Ranma 1/2: The Ko Ryu 18 Steps Part 2 [fanfic]

[Dave Gao]

-------------------------------------------
!Ranma 1/2 !
! !
!The Ko Ryu 18 Steps - Part One-- !
! !-----------------------! !
! ----------------- ------!
! ! ! !--
! ! ! !---
!----------------! !----------------!ANMA (FANFIC)

Disclaimer:
(To Ms. Rumiko Takahashi)
The characters are all yours... I am just borrowing
them for a little side-winding narrative that kinda
has to do with the plotline of Ranma 1/2...
*All rights belong to Ms. Rumiko Takahashi who has
created the Ranma series characters.
(To Viz Comics)
Hey is there only one person who is working in the
translation of Ranma 1/2? I mean, does it really take
32 years for the 32 Ranma manga vols. to get
translated in English? Seriously, nobody is going to
rob your copyrighted stuff because right now people
read more fanfic than manga and it is not our fault
either.
(To the rest of the readers)
Well, screw the message above... I do not know what
I am talking about anyway...

[NOTE: You probably wonder why I write in formal
English. Actually my Microsoft Office is zapped and
now whenever I write something with an apostrophe
the word after it becomes invisible... but I can
probably find a way around this...]

*Take this a little easy, guys... this is my first story.
Send all comments, praises, and flames to dav...@ix.netcom.com
-Dave

:) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :)
COMING SOON:

KO RYU 18 STEPS PART 3
(RANMA 1/2)
THERE'S A HUNTER TOKNIGHT
(BGC & CITY HUNTER!!!)
KYOUSUKE'S WURST NIGHTMARE EVER
(KOR & NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET)
:) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :)

Step II - Hi Ryu Korin Dan

I-------------
"Great-grand mother!" Said Ranma in surprise.

"Cologne-chan!!!" Happosai suddenly leapt out from one of
the nearby windows and headed straight for Cologne.

"Hi Ryu Sho Ten Ha"

"...I see something has not changed after all, Happosai."
Cologne looked up at the figure inside the tornado as another
brassiere tore itself loose from the inside of his shirt.

The undergarments, one by one, were blown away, scattered
into the air and flew outside the Tendo residence.

"Soun! Genma!! Go get my precious treasures back!!!
Cologne-chan, we'll settle this later!" The master commanded
his students as he was slammed silly back into the ground.

"Y...Yes, master." Soun and Genma nimbly leapt over the
fence and began scavenging down the road.

"KYAAAAA!!! Perverts!!!" Within the next three hours the
two continued... occasionally Ranma and the others would hear
an unfamiliar scream or two.

Soun and Genma finally appeared again. They were wounded
all over.

"This... hey, this is just like my dream!!!" The two cried in
unison.

II------------
Outside, Cologne explained that the Tendo guardien spirits
have the power to foretell the future and send the message to
the entire family through dreams.

"Thus what happened in the dreams most likely will come
true." Cologne said. "However, the dreams are relatively
trivial compared to the actual danger of Nu."

"Yeah... What's the deal with this guy anyways?" Ranma
asked.

"Nu." Cologne paused. "As far as I can recall it was the
legendary dragon whose release from the stone temple every
500 years ensured destruction and a cleansing effect on earth.
Nu was, while still in heaven, only second to god. As its mind
turned evil and as it tried to set forth annihilation among
mankind, god locked its spirits into a stone which was
worshipped by the earliest of the Jakou-Maneki gen. God has
invoked a spell so that every 500 years Nu will have a chance
to release itself from the bonds and will be unleashed for
massive "cleansing" purposes. It is said then that a mysterious
martial arts manuscript will appear along with Nu's revival to
ensure that Nu eventually will be defeated. The book describes
the 18 steps, or special martial-art moves, to defeat the dragon
and send it back to the stones. However, the book only
presents itself to a pure-hearted fighter who has indeed the
potential to overcome Nu. By repeating the cycles over every
500 years god punishes the human race for its sins, and if there
was no one to stand up at that time and learn from the ko ryu
manuscript and defeat the dragon, humans could be wiped out
entirely."

"Lemme get this right. So it's like god wants to check every
once a while and see if humans are still good enough to live on
earth. If people aren't then Nu destroys everything, and if they
are then someone nails Nu back to mama, right?" Ranma
asked.

"If you want to interpret it that way, yes." Cologne said,
wondering if she should check her great-grand-son's use of
language. "Also, I was very surprised that you had caught Nu
by surprise with a dragon ascension technique... Ranma, you
do realize that he had the potential to kill you just like a snap,
do you not?"

