Aerial Ranma

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Ranma or any of the series shown here. This is simply fanfiction.

"THOUGHTS" !SPECIAL EFFECTS!

AUTHOR'S NOTES: For this fanfic, Ranma is eighteen years old instead of sixteen. Kasumi is also eighteen instead of nineteen.

Chapter One

"Pop, where are we going now? We've been walking for miles. Am I going to train under another martial arts master? I enjoyed my time at Master Chow's," the young handsome teenage boy with rippling muscles stated as he walked along the dirt road towards the large temple with his balding, fat father.

"Quit your bellyaching, boy! I've had you trained by countless martial arts masters for you to be the best, not so you could make friends and enjoy yourself," the father answered his anxious son.

"There was a nice girl there I liked. Master Chow only taught me so much about projecting ki. I could have learned so much more. Did you rob or offend Master Chow somehow? We ran out of there awfully fast."

"Shut up, boy! You've learned enough from that guy! There's another martial arts master named Master Po. You'll learn some from him next. I'm sure you'll get to learn ki projection from another martial artist. As for the girl, you should have hit it and quit it while you had the chance."

"Pops! I'm not that kind of guy! I can't just use women for sex like that and leave them!" Ranma answered embarrassed.

"Quit sounding like a woman. We're right at the door anyway." !KNOCK!KNOCK!KNOCK! "Hey, Master Po! This is my son, Ranma. I hope you'll teach him some of your martial arts. He learns fast so we won't have to stay here for too long!" Genma called out. "Just long enough for me to see if there's anything worth looting around here. Heh, heh."

A butler-like man with a Fu Manchu mustache answered the door. "Yes?" the doorman asked with more than a little bit of impatience. "What can I help you with?"

"We're here to have Master Po train my son for a few days. We've been traveling all around the country of China mastering several styles of kung fu for quite some time now. Now, my son is going to be the best martial artist in the world. So if you want to have a hand in training the best, you'll take some time to train my son here," Genma said, gesturing towards Ranma.

"I see. I can perceive talent and this kid has potential, but Master Po has the last word on whom he trains. You may come in for now," the doorman ordered.

The place looked like an old fashioned Chinese Shaolin temple. It was primarily red with black trim and bigger than a football stadium standing four stories high. The cries of the martial artists training became louder and louder as Genma and Rama walked further inside.

"Master Po!" the doorman said, bowing with respect. I believe this young man can learn a lot from you!" The old master was in what seemed like meditation as he held a long staff in his hand. His movements were poetry in motion much like tai chi maneuvers.

In what seemed like an eternity the master kept up his tai chi movements until he finally stopped and regarded Ranma and his father. "The boy's potential is great! I'm glad he showed up here, but his father has an aura of dishonesty about him. I'll make sure he's watched." "All right. Ming, have them stay in one of the spare rooms. Your training begins tomorrow, young man."

!WACK!PONG! "You countered one of my best staff maneuvers, Ranma. I'm impressed at how quickly you've taken to stick fighting. You've learned more in a month than some of my better students have learned in a year. Now I want you to make staff thrusts in a tai chi manner."

"Do you mean do katas with a staff?" the young man asked.

"Yes. I've noticed that the katas you do are abrupt much like karate. I want you to first do your katas as you would normally do but do them in one fluid motion.

"Do you want me to move like water?"

"That's right, Ranma."

After Ranma had done as Master Po had instructed, the master spoke again. "Now I want you to do the same thing but using the staff maneuvers I taught you."

"Yes, Master Po." !WOOSH!WOOOOSH!

"Well done, Ranma. Now let's start working on your ability to use two short sticks."

"This is a waste of time!" Genma thought to himself as he stood there, using the umisen to keep himself invisible even to the much aware Master Po as he watched Ranma train.

"It's about time Ranma and I get out of here. I normally don't allow Ranma to use weapons, but I figured these people would have a lot of loot to steal, but they don't. Nothing's here but sticks, staffs, and polearms."

The next morning Genma woke Ranma up so much earlier in the morning it was still dark. "We're leaving now, boy. There's one more place to train then we can return home to Japan."

"Pop! I'm learning a lot here. Why do we have to leave so quickly? I'm staying here! Ungh!" Ranma said in defiance until his father knocked him out with a fast striking fist to the head.

"We're leaving, Ranma. And that's that," the balding martial artist said to his now unconscious son, picking him up and carrying him away.

XXX

"I hate this! Why couldn't we have just stayed at Master Po's? I learned so much there! As soon as this training trip is done I'll ditch my dad and go back to Master Po's to keep training with the staff. I've had it with this training trip!" "Are we there yet?" Ranma growled at his father.

"Quiet, boy! We'll get there when we get there. Jusenkyo is our last stop. After that, we'll be done and return to Japan. So quit your bellyaching!" "Where is that place? Oh, there it is. Right over that mountain cliff. I think."

"There they are," a shadowy figure communicated through his commlink.

"Good work, squad leader. Keep trailing them and stay in contact."

"This Ranma Saotome is a prime candidate for our experiments, especially since we've improved the process since that fiasco with Blanka," Dr. Jones said, turning from the communications monitor. Dr. Jones was a rather short, balding man with glasses, graying, long hair and a beard

"Yes. His potential is the equal of Hagetaka. If this works out, Shadowlaw will have another powerful warrior," Prof. Ikeue said. Professor Ikueu was a middle-aged man wearing glasses with short-cropped light brown hair and a closely clipped beard.

"Hagetaka was willing to become more powerful while his family was happy to accept the money we gave them. However, Ranma's father took our money and ran away without giving his son to us," the doctor responded.

"No matter. We will have Ranma for our experiments. There's no way he can escape Shadowlaw now. In addition to the agents I have tracking Ranma and his father, I've sent Hagetaka along with them," the younger man stated.

"I'm flying over them now," the two men heard through the communicator. "Let's get this done and over with!"

