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Untitled #2
By X-ile
xile@crosswinds.net
http://www.geocities.com/CollegePark/BookStore/7706/
"Stupid old lady," a red head girl muttered. "Can't believed she got me wet." Not
knowing anything else to do, the young girl made her way to the front gate of Furinkan
High School. She was a bit shocked at the welcoming crowd. <<Weird>> Ignoring the
stare from the group of boys, she walked to the front entrance expecting the group to
depart. However, the boys just stared at her and didn't move one bit.
"Would you mind getting out of the way?" she snarled.
"Little Lady, please escort yourself from the presence of I, Tatewaki Kuno, the Blue
Thunder of Furinkan High School," Kuno said proudly. Unfortunately, he didn't bother
to watch the glowing red girl in front of him.
"WHAT THE F*** DID YOU SAY?" the redhead growled.
"As expected, such foul manner from the peasant that you are."
"PEASANT!?"
"Oh, such boyish attitude from one so young. Such unladylike mannerism. Unlike
the fierce tigress of Tenod Akane. For no such female exists that surpass the might of my
love."
"AAAARRRRGGGGHHHHH!" The redhead charged Kuno with pure rage.
"Hahaha, for one so young to attempt to best the mighty Kuno. Very well, if you
win, I shall allow you to date me." Kuno took his fighting stance as the redhead charged.
<<I'm going to pound the F*** into the ground so hard, he's going to emerge on
the other side.>> Red curtain covered her eyes as she leaped at the so called samurai.
With a twist in mid, air, she landed a few feet away from the kendoist and went full out.
With kicks and punches faster than the eye could register, she became a blur around
Kuno.
The audience watched in awe as the redhead pounded the living day light out of
Kuno. So immerse in the display, they completely ignored the approaching Akane.
Like usual, Akane ran into the hoard of boys like the day before. The problem was,
no one was attacking. Her temper immediately rose a couple of notches at the fact that
they had the nerve to ignore her. With a scream, she charged into the unsuspecting
crowd.
Before the group even registered the scream from Akane, they were sent flying.
Once finished, Akane scanned the surrounding and almost lost her footing at the sight a
few meters away. Before her, a red blur surrounded the Kendo captain. Even from this
distance, she was certain that Kuno was already unconscious, but his body was jerking
within the blur. <<Kami-sama! They're going to kill Kuno. I got to stop this.>> Akane
quickly made her way and shouted at the top of her voice, "STOP THIS!"
Suddenly, the blur dissolved into a figure with its back toward Akane. The body
was still tensed and breathing heavily. The sudden impact of Kuno on the ground startled
Akane out of her gaze. Akane ran over to the prone Kuno and turned him over. She
quickly gasped at the sight. Kuno was completely covered with bruises and cuts. From
the way the body was bent, she estimated that he had several joints dislocated. His
shallow breathing indicated possible cracked or broken ribs. She was about to tell
someone to call an ambulance, but stopped at the sound of approaching siren.
Akane looked at the figure and stomped toward it. Though, she didn't like Kuno,
she had never in her life attacked him that seriously. She was going to give a peace of
her mind at the reckless of this girl's action. <<I don't care who you are, but you're not
going to get away with this.>> "WHAT THE HELL DID YOU THINK YOU'RE
DOING"
The figured ignored Akane and turned toward the entrance.
Akane quickly grabbed her shoulder and forced the girl to face her. As soon as she
saw the pure hatred and cold stare, she knew she made a big mistake. Akane audibly
gulped at the sight. A cold shiver ran down her spine.
Without word, the redhead turned and left the area. As soon as she was out of sight,
Akane drew a few nervous breaths. For the first time in her life, she was scared.
Terrified was more like it. The hatred she saw in the redhead's eyes plagued her. She
wasn't certain what happened to the redhead, but she knew one thing for certain, she was
dangerous. Deadly dangerous. Akane quickly grabbed her bag and ran to class.
Some floors above the fight, Nabiki stared at the retreating form. She was
extremely thankful that Akane was able to stop the fight without getting injured. As soon
as the fight started, she left immediately and called the hospital. For some reason, she
knew that pompous head Kuno was in way over his head and if the fight didn't stop,
Kuno would probably be dead. Who ever that redhead was, she needed to know. Both
for her family safety as well as everyone else.
