Mad-Hamlet presents:
Curse of Silence
Prt 1
A continuation of Curse of Silence, written by C.Jones
This continuation has been written with his permission.
Background: This is the Ranma 1/2 series starting all over again with, once
again, a little switch. Akane is mute. She lost her voice when she was a
small girl in the car accident that took her mother's life. It is HIGHLY
recommended that you read the original.
"Curse of Silence" cause I ain't going to go over it.
The original COS can be found at www.furinkan.net
Ranma was awakened from a sound sleep by a kick in the gut. He rolled away
from the blow and spun his legs over his shoulders to back-flip to his feet.
Still dressed in his boxers he faced his opponent.
Ranma studied the angry man before him. Genma was dressed, as always, in his
white gi. His face was contorted in barely suppressed rage and his stance one
of aggression.
"So what's it going to be Pop, more morning training or am I gonna get a
lecture cause I chose a girl with 'problems'?" Ranma laced the last word with
sarcasm.
In response, Genma leaped at Ranma's face in a flying kick. Ranma ducked,
grabbed his clothes lying on the floor and dived out the window to escape the
blow. Slipping his pants on in mid-air, he landed and saw a blurring form
descending upon him. He jumped to meet his father and the combat began.
Akane was dressed in her jogging outfit. The white shorts and t-shirt
accented her form nicely and the only thing out of place was the long scarf
that fluttered over her shoulder. She ran through the streets of Nerima at a
brisk pace, interrupting her stride for the occasional kick or punch at an
imaginary foe. She turned a corner and, easily hurtling a mailbox, continued
her run. Her face wore a huge smile and she felt really good about the world.
As she ran, her thoughts turned to the night before; when she had met Ranma.
It had been a long while since she had had a real conversation. She
remembered the way he had talked to her. His tone had been so pleasant and
normal. There were no laced words, no indication of sympathy or pity; just a
normal talk between two people. It really had been a long time since she felt
the joy that came from simple, good, conversation that so many took for
granted. Oh sure, there was her family, but other then clichéd questions they
pretty much had little to say to her, or her to them.
"How was your day Akane?"
"What would you like to drink Akane?"
"Oh you a mastered a new kata Akane, how nice."
"Did Kuno bother you again today Akane?"
Kuno. As that hated name flashed through her mind, along with the associated
face, her playful blows became less so and, in fact, tore through the air
rending apart billions of harmless molecules. Her good mood lost; Akane
quickened her pace to soon arrive at the gates to the Tendo dojo.
Akane entered the house and her mouth began to open before she caught
herself. The realization of what she was about to do hurt. Even after a decade
the instinct to yell a greetings to her family came unbidden, bringing with it
memories, memories with sharp edges. She jogged through the entranceway and
onto the porch heading for the stairs. She needed to take a shower before
breakfast. Akane paused on the first step and cast a quick glance outside. Her
attention was caught by two blurring figures dancing about the yard.
Ranma and Genma were moving with a fluid grace, leaping and bounding about.
Their feet scarcely touching the ground before the figures were hurtling
airborne once more. When they met fists and fleet blurred, attacking,
blocking, exploring defenses and seeking soft, vulnerable spots in the other.
"They're so quiet." Akane thought to herself. "No battle cries."
She narrowed her eyes, studying the warriors before her. Her breath caught in
her throat as she realized what was happening.
"They're not sparring! Oh God they're really trying to hurt each other." The
two Saotome were holding nothing back; each doing their utmost to put the
other down, hard. The realization scared Akane and the unbidden feelings even
more so. She was scared, scared for Ranma.
If Akane had been a little closer, or a more experienced a martial artist, she
also would have noticed the quiet, snarling voices coming from Ranma and his
father every time they met.
"I warned you boy, and you defied me. You should have chosen Kasumi, or
Nabiki even, not that hopeless cripple. " Genma hissed, blocking a mid-air
sidekick. He grabbed the leg behind the kick and tossed his son across the
yard.
Ranma back-flipped in mid-air and rebounded off the wall back at his father.