"First things first, Hagetaka. It looks as if our quarry is on their way to Jusenkyo. I don't want them to ever get there. Rendezvous with Agent 12 and his squad. As soon as you've done that, find Ranma and bring him here. Did you hear that, squad leader?"

"Yes, Professor. We are ready," the agent complied through his communicator.

"Good. Go get the pigtailed boy. Make sure he isn't damaged, too much!" the professor ordered.

As Genma and Ranma were walking through the forest, the Shadowlaw agents kept themselves hidden among the plentiful trees and vegetation in the surrounding area as they shadowed them.

"I sense something. We're being watched!" Ranma thought. But before he could say anything, he and his father suddenly found themselves surrounded by twenty or so men wearing black and red ninja type outfits. Then the leader of the group stepped forward.

"Mr. Saotome, we paid you a lot of money for your son. Now we have come to collect him. You can leave now."

"Uuh, I don't know what you're talking about!" Genma lied. "Now, excuse us! We have places to go and people to see." Then the Shadowlaw agents whipped out weapons, poised to attack. Some of them had clubs and blades of various sizes; some even had complex laser rifles!

"Ranma! This is a test. I want you to defeat all these men. I know you can do it. Make me proud. I'll just get out of your way," Genma said as he ran off, leaving a trail of dust.

"Hey, Pop! Where are you going? Crazy old man. All right, fellas. Let's see how tough you guys are," Ranma said in a cocksure manner, getting in a martial arts stance as the Shadowlaw agents attacked. Ranma was doing fairly well as he blocked an attack here, punched an agent here, and kicked another agent there all the while avoiding the gunfire of the agents who were shooting at him.

When there were only ten of them left, Ranma heard a human-sounding screech, looking up he saw a bird-like man flying towards him. "This guy's Japanese, but he looks like a hideous vulture man with his beaked nose and bird-like eyes. I've never seen anything like him! But despite all of this or because of it, I can tell I'm in for the fight of my life."

The physically powerful vulture man attacked Ranma, barely missing him, surprising Ranma with his faster-than the human-eye-could-follow-speed. "You're faster than I thought, kid. You wouldn't have evaded me otherwise!" the birdman said as he did a 180 degree U-turn at superhuman speed without missing a beat, flying back towards Ranma to do another attack.

!SMACK! "Got him!" Ranma cheered as he knocked his opponent back. "What the? That was one of my best punches! It hardly affected him at all. What is this guy made of?"

"Is that all you got? Now it's my turn!" The winged man flew at Ranma with large ki talons that appeared six inches from his fingertips, slashing at the pigtailed martial artist who couldn't dodge fast enough. After having slashed Ranma, he followed up with a headbutt, stunning him.

"What are you? You're not even human!" Ranma exclaimed.

"I'm your superior. I am Hagetaka!" he pronounced with a hideous sneer. "You belong to Shadowlaw now."

"No way. You'll have to take me first!" Ranma responded as he struck back with some lighting fast punch and kick combinations which stunned Hagetaka a little bit but couldn't stop him.

"So the kitten has claws. I was holding back on you because my bosses didn't want you dead, but it's time I ended this." Hagetaka slashed Ranma again at superspeed. Once Ranma was stunned he hit Ranma with several powerful punches and kicks, finally knocking the youth out.

"How is everything going there?" the professor called out from Hagetaka's wristwatch/communicator.

"I've defeated him. This kid had a little bit of skill, but he was no match for me."

"Good job, Hagetaka! Bring him back here to Shadowlaw Headquarters."

"Sure, no problem," Hagetaka said with pride as he flew off with his prisoner.

"It's done. Soon Shadowlaw will have an army of powerful warriors with which to take over the world."

"You are correct, Professor," Dr. Jones said. "But as it is we are halfway there. We have sleeper agents all over the world, gathering information for when the time is right."

"Yes, of course. But our agents like Agent 12 and his squad are just foot soldiers, cannon fodder. It's the warriors like Hagetaka and eventually Ranma which will spearhead our takeover of the world!"

"You better make sure you say our magnificent leader, M. Bison, will takeover of the world."

"Of course. That is what I meant."

XXX

"Where am I?" Ranma asked no one in particular as he found himself strapped to a leaning table. "I feel a lot stronger and energetic. But what are these things on my back, wings?"

"Ah, you are awake. We have some more tests to run on you. So sit tight and go to sleep, Ranma," Doctor Jones ordered as he injected Ranma with a knockout solution, sending the young man back into unconsciousness.

"Have you injected him with the mind control implants already?" Professor Ikeue asked the doctor.

"Yes, of course. I just wanted to make sure Ranma was asleep. We still have some more tests to run. Then we'll let our new birdman fly."

"Good. His father was devoid of honesty and integrity, so Ranma probably won't have any morals or scruples to hinder him from doing the work of Shadowlaw either."

"But of course. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree.."

XXX

!WOOSH! "It's strange being able to fly," Ranma thought as he did some complex aerial maneuvers. "The aerial training of Anything Goes is helpful. I wouldn't be to fly through these floating hoops at full speed without it. The ki training I learned from Master Chow is very helpful too, but ever since I've gotten these wings my ki abilities have broken through new plateaus!"

After Ranma had finished flying through hoops and doing all sorts of other flight-related training, Dr. Jones called out to him from the ground, "Ranma, come down here and defeat these fifty men! They're only cannon fodder agents, so you won't have to worry about killing them!" Ranma and his opponents were outside in a clearing where the grass was green and any other obstacles like trees or rocks were out of the way.

"You men!" the doctor said to the agents. "Kill him!" The agents poised their hi-tech weaponry on the winged warrior, taking aim and firing at him while Ranma easily avoided their attacks with aerial maneuvers even though a couple of shots came uncomfortably close.

"It's time to swoop down on these guys."

"He's coming down on us hard and fast! Look alive!" the lead agent snapped at his men, breaking them out of their surprised state. However, before they could react he was in the midst of them spinning around so quickly he punched and kicked every agent within reach, knocking them out cold. Ranma was even able to attack with his prehensile wings as well as stretching them out, giving him a much wider range.

