Hellos! A little hesitant writing this. This chapter will be... well I wonder what you'll be thinking.
To the person who mentioned about timeskip: You're a clever one, it's completely true that it's like breaking down a character then rebuilding. But it has to be done. I just really love childhood moments in stories, but the plot does need to move.
To the people asking about Ranma's training and sparring: First off… it's hard to top the effectiveness of Genma's training. Effectiveness not ethics. Second off… I'll just explain in the chapter. Thanks for bringing it up to me.
Chapter 7
He moved methodically through the shadows. Every step he took was deliberate and calculated. They wouldn't find him. They couldn't. They were no match for him. It was time to retrieve what was rightfully his. It had been too long, too many obstacles... among other distractions. He could see riches in the near future. He could just taste it. His original plan was completely impossible now. No matter, he had another one. Different place, different plan.
"'Choo!"
"Bless you. You cold?"
"No."
Ranma frowned. He stopped walking, making the small girl stop also. The two were currently walking from the school. With concern, he asked, "You sure Ruby?"
"Uh huh. I'm okay." The girl nodded. Ranma took a good look at Ruby. Just within a month, Ruby looked much healthier, happier, and more diligent than he thought at his first couple impressions. Whether it was from the heartier food, the light exercises Ranma suggested for her to do, or the fact bullies stopped picking on her, he was glad that she had broken out the demure and sorrowful demeanor she cast on before. Their peers in school still didn't accept them so, despite the age difference, she was his only friend and he was hers.
"You know, Elsa's birthday is coming soon." Ranma said thoughtfully. He continued walking, prompting the girl to continue also.
Ruby quietly turned her head in attention. Oh, how she dearly wished she could go in the magnificent castle. Maybe, even at the most, get a glimpse of the royal family. How amazing would that be. She was an orphan, she was told her parents died some time after she was born. Not once did she see their faces. Growing up, she was always singled out just because of 'being different.' Most likely, she was accepted in orphanages due to immense pity. Having no friends or money, she learned by herself and forced herself to be mentally tough. Being constantly surrounded and given second grade items, going to the castle would be unbelievable.
"Huh? You wanna go to the castle?"
Oh. She had said that last bit out loud. She blushed and glanced down to the ground, abashed. It was never going to happen. Why would they let an orphan, like her, into such a grandiose place. Not to mention her quirk. To answer her friend's question, she let out a dejected sigh and a single nod of her head. Ranma was an orphan too, but he was so special. Well, she was special too, but not in a good way; this was clearly evident by the contempt from the students at the school.
"You can probably go in with me." Ranma chirped.
"Really?" The smaller girl asked with hope.
"Yep. They're nice. That probably wouldn't care."
"But... I'm..." The smaller orphan looked up to Ranma with her unique eyes.
"Trust me, they won't care. Don't worry 'bout it." Ranma gave a knowing smile. "We can go now if you wanna."
"N-no." She stuttered.
"Seriously. They won't care."
"W-well. Not today."
"A'ight. If you say so. I'll take you some other time" The two walked in silence for a minute, enjoying the peace and cool weather. "Hey. Whatcha think princesses would want for their birthday?"
"I dunno. How would I know?"
"You're a girl at least. All girls are the same. Well, mostly the same."
Ruby scowled. How rude. "Jewelry, I guess."
"Of course! Duh!" Ranma declared, dropping his right fist into his open left palm.
"How'll you get that?" Ruby asked, referring to the jewelry. Ranma's face fell in realization.
"Darn it, you're right. Not like I can give a piece of the diamond. Prob' a bad idea anyways."
"You can't get rid of the diamond at all?" Ruby stated. The older boy had shown and explained the Hope Diamond to her one day. It was mesmerizing to look at.
"Nope." Ranma released a breath of air. Nothing to give to Sa-chan. He looked up, there was the orphanage, while it was bigger than any other house he lived in while travelling, it was nothing compared to the castle. "Hey we're here."
"Bye."
"See ya Ruby." Ranma said with a wave. Ranma broke out into a run back to the castle.
The next morning.
"Please?" A voice called out.
"No." A gruff voice answered.
"C'mon… Just once!"
"No is no, Sir. Ranma."
"I wanna fight!"
