Where the Hell Am I Now?! (Ranma 1/2 \ RWBY)

[EnderofWorlds]

So, got bored; watched/read two different things at the same time, got this:

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It's been a typical day in your life so far, you thought to yourself as you casually dodged several dozen daggers and a katana heading right to your neck. Nothing out of the ordinary; the birds were singing, bees buzzing, and everyone and their grandmother was trying to beat the ever loving snot out of you for one reason or another. Granted, there were more people than usual in the daily afternoon brawl, but things always seemed a little more hectic around this part of the week. Still, the typical massive incident of the day hasn't come around yet so it wasn't too bad.

For most people, being stuck in an all out brawl that could leave you battered and bruised if you so much as flinch wrong, and having such a thing be a regular occurrence in their daily lives would cause them to go into a nervous breakdown. Not you though, oh no. For you, Ranma Saotome, it was quite literally, Tuesday.

And for a Tuesday it was a pretty good turnout; there were the regulars: Ryoga, Mousse, and Kuno all going after his head for the usual reasons. Ryoga had a new technique, a variation of the Breaking Point that worked from a distance; basically making ki mines wherever he wanted. Mousse in surprising good form and he hadn't lost his glasses even once today. Hell, even Kuno managed to up his game; turning that stupid watermelon thing into an attack he can actually use on command and using a genuine katana in place of his usual bokken. Less common, but not less expected, was Happosai and Pantyhose Taro joining the fray; but frankly they were overdue for another appearance round these parts.

What was different was that Herb of all people came back to have another go at you. Apparently kicking Saffron's ass got you kudos from everyone in China, so now Herb was there to 'Ascertain the potential threat or lack thereof of the one who killed Saffron, as well as attempt to forge a mutually beneficial alliance with them so as to benefit the kingdom'. Or as he put it, "I'm here because I'm bored, you're a pretty good fight, and also give me a convenient excuse to get out of the castle for a bit."

Hey, you weren't gonna complain; you're always up for a good fight, and Herb was one of the best. Not to mention he was a pretty alright guy when his head was out of his ass. Hell, he even issued a formal challenge and everything! Was honestly kinda refreshing, and a nice change of pace from the usual procedure. Of course, it didn't last as Happosai and Taro came crashing in followed by everyone else which led to the current brawl you all were in.

At least it wasn't complete anarchy, Herb took it in stride as a 'warm up before the ass-kicking' and Ryoga was fairly understanding one you managed to get a word in edgewise. Provided you talked Herb into having a go at him too, and you had a match with him first thing tomorrow; shitty sense of direction and being lost be damned.

You talked him down from that last one, on the condition of something completely unexpected and new happening that warranted postponing things a bit. A fair condition, all things considered.

So now it was just a matter of waiting for the other shoe to drop, because the was always another shoe to drop when it came to your life. Personally, you were betting on alternate universes being involved; simply because it hasn't happened yet. If they were, then you'd sweep the betting pool to Nabiki's utter shock. Sure the money'd be nice, but tweaking the money-grubbing bitch's nose? Priceless.

And right after that thought, that was when Happosai pulled out the Nanban Mirror; put together with glue and sticky tape, and managed to cry on it. Only for a full powered Shishi Hokodan fired skyward by Ryoga to hit it with full force on the downturn.

You last thought, as the mirror shattered and erupted in multicolored light engulfing you all, was-

'At least I'm probably gonna win the betting pool with this...'

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​

The first thing that came to mind as you returned to consciousness was, 'What's with the lights? Was Happosai hoping for a booty call at a rave or something?'

Given that you woke up to the sound of a techno beat and flashing club lights, it was a perfectly legitimate question. One which was quickly tossed aside as the rest of you that were caught in the mirror blast woke up and did what you expected them to.

They proceeded to try to beat the ever-loving shit out of Happosai.

This, of course, didn't go well with the old fart. Nor did it go well with all the other people in the premises either, further solidifying the fact that you weren't anywhere in Nerima. Watching the oncoming clusterfuck picking up momentum, you decide to...

[X] Deal with the approaching mooks in black suits holding guns trying to sneak up on you all. Because bullets are annoying to dodge and sting when you miss.
[X] Wait; that chill running through your spine, the feeling of oppressive stares homing in on you from behind. Like hounds staring at a juicy prime rib. A feeling triggering a sense refined through years of hardship and experience, meaning only one thing...fiancees...
[X] You know what? You're at who knows where because of heaven knows what, so at the very least you might as well join in on the stress relief with the rest of the guys. Besides, it's Happosai; he always deserves it.
[X] On second thought, you have a better idea...(write-in)


I made a thing, because I was bored and struck by inspiration. Do as you will...​

 

[EnderofWorlds]

Index and Character Sheet

Spoiler: Index

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
Interlude: Lost and Seeking
14
15

Spoiler: Character Sheet

Name: Ranma Saotome
Age: 17
Gender: Male/Female

Stats:
Strength: B+
Agility: A++
Endurance: B+
Ki: B/EX
Luck: E-

Skills:
Musabetsu Kakutō Ryū - Saotome Ryu (A+): Originally founded by Grandmaster Happosai, this branch of Anything Goes was refined by Genma Saotome into a primarily aerial style better suited for one-on-one combat. In the years since, it's foremost practitioner has added in several new techniques and styles to further it's versatility.

Ranma is highly skilled if not an outright prodigy when it comes to martial arts; having reached a point that would take most decades to reach in a fraction of the time. Due to his training he is capable of grasping and assimilating techniques into his own style with ease due to the founding tenants of his school. Already he has incorporated and modified techniques from the Joketsuzoku, Martial Arts Dining, Martial Arts Tea Ceremony, Shinobi Arts, and many other schools of martial arts.

Umisenken (A--): One of two forbidden styles in the Saotome Ryu, this style is specialized towards stealth and speed. Even with a majority of it's techniques created solely to counter it's sister style, it's still an incredibly dangerous and lethal style that should be sealed. It's creator, Genma Saotome, sealed this style because it was inadvertently designed as an assassin style: able to go unnoticed and execute any fore before they can act, a user of the Umisenken could literally get away with murder and never be caught.

Yamasenken (B--): One of two forbidden styles in the Saotome Ryu, this style is specialized towards quick and brutal force. It was sealed by it's creator, Genma Saotome, because it was too lethal; all of it's techniques would cripple or kill anyone it was used against, unless the opponent was massively superior to you or you knew the Umisenken.

Ranma hasn't studied this style, but through witnessing Ryu Kumon using it he can accurately recreate and learn the style on his own.

Ki Manipulation (B+++): The ability to use one's life energy to enhance one's self or to fuel special techniques. By pushing the body to the absolute brink and putting one's life in peril one can force their life energy to the fore, akin to how adrenaline floods the body in 'flight or fight' situations; thus permanently unlocking their ki. The intense training on the training trip Ranma's father took him on led to his impressive ki and control over it. The path of a martial artist is fraught with peril, for it is only through peril that a martial artist grows.

At Ranma's current level, alternate means must be used to improve upon his ki manipulation; such as meditation or outside sources to enhance one's ki. Due to attaining the Perfect Soul of Ice, Ranma's ki manipulation has skyrocketed by virture of having limitless ki at his disposal.

Sixth Sense (A+): Refined through instinct, experience, and constant danger; this is the ability to feel when danger and ill intent is near. Ranma's sixth sense is exceptionally refined; not only can he feel when someone so much as imagines to harm him, he can also feel when someone is lying or when a situation is amiss. This sense has also expanded to encompass sensing ki as well as the supernatural. It's range is exceptional, approximately one hundred yards.

Opened Chakras (D-): What can be considered 'advanced ki manipulation', it is the method of utilizing the multiple chakras in one's body instead of the one central chakra; the Manipura, which is known in Japan and China as the Lower Dantian. Each chakra opened allows for unique improvements to your ki, as well as improved mental acuity and other benefits. Can be improved through meditation, ki exercises, and intense navel gazing walking the path to Enlightenment.

Currently, you have three chakras open; one of which is the Manipura:

Spoiler: Chakras Opened

• Muchalalucha Muladhara: Found at the base of the spine, it is the first chakra where ki is first given form; it is where the foundation of ki is made, it's skeleton so to speak. Associated with the element of earth, this open chakra gives your ki 'substance and weight'; making it desner and more solid, thus it becomes easier to manipulate and draw on. It's properties at self-reinforcement are also improved considerably. This chakra also governs the realms of instinct, survival, and potential: thus one's own danger sense is improved, as well as their potential to learn in general; though this is more noticeable in fields they're already skilled in.

• Shwarmastika Swadhisthana: Found at the coccyx in the pelvic region, it is the second chakra where ki is given substance and flow. Associated with the element of water, this open chakra gives your ki 'flow and motion'; making it move more quickly through the body and answer your call faster, meaning you can draw upon your ki and use it much faster than before. It also enhances your ki's healing properties, boosting your recovery rate against harm. This chakra also governs the realms of unconsciousness and desires: thus one is granted improved social grace and the ability to sense the occult; specifically beings of a more astral and ephemeral nature. Note that said improvements are relative in nature.

• Manipura: Found at the navel, it is the third chakra where ki is fully formed, realized, and suffused throughout the body. Also known as the Lower Dantian in other cultures, it is associated with the element of fire and gives your ki 'energy and life'; making it fully usable in outward and inward application beyond simple living in the first place. This chakra also governs the realms of sight, digestion, energy, and action: thus granting a 'sixth sense' for danger as well as for decision making in general, along with a hyper-charged metabolism and more flexible ki reserves. This allows for one to enhance the quantity of ki in their body, as well as being able to maintain the upkeep for said reserves

Jusenkyo - Nyannīchuan (X): A curse from the Pools of Sorrow in China; Ranma is forever cursed to become a woman when splashed with cold water. However, hot water can undo the transformation. The only know cure is the Nannīchuan, the Pool of Drowned Man.

Techniques of Mutsabetsu Kakutō-Ryū

• Mōko Takabisha (C~B): A ki blast fueled by confidence and pride, it is in essence a modified Shishi Hokodan due to Ranma's incompatiblity with the original technique

• Hiryū Shōten Ha (C~A): A technique that utilizes the foes own strength against them; it requires the user to maneuver the foe into a spiral while maintaining a Soul of Ice, then executing a corkscrew uppercut. The cold ki from the user will clash from the hot ki of the opponent, creating a vortex that sends the enemy skyward and battering them with the winds of the cyclone. If there is sufficient hot ki, then the spiral can be abandoned outright.

Spoiler: Hiryu Shoten Ha Variants

-- Hiryū Kōrin Dan (A): A variation of the Hiryū Shōten Ha; by shooting a lance of cold ki, one can draw upon the ambient hot ki and gather it into a massive ki blast to launch downward at the foe. A counter to those who attempt to negate the original technique by radiating cold ki of their own.