He slammed into Genma knocking the older man back a step and followed up with
a vicious double punch to the sternum.
"Shut up old man." Ranma snarled as the doubled over Genma tried refilling
his lungs with air.
Winding up, Ranma finished off his father with a perfectly executed, western-style, uppercut
that sent him into the pond. The panda sat up slowly, giving his son a wary
eye.
[This isn't over boy.] The panda's sign read.
A heartbeat later Ranma's fist shattered the sign and stopped a hairsbreadth
from the panda's nose.
"Yes it is, Pop. You ever say anything like that again about Akane and you'll regret it.
You got that?" Ranma's voice was quiet , the tone controlled, an unvoiced assurance that every word was absolutly true.
With a disdainful snort Ranma stalked across the yard to the porch, his senses
ready for the possibility of another attack. He saw Akane staring at him with
a questioning look on her face. She handed him her white board.
'What was that all about?'
"Aw.." Ranma scratched his head, "Wasn't nothin'. Pop an' me just got a little
carried away that's all."
Akane just held up her hand and made an exaggerated "ok" gesture.
"A change of topic is called for." Ranma thought.
"Um, when's breakfast? I'm starvin`".
He waited patiently for her to finish writing.
'After you take a bath but I'm going first so you can wait outside. If you
walk in on me I will hurt you.'
The words on the board caught all of Ranma's attention so he didn't notice
the playful glint in her eye.
"Hey! What kind of per.. that is I'd never walk in on you deliberately Akane.
I'm not that kind of a guy. But if there ever was an accident," Ranma paused
and openly admired her, "I really think I'd like what I'd see."
"WHAT??!!" Akane couldn't believe he said that. "What a.. that..boy..how
could he..and to think I.." her thoughts were an unclear jumble. "I
oughta..oooh just wait till..I'm going to make him pay for saying something
so...so...nice." Her thoughts petered off as she became aware of the blood
rushing to her face.
Fighting the urge to keep her eyes on the floor at the floor, Akane looked at
Ranma. He was just standing there, kind of looking awkward but in a slightly
charming way. His face held no expression of lust, or perversion; just a
friendly half smile and his eyes twinkling with humor. She gave a silent
laugh and quickly jotted something down on the board. Then heading up the
stairs she tossed it over her shoulder.
Ranma snapped the board out of mid-air.
'Just wait till the wedding night, Big Guy.'
Akane was gratified to hear the sound a body impacting with the floor. She
gave herself a "V" for victory as she passed the mirror in the changing room.
Ranma was just finishing his breakfast when Akane's board landed in his lap.
'Hurry up! We're going to be late for school!'
"School?" He thought aloud.
A hand slapped his shoulder. Akane stood beside him carrying two school bags.
She tossed one in his lap and nodded in the direction of the door.
"Well, okay. Lead the way."
As Akane and Ranma raced out the door Genma watched them leave.
"You've made a mistake boy." He thought to himself. "And you'll learn from
that mistake even if I have to beat it into you." And then turned and went
back to breakfast.
As Genma returned to the table Soun cautiously watched his friend over the top
of his newspaper. He wasn't positive what was bothering Genma, but he
too had witnessed the savage sparring contest between father and son. There
was a dangerous conflict between the two of them and he hoped his first
assumption behind that conflict was mistaken. Weighing the pros and cons of
inaction versus action at this point, Soun decided to simply watch the events
carefully. It was far too early to act hastily and risk losing a bond that was
deeper than that shared by brothers. He settled back and continued reading his
paper ignoring the elder Saotome's impersonation of a vacuum cleaner.
Ranma and Akane ran through the streets of Nerima in silence, every once in a
while Ranma glanced at Akane's face. Her jaw was tense and her brow was
creased in a fierce glare.
"Wonder what's bugging her?" he thought.
He opened his mouth, "Hey Akane.."
*Splash*
Ranma looked at the old woman watering the path. She would have hit him with a
ladle full of cold water if Akane hadn't pushed him out of the way.
