Kind Angel's Thesis - 4Teineina Tenshi No Teze
Kind Angel's Thesis
A Ranma 1/2, Neon Genesis Evangelion Crossover.
Neon Genesis Evangelion and all character belongs to Gainax
Ranma 1/2 and all characters belong to Takahashi Rumiko
No copyright infringement is intended.
Thanks to my pre-readers:
Ben Aevan http://aevan.virtualave.net
Kevin D. Hammel http://www.anime.sobhrach.com/~khammel/
Isawa Kazeko tanzelax@reviewpe.com
Blood Blade http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Towers/5920
Please distribute this work unaltered and crediting the author.
dzillman@ozemail.com.au
http://www.ozemail.com.au/~dzillman/fire
What has gone before:
In the year 2000, Ranma was attacked by a demon summoned by Happosai. In an
attempt to save Akane, he travelled to the Antarctic to gain power of a heavenly
warrior Cologne told him about. Unfortunately, he died in the effort.
It is now 2015, and Ranma has been reborn and recruited as the Fourth Child for
NERV. This is because the First Child, Ayanami Rei, has gone missing. In some
unknown manner, Rei and Ranma share the same body, changing bodies and
controlling personalities in the same way that Ranma's curse always used to
work. With the defeat of the fifth Angel, everything looks set for some R&R.
(Story 4)
Ranma slumped to the ground and wiped his brow. Although the body he possessed
was male and looked like a duplicate of his pre-Antarctic self, it obviously was
not the body he was used to. Firstly it was fourteen years old, judging by size
and appearance. That might be nice since it gave him an even bigger head start
on martial arts than anyone else his age, but fourteen-year-olds just did not
have the musculature development of sixteen-year-olds. As much as he hated to
admit it, Ryoga had always been stronger than him. Now that he was only
fourteen, he felt as weak as a baby.
The whole problem of strength being linked to age and physical development
brought to light the other problem that was afflicting his body. Before he had
gone to the Antarctic, he had fitter than an Olympian tri-athlete, and in better
shape than most people dreamed possible. Now, the only exercise that his body
seemed to have done was the mandatory swimming and running at school. Rei was as
fit as a fourteen year old girl is expected to be under those circumstances, but
since their bodies' development was linked, her lack of heavy exercise had made
him entirely too average for his tastes.
That explained the regimen of fitness exercises that he had been doing for the
last two weeks. Aided by his excellent knowledge of the human body, Ranma
trained every day to exactly the point that was just the right side of doing
more harm than good. Every night he had gone to bed exhausted and had eaten like
there was no tomorrow. Only two weeks had not been enough to show sufficient
changes to satisfy him, but already his lungs were working better and he could
feel his endurance beginning to return. The fact that his teenage body was
coursing with huge quantities of natural growth hormone only added to the
results he was getting.
Since Shinji had defeated the Angel yesterday, Ranma had decided that today was
definitely a day for recovery. Doctor Akagi had dropped him home at around three
in the morning, and he had slept like a log until almost nine. When he had
awoken, Ranma had checked on Rei, but she was still sleeping. Assuming that she
would need the same sort of time that he needed to recover from the bio-feedback
induced by the Eva, Ranma had eaten his breakfast in silence.
It was four o'clock in the afternoon now, and Ranma was seriously beginning to
feel the effects of his training. Kata, jogging, and even some improvised weight
lifting were all par for the course. Give him a couple of months and he would be
back in fighting shape.
'Hey, Rei? Sorry about making us hurt so much when I'm finished. I guess you're
gunna have sore muscles when you take over again.'
*It will not affect my performance.*
Ranma nodded. Although Genma had only known a few simple massages, Dr Tofu had
taught Ranma an assortment of techniques that he used. Everything from easing
muscles soreness to speeding recovery had been in Dr Tofu's repertoire; while
Ranma had not learned everything the doctor knew, he was able to put some of
massages to good use everyday.
Ranma's planned conversation with Rei was cut short when he heard the sound of
footsteps approaching. Assuming that someone from NERV might want to find him,
he had left a note taped to the door of their apartment. There just was not
enough room to train properly in Rei's squalid little flat, but out the back of
the apartment block there was a moderately large clear space. Perfectly sized
for running, jumping and the sort of acrobatic exercises that Ranma favoured.
Turning around to face the path that his visitor was coming down, Ranma was
surprised to see his class rep. Things really were different in this year. He
could not even remember who his representative had been back in Furinkan. Even
the teachers had been different then. Not once had his current, boring teacher
tried to drain his Ki, or give him an obscene haircut. If it was not for the
giant robots, school these days would be seriously boring.
"Hey, Hikari!"
The class rep smiled and walked over to him. She had a bright, cheery face, with
a sincere smile that she managed to maintain under almost any condition. "Are
you all right, Ranma? When you didn't come to class today, and Shinji said that
you had been hurt by the Angel, I was really worried."
Ranma snorted and stretched, showing that all his limbs were in place and
functioning correctly. "Nah, I'm fine now. Even an Angel can't stop me. I just
wanted to take some time off, so I figured that this was as good as any."
Hikari's smile showed that it was not able to stay around all the time as it
gave way to a slight frown. "You mean you cut class? There wasn't anything wrong
with you?"
"Umm.... Well, no. I didn't exactly say that. Or maybe I did say it, but I
didn't mean it. What I mean was that Dr Akagi thought I should be in bed for
another couple of weeks, so I figured I deserved at least one day to recover."
"In bed?" Hikari looked closer and gasped. "Oh no! You're all flushed and
sweaty! If you've got a fever, you should have obeyed the doctor and stayed in
bed."
"Fever? Ha, ha! No, I'm just sweaty from exercise. Don't worry, I think the Eva
just probably gave me a bit of brain damage or something. Nothing to worry about
really."
Sighing with relief, Hikari leaned down and placed her school bag on the ground.
Suddenly she gave a start. Surely he could not have meant what he said about
brain damage... could he? Giving up on that thought she shuffled though her bag
and produced a handful of papers, holding them in front of her so that she could
read them. "I... I brought your homework for you. Do you want me to stay around
and help you with it? I told my mother that I would be late home, so it's OK..."
Pulling a face, Ranma waved her off. "Nah. I don't suppose you could just say
that you forgot to see me or something?"
*I would like to do the study.*
'Why? School's so boring!'
*Commander Ikari requires satisfactory progress at school.*
'And?...'
Ranma and Hikari's shoulders seemed to slump in defeat at the same time. Hikari
had wanted to be able to spend the evening with him, since together the homework
would surely take no longer than an hour. Ranma had been hoping that he could do
almost anything other than homework. However, if Rei wanted it, how could he
reject her? She was nice enough to let him take the time to do the training he
wanted so much, how could he refuse to do this for her?
Looking up again at the sad girl, Ranma tried to put some enthusiasm in his
voice. He tried; he did not succeed, but he did try. "Ahh, yeah, sure, Hikari.
You wanna come up while I have a shower? We can do it then."
Brightening immediately, Hikari nodded her head and followed him back into the
building. If she left after dinner and the homework, she should still be able to
get home before it was too dark. Walking behind Ranma, she admired how different
he seemed from most of the other boys at school. He might not have been as big
as Touji, but he was really cute.
