This is the first part of the chunk that turned out to be missing
from between Chapters 6 and 7 of Taming of the Horse. It got so big
that I split this off to be appended to Chapter 6, doubling its size.
Sorry about adding to the story in the middle, but that's the way
it happened....
If you're wondering what Ranma and Akane are doing at St. Hebereke,
the answer can be found in the previous chapters of TotH, online at
http://www.csus.edu/indiv/s/seifertv/toth/index.htm
for your reading convenience.
Thanks to Reid Carson for pointing out the hole between 6 and 7,
to Lord Archive for suggesting what to fill it with,
and to Darniil Entroth and Dave Roeder for prereading.
The Taming of the Horse
a Ranma 1/2 fanfiction by Vince Seifert (seifertv@csus.edu)
Ranma 1/2 characters and situations are copyright 1987, 1998
by Takahashi Rumiko. Publishing rights (Japan) by Shogakukan
Inc. Publishing rights (North America) by Viz Inc. This work
is not intended to infringe those rights.
~~~~~ Chapter 6: Herding (part 2) ~~~~~
"No Kuno," Ranma observed as she came out of the St.
Hebereke gate with Akane. She looked up at the gray sky and
wished she'd thought to bring an umbrella, then remembered that
it didn't matter as much any more.
"Not yet, anyway." Akane walked around a leftover rain-
puddle on the sidewalk. "Maybe he's finally given up...."
Akane and Ranma glanced at each other for a moment. "Naah,"
they said in unison.
"Say, ya wanna go to Ucchan's, see how everyone is?" Ranma
suggested.
Akane frowned slightly. "Not really." *Not when we can go
home to the dojo and I can have you all to myself for a couple of
hours.*
"Aw, c'mon, we haven't seen her since we quit goin' ta
Furinkan. Heck, your friends, whatsernames, might be there, this
time of day. Or Hiroshi and Daisuke. Or--"
"All right. Sure. Fine. Whatever." Akane's voice was
icy.
Unfortunately, Ranma only heard her words. "Great! It'll
be fun to see our friends again, huh?" She smiled happily.
"Nihao, Ranma!" Ranma and Akane turned to see Shampoo
approaching rapidly on her bicycle, waving happily.
*Oh, damn,* Akane thought. "Well, here's another one of
your 'friends'," she told Ranma.
Shampoo dropped her bicycle and hugged Ranma. "Hey,
Shampoo, how's it goin'?" Ranma ventured, grateful that the hug
was one of Shampoo's what-good-friends-we-girls-are embraces and
not one of her lay-me-right-here-right-now glomps.
Shampoo let go and stepped back. "Why you no in school when
I bring lunch?" she accused. "I look for you long time, no one
say why you no there, just yell about doors." She eyed Ranma's
and Akane's uniforms. "You wear dress like Kodachi-- ah! You go
Kodachi school now, yes?"
"Yes," Ranma admitted.
Shampoo picked her bicycle up and walked it along as Ranma
and Akane resumed their way to Ucchan's. "Why you girl? Why you
dress like girl?" She tossed a sly look at Akane. "Akane like
girl better than boy now? Always say you pervert."
"Look, you--!" Akane growled.
Ranma, looking acutely uncomfortable between Akane and
Shampoo, raised her hands. "Hey, cut it out!" she interrupted.
She regarded Shampoo sternly. "There's no perverts here, okay?"
"Sorry," Shampoo said casually, not sounding sorry at all.
She returned to her theme. "So why you girl, airen?"
"Hey, it wasn't my idea--" Ranma began.
"We were transferred to Kodachi's school," Akane broke in.
"It's a girl's school. No boys allowed."
Shampoo made a face. "That no fun." She eyed Ranma
speculatively. "Airen mother lose sword? Girl school no very
manly-- she know this thing?"
"She loves the idea," Ranma said grumpily. "Says it'll make
a real young lady outa me, dammit."
Shampoo regretfully abandoned her barely-formed blackmail
plan. "You come Nekohanten, airen. I get hot water, I make you
man." She watched Akane carefully as she spoke, knowing the
double meaning, and was not disappointed by Akane's reaction.
Ranma was looking the wrong way and missed it. "Nah, that's
okay. Besides, these clothes don't exactly fit me when I'm a
guy."
Shampoo couldn't resist. "What you need clothes for, airen?
I like you fine without."
"No way!" Ranma blurted. She shot a glance at Akane,
perceived the aura, and cringed out of the line of fire.
"That's enough," Akane grated. "That's waaay more than
enough." She dropped her bag and slid into readiness.
