Permanent part 13: Ryoga returns.
Akane flipped through the mail as she entered the home and sighed
lazily. She had just returned from a long day at school and Ranma was
following behind her, Ryoga sat in the living room waiting patiently for
them to return. He immediately began to follow the red head around like a
dog. Akane watched fascinated as the pair went from the room to the bath
and then down to the kitchen. This continued for most of the day,
whenever Ranma went anywhere in the home Ryoga followed, they even had
their bath together. She had almost run into them when they emerged from
the bathroom clad in towels and headed for Ranma's room. Neither of them
spoke to each other while doing so and neither appeared to notice each
other.
Later that evening Nabiki snorted and sat down in front of the
television and ignored the pair as they passed her on the way to the
dojo. "What is the point of curing him if he's just gonna act like he did
before anyway?" she said after they were out of earshot.
Akane gasped, Nabiki was right. Ryoga was acting exactly like 'Mr.P' did
when Ranma had first moved in, before he started to follow her around
instead. "Maybe it's a habit?" said Akane after a moment of thought. "Do
you think we should say something?"
"Please Akane, that is more than a habit. I think he's got something to
get off his chest the way he's following -her- around," said Nabiki
calmly.
"You think he's in love with her?" gasped Akane in shock.
"Quite possibly," said Nabiki without looking away from the show.
Ranma began his Kata in the dojo and Ryoga started his own on the other
side of the room. "How long you gonna follow me around Mr.P?" she said
idly as she kicked her leg out in a loose kick.
"I'm not leaving until you find a cure for yourself," said Ryoga
mechanically as he punched at his own invisible opponent.
"Well if your gonna stay you might as well make yourself useful; c'mon,
lets spar a little," Ranma stopped her exercise and faced him.
"All right," said Ryoga with a sigh as he put his hands up. "I'm a
little rusty..." he said and ducked under Ranma's kick.
"You'll do all right, come on," said Ranma eagerly with a small grin
forming.
Ryoga straightened up and put his hands in front of his face. He charged
at Ranma and swung missing her head by millimeters. He knew she was going
easy on him, of course, but it still felt good to come so close.
Ranma punched and kicked at Ryoga at speeds she knew he could dodge
well, testing his abilities. The truth was, she had never really fought
with him before. The thrill of a new opponent excited her, he was very
good and with a few weeks practice he might become a decent sparing
partner. He was far above Akane's level at any rate. Ryoga connected
lightly with a punch at her mid section while she was in thought. Ranma
steeled herself and frowned. She jumped over his head and kicked the back
of his neck lightly letting him know the match was over.
Ryoga sat down on the dojo floor still breathing pretty lightly and
looked at her coolly. "I've got to practice, I shouldn't be so winded
now," he muttered.
"Good, now you'll have something to do while you wait for me to come
home after school for a while," said Ranma as she sat down across from
him.
"I still haven't forgiven you for what you did to me you know," said
Ryoga a little bitterly.
"Then stop following me around until you get lost or some...thing...."
Ranma trailed off as she looked at Ryoga closely. He shrank back
uncomfortably from her gaze and swallowed.
"You!" cried Ranma in shock. "I know you! Your the guy from my old
middle school! Your -that- Ryoga?!" she said in amazement.
"You mean...you didn't know?" he stammered in equal surprise. "I
followed you to China after you ran out on our duel!" he cried in shocked
anger.
"Ryoga 'lost boy' Hibiki. Wow, who'd a thunk it? You were him all along
Mr.P," she muttered half way ignoring him.
"How dare you forget about me Ranma!" cried the boy angrily as he swung
at Ranma again.
The girl smirked and grabbed his head and arms in a complicated leg lock
that brought him to the ground helpless. "I waited three days for you to
show up. I figured -you- ran out on me, you cute little piggy," she said
with a sweet girlish smile.
"Don't you grin at me like that Saotome! I suffered to meet up with you!
Do you think I was on a casual stroll for three days?" he growled angrily
as he struggled to free himself from her grip.
"So, you followed me to Jusenkyo?" asked Ranma with her face becoming
sullen all of a sudden. It had turned an ashen gray.
Ryoga stopped struggling and looked at her suddenly. "Yea," he muttered
looking ashamed. "You knocked me off a cliff and into one of the springs
when you were chasing your father; He managed to fish me out of the pond
and brought me home to make dinner out of me after a couple of minutes.
You know the rest of the story...." said the boy a little bitterly
"I knocked you..." said Ranma looking dazed.
"And then you saved my life, as far as I'm concerned we're even for
that. You've saved my ass more times than I can even count since then,
there is no way I can repay you," said Ryoga firmly.
"I'm...sorry Mr.P," she said as she lay back on the floor of the dojo
with a sad gaze on her face. "How many other problems have I caused? What
else could I have missed in my macho brainless jock youth?" she thought
to herself with a few bitter tears in her eyes. "Damn you old man, why
did you have to raise me to be such an insensitive prick?"
"Ranma?" said Ryoga quietly as he noticed her face.
"Yea?" she said weakly.
"Look I love you like a brother, your a part of my family now ya know,"
he said quietly.
Ranma just looked at the ceiling and said nothing.
"Could you please let me go now?" whispered Ryoga.
"Why would she do that? You should be honored, I know boys who would
give a million yen to be in your position Ryoga-kun," said Nabiki from
the dojo doorway.
Ranma sat bolt upright and looked at her in embarrassed shock. "It's not
what..." she stammered.
Ryoga just turned beet red and stared at her in surprise.
"Relax guys, you two were making allot of noise that's all," she said
with a smirk.
