DISCLAIMER: I own very little, and this is not among my holdings. This is a labor of love (lust).
The Courtship of Ranma Saotome
By Ferris Wiel
Chapter 1
It was a beautifully sunny afternoon in Nerima. The land seemed to be stretching and yawning, awakening from its winter slumber. The residents were electrified by the simple pleasantry of the climate. Forgotten were the raincoats and galoshes of the past few months.
Along with the warmer weather, the carnival had come to town. It bustled, buzzed and hummed with excitement and activity. People readily plunked down their yen in contests of strength, skill, and silliness to win tacky prizes of all shapes and kinds.
Ranma Saotome walked quietly along with his friends Hiroshi and Daisuke among the other carnival-goers. The two boys had decided that Ranma was being much too serious and that it would do him good to go out and enjoy himself. They poked at and made fun of each other like boys often do, trying to distract him from the matters which clouded his countenance, but Ranma himself was lost in thought. In the weeks following the botched wedding between himself and Akane Tendo he found himself doing this far more often.
Each time his thoughts carried him away, he considered exactly what his relationship was with her. Was she the friend he could trust, or was she a crush he hoped to eventually reveal? Was she was she the unwanted tomboy fiancée thrust upon him by family honor and duty? Every time he felt he had a read on who she was to him, she would hug him or hit him or smile at him and shatter his perceptions of her. And recently every time they saw each other there was an uneasy silence.
Additionally, things seemed more uncomfortable between them than they had been before the whole Saffron affair. Before things hadn't been at all serious. Akane hadn't nearly died; Ranma hadn't wept over her, let alone given in to the idea that he may actually love her. All of this weighed heavily on him as he was forced to think over his next move and, as a result, the next step in their "relationship."
The squawk of a megaphone awakened him from his thoughts. Looking to his left he spied a western-style strength test complete with mallet and bell. This one was a little more intriguing, though. Instead of just hitting the pedal and making the bell-ringer rise up the pole, the pedal moved from side to side forcing the player to time the hit. He turned to Daisuke, "Heh, hitting a moving target with a mallet, Akane would win that contest easy." Daisuke broke out in guffaws. Ranma approached the booth.
The vendor held a megaphone to his mouth, "Step right up! 500 yen to test your strength and agility! Hit the pedal and win a prize! Hit the bell and win a bigger one! So simple a child could do it!" He looked at Ranma, "How about you? You look like a sturdy young man with a strong back. Why not give it a go?"
Ranma raised an eyebrow, "No, that's fine, I ain't into these rigged carnival games."
The vendor pressed on, "Come on now. It's not that hard, the prizes are worth the effort. I think you've got a shot at it. There's something special about you."
Taken only slightly aback with the last compliment, Ranma quickly regained composure, "Uh, no, that's alright."
Seeing that he had found his mark, the vendor went in for the kill, "If you can hit the bell three times in a row, I have two round-trip tickets to China for you." He smiled smugly, confidently.
"China?" Ranma couldn't pass up an opportunity like this. He laid down the 1500 yen necessary for three tries. Then he focused, "Two round-trip tickets to China? This isn't a joke, we're talking the country of China?"
The vendor didn't blink, "The country of China. You have to hit the bell, though."
Mallet in hand, Ranma concentrated on the pedal, it was moving more swiftly now than it had previously, but hitting it would still be no trouble for him. He was a martial artist.
He swung, and "BONG!" the bell went off.
"That's one." The vendor seemed only a little concerned, although he didn't recall actually seeing the mallet move.
"BONG!"
"Uh, that's two." Now the vendor was very concerned. Two in a row, and the kid had solid hits, those were the only kind that could ring the bell like that. He flipped a switch to increase the pedal's speed to its maximum.
Ranma noticed, and looked over at the vendor.
"Hey, we never said I couldn't speed the machine up." He smiled nervously.
