Ranma, Toaru Majutsu no Index/とある魔術の禁書目録 A Certain Arrogant Horse

"Ryoga, hey where are you man!" Ranma Saotome shouted as he spun around, looking every way for his eternal rival. His eyes were narrowed, shadowed by his hand as he blocked out the early morning suns glare. A constant wind beat at his face as he gazed upon the expansive city that surrounded him as he stood atop the rooftop of a four-story building. Long seconds passed as the pigtailed martial artist continue to search futilely till Ranma sighed as he shrugged his shoulders.

"I knew it, should have listened to Pork-Butt's instructions and not opened my eyes." Ranma muttered under his breath and sighed again. "…Curiosity got the better of me, but really I wanted to know how Ryoga gets lost all the time." He said with a hint of irritation. He crossed his arms, narrowing his vision again and sharpened his eye-sight as blue Ki entered in his blue eyes. They glowed faintly, leaving dim, blue trails as Ranma walked towards the roofs edge.

He slowly walked atop the rooftops edge, balancing on it with casual ease as he circled around it once. His expression slowly turned to confusion, then puzzlement as Ranma saw a large two-story tall smooth, white metal wall circle around the entire city he was in. Ranma blinked and sighed once more, palming his face as he quoted a certain lost boy.

"Where the hell am I now?"

* * *

"Huh, this city has robots." Ranma muttered as a drum-shaped robot went out of its way to avoid him. Its small tires on the bottom squeaked and a circular rotating mop similar to those on a street cleaner ate up a crumpled sandwich wrapper on the sidewalk as it passed by the raven-haired teen. "…Cleaning robots," he added, observing it with curious eyes till it turned into a nearby alleyway.

Ranma pondered on following it for a brief moment and resumed his relaxed pace as walked forward, stuffing his hands inside his pockets. If it was just a cleaning robot then it's nothing interesting. Those were common place, but the strange design threw him off.

"I mean, who makes their robots drum-shaped? Maybe it's a new model?" Ranma muttered as he voiced his thoughts. Usually the one's he'd seen were humanoid, or ball-like in shape. Drums were something new.

"And the buildings here… are they all dorms and boarding houses?" Ranma commented as his head slowly swerved side to side, again and again to see said structures as far as he could see on the ground. Of course there were other buildings, hospitals and schools of varying quality.

That's what Ranma could tell after wandering around aimlessly for an hour. With nothing to show but a few things he'd overheard from groups of chatting students as they traveled to a number of schools spread out around here.

A date and the name of the city he was in.

"June 17th 2025, in Academy City," Ranma said, frowning as he went over what cities he knew of in Japan. Ranma stopped and leaned against a wall surrounding a tall, multi-story dorm. Students passed by him, giving him one or two looks before taking off as his brow scrounged up in thought.

A cold sweat drop ran down the back of his neck and Ranma groaned, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "I hope you didn't send me into the future, Ryoga." He muttered angrily, pushing himself off the wall. "Because all I just wanted was for you to get me lost while the heat died down in Nerima…" He bit his lip as stopped, a thick wad of tied up yen notes appeared in his hand as he flicked it. Ranma pulled out a number of bills and stuffed the rest back into Stuff-Space with another flick of the wrist.

"Thank you, Nabiki for all your cash." Ranma said with a voice oozing pure sarcasm. He snickered and stuffed the yen notes in his pockets. "Because of you, your sister wedding was ruined! It's only right that you to repay me and my family for the damages you caused to my mother's house!"

He stared at the clear blue sky, and smirked. "I know you're alright with me keeping a little extra. It was only a _million_yen. You were so happy to give it away. Happy enough send all of Nerima into frenzy against me with your damned lies, slander and blackmail, you cold hearted _bitch_!" Ranma hissed through clenched teeth, his hands balled into tight fists.

The pigtailed boy closed his eyes, and breathed deeply through his nostrils. All emotion left him as he exhaled a frosty breath as the temperature around Ranma dropped rapidly. The air chilled as it settled down to temperatures found in freezers. Ranma opened his eyes after several seconds of breathing in and out. He regarded everything with a frigid, blank gaze and stalked off down the street with a single destination in mind.

