Title: A Legend reborn

Author name: Trugeta

Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by Rumiko Takahashi and VIZ as well as Akira Toriyama and many others. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. Note further that I don't own any of the trademarks mentioned in this story.

This story takes place after Movie 10 of Dragonball Z and at the beginning of the Ranma series. It's an AU, and reviews are welcome and appreciated.

Chapter 13: Laying the blame…

Outside of the by now half-destroyed house of Dende, the Z-fighters, three Tendo girls plus Genma Saotome watched how a fully powered up Gohan flew into the building, a look of angry determination visible on his face. His last punch had managed to blast Ranma straight through half of the building and into a wall which had buried the younger Saiyan, but it had obviously not been enough to knock him out, how Ranmas' new power-up showed.

Piccolo cocked his head, fascinated by the jump in Ranma’s powerlevel. ‘Interesting. He’s now nearly as strong as Vegeta was when he fought Cell in his second form. The boy has potential, but he won’t be able to beat Gohan as he is now. Though that may change…’ he thought.

Vegeta had made the same observation. “The brat has potential.” he muttered to himself.

The other spectators, especially the humans, were wary of the fight. Kasumi and Nabiki were worried about Ranma, for they'd seen what an angry Gohan could do. Akane was worried for her sensei too, though she'd never have admitted it outwardly. Genma on his part had recovered from the near coronary in face of seeing how powerful his son really was, but he too was worried about Ranma; never before had his son had to face someone as powerful as Gohan, and he vowed that he'd apologise to the boy for the fact that his, err, monetary interests had gotten the better of him. Or better yet, he’d let the matter drop completely and hope that the other shoe wouldn’t drop…

Videl was having second thoughts now too, seeing as she had to agree with what Nabiki Tendo had said. "Piccolo, we should stop Gohan. This has gone far enough." she said and cringed as Ranma evaded repeated and powerful strikes from her boyfriend.

The tall Namek turned his head to her. "Not yet." he said with his arms crossed.

"Not yet?" mimed Nabiki in controlled anger. "What else has to happen? Ranma losing a few limbs? I'm sure he's quite attached to them, as am I." 'Especially to the one I caught a glimpse upon in the furo…' she thought with a feint blush.

"Me too. Ranma-kun has suffered enough because of his unthinking father!" Kasumi exclaimed heatedly, and her scowl only intensified when Ranma was nearly hit by one of Gohan’s energy attacks.

"Hey!" exclaimed Genma, not of the mind to show weakness in front of the girls, "I resemble… err, resent this remark!"

Nabiki wanted to retort with an acid comment, but Kasumi beat her to the punch, at least verbally. "Oh, you think that remark was not proper, Mr. Saotome? Well, how you behaved and what you did was sure as hell improper as well, and besides, screw proper! Because of you this whole situation came about, and do you move a single finger to remedy it? No! You let Ranma deal with the fallout you caused. That makes me so... so... angry!"

Genma back-pedalled in face of the red battle-aura Kasumi was producing, and her sisters were surprised and happy at the same time. Could it really be that their real big sis was coming out of the shell of the docile and polite housewife she had created for herself over the years to cope with her duties to the family? They didn't dare to hope, but it seemed so.

Dende on his part was smiling mysteriously, and Vegeta was actually impressed; it seemed that the brat had made good choices in mates.

-.-

Ranma was currently busy with dodging repeated blows from Gohan, and somehow, someway he managed to dodge and weave around them. It seemed as if his 'Saiyan side' had been right; now that he was complete he was more powerful. It also helped that Gohan was apparently beyond angry; his blows were beyond powerful and should he score another blow the fight would likely be over, assessed Ranma as he dodged another blow to the head; at first he was about to play on the defensive, but he realised soon that this tactic would achieve nothing. Gohan had way too much energy to be tired out, but luckily he was very imprecise due to his obvious rage; the demi-Saiyan also left himself wide open, and that was a punishable mistake.

The pigtailed Saiyan dodged to the side, and suddenly lashed out with a punch that Gohan blocked as expected; however, the punch had only been a feint that hid the real attack, and that followed suit. Putting all of his body-mass and strength behind it Ranma fired an extremely powerful roundhouse-kick into Gohan's side which sent the other young man flying. However, Gohan was back in the fight faster than one could blink, and his anger had only risen, apparently; that turned out to be a good thing, for it left the demi-Saiyan largely unfocussed and allowed the weaker Ranma to evade the attacks.

Vegeta and Piccolo made the same observation as before; Ranma’s powerlevel was steadily climbing, and the similarities to Brolly became more apparent. But it seemed that Ranma was very much in control of himself, as his fighting style showed. Seldom before had they seen such precise and controlled movements, and his technique was flawless. One look at Gohan however showed that he didn’t share their opinion, and the Saiyan Prince arrived at a conclusion. ‘The brat lets himself be ruled by his anger, and he has no idea how to control it. Not that it is a wonder, seeing that the harpy never allowed the warrior in him to unfold. How do the humans say? The genie is out of the bottle, and the harpy won’t succeed in stuffing it back this time. Kakkabrat number one is finally worthy of being called a warrior. Who’d have thought?’

In the next five minutes Gohan continued to press his attacks, but his obvious fury made it impossible for him to hit the elusive full-blooded Saiyan. Ranma seemed to know what Gohan would do before he did it, and seeing how Gohan practically telegraphed his attacks and considering Ranma’s skill-level that was an easy feat. The Saotome youth evaded a vicious kick that cut a palm tree down and saw his chance to score a hit; lashing out with his right foot he used his full power and body-mass and kicked out. The kick connected and hit the demi-Saiyan in the right side and sent him flying backwards towards Dende’s battered house; but even in his uncontrolled flight Gohan managed to fire a Masenko, and the energy attack hit Ranma dead on.

The blast exploded upon contact and Ranma yelled in pain as he was sent flying backwards and through another section of palm trees. Burned and injured Ranma crashed down in a heap at one side of the lookout, and he scolded himself that he hadn’t managed to block the attack in time. His opponent had touched down on the opposite side of the lookout, and Gohan was holding his left side. However, he was far from giving up, rather the opposite, how the glint in his teal eyes proved.