A little agitated, Ranma shrugged it off and the whole world slowed down. The pedal was clear and in sight. The speed didn't matter, though; it was relative. His mind was faster, as were his hands and body.
"BONG!"
"That's three," Ranma said as he put the mallet down. "Where are the tickets?"
The vendor was in shock. He said nothing; he just looked blankly at the boy who had ruined an entire day of business. He then pulled out a briefcase and removed two airline vouchers with his special account number from the inner pocket. He filled out the necessary information for Ranma's round-trip ticket to China and handed them over.
Ranma was a little surprised to be actually holding tickets to China in his hands, "Well, um, it was nice doing business with you."
Once again, the vendor spoke up, "You'll just need to go to the airline ticket window and request the tickets, just remember, these are business class, not first. That was never part of the deal. Got it?"
"I got it." Ranma then approached Daisuke and Hiroshi who had been watching the whole affair, "Now, you guys, I don't want either one of you to mention what just happened here. Got it? I ain't in the mood to fight off crazies who want my tickets." He glared a little as he said it.
Both nodded and gulped, they knew Ranma wasn't normally the violent type, especially against non-martial artists. Still, it was best to stay on his good side.
*****
The sky was pink and orange. The blazing ball of gas that is the earth's sun had already started to vanish. Stray clouds looked like brightly colored wisps of cotton stuck to the sky.
On his way home, Ranma encountered the usual loony bunch, Kodachi attacked him with hypnosis powder, Shampoo glomped him twice, Ryoga tried to fight him, and Kuno...well, Kuno was just Kuno. Finally, Ranma arrived back at the Tendo Dojo.
Dinner was almost ready to be served and Ranma was famished. He went to wash up and almost bumped in to Akane. There was an awkward silence as there had been several times over the previous few weeks.
They regarded each other quietly before she spoke up, "So, how was your day?"
"Uhh, it was good. I, uh," he thought better of telling her about his prize. "How was yours?"
She shifted uncomfortably, "It was nice. I ran into Akari and Ryoga. Things seem to be going well for them."
Ranma wasn't sure what to say, "Well, that's nice, uh, I hear dinner is ready, we better get moving."
Akane looked down, "Yeah, you're right."
She continued downstairs while he went on to wash his hands. *Why can't I ever think of anything to say? I'm trying to be nice, but, what can I do? Why can't we go back to the way things were?*
Stopping in his room, he dug into his travel pack and pulled out a metal box. He took off the necklace he was wearing that had a small key hanging from it and unlocked the box. Inside were all of his earthly "treasures." Among them were a picture of Akane similar to the one that he had taken on his trip back to Jusenkyo with Plum and the crew, a bamboo leaf with his name and another with Akane's, one of Akane's cookies that had made him deathly ill, the scarf Akane had made for him, and in the bottom of the box was a ribbon tying together the black hair that had been removed by Ryoga's errant airborne belt. He picked the hair up and inhaled the scent; she still used the same soap and its intoxicating fragrance clung to the locks.
Quickly realizing that if his mother caught him behaving in such an um-manly fashion it could mean sudden death, Ranma pulled the two airline vouchers from his pocket and placed them in the box. He then locked the box and put it back in his travel pack.
Knowing that it would appear to be quite suspicious if he didn't arrive for dinner on time, he headed down and took his usual seat next to Akane.
Dinner went off without incident, an anomaly in the Tendo household. Afterward, Ranma went to the roof to consider.
*I have two tickets. Who should I give the other one to? I'm going to have to hide these or use them soon. Hiding them would be worthless. They'd be found pretty quickly. I guess that leaves using them. I need to go quietly with somebody who won't try and double-cross me. Then I'd be able to bring back a few bottles of the right water so that Pop, Shampoo, Ryoga and Mousse can get cured. I could take Akane with me, but-*
"Ranma," Akane spoke up from the top of the ladder.
Ranma almost fell off the roof, "What-oh, Akane. Hi."
Akane looked at him. "You've been up here for three hours, what's up?"