"Children should not fight."
"I've been training since I could walk!"
"Then I must say, I cannot approve of your upbringing."
"How bout no swords. Only hand to hand."
"For the last and hundredth time. No. Besides hand to hand combat is very impractical, bare hands simply do not block blades or bullets. " The stern captain said. Ranma was with a large mustached man fit with a thick green coat with golden epaulets. He appeared to be a few years older than the King. Adorned on his coat were several golden badges on his right side of his chest. One less than the king had Ranma noted. They were in a yellowing field off to the side of the castle. There were several stone huts around them, presumably for the many soldiers.
"Yea! That's why I need this training! How else am I gonna block 'em?" Ranma replied stubbornly. He was itching for a good brawl, unfortunately no one at the school could put much of a fight. Not to mention they forbid fighting in the first place.
The large man sighed. Every day. Every single day. Ranma would come out in the morning run a couple laps in the field, throw some punches and kicks, and then beg the man to 'fight' him. A 'spar' he says. Why does this child want to fight so much? He should be enjoying his young years. War was a terrible event bloody and merciless. A single bullet in an instant could end a life. There has not been a war in decades and it does not seem like that will change any time soon. Also, 'martial arts' and hand to hand combat? Very impractical. Even swords are useless against the power of a musket. Battles and wars are fought with steel and gunpowder, not fists. Brawls are messy and something to avoid. Sure, the boy had phenomenal strength, speed, and reflexes, he's seen that with his own eyes. Of course, all of that is useless against multiple opponents with muskets. But seeing the boy's determination, he knew Ranma's mind will not divert from fighting. "I do not care that you have your practice on the dummies. However, I will not permit any duels or 'spars' in this castle."
Ranma groaned loudly. Why can't he have one fight? He could hear it now, "You're getting soft boy!" He actually missed his pop. He couldn't help that he was raised to be a fighter. The rush of adrenaline and the allure of techniques and countless strategies were just so exhilarating! Sulking with his head down, Ranma exited the fielded area. Behind him he heard the captain shouting after him, something about 'a bath' and 'nip.' What the heck is a 'nip.' Not bothering to clarify what the captain was saying, he continued walking and contemplating. He probably was getting soft. Spending his time with two girls? And school too? He had spent full days doing the backbreaking training with his father. Pop probably wouldn't even look him in the eye now.
Ranma let out a morose sigh and sat down at the steps of the door to the castle, flinching as his bottom touched the cold stone. It was getting extremely cold, trees no longer had their leaves and he could feel the wind bite at him when he was outside. Of course, Elsa had no problem with it. No siree, she could probably wear a linen shirt and be perfectly fine. Speaking of which, Anna had said she wanted great ideas for a present for her timid sister. Elsa's birthday was in less than a week and they still had no idea what to give her. Ranma got up from his spot and proceeded to find the youngest princess.
Within the main halls of the castle he could hear the voice of Anna and her father.
"How in the world did you get this?" A male voice said. That person was obviously the King.
"I found him!" A soprano voice chirped. Anna of course.
"Yes, sweetie, I can see. But how and where?"
Ranma walked closer to the room of the conversing father and child.
"He was walking around the kitchen, he looked hungry so I gave it some milk." A giggle could be heard. "I think it likes me."
What could they be talking about?
A new voice chimed in, definitely the Queen, "I do not really see a problem with him around. As long as you clean after him."
"Oh! I know! He could be Elsa's birthday gift! She's going to love this! I can't wait!"
There was a moment of silence and Ranma pushed open the ajar door.
"Anna, I don't thi-" The King started to say.
"GAH!"
The occupants of the room stared in startled shock as, within a second, Ranma had opened the door then instantly jumped back and fell down on the floors in the hallway.
"Ranma?" The queen spoke up, concerned. "Are you all right?"
"C-c-CAT!" Ranma yelped in terror. His back pushed against the stone walls of the castle in an attempt to distance himself from the room.
Indeed, Anna had found a cat within the castle and befriended him within a minute. It was an orange cat with white stripes. It was skinny but still bigger than the ones in... the pit... The orange cat perked its head up curiously when it heard the shout. The cat seemed to sniff the air and the directed its head to the cowering boy. It's black pupils enlarged. The cat stretched and tensed its body. It pounced.