When Ranma led her up several flights of stairs to get to the apartment, Hikari
started blushing furiously. His face was not the only cute thing about him, and
being several steps below him, she found it very hard to look at something that
would not cause highly improper thoughts. Even his back and arms were not safe,
since the sweat had made his thin shirt stick to him and outline his developing
muscles.
Once they were inside the apartment, Hikari was pleasantly surprised to see how
neat and tidy it was. When she had gone there almost two weeks ago, she had seen
a house that was not a home. It was dirty, and unkempt, with an assortment of
things sitting wherever they happened to have been placed, including a box full
of dirty bandages. The difference between now and then was easily noticeable.
Everything that was not bolted down seemed to have been thrown out or hidden
away. The floor had been mopped and it even looked as though there was food in
the kitchen.
Looking at Ranma, she caught a glimpse of his back as he took off his shirt and
tossed it into a washing basket. "This place is a bit small, so don't come down
the hall, there isn't really a proper bathroom or nothing."
"Un." Blushing furiously, Hikari turned and walked back into the small galley
kitchen. Talking quietly to herself, she tried to get a better idea of what sort
of boy Ranma was by the food that he kept.
"Rice.... More rice... Another bag of rice? What's the deal with all this rice?
At last! A few vegetables, and their all fresh too. I bet Ranma likes to do his
shopping every day just like I do."
As she took another look around the kitchen, she finally found the small
refrigerator tucked into one corner. Pulling it open she found a couple of cold
compresses in the freeze section and a small piece of meat. Picking up the meat,
she thought about what she could make with the vegetables that were here.
Perhaps a nice stir-fry? She would have enough that there should be leftovers
and he would not need to cook tomorrow.
"Ranma! I'm going to get started on dinner!"
The soft 'thank you' that came from the doorway brought her around with a start.
Covering her mouth in shock, Hikari stood eye to eye with Ayanami Rei. "Oh!
Ayanami. You gave me a bit of a shock. I wasn't expecting you to be here. Is...
Is Ranma still in the bath?"
"No."
Recovering from the shock, Hikari finally managed to place something that
confusing her. She had not heard the door open, but yet here was Ayanami, which
meant that she must have been in here the whole time. But where could the girl
have hidden in a place as small as this one? What was even stranger was the fact
that Ayanami was wearing her uniform, but she had not been at school today.
Taking a quick look past the pale girl, Hikari tried to see Ranma and ask if
they should make dinner for three. To her amazement, the room was empty. "I
thought you said that Ranma wasn't in the bath anymore."
Silence.
"Well? Didn't you say that?"
"I said that he was not in the bath."
Pushing past the girl, Hikari took a quick look down the corridor that held the
small bathroom. It was empty, the main room was empty, and so was the
kitchenette that she had just been in. He obviously was not here, but she had
not heard the front door opening. "I don't get it. Did he go out to get
something to drink for us and not tell me?"
"No."
Placing her hands on her hips, Hikari looked Ayanami squarely in the eyes.
"Ayanami-san. Where is Ranma? I thought we would be studying together."
"I do not know where Ranma is."
Fidgeting slightly as the two girls kept their eyes locked, Hikari gestured back
at the food. "But what about dinner and studying? I thought I was going to have
dinner with him."
"I shall make dinner. I shall study the homework."
"But... But... Where's Ranma?"
"You already asked that."
With that, Rei turned back to the kitchen and put away the meat into the fridge.
Taking out a knife, she began to slowly and precisely cut the vegetables into
exact pieces. Still in the main room, Hikari wiped her brow and sat down on the
bed. Having a conversation with Ayanami was very intense. Even without trying,
the girl presented an unbreachable front of indifference. Thinking of whose bed
she was on, Hikari popped to her feet.
"Hey, Ayanami. Did you come over here for dinner with Ranma?"
"No."
"So does that mean that you still live here with Ranma?"
"Not together."
The pleasant smells of frying vegetables and the sound of bubbling rice took her
attention back to the food. Ayanami might move slower than she did, but every
action seemed to be done with the same considered thought that she gave her
speech. By the looks of things, Ayanami would be able to take rice and stir-fry
off at precisely the same time. With a note of respect in her voice, Hikari
congratulated her. "Mmm, that smells good. Where did you learn to cook?"
"Ranma told me what to do."
"Oh... Are... Are you two going out with each other? Ranma said that the two of
you didn't live together."
"We are never together. I have not been told to have a relationship with
anyone."
"Oh." Despite the clinical sound of Ayanami's description, it somehow relieved
Hikari that Ranma was still available.
While Ayanami pulled the meal for four off the stove and divided it up, Hikari
continued to question her on Ranma's activities. She always drew the same terse,
sometimes cryptic responses to her queries. She was happy that Ayanami did not
seem to have any romantic intentions to Ranma, but it still disturbed her that
the two lived together. When she saw how unevenly the two plates were filled,
she was worried that she may have insulted Ayanami some way in the questioning.
After a moment, Hikari realised that she had received a completely normal
serving, it was just that Rei had filled her plate with the remaining three
servings.
"Wow! You sure eat a lot! How do you keep that thin?"
"Ranma insists that I eat this. My body will not grow without sufficient food."
Mimicking a bloated body, Hikari puffed out her cheeks and then laughed. "I know
how I'd grow if I ate that much."
Rei did not so much as bat an eyelid her joke. She just kept methodically
scooping rice and vegetables into her mouth and eating them. After a few
moments, Rei drew forth the homework assignment and placed it on the bed between
them. Since there was no room for a table, they had been sitting on the bed to
eat. Apparently they would also do their study there.
Studying with Ayanami was an interesting experience for Hikari. She was just as
quiet as ever, but it finally seemed normal. This might have actually been the
first time that Hikari had been to a study session with one of her classmates
and actually spent the time studying. Maybe that actually meant that Ayanami's
silence was not normal.
By the time she left at around seven in the evening, Hikari had a new respect
for Ayanami. The girl never seemed to be at a loss of the answer. Sometimes she
would go through an entire problem and make a number of mistakes then, after
just a few moment's thought, she would go back and correct all of her errors. It
was strange to watch, almost as though there was a third person studying with
them that had done all the work before. An invisible tutor watching over them.
Walking out the door, Hikari gave Ayanami a genuine smile and wished her a good
night. Just as the door was shutting, she turned back. "Um... Will you and Ranma
be at school tomorrow?"
"No. I will be there tomorrow. Ranma will not be there until the day after."
"Oh... Well, if you see him, tell him I said hello, and that I'm sorry he
couldn't have studied with us."
"I will not see him."
Waving her hand as she scooted down the corridor, Hikari brushed off the
comment. "Well, thanks anyway. I guess it was... nice... having dinner with you
tonight, Ayanami."
Two people watched through one set of eyes as Hikari left down the corridor.
Their thoughts were silent as Ayanami Rei walked back into the room and began to
clean the dishes. *You've got to learn to open up to people more, Rei."
'Why?'
*I dunno, so people will like you, I guess. So they'll help you when you need
it. So you can be friends.*
'I do not understand.'