He got defensive, "Why should anything be up? Can't I just come up and be alone?" He flinched after he said it, realizing she was just concerned.
"Look, Ranma, we need to talk. It's about us. Ever since the wedding or near wedding, or whatever, we haven't been the same. Before, we could at least talk to each other, even if we were fighting. Now it's different. You don't say anything to me any more; it's like you're avoiding me."
Ranma looked on, surprised by her uncharacteristic candor.
Akane continued, "I think it's time we started making some decisions. We've been in a holding pattern for the past year and I'm getting tired of waiting. I mean, I know you feel something for me, but I'm not sure what and I want to know where I stand."
Ranma gulped, "A-Akane, I'm not sure. I don't want to hurt you. I don't want to hurt Ukyo, or even Shampoo. I mean, this has been hard enough being forced into an engagement, but you haven't made it any easier for me. Your attitude's different every day. You get mad when it even looks like I'm checking you out but you're hurt if I don't look at you. You get mad if you think I'm looking at the other girls, but if I try and keep you from being alone with guys like Ryoga you get mad, too. You hug me and then you hit me a bunch 'a' times. C'mon, who are you to judge?"
She looked a little stung, "Ranma, you have to make up your mind. I don't mean that I want you to tell me if you love me or not. I'm just as confused as you are. I didn't ask for this engagement. I'm trying to make heads or tails out of what is going on. You can be great sometimes, but then you make fun of me and pick on me. I want to be an equal with the person I spend the rest of my life with. Could you ever see me as that? You need to really think about it. If you really care about me you have got to start acting like you respect me or you could lose me someday."
He looked down. He knew.
"Good night, Ranma," and with that, Akane went back down the ladder and to bed.
Ranma remained atop the roof for about an hour and then went to bed himself.
*****
The sun rose, but it was of no consequence. Today would not be an inspired day for Ranma Saotome. He was awake prior to sunrise. He was glad that school was winding down and that he'd have summer vacation soon. It was a short, but welcome break from his lessons. In spite of all of his training and missions, he still felt he was in class far too often.
The sun on his face did little to invigorate him; he prepared for school half-heartedly. Akane knocked on his door as usual. "Come in."
Akane was carrying her bag, "you're ready already?"
"I've been up for a while and Pops and I didn't practice this morning." He went back to preparing his bookbag, even though he was packed.
"Well, don't wait around too long, I'd like to get to school on time today."
Ranma punched his bag, "Damn it!"
Breakfast was just starting as he got to the table, he attacked his meal with half of the usual enthusiasm and it was obvious to Akane.
She decided to say nothing about it until they were on the way to school, "Are you okay, Ranma?"
"Huh?" Ranma looked over at her; he wasn't walking on the fence. "Yeah, I'm fine."
"I'm just a little concerned," Akane continued, "you've been thinking a lot lately and you're not much of a thinker usually."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Ranma was offended. "I think all the time. Just because I don't have to think as long as everybody else, doesn't mean I ain't a thinker."
"Forget it. Why do I bother talking to you?" Akane began walking more swiftly.
*No point in pursuing it. I'll just let her be, as usual. She'll be okay, and why do I care if she is anyway? I bend over backwards for her.*
When they arrived at school, Akane and Ranma sat in the back row; both wanted to avoid the usual annoyances. Although, following the wedding, those annoyances had been fewer and further between.
Class started and a medium-height dark-haired boy stood at the front of the room with the teacher, "Class, I want to introduce Takeshi Nogitoma, he is starting class very late in the year but I hope you will all welcome him with enthusiasm."
Akane's eyes widened. *Takeshi? Wait, I know him! We were friends as children!* "Takeshi, come sit over here!"
Ranma watched this newcomer very closely. He didn't like how Akane was so familiar with him so quickly. The boy went and sat next to Akane and they struck up conversation very quickly before the lesson began.
