Permanent.
Ranma 1/2 and all related characters
are owned by Rumiko Takahashi and are used without permission.
A sort of moody fic that I churned out today. Came out pretty good so far
hope fully will get more action oriented later on...
Ranma Saotome sat by the window of the small apartment she had rented
and sighed. In the past year she had not spoken unless it was absolutely
necessary; ever since the incident in China; her father sat in the corner
and snored loudly, while Mr. P wandered into the room looking lost as
usual. It had been hard to find a place that would accept pets,
especially a giant panda; but the Manager of the apartment had been so
impressed with the human like manners of the panda that she had allowed
them to remain.
She only did two things now, train and work. She had managed to get a
job in a local diner; it was barely kept open by its clientele of old men
and women. She worked as a waitress; and had thus far been able to pay
the bills and keep her and the old man fed. The place was going under
and she didn't think it would last.
She watched the rain hit the glass on the window as a small shower
began, it was the beginnings of a much larger storm as thunder rumbled
softly in the distance. Mr. P jumped up beside her and watched the shower
quietly from her lap; almost out of habit she reached down and tightened
the bandana around his neck. Outside people scurried away into the cover
of buildings; She watched couples dive into secluded corners together,
laughing or huddling close in each other's arms; a deep sorrow filled her
heart as the images taunted her; it was something she would now never
know. Finally tiring of brooding alone she stood, dropping the pig to the
ground gently, and walked into the center of the room and began her Kata.
The panda rolled over to watch her. "Again?" said its sign. She
intensified her movements growing faster and stronger with each blow.
"Your obsessing boy," said the other side of the sign.
Ranma knew it must be bad if her father thought she was obsessing over
martial arts. "What else have I got left?" she asked herself in her mind.
No answer came.
Ranma weaved through tables with a grace that other women only wished
they could attain; her movements where quick and sharp as she flawlessly
tended to her duties as if they where nothing more than an afterthought.
Tomorrow she would begin school; She did not like her father's decision
but she did not want to argue with him; it seemed to be a waste of her
breath, lately every conversation seemed to be a waste of her breath. She
passed a table with one of her regular customers and smiled; She didn't
really feel like smiling but it was part of her job.
Mr. Daimoko watched Ranma flow around the tables with her usual zeal and
unnatural dexterity; but something was not right, she was depressed from
the moment he saw her. The sad girl did what she had to and more in her
work, often seeming to take to a task as if it were a challenge. She was
quiet and never rude to the customers, a model employee; but the air of
depression was still there. "I hope she pulls through a young girl like
that should enjoy her life," said a customer to him.
"Yup, she is an excellent employee," replied Daimoko turning his gaze
back to her again. "Easy on the eyes too, I only wish I was as young
again," He could have sworn she spared him a spiteful stare for a split
second.
Ranma walked home and sat at the table with her father and Mr.P as they
ate dinner in the usual way, a free for all battle, although Ranma
occasionally sided with Mr. P to be fair. She had picked up the pig from
Jusenkyo after she and her father were cursed. The guide and her father
had dropped into a pot of boiling water alive to cook it for supper.
Ranma had walked in and saved it after it refused to die after several
minutes. She had beat her father for trying to eat anything he had caught
near the springs even after knowing about the curses and nursed the pig
back to health; Only to find her suspicions true, it had been a man once.
The two had a sort of bond between them, almost like a rivalry each
understanding and sympathizing with the other's situation. Mr. P was a
name they both just sort of adopted over time, as opposed to "pig" and
the like.
Early the next morning, Ranma changed into her uniform, the skirt was
longer than it needed to be and the blouse loose. Then she put on a thick
pair of glasses and tightened the bindings around her chest her long red
hair was in a loose ponytail with bangs that covered most of her face.
She walked towards the door only to find Mr. P waiting for him. "I
suppose you want to come?"
The pig nodded with a look that said, "You are not leaving me here all
day with -him-."
Ranma offered a rare smile and scooped him into the bag with a warning
glare; Mr. P knew what it meant. "Don't wander off." Ranma walked out the
door and onto the street; she immediately jumped onto a fence and walked
purposefully towards the school. "I suppose he's trying to cling to some
sort of humanity," she thought as she felt the pig move around in her
bag.
