Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ Ranma 1/2: The Truth and the Tempest ❯ Just Another Manic Monday ( Chapter 3 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

[Author’s Note: The characters and setting herein- with the exception of one or two O.C.’s of my own design- are the property of Rumiko Takahashi. I hope to get things moving a little quicker in this chapter as things and people begin to collide- as they are oft want to do in such situations as this. The action- for those few who haven’t guessed already- takes place just after the manga’s conclusion. Enjoy.]

Ranma ½: The Truth and the Tempest

Chapter 3: Just Another Manic Monday

--------------------

At first glance, it would seem that things had returned to status quo at the Tendo household. Kasumi was her usual pleasant self, Nabiki’s ‘whatever’ attitude was back, Soun and Genma appeared to have shaken off the effects of the previous night’s wreckage, and Ranma and Akane seemed to be back in their old form again- tolerating each other’s presence at the breakfast table with the occasional dig at the other thrown in for good measure. Soun had just officially delayed the marriage until things could be sorted out between them, and cringed inwardly as the two of them verbally sparred one last time before grabbing their bags and heading for school. I don’t know what to do anymore, he lamented. I only want what’s best for my baby girl, why can’t she realize that? Surely after everything they just went through, there must be some sort of a bond between them? Yet even today, they still can’t seem to get along!!! Good gods, at this rate Kasumi and Nabiki will be married before those two are! Faint rivers began to work their way down from his eyes. Can they not see the fate of our entire school rests upon their shoulders? I… I haven’t a single clue what to do anymore, and something tells me Saotome isn’t faring any better. Oh, heavens preserve us in this dark hour…

He hadn’t noticed the surreptitious wink Ranma and Akane had given each other when they had come down to breakfast, or the smirks as they had dashed out the front door.

--------------------

“I’m sorry I snapped at you like that, Ranma.”

“Hey, don’t worry ‘bout it, if it gets our dads off our backs for a little while, I can keep up appearances for a bit.” He scratched the back of his head nervously. “I just hope you didn’t take what I said seriously.”

Akane shook her head. “Not after what you said last night. I knew you didn’t mean it,” she replied softly.

They had made very good time getting out of the house, barely giving the others a chance to glance at the clock. It was actually very early for them, so they were walking at a fairly leisurely pace along the canal. The sun was out in full force, with only a few errant clouds passing in front of it. It seemed like any ordinary day, with one notable exception. Ranma wasn’t walking the fence top as he normally would, opting to share the sidewalk with Akane. He was smiling a bit, but every once in a while his eyes would dart to the left or right, almost expectant.

Akane glanced sideways at him. “Didn’t want to take the usual route today?”

He blinked. “Uh… nah, didn’t feel like doing balance practice that much,” he replied. “Besides, there’s… um… better company down here on the ground…” he added, flushing a little. Akane blinked, then smiled in response, a light blush on her own cheeks.

“Actually, I was just doing some thinking…” Ranma continued after a moment.

“That’s a first.” Akane giggled as Ranma rolled his eyes in mock-exasperation. “Sorry, couldn’t help myself.”

“Ha ha,” he sighed. “Fact is, I figure if I’m on the ground and moving slow I might just be able to avoid that old lady with the ladle this morning; I’m getting sick of being doused each day.”

“Oh, yeah… you really are a water magnet around her, aren’t you?” Ranma nodded in response, and Akane smirked and opened one of the snaps on her school bag. “Well, to tell you the truth I thought that might happen, so I brought along a precaution just in case you get splashed today.”

She opened the bag, revealing a narrow metal thermos. “Kasumi filled it for me before we left. Nice and hot, just the thing to treat the common curse,” she quipped. Ranma grinned and they both started laughing.

“Wish I’d thought of doing something like that,” he said. “I dunno what I’d do without you…”

“Probably spend too much time in your girl form,” she answered.

“As if! I’d rather spend as little time in that form as possible,” he groaned, still smiling a bit. Just then his smile faltered and he broke stride for one step. He took in a hissing breath as he put one hand up to the bridge of his nose.

Akane glanced over. “Something wrong?” she asked as he rubbed at his forehead.

