Will You be my Fiance?
(A Ramna 1/2 Alt History)
By Ammadeau
Roy.Fokker@UNSpacy.org
http://www.angelfire.com/anime/amma
Once again thanking pre-readers who helped me with this: Angus
McSpon, Ronny Hedin, Thomas Hackwood, and LarryF.
***
Soun awoke and immediately picked up the postcard from
his bedside table. This had recently become a part of his morning
ritual, his first act of each new day. The front of it proclaimed
'Greetings from China' and displayed a picture of the famous
Chinese sumo pigs in action. Soun flipped it over and read the
simple message there as he had done countless times before.
"Bringing the boy back from China to fulfill our promise."
Oddly, though, in place of a signature was a hoof print.
Chapter 6: Two Kings, Two Queens, and a Pair of Jokers
Soun didn't know what the hoof print meant, but it was
clear who the postcard was from. It was nearly a week old, but that
was to be expected. His old friend was forever getting himself lost
-- it was how they had first met -- so it always took him at least
twice as long to get someplace as anyone else. They could have
guests any day now, but he wasn't sure if the household was ready
for what their arrival would mean.
Soun had subtly probed Akane about the situation yesterday
and had received what was to him a very favorable response, if
perhaps a touch too vehement. Akane was his first choice, since
being heir to the Tendo Stone Fist School of Martial Arts, it only
made sense that she be the one to pass on the school to the next
generation.
Kasumi had been his second choice, since knew well how
stubborn Akane could be sometimes, even with things that were for
her own good. After what Kasumi had said over breakfast
however... He still couldn't get over how his normally polite and
calm daughter had nearly been shouting at him. From Nabiki or
Akane he could expect such behavior, but not Kasumi. A bit of
their dear mother in all of them, he supposed.
*Hmm, I should still have a few days. There has to be
something I can do to prepare for their arrival.*
Kodachi took her breakfast in her garden. Exotic plants,
especially the black roses, extended nearly as far as the eye could
see in all directions. She liked to crowd the plants in, especially
near the edges of her greenhouse, to shut out any sign of the Kuno
mansion just outside.
It wasn't that she wasn't proud to be descended from the
noble line of Kuno, she just had trouble with the rest of the current
crop. Her father was more absent than anything else. He had
never really concerned himself with her even before he had left for
Hawaii, except when she needed a haircut. Her brother had been
bad enough when he'd just been under the delusion of samurai-
hood, but his sudden and odd fixation on a dumpy tomboy had
made him even more irritating. The sight of his room, with
pictures of that girl posted on every available surface, was enough
to turn Kodachi's delicate stomach.
But perhaps the most annoying member of her family was
her mother.
"Dachi dear, are you in there?" Aika called from an open
door, thereby ruining the carefully regulated temperature Kodachi
maintained for her plants.
*Speak of the devil and she shall appear.*
"Yes, mother," Kodachi replied in a carefully neutral tone,
setting down her tea and mentally preparing herself for whatever
burden her mother would be setting on her shoulders this time.
There was always something.
Last time it had been samisen lessons once again,
something Kodachi hadn't liked when they had been forced on her
as a child. It was a testament to the will of her instructor that the
woman had actually appeared for the second lesson, though she
ended up quitting half-way through it. As usual her mother didn't
have a word of protest over Kodachi's behavior; she only went on
to the next thing to mold her daughter into the image she held for
her. An image that Kodachi was determined to never conform to.
Aika slowly made her way to the small gazebo in the center
of the greenhouse. "Dachi-chan, must you really take all your
meals in this garden of yours? I think it's a trifle unsanitary.
Besides, I want us three to eat together as a family. The way I
hardly see you any more, it almost seems like you're avoiding your
dear mother."
*That's precisely what I'm trying to do,* Kodachi thought,
but instead said, "My garden needs careful tending, mother. These
plants are quite fragile and need to be watched over often."
Aika nodded as she took the chair opposite. Kodachi
frowned slightly. She could have sworn that she had personally
removed all the chairs but one. She was the only one allowed to be
comfortable in her garden.
"I could hire a gardener to look after this place for you. We
can easily afford it," her mother told her in a reasonable tone.
Kodachi knew that the Kuno fortune was mostly from a
series of business interests from her mother's side of the family.
Despite the fact that Aika was now CEO of all that, she still
seemed to have plenty of time to meddle in the affairs of her
children. At least Tatewaki took up some of their mother's time.
Kodachi shuddered to think what her life would have been like if
she had been an only child.
"I prefer to tend to them myself," she said with a small trace
of anger, though none of it showed on her face. This was far from
the first time that her mother had suggested that she give up her
garden. And that was something Kodachi would never do.
"That's your choice, Dachi dear. Besides, I have something
more important to discuss."
Kodachi delicately raised one eyebrow. It was unlike her
mother to give in to anything so easily. What she had in mind this
time had to be worse than her usual schemes to shape Kodachi into
a paragon of the cultured and docile Japanese woman.
"Perhaps this should wait until after school? I've yet to
finish my breakfast and have to be going soon." That would at
least give Kodachi time to prepare herself against this, whatever it
would be.
Aika shook her head. "It won't take long to explain, and I
still need time to make certain preparations."
"Speak your mind, mother," Kodachi said, attempting to
sound friendly, though on the inside she was even more worried
than before. Perhaps her barbarian fiance had finally arrived and
mother wanted them married before Kodachi could find a way out
of it. No, that couldn't be it. Knowing her mother, the first she
would hear of it would be at the altar.
"Well, you know how your mother always wants the best
for you, Dachi-chan..."
Kodachi nodded, just to get her mother to get on with it.
She needed to know what it actually was before she could begin to
plan some countermeasures against it.
"Seeing as how you're inexperienced with men, which is
probably my fault for sending you to that all-women's school, I
thought it would be best to give you some experience before you
finally meet your fiance, to help things go more smoothly."
Kodachi could only look back at her mother in horror.
Aika had done some outrageous things in the past, but she simply
couldn't believe that she would hire some male prostitute to have
sex with her own daughter.
Aika took Kodachi's choking sounds as agreement and
continued on. "So the son of a friend of mine, who seems quite
experienced with dating, has offered to take you out for a night on
the town. Isn't that nice of him?"
Kodachi let out a relieved breath, unaware that she was
nodding along with what her mother had just said. A date with
some playboy would probably be hell, but she was more than able
to defend herself from his advances. At least it wasn't what she
had thought.
"Good!" Aika exclaimed, sounding very excited. "Now
don't you worry about a thing. I'll have the whole night planned
out for you, and I'll even pick out a dress for you to wear. All you
have to do is be ready by eight o'clock."
Kodachi frowned. She knew that with her mother there
was no way she could back out of this now. Aika was too good a
manipulator to let her daughter escape something when she had
gotten her to agree with it. Of course, there were plenty of things
Kodachi herself could do to make sure this date would be a failure.
"Mother?" Kodachi called out to Aika as the latter made her
way out of the greenhouse. "What is the name of this boy?"
Perhaps if she knew more about him, she could get him to cancel
this date.
Aika replied with a smile. "Ranma Saotome, Nodoka's son.
Don't worry, Dachi. He's a perfect gentleman and as handsome as
they come."
Kodachi barely noticed her mother finally leave, feeling
only a slight chill as the temperature dropped a bit from the door
being opened again. She didn't know how to take her mother's
words, especially considering the man Aika had married.
"Ranma Saotome?" Kodachi said out loud as she sipped at
her now luke-warm tea. "Where have I heard that name before?"
Soun slowly went though his morning exercises, starting by
stretching a bit to warm up, and then slipping into some medium
level katas. The same thing he'd been doing for nearly ten years
now. No need to push himself. His dream of becoming one of the
top sensei had gotten tangled up with his wife's dream after they
had gotten married, and when she had died, his dream had died
with her.
He still kept up his morning practice because there was
something comforting about its familiarity. He could lose himself
in the motions of his body and forget all his troubles for a little
while.
Not today, however. Soun really lived for only one thing
now: his daughters. He wanted their happiness more than
anything else in the world, and to him that meant marriage.
Unfortunately, each seemed reluctant in her own way to pursue a
relationship. Only the very best would be good enough for daddy's
little girls, but their lack of interest just made his job harder.
An arrangement with an old friend took care of one of
them, but what of the other two? He had held off on considering
the matter until that was all settled, but now he wasn't sure if that
had been wise. Kasumi was already nineteen, two years older than
her mother when they were wed. Perhaps the engagement should
be given to her, since his other daughters, being younger, would be
easier to find husbands for. He really had his heart set on engaging
Akane there, though.
He could wait and see what happened with the arranged...
but no, it was his hesitation that had created this mess. If he had
acted sooner Kasumi, and possibly Nabiki, would already be
married right now, caring for their own families rather than their
broken-down father. He had a duty, to his children and to his
departed wife.
