Once he and Akane were out the gate, Ranma leapt on top of the fence and continued to walk casually. Akane glanced at him once and looked away, and Ranma looked around as they went, trying to think of something to say. By some unspoken agreement, neither one would speak of the engagement, so Ranma tried to come up with something else.
"Why are you walking like that?" Akane asked. Ranma looked down in surprise. He didn't think she was going to say anything.
"It's for balance," he said, thoughtfully. Then he waved her up. "Hey, you're pretty clumsy. You might benefit from this."
"Clumsy, am I?" she growled. Ranma seemed oblivious as he hopped off the fence and landed in front of her. He looked as of he was about to say something, but as soon as he opened his mouth he was drenched. Ranma turned around furiously to see an old lady washing her sidewalk. She growled and began back toward the Tendo's.
"I'm going to take a bath."
"You'll be late. You'll turn back if hot water is poured on you, right?" Akane didn't wait for an answer, she just kept walking along their route until she came to a building with the words 'Acupressure, Acupuncture, and Moxibustion' on the front sign. Ranma waited for her outside, hoping not to be found.
As luck would have it, someone found her. As soon as she felt a hand on her shoulder, she was affronted with the smell of plastic and a human scent. Ranma stepped back a few paces in surprise when she found a skeleton staring straight at her, but calmed when she caught sight of a man holding it up.
"Oh. Pardon me," he said. "This is just Betty. My skeleton. Nothing to worry about." Ranma was saved from having to make any sort of introduction by Akane, as she came back with the hot water. A brilliant smile graced her features as she saw the stranger.
"Oh! Doctor Tofu, good morning!" she said happily, handing the kettle off to Ranma. And as Ranma watched their familiar conversation and as she saw Akane smile, she frowned. She took the kettle and turned the corner to change, not paying attention to the rest of their conversation.
When they were on their way again, and Ranma had pulled Akane onto the fence with him, he said: "You seemed pretty familiar with that guy. Who was he?" If Akane detected anything other than curiosity in his voice, she didn't say anything.
"That was Dr. Tofu, the chiropractor. I've known him since I was child," she said. She almost fell and Ranma steadied her. Akane had gotten the hang of the fence pretty quick, but she was still a little clumsy.
"Oh… he a martial artist?"
"Yes. You wouldn't think so would you?"
"I almost didn't smell him until he was right behind me," said Ranma. "It was like he erased all sense of his presence."
Akane nodded. "He is very good, but his style isn't very aggressive."
"You seem to like him," Ranma said casually. "But didn't your sister say you hated boys?"
"Oh. That," she said frowning in distaste, her almost childlike features crinkling. "I just hate all those perverts at school" – she turned to him seriously as they neared the school – "Stay out of the way. This is my fight."
Ranma's confusion only lasted a moment, as the sound of voices and a barrage of human scents reached him. There was a mob of boys surrounding the school gates, and as they saw Akane they began to shout what sounded like declarations of love mixed with battle cries. She leapt off the fence and went straight for the mob. She was an un-stoppable force, a hurricane against the beach. She was everywhere at once amidst what appeared to be the majority of Furinkan's male population. Ranma watched in amazement, disgust, and frustration. Amazement at Akane's ability, disgust at the horde of boys, and frustration at the fact that he wasn't down there too.
When the unconscious bodies of the horde all lay at Akane's feet, Ranma left his vantage point on the fence and came up to her.
"You do know that there is a boy hiding behind that tree, right?" he asked, in tones only she could pick up. She ran a hand through her hair tiredly and nodded, catching a single rose as it came her way.
"Truly such a boorish lot," came a haughty, arrogant voice. The boy stepped out from behind a tree, dressed in kendo garb a boken in his hand. "Evidently, each of them intends to ask you out, Akane. On the dawn that he finally defeats you."
Akane's tone was that of worn tolerance as she looked at the kendoist through half-lidded eyes and said: "Oh. Upperclassman. Good morning."
"Now, Akane Tendo." The boy brandished his boken. "Might you fight with me?"
"What's with the admirers?" Ranma asked, agitated. He completely ignored the other boy, and directed his question only at Akane. This caught the attention of the kendoist and seemed to anger him, because he pointed his wooden sword at Ranma with an indignant:
"You there! You are being quite familiar with Akane!"
Ranma glanced at him once before turning back to Akane. "You really gonna fight this guy?"
"Who are you, boor? Ah! But it is custom to give ones own name first! Fine then, mine I shall give," the boy struck a pose as lightning flashed eerily in the background. "My name is upperclassmen Kuno. Junior. Group E. Captain of the Kendo club. Undefeated new star of the high school fencing world. But my peers call me… the Blue Thunder of Furinkan High!"
