One Hundred Percent Woman
by Mark Doherty(mdoherty@mailbox.uq.edu.au)
Chapter 2
I got the idea for this from an e-mail conversation I was having with
Meredith, the owner of the Ukyou Shrine. Well, one of them, anyway. :P
Go blame it on her. ;)
Characters are the brainchild(ren) of Takahashi Rumiko. No disrespect is
intended in their use.
Tell me what you think.
I am not, I will admit, a proponent of using male pronouns for female
Ranma. Nor, for that matter, do I normally use female pronouns for girls
who have been given a male curse. But... gender confusion is one of the
themes I explore regularly(monotonously), and this particular story relies
on an evolving pronoun base, where gender pronouns rely on character's
attitude, and not their body. So... for 100%, I shall use male pronouns for
onna-Ranma.
"Lone and alone she lies,
Poor Miss 7,
Five steep flights from the earth,
And one from heaven;
Dark hair and dark brown eyes,-
Not to be sad she tries,
Still - still it's lonely lies
Poor Miss 7."
- "Poor 'Miss 7'" by Walter De La Mare
++++++++++++++++++++++
There should be a wind. There ought to be a cold wind blowing, it ought to
scream out in almost human frustration, it should howl around her, it
should bite at her with its frozen teeth. It should ruffle her clothes as
she stood there, feet on the edge, staring out at the night view from the
top of the multi-storey school.
But there was no wind, no sweetly bitter bite of air, only silence. Sweet
mercy... such silence...
One step. One easy step, and the pain would go, the self-hate would no
longer matter, the questions that hurt and hurt and hurt would stop.
Stop. Ignore the siren's song. This way would not give the one thing left
that was so desperately wanted: an answer.
Why? She raised her head to the dark-lit sky.
Why did he lie to me?
She waited a moment, almost as if expecting a reply to the unvoiced
question.
Why didn't he love me?
She looked down at the empty schoolyard.
If he did, why did he go?
She clenched her fists.
I have to know.
++++++++++++++++++++++
The way the boys looked at her, the way the conversations dulled and stopped
whenever she got close, the way laughter would follow behind her like a
yapping lapdog, the way the teachers talked to her in tones that reeked of
hidden pity...
They knew. They all knew.
It was happening again. The mocking would start again. She couldn't handle
it again.
She left at lunchtime, to chase up an overheard rumour.
++++++++++++++++++++++
"Where the hell is he? He's supposed to be here! Why isn't he here?"
Impotent rage, fury directed to an uncaring summer sky. "Where is he!?"
"He isn't here."
Ryouga whirled to face the new voice. "Oh, it's you. What do you mean, he's
not here? Where's Saotome, Ukyou?"
"Gone."
"Don't tell me you're here to fight for him?"
".......No."
"Then...?" Rage ebbed slightly, as curiosity surfaced.
"I looked for you to see if you knew why... but you don't know, do you?"
"Know what?"
"Why... why did he leave...?"
"HE WHAT?!"
++++++++++++++++++++++
Why...
The owner of the Super Soba Store scratched his head, looking at the brown
haired youth before him.
"Huh. Don't know much about his kid, besides what Saotome told me, whenever
he ate here. But I remember how he kept talking about how he was going to
take his son to all sorts of places."
"Could you please tell me where?"
"I don't know, really, I think he was talking about going south, or possibly
over to Korea or Taiwan, possibly even China, or maybe up north along the
coast. It all depended on the day, Saotome was changing his 'itinerary' all
the time. Kept saying it was all for his son. Guess the kid really wanted to
travel, huh?"
"............Thank you."
++++++++++++++++++++++
Why...
"Saotome Ranma?" The school administrative officer blinked. "Yes, he and
his father arranged for him to be transferred out of the school two days
ago."
"Could you tell me if they said why?"
"Just moving to a new area. Happens all the time. Why exactly do you want
to know?"
"He was my friend."
++++++++++++++++++++++
Why...
The farmer scratched his head. "Short ponytail huh? Yeah, yeah. Damn right
I saw him and his father. About a week ago. Came through here, the old guy
said they'd work for food. Damn thieves ate the food, and ran off. You gonna
pay for what they ate?"
"No. But thank you, for the help."
++++++++++++++++++++++
Why...
"I think maybe they went that way. Don't know, got better things to notice
than that."
Why...
"Saotome? Never heard of them."
Why...
"No, haven't seen anyone looking like that. A ponytail, huh?"
Why...
"Nope."
Why...
"Sorry."
Why...
"Can't help you."
Why...
"Go _away_ kid."
++++++++++++++++++++++
Why?
Ukyou stared out at the sea, hands around the shaft of a battle spatula.
Nothing, the trail was cold. The Saotomes were gone, and the young chef
didn't know where to look next.
Why did he leave her?
The okonomiyaki ninja was a mess; grime and tattered clothes evidence of a
long, hard search.
Why? Because he didn't want her...
Ukyou screamed out, yelling primal frustration, smashing the weapon deep
into the hard ground.
"Fine! Fine!" he raged, angry tears washing some of the dirt from his face.
"So he doesn't want me! Fine! Then I don't want him! Hah! That's right! As
far as I'm concerned, if I never see him again, it would be..."
"Never..." he sighed, slumping to the ground, the rage seeping out. Somehow,
it didn't seem worth it anymore. Nothing seemed worth it.
