Runaway 2
Disclaimer : I do not own Ranma ½ and I'm not making any profit out of this.
A.N. To my anonimous reviewer. You could at least have left your email so I could send a personal reply instead of using this... Thanks for giving me a piece of your mind. As far as I understood when I read the manga, she doesn't rub it in that she becomes stronger, she only uses it twice before the final fight, and the second one is because Ranma challenges her, not the other way around. And she admits she knows that strength doesn't belong to her. So talking about being unfair??? I might give you that she's a spoiled brat... if you conceed that Ranma behaves like a real jerk here. Sorry to any potential reader out there. Who knows, there might even be someone out there.
***********
It was way past two in the morning when Ranma finally made it to the Dojo. The lights were on.
She's not back...
Nabiki was standing by the porch, arms crossed over her chest an angry look on her face. Mr. Tendo was sitting nearby, but curiously enough, he wasn't making Niagara Falls over this. Genma-Panda was gulfing down some cookies Kasumi had just put on the table. But the thing that worried him the most, apart from Akane's absence, was Nabiki. An angry one.
He gulped and closed the front door. Nabiki just glared at him, then her father and moved for the phone. She started running through her agenda and spared a look at her watch. She frowned and left the phone.
« Let's hope she just went to some friend of her's house »
Her voice sounded so cold Ranma swore she could froze the tea Kasumi had just prepared. Nabiki picked a cup and took turns glaring both at him and her father. The look in her eyes promised a lot of suffering in a near future.
Ranma sat uncomforably under her gaze and picked a cup. The tension in the air was so thick one could cut it with a knife. Only Kasumi looked like her usual self, with a soft smile on her face, concerned but a little bit distant, like no problem could affect her. For a few seconds, Ranma envied her obliviousness.
Time stretched like chewing gum or so Ranma thought. He was getting frantic. He wished Nabiki would snap at him or someone would say anything, but he could not take the silence anymore. He excuses himself and ran away from the living room.
He went into his room. The tatami would need some fixing. She really didn't need that dogi to inflict some harm upon him, he mused while rubbing his recent lumps. He glanced quickly at the closet, but dropped his eyes and bit his lips. This would be indeed a bittersweet memory in days to come. He had been so close to kiss her... and to admit to himself that she was cute, but then he would have to remember why he had been there... He punched the wall, but there was no strength behind the blow. It wouldn't do to get the house into a worse state than it already was...
Stupid Soun! Dragging him to that damned temple to see the « reknown battle suit »! Who would have thought that it would chose Akane as the martial artist with the highest potential...
But no. He was the one to blame. It was his stupid pride to drive him to get her out of the magical dogi. He had to be the best. Ranma Saotome never loses a challenge.
« There are some battles that are not worth winning » or so the saying went, right? He would have laughed at the irony of it, that he would come to understand it right now.
The sun was rising. The first morning sounds were already in the air. By this time, Akane would get up and go out for her usual morning jog. He tighted his fists. He could hear Nabiki smashing the phone once and again. It didn't take a genious to know she wasn't getting any positive answer. The smell of a freshly cooked breakfast was rising from the kitchen. His stomach grumbled, but he paid no heed. He prepared his rugsack, camping gear and packed some clothes in a few minutes.
As he walked down the stairs, he saw Nabiki waiting for him, an even deeper scowl on her face than earlier. She handed him a card.
« Here's a credit card on my personal account, don't misuse it. And the code - she handed him a little piece of paper with something written on -. Memorize it and eat it. Now you go out and look for Akane. I wouldn't want for the life of me to lose the sight of my little sister beating you to a bloody pulp. And you'd better come back with her or there'll be hell to pay »
Ranma sighed. He expected no less from her, the credit card was a surprise though. He looked at his father, already stuffing himself with rice, and Mr. Tendo. He scowled. They too had played a part here but no one would blame them for it...
Nabiki followed his gaze and raised a brow.
« Oh, don't worry about them - she smirked-. I'm going to make them sweat for the little role they played in this little drama of ours »
God. She sounded furious. Suddenly, pity found its way to his eyes.
« Don't ». She shook her head. Her smile could have made a shark look like some innocent goldfish.
