A/N: Very pleasant comments! In response, I'll just keep things kinda general, cos I got 6 Reviews! !Beam!

This fic will be centering on Ranma & the Eight Immortals, aka EI. He/she learns how to fite, blah blah blah, gets tangled romantically, blah blah blah. Not very appealing, is it. I never claimed to be good at summarizing. But hey, this fic is fun to write so I'll continue it! Some ppl say dat the EI thing is a bit quick, but its for a good reason

Conflagration of Talents

Chapter 3

Ranma started to follow her father out of the house when she recalled exactly what form she was in. She hurriedly went to the kitchen, but before she could reach the hot water she felt something pulling her hand back. She stared at it with wide eyes. "What the heck?" She exclaimed confusedly.

'*Please, child, fight in your female form. This is perfect! We finally get our chance to get back at that old fool...*' chuckled the musical voice evilly. Ranma felt herself smiling as well--she was willing to put up with her girl form if it meant that Pop was going to be irritated. She dashed out of the house into the yard with an extra spring in her step. The Tendo family gathered to sit on the porch, watching the impending fight with anticipation.

Genma fell into a combat stance, crouching low with his hands opened and spread out. His son--or rather, daughter--attacked immediately, charging forwards with great speed. Hitting his father with a flurry of blows, Ranma kicked and punched for all he was worth. The older man merely blocked the attacks with complex movements though, and Ranma was wearing out quickly. Rolling backwards, Genma grinned, saying "Saotome School Anything-Goes Martial Arts Secret Technique: Turtle Shell!"

'*Genma isn't as evil as you make him out to be,*' said a rough voice. '*But he is quite irritating at times. Do... this!*' In Ranma's mind, a maneuver played itself out, and the pigtailed girl snatched up a thick, smooth branch from the ground and twined her leg around it, sinking it into the ground firmly. "Saotome-Eight Immortals Merge: Immovable Staff Skill!" She smiled triumphantly. 'This is pretty handy!' She thought. 'It's like having a martial arts book in your head!'

'*Not bad for a beginner,*' The rough voice complimented. Genma stared in shock. "Li Tieguai?!" He recovered quickly though, and with a battle cry he rolled forwards. "Piercing Through Thick Door Attack!" The Tendos were quite amazed as well.

"Wow. Ranma looks... professional." Nabiki observed. Indeed, she seemed to be meditating, her face a picture of calm. The moment her father sprung to his feet and tried to attack her, though, she flew into a blur of motion, the staff giving her extra balance in return for movement. Countering all of her father's punches, she bent down so the staff was straight, but her other leg was horizontal. "This attack is called 'Spinning Top Kick!" She called. Then, she used her hands to grab a stunned Genma's arms, twisting them to give her enough speed to spin around. Her outstretched leg slammed into her father, and he toppled to the ground.

"Not bad," he grudgingly admitted. Standing up, he jumped high up, heading towards Ranma with an aerial kick. "Take this!"

"Avoiding Thrown Fruits with Passivity!" cried Ranma. She pulled out the branch and held it with both hands, pressing it close to her left side. At the same time, she relaxed his legs so she fell backwards. As a result, the makeshift staff caught the ground just before she fell. The staff protruded upwards, though, and Genma's eyes widened as he realized that he had overshot his target... and that he was going to land on a *very* pointed object with a rather tender part of his anatomy.

"Gurk!" Choked Genma as the branch hit him in the crotch. Eyes bulging, he fell to the ground, gripping his injured parts. Ranma flinched in sympathy, along with Soun Tendo, the only other male member of the household. In her mind, though, six voices winced at the move. The other two merely cheered. "Sorry, Pop..." She said apologetically.

"Never... mind... good... training..." Genma gasped out the words before fainting on the ground.

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"Hey, Ranma..." Nabiki said.

"Huh?" The pigtailed girl asked. Everyone else was heading back to the house for their various purposes, Genma to nurse his sore crotch, Soun to console his friend, Kasumi to clean the house, and Akane to head to her room and puzzle out how Ranma had defeated his father.

"Umm... I just wanted to ask you..." She started.

"It's about the iinazuke thing, isn't it?" The beautiful girl jumped to the only logical answer.

"Uh... yeah." Nabiki admitted.

"Well, for the sake of our families, I guess I'll honor it." Ranma said steadfastly. Nabiki's breath caught in her throat as she saw the girl; she was just so damned *attractive*. She would never, ever let it be known that she 'swung both ways', as some in their school said. If her father found out about that... Not to mention the consequences of Akane discovering her elder sister's secret. As a result, she wasn't really *that* freaked out by Ranma's transformation.

But some would definitely consider it kinky... and wouldn't people pay to get their strange desires fulfilled? The shiny-eyed look she got when considering a business deal appeared in her eyes, and Ranma instinctively began to sweat. She gulped, and started to back away. "Umm... I'llbegonenowifyouneedmeI'llbein thehousebye!" With that, she dashed into the house.

'Not to mention the fact that she's so innocent! I've got a perfect iinazuke!" She cackled evilly as she thought this. 'It'll be so fun to... introduce her to the real world.' She went in and sat on a chair, beginning to ponder exactly how she would use this stranger who had become her iinazuke to earn more money, both for her family and herself...