"Ah. Rematch?" Shampoo smiled, but her eyes were analyzing
Akane's new stance. "I no know why you forget what happen last
time, I no do your hair--" She dropped her bicycle and skipped
aside as Akane darted forward, but she underestimated Akane's
speed badly-- and overlooked the nearby puddle. Akane's foot
sweep sent a sheet of water over Shampoo.
"Mrraaaarr!" Shampoo skittered out of the way of Akane's
kick and leapt for Ranma. Ranma, trembling like a leaf, sprang
into the air and landed behind Akane. Shampoo hissed, unwilling
to risk dashing past Akane to get to Ranma, and circled Akane at
top speed. Ranma fled in the same circle, keeping Akane between
her and the cat.
Shampoo suddenly reversed direction. Ranma wasn't quite as
sudden. "YAAAH!" She barely evaded Shampoo's claws-out leap.
Akane watched them run around her six times in the other
direction before stopping suddenly on opposite sides of her.
"C'mon, don't just stand there, help me out here, Akane!" Ranma
panted.
Akane felt a grin slide over her face. "YOU need MY help,
Ranma?" she began.
Ranma shot her a betrayed look and straightened. "I don't
NEED no one's help!" she yelled. "You're the one who said ya
wanted ta be my partner! Some partner!"
"Well, fine!" Akane shouted back. Akane noticed Shampoo,
scooped the cat up before she could recover from her amazement,
and flung her at Ranma's head. "Maybe you'll like THIS partner
better!"
Ranma stood, arms akimbo, for a long moment. Whimpers
leaked out from under the cat plastered to her face. Then--
"...mmmrrroooaauuuaaaooorrr...."
Ranma sank slowly to all fours. One paw came up and gently
patted at Shampoo. When the cat didn't move, the paw swung back,
and Akane could almost see the claws of ki slide out. Shampoo
hastily dropped off Ranma's face and scrambled back, eyes wide.
Akane gulped and recovered her temper, too late. "Here,
kitty-kitty," she said, holding out her hand. "Nice Ranma...
nice kitty doesn't want to hurt me... does he?"
Ranma ignored her, sat down, licked her paw, and started
smoothing the hair that Shampoo's claws had disturbed back into
place. When she was done, she shot Akane a single disdainful
look and bounded away. Akane and Shampoo looked at each other.
"This is all your fault," the girl told the cat, but her voice
lacked conviction. Akane picked up both schoolbags and ran after
Ranma. Shampoo watched her go, smiling a feline smile.
~~~~~
Akane ran up to the Saotomes' front door, juggled the
bookbags awkwardly while she opened it, and dashed in. "Sorry,
Oba-sama, but Ranma's--" She stopped suddenly in the doorway to
the main room.
Nodoka looked up. "Oh, hello, Akane-chan," she said.
"Whatever's the matter with Ranma?" She continued to stroke her
daughter's hair. Ranma, curled up on Nodoka's lap, purred
loudly; she ignored Akane, aloof as only a cat could be.
"I guess they didn't tell you about the Neko-ken," Akane
said unsteadily. She put Ranma's bag down and took a step into
the room. "He thinks he's a cat, and he's much better at kempo.
The change should bring him out of it, but he won't remember what
happened while he was a cat."
Nodoka blinked. "How very strange," she said. "Well,
there's a kettle of hot water in the kitchen. Would you bring
it, please? I don't want to disturb her...."
Akane laughed shortly. "No, that's definitely true, you
don't." She left the room and came back with the kettle, setting
it on the table.
"She certainly is affectionate this way," Nodoka remarked.
Akane knelt and reached out a hand to stroke Ranma's head.
Ranma didn't look at her, but the purring stopped. Akane drew
her hand back. "Yes. Yes, he is. Usually... usually I'm the
only one he'll trust when he's like this, but... I guess he
doesn't need me any more." Akane rose and headed for the door.
"Akane-chan? Don't you want to stay a while?"
Akane paused in the doorway, but didn't turn around. "No,
thank you, Oba-sama. I don't think I should be here when he
comes to. Excuse me." She left.
"Very strange," Nodoka repeated to herself. She reached out
for the kettle and poured its contents over Ranma. Poing-poing-
poing-poing-poing-SNAP-riiip!
"Ow! Hot! Akane! Cat!" Ranma said suddenly, then noticed
where he was. "Woop!" He scrambled off of Nodoka's lap.
"Sorry, Momma, I, uh...."
"That's all right, Ranma," Nodoka reassured him. "It was
rather pleasant, actually." She noticed his buttonless tunic and
ripped skirt, and sighed. "Go change your clothes, please."
Ranma looked down. "Oh, crap. Not again."
"It was my fault," Nodoka admitted. "I should have
realized. Bring your uniform back and I'll mend it."
