Ranma the Tenth Hakkeshu or Ranma’s Cousin Iori (------) Disclaimer: I do not own Ranma ½. That is property of Rumiko Takahashi. I do not own The King of Fighters is property of SNK. I do however suggest you look up information on these two properties. You won’t be disappointed. (------) Note: This takes place after the Ranma ½ manga and little while after the King of Fighters ’97. (------) Ranma the Tenth Hakkeshu Chapter 3: Wild Horse Vs. Lonely Wolf Boy, it had been a rough day of training for Terry Bogard. He can’t believe he made it through his training alive. Damn springboards. They aren’t made like the used too. Terry plops himself down on the bed in his 3-room apartment (With bathroom) in Tokyo. (He can afford a much better place, but he feels since he is away training or fighting most of the time, why bother). He is about to fall asleep when suddenly the phone rings. Terry: Damn! (Picks up the phone). Hello? Female Voice: Hey Ter! What’s up? Terry: Wha… Oh, hi Mary, how’s my favorite bounty hunter doing. Mary: I’m doing just fine Terry. You want to go out tonight with little old me? Terry: Sorry I can’t. I too damn tired from all the training I did today. How about I take you out tomorrow night? Mary: Terry. Terry: Yes. Mary: Open the door. Terry gets a bad feeling about this. As soon as he opens the door Mary pounces on him along with her dog Anton. Terry: Mary… Since you were right outside my door why call me on the phone? Mary: I got the idea from a movie about a guy in a cheesy ghost mask that calls people on the phone and tries to kill them. Terry: Let me guess. I go out with you or you hunt me down dead? Mary (Smiles): Pretty much. Terry: Sigh. Lets go. Mary: Yeah! Anton: Woof, woof. (------) Mary takes Terry to a nightclub called Illusions of Light. They have everything to do there. Drinking, music, drinking, dancing, drinking, fighting, drinking, making out, drinking, and gambling. Oh, did I forget to mention there was drinking? Terry let’s out a long sigh. He can’t believe how badly the place reeks of booze. Mary doesn’t mind at this point, she’s plastered beyond belief saying stuff like “You know Terry, you have a cut ass.” Terry looks around for anything of interest. He spots a teenager with a pig-tail dressed in Chinese clothes arguing with the bouncer. Bouncer: Go home kid you can’t come in here. It’s a school night; don’t you have homework to do or somethin’? Teenager: Sorry, but I have to go in there. I’m looking for someone and he may possibly be in there. Bouncer: Tell you what, if you can beat me up you get to go in. Teenager (Grins): Fair enough. Bouncer (Shocked): Wha…!? Terry is amazed by what he sees. The boy takes the guy out in one punch. No wait scratch that, it was ten, but it went so fast, it looked like one. The boy steps into the club over the fallen Bouncer. Terry doesn’t want this to get out of hand, so he steps in front of the youth. Terry: Just who are you looking for? Teenager: Iori Yagami. The club suddenly becomes as silent as death. Terry: What are you looking for him for? Teenager: None of your business. Terry lunges toward the youth with his Burn Knuckle attack. The youth sidesteps it and sends a kick towards Terry’s side for a direct hit. Terry gets up, only to be pummeled chestnut fist style. Terry flips to perform His Crack Shot maneuver, but misses and gets smashed in the side of his face, by the teenager’s fist. Terry can’t believe the skill this boy has. He attempts to do his Power Wave attack, but before he can smash his ki into the ground, the teenager kicks Terry in the face and Terry falls hard. Terry gets up to see sorrow in the boy’s eyes. Teenager: Look, I’m sorry. I’ve been looking for Iori for a week now. Have you seen him or not? Terry: I have, but can we talk somewhere a bit more private? Teenager: Sure. I want to hear what you have to say. Terry goes over to the bar and picks up a now unconscious Mary and walks out of the bar with the teenager. They head towards Terry’s apartment. (------) When they get there, Terry puts Mary on the couch. He tells the youth what little he knows of Iori. Terry introduces himself And Blue Mary. The youth in turn introduces himself as Ranma Saotome. Terry asks him why he’s searching for Iori. Ranma: Well, you see Iori is my cousin and… (Mary interrupts him). Mary: You mean a sweet kid like you is related to that homicidal maniac Iori!? Ranma: Yes, and you didn’t let me finish. I’m searching for him because he will help me gain a better understanding of my power. Terry: Power? Ranma (Looks at both of them and feels he can trust them): Observe. Ranma holds out his