Sasameki Koto and Ranma ½: Martial Arts Mix
Chapter Ten
Sumika ran calmly, her long black hair flowing behind her, even as Akane kept pace beside her. It was morning, and the area of Tokyo was strangely quiet as they went down the street, both dressed in their karate uniforms. Too quiet, maybe.
"Akane, is it normally this deserted around here?" she had to ask, Sumika looking around the deserted alley a little warily.
"No," Akane admitted, "you think...?"
The two came around a corner back onto the main streets, when a pair of throwing knives nearly took the top of Sumika's head off. "Whoop," Sumika gasped as she ducked, barely avoiding the twin blades.
"Now, Saotome, I will defeat you!" the black haired boy dressed in flowing Chinese looking robes cried as he attacked.
"Mouse, no!" Akane cried.
"I'm not..." Sumika started then had to dodge a sudden sword thrust. SOMEHOW the young man was just yanking the weapons out from his costume's billowing sleeves, even though they shouldn't have been able to fit in there. He was also frighteningly fast, and Sumika had to strain to keep ahead of him.
"Saotome, you are slow today," Mouse noted, flinging a dagger on a chain and nearly impaling Sumika.
'Damn, I'm barely keeping up,' Sumika thought, for once glad she had been sparring with Akane and Ranma. Before them she'd probably be dead. She dodged a spiked mace, even as she shrived for the emotional stillness she needed for her ice attacks...
"Damn it, Mouse," Akane attacked Mouse from the side and nearly took his head off with a spin kick, stunning him.
"You dare interfere with our honourable combat?!" Mouse looked offended as he easily shook off the blow.
"That's not Ranma, you idiot! Put your glasses on!" Akane yelled.
'He needs glasses?!' Sumika thought disbelievingly.
Mouse did indeed take out a pair of silly looking coke bottle glasses from those seemingly infinite sleeves and put them on. "Huh?" he blinked owlishly.
"Mouse, meet Sumika," Akane said to him firmly, "she is staying with us at the Tendo Dojo for awhile. Sumika, this is Mouse, from the Chinese Amazons."
Mouse looked deeply ashamed as he bowed, "I'm so sorry, sir, for mistaking you for the despicable Ranma Saotome."
"Sir?" Sumika whispered to Akane.
"I'd say just let it go, it'd probably take too long to get through his head anyway," Akane softly whispered back.
"Apology accepted," Sumika decided not to argue, "just please don't do it again."
"Right," Mouse agreed and headed off.
The two women resumed their route, heading back towards the dojo at a slower jog. "So how blind IS he?" Sumika had to ask.
"Very," Akane said, "he's got bad vision even WITH the glasses. But he's developed a ability to blind fight with incredible accuracy. Might be some kind of sonar, no idea."
"Strong too," Sumika mused, "even the near misses were pretty scary."
"Still, you stayed ahead of him," Akane congratulated her. "I was surprised you didn't use a special move against him."
Sumika shrugged, "Honestly, I was a bit rattled at the surprise attack. Besides, I don't want to use them unless I have no other choice."
They reached the dojo, both trotting inside as they watched Ranma running through katas out in the front yard. He waved cheerfully, "Have a good run?"
"Right until I got jumped by your buddy Mouse," Sumika told him wryly.
"Ah, crap," Ranma stopped as he asked, "You okay?"
"I kept ahead of him until Akane kicked him upside the head." Sumika shrugged slightly.
Ranma laughed at that, "Yeah, that might knock some sense into him." He looked Sumika over thoughtfully as he added, "He didn't hit you?"
"Nope," Akane agreed with a bit of pride.
Sumika shrugged, "I don't thing he was going all out." She added, "Excuse me, I need to change, then I was going to ask Kasumi to show me some of her medical techniques."
"Train with me later," Ranma sort of asked, and Sumika half waved in agreement.
"What are you up to?" Akane asked curiously once Sumika was gone.