Ranma picked up the questioning murmurs from the balconies of the school after Kuno's introduction. Most of them seemed to run along the lines of: "Blue Thunder?" "You heard of that?" "News to me." Ranma turned to Kuno and looked him over before answering.
"Well… I'm staying at the Tendo's…"
Ranma didn't get much farther than that, as an enraged Kuno tried to cut his head off with a wooden sword, shouting in righteous anger about Ranma's 'hounding' of Akane. He tore through walls and trees, but Ranma only dodged, evaluating his style. It wouldn't do to beat him too easily, since he was obviously one of the better fighters at the school. Ranma let him get a hit in before landing a blow to Kuno's face that left the boy face down in the dirt. He then poked his side experimentally. Hurt more than I thought, but it'll heal soon.
"Ranma! Come on, we're late!" Akane called to him. He got inside just before it started to rain.
The hall was as good a place as any to hold buckets, Ranma supposed, but he still thought this punishment was stupid. Damn Kuno…if it weren't for him, they would have been on time. At least we missed the rain.
"You shouldn't have got in the way. That was my fight," Akane said. Ranma gave her a sideways glance. She sounded angry. She smelled angry too.
"He challenged me. It was my fight."
"He challenged me first!"
Akane glanced at Ranma. Ranma glanced at Akane. They caught each other's eyes and burst out laughing. At Kuno, and at themselves. When they both calmed, their buckets were half empty due to the shaking of their shoulders.
"They all wanted to ask you out?" Ranma asked, after a moment, raising his brows at her.
"I guess so…" Akane said. She took a look at his expression. "What? Is that so hard to believe?"
"Next time…" said Ranma, slowly. "Let me fight" –
"Never, Ranma Saotome!" Kuno cried, in righteous fury. "Never shall I accept you engagement to Akane!" As soon as the words left his mouth, the windows behind Ranma and Akane flew open and their protests were drowned in the questions and exclamations of surprise and anger. Kuno chose that moment to strike, and Ranma narrowly dodged the water that fell from his bucket as it was cut in two.
He leapt down the hall until he came to a window that led outside, calling out behind him: "This is no place to fight! Follow me!" Ranma jumped out the 3rd floor window, to the surprise of his classmates, and Kuno who had jumped out after him. Jumping out a 3rd floor window would normally be no problem for Ranma, but, as this particular window happened to be right in front of the school swimming pool Ranma found there was quite a problem indeed as he became a she upon contact with the pool. Gotta get away! Gotta get away! She screamed mentally.
Underwater, A shadow fell over Ranma. She looked up to see the unconscious face of Upperclassman Kuno, staring down at her. Damn, can't let the idiot drown, I guess. She was going to carry him out of the pool, but Kuno awoke before she could make it, and with a cry of: "Ranma Saotome, I fight on!" he grabbed her around the chest. Hard.
So, Ranma did what came naturally: she slammed him into the ground, branded him a pervert, and ran off.
Ranma sat in a tree in the yard of Furinkan High, wringing out her pants. That was so stupid! She should have smelled the pool, but she wasn't paying attention. Akane's scent caught her nose and she looked down to see her coming towards the tree with a kettle. She hopped out of the tree and came to meet her, tugging on her damp pants. Akane wordlessly handed Ranma the hot water, and she was about to poor it over herself, when she heard Kuno approaching.
"Ranma," Akane whispered. She had heard him too. "I'll fight Kuno, and you can change back."
Ranma gave her a grateful look before heading back to the tree, and hiding in the bushes to change. She glanced down in surprise to see a dog staring at her and wagging its tail. Ranma looked at the dog, 'be quiet.'
All inu-youkai could understand or convey basic commands and expressions to real dogs. Ranma didn't understand it herself, but she knew how to do it. The dog looked at her, 'water.'
Ranma frowned at the dog, 'No way.' The dog growled at her, and lunged for the kettle, Ranma moved out of range of the attack, but she also had to move into the open. Can't change back out here. Damn dog. Then the dog latched on to the kettle with its teeth, and Ranma and the dog, each pulled the kettle in opposite directions. Why am I doing this? She thought, angrily, and let go of her hold, sending the dog and the kettle flying. They both crashed into the tree. Then water spurted from the kettle and the dog became a boy, as naked as the day he was born but for a bandanna around his head. Then Akane threw Kuno through the air where he landed between them. Then Akane herself came up and they all wondered how they got into the situation.
A/N: Originally I was going to make more happen in this chap, but it got so long, I decided to just end it here. Well, I really want know what you think so please review! Thanks, bye.