At the school a large group of boys had gathered and was attacking a
lone girl who was wiping the floor with them. Ranma watched for a moment
before she felt someone's eyes on her; She grew uncomfortable and moved
through the crowd, silently weaving her way between the boys looking at
the ground as she quickly navigated the crowd without coming into contact
with a single student. Once inside the building she let out a deep breath
that she had not realized she was holding. Students who had long since
grown used to the battle passed her and moved to their own lockers and
classes without giving her a second glance. Ranma brushed her bangs back
for a second and let them fall back into her face before moving out of
the gaze of a particular group of girls to find her own way around the
halls.
Nabiki Tendo watched the new arrival walk silently through the crowd
unnoticed. "Who is that?" she wondered aloud. She looked at the girl
through a pair of binoculars intently and smiled. She was a pretty girl
and well trained in some form of martial arts judging from the way she
moved through the crowd with ease, often ducking into shadows unnoticed.
"That's not something you learn in a Dojo." Nabiki frowned a little as
she followed her movements.
"What?" gasped one of the girls next to her.
"Find out who the new girl is," ordered Nabiki just before the girl
disappeared into the building; Her target turned and looked straight at
her right before she went in. "She's known I was watching her the whole
time," thought Nabiki coolly.
"New girl? Sure thing boss." replied the girl as she scurried away.
"Class this is Miss Saotome, a new transfer student who has just
returned from a trip to China," Ranma bowed as the Teacher introduced her
to the class. "So Miss Saotome tell us about yourself."
"No." Ranma walked to her seat in the back of the class ignoring the
old man's confused look as he struggled to recover. She surveyed the room
around her and noticed that the girl who had been fighting the boys in
the courtyard was in the front row. The teacher began class again after
recovering his wits; Ranma sat silently as the students watched her for a
while and then forgot about her.
Three weeks pass...
Ranma and the pig sat at the small wooden table that sat in the center
of the apartment with pages of work sitting in front of them; Mr. P had
taken to doing the assignments the teacher had given the class. She
stopped long enough to watch for a moment as he wrote with a small
inkbottle and the tip of one of his hooves. The girl had long ago learned
his real name, but Mr. P had stuck even then. Ranma frowned as he signed
his paper "Ryoga Hibiki" and looked at her; she had been beaten again by
the pig. She supposed School work made him feel a little human again;
"Keep it up pig." She flicked him in the head with her index finger and
smiled for a second before she got up and walked towards the door again;
"Off to work," she thought a little sourly.
The next day a group of girls approached Ranma as she sat in her corner
of the courtyard during lunch. "Hello," said the one in front that she
recognized as the 'fight girl' Akane Tendo. "I'm Akane, I've seen you
around but never really gotten to talk to you." The red head looked at
her evenly and said nothing. "Ranma is it? I was wondering would like to
go with us for ice cream after school or something?" the girl pushed back
her long black locks of hair looking amazingly cute in the process. Ranma
felt herself blushing and tried to stop it only making it worse. Akane's
smile broadened; "You don't have to be shy."
"No thanks, I have to work." Ranma stood and walked away after smiling
politely for a moment.
Later after gym class she stood in the shower staring at the wall. As
always she waited for most of the girls to leave before entering everyone
had just assumed she was just shy. She watched the water drain into the
hole in the floor through the steam; for the first time in a long while
she did not thing how much she hated the water as she bathed. She could
not get that girl out of her mind. "Perhaps its because she was the first
to speak to you for a long time," her mind reasoned; She turned off the
water and leaned on the wall as she tried to make some sense of her world
again. "Maybe its time you got over this," said a voice in her head, a
voice that was no longer hers, the voice of a man.
She put a fist through the wall and growled. "Never," bitterness seemed
to punctuate every word she spoke as of late. The few remaining girls in
the shower shrieked and walked out quickly. She pulled her hand from the
hole to see a frightened looking boy on the other side staring at her
face through the hole, she grinned at him with a dark look in her eyes,
after a second the boy's eyes started to wander downward. Ranma wrapped
her towel around herself and walked out of the shower leaving him staring
at the falling water and steam.
Daisuke could not believe his eyes; the most beautiful girl he had ever
seen had almost punched him in the face...by putting her fist through the
wall. "Who Was that?" he wondered. He knew he would have noticed a girl
like that walking around, there was just no way he could miss it.
