It was so good to finally be up and out of bed!
Ryouga was never one to stay down for very long and being bedridden for as long as he had was infuriating. He hopped from rooftop to rooftop, getting the feel of the wind on his face again. Just as he feared, though, his reaction times were off slightly. He could compensate to make sure he wouldn't fall or anything, but he would need some strenuous training in order to get back to where he was before his fight with Hayate.
He came to a stop on a roof overlooking an intersection. He looked in every direction a road ran, trying to find familiar buildings or landmarks. He didn't want to stray too far from Ucchan's Okonomiyaki for fear of getting lost, but it appeared he got lost anyway. His first thought was to drop down to street level and ask a policeman for help. Unfortunately, the police stopped giving him directions a long time ago, knowing it wouldn't have helped anyway. Ukyou did mention something before about giving him a GPS. He scoffed at the idea at first, but he sure wished he had one now.
Dropping down to street level anyway, Ryouga began walking. If he didn't find any familiar looking buildings or landmarks, hopefully he would run into someone he knew who could lead him to where he was going. He walked across a bridge and stopped, recognizing where he had gotten himself. If he recalled correctly, the bridge was the one where he and Hayate scuffled and he found out about Hayate's curse. That meant up ahead would be the teriyaki chicken place he and Ukyou never got to eat in Further ahead was the theater where Akane took them to that rather depressing movie.
Which, of course meant he was heading the wrong way.
With a sigh, he spun on his heel and started back where he came. At least he was able to recognize he wasn't going the right way before he hit the Pacific Ocean. Walking, again, across the bridge, Ryouga noticed something out of the corner of his eye that was grossly out of place. He looked over the rail of the bridge and saw three masked men on the bank of the gully trapping a woman in a corner.
Ryouga sneered in contempt at the men who would pick those weaker than they, like a pack of wolves. He cracked his knuckles and started towards their end of the bridge. He may have lost a step, but he should still be strong enough to teach those goons a thing or two about respecting women.
-
Dreamweaver Studios Presents
Ranma½
And the Beat Goes On
"Shelter"
-
Taking advantage of the uncharacteristically quiet morning, Ranma lounged on the roof of the house. His fight with Mousse was only hours away now and he wanted to be as fresh for it as possible. Part of him was looking forward to the duel because things have been rather boring lately. True, his father and Akane's father were still pushing them for an immediate wedding, and there were still the daily run-ins with Kuno; other than that, nothing's really happened...at least not to them.
Ranma knew on some level when he and Akane said 'I love you' in the front yard that day nothing would ever be the same again. But he thought there would be little changes and not the major cosmic shift that seems to have taken place. All of the things that used to happen to him were happening to Ryouga all of a sudden...the stupidly powerful rivals, the lovesick Amazons, even a giant robot! Ranma never had to fight a giant robot. Though he did have to fight Gosunkugi in that exo-suit before...
If Ranma had to pin down when that change happened, it had to have been after his last big encounter with the pig-headed jerk when he went into that Soul Cry thing. He certainly hoped he could handle everything that's sure to come at him now. Ranma would hate to think what would happen if Ryouga had another breakdown; if he was so depressed he was threatening all of Nerima and half of Tokyo, after a few months of that, he'd probably blow Japan right out of the Pacific Ocean. That's not even taking into consideration how Ukyou would react to everything. This certainly wasn't what he had in mind when he agreed to help get those two together.
But that wasn't all. He certainly wouldn't wish any of the garbage he went through on his worst enemy. Ryouga certainly wasn't that...not anymore anyway. And when in the world did that happen? Anyway, and as much as he hated to admit it, even to himself, he kind of missed being the center of attention. Whenever anyone or anything ventured into Nerima, be it demented, deranged, or dumb-as-bricks, it always seemed to find him and he would fix things himself. Now that he was somewhat on the outside looking in, he was concerned with how those things would turn out without him.
Of course, there's also the fact that if it weren't for those things he had to face since he arrived in Nerima, he wouldn't be as strong as he was. Constant training would only take him so far; he needed to have that in-combat experience as well. Ranma's eyes widened. He hadn't thought of that before. Even without all of the craziness centered him, Ryouga was always able to stay around Ranma's level. If Ryouga really was the center of attention now, there was no telling how much stronger he could become. He could even far surpass Ranma! We can't have that, now can we? Ranma grinned. He would just have to drop in every now and then just to see how things were going with his perpetually lost rival and Ukyou. And just in case anything was going on, he would be just too happy to lend them his services. He hoped Ryouga wouldn't mind too much.