This was nice. The weather was getting very cold and that means the ocean was going to freeze over soon. That's great of course... frozen water is ice! And what does Kristoff Bjorgman do? Cut ice!
"Svennn... Where are ya? I got some carrots for you!" The blond child called out into the forest.
Kristoff was walking under the evergreen trees that dominated the forest. He had his ever present pick hanging by his waist and was sporting a green shirt with a blue vest over him. Blue gloves were adorned on his small hands. His right hand was holding the carrots.
"Sven?" He called out once more.
He found a large stone jutting out the ground and proceeded over to it. Using his left hand he took out his pick and slammed it into the stone. It penetrated the stone and held steady. He pulled himself to the top of the rock and looked around. From above he could see the mysterious Arendelle's castle. He could remember the day he saw the King and Queen. It was that same day he found his family of trolls.
"Where are you? Buddy?"
He frowned a bit. He told Sven to stay around here, where could he be? His mind turned back to the day he saw the royal family. It was probably the last time anybody outside the castle saw the royal family together. The King looked kinder than he thought him to be, skinnier and taller too. And the Queen reminded him of the mother he never had.
"C'mon Sven... Pabbie said we have to get back soon."
Pabbie filled the need of a family. In fact, all the trolls did. They kept him company and taught him many things. Many helpful things. They proved that magic was undeniably real and he just loved it when they put up the aurora borealis. It was a beautiful sight to see and he got the front seats every time they performed the magic.
Kristoff called out once more, "I'll eat the carrots if you don't come!" This should do the trick. Threats involving carrots always got his best friend to come galloping back. There was a loud rustle of leaves to his right. In fact, he must be coming right now. He turned his body to the right and jumped off the rock he was on. The bushes in front of him blocked any sight of his furry companion.
The rustling got louder and from the bushes burst out the aforementioned reindeer.
"Sven!" Kristoff cheered. The reindeer galloped towards him but rather than stopping, he ran past the boy. "Sven?" Kristoff then fell down face first as he was plowed by a blur, he dropped the carrots. Kristoff pushed himself up, groaning and rubbing his head. What was happening? The rustling returned. Sven and the thing chasing him was coming back! Sven was being chased... He's in danger! He had to do something.
Taking out his trusty pick he held it out with two hands in front of him. Ok, he was going wait for Sven go past him then he was going to hit the evil thing. Sven galloped towards him. Kristoff could make the frantic face of the reindeer and how tired he seemed to be. Behind him he could see something 'bouncing' around on all fours. It wasn't even going in a straight line.
Sven brushed past him.
The thing was approaching. Kristoff tensed up and prepared to swing. He suddenly stopped in shock as he realize the thing that was chasing Sven was a boy younger than him. The boy had stopped chasing Sven and was now staring at him. He made a sound. Like a cat.
"W-what? What are you doing?"
Kristoff slowly backed up as the cat-boy approached him. As the boy got closer he could see that the boy had similar features to the fat man that tried to eat Sven. Those types of people must be crazy. He noticed the shirt the boy wore was red, soaked with blood. The boy just kept his eyes on him for a minute before seeming to 'scoff' and proceeded to lick himself. How disgusting. Kristoff looked behind him, Sven was hiding behind a tree, his head just barely peeking out. Kristoff ran as fast he could to the reindeer and gave his friend a tight hug. Kristoff gave a glance to the area where the boy was. The boy was now on the rock Kristoff was on earlier. His head was perked up in the direction of the Arendelle's castle. Without a word, the two then ran away.
"What?" A voice shouted incredulously. His booming shout echoed through the empty halls of the castle. The captain stared at the king dumbfounded.
"I have sent several men to find him. I am not too sure what happened, but it is quite evident that Ranma has ailurophobia."
"What do you mean?"
"An extreme fear of cats. However, I have never seen anything like this."
"Hmph! I told him to take a bath." The captain massaged his head with two hands. He muttered, "the child is really something else."
"Please explain."
"The child has been running around in catnip! He probably brought the kingdom's entire lot of cats to him."
"I see." The King rubbed his chin.
Suddenly a servant strode up to the pair of men, getting about two feet away from them the servant stopped with arms stiff to his sides and his chest out. "Your Majesty."
