shouted and slammed both hands down on the bed, bouncing her upwards nearly a meter in the air. Two wild red eyes snapped open and found his own blue ones immediately.
“What are you--.†He never got to finish his question as one of her bare legs snapped out to kick him square in the face.
zx
“What the hell am I wearing?!†Ranma cried out, looking down at the highly modified gi she had been dressed in. “It’s so--.†She picked at some of the silken fabric that instead of folding over to completely cover her chest instead was left open to emphasize it. “Ugh it’s like some kind of fetish cosplay.†The bottom barely went past her crotch but it was a small mercy to her very underdeveloped sense of feminine modesty that she had tight black shorts on underneath.
Pausing after a few creative curses for the one who decided to play dress up while she had been out, Ranma finally paid attention to the small blond kid she had knocked out. Halfway embedded in the wall, one leg occasionally twitching, it reminded Ranma of something Akane might do.
“You alright kid?†She asked worriedly, hoping she hadn’t crippled someone from an instinctive reaction. Hearing a pained groan, she carefully pulled him free of the wall. “You good?†She asked the young boy who looked to be about eleven with a set of three whisker like marks on each cheek.
“Mo wamen pwease.†He whimpered before collapsing to the floor in a heap.
“Yea you’ll be fine.†She nodded and patted him on the head before inspecting her surroundings. Just a small apartment filled with cheap knick knacks and littered with clothing, scrolls, and a handful of used instant ramen cups.
Looking out a set of windows, she blinked several times in confusion at the strange mix of building styles that filled her view. It was like someone took a style from a bunch of different cultures and just threw them together then put some vaguely Japanese touches to try and tie everything together.
“Hey Kaede! This joke isn’t funny anymore. Get rid of this stupid illusion already!†She called out, feeling uncomfortable with the unfamiliar city. “Kaede?†She asked with much less force when there was no response.
Two men wearing white animal masks dropped down to a nearby roof, both brandishing several short knives in each hand. Waving one of her hands at the pair and chuckling nervously, her well honed sense that told her when bad things were about to happen was informing her that this might not be her day.
“Yipe!†Grabbing the blond kid, she ducked through the bedrooms doorway moments before the window exploded from dozens of bladed weapons plowing through it. Her bare feet skidded on the wooden floor upon finding another masked man preparing to throw a very large shuriken at her.
“Release him!†The masked man shouted as he threw the weapon.
“Sure thing, but can’t we talk about this?†She asked, dodging the weapon, and sliding the boy into a small washroom to the side. The answer she received was the masked man attempting to stab her in the face. Flowing around his attack to get behind him, she jumped up, and planted a kick to his back that sent him flying through the doorway to tumble into the window frame.
“See ya kid!†She called out upon seeing even more masked men leaping up to land on a small ledge outside the window. “Now which way is the exit out of this nuthouse?†She added before rushing through the door, several throwing knives and shuriken slamming into the wall behind her as she rounded the corner.
zx
Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Sandaime Hokage, a man far too old to carry the title carefully inspected the seal on Naruto’s stomach while trusting the ninja of his village to handle matters outside. Having studied the seal in depth it was easy to see that something had tweaked it. The eight trigrams seal, a combination seal forming a spiral in the center with eight characters spaced around it had gained two more characters as well as a dashed circle around the original seal. He had expected the seal keeping the Kyuubi to be weakened by releasing a piece of itself, but he could find no evidence of this.
Satisfied that Naruto was not in any immediate danger and that the full force of the Kyuubi would not be awaked this day, he turned to a nearby ANBU member wearing a dog mask. “Where is it now?â€
“Squads three through eight are engaging it at training ground twelve. Evacuation of civilians in the nearby area is almost complete with Jounin preparing to assist in the Kyuubi’s destruction.†The ANBU member answered with a brief nod of his head.
“I’ll be there momentarily, inform the squad commanders that it is to be captured, intact if possible.†Sarutobi narrowed his eyes at Naruto’s sleeping form. He needed to know the purpose of this change to the seal.
“Hokage-sama.†The ANBU sounded uncertain but left without questioning him.
Following at a slower pace over the rooftops of Konoha, he carefully drew the new seal that had been placed on Naruto for further study later. Even without knowing the location, he could feel the Kyuubi’s weakening presence as the Bijuu in human form struggled against Konoha’s forces. Something about it was off though. The Kyuubi was a creature of pure malice, a living element of destruction. But the avatar fighting for her life lacked that, even in the midst of combat, the majority of the destruction he was passing had been caused by Sarutobi’s own forces.
Arriving at training ground twelve, a quarry that had been converted for the purpose of training Doton techniques, the heavy stone making excellent practice material for earthen manipulations. Another ANBU with a hawk mask approached him as soon as he had appeared.
“Casualties?†Sarutobi asked gravely.
“None Hokage-sama.†The ANBU answered with surprise in his tone. “A great deal of broken bones and some injuries that could be life threatening without treatment but no deaths. She isn’t using any ninjutsu, only physical attacks.â€
Raising an eyebrow in surprise, he had expected there to be a long list of families he would have had to send death notices to. He had not yet seen the Kyuubi’s avatar but he had been expecting a frightening visage when instead he found an innocent looking young girl with long unbound red hair. Surrounding her like a forest were hundreds of kunai, shuriken, and other more exotic throwing weapons.
She was hunched over, arms hanging limply with a pair of kunai barely held by her fingers. Since her clothing consisted of just a modified martial arts gi, he could see bloodied cuts covering her bare arms and legs. Her knees buckled briefly before she attempted to stand up straight, clearly struggling to hold herself upright.
“Kurenai.†He called out and the kunoichi appeared before him in a brief swirl of leaves. “Please end this before she dies from chakra exhaustion or blood loss. I need her alive.†The black haired woman nodded and vanished in a puff of smoke.
