Disclaimer: Ranma and company are owned by Rumiko Takahashi. All other
characters in this story are my own.
Wow! My first venture here and already I have four reviews! Thanks to Reikson for the link that helps answer the clothing question. I wasn't sure if the hakama was really what would be worn, as most of the pictures I've seen of it were of ceremonial forms. Happy to hear that there were every day versions, as well.
As to Akane not going along with Ranma, the whole premise of the story was for Ranma to be alone for a while. Normally, when Ranma and Akane are together, it's because their respective fathers are pushing them together. Since both were in Lala Land when Ranma left, there was no chance of that happening. Akane could now make a decision for herself. There's nothing that the fathers can do afterwards, either, as nobody yet knows just where Ranma went off to.
Also, there's something about Sensei Chan that's putting Akane off, so she's being very cautious. Remember, she's concerned about Ranma's leaving with this total stranger, as well, and can't understand why Ranma would do such a thing, forgetting about his upbringing. I'll have to see if I can come up with a better reason for Akane staying behind (Maybe something emotional. Hmm.).
As the story unfolds you will find Akane regretting her decision to stay behind.
And now, on to chapter two!
LESSONS
Ranma awoke refreshed and rested. He showered, did his morning exercises, and went to breakfast. He noticed that, for such a simple establishment, the school had a quite modern plumbing system.
The morning meal was a simple affair, as had been the dinner the night before. Breakfast consisted of a bowl of rice, some steamed vegetable slices, and some fish sticks. Ranma hungrily downed all that was put before him.
The rest of the morning was spent in continued practice in stopping attacks. Sensei Chan was in charge of this. Sensei Chan stood in front of Ranma, just looking at him. Suddenly, she let loose with a vicious slap. Ranma blocked it immediately.
"Excellent," Sensei Chan said. She then turned around, as if to leave. She whirled around, ready to strike out at Ranma, only to find Ranma crouched on the ground and her arm blocked by his own extended limb. She looked at him with pride and nodded approval.
Next, Ranma faced off with a group of girls in practice sessions, blocking kicks, avoiding punches, etc. All involved were in the process of perfecting their skills, so Ranma had nothing to worry about, defense wise. Ranma actually helped some of his fellow students with their movements and punches. The teachers stood and watched with a mixture of fascination and approval.
"It is a pity that the girl could not come as well," one of the old men said.
"It's just as well," Sensei Chan replied. "I have the feeling that there would have been too much chaos and turmoil to get any teaching done if she were here right now."
"That bad?" the old man chuckled.
"Apparently so," Sensei Chan replied. "Our other students would have been an unintentional cause of friction between her and Ranma."
"And we can't have that, now, can we?" the old man said. "At least, not yet." He gave a knowing wink.
Sensei Chan sighed. Why did everybody believe that Ranma and Akane were to be major antagonists? She knew that her partner was only joking, but it still disturbed her. If only Akane could outgrow her jealous rages, then so much progress could be made in helping both her and Ranma.
Sensei Chan clapped her hands together twice in quick succession. The students immediately stopped all activities.
"Well done," Sensei Chan said. "It is nearly time for lunch. You all have time to freshen up and rest awhile before then. We will be meeting by the track afterwards. I will see you there. Class dismissed!"
------------
A messenger came to the Tendo residence on the second morning of Ranma's term. Kasumi answered the door.
"I am here to pick up the legal papers," the young man said, after bowing politely.
"Come in," Kasumi said. "I will go and fetch them."
Genma had grudgingly signed the documents, not being able to prevent Ranma from leaving with Sensei Chan. She had also defeated him fair and square, something that he could not fathom.
Akane was grumpily practicing in the courtyard when she saw Kasumi walk by with the papers. She quickly followed.
"Here you are," Kasumi said sweetly to the young man.
"I am also instructed to ask if there is any schoolwork that Ranma has that may have been inadvertently left behind."
"I'll go and see," Kasumi replied.
