Greetings,
Grrr..stupid email program won't let me copy paste the whole thing. Here's the
second half of Curse of Silence 1.3
He asked, awe radiating from his voice, "Kane-Chan never told me that!"
Ranma gave Akane a cool, but playful, look through half closed eyes. "Really?
Maybe it just slipped her mind." Akane immediately became very interested in
the remaining clouds in the sky and stared steadily at them, idly kicking
around some dirt, while whistling a small tune quietly to herself.
< She can whistle? > Ranma wondered, < O' course she can whistle, > He
mentally berated himself. < She can't talk, her lungs work fine! >
"Ranma, do you think..uh..." Shiro wrung his hands, "Do you think you could
show me some of your martial arts?" Shiro started hopping from one foot to the
another and gave Ranma a plaintive look. He looked like a pleading child,
albeit a seven foot tall pleading child. Looking at this display Ranma felt a
wave of nausea sweep over him. Inwardly he grit his teeth, < Dammit! Why is he
acting like a child? >
Another part of his mind spoke up, < Maybe because he is a child? >
At this point a third voice joined the mental debate, < Oh please, look at
that disgusting display. What kind of freak is this Shiro anyway? > Ranma
paused, that 'voice' sounded a little familiar, the train of thought went on,
< I mean look at these people, two cripples, and a retard. Not to mention one
of them is a helpless female who has wound up crying on your shoulder on no
less then three occasions today alone! Is this the kind of people you want
around you boy? >
A memory clicked, the voice sounded just like..."Pop's." Ranma whispered to
the air beside him.
Something snapped. < I WILL NOT BE LIKE YOU! > Ranma shouted in his mind, < I
WILL NOT TURN ON PEOPLE SIMPLY BECAUSE THEY'RE DIFFRENT! I WILL NOT BE LIKE
YOU OR THAT JERK, KUNO! SO SHUT THE HELL UP!! > Ranma felt the 'voice' fall
away into the back of his mind and could almost see the smug look his father
would have worn if this had been a real argument.
< Tomorrow, > Ranma seethed. < I pound that panda extra hard simply on
principle. >
The time it had taken for this internal debate had not gone unnoticed by the
others. When Ranma became again aware of his surroundings he found Akane
standing directly in front of him.
Akane saw Ranma's eyes come back into focus. She pointed at him, them made an
'OK' gesture with her hand while wearing a puzzled expression.
"Uh...yeah, I'm fine." Ranma said, "I just got lost in thought that's all."
Akane had a humorous impulse, < For you Ranma that must be harder then it
looks. > And her hands started to make the gestures that would spell out her
thoughts and then she remembered that Ranma wouldn't understand and let them
drop to her sides with a small sigh.
< I really wish I could just talk to him. > She thought, < Just for five
minutes. I want to know what he thinks about all this. He's been acting kind
of strange. Is he really taking this all well? Oh how I wish I could just TALK
to him. > Akane felt an oncoming wave of depression and tried to shrug it off
by watching what Ranma and Shiro were up too.
"So Shiro you wanted to see me do some martial arts?" Ranma asked.
"Uh-huh, uh-huh, uh-huh." Shiro nodded emphatically.
Ranma took a few steps into the center of the yard to give himself some
breathing room. Shiro immediately sat on the concrete ramp while Akane leaned
against the wall behind him. Taka settled into his wheelchair and assumed a
studious expression.
Ranma ran through his mental list of Kata, < This one will do. > He thought <
Lets add some from this one, and, oh yeah, here's a nice move. And lets finish
with this, yeah, this should get some attention. >
His movements began slowly; a few punches, nothing fancy.
Chest punch, block... chest punch, block...face punch, low block... step
forward, chest punch.
Slowly, with increasing ferocity, yet still exhibiting iron control, his
movements grew in complexity while going faster, ever faster.
Chest punch, follow through backhand punch...overhand smash to the head,
overhead block...side block, step... spin kick, step...forward snap kick,
follow through back spin kick...step.
Akane shook her head in amazement, the moves themselves were still easily
within her capabilities but the flow, from one, to the other, to the next
seamless and endless. Water flowing down an icy mountainside had less grace
then what she beheld before her.
She noticed Taka gazing at her steadily.
