Tofu and Cologne entered the room once they were sure the wounded weren't in any danger. In fact they were healing very well with the shiatsu that the doctor pressed on each of them, considering the injuries they both received.
Tofu was in deep thought about what he had heard so far. He was sure Ranma had attained a great deal of control over his power, so much that he could revert from his aggressive state to being the Ranma he knew, if a bit more mature. There were stories about martial artists that tried powerful techniques based on evil power, most of those martial artists were consumed by that power. At the very least, the evil energy would change the person, making him/her a creature with only destruction as a purpose. *Yet the evil I felt from Ranma was too strong.* Tofu was sure Ranma's training with these Geese Howard person was only partly responsible for the feel of his aura. With that in mind, he sat down next to the others, eager to learn more about the pigtailed martial artist's life.
Cologne, more knowledgeable in the ways of chi than Tofu, suspected Ranma's aura earlier that day was only the tip of the iceberg. Ranma's body didn't strain nearly as much as it should if it was going at full power, neither did his chi feel weaker right now than it was when he returned from the other world. She also noticed Kasumi's expression when her husband was fighting. *She wasn't impressed at all.* That could only mean Ranma was capable of much more. And if her assumptions were correct, so were Iori, Leona and Kasumi. It seemed like that other world had many fighters so strong that made Herb look like a weakling. With that in mind she decided to do all in her power to avoid making Ranma angry with the Amazons. The explosion of evil power from a few hours ago was still fresh in her memory, and she trembled at the thought of what the pigtailed martial artist could do to the Amazon village.
Nabiki was doing her best to remain as expressionless as possible. What she had heard so far went entirely against the Ranma she thought she knew. She also suspected the story would take a turn for the worst. But she wanted to hear all of it, mainly to know how it was that Ranma became the man that was sitting there, telling everyone about the years he spent away from Nerima.
Once they were all sitting again Ranma cleared his throat and continued explaining the events of the next day of the tournament.
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The crowd cheered wildly as the announcer made his way to the side of the platform. Everyone was expectant to see today's fights, which promised to be great considering the ease with which the teams passed to the next round.
"Ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to the second day of the King of Fighters Tournament!" Cheers even louder than before threatened to crumble down the place. "For today's first match, I'm glad to introduce... THE HERO TEAM!!!"
As the fighters made their way to the platform waving to the crowd, the announcer smiled at the reaction he was receiving. Kyo's popularity had grown enormously since the last tournament, almost to the point that a sponsor wasn't needed. Maybe the next tournament could be made without needing someone like Rugal to back it up.
Shingo Yabuki jumped up to the platform, readying himself to start with the day's activities. He was confident in making it to the finals now that he had a team, especially next to Kyo-sensei. It was understandable that he gulped nervously when he saw who his first opponent would be.
The announcer saw the other team was ready and turned back to the crowd. "And now, fighting against the champions, we have THE RUGAL TEAM!!!" At this announcement people started murmuring to each other and suddenly broke into cheers again, expecting a great fight. One good portion of the crowd was cheering for Ranko as she ignored them and stepped up to face against Kyo Kusanagi's student.
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As the protective wall raised from the edges of the platform the fighters studied each other.
Ranko, being new to the tournament, could only guess what Shingo was really capable of. In his first fight he barely had to touch his opponent to send him flying back. That meant this guy packed a punch. She decided to fight defensively until she got a good feel of his fighting style.
Shingo assessed the small redhead in front of him. He'd witnessed what she was capable of yesterday, taking down an entire team as if they were nothing, and knew she wasn't to be underestimated under any circumstances. He smiled at her trying to break the tension in the air, which was starting to get uncomfortable. "Good luck."
Ranko blinked at that, trying to figure out if it was some kind of trick. Stretching out her senses she felt nothing but honesty coming from the man. In fact she hadn't felt such a good-natured aura since Kasumi Tendo. *And he's a fighter?* Squinting her eyes she looked deep into his own, as if trying to read the deepest recesses of his soul. Her eyes widened a little. *Not a fighter. A warrior.* She couldn't believe someone with a good heart that could rival the eldest Tendo sister's to have what is needed to be a warrior.
Shingo was starting to get nervous at the examination, feeling as if she was stripping him with her gaze. The series of expressions on her cute features did nothing to reassure him, so he was shocked when she abandoned her stance and took a step forward.
"You too." She said with a smile as she extended her hand forward for a shake. Shingo shakily took it and smiled nervously, sweating nervously at the sight of the redhead smiling at him. Her expression suddenly turned stony again as she stepped back. "Fight me for real or I'll really hurt you."