“Ah, nothin’ big,” he mumbled. “Just my sinuses actin’ up or something, it’ll go away in a bit. Nothin’ to worry about.”

Akane frowned. “You aren’t getting sick or anything, are you?”

“Nah, too tough to get sick.” Akane smirked as he said that, remembering a time when he’d come down with an exceptionally bad fever that just about knocked him out at one point. Still likes putting on that macho front of his, even after all this time, she thought to herself quietly. Sometimes I wish you’d just admit when you’re hurting, Ranma… even if I couldn’t solve the problem, I’d try to help you.

Ranma shook his head for a moment, breathing out a long sigh. “Almost gone now… never really lasts that long.”

“You’ve had these before?” Akane asked.

“Eh, on an’ off for a while now, it’s more irritating than anything else,” he replied. “I asked Dr. Tofu about it, he couldn’t find anything wrong. Said it might just be air pressure.”

“You sure?”

“I’ll be fine, Akane. Don’t worry about me…” He trailed off as he took a longer look at their surroundings. They‘d turned a corner and were walking down a long stretch of canal walkway. “Uh oh.”

“Uh oh? What’s that mean?” said Akane, bewildered.

“Better keep a sharp eye and ear out for now,” said Ranma in a low, heavy voice.

“Why? What am I supposed to be looking for?”

Ranma gulped and glanced back where they had come from. “We’re looking for two big danger signs, Akane- a head of purple hair, or that damned bicycle bell. We’re right in the middle of the Chinese Delivery Bike Ambush Zone.”

Akane’s expression darkened. “Oh, great. I’d almost forgotten about that bimbo… you don’t think she’d seriously be here today, not after yesterday?”

Ranma’s eyes narrowed as he began walking at a slightly faster pace. “Right now, I don’t know what would be going on in Shampoo’s head.” He glanced over at Akane, a deathly serious look in his eyes. “Listen, if you hear or see any sign of her coming this way, I want you to start running…”

Akane’s head shot up the moment he said that, her eyes wide. “You want me to run?” she asked, a little hotly. “What for? So I can leave you and Shampoo all to your lonesome, is that why you want me to run?” Her right hand was clenched into a fist as a cold blue aura enveloped her body. “You just want to ditch me for her after everything you said last night, is that why you…” She glared up at him, and suddenly stopped speaking as she caught sight of his face. Ranma’s eyes had gone wide, there was a stricken look on his features that she had seldom ever seen before- she could even see his shoulders sagging, as if someone had stacked weights on his back. All at once, everything he had told her through her door the previous evening came crashing back into her mind, and her battle aura rapidly dwindled and vanished. The fury on her face was quickly replaced by a look of embarrassment mixed with shame.

“Oh, gods… I did it again, didn’t I?” she said in a small voice. “I didn’t let you finish what you were saying… I’m sorry…”

Ranma took a deep breath. “No, I should’ve said it differently; I didn’t mean for you to take it a bad way. But I will say this right now. I have never been, and never WILL be, interested in that purple-headed, manipulative, self-absorbed, brain-dead Amazonian bitch. After everything she’s done to me AND you, I’ll be very glad if I never see her again…”

Akane stared at him in shock. Did he really say that??? He… he called her… he’s never called anybody that, not even me! Even when he was really angry with me, he never called me any of those things… Ranma may not have much in the way of manners, but he’s never stooped to that level before! He must be angrier with her than I thought…

“The reason I asked you to run if she shows up is I don’t want ya to be left behind,” he continued. “If Shampoo tries anything today, I’m runnin’ like a bat outta hell an’ I don’t want you to be surprised when I do.”

Akane shook herself out of her reverie and nodded. “You… you’re just going to run? You’re not going to confront her or anything?”

Ranma shook his head, a grim look on his face. “The fact is, if she does get close enough to glomp me, or even lay a finger on either one of us, after what she did… as much as I hate fighting girls, I’m really not sure if I could control myself.” Akane said nothing, merely nodding absently in response.

That’s when two things pierced the air behind them… a bicycle bell, and a bubbly high-pitched voice.

“Nihao, airen!!!”

