Chaos
By Neon Tiger and Yuki Ryu
Chapter 2: Over the Line
Ranma 1/2 and all related characters and situations are copyright Rumiko Takahashi. New characters, story, and everything else are copyright Neon Tiger and Yuki Ryu respectively.
Authors' Notes: Beware! Bad things happen! To whom? Well, let's just say that destroying a wedding isn't something that will be forgotten.
***
The school was oddly quiet Akane noticed as she switched her outdoor shoes for the indoor ones at her locker. Normally there would be students loitering in the halls for a while to talk or there would be some just arriving, but there was no one around.
"I wonder where everyone is," Akane mused as she looked around. She then shrugged and thought that it was just as well. She didn't really feel like talking to anyone right now anyway. In fact if she hadn't been kidnapped and taken to China she would have avoided school today. Unfortunately, because of that, she had no choice but to be there because she couldn't afford to miss any more classes.
"It seems I lucked out," she muttered to herself as she walked off to her classroom.
As Akane was heading to class, she failed to notice her fiancée entering the school behind her.
Ranma hurriedly switched his outdoor for indoor shoes, hoping to catch up to Akane quickly. He wanted to talk to her before classes started and was so intent on this that he didn't even notice the absence of other people. All he noticed was the retreating back of his 'uncute fiancée'. "AKA--" Ranma attempted to call after her, but was stopped as someone from behind him had covered his mouth with their hand.
Ranma started at this and was about to reflexively flip the person when they had moved both hands to cover his eyes and giggled in a playful manner. "Guess who," a familiar feminine voice, with a hint of an accent, said from behind him.
Ranma recognized the voice instantly. It was Ukyo. Normally he would be happy, if slightly uncomfortable, in her presence, but now that fact stirred a cold anger that surprised even him.
Calmly, Ranma removed the hands from over his eyes, refusing to look at Ukyo when he could see again. "Hello, Ukyo," he said coldly.
Ukyo blinked in surprise at the drastic change in Ranma's behavior. He never acted that way around her, EVER. He was normally so happy to see his best friend 'Uc-chan'. Something had to have happened to him while he was in China. She frowned, but decided not to let her irritation at this show. "What's wrong, Ran-chan?"
Ranma didn't answer; instead he began walking away from her. "I'm going to class," he said shortly.
Ukyo stared in shock at Ranma's retreating back for a few moments. She began to grow angry as a sudden thought crossed her mind. Akane had to be behind his sudden behavior. Somehow, while they were in China, Akane had managed to get her hooks into Ranma. The near-wedding that occurred the day previous was more than enough proof of that. Ukyo was sure that Akane had to be behind this sudden indifference towards her as well. She knew that she had to work quickly to get back into Ranma's good graces again.
"Ran-chan, wait up!" she called. Quickly, Ukyo rushed after Ranma and grabbed his arm to keep him from moving any further forward. She quickly looped her arm around his own and leaned against him lovingly before he could react. "Let's walk to class together, sugar." She knew that if she turned on the charm and showed Ranma how much cuter, friendlier, and nicer she was than Akane, he was sure to come around and go back to his usual flustered self in no time.
Confusion passed over Ukyo's features as she noticed that Ranma tensed up completely and still didn't look at her.
Ranma paused for a few long moments before answering. "Soul of ice. Soul of ice," he repeated mentally. The mantra helped him in the past to keep him from calm, but now even that seemed as if it couldn't hold his anger in check for very long. Even after what had happened yesterday, he didn't want to lash out at his childhood friend.
That didn't mean he was ready to forgive her, however.
"I want to be alone right now, Miss Kounji," he said, slight agitation emerging in his tone.
Ukyo's eyes widened; there was no mistaking the way he addressed her now. Instead of obeying his wishes she gripped him tighter, afraid to let him go. "Ran-chan?" she asked, her voice trembling slightly. "Don't you want to be with your cute fiancée?"
"Akane's in class already," Ranma muttered. He didn't realize what he said until after the words came from his mouth. Oddly enough, he didn't feel bad about saying it, and he couldn't muster up the urge to deny it. "Let me go, Miss Kounji," he said instead.
