Disclaimer:
My name is not Takahashi Rumiko, Takeuchi Naoko, or Fujishima Kosuke. I
did not create Ranma Nibunnoichi, Sailor Moon, or Aa Megami-sama. If I ever hit
it really big in the stock market, I'll buy 'em, though... hehe... *Starts
drooling over the thought*.
(Aa Megami-sama only has cameo roles, and only in flashbacks, at that, but
still...)
-------------------
"I can't believe my brother's in love with Tendou Akane," Ranko thought as
she soaked in the furo. "I mean... aww, hell. He's going to have a really hard
time."
After Ranma dropped that bombshell, Ranko didn't really remember most of
their conversation. Her mind was abuzz with the information, and everything else
passed in a blur. Before she knew it, it was dinnertime, and shortly after, she
had gone to take a bath, hoping to come to grips with the implications.
Given the entire situation at school, it was amazing that Akane hadn't
become a raving lesbian. Even though she hadn't, Akane wasn't likely to be
interested in dating, especially not someone her age, and Ranma couldn't tell
her the truth, at least not at first. Ranko knew that
Ranma probably knew a lot of her thoughts on the matter; he *HAD* been very
close to her counterpart on his world, and Ranma had confirmed that Kunou's
Hentai Brigade had existed there. In fact, his world's version had been even
worse. Yes, if any of the guys at school had a chance, it was Ranma.
That brought her to her next problem. Ranma had asked her to help him 'fit
in', in an attempt to avoid suspicion. The problem was, the two versions of
Ranma were too different. It wasn't just a matter of changing a mannerism or
two; her version of Ranma had been completely different in more than a few
important respects. She rather doubted that Ranma would pass muster with Tendou
Nabiki, who had never taken a significant interest in him beyond what she did
every student at Furinkan, much less the people who actually knew him. There was
no way that she'd be able to coach him enough, even if she stayed up all night
trying.
-------------------
Reflection,
By
Aleh,
Chapter Two: The Crossing of the Paths
-------------------
Ironically enough, Ranma was thinking along the same lines. If he went to
school the next day, he would be discovered, or at least would make people
suspicious. There was no way that Ranko could teach him enough about his life
overnight for him to get away with it, even if he pretended to be ill, or
otherwise distracted. On the other hand, he needed to be at school in the
morning if he was to put his plans for dealing with the Hentai Horde into play.
That, of course, didn't mean that anyone had to notice his presence, but... that
was when he came up with the perfect solution, even if it would mean taking
another person into his confidence to a degree. With that thought,
Ranma decided on his course of action.
-------------------
As Ranko left the furo and got dressed, she noticed a note lying on the
floor.
"Ranko," it read, "Stop by my room before you go to bed. I have a solution
to our current problem."
Ranko chuckled slightly. "Looks like he's thinking two steps ahead," she
muttered, walking to his room.
In response, the door opened to reveal Ranma's smirking face. "Come in,"
he said, "Let's talk."
Ranko's eyes widened slightly. "How'd you know..."
"How did I know you were here?" Ranma replied with a chuckle, "I sensed
your ki."
"Oh," she commented, not used to people being able to do that.
"Well, come on in," he said, motioning for her to enter as he took a step
back. Ranko followed him.
"So," she started, "What's the plan?"
"It's simple, really," Ranma answered, sitting down on his bed, "There's
no way you can coach me enough tonight for me to pass muster tomorrow."
Ranko nodded in the affirmative and sat down next to him.
"Well, there's only one solution. I don't go to school."
Ranko shook her head. "The other you'd never skip, and if you were absent
without a doctor's note, they'd call our parents."
"So I get a doctor's note."
Ranko shook her head again. "Oyaji'd never let you. I remember one time
the other you had a fever of almost forty degrees. Oyaji made you go to school
anyways."
"What'd mom do?"
"Nothing. She had to go somewhere that morning."
"Oh, so she wasn't here. Well..."
"And Oyaji's ki-senses are pretty sharp. He'd probably be able to tell if
you faked it."
Ranma smirked. "Perhaps," he said, "but it doesn't matter. I can fake
illness easily enough. No, that's not the problem."
"What is?" Ranko asked, curious.
"Well, I may be able to fake being sick, but I can't hide the true depths
of my reserves from him without revealing too much."
"I don't understand," Ranko replied.
"Well," Ranma said, "If he probes my aura, I'd have to either block his
probe or hide my aura. If I hide it partially, his probe would show that I had
enough skill to hide some of my ki even if he couldn't tell how much. If I hide
it fully, he'd know that I could do just that, again, something I don't want. If
I simply block his probe, he'd both know that I noticed it, and that I had
countered it. As if that wasn't enough, regardless of which approach I take,
he'd notice the changes in my ki that I caused when undoing those ki-
manipulation techniques."
"So..."
Ranma chuckled. "Well, there's another person who I think we can trust
with the truth. Two or three, actually, but I want to keep the number to a
minimum. Besides, we'll probably need Tofu-sensei's help at some point. It would
be for the best if we got it as soon as we can."
Ranko cocked her head to the side. "Who?" she asked curiously.
"Ono Tofu. He's a doctor over by school."
"How do you know him?"
Ranma smiled. "He's the Tendou family doctor. Back home, he was the one
who patched me up whenever I got hurt."
"How often did that happen?"
"Before Akane's death or after?"
"Before," Ranko replied, slightly confused.
"Every day, just about," Ranma admitted.
"And after?" Ranko asked, wondering why on earth he got injured so often.
Ranma chuckled. "Not very often, especially after the Second Battle of
Hououzan."
"What? Why?"
"Well, I fought this guy, Saffron... Anyway, it's a long story, but he's a
phoenix. I wound up absorbing some of his power... After that, any wound I took
would heal instantly. Between that and my ki... well, you get the point. Didn't
keep it when I came over, though."
