Hiya everybody! Sorry that it took me so long to get this part out. I'm
going to try to get parts out on a more regular basis now.
For those of you who need to read the previous parts, they can be found
on my webpage: http://www.angelfire.com/tx/gilliweb/ or you can e-mail me
and I'll send them to you. The second method may take a while though so I
suggest using the first method if you want to read it fairly quickly.^_^ As
usual, any C&C, MST's, word of encouragement, flames, money :P, etc., are
greatly welcomed. Okay, maybe not flames.^_^ Hope that you enjoy this part!
The Nerima Returners
Volume 1
Part 5 Chaos Erupts
Thanks to my pre-readers TydRipper, Lady Ice and James Merritt Jr.
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters, nor do I pretend to. Even if
I did, the army of lawyers that would come after me would make me change my
mind.^_^
Through the mists of sleep, Akane felt someone shaking her. She eventually
decided to wake up as the person would not relent. As she opened her eyes
she saw two big blue orbs staring up at her.
"AHHH!" was the only thing her mind would let her say.
"Tag!" yelled Rana as she touched Akane on the arm and fled the room. Akane
got dressed in a record of 30 seconds and started off after the redhead. She
failed to notice the time as she set off in hot pursuit. It was 11:55 AM.
***************
"I go see Airen, now, Great-grandmother."
"All right, Shampoo. But be back in time for the evening rush," said
Cologne.
"Yes, Great-grandmother," replied the purple-haired amazon as she exited
the Neko-hanten.
***************
"O-HOHOHOHO! Ranma-sama! Your darling Black Rose is coming to see you!"
cackled Kodachi as she left the Kuno compound.
"Not without the Blue Thunder! Why, if I were not to be there, what would
the Pig-tailed girl do? If the vile-cur Saotome lets her out that is,"
stated Kuno, still as pathetically dense as ever.
Kodachi scoffed with utter disdain at her brother's idiocy.
***************
The Ucchan's was closed that morning. This was an odd occurance. But there
was a reason for it. Inside, the owner was making preparations for meeting
up with her fiance. It had been a month since she had seen him last and she
couldn't wait.
Now, most girls would've prepared to meet their fiance by dressing in a
brand new outfit/dress that they'd just bought for the occaision and would
be putting on just the perfect type of make-up. But no Ukyou Kuonji. No, she
was sharpening her throwing and battle spatulas so that she could fight
Ranma's other fiancee's for his hand in marriage.
***************
Akane had totally forgotten about the meeting as she'd gotten really into
the game of tag with Rana. She found herself giggling with joy as she
realized the good cheer of the amnesiac that morning was contagious.
She was currently running away from Rana and was a good distance away from
her. Right now they were running and jumping across the dojo's and house's
roofs. She had just reached the edge of the house and was preparing to jump
to the ground when she noticed the four people converging on the house.
By this point, Rana had caught up to Akane, but seeing her attention was
elsewhere decided that something was up and it was time to put off the game.
"What's wrong, Akane?" she asked, hoping to find out the cause of her
friend's suddenly serious composure.
Akane pointed from her position on the roof to the people just now reaching
the gate. "Ranma's suitors have arrived it seems."
"Uh-oh! I forgot about them!"
Akane grimaced. "So did I. You stay here. Things will only get more
complicated if you're with me." The youngest Tendo knew that a fight was
bound to happen. She could all but see in her mind the sequence of events
that was about to happen. They would barge in and demand to see Ranma, she
would try to tell them calmly what had happened, they wouldn't let her start
before they attacked, she'd beat them all and then explain what had
happened, they would all beg for forgiveness...[1]
"But..." Rana began, but Akane had already jumped off of the roof and was
heading for where Ranma's suitors were just entering the yard. Rana seethed
at being ordered around like a child who couldn't take care of herself, but
stayed put to see how Akane would fare.
***************
"Where violent-tomboy girl? Shampoo want Ranma!"
