Power
A Ranma 1/2 Fanfic by Intrasonic
> brackets denote Chinese speech
It was nearing 7:00 in the evening as Akane
stood at the bus stop. Two blocks south and one block east of the dojo,
it was adequately out of sight that there was no chance of anyone from
home seeing her get on. More importantly, no one would see her get on the
same bus as Ranma.
Paranoid? Perhaps, but Nabiki had stressed
the importance of planning ahead. If a minor precaution like this could
avoid a conflict in the long run, it was smart to take it. All the better
to make this a successful date, of course.
Not a date, Akane corrected quickly. Simply
an outing, with a secondary purpose of helping her make up her mind about
Ranma. To decide whether or not he was actually worth pursuing. She was
positive that the option was open, and Nabiki had thought so too.
Not only was she interested in Ranma, he was no doubt interested in her,
her older sister had stated. This outing was just as much a chance for
him to see if he was really interested in her.
And why wouldn't he be? She was cute enough
that half the male population of Furinken had fought to date her. And she
was a martial artist, just like the rest of his fiancees. That had always
been the case. And more recently, she'd proven to him that she wasn't just
a second-rate martial artist. And she'd been extra-nice to him lately.
Even he couldn't have failed to notice all this. And considering how that
combination had made him interested in his other fiancees, how could he
not become interested in her now?
Having followed this logical train of thought
for the nth time, Akane tried to allow it to reassure her again. Logical
or not, her stomach didn't seem quite convinced. It was presently engaged
in various acrobatics and trying to tell her how nervous she was
feeling at the moment.
She vehemently pushed aside those feelings.
She wasn't nervous. Not at all. There was absolutely no reason for her
to be nervous. After all, what did she have to lose? Ranma? How big of
a deal was that?
Akane leaned back against the side of the
bus stop. Sighing, she inwardly admitted that perhaps she was nervous.
And that perhaps she was more than a little hopeful at the outcome of this...
outing. She'd seen an entirely new side of Ranma lately. One that didn't
insult her, but actually complimented her. One that didn't look down at
her, but that respected her. One that was tolerable... enjoyable... perhaps
even desirable.
And this 'outing' was quite possibly going
to determine whether she was ever going to have a chance at it.
Ranma was presently deep in thought.
Some decisions were meant to be made with
fists and feet. But some lent themselves to careful thought and planning.
Years of training had made him an expert at making the first kind of decision,
but they had only done a little for the second kind. As a result, when
convinced that careful thought was necessary, Ranma did it... very carefully.
His present dilemma was not an unusual one,
but important things were at stake. Very important things. Things that
he could regret for a long time to come if he made the wrong decision.
With a quiet squeak, the bus he was riding
on came to a halt, the doors sliding open to admit a passenger.
Akane.
After paying her fare and briefly exchanging
pleasantries with the driver, she scanned the length of the bus. Spotting
Ranma, she came over to sit next to him. "Hi."
Ranma was abruptly jolted from his thoughts
as he realized she was there. "Oh... uh, hi, Akane. Didn't notice you get
on."
Rapidly, his mind re-cycled through the various
options he had contemplated. He still hadn't made up his mind. Akane was
going to be at the movies with him, she still had the tickets, and-
Akane was silent at the moment as well. Her
mind was presently in the process of freezing up. How to respond? Act casual...
this was just an outing, not a date-
"Hey, 'kane?" he began.
Act casual. "Y-yes?"
Reluctantly, but seeing no other way to make
up his mind, Ranma posed his dilemma to her. "D'you think I should use
my girl-form to get some free food at the theatre?"
Akane blinked. "Excuse me?"
"Should I scam some food at the theatre with
my girl-form?"
Akane forced her mind to focus on the question.
Nabiki had talked with her about this issue. There was a good chance, she
had said, that Ranma would use his (admittedly well-endowed) female form
to charm some free food from the theatre confectionaries. If that happened,
she was supposed to downplay the matter, but suggest that he immediately
turn male again afterwards. But Nabiki hadn't mentioned what to say if
Ranma actually asked permission...
And why was he asking permission anyway? Was
he actually so interested in her that he was valuing her opinion? And if
that was the case, how should she respond?
"...Akane? You okay?"
She blinked, realizing that she'd contemplated
the issue a little too long while staring at Ranma. "Y-yes, I'm fine. Uh...
I guess it's okay. But you should turn back to a guy after."
Ranma smiled. "Right!"
Akane briefly allowed herself to enjoy the
smile. Truth be told, Ranma did have a nice smile at times. Casual,
yet sincere. Happy, yet not in a sickly-joyful sort of way. Were she ever
to list attributes for a dream-boyfriend, his smile would be a lot like
Ranma's... she quickly squelched the thought before she was caught staring
again.
