Subject: [FFML][Fanfic][Ranma] Returning Home Part 8
From: David Farr
Date: 5/11/1999, 1:23 AM
To: ffml@fanfic.com

Returning Home
By David Farr
Part 8

	Ranma 1/2 is copyrighted by Rumiko Takahashi/Shogakukan,Inc and is
used here respectfully for the purposes of fanfiction. This story may
be redistributed only if unchanged and no fee is charged.
	This story and my other works of fiction may be found at:
    http://homepages.ihug.co.nz/~djfarr/

*****

	The teacher's droning had been known to put students to sleep, so it
wasn't surprising that many small groups of conversation had appeared.
Of course the old bore was so wrapped up in his chalk scratchings on
the board, he didn't notice a thing. He certainly never saw the boy
who had, only months before, been his worst student, watching him
studiously.

	Hiroshi leaned across the small gap that separated their desks.
"Psst, Ranma!" The young martial artist continued to make notes in the
small pad sitting before him. Leaning a little further across, Hiroshi
peered into his classmate's book, and found himself trying to decipher
something that belonged on a rock tablet in some ancient prophet's
arms.

	Hiroshi shook himself. "Ranma!" his voice was still low, but more
forceful.

	"What?" the other didn't take his eyes off the board.

	"We were just talking about girls. You've done it with Akane, what's
she like?" Hiroshi inquired.

	Ranma put down his pen and glared back at him. "Is that all you guys
think of?" he demanded, trying to keep quiet despite his irritation.

	"Come on, you can't hold out on us," Daisuke whispered from behind
Hiroshi. "With got two kids, you must have $*%&ed lots."

	"Look, when you guys decided to grow up some, you'll realise just how
private that is." Ranma smiled. "Besides which, I'd never say a thing
when she's listening."

	Hiroshi rolled his eyes. "Come on, she can't hear us!"

	A small piece of paper bounced off Hiroshi's head and fell onto
Ranma's desk. Grinning Ranma opened the note and held it up for the
other two to see. [Want to bet. - Akane]

	"Okay, later then," Daisuke suggested.

	"No!"

	"Saotome! No talking in class!" The teacher turned and threw an
eraser. Before anyone could react Ranma snatched it out of the air and
instinctively threw it back. The missile struck the teacher's
forehead.

	Silence fell across the class as the students looked from the
crumpled heap at the front of the room to Ranma his hand still raised
after throwing back the eraser. There was an uncomfortable scraping as
the nearest student shifted their desks away from him.

	"I think we'll take a rain check on that idea," Hiroshi commented.

	"Good instincts, Ranma," Akane shot. "Now, why don't you carry him to
the infirmary?"

	After Ranma had left, Sayuki leaned over to Akane. "Wow, two days and
he's already causing trouble. That is so like Ranma."

	Akane smiled dreamily at the door. "I know, but I wouldn't want him
any other way."

	At the back of the room another girl, wrapped in dress of a male
student and wearing a large spatula on her back, gave a sigh that
spoke of loss.

*****

	Birds sung from the trees and a few officer workers sat on the
benches near the pond drinking from Styrofoam cups. The peace of the
small patch of green woodland seemed almost out of place amongst the
dull metal of the surrounding city.

	Into the calm intruded the share tip of a blade, which then swept
downwards and to the side, leaving a pulsing slash of energy in its
wake. Whatever was wielding the weapon withdraw it, and then a second
point pierced the air. It too cut down, perpendicular to the pervious
tear, then was pulled away. The four flaps curled, revealing a starlit
landscape beyond.

	A single figure, holding two long katanas, skipped across the
threshold of the hole and glided across the ground. She tipped forward
slightly, using the rubber stoppers on her roller blades to bring
herself to a stop as the hole sealed shut behind her. Her outfit of
black and neon green looked like it was designed for a Californian
roller-skater, but on closer inspection a variety mystical symbols had
been hidden amongst the padding.

	The girl herself looked very young. Barely fifteen, if that. Her
blonde hair was swept back into a long pigtail that swept down her
back. Feather-like antenna rose from the domes that covered her ears,
and a single wire swept up from the banded that connected her
headphones. She smiled happily, calmly spun her swords and shoved them
into the sheaths on her back.

	"Now, where in the multiverse am I?" she murmured in perfect
Japanese.

*****

	At lunch Ranma, Akane and Ukyo drew a crowd composed entirely of
people not in their class. Everyone had noticed that Ranma had spent
the morning wearing a black backpack. He hadn't taken it off since
arriving at school, but hadn't found sitting in a chair uncomfortable
because it hung empty. Of course, almost all the students knew that
appearances were deceiving and wanted to know exactly what was so
important about it. A single glare from Ranma had sent almost everyone
packing. In fact only three pairs of unwanted eyes still found reason
to watch.

