Here We Go Again

Notes to follow

**************PRIVATE FEEDBACK ONLY**************

Christopher Angel
cja124@mail.usask.ca

Chapter 6: Truth
(next day from end of chap 5)

It was a beautiful morning.  Four people walked to the school, obviously 
enjoying the weather and having an animated discussion.  "I'll tell ya 
what,"  Ranma offered Ryouga. "We'll get him up to Akane's level, then 
we'll start teaching him some more advanced techniques at the same time 
as Akane."  He grinned over at the girl in question.  "That'll give us 
some time to work on SOMEBODY's temper."

Akane growled.  "I do not have a bad temper!" she insisted.

"Of course you don't.  You just tend to overreact,"  Ryouga started, "a 
little,"  he finished as Akane glared at him.  "But to get Tenno to 
Akane's level anytime soon would take some heavy training...it'd be 
rough."

"And what you've been doing hasn't been?"  Tenno demanded.  "You have to 
practically carry me home as it is!"

"I'm sure Nabiki would love to re-negotiate a rental agreement," Akane 
said sweetly.

Tenno shuddered, imagining waking up to Kasumi every morning.  "Thanks, 
but no."

"I don't know why you're so uneasy around her..." Akane mused.

"It's not that..."  Tenno started to defend.

"...I mean, you're SO much like her," she continued.  "You're just as 
sweet and lovable."

Tenno looked disgusted.  "You just HAD to say it, didn't you?"  He 
complained as Akane laughed.  "You make me sound like a teddy bear."

The group continued on to school, for once arriving well before the the 
first bell.  They found a group of boys at the gate, most of them 
grinning wildly.  Two boys familiar to the group, Daisuke and Hiroshi, 
stood at the front.

"We heard about your engagment,"  Daisuke said to Ryouga.

"We wanted to wish you our most heartfelt congradulations," Hiroshi 
added.  "No hard feelings?"

Ryouga shook his head, and the group of boys broke up with a mild cheer.

"HOLD, Hibiki you fiend!  It has come to mine ears that you cast away 
mine sister's heart like yesterday's refuse for some restaurant wench.  
I have come to punish you for your transgressions against all women!"

Ryouga, who had been ignoring Kuno, froze, and turned to look at him.  
"WHAT did you call Ukyo?" he asked, his voice like ice.

"Is that the foul harlot you have given your heart to in favor of my 
dear sister's?"  Kuno sneered.  "No matter!  You shall pay for your 
crimes!"

Ryouga fighting normally is a thing to be never forgotten.  Where Ranma 
is all grace and speed, Ryouga is sheer power.  The fact that Ryouga can 
take almost any hit and keep on going is no small portion in this.  
Ryouga angry is to see that power combined with a good deal of skill and 
a desperate need to connect.  

Ryouga was beyond angry.  

He was furious.

He didn't charge at Kuno, he didn't leap, he simply walked.  As Kuno 
swung at him, he simply blocked with his arm, letting the wooden blade 
shatter.  He pounded Kuno in the gut.  "Nobody talks."  He punched Kuno 
in the head. "About my fiancee."  He slammed Kuno in the chest, cracking 
a rib. "Like that."  Kuno was noticeably unsteady.  A stray breeze 
threatened to topple him.  Ryouga wound up and dove his fists down on 
Kuno's shoulders, driving him up to his neck in the ground. "BUT ME!"

Ryouga turned to walk into the school, and found his progress impeded by 
the large spatula that had slammed into his face.  "And who said YOU 
could talk that way about me?"  Ukyo demanded.

*****************************************************

A crowd of girls sat in the cafeteria, discussing Ryouga's sudden change 
from single to engaged.

"It's not fair!"  "Why should a girl like THAT get a cute boy like him?"  
"She's a bigger tomboy than Akane!"  "They fight more than Ranma and 
Akane too." Silence fell over the group.  "Nah, no one fights more than 
Ranma and Akane."  "Speaking of whom, there they are!" "Let's ask them!"
"AKANE!"  With that cry, the girls charged the couple, snagging Akane 
and dragging her off into the girls change-room.

"What the hell?" Ranma began.  His musing was cut off by three of the 
girls who ran out of the change-room with a bucket, spashed him, and 
dragged Ranma-chan into the locker room.  "Hey, wait, I can't go in 
there!  I'm a GUY!"  Her protests were ignored as the girls dragged her 
inside.  The next thing Ranma-chan knew she was sitting on a bench in 
the locker room with Akane, surrounded by some VERY angry girls.  "Hey, 
wait, what'd I do?"

