Take the Green and Go
Ranma and any other series used in this fanfic are owned by their respective owners. I do not own anything.
Thanks to CyberSkaarj for pre-reading
"Speech"
'Thoughts'
/Signs/
Chapter 12
Ranma's eyes flittered open slowly. Sitting up, she yawned and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. Glancing around, she noticed that she was back at the Tendo Dojo and in the guest room that she shared with her father. 'Well, it's good to know that I could trust the girl with helping me out with something like that.' Looking towards the clock on the desk, she noticed that it was 3:10AM. 'I must have slept the whole of Sunday. I'm surprised pops never tried to wake me up or something.' Getting to her feet, the raven-haired woman shook her head. 'I think I'll go get some hot water.'
'Thought you didn't care if you were in female form.' Shego stated with a bit of humor behind her voice.
'It doesn't bother me like it did when I first transformed, but I still prefer my birth form.' After getting the rest of the sleep out of her eyes, something else came to mind. 'You know, I wonder something.' The raven-haired woman stated as she pulled the Sash of Illusions from its hiding place within her Hidden Weapons technique. She decided to get a good look of the cloth that she was holding within her hands. When fully stretched out, the sash seemed to almost be long enough to wrap around two people, and its color was a dark-blue.
Shaking her head of the feeling that she had, the young Saotome quickly slipped it around her waist. 'Alright, let's check this out.' Concentrating on the form she wanted to enter, she became surprised when her form morphed into her birth form. 'This could definitely come in handy for when I need a quick transformation.' The now male Ranma contemplated a little upon the length of the sash. 'It seems long enough to allow it to be divided into two sashes. Maybe Kasumi would like half of it so she could have a little fun.'
'What if a piece that is cut off of the sash becomes un-usable?' Shego asked in curiosity. 'If a piece that is cut off works just as well as the whole thing, then maybe you don't have to use the whole thing.'
There was a blink from the blue-eyed boy. 'What do you mean?'
'Jeez, you can still be dense sometimes.' The voice ignored the indignation of the boy and continued on. 'If a small piece works as well as the whole thing, then maybe you could cut off just enough to be used as a wrist-band or choker.' The figment explained to her host. 'If it was used as a choker or wrist-band, then it would prevent attention that a large sash around the waist would. Don't you think so, oh genius that is the one I'm stuck with?'
'Now there's no reason to get snippy on me.' Ranma grumbled as she pulled out a pair of scissors and started to slice a strip off the end of the sash. Finished with the deed, the raven-haired martial artist wrapped the strip of cloth around his wrist. 'Now let's see if this works.' Closing his eyes, he could feel the small tingling of a change around his whole body. Opening his eyes back up, he looked to see if it had worked. To his amazement, it did. He used the piece of the sash around his wrist to transform into a six-year-old girl with spiky green hair. 'Looks like I have some experimenting to do with this.' The young Saotome thought as she transformed back into her birth form and started out of the guest room.
'Watch out world, Ranma Saotome has a new toy.' Shego stated in half-jest and half-seriousness. 'You know, maybe the world isn't ready for this.'
'Ha-ha… very funny.'
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
From the moment he woke up, and until the other occupants of the house started to rouse, Ranma had been studying and testing out his newest acquisition. One of the first things he noticed was that if he transformed into something of a certain gender, then water would still cause him to change genders. It was as if Jusenkyou had some kind of sick sense of humor. Although if he concentrated directly on staying in one of those forms while getting splashed with the required temperature of water, then he could prevent the change. It was something that could help if he was in a situation where accidental changes were a bad thing.
The 'wristband' also changed sizes according to the form that the person changed into. If the raven-haired Saotome changed into a child, then the cloth would re-size itself accordingly. It also seemed as if once it was put on, the cloth would mold and tighten itself to the person so as not to fall off. It was almost as if the cloth had a very simple sentience to it that allowed it to bond to its owner.
He had even gone on to test out the Ru Yi Bang in the dojo. When he had examined the staff, his blue eyes noticed an inscription on the side of the weapon that read 'As-You-Will Cudgel'. It sounded weird, but the aquatransexual decided to just 'think' of activating the staff instead of announcing it. To his enjoyment, the weapon extended and shrunk with only a thought. After a little practice, he found himself moving fluidly through a kata that had him spinning, extending/shrinking, and attacking with the staff in his hands. It was after about an hour of practice when he came to the realization that he could do the same thing with a staff made of his own energy.
'That's kind of a bummer.' Ranma thought to himself as he sat at the low table. 'I've found a use for one artifact, but the other has no use for me at all.' As he continued to examine the item within his hand, he almost didn't notice Kasumi coming towards him. "Good morning, Kasumi-chan." Azure eyes watched as the eldest Tendo daughter sat down at the table.
"Good Morning, Ranma-kun." A wry smile appeared upon her features. "I take it that you had an enjoyable rest?" There was a slight twinkle within the girl's eyes that the young Saotome noticed almost immediately.
"Yeah, I can't believe that I actually slept as long as I did." He then decided to ask. "If you don't mind me asking, what seems to be so funny?" What could he have missed while he was deep asleep? The brown-haired girl pulled out a photo and handed it to him. Giving the image a once-over, the dual-formed martial artist had the decency to blush. "That couldn't have been too comfortable for her."
The photo was of 'Sheila' sleeping in her futon in the guest room. Apparently after Kim had set her down and tried to move away, 'Sheila' had sleepily grabbed hold of the girl by the waist and pulled the younger girl down in front of her with the redhead's back facing her, and the girl's front facing the camera. From the looks of things, the young Possible looked more embarrassed than she had ever been before. "She was stuck like that for a little over 30 minutes. Ron-kun and Yori-chan tried to free her, but it seems that you had a very strong grip. She was finally freed when you moved your arm. The poor girl was completely flustered over the whole ordeal, especially the fact that I found it cute and took that photo. It's a good thing our fathers were busy playing a game of shogi, and Nabiki and Akane decided to go out for a little shopping"
A sweat-drop found its way onto the blue-eyed boy. "Well at least she managed to get free. Perhaps I should try and apologize for that. I don't know what could be more embarrassing than having your arch-nemesis hold you like a teddy bear while she sleeps." Well, he did, but they really weren't worth noting at the moment. "Say Kasumi-chan, would you like to have the artifacts that I obtained on my adventure? Something tells me that you could probably find a good use for them." Picking up the Ru Yi Bang Staff, he handed it to her. "This is the Ru Yi Bang Staff. You can extend it to incredible lengths and shrink it to the size of a toothpick with just a thought. You could probably hide it behind your ear or something. If you like, I COULD help you get the hang of it. You'd be able to protect yourself with it if you were ever in trouble." The young Saotome then pulled out a piece of cloth. "Here's a strip of the Sash of Illusions. I found out that a small strip has the same effect as the whole thing. With this, you'd be able to change into various different forms. You can either wear it like a wrist-band or choker. I have my piece as a wrist-band." He showed his wrist to her. "The rest of the sash is hidden away in a safe place."
Kasumi accepted the items and gave a large smile. "Thank you for the gifts, Ranma-kun." A thought then crossed her mind. "You know, I'm curious about your adventure. If it's not too much trouble, could you tell me about it?" The eldest Tendo sister had wanted to ask Kim and her friends about the adventure, but the girl seemed too shaken up to tell it.
Ranma waved his hand. "It's no trouble at all, Kasumi-chan." He then began to tell the story starting from the moment 'she' left, and to the moment that 'she' fell asleep onto Kim. The brown-haired girl listened intently, and had to break out into giggles a few times when her friend ranted on about his displeasure over the monkey race, and how the next time he saw a monkey, it was going to face the business end of an energy blast. The serene girl didn't think that the next monkey deserved to be blasted, but she could understand the boy's displeasure. After finishing his story, he glanced at the time. "If you don't mind, Kasumi-chan, I'll do the breakfast this morning." The girl didn't stop him as he got up and headed for the kitchen. She enjoyed it when he offered to do the cooking, so why should she have a problem with it?