Genma was not, by his own admission, the smartest man in
the world. He really had only two specialties: martial arts and
food. In any other area he was often operating blind, and things
had a tendency to go right over his head.
However, after nearly two decades of marriage, he had
learned a thing or two about his wife. Her giant grin as she served
breakfast had to mean something bad for him. This couldn't be
about the boy's dates two nights ago, because she definitely hadn't
been grinning like this. This was more of a 'I can't wait for
something to happen' grin than a 'I'm so glad everything went so
well' one. He knew it had to have something to do with her having
her friends over yesterday, and Genma was a bit afraid to find out
what. When that group got together, the amount of trouble was
always multiplied. He always did his best to stay as far away from
them as possible.
"Genma, our son is so manly that he already has another
date for tonight!" Nodoka announced suddenly.
She had waited until Genma was in the middle of a frenzy
of eating / stealing food from his son to mention this. Her
announcement froze him in mid-theft, the purloined pickle
dropping out of his now loosely-gripped chopsticks.
Ranma could have taken advantage of this, but he found
that he had suddenly lost his appetite. He had managed to forget
all about the date in a haze of training last night, but his mother
wasn't one to let him slip out of this easily. He was still dealing
with the aftermath of the first one, though he wasn't sure if that was
the right word for it.
"How did this happen, boy?" Genma asked his son in anger.
He had been doing his best to instill the ideal in his son that
women are basically evil -- except for his mother and sister of
course -- and should be avoided at all costs because they will do
anything to interfere with Ranma's training. Unfortunately, the boy
had the tendency to listen to his mother much more often than his
old man.
"Mom set this one up," he explained with a frown.
"I thought we agreed that you wouldn't do that any more,
dear," Genma told his wife as politely as he could manage at the
moment.
Nodoka smiled, not seeming to notice the anger in her
husband's voice. "But this time it's as a favor to an old friend, I
couldn't very well say no. Besides, Ranma has already agreed to it
and I'm sure the girl is looking forward to spending time with our
manly son. We can't disappoint the both of them now, can we?"
Genma nodded absently; he knew it was hopeless to argue
with his wife. He hoped once again that his old friend would
finally arrive so they could get this whole matter settled once and
for all.
"Is there something you want, Father?" Kasumi asked
delicately. Soun had been glancing at her occasionally as she
tidied up the living room. Normally, after Akane left he would
spend an hour or so reading the paper, but he seemed distracted
today.
"No... wait, yes there is. Kasumi, could you come here for
a moment?"
Kasumi's eyes opening slightly wider was her only sign of
surprise as she finished up what she was doing and sat down across
from her father. She felt a bit nervous at the way he was staring at
her, as if attempting to uncover her darkest secrets by willpower
alone. Kasumi didn't have any secrets from her father -- well
except for one...
Soun struggled for a way to bring up the topic he wished to
discuss. Finding no way to be casual about it, he decided to get
right to the point.
"Kasumi, when I was your age your mother had just given
birth to you. I can still remember holding your tiny body in my
arms, deathly afraid of harming you. I was terrified and yet when
your eyes looked up to me, it was the greatest moment in my life. I
had never been so happy, not even when your mother agreed to
marry me."
Kasumi could only stare back. She felt warmed by her
father's obvious emotion, but wondered why he was telling her this
now of all times. It certainly seemed to her to have come out of
nowhere.
Soun shook his head to clear it of the memory. The last
thing he wanted to do now was start bawling again. "What I'm
trying to say is that you should be experiencing that joy right now
instead of taking care of your old father like this. I've foolishly let
my duties slip for you to be unwed for this long, but I think that it's
time for you to seriously consider marriage."
It was some moments before Kasumi could even speak.
This was the last thing she had been expecting. There might have
been a time when she would have been happy for her normally-
apathetic father to take an interest in her like this, but that was
before she had found her own way to fulfill her dreams.
"What... what do you mean, father?"
"We will be having guests, perhaps as soon as tomorrow.
A very old friend of mine and his son, who happens to be about the
same age as Akane and is heir to the other branch of Stone Fist
Martial Arts. On the birth of this son, we pledged that our two
schools would be joined."
Soun looked up at his daughter in surprise when she started
to make choking sounds. "Are you all right, Kasumi?"
"I'm fine, father," Kasumi managed to say, feeling that she
was anything but at the moment. She knew, deep in her heart, that
Ranma was just about to finally overcome his shyness and ask her
out -- and now to find out that she had an arranged fiance since she
was a few years old! She was still too shocked to be saddened by
this news.
"I had planned to only tell you and your sisters when they
finally arrive so everything could be settled quickly, but after the
way you and Akane reacted over breakfast yesterday, I wasn't sure
if this was the best idea any more."
Kasumi was surprised at all the bitter replies that suddenly
came to mind, but was able to keep her silence.
"I hope to engage him to Akane; the bond of one martial
artist to another would be best for the school. Then the Tendo dojo
could become a working dojo once again, with the two of them to
teach. Akane's dislike of the boys at school makes this easier in
this way, of course, but I have the feeling that she would not accept
this arrangement with open arms."
Kasumi sighed, nearly laughing in relief. Her father wasn't
interfering in her life after all. Still, he was interfering in Akane's,
which was nearly as bad. Kasumi felt a bit ashamed of her relief
when to hear this burden was being put on her sister's shoulders
instead of hers. "So what would you like me to do, father?"
"Everything possible for Akane to accept this arranged
marriage. We both know how stubborn she can be sometimes, but
this really is for her own good. She always listens to you; perhaps
if she's difficult about this you could help her to see what a good
idea this engagement is."
Kasumi nodded. "I'll see what I can do, Father." She
wasn't about to force her own sister into a marriage she didn't want,
but there was also no way she was going to marry this boy herself.
She would have to wait and see this potential fiance first before
passing judgment. It was possible he could be an acceptable match
for her sister after all.
"And if Akane proves too resistant, I want you to consider
an engagement with this boy. Though I have yet to meet him, his
father assures me that he is a fine young lad and will make an
excellent husband."
"I don't think so," Kasumi said quickly, frantically thinking
of any way to convince her father that she was not a possible
option. "He sounds too... immature for me. Akane really is the
better choice."
"Well, hopefully Akane will accept him and we won't have
to worry about that. Then I can arrange an omiai for both you and
your sister. I already have the name of a nakoudo who has been
very successful in finding good matches in the past, and has yet to
have a single failure."
Kasumi frowned slightly. It seemed like her father had
suddenly become determined to interfere in their lives and wasn't
going to rest until all three of his daughters were safely engaged.
She could tell him about Ranma, but she was worried that her
father might scare him away. He was so timid around women that
it had taken her months just to get where they were now. If her
father suddenly appeared, spouting things about engagements, it
would surely destroy everything she'd worked so hard on.
"I already have... someone special."
Soun blinked, then he smiled. "That's wonderful. Who is
he? Why didn't you tell me about him before?"
"I'm... afraid I can't tell you who he is. He has certain
problems with his parents interfering in his life so we've been
keeping our relationship a secret, for a little while longer at least. I
will bring him to meet you once that's been all cleared up,
however," Kasumi explained nervously. It wasn't exactly a lie; she
did know that Ranma's reluctance around women stemmed from
his parents, and that their friendship was something he was keeping
secret to keep them from interfering with it.
Soun scratched his chin thoughtfully. "I'm not sure if I
approve of you seeing a boy I know nothing about. I have to see if
he's the right man for you, Kasumi."
Kasumi sighed, wishing her father would go back to his
normal apathy. "He's very kind and sweet, if a bit shy about some
things. I know you'll like him once you meet him, father, just give
us a little more time."
After a few moments, Soun finally nodded. "Very well,
Kasumi. I'll trust your judgment in this, but I can't approve of
marriage until I've judged this boy for myself. Only the best will
do for one of my daughters."
Kasumi smiled gratefully. It would be some time before
Ranma would be ready for that. Hopefully, her father would have
gone back to his old self by then.
Soun went back to the paper to hide his grin. He was sure
that if he just followed his daughter around for a bit, he could meet
her boyfriend and be able to discover quickly if he was the right
one for her. Once that matter was settled, he could begin on
helping Nabiki.
"Mom got you again, huh?" Hitomi asked as she and her
brother walked slowly to the bus stop.
"Yeah," Ranma muttered, his head down.
"Don't worry, I won't tell Nabiki-san about this, even
though I think she'd understand."
"Thanks," her brother replied in the same tone, not entirely
sure what he was thanking her for.
"So who is it this time?"
"Daughter of one of mom's friends," Ranma replied
absently. It didn't really matter to him who the girl was, the date
would end up a disaster either way. "I think she said her name was
Dachi."
"Kodachi?" Hitomi asked slowly in surprise. "Mom set you
up on a date with Kodachi-sempai?"
