School was never something that passed quickly for Ranma Saotome. Normally it seemed to take forever for the minutes to crawl by, dragging their feet through the mire of time in a molasses so thick it could be felt. After finally being chided back to class, he had no choice but to pay attention, his shocked mind still trying to comprehend the information that had been given to him by his newest teacher. That same teacher was in front of the class, presenting a lesson to the students on the English language.
Ranma soaked up the information, even though he didn't understand most of it. Hinako's earlier words had really hit home, forcing him to reevaluate the lessons by which he had guided his life. Absently filing away everything he heard in class for later review, the pigtailed martial artist focused his attention inwards, holding up each concept by which he governed his life, comparing it to the advice given to him by Hinako. How did he stand up when evaluated by the precepts of learning all you can? Other than martial arts, what could he really do? Who was he?
A sudden pause in the background drone of information caught Ranma's attention, forcing him to quickly review the last few seconds of his life before realizing that he'd been asked a question about the latest homework assignment. Reaching up to rub the back of his neck just below the pigtail, he fought off a blush. "Um… I wasn't able to get to the homework. I was attacked on the way home by a strange martial artist using flying paper as a weapon and by the time I managed to drag myself home, I had completely forgotten about the assignment."
Little Hinako frowned at her friend. That was a terrible excuse. Did he actually think she would believe that, especially after their talk in the courtyard? She was hurt and was about to call him on it when she was interrupted by a bellowing student.
"You lying pervert! You were out with one of your floozies again, weren't you? I bet it was that slut Shampoo! You two timing jerk."
Heads around the room snapped towards the raging Tendo, students trying to slide their desks away without drawing attention to themselves. Whenever Mount Akane started to blow, there was no telling where the fallout could land. Not that anyone else had ever been hurt, but only because Ranma had been there to absorb or deflect all the damage. This time was different though. The slap of wood impacting on wood echoed throughout the room, right on the heels of Akane's declaration. Those same heads swiveled towards the front of the class room, where Hinako stood, a yard stick in her hands, the instrument still quivering from where she had smacked it against the top of her desk.
"Miss Tendo, yelling and making accusations will not be tolerated in this class room, do I make myself clear?" The stern look was a little less daunting due to its cute packaging, but the affect was more than evident upon the recipient. Akane looked as dumbfounded now as she had during the earlier interruption of her just accusations. Miss Hinako continued to glare at the student as Akane tried to get her mouth working past the shock. What type of twilight zone was this?
Sensing an opportunity to earn herself points with Ranma by coming to his defense, Ukyo Kounji, the Master of the Okonomiyaki based school of Martial Arts, stood up from her desk, sliding the chair back with perhaps a little more force than neccassary. Had to get Ranma's attention after all. Turning to her irate competitor, Ukyo allowed her own smirk to grow. "Funny you should try and say that Akane, considering that you were there when he got attacked. I managed to arrive at the tail end of that match, though Ranma didn't seem to have any problems with the challenger, from what I could see."
The revelation of her own mistakes didn't sit well with Akane and she tried to brush it off with a growl and a frown, her anger surrounding her in an aura of red for all to see. Try to deny it as much as she wanted, she found that the events came clearly to her mind when they were forced. With an indignant huff, she flounced back into her chair, all the while grumbling under her breath. As far as she cared, Ranma was still a lying pervert, regardless of the truth.
After a pregnant pause in the rumbling from the volatile volcano that is the youngest Tendo, the rest of the student body realized that nothing was going to happen. No mallets were going to fly and no other blunt objects of bodily mayhem were going to collide with the pigtailed martial artist. With the show over, everyone seemed content to let things go back to normal.
There was one person though who wasn't content to just let things lie. Miss Hinako stood at the front of the classroom facing a quandary. While she knew Ranma wasn't likely to lie, especially with something so obviously fabricated, his story had just been substantiated by two different individuals, two who appeared to have no reason to agree with each other. That alone spoke for the honesty of Ranma's story, though it still didn't excuse him of having forgotten the homework. No, the quandary was what to do about the two supporters, though one seemed a mite reluctant on her part. While the rules said one thing about people who disrupted class, she wanted to support them for supporting Ranma. After weighing the consequences in her mind, Hinako finally decided that she had to uphold her standing as a teacher.
" Miss Tendo, Miss Kounji, disrupting class, especially in such a violent manner, will not be tolerated. I want you both to go into the hall and think about your actions until I call you back in."
