Ranma 1/2 is owned by Rumiko Takahashi. Dragon Ball is owned by Akira
Toriyama.
A Twisted Fate
Chapter Three
Of Bokkens and Oni, Part 1
"Excuse me," a soft alto voice asked.
A passerby stopped walking and turning in the direction of the voice. Spying
a figure bundled in a dusty, tattered cloak, the man responded. "Are you
talking to me?"
"Yes," the apparently female owner of the voice replied. "Where am I?"
"You're in Nerima." He was surprised by the female's reaction, who was
hopping up and down, striking her fist into the air in triumph.
"At last, I made it! Point me to Furinken High School!"
"Furinken? It's that way." He pointed southeast. "To get there, just-"
"Thank you!" The figure focussed all of her attention in the direction being
pointed to, then leapt into the air. The wind billowed out her cloak, and
the figure was beginning to sail off into the direction she was shown seconds
ago.
The man's eyes widened. He couldn't believe it! The girl was actually
flying! He began to gibber, "Im-impossible!" over and and over, unable to
comprehend what he just saw. Understandably, he passed out from his shock.
Another passerby, who had happened to have seen the previous events, glanced
down at the prone form. "Must be new around here..." he noted as he
continued to walk on.
* * * * *
"School?" Ranma asked, a little perplexed.
Nabiki gave him a sardonic smirk. "Yes, Ranma. School. Since you're going
to be staying here for some time, it's best that you attend school and get an
education," she said calmly, then she crossed her arms over the white blouse
of her school uniform. "Besides, I will not let my older sister marry a bum
off the streets."
"Hey now!—" He quickly bit his lip before he spoke on. "But I have no
school supplies."
The middle daughter held out an extra bag. "All ready for you."
He sighed. "..and besides, I thought that maybe today, me and Kasumi could,
you know, spend some time...getting to know each other better."
Soun and Genma popped up behind him, waving little flags and throwing party
streamers.
"Our families will be joined soon!"
"Yes, my baby's going to get married!! I'm so happy!"
"Oyaji..." Ranma turned around, leveling a glare at the two older men that
could have flash-frozen a flame.
Genma stopped celebrating immediately and clapped a hand over his friend's
mouth. "Eh hehehehehe...you go on about what you were doing, my son. Don't
mind us, of course." Then they left the room, or rather, Genma scampered
out, dragging his old friend behind him.
Ranma sighed, putting the palm of his hand against his forehead. "I swear..."
Nabiki interrupted. "There will be time enough for you and Kasumi to
have...'quality time'." She smirked as Ranma looked confused at the little
joke she made. It sometimes paid to have a friend that was fanatical about
using catch phrases from violent American movies. "I'll tell you later.
Right now, we have school. Wait for Akane to get downstairs; she'll show you
the way."
He looked up, playing his own smirk upon his lips. "Dumping me off on cutie,
eh? Why can't I just follow you?"
"Because I have business to take care of before school starts. Ta ta for
now." Nabiki coolly walked out of the front door.
A few moments later, Akane came down the stairs. "Nabiki, let's-"
"Hey, cutie!" He turned another smirk upon her, which froze her dead in her
tracks. "Haven't seen you all morning. Feelin' better?"
Her hands involuntarily clenched into fists. "Don't. Call. Me. That."
Her voice was tightly controlled, her eyes staring daggers at him.
He tsked at her. "Cutie, cutie, cutie...."
She growled, unleashing a punch at Ranma.
He deflected the strike and flipped over her, just enough to clear her head.
His hands became a blur, lashing out at her unprotected head over and over.
Akane's eyes flew open as she felt the wind rushing against her neck, panic
replacing logic. In the blink of an eye, the assault was over, and she dully
realized that not only was she still conscious, she was also standing.
"What...did...you...do...to...me...?" she growled out, slowly turning to face
him with each word. He crossed his arms and leaned against the wall.
"Well, to beat me, you're going to have to _be_ me, so I decided to help get
you started on your merry way."
"You did...what?" She really didn't like the implication he was making.
Right then, Kasumi walked to the room carrying two bento boxes. "Nabiki,
Akane, here are your-Akane!"
Akane blinked as Kasumi stopped to examine her youngest sister. "Oh, my,
Akane. It looks so cute on you!" She smiled at last. "Whatever inspired
you to do it?"
"Huh?" she asked intelligently. Ranma smirked before her.
"Your new hairstyle. Is it in honor of my fiance?" A slight blush played
across the bridge of Ranma's nose as Kasumi referred to him as "her fiance."
Akane, ever so carefully, reached behind her head and felt for her hair. Her
fingers made contact with...a braid? Horror etched her face, as she felt
each segment. Six segments total from the one, thick braid. Disbelieving,
she threw her hair over her shoulder to see for herself.
The house shook from the sudden auditory explosion. Seconds later, Akane
burst out of the front door, tears coursing down her cheeks, the newly born
pigtail flapping wildly behind her.
Ranma winced as he poked a finger into his ear to rid himself of the nonstop
ringing sounds within his head. "Geez...what was that all about?" he
inquired after the youngest sibling's sudden departure. "It's just hair," he
added to himself.
"I don't know, really." Kasumi didn't hear his last statement and therefore
did not comment on it. She stepped outside of the door, looking at the dust
cloud slowly settling back to the ground. Then she remembered the bento
boxes she still carried in her hands. "Oh, my. She forgot her lunch."
He lightly smacked his forehead. "She's s'posed to show me the way to school,
too!"
She turned to him. "You don't know the way?"
"No..." He shrugged. "Oh, well, since I don't know where the school is, I
guess I can't go today." However, the smile on his face betrayed the anguish
he was expressing for missing school.
"Well, I can show you the way."
The smile fell off his face. "Wha..."
Kasumi smiled at Ranma. "Just give me a minute to change, and I'll show you
how to get to school. It wouldn't be fair for you to fall behind in your
education."
"But-"
"You'll probably need a lunch as well."
"Er, yeah, but-"
"Don't worry, Ranma; I'll be back in a few minutes."
He held up a hand, trying to draw attention to himself. "But I-"
Kasumi swept into the kitchen without another word, leaving Ranma alone in
the hall. He sighed, putting his forehead into the palm of his hand. "Man,
just when things were looking up...she has a cute sway when she walks,
though. Also has a nice..."
He blinked very hard as his cheeks lit up hot. "Now where did _that_ thought
come from?"