Chapter # 9
Kyoto,
mid 1800's-
Pellets of perspiration
glittered in the hot summer sun. The
thick air made it hard on breathing and endurance. The trickle of blood that ran from one arm didn't seem to stop
because of the immense amounts energy being pumped up and used. The bitter heat intensified things so every
muscle ached with pain. Lack of wind
and water just added to the otherwise perfect effect: training was fun.
Judging by the shadows made, it
was high noon that hour. Ranma knew
it. He could tell by the way his hair
was plastered to his forehead with sweat. There wasn't any other time of day that would do that to him. Not even a cloud would pass by in order to
give him protection from the sun's rays. He huffed a few last times (a grand total of five) before he forced
himself to move on to his next drill. Already had a series of sweeps, kicks, punches, rolls, and combinations
been practiced. He had just finished a
Tai Chi form to calm himself down before proceeding.
It had been three days since
Ranma arrived at this strange place, this Kamiya dojo. The place in history where swords were
outlawed, and the West was making important contact with Japan on the issues of
technology and foreign relations. And
then there was this place he stayed in. It was an old style dojo-more traditional than Mr. Tendou's even!-where
lived a beautiful young girl named Kaoru, a boy with a chip on his shoulder
named Yahiko; then who visited was a sneaky female doctor named Megumi and a
bad-boy ex-punk named Sanosuke. Then
there was where Ranma fit into all of this. As he whipped the sweat off of his head he thought back to the conversation
he had with Sano the first day he'd shown up in Kyoto.~
Sanosuke now knew the truth of
Ranma's predicament, but now they were both up a stump. Ranma started optimistically, "So when do
you think I should tell the-"
"You don't."
Ranma cast a suspicious look at
Sanosuke. He said, "And just why
not? I told you! I'd think you of all people would want to
let your other friends in on this little secret."
The light chattering seeping out
from inside the dojo solidified Sanosuke's opinion. He responded, "Nope. You
can't let on. Yeah you told me, or more
like confessed! I knew that you
couldn't be the same Kenshin that I had been talking to just hours before. That was no news to me. The others may react in a bad way."
"Are you saying that I did not
surprise you in the slightest? Especially when you saw me in my girl-type form?"
The thought made Sanosuke smile
both out of embarrassment and amusement. He came back, "Okay, you've got me there, but I still don't think it
wise to tell them. Particularly not
Kaoru, Megumi, or Yahiko."
A vein popped out of Ranma's
head as he stated, "That's everyone."
"Oh. Right. Well you shouldn't
anyway. If you told one of them it
would surely get around to all of them. And you definitely don't want Kaoru to find out. She's feeling skeptical about your recovery
as it is."
"Skeptical?! What's there to be skeptical about?"
Sanosuke punched him on the head
first realizing, * Hey, this is pretty fun being able to do this to someone!*
then answering, "She can tell your attitude difference. There's a major one. The Kenshin we know is calm, tranquil,
helpful, peaceful, passive-"
"-Yadda, yadda, yadda. I get the picture. He's a wuss. That's all
ya have'ta say."
The last comment made Sanosuke extremely
cross. He shot back, "Kenshin may have
his moments, but he is not to be underestimated. He is the best swordsman in all of Japan; in all the world
of all we know! So don't knock him down
before I have to knock you down with my own foot!"
He wasn't in the mood for
another verbal fight so Ranma just let the threat pass. He said, "Okay! Alright. I'll make with
the sweet-guy(he resisted using 'pussy' as an adjective) act until we can get
this straightened out."
"Good. Because Kaoru wouldn't take to this situation very well." Ranma gave an inquisitive look. "It's
because of the relationship she has with Kenshin."
"Wait, whoa, they don't love
each other, do they? I have enough of
those problems back home!"
Nerima,
1990's-
Akane, Shampoo, Kodachi, and
Ukyo sneezed.
Kyoto,
mid 1880's-
Getting back on track, Sanosuke
rubbed the back of his neck and sighed, "I'm just not sure what to think of it
myself. If they do, they have never
come out and said it. Kenshin always
say's there's too big of an age gap anyway. But the way he looks at her sometimes, it makes ya wonder. Even as his best friend, he's never given
any straight shots as to how he feels about her."
"And," Ranma probed, "How does
she feel about him?"
"Wait!" Silence remained for a
few moments as Sanosuke leaned his head against the doorframe. Finally he answered, "I can hear them
now. Megumi's talking." He paused for a
moment. "She says that Kaoru is worrying too much. That this whole thing with your behavior change may be just a
temporary thing due to your head injury." Ranma found this curious since his head hadn't been hurting since he
first woke up. He figured a well
trained martial artist would be able to take any kind of bump like that no
problem. "Hold on…Yahiko is talking now. He says you've dishonored him more than once now, and that's
unacceptable."
* Dang!* Ranma thought, * Sounds like freakin'
Ryoga!*
The lights shot up in Sanosuke's face suddenly. He listened closer to the conversation going
on inside the dojo. Moments later he
said, "It's Kaoru, she sounds like she's weeping."
Ranma slapped his hand to his head and thought, * Aw
man! Don't tell me I made another chick
cry!* He said vocally, "But why?"
"She says…she was frightened for your well-being
when she saw you surrounded by those officers. But then, she feared for your life when she saw the orb of light burst
then suck you in. Things have only gone
downhill from there."
The words spoken made Ranma see that in this case,
Sano would be his only friend he could be open to until he was out of this dilemma. Understanding the situation he nodded and
said, "Okay. You've convinced me. I don't tell anyone my true identity." Sanosuke smiled.~
A wood
pole with a rope tied around it had been erected as part of Ranma's
training. The idea was, of course, to
strike at it in order to condition the body for hard hits by opponents. He walked up to it now. The sun was killing him, but Ranma knew it
was good for tolerance and endurance training. He stood with one leg forward and arms up in a fighting position. He took in a breath and then in a burst of
speed and motion he wound up a kick and threw it at the pole when-
"Ranma!" came a loud voice.
The boy stopped in his tracks, inches away from the
pole. He turned around and shielded his
eyes from the sun. There stood a
confident Sanosuke with his hands in his pockets.
Sanosuke smirked, "Heh. How 'bout you stop wasting your time on that pole and come have a
real fight. I'm instigating that
challenge you invited me to. I think
I've let you train long enough. Besides," he added, "I need to work off some steam after having a bad
night gambling yesterday."
With a 'swack' Ranma completed his interrupted kick slicing the pole clean in half. He smiled with anticipation and said, "You're on."