Ranma was happy. Akane had actually
agreed to let him scam food at the theatres! That meant he could load up
on junk-food, and she wouldn't get mad at him and hit him! Or even worse,
withhold the ticket to the movie.
Yes, they both decided inwardly, this was
going to be a good evening.
If Nabiki felt any trepidation upon approaching
the Nekohanten, it didn't affect her composure in the slightest. And why
should it? The old maxim was true; only a fool felt no fear, but only a
bigger fool let it manipulate their actions.
Several anonymous phone calls from a public
phone had confirmed to her that the Kunous, and Ukyou were all where they
should be. At home. But no one was picking up the phone at the Nekohanten,
which was enough to make her worried.
The lights to the restaurant were off, although
an upstairs light was dimly lit. Which once again brought into question
the reason for no one answering the phone. Martial artists were frugal
by nature, she'd always noticed. One of their more intelligent traits,
in her opinion. Carelessly leaving a light on wasn't in character at all.
Most didn't seem to bother with lights, preferring to use the sun while
it was up, and not needing light when it was dark. Upon the door, a sign
was affixed, bearing a short, concise explanation of the reason for the
dark downstairs.
"The Nekohanten will be closed for this week,"
she read. "Apologies for the inconvenience."
Closed? It had been quite some time since
that had happened. And by incredible coincidence, this was only
a few days after Akane had decided that it would a be a good idea to pummel
an Amazon warrior into the ground. Nabiki had no idea why a Kiss of Death
hadn't been issued yet, but she didn't particularly care to have that changed.
"Can I help you, Tendou-girl?"
Nabiki couldn't help herself; she started.
Recovering quickly, she turned around and put on her most unassuming smile.
"Cologne."
"A lovely evening out, is it not?"
"Quite. I must say, you're quiet, even for
a martial artist."
"Thank-you. If you were hoping for a meal,
I regret to inform you that our restaurant is closed for the week."
"I read as much. Were you taking a vacation?"
"An Amazon vacation, if you will."
"We all have our own type of amusements,"
Nabiki acknowledged. "I haven't seen Mousse around lately? Would he be
around, by any chance?"
"I'm afraid not. Since the restaurant doesn't
need maintaining, I sent the boy on an errand back to our village."
Somehow, Nabiki had expected that answer in
advance. "What about Shampoo? If Mousse isn't here, I'd like to at least
talk with her."
Cologne raised an eyebrow. "I'm afraid that
she's not in right now. Would I be able to help you with something?"
"I don't think so. I mean, no offence, but
you're not quite a young Amazon anymore."
"No offence taken. I'm afraid that I'm most
certainly not. Did you specifically need a young Amazon for something?"
"I'm doing a cross-cultural project in school,
and it would be a great help to me if I could talk with someone approximately
my own age from a different culture."
"I see. I can relay the message to her when
she gets back, if you like?"
Nabiki waved the offer aside. "That's alright.
I wouldn't want to trouble you. I'll get in touch with her myself. Besides,
our place only goes so long before placing an order with your restaurant.
Thank-you, anyway."
"You're quite welcome."
Nabiki started to turn and walk away.
"Tendou-girl?"
She stopped. "Yes?"
"What did you really want?"
Nabiki's eyes narrowed ever so slightly as
she turned to face Cologne again. "Begging your pardon, but I just told
you."
Cologne idly tapped her staff on the ground.
"I have been a martial artist for three centuries, you know. And my five
primary senses all tell me that you're being perfectly honest with me."
A raised eyebrow. "And..."
"But I have developed a few other senses besides
those five. And they're all telling me quite clearly that you're lying.
So tell me, what did you really want?"
There was something about a martial artist
who wasn't stupid that was almost enough to strike some fear in
Nabiki. Almost. "Nothing that would concern you."
The expression on the Amazon's face indicated
that she didn't believe the answer for a moment. "I see. Would you have
a moment?"
Tread carefully, Nabiki reminded herself.
"I suppose so."
"Come in," Cologne invited. "I only ask a
moment of your time."
"You are a shrewd individual, Tendou-girl.
I'm well-aware of your high aptitude in certain areas, even if not from
personal experience."
"Thank-you, I think."
"That was a compliment. But I think
you're well aware of my expertise in many areas as well, even if it hasn't
been from personal experience."
"Of course."
"So tell me, how did you come by your exceptional
talent?"
Nabiki maintained a neutral expression. "I
learn quickly."
"I'm well aware of your reputation, although
I know some people are always willing to believe the worst of you. But
seriously, you developed your talent over time, did you not? Many years
of applying yourself, no doubt. Through study, dedication, sacrifice, and
occasionally, failure?"