"Geeze, thanks Akane. That could have been a real pain."
She waved her hand in a dismissive gesture and took off at a run again. Ranma
shrugged and charged after her. They were nearing the gates of Furinkan High
School when he caught up to her.
"Hey Akane, what's eating you? Ya look like yer heading into battle or
sumthin'."
She came to a brisk halt and scribbled madly on her board before handing it to
him.
'Tell you later. Just stay here and don't get involved.'
He handed the board back to her. "Ok Akane, but ya gotta promise to tell me
what the hell is going on ok?"
With a brisk nod Akane ran through the gates of the school. Ranma hopped onto
the wall just in time to see a hoard of boys, dressed in kendo gear, come
charging toward her, all wielding bokken.
"What the.." Ranma wondered.
Akane tore through the ranks of her opponents, a whirling dervish of
destruction. Blows rained down upon her but she was never there when they
landed. Or, more often than not, the diminutive girl pulled some unfortunate
into the path of an incoming bokken.
Ranma studied the battle. "Wow, she's really something." He watched as Akane
gave a body blow to one boy that doubled him over, and then vaulted over the
collapsing boy to knock two others down in a flying split kick. Upon landing,
she ducked and darted forward out of the way of an overhand smash from a
fourth boy that, instead of hitting her, impacted with the back of the skull
of one of the kicked boys. The attacker was sent to dreamland a split second
later from a simple snap kick to the head.
"She's REALLY good." Ranma thought to himself.
A second later he was pulled from his reverie by the comments floating up
from the conflict.
"Get that cripple bitch"
"Don't let her in the school."
"Eat this you freak!"
Ranma's fingers began crumbling the wall as he felt his anger rise. He growled
out "Those bastards." He was about to hurtle himself into the fray when he
remembered Akane's message.
'Don't get involved.'
He paused, he was angry, angry as all hell..but..she did seem to be taking
care of the massed idiots quite nicely. Ranma grinned as the last boy
collapsed to the ground; his kendo mask shattered, by Akane's fist, to reveal
an equally shattered jaw.
"Oooh," Ranma whispered to himself. "That had to hurt."
Akane paused to catch her breath, surrounded by the bodies of the defeated.
She noticed that, in the scuffle, she had dropped her white board. As she bent
to pick it up someone shoved her, hard. She rolled with the push and flipped
to her feet and found herself facing..Kuno.
He was standing so that most of his front was facing away from her. Dressed in
his kendo garb, with one hand he held a bokken at his side. His other hand was
holding a bright red rose that he was gazing at and seemed to be studying
intently. He slowly turned to Akane as if noticing her for the first time.
"At fair morn to thee Miss. Tendo. I apologize for not noticing thee earlier
so caught up was I by the splendors of one of natures perfection's." and he
held up the rose. "Perhaps thou could take inspiration from it?"
Akane stood in a relaxed stance, her hands loose at her sides giving no
reaction to the older boy's verbal barbs.
Ranma, still sitting on the wall was watching the two with interest.
Kuno noticed Akane's writing board lying on the ground. "Ah it would seem thou
has lost thy voice." His voice dripped with sarcasm, "Allow me to retrieve it
for you."
In a smooth movement Kuno scooped up the plastic board. He moved as if to hand
it to Akane but than clenched his fist crushing the piece of plastic in his
grip. "Ah, forgive me Miss Tendo, I fear my careless fumbling has destroyed
thy voice. Would seem to be Déjà vu all over again." A cruel sneer rippled
across Kuno's face as all pretense of civility were dropped.
"Once again you have disrespected your betters, Miss Tendo, and it falls to me
to protect this noble institution of education from thy flawed, crippled,
presence. I, Tatewaki Kuno, The Blue Thunder of Furinkan High, shall bring
thee to justice!" With his little speech finished, Kuno took an aggressive
stance, holding his bokken before him, and prepared to strike.
Ranma had gotten bored. All he could see from his vantage point was some older
guy waving around a bokken. "Guess I better go see if Akane's ok." He mused.