right hand and suddenly, it is engulfed in the purple flames of Orochi. Terry and Mary stare wide-eyed, not believing what they see before them. Mary is the first to break the silence. Mary: No Godd*mn way. You mean you’re a Hakkeshu? Ranma (A little reluctant): Yes. Mary: Great, just what we Godd*mn need. Another Godd*mn possible destroyer of the human race. (She looks up to see a visibly hurt Ranma). Ranma: Look, sorry I was born all right. (Ranma silently curses himself for thinking he could trust them. Even though he hates it, he is on the verge of crying). Mary (Shocked): I… I’m…sorry. I’ve had bad experiences with the Hakkeshu in the past. Specifically, one Ryuji Yamazaki. I didn’t mean to take that out on you. I’m sorry. Ranma (Wipes his face): Do you have anywhere I can clean up? Terry: Sure there’s a bathroom down the hall. You can use that if you want. Ranma: Thank you. (------) Mary feels awful about what she said to Ranma. She wants to say it was the booze, but she knows that’s no true. Terry tells her that the bathroom is out of towels and if she could please take some to him. She figures this is a first step. She goes to bring him a towel, only to find pig-tailed red haired girl in his place. Mary screams at the top of her lungs. Mary: TERRY, GET YOU ASS OVER HERE RIGHT NOW!!! Terry runs over to be greeted by the same sight Mary saw. This proceeds to get him pummeled by Mary. Mary: HOW COULD YOU CHEAT ON ME!? . Terry: I don’t know what this girl is doing here, honest! As Mary continues beating up on Terry, the red haired girl comes over to stop them. Red head: Stop it’s me, Ranma. Mary & Terry (Both are shocked): WHAT!!! This leads to an explanation from Ranma about the cursed springs of Jusenkyo. After he is done, Mary is once again the first one to break the silence. Mary: Bullsh*t. Ranma: It’s true. (Ranma pours some hot water on himself instant male martial artist). Mary and Terry just stand there wide eyed, with their jaws hanging to the floor. Terry: Incredible. Mary: Look at it this way. You get the best of both Worlds. Ranma: As you would put it Mary “Bullsh*t.” They have a good laugh with that until Mary remembers something. Mary: Ranma, I just remembered. I know how to get you information on Iori. Ranma (Happy): Really? Mary: Really. I’m a professional bounty hunter and have numerous contacts. Let me make a call and prepare for it, okay. Ranma: Sure. (------) An hour passes since Mary was on the phone. To pass the time, Ranma and Terry tell each other about their better adventures. Terry is amazed most of all by Ranma’s battle with Saffron, while Ranma is amazed by what Terry tells him about Orochi. Mary hangs up the phone and walks towards the two gabbing martial artists. Mary: I got good news and bad news Ranma. Ranma: What’s the good news? Mary: They’ll let you look at the information. Ranma: Than what’s wrong? Mary: You have to go there to view it. Ranma: Where is it? Mary: It’s held by a group of mercenaries. The Ikari Warriors. They are a militia that keeps the peace in Brazil and other parts of the world. You would have to go to their base there and be under constant surveillance at all times. Ranma: I don’t care. I have to find him. I don’t want to hurt anyone like before. Mary. Okay than. Your plane leaves tomorrow at 12 Noon. When you land a supervisor will be there to pick you up. She is Commander Leona. She is the second in command of the militia, she is trained to be an assassin, and she will be the one keeping you under surveillance. Please don’t do anything to piss her off, she’s very serious and a helluva fighter. A good way to do this is to stay away from cold water. We don’t want you confusing them. Ranma: Don’t worry; staying away from water is something I strive for every day. Mary and Terry can’t help but laugh at that comment. (------) Ranma’s plane takes off. He is on his first step towards his goal of finding Iori. Mary leans towards Terry’s ear and whispers a little something into Terry’s ear. We can suppose it is about Ranma. As they leave the Airport we hear Mary say under her breath “For a Hakkeshu your pretty human. Bye Ranma. I hope we meet again”. (------) End Chapter 3 Next time Ranma meets up with the Ikari warriors, learns a few interesting facts about his mysterious cousin Iori, and learn the secret of the group’s Commander Leona. To top it all off, Ranma makes a revelation about how he feels. (Believe it or not, Ranma has feeling just like you and me). Send your question and comments to either RedPriest17@aol.com or Ryutsurugi@yahoo.com Note: Flames will be read and than used to fuel the Orochi fire