Shingo scratched the back of his head nervously, images of the beautiful girl forever engraved in his heart. He assumed a ready stance and the pleasantries were over.
"READY. GO!" The now impatient announcer said as he wanted the fights to begin.
Ranko tensed slightly as Shingo charged with a punch that came incredibly fast. She was faster and able to get out of the way in time, but she didn't launch an attack of her own just yet. *That was good.* She thought as Shingo recovered almost instantly and attacked once again, this time she too was able to avoid the fist. This went on for some seconds of intense speed in the platform. She suddenly frowned as she avoided a kick to the head and jumped back from a shoulder charge. Something had changed in the attitude Shingo had from the beginning of the fight, and she was angered by it.
Shingo watched mesmerized as Ranko was able to avoid his every attack with fluid grace. He attacked once again, knowing she would eventually tire of all that fast dodging.
Ranko saw the punch coming, but this time she didn't dodge out of the way.
*WHAM*
Everyone watching the fight, fighters and spectators alike, sweatdropped heavily as Shingo's punch connected squarely on Ranko's jaw, only to have no effect, as Ranko's shorter arm found an opening in his defenses and caught him in the midsection with a powerful palm strike that drove all the air out of his lungs and forced him to double over. Just as he was recovering, Ranko head-butted him and finished with a sidekick that sent him flying back against the transparent wall.
Kyo's student slid down to the floor and landed in a heap as he blinked at all the little hearts and muttered something about being in love. It was then that consciousness mercifully left him.
Kyo just shook his head at the outcome of the match. "Shingo, you idiot."
Ranko stuck her tongue at the unconscious fighter and turned around to return to her corner. "Baka." This only made more sweatdrops appear on everyone's heads, no one having expected that kind of reaction from the person who mercilessly killed Yamasaki.
The announcer took a few seconds to recover from the shock. Finally, he mumbled. "Winner." He still couldn't believe one of the participants to the tournament would act like a teenager upon seeing a cute face.
Rugal, who was staring stupidly at the approaching Ranko, asked. "She does this often?"
Iori remained expressionless as he answered. "Only when you either call her cute or don't take her seriously in a fight." In fact, the insane Orochi warrior was internally laughing his ass off at the reaction Ranko's behavior brought out of everyone. Actually, he couldn't remember a time when a fighter in the tournament pulled his punches at all. He decided it must have something to do with his friend.
No one else dared say a word as Benimaru stepped up as the next fighter. He was a little disappointed at noticing she didn't have any kind of reaction to his good looks. In fact she looked bored as he stepped forward and did his best to show off his great body.
"READY. GO!"
There are those who say speed is a very important attribute of a fighter. Both Ranko and Benimaru are firm believers of that, and as a result they each charged each other at incredible speeds.
To the untrained eye the fighters were simply running around each other in a complicated dance, while the others could see Ranko and Benimaru were actually exchanging attacks in an amazing display of skill and speed that not many people could hope to ever match.
As soon as he stepped on the platform he knew he had to take the girl seriously. Shingo, even if he looked fine when he was taken to the infirmary, had a couple of broken ribs. He couldn't really blame the girl, Shingo 'was' and idiot, but he didn't intend to lose and look bad in front of all the ladies. As he exchanged blows with the evasive redhead his respect for her started to increase. He still couldn't land a single attack and had to actually strain to keep up with her. He felt the fight would be even till he started using his special techniques. He was too good for her.
Ranko was bored by the blonde buy's attitude, but she had to admit he was somewhat of a decent fighter. He was keeping up with her speed and even forcing her to remain mostly concentrating on her defense. Not that it was a bad thing, she could keep it up for hours. *The master made sure of that.* She thought with a smirk as she remembered her long training sessions with the crime lord.
Right now, Ranko was carefully studying Benimaru's fighting style. She didn't have a chance to get more of a hang on it before the man upped the ante.
Benimaru decided to test the waters and threw a punch in the general direction of Ranko's body. It was hard as hell trying to hit her, but what if he attacked a larger area? "RAIJIN KEN!" A sphere of lightning expanded from his fist.
Ranko felt the energy buildup just in time to duck under the attack. She congratulated herself on not using one of the Atemi to capture the attack, which was energy based. Just as she was about to counter she received a kick to the jaw so fast she didn't even see it coming. The strength behind the kick wasn't anything to sneeze at either, she was thrown several feet back and had trouble rolling with the fall as she tried to reorient herself.