Just as Akane arrived in class, the final bell rang. As soon as she was seated, she
noticed a boy with pigtailed standing at the front of the class. From the way he stood,
she knew he was a martial artist. Unfortunately, he was a boy and she hated boys. Just
as she was about to look away, something caught her attention. He has the clearest blue-
gray eyes she had ever seen. The eyes were almost identical to the redhead this morning.
<<Could it be they're siblings?>> Though Akane wasn't completely certain, she needed
to talk to him about the redhead. If they're really siblings, then maybe he could talk to
her about this morning fight.
The teacher entered the room and the class rose to their feet and bowed. "Everyone,
I would like you to welcome Ranma, er, .."
"Just Ranma," Ranma flatly.
"Er. Right. Lets welcome Ranma to our class. Please tell us a little bit about
yourself."
"No."
"Er. Well, umm.. Just take that seat behind Miss Tendo," the teacher said
nervously as he pointed to the seat near the window.
As Ranma was about to move, a girl shouted, "Do you have a girlfriend?"
"None of your damn business," Ranma said coldly.
The comment startled everyone in the room. The teacher didn't know what to say.
He thought about disciplining the new student for the foul language, but the coldness in
the voice stopped him. <<I'll just ignore it this time.>>
Akane stared blankly at the boy as he made his way to his desk. As he passed, she
felt an aura of extreme anger and sadness. Again, she felt shivers ran down her spine. It
seems that Ranma was just as angry as the redhead girl from this morning, Akane
thought. <<Maybe, I'll just wait before talking to him.>>
At lunch, Ranma made his way out of the room and found a tree nearby.
Unfortunately, it's the same tree that Akane sat with her friends.
Some distance away, Akane and her friends were talking about today `big' event,
namely Ranma and the redhead girl. Most of the topic came down to his attitude and
how much it resembled the redhead. Lost in their conversation, they didn't noticed
Ranma until they were a few feet away. The group stopped and watched, as Ranma ate
his lunch, not entirely certain on how to approach this.
Looking up from his lunch, Ranma asked flatly, "Is there a problem?"
Quickly, two of the girls shook their heads. Akane was about to tell him that he
was sitting in their spot, but her friends quickly dragged her away. Turning to her
friends, she snarled, "What you do that for?"
"Come on, Akane. He's in a bad mood and messing with him is a bad idea."
"Yeah, very bad," confirmed another.
"We'll just sit at a different tree, ok?" pleaded Yuka.
Akane just sighed and nodded. They found a tree nearby and sat down to finish
their lunch. From where Akane sat, she had a pretty good view of Ranma. Ranma was in
a lotus position and eyes closed. Suddenly, she noticed a dark red aura surrounded
Ranma and disappeared. Seconds later, the aura reappeared with the same color, but
much denser.
<<Concentrate, damn it. Can't loose control like that. Breath. Breath.>> As
Ranma concentrated on his meditation, the dark red hue enveloped his entire being. He
knew about it, but ignored it since it's pretty common. Common for him. What he didn't
know was the growing crowd that came to watch. Some with fear, others with curiosity,
few in awe, and the rest didn't know what to make of it. None of this ever interrupted his
meditation until a horrid laughter echoed through his mind. He tried desperately to
ignore the voice, but to no avail. Frustrated, he released his aura along with the scream,
"AAARRRGGHHH!" Painting from the released, he eyed the startled crowd for the
source of the sound and stopped upon a brown ponytail girl holding a black rose.
"Hohohoho, my what a man," Kodachi whispered. "Please, let me introduce
myself. I am the rising star of St. Hebereke High School, Kuno Kodachi, the Black
Rose."
Unfazed, Ranma narrowed his eyes. <<Kuno?..Kuno?.. Kuno! The same
family of that idiotic fool.>>
"You may introduce yourself to my presence, commoner," said Kodachi,
confidently.
Ranma raised his brow and sneered at her. <<She's not worth the trouble.>> With
a wave of his hand, he turned and walked away from the stunned gymnastic.
"H-How dare you turn your back in my presence, commoner!" Kodachi screeched.
Everyone at that time wisely decided to move away from Kodachi. Ranma on the
other hand continued to walk away completely ignoring Kodachi and her ranting. Just
then, his sixth sense kicked in and he leaped out of harm's way.
"I suggest you leave before I give you a free visit to your idiotic brother," Ranma
warned.