The King nodded.
"Alfred is currently in the infirmary. He will live."
"That's great to hear."
"There has been no signs of Sir Ranma."
"Where is Elsa and Anna?"
"Princess Anna is with Her Majesty. Princess Elsa is in the study hall. I do not believe she has heard about the current events."
The King nodded once more. "Call Elsa to me."
The servant bowed and walked out.
The captain spoke up, "What happened to old Alfred?"
The King grimaced. "After Ranma... changed... He ran around the castle. He must have ran into Alfred, I heard many curses from the old man and then a shout of pain." The King paused and shook his head. "I got to the scene swiftly. There were claws marks on the walls and floor. Alfred was a bloody mess, his clothes were in shreds, and was bleeding all over. The child was gone."
"Claw marks?" How was that possible? "The child did this?" The captain muttered.
"Who else?"
"A spawn from hell." The captain stated. "His slob of a father must have made a deal with the devil."
There was a long span of silence.
The captain quickly shook his head, "I do apologize old friend. I should not have mentioned that. I will do my best to find the boy." The man walked away briskly.
Elsa walked through the hall humming. It was almost her birthday and it was painstaking obvious about how her sister and friend were trying to find a present for her 'secretly.' She was pretty sure they don't know what quiet means. What did she want anyways? She really didn't want any physical object. She wanted... Elsa stopped at her track and wrinkled her nose. She looked up from her musings and notice she had walked into a hallway that reeked. Looking around, she noticed there were claw marks on the floors and walls. They were clean cut and long and at least an inch in the stone walls and floor. Among the claw marks were streaks of bright red blood still bright and obviously fresh. Two maids were currently scrubbing the floor; the fumes of oily suds mingled with the metallic scent of fresh blood creating a nauseating smell. Elsa did not take well to it.
Dropping her books, she covered her nose and turned around. She ran through the halls and got out to the main gates of the castle. Taking deep breaths in and out, she shook her head then looked out to the winter scenery. What happened? Where did the marks and blood come from? There was so much blood. She shivered.
She stayed outside, sitting on a stone bench next to the gate. The weather was so nice and refreshing. The crisp air and still surroundings were pleasant. Elsa toyed with her gloves and tried to think about what could have happened for the hall to be destroyed. Her daydreaming was interrupted as a man stepped outside and called to her.
"Princess Elsa, his Majesty requests for your presence."
Elsa nodded.
The man continued to speak, "It is highly advised to stay within castle walls. There is a threat out here."
Puzzled, Elsa asked, "What's happening? Did it cause the scene in the hall?"
He nodded in confirmation, "Come in quickly, I will explain as we walk to the King."
Elsa stood up from the bench and proceeded to walk to the gate. She did not get far as a figure knocked her down. She screamed at the impact. The man who went to find her shouted in surprise. Rather than assisting, he backed into the castle in trepidation.
Elsa tried in vain to push her attacker off her. She stopped trying and was able to sit up, she then noticed that she was not being harmed. Her 'attacker' was a young boy with black hair.
"R-Ranma?" She said unintelligibly. What was he doing? This was completely inappropriate.
In response, Ranma seemed to purr and positioned himself to be on her lap, his feet and hands on her legs. He started to rub his stinky, oily head into Elsa's stomach in an intimate manner.
Elsa's face turned a bright red. "What are you doing?" Embarrassing and strange as it was, she didn't move to stop the boy. "Ranma... st-stop it." She felt overly warm... and good. She hesitantly put her hand on Ranma's back and made a gentle rubbing motion. She could feel Ranma tense and then relax, her body shivered as Ranma purred even louder, he arched his back into her hand that was rubbing him. Ranma was pretending to be a cat?
She heard footsteps and turned around. At the castle gate, she could see her father, the captain and several soldiers behind him. She could make out her sister peeking out the castle doors. The group's dumbfounded stares made Elsa madly blush.
Her father called out, "Elsa, are you all right?" From her position, she weakly nodded. Her face glowed brightly. She saw her father cautiously walking to them, the captain and soldiers quickly positioned themselves between the King and Ranma, protecting the king. Ranma's eyes opened as they approached. "Can you move from where you are?"