Benimaru blinked in shock at what happened. Ranko was fast enough to avoid his Raijin Ken and recovered from his Iai Geri as if it was a normal hit. *What is she?* He knew there were fighters out there that could rival him, but he never expected for such a young girl to be able to fight him so evenly. He was certain the tactic he just used wouldn't work the next time.
Ranko eyed Benimaru with some respect after that stunt he pulled. Had it not been for her senses she would probably be defeated right now. Avoiding that electric punch gave her enough time to recover and form a strategy. *He probably overwhelms his opponents with his speed.* She thought with a smirk forming on her features. Speed alone wouldn't work against her.
Benimaru involuntarily gulped when he saw Ranko smirk maliciously. The darkness in her blue eyes was very unsettling. He then started feeling as Ranko gathered energy. It seemed like she would follow his steps in going to the next level.
"REPPUU KEN!" She swept her right arm forward and a wave of dark energy traveled towards her opponent, who jumped over it instead of trying to block. *Perfect.* Ranko jumped after him.
Benimaru gave out a startled gasp when Ranko appeared in front of him, followed by three palm strikes to his midsection that sent him flying back towards the corner of the platform. He grunted when he landed and opened his eyes just in time to see Ranko, still in midair, gathering more energy in her hands. He rolled forward in the last possible moment, avoiding the blast by mere inches and taking advantage of the explosion to propel himself forward even faster.
Ranko cursed under her breath when Benimaru rolled to safety. She intended to finish the fight right there. *Oh well.* The guy was giving it his all, so she should too.
The fighters clashed once again. This time the speed was the same, the difference being flashes of both lightning and dark chi around them as they played the game of the cat and the mouse. None was sure who was which.
The crowd cheered wildly as the fight continued. It had started out slow, but right now the uses of special techniques were spectacular and the winner would probably be decided in the next few seconds.
The fighters saw with interest as both Benimaru, a veteran to the tournament, and Ranko, a new face, fought with increasing levels of intensity. Benimaru had improved over the years, while everyone was astounded Ranko could fight so well. If things continued as they were she could actually win the fight!
Then something that changed the course of the round happened. Benimaru overextended himself in a left hook. Ranko snaked into his defenses, took him by the hair with her right hand, and smashed his face with her knee. A crunching noise was heard as the man's nose gave away and blood started pouring freely. An enraged scream followed that.
The force of the sudden explosion of lightning threw Ranko back. "YOU BITCH!" The blonde fighter bellowed as he could tell she had dared taint his beauty. With a speed not seen before in the fight, nor in any of the previous tournaments, Benimaru rushed to Ranko's side and took her up by the shoulders. Just as she was about to retaliate he let loose with his attack, fully intent on making her pay.
Ranko felt her world explode in pain as she was electrocuted, several close speakers blowing up because of the voltage. An anguished scream left her lips as her body contorted with the coursing energy. Smoke started to fizzle from her body as Benimaru kept pouring energy into her.
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"STOP IT, BENIMARU! YOU'RE GONNA KILL HER!" Kyo yelled from the sidelines. He knew his friend wasn't a killer, and that he would regret taking a life so callously.
On the other side of the platform Rugal was impressed Ranko had lasted so long while Iori watched everything impassively.
Geese frowned at the display from his seat. He knew the girl would be able to pull it off, but she should have finished the fool much faster than this.
Krauser watched in interest as his half-brother's daughter stopped screaming and an energy buildup was felt from her, even more evil than before.
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Ranko reached deep within, knowing that if she didn't she would die right here. As she opened her eyes, she could see Benimaru laughing like a maniac, ordering her to die. The energy was there, and all she had to do was take it. With it, she called forth the power of the Earth, controlling it with her will. Geese was better at it, but she could still do it.
As more and more of her energy was gathered she started recovering the use of her body. What seemed like hours to her hadn't been but a minute. With great effort she raised her right arm, pressing the palm of her hand on Benimaru's face. "REPPUU KEN!"
The blast was much more intense than her earlier one, with much more destructive energy gathered in it. Benimaru's body was thrown back in a spray of blood and gore and he slammed into the platform's wall face-first. His face was nothing more than a bloody mess.
Ranko sank to her right knee taking deep breaths. That had taken a lot out of her. She stared with cold eyes at a few blood drops marring the floor. She didn't really know what happened next, only that she suddenly found herself facing an angry Kyo Kusanagi.
Kyo stared angrily at Geese's daughter. He had been horrified to see Benimaru as he was carried away. His face was unrecognizable. Even if Ranko had done it to save her life, she still destroyed his friend. Benimaru wouldn't remain sane seeing himself like that, like a monster.