Thought became action as the young martial artist flung himself off the wall
and landed lightly beside Akane just as Kuno finished speaking.
"I gotta tell ya Akane that was some really good fightin." Ranma said. Or he
meant too. All he got out was "I gotta tell ya Akane.." before he was
interupted.
"Hold!" shouted Kuno. "Who would you be, Boy? And why does thou associate with the
likes of Akane Tendo?"
Ranma's jaw hung open, frozen in mid-speech. "Who the hell does this guy think
he is?" he thought. "What is his problem anyway. Moron doesn't even know me
and he's actin' all aggressive. And what does he mean by 'the likes of Akane
Tendo'. That sounds downright rude."
He didn't notice Akane surreptitiously gesturing with her hand, urging Ranma
to back off.
"Get out of here Ranma," she thought, "I don't want you to get hu..I mean I
don't need your help. Where did that come from?"
"Well," Ranma began, but again was interrupted.
"Wait," Kuno barked, "Is it not the custom for the righteous to give their own
name first? Fine, mine I shall give. I am the rising new start of the high
school fencing world. My enemies quake with fear at the mention of my name. I
am the undefeated captain of this school's Kendo club. My peers call me the
Blue Thunder of Furinkan High!" As Kuno finished his proclamation a bolt of
lighting lanced down from the graying skies to slam into the ground with an
appropriately melodramatic effect.
Ranma blinked, "That was...different." He thought.
"My name is Ranma Saotome," Ranma began, "I am the heir to the Anything Goes
School of Martial Arts. I, currently, am staying with the Tendos'."
"Staying with the Tendos'?" Kuno repeated, "And this wretch is your excuse for
a champion, Miss Tendo? Truly, he must be pathetic if he would willingly
associate with the likes of thee. I shall smite thee for daring to disgrace
our school, and your champion for befriending thou abomination."
Mistake.
Akane never even saw Ranma move. There was a brief whistling where Ranma had
been standing and then he just seemed to materialize before the startled
upperclassman. Kuno did not have time to fully realize the appearance of a
very angry Ranma before the first blow struck; right below his ribcage. He
sagged over as the air burst from his lungs and would have slumped to the
ground but Ranma grabbed Kuno's neck and effortlessly hoisted the kendo
captain into the air so his feet were dangling off the ground. Gasping for air
Kuno looked into the furious visage of Ranma Saotome.
Ranma snarled out the words, "If you ever" he hit Kuno, "talk about Akane,"
and hit Kuno, "like that again," and hit Kuno again, "I'll KILL you." And for
added emphasis he hit Kuno one last time. By the time Ranma was finished
speaking Kuno wasn't in much condition to listen to anyone about anything.
Ranma let the thoroughly defeated Kuno drop to the ground. Kuno was too lost
in his own private universe of pain to notice. Ranma looked around as if
daring any of the recovering members of the Kendo team to say anything. Most
were too involved in their own miseries to pay much attention or offer much
challenge to the enraged boy.
A cold wind blew through Akane's hair as she stared at Ranma. The youngest
Saotome was oblivious of her gaze, so consumed was he by his anger.
"My God," Akane thought, "He's furious..for me." She shook her head.
"Waitaminute, I don't need that jerk's help. I can take care of myself
perfectly fine. I don't need him. Who does he think he is? Treating me like
some weak girl. Still...," She looked again at Ranma. He stood in front of the
school, his back was too her and he held one fist before him; even though he
was a good five feet away she could swear she heard the knuckles cracking.
Overhead, lightning flashed and there was an ominous rumble of thunder. That,
coupled with the expression of bound rage on Ranma's face, "He looks like a
barely restrained force of nature." She finished her mental litany just in
time to hear a sullen voice.
"C'mon Akane, lets go. We'll be late." She looked to see Ranma now looking at
her with a flat empty expression. With a silent nod she followed him inside as
the gray skies began to rain on the wreckage of the Furinkan High Kendo Club.