* * *

"I'm sorry, the number you have dialed is not in service. Please hang up and try aga-"

Ranma crushed the phone he held in his hands and slammed his fist into the receiver, scattering its remains as it flew. The air boomed around his fist. Shattered glass and twisted metal flew as the phone booth as a shockwave tore it open and Ranma strode out from its remains. A heated string of creative curse words flew from his lips in a mixture of Japanese, Chinese and what English he knew.

A drum robot raced down the paved white road, screeching out an order in a high pitched mechanical voice to freeze at Ranma as he turned to meet it. He glared at the stupid toaster as it closed in, raising his right foot. Ranma pivoted and lashed out with a side kick. Metal crumpled like paper and sparks flew as his foot dug into the robot and tore it in two as it flew, crashing into a nearby tree. It toppled with a long groan as the tree trunk shattered.

Ranma stared at the sight, eyebrow twitching and sighed. He ran his hands through his hair, tasting blood as he bit his lip and spat it out. He wiped his bloodied lips with a fist as they quickly healed and shoved his hands down his pockets.

Like before, Ranma breathed in and out. All emotion left his body as it entered in the Soul of Ice and the air around him chilled once more. Ranma stared at the ground and took off at a brisk walk across the short grass.

As he heard the cries of additional robots closed in on the scene of the crime, Ranma muttered, "I need a map, and Nerima better be on it."

* * *

Tiny shreds of multi-colored paper drifted down like snow within the shadowed alleyway as Ranma stalked out and into the crowded streets. The sun slowly set behind him, the sky darkened as evening set in. Ranma gritted his teeth.

Hours spent in futility, searching for any signs of his friends and family through phonebooks, maps, and internet!

"And nothing to show for it, Nerima doesn't even exists! Or anyone else I know!" Ranma muttered darkly, pushing his way through the crowds. Those who took offense were silenced by a quick glare from the pigtailed martial artist. He walked through the streets for minutes on end, thinking long and hard and came to one definite solution.

Ranma immediately hated it with every fiber of his being and will till the day he died. But until he found a definite way home from whatever parallel dimension he was in. He was stuck here.

"Till Ryoga shows his ugly face again, and that might be months till he does." Ranma groaned, kicking the ground in frustration. "And he'll never let me live it down. Oh, the great Ranma Saotome forced to rely on his eternal rival, the Lost Boy for help…" He trailed off, mumbling an incomprehensible list of words. He took his pigtail and chewed on its end.

He spat it out and scowled. "He'll never let me live it down! And I'll be the laughing stock of Nerima for months when I get back!" Ranma walked up to a store wall and buried his head against it. "He better show his ugly face soon."

Ranma beat his head against the wall. Cracks spread and grew with every beating hit as he swore and cursed silently in-between them. Ranma pushed himself away before the wall caved in and took off, completely ignoring the crowd watching him.

Their eyes bored holes into his back. Ranma didn't feel like telling them too buzz off, no, he needed a fight. That's what, something to expel all his pent up frustrations and all the stupid shit that's flung at him day in and day out.

"And I think, I might start off with some small fry." Ranma said as he spotted up ahead a group of badly dressed thugs and gangsters surrounding and talking to a girl wearing a fine school uniform, with a light brown shirt and grey skirt. She had short, chestnut brown hair with a small, white flower hairclip. Her eyes were the same color as her hair.

Despite the evident danger she was in, the school girl took it all in with a bored expression. Her relaxed posture screamed that she could wipe the floor with these goons at a moment's notice. Said goons didn't know it, being the dumb, untrained oafs that they were as they tried to get a rise out of the girl while shoving away anyone trying to help her.

His senses picked up... Ranma cocked his head to the side and blinked as puzzled expression crossed his face. "I'd thought she'd be a Ki user or something but..." Ranma shrugged and casually strode towards the group of thugs. "Strange, but she might need help."

* * *

"So, you're from Tokiwadai? The greatest all girl middle school in the world, that famous school that's one of the top five schools in Academy city?" The long haired lanky man said as he leaned back, standing with his buddies as they crowded around the corner and glared at anyone who passed by.