*All right, look at it this way: did it take you any more work to make extra
food for Hikari?*
'I must clean an additional plate.'
*See, so you got to do something nice for her, and it didn't really cost you
anything. I just think you should be nicer or something. Call her Hikari-chan
like all the other girls do.*
'Why?'
*Well, girls always call each other by their first names and stuff when they're
friends. It's just being nice.*
'Sometimes Dr Akagi calls me "Rei-chan". Does she want to be my friend?'
*Adults do that sometimes. I think it's just because she's older than us.*
'I have not been told to be Class Representative Horaki's friend.'
*Have you been told not to?*
'No...'
* * *
As Ranma walked into the classroom and sat down at the desk, he decided that
there were aspects to this life he had not appreciated fully before. Like school
and Rei. Ever since Rei had gone to school yesterday, Ranma had found a deep and
abiding love for both Rei and school.
Ranma loving school? It seemed almost impossible to believe. Ranma certainly
would not have believed anyone if they had told him, but now he understood just
how good going to school with Rei could be. With Rei being the one in control of
the body, he had been able to relax and go to sleep. What could be better than
that? He could spend the entire day sleeping, and the notes would be taken, and
he would never get blackboard erasers thrown at him.
Another reason that he loved the arrangement so much was the fact that Rei
actually wanted to go to school. He could not understand it, but she did.
Knowing Rei, it was because Commander Ikari had said that she should go to
school. Naturally it followed that Rei would take those words as gospel and
would go to school whenever it did not interfere with her job piloting an
Evangelion. Since they were trying to divide time evenly between them, and Rei
wanted to go to school, it meant that he would have lots of spare time built up
each day.
Something that Ranma had noticed last night was the fact that the human mind
needs sleep more than the body does. He knew from some of the ridiculously long
training sessions his father had organised in the past that he would start to
feel really strange after just a day or so without sleep. He would become
woolly-headed, as though his brain had been stuffed with tissues. Thinking would
become difficult and his reflexes would lapse.
All this had become apparent when Rei had relinquished the body to him after
school. Since he had just slept for eight hours straight, he was bright and
awake. So, while Rei had slept through the night, Ranma had gone out and
trained, pushing his strengthening body to its limits. As morning rolled around,
Ranma spent an hour in meditation, resting the body as well as hours of sleep
could. Food and a bath were all that was needed before he came to school for
another nap today. Simply sitting around in school would provide the rest that
his muscles needed for growth.
As the teacher started speaking - the same lecture on Second Impact as yesterday
- Ranma looked out the window and concentrated on speaking to Rei.
'So, Rei, I bet you're wonderin' why I wanted to go to school today.' Ranma
asked in a cocky tone.
*No.*
For a moment, Ranma was worried. Did she already know what he had planned? 'Oh?
Why do you reckon I came?'
*Dr Akagi ordered you to come.*
'Umm... What does that have to do with it?'
The silence meant that Rei was as stumped by his response as he was by hers.
Just because Dr Akagi ordered him to do something was hardly a reason for him to
do it. Heck, if you followed that reasoning, he might as well wear a school
uniform while he was at it. Glancing at the teacher for a moment, Ranma verified
that the man was talking about geometry. Sure that he would never need to know
about angles and lines and things like that, Ranma went back to looking out the
window. If Rei needed to think about the answer, this could take a while.
Time passed, and eventually Ranma felt Rei tentatively offering up a suggestion.
*Dr Akagi did order you to attend school.*
'Yep.'
*And you have been told by Commander Ikari to obey Dr Akagi's orders.*
'Yep.'
*Therefore you must be here in accordance with Dr Akagi's orders to attend
school.*
'Nope.' Ranma sounded smug. He was obviously taking great joy in confusing his
alternate personality.
Rei hesitated, pausing for a longer period than would be considered normal, even
for her. *I do not understand.*
'All right, try this: Dr Akagi ordered me to read that book of emergency stuff
for NERV, didn't she?'
*That is correct.*
'But I haven't read that.'
*But, Dr Akagi ordered you to read it... I assumed that you must have read it
while I was asleep. Your reading that book was a mission requirement. You must
have read it.*
Ranma brushed that aside. 'I didn't wanna read it, so I didn't. I don't wanna
come to school, but I did. Come on Rei, I know your pretty smart, you can figure
it out.'
Rei paused again. They would be into the lunch recess soon. *You... You have
decided to obey Dr Akagi and will read 'Emergency Procedures Manual 07-41,
Pilot's Briefing' as soon as school is over?*
In the near silence of the room, the teacher's yell was enough to reach even
Ranma. "Saotome! Stop banging you head against the table or go outside!"
Glaring down at his bright red computer, Ranma thought strongly at Rei as he
brought up a mail program Hikari had told him about. 'Listen, Rei. Just 'cause
someone tells you to do something, don't mean it's the right thing to do. You
gotta do things 'cause you believe in 'em. You gotta do what's right. And for
me, school ain't right. I been here before, and I gunna be with you when you
come. You don't have to always obey orders, Rei.'
Ranma typed out his mail and sent it to Shinji. "Shinji. I is the other pilot.
Since you is the best fighter, I want to see how good you really are. Out back
of school, during lunch."
Ranma received Shinji's confused reply, waved to the teacher at the start of
lunch, and wandered out the back of the school. He was watching Shinji walk up
when Rei finally spoke in a timid and slightly frightened voice. *I do not have
to obey all the orders I am given?*
'Of course not! What gave you that idea?'
*Commander Ikari.*
"So, Shinji. I hear you're the pilot of Unit-01 and you're the best fighter
there is. Well I'm Saotome Ranma of the Anything Goes School Of Martial Arts,
and I'm gunna prove I'm better than you!"
Dropping into his relaxed stance, Ranma hardly looked more ready to fight than
he had been moments before, but within his finely balanced body, the difference
was enormous. Now he was carefully poised on the balls of his feet, each muscle
singing its readiness back to him. Preternatural awareness of each and ever gram
of his being forged his young body into a single, complete weapon at the control
of his mind. With computer like swiftness, he read a subtle move in Shinji's
stance, studying every possible implication.
"Ahh, Ranma... That's great... um..."
Sweat began to bead on Ranma's head. Part of his introduction was just bluff. He
knew he was good, but this would be his first serious fight in this body. It was
years younger and much smaller than what he was used to. True, he had been
training almost non-stop since his re- awakening, but he would still be at a
disadvantage against Shinji who was used to this body because it had grown with
him his entire life.
"I guess if you want to pilot the Evangelions, you have to do what you can. I'd
have thought after your first try, you would have learnt your lesson, but...
well... I'll teach you what I can."
Fear was not a normal feeling for Ranma, but this fight did worry him. Shinji
was considered the best of the best. He was the fighter that everyone looked to
when it came to defeating the Angels. He was the one that everyone measured
performance and ability against, the only person to ever defeat an Angel in hand
to hand combat. Not only that, but Shinji had already defeated two of them. That
sort of adulation and combat ability could not come about without the fighting
skills that went with it. No-one could possibly defeat warriors like Cologne had
described without being serious in the art.
