Chara Chara
By Erie Maxwell
Gah! I accidentally deleted this when I was trying to put up my edited version. Should really pay more attention to what I'm doing, I suppose. *blushes* At least I had it saved!
Here's the meaning of the title, just to explain it a bit more.
CHARA CHARA (sounds like CHAH RAH CHAH RAH.) Slang for something that is too flashy in terms of style, or refers to person who blatantly flirts.
Nice, ne? *laughs* So, onto the story!
* * *
Chapter One: In Which Akane Meets A Thoroughly Detestable Stranger
* * *
Tendo Akane was born in the land of Nermia, where nothing seemed to work the way it was supposed to, except when it was expected to be the opposite of normalcy. Cows lived beneath the sea at night, hiding from the moon; the town was plagued by the efforts of the notorious bone thief, Old Mother Hubbard's alter ego; and the rule of three was switched on its head, much to the irritation of the local royal family. Needless to say, it was not surprising that Akane was rather annoyed by her placement in the family as youngest. She routinely begged her parents to have another child, but to no avail. She was simply told to go to her room and think about what she had just asked, and after months of intense contemplation she realized that she was being just the slightest bit selfish. Therefore, at the age of ten Akane finally decided to accept her fate in this matter, with the clear understanding that she wouldn't in any other.
Akane's older sisters were extremely different from her, even in the blurry years of childhood. Kasumi, the eldest girl (and so, in turn, the one fated to become most successful when she set out to seek her fortune) was a sweet, well-tempered girl. She had lived thirteen years with her mother, a fact which had allowed her to pick up some of the traits she had admired the most while developing her own personality. She was a fantastic chef, a terrific sewer and, although she had the tendency to appear a bit dull-witted at times due to an inborn reluctance to state her opinion, a very bright girl. Nabiki, the middle child, was not content to stick to what she had been told since birth. She was determined to make her way in the world, rule of three or not.
'Besides,' she'd sometimes argue, 'It isn't as if we're living in some fairy tale. This is the modern world! I'm sure that's just superficial nonsense parents can use to keep their children in their power.' She had discovered at a young age that she was extremely apt with numbers and by the age of twelve was already making a killing off of the neighborhood children, making her the richest child in the entire town.
For many years Akane and her sisters lived happily. Their mother died shortly after Akane had her epiphany, but the girls were well taken care of and although they missed their mother dreadfully, they still had a loving father who doted even more upon his daughters now that he realized how easily he could lose them. Every day he walked them to and from school, before bringing them to the shop to watch his work (and perhaps sell a few weapons while they were at it). It was in this way that he came to meet, and eventually fall in love with the girl's teacher Miss Hinako.
Hinako was the terror of the schoolhouse, forcing children to do chores for misbehaving while she did the same things they were being punished for: eating candy during school hours, hiding comics between textbook pages, even playing pranks on unsuspecting 'delinquents'. She was a child's worst nightmare: a bully with actual authority. She entered her relationship with Akane's father the same she would any new escapade; that is, with whole- hearted excitement. As the days became weeks, Hinako seemed to calm down considerably, although she still routinely ate more than her worth in sweets.
Nevertheless, the pair was happily married within half a year, adding a small, but successful dojo onto their weapons shop in order to pay for Hinako's chosen lifestyle.
* * *
A week before her nineteenth birthday, Akane's father died quite suddenly, leaving her and her sisters in the care of their stepmother. The entire family had to scramble around, advertising their small weapons shop and dojo like mad in the hope of bringing in enough extra cash to pay for the funeral expenses. In the end, they managed to scrape together enough for five all-out funerals (mostly due to the charity of their neighbors), and after giving Tendo Soun a good burial began planning quite a few elaborate birthday parties to pay the neighborhood back.
After the first few parties had died down and the evening one was in full swing, Akane slipped out the door as quietly as possible.
"I'm sure it would be all right if I just stepped out for a breath of fresh air." She reasoned. "After all, Kasumi and Nabiki seem to doing quite fine as hostesses, and I won't be gone long enough for anyone to miss me."
Before she could talk herself out of it, Akane set down the familiar streets of her hometown, marveling at how quiet everything was. The entire town was at the dojo, leaving acres of eerie stillness for her to face alone. She smirked at the unspoken challenge the buildings before her seemed to be placing before her and began to run. She was no wimp; she could handle the dark by herself any day! . . . As long as there were no ghosts. As she began to wonder whether it would be better to go back now, not because of any strange supernatural beings which may or may not be floating around of course, but because she had been gone for awhile now, Akane didn't notice she had run into someone until she felt the thud of her body hitting the ground.
