You know the drill. If you got something to say to me, send it here:
oddball22@hotmail.com
DISCLAIMER: I have never, nor will I ever, say I don't deny that I don't
own or may or may not have created anything. I'm just a puppet, so
you'll have to ask the man holding my strings...
Ranma 1/2: New Challenges
Winds of Change
Chapter 3
Light spilled into the dojo, bringing Kenji out of his
slumber. He blinked his eyes a couple of times and sat up. Well, I'm
still alive. I wonder if the others are already up. He stretched the
kinks out of his arms and yawned. I could just leave now. Even if they
aren't the cause of my problems, it may not be a good idea to hang
around. Somewhere out there, someone has got to know who I am. I just
have to find them.
Standing up, he instinctively sniffed the air and caught the
mouth-watering scent of breakfast being made. Then again, I wouldn't
get far on an empty stomach.
He was just about to get dressed when he heard a couple of
voices outside.
"Is he up yet?" Akane's voice could be heard.
"I don't know," Ranma answered. "Why don't you check for
yourself."
"Baka." Akane's tone raised a couple of notches. "I was just
going to make sure he was ready for breakfast."
"Whatever." Ranma's voice trailed off as he walked away.
Next Kenji heard Akane knock at the door. "Kenji-san? Are you
awake?"
"Yeah," he replied.
"Breakfast will be ready soon."
"Okay, I'll be out shortly." Kenji grabbed the clothes that were
laying near his bed. They were the ones he was told he was wearing
yesterday when he was found. Someone must have cleaned them, since they
smelled and looked fresh.
"The only link to my past," he said softly. He stood up, got
dressed in the gray shirt and dark pants, and then went promptly into a
few stretching exercises. As his muscles loosened, what little pain
remained all but disappeared. Yet, he still couldn't recall anything
further back than yesterday.
"Well, that doc, what was his name? Oh yeah, Dr. Tofu said my
memory would return, so I guess I can't dwell on that now."
He suddenly froze in the middle of his stretching. What am I
doing? he wondered. Hmmm... Well, this seems like something I should
be doing. He finished up and headed out to the dining room after a
quick stop in the bathroom.
Washing his hands, he took a look at the face in the mirror.
Angular cheekbones highlighted his narrow face, while a pair of unknown
gray eyes stared back at him. His mostly black hair tapered down to his
shoulders, but what caught his attention was the white streak. It
started at the middle of his forehead and ran in a line, straight back
to where his hair ended just below his neck.
It scared how much he almost didn't recognize the face in the
mirror.
He shook his head to clear his mind, then headed out to the
dining room. The family made room for him at the table and he sat down
between Ranma and his father. Kenji glanced around the table, taking a
look at each of the people seated there. Soun and Genma were reading the
paper and Ranma was looking bored. Nabiki and Akane were engaged in a
light conversation.
"Sleep well, son?" Kenji turned his head to see Soun looking at
him.
"Hai," Kenji quickly replied. "I do feel a little better."
"That's good." Soun went back to his paper while he continued to
talk. "I hear Akane and Ranma are going to stop by some shops today so
you can get some clothes of your own."
Kenji started. "What are you talking about? I don't have any
money!"
"Well, we can't have you wearing the same thing everyday,"
Nabiki interjected. "And we can't have you keep wearing Ranma's stuff
either. It's bad enough to have one person in this house who insists on
wearing the same outfit everyday." Akane laughed at that but Ranma chose
to just simply ignore it.
Kenji boggled a little at Nabiki. Why's she acting nice now,
when just yesterday she was spouting off stuff about not trusting me?
He shelved that issue for the moment, as Kasumi and Nodoka began putting
food on the table. Glancing over, he noticed Genma and Ranma had already
jumped in and were cramming food in as fast as it would go.
"Better dig in now and get something before our two vacuum
cleaners inhale it all," Akane warned, indicating the two male
Saotome's. Ranma paused for a second to stick his tongue out at her.
Kenji nodded and picked up his chopsticks. Well, it could be
poisoned or drugged... His stomach rumbled quietly. Guess I don't have
a choice. He began to eat the pickled rice and miso soup.
"This is really good!" he said between bytes. "Arigato to the
cook."
Kasumi blushed. "Thank you, Kenji-san. But it's really nothing
special and Nodoka-obasama helped, too."
The meal passed quickly, except for when Ranma 'accidentily'
knocked his water glass over and splashed Kenji with it. He apologized,
but Kenji got the feeling he did it on purpose. But why would that be?
The meal ended and slowly everyone began to disperse to start
on the day's activities. Soun and Genma set up a shogi table and began
to play while Kasumi and Nodoka went back to the kitchen to clean.
Nabiki left, saying something about debt collection, while Akane
announced she was going to the dojo to workout.
"You do martial arts?" Kenji asked.
"Yeah," Akane confirmed. "This is a dojo."
Ranma stood up. "Why don't you join us? That is, if you think
you you're up to it." This will give me a chance to see what he's made
of.
Kenji's eyes narrowed as he stood to follow them out to the
dojo. "That's right. I still owe for for those sucker punches you hit me
with yesterday." He cracked his knuckles.
Ranma assumed an attack posture in the center of the room.
"Then why don't you do something about it?"
