Chapter 6
"So what did my mom want, Akane?" Ranma asked as he entered the dojo, where Akane was working out.
"Oh, nothing really, Hiyah!" she answered, smashing another stack of bricks with her hands "She just wanted to know the ins and outs of your curse."
"What do you mean 'The ins and outs of my curse'?" asked Ranma, sitting down on the floor as a panicking thought popped into his head. "Wait a minute. You didn't tell her about my uhm 'thing' did you?"
"What? You mean your period, Ranma?" Akane replied with a slight smug smile.
"Hey keep it down!" Ranma protested, mortified "I don't want anyone knowing about that stuff. Do have any idea how embarrassing that is for a guy?"
"Oh because every girl shouts it out loud for everyone to hear?" Akane snapped back "And yes, by the way, I did tell her about it. She asked me about it."
Now Ranma was even more mortified upon hearing that. "What?! Oh that's just great! Now she's gonna make commit seppuku." He said panicking before Akane interrupted him.
"Actually, I think she's gonna let you off the hook." she said, much to Ranma's surprise. "She seemed like she likes the fact that you're a girl sometimes."
"Really?" Ranma said, recovering himself as Akane nodded.
"Yes. Well, that's the impression she gave anyways." Akane said "But to be on the safe side, you should probably stick to being a jerk when you're a guy."
"Tomboy." Ranma said snidely.
"Pervert." Akane retaliated.
"Whatever." Ranma said nonchalantly before getting up and leaving. As he left the dojo, Ranma did something unexpected and returned the favour from weeks ago. He threw something at his fiancée, causing her to react defensively.
She caught it and then looked at her hand to see what it was. It was a very small, but very beautiful pink rose. Surprised and flustered by this, Akane looked up to thank Ranma, but when she did, he was gone.
Blushing, she left the dojo in order to chase after him, but he was nowhere to be seen. Where the heck did he go? she thought. Oh well, it doesn't matter. I'm gonna go take a bath.
Later that day, Kasumi was in the kitchen, preparing dinner for the family. Humming away to herself, she was happily in a world of her own, when she realised something was missing. "Oh my," she thought to herself "I've forgotten to get some potatoes."
"I know," she said thought "I'll ask Ranma to go down to the market."
Leaving the kitchen, she walked over to the courtyard, where Ranma was sat meditating. "Ranma" she called to him "Could you go down to the market for me and get some potatoes?"
Breaking his concentration, he opened one eye and looked in Kasumi's direction. "Yeah sure, Kasumi." he shouted back jumping up from his position. It was almost impossible to say no to someone as sweet as Kasumi.
"Get me a sack of potatoes from the greengrocers', some milk and then get yourself something for going." she said, handing him the money, as well as a list so that he would remember. "Oh that's ok Kasumi; I don't really want anything, but thanks." Ranma said, not wanting to take advantage of her kind nature.
"No, I insist Ranma. Go get yourself something with the change." She answered kindly but also quite firmly. "Uhm, okay." Ranma replied. It really was hard to say no to Kasumi.
On the way to the market, Ranma thought about the conversation he had with Akane earlier. I wonder what mom wanted to know about my curse for. he thought to himself She's probably gonna get me to try and wear dresses and stuff again. Like that'll ever happen.
Like his mother, Ranma also missed the times he spent with her, as Ranko. Though he would never admit it. To him, it was the only interaction he had with his mother for so many years. He was willing to disguise himself as another person, just so that he could be with her. It didn't matter to him that she thought he was someone else. Just so long as he could spend time with the person that, for so long, he thought was gone from his life.
Then when she finally found out about his curse, she was so happy to see her son again. But after that, things changed. They didn't spend so much time together anymore and that disappointed Ranma. It wasn't as though he enjoyed going shopping as a girl and trying on lingerie and dresses and all that stuff, but he did enjoy the going to the cafés and getting ice cream and all the bonding that a mother and daughter would do. He almost wished for those days to come back.
Before he knew it, Ranma was at the market. He retrieved his list that Kasumi had given him and proceeded to mark the first item off of it. "Ok, potatoes and milk then something for Me." he said, entering the store.
Ten minutes later, he emerged with the requested items. He also bought himself lemonade. As he walked along his attention was caught by a massive banner hanging above one of the stores.
It read:
The Dragon's Eye magic store Grand Opening. Come inside and be amazed! Unbelievable Items at unbelievable prices!
Reading the sign, Ranma felt underwhelmed. "Sounds like some cheap magician crap." he said, before spotting another sign in the window which read:
Who you calling cheap, numbskull!?
"What the heck?" he asked, shocked "Did that sign just answer me?"
Yes. Guess I'm not such a piece of "cheap magician crap" after all, am I?
"I've never seen anything like this before." Ranma said to himself, before once again being insulted by the sign.
And I've never seen anyone as stupid as you.
"Hey who are you calling stupid?" Ranma shouted at the sign. "I ought to smash you up into firewood." As he continued to argue with the inanimate object, people walking past began to stare.
I'd like to see you try, dipshit!
"Alright, that's it!" he said, grabbing the sign and ripping it off the wall. Before he could do anything however, the sign heated up and burned Ranma's hands before flying back to its original place.
'Dumbass' it read
Fuming with rage, Ranma went to attack the sign again before he found himself unable to move.
"Why are you standing in the middle of a street, arguing with a sign?" a voice said from inside the shop doorway.
The mysterious man walked out of the shop door way and paced around Ranma, as if he were observing him. "You are aware that's just wood, aren't you?" he asked.
Ranma mumbled something, but due to his body and mouth being frozen in place, it couldn't be heard.
"I'm sorry, I didn't quite get that." the man said before realising Ranma's predicament. "Oh I see I must have frozen your mouth as well. It's been a while since I've used that spell, you see. I'm a little rusty." He then snapped his fingers and just like that, Ranma's mouth was free and he could talk again.
"I said, the sign was arguing with me!" he shouted.
He started it!
The man snapped his fingers again and erased the writing from it. "Quiet you, before I turn you into ash!" he said to the sign, before turning back to face Ranma. Snapping his fingers for a third time, he removed the spell he placed on Ranma.
"I do apologise for my sign's behaviour." he said, stroking his long black beard "He's been insulting my customers all day. He's even injured some people, whenever they've gotten too close."
He then noticed the burn marks on Ranma's hands. "I see that your one of the people I was talking about." he said before reaching out to Ranma's hands "If I may take a look?"
Ranma put out his hands and the man waved his own hand across them. As the man's hand crossed over, Ranma watched as the burns and the pain vanished. "How did you do that?" asked Ranma.
"It's merely cellular revivification or a healing spell as some would call it" he said before bowing his head "My name is Kiagi Yamada. And I have a feeling that we will be meeting again, young man. Now, good day to you." He then turned and walked back into the store.
Looking at his now healed hands, Ranma was in a state of wonderment. "Now that was almost too weird." he said before picking up his groceries and walking off home.
Later that evening, after everyone had finished their meal, Ranma sat out on the porch and thought about the encounter he had with Kiagi.
"My name is Kiagi Yamada. And I have a feeling that we will be meeting again, young man."
I wonder what he meant by that. Ranma thought to himself as he stared into the night's sky and pondered a truly unusual event and an equally unusual man.