++++++++++++++++++++++
"Come on, come on..." Ranma scanned the horizon again, turning through 360
degrees, straining his eyes to their utmost.
"Let's go, Ranma."
"Just five minutes more, Pop."
"Why? Admiring the scenery?"
"Maybe."
"Well you can admire it as we walk. We're done with this training ground.
It's time to move."
"In a minute."
"Now, boy!"
"Alright, alright." He scooped his pack off the ground, grunting, before he
mumbled to himself "Be at the next place for sure."
"Ranma!"
He shook his head. "Yeah, yeah! I'm coming! Keep your hair on!"
++++++++++++++++++++++
"Have you seen a fat bald man and a guy about my age, with black hair tied
in a small ponytail?" The words had been said so often, they were burned
into his memory. Ryouga waited for a response from the small man he had
asked.
He waited a little longer.
He started to steam as the little man said something in another language,
probably Chinese.
Giving up the conversation as a bad joke, he left the man, growling as he
walked away. "Dammit! Don't people speak Japanese in Japan!?" he snarled,
annoyed at his fruitless search. "I'll never find that coward at this rate."
Ryouga muttered as he walked out of Beijing's city limits.
++++++++++++++++++++++
Time. They say it heals all wounds.
If only.
++++++++++++++++++++++
"I'm telling you, she wants to go out with you." The small, frizzy-haired
boy grinned at his silent, ponytailed companion.
"I don't really--"
"Come on! She's cute, she's funny, she's available and she wants _you_!
Sweet sixteen, never been kissed... you know, all that stuff. What more do
you want?"
"I don't know anymore."
"You're ruining my reputation as school matchmaker, you know."
"Sorry."
"If you don't like girls, it's, you know, okay. If you'd like, I could
arrange--"
"No! Not a boy! Never a boy." Never again.
"So what's the problem? You've got the looks, the smarts and the charm. If
you stopped moping around, you'd have the girls falling all over you."
"Maybe that's not what I want."
"So what _do_ you want? You're ruining my perfect matchmaking record!"
"I don't know..."
"*sigh* Fine, fine. I know when I'm beat. Pity, she'll be very disappointed.
The other girls will never let her live it down, being rejected by a
handsome guy like you." The small boy sighed again, shrugged, and turned,
ready to walk away.
"....Wait."
The small boy grinned. Gotcha.
"....I'll... I'll take her to the movies."
"Great! Great! It'll be good to see you get out, you know. You're so gloomy,
Ukyou. You could do with a bit of a female's touch."
"........."
++++++++++++++++++++++
A nice little street, somewhere or another, just after a pleasant summer
shower.
"YOU DID WHAT?!"
Pause. Silence. More silence. And then...
"Come here, Pop."
Pause.
"No, no really. Just come here."
Silence.
"Where are you going, Pop?"
Pause. Then the growing sound of running feet and... paws?
A panda bear tore around a corner, hoving into view. It almost fell over
from its sharp turn, before it regained its balance, racing down the street.
"POP!" A redheaded girl raced out after the animal. "I can't believe you!
Engaging me! AGAIN!"
The panda was too busy running away to make a reply.
"Get back here!!!"
Get real, the panda thought.
++++++++++++++++++++++
"I can't believe I'm doing this." He groaned, rubbing at his temples,
before he shook his head. "Too late now. Far too late. Can't back out, can't
do that to the girl."
He leaned down, looking into the mirror of the small bathroom, making sure
his clothes were on right. After he rearranged a few strands of his chestnut
hair, he straightened his stance.
"I can't believe I'm doing this." he repeated. He squared his shoulders and
walked out of the bathroom as he tried to remain calm.
He walked over to the small drawer that stood next to the empty space where
his futon was placed at nights. He crouched down before opening the top
drawer with a protesting wooden scrape.
"Guess I had to start this sooner or later, if I'm to fulfil the obligations
of 'first son'." He drew out a small jewellery box and stared at it. Slowly,
carefully, he opened it. The teenager stayed there for five minutes, staring
at the open box, keeping in his crouch.
"Damn." The jewellery box snapped shut, covering a glint of silver. After
gently placing the box back in the drawer and closing it, the boy stood.
"A date." he muttered, walking over to the front door. He opened it and
stepped through, shaking his head. "Madness." And he closed the door behind
him.
++++++++++++++++++++++
"Hot enough for you?" The beachside drinks vendor sighed, mopped his brow,
before he looked at his customer.
The boy did not reply, he was absorbed in staring at the sea.
"Is something wrong?"
"What?" Ryouga blinked, tearing his gaze from the water. "No. Just thinking
how nice it would have been to go for a swim."
"So why don't you?"
"Because... just because."
++++++++++++++++++++++
"So that's five deluxe okonomiyaki." The fortyish, slightly balding chef
blinked, looking at his customer.
Ranma nodded. "Yeah." Damn, wish I could afford more, I'm really hungry.
He looked around at the small shop. It had been a bit of a trek to find the
place, but... "Hey... you wouldn't have a girl, about my age, working here?
Brown hair, er... probably kinda cute?" He tugged nervously on his pigtail.
"Afraid not." What, does my shop look like a dating agency?
"How about a guy?"
The chef tossed the first okonomiyaki in front of the boy. "Just eat your
food."