Videl saw this, and tried to stop him. "Gohan, that's enough! I won't take up the engagement and neither will Ranma, there's no reason to fight him! Snap out of it!"

His greed momentarily overcame his decision to let go of the engagement, and Genma Saotome spoke up. "Girl, I have an agreement with your father, and the two of you will abide by it!" he exclaimed, crossing his arms across his chest.

“The heck I will!” Videl snapped. “And you snap out of it, Gohan! It’s not Ranma’s fault! Haven’t you listened to what this man said? He’s to blame, not Ranma and if you continue to attack him I’ll tell your mother to cook only one forth of the food you usually get!”

Gohan looked from his mate to a sweating Genma and laced the Saotome patriarch with a burning glare that promised pain, but he was stopped by the anger-battle-auras that sprang up around the women that had been introduced as Kasumi and Nabiki Tendo. "Don't you care about what happens to your son? Do you only care for your good life, but not about Ranma? He's already been injured because of you and your dishonourable actions! Even a blind could see that Gohan and Videl are in love, and yet you insensitive jerk want to force them apart! I'd react the same way as they, but being in Gohan's shoes I'd punch your lights out!"

"Oh yes," added Kasumi, "my Ranma is suffering because of you, and that's something I can't stand!"

"I see. Ranma is already off the market, and you just tried to make a good deal. That was not very nice or clever, Mr. Saotome." Gohan said and cracked his knuckles.

"B-but I only did it for the boy!" protested Genma, sweating.

Gohan scowled and prepared to deal out some well deserved punishment to set Genma straight, when Ranma came shooting forward; surprisingly most of his injuries had already healed, and to the two older Tendo sisters he looked virtually edible in the tattered remains of his clothes which showed a lot of skin...

"Ranma-kun, stop!" Kasumi yelled, and really, Kasumi raising her voice got Ranma's attention.

"Why should I? Things were just getting fun!" he stated.

Incredulous stares followed that statement. "You call that fun?" Akane asked disbelieving, and pointed at the bloody, bruised and bleeding Ranma.

"Err, yeah. Why?"

"Note to self: likes getting hurt." Nabiki muttered.

"So why did ya stop me? This fight was really getting good." Ranma complained.

"They stopped you because they showed me who's really to blame." stated Gohan. "Sorry for overreacting." he added, extending his hand.

Ranma looked unsure for a moment, torn between wanting to continue the fight and accepting the offer of cease fire. Finally, not two seconds later he took the offered hand and gave it a firm shake. "Not a problem. I'd prolly have reacted the same way had someone threatened my mates." he said, only then realising what he'd said; however, he didn't take it back, much to Nabiki's and Kasumis delight, who blushed faintly.

With that out of the way the two Saiyans turned their teal eyes on Genma, who began to sweat. "Oyaji," growled Ranma, "do you still insist that I marry Videl?"

"I advise you to use your brain for once before talking, Mr. Saotome. This advice is free of charge in way of exception." Nabiki said with a cold smirk.

Genma shut his trapdoor. "But I only want the best for the boy! I mean, look at her,” he said, pointing at Videl, “she's athletic, good looking and the daughter of a great martial artist. Plus we have an agreement. Can you blame me for looking out for my son?"

Six very distinct "Hell yeah!"s could be heard.

The Saotome patriarch sighed. "It's the same everywhere. No respect." he muttered.

"Stop acting, oyaji. Videl is spoken for, and I will see the Tendo agreement through. I already said that I like both Kasumi and Nabiki, and I'd like to see where things go from there." he said with a smile at said two girls, and the smile was returned in kind. "So, will you give up on that ridiculous farce already?" he demanded.

In face of so many stares and glares Genma caved in. "Yeah, boy. It seems that I got carried away in my efforts to give my best for the family."

Ranma couldn't believe his ears. His father, admitting fault? That couldn't be. "What? Have I heard right?"

Piccolo and Dende, who'd remained in the background to listen, exchanged glances. Things had gone quite differently from what they had planned, but the apparent engagement between Ranma and Videl had brought out the Saiyan in Gohan, and that was what counted. Genma Saotome had been taught at lesson at the same time, and he'd probably think twice now before he meddled in Ranma's life.

The kami of Earth on his part knew that Genma was a good person at heart, but he was also incredibly easy to influence. If there was an opportunity to make easy money he'd take it, regardless of the consequences, and that was something that couldn't go on with Ranma as good as being a Z-fighter now. He'd have to think of something to get these... attacks Genma suffered from under control, and he would come up with something, even if it meant subjecting Ranmas father to a horrendous headache every time he thought of doing something stupid. ‘In fact, this is my best idea pertaining Genma Saotome up till now. Maybe he’ll learn in time.’ thought the Kami of Earth as he worked his powers.

Gohan looked at Ranma. "Has your father done it often, engaged you to more than one girl?" he asked as the girls proceeded to give a pale looking Genma a severe tongue-lashing for acting so stupid.

"Yes," nodded Ranma, "although often it wasn't his fault. Well, we better sit down somewhere. A full recount of what happened might take a while..."

"Okay," said Dende and concentrated; suddenly, not a second later his house was completely undamaged, "this might be a bit better suited for that, wouldn't you agree?"

Baffled nods from Ranma and the Tendo sisters were his answer; Dende had not exaggerated when he'd said that repairing the house would be child's play. Piccolo on his part was proud of the little kami, who was now really getting into his powers; now, if only he'd take up some fighting so that he'd be able to defend himself. But he’d get his fellow Namek there eventually.

Dende smiled. "Please follow me."

-.-

Once inside the other Z-fighters noticed that Dende had adjusted the living room and kitchen to suit their needs; which was a good thing considering that three Saiyan stomachs announced their want to get filled rather loudly. Mr. Popo was quickly informed and was soon cooking a huge meal; Kasumi had offered her help, and the immortal being had taken her up on this offer all too gladly.