'Now, if only we could get Nabiki or father to cook once in a while.' She thought to herself as she tapped her chin.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
The rest of the early morning seemed to go by without any real incident. Genma did whine a couple times about Ranma being so 'weak' that he needed to sleep the whole day away. His comment about sleep sounded so much like Monkey Fist's that the young Saotome had to give the older Saotome a good thrashing in their sparring session. Perhaps it was a little on the brutal side, but the whole adventure really did leave a bad taste in his mouth.
It then came time to leave for Furinkan. After a quick transformation and change of clothes, -- you'd think that dressing in female clothing for about two weeks so far would have meant that you'd have been fully use to it by now -- the aquatransexual set off for another day of work. Something was nagging at her and telling her that something was going to happen today, but she didn't know why she was getting this feeling. 'Why don't we just chalk it up to women's intuition?' Shego asked with a chuckle.
'If we do, then I'm blaming you if whatever is going to happen does happen.' Ranma grumbled out as she continued walking towards her destination. 'The thought of me having something like that is just plain absurd, and I don't think-- oh Kami-sama, what in the hell is that?!' The aquatransexual asked as she stopped in her tracks to see the oddest thing that had ever crossed her field of vision. 'Did the damn circus lose a nutcase who thinks that he's Hawaiian?!' The teacher's aid asked as she stared at the sight before her. Standing at the school gates was a tanned man dressed like a Hawaiian wannabe with sunglasses and a palm tree on his head.
'How about we just put him out of his misery and continue on into the building?' Shego asked in a hopeful voice.
'As tempting as physical violence sounds at the moment, I think asking this fruitcake who he is would be a better option.' She sensed the voice becoming sad over the fact that there'd be no bodily harm. 'Cheer up, She-chan. We can violently maim my father later.' The boy turned woman stated quickly. She then proceeded to walk up to the odd man strumming a ukulele. "Good morning, sir." The young Saotome greeted in an attempt to be polite. It wasn't that easy of a thing to do when the person strikes every cord in your 'get the hell out of here' nerve. "Do you have any important business with the school?"
The crime against nature gave a toothy grin. "Aloha there wahine! Of course I be havin' da business wit' da school. I be da great principal and Big Kahuna of the great Furinkan High." His shaded eyes noticed the look on the woman in front of him. "Ah, you must be a new staff member here. It not surprisin' that you not know who da Big Kahuna is. I have been absent fo' da three years while in Hawaii." A glint of light appeared on his shades. "I think that you have some hair that be needin' a trim, missy." The nutty man proceeded to pull out a couple hair clippers and attempted to jump at the pale boy turned woman. The next thing he knew, he was kissing pavement with a heeled foot pressed against the back of his head.
"Touch the hair and DIE." Ranma growled out towards the downed man who was calling himself the principal. 'Don't even say it, Shego. Do NOT say it.'
'I can't imagine what you mean, Ranma.' The voice answered back in an innocent tone. 'The only thing that I can imagine would be me telling you that I told you so.' Shego finished with a chuckle. 'Now you'll probably listen to your lovely woman's intuition from now on.'
The raven-haired aquatransexual was about to answer back when she found herself grabbed by someone running by. "Don't get too close to that man, Sheila-chan!" Turning her head, the dual-formed martial artist caught sight of Masako. She also found herself being pulled along by her arm. "You don't know the horrors that the guy can cause to use all!"
"Hey, let go of me!" The younger woman shouted as she was dragged through the school and towards the staff lounge. "How could you be afraid of a nutcase like that?!" She soon found herself pulled into the staff lounge. Glancing around, she noticed that several teachers seemed to be slightly shaken over the return of the loon. "Whatever, I'm getting some tea." She said as she proceeded to do just that. A moment later, she was sitting down and enjoying a cup of her favorite tea while several of the teachers started trading stories of the returning man. "Wait, you're telling me that he really is the principal? I thought it was only some joke."
Reika shook her head. "It's no joke, Sheila. The man has an obsession for making the lives of the student body miserable. As such, he has often forced us teachers to do some of his dirty work. He has an unhealthy love for cutting people's hair, and he also makes rules up on the spot. One should not try and take Principal Kuno lightly."
The teachers were treated to the sight of the woman doing a spit-take. "Did you say KUNO?! He wouldn't happen to be related to Tatewaki Kuno, would he?" At the various nods around the room, Ranma slapped herself in the forehead. "I hope I'm not the only one who finds this seriously messed up."
One of the elderly teachers gave a chuckle. "Just be thankful that we don't have the Kuno daughter at this school as well." A few people in the room cringed at the hardness of the teacher's aid's emerald green eyes. "She goes to an all girls' school and is part of their Martial Arts Rhythmic Gymnastics team. In fact, I believe a match between their school and ours will be next week. I'm pretty sure she calls herself the Black Rose, and her laugh makes a banshee's sound pleasant."
Another teacher -- the economics teacher -- shook her head. "The worst part of it all is that nothing can really be done. The Kunos come from an old and respected samurai family, and the fact that they are rich also prevents anybody from really doing anything. Thankfully, they aren't that much of a danger to society." She received an 'are you kidding' look from a few people. "Well, they aren't as bad as that martial arts figure skating duo. The girl is downright dangerous when it comes to cute things."
"Everybody please meet in the auditorium for announcements from the principal!" The voice over the intercom announced. After the message, the teachers in the lounge started to go on about how 'the madness has already started' and other such things of interest.
'Remind me to listen to my gut feeling from now on, Shego.' Ranma thought with a grumble as she proceeded to make her way to her destination.
'Don't worry about that, Ranma. I think we'll both know full well to listen to it by the time this is all over.'
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
A sweat-drop appeared on the boy turned woman's head as she stood at the side of the auditorium and looked up on stage. If she thought the man was weird when he was standing outside, then seeing him standing up there and laughing his head off was even weirder. "The principal really is a crazed loon." She said as she shook her head.
"That's pretty much an understatement, Shego." A voice near Ranma stated. Turning her head, the pale martial artist caught sight of Kim and Ron standing with the other students. The former seemed to have trouble looking in her direction without having her cheeks turn a little red. "When Ron and I came a few moments ago, the guy was dressed as a snowman and trying to cut people's hair." An eyebrow had to be raised at that. It wasn't even the type of weather for a snowman yet. "When we got him out of that costume, he started throwing exploding pineapples." The redhead pointed to her friend who seemed a little singed.
"I thought he was a mutant snowman with a craving for hair at first." Ron stated sheepishly. "I mean, it wouldn't be that much of a stretch to believe in it happening. It's not like we've never run into a bunch of mutant snowmen before."
The aquatransexual gave a small snort. "I should have been there when that happened. I would have really put him out of his misery then." Emerald eyes glanced at the younger girl in front of her. "Say Kimmie," she began with a whisper, "I apologize for the slight embarrassment you went through yesterday after getting me back to the Tendo Dojo. It wasn't my intention for that to happen." It would be different if she did intend for it to happen, but she didn't.
The teen heroine looked in her direction in shock for a few moments. "I didn't even know you had the ability to apologize, Shego." The woman really was acting strange lately, and it was difficult to know what to do around her.
"Watch it, Kimmie. I could just as easily toss you--"
"Alooooha! I be your very special principal, and I be havin' two special announcements fo' all da bruddahs and sistahs of dis fine school." Principal Kuno made a toothy smile after he finished his sentence. "Da first order of business is in regards to da current teacher's aid of dis school. Could da Big Kahuna have da wahine known as Sheila Go join me up here on stage?"