Ranma shrugged, then blinked. "Sempai? So she goes to
your school?"
Hitomi snorted. "Goes to my school? Kodachi basically
controls St. Hebereke. She can leave school whenever she wants
to, or not go at all. All the students and most of the teachers
practically worship her like a queen. She's captain of the
gymnastic team which has yet to lose a match, mostly because she
attacks the other teams beforehand and forces them to forfeit."
"She sounds..." Ranma started to say, trying to think of a
polite way of saying 'total nightmare.'
Seeing her brother's expression, Hitomi said, "I'm sure
when I explain the whole situation to her, you'll have nothing to
worry about. She's not really a bad person, just... completely
ruthless. You'll be fine as long as you don't do anything to make
her mad."
"Right," Ranma replied, now wondering what his chances
were of going the whole evening without doing something that
would tick Kodachi off. With his luck, roughly equal to a
snowball's in hell, he finally decided.
Nabiki was no longer the simple money-hungry girl she had
once been. She was a business woman now, with a staff to handle
all the things she now considered beneath her. She still had one
client who she preferred to handle personally, however. It was not
out of any interest in him; frankly she could do without his
company, even if he could be amusing at times. He had a definite
skill in making a fool of himself.
No, she handled him personally because his huge ego
would not allow him to deal with underlings and he was much too
profitable to Nabiki to let him slip out of her grasp. So she
tolerated his company for the yen it brought her.
Nabiki smirked as she walked into the caf�. Kuno was
there early as she had expected, despite the hour. "Sorry I couldn't
hold this meeting later in the day," she told him, not sounding sorry
at all. "But I have some business after school that I couldn't set
aside for even you, Kuno-chan."
"A samurai awakes with the dawn," Kuno told her in his
usual pompous tone. "To meet you before school is a trifling
matter for the Blue Thunder."
"Yeah, right," Nabiki muttered, deciding not to mention his
mussed hair or the bags under his eyes. She knew the kendoist did
his best to live up to the samurai ideal, but there were sometimes
that he fell short. Rising with the sun was one of them.
"Still, we should transact our business with all possible
speed. There are things that need to be done, and I do not wish to
deprive our educational establishment of my presence for too long
for fear of the damage to morale."
"And after I rushed out to meet you here?" Nabiki told him
with a pout. "The least you can do is buy a girl breakfast, Kuno-
chan. After all, it is what a noble samurai would do, isn't it?"
Kuno grumbled for a bit, but gave in as he always did. She
had managed to drive it through his thick skull that a meal was a
necessary fee for viewing the merchandise.
The waitress soon arrived at their table. Nabiki ordered one
of the more expensive items on the menu. She knew that she'd
never finish it all, but the leftovers would make a nice snack for
later, or a gift for one of her sisters. She could have easily paid for
her own meal, but Nabiki was a firm believer in the concept that
one should never pay for what one can get for free.
Kuno only ordered a tea for himself. He seemed somewhat
distracted today and Nabiki idly wondered why. She shook her
head. It was none of her concern what Kuno might be worrying
about, she made enough money off him as it was to get even
further involved in his personal life. It did surprise her how
patiently he waited for her to finish her meal, which she ate with
deliberate slowness. Normally, he complained or raved at the
heavens every five minutes, but this time he just sat there and
sipped at his tea without a word.
Despite this, she couldn't help noting the eager gleam in his
eyes when Nabiki told the waitress that she wanted the rest to go.
A gleam that didn't even flicker when she handed him the check.
She considering ordering a coffee just to kill that gleam, but
decided against it. Not that she had anything against being cruel to
Kuno, it was just that he wasn't the only one who had things to do
before school.
"Now that that matter is settled," Kuno finally spoke. "I
believe we can move onto business."
Nabiki nodded and took a manila envelop from the school
bag, sliding it across the table to him. "Five hundred yen. Each."
She had the satisfaction of seeing Kuno wince when she
named her price. She idly wondered just how much he got for an
allowance each week, and how much was left after she was
through with him.
"But the very heavens weep at..." Kuno began to say as he
opened the envelope and laid its contents on the table before him.
She had almost gotten used to the way his eyes bugged out and the
small line of drool formed as the kendoist stared at pictures of
Akane. It was a bit disgusting, but her disgust was offset by how it
made him forget completely about haggling about prices.
She had been selling photos of her sister around school for
years now, ever since Nabiki had noticed the boys' interest in her.
She had started doing it out of spite for the way all the boys
flocked around her sister while ignoring her, and had been very
surprised at how lucrative the business had turned out to be.
She didn't know if Akane knew about it or not. It was
confined to the boys she had no contact with, but Nabiki thought it
was fairly well known around school. Either way, her sister had
never said anything about it. Still, Nabiki made sure that the
pictures were, if not tasteful, at least not risque. For selling to the
boys at school, Gosunkugi's camera skills were more than enough,
but Kuno required something special for his particular tastes.
Those shots she took herself.
Nabiki was rather proud of her work with these photos.
She was pretty sure if the whole businesswoman thing fell through
she could fall back on her skills as a photographer. She was good,
almost professional, but she still didn't understand the way Kuno
reacted. All of the photos were of her sister training or working
out, usually in a white gi, but occasionally her jogging outfit or her
school uniform. None of them were even close to risque, in fact
Nabiki thought her sister looked kind of gross all sweaty with those
weird expressions, but Kuno was always more than pleased by
them. She had tried selling him some of the 'cute' photos of Akane,
but he just wasn't interested.
"Your skill with a camera always astounds me, Nabiki
Tendo," he praised her. "Surely it is a gift from the heavens."
"Nice try, Kuno-chan, but the price still stands. Pay me or I
sell them to someone else."
Kuno immediately handed over the money, though he
looked a tad reluctant -- that was until his eyes settled on the
photos before him once again. "Am I to understand that these are
the only copies?"
"It's the same deal as always. Any other prints I make from
the negatives will be for me or my sister. These shots were taken
exclusively for you, Kuno-chan."
"I must always be certain. The great Kuno is not such a
fool that he would trust the likes of you."
Nabiki's smirk didn't flicker for an instant, in fact she nearly
took it as a compliment. "You know I was thinking that after you
gave up on fighting my sister that you'd given up on her."
"Never! I could never do such a horrid thing as deprive the
fierce Akane Tendo of my company. Not even the cold hand of
death would be enough to sever the bond that unites us together!"
"Yeah, but with you no longer challenging her, my sister
might see you as somewhat less devoted. But if you gave her a
token of your affections, I'm sure she would realize that your
feelings haven't wavered any."
"Of course! I should have seen it before! Small actions are
the deeds of small minds; I must make plain my feelings in the
most open way possible!"
As Kuno stood up to leave, Nabiki asked, "Where are you
going?"
"I'm off to purchase a dozen... nay, two dozen roses so I
may shower my true love petals as red as my heart, which beats
only for her!"
"But roses are so clich�, Kuno-chan. Actually, I was
thinking of something more personal."
"Personal?" Kuno asked, scratching his chin in thought.
"What exactly do you mean, Nabiki Tendo?"
Nabiki simply held out her hand in response. Kuno was
familiar enough with this gesture to ply her with yen until she
would speak again. Thinking of the fun she would be having at
Kuno's expense later, she refrained from bleeding him dry, at least
this time.
"Now speak that thing which I long to hear," Kuno told her.
"Well, my sister is the closet romantic type, so I figure the
best thing for her to remember you by would be a lock of your
hair."
Nabiki was surprised when Kuno took a sudden step back
from her, a look of horror on his face. She even glanced out the
window behind her, but there was nothing there to cause this sort
of reaction.
"A lock of my hair?" Kuno asked slowly, acting as if she
had suggested that he cut off something else entirely.
Nabiki nodded and pulled out a pair of scissors from her
bag. "I can snip off a bit right now and I'll only charge you a small
delivery fee."
Kuno's eyes bulged as he looked at the steel scissors,
gleaming in the early sunlight. He took another step back and was
clearly shaking. Nabiki would have bet even money that there
wasn't anything in this world that Kuno was afraid of. So why was
he staring back in horror at a simple pair of scissors?
"I'm sure that there is some other way to show my depth of
devotion to your dear sister than this," Kuno said finally, his voice
as shaky as his body.
Nabiki crossed her arms, careful to leave the scissors still
exposed, and gave him a look of irritation bordering on anger.
Which was difficult to do at the moment when she was laughing on
the inside. Kuno afraid of a little haircut. What was next? Ranma
running in fear from a kitten?
"I don't know if I like the idea of a man pursuing my sister
who wasn't willing to do anything for her. It seems that I've
misjudged you, Kuno. I think it would be better just to end our
business here and now."
