Disclaimer - I do not own Ranma 1/2 nor do I profit from this story.
Chapter 10 – Kunos' return
Three days later Kuno returned to school sporting tanned skin making him look more like his father. Ranma and Akane made a big mistake that day. They had starting holding hands so often when they were together that they didn't even think about it as they arrived at school. They realized what they had done when they heard a yell from behind them.
"Unhand Akane Tendo you foul cur. It sickens me that you have bewitched not only the pig-tailed girl but now sweet, innocent Akane Tendo. Prepare to pay dearly for your salacious actions."
Ranma pulled Akane away from the swinging sword and turned to face Kuno for what seemed like the thousandth time. He was really getting tired of this, unfortunately the guy was so idiotic that even when presented with clear evidence of Ranma's curse Kuno chose to believe somehow the pig-tailed girl was hidden away by Ranma. Kuno had always been one of his easiest opponents but the guy just refused to give up. Ranma almost felt bad about beating him up so often… almost. He thought about turning the fight over to Akane, she had also beaten Kuno multiple times. He didn't really fight her, she just fought him to keep him from hugging her or giving her flowers.
Akane watched Ranma dodging and circling Kuno. She really wanted to get in on the fight. Kicking Kuno was always fairly satisfying. She cautiously moved to mirror Ranma's position on the other side of Kuno.
Ranma saw Akane move into his field of vision. She was tensed and watching him and Kuno closely. Well it looks like she wants in on this. Let's have some fun.
Akane saw Ranma hold up three fingers at her. She nodded understanding the signal. Yesterday during training in the dojo Ranma had started using numbers to identify different attack combinations and made her memorize them so that if he called out the number she would have to immediately do the combination. By the end of the exercise he had begun mirroring her movements as if they were facing an opponent together. It had been one of the most fun exercises he had used. He promised today to bring out a training dummy so that she would actually have something to hit with the attacks. I guess Kuno gets to be that dummy.
She threw a left punch followed by one from the right and then jumped into the air spinning to build momentum into her kicked that landed directly on Kuno's chest. Ranma's mirrored attack caught him in the face, the combine force of the attack sent Kuno flying from the school grounds.
"That is in the direction of his house. Maybe he will land in the green turtle pond."
Ranma just laughed loudly.
Akane grinned widely, "Come on you loon, let's get to class."
A crowd had gathered as always when Ranma was fighting someone. There were murmurs of "Amazing", "Did they plan that?" "Were they holding hands when they got to school?" "They should fight together more often."
They tried to ignore the things that were being whispered around them as the day continued. Hiroshi and Daisuke both grilled him further about his actions and his relationship with Akane. When they asked about how they worked out the final attack Ranma only replied that they were training together.
Ranma and his friends had continued to join Akane and hers for lunch that week. Everyone seemed pleased with this arrangement. In fact yesterday Daisuke had managed to ask Yuke out on a date for Saturday evening. Ranma even suggested to Hiroshi that he ask out Mokoto, but he didn't think his friend had worked up the nerve yet.
Ranma wasn't sure what to think about how normal school had become. He had never spent this long attending school so having an entire group of non-marital artist friends felt unusual. He occasionally wondered if he might put them in danger just by being his friend. Akane's friends had never ended up in danger so he hoped that he could have this small piece of normal life.
Ukyo approached the group and felt left out. She never ate lunch at school but was tempted to start since it would mean some time with Ranma. She wasn't convinced that Ranma was under a spell as Shampoo seemed to be, when the two had been under the influence of the love mushrooms they touched constantly, cuddled in front of everyone and even agreed to marry. While they did seem more affectionate it just didn't look the same. If the manager of the mushroom shrine hadn't explained that there would be no harmful side effects from eating the antidote, she would never have agreed to try this.
"Hi guys, I brought some okonomiyaki for Ranma and Akane as a treat."
"Hey thanks Uc-chan." Ranma grabbed his and quickly stuffed it in his mouth. "Um… I don't think the mushrooms on top were cooked."
"I am trying a new recipe."
"Oh ok"
"Wait a new recipe with mushrooms?"
"Don't you want yours Akane?"
"I already ate all my lunch, sorry. Would someone else like it?" She had long ago stopped trusting free food. Stupid Ranma, he probably just ate something that would have some weird effect on him.