Sarutobi caught sight of the Jounin appearing closer to the Kyuubi avatar. Kurenai was a master of genjutsu and at this point was best suited to subduing the other female. After the woman performed a few hand seals, the avatar responded immediately to the mind technique, and dropped to the ground like a puppet whose strings had been cut.
“I want her secured, alive, and ready for questioning as soon as possible.†He ordered to the ANBU commander.
Not shown is that Ranma goes through a lay over realm where anything not from it is destroyed. So clothing and the dragon whisker are going bye bye. (Though the dragon whisker will wear off so not an issue.)
This stuff though is much more difficult then just another little convo between those two I want more time to get feedback on it. And if major revisions are needed it won't be as huge a deal. I'm not going to come out and say exactly what's going on but I do want to confirm several things before the chapter ends.
Since I'll be getting into Naruto before it went kind of full on retarded for power scale, Ranma is a very serious threat in terms of straight of skill. But loses to exotic techniques or numbers. But he's not top dog and the Konoha ninja can be just as good or better.
First scene should be enough to answer most questions on the title.
Rest of it I'd love to know ways to make things clearer from the Konoha perspective. (Being that they just had someone who feels exactly like the Kyuubi appearing next to Naruto)
-------------
Ranma stirred, her mind foggy as she tried to get her bearings. Her memory was hazy, the last thing she remembered was Kaede watching impassively as the world vanished around her. There was something else that came after it but it was escaping her grasp. Laying on a cold hard surface, she struggled against a strange pressure weighing on her mind to come out of her stupor.
“Wake up.†A deep masculine voice pleaded.
Her red eyes fluttered open, feeling a warm and powerful presence overwhelming the cold of the floor. “Bwa?†She rose to a sitting position and stared at the massive gilded barred door before her. Ranma couldn’t make anything out past the bars the small amount of light in the room was being swallowed up by an impenetrable darkness.
“Oh good you’re awake.†The man’s voice reached her again.
“Who’s there?†She asked, rising to her feet unsteadily before looking around the room. The roof was nearly fifteen meters high and the width was about the same. The only way out was a normal sized door directly across the room from the bars.
“I am.†He called out and Ranma finally saw the man standing between two of the bars, a wall of black behind him.
“Where am I?†She asked, cautiously moving towards him. There was something about him that was incredibly familiar.
Standing nearly two meters in height, he had a slim build, and his facial features reminded her a little of herself. Save the two dark markings around his red vertically slitted eyes that extended slightly towards his pointed ears. Long orange hair draped down past his shoulders in a wild spiky mane. Wearing only a black vest and matching pants, it was easy to lose his body in the background.
“There isn’t much time.†He said impatiently, noticing her scrutiny. “Please, remove this seal.†He pointed upwards to a piece of paper pressed against the lock of the bars with an intricate pattern printed on it.
“Who are you?†Ranma’s curiosity was getting the better of her. If she was a man right now it would be almost like looking in a mirror.
“Now isn’t the time for such questions. If you don’t free me soon then he’ll come.†He explained with far more urgency in his voice and a little anger.
“Who will come?†She asked and his face twisted into a scowl.
Out of nowhere an intense feeling of hatred hit her like a physical blow. “I said remove the seal!†He yelled, his body vanishing in a large puff of smoke before she had to leap backwards to avoid claws larger than her body shooting out between the bars.
“What the hell is that?†She asked herself, running nearly back to the center of the room, and watching the giant pair of red eyes that now glared out at her, unable to see anything else.
“I will have my freedom!†A thick red mist rolling through the bars to head towards her like a living river.
“I’m not helping you now!†Ranma didn’t stick around to play with the mist that was moving towards her. But as soon as she started towards the one way out, the liquid like mist moved with startling speed to cut off her escape. “Well-- shit.†She commented, having nowhere to go to avoid whatever the monster was doing.
The creature chuckled deeply, the mist swirling around her, clearly toying with her. “I know you can feel it too. You belong to me!â€
A hand clasped her on the shoulder, nearly making her jump into the air from the shock. Turning around, she only caught a glimpse of blonde hair framing calm blue eyes before everything went black again. A frighteningly loud roar of anger chasing her into unconsciousness.
zx
Naruto woke up in bed and everything was normal. Except for the impossible thing that was laying next to him in bed. Squinting at the figure to see if the form would waver and vanish, it remained as though it was an actual physical being. Shrugging and deciding not to worry about the impossible thing, he went to make himself a nice hot breakfast of instant ramen noodles.
His hunger sated, he returned to his room, and surveyed that impossible thing that was now partially entwined with his blankets. Rubbing at the side of his head, he wondered what he should do about the thing that should not be. The thing that was snoring and laying in his bed.
“Oi.†He reached out a hand to touch the woman with wild unbound red hair after she turned onto her side. His hand never made it as he froze up at the view now afforded to him. The sleeveless green gi top had opened up enough to show off her generous bust. Moaning cutely, she shifted one of her long toned legs up towards her body.
‘So-- so hot!’ He quickly ran out of the room and back in. ‘Okay just calm down, there is an incredibly hot red head in your bed and you have no clue how she got there. What now?’ Cursing that he didn’t have a camera he paced back and forth in frustration.
Taking in a deep breath, Naruto firmed his resolve, and reached out to shake her shoulder. “Oi, wake up.†He was not expecting for a dainty hand to snag him by the wrist and throw him face first into the wall.
“What did you do that for?†He demanded, jumping back from the surprisingly forceful impact. The only answer he got was a unfeminine snort and the woman rolling over to wrap herself up further in his blankets.