She quietly replied, "No."
He nodded. "Ranma?"
The boy tilted his head towards the King. He did move from his spot, his eyes narrowed in caution. A low growl emanated from the boy.
The King spoke uncertainly, "There are no cats here. It's safe, no one will hurt you." He moved his hands in placating manner.
Ranma seemed to trust the King's words and buried his head back into Elsa's lap, eliciting a gasp from the girl. The boy started to softly snore.
The captain approached deliberately and came within arm's reach of Ranma. He tentatively picked the small boy up in a bridal carry.
"The boy's asleep." The captain confirmed.
Elsa got up from her spot, her eyes were locked on the Eastern boy. She muttered "I am so confused." She looked to her father. "What happened to Ranma?"
"Ranma has ailurophobia, he's extremely afraid of felines. I have never heard of reaction like his. I suppose his case is an extreme one."
"W-was Ranma the threat?"
Elsa's father nodded.
"He never hurt me."
"Did you go by the hall with the marks and blood? That was Ranma's doing. Alfred is currently in the infirmary. His wounds are deep and severe."
"W-what?"
"I was not one to witness it but it was most certainly Ranma's doing."
Elsa frowned, "There was a cat in the castle?"
"Your sister found a stray in the kitchen and took him in. She wanted it to be your present. Of course that will not be happening."
"Did anybody else get hurt?"
"Not that I know of. Only Alfred suffered from the incident."
There was a brief moment of silence. "I hope Ranma's okay."
Her father put an arm around Elsa's shoulder. "We'll see. We should go back in."
Father and daughter returned to the castle.
"Ahh." Ranma let out a sleepy yawn. He sat up from where he was laying and moved his hands to his eyes where he rubbed them. Wait a second, why was he sleeping? Looking down, he noticed he was on a bed, a white blanket covering his lower body. When did he go to sleep? He took a look around.
"Hiya." He said to the room's occupant.
Across him was the Queen looking worriedly to him. She asked, "Ranma are you all right?"
He nodded. "I'm perfectly fine." Seeing as the Queen still had a concerned face, he continued. "Did something happen?"
"You have no memories of what happened?"
"No?" Ranma answered, confused.
"Not at all?"
He shook his head.
"Do you remember a cat?" As the word 'cat' left the Queen's mouth, Ranma visibly flinched and tensed.
"Oh." Ranma said simply.
"Do you remember now?"
Again, he shook his head. "I went into the Neko-ken..."
The Queen silently mouthed the foreign word and then said aloud "Could you explain?"
With his hand tightly gripping the white blanket, he recounted the training his father put him through. The terror of pits and cats and the results of the training. At the end, he said faintly, "Did I hurt anyone?" He looked at the Queen with his wide blue eyes imploring for acceptance. He remembered when the training first snapped him. He went berserk. From what he heard, he had beaten his father senseless with ease and wrecked havoc in the town that they were in. He recalled the screams of rage and fear of the townspeople after he regain consciousness, they ran him and his father out mercilessly. The only reason he regain consciousness, in the first place, was because of the kind blind old lady. His father told him that he had instinctively went to her and slept in her lap, snapping him out of the dreaded technique. He idly wondered how'd he snapped out this time. At the moment he truly hoped that he wouldn't be kicked out as he did the first time. What was even worse was that, he would be alone this time.
The Queen did not answer as her mind was churning the story Ranma laid out to her. What kind of father would do such a thing? That was just sickening. Unbelievable.
"Huh?" Ranma said in surprise as the Queen closed in and embraced Ranma tightly.
"You poor child." She simply said.
Ranma felt emotionally exhausted, the Neko-ken had a heavy mental tax on him. He noticed he was washed and wore clothing that wasn't his. This was unexpected, he usually would wake up in blood that wasn't his. A minute later he fell asleep in the amiable Queen's arms. The Queen gently placed Ranma on the bed and left.
The Queen told Ranma's story to the King who found fit to warn his staff within the castle to keep all felines away from the castle. He would not explain the reason why, merely that Ranma had an extreme fear of cats. The entire staff had either seen or heard about the damage done to Alfred and not to mention the deep scratch marks and blood stains in the hall. All of that was more than enough reason to scare off any feline for the sake of their lives. The town crier visited the castle and they found out Ranma had went to the town and wreaked havoc. Stands were shredded as the boy snacked on fish and other food. Citizens were bruised and battered as they tried to stop him. Portions of the streets were marred with claw marks. The King had little sleep as he ruminated about his guest.
