Disclaimer: All characters portrayed in this story are owned by their respective owners and creators. I don't own any of them. This story draws ideas from anime and manga of all the series involved| A mix of the Street Fighter arcade continuities will be used, but mainly from the Alpha series and takes an alternate route from SFIII. This is part of my Life and Times crossover series. This is the sixth chapter to the First Knight arc. C & C welcomed. First Knight 6: Journeys Shampoo ignored the pair of eyes that followed her around as she wiped the tables down. She endured the mocking gaze only out of respect to her great-grandmother. However, that didn't mean she had to be happy about it. "" "" "" Taro replied without looking away from Shampoo, knowing how much it irritated her to be babysat. "" Cologne muttered as she entered the restaurant. Shampoo's mood lifted as she caught sight of her great- grandmother. "" Cologne commanded with as much dignity as she could inside her great-granddaughter’s arms like some rag doll. "Sorry, great-grandmother," Shampoo replied meekly in Japanese. "Don't give me that. I heard you speaking Chinese just now. You're getting lazy. Perhaps going back to China will do you some good." "About that... Shampoo not want to go back. Want to wait for Ranma." "We've been over this a dozen times. He won't be coming back to Nerima for at least two years." "Ranma might come back to see Ak... Shampoo," she muttered. Not for the first time, Cologne wondered if her great- granddaughter knew truly how far she was from Ranma's heart. "I've seen the boy recently. No, he didn't know I was there. I could tell he is determined. And besides, it's about time, I prepared you for the test of the council." Shampoo stared in shock at her great-grandmother. Mousse broke the chair he was mending at Cologne's words. Even Taro stopped in his effort to annoy his two wards. Cologne may as well have giving her death pronouncement. * * * * * Ukyo sighed as she signed the rest of the papers. She would miss her restaurant. She now knew why her father insisted on doing business with the yatai. Staying put in one place for almost a year caused one to develop feelings for it. It made it all the more harder to leave, which her style of okonomiyaki demanded. Their family creed, if there was such a thing, she supposed would be to have all of Japan taste it's wonders. And with Ranma gone, she had no reason not to fulfill her dreams of being Japan's best okonomiyaki chef. The thought of Ranma caused her look towards the boarded up Nekohanten. She never thought she would actually miss the Chinese bimbo. As long as Shampoo was here, it meant Ranma was here. Two years. They renew their chase in two years. It still stung her to know that Ranma left without resolving this engagement mess, but it hurt more in that she never got a goodbye. * * * * * Kuno panted, his bokken hanging limply in his hands. "Vile cur! You remain to haunt me despite my best effort to rid of you. Your sorceries rival Saotome." "Uh...," the young man bigsweated, "you attacked me. And you asked me to stay here. Really, it's no bother. I can leave if you want me to. I really didn't mean to sleep in your backyard and hurt your crocodile. It was just so big and so dark out, I thought I was sleeping out in the open." "Trick me not, demon. I know you were sent to test me in Saotome's absence. You will not leave until you are made to leave by my bokken, the Blue Thunder has spoken!" Soujiro Seta sighed and nodded. He would stay and guard this backyard until the crocodile was better. It wouldn't be so bad if this buffoon didn't try to attack him every once and a while. That sister of his with her hostile looks was no better, even if she had every right to be since he hurt her pet. He barely needed to move from his spot as Kuno's bokken sliced through the air once again. The boy did have talent, he had to admit. He stamped out the idea of taking the boy on as a student. He swore he would not take on another after his fourth student died by his sword. If only the method to pass on the succession technique did not result in death for either the master or student, thinking again of his master Hiko. * * * * * Akane didn't know why she took this road to go back home as in the past it meant dealing with a whole load of trouble that she didn't want. In the past. Now, walking past Kuno's mansion, the Nekohanten, and Ucchan's was like a stroll in the park. Each of them had been to see her after Ranma disappeared. After they realized she was not lying about him being gone or hiding him anywhere, they each had went back home quieter that she expected. Their reactions were varying, with Kuno being the strangest of them all, coming back to ask about the tournament that Ranma was training for. His response after gave her some comfort in that he wasn't going totally crazy, as he gave her his promise that he would defeat Ranma there and then come back to reclaim her hand. Shampoo and Ukyo followed, saying they would be leaving Nerima, but that they