Both mentioned women looked at the teacher in shock for a moment before slowly standing from their desks and making their way to the hall, all the while staring confused at the teacher. There was the sound of another chair scraping on the floor as it was backed away from a desk. The girls and the rest of the students looked over to see Ranma standing as well, his head hanging slightly as he began to work his way through the desks.
"And just where do you think you're going, Mister Saotome?" The teacher's words cut through the heavy atmosphere, drawing all attention to the diminutive figure. Ranma stopped in his tracks, looking at the teacher in confusion.
"Um, out to the hall?" Not the most intelligent of answers but then again, Ranma had only been trying to think more for a mere half hour at most. Not quite long enough to develop a more advanced response list. Ranma cocked his head to the side, regarding his friend and teacher and wondering what was going on. Wasn't he always sent to the hall whenever something happened, whether it was his fault or not?
"Mister Saotome, please take your seat again. I won't have you disrupting the class like the two who are already on their way to the hall." Everyone looked at the teacher as if she'd grown another head. Or maybe not. That would have been a little easier to accept than someone who was actively standing up for Ranma. The divergence from the norm was enough to send many of the students into a soft panic, checking the window for other signs of the apocalypse that was no doubt on its way to destroy the world as they knew it.
With no other response than a short nod, Ranma slowly slid back into his chair, watching as both of his surprised fiancées headed out the door and into the hallway, though not before casting another withering glare at Ranma's back, courtesy of one Akane Tendo. Ranma merely sighed and tried to pay more attention to the teacher, especially since he had forgotten his homework. A small voice broke him out of his concentrated state. "And next time, I expect you to complete your homework, rogue martial artist or not."
Sigh. So much for getting out of his homework.
Out in the hallway, two young women were quietly contemplating the new situation. Well, one was quiet, the other muttering slightly under her breath. Not that she would admit that anything was her fault. It was Ranma's fault for tricking her into shouting in class. And why wasn't he out here with them? It was all his fault that she had yelled, especially with the way that he had been flirting with the teacher. Just because he had beaten some rank amateur martial artist didn't mean that he was anyone that warranted special attention. She could have taken that paper throwing pansy.
Ukyo's thoughts had taken a ride upon a much different train. Just why had the teacher supported Ranma and not them? This was a departure from the status quo and could possibly spell disaster. Or maybe it could be used to her advantage. Pausing in her ruminations, she glanced over at Akane, who was still muttering to herself. Hmm… perhaps there is a way that she could use the new teacher's stance to help further things with Ranma by showing Akane to be the untrusting and insecure girl that she really is. This would take careful planning so as not to get herself in any more trouble than she already is. The problem was in getting Akane to explode without reacting to it. But how to train herself against the knee jerk reaction to Akane's meddling?
While Ukyo tried to work out how to best take advantage of the situation, Ranma was still trying to figure out what had happened to his world. Watching Hinako teaching was only occupying a little of his attention, leaving him more than enough mindset to keep worrying about what was going on. So many things had changed with the arrival of his first friend that he wasn't sure what was really going on. He needed the day to end so he could talk to her about it and get a grip on the situation. A change of this magnitude had to be handled correctly or there would be hell to pay.
The door to Hinako's office stood closed, a wooden sentinel guarding the inner sanctum to a place that Ranma had never imagined himself being invited. How long had he been standing there, waiting for some random monster or martial artist to attack, anything to delay the inevitable. Not that he was really afraid of his teacher. Hinako was his first friend ever, after all. Instead, it was if he was hoping to delay the change that would come with him entering that room, a change that he knew would echo across his life. Already, the words she had shared with him earlier had changed him in a way that he was still trying to comprehend. The sound of someone moving around the office caught Ranma's attention and he knew that there was no more putting it off. And besides, this was his friend. What was the worst that could happen?
A knocking at the door alerted Hinako to the presence of her friend and she turned to the door with a smile on her face as she called for him to enter. The door slowly slid open and she held her breath as she beheld the form framed in the doorway. Ranma's hair was bound into a short pigtail that was pulled forward over his shoulder, the raven strands of hair a sharp contrast to the bright red silk of his Chinese shirt. His eyes were like brilliant sapphires, an ocean of emotions within those shimmering orbs as he caught sight of his friend and teacher.
Hinako couldn't help but find herself thinking about the first time they had ever met and the feelings that had been with her ever since. Those feelings only had a moment to settle before she managed to force them to the back of her mind. Now was definitely not the time to be mooning over her first (and only) crush. Motioning to the chair near her desk, she turned to the pile of papers in front of her, a frown marring her young face.
