Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ Ranma 1/2: The Truth and the Tempest ❯ A Decision ( Chapter 18 )

[ 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. With that said, on with the show.]

Ranma ½: The Truth and the Tempest

Chapter 18: A Decision

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The Thursday morning sun had only just begun to rise as Ranma pushed back the cover of his futon, staggered up and padded over to the window, where he leaned against the glass and stared blankly at the backyard. He hadn’t slept well that night- and not just because of his father’s habitual snoring. He rubbed at his eyes and glanced back at the futon next to his, wondering how his mother could sleep so peacefully on the occasions where she and Genma did sleep in the same room. Old man sounds like a steamboat whistle, he thought to himself with a smirk. Nodoka, on the other hand, was sleeping quite peacefully; Ranma actually had to double-take when he noticed her hand resting lightly on Genma’s chest and a minute smile on her face.

Dunno if I’ll ever understand them, he wondered silently. As much as pop screws up an’ acts like a jerk, mom still seems to put up with him… even after what he was saying last night, too. He shook his head, wondering if he would ever comprehend what it was Nodoka still saw in Genma.

That wasn’t what had disturbed his sleep either. The snoring he was used to. And he had become accustomed to the three of them sharing a room when space was scarce, though events of the past few days had given him a little privacy once in a while. He turned around and sighed, staring out at the clouds.

This is way more than I ever expected, he mused inwardly. Hunter blood? Where the hell did that come from? Pops certainly never said anything ‘bout it… though whether he’d ever know about it in the first place is somethin’ else. Mom didn’t seem to know about Hunters outside of some fairy tales, least that’s what she said when she first met Shingen… He drummed his fingers on the windowsill. Was there someone that married into the clan? And if so, why keep it a secret? An’ what the hell am I supposed to do now?

All I ever wanted was a chance to settle down… stop traveling all over the place with the ol’ man, lead a NORMAL life for a change… heh, fat chance of that ever happenin’, huh? He slipped silently to the other side of the room, resting his hand on the door handle before opening it quietly. Normal? I don’t even know what that means anymore… all these damn things that keep croppin’ up the way they do. Curses, lunatics, ghosts, demons, magic… even gods… it’s like somethin’ was tryin’ to tell me from the get-go I’d never have a normal life. ‘Hey, Ranma Saotome! Congratulations, yer life is gonna be a helluva ride from now until Kami knows when!’

He paused in the hallway, taking a deep breath. An’ now Akane’s caught up in it, too… he said she had those same patterns in her aura. Talk about a coincidence… He gritted his teeth. Damn… damn, damn, damn. I’ll bet anything she’s gonna blame me for it, just the same. He took a few steps, then stopped again at the top of the stairs.

Then again… He leaned against one wall, brows knitted in thought.

He did say we could choose to repress it if we wanted. That might give us a chance at a peaceful life, once we take care of all the other loose ends. But… A small smirk crossed his face.

I dunno why… but a peaceful life actually sounds kinda boring. And Shingen did mention other techniques that Hunters get taught… like that stone cutting strike of his, or the Healing Light.

Maybe accepting the power wouldn’t be so bad after all. But… Akane…

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Breakfast was a quiet affair that morning. Kasumi was more than a little surprised at how early Ranma was up and dressed, and the fact that Akane had skipped her morning jog did not escape her attention either. Soun had glanced at them both with a questioning eye, but when an answer did not present itself he shrugged and resumed reading the paper. Nabiki might have said something about it being the first time that she was the last one seated at the table, but having stayed up late the previous night poring over her ledgers, she was even more groggy than usual. Genma didn’t even have a chance to try and swipe some of his son’s portions- not merely because Nodoka was watching him like a hawk, albeit with a pleasant smile. Ranma had downed most of his breakfast before Genma was even down there… and oddly enough, so had Akane. Nodoka made a mental note to ask them later what was troubling them. Something must have happened last night, she mused. Something they’re both trying to cope with… but what?

It wasn’t long before the two of them had set their bowls down, grabbed their bags and vanished out the front door. Nabiki stared at her departing sister and future brother-in-law, and glanced at her watch.