Misaka Mikoto let out a small sigh as her reply and tried drowning out the useless chatter and horrible pickup lines they spewed out of their ugly mouths. She leaned against the wall near a vending machine and stared back at the gang with crossed arms and a bored expression. She wasn't worried; she could fry these zeroes anytime with an electric shock if they get rowdy.

_That's the difference between me, a level five and these level zeros. _Misaka thought as she observed people passing by, occasionally shooting her quick, worried looks before being told to bug off by the gang members. She sighed again and shook her head lightly and closed her eyes.

_These people… They aren't heartless. I know they want to help instead of doing nothing and passing by. But if they get themselves involved they'll just get themselves hurt. _Misaka thought, cracking open a single eye and watched as a bald thug loom menacingly over a pair of students, who scrambled away. She chewed her lip, somewhat disappointed. _At their core, everyone treasures themselves above all else. It's normal, human nature. One who helps strangers, and stands up for justice…_ she sighed. _People like that, must be idiots and-_

"Oi, can't you guys see that she wants to be left alone? Why don't you just scram already before you get yourselves hurt?" An irritated voice interjected suddenly.

The group of thugs snapped their heads at the source and Misaka opened her other eye, pushing herself off the wall. She raised an eyebrow as a muscular raven haired teen calmly strode towards them. His long hair was tied in a pigtail and his hands were stuffed in his black pants. He wore a red, long sleeved Chinese shirt and black slip-on shoes. He shot her a quick look with blue eyes and smirked.

Misaka blinked, surprised and smiled slightly. She leaned back against the wall, content with watching what will take place. If he needs help, then she'll give it, but the pigtailed teenager looked like he could take care of himself.

_No, I'm pretty certain he can. _Misaka thought and cocked her head to the side slightly as the group of thugs gathered around the teenager.

* * *

"Just who the hell are you, boy? Getting all cocky and arrogant and shit… you got a problem with us?" A man with a shaved head said, eyebrow twitching face as he loomed over the person who dared called them out. Ranma Saotome sighed, running a hand through his hair and stared at nowhere in particular, ignoring the thugs entirely.

"Ya, I do, you're all an eyesore. Do yourselves a favor and get yourselves cleaned up." Ranma pinched his nostrils and waved his free hand back and forth in front of him as if to disperse smoke or fog. "You all reek, take a shower or something. You'll do the world a favor."

Ranma overheard Misaka's light chuckles as every single thugs face turned an interesting shade of red. One of them struck, throwing a haymaker as he shouted an angry curse from the side. Ranma yawned as he ducked, barely avoiding the haymaker as it passed inches over his hair and leaned to the side, stretching his arms as a low kick struck where his chest was a moment ago. He scratched his hair and jumped as a thug tried a full-body tackle and hit nothing but air. Ranma landed atop the head of a longhaired man and chuckled as the previous thug crashed into one of his buddies in a tangle of limbs, shouts and curses.

Misaka whistled as Ranma skipped from head to head, slapping each one with a foot as he left, sending the thugs toppling to the ground in pain. They groaned and cursed and tried pushing themselves up, right until their heads slammed back into the pavement as Ranma stepped on their faces once more and leaped off.

They didn't try getting back up again.

Ranma sighed as he walked off the face of the last thug to fall and turned around as someone started to clap. It started off slow, but quickly grew till over a dozen bystanders joined in. A few gave him thumbs up and nods of thanks with a few cheers of appreciation. And Ranma thanked them with short, gracious bows, drinking in their praise like fine wine.

"Thank you, thank you, I'll be here all…" Ranma said in between bows and trailed off as he bit his lip and sighed quietly. "…All day," he finished, and rose fully, waving off the crowd as they left. His sight hanged on a spiky black haired teenager and without realizing it, Ranma shivered.

He blinked, frowning slightly and whirled around as he sensed Misaka approached him. She halted a meter away as she looked up and stared right into his blue eyes.

"Yes?" Ranma asked, crossing his arms.

"Hmm, for what it's worth… thanks but I could have handled these small fry." Misaka said, eyeing the unconscious thugs for a moment and snapped her eyes back at Ranma. She smiled amusingly. "What's your name? I'm Misaka Makoto."

"Ranma Saotome," He replied and tiled his head. He regarded her with a curious expression, like a child discovering something new and strange. "Really, how?"