Kenji went into a more offensive stance. "This is where I deal
some payback."
"Men," Akane muttered, then glanced between the two. "Don't hurt
him, Ranma."
"I think you should be more worried for your boyfriend," Kenji
stated with a snort, then charged.
A month or two ago, Akane would have strenously denied Kenji's
remark, despite the fact he had no actual clue as to their relationship.
Now, there was nothing she wanted more. She wisely decided not to say
anything, however.
Up close, Kenji snapped a lightning fast side sick to Ranma's
face, only his target was no longer there to receive it. Kenji was
surprised for a split second, then adjusted his follow through. He leapt
upward, dodging the return sweep, then came down on Ranma's head with a
thrusting kick.
The next thing he knew, several punches impacted his chest and
he was flying across the room to land against the wall. "Wha...?" What
happened? Kenji shook his head and stood up, noting Ranma smirking at
him from the middle of the dojo floor. Anger flashed through him.
"Alright, no more kid gloves! Hyah!"
He flipped and somersaulted across the floor. As he reached his
opponent, he lashed out with a rapid foot sweep that Ranma easilt leapt
over. Kenji continued the motion while standing up, bring the same foot
around at mid-chest level. Again, he met empty air. What? was all
Kenji could think, when he felt something lightly vault off his leg and
land on his head.
"Come on, work with me here," Ranma said from his perch on
Kenji's head. "You're not that bad."
Hell with this! Kenji thought. No more holding back! His
only verbal reply was a snarl, as the amnesiac young man launched a full
offensive of almost blindingly fast punches and kicks. Surprisingly,
Ranma blocked all of them instead of dodging, but Kenji only realized
this after impacting the wall from another impromptu flight.
Sitting up, he saw Ranma shake his head. "You're all speed
mostly, but not much power. Just the opposite of Akane. Skill's not that
bad, but there's a lot of room for improvement."
Kenji rubbed the bump on his head. How'd he get so good!? I
could barely touch him! If these people are responsible for my amnesia,
I don't stand a chance. He now noticed Akane had been watching from the
sidelines, and there was a curious expression on her face.
"Well obviously he's no match for you, Ranma," Akane stated.
"Maybe I should try sparring with him." Then she turned and reduced a
few cement blocks to rubble.
Kenji blinked. What the!? Who are these people? "Uh, yeah, I
guess." He stood up.
Ranma shrugged. "Sure, I suppose." He turned to Kenji. "Be
warned, she's as tough as a gorilla!"
This time Ranma went flying across the room from a punch
delivered by Akane. She then turned to him and assumed a ready stance.
"Well, let's go!"
The amnesiac youth began to have second thoughts, but then
squelched them. You're not going to let yourself be defeated by a girl
are you? She was probably just trying to psych you out with that cement
block trick. They were probably rigged. Yeah, that's it! He brought his
hands up. "Whenever you're ready."
She grinned and attacked.
After several hours, the trio emerged from the dojo and headed
back to the house. Kenji seemed especially tired. In contrast, Ranma
wasn't sweating at all and Akane seemed to be in the middle.
Kenji did have to admit that Ranma was good, way too skilled
for him. Even though he had found out that Ranma was pulling his
punches, the impacts still hurt. was almost as fast as Ranma, but had
nowhere near the strength.
He was closer matched to Akane, but she was still able to hand
him his head in 2 out of 3 matches.
Kenji wiped his brow with a towel. "Whew! I can't remember when
I had such a workout. Of course, I can't remember much of anything." He
laughed, just because he was feeling a nice high from the physical
workout.
"I'll admit you got some potential," Ranma slapped him on the
back causing Kenji to wince in pain. "Oh, sorry man. You just need to
learn to keep your guard up."
"I'll keep that in mind."
"But seriously, you're pretty fast," he complimented. "You just
need to develop more of an instinct for where your opponent is what
they're gonna do. Also, do some strength training to make your attacks
and blocks more effective. I noticed you tended to dodge more than block
but, while that's not bad, learning to block effectively will help
improve your combat skills."
"Why don't you grab a hot bath, Kenji-san," Akane suggested.
"Than we'll take you to Ucchan's for lunch."
"Sure, why not," he replied.
"Hey Ranchan, hi Akane-chan," a girl across the counter greeted
the three as they entered the restaurant known as `Ucchan's.' Then she
frowned as she noticed Kenji. "Who's your friend?"
Ranma waved. "Hey Ucchan! This is Kenji."
Kenji stepped forward and bowed. "Ohayo, Ms...?"
Ukyo smiled and returned the bow. "Kuonji Ukyo, but you can
call me Ukyo."
"Pleased to meet you, Ukyo-san." Kenji sniffed the air. "Mmmm,
that smells pretty good."
Ukyo grinned as she poured some batter onto the grill. "Sure
is, sugar."
"Ucchan makes the best okonomiyaki in all of Japan," Ranma
explained while taking a stool by the grill. Akane sat next to him and
Kenji sat down next to her.
He took a moment to study this new girl. Quite attractive, he
realized, with the ribbon in her long chestnut-colored hair and the
purple shirt she wore. The black pants fit quite tightly and Kenji had
to avert his eyes, lest he be caught staring at her legs. Then he
noticed the huge spatula she had strapped to her back, as well as the
bandoleer of smaller spatula's across her chest. Kenji's brow furrowed
in thought as Ranma and Akane made their orders.