While the young man waited, he noticed Akane standing in the hallway. He gave her a friendly smile. She gave him a withering look in return.
The young man shrugged nonchalantly. Kasumi came back downstairs with some books and a binder full of papers. "Here you are," she said a second time.
"Thank you for your help," the young man said with a bow. "It has been a pleasure meeting you."
With that, he took his leave.
Akane decided to follow. She quickly changed, made up an excuse for her lengthy outdoor activities, and quickly left the house. Kasumi, not having seen her in the hallway, had no idea of Akane's true motives.
"Who was that?" Soun Tendo asked Kasumi, while Akane was changing clothes.
"Oh, that was just the messenger from the summer school Ranma's attending," Kasumi replied.
"Which way did he go?" an excited Happosai cried out from a nearby room.
"I have no idea," replied Kasumi. "I didn't follow him out of the house."
"Stupid girl!" Happosai snarled.
"Do you want to eat lunch or not?" Kasumi said with a slight hint of annoyance.
Happosai cringed and bowed apologetically.
------------
Akane had barely caught up to the young man in time to catch the bus he was boarding. She made very certain that he did not notice her as she walked past him and took a seat to the rear of the bus.
Akane made mental and written notes of all potential landmarks and the number of stops the bus made before the young man reached his destination. She then followed him down a dusty road to the martial arts academy. The young man, oblivious to the fact that he was being followed, walked along with a jaunty step, whistling to himself.
When he reached the main gate, Akane turned to the left and headed into a small section of town. She then surreptitiously began to circle the vast complex.
Inside, Sensei Chan was addressing another class. "Master Chang will be supervising your exercises today, as I will be giving some personal attention to our new student."
"What will you be doing with him?" a student asked.
"I will be trying to help him get over a phobia that he has had for several years," Sensei Chan replied.
"A phobia of what?" another girl asked. It was clear that they all had a great interest in the new boy.
"Heights, enclosed places, people?" another girl continued for the first.
"Cats," Sensei Chan replied calmly.
There was a lot of giggling and tittering among the girls.
"For shame!" Sensei Chan admonished. "The boy can't help his phobia. He had a very traumatic experience as a young child with cats. It is nothing to laugh about."
There were several chastened bowed heads in the group. Sensei Chan looked at them all and shook her head with a smile. "All right, then. There will be no more talk of phobias. Master Chang waits. Enjoy yourselves."
The group of girls swiftly left the area as Ranma came up.
"Where is everybody going?" he asked.
"Master Chang will be instructing them this afternoon, while we work on your problems some more," Sensei Chan replied.
Akane, by this time, had found a way to scale the wall and was now peering over the edge. From there, she saw a large, flat, grassy area that led to the central group of buildings. Near her vantage point she could see both Ranma and Sensei Chan. A faculty member had just brought up a small wicker basket, rectangular in shape, and was now leaving the area.
Sensei Chan, sitting cross-legged, put the basket in front of her and bade Ranma to sit down. Ranma complied, crossing his own legs.
"Which problem are we tackling today?" he asked.
"Your phobia," Sensei Chan replied matter of factly.
Ranma blanched.
"Not to worry," Sensei Chan said. "It is just one cat. We need to know exactly what your reaction is, in order to better help you."
She opened the basket and produced the cat. Ranma's eyes opened wide and he began to sweat profusely. Sensei Chan slowly placed the cat before him.
"There we are," she said sweetly, "Nothing to worry about. Just one little kitty."
Sensei Chan then placed the cat in Ranma's lap. Ranma instantly went catatonic.
Sensei Chan quickly snatched the cat away, put it back into its basket, and lunged over to hug Ranma. "I'm sorry," she sobbed. "I'm so sorry! I had no idea! Just what did that man do to you?"
She held Ranma close to her bosom. "It's okay," she said. "I'm here. We'll lick this thing together."
"Mother," Ranma whimpered.