They gotta be hiding something; no way they’d leave for school this early without some sort of reason. Her lips curled into a feral grin. Wonder what those two are up to?

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Akane shifted her book bag from one hand to the other, her eyes firmly fixed on the few feet of pavement immediately in front of her. She heaved a short sigh before glancing to her right, noting that Ranma had a similar expression on his face- confused, concerned and numb all at the same time, if such a thing is possible.

They were walking side by side along the canal today, foregoing any balance practice despite the fact that Akane had brought along running shorts just in case. There weren’t any words spoken on it, just a mutual, silent consensus. She scratched her right elbow nervously.

Looks like you got about as much sleep as I did, Ranma, she thought to herself. Not surprising, really… not after what Shingen said. She shook her head to try and clear the cobwebs. Couldn’t even concentrate on my homework after he talked to us, I’ll be lucky if I got half my math problems right. I… I just can’t believe it… you and me? Possible Hunters? So not only do we have our fathers’ arrangement and a few remaining loose ends with the others to deal with, now we’re told we might wind up with a new obligation as well? Having to deal with more things like that… that pig-monster?

She looked up briefly and caught a glimpse of Ranma’s face, his mouth curled in a frown of doubt. I wonder what you’re thinking… and knowing all the stupid things I said to you in the past, you’re probably thinking I’m going to blame you for this. I almost did, too… She shuddered at the memory of some of the snap judgments she’d made about Ranma over the past year. But it’s not like you passed this on to me, like a disease or something. If it’s part of my aura, like Shingen said, then it was probably there since I was born… I guess. How it got there, who knows- but that can wait. The question is, do I accept it, or do I refuse it?

If… if I do accept it… then there’d just be more madness, more challenges, more of the same garbage he and I have had to put up with for so long… and he’d probably be worried that I wouldn’t be ready for something like this. Akane sighed again, then looked up, taking in more of the road.

On the other hand, it is our own choice this time, not like we HAVE to do it… but knowing Ranma, he’d love the chance to learn something new and get even stronger. Even if he still had to fight weird things on a regular basis.

She paused for a moment, then smiled faintly as an odd thought struck her.

Strangest thing is… I… I think… I think I’d love it, too.

Maybe I’ve just gotten so used to it… the fights, the magic, the thrill of the challenge… if I pushed that all away and he decided to accept it, he might think I was pushing him away. And I don’t want to do that- I don’t want to push him OR this away! Even if it does mean we’d be facing a bit more danger…

We’ve been in that spot before, more than once. We might be put in that spot again… and if we are, I want to be ready for it, not just sit on the sideline. But… but how would he feel about it?

They both slowed their pace a bit and turned to look at one another.

“I was thinking…” they both said at once. “No, you first,” they continued, then smirked and burst out laughing.

“Are ya going to say something or just keep mirroring me?” Ranma chuckled.

“Who says you weren’t mirroring me, you goofball?” Akane replied airily.

“Tomboy.”

“Baka.” Another round of laughter between the two.

“So…” Ranma continued. “You were thinking…?”

“Yeah,” Akane replied. “Um… just that… well… it looked like you had a pretty rough night.” She shook her head and gave herself a swift mental kick. Geez, come up with a more obvious observation, why don’t you, Akane?

“Um… yeah. Didn’t sleep too well… how ‘bout you?”

“Same here.” Another moment of silence passed. The two walked on.

“Um… Ranma?”

“Yeah?”

“About what Shingen told us last night…”

Ranma nodded slowly. “Lemme guess. That’s what kept ya up, right?”

Akane nodded. “Did it keep you up, too?” Upon seeing his nod, she heaved a sigh and shifted her bag between hands again. “I’m still kind of amazed at it myself… I mean, if it had only been you I might not have been as surprised, what with all the chaos that seems to follow you around…” She noticed a sour look cross his face. “I know you don’t mean to get caught up in crazy stuff like this, Ranma. Sometimes it just happens… but I never thought it might be the same with me.”

Ranma shook his head slowly. “I’m sorry, ‘kane…”

“Sorry for what?” she asked emphatically. “Ranma, it’s not like being around you infected me with this ‘Hunter blood’ or whatever it is; it’s not like it’s some kind of virus, right?”