would be back in two years. While Shampoo seemed reluctant, Ukyo was eager to head back on the road, mumbling something about maybe seeing him while she traveled around Japan. She was surprised later, when the Shampoo came back on her, asking for a favor. To let her know if Ranma came back to visit. Akane looked up at the familiar sight of her home. She had made it all the way back without one incident. Nothing to remind her of him, that he had been a part of her life. Tomorrow she would take the same route home and the day after that, and the next one, and so on. * * * * * Ryoga was happy. The seeming permanent cloud of anger and depression that was always over him, was gone. With its departure, came a clarity of mind that he never thought possible. No longer did he train to beat a certain pigtailed boy. He trained now simply because it was what he liked to do. He looked up from where he meditated. Three of the giant sumo pigs nudged at him. Was it feeding time already? He could have sworn he just sat down a minute ago. The concept of time seemed to be lost on him these days. Getting up, he made his way towards the house where Akari would be waiting for him. He didn't even notice that he didn't get lost once on the way back. Happosai moved out of the forest to stand in the spot that the Hibiki kid sat upon. A wave of tranquility and power wafted in the air. Never would he have thought that Ryoga would reach this point before Ranma. The girl that the boy was seeing must be an amazing woman. * * * * * Ranma slung his pack over his shoulder, feeling oddly sad as he tipped his head towards Genkai, "Thanks for all the help and stuff." It took him a full minute to say that... he's improving, Genkai marveled. "I'm afraid, I didn't get the chance to prepare you for the tournament as much as I would have liked." "I'll be fine with what I got from you here. My control will be a lot better when my," he faltered, not sure of himself, "chi recovers." Genkai noticed his hesitation and took his hand into her own. "I had been aiming for this ever since you came here. For the first time, your conditioning will not help you here. Your body will be your greatest enemy as you fight against it, to overcome this hurdle. I just wish that you could have remained here while I guided you past it." "I'll be fine, I'm Ranma Saotome," he mumbled gruffly before taking his hand back and turning away suddenly. "I'll see you." Genkai turned to head back home. She had thought he would stay a little longer before the Makai tournament in two years. Would he be able to reach S class in two years without her help? Hopefully, what little she did give him would provide him with enough insight on what areas he needed to improve on. * * * * * Ranma ducked, not believing his bad luck. Apparently his description was already posted everywhere and the minute he walked into town, he was challenged by five street fighters in succession. While he was sure the rules must say something about not needing to fight every challenge, his own code refused to budge and so he ended up taking on each person that wanted a try at the rookie class A fighter. Fortunately, none of them were ranked above C level, as his chi had not yet recovered and his strength and speed were those of a regular human. "See, I told you I didn't need any help," Ranma gloated to the three little concerned faces. "That what do you call this?" Mini-Urd asked as she poked his ribs where one guy had managed to kick. That earned her a gasp. He gasped again as Mini-Moiraine touched his arm where a one of five, wielding a knife has slashed. Mini-Usagi found the whole thing funny and started to prod at every point he was hit. "Okay, enough already," he moaned as he doubled over in pain. "You take too many chances, Ranma," Mini-Urd scolded as she and the other two did their best to apply bandages over his body. With Ranma's chi depleted, their magic power was only enough for them to manifest themselves. "You better be still in one piece next time I come out. I need to rest. This lack of chi is starting to give me a headache." With that the three parts of his soul disappeared. Ranma grimaced, knowing it to be true. Genkai had said, he would realize many things about his weaknesses during this time. Already, he could see several. He knew he could be a little careless sometimes, if it meant he could get a hit in. By the third fight of the day, he thought maybe taking a punch in the face to trip a guy up wasn't always such a great plan. He found himself reluctant to divert much in his usual hit and run tactics no matter how great the opening by the start of the last battle. The result was a much longer fight, but one where he did not get hurt as much. Impatience, he thought ruefully, was another thing he must overcome. While he was usually good at sticking to the game plan, his bruised body said otherwise. When not falling for fake openings, the opponents' goading got to him the rest of the time. It looked like he would need to retrain in the soul of ice. His soul of ice