Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ Balance of Power ❯ Reunion ( Chapter 4 )

Volume 1

Chapter 5

Reunion

Ryoga's first three days in the hospital were very eventful. The staff at the hospital was amazed at the amount of visitors Ryoga had. Ryoga was quite surprised when Soun came in and thanked Ryoga for his part in saving Akane and Ranma; Ranma was quite adamant about how he would never need the help of a directionless jerk like Ryoga which earned him a quick trip home with the assist of Akane's fist. Ryoga was quite embarrassed when Nodoka came in and made the declaration that Ryoga would forever be a part of her family for as long as she was concerned.

Throughout the whole ordeal Akari was by his side. As soon as Ryoga was able to get the pick taken out of his arm and start taking his medication with a simple syringe, Akari had started sleeping in his bed. Ryoga and Akari didn't take notice to the comments that were floating around the ward that they had been having sex. But of course it was not true.

Ryoga was a little weak from all the medication he was taking. But, with Akari's encouragement, Ryoga started to go on walks around the hospital with Akari.

Ranma and Akane stopped by every day after school. Ranma and Ryoga were getting along like two best friends, if not for a few rough edges. Akane and Akari talked for hours on end for some visits, and both girls would always refuse to tell their two boyfriends what they would talk about.

But it was during one of Ryoga and Akari's walks that something much unexpected happened.

Ryoga and Akari had just left their ward when they ran into two people.

"Mom, dad!" Ryoga shouted.

"Oh Ryoga! We finally found you," Ryoga's father said.

"How'd you guys know I was here?"

"Well, I had made it back from grocery shopping and I found that your father had made it home as well. We were catching up when someone named Akane called and told us that you had had an accident and you were in the hospital. We left right away but we got lost. After a few days we found ourselves here," Ryoga's mom explained.

"Well let's go back to my room, we have a lot of catching up to do," Ryoga said.

"Sure," his father nodded. "Lead the way."

"Um, Akari?"

"Don't worry Ryoga, I'll busy myself with something," Akari reassured him.

"Thanks Akari, but before you go could you show us where the room is again?" Ryoga asked shyly.

===============

At the Cat Café, customers were not being served by the usual cheerful, bouncy Shampoo. She greeted customers, took their orders, and left.

When Cologne noticed that Shampoo's behavior was driving people away, she took Shampoo into the back room.

"What's the matter?" Cologne asked.

"N-Nothing," Shampoo replied.

"Well than maybe you can explain why customers are leaving the restaurant by the dozens?"

"Shampoo sorry," Shampoo said sadly. "Shampoo miss Ranma."

"But you just saw him yesterday," Cologne said.

"Is right but, Shampoo doing what you say and she not do what she usually do," Shampoo told her.

"I have already explained to you that if you were to resort to your old ways, Ranma would simply become more and more distant from you."

Shampoo nodded and got up to leave but not before muttering, "All Shampoo do is give pervert girl a chance to get closer to Ranma."

Cologne waited until she was sure Shampoo had left before turning away.

"It's exactly what your doing Shampoo, but it must be done."

===============

Ryoga and his parents chatted for a few hours. They asked him about what he had been doing in the past few months since they last saw him. He told them most of what he had been doing but left out significant parts that would only lead to a lot more questions.

When they asked him why he was in the hospital in the first place, Ryoga lied to them and told them that he had contracted pneumonia. The pajamas that Akari had bought him covered the scars that were on his chest (Ryoga was quite pleased with the clothes considering they did not have any sort of pig motif that Akari usually went for).

When his parents seemed to run out of questions Ryoga decided it was time to bring up a subject that he had been thinking about for quite a long time.

"Mom, dad," Ryoga said. "I want to ask for your permission for something."

"What is it son?" Ryoga's father asked.

"I want to get married."

Ryoga searched his parent's faces for some sort of reaction but was greeted by nothing.

"I-I know I'm still kind of young but, I really love Akari," Ryoga told them. Ryoga's mother was the first one of his parents to react.

"This Akari is the girl you were out in the hall with right?" she asked.

"Yes," Ryoga nodded.

"Are you sure you've thought this all out? I mean, where are you two going to live?" his father asked.

"Actually, I was thinking of finding a place in Nerima," Ryoga told them.

"Where are you going to hold the wedding?"

"I asked Mr. Tendo if we could hold it in the Dojo and he said it would be okay."

Ryoga's parents turned away from him and whispered to each other. Finally they turned around and his father spoke.

"Well son, if this is what you really want then, we support you."

Ryoga jumped up from his bed and gathered up his parents into a fearsome hug.

"What's going on?" Akari asked from behind them.

Ryoga released his parents and turned to look at Akari.

"Sorry," Akari apologized, "But Ryoga's doctor says he has to take another walk."

Ryoga looked at his parents. They smiled at him and nodded.

"Its okay son, we've got to be heading back anyway. Oh, and once you two figure out a date, call my office and they will give you my cell number," Ryoga's father smiled.

"Figure out a date for what?" Akari asked.