Misaka smirked as a sparks of blue electricity danced around her hair. Ranma's eyes widened, words dying on his lips as he stared at her for several long seconds with a slack jaw.

"Impressed?"

Ranma nodded as he crouched down, till he was eye level with Misaka. "…How did you do that?"

"…" Misaka blinked and stared at Ranma in disbelief. Her mouth worked its reply as words fumbled in her mouth and all she managed to get out was, "…You don't know? Are you serious?"

"…Yes," Ranma admitted, swallowing his pride as his mind worked over what he had seen just seconds ago. He needed answers.

"…I'm an Esper, how can you not know that?" Misaka asked, frowning as she planted her hands on her hips and gave Ranma a critical eye.

"And I'm kind of new here, just arrived today in fact. I am not really familiar with this place or the terms people use." Ranma answered, scratching the back of his neck nervously.

"Are you a new student?"

"…No."

"Are you a dropout?"

"…No."

"…Are you a new teacher?"

"…No."

"Are you an outsider?"

"Yes." Ranma answered irritably, wondering where she was going with. "Can you just tell m-"

"Are you authorized to be here in Academy City?" Misaka interrupted with narrow eyes.

Without showing it Ranma tensed, readying his body to move at a moment's notice. His danger sense warned him that he was heading into a fight. Ranma ignored it as he continued to stare at Misaka, narrowing his own eyes and smirked. If there was going to be a fight, then he'd welcome it with open arms.

"…_No_."

* * *

Ranma vanished from Misaka Makoto's eyes as blue whip-like electricity generated from her forehead struck the ground, scorching it as a plume white smoke poured bellowed out.

_Electric Shock missed? _Misaka eyes widened slightly as she turned. Her senses warning her before hearing Ranma whistle behind her and barely caught a glimpse of him at the corner of her eyes before he vanished.

_He's a teleporter!?_

She spun around as Ranma spoke up behind her again. "Man, electricity. Huh- "

Misaka eyes narrowed, a scowl forming on her lips as she saw another glimpse. The crowd started snickering She glared at them; hair rising as blue sparks formed and danced around their fibers. Ranma continued behind her on as if he hadn't been interrupted.

"I haven't seen that since I fought Rouge months ago."

Without looking a trio of Electric Shocks erupted from the back of her head. Ranma appeared infront of her, smirking with his hands stuffed lazily in his pockets as her attacks struck the walls. Chips of warp, blackened concrete fell to the floor as the wall cracked and the smell of burnt stone clogged her nostrils.

She snorted, crossing her arms. "Well… aren't you a liar, Ranma."

He raised a questioning eyebrow and matched her scowl with her own. "I lied!? I lied about _what_?"

"You're an Esper," Misaka answered slowly, as if explaining something painfully obvious to an idiot. "A Tele-"

"No, I'm not. I'm a _Martial Artist_, not an Esper!" Ranma corrected her with such certainty and force behind his statement that Misaka flinched and their audience froze. They all focused their gazes at the pigtailed teenager, boring their stares into his back.

Misaka, regaining her composure glared at him. "…Sure, you can be a martial artist." She agreed and smile tugged at Ranma's lips as Misaka continued on. "But anyone can be a martial artist. Until I see otherwise, I'm saying that you're an Esper. And I…" Blue sparks formed, cackling and jumped all over her body. "Have amply experience dealing with your kind, telepo-."

Ranma turned and ran past the crowd as they parted ways for him. Misaka sputtered, blinking and chased after him.

"Hey!" She shouted, brown shoes sliding across the sidewalk as she turned sharply and pressed forward. "Don't run from our fight!"

Her pace slowed as she avoided people of all types and ages as she spun and ducked through the crowds. Barely, she stopped herself from crashing into them at some occasions. Luckily, she always had Ranma within her sights, who lead her on a chase with no end in sight. He, like her had to push through the crowds.

Only he didn't push through the crowds. No, it was more like he slipped through them to her eyes, like oil and water. Never once did he slow down and never once did _anyone_in the many crowds they went through lay a finger on Ranma. And he did it all as he stared straight at her, running backwards with a smirk. Misaka wanted to fry that infuriating smirk off his face with a electric shock or two, maybe a hundred.