« Huh?»
« You just watch out for you ass or I promise I will sell it to the nearest cannibals tribe » . She gave him a rueful smile. « Goodbye, Ranma ».
There was really nothing more to say. He picked his pack and walked out of the dojo. He closed the door after him. He had come to consider this house as his home. Now he was on the road again because the one person that had made him feel at home with her first words was missing and it was his fault she had left.
His stomach had other thoughts, though.
I'm not even gone for 1 minute and I already miss Kasumi's cooking... He chuckled. Perhaps he could go to Ucchan's and have some okonomiyaki...
Ummm, better not or he would have to give too many explanations he wasn't ready to. Ukyo would find out, somehow. And knowing Nabiki, she would even make a profit out of it.
*****
Akane woke up to the feel of something moving over her leg. In the mists between sleep and vigile she had thought it was P-chan, but when she tried to pick him up she had touched something... sticky. She opened her eyes, wondering why on earth would P-Chan feel like that, to find a huge toad nested in the crook of her knee.
« WHAAAAAAAAAA!!!»
Perhaps in a near future Japan would consider toads for pionneer missions in outer space. That one had certainly looked promising.
Akane got back her breath. She rubbed her arms. It was too cold. She had a look at her surroundings, wondering how she had got there, when she spotted her own clothes. And she remembered.
Suddenly, the forest, everything around her lost the little glamour waking up in such a scenary may have.
She got up. And her stomach had the bad taste to remind her she hadn't eaten anything since that... She took a deep breath.
I won't think about it
She walked up a bit, she didn't remember to have been here before, but she prayed there would be a stream nearby. Some fresh water would do her good. She did a few stretches to get out of the cramps and started a light jogging. A few minutes ahead, she finally heard a rush of water. There was a stream and some bushes with berries from the already waning summer.
She turned her head one way and other, trying to spot some signs of civilization. There were none. It didn't look like a crowded area. Weird. It had to be near Tokyo, amazingly. She didn't have a clear idea how long she had been running and when she went to sleep. Most likely, she had just dropped to the floor and that would have been all.
She splashed her face with the cold water. It was almost a shock. And it reminded her how much she missed the warm furo Kasumi would have prepared a few minutes ago. She looked at the rising sun. She was no expert, but her morning jog at least helped her learn a few things about guessing the time from the position of the sun. She wondered what they would be doing by now. Knowing them, they'd probably chew Ranma's head off, then sent him to look out for her.
But this was no Ryugenzawa. This time it was real. She had run away from home and now that she was looking at the problem in hand, she didn't want to go back.
Go back to what ? To a fiancé that had tried his best to seduce her so she would fall for him and would not be able to wear Do-Chan ? To a father that had helped him pull up that stunt ? She didn't have many doubts now where that snake in the closet had come from. The panda wasn't a lot better.
And her sisters ? They had been mere spectators. Maybe they didn't encourage that plot but they had been listening... They should have done something. Well, perhaps she should thank Nabiki for clearing her father's plan to her. What was she for them ? An annoying and scant source of income, a dummies destroyer ? Some other nuisance to be fed and cared for?
She felt the sting of tears, but she refused to let them free. She plunged her head on the stream for a few seconds, holding her breath, until the cold washed away any feeling but itself. She jerked her head up, facing the early sun, the same Ranma was watching from the window.
She sat and put her chin on her knees, water dripping down her face and shoulders. She had a look at herself. She raised a hand, until it stood in front of her eyes. She looked at the strange pattern of the sleeves cloth. She made up her mind.
« I'm going to be a martial artist. And no one's going to take that away from me ».
******
AN 1. My most humble apologies for my english writing. I know the first chapter sucks, at least I find it very poor (and the worst is I couldn't make it any better)
An 2. I'm not going to make a saint out of Nabiki, but I feel she's the only one being a bit rational in the manga, or if not rational, at least esceptical, which is a lot. She does make a few comments that point out at the wound, so I assumed she cares a little bit about her sister. I will write a little bit about her motivations in the next chapter, if I manage to put my ideas in order. Oh, and the story of Do-Chan. C&C welcome, btw.