“Wake up!†He shouted and slammed both hands down on the bed, bouncing her upwards nearly a meter in the air. Two wild red eyes snapped open and found his own blue ones immediately.
“What are you--.†He never got to finish his question as one of her bare legs snapped out to kick him square in the face.
zx
“What the hell am I wearing?!†Ranma cried out, looking down at the highly modified gi she had been dressed in. “It’s so--.†She picked at some of the silken fabric that instead of folding over to completely cover her chest instead was left open to emphasize it. “Ugh it’s like some kind of fetish cosplay.†The bottom barely went past her crotch but it was a small mercy to her very underdeveloped sense of feminine modesty that she had tight black shorts on underneath.
Pausing after a few creative curses for the one who decided to play dress up while she had been out, Ranma finally paid attention to the small blond kid she had knocked out. Halfway embedded in the wall, one leg occasionally twitching, it reminded Ranma of something Akane might do.
“You alright kid?†She asked worriedly, hoping she hadn’t crippled someone from an instinctive reaction. Hearing a pained groan, she carefully pulled him free of the wall. “You good?†She asked the young boy who looked to be about eleven with a set of three whisker like marks on each cheek.
“Mo wamen pwease.†He whimpered before collapsing to the floor in a heap.
“Yea you’ll be fine.†She nodded and patted him on the head before inspecting her surroundings. Just a small apartment filled with cheap knick knacks and littered with clothing, scrolls, and a handful of used instant ramen cups.
Looking out a set of windows, she blinked several times in confusion at the strange mix of building styles that filled her view. It was like someone took a style from a bunch of different cultures and just threw them together then put some vaguely Japanese touches to try and tie everything together.
“Hey Kaede! This joke isn’t funny anymore. Get rid of this stupid illusion already!†She called out, feeling uncomfortable with the unfamiliar city. “Kaede?†She asked with much less force when there was no response.
Two men wearing white animal masks dropped down to a nearby roof, both brandishing several short knives in each hand. Waving one of her hands at the pair and chuckling nervously, her well honed sense that told her when bad things were about to happen was informing her that this might not be her day.
“Yipe!†Grabbing the blond kid, she ducked through the bedrooms doorway moments before the window exploded from dozens of bladed weapons plowing through it. Her bare feet skidded on the wooden floor upon finding another masked man preparing to throw a very large shuriken at her.
“Release him!†The masked man shouted as he threw the weapon.
“Sure thing, but can’t we talk about this?†She asked, dodging the weapon, and sliding the boy into a small washroom to the side. The answer she received was the masked man attempting to stab her in the face. Flowing around his attack to get behind him, she jumped up, and planted a kick to his back that sent him flying through the doorway to tumble into the window frame.
“See ya kid!†She called out upon seeing even more masked men leaping up to land on a small ledge outside the window. “Now which way is the exit out of this nuthouse?†She added before rushing through the door, several throwing knives and shuriken slamming into the wall behind her as she rounded the corner.
zx
Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Sandaime Hokage, a man far too old to carry the title carefully inspected the seal on Naruto’s stomach while trusting the ninja of his village to handle matters outside. Having studied the seal in depth it was easy to see that something had tweaked it. The eight trigrams seal, a combination seal forming a spiral in the center with eight characters spaced around it had gained two more characters as well as a dashed circle around the original seal. He had expected the seal keeping the Kyuubi to be weakened by releasing a piece of itself, but he could find no evidence of this.
Satisfied that Naruto was not in any immediate danger and that the full force of the Kyuubi would not be awaked this day, he turned to a nearby ANBU member wearing a dog mask. “Where is it now?â€
“Squads three through eight are engaging it at training ground twelve. Evacuation of civilians in the nearby area is almost complete with Jounin preparing to assist in the Kyuubi’s destruction.†The ANBU member answered with a brief nod of his head.
“I’ll be there momentarily, inform the squad commanders that it is to be captured, intact if possible.†Sarutobi narrowed his eyes at Naruto’s sleeping form. He needed to know the purpose of this change to the seal.
“Hokage-sama.†The ANBU sounded uncertain but left without questioning him.
Following at a slower pace over the rooftops of Konoha, he carefully drew the new seal that had been placed on Naruto for further study later. Even without knowing the location, he could feel the Kyuubi’s weakening presence as the Bijuu in human form struggled against Konoha’s forces. Something about it was off though. The Kyuubi was a creature of pure malice, a living element of destruction. But the avatar fighting for her life lacked that, even in the midst of combat, the majority of the destruction he was passing had been caused by Sarutobi’s own forces.
Arriving at training ground twelve, a quarry that had been converted for the purpose of training Doton techniques, the heavy stone making excellent practice material for earthen manipulations. Another ANBU with a hawk mask approached him as soon as he had appeared.
“Casualties?†Sarutobi asked gravely.
“None Hokage-sama.†The ANBU answered with surprise in his tone. “A great deal of broken bones and some injuries that could be life threatening without treatment but no deaths. She isn’t using any ninjutsu, only physical attacks.â€
Raising an eyebrow in surprise, he had expected there to be a long list of families he would have had to send death notices to. He had not yet seen the Kyuubi’s avatar but he had been expecting a frightening visage when instead he found an innocent looking young girl with long unbound red hair. Surrounding her like a forest were hundreds of kunai, shuriken, and other more exotic throwing weapons.
She was hunched over, arms hanging limply with a pair of kunai barely held by her fingers. Since her clothing consisted of just a modified martial arts gi, he could see bloodied cuts covering her bare arms and legs. Her knees buckled briefly before she attempted to stand up straight, clearly struggling to hold herself upright.
“Kurenai.†He called out and the kunoichi appeared before him in a brief swirl of leaves. “Please end this before she dies from chakra exhaustion or blood loss. I need her alive.†The black haired woman nodded and vanished in a puff of smoke.