Hiroshi held out his hands, "Sure it looks good."
Ukyo had no idea if the mushrooms would work if they weren't eaten by both Ranma and Akane. Great she was going to have to try again another time. The mushrooms were supposed to work right away so if only Ranma ate them maybe he would stop liking Akane right away but she wouldn't stop liking him. That could be problematic too. Ukyo watched the pair closely. Nothing seemed to have changed at all.
"Well I guess I need to be off."
"Bye Uc-chan, thanks for the food."
The rest of the group waved goodbye and started to gather their things to head back into the school. As they were walking back Akane leaned in to whisper to Ranma, "I wonder what that was all about."
"What do you mean, she was just being nice."
"Remember the various effects of the mushrooms from the mushroom shrine. Do you think she tried to give you a strange mushroom?"
"Well I don't feel any different and if she slipped me the love one, why would she give you the other dish?"
"Well Hiroshi ate the other one so if you start feeling affectionate towards him let me know. I could use a good laugh."
"That is not funny. I am not interested in guys."
Ukyo watched the pair from a tree after she said her goodbyes. They didn't look like they were acting differently at all. After the group disappeared she climbed down and left for the Cat Café. She needed to ask Cologne if about what would happen if the wrong person ate the mushrooms as well as tell the pair about how there seemed to be no change in Ranma.
Since his second visit with Dr. Tofu, Ranma was able to deal with being apart from Akane during school. He didn't feel relaxed but his heart didn't race and he was able to at least pretend to pay attention in class. He still didn't really like school but at least he wasn't being sent to the hallway. Dr. Tofu was going to continue to use acupuncture to realign his chi. They had also discussed Akane's training and the doctor pointed out that Ranma was trying to keep Akane happy by focusing on attacks but that she would need to improve her defenses as well.
After school today they made sure to wait until they were further from school before Ranma took hold of her hand.
"So it seems that what Dr. Tofu did to me is helping."
"Great, so you haven't checked on my other classes since then?"
"Nope, so you will have to tell me if you set any fires in Home Ec today."
"What? Jerk."
He just grinned at her.
"I look forward to the day I wipe that stupid grin off your face."
"Me too."
Akane tried really hard to stay irritated but it just wasn't possible. It was so easy to tell anymore when Ranma was teasing her that she really couldn't take it to heart.
From their left they heard a shrill and frankly rather evil laugh.
"So it is true, you have bewitched my darling Ranma you intolerable wench."
Ranma couldn't push the paranoid feelings down even though it was only Kodachi. He moved to shield Akane from any attack that might be coming.
Sure enough a bouquet of flower came flying through the air and Ranma kicked them away but still managed to get a face full of powder. Oh shit. He could feel his limbs moving slower until he fell over and couldn't move at all. Damn paralysis powder of hers.
Akane moved into an on guard position and was prepared to keep Kodachi from getting near Ranma.
"Ohhh is the little girl going to fight me."
"N… n… n… o…o…" Came from Ranma on the ground as he forced what movement he could.
"I can take her Ranma."
"You could never beat me, the Black Rose. I will deal with you and then darling Ranma and I can live happily ever after."
"Tell me, did your brother land in your pond this morning? Just curious if Ranma and I hit where we were aiming."
Kodachi glared at her, "I don't understand my dear brother's fascination with an unattractive, untalented girl like you but Ranma's ability to overpower him is proof of how well suited he is for me. So you are welcome to my brother."
"No thanks."
"So you would rather fight me for Ranma? Well then let me make this quick."
"Kod…a..chi… st… op." Ranma again spoke brokenly from the ground.
"What my darling?"
"Ch…all…en..ge.. her."
"Oh a challenge, that sounds exciting. Akane Tendo I challenge you to a duel. The winner will get to date Ranma darling."
"Fine, on Friday in the school athletic court."
"I look forward to destroying you Akane Tendo. Goodbye for now my darling Ranma, on Friday we shall finally be together."
"Kodachi, aren't you forgetting something?"
"Whatever could you mean?"
"How about an antidote for your stupid powder? I am sure your darling Ranma would like to walk home now."