"Okay." Ranma left, returning a few minutes later clad in
his usual drawstring trousers and long-sleeved shirt. He dropped
his school uniform on the table and sat.
Nodoka regarded her son levelly. "Ranma, what is the 'Neko-
ken'?"
Ranma flinched. "Oh boy. Momma, promise you won't kill
Pops for this...."
"Is there some chance that I will think he deserves it?"
"Uh... maybe."
"Please answer my question, Ranma."
*Sorry, Pops. Ya shoulda told 'er yourself.* "Well, it's
like this...."
~~~~~
"My poor baby," Nodoka whispered brokenly. "I should never
have let him take you...."
Ranma fidgeted. "Well, it ain't really all that bad. I
mean, it's come in handy a couple of times, and I ain't never
hurt nobody or nothin' while I'm in the Neko-ken. The only real
downside is that I'm, like, really, really nervous around ca--,
ca--, uh, cats."
"How nervous?"
"Really nervous. I hope you're not gonna start the 'manly'
thing again, Momma."
"That nervous? Oh, dear." Nodoka wiped her eyes. "Well,
what's done is done, I suppose. Still, your father will have
much to answer for the next time he comes home."
Ranma made a mental note to make himself scarce on that
occasion. "Say, how'd my bag get here?" he asked, noticing it in
the corner.
"Oh! Akane-chan brought it. Which reminds me: she wouldn't
stay to see you out of the Neko-ken, and she seemed to be crying
when she left." Nodoka let the unspoken question hang in the
air.
Ranma's expression hardened. "We had a fight," he said
tersely. "No. SHE had a fight. Shampoo came by as we were
leavin' school, and Akane got all upset, and splashed Shampoo,
which turned her into a cat and--" He broke off and brooded.
"She let me down. She stuck Shampoo onta me, and that's what
sent me into the Neko-ken."
"Well, she certainly seemed upset about it," Nodoka said.
"And you seemed to be miffed at her even while you, er, were a
cat."
Ranma looked up. "You're gonna say I should go apologize to
her, aren'tcha?"
"No," Nodoka said slowly. "If what you say is true-- and
I'm quite sure that you always tell me the truth-- she should
apologize to you."
Ranma, who had looked like he was about to defend himself
vigorously, deflated suddenly. "Eh?"
Nodoka shrugged. "I'm sure that if you wait, she will see
the error of her ways, and abase herself at your feet," she said
evenly.
Ranma blinked. "Uh...."
Ranma stood haughtily, arms folded. Akane knelt before
him and touched her forehead to the floor. "I humbly beg
your forgiveness...."
Ranma shivered. *Ick. No way.*
"BAKA!!" Akane brought her mallet down on Ranma's
head. Ranma posed momentarily, laid out horizontally in
midair with his arms and legs akimbo, before being embedded
in the floor.
"Ow...."
Ranma winced. *Better, but....* He rose suddenly. "I'm
goin', uh, out. See ya at supper, Momma." He left. Nodoka
waited until her son was well gone, and then smiled to herself
and got up to fetch her sewing kit.
~~~~~
Kasumi put down the knife and turned when she realized that
only one pair of feet had just come in the front door. "My
goodness, Akane," she said when her sister appeared in the
kitchen doorway. "What's happened now?"
"Ranma hates me," Akane said dully, slumping against the
door jamb.
"Oh, I'm sure that's not true," Kasumi said with confidence.
"Why do you say that?"
"He was in the Neko-ken, and he... he... ignored me. He
went to his mother instead. He doesn't trust me any more. He
doesn't need me any more."
"Well, why was he in the Neko-ken?" Kasumi asked, trying to
grasp the situation.
"I threw Shampoo at him."
"What? Why on earth did you do that? Usually she throws
herself at him perfectly well without your help...."
Akane stared at Kasumi. Her mouth twitched. A snort
escaped her, then a giggle, and then she was laughing. Kasumi
dried her hands on her apron and waited for Akane to run down.
"I think if he hated you, he'd have hissed at you, not ignored
you," she pointed out when her sister had quieted. "It sounds as
though he's just upset at you."
"Well, I'm upset at him!" Akane burst out. "First he wanted
to go to Ukyo's, then Shampoo came by and needled me and he just
stood there smirking. So I splashed Shampoo, and things got a
little exciting, and he actually asked for my help with Shampoo
'cause she was a cat. I was so happy I just couldn't help
myself, so I said something like 'What, you need my help?' and he
got all bent out of shape. He said he didn't need a partner like
me."
"And that's when you threw Shampoo at him?"
"Right."
"Hmm." Kasumi turned around and picked up the knife and the
cucumber again.
Akane stared at her back. "What? What did I do?"
"Well," Kasumi said slowly, "nothing, really."