	Nabiki watched from a chair on a balcony above them. She had already
seen Ranma working with the pack when she gone to warn him about Kuno.
At the time the strangeness of seeing the bedroll vanish, leaving an
empty pack had been dismissed in the friendly banter they'd had.
Still, looking back, Nabiki realised how interesting that very concept
was.

	Another set of eyes, nestled in dark and sunken sockets watched from
a tree. As perhaps the most physically helpless of all the love
interests that revolved about Ranma and Akane, "Voodoo" Gosunkugi
spent a lot of time trying to find either cast hexes on those he
hated, or finding weaknesses that he could exploit.

	"Well Ucchan, you asked for it." Ranma whipped his backpack off,
dropping it between. Both women looked up from their lunches. Akane
was munching down on some of Ukyo's Okonomiyaki while the other was
cautiously trying a dish she'd picked up on their travels.

	"Oh, is this the amazing pack you told me about on Sunday?" Ukyo
inquired, leaning forward. "What's in there?"

	Ranma gave her a conspiratorial grin. "Lot's of stuff. Let's find out
together shall we?" He shoved the entire length of his arm into the
pack. It looked strange, simply because the bag was twitching as he
moved.

	"AHA!" Ranma exclaimed, and dragged out a pair of metal working
tongs. "Hmm, not too impressive." He chuckled and threw the massive
hunk of black metal over his shoulder.

	"Try again Ranma," Akane urged, taking another bite from her meal.
"Nice Okonomiyaki, Ucchan," she added.

	Still grinning Ranma shoved his arm once more into the pack. He
groped around, although you couldn't tell by looking. "This feels
good." Again he pulled his arm free, this time producing what looked
like a futuristic tennis ball. "Hey Akane, remember this."

	For a few moments Akane joined Ukyo in staring at it blankly, then
she smiled. "Oh yes. Throw it to me."

	"Okay." Ranma turned the ball in his hand a few times, then squeezed
slightly. He lifted his arm and gently pushed out with his fingers,
sending the ball floating towards her. Impossibly it hovered above the
ground, barely moving as it spent most of a minute travelling between
them.

	None of them noticed the spray of drink coming from the balcony
above.

	"What is it?" Ukyo asked as Akane finally snatched it from the air.

	"A child's toy," Akane explained as Ranma started scrabbling around
inside the bag again. "We picked it up on a world where the technology
was very advanced. They called it a Newton ball. Basically it remains
in place unless something hits it, and then it doesn't stop moving
until something stops it."

	"Umm, we learnt about that in physics didn't we?" Ukyo snapped her
fingers in thought a few times. "Conservation of Forces," she guessed.

	"Momentum actually," Akane corrected. "There are all kinds of
safeguards in it. It can't be thrown hard enough to hurt someone, it
only moves so far and a few other things."

	"But you can override them if you know how," Ranma added. He pulled
forth his hand again, this time he was holding... a giant spatula.

	"Huh?" Ukyo reached over her back, to find her weapon gone. "HEY!
Give that back!" She snatched it out Ranma's hands and sheathed it
again. "When did you grab that?!"

	Ranma scratched the back of his neck in embarrassment. "I didn't. The
guy who made it for me was a bit of a prankster, so sometimes you pull
out things that shouldn't be in there." He shrugged. "Its good for a
laugh sometimes."

	"Well, now that you've finished showing off, you have a tough choice
to make." Ukyo pointed out. "Who's lunch are you going to eat?" She
nodded at the cooling Okonomiyaki and the bento box resting before
him.

	Ranma was saved from making the fateful choice by a familiar war cry.
"RANMA SAOTOME, PREPARE TO DIE!"

	All three martial artists went from sitting to mid-air in an instant.
For a brief instant Ranma could have sworn they'd just dodged a park
bench. He landed on his feet, head snapping about looking for their
assailant. Not far away Ukyo and Akane dropped into crouching
positions, the former whipping out her spatula.

	"That voice, it sounded familiar, didn't it?" Akane mused.

	"It was Tsubasa." Ukyo frowned in thought. "But it sounds more like
something Mousse would yell."

	Ranma, unable to locate his attacker was leaping and twisting, his
eyes locking on bushes, trees and even the statue of the principal.
"His disguises have improved," Ranma commented, then raised his voice.
"Hey, Tsubasa, what's the matter? Why are you attacking me?"