Ranma stewed. *I don't like the looks of this.*
During first period, Akane wondered why Takeshi had returned. She scribbled a note quickly and dropped it on Takeshi's desk subtly, "What are you doing back?"
Takeshi read the note quickly and wrote a response, "My aunt's husband died and my father is the executor of the estate. He also wants to move back to Nerima because it's quiet here."
Akane wrote back, "So, you're in school for the last two weeks of the year? Why didn't you just take a holiday?"
He responded, "My father says, and I agree, that it's important to be in school whenever possible because opportunities to learn are always available."
She marveled at this, Ranma was nothing like this boy. This boy was sensible and intelligent. He had charm and was thoughtful, she replied, "Well, it's good to have you back."
The bell rang for second period and Takeshi walked Akane to her next class, girl's PE, and then joined the boy's PE class already changing in the locker room.
Ranma approached Takeshi in an easy fashion, "Hey, I'm Ranma Saotome. So, you're an old friend of Akane's?"
Takeshi was friendly, "Oh, yeah. We go way back. We grew up together here in Nerima. We were very close friends."
The martial artist considered this, "So, you were just friends?"
Under the spotlight, Takeshi reddened a little, "Well, I did have a bit of a crush on her back then. She never knew it, though."
At this, Daisuke chirped, "Doesn't everybody? But hands off, she's-"
"Not worth the trouble," Ranma finished quickly. "Yeah, Akane's a lot of trouble." This guy was really starting to get to him. "There are lots of girls here at school, though, and they're always interested in a new guy. Maybe Daisuke and Hiroshi could take you around and show 'em to you."
"That'd be nice, but I plan on spending some time with Akane, just to catch up," Takeshi had finished changing and was on his way out of the locker room.
The activity in PE that day for the boys was wrestling. Ranma squared off with Takeshi. He knew he would have to go easy because the new guy was not a trained martial artist. Ranma was pinned in the first match.
On all subsequent attempts against the new student, Ranma won, but the initial loss made him very uncomfortable. After class, he approached Takeshi, "You were pretty good out there."
"Oh, I went to the regional competition for my old school. You were fantastic, though. Do you wrestle, Ranma?"
"No," it was clear that Ranma was unnerved, "Well, not really, I do other things." He paused, "You were awfully quick and precise. Have you had any other training?"
"I've had a few kick-boxing lessons, but I abhor violence." Takeshi smiled, "I find that logical negotiation solves problems much more quickly than a few blows to the head."
Ranma nodded warily then mumbled, "And you say you were close friends with Akane?"
*****
After PE, Ranma headed for lunch, glad that Kasumi had packed a box for him. He went to find Akane so he could sit with her and try and make up for that morning. He found her seated with Takeshi and giggling like he had never seen before. Apparently there was some funny childhood memory that the two were sharing. Ranma sat alone at lunch that day.
The rest of the classes went by rather quickly. Ranma was glad to see that the day had ended and that Akane would be headed home with him like usual. He watched the pair carefully, outside of the building.
After school, Takeshi explained that he had acting lessons that afternoon, but that he'd love to meet up with Akane for dinner if possible. She agreed eagerly. It was not often that she got to see somebody "normal" in Nerima. They hugged their good-byes.
Ranma approached as Takeshi left, "So, you and that guy seemed pretty close today," he had a tight smirk on his face.
Akane turned to face him, smiling, "Yeah, we're old friends. We grew up together until we were thirteen, then he moved away." She started walking home.
Ranma's smirk faded as he turned to follow, he didn't like this. "So you two were good friends? That's all," he baited her.
Akane, still smiling serenely, said, "Yes, we are. And we're going to dinner tonight."
He didn't like this at all. Takeshi was having dinner with Akane? Ranma calmed himself. It wasn't a big deal. They were childhood friends. "Where are you meeting?"
"He's coming to the house to pick me up in his convertible."
Ranma stopped walking. Akane didn't notice.