"Gun him down! You guys shoot from the left. You guys shoot from the right. We'll get him in a crossfire. You guys in the center, we'll charge him as soon as the gunmen have worn him down!" the lead agent ordered the leftover remnant.

"I see what they're doing. I'll make sure it doesn't work." Ranma flew low enough to avoid the crossfire, prompting the well-trained agents to lower their laser fire even more. Ranma then flew out from under the laser fire straight for the men charging him.

"Attack him hard!" the lead agent ordered as he ran towards the flying Ranma only to get knocked into the other men. The ones who weren't knocked back by the lead agent charged Ranma, attacking with their weapons which only struck air despite Ranma being right in front of them.

"The leader was very skilled. I'd have had a hard time defeating him before my transformation, but the other agents aren't that good. It'll take no time mopping them up."

As soon as Ranma had taken out the men in front of him, the leftover agents resumed their shooting at him. "Ouch!" Ranma quickly dodged most of the laser bolts but a couple of shots hit him. "I have to be careful. I'm only resistant to gunfire not invulnerable.

"You guys have had it!" Ranma shouted as he flew into the remaining agents. When he closed in on them, he was too close and too fast for the agents to shoot at so the agents went down in a heap.

!CLAP!CLAP!CLAP! "Very good, Ranma. You've become so much more powerful and improved in your fighting skills since you've got here. Thanks to me and my experiments of course," Dr. Jones said, complimenting himself more than Ranma.

"I didn't need your experiments, but it's about high time I left. Can I go now?" Ranma asked hopefully.

"You want to leave? Sure. No problem. Go ahead."

But as Ranma flew into the air the doctor touched a button on a device he held. "Aaargh!" Ranma screamed in pain, quickly falling to the ground.

"Did I say you could leave? Oh, yes I did. Well, I lied. You're our property now. We own you! Keep that in mind, never fail us, and you'll do all right. Otherwise."

"Aaargh!" Ranma screamed again as the cramp resembling pain shot through his body. After having crashed to the ground, Ranma gasped for air, looking up at the doctor who was now standing triumphantly over him.

"Ever since I've gotten wings I've also gotten the ability to see at great distances like a hawk. I saw him touch that device from the corner of my eye. All I have to do is grab it from him and I'm home free. Now!"

"Aargh!" Ranma screamed in pain as he took hold of the device.

"Dr. Jones, you should be more careful. If I had not been watching, our new slave might have gotten away," Professor Ikeue admonished after he had utilized his device to stop Ranma in his tracks.

"I'll teach you to embarrass me, young fool! You're going to wish you were dead before I'm through!" the doctor said in a rage.

"Aaarrgh! Aaarrgh!" Ranma was writhing on the ground in more pain than he had ever felt in his entire life. "This feels worse than death! I'm a whole lot more skilled than I would have dreamed. My strength, speed, and quickness have also increased to a superhuman degree. I'm sure I can take on Hagetaka, now. But despite all this, I'm still a slave. I'll break free of Shadowlaw somehow," Ranma thought to himself as he finally passed out due to the pain.

XXX

Inside the main room of Shadowlaw headquarters deep inside Southeast Asia, a discussion was taking place.

"Professor Ikeue! Dr. Jones! How is our newest warrior doing?" M. Bison demanded, looking down on his scientists, the master of all he surveyed. His throne which had steps to it was six feet above the ground and made of pure gold.

"He is as powerful as Hagetaka. and he's more skilled. For some reason, Ranma can create an indestructible ki staff at will instead of claws the way Hagetaka does," the professor answered.

"His ki staff is six feet long and one inch in diameter. He's very skilled in fighting with the weapon which looks like a white and silver blur when he uses it," the doctor explained.

"He's now six feet tall weighing 200 pounds. That's about the same height as Hagetaka. In addition to that, Ranma has a more muscularly defined body as opposed to bulk. And whereas Hagetaka is ugly Ranma is handsome. Ranma's entire physiology is adapted for flying with hollow bones that are still dense at the same time due to his increased muscularity and muscular efficiency. In addition to that, he has minimal body fat. He can also fly at 200 miles per hour, double that if he concentrates on nothing else but flying. He wouldn't be able to fly so fast except for the fact that he uses his ki to make himself fly even faster."

"What else?" Bison demanded.

"His wingspan is twelve and a half feet. He's fully ambidextrous with the ability to use his prehensile wings like another pair of hands even in hand to hand combat with the ability to stretch each wing six and a half feet! He also can wrap his wings around himself hiding them in plain making them look like a feathered shirt."

"That's interesting. What else can you tell me?"

"He also can create heat like damage aura similar to what Blanka was able to do but more powerful. It's a good thing I irradiated him with all that gamma radiation energy I utilized. Most people would have died from my radiation 'treatments' but Ranma's made of some sterner stuff. My experiments have proved to be a success."

"Your experiments?" the doctor asked the professor incredulously. I did this. It is because of me that Ranma is so great!" The men eyed each other arrogantly as they argued back and forth.

"Enough! I am the one who owns everything here. Don't either one of you forget it! Now, it sounds like Ranma will become more powerful than Hagetaka. Excellent! Are there any problems?" the Shadowlaw dictator demanded.

"Ranma has a rebellious streak in him, and he's very headstrong. We are beginning to suspect he has more moral integrity than his father but the problems with him can easily be solved," the professor answered.

"Very well. Keep me informed. I don't want another fiasco like Blanka. I've invested too much into this kid. Soon I'll have an army of winged, invincible warriors!"

XXX

!CRACK! "Ungh!" Hagetaka moaned as he hit the ground.

"I was able to defeat you even though you kept me from using my ki staff!" Ranma exclaimed, his chest swelling with pride.

"You think you're so tough, fool? I'll show you. Stand still!" Hagetaka ordered. Ranma couldn't move because of the mind control chip that was implanted in his head, so he did as Hagetaka ordered.