“I know… I just… hell, I know ya hate these kinda things happenin’ to you, and now there’s a chance they’ll keep on happening; what kinda life is that? It can’t be the kind o’ life you were expecting once we finished school, right?”

“Maybe not exactly, but so what! Things change, people change, plans change all the time, Ranma! Gods, before you came to town I used to think I’d never like any boy that came across my path; I thought I was going to settle into a routine and maybe run the dojo when I got my high school diploma… but you know something?” She turned on a heel and faced him directly. “If that had happened, I probably would have regretted it the rest of my life; it would have been normal, but… well… DULL.”

Ranma blinked. Dull? What’s she talking about? Most of the time she’s complained and yelled at me ‘cause of something or someone that followed me back to the dojo… and now she’s calling her old plans dull? “Akane… are you saying that you actually LIKE things the way they’ve been? The fights, the weirdness, Kami knows what poking into the house at odd hours of the night? You don’t mind all of that?”

Akane sighed. “I’m not saying I wouldn’t mind a breather every now and then, maybe a few less intrusions in the house… and I could have done without being kidnapped a few times, that was never fun…” She looked up again, and this time he could see a small smile. “But there were a few times we had that were quite… interesting.”

“Yeah… except most of them usually ended with your fist in my face…”

“I know, I know!” Akane replied, shaking her head. “I flew off the handle a whole lot back then, a lot more than I needed to.”

“Well… I dunno if I’d go that far, I wasn’t much help with all the jabs I’d make at ya.” Ranma rubbed the back of his head, then looked Akane straight in the eye. “I will agree with ya, though… we did have a few interesting times.”

Akane nodded. “So… what would be the harm in having a few more? If you continue training me… and the two of us learn a bit more about what else we can do…”

Ranma paused for a moment. “You’re saying…”

“It’s not being forced onto us, this whole Hunter thing… and I know it sounds really risky, but I also know you were probably thinking of exploring the possibilities yourself,” Akane added.

“Actually… well… yeah, I was…”

“And that got me to thinking…” she continued, her voice shaking a tiny bit. “It may be… it may be a bigger risk than the other times, and I‘m not saying I‘m not scared about the whole thing either… but… but it’s a risk I’d be willing to take… rather than just sit off to one side and… well, worry about you if you were to accept it alone.” And I don’t want what happened on Phoenix Mountain to happen again, either. If we have to face something like that, I want to be ready for it.

There was a prolonged period of silence between them as she finished speaking, the only sounds being the slap of their shoes on pavement. Akane stared at her hands. Did I say something wrong? Is he resenting me trying to horn in on him or something? Or… or is he just worried about me again? Her reverie was cut short when she felt his hand gently take her smaller one.

“So… I guess that means we’ve both got a new sensei, huh.”

Akane looked up, her eyes shining as she saw him give her a nervous grin. “Then you are going to accept it?”

“Well… if you don’t mind… then I guess I don’t mind. Not that much, anyway.” He reached up and scratched the back of his head, giving her a silly smirk. “Besides, I gotta make sure ya don’t wind up hurtin’ yourself or screwing up, right?”

Akane mock-glared at him for a second and lightly bopped him on the head before breaking out in giggles. “Thanks a lot for the vote of confidence, Ranma no baka.”

“Kawaii tomboy.” He smirked again when she blushed; apparently she still hadn’t gotten used to being called kawaii instead of kawaiikune. Just then, an odd thought popped into his head.

“Hey, Acchan?” Another blush and a stumble. Heh. Maybe I better not call her that too often, not till she gets used to it.

“Yeah, Ranma?”

“Just before that last fracas with Happosai- you know, where I started losin’ it to the curse spirit- you were about to ask me a question, weren’t ya?”

Akane paused, thinking back to the events of Tuesday. “Umm… well, we were coming home, talking about the curse and then Happosai wanted you to throw Shingen out of the house… uh… oh!” She looked up again. “Yeah… I guess there was something I wanted to ask you…”

“What was it?”