Looking at Shinji now, Ranma felt he was justified in his fear. Ranma's stance
was designed to hide his true competence from his opponents, but Shinji's was a
masterwork. If Ranma did not know better, he would have sworn that Shinji was
completely untrained, that his shirt and pants hid none of the muscles that a
martial artist develops. With a slow, careful movement, Ranma slid his left foot
forwards two inches, and evaluated Shinji's response.
Fear was a part of every fight: fear you might loose, fear that your reputation
would be tarnished, even the simple fear that you would not perform to your
best. When Ranma saw the shy smile that Shinji offered in response to his
obviously offensive move, Ranma felt a cold chill run down his back. So
confident! He must think that he can wipe the floor with me!
*Ranma, do you intend to---*
'Not now, Rei! I need to concentrate! Shinji's damn good, I can't read his
stance at all!'
Breathing regularly, Ranma fuelled his body with oxygen, careful not to take a
single, telling breath before he struck. Despite the unusual worry, Ranma
decided to take his chances and make the first strike. It would be better to
take a quick fall to Shinji and get him moving, force NERV's master fighter to
reveal his true capabilities. Without a movement's warning, without a shouted
give-away, Ranma struck. It was a single, direct punch to the face. Certain that
Shinji would be able to dodge, block and counter it, Ranma was already moving to
the side, preparing to scimitar his feet across the other boy's body.
The last thing he was prepared for was to see Shinji fly backwards, flailing
madly. By the time Ranma stopped his abortive follow-up strike, Shinji was on
the ground, holding his chin, and looking at Ranma with accusing eyes.
"You hit me!"
Ranma was nonplussed. "Of course I hit you. I challenged you! Why else do you
think we're here?"
"Challenged me? But I can't fight! I thought you wanted to know about piloting!"
*Ikari-kun is correct. His personal data file contained no history of fighting
experience.*
"You... You don't know martial arts?"
"No! Why would I know martial arts? I'm not even fifteen!"
That confused Ranma even more. "What's that got to do with it? I was training
before I could walk! Why the hell did they make you a pilot of a thing like Eva
if you can't fight?"
Disgustedly, Shinji shrugged his shoulders and looked up at Ranma. "I don't know
why they do anything around here. All I know is that they were going to put Rei
back in there if I didn't go... After that?... I guess no-one told me to
stop..."
"No-one told you to stop? What is it with you people? Where's your backbone?
Don't either of you do anything without being told to?"
Shinji looked away for a while. When he spoke, he still did not look up at
Ranma. "Do you want to hit me again, or can I go now?"
Walking forwards to help him to his feet, Ranma felt awful when he saw the way
Shinji flinched at his approach. "I'm sorry, Shinji. Really. I thought, you
know, they wanted martial artists like me to pilot them things. I just... I just
wanted to fight the best. To be the best."
Reluctantly taking the hand, Shinji stood then and brushed off his pants. For
the life of him, he could not understand why people seemed to take so much
pleasure in knocking him to the ground. First Touji, then Ranma. Maybe this
would mean that they would be friends too, someday.
As Shinji headed back into the school, Ranma watched him go. When the smaller
boy was almost in the doorway, Ranma called out to him again. "Hey, Shinji! One
more thing. Stay away from Rei, you got that? I saw the way you looked at her
and all the other day. Don't think you can go getting all kissy with her and
stuff."
Shuddering with the thought of kissing Shinji, combined with the way he felt he
had just made a complete fool of himself by challenging a non- combatant, Ranma
looked for a bench and sat heavily.
Looking up at the sky, Ranma idly asked his ever-present advisor the
all-important question. 'Where did I go wrong, Rei? It all seemed so simple.'
*Evidence suggests it was when you went to Antarctica.*
Ranma snorted. 'Was that a joke?... No, I guess not. I mean where did I go wrong
here? Shinji was supposed to be the best, but he doesn't even fight. And you...
I kinda figured you must have been really fast or something, like I was in my
girl form, don't have to be as strong then...'
Rei was quiet for a while. *You were not ordered to attack Ikari-kun. If you had
waited for that order, this would not have occurred.*
Groaning as he climbed to his feet again, Ranma shook his head. 'Don't get me
started on that again, Rei.'
* * *
There were many reasons that Fuyutsuki Kouzou was the second in command at NERV.
Most importantly was his unswerving loyalty to the man who was once his student,
Ikari Gendo, as well as a commitment to very precepts and objectives of the
massive semi-governmental organisation. These attributes alone would not be
sufficient to gain him such a vaulted position; there were plenty of sycophants
fully capable of fitting that bill.
The all-important requirements that were married inextricably with Fuyutsuki's
loyalty were his astounding memory and his great intelligence. While the
venerable Dr Akagi had been instrumental in the construction of the Magi,
Fuyutsuki's intelligence had been one of the leaders in the efforts to create
the Evangelion and unlock the secrets of Adam.
Since the heady days of scientific discovery and the glory of building the only
weapons capable of saving mankind, Fuyutsuki had moved into a more
administrative role. He still worked with the designers in NERV's second and
third facilities in other countries, but these days he seemed to find himself
spending more and more time aiding Gendo in the purely day-to-day task of the
operation and maintenance of the Evangelions. But even in this field, with Dr
Akagi having completed the work on the Magi, he was reducing his workload. The
burden of running an organisation the size of NERV just did not leave sufficient
time to partake of the more pleasurable pursuits of research and development.
For this reason, it was little or no surprise to find the tall, lean man
reclining in his office chair and re-reading the files of NERV's pilots. When Dr
Akagi had given him the Saotome boy's file the first time, something had struck
him as odd. Not the least was the surprisingly high level of synchronisation.
While no pressure had been brought to bear on the boy about where he had
previously trained in an Eva, a suspected security gap had been found in the
Second Branch in America. Saotome was too valuable as a backup pilot to risk
interrogating, but that did not stop the new American head of security from have
a few informal 'chats' with some of his staff.
Fuyutsuki was not even particularly worried about the Saotome boy's lack of
personal history. After Second Impact, with the majority of the world's
population now dead, record keeping became understandably lax. Even to this day
- fifteen years later - rescue teams were still finding isolated families that
had retreated into the mountains and become used to their new life. The were
many others out there that simply had avoided being caught up in the modern
system; even a city like Tokyo-3 had many places that cash was the accepted
currency, allowing thousands or millions of residents to exist without notice by
authorities.
NERV's security was trying to do a detailed mock-up of the boy's history, but
that was destined to take quite a while. Without revealing themselves to
Saotome, it would take a lot of leg work to try and trace back his path from
before the time that Dr Akagi had tested him as a potential Evangelion pilot.
Setting out the four file folders in front of him, Fuyutsuki sighed and massaged
his temples. Rei, Asuka, Shinji, Ranma. Where did this one boy differ from the
rest of them? True, he had not been raised under the - often subtle -
observation of NERV and SEELE. True, he had been found at an ordinary junior
high school, but they had found several other possibilities in other schools
around the world.
His eyes were blindly scanning over the information of the file covers when
something caught his eye. He had been about to give up and go to bed, when he
stopped. Closing his eyes he inhaled deeply and gripped the edge of the table.