"What's going on?" said Akane as she walked up behind her. She took a
single glance at Ranma and Ryoga and blushed almost as badly as Ryoga
did. She turned wordlessly and exited the room.
"Akane!" called Ryoga as he flailed in the dazed Ranma's grip. "It's not
what it..."
Ranma was just dazed and finally let go of Ryoga's head and arms. The
both of them looked over at Nabiki in unison.
"Oh no, you two are on your own for this one I'm afraid. Unless you can
some how come up with a million yen?" she said as she raised an eyebrow
and looked at them greedily. "I didn't think so, Ja!" she chirped as she
exited the room.
The pair sat in the center of the Dojo for a while and said nothing.
Finally Ranma spoke up. "Ryoga, go home."
"What?" said the boy with a look of horror on his face.
"Take a few weeks off; Go find your family or at least your house. When
you get back I'll let you stay with me until I find a cure, but you need
a break. Enjoy being human for a while, go on a training trip or
something, when you get back you have to start school," she said to him
with a friendly smile.
"At least I'm not behind," he muttered as he remembered that he would
indeed have to return there at some point, especially if he had Ranma to
lead him there.
A few minutes later Ranma sat in the living room with Akane and her
family around the dinner table. "Ranma we need to talk," said the girl
looking extremely embarrassed.
"What is it Akane?" said Ranma after she had been lead away from the
table and onto the porch overlooking the koi and the dojo.
"I realize that you are happy to see Ryoga and all, you two must have
had a hard time, him being a pig and all...but you could be a little more
secretive about it..." she whispered.
"What the hell are you talking about Akane?" said Ranma in confusion.
"Well, I sort of understand and all, but Kasumi is a little old
fashioned," said Akane.
"Huh? You mean..." said Ranma looking a little sick.
"Well, little things like the bath and changing together," said Akane as
she tried to calm her a little.
"Akane, this is Mr.P were talking about here; He'd get lost if I didn't
lead him around. It took him three day's to find the bathroom in my
apartment once, and it only had two rooms," said Ranma looking at her
queerly. "Besides, he's seen me lots of times; He's not some sex crazed
pervert."
"You are being safe about it aren't you? I'd hate to see you get
pregnant. Your too young for a baby," said Akane in a hoarse whisper.
"What do you mean? I don't know any spells that would cause that. Even
if I did there would be a counter sp..." Ranma turned completely red. "I
AM NOT SLEEPING WITH MR.P!!"
The shout was heard in the living room and Soun glared at Ryoga. "What's
this about young man?"
Ryoga had frozen in terror and turned red once again. "I didn't do
anything I swear," he whined pathetically.
Nabiki only smiled and munched on a potato chip casually.
Kodachi Kuno had not come out of her lab in a week. She glared at charts
and graphs. She had mixed countless compounds and elixirs and still had
come up with no explanation for her brother's condition. She growled low
and tore at the folder that contained yet another failure. "This will
drive my poor school girl heart to madness!" she said sweetly as she
looked in a nearby mirror. Her mannerism changed instantly as she turned
away from it and ground her teeth in frustration. "I know! I have it! The
perfect solution!" she said as a look of joy appeared on her face. She
turned and hugged the table that had once held her notes. "I'll ask my
brother!" she cried looking proud of herself.
Kuno sat in his room on a large backless chair with a pair of reading
glasses on. He was holding a book of the great works of Shakespeare up to
the light and reading quietly. "Ah, but the great bard's words make my
soul sing!" he sighed as he used his wings to flick another log into the
large fireplace that he sat in front of, he was becoming quite adept at
using them. The book he held was immense and held all of Shakespeare's
works. It was about three feet long and bound in heavy leather, it was
hand written on heavy hand pressed paper by some ancient monk in a
monastery many years ago and was Kuno's prized possession, it weighed
about a hundred pounds. [It was made to be used on a bookstand.] Kuno
held it up to the fire light easily in his clawed hand and casually
flipped the pages with his other. Kodachi stormed into the room and stood
before her brother.
"Sister dear, did you not know it is the custom to knock before you
enter the chambers of another?" he said with an exasperated sigh.
"Where? How? Where did you get those accursed wings?" she demanded with
a maddening gaze.
"Funny that you should call them cursed," snorted Kuno as he ruffled
them and folded them back into their most relaxed position. He used to
fear his sister a little, not much, but enough to stay generally out of
her way. Now he didn't fear much at all.
"Tell me brother or I shall..." threatened Kodachi with a maddening
glare at the boy.
"Or you'll what? I doubt seriously that you could do much to me any
longer sister as I am far stronger and more skilled than you now. I take
my own meals and trust you not. Therefore I see no real reason to partake
in any of your delusional questions. I have no wings, any fool can see
that, 'tis just another fit of your madness," said Kuno casually as he
returned to his reading.
Kodachi frowned and glared at him with almost homicidal rage she shook
with anger and resentment for her sibling. "Fine if that is how you want
to be, I shall leave you," she said with her voice shaking in
frustration.
Kuno peered at her from behind his book and a conflict arose in his mind
for a moment, a small pang of guilt burned in his stomach. "If, and I say
IF, I had wings...which, I add, I do not. They could only be the product
of magical workings, be content with that sister," he said finally just
as she was about to exit the room. He smiled as the guilt vanished and
returned to his book.
Kodachi froze in place and looked over to him with an expressionless
face. She turned wordlessly out the door and into the hall. "Magic? Is
such a thing possible?" she wondered. "It seems I have at task for you
Sasuke..." she said as her servant emerged from the shadows nearby.
"Fetch me a sorcerer."
TBC...