Chapter Four: Stop With The Foreshadowing And Get On With It, Aaron!

	The students of Furinkan were abuzz with excitement. To think, that 
very morning, they would pay witness to Ranma�s actual defeat by Kuno! 
Of course, most of them understood, deep down, that Ranma just _never_ 
lost, but considering the amount of money many of them had bet, they 
were only too willing to be delusional. There was a feeling of 
apprehension in the air, as they waited for the two combatants to enter 
the school grounds. But Kuno, seemed conspicuously late.
	Soon, Ranma and Akane casually walked in.
	�Hmmm, no Kuno today,� observed Ranma. �That�s lucky, we won�t have to 
deal with that annoyance, for once.�
	�Un,� Akane agreed.
	A casual observer might note the general mood amongst the students, to 
be that of disappointment. But one with a more trained eye, would note a 
certain level of relief.

Kuno Tatewaki bore his pain, with the pride of a true samurai, meaning 
true samurai made a point of crying and moaning a whole lot. It was only 
recently, that the numbing pain had creeped up his body, and being 
bedridden wouldn�t be so bad, if only he were allowed to be ridden, in 
his own bed.
	�We have a very special guest staying in your room,� his sister 
explained. �This storage room is good enough for you!�

	The bandaged man sat in Kuno�s bed, staring at the many posters of 
Akane and onna Ranma, that were hung therein.
	�Ano...,� he wondered, �what kind of person lives in this room?�

	Kuno suppressed his growing rage towards his sister. After all, he 
wasn�t _completely_ certain that she had poisoned him.
	�Perhaps,� he implored calmly, �I could have something to read, while 
in this state?� What he really wanted, was to see the visages of his 
beloved Akane and the Pig-Tailed Girl, but he was certain that Kodachi 
wouldn�t let any pictures of them survive the trip to his new �room.�
	�Fine!� she agreed, annoyed at his constant demands. She left and some 
time later, returned with a big stack of volumes, that she 
unceremoniously dropped on her brothers prone body.
	�Hmm,� he muttered, fumbling through them, ��Flowers of Spring?� �Young 
Love?� �_JUNE_?!� Could this be,� his voice began to seep with menace, 
�_Shojo manga_?!!�
	But Kodatchi had already left.

	Hinako-sensei, was just about to start class, when Kitsune burst in.
	�That guy again?!� thought Ranma angrily. �I hope I don�t have to kick 
him outta here, too!�
	�Hey, sorry for the interruption, everyone!� the young man apologized 
cheerfully. �But I wanted to tell you that Hikaru-kun�s sick, and that�s 
why he�s been absent for the last few days.�
	Hinako-sensei merely stared at him blankly.
	�Um... Gosunkugi Hikaru?� he added.
	�Oh,� Hinako-sensei realized, �he�s absent?�
	The students of the class looked around. �Yeah, I guess he�s right,� 
mentioned one. �Who?� added another.
	�They didn�t notice,� thought Kitsune, a rather large sweat drop 
appearing on his brow.

	Huge pots bubbled and boiled around the small body of Cologne. With 
lightning speed, she tossed the contents of one of them onto a plate and 
threw it towards her great-granddaughter.
	�Shampoo! Table nine!� she called.
	�Hai!� Shampoo replied, catching the plate and taking it to it�s 
destination.
	The old woman would hate to admit it, but she was beginning to miss 
being able to abuse that blind fool. It certainly didn�t hurt having 
help you didn�t have to pay for...
	The jingling of bells alerted her to the opening of the front door. 
Through the entrance, stepped the bandaged man, who made his way to the 
window Cologne peaked through.
	�Excuse me,� he asked politely, �but do you serve fish in this 
restaurant?�
	�Amongst other things,� replied Cologne, eyeing him warily.
	�May I see a menu?�
	�Certainly.�
	The old woman handed him a menu and he quickly flipped through it, 
eyeing every entree. After finishing, he closed it and quickly handed it 
back to her.
	�Actually,� he said, �I�m wondering if you have anything... 
particularly exotic, in the fish department. Something, out of the 
ordinary, we shall say.�
	�No,� replied Cologne, �I�m afraid we really don�t.�
	�Quite all right,� he muttered, walking away. �I didn�t figure it was 
you, anyway...�
	Cologne continued to stare after him, some time after he left, until 
the sound of her great-granddaughter caught her attention.
	�Great-grandmother!� called Shampoo. �Customers want their food.�
	�Ah, yes child. Of course, of course...�
	Cologne began to dish out various meals, but all the while, her mind 
was still on the strange man in bandages.