"Aargh!" Ranma screamed as the vulture man's ki talons sliced through him.

"You like that, bitch? Have some more!" The vulture man finally threw Ranma against the wall in frustration.

"Do you want me to let you win next time?" Ranma asked as he toughed out the pain.

"What did you say, punk? Let me win? How dare you ask me a question like that? Your arrogance is unforgivable. Come here!" he ordered as he slashed Ranma again.

However, this time Ranma shoved a surprised Hagetaka back, fighting the control. "I've been mentally training the mind control resistance exercises I learned from that Buddhist priest Pop and I stayed with for a couple of weeks now. Pop decided to leave when he found there was nothing of value at the temple, but I wish I could have stayed there longer. That place was so peaceful."

"Aargh!" Ranma screamed as he did everything he could to resist. "Each time I resist the mind control I get a headache but as time goes on my mental defenses and strength of will become stronger. I can endure the pain; it can only decrease from this point on."

"Did you notice that, Professor?"

"Yes, Dr. Jones. Hagetaka has often slashed Ranma after Ranma has defeated him in hand to hand combat. But with each free shot slash, Ranma becomes more and more resistant. By now he's even tougher than Hagetaka."

"You are correct. Ranma seems to have the ability to become stronger through adversity. In time he will become even more useful, but he did temporarily resist the mind control."

"That's not too much of a problem. He's still under our control."

XXX

A month later Shadowlaw guards brought Ranma to the main meeting room where Hagetaka had a young girl sobbing on the ground. "It's high time you earned your keep around here. This girl here is an enemy of Shadowlaw and her family has defied our attempts at world domination. I have already killed her family. Now we want you to kill her too. Do it now!" Hagetaka ordered Ranma.

"Don't kill me, please!" the beautiful young, Chinese girl pleaded to Ranma with tears, her body having been violated and her spirit having been broken.

When Ranma hesitated from killing the beautiful girl he felt his head explode in pain. "Do as you're told!" Hagetaka commanded.

Then he heard Professor Ikue say, "turn up the juice on the mind control chip we put in him!"

"That might kill him," a scientist answered.

"Do it!" the Professor ordered. "Master Bison is watching us now. We can't afford any slip-ups!"

"I've built up some resistance, but this is going beyond my threshold. I'll use the pain to increase my ki to increase my ability to resist the mind control and build up a damage aura," Ranma thought to himself.

"It's working!" As Ranma powered up he felt the mind control chip burn away in his head. "I'm free!"

"Watch out! He's free of our control!" a low-level scientist called out.

"Oh?" Hagetaka said as he nonchalantly attacked Ranma who made his ki staff appear and struck his tormentor as hard as possible knocking him out, striking him with a well-placed hit to the jaw.

"Come on. Let's get out of here!" Ranma said, reaching for the girl and flying off.

"Stop him!" someone ordered.

"Ouch!" Ranma yelled as a stray laser bolt hit him. After he used his ki staff to make a hole in the ceiling he smashed through the opening and flew off. "Hold on tight! We're not out of this yet!" Ranma said to his passenger.

"Tiger!" Sagat screamed as he jumped into the air to reach Ranma to blast him as the alarms rang out through the complex, but Ranma had managed to evade the attacks, flying further and further away.

"Thank you, stranger. I appreciate you rescuing me," the girl said. "My name is Ai Mi Zhou."

"Hi, Ai Mi. I'm Ranma. I'm going to take us to a stick fighter named Master Po. He'll be able to help you find your family. I'll get there because I have a bump of direction that allows me to know my north, east, south, and west. It's like having a built-in compass inside of me."

"Master Po? That's my grandfather! I'm sure he'll show you his appreciation. He'll be able to further train you in the use of that staff. You used it in a way that reminded me of him," Ai Mi answered happily.

"All right. We're on our way. Hold on tight!" Ranma said as he turned up the speed.

XXX

Ranma! Is that you?" Master Po asked, surprised to see the changed youth.

"Yes, Master Po. It's me. This is Ai Mi," Ranma answered. Then Ai Mi ran to her grandfather as soon Ranma landed and placed her safely on the ground.

"Ai Mi. What are you doing here? Where are your father and mother?" Master Po asked her as his granddaughter looked at him teary-eyed.

"They're dead! Shadowlaw killed them!" the young girl sobbed.

"Let's come inside. We're having dinner. Please join us," Po suggested. When they had gotten inside they sat down to eat; something Ranma really appreciated.

"Now tell me how it all happened and how you got those wings, Ranma," Master Po asked after the meal.

Ranma then explained to Po what had happened to him and how he had turned into a birdman. He also showed him the staff he had made out of pure ki.

"I was wondering if you could train me in the use of this staff. I had some training while I was Shadowlaw's slave, but I want to master this weapon all together" Ranma explained.

"Yes. I'm glad you came here, Ranma. And I thank you for rescuing my granddaughter. We'll start tomorrow. I also need to call my friend, Dorai's daughter, Chun Li. She's an expert on Shadowlaw."

XXX

"How could this have happened? It's bad enough that the daughter of one of my enemies has escaped; but one of my warriors, escaping my control is intolerable!" Bison looked down on Professor Ikeue and Dr. Jones from his throne, his eyes and battle aura emanating a powerful glow.

"Can Ranma be brought under my control again?" Bison demanded to know.

"We're not certain, Sire. I suspect that since Ranma destroyed the control chip putting in another one that would work would be almost impossible," Professor Ikeue explained.

"That is not acceptable. If it gets out that escaping my control is possible, more will defy me. Hagetaka! Come forth!" Hagetaka flew forward and knelt as if he were a knight kneeling to his king.

"Yes, Sire!"

"I want you to find Ranma. Bring him back here, dead or alive!" Bison ordered.

"Yes, Sire!" Hagetaka answered.

"I want some agents to find that girl as well. Who knows how much she knows about my organization?" Bison demanded as his orders were quickly attended to.

