Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ The Honest Truth ❯ Subject SR016 ( Chapter 1 )

The Honest Truth

Chapter 1: Subject SR106

by harmonious jade

 

 

 

"Subject number SR016 in sight. Will report findings once I am in a better position." A slender female turned off the tape recorder and slipped it in her pocket. She jumped from tree to tree approaching the edge of the school grounds.

 

Ranma Saotome approached the gates of the school as he did every day, cautiously. He didn't want to be splashed by water or attacked suddenly. If only I could get through a day without incident, he thought to himself with a sigh.

 

Beside him, Akane Tendo walked with her head down, looking at the ground. She had grown to loathe the walk to school. Ranma always said something or got into a fight. That baka can't keep his mouth shut. Her frown deepened as she heard Kuno's voice from in front of them.

 

"Foul sorcerer! You shall give up your reign on the fair Akane Tendo and the pig-tailed girl! They belong to my heart." Kuno stepped forward, brandishing his bokken.

 

Ranma, hands in his pockets, sighed and let his shoulders slump. "Kuno, will you ever give up? You know you can't..."

 

"Silence fool! I will defeat you this time!" The upper classman surged forward.

 

 

Nabiki Tendo stood at the outer edges of where the fight was happening. She was taking bets, as usual. Something caught her eye and she looked towards a grove of trees near the front of the school. There was a shape moving among the leaves. If this was another iinazuke coming after Ranma... No, she was going to put a stop to this. She began moving quietly towards the trees.

 

When she arrived, she found nothing unusual. "Hm... that was really weird," she said to herself. Turning around, she noticed the fight was over. Kuno lay in a pile at the gates. "When will you ever learn, Kuno baby." She moved off to pay those who had bet on Ranma.

 

 

A figure dressed in dark green alighted on the roof of a building across from the school. "That was close," she muttered to herself as she pulled out a notebook and began writing.

 

 

Saotome, Ranma. Age 16. He shows much command of the family arts. He defeated a Kendo master rather easily. To think of how deadly he could be with a sword in his own hands.

 

 

She scratched out the last sentence before going on.

 

 

His demeanor is much like the family. However, he does not seem happy. His iinazuke, Akane Tendo, does not seem happy either. On a side note, the middle Tendo, Nabiki, makes a killing off these everyday occurrences. She may have to be dealt with individually.

 

 

A bicycle bell drew her attention and she looked up to see a purple-haired girl glomping Ranma. Through her keen observation, she saw that Akane was far from happy. She deduced that this was the Amazon, Xian Pu, or Shampoo as she was more casually known.

 

"Nihao, Airen!" Shampoo grabbed Ranma around the neck. The poor boy never stood a chance.

 

"Hi, Shampoo," he replied with a sigh.

 

Akane stood with her hands clenched in fists. She was growing very angry. Every day it was the same thing. "GET OFF HIM YOU CRAZY AMAZON! HE DOESN'T LIKE YOU, OKAY?!"

 

Without letting go of Ranma, Shampoo looked over at the raging girl. "What with tomboy? She so upset when she no like you either."

 

Akane did something very unlike Akane. She screamed and swung her bookbag at the Amazon.

 

The move shocked both Ranma and Shampoo. The force of the impact knocked the future matriarch over the wall of the school grounds. They heard a splash then a loud meow. Ranma shuddered and looked at Akane. "Where did that come from?"

 

"I'm going to class," the dark haired girl said as she stormed off.

 

Nabiki stood next to the pig-tailed boy, counting a wad of yen. "Wow, who knew my sister would ever grow a spine," she said with a grin. "Oh yeah, me!"

 

Ranma frowned at her. He had never liked how Nabiki had made money for the family. "Get over yourself, Nabiki," he growled as he stalked off behind Akane.

 

She shrugged and continued counting. A flash from a nearby building made her turn. Squinting her eyes against the sun, she was able to make out a small shape disappearing.