"You could say that."
"So tell me, do you see any similarities between
yourself and I?"
"If you trying to say that you became the
person you are through study, dedication, sacrifice and occasionally, failure...
I won't argue with that. Your point?"
"So what do you have to show for it all?"
"You surprise me, Cologne. Trying to be my
conscience?"
"I wouldn't dream of it. But what do you have
to show for all your effort?"
The question required little thought on Nabiki's
part. "Quite simple. I have control over my life."
"Complete control?"
"Of course not. But more than most people.
In most circumstances, I have the power to change things to work in my
favour. What if I were ask you the same thing?"
Cologne chuckled at the question. "Then you'd
probably get the same answer."
Nabiki finally scowled. "I don't quite see
your point to this. If you think that you've given me any new revelations,
you might want to think again. As I said before, I don't need you for a
conscience. I have one of my own, and I answered those questions a long
time ago, to my satisfaction."
"Nor do I. Be patient, and I will explain.
So... tell me why it is that a smart, intelligent, and capable girl such
as yourself never goes to movies? Or plays sports? Or eats out in restaurants
for fun? Or merely hangs around with her friends? Or goes on dates?"
"I have more important things to do."
"But if you had the time, you'd like to."
"If I could create time, I'd rule the world."
"You have your own priorities," Cologne agreed.
"I understand completely. What does your family think about you?"
"My sisters and I are each unique. As you
say, we each have our own priorities."
"But do they understand your priorities?
Do they understand how it is that a person could willingly devote their
entire self to one goal, to the exclusion of other goals? Your older sister
might, I think. She works hard to maintain your home, does she
not?"
"Don't involve Kasumi in this discussion."
"I mean no offense. Although she would make
a poor Amazon, I most certainly respect her dedication. But what about
your younger sister? She calls herself a martial artist, correct?"
"That's right."
"So why do I always see her out with her friends?
Going to movies? Eating ice cream? Doing homework? Watching television?"
Cologne frowned momentarily. "I fail to see how those are helping her become
a better martial artist."
"That's your area of expertise, isn't it?
If you don't think that they do, they probably don't."
"So how can she call herself a martial artist?
She trains, I am sure. But does she train as someone who lives and breathes
for her martial arts? Or as someone who merely does it as a hobby? Would
she sacrifice everything in her life for the sake of her martial arts?
Or do you think her practice time will dwindle if other concerns became
more pressing?"
Nabiki shrugged. "I suppose more the latter
than the former."
"I quite agree. Perhaps you might wish to
meditate on that."
Some rumours about over-crowding regulations,
under-staffing, and too many people paying for tickets with credit cards.
Whatever the real reason was, the line-up was long and moving painfully
slow. Fortunately, Ranma had quickly hit upon a plan for advancing through
the line-up faster than normal. It was based upon the fact that the twenty
individuals in front of them were almost all young, male, and dateless.
And the fact that a lot of them were talking about various male interests.
And the fact that
Ranma had turned female in advance.
"Just play along, 'kane," she was saying with
a smirk.
Nabiki had warned Akane to expect the occasional
stunt like this, and had recommended that she just enjoy it, rather than
get angry about it. So far, Akane decided, she hadn't seen anything to
get angry over-
"Oooh!" Ranma squealed. "Are you really
the captain of H.H.'s volleyball team?"
Akane groaned inwardly. For someone who hated
his female form so much, Ranma was possibly the most seductive flirt in
all of Nerima. Most girls wouldn't have been caught dead acting the way
he did.
"That's right, babe," the guy agreed. "Why,
you should have been at our last game!"
"I heard about it! They said that you scored
LOTS of points!"
Gradually, Akane became aware that Ranma's
foot was nudging her along. Bewildered, she moved accordingly, even as
Ranma continued to let the volleyball player ramble on about his countless
achievements.
Several minutes later, Akane realized that
Ranma was now talking to a different male, one that was two places down
the line. Now the conversation had turned to baseball. Apparently the present
guy was on Kholkoz High's baseball team. Akane hadn't even known the school
had one (Although she was certainly familiar with their skating
team).
"...and I just wound up and smashed the ball
right out of the park!"
"WOW!!! I've only watched a bit of baseball..."
"I think the sport's got potential. They get
paid tons of money over in North America, so I might even be able to get
in that way. You gotta try if you want to make it big..."
Within several moments, they had shown their
tickets and were inside the theatre, a sizable number of guys still waiting
in line and wondering where a certain girl had taken off to. And then there
were the few that actually saw Ranma and Akane entering the theatre together,
which lead to an impressive variety of conclusions, which then lead to
an impressive variety of cursing and crying.
None of which the two noticed.