It was there, in front of him somewhere. Somewhere, on those pages was the clue
that he had been searching for. Some opening to Saotome, so indication of
greater depth. Now that he knew he was on the right track, he would stay here
all night if he needed to.
Opening his eyes, he looked down through Rei's statistics. Shifting slightly, he
repeated it for Asuka and Shinji. His mind was gripping those pieces of
information, holding tight like a steel spring trap. When he finally moved on to
Ranma's file, he mentally compared each and every entry with the others, seeking
some mysterious connection.
It did not take him long to see it, the connection between Saotome and Ayanami
was on the third line. How he, and everyone else, had missed it so many times
was beyond comprehension, but now he had the facts: Ayanami Rei and Saotome
Ranma were living together.
Relaxing in his chair again, Fuyutsuki studied the ceiling. He had the
information, but what did it mean? Nothing, nothing at all. Surely it was a
strange coincidence that they were living together, but not impossible.
Different sexes, both of legal age, there should not be any real problem...
other than the fact that it stretched coincidence to breaking point, and the
fact that Ayanami was one of the people involved.
Fuyutsuki looked down at his watched and wondered what was the best way to
proceed with this. 00:45, a quarter to one in the morning. Any sane person -
certainly a pair of teenagers - would be sound asleep at this time of day, so
there was no point in confronting the pilots directly. Standing and pushing his
seat under the table, Fuyutsuki lamented that almost half the nights of the
week, even he would leave work early enough to be in bed by midnight. Gathering
the two files, Fuyutsuki walked out the office door with a solid gait, heading
deeper into the massive NERV complex.
Many people considered Fuyutsuki Kouzou a mystery man, but he had nothing on his
boss, Ikari Gendo. Once again, the tall, retired professor was able to take
advantage of another of his superior's idiosyncrasies. Knocking once on the door
to the man's office, Fuyutsuki strode straight in to see Gendo seated at his
desk, hands clasped in front of his chin. Any time of the day, Gendo seemed to
be at work. He would be moving around during the day, organising this or running
that, but even at night he was always on duty. Which was perfect if you found
something at a quarter to one in the morning and needed some immediate
attention.
"Come in, I was just about to contact you. Have you found out anything else
about Saotome?"
Of course, there was the associated problem that Gendo still expected all of his
key staff to work as hard as he did.
Giving a tired smile, Fuyutsuki walked across the massive room and set down the
two files so that Gendo could see them. "Actually, I have and I wanted to get
you input before I took it any further."
The man hardly moved, But Fuyutsuki could see him eyeing the folders looking for
the elusive evidence that had tickled at the edge of so many people's attention.
Before Gendo could see it himself and steal Fuyutsuki's joy of revealing it, the
tall man leaned over the desk and placed on long finger above the address on
each file. "It would seem that young Saotome has managed to catch Ayanami's
eye."
"I find that hard to believe. Ayanami has not been programmed to have those sort
of responses."
"No matter how we have raised her, she is still a human being... almost. Is it
too difficult to imagine that she has succumb to the boy's charms?"
"Yes. Rei was specifically brought up to be immune to that. By this stage, she
should be no more capable of an emotional attachment to someone than a rock is.
We do not have to be concerned about them being emotionally involved."
Fuyutsuki was surprised at that. He knew that Gendo was a cold man - everyone at
NERV knew that - but he expected some more interest about Rei. The way that
Gendo treated her sometimes almost reached the same level of affection that a
normal person would give to a dog. Maybe it was actually Gendo that was no
longer capable of forming emotional attachments.
"And you're not concerned about the fact that security did not notice the fact
that they are living together?"
"I know the security procedure. They simply checked that the address Saotome
provided was considered safe. Ayanami's is the only one in that building that
would pass, but since that was the address he gave, it passes the computer test
too. The fact that our security staff is not competent to notice this sort of
thing no longer comes as a surprise."
Fuyutsuki stifled a small laugh. The list of securities failing just kept
getting longer, but they never seemed to add to their successes. Shinji went
missing, Rei went missing, Ranma went missing, and none of them were stopped by
security. It had become a running joke that someone could steal the complete
Geo-Front and the only time Security would notice was when they could not find
the juice machines.
"Do you think that we should alert security to this and get them to fix their
procedures?"
"Why bother?"
"Why?... I don't understand. Why wouldn't we?"
"With four pilots, we do not need any new ones in the schedule prior to the last
Angel, so there is no point in fixing it."
"But what about after the Angels are defeated, NERV will..." Fuyutsuki trailed
off, blushing slightly. "Sorry, I get so used to talking with other people, it
is difficult to remember the truth some times."
Gendo nodded, fluorescent lights glinting whitely across his glasses. "You are
also tired. Go home and get some sleep. Don't come in until at least seven
tomorrow. You deserve the extra rest."
He nodded relived. "What about you? Are you going to get any rest tonight?"
"I have to finish preparing for the Jet Alone demonstration. We will be using
their failure to cause the Germans to release Evangelion Unit-02 to us; Soryuu
too, if we can get her. They have not yet understood that everything hinges upon
Tokyo-3 and its defence."
"Hmmm. Are we still using the hydraulic leak? Make the J.A. robot collapse in
the assembly tower?"
"No. That has been... modified in view of our increased costs of operations. It
has been decided that NERV will need to acquire the funding that had been
channelled to Jet Alone. Something more... spectacular... will be needed to
completely discredit the J.A. research."
Fuyutsuki nodded. It was a shame that Jet Alone would be made to look like
fools, but in the pursuit of the defeat of the Angels and the Human
Instrumentality Project, some sacrifices would need to be made. Suddenly, his
thoughts and Gendo's words about being spectacular connected in his mind and
made sense. The professor opened his mouth to query Gendo for a few more details
on what "tragic accident" would now befall Jet Alone, but a look at the set
features on his superior's face convinced him otherwise. Fuyutsuki believed in
the Evangelions and everything they stood for, but he was not entirely at ease
with the means that were required to operate NERV.
"I... I think I shall go home now."
Gendo nodded once and was reading another document before Fuyutsuki was even out
the door.
* * *
Ranma was walking out of the school gate as the day ended, bemoaning himself for
being an idiot. It had been a complete waste of a day, and nothing had gone
right. The whole reason for coming to school was to fight NERV's master martial
artist, and look at what a fighter Shinji had turned out to be. Bad enough that
he had come to school at all, but Class Rep Hikari had kept waking him up every
time that he had fallen asleep. If that was not sufficient to make school
annoying, Rei had insisted that he watch the blackboard rather than stare out
the window, because she wanted to see what was going on.
To himself, Ranma kept wondering why he had challenged Shinji. Martial artists
are supposed to protect the weak, and now he realised that Shinji certainly fit
into the 'weak' category. He could hardly turn to Rei for sympathy on the
subject, which meant that he continued his self recriminations. Beating up
fourteen-year-old school kids. What would be next for the great Saotome Ranma,
Master of Anything Goes Martial Arts? Hitting girls in anger?
"Oi! New kid! I'm talkin' to you!"
Outside the gates, Ranma turned around and looked for the voice that had called
for him. Looking up, Ranma recognised one of the kids from his and Rei's class.