Nabiki enjoyed watching Kuno's expression during her
little speech, watching each strike hit him. The first, the suggestion
that he wasn't good enough for Akane. The deliberate removal of
'chan' from his name, something which he ironically complained
about often. And finally, the thought that they should sever all ties,
making his road to Akane's heart much rockier than it had been.
"Please hand me the scissors, Nabiki Tendo," Kuno
requested with an outstretched hand. She could tell that it was
taking all he had to keep the wavering from his voice and body.
He shook slightly when the scissors made contact with his skin, but
there was a flash of determination in his eyes and the shaking
stopped. He marched off in the direction of the restrooms without
another word.
Leaving Nabiki to ponder what had just happened. She had
gotten to know Kuno pretty well over the time of their
'relationship', but she had never known about this. She made a
mental note to look into it later, it might turn out to be useful in the
future.
Kuno returned from the restrooms a few minutes later and
returned the scissors to Nabiki along with a small lock of his hair
and a few yen notes. It was actually more than Nabiki had been
planning to charge him, but decided not to mention it.
"Well, you've restored my faith in you, Kuno-chan. I'll
wrap this up in a little ribbon and make sure that Akane gets in
after school."
Kuno nodded, his earlier fears gone, restoring him to his
old, arrogant self. "Until next we meet, Nabiki Tendo."
"See you later, Kuno-chan."
The boys had again gathered before school, united in the
purpose of defeating Ranma, only there were much less of them
there then there had been yesterday.
"Where are the others?" one boy asked in confusion.
Another shrugged. "They've given up. We couldn't beat
Ranma with the voodoo on him, how can we hope to ever beat him
without it? Besides, Akane has made it obvious that she's chosen
him. There's nothing we can do about it except get beat up again."
Several of the remaining boys nodded in agreement. Daily
beatings was starting to lose their appeal, especially when it
appeared that the prize was now firmly out of reach. Those left
looked at each other and shrugged. They knew that there were now
too few of them left to hope to defeat Ranma no matter what
underhanded scheme they tried. With a sigh of defeat, they left as
well.
Only one remained. Gosunkugi was probably the weakest
of them, but he didn't need their help to defeat Ranma. He had a
plan.
Kuno strolled casually on the way to school, his mind on
the one whose photos he now carried in his breast pocket, close to
his heart as they should be. He already possessed so many pictures
of her, but he could not stop himself from purchasing still more
from her mercenary sister.
He could easily remember when his fascination with Akane
Tendo had begun. It was a relatively typical day less than a year
ago. Kuno had been walking along, making his way home, ever
vigilant, and perhaps hoping, for some sign of danger. He had
worked and sweated since he was little to become the greatest
kendoist to ever walk the Earth, but there was little call for his
services in the peaceful land of Nerima.
The villain who Kuno had learned his skills to fight against
in the first place had fled to Hawaii like the true coward that he
was, leaving Kuno's life tranquil, except for the occasional
experiment of his twisted sister. The other boys at school, even the
upperclassmen, already cowered before his might.
Kuno turned a corner and stopped at the sight which
greeted him. A half dozen boys from his school, martial artists all,
stood confronting two girls. The long-haired maiden was
unfamiliar to him, wearing a girl's middle school uniform which he
vaguely recognized from his own school a year previous.
The short-haired one he recognized immediately as
someone from his own class. She had been glancing in his
direction and smiling recently, so he was pretty sure that she had
fallen for his irresistible charm. He didn't want to shatter her
illusions, but eventually there would be no choice. For Kuno could
embrace no woman until he had truly mastered his art. Until he
had found a challenger worthy enough to be called his rival.
Still, as a samurai it was his duty to aid ladies in distress,
but before he could rush to the rescue, the long-haired girl began
to... glow. She shone like a star as blue flames danced all about
her, a heavenly body brought down to Earth. But nothing so
delicate as an angel, for her roar was that of a savage beast, a fierce
tiger. Her movements gave off such a sense of power that Kuno
could feel them from where he stood, like the aftershocks of an
earthquake, as she lashed out and struck those boys down with her
fists. Not one was able to stand before her might.
Kuno could not approach her then, so shocked he was by
what he had just witnessed. He could only replay the sight he had
witnessed over and over in his mind, his wonder growing with each
repetition. By the time he had finally recovered, the girl that had
affected him so was already long gone.
A girl that was his equal in power. Nay, it was obvious that
she surpassed him. No truer rival could he hope to find, no woman
more worthy for his love. Kuno decided right then that he would
not rest until he had made her his.
Kodachi was early for school. It was unusual for her since,
while she was a relatively early riser, she often had many things
that needed to be done before going to school; such as tending her
garden, feeding her pet, and planning her attack against her current
rival. More often than not she arrived well after the bell had rung,
but for some reason she was never marked tardy.
Her mother's latest plans, however, had given her a certain
drive that morning, as well as the fact that the name 'Saotome'
seemed teasingly familiar, right on the edge of recall but refusing
to fully explain itself. It was especially irritating to Kodachi
because, having virtual no contact with boys her own age, she
couldn't imagine where it was coming from.
Kodachi arrived at school as if she owned the place, and in
the opinion of many of her fellow students, she did. They cheered
for her as if she were a royal monarch and they her loyal subjects.
Kodachi had all the bearing of a queen as she strode down the path
they had cleared for her, nodding to them as she passed. The
members of the rhythmic gymnastic team quickly fell into step
behind their captain, her honor guard.
Kodachi led them to the gym, the seat of her domain. She
felt like practicing that morning to burn off some of the frustration
that dealing with her mother always caused her, and to also make
sure that she was in top form for dealing with her date that night.
The rest of the team, having rarely had morning practice before,
reacted sluggishly to this, but it wasn't long before they all fell into
line. Their captain was not a person one wanted to make upset by
being slow to follow her orders.
Outsiders, knowing Kodachi only from her exploits against
rival teams -- both in and out of the ring -- might have been
surprised to observe her practice sessions with her own team. Her
usual viciousness was gone and dirty tricks were being used
against her rather than by her. It could have been because she had
no need; she was facing four opponents at once and had no
difficulty in keeping them all at bay.
Seeing that she was still in great shape, Kodachi chuckled a
bit and told the others to continue on without her as she moved to
the stands and watched them closely, occasionally shouting out
corrections to her team in a commanding tone. Akiko took the seat
next to her, handing the older girl a water bottle and a towel, which
Kodachi accepted with a grateful nod.
"We were all surprised to see you come in so early,
sempai," Akiko said, her subtle way of trying to find out why. She
was curious, but didn't want to ask directly in case it was
something her sempai didn't feel like talking about. Their captain
was the sort of person who rarely felt the need to explain herself to
others.
Kodachi frowned a bit as she sipped at the water. "Tell me,
does the name 'Saotome' sound familiar to you?"
Akiko blinked at the question, which seemed to come out
of nowhere, but still answered, "It's Hitomi's last name."
"Hitomi? No wonder it sounded familiar. Do you know if
she has an older brother?"
Akiko wondered why Kodachi was asking all this, but it
really wasn't any of her business. She dug around in her school bag
and found the Ranma trading cards that Hitomi had given her as a
bonus once. She had no real interest in pictures of him, but she
knew that they were rare cards and was planning to trade them for
something she would like. She handed one of these cards to her
sempai.
Kodachi studied the card with interest. On the front was a
picture of a pig-tailed boy executing some sort of special martial
arts maneuver, and on the back was a short description of this
special attack. Seeing the number in corner, she chuckled and said
in an amused tone, "Making trading cards of her own brother?
How novel."
"And they've been selling pretty well too, especially in the
middle school. I think it's a bit childish myself, but Hitomi gave
me these cards and I couldn't just refuse her."
Kodachi had turned the card back to stare at the picture of
Ranma once again. He was handsome and a martial artist, those
were two marks in his favor. Depending on his personality, a date
with him might not be so bad. "May I keep this, Akiko?"
"Sure," Akiko replied, curious to why her sempai had
suddenly become interested in Ranma, but hesitant to ask and risk
annoying Kodachi. It wasn't due to fear, but rather not wanting to
harm the delicate friendship she had with the older girl.
The captain of the rhythmic gymnastic team suddenly stood
and told her teammates, "All right, that's enough practice for now.
Practice this afternoon is canceled, so you all may go home early."
"Thank you, sempai!" they shouted back to her and quickly
made their way to the changing rooms.
Ranma card still held in one hand, Kodachi set back down
and told Akiko, "Please tell Hitomi that I would like to speak to her
at her earliest possible convenience."
Gosunkugi lay in wait, hiding behind a few bushes, his
vantage point giving him full view of the street before him; the
perfect place to begin his revenge. He knew Ranma would be
coming along any moment now, and then he could put step one of
his operation into effect.
That was when a hand tapped him on the shoulder.