Ranma flinched and nodded to Akane, who nodded in return. “RUN!!!” The two of them locked hands and broke into a mad dash just as Shampoo’s bike rounded the corner and started towards them.

“Ranma forget school now, go to date with Shampoo, yes?” she said in a sing-song tone- which quickly faded as she noticed the two of them disappearing rapidly. She stared in bewilderment, not believing for a moment that Ranma was actually running away from her… and holding hands with Akane, no less.

“What Ranma doing?” she asked herself, slowing down and gazing at his rapidly vanishing form. “Why airen run away from Shampoo… and with violent girl Akane at side?” She blinked a few times. “This no make sense… Shampoo save Ranma from stupid wedding… why Ranma not happy?”

--------------------

It wasn’t long at all before Ranma and Akane drummed their feet to a halt, less than a block away from the front gates of Furinkan High. Akane leaned against the wall while Ranma rested his hands on his knees, each one catching their breath.

“I knew it…” Ranma gasped. “I just knew… she’d show up… one way or another.” He wiped some sweat from his brow and grimaced. “Next time, though, I swear I’m not gonna take it. This is the last straw…” He looked over at Akane and smiled. “You know… you’re a lot faster than I thought.”

Akane blinked. “Huh? I was just trying to keep up with you, that’s all.” She brushed her bangs out of her eyes. “You practically turned into a rocket for a moment there…”

“Just for a moment?”

“Yeah, then I started to catch up and you slowed down a bit so you weren’t dragging me; even so, I guess I did do sorta alright…” She trailed off as she noticed he was giving her an amazed look. Something clicked, and her eyes went wide. “You… you didn’t slow down?”

“No… I was goin’ flat out.”

“So then… I really was that fast?”

Ranma nodded, and a look of astonishment crept onto her face, a look that mirrored the one he was sporting. Just then an all too familiar voice rang out from the school gates.

“My beauteous huntress, it does my heart good to see thee in such high spirit and fine health this day,” Kuno proclaimed as he raised his bokken, eyes narrowing on Ranma. “But my joy is marred by the continued presence of this accursed wastrel Saotome. Fear not, my lady, for today I shall defeat this cur and free you from his grasp, now and forev… ER…”

Kuno’s last syllable turned into a high-pitched, strangled squeal, his eyes went wide and his bokken clattered to the ground… all perfectly natural reactions to Akane striding forward and kicking him in a very delicate place. “I’m only going to say this once, Kuno-sempai,” she snarled, grinding as much sarcasm into the title as she could. “Stay out of my business and leave him and me alone, or next time I’m not going to pull my punches.” She turned on a heel and started marching towards the front doors; a second later Ranma blinked and followed suit, giving Kuno a dirty look as he passed. The doors slammed shut as they entered, followed by Kuno doubling over in a pathetic heap on the ground.

“M-my f-f-air Ak-k-ane… h-how could y-you b-be so c-c-cruel???” he groaned in a falsetto. Several students who had observed the whole thing stared at him for a few moments before deciding today was not a good day to get on Akane’s bad side.

--------------------

“I don’t think he was expectin’ that when he got up this morning. Ouch…” Ranma whispered as the two of them stopped in the locker room to put their street shoes away.

“Yeah, well he’s bugged me so many times he had it coming eventually,” Akane replied in an equally low whisper. “Sure had a lot of nerve interrupting us like that.”

“Yeah, I know… an’ you can bet that isn’t the only interruption we might have today,” Ranma sighed. “Actually… there were a few other things I kinda wanted to talk to ya about, but I doubt we could talk about ‘em right now.”

Akane nodded. “You’re right about that… God knows who might be listening.” She looked both ways; seeing the locker room empty, she breathed a sigh of relief. “I doubt we’d be able to get any privacy at home, either; those walls have too many ears.” I wonder what he wants to talk about? she thought privately.

“Hmm… well, how ‘bout after school, we go to the park? Um… if you don‘t mind, that is…”

Akane paused, smiling a little. “That would be a good place… but there’s still no guarantee that someone won’t pop in on us.”

“Yeah, there is that. Unless we lay a false trail… y’know, double back on ourselves, make it look like we’re going one place instead of another,” Ranma replied with a shrug. “Or… we could pretend to get in an argument, go in separate directions after school and meet at the tree with the bench, near the fountain.”

