The Three Saotomes
Part 6
Ranma's Enemy.
Ranma Saotome stood in the dust filled room and growled as the figure stood in the hole that was now gaping in the wall of the school infirmary. A feminine figure stood where the wall had once been. She did not move, but simply stared at him angrily. The two wristbands on her arms glowed with a dangerous looking pink light as she saw her quarry staring at her.
"So, I find you at last Ranma Saotome."
Ryoga had managed to break the chains holding him to the bed at this point and stood with Genryu, Akane, and Nabiki near the door. He was in a ready position and let his guard relax as he recognized the figure before him. "You ... "
"Die!" screamed the woman as she charged towards Ranma.
"No! Brother!" cried Genryu in alarm as his brother sidestepped the strike and jumped out the hole in the wall into the courtyard of the school grounds.
"Come back here!" snarled the woman angrily.
Genryu blocked her path with his fists in front of him. "Xianghua! What are you doing here?"
The woman paused and glared at the younger boy angrily. She was a pretty young woman in her early twenties, with short cut blonde hair. Here clothes were similar to the Chinese style that Genryu wore, accept for the fact that they were different shades of light green that matched her light green eyes. "Out of my way whelp!" she snarled at the younger boy.
"No! Why did you follow us?" demanded the Genryu.
"You know why," snapped the woman as she put her arms up in preparation to attack.
Genryu growled and crouched low to brace for the coming onslaught. A voice carried over to the pair from outside.
"Stand down! This is my fight!" Ranma was waiting just outside the hole with an angry looking glare straining his features.
Genryu reluctantly stood down and allowed the woman to pass him. She calmly walked by with a smirk on her face.
Kuno appeared in the doorway at this point and stared at the scene in shock. "What is going on here? Who is this woman?"
"Back off Kuno, this doesn't concern you," warned Genryu as he blocked the boy's passage with his arm.
Nabiki looked at the younger Saotome with undisguised fear. "Murder?"
The boy looked at her and shook his head. "He didn't kill anyone."
"That woman seems to think otherwise," commented Akane with an uncomfortable glare at the hole in the wall.
"Come on, just stay out of the way or you won't live to talk about this," said the younger boy as he followed the pair outside.
----------------------------------------
Outside they found Ranma staring down Xianghua, neither of them had moved. Ranma had his hands in front of him in a meditative pose similar to that of a monk, while Xianghua was in what looked almost like a karate stance.
Ranma spoke up. "It's been a while Little Mountain Girl." His face was completely serious as he said this.
"Don't you dare call me that!" snarled the woman in retort.
"He wishes to fight a woman? The coward!" scoffed Kuno.
"Who are you to talk?" snorted Akane.
"That's different. Kuno would never really hurt you," commented Genryu.
Nabiki and Akane looked at him in shock. "What's going on here?"
"Just watch," said the boy somberly.
---------------------------------------
There was no warning as the battle began. Ranma rushed forward with a loud battle cry and Xianghua charged silently. The pair collided midway and the group of spectators winced, halfway expecting an explosion or a crash from the impact.
The two fighters simply locked their arms together, simultaneously striking and blocking each other's strikes. They pushed at each other hoping to overpower one another, both growled and put their faces together almost touching.
Xianghua broke off first, by kicking her leg up in an attempt to catch Ranma's chin.
The boy jumped back and the strike missed, both combatants landed in crouching stances and glared at each other for a moment before charging forward again.
--------------------------------
On the sidelines, Kuno, Nabiki, and Akane watched in awe at the sheer speed at which the pair was moving.
"It's so fast!" exclaimed Akane.
"He runs from her strikes like a coward," commented Kuno. Genryu flashed him an angry glare and turned his attention back to the battle.
"This isn't a sparing match. They are trying to kill each other," said the boy finally.
"What?" said the three other spectators in shock.
------------------------------
Ranma reeled back as a kick slammed into his face. He caught his balance and staggered for a moment cursing to himself and bringing his arms up to guard his face and body. It was too late though as the woman took advantage of his position and viciously punched and kicked at him.
The blows were hard and fast, sweat and blood flew from the boy's face as he was struck. Finally she slowed slightly and he managed to regain his balance. He shot forward like a bullet and landed a strong blow in her belly sending the girl back a few feet. He pressed his advantage and continued to pummel her mercilessly. She blocked many of the strikes, but a few got through and she jumped back away from him.