"Well... he didn't seem all that good..."

"You'll see." A feeble voice replied. The group turned their
heads back.

Herb.

"Herb? What happened to you?" Ranma couldn't believe this
was Herb. His dress was so worn out and he's got so many
cuts all over his body not including a broken leg and a
dislocated shoulder, Ranma thought. Herb looked so beaten
that even Ranma felt some pity for him.

"Don't worry about me... worry about yourself." Herb paused.
"Akane's gone, isn't she?"

"yeah...that thing's incredulously strong..."

"Like I thought... well Ranma you better rescue Akane REAL
fast or you won't see her ever again." Herb frowned as he sat
down on the ground. Rather, he collapsed onto the ground.

"What do you mean?" He felt a hint of some more bad news.

Herb explained. "To be married is one thing... but to be
married to a dragon is another. Surely you've never heard a
human married to a dragon before, have you?"

Ranma shook his head.

"That's because there's no such a thing. To be married to a
dragon - as far as the Jakou-Maneki tribe is concerned,
marrying Nu means to be sacrificed to the dragon as a gift."

"What?" Ranma's eyes grew as big as truck tires. His head
was flooded with images of Akane being cut up as a human
sacrifice. "That will never happen!!! I'm going to save
Akane!!! Wait for me, Akane! I'm coming now!" With a
passionate cry, Ranma was about to storm out of the dojo in
search of Akane. Cologne held him back.

"Wait, Ranma. That was exactly why I came here." Herb said,
his hands reaching inside his ragged shirt.

"Here!!!" With the last of his strength he threw a scroll into
Ranma's hands.

Ranma opened up the scroll, letting it rolled down to the floor,
and then across the room as it extended itself seven full yards.

"This... this is...?!"

"Don't try to fake, Ranma. You don't know Chinese." Nabiki,
having suddenly regained her consciousness, whispered lightly
into Ranma's ears.

"Shut up Nabiki."

"Ranma," Herb interrupted. "That thing which you have in
your hands right now..." he paused, spitting out some blood
from his mouth.

"What is this, Herb?" Ranma ran to Herb's side.

"That was a collection of my calligraphy writing assignments
while I was in first grade."

Ranma nailed Herb on the head. "What the hell does that have
to do with ANYTHING?"

"Calm down! look carefully."

Ranma gazed at the paper. He saw nothing besides the badly-
written Kanji characters on the scroll. Suddenly, his eyes
found a thin, red colored line.

"You see, under the writings lay the secret to reach the
mythical cave that contained the manuscript for the 18 ko ryu
ken. It was a map to the site of the dragon engine which will
take you to the shenlong cave. I have brought the dragon
engine here, and all you have to do is activate it and it will take
you to the cave." Herb's voice grew thicker as his breath
became short and erratic.

"But... isn't the cave in China?"

"It doesn't matter. This thing tracks the cave by the presence
of spirits and aura, so location does not matter." Herb said.
"Now quickly go to the living room and get the dragon engine.
I'm in no shape to train, so I put all my hopes on you, Ranma.
Please restore Nu back to the temple... with the spirit out of
the palace my energy will diminish rapidly...Please, Ranma!"

"I see... but what about you?"

"I won't die... unless you can't beat Nu. It'll probably take a
month or so to heal myself under normal conditions."

"Then let's go!" Ranma yelled, determined to bring Akane
back and save Herb's life even if it meant to sacrifice himself.

They all went back into the messy Tendo living room.

III-------------
"THIS... THIS IS THE DRAGON ENGINE???" Ranma
almost choked when he lay his eyes upon the eight-feet
firecracker with a kitten's head carved out on the tip. All his
previous resolution went up into the air like smoke.

"Well," Herb began to explain again. "It had been the kitten-
engine before the time the Jakou-Maneki defeated the feline
warriors and took their habitat for the race of the dragons.
My forefathers modified the kitten engine at first to access the
dragon cave, but they finally voted to build a dragon engine of
their own instead of using the cat engine. When my ancestors
built a dragon engine modeling after the kitten-engine they
abandoned this device and buried it up, but they drew out the
map - the one that you've seen - just in case their dragon
engine malfunctioned. Since I sold the good dragon engine to
the museum in Beijing I could only give you this substitute."

"I'd rather die first than ride onto this...thing!!!"

"Son, it's not your choice." Genma held a rope, grinning.

"No!!!" Ranma yelled as everyone quickly tied him up onto
the engine.

With a match lighted from the Tendo's family heater, Soun
ignited the device.
Ranma turned his head back as far as the rope allowed. He
looked at the house, thinking he'll never be back again.