-- Hiryū Hyō Toppa (A+): A variation of the Hiryū Shōten Ha; this can only be used against a truly massive amount of heat. Using cold ki to create a channel through a vast amount of hot ki/heat, the user can fire off a razor sharp whirlwind that cuts through the foe. Guaranteed to be lethal.

-- Hiryū Gyōten Ha (C~A): A variation of the Hiryū Shōten Ha, it is essentially the technique used in a different direction, firing off the vortex in a different direction than up.

-- Sōryū Tsūga [Twin Dragon Piercing Fangs] (A++): A highly complex variation of the Hiryu Hyo Toppa and Hiryu Korin Dan; it requires the True Soul of Ice to use. By firing off a second Hiryu Hyo Toppa into the vortex, one can control the second attack by manipulating the ambient cold ki emitted by the user and direct it to the top of the tornado. Then, once there; the user can jump to the top and further gather the cold ki and hot ki, using the hot ki to pull the attack towards the enemy and the cold ki, along with a divekick, to empower the second Hiryu Hyo Toppa.

• Perfect Soul of Ice (S): The final result of all your practice, skill, and mastery of the Soul of Ice; it is the culmination of what the Soul of Ice is. By taking in the ambient heat and ki though your Muladhara and Swadhisthana chakras before letting it flow into your lower dantian, correcting the overheating problem from the unfinished technique. While withing the Perfect Soul of Ice, you have effectively infinite ki due to becoming a perpetual ki generator; using cold ki to take in heat and ambient ki, converting it to cold ki, then using that ki to further draw in more ambient heat in a constant cycle. The only possible limitation is the ki and heat in the environment; but barring special circumstances, that amount is effectively infinite. At this point, the only way to improve this technique is to improve your ki reserves or control.

• Neko-ken (X): A forbidden technique; by inducing trauma into the student at a young age one creates a beserker state for said pupil to fall into when faced with the source of the trauma. The user becomes as fast, strong, and agile as a cat; albeit a cat that's human sized and that went through the physical conditioning they went through. They also create ki claws in order to better emulate the cat they believe themselves to be, easily shredding through anything.

• Kachū Tenshin Amaguriken (C): Joketsuzoku speed training via taking chestnuts from an open fire without getting burned, it elevate's one's speed to the point of being able to throw hundreds of punches fast enough that it only looks like one blow. Ranma has taken this training further by implementing the speed training needed for the Umisenken and Parlay du Fois Gras.

• Hidden Weapons (C): The Joketsuzoku technique of concealing weapons on one's self, the secret is to infuse one's ki into shadows and manipulating them to form a 'pocket' to hold the weapon in question. This is why Mousse wears such bulky robes, so that he has more shadows to use to hold his weapons. One can only use shadows on their own person to make these 'pockets', due to the necessity of a constant ki flow to maintain it. The technique also doesn't affect the weight of the item in question; meaning it's still as if you're carrying it on yourself. (Ranma only knows the theory of the technique, he has yet to use it himself)

• Bakusai Tenketsu (C): The Joketsuzoku method of endurance training; by throwing boulders against one's self with their finger extended, one can eventually find the 'breaking point' of inanimate objects and shatter stone with but a single poke. The main purpose of this training is the boulders smashing into the pupil's body, raising their endurance such that they can handle the shrapnel as well as take blows with ease. (Ranma only knows the theory of the technique, he has yet to train in it himself)

• Iron Cloth [Tetsu nuno] (D): Rudimentary ki technique, by channeling ki through cloth one can make it as sturdy and sharp as steel. Can be applied to any material really, but works best on organic material like fur and natural fibers. Ranma has never used this technique personally, but it's so basic there's no way he can't pull it off.

• Splitting Cat Hairs [Bunkatsu neko ke] (B): By using ki manipulation along with immense speed, one can create mirror images of one's self capable of deceiving the opponent. These doppelgangers are incapable of actually attacking the foe, and are more akin to holograms than anything else, but due to the ki used to form them along with the high speeds the user is moving at; the enemy can't tell which one is real. (Ranma only knows the theory of this technique, he has yet to train in it himself).

Umisenken and Yamasenken Techniques:

Umisenken:

• Initial Stance (B): One adopts the stance of a ghost, becomes emotionless, and inverts their ki; becoming unnoticeable to all other people. The user can still be noticed by bystanders if in a confined space.

• Gaito Retsuga Dan (C): A counter to the Geimon Tessen Shi and other finger jab techniques, the user bites the oncoming attack

Spoiler: Gaito Retsuga Dan Combo Chain

-- Shichū Rakuchi Sei (C): Follow up to Gaito Retsuga Dan, the user dives through the enemy's legs and pushes them apart, coming up behind the enemy and unbalancing them

-- Haku Dato Shin Shō (B): The finisher to the Gaito Retsuga Dan, the user strikes at the enemy's back with extreme speed and precision; focusing on weak vital points for a quick take down.

• Goshin Ryūsei Fu (C): The user blinds their enemy with a cloth and ties it around their head, disorienting them. Counter to the Kaichū Hōju Satsu.

Spoiler: Goshin Ryūsei Fu Combo Chain

-- Rigyo Honshin (C): Follow up to the Goshin Ryūsei Fu, the user jumps and flips the enemy like a carp, getting behind the enemy and restraining them.

-- Haizan Tōkai Tai (B): The finisher to the Goshin Ryūsei Fu, the user pushes back with their legs on the enemies thighs and begins to suffocate them with the cloth. Can be countered by ripping the cloth.

• Goshin Dai Ryūsei Fu (B): First part of the ultimate technique; the user pulls out a massive cloth, suppresses their presence, and gathers as much debris as possible. If necessary, the user can create their own debris.

Spoiler: Goshin Dai Ryūsei Fu Finisher

-- Yasha Tankai Hō (A): Final part of the ultimate technique and counter to the Saidaikyū Kijin Raishū Dan, the user drops all the debris gathered directly above their opponent. This negates the vacuum and inverts it on the enemy, sucking up loose dirt and debris to hold them in place as the avalanche falls on them.

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Yamasenken:

• Intimidation Shout (D):

• Mōko Kaimon Ha (C):

• Kaichū Hōju Satsu (C):

• Dokuja Tanketsu Shō (B):

• Kinshi Kinbaku Shō (C):

• Geimon Tessen Shi (B):

• Kijin Raishū Dan (B+):

• Kijin-Gun Dai Ranbu (A):

• Kijin-Gun Dai Ranbu (A+):

Items:

• Kinpatsu no Nawa [Gold Hair Rope] (C): Blondie's hair turned into a makeshift rope, it's exceedingly receptive to ki and you can feel that there's more to it than that. Probably due to what happened in your huge fight and all. Still, it lengthens with ki and takes to Iron Cloth like Kuno to idiocy; so it's handy to keep around.

• Gekkaja (A++~S++): The staff that serves as the faucet handle for the Dragon Tap of Jusendo; this staff's abilities are focused inwards in contrast to it's sister staff the Kinjakan, as well as being the opposing element of said staff - ice. The Gekkaja absorbs ambient heat and converts it into cold ki that is stored within the staff, which can be tapped into via proper usage of ki or be used to infuse other objects with cold ki as long as they are touching the staff. Unlike the Kinjakan, which unleashes heat and fire outward, the Gekkaja only directs it's power inward to the user; unless used improperly and damaged. You get the feeling that there may be more you can do with the staff, but you are unsuited to figuring out what that is for one reason or another

 

[EnderofWorlds]

[X] Deal with the approaching mooks in black suits holding guns trying to sneak up on you all. Because bullets are annoying to dodge and sting when you miss.

Right, you guess you should deal with the yakuza wannabes trying to subtly sneak up on you guys. Trying, and failing. Because they suck. They suck sooooo bad; it was funny, in a pathetic kinda way. Still, they did have guns and those tended to get really annoying if left alone. Plus, you didn't want to join the clusterfuck proper just yet.

Given how weak these guys were, you decided to try something different for once. Something you think you recall either Kasumi or Nabiki mentioning once. Something called 'diplomacy'. Given how weak these guys were and given how you're the best and can pick up things pretty damn fast, you think you've got this one in the bag.

So, you head right on up to the fake yaks and cut them off before they can reach the brawl the rest of the guys were in. You then proceed to diplomate the crap out of them, "So...I know this looks bad, but give us a bit and we'll be outta your way, alright? I mean, if you guys try and cut in you'll be massacred in an instant. I mean, it's not that your weak and lame; though you totally are, but we're just that good, ya know? So it'd be in your best interest to leave this to the professionals, because we know what we're doing and unlike you, we can handle it."

Hmm...yup; that sounded good to you. You give yourself a mental pat on the back on what you assumed was a exemplary attempt at diplomacy.

Unfortunately, the wannabe yaks didn't see it your way and decided to pull their guns out on you. Pfft, alright then; their funeral. You get into a stance and prepare to move the moment they start firing. Likewise, they all level their guns and start to pull the trigger.

Before they even finish you blur into action, with speed earned through the vigorous training of the Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken and further refined by the Umisenken and Parlay du Fois Gras you strike. You disarm them all and toss their guns aside, far enough away that none of them can retrieve them. Not without going through you, that is.

You then proceeded to initiate the ass-kicking. They didn't even have a chance to react; one second they were pulling the triggers to their weapons, the next they're sent flying from you foot being shoved up their asses. You even took the time to scrawl doodles on their faces as you beat them to a pulp, simply because you could and because they were that boring to beat up.

You sigh; really, you didn't expect much, but damn. You sure as hell expected at least a little more than that. Even Kuno was more of a workout, and he was the bottom of the rung when it came to the martial artists in Nerima. Still, they were out of the way and the guns were removed from the fight; meaning no having to worry about getting an eye poked out or being distracted by the stinging of bullets pelting off of your skin.

Well, with the mook brigade down and out, might as well check up on what everyone else is doing. Hmm, Herb seemed to be fighting off two women; twins, with some stupid kogal accent and looking at him with smoldering eyes full of lust and desire. You shuddered, grateful that you dodged that bullet; you had more than enough of that back home. Not that you didn't mind the attention, but the aftermath was something you could do with a bit of a break from. For now, at least.

What could you say? You were always a sucker for the chaos that entered your life and a glutton for punishment, so long as it meant training or self-improvement of some sort.

As for the main brawl; Happosai seemed to be doing his thing and manhandling the rest of the guys, the only notable difference was some blond chick and a doofus with a stupid looking baseball bat had joined the fray too. Blondie seemed to be enjoying the fight, whereas doofus was probably the fake yaks leader and was probably freaking out at what was happening to his club. With Ryoga breaking the dance floor into shrapnel, Taro uncaring of property damage, and Mousse and Kuno cutting everything to shreds you can't really blame him.

You see Herb finish off the twins, noting that they were around Shampoo's level if not a bit below it. They were at least better than Ukyo though, you can tell that much. As he decks the twin in red, Herb turns to you and nods; his subtle message clear to you. This was just a warm-up, and maybe a bit of a marriage interview given Musk tradition and all. Now though, the Dragon Prince was getting antsy and wanted to get to the main course.