The person beneath her groaned as he quickly jumped to his feet, throwing her back down in the process. Turning towards his assailant, the man glowered. "Jeese, why don't 'cha watch where you're - Hello! Are you all right?"
It was the quickest mood swing Akane had ever seen; going from truly put out to what appeared to be an attempt at gallant in seconds flat. Still, she wasn't about to just sit back and put up with being yelled at for no reason, despite who had pushed who down.
"Now look here, I'm sorry you fell but you were just as careless as I was! Seeing as we seem to be the only two around, you must have seen me coming a mile away!"
The man grinned evilly. "Well, I suppose I could have, considering . . ." he shook his head ruefully. "But I'm sorry I yelled. I just didn't notice you were a girl straight off that's all. You know, from a distance you look quite manly!"
She glared icily at him, but quickly smirked in triumph. "So you _did_ see me than!"
Cocking his head to the side, he smiled pleasantly. "What's your name?"
"Don't change the subject sir!"
"Don't call me that, it makes me feel old! I'm Ranma."
"Yes okay, _Ranma_ than. Do you admit you saw me coming?"
"You know, you've got me at a serious disadvantage here, what with you knowing who I am and me not knowing you. Come on, what's your name?"
"What -is- this? First you insult me, now you've suddenly got to know what I'm called?"
He smiled again, brighter by the minute. "No, I just want to know your name! You know, it's rude not to introduce yourself to someone who you've talked to for so long!"
"Yes, well it's also rude not to answer someone's questions when you're repeatedly asked!"
"Now who would do -that-?"
" . . . Admit you saw me!"
"After you tell me your name." He smirked.
She sighed, growing more than a little agitated with her trailing 'victim'. "Fine, I'm Akane."
Ranma grinned at her, looking like he thought he was the victor. "Nice to meet 'cha Akane." He said, and then began strolling away from her.
It took her a second to wipe the victorious smile off her face and realize she'd been had. "Hey you jerk, come back! Cheat! Liar! All I asked was a simple question!" She tore down the street towards him at breakneck speed, stopping a few yards ahead. "Now, -admit it-."
"Wow, you're pretty fast! Do you wanna be an athlete or a knight or something?"
She glared in response.
" 'Cause you know, you might make it! You'd just have to work on the finer points, like your war with balance!"
Akane took a deep breath, trying to keep herself calm as she repeated 'I'm not gonna retort, all he wants is to get me confused. I'll just stick to my question.' ". . . What's your- Argh!" She sneered at Ranma, repressing the homicidal urges rising inside her.
Ranma smirked at her slip, but was stopped from commenting when a large piece of parchment nailed to a nearby tree caught his eye. He looked strangely proud, but after stealing several shifty glances Akane's way, he molded his face into an obvious mask of calmness.
Rolling her eyes, Akane went to see what he was so worked up about. Pushing Ranma out of the way a tad rougher than necessary, she read:
'Attention All Young Maidens: This is a public warning against the fearful Wizard Onnatarashi Rankou, thief of hearts and devourer of souls. It is advised that all-female citizens between the Ages of 14-28 be assigned a curfew of no Later than 9 o'clock p.m. If you have any information on this detestable villain, Please alert your nearest law office.'
She frowned and turned towards Ranma. "I've heard of him! They say he stuffs each heart to keep as a trophy."
"What? Who says -that-? It's ridicul- I mean yes, yes, it's all true! Disgusting stuff, hmm?" He laughed nervously, avoiding Akane's eyes.
She nodded, a bit excited. "So you know him? I mean, if you know the rumors are all true . . . "
"Y-yeah! We're like this." Ranma crossed his fingers and held them up for Akane to see.
She stared at him, disbelieving. "Really? Than what is he like?"
Ignoring her question, he studied the sign carefully before shaking his head in disgust. "-Onnatarashi-?" He groaned. "Honestly, I ask Ryoga for _one_ favor . . ."
She looked at him levelly and was about to demand an explanation when she finally noticed how long she had been gone. "Oh! It must be near eleven!"
"Don't worry! I swear on . . . mine? Thine? That doesn't sound right . . . Well, I swear as long as I'm here Rankou won't come anywhere near you." He nodded, still puzzling over the question of honor.
She scoffed. "How sweet. However, I meant I've got to get home, it's my eighth birthday party today. I only meant to step out for a moment. Besides, I can take care of myself quite fine, thank you very much!" Akane added quickly.