XXX

After three months of training under Master Po, Ranma had become an accomplished stick fighter, making him very efficient in the use of his ki staff. He was even more efficient at using his ki staff in aerial combat.

"That's pretty much all I can teach you, Ranma."

"We're done so soon, Master Po?"

"Yes, Ranma. Your innate ability to learn things quickly increased to an almost inhuman level during your stay at Shadowlaw. And the fact that the staff you weld is an extension of your own ki instead of an outside weapon allowed you to learn that much faster. From what you and my granddaughter have told me those mad scientists were ruthless and cruel but their knowledge was unmistakable."

"Thank you, Master Po," Ranma answered with a respectful bow. "I didn't think I'd master the staff so quickly but I wanted to make certain I knew how to use a weapon that I can make appear out of thin air. I've loved being here, but I still want to see what happened to my father," Ranma explained.

"All right, Ranma. But be careful. Bison still sees you as his property. So he will surely send his warriors after you. Don't forget how he killed my son and his wife because they opposed him. And here's Chun Li's address and phone number. She might be able to help you. She's been fighting Bison and Shadowlaw for years. I left her a message on her answering machine, but she hasn't answered it," Po said.

Ranma took the information and put it in his pocket. "I'll call her after I've found my father. He said we were going to a place called Jusenkyo the last time I saw him. So I'll start looking for him there. Do you know where that place is?"

"Ranma, that place is dangerous! It would be a disaster for you to fall into any one of those springs, but there's a guide there. He'll explain everything to you in detail. I'll tell you how to get there. But be careful," Master Po advised.

"I will." After Ranma got directions he flew off for Jusenkyo. When he got there he saw all the springs there. After noticing a little house near the area Ranma walked over to the house and knocked on the door.

"Greetings honored customer! Did you fall into one of the springs?" the Jusenkyo Guide asked as he answered the door.

"No, I haven't. Why would you ask that?" Ranma answered the guide in flawless Chinese.

"Why else would you have those wings? The curse you're under does not look familiar. You seem to have merged with the Spring of Drowned Raven."

"My wings have nothing to do with Jusenkyo or any spring. Have you seen a bald fat guy wearing a martial arts gi? I'm looking for him. I haven't seen him in a long time. Lousy as he is, he's still my father," Ranma explained.

"Oh yes. I do remember. He fell in the Spring of Drowned Panda. He then went due east in the direction of Joketsuzoku, the land of the amazons."

"All right. Thanks," Ranma replied.

"But, Mr. Customer, don't fall in any of the springs. It will be very bad if you do. And be wary of the amazons. If you defeat one of them you will have to marry her," the guide warned as he explained how Jusenkyo curses worked and how to deal with them. He also told him all about the amazons and their marriage laws.

Ranma looked at the springs and the direction of the amazon village. "All right. Thanks. I'll keep that all in mind," Ranma said as he spread his wings and flew away.

XXX

When Ranma arrived at the amazon village he saw mostly women working and going about their business. As he touched down several amazon warriors stepped up to him warily. "Who are you? And why are you here?" an amazon asked menacingly, backed up by some others. "We are at peace with the Phoenix so there's no reason you should be here."

"Phoenix people? I'm not one of them. I'm looking for a bald fat guy. He wears white clothing and he has a Jusenkyo curse that turns him into a panda," Ranma spoke in fluent Chinese he had learned in his tenure at Shadowlaw which had increased even further while training under Master Po.

Then a small, old woman with long hair came, hopping on a stick towards him. The other amazons made room for her as she made her way through. "My name is Elder Cologne. There was such a man here, but he escaped from us after he ate my great-granddaughter's prize feast for a martial arts match she won. I can tell you're not one of the Phoenix people. How did you get those wings?"

Cologne appraised the winged man. "He's very powerful. He would be a great addition to the tribe. A whole lot of children sired by him with my great-granddaughter would give us a huge advantage over the Phoenix and the Musk. We have to get him into the tribe!"

"My name is Ranma. What happened to me had nothing to do with the Jusenkyo springs or anything like that," Ranma answered, regarding the little old woman. "This small old woman's very powerful. She looks so old, even older than Master Po. Has she been training all her life, building up her ki to the extremely high level it's at right now?"

"Shampoo! Come here! This is Ranma. Wouldn't he make a great husband? He is awfully powerful!" Cologne called out to a purple-haired, busty amazon who had quickly appeared at the side of Cologne.

All of a sudden Shampoo yelled out, "I challenge you!"

"Uh, oh," Ranma said under his breath. "I better get out of here." As Ranma flapped his wings, starting to fly upwards, some of the amazons threw a steel mesh net over him which kept him from flying away. "No!" With a burst of his inhuman strength, he burst free, flying into the sky, his wings spreading wide in freedom.

However, as the winged warrior flew away a thick part of the net struck Shampoo and another amazon, knocking them each out. Cologne smiled at this. "It looks like the outsider has just defeated my Shampoo. As soon as Shampoo wakes up I'll inform her of this."

XXX

As Ranma was flying high over the countryside his eagle eyes noticed a panda walking around on his hind legs, drinking a bottle of wine. "Pop? Is that you? It's me, Ranma!" Ranma said to the panda as he touched down in front of it.

The panda regarded Ranma who was wearing a red shirt and green pants along with openings in the back of his redshirt where his wings came out, looking as if he had had them all his life. He looked a lot better and more mature. He also looked more muscular and imposing, showing he had done some serious training.

"It's Ranma. He escaped Shadowlaw! Now the schools can be joined!"

"Ranma! What happened to you? Where have you been? Why have you abandoned your father, you worthless child?" the panda communicated with a wooden sign he whipped out.

"Listen, Pop. I didn't abandon you. You sold me out and left me in the hands of Shadowlaw who turned me into what I am now!" Ranma stated.

The panda then whipped out some hot water and poured it on himself. "It was for the art, boy. Now quit sounding like a woman!"