"Impressive isn't he." He said quietly and gently reached up and closed her
mouth. Akane's teeth snapped together with an audible click. Her face went
red, she hadn't realized she had been gaping.
"Now now," Taka cheerfully admonished, "We mustn't let Ranma see how
impressed we are can we? Who knows how an 'awful' boy might take that."
Akane gave a silent "Hmpph" at her teacher and, playfully, crossed her arms in
such a way to silently declare to the world that she had no idea what he might
be referring too.
Shiro was oblivious to the goings on behind him. His eyes were practically
glowing in joy as he beheld the display of martial prowess before him.
< Wow... Wow!! > He thought.
Ranma completed a short series of drum punches, intermixing every other punch
or so with a spinning roundhouse, and finished with a flying scissors kick at
the nearest dummy. Instead of catching the dummy upside the head with his left
foot, he snared the dummy's head between his knees, gripped, and, with a heave
of pure power, arched his back, completing a flip. The forces tore the dummy
from the earth, over Ranma's head, and slammed it back into the ground
headfirst.
"WOW!" Shiro exulted.
Ranma pulled himself to his feet, dusted himself off, and formally bowed.
Taka was slowly clapping his hands. "That was... impressive. I don't think
I've ever seen a kata like that before. Especially that last maneuver." He
said.
Ranma gave a half-smile. "Yeah, I kinda' threw that last one if for a little
flash. Can't remember where I saw it before. I think its called a
'frakenstiener."
Ranma now turned to Akane to see what she thought. He was disappointed to
find she wasn't even looking at him, but rather staring at her hands, which
were nervously fingering her white board. She finally looked up at Ranma and
there was such a sad look on her face, a pleading for ..something. What, he
had no idea. Akane, just as abruptly, turned away and made an effort to appear
busy shoving her whiteboard back in her pocket. Ranma made a move to go over
to her.
< What does she want to say? > Ranma wondered, < She looks so..so...needful.
His actions were interrupted by Shiro's exuberance. He came pounding up to
where the young Saotome was standing and proceeded to jump up and down all
around Ranma like an eager puppy.
"Wow! Wow Ranma that was just so... Wow!" Shiro was practically shouting,
"You're just like Jackie Chan! I really like Jackie Chan, didja know that? I
really like Jackie Chan an' you're just like him! Wow! Just like Jackie Chan,
yes! Just like him." Pause. "Are you sure you never met Jackie Chan?"
"Yeaah," Ranma began slowly while shooting Akane a pleading look. She just
merely held out both her hands, palms out, indicating that he was on his own.
She now seemed slightly amused.
< Oh great, > Ranma mentally grumbled, < One second she looks like she's
going to go to pieces and then next finds my situation funny. >
"Yeah Shiro," Ranma continued, "I'm pretty sure I never met Jackie Chan." He
knew his next words were going to get him into trouble but couldn't see a way
around it. "So I guess you like Jackie Chan huh?"
Akane boggled. < Oh boy! Is Ranma in for it now. > She thought. Even Taka
winced.
"Oh do I ever like Jackie Chan!" Shiro launched himself into a monologue,
"He's the best! He's an awesome martial artist and he makes the best movies.
Did you know he does all his own stunts? He's over forty years old and he does
all his own stunts, isn't that the neatest thing? I think so. I think its
incredible, forty years old and doing his own stunts. Wow. He's a really nice
guy too. I love his movies. My favorite part is the ending credits though,
when you get to see the bloopers. The bloopers are my favorite part, except
when he gets hurt. I don't like those bloopers. The funny ones are good
though. I like the funny bloopers; but not the ones where he gets hurt, just
the funny bloopers, not where he gets hurt. No, no, no."
Each 'no' was punctuated with Shiro shaking his head.
Ranma politely listened to Shiro talk, nodding where is seemed appropriate.
Several times he tried to get a word in edgewise but was continually
overwhelmed by Shiro's endless stream of speech about how much he loved Jackie
Chan. Finally giving up he proceeded to settle down and wait it out.
< Me and my big mouth. > Ranma mentally sighed.
Shiro continued, "I saw a Jackie Chan movie last night. It was real old so
I'd never seen it before. It had the coolest fight scene in it." Pause.
"Actually it had lots but this one was really cool! It was...wow...just really
neat. Want me to show it to you?"
That last bit got Ranma's attention.