 

 

 

 

Sachi Amagawa was a man of average height and build. His short cropped black hair and glasses gave him a very distinguished look. As he looked over the notes his operative had given him, he noted that she had crossed out several sentences. She was prone to speaking her own mind in cases such as this. "Very good, Yoko. It is amazing that you were able to get this much information and not be seen."

 

Yoko Miyazawa bowed. Her ponytail bounced up and down against her back. "Arigato, Amagawa-san. I try very hard to stay concealed."

 

"Your grandmother will be pleased with what you have observed." He dropped the folder on his desk. "Now sit down and tell me what you really think." He grinned broadly.

 

She sighed. "Uncle Sachi, you are impossible sometimes." She sat in the chair before his desk, pulling her long legs up under her. "That whole household is a mess. Genma Saotome and Soun Tendo are two drunkards who care nothing about their children except the best way to exploit them.

 

"Nabiki Tendo is no better than Genma or Soun. She exploits her own sister! There are many pictures of Akane and Ranma in girl form wandering the halls of that school. I wish for her to go down. She must be taught values."

 

"What about Kasumi Tendo?" Sachi asked.

 

"Doctor Tofu, the local chiropractor, has the biggest crush on her. It's amazing he gets any work at all done when she is nearby. I believe she may care for him as well, though all she seems to care about is feeding her family and keeping the house in order. Quite a feat with that household."

 

He nodded. "Good. Now tell me about Ranma and Akane."

 

"Aiya! Those two need a good smack upside the head. They love each other. Akane flirts endlessly with him, as he does her in his own way. I observed something different in her attitude today, however. When the Amazon showed up, she... she basically punted her with her backpack. Shampoo didn't know what hit her."

 

Sachi couldn't help but smile. "Maybe she has come to her senses?"

 

Yoko shook her head sadly. "Unfortunately, no, she still ended up calling Ranma a baka and got him drained by Miss Hinako."

 

A frown appeared on the other man's face. "I hope all that draining doesn't affect his abilities any."

 

"It won't," said a new voice. They looked up to see an older woman enter the office. "The boy is very resilient."

 

"Grandmother Megumi!" Yoko jumped to her feet and held a chair out for the woman.

 

"Nice of you to join us, Mother," Sachi said.

 

The Amagawa matriarch waved an arm to dismiss him. "I wish to speak with my granddaughter."

 

The man stood, bowed, and exited through a back door.

 

Yoko bowed and pulled up a chair beside her grandmother. The matriarch smiled. "You are looking well, little Yoko."

 

She smiled. "Thank you, grandmother. Cousin Ranma is very good at the art."

 

Megumi nodded. "Anything Goes is a very tough school to learn. He has learned well. Your uncle will be happy to have him back in the family."

 

"What about Ranma's family? Will Genma or Nodoka be reinstated?"

 

"That fat, lazy, good-for-nothing..." Megumi reigned in her feelings before saying something she regretted. "Genma will not be returned to the registry. As for Nodoka... my niece will have to prove she belongs in this family."

 

"Hai, Grandmother." Yoko lowered her head. She hoped that Ranma's mother would be returned to the family. She had always liked Nodoka. "What of Ranma's iinazuke?"

 

"That is being worked on as we speak. Some of the iinazuke will be hard to dissuade."

 

"Like the Amazon." The young girl put a hand over her mouth when she realized that she'd interrupted.

 

Megumi smiled as if nothing had happened. "Like the Amazon. Matriarch Cologne, Shampoo's great grandmother, will be the hardest. However, Soun Tendo may prove to be the biggest obstacle."

 

"Tendo-san? But why?"

 

"I intend to remove ALL of Ranma's iinazuke from the picture. That boy needs some time to learn to be a boy. All he's ever known is being attacked by those who claim to be an iinazuke or those who wish to have one of his iinazuke."

 

"What is our next move, Grandmother?"