Akane looked down at the scene in horrified silence. Her heart was beating like a trip hammer. For a brief minute, she had actually felt great concern for Ranma. She still felt some now. Just what was Sensei Chan doing?
Ranma slowly came out of his catatonic state. Akane was amazed. It usually took far longer than that back home. Then again, Genma had done the exact opposite of Sensei Chan. Sensei Chan had immediately gone to Ranma's aid, instead of standing back. Perhaps that was the way to go about it. Akane thought that one over.
Suddenly, she saw several figures running in her direction. Fearing that she would be discovered, Akane jumped down and headed back up the road. She decided to return at a later date to further check up on Ranma's new "school".
"Is anything wrong, mistress?" one of the maintenance men cried out, as several teachers and other persons gathered about.
"It's all right now, isn't it Ranma?" Sensei Chan said, as she stroked Ranma's hair.
"I-I think so," Ranma replied, shaking his head slowly.
"You run along now and rest," Sensei Chan instructed. "That will be enough with the cat for today."
Ranma obediently left the area.
"It's worse than we thought," Sensei Chan whispered to the others. "The stories we have heard are true! We definitely have our work cut out for us."
------------
As Akane road the bus homeward, she wondered about what had happened at the school. Sensei Chan seemed to be greatly concerned about Ranma's welfare. More so than even Genma had ever been. There was something uncanny about it. Still, Akane had a great distrust of the woman. There had to be a special reason for her to go all this way to fetch Ranma. Akane would do her best to find that out.
When she got home, she was greeted by Nabiki. "Did you have a good time?" Nabiki asked.
"Yes," Akane replied vaguely.
"Good," said Nabiki. "Did you hear the news?"
"What news?"
"A man came from the school Ranma's attending. He picked up the papers plus Ranma's homework."
"That must have been the man I saw by the front door as I went upstairs," Akane said. "Why is he such big news?"
"He left before anybody could ask how Ranma was. It's all so mysterious."
"Nothing mysterious about that," Akane said with a laugh. "He was just sent here to get the papers. He probably knew nothing about what Ranma was up to."
Nabiki snorted disgustedly. "You take the fun out of everything," she said, as she stomped upstairs.
Akane looked up after her and shook her head in wonder.
------------
Ranma was lying in his bed when Sensei Chan entered. "Are we feeling any better, now?" she asked.
"Much, thanks," replied Ranma.
"I think that we'll hold off on another attempt and go straight to improving fighting skills, instead," said Sensei Chan.
"All right by me," Ranma said with a smile.
"Good," said Sensei Chan. "Before I forget, we've got your school work."
She snapped her fingers and two young men entered the room. One carried Ranma's books and papers. The other carried a bedroom lamp.
"You can't very well study with only a candle for light," Sensei Chan said with a laugh. "A desk will be provided to you in the morning."
The young men pulled the nightstand out slightly and inserted the lamp plug into a socket. "We have all the modern conveniences," Sensei Chan explained. "However, we only use them when we absolutely have to. In this way we keep our simple lifestyle as intact as possible and teach the girls how to be self-reliant. You, how-ever, don't have to worry about that. You've already experienced it for quite some time now, if all my information is correct."
She gave Ranma a knowing smile. He returned it.
"Very well then," Sensei Chan said. "I'll let you get to your work."
She clapped her hands twice and the maintenance men quickly departed.
"Don't stay up too late," she told Ranma. "We have a big day ahead of us."
Ranma smiled at her as she left. "Lights out in one hour," her voice wafted back to him.
Ranma got up from his bed and went over to the dresser, where his books had been placed. He picked one up, went back to the bed and began to read. This place is getting better every day, he thought to himself. I think I'm going to like it here. Pity I can only stay two months. I think I would have liked the yearlong session. Ah well, he thought philosophically, one can't have everything.
He studied his book for a while longer, then put it on the nightstand and went out to the bathroom. When he returned, he got into bed, turned out the light, and went fast asleep.
To be continued...