After a few more speechless moments, Ranko regained the use of her mental
facilities, and decided to change the topic to something a bit... safer. "So...
what happened to your world's Tofu-sensei?" she asked.
"Well," Ranma said with a wistful expression, "He eventually married
Kasumi-oneechan. The two of them lived a long and happy life together. Why?"
"Just curious," Ranko answered, before pausing. "Wait. Kasumi-oneechan?"
Ranma chuckled. "She wasn't really my sister. It's just that..." Ranma's
face became clouded briefly with old pain. "Well... after Akane's death, she was
one of the people who was there for me, even though she was in as much pain as I
was."
"Why?"
"Huh?" Ranma responded, not understanding the question.
"Why was she there for you? Why was she in as much pain as you were?"
Ranma's face darkened some more. "Because she was... is... Akane's older
sister," he replied, "I came to view her as one myself during the time I knew
her, and I know that she felt the same way. That's why she cared enough to put
aside her grief to help me through those times."
"Oh," Ranko half-whispered, somewhat pale at imagining what Ranma had been
through. "I..."
Ranma smiled wistfully. "Don't bother yourself, Ranko. It's all in the
past. The point, though, is that we went through our own personal Hell together,
and wound up closer as a result. She was the older sister I never had, and,
until she died, my closest confidant."
"What about Akane? Mom?"
Ranma frowned. "Akane... We were close, very close. But... she died
before..."
Ranko's face paled. "I'm sorry. I forgot," she said, putting an arm around
Ranma's shoulder.
"And Mom... she was killed, almost two months later. After that..."
"I see," Ranko whispered, squeezing slightly, comforting the man that she
had begun to think of as a brother.
"Nabiki," Ranma continued, "Nabiki... well, we were friends. Yes, I
thought of her as a sister, too, but we weren't nearly as close. After... after
I left, I kept in touch with Kasumi, but I didn't talk to Nabiki nearly as
often. Still... when she died..."
"Oh," Ranko managed to say, finally beginning to understand the sheer
magnitude of what Ranma had been through.
"Look," Ranma said, "I'm sorry to burden you with my pain. It's not
usually this bad... it's just..."
"Shhh," Ranko whispered into Ranma's ear as she pulled him into a hug, "I
understand."
-------------------
A few minutes later, Ranma managed to get himself together. "Sorry about
that," he said, pulling himself out of his sister's comforting embrace. "We'd
better get back to business."
"Yes," Ranko admitted reluctantly, pausing for a moment. "So... what's the
plan?"
Ranma smirked, his pain hidden behind the wall of cheerfulness that he
projected. "Well, Tofu-sensei isn't exactly a normal doctor. He has a lot of
experience with shiatsu, moxibustion, and so on. Actually, he's a pretty good
martial artist, too. In fact, he's able to read auras almost as effectively as I
can. So... he'll be able to confirm that I'm telling the truth."
"How?" Ranko asked curiously.
"People show a distinctive pattern in their ki when they lie, and another
when they tell the truth. The difference isn't easy to spot, at least not for
most people, but it's even harder to fake. I can hide my aura, even from him,
but I can't fake either pattern without total concentration. As long as he can
see my aura, he'll be able to see if I lie."
"Oh."
"So..." Ranma continued, "The plan is for me to skip school and visit him.
I'll hide in the yard before school, but after that, I'll stop by his office.
I'll tell him what's going on, and if I know him at all, he'll be glad to help.
That will take care of the doctor's note, and our parents won't be any wiser."
Ranko thought for a second. "Why go by school at all?" she asked, "I mean,
why risk it?"
Ranma shook his head. "No. Akane... I can't... I won't... I won't let
that... that... bastard Kunou..."
"Oh," she said, "You want to stop the morning fights, don't you?"
Ranma nodded. "Yes. I may not be able to risk doing it directly, at least
not yet, but I will do what I can. I," he said, his voice taking on a tone of
determination, "won't let Akane suffer one minute longer then I have to."
"You really do love her, don't you?" Ranko asked, staring into Ranma's
eyes.
Ranma's grim expression broke into a smile. "Yes... well... I know that
she isn't the Akane
I knew, even if they share a soul. It's just that..."
Ranko smiled at her brother. "I understand," she said, "She might not be
your Akane, but she's still Akane. Right?"
Ranma broke out into a chuckle, muttering something that Ranko couldn't
make out.
"What?" Ranko asked, "What was that?"
"Oh," Ranma said, still chuckling, "I just said that I finally understand
why I got so much free food."
Ranko blinked. "Huh?" she asked, confused.
-------------------
After Ranma finished telling the story of his fateful trip to Jusenkyo,
Ranko was left half in disbelief.
"So, I..."
"You look exactly like my old cursed form," Ranma replied, chuckling some
more, "Minus the pigtail, of course."
"Huh?"
"Of course, I got cured eventually. Turns out that Jusenkyo was created as
an educational system, for lack of a better term."
"What?"
"You see, people who go there are, for lack of a better term, pulled
towards a pool that reflects one of their flaws. In my case, Oyaji raised me to
think that girls were weak."
"Hey!" Ranko exclaimed, outraged.
"I don't think that way anymore."
"Oh," Ranko replied, placated.
"On top of that, he taught me a whole bunch of stuff about 'manly
behavior', things that, frankly, a load of crap. It took me *FOREVER* to get
over those. Anyway, because of that, I was pulled towards the Nyanniichuan, the
Spring of Drowned Girl. The curse was there to teach me a lesson, namely that I
needed to reevaluate my opinion of women, as well as of what it was to be a
man."
"Damn straight!"
Ranma chuckled. "Anyway, once I did, the 'curse' cured itself. Honestly,
it was one of the best things to ever happen to me... in retrospect. That
doesn't mean that I want another one, though."
Ranko joined him in his mirth. "Yeah, I can see that," she agreed, "It's
not exactly something you'd seek out, is it?"