He saw Nabiki and Kasumi cheered for him.
He saw Cologne busy fighting Happosai again.
He saw Genma weeping, babbling about his son's devotion to
Akane.
He saw Soun opened up the front door after the doorbell rang.
He saw a little child hopping down the hall carrying a basket of
snacks and a book.
He saw the child entering the living room.
He saw Hinako Ninomiya.

"Hello everyone!!! I'm here for... huh? Ranma?! What's
happening? Oh I see, it must be you causing some trouble
again!!! You deserve the punishment, naughty boy!!!" In the
blink of an eye Hinako leapt on the the engine sitting on
Ranma's head and perpendicular to the floor, about to chastise
Ranma some more.

"Oh crap the family interview tonight..." was all Ranma could
say and the two got lift off the floor. (Note: Japanese teachers
sometime come to the students' house for an interview with the
family.)

There was not a trace for the two anymore, except the wide
hole on the roof.

IV-----------
Hinako clenched to Ranma tightly. "Ohmigoshthisissoexciting!
This is the first time I've flied!!! Where are we going, Ranma?"
Hinako asked the half-conscious boy. Hinako's weight
combined with the rope on his neck had almost strangled
Ranma when they took off.

Ranma came to again, and saw themselves in the air. The view
was breath-taking, but Hinako's presence had become the
center of his attention.

"Hey Hinako how did you get on here?" Ranma stared at the
little child.

Hinako knocked Ranma on the head. "You have to have some
manners talking to a teacher, Saotome!"

"Ow... sorry."Ranma apologized quickly.

"So where are we going, Ranma?"

"To a cave."

"How dare you! You aren't thinking something kinky, are
you?"

"Why would I want to molest a child."

"I'm your teacher!!! I'm your teacher!!! How many times do I
have to say that? I'm just about eight years older than you!!!"
Getting annoyed, Hinako knocked on Ranma's head some
more.

"Ow! Stop that! That hurts!!!"

"WHERE....KYAAAAAA!!!!" Before Hinako had the chance
to ask her question the rocket changed its path violently and
started heading straight up. Hinako had no choice but to "hug"
the engine like Ranma was doing. She gripped tightly to the
kitten's head at the top of the the rocket but, to her surprise, it
tore loose.

A small, rectangular piece of wood dropped out of the kitten's
mouth and Hinako quickly grabbed hold of it without losing
her balance.

"What is that thing?" Ranma noticed it and asked while he
fixed his gaze on the earth below and saw that right beneath
them were countless mountains.

"It's a message written in Chinese!" The wind blew so loudly
because of their speed and she was forced to yell at the top of
her voice.

"Can you read it?"

"Yes I can."

After a minute without Hinako's voice Ranma asked again.
"WOULD you read it?" and quickly under his breath, "dammit this is
getting old..."

Hinako tried to sound scholarly with her baby voice as she
yelled.

"A general warning to all passengers---
This engine was designed for a one time, one way
transportation only. To ensure the secret of the Ko Ryu Ken,
once the engine has arrived above the shenlong cave it will
redirect itself to fly upward until it finally explodes. Thus
please be prepared to jump off the engine and activate the
parachutes when the engine has reached the destination.

-Thank you and have a good flight."

Ranma almost passed out.

"Hinako-sensei we have to jump!!!" He screamed as Hinako's nails
cut loose the worn-out rope.

"WHAT?! RanmaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" The
two were thrown off from the dragon-engine as Ranma was
disentangled from the rope.

"Oh shIIIIIIITTTTTTTTTTT!!!" Ranma held on to Hinako's
arm. I'm gonna kill ya, Herb! He thought furiously!!! You
made me fly on a dynamite and almost killed me!!!

Hinako was concerned. "Ranma, if you don't do something
soon we'll have to hit the ground like this."

Ranma couldn't think. They're gonna die and Ranma couldn't
help it this time... What's Akane going to do when she heard
Ranma's death? Cook some cookies and kill herself with them?

Hinako yelled. "Ranma I feel so hot!!! I can't take it!!!"

Something clicked. Ranma thought hard again. That's it!!!
HOT!!! The rocket had spiraled upward and left an
unbelievable amount of hot air behind!!!

With all his concentration Ranma cooled himself. Collecting all
the hot air into his free hand by lowering his body temperature,
Ranma fired away at the ground just before their fateful
landing.

"HI RYU KO-RIN DANNNNNNN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" The
force backfired the two back into the air and completely
neutralized the speed of the fall as they landed unhurt.

