Teacher One Half
Disclaimer: *is sitting in a chair and someone in the shadows has a knife to his throat* I, Gekena, do not own either Ranma ½ or Please Teacher. Furthermore, I swear to update in a timely manner, lest my friend do irreversible bodily damage
Chapter 4
Ranma's life had been very strange lately, not that was unusual mind you. Over the past few days the young martial artist's life had been turned upside down. He had met a new teacher who turned out to be an alien and befriended her. He vowed to marry her so she could keep her job at Furinkan. And the most surprising of all, Ranma moved out of the Tendo dojo and declared he would not be part of the engagement his idiot father had arranged.
"Ranma, are you almost done?" came a soft female voice on the other side of the bathroom door.
Ranma looked to the door as he just finished drying off from his bath, "Yeah, be out in a sec."
Ranma felt slightly odd in the new environment. He had never met someone who he was so comfortable around so quickly after first meeting them. Of course, most others he met were out to kill him when they first met, so that could put a damper on a friendship.
Finally finished dressing himself in his muscle shirt and boxer combination, Ranma unlocked the door and stepped into the hall. He seriously doubted Mizuho would intrude while he was in the bath, as Shampoo had done on occasion, but old habits die hard.
Standing in front of him was Mizuho holding her night gown and still dressed in the clothes she wore for the day. When Mizuho saw him, she instantly smiled warmly at him before going into the bath herself. Ranma liked that smile, a lot. Since he had come to Nerima, about the only people nice to him without expecting something in return were Dr. Tofu and Kasumi.
"Both good people" Ranma thought to himself, "if the doc would only be less nervous around her. Even I ain't that bad."
Ranma sat down on the couch and sighed to himself. Tomorrow he was going to tell everyone about the upcoming marriage and he did not look forward to it. Truth be told, he didn't really WANT to marry Mizuho, it's just he couldn't let a friend get in trouble because of him. Ranma had always been that way, doing anything to help his few friends.
"I should probably have given Nabiki some more to warn the rest of Nerima. I can already imagine the damage tomorrow, not to mention how many will be hurt. I can beat 'em in a fight, but it's going to hurt."
Deciding worrying wasn't going to solve anything, Ranma sat on the floor in a lotus position and began meditating. It wasn't his favorite part about the Art, but it was useful in balancing and maintaining your chi, not to mention it helped pass the time. Allowing his mind to become focused only on the meditation, Ranma slipped into a slight comatose state, completely unaware of the world around him.
Fifteen minutes later, Mizuho opened the bathroom door and walked out, wearing a white night gown with orange trim and bows. Entering the living room, she saw Ranma sitting on the floor, deep in meditation. Seeing Ranma wasn't a surprise for the alien, she had asked him to live with her after all. What was a surprise was the pure, white aura surrounding him and pulsing to the rhythm of his heartbeat.
Finally building her courage, Mizuho slowly approached the young martial artist. The closer she got, the more a feeling of peace and well being enveloped her. With every step she felt more and more like she was in heaven and everything was perfect. She didn't even notice how far she had come until she was standing directly in front of Ranma, though he still did not stir.
Mizuho knelt down and looked at Ranma's face. His expression was calm and his eyes closed. Still Mizuho drew nearer to Ranma.
"He so handsome, and kind, and strong, and." Mizuho's thoughts stopped there as she was unable to maintain sentient thought any longer. Leaning forward while staring at Ranma's lips, Mizuho prepared herself to kiss her future husband.
Of course, Ranma chose just that moment to finish meditating and open his eyes. What he saw was Mizuho, WAY to close for comfort. With a startled yelp, Ranma fell backwards and knocked his arm against the table. Of course, on said table there was a glass of water which managed to spill onto the nearest Jusenkyo cursed individual. In other words, instant female Ranma.
Mizuho blushed furiously, realizing how close she had come to kissing Ranma. Immediately, she tried to cover it up by looking busy, "Oh Ranma! Let me get you some hot water. And you can't sleep in that shirt if it's wet. Take it off and give it to me to hang out to dry."