"So what d'you want to eat?" Ranma asked as
they passed the confection stands.
Akane hesitated once again. This whole outing
business was getting easier, she decided, now that she'd come to accept
that Ranma was actually trying to be nice. But it was still a bit of a
shock to hear him offering to pay for both of them...
"I... just a medium popcorn and a drink."
"That's it?" Ranma asked in surprise.
"Um... yeah."
The redhead shrugged. "Okay. I'll meet you
in the theatre 'kay?"
And he hadn't even asked for some money, Akane
mused. Maybe Ranma had simply been replaced with his polite alter-ego.
Or maybe he was taking this more seriously than just an 'outing'. Although
she would normally have found the first possibility to be more believable,
it was a little different to actually be on the receiving end.
"Okay. I'll find us some good seats."
It was ten minutes later that Ranma found Akane
in the theatre, having turned male once again.
"Sorry I took so long," he apologized.
"No problem," she replied, noting his change
of gender with some satisfaction. "The movie isn't going to start for another-"
Akane finally noticed what he was carrying
as he sat down next to her. "How much food did you get?!"
"Not much," he replied easily. "Here's your
drink and popcorn."
Akane dumbly accepted the food while doing
a brief count of what remained. "How many hotdogs did you get?!?"
"Only four. I got popcorn and nachos too,
y'know."
"Um..." Theatre food was theatre food, Akane
noted, already catching the aroma of the pile of hotdogs. Which was to
say, it wasn't as good as Kasumi's cooking, but it was infinitely better
than her own. Not that she would ever have admitted it. "...of course."
Ranma briefly contemplated Akane's envious
look, finally coming to a decision. "Want one?"
Akane accepted one, taking a small bite before
asking the relevant question. "How much did this cost?!"
"Nothing. Anything-Goes Food Scamming."
She looked back at her hotdog, now debating
whether she should stuff the evidence under the seat in front of her. "You
stole it all?"
"Of course not! I ain't like pop, y'know.
Daisuke works here. If you work here, you're allowed to treat your date."
Akane stared. "Excuse me?"
Ranma smirked, inhaling half of his own hotdog.
"Yeah, everybody who works here thinks that Daisuke's dating this cute
little redhead with a huge appetite. We've been doing it for a few months
now. Nobody else from Furinken works here, so we all laugh about it at
school."
Then again, maybe she'd placed a little too
much faith in Ranma's generosity, Akane decided disgustedly. Fortunately,
Nabiki's warning came to mind. When all was said and done, the food was
free, and it was harmless. It wasn't worth getting angry over, especially
since this was the first time she'd ever seen Ranma scam food for someone
besides himself. Maybe this was just his way of being considerate. And
the hotdog wasn't bad either...
"Anything-Goes Food Scamming?" she inquired
incredulously.
"Sure."
"So what happens when somebody from Furinken
starts working here?"
Ranma smirked, finishing off another hotdog.
"Ah... I'll have to train and develop new tactics, of course. A martial
artist must never stop improving their technique!"
"I suppose that you're going to start training
for drunken martial arts now?"
"Hey, it might have potential..."
"I can't believe you. You're actually considering
it, aren't you?"
"I didn't say that!"
"Uh huh."
"But think of the unpredictability factor..."
Akane groaned. The movie had been good, all
things considered. Certainly not romantic, but she hadn't been expecting
that. The mere fact that Ranma had actually gotten/scammed her food was
probably something that should be taken as an effort towards friendliness.
An unusual sort of effort, but Ranma wasn't exactly a typical schoolboy
either. But heaven help everyone if he actually tried learning drunken
martial arts...
"Ah, I betcha Happousai already knows the
style," Ranma was saying. "And maybe pop does too."
"It's just a movie," Akane reminded him. The
two had left the theatre, and were now making their way down a main street.
Not quite close enough to be considered a romantic couple, she noted carefully.
But they definitely weren't two strangers who just happened to be walking
in the same direction. Perhaps she should test the waters just a little...
"You... want to get something to drink?" she
inquired, trying to keep her voice neutral. Nabiki had warned her against
sounding too eager. Or sounding like one of Ranma's other fiancees.
She seemed not to have succeeded, as Ranma
blinked in surprise. After a moment, he smiled at her and nodded. "Uh...
sure. Ucchan's is pretty close by. She makes good tea."
Akane swallowed. Her sister was obviously
prophetic. And worst of all, Ranma was right. Ukyou's restaurant was only
two blocks ahead... Nabiki had recommended that she suggest a different
restaurant.
Looking around quickly, she spotted one. "There's...
a coffee shop across the street. And you ate three hotdogs back in the
theatre. And the rest of my popcorn."
"Well, you said that you were full..."