"Oh my dear of course." She walked over to Ranma and took a small container out of her pocket. It was lipstick. She applied some to her mouth and kissed Ranma solidly on the mouth. "Oh my darling, what a wonderful first kiss we have finally shared. I shall treasure it forever." She twirled her ribbon and caused black rose petals to swirl around the area. "Ho ho ho ho… until we meet again."
Akane rolled her eyes and sat down beside Ranma. "I am tempted to drag you home by your pig-tail. You should know better than to smash anything she throws at you."
"Oo… pp… s!"
"Don't bother trying to talk. You will just have to apologize when the powder finally wears off."
About 10 minutes later Ranma could start to move his limbs again. He quickly rolled over and spat on the ground wiping his mouth off with the back of the hand. "That girl is nuts."
Imitating Kodachi's voice Akane teased, "Oh my darling Ranma, didn't you enjoy our first kiss. Wasn't it everything you ever dreamed of, let me go compose a poem to our love."
"Shut up"
"Gah, that girl is hideous."
"That didn't count as a kiss. You're not mad at me?"
"I promised you that I would listen to you more and not get so mad when something clearly wasn't your fault. Besides I know you like my kisses better, right?" Her look dared him to disagree.
"Damn right I do. Yuck."
"Come 'Darling Ranma' let's get home and get our homework done. We have to train for the fight on Friday."
Ranma glared at her. "Stop that. Ugg."
Ranma was quiet most of the way home. He was trying to figure out how to prepare her for the fight. How the hell was he supposed to do that without attacking her directly. He just didn't think he could risk hurting her. He had only been thinking at the time of getting Kodachi to back off from going after Akane, now what the hell was he going to do?
"So Ranma, homework first or training?"
"Um I don't know, training I guess."
Akane smiled. She knew training would be his answer. He hated doing homework but the fact he had hesitated to answer meant he was also not looking forward to training her today. She went upstairs to put on her gi and then met Ranma in the dojo.
After their normal warm up he moved her to the number game again, giving her number combinations today instead. He started mirroring her again, pushing her to move faster and faster. By the time he let her stop she was breathing hard and had worked up a good sweat. She walked over and grabbed her water bottle taking a large drink and dumping some on her face.
Ranma was staring off away from Akane. He was trying to think of a way to help her build her defenses against Kodachi's attacks. Kodachi would use items from rhythm gymnastics and was far more experience and graceful with them than Akane. Akane would not have to use the items herself like he had when he fought Kodachi but her items were all rigged with dangerous extras.
Akane watched Ranma get out the ribbon. "You are going to practice snatching this thing away from me. This is her favorite item so getting rid of it will help."
"You have gotten it from her by letting it hit you."
"It hurts. I can't do that to you."
"Ranma, you have to. I can take it. Besides I need to build my stamina too."
Ranma took a deep breath, "Okay, I will try."
"Thank you"
Ranma started spinning the ribbon and then shot it towards her, she choose to just dodge it the first time. It had come at her too slow because he was still afraid of hurting her. "Ha missed me."
He smiled slightly and sent it at her again. She dodged again, trying to move closer and work her way into fighting range. He was putting more effort into the ribbon without thinking about it. Akane was being difficult and his competitiveness was kicking in slowly.
Akane saw Ranma narrow his eyes at her and make a better effort to hit her. Finally. This time instead of dodging she put her arm up to catch the ribbon. All she had to do was let it wrap around her forearm and then reach forward to grab it and pull away from Ranma. As soon as it wrap around her arm she felt pain and nearly cried out. She managed to stop herself and gave the ribbon and hard yank. She didn't manage to get the ribbon out of his hands but she at least caught him by surprise. She was beaming until he rushed over to look at her arm. "I am fine."
"Let me see."
"No"
"Now"
"No, I am a martial artist, I can take a hit."
Ranma's head was spinning, he had to see. He tackled Akane to the ground, held her down with his leg and pulled back her gi sleeve. There were small welts where the ribbon had hit her. His heart was pounding, he climbed off of Akane and sat facing away from her. "I'm sorry."
He stood up to leave but Akane used one of the new moves he taught her to flip him over onto the ground. She then did the only thing she could think of to keep him there, she sat on him. She grabbed his shirt and pulled his face towards her. "You will keep training me. You will not let me lose on Friday. You want me safe, then promise me you will keep me safe no matter what."
