Legal: The characters of Ranma � were created by the great Rumiko
Takahashi.
The characters of Gargoyles are the creations of Disney.
I am using them without permission, hopefully for the purpose of
entertaining someone. If anyone who has a right to sue me has that
desire, I have almost no money.
C&C is appreciated, you can contact me at brenda02@sprynet.com
----------
Last Chapter: Ryouga and Ranma got into a fight, however just as Ryouga
was about to fire off a Shishi-Hokodan, Fox Xanatos stepped into the
line of fire with her son Alexander. In the course of protecting them
Ranma suffered a broken leg which Ryouga quickly capitalized on before
being thrown into the canal by Fox. When Akane heard about this she
decided that she had to put an end to the feud between Ranma and
Ryouga. Now it's visiting hours and all three fianc�e's plus Kodachi
are coming to visit Ranma in the hospital, and they're all bringing
food.
Ranma, the Time of Changes
By Brendan O'Donnell
Chapter Two
Ranma was a martial artist of considerable experience and
training. This training had over time coaxed from Ranma an awareness
of his surroundings almost supernatural in its sensitivity. Now, as he
lay in his hospital bed, watching the clock tick down the seconds until
visiting hours, he could feel a wave of anger and violence washing over
the hospital. Then, from the front of the hospital he heard something
that chilled his blood.
"Shampoo bring Ranma lunch, not stupid spatula girl!"
"Oh no, Ranchan's going to eat my okonomiyaki!"
"Ohhhohohohohoho! I'm going to be feeding Ranma-Sama these
cookies baked with all my love!"
"Not mention poison, crazy girl!"
"How dare you, you Chinese strumpet! Prepare to die!"
Ranma tried to tune out the sounds of violence as he did a
quick assessment of his condition. His right shoulder had no real need
of the bandages on it; he would have no troubles fighting with it. His
ribs had been fractured, and if he needed to move fast he'd have to
move carefully and keep close control over his breathing. Finally, his
right leg was broken just above the knee. The cast kept his entire leg
immobilized, and if he had to move he would have to keep his weight off
it. This was his biggest problem, since his main concern with the
girls he had heard was evasion and escape. *Guess I'll have to try
talking and hope they'll listen.* He decided that Shampoo and Kodachi
had about as much chance of listening to him as Ryouga.
Suddenly, he heard the door open and a doctor let Akane in.
Ranma looked toward the sounds of fighting which he still heard from
out front.
"I decided it'd be simpler to slip in through the side
entrance." Akane said, seeing Ranma's look. Understanding it's source
she added, "I guess I was right," with a small smile.
Ranma looked at her, marveling at how cute she looked: the
smiling face, the flower pattern dress, the tin... *That's a cookie
tin.* Ranma thought as he tried to keep the fear he was suddenly
feeling from becoming visible on his face. He almost succeeded.
Akane felt somewhat flushed as she saw Ranma look at her;
something about the look made her feel so good. Then, he looked at the
tin and tensed up. *He must think I made them.* She thought as she
fought down a scowl. Setting the cookie tin on the table she said,
"They're Kasumi's."
"Whew!" Ranma exclaimed as he relaxed. Then he tensed again,
looking apprehensively at his fianc�e.
"Don't worry, I'll save that for when your out of here," she
replied in a joking tone. Then, she sat in a chair by the head of his
bed, and looked at Ranma with a serious expression on her face.
*Uh oh, what's she looking so serious about?*
"Ranma... I need to know just what you and Ryouga were
fighting about. I mean, Ryouga wouldn't endanger a woman and her baby
like that unless he was totally consumed with something!"
*Oh boy,* thought Ranma.
"Now I've respected your desire to keep your personal grudges
personal, but it's gone beyond being just personal. So I want you to
tell me why you and Ryouga hate each other so much!"
Ranma replied, "I don't hate Ryouga. The jerk has a knack for
pissing me off, but I don't hate him."
"Then why are you two always fighting!"