Soon delicious smells were wafting through the house, but Vegeta and Gohan were curious enough to suppress their base needs for the moment; questions were fired at Ranma, and the Saotome youth began to tell them the unabridged version of what had happened to him before and at Jusenkyo.

Ranma described the many times his father had engaged him to girls, but also explained that it hadn't been his fault in most cases; more often than not an engagement had been made when they'd asked for food during their travels, and their 'saviours' had nearly always insisted on a marriage agreement between Ranma and their daughters, giving Genma no choice, in most cases. Upon being questioned by Genma how he remembered these incidents, Ranma answered that it had to be due to the changes he had undergone.

The agreement pertaining Videl he attributed to utter stupidity and greed on his fathers’ part, and he apologised for what had happened. Genma did the same thing with a sigh, and admitted that the financial benefits of Ranma having Videl as his mistress had blinded him. Gohan and Videl were still very cross with him, but both decided to let it slide for Ranma. Said Saotome youth continued his tale and described the training trip itself.

Vegeta, who'd remained in the background growled. "You really mean to tell me that you," he snarled at Genma with contempt, "have treated a Saiyan, one of my subjects, like that? I can understand and forgive nearly all training methods, we Saiyans have subjected ourselves to more trying exercises after all, but the technique you called Neko-ken goes too far."

"Err, you see..." stuttered Genma.

Ranma gave a sound of contempt. "He actually did it when I was still human." he stated, which caused incredulous stares.

"What?" every Z-Fighter exclaimed. “You were human before?” asked Piccolo, the Neko-ken loosing importance.

“How come you’re a Saiyan now? I’m pretty sure nobody used the dragonballs, so how did that happen?” asked Gohan.

The pigtailed boy sighed. "It happened in China, to be exact, at Jusenkyo. And you really have to tell me what those ‘dragonballs’ are." he said, and began to explain.

Five minutes later they were pleasantly interrupted by Kasumi who helped Mr. Popo serve the meal, and a big grin from Ranma was all the payment she needed.

Soon everybody was taking in, and Ranma continued to explain between bites; the Tendo sisters noticed that his appetite had obviously increased to new levels, for he was packing away enough food to provide a small army for a long time. He finally arrived at the part where he'd arrived at the Tendo Dojo, and the girls added their view on things from then on.

"So you once were human, brat. I see it hasn't damaged you." Vegeta commented, packing away a rice ball.

"Thanks." Ranma said, unsure of how to respond; had he been insulted or complimented, he wasn't sure and let it slide.

The Prince of all Saiyans then turned a burning gaze on Genma. "The brat is now my subject, human. Any authority you believed to have had pertaining his training is henceforth null and void. So speaks the prince of all Saiyans. Kakkarotts first spawn, you will take up training with the brat." he commanded.

Genma looked at the Saiyan Prince. "But he's my son and heir! I've trained him to be the heir to my school since he could walk, and I have much to teach him still! You can't do that!"

Vegeta glared his famous deathglare, the one that had cowed entire crowds of people in the past; the result was that Genma caved in a millisecond. "I can, human. Gauging from what the brat told us you barely taught him anything; that is something which makes his fighting prowess the more intriguing. His further training will commence the way I schedule it; any objections will be dealt with accordingly." he threatened with a very evil smirk.

”Much as I don’t like Ranma’s father, he is right. You can’t just force someone to practically sign his parental rights over.” Nabiki said coldly, looking at Vegeta unflinchingly.

The Saiyan Prince was about to answer, but Ranma beat him to the punch, gracing Nabiki with a smile. “Thanks for intervening on my behalf, Nabs, but its not needed. I learned everything I could from pops, and I’m sure Vegeta and Gohan can teach me new moves. Let it slide, Nabs.”

“If you’re sure, Ranma.” Nabiki said, feeling warm and fuzzy inside at being called Nabs by him.

Genma on his part gulped when Vegeta’s glare bore into him. He'd felt enough pain for the day, scratch that, for this century. If that man wanted the responsibility of teaching the boy he could have it. "I understand. Boy, you will do as he says, but our morning spars will remain. Understood?"

Ranmas answer consisted of a growl. "I can decide for myself, and I already have. Gohan, I'd be honoured to train with you." he then said with a bow.

Gohan bowed back, seeing as he agreed verily with the idea of training. The fight had been great, and to be honest, he longed for more, now that he'd finally accepted his Saiyan side. "The honour is all mine." he said with a grin.

"What of the harpy, ahem, your mother, Gohan? Knowing her she won't agree and insist that you study." Piccolo added with a scowl.

To the surprise of many Gohan snorted. "Let that be my worry. My hiatus is over, and mom will have to accept it. I want to ensure Videl's safety," that caused a smile from said girl, "and that's best done through getting stronger. This epiphany came to me in our fight, Ranma. All the studying in the world won't help me if I don't have the brawn to back my brains up.”

He grinned at Ranma. “You started out as a basic Saiyan in our fight, and you reached SSJ like nothing. Who says that there aren't any bad guys out there who could do the same and become a real threat? Me, I've always missed a training partner around my age, and I feel that we'll both benefit from what Vegeta has planned. You're already good, and I think we'll push the other to new heights. I want to, need to get stronger, and you're a decent challenge." he said with a smirk.

"So are you. That other Super state of yours is really something else. When you switched to that it was nearly impossible to stay in the fight; but you being too angry gave me some openings." Ranma commented while the others listened.

"He's right, kid." said Piccolo. "You lost your head."

Gohan accepted this with a nod. "That was the Saiyan in me, the side of me I finally understood and accepted. I am the descendent of a warrior race, I can't deny it. I felt it in my fights with Cell as well as Bojack, the calling of the warrior in me, but I denied it until now because this primal side of me downright scared me. Now I've embraced it and we've become one so that I'll be able to protect my mate better. It also caused me to lose my temper, and that's something I'll need to work on."

"Brat, Kakkarotts first spawn, accompany me outside." Vegeta commanded, getting up.