"Wha… um… I will always keep you safe."
"Promise me."
"I… I… I promise."
"Good now get your ass up and keep me safe by helping me actually fight someone. Help me find the weaknesses in my attacks and help me learn how to win a real fight. You will keep me safe by fully training me. You will keep me safe by being willing to let me get a bruise or two during training so that when I get one in a fight I won't be so distracted by it that I can't fight well anymore."
Ranma just stared at her. Her battle aura was bright blue and the look in her eyes was fierce; he didn't dare argue with her. When he didn't immediately answer she pulled more forcefully on his shirt bringing his nose close to hers.
"Got it?"
"Um I guess."
"We are going to spar now and I am going to break your stupid face." Akane stood up and stormed over to the opposite side of the dojo and prepared to start.
He took a couple of deep breaths after she got off of him and steadied his nerves. Her look of resolve scared him a little; he was actually worried she might hit him today. "You have won real fights before and you have gotten bruises during those fights. The weakness from Jusenkyo hasn't erased that." He set their timer and moved into position preparing for her attack.
She watched him closely and didn't attack right away. She thought of all the combinations he had made her do today and tried to think of a combination that he hadn't mirrored her on. She glared at him and starting thinking only in numbers. 2…4…6…8…2…1...4…3…9…7 and so on.
He dodged her attacks and loved that she was using the combinations he had taught her. She wasn't doing them in the order they have practiced which meant she was trying to outsmart him. She is incredible, Kodachi isn't going to know what hit her.
About half way through their time she actually forced him to block. Oh damn. It was enough to boost her confidence and she pushed herself harder. Changing her focus just a little she watched his hips as well and was better able to predict what direction he was going to move. She faked a punch with her left arm and when he started to drop below it she struck out with her stronger right hand. She focused her energy through his head and hoped it connected.
Ranma saw the left arm come towards him and only had a second to register what was in front of his face before he flew backwards into the wall two meters behind him. He hit the wall hard and then slumped to the floor.
Akane stood there shocked for a few seconds and then almost ran across the room to him. She changed her mind and treated him like a real opponent. She stayed on guard ready for him to get back up. He slowly stood up and gave her a dazed look. "Give up Ranma?"
He sneered at her, "Never."
She sneered back and ran at him again. He blocked all of her attacks instead of dodging. He saw an opening and pushed at her stomach with an open palm forcing her to hop back away from him. She gasp slightly but attacked again. With his longer arms he reached out and got ahold of her arm using her momentum to pull her past him and brought his leg up against her side but didn't actually kick. "Duck out of that next time and use that attack against your opponent by pulling them over your head. Becomes almost like martial arts leap frog."
The timer rang but before Ranma could go shut it off Akane had leapt at him hitting him with enough force to knock him over onto his back. She landed on his chest and immediately attacked his mouth with hers. She released him and smiled down at him. "God Ranma that was amazing. Thank you. Did I hurt you when I hit you?"
"I will be fine."
She reached up and touch his face and noticed a lump forming above his nose. She gingerly kissed the spot and he winced a little. "I really am sorry I hurt you but I am not sorry I got you to actually fight me even if you were holding back."
"It is training Akane, I will definitely hold back but what you said about helping you find holes in your defenses made sense. I think can show you those holes without actually doing damage to you."
She stood up and pulled him up off the floor. She turned off the timer and he walked up behind her. Putting his arms around her, he heard a sharp intake of breath. "What is it?"
"Nothing."
"Don't you dare lie to me."
"I probably have a few bruises on my arms from when you blocked me and from the ribbon." Ranma's expression darkened and she quickly tried to reassure him. "I loved it. It was so wonderful to actually fight. I am fine. The bruises are because I attacked you so hard. Do your arms hurt?"
"Nope."
"That isn't fair."
Ranma laughed quietly. "Are you sure you want to be able to take a hit?"
"Absolutely. Let's finish up and head inside. I want a bath."
Soaking in the warm bath helped sooth some of the aches and bruises, after getting out she dressed quickly for dinner. Akane made sure her top covered any marks she might have so that her family and Ranma would not worry. After dinner she did her homework and collapsed into bed.
Ranma had nightmares most of the night. In them he was fighting Akane or throwing things at her and he would wake up panting with images of her broken and bleeding in his head.