Poor Ranma was still in a slight daze from Mizuho being so close and it took her a few moments to register what the older woman had said. Finally understanding, Ranma looked up to see Mizuho holding her hand out, waiting for Ranma's wet shirt.
"I can't just take off my shirt right now" Ranma said, "I'm in my girl form, remember?"
Mizuho blushed a shade of red very close to Ranma's hair, "Oh! Umm. why don't you go into the bathroom and change then?"
"Uh, Ms. Kazami?" Ranma asked with a confused expression, "Should I change my shirt or back into my guy form?"
Had it been anyone else asking the afore mentioned question, Mizuho would have instantly declared the person insane. As it was, she let out an amused giggle, "Both Ranma. We can't have you in wet clothes and you're supposed to be my husband, not my wife, remember?"
Ranma immediately shot to his feet, a look of outrage on her face, "I'm a GUY! I ain't nobodies wife!"
Ranma's anger shocked Mizuho. She bowed her head and said, "I'm sorry, Ranma. I didn't mean it like that, it was only meant to be a joke. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings and I would never think of you as really being a woman."
The previous fire in Ranma's eyes was immediately extinguished at Mizuho's apology and the sorry and hurt expression on her face, "No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have yelled at ya like that. I just hate it when people think I'm a girl just cause of this stupid curse."
Ranma felt a hand rest gently on her shoulder. "Ranma" Mizuho said softly, "I know you are a guy, you have already proved yourself to be a gentleman many times. Your curse doesn't matter to me. You are my friend. and my husband, and no matter what form you in, that doesn't change a thing."
Ranma tentatively pulled her teacher into a gentle hug. Whenever someone discovered his curse before, they either hated her for it or laughed at her. Now this woman who she had only known for a few days had said it didn't even matter. While she was still incredibly nervous about marriage, she was glad Mizuho had come to Nerima.
Mizuho melted into Ranma's embrace. It felt slightly odd, since Ranma was a girl at the time, and now a bit shorter than Mizuho herself. Nonetheless, Mizuho enjoyed the closeness to her student and soon-to-be husband.
After a few moments, Ranma pulled away and scratched the base of her pigtail sheepishly, "Uh, I guess I'll go change now."
Mizuho simply nodded and the red haired girl left to the restroom. Deciding that it was getting late, Mizuho went into the bedroom to lay out the bedding while Ranma changed. As she looked at the folded futons in the closet, a dilemma crossed her mind.
"Ranma and I will be married in less than a week. It's perfectly normal for a couple to share a bed, right? But. how does he feel about that? Is he ready? For that matter, am I ready? No. I think separate beds would be better for now."
Quickly pulling both her futon and the spare she had luckily purchased, Mizuho arranged the two beds on the floor next to each other, only a few inches separating them. That matter done, she walked into the living room and began nibbling on her favorite snack, pocchi.
A few moments later, a now male Ranma walked back into the room. At his entrance, Mizuho looked up to him and immediately began staring. Ranma had taken off the wet shirt after changing and was now standing there, bare chested, and only wearing a pair of boxers. His muscular, well formed body almost made the female alien drool.
Noticing the glazed look on the pink haired woman's face, Ranma spoke up, "Yo, Mizuho. You said you wanted to hang this to dry, right?"
His question knocked Mizuho out of her prior stupor. Nodding, she took the shirt from Ranma's hands and went outside to hang it up. As she was doing this, a small smile formed on her face as she noted that was the first time Ranma had called her by her first name.
Finished with that chore, Mizuho walked back in and said, "Well, we should probably go to bed. It's pretty late and we could both use some rest."
Ranma nodded in agreement, "Yeah, tomorrows a big day. We should get plenty of sleep." Then mentally added to himself, "Tomorrow is going to be a really, really bad day."
