Nightmares In Nerima
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Part 4
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Ranma yawned and stretched after completing a customary kata. Three hours had passed and his interest had gradually waned away from the recurrent movements he performed. The sun had risen in the distance, casting a fusion of orange, crimson, and cerise in the eastern portion of the morning sky. He blinked away the sleepiness that had pestered him for the past two hours and stood straight.
Breakfast would be served soon, so Ranma settled on completing a few more katas before turning in. He stooped his fatigued body into a relaxed, martial stance and glared at the invisible opponent who had accompanied him in the dojo for the past few hours. His fist shot out and impacted the air in front of him, followed by another punch and then a kick. He followed with a combination of both.
With his attention only half-devoted, Ranma immediately noticed the new presence that lurked by the dojo entrance. He paused, mid-strike, and turned his head in that direction.
"Akane?"
She stood leaning againt the doorway in a tank top and pajama shorts, watching him. Once Ranma revealed his consciousness of her company, she jerked away from the door and shuffled toward him. She halted before him and frowned.
Ranma waited expectantly and examined her weary, irritated demeanor. Thick, pink bags bordered under her watery eyes.
"Um...what's up?" Ranma asked, carefully.
Akane's frown tightened and the palm of her hand connected with his cheek in a mild, but stinging impact. Ranma's eyebrows furrowed. "What wassat for?"
"THAT...," Akane emphasized, her reprimanding face now only inches from his. "...was for taking me to go see that movie last night...I got absolutely NO sleep."
He turned away from her, smugly. "Hey, don't take it out on me. If it scared you so much we coulda just left the theater."
Akane clenched her fists by her sides. "I wasn't scared..."
"Sure," he replied, sarcastically.
Akane stared at him, before glancing around the dojo. "What are you doing up so early, anyway?"
Unless he was engaging in a early morning sparring session with his father, Ranma usually slept in. Occasionally even through breakfast. "Uh..." He looked away. "You know, I kinda woke up early..."
Akane smirked, a know-it-all mien influencing her posture. "Oh...so YOU couldn't sleep either-"
"Hey, it's not like that, okay?" Ranma frowned and blushed. "It wasn't because of the movie...I just..."
Akane decided to acquit him and change the current topic. "So are you gonna jog with me today or not?"
"Huh?" His frown subsided.
"You promised yesterday morning you'd jog with me...since you're up now, we should do a few laps before school."
"I-I guess..." He rubbed the back of his head. Akane smiled at him, content. "Great. Meet me out front."
...
Akane grunted in irritation and absently tapped the eraser end of her pencil against her lip. Her eyelids had grown fairly heavy. Against her will, her concentration would potently steer away from the teacher's voice and the chalk board every few seconds. Occasionally her body would surrender to the deprivation of sleep and drift off. Fortunately, the jarring squeak of chalk against the board would wake her before the teacher noticed.
'Stupid Ranma,' she thought. He was to blame. If she received detention because of him she would have a decent serving of 'mallet' waiting for him after school.
Deciding that a glare warning was necessary, Akane glanced over her shoulder at the seat behind her. She was disappointed to find Ranma knelt over, head resting on his desk. He lay motionless, his eyes closed and his breaths deep and even. Akane frowned.
Who gave him the right to sleep? She was tired too, but she didn't have the option to sleep in class. She returned her attention to the teacher and considered giving Ranma a good whack. When Mr. Yamata turned his back and jotted notes along the board again, Akane slightly shifted in her seat. She frowned at her fiance and lifted her hand above his sleeping form.
The boy lay oblivious to anything around him. She couldn't avoid the hesitation that caused her to halt and stare at him. There was an uncommon innocence about him at this moment. He had obviously lost just as much sleep as she had the previous night.
Akane smirked to herself. 'Dummy...If the movie disturbed him so much, why can't he just admit it.' She wouldn't have held it against him. She turned back around in her seat, deciding that he probably could use the sleep.
...
"Great job, Ranma."
The pig-tailed boy smiled at the continuous praise as one of his schoolmates patted him on the back. "Thanks."
The bell rung, signaling the end of P.E.. Students began to clear from the gymnasium and arrive toward the student lockerrooms. The male students moved toward the eastern side of the building in a noisy cluster. Ranma followed behind, thoughtlessly.
He passed several rows of lockers and benches, some of which were occupied by undressed males, clad in towels. The sound of simultaneous voices filled the room. He arrived at his own assigned locker and opened it. As usual, the feeble gossips and chatters of his schoolmates met his inattentive ears. He did nothing to stop them, for infrequently he would hear something interesting.