"I thought I might find you up here."
Ranma craned his neck, finding his fiancée standing above him. "Yo Akane! What's up?"
Akane sat down beside him. "Not much. I just didn't see you in the house or in the dojo. I kind of figured you would be training or something for your fight later."
"What for?" asked Ranma with a shrug. "Its just Mousse. I know he said he had some new stuff he learned for the fight, but I'm sure I can handle whatever he can throw at me." Akane shook her head. "Besides," he continued, "I had a long workout this morning, so I'm good."
"If you say so." The youngest of the Tendo sisters turned her eyes skyward, watching the stray clouds roll by. She let out a short, content sigh. "Except for what's going on with Ukyou and Ryouga, it sure has been quiet around here, hasn't it?" Ranma couldn't help but chuckle at the comment. Akane looked at him with a raised eyebrow, "Did I say something funny?"
"Nah. I was just thinkin' the same thing." He sat up and confided, "You know, I always thought I would like it when things finally calmed down. But after this little taste, I don't know if I'll be able to take it for very long. I'm actually lookin' forward to this fight with Mousse and I'm hopin' whatever he's learned will make it interesting. I just hope after this, it won't be too boring around here."
"It almost sounds like you miss the never ending chaos that used to surround us."
"Well, nothin' to that level, especially what we've been through lately. But, you know, once in a while, I think it would be good for something to happen. I'd get too restless otherwise."
"So you like it when things are 'interesting', is that it?"
Ranma nodded, "Yeah, I guess."
"That's a curse, you know."
"What is?"
"You know that saying? 'May you live in interesting times'? It's a curse. And I, for one, would be just fine if all of the interesting times were behind us. 'Boring' would be a very welcome change."
"Feh, I think I know one or two things about curses," said Ranma. "I don't think livin' in 'interesting times' is too much of a curse. I mean, if it's another three-headed war goddess or a demon who was the blood enemy of your mom, that's one thing. But, it don't need to go that far. If it's just a little something to make it more lively here, where's the 'curse' in that?"
"Greetings to you of the Tendo household! I, Tatewaki Kuno, bring you glad tidings!"
Akane glared at Ranma, "Does that answer your question?"
Down below, Soun and Nabiki Tendo greeted the kendoist. Nabiki especially was rather suspicious of her classmate, as he was never one to just visit their home. Usually when he stopped by, trouble always followed soon after, or worse; he would be the one who ended up causing the trouble. Soun nodded to the younger man lightly and started, "And good day to you too, son. What may I do for you?"
Kuno took a deep breath to collect his thoughts. "Please excuse me. It is difficult for one such as I to be forced to do something like this. However, circumstances dictate that I must take this drastic measure..."
Nabiki raised an eyebrow, "Hey, Kuno baby, just spit it out, would you? We don't have all day."
Shooting a glare at the middle Tendo daughter, the kendoist cleared his throat. "Yes, well, the truth of the matter is; I have come to you today to humbly ask for temporary residence in your abode."
"Wait, you want to stay? Here?" went Nabiki, slack jawed.
"That is correct."
"Er, well, I'm sorry son," said Soun. "Unfortunately, we don't have the space. Our guest room is already taken. We wouldn't have anywhere else to put-"
"I would, of course, compensate you for the use of your accommodations," Kuno added. "Would five thousand yen a week be enough?"
Cha-Ching! "As I was saying, we would be delighted to have you staying with us!" Soun took his bags and ushered them in.
Nabiki grabbed him by the arm, "This way. I'll show you to the guest room where you'll be staying."
Before they could make it into the house, Ranma and Akane dropped down from the roof, blocking their way in. "Now wait, just one second!" Ranma interjected. "Pop and I are staying in the guest room now! What about us?"
"Listen Ranma," Soun started, "I hold the friendship of you and your father in very high regard. But we're still in the hole financially from when we had to rebuild the dojo. We NEED the money and I'm not going to pass up the opportunity to bring a little extra in."
"So what, you're just gonna throw us out just like that?"
Soun scoffed at the idea, "Of course not. Saotome can sleep in the Dojo and you can share Akane's room."
"SAY WHAT?" gasped Ranma and Akane together, both faces turning beet red.
Nabiki went up to the two of them, and favored them with a sly smile. "Oh come on now...You may be able to play innocent with him, but don't even try that act with me. You two have been going at each other ever since you found out Akane was part demon. I know for a fact, Ranma, that almost every night, you sneak into Akane's room so you can...share some quality time."