Sarutobi caught sight of the Jounin appearing closer to the Kyuubi avatar. Kurenai was a master of genjutsu and at this point was best suited to subduing the other female. After the woman performed a few hand seals, the avatar responded immediately to the mind technique, and dropped to the ground like a puppet whose strings had been cut.
“I want her secured, alive, and ready for questioning as soon as possible.†He ordered to the ANBU commander.
Ranma does feel the same, being the yin chakra's reincarnation. I should make it more clear from Sarutobi's POV that they think the Kyuubi got out somehow and it's in no way because of looks. (He doesn't even see Ranma until the end) He does end the first paragraph pointing out what they think is happening though so not sure how much more is needed or warranted considering the next chapter has much more time to deal with that.
Time difference between realms for why Ranma is older. And before there is any whining on the subject, that does not mean Ranma is the female half.
This is after the weakness moxibustion, so no.
edit
maybe I'll just stick with Ranmas pov so no one has any real clue why konoha is trying to kill him.
Time difference between realms for why Ranma is older. And before there is any whining on the subject, that does not mean Ranma is the female half.
This is after the weakness moxibustion, so no.
edit
maybe I'll just stick with Ranmas pov so no one has any real clue why konoha is trying to kill him.
And now for the after drunk scene.
----
The next morning
It was a beautiful and warm summer day with a pleasant breeze and just a few puffy clouds high in the sky. But Ranma paid very little attention to those details. He knew that Kaede had noticed his attention and he hadn’t made a real attempt to hide it. But as they arrived at the shrine by train, he couldn’t help but keep his eyes on the blonde girl.
Last night, his low tolerance for alcohol had been proven once again. He had woken up with Kaede in the lone bed of their hotel room with no memory of the prior evening's activities but still fully clothed. Waking up with a girl at his side was honestly not that strange of an occurrence and they had woken up at nearly the same time. He had been about to stutter an apology just to try and avoid any Akane-like reaction when he had noticed her shocked expression. As well as a large pair of blonde furred triangular ears on the top of her head that flicked once. They appeared for only an instant and in the next she looked completely normal.
While he was confident that had not been seeing things, he had no clue how to discuss the oddity. So that left him impotently trying to figure out what was going on. A byproduct of how they had waken up was that Kaede had gone completely silent and gave him the cold shoulder. So on top of the mystery, his reason for the trip wasn’t happening.
The trip company or whoever organized this had supplied them with matching yukatas to wear for the activities they had planned for the day. His was a slightly darker shade of blue but they were both decorated with the same two tomoe symbol spattered randomly on the fabric. Ranma found the use of a symbol so much like a yin-yang taijitu to be a little too convenient but the sooner they got through this boring trip to the shrine the sooner they could get back to training. (1)
“Kaede.†He finally decided to ask the girl and maybe clear the air.
“What is it?†She asked, turning to look in his direction but not directly at him.
“Did you have--.†He scratched at his chin before putting both hands up to the top of his head. “Ears this morning?†He finished.
Her eyes widened imperceptibly in response and she quickly reached up to pat her ears. “What kind of question is that? You must have vastly overrated your tolerance if you were still seeing things in the morning. Aren’t you more worried about how we ended up in the same bed?†She quickly changed the subject.
“Well no not really.†He dropped his hands to his side.
“Well I am! My family is very traditional and if anything happened then it could mean big trouble!â€
“But nothing happened!†He protested loudly, earning a few looks from the small amount of people on the way to visit the shrine this early in the morning. “And your parents and definitely not my fiancees need to ever know it happened.†He said much quieter.
“Agreed.†She nodded quickly and sighed. “Let’s hurry, so we can beat the crowd.†She suggested more cheerfully.
“Same.†He agreed in time to be hit in the face with water by an old woman dousing the walkway.
“Oh-- I’m sorry dear.†The short elderly woman apologized slowly, head and body shaking slightly as she dipped her ladle down into a bucket to retrieve more water. “My eyes aren’t what they used to be.â€
Ranma just stared down at the old woman, unconsciously adjusting her clothing to try and lift the bottom off the ground and retie her obi. “Maybe aim lower next time.†She said slowly.
“Maybe.†The old woman answered absently, splashing even more water on the stone. “You two seem a good pair.â€
Giving up on the senile old woman, she turned back to Kaede. “You see anyplace around here where I could get some hot water to change back?â€
The blonde was analyzing her closely enough that she didn’t immediately respond. “If you stayed like that it would stop comments about us being a couple.†She pointed out.
“I guess it wouldn’t hurt-- for a little while.†Ranma had heard a few remarks like that and she knew that eventually Shampoo, Ukyo, and maybe Akane or Kodachi could be tracking her down at any moment. This would look less incriminating when that finally happened. And if she remembered correctly there were a lot of fountains around the shrine so this would preempt another activation of the curse.
“Come on, we’re supposed to meet up at the first shrine down the path.†Kaede left her to head towards the two rows of red torii that headed up the hill. Ranma followed, briefly wondering who they were supposed to meet and why they would want to so far away from the entrance.
“What’s the rush?†She asked, catching up as Kaede slowed to a stop upon entering the right path. Glancing at the company names engraved on the hundreds of torii in just her field of view, she felt like she was going down a tunnel with how many of the red arches lined the path. Ranma nearly bumped into Kaede’s back as the blonde stopped suddenly to stare forward. “Is being weird normal for you?†She asked curiously.
“Ranma-dono, if this was your last day alive, what would you want to do?†Kaede asked seriously, turning to stare directly into her eyes.
“Not get asked dumb questions.†She replied flippantly.
“Tell me.†Kaede demanded, shoulders stiffening.