You motion your head to the main brawl, and Herb nods in reply; focus on putting the ancient letch down first, then get to the fight. Between the strongest of the group; you, Herb, and Ryoga, with interference from Mousse and Kuno, you could take the old perv down quick. Herb joins the fray by launching some ki blades into the fray, while you get ready to ambush the wrinkled midget.

*Shing!* *Snip!* *Rip!*

...Huh, where did all the yellow come from? Some of said color floating in the air lands in your mouth, causing you to start hacking. Once you pull it out and stop coughing, you immediately realize what it is.

Hair? The hell was hair doing floating around here? And why was there so much of it?

Then you felt the fire, and immediately all you instincts were brought to full attention. That ki; burning, erupting like a bonfire, just shy of burning everything in the area, a fire just barely held in check. It was too much like Saffron to not take seriously. You immediately look to the source of that ki, and see who it was.

Blondie; eyes red and full of fury, her buxom frame shivering under both the sheer amount of ki she was outputting and the pure rage she was under. The source of the hair was also obvious now; because several locks of hair were missing from her head, along with several inches from her golden mane overall. You can also see what caused the hair to be gone in the first place; Taro had several locks in his tentacles and hooves, Ryoga looked absolutely mortified as he held a bandanna limply in his hand, and Kuno was covered with strands of yellow along with his katana. You think it was Herb who sheared the five or so inches from the bottom of Blondie's hair though.

And just like how Akane was pissed when Ryoga cut her hair with his belt sword, Blondie was fucking furious at everyone for messing with her vibrant yellow locks. And she made sure you all knew it, starting with Taro.

She barreled into the hulking monstrosity, ignoring the blows from his hooves and tentacles; in fact, it seemed as if she was getting stronger with each blow Taro landed. Finally, when Taro tried to land a haymaker on her, she actually caught his hoof, stopped him at his feet, and flung him through the opposite end of the building and far out of sight.

You immediately went to defcon-1 after seeing that; Taro was the physically strongest of all of you, and she just trivially manhandled him like he was a baby. Only Happosai could pull that off, and he was a Grandmaster with over two centuries of experience to his name. She turned to Ryoga immediately afterwards and started to lay into him like the fist of an angry god. He tried to fight her off, but wasn't doing any better than Taro was.

Then Kuno had to open his fucking trap and made things worse, "Ah, my flame-haired valkyrie; truly your burning valor and beauty are worthy of one such as I, the Blue Thunder of Furinkan High, Tatewaki Kuno! As such, I bestow upon you the honor of dating me. Now, come to loving embrace, my warrior maiden!"

She took that about as well as you expected, flinging Kuno off of her and flaring her Ki even hotter. Unfortunately, this only spurned the idiot on, "I see...to conquer one such as you in love, I must do the same in combat! I strike!"

He then proceeds to attack with his newfound 'Aoi Ikazuchi Bunkatsu' technique; striking Blondie with thousands of slashes in seconds with his live steel katana the fucking idiot! It was even more surprising that Blondie managed to come out from all of that uninjured; not even the endurance from the Bakusai Tenketsu training would grant that kind of endurance. To make matters worse, you could feel her ki expanding and growing from each blow; it's sheer quantity starting to rival Herb's at that point.

You suppress a shudder; you couldn't even begin to comprehend how such a technique could work. The best you could think of was an advanced application of the Soul of Ice, except she was clearly flaring out hot ki and the Soul of Ice was the antithesis of that. The Hiryu Korin Dan comes to mind, but that required you to pull of a Hiryu Shoten Ha and draw in the ambient ki for an energy blast; drawing it around the body instead of inside it.

You focus on the fight again and scope out everyone; Ryoga was barely hanging in there, Mousse was staying far away and trying to figure out how to take Blondie out from afar, Happosai was readying to grope her, Kuno was out of it, and you can see Taro coming to from the corner of your eye. Herb was also observing things, clearly interested in the woman who could apparently match his might blow for blow from the look of things.

Things weren't looking too hot, pun not intended. You were up against a pissed off girl martial artist, with a frankly stupid powerful technique that only made her stronger the more she fought. Direct combat was a no-go unless you wanted her to get stronger than Herb; which left you with limited options. You could use the Saotome Secret Technique, but with Blondie as pissed off as she was and in the middle of a city in...somewhere, that sounded like a terrible idea. The Hiryu Shoten Ha was made for this kind of situation, but was also pretty destructive; meaning you'd have to lure her into an open area to pull it off, and she looked a bit too furious to fall for any attempts to lead her away.

There was another option, but you really didn't want to use it; you had sworn never to use it again. The Umisenken. In the base stance you could maneuver around her undetected, and use the Goshin Ryūsei Fu combo to choke her out. But the Umisenken was forbidden for a reason, and unsealing it left a sour taste in your mouth.

...You could leave it up to Herb, but there were three reasons you weren't going to do that. One, you still had that match against him once this was all done and over with. Two, Herb could get pretty destructive when he got going in a fight; which wasn't a good thing when you were in the middle of a city. And three, there was no way in hell you were gonna admit that you couldn't handle this; much less let someone else fight for you.

There was also Happosai, but it would be a cold day in hell before you let him of all people save your ass.

Still...you have to figure out what to do...

[X] Saotome Secret Technique! Run away Commit a tatical retreat as to save your own hide better formulate a strategy to take down your foe. Not because you're worried, or scared; nope. No siree, nu-uh!
[X] Enter the Soul of Ice and lead Blondie on a chase; she's radiating enough hot ki that pulling off the Hiryu Shoten Ha will be a chinch. Leading her somewhere to pull it off...not so much.
[X] You had sworn to seal it away forever, but desperate times called for desperate measures. Unseal the Umisenken; become the Silent Thief and subdue your foe unawares and with ease.
[X] ...Though it galled at your pride as a martial artist, you had to admit the truth; this was not a battle you could win, not in these circumstances. No, today it would be up to another to save the day:
-- [X] Herb
-- [X] Happosai
[X] There had to be something that you were missing here...(Write-In)

NEW TECHNIQUE DISCOVERED! - Aoi Ikazuchi Bunkatsu [Blue Thunder Splitter or Incompetent Thunder Splitter] (B): An actually somewhat competent attack derived from Kuno's stupid watermelon splitter training, it's simply him managing to train himself to attack at that speed without needing watermelons around. He's around as fast as Ranma when using this technique, but cannot keep it up for long.

 

[EnderofWorlds]

[X] Enter the Soul of Ice and lead Blondie on a chase; she's radiating enough hot ki that pulling off the Hiryu Shoten Ha will be a cinch. Leading her somewhere to pull it off...not so much.

You breath in, empty your mind, and enter the familiar Soul of Ice; void of emotion, utterly calm, and emitting cold ki with ease. You then look for one of Mousse's many weapons strewn about the club, finding a dagger that fits well in your had. Then, you prepare yourself for the chase.

First, and arguably the most suicidal part, getting Blondie to follow you out of here. No way were you gonna let loose a Saffron level tornado in the middle of a city, that'd be insane. Still, there was really only one way to grab her attention in this state, and you were not looking forward to it. Dagger in hand, you watch and wait; looking for the opening you needed. It wasn't long before you chance came; right as Ryoga let loose another wave of his new technique, the Jishin Funka-ha, shattering the floor where Blondie stood and sending her skyward for a brief moment, you struck. You dashed behind her and yanked her head back with her hair.

Then you swing with the dagger and cut off a long, flowing lock of her hair. You then leap away and turn to face her, waving the golden wisps in your had like a banner; as if bragging about your conquest. Plastered onto your face was a cocky smirk that led into an even cockier grin, daring Blondie to come and get it.

It went about as well as you expected; Blondie got pissed, her ki surged and sent everyone flying out of the building. Along with collapsing the building itself on top of her. Luckily for you, rolling with the punches and falling properly was as easy as breathing for you. Unfortunately, said skills didn't quite account for a fifteen year old Little Red Riding Hood cosplayer being in your way. Unable to react in time, you collideed into the girl and the two of you came crashing in a heap on the streets.

Both of you groaned as you picked yourselves up. "Owie..." The girl muttered, rubbing her aching head. You ignored her though, focusing on the rubble; because it was only a matter of time before Blondie got up for Round 2, and given what you just did she was gonna be gunning for you. Which was exactly how you wanted it, now all you had to do was lead her away to a safe place to fight in a...city...you've never been in...before...

You just realized that there was a very big flaw in your plan and you have only seconds to fix it.

You turned back to Little Red and picked her up by her cloak, frantically asking her, "Quick! Where's the nearest place that full of empty space and devoid of people?!"

"Uhh...ahh..." Taken aback from your question, she hesitantly replied, "At this hour? Maybe the park? It's somewhere over there; has a huge bronze memorial statue, can't miss it." She pointed to your left as she said this.

Good enough. You start hearing rumbling from the rubble and look around; oh good, Ryoga's getting back up, perfect. You hoist up Red and yell out to him, "Hey bacon breath! Catch!"

"Wait, wha-" Both of them confusedly say, before you cut them off by throwing Red right into Ryoga; sending them two of them toppling to the ground. Again. You continue yelling at Ryoga, "Get her outta here, it ain't safe for a kid to be around; not right now!"

You don't get the chance to say anything else, as the rubble explodes in fire and Blondie gets up from the ashes. She's also now officially stronger than Herb, ki-wise. And she was looking at you with eyes full of murderous hate. You reply by waving her hair back and forth, and making a run for the park; Blondie hot on your heels. And so it began, a chase of cat and mouse; though which was which wasn't so simple.

You hopped from rooftop to rooftop, agile like a fox, moving as fast as possible; yet slow enough that Blondie doesn't lose track of you. Meanwhile, your enraged foe simply barreled straight at you in a line, the obstacles you hopped over or side stepped she simply crushed. You think you see the park in the distance, a speck of bronze admist swaths of deep green. You'll reach it any second now, and once you do you can end this fight.

You turned back and saw the telltale heat and fire of your foe, gradually getting closer and closer, and from the corner of your eye you saw...rose petals?

Right as you turn around you collided into someone; Red Riding Hood from before. You rushed to get back up, only to be yanked by your pigtail by Red and interrogated by her, "You know, throwing me around like that wasn't nice. Now what the heck's going on around here? Why are you running like there's a horde of grimm on your tail? Why's everything exploding?! What's happening?!?!"

Yeah, you really didn't have time to explain right now; not with Blondie on your heels. You turned to Red and apologized for what you're about to do, "Sorry about this; Moko Takabisha!"

Red Riding Hood yelped as you fired a ki blast at her and sent her flying away, after which you continued running to the park. In a matter of seconds you reached the park, landing right in from of the monument Red mentioned. You looked around; yup, nobody around and plenty of space for a Hiryu Shoten Ha. Perfect. Now, wait for it....

You heard a loud roar, and felt a massive heat wave hit you right in the face.

Wait for it...

You saw a blazing inferno come from the rooftops, a furious blonde with blood red eyes in the center of it.

Wait for it...

