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Thanks for all the feedback guys- I really appreciate it! In any case,
here's chapter two!
Disclaimer:
Megaman X character designs belong to Capcom. I'm just borrowing 'em,
guys. I'll have 'em power washed before I bring 'em back. Yeah, yeah, I'll
even hot wax 'em. Ranma characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi. I'm just
borrowing 'em, Rumiko-san. I'll have 'em power washed before I return 'em.
Yeah, yeah, I'll even hot wax 'em.
Flashfyre5 Presents
A Flaming Amarant production
In association with Digital Wizardry Studios, Minnesota
The Opening Bet
Chapter Two: The Divine Wind
" " = speech
[ ] = panda board
< > = thought
/ / = written
* * * * * *
"I am Genma Saotome," stated the overweight man that had joined Soun. He
was seated at the kitchen table, with Ranma sitting on his left, Soun around
the corner on his right, and the three Tendo girls sitting across from him.
"And I'm Ranma, his son," Ranma added.
"Son?" Nabiki asked, eyeing 'his' figure.
"I was born a guy. Don't push it," Ranma warned in return, giving the
middle Tendo an evil look.
"So why are you a woman now?" Nabiki asked flatly, obviously hot
believing Ranma.
"Well, my idiot father here decided to take me to a training ground with
a bunch of cursed springs. I kinda sorta fell into one," Ranma explained.
"Aah, Jusenkyo. Until now, I'd never truly comprehended it's horrors,"
Soun said solemnly.
"Truly, it was exactly as the Master described it," Genma added sagely.
Ranma struck a disbelieving expression.
"You mean," he said, turning to his father, "That you knew about Jusenkyo
before we got there?"
"Well, I'd, err, heard of it in passing...," Genma stammered. Ranma was
struck dumb for a second. Fortunately, this second was seized upon.
"Mr. Saotome, how could you?" Kasumi asked harshly, a look that might
have been anger on her face.
"Taking your son to a cursed training ground when you KNEW that it was
cursed?" Nabiki practically screamed. Quietly, Ranma stood up and walked to
the kitchen. Nobody except for Akane noticed, and she said nothing.
Meanwhile, Genma was sheepishly nodding, and looking for some cold water, so
he could trigger his curse. "You engage your son before he's even born, drag
him across China, then give him a curse when you know the consequences? Just
how dumb are you?!" Nabiki continued.
"Too stupid to live," a quiet, feminine voice said from the direction of
the kitchen. Everyone turned to see Ranma, standing in ht kitchen doorway,
holding the kettle of steaming water that she's put on earlier. Genma,
seeing this combination and knowing exactly what it meant, began to
desperately back away.
"Now, Ranma, let's be reasonable here," he urged desperately.
"Reasonable?" Ranma asked, advancing upon her father. "Was it reasonable
for you to take me away from my mother when I was five? Was it reasonable
for you to put me through the Goddamned Cat-fist? Was it reasonable for you
to get me cursed? No, Pop, we left reasonable when we left Momma," Ranma
growled, raising the kettle as she spoke. Nabiki, having heard about the
springs from her father and having seen the blue robot from earlier, put two
and two together and, as was usual for her, came up with four.
"Ranma, the others didn't see you long enough to know, but I saw your
other form. Don't do this; you'll kill him!" Nabiki pleaded, knowing what
kind of power her sister had. This young girl, in her other form, had fought
Akane to a standstill.
"Give me one good reason why not!" Ranma demanded, her knuckles whitening
on the handle of the kettle.
"Where would you go if you did?" Nabiki asked. "If you kill him,
everyone will know about you, in both forms. You'd be hunted for the rest of
your life, never knowing a home or a family. Do you want that?"
"No," Ranma said quietly, "but that's the life that I get. I can't even
go home to my mother now; my stupid Pop just told me that I signed a contract
with her when I was a kid. If I'm not a 'man among men,' then I have to
commit seppuku. No matter which form I'm in, I'm screwed. Soon as this
engagement is dissolved, we'll get kicked out and keep on wandering till one
or both of us die. Life aint fair, and it really aint fair to me."
"What if you had a home?" Akane suddenly spoke up. "Somewhere you could
stay as long as you liked, with people who care about you?"
"Maybe then. Too bad my Pop screwed that up for me," Ranma snarled.
"Daddy! Let Ranma and his father stay here until they want to leave,"
Akane suggested. "We were going to do the same thing for the engagement
anyway, weren't we?"
