Ten Months In Tokyo

An Original work by Josh Heistman

2001 Script G Productions

Chapter Eight: Preludes

A work-weary Mike entered the Tendo home with a slight smile. Regardless of how busy the restaurant became, any day spent with Ukyo was a good day. If only she didn´t have that tiny crush on Ranma…

“I´m ho-ome!’ He called in his best singsong voice. Curiously, there was no response. Fearing some sort of disaster in his absence, he moved quickly to the dining room to find Soun and Genma sitting, silently and across from one another, at the table. He shook his head, fearing he would never quite understand those two. Suddenly, he heard a crashing noise from the dojo. Not quite so much worried about danger as interested in an exciting battle, he made his way over to investigate.

Alex waved to him from his position just to the side of the doorway as he approached. “You don´t want to go in there…’ he said in a solemn, cautionary tone. “Its bad for one´s health if you ask me.’

Mike blinked curiously, taking up the position on the other side of the doorway to listen in on the quarreling couple…

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“Honestly! What does my father see in you that he doesn´t see in me?!’ an exasperated Akane nearly shouted at her pigtailed fiancé. “I train every bit as hard as you do, so why would he pick you to ‘represent his family and defend his honor?´’

Ranma lay nonchalantly on the floor beside her, watching as she stacked three more bricks in front of her. “Well…’ he replied, in that typical, snide manner. “Aside from the lack of skill you show in your technique, maybe he´s concerned about the type of training this Yenrai kid was likely to have been undertaking…’

Cracking her knuckles loudly, she cast a sidelong glance over at Ranma. “What do you mean lack of discipline?’ Her eye twitched involuntarily from the anger she attempted to contain. “And what training do you think he had? You´ve never even seen him fight.’

Ranma shook his head. “Duh, Akane… weren´t you listening to your father´s story. Shu had a curse that made it so he couldn´t beat men. So naturally, he would fight with women…’

“And?’

“And… by the way your father described his skill, he probably learned everything a guy needs to know about beating a girl in combat. Not that fighting a girl is a particularly honorable thing for a guy to do, but if you´re as proud as some of these martial artists can get, you really don´t care. Just as long as you win. Shu probably passed all of those techniques along to his son, as well…’

Akane took a deep breath, before letting out a cry and smashing the bricks into rubble effortlessly. “Well, I´m no ordinary girl, Ranma. I could take this guy with one hand tied behind my back…’

“Well, there is another reason… something your father didn´t want me to tell you…’ Ranma said, adjusting himself into an indian-style seating position. “But I will, if you really want to hear…’

Akane turned to him curiously. “Is it something important, Ranma? Something about some sort of engagement deal that he never told us about?’

Ranma shook his head. “Nothin´ like that. He said to me…’ Ranma cleared his throat, stood up and placed his hands on Akane´s shoulders, just like Soun would. “He said to me, “Ranma, my boy…’

Akane looked into his eyes, a look of fear gracing hers. “Yes?’

Ranma grinned. “´Don´t let that uncute, tomboy daughter of mine get into any trouble now, you hear?´’ And with that, he flicked her on the forehead and turned toward the door with a chuckle.

Mike and Alex peeked into the doorway just in time to see Akane punt Ranma through the ceiling of the dojo with a shriek comparable to that of your average banshee. As he floated off into low-earth orbit, she stomped out the back exit of the dojo.

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(Meanwhile, countless miles from Nerima…)

“Curse you Ranma!!’ came the cry of the eternally displaced martial artist known as Ryouga Hibiki. As he trudged his way through frozen tundra, a near-blinding blizzard raged around him. How he´d managed to get somewhere where it was snowing in early September was anyone´s guess. All he knew was, however it had happened, it was Ranma´s fault. And he would get his revenge.

As he brushed more snow off of his shoulders, he thought about the lifetime of hardship he had endured. Never seeing his parents led to a life of self-sufficiency. As a young child, they were never around. His father was always lost on a business trip, and his mother was always lost running errands. It was because of this that he never knew some of life´s simple pleasures until much later in life. And even then, they could never take his mind off of the void that was left in the place his parents should have been.

School wasn´t much better for him. Half of the time, he never made it to school, and when he did, half the time he couldn´t find his classroom. He remembered a time when he got lost on his way to the chalkboard. Yes, his childhood was nothing but ridicule and humiliation. That´s why he decided to leave school for good and become a martial artist full time.

Well, that… and the fact that Ranma ran away from their man-to-man dual. It was his duty as a martial artist track him down and make him pay for his discrepancy. Unfortunately, this led him to Jusenkyo… and then…

Ryouga shuddered at the thought of the events that transpired that fateful day in China. It was that unfortunate chain of events that had caused him to come here in the first place. Wherever here was. Ryouga was never sure where he was half the time. He was pretty sure he was in China. Then again… how much did it snow in China in September? Wherever he was, he knew that he was freezing, and needed to get out of the blizzard before it killed him.