Ranma did not know his name, so he just stood there casually, waiting for the
bigger boy to introduce himself.
"You're the one who beat up Shinji. Well, I don't like it when new kids like you
figure they can just come in and start picking on people."
Despite the fact that he was smaller than the boy yelling at him, Ranma was not
too concerned. The boy simply did not hold himself like a martial artist, a
fighter maybe, but not a martial artist. Looking past him, Ranma spotted Shinji
and another of his friends running up. The spotty faced one... short, with
glasses. Ranma looked at the track suit wearing boy who was glaring at him, and
he smiled.
"Ahh, I remember! You're Kensuke, aren't you? Shinji mentioned you."
Pounding his fist into his palm, the bigger boy drew his brows together and
tried to put on a menacing sneer. "I'm Touji. _He's_ Kensuke. And I'm the one
that gunna teach you a lesson!"
Touji started to advance, but before he got too far, Kensuke grabbed his arm and
tried to hold him back, despite being significantly smaller. "Come on, Touji.
Shinji said it was an accident. You don't have to go around hitting everyone
that crosses you."
Simultaneously, Touji and Ranma looked at Kensuke. "You don't?"
Just to confuse Ranma even more, Kensuke's, Shinji's and Rei's replies all came
at the same time. "No!" Shaking his head to try and lift the strange sensation
of hearing exactly the same words inside and outside his brain, Ranma was just
in time to see Touji push his friend back into Shinji and shaped up in front of
Ranma.
"All right, new kid. If you figure you're so tough you gotta beat up Shinji, I'm
gunna set you down!" With an energetic grunt, Touji swung a fist at Ranma's head
in a broad hook that he could read a mile away. Stepping backwards, Ranma let
Touji follow up with another two wild sweeps.
"Hey! Shinji! Tell him I didn't mean nothin'! I only wanted to fight you 'cause
I thought you'd be a challenge and all."
That just enraged Touji more, goading him into another set of swings. "Ahhh! And
you're sayin' I ain't a challenge? Just for that, I'm gunna take you apart!"
Giving another yell, the big boy charged forward, trying to grapple Ranma and
take advantage of his obvious size advantage. With two lazy steps sideways,
Ranma was out of his path and out of reach. Ranma still had not even taken a
fighting stance, he was just loosely standing around, eyes carefully tracking
everyone's positions.
*Why are you not fighting this boy? You hit Ikari-kun.*
'Well, I only did that when I thought that he was something pretty hot. This
guy... he's just a brawler. He's got strength and size, but that's it. No style
or nothing. I can't fight someone like that.'
As Ranma ducked down and rolled backwards under another pair of punches to his
face, Rei continued to speak unperturbed, with only the slightest hesitation
occurring as the world revolved around them. *Should you tell him that? He is
not stopping.*
'You know, Rei, that's a good idea.'
As Ranma opened his mouth to say something - no doubt tactless - about why he
was not fighting, Shinji spoke up from the sidelines. "Touji! Stop! There's no
need. Besides, Ranma said that he was a martial artist or something. Just give
it up."
Standing still, but weaving his torso around the blows coming his way, Ranma
agreed. "He's right. You ain't gunna hit me, so there's no point in even tryin'.
You just ain't good enough. Heck, I ain't met anyone here at all that's even in
my league."
"Even in your league?!... Why I ought to..." Another failed grab for martial
artist left Ranma next to one of the concrete pillars at the school's gate. A
quick look at it confirmed that it was only a couple of meters high, which was
not quite what he wanted for his demonstration, but it would have to do.
A single Ki assisted jump lifted him to twice the pillar's height, and almost
directly above it. With the grace of a gymnast, Ranma held himself at the peak
of the jump for a moment, legs together, arms spread out from his body as he
executed a perfect twist and roll. Face down, he began to drop to ground, fists
by his side as he called out one of his most tried and trusted attacks.
"Kachuu Tenshin Amaguriken!"
For a short fraction of a second, Ranma's arms blurred, striking out at the
reinforced concrete. Repeated blows - as hard as he could manage in his weak
fourteen year-old body - struck the pillar, first cracking, then shattering the
sturdy material. At the last instant, Ranma tucked his body in and brought his
feet down for a perfect landing.
Fully aware of the effect that his blows had, Ranma did not deign to look at his
handiwork. He simply faced the three boys with a smirk on his face, desperately
trying to hide the heaving of his chest as he sucked in gulps of air.
'Damn. That took more out of me than I thought! There's no way I could beat
Ryoga or anyone like this.' A rush of dizziness hit him as his oxygen depleted
blood circulated. 'Whoa, I gotta sit down before I fall down.'
Rei was silent for a moment, and no-one else was moving or saying anything, all
too mesmerised by the sight that Rei could not see. The was a sound of shifting
rock and falling dust, and Ranma smirked as he envisaged the last of the
pillar's peak crumbling away to fall at the ground behind him.
*What did you do? I could not see it properly.*
'Tell you in a minute, Rei.'
"That, gentleman, was the least of my special attacks. When you figure you can
beat that, then come see me for a challenge."
Ranma smirked as he poked a finger at Touji and walked off in the stunned
silence. His knees were weak, and he wanted nothing more than to collapse to the
ground and lie panting, but that would ruin the effect that he was looking for.
Of course, that did not stop him from turning into the first alley that he found
and leaning against the wall as he sucked in as much air as he could. Holding
his hands in front of him, Ranma watched as they trembled like a old man with
rheumatism.
*You are unwell. We should report to NERV's medical facility to ensure that we
will be available when we are needed.*
'I ain't sick, I'm just tired. I forgot just how much that takes out of you.
When I first learnt it, I could only do it a couple of times before I was
exhausted. Now... Now I'm not even in shape, and I'm so much smaller... God I
feel so pathetic.'
*What did you do?*
His breathing was somewhat under control, so Ranma shakily began to head off. It
would not serve his purposes if Shinji and his friends found him here. 'It's
this super fast punching technique I learned when I was... You know, before. I
just hit the block as hard as I could until it shattered.'
Rei waited several streets before she replied. Even then, she sounded tentative
and uncertain. *You feel weak because you can shatter solid concrete?*
'I feel pathetic because there shouldn't have been anything left. Anyone could
have done it.'
This time when she spoke inside his head, Rei almost seemed contrite. Worried or
flustered slightly, perhaps. *Am I pathetic? I cannot shatter stone with my
hands.*
Damn, Ranma thought. Now I gone and insulted her. Rei's always so nice and quiet
and, well, she listens to me. Sort of like Kasumi, except she can't cook. And
doesn't clean. And she argues with me. And those red eyes of hers...
Looking into a store window, Ranma caught his own reflection, and stared at
himself so that Rei could see the serious expression on his face. 'Rei, you
ain't pathetic. You ain't a martial artist, I am. It's different for me.'
*Should I be a martial artist?*
'You gotta be what you wanna be. If you wanna be a martial artist, I'll help
train you if you want. If you wanna be a... I don't know... Well, whatever you
wanna be: that's what you gotta be good at.'