"We were," Soun mused, looking worriedly at his best friend. "Ranma,
I'll make you a deal. If you leave Genma be, I'll put you both up
indefinately." This, unsurprisingly, shocked Ranma, who lowered the kettle
ever so slightly.
"As long as I want?" Ranma queried, a shadow of hope on his face.
"As long as you want, providing that Genma is forgiven whatever crime
that you're so angry about," Soun declared. Inwardly, Nabiki smiled, just a
little. Yes, indeed, this was her father. Ranma, meanwhile, was warring
between the desire to kill his father and some unknown longing that he'd had
for as long as he could remember. His Pop had called it homesickness, and a
weakness, but it had never left Ranma, no matter how much he tried to squash
it.
"Deal," Ranma finally said, dropping the kettle. Everyone, especially
Genma, breathed a sigh of relief at his decision. "Don't think you're off
the hook yet, Pop," Ranma growled. "You might've just gotten away with
Jusenkyo, but You've got a lot to answer for otherwise." With that, he
dropped the kettle to the floor with a loud *clang*, and stalked outside.
After a minute, Akane followed him. Kasumi, sensing that the conflict was
over, went back to her kitchen to begin preparations for a late dinner.
"Well, now that that crisis is over, I can get onto the taxes," Nabiki
grumbled, rising. She turned and jogged up the stairs, hoping to finish the
organizing that she had to do before she could start. Soun, at Genma's
silent gesture, kept silent until his daughters had left.
"Are you sure about what Ranma said?" Soun asked. "I'm not quite sure as
to what she could do to hurt someone like you, but you seemed so afraid.
Why?"
"Her other form is Changed. Unlike my ignorant daughter, I paid
attention to the news when we got home. I know what he can do when he's a
robot, and I'm not anxious to have it done to me," Genma explained. "Anyway,
Jusenkyo was the only incident where I knew what I was getting myself into,
so Ranma'll just fight a bit harder in our sparring sessions. A few bruises,
nothing more."
"Aaah," Soun said, understanding. "So that was the blue blur from
earlier."
"Going into the pond? Yes, that was her. In any case, I think that it's
agreed that forcing the engagement now would be rather counterproductive,"
Genma said.
"It is," Soun agreed, tearing up. "Now the schools will never be joined!
Waaaahhh!!" he wailed.
"Calm down, Tendo," Genma commanded. "We may not be able to force the
engagement this generation, but there's always the next." Suddenly, Soun
cleared up, hope dawning in his eyes. "Sooner or later, Ranma will have to
accept that she's a woman, in every way, and take the necessary steps," Genma
continued. "We will have grandchildren, provided that you can get one of
your daughters married and with child. Then, we transfer the engagement to
the next generation. With any luck, we'll see the schools united by the time
we die!"
"What a spectacular plan!" Soun exclaimed. "I take it, then, that we
should find fiancees for our respective daughters?"
"Exactly," Genma agreed. "It's a foolproof plan!"
* * * * * *
Outside, Akane sneezed, and wondered who was talking about her. Sighing,
she set that thought aside and continued to look around the Tendo compound,
even though she'd already checked every place in and around it. Suddenly, a
touch of inspiration hit her and she looked upward, at the Tendo roof.
Positioning herself near it, she crouched, then leapt upwards with all her
mechanized might. Though impressive, it was hardly enough to get her onto
the roof. Thus, at the top of her jump, she fired her dash jets, propelling
herself straight upwards with enough force for her to soar right over the
edge of the house and land with relative lightness on the edge of the roof.
Immediately, she noticed Ranma, who was staring at Akane as if she'd grown an
extra head.
"Umm... hi," Akane said, suddenly self-conscious.
"What're you doing up here?" Ranma asked, sitting up.
"Looking for you," Akane explained, walking over to Ranma as softly as
she could. "What are you doing up here?"
"Thinking," Ranma sighed, lying back down. Akane seated herself next to
the redhead, looking up at the stars.
"About what?" she finally asked.
"Me. My Pop. My life," Ranma said, not looking at the robotic girl
sitting next to her.
"What do you mean?" Akane returned, lying down and gazing out at the same
patch of sky as Ranma.
"I dunno," Ranma answered. "Just... so much seems different now. I
always thought that Pop was just really dumb, cuz he never read all the
instructions. He did a lot of really dumb stuff, too. Now, I'm not sure how
much he knew about and decided to go with anyway."
