=================== PART VI I Remember You =================== [Early November: Friday, Sunset] Muhoshin sat in his hotel room, flipping through a file and looking mildly upset. The previous evening didn't go as well as he had hoped. In fact, it was a disaster. He was intending to breeze in, defeat Hibiki, and go back for a well deserved rest. Easier said than done, apparently. He was beginning to feel all the old frustrations coming back, focused on the one directionally challanged idiot whose name made him wince as if someone had been scratching a chalkboard with a rake. All the old frustration that he used to feel with _him_ winning all the time. It seemed to him that he'd best familiarize himself with the locals, now that he was going to have to deal with them. He was flipping through what passed as "surveillance information" from a popular sources known among all who had somebody to stalk. There were various photos and notes typed on each of them. Possible allies and enemies. He wanted a plan. A good plan. Something that would hurt Ryouga mentally, at the very least. Fighting honestly was a challange. Fighting dirty was a sport. There was a photo of a short haired girl. [Akane Tendou. Age 17. Love interest of Ryouga Hibiki? Potential hostage. Violent tendancies. Approach with caution] {Hm... kidnapping.} He mulled the possibilities over. It was one of the oldest tricks in the book, cliched terribly, but still it was a plan. Just out of curiosity, he flipped through the file until he reached a name that was bothering him. "E....F...G...Go...Gosunkugi, Hikaru. Mm-hm," Ryo muttered. He opened the file to find no picture and only one piece of paper. It read: Hikaru Gosunkugi: Mostly Harmless. Ryo blinked. Mostly harmless? ============================================================================ Ryouga and Ukyou were standing around the restaraunt, relaxing since it was a slow day for business. He sat at a table, Ukyou standing nearby at the grill. "So who was this guy anyways? And what'd he want with you?" Ryouga was silent. "Hey! Ryouga! Hello?" "I'm trying to remember, okay?" Ryouga continued to concentrate. "Well, a couple of years ago..." [Several Years Ago. Location: ???] Ryouga stumbled through thick underbrush and dense forest, cursing for the hundredth time his inherited sense (or, actually, lack of) direction. He'd been in pursuit of that coward Ranma for a while now. It felt like he'd been wandering around for weeks. He staggered onward, ignoring the grumble eminating from the pit of his stomach and the lightheadedness that began to invade his head. He couldn't stop, not now. Vengence knew no time, but Ryouga was impatient anyways. Frustrated at the dense forest, he gave a determined yell and charged straight forward, obstacles be damned. To his surprise, the forest suddenly ended and a large wooden wall suddenly loomed ahead. "Oh n-" *WHAM* [end flashback] "So... you made a big entrance, huh?" Ukyou smirked "Well, I got out of the forest, didn't I?" countered Ryouga. ============================================================================ Ryo put down the file on Nerima's infamous and took a long drink from a can of cola, his eyes narrowed in thought. It'd been quite a while since he faced Mr. Hibiki. Although he didn't remember Ryo, Ryo certainly didn't forget him. [several years ago...] The senseis looked on from the front of the dojo while the students sat on the fringes. At the center, two gi-clad figures paced, watching each other warily. One weilded a blue bamboo umbrella. He was breathing heavily, sweat drenching his gi, with various cuts and bruises dotting his body. The other held an obsidian umbrella with a hook-end handle. This one had a few tears in his gi, but he was otherwise calm, breathing slowly, and not hurt. The one with the black umbrella relaxed his stance and lowered his umbrella slightly. With an air of smugness, he let a small grin creep across his face. "Kousuke," he said quietly, low enough for his opponent to hear, but too quiet for the others, "it is not too late to surrender." "Surrender?!" hissed Kousuke. "Yes... just beg." "NEVER!" Kousuke charged, slashing with great speed. He left gashes in the floor and left a vaccum in the air with each slash, but his adversary had somehow blocked or dodged every attack. "You've made your decision, Kousuke. Remember that," said the other, just before he hooked Kousuke's ankle with the umbrella, pulled, then kicked at his knee from the front. There was the unmistakable sound of a joint bending in a way that it wasn't built to, and Kousuke collapsed on the floor, writing in pain. "Muhoshin that is enough!" yelled one of the senseis. He either didn't hear the sensei, or ignored him as he swung his umbrella like a bat and struck at Kousuke's side. "Ryo! I said that is enough!" Ryo kicked Kousuke in the gut, sending him skidding for several feet before collapsing once more on the floor. Enough? No, this wasn't nearly enough. Kousuke had been good, and obedient, and quick to learn, a sensei's pet, so to speak. He had made one mistake: he'd hoped of being recognized as an equal in talent to Ryo Muhoshin. Ryo wouldn't allow that. People just needed to learn where they belonged. Kousuke would be an example, one in a long line of examples, of what happened when they tried to surpass him. "MUHOSHIN! I SAID-" *CRASH* A ragged figure, clad in backpack and umbrella, smashed through the walls, knocking Kousuke out of the way, and ended up taking the hit intended for Kousuke's skull. The stranger staggered a few feet, then collapsed, while Ryo approached him with narrowed eyes. Who was this person that denied him his sport? "Students!" boomed one of the senseis, "bring these two to the medical room! Muhoshin! You will stay here!" And thus went the first