At Ranma's pace it took them over half an hour to get home. They had been silent
the whole way, Ranma concentrating on the scenery, Rei thinking thoughts that
would forever remain a mystery to the world. As Ranma pushed open the door and
toed off his shoes, Rei spoke once more.
*I do not know what I wish to do.*
Splashing cold water over himself in the bathroom, Ranma relinquished control to
Rei for the evening. Their form shrank, and hair changed from black to pale
blue. Their hips widened, while the chest and shoulders shrank. Somewhere in the
middle of this rapid physical shift, the dominant personality changed too. Now
Ranma was simply the observer and Rei was the master of the body. Even without
the change in appearance, a stranger would have been able to tell that a
different person was now in charge. The way she held herself, the way she
walked. In many subtle ways, Rei unconsciously showed that she was a separate
person from Ranma.
From within the mind, Ranma now spoke. *When you decide, you tell me, Rei. Then
we'll see what we can do to make you the best, OK?*
'I understand.'
Shucking the Chinese clothes that Ranma wore, Rei took a quick shower and got
dressed. As she reclined on the bed and looked at their cracked ceiling, Rei
reflected on clothes she now wore.
'Why do I wear a school uniform all of the time?'
* * *
Doctor Akagi Ritsuko took a slow sip from her coffee mug and smiled. It was her
favourite cup - the one with the cats on it - but that was not why she smiled.
She smiled because of the coffee. Rather than NERV's usual swill, this was made
from her own supply, and it was almost hot enough to melt through the ceramic
armour on an Eva. Looking at her school friend through the steam rising through
the cup she continued her story.
"After that, I just dropped him home. It was fairly obvious he did not want to
tell me what he was up to."
Misato placed a hand over her eyes and shook her head. "I can't believe he said
something that stupid. Didn't he realise that you would have seen through it
immediately?"
"Apparently not. I think Ranma's problem is that he's too honest. Maybe he
doesn't get out enough, but it was pretty clear that he couldn't lie to save his
life. The whole time he kept scratching the back of his head and laughing for no
reason. He should take a few lessons from Commander Ikari."
That brought out a laugh. The image of Ranma sitting serenely behind a desk with
an emotionless face while ordering people to do strange and dangerous things was
just too hard to picture with a straight face. "Or maybe Kaji. He was always
good at lying when it suited him."
Ritsuko frowned. "Hey, that's a bit harsh..."
Misato turned away from her friend and there was quiet for a few moments before
she returned to their original topic. "So if Ranma-kun did not tell you where he
went, and you did not want to question him directly about it, do you have any
ideas?"
"Me? I thought you were the one that was supposed to be good with children.
After all, you've got Shinji living with you. I just have a cat."
"That doesn't mean that you couldn't have any ideas where Ranma and Rei have
disappeared to. It's just not like Rei to run off without telling anyone.
Ranma... I don't know... There's something a bit strange about him."
Luxuriating in another sip of the fine coffee, Ritsuko looked at Misato through
eyes half-lidded in pleasure. "Thinking about it, that's a pretty funny
statement. There's something a bit strange about all of the pilots. I hardly
think that Ranma is any stranger than Shinji, or even Asuka."
"Hey, Shin-chan's had a hard time. How would you feel if Commander Ikari was
your father?" For some reason Ritsuko went bright red at that question but
Misato ploughed on without asking why. "And Asuka... We both know what happened
to Asuka... Poor girl."
"Is there any reason to suspect that maybe Ranma has not had a hard childhood
too? You know as well as I do that the security check has failed to turn up
anything yet, and time is ticking away quickly. Maybe we should have a talk to
him; try to build up a dossier for them."
Misato snorted and ran a hand through her hair. "And it's not as though we would
need a polygraph to tell if he was lying... Actually, that might not be a bad
idea. I know that Commander Ikari does not want us to put any undue pressure on
the Children, but I think this might be a good idea. If what you're suggesting
is correct, then Ranma might have had some traumatic experience in his past.
That might be some of the correlation we're looking for in the pilots."
Ritsuko shook her head and spoke confidently. "No. Childhood trauma has nothing
to do with making pilots."
"You seem awfully sure of yourself."
"I..."
"Yes?"
"I... I have to go now. I'm supposed to introduce Ranma to our security team. He
wants to practice martial arts with them. I'll see you later."
Before Ritsuko could pass her, Misato extended her arm and blocked the doorway.
"You know something, don't you? You know exactly what it takes to make an Eva
pilot... Why haven't I been told?"
"No... Not exactly. And remember, Captain Katsuragi, if you have not been told
something, it's because you have no need to know."
Misato dropped her arm and let the other woman leave the room. She could
remember a time when they both went to university together when they would tell
each other everything. The whole idea of "need to know" stuck in Misato's throat
and the thought that a woman she considered a friend would use it on her hurt
even more.
Whispering quietly in the empty room, Misato listened to the sound of her
friend's heels and she walked down the hall. "What happened to you, Ritsuko? We
used to be so close. It wasn't Kaji. He never came between us. It's working on
the Evangelions and the Magi. What did you find out? What do you know about the
Angels that you aren't sharing with the rest of us?"
* * *
Standing just inside the metal doors, Dr Akagi placed a hand on Ranma's shoulder
and nodded back at the Lieutenant. "That's correct. This is the boy that I spoke
to you about on the telephone earlier."
The Lieutenant nodded back and gave Ranma a smile. "No problem, Ma'am. We'll
look after your boy for you."
The man waited just long enough for the doctor to be safely on the other side of
the door before he ran his hand through his hair in frustration. "Damn! When are
those staffers going to realise that we're not some sort of creche?" Turning his
attention back to Ranma, he shrugged apologetically. "Sorry kid. It's a bit
rough of your mum to dump you here with us. Do you just want to sit down over
there for a while? You can read a book or watch us train or something."
"Huh?"
A confused Ranma watched the Lieutenant walk away from him, and he scratched his
head. 'Oi, Rei! Do you know what's goin' on? Ritsuko- sensei said that I was
supposed to be able to train with these guys.'
*Evidence suggests that the Lieutenant does not believe that you wish to train.
He assumes that Akagi-sensei is your mother, and she intends to leave you here
while she works.*
Ranma looked around the room, taking everyone in. It was a fair sized training
hall built within the NERV complex, and it looked like it was quite suitable for
the sort of training he wanted to do. After you got through the steel door that
led to the gymnasium area it was a fairly open layout, allowing Ranma and Rei to
see lots of men and women doing all sorts of training.
Immediately in front of them was a locker area leading off to segregated showers
that occasionally shed a billow of steam. Past that and to the right was a
traditional weights and cardio area. Never one to train like that, Ranma paid it
scant attention, focusing most of his attention on the large workout space.
Divided into two areas, there was a substantial wooden floor, perfect for
training, and also a large tatami mat area for novices to train.
The people in the dojo section seemed to be easily sorted into two groups. There
was one team that was wearing nice, clean Gi's, so brightly white that it almost
hurt the eyes to look at them. What hurt Ranma's eyes most about watching them
was the way they moved and the way they trained. Obviously complete novices,
about thirty people were being lead through a small assortment of Kata by a pair
of instructors. Rank amateurs, there was nothing he could gain from training
with these people.