"What would you like on yours, Kenji-san?" Ukyo asked him.
"Oh, I don't have any money..." his voice trailed off.
"Don't worry about, it's on the house!"
"Arigato," Kenji thanked her. Why are these people being so
nice to me? "In that case, give me your specialty."
She nodded and began to work, talking as she prepared the
meals. "You know, I don't think I heard your full name, Kenji-san."
His face fell. "I don't remember..."
Ukyo looked puzzled, prompting Akane to explain the details of
yesterday. She explained his unexpected arrival and amnesia, but left
out his attacking of Kasumi, to the young man's surprise. When she was
finished, Ukyo looked sympathetic.
"Poor dear," he offered. "Don't worry though, I'm sure it'll
come back. And Tofu-sensei is the best there is. He'll find a way!"
Kenji nodded and Ukyo took a moment to study the newcomer while
she prepared the meals. He was slightly thinner than Ranma and a tad
shorter. He also appeared less muscular too, but from looking at his
sleeveless arms it was obvious he wasn't entirely weak either, and she
came came to the same conclusion as Ranma, that he was a martial artist
of sorts.
Definitely the agile, athletic type, she deduced as she read
his body language in case she had to fight him. His hair was mostly
black and hung loosely down to his shoulders. A small white streak ran
down in the middle part of his hair, from his forehead to the ends. Deep
gray eyes promised to draw her in and she had to look away lest they do
just that.
At least he doesn't appear to be a transvestite, she mused
with an internal grin.
She allowed that grin to the surface as she finished the meals,
plopped them onto three plates, and served them. Ranma was quick to dig
in as usual, while Akane ate at a slower pace. Kenji tried a piece.
"Well, how is it?" Ukyo asked after he had swallowed.
"Very good," Kenji complimented her.
Ukyo smiled in thanks. "Arigato, Kenji-san. So, have you given
any thought to what you're gonna do now?"
"I really hadn't thought about it much," he replied after a
moment. "I was thinking of leaving soon to look for any signs of my real
family. Or at least people who know me."
"Japan is a big place," Ukyo countered. "You have any leads?"
He reluctantly shook his head. "No, but what else can I do?"
"You might as well stay here, Kenji-san," Akane suggested.
"You're best chance to get your memory restored lies with Tofu-sensei.
Once you've got that back, then you'll know for certain where your
family is."
Ukyo nodded. "I have to agree with Akane-chan." An idea seemed
to pop into her head. "Say, how about coming to school in the meantime?"
Kenji frowned. "Why?"
"Well, you are 17, and truency is somewhat enforced around
here," Ukyo replied. "If it's discovered you aren't attending school,
you could get into some trouble. And I'm sure you can get transferred to
your real school once you find out where you live. I should know; I had
to attend a couple different schools as I wandered around Japan."
Ranma nodded. "Me too. That's one thing Pop couldn't get away
with a whole lot. He wanted me to train all the time, but truency
officers caught us a couple of times and forced him to send me to
school."
Ukyo chuckled. "And you'll like Furinken. One thing I'll say,
you'll never get bored!"
Ranma shook his head while Ukyo and Akane snickered. Kenji
guessed it must be some kind of inside joke. After they calmed down,
Ukyo inquired as to their plans for the day and Akane informed her that
they were just going to get a few extra pairs of clothes for Kenji, so
he had something to wear. Then added that they should get him a school
uniform as well.
Ukyo became excited. "Shopping! Ooh, can I come with you?"
Ranma gulped down the rest of his meal. "What about your
restaurant?" he asked.
"Konatsu-kun should be back soon, and he can handle the light
crowd I have between the lunch and dinner crowds," Ukyo answered.
They finished up their meals and headed outside when Konatsu
came back. Ranma seemed to focus in on something and tapped Ukyo on the
shoulder. When she looked up at him, he pointed to... a mailbox?
I didn't notice that when we came in, Kenji realized, and
watched as Ukyo became visibly upset and unholstered her huge spatula.
Fascinated, he continued to observe as she flattened the
mailbox, then scooped it up and swung at it, batter style, launching
into the sky. His eyes grew even wider as he beheld a female face
popping out of it.
"Ukyo-sama, I love youuuuuuuuuuuu!" the face said as it sped out
of sight.
"And don't come back!" Ukyo yelled.
Kenji scratched his head. "Uh...." He struggled for words.
Ukyo replaced her battle spat'. "Don't ask. Let's go."
They departed for the mall and the young amnesiac decided to
push the incident out of his mind for now. Ukyo gathered info from Ranma
and Akane about how much they had told the new boy, and was warned about
keeping an eye on him. She agreed and dropped back to talk to him
herself. Finally, when he could contain his curiosity no longer, he
asked about the huge spatula on her back. She laughed and wondered why
he didn't ask sooner and he replied that he didn't want to be rude.
"Awww, polite to the end." Ukyo smiled at him. "We just might
have to keep you around."
Kenji blushed mildly, causing Ukyo to laugh. She told him a bit
about her life in Nerima, the restaurant, school, and her relationship
with Ranma that went way back. Kenji was just about to ask her another
question when he sensed something coming from above. At first he thought
it was going to hit him or Ukyo, so he pulled her to the side, just as
it slammed into Ranma.
