Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ The Life I Had ❯ Single and Charmed ( Chapter 3 )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

The Life I Had
By Allie
Disclaimer: I do not own, I repeat, I do not own any of the Ranma characters. They belong to Rumiko Takahashi...and aw, what the heck. Go on to ta story, hope ya like it! :)

Chapter Three: Single and Charmed

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"REIKO?!?"

"AINO-SAN?!?"

"Yes?" She said it so innocently that no one would have known that she was thinking up some kind of mischief..except that her eyes betrayed her. "Is something wrong with my appearance?" Her eyes twinkling in amusement she pretended to check her clothes and her hair for anything that was off. "Nope, everything's fine to me."

Silence. It was the quietest that floor number 21 had ever been. There was always whispers or laughter occupying the floor, but not now.

Not today.

They were all quiet and all staring at the transformed Reiko Aino. Then they all snapped back as they heard a confused but irritated voice.

"What's going on here?! Get back to work, we don't got all day. And where the heck is Reiko?!"

Nobuyuki stared at his employees in confusion as they, in ominous unison, pointed at the stranger standing in front of Alex and Dan. He looked unsure as he walked closer to the redhead lady. How could she be Reiko? He thought. She's not a redhead last time I checked!

She smirked as she felt 'Nobu-chan' walk up closer to her. She waited until the very last minute and turned around.

She laughed at his expression. Awed and shell-shocked. "What is it Nobu-chan? I'm here, so you don't need to yell."

He stumbled. There was no way that the beauty before him was Reiko but it was her. What did she do?! Get a total make over, fashion sense, and a flirty attitude? "Um..." He didn't know what to say. He needed to get out. Now. "Get back to work!" The quiet workers started working immediately and he practically ran out the room.

"How odd." She said trying to hold back a giggle. This is fun!

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Well..maybe not THAT fun.. Reiko pouted. "Are you guys done staring?"

"Nope." Came a teasing response from Alex.

"Dan, if you don't stop staring then I'm going to punch you."

Dan coughed as he looked away from the redhead. "Sorry." He couldn't believe how much she changed. She was like a totally different person. She never threatened to punch anyone before!

Reiko laughed. "It's okay. I suppose I just can't help being too beautiful." She pretended to pull out a compact mirror and admire herself.

Dan laughed and Alex playfully hit her arm. "Oh you're so full of yourself."

"Am I?" Reiko asked thinking about the question. "Hmmm..maybe...I don't know...am I?"

"Of course not! I was just kidding!" Alex stared horrified. She didn't mean it like that! She was just kidding...

Reiko smiled. "I know, so was I."

"Hey!"

"Aino-san...if you don't mind me asking...what brought this sudden change?" He stared at his hands nervously. He really didn't want to be punched.

Why he, a large and strong man, was afraid of a petite woman was unbelievable. Yet, there was something about her that made him rethink testing if he was stronger than she was.

Reiko's teasing mood faded. Her visage darkened slightly as she remembered what brought about her change.

Her voice dropped several degrees. "Let's just say that I don't want to be the same 'Aino-san' from before."

Dan and Alex exchanged worried looks. What happened?

"Reiko.." Alex started saying gently.

Reiko flashed her a smile. "Don't worry, Alex." She turned to Dan. "I might as well tell you now. You should stop calling me 'Aino-san' okay? Call me either Reiko or, if you really want to, Sakura-san."

"Why?" Dan covered his mouth with his hand as soon as his words left his mouth. Alex flashed him a murderous look.

Reiko laughed slightly. Looks like I'm not the only person who used to have the foot-in-the-mouth-disease. "Well-" Before she could explained a loud entrance of a certain player of hers interrupted her.

"REIKO!!"

Reiko stiffened, as her light smile became an evil smirk. "Looks like you will find out why now."

Tomo scanned the room as he looked for his wife. Where is she? He thought frantically as he tightened his grip on the documents in his hand.

As hard as he tried, he couldn't find her. All he saw were her co-workers and a redhead. No raven-haired, old fashioned, and definitely unsexy Reiko Aino.

"What are you doing here?"

He snapped his head towards the direction of his wife's voice. He expected to see a nervous and still full of love for him Reiko but that wasn't what met his eyes.

