Beginnings: Eden Academy
Disclaimer: These characters are not mine. And if some of the names I made up belong to some people, I apologize, but it is strictly a coincidence. Ranma and company belong to the wonderful Rumiko Takahashi and her licensees (Viz Communications in North America). This work is strictly for the non-profit enjoyment of fans. No copyright infringement is intended.
Please R/R. I've read tons of fanfics, but this is the first fanfic I've ever written.
Looking for prereaders!! I don't have a lot of time to go through my spelling and grammar all the time, and even if I do, I might skip over the same mistake. So if someone can preread for me, please email me!!! -jL
Chapter 6
Ranma opened his eyes just as dawn was creeping into his already brightening room. He stretched and let out a very satisfied sigh. 'Man. That felt good. I haven't slept this well since..ever! I can get use to sleeping like this! No pop or snoring panda, or tomboys splashing me with water...' He continued to lie in the bed, stretched out lazily and contently.
After a few moments, he glanced at the clock. 'Hm. It's still early. I should find a place to train in the mornings.' He glanced out his window and looked towards the woods he saw Kei headed for the night before. 'Maybe I can find someplace there.'
He washed up and changed into his traditional silk wardrobe: red shirt, black slacks and chinese soft-toed shoes. 'Ooops, almost forgot somethin.' Ranma turned and grabbed the fencing sword he borrowed from Aoi the night before. 'I'll need to start training if I'm gonna beat her!
As he proceeded to jump out the window, he smelled the morning. The fog was beginning to lift, leaving the grass damp, and the surroundings clouded with mystery. In this transition between night and day, Ranma looked out and stopped to appreciate the peace and balance. Birds chirping broke into his thoughts, and Ranma jumped out the window and landed gracefully on his feet after a flip in the air.
He then glanced towards the back of the house. The architect designed the back of the house as grandly as he did the rest of it. He noticed the ivy slowly covering the house, adding age and mystery to the large home. He noticed a deck to the right of his window, and some curling stairs leading to the floor. 'So that's how Kei-san got down so quickly. Stupid. These are all regular people here. They can't jump from roof to roof and throw punches 100 times a second!'
Ranma turned and began to jog towards the woods, all the while jumping and throwing punches and kicks as he warmed his sleepy muscles. Ranma noticed the immediate change once he entered the woods. The trees were tall, large and covered the sky. The sunlight barely filtered into the woods because of the large branches and trees, making the woods a tad darker. As Ranma walked through looking for a large area to train, the wind rustled the leaves and he heard the night animals quickly scurry around for hiding from the day.
He approached a large clearing surrounded by trees. The trees circled the spot, hiding it from view, so that visitors would simply pass by without noticing the secret area. The ground was still damp from the morning dew, but it was hard. 'Perfect.'
He walked towards the middle of the clearing, closed his eyes and began his morning kata. As the slow kicks, punches, twists and turns began to quicken, Ranma began to jump and dance gracefully throughout the clearing until he became a blur of red and black. During this, he suddenly developed a slight prickling at the back of his neck. Ranma quickly opened his eyes and jumped towards the source of his distress and knocked someone to the ground.
"Ah...so sorry." Ranma quickly offered his hand to Kei, who lay dazed on the floor.
"Ugh...don't worry about it. I should apologize for watching you practice. You're good. Very good." Kei said as he took the hand, and began to brush the dirt from his dark jacket.
"So...what are you doing up so early?" Ranma asked as Kei checked to see if there were any holes on his clothing.
"Hm? Oh. I'm always up this early. Its the best time to think. So quiet. I'd ask you the same, but I can see that you're practicing. Sorry to interrupt."
"Oh..hehehe. It's okay! I was just surprised to see someone here this early that's all. Again, sorry about that."
"M. Don't worry about it. Are you thinking of learning that?" Kei nodded towards the sword on the floor.
"Oh, that? Yea. Aoi-san beat me the other day. I haven't really trained much with weapons before, so this is all new to me. I can't have someone beat me like that! Especially a girl! So I'm going to train and challenge her! I'm the best!" Ranma said as he pointed at himself.
Kei chuckled. "At least you have a lot of confidence. Tell you what, I'll help you out. I may not be the best, but I know a few things."
"Yea. Sure, that'll be cool."
Kei took off his jacket, looked around and went towards a tree and broke off two thin branches. "We'll start with these. I don't want you swinging the real thing till you get use to holding a sword." He threw one of the branches towards Ranma. "Why don't we just fight a little so I can see how much you know and how you move."
Ranma gripped the stick with both hands and stood watching Kei. Kei wielded the sword in one hand to his side, and shift his feet so one was behind the other. Then he ran towards Ranma with the sword swung out towards the side and began to swing at Ranma. Ranma tried to block the quick swings with his "sword" and evaded those he couldn't with experience. Kei then swung out and knocked the sword to the ground. "Lesson one. Don't lose your sword. Hold it like this with one hand. Don't use two, it restrains some of your movements. Let's try that again."