 

She pulled out a package and handed it to Yoko. The girl unwrapped it to find a school uniform. "You are going to befriend your cousin."

 

She looked at the uniform like it was cursed. "I don't want to get beat up by Akane or Ukyo!"

 

Megumi chuckled. "Now, now, my dearest, you know you are much better than either of them. Just be his friend. That is what he needs right now."

 

"Hai, Grandmother."

 

 

 

 

Yoko tugged at the skirt of her Furinkan High uniform. The only time she actually dressed like a girl was when she was spending time with her grandmother. Besides, she had never been to high school before. She had been schooled at a private institution.

 

The usual morning group had arrived and was bombarding Nabiki with bets. She took them all with glee. Yoko walked up to her and put on her best "new student" look. "What's going on?" she asked innocently.

 

The middle Tendo sister turned to look at her. Her eyes lit up. Oooh, fresh meat, she thought with a sinister grin. "You must be new here. Every day our beloved Kendo master awaits a student to pound into the ground. I take a few bets as to who will win."

 

Laying it on a little thick, aren't you 'Biki-chan? "So, who is the unlucky student?"

 

"Oh, just Ranma. You can see him just there." She pointed outside the school where the pig-tailed boy was walking along a fence.

 

Yoko furrowed her brow. "Why does he wear Chinese clothes? Is he Chinese?"

 

Smart one, aren't we? "He studied in China for a while. So, do you want to make a bet? I'm taking them up until the fight starts." Nabiki was nearly drooling at the prospect of making a few yen off this newbie.

 

She looked the two combatants over. "Hm, how about one thousand yen?"

 

"Oh sure, I can cover that. So, one thousand yen on Kuno baby."

 

"No," Yoko quickly interrupted as she saw Kuno giving his usual speech. "One thousand on Ranma."

 

Nabiki's eyes widened. "Ranma? No, I can't take that."

 

The other girl shrugged. "Sorry. The fight has already started." Sure enough, Kuno had swung his bokken at Ranma's head. "It wouldn't do for me to go around and tell everyone you hedged out on a bet, now would it?"

 

The Tendo sister's face grew very red. "No, it wouldn't."

 

"Good. I'll collect my winnings later. I need to go see the principal. Today is my first day." She flashed the angry girl a smile.

 

"Winnings? But the fight isn't over..." She turned to see Kuno flying over the wall. "...yet." Growling in anger, she spun back, but the girl was gone.

 

 

 

 

Ranma dropped into his seat after having been drained yet again by Miss Hinako. The woman-child grinned as she stood before the class. It wasn't his fault that he had been late... again. Why didn't she ever drain Kuno? He looked up to see the teacher introducing a new student.

 

Next to him, Akane and Ukyo looked worried. For days, Ranma had looked depressed. They both wondered what they could do for him. Ukyo smiled. She could fix him a big lunch. Poor Akane had nothing.

 

"Hi," the new student said as she sat down next to Akane. The youngest Tendo looked up to see a tall, slender, auburn haired young girl. "I'm Yoko."

 

"I'm Akane Tendo. Nice to meet you."

 

Yoko turned to Ranma and looked worried. "Is he going to be okay?"

 

"Sugar, Ranma-chan is made of stronger stuff than you or I. He'll be just fine." Ukyo turned to face her and grinned. "My name's Ukyo by the way."

 

"Ranma, do I have to drain you again?" Miss Hinako stood with her hands on her hips looking towards the young man.

 

His head did not move.

 

"Excuse me, Miss Hinako," Yoko said with her hand raised. "Ranma was not saying anything."

 

"Ah, but he was the topic of conversation, so he will be the one to suffer."

 

Yoko stared at the teacher without another word. The absolute hate in her eyes spoke volumes. Unfortunately, her battle aura began to show.

 

Ukyo laughed nervously and moved her chair between the two in order to block Hinako's sight. "We're sorry, teacher. We will be quiet now."