"To think a commoner like yourself could ever defeat me in a combat," Kodachi
said, nose held high.
"Yeah, and only a psychotic moronic fool would stand there," Ranma snickered.
"Vile peasant! I shall show you no mercy," yelled Kodachi as she leaped into
attack. Only moments later, she flew back toward the wall surrounding the school. With
a loud crash, the wall crumbled to the ground.
Ranma made his way over to the fallen body and picked her up by the neck. "Next
time, I won't hesitate to kill. Listen and listen very carefully. I fight to kill. So unless
you wish to die, then you better leave me alone. I don't even want to hear your voice. Is
that understood?" To his surprise and disappointment, the girl laughed her head off.
Shaking his head, he connected his fist against her head, knocking her unconscious. He
warily dropped her on the floor and left the scene.
Everyone quickly made way for him. From the look in their eyes, one emotion
dominated all others, fear. Fear for their life. Fear for their friends. Fear for their
family. Fear no one dared denied. Even the so-called `Ice Queen' of Furinkan felt that
fear. As it turned out, many members of the audience had to leave quickly to change
their uniform.
Akane watched Ranma walked pass her and the rest of the student body in the yard
and shuddered at the fact that he didn't have any objection to hitting girl, pretty, rich, or
not. As soon as he disappeared in the building, her knees gave and fell to the floor where
she decided it was best to stay until she could find the nerve to walk back to class. The
worst part was she sat right in front of him and she had no idea if she could remain calm
enough for the rest of the day.
After what felt like several hours, she finally gathered enough courage to walk back
to class where she found Ranma seating at his seat staring out the window. She noticed
that everyone was standing as far away from him as possible. She also didn't need any
special ability to see that a dark purple aura surrounded him. She gulped as she slowly
made her way to her seat and tried to push down the fear she felt growing with each step.
By the time she made it to her seat, the bell rang, startling her from her intense
concentration. It also stopped Ranma from glowing in class and the rest of the student
found enough courage to find their seat while keeping very aware of him. She released a
breath of air as the teacher entered the room and began her lesson. She didn't hear much
of the lesson, though. She was too much aware of the presence behind her.
Akane was very relief when the last class came around as she quickly left the room
to change into her PE uniform. Today, they played softball while the boys watched. In
the beginning, she was very tense but soon loosen as she forgot about her trouble and
enjoyed the game. Near the end of class, she stepped up to bath and hit a line drive that
headed directly for the meditating Ranma. Her eyes widen in horror as it planted itself on
his right cheek.
Ranma opened his eyes and scanned the field and stopped his gaze on Akane. She
was holding her bat loosely, her eyes wide with fear, her left hand trembled, and her body
tensed. He removed the softball and held it in his hand and squeezed until it exploded
into dust. He dusted himself and left the field without saying a word. Even the teacher
ignored him.
Akane sighed in relief as he left the field. She wondered if she should go and
apologized to make sure there was no hard feeling and that he didn't come back for
revenge or something similar. With a heavy sigh, she walked off where Ranma last
disappeared. As she reached the top of the hill, she found Ranma walking by the pool
and almost tumbled down the hill at the sight of a soak red head. She quickly gathered
herself and followed him to an abandon building.
She quietly crept through the building, cautiously scanning the area all the while
keeping her guard up. Even with all her precaution, she never felt the presence behind
her.
"Why did you follow me?"
Akane `eeped' and jumped away from the source and took up a fighting stance.
She found damped Ranma standing loosely and his expression hard, eyes staring at her
intently.
"I-I." she began, but lost her voice. She took several deep breaths and started
again, "I-I came to say. um.. I-I'm sorry."
Ranma looked at her curiously, "What for?"
"F-For the baseball. I didn't mean to hit you," she explained.
Ranma snickered and waved his hand, "It's nothing. I had worst, much worst."
Wit that said, he turned and walked deeper into the building.
Akane watched him for a moment and rushed after him. "Wait!"
Ranma never paused, "What now?"
"T-The redhead."
He paused, "What about her?"
"S-She's you?"
They remained silent for a moment, "Yeah," he stated flatly.
"Um. How?" she asked, her curiosity got the better of her.
"It's a curse. That's all you need to know."
Ranma walked up the stairs until he reached a large living area. From the scene, it
was recently cleaned and made livable. She watched him removed some items from a
pack and began cooking.