*****
Akane rummaged through her closets to find a nice outfit for her outing. She picked a yellow summer dress and a pair of sandals. *I'm so excited! I haven't seen him for years and now he's back. This is wonderful! A friendly face, and acting lessons! Somebody I can talk to, it will be great.* She threw on her outfit and checked herself in the mirror. *I need to brush my hair. Should I paint my nails? Not enough time. Should I wear makeup? Eye shadow and lip gloss, maybe.*
Ranma hung outside the window watching her get ready. *She's acting like such a girl. Well, that's better than the tomboy act she always pulls around me.* He noticed she was putting on perfume. *Perfume? Since when does she wear that?*
As she left her room he went back inside to continue his surveillance. He paid close attention. There was a knock at the front door. Kasumi hurried to answer it, but Ranma beat her there.
"Hey, Takeshi! Tendo residence here, come on in!" He smiled wanly and invited the new boy into the house. He turned upstairs and yelled, "Akane, Takeshi's here!"
"I know, Ranma," she said from behind him.
He jumped, then belly-laughed, "Ha ha ha! That's my fiancée, always ready, always aware!" He put his arm around Akane, "So, Takeshi, how long have you known my fiancée Akane?"
Akane pulled away, "Ranma, you're acting a little strange. Even for you."
He laughed again, "Ha ha ha! You're so quick. But that's you, my fiancee, Akane Tendo!"
Akane eyed him warily, "Well, we'd best get going. Don't wait up, we've got a lot of catching up to do. Good thing tomorrow is a holiday."
Ranma scowled as they left. He tried to busy himself as the evening wore on. By eleven o'clock his nerves were fried. "We don't know anything about him," he said to Kasumi, who was playing Shogi with him.
"Of course we do. He's always been an upstanding boy. If I remember, he won a citizenship award last spring, too," Kasumi smiled serenely.
"Oh, yeah, he's a saint in the public eye, but c'mon, he's gotta have some dark side, he's a guy after all," Ranma insisted.
"Well, I had one of my girls tail them this evening because I always watch out for my little sister, plus I thought I could get you to buy the photos and written details of the evening. For your information, 'The Takeshi Report' will be available tomorrow afternoon for the small price of 2500 yen." Nabiki grinned at Ranma.
He wasn't excited about having to purchase information about his own fiancee, especially not from Nabiki, somebody who made the Japanese Mafia's collection tactics look like those of a troop of Girl Scouts.
*****
Akane was having the time of her life. First, they went to dinner at a small French restaurant she had wanted to visit for a long time, and the owner of which was a business contact of Takeshi's father whom they had met while living on the outskirts of Paris. The headwaiter had them seated upon arrival and they ordered shortly after that. During their meal they talked about the missing years, life in general, their mothers - both of whom had passed away, and they laughed over some of the old stories from their childhood when Akane would get in fights to protect him from the bullies.
The wax dripped slowly down the candles, forming pools at their bases. Akane realized that they had been there for over two hours, then at 7:15 Takeshi looked at his watch and noted that they had to get going. She was confused, but they left the restaurant after he paid and went to a theater where he had tickets for the American musical, "Guys and Dolls."
She glowed with excitement; she had never been to an American musical with professional performers before, "Weren't these tickets expensive?"
"My father owns a box here and the tickets were going to go unused if we didn't come. I hope this is okay," he smiled warmly.
"Oh, of course!"
"Wonderful, we'd better hurry or we'll miss the opening scene." They went inside.
After the musical, Takeshi took her out for ice cream back in her neighborhood. He then noticed how tired she was, and walked her home from the corner shop.
At 11:45pm the door opened and Akane floated in with a peaceful smile on her face. Ranma rushed to her, "What happened? Did he try to hurt you? Why are you so late?"
She yawned, "Ranma? What are you doing up still? It's almost midnight."
Ranma yanked on his hair, "That's why I'm up! You weren't home yet!"