It would be almost three days before Daisuke was proven not to be
insane. He wandered around asking about the beautiful red haired girl who
had put her hand through the wall for the rest of the week.
"Jeez Daisuke, the only girl around here with red hair is that creepy
Saotome kid; maybe she should go out with Gosunkugi," Hiroshi snorted
crudely at his joke during lunch the day after the incident.
"Don't be gross, she was a goddess," Daisuke's eyes glazed over as he
desperately tried to picture the event in his mind again.
Then on Friday...
Tatewaki Kuno stepped out from behind a tree in front of Akane Tendo
with his bukoten held ready. Ranma was less than three feet behind the
girl hoping to get by before the carnage started again. "Shit," muttered
the girl as she tried to pick up her pace to avoid the fight before it
started; As she had planed Kuno did not notice her, unfortunately he also
did not notice slicing her bag in half as he swung at Akane. Ranma
stopped wide-eyed staring at the bag half in her arms; the pig was gone.
"Ryoga!" cried Ranma softly as Kuno's foot came down on the other half
of her bag without thinking She threw herself into the boy and knocked
him away from the bag.
"Who would Dare?!" roared Kuno as he turned to see a small average
looking girl bent over half a bag holding a small pig. "How dare you
interfere-" he spoke until she looked up at him.
"He's cut." She gave him an angry stare that bored deep into his own
eyes; the pig in her arms had a shallow gash along its side.
"What?" said Kuno not quite comprehending the situation yet.
"You hurt my friend." said the girl she did not say it with emotion, she
had spoken evenly and coolly as if she was giving the time. She stood up
and removed her glasses before flexing every muscle in her chest; tearing
the tight and restrictive binding on her breast, finally she reached up
and tied a ribbon from her bag onto her hair creating a more manageable
ponytail and clenched her fist at her sides after laying the animal on
the ground gently.
Kuno and the rest of the student body gasped as the normally quiet girl
went from an average, cute looking, but quiet and odd girl; to a stunning
and fierce looking pissed off babe, in a matter of seconds. The girl
looked at the pig as the animal glared at Kuno angrily nursing its side.
"I challenge you," said Ranma calmly.
Kuno laughed and smiled his best smile at her. "Very well if you win I
shall allow you to date with me."
"If I win there won't be any of you left to date," growled the girl as
she stepped back and remained relaxed.
Kuno swung once, that was all; Ranma was on him immediately, she crushed
him easily, pounding on him for almost a full minute; strategically
placing blows to keep him standing although he wanted to fall after the
first; Kuno collapsed in a heap when it was all over.
"Wow," said Akane as she looked over Kuno and noted he had a long red
mark in the same manner as the pig did along his side, his Kendo uniform
was torn to shreds along the area she had concentrated most of her blows.
It would make a rather nasty bruise for some time. Ranma walked towards
the school with the pig cradled in her arms. She held it in a respectful
manner, not that of a young girl comforting a pet. Akane watched as the
girl disappeared towards the nurse's office.
Nabiki ran up to Akane and frowned as she desperately tried to catch her
breath and speak at the same time. "We have to find out where she lives."
"Why?" asked Akane after clearing the daze from what she had just seen.
"Akane are you blind?" asked Nabiki with a surprised look crossing her
features for a moment.
"What do you mean?" asked the younger girl as she tried to turn her
attentions from the girl's diminishing figure.
"She was using the Anything Goes style, you of all people should know
that," said Nabiki coolly with a smug smile.
"Only two families practice that style that is rediculo-" Akane
stopped; Nabiki was right.
Ranma walked towards her home and watched the two girls follow her
silently as they could. "Come on out, you aren't hiding from anyone
Tendo," she said after a few bocks. Akane stepped out of hiding and
blushed at being caught. "And the other girl." Nabiki grumbled and
stepped from her own spot. "What do you want?"
"Where did you learn to fight like that?" asked Akane.
"My father taught me," said Ranma turning away.
"Wait!" called Akane after her.
"What is it?" sighed Ranma.
"Why do you act like that? Would it hurt you to smile?" She looked at
Ranma with a sad expression almost pitying.