"For my brother!" she cried as she landed and charged forward again. Ranma raised his hands in defense.
"I didn't kill your brother! He was my friend!" snarled the boy angrily.
"Liar! Betrayer!" screamed the woman in anger as she attacked again. Ranma was forced on the defensive and backed away from her.
"I don't want to fight you! Your brother died trying to help me damn it!" snapped the boy. He ducked under a kick and punched upward catching her in the crotch. "Stop this!"
The woman clutched herself with one hand and staggered back away from him with a dark rage in her eyes. "I will have your life Saotome!"
Ranma narrowed his eyes as she brought her wrist up in front of her chest and crossed them. The pink glow from the bracers on her arms flared for a moment and he jumped back into a defensive position. "Damn you! Don't make me kill you!" cried the boy.
"Die!" screamed the woman as she thrust both hands forward. A pink ball of energy flew from her hands and struck the boy dead in his chest. Ranma screamed as he was thrown back, he managed to get his arms up and took most of the blast on his forearms, but some of it got through.
He staggered to his feet and glared towards her. His vision was blurring as his eye began to swell shut, but he could make out the woman charging up another blast vaguely. "Damn!"
-------------------------------
"What the hell was that?" cried Akane as she rushed forward. Genryu stopped her with his arm and shoved her back roughly without taking his eyes away from the fight.
"Ranma, no ... " muttered the boy.
Kuno and Nabiki were in too much shock to speak.
-------------------------------
Xianghua smirked as the boy knelt on the ground and struggled to rise to his feet. The pain from her injuries was burning through her face and body, but she ignored the sensation as she felt her victory come within her grasp.
"Now Saotome! You die!" She let loose another blast at the boy. Her eyes went wide with shock as he jumped over the ball of energy and tackled her to the ground holding her wrist apart.
"Leave me alone!" he screamed as he forced her down. He lifted his torso off the ground and snarled viciously.
"You can't hold me forever Saotome!" snapped the woman angrily as she struggled.
"You're right," said the boy with a strange glazed over look crossing his face. Her eyes went wide as he lifted his torso off of her chest and reared back his head.
---------------------------------------------------
Akane and Nabiki jumped in shock as Ranma headbutt the woman on the ground repeatedly. They clutched each other protectively as the sound of bone clashing resounded through the schoolyard. Genryu stood calmly and said nothing as the boy repeated his relentless attack over and over. Kuno merely stood with his mouth open and watched in horror.
Finally, Ranma released the woman's arms and slowly staggered too his feet. He stumbled towards the group and finally stopped leaning against his brother with a look of pain on his face. "She always did have a hard head."
Genryu smiled at this and supported him. "What are we going to do with her?"
"Leave her for now, when she recovers she'll be in no condition to attack me again for a while," said the boy calmly.
Akane pushed Nabiki off of her and walked slowly over to the prone form on the ground. She kneeled down next to her and tried not to avert her eyes. The woman's face was covered in blood, and the rest of her wasn't that much better. The exposed area of her arms and chest was covered in bruises.
Nabiki moved up tentatively from behind her. "Is she?"
"She's alive," confirmed Akane. "She's badly beaten, but I don't really see anything permanent. Her nose isn't even broken. Possibly a few cracked ribs, maybe a few fractures ... "
Genryu looked up at his brother, he didn't look much better. He smiled slightly at Akane's assessment. "Going soft brother?"
"Shut up and get me home," grumbled the boy angrily.
"You can't just leave her here!" cried Akane in shock as the pair staggered away.
"Why not? Tokyo is relatively safe. She'll be able to move around on her own once she wakes up," said Ranma coolly.
"How could you?" cried Nabiki as she jumped up and rushed towards the boys.
"Are you blind? She was trying to kill him!" retorted Genryu. He turned away and started walking again.
Both girls looked at each other and then back towards the beaten form of the woman. Akane reached under her arm and motioned for Nabiki to help lift her. The middle Tendo was about to when Kuno seemed to shake himself out of his shocked stupor.
"Akane Tendo, I shall assist you."
Nabiki paused and stared at him. The boy had not said two words since the end of the fight up till then. She shook it off and followed the pair as they carried the woman off the school grounds. She blinked in surprise and then realized that they were taking her to Dr. Tofu's office. She paused again and looked around as she seemed to remember something. "Where is that other guy? Ryoga or whatever?"