The pair practiced continuously with Kei giving critiques and advice as they swung at each other. After a few hours, Kei looked at his silver-plated watch and stopped. "It's getting pretty late, we should probably stop. You're good, Ranma. After a week or so, you'll be able to beat Aoi, and probably me, too."
Ranma beamed at the thought. "Not a week, I'm shooting for a couple days!"
Kei looked at Ranma and laughed. "Yea, you can probably do that. Thanks, Ranma. I had fun."
"Sure, no problem. Thanks for helping me out." Ranma said sheepishly. 'I think I made a good friend!'
"Let's start heading back."
By the time the duo left the woods, the sun was out and the fog and any semblance of the night was gone. Birds were happily chirping and the grass gleamed. On their way back to Auen, Ranma looked towards Kei and noticed a change. Gone was the easy smile and flushed face he saw earlier this morning. Instead, Kei looked unapproachable and cool. The bright blue eyes looked stern, cold and brutal. Dressed in black slacks and a charcoal gray shirt with a knee-length black coat, Kei looked...dark.
When they got back to Auen, Kei looked at Ranma and smiled. A smile that never reached his eyes. "Bye. See you at breakfast later."
"Yea. Bye." Ranma looked at Kei's retreating form as he climbed the stairs to his room. 'He looks like a completely different person. What just happened?'
When Ranma opened his door, "...need to talk about what happened last night."
"If you think I'm going to talk to you after what happened, you need to think again. You can't just acknowledge me when you want to. I'm not like one of those girls who fall at your feet and wish you would talk to me!" Aoi hissed at Kei. Ranma glanced out towards the hallway and saw Aoi and Kei engaged in a low heated conversation. He quickly closed the door, but left it ajar. 'I shouldn't be doing this, but I want to know what's going on!'
Kei sighed and tried to hold Aoi's hands. "I know. If you'll just listen -"
With tears threatening to flow out of her eyes, Aoi jerked her hands away. "NO! You're nice one minute and all cold and being an ass the next. I'm sick and tired of all this, Kei! Of us!! I don't want to see you anymore. I ha---"
Kei's mouth on Aoi's turned protests into mumbles. Aoi's hands tried pushing Kei away, but Kei only held her tighter as he silenced her. As Ranma debated over rushing out to stop the assault, the protesting hands slowed and wrapped themselves around Kei's neck, pulling him closer in a passionate embrace. Ranma blushed as he looked. 'Ah..I shouldn't be peeking....'
Kei pulled away breathless and looked into Aoi's wet eyes. He began to kiss the tears that left her eyes. "I'm confused. I don't know what to do. There's so much going on."
"Please tell me what's going on. You haven't been the same these last couple months. You're pushing everyone away. Even me. Everyone's so worried about you!" Aoi whispered as she held Kei.
"I know. I'll..I'll figure something out soon. Come on. It's getting late, let's go grab some breakfast." And the couple walked downstairs with their arms around each other.
Ranma opened the door and watched the retreating couple as he began to go downstairs, a bit flushed from the earlier scene. 'What the heck's wrong with me! I shouldn't have been watching. ARGH!! Maybe I AM a pervert!!'
"Good morning, Ranma!" Mako said happily as she motioned Ranma towards the tables. Ranma just noticed everyone at the table dressed in matching gray and red suits. The men wore dark gray slacks, white shirts, a red tie and gray vests. Some of their red jackets were on the back of the chair while Trey was wearing his. The girls were wearing the same but with short skirts and knee-high socks. "Ah..."
Everyone stopped and looked at Ranma questioningly. "Do I have classes today?" Ranma asked embarassingly while everyone laughed.
"Well. It IS Monday. You'll have to go to class sooner or later. Your uniform just arrived, so you should change into it ASAP!" Brenn said as she gave Ranma his uniform. "I'm sure you'll look great in it!"
Ranma ran back to his room with the uniform. 'I never wore a stupid uniform before at Furinkan. Why do I have to do it here? Stupid thing, probably can't fight in this.' As Ranma put on the "restricting" clothing, he noticed the smooth and stretchy texture. 'Hm..It's comfortable. Not as much as my silk pants, but its not too bad.' After adorning the other accessories, Ranma looked in the mirror. 'Heh. Not too bad looking, Saotome.'
As he re-entered the kitchen, appreciative whistles and shouts filled the air. Ranma immediately turned as red as his jacket and began to back out of the kitchen. Mako quickly grabbed Ranma before he was able to run out of the room. "Hahaha. Don't worry, Ranma. We're just teasing. Although you DO look dashing in the uniform. Looks like someone's going to get some competition as the best-looking guy in Eden." Mako laughed as she glanced at Kei.
"As long a certain someone thinks I'm still the best-looking guy, I don't care what everyone else thinks." Kei retorted as he winked at a blushing Aoi.
Suddnetly, a loud beeping went through the room, and everyone began to hurriedly finish their meal and put on their jackets. "Ranma, you better hurry and get something to eat, class is starting soon." Aoi said as she finished her juice.
Ranma ate with his usual gusto and finished off as much as he could in that 30-second time span and rushed out the door with his housemates headed for his first class.