“Well--.†Ranma scratched at the side of her head. “Guess I would have liked to have slept in to start, breakfast could have been better, and more of it.â€
“I’m serious.†The girl before her looked ready to deliver a slap for her response.
“Me too.†Shrugging she didn’t see anything wrong with what she had said. “If it really was my last day alive-- I’d rather not know it. So what would be so wrong with enjoying things that I enjoy doing?â€
“You’re not different-- you’re just dumb.†She snorted and resumed her quick pace down the path.
“Dumb?†Ranma asked herself. “Dumb?!†She yelled and ran after the blonde. “If you think you’re so smart than what would you do if this was your last day alive? Huh?†Ranma ran in front of Kaede with a burst of speed. “You ask me that kind of stupid question out of nowhere and insult me over it!†She yelled into the other females passive face.
“I apologize Ranma-dono, it was not my place to ask such a thing.†Kaede apologized and slowly raised a hand to lightly tap Ranma in the center of her chest.
Ranma barely realized what was going on before the blonde’s hand touched her. The chakra enhanced touched sent her flying several meters down the line of torii. Sliding to a stop she groaned and quickly rose back to her feet. “What did you do that for?†She yelled.
Kaede didn’t answer other than to clasp her hands together in a strange sign. Ranma felt the air around her explode in power, her vision distorting as she collapsed to her knees. Her ears rang and she clutched at her head, trying desperately to keep out the heavy thrumming that shook her entire body.
Attempting to crawl away from the area, the last thing Ranma saw was Kaede changing hand signs, and watching impassively as the world appeared to melt away.
----
The next morning
It was a beautiful and warm summer day with a pleasant breeze and just a few puffy clouds high in the sky. But Ranma paid very little attention to those details. He knew that Kaede had noticed his attention and he hadn’t made a real attempt to hide it. But as they arrived at the shrine by train, he couldn’t help but keep his eyes on the blonde girl.
Last night, his low tolerance for alcohol had been proven once again. He had woken up with Kaede in the lone bed of their hotel room with no memory of the prior evening's activities but still fully clothed. Waking up with a girl at his side was honestly not that strange of an occurrence and they had woken up at nearly the same time. He had been about to stutter an apology just to try and avoid any Akane-like reaction when he had noticed her shocked expression. As well as a large pair of blonde furred triangular ears on the top of her head that flicked once. They appeared for only an instant and in the next she looked completely normal.
While he was confident that had not been seeing things, he had no clue how to discuss the oddity. So that left him impotently trying to figure out what was going on. A byproduct of how they had waken up was that Kaede had gone completely silent and gave him the cold shoulder. So on top of the mystery, his reason for the trip wasn’t happening.
The trip company or whoever organized this had supplied them with matching yukatas to wear for the activities they had planned for the day. His was a slightly darker shade of blue but they were both decorated with the same two tomoe symbol spattered randomly on the fabric. Ranma found the use of a symbol so much like a yin-yang taijitu to be a little too convenient but the sooner they got through this boring trip to the shrine the sooner they could get back to training. (1)
“Kaede.†He finally decided to ask the girl and maybe clear the air.
“What is it?†She asked, turning to look in his direction but not directly at him.
“Did you have--.†He scratched at his chin before putting both hands up to the top of his head. “Ears this morning?†He finished.
Her eyes widened imperceptibly in response and she quickly reached up to pat her ears. “What kind of question is that? You must have vastly overrated your tolerance if you were still seeing things in the morning. Aren’t you more worried about how we ended up in the same bed?†She quickly changed the subject.
“Well no not really.†He dropped his hands to his side.
“Well I am! My family is very traditional and if anything happened then it could mean big trouble!â€
“But nothing happened!†He protested loudly, earning a few looks from the small amount of people on the way to visit the shrine this early in the morning. “And your parents and definitely not my fiancees need to ever know it happened.†He said much quieter.
“Agreed.†She nodded quickly and sighed. “Let’s hurry, so we can beat the crowd.†She suggested more cheerfully.
“Same.†He agreed in time to be hit in the face with water by an old woman dousing the walkway.
“Oh-- I’m sorry dear.†The short elderly woman apologized slowly, head and body shaking slightly as she dipped her ladle down into a bucket to retrieve more water. “My eyes aren’t what they used to be.â€
Ranma just stared down at the old woman, unconsciously adjusting her clothing to try and lift the bottom off the ground and retie her obi. “Maybe aim lower next time.†She said slowly.
“Maybe.†The old woman answered absently, splashing even more water on the stone. “You two seem a good pair.â€
Giving up on the senile old woman, she turned back to Kaede. “You see anyplace around here where I could get some hot water to change back?â€
The blonde was analyzing her closely enough that she didn’t immediately respond. “If you stayed like that it would stop comments about us being a couple.†She pointed out.
“I guess it wouldn’t hurt-- for a little while.†Ranma had heard a few remarks like that and she knew that eventually Shampoo, Ukyo, and maybe Akane or Kodachi could be tracking her down at any moment. This would look less incriminating when that finally happened. And if she remembered correctly there were a lot of fountains around the shrine so this would preempt another activation of the curse.
“Come on, we’re supposed to meet up at the first shrine down the path.†Kaede left her to head towards the two rows of red torii that headed up the hill. Ranma followed, briefly wondering who they were supposed to meet and why they would want to so far away from the entrance.
“What’s the rush?†She asked, catching up as Kaede slowed to a stop upon entering the right path. Glancing at the company names engraved on the hundreds of torii in just her field of view, she felt like she was going down a tunnel with how many of the red arches lined the path. Ranma nearly bumped into Kaede’s back as the blonde stopped suddenly to stare forward. “Is being weird normal for you?†She asked curiously.