As luck would have it, it was about this time that Ryouga noticed a small cave ahead of him. He rubbed his eyes, convinced that they were playing tricks on him, but when he re-opened them, the cave was still there. Weeping with joy as he ran toward it, Ryouga felt that maybe his luck was in for a positive change.

Reaching the mouth of the cave, Ryouga peeked in to see nothing but the darkness staring back at him. He would have liked to have a guarantee of his safety upon entering the cave, but beggars couldn´t be choosers, and if he didn´t get out of the cold soon, he might be a goner. Reluctantly, he stepped into the cave, escaping the blizzard´s merciless assault.

As his eyes slowly adjusted to the dark, he could see that the walls around him were damp from the melting snow. He could also see a strange, faint glow further down the tunnel from him. Curious as to what it could be, he ventured deeper into the cave. As he did, he could feel the air around him growing warmer. Thankful for the heat, he smiled. It was as if somewhere, someone was watching him, and wanted him to make it through this hardship.

Further down the tunnel, the cave widened into a small cavern. Ryouga´s eyes widened at what he saw: a small cooking fire in the center of the cavern, complete with what looked to be some sort of beef on a spit over it. He could feel his mouth begin to water as he approached it, forgetting for a moment that it didn´t get there on its own.

“Stop right there, comrade…’ came a gruff, almost haughty voice from behind him, as he felt a hand tightly grip him on the shoulder. Shocked, Ryouga looked up to see a scruffy looking man wearing what appeared to be nothing but tattered rags and a fur cap. “That would be my dinner you´re attempting to steal…’

Ryouga blinked, bowing to the man in apology. “I´m terribly sorry… I´ve been wandering for a long time now in this blizzard, and I decided to take shelter in this cave… the heat from your fire brought me here…’ he rubbed the back of his neck with a fanged grin. “I guess my stomach has a mind of its own.’

The stranger only nodded at him, scratching his skuzzy black beard a minute before speaking. “I understand, comrade… though you must be a man of great fortitude to survive a Siberian blizzard…’

Ryouga blinked. “Siberia?’ Scratching his head, Ryouga began to ponder how he´d managed to wander all the way into Siberia. Then again, he had remembered someone telling him he´d been in Mongolia… “Wow, I guess I am in Siberia…’

The stranger blinked, a bit confused. “This is what I have already told you, comrade… Siberia is very unforgiving and bleak. Harsh blizzards and freezing temperatures in winter. Not to mention angry, man-eating animals…’ the man looked up at Ryouga, flashing a smile of his own. “Perfect place for martial arts training, eh comrade?’

Ryouga looked over at the stranger, who stood to reveal his full height. The man was at least six-and-a-half feet tall, and resembled a bear in many ways. His clothes were nothing but a patchwork combination of loose cloth and animal skins. But Ryouga´s eyes were drawn to the shining object hanging from the man´s neck. “You´re a Russian martial arts master?’

The man nodded with a laugh. “In a way, my friend… I am Russian, but not master of Russian art…’ he walked over to his dinner, giving it a bit of a turn before dislodging it from the spit and walking over to Ryouga. “No, my friend… I am master of a lost art…’

Ryouga looked up at the man, who tore the meat into halves and offered one half to him. Taking the meat into his hands warily, Ryouga nodded in appreciation. “I too am a martial artist… but I got lost in my travels and somehow ended up here in this Godforsaken place…’ he explained, before taking a seat on the floor of the cave. His burly host took the space beside him. “At this rate, I´ll probably never make it to Jusenkyo…’

The Russian blinked in mid-chew, before turning his gaze to Ryouga, who gnawed hungrily at his half of the meal. “You´re looking for Jusenkyo, and you end up in Siberia? Hooo… you must have very bad sense of direction…’

Ryouga squinched his eyes closed. “Don´t remind me… I have to live with this burden every day and night of my life… I can´t even get from my bedroom to the bathroom without ending up in the next town…’

The Russian tore a mighty chunk out of his meat before nodding once again. “Why were you looking for Jusenkyo, comrade? It is very dangerous place… many tragic story of lives destroyed by cursed springs…’

The fire that burned ever-so-often in Ryouga´s eyes returned once more as the memories of that fateful day in China flooded his mind. “Ooooooh… It´s all that idiot Ranma´s fault!! I´d never be in this mess if he hadn´t been such a coward! When I get my hands on him, he´s going to pay dearly for what he´s done to me…’

The big Russian nodded, holding a hand out to Ryouga. “My name is Vladamishnicov…’

Ryouga looked at the man´s large hand for a moment, before clasping it in a friendly and enthusiastic handshake. “Ryouga Hibiki!’