"Get out! Get the little, little bastard out of my face!" Roared Alfred. The man was currently wrapped with white cloth bandages from the neck down, his face sustained little to no injuries. Despite the fatal injuries the elder man was able to keep consciousness. The sight of his attacker got his blood pumping and mind raging.
"I'm sorry." The typically cheerful Ranma whimpered. The boy's head was dropped to his chest, his black hair hung loosely, and his body trembling. "It wasn't my fau-"
"OUT! Go back to hell! You demon!" Spat Alfred, his body shook violently with the yell, shifting the bandages and aggravating his wounds. He took a deep breaths from the exertion and opted for a madden glare at the boy.
The nurse attending the wounded man looked to Ranma. The boy came down first thing in the morning to see the old butler in the infirmary. She woke the man up gently, but once awake the man's eyes narrowed at the boy and the man roared in a frenzy. She walked up behind Ranma and ushered him out. The boy obeyed without a word. Outside the door, the boy stood still his arms and head hanging loosely. There were no tears but the distress could be felt from the boy. The passing staff glanced warily to him. Who knew the cheerful and lively boy could be that dangerous.
"Ranma/Rammie?" Twin voices called out.
The downcast boy tilted his head up slightly in response.
"Are you okay?" Anna asked. She stood slightly behind Elsa; her small hands gripped the blue dress of her sister as she looked to her best friend. Ranma seemed to pull himself together and lifted his face up.
"Yea." He simply said.
"Mother told us what happened." Elsa said. She had been in the room as her mother told her father. It far was worse than anything she ever heard of. She felt sick thinking about it. Anna, on the other hand, was told later and was saved the pain of listening and was given a very simplified story. In fact, Anna has yet to see the bloodied and marked hallways.
"It's okay!" Anna declared cheerfully. "Rammie's amazing! You say it all the time. 'Ran-ma Sao-to-me never loses!'"
To the girl's joy, Ranma broke out a smile. "Thank's An-chan." The girl beamed. "I probably go to school." Ranma started walking.
"Aww." Anna pouted, she, along with Elsa, followed Ranma.
"So you have no memories of what happened?" Elsa asked.
Ranma shook his head.
"Nothing?" A small blush came to Elsa's face.
Ranma shook his head once more.
Anna started to speak, "Rammie! You 'n Elsie wer-"
Now blushing madly, Elsa quickly put a hand over Anna, promptly silencing her.
"Did... did I hurt you?"
"N-no. Not at all!" Elsa quickly assured. "Ew! No licking!" Elsa quickly removed her gloved hand from her sister's mouth. Yuck, her saliva was seeping through the glove. Anna giggled. "Now I have to get a new glove."
"Okay..." Ranma said, unsure of what he did.
"Rammie~~ can I get a piggy back ride?" Anna said happily.
"Sure." Ranma moved back to Anna and crouched down, conversing her to get on his back. She did, and Ranma lifted the light girl and continued to the doors.
"Yay!" Anna cheered. Leaning closer to Ranma's ear, "You were on Els-"
"Hey!" Ranma yelped in surprise. A once again blushing Elsa had tackled the two children, bringing them crashing to the callous floors. Anna started to giggle as Elsa tickled her, turning red herself. Ranma stood up and stared at the sibling's tickle fest. "I'm going to be late." He stated. Ha. As if he cared. Grinning wildly, he joined the battle.
Ranma was perturbed. As he walked towards the school, any bystander stopped and stared. Some stares were fearful, some were of surprise, and some were of hatred. He tried his best to ignore them and succeeded as he spotted his only school friend.
"Hey there. Freak." A boy growled to the side. Ranma turned his head. He saw a group of boys; all of whom were much older than him. "You hurt my father and destroyed our shop!"
A new voice cried out, this time a girl. "My mom's shop is completely gone!"
"My brother's in the hospital!"
"It wasn't me!" Ranma defended.