Genma then poured some hot water on Ranma but nothing happened. "I didn't fall into any of those springs at Jusenkyo, Pop. Those mad scientists at Shadowlaw did this to me. But if you find me so repulsive, I'll just go back to Master Po."

"Hold it, boy! You have to meet your fiancee," Genma said anxiously, grasping hold of one of his wings.

"My fiancee?" Ranma asked incredulously.

"That's right. It's for family honor. You were engaged before you were born to one of the daughters of a friend of mine," Genma explained.

"I don't have time for a fiancee. I'm going back to Master Po. Then I'm going to seek out someone called Chun Li who knows a lot about Shadowlaw. Goodbye, Pop," Ranma said.

"Wait, son. You have to marry one of my friend's daughters. Family honor is too important," Genma answered.

"That will sell him. I'll just use honor to make Ranma do what I want him to do. Having wings isn't a deal-breaker so I'll still have that easy retirement that I planned. Things are going to work out just fine."

"All right. I'll go visit them. But I won't lie to them. And I won't force any of them to marry me if they don't want to. Now, where are these prospective fiancees?"

"They live in Tokyo, Japan, in the Nerima Ward. We'll have to swim back there." Genma explained.

"Swim there?" Ranma asked as he easily picked up Genma and flew off for Japan. The amazon warrior who had been knocked out by Ranma's earlier escape had tracked him down and saw Ranma fly off with his father.

"So that's my airen. I'll follow them to Japan if I have to. Then I'll bring my very beautiful airen back to Joketsuzoku and breed powerful amazon warriors!"

XXX

An hour or so later Ranma landed in Nerima with Genma in tow. The street was vacant so nobody noticed Ranma's winged appendages. "All right, Pop. We're here. Now, where does your friend live?"

"Right this way, Ranma, but is there some way you can hide those wings?" Genma asked.

"Just wait a minute," Ranma said as he took his shirt off and wrapped his wings around his upper body, shapeshifting them into what looked like a black-feathered shirt. Then he put his red Chinese shirt back on over his folded wings.

"That better, Pop?" Ranma asked.

"Yes, that's a lot better. Now we're almost at the Tendos. Just follow me," Genma said happily as their destination came into view.

"Here we are," Genma said as he pounded on the door.

"Hello. How are you?" Kasumi said in greetings.

"Is Soun Tendo home? If so, tell him Genma Saotome and his son are here."

"Just wait right here. I'll go tell my father you are here." Ranma was more than a little impressed with the view he saw as the girl walked away from them.

"Did you say Genma Saotome and his son are here?" Soun Tendo asked happily.

"Yes, Father," Kasumi answered.

Soun ran towards the entrance and cried for joy when he saw Genma and Ranma. "Genma, my friend. How have you been? Is this your son?"

"Yes, of course. I've been fine, but there are some things I've got to tell you. The training trip was long and hard but despite everything that happened I survived," Genma answered with pride.

"Wait, Genma! Let me get my daughters in here. Kasumi! Nabiki! Akane! Come in here! There's someone I want you to meet!"

Soun's daughters came in one by one. When everyone had sat down. Genma explained about his and Ranma's training trip. He conveniently left out the part about selling Ranma to Shadowlaw, his falling into Jusenkyo and Ranma having wings.

"Now all that's left is to have Ranma pick one of your daughters and then they can be married," Genma said happily as Soun's daughters went into shock and surprise.

"You want one of us to get married to this guy we just met?" Akane asked incredulously as both of her older sisters agreed.

"But you must! It's all for the merging of the schools. It's also about family honor. Genma and I swore before any of you were born that our children would be married to merge our styles," Soun stated.

"Have you forgotten something, Pop?" Ranma asked rather testily. Faster than the untrained eye could follow Ranma grabbed Genma and threw him into the koi pond, shocking the Tendos when an angry panda came out of the pond.

"Pop got himself cursed at a place called Jusenkyo. Coldwater turns him into a panda. Hot water turns him back. That's not the only thing. I have an issue that has nothing to do with Jusenkyo. I'm not even sure there's anything wrong with it, but here it is."

Ranma took his shirt off and let his wings spread out, shocking the Tendos once again as he presented his ki staff to them as well, making it appear out of nowhere.

"What a pervert! Taking his shirt off like that!" Akane thought with disgust.

"I wonder how much money I can make off of him," Nabiki thought.

"He's gorgeous, wings and all," Kasumi thought to herself.

"How did this happen?" Soun asked, a little nervous.

"The mad scientists of Shadowlaw to whom Pop had sold me experimented on me. My wings have nothing to do with Jusenkyo. Yes, they're real and I can fly. In fact, I flew in here all the way from China, and boy are my wings tired," Ranma said in jest.

"Giggle!" Kasumi laughed as her sisters gave a look that showed they didn't like the joke. "I wonder if Ranma will be kind enough to take me flying some time," Kasumi wondered, sighing as she admired Ranma's muscularly defined physique and the wings which looked good on him.

Akane was just furious over the idea of getting married to anyone and glared at Ranma. "Will he put his clothes back on already?" Akane thought, but even she liked what she saw.

"Now that's hot! I wish I had known our prospective fiance was going to show up today. I would have dressed to impress." "What is that staff made of? It looks like a cross between silver and crystal!" Nabiki said greedily.

"This staff is made of pure ki. It's another result of my time at Shadowlaw. After I escaped from them I mastered this staff by learning from Master Po, a master of all kinds of stick fighting."

"I should warn you about Shadowlaw. It's an evil organization bent on world conquest. They see me as their property so they might come here looking for me. You all should keep that in mind. I won't blame any of you if you feel the danger is too much for you and you want me out of your home," Ranma explained dourly.

"Well your problem isn't so bad," Soun said as he put his hand on Ranma's shoulder. "Now here's Kasumi, 18. Here's Nabiki, 17. Here's Akane, 16. All you have to do is pick one and she'll be your fiancee. The one who marries you will inherit the dojo with you."