She dove down, fist cocked back and flying right at you, about to pound your face in.

Now.

Shrouded in the Soul of Ice, you struck with a corkscrew punch once she's in range and called out your attack, "HIRYU SHOTEN HA!"

Hot clashed with cold, fire with ice; and the dragon emerged. A tornado engulfed the park and sent the fiery blonde skyward, the harsh winds beating her relentlessly. Her vast power turned against her, as it only served to fuel the vortex; while you stay in the eye of the storm, sill in the Soul of Ice and radiating cold to maintain the attack on your end. It seemed liked you had this in the bag; unlike Herb, Blondie couldn't change her ki from hot to cold and unlike Saffron she didn't have regeneration to fall back on. She wouldn't die from the attack, but she'll definitely be down and out for the count.

And then the vortex caught on fire. Fuck.

You remembered that Saffron pulled the exact same trick in your fight, and then you realized that Blondie was being beaten by the tornado; and that she got stronger the more she's beaten up. Shit.

You broke off the Soul of Ice and let the tornado fade away, then took Blondie's latest power-up into account. And...she's around double Saffron's strength, fantastic.

Yeah, you're screwed; you hate to admit it, but you couldn't ignore the facts right in front of you. There was no Gekkaja to enhance your attacks and counter the heat, no hidden weakness to exploit, and no lucky break to turn the tide in your favor. Ranma Saotome didn't lose; except for this day, apparently.

Blondie rushed at you, an inferno the size of a small mountain trailing behind her. You prepared yourself as best you could, though if she even landed just a glancing blow on you you're toast. She closed in, you prepared yourself...

And then dozens of ki blasts hit the ground in from of Blondie, ricocheting off of the dirt and hitting her square in the chest; sending her flying. Apparently, it was a bit early to write off that lucky break, because Herb just landed right in front of you, battle aura flaring and holding...

You gaped at him; no way, no freaking way. No way you were that luck, but you couldn't deny what was in front of you: in Herb's right hand was the Gekkaja of all things. Seeing your reaction, Herb smugly explained, "You didn't think the Phoenix Folk made the Gekkaja, did you? It's part of the Dragon Tap for a reason, after all. I brought it so that we could even the scales in our fight, though it seems we'll be needing it for a different fight right now."

You were too happy to see the damn staff to even care about Herb's subtle insult and arrogance right now, along with the Dragon Prince himself here to lend a helping hand. Straight to the point, you asked him, "What's the plan?"

"One of us calls forth the dragon, the other rides it up to the top," he then smirked and added, "I think you can see where this is going."

You do; he's basically re-enacting the same method you used to beat him: one of you rode the vortex up and gathered the ambient ki leftover from the Hiryu Shoten Ha to fire a massive ki blast at the enemy below. The other maintained the tornado and continued to make Blondie leak ki like a sieve to fuel the Hiryu Korin Dan to take her down. The only question now was who did what now.

"So, who does what?" You asked him.

Herb shrugged, "It's a close call, depends on whether a longer tornado or a quicker ki blast would be better; whichever one is better is the role I'll take."

Right, whichever position Herb took would be the stronger position due to his massive ki reserves; he could either initiate and maintain the vortex, holding it for far longer than you ever could, or he could ride it up and gather and empower the ki blast better than you could. Like he said, it depended on which you though was more important, the tornado or the ki blast.

You didn't get much longer to think on it, because Blondie just got back from her fight; even more powerful and pissed off than before. However, you noticed something; her body wasn't quivering from rage, not entirely. Her twitching was from a mix of both fury...and pain. You examined her closer, and used your memories of Saffron to figure it out.

Her body couldn't handle the power she currently had, it was overloading; albeit not as lethally as Saffron's was. Every technique had a flaw, a limit, and her's was reaching it. Though, as you continued looking at her, it seemed that she was gradually acclimating herself to the vast quantities of ki she found herself with. Still, it gave you the key to victory; like a wildfire, you had to let her burn herself out. Fan the flames until they consume themselves and fade to ash, so to speak.

This next attack should finish it, you just needed to figure out what role to play...

[X] Call forth the dragon
[X] Ride the dragon to the skies

NEW TECHNIQUE DISCOVERED - Jishin Funka-ha [Quake Eruption Wave] (A): A derivative of the Bakusai Tenketsu, one channels ki through the supposed cracks that emanate from an objects breaking point rather than striking the point itself; making a wave of ki the travels from the crack to the point and making the object break.

 

[EnderofWorlds]

[X] Ride the dragon to the skies

"Call forth the dragon," you told Herb. He nodded in response and the two of you dash towards Blondie to finish it. You leap to the air as Herb twists and strikes Blondie with the Gekkaja, forming the vortex and sending her flying once again. This time, though, you were sent along with her. As Herb maintained the tornado below with his cold ki and the Gekkaja, you were above gathering all the ambient ki to pull off the Hiryu Korin Dan. Like before, Blondie's ki surged as the harsh winds battered her back and forth, but unlike last time the tornado didn't catch on fire.

You watched below as you gathered ki, making sure that nothing went wrong. So far, Herb had the tornado under control; exuding cold ki and...drawing power from the Gekkaja? You looked closer and realized that yes, Herb was drawing ki from the Gekkaja; cold ki in fact. Herb seemed to be channeling his ki through the staff and withdrawing it back, along with interest, as cold ki to empower the Hiryu Shoten Ha. You thought that you had to bend the top of the staff to be able to use the Gekkaja's power, but apparently that wasn't the case; you were just simply using it wrong.

Blondie on the other hand, was stuck in the tornado like last time; being struck by the harsh, cold winds and unable to do anything about it. Unlike before, Herb's cold ki that permeated the vortex made it so that she couldn't set this one on fire, meaning that she was stuck in a tornado while you gathered up ki like Goku powering up a Spirit Bomb. Not that far from the truth, really. You see her body straining from the immense ki coursing through her system, though it looked as if that strain was...lessening. Which was possible, given you were seeing her adapt to such massive power before you attacked her again.

Well, it didn't matter now because your attack was ready; the Hiryu Korin Dan was large enough to put a small mountain to shame. In fact, going back to the DBZ reference, it was bigger than Goku's Spirit Bomb on Namek. Thankfully, it wouldn't be as destructive. Probably. Maybe.

Eh, too late to turn back now; and frankly Blondie was probably gonna cause just as much mayhem if you just left her alone. You flung your arms down, sending the massive sphere of energy hurtling down as well. You announced your finishing blow as you do so, "HIRYU KORIN DAN!!!"

The ki blast hits Blondie head-on and sends her flying to the ground, presumably. You can't tell due to how utterly massive said blast is; hell, you can't even tell if Herb was able to get out of the way of the blast radius or not. The titanic sphere hits the earth and erupts in a enormous flash, blinding you and probably everyone in a hundred mile radius for a brief moment. As your vision returned, you found yourself falling to the ground below; without the vortex to keep you aloft, you had nowhere to go but down.

You adjusted yourself midair and land on your feet, your ki reinforcing your legs so you don't break them. You look around and whistle, taking in the aftermath of your attack. You've easily vaporized the part and just about everything in a five block radius around it. You feel a pang of guilt, hoping that nobody was hurt or killed by what you did; though judging from the few helicopter-plane things in the air, you guessed that everyone was already evacuated. What with two massive tornadoes and a gigantic energy blast coming out of nowhere and all. You see Herb glide over to you, heavily beaten up and exhausted, but otherwise ok; a loose hand just barely holding onto the Gekkaja.

"It's done," he announced, before handing the Gekkaja over to you, "Take it; you're going to need it for our battle tomorrow. Though I must admit Saotome, you manage to get into the strangest situa-"

Herb doesn't finish his sentence, as you both feel a now familiar ki above you; heading rapidly to your location. Exhausted as he already was, Herb could do nothing as Blondie came crashing in like a blazing phoenix and striking him with an uppercut, sending him flying off to the distance. You yourself just barely manage to jump away to buy you some distance, shock and disbelief almost rooting you in place.

How?! How could she have possibly managed to come out unscathed?! She was just barely maintaining control of her ki before, so there's no possible way she could've managed to use it to defend herself! And yet, if anything it feels as if she has more control over her now godly ki reserves; power that dwarfed Saffron's, that was far greater than the power that she could just barely hold onto before.

Then, it hits you; the vortex, Herb's cold ki. The very thing that let you gather all the available power you could was the very same thing that let Blondie hold on to her titanic amounts of ki, the chilling vortex was actually cooling her body down and assisting her adaptation to her added ki; letting her use it to further power the insane defense she's been running on this entire time. Now Herb was down for the count, you were facing someone who's power now dwarfed someone who could casually vaporize mountains, and all you had were your half exhausted ki reserves and a magic ice stick.

All your techniques were worthless, the Gekkaja pointless because you couldn't get close, and there was nobody else to bail you out. Even the Saotome Secret Technique wasn't worth it because Blondie could outlast you and catch up no matter how fast or far you run. There was nothing left.

...Except, maybe there was? You had the idea earlier in the fight, and seeing Herb and the Gekkaja helped lay the foundation for how to do it; all you needed to do was try it yourself. Entering the Soul of Ice, you push your ki into the Gekkaja and feel it, examining how the staff worked so you could attain the final piece to the puzzle. You feel the ki you pushed into the rod chill and become cold ki, the heat that the staff took from it going into the vortex you felt within the staff; empowering and expanding it. The Gekkaja then reached out to the environment, pulling at the ambient heat around you and converting it into cold ki; then exuding that cold ki to pull at even more heat.

Inspiration struck you, the final piece of the puzzle falling into place, and you know that you can take Blondie down. You flare out your ki, still in the Soul of Ice, and let it pull at the ambient heat and ki around you. Cold, after all, was merely the absence of heat and energy. As you pull at the heat, you funnel it inwards into yourself, converting it into cold ki and furthering out your hold on the enviroment. The cycle repeats, over and over, your body constantly taking in the ambient ki around you and converting it into cold ki to perpetuate the cycle. Soon, the ground around you became covered in frost; the air shrouded in mist.

In essence, you became a perpetual ki generator; as long as you continued to expand your aura of frost, you would constantly have your body flooded with as much ki as it can hold. Instead of having a pool of ki that grew more massive during a battle, you had a pool that never ran dry. With this, you could match Blondie's own technique and avoid the problems of a battle of attrition.

It wasn't perfect though, your enhanced Soul of Ice; already you felt a burning sensation throughout your body, as it was constantly flooded with heat. You knew that you were doing something wrong, but simply didn't have the time to figure out what. Burning to death from the inside out was a distinct possibility in this fight unless you ended it now.

And that was exactly what you were gonna do; you already knew you were faster than her, so you blitzed Blondie and sent her flying in yet another Hiryu Shoten Ha. This time though, after sending her flying with an uppercut, you strike skyward with the Gekkaja; it's twin crescent points hitting at an angle. One sent a Hiryo Hyo Toppa right at Blondie, the other entered the tornado. From there came the hard part, you focused on the ever expanding cold ki you were emitting; ignoring the ever increasing burning inside your chest and the oddly colored ice growing around you. You grasped at it with all your will, forcing it under your control; guiding and manipulating it so that you can control the other half of your attack: the second Hiryu Hyo Toppa you sent in the vortex, coiling around in a spiral in the winds.