"You'd know already if you could see past your nose!" Ranma
responded in an annoyed tone.
Akane clenched her fists, tightened her face into a silent
snarl, then took a deep breath and forced herself to relax. "I'm not
going to be distracted." She said as she closed her eyes.
*Hmm, guess she's more serious than usual.* Ranma thought.
*Can't betray Ryouga, though.* "We're always fighting because Ryouga
keeps attacking me!"
"What about those times you've disguised yourself as a girl to
pick on him!" Akane responded.
"That jerk deserved it every time!" Ranma responded angrily.
Then he thought and added quietly, "Well, maybe I went a little
overboard on that fianc�e thing; but that hentai did try to grope
me..."
Akane fought down her angry retaliation, closed her eyes and
took a deep breath. Releasing it she looked at Ranma and said "Ranma,
from what Ryouga said, this has dated back to that first time he showed
up here. Now I know that bread feud wasn't what you were fighting
over, so what was it!?"
*Uh oh, what do I say?* Ranma thought for a moment then
concluded *I guess it's gotta be the truth.* "I can't tell you."
"What! Why not!?"
Ranma looked her in the eye. "Look Akane, Ryouga's got two big
reasons for attacking me all the time. One of them I've wanted to tell
you for a long time. Thing is it's the kind of personal weakness I
have no right to tell anyone about. And since I'm partially
responsible for inflicting it on Ryouga, I can't say anything no matter
what the hentai does." Ranma looked at Akane, then continued, "The
second reason: I could tell you," *I don't want to tell you! If you
and Ryouga...* "but it's Ryouga's business. It's very personal to
him."
Akane looked at him and replied, "Ranma, if this feud goes on
you'll be endangering everyone around you. I think that's
justification for answering my question."
"If I break the trust and tell you Ryouga's secrets I'm no
better than my father," Ranma said. He spoke so quietly that Akane
almost couldn't hear him.
The door opened and Shampoo, Ukyo, and Kodachi walked in.
Ranma and Akane looked at the three girls in surprise. Barely three
minutes ago they had been fighting in front of the hospital; such
conflicts were seldom resolved so fast, or so quietly.
*What? Damn. I was so caught up in talking to Akane I didn't
hear them stop fighting.* Ranma thought to himself.
"What violent tomboy doing here?" Shampoo asked in an angry
tone.
"I didn't want to fight by the hospital, so I came in the side
entrance." Akane replied with a voice filled with annoyance.
Shampoo pulled out a pair of bonbori, when a man behind the
trio cleared his throat.
Shampoo looked back to see Owen shielding a cough with his
stone fist. Letting the appendage drop to his side, Owen said "You did
agree to a truce, right?"
Shampoo sighed and put her maces away. She made for the seat
opposite Akane, as did the other three. When Kodachi leaped over the
bed to land in the chair, Shampoo grabbed at her to pull her away.
Ukyou pulled out a pair of small throwing spatulas, then slipped them
away and pulled up a chair at the foot of the bed next to Akane.
"No fighting in the hospital. Right?" Ukyou said to the pair
on the opposite side of the bed. Shampoo and Kodachi looked at her and
took their hands off each other. Kodachi dropped into the chair with a
look of smug satisfaction. Shampoo glared at her a moment then pulled
up a chair of her own, pushing it so close to Kodachi's it touched.
She sat down, and suppressed a snarl at the black haired girl beside
her.
Ranma stared at the trio, feeling like someone had changed a
law of nature and forgotten to tell him about it. Clearing his throat
he said "Uh, is there something I should know?"
"Oh, Ranma-Sama" responded Kodachi before the others could
start. "You are here because your nobility of spirit brought you to
the defense of the helpless and weak. How could I not likewise shield
the people confined to this place by withholding my retribution against
these common scullery maids who seek to steal you from your one true
love?"
In the back of Owens mind Puck thought *Helpless and weak...