"Wow, you're already eight? Impressive, I woulda taken you for two." He was rewarded with a parting 'Be-da!' as Akane walked off. He grinned in response, shouting out to her retreating form, "I'd offer to walk you home, but you seem to think you can handle the dreaded 'Onnatarashi' by yourself, right?"
"You got it!" She told him without turning around. She had only gotten a few steps before Ranma popped up beside her. "What do you want _now_? I thought you said I could handle the wizard myself?!"
"I said -you- thought you could, which you're wrong about. He's far too much of a threat for a girl to deal with, even one like you Tomboy!"
Akane scowled at her escort. "What makes you think I'm a tomboy?"
A small smirk danced across Ranma's face. "I already told you, you really don't have the figure of a normal girl, nor the temperament. So, where do you live?"
"What? What's wrong with my 'temperament', hmm?"
"This really is a nice little town. I oughta come down here more often; I never realized how interesting it is. What's your house like?"
"You didn't answer my question!"
"And you didn't answer mine, which is much more immediate."
"Hmph, 'where do I live?' Where do _you_ live?"
"So how old are you, really?"
". . . Oh no, I'm not playing this game again! I can get home quite fine by myself from here, just go."
"So you live close by, do you?"
"Yeah, sure. It's just around the corner."
He seemed to ponder this for a moment. "Well, all right, suit yourself. Bye!" He took off as quickly as he had reappeared and was out of Akane's sight in seconds flat. She sighed happily, finally rid of the night's annoyance and well on her way home. It was then that she noticed that she was in the most remote section of town, which hadn't been completely built up yet.
". . . I'm going to kill him. Really, if I ever meet that jerk again, I'll kill him!"
* * *
A/N: Well? What do you think? I really haven't had this much fun writing a fic in quite a while.
Oh, and translations of a few of the words:
Onnatarashi - Ladies' man, playboy, you get the picture ^-^
I used Rankou instead of Ranko because the former is unisex, while the latter is feminine.
'Be-da!' is the sound made when performing akanbe (Pulling an eyelid down and sticking out your tongue. If you have no clue what I'm talking about, you obviously haven't watched much anime).
I'm still fixing it up, but I believe it's getting there. I'll put up chapter two once it's rewritten.
-Erie
By Erie Maxwell
Gah! I accidentally deleted this when I was trying to put up my edited version. Should really pay more attention to what I'm doing, I suppose. *blushes* At least I had it saved!
Here's the meaning of the title, just to explain it a bit more.
CHARA CHARA (sounds like CHAH RAH CHAH RAH.) Slang for something that is too flashy in terms of style, or refers to person who blatantly flirts.
Nice, ne? *laughs* So, onto the story!
* * *
Chapter One: In Which Akane Meets A Thoroughly Detestable Stranger
* * *
Tendo Akane was born in the land of Nermia, where nothing seemed to work the way it was supposed to, except when it was expected to be the opposite of normalcy. Cows lived beneath the sea at night, hiding from the moon; the town was plagued by the efforts of the notorious bone thief, Old Mother Hubbard's alter ego; and the rule of three was switched on its head, much to the irritation of the local royal family. Needless to say, it was not surprising that Akane was rather annoyed by her placement in the family as youngest. She routinely begged her parents to have another child, but to no avail. She was simply told to go to her room and think about what she had just asked, and after months of intense contemplation she realized that she was being just the slightest bit selfish. Therefore, at the age of ten Akane finally decided to accept her fate in this matter, with the clear understanding that she wouldn't in any other.
Akane's older sisters were extremely different from her, even in the blurry years of childhood. Kasumi, the eldest girl (and so, in turn, the one fated to become most successful when she set out to seek her fortune) was a sweet, well-tempered girl. She had lived thirteen years with her mother, a fact which had allowed her to pick up some of the traits she had admired the most while developing her own personality. She was a fantastic chef, a terrific sewer and, although she had the tendency to appear a bit dull-witted at times due to an inborn reluctance to state her opinion, a very bright girl. Nabiki, the middle child, was not content to stick to what she had been told since birth. She was determined to make her way in the world, rule of three or not.
'Besides,' she'd sometimes argue, 'It isn't as if we're living in some fairy tale. This is the modern world! I'm sure that's just superficial nonsense parents can use to keep their children in their power.' She had discovered at a young age that she was extremely apt with numbers and by the age of twelve was already making a killing off of the neighborhood children, making her the richest child in the entire town.