_Na, a thousand would do it. _Misaka thought, smiling darkly. She'd attack if she could, but Ranma would avoid it through teleportation and she might hit and shock an innocent person. And just looking at the arrogant bastard, he knew it too._ What a pain._

Minutes passed by as the chase continued and Misaka pushed away a spiky black haired boy. He yelped and she ignored it, breathing in and out as a drop of sweat ran down her back. The crowds started to thin out now and she even managed to launch a few electric shocks. All missed by a mere foot much to her rising frustration; Ranma dodged her attacks at the last possible second.

Misaka briefly wished Kukuro was here, before banishing that thought. Though Kukuro's own teleportation would be nice to counter Ranma's, but Misaka was sure she could handle the pigtailed teen. And as she saw the river bank coming into view up ahead, Misaka realized what Ranma was up to and smirked.

She'll get her fight soon enough, with no one to interfere but themselves.

* * *

"Are you done running yet?" Misaka Makoto asked as the full moon shined overhead, lighting up the grassy riverbank she stood on with moonlight. Ahead of her, ten meters away, stretching his legs and arms was Ranma. His blue eyes focused in on hers and the pigtailed teen flashed a cocky smirk.

"I wasn't running, just luring you away." Ranma replied as he stood straight and rolled his head, working out the kinks. He smiled. "Wouldn't want anyone getting in the way of our little fight now would we?"

"Of course, of course," Misaka agreed, smiling knowingly. "We wouldn't want anyone to see your loss anyways."

Ranma halted his eyebrow mid-twitch, "You sure about that, little girl? I can take you out anytime you know. With just a little poke, or chop to the neck." He finished, demonstrating with quick motions. Misaka didn't blink, she gave Ranma all her attention but she could barely _perceive_his hands move.

Misaka raised an eyebrow, crossing her arms as Ranma smirked once more. This time it stayed and her eyebrow twitched irritably. She appraised him again in new light, searching for any signs of weaknesses or hints to his other abilities. And Misaka stopped, soon after Ranma started posing dramatically for her.

Both her eyebrows twitched and though Ranma's smirk didn't change physically. She saw that its arrogance and overinflated ego grew; savoring her annoyances and irritation like one does their favorite flavor.

Bluish-white sparks flew from her bang as it rose like a horn and a spear-like crooked line of lightning streaked towards Ranma at speeds above mach one. It didn't hit, Ranma vanished before her eyes again, before she launched her attack, or after. Misaka didn't know, and didn't care as there was only one thought on her mind as she spun around. Her hair swayed as she turned, sparks flying off it like an electrode.

They erupted out of her hair, striking at the ground all around her. The air heated up, cackling with electricity as Misaka unleashed her powers. Numerous tendrils of blue Lighting ripped smoldering holes in the ground as a torrent of electricity electrified the grass for tens of meters on end. Misaka kept this up for a number of seconds and cut it off suddenly as Ranma whistled sharply behind her.

She whirled around, scowling as Ranma stood away, unharmed just at the edge of her attack. He took one look at the scene of destruction before him and whistled again. Misaka only narrowed her eyes.

"You have incredible reaction times for a teleporter." She commented and raised her arms defensively.

Ranma snorted. "Oh, I'm no teleporter. I'm just really, really _fast_ and you're really, really_slow_..." He trailed off, humming to himself as fist kissed his lips. He pushed it away. "…Your reflexes are pretty good." He commented and shrugged. "But your body can't keep up though."

"My… body is just fine!" Misaka showed, glaring and snorted like Ranma did "And I doubt your that fast. My electric shocks travel above Mach one speeds. If you were really that fast, you would have leaving sonic booms or shockwaves every time you moved."

Ranma snickered, turning his head away slightly. "It's only if I want too."

"Uh huh, that I doubt, I _really_do." Misaka replied sarcastically. Ranma rolled his eyes.

"Whatever, but is that blue electricity all you can do? Cause if that's it then I'll be going."

Misaka extended her right arm, wreathing it in electricity as black sand rose from the ground, collecting within the palm of her hand in a swirl and extending outwards. A steel sword of iron sand fully formed after a second and she gripped its black handle as it vibrated at incredible speeds.