Nabiki hadn't covered this avenue of events,
Akane realized. How to reply? "Well... I've never tried this place before.
Why not try something new? You've been to Ukyou's lots of times, right?"
Many, many, many times, she noted mentally. Would Ranma insist on
heading towards Ukyou and more free food, or would he-
Ranma slowly nodded, changing his direction.
"Okay."
Akane quickly altered hers to match, unable
to keep a smile from her face. One crisis averted. This evening just got
better and better. "Drunken martial arts probably doesn't even exist in
the first place, you know."
"I betcha it does. I've seen stranger."
"You can't be serious."
"Sure. Me and pop ran into a guy who practised
some style that specialized in losing. He thought that if he lost often
enough and bad enough, he'd somehow fall through bottom and wind up being
the best. Or somethin' like that. And we found some cult that had a formula
for a potion that smelled really bad. Anybody who tried to fight them would
faint before they could even get close enough to fight. And then there
was this gang who..."
Akane let Ranma continue to recite of his
list of strange fighting styles, unable to keep from laughing a little.
In lieu of what else was out there, maybe drunken martial arts wasn't so
strange after all.
"I've never seen any styles like those
before," she observed, not without a hint of scepticism.
"Well, you don't really see that kind of stuff
in Japan. China's a weird place sometimes. And it was all training."
"Uh... right. And what about normal training?
In a dojo?"
Ranma gave her a blank look in return. "Anything-Goes?
In a dojo?"
"Right."
"I always train outside."
Actually, Ranma was right, Akane noted. Aside
from sparring over the koi pond with his father, Ranma usually trained
out in the yard. Whenever he fought, it was outside, wherever he'd happened
to be attacked. If he fought in the dojo, it was usually because he'd been
found there. When he did use the dojo, it was usually only for meditation.
"My dad taught me in the dojo," she
informed him.
A frown creased Ranma's face, but it disappeared
a moment later. "That's... not a good thing," he finally replied. "Anything-Goes
means that you gotta be able to adapt. And the only way you learn to adapt
by getting into weird things. That's why pop took me on a ten-year training
trip. Whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger."
"So how long before you decide to give school
a chance to 'kill' you again?"
Ranma swallowed. "Well..."
Akane cursed herself for asking the question.
Nabiki had warned her not to broach the subject in the first place. "Or,
how long until your father lets you stop training?"
He appeared to be more at ease with that question.
"I dunno. Pop's a rough trainer."
"I could talk to him, if you wanted to."
"N-no-that's okay. A martial artist's gotta
train, right?"
"Not twenty-four hours a day!"
"I ain't training now, am I?"
Akane was silent for a moment. Was he just
mincing words? Or was he implying that he'd given up training time to be
with her? Or something else entirely? "Well... you don't have to obsess
over your training."
"Yes I do."
"But if you spend all your time doing martial
arts, you won't have time for anything else."
"If I don't, then how am I gonna be the best
martial artist?"
How he could say that in lieu of recent
events, Akane had no idea. But Nabiki had strongly warned her not to remind
Ranma of that subject. "So what if you wind up being the best martial artist
in the world? What then?"
He shrugged in reply. "Then I keep training
to get better."
"But what would the point be? You'd already
be the best, what difference would being better make?"
"That's not the point. The important thing
is to keep getting better."
Akane frowned. "But there wouldn't be any
point. You would already be able to beat anybody else, right?"
The look Ranma gave her was a strange combination
of sadness, anger, and disgust. "That's all it is to you, isn't it?"
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Don't you care about anything besides
beating people up? I can't believe you even call yourself a martial artist."
Akane gaped for a moment before recovering.
"Excuse me?! And what is that supposed to mean? Who's been winning
our sparring matches!?!"
Ranma glared at her. "Is that all you think
martial arts is? Just beating people up?"
"What else do you think it is?"
"Forget it! No wonder you're such a lousy
martial artist!"
She immediately shifted into a fighting stance.
"Just try and back those words up!"
Ranma turned and started to walk away. "Go
fight Kunou or someone. I got better things to do."
"Why you-" Akane lunged at him, fist already
in motion.
It missed by a fraction of an inch, Ranma
having managed to move sideways in time. With a crash, the concrete wall
behind him took the full force of the punch, the entire section shattering
almost instantly.
Ranma glanced between Akane and the damage.
"Geez, no wonder you're such a lousy martial artist. Can't believe I ever
thought you were nice."
She withdrew her fist from the remains of
the wall. "Ranma, you..."
He sprang away from her, landing a short distance
away. "Gonna hit me again? That still ain't gonna change anything. You're
a pathetic excuse for a martial artist, and you ain't foolin' us with that
stupid act of yours! Enjoy it while it lasts!"