Once it was under your control, you leapt into the vortex yourself and rode it all the way to the top; Blondie still being struck by the tornado spear of the first part of your attack. Once above her, you pulled at the ki around you once more; this time focusing all the hot ki to a point and surrounding it with the vast amounts of cold ki you were putting out, while also maintaining the second part of your attack. Covered in the Soul of Ice, you were pulled down as the hot ki was pushed out; the cold ki crashing down and merging with the second Hiryu Hyo Toppa. You extended your foot and joined with the compressed cyclone; culminating in you flying at Blondie with a razor sharp, arctic cold, divekick from above.

Your kick struck her right at the back of her neck and you announced the name of your new technique, "Hiryu Hyo Toppa revised - Sōryū Tsūga!"

You both ended up flying out of the green tornado, the sounds of shattered glass and crystal following you. The two of you plummet to the ice blue ground below, Blondie crashing to a heap and yourself just barely managing to land in a crouch; consciousness fading in and out. You idly note shimmering gold strands floating about, and look to Blondie. You saw that your final attack gave her an impromptu pageboy haircut along with knocking her out.

Staring to pass out, you slowly stood up; eyes blurring as you turned around to see the fallout of the fight. You notice that there's this massive green...pillar thing, along with a red things on top and a blue thing coiling around it. You try to make out more, but your vision was fading and you couldn't hold on much longer.

Before you pass out, you barely utter out, "I win..."
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

When you come to, you find yourself in a hospital; bandaged up and all alone. You see the Gekkaja at your bedside and someone coming up to the door of your room. As the door opens, you see a hint of white and blue.

You...
[X] Play dead, so to speak; don't wanna answer any awkward questions at the moment
[X] Get up, you're all better now and don't wanna waste anymore time in here
[X] Hide, then get outta here before you have to deal with any of the fallout of the fight
[X] Write-in


NEW TECHNIQUES DISCOVERED! - True Soul of Ice (A+): By studying the Gekkaja, you've managed to bring the Soul of Ice to a whole new level. By drawing in ambient heat and ki through the cold of the Soul of Ice, you can use both to restore your own ki as well as convert it to cold ki to further the cold aura of the Soul of Ice; as well as pull in more heat and ki. The user can also manipulate the cold ki around them if their control is good enough. Using this technique immediately makes your ki cold, as well as renders emotion ki based attacks inoperable.

Sōryū Tsūga [Twin Dragon Piercing Fangs] (A++): A highly complex variation of the Hiryu Hyo Toppa and Hiryu Korin Dan; it requires the True Soul of Ice to use. By firing off a second Hiryu Hyo Toppa into the vortex, one can control the second attack by manipulating the ambient cold ki emitted by the user and direct it to the top of the tornado. Then, once there; the user can jump to the top and further gather the cold ki and hot ki, using the hot ki to pull the attack towards the enemy and the cold ki, along with a divekick, to empower the second Hiryu Hyo Toppa.

 

[EnderofWorlds]

[X] Get up, you're all better now and don't wanna waste anymore time in here.

Yeah, you weren't looking forward to having to explain to anyone why tornadoes were popping out of nowhere and that the city park was no longer a thing because of you. This wasn't Nerima, where that sorta thing was not only expected, but somewhat anticipated by this point. Here though? Chances were that the first thing you were gonna see once you left the hospital are bars and chains. Seeing as you were still a stranger in a strange land and had to gather the rest of the crew, who had probably scattered to the four winds by now, and get back home; prison really wasn't an option. So, time to take a page outta Pop's book and bail out of taking any semblance of responsibility for what happened.

Besides, Blondie started it. Or rather; Ryoga, Mousse, Kuno, and Taro did, but that was semantics. Not to mention none of them were here to take the fall. It still wasn't your fault, though.

Oh god, you just realized; you needed to gather everyone together when you had to go back home, and finding Ryoga 'The Eternally Lost Boy' Hibiki is gonna be the largest pain in your ass for as long as you're here. Well, at least you can take solace in leaving Kuno behind; nobody will miss him. Taro too. Mousse is a toss-up; annoying as he is, he's not that bad, plus the old mummy will bitch at you for leaving behind her free labor. You consider ditching Happosai as well, but shudder at the implications and consequences; you couldn't in good conscience leave an unsuspecting world to deal with the bastard and suffer. You simply weren't that cruel.

Mind made up, you rise from the bed and leap up....only to crash onto the floor instead of landing on your feet. Crap, guess you were still kinda hurting from the fight; meaning that running was out. As you gradually and painfully get up from the floor, the door opens wide open and someone walks in. You hear a gasp and someone exclaim, "Oh dear! Are you alright? Here, let me help you up..."

You looked up to see who rushed over to you; snow white hair, ice blue eyes, around Kasumi's age. Hell, you almost thought it was Kasumi talking until you remembered just where you were. Snowy here was also dressed like a queen, or more like a rich businesswoman in retrospect. White silk suit with light blue highlights, and a stylized snowflake insignia on the lapel; overall, very fancy. And not a cop, which was a good thing.

Once on your feet, you brushed her and your earlier fall off and told her, "Yeah I'm fine, just wasn't as ok as I thought; nothing too bad though. Um...so why exactly are you here, Miss...?"

She blushed out of embarrassment and apologized, "Oh I'm sorry, where are my manners? My name is Winter Schnee and I'm a representative here on behalf of the Schnee Dust Company. We'd like to arrange a formal meeting with our CEO and ask you some thing; of course, you'll be heavily compensated for your time as well as offered the finest hospitality SDC can offer."

Dust company? What, like dirt? What are these people, dirt farmers or something? And apparently they made a company out of that? A company that seems to make a lot of money by the looks of it. Still, people here got rich off of dirt?! Man, if Nabiki were here she'd probably have an aneurysm over hearing this. Followed by trying to ruthlessly exploit that fact to get rich.

Man, you really hoped that they weren't trying to recruit you for some secret underground war with the Housecleaning Guild or something; that'd be weird even for your standards. And yet, it sadly wasn't outside the realm of possibility. Eh, at least you'd manage to learn Martial Arts Housecleaning and Martial Arts Dirt...Something if that's the case.

You saw Winter off her hand for a handshake and accepted it, free room and board and all you have to do is talk to some old rich dude for a bit? Sold! You introduced yourself, "Ranma Saotome," you mentally frowned and tacked on some extra stuff to match the lady's fancy intro, "Inheritor of the Tendo Dojo and Mutsabetsu Kakuto Saotome Ryu. I'd be more than willing to meet up with some old fa-I mean, I would love to discuss whatever matters your CEO would like to talk about with me. So...can we grab my stuff and leave now? Like, right now; before the cops arri-uhh I mean-"

Winter giggled and tells you, "Oh don't be silly Mr. Saotome; Father wouldn't let a potential business partner be hassled by silly legal complications like that, he's already taken care of it. As for leaving, we have an airship ready and waiting up top to take us to Atlas and the main office of SDC."

Huh, guess you were gonna be fighting the Housecleaning Guild in the name of the Dirt Farmer Mafia by the sounds of it. Eh, at least you're probably gonna be paid to do this latest crazy adventure; makes it easier to roll with the punches. You walk over to the Gekkaja, pick it up, and start heading out the door. You turned your head back to Winter and said, "Well, in that case we might as well head out. And call me Ranma, Mr. Saotome just doesn't sound right."

Not unless it came with death threats or was directed at your old man, that is. Anyways, Winter quickly took the lead and guided you to the rooftop of the hospital, where there was indeed a giant flying ship...thing. Certainly didn't look like any plane or the like you've ever seen back home. You looked to the sky and saw that it was nighttime, meaning you probably spent a whole day recuperating given how beat up you were. You saw the starry night sky, the moon shining bright overhead with the other shattered moon besides it, broken remnants of it still close to- wait, what?

You blinked, shook your head, slapped yourself, and looked again; nope, there were still two moons, and the second one looked like it took a great big honking Bakusai Tenketsu to the face. Yeah, that confirmed what you were already thinking, you were on another planet or alternate reality. Fucking Nanban Mirror...

Winter sees your confusion and asks you, "Ranma, are you alright? Is something wrong?"

[X] "Abuh-ahw-haaaaah?"
[X] "The moon is broken, why is the moon broken? What broke the moon; no, more importantly: WHY ARE THERE TWO MOONS?!"
[X] Breathe in. Breathe out. Calmly carry on and ask questions later. Soul of Ice now, breakdown later.
[X] Write-in

 

[EnderofWorlds]

[X] Breathe in. Breathe out. Calmly carry on and ask questions later. Soul of Ice now, breakdown later.

You took a deep breath, then another one. You repeated this for several moments before diving into the Soul of Ice to calm down. As you do, you idly noted that the 'second moon' was actually just the sun starting to rise; you just mistook it for a moon since the actual moon was shattered and what the fuck how in the world did that happen what could possibly-

No, calm yourself; Soul of Ice...Soul of Ice, maintain your calm. All this meant is that you were as far from home as you had thought; no longer on Earth, but in a whole nother realm entirely. The Nanban Mirror took you to an alternate reality or universe of some sort, one where the moon got beat up worse than Kuno when Akane was PMSing. The though of how or what caused that still boggles the mind and almost made you go into a nervous breakdown, but you held firm within the Soul of Ice.

"Ranma?" You heard Winter ask, as she walked up to you in concern, "Are you ok? Is everything alright? You looked like you were shocked about something...?"

"I'm fine," You answered back, emotionless within your current state, "I just realized how far away from home I truly was; back home, our moon was still in one piece. It's just starting to sink in is all."

"Your world?" Winter asked confused, "Moon still intact? Excuse me for a moment." She walked to the aircraft, a hatch opening once she gets there, and talks to a guard that exits from the hatch. You saw her take something from the guard, talk to him for a moment, then return; in her hand a brace of some sort, a pale white gem in the center.

"If you could put this on before entering the airship, it would be greatly appreciated," Winter requested, then she explained further, "It's a simple monitoring device that measures your vitals, along with alerting SDC's security and medical staff and facilities in the event something goes wrong. Standard procedure, I hope you don't mind."

You shrug and offer an arm; run and hide from the obviously rich and powerful organization vs. complying and mooching off of them? Gee, what a hard decision. Winter slipped on the bracelet without a word and the moment it touched your skin you realized something: the bracelet had ki. And it wasn't like the ambient ki that you felt around the environment no, it was more....focused, more potent. It wasn't exactly like the ki from living things, but it was close; real close. Which begged the question, how in the hell does a bracelet have ki?