++++++++++++++++++++++
A group of girls gathered.
"He was so... so understanding." the girl who was the centre of attention
said excitedly.
"Go on, go on."
"We went to the movies. I thought I'd test him by choosing a romantic film.
He didn't complain once, he sat through the entire movie, even though I
could tell he wanted to go to the Jackie Chan one instead."
"And then?"
"Yeah, don't stop there, girl!"
"We had a bite to eat at the local beef-bowl, we talked, and then he walked
me home via the park gardens."
"Ooohhhhh, the gardens. Did you..."
"No, and that's just it. Most guys, you go out with them, you know they just
want one thing."
"For you to pay the bill?"
"Okay, okay. Two things. But Ukyou wasn't like that. I even offered to kiss
him goodnight--"
"Well that was a bit forward!"
"Stop living in the past. I'm a modern girl, and modern girls can be forward
if they want. Anyway, I offered to kiss him, but he said he didn't want me
to get hurt."
"You weren't insulted by that? Sounds like a brush-off to me."
"You didn't see his face. I think he's just been hurt in a relationship
before, and he's afraid to get close to anyone."
"He always seems so sad."
"Maybe he just needs the right person to cheer him up."
"Hmm...."
"Hmm."
"I wonder if he's free on Saturday night..."
"Or Sunday..."
++++++++++++++++++++++
"Bread?"
Ryouga snorted. Finally, after all this time, he was facing his enemy.
Finally, he had found Ranma. He pointed to his once-friend, as a crowd of
students looked on at the showdown.
"You think this is about bread?!"
Ryouga glanced around. Of course, it would have to be in a schoolground. How
appropriate, to be facing him again in a place like the one where the duel
challenge had been made.
"This was _never_ about bread. It isn't even about you being gay, and
how you tried to take advantage of me. No, my quarrel goes beyond such petty
things!"
Silence. Eerie silence. And then, a quiet, too quiet response from Ranma.
"Excuse me? My being what?"
++++++++++++++++++++++
A cold ball of embarrassment settled into Akane's stomach as she watched the
showdown between Ranma and the bandannaed boy break down into a brawl.
He's gay? _He's gay_? She shook her head; trying to ignore the looks the
other students were giving her as she sorted things out in her head.
It didn't make sense. Did it? Ranma, Mr Macho, was homosexual? This Ryouga
boy had obviously thought so, despite Ranma's violent response.
And yet...
Ranma had not acted like a normal guy on the first day he had met Akane.
What were those words again? 'No big deal for me to see a naked girl'?
Maybe he hadn't been referring to his being used to seeing his female side
after all.
And there was one time, where she had barged into his room after a fight.
He'd been lying on his futon, staring at a photo. In that split second,
before he'd covered his expression with the usual stupid look, she'd seen
a strange... almost _longing_ look on his face. Their conversation had taken
a turn for the worse, she'd knocked him unconscious, and out of curiosity
she had looked at the photo.
The photo had been of a young boy, with unusually long chestnut hair, tied
into a ponytail. The date on the back indicated that the boy would be around
the same age as her and Ranma. She had figured maybe the boy was an old
friend of Ranma's. Maybe she'd figured wrong.
But if he was gay... why hadn't he had the decency to tell her? They were
engaged for pity's sake! She deserved to know!
She sighed, shaking her head as the two boys continued to battle in the
background. Of course he wouldn't have told her. After all, he hadn't told
her about the curse until he had to. And her reaction to that probably
ensured that any further secrets of his would never be told to her.
And Mr Saotome always took great exception to Ranma's acting as anything
less than a true man, always getting angry at the slightest hint of weakness
from the boy. Would it be any wonder, then, that Ranma would deny to any and
all his true nature, if he were gay, if he feared that word would reach his
father?
Not to mention how her own father would react, if he found out that the only
Saotome son had little chance of fulfilling any marriage obligations. Was it
any wonder Ranma had kept quiet, with all these reasons? No, she admitted to
herself, as much as she wished otherwise, she couldn't blame him for this.
The embarrassment faded, replaced by an almost guilty relief. The engagement
didn't matter anymore; she had an acceptable reason to back out now. And
without the ever present threat of wedding kimonos, perhaps... perhaps there
was a possibility of something happening, something that had first been
destroyed by her belief that Ranma had enjoyed seeing her naked on that
first day in the bath. Perhaps, without the threat of having to keep him at
arm's distance, like any normal boy, she and Ranma could...
She and Ranma could be friends.
++++++++++++++++++++++
"C'mon Ukyou, we're friends, aren't we?" The matchmaker grinned nervously.
"I'm starting to wonder. What the hell is this?" The cook waved a sheet of
paper at the smaller boy.
The matchmaker pulled at the collar of his tight school shirt.
Ukyou cleared his throat, and started to read the sheet of paper. "Saeko,
Saturday, lunch. Mai, Saturday, dinner. Kimiko, Sunday, breakfast.
Breakfast?! What the hell is this all about?"
"Umm... It's your date list."
"What?"
"Your date list. I don't know what you did on that first date, but I'd be
willing to pay money to learn. Some of the girls are very interested in
learning more about you. So, of course, they came to me to arrange things."
"Maybe I don't want them to learn more about me. Did you think of that?"
"I don't see what your problem is here. You said you enjoyed the movie,
right?"