--------------------------------------
Ryoga found himself walking through the woods near Furinkan a few minutes after the fight had ended. He felt a cold shiver run down his spine as he thought back to the bloody battle between the pair. He had briefly considered staying with the group, but ended up watching from a small distance away. The fight itself was none of his business, but the way the two boys had handled their enemies bothered him slightly. "Somehow I think I got off easy," he told himself. He looked back the way he had come from and shook his head. Genryu was completely different from what he remembered, growing more like his brother used to be. The boy he remembered would have never handled his enemies this coldly and viciously. Then again, it had been a life and death struggle. Genryu had given him little more than a bit of humiliation and a headache for his trouble.
His thoughts focused again towards the younger Saotome boy. "What could have done something like that to a boy his age?" He smiled to himself and shook his head again. "Perhaps he's seen a bit of hell himself?" The thought was not entirely unpleasant to him. As far as he was concerned the boy deserved it.
----------------------------------------
Tofu Ono gasped in shock at the woman who the three students had brought him. "This is the most brutal thing I've ever seen! Who could have done such a thing?"
"Ranma," said Nabiki with a small look of pity towards the fallen woman.
"Your fiancee?" he asked with his eyebrow raised.
"Don't feel too bad, he's not in much better condition," commented Akane as she helped him place her on the examination table with Kuno.
"The boy is indeed ruthless," agreed Kuno with a frown forming on his face.
"I've heard rumors about him. He's been causing quite a stir lately," commented Tofu with a disapproving frown.
"All of it true," said Nabiki flatly.
"She was trying to kill him. She said he murdered her brother." Akane stepped away from the still unconscious Xianghua.
"Murder? That's a serious accusation, we'd better find out all we can before jumping to conclusions," said the doctor calmly as he looked over her wounds.
"Two of her ribs are cracked, she's got quite a few bruises and cuts. Hmm, interesting."
"What is it?" said Kuno as he walked up beside the man.
"She shouldn't be out too much longer. It looks to me like when he hit her head, he deliberately avoided a death blow."
This came as a shock to everyone in the room.
"How long till she wakes up? We need to find out about Ranma and his brother! If what she says is true ... " Nabiki looked towards her with an almost calculating stare.
"Indeed, this could be very serious. The Saotome brothers could very well be fugitives from the law," agreed Kuno. The idea was not entirely unpleasant to him, it would be an excellent way to rid him of his new rival.
"She'll probably be conscious within a few hours, but she'll need rest. Why don't you two go home tonight and come back to speak with her tomorrow. I'll try to find out what I can tonight. I can make a few calls to some friends of mine in the police department," said Tofu with a sigh as he started to clean some of the wounds on the woman's body.
"An excellent suggestion Doctor," agreed Kuno as he turned towards the door.
"We should avoid talking to Ranma about this, if he is a fugitive and he finds out we're on to him ... " Nabiki left the rest unsaid and turned towards the door of the office.
Akane nodded grimly and looked back at Xianghua one last time before following her sister out of the clinic.
----------------------------------------
Ranma sat against a wall about halfway between the Tendo home and the high school. His brother stood with him with his arms crossed watching the street carefully.
"We're leaving Nerima," said the elder boy finally after he finished wrapping his ankle with a small roll of bandage tape.
"I was just thinking the same thing," agreed the younger boy. "Ryoga might show up again, he wandered off after the fight."
"So what? I don't think he's after our blood, probably never really was," commented the older boy as he struggled to his feet again. "What worries me is the fact that she followed us all the way here."
Genryu nodded in agreement. "If she followed us this far ... "
"Right, I've no doubt that others will as well. She was always a pain, but hardly as relentless as some of the others, especially him."
"Do you think ... ?" started Genryu with a worried look on his face.
"I know, the others will ignore the Tendos if they stay out of the way. He'll kill anyone that so much as stands between him and us. It's too dangerous for us to remain here." Ranma began to limp down the sidewalk again.
Genryu stood for a moment with a thoughtful expression on his face before following. "Sorry Xia-chan."
--------------------------------------------------
"You can stop pretending to be out now, the girls have gone," said Tofu as he looked at his patient.
"You're not as incompetent as you look Doctor," said the woman with a small smile appearing on her face. It quickly vanished as pain raced through her body again from her injuries.
"Thanks, I think," muttered the man.
She snorted in halfway-amused laughter and stopped as the pain coursed through her yet again.