technique had faltered in recent months as he got better at manipulating hot and cold chi so he didn't need to run around in a circle ignoring everything being thrown at him. The final thing he learned was just how true Genkai was. Never before in his life did he reach the brink of exhaustion where his body could not recover from. It was a battle just to get through his regular regimen, let alone the new training practices he acquired from Genkai. Much like his ten year training trip, he thought surprised. In Nerima, he had relied on his ability to heal, and when it wasn't there for him anymore, he found how much he had taken it for granted. While, he didn't exactly slack off while he lived with the Tendos as he still trained with his pop, occasionally going on training trips, it was not on the same level as his training before reaching Nerima. Thinking back, he recalled how he had resorted to doing everything in the extreme, such as balancing along the fence or jumping over rooftops as opposed to walking normally on the ground. Even then, he must have been trying to make up for the lost day-in day-out training he used to have. Being in Nerima had given him a chance to improve with all the new things he had learned. However, every growth had been in spurts rather than the steady climb he had with his pop. Though, he admitted, the growth was not anywhere near as drastic as in the city. If anyone had told him that Genma had coddled him, he would have laughed in their face, but as he trained with Genkai, he couldn't help but wonder if his father could have taken it one step further. His thoughts turned to the Nekoken, and he got his answer. His father had tried, but after that incident, the training had become less intense. Genma stopped each time he had thought, his son couldn't take anymore so as to not have a repeat of the Nekoken incident. His body became better without ever having known true debilitating fatigue. Ranma suddenly checked his surroundings. He had found purpose. How could he get to Akari's farm from here? * * * * * Ryoga and Akari looked towards the door as a shadow fell over them. "We're just about to eat. Pull up a chair." * * * * * There was something different about him, Ranma thought as he limbered up. The other boy was missing his usual scowl they were together. As for himself, he didn't want to let Ryoga in on his 'injury' just yet. "I heard from Akane, that you'd left Nerima. I'd thought I left her in good hands. I guess I was wrong." Ranma winced at this. He didn't know if he should be more worried that Ryoga was mentioning this before their fight or that this was said without any anger at all. The only thing he could read from his long time rival's face was determination. "I had something I needed to get done before I could do anything else." Ryoga nodded, accepting this answer. Since the last time they met, he knew something was different with Ranma. A hunger or rather a need. One that needed to be filled or it would consume him. He recognized it because it was the same look he saw everyday in the mirror. "Let's begin." * * * * * Ranma touched his neck, and muffled a groan. Ryoga had managed to graze him with that last pass. Without his chi to enhance his speed, he had been forced to rely on pure reflexes to barely dodge at the last second each time. It didn't help that each of Ryoga attacks had been precise and not at all wild even after he attempted to distract the guy with various insults, all having to do with pork byproducts. Ryoga rocked on his heels as Ranma managed to stand on his ground. It was a different fight from their previous ones in that Ranma was not jumping all over the place as per his usual tactic. His jibes at Ranma's femininity fell on deaf ears as did his feints at leaving various parts of his body open to counterstrike. Every attack Ranma _did_ take was uncounterable aimed at vulnerable spots like his kidneys. However, Ranma seemed to have no strength as it barely even tickled. Could it be that Ranma lost his strength again? Ryoga decided to take a chance and test the theory. Ranma was slammed to the ground as Ryoga gave up on holding back and went head on. A tactic he had been hoping the other boy would not use as the both of them were used to holding back just a little in case the other guy had an ace up his sleeve. He barely had enough to gather his senses before he had to roll to the side to escape Ryoga's fist. He followed up by scissoring his legs between the other boy and tripping him up. Rolling backwards, he got back into his defensive stance just as the other boy kipped up. Ryoga relaxed his stance. "Your strength is gone again. What did you do to Happosai this time." However, Ranma did not relax his. "Something like that, but it wasn't Happosai. It was me. I've overtaxed my body and my chi is 'injured'. Unlike the last time, a pressure point won't fix it. I was told some rest could help me, but I don't have the time to wait." At Ranma's fierce look, Ryoga got back into a battle stance. "I take it, the other way to get