"As a one-off, innocent, two-friends-at-a-movie sort of way, yes! That
didn't mean I wanted to do it again with half the girls from school!"
"You know, I've never seen you this emotional. Emotion is good, right?"
A click, a leather rasp, and a battle spatula brought to the ready as an
answer.
"Oh, I see. Emotion is bad."
++++++++++++++++++++++
Onna-Ranma muttered as he stripped, keeping one foot on the struggling
piglet that Akane had just found. "Damn Ryouga. Attacking me at school and
at night. And damn him for spreading those rumours about me! He's gone too
far."
He picked up the piglet, and looked at the bath. "Even Akane believed him!
Argh! Why doesn't anyone ever believe me?" He looked the piglet in the
eyes. "Do you believe me, little pig?"
The piglet shook its head in a negative gesture, before it went back to
trying to escape.
"Damn." onna-Ranma muttered. "I swear, when I see Ryouga again--" he
casually tossed the piglet into the hot bathwater.
Ryouga, returned to his human form, quickly covered himself with his hands.
He didn't want Ranma to get any ideas.
".....I'll kill you!" onna-Ranma screamed, lunging forward, wrapping his
hands around Ryouga's throat. Normally, he was a most even-tempered person.
But with one short sentence in front of the Furinkan students, Ryouga had
given an almost fatal blow to his male ego. Right now, Ranma wasn't overly
rational.
"Ack!" Ryouga acked. "Stop... trying to... hug me! I've told you... I'm
not... that *wheeze* way."
"I AM NOT TRYING TO HUG YOU!"
++++++++++++++++++++++
"Mr Saotome." Akane turned from the half-open outer bathroom door to look
at the panda. She glanced down at the bath equipment in his paws.
"Gruffle."
Rain thundered in sharp staccato onto the roof, forcing her to raise her
voice. "Do you mind if I use the bath first? I just can't get back to sleep,
I was hoping a quick hot bath might help."
"Gruffle."
"Thank you."
Akane stepped into the bathroom annex as the panda shuffled back to his
room. She was about to take off her clothes when she heard a slight thump
from the bathroom. It was hard to tell what the sound was, over the
background noise of the rain.
"Ranma?" He couldn't still be taking a bath, could he? "Is there anyone in
there?"
She hesitated, waiting for a response. Another thump, followed by the sound
of what may have been flesh striking tiles. "Ranma?" She knocked, waited
again, before she cautiously slid the inner bathroom door open.
She looked. She blinked. She looked again. Then she silently slid the door
closed again.
"Ranma. In his girl form. Rolling around the floor with Ryouga. Naked." She
pondered this for a few moments, rubbing her chin. "I'll kill him. I'll kill
him dead. I'll..." She shook her head. "No, no I guess if that's the way he
is, hitting him won't do anything to help. Still, he should be more careful.
If his father had walked in..."
She shook her head, walking out into the hall. "At least now I know for
certain..." she mused, walking back to her room.
++++++++++++++++++++++
A small piglet, bleeding from several small wounds, burst out of the Tendo
house. Seconds later, a red haired girl dressed only in a towel, followed.
A few minutes of fruitless searching later, onna-Ranma gave up looking for
Ryouga.
He took one last look around the dark street, before he walked back into
the Tendo yard, muttering to himself.
"This ain't over, pig."
++++++++++++++++++++++
"Ranma, where's that piglet I found?"
"I'm sorry, Akane. He ran off before I could get him."
"Dammit Ranma, I trusted you to take care of the poor little thing while you
were bathing him. I can't believe you got so distracted in..."
"In what?"
"...Nothing. But you shouldn't have lost the piglet like that."
"Well, I'm sorry about the pig. I honestly wished he'd stuck around. I
really did want to take care of him."
++++++++++++++++++++++
The walk to school was a good time to talk.
"Look, I _swear_, it's all a lie. I don't even know where Ryouga got this
stupid idea from!"
"You don't have to worry, Ranma. I understand. You don't want people to
know because it might get back to your father. It's okay. I understand now
why you were so angry at my accusing you of being a pervert that day when
you arrived."
"Akane, I wasn't angry at you calling me a pervert because I was gay, I
was angry _because_ you called me a pervert. Wait a minute. That didn't
come out right..."
"Hey, it's okay. Kind of a relief, really. It takes a lot of the pressure
off this stupid engagement."
"But I... but... dammit." This sucks.
++++++++++++++++++++++
Where in the world am I now? It was a question that was ingrained into
Hibiki Ryouga's soul. As much as he hated getting lost, as much as it
embarrassed him, there was a paradoxical ease of familiarity in looking
around, and not recognising anything. After all, he'd been getting lost all
his life, was it any wonder he could sometimes find comfort in not knowing
where he was? It was one of his oldest fears that one day he'd develop a
sense of direction, only to find out that he missed getting lost.
One example of something he'd miss, if, by chance, he could no longer get
lost was that of chance meetings. They seemed to happen to him a lot when he
got lost.
"Ukyou?" Ryouga sat on one of the counter stools of a small okonomiyaki
store as he looked at the cook. Nearby, the store owner talked to one of the
regular customers, leaving one half of the counter to be serviced by the
younger chef.