Akane’s eyes widened. “Hey… that might just work,” she whispered, noticing one or two other students drifting in. “How’d you come up with that?” He shrugged in response, eliciting a giggle from Akane before she frowned again. “But… are you sure you want to do it that way? Even if it is an act, I’m not so sure I really want to fight with you anymore. I don’t want to get carried away again…” she trailed off.

“Hey, don’t worry ‘bout it too much. An act is just that, an act. Just promise you won’t take anything I say too seriously, okay?”

Akane paused for a moment, then nodded and smiled. “Okay. As long as you do the same for me.”

“Deal,” he replied. “Now, let’s go put on a show.” Straightening up, he winked at her and began striding towards the main hall. “Better get going if you don’t wanna be late for class again, ya slowpoke tomboy!!” he said in a louder tone.

“Well I wouldn’t be so slow if you weren’t dragging me down with you, you lousy baka!!” Akane hollered back, assembling a quick scowl on her face as she chased him towards their classroom.

--------------------

That afternoon, some distance from Furinkan, Ryoga Hibiki didn’t feel very good. In fact, he felt much like a sheep that had just been sheared, sunburned, and was currently in the process of being made into lamb chops. After his role in the wedding fiasco had played out he had promptly gotten lost again, wandered around until he found a suitable park bench to collapse on, and was currently trying to shake off the effects of the previous night’s sleep. Not only had he slept in a highly uncomfortable position, his dreams had been an endless assault of conflicting memories that left him confused, more than a little depressed, and very definitely angry. The main problem was, he didn’t know what he was angry about.

He sat on the sidewalk, leaning against a brick wall, wadding a soda can into a sphere in one hand.

“Dammit, I don’t know why the hell I’m so mixed up about this,” he growled to himself. “They had no right to force those two together! They couldn’t have expected me to just sit by and watch, could they? For crying out loud, they HATE each other! I was doing them a favor; I KNOW I did the right thing…” He stood up, flinging the crushed can into the sky. “SO WHY THE HELL DOESN’T IT FEEL RIGHT???” He slapped a hand to his forehead. Visions of the carnage wrought the previous day swam sickeningly through his head, and he winced at the sight.

“Damn… maybe… maybe things went too far out of control…” he whispered, before blinking and setting his jaw again. “No, I’m sure Ranma got just what he deserved out of that. After all the things he’s done for her… I mean, done TO her…” He stopped.

“All the things… he’s done FOR her? Where’d that come from?” he pondered aloud. “He’s never done anything but make fun of Akane, make her angry or cry, point out things he KNOWS she hates being criticized on… he never does anything about the other girls pursuing him… calls her ‘uncute’ when he knows that she isn’t…”

Ryoga had folded his arms and started walking, not bothering to look up. His pace had started out brisk, but now his feet faltered. The set of his jaw softened.

“But… even with all that, he still went to Phoenix Mountain and brought her back…” He stopped, letting his arms hang limp. “Good God, he actually destroyed Saffron when none of us could even come close… just like when he fought Kirin, or Toma, or the dragon at Ryugenzawa…” A look of revelation was working its way across his face.

“That’s right. He even destroyed that spring so that Akane wouldn’t be cursed herself… he gave up a cure for her sake.” The anger in his eyes was slowly fading. “And even if he does critique things about her, I guess it’s not always without merit… he may be blunt about her cooking attempts, but at least he is honest. I didn’t even have the guts to tell her how terrible her curry was, back when they were on that training trip…”

Stop defending him. He doesn’t know how to treat his fiancée. He needs to be taught a lesson!

The fire in Ryoga’s eyes returned. “YEAH! Why the hell am I talking like this?? Even if he’s done a few things for Akane, he’s still an arrogant bastard!! That does it! I’m gonna find him and beat some sense into that thick skull of his if it’s the last thing I do!” He pounded his right fist into his palm, glancing around at his surroundings with a determined air.

A moment passed.