Ranma tilted his head, clasping his hands behind him. "That's… pretty cool actually." He cocked an eyebrow. "Why though? I'll murder you if you get close, you know martial artist and-"

His danger senses flared as Misaka stabbed at him as the black blade shot out, extending rapidly as it snaked its way towards the pigtailed teenager. Ranma flicked his wrist as a warm, blue glow enveloped his form and a jian appeared out of nowhere and into his hand. Ranma gripped its handle, Ki channeled into it, reinforcing its structure and sharpened its edge. If he wanted to, he could slice steel as easy as a fresh loaf of bread just by lightly pressing the jians edge against it.

And Ranma's blade whistled through the air met Misaka's whip-like sword of iron sand. Sparks flew as he parried the black blade, and again as Ranma twisted around, observing it curve around his first blow and try to strike at his unprotected backside. Eyebrows rose as he slashed down, severing the dense line of iron sand and-

Skipped back, parrying two strikes as the split halves rushed at them with spear-like tips. Ranma clicked his tongue as Misaka snickered behind him. He glanced over his shoulder and rolled his eyes, blocking the black spears as they struck at him like snakes.

Ranma yawned. "Still too slow, your attacks won't hit me in a thousand years at this point." He tilted his head, leaning to the side as spear dashed past his chest and stopped its sweep with block. Ranma pushed back as whipped out another jian into his free hand and batted away a spear striking at his head.

_What the hell is he? _Misaka thought, nearly shocked still as she watched her iron sand technique being tossed aside again and again as all her attacks failed break his strange, glowing blades. She squashed her ever-growing surprise at Ranma with a force of will. To freeze on the battlefield was to lose, even die. And an opponent of Ranma's apparent caliber a second, likely even less was all he need to end a fight.

Misaka's brow scrunched in concentration and sweat began to collect on her forehead as hundreds of difficult calculations ran through her mind. Electricity danced madly across her brown hair as attention was split tens of ways. She individually directed her iron sand weapons as she formed more and more. Till a hundred drills of iron sand spun through the air, chasing after their target as he dashed from place to place, leading them on a merry chase. Ranma's hands were a blue blur, leaving trails of afterimages as he parried, blocked, and cut apart her drills as if there were made of wet paper and not dense, compacted steel.  
And as this continued on, what little attention she could spare Misaka's mind worked furiously to decipher the powers of Ranma Saotome. Every second passed the thought of Ranma being a teleporter crumbled apart.

_Is he a Gemstone? Like Sogiita Guhna?_She thought, eyes widening at the implications of what she was facing. That might explain Ranma's AIM field and why it was showing within the visible spectrum. A natural Esper, one born with its powers, not gotten through an artificial method using Academy City's Power Curriculum Program like every other Esper. Their powers were greater than their artificial brethren and far more difficult to explain.

_But then why would he not know about Espers then? _The thought popped up in her head as she raised her hand. Her iron sand weapons lost cohesion, dissolving into nothing more than black grain. They swirled and gathered around her. She called them back to her with a thought as Ranma turned to face her fully, jians gripped in his hands. He flicked both wrists and sent them back into stuff-space and blinked.

"Why'd you stop? That was getting to be pretty fun." Ranma sniffed, pouting. Misaka's eyebrow twitched and she briefly wondered if she should just go all out and fry this arrogant bastard.

"Maybe later," She muttered to herself, and a curious expression upon her face as grains of iron sand hovered around her like a thin black fog. Misaka stared at Ranma's hands, wondering where his twin swords went.

She couldn't detect them on his person. There was no metal strapped to his body. It further disproving her theory of Ranma being a teleporter. If he was, then he'd have weapons close to his body, like Kukuro, ready to teleport at hand at a moment's notice. Misaka frowned, and decided it might just be best to ask and save her a headache.

"Where did those swords go?"

"…Na, not going to tell… figure it out yourself," He replied after seconds of thought, shaking his head. "Why should I tell my secrets to my opponent? That's stupidi-"

Misaka interrupted with a heavy, audible sigh. She closed her eyes briefly and opened them. "When I kick your ass, will you tell me about your powers?"

