Prenotes:
AnFan-n-More: The pun at the end of the last one was totally unintentional. I completely forgot that Yen meant to have a want for something. But please keep this between us, I want the readers to think of me as smart and witty... oh crap.
Ranma girl 14: She's coming, don't worry.
Ranmakim74: And kissing there shall be! Just not what you expect. Also, thanks for the continued support and reviews.
Orchamus: Thank you for the support. If you're ever free, let me know. I could always use another Beta.
Deucalion: I don't think so, but we'll see. Ranma is just really good at learning what he is shown. It took him a long while to figure out the true secret of qi (Ki or Chi or whatever you want) attacks before being able to use them properly to create his signature blast.
Jonakhensu: The power of the puffs is a very hard thing to gauge. Yes, they have gone faster than the speed of light and lift mountains, but these feats happen very rarely. Their powers and overall power levels vary from episode to episode. They have been beaten by the GGG, who are really just normal people.
Beta by Demon Lord of Blood
Clashing Colors
Ch. 8 – My Wife
"Today, Ranma," Genma started in a voice full of wisdom, alerting Ranma to the importance of the current training. His father continued, "You will learn a Saotome family technique that is of great use to those like us." He produced a bucket of cold water and a kettle. Handing them both to his son, he stood to his full height. "I want you to first strike me with the cold water, followed by the warm." Ranma nodded in understanding, though he didn't quite know what to think of the command.
Genma charged his son, leaping high into the air, letting lose with a large battle aura to intimidate his son into action. Ranma responded quickly, hurling the bucket like a comet at his father and throwing himself into a roll to avoid the coming strike. Without missing a beat, his father had plowed through the attack in Panda form coming down with a knee to where his head had been moments before.
Coming out of the roll, Ranma followed the next part of his instructions by whipping the kettle at the charging Panda who responded by using his claws to slash the flying object apart. He had to jump into the splits in order to escape the high kick that came through the broken kettle. Genma backed off and relaxed his stance.
"This is a modified art, using the base of a technique used frequently by my late master."
What the hell? All he did was knee at me and follow through with a high kick...
At Ranma's confused look, Genma tugged at his own gi. When understanding dawned on his son's face, he continued. "I designed this art to quickly changes guises, allowing for one to escape pursuit much more easily." He jumped into a flip and blurred before landing in his lab uniform, sans bandana. "Since the acquisition of our curses, I have begun to use it to escape certain embarrassing moments. I have a training exercise that I expect you to complete by the end of the day. We will truly see if you are your father's son." He ended his speech with a grave look. Producing a medium sized package, he handed it to his son before retreating back into the house. He looked back with a final warning. "The training will be difficult, but see that you do not break."
Ranma wasted no time in opening the package; inside he found a clothing box and a note. He opened the box to reveal a pink tube top and a white mini skirt. Huh, who picked this one up? He turned back to the note. Turn into a girl and get dressed. With a grumble he complied and changed.
When Ranma returned outside she found a sign posted in the ground that simply read look up. Confused, she slowly shifted her gaze to the sky, only to squawk in indignation as hot water met his face. He turned quickly to find Buttercup's sisters sitting on the roof. Bubbles was smiling while holding an upended thermos. Blossom had two large bags and a devilish grin. Where's Buttercup?
"Hey, nice view! I'm not sure that counts as manly, though."
Ranma turned to find his fiancé staring at his lower half. Before he could retreat, she tossed another box at him. He tore it open to reveal a pair of swim trunks. And with that, he was once again doused in cold water and grabbed by Buttercup, who flew straight up. When they got high enough, she knew exactly where her training was to take place... The beach.
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Blossom saw the target. She had one of her water balloons at the ready. The problem with trying to pull a full aerial attack was that the sound of her flying had a very distinct, and none too subtle, sound. She had to plan ahead. She would not lose to her sisters. They had bet on who could hit the target the most. The loser would do the winner's chores for a month.
She grinned as the target started her way. She was currently crouched on the gift shop holding her breath and staying perfectly still. It appeared that the target believed safety would come from the cover available in the shop. She could feel her cruel laughter bubble up in her throat and tried to stifle it. The target froze and shot a glare to her, it was now or never.
She exploded into action, cocking back her arm while vaulting over the edge for a closer shot. The target turned to flee, fearing the inevitable. Blossom was brought up short, denied her victory as a small blue streak plowed into the target from the side. She cursed as she jumped high into the air, intent on finding a new hiding spot. As she was leaving, she couldn't help but giggle though. The death cry of the target was a sweet symphony to her ears. The follow up comment was even better.
