The following is the first chapter of a fic I've been thinking about for a
while; only tonight did it really solidify. Be assured that all OOCness
will be explained, if not resolved.
C&C may be sent to my address: canthony@skyenet.net
Thanks for reading!
-- Attached file included as plaintext by Listar --
All characters within are the property of Rumiko Takahashi (and probably
Viz to boot). I claim no rights to any of them, and promise to wash the
peanut butter out of Nabiki's hair when I'm done.
Akane Tendo heard the sound of a powerful strike only a moment
before its recipient, Genma Saotome, entered the Tendo home horizontally
and in midair. Although his son's aim had been exceptional in that the
older man came in through the open doorway, he managed to take out a
closet, a wall, and a sliding door on the way out.
Ranma poked his head in. "Where'd he go?" he asked, looking
around. Akane pointed him toward the collateral damage without lifting
her eyes from the cookbook she was perusing, and Ranma sped past with a
hurried "Thanks!".
Outside, Genma lay flat on his face, a rip in the back of his gi
marking where the large rock between him and the house had caught him in
the small of the back. As his son walked up, he groaned and tried to
roll over; the purpling bruise on his back complained, and he winced and
pushed himself up to his hands and knees instead. "Good," he muttered,
and lifted himself into a reverse kippup.
Ranma was faster, though, and caught the older man's legs with a
foot sweep. Genma fell on his back, wincing slightly as the bruise
screamed indignantly at his brain, and tried to get up again, more
slowly this time. Again, Ranma took his legs out from under him, and
Genma smiled through the pain.
"Enough, son. I think you've got the idea." He moved to get to
his feet again; the teenager tapped the bruise with his toe, and Genma
fell again, biting his lip against the pain. He looked up at his son,
summoning a stern look to his face.
"I said, that's enough, boy. Let's get something to eat. I can
smell Kasumi's fish-cakes from here-" The boy's foot lashed out again,
and this time when Genma landed, a jolt of pain lanced from the soles of
his feet to the base of his spine, and his legs started to tingle. He
gasped involuntarily, and Ranma smiled.
"I'll save some for ya, pop," he said, and turned to walk into
the house.
Heretech Productions
presents
Glorious!
a Ranma 1/2 fic by EDG
Ranma sat at the table as Kasumi brought the fish-cakes over.
Everybody else, save Kasumi and his father, had already been seated, and
looked at him questioningly. "He'll be in in a sec," said the teen as
he reached over Nabiki to snag a cake. "He's feeling a little under the
weather." Akane frowned at this, but kept her counsel.
The elder Saotome staggered in the door, eyes burning with ire
that was unapparent on the rest of his face. "Just... not at the top of
my form today," he explained, sitting next to his son. "You'd better
explain later!" he hissed.
Ranma nodded to his father and passed him a fish-cake. Genma
was about to bite into it hungrily when he realized the uncharacteristic
gesture, and started examining the cake thoroughly. Soun arched an
eyebrow. "Something wrong, Saotome?"
"He /gave/ it to me. There /must/ be something wrong with it,"
Genma explained as he searched the cake for poisons or drugs.
"Relax, pop, I said I'd save you some," Ranma said. "It's fine,
I just got it off the plate. If ya want, I won't do ya any more favors,
though." He grinned and hopped up. "I'm gonna wash before I head to
school."
Genma and Soun shared a look, as did Nabiki and Kasumi, and
Akane fumed silently. Each of them remembered the last thing they'd
heard him say before he got up this morning:
"I'm gonna go see Shampoo. See ya later."
Shampoo wa talking with Cologne about the merits of and possible
uses for Instant Spring of Drowned Boy when Akane showed up, still in
her gi and looking for all the world like someone who was very, very
angry. "Shampoo!" she cried. "What have you done to my iinazuke?"
Cologne reacted first. "Your /what/?"
"Ranma! My iinazuke!"
Shampoo looked around. "Ranma do what with what?"
"Aargh! What did you do to Ranma?"
"Why you not say so? Shampoo do nothing with Ranma. He come
over for ramen last night, we talk for a while."
"What did you put in it?" Akane was livid.
"Um... Shampoo put noodles, water, salt, little sage for
variety..."
Akane fumed. "You /know/ what I /mean!/"
"What, you want know how make noodles?" Shampoo got a
suspicious look on her face. "Akane not even able make ramen?"
The youngest of Tendo's daughters screamed incoherently and
started attacking Shampoo, chasing her around and finally out of the
little cafe. "Shampoo no BAKA!" she cried as she and Shampoo raced down
the street, followed by the Amazon's desperate cry of "Shampoo know
/who/?"
"I can never understand that girl," muttered Cologne as she
started back in on today's dishes.
After Akane and Shampoo were a safe distance away, Genma and
Soun entered the cafe. "Cologne?" asked Genma, and the old woman poked
her nose out of the kitchen.
"Yes, Saotome, Tendo? What can I do for you?"
The two exchanged a look, and Soun started to speak. "It's
about Ranma... he's acting oddly today, and we know he came to see
Shampoo last night. We were wondering if Shampoo had put anything in
his food that we should know about..."
Cologne cackled. "Is that all you're worried about? As far as
I know, Shampoo didn't do anything to the ramen he ate. I didn't make
it, so I can't be sure, but since Ranma asked /Shampoo/ if they could
get together, I doubt she would have done something like that."
Soun and Genma exchanged another glance.
"And yes, I was watching the whole time. Ranma stayed for about
three hours, and they talked the entire while."
Genma nodded. "Well, if you find anything out, let us know."
Cologne cackled again. "If I think it's worth knowing, I will."
Soun seemed about to say something, but Genma silenced him.
"Thank you," he said, and the two hurried out.
Outside, the two conversed.
"You don't honestly believe her, do you?"
"She's always played it pretty straight before. If she's done
something to Ranma, she's been pretty open about it."
"You know how canny that old woman can be."
"If she tells us, she tells us. If not... we'll have to do
something ourselves."
"Don't we always have to do something ourselves?"
"It always devolves to the competent."