"No, tell me. Please?"
"Well... you know Ranma has a very hard time admitting that
he needs anything or anyone, especially if he does. Things might
have gone a little better if you'd asked him if he wanted help
rather than if he needed it. He might have been able to admit
that. As it was, he might have thought you were taunting him."
Akane grimaced. "Oh. You could be right. That's still no
excuse for what he did, though."
"No, I suppose not." Kasumi continued to cut the cucumber
into even slices.
"He shouldn't have done that. I'm right, and he's wrong, so
he should apologize to me."
"As you say."
"Fine, then."
Kasumi finished slicing the cucumber, put the knife down,
and turned. "Akane... think carefully before you answer this.
Would you rather be right... or happy?"
~~~~~
Ukyo dropped her spatulas and gasped when Ranma appeared in
the doorway of her shop. "Ran-chan!" she cried, bouncing over
the grill. One more bounce and her arms were around him. "I
haven't seen you in over a week! Why haven't you come by
before?"
"Oh, ya know, just busy, what with the new school and all,"
Ranma said, allowing Ukyo to lead him to one of the seats along
the grill.
Ukyo went around behind the grill and selected a fresh pair
of spatulas. "So, what can I make for you?"
"Let's see...." Ranma's stomach growled.
Ukyo laughed. "Same old Ran-chan," she said fondly.
"Pork, extra nori?"
"Comin' right up." Tssss! "We miss you at Furinkan, you
know. Kuno-sempai's been even harder to take than usual."
Ranma smirked. "I'll bet. He showed up outside Hebereke's
the first day, ya know? 'Pigtailed girl! Tendo--'" Ranma broke
off. "Anyway, we, uh, decked him."
"I really miss you, Ran-chan," Ukyo said. "It's just not
the same with you not there every day."
Ranma wouldn't meet her eyes. "Yeah, well, it's not like I
had much of a choice."
"Must be pretty strange for you, going to a girls' school,"
Ukyo said idly.
"You'd know, wouldn't you? Sorta."
Ukyo smiled lopsidedly. "You got a point." She scooped the
okonomiyaki off the grill and onto a plate, then handed it to
Ranma with a flourish. "Enjoy!" She dealt out orders to several
other customers and started another batch.
"So, where's Akane?" she asked casually.
Ranma shrugged. "Dunno. At home, I guess."
"How's she like St. H?"
Ranma winced. "We don't call it that. Gives people the
wrong idea."
Ukyo snickered. "Yeah, well, everyone else does." *So, had
a little tiff, hmm? Gooood.*
~~~~~
Akane sat at her desk after supper. Homework was spread out
in front of her, but she couldn't concentrate on it. She
twiddled a pencil in her fingers. *I have to go find him. I
have to make up with him. I have to say I'm sorry. Control,
darn it. I have to apologize, even though I'm right--* "Argh,"
she said softly to herself. "Try again." *I have to go find
him. I have to--* She heard a rap on the window. Her pencil
spun one way and her chair went another. *He came here!*
Akane flung the window open. Ranma was hanging outside.
His inverted expression was hard to read, but it appeared to
mingle apprehension and determination. "Look, if we're gonna be
partners-- mmmf!" Akane had leaned out of the window and hugged
him. He suddenly realized that his face was nestled in a
particularly comfortable part of Akane's anatomy, and his feet
slipped. "MMMPH!!"
"TE--!" Akane took advantage of her firm grip on Ranma to
haul him through the window, adapting a throw usually used to
slam an opponent onto the ground. She dropped him on the floor
as gently as she could and staggered back.
"Whoa, good save," Ranma muttered dazedly. He rolled over,
sat up, and remembered what he was saying. "If we're gonna be
partners, ya shouldn't make me ask for help," he said, less
firmly than he wished to.
Akane blinked. "You said you didn't want me to be your
partner!"
"What?! I didn't say that!"
"There you go again! Yes, you did! You--"
"I said I wanted you to be a BETTER partner!" Ranma
interrupted. "Baka! You never listen to me!"
"You--!" Akane wrestled her voice to a stop. *Control.
One of us has to.* She took a deep breath and forced her voice
to something approximating calm reason. "When I asked if you
needed my help, I wasn't needling you. I was just really
surprised that you asked."
It was Ranma's turn to blink. "Oh. Uh...."
Akane remembered what Kasumi had said. "Next time I'll ask
if you WANT my help. Maybe that'll work better?"
"Yeah, I guess." Ranma twiddled his fingers. "I did kinda,
uh, want your help there," he admitted.
"Oh. I, um... I'm sorry I threw Shampoo at you."
Ranma shrugged. "Well, it's not like I'm not used to it,
but usually she does it herself-- hey, whatcha laughin' at?"
