[Ranma] "Scarlet Spring" (3/?)

By Henry J. Cobb

$Id: scarlet_spring3.txt,v 1.2 1996/12/29 13:20:27 hcobb Exp $



The Ranma 1/2 characters and situations are the creation of Rumiko

Takahashi.  No infringement of her copyrights is intended.



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So far:



10 year old Akane was taken by Soun to China to train, after he got word

of Ranma's Cat-fist training.



She almost drowned in a new cursed spring and was nursed back to health

by 10 year old Xian-ko (Shampoo).



Her mom died before Akane could get home.



Six years later, Ranma and Genma showed up after their trip to China.



Akane has created a cover story that she and Ranma are happily engaged,

in order to protect her father and get rid of the nuisance fights at

school.



Akane has discovered that Genma is cursed to turn into a panda and Ranma

is cursed to turn into a girl, but she hasn't gotten a very good look at

the girl form.



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The next week was relatively sane, if either of Akane's sisters

suspected that her engagement was less than genuine, they were at least

sensible enough not to mention it around father.



Akane got Ranma to be her daily sparing partner in the Dojo, as another

way to convince Soun that they did plan to run it together.  Also it

made up for the loss of her morning melees.  As Ranma got more used to

being around Akane, she connected less often, but he still wouldn't

throw any attacks at her.



The next Monday, Akane and Ranma were leaving Furinkan High after the

last class.  Ranma would walk her home as arraigned, then get out of her

face until their practice session.  As fiancees went he was convenient

cover.  Even their matching hairstyles, short except for a ponytail, his

black, hers black with blue highlights, helped to complete the illusion.



In the schoolyard, Ranma grabbed Akane and threw them to the side.



"What!"  Akane was outraged.  This wasn't arraigned at all.  Then she

felt the shock of some sort of explosion from where they had been

walking a moment before.



As she disentangled herself, she saw an unfamiliar boy at that spot, in

the middle of a crater he had apparently created with his umbrella.



It was Ryouga Hibiki.  He said there was some fight he needed to finish

with Ranma, then he departed.



Later Ranma related to the Tendo sisters how he had met Ryouga at a

boy's school and the nature of their bread feud.



A week later, Ryouga found his way back to Furinkan High for their

challenge fight.  Ranma's offer of expired bread proved to be

insufficient.  The fight started in the athletic field but soon was over

the fence.



They destroyed a water fountain when they landed.  Ranma applied his

usual reaction to getting wet.  He hightailed it out of there.  Ryouga

ran after him, in the wrong direction.



Later, at their sparing session, Akane confronted Ranma about this.

"You can't just run away every time you get wet.  Eventually the secret

of your curse will get out."



"So, they'll just see this girl.  Nobody will connect it with me."



"If this girl isn't so unusual, why don't you show me?"



"It's personal, private.  Do I have to show you every part of my body?"



Three nights later, Akane woke up at two in the morning with a stomach

cramp and went downstairs for a glass of milk.  She left the lights off,

as there was no sense in waking anybody else up.  On the way back

through the living room, she spotted a shadowy figure.  It was a

burglar, with a pack for stolen goods.



Akane splashed the contents of her glass into his face and he vanished.



She turned on the living room lights and found Ryouga's clothing and

pack.  The burglar must have caught Ryouga out camping somewhere and

striped him.  Akane gathered up Ryouga's things, just in case he

survived and showed up.  Then she noticed a small black pig hiding under

the table.



"Come on out, I won't hurt you.  Oh, you're soaked.  Here, I'll towel you

off.  You're so cute.  I think I'll call you P-chan.  P for pig, chan

for little.  At least until we find out wherever the burglar stole you

from."



Akane gathered up the things and the pig and returned to her room.



At breakfast the next morning, Akane showed off her new pet.  "Isn't he

cute?"



The pig snapped at Ranma's fingers.



"He looks a little rabid to me."  Ranma observed.



"He's just frightened.  I'm sure he'll like you, when he gets to know

you better."



After class, Akane spotted three guys with their faces in bandages

confronting one girl with gymnastic equipment.  They charged her

together, but she defeated them handily with a ribbon, and continued to

beat on them with it.



Akane grabbed the ribbon on the backswing.  But this only brought the

girl's wrath on her head.  Akane held her own for a few minutes, then

the other girl departed, after introducing herself as Kodachi the Black

Rose.



The guys tore off their bandages and revealed themselves to be the girls

of the Furinkan Rhythmic Gymnastic Team.  Akane invited them back to her

room, where they revealed that every member of their team had been

injured and so they had to withdraw from the upcoming match against

Kodachi.  Akane agreed to substitute in to defend the school's honor.