Disclaimer : I do not own Ranma ½ and I'm not making any profit out of this.
A.N. To my anonimous reviewer. You could at least have left your email so I could send a personal reply instead of using this... Thanks for giving me a piece of your mind. As far as I understood when I read the manga, she doesn't rub it in that she becomes stronger, she only uses it twice before the final fight, and the second one is because Ranma challenges her, not the other way around. And she admits she knows that strength doesn't belong to her. So talking about being unfair??? I might give you that she's a spoiled brat... if you conceed that Ranma behaves like a real jerk here. Sorry to any potential reader out there. Who knows, there might even be someone out there.
***********
It was way past two in the morning when Ranma finally made it to the Dojo. The lights were on.
She's not back...
Nabiki was standing by the porch, arms crossed over her chest an angry look on her face. Mr. Tendo was sitting nearby, but curiously enough, he wasn't making Niagara Falls over this. Genma-Panda was gulfing down some cookies Kasumi had just put on the table. But the thing that worried him the most, apart from Akane's absence, was Nabiki. An angry one.
He gulped and closed the front door. Nabiki just glared at him, then her father and moved for the phone. She started running through her agenda and spared a look at her watch. She frowned and left the phone.
« Let's hope she just went to some friend of her's house »
Her voice sounded so cold Ranma swore she could froze the tea Kasumi had just prepared. Nabiki picked a cup and took turns glaring both at him and her father. The look in her eyes promised a lot of suffering in a near future.
Ranma sat uncomforably under her gaze and picked a cup. The tension in the air was so thick one could cut it with a knife. Only Kasumi looked like her usual self, with a soft smile on her face, concerned but a little bit distant, like no problem could affect her. For a few seconds, Ranma envied her obliviousness.
Time stretched like chewing gum or so Ranma thought. He was getting frantic. He wished Nabiki would snap at him or someone would say anything, but he could not take the silence anymore. He excuses himself and ran away from the living room.
He went into his room. The tatami would need some fixing. She really didn't need that dogi to inflict some harm upon him, he mused while rubbing his recent lumps. He glanced quickly at the closet, but dropped his eyes and bit his lips. This would be indeed a bittersweet memory in days to come. He had been so close to kiss her... and to admit to himself that she was cute, but then he would have to remember why he had been there... He punched the wall, but there was no strength behind the blow. It wouldn't do to get the house into a worse state than it already was...
Stupid Soun! Dragging him to that damned temple to see the « reknown battle suit »! Who would have thought that it would chose Akane as the martial artist with the highest potential...
But no. He was the one to blame. It was his stupid pride to drive him to get her out of the magical dogi. He had to be the best. Ranma Saotome never loses a challenge.
« There are some battles that are not worth winning » or so the saying went, right? He would have laughed at the irony of it, that he would come to understand it right now.
The sun was rising. The first morning sounds were already in the air. By this time, Akane would get up and go out for her usual morning jog. He tighted his fists. He could hear Nabiki smashing the phone once and again. It didn't take a genious to know she wasn't getting any positive answer. The smell of a freshly cooked breakfast was rising from the kitchen. His stomach grumbled, but he paid no heed. He prepared his rugsack, camping gear and packed some clothes in a few minutes.
As he walked down the stairs, he saw Nabiki waiting for him, an even deeper scowl on her face than earlier. She handed him a card.
« Here's a credit card on my personal account, don't misuse it. And the code - she handed him a little piece of paper with something written on -. Memorize it and eat it. Now you go out and look for Akane. I wouldn't want for the life of me to lose the sight of my little sister beating you to a bloody pulp. And you'd better come back with her or there'll be hell to pay »
Ranma sighed. He expected no less from her, the credit card was a surprise though. He looked at his father, already stuffing himself with rice, and Mr. Tendo. He scowled. They too had played a part here but no one would blame them for it...
Nabiki followed his gaze and raised a brow.
« Oh, don't worry about them - she smirked-. I'm going to make them sweat for the little role they played in this little drama of ours »
God. She sounded furious. Suddenly, pity found its way to his eyes.
« Don't ». She shook her head. Her smile could have made a shark look like some innocent goldfish.