"Ni Hao!" came the greeting from the figure on the bicycle. It
was a Chinese girl with long purple hair and carrying a delivery box in
one hand. "Shampoo brought special ramen for husband! In return, Ranma
can take Shampoo for lunch date!"
"Ranma's married, AND he has a fiancee?" Kenji asked in
surprise.
Shampoo turned her eyes looking for the voice, and saw Kenji.
"Who you?"
He shrugged indifference, but couldn't help but notice how
well... endowed the purple-haired girl was. "The name's Kenji."
The woman smiled slightly as Akane stepped in. "Kenji-san, this
is Shampoo. Shampoo, meet Kenji," she said flatly. "And no, Ranma's not
married to her."
Shampoo frowned. "Violent tomboy find new fiance so Ranma
belong Shampoo now?"
Akane fumed while Kenji blinked. "I'm just a guest at their
house for the moment."
"Do you mind getting off me now?" came a voice from under the
bicycle. Shampoo backed off a bit allowing Ranma to get to his feet. A
tire mark ran down his face. "First off, I've already eaten lunch, and
second of all, I ain't your fiance! How many times do I have to tell
you!?"
Akane began to walk off. "Well, you can have him!" She smiled
to herself when she turned her back.
"Akane, wait!" Ranma ran after her, a smile on his lips too.
Kenji was about to say something when Ukyo laid a hand on his
arm and shook her head. "They'll be fine," she told him.
Shampoo looked slightly upset, then her beeper went off. "Hmph,
fine then. Shampoo have other deliveries to make." She bicycled off.
As Ukyo and Kenji made to catch up with Ranma and Akane, Kenji
made a comment. "I don't know what my life was like before, but it
couldn't have had as many strange people in it."
Ukyo smiled. "You have no idea..."
Kenji could only cock his head in confusion.
In her room, Nabiki completed her logon to the internet. The
computer was a definite improvement over her ledger, and she had easily
been able to afford it with the money she made from picture sales and
the bets she took on the various fights at Furinken.
The bait was a preliminary profile on Kenji she had compiled,
and now was the time to throw it out onto the internet and see if she
could get a bite. In addition to several pictures she had taken of him,
she added the rest of the information she knew.
Personal Name: Kenji
Family Name: Unknown
Age: 17
Height: 5'5"
Weight: approximately 125 lbs.
Hair: black with white stripe down the middle
Character Info: Appeared in our yard yesterday and claimed he
had no memory of who he was. Suffers from
headaches if he tries to remember. Possess some
martial arts skill, a black belt rating.
If you have any info, e-mail: icequeen@hotmail.com.
Nabiki clicked the send button, and the profile was delivered
to all her contacts and posted to several sites. Then she leaned back in
her chair.
Now all she had to do was wait.
The mall was pretty crowded, but the four managed to work from
store to store. At almost every clothing shop, Akane and Ukyo picked out
numerous outfits for Kenji to try on, and a few for themselves as well.
By the end of the day, Kenji would look back and see that at least half
his time was spent in the changing rooms. He went along with it, only
because they were his hosts and were paying for new clothes.
He noticed Ranma, for the most part, just hung back and didn't
say much. To Kenji, he looked like a fish out of water, always scanning
the crowd for an escape route or something.
During a period of relative rest, the young amnesiac was seated
on a bench while Akane dragged Ranma into a store saying something about
how he needed some new shoes. With nothing else to do at the moment,
Ukyo sat down next to him.
"But, Akane, I don't need new shoes!" Ranma complained when they
were in the store.
"Oh shut up," she told him and then pointed. "I just wanted you
to see something."
Ranma's eyes followed where she pointed and he saw Ukyo and
Kenji sitting next to each other, happily talking away. "So, what's the
big deal?"
Akane frowned at him. "Are you that blind? I think they're
hitting it off!"
Ranma choked. "Nani?"
"They seem to like each other and I think this will really help
both of them, since Ukyo's still seems kind of depressed."
"The guy's only been around since yesterday and we don't know
anything about him!" Ranma exclaimed when regained control of himself.
"I hope you're not thinking of tryin' to play matchmaker or nothin'..."
The look on Akane's face told him she was thinking along those lines.
"Ah, geez, just leave 'em alone. They'll get along fine without your
help."
"Like you're a big expert on relationships!" she yelled at him.
"Hey I can't help it if I'm so good-looking that girls naturally
fall all over me; You're the uncute one, remember?" As soon as he
finished speaking Ranma mentally kicked himself, then instinctively
braced for what would happen next. And happen it did.
Just because they had been getting along better, didn't mean
the end of their little tiff's.
In one fluid motion, the extra-dimensional mallet appeared in
Akane's hand and left it's impact on Ranma's head. He fell over and
landed on his back, doing a good impersonation of a dead bug.
"Baka," she muttered, then grabbed an arm and dragged him out
of the store.
"Come on, we're leaving," she told an astonished Kenji and a
chuckling Ukyo as she passed them. A quick look at Ukyo confirmed that
he shouldn't say anything and just follow.