The second group, they were another matter entirely. They dressed how they liked
and it was obvious from the way that they moved that they understood what they
were involved in. The clothing was a wide variety of shapes and sizes, tending
mainly towards tight shirts and shorts, with some of the women wearing the same
as the men, and others wearing form fitting leotards and leggings. Although most
of this group was simply sitting or standing around, they had the physique of
fighters, and their footsteps were light and sure.
Walking over to the group, Ranma selected one of the lighter looking men to talk
to. Some of the security forces were enormous Gaijin and given his current level
of fitness and training, Ranma was not sure that he wanted to take on someone
like that yet. The man he had selected was wearing a pair of black shorts and a
matching singlet. Although he was one of the smaller men there, he still stood
over Ranma by an easy twenty centimetres.
"Hey! Are you planning on just standing around, or are you going to do some
training tonight?"
"Buzz off kid. Go annoy someone else."
With deliberate casualness, Ranma turned and began to walk over to another group
of people. "Well, if you don't think that you could keep up with me..."
For several heartbeats, Ranma was worried that the security man would not rise
to the bait. Finally, he did. "What did you say? You wanted a few private
lessons? I think I can oblige that..." The implication was heavy in his voice
and no matter how much it grated on him to accept it, Ranma let him get away
with the slight. He knew that when he had been at Furinkan, he had been so sure
of his superiority over anyone else, it took a lot to convince him to fight;
usually someone attacking him. To gain the acceptance of these people and secure
the training partners he needed, Ranma would have to show them that he was
worthy. He might look like a fourteen year old boy, but he was still the master
of the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts. Size and strength were not
everything - as Cologne gave testimony to in every fight.
"Yeah... Private lessons..."
Walking out onto the matting where there was available space, Ranma thought to
himself. 'I'll teach you a lesson. And I wipe that smirk of your silly face.'
*Why?*
'Waddaya mean "why"?'
*Why must you fight this man. He has done nothing do deserve your animosity.*
'Did you know that he's not as good as I am, Rei?'
*No. I have not seen him fight.*
Ranma bowed to his opponent and took an open stance for easy movement. 'He don't
know that he's gunna lose either. That's why I gotta fight him. Show him and all
the rest of them how good I am. I'm gunna be the best, Rei. To be the best, you
gotta beat the rest.'
Seeing that Ranma knew how to hold himself in a fight, the unnamed man altered
his stance. Where before he had simply stood there expecting to be able to knock
Ranma to the ground the first time he came close, now he was holding himself
ready. He was not fully committed and taking the match seriously yet, but Ranma
knew how to change that.
Giving thanks to the fact that he was still fast and light on his feet, Ranma
feinted right then came in close. His first attack was nothing fancy, and by no
means intended to hurt the man that had left so many holes in his defences; just
teach him a lesson. While the guard was shifting his weight to counter Ranma's
apparent attack from the right, Ranma's left leg snaked in and lifted his
opponent's right leg. In less than three seconds of the fight, the security
guard had taken the first fall of the match and was lying on his back.
Physically, the man was unharmed but the laughter of his friends obviously hurt,
because the man in black climbed back to his feet and tightened his guard. "You
got that one for free, but you aren't getting any more, Kid."
Rocking side to side, Ranma gauged his opponent. If he was not covering his
motions unduly, the man was neither devastatingly fast nor overwhelmingly
strong, and that suited Ranma to a tee. What he needed was a victory; something
to make all of the other people around here respect him enough to train with
him. Without his father and Ryoga for challenges, Ranma would have to rely on
these men, and within a year he would be cleaning the floor with all of them at
once. For now... it would be enough to beat one of them.
The bigger man came in quickly and with no warning, seeking to grab Ranma's red
silk shirt. Floating under the arms, Ranma seemed to drift across the tatami,
delivering a pair of jabs to the man's stomach. Aware of his own small stature
and weakness, Ranma declined the embrace the man offered and moved back out of
range as his opponent instinctively tried to drop an elbow on him.
Rubbing his side, the man gave Ranma rueful grin. "So, you do want to play
rough. Well, just because you're a kid doesn't mean you can expect to get off
easily." By now, most of the other experienced fighters were watching their
little match. As yet it was nothing spectacular, but it was unusual to see
someone Ranma's age seriously sparing with one of their own. When the security
agent tried a trio of kicks in combination and Ranma dodged them, the audience's
attention was assured. This was no ordinary boy.
They circled each other for a while, Ranma mainly staying on the defensive. An
outstretched arm suddenly provided the opening he had been waiting for, and
Ranma launched himself. For any of the martial artists he had known, a standing
leap that took his feet almost to the ceiling would have been nothing,
especially since he had inverted his body so that he could hold onto the singlet
with his hands. Unfortunately, none of the men and women watching were of the
calibre of martial artist that he had been. Even the best of them were only
around Akane's level, and the man never even suspected that the move was
possible.
Carrying his momentum onwards, Ranma twisted his body and dropped to a tight
crouch just beyond the man's back. Because he was still holding onto the
shoulder straps of the singlet, Ranma had effectively crossed the strong cloth
over the man's neck, placing him in a strangle hold while he was ineffectually
bent over backwards. When the man indicated his surrender, Ranma let go and
jumped back into position. It was two - nil, and time for the final round of
training.
His first win was because of his opponent's weakness. His second win was through
his own unexpected capabilities. His third - and final - win would be through
sheer ability and endurance. Something that Ranma had often regretted was the
fact that Ryoga was both stronger than he was and also had better endurance.
While Ranma would not sacrifice any of his speed for that endurance or strength,
he had come up with a lovely thought. If he trained properly for the next two
years, he would be as fast as he ever was, and as tough as Ryoga. His only
problem by that stage would be finding someone worthy of fighting.
This time when they closed for battle, Ranma fought with only conventional
attacks. The bigger, older man was capable of sustaining much greater damage
than he was. Knowing full well that he would be vulnerable to some counters,
Ranma took the fight to the other man. He used his speed where possible, but in
the final count, Ranma still took some blows.
After knocking each other around the mat for several minutes, again it was Ranma
that was standing triumphant. His opponent was lying on the ground, panting; too
sore and tired to rise again. Ranma was also sore, but he was a goodly distance
from being unable to fight.
Giving the recently defeated man a hand getting back to his feet, Ranma was
rapidly surrounded by other security staff. They were all talking at once, and
several were enthusiastically patting him on the back in congratulations.
Despite the fact that there must have been over twenty people speaking at the
same time, one overriding question came through.
"How'd I get so good? First it was my pop, then I fought with the best. I'm
Saotome Ranma, of the Saotome School Of Anything Goes Martial Arts. Anyone else
here think I shouldn't train with you?"
Silence.
*You cannot let your training interfere with being an Evangelion pilot.*
'Ahhh, yeah, Rei. I kinda figured that one out already.'
"So, how about we do a bit more sparing? And tomorrow I'll show you something
really impressive... Tomorrow I'll show you a technique that has been feared by
Chinese Emperors for over 3000 years.... The Kachuu Tenshin Amaguriken!"
End of Chapter
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