“Well, Ryouga, my young comrade… let us finish our meal while you tell me your story… and then, perhaps, I can teach you something a technique that could humble even the greatest of fighters, if used correctly.’

Ryouga´s eyes went wide, sparkling with an almost sadistic delight. “All right! It all started in grade school…’

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“Man, this guy leaves some complicated instructions…’ Ranma muttered, looking up at his friends from the directions that Xao had left in the note. He, Akane, Don, Alex, Soun and Genma were walking down Nerima´s main street, trying to locate the place where Xao wanted to have the fight. “All right… it says here that we take 77 steps here, and then take another 60 to the left…’

Akane crossed her arms, frowning. “Couldn´t this guy have just told us where to meet, instead of making us do all this walking around? I mean, seriously! How hard is it to just tell us where the fight is going to be?’

Genma pushed his glasses up his nose, nodding a bit. “Agreed… there´s no need for all of this tomfoolery… a martial artist should be serious about combat. This is a sign of a definite lack of discipline…’

Ranma laughed a bit. “Yeah, like you know anything about discipline, pop… you´re as dumb and lazy as they come…’

Genma grabbed Ranma by his collar with an angry snarl, but before he could say anything more, Alex grabbed him by the wrist. “Chill out, dude… no need to get Ranma tired out before the fight, ya know…’ Genma looked over at him in disbelief, but obediently released his son. Alex grinned that usual, half-there grin. “Where to now, Ranma?’

Ranma readjusted his shirt, before taking a look around. “It says take five steps to the… right…’ he read. Everyone turned to their right to see… the Tendo Dojo. And sitting out front was Xao. The lot of them sweatdropped as he stood with a bow.

“Its about time you have arrived. I have been waiting some time for your arrival.’ He said politely. Well, as politely as someone as arrogant as he could be. “Let us take this out back, shall we?’

With all eyes on him, Ranma nodded solemnly. “Yes… lets end this…’

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Meanwhile, at Ucchan´s, Mike was covering for Ukyo at the counter while she handled the bookkeeping. Luckily for him, the only customers were Daisuke and Hiroshi.

“I still can´t believe you work here…’ Daisuke said. He looked up at Mike, who was leaning boredly against the counter while he watched his friends test a new okonomiyaki recipe. “Who would have thought that an American could cook okonomiyaki so well…’

Mike shrugged. “I just follow Ukyo´s recipes… she´s the mastermind. I´ll never be that good, I´m afraid. I don´t have the expertise… and besides, before we came here, the three of us practiced cooking. We had no idea what to expect from our hosts… we were ready to just eat hamburgers or grilled cheese sandwiches for ten solid months if we had to. We got lucky, though… Kasumi is an amazing cook.’

Hiroshi grinned. “And cute, too.’

Mike waved his spatula scoldingly at the boy. “Hey now, that´s sweet, innocent Kasumi you´re talking about there. She´s a remarkable hostess, and I´d appreciate it if you´d show her some respect.’

“Ah, what do you care?’ scoffed Hiroshi. “Word is, you´re sweet on Ukyo. Would explain why you just happen to be working here…’

Mike tried to keep cool, but was blushing noticeably. “I needed money, and she needed someone to help her with the busy days… that´s all. There´s nothing else to it.’

“Well, how about the fact that you two are always eating lunch together at school?’ Daisuke chimed in.

“You know what we talk about? Business. Sometimes I wish we could talk about other things, but this is her livelihood. Its all she ever wants to talk about, because without this restaurant, Ukyo has nothing…’

Hiroshi shook his head. “No one is as good as you claim to be, Mike. You have to have some sort of outside motive. Ranma says some nights, you don´t even come home until after most of them are asleep…’

Mike started whipping up another okonomiyaki in a frenzy. “Listen… even if I did like Ukyo, which I don´t… it wouldn´t matter anyway! She´s so fixated on Ranma, I would never even stand a chance. And besides…’ he flipped the thing into the air, watching it do two and a half turns before hitting the griddle with a hiss. “I´m not even going to be staying here… if anything did happen, it would only hurt both of us once I have to leave…’ he shook his head sadly.

Hiroshi and Daisuke looked at each other, exchanging frowns. Then Hiroshi turned back to Mike, who had started to eat the okonomiyaki. “Hey… how about the three of us go out to the gaming center tonight? It´ll be my treat. Maybe we can get you having some fun?’

Mike smiled a bit, as the boys stood to leave. “Sure, I´d like that. Thanks, guys, for being so good to me…’

Daisuke grinned. “Its no problem, really.’

The two boys exited. As they walked down the street toward their neighborhood, they exchanged glances. “Are you thinking what I´m thinking?’ Hiroshi asked, with a grin. Daisuke nodded.

“Kagami…’ They said, in unison.

Next Chapter: Xao vs. Ranma! And who in the flaming crimson heck is Kagami? Yeah, you´re going to find out. Stay tuned!