As they left, Kenji couldn't help but shake his head and wonder
if the life he had before was anything like this.
oddball22@hotmail.com
DISCLAIMER: I have never, nor will I ever, say I don't deny that I don't
own or may or may not have created anything. I'm just a puppet, so
you'll have to ask the man holding my strings...
Ranma 1/2: New Challenges
Winds of Change
Chapter 3
Light spilled into the dojo, bringing Kenji out of his
slumber. He blinked his eyes a couple of times and sat up. Well, I'm
still alive. I wonder if the others are already up. He stretched the
kinks out of his arms and yawned. I could just leave now. Even if they
aren't the cause of my problems, it may not be a good idea to hang
around. Somewhere out there, someone has got to know who I am. I just
have to find them.
Standing up, he instinctively sniffed the air and caught the
mouth-watering scent of breakfast being made. Then again, I wouldn't
get far on an empty stomach.
He was just about to get dressed when he heard a couple of
voices outside.
"Is he up yet?" Akane's voice could be heard.
"I don't know," Ranma answered. "Why don't you check for
yourself."
"Baka." Akane's tone raised a couple of notches. "I was just
going to make sure he was ready for breakfast."
"Whatever." Ranma's voice trailed off as he walked away.
Next Kenji heard Akane knock at the door. "Kenji-san? Are you
awake?"
"Yeah," he replied.
"Breakfast will be ready soon."
"Okay, I'll be out shortly." Kenji grabbed the clothes that were
laying near his bed. They were the ones he was told he was wearing
yesterday when he was found. Someone must have cleaned them, since they
smelled and looked fresh.
"The only link to my past," he said softly. He stood up, got
dressed in the gray shirt and dark pants, and then went promptly into a
few stretching exercises. As his muscles loosened, what little pain
remained all but disappeared. Yet, he still couldn't recall anything
further back than yesterday.
"Well, that doc, what was his name? Oh yeah, Dr. Tofu said my
memory would return, so I guess I can't dwell on that now."
He suddenly froze in the middle of his stretching. What am I
doing? he wondered. Hmmm... Well, this seems like something I should
be doing. He finished up and headed out to the dining room after a
quick stop in the bathroom.
Washing his hands, he took a look at the face in the mirror.
Angular cheekbones highlighted his narrow face, while a pair of unknown
gray eyes stared back at him. His mostly black hair tapered down to his
shoulders, but what caught his attention was the white streak. It
started at the middle of his forehead and ran in a line, straight back
to where his hair ended just below his neck.
It scared how much he almost didn't recognize the face in the
mirror.
He shook his head to clear his mind, then headed out to the
dining room. The family made room for him at the table and he sat down
between Ranma and his father. Kenji glanced around the table, taking a
look at each of the people seated there. Soun and Genma were reading the
paper and Ranma was looking bored. Nabiki and Akane were engaged in a
light conversation.
"Sleep well, son?" Kenji turned his head to see Soun looking at
him.
"Hai," Kenji quickly replied. "I do feel a little better."
"That's good." Soun went back to his paper while he continued to
talk. "I hear Akane and Ranma are going to stop by some shops today so
you can get some clothes of your own."
Kenji started. "What are you talking about? I don't have any
money!"
"Well, we can't have you wearing the same thing everyday,"
Nabiki interjected. "And we can't have you keep wearing Ranma's stuff
either. It's bad enough to have one person in this house who insists on
wearing the same outfit everyday." Akane laughed at that but Ranma chose
to just simply ignore it.
Kenji boggled a little at Nabiki. Why's she acting nice now,
when just yesterday she was spouting off stuff about not trusting me?
He shelved that issue for the moment, as Kasumi and Nodoka began putting
food on the table. Glancing over, he noticed Genma and Ranma had already
jumped in and were cramming food in as fast as it would go.
"Better dig in now and get something before our two vacuum
cleaners inhale it all," Akane warned, indicating the two male
Saotome's. Ranma paused for a second to stick his tongue out at her.
Kenji nodded and picked up his chopsticks. Well, it could be
poisoned or drugged... His stomach rumbled quietly. Guess I don't have
a choice. He began to eat the pickled rice and miso soup.
"This is really good!" he said between bytes. "Arigato to the
cook."
Kasumi blushed. "Thank you, Kenji-san. But it's really nothing
special and Nodoka-obasama helped, too."
The meal passed quickly, except for when Ranma 'accidentily'
knocked his water glass over and splashed Kenji with it. He apologized,
but Kenji got the feeling he did it on purpose. But why would that be?
The meal ended and slowly everyone began to disperse to start
on the day's activities. Soun and Genma set up a shogi table and began
to play while Kasumi and Nodoka went back to the kitchen to clean.
Nabiki left, saying something about debt collection, while Akane
announced she was going to the dojo to workout.
"You do martial arts?" Kenji asked.
"Yeah," Akane confirmed. "This is a dojo."
Ranma stood up. "Why don't you join us? That is, if you think
you you're up to it." This will give me a chance to see what he's made
of.
Kenji's eyes narrowed as he stood to follow them out to the
dojo. "That's right. I still owe for for those sucker punches you hit me
with yesterday." He cracked his knuckles.
Ranma assumed an attack posture in the center of the room.
"Then why don't you do something about it?"
Kenji went into a more offensive stance. "This is where I deal
some payback."