Gohan and Ranma shared a look, shrugged and got up too; they followed Vegeta, who was waiting outside with his arms crossed over his face. "Brats, I want you to power up to your respective maximums as Super Saiyans. Hold nothing back, I want to get a reliable reading."

Both teens looked at each other, shrugged once more and did as Vegeta had asked. Piccolo, who'd gotten curious of what the Saiyan Prince had planned, joined them; it had become boring inside anyway, as the girls had a few bones to pick with that fat human fool.

Gohan and Ranma had both powered up into SSJ and their powerlevels continued to rise; with a yell the first son of Goku reached SSJ2, and it was a truly awesome sight. 'It is as I thought. Kakkarotts brat has really accepted the Saiyan in him; nothing else can explain this increase in power.' Vegeta thought. 'I must reach this power that is becoming of the Prince of all Saiyans. If that means that I'll have to train with the brats, so be it.' he decided.

Piccolo on his part was both baffled and elated. Gohan had taken a big step in becoming a warrior today. 'All it took was to play to his fears to spur his protectiveness, to awaken the warrior in him. I've always known that Saiyans are very protective of their mates, but had I known just how much... no need to cry over spilled milk, as the humans say. Thanks to that fat human fool things are looking up.' he thought with pride.

It was good to see his erstwhile pupil back on the path of the warrior again, but the second cause for this was just as impressive in his potential as Gohan, if not even more so. Ranma was already near the powerlevel Vegeta had been at in his fight with Imperfect Cell in his second form. The young man was indeed a worthy addition to their ranks, even if he'd have to break him off some bad habits first. But a stay in the hyperbolic timechamber once Gohan and Ranma were well into their training would surely help in that regard. Ah, it just felt good to see that Gohan's potential was not longer going to waste. Was he ever looking forward to when Gohan would confront his mother, that was bound to be very interesting.

-.-

Vegeta and Piccolo had given their analysis on how the training should commence, and both had agreed that it would make the most sense if they sparred in Vegeta's gravity room; the Namek would play 'taxi' and collect the new Saiyan after school until he had learned how to teleport. This was something that Piccolo wanted to teach them first thing, seeing as it could be very useful in battle.

They on the other hand would benefit from the fighting styles and techniques Ranma employed, for what he'd shown in his prior fights had been most impressive. It was also obvious, that Gohan and Ranma, who had both powered down and were busy exchanging moves and techniques, got along very well. This was indeed what had missed in Gohan’s life, another Saiyan around his age, someone who could keep the oldest son of Goku on his toes. And taking the potential of Ranma into account he could.

Ranma had just agreed to the training schedule, when a female shout rang out: "RANMA SAOTOME, PREPARE TO DIE!"

-.-

The Saotome youth looked up into the sky, rolling his eyes. "Can't I ever catch a break?" he muttered.

"What's her problem?" Gohan asked, looking at the girl that stepped into view.

"No idea," Ranma answered, "and how the heck did she get here?"

"I'm right here, you asshole, so don't ignore me!" the Saiyan female yelled. "I followed your trail, Ranma Saotome and this time you'll pay! Nothing will stop my revenge, you coward!" 'And sure as hell no strange feelings!' she vowed.

Vegeta felt his eyes bugging out; there, standing in front of him, stood an honest to goodness Saiyan female! How in Ter’Luchs name had she survived? And why was she so young? Questions the Prince of all Saiyans wanted an answer to, and pronto. He also felt his body react to the pheromones she was giving off, but he immediately clamped down on this instinctive reaction; he was mated to his woman, and once mated a Saiyan never became unfaithful till the day the mate died.

He observed the same reaction from Gohan and received more proof that the brat had mated himself to the human girl; not a bad choice, in his opinion, though he'd never admit it out loud. Even though the girl suffered from a questionable parentage it had apparently not damaged her which probably meant that the genes of Videl's mother had been dominant, for which the human race should be eternally thankful. Vegeta doubted that the world would survive another ego as big as the ‘champs’.

Ranma reacted in the same fashion as the other Saiyans, but this time the reaction was milder. He didn't know why nor did he really care at the moment, as long as it helped him keep his focus; maybe he'd be able to learn why she wanted to kill him this time.

The reaction of the Saotome youth, or the lack thereof relieved the Tendo sisters immensely; Nabiki and Kasumi saw that there was no need to be jealous, and Akane had further proof that her sensei was no pervert. So what did this girl want and why was she so angry with Ranma? This was very odd.

Videl on her part looked puzzled until the Tendo sisters filled her in as to what had happened at school, and suddenly the Satan girl looked at Genma. "Mr. Saotome, could this be an occasion where you were 'forced' to make a marriage agreement? Is this girl so angry because she had been left behind?"

Genma shook his head. "No, nothing of that kind happened, I swear. This girl is no fiancée of my son."

"Hey, I don't want to marry the jerk! Euugh! I want to kill him for what he did!" the Saiyan girl exclaimed. "And I hate being ignored!"

"Are you certain no engagement slipped your mind, Mr. Saotome?" Nabiki asked, crossing her arms under her chest.

Genma sweated as he thought this over, but his mind drew a blank; he just had no idea who this strange girl was, and he was pretty sure that he hadn't engaged Ranma to aliens. "I have no idea what this girl wants. She's no fiancée of Ranma, of that I'm sure."

"How can you be sure, Mr. Saotome?" Kasumi asked fake-innocently.

"Due to the fact that this girl has a tail. I never engaged my son to a girl like that, of that I'm absolutely sure." Genma retorted.

"Enough talk!" interjected the Saiyan girl, "Prepare to die, Ranma!" she yelled and launched herself at him.

While the Saotome youth sighed and dodged blows with ease something was nagging at the back of Nabiki's mind. 'Something is eerily familiar about that battlecry of hers. It sounds... just like that of that childhood friend of Ranmas’, Ryoga Hibiki. I doubt that she's either his girlfriend or sister, and she's no fiancée, so all that remains in the process of elimination is either her being a member of the Saiyan race Ranma encountered prior and who wants revenge for some thing or the other, which is unlikely, or... Jusenkyo. Where is hot water when one needs it?' she thought.