Mizuho walked to the bedroom and opened the door, "Don't worry, I already set out your bed for you."
Ranma looked around the living room curiously, "Uhh, where?"
Mizuho actually paused for a second, trying to find out if he was kidding or not. Seeing his confused expression, she decided he wasn't and laughed a little while saying, "Your bed is in the bedroom of course."
Ranma froze. He couldn't have heard her right. Mizuho's bed was in the bedroom, so that couldn't be right, could it? Walking cautiously to the door he peered inside. Yep, there were two beds, side by side.
"Uhh. wait a minute, I can't sleep in the same room as you!" Ranma said in a slight panic.
Mizuho blinked in surprise and confusion, "Maybe it's different here on Earth than I thought, but don't a man and wife usually share a room?" Mizuho then blushed, "And usually a single bed?"
Ranma had to admit that what she said was technically correct. Despite knowing this, he still knew he couldn't spend the night in a girls room. It wasn't right! OK, so they would be married soon, but it still didn't feel right.
Scratching his head nervously, Ranma said, "Would it be OK if I slept in the living room? I like you Mizuho, but I wouldn't sleep with you in there too."
Mizuho was slightly disappointed by this, but resolved not to push the pigtailed martial artist into anything he wasn't ready for. After hearing his life story, she could easily understand his reluctance, even if it did sadden her slightly. She merely nodded to the younger man and began picking up his bedding. Ranma immediately began picking up as well and they had the futon set up in the living room in a few short moments.
"Well, I'm gonna get some sleep. Night Mizuho!" Ranma said while stifling a yawn.
Mizuho leaned in quickly and gave him a small kiss on the cheek. When she pulled back, she had a light blush and said, "Goodnight, Ranma. Sweet dreams." Then walked into the bedroom and closed the door.
As Ranma's mind was busy thinking on the kiss, his body went into automatic and crawled in bed, hoping to get to sleep quickly.
3 hours later, Ranma lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling, still awake.
"She kissed me. She just kissed me." was the thought that had been playing over and over for the past few hours like a broken record.
The sound of a door sliding open temporarily brought Ranma back into rational thought. Mizuho walked out of her room, eyes half-way closed. The woman walked to the kitchen table, picked up a few sticks of pocchi, and returned to her room while nibbling on them.
Ranma watched the scene in silence. After a few moments, he shrugged to himself and decided to finally go to sleep. His last thought before drifting off to sleep was, "She sure is something. This just might be the best thing to happen to me in a long time."
*_*
The next day was a weekend, so of course school was out. Despite this, there was a small group standing outside the gates of Furinkan High. Nabiki had done as Ranma paid her to and informed the rest of the Wrecking Crew, though not without charging each of them of course. The only member of the NWC that wasn't present was Ryoga, since he was probably lost only kami knows where.
In the distance, two figures are seen walking to the school. The first; a male with black hair, black kung fu pants, and a red Chinese shirt; is talking animatedly to the second' a woman with pink hair, wearing a dark blue, sleeveless top, and a light purple dress that reached just down to her knees.
"Make sure to stay near me at all times. I have a good guess what's about to happen and it ain't gonna be pretty. As long as your close, I can protect you." The man said, obviously being Ranma.
Mizuho nodded to Ranma and edged a little closer to him. She had heard about what the other martial artists were capable of and did not want to be on the receiving end of their violence.
Ranma continued his warnings "Make sure to especially look out for Shampoo and Kodachi. I don't think the others would actually try and hurt you, since you're not a martial artists or nothing. Shampoo will see you as an obstacle and to her 'obstacle is for killing'. Kodachi. she's just plain crazy, let's leave it at that.
Mizuho smiled at him, "Don't worry, I'll be alright, I have faith in you."
Ranma smiled quickly at her, but then looked at the group assembled, his group really. All of them were connected to him in one way or another. The Nerima Wrecking Crew, some of the strongest, most skillful martial artists on the planet. This was DEFINITELY going to be a bad day.