"Gah!" Gosunkugi shouted as he jumped from his hiding
place, his shoulder hitting the sidewalk hard. He turned around to
see who had dared surprise him so -- and would subsequently be
the next on his revenge list -- only to come face to face with his
most hated enemy, Ranma Saotome, standing there and looking
down at him.
"I'm really sorry. Here, let me help you up," Ranma said as
he took Gosunkugi's hand.
Gosunkugi screamed, feeling if his shoulder was being torn
from its socket. Ranma blinked and quickly dropped him back
onto the sidewalk, causing the smaller boy to bruise his tailbone.
"What did I ever do to make you hate me so much?"
Gosunkugi asked him, practically in tears. Had Ranma found out
that he was the one who had put the voodoo on him yesterday?
Was this the beginning of his revenge? Gosunkugi was normally a
stranger to pain, but it had quickly become a familiar and hated
enemy.
Ranma felt uncomfortable looking down at the boy who
stared back at him in fear. If there was one thing in the world that
he couldn't stand, it was a bully, and it was obvious that was how
this boy saw him. They had all been accidents, but Ranma still felt
the need to make it up to him somehow.
Staring at the scrawny boy, Ranma had an idea. Quickly
taking out his bento, he found exactly what he was looking for.
His mom had packed him a double lunch just like he had expected,
and since some of the extra food would go to waste anyway...
"Here," Ranma said to the boy, handing over part of his
lunch. "My mom's a real good cook and you look like you could
use more to eat. To make up for knocking you down these two
times."
Gosunkugi smiled slightly, seeing an opportunity, and
accepted the food with a gratefully nod, Ranma not noticing the
small puff of fur that Gosunkugi had rubbed on his hand when they
had made contact.
Gosunkugi's grin widened as he saw Ranma absently
scratch at the back of his hand as he walked away.
Nabiki raised on eyebrow to see her number one informant
looking in even worst shape than usual, and he had never looked
that healthy to begin with.
"What happened to you, Gos-chan?" she asked.
"I don't want to talk about it," he muttered and handed her a
small doll made to look like Kuno. "Here's the voodoo doll you
wanted. Just wrap one of Kuno's hairs around it and you'll be able
to control him, at least until the magic wears off. Was there
anything else you wanted?"
Nabiki nodded, thinking of the only current thorn in her
side. "I want you to find out anything you can about a girl named
Min-Lin. I don't know her last name, but she works at the Jade
Blossom restaurant and has recently come from China."
Gosunkugi nodded. Information gathering, using both
mundane and not so mundane methods, was just one of his many
talents. "What's my fee on this?"
Nabiki grinned. "Swimsuit photos."
"Swimsuit... photos?" Gosunkugi repeated slowly, suddenly
feeling faint. He still had the one swimsuit photo Nabiki had given
him over a particularly difficult job and it was his most treasured
possession.
"Two, possibly three, depending on how good your info is
and how fast you get it to me."
"I'll have everything there is to know on Min-Lin at this
time tomorrow at the latest, Nabiki-san!"
"I'll be waiting, Gos-chan," Nabiki told him as she walked
away, smirking. It was amazing how hard you could get people to
work with the right incentive.
When something rubbed against his leg, Gosunkugi was
surprised to see that the kitten had followed him to school
somehow. He gently picked the animal up and told it, "You want
to see my revenge against, Ranma, don't you?"
"Meow!"
Gosunkugi smiled. "This is only the beginning."
Walking into the gym felt a little like walking into the lion's
den for Hitomi. It wasn't that she was actually afraid of Kodachi,
no way, it was just that she knew she had to be careful around the
gymnast.
She saw Kodachi sitting up in the stands in the uniform of
the high school, twirling something small and flat in her hands.
Her curiosity over what it could be almost made Hitomi ignore
how truly alone and defenseless she felt with only the two of them
alone in the cavernous gym.
Hitomi slowly made her way over to the gymnastics
captain, her own footsteps sounding very loud in her ears. The
confidence with which she had told her brother she'd handle things
with Kodachi had really been just boasting. Confrontations with
the older girl always made her feel vulnerable, for some reason she
couldn't readily explain. All of her normal tactics froze up under
Kodachi's cold gaze.
The older girl finally looked up at Hitomi as the younger
reached the stands. She said nothing; there was a welcome smile
on her face, but her eyes were still hard, as if they could stare right
through Hitomi. The younger girl might have been learning at the
feet of the master of manipulation, but Kodachi was the mistress of
intimidation.
"Please take a seat beside me, Hitomi," Kodachi told her in
a reasonable tone. "I have a few questions for you."
"Hai, sempai," the younger girl replied, taking the seat
indicated. Hitomi could see now that the thing that Kodachi held
was one of her Ranma trading cards, a rare one that Akiko must
have given to her.
"I understand you've been marketing cards of your brother
to your fellow students."
The statement took Hitomi a bit by surprise. She had
expected something about the date that night. It was clear to her
that Kodachi knew about it. "Hai."
"And I hear they're selling quite well."
"Hai," Hitomi said again, a little worried where Kodachi
was going with this. She had just sunk most of her earnings into
the second series, making it into a collectable card game this time,
and the girl sitting next to her so calmly could prevent her from
selling them with a single word. All the money would be lost and
her business destroyed with a single nod from this girl who ruled
the school with an iron grip.
Kodachi chuckled. "It's very clever of you, I must admit.
I'm quite impressed. It's something that I wish I had thought of,
though I do believe that photos of my elder brother wouldn't sell
nearly as well."
Hitomi laughed too, feeling her earlier tension leave her.
Kodachi was smiling at her now, but more importantly her eyes
were filled with mirth. It seemed that for whatever reason, the
older girl was trying to be friendly with her.
Kodachi continued. "Though I've never met him, I would
guess that this photo captures your brother very well, and I'm sure
that the other pictures are just as good. However, they don't
express for me what he would really be like in person. I have to
admit after seeing this I'm a bit... curious as to what he's like."
Hitomi frowned inwardly, doing her best to not let it show.
She would have guessed that Kodachi would have been the last
person to be interested in her brother, however instead of trying to
get out of the date, she actually wanted to know more about him.
Hitomi knew how weak-willed her brother was with women, so if
Kodachi decided that she wanted him, Ranma would probably let
her walk all over him and there wasn't much Hitomi could do to
stop her. And she already had enough problems with Min-Lin to
deal with.
She could try telling lies about her brother to get Kodachi
to break off the date, but Hitomi had a feeling that the gymnast
would be more likely to make their date hell. What was worse,
Kodachi would figure out rather quickly that she'd been lied to.
The rose-obsessed gymnast acted a bit crazy at times, but she
definitely wasn't stupid. Hitomi decided to go for the truth and
hope for the best.
"Well, Ranma is... Ranma. He's kind of hard for me to
describe. Let's see, the most important thing to him is martial arts
and he spends nearly all of his time practicing. He also likes to
cook, especially spicy food. He likes to eat even more though. He
doesn't do that well in school, but it's really because he doesn't care
about school much. He's not dumb or anything. Contrary to my
mom's opinion, he's pretty shy around girls his own age and is
more likely to have things go completely wrong than anything else.
"And I almost forgot. Wherever my brother goes, trouble
always follows. I mean it's like completely impossible for him to
go a day without getting into a fight or something else bad
happening to him. So far every date he's ever been on has ended in
disaster."
Hitomi had hoped that that last bit would have discouraged
Kodachi, but she seemed more interested than ever.
Kodachi mentally checked off every point that Hitomi
made about her brother. The gymnast came from a family of
martial artists -- even her mother was one, though she hadn't
practiced for years -- so that wasn't a problem to her. Better than
being some sort of wimp. A strong man was much preferred.
Cooking caught her a bit by surprise, but it was a welcome
one. Kodachi herself liked to use a great deal of spices when she
cooked, even though her spices were more exotic than most, but
having someone else to cook for besides her ungrateful brother
would be quite nice.
School mattered little to her and shyness was something
that could be worked on. Kodachi was confident that it was
something she could eliminate rather quickly. She had to do that
for some of her teammates in the past.
As for trouble... Kodachi liked trouble. It was so much
better than the drab dreariness of her usual life. She looked
forward to any sort of mayhem to spice up her normal routine, and
a boy that was guaranteed to bring it to her was simply too
delicious for her to resist.
"I will look forward to meeting him, then," Kodachi said
with a smile as she stood and left the gym, leaving a confused and
worried Hitomi behind.
Ranma totally missed Kuno leaning by the front gate of the
school as he passed him by. The back of his hand had suddenly
become very itchy and he was doing his best to not think about it
and avoid scratching, but his other hand seemed to have other ideas
and kept creeping closer to scratch.
"Hold, Saotome!" Kuno shouted.
Ranma turned around to see the kendoist standing there,
bokken in either hand. He decided that if he was calling him by
name, then he couldn't be mad at him for anything. "Hi, Kuno,"
Ranma said casually. "What do you want?"