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Ranma sighed in relief as she bolted into the house. Nabiki had actually seemed pretty nice, with none of the cutting wit she'd been at the receiving end of the other day. Then she'd paused, and looked at him oddly, and then got this really *weird* look in her eyes...

Then, she looked down at herself. The battle was over, so she could go change! She walked into the kitchen, happy at defeating her father. She'd never done that before when he was really concentrating; sure, she knew that he was still holding back some, but he had thrown more of it into the fight than he had ever done before.

'*Don't be complacent. Your father is still better than you by quite a margin,*' cautioned a deep male voice. Ranma jumped and spilled the hot water kettle she had been carrying on herself. Luckily, her Jusenkyo curse did nothing but turn her back into a male; she wasn't burnt by hot water anymore, unless it was really hot water of course. He calmed down his fluttering heart. Then, he sat down heavily with a thump on the floor. He had voices in his head! He couldn't believe it. Through the battle, his mind had been overwhelmed mostly by the adrenaline rush, and he hadn't really come to terms with the voices in his head yet. He was convinced of their usefulness though; the battle proved all that.

'Oh yeah, you guys said you would introduce yourselves. So why don't you? We've got lots of time.' He thought. '*All right,*' said the earlier mischievous voice who was now quite sober. '*You know how to meditate, right? Find somewhere safe and do it.*' He walked to the porch and sat down on the wooden surface, closing his eyes.

Slowly breathing in and out, he concentrated on emptying his mind. Soon, an inky blackness covered his mind's eye. He reached out with imaginary hands, searching for the small light he knew was there. Grasping it, a brilliant flash illuminated the darkness, and soon he was in a long meadow--*his* ideal place in his head, where only he could go.

Once there, he saw eight figures manifest themselves before him. 'Whoa!' He thought. They were all dressed in chinese-culture clothes, the likes of which he had only seen before in China, when his father had taken him to a roadside performance.

The first was a beautiful, graceful woman, with her hair done up in a mass of silky locks, her black hair falling down in waves. Her features were delicate, and she moved with poise, her movements looking as if she was floating in air. In her hand she held a simple long sword, with a bit of twisted string at the end.

The second was an ugly, bald man with a long black beard and moustache. In his right hand he held a long, ornately carved black staff which he used to make up for his right leg, which was broken and twisted. He moved easily, though, and his face was creased with smile lines.

The third was a middle aged man formally dressed in what Ranma recognized as Royal Court dress. Flowing robes covered his body, and his handsome face was covered with a head of black curls. He had a moustache and beard as well, and in his hands he carried a zither. In place of the normal strings there were gold ones, and its side was a sharp blade. It was obvious that it was a weapon, but his slender fingers betrayed the fact that it was frequently used as a musical instrument as well.

The fourth was an incredibly handsome--almost pretty--man who held a jade flute in his right hand casually. Spinning the flute around fluidly, it was clear that he was experienced with it. He wore simple robes, but moved with a grace almost equal to that of the first one, the woman.

The fifth was a figure that he had never expected he would see. He looked much like his Pop; he was corpulent, and had a fat belly. He was obviously a very jolly person, and his grayish beard flowed down to his navel. In his hand he held a fan made of palm leaves.

The sixth was a slender, frail-looking old man. In his hand he held a worn walking stick, and he rode backwards on a donkey; the comical sight nearly made Ranma lose his concentration, and the images began wavering in his head. He quickly forced all mirth out of him, and the images returned with greater clarity. He had a kind-looking face, and the donkey nuzzled him lovingly.

The seventh was a solemn-looking youth. She was in her early twenties, and was the closest to his age. She wore male clothes, though, much like himself in female form. Her hair was cut short, and it reminded him eerily of Nabiki. He swallowed nervously, and quickly looked to the last one.

The eighth was a masculine, handsome man. He had long hair brushed back to his mid-back, and he wore cotton robes. In his hand he held a long sword tinted with red, the hilt emblemed with the symbol of a dragon. The edge seemed unnaturally sharp, and with his strong powerful muscles Ranma knew this was one fighter he did not want to face.

The first one stepped forward. "I am He Xiangu."

The second one did the same. "I am Li Tieguai."

It went on and on, all of them introducing themselves. "I am Cao Guojiu." Said the third one.

"I am Han Xiangzi." The fourth said quietly.

"I am Han Zhongli." The fifth informed him.

"I am Zhang Guolao." The sixth introduced himself.

"I am Lan Caihe." The seventh one said formally.

"And I am Lu Dongbin." Stated the last one.

For a moment, there was complete silence in his mind. Then, they all moved forward and sound filled his ears.

"Oooh! Is this our new chosen?" He Xiangu said mischievously.

"Doesn't look like much now, but we'll change that!" Li Tieguai snorted.

"He looks quite stunned. I think we should clarify the situation first," Lu Dongbin said concernedly. Indeed, Ranma was currently staring blankly at the eight immortals.

"All right... I guess. Where should we start?" mused Han Zhongli.

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A/N: FINISHED! AT LAST! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Sorry. Aniway, hope you guys like it! Polls for "Marry Ranma" still open! This is a more introductory chapter. Sorri if it's boring...