"Oh, nothing."
"So, what happened while I was, uh, in the Neko-ken?" Ranma
asked.
"Not much."
"Didn't kiss anybody?"
"No. Not this time." Akane leaned her hip against her desk
and crossed her arms.
Ranma studied his fiancee. "I wish you wouldn't get so damn
jealous all the time. I mean, a little bit is cute, but--"
"Well, I wish you wouldn't pay so much attention to them!"
Akane interrupted.
"They're just friends! Look, I'm with ya all day at school,
then for a couple of hours in the dojo, an' sometimes I eat here,
and then we study most nights-- ain't that enough?"
*No!* Akane thought, but his words hit home, and she winced.
"I can't help it," she muttered. "They're just so... and
I'm...."
"Look, I told ya, I don't want them." Ranma sighed, then
got an idea. "Look, Kuno's tall and rich, and I'm neither, and
he's not too bad-lookin', so why do ya kick him over the school
every time he grabs ya?"
Akane made a face. "Eeew. He's just.... He made my life
miserable before you came, and worse after. I hate him." She
looked at Ranma. "You don't hate Shampoo or Ukyo, and you sure
don't kick them over the school when they grab you. I don't see
a connection."
"Well, how about Ryoga, then? He brings you presents, he's
nice to ya, he's almost as good as I am...."
"Ryoga? He's just a friend. I don't know, I just don't
feel that way about him. Besides, he doesn't grab me."
*Ya don't know where the pig was sleepin',* Ranma managed
not to say. "Yeah? Well, I 'just don't feel that way' about
Shampoo, Ukyo, an' Kodachi. They're just friends. Kodachi's not
even that, really."
Akane stared at Ranma. "But you're a boy. Everyone knows
that a boy, well, feels that way about any pretty girl.
Especially if she comes on to him."
"Jeez." Ranma frowned. "I expect that from Momma-- she
thinks I oughta be 'manly' an' boff 'em all-- but I thought you'd
know better." He got up. "Forget it."
"Wait, Ranma." Akane moved to intercept him before he could
depart out the open window and took hold of his shirt front
gently. She stood very close to him and gazed up at his still-
annoyed face. "Maybe I am too jealous," she said slowly, "but I
can't help it. I denied it for a year, and I just won't do that
any more. If someone steals you away from me, it's not going to
be because I thought it couldn't happen."
Ranma sighed, but he lost the frown and his arms went around
her. "Nobody's gonna steal me away from you. They tried. I'm
here."
"I know... but it's like that you can't tell them you don't
want them. You can't make yourself tell them, and I can't make
myself not be jealous."
Ranma slumped a bit. Akane could feel him trying to say
something, and failing. "Fair enough," he said finally. Akane
went up on her tiptoes and looked at him expectantly.
The door opened. "Akane, I brought--" Kasumi's voice cut
off suddenly. The door closed.
"Darn," Akane muttered at the panicked look in Ranma's eyes.
She grabbed his head and kissed him quickly before he pulled
away, then let go. "You know, if you'd just come in by the door--"
"--then everyone would know I was here, and it'd be even
worse," Ranma finished. "I guess I better go."
"I guess," Akane said, a little sadly. "See you
tomorrow...."
"Yup." Ranma went over to the window and looked back for a
moment. "G'night!" He leapt out the window and vanished into
the darkness. Akane sighed, shut the window, and went to talk to
Kasumi about knocking.
~~~~~
"Ready!" Akane watched Ranma, poised at the opposite corner
of the mat under the gymnasium lights. Akane saw the hand signal
and started her tumbling run: four running steps, forward
handspring, flip to handstand and hold. The soles of Ranma's
feet landed on hers with the precise smoothness she had come to
expect from her partner, and she held steady as Ranma's ribbon
lashed left and right at phantom opponents. She kicked hard,
sending Ranma on a high arc. Akane flipped to her feet, spun
with one foot up and her clubs held overhead, and watched Ranma
land on the corner she'd started from. She nodded in
satisfaction, cartwheeled three times, and came upright back-to-
back with Ranma.
"Perfect," Ranma said.
"Really?!" Akane said brightly. "I mean, it felt just
right, but--"
"Well, after the seventeenth try, it oughta," Ranma
observed, deflating Akane a little. "And I'm still just guessin'
that a routine like that'll do any good in a match. But the
judges oughta like it."
"Um... excuse me...." Two of the other girls in the
gymnastics team had come up to the mat.
"Hey," Ranma greeted them. "Michi and, um, Junko, isn't it?"
The two girls, the first with short, boyishly cut hair, the
other with medium-length hair caught in two pony-tails, nodded
and smiled. "That's us," Michi agreed. "Saotome-kun, we were
wondering... um... do you suppose we could train with you?"