"No, it's not," Ranma admitted, "But it's the type of thing that's good
for you, even if you don't like it."
Ranko nodded her understanding.
"Anyway, the curses are all basically poetic justice. Someone who needed
to learn to look beyond the surface of things turned into a monster. Someone who
needed to be less stubborn turned into a pig. Someone who needed to learn to
think for themselves turned into a cat." Ranma's face clouded in anger. "She
never learned that one. Anyway, you get the idea."
"Yeah," Ranko answered, "But what did Oyaji turn into?"
Ranma laughed out loud. "A panda, actually."
"Oh?"
"Yeah. His cure would've been to stop hiding from responsibility and being
so lazy. He never did, though."
"How do you know all this, anyway?" Ranko asked, "I mean, if he never
learned it..."
"How'd I know what the lesson was?"
"Yeah," Ranko replied.
"I was hunting a demon over in Nekomi around twenty years after my curse
faded, about twenty-five after... I left..." Ranma's face clouded again.
"Anyway, it's a long story, really, but I wound up running into a trio of
goddesses."
"Oh?" Ranko asked, quite surprised.
Ranma just nodded his head. "Well, we talked for a bit, and I wound up
mentioning Jusenkyo. One thing lead to another, and, well, Urd, the oldest,
offered to look up what our 'lessons' had been. She's the Goddess of the Past,
so it wasn't hard for her at all. Heh," he said with a smirk, "I probably
learned more from them than anyone else I'd ever met about the way the universe,
or should I say multiverse, actually works. After all, their job's to keep it
from breaking down."
Ranko raised her eyebrows. "Gods in general, or those three?"
"Those three. Well, two of them, anyway. One of them had a rather...
different job."
"What?" Ranko was quite curious about that comment.
"That, sis, is quite a long story. I'll tell you another time, OK?"
Ranko nodded. "Sure. I'll hold you to that."
"No problem. Anyway, coach me tomorrow, after school?"
"Sure. No prob. 'Night, 'niichan."
"'Niichan?" Ranma asked with a raised eyebrow, "I thought we were twins."
Ranko laughed merrily. "Yeah, but you're three hundred years older, aren't
you?"
"True," Ranma admitted, "Good night, imouto-chan."
-------------------
The next morning, Ranko decided to wake Ranma up. Given that he probably
hadn't been to school in several hundred years, it *DID* make sense. When she
knocked on his door, however, she was startled to hear his voice call out "Come
in, Ranko."
After that, she wasn't startled in the slightest to see him sitting cross-
legged on his bed, apparently in some kind of trance. "I... err... came to wake
you up," she admitted sheepishly.
Ranma chuckled softly. "I haven't slept in almost a hundred years, imouto-
chan," he said, unfolding his legs and standing up.
Ranko stared in shock. "What?" she asked, hoping that she misheard.
"Around a hundred and fifty years or so ago, I ran into this order of
monks in Tibet. Anyway, they didn't eat, drink, or sleep at all. It took me
quite a while to figure out how they did it, since they weren't exactly eager to
share their secrets with someone who didn't want to join their order, but once I
did, it was really impressive."
"So..."
"Well, I'm not as good at it as they were. Basically, it's just using ki
to sustain your body, but they took it to whole new levels of proficiency. What
I was just doing was meditating, drawing ambient ki into myself, and using it to
eliminate the need for sleep. Around an hour of that's just about effective as a
full night's rest. I haven't managed to get to the point where I can do without
food or water for more than a month or so, though, and it's very tiring after
around a week."
Ranko's eyes widened slightly. "Wow," she said, "Can you teach me?"
Ranma chuckled again. "One thing at a time, Ranko. I was planning on
teaching you, but not until I take care of a few other things. I need to get
into much better shape before I can even start."
"Oh," Ranko asked, slightly disappointed, "When were you planning on doing
that?"
"Remember?" Ranma replied, "It only takes about an hour of meditation a
night to avoid sleep. I spent the rest of the time working on that problem."
"But... I didn't hear anything!" Ranko exclaimed, "How could you do any
exercise without waking everyone up?"
"Those same monks had techniques for going without exercise, too. I just
adapted one of those. It's not as quick or as effective as a good workout, but
it's a start. Between that and the training trips I'm going to take as soon as I
can, I should be back in shape in a few months."
"Oh," Ranko said grinning in anticipation, "So when are you going to start
teaching me?"
Ranma smirked. "Oh, after I take care of some business with the Old Freak.
I'm not licensed to teach our school in this world, after all."
"Who?" Ranko said, her voice betraying her feelings of disappointment.
"Happousai, the Grandmaster and Founder of the Musabetsu Kakutou Ryu."
Ranko's jaw dropped in shock. "Ranma!" she exclaimed, "Why on earth would
you talk about your sensei like that?!"
Ranma almost burst out laughing. "You'll understand when you meet him,
Ranko," he answered mirthfully. "Anyway, I'll have to make sure that he
understands that you and the Tendous are off limits."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"You'll see."
"I hate it when you say that."
Ranma just smirked.
-------------------
After that, Ranma and Ranko went downstairs to get breakfast before
Ranko's morning practice. As they ate, Ranko wondered why she was feeling the
way she was. After all, she hadn't even known Ranma, well, *THIS* Ranma, for a
full day. Why did she already think of him like she did? Was he influencing her
mind somehow?
Ranma ate, oblivious to Ranko's thoughts, although a little surprised at
the ease with which he had gotten Ranko to accept him. He was just as surprised
at how easily he had come to accept Ranko as his sister, even though he had only
known her for a day. As chewed on a bit of rice, he noticed his idiot father
making a grab for Ranko's food and casually ki-charged a grain of his rice,
making sure to keep his aura cloaked, and used his chopsticks to bat it at his
father's.