FOX!!* and started laughing uncontrollably. Owens mouth twisted into
something about a millimeter short of being a smile.
Shampoo and Ukyou glared at Kodachi a moment, then Ukyou added,
"A truce sounded right."
"Truce important." Shampoo said.
Ranma looked at the girls, then glanced at Owen who had a
barely perceptible smile on his face. "Thanks."
Owen glanced at the three girls, who were all looking much more
cheerful and relaxed at Ranma's approval. In the back of his mind,
Puck's raucous laughter at Ranma's situation increased in intensity.
Owen's smile increased by about six angstroms.
Akane sighed to herself as she walked home. With the other two
fianc�e's and Kodachi present, she hadn't felt right pressing Ranma for
details on the mysterious two grudges Ryouga had against him. She felt
even less comfortable thinking about Ranma's final remark before their
solitude was shattered. *'If I break the trust and tell you Ryouga's
secret I'm no better than my father.'* Just casually thinking about
Genma she could see his tendency to completely forget honor whenever it
was inconvenient. She was glad that Ranma was refusing to emulate this
in his father, and yet...
*I'd better try to avoid thinking about this.* Akane thought
to herself. *I don't even know why this upsets me. Everything I've
seen or heard about Genma doing is probably just a fragment of what
Ranma's personally witnessed.* She picked up her pace and focused her
eyes ahead of her. *Anyway, I don't think I can get Ranma to tell me.
However, I know a little more about it so I can find out from Ryouga
the next time I see him.*
"Hello Akane. How was your visit with Ranma?" Kasumi asked as
her sister entered the house.
"Well, I haven't gotten my answers yet. But, I will." Akane
replied.
"Oh yes." Kasumi replied, "Ryouga was by earlier and he asked
me to give you this." Kasumi pulled a letter from her apron.
Several hours ago, Ryouga had stepped from the Tendo's bath.
He had dressed in the spare set of clothing he had hidden within quick
searching distance from the Tendo bathroom, and tried to decide on a
plan of action.
*What will I do!* Ryouga thought for the seven hundred and
eighty seventh time that hour. *I've got to tell her how I feel about
her! Maybe it embarrassed her to admit that she likes me to her
sister, maybe once she knows my feelings she'll decide that I'm a
better choice than Ranma.* Ryouga had a hopeful look on his face,
which then collapsed. *No, she's mad at me now, she wouldn't take the
news of my real feelings well.* Ryouga thought. *But how can I not
tell her now. If I try to put it off she'll just get impatient, and
she'll be even madder at our next meeting. Wait, suppose I leave her a
letter...* Ryouga sat down and pulled a piece of paper and a
ball-point pen from his backpack. He thought a moment then began to
write.
Dear Akane:
Recent events have caused me to fear that I might be a danger
to others, and I am going off to train so that this fear of mine shall
never become a reality. When I return, I have something I want to
discuss with you. Please allow me to discuss it with you over a meal
at UcChans. I hope you will allow me this.
Ryouga Hibiki.
Akane looked up from the note. *Well, looks like Ryouga wants
to solve this too.* She thought, then frowned. *But training isn't
the answer; he has to end the feud with Ranma.* Then she smiled *Well,
at least Ryouga wouldn't try to weasel out of this.* Her smile became
a puzzled look as she thought, *But I wonder what those two reasons for
the vendetta Ranma mentioned are?*
Akane thought back to just after the meeting when she had told
"fianc�e's two and three" and Kodachi about what Ranma had said about
Ryouga's reasons for fighting him, and asked them if they could shed
any light as to what motivated Ryouga's grudge. Kodachi had gone on a
diatribe about how Ryouga was obviously jealous of Ranma; Ukyou had
looked her over grinned and professed ignorance; and Shampoo had
laughed at her and said "Violent tomboy too stupid to see bandanna!"
No need to recall the fight, except that it ended when her grappling
with Shampoo until they both dropped into a drainage ditch full of
water.