“AAAARRRRGGGGHHHH!!! WHERE THE HELL AM I NOW????” Ryoga slammed his eyes shut and barreled down the road in pure fury. Pieces of concrete flew into the air as his feet pummeled the sidewalk; he whipped around a corner and smashed straight into something that knocked him backwards three feet onto his butt.

He shook his head and glanced up at what he had run into- a man about the same height as Kuno, wearing a leather jacket and jeans with his hair held back by a black bandanna, a long white silk bundle slung over one shoulder. Ryoga didn’t seem to care that the stranger hadn’t been knocked backwards by the impact; all he knew was he was angry and someone was in his way. “Hey! Why the hell don’t you look where you’re going?!?” he bellowed as he struggled to his feet.

Shingen raised an eyebrow. “Why don’t I look where I’m going?” he replied calmly. “You were the one that ran into me, buddy, not the other way around. I was just minding my own business when you shot around the corner and tried to knock me down, pal.”

“Whatever!!!” Ryoga shot back. “I don’t have time to argue about this; GET OUT OF MY WAY!!!” He yanked his arm back and punched forward as hard as he could- then blinked. His fist had collided with Shingen’s left palm, held casually in front of his face, and had been stopped completely. The taller man hadn’t recoiled even a bit and was glaring at Ryoga with ice in his eyes.

“Look, pal, I don’t know what your problem is with me, but you need to calm down. I’m not really in any mood to fight somebody I don’t have to; I’ve got too many other things to worry about at the moment.”

Ryoga stared, speechless for a moment, just before his rage returned in force. “Dammit, don’t toy with me! I’m not in the mood right now!!!” He grabbed his umbrella off of his pack and stabbed at Shingen repeatedly, so fast the umbrella became a blur- and the next thing he knew, the taller man had stepped into the path of his attack, grabbed him by the wrist and in one fluid motion, whipped behind him, threw him to the ground and wrenched the umbrella out of his hand. Ryoga’s eyes went wide as he glanced up; Shingen didn’t even look fazed.

“You’re a very angry young man,” Shingen remarked, tossing the umbrella up and down lightly. “You also don’t seem to be what you first appear; there’s definitely a warrior’s air about you.” He glanced down at the still-stunned Ryoga. “Not many normal people could throw a punch like that, or strike that quickly, and I seriously doubt a normal high school kid would walk around with a 40-pound umbrella on his back.” He set the umbrella down on the ground and folded his arms. “Who are you?”

Ryoga sat for a moment in silence. This guy is good… he didn’t even blink when I punched him, and I don’t know how the hell he disarmed me that casually… it’s like this stuff is second nature to him! Just like… just like Ranma… An idea popped into his head, causing him to smile almost imperceptibly. Yeah… just like Ranma. Now that I think about it, in a one-on-one fight I’ve never really won against him. But with TWO on one… maybe if I can get on this guy’s good side, he could help me turn the tide and teach that jerk the lesson he needs!!! He struggled to his feet.

“I’m… I’m sorry about all this, I’ve had a really bad morning so far,” he said. “I apologize; I didn’t mean to attack you like that.”

Shingen raised an eyebrow. Interesting… first he attacks, then apologizes. Oh well, I’ve seen worse. “Everyone has a bad morning once in a while, that’s no reason to attack another person,” he replied. “But I will accept your apology; after all, no one was really hurt. Now I ask you again, who are you?”

“Oh, uh… Ryoga Hibiki. And you?”

“Shingen Yamashira. You live in this ward?”

“Umm… more or less,” Ryoga replied. “Why do you ask?”

“I was sent by my father to probe into a series of mysterious happenings in this district. Do you know anything about this, have you seen or heard anything not normal recently?” Seems a little on the confused side, but if he frequents Nerima he could provide a clue towards the source of the chaos stream. If only my damned aura sight was working again, Shingen pondered quietly.

“Ha! You’d be hard pressed to go one week in Nerima without something weird happening!” Ryoga chortled. “It’s practically a hotspot for oddities and bizarre happenings; God knows I’ve done my fair share of fighting some of the weird things that crop up.”

Shingen’s eyes widened slightly. “You’ve had a hand in fighting the manipulations of the chaos stream?” he asked. “Interesting…” He looked at Ryoga for a moment, almost with an appraising gaze. “I will admit, you don’t look like a Hunter… and I’ve never seen your family name in the Lists, either.”