 

After the teacher turned around, both she and Akane surrounded Yoko. "You must trust me when I say you should never allow your battle aura to be seen in this class," Akane said. "As you can tell, it isn't any fun." She looked sadly at Ranma.

 

"What does that witch have against him?" Yoko asked, her aura slowly seeping away.

 

The girls shrugged. "She just thinks he's a troublemaker."

 

"Of course," Ukyo added, "the time he tried using the Paralysis Pinch didn't help matters any either."

 

Akane glared at her. "The baka deserved it that time."

 

"With your attitude, he'd be better off with me." The girl turned her nose up. "I thought you had decided to be nicer."

 

The Tendo girl winced. Ukyo was right. She had recently decided that maybe if she were a little nicer, Ranma might change as well. After all, Ukyo had decided that being friends with them was more important now. She looked over at Ranma. He was starting to fall asleep. She quickly slid her chair back over, intentionally bumping his chair.

 

At Yoko's odd look, Ukyo explained, "Sleeping is grounds for more draining. We have to keep him awake." The other girl nodded. "How about we have lunch together to explain?"

 

"Good idea," Akane agreed. "But for now, we might want to pay attention."

 

The other two nodded solemnly and looked forward, concentrating on class.

 

 

 

The four young people sat under a tree eating Ukyo's famous okonomiyaki. Yoko's face lit up as she grinned. "This is delicious! Thank you, Ukyo!"

 

"Not a problem, sugar," the cook replied. It always made her happy to know when someone liked her cooking.

 

Ranma was devouring the okonomiyaki as fast as Ukyo could cook them. "They are great," he said while taking a breath.

 

"You remind me of an uncle of mine," Yoko said. "He would always eat like that. Guess he was always afraid someone was going to steal it from him, no matter how much was on the table."

 

Akane laughed. "That sounds exactly like Ranma!"

 

"Pop says it's training," he retorted.

 

As they laughed, Nabiki approached the group. She dropped a wad of bills in Yoko's lap. "Don't ever claim I never pay up and don't ever come to me for any more bets." With that, she turned on her heel and stalked off.

 

Ranma was the first to recover from his shock. "What was that all about?" he asked Yoko, who was counting the money.

 

She looked up and handed it to him. "Here, this should be yours anyway. You're my good luck charm."

 

"Good luck charm? Him?" Akane looked stunned.

 

Ranma spit out what food was left in his mouth when he got through counting. "FIVE THOUSAND YEN?? How did you get this much out of Nabiki?" Akane and Ukyo fell over.

 

Yoko grinned evilly. "I bet on you this morning."

 

"I can't take this," he said handing the money back.

 

"Yes you can," she replied. "Just think of it as a family gift."

 

Before he could reply, the bell rang, calling an end to lunch. Yoko stood, brushed off her skirt and started walking back to the building.

 

 

 

It took all the rest of the day before Ranma caught up with Yoko. He finally cornered her just outside of the school yard. "I have a question for ya, Yoko," he said as they walked down the street.

 

"And that is?" she queried nonchalantly.

 

"Well, what did you mean by 'family gift' when you gave me that money you won?"

 

She stretched out her senses, honed by many years of practice. The unmistakable tinkle of a bicycle bell came to her ears. Shampoo would be there soon. Also, Akane stood near the gates, hands on her hips and watching them. "Now is not a good time. You don't need Akane any more jealous than she already is. I will try to explain to her that I am in no way interested in you as an iinazuke. All I want to be is your friend."

 

He cocked his head at her, his ponytail falling over his shoulder. Without warning, he suddenly felt cold water splash on his back. He looked to see the little old lady with her ladle out washing the sidewalk. Oh crap, he, that is she thought. Yoko is going to freak out.

 

When the now red haired girl turned back around, she saw a rather amused look on the other girl's face. "Huh, they were right. It is almost like looking into a mirror." Yoko smirked as she turned and walked off leaving a very befuddled Ranma-chan behind.