"Dude, did you see the size of that chick's melons?"
Current Score: Blossom 1 Buttercup 0 Bubbles 2+1
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She watched as Ranma ran from the gift shop. She was glad that she had followed up on the rumors of a civil panda seen in the metropolis known as Townsville. She had yet to find said panda, but the girl she sought was right in front of her. It had been so long since their last encounter, the girl always seemed to slip away at the last second. The area was nice, open, and large; so it was unlikely that the girl would escape her fate this time. A self-satisfied smirk played across her lips as she pursued her goal.
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Bubbles giggled to herself as she was walking out of her cover. "Where to next, Mr. Lizard? The seagulls say she is bolting for the bike rental." She questioned, looking down to her companion on her shoe.
#"There are some bushes just outside the building. If you hurry, you could slip in without being noticed."#
Bubbles giggled to herself again as she set the local lizard in some shade. The day was still young, and her sisters needed to be shown that information is the key for battle. She zipped off at top speed, intent on stopping her prey from hiding...
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As Ranma approached her new hiding spot she looked about herself. Buttercup was not even close to being around. She kept on trying to use bombing tactics, so it was easy to hear her coming. Blossom was good at anticipating her own moves, but shoddy in execution. It was Bubbles that had her worried.
The seemingly air-headed girl always popped up in the least expected places, as if she knew where Ranma herself was headed. She had already figured out the quick change, but she was always a few seconds late of doing it during the change. It didn't matter, though. She made it to her destination and looked around a few more times. Everything seemed fine. The bushes looked large enough to hide from sight for a nice long while. She smiled as she walked towards her salvation...
Current Score: Blossom 1 Buttercup 0 Bubbles 3+1
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On top of the bicycle rental she waited. She watched as the girl she hunted approached, looking everywhere in paranoia. She ducked down behind the low wall of the small building. It wouldn't be long until she got her revenge. She hefted the steel bat she recently had to purchase and sighed in disappointment.
Getting through customs for the insanely anal country had been taxing, to say the least. She ended up having to ship her arsenal from her home. It wouldn't arrive for a few days still. The bat would have to do. When she was done here, she planned to get a part time job and do some traditional hunting in the wilds of this vastly different land. She smiled, imagining returning home not only with her honor intact, but also an assortment of rare trophies.
She was pulled from her thoughts by a splash followed by a loud curse.
"Damn it, Bubbles! How can you know where I'm going to be all the damn time!" An accented male voice flowed up.
A girl's giggle followed shortly after. "Don't worry too much about it, Ranma." Ranma? "I have my secrets. Ooh, your timing is getting better!"
The girl peered over the ledge to see an (incredibly cute) Asian boy talking with a busty blond girl. The boy vaguely resembled the girl, Ranma, but was taller with black hair and definitely male. The boy dashed off and the girl lazily floated away. The floating caught her interest, but she didn't have time to think about it too much. She looked around, but saw her prey nowhere. She grumbled as she left the rental store behind. She would find the girl today; she just needed a little patience.
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Current Score: Blossom 9 Buttercup 0 Bubbles 37
The hours had churned away and Buttercup was getting furious. It was going on three in the afternoon. Every time she had found Ranma he either bolted or one of her sisters would get to him first. She had already lost the bet, she knew, but she'd be damned if she didn't get at least one hit in. It was time for drastic measures.
She took some time to fill two large bags with around seventy of each hot and cold water balloons. There was something to be said about quantity over quality. It was like getting multi-ball in pinball. Most of the balls would fail to be useful, but some would get lucky.
As she walked around one of the shops dotting the beach, she saw him climbing a palm tree. She grinned as she knew it was time to play catch up. She lifted the first two balloons and let loose.
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Bubbles rushed towards the commotion. One of the birds had relayed the event of her sister going crazy on Ranma, who had nowhere to go. If it was going to come down to all out crossfire, she was not going to lose. She called out to the birds to have some of the squirrels supply here with as many balloons as they could. It was time for all-out war, and she planned to win.
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Blossom was walking down the beach after having some ice cream to cool off. She was glad that she was not behind, she really did not want to clean Bubble's room for a month.
*Nice one, what does that bring the score to?*
*9, 7, 58. You just may be able to get out of this without loosing.*
Blossom's eyes grew in shock. She was about to lose, and that she could not accept. She was glad that Buttercup was being nice enough to use the walkies at this crucial moment. Being the fastest of her sisters, she poured on the juice, seemingly vanishing from her previous spot. She would be damned if she lost now.