Ukyo stared, wide-eyed and jaw slackened, at Ranma. He couldn't have just said what she thought she heard him say. "R-Ran-chan...," she began, voice trembling. She felt a stinging in her eyes begin, but she held it back. "You... you mean uncute... right? I'm you're cute fiancée, and Akane's the uncute one." When he didn't respond, she felt herself becoming panicked. "I mean... she's so violent and abusive to you, and just yesterday she tried to force you to marry her!"
Ranma felt his self-control snap then, and he pushed her away from him. Ukyo stared at him, shocked at the action. He had never, EVER done that to her. He had never even attempted to push Shampoo or Kodachi away whenever they latched onto him against his will.
Ukyo stared at his face, as he now looked towards her, and trembled slightly at how his eyes bore into her with such anger that she felt momentarily frightened that he might hit her. Ranma reined his anger back into check, toning his burning stare down into a cold glare. "You ain't my fiancée, Ukyo," he said quietly, sounding far more serious than Ukyo ever remembered him being.
Finally, Ukyo found her voice. "R-Ranma... You can't... you can't mean that," she whimpered, eyes filling with tears. "What... what about our engagement? Our dads decided that we'd get married! Your dad has already taken my dowry, so it can't be annulled!" Tears spilled from her eyes, as her voice grew stronger. Ranma cringed ever so slightly at the sight of her tears, which only made Ukyo all the more desperate to get through to him. "What about all we've meant to each other? Don't you love me?" Ranma didn't say anything. He just looked away. "I love you, Ranma! Doesn't that mean ANYTHING to you!?"
"And trying to murder my fiancée is how you show you love me, right?" Ranma asked softly.
Ukyo was taken back at that, and fumbled as she tried to figure out how to respond in her defense. Ranma didn't give her the chance, as he walked off to class quickly, leaving her to stare after him. "Ran-chan...," she sobbed softly, and stood alone.
***
Akane was starting to wonder if school had unexpectedly gotten cancelled for the day. First the schoolyard was vacant, save for a comatose Kuno, then the entrance, the halls, and how even her classroom. Not even Hinako was present, and usually the childish teacher was very good at being there on time, even with how irresponsible she was half the time.
"I wonder where everyone is," Akane asked aloud. There was no notice that she knew of that could be responsible for the unexpected day off. She began walking to her desk and noticed that almost all of them had their book bags on or near them. It was as if they all came in to school, then everyone suddenly left without their things. She began to suspect that maybe the insane principal was holding another of his surprise assemblies. "But Principal Kuno usually waits until after school's started to hold assemblies so everyone's here," she thought.
"So here you are,"
Akane whirled towards the voice.
Sitting in the window, calmly, was Mouko. Mouko blinked at Akane, eyes sparkling as her tail lashed with an almost cat-like attitude.
"I was looking for you," Mouko grinned, ears pricked.
"Oh! It's you... Mouko, right?" Akane asked, wanting to make sure she remembered the tiger girl's name correctly.
Mouko nodded, a grin creeping across her face. A fang peeked out, cutely.
Akane tilted her head slightly. "Why were you looking for me?" She paused as the obvious answer came to her. "Oh! You must need directions to the dojo so you can see Ranma's dad, right?"
"Yeah," Mouko nodded. "I tried to find my way myself... but I got bad directions from a trained panda,"
Akane blinked, then felt sweat trickle down the back of her neck as she realized whom the 'trained panda' must have been. "Somehow I'm not surprised..."
"The panda seemed... strange," Mouko blinked. "Not physically... but... spiritually. Like there was something I was missing...,"
Mouko laughed and rubbed the back of her head. "I guess I've been in the city too long!"
"No, I think it's probably because the panda was Ge-," Akane began, but was interrupted as the classroom door opened.
Mouko looked up sharply; tail bristling at the sudden interruption.
"Sorry I'm late, teach, I-," Ranma began, his voice somber, then stopped as he noticed the classroom was almost completely empty. "What the...?" He blinked again and looked to Akane and Mouko. "What happened? Where is everyone?"
Akane felt a twinge of irritation left over from earlier, but it quickly died down, as she felt tired of getting angry with Ranma whenever he put his foot in his mouth. "I don't know," she said. "It was like this when I came here."