Ranma blinked at the announcement for her to come up on stage. Ignoring the whispers and sounds of everyone around her, the young woman made her way towards the stage. 'Something is telling me that this can't be good.' She thought as she stopped next to the obvious loon of a principal. "What is it that you wanted to see me about, principal?"
Another laugh found its way out of the man's mouth. "It so good ta have you join me, wahine." He proceeded to flash another toothy grin. "From what I am to believe, you are currently stayin' wit' da Tendo family, am I right?" The boy turned woman gave a reluctant nod. At that, the strange man shook his head. "Now we can't be havin' that, now can we? A teacher should not be livin' wit' da ohana of a student. You be needin' ta get you a place of your own, wahine."
"That's not a problem at all, principal." The young Saotome answered back with a shrug. "I've actually been looking, but it's been hard to figure out where to start." That was actually a lie, but it wouldn't take too long to look for a place. She was certain she could continue to take her time.
"If ya don't get ya own place, den ya don't get your job as da English teacher." The crazy man stated with a toothy smirk. At the woman's stare, he went on. "We gonna have a little fun wit' dis situation. If ya can't find a place of ya own by Friday night, den you can kiss ya English job goodbye."
Ranma gave a small glare towards the man before dropping her head. "Well, I guess that's fair." As she turned around to walk off, the man with a palm tree on his head continued on with what he was saying.
"Instead, I be transferring ya job to a different position." At her inquisitive look, light glinted off of his shades. "If ya can't find a place to live by Friday night, then you shall become me secretary and assistant. You would have ta dress in Hawaiian clothing, hula dance, do me paper work, call me Big Kahuna, talk like da Hawaiian wahine, an' get da bowl cut hairstyle." He proceeded to hold up a few articles of Hawaiian clothing in his hands and laugh. That laughing stopped when the boy turned woman slammed a hand down onto the podium and glared.
"You can't honestly imagine me wearing a grass skirt and coconut bra, can you?" She asked in annoyance. Emerald-green eyes narrowed when a small amount of blood started to trickle out of the man's nose. "Why you sick and perverted son of a--"
"You fiend! How dare you mistreat the great Sheila-san like some lowly individual within a sick fantasy?" Everyone turned their heads to see Tatewaki Kuno charge up onto the stage with bokken in hand. The young Kuno stopped and pointed his weapon towards the older man. "The lovely and intelligent Sheila-san deserves the respect of all! I do not know who you are, but I can not allow lowly trash like you to besmirch the name of one such as her!"
Ranma was about to open her mouth to mention that the man was the boy's father when said father pulled out a pineapple. "Say bruddah, you look like you not gettin' enough fruit in your diet. Why don't cha start right now?" Principal Kuno gave the fruit a toss and watched as it landed in the boy's hand. Tatewaki looked at it in confusion for a second before the thing exploded with a loud 'BOOM' and sent him flying backwards and onto the floor. His form was charred and his eyes appeared dazed. "Ha-ha-ha-ha! Now we get down to da next order of business. Your great and generous principal has a great and wondrous present for all his keiki!"
As the students throughout the auditorium began chattering about what the present could be, the pale teacher's aid that was still up on stage laughed sarcastically. "What, are you going to also become a tiki salesman? You're obviously dressed the part-- if a little more insane." The man with a palm tree on his head gave a small glare in her direction before becoming joyous again.
"You all be wrong! Da Big Kahuna be instituting some new school rules for da keiki!" He pulled on a rope to lower a couple badly drawn banners. "All da boys get dem buzz cuts, and all da girls get dem bowl cuts!" He started laughing when everyone in the crowd seemed to not take everything in a happy way. "Of course, you all have three days ta find the pardon fo' de rule. I've hidden da slip o' paper in a nice little coconut." He held up a coconut. The next thing he knew, he was seeing stars due to his head being slammed into the podium from a roundhouse kick.
"Now, I don't mind if someone has an evil plan. In fact, I find the idea of people cringing in fear due to a slight dictatorship of a madman to be quite amusing at times." Ranma, holding the coconut in her right hand, bashed the crazed man in the head with her left hand. "However, I find that for some reason, I can't just sit by and enjoy the idea of crap-tastic buzz-cuts and bowl-cuts everywhere I look. The very thought makes me want to gouge someone's organs out and obliterate them. I also, quite frankly, don't give a flying pig's ass about your so-called leadership, Principal Coconuts." The pale woman tossed the coconut into the air and caught it in both hands, and couldn't help smirk at the applause she was receiving. It was short-lived, however, when the object in her hands exploded. The now charred aquatransexual blinked as she coughed out a bit of smoke.
Principal Kuno's laugh started again, and this time it was even more crazed. "You gonna 'ave ta do bettah then that, wahine! You didn't honestly t'ink dat I'd risk da coconut by havin' it on me, did ya?" His laughter was short lived when he started to notice that the woman's hands were glowing with a vivid green color-- almost like green fire. Said woman's eyes almost seemed to be glowing green as well. When a glaive of green energy appeared in her hand, he started to really sweat. "Now wahine, let's not be doin' anything rash now." He ducked under the swipe of the weapon, but noticed that something had been sliced off. His eyes widened when he saw what it was. "MY PALM TREE!!"
Ranma started to laugh, and this laugh sent a few chills down the spines of the people in the room. It was a laugh that sounded sadistic, and one that sounded like it was going to enjoy the coming pain that the owner would inflict. "That won't be the only thing being sliced." Principal Kuno paled at this and did the most sensible thing-- he ran away. Watching him leave, the young Saotome smiled and pointed a glowing hand into the audience of students. "Kimmie, Ron, you two, and your naked mole rat, help everyone find the stupid coconut. Who knows, maybe your genius buddy might be able to help. I'll try and track down Principal Coconuts and TEACH him a few important lessons." NOBODY put her into their perverted thoughts, and NOBODY would blow her up with a stupid coconut and get away with it. All of a sudden, she gave a bright and calm smile to everyone. "So let's all do our best to see that the object of our suffering is fully dealt with!" The woman proceeded to walk off while whistling a happy tune.
"K.P, am I imagining things, or is Shego actually trying to help prevent something bad instead of helping cause it?" Ron asked curiously. Like many of the people in the audience -- who just started filing out to try and find some stupid coconut -- he was slightly freaked out by the sight that he had seen. He knew an angry Shego was not a pretty sight, but that was just plain spooky.
Kim gave a small nod as she whipped out her Kimmunicator to see if Wade had any idea on where a coconut with a slip of paper in it could be. She could hear people around them mention that the 'slightly crazed woman' was 'kind of cool'. There were even a few that mentioned something about her possibly being a better principal than the coconut freak. "It is kind of weird that she's helping, but we have noticed odder things with her recently. But let's try and focus on the matter right now. I don't want my hair cut into THAT. We may be exchange students, but I doubt that man would even care." She tossed it out of her mind for the moment. "Wade, this may sound strange, but could you do a scan on Furinkan High School to look for coconuts?"
The child genius raised an eyebrow at the odd request as he began typing on his keyboard. "I don't know, Kim. You're talking about something that could be difficult beyond… alright, I got it." The boy stated with a small clap of his hands as he proceeded to show a map of areas with coconuts.
"Alright, time to find us some coconuts!" Ron shouted with a raised fist as Rufus gave a vigorous nod. "This actually sounds like it could be fun."
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
After exiting the auditorium, Ranma shook her head a little as she made her way around the school. It almost felt like she was in a blind fury back there when confronted with the loony fool. 'Dang, it was almost as if something came over me for a moment. You didn't have anything to do with it, did you Shego?' The raven-haired woman asked with a frown upon her face.