	"You took my Ukyo!" The disguised cross-dresser's voice seemed to
issue forth from everywhere. "Then you made a fool of me by pretending
to be a girl! FINALLY you took AKANE from me! And you dare to ask me
why I'm attacking?!"

	Akane glanced at Ukyo. "Remind me, wasn't Tsubasa the most fickle
person we know?"

	The other continued to search for him. "I don't know, he spent a lot
of time chasing me. And he did keep popping up looking after you found
out about his cross-dressing."

	"CHARGE!"

	Noticing a shadow on the ground, Ranma dove to the side, barely
avoiding the falling vent. He rolled once and leapt to his feet, only
to be presented with a once more empty battlefield.

	"Where'd he go?!" Ranma demanded, then noticed that the two women
were staring at the impact site in shock.

	Ukyo recovered first. "He just vanished!"

	"Damn," Ranma swore softly. "Akane! Grab the heat scope from the
pack!"

	Responding to his yell, Akane scrambled across to the discarded bag.
Well Ukyo and Ranma continued to watch out for Tsubasa's attack, Akane
dug about inside the pack.

	"CHARGE!" The statue of the principal's statue suddenly popped up and
shot forward. Ranma twisted out of the way, then gave a gasp of pain
slipped from his lips. Despite the sudden pain in his side, Ranma
forced himself to track the rampaging statue. Unfortunately it simply
vanished, leaving him staring at empty space.

	Sparing a moment he touched the tear in his shirt, and came up
red-tipped fingers. 'When did he start using a knife?'

	With a cry of delight Akane pulled forth a hairdryer. Her smile
vanished and she went back to searching through the pack.

	Spotting movement in the trees Ukyo slipped a few of her throwing
spatula's loose from her bandoleer. In a flash she threw them into the
foliage, and smiled at the cry of pain. Moments later Gosunkugi fell
from the branches.

	Again Akane pulled forth her hand, this time holding a pole. She
continued lifting it out, hand over hand, until all ten feet of it was
clear of the bag. Shrugging she tossed it away.

	"CHARGE!"

	Nabiki's cry of surprise at her chair suddenly leaping over the
railing warned Ranma. He shifted slightly and leapt to intercept.
Scooping Nabiki into his arm, he struck out at the chair (although how
Tsubasa was hiding in it baffled Ranma) and received a satisfying cry
of pain.

	As Ranma deposited Nabiki on the ground, Akane whipped out her arm
and stared at the object she was holding. "Kuno?!"

	The Kendoist looked up from the book he was calmly reading. "Akane
Tendo, to what do I owe the pleasure of your company?" Shuddering
slightly, Akane tossed him over her shoulder to join the hairdryer and
the ten-foot pole.

	Everyone was surprised when a section of the wall broke free and -
with a cry of "CHARGE!" - attacked Ranma. The young martial artist
jumped over the concert slab, twisting over it to land and spun. 'He's
using some kind of magic!' "Akane, the scope NOW!" Ukyo could see that
he was favouring his left leg, and there seemed to be a gloss on his
black trousers.

	Finally Akane pulled forth a small camera. Apparently happy with her
selection, she lifted it to her eyes and started making a constant
steam of clicks and whistles. Ukyo shot her a strange glance, then
noticed Ranma turning to fix his gaze on large rock nearby.

	"CHARGE!" A tree behind Ranma burst forth from the ground and
lumbered forward, only to encounter a flurry of high-speed kicks and
punches.

	Wood cracked and splinters flew as the force of the blows shattered
the tree. A young man, dressed in what looked like a tuxedo, fell
backwards from the disintegrating disguise. He arced backwards and
struck the ground hard, bouncing before finally sliding to a stop. As
a groan escaped his lips, the knife, tinted with red, slipped from his
hand.

	Ukyo jumped, landing next to the prone young man. She checked his
pulse, then lifted one hand and let it fall. "Alive, but out of it."

	"What the hell is going on?!" Nabiki demanded, stomping over to
Tsubasa. She looked down at him. "Ryoga I could expect this from, but
him?!"

	"People change," Ranma commented, limping up to stand with the other.

	Akane ran up to his side. "Are you okay?"

	"A slash on the side and the calf," he replied. "Nothing a good
bandage won't fix."

	Shaking her head and chuckling, Akane produce a roll of gauze and a
couple of pads. "Okay big man, you sit down and I'll see what I can
do." She started fussing over him and taking care of his wounds.

	"Ouch," Nabiki whispered, glancing down at the sad look on Ukyo
Kounji's face. Deciding that everyone needed redirecting before Akane
and Ranma started anything more, she knelt over the unconscious form
of Tsubasa. "Okay, I've never met this guy before, but I've heard
enough to know he was acting very strange. Ukyo, is there anything
that looks out of place?"