Next Time: Ranma continues to make progress. Akane's suspicions grow stronger.
Wow! My first venture here and already I have four reviews! Thanks to Reikson for the link that helps answer the clothing question. I wasn't sure if the hakama was really what would be worn, as most of the pictures I've seen of it were of ceremonial forms. Happy to hear that there were every day versions, as well.
As to Akane not going along with Ranma, the whole premise of the story was for Ranma to be alone for a while. Normally, when Ranma and Akane are together, it's because their respective fathers are pushing them together. Since both were in Lala Land when Ranma left, there was no chance of that happening. Akane could now make a decision for herself. There's nothing that the fathers can do afterwards, either, as nobody yet knows just where Ranma went off to.
Also, there's something about Sensei Chan that's putting Akane off, so she's being very cautious. Remember, she's concerned about Ranma's leaving with this total stranger, as well, and can't understand why Ranma would do such a thing, forgetting about his upbringing. I'll have to see if I can come up with a better reason for Akane staying behind (Maybe something emotional. Hmm.).
As the story unfolds you will find Akane regretting her decision to stay behind.
And now, on to chapter two!
LESSONS
Ranma awoke refreshed and rested. He showered, did his morning exercises, and went to breakfast. He noticed that, for such a simple establishment, the school had a quite modern plumbing system.
The morning meal was a simple affair, as had been the dinner the night before. Breakfast consisted of a bowl of rice, some steamed vegetable slices, and some fish sticks. Ranma hungrily downed all that was put before him.
The rest of the morning was spent in continued practice in stopping attacks. Sensei Chan was in charge of this. Sensei Chan stood in front of Ranma, just looking at him. Suddenly, she let loose with a vicious slap. Ranma blocked it immediately.
"Excellent," Sensei Chan said. She then turned around, as if to leave. She whirled around, ready to strike out at Ranma, only to find Ranma crouched on the ground and her arm blocked by his own extended limb. She looked at him with pride and nodded approval.
Next, Ranma faced off with a group of girls in practice sessions, blocking kicks, avoiding punches, etc. All involved were in the process of perfecting their skills, so Ranma had nothing to worry about, defense wise. Ranma actually helped some of his fellow students with their movements and punches. The teachers stood and watched with a mixture of fascination and approval.
"It is a pity that the girl could not come as well," one of the old men said.
"It's just as well," Sensei Chan replied. "I have the feeling that there would have been too much chaos and turmoil to get any teaching done if she were here right now."
"That bad?" the old man chuckled.
"Apparently so," Sensei Chan replied. "Our other students would have been an unintentional cause of friction between her and Ranma."
"And we can't have that, now, can we?" the old man said. "At least, not yet." He gave a knowing wink.
Sensei Chan sighed. Why did everybody believe that Ranma and Akane were to be major antagonists? She knew that her partner was only joking, but it still disturbed her. If only Akane could outgrow her jealous rages, then so much progress could be made in helping both her and Ranma.
Sensei Chan clapped her hands together twice in quick succession. The students immediately stopped all activities.
"Well done," Sensei Chan said. "It is nearly time for lunch. You all have time to freshen up and rest awhile before then. We will be meeting by the track afterwards. I will see you there. Class dismissed!"
------------
A messenger came to the Tendo residence on the second morning of Ranma's term. Kasumi answered the door.
"I am here to pick up the legal papers," the young man said, after bowing politely.
"Come in," Kasumi said. "I will go and fetch them."
Genma had grudgingly signed the documents, not being able to prevent Ranma from leaving with Sensei Chan. She had also defeated him fair and square, something that he could not fathom.
Akane was grumpily practicing in the courtyard when she saw Kasumi walk by with the papers. She quickly followed.
"Here you are," Kasumi said sweetly to the young man.
"I am also instructed to ask if there is any schoolwork that Ranma has that may have been inadvertently left behind."
"I'll go and see," Kasumi replied.
While the young man waited, he noticed Akane standing in the hallway. He gave her a friendly smile. She gave him a withering look in return.