"How could you let that nice Ryouga get engaged to that awful Ukyo?"  
"She's so wrong for him!"  "I thought you were his friends!"  The tirade 
went on for a moment.  "You have to tell us how to break them up, 
Akane!"

"Uhhh,"  Ranma-chan began.  "Do you girls know anything about Ryouga?"

"He's so cute!" "He's nice, and gentle, and strong!"  "He's got a little 
mis-direction problem."  "Didn't he want to kill you?"  "He's very good 
in school!"  "He's got the dreamiest body."  "Those fangs just make my 
knees melt..."

"OKAY!  I get the picture.  Sheesh,"  Ranma-chan said in disgust.  "Any 
more sugar and I'm gonna need insul-ack!" She was cut off by Akane's 
elbow in her ribs. "Ryouga's 'little mis-direction problem' isn't so 
little.  Remember that time he was absent for a week?"  Several girls 
nodded.  "He was trying to find his way from my place to his house.  
They're a block from each other.  Get the picture?  The guy could get 
lost in a broom close-urk!"  Akane's elbow was in her ribs again.  
"Could you stop that?"

"Get to the point, Ranma," Akane growled at her.

"Yes dear," Ranma-chan replied meekly, and gleefully enjoyed the moment 
of shocked silence.  Suprising Akane was even more fun than teasing her 
at times.  "As I was saying, he's lost A LOT.  That means he's alone A 
LOT."  Ranma-chan paused.  "Ryouga doesn't have much people experience.  
Think how you'd feel if a ton of boys started coming after each of you."  
She paused as a thought occured to her. She turned to Akane. "How DID 
you feel?" she asked.

"Annoyed," Akane replied matter-of-factly.  "But I wasn't as worried 
about hurting feelings as Ryouga is."  

Ranma-chan grinned.  "That's because you were an uncute tomb-herk!"  
Akane's elbow found her ribs again.  How does she find the same spot 
every time?  Ranma-chan wondered, rubbing the spot.

Akane took over, giving her husband an annoyed glance.  "Ryouga's afraid 
of hurting one of you.  If you really don't want him to stick to Ukyo, 
leave him alone.  When he's not so afraid you'll come chasing after him, 
he might break off the engagement."  Her eyes twinkled.  "He MIGHT.  I 
think they make an awfully nice couple, don't you, Ranma?"

"They're perfect for each other," Ranma-chan grinned back. "Good luck, 
ladies, you'll need it."  The pair stood and started to leave, but 
Ranma-chan stopped.  "Umm, doesn't it bother you that he's got the same 
curse as me?"  Almost in unison, the girls shook their heads.  "Why 
not?"

"Becuase he's such a NICE boy," one of the girls replied.  The rest of 
the group nodded.  

"But..but..why did you care when it was me?"  Ranma-chan stammered.  

"Because YOU were a PERVERT," another girl replied, as as many of the 
other girls scowled.

Ranma-chan sighed and let Akane drag her out of the change-room.  
"Akane,  I may change into one...but..."

"But?" 

"I will NEVER understand women."  Ranma-chan shook her head. "Not if I 
live to be a hundred."

*************************************************************

"Why did I agree to this?"  Ukyo asked, yawning.  "It's 5 in the 
morning!"  She wore her kitchen commando outfit.

A small group stood outside the Tendo Dojo on a bright Sunday morning.  
Ranma was in his usual Chinese fighting outfit.  He yawned.  "Stop 
that," he snapped good-naturedly at Ukyo "They're contagious." Akane 
stood beside him in jogging pants and a sweat shirt, a bandana around 
her forehead.  "And we're doing this because we're all out of shape, and 
we could use some plain exercise."

Ryouga ran up in his usual fighting clothes. In the distance you could 
see another figure behind him.  "Hi guys," he said, blushing.  "Sorry 
we're late, but uhhh...."

"Morning!"  Tenno-chan's voice sang out.  The group merely stared as she 
jogged up.  She was wearing a sweatshirt over the skin-tight jogging 
outfit so many women liked.  Nabiki, who was sitting on the front steps 
drinking her coffee, gasped in half-horror and half-amusement.  Ryouga 
merely looked embarrased.

"TENNO?!"  Ranma yelled, horrified.  "What are you wearing?!?!"

Tenno-chan looked down at herself and shrugged.  "It's my jogging 
outfit."