Akane stayed silent for a moment, then smirked and sprinted ahead. “I’ll tell you after school. Race you to the front gate!” she quipped coyly. A quick spin on her heel and she was airborne, landing on the fence before breaking into a run. Ranma shook his head in amusement and darted after her, springing onto the fence and joining his fiancée in a madcap, laugh-filled race towards the front gate of Furinkan.

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“Looks like we made it here before anybody else, ‘kane.”

Akane glanced around, noting that there was hardly anybody milling around the schoolyard. “Guess we just got up too early,” she said.

“I kinda got that feeling when Kasumi asked us if we were feelin’ okay.”

“Yeah, me too.” Another glance, then a long look at the ground. “Well… guess we’re going to have to put on another show, huh?”

“You mean another pretend fight?” Ranma scuffed the ground with one shoe. “I don’t think we need ta go that far… last time we did that wasn’t a whole lot of fun.”

Akane nodded slowly. “Yeah, I didn’t like it much either, but would you rather deal with a horde of morons asking why we were out sick yesterday? For all we know, the rumor mongers might be saying we eloped or something.”

“Well… yeah, yer right about that, but I don’t think we need to fight just to throw ‘em off the scent. Why don’t we just act like nothin’ happened and keep our mouths shut today? You know, the whole ‘mutual tolerance’ act?”

Akane paused for a second, then nodded. “Okay… they’ve seen us like that before, even if it wasn’t that often… and it does sound a bit better than pretending to be mad at you again.”

Ranma reached over and gave her hand a squeeze. “Just try not to get mad at me for real, ‘kay?”

“I won’t if you don’t give me a reason to, dummy,” she replied, giving him a half-lidded mock glare mixed with a silly smile. Ranma smirked and was about to retort in kind when a flicker of motion on the periphery of his vision stopped him.

“What the…” was his intelligent remark as a smallish bundle fell towards their feet. Both blinked, then stared wide-eyed as a bouquet of black roses hit the sidewalk, rolling once before resting at Akane’s foot. Both their danger instincts snapped into overdrive, prompting them to dig their heels into the ground and leap upwards and as far away from the bouquet as possible- which promptly exploded in a cloud of yellow gas a second later. Ranma landed further back on the pavement, while Akane actually pulled off a backflip and found herself perched on the school wall. Their attention was immediately seized by a notorious insane cackle; glancing upwards, they caught sight of Kodachi in her St. Hebereke school uniform, ribbon at the ready and murder in her eyes.

“Why, you little SLATTERN!!!” she growled, tossing her hair back. “Still making your own fiendish advances upon MY darling Ranma, I see! Holding hands in public? Pray tell, then, what sort of lascivious, unwanted things you must be pushing on him in private? More of what I saw on the roof not two mornings ago, no doubt!”

“As if that’s any of yer business anyway, Kodachi!” Ranma snapped. “An’ where the hell do you get off calling me YOUR ‘darling Ranma’ AGAIN? I ain‘t yours and wouldn‘t wanna be, either!!!”

Kodachi whirled and gazed at him with puppy-dog eyes. “Oh, my sweetums, I only say what I know is the truth in both our hearts! Forgive me for not rescuing you sooner, but I’m afraid I did suffer a terrible ordeal after we last saw one another… my poor, frail constitution could scarcely bear it.”

“Frail constitution my butt; you just couldn’t take getting groped by that old lech.”

“Never mind the details, love, what’s important is that I am here now, and I will NOT stand idle any longer!” She flourished her ribbon in Akane’s direction. “By dodging my paralysis pollen you have only prolonged the inevitable. Harlot, prepare to defend yourself!”

“You got a lot of nerve calling ME a harlot, you maniac!” Akane shot back. “You wanna fight me that much? Fine! But you better make it quick, I’m not in any mood to be late to class because of you!”

“Die, you hussy!!!”

“HOLD!!!”

All three of them froze stock-still at the sound of a fourth voice. Turning their heads in the direction of said voice, each of them reacted in their own way. Ranma stared blankly with a sweatdrop rolling down the back of his head. Akane promptly face-faulted, while Kodachi’s shoulders slumped and she released a long sigh.