The redness deepened. Ranma tried to mount a defense, "What in the world would make you think I'd do..."
The middle Tendo sister procured a videotape and dangled it in front of the engaged couple. With a slight blush herself, her grin widened, "Better than cable." Completely dumbfounded, Ranma and Akane ran back into the house and straight for her room to look for hidden cameras.
Soun walked up to his daughter, glaring at her. Since they were whispering amongst themselves, he couldn't hear everything they were saying. But once he saw the videotape, he got the gist of it. "Please tell me you're not still spying on them."
"Please, daddy. I'm not that bad. I'm not really taping them." Not anymore, anyway. Of course, she conveniently left that part out.
----+----
After about an hour, Ranma and Akane sat down on the floor, leaning against her bed. Clothes, shoes, books and paper were strewn all over the room, as they tore it apart looking for Nabiki's surveillance equipment. As Akane sat thinking of a place she possibly could have missed, she looked at the mess and lamented at the thought of having to clean it back up again.
Beside her, Ranma gazed upon the mess as well. He too couldn't think of another place where Nabiki could have hidden the camera. There was a good chance that she could've had a hole drilled into the wall with a camera peeking through. It could've been in the ceiling for all he knew. Then again, knowing Nabiki, there was a third alternative... "Ya know, I bet she tricked us."
Akane's eyes widened; the thought hadn't occurred to her before. With all of the times they caught their folks spying on them, she automatically believed Nabiki's assertion to be true. She never thought it could just have been a ruse to end the argument. "Oooh, that Nabiki! I should make her come in here and clean up this mess!"
Sinking down onto the floor, Ranma covered his eyes with his hands, unable to believe the situation he was in now. "Man, I gotta fight with Mousse in a little while! I don't need this now!"
"What's the matter? Things gotten a little too 'interesting' for you?" his fiancée asked.
"This ain't interesting. It's nauseating. And he's gonna be stayin' in me and pop's room. Ugh! That's all I need! He's gonna be spreadin' his moron germs all over my stuff! Next thing you know, I'll be talkin' like a bad poet, referrin' to myself in the third person and wavin' a stupid stick all over the place too." Ranma shivered at the thought.
"Bleh," went Akane. "What a horrible thought. Those three are bad enough. The last thing the world needs is another Kuno."
The pigtailed martial artist stood up and put his hand on his chest, "I the great, mighty and incredibly good looking Ranma Saotome agree with your sentiment!" He sat back down laughing.
"Oh, I don't know," went Akane, laughing also. "Now that I hear it, you don't sound that different from the way you normally do."
"Geez, you're mean!" He stuck his tongue out at her and both started laughing again.
----+----+----+----+----
The three masked goons closed in on the woman they had cornered on the bank. They couldn't have chosen a better spot for their attack as their angle precluded anyone from spotting them unless they were walking along the bridge above and even then, they had to be at a certain position. And it was a heavily trafficked area as well, so all of the passing automobiles above would mask any screams.
For her part, the woman didn't appear frightened by her predicament, but there was no question she was concerned. Her back was too the support column of the bridge. The only way out was through her attackers.
"Now, hand over your valuables, lady, and you won't get hurt," said one of the hoodlums.
"Of course, that's not to say we won't have a bit of fun with you first," said a second. All of them laughed perversely at the statement.
"Feh, to think that what was once such a lovely town has been taken over by ruffians such as yourself," the woman said. "It's such a shame."
"What will be a shame is if you don't cooperate and something bad happened to you as a result," the first one threatened.
"Not one of you is going to lay a finger on her!" Everyone turned their gazes upward. With his hands in his pockets and his own gaze cast coolly on the group of thugs, Ryouga made his presence known. "You were right about one thing, though: something bad IS going to happen, unless you let her go right now."
"This doesn't concern you kid!" the third said. "You'd better get out of here while you still can." While one stood back, keeping an eye on the meddling kid, the other three stalked up to the woman, poised to begin their assault.
With a great leap, Ryouga jumped from the top of the bank and landed between the woman and her assailants. With a malicious smile, he warned them again. "This is your last chance."