"Now hold up for a moment. I made this clear to my father before and I'll make it clear again. I won't force myself on any of your daughters. I want to get to know them. Over time we'll figure out who will marry whom if at all," Ranma explained as he wrapped his wings around himself and put his shirt back on.

"Not only is this guy gorgeous; he has common sense and intelligence as well," Kasumi thought with a smile.

"This is better. Now I have time to work this whole situation to my advantage whether I want to marry this guy or not," Nabiki calculated.

"There's no way I'm marrying a pervert like that!"Akane thought to herself.

"That's a good idea. We appreciate that, Ranma," Kasumi said gently. "Now if you'll excuse me I have to get to dinner. You might want to wash up."

"Yeah, thanks," Ranma answered as he went to the furo to take a bath. After washing he took a soak in the hot water, stretching his wings out and getting comfortable.

A little later Akane walked towards the furo. She didn't notice the occupied sign, so she went into the furo. "Eeeek!" she screamed as she noticed Ranma looking upon her. She then covered herself up, blushing red as she ran out of there.

"Akane, what's the matter?" Kasumi asked as she saw the rankled Akane in the hallway.

"It was that birdbrained pervert, Ranma! He was in the furo and he saw me naked!"

"Did you notice the occupied sign?" Kasumi inquired patiently.

"That's not the point! Ranma saw me naked! He's a pervert!" Akane snapped back as Kasumi rolled her eyes at her. Kasumi then went to the furo and saw the occupied sign up.

"Akane, the occupied sign was up. What happened wasn't Ranma's fault. It was your fault. You should have been paying attention," Kasumi explained with a sigh.

"Why are you taking his side? He shouldn't even be here! There's no way I'm going to marry that birdbrained pervert!" Akane screamed.

"All right, Akane. I have to go finish cooking dinner." Kasumi said.

"Would you like me to help you?" Akane asked.

"No, that's okay."

XXX

Akane glared at Ranma throughout dinner. "What happened in the furo was Ranma's fault! I don't care what Kasumi says. She's too nice for her own good."

Nabiki looked at Ranma circumspectly. "I can make a lot of money off of this guy if the girls are half as horny as the boys are over Akane. I'll even make a fortune if any of the girls have a wing fetish. "

Kasumi had a few fantasies about Ranma taking her in his arms and flying away into the sunset. "Ranma seems like a good man. He's so tall, dark and handsome. Oh, my!"

"I hope Genma's son makes his mind up quickly and marry one of my daughters. All will be well once the schools are joined. His wings might be a problem, but he'll still make a good husband for any of my daughters," Soun thought to himself.

"Ah, yes. When Ranma marries one of Soun's daughters I'll be able to live in the lap of luxury while Ranma runs the dojo. I hope he hurries up and makes up his mind quickly. The only minor problem is Nodoka. She made me promise to make Ranma a man among men. Will she hold the fact that he has wings against me? Having wings isn't too bad," Genma thought while enjoying his meal.

"All of these girls are lovely, but Kasumi is the most beautiful of all. No one knows that I can see outlines very well and that I have X-ray vision. Kasumi has a fit, sexy body that she insists on covering up. In addition to that, she has an inner beauty that truly surpasses her sisters," Ranma thought to himself, having observed the three girls.

"Well, Ranma have you made up your mind yet?" Soun asked hopefully.

"Daddyyy!" All of his daughters said in unison.

"Mr. Tendo. I barely know your daughters. How about letting me get to know them little? I realize being engaged to a guy with a pair of wings will take time to get used to," Ranma said.

"That's why you need to get engaged now, boy!" Genma demanded.

"I told you I wouldn't force myself on any of Tendo's daughters. If none of them wants to marry me, I'll just leave!" Ranma snapped back.

Kasumi looked upset at the idea of Ranma leaving, having already warmed up to him while Nabiki still had dollar signs in her head. Akane thought Ranma leaving would be good riddance.

"I agree with Ranma. We should all get to know each other," Kasumi offered.

"Gasp!" Soun let out, shocked that Kasumi would say anything so profound since she was normally quiet and oblivious to what was going on, or so Soun and most people thought.

"Since we're getting to know each other I have a few questions. Have you graduated from high school yet? How do you plan to make money? What do you plan to do with your life?" Nabiki asked.

"I haven't quite graduated high school, but I got a G.E.D. when I was with Master Po. I'll answer the second and third questions at once. I plan to be the best martial artist in the world. I'll make money doing tournaments, teaching martial arts and if all else fails I can always pick fruit, become a roofer or treasure hunter," Ranma answered.

Nabiki found the last answer the most interesting. "How do you plan to be a treasure hunter? And how will you find this treasure?" she asked with a very large, interested smile on her face.

"I know where some lost treasures are hidden. There's even treasure deep under the sea. Treasure and valuable artifacts are all over the earth. I learned of this when I was a slave at Shadowlaw."

"How do you plan to get those treasures?" Nabiki asked with unconcealed interest.

"I can hold my breath for a long time whether underwater or high in the sky where it's hard to breathe. I can fly to where there's something valuable, like minerals or diamonds or something like that. I can also do deliveries. I've put a lot of thought into this. I have no intention of making my wife and children poor."

"That's great to hear," Kasumi commented.

"But I don't love money for money's sake. I believe the excessive love of money is the root of many kinds of evil. All things must have their proper place," Ranma stated solemnly.

Kasumi and Akane looked at Nabiki as Ranma said this. Then Nabiki looked at Ranma as if he were an idiot. "There's no way I'm marrying someone who doesn't have a clue about money. I'm out!" Nabiki stated with certainty.

"I'm not marrying a perverted, winged freak like you either. I'm out, too!" Akane stated with anger. Soun looked disheartened. He then turned to Kasumi hopefully.

"All right, Daddy. I'll be engaged to Ranma. Just promise me you won't rush us into marriage. From what I can tell he seems like a good man," Kasumi said gently, calming her father's anxiety.