"Oh kami, Ranma never gets a break, does he?" Kasumi asked with a sigh.

"It doesn't seem so, Kasumi-san. The reason why eludes me at the moment, though." Dende said.

"What do you mean, Dende-sama? Is someone or something responsible for the chaos surrounding Ranma?" Nabiki asked, beating her sisters to the punch.

"It seems so. We'd have to do a deep-aura-screening to be sure, but Ranma seems to suffer from a variant of a Chinese curse, the 'may-you-live-in-interesting-times' curse." the little green god explained.

Akane snorted. "It sure as hell never gets boring around him."

"Is this affliction dangerous? And who might have caused it?" asked Kasumi, surprising her sisters with her proactive attitude.

"Hard to say." answered Dende.

"We'll commence the scan after the battle has ended. It just won't do for Ranma to have this level of chaos attraction." added Piccolo.

"Examine it, Nameks, and when you come to the conclusion that its not dangerous leave it be. The brat can use every good fight he can get so that he gets used to being a Saiyan." Vegeta said.

Two cries of outrage and a grumble could be heard, but Piccolo looked agreeable. "Point taken, Vegeta. Should the chaos levels be at bearable levels we'll leave it be. Ranmas affirmation provided."

The girls continued to protest, but Vegeta cut them off. "I want to watch this fight, onna, so stop your incessant chatter." he growled, turning SSJ.

Silence ensued immediately, and Vegeta smirked and observed.

-.-

At first Ranma had only dodged and weaved around the blows due to the fact that he was so much faster; he'd hoped that the girl would improve her performance throughout the fight like he was able to, but he soon realised that that was apparently not to the case.

Thus he changed tactics and proceeded to score many little blows in order to infuriate her. Ranma completely refrained from verbal taunting, seeing that he wanted to keep the chance to come to an understanding with the girl after the fight. Gauging from her performance she was a strong and talented fighter, and one could never have enough allies.

Scoring a punch that snapped her head back Ranma followed with a roundhouse-kick that sent the girl into the wall of Dende's house, from which she bounced off. Coming to her feet troublesome she growled and seemingly took pause to collect herself; however, the look of rage remained on her face...

-.-

Ryo-chan was not a happy camper; not only was she unable to land a single blow, but Ranma seemed to play in a wholly different class all of a sudden. In their last fight he'd been somewhat ahead of her, but that now... that was ridiculous!

For the first time in her existence as a female Saiyan (that was how the guide had called the race of her cursed form) she opened the door to those strange instincts and urges she'd gained in this form. She knew that whatever resided inside this box she'd created was powerful, and she needed more power. A lot more.

Power she now demanded from this strange part of hers. Despite the fact that she'd ignored and suppressed this side of her she could feel it respond positively, eagerly. It was as if this side of hers wanted to match its strength to that of their opponent; it, no, she was literally eager to cross swords with Ranma.

Ryo-chan added her own will to make Ranma pay to it, and felt how the prior unaccepted part of her integrate into her; with it came power, undiluted and pure. It flowed into her like a river, and she could feel herself yell. She could feel her ki skyrocket, and she also felt how her body changed to handle that much power; the pain was immense, but this power was just what she'd wanted, and for it she'd endure all the pain in the world. She would make Ranma pay!

With a final yell she opened her eyes, and noticed that her battle-aura had changed into a golden colouring, and the muscles on her lean body had increased in size so that they could handle the new power. As she looked at Ranma she expected to see a look of surprise on his face, but what she saw surprised her. He was actually smirking, and the smirk seemed to convey the message that he'd expected exactly this.

When he cracked his knuckles she knew that she'd most probably been manipulated, and it served to raise her anger further. "You asshole, I'll make you pay!"

Ranma smirked in reply, transforming into a SSJ himself. "Give me your best shot, then. Once I've knocked you out I'm gonna find out what I've supposedly done to you. Now lets fight!" he exclaimed and rushed forward, his own golden battle-aura flaring around him.

Vegeta was actually impressed. 'The brat planned her ascension to have a more decent challenge. He's trainable.' he thought with a smirk.

Soon the fists flew as the first blows were exchanged between the Super Saiyans, and Ranma smirked. She was ways away from his own maximum powerlevel, but that she'd reached the Super state made the fight indeed much more challenging; and Ranma was determined to coax the most out of the fight.

He wanted to know for sure if her power-level could be raised through fighting like his could be, now that she'd become a Super Saiyan, how Vegeta had called it. To this end he augmented his power-level to hers, to make it A more challenging and B to allow her some hits, which would hopefully motivate her to try harder.

The Z-fighters noticed this and understood perfectly what Ranma was doing; Piccolo shook his head in face of another case of Saiyan arrogance. That was something he'd have to beat out of him, for it had nearly cost them everything in the Cell Games and before, when both Vegeta and Gohan had had Cell at their mercy respectively and had toyed with him instead of finishing him off.

The Tendo sisters, who couldn't sense powerlevels couldn't decide if they should be worried or not; they still couldn't understand why that girl wanted Ranma dead, but one could see that the pigtailed young man was enjoying himself despite that. His movements were powerful and precise, and it was a joy to watch him fight. Despite that and his alluring manliness, both Nabiki and Kasumi hoped that this wouldn't become a routine. Life or Death fights could get sooo annoying.

Ranma on his part was in his element, and the attacks and blocks he performed caused comments of approval from Gohan and Videl; when Genma butted in with the comment "All from my training." which caused several incredulous stares. Even the Saiyan Prince had shuddered to imagine a SSJ in the neko-ken...

On the platform Ranma just executed a backwards cartwheel to evade a roundhouse kick, spun around on his left hand as he touched the ground and shot a crescent kick at the girl. The attack hit home and the girl staggered backwards with a growl. She suddenly removed the yellow-black bandanna from around her head, and threw it. To everyone's surprise it turned into a multitude of bandanas, and each and all were ki-charged.

