Heart Of Flame, Breath Of Fire

Part 2: Ryu vs. Kuno... Secret Of The Dragon Heart

by Sean D'Anna

=====

Pantyhose Taro stood at the gates of the Tendo dojo and frowned as a light 
shower began. The pervert had not been around for some time now and he would 
have to look else where for his prey. His tentacles twitched in frustration as 
he jumped onto the roof of the home. "I guess they won't mind if I borrow a 
little hot water," he thought as he climbed through the window. He snuck in and 
changed quietly without getting noticed. He was just about to jump back to the 
ground from the roof when someone kicked him in the head from above. 

"What do you think your doing trying to peep on Akane you withered old goat!" 
cried Ranma as he attacked the intruder. 

"What do you think your doing Fem-boy?!" cried Taro in frustration as he kicked 
the boy off his back. 

"Well, if it isn't o'l Pantyhose! Its been a while, still tryin to find the old 
freak?" asked Ranma smugly. 

"Ranma what's going on? Will you keep it down were trying to teach a lesson 
over..." cried Akane angrily as she rounded the corner and stopped cold as she 
saw Taro standing in the yard by the koi pond. Ryu jogged up followed by Soun 
behind her. 

"Well look who it is, did ya ever find who you were looking for in that book?" 
said Ryu cheerfully. 

Taro went white a look of anger crossed his face. Akane heard him mutter "Ryu," 
under his breath and he crouched low immediately. "Uh, yea. He sorta hangs out 
here," he backed away from Ryu and stumbled back into the koi pond reverting to 
the cursed monster again. 

"Hey, those are new," said Ryu looking at the tentacles. 

"BU-FU," said Taro as he nodded and continued to back off. The beast jumped over 
the wall and flew away. 

"What was that all about?" asked Nabiki. 

Ryu stopped and looked as if he had forgotten she was there. "Uh we met in China 
a while ago. He was looking for some guy who had been to Jusenkyo a long time 
ago," answered the boy nervously. 

"Why did he seem scared of you?" asked Akane in wonder, Taro had never acted 
like that before. 

"Uhh, Well somehow he got the weird idea that I was uhh, gay, yea that's it. He 
thinks I'm gay," said Ryu as he struggled for an answer. 

"Your not right?" asked Ranma nervously. 

"Of course not!" cried Ryu angrily. "...not that there's anything wrong with 
that." 

"What are you a pervert or something? Of course there's something wrong with 
that!" snorted Ranma. 

"Umm, I gotta go practice now," said Ryu as he turned back toward the dojo. 

"Yes, you'll spar with Akane again today," agreed Soun cheerfully. 

Nabiki simply stared at the exchange coolly. Taro was not just repulsed by the 
boy; he was terrified of him. This was much deeper than a simple homophobe. Ryu 
was hiding something big. 

Ryu stepped from his small one room apartment that was only a few blocks away 
from the Tendo dojo and Furinkan high in either direction. He took a deep breath 
and started towards the school. The sky was clear and it was turning out to be a 
beautiful day. He threw his school bag over his shoulder and looked at the 
people scurrying around the street passively. It took about fifteen minutes for 
him to walk to the gates of the school through the crowd. He smiled as Ranma and 
Akane charged through the gate and kicked Kuno to the ground before rushing to 
class. "Well its nice to see them early for once," said Ryu to himself. 

"It is unusual, but how would you know that?" said a familiar voice from behind 
the boy. He turned and smiled; Nabiki stood with her arms crossed glaring at 
him. 

"I pay attention Tendo-san. I hear rumors and I always find out what I'm getting 
myself into before I do anything. Its a necessity for someone like me, I have a 
lot of enemies," said Ryu as he glared at her. 

"And why is that?" asked Nabiki calmly. 

"I'm not a likable guy, I'm a lot like Saotome that way I guess. I suppose 
that's why I chose your dojo," answered Ryu carefully. 

"He's not telling me every thing," thought Nabiki calmly. "I suppose, but I 
think your a little too observant," she said bitterly. 

"Think what you like Nabiki," said Ryu as he walked off. "She is more dangerous 
than I had thought. I'll have to keep an eye on her I suppose. Maybe I should 
just avoid her all together," he thought as he left her standing in the yard. 

Akane met Ryu in the hall and waved at him cheerfully. "G'Morning Akane-san," 
said the boy as he bowed in polite greeting. 

"You don't have to be so formal Ryu," said Akane as she blushed. 

"Oh, sorry I'm still getting used to Japanese customs," he said as he blushed 
and scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. Akane suppressed her smile. 
He sort of looked like Ryoga when he did that. 

"So you're really going to keep studying at our dojo?" asked Akane. 

"Yea, I need some formal training, I've only gotten so far on my own as you 
saw..." muttered Ryu as he slowly realized that they were being stared at. 

"I thought that after the other day you might have thought about leaving, I'm 
really sorry. We don't have many students..." a blush formed on Akane's face as 
she said this. 