Genma, meanwhile, was confused. Every time he tried to steal from Ranko's
plate, he'd feel a minute, almost unnoticeable, surge of ki, followed by his
chopsticks breaking. What was worse, his worthless daughter wasn't even paying
attention! It was bad enough having to train a weak little girl, but this took
the (metaphorical) cake! It really should be noticed that Genma thought almost
completely in terms of food, a fact that explains quite a bit about his
behavior.
Nodoka, on the other hand, was pleased. Her son and daughter looked like
they might finally be getting along, her husband wasn't eating like a starving
animal (even if he *WAS* only because he was too busy trying to replace his
broken chopsticks to eat as quickly as he'd like), and Ranma looked better than
he had in months (in terms of health, that is)!
At that observation, Ranma and Ranko casually placed their chopsticks in
their bowls, looked up, and, in perfect unison, said, "Thanks, mom!"
Nodoka blinked. Twice.
-------------------
As Ranko and Genma began their morning routine of pounding the crap out of
each other, Ranma kept a metaphorical eye on them with his ki-senses.
"Hmm," he thought, "Budou-no-kami was right. Ranko's around the level I
remember Akane being at. Far more skilled, and better at controlling her anger,
but also a lot weaker... and..." Ranma winced as Ranko landed a particularly
nasty blow and continued, "Much more vicious, too. That had to hurt."
"Anyway," he mused, "She's slower, too, although not by much. She has
definite potential. Something about her aura's bothering me, though. I'll have
to look into that."
-------------------
Ranma quickly gathered what he'd need for the day, placing it in what
Ranko had pointed out as his school bag, and headed down, pointedly ignoring the
highly bruised Genma.
"Ready to go, Ranko?" he asked, looking at his sister.
"What an ungrateful girl," Genma moaned, looking at Ranko, "To do this to
your poor father..."
Ranko just raised her head. "That's what you get for not taking me
seriously as a student, Oyaji," she stated contemptuously.
"Whatever do you mean?" Genma asked, in a ridiculously (and not very
convincingly) innocent voice.
"Two words, Old Fart. Mountain and Sea." Ranko was virtually boiling;
after Ranma had mentioned the Saotome Forbidden Techniques, she had gone through
Genma's collection of scrolls, eventually finding them. After seeing what they
were capable of (although she wasn't capable of learning them; Ranma was right
in that she didn't know more than the very basics of using her aura), her rage
towards her father had taken new heights.
Ranma pointedly ignored the argument, showing an uncommon degree of sense,
as Genma went into a credible impression of Happousai's 'Innocent Old Man' act.
Like the original, it didn't work very well.
"Come on, Ranma," his sister said, grabbing him by the arm and pulling him
out the door, "Let's go."
-------------------
On the way to school, Ranma and Ranko discussed the other Ranma. More
specifically, they discussed his status in school: how well he could speak
English, his status in math, and so on. Ultimately, Ranma decided that he could
fake that with only a minimum of study; he had to learn most of the stuff that
he hadn't learned when he was in high school during that Martial Arts Ballistics
competition shortly after he had opened his first dojo. Ranko was just goggling
over the idea of somebody actually talking about Martial Arts Ballistics with a
straight face. Then she was boggling at the idea of some of the other schools
that existed after Ranma mentioned *WHY* he didn't find it all that strange. The
story about a martial art based on tea ceremony was particularly odd, in her
opinion.
Around a block from the school, Ranma gestured for Ranko to go the rest of
the way alone before suddenly vanishing as he invoked the Goshin Dai Ryu Sei Fu.
-------------------
"I HATE BOYS!" shouted an angry Tendou Akane as she smashed through her
morning gauntlet, pausing afterwards to wipe her forehead. When Kunou didn't
show up, she breathed a sigh of relief, heading inside. "I might actually be
early for once," she said, not noticing where Kunou still stood in his usual
place, unable to move thanks to the ofuda attached to his forehead.
Her sister, however, was a different story. When she found Kunou, not a
minute later, she was shocked at the sight. Casually palming the ward, she was
startled to see him instantly spring to life, ranting about how some foul
villain had prevented him from issuing his noble challenge, or some equally
pointless matter; Nabiki didn't pay attention. She did, however, make a mental
note to have Hino-sensei take a look at the slip of paper that she had removed
from the head of the idiotic would-be samurai.
-------------------
A.N.:
Yes! Done, and hopefully just in time for Tannim's update! I haven't had
time to proofread this as thoroughly as I'd like, but it *IS* done; while I may
have to make some minor corrections, that should be it. Okay... to address the
obvious point of Ranko's feelings for Ranma. Yes, she cares for him. The problem
right now, however, is that she doesn't know *WHY* she does. There's a good
reason for it, which will be revealed in good time, but, of the characters I've
introduced so far, only Budou-no-kami knows it.
Speaking of Budou-no-kami, I've gotten a few concerns about him showing up
again. He is *NOT* going to be a regular feature, so don't worry about it.
Now... regarding Ranma's emotional outburst. The pain is old, and Ranma's
gotten over it, for the most part. On the other hand, it never goes away
completely. Trust me, I know. Ranma's had to do far more dwelling on the past,
what he lost, than he's done in years. Add to that another factor, one which I
know, but you don't, as well as the fact that they're finally beginning to truly
heal (and have been rubbed open as a result)... well, Ranma's in a position
similar to what Akane was with Tofu-sensei towards the end of Volume One of the
manga (US Volume One, that is). He's also long since rejected his father's view
of manliness, something that certainly helped. :-). Translated: he's more in
touch with his emotions than in cannon, as well as reminiscing about the fact
that everyone he ever knew and loved is dead. Despite the chance to start over,
and thereby heal those scars, the memory still hurts. A lot. Then there's the
reason why he and Ranko are so comfortable around each other...
Basically, there's a lot going on that you don't know about yet, so don't
worry if people seem to be acting a little oddly. Things will become clear in
time.
Oh, and if Ranma seems to be too knowledgeable... he's already made two
rather significant mistakes. :-).