	Gosunkugi walked wobbly down the street. Unexpectedly, he had regained 
his health again (or what passed for it). It was strange, he felt 
almost... incomplete without the familiar pain, but surely that feeling 
would pass soon. At the moment, he was engaged in relearning his basic 
motor functions. He hadn�t walked far, when a familiar voice greeted 
him.
	�<Yo>, Hikaru-kun!� called Kitsune, slapping him on the back and almost 
causing him to fall.
	�You!� gasped Gosunkugi. He had hoped that the red-head�s visit had 
been a fever dream.
	�Haha! What�s this? No �It�s a pleasure to see you, Kitsune-kun?� Aw, 
that�s all right... I�m glad to see you�re recovering. Oh, don�t worry 
about school! I got your makeup homework right here!� Kitsune reached 
into his back-pack and removed a huge pile of papers.
	�Gee, thanks...,� replied Gosunkugi, mournfully.
	�No problem!� assured his unwanted �friend.� �So, where you headed?�
	�Nowhere in particular,� he replied, unused to a conversation of this 
length with anyone. �I was just... walking...�
	�Hey! That�s cool! Mind if I join you?�
	Gosunkugi didn�t have the will to protest, and so the two were soon 
walking in silence. After some time, Hikaru decided to speak.
	�Can I ask you something?� he said.
	�Go right ahead.�
	�Why are you talking to me and everything? Why do you bother?�
	Kitsune merely smirked for a few seconds, but then said, �Because, 
whether you know it or not, you�re a pretty cool guy.�
	Gosunkugi stopped in his tracks and stood agape. Kitsune�s sense of 
humor, was beginning to seem very strange to him.
	The red-head also paused, and cocked his ear quizzically.
	�Huh?� asked Gosunkugi. �What is it?�
	�Hm? Oh, nothing,� Kitsune assured. �Just thought I heard something.�
	The two walked a bit more and then Kitsune bid the scrawny boy 
farewell. All of the events of recent year, began to circulate through 
Gosunkugi�s head. It seemed almost all of them, involved either his 
beloved goddess Akane or his most hated enemy Ranma. Everyone else 
seemed about as unimportant to him, as he was to them, unless they were 
connected to those two somehow. But then, his thoughts turned to more 
recent events. To his failed suicide attempt, the incident with the 
dogs, the bandaged man, the owner of the sushi place, and the strange 
person, that wouldn�t leave him alone.
	�Heh... �cool guy,� huh?� he smirked bitterly. �I haven�t been made fun 
of to my face, for a long time.�
	Suddenly, a little Gosunkugi, wearing a devil�s costume appeared on his 
right shoulder, in a puff of smoke.
	�Um... You might want to try to get rid of Ranma again... Y�know... 
Just as one last shot, maybe... Or not... I mean...�
	A puff of smoke then appeared on his left shoulder, and when it 
cleared, it resembled another minuscule version of himself, this one 
wearing an angel�s costume.
	�Uh... Maybe that�s not such a good idea... I mean... You know she 
loves him, though I can�t imagine why... Then again... she�d probably 
forget about him... or not like him if was defeated... I mean... well... 
I dunno...�
	Gosunkugi shook them both off and they disappeared in the required 
puffs of smoke.
	�I�ve got to be decisive!� he declared. �I won�t let that jerk make her 
life miserable! I�ll show him!... And then I�ll do my homework... 
Yeah...�

	Kuno interrupted his reading, to listen to the conversation between his 
sister and their border.
	�I must say, you have impeccable taste, young Madame,� complemented the 
border, followed by sipping sounds.
	�Ohohohoho, it�s nothing, Nisemyooji-san. Please,� she added, �have 
some more tea.�
	�You don�t have to encourage me there,� he assured her. �But, is it 
really all right, that I�m using your brother�s room? I know I�m paying 
well enough, but...�
	�Oh, he doesn�t mind at all! I...�
	Kuno stopped listening. It was strange that the border had not died 
after drinking so much of his sister�s tea, but other than that, there 
was not much interesting in the conversation. He much preferred, to 
return to his reading.
	There was only one title, amongst his sister�s shojo manga collection, 
that he could possibly stand. In fact, he was rather getting into it. It 
was called, �Oni Slayer,� and it was about an Oni, though he looked 
human, that had to, in order to become human, slay all the other Oni in 
the world. Many of the Oni, were humans, who had been consumed by their 
own fear, hate, and sadness.
	�Ah, my Akane, my Pig Tailed Girl,� he breathed. �I wouldst not ever 
let thee fall to such a horrible fate.�
	Of course, he realized it was all just fiction. Of course he did! 
Though, when night crept in, he could almost feel the shadow of an Oni 
creeping behind him. Closer, closer... No, wait... That was just a 
spider. Or was it?! Shaking slightly, he read on.


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