"Oh," Akane said, after a pause. A moment of silence passed, as both
looked at the stars, not knowing what to say.
"I mean," Ranma finally continued, "everything we ever did was in the
name of the Art. Ever since I can remember, we were going from place to
place, doing all the training we could, learning how to perfect the Art. I
guess it never really bothered me at the time, but I never really had a home,
or a real friend." At Akane's shocked expression, he amended, "Well, sure, I
knew people, and I even made friends with a few. Problem was, we always left
after a week or two, so I never could really make any real friends." Akane
mulled over this for a while, looking at Ranma instead of the stars. Ranma
just stared upwards, thinking.
"You have a home, now," Akane finally said, prompting Ranma to look over
at her.
"Only till your old man throws me out," Ranma countered.
"No, he'll keep his word. Besides, I was going to ask Dad to let you
stay, even if that whole thing with the teakettle hadn't happened," Akane
stated.
"Maybe," Ranma conceded, looking away. Another minute passed in silence,
as Akane turned her gaze upwards again. "Lot of stars up there, aren't
there?" Ranma finally said.
"Yeah," Akane agreed.
"Kinda makes you lonely, ya know? When I was on the road, I loved that
stars. They were just about the only things that stayed the same, no matter
where I went. They reminded me of Pop, always there and about as reachable
as the moon. Now, what with Pop and all, it just feels empty, like one of
the things that you count on every day suddenly isn't there anymore. You
know, like you're all alone in the world," Ranma confessed.
"Like you're without a friend," Akane said.
"Yeah," Ranma agreed. Then, Akane rolled over to face Ranma, who turned
her head to look at Akane.
"I'm Akane. Want to be friends?" Akane asked, holding out her hand.
Ranma smiled and took it, gratefulness in her eyes.
"Friends. I haven't had one of those in a long time," Ranma said, a
small smile dancing on her face.
"Well, you do now," Akane said. Both smiling, they continued to watch
the stars.
* * * * * *
"School?" Ranma asked, confused. She was sitting in a tank top and boxer
shorts, looking at her father as if he'd grown an extra head.
"Yes, school," Genma confirmed. "We're going to be living here for a
while, even if you aren't marrying any of the Tendo daughters, so I believe
that you should start attending school again." <Besides,> he thought, <it's
a sure bet that there's a handsome man at that school that'll take a shining
to my daughter. After that, I get them engaged and let nature take its
course. The schools will be united at last!>
"Whatever, Pop," Ranma gave in, sensing that her old man had something
else that he wasn't telling her. "Where am I gonna go to school?"
"At the same school as me and Nabiki," Akane said, sticking her head into
the room. For once, she was wearing her helmet, and the sight of the young
warrior girl captivated Ranma for a split second before he turned his
attention back to the matter at hand.
"Really? Cool!" Ranma said, grinning. Suddenly, she realized something.
"I don't have any school supplies."
"That's okay," Akane said. "You're in my class, so we can share for
today. We'll get you some stuff after school." She looked up at the clock.
"Uh-oh! We're gonna be late!" With that, Akane ran from the room and
charged out of the house.
"Okay," Ranma agreed, rising. She grabbed her favorite Chinese shirt, a
red silk one with real gold clasps, and a pair of black cotton pants that
were a bit large for her frame as it was. However, they had to be this big,
just in case she got accidentally splashed by hot water. Dressing quickly,
she made her way downstairs. Grabbing a pork bun and a bento left on the
kitchen counter for her, she dashed out the front door. Using her fast,
lithe body to her advantage, Ranma was soon able to catch up to Akane, and
hopped up on top of the fence next to her, matching her stride for stride.
"Why are you up there?" Akane asked, turning a corner. Ranma followed
suit.
"It's great balance practice," Ranma said between breaths. "You should
try it sometime."
"My feet are just a little too big, don't you think?" Akane teased.
"Maybe," Ranma replied seriously. "Maybe not." They continued on in
silence for a bit, Ranma eating her pork bun, until the school came into view.
"Hate Kuno, hate Kuno, hate Kuno, hate Kuno," Akane chanted under her
breath as they drew nearer to the building. Reaching over her left shoulder,
she withdrew a cylinder from a holding place on her back.
"Huh?" Ranma asked as her chanting grew loud enough for her to hear.