In fact, as you focused your senses in light of your new discovery, you found that the airship had ki; hell, the hospital was filled with ki too. The more you honed in on the ki you felt, the more detail you got about the ki you were feeling. The hospital had it focused in specific locations...locations you figured to be the ER room and other hi-tech parts of the building, while the airship had it focused in a central area that was probably the power source of the thing.

That meant that...that these people powered their technology with ki. They used life energy instead of gasoline or electricity, every piece of machinery was fueled by something that took many martial artist years if not decades to tap into and use for themselves. Which meant...which meant...

You were in an alternate reality where the Art was the norm instead of the exception, a world where mastery of one's self and honing one's spirit was more valuable than whatever paltry facts and lessons were taught in school. A world where one would be able to walk the Path of a Martial Artist and not be looked at as a traditional relic of a bygone era, but of a pioneer and forward mover of society. A world that was...basically Nerima, but on a global scale.

It was like you've died and gone to heaven; only the Soul of Ice and the though of who you left behind back home kept you from crying tears of abject joy.

You barely even noticed following Winter into the airship, only snapping out of your daze when she finally asked you, "So...why don't you tell me about yourself Ranma; where you're from, what you do, what you're capable of, some memorable events? You know, the usual stuff you tell someone for the first time."

"Well, alright." And so you nonchalantly give her a brief summary about yourself; your overall skill, some notable battles, stuff about Nerima, basically what she asked for. You didn't tell her everything obviously, didn't really feel like it and it seemed unnecessary; but you told her enough. Honestly, saying you beat a dragon prince by leveling a mountain on him and slayed an immortal phoenix king that probably counted as a minor kami should be more than enough to prove yourself to these people.

Occasionally, Winter interrupted you with more questions whenever an unfamiliar term came up; they called ki 'aura' here for example, and they didn't really have anything larger than a kingdom in this world. There were only four of them to boot, so people weren't so widespread around the world. They also didn't have martial artists in a traditional sense, but when she mentioned 'Hunters' it seemed like they were pretty much the same thing; more or less. Skilled fighters who honed their craft, learned to harness and master their aura/ki, and defended the weak from those who would harm them. The job itself held a fair amount of prestige and honor attached to it that needed to be upheld, so the only real difference from what you could tell was that Hunters focused more on weapon use whereas Martial Arts was more about hand-to-hand.

Talk of Hunters brought up talk of Grimm, something that definitely didn't exist back home and made this world far less of a paradise than you first thought. Soulless monsters that strove only to destroy mankind, such a thing was appalling to you; if something like them existed at home, you wouldn't hesitate to go out and put them down. It was the duty of a martial artist to protect the weak and innocent from monsters like that, regardless of the risks.

After Winter brought up the Grimm, she also brought up Dust; what they called the ki they used to power all their technology. By the sounds of it, Dust was concentrated ambient ki that crystallized into solid form, allowing people to use it for various purposes. Channeling it in place of your own ki, sewing it into clothing to enhance and modify your garb for combat, packaging it into cartridges and bullets for mass production use, and even infusing it into yourself to draw upon and empower yourself directly. Dust was pretty much a game changer for anyone who was a ki adept; even someone not fully trained in ki manipulation like Ukyo or Akane could potentially rival Happosai with the right types or quantities of the stuff.

Still, being in this world; called Remnant according to Winter, was quite refreshing. Nerima was getting a bit stale, and this place seems tailor made to you; grimm and all. Hell, judging from Winter's calmness in face of your escapades; it seems that people were just as used to crazy shit happening as you were.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

It took every ounce of your control to not flip the fuck out at what Ranma was telling you; a world that almost didn't know about aura? A world that had too many kingdoms to count but absolutely no dust at all? A world with an un-shattered moon and no grim?! What Ranma told you about his own adventures didn't help matters either. A kingdom full of nothing but faunae, led by a dragon faunus? Along with a bird faunae kingdom ruled by a phoenix faunus?! One that literally could not die, even when killed?!?!

What's worse, the readings from the bracelet all came out positive; his vitals showed no change from his regular baseline. Meaning that he was telling the truth, about all of it. That was the main reason you gave him the bracelet in the first place, the vital readings could be used to detect lying; even from master manipulators and liars. If he tried to trick you, the bracelet would flash and his vitals would show a spike showing the change from truth to falsehood.

Which meant he actually managed to kill something that would put most highly skilled hunters and ancient grimm to shame. Because you couldn't think of any semblance that would allow someone to do what this 'Saffron' could do, not at his level. And only grimm mentioned in folklore and legends could compare to this so called Phoenix King.

You counted backwards from ten and took a calming breath; remember, Father wanted to meet him due to his value to the company. After all, someone who could create high-quality dust en masse on command was a godsend to anyone who could sway them to their side. It would solve all of the company's problems if Ranma accepted a deal with Father and became one of his business partners.

Thankfully, that shouldn't be too hard; Father outright told you and everyone in the company that he was willing to pay any price to get Ranma to join them. And the boy seemed like a simple guy with simple wants, so this partnership should be in the bag...
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

After the whole Q&A, there wasn't much else Winter wanted to ask you; so you were left alone to your thoughts. It was still quite a ways away from where Winter said the company was, so you had plenty of time to...

[X] Focus on your new Soul of Ice, start hammering out the flaws
[X] See if you can study some Dust, maybe find some way to incorporate it into your style
[X] You're basically on a training trip for all that matters, might as well plan out your training (Write-in training schedule; what techniques to train in/refine)
[X] Eh, just take a nap; you're tired (Time skip to arrival)
[X] Write-in

 

[EnderofWorlds]

[X] Focus on your new Soul of Ice, start hammering out the flaws
-- [X] Mention that they might want to round up your "friends". Got to try and keep them out of trouble. Sigh... yes even Kuno... maybe... if he isn't being too big an idiot.

Well, since you didn't really have much room to do anything else and couldn't think of anything better to do, you decided to delve deeper into your Soul of Ice; into the 'true' state you achieved against Goldilocks, and began to meditate. As you gathered the heat and ambient ki into you, you started to feel you body warming up, forcing you to reduce the flow of absorption so that you didn't start burning up like you did the first time. As an extra precaution, you held onto the Gekkaja and let it draw in the heat that you couldn't; it's cooling aura bringing you down to normal temperatures.

Now caught in the flow of ki, you meditated and focused inward, hoping to find the crux of the problem. You've looked into this stuff before, having heard of it during your training trip but never really paying much attention save for how to draw on your ki. It was all you needed to know for martial arts; though you quickly changed your stance on that after seeing the likes of the Shishi Hokodan, Herb, and especially Saffron. At that point, it became vital to know more about how ki worked, so that you could better improve upon your own mastery of it.

From what you've learned for the most part; ki is formed and gathered in three pools centered at key points in the body called 'dantians', flowing from the lower dantian all the way to the upper. Along this main flow, ki suffused the rest of the body via the meridians, channels that served as the equivalent of veins and arteries for ki flow. Pressure points, shiatsu, moxibustion, and reiki all worked though these meridians; either by improving or stunting the flow of ki, depending on what sort of result you wanted. The Ultimate Weakness Moxibustion that Happosai used on you basically screwed your ki flow so much that your ki actively hindered and weakened you while you were affected by it, hence why you were as weak as a baby.

For people seeking enlightenment and stuff like that, it was important to meditate for hours on end and do massive amounts of introspection; gradually learning about the inner nature of the world and the truth of reality and junk like that, eventually culminating in a total understanding of the self and all mankind. Fortunately, you're not some navel-gazing idiot; you're a martial artist, so all you care about is being able to draw on your ki to bust heads.

And for that, all you needed was the lower dantian; the most important of the three, where one's essence and vitality is refined into ki to be channeled throughout the body. You've expanded upon this pool through your vigorous training and have learned to draw upon it's stores to enhance yourself beyond your limits. Rather, you learned how to stretch your limits farther and farther from the norm because you had an abundance of ki and could control it, directing it as you wished to better yourself.

Really, anyone could do this; it just took dedication and intense hard work. The path of a martial artist is fraught with peril, after all.

However, as you felt the ambient ki and heat channeled into your lower dantian, you immediately came across the problem. The lower dantian was called 'The Furnace of Life' for a reason, and like any furnace it could only get so hot before things went bad. Because of the constant amount of ki and heat you were channeling through the dantian at such a consistent rate, you were making the pool of energy literally overheat from the strain. If left unchecked, you would either spontaneously combust and burn from the inside out, or explode in a massive detonation of ki; you're not sure which. Either way, it was bad.

You exit into the lesser Soul of Ice and begin to think on how to fix this; the other two dantians had less to do with ki and more to do with spiritual matters, meaning they wouldn't help much here. Maybe they could serve as a heat sink of sorts, but you're pretty sure that messing with the parts of your body that dealt with 'mind' and 'spirit' was a bad idea. Yeah...

Hmm, maybe the Gekkaja would give you an idea? You meditated, Gekkaja in lap and senses focused intensely on the magic staff; trying to dive inward to discover its secrets. You felt the vortex within, sucking all ambient heat and energy it could; shifting the energy from hot to cold so that it could further perpetuate the vortex. As you focus on the rod, you recall a memory and inspiration strikes; you pick up the Gekkaja and once again bend the moon out of shape, then focus on the staff once more.

The vortex is disrupted, but still in tact; it simply wasn't expanding anymore, because the cold used to perpetuate it was now leaking from the bend in the staff and the crescent moon. Now that the flow was disrupted, you can feel the changes from it; the cold from the bent part of the staff was divorced from the perpetual vortex, a finite amount of cold ki that leaked from where the flow was disrupted, whereas the staff itself was the vortex with no way to grow or change the ki it took in. You realized that the staff wasn't just one huge ki reserve that converted hot to cold, but two: one to gather the energy, and the other to convert the hot to cold. When disrupted, it suffered from the same problem you did; only the leaking cold ki from the top pool served to keep the vortex cool.

So now you knew the solution, all you needed to figure out was how to fix it. You basically needed to turn the ambient ki and heat into cold ki before it was gathered into your lower dantian instead of after like it normally does. In order to do that, you needed a second ki reserve that the energy would flow into before reaching your lower dantian. Unfortunately, the other two dantians couldn't be used for this; not really, not unless you wanted to risk your sanity or soul. And you really didn't, you weren't that desperate; yet. You could possibly get a tool of some sort to do the conversion for you, but that could be stolen or broken in a fight. A two man team could probably pull it off, but you didn't have anyone to work with. Besides, you wanted to master this technique for yourself; meaning, you wanted to be able to use it whenever you wanted to kick ass. Not 'whenever your partner was around to help you'.

You meditate further, digging up more and more memories on what you've read up on about ki; nothing useful coming up, everything told you that ki started from the lower dantian and went outward from there. There's nothing that could come before it, that's what all the temples and dojos in Japan and China told you.

Then, you recall a faint memory; a similar yet different method of how ki flowed, originating from India. Chakras; seven in total, they basically acted the same as the dantians you were familiar with, only they started from the base of the spine instead of the stomach. You don't really remember more than that, but it was worth a shot at least.