Ryu smiled as he realized what was going on. Akane was afraid that she had drove 
him off after beating him so easily the day before. "Don't worry Akane, I won't 
leave the dojo just because I got a few bruises, in fact I was expecting it. 
Honestly I was surprised I did as well as I did considering this is Nerima and 
all." 

"What?" asked Akane in confusion. 

"Don't worry about it," said the boy as he walked towards his class. 

"Wow Akane, I'm surprised you didn't drive him off with your uncuteness. I sure 
wouldn't train at a dojo if I saw such an uncute tomboy as a student there," 
said Ranma as he walked up to her from the corner he had been watching from. He 
glared at Ryu as the boy moved through the crowd, completely ignoring Akane; in 
fact, his words were almost a reflex. He seemed surprised when she elbowed him 
into the ground from behind. 

Ryu was sitting under a tree during lunch and picked at his school bought meat 
bread lazily. He had developed quite a taste for beef in recent months. "I 
wonder if it's a side effect?" he thought to himself as a shadow loomed over 
him. 

"I understand you had words with Akane Tendo this day, tell me how it is you are 
so familiar with her?" demanded Kuno angrily. 

Ryu looked at him and thought for a moment. "How should I handle this?" he 
wondered. Kuno pointed his bokuten at the boy's face and he decided to be 
diplomatic. 

"I am studying at the Tendo dojo. It was a business conversation," he said as 
calmly as he could, he was not afraid, but Kuno's tone was irritating. 

"So you hound Akane Tendo," said Kuno as his eyes narrowed and he clenched his 
weapon tightly. "I will not permit this." 

"Weren't you paying attention? I am a student of her father's school of martial 
arts, I have no interest in Akane romantically," said Ryu warily as he stood and 
backed away from the angry kendoist. 

"So you use her father's place of business to get closer to my beloved. 
Dishonorable cur! I will prevent your wicked plan," said Kuno angrily as he 
stood at the ready. 

"I'm not going to fight you Kuno, leave me alone." Ryu found he didn't have 
anywhere to run as a small crowd started to form around him and the boy. 

"How dare you speak to me in such a way coward?!" said Kuno angrily. 

"How dare you assume that my intentions are less than honorable with out proof. 
I have made no advances towards Akane Tendo and I'm not going to argue with you 
about this, leave me alone," said Ryu forcefully. "No wonder there aren't any 
students at the dojo." 

"I will not permit you to speak to one of my standing in such a way defend 
yourself cur!" yelled Kuno as he struck out at Ryu with his bokuten. Ryu dodged 
barely in time and scurried away cursing. 

"Are you insane? You could kill me you moron!" yelled the boy in anger. 

"Silence fool!" yelled Kuno as he turned and slashed the boy in the face. The 
blow struck dead on but Ryu had managed to deflect the blade with his hand 
enough to turn the edge down. He received a nasty looking cut on his hand and 
face and was thrown twenty feet back into a tree. 

He hit it with his back and cried out in pain as he left a dent in the oak, with 
that he slumped and browned out for a moment. He shook his head and stood 
shakily. His vision blurred and he was aware of a crowd forming around them. He 
focused his vision in time to see Kuno charging him with the bokuten over his 
head. 

Akane stood and gasped in horror as Kuno attacked Ryu across the schoolyard. 
"Leave it alone Akane he probly deserved it anyway," said Ranma as he downed his 
lunch nearby with his own group of friends. 

"Ranma, you know he can't beat Kuno! We have to help him!" cried Akane in shock 
and anger. 

"Why do you like him so much all of a sudden?" said Ranma as he glared at the 
fight. Ryu was barely avoiding Kuno's strikes and desperately looking for an 
opening with his unusual style. "He's doing OK now." 

Akane just glared at him and ran over to the fight. She knew she couldn't help 
him, but if Kuno seriously hurt him he would pay. Truth was he had paid an 
extremely large amount of money for the lessons, Nabiki was shocked into almost 
complete disbelief and had developed an extreme new interest in this mysterious 
new student. Akane however had not seen her father as happy as he had been 
during the lesson in many years. He had not taken students since her mother 
died. He looked better in just a few days than he had in years. She did not want 
him driven off by Kuno or Ranma. 

Silence overwhelmed the crowd for a moment. Akane gasped at what she saw and 
Ranma dropped his chopsticks and stood across the schoolyard from the fight. A 
scowl crossed his face and he ran to the fight as he realized what the boy was 
doing, he hadn't done it right so it wouldn't work but the fact that he even had 
knowledge of it sent chills down Ranma's spine. 

Ryu dodged Kuno as best he could but the kendoist was far to fast for him. He 
took several blows on his arms and side. He was bleeding heavily from his face 
and light spots of blood appeared to stain his shirt from the lighter shots. He 
frowned as Akane watched from the crowd, he was not going to beat Kuno with his 
hands; it was obvious Akane would jump in and try to save him in a moment. He 
had to do something fast if he wanted to keep his pride intact. Akane stepped 
forward with an angry look on her face. Kuno struck out a final time and stopped 
as he turned to face her. 