"Uh nothing," Ryoga said as he grabbed Akari's hand and led her out of the room.

He smacked right into Ranma as he exited the room.

"Ranma!" Ryoga said loudly. "Just the guy I wanted to see."

Ryoga grabbed Ranma by the collar and led him away. As soon as they were out of earshot, Ryoga whispered to Ranma.

"I need a favor."

===============

"What's up with Ryoga?" Akane asked.

"I don't know," Akari shrugged. "Ryoga's parents were in there and-"

"Wow, they found their way here fast," Akane interrupted.

"Yeah," Akari agreed, "And when I walked into the room Ryoga was really happy about something and his dad said to call him when we figure out a date."

"A date? A date for what?" Akane asked.

"That's what I asked," Akari said. "But when I asked Ryoga he simply said that it was nothing."

"I wonder what it is." Akane wondered aloud. She glanced over to where Ryoga had pulled Ranma and saw Ryoga seemingly explaining something to Ranma in great detail. Ranma was listening intently.

Akari followed Akane's eyes to the two martial artists and saw Ryoga hand Ranma a thick wad of cash. Ranma nodded and dashed off as Ryoga turned and walked back to them with a big grin on his face.

"Shall we finish my walk?" Ryoga asked them.

"Sure," Akari said skeptically.

Once they were in a generally empty ward, Akari's curiosity got the better of her.

"So where'd Ranma go?"

"Uh, he went…to…uh..do…me a favor," Ryoga said slowly, as if the words were just popping into his head.

"What kind of errand?" Akane asked.

"I…umm…needed some new…pants," Ryoga said. He mentally slapped himself for saying something so stupid.

"You handed Ranma a lot of money though," Akari pointed out.

"Yes that's because they're very expensive pants. Very exotic," Ryoga smiled. He began laughing very nervously as he placed his hand behind his head.

You are the worst liar in the world Ryoga, Akari thought. She knew Ryoga couldn't lie worth a damn. He also had a strange habit of putting his hand behind his head and laughing like a child whenever he was caught making a lie.

For the rest of the walk no one said anything. Akane knew Ryoga was lying as well but she knew it would be easier to get an answer out of Ranma instead of Ryoga.

When they reached Ryoga's room they found Ranma returning as well.

"Ranma! Did you get the pants!?" Ryoga asked loudly.

"Huh," Ranma said.

"Oh, they didn't have them did they, damn!" Ryoga cursed. He pushed Akane and Akari into the room and shut the door.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Ranma asked, confused.

"Look, never mind that, did you get what I asked for?" Ryoga asked.

"Your pants?"

"No you idiot! I mean the other thing," Ryoga said.

"Okay okay," Ranma said reaching into his pocket. He produced a small black velvet box and handed it to Ryoga.

"Thanks Ranma, I owe you big. Did you get one like I described?" Ryoga asked.

"Don't worry, I got one that suits you," Ranma told him.

"Really?"

"Yeah, when I first looked at it I seemed to get lost in its beauty," Ranma smiled. "Are you going to give it to Akari tonight?"

"Yup, but remember we got to act normal, I don't want Akari to get suspicious of anything," Ryoga said.

"Got it," Ranma nodded.

"What are you two talking about?" Akane asked from the doorway, irritated.

"Ranma and Ryoga spun around to face Akane. They both quickly tried to think of an answer.

"Umm, we were just waiting for uh, Ryoga's doctor," Ranma said after a long silence.

"It would make more sense if you waited in here," Akane told them.

"Good point Akane, we should do that right Ryoga?"

"Yeah," Ryoga agreed loudly. "It makes more sense than standing out here like a couple of idiots."

"They walked into the room, both laughing nervously. Ryoga sat down beside Akari on the bed and Ranma took a seat next to Akane on a couch they had taken from a spare room. Neither of them were meeting the girl's eyes. This did not escape the notice of neither Akane nor Akari.

"What's going on?" Akari asked.

"Yeah, you two are acting really weird," Akane agreed.

"W-What makes you think that?" Ranma asked.

"Well, for one thing, neither of you have been attempting to make any sort of conversation nor you haven't looked up from the ground since you got in here," Akari said.

"Now what the hells going on between you two!?" Akane shouted.

Ranma saw that the situation could easily turn into another episode of hurricane Akane. He saw there may be only one solution to the problem.

"Umm, Akane I love you," Ranma said as he leaned in for a kiss.

"Oh no, your not getting off thmfff."

Akane could not finish what she was saying as Ranma came in for his kiss. He pulled Akane down on top of him as he lay down.

Over on the bed Ryoga and Akari were mirroring the other occupants of the room's moves except Ryoga had not moved from his sitting position. A knock to the door brought everyone's attention to it.

"Sorry to interrupt, but we have to check Ryoga's stitching right now," the doctor said. Two nurses walked in and began running their procedure.

First Ryoga's shirt was removed and they began to examine Ryoga's stitching. They rotated his arms and looked for any unnatural pulling on the scars. As they finished, one of the nurses left her hands on Ryoga's chest a little longer than usual. Akari scowled at the woman as Ryoga blushed.