"You wouldn't understand," Ranma turned away in disgust, she didn't need
pity.
"How do you know?" asked Nabiki.
Ranma sighed again and turned to face the girls again; She had not
spoken this much in a long time. "Well, what do you want to know?"
"Where did you learn the any thing goes style?" asked the older girl.
Ranma gasped. "How do you know what it's called?"
Akane smiled as Ranma gaped at the sign on the gate to her home. "Weird,
eh Mr.P?" she asked the pig. Akane was a little surprised when the pig
nodded in reply.
"Your pig is so cute! Can I hold him?" asked Akane smiling at the pig.
"If he wants to let you, he isn't really a pet. Just don't put him down
or he'll get lost," answered Ranma not really paying attention.
"Hello young lady are you interested in taking a class with us?" Soun
Tendo appeared next to the three girls from the gate; he had walked out
after seeing Ranma staring at the sign.
"No thanks, I already know the style; although I am a bit surprised to
see some one else teaches it."
Soun looked at her oddly. "Well now, I doubt that miss...?" said Soun
warily to the girl.
"Saotome, Ranma Saotome," replied girl; Soun gasped and staggered back
as he attempted to stay conscious.
Soun sat across from the girl looking cheerful as she nervously looked
around. "So how is old Genma?"
"Gone," replied Ranma casually.
"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that." Soun looked a little pale suddenly. "You
have a brother I understand?" the man tried his best to sound cheerful.
"I am an only child," answered Ranma.
"And your Mother?" asked Soun desperately attempting to control his
emotions.
"Haven't seen her in ten years," said the girl, she was looking less
and less interested in the conversation, but she was at least trying to
be polite.
Soun looked at the girl in shock. "That is truly sad," he tried his
best to look dignified.
"How did you know my father?" asked Ranma suddenly in a suspicious tone.
"We were best friends for many years training under the same master,"
replied Soun barely holding back tears.
"I see." Ranma frowned and turned away from him absently.
Akane looked at her softly from her place at the table; it explained
allot about her; the girls family was gone and she had to work to support
herself and who ever she was living with; Desperate to end the tension
Akane piped up. "Ranma, you want to go spar in the Dojo?"
Ranma turned to face her and a small smile formed on her lips, "sure."
Ranma recognized Akane's style from earlier fights and never gave it a
second thought; but now up close and personal she saw that it was indeed
Anything Goes style. Even though it was a little rough and inexperienced.
Ranma flipped over Akane as she Charged at her screaming "This time for
real!" She landed behind her and tapped her on the back of the head.
"Wow, your pretty good." said Akane laughing. Ranma soon joined in; it
was the first time she had laughed in a very long time. "It's getting
late, won't somebody get worried about you?"
"I live alone," said Ranma. "Well, just me and the animals." she
corrected.
"Oh," Akane looked surprised for a moment.
Soun walked up to the pair. He had been watching for some time now and
spoke up. "Someone as young as you living alone?"
Ranma turned pale, if she was turned over to the government now who
knows what would happen to her father and Ryoga. "I-I uhhh..."
"I feel responsible for you young lady. Your father was a good friend
who helped me keep my sanity over those terrible years of training with
the master. If Genma had a son then our two families would have been
joined through Marriage. Therefore, I would like to think of you as
family, I would be honored if you would stay with us." Soun started
crying a river of tears.
"B-but, you just met me, and I uh..." stammered Ranma
Ranma did not know what to say to the man; they had returned to the
living room and sat around the table again as Soun made his proposition.
It would help her considerably to have a stable home and not have to
worry about scratching together enough to pay the rent and feed her and
her 'family'; she frowned and thought for a moment. "I accept...on two
conditions, One is that you allow me to keep my animals, and the second
is that you allow me to pay rent."
"Very well. I hope they are well trained," replied Soun as he seemed to
beam happiness.
"You could say that," was all Ranma could think to say.
Nabiki was sitting with the pig in front of the television going over
some problems in her notebook and doing the budget. "You're right that is
wrong," she corrected and looked to the pig it nodded and pressed some
numbers on her calculator. "Right that should do it," she said to it and
it squealed happily.
Soun saw this and sweat. "Lets go Mr. P, we have some stuff to talk
about at home." The pig jumped into her arms as she passed and the two
walked out into the night.