What met his eyes was a drop-dead gorgeous redhead that had an unquestionable resemblance to Reiko. A more detailed glance made him realize that the goddess before him WAS Reiko. His eyes widened as his jaws dropped.

Reiko repeated her question as she glared unnerving at him. There was no love in her eyes and definitely no sign of being nervous. "What are you doing here? You aren't welcomed."

The staff had all stopped working and stared at the 'couple.'

"Uhh.." Tomo wiped his forehead with a handkerchief. "You aren't serious right, Reiko?"

"Serious about what?" Alex queried confused.

Tomo hid the papers in his hand and tried to act like nothing was wrong. "Nothing!"

Reiko smirked. No one noticed the slight glow her right hand became as it was powered with ki. With a swoop of her hand, the papers in Tomo's hands flew out of his tight grasp and onto the floor. Basically everyone in the room except the Ainos all rushed forward to read it.

Dan's eyes widened, as did everyone's. "DIVORCED?!!" came the combined shout. All eyes swerved from the divorce document to a nervous Tomo then to an indifferent Reiko and back to the paper.

"I repeat, what are you doing here? I have already signed the paper and we are no longer married whether you like it or not." She glared at her ex-husband and put her hands on her hips in the traditional way girls all do.

"B-but..Reiko..I know you love me and..can't we talk this over?" Tomo pleaded. He didn't want to get divorced from her, not when she changed so much! She was absolutely sexy!

Reiko snorted. "Talk this over? You must be delusional, Tomo. I have nothing to say to you after you practically went behind my back to have an affair with that hussy."

Alex gasped, as she looked concerned at her friend. I can't believe it!

Tomo sweated as he could feel the glares from all the people in the room. One glance around confirmed his feelings. The men in the room, of all ages, had their hands crossed and were looking quite menacing. The women, oh my God, were all in the same posture as Reiko. Their eyes promised endless pain.

"You have one last chance. Go now or else..." Her tone was cold and there was not one ounce of love for him in it.

Tomo did not want to know what would happen to him if he had protested but he had to try one more time. Besides, getting a divorce meant that he would have to split his money with her. "I'm really sorry. Can you forgive me? I promise that I will love you forever."

"Suit yourself." With that said she smirked evilly as she glided up to him. "Tomo, Tomo, Tomo." She tsked and, to her co-workers' amazement, lifted him up with one hand. His eyes were wide with fear and surprise as she casually walked to the elevator. Pressing the button, she threw him into the elevator. She walked inside and the elevator closed.

Alex and the rest of the workers stared perplex at the door. Several minutes later the elevator door opened. A smiling Reiko walked out as she dusted her hands. Before the elevator closed for a second time they saw a battered and unconscious Tomo lying on the floor.

They blinked and stared at Reiko. They were not surprised that Tomo was beaten up since he deserved it but they were surprise that she was able to do that so easily especially since she never seemed like the violent type. Then again, they thought, she never had her husband sleep around with other women behind her back before either.

Still...

"Scary." Whispered Ling Ling as she held Alex's hand tightly. They all nodded.

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Two days later...

"I can't believe how different you look and act. It's like you're a totally different person! How did you manage to make yourself look so young?"

One of Reiko's eyebrows twitched as she stared at Alex's eager face. "LOOK so YOUNG? What do you mean by THAT? I'm only two years older than you are, Alex!"

The blonde girl sweatdropped. "..Really? I didn't know that..."

"Yes, REALLY. I'm only twenty-four you know." Reiko sighed as she watched Alex and her other friends blush. "You really didn't know?" She got her answer when they all nodded. Oh brother, she thought.

"Sorry." Alex said sheepishly. Gosh, she thought. "I always thought that she was at least a decade older than we were. Who'd have known?"

What Alex didn't know was that she had said her thoughts out loud. "Well, for your information Alex-chan," the irritated redhead started out sweetly. "Just because I'm your boss doesn't mean that I'm a DECADE older than you are. I just happen to be here longer than you have and have more experience."

"Ah.." Alex sweated.

Whoo boy.

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Reiko shook her head as she walked on the streets in the Tokyo district. That Alex, she's so silly. Still, she thought, life would have been pretty dull without her. It's nice to have a true friend even though she thinks that I am a decade older than she is. Oh well, I guess I haven't been totally honest with her. Besides, I can't blame her since she wouldn't have been rude enough to ask me how old I was. I must have done a pretty good job on myself to make me look like an old hag.