Kuno was standing directly behind Ranma, covered head to toe in bandages under his kendo outfit..

“Brother dear, you really shouldn’t be interrupting right now,” Kodachi sighed. “Not when I am about to free my dearest from the clutches of this… this VILE woman.”

“Be that as it may, my most twisted sister, I cannot in good conscience allow you to inflict the pain you desire upon my fair tigress. Indeed, I forbid it,” Kuno said in a measured tone, casting a glance in Akane’s direction. “As it is, I would have dealings with this abominable sorcerer myself, and do indeed question your bizarre obsession with such an honorless scum as Saotome here!”

“KUNO!” Akane groaned, clenching her fists. “What the hell is the matter with you? Didn’t you get the message already? STAY OUT OF OUR LIVES!!!”

“Nay, how can I sit idly by while this cretinous cad not only sways thine emotions from their true path, but delves into the depths of dark magic, kidnaps my beloved pig-tailed girl whilst I am incapacitated, and then appears masquerading as the very object of my desire? ‘Tis sorcery and the art of the shinobi together! Such a cur cannot be permitted to pursue such whims any longer!”

Akane and Ranma stared at Kuno, slack-jawed. He STILL doesn’t realize it?

“Well spoken, my brother, but this short-haired hellion is hardly worth the effort of ‘saving’; I truly do not understand your pursuit of this Tendo girl nor that red-headed fiend, and have no care to, either! Today, I rid myself of one, and that is final!” Kodachi snapped her ribbon taut and lashed out in Akane’s direction. “You can thank me once you have finally seen the light, Tatewaki!” Akane spun to one side as the ribbon tore through the air and snapped at her legs, tearing through part of her skirt; the edges were razor-sharp. Kodachi twirled her weapon and cracked it like a whip, this time attempting to grapple Akane by the ankles, but this time Akane was not there to be snared. Glancing up, Kodachi stared at the sight of Akane’s rapidly descending foot, half a second before it made a deep impression on Kodachi’s cheekbone. The gymnast hit the ground hard and rolled backward, staggering to her feet as Akane sprang forward.

The ribbon arm drew back and snapped forward again as Kodachi unleashed a beastly roar, and this time Akane could clearly see her intent in both her arm and face. Thank the Kami Ranma told me about reading an opponent’s moves- especially when they get angry! Without wasting a second, Akane ducked into Kodachi’s attack, catching her by the wrist and pulling hard; their combined momentum coupled with Kodachi’s sudden shock resulted in the gymnast colliding quite painfully with the school wall, embedding her about three inches into the concrete. Akane brushed her hair back and let out a satisfied sigh. She must not have been expecting much resistance, or she’d have used some other trick or weapon, she thought to herself.

“That… that wasn’t… fair…” said Kodachi weakly, muffled by broken concrete. “You… didn’t fight… according to form…”

“News flash for you, Black Rose,” Akane scowled. “I am part of the school of Anything Goes, after all. What, you expected me to fight one way and I just happened to do something else? Well, TOUGH!!!” She straightened out her skirt and crossed her arms. “Now get the hell out of here!”

“Indeed, sister mine, I wouldst have it that way as well, and I shall not have you strike at the fair Akane from this day forward, lest you face my own divine retribution.” Kuno staggered forward, looking down at the stunned Kodachi. “I am very displeased with thee, imoutosan, striking at my vision of loveliness when I didst expressly forbid it.” Akane made a face and a gagging sound.

“And as for you, Saotome…” The mummy-wrapped Kuno drew his bokken and leveled it at Ranma’s face, with some obvious discomfort. “No longer shall you hold my angels prisoner with your spells and your… bizarre masquerades! HAVE AT THEE!!!” Kuno sprang forward, executing his rapid pattern strike for approximately three seconds before a highly pissed-off Ranma lunged in, wrenched the bokken out of Kuno’s hands, spun around and delivered a spinning reverse roundhouse to Kuno’s back. The upperclassman impacted the wall next to his sister, slid down to the pavement and scrambled into a sitting position just in time to see something that made him stare and turn white… Ranma gripping the middle of the bokken and promptly snapping it in half with his thumb.