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Ranma was breathing hard. She had been getting pummeled for the last 5 minutes solid. He didn't know what queued it, but both his fiance and her sister came out of nowhere on a warpath. She was caught in a pincer with no route of escape. She had been changed back and forth too many times to keep track of, and was getting tired out from constantly changing clothes faster than the eye could follow. He couldn't even feel his body go through the motions anymore. It was like she was on automatic.
She barely weaved out of the way of a red balloon coming into the mix. She had barely enough time to look up and see Blossom wearing a cruel grin before letting loose with machine gun like speed. He just groaned. He really didn't care what clothes he was in, but he doubted his mother would like it very much if her breasts were hanging out all of the time.
After a few minutes, she looked around. All of the girls were smiling with faces of pure enjoyment that couldn't help but be infectious. Well, he might as well join the fun too. He plucked the closest blue water balloon out of the air, and, with a flick of the wrist, she sent it back towards the owner. When an outraged shriek met her ears, her cocky grin came in full force. The training had ended. Now it was just war time fun.
Final Score: Blossom 24 Buttercup 15 Bubbles 67
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She was getting tired of chasing that damned girl all over the place for hours. Every time she saw her, the redheaded girl would somehow disappear. Sometimes a boy with the same name would be there.
That wasn't the only strange thing she had seen all day either. There was another redhead that could be seen flying from building to building. Sometime it would interfere with her hunt, but she wasn't sure how powerful the girl might be, especially if she could fly.
The blonde girl she had seen earlier, who could also fly, would occasionally click, chatter, meow, bark and chirp at the animals. Said animals would take the time to stop and start making various noises back at her. It was almost as if they were all talking. The girl would float away, hugging cover. As if she too were hunting.
There was also a lean boy in green that, surprise surprise, was flying around. He had an almost effeminate beauty about him. It made her blush at the idea of being beaten in combat by a boy with enough power to fly. He seemed to be angry for some reason or another. He would zip about the sky as if searching for someone. America seemed a stranger and stranger place, but she was enjoying almost every minute of it.
Another thirty minutes had passed, and she was about to give up hope when she came across the two girls and the boy in green all laughing. It really shouldn't have been a surprise that they knew each other. They all could fly after all. Her curiosity peaked, she crept closer. The girls jumped and waved to the boy before jetting into the sky and taking off.
What she saw next left her stunned. Ranma was there with a big grin. She had been blocked from view by the other, taller, girls. Brandishing her improvised weapon, the huntress shot forward, bringing the steel down with all her might. Ranma dodged predictably and looked back into her eyes with shock.
"Shampoo..." The girl breathed out, unable to move.
"Ranma, you I kill!"
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Ranma and the girls were walking away from the ice cream shop, all satisfied. They had ended their all-out war a while ago and decided to just relax. Everyone had a blast, and their bright smiles seemed to creep into all the people that surrounded them.
"I still wish you had gotten a chance to see Bubbles' face the first time you hit her." Buttercup said through a laugh. "She just froze. She wasn't expecting it at all!"
"Laugh all you want, you still have to do my chores for a month." Bubbles gave a small raspberry at her sister.
"You sure are lucky, having the network of animals around." Blossom said with her arms held behind her head. Bubbles' was trying to stop her with some hand signals, but her sister wasn't watching.
"What do the animals have to do with anything?" Ranma asked to the tallest sister.
"Nothing."
Buttercup hopped in, "Nothing my ass. She can talk to the animals, so she knew exactly where you were going every time." She snorted, "This was really only ever a competition between me and Blossom. We knew the animals would give her an advantage outdoors. They always do."
"You can talk to animals?" Ranma asked with wide eyes.
"Yeah, but I like to keep it as a surprise. Knowledge is power, after all." Bubbles replied.
"Man, that's so cool!" Ranma shouted out. "You're like that one dude in the comics, Waterdude or something."
"Aquaman?"
"Yeah, that one!" Ranma giggled. Her eyes widened in horror as she slapped her hands over her mouth. The girls laughed at her. They all continued to talk before finally reaching the entrance of the beach. They were interrupted in the end by Bubbles cell beeping. She checked it quickly and sighed.
"I'm going to get going, it looks like Mr. Pig is stuck somewhere again." She chuckled, thinking that Ryoga was probably stuck in the lab or someone's room. He seemed to be getting more familiar with the house, though it was taking a long time.
"I'll go with you," Blossom said after checking her watch. "I'm supposed to meet Brick in a couple of hours, so I'd like to get cleaned up."