Akane and Ranma glanced at each other and raised their
eyebrows. "Call me Ranma," Ranma said easily. "You know Akane,
don't you?"
"All right... Ranma-kun. Yes, Akane-kun was your second
when you defeated Captain Kodachi last year. We're sure not
going to forget that anytime soon, even though we didn't see much
of it from under the ring...."
"We were sort of wondering when someone would talk to us,"
Akane put in.
"Well, you're new here," Junko said with a trace of
embarrassment. "And Kodachi-san made it clear that you were her,
um, special interests." She gestured at the other gymnasts, who
were working out without much energy or sitting on the benches
chatting. "And since we don't actually have any meets, a lot of
the girls don't practice much."
"But a few of us really want to do gymnastics," Michi said
to Ranma. "We heard Akane-kun calling you 'sensei', and of
course we watched you practice, and, I mean, like, wow!"
"All Kodachi and her bunch think we're good for is pushing
the ring back and forth when she whistles," Junko said bitterly.
Akane and Ranma glanced at each other again. Ranma shrugged
and quirked her mouth. "We'd be glad to," Akane told Michi and
Junko. "We're developing a pairs rhythmic-gymnastics martial-
arts style, and we're about to the point where we need another
pair to practice with."
Michi clapped her hands, squealed, and jumped up and down.
"Yaay!"
Junko bowed, her face serious. "We'll do our best not to
disappoint you, Ranma-sensei. I know we're not nearly as good as
we should be."
Ranma nodded. "First, let's see what you can do, and then
we'll see about gettin' ya shaped up, hey?" She gestured to the
mat.
~~~~~
"Akane-kun?"
Akane looked up, but kept buttoning her tunic. "Yes?"
Michi looked past her at Ranma, who was having a little more
trouble with her sports bra than usual. "Um, we were wondering
if, well, there's a place where some of us hang out after school.
Cafe Harlequin. It's just a few blocks from here, and if you'd
like, maybe we could talk a bit...."
Akane glanced at Ranma. *Well, they're not fiancees--* She
kicked herself mentally. "Sure, sounds like fun!" she said
cheerfully.
"Great!" Michi smiled. "Do you know the way? Well, I can
show you, then, when you're ready to go...."
"Now," Ranma said testily. *Damn all bras forever.* She
picked up her bag and slammed her locker. Akane suppressed a
smirk and followed Michi and Ranma out of the locker room.
~~~~~
The Cafe Harlequin was a bright place with a black-and-white
checkered floor and a big clown mask hung on the wall by the
entrance. Michi rubbed the clown's shiny nose absently as she
passed. She waved to three other girls in a booth as Ranma and
Akane shook off their umbrellas. "Look! I brought them!" she
called. She turned to Ranma and Akane. "Come on, they're all so
anxious to meet you--"
"'All'? Wait a minute, what have you gotten us into?" Ranma
protested, but she followed Michi to the booth.
"Junko, you met in the gym," Michi bubbled, "and this is
Eriko, her father's English--" a tall brunette with long,
straight hair nodded-- "and this is Sachiko. Girls, our shining
hopes: Tendo Akane and Saotome Ranma."
Ranma's jaw dropped. "'Shining hope'? What the hell is
this?"
All four girls stared at her for a moment, then Michi
giggled. "You talk just like a boy. You're so hip!" Ranma
blushed. Michi gestured to her friends. "I just meant that
you're our hope to actually do some gymnastics instead of just
cheering for Kodachi while she bumps off the other teams before
the meets."
"Oh." Ranma slid into the booth after Akane. "She's still
doin' that? I'd'a thought she'd learn, after what happened when
she tried to bump Akane off. I kicked her butt pretty good."
"Yes, and that's why we thought you might be able to do
something now," Junko said. "If you can train us the way you're
training Akane, we might have a hope of taking some of the places
on the team, and actually fighting in a few meets before we
graduate. We'd like to win, of course, but to participate is
what we really want." The other three nodded.
"Good. We're with you," Akane said suddenly. "We want just
what you want." The expectant tension on the other side of the
table dissolved into smiles.
Ranma flicked an astonished glance at Akane. *What the
hell's she up to?* She ignored the chatter and examined the
other two girls carefully, remembering them from the school
gymnasium. *Sachiko's strong, but nowhere near as strong as
Akane. Eriko... might be as good as Kodachi, with about three
years' training. But in a few months?* She shook her head
slightly.
Junko caught it. "What is it, Ranma-kun?" she said in a low
voice.
"Gonna take a lot of hard work," Ranma replied. "We'd be
doin' it anyway. I hope you guys are up to it."