"Men," Akane muttered, then glanced between the two. "Don't hurt
him, Ranma."
"I think you should be more worried for your boyfriend," Kenji
stated with a snort, then charged.
A month or two ago, Akane would have strenously denied Kenji's
remark, despite the fact he had no actual clue as to their relationship.
Now, there was nothing she wanted more. She wisely decided not to say
anything, however.
Up close, Kenji snapped a lightning fast side sick to Ranma's
face, only his target was no longer there to receive it. Kenji was
surprised for a split second, then adjusted his follow through. He leapt
upward, dodging the return sweep, then came down on Ranma's head with a
thrusting kick.
The next thing he knew, several punches impacted his chest and
he was flying across the room to land against the wall. "Wha...?" What
happened? Kenji shook his head and stood up, noting Ranma smirking at
him from the middle of the dojo floor. Anger flashed through him.
"Alright, no more kid gloves! Hyah!"
He flipped and somersaulted across the floor. As he reached his
opponent, he lashed out with a rapid foot sweep that Ranma easilt leapt
over. Kenji continued the motion while standing up, bring the same foot
around at mid-chest level. Again, he met empty air. What? was all
Kenji could think, when he felt something lightly vault off his leg and
land on his head.
"Come on, work with me here," Ranma said from his perch on
Kenji's head. "You're not that bad."
Hell with this! Kenji thought. No more holding back! His
only verbal reply was a snarl, as the amnesiac young man launched a full
offensive of almost blindingly fast punches and kicks. Surprisingly,
Ranma blocked all of them instead of dodging, but Kenji only realized
this after impacting the wall from another impromptu flight.
Sitting up, he saw Ranma shake his head. "You're all speed
mostly, but not much power. Just the opposite of Akane. Skill's not that
bad, but there's a lot of room for improvement."
Kenji rubbed the bump on his head. How'd he get so good!? I
could barely touch him! If these people are responsible for my amnesia,
I don't stand a chance. He now noticed Akane had been watching from the
sidelines, and there was a curious expression on her face.
"Well obviously he's no match for you, Ranma," Akane stated.
"Maybe I should try sparring with him." Then she turned and reduced a
few cement blocks to rubble.
Kenji blinked. What the!? Who are these people? "Uh, yeah, I
guess." He stood up.
Ranma shrugged. "Sure, I suppose." He turned to Kenji. "Be
warned, she's as tough as a gorilla!"
This time Ranma went flying across the room from a punch
delivered by Akane. She then turned to him and assumed a ready stance.
"Well, let's go!"
The amnesiac youth began to have second thoughts, but then
squelched them. You're not going to let yourself be defeated by a girl
are you? She was probably just trying to psych you out with that cement
block trick. They were probably rigged. Yeah, that's it! He brought his
hands up. "Whenever you're ready."
She grinned and attacked.
After several hours, the trio emerged from the dojo and headed
back to the house. Kenji seemed especially tired. In contrast, Ranma
wasn't sweating at all and Akane seemed to be in the middle.
Kenji did have to admit that Ranma was good, way too skilled
for him. Even though he had found out that Ranma was pulling his
punches, the impacts still hurt. was almost as fast as Ranma, but had
nowhere near the strength.
He was closer matched to Akane, but she was still able to hand
him his head in 2 out of 3 matches.
Kenji wiped his brow with a towel. "Whew! I can't remember when
I had such a workout. Of course, I can't remember much of anything." He
laughed, just because he was feeling a nice high from the physical
workout.
"I'll admit you got some potential," Ranma slapped him on the
back causing Kenji to wince in pain. "Oh, sorry man. You just need to
learn to keep your guard up."
"I'll keep that in mind."
"But seriously, you're pretty fast," he complimented. "You just
need to develop more of an instinct for where your opponent is what
they're gonna do. Also, do some strength training to make your attacks
and blocks more effective. I noticed you tended to dodge more than block
but, while that's not bad, learning to block effectively will help
improve your combat skills."
"Why don't you grab a hot bath, Kenji-san," Akane suggested.
"Than we'll take you to Ucchan's for lunch."
"Sure, why not," he replied.
"Hey Ranchan, hi Akane-chan," a girl across the counter greeted
the three as they entered the restaurant known as `Ucchan's.' Then she
frowned as she noticed Kenji. "Who's your friend?"
Ranma waved. "Hey Ucchan! This is Kenji."
Kenji stepped forward and bowed. "Ohayo, Ms...?"
Ukyo smiled and returned the bow. "Kuonji Ukyo, but you can
call me Ukyo."
"Pleased to meet you, Ukyo-san." Kenji sniffed the air. "Mmmm,
that smells pretty good."
Ukyo grinned as she poured some batter onto the grill. "Sure
is, sugar."
"Ucchan makes the best okonomiyaki in all of Japan," Ranma
explained while taking a stool by the grill. Akane sat next to him and
Kenji sat down next to her.
He took a moment to study this new girl. Quite attractive, he
realized, with the ribbon in her long chestnut-colored hair and the
purple shirt she wore. The black pants fit quite tightly and Kenji had
to avert his eyes, lest he be caught staring at her legs. Then he
noticed the huge spatula she had strapped to her back, as well as the
bandoleer of smaller spatula's across her chest. Kenji's brow furrowed
in thought as Ranma and Akane made their orders.