However, Ranma never got her answer, as Akane charged through the front gates
of Furinkan Senior High. Inside, a robot stood, waiting for Akane. He was
tall, almost six feet, and silver from head to toe. Fluid of design, as if
he were one great mirror, stretched and contorted into a humanoid, he stood
tall and proud, a long katana blade sprouting from his right wrist. Lining
the edges of his various parts were bands of gold, shining in the morning
sun. From his back grew two great, silver wings, articulated like a birds.
He wore an ornate helmet and had the look of a nobleman on his face. Ranma
decided to stand back and watch from the school wall.
"Aaah, the fair Akane Tendo, I greet thee this morn," he said to Akane,
who was standing across from him, the cylinder held like the hilt of a katana.
"Just get it over with, Kuno," Akane said, her tone obviously disgusted.
Ranma decided to jump down and investigate.
"Hey, who's this bozo?" Ranma asked Akane, standing behind her.
Before Akane could speak, the other robot jumped in. "I, fair maiden, am
the high champion of the high school Kendo club. Foes tremble at the sight
of me, for I am Tatewaki Kuno, the Divine Wind of Furinkan High! You may
adress me as the noble Sword Angel, however, good maiden."
"Sword Angel?" one of Nabiki's friends said,
"That's a new one on me," admitted the infamous moneymaker herself.
"Is this guy for real?" Ranma asked incredulously.
"Unfortunately, yes," Akane said. "He decided that the only way that I,
in my 'maidenly virtue,' would let him date me would be for him to beat me."
"He can't can he?" Ranma asked, noticing the gathering rain clouds.
"Nope," Akane replied, a small grin on her face. Suddenly, the cylinder
in her hand spat out a blade of green energy, and Akane charged Kuno,
attacking with the fury of a woman scorned. Kuno, for all his glorious Kendo
titles, was hard-pressed to defend himself from the furious attacks of his
'love.' The two, in their fighting, slashed down a tree, and tore a wall to
shreds. Finally, Akane ended the fight with a powerful side kick to Kuno's
chest, which sent him sailing over the school wall and out of the established
boudaries of the fight.
"Well," Akane said, putting away her sword, which was now reduced to a
mere hilt again. "Let's get to class."
"All right," Ranma agreed, making a note to ask her about her sword later.
* * * * * *
"This is Ranma Saotome," the teacher said, introducing Ranma, who
fidgeted at the front of the class. "She and her father just returned from
China. However, this does not excuse the fact that both you and Akane Tendo
were late. Both of you, take the buckets and stand in the hall." Ranma
sighed and grabbed a pair of buckets, which sat at the doorway. She noticed
that Akane had risen from her seat, and was following suit. There were a
judicious amount of whispering as the two walked out, but Akane just ignored
it, her head hung. Soon, she joined Ranma in the hallway, holding a pair of
buckets.
"What was with all the whispering?" Ranma asked, shifting from one foot
to the other.
"They were gossiping at us. They said that someone else was a robot
lover," Akane said, sighing.
"Really? Who?" Ranma asked. Akane turned and stared at her companion,
disbelieving. Ranma suddenly blushed.
"They were talking about me, weren't they?" she asked, felling stupid.
"Yeah," Akane confirmed. "I'm really sorry about this. I'd hoped to
keep your reputation intact for longer than one period. Now it looks like
you're stuck with me, Yuka, and Saryu."
"Aaah, it's okay," Ranma said. "You're my friend. I don't really care
what they think." At this, Akane relaxed, leaning back on the wall. Her
bucket accidentally knocked against Ranma's and it sloshed over onto her.
Unfortunately, the teacher had filled the buckets with lukewarm water, and it
was enough to trigger Ranma's transformation.
"Aww, man," he exclaimed, dismayed. "Do you know where the bathrooms
are?" I gotta go find some cold water."
"Yeah, they're down a floor and- Ranma, look out!" Akane yelled. Ranma
turned and ducked to the side, just in time to avoid a vicious overhead slash
from Kuno. A loud rip could be heard, and Ranma's shirt tore in half.
"Who are you that talks so familiarly with Akane?" Kuno demanded.
"Dammit, you ruined my favorite shirt!" Ranma exclaimed. A number of
people were now leaning out of nearby classrooms, curious at this spectacle.
"I'm err... uhh...," he said, noticing all the people around him and not
wanting to blow his cover quite yet. "X! Yeah, that's it, X. In any case,
I'm gonna beat the tar outta you for doing that."