"I know it was you." The first boy said. "I saw you!" A mob of students had gathered. While many students were not directly affect by Neko-ken Ranma, they had listened to their friends and parents of the destruction.
Ranma panicked. It wasn't his fault. It wasn't. He ran. The mob of students tried to run after him, but they were nowhere near his trained speed. Soon he was on the edge of the forest. His chests rose and fell as took deep breaths. His body shuddered as he stopped tears from coming. He reached in his pocket and pulled out the ever present cursed gem. Angrily, he threw it as far as he could. It flew far, flying through the thick forest. Yet, as he felt his pocket, the diamond was back. "It's not fair." Ranma muttered with resentment.
He heard a boisterous rustling of leaves above him and he looked to the noise. Staring at the evergreen trees, he tried to find the source of the sound. After a minute with no luck, he gave up. "It's just. Not. Fair." Deciding to skip the school day, he spent the rest of the day in the forest, venting his frustrations. As the sun started to set, he lumbered to the castle.
He went straight to his room, ignoring the people around him and neglecting supper. He cleaned up the best he could then laid in his bed brooding, until he was interrupted by the door opening.
"Hey An-chan."
The mentioned girl appeared in the room holding a metal tray filled with food. "Here's dinner!" Ranma blinked. He did not expect anybody to bring him food, not that he was complaining. Anna carried the tray to the bed where Ranma graciously accepted the food. Ranma made space on the bed and let her climb up and sit there.
"Wow, thanks!" He proceeded to pig out. Soon enough, the pile of food disappeared and Ranma let a content sigh and placed the tray on the nightstand. "I needed that." He affectionately ruffled Anna's hair who beamed.
"Are you sad?" Anna asked.
Ranma turned to her surprised. "Course not!" He denied.
"Don't be sad!" The ginger demanded.
"I said I wasn't sad!" Ranma crossed his arms. "What makes you say that?"
"You're not happy! If you're not happy, then you're sad!" Anna reasoned as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"Really." Ranma deadpanned.
"Yep!"
"I want to go home." He felt a foreboding shiver as he said it.
"This is home."
"I mean, Japan."
"What why?" Anna cried as she looked up with tear filled eyes. "Don't leave Rammie." She launched herself at Ranma, causing the boy to fall back into the bed; she hugged him tightly in an attempt to make him stay put.
Ranma laid back, not struggling against the petite girl. "Not like I can, anyways." He couldn't live on his own.
"Why do you wanna leave?" Anna mumbled into his chest.
"I'm tired." Ranma said, ignoring the question. "I'm gonna sleep."
"Can I sleep with you again?"
"Sure."
Eventually, both Ranma and Anna drifted off to sleep.
It was time to get the boy. He had found the room the boy stayed in.
"Elsa! Elsa! Wake up!" Anna cried. She shook Elsa's shoulders. "C'mon!"
"W-what? Anna?" Elsa said sleepily. She sat up from her bed and observed her surroundings. Everything was where it was supposed to be and her room was dark. Looking out the window, she could see the crescent moon adorned on the night sky. "Night? Anna... what time is it?"
"Ranma's gone!"
Elsa snapped out the weariness clouding out of her mind.
The two sisters got off of her bed and ran to Ranma's room. When the door was opened, sure enough, the room's occupant was nowhere to be found, the bed was empty and the blankets were splayed across it, a portion of the blankets drooped to the ground. A small breeze could be felt within the room, the window was open. That was strange, why would the window be open? Arendelle winters were extremely cold. Comparably to the two Princesses' room, the room was very bare, it was quite easy to find all his possessions. Despite the many months in the castle, Ranma never kept many toys or trinkets and he did not have many belongings do begin with. His meager items were in a brown bag lounging against the oak nightstand besides his bed. He also kept the doll Anna gave him; that was laying on top of the oak nightstand next an empty tray.
"His stuff is still here." Elsa pointed out while rubbing her eyes. "He's probably out training again." To herself she muttered, "only he would do something this late."
"No! He's not! I checked."
"Ranma will be here in the morning. Don't worry Anna."
Anna scrunched her face to a dubious one. With shiny eyes and quivering lips, she stared at her older sister. "Really?"
"Really." Elsa suppressed a yawn. "Why would he leave without his belongings?" She reasoned.