"Akane! I demand to see my Ranchan!"
"Times up, Akane! You must release my Ranma-sama from your lecherous hold!"
By the time Akane had reached the area where Shampoo, Ukyou and Kodachi
stood, she found herself upset by the demands and insults which spewed from
their mouths. Kuno, it seemed, had mysteriously disappeared.
"Why can't you people ask politely at the door! If you wanted to see Ranma,
you could've simply knocked and asked!" Akane all but yelled, exasperated.
"You still haven't brought him out!" Ukyou pointed out to her. "The deal
was after a month, you wouldn't prevent us from seeing him!"
"If you let me explain..." Akane began, knowing what was about to happen.
"Shampoo no want tomboy-girl's lies! Shampoo want Ranma!" Shampoo voiced.
And that's when all hell broke loose. Shampoo charged Akane, who was able to
dodge much easier than she used to be able to do the training Rana had given
her as she now had no problems with hitting girls.
Unfortunately, this caused the bonbori to hit Ukyou in the head who had
been coming up from behind. Kodachi tried to ensnare Akane with her ribbon
but only succeeded in throwing her of balance due to the little bit of extra
speed that the girl had gained in the last month.
Before the battle between the girls could get much farther, it was
interrupted. A voice from the roof yelled, "STOP!"
Everybody ceased their actions and looked up to the top of the roof. They
all had different reactions.
Nabiki wondered what Rana was going to do.
Kuno, who had been buying pictures from Nabiki, stared at the beautiful
vision of his pig-tailed goddess.
Kodachi had to remind herself that this was her Ranma-sama, not an evil
witch like she used to think.
Ukyou was happy that her Ranchan had been so concerned for her that he had
stopped the fight to prevent her from getting even the smallest injury.
Shampoo was happy that Ranma had shown up to show his support for her, but
a bit disappointed that he was in his girl-form.
Akane was pissed.
A passing bird saw that a bunch of those stupid humans had gathered
together for what it assumed was a fight and hoped that the redhead, that so
often joined him and other birds in the air for those brief flights she
seemed so enjoy[2] so much, would win.
Rana jumped to the ground, oblivious to all of these thoughts.
Akane stormed up so that she was standing right in front of the redhead and
yelled out, "I thought I told you to stay put!"
Rana snapped back quickly, her earlier anger finally being vented, "I'm not
a possession you can keep under lock and key, Akane!"
"You tell her Ranma-sama!" Kodachi cheered.
"Way to go, Ranchan!" Ukyou joined in.
"Airen show viol..." The Amazon stopped mid-word as Rana turned an icy
glare at her fan club.
"Don't any of you DARE talk! You're all worse than Akane. Bursting in here,
assuming that I'm yours to claim and own without asking me for my consent!
You don't even know who I am!" Rana was shaking with rage, letting out all
pent up emotions that she had hidden.
Anger at Akane for hitting her in the hospitals gym. Anger at Happosai for
barging into her hospital room. Anger at her mother for acting as if she
understood. Anger at Nabiki for selling pictures of her when the mercenary
thought she didn't notice. Anger at Kasumi for being able to control her own
emotions. Anger at her suitors for trying to claim her. Anger at passing
strangers for having memories of their pasts.
All sorts of anger that she had let build up without releasing. The main
person she felt anger at however, was Ranma. She knew that she was
essentially the same person, however it was as if he was a completely
separate entity. She was angry at him for taking the easy way out and
dumping her with his problems.
Now that she had let out a bulk of her anger, she felt spent. "You all
should be ashamed of yourselves," she whispered as she walked away.
Akane was stunned. Was that girl who had just blown up at them the same
girl she had just been playing tag with? The same girl who was almost always
cheerful, despite the circumstances. She realised that, perhaps that had
just been a mask to hide the despair and anger lurking in the redhead's
soul. She was so startled at what Rana had done and what conclusions she had
drawn, that she didn't even notice when the girl had turned around and
started to walk away.