"What would you like on yours, Kenji-san?" Ukyo asked him.
"Oh, I don't have any money..." his voice trailed off.
"Don't worry about, it's on the house!"
"Arigato," Kenji thanked her. Why are these people being so
nice to me? "In that case, give me your specialty."
She nodded and began to work, talking as she prepared the
meals. "You know, I don't think I heard your full name, Kenji-san."
His face fell. "I don't remember..."
Ukyo looked puzzled, prompting Akane to explain the details of
yesterday. She explained his unexpected arrival and amnesia, but left
out his attacking of Kasumi, to the young man's surprise. When she was
finished, Ukyo looked sympathetic.
"Poor dear," he offered. "Don't worry though, I'm sure it'll
come back. And Tofu-sensei is the best there is. He'll find a way!"
Kenji nodded and Ukyo took a moment to study the newcomer while
she prepared the meals. He was slightly thinner than Ranma and a tad
shorter. He also appeared less muscular too, but from looking at his
sleeveless arms it was obvious he wasn't entirely weak either, and she
came came to the same conclusion as Ranma, that he was a martial artist
of sorts.
Definitely the agile, athletic type, she deduced as she read
his body language in case she had to fight him. His hair was mostly
black and hung loosely down to his shoulders. A small white streak ran
down in the middle part of his hair, from his forehead to the ends. Deep
gray eyes promised to draw her in and she had to look away lest they do
just that.
At least he doesn't appear to be a transvestite, she mused
with an internal grin.
She allowed that grin to the surface as she finished the meals,
plopped them onto three plates, and served them. Ranma was quick to dig
in as usual, while Akane ate at a slower pace. Kenji tried a piece.
"Well, how is it?" Ukyo asked after he had swallowed.
"Very good," Kenji complimented her.
Ukyo smiled in thanks. "Arigato, Kenji-san. So, have you given
any thought to what you're gonna do now?"
"I really hadn't thought about it much," he replied after a
moment. "I was thinking of leaving soon to look for any signs of my real
family. Or at least people who know me."
"Japan is a big place," Ukyo countered. "You have any leads?"
He reluctantly shook his head. "No, but what else can I do?"
"You might as well stay here, Kenji-san," Akane suggested.
"You're best chance to get your memory restored lies with Tofu-sensei.
Once you've got that back, then you'll know for certain where your
family is."
Ukyo nodded. "I have to agree with Akane-chan." An idea seemed
to pop into her head. "Say, how about coming to school in the meantime?"
Kenji frowned. "Why?"
"Well, you are 17, and truency is somewhat enforced around
here," Ukyo replied. "If it's discovered you aren't attending school,
you could get into some trouble. And I'm sure you can get transferred to
your real school once you find out where you live. I should know; I had
to attend a couple different schools as I wandered around Japan."
Ranma nodded. "Me too. That's one thing Pop couldn't get away
with a whole lot. He wanted me to train all the time, but truency
officers caught us a couple of times and forced him to send me to
school."
Ukyo chuckled. "And you'll like Furinken. One thing I'll say,
you'll never get bored!"
Ranma shook his head while Ukyo and Akane snickered. Kenji
guessed it must be some kind of inside joke. After they calmed down,
Ukyo inquired as to their plans for the day and Akane informed her that
they were just going to get a few extra pairs of clothes for Kenji, so
he had something to wear. Then added that they should get him a school
uniform as well.
Ukyo became excited. "Shopping! Ooh, can I come with you?"
Ranma gulped down the rest of his meal. "What about your
restaurant?" he asked.
"Konatsu-kun should be back soon, and he can handle the light
crowd I have between the lunch and dinner crowds," Ukyo answered.
They finished up their meals and headed outside when Konatsu
came back. Ranma seemed to focus in on something and tapped Ukyo on the
shoulder. When she looked up at him, he pointed to... a mailbox?
I didn't notice that when we came in, Kenji realized, and
watched as Ukyo became visibly upset and unholstered her huge spatula.
Fascinated, he continued to observe as she flattened the
mailbox, then scooped it up and swung at it, batter style, launching
into the sky. His eyes grew even wider as he beheld a female face
popping out of it.
"Ukyo-sama, I love youuuuuuuuuuuu!" the face said as it sped out
of sight.
"And don't come back!" Ukyo yelled.
Kenji scratched his head. "Uh...." He struggled for words.
Ukyo replaced her battle spat'. "Don't ask. Let's go."
They departed for the mall and the young amnesiac decided to
push the incident out of his mind for now. Ukyo gathered info from Ranma
and Akane about how much they had told the new boy, and was warned about
keeping an eye on him. She agreed and dropped back to talk to him
herself. Finally, when he could contain his curiosity no longer, he
asked about the huge spatula on her back. She laughed and wondered why
he didn't ask sooner and he replied that he didn't want to be rude.
"Awww, polite to the end." Ukyo smiled at him. "We just might
have to keep you around."
Kenji blushed mildly, causing Ukyo to laugh. She told him a bit
about her life in Nerima, the restaurant, school, and her relationship
with Ranma that went way back. Kenji was just about to ask her another
question when he sensed something coming from above. At first he thought
it was going to hit him or Ukyo, so he pulled her to the side, just as
it slammed into Ranma.