'As much as I wish that I could take the blame for that,' the voice answered back with its own 'frown', 'I can honestly say that it was not any of my doing.' A small chuckle soon made itself known. 'That was merely the result of a complete moron getting under your skin. It's good to know that my mind and body are in capable hands.'
'I hope my sanity remains intact when this merger is fully complete. I swear, sometimes I think you are actually possessing me.' Ranma grumbled out as she proceeded to look for a certain Hawaiian-obsessed fool. 'You said it yourself a while back. You had the ability to do that, but didn't have the drive to do it.'
If the voice of Shego had limbs, she would be coughing into a fist. 'In all honesty, that was a lie. I actually can't take over your body. I could influence small decisions, but I can't take over your body.' This caused her host to stop and send a mental glare towards her. 'Well, it worked in pushing you into the 'right' direction, didn't it?' Shego asked in a sing-song voice. When she didn't get an answer to her question, the figment made a pout. 'Aw, is Ranma-chan angry over what Shego did?' Silence still met her question. 'Oh come on, it's not like I did anything bad.' There was a nervous chuckle. 'Alright, I apologize for tricking you like that. Can you at least say something? The silence is freaking killing me!'
'Fine, jeez, you can be such a crybaby when I don't talk to you.' Ranma finally answered back as the emerald-eyed martial artist proceeded to try and look for a certain Principal. By finding him, then maybe she could find that stupid coconut. 'Now, where the hell could this guy be?' She asked as she looked around the hallway. Nearing one of the doors, she could hear sounds coming from the other side. Nodding to herself, she proceeded to kick the door open. What she saw on the other side made her question if she was still in the school or not. 'When the hell did the loon make this place look like a Hawaiian jungle?' Taking a glance outside the room, she noticed that she was, indeed, in the basement.
Ranma was about to leave the room when she saw a wave of water fall down from a hole in the ceiling and deposit several students. 'I'll give Coconut boy one thing,' Shego began, 'he knows how to be creative; even though he is an annoying moron who should be roasted over an open fire.' Ranma agreed with the voice slightly as she caught sight of Akane among the people washed down the trap.
Backing up into the shadows to see the scene play out, the raven-haired pale woman noticed that Kim and Ron weren't part of the group. 'Well, their tech friend is probably helping them in some way.' She thought as the students began complaining about Principal Kuno. As Ranma was standing there, she felt something touch her on the arm. Turning her head, emerald green eyes blinked at seeing a bear right next to her. "What the--" Before she could finish, the bear put a paw to her mouth.
"You've got to help us, Sheila-chan!" The 'bear' whispered as it raised its mouth to show Masako. "Principal Kuno has forced us teachers to dress up as animals to try and shave the hair of the students." This statement caused both Ranma and Shego to wonder why the teachers at this school were so wimpy. Before the boy turned woman could say anything, however, the taunting of the principal could be heard. Quickly glancing back towards the assembled students, Ranma was able to see the Hawaiian weirdo in a tree with another palm tree on his head.
"This guy's going down." The teacher's aid stated as she formed a green dagger in her hand. She gave it a quick toss and watched as it sliced the rope that was holding the ukulele maniac on the tree. As the man was falling, Ranma leaped out of her hiding place and came down with a foot into his gut. "That's for being infuriating and perverted!" Picking the groaning man up, she tossed him into the group of waiting students and watched as they started pounding the man. 'You know, I think I like the students of this school.' She thought with a smirk as she walked up to the youngest Tendo daughter. "Well, I see the situation is well under your control."
Akane glanced at her as the students began tying the nutcase up. "We're not letting this creep out of our sights until he tells us where that coconut is." She growled out in annoyance before she hit the loon upside the head. "Now tell us where it is!"
"Ha-ha-ha! I would, but da Kahuna forget where he put da coconut!" He was suddenly greeted by a glaive inches away from his nose. He then started to sweat when the glaive pointed lower and lower until it was aimed at a certain spot. "N-- now wahine, I'm s-- sure you wouldn't really."
Ranma gave a smirk -- even though she almost winced at the idea. "Oh I don't know. I think it would be a fitting punishment if you don't cooperate. What do you say?" A few of the male students shivered and turned away from the scene.
"Wait! If ya help me fin' my son, I'll tell you where da coconut is!" The Hawaiian obsessed principal shouted out. This caused a stir of people to go on about who the guy's son might be.
"You mean all we have to do," Ranma began with the glaive still pointed, "is find Tatewaki Kuno?" If the man doesn't cooperate, there's always hoping Kim and Ron could find the coconut.
"Kuno!?" Everyone shouted in disbelief. "You mean this guy is the father to Tatewaki Kuno?" one of the female students asked in complete shock. "Well… I guess it makes sense." With a shared look, the group of students nodded in agreement.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"AH! Hair-shaving lobsters!" Ron screamed as a few strands of his hair were cut by some lobsters. "They're trying to eat my hair! It's the hair-eating lobsters of Quantos IV!!" Lashing out with a foot, the blonde boy knocked one of them into a palm tree while Kim started attacking several others.
"This is really starting to get ridiculous!" Kim announced as she knocked the last the last of the creatures away. Turning back to her Kimmunicator, the redhead regarded her genius friend. "Alright, Wade, can you display the map again that points to the coconut that is by itself?"
"You know, it's hard to believe that the area under the school is this large." Ron stated as he looked around. If I didn't know we were under the school, I'd say we really were in Hawaii. Well, except for the hair-eating lobsters, exploding pineapples, spring traps, teachers dressed as animals, and a whole bunch of other stuff."
"Crazy!" Rufus shouted with a nod. The little mole rat was currently holding a pair of barber shears that it stole from one of the lobsters. The mole rat's eyes spotted something a little ways away. "Look!" It managed out with a point. Both teens glanced in the direction to see a small hut.
"Well, the map does show a lone coconut lying around in that direction." Kim stated as she started to walk in that direction-- only to have to jump out of the way of more falling lobsters. "I don't think I'll ever look at lobsters the same way again after this." The teen heroine muttered out as she and her friend ran towards the hut and proceeded up the stairs. As soon as both teens were in the hut, they started to look around. "It has to be here somewhere." Kim mumbled to herself.
Ron became distracted when Rufus started poking him on the cheek and pointing towards a hanging rope. "I wonder what this rope does. Maybe the coconut will appear if I pull on it." Grabbing a hold of it, he gave a yank. After pulling it, there came a loud 'ow' from behind. Turning his head, the blonde noticed that his friend was squatting down and holding her head. There was a bump on her head that was apparently from the coconut that fell onto it. "Sorry about that K.P." Ron stated while he scratched the back of his head. "But look, there's the coconut we've been searching for!" He finished as he helped his friend up.
"Now we just have to find where everyone else is at." Kim provided as she rubbed the back of her head. No sooner than that was said, an explosion sounded in the distance and caused an unidentifiable person to shoot up into the air.
"Is that a clue?" Ron asked curiously.
"It might as well be. Come on!" It didn't take long before the two teens -- and a mole rat -- arrived at the area, and they immediately saw the principal being pinned to a tree by Ranma's foot. Many of the students surrounding the area were holding various instruments of pain.
"Hey, we found the coconut!" Ron shouted while waving a hand in the air as Kim held the coconut out with in her hands. The immediate response was a bunch of happy cheers from the assembled students and a smirk from Ranma.
"Well, now none of you have to worry about some stupid haircuts from this idiot." The pale-skinned aquatransexual commented as she dropped her foot from the pinned principal. As soon as the man was free, he leapt forward and grabbed the coconut. He then proceeded to turn and run away.