The group watched as Ranma approached them with Mizuho. Some knew who she was since they were in her class, while others merely guessed who this new face was. All knew that whoever she was, she was trouble for them.
Finally in front of the group, Ranma spoke out, "I guess yer all wonderin' why I called you out here."
"Indeed son-in-law. While it is a nice day out, I doubt you just wanted to chat." The Amazon matriarch Cologne said, eyeing the newcomer.
Ranma braced himself for what was to come. With his resolve firm, he gestured to Mizuho, "This is Ms. Mizuho Kazami, a new teacher at Furinkan. I wanted to tell you all that me and her are gonna be married in less than a week. That means any other engagements or anything like that are off."
Ranma had been expecting an explosion of fiancés and rivals at the announcement, all after either him or Mizuho. What happened was silence, pure silence, for a good five minutes. No one moved, no one spoke, everyone just stared at Ranma and Mizuho.
It was Kuno who finally spoke, "So, the villain Saotome seeks to add the fair educator to his harem along with the tigress Akane Tendo and the free spirited Pigtailed Girl. I, the great Blue Thunder, cannot allow such a travesty to continue! Have at thee!"
Kuno came running at Ranma, boken raised to attack. Behind him was Shampoo who decided to skip a speech, but did manage a few curse words in Mandarin. As Kuno slashed, Ranma delivered a quick snap kick to the idiots head, knocking him to the ground a few feet away.
Shampoo attacked Mizuho with her bonbori. The woman pulled back in fear, but was rescued as Ranma appeared in front of her and delivered a light punch to the oncoming weapon. This threw Shampoo off balance as she tried to keep from falling backwards from the counter attack.
With Shampoo still struggling to regain her form, Ranma brought his right hand into the air with the palm facing down, while his left hand was about 3 feet below his right, with the palm facing up. He moved both hands in a clockwise motion, all the while bringing them closer and releasing hot chi. When the hands had switched positions they were only a foot apart and the left was now on top, Ranma drew back his right fist and channeled some cold chi into it.
"Hiryu Shoten Ha Revised! Tiny Twister!" Ranma cried out as he punched directly in the hole of hot chi still in the air. The result was a miniaturized horizontal tornado that picked Shampoo up, spun her around many times very fast, and then dropped her to the ground.
The attack didn't really harm the Chinese girl and she'd probably not even have a bruise from the fall. However, she was out of the fight due to the fact the world wouldn't stop spinning and she felt like she was going to lose the ramen she had for breakfast all over the sidewalk.
"Saotome, you enemy of women! How dare you harm my dear Shampoo!" Just guess who said that one, think hard now.
Mousse threw chains that had a mixture of sharp and heavy blunt objects on the end of them out of his robes. Ranma blocked any attacks that would put Mizuho in danger and dodged the rest, all the while running to Mousse. As soon as he was close enough, Ranma let loose with a barrage of punches, compliments of the Katchu Tenshin Amuguriken. The final blow was a roundhouse punch that landed the blind duck-boy right on top of Kuno.
Both Kodachi and Ukyo were about to join the fray when Ranma held up both hands and cried, "Hold it!" The surprise alone was enough to stop them both in their tracks.
Ranma pointed to the two man pile to his side, "I gotta talk with them. Be right back."
Ranma then walked over, grabbed the two unconscious martial artists, and began dragging them away, Mizuho following close behind. After walking about 50 feet, Ranma set his rivals down and began slapping them lightly, trying to wake them up.
"Uhn. what? Saotome you foul sorcerer, I shall." "Wh-what the. Ranma Saotome I." Both idiots were silenced as Ranma simply covered their mouths with his hands.
"Listen" he began, "I got some good news about Akane, Shampoo, and the Pigtailed Girl that you guys want to hear."