“Ranma-dono, if this was your last day alive, what would you want to do?†Kaede asked seriously, turning to stare directly into her eyes.
“Not get asked dumb questions.†She replied flippantly.
“Tell me.†Kaede demanded, shoulders stiffening.
“Well--.†Ranma scratched at the side of her head. “Guess I would have liked to have slept in to start, breakfast could have been better, and more of it.â€
“I’m serious.†The girl before her looked ready to deliver a slap for her response.
“Me too.†Shrugging she didn’t see anything wrong with what she had said. “If it really was my last day alive-- I’d rather not know it. So what would be so wrong with enjoying things that I enjoy doing?â€
“You’re not different-- you’re just dumb.†She snorted and resumed her quick pace down the path.
“Dumb?†Ranma asked herself. “Dumb?!†She yelled and ran after the blonde. “If you think you’re so smart than what would you do if this was your last day alive? Huh?†Ranma ran in front of Kaede with a burst of speed. “You ask me that kind of stupid question out of nowhere and insult me over it!†She yelled into the other females passive face.
“I apologize Ranma-dono, it was not my place to ask such a thing.†Kaede apologized and slowly raised a hand to lightly tap Ranma in the center of her chest.
Ranma barely realized what was going on before the blonde’s hand touched her. The chakra enhanced touched sent her flying several meters down the line of torii. Sliding to a stop she groaned and quickly rose back to her feet. “What did you do that for?†She yelled.
Kaede didn’t answer other than to clasp her hands together in a strange sign. Ranma felt the air around her explode in power, her vision distorting as she collapsed to her knees. Her ears rang and she clutched at her head, trying desperately to keep out the heavy thrumming that shook her entire body.
Attempting to crawl away from the area, the last thing Ranma saw was Kaede changing hand signs, and watching impassively as the world appeared to melt away.
New ending, cut off everything from the point where Ranma starts running from the ANBU.
---------
Fifteen minutes later
Ranma carelessly dispatched one of the masked guys as he attempted to stab her with one of the small throwing knives they all seemed to carry. His mask shattered and blood splattered over her outstretched fist that deftly caught the knife by the handle. Hearing someone yell out an attack, she caught a man on top of a nearby building wearing a green flack jacket and no mask finish up with a hand sign. Large stone spikes were formed from the building beneath him to shoot out at her position.
“Shit!†She jumped up to plant both feet on the masked guys shoulders before he could fall and pushed. Ranma rocketed one way while he was pushed another a moment before the stone spikes smashed through the building they had been on. Twisting in mid air, she landed on stone shingles before running between two buildings.
At first she had tried to avoid causing severe injuries or death but these guys were not interested in showing her the same courtesy. She had already taken hits from small chakra created techniques like Kaede could do, and even with her speed occasionally some blade would cut her. There was no time to question any of the animal masked soldiers before more appeared. The ones who wore green flack jackets without masks kept their distance so she was forced to just avoid their attacks.
Bouncing between the buildings, she overshot the rooftop, and tried to use the extra height to see a way out of this crazy city. She saw one side was framed by a tall mountain with four faces carved into the rock. But the rest was just surrounded by a tall outer wall and a vast forest of trees.
Before she could even land, Ranma had to deflect or avoid a dozen more thrown weapons. Hissing in pain as several caught her exposed flesh to create long gashes across her legs and arms she landed on the roof next to them. Losing herself for a moment, and only after the four men were laying in heaps on the ground did she come back to rationality.
“These guys just don’t know when to quit.†She wheezed, partially out of breath. Snagging a couple more of the throwing knives just for her own defense, she really wished she knew what was going on. She vaguely remembered something with Kaede at the shrine, could the blonde be behind this?
Having caught her breath, she decided to ignore everything to try and get out of the city as fast as possible. That simple plan ended as three people appeared in puffs of smoke in the direction she needed to travel. All men wearing the green flack jackets, blue pants and sandals, and lacking masks with silver forehead protectors were tied in place around their heads. One of the men, who had a feral look to his face, had a very large wolf-like dog growling at her from his side.
“Uh-- you guys mind telling me why you’re trying to kill me?†She chuckled nervously and scratched at the back of her head, not liking the look of that dog.
“Stuck inside Naruto for twelve years must have made the Kyuubi an idiot.†One of the men joked with the others.
“Kyuubi?†She asked in confusion.
“Too much talking!†The feral one clasped his hands together. “Let’s go Kiromaru!â€
‘Fast!’ Ranma barely avoided the lunging jaws of the giant dog and a follow up snap as she side stepped. The feral man joined in the attack with equal speed, but she deflected his punch then redirected his momentum to throw him into the dog who was coming around for another attack. Glancing at the other two, she saw them putting their hands together in different series of signs. Assuming that they weren’t going to endanger their partner, she was running towards the man and dog duo before they had even collided.
“That bitch!†The human half of the dog duo cursed her as he bowled over his companion.
“Leave your mutt out of this.†She taunted as she bounced off the top of his head, knocking him back down on top of the canine who protested the treatment with a loud whine.
Ranma’s somewhat jovial moment was ended by a sharp stabbing pain in her right shoulder blade. Hissing in pain, she continued over the edge of the roof, and looked back long enough to see one of the throwing knives digging deeply into her flesh. Reaching back to pull it out, a small note attached to it suddenly started to burn.
Her next moment of conscious thought were laying sprawled on the ground, ears ringing, and body numb. Struggling to raise herself up to a sitting position, the knives she had pilfered having been lost, she slowly looked back to see the devastated area where she had been standing. An explosion having destroyed most of the three story wall. Four more of the knives with small notes attached landed around her and Ranma’s eyes widened in alarm. She had barely made it out of the semicircle before the notes started to burn.