"You gonna 'ave ta catch me if'n ya wan' da coconut!" He shouted with a laugh as the students started screaming about him being unfair and evil. Ranma and Kim glanced at each other for a moment before they both gave a nod. The younger of the two rushed forward first, flipped onto her hands, and then pushed herself up into the air and over the principal's head. She then landed in front of him and caused Principal Kuno to come to a halt. He was going to turn around and run when he noticed that Ranma was blocking that path as well. Looking between the two, he felt the only safe option was running through the shrubbery, and so that's what he did.
Ranma gave a small smirk. "He thinks he can get away from us, doesn't he, Kimmie?" The younger redhead gave a smile of her own. "So should we chase after the mouse, or should we give him a few more seconds?" The two decided to wait about 10 more seconds before they started up. "Alright, you track him from the ground, Princess. I'll track him from the air!"
"Shego, how do you--" The question died on Kim's tongue when she watched the pale woman use the wristband that she now realized was the transformation Sash and called fourth a pair of black feathery wings. "I've always pictured you as having batwings, but an 'angel of darkness' seems to suit you." The redhead let out before she started running before the older woman could let out a retort.
'Batwings?!' The voice of Shego shouted inside of Ranma's head as the aquatransexual flew over the inside forest. 'Of course, batwings might be a little more terrifying and all, but that was just wrong on so many levels!' While the figment grumbled on about 'little girls' and 'proper torture and punishment', Ranma just shook her head and smiled as she caught sight of the running man. 'I'm getting tired of this nutcase. Ranma, blast his ass into next week.'
Agreeing with the voice in her head, the boy turned woman tossed a few balls of energy that caused the principal to yelp in fear. A larger energy ball crashed in front of the man and caused him to hesitate. This hesitation was long enough for Kim to leap forward and kick the tanned man in the back of the head and knock him into the ground. The redhead then took the coconut out of his hands as Ranma raced downward and picked the man up by his arms. Flying back into the air, the winged martial artist gave an evil smirk as she whispered into the principal's ear. "Either you stop this foolishness, or you shall experience the thrill of being dropped to the ground."
Principal Kuno's legs began to thrash around. "Alright, Da Big Kahuna won't create any mo' hair rules onto da keiki!"
"Do you promise that you won't? Remember, I could still drop you."
"I PROMISE!!"
"Good, because I WILL hold you to that." Ranma stated as she dropped down to the ground and released her captive. The man started to kiss the ground as if it was something that he hadn't seen in years. "Oh, by the way, you now have to deal with your precious students." The raven-haired woman stated as she backed up and allowed the group to close in on the man.
'Ah, that's music to my non-existent ears.' Shego commented as she heard the screams of pain and begging from the man as the enraged students vented their frustrations off on him. 'Hopefully he'll learn his lesson, but if not…' The sentence was left hanging as Tatewaki Kuno began shouting about his father being a madman as he whacked him repeatedly with a bokken.
'I really don't want to have to pound the guy more than I have to.' Ranma responded back with a frown. She didn't really want people to think she was unstable, but maybe it was too late for that. Emerald green eyes caught sight of Kim talking to Ron. Walking up to the duo, the pale woman smacked the young redhead upside the head. "That's for the 'batwings' comment, Kimmie." Before the teen heroine could say anything, Ranma silenced her. "Come on, lets all get out of this damn Hawaiian jungle." The young Saotome grumbled out as she walked past Team Possible.
"You know," Ron whispered to his friend, "I think she's losing her villainous touch. Her personality's the same, but she doesn't seem as evil." This was actually a good thing. It meant he'd no longer be on the end of those energy attacks.
"Maybe you're right about that." The redhead stated softly as she watched her arch-nemesis walk off. "I'm still going to keep my eye on her to make sure." Someone can't turn over a new leaf that fast.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"I can't believe that principal tried to do that haircut crap again." Ranma grumbled out as he and Akane entered through the gate of the Tendo home. The aquatransexual had changed back to his birth form when the two of them arrived at the gates. "Well, he won't be getting out of the hospital anytime soon."
"And that's because everyone held you back from doing worse to him." Akane provided. "The rest of the students DID get a few more good hits in, though." She was even able to get a few good whacks at him with a practice sword. "So when are you going to start looking for a place of your own? I just KNOW that you would not want the outcome if you don't." A smirk appeared on the youngest Tendo's face. "Of course, I think 'Sheila' wouldn't look too bad acting Hawaiian."
Ranma gave the girl a glare. "Maybe I can convince Principal Coconuts to have you go a week stuck in Hawaiian theme." It was his turn to receive a glare. "Anyway, I have the rest of the week off so I can find a place of my own to move into." He stated as both teens walked into the front door. As soon as Ranma finished saying that, something grabbed him by the shirt and dragged him farther into the house. "Hey, let me go!" The pale boy shouted as he pounded his fist against the attacker. "Jeez pops, what the hell was that for?"
The older Saotome recovered almost immediately. "What was that about moving into a place of your own, boy? You know that you wouldn't be old enough, and if you did that, you couldn't get to know your future fiancée!" Genma was promptly shoved out of the way as his son walked towards the family room where Soun, Kasumi, and Nabiki were sitting. The middle Tendo apparently left school as soon as the madness started. "Soun, tell my ungrateful child that he can't walk out on his responsibility!"
The Tendo patriarch was about to open his mouth when Ranma handed him a small check. "Here's my payment for staying with your family, Tendo-san." The braid-haired teen simply stated as Soun took it and gave a small bow. "I believe it is what we agreed upon."
"What is this that I hear about PAYMENT?!" Genma announced in complete shock. "And where did you get the money for this payment?"
His response was an infuriating smirk as his son stretched lazily. "Tendo-san, Nabiki-chan, and I came to an agreement on the day that you and I arrived here. For living here, I would pay a rent for myself. We agreed that I wouldn't pay for you and that you can get a job and pay your own." That caused the balding Saotome to frown. "And remember, pops, I'm also taking the identity of the person who drowned in that spring, and she was well off in her own way." Ranma gave a small yawn after he finished his explanation. "Now, I just need to start finding a place of my own starting tomorrow. That wouldn't be a problem for you, would it, Tendo-san?" He asked as he glanced towards the mustached man. His eyes flashed an eerie green that caused the Tendo patriarch to sweat and shake his head. "I always figured you were smart, although why you associate with my father is something I'll never understand."
"Boy, how dare you insult me? Oh the shame of it! My own son-- OW!" Genma yelped as he rubbed his head. Looking towards the source, he noticed that Kasumi was holding a long staff in her hand.
"Oh, I'm terribly sorry, Uncle Saotome!" The oldest daughter exclaimed in mock shock with her eyes wide. "The Ru Yi Bang staff just slipped as I was extending it. That bump on your head doesn't hurt TOO badly, does it?" There was a vicious twinkle hidden within her eyes as she asked that. That action alone almost caused Nabiki to chuckle. "I should really get some first aid for that. I'll be right back." Kasumi stated as she stood up and spun around. The staff was on her shoulder, and so when she turned around, she smacked Genma in the side of the head and sent him to the floor. "Oh my, I'm sorry about that, Uncle Saotome!" She secretly gave a wink towards Ranma.
"Oh, that's quite alright, Kasumi." Soun said with a small wave. "We all know that it was just an accident on your part." He finished with a laugh.
'Kasumi's a complete natural.' Shego commented with a non-existent smirk. 'Now we just need to get to work on finding a new place so we don't have to risk becoming that… thing's assistant.'
'I have a feeling that it will be easier said than done.'