My name is not Takahashi Rumiko, Takeuchi Naoko, or Fujishima Kosuke. I
did not create Ranma Nibunnoichi, Sailor Moon, or Aa Megami-sama. If I ever hit
it really big in the stock market, I'll buy 'em, though... hehe... *Starts
drooling over the thought*.
(Aa Megami-sama only has cameo roles, and only in flashbacks, at that, but
still...)
-------------------
"I can't believe my brother's in love with Tendou Akane," Ranko thought as
she soaked in the furo. "I mean... aww, hell. He's going to have a really hard
time."
After Ranma dropped that bombshell, Ranko didn't really remember most of
their conversation. Her mind was abuzz with the information, and everything else
passed in a blur. Before she knew it, it was dinnertime, and shortly after, she
had gone to take a bath, hoping to come to grips with the implications.
Given the entire situation at school, it was amazing that Akane hadn't
become a raving lesbian. Even though she hadn't, Akane wasn't likely to be
interested in dating, especially not someone her age, and Ranma couldn't tell
her the truth, at least not at first. Ranko knew that
Ranma probably knew a lot of her thoughts on the matter; he *HAD* been very
close to her counterpart on his world, and Ranma had confirmed that Kunou's
Hentai Brigade had existed there. In fact, his world's version had been even
worse. Yes, if any of the guys at school had a chance, it was Ranma.
That brought her to her next problem. Ranma had asked her to help him 'fit
in', in an attempt to avoid suspicion. The problem was, the two versions of
Ranma were too different. It wasn't just a matter of changing a mannerism or
two; her version of Ranma had been completely different in more than a few
important respects. She rather doubted that Ranma would pass muster with Tendou
Nabiki, who had never taken a significant interest in him beyond what she did
every student at Furinkan, much less the people who actually knew him. There was
no way that she'd be able to coach him enough, even if she stayed up all night
trying.
-------------------
Reflection,
By
Aleh,
Chapter Two: The Crossing of the Paths
-------------------
Ironically enough, Ranma was thinking along the same lines. If he went to
school the next day, he would be discovered, or at least would make people
suspicious. There was no way that Ranko could teach him enough about his life
overnight for him to get away with it, even if he pretended to be ill, or
otherwise distracted. On the other hand, he needed to be at school in the
morning if he was to put his plans for dealing with the Hentai Horde into play.
That, of course, didn't mean that anyone had to notice his presence, but... that
was when he came up with the perfect solution, even if it would mean taking
another person into his confidence to a degree. With that thought,
Ranma decided on his course of action.
-------------------
As Ranko left the furo and got dressed, she noticed a note lying on the
floor.
"Ranko," it read, "Stop by my room before you go to bed. I have a solution
to our current problem."
Ranko chuckled slightly. "Looks like he's thinking two steps ahead," she
muttered, walking to his room.
In response, the door opened to reveal Ranma's smirking face. "Come in,"
he said, "Let's talk."
Ranko's eyes widened slightly. "How'd you know..."
"How did I know you were here?" Ranma replied with a chuckle, "I sensed
your ki."
"Oh," she commented, not used to people being able to do that.
"Well, come on in," he said, motioning for her to enter as he took a step
back. Ranko followed him.
"So," she started, "What's the plan?"
"It's simple, really," Ranma answered, sitting down on his bed, "There's
no way you can coach me enough tonight for me to pass muster tomorrow."
Ranko nodded in the affirmative and sat down next to him.
"Well, there's only one solution. I don't go to school."
Ranko shook her head. "The other you'd never skip, and if you were absent
without a doctor's note, they'd call our parents."
"So I get a doctor's note."
Ranko shook her head again. "Oyaji'd never let you. I remember one time
the other you had a fever of almost forty degrees. Oyaji made you go to school
anyways."
"What'd mom do?"
"Nothing. She had to go somewhere that morning."
"Oh, so she wasn't here. Well..."
"And Oyaji's ki-senses are pretty sharp. He'd probably be able to tell if
you faked it."
Ranma smirked. "Perhaps," he said, "but it doesn't matter. I can fake
illness easily enough. No, that's not the problem."
"What is?" Ranko asked, curious.
"Well, I may be able to fake being sick, but I can't hide the true depths
of my reserves from him without revealing too much."
"I don't understand," Ranko replied.
"Well," Ranma said, "If he probes my aura, I'd have to either block his
probe or hide my aura. If I hide it partially, his probe would show that I had
enough skill to hide some of my ki even if he couldn't tell how much. If I hide
it fully, he'd know that I could do just that, again, something I don't want. If
I simply block his probe, he'd both know that I noticed it, and that I had
countered it. As if that wasn't enough, regardless of which approach I take,
he'd notice the changes in my ki that I caused when undoing those ki-
manipulation techniques."
"So..."
Ranma chuckled. "Well, there's another person who I think we can trust
with the truth. Two or three, actually, but I want to keep the number to a
minimum. Besides, we'll probably need Tofu-sensei's help at some point. It would
be for the best if we got it as soon as we can."
Ranko cocked her head to the side. "Who?" she asked curiously.
"Ono Tofu. He's a doctor over by school."
"How do you know him?"
Ranma smiled. "He's the Tendou family doctor. Back home, he was the one
who patched me up whenever I got hurt."
"How often did that happen?"
"Before Akane's death or after?"
"Before," Ranko replied, slightly confused.
"Every day, just about," Ranma admitted.
"And after?" Ranko asked, wondering why on earth he got injured so often.
Ranma chuckled. "Not very often, especially after the Second Battle of
Hououzan."
"What? Why?"
"Well, I fought this guy, Saffron... Anyway, it's a long story, but he's a
phoenix. I wound up absorbing some of his power... After that, any wound I took
would heal instantly. Between that and my ki... well, you get the point. Didn't
keep it when I came over, though."