"X? Surely, that is the name of a knave. Good Akane, surely you do not
deign to associate with such a base and dishonorable creature," Kuno stated
haughtily.
"All right, THAT'S IT!" Ranma shouted, and knocked Kuno out of the window
with a powerful roundhouse kick. He followed, leaping out the window after
his prey.
"Ranma, this is the third floor!" Akane called after him, just as he
discovered this fact for himself. Kuno, however, was unimpressed, and flew
just out of Ranma's reach. Ranma himself fell like a rock, and landed with a
loud *crash* right next to the pool.
"Whew, that was close," he breathed, turning to face Kuno, who hovered at
the third floor.
"Foolish knave, you cannot hope to defeat me, for I am the Divine Wind of
Furinkan High, Tatewaki Kuno!" Kuno declared, a bolt of lightning punctuating
his statement. Ranma used the time to build up a charge in his arm cannon.
"An' I'm X, the Blue Bomber of wherever the Hell I choose to be," Ranma
made up on the fly, raising his arm to point at Kuno. With that, he
retracted his hand and loosed a great bolt of plasma, which struck Kuno
squarely on his left wing joint, shearing it off. Kuno fell to the ground
unceremoniously. He rose slowly, badly unbalanced by the loss of his wing.
"You shall pay for that," Kuno said softly, standing tall again.
"Put it on my tab," Ranma sneered. Prevented from hurting his father,
and still boiling from the panda's offenses, Ranma needed to vent badly. He
had just found a target to vent upon, and vent he did. "You insulted my
honor, and I'm gonna get you fer that. Besides, what kind of 'honorable' guy
attacks a girl to get a date with her?" Ranma asked, sarcasm dripping from
his voice. By the time he'd stopped speaking, Kuno was trembling with rage.
"I shall smite thee!" he screamed as loudly as he could, and charged at
Ranma. Ranma flipped backwards, his boots catching Kuno in the jaw, stunning
him. Ranma used the time to recover and back away some more, eyeing the keen
edge of the katana with a bit of fear. He sensed that it was no ordinary
metal, and would cut through his armor just as easily as it would flesh.
Besides, he'd seen it shear down a tree in one slash earlier that morning.
"You run from me, coward?!" Kuno taunted, hoping to get a rise out of Ranma.
Ranma, with both his honor and courage insulted, could no longer contain
himself.
"Okay, now you die," Ranma stated, and charged forward, enraged. Kuno
tried to get the katana up to block, but Ranma was too fast, and opened his
assault with a vicious uppercut to the gut. Kuno felt his armor creak as it
absorbed the blow, and his respect for his opponent went up a notch. Ranma
followed his opening blow with a barrage of attacks to Kuno's torso, even as
the silverclad boy tried to get his katana into a defensive position. He
finally gave up on defense, and struck Ranma a nasty jab in the side of his
stomach. Ranma winced, and grabbed the katana, holding it by the flat of the
blade. With one swift, decisive move, he brought his hand down on the side
of it, hard. It snapped cleanly, leaving Kuno defenseless as Ranma continued
his assault. Ranma finally kicked Kuno hard, in the groin, sending him
upwards a good foot. His arm cannon charged once again, Ranma unleashed a
great burst of plasma into the robot at point blank range. It exploded upon
contact with Kuno's chest, sending him far across the schoolyard, smoking the
whole way. He landed with a loud *crash*, and did not rise.
Ranma, yanking the remains of Kuno's sword from his belly, suddenly
noticed the eerie silence that had descended upon the school, and looked
around. From all three floors, people were staring at him, with expressions
of awe, terror, and loathing on their faces.
"He beat Kuno," someone said. Slowly, a murmur rose among the student
populous as they discussed the implications of this.
"Ranma!" Akane shouted, bursting out the school doors. "Are you all
right?" she asked, running to his side.
"Ranma?" One student from their class asked. "Wasn't she a girl?"
"Yeah, and human too," agreed another.
"Weird," stated a third. The other two nodded.
"I'm just fine," Ranma said, clutching his side. Akane pried his had
away from the wound and inspected it.
"We're going to have to get you to a doctor. When you change back, this
is going to bleed really badly," Akane decided. "C'mon, I know a doctor that
lives right nearby." With that, she dragged Ranma from the school grounds.
* * * * * *
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