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Early the next morning, Ranma found herself glancing at a nice looking apartment. From what the ad in the paper had said, it didn't cost too much and wasn't too far from Furinkan. 'It's not a bad place, but why do I feel a sense of foreboding?' She thought as she prepared herself to enter the building. Before she could get any closer, a large explosion rocked the area. Whipping her head around, Ranma blinked at the sight of a red-headed girl in a school-girl outfit running on all fours. Behind the redhead was a tall robot with two people piloting it. One of the women looked to be tanned with long brown hair, and the other was fair-skinned with short and wavy reddish-brown hair. "What in the hell?" The aquatransexual asked herself as the redhead jumped over her as the robot got closer.
'Well, it looks like we're going to have a little excitement this morning.' Shego stated in a kind of excited demeanor. 'Come on, Ranma, let's kick their asses and show them that they shouldn't be playing with toys!' Ranma raised an eyebrow at how the voice in her head was acting, but decided that this might actually be fun. Both didn't know why the people in the robot were after that girl, and they didn't care.
"Hey, get the hell out of the way!" The woman with long brown hair shouted in annoyance as the robot's left hand pointed at the raven-haired martial artist. "We're here to destroy that android, and anybody getting in our way shall be dealt with severely!"
The woman's partner shook her heave vigorously. "Arisa, let's not hurt the woman! Let's just step around her and get the android, please?" It seemed the tone of voice was almost pleading. "There's no reason to hurt civilians!"
"I don't care. If the bitch doesn't move, I'll just report that she was trying to help the damn android! I'm sure nothing will truly come of it!"
Ranma turned her head to look at the redhead behind her. "Hey, are you really an android?" The redhead gave a nod, and Ranma almost thought she heard a small 'nya' from the girl. "I hope you don't mind, but I'm going to have a little fun here." The boy turned woman stated with a feral smirk. "You're going down for that 'bitch' comment, Arisa-CHAN!"
The dark-haired woman in the robot growled as she sent a punch forward. "I hope you enjoy being a smear!" Both Mishima Industries women were shocked when the emerald-eyed woman leapt over the punch. They were even more surprised when said woman's hands began to glow green before a thing green disk appeared in one of the hands. The disk was tossed at the outstretched arm and sliced it completely off. "What the hell is she? She must be another android!"
Ranma landed on the head of the robot. "Sorry to disappoint you, but I'm not an android. I'm just an innocent martial artist who you angered with your attitude." Her eyes widened when she came face to face with a missile that popped out of the back of the mechanical being. "Damn!" The boy turned woman cursed as she jumped out of the way to avoid it. She watched as the explosive curved and headed into the air before curving again and heading for her. Not wasting any time, Ranma tossed an energy blast at the missile to destroy it before it did any real damage. The resulting explosion busted a few of the windows of the apartment that she was looking at. Sweat-dropping, the pale woman called forth an energy sword and quickly sliced the legs off of the robot before running past the android girl and away from the scene.
Nuku Nuku blinked as she watched the small dust cloud before turning her attention to the ruined mech and the two women climbing out of it. After a few moments, she finally reached a conclusion. "That was so cool!" Turning around, she, too, ran away from the scene.
"Arisa, how much do you think our pay is going to be docked this time?" Kyoko whined out to her associate.
Arisa growled for a moment. "I don't know, but I now know someone else who I hate! Whoever you are, I WILL destroy you!"
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
As it turned out, finding a place to live in Tokyo was slightly harder than Ranma had originally thought it would be. There was one place that she found that seemed right, but there were certain things that turned off the idea. For one, it was a girls' dorm, and she doubted anyone there would accept a woman who changed genders via water temperature. Besides, that boy who was the manager seemed to be in bad shape, and that showed that boys weren't too welcomed. What was it called again, Hina something?
Then there was the apartment that was located in a quaint little part of Nerima. It was another apartment that seemed nice and cozy, but the biggest problem was the damn oni girl and all the weird crap that was popping up around that area that was weird beyond reason. Ranma kind of felt sorry for that Ataru guy, but he was a pervert. Still, he didn't need to be abused THAT much. The electricity from that oni girl must have been really strong.
The next place was just as bad. Apparently the people who were living there were taking a vacation away from some city known as J… or was it F? Well, it was some letter of the alphabet. There was that weird guy with the large afro, the silver-haired guy with yellow shades, the orange-haired psycho girl, the one girl who seemed to die every few minutes, some small alien-like creatures, and a dog that seemed to wish it could escape away from the madness that it was stuck in. Of course, that apartment ended up blowing apart. If anyone survived was a question that she didn't feel like asking.
A crazy ninja girl and a floating yellow… ball-like creature that could turn into some muscular freak with stereotypical ninja assistants wasn't worth the risk at another apartment. There was another apartment that was next to both a shrine and a mansion was out due to three android girls, and then there was the rich girl who was overly in love with her shrine maiden friend. That girl seemed to get easily jealous and called upon a private army or something to deal with things. The next apartment was too close to some odd little pig -- named Sunny -- that was owned by some overly imaginative little boy -- named Spencer.
Events like these kept on repeating over the week. A place seemed to be the ideal place, but then all hell broke completely loose. It was currently Friday afternoon, and Ranma hadn't found a single place of her own. She idly wondered about providing some help at a shrine to have a place, but she didn't want to have to work like that! "Damn it, why can't I find a nice little apartment that doesn't have some form of destruction around it waiting to happen?!" Ranma roared into the heavens. This caused a majority of the people around her to give her a little bit more space. She had to find a place, and quick.
"Excuse me, young lady, but did you say you were looking for an apartment?" An aged voice asked from a little ways away from her. Glancing towards the direction, Ranma caught sight of an elderly woman who appeared to be in her 60's with gray hair pulled back in a tight bun. Her outfit consisted of a pale purple kimono. The woman was standing in front of an apartment that had stars and a couple animals painted onto it. "I believe I have one place remaining that you could move into. Of course, you would have to buy furniture to go with it, but it is a nice place. If you would like, follow me." The woman finished as she made her way into the building.
Ranma thought for a moment as she looked over the place. The sign on it said Nakayoshi Apartments, and the area seemed like it was a nice place. There also didn't seem to be any extremely odd and disastrous things in the immediate vicinity. It wasn't too far from Furinkan, and it was close to Juuban as well. -1- Biting her bottom lip, the boy turned woman decided to follow the elderly woman into the entrance. She then proceeded to follow her up the stairs and to the third floor. "Excuse me, ma'am, but could you tell me your name?"
"Oh, I apologize for not introducing myself, young lady. My name is Aiko Nakayoshi, and I'm the owner of this building. I've been looking for someone to rent the last room here." Ranma merely gave a small nod at Aiko's introduction and continued following until they came to a stop at one of the apartment doors. Reaching for her keys, the elderly woman unlocked the door and motioned for the raven-haired Saotome to enter.
Upon entering, the pale aquatransexual began exploring each room carefully. She then proceeded into the kitchen to check the fridge, stove, and a few other things. She didn't know exactly what to look for, but Shego helped her in that aspect. Who knew the figment could tell if things were in good shape or not. Satisfied with how things seemed to be, Ranma walked back over to the elderly woman. "I think this place might be perfect, Nakayoshi-san. Do you have the papers for me to fill out?" Aiko gave a nod and reached into her bag and pulled out a few papers and a pen. "Thanks, I'll get right on it."
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
After getting all the paperwork signed, Ranma stood at the entrance of her new apartment and scratched the back of her head. 'Now I need to get some furniture, food, TV, and a multitude of several other things to make this place seem like an actual home.' Upon thinking about that, a sigh escaped her mouth. 'Thank goodness that the weekend is coming up.'