Soun immediately took the opportunity. "All right! Agreed!" Soun said with relief.

Genma just smiled and patted Soun on the back. "Well, Tendo, it looks like the schools will now be joined."

"Wait a minute! I'm the heir to our part of the school. Is Kasumi going to get everything just because she's marrying that freak? I'm the martial artist of this family!" Akane stated with confidence.

"Akane, I've been training in secret. So I know some martial arts. I know enough to help someone like Ranma run this dojo. And I've already proven I can take care of this home," Kasumi answered assertively.

Akane laughed. "There's no way you can be anywhere near as good as me even if you have been training. I've had a lot of fights against perverted boys while you spent all of your time cooking and cleaning!"

"All right, Akane. Let's not have a big argument over it. I have some house cleaning to do." With that Kasumi left them as Ranma followed her.

As Kasumi started working in the kitchen, Ranma regarded her. "Kasumi, why did you let Akane think she was a better martial artist than you? I can tell you are a lot better than she is. You're even better than your father come to think of it," Ranma said.

"Well, Akane has a great deal of self-esteem from all of her martial arts training. If I were to show her up in martial arts she would be crushed. I'll just let her feel as if she's the best at something."

Then Ranma asked, "what if she has to defend herself and she gets clobbered or worse because she overrated herself?"

"I don't know, Ranma. Akane isn't as bad as she seems. For some reason, the boys at school decided to gang up on her. They acted as if anyone of them would beat her he would have the right to do whatever he wanted to her. Anything! Since then Akane has hated boys. Her reasons are understandable. She's simply protecting herself. And I don't want her to get hurt," Kasumi responded.

"That's what I'm talking about. She needs to understand her limitations. She has the talent to be a whole lot better. You're not helping her by letting her think she's invincible," Ranma said.

"Ranma, do you want to help Akane? Or do you just want to see her self esteem get crushed?" Kasumi asked while regarding him.

"Mostly I want to help her, but I wouldn't mind seeing her get knocked down a few pegs. She did call me a perverted freak. But I'll leave what to do about her to you. I know you care a great deal about her and have her best interests at heart. Now, I'd like you to tell me about yourself while I help you with your housework."

Kasumi answered him. "All right. I've been training in the family's martial art secretly, mastering my family's style before our mother died. I kept on training after her death. One of the reasons I've been able to train, study medicine, cook, and clean is because I learned early on how to relax my body in such a way that I can get eight hours of sleep in one hour with my body not knowing the difference."

"I've since trained in tai chi and something called mind over matter which allows me to train hard mentally, using my imagination and still getting the benefits of physical training while either sitting in a lotus position or doing housework," Kasumi explained while she worked.

"Yes, that's true. I've noticed this earlier. It's like you're almost doing martial arts training. Even the way you walk and move is like you're training and working out," Ranma interjected.

"Yes, I learned these techniques from reading training manuals and learning from martial arts masters for whom I cooked tasty meals. I learned how to cook well before my mother died because I'm naturally talented and studied books on that subject to make myself as good as possible. I often used my cooking abilities to get martial arts masters to train me in their techniques."

"One teacher told me when the mind and spirit are strengthened up the body will follow. I've taken this to heart and I am a lot stronger and more agile than I appear to be."

"That's true. And even though you cover yourself up I know that you have a sexy, hard body fitness or supermodel would envy," Ranma said, making Kasumi blush.

"Um, yes. In time I fought many martial artists of varying styles, defeating them. Sometimes my opponents would do techniques that I hadn't seen before. Sometimes I would trade techniques with these martial artists. But despite all this, most people take my kindness for weakness. Three years ago, a biker gang of serial rapists saw me as weak and attacked me when I was on my way from school."

"They were a lot more dangerous than the hentai horde Akane beats up on a daily basis. They fought with varying skill levels in martial arts and streetfighting, using knives and guns without restraint. It was the biggest test of my life up to that point but I decisively defeated them using a combination of shiatsu and speed hitting. I had also mastered gung fu(the ability to take a beating) and iron skin."

"You've mastered iron skin? That's a rare technique! I can tell you have it some degree, but I know you haven't all together mastered it," Ranma said, still impressed.

"Hmmm. I kind of suspected the Chinese martial arts master who taught me that didn't want to teach me the whole thing. You might be right. I'm not invulnerable; I'm somewhat resistant to killing attacks and it goes off when I'm knocked out cold or sound asleep."

"Yeah, that's as far as I've learned it. I would have learned the whole thing but my father kept us moving but it doesn't matter now. With what I went through at Shadowlaw, I'm a lot tougher now than someone who has mastered that technique whether I'm asleep or not," Ranma said to her.

"Well, after I defeated them, the whole gang left town, never to return. Inwardly, I felt really good about myself," Kasumi said with a little bit of pride. "But do you know how I can master the iron skin technique all together?"

"I don't really know any more than you do, but if you keep training the way you've been doing you'll get tougher and tougher. All of your abilities will increase over time."

"But you should understand that anyone with the ability to analyze a style will easily figure out that you're a lot more skilled than Akane even if you don't have the heart to show her up. Unless she's really thick-headed, she'll figure out how much better you are than her eventually."

Kasumi looked at Ranma gently for a moment. "I'll try to put that off for as long as possible. Well, thank you. Cleaning up went so much faster with you helping me."

XXX

AUTHOR'S NOTES: The reason I wrote this is because over twenty years ago I saw a Chinese cartoon called Chinese Gods. It was a cartoon that had a character that looked and sounded a lot like Bruce Lee. I've been trying to find that movie for years. If anybody knows where I can find it, send me a message or leave me a review with information on this.

But my favorite character was a winged man that flew very fast and used a staff with deadly proficiency. I'm going to try to write Ranma the same way.

Once again I've rewritten this chapter. I'll be rewriting all of the chapters over time. I kept hearing, "show. don't tell." So I've tried to do more showing and less telling. I know it took me some time to figure that out but I hope reading this is a whole lot better.