"Have you forgotten our pledge between men? The solemn
vow we undertook not two days ago near this very spot? Those
cowardly dogs interrupted this momentous event yesterday, so
instead today must be our day of reckoning!"
Ranma stared at the spouting kendoist while he checked his
memory for any clue of what he was talking about, only to come up
blank. He opened his mouth to ask for clarification, but wasn't
even sure what needed to be clarified. "Huh?" he ventured.
Kuno grinned smugly to note the crowd of fellow students
that had begun to gather around him. He silently led the confused
Ranma to the center of the school yard while the pig-tailed boy idly
scratched at his arm.
"This bokken has been made especially for me by the finest
bokken-maker in all of Japan," Tatewaki told Ranma solemnly as
he handed the mock-weapon to him. "Use it with pride."
Ranma took a long look at the bokken he now held limply
in his hand and then slowly turned to stare at Kuno, who was now
assuming the basic kendo stance. "Huh?" he tried again.
"No, no, don't hold it like that," Kuno instructed while
gesturing forward with his own bokken. "More like this. See?
Your left hand is applied thusly while your right is placed here.
Notice how I grip the mock-blade tightly, to better smite my foes?"
It dawned on Ranma then that for some reason his
anachronistic upperclassman was trying to teach him kendo. He
had no idea why, but Kuno had helped him out in the fight
yesterday and the pig-tailed boy felt like he owned him for that.
Besides, he wasn't about to turn down free martial arts lessons,
even if it was an armed school. So he went along with it: placing
his hands as instructed and mirroring Kuno's stance.
Kuno nodded in satisfaction and continued on with his
lesson. "My former instructor, whom I have greatly surpassed, was
always of the opinion that one learned by doing, so I wish you to
practice your technique on my person."
When Ranma had finally figured out what Kuno wanted, he
asked, "Are you sure?"
"Fear not, you will come to no harm. Now, attack me!"
Ranma shrugged. If that's what the man wanted, he wasn't
the sort of person to deny him. He leaned forward a bit and
charged, bokken held out in front of him, closing the distance
between him and Kuno in a second. At the last moment, he leapt
up and kicked his opponent in the head, knocking him to the
ground.
Kuno immediately sprang back up with a large shoe print
on his face and shouted at his new pupil, "With the bokken, you
fool!"
Ranma looked at the piece of wood he held in his hands in
surprise, having completely forgotten about it when he had
attacked. "Oh," he said, rubbing the back of his head in
embarrassment.
Both of them returned to their former positions and stances,
Ranma's expression now as serious as his opponent's. He already
did know a little about kendo, but it was mostly ways of countering
it. He had seen it practiced several times in movies or at the dojo
his pop worked at, but he had never desired to learn it before and
so hadn't really been paying attention. His father had always
stressed that weapons were for the weak and didn't want his son
picking up some lesser martial art.
Ranma closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and tried to
work this out. All he had to do was use his stick to hit Kuno while
avoiding the kendoist's own stick. It sounded pretty simple in
theory, though he wasn't sure how good it was going to be in
practice. He was at a serious disadvantage here, limited to only
fighting with the bokken, not to mention his whole right arm was
itchy now and it kept throwing off his concentration. He knew that
he could beat Kuno in an unrestricted match, but in kendo? It
seemed very unlikely. This was only practice, but then Ranma
never liked to lose at anything.
The pig-tailed boy opened his eyes and charged again,
feigning an attack at Kuno's waist, but planning to switch to his
right shoulder at the last moment. He was confident that his speed
would be enough to overcome Kuno's skill.
Ranma realized too late that the reversal robbed the blow of
its strength, and his strike to Kuno's shoulder was light as a gentle
rain. He felt Kuno's return blow fly by his side, tearing his school
uniform even though the bokken was an inch away from him. He
didn't like to think of what would have happened had the kendoist
been actually trying to hurt him.
"Guess you won that one, Kuno," Ranma said with a small
laugh, wondering if the lesson was over for today as he scratched at
his shoulder with the bokken. He only felt a bit humiliated losing
like that, but wasn't thrilled with the idea of a dozen similar
defeats.
"Pay attention!" Kuno shouted, bonking his student on the
head with his bokken.
Ranma rubbed his head with a frown, not liking the
kendoist's serious expression one bit. It was the sort of look his
pop got when it was obvious his son didn't like whatever new
training scheme he had dreamed up.
"Your stance was too loose. That is perhaps fine for
another, lower form of martial arts, but not for kendo!" Kuno
instructed as if he were imparting the secrets of the gods to Ranma.
"Your stance must be firm as stone. Your stride must be strong as
well as quick, like the howling wind. Your blow must flow like
water, with all the power of the mighty ocean behind it! And your
heart must be filled with a righteous fire that will burn your enemy
when you strike!"
"Um, can you be more specific?" Ranma asked as he
scratched the spot right under his neck. Like his father, he had
never really found the philosophical side to the Art all that
important or useful. Just show him what to do and he would do it.
"But of course," Kuno declared and proceeded to instruct
Ranma on basic kendo stances, blows, and defensive strategies.
"You're planning something aren't you, sempai?" Kyoko
asked. She and her boss were currently looking down at the little
training exercise Kuno and Ranma were having while the other
factors were moving through the throng that surrounded the two
martial artists, selling videos of the Wrecking Crew fight
yesterday. On the cover was a picture Akane knocking the leader
out of the yard while glowing brighter than a Christmas tree. It
was already selling well.
"What makes you say that, Kyoko-chan?" Nabiki asked
with a smirk, tearing her gaze away from the window, away from
Ranma. She was currently hoping that Naoko would do as good a
job with the fight she was currently taping as she had done with the
Wrecking Crew one. The girl was relatively new to her little
organization and had a somewhat mouse-like personality, but she
already showed great promise with her camera skills, though
Nabiki hoped that this time she wouldn't focus quite so much on
Kuno. There had been twice as much footage of him than Ranma
and Akane combined, but thankfully that was easily taken care of
with a little editing. She made a mental note to sell Kuno the cut
footage at an inflated price.
"Because you always have that same smile when you're
planning something especially devious, sempai," Kyoko told her a
bit smugly, feeling proud of herself for making this observation.
Nabiki chuckled. "Looks like I'm going to have to keep a
close eye on you from now on, Kyoko-chan. You know me so well
that you could take my business away from me."
"I..I would never do that," Kyoko stuttered, blushing
heavily.
Which Nabiki failed to notice because she had already
turned to peer out the window once again. "I was only kidding,
Kyoko-chan. I think that out of all my factors, I can trust you the
most."
Kyoko nearly fainted. Instead, her eyes were very wide and
her cheeks felt like they were burning. It was a while before she
could even speak, and even then it was hard for her to get the
words out. "I'm honored, sempai. I'll try... no, what I mean is, I'll
do my best to live up to your trust."
"Don't sweat it, Kyoko-chan," Nabiki told her factor. "And
take a look at this."
Kyoko glanced at the small doll her boss had just taken out
of her purse. It had a strong resemblance to Kuno down in the
school yard, complete with miniature bokken.
"But why...?" she asked in confusion. Nabiki was
definitely not the type to play with dolls, at least she had thought
so. It was much too childish for a mature woman like her.
Besides, she knew better than anyone what low regard her boss had
for the delusional kendoist.
Nabiki grinned her devious grin. "Just watch and see."
After a few more exchanges, with Kuno always the victor,
Ranma was starting to feel he was getting a hand of this kendo
thing. Now it was only this itching that kept throwing him off. His
whole upper body begged to be scratched in a voice that grew
progressively louder. It was becoming hard to ignore.
With a deep, calming breath, Ranma charged again, fire
burning in his eyes. *I will end this now and have a good soak.*
Kuno was impressed with how quickly his pupil had picked
up kendo, though he did his best not to show it. He also tried to
avoid thinking that it had taken him much longer to learn. This
was enough to leave him slightly unprepared for Ranma's charge.
The two fighters blurred, moving faster than the eyes of the
spectators could follow. There was a moment of silence when they
separated, each gulping air as if they had just run a marathon.
Then the crowd gasped to see the large slash that had appeared on
the front of the upperclassman's kendo outfit, though Kuno himself
appeared unhurt.
People began to mutter about Ranma winning for once
when there was the sound of tearing of cloth, sounding strangely
loud in the school yard. The right sleeve of Ranma's uniform now
rested on the pavement, having been cut nearly clean off. A tie.
Ranma stared at his now bare arm in some surprise, and
then a little worry about what his mother would think about the
current state of his relatively new uniform. *I know, I'll just tell
her I was mobbed by a bunch of girls,* he thought, then shook his
head. *That'll just make things worse.*
Then he was shocked to find that his bare arm was no
longer itchy, while the rest of his upper body felt like it was being
pricked with a thousand pins. With a cry of relief, he quickly
unbuttoned his top and threw it to the pavement, not noticing the
girl who ran up and snatched it. He turned to Kuno in the proper
kendo stance, bokken held firmly before him and smug grin on his
face. He was sure to win this time.