After a few more speechless moments, Ranko regained the use of her mental
facilities, and decided to change the topic to something a bit... safer. "So...
what happened to your world's Tofu-sensei?" she asked.
"Well," Ranma said with a wistful expression, "He eventually married
Kasumi-oneechan. The two of them lived a long and happy life together. Why?"
"Just curious," Ranko answered, before pausing. "Wait. Kasumi-oneechan?"
Ranma chuckled. "She wasn't really my sister. It's just that..." Ranma's
face became clouded briefly with old pain. "Well... after Akane's death, she was
one of the people who was there for me, even though she was in as much pain as I
was."
"Why?"
"Huh?" Ranma responded, not understanding the question.
"Why was she there for you? Why was she in as much pain as you were?"
Ranma's face darkened some more. "Because she was... is... Akane's older
sister," he replied, "I came to view her as one myself during the time I knew
her, and I know that she felt the same way. That's why she cared enough to put
aside her grief to help me through those times."
"Oh," Ranko half-whispered, somewhat pale at imagining what Ranma had been
through. "I..."
Ranma smiled wistfully. "Don't bother yourself, Ranko. It's all in the
past. The point, though, is that we went through our own personal Hell together,
and wound up closer as a result. She was the older sister I never had, and,
until she died, my closest confidant."
"What about Akane? Mom?"
Ranma frowned. "Akane... We were close, very close. But... she died
before..."
Ranko's face paled. "I'm sorry. I forgot," she said, putting an arm around
Ranma's shoulder.
"And Mom... she was killed, almost two months later. After that..."
"I see," Ranko whispered, squeezing slightly, comforting the man that she
had begun to think of as a brother.
"Nabiki," Ranma continued, "Nabiki... well, we were friends. Yes, I
thought of her as a sister, too, but we weren't nearly as close. After... after
I left, I kept in touch with Kasumi, but I didn't talk to Nabiki nearly as
often. Still... when she died..."
"Oh," Ranko managed to say, finally beginning to understand the sheer
magnitude of what Ranma had been through.
"Look," Ranma said, "I'm sorry to burden you with my pain. It's not
usually this bad... it's just..."
"Shhh," Ranko whispered into Ranma's ear as she pulled him into a hug, "I
understand."
-------------------
A few minutes later, Ranma managed to get himself together. "Sorry about
that," he said, pulling himself out of his sister's comforting embrace. "We'd
better get back to business."
"Yes," Ranko admitted reluctantly, pausing for a moment. "So... what's the
plan?"
Ranma smirked, his pain hidden behind the wall of cheerfulness that he
projected. "Well, Tofu-sensei isn't exactly a normal doctor. He has a lot of
experience with shiatsu, moxibustion, and so on. Actually, he's a pretty good
martial artist, too. In fact, he's able to read auras almost as effectively as I
can. So... he'll be able to confirm that I'm telling the truth."
"How?" Ranko asked curiously.
"People show a distinctive pattern in their ki when they lie, and another
when they tell the truth. The difference isn't easy to spot, at least not for
most people, but it's even harder to fake. I can hide my aura, even from him,
but I can't fake either pattern without total concentration. As long as he can
see my aura, he'll be able to see if I lie."
"Oh."
"So..." Ranma continued, "The plan is for me to skip school and visit him.
I'll hide in the yard before school, but after that, I'll stop by his office.
I'll tell him what's going on, and if I know him at all, he'll be glad to help.
That will take care of the doctor's note, and our parents won't be any wiser."
Ranko thought for a second. "Why go by school at all?" she asked, "I mean,
why risk it?"
Ranma shook his head. "No. Akane... I can't... I won't... I won't let
that... that... bastard Kunou..."
"Oh," she said, "You want to stop the morning fights, don't you?"
Ranma nodded. "Yes. I may not be able to risk doing it directly, at least
not yet, but I will do what I can. I," he said, his voice taking on a tone of
determination, "won't let Akane suffer one minute longer then I have to."
"You really do love her, don't you?" Ranko asked, staring into Ranma's
eyes.
Ranma's grim expression broke into a smile. "Yes... well... I know that
she isn't the Akane
I knew, even if they share a soul. It's just that..."
Ranko smiled at her brother. "I understand," she said, "She might not be
your Akane, but she's still Akane. Right?"
Ranma broke out into a chuckle, muttering something that Ranko couldn't
make out.
"What?" Ranko asked, "What was that?"
"Oh," Ranma said, still chuckling, "I just said that I finally understand
why I got so much free food."
Ranko blinked. "Huh?" she asked, confused.
-------------------
After Ranma finished telling the story of his fateful trip to Jusenkyo,
Ranko was left half in disbelief.
"So, I..."
"You look exactly like my old cursed form," Ranma replied, chuckling some
more, "Minus the pigtail, of course."
"Huh?"
"Of course, I got cured eventually. Turns out that Jusenkyo was created as
an educational system, for lack of a better term."
"What?"
"You see, people who go there are, for lack of a better term, pulled
towards a pool that reflects one of their flaws. In my case, Oyaji raised me to
think that girls were weak."
"Hey!" Ranko exclaimed, outraged.
"I don't think that way anymore."
"Oh," Ranko replied, placated.
"On top of that, he taught me a whole bunch of stuff about 'manly
behavior', things that, frankly, a load of crap. It took me *FOREVER* to get
over those. Anyway, because of that, I was pulled towards the Nyanniichuan, the
Spring of Drowned Girl. The curse was there to teach me a lesson, namely that I
needed to reevaluate my opinion of women, as well as of what it was to be a
man."
"Damn straight!"
Ranma chuckled. "Anyway, once I did, the 'curse' cured itself. Honestly,
it was one of the best things to ever happen to me... in retrospect. That
doesn't mean that I want another one, though."
Ranko joined him in his mirth. "Yeah, I can see that," she agreed, "It's
not exactly something you'd seek out, is it?"