	Ukyo look at the middle Tendo daughter askance. "What, you mean other
than a tuxedo on a cross-dresser?"

	"Good place to start. So a magic suit?" she turned to look at Ranma
and Akane.

	Ranma leaned back slightly to look past Nabiki, then shook his head.
"Look at the top button hole."

	Confused Nabiki turned back and spotted what he had seen. "A
four-leafed clover?"

	"Pass it here would you." Ranma steadied himself on one hand, wincing
as Akane tightened the bandage about his midriff.

	Still not fully understanding Nabiki reached out and pulled the small
plant from the hole. She started to hand it to him, but halted
suddenly. From across the prone form of Tsubasa, Ukyo could see a
sparkle in her eye, a sign that her mind was starting to plot.

	"Nabiki," Ranma's voice was low, "give it to me, or I'll have to beat
you up like I did Tsubasa."

	Nabiki's train of thought immediately derailed. A thousands money
making plans flew at the violence threatened by the quiet tones.
Quickly she passed the clover to Ranma. The moment his fingers touched
the stem, it flared brightly and burnt away, leaving only a touch of
ash to float away in the slight breeze.

	Akane vented a deep sigh. "Of all the people you could have followed
us it had to be--"

	"Akane!!"

*****

	The rain had continued for the entire miserable night. In her box,
shivering in the wet, she had alternated between dreams of lying
beside her husband and killing the woman who dared to take him from
her. Those two pleasures had been swept away like the clouds by the
morning sun.

	Reality had still seemed harsh, despite the beauty of the shimmering
puddles left on the sidewalk, but a night of dreams had inspired her.
This would be the day she would claim that which was hers, and the
violent tomboy would learn her place.

	Finding hot water was a chore. Returning to the Nekohanten was out of
the question, her great-grandmother would simply try to stop her. No,
that was wrong, there would be no try, simply action. Shampoo rose to
the task and it didn't even bother her that her hair would smell like
herb tea for a while.

	It didn't take much to steal a pair of men's slacks and a Hello Kitty
T-shirt, and find herself a pair of bonbori. She immediately set out
for the one place she knew Akane would be: Furnikan High.

	Her journey across Nerima's rooftop highway didn't go as unnoticed as
was usual. Instead a strange girl skating along the paths spotted her
and was intrigued.

	'Hmmm,' she thought, watching the leaps and bounds carrying the
amazon towards her target. 'Purple hair in pigtails and carrying
wooden maces. Why does that sound familiar?' She paused for a moment,
then shrugged. 'Oh well, she's cute.' She reached over her shoulder
and shifted the hilt of one of her swords. Then skated straight
towards one of the buildings.

	Emi was one of those citizens of Nerima who didn't think twice about
tossing water out of a window. As such, when she had finished her
cleaning for the day she simply threw open the nearest window and
leant out to overturn the bucket. Usually however she didn't have to
pull back in to avoid being run over by a roller-bladder skating up
the wall.

	She glanced down at the bucket. "Right, no more chemical cleaners for
me."

	The girl with the two swords glanced back as she reached the roof and
her gravity returned to normal. She hadn't expected to have someone
stick their head out right before her. Her quarry was still in sight,
so the sword-girl spun and started building up speed to follow.

	If Shampoo had realised the ease with which she was being followed
she would have died of shame. Her tail was doing absolutely nothing to
hide herself, even if she'd wanted to the amazon's single-minded
determination was propelling her to speeds that the other could barely
manage.

	At last Shampoo arrived at school, coming off the roofs and falling
silently into the bushes. She had just enough time to take in the
scene of Ukyo and Nabiki looking over some strange boy while Akane
tended to Ranma's wounds before a blur of colour shot past her.

	"Akane!" The roller-bladder cried happily, and barrelled into the
other girl.

	Much to her surprise Akane found herself a good couple of meters from
the others and the recipient of a hug worthy of Shampoo. She looked
down to find a smiling face gazing up from a see of blonde hair, and
green and black material.

	"Akane! It's been so long!" The girl giggled.

	"Blades?!" Akane asked incredulously. "Blades?!"

	Ranma got to his feet and slowly walked over to them. "Hey squirt,
long time no see." He looked down at pair on the ground. "Could you
possibly let go of my wife?"

	Blades giggled again, and shifted slightly to secure her grip. "No."
She poked her tongue out at him. It had been awhile since she had last
seen the pair and enjoyed a hug with Akane, so she wasn't about to
give up without a fight.

	"Please, Blades," Akane asked sweetly, batting her eyelids at the
young girl.