With that, he leapt on to the wall a short
distance away and sprinted off, leaving Akane staring dumbly after his
fading form.
She'd done it. With absolutely no help from
anyone else this time.
After an absolutely near-perfect evening with
him, she'd just had to mention that she was stronger than he was.
After Nabiki had explicitly warned her not to. And within a few short minutes,
with nothing but a few harsh words, everything had been ruined. All because
Ranma simply couldn't handle the fact that she was stronger than he was.
Stupid jerk. Stupid, rude, conceited, egocentric, macho, sex-changing jerk.
She swallowed, staring down at the ground.
It just wasn't fair. All she'd wanted was a pleasant evening with him.
Just a quiet, enjoyable, uninterrupted evening so that she could make up
her mind on something that had been driving her to istraction for
far too long. And she'd almost made up her mind. And somehow, in a few
scant moments, everything had completely fallen apart. Degenerated to the
point where even her sister might not be able to fix them.
Well, Nabiki would certainly realize how things
had gone when Ranma returned home without her, she decided sadly, starting
to walk home herself. Maybe if she walked slow enough, everyone would be
asleep by the time she arrived home...
Except that Ranma wasn't headed home.
The realization hit Akane as she realized
that she was walking the exact opposite direction that he had departed.
There was nothing but some undeveloped forest land in that direction. He
would never make it back that way. Either he'd been so angry that he'd
completely forgotten his way home, or... he was going somewhere else. And
before he'd left, he'd specifically said something about her not fooling
'us'.
Who would that be? Was he going to
see them? Was he doing something with someone behind her back? If he was,
it certainly wasn't with anyone back at the dojo.
Akane clenched her fists as she spun around,
starting down the way that she'd seen Ranma leave. It wasn't like she wanted
to be home anytime soon. And this demanded some investigation. She'd find
him and whoever he was with if it took her all night. And the longer it
took, the longer it would take to get back home again.
Maybe this was all just a misunderstanding.
They'd had plenty of those in past, hadn't they? This time, she would find
Ranma and sort things out. Somehow. It was just a little misunderstanding
between them. No big deal. How hard could it be to iron out the issue?
Ranma never stayed angry for very long, after all. And then this evening
would still have a happy ending.
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It got repetitive after awhile.
It got insanely repetitive.
It would have been a good time to learn Morse
code.
But that way lies madness.
And terminal boredom, Shampoo added mentally,
continuing to hammer away at the trunk of the tree with her fists. She'd
been doing it for the past few hours in the cause of improving her speed.
And while it didn't seem as idiotic as smashing one's self against a boulder,
it certainly didn't feel any more intelligent.
The pain in her fists had left about an hour
ago, to be replaced by a sense of numbness, which was somewhat welcome.
It wasn't that she was hitting the tree particularly hard. With some concentration,
she probably could have flattened the tree with one blow. But speed was
the goal, not strength. Strength could come afterwards. That was what Ranma
had said, so she would take it at face value. He'd spent several days locked
in his cursed form, super-sensitive to heat, forever serving food to perverted
males for lousy tips, and trying to pull chestnuts out of a fire with his
bare hands. But it had worked. She'd done more than her share of the serving
food part; she might as well advance the training process. If that was
the sort of persistence required to learn the technique, then she would
more than rise to the challenge.
"...stupidstupidstupid-"
The voice was easy enough to recognize. Ranma
had finally arrived, so now some practising of the more enjoyable variety
could take place. Perhaps Japanese had trouble grasping the idea that trying
to beat the life out of someone in combat could be a sign of friendship,
but she knew otherwise. Fortunately, Ranma seemed to know have missed out
on that particular Japanese lesson while growing up.
Although Ranma sounded angry at the moment.
Not an irritated type of angry. More of a thoroughly disgusted and frustrated
type of angry. One that she sincerely hoped wasn't directed towards her.
Coming into view he was all but radiating battle aura as he continued to
mutter things under his breath. His fists were clenched in a way that boded
poorly for anything he decided to hit.
"Ranma okay?"
He stopped short upon realizing that she was
only a few paces away. "Oh... hi Shampoo. Didn't notice you there."
"Ranma angry?" It was more of a statement
than a question.
"Stupid tomboy. I can't believe I actually
thought..." he trailed off, appearing to get himself under control again.
"It's nothin'."
"Why Ranma angry?"
His fists clenched again. "Stupid tomboy.
I can't believe she actually considers herself a martial artist!"
He'd had another fight with Akane, in other
words. Probably something to do with the recent business surrounding Akane's
new-found power. "What happen?"
Ranma shook his head, leaning back against
a convenient tree. Sighing, he look across at her. "How come you train
so hard?"