"So do I," Junko said. She flashed a tight smile. "But if
we don't try, we'll never know, ne?"
Ranma nodded slowly.
The waitress came, took their orders, and left. Ranma sat
and listened to the girls talking to each other. *Akane's sure
havin' fun....* She watched her fiancee with a fond smile on her
face.
"Looks like you have an admirer," Michi suddenly said to
Ranma. Ranma followed her look and saw a young man at another
table looking back at her. The fellow nodded and smiled.
Ranma looked away pointedly. "Not my type," she told Michi.
"Oh? Well, there's lots of types here. The Harlequin's a
good place to get picked up. Just wait a bit, and your type will
come along," Michi said confidently.
Ranma blushed. "Don't wanna get picked up," she muttered.
Michi nodded sagely. "Some guy break your heart? You'll
get over it, a cute girl like you, with a figure to just die for--"
"It's not like that!" Ranma burst out. The other
conversations around the table ground to a halt. Everyone looked
at Ranma. Ranma briefly considered disappearing under the table.
Michi looked at Ranma and Akane. "You two aren't--" she
stuck her pinky out-- "are you?"
"No!" Akane said hotly. She lowered her voice. "We're,
um, buddies. That's all."
Michi looked relieved. "Oh, good. It happens at an all-
girl school, of course...."
Junko elbowed her friend. "Michi, you're blabbing again.
Don't embarrass them."
"Oh, lighten up. How about you?" Michi said to Akane.
"Looking for a boyfriend?"
Akane's chin came up. "I'm engaged," she said proudly.
The other girls stared at her. "What, already?" Michi said
incredulously. She glanced at Akane's hand. "I don't see a
ring...."
Akane blushed. "Our families arranged it." Silence greeted
her announcement. "What?!"
"Eeew," Michi summed up. "I mean, you're obviously a catch,
but what kind of loser would need to have his family arrange a
marriage for him?"
Akane glanced sidelong at Ranma, whose fuse was clearly
shortening, and suppressed a smile. "Well, that's sort of what I
thought at first, but I changed my mind. My fiancee's
wonderful." She felt Ranma twitch slightly and resisted the urge
to look at her again.
"Wow," Michi breathed. She glanced at her friends. "If you
ever wondered what a girl in love looked like, here you go." She
looked back at Akane. "I'm envious. Tell us about this guy."
Akane yielded to temptation. "Well, he's a martial artist,
of course. He's better than I am, darn it, but I don't suppose
I'd respect him if he wasn't. He's just enough taller than me
that I have to stretch to kiss him."
"I bet he's built," Michi said wistfully. "Is he handsome?"
Akane grimaced. "He must be. He's got other girls chasing
him around all the time." She felt Ranma twitch again.
"Well, as long as he doesn't chase them, that just tells you
you've got a good one," Sachiko put in.
Akane bit her lip. "I guess so." *Ranma hasn't said a
thing. Either he's dead over there, or his self-control's
stuck.*
"Hey!" Michi burst out. "I know who he is! My cousin's
friend's brother goes to Furinkan, and she told her that he said
Tendo Akane was engaged to the other Saotome Ranma!"
Akane stared at her, appalled. The others stared at her in
disbelief. "What do you mean, 'the other Saotome Ranma'?" Junko
asked finally.
"The one who didn't beat Kodachi!" Michi said excitedly.
"Look, there's a Saotome Ranma who's a guy, who goes to Furinkan.
And there's a Saotome Ranma who's a girl, who beat Kodachi last
year. Kodachi SAID they were two different people with the same
name. She went on and on about it, remember?" Heads nodded.
"Anyway, my friend's, er, my cousin's friend's brother said that
Tendo's a babe, and Saotome's a hunk, but there was some sort of
sex-change or cross-dressing thing that didn't make any sense."
Michi eyed Ranma mischievously. "You sure you're a girl, Ranma?"
"Uh... what do you think? You saw me in the locker room,
didn'tcha?" Ranma hoped for the best.
"One hundred percent female," Junko confirmed. "No extra
bits, no missing bits." She nudged Michi. "Lots of silly
stories come out of Furinkan. Remember the one about the vampire
teacher? I'd rather believe in a girl and a guy who are both
named Saotome Ranma, and the power of confusion and rumor, than
one person who changes sex. I'll bet they're even related."
Four pairs of eyes swung to Ranma and waited expectantly.
Ranma thought frantically. *Keep it simple--* "Yeah, we're
in the same family," she said carefully. "We got a lot in
common. Even the same hairstyle."
The waitress came back with their snacks. Ranma eyed the
three bowls of hot noodle soup on the other side of the table and
gulped nervously. She noticed Akane making sure of her water
glass, relaxed a little, and took a bite of her parfait.
