Ranma was beginning to adapt to life on the Veldt. It was, for the most part, a barren wasteland with ravenous beasts hunting throughout. For Ranma, this was a step up from his usual stream of challengers/fiancees/et cetera. He and Gau wandered the Veldt at will, fighting off any monsters that approached too close for comfort, and occasionally split up to work on their fighting skills; Gau through leaping into the hordes of monsters to learn from them, Ranma through testing himself and inventing new skills.
One day, while Ranma was working on his speed and agility (by dodging a Cactuar's attacks - the little cacti were FAST), he noticed his "little brother" Gau approaching with two men in tow. Ranma, surprised that there were other people living on the Veldt, moved to warmly receive these rare visitors.
"Big brother Ranma! Come meet Mr. Thou!"
"Ah great...another Kuno."
Scratch that; he was slightly prejudiced against Cyan Garramonde's whole samurai getup, as it reminded him of his old rival. Fortunately, no one seemed to recognize the reference to the insane Neriman clan. Unfortunately for Cyan, Gau picked up on this new name.
"Kuno? Mr. Thou is a Kuno? Mr. Kuno! Mr. Kuno!"
Ranma and the two visitors sweatdropped at Gau's enthusiasm. Cyan, or "Mr. Kuno", was the first to comment. "I...am not sure that this is an improvement, sir Sabin."
Ranma nodded, and seemed to notice the other visitor for the first time. "Sabin, eh? Do you happen to practice martial arts?"
Sabin grinned, realizing that there was a fellow fistfighter here. "Yup! I've been training under Master Duncan for years!"
"Master Duncan? What style of martial arts does he teach?"
"Err...I suppose you could call it Blitz style, but there aren't many martial artists around here. Most people prefer swords to fists when fighting monsters."
Ranma, seeing an opportunity to learn new techniques, decided to show off his technique. "Right! Well, I'm Ranma Saotome of Anything Goes Martial Arts! Want to spar?"
Cyan and Gau, remembering a short battle against a few monsters on the way over (swiftly ended by Sabin's Fire Dance), decided to get out of the line of fire as Sabin Rene Figaro formally accepted the offer.
The nearby monsters had even more sense and started running.
*****
Sabin and Ranma swiftly discovered that they were evenly matched; Ranma had more speed, but Sabin's age gave him greater strength. They soon moved to special techniques, but even these were mirrored.
"Blitz Art - Pummel!"
"Kachuu Tenshin Amaguriken!"
A hundred punches were blocked a hundred times, and the battle continued.
"Ranma Saotome doesn't lose! Mouko Takabisha!"
"Neat trick. Try this, though! Aura Bolt!"
The resulting explosion knocked the observers of the battle off their feet, and caused some minor changes in the landscape. The battle continued.
Both fighters were having the time of their lives; Ranma was getting a good workout, against someone who *wasn't* trying to kill him, and Sabin was grateful just to be fighting another martial artist. However, the fight had to come to an end; the two fighters secretly began preparing their ultimate attacks. Ranma began leading Sabin in a spiral, using his agility to determine where the battle would go, while Sabin took the blows easily, chanting under his breath.
Both techniques activated simultaneously.
"Hiryuu Shouten HA!"
"Blitz Art - Fire Dance!"
Flaming clones of the elder fighter met the younger combatant's icy tornado. The two attacks mixed, erupting into a storm of elemental might that knocked the two senseless.
*****
Ranma awoke to Gau tickling his nose with a puffy crimson feather. "Awoo! That neat trick, big brother! You teach Gau how make spinning wind?"
The dazed Ranma slowly sat up, sweatdropping at Gau's eagerness. "Uh...maybe later. Where are we heading?"
Cyan, fully alert, answered the question. "Evidently, Sir Gau is taking us to a cavern to the south where he has hidden what he terms a 'shiny thing'. Our ultimate goal, however, is to reach the town of Narshe."
"Narshe, you say? Never heard of it...but I suppose I've got nothing better to do. Let's go!"
And so they set off. Ranma's presence, however, would soon make events turn...interesting.
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(Posted Mon, 05 May 2003 18:29)
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らんま1/2 © Rumiko Takahashi
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