back your power, is to do it yourself? I don't like to fight weaklings, but I guess I could make an exception for you." Before Ranma could say his thanks, the other boy launched himself at him again. Ryoga was merciless and now that he knew his opponent was bluffing, he went all out. Ranma felt his head bounce on the ground, and it was only instinct that let him use this momentum to twist his neck to avoid being smashed to the ground again. As great as his opponent was, Ranma found his body to be an even greater one. He warred against it to give him more strength, just a little more. His muscles strained to obey his command, only to falter, causing him to collapse into Ryoga's fist. Still, he didn't give up, again, using the momentum of his body to flip on to his knees, not trusting his legs to keep him upright. Ryoga fought the queasiness in his stomach as he stalked after Ranma. He never liked picking on the weak, as it reminded him too much of when he was P-Chan even if it was Ranma that had always been picking on him. This would be the last attack anyway, he figured as Ranma couldn't even stand on his own two feet anymore. Ranma noticed Ryoga's jaw line harden. This would be the last attack. Everything the other boy had done was full frontal with no tricks as he had hardly needed it with him in the state that he was. His only chance would be to hit before he got hit and with his legs knocked from under him, it meant it would be a chi blast. "Chou Moko Takabisha..." Ryoga stopped in midstride as Ranma suddenly yelled out. He raised his arms to block, but nothing happened. He lowered his guard and was about to step forwards when he noticed his rival did not lower his hands with his face remaining in deep concentration. It was then that Ryoga saw a small little flickering light form between Ranma's hands. Ranma didn't even register Ryoga's raising his own hands to form a chi blast, as he built the little flame of chi into a smoldering ball of heat. When the heat became unbearable, he let it loose. A white light filled his eyes before everything became dark. * * * * * His eyes flickered open. He had lost. Yet, he felt no animosity towards the other boy. Rather a deep sense of peace filled him. This loss was just temporary. It did not mean he would lose the next time. It just meant that at this moment, the other was better. In the past this would have brought a rage that could not be quelled until it was rectified. Now, all it brought was determination. Ranma sat up to see Ryoga and Akari looking over him. "Good match. You won." "It isn't hard when your opponent has lost his strength," Ryoga said, though he seemed happy for that small win anyway. Ranma shook his head. "You don't understand. You _won_. Before I came here, I had lost my power after I used everything I had within me to surpass myself. In that chi blast I fired at you, was the power I had gained. It means that even my best effort could not stop you. I don't know how it happened. But you've gotten better since I last saw you." Ryoga blinked as he heard the words he thought he would never hear. Ranma admitting that he has lost to him. "H-how..." Akari hugged Ryoga from behind as he became speechless. She left the room to let the two old friends talk. * * * * * "That energy I felt?" Genkai asked as she set a tea cup for Happosai. "The light was glorious. A step behind and not yet the level of enlightenment Ryoga has achieved, but Ranma is getting there." "The battle lust prevents him doesn't it?" "He'll probably never get over it. But at least, he is not ruled by it anymore. I had feared if he continued to fight before achieving at least this much, we would have another Ryu on our hands." "It isn't your fault you know." "I designed this art. It mirrors the Dark Shotokan. Where that was based on killing and death, mine borders it. 'Accept any challenge' and 'Never accept defeat'." "You had meant for it make your students stronger, not for it rule over their lives." "I didn't... but it does rule them. To live by Anything Goes is to die by it. To break free from it, both of them went to extremes. One turned into a blubbering wreck, the other a total coward. The boy doesn't have the benefit of being his own man before learning this art. He was ingrained with it since a child." "Are you going to go to him now? His current state of tranquility won't last long. That which is white is easiest to dirty." Happosai nodded. "Soon. Cologne has already started on Shampoo. A bit early, but she has no choice and I don't think I have one either. To Ranma, I give my art. It is time for him to inherit Anything Goes. May his soul survive it." * * * * * "What do you mean I didn't win!? You just said I did an hour ago!" Ryoga exploded. "I must have been more dazed than I thought. I didn't have my strength for most of the fight. I guess if you want to call a fight, where one of the guys isn't in his best shape, a win, you can," Ranma said sarcastically. "Ranma, Die!" Akari bigsweated and decided not to go inside the bedroom. The End (maybe)