"Here you go, Akane," Yuka told her, dropping the top of
Ranma's uniform into her friend's hands. They had been watching
the match between Kuno and the pig-tailed boy since it had begun.
She had tried to talk to Akane at the beginning, but had given up at
the lack of responses. She couldn't help noticing how her friend's
eyes had been locked on Ranma the entire time.
"What are you giving it to me for!?" Akane asked in a mix
of anger and bewilderment, glancing back and forth between her
friend and the garment.
Sayuri ran up to them and dropped the severed sleeve on
top of the uniform. "There you go, a complete set. Had to move
fast too, another girl almost got it before me."
"What makes you think I want it at all!?" Akane demanded.
Her friends gave her sly looks. "Oh, come on, Akane,"
Yuka said. "We're your friends. It's obvious that you have the hots
for Ranma, we're just trying to help you out."
"Yeah," Sayuri added, not giving Akane a chance to speak.
"Guys are so clueless about stuff like this, but if you stitch this up
with a red thread and give it back to him, he might get the idea."
"It's not like that at all!" Akane shouted, so loudly that it
almost drew the crowd's attention away from the fight. Luckily for
Akane, the current combat was much too interesting to be missed.
"Well, what is it like?" Yuka asked with nudge and a grin.
"Oh, yes tell us," Sayuri jumped in, nudging Akane from
the other side. "Have you kissed him yet?"
Akane immediately turned beet red in embarrassment with
the very idea of kissing anyone.
"You have!" her friends squealed in delight.
"Haven't!" Akane shouted back at them, still blushing
heavily.
"My, such a strong denial," Yuka commented to Sayuri
with a smirk.
"Yes, I wonder whatever could it mean?" Sayuri replied,
matching her look and tone.
Akane sighed, feeling a very large headache building.
"There is nothing between Ranma and me, nothing. Do you
understand?"
Akane walked away from her friends without waiting for an
answer. She just couldn't deal with them when they acted like that.
In her preoccupation, she had unknowingly hugged Ranma's
uniform close to her.
"Nothing? How disappointing," Yuka commented to her
best friend.
"Yes, yes," Sayuri agreed immediately. "We have to do
something about that."
"Definitely," Yuka replied with a grin, a plan already
starting to form.
Kyoko turned to make a sarcastic remark about Ranma
giving the girls a show when she suddenly realized she was now all
alone in the room. Her boss had been there a moment ago, but in
her place sat the Kuno doll.
Nabiki flew through the halls, her camera clutched firmly in
both hands. Gosunkugi was already taking pictures of the fight, but
she had a feeling that he wouldn't be inclined to take many shirtless
Ranma shots no matter what she had said to him.
She could tell by the way that the enthusiasm of her fellow
female students had suddenly increased when Ranma had become
bare-chested that beefcake shots of him would sell well. Of
course, she planned to keep the best shots for herself. Nabiki
blushed a bit as it occurred to her that her student Hitomi could get
even more interesting pictures of her older brother.
Ranma stared with a frown at Kuno while he felt the earlier
pins and needles sensation returning, now covering his whole body.
He desperately wanted a bath to soothe his skin, but it didn't look
like his opponent would let this match end until the bell rang or
Ranma had scored a decisive victory, and the pig-tailed boy
couldn't wait for school to begin.
With a yell, he charged, but stopped short when Kuno
raised up his bokken and bonked himself in the head. The kendoist
glanced at the crowd, his eyes full of suspicion. "What foul
sorcerer would interfere in an honorable match between men?
Show yourself!"
The crowd all glanced at each other in confusion, while up
above on the second story of the school, Kyoko giggled. Out of all
of them, only Nabiki was able to figure out what had just
happened. Gosunkugi would have, but he was concentrating too
much on Akane holding Ranma's uniform top tightly and cursing
the pig-tailed boy to pay attention to the fight.
Nabiki was a bit concerned since she couldn't have fun with
Kuno and take pictures of Ranma at the same time, the latter being
more interesting to her. There was also the fact that Kyoko seemed
to dislike Ranma for some reason, but then again a loss could
benefit his character. She liked confident guys, but not ones who
were completely full of themselves. Ranma could stand to be a bit
more humble.
Then Nabiki shook her head to clear it of such thoughts and
made the best of this unique photo opportunity.
Back in the school, Kyoko was having the time of her life.
She wasn't fond of either of the fighters, so messing with the both
of them at the same time was a rare opportunity for her. She wasn't
sure how this little doll could control Kuno, but she was eager to
find out. That would have to wait until later, however, since she
had a fight to interfere with.
She watched as Ranma charged again, still looking faintly
confused. Kyoko slid the Kuno doll out of the perceived path,
causing the pig-tailed boy to land face-first in the dirt. She couldn't
help laughing when she saw his expression. No wonder her boss
liked manipulating people, this was too much fun.
Now it was Kuno's turn to look stupid. She may have
disliked Ranma more, but the kendoist normally looked like such a
fool that he didn't need bothering with. However, opinions of him
at school had begun to change after the fight yesterday. Kyoko
didn't see what was so great about being good at beating people up.
Her sempai could handle situations like that without ever resorting
to violence.
Kyoko smiled to hear Ranma's angry growl as he charged
this time. She had her Kuno doll take a step and then trip, placing
his head directly in the path of the oncoming bokken. She had to
clamp her jaw shut to keep from laughing loudly when the impact
drove Kuno feet-first into the school's stone wall up to his knees.
As Ranma tried to tug Kuno out, Kyoko used her doll to
make him shoot out like a cannon, making his head hit Ranma hard
in the stomach, and knocking them both to the ground in an untidy
heap. Seeing the machoist kendoist's head lying on Ranma's bare
chest, Kyoko laughed until the tears came to her eyes.
When she finally recovered a few minutes later, she noticed
that a hair was sticking out of the doll. With her neatness instincts
kicking in, she reached forward to pluck out the hair.
Kuno was burning with anger after the latest incident. He
stood and glared hard at the crowd around him, shouting in rage,
"Coward, who can only work though the agency of the black arts, I
demand you come and face me so I can give you the righteous
smiting you so very well deserve!"
Ranma thought that this had to be the work of whoever had
manipulated him yesterday, which he had all but forgotten about
once school had started. He had a feeling that they would never
find whoever and how they were doing it, that is unless that made
it worse. That was how his life worked.
Besides, he was way too itchy to even care about anything
else. His whole body felt like it was on fire and he was desperate
for some nice cool water to soak it in. He was tempted to run now
in search of the school showers or something, but his pride would
not let him run away and look like a coward here, especially not
from Kuno.
"One last pass to decide this, Kuno," Ranma told him. "We
both charge each other and the one to score a blow wins. I doubt
whoever is interfering will do anything for this last one. Besides,
either way it'll be over."
"I concur, it seems to me a good plan. Let Furinkan high
witness the true glory of kendo, greatest of all martial arts!"
Teeth clenched together, Ranma said nothing. He just
wanted to get this over with.
They took their places some distance opposite each other.
There was a somber look in their eyes that hadn't been there before
as each sized up his opponent, their hands before them, bokken
gripped tightly, feet braced against the earth. In every motion they
were like mirror images, including the deep breath they took before
they charged.
The crowd was silent, and the two opponents made no cry
or shout this time. The only sound was the tapping of their feet on
the pavement, each step propelling them forward, increasing their
speed until they finally struck with the loud crack of wood striking
wood, the force of their collision sending up a small dust storm,
obscuring the two combatants.
As the cloud cleared, Kuno was frozen in place of his final
strike, staring ahead with a shocked expression at his bokken --
noble wood which had been crafted for his hand alone -- broken in
half.
Ranma waved his hand in front of his upperclassman's face,
trying to get some response. After a few moments, Kuno blinked
and said in a voice that was almost the opposite of his usual
arrogant tone, "It seems that I have lost."
The pig-tailed boy smirked to hear such an admission from
the one person he had thought would never admit defeat. He was
tempted to go along with his statement, but he had found out in
those few days that Kuno wasn't really as bad as he had once
thought. In fact, he was almost becoming a sort of friend.
"I'd think again, Kuno," Ranma told him, holding up his
own bokken which had been completely severed in half, and
gesturing to his neck which now sported a large bruise from the
resulting air pressure of the kendoist's blow.
Kuno's expression flickered as he returned to his normal,
arrogant self. "Well, of course, no one could hope to defeat the
supreme master of kendo, the Blue Thunder of Furinkan High, but
with the help of my excellent teaching, you are well on the way to
becoming a master kendoist!"