She glanced around and looked at the paper in her hand. Now, where is that dojo I saw a while ago. Hmm.. She glanced around some more as she tried to figure out where she had last seen it.

Without knowing it, she was attracting a lot of people's attention. She did look pretty odd wearing a brand new gi and holding a sheet of paper. She had tied her hair in her traditional pigtail just like before but it was a lot longer.

To strangers, she did not look like a formidable fighter with her small frame. They had no idea how much power she contained. That is until now...

She had finally remembered where it was and started looking for the right street to cross so that she could find it. It had been a while since she had been in a dojo and working out.

Let's see, she thought. Saikin Street is north so.. She was so deep in thought trying to figure out which direction to go that she did not see the burglar run from across the street. Nor did she see the big fat lady chasing after him yelling, "THIEF!!"

She turned north down Saikin Street and then turned right and then... The pedestrians stared amazed at the sight before them. A young lady holding a piece of paper was looking for a dojo. That was nothing unusual.

The unusual thing was that she was unconsciously beating up the burglar that had unfortunately gotten in her way. While she was concentrating on reaching her destination she was walking back and forth all the while kicking and stepping on the burglar.

She did it so casually that it looked like it was on accident, which was oddly accurate. Every time when it seemed that the burglar would be able to get away from her she would say, "Oops, wrong direction," and walk back coincidentally recapturing him.

After several more minutes she suddenly lifted her arm and pointed to her left. "Yes! I found it!" Happy that she finally got the right place she started hopping up and down.

Too bad the thief was underneath of her.

Then with a kick, which she meant as lifting her foot to scratch an itch, the burglar was sent flying into the air. Amazingly, the direction the thief was sent to was to the police station.

Finally knowing where the dojo was, she walked happily to it ignoring the stares.

A little child stared in awe at the retreating back of Reiko. He clapped his hand and voices the thought that all of the people present felt.

"Wow."

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Reiko smirked. Finally, I found the dojo. Jeez..she sighed a bit, that took a while. She glanced at the outside of the dojo and smiled, walking in.

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"Ah! So you have come for a match have you? Well, Miss Sakura, you have sure met your match. Too bad such a beautiful flower like you would be defeated so soon.."

Reiko stared incredulous at the arrogant man before her. Defeated?! ME?! He doesn't even know what I can truly do and he...that's it! HE'S DEAD MEAT!

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Two minutes later, the students from the Istendia dojo scrambled out of the redhead's way. Reiko walked out indignant without sparing a glance at the bruised and pummeled man.

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"A match you say?"

Reiko nodded her head, a bit paranoid at what the woman would say. This was her third match and hopefully, the sensei was not like the other two.

"That's a pity. I was hoping you would say you came here for a cup of tea or something." The blonde lady shook her head sadly. "Too bad, I guess after this match you won't be staying for tea since you, like the other seventy-five or so challengers did, will probably be mad at your defeat." The older lady tsked and Reiko's eyebrow twitched.

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Reiko fixed her eyes on the dojo sign. This had better be a better dojo with a WAY better dojo sensei. This is the last dojo in the whole town.

It read the Shinkari School of Martial Arts. The dojo was quite large and had a traditional look to it. She wondered if the sensei was anything like her previous opponents. She frowned slightly at the thought of more bigheaded martial artists. Hopefully he or she would prove to be a worthwhile opponent.

She shrugged and casually knocked on the gate (what's there not to be casual about?) She did not have to wait long before she was answered.

A young man opened the door and she smiled at him. "Good afternoon, I'm Reiko Sakura and I was wondering if I could have a sparring match with the sensei here? If he is not busy of course." She bowed halfway.

The young man smiled back at her. "He is a bit busy now teaching a class but it is almost over so you can wait for a little while for your match."

"Thanks Mr. er-"

"Just call me Li." He moved aside and she walked in.

"Thanks Li." The inside of the dojo was quite large she found out. She sat down on the sidelines with several other people who she did not know. The turned to look at her and then focused their attention back on the teacher and his students who were on the dojo floor.