This time she felt the explosions, her body tumbling uncontrollably through the air before going through several wooden walls. “Not fair.†She groaned, blood trickling down between her eyes. Her vision was clear enough to see another of the green vest wearing men land in a crouch through the holes she had made.
Weakly rising to her feet and running out of his line of sight, she stumbled over household items, and broke through a doorway to get back outside. Her right arm refused to move properly as she tried to avoid being spotted by moving through the empty alleyways. Barely hiding behind some trash cans as one of the animal masked men inspected the area, she wiped some blood out of her eyes.
As soon as he left, she was on the move again while constantly searching the rooftops for anyone who would alert the city to her position once again. It seemed like hours before she finally got to the edge of the city. Flattening herself against a wall, she carefully scanned the open area she would have to cross in order to reach the tree line on the far side.
Ranma conceded that these guys were good at evacuation because she had only encountered fighters. Carefully leaning out of her hiding spot to check the rooftops as best she could, Ranma decided there wouldn’t be a better time to make the crossing. Hampered by her injuries, she was sure that she had been spotted by the time she reached cover again. Glancing back, there were no shouts to raise the alarm, and no masked men watching from the rooftops.
Releasing the breath she had been holding and thanking every god for her good luck, she continued on her way through the trees towards the large wall surrounding the city. Her body began to protest more and more at the treatment it was currently enduring. Her feet hurt because she didn’t have any shoes, everyone of the cuts decorating her body stung, her right shoulder felt like it was dislocated, and blood would not stop dripping into her eyes from the cut on her forehead.
But things were looking up, that big wall was looking closer, and if she could get out of this crazy city then she could start trying to find her way back home. After cleaning herself up and taking care of her injuries of course. Maybe even finding that asshole who threw those explosives and knock him around with them.
“Oh come on!†She exclaimed in frustration, the trees stopping abruptly to plunge into a vertical cliff down to a quarry far below. Time was a factor and this was going to eat up a lot of it just to walk around to the other side.
“Doton Dosekiryuu!†Someone shouted from behind her and the ground under Ranma’s feet gave way. (2)
Letting out a brief shriek in surprise, she had no way to jump away as the entire cliff collapsed. Mud, rocks, and other debri pelted her as thousands of kilos of struck the bottom of the quarry fifty meters below. Tossed and turned, the liquified Earth finally came to a stop leaving her half buried with a few tree branches brushing against her face.
Ranma stared at the offending branch with a bored look before with a scream of frustration she grabbed it and broke it into as many pieces as she could. Pulling her lower half free, she flopped tiredly on to her back. Above she could see several dozen men and a few women waiting around the remaining edge of the quarry.
Trying to push herself back up to her feet, her right arm gave out making her fall back on her face. Groaning, she tried again, and stumbled with loose footing before finally gaining a vertical base. ‘Nowhere to go.’ She thought sadly, her body ready to give out just from standing. “Hey! I give up! You caught me! I’m sorry for whatever I did!†She called up to them.
At some unspoken signal, her attackers above each threw some kind of throwing weapon down towards her. Ranma was going to try and avoid them up until the air was filled with tiny pops and puffs of smoke filled up the sky as the weapons multiplied into hundreds to blanket the entire area in steel. Her face fell, realizing that she would never be able to dodge fast enough.
Her one good arm flashed out to catch the first throwing knife that entered her reach. With all the remaining speed she had, Ranma deflected every blade she could. As the wave of throwing knives, shuriken, and other oddly shaped metal finally ended, her left arm dropped lifelessly to her side. Around her, the deflected weapons finally hit the ground to embed in the loose soil.
Ranma’s breath came in and out in deep gasps, the single throwing knife in her hand slipped from her limp fingers. Her head drooped and she fell to her knees. “Guess that’s it.†She remarked in a mumble before falling over on her side.
---------
Fifteen minutes later
Ranma carelessly dispatched one of the masked guys as he attempted to stab her with one of the small throwing knives they all seemed to carry. His mask shattered and blood splattered over her outstretched fist that deftly caught the knife by the handle. Hearing someone yell out an attack, she caught a man on top of a nearby building wearing a green flack jacket and no mask finish up with a hand sign. Large stone spikes were formed from the building beneath him to shoot out at her position.
“Shit!†She jumped up to plant both feet on the masked guys shoulders before he could fall and pushed. Ranma rocketed one way while he was pushed another a moment before the stone spikes smashed through the building they had been on. Twisting in mid air, she landed on stone shingles before running between two buildings.
At first she had tried to avoid causing severe injuries or death but these guys were not interested in showing her the same courtesy. She had already taken hits from small chakra created techniques like Kaede could do, and even with her speed occasionally some blade would cut her. There was no time to question any of the animal masked soldiers before more appeared. The ones who wore green flack jackets without masks kept their distance so she was forced to just avoid their attacks.
Bouncing between the buildings, she overshot the rooftop, and tried to use the extra height to see a way out of this crazy city. She saw one side was framed by a tall mountain with four faces carved into the rock. But the rest was just surrounded by a tall outer wall and a vast forest of trees.
Before she could even land, Ranma had to deflect or avoid a dozen more thrown weapons. Hissing in pain as several caught her exposed flesh to create long gashes across her legs and arms she landed on the roof next to them. Losing herself for a moment, and only after the four men were laying in heaps on the ground did she come back to rationality.
“These guys just don’t know when to quit.†She wheezed, partially out of breath. Snagging a couple more of the throwing knives just for her own defense, she really wished she knew what was going on. She vaguely remembered something with Kaede at the shrine, could the blonde be behind this?