"You live here?" She took the grunt as a `yes' and wondered around the area. The
building had been a small apartment complex that was abandoned after a fire several
years ago. There were still some old sofas, wooden chairs, and tables left standing or
were partially touched by the fire, but wasn't worth repairing. She paced around the
room while keeping Ranma at the corner of her eyes. He was cooking some rice and
fishes.
"Why are you still here?"
Startled by the sudden questions, she paused for a moment to compose herself. She
thought about and realized that she didn't know. She should had left after apologizing to
him and forget she ever met him. So, why was she still here? Was she curious? Maybe.
She shrugged, "Don't really know. I guess I'm just curious."
"Curiosity killed the cat," he spoke plainly.
Then she remembered who she was talking to and felt a shiver ran down her spine.
With that thought, she backed away to the stairs and ran out of the building as quickly as
her legs would carry her. After some distance away, she leaned against the wall and
placed her hand over her chest. Her heart was beating almost erratically.
By the time she reached home, it was almost diner and quickly went into the
bathroom to clean up. As she left, she found Nabiki standing at the door with an intent
look.
"You followed him," she said in an accusing voice.
Akane didn't say anything. There was no denying, especially to her sisters.
"Why?"
"I-I just wanted to apologize," she said weakly.
"For what? What could be so bad that you need to do something so stupid?"
"I-I hit him with a baseball," she whispered. Somehow the reason didn't seem so
strong right now.
"Who cares! I could care less if a car hit him."
"It was the right thing to do," she retorted.
"Right thing!? Are you crazy? He's dangerous! You could have been hurt or even
kill for that matter," she yelled in anger. It wasn't like her to loose her control so easily,
but what Akane was totally reckless and she needed a good scolding.
"I can take care of myself! I'm a martial artist too!" she shouted defensively.
Nabiki cried in frustration, "You might be a martail artist, but there's no way in hell
you can take him on. So, shove that stupid martial art pride of your and think logic for a
moment. He took out Kuno Kodachi like it was nothing. He hit a girl! So don't even
think he'll hold back against you!"
Akane looked dejected with her head lowered. She knew she wasn't in league with
Ranma, but she didn't like to be reminded of it, especially by her family.
"Listen Akane. Stay away from him. For your safety, stay as far away from him as
possible."
Akane just nodded and left for diner. Nabiki watched for a moment before joining
her for diner. She had a lot of research to do. So far, there was little information
available other than those she got from the school record, which was close to useless.
Strange, that there was no family name listed in the record. Other than the basic
information of height, age, etc, there was nothing else.
No relatives.
No guardian.
No one.
Just him.
Just Ranma.
Diner at the Tendo was relatively quiet until Soun cough, eliciting everyone
attention.
"I have great news from a old friend of mind," he said happily.
Nabiki watched her father intently while keeping a neutral expression. She had
more important issues to consider than worry about some friend of his. If she knew her
father, and she does, that friend will be some fat freeloading bald guy with a big appetite,
which mean the income will be strain even more. If that were the case, she would have to
find new source of income. With Kuno in the hospital, she won't be able to gather her
regular allowances.
"He and his son have been on a ten years training trip and have recently crossed
China," Soun continued.
"Oh, China," Nabiki tried to sound enthusiastic.
"So, what's so good about China," Akane voiced her rather annoyed tone.
"Heheh. Well, he and his son should be returning soon."
"What are their names?"
"Saotome Genma and his son Ranma."
At the mentioned of `Ranma', but Akane and Nabiki gasped and stared wide eyes.
"What does Ranma look like?" Nabiki asked after her business expression returned.
"Heheh, I don't know," he said nervously.
"You know know."
"Nope," he shook his head.
"Do you even know how old he is?"
"He's the same age as Akane, I believe."
"Do you know when he's coming?"
Again, he shook his head, "No."
"Then how do you know he'll be here?"
Soun pulled out the postcard from his sleeve and handed to Nabiki.
"'Bringing Ranma home from China. Genma'" Nabiki read. She flipped the card
over and found a picture of a panda chewing a bamboo with a postmark. She eyed the
imprint. "This date almost seven months ago."
Soun nodded. "They should be here any day now."
"Right. Well, I'll just hold my breath till they're here," she said sarcastically.
"That's spirit," he said, completely missing the undertone.