The doctor concealed his laughter until the nurses left and Akari stopped scowling.

"You can't really blame her Miss Unryuu," the doctor smiled.

"Just as long as she keeps her hands off of him," Akari said, scowling at the exit the nurse had used.

The doctor kept smiling as he began a more thorough examination.

Once he finished he patted Ryoga on the shoulder and handed him his shirt.

"Well Ryoga, I don't see any reason for us to keep you here any longer."

"Really?" Ryoga asked as he put his shirt back on.

"Yes, you are in better shape than anyone in this hospital, including all of us on the staff," the doctor told him.

"So I can get out of here tonight?" Ryoga asked happily.

"The doctor raised his hands. "Whoa, not so fast, I'm going to keep you here overnight at least for precautionary methods. Tomorrow you will be discharged," the doctor explained.

The doctor shot Ryoga the thumbs-up before turning around to walk out. Before he reached the door the doctor remembered something.

"Oh, and before I forget, you'll need to get one last antibodies shot," he said, reaching into his pocket. He retrieved a syringe that contained a clear yellow liquid.

"But the nurses told me that I've already received all my shots," Ryoga said.

"Oh, well this one's just on precautionary measures."

Ryoga shrugged it off and held out his arm. The doctor grasped his wrist and was about to insert the needle tip when Ranma spoke up.

"This isn't going to make him drowsy is it?" Ranma asked skeptically.

"Well, one of the side-effects to these shots is drowsiness."

"Uh, doctor, I was planning on staying more or less sober for tonight. Can I just take the antibodies tomorrow?" Ryoga asked.

"Sure Ryoga, you can take it tomorrow," the doctor reassured him.

"Thanks doctor," Ryoga said.

The doctor bowed his head and left the room, closing the door behind him.

"And why do you want to be sober tonight?" Akari asked.

"Uhh, it would be rude to fall asleep with our guests still being here," Ryoga replied.

Akari smiled and rubbed Ryoga's shoulder. "You're so considerate."

Ranma and Ryoga both shared a look of exasperation.

"Well Ryoga, what are you going to be doing once you get discharged?" Akane asked.

===============

After a few hours, Ryoga and Ranma were getting more and more edgy. They tried to break away from Akane and Akari but they kept getting pulled into conversations.

As soon as it got dark out, Ranma started dropping hints that he wanted to leave.

"It's getting pretty late," Ranma said as he faked a yawn.

"What are you talking about, it only got dark about a half-hour ago," Akane said.

"Yeah, but I've got a lot of homework and I'm already so far behind the rest of the class. Please Akane?" Ranma said in the cutest voice he could muster.

Akane saw the pleading look in Ranma's eyes and bowed to the inevitable. She made a disgusted noise and walked out of the room to get her coat. She returned, muttering something under her breath.

"Never worried about school before, don't see why he has to do his homework all of a sudden. Not that it'll do him any good," Akane muttered.

"And what do you mean by that!?" Ranma yelled.

"Exactly what I said," Akane replied.

"Oh and I suppose your marks are so much better than mine," Ranma said incredulously.

"Yeah they are! And they would be even higher if it wasn't that I was always being kidnapped and dragged away from home, by guys that have grudges against you."

"Hey! That only happened once!" Ranma shouted. "And it wasn't always my fault," Ranma said.

"Maybe if you stood in my shoes you would see things differently."

"Why would I want to stand in some stupid tomboy's shoes?" Ranma asked as he stuck his tongue out at her.

"You insult me now? Fine then, you can just walk home by yourself!" Akane yelled at her fiancée.

Ranma couldn't help smiling as he watched Akane storm out of the room. It hadn't even taken five minutes to set her off. His smile faded as a hand came down on his shoulder and began squeezing it in a vice-like grip.

"Rrraaannnmmaa!" Ryoga shouted. After watching what had just transpired between the two, Ryoga's rage was at the point where it was next to impossible to control.

"Hey, calm down Ryoga," Ranma said, spinning out of Ryoga's hold.

"Calm down!? Don't you think you could have found another way to do that!?" Ryoga yelled, his aura flaring.

"That was fastest way I could think of!" Ranma yelled back.

"What are you two talking about?" Akari shouted.

Ryoga's aura abruptly died when he realized Akari was still in the room. He was about to apologize to her when Ranma started talking.

"Akari, trust me, after tonight you are going to be thanking me for what I just did," Ranma said.

Ryoga was about to pound on Ranma again for revealing more than he was supposed to, but he noticed that Ranma had run off through the door while he was thinking of ways to rip Ranma limb from limb.

"Thank him, what's he mean by that?" Akari asked.

Ryoga sighed and turned to face the girl he loved.

"Nothin` Akari, lets grab a bite to eat from the cafeteria."

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Author's Notes: Some of the later chapters of this story were done by my wife, because at the time they were released, I was in India. I'll put a note at the end of each chapter that my wife did write.

I hope everyone has been enjoying the story so far, and I would like to thank everyone that has written a review.