Both of the men calmed down and Ranma removed his hands before turning to Mousse, "Mousse, you like Shampoo, right?" Mousse nods, "And you can't be with her because she's supposed to marry me, right?" nod again, "But if I am already married, that makes Shampoo available, right?" Mousse began to nod before stopping in utter disbelief. After a few moments he jumped up, danced around, hollered for joy, and generally acted like Tofu when he sees Kasumi.
Ranma then turned to Kuno, this would be slightly more difficult and a lot more annoying. While talking had never been his strong side, Ranma had managed to come up with a pretty good speech that should get Kuno off his back, even if it was a bit humiliating.
"Good samurai" Ranma said in a voice imitating Kuno, "I tell thee that I am not the sorcerer you make me out to be. I am but a warrior myself that has had a curse placed upon me by a sorcerer. Today I celebrate that the curse has been lifted and neither Akane Tendo nor the Pigtailed Girl are drawn to me against their wishes."
Kuno blinked a few times before his eyes widened in surprise, "Speak ye the truth? Both Akane and the Pigtailed Girl are free of his vial clutches?"
Ranma shook his head, "Sadly, no. Whilst I was able to free myself from his dark clutches, alas, my power was not enough to free them and they are still bound to his will."
Kuno stood up striking a righteous pose, "Then I, Tatewaki Kuno, shall endow upon them my love that they might be free of his evil clutches."
Ranma smiled, his speech worked perfectly, just as planned. Right at that moment, he had an idea. It might be different from the original, but he could still pull it off.
Ranma snapped his fingers to gain Kuno's attention, "I know of but one weakness to the sorcerers spell. His hold on Akane Tendo is the focal point of the magic. Should you break his spell over her, the Pigtailed Girl shall be released as well, but only once Akane has been freed."
Kuno nodded sagely, "Then I shall venture now to the Tendo Dojo that Akane might come into my open arms and share my love, along with the Pigtailed Girl!"
With that, Kuno began walking towards the Tendo residence. Once he was gone, Ranma burst out laughing.
"BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Oh kami, that actually worked!" Ranma managed to say after his laughter died down. Mizuho had yet to stop laughing herself. Ranma acting like that was hilarious
*_*
From a distance, Happosai and Cologne stood off on their own watching both the fight and how Ranma handled Mousse and Kuno, though they were out of hearing range to tell what was said, the results were plain enough.
"That move of Ranma's was fairly impressive" Happosai mused, "Didn't know that old technique of your people could do that."
Happosai didn't really care who Ranma married, as long as he was still able to play his tricks on the boy, or rub all over Ranma's female form's breasts, he was happy. Looking at Mizuho, he decided that he needed to investigate her further, especially one certain area.
Cologne didn't even pay attention to Happosai as she watched Ranma. Her trying to get Ranma had long ago outgrown the Kiss of Marriage. The boy had proven himself to be an incredible martial artist, perhaps even better than any of the amazons. The tribe needed him so they could have strong children and strong future warriors. Hell, the boy even defeated Saffron. SAFFRON! The monster she had heard about since she was a child. She would find a way to make Ranma join the tribe, one way or another.
*_*
After Ranma and Mizuho finished laughing, they both calmly walked back to where Kodachi and Ukyo were waiting. Ranma could only shake his head in amazement. After all this time, all he had to do was tell them to stop?
After looking at them for a few seconds, Ranma asked, "Do either of you really think you can beat me?"
Kodachi thought for a moment before sighing, "It is true. Ranma-darling's prowess is too much for even I, the Black Rose of St. Hebereke, to defeat. I shall stand down today, but be warned; I shall never allow a foul commoner like her to be wed my darling Ranma." And with that, Kodachi leapt onto the rooftops and took of towards the Kuno estate, showering black rose petals and laughing like a maniac the entire way.
Ranma then turned to Ukyo. The okinomiyaki chef had tears flowing from her eyes, "Ranchan, what are you doing? You're supposed to marry me, your cute fiancé, remember?"