Ukyou's features were slightly more effeminate since last time Ryouga had
seen him, and the moody, almost grim expression was something he
wasn't used to on the face of someone he remembered as almost always
smiling.
"Ryouga. Long time no see." No exclamation of surprise at seeing a long-lost
friend, no happy smile or angry frown or even a noncommital grunt. Nothing
but a listless nod of the head.
"Er... yes. How have you been?"
Ukyou shrugged.
Ryouga grimaced, tapping deep into his conversation skills. "Uh... did you
ever catch up to Ranma?"
"Don't mock me Ryouga. I didn't catch up to them; they didn't want to be
caught. I looked and looked, but it didn't matter because there was nothing
to be found. Nothing matters..."
"Gods... snap out of it Ukyou! Are you a man, or what?"
"Depends on who you ask." A shrug, a flick of the wrist, and another order
was served onto a plate. An almost careless toss of the plate to the
customer later, he looked back to the bandannaed boy. "What do you want,
Ryouga? Our 'happy school days' are behind us. You're a bit early for a ten
year reunion, it's only been two years."
"Saotome. I found him."
"Ran..." Life sparked into the dead eyes. Then the spark died again. "Yes,
of course it would be you to find him and tell me. The only person I know
who couldn't direct me if he wanted to. Don't do this to me, Ryouga.
Don't..."
"I have an address. Written down. He's there, Ukyou. He's there to stay.
I'll give you a fair chance: if you can arrive before I can get there again,
you have next chance at him. Well?"
The spark had returned to the eyes. "Yes... but why?"
Ryouga shrugged, handing over a piece of paper. "I just think you've got a
fair beef too. Not one I agree with, but still... It wouldn't have felt
right to have not given you a chance."
"Nerima? The Tendo Dojo?" Ukyou looked up from the writing on the paper.
"Why did he stop there? What's important about this place?"
Ryouga chuckled. "You'll love this. Aheheh... you see... *snicker* he's...
he's... heh... engaged! Bwahahahahahaha! I love it! It's almost revenge in
itself, for him to be engaged to a girl!"
"Engaged?" The chef's face whitened. "To anoth... to a girl?"
Ryouga nodded, wiping laughter tears from his eyes. "Yes. Isn't it the
funniest thing you've ever heard?"
The hand scrunched the paper as it clenched hard. "Far too funny for me."
Ukyou snarled, her eyes almost glowing.
++++++++++++++++++++++
Two weeks. Two weeks of protesting, arguing, and telling the truth, for
nothing. Ranma cursed, throwing a vicious punch at the unoffending air
in front of him.
The only light in the blight of the last fortnight was that neither his or
Akane's father had heard the lies about him. The blight in that light was
that it was costing him all his allowance to keep Nabiki's mouth shut.
Why didn't anyone believe him? Why didn't Akane believe him? Every time,
every bloody time he'd tried to assert his sexual preferences, Akane would
smile slightly and say something along the lines of 'Sure Ranma' or 'I
believe you, Ranma', but it was obvious to him that she didn't believe...
Maybe she didn't want to believe. She'd been very pleasant to him, ever
since she had 'found out'. Very friendly. Very like she was relieved that
he 'was' gay.
He increased the speed of his kata, almost blurring through the moves,
leaping from one part of the dojo to another.
Maybe he could prove he liked girls, not guys. Maybe then she'd stop
treating him like... like... well, just a friend.
He kept up the increased pace, leaping, kicking, punching.
But how? How, what way was there? He'd tried telling her, he'd tried the
more obvious things, like commenting to her on how good-looking some girl
on tv was, he'd tried everything he could think of that was socially
acceptable, short of...
He stopped in the centre of the dojo, slightly sweating. He stood there,
motionless for a moment, before he smiled.
Of course. He'd ask her on a date.
++++++++++++++++++++++
Genma sighed in contentment as he ambled home from Tofu's clinic. His son
was engaged, in an arrangement that would inherit them a dojo, he had an
easy job that required little real work, his evenings were spent playing
shogi with his best and oldest friend, he partook of wonderful meals that
were cooked by a girl who was all too happy to do all the housework... life
was good.
He smiled as he thought about what Kasumi had probably cooked for dinner.
Maybe sukiyaki, or perhaps some yakitori, possibly even okonomiyaki.
He frowned. What had made him think of that? His nose, sensitive to the
delicate scents of food, answered for him. "Strange. I didn't realise there
was an okonomiyaki restaurant around here."
"Hello Unckie Genma..." The words sing-songed from the shadows.
++++++++++++++++++++++
"So... uh... you know... that is... well, I..."
"Ranma, what _are_ you trying to say?"
"I was... was just wondering, Akane, if you weren't doing nothing, you know,
tonight, if maybe you'd like to... to... go out to eat? Just you and... me?"
"What, a friends night out or something?"
"Wellllll... I was thinking more as a chance to... well, get to know each
other as iinazuke. Didn't think that the dojo was the right place to do
that."
"Oh, I see. Keeping up appearances for your Dad. Okay, sure. I can go."
"But it's not just for keeping up appearances..."
"Sure, Ranma. I understand."
"......" Fine, this is just another battle. And I swear that by the end of
this date, you will believe that I am straight, or my name ain't Saotome
Ranma. Heh, I'm gonna get you to admit I'm not gay if it kills me.
++++++++++++++++++++++
"Why hello Mr Saotome. Did you have a nice day at work?"