Interesting, she muttered silently. The sensei turned out to be a rather young man, possibly several years older than she was but she was not sure. He was well built as was expected from the master of a martial arts dojo. His light brown hair was short and neat and wore a worn out gi that indicated that he was definitely not a rookie. He could be a good sparring partner she concluded, happy that she might not have to hold back MUCH. And just maybe, she added, just maybe he won't be like the others. There's always hope, right?

Ten minutes later, the students all bowed to the man. She figured that the class had just ended. As the students all filed out into the changing room, several of them glanced at her. Some had more than a glance and whispers began.

The man cocked his head as his ears picked out his student's whispering. He turned to look at Reiko, noticing her for the first time. Li glanced back and forth between the man and Reiko smiling slightly. He walked up to the sensei and whispered to him about her challenge. To Reiko's acute hearing, however, his whispering seemed like speaking clearly over a microphone.

Reiko elegantly stood up from where she sat on the sidelines. She met the man half way and stopped in the middle of the dojo. "Sakura Reiko." She held out her hand and the man shook it.

Grinning arrogantly, the man's smile would have caused any girl to swoon as her heart fluttered, but then again, Reiko wasn't any girl. She didn't even bat an eyelash as she smiled slightly in greeting. "Shinkari Joe, nice to meet you." He looked her up and down, assessing her skill level and...checking her out. (What'dya expect?) "I see that you have come for a match Sakura-san?"

Reiko nodded. "Yes, but call me Reiko. I don't like formalities anyway, they are always such a bore."

"Yes." Joe nodded and they both went to their respective end of the dojo. "I accept your challenge." He fell into a martial arts stance and she found, to her disappointment, that it was not quite...unique... But anyway, she ignored that and figured that his fighting was probably better and hopefully very challenging.

Joe stared confused for a moment when Reiko did not immediately go into a stance. All she did was stand there casually with her hands behind her back, an eager look on her face. It was either that she was very confident in her abilities or that she did not know anything about martial arts. Oh well, he ignored it and waited for his assistant to call out begin.

Despite being the assistant, Li actually had more experience than Joe did. He saw immediately that Reiko was more skilled than she seemed. Her relaxed stance proved that she could attack and counter Joe's moves in an instant. It seemed that today Joe's ego and confidence was going to be his downfall. He guiltily thought that it was about time someone brought him down a peg or two. "BEGIN!" He brought his hand down and the match began.

Joe smirked at Reiko and he charged forward to attack Reiko thinking that she would be an easy opponent. Reiko did not move as he charged and for a brief moment before he threw a punch towards her midsection he was afraid that she would get hurt badly. He was surprise to see Reiko blur and his attack miss terribly.

Reiko frowned. "Stop holding back or are you really that strong only?" She could tell that the man was holding back, just like the others. That is, before the others found out about her true skill and started to take her seriously.

Joe's smirk vanished as he growled softly. "Why you?!" He moved faster as he threw a punch kick combo at the redhead. Reiko just merely dodges as if she did not bother to take him seriously, which was actually the truth. He threw a snap kick at her head and she just moved her head back. When he leaped up to rain down punches at her she casually blocked all of his attacks.

Reiko knew that Joe had realized that she was no ordinary person but for some reason he had refused to believe that she was not going to be beaten by him. It was disappointing that so far every martial artist sensei she had challenged was over confident and big headed.

She sighed and stared, one of her eyebrows raised at Joe's foolish attempts to hit her.

Joe gritted his teeth. "That's it, I'm not holding back anymore! I'm tired of this and I am going to defeat you!" He charged forward, intent on defeating her.

"Idiot." She muttered. Oh well..

"OW!"

Li winced. "Yow!" That looked like it hurt quite a lot.

Reiko sniffed. "You are not a totally bad martial artist, Shinkari-san, but you really need to work on your attitude. You should not judge before you actually know a person's true strength."

Joe refused to acknowledge her advice and, knowing that fighting her would be futile, he settled for glaring at her.

Reiko eyed him, irritated. "You are an ungrateful one."

"Yes, and I apologize for that, miss."

She whirled around to face the source of the voice. It was an elderly man. He did not seem like anything dangerous but she knew better than to judge a person by their appearance. Besides, she had just told Shinkari that so it would be embarrassing to fall for her own lecture. "You are...?"

"Yes." The man chuckled. "Sorry for not introducing myself. I am Michael Shinkari, Joe's father."