"Why train?" Shampoo blinked at the question,
caught off-guard. After a moment's thought, "Want become stronger."
"How come you want to become stronger?"
She shrugged. "Is what Amazon warrior does.
Train. Fight. Become strong. Teach others. Is life. Why Ranma ask?"
He smiled wanly. "She doesn't get it. She
doesn't understand."
"You say Shampoo not understand?"
He shook his head. "Nah. I mean that Akane
doesn't understand. To her, it's all about beatin' people up. That's it.
That's the only reason she trains. And she thinks that makes her a martial
artist. If there was nobody to beat up, she'd probably quit training completely."
"That why she start fight with Shampoo. Strong
enough to beat Shampoo with new power."
"Hmph. We're gonna figure out what that power
is sooner or later. Or else we'll just get so good that her source of power
won't make any difference."
Shampoo thought she felt her heart skip a
beat. "Ranma say 'we'?"
He shrugged. "Well, I mean, we are
training together, right?"
"Before, Ranma say 'I'."
He turned a little red at the comment, but
didn't deny it. "I mean... well, that was before, y'know?
"Shampoo not know. What Ranma mean?"
"Well... it was before, right?"
"Before what?"
"Argh!" He gave her a frustrated look. "What
d'you want me to say?"
She returned the look. "Want Ranma tell why
he say 'I' before, but 'We' now! What hard about that?!"
"It's just..." He looked away. "It's nothin'
okay? Nothing at all. You want to spar?"
Shampoo frowned at the topic change, but let
it slide. It wasn't often that Ranma actually got angry at her.
On account of their unintentional thought-sharing the previous day, she'd
gained something of an idea exactly how her always embracing him made him
feel. But he actually seemed angry with her at the moment. Although she
didn't see any reason for him to be hostile towards her.
She settled into a sparring position. "Ranma
promise fight as man," she reminded him with a thin smile. "Shampoo say
he need all help he can get today!"
Ranma smirked in spite of his mood. The evening's
events were already being pushed to the back corner of his mind. At least
some people still knew how to enjoy themselves. Unlike a certain other
wannabe-martial artist. And there were some moves by Jackie Chan that were
simply begging to be tested out in the real world.
He barely knocked aside the incoming punch,
finally getting into a combat stance against his opponent. "Challenge accepted."
Shampoo rolled twice before she was able to
slow her momentum enough to stand up again. Ranma had thrown her hard
after intercepting her last flurry of punches. It was mildly painful, but
intoxicating addictive at the same time. She'd have let it happen again,
if it wasn't even more fun to return the favour.
It had been so long since she'd been able
to fight like this. The best in her age group back home, with only the
occasional pathetic male fighter seeking to impress her, the only true
challenge she was ever given was against Cologne, which didn't even begin
to approach a fair fight. Even here in Nerima, she was seldom the focus
of any notable fighter, unlike Ranma. She'd been in battle with him before,
and always grown impatient for the next occurrence afterwards. Ukyou and
Kodachi were excellent in their own rites, but neither was a true match
for an Amazon warrior trained in more weapons than she could keep count
of. Between okonomiyaki chef's bizarre cooking-styled fighting, and the
psychotic gymnast's hit-and-run distance style, neither felt like a true
fight.
But against Ranma, everything was different.
His raw speed, power and agility, so much like her own style. Yet somehow
incorporating an insane amount of cunning and unpredictability into the
mixture all the same. Against him, a fight felt like a fight back home.
Honest, thrilling, yet violent in every way. Except that her opponent was
able to match anything she could bring to bear. He was the better fighter,
but not so much that she couldn't still dream about catching up to him
one day in the future.
"What's wrong?" Ranma was asking.
She gave him a curious look in reply.
"Your punches are really slow," he clarified.
Her punches felt like they were pushing lead
weights, to say the least. "Shampoo practice speed before Ranma come. She
do what he say, but arms tired now."
Ranma's gaze turned back towards the tree
that the Amazon had been practising on before. The evidence was clear enough,
even in the low light. "You can't fight as well without your arms, y'know.
Maybe you ought to take a break."
"Shampoo manage."
"You'll fight better if you take a break."
Shampoo shook her head. "Not tired."
"Your arms are. So practise something else."
Reasonable enough. "Aura technique?"
Ranma nodded, sitting down on one of the few
patches of grass that hadn't been ripped up from their constant sparring.
"We'll try it again one at a time so we don't have any problem like last
time. Then we can spar some more after."
Shampoo took a seat across from him, sitting
down cross-legged. Her arms flashed grateful signals of relief, but she
only paid them a moment's notice. Aches and pains were all part of the
training process, and a cheap enough price in the end.
"So who goes first?" Ranma wanted to know.