meeting of Ryo Muhoshin and Ryouga Hibiki. What happened to Hibiki next after that, Ryo knew not. ============================================================================ "What happened next?" asked Ukyou. "Well... let's see... I crashed through the dojo wall, felt a sharp pain in my head, then I passed out. A while later..." Ryouga woke up slowly, feeling very much refreshed. He sensed he was on something soft. He wasn't quite sure what it was, as lately he hadn't been on anything like that... but he was fairly sure it was a bed. He opened his eyes slowly, only to see a young girl with short hair looking down at him, as if examining him. "Well, good morning," she greeted, looking at him curiously. "Um, hi." After that remarkably complex conversation, she left and brought back an older gentlemen, who told him that he was suffering from exhaustion and needed a few days of rest. Occasionally, some old men came in and asked him a few questions... was he a martial artist? How skillfull was he? Would he care to train with them? In addition to the questions, the old men treated him well, offering quite a lot in terms of food to eat and hospitality in general. They made him feel very much welcome. "And well," said Ryouga, "it seemed like they wanted me to stay for a while, and I guess I wanted to pay them back for their kindness..." "So you hung around there for a while, right?" said Ukyou. Ryouga nodded. "It seemed that they didn't want me to go away." ============================================================================ If only Hibiki had gone away! Ryo felt that his life would have run fairly smoother, if he had. If only Ryo had known what Hibiki would mean to him, he'd have crippled him on the spot. But no, after Hibiki was taken away, Ryo gave him no further thought, until a few days later... The students were all standing at attention within the dojo, their umbrellas to the side. As usual, Ryo was at front and center, looking rather emotionless. A new student was introduced, a peculiar boy with a bad sense of direction and some need of dental work. As they all found out at the introduction, he was Ryouga Hibiki, already practiced in martial arts and a student there beginning today. Ryo sensed something was amiss. He scanned the faces of his senseis. Sensei Miyaji seemed to be hiding nothing... but the others, they seemed quite happy at the arrival of Hibiki. Something was going on. In the coming months, he found out what was so special about Ryouga. He was a quick learner, if it was within his ability to learn. He'd been beaten by Ryo several times, in the early matches, but after one month, Ryouga held his own... and after two months... "UGH!" Ryo fell to one knee, feeling the incredible weight of Ryouga's umbrella smashing into his gut for the fourth time in the match. The world became a blur and he saw one of the senseis raising his hand to indicate a point scored. For some reason the sensei was standing next to Ryouga... why was everyone cheering? Then a frown traveled across his normally calm face. Ryo sensed the eyes of all who feared him looking down at him now with ridicule. Who was afraid of the big bad Ryo? He'd finally been beaten, soundly as well, and by a student that had been to the school briefly. It didn't matter that he had been trained as a martial artist previously. The only thing that everyone looked for was a win or a loss. As fate would have it, the next several months were exercises in frustration. He'd come close sometimes... VERY close... and once he even had the opportunity to kill him. But... but for some reason, with his umbrella blade pressed at Ryouga's throat... he passed that up. Ryouga showed no extreme passion for the art, at least, in his own opinion. Ryo just didn't understand, WHY was he staying there? Month, after month, after month?!?! ============================================================================ "Anyways, I stayed there for a couple of months... learned a few things... sparred alot with people, Ryo was one of them I guess..." rambled Ryouga. "Did you do anything to make him mad?" wondered Ukyou. "No... I don't think so. We sparred alot. That's about it." "Did he act mean to you? Hostile?" "No. He was just kinda stiff, but always polite about things." "So, how'd you end up leaving, then?" Ryouga tapped his chin, thinking. "Let's see... it was after several months..." Outside, the sky was somewhat overcast and the breeze was strong. Ryouga stood outside, in front of the UWSMA dojo which specialized in umbrellas and other protecive gear of the like. It had been several months now, and he had a nagging feeling that he was forgetting something. "Hibiki, hello," said a flat, cordial, but mostly emotionless voice. "Oh. Hi, Muhoshin." Ryo perched himself upon the railing that lined the edge of the porch and looked down at Ryouga, who was standing outside of the building's protective roof. "Tell me Ryouga, honestly, why have you come here?" "Hm?" "Why? What brought you this way?" "I was..." mumbled Ryouga, searching his memory, "hunting down someone... I think..." Ryo narrowed his eyes and looked at Ryouga suspiciously. "Is that so?" He twirled his umbrella slowly, and removed the protective guard from the blade tip. "Who, may I ask?" Ryouga's eyes widened in horror. How could he forget about RANMA? The scum that ran out on their duel! Suddenly, Ryouga yelled to the sky, "RANMA! I'LL FIND YOU YET!!!" Ryo stared in surprise as Ryouga suddenly bolted away, smashing through several buildings in his attempt to find his way around. There were several yells of anger as people stepped out of the damaged buildings and looked for the offending rampant traveler, but Ryouga was already gone, once more into the great wide open. "WHERE ON EARTH AM I NOW?!?!?!" "And, well, after that, I