"Argh... Ka-su-mi..."
"It must be very hard work, for you to be resting on the sidewalk like
this."
"Pain..."
"Hard work a pain? I never thought of it that way..."
"Doctor..."
"Why yes, I was going to Dr Tofu's. How did you know?"
"No... need doctor..."
"Why, Mr Saotome." She blushed. "It's not like that at all. Dr Tofu is just
a good friend."
"Feeling... faint..."
"I'll leave you to your nap, Mr Saotome. If you get back home before I do,
I left your meal in the oven. I'll be glad to reheat it for you when I get
back. Goodbye!"
"Groan..."
++++++++++++++++++++++
Show her through your actions. Show her through your actions.
Ranma repeated the mantra over and over, using it as a ward against the
nervousness of being out on a date. "Er... wow, look at that waitress. What
a looker."
Akane turned and looked for a few seconds, before swivelling back to face
Ranma. "Ranma... why do you keep up the charade twenty-four hours a day?
To keep in practice? You're getting good at the protests, I admit, you've
even almost convinced me a couple of times. But... but it really hurts that
you feel you can't tell me the truth, even when I already know it. Do you
distrust me that much? Does our friendship mean so little?"
"*sigh* Look, I tried everything I can think of to convince you, Akane. But
you just don't seem to want to believe me. What do I haveta do to make you
believe me?"
"Why is this so important to you? Fine, if you want me to believe your
'truth', there's an easy way to prove you like girls and not boys. Kiss me."
She smirked. No way he'd take up that challenge.
"What? But I... you... we..." Indecision firmed to resolve. Here's the
chance he'd wanted... she'd have to believe him if he took her challenge.
All it would take was one kiss. Just one quick, lousy kiss.
He started to sweat.
"Well?" He'll never do it. Maybe now he'll finally stop treating me like an
outsider to his problems, maybe now he'll start treating me like a friend
that he could confide in.
"Okay, fine. I can do it. I'll give you a kiss you'll never forget!"
"Fine. Ready when you are." Look at him sweat. Come on, just break down and
admit it...
"What, here?" He looked around at the semi-crowded fast food restaurant.
"They're not even looking at us. Do you think that cuts it as an excuse?"
"I don't need no excuse. Here I come." He leaned forward, sweat pouring off
him.
I don't believe it, he's actually going to do it. Akane forced herself not
to blink, keeping her eyes on Ranma's lips as his face drew closer.
I can't believe I'm doing this... Ranma placed both hands on the table,
starting to lean across, making sure to give Akane plenty of time to back
out if she wanted, hoping that she would, and hoping that she wouldn't.
Akane's wide eyes trembled slightly. What if she'd been wrong? What if he
really was a normal guy? Should she stop him? Should she let him kiss her?
Should she...
A gigantic spatula cleaved the space between the two teenagers, shearing
through the table.
Akane and Ranma stumbled back from the broken table. Their eyes both
travelled from the unusual weapon to its wielder, who was looking at Ranma.
"Hello 'Ranchan'."
++++++++++++++++++++++
"Pig! Scum! Betraying son of a betraying bastard!" Swing, kick, backswing.
"Aw... come on Ucchan. Don't be back to this way!" Block, dodge, vault.
"You _left_ me! No word, no explanation, no nothing!" Head, stomach, groin.
"I left you a letter! I swear, I would have waited for you to get back if
Pop hadn't--" Duck, sidestep, deflect.
"Letter? There was no letter! And now I find out you're engaged to someone
else! How can you be engaged to two people? How!?" Blow after blow, never
settle into a pattern.
"Pop--" Dodge and dart and block and avoid and never fight back, never hurt
her.
"No! I'm sick of it! Always, always it's your father's fault! Always! I
bought it once, I'm not buying it again!"
The two teenagers darted out of the restaurant, Ukyou attacking, Ranma
dodging. Another moment, and Akane jogged out after them.
"Don't do this Ucchan..." Don't hate me...
"Damn you! Don't you DARE call me that!"
"This isn't you, Ucchan." Don't let these feelings be you...
He caught the battle spatula, twisted around the knee that Ukyou drove at
him, and he looked into his old friend's eyes. "I thought we were friends."
I thought we'd always be friends...
"Let me go!"
"Not until we sort this out." Not until it's all alright again...
"I'm not going to listen to your lies!"
"Look, I'm sorry I couldn't wait around to tell you I was going. Pop forced
it on me at the last moment. I swear, I left a le--"
"No! No easy solution this time, Saotome! No quick apology and then it's
all-is-forgiveness! No nice, simple way out for you!" A quick twist, and
the cook was free, leaving the spatula to Ranma as a sacrifice of the
escape.
"Ucchan, don't leave like this!"
"Why should you care if I do?" Ukyou leaped to a nearby rooftop, shouting
back before disappearing into the night's dark "If you'd cared, you would
have told me you were going, two years ago. You would have asked me to
come with you..."
++++++++++++++++++++++
Akane blinked, returning her gaze from the roof to her iinazuke. Well, the
'date' had been ruined. She was surprised at how disappointed that made her
feel.
Ranma lowered his eyes from scanning the roof to stare at the spatula in
his right hand. "No letter?"
She cleared her throat. "Ranma, I--"
Ranma glanced up at her, blinking as if he hadn't even realised she was
there. "Akane!"