"Hold still if it hurts that much," commented the man as he pulled out a bottle of disinfectant cream. "This is going to sting."
"Couldn't possibly hurt more than it does now," commented the woman as she opened her eyes and looked at him.
"You have a grudge with Ranma Saotome?" asked the man calmly.
"I don't think he's ever met anyone who doesn't have one now," snorted the woman angrily. She grit her teeth as he applied the cream onto some of her wounds. "I guess I was wrong about the pain."
"I did warn you," said the man cheerfully.
"Don't bother," said the woman as she suddenly changed her demeanor.
"Pardon?" said the doctor as he glanced up in confusion.
"You won't find anything out from your friends in the police department. My brother was Chinese, and he died there, in the wilderness."
"I see," Tofu's expression became neutral. "You think that Ranma killed him."
Xianghua sat upright and fell back in pain onto the table again. "I know he did! My brother told me right before he died!" She spoke through the pain and relaxed again.
"Calm down please, you must understand that I'm only trying to help," said the man firmly as he began to apply more of the cream.
"I don't need your help!" snapped the woman as she turned her head away.
"Don't misunderstand me. I usually respect my patient's privacy much more than this. However, I'm not only interested in helping you."
"What do you mean?" said the woman as she faced him again.
"One of those girls is engaged to marry Ranma, if he is as dangerous as you say ... " Tofu raised his eyebrow at the look that crossed her features. It was one of pain, but not physical pain.
"I ... see. I pity her then," she turned her gaze away from him again.
"I'm willing to bet that her father doesn't know about this, it was an arranged marriage you see. The more I know, the more I can help her. I hope you understand."
Xianghua sighed and nodded her head. "I'll tell you what I can later, right now ... " she sat up again and grabbed him by his throat. "That really hurts!"
"I guess the cream can wait a little while, until you rest, but I don't want it to get infected."
"Right, you can do the medicine crap later."
"I'll let you rest now," Tofu walked out of the room and left her alone.
Xianghua closed her eyes for a moment and tears began to fall down her face. "Oh Ranma ... why?"
TBC ...
Next time: Tides of the heart.
C&C to Carrotglace@juno.com
URL: Http://www.geocities.com/misatira/
A quick side note. Xianghua's name is pronounced 'Shan fa'.
Part 6
Ranma's Enemy.
Ranma Saotome stood in the dust filled room and growled as the figure stood in the hole that was now gaping in the wall of the school infirmary. A feminine figure stood where the wall had once been. She did not move, but simply stared at him angrily. The two wristbands on her arms glowed with a dangerous looking pink light as she saw her quarry staring at her.
"So, I find you at last Ranma Saotome."
Ryoga had managed to break the chains holding him to the bed at this point and stood with Genryu, Akane, and Nabiki near the door. He was in a ready position and let his guard relax as he recognized the figure before him. "You ... "
"Die!" screamed the woman as she charged towards Ranma.
"No! Brother!" cried Genryu in alarm as his brother sidestepped the strike and jumped out the hole in the wall into the courtyard of the school grounds.
"Come back here!" snarled the woman angrily.
Genryu blocked her path with his fists in front of him. "Xianghua! What are you doing here?"
The woman paused and glared at the younger boy angrily. She was a pretty young woman in her early twenties, with short cut blonde hair. Here clothes were similar to the Chinese style that Genryu wore, accept for the fact that they were different shades of light green that matched her light green eyes. "Out of my way whelp!" she snarled at the younger boy.
"No! Why did you follow us?" demanded the Genryu.
"You know why," snapped the woman as she put her arms up in preparation to attack.
Genryu growled and crouched low to brace for the coming onslaught. A voice carried over to the pair from outside.
"Stand down! This is my fight!" Ranma was waiting just outside the hole with an angry looking glare straining his features.
Genryu reluctantly stood down and allowed the woman to pass him. She calmly walked by with a smirk on her face.
Kuno appeared in the doorway at this point and stared at the scene in shock. "What is going on here? Who is this woman?"
"Back off Kuno, this doesn't concern you," warned Genryu as he blocked the boy's passage with his arm.
Nabiki looked at the younger Saotome with undisguised fear. "Murder?"
The boy looked at her and shook his head. "He didn't kill anyone."
"That woman seems to think otherwise," commented Akane with an uncomfortable glare at the hole in the wall.
"Come on, just stay out of the way or you won't live to talk about this," said the younger boy as he followed the pair outside.