'That means you're going to have to do a lot of exploring tomorrow.' Shego answered back with an evil chuckle. 'Now that you're away from the Tendo Dojo, you can get into all sorts of new and interesting situations!'
'Gah, don't even think about that. I'm planning on waiting a week before the weirdness comes to me.' Right after the thought entered her mind, there came a couple knocks at her door. 'Maybe I spoke a little too soon.' Ranma thought with a sigh as the figment in her mind laughed its non-existent ass off. Reaching for the doorknob, she gently opened the door to see who was on the other side. She quickly blinked when she noticed who was outside. One of them was a certain blue-haired PE teacher with an obsession for cosplay. The next was some 11-year-old or so girl with long brown hair and blue eyes. The final person was a girl who seemed to be about 15 with green eyes brown hair in a high pony-tail. "Um… hi?"
The pale woman suddenly found herself grabbed into a hug by Masako. "Welcome to the neighborhood, Sheila-chan! I'm your neighbor to the left on the other side of the hall!" The older woman let go of the blinking woman as the 10-year-old hopped up to her and grabbed her hand.
"And I'm your neighbor to the right side of your door on the other side of the hall! My name is Hinako Ninomiya!" She let go of Ranma's hands and started hopping up and down before getting a serious look on her face. "Now don't go mistaking me for a child. I'm a teacher who deals with delinquent students!" The serious look turned into one of joy. "Now I have another person to talk to!"
The last girl was next. "I live on the second floor, but I couldn't resist the idea of meeting the newest addition to this apartment. My name is Makoto Kino, and I go to Juuban High." She finished with a smile as she shook Ranma's hand. "Maybe I could bake a welcoming cake sometime. I do love to cook, and I'm quite good at it."
Ranma's focus turned solely to the young pony-tailed girl. "Really? You know, I'm not half-bad at cooking either, and I do love to eat. I'm not really sure if there's any kind of food that I don't like." Now this girl was someone she could get along with.
Makoto gave a small laugh. "That sounds just like a friend of mine. She loves to eat as well, and I doubt anyone could out-eat her in an eating contest!" Well, without their stomach completely bursting. As the two continued to converse with each other, Masako and Hinako were squatting next to the wall with depression on their faces as they droned on about not being able to cook very well.
"It's not fair, I know two people who can cook. Why do I have to stink at it? I mean, I can make simple stuff, but nothing more." The blue-haired PE teacher complained to herself.
Hinako's head perked up. "Masako, these two can cook, so maybe it's not a total loss!" The diminutive teacher jumped to her feet and ran up to the two who were in conversation. "Ha-ha! There are two people around who we can turn to if we need a meal!" This caused Ranma and Makoto to sweat-drop. The sweat-drop grew bigger when Masako put her arms around them and started crying.
"You are right, Hinako. I know that if we were ever starving, then our friends here would never hesitate to help us in our time of need."
Ranma looked at her with a half-lidded expression. "Are you sure about that?" That caused the blue-haired woman to scratch the back of her head. "I didn't move in here so I could provide food to people who can't cook."
"Aw come on, Sheila! We were only joking!" Hinako provided with a small pout.
"Hey, I know," Makoto began with a snap of her fingers, "I'll make a cake that all four of us can eat. How's that sound?" Ranma gave a defeated sigh, Masako had her arms crossed and nodded, and Hinako waved her arms and shouted about cake. "Well then, I guess that solves everything then. I'm going back to my floor, so see you later--" Before the pony-tailed girl could finish her sentence, one of the apartment doors at the end of the hall burst open as a young woman came running out as paper started flying after her. The young woman had large square glasses, light brown hair, and green eyes.
"Damn it, will you three stop with the paper argument, jeez!" Turning her head, the bespectacled woman saw the small group and gave an embarrassed wave before she ran back into her apartment and shut the door.
Ranma blinked before she shook her head. "Well, I'm going back into my apartment to try and figure out what things I need to buy for where." She told the other three before she started to reach for her door. She didn't get too far before her arm was grabbed by Masako. "Hey, what are you doing?"
"Sheila, I believe tonight calls for us to celebrate you managing to find a new place to live." The raven-haired boy turned woman attempted to wave it off, but a glare from the blue-haired woman caused her to go silent. "You and I ARE going to have a celebration. I've noticed that you seem too uptight for your own good, and you need to loosen up. You can scream, kick, threaten, and use your green energy attacks all you want, but I WILL take you out for some fun, and you WILL loosen up. I imagine that you probably don't have any with you at the moment, and so I'll help you find a nice outfit to wear." The older woman smiled as she began dragging the younger towards her apartment.
"Hey, let go! Damn it, I'm telling you to stop it. You will pay for this, Masako!!" Ranma kept on shouting until both of them disappeared into Masako's apartment. This left Hinako and Makoto to blink before shrugging and heading back to their own places.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Ranma frowned as she looked herself over in the mirror. In the back of her mind, Shego was laughing up a storm and constantly complimenting on how she looked right now. 'Oh just shut up. I swear, I am going to get Masako back for this someday. She's going to regret it. You hear me, regret it!' She shouted in her mind before taking a deep breath to calm down. Getting angry and accidentally destroying something would not be a good thing to do. Finding herself back under control, she looked back in the mirror.
The question of the matter was how Masako had gotten her sizes and found the outfit so quick. It consisted of a dark green cocktail dress with a plunging V-neckline that revealed just a little cleavage. Her raven-black hair was done up in a pony-tail that draped around her shoulder. Around her neck was a thin black choker that had a small dark green bow on the side. On her right wrist was a black semi-loose bracelet, and on her feet was a pair of open-toe heel shoes. There was even a touch of make-up on her face.
'I am so going to KILL Masako for this. She is going to taste the bottom of my foot when she least expects it!' That was the mantra that kept going through Ranma's mind over and over. It wasn't too easy to keep it up, however, when you have a voice in your head laughing its non-existent ass off.
"Alright, Sheila-chan, Operation: Night on the Town will now commence!" The blue-haired PE teacher announced as she stepped into the room. Masako's outfit was similar to Ranma's, but it had blue instead of green. Her footwear also consisted of knee-length black boots. Grabbing a hold of the younger woman's arm, the older woman tossed her arm into the air. "Let's get this show on the road!"
'Someone please shoot me…' Ranma thought to herself as she was dragged out of the apartment.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Surprisingly enough, Ranma found out that she was actually having a good time. It somewhat reminded her of the outing that she had with Kasumi a while back, but this time SHE was the one being forced into it. She could have done without being dressed all fancy and all, but that mostly took a backseat for the moment. Both of them had stopped for some ice cream at Masako's insistence. The raven-haired aquatransexual hardly ever had time to try ice cream, and so she found a SLIGHT liking of the confection. After three large bowls of banana splits, Ranma reluctantly agreed that it was time to leave.
After leaving the ice cream parlor, Masako decided to drag her friend off to a small bar that she knew of. The place had a great atmosphere, good drinks, and a superb karaoke area. "Um… Masako, "Ranma began as she scratched the back of her head as they reached their next destination, "I've never had alcohol before. So I think going to a bar might not be the best thing." She finished as she tapped her fingers together.
The older woman blinked at her for a moment before patting her on the shoulder. "Well it looks like I'll have to get you to try out a drink or two. I tell you, some of the drinks here are fantastic! You have no clue just what you've been missing out on!" Grabbing the young Saotome by the arm, she began dragging her inside while ignoring the screams of protest. Masako had only let go of Ranma when she placed the younger woman in a seat at the counter. "It looks like there's currently a long line at the Karaoke area, and so we'll just have to have a drink and wait." She couldn't help but giggle at her friend's nervousness before turning to the man behind the counter. "Yo, Kippei, I'll have a tamagozake." The man gave a nod before looking towards Ranma. "And knowing her like of the color green, I think Sheila would like a Green Vesper." At the look on the younger woman's face, Masako waved her off. "Don't worry about it, Sheila!" She said as she received her drink.