< Show me? > He thought. < Oh man he's going to try and show off! I should
have kept that damn kata simple. If goes and does something to hurt himself
Akane will kill me! But if I say no Shiro probably will get really upset and
Akane will kill me! What am I gonna do? >
"Sure Shiro. I'd love to see what Jackie Chan did in that movie. Be careful
though. Don't want to hurt yourself do ya'?
Shiro nodded, "Ok Ranma, but no worries. I'm tough." and with that he moved
to the center of the yard.
Ranma moved over to Akane was standing and whispered, "Is this wise?"
Akane nodded and pointed at her eyes then at Shiro.
"You sure?" Ranma pressed.
Again she nodded so Ranma shrugged his shoulders and turned to watch the
larger boy. Ranma was ready, at a moment's notice, to leap to Shiro's side if
he got into any trouble. Both out of concern for Shiro and to get out of arm's
reach of Akane. Shiro took a stance.
Ranma blinked, < The Snake stance? >
Then Shiro moved. He finger's, held straight and stiff, lashed out at an
invisible opponent's ribs. Left, right, left, right. Shiro's entire upper
torso swaying with each strike putting his full weight behind them. He then
spun one hundred and eighty degrees and held his arms out to each side,
horizontal to his shoulders on one leg. The other tucked beneath him.
< The Crane Stance? > Ranma boggled.
Shiro launched a midair circular kick, lashing out with his standing leg,
spinning around one-eighty again, and landing with the other. Ranma was sure
that if that blow had connected it would have taken someone's head off.
Having landed on his feet facing the original direction, Shiro seemed to lose
all coordination and bodily control. He reeled, stumbled, and lurched about as
if intoxicated.
Ranma's mind gave up. < Drunken Master? >
Shuffling aimlessly, Shiro threw an awkward punch and tripped over his own
feet and landed badly. He groped around, limbs flailing helplessly. Or so it
appeared. Ranma recognized the fact that those blows were, in actuality,
precise, controlled, and dangerous. Shiro then spun his legs over his head
and flipped to his feet. He started laughing.
"That was fun!" He bellowed, "Want to see me do it again?"
If physically possible, Ranma's jaw would have been resting on the ground. He
had watched Shiro's performance with an expert eye.
< Every move.. > His mind faltered. < Perfect, powerful, trained...how? >
He turned to Akane, "How..ho...how.." He stuttered.
Akane whacked him on the back of the head and he fell back on old habits. "Ow,
whaddya do that for?" He exclaimed.
Akane thrust her board in Ranma's face while giving him a mischievous smile.
{And they say I have a speech impediment.}
"Well," Ranma scratched the back of his head trying to pull himself together,
"I was just surprised that's all."
Ranma turned back to Shiro. "You study martial arts then?" Ranma asked.
Shiro gave him a confused look. "Um, no. I saw it in the Jackie Chan movie I
saw last night. I told you that. Didn't I tell him that Kane-Chan?"
Akane nodded in the affirmative and Ranma suddenly felt very tired.
"Well what the hell is going on here?" Ranma demanded, "First I'm told no one
here studies martial arts then I see Shiro here do a multi-style kata that was
incredibly advanced then he say's he doesn't follow the Art. This doesn't make
any sense!" He was practically shouting at this point.
Taka was still looking calm throughout Ranma's tirade; Shiro
looked confused and Akane was having a hard time not laughing.
< Poor Ranma. > She thought, < This is going to drive him crazy. >
Taka cleared his throat, "Perhaps I could explain. Remember how I mentioned
that Shiro had one other little talent? This is it. He mimics martial arts. He
can't learn new styles like you but if he sees you perform a maneuver then he
will remember how to do it. However he can only do that maneuver, he can't add
to it, or improvise. He doesn't know martial arts he mimics martial arts. When
we first met he wasn't in shape and he would hurt himself in his efforts. So I
encouraged him to exercise."
"But how?" Ranma insisted.
With a shrug Taka said, "Beats the hell out of me."
Shiro was confused. He couldn't exactly figure out what everybody was talking
about. < I hope I didn't do anything wrong. I don't think I did do anything
wrong. Did I? >
He heard the word 'exercise' drift through the conversation and picked up it.
Exercise he understood.
"Yes!" He proudly proclaimed, "Taka wanted me to get strong so I could be
like Jackie Chan. When I first came here I was big and stupid, now I'm big,
strong, and stupid!"