"But..but..you're dressed like a girl!"  Akane continued.

"How observant,"  Tenno-chan chuckled.  "Like it?"  She twirled.

"Tenno, WHY on earth are you dressed like that?"  Ukyo demanded.

Tenno-chan looked a little embarrased.  "Because it's more comfortable 
to go jogging this way."  At their disbelieveing glance, she elaborated.  
"It's alot easier to run when there isn't a certain set of equipment 
hanging between your legs."

"So it's easier with two different ones up front?"  Akane demanded.

Tenno-chan looked at her oddly.  "What on earth..." she trailed off as 
comprehension dawned.  "Oh, you think I'm like THEM," she said, 
indicating Ryouga and Ranma. "I might as well show you," she sighed, and 
started to pull her sweatshirt over her head, only to find it yanked 
down by Akane. 

"Are you insane? We're in public!  You can't do that in broad daylight!" 
she hissed.

Tenno-chan looked at her, disgusted.  "Give me some credit, it goes all 
the way up."

"I noticed,"  Nabiki said walking up.  She looked Tenno-chan up and down 
meaningfully.

"The outfit, not the figure,"  Tenno-chan chuckled, blushing a little.  
She started to pull the shirt over her head.  "Although," she continued, 
her voice muffled by the sweatshirt now over her head "you might say 
that about both of them.  Tadda!"  She finished, yanking the shirt off 
her upper body.  "See what I mean?"

Ranma-chan's figure was painfully well known to everyone, since Ranma in 
either form had no grasp of modesty in any way.  Ryouga-chan's was also 
well known, usualy from the fact that for the first while she would 
faint every time the curse kicked in and and she noticed her new body.  
Tenno-chan, however, had always worn clothing that was loose enough to 
hide her figure fairly well.

What she wore today didn't leave much to the imagination.  Tenno-chan 
was as tall and slender a woman as she was a tall and slender man.  Her 
breasts were not large, maybe B cups, giving her a womanish figure 
without the obvious voluptuousness Ryouga and Ranma had.  Her hips were 
relatively narrow as well.  She was in no way skinny, she was just 
slender.  A poetic admirerer would call her elven.

"I...see,"  Ukyo stated, carefully resisting the urge to stare.  Nothing 
to be jealous of there, she thought to herself.  A similar thought ran 
through all the girl's minds.

Ryouga just blushed further, while Ranma grinned.  "Man, would Happosai 
be disappointed," he stated, then cursed himself as the hurt registered 
on Tenno-chan's face and Akane hammered him into the ground.

Nabiki scowled at Ranma and walked up to Tenno-chan, kissing her on the 
cheek.  "Don't listen to him, Tenno."  She looked Tenno-chan up and down 
again, and then smiled at her impishly.  "If Happosai's disapointed he's 
as much a fool as he is a pervert."  She started to walk back inside.  
She stopped, turned around and looked at Tenno-chan in a preadatory sort 
of way.  "I don't suppose you'd be willing to wait while I get my 
camera, would you?"  Tenno-chan blushed.  "I didn't think so."

Ramna peeled himself off the ground.  "Owwww.. jeez, I didn't mean it 
that way...you know how he's contantly threatening me with 'they'll 
sag', well it won't work with her."

This time Ryouga smashed him into the ground.  "It was an awful thing to 
say anyway, Ranma."  He turned.  "Come on, lets go."  The group jogged 
off, Ukyo grinding her foot into Ranma's back as she went by.

A few moments later, Ranma peeled himself up off the ground, and sat 
watching the group go off into the distance.  "You know, I think this 
jogging idea was a bad one.  It's hazardous to my health."  He got up 
and chased after the others.  "HEY, wait up!"  He ducked a hammer sent 
his way.  "Aww, come on guys, I'm sorry!"

***********************************************************

"I say we take him to Dr. Tofu's!"

"That's not going to help, you moron, we can't turn him into one of us 
in under a year!"

"I don't see why not!  If we train him hard enough, it should work!"

Nabiki came out of the house and sat beside Tenno and Akane on the porch 
and watched Ranma and Ryouga argue.  "I assume 'he' is Tenno?" she asked 
the pair.

Tenno nodded.  "Ryouga's convinced there's something wrong with me 
because I've reached a plateau.  I haven't improved any more in weeks.  
Akane says I can take on most of the boys in school easy, but one of the 
'high-level' crowd would mop the floor with me.  Ranma says I've reached 
the peak of my training."

"What do you think?" Nabiki asked him, searching his face.