"Well class it seems we have a new student today. Ranma Saotome just returned
from a training trip to China. So lets all give him a big 'Ni Hao' welcome.
However this doesn't change the fact that both he and Miss. Tendo were late.
So, go stand in the hall."
"Great, just great." Ranma thought. "First day in school and not only do I
get into a fight, but I'm late for class and the only person who I can even
try to call my friend is angry at me." He stole a careful look at Akane. She
saw him slowly looking at her from the corner of her eye and with great
deliberation turned her back on him.
"Akane.." He began but had no more gotten her name out of his mouth when her
bucket drenched Ranma triggering the curse.
Onna-Ranma shook her head, shaking the water from her red hair just in time
to see a whiteboard tossed into her lap.
'I TOLD you not to interfere. I don't need your help. I can take care of
myself!!!'
Onna-Ranma peeked over the top of the whiteboard to see two angry, brown,
beautiful eyes boring holes into him. "Beautiful? Where did that come from?"
she thought.
She handed the board back to Akane with a heavy sigh.
"Akane.." she tried again but Akane silenced her with a glare.
She waited until she finished writing and again caught the whiteboard as Akane
all but flung it at her.
'I thought you were different. I thought you were going to treat me like
anybody else, but you're just like them. You either hate me because I'm a
cripple and a freak or feel so sorry for me you that you treat me like some
fine china. What next, are you going to help me cross the street and make like
a hero? Lets get one thing clear: I don't need or want your help!'
She snatched the whiteboard out of his hand and furiously began to write
something else.
"Akane." Ranma said for a third time. Akane ignored her and continued
writing.
"Akane." She kept writing.
"Akane, damnit, listen to me." Ranma hissed grabbing the whiteboard out of
Akane's hand.
Akane's eyes bulged. How dare that redheaded hussy! She was ready to pound
Ranma but stopped just for a second to listen. Ranma had earned that much
trust from the night before but as soon as she was done speaking...
"I didn't beat on that Kuno jerk or try and help you out because
you..because..of..your..condition. I would have done that for anyone who was
being bullied." Ranma struggled for the words; damn this was hard.
"An'..an'..yer right."
Akane blinked, she was right?
"You can take care of yerself. The way you tore through those kendo clowns,
I've never seen anythin` like that from anybody...cept maybe myself o' course.
Akane rolled her eyes.
Ranma didn't notice and nervously began tossing the whiteboard from one hand
to the other as she continued speaking.
"Ya didn't need my help. You really are a good martial artist. Oh there is
some room for improvement but that's the same for everybody. You really didn't
need my help... an...an..." Ranma stared at the floor, "An' I'm sorry bout
interfering."
Akane's eyebrows shot up. "He's apologizing? Never heard of boy doing that
before." Her thoughts were interrupted as Ranma continued speaking.
"Though ya are wrong 'bout something."
Akane's eyes narrowed. "Here it comes." She thought and clenched her fists;
ready to deliver a pounding.
Ranma held the whiteboard out to Akane. "Yer wrong about you being a freak or
cripple. Yer not. This piece o' plastic don't mean nothin like that. It's just
a tool, like a hammer or a fist. It don't mean nothing about the person using
the tool." Ranma was getting increasingly nervous, "And in yer case..that
is..I...mean...thepersonusingthatwhiteboardiskindacute." Ranma finished the
sentence in one explosive breath.
She stared at the floor waiting for some sort of response from Akane; her
fingers were busy tying themselves in knots.
Akane couldn't believe what she had heard. The whiteboard clattered to the
floor from numb fingers. "Ranma..said....I was cute?" Her mind began spiraling
in towards total system failure. "He..she said I was cute. Ranma said I was
cute. No one's ever called me cute before." Akane's began to get angry,
"That..that PERVERT! She's probably just saying that to get into my pants!
That jerk Ranma, she..he..IT...is just...just..." again her thoughts dwindled
off in mid-sentence. Ranma wasn't looking at her, just staring at the hall
floor, her hands moving nervously, the picture of vulnerability.