Let's see...you think the first chakra was called the Mudada...er, Mobala-no. Uh, Modoka-no, that wasn't it either. Umm...what was it, what was it...Muchalalucha! Yeah, that was it; the Muchalalucha Chakra, base of the spine. Shouldn't be too hard to channel ki through it.

You enter the True Soul of Ice and channel your ki through the base of the spine, where the Muchalalucha Chakra was located. Immediately you feel of surge of ki through your body and feel your ki...solidify, for lack of a better term. It's easier to grasp and manipulate, acting far more viscous and weightier than before. But you still felt your body heating up, so this chakra wasn't enough.

Um...the next one was the...Shawarma? No, it wan't called that; but you think Shawarma was part of it...er... Oh, you remember now; it's the Shawarmastika Chakra! That was in the pelvis, under the Lower Dantian, so it wasn't that hard to continue the ki flow up into that chakra. The moment your ki hits it, you feel another surge and your ki shifts again; this time flowing smoother and faster, more readily responding to your call. It had also cooled down, meaning you finally fixed the soul of ice. From the Shawarmastika you channeled the ki up to the lower dantian and let the Soul of Ice do the rest, turning your ki cold and perpetuating the cycle all over again.

New technique mastered, you expand your senses around the ship; feeling the ki that powered it as well as the heat and stray ki that was being pulled into your inner vortex. You feel a huge reservoir of ki and assume that was the generator of the airship. Feeling how the ki flowed from the generator throughout the rest of the ship, you got an idea. You took the ki you were cycling though your body and pushed it into the generator and it's ki channels instead of expanding the cold and your range of absorption.

Next thing you knew, the ship started to rocket off and you fall ass over teakettle; klaxons blaring and red lights flashing everywhere. Winter crashed to the floor and you're pretty sure you just saw the pilot fly by past you. Through the windows, you saw nothing but streaks and blurs; and was that one of the ship's wings?! Uh-oh...

Winter barely managed to get up and grab the pilot, shaking him back and forth as she frantically asked, "What the hell just happened?!?!"

"I-I don't know!" The pilot told her, "Power reserves spiked 700% and caused the engines to overload! We're flying at Mach 17 and this ship wasn't built to go that fast! We're gonna blow in a matter of minutes, but not before we crash into SDC Headquarters! Oh god we're all gonna die...!" He started weeping uncontrollably and cried for his mommy after that.

Heh, wimp. It's not that bad-

[WARNING! HULL INTEGRITY AT 65% AND FAILING! ESTIMATED TIME OF COMPLETE ANNIHILATION: 15 MINUTES. WARNING! CURRENT TRAJECTORY WILL LEAD TO COLLIDE WITH SDC HEADQUARTERS IN 10 MINUTES! WARNING...]

...Ok, maybe it was that bad.

Yeah, you should get on doing something about that, shouldn't you? You did kinda cause all of this to happen in the first place...

[X] Bust open the escape hatch and jump down with Winter, you think you're currently over an ocean...
[X] If ki channeling got you into this mess, it can get you out; reinforce the ship with your ki and work from there.
[X] Ship? You don't need no stinking ship; you have a better idea. Ride the Dragon...
[X] Write-in

 

[EnderofWorlds]

[X] If ki channeling got you into this mess, it can get you out; reinforce the ship with your ki and work from there.
-- [X] Stick next to the crew in case we need to bail.

Yeah, ok, you're sure as hell aren't dying here; especially with innocent bystanders at risk. You flare out your ki and infuse as much of it as possible into the ship, making its steel so hard that titanium was rice paper in comparison. Unfortunately, it took you longer than you expected it would to reinforce the whole ship; a whole minute passed and with it another wing. At least you didn't have to worry about the ship exploding anymore, now you only had to deal with crashing into a building filled with people at Mach 17.

You grabbed the gibbering pilot by his shoulders and slap some sense into him. When your hand sent his head spinning, the man stopped his mental breakdown and looked at you in shock. Ignoring his reaction you asked, "If the ship doesn't fall apart, can you direct it away from the headquarters and somewhere safe?"

"I-I don't," he stammered. Then, he takes a deep breath and tells you, "Maybe; but with the rear wings gone and the front wings heavily damaged, we'd be lucky to be able to move in anything other than a straight line. Unless you can pull some advanced technician skills out of your ass, this ship's a goner. Along with the rest of us."

You take in what the pilot told you, as you hear Winter calling someone on some handheld glass screen. Then, you got an idea; you ask the pilot, "What if someone moved the wings for you? Instead of the ship's controls and parts moving them, what if someone attached pulleys and manually moved the wings to turn? Will that work?"

"Are-are you insane?! There's no possible way for anyone to pull that off! Never mind how borderline impossible it is for someone to move the wings like that, it is impossible for someone to get outside the ship when it's moving at Mach-"

You cut him off, "Will. It. Work?"

"In the perfect magical fairyland where this is possible?" The pilot bit back, "sure, I guess."

"Then get me an earpiece or helmet, get Winter in the cockpit with you, and tell me how to steer." The pilot's mouth is left gaping wide open at what you just said, but with a stern glance from you he quickly moves into action. He pulls her away from her screen, talked to her for a second, then took her to the cockpit. Forcefully, because it seemed she wasn't going to go along with the plan. As she was dragged into the cockpit, she grabbed you and hysterically demanded an explanation, "What the hell are you thinking?!?! We're going at Mach 17, have only five minutes until we crash and burn, and you're trying to pull some asinine plan that a coked up druggie would call crazy?! Are you trying to d-"

You grabbed both the pilot and Winter by the lapels, flung them into the cockpit and shut the door, then proceeded to break down the emergency exit. Immediately you're almost sucked out and flung out into the open winds, but you managed to grab onto the edge of the exit; yeah, ok, apparently Mach 17 wasn't fast. It was REALLY FUCKING FAST.

Eh, you're faster and better; you got this. You also idly note that the pilot slipped an earpiece into your pants; good man.

You steadily climbed up the airship until you reach the front of the ship, where the two wings are located. Despite your constant reinforcement, the wings are just barely connected to the ship and are clearly inoperable. Which is why you were here, you just had to grab the wings and move them yourself. Alright, that shouldn't be too hard; first you need to pull out some rope or wire and-

...Well, you've just stumbled into the first hurdle of your plan; mainly, that you don't have anything to latch onto the wings to move them. You pull out the earpice and put it on, calling the pilot, "Hey, we got any rope or wire?"

"Rope or-what? No! We're a private airship, why in the hell would we..oh god. Oh dear lord please don't tell me-"

Yeah, you weren't in the mood for another breakdown; you cut him off before he could start, "Nevermind, I'll improvise."

You shift through your pockets, hoping to find something useful before your...four and a half minutes are up. Thankfully, fortune smiles on you as you manage to grasp...something long and ropelike in your pockets. It wasn't long enough to reach the wings though, being only as long as your arm; but you could fix that. If Happosai could turn into a giant with his battle aura, how hard could it be to make something longer with ki?

You pulled out the improvised rope and channeled ki into it, the rope seemed to eagerly suck up the offered energy and reacted exactly as you wanted it to; lengthening into golden strands for meters on end in a matter of seconds. Focusing on the ki you were channeling into the golden rope, you use the Iron Cloth technique and fling both ends of the makeshift tether at both wings; binding them and holding them in place. Hands on the newly made reigns, you maintained the technique, finding that the rope reacts exceedingly well to your ki; you even managed to manipulate the strands further, moving them so that they have the perfect hold on the wings.

"Alright, I got the wings," You called the pilot back, "Now tell me how to steer this damn thing!"

"Hard left and up!" You heard him shout, and you moved the ship accordingly; pulling up and to the left with your tethers and making the ship go up and left, just barely avoiding a massive building a few away; though you're pretty sure that the windows still cracked from your passing. You're guessing that was the Schnee Dust Company's headquarters you just passed. At least you got the hard part out of the way, now all you had to do was land.

You received more instructions from the pilot, "We need to bleed off altitude; I've initiated an emergency lockdown so the thrusters should cut out in a bit, so all you have to do is circle until I tell you to stop. When I say stop, follow my directions; they'll take us to the airstrip we were supposed to land at, so it should be safe. Got it?"

"Got it," You told him, and began to make the ship fly around in circles; like some sort of aerial charioteer in an invisible coliseum. After several minutes of flying in the air, you noticed that the ship was slowing down and that you were gradually losing altitude. You hear the signal from the pilot and began to fly over to the airstrip. As you make your descent down the runway, the thrusters explode and the rear end of the airship catches on fire.

The pilot elaborated on what happened, "Overload due to the emergency shut-off, the generator's still in tact and not exploding so we're good; just keep flying and land us safely."

You manipulated the wings and tried to take the ship in as gently as possible; which, frankly, wasn't all that gentle. The airship crashed into the ground and tore a ravine in it's wake. Half on fire and held together by force of will, it managed to just barely stop in front of the hanger without crashing into it. Just then, the wings broke off, the strain they were put under too much to bear; even with ki enhancement. You retracted the rope, which you just now noticed was the huge lock of Blondie's hair you cut, and hop down.

When you land, you see a man around Pop's age; snow white hair and steel gray eyes, obvious worry in them as well as on his face. Obviously, this was Winter's dad. Besides him was a girl around your age with a scar over one eye and the same hair and eyes as Winter. A sister of some sort, you guessed, also incredibly worried about Winter. Before you can say anything to either of them, the other emergency exit opened and from it came Winter and the pilot. Both sister and father rushed over to her; babbling and frantically worrying over, but relieved that she was ok. You smiled at the rather touching scene, and relaxed; the plane landed, nothing was broken, and everyone was safe and-

Just then, you felt a surge of ki, erratic and out of control; and it was coming from a familiar source: the airship generator. You ran as fast as you could, yelling with a ki enforced shout, "GET DOWN!"

In a flash you blitzed the group and tackle them far away, the force of your tackle infused with as much ki as possible, sending everyone flying into the hanger right as the airship erupted into a massive explosion. Even the hanger wasn't totally safe, as half of it was engulfed in the blast; you barely missed getting engulfed, and had already thrown everyone forward expecting that you weren't gonna make it. Still, since you were just outside the explosion, you were sent rocketing from the concussive force and crashed to the ground in front of Winter's sister and father.

All things considered, it wasn't that bad; sure the explosion was unexpected and hurt, but it was only about as bad as one of Ryoga's Shishi Hokodan's. Only with extra burning, but after Saffron you didn't sweat over a few burns.

As you got up from the ground, you heard Mr. Schnee utter out in complete shock, "You saved me. You saved my daughters. One of them twice. That explosion literally happened instantaneously and you still managed to save us. Tell me, my boy; who are you? And how...how can I ever repay you?"

Huh, didn't see that coming. Especially since you pretty much caused this whole mess to begin with. Awkward...