"Stay out of this Akane, I won't lose!" cried Ryu as he swung at Kuno who simply 
blocked with his bokuten causing Ryu to smash his hand against the hard wood 
painfully. Kuno smirked and prepared to finish the fight. Ryu gave into the 
beast in his heart and finally let instinct take over completely. 

The dragon woke, Ryu stood in the center of the battle and raised his arm into 
the air. Kuno's face went white as he realized what had happened. Ranma had done 
this to him once and that was enough to make his blood run cold now, but this 
was different. Kuno didn't realize it yet but they had not run the spiral. A 
blue circle of light formed around them on the ground and Ryu's eyes seemed to 
take on a reptilian appearance as they glowed red. "Shin-Hiryu-shouten-ha!" 
cried the battered student in an inhuman voice. A pillar of flame erupted around 
the pair within a ten-foot circle at the top of the pillar that took on the 
shape of a dragon. The flame began to twist and turn like a giant tornado as 
they reached a thousand feet into the air. 

Ranma stood and stared in disbelief at the blast. The power of the initial blast 
had sent the students within thirty feet of it flying through the air and 
scurrying away from the intense heat. Akane stood only twenty feet away and 
shielded her face covering her shock. "What the hell was that?!!" yelled Ranma 
as he ran up to Akane, forcing his way into the super heated wind. He dragged 
her back away from the blast site forcefully and she struggled weakly for a 
brief moment. 

The flames died down and Ryu stood in the center unscathed, almost thirty 
seconds later a blackened form crashed to the ground. Kuno was completely 
charred and covered in minor burns and a few serious ones. Most of his hair was 
gone and he simply lay smoking. Ranma approached him and turned him gingerly. He 
was alive, barely. 

"What have you done?" asked Akane in terror. 

"If he had landed that last blow I would have been killed. He doesn't realize 
his own strength anymore thanks to Ranma's fights with him. I couldn't have 
dodged in time," said Ryu calmly. "This is why I need your help, If I can become 
a martial artist I won't have resort to my powers. I won't have to kill anymore 
to protect myself. I need your help." 

"If your not a martial artist how can you do this?" said Ranma angrily. The 
blast was more powerful than anything he had ever been able to create; only Herb 
could compare to what he had just seen. Kuno would not simply recover from this 
in a few days. The Kendoist was almost killed. 

"Because son in law he has somehow managed to get a hold of the heart of a 
dragon. A very powerful and ancient one it seems," said an aged voice from 
nearby. 

"Ghoul!" cried Ranma in surprise. 

"Where did Ryu go?" asked Akane as she turned and looked for the boy. He had 
vanished. 

"It seems he has fled, a wise decision. I will hunt him later," said the old 
woman as she jumped away with a grim look on her face. 

"What?" said Akane in shock as she watched her leave. 

Ranma remembered Taro's reaction to Ryu the other day. "I'm going to have to 
talk with Taro," he said to himself. "He might know something about this Ryu 
guy." 

As she leapt through the rooftops of Nerima Cologne smiled. "A dragon heart in 
this day and age. Fortune smiles on me, with it the amazon tribe could be all 
powerful." 

"I wouldn't bet on it," said a voice from behind her. 

Cologne whirled around and frowned as she saw Ryu standing with a huge chi blast 
ready. "You thing that thing will be strong enough to stop me?" she asked him. 

"The question is will you be strong enough to stop it?" said Ryu calmly. 

"What is it boy?" snorted the old woman. 

"I'm warning you not to pursue your foolish ambition woman," said Ryu angrily. 

"How will you stop me?" snorted the old woman. "Why shouldn't I just kill you 
now?" 

"Because if you could I wouldn't be talking with you now," said Ryu calmly. "I 
can easily escape you now and you know it." 

"Still it will not always be so. I will hunt you all across Japan if need be," 
said the woman with a cackle. 

"You think you're the first to try? Even if you get your hands on my heart you 
too will be marked and hunt by other hunters. Not even your amazon tribe will be 
able to protect you. They will be slaughtered to get to you; your family and 
friends will die. Is my power truly worth the price?" said Ryu bitterly as the 
chi blast he had been holding died down. 

"You underestimate my people," said Cologne. 

"You overestimate yourself. Even with my power I may not be able to kill you old 
woman, but can you protect your Granddaughter forever?" said the boy as he 
stepped off the edge of the roof. 

Cologne stood and simply stared at the edge where he had been and frowned. She 
knew he was right about that, Shampoo would not have a chance against someone 
like him, Mousse would probably die trying to protect her, but would it be worth 
the price she would pay? For the good of the tribe? "Well that is something to 
think about isn't it?" she snorted as she hopped away. In the distance of Nerima 
the lightening flashed as a storm approached. TBC..... 

I've finally returned to the list! Well this should get even more interesting as 
time goes on. Wondering about how 'Ryu' got the dragon heart and how powerful he 
really is? All will be explained. Also Ranma investigates and discovers Ryu 
hides a dangerous secret. [Duh, but this is a different secret.] Will he try to 
destroy Ryu for fear of Akane's life? Can he? Find out next time! 

ja 

C&C to Carrotglace@juno.com