Most of the others were in similar states of shock at what had just
happened. Fortunately, something that Rana had said, wedged itself in
Ukyou's brain allowing her to react as the emotionally spent girl started to
trudge away. The okonomiyaki chef latched onto Rana's wrist, halting the
girl's procession away from them.
Ukyou looked a bit nervous as the redhead turned around to glare at her
with anger in her eyes, but held her ground. She licked her lips and spoke
up. "You... you said that we didn't even know who you are. Who are you?"
As Ukyou watched, something seemed to leave the girls eyes and be replaced
by relief. "Thank-you," Rana murmured quietly.
"For what?" asked Ukyou who, was becoming confused.
"For caring," began Rana. "For trying to be a friend, even though you
realise that I'm not who I appear to be. For taking a risk and trying to
understand what's happening even though you probably realise that you won't
like the answer. For asking what needed to be asked." Rana gave a sad
chuckle and looked down. "When did I become so introspective?" She raised
her head to look at Ukyou again. "To answer your question, my *name* is Rana
Saotome. I'm still trying to figure out who I am." Before anybody could move
or say anything, she decided to press on and get the explanation over with.
"I received some brain damage when I fell down the cliff. I can't remember
anything from my past, except for my martial arts. You all must realize that
I'm a totally different person now.
"Is no true!" Shampoo cried out desperately. She produced a steaming kettle
from hammer-space and poured it on Rana. The girl didn't even flinch. She
had been told to expect this when Nabiki was giving her a lesson on her
fiancees. What she hadn't expected was for Shampoo to jump into the koi
pond.
Shampoo-cat came out of the pond and latched herself onto Rana, hoping to
prove that this was all a joke by bringing out the Neko-ken. Instead of a
rapid flailing of limbs accompanied by a bloodcurdling scream, there was
simply a quiet rush of air as Rana let out an agitated breath.
"What *are* you doing, Shampoo? What's this supposed to prove?" Rana
sighed, and then twitched. "Shampoo... uhh... stop digging your claws in!
OWIE!" Shampoo would not let go. Nabiki slapped her head into her hand,
realising that they had forgot to fill Rana in on Neko-ken, so she had no
idea of what was going on.
Cologne, who had been watching the entire scenario, decided that now would
be a good time to reveal her presence. She walked up and lifted Shampoo off
of Rana's back, picked her clothes out of the pond, placed Shampoo-cat in
the center of them and poured the rest of the hot water from Shampoo's
kettle onto Shampoo herself.
"Control yourself, Great-granddaughter. Now is not the time for unthought
out antics." The elderly lady turned to face Rana. "I, on Shampoo's behalf,
would like to apologize for what has just happened. My name is Cologne."
Rana gave her a curt nod, and then looked towards the Kuno's. "Well, what
do you two have to say for yourselves?"
"I'm overjoyed that you have overcome the evils of the cursed sorcerer
Saotome, pigtailed-girl... no Rana Saotome. I would date with thee!" Kuno
spouted and promptly launched himself at the petite girl.
Rana dodge easily, and when he turned around to embrace her again, she
raised a hand to tell him to stay put and listen.
"Kuno-san," she began, "I am flattered by your attentions, but;" she said
before he could interrupt; "if you wish to go out with me, ask me normally.
Not now, I'm not ready to date anyone yet," she told him as he opened his
mouth, "but perhaps once I've started school again and retrieved some
semblance of a normal life. Please honour my request." The look in her eyes
was deadly serious.
"Very well, Rana Saotome. For now I shall put off my pursuit of thee."
"Thank-you," she said giving him a small genuine smile that made his heart
melt. She turned to Kodachi. "And where do you stand, Kodachi?"
"I will simply observe for now before I say where I my position in this
matter is," the Black Rose told her.[3]
Rana nodded. "Disappointing, but wise. Thank-you everybody."