Nabiki dragged Akane from the diner table and headed to her room. Once inside,
she locked the door and motioned for her to sit at the bed.
"Do you think this is the same Ranma?" Akane asked.
Nabiki shrugged, "I don't really know, but I would definitely place my bet on him."
"What're we going to do? What if he comes to live with us?"
"I don't think that's going to happen. From all indications, I don't think he even
knows about us."
"What about his father?"
Nabiki was silent. What if Genma did come? Father would blindly bring him into
the house along with Ranma without realizing the danger. How can you prevent that?
"I don't know, Sis. But I'm going to everything to make sure they never step a foot
into our home," she said, determined.
"I hope so," she said with hint of uncertainty.
"Don't worry. I always keep my promise. First, I need to confirm if our Ranma is
the same Ranma dad was talking about."
"Couldn't we just ask him?"
"Are you kidding? We have no idea on how he'll react."
"I guess you're right."
"Let me worry about the detail, but I want you to stay away from him."
****
"Save me. Please. Save me," the voice echoed in the darkness.
"I'm coming!"
"Please, help me!" it cried out, desperate.
"Hang on!" the other voice assured.
"Ran-chan! Help me!"
"Ko-chan! Just hang on!" it pleaded.
"I'm sorry," the voice came weakly.
"NO! Imouto!" it cried out in pain and agony.
"HAHAHA! You'll never get to her!" another voice taunted.
"NNNOOOOOO! Ko-chan! NOOOOOO!" Ranma awoke screaming in the
abandon building, sweat coated his forehead and hair. He swallowed the lumped and
pulled his knees to his chest and cried softly.
"I'm so sorry, Ko-chan. I'm so sorry," he whispered between his sob. His body
shook as his sobbing became louder. After a while, her regained his control over his
emotion and sat still. He reached into his backpack and pulled out a photograph of a red
hair girl in blue silk shirt and black pants. He traced the face and his control whimpered
for a moment. He closed his eyes and returned the photo to it secure place. He walked
over to the broken window and stared at the morning sun as it peaked over the hill.
*****
"Remember what I told you yesterday," Nabiki reminded her sister.
"Yeah, I know. Stay away from him," she repeated with slight annoyance.
"This isn't some game, Akane," she scolded.
"I know. You don't have to repeat it."
The two sisters walked along the canal in silent until Akane spoke, "What happened
to the Kuno?"
Nabiki shrugged, "They're in the hospital. What else?"
"Are they ok?"
Nabiki quirked her eyebrow, "What? Do you care about him?"
"Of course not," she shouted. "Even though he's a jerk, I don't think he deserve to
be hospitalize or worse."
"Well, from what I gathered, he was released from intensive care last night and is in
stable condition. He has fractured bone on his left arm, cuts, bruises, concussion, several
broken ribs and one of them gazed his lung. Nothing serious, though. The doctors
operated on him and they said he would be ok in a few weeks. Don't worry. Before you
know, he'll be back annoying you."
"Yeah, swell." After a moment she asked, "What about his sister?"
"She's in psychiatric care. After they took her hospital and fix her up, they tried to
talk to her, but all she did was laughed her head off. It didn't take long for them to come
to a decision."
Akane remained silent for a moment and gave a soft sigh, "I guess some good came
out of it."
Nabiki only shrugged and pointed ahead, "It looks like your admires are waiting for
you." She gave a quickly glanced to her sister before running ahead.
"Just great!" she gritted. She clenched her fist and prepared for her morning bout.
She took a deep breath and prepared to dash into the mass when she noticed something
out of the corner of her eyes. She looked toward the roof and found Ranma hopping over
the rooftop in a casual pace. Moments later, he landed near the front of the gate with his
back to her. She noticed that he paused for a moment and pulled something from behind
his back.
****
Ranma stood before the assembled male students. With a detached view he noted
that they were just standing there staring at him. He wondered if they had forgotten
about the previous day. He placed his hand behind his back and moved across the yard.
Once he reached the leader of the group, he cocked his head and asked, "Why are you
still standing there?"
The poor guy snapped back to reality and fell on his posterior. He quickly rose and
composed himself. He swallowed once and said nervously, "I'm second in command of
the Kendo club at Furinkan High School. W-We're gathered here to a-announce that y-
you're not welcome at this school."
"Said who?"
"Our Keno's Captain Kuno Tatewaki."