But Ranma had only been surprised for a second and reacted in a flash; he came up with a way to destroy all bandanas at once and put it in action. He weaved around the bandanas and soon found his assumption about them having homing abilities to be true. Ranma then jumped high into the air, using his ability of flight to hang in mid-air; the bandanas followed him as expected.

Suddenly yellow-green ki glowed around Ranma. "WILDFIRE BEAM FIRE!" he exclaimed, and a six inch wide continuous beam shot at the bandanas and incinerated them all; he ceased the beam immediately, but even with a tuned down powerlevel it blasted cleanly through a section of the lookout from top to bottom. "Oops." he exclaimed sheepishly before phasing out of sight, utilising some of the higher ends of his power.

To Ryo-chan he just seemed to appear out of thin air, and his punch upon reappearance sent her cleanly through an array of palm trees. The girl recovered fast and raked at him with gunfire, but Ranma blocked each and every blow with ease. He'd found out that her powerlevel didn't rise through the fighting itself, but maybe it could be raised using a different approach. Initiating the new plan Ranma played on the defensive and continued to block her blows with ease.

Ranma got the expected reaction soon. The girl growled, obviously angry and utterly frustrated at her inability to kill him, and he felt her powerlevel rise. 'So anger does it too. Has some drawbacks, but if one were to use anger in a controlled, channelled kinda way... might work.' he thought, absently taking a blow to the ribs which he shrugged off.

Deciding to get serious due to the fact that he'd gotten himself some answers Ranma raised his powerlevel to end the fight faster. Piccolo noticed this and muttered "Finally." with a grumble that amused Ranma; he liked the gruff green guy.

The girl used his momentary distraction, however. In a daring and angry move she used all of her newfound speed to appear behind Ranma who was smiling at Kasumi and Ranma. Ryo-chan immediately exploited this weakness and threw a straight punch at Ranmas seemingly unprotected back. To her misfortune both the Tendo girls´ yells and the shift in the position of the Saiyan girls' ki had alerted Ranma.

Performing a backwards somersault the pigtailed young man evaded the attack, and in the fraction of a moment that the girls guard was down Ranma shot forward and delivered a hard blow to the back of her head. He ignored Genmas shout of "Haven't I taught you anything boy? Don't let your guard down and don't hit girls!" completely.

The first half of the comment held merit, but the second half was utterly negligible. Ranma watched as the girl sank to her knees, but a snarl told him that it wasn't over yet. "So ya got some fight left in ya. Impressive. But I'm growing tired of this."

With that Ranma yelled and raised his powerlevel to its maximum, and he could see the girls' eyes bugging out. "No fair!" she complained. "How shall I get my revenge if you cheat, jackass?"

Ranma growled and grumbled something about "This time of the month." before he seemed to disappear; Piccolo, Dende and Vegeta were the only ones who could follow Ranmas movements and they witnessed how Ranma penetrated the girls defences as if they were non-existent. Due to his speed-advantage this was really the case, and after five seconds the girl toppled over unconscious.

-.-

Ranma had left it to Akane to carry the girl into Dende's house to prevent any jealousy and/or accusations of perverted behaviour; Akane was getting better, no doubt about that, but she had her relapses from time to time; and right now he was in no mood to deal with those. He wanted answers, and he wanted them fast.

The Saiyan girl had been placed on a sofa and was still unconscious; Ranma had to admit that she was a beauty, especially when she looked all peaceful like at the moment. But fate had decided long ago that Ranma Saotome was no man of peace. "Dende-sama, you as kami, do you have the ability to speed up the waking process?"

"Yes, Ranma, I could. But I won't." Dende said.

"Good thinking, brat." interjected Vegeta before Dende could elaborate. "But if you take a look at her ki you should notice that she's already waking up. Never leave your enemy out of sight and ensure that he can't surprise you, or you mightn't live long enough to see the next battle. Take that lesson to heart." he finished, and Ranma nodded.

"In what kind of world did he grow up?" muttered Nabiki.

"In a very harsh one, Nabiki Tendo. In a world where battle was a constant, a world with very different moral standards, and a world in which only the fittest and strongest survived. A world, that will now and forever only live on in memories. Yes," Dende said at her arched brow, "Vegeta-sei, Vegeta's home planet, was destroyed many years ago; only a few Saiyans and their descendents are left, and Gohan is the other one aside from his little brother Goten and Vegeta's son Trunks. Ranma and this girl are the newest additions, even if due to a very unusual way."

"She's waking up fully." commented Piccolo.

Ranma took a look at her ki and saw that Piccolo was right. "No need to pretend, I know that you're awake. Why the heck did you attack me? As you saw, I don't take too kindly to being attacked without reason. I want answer, and I want them yesterday." he growled.

"No reason?" the girl growled back, opening her eyes and sitting up; an angry red aura sprung up around her, but she didn't go SSJ. "I've got all the reason I need. You made my life a living hell, and for that you'll pay!"

"Get to the point already, onna!" Vegeta commanded. "What did the brat do to make your life hell?"

"Yeah, from the way it looks he doesn't even know you." added Gohan.

"You better come up with a likely explanation for why you attacked my Ranma." interjected Nabiki with a frosty glare.

"What my sister said." Kasumi added with a scowl.

Gohan and Videl smiled at each other, both recognising blossoming love in the two Tendo girls; however, the fact that both sisters were interested in Ranma could lead to problems. "To cut it short, what exactly did Ranma do to warrant death?" Videl asked, speaking up for the first time, and that in an authoritarian way.

The Saiyan girl snarled and pointed at herself. "He did this to me! Because of him every stupid guy hits on me! It's all his fault!"

"How so?" the majority asked, while Ranma and Nabiki remained silent.

"Jusenkyo." Nabiki said, having received all the clues needed. "You were cursed at Jusenkyo. I bet you're that boy who attacked Ranma at school. It's true, isn't it?"

"Yes!" snarled the girl. "I'm Ryoga Hibiki, and that I'm like this is all that jerks fault! He, being the coward that he is, ran out of our challenge fight! In doing so he sullied my honour, and I wanted and still want my revenge! Not only did the jackass always steal my bread in junior high, no, he also always insulted and mocked me!" she accused.