"I don't know.  I can't even summon chi like I used to, Nabs.  Maybe 
there is something wrong.  On the other hand, I haven't gotten any 
better at all in a while.  Maybe I'll never be able to learn those 
techniques they keep trying to teach me."  They turned to listen to the 
argument.

"Are you purposefully being an idiot?"

"What's THAT supposed to mean?"

"You, me, Akane, Ukyo, Shampoo, Mousse, and even that pervert Kuno have 
been training all our lives, right?"

"So?"

"So how are we going to get him up to something even close to our level 
in so short a time?"

"That doesn't change the fact that he hasn't improved AT ALL in weeks, 
or the fact that he can't summon chi!  It's a mental technique, he 
should be able to pick that up!"

Kasumi interrupted from the house, startling Tenno, who looked 
embarrased.  "Ranma, Dr. Tofu wanted to meet Tenno anyway.  Something 
about him being a berzerker?"  Tenno stiffened and put his head in his 
hands, groaning in abject misery.  Ryouga merely turned to Ranma.

"OK, lets go," Ranma sighed, acceeding the victory.  "I don't see what 
good it'll do though."

Ranma, Ryouga, Akane and Tenno were soon walking on their way to Dr. 
Tofu's.  "Isn't this guy a chiropractor?"  Tenno asked.  "I don't see 
what he can do."

"Oh no, Dr. Tofu's extremely skilled, and knowledgable in almost all 
fields of medicine."  Akane insisted.

"He's a martial arts master too,"  Ranma added.  "If you ever get in a 
close fight with him, don't let him touch you, he knows every pressure 
point there is, and how to use them."

"If he's as good as you say, if I get in a fight with him I'd be better 
off to surrender," Tenno said grimly.  Ranma nodded.

"Good plan."

They soon reached the door to Dr. Tofu's office. Ranma's hand froze on 
the handle.  "Umm, one thing.  Tenno, Ryouga, DO NOT, in ANY 
circumstance, mention Kasumi."  At their confused looks, he merely said 
"Trust me, it may save your life."  He opened the door and ushered the 
group in.

"Hello!  You must be Tenno,"  Dr. Tofu said as they entered.  "You're in 
luck, I'm not busy."  He had the others take a seat while he guided 
Tenno into a back room.

Dr. Tofu started the phsyical exam, gently prodding certain pressure 
points to relax his patient.  As he did so, he spoke in a soft, soothing 
voice that served to put his patent at ease.  Soon, Tenno was in a deep 
hypnotic trance.  Dr. Tofu sat down and began asking Tenno about how he 
discovered he was a beserker, and how it had manifested.  He spent a 
long time focussing on Tenno's feelings at the time of the fight at the 
Cat Cafe.  At one point, he cursed, and seemed to shake with anger.  He 
did what he could to sooth the hurt and emotional pain the boy felt, and 
slowly brought him out of the trance.  

"W..wha..." Tenno started, confused.

Dr. Tofu put his hand on the boy's forehead and forced him to lie back.  
"Just rest, Tenno, we'll finish this in a second."  He walked out of the 
room to the waiting trio.

Dr. Tofu looked at the three, and silently pointed them into another 
examination room, his face dark.  The three quickly filed into the room, 
the fear they felt quite obvious.  Dr. Tofu followed them, and turned to 
Akane and Ranma.

"If I violent man," he snarled, teeth clenched. "I would KILL your 
fathers for what they did to that boy."  Akane and Ranma looked at the 
normally mild-mannered and cheerful doctor in horror.  "How DARE they do 
that to him?  They had that boy nearly suicidal with self hatred!  The 
only thing that kept him from killing himself were you three and 
Nabiki."  The doctor looked as if he wanted to smash something.

"What did they do?"  Akane asked, softly.

"They had him convinced he was some sort of monster," he growled, and 
Akane recoiled.  

"Doc, we saw him take a huge amount of damage and still fight.  We saw 
him nearly kill the ghoul.  If Nabiki hadn't been there he WOULD have.  
He IS just what they described."  Ranma argued.

Dr. Tofu glared at Ranma, the fury in his gaze making Ranma gulp.  
"Ranma, a true beserker CAN'T be stopped.  They fight until ANY person 
they see as a threat is dead.  The simple fact that Cologne's words 
reached him at one point, that he listened to you, and that Nabiki 
brought him out of it AT ALL shows he isn't."  He seemed to calm down.  
"There was also the fact that he seemed to have some very advanced 
abilities when he fought.  Even with his ignoring damage, he should have 
been killed by the amount of hits he took.  Also, the way that his touch 
caused such pain is another indication, since that's a chi-based 
technique.  Even ignoring all that, the simple fact is, if he was a true 
berzerker, you would have been forced to kill him."  Akane gasped.