"Really? And if I refuse?"
"By order of our captain, we will force you," he said with more confident as his
fellow members prepare themselves.
"And how do you expect to force me?"
In answer, he and those behind him drew a katana from behind their back and took
their stance. Ranma smiled at the crowd and then grinned.
"Are you willing to die for your captain?" Ranma asked politely as he matched
before the group.
"W-What?" the leader asked, started.
"I said, `Are you willing to die for your captain?'"
"W-What does that have to do about anything?"
Ranma paused in his step and glanced side way, "Because I will kill you in a
challenge," his voice was cold. Before anyone could grasp the meaning, he darted into
the crowd faster than the eyes could see. Several metallic sounds echoed through the
morning and flashes of metal flickered in between the group. Once the echoed die,
Ranma was standing in front of the leader with his tanto neatly held against the throat.
"Now, let me ask you again. Will you die for your captain?" His eyes bored into
the senior student with such hatred that he wet his pants as he gave a whimper `no'.
"Good." Ranma withdrew his blade and it disappeared behind his back. The leader
collapsed on the ground, shaking, and finally fainted. Ranma gave him a glance before
moving pass the parted crowd. As he did so, everyone one of the blades held by the
Kendo's club fell to the ground, all cut in half.
****
Nabiki cursed from her position at the window. She cursed the Hiro for his
stupidity for following Kuno's order when he should have known better. She cursed her
lack of attention when she came in this morning. She should have seen that coming.
That idiot Kuno was going to get people hurt or even killed. If she wanted everyone to
be safe, she needed to talk some sense into Kuno. It was be the only thing that might
save him from a confrontation with Ranma once he healed. She called her lackeys and
gave them specific instructions to follow Ranma, but keep their distance and to keep her
update with Kuno's progress.
****
Akane watched in amazement and fear as Ranma moved through the crowd and
sliced through the blade with single movement. It was like he knew exactly where the
next movement would be. Her fear became full blown as she saw the tanto arched
toward Hiro. She nearly collapsed in relief when it stopped before breaking the skin.
She couldn't quite hear what was said, but whatever it was, Hiro was shaken
because he fell to the ground, on the verge of tears. She hurried to check on him and
found he only fainted and almost laughed when she noticed the wet spot on his pants. As
a matter of fact, she saw welt spot on all of the members of the Kendo's club as she
walked pass them.
As she approached her class, she found the entire class roster standing outside in the
hall, all-waiting for the teacher. She peaked through the door and found Ranma sitting at
his seat, staring out of the window. She backed away and scanned the students again and
sighed. They were all waiting for her to take the first step. She steeled herself and
entered the classroom with as much confidant as she could.
"Are you Tendo-san?" Ranma asked just before Akane seated.
She nearly jumped in surprise. "Y-Yes."
"Are you related to a Tendo Nabiki?"
"S-She's my sister," she said nervously as a more amount of fear entered her voice.
"I need to see her. Can you take me to see after school?"
`Why does he want to see Nabiki? Did she do something to him? Is he going to
hurt her?' The last thought caused her anger to boil. "Why do you want to see my
sister?" she said in control anger.
Ranma stared at her for a moment and said flatly, "I need information. Rumors
from the students suggest that she could help."
"Y-You're not going to hurt her?" She had to make sure.
"Why should I?"
Akane was at a lost for words. She wasn't sure if that meant he won't harm her or
not. "Well."
"If your sister find the information I'm looking for and don't give me any trouble, I
have no intention of harming her."
"I-I see." After a moment, she nodded, "I'll talk to her at lunch and see where she
wants to meet."
Ranma only nodded before turning to the window.
Akane sat in her seat and released a breath in relief. `That was more intense that
my regular workout.'
****
"Come in, Akane," Nabiki called from her seat.
"Hi sis."
"What does Ranma want?"
Akane shrugged and sat down. "I don't really know. He just asked to speak with
your about finding some information."
Nabiki thought for a moment, "Is that all?"
"Yeah. That's about it."
"Did he mentioned anything else? Like what he would do with that information?"
She shook her head, "Nope. He just want to find some information."
"I see." She paused for a moment, "Fine. Tell him to meet me here after school on
the promise that he will never harm anyone within our family and I'll do what I can to get
whatever information he needs."
Akane nodded. "When he asked to see you, I asked him if he was going to hurt
you."