Ranma snorted. "Why should I, it's just Ki and before you say anything. No, I'm not an Esper or whatever you are."

"…Ki, the energy of life, like what's used martial arts manga and anime?" Misaka said blankly.

Ranma nodded, smiling proudly.

"That doesn't exist, it's entirely fictional." She explained, and Ranma twitched. "You're an Esper, a gemstone in-fact. How could you not know what you were? And why are you here in Academy City anyways? Illegally I might add."

"Not going to tell," Ranma huffed, scowling. "Why should I explain the truth to you, when you could see it happening right infront of your eyes?" He finished as blue Ki enveloped his form, shining brilliantly against the night's darkness.

Misaka stared at Ranma for a minute and spoke up. "Then let me ask again, when I kick. No, fry your ass with my electricity will you answer my questions, among other things? Or are you a chi-"

"Sure, why not, _girl_," Ranma agreed immediately. "I'm no chicken, Ranma Saotome never runs from a challenge or fight." He smirked. "Just don't start crying when you lose, got it? I hate dealing with girls in tears; it's such a massive pain in the ass." He sighed as number of memories flashed by and stared at his shirt and back at Misaka, who tried to boil him alive with her gaze.

He ignored it, focusing on the electricity cackling on her hair. Then back at his shirt, staring at it for several long seconds as he traced a finger slowly around the buttons of his shirt. If he ever got hit by Misaka's lighting, it would turn his shirt into nothing but burnt cloth and ash. Her electricity was hot, and powerful. Ranma wondered how high her max volt output reached as he unbuttoned the first one, started on the second, then the third, slowly revealing his muscular chest and started on the fourth.

"**_DON'T STRIP INFRONT OF ME!_****_HAVE YOU NO DECENCY?_**" Misaka roared, covering her eyes as her head snapped away. A bright red blush tinged her cheeks as the image of Ranma's chest burned into her mind. The cloud of iron sand around her fell to the ground, unguided as its master's mind was occupied with… other things.

"Whatever you say," Ranma said dryly and snickered, nearly laughing as he quickly buttoned up his shirt. He waited patiently for Misaka to recover her composure and burst out into another round of snickers as she glared at him with a faded red face.

Taking in a deep, calming breath, Misaka pulled out a coin from the pocket of her shirt. Whitish-blue electricity gathered at hand as she flipped the coin in the air and caught it mid fall. Ranma's eyes narrowed in Misaka's hand as she casually asked.

"Have you ever heard the term Railgun?" The electromaster flicked the coin up into the air with her thumb again. It rotated and spun a few times before landing back onto her thumb as Ranma shrugged.

"Nope."

Misaka sighed. "The idea behind it is the same as a linear motor train. It is a ship-borne weapon that uses powerful electromagnets to fire a metal projectile accelerated to hypersonic speeds." She raised her hand and Ranma tensed. "Let me show you."

And as she finished, an orange spear of light streaked and silently passed by over Ranma's right shoulder. His head turned as it passed and to his eyes it wasn't a spear. No, he saw the coin, slagging itself into nothing as friction overtook it. Afterimages of light trailed after it, forming a thin laser that traced back to Misaka's thumb.

A millisecond passed and the voice of thunder rumbled. A shockwave ripped through the air near his ear and Ranma dashed back as chased after him. He glanced to the side as he did and watched ground as tore open. Dirt and grass were vaporized as the coin ripped through it and left a two meter wide trench that continued on for twenty-five more meters. A path of total annihilation left in its wake and an orange afterglow burned the air like an afterimage.

"Awesome, isn't it?" Misaka spoke up after a few long seconds as Ranma stared hard at the scene before him. He nodded dumbly without looking at her or saying a word. Misaka continued on, smirking. "A coin like this can get _really_powerful when it's fired at three times the speed of sound. Of course, the coin melts after fifty meters because of air friction." She shrugged and pulled another coin out of her pocket, balancing it on her thumb.

"Want to see another one, the last one wasn't even close to my full power I can poor into these babies." She asked sweetly. Ranma's eyes flickered towards her as he turned, facing her fully. A grin slowly crawled up the edges of his mouth as blue Ki erupted out of his body, surrounding it in an aura of power.

"Bring it!"


End file.