"Ranma, who was that?"
Ranma shook his head. "I'll answer that later, Akane. I've gotta find Ucchan
first." He grasped the spatula with both hands, and he leaped onto the
roof of one of the buildings, bounding off.
Akane clenched her fists. She couldn't believe it, she'd just been ditched
in the middle of a date. "And what did he mean by 'engaged to two people'?"
++++++++++++++++++++++
"Dammit!" Ranma sat down, staring out at the adjacent rooftops. She'd gotten
away.
"What the hell's wrong with her? Why's she back to trying to kill me?" He
grimaced, looking to the combat spatula he still held, as if it would give
an answer.
"What was with her? She was so sloppy with her attacks, what happened to her
training? And what did she mean no letter, anyway? How could she not have
seen it? This is screwed..."
++++++++++++++++++++++
"Dammit!" Ukyou slammed a fist into an unoffending wall, caving it in.
The best laid plans... screwed by his temper. He'd wanted the truth, more
than anything else. No, no not quite true. What he wanted _more_ than
anything else was the truth to be that Ranma didn't run away. But still, he
wanted to know, he wanted to know _so bad_ the answer to the simplest of
questions: why? Why was it so bad for the Saotomes to take one extra person
along on their trip?
Did they hate him that much?
Had all of Ranma's friendship been a lie?
Perhaps why wasn't a simple question after all.
Not that it really mattered now. Ranma couldn't be trusted. Kami-sama knew
that Genma couldn't. He had planned to come to Nerima, to fade into the
background for a while, to spy on the Saotomes until he found out the
reasons.
And he'd screwed it all because he couldn't keep hidden, he couldn't control
his anger when he had first seen Genma. And then he'd compounded the problem
when he'd spied on Ranma. He'd almost kept himself in check, spying on
Ranma, but then... but then...
Dammit, Ranma was going to kiss that girl.
Why? Why was that girl so much more desirable to Ranma? He'd never tried
to kiss... well, the Neko-ken didn't count. And neither did the bus station.
Why did that girl rate such attention, what made her special? Why did Ranma
love her more?
He sighed, rubbing the hand he had used to punch the wall, before he started
to walk home. Why was never an easy question.
++++++++++++++++++++++
"Ah, good morning Akane. Up at last, I see."
"Uncle Saotome! What happened to you!?"
"Nothing that you should worry about. I'll be fine in a day or so. I hear
you and Ranma went on a date. It must have been a good one, he didn't get
home until after I went to bed, and he was gone again before I got up. Must
be off celebrating his good fortune, eh? Are those wedding bells I hear?"
Considering how beat up you look, it wouldn't surprise me if you were
hearing ringing. "Uncle Saotome... could you tell me something?"
"Certainly. What would you like to know? Need some advice on handling my
son?"
"In a way. What do you know about Ranma being engaged twice?"
++++++++++++++++++++++
At last. After years of planning, hoping, yearning, the dream that had kept
him going through the worst times had come true. Kuonji Ukyou was the proud
owner/operator of his very own okonomiyaki-ya.
It had taken every yen he had earned over the years, along with a fair
chunk of his father's savings. It had taken calling in favours from friends
of the family, for permits and approval and such. It had taken leasing in
Nerima, with its depressed, and therefore cheaper real estate market.
And it had taken luck; the luck of looking for the store at the right time
in the right place. But now, it was his.
He looked around the small restaurant's interior one last time. It was as
clean and tidy as it was going to get. He certainly wouldn't be able to
afford paint or better furniture for a fair while, so he had worked with
what he could. The important thing was that the grill worked fine. All in
all, it was not bad for his first restaurant. And it was time for the grand
opening.
Satisfied, he walked over to the large entrance door and slid it open
without preamble. He looked out at the customerless street and sighed. As
if on cue, it started to rain. He sighed again.
"Great grand opening." he muttered as he walked back inside to get the
store banner to hang out.
++++++++++++++++++++++
"Rain, rain, go away. And don't come back any bloody day." onna-Ranma
muttered, pulling his soaked shirt away from his breasts. "Last time I try
searching for someone when there's a 'chance of showers'. Maybe I should
have just kept looking last night."
The clouds rumbled menacingly, and the rain increased its tempo.
"Great. Just great. Wonder if there's anywhere around here I can shelter
in?" His eyes roved the rain-gloomed streets before they rested on the lit
entrance of a store.
"Huh. No store curtain out, but the door's open... What the hell, it's worth
a try."
++++++++++++++++++++++
"Hello there! You caught me unprepared for customers!"
He froze, his head lowered because of his attempts to wring some water out
of his shirt. His eyes widened until they hurt from the strain. That
voice... no, he couldn't be this lucky, could he? He slowly raised his head,
never blinking.
Ukyou looked at him, polite concern on his face, resting the store curtain
against the grill counter. "Are you okay?"
"I... uh..." He wasn't mentally prepared for this, he wasn't prepared at
all. He'd still been running over what to say to her when he saw her again.
But to meet her by chance like this...
Ukyou shook his head. "You're soaked! I'll get you a towel. So," he grinned,
"what's a girl like you doing out in weather like this?"
"I'm not a girl." A reflex line, out of his mouth before he'd consciously
thought it. He winced.