“That’s it, Kuno. I’m sick of this… sick of the fights, sick of your delusions, sick of the ambushes, sick of BOTH OF YOU!” He took several steps forward, his face livid. “And just what exactly is it you mean when you talk about bizarre masquerades?”

Kuno stayed silent for a moment before finding his voice. “Y-you know very well what I mean, Saotome! Abducting the pig-tailed goddess when my back was turned, then dressing as her in a base attempt to turn my feelings against her! I knew thou wert a vile creature, but to stoop to such a level as cross-dressing… and as such an angel, no less!”

Akane groaned, one hand on her head. “He really thinks it’s all some sort of magician’s act…”

“Wish it were that simple,” Ranma spat, taking another step closer. “Is that what you think it all was, Kuno? Cross-dressing? A red wig and some cotton wadding or somethin’ like that?”

“Indeed, I’m sure Sasuke could easily duplicate such a feat.” Both Ranma and Akane face-faulted at the thought. Kodachi merely groaned and slipped out of the hole she had made in the wall, rolling to face Ranma- still in a slight daze.

“Dammit, I was afraid I wouldn’t have to do this, but I guess I got no choice,” Ranma grumbled. He glanced up and down the road, then, satisfied that no one was approaching, promptly undid the clasps that held his shirt closed.

“Ranma, what are you doing?” Akane asked in a disbelieving tone. He wouldn’t… would he?

“Driving the nail home once and for all,” was his reply as he shrugged his shirt off, leaving him in a tank top. Akane stared. Okay… he would. That crazy baka…

“You really think that was just a wig and some cotton stuffed in a gi, huh? Well, lemme ask ya something, Blue Blunder…” A gold aura enveloped his body; slowly he shrunk several inches, black hair was replaced by red and- most notably- the tank top stretched over a newly voluptuous bustline that would have caused any teenage male to develop a severe nosebleed, especially given its lack of cover. Ranma-chan glared at both Kuno siblings as their eyes swelled to the size of dinner plates.

“DOES THIS LOOK LIKE FRIGGIN’ COTTON TO YOU???”

A reply was not forthcoming, as both their jaws appeared to have disengaged and hung almost to the ground, so the redhead continued. “Didn’t ya ever wonder why ya never saw both Ranma and the ‘pig-tailed girl’ in the same place? Didn’t either of ya notice the similar fighting style? For cryin’ out loud, I even called myself by my own name at that damned gymnastics meet and ya STILL didn’t get it! I’m only gonna say this once, you sickos- I didn’t abduct the ‘pig-tailed girl’ and pretend ta be her, I AM her! Don’t ask how or why; long story short, ancient Chinese curse-infection-possession… whatever!” She promptly reversed the transformation, assuming male form. “This is the original me, and the redhead is me too, but up until about two days ago I had no control over it! Two forms, one mind! Got it?” He promptly began to snap back and forth between bodies, punctuating his words with a form shift. “Now. Stay. Out. Of. My. FACE!!!”

He breathed out a long sigh- then wobbled, his eyes crossing slightly. “Whoa… head rush… changed forms… WAY too fast…”

Akane bopped him on the back of his head- not hard, just hard enough to jar him- then threw his shirt over his shoulders. “You bonehead, did you really have to go that far? What if someone else saw you like that, we’d never hear the end of it!”

“What the hell was I s’posed to do, Akane, just let ‘em keep bugging us over the same damn thing day after day? I’m sick and tired of these games of theirs!”

“Yeah, but… even so, you don’t think you might have overdone it a bit?”

“What’re you…” Ranma paused as she pointed towards where Kuno and Kodachi were sitting. He looked over- then smirked. “Well… okay… I guess I see what you mean…” Both of them were frozen in place, jaws dropped and eyes vacant. The occasional eye twitch from Kuno aside, one might think they were plaster statues, stiff as they were. An errant gust of wind ruffled their hair but failed completely to change the expression on their faces.

Akane shook her head… then snickered. “I think they’ll be lucky if they don’t get confined to a rubber room after that stunt you just pulled.”