"This guy doesn't know who he's dealing with," said the first thug. "Time to teach him a lesson!" He charged at Ryouga, throwing a rather competent series of punches at him. No doubt he had some sort of training behind him. It was too bad the guy chose this as his path. With ease, Ryouga dodged all of his punches. It wasn't often Ryouga got to show up an opponent in this way, so he took his opportunity to yawn at the thug's rather pitiful attempts. He moved in slow motion compared to the fanged martial artist's speedier opponents, like Ranma and Hayate.
His taunt worked. The guy was furious that he was being made the fool. Building up all the steam he could, he launched a mighty swing at Ryouga, intending it to be a knockout blow. Calmly, Ryouga stepped out of the way, but kept his foot outstretched. Unable to redirect his momentum, the thug tripped over Ryouga's foot and fell into the gully, getting washed away down stream.
"My turn!" said the second guy. This one looked to be the strong man of the bunch, as he was a few inches taller than Ryouga and his arms were quite thick. Cracking his knuckles, he stalked up to Ryouga. The bandanna clad martial artist simply snorted and motioned for the buffoon to attack whenever he was ready. With a loud roar, the taller man reared his fist back and shot his arm forward, striking Ryouga hard in the stomach.
Once again showing up his opponent, Ryouga looked down at the fist embedded in his abdomen, then looked up at the man and laughed. Removing a hand from his pocket for the first time in the encounter, he grabbed the man by the wrist and removed his hand from his person. He started to apply mild pressure to the man's wrist. What was mild to Ryouga was crushing to the man. He fell down to one knee, wailing in pain at the vice grip that was locked around his wrist.
Ryouga shook his head. He knew he wouldn't get much of a workout from those guys, but he couldn't believe how pathetic they were. They gave decent thugs out there a bad name. With a yank, he tossed the 'strong man' of the group into the gully with his friend. He turned his attention to the last man of the group, waiting for him to make his move. He couldn't see the man's face due to the mask, but the trembling knees were enough for Ryouga to determine the last man standing was scared out of his mind. He walked up to the last of the thugs and jerked forward, "Boo!"
"AAAAAH!" the last thug screamed, running away.
"I warned them," Ryouga said with a sigh. With that out of the way, he turned his attention back to the woman. To his determination, she was a middle-aged woman who had taken very good care of herself, for she was still quite lovely. She had long brown hair that she kept up in a bun, with two thick strands coming down either side of her face. She wore a blue kimono with pink flowery designs and a matching pink tie around her waist. The woman carried herself with an elegance he had never seen before. "Are you alright ma'am?" he asked.
She walked up to him and hugged him tightly. He couldn't help but blush. She was probably somebody's mother, but that sure wasn't a motherly hug she was giving him. Releasing the hug, the woman took a step back and bowed to him, slightly, "I am fine, thank you very much. I'm sure I could have taken those ruffians out myself, but I am very appreciative to you for your assistance. It's gratifying to know that there are still some nice young men here."
Ryouga couldn't help but feel good about himself. He felt like a child getting praise from his own mother. He rubbed the back of his head and gave her a fangy grin, "It was no trouble at all, ma'am."
"I'll say. I was very impressed with how easily you took those guys out." She put a hand on Ryouga's arm and slowly trailed it down. Okay, this had gone from motherly to creepy again. Suddenly, Ryouga was very uncomfortable around her. "And yet, you're so polite. The epitome of manliness! If only I were a few years younger..."
Very, very uncomfortable... "Er, yes...well, um, if you're alright, ma'am I have to, uh, get back to work now. I'm sure my boss is going to be quite upset if I-"
"Would you mind walking me to my house, young man?" she asked, putting her arm around his waist. "I have a daughter around your age and I'm sure she'd love to meet a handsome, gallant man such as yourself."
Oh brother. Like he needed any more girl trouble right now. "I'm sorry, but I really need to get back to…" As he spoke, the woman slid her hand from his side to the small of his back, where he felt a sharp prick. It was very sudden, but the discomfort he felt went away just as quickly. However, he found his legs no longer worked. With nothing to support him, he fell over in a heap.
He pushed himself up by his hands and looked at his incapacitated legs. What in the world was happening to him? Looking at his back where he felt the pricking sensation, he found what looked like an...acupuncture needle? The woman walked over him and smiled. "There's absolutely no way I would let such a rare gem of a man get away. Won't my daughter be surprised when I make my homecoming complete with her future husband! Ohohohohohohoho!"
This was just getting worse and worse. What in the world did he do that was so horrible he deserved to be punished like this? And why in the world did that laugh seem so familiar?
----+----+----+----+----
----+----+----+----+----