----------------------------------------
Outside they found Ranma staring down Xianghua, neither of them had moved. Ranma had his hands in front of him in a meditative pose similar to that of a monk, while Xianghua was in what looked almost like a karate stance.
Ranma spoke up. "It's been a while Little Mountain Girl." His face was completely serious as he said this.
"Don't you dare call me that!" snarled the woman in retort.
"He wishes to fight a woman? The coward!" scoffed Kuno.
"Who are you to talk?" snorted Akane.
"That's different. Kuno would never really hurt you," commented Genryu.
Nabiki and Akane looked at him in shock. "What's going on here?"
"Just watch," said the boy somberly.
---------------------------------------
There was no warning as the battle began. Ranma rushed forward with a loud battle cry and Xianghua charged silently. The pair collided midway and the group of spectators winced, halfway expecting an explosion or a crash from the impact.
The two fighters simply locked their arms together, simultaneously striking and blocking each other's strikes. They pushed at each other hoping to overpower one another, both growled and put their faces together almost touching.
Xianghua broke off first, by kicking her leg up in an attempt to catch Ranma's chin.
The boy jumped back and the strike missed, both combatants landed in crouching stances and glared at each other for a moment before charging forward again.
--------------------------------
On the sidelines, Kuno, Nabiki, and Akane watched in awe at the sheer speed at which the pair was moving.
"It's so fast!" exclaimed Akane.
"He runs from her strikes like a coward," commented Kuno. Genryu flashed him an angry glare and turned his attention back to the battle.
"This isn't a sparing match. They are trying to kill each other," said the boy finally.
"What?" said the three other spectators in shock.
------------------------------
Ranma reeled back as a kick slammed into his face. He caught his balance and staggered for a moment cursing to himself and bringing his arms up to guard his face and body. It was too late though as the woman took advantage of his position and viciously punched and kicked at him.
The blows were hard and fast, sweat and blood flew from the boy's face as he was struck. Finally she slowed slightly and he managed to regain his balance. He shot forward like a bullet and landed a strong blow in her belly sending the girl back a few feet. He pressed his advantage and continued to pummel her mercilessly. She blocked many of the strikes, but a few got through and she jumped back away from him.
"For my brother!" she cried as she landed and charged forward again. Ranma raised his hands in defense.
"I didn't kill your brother! He was my friend!" snarled the boy angrily.
"Liar! Betrayer!" screamed the woman in anger as she attacked again. Ranma was forced on the defensive and backed away from her.
"I don't want to fight you! Your brother died trying to help me damn it!" snapped the boy. He ducked under a kick and punched upward catching her in the crotch. "Stop this!"
The woman clutched herself with one hand and staggered back away from him with a dark rage in her eyes. "I will have your life Saotome!"
Ranma narrowed his eyes as she brought her wrist up in front of her chest and crossed them. The pink glow from the bracers on her arms flared for a moment and he jumped back into a defensive position. "Damn you! Don't make me kill you!" cried the boy.
"Die!" screamed the woman as she thrust both hands forward. A pink ball of energy flew from her hands and struck the boy dead in his chest. Ranma screamed as he was thrown back, he managed to get his arms up and took most of the blast on his forearms, but some of it got through.
He staggered to his feet and glared towards her. His vision was blurring as his eye began to swell shut, but he could make out the woman charging up another blast vaguely. "Damn!"
-------------------------------
"What the hell was that?" cried Akane as she rushed forward. Genryu stopped her with his arm and shoved her back roughly without taking his eyes away from the fight.
"Ranma, no ... " muttered the boy.
Kuno and Nabiki were in too much shock to speak.
-------------------------------
Xianghua smirked as the boy knelt on the ground and struggled to rise to his feet. The pain from her injuries was burning through her face and body, but she ignored the sensation as she felt her victory come within her grasp.
"Now Saotome! You die!" She let loose another blast at the boy. Her eyes went wide with shock as he jumped over the ball of energy and tackled her to the ground holding her wrist apart.
"Leave me alone!" he screamed as he forced her down. He lifted his torso off the ground and snarled viciously.
"You can't hold me forever Saotome!" snapped the woman angrily as she struggled.
"You're right," said the boy with a strange glazed over look crossing his face. Her eyes went wide as he lifted his torso off of her chest and reared back his head.