 

Nearby, Nabiki watched their entire exchange. There was something very odd about Yoko Miyazawa. She looked down at the paper in her hand and decided it was time to find out exactly who this girl was.

 

 

As the Tendo and Saotome clan sat down for dinner, there was a knock on the door. Nabiki jumped up. "I'll get it." She knew it was for her anyway. She opened the door to find exactly what she had expected. Picking up the large envelope, she hid it near the stairs and went back to dinner.

 

Finally alone in her room, she opened the envelope. She scanned the contents first. There were no police records or anything out of the ordinary. A name on the family registry caught her eye. "SHE'S RELATED TO THE EMPEROR!!" Her hands flew to her mouth to stop herself from saying anything else. Damn girl. The game is on. What is it you want from Ranma, huh? I'll find you out.

 

 

 

 

The days passed. Yoko still had not spoken privately with Ranma. It was driving him nuts trying to figure out what she had meant. At least she and Akane were getting along. He was happy for that because Yoko actually listened to him. They were becoming very good friends.

 

He and Akane had invited her to the dojo several times, but she had scrambled for excuses. He wondered why she would not want to meet the rest of their family. Perhaps it was Nabiki. But no, even when she wasn't going to be there, Yoko made up an excuse.

 

"I'm sorry your friend won't come to visit," Kasumi said as she served breakfast one Saturday morning.

 

"I just don't understand it," Ranma said as he stuffed his mouth with food.

 

"Maybe she is just too busy."

 

"Or maybe she just don't wanna really get ta know us."

 

Akane looked thoughtful. "Maybe she just doesn't want us to meet her family. They must be ogres to keep her home so often."

 

Nabiki snorted. "Hah! That's funny."

 

The others turned to look at the middle Tendo. "What do ya mean by that," Ranma asked.

 

"I really doubt her parents are mean. Protective maybe, but not mean."

 

"What makes you say that?"

 

"Oh, just a little information I found."

 

Akane jumped on top of her sister. "You tell us now, Nabiki. You know something and we aren't going to pay for it this time."

 

Nabiki held her arms up in defense. "Geez! Okay already. I'll tell you." She sat up slowly after her sister got off of her. "It's just that..." This was something she was going to drag out.

 

"Yes?"

 

"Well, you see, Yoko Miyazawa...."

 

"YES??"

 

"Is related to...."

 

"YES?!?"

 

"The Emperor."

 

Akane's and Ranma's jaws hit the floor and they fell over stunned. Kasumi just smiled and sipped her tea. "Ah, protective then," the eldest Tendo said.

 

 

 

Monday at school, Akane and Ranma quickly cornered Yoko. "Look, we understand now why you won't come to the Tendo dojo," Ranma said solemnly.

 

"You do?" Yoko said questioningly.

 

"Of course," Akane replied. "They must want you to stay very close to home."

 

"Uh..." She looked very confused.

 

"I mean, your family is very important and everything...."

 

Yoko narrowed her eyes at them. "What exactly are you saying?"

 

"You mean she doesn't know?" Ranma asked Akane.

 

The girl rolled her eyes. "Of course she does, baka. She just doesn't know what we're talking about."

 

He opened one eye from where he had winced. He had expected her to hit him as she always did. This was new. And nice. "Oh, well, we know about you being related to the Emperor."

 

"Ah," Yoko said with a slow nod of her head. "The Ice Queen strikes again. Well, yes, having a relation like that is rather... interesting. My family is very protective of me."

 

"We just wanted to let you know that we understand now," Akane explained. "It was hard believing you, but this is very understandable."

 

Yoko smiled. "I'm glad. At least we can still be friends. Maybe one day I will be able to come over. We just moved here and my parents are just trying to figure everything out."

 

Ranma breathed a sigh of relief. "Good. I hope it's soon. I can sense your chi, you're really strong. I'd love to practice with ya and see what ya got."

 

"That's something I promise we'll do very soon."