For many years Akane and her sisters lived happily. Their mother died shortly after Akane had her epiphany, but the girls were well taken care of and although they missed their mother dreadfully, they still had a loving father who doted even more upon his daughters now that he realized how easily he could lose them. Every day he walked them to and from school, before bringing them to the shop to watch his work (and perhaps sell a few weapons while they were at it). It was in this way that he came to meet, and eventually fall in love with the girl's teacher Miss Hinako.
Hinako was the terror of the schoolhouse, forcing children to do chores for misbehaving while she did the same things they were being punished for: eating candy during school hours, hiding comics between textbook pages, even playing pranks on unsuspecting 'delinquents'. She was a child's worst nightmare: a bully with actual authority. She entered her relationship with Akane's father the same she would any new escapade; that is, with whole- hearted excitement. As the days became weeks, Hinako seemed to calm down considerably, although she still routinely ate more than her worth in sweets.
Nevertheless, the pair was happily married within half a year, adding a small, but successful dojo onto their weapons shop in order to pay for Hinako's chosen lifestyle.
* * *
A week before her nineteenth birthday, Akane's father died quite suddenly, leaving her and her sisters in the care of their stepmother. The entire family had to scramble around, advertising their small weapons shop and dojo like mad in the hope of bringing in enough extra cash to pay for the funeral expenses. In the end, they managed to scrape together enough for five all-out funerals (mostly due to the charity of their neighbors), and after giving Tendo Soun a good burial began planning quite a few elaborate birthday parties to pay the neighborhood back.
After the first few parties had died down and the evening one was in full swing, Akane slipped out the door as quietly as possible.
"I'm sure it would be all right if I just stepped out for a breath of fresh air." She reasoned. "After all, Kasumi and Nabiki seem to doing quite fine as hostesses, and I won't be gone long enough for anyone to miss me."
Before she could talk herself out of it, Akane set down the familiar streets of her hometown, marveling at how quiet everything was. The entire town was at the dojo, leaving acres of eerie stillness for her to face alone. She smirked at the unspoken challenge the buildings before her seemed to be placing before her and began to run. She was no wimp; she could handle the dark by herself any day! . . . As long as there were no ghosts. As she began to wonder whether it would be better to go back now, not because of any strange supernatural beings which may or may not be floating around of course, but because she had been gone for awhile now, Akane didn't notice she had run into someone until she felt the thud of her body hitting the ground.
The person beneath her groaned as he quickly jumped to his feet, throwing her back down in the process. Turning towards his assailant, the man glowered. "Jeese, why don't 'cha watch where you're - Hello! Are you all right?"
It was the quickest mood swing Akane had ever seen; going from truly put out to what appeared to be an attempt at gallant in seconds flat. Still, she wasn't about to just sit back and put up with being yelled at for no reason, despite who had pushed who down.
"Now look here, I'm sorry you fell but you were just as careless as I was! Seeing as we seem to be the only two around, you must have seen me coming a mile away!"
The man grinned evilly. "Well, I suppose I could have, considering . . ." he shook his head ruefully. "But I'm sorry I yelled. I just didn't notice you were a girl straight off that's all. You know, from a distance you look quite manly!"
She glared icily at him, but quickly smirked in triumph. "So you _did_ see me than!"
Cocking his head to the side, he smiled pleasantly. "What's your name?"
"Don't change the subject sir!"
"Don't call me that, it makes me feel old! I'm Ranma."
"Yes okay, _Ranma_ than. Do you admit you saw me coming?"
"You know, you've got me at a serious disadvantage here, what with you knowing who I am and me not knowing you. Come on, what's your name?"
"What -is- this? First you insult me, now you've suddenly got to know what I'm called?"
He smiled again, brighter by the minute. "No, I just want to know your name! You know, it's rude not to introduce yourself to someone who you've talked to for so long!"
"Yes, well it's also rude not to answer someone's questions when you're repeatedly asked!"
"Now who would do -that-?"
" . . . Admit you saw me!"
"After you tell me your name." He smirked.
She sighed, growing more than a little agitated with her trailing 'victim'. "Fine, I'm Akane."
Ranma grinned at her, looking like he thought he was the victor. "Nice to meet 'cha Akane." He said, and then began strolling away from her.
It took her a second to wipe the victorious smile off her face and realize she'd been had. "Hey you jerk, come back! Cheat! Liar! All I asked was a simple question!" She tore down the street towards him at breakneck speed, stopping a few yards ahead. "Now, -admit it-."
"Wow, you're pretty fast! Do you wanna be an athlete or a knight or something?"