« Huh?»
« You just watch out for you ass or I promise I will sell it to the nearest cannibals tribe » . She gave him a rueful smile. « Goodbye, Ranma ».
There was really nothing more to say. He picked his pack and walked out of the dojo. He closed the door after him. He had come to consider this house as his home. Now he was on the road again because the one person that had made him feel at home with her first words was missing and it was his fault she had left.
His stomach had other thoughts, though.
I'm not even gone for 1 minute and I already miss Kasumi's cooking... He chuckled. Perhaps he could go to Ucchan's and have some okonomiyaki...
Ummm, better not or he would have to give too many explanations he wasn't ready to. Ukyo would find out, somehow. And knowing Nabiki, she would even make a profit out of it.
*****
Akane woke up to the feel of something moving over her leg. In the mists between sleep and vigile she had thought it was P-chan, but when she tried to pick him up she had touched something... sticky. She opened her eyes, wondering why on earth would P-Chan feel like that, to find a huge toad nested in the crook of her knee.
« WHAAAAAAAAAA!!!»
Perhaps in a near future Japan would consider toads for pionneer missions in outer space. That one had certainly looked promising.
Akane got back her breath. She rubbed her arms. It was too cold. She had a look at her surroundings, wondering how she had got there, when she spotted her own clothes. And she remembered.
Suddenly, the forest, everything around her lost the little glamour waking up in such a scenary may have.
She got up. And her stomach had the bad taste to remind her she hadn't eaten anything since that... She took a deep breath.
I won't think about it
She walked up a bit, she didn't remember to have been here before, but she prayed there would be a stream nearby. Some fresh water would do her good. She did a few stretches to get out of the cramps and started a light jogging. A few minutes ahead, she finally heard a rush of water. There was a stream and some bushes with berries from the already waning summer.
She turned her head one way and other, trying to spot some signs of civilization. There were none. It didn't look like a crowded area. Weird. It had to be near Tokyo, amazingly. She didn't have a clear idea how long she had been running and when she went to sleep. Most likely, she had just dropped to the floor and that would have been all.
She splashed her face with the cold water. It was almost a shock. And it reminded her how much she missed the warm furo Kasumi would have prepared a few minutes ago. She looked at the rising sun. She was no expert, but her morning jog at least helped her learn a few things about guessing the time from the position of the sun. She wondered what they would be doing by now. Knowing them, they'd probably chew Ranma's head off, then sent him to look out for her.
But this was no Ryugenzawa. This time it was real. She had run away from home and now that she was looking at the problem in hand, she didn't want to go back.
Go back to what ? To a fiancé that had tried his best to seduce her so she would fall for him and would not be able to wear Do-Chan ? To a father that had helped him pull up that stunt ? She didn't have many doubts now where that snake in the closet had come from. The panda wasn't a lot better.
And her sisters ? They had been mere spectators. Maybe they didn't encourage that plot but they had been listening... They should have done something. Well, perhaps she should thank Nabiki for clearing her father's plan to her. What was she for them ? An annoying and scant source of income, a dummies destroyer ? Some other nuisance to be fed and cared for?
She felt the sting of tears, but she refused to let them free. She plunged her head on the stream for a few seconds, holding her breath, until the cold washed away any feeling but itself. She jerked her head up, facing the early sun, the same Ranma was watching from the window.
She sat and put her chin on her knees, water dripping down her face and shoulders. She had a look at herself. She raised a hand, until it stood in front of her eyes. She looked at the strange pattern of the sleeves cloth. She made up her mind.
« I'm going to be a martial artist. And no one's going to take that away from me ».
******
AN 1. My most humble apologies for my english writing. I know the first chapter sucks, at least I find it very poor (and the worst is I couldn't make it any better)
An 2. I'm not going to make a saint out of Nabiki, but I feel she's the only one being a bit rational in the manga, or if not rational, at least esceptical, which is a lot. She does make a few comments that point out at the wound, so I assumed she cares a little bit about her sister. I will write a little bit about her motivations in the next chapter, if I manage to put my ideas in order. Oh, and the story of Do-Chan. C&C welcome, btw.