"Everyone?" Mouko tilted her head, and then blinked as realization hit her. "Oh! You mean the other students!"
"Yeah, have you seen them?" Ranma asked.
"Yeah," Mouko grinned. She reached in to her shirt and pulled out a flyer. "They're at the gym buying crap. See?" She held the flyer out and proceeded to read it. "'Miss the wedding of the century? No problem! Come to the gym for details and souvenirs of the almost-wedding of Ranma and Akane!'" Mouko paused suddenly, then stared at Akane, then Ranma. "... That wouldn't be you, by any chance...?"
Ranma's eyes widened and he quickly snatched the flier out of Mouko's hands. "Lemmie see that," he said, and glanced over the flier.
It was exactly as Mouko said, and there was even a computer-edited picture made to look as if Akane and Ranma were standing together in their wedding outfits. The picture was fuzzy, however, so it was slightly hard to tell at first glance.
"... is this some sort of city tradition? Seems really cruel and insensitive to me," Mouko muttered.
Ranma's eye twitched as his fingers clenched about the flier, tearing it in places. Akane's eyes couldn't be seen under her bangs because of the way her head tilted, so it was hard to read her expression. It wasn't necessary to see her face, however, as her battle aura was glowing a blazing blue all about her.
"... I take it that this ISN'T a tradition," Mouko's eyes narrowed.
"No, it's not," Ranma said through clenched teeth as he ripped the flier into confetti. "And I think I know who's behind it too..."
Akane was silent as she turned and began stomping towards the door, her destination obvious. Mouko blinked, then leapt from her position in the window and ran after Akane. Ranma noticed and quickly followed suit. He knew it had to be Nabiki behind the fliers. There was no one else so cruel as to do something like this. He couldn't help but wonder if Nabiki had something against him. Even if it was for that reason, it didn't explain how she could do something so low to Akane. "How can Nabiki do this to her own sister?" he growled under his breath.
Mouko's eyes widened slightly and she snapped her head about to fix Ranma with a pointed gaze.
Ranma noticed Mouko looking at him and figured he must have heard him. "...You'll see when we get there," he muttered. Somehow he couldn't help but privately hope someone else was behind the fliers. Akane was acting strange enough already without something like this happening.
Mouko's ears flipped back and her eyes sparked slightly. She turned and darted, quickly, after Akane as her tail lashed urgently.
It didn't take long for the three to get to the gym at their quickened pace. When they got there, the sight that greeted them was one of chaos.
Nabiki had a large array of tables set up on the floor of the gym, covered with photos and objects of various sizes. There were bits of Akane's tattered wedding dress, on sale for 1000 yen. The remains of the floral arrangements were on sale for 500 yen apiece while the ruined wedding presents sold for either 1000 or 5000 yen, pending the size and extent of damage.
Students clamored and scuffled about, attempting to buy whatever they could while Nabiki smiled and counted her money.
Mouko blinked, then glanced at Ranma and Akane.
To say that Ranma was stunned was an understatement. The most he had been expecting was an array of photos and possibly random items such as coffee mugs and handkerchiefs with prints of particularly interesting shots on them.
This was beyond anything he would have ever expected Nabiki to sink so low as to do.
Ranma's fists clenched tightly as he felt anger burn red hot inside him. "How could she?" he thought darkly.
Suddenly he saw that she sunk even lower as he noticed one of the male students admiring a picture he had just bought. The picture was of Akane wearing sexy lingerie that was more likely meant for the wedding night.
In that instant, Ranma's self-control snapped.
"BNABIKI!!!/B" Ranma yelled, enraged.
Mouko yelped and covered her ears, cringing as all of her fur bristled.
Everyone in the gym froze utterly at the scream, and Ranma took advantage of that as he moved through the room so quickly that he blurred. Within moments Ranma was standing before Nabiki, the only thing separating them was the width of one of the tables. By the time everyone had recovered from their temporary paralysis, those that had bought something from Nabiki noticed that their purchases were gone.
Ranma dropped a pile of shredded merchandise before Nabiki, all of which burnt beyond recognition from his battle aura. Nabiki calmly glanced at Ranma as if he didn't seem ready to kill her.