[X] Say nothing; just continue with what you came here to do, and especially don't mention that you blew up the ship. Because you totally didn't.
[X] "Um, I'm Ranma Saotome, sorry about this..."
[X] Deflect, deflect, deflect; bring up anything and everything possible to get everyone to forget what just happened, lest they connect the dots and pin it on you
[X] Write-in


NEW ITEM ACQUIRED!:
Kinpatsu no Nawa [Gold Hair Rope] (C) - Blondie's hair turned into a makeshift rope, it's exceedingly receptive to ki and you can fell that there's more to it than that. Probably due to what happened in your huge fight and all. Still, it lengthens with ki and takes to Iron Cloth like Kuno to idiocy; so it's handy to keep around.

 

[EnderofWorlds]

[X] "Um, I'm Ranma Saotome, sorry about this..."

You really didn't wanna do this; you really, really, really didn't wanna do this, but time and experience has taught you that you couldn't run away from the problem. Not unless you were able to get away and avoid the fallout right from the get-go, and you kinda doubted that. Old Man Schnee probably had this place guarded up the wazoo with all the security and hunters he could afford. Sure, you were probably better than any one of them, but taking down a dozen or so would be hard even for you. You were the best, that didn't mean you were invincible. Not yet at least.

So with a sheepish grin and nervously rubbing the back of your head, you told the old man, "Um, I'm Ranma Saotome. Sorry about this, I didn't me-"

"Sorry?" Old Man Schnee exclaimed in bewilderment, "You saved our lives and you're apologizing?! Nonsense, lad, it couldn't possibly be your fault! Why, you deserve a medal or a reward; something for your noble actions this day."

"No, I know full well who to blame for this." The man scowled and his tone became bitter, "Those damn beasts, the White Fang did this. And they've broken the last straw; I will not stand for this! I've refused to take personal action, lest those fucking animals use it as ammunition for their terrorism, but I refuse to stand back anymore!

I am Raureif FUCKING Schnee! I own those damn dirty Faunae! I own their homes! I own their lives! I own their kingdom! I AM their fucking kingdom! The Council of Atlas answers to me! Their military is my military! Their huntsmen and huntresses? Also mine! Everything from the rocky coasts to the icy tundras of Atlas; I own! It's about time they remember that..."

Woah, Old Man Schnee is pissed, and he's ready to take it out on some terrorists. Even though they had nothing to do with it, no that was all you. Judging from the resigned and furious look on the Schnee sisters' faces though, it was practically expected from this 'White Fang' group. That...was pretty damn despicable really; it's one thing to endanger innocents with idiocy, but a whole different thing to do it on purpose. Worse, to actively seek out the innocent and put them down in the name of 'justice'.

It disgusted you, as a martial artist you fought to defend the weak and do what is honorable. These bastards throw away their honor and parade around, beating up innocent bystanders and causing wanton destruction, all to send a message about how what they've doing is right. How it's 'necessary' and 'justified'; that there was nothing else they could've done.

You scoffed; bullshit, there was plenty that could've been done. They were just too cowardly to do it. All terrorists were like that, as far as you knew from the few snippets of news you remembered. If they really wanted to do the right thing and fight for justice, then they'd just go right up to the bastards they think are wrong and deck them solid. None of this pussyfooting around crap, just walk up to the scumbag and beat the living crap outta him. If ya wanted to do what's right, then be direct and do it!

You heard Old Man Schnee on his own hand screen, yelling at people and demanding they got things taken care off; calling for the White Fang's blood all the while. You saw him reach towards his earpiece and call someone, "Jenkins! Jenkins you incompetent fuckwad answer me! I swear Jenkins if you don't respond right the fuck now I'll-"

Immediately your sixth sense went into overdrive and you pushed Raureif away, intercepting a crimson katana aimed right for his neck with the Gekkaja. The attacker had crimson hair, wore a white and red mask with a black trench coat, and there were horns of all things sprouting from his head. You heard the guy click in disapproval over missing his target, jumping back as more goons wearing stupid masks came swarming in; headed by a freaking catgirl. Yeah, the bow's not fooling anyone toots.

You still had to suppress a shudder at seeing the catgirl, it wasn't enough to trigger your phobia or the neko-ken, but it still made you uneasy being around her. Counting her, her boss, and the cronies, there were about a hundred or so terrorists surrounding you. With more coming to boot if your senses were accurate. Given that all of them wore those stupid white masks, save for catgirl, you assumed that this was the White Fang mentioned earlier.

Bad news, you were outnumbered 100 to 1 and had to protect Old Man Schnee and his girls. Good news, other than Samurai Wannabe and his kitty cat, they were all total wimps. Meaning you could handle this, assuming you finished them off before reinforcements arrived. Shouldn't be too hard, especially since it looked like Mr. Samurai was gonna go on a rant right about now.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

You hated this; you hated that you had no choice but to go on this mission, hated that once again you were providing the media right about your people, and you especially hated that a part of you actually agreed with Adam about doing this. Because this was Raurief Schnee, the man who embodied everything wrong with the world and how it treated your kind. Because if he died, then all of Remnant would see what they were doing to all the Faunae in the kingdoms, and that it had to stop; that it had to change.

If Raurief Schnee died, then maybe the White Fang could stop being monsters and go back to what they were supposed to be...

It was as if fate had handed this to the White Fang on a silver platter, an opportunity to strike at one of the most hated men of all fanuskind. They had heard from their undercover operatives in SDC that Schnee was going to an isolated and privately own airport to greed a VIP who was vital to the future of the company. After that, the White Fang mobilized everyone they could in a day to pull this off. Using their intel, they covertly struck at the security before they arrived on site, masquerading as guards until the time came to strike. The original plan was to wait until Schnee's VIP got off the airship and they went off with the fake security, who would lead them somewhere isolated to be ambushed.

Then, they heard about how the airship was going to crash and burn into headquarters in a matter of minutes, and everything went to hell. The plan was abandoned for a full out attack at the hangar. With the mad dash of armed forces rushing to the airport on Schnee's command, the White Fang had to rig traps on all the roads leading to the site along with whatever they could scrounge up to take down incoming Bullheads, all to buy them time for the attack. The new plan had them coming at Schnee and whatever troops they couldn't take out beforehand in waves, as if laying siege to the place.

It was borderline war, and it disgusted you. But what could you do? Run? Now? It'd be one thing to bail on a simple heist mission, at least then you could leave on relatively decent terms. But for something this grand and important to the cause? The only way out would be death.

That didn't make it any easier to swallow, though.

Now that they had Schnee and his family surrounded, Adam started his speech, "Raurief Schnee, for the sins you have committed against our people, we of the White Fang find you guilty and have come to deliver our vengeance." God it was tacky and overdramatic, clearly something written by someone else for Adam to recite; yet the crowd was eating it up. Adam always had that...flare, that presence that drew people in and rallied them to his cause. It was why he was always put with the troops, to keep them hooked to the cause.

Adam continued his dramatic yet cheesy speech, "For too long have you and your ilk oppressed us! Treated us like beasts of burden; animals and monsters to be owned and tamed like pets! When we stood up for our rights, you pushed us down and beat us like a disobedient dog; our pleas for justice and equality treated as the annoying whines and whimpers of an ignorant puppy! But now....now this puppy has grown to become a wolf, and it's looking to bite the hand that beat it. We stand united together, under a single cause, all so that we can-"

"-Beat up an old geezer and his kids a hundred to one, because we're all a bunch of pussies!" Your eyes bugged out, and your head turned to the source of the interruption; a human boy around your age, bearing a cocky grin and a smug stance. However, under all of that you could see an iron will and a growing fury.

Adam growled and went to address him, but the boy cut him off again, "No, no, please; do educate lil' ol' me on how exactly gunning a man and his two innocent daughters is justice. Tell me how slaughtering your way here and putting countless live to death is righteous. Tell me how your oppression justifies you doing the exact same thing to those beneath your shoes.

Please, O Glorious Leader, do explain; because I don't quite see it."

Furious, Adam retorted back at the boy, "You wouldn't understand, human; you're just another human who justifies-"

"Bastard I don't give a fuck about your reasons," the boy bit back, "So life gave you a crap hand, so what? Billions of people get stuck in a crappy situation and you don't see them blowing people up or beating on innocent civilians. No, that ain't it, you're just using that as an excuse; that because you've been forced into a bad life, that immediately excuses all the terrible shit you do. Because it's justice, it's retribution. Look at you, all miserable and pathetic, so you have to strike at all the innocent and helpless people uninvolved in your plight.

Face it, you're all just a bunch of stinking cowards who're hitting whoever they can get away with hitting just so they can feel better about themselves. If you actually gave a shit about 'justice' and 'retribution', you wouldn't be pussyfooting around like this. You'd have gone right up to the bastards responsible and beat the daylights outta them.

But ya didn't, because you're scared; because you're afraid of what'd happen if you actually went and handled things like a man. You're too weak to face the problem head on, face-to-face. Cause you can't take the heat, so you're taking the easy way out. The coward's way out."

His words...they struck right at your heart; deep into the darkest parts of it where your fear and self-loathing lied. Because he was right, at least when it came to you. You did take the coward's way out, you did run away when things got too tough. When life got too hard for you due to your heritage, you ran to the White Fang. When the White Fang got too extreme for your tastes, you got ready to run. And when faced with doing what you believed was right over what you had to do to survive; you took the easy way out, so you could survive. You ran away, again.

Even your semblance, all it did was give you a shadow to take the hit and fall for you; all so you could run away. Like a coward, like the weakling the boy was calling you all.

Adam and the rest of the White Fang, however, took offense to his words; and immediately rushed in to shut him up and kill them all. And you reluctantly joined them. Because, once again, you couldn't face the problem directly.

You just ran from it all over again...
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Right, you'd just pissed off Mask Boy and the Kitty Wonder, along with his motley crew something fierce. Which was good; an angry enemy was a distracted enemy, a vulnerable enemy. You wanted that, which was way you called them out on the massive piles of shit they were trying to shovel down your throat. You slammed the Gekkaja into the ground and flared your ki into it; making an ice fortress surrounding Old Man Schnee and his kids. Better to keep them safe, away from the fray.

You leaped over the rising ice wall, only to notice someone else alongside you; Winter's younger sister, a sword drawn and at the ready. It looked like a rapier of some sort, and judging by her stance she was pretty good with it. Looking into her eyes, you could see a cold rage; hatred and the desire for retribution against the terrorists burning inside her. She needed this, needed to teach these fuckers a lesson; not to fuck with her family.

You were ok with that, if worst comes to worst you could bail her out when things got too hot. Pulling out the golden lock of hair from earlier, you enter the Perfect Soul of Ice and force your ki into it; hardening and sharpening it into a makeshift jian. You also maintained a channel of ki into the ice walls, making sure that nobody could break them down.

You had a ton of enemies and not a lot of time to take care of them all. What do you do first?

[X] Take out the Masked Kuno wannabe, he's basically asking for an ass-kicking
[X] Catgirl; she's clearly #2 in this operation and is the dagger to Gazelle Boy's katana
[X] Back up Winter's sis, better make sure she's ok in this fight
[X] Write-in