Ranma brushed his hair back, failing to suppress his own guffaw. “Not like they were that far from it, anyway, right? Might suit them perfectly.” Akane nodded in agreement and started laughing a bit harder.

“Still… you have to admit… that really was a dirty thing to do, Ranma…”

“After every dirty trick those clowns pulled on you an’ me, I’d say we’re even,” he replied, pulling the last tie closed on his shirt. Just then the snap of a camera behind them ground their laughs to a halt.

“Hmmm… Tweedledum and Tweedledumber shocked speechless? That’ll be a nice addition to the yearbook.” Akane and Ranma both spun around to see a smiling Nabiki not more than three steps behind them, slipping her camera back into her book bag.

“Nabiki!” Akane sighed. “How long were you standing there?”

“Oh, not that long, sis… just long enough to get a few choice shots for my photo album. Those were some nice moves, by the way; I didn’t know you’d been working on your jumping.”

“Well, I did start to get better once I stopped thinking about it so much, and… HEY! You mean you’ve been here since the fight started?” Nabiki nodded, pointing to a grouping of garbage cans further down the road that had apparently acted as a duck blind.

Ranma groaned. “Oh gods, please tell me you didn’t take any pictures of me when I was… you know…”

“Oh, come on Ranma, you know me. Try and give me some credit, will you?” Nabiki replied with a sweet smile.

“You did take pictures.”

“Only a couple… towards the end you got a bit too fast on me. And here I thought you were making it up when you mentioned being able to transform at will!”

“Nabiki, if you do anything with those pictures…” Akane said softly, but was promptly cut off.

“Sis, please. I noticed what was happening and just wanted to get a few shots of you and Ranma beating the snot out of the Kunos here. Might make for some quick yen; people are gonna pay big money to see proof that the gruesome twosome got their butts handed to ‘em.” She paused, then grinned. “As for the shot of Ranma-chan… that’s for my private collection.”

“You better keep it private,” Ranma snapped.

“Geez, don’t get your panties in a bunch, ‘little bro’,” Nabiki replied, sidling towards the school gates. “If it’ll make you happy, I’ll let you have the negatives, no charge. But you’ll owe me a favor. Now come on, you two, don’t want to be late for class!” Sporting her ‘innocent’ smile, she spun on her heel and traipsed into the building.

Ranma sighed. “Another fun day at Furinkan, right, Akane?”

“Let’s just pray we got all the excitement out of the way,” she replied with her own sigh. Somehow, I think I’d rather learn more about Hunters than learn how to cope with my sister… She shook her head and grabbed Ranma by the elbow as they trudged through the gates themselves, noting that other students had begun arriving.

Kuno and Kodachi remained sitting on the ground, their eyes twitching for at least another minute before they both fainted.

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Around noontime, a lone figure made her way slowly down the street in a manner that suggested she would rather be running in the other direction. This was partly true; part of her mind sang with fear and low expectations, and more prominently, shame. The other part of her mind was occupied with fighting off the effects of the previous night’s inebriation. Nothing terribly heavy or health-threatening, just the sort of drunk you get from sharing a bottle and a half of sake with a local Chinese ramen chef after not having eaten much of anything for most of the day, on account of an extended fit of depression, self-loathing and a feeling of loss. In other words, a mild inability to stand upright.

Ukyo did not feel well at all. The illness she had inflicted on herself the previous night had come back to haunt her, and even an old home hangover remedy had done nothing to assuage the headache or the fatigue. She figured Shampoo was probably in much the same shape, unless Cologne had some sobriety-inducing herbal treatment up her sleeve. She groaned, and visions of the previous night’s activity swam through her brain.