Having caught her breath, she decided to ignore everything to try and get out of the city as fast as possible. That simple plan ended as three people appeared in puffs of smoke in the direction she needed to travel. All men wearing the green flack jackets, blue pants and sandals, and lacking masks with silver forehead protectors were tied in place around their heads. One of the men, who had a feral look to his face, had a very large wolf-like dog growling at her from his side.
“Uh-- you guys mind telling me why you’re trying to kill me?†She chuckled nervously and scratched at the back of her head, not liking the look of that dog.
“Stuck inside Naruto for twelve years must have made the Kyuubi an idiot.†One of the men joked with the others.
“Kyuubi?†She asked in confusion.
“Too much talking!†The feral one clasped his hands together. “Let’s go Kiromaru!â€
‘Fast!’ Ranma barely avoided the lunging jaws of the giant dog and a follow up snap as she side stepped. The feral man joined in the attack with equal speed, but she deflected his punch then redirected his momentum to throw him into the dog who was coming around for another attack. Glancing at the other two, she saw them putting their hands together in different series of signs. Assuming that they weren’t going to endanger their partner, she was running towards the man and dog duo before they had even collided.
“That bitch!†The human half of the dog duo cursed her as he bowled over his companion.
“Leave your mutt out of this.†She taunted as she bounced off the top of his head, knocking him back down on top of the canine who protested the treatment with a loud whine.
Ranma’s somewhat jovial moment was ended by a sharp stabbing pain in her right shoulder blade. Hissing in pain, she continued over the edge of the roof, and looked back long enough to see one of the throwing knives digging deeply into her flesh. Reaching back to pull it out, a small note attached to it suddenly started to burn.
Her next moment of conscious thought were laying sprawled on the ground, ears ringing, and body numb. Struggling to raise herself up to a sitting position, the knives she had pilfered having been lost, she slowly looked back to see the devastated area where she had been standing. An explosion having destroyed most of the three story wall. Four more of the knives with small notes attached landed around her and Ranma’s eyes widened in alarm. She had barely made it out of the semicircle before the notes started to burn.
This time she felt the explosions, her body tumbling uncontrollably through the air before going through several wooden walls. “Not fair.†She groaned, blood trickling down between her eyes. Her vision was clear enough to see another of the green vest wearing men land in a crouch through the holes she had made.
Weakly rising to her feet and running out of his line of sight, she stumbled over household items, and broke through a doorway to get back outside. Her right arm refused to move properly as she tried to avoid being spotted by moving through the empty alleyways. Barely hiding behind some trash cans as one of the animal masked men inspected the area, she wiped some blood out of her eyes.
As soon as he left, she was on the move again while constantly searching the rooftops for anyone who would alert the city to her position once again. It seemed like hours before she finally got to the edge of the city. Flattening herself against a wall, she carefully scanned the open area she would have to cross in order to reach the tree line on the far side.
Ranma conceded that these guys were good at evacuation because she had only encountered fighters. Carefully leaning out of her hiding spot to check the rooftops as best she could, Ranma decided there wouldn’t be a better time to make the crossing. Hampered by her injuries, she was sure that she had been spotted by the time she reached cover again. Glancing back, there were no shouts to raise the alarm, and no masked men watching from the rooftops.
Releasing the breath she had been holding and thanking every god for her good luck, she continued on her way through the trees towards the large wall surrounding the city. Her body began to protest more and more at the treatment it was currently enduring. Her feet hurt because she didn’t have any shoes, everyone of the cuts decorating her body stung, her right shoulder felt like it was dislocated, and blood would not stop dripping into her eyes from the cut on her forehead.
But things were looking up, that big wall was looking closer, and if she could get out of this crazy city then she could start trying to find her way back home. After cleaning herself up and taking care of her injuries of course. Maybe even finding that asshole who threw those explosives and knock him around with them.
“Oh come on!†She exclaimed in frustration, the trees stopping abruptly to plunge into a vertical cliff down to a quarry far below. Time was a factor and this was going to eat up a lot of it just to walk around to the other side.
“Doton Dosekiryuu!†Someone shouted from behind her and the ground under Ranma’s feet gave way. (2)
Letting out a brief shriek in surprise, she had no way to jump away as the entire cliff collapsed. Mud, rocks, and other debri pelted her as thousands of kilos of struck the bottom of the quarry fifty meters below. Tossed and turned, the liquified Earth finally came to a stop leaving her half buried with a few tree branches brushing against her face.
Ranma stared at the offending branch with a bored look before with a scream of frustration she grabbed it and broke it into as many pieces as she could. Pulling her lower half free, she flopped tiredly on to her back. Above she could see several dozen men and a few women waiting around the remaining edge of the quarry.
Trying to push herself back up to her feet, her right arm gave out making her fall back on her face. Groaning, she tried again, and stumbled with loose footing before finally gaining a vertical base. ‘Nowhere to go.’ She thought sadly, her body ready to give out just from standing. “Hey! I give up! You caught me! I’m sorry for whatever I did!†She called up to them.
At some unspoken signal, her attackers above each threw some kind of throwing weapon down towards her. Ranma was going to try and avoid them up until the air was filled with tiny pops and puffs of smoke filled up the sky as the weapons multiplied into hundreds to blanket the entire area in steel. Her face fell, realizing that she would never be able to dodge fast enough.
Her one good arm flashed out to catch the first throwing knife that entered her reach. With all the remaining speed she had, Ranma deflected every blade she could. As the wave of throwing knives, shuriken, and other oddly shaped metal finally ended, her left arm dropped lifelessly to her side. Around her, the deflected weapons finally hit the ground to embed in the loose soil.
Ranma’s breath came in and out in deep gasps, the single throwing knife in her hand slipped from her limp fingers. Her head drooped and she fell to her knees. “Guess that’s it.†She remarked in a mumble before falling over on her side.