"Did you really do that, Ranma?" Akane asked, and all eyes were upon him.

Ranma sighed. "The rest of the bread that hadn't been sold was thrown into the crowd, and our junior high being an all boy's school… well, we naturally fought about it. I always won. Though I more often than not shared my bread with Ryoga. In fact, I tried to help him if I could and led him home quite often. But if you want the bread so badly I'll offer you compensation."

"Hah! Compensation! As if you could undo the damage you caused!" Ryo-chan yelled. "You always stole the last loaf of bread from me! You even used my head as a springboard to get it!"

"Seeing how you turned out I should better have refrained from doing so..." Ranma muttered.

"YOU!" Ryo-chan yelled, only to be silenced by glares from Vegeta, and also Gohan. Being a female Saiyan at the moment she could feel Gohan's strength, and she knew she'd get her ass handed to her if she opposed him; thus she limited herself to a glare.

"As for the challenge fight, you've obviously problems to remember who missed it. I waited three whole days at the lot behind your house, and I would have waited even longer had baka oyaji not sneaked up on me and knocked me out."

"Lies!" Ryoga-chan screamed.

"It's the truth. My father dragged me off to China at that time, against my will and with me being unconscious, I might add. I would have waited." Ranma stated with a growl.

"The challenge fight was to take place behind your house, is that correct?" Nabiki asked in her lawyer tone of voice.

"Yes." Ryoga-chan confirmed.

"You chose the place of challenge?" Videl interjected.

"Yes." the girl replied, confused.

"So why did it take you three days to get there? No normal human would need three days to get to the lot behind their own house!" Gohan stated, crossing his arms. "Better place the blame where it's due, on you."

"Yeah!" Akane agreed, drowning out the girls' annoyed growl. "A martial artist has to ensure that he keeps the challenges he or she has either issued or accepted. It was your duty to ensure that you arrived on schedule."

"But it was all Ranma's fault!" Ryoga-chan exclaimed.

"How so?" asked Kasumi, beating her sisters to the punch. "How can it be Ranma's fault that you failed to show up at the pre-appointed date? Behind your own house to boot?"

"Human," Vegeta said, "for that is what your childish behaviour shows that you are, if you were a real Saiyan I would teach you discipline! A real warrior accepts his own faults and works his hardest to eliminate them; he does not delude himself into believing that any one other than himself is at fault. What you uttered is the most ridiculous bullshit I've ever heard! Bah, this is not even worthy of my attention." he growled and walked out of the room to engage in some training.

"I agree." Gohan said. "I take you'll handle the situation." he said with a look at Ranma and the girls. "I'd favour a good spar with Vegeta right now instead of listening to the petty reasons that this person thinks she has to attack you, Ranma. You coming, Videl?"

"No, love," Videl answered with a smile, "I'll stay behind. This is just getting interesting."

"Okay. Piccolo, why don't you join Vegeta and me? I'm certain that this mindless babbling doesn't interest you in the slightest." Gohan said, displaying his new and improved attitude.

The turban-clad Namekian tilted his head. "I'll take you up on the offer. Seeing as Ranma will be able to handle the situation there's no need for my presence." he said and left the room with Gohan.

"I'll wait outside. Something tells me that you will find all the answers you seek on your own." Dende said with a smile before he left the room too.

"So," Nabiki drawled, "back to you. You accuse Ranma that he always stole your bread right? But it sounds to me as if it was first come, first serve, in which Ranma won, even according to you. Thus using the bread as justification for an attack on Ranma is out." she said, ticking one finger off.

"Okay, then there's the reason that Ranma insulted and mocked you. Granted, that would probably tick off anyone, but seeing how Ranma's father has raised him," she said, and a sweating Genma retreated from the room, "it's a small miracle that Ranma can interact with people at all. What you don't know and can't know is that Ranma recognised how idiotic the teachings of his father are himself, and he did everything in his power to stay well clear of his influence. I'm pretty sure that he regrets what he did at school. Right, Ranma?"

The Saotome youth nodded. "Yeah, man. I know I was arrogant and a real jerk, but hey, we were kids and I didn't know any better. I had no idea what my actions caused, Ryoga, but is that a reason to attack me with intent to kill? Is it reason enough to endanger innocent bystanders? Damn, man, you could've killed innocent students with your bandannas!"

"I'm no man at the moment thanks to you! And it would have been their own fault for being in the wrong place at the wrong time." was Ryoga-chans weak reply.

"Why don't you change…" began Ranma, but was interrupted by Videl's angry yell.

"How can you be so callous!" she practically screamed. "Hasn't your family taught you a code of honour to abide by? A real martial artist, and that's what you seem to think you are, has to protect the weak! As in opposed to endanger and kill, you dumbass! What kind of martial artist are you? To call yourself that is an affront against all the honourable martial artists in the world!" she finished angrily.

Before Ryoga-chan could retort Nabiki took the interrogation back on track. "So, Ranma being a bully is out too. Next. The duel. You set the rules for the duel and Ranma had apparently agreed. Correct?"

At her nod Nabiki continued. "He was there, you were not. Thus it's ridiculous to blame him for your failure to show up; why didn't you show up anyway?"

"…" came the embarrassed mutterings which couldn't be caught by anyone but Ranma.

Said Saotome youth sighed. "Ryoga has a chronically bad sense of direction. It's hereditary and has been in his family for generations. Members of his clan have the tendency to get lost, and that can happen any time, any place. Even in their own house."

Ryoga-chan wanted to yell and rant, but she could not fault the calm and composed way Ranma had explained things. 'Damn you Ranma, it's all your fault that I can't fault you!'

Nabiki smirked. "So you set the duel in close proximity to your house in hopes you wouldn't get lost. Hmm, something tells me the plan backfired. Let me guess… you thought you'd just need some minutes to get to the preconcerted meeting place behind your house, so you didn't leave until a few minutes before the specified time. Figures. Then you got lost and failed to show up. Which makes it your fault."