Ranma watched his teacher and friend, still amazed that she didn't look a day older then when he had last seen her. To his eyes she was still the nice eight year old girl he had met in the hospital thirteen years ago. Although the form she had originally when she was in the class room definitely wasn't that of an eight year old. She must have been in her late twenties at that point, but it made no sense to him. Though he wasn't exactly sure how old she was supposed to be anymore. How old was she if she was still older than him? Or had she eaten some magic mushrooms? Or… he trailed off as he noticed Hinako tapping the pile of papers. He noticed his name scrawled across the top of several file folders. "Um… what are those?"
Turning her gaze to the pile, Hinako frowned again. "These are your performance and attendance records. I must say I'm disappointed. Not that I'm surprised, based on what you told me earlier. I haven't had a chance to read through everything yet, only skimmed through, but from what I can see you have a habit of fighting and skipping school. Neither of those activities will be tolerated in my classroom." She really hated to spell things out like that but if she wanted to help her friend and do her job she needed him to be a productive student. For some reason, the other students seemed to look up to him. She could tell from the way the other students watched him in the class.
Ranma wasn't really sure how to reply. How do you tell your teacher, who happens to be your friend, that you skipped school because of rogue princes and martial artists kidnapping the tomboy? Or various challenges that could only be handled by him? She hadn't even believed his earlier excuse for forgetting the homework. Sighing internally, he tried to think of his words before just blurting out the first thing that came to his mind.
"Um… it's not that I try to skip school, it's just that my fights always seem to damage the area around me and I don't want others to get hurt. And sometimes I need to travel to help others." Reaching up to rub the back of his neck, Ranma turned his smile toward Hinako. "You wouldn't believe some of the stuff that goes on around here."
Hinako blinked in surprise, sensing the sincere honesty radiating from Ranma's words. He really believed that all the stuff that happened would prevent him from getting his homework done, or helping him to forget that he even had any homework. Just what kind of life was her friend living in, anyway? Mentally shaking away those questions, she simply nodded and turned her attention back to the pile of papers on her desk. Slowly tapping one tiny finger against the massive pile, she tried to think of a way to help Ranma without seeming to single him out from the student body.
"Well, is there anyone you trust who can bring your assignments home for you and remind you that you need to get them done?" It was a simple question but there was no way that she could have realized just how serious of a problem she had just opened up for the pig tailed martial artist.
Rubbing his chin in thought, Ranma turned his gaze towards the ceiling, as if trying to draw some inspiration from the heavens. With none forthcoming, he instead turned his tactical mind to examining all those involved in his life and the pros and cons to each. "Akane could do it if she wasn't just as likely to throw them right back at me. Or maybe Nabiki but I can't afford her rates, especially since she raised them the last time she had to help me with my homework. Can't ask Ucchan because of Akane. And none of Akane's friends would help either, because of Akane. Maybe Hiro or Di but not sure either of them would be much help…" he trailed off at the incredulous look on his teacher's face.
Shrugging sheepishly, Ranma looked down at his hands in his lap. "Well, the only person I can really trust is Kasumi, but I can't ask her to come all the way here just to get my homework." What he left unsaid was that he felt Kasumi did more than her share of the work as it was, even with him doing his part from time to time. Glancing back up at his friend, he tried to suppress the gibber of fright at the sight of the disappointed frown on Hinako's face.
"Ranma. I'm not sure what's going on in your life, but you're going to have to meet me at least halfway on this, okay? Now, I'm going to give you the homework assignment again, since I noticed you didn't have it when you left the room." Reaching into her desk, Hinako pulled out the assignment and slid it across the table to Ranma, who gingerly took it what slight trepidation.
"Now Ranma, I want your word that you'll finish this assignment for tomorrow when you come to class. No matter what type of challenge you might come across." The seriousness of her look was more than enough to convince Ranma to agree. With that said, Hinako shooed her friend from the room, waiting until the door closed to sigh deeply. Things were sure gonna be interesting having Ranma around again.
Author's Notes:
Wow it's been a long time since I've updated. I'm finally writing again. Thank you to all the people who have supported me, reviewing my stories and urging me to keep writing. Sorry that it took so long. I promise it won't take nearly as long for the next updates to this and my other stories. Also, please look for my forum about these stories and more and as always, please review!