Michi looked at the parfait. "I thought martial artists
weren't supposed to eat that kind of stuff."
Ranma swallowed hastily. "Well, once ya get to a certain
point in the Art, your body can handle it...."
"Listen up, girls," Michi said to her companions. "Another
incentive." She looked back at Ranma. "So, how about you? Got
anyone special?"
"Uh, yeah," Ranma said. "I'm engaged too."
Michi rested her chin on her hand and regarded Ranma with
half-closed eyes. "So, is he a dreamboat like Akane's?"
"Uh, sorta. We get along." Ranma pushed a bit of ice cream
around and tried to ignore the look Akane was giving her. "Uh,
he's a martial artist too. He's cute."
"Not much of a talker, are you," Michi observed. "Well,
that's all right."
"You'll have to forgive Michi," Junko said to Ranma. "She's
a bit of a motormouth, but she doesn't mean any harm. Maybe when
she gets a boyfriend, she'll quit bothering other people about
theirs."
"Hmph." Michi folded her arms and looked away. The others
laughed.
~~~~~
Akane and Ranma walked home though the rain in silence. The
hissing grayness outside the overlapping circles of their
umbrellas enclosed them in their own tiny world, like an inside-
out aquarium. Occasional stray drops speckled their dark
uniforms.
"They liked me," Ranma said finally.
Akane looked at her, a little startled. "Well, sure. Why
wouldn't they? Just because you're rude, and talk like a boy--"
"Cut it out, Akane," Ranma interrupted. "It bugs me. I
mean, they like me. They're not grabbin' me or tryin' ta kill me
or ignorin' me. They're just bein' friendly, and it's all
because I lied to them."
Akane sighed. "You had to. We can't keep going to St.
Hebereke's unless they think you're a girl."
"That doesn't make it any easier, dammit. I mean, I've lied
a few times-- to my momma, to Shampoo-- but only when my butt was
on the line, and I hated it anyway. When they find out I'm
really a guy, they'll hate me. Like you did," Ranma finished
quietly.
Akane shifted her bag to her umbrella hand so she had an arm
free, and put it around Ranma's shoulders. "I know. But that
was a long time ago, and it's been just about that long since I
hated you, and you know how I feel about you now. You wouldn't
be going to St. Hebereke's if I hadn't asked you to; if you like,
you can blame it on me."
"That's not much better."
"Well... if something happens, maybe we can convince them
that you're a girl who turns into a boy with hot water, not a boy
who turns into a girl with cold water. Or maybe they'll like you
so much that they'll forgive you for not being a girl."
"Maybe." Ranma kicked at a puddle.
"Hey, I did...."
Ranma looked over at Akane's loving smile, and finally,
slowly, she smiled back.
"Now, why did you have so much trouble telling Michi how
wonderful I was?"
Ranma's smile turned to a grimace. "Gaah. I can hardly
tell you. I sure can't tell them."
"Good answer, partner. You're getting better."
~~~~~
"So, what do you think?" Michi asked Junko after Ranma and
Akane had left the cafe.
"They're our best chance. They're a little strange, but
then, all the good ones are. If Ranma taught Akane even half of
the things she was doing out there, she's even better than
Hasegawa-sensei," Junko replied. Her eyes shifted to Sachiko.
"What was going on between them, Sachi?"
"Well...." Sachiko tapped her chopsticks against her lips.
"You saw how they looked at each other, and you saw how Akane
looked when she was talking about her fiance. She's got it real
bad for him. But Ranma's got it real bad for her... and the
really weird thing was, it looked like Akane's got it almost as
bad for Ranma, but doesn't want to. I don't know about Ranma's
fiance, but I think I pity the guy, because this is going to get
messy."
They thought about that for a while. "It's not a love
triangle," Michi said finally. "I don't know what the heck to
call it. I think it's three-dimensional. Maybe if I hadn't
skipped geometry yesterday I'd know." She sighed romantically.
"I think it's sweet. Forbidden love blooming in the gymnasium of
St. Ecchi, the weirdest high-school in Tokyo-- eek!" Michi
ducked the sudden storm of chopstick wrappers and wadded-up
napkins.
"Stop reading those shojo-manga, they're rotting your mind,"
Junko advised her.
~~~~~ end (revised) Herding ~~~~~
Next: A rhythmic-gymnastics martial-arts meet gets Ranma into
hot water... er, cold water... well, you'll see; in
Chapter 6.5: Competition, coming soon!
Vince Seifert Network Analyst seifertv@csus.edu
http://webpages.csus.edu/~seifertv/ updated 1998Jun04
CSUS hired me to build their network, not to speak for the university.