Rana began to turn to go into the house when, once again, Ukyou grabbed her
wrist. But this time, she pulled the smaller girl towards her and placed the
girls head in her chest in a comforting hug. "Sometimes..." Ukyou whispered
to her, "Sometimes, we just need a hug and a shoulder to cry on. Go ahead
and have a good cry. You probably need it."
To the surprise to all who saw it, the redheads shoulders began to heave as
she started to cry. Akane and Nabiki felt terrible as they both realised
that instead of being friends, they'd been teachers, teachers to the course
Ranma 101.
After a couple of awkward minutes later, Rana stopped crying and stepped
back a step from Ukyou, head lowered. When she raised her head they all saw
that she was smiling a weak, but genuine, smile.
"Thanks Ukyou-san. I needed that."
"No problem, Ranchan!" Ukyou replied with a wink that let Rana know that,
although it was her old name for Ranma, it had now been transferred to her.
"But please, call me Ucchan."
"Thank-you, then, Ucchan." The smile had grown stronger and a mischievous
look entered them. "Now as for you, Akane..."
Uh-oh, thought Akane, here's where I get my just desserts.
"TAG!" Akane felt a slap on her arm as Rana raced past, giggling.[4]
"Huh?" Akane asked disorientated. Then she realised that Rana was
continuing their earlier interrupted game. "Why you..." she started, almost
giggling herself, as she chased the redheaded girl.
They tagged each other back and forth for a bit, the others watching,
amused; when Rana popped up, tagged Ukyou and went on her merry little way.
Ukyou did one of those adorable anime blinky things, complete with little
squeaky sounds, before she realize what had happened, shrugged, and started
chasing after Akane and Rana. Soon the entire group was immersed in the
game, having a good time, and forgetting what had happened earlier that
afternoon.
[1]Remember, this is Akane's thoughts. She believes that just because she's
been training extra this month that she'll finally be able to beat them when
the truth of the matter is that she'd probably only be able to last longer.
[2]The bird is assuming that Ran(m)a enjoyed them because (s)he took them so
often.
[3]My opinion is that, while she is certainly mentally unbalanced, Kodachi
does have a brain and is capable of using it. It just takes a lot of
vacations without notice.^_^
[4]Honestly now, who saw this coming.^_^
Next time: Part 6- More Surprises Yet to Come.
Author's Notes: AHHHH! This part wrote itself most of the time!! I didn't
intend for Rana to get all of that anger, nor did I intend for Ukyou to be
so caring and understanding. I certainly didn't have anything after Cologne
showed up in my rough-rough draft. I simply had her showing up, knocking
Shampoo out, introducing herself and having the rest deciding to accept Rana
for now in their minds and ending it there. Where did the rest of it come
from? Why is Shampoo still conscious? Where did that bit about dating and
Kuno come from? Why was that scene with Ukyou comforting Rana in there? And
where on Earth did that bit with the Tag game at the end come from?! AHHHH!
...waitaminute... I'm the author, aren't I supposed to know the answers to
these questions?<*sweatdrop*>^_^
Don't get me wrong now, I like those scenes, I'm just curious as to where
they came from... Anyways, hope that you enjoyed this!
Next part is the last part for this volume, so after that I'll be doing some
revisions and reposting(hopefully ^_^). Oh yeah, before I forget, I'll be
calling this TNR on the subject line from now on so that it can fit on the
subject line in inbox's for places like Hotmail easier. TNR, of course,
stands for the initials of the fic, The Nerima Returners.
Jade Dixon, jadzia42@hotmail.com
www.angelfire.com/tx/gilliweb <-- My Homepage^_^
Fate protects fools, little children and ships named 'Enterprise'.
-Commander Riker, Contagion.
Ryouga's not that bad, he's just misguided.
-Accidental pun by a friend.
5 Sailor Senshi... 5 Gundam Wing boys... possibilities...
-insane rambling of Jade-chan's^_^
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