“You know- hic- for girl that dress like boy and give Shampoo much trouble- hic- you not that bad, Ucchan!” “You ain’t so bad yer- hic- yerself, sugar… for a trash-talkin’ Amazon, anyway, Shan-chan.” “One more round?” “Yeah, why not, ‘snot like we got anythin’ better to do.” “This too, too- hic- true. No reason for fight now that airen… no… now that Ranma not prize any- hic- longer.” “Oh, he’s a prize alright, sister… prize catch, dat’s what Ran-chan is… you jus’ didn’t have the right kinda bait to- hic- land him.” “Shampoo think that- hic- Ucchan is calling kettle black when she got pot on head… wait, that not come out- hic- right…”

Ukyo rolled her eyes and leaned against a nearby wall, shaking off another wave of nausea. She remembered how their little commiseration party had eventually descended into an incoherent giggle session, both of them laughing and occasionally crying over more or less nothing. She vaguely remembered Konatsu wresting the bottle away from them, begging his ‘Ukyo-sama’ to retire for the night and sleep it off; she winced as the dim memory of swatting the kunoichi out the front door with her battle spatula drifted through her brain. Geez, hope I didn’t hurt the poor sap, she mused, before smirking at the memory of Shampoo blathering about a rather embarrassing birthmark she’d glimpsed on Mousse one time.

Yeah… that was a weird night, she thought. Tried to drink th’ pain away, an’ wound up on the floor laughing like it was some kinda sleepover. She pushed off from the wall and kept walking, the smile leaving her face.

Least a little laughter’s better than crying all the time.

Kami, did I ever screw things up… all those wasted years, and for what. For something my old man pushed me into. Revenge or marriage, no middle ground, huh? And what’d it all get me? A few arrogant rivals and one rival that could’ve been a friend if I hadn’t kept forcing the issue… some really underhanded plans, including a few that could’ve been lethal… Ukyo’s pace slowed as she began dragging her feet.

She knew the dojo wasn’t very far, and the nearer she got, the worse she felt. The full impact of everything she had done since arriving in Nerima was hitting her with the force of a sledgehammer, all the lies, the tricks, the endless competition she and the others had forced out of petty jealousy. She had no qualms about whether or not Genma was hurt by her actions, but Ranma was another question. What she had heard him say on several occasions, without knowing she was there, had struck her almost as hard as if he had physically slapped her. She finally realized that she hadn’t treated him like the friend he had been as a child- she had treated him like the prize she had described to Shampoo in their drunken stupor the previous night. Worse, his mother and most of the Tendo family had suffered because of it- and now that she had had time to brood, she knew she couldn’t bring herself to hate Akane. She actually liked her… but doubted the sentiment would be returned after the attack on the wedding.

Ukyo hugged herself and shivered, staring at the ground with vacant eyes. They aren’t even home from school yet. But at the very least, I gotta make some kind of amends with the others… if they’ll even accept it. They probably won’t, though. Ranma’s mom’s probably still sore over that mess we made of her house… Kasumi might be forgiving, but hell, she forgives just about anyone… I don’t even know what Mr. Tendo’s like right now. And when they do get home from school… A lone tear made its way down her cheek. I don’t know if they’ll listen to what I have to say, or kick me out. They’d have every right to kick me out, though… kick me out… like Dad did… like Genma did… oh Kami, please don’t let them hate me forever. I’m sorry…

As she stood on the sidewalk, shivering and cursing herself, she failed to notice a subtle disturbance in the air behind her. The air shimmered, distorting ever so slightly, as if a curtain was being parted. Gradually the distortion grew as flecks of dark color winked into existence behind the teenaged okonomiyaki chef. The air undulated, snakelike…

The dark tint dancing through the wind congealed, splicing around a form that wasn’t merely snakelike, it was a snake. A snake approximately twenty feet long and at least two thick, with mottled purple-black scales tinged with green. A fiendish horned skull-like maw rested where its head would have been, two pinpricks of reddish light dancing in the eye sockets.

It flicked its barbed tongue once and began to advance, slowly gliding up until it was practically on top of Ukyo. She wiped her eyes with her forearm, never once looking behind her. The skeletal face grinned.

My, my… such a troubled soul, so alone, so conflicted.

So tasty…

To Be Continued.

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Author’s Note 4/14/05: Yes, I know it’s a dirty trick to leave on that cliffhanger, but rest assured, more will be forthcoming. I wanted to finish this bit off and with what I have planned, the chapter would have ended up being enormous had I kept going.

Thanks to all of my readers; please review and pass the word along. I need all the support I can get!

Until next time. -Neon Ronin



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