Ryouga Hibiki was trying to get lost. However being a Hibiki
the one place he could never reach easily was his destination. *Argh!*
he thought to himself as he passed UcChans for the fifth time. *Why
can't I find my way out of Nerima! I left Akane that note, so all I
have to do is go to China and find the Nanichuan and I can come back
and tell her how I feel. I hope she feels the same way... Stop that,
fear is the only thing that's kept me from telling her the truth a long
time ago. I just need to get rid of P-chan and I can face her without
shame!*
"Ryouga?" Came Ukyou's voice from the doorway he had just
passed. Turning around Ryouga saw that she had just taken down her
shops exterior curtains and was looking at him.
"Oh, hi Ukyou." Ryouga responded. *Hey, maybe she can help
me! But if I tell her what I want to do she'll want to know why I want
to go to Jusenkyo. Wait, I can say I'm trying to get some Nanichuan
water as a peace gesture for Ranma.*
"Hey I was just closing up, but if you're hungry I can make you
up something," Ukyou said "Besides, I wanted to talk to you about
something."
"Well, OK." Ryouga responded.
Ryouga sat at the seat before the large griddle, on which Ukyou
was rapidly assembling one of her perfect okonomiyaki. "Now, before I
say anything else I should mention that if you ever hurt my Ranchan
again, I'll feel compelled break you in half," she said, pausing to
glare at him.
Ryouga tensed up and reviewed his possible exits. He knew that
he could easily outfight her, but fighting a girl felt so very wrong.
"But I'm willing to let you off the hook this time," Ukyou
added, at which Ryouga relaxed. Pleased that Ryouga was afraid of her,
Ukyou flipped the okonomiyaki onto the plate before him and continued,
"You know Akane's looking for you. I mean, when we were leaving the
hospital, she was asking us about you."
"I know," Ryouga responded. "I'm going on a little trip to
take care of some personal business. But when I'm done... could you
help me tell Akane how I feel?"
"Finally!" Ukyou responded as she turned off her grill.
"Don't worry, I'll help you set up the right mood. Why wait though?
Akane's really intense about finding out what's behind your rivalry
with Ranma, and you're being gone is only going to annoy her."
"No, I can't talk to her about it, not yet anyway. That's why
I need to take this trip." Ryouga responded, picking up his
okonomiyaki and taking a bite out of it.
"Ok. One thing though, what is that second reason behind why
you're always fighting with Ranchan?"
Ryouga froze. His okonomiyaki fell to his plate, which
quivered a second than went still. Ukyou looked into Ryouga's eyes.
She raised her hand and waved it before those eyes. Ryouga swallowed
the bite of okonomiyaki in his mouth.
"Ryouga?"
"S-second r-reason?"
Ukyou looked at Ryouga with intense curiosity. "Akane said
that according to Ranchan there were two reasons why you attack him:
one that he couldn't talk about because it wasn't his business, and one
that he couldn't talk about because it was partially his fault.
"I'd say that you being in love with Akane is what's none of
his business, so what's partially his fault?"
*OH NO!!! I can't not tell Akane about Jusenkyo now, but if I
tell her she'll never forgive me, and could I think up something to
tell her? If I try to invent anything, Ranma will just tell her it's
not true, and I'm a really rotten liar anyway she'll see right through
me. WHAT AM I GOING TO DO!!*
"Ryouga?" Ukyou said in a worried tone as she watched Ryouga's
face distort through at least seven distinct panicked expressions. *No
eight, his eyes just rolled up in his head and... oh he's passed out.*
With a sigh, she looked him over, and upon dismissing the possibility
that he was injured, she started cleaning up her restaurant. When she
was done she looked at Ryouga again, and seeing he showed no sign of
waking up, she dragged him to the spare room. After slipping one of
her extra blankets over him she went to her room and prepared for sleep
herself.
----------
In part three, Akane's search for the Truth continues, Ranma
checks himself out of the hospital, and Ranma and Ryouga sit down and
make nice with each other.