Akane looked puzzled, "You were concerned? There's no reason to be, I was fine. No, I was fantastic. I had a great time. He took me to dinner, and then to a play. But enough about that, it's time for bed. Good night, Ranma."
Ranma sat in a state of shock in the main hallway for the next few hours.
End Chapter 1
*****
Author's Notes: This is the first of a series of fanfics I'm writing (as you can tell by the "Chapter 1" denotation at the beginning). One of my fears is that anyone would think this is a self-insertion fic. It is not. I am nothing like the new character. In truth I'm much more of an ass. I also hate anything considered "cultured" like French Restaurants and Broadway musicals. Finally, I never went out for any sports and know only very little about kick-boxing. As a matter of fact, this character is probably the antithesis of me. And quit your bitching about his western-style date. He's grown up living the high life and has more than likely traveled over the years and picked and chosen his lifestyle to reflect the habits of those cultures he's visited, I guess.
You will note that Takeshi knows little of how busy the Nerima ward has gotten since he left. The whole, "it's quieter here" thing was a joke. It was supposed to be funny. Really. Laugh. Thanks.
The idea for this series came to me after I had re-read the "Ranma and Juliet" story line in the manga. I considered that, while Akane might or might not love Ranma, what would happen if somebody who shared her non-martial-arts interests were to show up? Somebody who appreciates theater, who was non-violent, and somebody who treated Akane like a lady without attempting to get in her skirt. I figured the best way to do this was to bring back somebody from her childhood who she had been good friends with. This would lay the groundwork for a relationship, perceived or otherwise. He has no deep dark secrets. He's a good guy and a normal person who has been dropped into the piranha tank of Nerima.
The other part of the idea came from Dave Wolverton's "The Courtship of Princess Leia," available from Bantam books. I read it and had some initial misgivings about the story working with the Star Wars universe. It is a wonderful book, though, if you're into Star Wars. The idea of Amazons and new suitors seemed more appropriate for Ranma 1/2. That was that, then. I had to write a story about Amazons and new suitors.
I realize that the largest portion of my notes have had to deal with the arrival of Takeshi Nogitoma. (If anybody has suggestions for a better Japanese boy's name please let me know. I found this one in an article about those little digital pet things although I don't remember if I spelled it correctly.)
I also refuse to use, outside of names (ie, Takeshi) and curse descriptions (ie, Onna-Ranma), to utilize Japanese terms, phrases, and pet names (ie, Baka, Arigato, "Ranma no Hentai," Oneechan). I don't believe this will make my story any weaker, and in my personal opinion, I find the use of these terms (especially those misused like "Ranma-Chan" for girl-type Ranma) distracting. It is a given that they are speaking Japanese. There is no need to reinforce that. Yes, blah blah blah, it's a beautiful language and I'm missing the color. But I guess the Graphic Novels missed a large portion of the color because kawaiikune was "uncute tomboy," baka was "moron, jerk, idiot" and Ukyo called Ranma "Ranma honey." Oh, well. So don't bother me about any of this.
C/C are appreciated in other areas, though. Especially at this stage when I'm in the process of revising the story. I know, I know. Everybody says, "Just write." I'm a little neurotic about this, though. I want the piece to be good. Getting things straightened out here in the first chapter will help for the later ones. Please be brutal. Flames will make me cry, but I'll deal.
Areas of concern:
*Let me know if the dialogue is realistic. The same goes for interior monologue. Those are contained within *'s.
*Are the characters are behaving the way they should? Bear in mind, of course, that my story line takes the position that things grew very uncomfortable between Ranma and Akane. The uneasiness occurred after his proclamation of love for her following the Saffron battle, and her display of willingness to self-sacrifice for Ranma to be a "whole man" again in going through with the wedding.
*Should I flesh out or trim any other areas at this point?
*Does it flow? Understand that the airline ticket has a large role later on in the story.
*Is it just me or am I a little verbose here in my author's notes?
Thanks.