She raised her eyebrow. "And?"
"He said, `Why should I?'"
"What else?"
"He just said that he has not intention of harming you as long as he gets the
information he wants and left along," she said as she ate her lunch.
"That's comforting," she snickered.
"Oh, did you find anything about him?"
"As a matter of fact, I did. It seemed that a Genma Saotome is wanted in several
cities throughout Japan for petty thief and the dishonor of several family he stayed at."
Startled, "What did he do?"
"Apparently, he promised Ranma to the family in return for food, shelter, or a heir
to the Family's Dojo. Afterward, he and his son would disappeared with their dowry."
Shocked, "Y-You're kidding?"
"Afraid not. Looks like Genma planned to do the same thing with us."
Akane jumped to her feet and fumed. "There's no way I'm letting him take the
Dojo. I'll kill him."
Nabiki grabbed Akane's sleeve before she could march out of the classroom.
"What do you think you're doing?"
"What else? I'm going to make him pay!"
"This is not the time. Also, I don't think Ranma was even aware of what was
happening."
Anger forgotten, she gave a confused look, "What do you mean?"
"Sit down, Sis, and listen. Good. Most of the claims are about 10 years old."
Still confused, "So?"
Nabiki gave an exaggerated sigh, "Ten years ago, Ranma would only be about 6 or
7 years old at most. There's no way he could have known of the engagement."
"You mean he was should when he was that young?!"
"Apparently so," she said nonchalantly.
"B-But, how could his father do that to him?"
"There's more."
"More?"
"Ranma has a sister. A twin sister with red hair and blue eyes." She waited for a
few moments before the comment registered, "Sound familiar?"
Akane made an impression of a fish, "You mean that same girl that was here
yesterday?"
"Exactly. She matched the description exactly. I've been trying to locate her since
yesterday, but she somehow disappeared."
Akane was about to comment on the curse, but decided to wait. She didn't want to
upset Ranma because she reviewed something he didn't want. If Ranma were wondering
around Japan with his father with his curse, people would think they were twins. How
did Ranma get the curse? Was he born with it? If not, who gave him the curse and why?
She shuddered at the thought of living with a curse all her life that changed her into a boy
or something worst. Is that why he always angry, yet sad at the same time?
"Hey, Akane," Nabiki nearly shouted.
"Huh? What was that, Sis?"
"Yessh, You haven't listen to a word I've said the last 15 minutes. What were you
thinking anyway?"
"Oh, nothing. Just thinking to myself," she said quickly.
Nabki was not convinced, but ignored it for now. "Whatever. Just stay away from
him when you're not in school."
She waved her hands as she left the room without saying anything.
****
Akane met Ranma as he was about to enter the class. "Hi," she said sheepishly. He
stared at her for a moment and gave her a nod before entering. She stood there at the
door and blinked a few times before she realized that she was standing alone. She
walked up to Ranma and said, "Ranma, I talked to Nabiki and she said that you can see
her after school in her classroom."
"Thank you," he said without looking at her.
She bit her lower lips as she contemplate on what else she should say, but found
nothing so she sat in her seat and stare at the chalkboard. After a few minutes, she gave a
frustrated grunt and turned to face Ranma. She stuck out her hand and said cheerfully,
"I'm Akane. Do you want to be friend?"
Ranma was startled at the proposal. Since his return to Japan, this was the first time
someone had taken the chance and offer friendship. For a moment, he thought about
hugging the girl, but quickly pushed the idea away. He stared at the hand and then at her
face. He noted that she has a smile on her face that seemed to lighten his day. He also
noted that there wasn't any fear behind the eyes, but hope. Hope? Why? He wasn't sure
how to respond so he stared at the girl.
Akane watched Ranma carefully and was surprise to see confusion etched his face.
It was like he never had a friend before. The thought saddened her and found herself
sympathetic with him. She also saw a glimmered of hope behind his confusion, but he
continued to stare at her, wondering what he should do.
Just as he was about to reach for he hand, a shout from the door stopped him and his
blank expression returned. She silently cursed the interruption and glared at the entrance,
only to find an angry Nabiki glaring back. She left her seat and followed her sister
outside.
****
Nabiki grabbed Akane by the elbow and dragged her back to her classroom. "What
the hell do you think you were doing?"
"What?"