Ukyou looked at the girl's clothes, the totally non-demure stance, the
unkempt haircut as he thought about the redhead's rough, almost boyish way
of talking. "Ah." He smiled. "I think I understand. I'll just go get that
towel. Have a look at the menu, the first okonomiyaki's on the house since
you're my very first customer." He winked before he walked out to the back
room, as onna-Ranma regained his wits.
"Damn." She didn't recognise me. She... she was so different. Happier,
friendlier. Is she only bitter and sad when she's around me, around my real
form? Dammit...
He blinked, starting to feel miserable. He was about to turn around and
leave, when he remembered Ukyou's parting words. "Very first customer..."
He reached into his pockets, drawing out a measly wad of yen. It was all
that was left from what Akane's father had given him for the date the night
before. He'd been trying to think of something to buy Akane as way of
apology for the busted date, something that would be seen as manly.
Maybe flowers or something.
But... but he was Ucchan's very first customer...
His resolve firmed, and he stalked forward to sit on one of the grill
stools. "I've got a promise to keep."
++++++++++++++++++++++
Ukyou placed the seventh okonomiyaki before the redhead.
"You... certainly appreciate your food." What's wrong with the girl, why's
she so nervous?
"Uh... It's really good food, and I guess I'm a little hungry." What do I
do? If I tell her it's me, she might go back to her angry mode. But I don't
want to lie to her either...
"So, what's your name?"
"....."
++++++++++++++++++++++
"So you're saying that when you engaged Ranma to Ukyou, you thought that
Ukyou was a girl?" Akane blinked.
Genma nodded.
"But if Ukyou had been a girl, wouldn't that have meant that both engagments
would--"
"What's past is past. We should worry more about the present. From what
you told me about Ukyou's actions last night, it would be best if you kept
away from him, and helped keep Ranma away from him too. Ukyou is obviously
dangerous." Especially to a Tendo-Saotome union... Damn that girl, why did
she have to turn up now?
++++++++++++++++++++++
Onna-Ranma sighed, stepping out of the okonomiyaki shop. All in all, that
could have gone worse...
"Seeya Nanami!"
He winced, his shoulders slumping, before he turned and waved at the chef.
"Aheh. Bye!" He shuffled down the street, cursing himself. Well, he had to
say something when she started asking questions...
++++++++++++++++++++++
Ukyou completed his wave as the redheaded girl walked out of sight of the
okonomiyaki-ya entrance.
"Nice girl. Real nervous though." He shook his head, idly scraping stray
bits of okonomiyaki off the grill.
He smiled, twiddling one of his cooking spatulas. A kindred spirit. What
were the chances? The girl, Nanami, was a tomboy. Oh boy, was she ever a
tomboy. Hell, the only other girl he'd ever seen come as close to being a
guy was... well, was himself.
Perhaps that was why he had felt an instant rapport with the girl.
And then, there were his protective instincts. He had studied her during
their talk, and he hadn't liked what he saw. The slightest tightening of
her muscles whenever he made a sudden motion. The widened eyes and slightest
drop into a defensive stance when he had put his hand on his new combat
spatula, which was strapped to his back, to steady it when it overbalanced.
The nervous pauses before she answered a question, even if it was something
simple such as her name or where she grew up...
Ukyou didn't know who had made the girl so afraid of others, but if he ever
caught up with them...
++++++++++++++++++++++
With a slight grunt, Ukyou slotted the store sign over the okonomiyaki-ya
entrance. He stepped back to get a better view of it.
His smile was slight, unreadable. A smile of pride? Happiness? Wistfulness?
A smile for the future? The present? Or for the past?
After one last lingering look at the sign, he walked inside.
The store sign swayed slightly, the words UCCHAN'S OKONOMIYAKI bending and
contorting on the wind-fingered cloth.
++++++++++++++++++++++
"Argh!" Wham! "Moron!" Wham! "Idiot!" Wham! "Stupid, stupid..." Wham! Wham!
Wham!
The impromptu punching bug, a lamppost, gave one last metallic sigh before
it keeled over, snapped clean through by several angry blows. Onna-Ranma
flushed guiltily, looking around for witnesses to his unintentional
vandalism.
He had lied to his best friend. It didn't matter that she'd been trying to
bash his brains in, the night before, the fact was still there. He had lied
to her, just to be able to have some peaceful time talking to her.
He felt low.
And the thing was, to see her smile at him, to see her laugh and joke and
talk without anger with him, he'd... he'd do it again.
Gods, he felt low.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Author notes:
I talked about Ranma's motivations last chapter. Time to talk about Akane.
She pounces on the idea that Ranma is gay like a hungry panther on its prey,
doesn't she? Again, yes. Although if Ranma was actually gay, that wouldn't
invalidate the engagement, it would give her all she needs to feel safe, to
feel that she could get out if need be. She can stop worrying about her
pride, stop worrying about falling in love with Ranma, and she can just view
him as what she wanted him to be when she met him as a girl: a friend. She
doesn't think Ranma's lying, she thinks he doesn't trust her enough to admit
to the truth.
Also, she's pretty calm for most of the story, isn't she? Yes. She tends to
be very nice and sweet to people she doesn't view as romantic threats. And
she doesn't see Ranma as a romantic threat anymore. Put her in front of
Kunou or the attacking horde from school, however...
Till next time.