A good question. Despite their mutual agreement
to secrecy after the last accident, it was still rather unnerving to know
that someone had just gotten an intimate look inside your head. And neither
felt like taking the chance of letting it happen a second time. "Shampoo
try first."
"'kay. You're not too tired?"
Shampoo bristled a little at the implication.
"Shampoo only warmed up! You think Shampoo weak?"
Ranma bristled in response. "Geez! I was just
asking! What's your problem?"
"Ranma never rest because tired! So why he
want Shampoo rest when tired? Shampoo train since she able to walk! Great-grandmother
train her to be best Amazon warrior ever! Shampoo train all the time! Many
time, she almost die!"
The Amazon sucked in a breath. "And Ranma
want her stop because TIRED!?!"
Ranma didn't have an answer to that.
"Maybe Ranma want Shampoo become strong like
Akane?"
He winced at that, but shook his head. "Fine.
Forget I said anything, okay? Let's practice this technique."
Shampoo crossed her arms under her chest,
still scowling wordlessly at him.
Ranma returned the scowl, looking away. "What's
the matter? If you're not tired, why didn't you just say so in the first
place?"
"What Shampoo need do before Ranma stop look
down at her?"
"And what's that supposed to mean?"
"Ranma still think Shampoo weak!"
"I never said that!"
"Ranma always ask if she tired! Like
Shampoo only little child! He think he only fighter in world, that he take
pity on Shampoo?"
"What? You think you're stronger than me?"
"Maybe Ranma stronger than Shampoo. So maybe
Ranma father do more bad thing to Ranma than Great-grandmother do to Shampoo.
You pity Shampoo for that? Ranma ashamed fight with Shampoo?"
"Hey! I never said that!"
"Then why Ranma look down at Shampoo? She
train whole life, she never run away, she never afraid die, and she not
stop now!" She met his eyes. "Ranma think he do better?"
Silence echoed between the two for an indeterminate
period of time, neither deigning to say anything to the other as they locked
eyes in a staring match. If such a state could be considered combat, neither
side was yielding a fraction of an inch.
It was Ranma who finally broke the staring
match, his gaze shifting down until he was staring at the ground between
them. "I guess... maybe that's why I said... 'We'."
Shampoo's face softened somewhat in reply.
"Ranma... explain to Shampoo?"
This time, he tried to explain. "I... I dunno.
I guess you're right. You're in this as much as I am, and you've been practising
as hard as I have. So... I guess we're in this one together."
"Then Ranma not ashamed fight with Shampoo?"
"I never said that! I mean, we're both getting
better, right? If you weren't any good, I wouldn't be getting any better,
right? And besides..." he looked away slightly, face flushing somewhat
red.. "...it's fun."
Shampoo leaned closer, looking suspicious.
"Ranma tell truth?"
Ranma finally bristled again. "Hey! I ain't
lyin' to you!"
She smirked in reply. "Shampoo know. Ranma
bad, bad, bad liar. Not lie to save life. So if Ranma not ashamed
fight with Shampoo, why he always ask if she tired?"
"What's wrong with that? We can't practice
if you collapse or something!"
"Is insult to ask if Amazon tired. Like saying
that Amazon weak."
"I didn't mean that! When you practice, you
should practice with everything. So if your arms are tired, you stop and
do something that doesn't use your arms."
"Great-grandmother teach that when practice,
practice with what weakest to make strong."
"That's no good, because you don't learn how
to use everything together. It ain't no good having strong arms if you
can't use 'em with the rest of your body. You can't succeed at the Anything-Goes
style unless you can do anything with anything. So if you
give your arms a break, they'll recover, and then you can fight with everything
at once, right?"
Shampoo looked thoughtful. "Is different then
what Great-grandmother teach Shampoo."
"It works for me, doesn't it?"
The logic was simple, but fairly intact. "So
Ranma tell Shampoo first next time so she not have to beat head into ground?"
Ranma finally smirked back at her, raising
his palms up towards her. "You sure you're not too tired to do that?"
Shampoo placed her palms lightly against his,
beginning to concentrate again for the technique. "Shampoo show Ranma how
'tired' she is!"
Even as the two closed their eyes, blue aura
began to surround Shampoo's motionless form, slowly creeping up her arms
towards her hands-
*crack*
The sound of a twig snapping echoed across
the clearing like a gunshot.
Ranma was already jumping to his feet, Shampoo
only a moment behind him. By the time their feet were planted on the ground,
both were facing the source of the sound.
Akane stared in disbelief at the two individuals
in the middle of the clearing, shaking
her head in denial of what she was seeing before her.
Ranma.
Shampoo.
Together.
"What is THIS!?!" she demanded angrily.