All three of the others were a little surprised by Shiro's exclamation.
Akane's fingers moved spelling out words that only Taka and Shiro could
understand.
Shiro laughed loudly and, not meaning to ignore Ranma responded in kind.
Ranma, in a very quiet voice asked Taka, "What did they say?"
Taka whispered back, "Akane said, 'But you're not stupid Shiro', and he
replied, 'That's right, I forgot."
Nodding his thanks Ranma started to brood. He didn't like asking for help,
it had always galled him to do so and now, what with everything else that had
happened today it was especially infuriating. He wasn't sure whether or not he
could handle the...wrongness... he felt with Shiro. He didn't want to feel
this way. In fact he knew it was wrong to feel this way. Maybe he just needed
time to get used to the idea but Kuno, the ice cream shop, meeting Shiro, and
now having to ask for help? It was all adding up to, at best, a world-class
headache and at worst a sudden and painful end to this new life that had
seemed to start out so well.
< Not if I can help it. > He pondered a few seconds longer, < I can't do much
about that other stuff except wait, see what happens, but this new problem?
That I can fix. > Ranma made himself a mental promise and was planning out how
to act on that promise when a bolt of lightning pierced the heavens and struck
the earth some fair distance away.
Akane's fingers spelled out more words and meanings to which both Taka and
Shiro started chuckling. Ranma grit his teeth against the feelings of
frustration. With extreme reluctance he asked again, "What did she say?"
Taka, still grinning, relied, "She said, 'either its going to rain, or Kuno
is being stupid again.'. C'mon lets go inside."
"Good idea." Ranma said while casting a nervous grin at the suddenly forming
clouds. "Lets hurry."
With hurried steps he headed inside, with Akane following, the two both made
it just before the heavens opened up drenching both Taka and Shiro.
Shiro, laughing, began leaping around performing the kata that he had done
earlier. Taka mumbled something unkind about the kami and their sense of
timing before saying, "C'mon Shiro, lets get out of the rain ok? If we hurry
maybe Ranma will show you some more Jackie Chan stuff!"
A split second later the back door slammed shut and the yard was
conspicuously absent of Shiro's presence. Chuckling quietly Taka wheeled
himself up the ramp and back inside the school.
End COS1.3
Next up: First dinner in a new home. Big appetites and big mouths.
Authors Notes: Well THAT'S finally done. Hopefully COS1.4 will have a faster
release time. After that will come COS2.0 and 2.1 etc etc..
Ok let me just get this off my chest. I based Shiro on a REAL person. No I'm
not kidding. In my youth..ok..EARLIER youth, I worked a great deal with the
handicapped. One person I met was a lot like Shiro. A berserk pituitary gland
had caused him to reach Goliath-like proportions and yet he was even more
mentally handicapped then my portrayal of Shiro here. He barely could talk,
had no chance in reading and never would.
It's because of people like my friend here and one other that I get to
sometimes thinking that justice is a force of nature.
My friend, (Lets call him Mark) was disabled in mind and so nature had given
him a nearly godlike physique and autonomous reflexes. Ok, Shiro is slightly
exaggerated but hey, the main character here changes gender via water! One
thing I am not trying to do is drag Ranma 1 into the 'real' world. Just add my
own spin to it. Course this means I have a very fine line to walk.
Mark was capable, much like Shiro, of performing a physical act just by
seeing it. Ok he couldn't do it perfectly but after a few tries( And I mean a
FEW..as in two or three.) he could. He also adored martial arts movies.
'Specially Bruce Lee. As I said, he couldn't talk much, but if you wanted to
find him all you had to do was let out a Bruce Lee like squawk and you'd hear
one in return. The only thing he couldn't do was the really fancy stuff like
forward flip axe-kicks, that's cause he was just to big. He was a really great
guy, he'd walk around repeating 'Its like a finger pointing away at the moon.'
all day but he was just so innocent you didn't get annoyed by it.
AAANNNYYWWAAAYYY... My own feelings on Shiro are a tad iffy. Like I could have
done something better. One of the reasons this took so long was I sat around
for hours trying to wonder what that thing WAS!! I couldn't find it. If anyone
has suggestions I'm listening. Hell I'll rewrite the whole latter half of this
part if I get a good enough idea.
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