---------------------------------------------------
Akane and Nabiki jumped in shock as Ranma headbutt the woman on the ground repeatedly. They clutched each other protectively as the sound of bone clashing resounded through the schoolyard. Genryu stood calmly and said nothing as the boy repeated his relentless attack over and over. Kuno merely stood with his mouth open and watched in horror.
Finally, Ranma released the woman's arms and slowly staggered too his feet. He stumbled towards the group and finally stopped leaning against his brother with a look of pain on his face. "She always did have a hard head."
Genryu smiled at this and supported him. "What are we going to do with her?"
"Leave her for now, when she recovers she'll be in no condition to attack me again for a while," said the boy calmly.
Akane pushed Nabiki off of her and walked slowly over to the prone form on the ground. She kneeled down next to her and tried not to avert her eyes. The woman's face was covered in blood, and the rest of her wasn't that much better. The exposed area of her arms and chest was covered in bruises.
Nabiki moved up tentatively from behind her. "Is she?"
"She's alive," confirmed Akane. "She's badly beaten, but I don't really see anything permanent. Her nose isn't even broken. Possibly a few cracked ribs, maybe a few fractures ... "
Genryu looked up at his brother, he didn't look much better. He smiled slightly at Akane's assessment. "Going soft brother?"
"Shut up and get me home," grumbled the boy angrily.
"You can't just leave her here!" cried Akane in shock as the pair staggered away.
"Why not? Tokyo is relatively safe. She'll be able to move around on her own once she wakes up," said Ranma coolly.
"How could you?" cried Nabiki as she jumped up and rushed towards the boys.
"Are you blind? She was trying to kill him!" retorted Genryu. He turned away and started walking again.
Both girls looked at each other and then back towards the beaten form of the woman. Akane reached under her arm and motioned for Nabiki to help lift her. The middle Tendo was about to when Kuno seemed to shake himself out of his shocked stupor.
"Akane Tendo, I shall assist you."
Nabiki paused and stared at him. The boy had not said two words since the end of the fight up till then. She shook it off and followed the pair as they carried the woman off the school grounds. She blinked in surprise and then realized that they were taking her to Dr. Tofu's office. She paused again and looked around as she seemed to remember something. "Where is that other guy? Ryoga or whatever?"
--------------------------------------
Ryoga found himself walking through the woods near Furinkan a few minutes after the fight had ended. He felt a cold shiver run down his spine as he thought back to the bloody battle between the pair. He had briefly considered staying with the group, but ended up watching from a small distance away. The fight itself was none of his business, but the way the two boys had handled their enemies bothered him slightly. "Somehow I think I got off easy," he told himself. He looked back the way he had come from and shook his head. Genryu was completely different from what he remembered, growing more like his brother used to be. The boy he remembered would have never handled his enemies this coldly and viciously. Then again, it had been a life and death struggle. Genryu had given him little more than a bit of humiliation and a headache for his trouble.
His thoughts focused again towards the younger Saotome boy. "What could have done something like that to a boy his age?" He smiled to himself and shook his head again. "Perhaps he's seen a bit of hell himself?" The thought was not entirely unpleasant to him. As far as he was concerned the boy deserved it.
----------------------------------------
Tofu Ono gasped in shock at the woman who the three students had brought him. "This is the most brutal thing I've ever seen! Who could have done such a thing?"
"Ranma," said Nabiki with a small look of pity towards the fallen woman.
"Your fiancee?" he asked with his eyebrow raised.
"Don't feel too bad, he's not in much better condition," commented Akane as she helped him place her on the examination table with Kuno.
"The boy is indeed ruthless," agreed Kuno with a frown forming on his face.
"I've heard rumors about him. He's been causing quite a stir lately," commented Tofu with a disapproving frown.
"All of it true," said Nabiki flatly.
"She was trying to kill him. She said he murdered her brother." Akane stepped away from the still unconscious Xianghua.
"Murder? That's a serious accusation, we'd better find out all we can before jumping to conclusions," said the doctor calmly as he looked over her wounds.
"Two of her ribs are cracked, she's got quite a few bruises and cuts. Hmm, interesting."
"What is it?" said Kuno as he walked up beside the man.
"She shouldn't be out too much longer. It looks to me like when he hit her head, he deliberately avoided a death blow."
This came as a shock to everyone in the room.
"How long till she wakes up? We need to find out about Ranma and his brother! If what she says is true ... " Nabiki looked towards her with an almost calculating stare.