"Don't give me that! Just what the hell were you thinking! He's dangerous."
"I was only asking to be his friend," she replied hotly.
"I don't give a damn. You don't come near him. He's dangerous!"
"B-But," she tried to retort.
Nabiki interrupted, "But nothing. Stay away from him. That's not a request,
Akane. As your older sister, I'm ordering you to stay away."
Akane clenched her fist and grind her teeth, "Fine."
Nabiki grabbed her elbow again, "Promise me!" she demanded.
Akane paused, "I promise to stay away from outside of school." `Unless he accepts
my friendship,' she mentally added.
Nabiki looked like she wanted to say something more, but released her grip instead.
****
At the last bell, Ranma followed Akane to Nabiki's classroom where Nabiki waited
with some of her lackeys. At Ranma presence, she dismissed all but one. She motioned
for Ranma to sit at a desk across from her. Akane settled next to Nabiki, on the other
side of the lackey.
"I hear you're looking for information," she said flatly. She raised her hand before
Ranma said anything. "Before we get started, I want to make a few things clear. First of
all, my service isn't cheap. However, I'm sure we can work out some kind of deal.
Second, I want you to guarantee that no one in my family is harm. If they are, I'm going
to make your life hell."
Ranma scowled but said nothing as Nabiki listed her criteria. Once done, he gazed
at her and said coolly, "As I told your sister, I won't harm anyone as long as I'm left
alone. As for payment, I can handle that."
"Good, it seem we understand each other. Now, what kind of information do you
need?"
"I need you to find who Saotome Genma married and locate her."
"Why?"
"Personal reason."
"Fine. I usually charge for this kind of research, but I have an offer for you."
He narrowed his eyes, "What?"
"I want your promise that once you have your information, you'll leave Nerinma
and never returns."
"Even if I do agree, how do I know that your information is accurate?"
"You'll just have to trust me."
"I trust no one."
"That's too bad, because I'm not moving a finger until I get your promise."
Ranma thought for a moment, "Fine. If your information is correct and I do find
her, then I won't return to Nerinma. Otherwise, I'll be back looking for you."
"Then we have a deal," she said with a smug face.
Ranma stopped at the door, "Oh, one last thing Nabiki-san. I don't like threats and
I don't like your hounds following me. The next time I notices them, I will retaliate."
Ranma smiled, "Have a good day."
The girl next to Nabiki looked at the departing Ranma nervously. "Nakike? Do we
still. you know. follow him?"
Nabiki took a moment before answering, "No. I don't think there's any need and I
don't want to risk getting rid of him. I want everyone to concentrate on finding Saotome
Nodoka."
The girl nodded and quickly left the room. As soon as she was out of sight, Akane
turned to her sister, "What was the big idea of running him out of town?"
"The idea is to get rid of him," she retorted.
"He just wants to find his mother," she shot back.
"And he will once we locate her."
Akane looked like she was about to pull out her hair. She glared at her sister before
stomping out of the room.
****
Ranma rested on the sofa in the abundant apartment and stared blankly at the
ceiling. He was lost in his daydream when he heard footsteps from below. He flipped
off the sofa and pulled out his tanto and faded into the background and waited. Moments
later, he saw a shadow and leaped at it from behind, tanto drawn and held at the neck.
"R-Ranma!" the voice shouted in surprise and shock. "I-It's me. A-Akane."
Ranma blinked a few times before he recognized the voice and lowered his tanto,
but still remained tense.
"What are you doing here? You could gotten kill!"
Akane heaved a sigh of relief and swallowed a bit. "I-I came to see you and
apologize."
Ranma quirked his brow, "Apologize? For what?" He handed her a cup of water.
"Thank you. I want to apologize for my sister."
He snorted, "If your sister wants to do something, I'm sure she can do it on her
own."
"I know. I just want to say I'm sorry anyway."
Ranma nodded and settled on the sofa with the tanto on his lap. After long silent,
he spoke, "Why?"
Confused, "Why what?"
"Why did you offer your friendship?"
Akane shrugged and sat across from him. "I don't really know. I just thought you
could use a friend."
The two remain silent until Akane offered with outstretched hand, "Do you want to
be friends?"
Ranma stared at the hand for a long time before he slowly reached out and clasped
it. He gave her a small smile and said softly, "Thank you, Akane. This means a lot to
me."
****
[End of Chapter 1]