"Um, thanks," Ranma told him, not feeling right to mention
that it was something he hadn't been particularly interested in
learning in the first place. Useful perhaps in the future, but right
now his own Anything Goes martial art served him much better.
"But I've got to go."
And with that, Ranma ran in the direction of the school's
swimming pool, not noticing Kuno suddenly collapsing behind him
like a puppet whose strings had just been cut.
Ranma plunged into the cool, refreshing waters of the
school's pool with a great sigh of relief, feeling the itchy sensations
that had been driving him mad earlier all drift away. It was so
relaxing to just float there with no worries that her felt his eyes
beginning to close.
"I can understand wanting to get clean after that fight,
Ranma, but it might have been better to use the showers in the
locker room."
Recognizing the voice, especially the tone, Ranma turned
around quickly to see Nabiki standing by the poolside, towel in one
hand, camera in the other. "I was kind of in a hurry," he explained
weakly.
Nabiki nodded. "You going to come out now or stay in
there all day? Bell is about to ring," she told him with a smirk.
Ranma reluctantly pulled himself out of the refreshing
water, looking down in dismay at his shoes and uniform pants, all
soaked clear through, not really hearing the small clicks as Nabiki
took some quick photos. Luckily, he had a full change of clothes
for gym in his locker. He was actually a bit happy to have an
excuse not to wear that uncomfortable uniform in school, but didn't
think his mother would be pleased by the state his clothes were in.
He was surprised when Nabiki started patting him down his
shoulders and chest with the towel. "You... you don't have to do
this."
Nabiki rolled her eyes. "Of course I don't have to. Now
bend down so I can dry your hair."
Ranma was feeling very uncomfortable standing there
staring at Nabiki's feet as she ruffled his hair with the towel.
"Don't worry, no one can see us," Nabiki said as if she
could read his mind. "Everyone has gone into class already."
"So don't you have to get to class too, Nabiki?"
Nabiki ignored the question. "Almost done... there! That's
as dry as I can make you, at least. If you hurry, you'll have time
enough to get changed before the bell."
Ranma stared into her smiling face as he tried to fix his
now messed up hair with one hand. He felt a sudden urge to do
something to thank her for this, something to return the affection
she had been treating him with since their date. He couldn't bring
himself to kiss her; thanks to his mother attempted kisses had
always lead to sudden beatings in the past. Besides, he wasn't
entirely sure about how he felt about her. But he had to do
something.
"Thanks, Nabiki," he told her sincerely as he reached out
and slowly wrapped his arms around her, pulling her in for a gentle
hug. Nabiki stiffened immediately from his touch, which almost
made him pull away, but then she relaxed and began to hug him
back, laying her head on his bare chest.
The pig-tailed boy had no idea how long they had stood like
that until Nabiki hesitantly pulled away from him and said, "No
problem, Ranma-kun. Just tell me in advance the next time you
decide on jumping into the pool half-dressed. I'll bring a comb."
There was a faint blush on her cheeks now, and her eyes seemed to
shine.
Realizing she was joking, Ranma laughed lightly and told
her, "I will", before hurrying along to school for a quick clothes
change.
Watching him go, Nabiki glanced down at the now damp
towel she held and thought out loud, "I completely forgot that I
have swimming in gym today."
"Oh well, it should be dry by then," she added a moment
later, her blush deepening.
Akane was thankful that neither of her close friends were in
home ec, though this time it wasn't over the embarrassing mess she
always made whenever they cooked something. She had a feeling
that they would be accusing her of all sorts of things as she
carefully tried to sew Ranma's uniform back together. The
teacher's glance had been embarrassing enough, though she hadn't
said anything about it.
She was simply doing something nice for a friend, as a sort
of way of making up for the wrong way she had reacted to him
when they had first met. Akane was definitely not using red thread
like her friends had suggested. No, good solid black so it blended
in with the sleeve. Of course this made it a bit hard for her to see
where she had already sewn, but if she sown the same place two or
three times, she reasoned that it would just make the stitching extra
strong.
"There, I'm done," Akane said with a breath as she looked
over the now reattached sleeve with a smile of accomplishment.
There was something that didn't look quite right about it when
compared to the other sleeve, but Akane thought that it was just
how it was lying there before her.
It was only then that she noticed the heavy silence of the
room. She looked around to see that she was the only person in the
room. Glancing up at the clock, she made a small shout of surprise
and dashed off to her next class, ten minutes late.
Ranma was sitting under a tree in a red Chinese shirt and
black pants, lunch in his lap, as he waited for Akane to appear. He
was pretty hungry after expending all that energy in his morning's
fight with Kuno, but thought it would be rude of him to start
without her.
He avoided being rude to people on general principle -- he
had enough people angry at him as it was -- but in this case it was
thoughts of the martial arts maneuver that Akane had done
yesterday that made him so considerate. That had been more than
impressive; it certainly beat his father's technique of running away.
If he could learn that, his old man would have a big surprise in
their next training session.
Akane appeared moments later, acting a bit more timid than
she had at lunch yesterday. She stood next to him for some
moments in silence, before she suddenly said, "Here!", dropping a
black bundle of cloth onto his lap and sitting back down next to
him all in one motion.
As she dug in her bag for her bento, Ranma held up the
garment to find that it was his missing uniform top. In all the
confusion that followed the fight, he had completely forgotten
about it. Then he noticed that the severed arm had been stitched
back on.
"Did you sew this?" Ranma asked a bit nervously as he
peered closely at it.
"Hai," Akane replied with a faint blush. "What do you
think? I'm not usually very good with sewing, but I think I did a
pretty good job this time."
Ranma thought it looked like it was sewed by a blind man
while riding on the back of an porpus, but decided that it wasn't the
sort of thing to say to someone who you wanted to teach you a
secret technique, unless one wanted to see the technique
demonstrated up close and personal.
"It's... great. Thank you, Akane," he finally said with only a
slight hesitation as he quickly folded it up and put it away.
Akane's blushed deepened a bit. No one had ever praised
her for her domestic skills before. Even her home ec teacher
thought that she was a hopeless case. Her older sister still patiently
tried to help her, but Akane had the feeling that Kasumi was doing
it more out of an obligation than any belief that her little sister
would improve.
"It was nothing," Akane told him, starting in on her lunch to
hide her embarrassment. After a moment, Ranma did the same,
and they ate in silence until both bentos were empty.
They both seemed to notice the other was finished at the
same time. They both turned and said, "I was wondering..."
Akane blushed again and said, "You go first."
"No, you," Ranma insisted, having completely forgotten
how he had planned to ask Akane about her ultimate attack. "Since
you stitched up my shirt, you should be the one to go first."
"Okay," Akane agreed a bit hesitantly, taking a calming
breath. It was a blow to her pride as a martial artist to ask this, but
she didn't see any other way of improving. "After seeing you train
with Kuno today, I was wondering if you could help teach me to
improve my martial arts. I really want to be faster... and less
clumsy, I guess."
Ranma sighed in relief. For a minute there, he was sure she
was going to ask him out on a date, and he had more than enough
trouble with that already. "Sure, I'd be happy to help you improve.
You can teach me some of your school and help out my form at the
same time."
"I really don't think there's anything I know that would help
you, Ranma," Akane admitted honestly.
"What about that rock fist, or whatever you call it? Your
ultimate technique?"
"I can't really teach you that."
"Oh," Ranma said as the realization hit. "It's because I'm
not a member of your martial arts school, right?"
Akane shook her head. "No, it isn't that. The Stone Fist
isn't something I can use whenever I want to. Actually, I've only
been able to use it a few times, and my father has only ever been
able to use it once. I can only hope to use it when I get really,
really angry, and even then it doesn't always work. It's not a very
good ultimate technique."
"Better than the one I've got," Ranma told her. "So when
do you want to do this?"
Akane blinked at him in surprise. "You mean you still
want to train with me?"
"Of course," Ranma told her with a confident grin. Just
because she didn't think it could be taught, didn't mean Ranma
couldn't learn it. He had mastered supposedly impossible
techniques before. Besides, he did owe Akane, up to three times
now for sewing up his shirt, even if her sewing looked a little...
peculiar.
"We can start right after school! My family has a dojo and
everything!" Akane nearly shouted in excitement. She had been a
little girl the last time she had someone to really spar with and she
was thrilled with the idea of someone her own age treating her like
a serious martial artist, even if he was a bit... no, more than a bit,
better than her.
The phrase 'family dojo' sounded very familiar to Ranma,
but for some reason he just couldn't place it. Well, he figured, if he
couldn't remember it couldn't have been that important.
"How about tomorrow instead? I've got a lot of things I
need to do after school," Ranma offered, dreading his upcoming
date and all the preparations that it would entail.
"That'd be great!" Akane enthused, beaming at him.
Seeing Akane's smile, Ranma could understand why Kuno
was so crazy about her.