"No, it's not," Ranma admitted, "But it's the type of thing that's good
for you, even if you don't like it."
Ranko nodded her understanding.
"Anyway, the curses are all basically poetic justice. Someone who needed
to learn to look beyond the surface of things turned into a monster. Someone who
needed to be less stubborn turned into a pig. Someone who needed to learn to
think for themselves turned into a cat." Ranma's face clouded in anger. "She
never learned that one. Anyway, you get the idea."
"Yeah," Ranko answered, "But what did Oyaji turn into?"
Ranma laughed out loud. "A panda, actually."
"Oh?"
"Yeah. His cure would've been to stop hiding from responsibility and being
so lazy. He never did, though."
"How do you know all this, anyway?" Ranko asked, "I mean, if he never
learned it..."
"How'd I know what the lesson was?"
"Yeah," Ranko replied.
"I was hunting a demon over in Nekomi around twenty years after my curse
faded, about twenty-five after... I left..." Ranma's face clouded again.
"Anyway, it's a long story, really, but I wound up running into a trio of
goddesses."
"Oh?" Ranko asked, quite surprised.
Ranma just nodded his head. "Well, we talked for a bit, and I wound up
mentioning Jusenkyo. One thing lead to another, and, well, Urd, the oldest,
offered to look up what our 'lessons' had been. She's the Goddess of the Past,
so it wasn't hard for her at all. Heh," he said with a smirk, "I probably
learned more from them than anyone else I'd ever met about the way the universe,
or should I say multiverse, actually works. After all, their job's to keep it
from breaking down."
Ranko raised her eyebrows. "Gods in general, or those three?"
"Those three. Well, two of them, anyway. One of them had a rather...
different job."
"What?" Ranko was quite curious about that comment.
"That, sis, is quite a long story. I'll tell you another time, OK?"
Ranko nodded. "Sure. I'll hold you to that."
"No problem. Anyway, coach me tomorrow, after school?"
"Sure. No prob. 'Night, 'niichan."
"'Niichan?" Ranma asked with a raised eyebrow, "I thought we were twins."
Ranko laughed merrily. "Yeah, but you're three hundred years older, aren't
you?"
"True," Ranma admitted, "Good night, imouto-chan."
-------------------
The next morning, Ranko decided to wake Ranma up. Given that he probably
hadn't been to school in several hundred years, it *DID* make sense. When she
knocked on his door, however, she was startled to hear his voice call out "Come
in, Ranko."
After that, she wasn't startled in the slightest to see him sitting cross-
legged on his bed, apparently in some kind of trance. "I... err... came to wake
you up," she admitted sheepishly.
Ranma chuckled softly. "I haven't slept in almost a hundred years, imouto-
chan," he said, unfolding his legs and standing up.
Ranko stared in shock. "What?" she asked, hoping that she misheard.
"Around a hundred and fifty years or so ago, I ran into this order of
monks in Tibet. Anyway, they didn't eat, drink, or sleep at all. It took me
quite a while to figure out how they did it, since they weren't exactly eager to
share their secrets with someone who didn't want to join their order, but once I
did, it was really impressive."
"So..."
"Well, I'm not as good at it as they were. Basically, it's just using ki
to sustain your body, but they took it to whole new levels of proficiency. What
I was just doing was meditating, drawing ambient ki into myself, and using it to
eliminate the need for sleep. Around an hour of that's just about effective as a
full night's rest. I haven't managed to get to the point where I can do without
food or water for more than a month or so, though, and it's very tiring after
around a week."
Ranko's eyes widened slightly. "Wow," she said, "Can you teach me?"
Ranma chuckled again. "One thing at a time, Ranko. I was planning on
teaching you, but not until I take care of a few other things. I need to get
into much better shape before I can even start."
"Oh," Ranko asked, slightly disappointed, "When were you planning on doing
that?"
"Remember?" Ranma replied, "It only takes about an hour of meditation a
night to avoid sleep. I spent the rest of the time working on that problem."
"But... I didn't hear anything!" Ranko exclaimed, "How could you do any
exercise without waking everyone up?"
"Those same monks had techniques for going without exercise, too. I just
adapted one of those. It's not as quick or as effective as a good workout, but
it's a start. Between that and the training trips I'm going to take as soon as I
can, I should be back in shape in a few months."
"Oh," Ranko said grinning in anticipation, "So when are you going to start
teaching me?"
Ranma smirked. "Oh, after I take care of some business with the Old Freak.
I'm not licensed to teach our school in this world, after all."
"Who?" Ranko said, her voice betraying her feelings of disappointment.
"Happousai, the Grandmaster and Founder of the Musabetsu Kakutou Ryu."
Ranko's jaw dropped in shock. "Ranma!" she exclaimed, "Why on earth would
you talk about your sensei like that?!"
Ranma almost burst out laughing. "You'll understand when you meet him,
Ranko," he answered mirthfully. "Anyway, I'll have to make sure that he
understands that you and the Tendous are off limits."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"You'll see."
"I hate it when you say that."
Ranma just smirked.
-------------------
After that, Ranma and Ranko went downstairs to get breakfast before
Ranko's morning practice. As they ate, Ranko wondered why she was feeling the
way she was. After all, she hadn't even known Ranma, well, *THIS* Ranma, for a
full day. Why did she already think of him like she did? Was he influencing her
mind somehow?
Ranma ate, oblivious to Ranko's thoughts, although a little surprised at
the ease with which he had gotten Ranko to accept him. He was just as surprised
at how easily he had come to accept Ranko as his sister, even though he had only
known her for a day. As chewed on a bit of rice, he noticed his idiot father
making a grab for Ranko's food and casually ki-charged a grain of his rice,
making sure to keep his aura cloaked, and used his chopsticks to bat it at his
father's.