Akane's mind seized up. "Ohmigod...ohmigod..did I just think of Ranma as an
'it'? He's cursed that's all. So what if he's turns into a girl, that's not
his fault. All she did was call me cute and I thought all those terrible
things about her. Oh God no, I'm as bad as Kuno!" and with a silent sob, Akane
turned and fled down the hallway.
Ranma watched her run. She paused for a split second, "Was Akane..crying?"
then took off after her full speed.
Ranma caught to Akane who was huddled in a corner behind some locker. Her body
wracked with silent sobs. It was, in its own way, a horrifying sight; a young,
attractive girl curled up on the floor. Her face wet with tears and her mouth
hanging open; trying to express her pain through sobs but only silent cries
are there. Ranma approached cautiously.
"Akane?" She asked quietly. When Ranma gently touched a hand to Akane's should
the youngest Tendo began flailing wildly but Ranma would not be brushed off so
easily.
"What's wrong Akane? Tell me!" Akane continued to shake her head, refusing to
look Ranma in the face. Ranma gently took hold of both of Akane's shoulders.
"Tell me what's hurting you Akane. I'm your friend, I promise I won't get
mad."
Slowly Akane looked up into Ranma eyes. Then, with her eyes still full of
tears she began writing.
Ranma knelt down beside Akane and patiently waited for the ebon haired girl to
finish.
'I'm a terrible person! You said I was cute and no one's ever said anything
like that to me. And you said it, even though I just treated you so terribly.
And when you said I was cute, I don't know why, but I got angry and scared.
You were trying to be nice and all I could do was get angry at you. I thought
awful things about you just because you turn into a girl and said I was cute!
I'm as bad as Kuno, I don't deserve your friendship. I'm just a cruel,
freak.'
Ranma blinked. She re-read the message just to give herself some time to
think. "I'm no good at this talking stuff." She thought. "But Akane is really
hurting. Oh please God, let the Saotome-Foot-in-Mouth-Technique not be paying
attention."
Ranma took a careful breath. "Akane." The youngest Tendo was again looking at
the floor, refusing to face Ranma. "Akane, yer not as bad as Kuno. I really
don't know why you might have gotten angry. I ain't no good at this talking
stuff. All I know is how I feel. My feelings are tellin' me lots of things
right now. You treated me all right about my curse and didn't make fun of me
or nothin. Just accepted it and treated me like everybody else. You helped me
out this morning with that old lady and the water and tried to keep me from
getting in a fight with that jerk, Kuno. Like I said, I don't know much about
this talking and emotional stuff, but I do know the way you acted are not the
acts of a terrible person."
'But I thought these things!'
Ranma handed the whiteboard to Akane. She had stopped crying but still
refused to look Ranma in the face.
"So you thought those things, big deal. That don't mean yer as bad as Kuno.
Everybody thinks things that they regret later. I guess. I haven't been around
people so much. I do know at times I thought things about my Pop that I
regretted later. Course that's different now," Ranma gave his head a tiny
shake to break that chain of thought, "If anything Akane, there's the proof
that you are not like Kuno. You may think bad things at times, but you didn't
act on em'. Kuno does, so that's what makes him such a jerk. Kinda sad really.
And Akane," she still refused to look at Ranma so Ranma gently cupped Akane's
chin and slowly forced the Tendo girl to meet her gaze. Akane found herself
lost in the big bluish-grey eyes of Ranma's. "I meant what I said, you really
are cute."
Ranma watched as a dim light began to glow in Akane's eyes, and the sad
visage of a girl in pain slowly slipped away as hope began shine through.
Akane's eyes asked the question.
Ranma laughed, "Yes I'm sure." And Akane's face shone like the sun, with a
huge beautiful smile.
Ranma was frozen by that smile. "Beyond cute." Echoed in her mind.
Ranma pulled Akane to her feet. "C'mon Akane lets get outta here. We can get
some lunch ok? My buy."
Akane responded with a nod and, hand in hand, two girls, both burdened by
life but never broken, ran out into the rain.