The pale martial artist gave a frown as she waited for her drink. When she finally received it, her eyes began blinking quickly. "That's a deep goblet." Ranma softly said as she hesitated. She knew the effects this stuff had on people, although the people that she witnessed drunk always seemed to drink several glasses or bottles of the stuff, so maybe one goblet wouldn't hurt. Slowly grabbing for it, she brought it to her lips and took a small sip. "Well, it's not bad." Ranma reluctantly said to her friend.
"See, I knew you'd like it!" Masako announced as she pat the younger girl on the back before turning to watch the karaoke area. 'Wow, some of these people are good.' There were a few that sucked at it completely, though. 'I wonder how Sheila would do if she decided to do a little singing.' After a few moments, the blue-haired woman smirked before turning her attention back to her friend. "Hey Sheila-chan, how about--" The question died on her lips as she looked at her friend. The pale woman was sitting unsteadily and giggling like a psycho. Glancing at Ranma's drink, she was shocked to see that her friend had only drunk half of it. 'She only had half. How could she be drunk from that?' She glanced towards the barman to see that he, too, was confused. The man looked towards his assistant, Ryu. Ryu shrugged his shoulders as well.
"Ha-ha, oh wow, ish that a dart board?" Ranma asked as she got to her feet and almost stumbled. At the mention of 'dart board', several people got out of the way of it. With a smirk and a giggle, the drunken martial artist called forth a dart made of energy into her hand. Raising her hand, she proceeded to aim as her feet tried to keep her on balance. She finally let loose and gave a loud cheer as she hit the center. "Yay, I did it." She then proceeded to toss dart after dart. Each time she managed to hit the center and close to it. "Yay, I am the shampion!" The young woman then started to spin in circles until she fell back dizzily. Ranma was glad when somebody managed to catch her, but that turned into anger when the person catching her tried to grope her.
Jumping away, the raven-haired aquatransexual pointed to the large man. "Hey you bashtard, groping a woman ish a sherious crime!" Rushing forward, the boy turned woman shot a spin-kick at the man. The foot wasn't even close, but the green energy that sprouted out around the foot cut the man on the shirt. This caused Ranma to blink as she stared at her feet. She didn't know how, but her energy was somehow stationed at her feet. Testing out her hands, she noticed that she could still call forth her power in her hands as well. Glancing down again, she concentrated and turned the energy off. With a little more concentration, the energy appeared again. A crazed smile appeared on her face as she started dancing around. "Yay, I win the bet! In your non-existent face!" Of course, she was talking about the bet she made with Shego about whether or not she could use the power anywhere else.
"Hey, you just ruined my new shirt!" The man finally said after he watched the woman jump around. Ignoring the glowing and deciding it was a trick of the lights, he grabbed Ranma by the arm and gave a small smile. "I think I know a way you can pay me back though." He figured that since she was drunk, it would be an easy matter.
A giggle escaped from the drunken aquatransexual. "Shorry, but I'm afraid that I don't shwing that way!" That caused a slight silence to fall around the room. "Wow, I really shocked you all, didn't I?!" She shouted with a laugh as she patted the man on the shoulder. "I'm sure you'll find the right woman!" The raven-haired woman proceeded to walk past the man, but found that he was still gripping her arm. "Well, it looks like someone doesn't wanna give up." Raising her hand, a green scythe appeared. "Perhaps ya would like to lose yer manhood if'n ya don't let go?" She asked with a sweet smile upon her heavily reddened face. The man paled before he let go. He then proceeded to run towards the door to get away from the crazy witch. As he made it out of the door, the scythe was tossed out after him. It didn't hit him, but it did cause a minor explosion in the street.
With a slightly evil chuckle, Ranma went back to her seat and drank a little more of her green vesper. "I thought I recognized that green energy." A familiar voice stated from the entrance. Turning around, the pony-tailed woman caught sight Kim and Ron looking towards her.
"Hey Kimmie, Ronald!" The pale martial artist shouted as she jumped from her seat and greeted the two. "Soooooo… what are ya two doin' at dis time of night?" She asked as she put a hand on the redhead's shoulder.
"Shego… are you drunk?!" Kim asked with wide eyes at the slightly red-faced woman.
"Nooooo… of course I'm not drunk. I just feel a little weird ish all." Ranma grabbed the younger girl's arm and began spinning the teen heroine around in place. "Come on and dance, Princess!"
The young redhead managed to stop and grab her arch-nemesis by the arms and lead her to a seat. "Shego, calm down and clear your mind." Seeing the woman so out of her mind was not something she was used to. "Just sit down and don't drink anymore. Also, try to refrain from using your powers while like this."
"Wow, I didn't know ya cared about me, Kimmie." Ranma laughed out as she wobbled a little before spinning around a little on her seat.
"Actually, I don't. I care about what happens if you are out of your mind and throwing your powers around like a crazed maniac." The younger girl provided with a half-lidded stare as she tried to contain a slight blush. Turning around, the redhead motioned to Ron that they were leaving. However, before they could get anywhere, Kim found her right wrist grabbed by Ranma. "Shego, what are you do--" Before she could get out her question, she found herself pulled close to the woman in green. If that wasn't enough, she also found that the woman in green's lips was pressed against hers.
"Gah, we're in the twilight zone, Rufus!" Ron shouted as he shook his head to see if he was just imagining things. All his naked mole rat buddy could do was look on in shock. Ron noticed this and covered the creature's eyes with his hand. "It's not for the impressionable, Rufus."
When Kim was finally released, all she could do was stare in absolute shock at the woman who was supposed to be her arch-nemesis. Then, all of a sudden, her face turned into a full blush as she spun around and ran out of the bar with wide eyes. Ron and Rufus were right on her heels.
Masako could only look on in complete shock at the scene that had just occurred. She then glanced towards the giggling Ranma and continued to blink. 'Sheila's a dangerous drunk.' She thought to herself. 'She does seem more free-at-mind though. I do feel sorry for that Kim girl.' The blue-haired girl finished as she glanced towards the entrance. "Hey Sheila, do you--" She saw that Ranma was currently asleep with her head in her arms on the table. There was a small bit of drool on her mouth as she gave muffled giggles. The sight caused Masako to laugh. "I guess I should get her home. Maybe I should also make a little room on my couch since she doesn't have anything at her own place at the moment."
Paying for the drinks that they bought, the older woman grabbed her friend by the shoulder and helped her move around. "Never gonna drink again." Ranma stated in-between consciousness. "Too many bad effects."
"I think I can agree with that, Sheila-chan. Come on, let's get you out of here." The blue-haired cosplay fan gently stated as she lead Ranma out of the bar. "You do seem less uptight when you're drunk though. Maybe we could--"
"Finish that sentence and I'll destroy your cosplay and poke you with a glaive." The younger of the two murmured. The threat was real, and Masako did not want to experience it. "I will say one thing though, Masako."
"What's that?"
"I did have a little fun tonight, so thanks."
"Hey, what are friends for?"
xxA.Nxx
-1- Nerima and Minato (The ward Juuban is located in) are not close together. Nakano and Shibuya are between Nerima and Minato. However, for the purpose of this story -- and the method many other people seem to do, -- Nakano and Shibuya shall be forgotten.
Well, another chapter done, and Ranma has a new place to live. The apartment has quite a few interesting inhabitants, and I slightly wonder if Ranma should reveal his curse to Masako, Makoto, and Hinako.
And Kim is now completely embarrassed over what happened. That's something that you just can't put into the back of your mind.