Both girls hopped into the air and waved at their sister and her fiancé before jetting off in the direction of the house. Ranma grinned and turned back to Buttercup. Before she could start talking, her finely tuned danger senses went into overdrive. She flipped back just in time to avoid being crushed, grimacing as she landed. I definitely have to learn to do that without giving the world a free shot of my panties. She looked up into the eyes of the one person she never expected to see again.
"Shampoo..." She breathed out stunned.
"Ranma, you I kill!" The purple haired girl growled out as she charged.
Ranma weaved to the side of the next attack only to bend back to avoid the roundhouse follow up. She could not, however, avoid the sweep that followed from the opposite direction. Landing hard on the ground, she looked up winded only to find the bat coming down towards her head. She rolled to the side, barely missing having her skull caved in. She watched as Shampoo tried to anticipate her roll again, prompting her to somersault backwards to her feet.
The vicious girl's assault did not end. She tried to advance on the redhead, sweeping the bat left to right, high and low at a furious pace. Ranma hopped, decked, rolled and deflected every blow that came too close for comfort. Looking about frantically for an escape route left Ranma disappointed. The beach was just far to open to be able to effectively retreat. Her disappointment did not last too long as the assault abruptly stopped.
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Shampoo struggled to swing the bat at her target again, but it just wouldn't move. She glanced back to find the weapon held in the grip of the boy in green. He was looking none too happy. She gulped back her fear as the boy growled at her. Without so much as an ounce of exertion, the boy crushed the steel in his hand.
Releasing the bat instinctively, she had only a split second to react as the boy shot forward. She felt his fist bury into her gut as she was lifted off the ground, pain shattering her. Crumpling to the ground, she tried to fill her lungs with the air that would not come. If Ranma had someone this strong protecting her, she may never be able to fulfill her goal.
The boy advanced on her, fire in his eyes. She was already beaten, but the boy was in a rage. Shampoo felt real fear, something she was unfamiliar with. She looked up, trying not to let the tears flow. She was surprised when she saw his advance stop.
"Stop, please." Ranma pleaded. "This ain't her fault." Shampoo couldn't understand this. The girl she had been trying to kill for months was trying to protect her?
"Not her fault?" The boy shouted back. "Ranma, she tried to kill you just now! I have to stop her."
"You already did. Look at her, she can barely move. I doubt she will be fighting at all for the rest of the day. Look, this whole situation is my fault, anyways." The boy looked back at her. She tried to look back defiantly, but her tears just kept coming. The boy's eyes softened as he looked at her. She tried to sit back up. The boy crouched in front of her and held her up.
"Are you alright?" He asked. She could hear the regret in his voice. She knew immediately what she had to do. Not only was it her village law, but her heart was screaming for her to comply. She placed her hands on the boy's shoulder to steady herself. She tried to convey her feelings through her eye as she could still barely catch her breath.
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"Hey, we gotta leave, NOW." Ranma emphasized the urgency. She wasn't going to let Buttercup receive the kiss of death as well. It wasn't that Buttercup wouldn't be able to deal with it or anything, but Shampoo had it rough enough just trying to kill her as it was.
"Just a second, I'm making sure I didn't hurt her too much." Buttercup turned back to the strange girl. She was a little confused by the intense stare the girl was giving her. The girl started to lean into her and she couldn't help but feel a creeping doom with the advance. Ranma started to urgently tug on one of her arms, but something froze her in place. She was not expecting to feel soft lips on her own, nor the tongue that briefly probed her mouth. Ranma stopped tugging on her arm.
When the girl pulled away, she glanced at Ranma, who just shrugged back with a look of shock and a face lit up with a blush at watching two girls kiss like that. She looked back to the girl who had leaned her head on her shoulder.
"Wo ai ni." The girl looked up at her. At Buttercup's confused look, she got a look of determination before trying again. "You I love."
Buttercup's face lit up as she turned mechanically to an annoyed looking Ranma. "I think we're going to need Bubbles' help."
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AN: Yo, sorry for the hiatus. I really let myself get too damn lazy after my stay in Cambodia and Singapore. Then I got back to work and got loaded down with grading papers. Busy at work, lazy at home; neither a good excuse to leave everyone hanging. I've been working on this one all week, mainly because it radically changed after I started writing. Don't worry too much as I do have plans for the situation, though, as always, they may change. At any rate, I figure that for every review I get for this one, I'll receive a 1% bonus to the success of my upcoming date and overall courtship of a really cute girl^^. Please don't make me a failure, or I'll send Santa Claws after you! (V)!/*\!(V)