"Indeed, this could be very serious. The Saotome brothers could very well be fugitives from the law," agreed Kuno. The idea was not entirely unpleasant to him, it would be an excellent way to rid him of his new rival.
"She'll probably be conscious within a few hours, but she'll need rest. Why don't you two go home tonight and come back to speak with her tomorrow. I'll try to find out what I can tonight. I can make a few calls to some friends of mine in the police department," said Tofu with a sigh as he started to clean some of the wounds on the woman's body.
"An excellent suggestion Doctor," agreed Kuno as he turned towards the door.
"We should avoid talking to Ranma about this, if he is a fugitive and he finds out we're on to him ... " Nabiki left the rest unsaid and turned towards the door of the office.
Akane nodded grimly and looked back at Xianghua one last time before following her sister out of the clinic.
----------------------------------------
Ranma sat against a wall about halfway between the Tendo home and the high school. His brother stood with him with his arms crossed watching the street carefully.
"We're leaving Nerima," said the elder boy finally after he finished wrapping his ankle with a small roll of bandage tape.
"I was just thinking the same thing," agreed the younger boy. "Ryoga might show up again, he wandered off after the fight."
"So what? I don't think he's after our blood, probably never really was," commented the older boy as he struggled to his feet again. "What worries me is the fact that she followed us all the way here."
Genryu nodded in agreement. "If she followed us this far ... "
"Right, I've no doubt that others will as well. She was always a pain, but hardly as relentless as some of the others, especially him."
"Do you think ... ?" started Genryu with a worried look on his face.
"I know, the others will ignore the Tendos if they stay out of the way. He'll kill anyone that so much as stands between him and us. It's too dangerous for us to remain here." Ranma began to limp down the sidewalk again.
Genryu stood for a moment with a thoughtful expression on his face before following. "Sorry Xia-chan."
--------------------------------------------------
"You can stop pretending to be out now, the girls have gone," said Tofu as he looked at his patient.
"You're not as incompetent as you look Doctor," said the woman with a small smile appearing on her face. It quickly vanished as pain raced through her body again from her injuries.
"Thanks, I think," muttered the man.
She snorted in halfway-amused laughter and stopped as the pain coursed through her yet again.
"Hold still if it hurts that much," commented the man as he pulled out a bottle of disinfectant cream. "This is going to sting."
"Couldn't possibly hurt more than it does now," commented the woman as she opened her eyes and looked at him.
"You have a grudge with Ranma Saotome?" asked the man calmly.
"I don't think he's ever met anyone who doesn't have one now," snorted the woman angrily. She grit her teeth as he applied the cream onto some of her wounds. "I guess I was wrong about the pain."
"I did warn you," said the man cheerfully.
"Don't bother," said the woman as she suddenly changed her demeanor.
"Pardon?" said the doctor as he glanced up in confusion.
"You won't find anything out from your friends in the police department. My brother was Chinese, and he died there, in the wilderness."
"I see," Tofu's expression became neutral. "You think that Ranma killed him."
Xianghua sat upright and fell back in pain onto the table again. "I know he did! My brother told me right before he died!" She spoke through the pain and relaxed again.
"Calm down please, you must understand that I'm only trying to help," said the man firmly as he began to apply more of the cream.
"I don't need your help!" snapped the woman as she turned her head away.
"Don't misunderstand me. I usually respect my patient's privacy much more than this. However, I'm not only interested in helping you."
"What do you mean?" said the woman as she faced him again.
"One of those girls is engaged to marry Ranma, if he is as dangerous as you say ... " Tofu raised his eyebrow at the look that crossed her features. It was one of pain, but not physical pain.
"I ... see. I pity her then," she turned her gaze away from him again.
"I'm willing to bet that her father doesn't know about this, it was an arranged marriage you see. The more I know, the more I can help her. I hope you understand."
Xianghua sighed and nodded her head. "I'll tell you what I can later, right now ... " she sat up again and grabbed him by his throat. "That really hurts!"
"I guess the cream can wait a little while, until you rest, but I don't want it to get infected."
"Right, you can do the medicine crap later."
"I'll let you rest now," Tofu walked out of the room and left her alone.
Xianghua closed her eyes for a moment and tears began to fall down her face. "Oh Ranma ... why?"
TBC ...
Next time: Tides of the heart.
C&C to Carrotglace@juno.com
URL: Http://www.geocities.com/misatira/
A quick side note. Xianghua's name is pronounced 'Shan fa'.