The young man shrugged nonchalantly. Kasumi came back downstairs with some books and a binder full of papers. "Here you are," she said a second time.
"Thank you for your help," the young man said with a bow. "It has been a pleasure meeting you."
With that, he took his leave.
Akane decided to follow. She quickly changed, made up an excuse for her lengthy outdoor activities, and quickly left the house. Kasumi, not having seen her in the hallway, had no idea of Akane's true motives.
"Who was that?" Soun Tendo asked Kasumi, while Akane was changing clothes.
"Oh, that was just the messenger from the summer school Ranma's attending," Kasumi replied.
"Which way did he go?" an excited Happosai cried out from a nearby room.
"I have no idea," replied Kasumi. "I didn't follow him out of the house."
"Stupid girl!" Happosai snarled.
"Do you want to eat lunch or not?" Kasumi said with a slight hint of annoyance.
Happosai cringed and bowed apologetically.
------------
Akane had barely caught up to the young man in time to catch the bus he was boarding. She made very certain that he did not notice her as she walked past him and took a seat to the rear of the bus.
Akane made mental and written notes of all potential landmarks and the number of stops the bus made before the young man reached his destination. She then followed him down a dusty road to the martial arts academy. The young man, oblivious to the fact that he was being followed, walked along with a jaunty step, whistling to himself.
When he reached the main gate, Akane turned to the left and headed into a small section of town. She then surreptitiously began to circle the vast complex.
Inside, Sensei Chan was addressing another class. "Master Chang will be supervising your exercises today, as I will be giving some personal attention to our new student."
"What will you be doing with him?" a student asked.
"I will be trying to help him get over a phobia that he has had for several years," Sensei Chan replied.
"A phobia of what?" another girl asked. It was clear that they all had a great interest in the new boy.
"Heights, enclosed places, people?" another girl continued for the first.
"Cats," Sensei Chan replied calmly.
There was a lot of giggling and tittering among the girls.
"For shame!" Sensei Chan admonished. "The boy can't help his phobia. He had a very traumatic experience as a young child with cats. It is nothing to laugh about."
There were several chastened bowed heads in the group. Sensei Chan looked at them all and shook her head with a smile. "All right, then. There will be no more talk of phobias. Master Chang waits. Enjoy yourselves."
The group of girls swiftly left the area as Ranma came up.
"Where is everybody going?" he asked.
"Master Chang will be instructing them this afternoon, while we work on your problems some more," Sensei Chan replied.
Akane, by this time, had found a way to scale the wall and was now peering over the edge. From there, she saw a large, flat, grassy area that led to the central group of buildings. Near her vantage point she could see both Ranma and Sensei Chan. A faculty member had just brought up a small wicker basket, rectangular in shape, and was now leaving the area.
Sensei Chan, sitting cross-legged, put the basket in front of her and bade Ranma to sit down. Ranma complied, crossing his own legs.
"Which problem are we tackling today?" he asked.
"Your phobia," Sensei Chan replied matter of factly.
Ranma blanched.
"Not to worry," Sensei Chan said. "It is just one cat. We need to know exactly what your reaction is, in order to better help you."
She opened the basket and produced the cat. Ranma's eyes opened wide and he began to sweat profusely. Sensei Chan slowly placed the cat before him.
"There we are," she said sweetly, "Nothing to worry about. Just one little kitty."
Sensei Chan then placed the cat in Ranma's lap. Ranma instantly went catatonic.
Sensei Chan quickly snatched the cat away, put it back into its basket, and lunged over to hug Ranma. "I'm sorry," she sobbed. "I'm so sorry! I had no idea! Just what did that man do to you?"
She held Ranma close to her bosom. "It's okay," she said. "I'm here. We'll lick this thing together."
"Mother," Ranma whimpered.
Akane looked down at the scene in horrified silence. Her heart was beating like a trip hammer. For a brief minute, she had actually felt great concern for Ranma. She still felt some now. Just what was Sensei Chan doing?