But oddly, the voices of the other males reached him as random gibberish, rather than distinctive words.
Casually, Ranma reached for the hem of his sweat shirt and lifted it over his head.
"Hey, did you guys see Akane play today? She was awesome," he suddenly deciphered from the fog of nonsense.
"Yeah. Her pitch is great. We should get her to play for our team at lunchtime."
Ranma peeked at them, interestedly, through the corners of his eyes.
"...Hey, I never really noticed this until today," another boy said. "...but Akane's got a great body." Ranma jerked and frowned.
"Did you see her in those gym shorts?"
A few more boys joined in, enthusiastically. "I know! And don't forget about those gym socks...Hot!"
The pig-tailed boy growled to himself. As if their little lockerroom scandals weren't bad enough, he really wished they would leave Akane out of them.
"Man, Saotome," one boy said, gripping Ranma's shoulder. "You are one lucky guy."
Ranma turned back to his locker, nonchalantly. "How so?" He removed his sweat pants and tossed them along with his shirt.
"Look at your fiancee. She's strong, smart, good-looking...I wish I had half of that for a girlfriend." The other boys nodded in agreement.
Ranma attempted to suppress a blush. "You guys are exaggerating." He wrapped his towel around his waist and shut the locker. When he faced the boys again, he suddenly froze. The room had grown dangerously quiet and every pair of eyes studied him.
His clueless eyes scanned them all back. An abrupt sensation of diffidence washed over him and the smothering air of the lockerroom suddenly held a prickly chill. "What?" he asked.
"...So you're not even the slightest bit interested in her?"
"Not even," he replied turning away. The male students suddenly appeared larger than they had seconds before.
Another deadly silence followed.
He curiously glanced at all their faces to find their eyes still locked on him. But this time, their attention wasn't on his face. Ranma furrowed his brows and glanced down. 'What's with the-'
"Aaaaagh!" he shouted. He stared in horror at the two large breasts that now took position on his chest. He looked back at his schoolmates. They all held amused, fascinated expressions.
"Whoa...Nice ones, Saotome."
One boy gazed, lustfully. "Wow." Saliva dripped from the corners of his mouth.
Ranma trembled in shock. "What the hell?" His once broad, toned arms had been replaced with slimmer, feminine ones. His firm, defined abdominals were now a flat, smooth surface. There were curves were his waist once was.
How had this happened? he thought. His curse had been ambiguously triggered with no presence of cold water. A chilling wind grazed his bare skin, sending shivers down his spine.
The gawking eyes of his witnesses sparked his insecurity. He covered his chest. "...H-Hey...s-stop starin' will ya!"
The boys centered around for a better view. "Hey, Saotome's even better built than Akane," someone called. Ranma blushed. "Shutup!"
The uncomfortable close proximity of them made him tense. He attempted to scoot back, only for his back to collide with the lockers behind him. The boys towered over him, suddenly several feet taller.
A swift hand reached out and snatched the loosely folded towel from around his waist. The crowd marveled in yearning. Ranma shrieked and glanced down at the bare, red patch of curls centered between his thighs. His fury took over and he swung at one of the surrounding boys. His fist impacted the boys jaw softly, like an effortless tap.
The boy disregarded it and slowly reached a hand toward Ranma's lower region.
Ranma's breath hitched in his throat as he stared in terror.
"GAAAAAH!"
"RANMA SAOTOME!"
He jerked at the sensation of a painless thud to his head. When his eyes creaked open a black object landed before him, producing a cloud of white dust. The room was silent and every pair of eyes were glued to him. Even Akane's.
Mr. Yamata glared, less than pleased. "SLEEPING in class is one matter...but if you feel the necessity to DISTURB also...your best interests are in the hall." He pointed to door.
The boy blinked a few times, waiting for his sense of reality to return. Without further hesitation, he stood from his seat and exited the classroom, obvious of the many eyes that followed him. One pair being Akane's, filled with concern.
...
Ranma sighed, lazily balancing two buckets. Drowsiness still plagued him and a dream-like atmosphere still surrounded him. 'That was even weirder than the last,' he thought.
He stared out the hallway window, tired.
He couldn't wait until dismissal. A nap was definitely on his to do-list for later.
...
Yay. An update!
May be a little short...Sorrys.
I don't know about you guys, but I love this story. Review and I'll give you something new. ^ ^