After all, she had a full week to learn Rhythmic Gymnastic Wrestling.

What could go wrong?



That evening, instead of her usual sparing match against Ranma, Akane

practiced in front of Ranma and P-chan with the tools of rhythmic

gymnastics, but her inexperience with the tools was clear.  As she

finished her tantrum about her own clumsiness, she heard another person

enter the Dojo.



"I can instruct you."



"Ryouga?"



Ryouga demonstrated the weapons of Rhythmic Gymnastic Wrestling on "that

coward Ranma", but Akane wasn't anywhere near as good and ended up

tangling herself in a ribbon.



As she soaked in the tub afterwards, Akane considered her position.

"I'm doomed."



When she returned to her room, she found P-chan asleep on her bed.

"Couldn't bear to watch, huh?  I don't blame you."  She picked him up

then threw herself down on the bed, totally exhausted.



Kodachi was hanging from her ceiling, with a mallet.  She brought the

mallet down with a crash like thunder, as Akane rolled out of the way

with P-chan.  They scuffled for a few seconds, then Ranma threw open her

door.



"Akane, I heard a crash.  Is something wrong?"



"So, this is your fiancee, Ranma Saotome."  Kodachi observed.  "Let us

make the upcoming fight more interesting.  Ranma dear will be the prize

of the victor."  Kodachi scattered a storm of black rose petals from her

ribbon then leapt out of Akane's window.



"That, is a nut."  Ranma pointed out, as he began to straighten out

Akane's room.



"You're telling me?"



The next morning before school the other girls expressed their

confidence in Akane's ability to represent the school in the upcoming

match.  If Ranma felt otherwise, he was sensible enough to hold his

tongue.



Kodachi attempted another ambush, then claimed to be only there to see

Ranma.



"But Ranma doesn't want to see you.  Right Ranma?"



"Yes ma'am."



"Just remember that Ranma dear is the prize in our contest."



"That sounds like an excellent idea."  Tatewaki placed a hand on Akane's

shoulder.  "If you wish to leave Ranma, you need only lose."



"I don't want to leave Ranma.  We're perfectly happy.  Right Ranma?"



"Yes ma'am."



"She'll be losing in any case.  After this match you will be mine Ranma

dear."  Kodachi departed in a storm of black rose petals and insane

laughter.



Tatewaki placed his hand on Ranma's shoulder.  "She is such a deviant,

but take care of my little sister."



Three days later, Ryouga and P-chan both vanished.



The night before the match Akane was practicing with the gymnastic

weapons on Ranma.  She had improved greatly in the past week, but it

clearly wasn't enough.  A point she demonstrated by tripping on a ball

and spraining her ankle.



The next morning, the pain was too intense to walk on.  She put her best

tights back in the closet as she instructed Ranma.  "Give the concession

speech, but make it clear to Kodachi that you are not hers, clear?"



"Check."



"Good.  I'm going to soak my ankle."



"Need help?"



"I'll manage to get to the tub."



That night P-chan returned.



Monday morning, Akane walked stiffly to school.  She had to lean on

Ranma a few times, but her ankle was much improved.



The girls of the Furinkan Rhythmic Gymnastic Team approached.



"I'm sorry about the match girls."  Akane began.  "It's this stupid

injury."



"Oh Akane, you're so modest."



"You were great!"



"We've got the photos back, we'll show you at lunch."



"What was that all about?"  Akane asked Ranma, but he just shrugged.



At lunch, the team showed Akane the photos of the match she had missed.



"Here's Kodachi's first mistake, when she chained your pet pig to you.

What's his name?"



"P-chan."  Akane looked at the photo again.  It could have been any

small black piglet, but that was clearly her, in her best tights.



"Yeah, well P-chan fought for you fiercely.  He was always getting in

her face.  But the judges couldn't complain, not after having judged her

brother a valid weapon."



The photo showed Akane throwing a table, to be intercepted by Tatewaki.



"Here's were you threw Kodachi clear out of the ring, but it moved to

catch her."



"So then you ripped up the mat and found the St Bacchus Rhythmic

Gymnastic Team underneath the ring."



"And then you kicked the post out from underneath Kodachi and ended up

hanging on the shattered post."



"Girls, can I keep these photos?"



"Sure, no problem Akane, we'll make more copies.  You've reawakened the

sport at the school.  Everybody wants to join."



After school Akane walked on Ranma's support, all the way to her room.

Then spread out the photos on the bed.  "Ranma, am I going mad?"



"Not that I've noticed."



Later, Kasumi brought up her fresh laundry, including Akane's best

tights.



	Henry J. Cobb	hcobb@slip.net          http://www.io.com/~hcobb