Ranko returned the glare with her own, she knew who she was facing, and she knew what to do. She had planned ahead for this particular fight, in fact.
Kyo barely heard the announcer give the go and he was upon his opponent. He was surprised when she fell back in flames with his first attack. *What the...?* He couldn't think of a reason for this to happen besides the fact that Benimaru nearly killed her. *But the energy I felt from her was too strong.* He was genuinely confused as he stared at the downed form of Ranko Howard, her clothing charred from both the electricity and the magatama.
The crowd cheered wildly as Kyo once again defeated evil. They couldn't think of Ranko any other way after the way she was ending all of her fights, particularly Benimaru's.
Kyo approached his downed opponent. He had to admit, on a closer look, that she looked really cute and harmless. Some would even dare call her beautiful. "Quite impressive." He said to himself as he looked up to the crowd and waved with a smile. *She's very strong to have defeated Benimaru. For someone so young that's quite a feat.
"Shut up." Kyo turned instantly to see the annoyed glare on Ranko's face as she effortlessly got up. He couldn't help take a look down her cleavage when she stood up and blushed at realizing she was wearing nothing underneath, and that she had great assets. Ranko saw this, but decided to ignore it coming from someone that didn't deserve her attention. She turned around to leave, but was stopped by his voice.
"Why?"
She would've ignored it had it not been for the seriousness in there. She stopped and turned to face him. "Why what?"
The crowd went silent as the two fighters stared at each other, even if the words couldn't be heard by anyone besides those two, everyone knew the seriousness of the discussion and respectfully remained silent.
Kyo didn't let her dark aura and eyes affect him. "Why did you drop the fight?"
Ranko turned to the side and eyed him sideways. "Why do you think I dropped the fight?"
Kyo didn't buy it. "You took out Yamasaki's team on your own and were strong enough to continue fighting after defeating Benimaru, yet you drop with my first blow. Why? And why did you hurt the others so badly?" His anger at the last question was evident to everyone seeing him, just because of the shaking of his shoulders.
Ranko closed her eyes and smirked. She then turned around to face Kyo once again and opened her blue orbs, smile fading to be replaced with a serious expression. "You consider yourself a warrior?"
Kyo was taken aback by the question, but didn't hesitate in answering. "Yes, I do."
"How would you feel if someone didn't take you seriously in a fight?" Kyo considered back to his fights with Goenitz and Rugal, and could tell she was right. It annoyed him to no end that others wouldn't take him seriously. Seeing that he understood Ranko continued. "Exactly. You friend Shingo didn't fight me seriously, so I taught him a lesson."
"What about Mary and Benimaru, then? They fought you evenly with all they had and you still nearly killed them." Kyo growled out clenching his fists tightly.
Ranko's behavior remained unwavering as she answered. "Mary Ryan fought like a true warrior. We fought, I won. I don't think anything short of near-death would've stopped her. As for your blonde friend, he fought well. Too bad in the end he lost it and tried to kill me." With that she turned around and took a step away.
"It would've been better for him if you just killed him." Kyo muttered.
Ranko didn't turn as she remarked. "Who said I wanted to be merciful. Those who try to kill me are my enemies." Her voice was cold as ice. She then resumed walking away.
"She's a monster." Kyo whispered to himself as he thought over what she had said. His eyes widened in sudden realization. "Wait, you never answered my question."
Ranko stopped midway from her corner and turned only her head. She smiled cutely at him. "Why did I let you win? I wanted it to be a fair fight. Have fun."
Kyo mulled over what was said, not really understanding what she meant by 'fair fight.' It dawned on him with a sense of dread as he saw Ranko reach her corner and pat a man on the shoulder. "Have fun." She repeated to him.
Kyo saw as the man smirked viciously and started walking towards the center of the platform. Everything about the man screamed 'danger' while his cold, piercing eyes promised death. There was only one thought going on in his head as he suddenly found himself face to face with his opponent. *Oh shit!*
Iori Yagami was the next fighter.
END PART 12
Author's notes: I know, I know. It took me forever to update and once I do it is a short chapter. I'm sorry about that, but I had school to worry about, besides preparing myself for my Taiji exam these last two weeks. Good news is that I passed and am now allowed by my instructor to teach.
Anyway, how did you like the chapter? In the next part we see Iori finally get a clean shot at Kyo, and the consequences that brings to Ranko. It did end up in a cliffhanger, but I wanted to give you guys something before the death threats started coming my way. Expect part 13 to be done in a week, two at the most.
See you in Part 13!