She glared in response.
" 'Cause you know, you might make it! You'd just have to work on the finer points, like your war with balance!"
Akane took a deep breath, trying to keep herself calm as she repeated 'I'm not gonna retort, all he wants is to get me confused. I'll just stick to my question.' ". . . What's your- Argh!" She sneered at Ranma, repressing the homicidal urges rising inside her.
Ranma smirked at her slip, but was stopped from commenting when a large piece of parchment nailed to a nearby tree caught his eye. He looked strangely proud, but after stealing several shifty glances Akane's way, he molded his face into an obvious mask of calmness.
Rolling her eyes, Akane went to see what he was so worked up about. Pushing Ranma out of the way a tad rougher than necessary, she read:
'Attention All Young Maidens: This is a public warning against the fearful Wizard Onnatarashi Rankou, thief of hearts and devourer of souls. It is advised that all-female citizens between the Ages of 14-28 be assigned a curfew of no Later than 9 o'clock p.m. If you have any information on this detestable villain, Please alert your nearest law office.'
She frowned and turned towards Ranma. "I've heard of him! They say he stuffs each heart to keep as a trophy."
"What? Who says -that-? It's ridicul- I mean yes, yes, it's all true! Disgusting stuff, hmm?" He laughed nervously, avoiding Akane's eyes.
She nodded, a bit excited. "So you know him? I mean, if you know the rumors are all true . . . "
"Y-yeah! We're like this." Ranma crossed his fingers and held them up for Akane to see.
She stared at him, disbelieving. "Really? Than what is he like?"
Ignoring her question, he studied the sign carefully before shaking his head in disgust. "-Onnatarashi-?" He groaned. "Honestly, I ask Ryoga for _one_ favor . . ."
She looked at him levelly and was about to demand an explanation when she finally noticed how long she had been gone. "Oh! It must be near eleven!"
"Don't worry! I swear on . . . mine? Thine? That doesn't sound right . . . Well, I swear as long as I'm here Rankou won't come anywhere near you." He nodded, still puzzling over the question of honor.
She scoffed. "How sweet. However, I meant I've got to get home, it's my eighth birthday party today. I only meant to step out for a moment. Besides, I can take care of myself quite fine, thank you very much!" Akane added quickly.
"Wow, you're already eight? Impressive, I woulda taken you for two." He was rewarded with a parting 'Be-da!' as Akane walked off. He grinned in response, shouting out to her retreating form, "I'd offer to walk you home, but you seem to think you can handle the dreaded 'Onnatarashi' by yourself, right?"
"You got it!" She told him without turning around. She had only gotten a few steps before Ranma popped up beside her. "What do you want _now_? I thought you said I could handle the wizard myself?!"
"I said -you- thought you could, which you're wrong about. He's far too much of a threat for a girl to deal with, even one like you Tomboy!"
Akane scowled at her escort. "What makes you think I'm a tomboy?"
A small smirk danced across Ranma's face. "I already told you, you really don't have the figure of a normal girl, nor the temperament. So, where do you live?"
"What? What's wrong with my 'temperament', hmm?"
"This really is a nice little town. I oughta come down here more often; I never realized how interesting it is. What's your house like?"
"You didn't answer my question!"
"And you didn't answer mine, which is much more immediate."
"Hmph, 'where do I live?' Where do _you_ live?"
"So how old are you, really?"
". . . Oh no, I'm not playing this game again! I can get home quite fine by myself from here, just go."
"So you live close by, do you?"
"Yeah, sure. It's just around the corner."
He seemed to ponder this for a moment. "Well, all right, suit yourself. Bye!" He took off as quickly as he had reappeared and was out of Akane's sight in seconds flat. She sighed happily, finally rid of the night's annoyance and well on her way home. It was then that she noticed that she was in the most remote section of town, which hadn't been completely built up yet.
". . . I'm going to kill him. Really, if I ever meet that jerk again, I'll kill him!"
* * *
A/N: Well? What do you think? I really haven't had this much fun writing a fic in quite a while.
Oh, and translations of a few of the words:
Onnatarashi - Ladies' man, playboy, you get the picture ^-^
I used Rankou instead of Ranko because the former is unisex, while the latter is feminine.
'Be-da!' is the sound made when performing akanbe (Pulling an eyelid down and sticking out your tongue. If you have no clue what I'm talking about, you obviously haven't watched much anime).
I'm still fixing it up, but I believe it's getting there. I'll put up chapter two once it's rewritten.
-Erie