"I'm not up to anything," Ranma shook his head, "just a bit worried about her, is all." At Akane's slightly confused gaze he added, "Isn't it kind of unlikely Mouse just happened to be lurking along your jogging route?"
Akane's eyes narrowed, "Someone sicked him on us?"
"I think so," Ranma admitted, "not sure who, though. It ain't in her character for Shampoo to try somethin' like that."
"We could head down to the Cat Cafe, maybe see if we can squeeze some answers out of him," Akane offered darkly.
That surprised Ranma just a bit, but he supposed it might be because of how much Akane liked Sumika. Certainly she wouldn't normally suggest something like that. "No, I don't think there's much chance of that working," he said diplomatically.
"You're right, I guess," Akane agreed, though she didn't sound happy about it.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Kodachi Kuno slipped away from where she had watched the fight, faintly disappointed. She had hoped to see Sumika in battle, but instead the woman had mostly dodged. Still, even that had been... rather intriguing.
For much of her life Kodachi had trained in combat gymnastics, and she was VERY good at assessing potential. How else could she cripple or defeat opponents before they could actually become threats to her? So watching Sumika fight had been very interesting. In her opinion the girl's potential was great, possibly even rivalling Saotome himself.
Why that mattered to her.. was a bit more complicated. Part of Kodachi simply wanted to defeat the girl. She was a threat, and threats should be dealt with. But there was something... else that made her stay her hand. Sumika seemed oddly innocent, in a way, not a real rival. Could she become a friend? Or something else?
Kodachi grunted, annoyed with herself. There were things to do, like tracking Shampoo down and thanking her for lending Mouse. Then she needed to make sure her idiot brother was recovering. Sumika's defeat of him left him eating through straw, yet another thing to thank the martial artist for...
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Kasumi Tendo brightened slightly as Sumika came downstairs dressed in a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. "Sumika, how did practice go this morning?" she asked curiously.
"Oh, pretty good," Sumika smiled back warmly, "the toughening techniques Ranma showed me are starting to work, I think."
"Just don't go to far," Kasumi cautioned.
"No, I don't want to turn into another Ryouga," Sumika agreed. They walked over to the couch together, both of them sitting down.
"Let me take your hand," Kasumi said warmly.
Sumika's hands were those of a fighter, and Kasumi could feel the callus on her fingers. But despite that they were strangely delicate, expressive fingers. Holding her hand Kasumi had to fight back a blush, but she wasn't sure why.
"It's always kind of soothing when you do that," Sumika admitted quietly.
"Hmm," Kasumi agreed, fighting her blushes. "Now, both our schools use nerve strikes and pressure points to great effect," she started, then demonstrated one of the Anything Goes techniques for pain management.
Sumika then showed a pressure point technique of her own school. Soon nearly half a hour passed by, the two women sitting on the couch talking, even as they each carefully touched the others hands and arms.
Kasumi hadn't had much romance in her life. Dr, Tofu had... not really gone anywhere, and while she liked Ranma, there had been no spark. So she had a hard time trying to understand this... swelling feeling of caring she was developing for Sumika. It wasn't sisterly, like how she felt for her sisters.. it wasn't like the obligation she felt towards her father. It was something more.
"You're picking this up very fast," Kasumi said as they finished, only reluctantly releasing her hand. This tingling in her fingers... she knew it wasn't from anything they were practising. Why did Sumika's touch do this to her?
"You're a excellent teacher," Sumika smiled back. Reflectively she said, "While this will come in handy fighting, it's actually nice to know how to help people too. Too much of the time people like me just hurt people."
There was a sadness in Sumika's voice, making Kasumi wonder if there was someone specific she regretted hurting. "I'm sure you help more than hurt," Kasumi offered, patting her hand.
Sumika shook herself, actively banishing the memory. "Anyway, thank you much for the lesson," she said, "is there anything I can do for you in return?"
A totally innapropritate suggestion popped into Kasumi's head. "I haven't gone out to dinner for a long time," she said, "would you like to take me?"
Sumika looked a bit startled, then grinned. "Sure," she agreed, "I'd like that."
To be continued...