"Then what is he?"  Ryouga asked suspiciously.

"A very caring young man with some very dangerous abilities.  Your 
father was recognized the right symptoms, Ranma, but connected them to 
the wrong source.  Tenno is a scion of a lost group of fighters called 
the Rage Warriors."

"Rage Warriors?"  Ranma asked, disbelieving.  "Sounds like an arcade game."

Dr. Tofu smiled, his anger still not forgotten, but lessened.  "It does, 
doesn't it?  They were known for all the things your father said, and 
were often taken for berzerkers.  But they weren't.  The Rage Warriors 
would channel their anger into their combat to enhance their abilities."  
He paused, and walked out of the room, returning with an old book which 
he flipped through.  "Ah, here.  Yes, Ranma, you were right to train 
him, but you have to incorporate a lot of anger control and emotional 
techniques."  Ryouga and Ranma exchanged a glance.  "Tenno without 
proper training will never be anything more than an above-average 
fighter that explodes into a barely controlled rage every time Nabiki is 
hurt.  Tenno with proper training will be a force to be reckoned with."  
He looked Ranma in the eyes.  "Nabiki is the key to his anger.  He loves 
her very much.  You have to help him learn to let the rage come, but to 
keep control.  It will be very dangerous, for both him, and you."  He 
looked at the others.  "Never let Tenno train without Nabiki in the area 
until he gains complete control of his anger and chi. She will be the 
only one who can control him until then."

"How will we know?"  Ryouga asked.

"Bring him here every week."  Dr. Tofu offered.  "I'll judge his 
progress and may be able to guide you."

"Can we see him?" Akane asked.  Dr. Tofu shook his head.

"No, he and I need to have a long talk."  He smiled wryly at them.  
"That boy has had a great deal of pain in his life, and took on a lot of 
yours.  He needs someone safe to help him let it out."  He paused.  "A 
lot like he did for you.  Go home, I'll see him to your place myself."

Ranma nodded, satisfied.  "OK, we'll go.  Come on, Ryouga, Akane, the 
Doc may not be a violent man, but I sure as hell am, and we're gonna go 
'talk' with my father."  His voice promised nothing good, and he cracked 
his knuckles.

Akane got a dark glint in her eye.  "And mine."

*************************************************************

Tenno bid goodbye to Dr. Tofu and wandered inside the Tendo's gate. He 
knocked on the front door. "Hey," he called.  "It's Tenno."

The door flew open to reveal Nabiki, who flung herself at him and hugged 
him tightly.  He looked down and saw she had been crying, and that her 
hands were bruised.  "Hey," he asked, "what's wrong?"  Has she been 
fighting?  He wondered.

"Nothing,"  she gasped, and hugged him tighter.  "Nothing now."

He held her for a moment and then manuvered them inside, where he saw an 
amazing sight.  Ryouga, Akane, Ranma, Kasumi and Nodoka sat around the 
dinner table, watching him with a mixture of worry and relief.  At the 
other end of the room, well away from the other occupants, sat Soun and 
Genma.   They looked like they had been battered quite severely, and 
their eyes kept on flicking to the other occupants of the room as they 
played their game.

Ranma hissed at the two men, who quickly stood up and prostrated 
themselves in front of Tenno.

"We most humbly beg your apologies for any harm we may have done."  
Gennma said into the floor.

"We meant no harm, and will accept any punishment you require."  Soun 
seconded.

Tenno was silent for a minute as he realized that his friends had done 
for him. "There is no debt to be paid," Tenno replied softly.  "An error 
meant in good faith shouldn't be punished.  Please get up."  The two men 
stood unsteadily and returned to their game, their heads bowed.  Tenno 
whispered in Nabiki's ear. "Besides, it seems someone did more than 
enough."

Nabiki help him tighter and gave her father and uncle a dark look.  "Not 
even close."  She said fiercely.  She guided him to the table, where 
Kasumi served tea, shooting dark looks at her father.

They drank their tea in silence.  Ryouga stood.  "Come on, Tenno, it's 
been a long day.  Lets go home."

Tenno looked at the others at the table. "You know, I think we are 
home," he said softly.

The two moved back in the next week.