"Yes, Ranma?" she asked calmly, her voice the only sound in the entire gym. "Do you want to buy something?"
"BHow dare you!?/B" Ranma snarled. He would have said more if a quiet voice hadn't stopped him.
"It's alright, Ranma," Akane said, her tone dull. Her head was down slightly so her bangs cast a shadow across her eyes, making her expression unreadable. The battle aura she had when she first came to the gym was alarmingly absent. "...She's not my sister. ...Nabiki's dead..." With that she turned and left the gym.
Mouko stared after in horror, her ears pressed back. She glanced back at Ranma and Nabiki, and then curled up her lips to let out a deep growl. Then, she turned and darted out after Akane.
Ranma stared, uncomprehending as to what had just happened. He expected Akane to lash out in anger, to yell and scream, or worse, cry. He realized that this was far more serious than any other reaction she could have had.
Nabiki merely arched an eyebrow at her sister's statement. Her cold exterior didn't reveal how she might have been feeling about it one way or another.
Silence filled the gym as none of the students, or even the teachers, dared to speak.
Ranma turned back towards Nabiki, his gaze unforgiving. One good thing occurred from Akane's statement; he managed to regain his control.
Nabiki looked back at Ranma calmly. "You know, Ranma, before you do anything rash, I suggest you keep in mind that I always have a backup plan."
"No backup plan's gonna keep me from destroying all your stuff," Ranma growled.
"Not even if my backup plan has four legs and goes 'meow'?" Nabiki asked as she allowed herself a slight smug grin.
Ranma cringed and couldn't help glancing around for any cats she might have hidden around the area. As mad as he was, his fear of cats was far greater.
"Um... a-about that," one of the students behind Nabiki squeaked. "... The cats are gone... that strange girl with Akane scared them away."
"Every single one of them," another agreed, meekly. "They took a whiff of her and ran...,"
Nabiki looked at the two students, both were infamous for acting as lackeys for her, and couldn't stop the surprise from appearing on her face for a moment. "What?" she asked, her calm exterior cracked slightly.
"Even... even the backup plan for the backup plan!" the first student whimpered. "It's gone, too!"
"How could you let the TIGER escape?" Nabiki demanded.
"It... it smelled the girl too," the second girl muttered. "It was like a massive cat stampede!"
"It bent the bars and went running!" the first agreed, wholeheartedly.
Nabiki just stared at the two in disbelief. She had never had a plan of hers go wrong. Ever.
She looked back to face Ranma and try to bluff her way out of the situation, but it was already too late. Her entire stock was gone, and, with it, Ranma as well. The only thing left was a pile of ashes on the table.
If Nabiki wasn't upset over the fact that Ranma ruined what would have been her most profitable day ever, she would have been privately impressed with how he snatched up everything and burnt it all behind her back without her noticing.
"U-um...,"
"Don't tell me. He took the money too," Nabiki stated, her expression cold.
"... How'd you know?"
***
Mouko peered down from her perch in a large tree, perfectly silent. She seemed to blend in to the tree, giving the impression that she wasn't there at all. Her expression was thoughtful as she peered down at the object of her attention.
Akane.
Akane stood under the tree, staring at nothing as her eyes took on a vacant look. Mouko could sense her pain, pain that the girl was slowly wrapping up and shoving deep inside herself. It almost seemed natural for her, like she was used to constant pain and torment.
Such a notion chilled Mouko to her very core.
Mouko tilted her head slightly, continuing her silent vigilance over the young girl. Akane obviously needed to be alone, and Mouko had every intention of making sure no one bothered her.
Half of her protested that she should be going after Genma, but Mouko quickly pushed it aside. Something about Akane told her that Genma wasn't nearly as important as she thought he was. Though they barely knew each other, something about Akane drew her ever closer.
A rueful grin crossed her face. She wondered if THEY had something to do with this sudden connection.
Mouko rested her chin against her arms, blinking. She had never known friends. No one in her village even wanted to look at her, let alone socialize with her. Perhaps THEY were trying to set her up? She disliked the idea of having her friends chosen for her, even if THEY knew her better than anyone else. But something about Akane seemed to ease her irritation. The two were very much alike.
Neither of them seemed to have anyone they could trust.