made my way to China... and then Ranma... at Jusenkyou... that's when RANMA RUINED MY-" "Oh, PLEASE, Ryouga. Let's not start on _that_ again, hm?" "Well, it WAS his fault!" "How long are you gonna be mad about that?" prodded Ukyou, irritated. "It was a long time ago!" ============================================================================= It was a long time that the memory of Ryouga irked him. The mention of his name raised his blood pressure and lit his fuse. But things changed, although slowly, with the exit of Hibiki from the scenario. Life had resumed it's status quo, or so he had hoped. Unfortunately, the shadow of Hibiki's achievements did not leave with him. He saw less fear in the eyes of his fellow students. He knew what they were thinking: one of them would take him down, maybe not now, maybe not tomorrow, but one of them, and sometime. Because they finally saw that he was not unbeatable, far from it in fact. And then there was the way the senseis CONSTANTLY reminded him of his humiliation, rubbing it in his face that he'd been brought low by an outsider with less training than he. They dared speculate that he would never have the amount of potential that the Hibiki boy had. And they reminded him of this every day. Technically, there was nothing standing in the way of his regaining his former rank of top student, and soon he was once again on the edge of being graduated to the highest level he could achieve without being a 'sensei'. He knew that there were others better than him, certainly, but that's why they're the senseis, after all. A time would come when he'd have that title too, but that was the future. He was interested in a smaller time scale. Then, one day, the senseis had a meeting... Ryo sat outside the dojo, eavesdropping on a meeting of several senseis of some topic that rumored to be around him. So far, what he heard was rather interesting. "I STRONGLY disagree with this method, gentlemen. It will aggrivate his already formidable mean streak. It won't make him a better person at all. It's bad enough that you have reminded him daily of his inferiority to the boy!" Ryo recoginzed that voice. It was Sensei Miyaji... ever the voice of peace and calm. Inferiority indeed... "Hibiki ran out on us, Miyaji! Without word of explanation! He insults us with such behaviour!" said one voice. "Besides, what better way to test Muhoshin than to send him against the one person that has managed to defeat him on a consistent basis? If he looses, then he might be humbled at last, or perhaps driven into hiding by shame, who knows? But he is likely to become our problem no more." "And if he wins, it will sharpen Muhoshin's confidence level. We ourselves can still turn him away from his morme undesirable habits, with more rigorous training!" Ryo knew those as well... senseis Kazutaka and Ichiro. "Your previous plan to make Muhoshin a more 'mild mannered' person has failed!" said Miyaji. "All you achieved was to make Muhoshin nearly psychotic at the mention of the name Hibiki! Manipulating those boys like that... you should be ashamed! Whatever you plan to do with him now... I... I wash my hands of it! Do you hear!" And with that, Miyaji's footsteps were heard, followed by the opening and closing of a door. thought Ryo, somewhat angrily. "Let's go find Muhoshin," sighed Ichiro. At this point, Ryo couldn't resist but make a smooth entrance. He strode into the room, grinning dangerously. As he expected, they assigned him to take down Hibiki, and to his pleasant surprise, a few others who had seemed to have offended the honor of the UWSMA at some point. Ryouga, as well as the others, had been located in Nerima, amongst a small community of other martial artists. Ryo was given a file on them, obtained through unknown sources, and was sent on his way with a fair amount of travel money. He'd do things his way, though. This, he decided from the start. A little gambling here, a little extortion there, and he was financially self-sufficient. The senseis also didn't put a time limit on his hunt, so he decided to have a small vacation of sorts... that took an entire year. A little sight seeing, some new martial arts techniques learned, a few people crushed along the way... But all good things must pass, and Ryo felt that he'd best get back to the job at hand. And so, onward he went to Nerima, to begin Hibiki hunting at last. ============================================================================ Ryouga hmmed, thinking about the situation. What would it take to stop Ryo from hunting him? It was all a big misunderstanding, right? Ryouga was sure that maybe if they talked things over the problem would be settled. Maybe. Then again, that approach didn't exactly work on him when Ranma tried it. "Um... Ryouga, mind if I ask you a favor?" "Hm? Yeah, sure." "Ranma and Akane are going to see some movies. They invited me to go along and... well..." "You'd feel uncomfortable alone with those two, right?" "You got it. So could you..." "Yeah, sure. No problem. Just... keep Ranma away from me. Please?" The memory of Ranma-chan kissing him was still an incredibly traumatic memory... one he'd rather do without. ============================================================================ Ryo took in all the memories of the last few years, letting the aggrivation soak into himself. Nothing like a surge of anger to boost up one's fighting spirit. Just then, something caught his eye. Something that was strong enough to deflate his fighitng spirit. He picked up the newspaper. "Oh. Oh my my my... the Jackie Chan festival. Mustn't miss that." He felt the adrenaline rush drain away from his body, as his muscles loosened and his blood pressure dropped suddenly. Ryouga could wait. There was always time to appreciate the finer things in life. -end part 6-