Ranma slowly came out of his catatonic state. Akane was amazed. It usually took far longer than that back home. Then again, Genma had done the exact opposite of Sensei Chan. Sensei Chan had immediately gone to Ranma's aid, instead of standing back. Perhaps that was the way to go about it. Akane thought that one over.
Suddenly, she saw several figures running in her direction. Fearing that she would be discovered, Akane jumped down and headed back up the road. She decided to return at a later date to further check up on Ranma's new "school".
"Is anything wrong, mistress?" one of the maintenance men cried out, as several teachers and other persons gathered about.
"It's all right now, isn't it Ranma?" Sensei Chan said, as she stroked Ranma's hair.
"I-I think so," Ranma replied, shaking his head slowly.
"You run along now and rest," Sensei Chan instructed. "That will be enough with the cat for today."
Ranma obediently left the area.
"It's worse than we thought," Sensei Chan whispered to the others. "The stories we have heard are true! We definitely have our work cut out for us."
------------
As Akane road the bus homeward, she wondered about what had happened at the school. Sensei Chan seemed to be greatly concerned about Ranma's welfare. More so than even Genma had ever been. There was something uncanny about it. Still, Akane had a great distrust of the woman. There had to be a special reason for her to go all this way to fetch Ranma. Akane would do her best to find that out.
When she got home, she was greeted by Nabiki. "Did you have a good time?" Nabiki asked.
"Yes," Akane replied vaguely.
"Good," said Nabiki. "Did you hear the news?"
"What news?"
"A man came from the school Ranma's attending. He picked up the papers plus Ranma's homework."
"That must have been the man I saw by the front door as I went upstairs," Akane said. "Why is he such big news?"
"He left before anybody could ask how Ranma was. It's all so mysterious."
"Nothing mysterious about that," Akane said with a laugh. "He was just sent here to get the papers. He probably knew nothing about what Ranma was up to."
Nabiki snorted disgustedly. "You take the fun out of everything," she said, as she stomped upstairs.
Akane looked up after her and shook her head in wonder.
------------
Ranma was lying in his bed when Sensei Chan entered. "Are we feeling any better, now?" she asked.
"Much, thanks," replied Ranma.
"I think that we'll hold off on another attempt and go straight to improving fighting skills, instead," said Sensei Chan.
"All right by me," Ranma said with a smile.
"Good," said Sensei Chan. "Before I forget, we've got your school work."
She snapped her fingers and two young men entered the room. One carried Ranma's books and papers. The other carried a bedroom lamp.
"You can't very well study with only a candle for light," Sensei Chan said with a laugh. "A desk will be provided to you in the morning."
The young men pulled the nightstand out slightly and inserted the lamp plug into a socket. "We have all the modern conveniences," Sensei Chan explained. "However, we only use them when we absolutely have to. In this way we keep our simple lifestyle as intact as possible and teach the girls how to be self-reliant. You, how-ever, don't have to worry about that. You've already experienced it for quite some time now, if all my information is correct."
She gave Ranma a knowing smile. He returned it.
"Very well then," Sensei Chan said. "I'll let you get to your work."
She clapped her hands twice and the maintenance men quickly departed.
"Don't stay up too late," she told Ranma. "We have a big day ahead of us."
Ranma smiled at her as she left. "Lights out in one hour," her voice wafted back to him.
Ranma got up from his bed and went over to the dresser, where his books had been placed. He picked one up, went back to the bed and began to read. This place is getting better every day, he thought to himself. I think I'm going to like it here. Pity I can only stay two months. I think I would have liked the yearlong session. Ah well, he thought philosophically, one can't have everything.
He studied his book for a while longer, then put it on the nightstand and went out to the bathroom. When he returned, he got into bed, turned out the light, and went fast asleep.
To be continued...
Next Time: Ranma continues to make progress. Akane's suspicions grow stronger.