Genma, meanwhile, was confused. Every time he tried to steal from Ranko's
plate, he'd feel a minute, almost unnoticeable, surge of ki, followed by his
chopsticks breaking. What was worse, his worthless daughter wasn't even paying
attention! It was bad enough having to train a weak little girl, but this took
the (metaphorical) cake! It really should be noticed that Genma thought almost
completely in terms of food, a fact that explains quite a bit about his
behavior.
Nodoka, on the other hand, was pleased. Her son and daughter looked like
they might finally be getting along, her husband wasn't eating like a starving
animal (even if he *WAS* only because he was too busy trying to replace his
broken chopsticks to eat as quickly as he'd like), and Ranma looked better than
he had in months (in terms of health, that is)!
At that observation, Ranma and Ranko casually placed their chopsticks in
their bowls, looked up, and, in perfect unison, said, "Thanks, mom!"
Nodoka blinked. Twice.
-------------------
As Ranko and Genma began their morning routine of pounding the crap out of
each other, Ranma kept a metaphorical eye on them with his ki-senses.
"Hmm," he thought, "Budou-no-kami was right. Ranko's around the level I
remember Akane being at. Far more skilled, and better at controlling her anger,
but also a lot weaker... and..." Ranma winced as Ranko landed a particularly
nasty blow and continued, "Much more vicious, too. That had to hurt."
"Anyway," he mused, "She's slower, too, although not by much. She has
definite potential. Something about her aura's bothering me, though. I'll have
to look into that."
-------------------
Ranma quickly gathered what he'd need for the day, placing it in what
Ranko had pointed out as his school bag, and headed down, pointedly ignoring the
highly bruised Genma.
"Ready to go, Ranko?" he asked, looking at his sister.
"What an ungrateful girl," Genma moaned, looking at Ranko, "To do this to
your poor father..."
Ranko just raised her head. "That's what you get for not taking me
seriously as a student, Oyaji," she stated contemptuously.
"Whatever do you mean?" Genma asked, in a ridiculously (and not very
convincingly) innocent voice.
"Two words, Old Fart. Mountain and Sea." Ranko was virtually boiling;
after Ranma had mentioned the Saotome Forbidden Techniques, she had gone through
Genma's collection of scrolls, eventually finding them. After seeing what they
were capable of (although she wasn't capable of learning them; Ranma was right
in that she didn't know more than the very basics of using her aura), her rage
towards her father had taken new heights.
Ranma pointedly ignored the argument, showing an uncommon degree of sense,
as Genma went into a credible impression of Happousai's 'Innocent Old Man' act.
Like the original, it didn't work very well.
"Come on, Ranma," his sister said, grabbing him by the arm and pulling him
out the door, "Let's go."
-------------------
On the way to school, Ranma and Ranko discussed the other Ranma. More
specifically, they discussed his status in school: how well he could speak
English, his status in math, and so on. Ultimately, Ranma decided that he could
fake that with only a minimum of study; he had to learn most of the stuff that
he hadn't learned when he was in high school during that Martial Arts Ballistics
competition shortly after he had opened his first dojo. Ranko was just goggling
over the idea of somebody actually talking about Martial Arts Ballistics with a
straight face. Then she was boggling at the idea of some of the other schools
that existed after Ranma mentioned *WHY* he didn't find it all that strange. The
story about a martial art based on tea ceremony was particularly odd, in her
opinion.
Around a block from the school, Ranma gestured for Ranko to go the rest of
the way alone before suddenly vanishing as he invoked the Goshin Dai Ryu Sei Fu.
-------------------
"I HATE BOYS!" shouted an angry Tendou Akane as she smashed through her
morning gauntlet, pausing afterwards to wipe her forehead. When Kunou didn't
show up, she breathed a sigh of relief, heading inside. "I might actually be
early for once," she said, not noticing where Kunou still stood in his usual
place, unable to move thanks to the ofuda attached to his forehead.
Her sister, however, was a different story. When she found Kunou, not a
minute later, she was shocked at the sight. Casually palming the ward, she was
startled to see him instantly spring to life, ranting about how some foul
villain had prevented him from issuing his noble challenge, or some equally
pointless matter; Nabiki didn't pay attention. She did, however, make a mental
note to have Hino-sensei take a look at the slip of paper that she had removed
from the head of the idiotic would-be samurai.
-------------------
A.N.:
Yes! Done, and hopefully just in time for Tannim's update! I haven't had
time to proofread this as thoroughly as I'd like, but it *IS* done; while I may
have to make some minor corrections, that should be it. Okay... to address the
obvious point of Ranko's feelings for Ranma. Yes, she cares for him. The problem
right now, however, is that she doesn't know *WHY* she does. There's a good
reason for it, which will be revealed in good time, but, of the characters I've
introduced so far, only Budou-no-kami knows it.
Speaking of Budou-no-kami, I've gotten a few concerns about him showing up
again. He is *NOT* going to be a regular feature, so don't worry about it.
Now... regarding Ranma's emotional outburst. The pain is old, and Ranma's
gotten over it, for the most part. On the other hand, it never goes away
completely. Trust me, I know. Ranma's had to do far more dwelling on the past,
what he lost, than he's done in years. Add to that another factor, one which I
know, but you don't, as well as the fact that they're finally beginning to truly
heal (and have been rubbed open as a result)... well, Ranma's in a position
similar to what Akane was with Tofu-sensei towards the end of Volume One of the
manga (US Volume One, that is). He's also long since rejected his father's view
of manliness, something that certainly helped. :-). Translated: he's more in
touch with his emotions than in cannon, as well as reminiscing about the fact
that everyone he ever knew and loved is dead. Despite the chance to start over,
and thereby heal those scars, the memory still hurts. A lot. Then there's the
reason why he and Ranko are so comfortable around each other...
Basically, there's a lot going on that you don't know about yet, so don't
worry if people seem to be acting a little oddly. Things will become clear in
time.
Oh, and if Ranma seems to be too knowledgeable... he's already made two
rather significant mistakes. :-).