	"I never could say no to a pretty girl," Blades sighed, and released
Akane. She reached out to push herself to her feet and "accidentally"
rested one hand against Akane's breast.

	"BLADES!" Akane squealed.

	"Sorry, couldn't resist." The girl gave another giggle and quickly
leapt to her feet, gliding away beyond Akane's reach. Her smile was
bright, that infectious kind that seemed to brighten then very day.

	"I've put people in hospital for less," Akane warned. She was
frowning too deeply to be taken seriously.

	"Yeah usually me," Ranma added, grinning mischievously.

	Nabiki cleared her throat, gaining their attention. She was standing
next to the still unconscious Tsubasa, watching the trio's banter. "As
enjoyable as this reunion seems, we do have more important things to
worry about." She indicated the boy on the ground. "You were about to
explain the four-leaf clover."

	"Oh, yeah." Ranma glanced down at his one time rival. "Well now that
it's gone, Tsubasa should be fine. It was the focus for the spell that
enhanced his disguise skills and his jealousy."

	As Ranma spoke Blades glided over to Nabiki and slowly circled her.
Nabiki seemed less than comfortable with the attention. "You're
pretty," Blades announced then glided off towards the last woman in
the group.

	"So where did it come from?" Ukyo asked, now finding herself the
object of attention.

	Akane walked over to Tsubasa and knelt down next to him. She leant
over and checked his pulse, then peeled back an eye-lid. "Someone who
followed us from another dimension."

	Nabiki sidled over to Ranma, not taking her eyes off Blades. "She's
quiet the predator, isn't she?" Nabiki whispered.

	"Blades?" Ranma glanced up, catching Ukyo starting to glare back at
the other girl. "Mostly culture shock." He shrugged and turned his
attention back to Akane. "What's the verdict Akane?"

	Finished with her examination, Akane stood and brushed off her hands.
"He'll be unconscious for a few more hours, and probably wake up with
a lot of bruises. I doubt he'll be going anywhere anytime soon."

	"Great," Ranma groaned. "We'd better drag him to the infirmary." He
glanced over his shoulder at the pile of things Akane had discarded.
"We'd better take bokken-boy too. I think he hit his head when you
tossed him."

	"You get Kuno, I'll take the cross-dresser, he's safer." Akane
grinned back him and bent down to grab the unconscious boy.

	"Would you cut that out?!" Ukyo demanded as Blades poked her chest to
see if she was really a girl.

*****

	Little Ukyo was bored. Bored, bored, bored, bored, bored, bored,
bored... well you get the idea. In most children her age this would
result in a series of questions and games that annoyed everyone in the
nearby area. Luckily for her two caregivers, Ukyo was a good child who
had learnt patience under the tutelage of her marital artist parents.

	So Ukyo sat on the porch, swinging her legs and staring off into the
distance. Neither Soun nor Kasumi had noticed, one was busy cleaning
the house, while the other was, for once, practising his martial arts
in the dojo. Normally Ukyo would have watched the old man performing
his kata, but she could already perform them all better and she didn't
want to show up her grandfather.

	This left the little child sitting and "enjoying the peace" as her
father would say. However as Ranma had discovered numerous times,
peace and Saotomes do not mix.

	"What a cute little lassie you be." The voice came from behind her.
Twisting in her place, she found a man who stood no taller than her
baby brother. In fact she could have sworn that little Ryoga would
have seemed tall next to him. He was decked out in a bright green suit
and top hat. His hands gripped a gnarled staff before him. "I'm really
surprised that a cur like ya pa could 'ave given birth to such a sweet
flower."

	Ukyo frowned at the small man and slowly got to her feet. "I know
you." Darkness wasn't in her nature, yet this diminutive fairy-tale
come true received a glare that could snuff out a candle.

	"Now that canna be, when last I saw yee, yee wur but a swaddling in
the cloth." He walked towards her, shaking her head.

	"Daddy told me all about you." She pulled her spear from behind her
back and pointed it towards him. "He told me you wanted to kill him."

	"Well, ya canna believe everything ya old man says to ya. He's a
notorious liar."

	"Mummy said so too," the girl growled. "And daddy DOESN'T LIE!" She
dove forward, her spear flashing through the air. The small leprechaun
simply floated up and away from the thrusts.

	"Why don't ya give my regards to ya pretty ma? Then she'll at least
'ave some comfort when your pa gets his." He wavered for a moment like
a heat-hazed mirage, then vanished.

	"GRAN'PAPA!"

-----

-----------
David Farr
http://homepages.ihug.co.nz/~djfarr/
djfarr@ihug.co.nz		katsuhito@planetjurai.com