The younger sister looked to the empty bed for a couple moments. "Okay."
"Come on. Let's get back to sleep." Elsa took Anna hand and lead her out of the room. Out in the dimly lit hallways, Elsa asked, "Why were you going to Ranma's room? It's late."
"It's scary at night... Rammie's room is comfy and safe. He said he was okay with it. I was in his room already. I had a scary dream and woke up and Ranma wasn't there!"
"Oh. Have you been sleeping in his room often?"
Anna nodded "Uh huh."
"How long have you been doing it?"
Anna stretched out her arms, "A lonng time," she signified. There was a long moment of silence, then Anna looked distraught and stared at her sister with large pleading eyes and whimpered, "Why'd I have to leave? Why can't we share a room, Elsie?"
The pair stopped walking. Elsa flinched and bit her lip over her sister's innocent question. "Y-you can sleep with me. All right?" In response, Anna flashed her teeth widely and nodded her head happily. Together, the two sisters went to sleep. Anna snuggled to Elsa, her hands curled up and her face pressed against Elsa's chest. Elsa could feel the warmth each time Anna breathed in and out. There was a small smile on her face.
The next morning, the rustling of cloth and void of warmth woke Elsa up. Next to her, she could feel the emptiness of the bed and hear the stomping of feet as her sister rushed out her room, presumably to find Ranma. She groaned, forcibly waking and moving herself from the bed. Probably she should scorn Ranma for sneaking out the castle. At night too.
She pushed herself off the bed and walked down the empty hallway. She looked in Ranma's room. Nothing changed. The blankets and covers of the bed were still strewn on the bed. The same portions of the blanket drooped to the ground, the window was still open, and his few belongings sat unmoved. He didn't return? Her small face slackened, her eyes darted around the room rapidly.
Behind her, the light footsteps of Anna approached.
"Where's Rammie?"
Elsa smiled, "He just went to school early. Let's go eat breakfast." The two girls plodded to the dining hall.
At the dining hall, the girls' father gave a gentle smile. "Happy birthday Elsa." Oh. Right. It was her birthday.
Elsa returned the smile, but her eyes betrayed her image. Her father's gentle face wrinkled with concern. "Did Ranma go to school early?"
Her father frowned. "I have not seen him."
"He left?" The way Elsa concluded in a way that it was half a statement and half a question.
"I'm sure he did not. He will return to the castle later." He assured comfortingly.
But he didn't. There was not a sign of the Eastern boy in Arendelle.
Not for the next day.
And the next.
And the next.
And the next week, the next month, and the next year.
AN: Hm. Yep... timeskip... yea... and what coincidental timing... Anyways, the chapter has yet to finish. Remember the end of "Do You Want to Build a Snowman"?
Also, 'no fighting' explained. That is to say, there will be fight scenes I assure you. Not that I'll be any good at them, but practice makes perfect. We'll see. And wow. I really portrayed the Queen and King as really sensible and really accepting people, huh.
If the chapter is a bit heavy, don't worry, it'll lighten up. I assure you. Also, if wanted, I can put up some more 'childhood moments.'
There was a mumble as a boy snapped awake. What the? Rather than the bed he remembered sleeping in he was laid on the ground with a bundle of cloth as his pillow. He heard a gruff voice. It did not speak in English.
"You definitely have grown weak boy."
"Elsa?" A heartbroken voice whispered. There was no answer from the cold door.
"People are asking where you've been." A body could be heard slumping against wood.
"They say, 'have courage' and I'm trying to." The hallway was getting darker. The sun was setting.
"I'm right out here for you." There were soft splashes tears making the floor hallway sparkle. "Just let me in."
"We only have each other," the somber voice was getting softer and broken up, "it's just you and me."
"What are we going to do~?" Still, there was no answer. The air felt cold, the body curled itself securely.
There was a sharp intake of air. With missing energy, "Do you want to build a snowman~?" The hallway became dark. The sun had set. There was a dejected sigh. Then the only sounds that could be heard were sobs in the chilled air.
"Please...? I miss mom...I miss dad..."
"El...sa..."
Hoped you enjoyed this bit. Reviews are appreciated, criticism or compliments, it matters not.