"Oh." She nodded her head understanding. "I'm Reiko Sakura, it's nice to meet you Shinkari-san." She bowed slightly.

He shook his head. "Oh, no. Call me Michael, Sakura-san."

"And you can call me Reiko, Michael."

Joe sputtered indignant. "But father! Why are you apologizing to her?!"

Michael fixed a look on him. "Son, I am apologizing for your shameful actions. A real martial artist does not boast and is humble with their abilities, to some extent. You have boasted, judged before truly finding out the truth, and stubbornly refused to believe that this young lady here is more skilled then you are."

Joe hung his head and Michael sighed. "I just can't leave you with the dojo for more than two days before you get in trouble can I? How am I suppose to give you this dojo if you don't deserve it?"

Reiko watched the exchange silently. So this man was the actual owner of the dojo. She smiled. It was nice to know that at least ONE dojo master was worthy of the title 'a martial artist.' Everyone else were all hypocrites and over confident fools.

"I guess that I'll be going now, Michael. It was nice meeting you." Michael nodded and Reiko shook his hands before walking out of the dojo. She saw Li outside sweeping the yard.

Just before opening the gate to leave the place she offhandedly remarked to the boy, "Maybe next time I'll challenge you instead. I know that you are a great martial artist and try not to be too humble. One can only stand so much." With that she left leaving behind a open mouth Li.

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She walked in leisure pace as she thought about the lack of professional martial artists. How could Japan have so many fake martial artists? It was a downright shame that there could not be a single good dojo around the hotel. She should be finding a home soon.

Preferably somewhere with tons of decent dojos.

She glanced around her surroundings. She was kind of hungry and where could she find a place to have a snack now? Hmm...Her eyes went from store to store until finally stopping at one particular one.

It read, 'Dino's Ice cream.' Yum, she thought. Ice cream. She sauntered over to the store happy at her findings.

Ten minutes later she walked out holding an ice cream cone. She slowly licked her strawberry cone, enjoying the tasty treat.

In no time she had finished her cone. She wandered around the town to see if there was anything she should buy. So far there were just a bunch of fashion clothes and furniture stores.

Her eye caught a look at a store she did not want to see. Inside the store she was staring at were various wedding clothes. Out in front for display was a picture of a happy couple in their wedding clothes. Something in her chest tightened as she turned away. It brought back too many hurt memories.

Of dreams dashed and two years of lies.

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She continued to stroll around the town, far away from the 'store.' She stopped and smiled at what was inside. Yes, just what I need.

She walked into the store called 'Martial Arts Haven.' Going down the aisles of the large store she smiled at the clothes on the racks. Chinese clothes. She picked out several different colors of the Chinese blouses, some sleeveless, some with long sleeves. She bought several beautiful Chinese dresses with long slits that provided her the room to maneuver in fights. They were awfully revealing but it didn't bother Reiko much.

She grabbed several arm braces. They were just perfect.

She went to the cashier and paid for her items.

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A tall handsome man walked into the Martial Arts Haven store. He looked at the clothes and various items in the store, taking some. A bandanna held his dark hair and Ryouga Hibiki glanced around for more of the things he needed. He carried a rather heavy looking pack on his back.

A red haired woman brushed past him as she went out of the store. He stopped walking. She was already gone by the time he turned around to look at her. He stared at the entrance confused.

A young lady saw the redhead walking out of the store and didn't look twice at her. She did not know the woman. Entering the store she stood next to Ryouga. He was so deep in thought that he didn't see her. After several minutes of calling his name, he turned to look at her.

"Oh, sorry. What did you say?" He asked a bit sheepish.

The dark haired girl sighed. "I said who were you staring at."

"Oh...It's just that the lady that just walked out looked kind of familiar...but oh well it's nothing." He stratched the back of his head.

Akane Tendo stared at her friend and shrugged her shoulders. "If you say so.."

End Chapter Three.

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Author's Notes: So whatcha think? Didn't turn out quite like I wanted it to be but...Sorry if the fight scenes suck because I'm totally bad at those... ^_^;;

Anyway...people please, please review? I really need them to fuel my imagination! I know I shouldn't be asking for reviews but I can't help it! Look around at my other stories too if you have some free time...some of them have too little reviews and are looking quite lonely...