"Are you all right, Hinako-sensei?" Ranma asked, feeling just a
bit dazed from the flight.

Hinako was weeping as she slammed her little fist into Ranma's
head. "Students should not use profane language like that.
You shamed me when you were shouting dirty words in the
air. You deserve punishment."

"Hey I saved you."

Hinako ignored his plead but instead pointed to something at
Ranma's back.

Ranma turned back and looked. He noticed the cliff five feet
away. His eyes slowly travelled upward along the cliff and
about ten feet up there was a cave.

"Good thing we're having winter break... I'm probably going
to spend the half month training in here."

"We have to spend half a month here all alone???" Hinako
asked, alarmed.

Ranma nodded.

"What about my candy? Where can I get some candy in the
mountains, Ranma?"

Ranma shrugged.

"I want to go home!!! No! I want to get some candy!!!"
Hinako complained.

Ranma signed.

The following two weeks were going to be much harder than
he thought...

Break : Rematch

I-------------
"I...I'm sorry but I just can't take this anymore!!!" Nabiki cried.

"Why?" Kasumi asked as she walked out of the kitchen with a recipe
book.

"Without Akane here I just don't want to stay in the house... I want to
go out for dinner to calm myself..." Nabiki's voice died down. "It
hurts whenever I think about the time when Ranma and Akane were still
around, you know..." Nabiki's eyes were all red. "I missed them so
much... even if they were gone for just one day..."

Poor Nabiki... I know how you feel. Kasumi murmured painfull to
herself. Hopefully after weeks they can safely come back...

Meanwhile Nabiki continued to make up excuses along the way. "So don't
wait for me for dinner, all right?" And then thought to herself as she
went out, "How can I let this great chance pass? This is the only
chance in a while that I can safely sell the photos of the pig-tailed
goddess... It's not everyday that Ranma's not around, y'know."

II-----------------
Nabiki was walking down the side of the street, enjoying the refreshing
coldness of a winter evening. It had snowed a couple days ago, but
then again tonights's breezes was surprisingly warm.

"Hmmm... whom should I advertise these pretty pictures to? I need
money BIG time..." She pondered to herself, oblivious of everything
around her. "Kuno never paid me for the last five sets and if it's not
because that his interest is exceeding the actual money that he owed me
I'd ask him pay long back then... Hey, I got an idea! I shall sell
these naughty and exposing photos to all those pure, faithful fiancees
of Ranma! They'd be forced to buy them for the sake of saving their
future darling's name!!!" Nabiki crackled with energy as another wave
of ingenious and wicked thoughts surged through her brains. "Now," she
said with an evil smile, "To the okonomiyaki restaurant we go!!!"

III-----------------
"Mmm...? Strange." Nabiki wondered to herself as she stood outside of
Ukyou's okonomiyaki grill. "No one's here." She paced around, deep in
her wild imaginations.

"What's this?" She saw a note by the wall on the right of the entrance
door.

"Gone for a week...
A message to all you old time customers...'Sorry, Ukyou's going to
China for vacation!!!"

Nabiki dropped her jaws. "What a lucky day..." She frowned and then
silently cursed. "Oh dear heaven, you do a pure girl much wrong!
Please listen and answer the prayer of a young and innocent girl!
Please let Shampoo be there to buy my pictures!!!"

Nabiki left after she recovered herself. "Now let's try Shampoo...
surely she will definitely be there..."

IV------------------
Ten minutes later a girl was seen outside of the Nekohanten, cringing
in pain and anguish. A note that was posted on the front door of the
restaurant was torn in half. To all of the curious minded people who
wondered what that note was all about, some amicable volunteer had gone
through the trouble of piecing up the shreds of the memo three hours
after the incident had passed. It stated:

"Nekohanten closed...
Shampoo go to China for a week! Sorry!"

V-------------------
A group of people was slowly gathering outside of Nekohanten, watching
a young girl lying on the ground with foams coming out of the side of
her mouth.

"Must've gotten ditched by her boyfriend," one said.
"It must be too shocking..."
"He probably abbused her and then took all her money away..."
"Or else she wouldn't have ended up here passing out because of
hunger."
"Poor girl... her entire life's ruined."
"She looked so pitiful... didn't she know that that Nekohanten had been
closed for the last three days?"
"Hey let's get the hell outta here or else people'd think we are the
ones responsible for this calamity."
"Yeah."
"Good idea."

The crowd dispersed, leaving an immobile Nabiki still lying on the
ground, questioning where all the luck came from during the entire
week...

(END OF PART TWO)