“Hunter?” Ryoga asked, confused. “What’re you talking about?”

“My bloodline’s legacy,” Shingen replied. I guess he isn’t aware, but if he’s encountered the occult in Nerima there’s not much harm in telling him. “The legacy of the Demon Hunters.”

Ryoga blinked. “De… Demon Hunters?” What is this guy, some sort of rogue exorcist? He sure doesn’t look like one… although that could be a priest’s staff on his back wrapped in silk… “So what, you go around blessing houses or exorcising spirits, or…”

Shingen’s eyes narrowed. “Do not confuse me with one of the weaker bloodlines,” he said in a low voice. “An exorcist can only imprison or banish an oni, and even then it is only a temporal prison on the material plane. We Hunters do more than imprison… we return the demon to the hell it was spawned from.”

Okaaaayyyyy… thought Ryoga. This guy isn’t making a whole lot of sense now. Must be delusional or something; ‘return to the hell it was spawned from’? What kinda crap is that? He can’t be serious! He paused in his train of thought. Then again, this could be the key I need to get him on my side; even if he is a little on the goofy side, he is a fighter… “Well, if it’s demons you’re looking for, I’ve had my own fill of one particular demon for the better part of the past year.”

“You have?”

“Oh, you better believe it! He’s nothing short of chaos incarnate!! Doesn’t matter where he goes, trouble always seems to follow him! I’ve fought him myself on numerous occasions, but he always, ALWAYS gets the upper hand! He’s a thoughtless, barbaric, egotistical jackass, not to mention the girls who are always falling over him that he NEVER treats with respect; I swear, if somebody doesn’t beat some sense into Ranma’s head, he’ll be like this forever!!!”

Shingen’s eyes remained narrowed, his focus sharp as a blade. Chaos incarnate… this could be the lead I’m looking for. “You said his name is Ranma, was it? Bit of an ordinary name for a demon, don’t you think?”

Ryoga dug a hand into his backpack, producing a pair of photographs. “Maybe, but this guy’s far from normal! Look for yourself!” he said, offering the pictures to Shingen.

He took the photos, glanced at each one, then back at Ryoga. “Hmm. I’m guessing the young man with the black hair is the one you’re referring to. He still looks fairly normal… but what’s with the photo of the red-haired girl?”

Ryoga snorted. “Talk about abnormal; those are both pictures of the same person! Ranma can turn into a girl at the drop of a hat; if that isn’t abnormal, I don’t know what is!”

A shapeshifter!!! Shingen thought to himself. I thought the chaos could be the work of one of them,, but I didn’t expect to actually find one here in Tokyo! If there’s a shapeshifter afoot in Nerima, this could be worse than I thought. He glanced up. “Mr. Hibiki, I think you may have helped me out a lot more than you realize. Where is this ‘Ranma’ now?”

Ryoga glanced at his watch. “Hmm. I’m guessing he’d be near Furinkan High right now; school should be letting out for the day. C’mon, I’ll show you!” he said, barely hiding the scheming grin on his face as he turned down the sidewalk. Just you wait, Ranma; today you’ll learn your lesson whether you like it or not.

A cough from Shingen stopped him. “What?”

“I hate to tell you this, but you’re going the wrong way.” Shingen sighed. “Maybe I’d better lead; I studied in this ward as an exchange student seven years ago. I know where Furinkan is.” He turned and began jogging in the direction Ryoga had been running away from. Ryoga shook his head and followed after a few seconds, a sheepish look on his face.

This is no mere coincidence, meeting this young man, Shingen thought as he sped up. This could be the break that I need… and at the right time, too. Without my aura sight, it might’ve taken me another day or two to get this lead. Now comes the hard part…

To Be Continued.

--------------------

A/N: This was longer than my previous chapters, I admit, but a lot of stuff is beginning to happen and I didn’t want to break it into smaller chapters. Coming up in the next installment: a misunderstanding ignites a new conflict. Trouble is looming on the horizon. Until next time… Neon RoninConverting /tmp/phpzzXtN4 to /dev/stdout