"NO!" Ryoga-chan yelled. "It was all his fault for not waiting for me! He should have waited!"

"Why on Earth should Ranma have done that?" Kasumi asked calmly. "He had fulfilled the terms of the duel. He had accepted and he came. You didn't, so you forfeited. Even when applying the most lenient rules, a challenge fight is assessed and viewed as forfeited if the challenger fails to appear after two hours. Ranma had no obligation to wait over and above that, and that he did shows how honourable he is. He wanted to spare you dishonour, don't you see that?"

"Wasted effort on his part. You did a pretty good job at shooting your honour on your own." stated Videl.

"So the duel as a reason for your revenge or whatever you want to call it is out too. Next. What else did he do? Let's think for a moment, shall we?" Nabiki said, and pretended doing so. "Oh yeah, I remember now. You said because of him you're cursed, right?"

"Damn straight!" Ryoga-chan exclaimed. "Because of him I've experienced the hell being female is!" she exclaimed.

Which was a damn stupid thing to say with a room full of four full-time-females. Three cries of female indignance and one cruel smirk were her reward; which was exactly what saved Ryo-chan from being malleted for her screw-up. "So being female is hell, eh? Why? Because of the monthlies? Don't make me laugh! Billions of women around the world experience that every day. I can see how it might be a problem for a boy-turned-girl at first, but that cursed form of yours should be more than compensation enough, seeing as you even managed to turn into that Super Saiyan form. So why do you complain? You could have received a curse much worse." Nabiki stated in a frosty voice.

"Yes," Kasumi added, "and your being cursed still doesn't explain why Ranma should be at fault."

Videl snorted while Ranma leant back and limited himself to just listening. "That's easy. I'm sure he followed Ranma for the sole reason to get his revenge. It's the same as between Vegeta and Goku. They never got their final fight to determine who the stronger fighter is because Goku died a heroes' death in the fight with Cell; in this case Ranma had left to China, which made it impossible for Ryoga to get his fight unless he found Ranma. Is that about right?" she asked.

The surprised look on Ryo-chans face gave the answer. "Couldn't have drawn the conclusions better myself, Videl. My commends." Nabiki said, and Videl curtsied with a grin. "So you followed Ranma to get your fight, and got yourself cursed with a curse that turns you into a female Saiyan instead. Fate is funny sometimes." she said with a snort. "Videl, you seem to know a lot about Saiyans, seeing that your boyfriend is one. Has Fate offered Ryoga a good deal?"

"Definitely." Videl laughed. "Aside from the gender-change, to which one can get used to, I assume, he's only gained advantages. In this form she has already turned Super Saiyan, and you all saw just how strong this form is. There are more Super Saiyan levels, though; my Gohan has reached Level Two, and it makes even Vegeta look lame. A Saiyan is tougher, stronger, faster and a lot more durable than a human being; they can soak up damage that would kill or incapacitate human beings and still fight on. But the neatest little thing is the fact that they get stronger when they heal from injuries. All things considered Ryoga has made the deal of his lifetime."

"That's easy for you to say! Do you have any idea how many boys have made a move on me since I got cursed? Heck, even some girls have tried to sink their claws into me! All that because of Ranma!" Ryo-chan yelled, desperately clinging to the belief that everything was Ranma's fault.

"Okay, let's get one thing perfectly straight: you followed Ranma to China, and gauging from your story he was not even near when you got cursed. How did that happen anyway?" Akane asked.

"Got hunted by a crazy bunch of girls who wanted to drag me into some backwater village. A cliff crumbled cause the ground gave in, and I landed in a disclosed spring. After I'd received the curse I yelled bloody murder, and that guide came and took me to his hut. He explained that the magic of the spring had disappeared now that it had discharged into me. Haven't got a clue what he meant, and I made to get away from there as fast as possible. To my utter annoyance it was rainy season in China, and I spent most of the time as a girl. It takes pretty hot water to change me back, and that was scarcely available. Cause of that I experienced the joys of being a girl quite soon. And I dreamed of what I'd do to you for that, Ranma." Ryo-chan growled.

"Ah yeah. So how is it my fault that you got hunted by those crazy girls? How is it my fault that you fell into the spring? Cause you followed me to China?" he asked in a 'come on' tone of voice.

"Err… yeah." Ryo-chan said uncertainly. Having it put that way it really sounded… weak. "Hadn't you run out of the duel I wouldn't have had to follow you." she added quickly, as if to convince herself.

"We already established that Ranma didn't run out of the duel." Videl said. "Face it, your reasons for wanting revenge are petty and weak."

"And your being cursed is in reality not Ranma's fault, but that of the girls who hunted you." Kasumi added. "You have absolutely no reason or justification to blame him." she stated in her calm voice.

Ryo-chans world seemed to crumble around her; all the carefully construed layers of justification she'd erected over the years to justify her need for revenge had been swept away by the combined assault, leaving only uncertainty behind. 'Could they be right? Is it really my fault, and has been all this time? And if so, what does that make me?'

to be continued…

Quick A/N: I know the continuation of the fight between Gohan and Ranma was a bit anti-climatic, but I hope the fight between Ranma and Ryoga made up for it; as it was, Ranma had no way of beating Gohan, and thus I had the girls stop the fight. Besides, the chapter grew like weed even without drawing the fight out, and there’re loads of fight to look forward to. :D

Also, some of you may say that Genma got off the hook way too easily, but to be honest, I’m growing tired of bashing Genma, for its just too easy; as for the engagements for food, if you read the manga you’ll see that Genma indeed only engaged Ranma for food on their ‘saviours’ persistence. That’s not to say that he ain’t an idiot, especially considering the Kuonji and other binding engagements. Hope that cleared some points up.

Thanks for reading. Also, thanks to everyone for helping me out with suggestions, comments, ideas and c&c in general. Special thanks go to the people at Shinjis board for making this better than it was, and to Tai Khan for suggesting the chapter title.

Many thanks to those of you who were kind enough to leave reviews for the last chapter:

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