"Ni Hao!" came the greeting from the figure on the bicycle. It
was a Chinese girl with long purple hair and carrying a delivery box in
one hand. "Shampoo brought special ramen for husband! In return, Ranma
can take Shampoo for lunch date!"
"Ranma's married, AND he has a fiancee?" Kenji asked in
surprise.
Shampoo turned her eyes looking for the voice, and saw Kenji.
"Who you?"
He shrugged indifference, but couldn't help but notice how
well... endowed the purple-haired girl was. "The name's Kenji."
The woman smiled slightly as Akane stepped in. "Kenji-san, this
is Shampoo. Shampoo, meet Kenji," she said flatly. "And no, Ranma's not
married to her."
Shampoo frowned. "Violent tomboy find new fiance so Ranma
belong Shampoo now?"
Akane fumed while Kenji blinked. "I'm just a guest at their
house for the moment."
"Do you mind getting off me now?" came a voice from under the
bicycle. Shampoo backed off a bit allowing Ranma to get to his feet. A
tire mark ran down his face. "First off, I've already eaten lunch, and
second of all, I ain't your fiance! How many times do I have to tell
you!?"
Akane began to walk off. "Well, you can have him!" She smiled
to herself when she turned her back.
"Akane, wait!" Ranma ran after her, a smile on his lips too.
Kenji was about to say something when Ukyo laid a hand on his
arm and shook her head. "They'll be fine," she told him.
Shampoo looked slightly upset, then her beeper went off. "Hmph,
fine then. Shampoo have other deliveries to make." She bicycled off.
As Ukyo and Kenji made to catch up with Ranma and Akane, Kenji
made a comment. "I don't know what my life was like before, but it
couldn't have had as many strange people in it."
Ukyo smiled. "You have no idea..."
Kenji could only cock his head in confusion.
In her room, Nabiki completed her logon to the internet. The
computer was a definite improvement over her ledger, and she had easily
been able to afford it with the money she made from picture sales and
the bets she took on the various fights at Furinken.
The bait was a preliminary profile on Kenji she had compiled,
and now was the time to throw it out onto the internet and see if she
could get a bite. In addition to several pictures she had taken of him,
she added the rest of the information she knew.
Personal Name: Kenji
Family Name: Unknown
Age: 17
Height: 5'5"
Weight: approximately 125 lbs.
Hair: black with white stripe down the middle
Character Info: Appeared in our yard yesterday and claimed he
had no memory of who he was. Suffers from
headaches if he tries to remember. Possess some
martial arts skill, a black belt rating.
If you have any info, e-mail: icequeen@hotmail.com.
Nabiki clicked the send button, and the profile was delivered
to all her contacts and posted to several sites. Then she leaned back in
her chair.
Now all she had to do was wait.
The mall was pretty crowded, but the four managed to work from
store to store. At almost every clothing shop, Akane and Ukyo picked out
numerous outfits for Kenji to try on, and a few for themselves as well.
By the end of the day, Kenji would look back and see that at least half
his time was spent in the changing rooms. He went along with it, only
because they were his hosts and were paying for new clothes.
He noticed Ranma, for the most part, just hung back and didn't
say much. To Kenji, he looked like a fish out of water, always scanning
the crowd for an escape route or something.
During a period of relative rest, the young amnesiac was seated
on a bench while Akane dragged Ranma into a store saying something about
how he needed some new shoes. With nothing else to do at the moment,
Ukyo sat down next to him.
"But, Akane, I don't need new shoes!" Ranma complained when they
were in the store.
"Oh shut up," she told him and then pointed. "I just wanted you
to see something."
Ranma's eyes followed where she pointed and he saw Ukyo and
Kenji sitting next to each other, happily talking away. "So, what's the
big deal?"
Akane frowned at him. "Are you that blind? I think they're
hitting it off!"
Ranma choked. "Nani?"
"They seem to like each other and I think this will really help
both of them, since Ukyo's still seems kind of depressed."
"The guy's only been around since yesterday and we don't know
anything about him!" Ranma exclaimed when regained control of himself.
"I hope you're not thinking of tryin' to play matchmaker or nothin'..."
The look on Akane's face told him she was thinking along those lines.
"Ah, geez, just leave 'em alone. They'll get along fine without your
help."
"Like you're a big expert on relationships!" she yelled at him.
"Hey I can't help it if I'm so good-looking that girls naturally
fall all over me; You're the uncute one, remember?" As soon as he
finished speaking Ranma mentally kicked himself, then instinctively
braced for what would happen next. And happen it did.
Just because they had been getting along better, didn't mean
the end of their little tiff's.
In one fluid motion, the extra-dimensional mallet appeared in
Akane's hand and left it's impact on Ranma's head. He fell over and
landed on his back, doing a good impersonation of a dead bug.
"Baka," she muttered, then grabbed an arm and dragged him out
of the store.
"Come on, we're leaving," she told an astonished Kenji and a
chuckling Ukyo as she passed them. A quick look at Ukyo confirmed that
he shouldn't say anything and just follow.
As they left, Kenji couldn't help but shake his head and wonder
if the life he had before was anything like this.