Ranma felt horrible. Despite the tricks she tried against he and Akane, despite bombing the wedding, despite everything, he still thought of her as a friend, and it hurt like hell to see her cry. Ukyo moved to turn away but Ranma rushed forwards and gently grabbed her shoulders, forcing her to face him.
"Ukyo, when we were little kids, you were my best friend in the world. We used to play and spar, I really enjoyed it. I hated the day I left and Pop stole your dowry. I. I'm sorry, but I can't marry you. I want to make you happy, to keep you from being sad, but I can't. You probably hate me, and I can't blame ya, but I still want to be friends. I don't want to go through life with you hating me, I can't. Please, Ucchan?"
Ukyo looked up at him, tears still in her eyes, "Oh Ranma!" With that cry, Ukyo buried her face in his chest and hugged him close to her. Ranma was nervous at this point. Part of him wanted to comfort his friend, the other part kept expecting Mizuho to pull a mallet out (this was the nervous part obviously).
Ranma looked over to Mizuho who simply smiled and nodded. Ranma understood her gesture and wrapped his arms around the crying girl, trying to comfort her. After a few minutes, Ukyo let go of Ranma and pulled away while wiping away her tears.
"Guess I never really did have a chance, did I sugar?" Ukyo asked with a wistful smile.
Ranma smiled back, "Nope, I'm sorry but you'll always be 'Ucchan' to me."
Ukyo nodded sadly before looking at Mizuho, "We need to talk sugar, alone."
Ranma looked slightly nervous about that so Ukyo added, "Don't worry, I'll bring her back in one piece, I promise."
Ukyo then walked up to Mizuho and began leading her to other side of a nearby building.
*_*
"So Ms. Kounji, what is it you wanted to." Mizuho stopped when Ukyo turned around and she saw the fires burning in the brown haired girls eyes. An audible gulp could easily be heard from the teacher.
"Now you listen here" Ukyo said in a dark, firm, threatening voice, "Ranchan is my best friend. I swear, if you hurt him you'll have to deal with me, got it?"
Mizuho nodded quickly, not wanting to get on Ukyo's bad side. With the nod, Ukyo immediately began smiling again, "Well, I guess if you're going to be Ranchan's wife, we should get to know each other. Stop by my place any time, I'll tell you what he was like when he was younger. There are some pretty funny stories!" Ukyo then began laughing.
Mizuho joined in the laughter, "I can imagine!"
*_*
Ranma was nervous as he waited for the two girls to return. He didn't think Ukyo would hurt Mizuho, but still he worried. Just then the two came around the corner, laughing with one another.
"Well then" Ranma thought with a smile, "That went better than I thought it would."
Ranma heard a slight "ahem" and looked down to see Cologne. He mentally sighed to himself, it still wasn't quite over.
"Son-in-law" Cologne said while glaring at Ranma, "You realize that our laws demand you marry Shampoo. Whether or not you marry this girl does not change that."
Ranma used his patented smirk that always really pisses his opponents off, "Let's see. I ain't gonna just 'fall in love' with Shampoo, I'm not stupid enough to fall for one of your little tricks or spells anymore. Face it Old Ghoul, you lost."
Cologne growled and put her cane in a ready position, "There are other ways Son-in-law. I have been going easy on you, but I feel it's time to take things seriously."
Ukyo and Mizuho were close enough now to see what was going on and both seemed worried. Ranma. Ranma just seemed very annoyed.
Ranma's eyes narrowed and he sneered at the old woman, "Fool! You actually think you could force me to do anything?!" To emphasize his point, Ranma held up his right hand and pushed his confidence based chi into it, just a little bit. A yellow aura appeared around his hand and moved like flames.
Honestly, if you were to simply look at the aura Ranma was producing it wasn't all that impressive by Nerima standards. However, Cologne wasn't simply looking at the pure energy, she was feeling it, and what she felt terrified her.
"Oh gods!" she thought to herself in horror, "He has enough power to not just destroy the village, but vaporize it, along with the surrounding area for miles! And he's showing that much energy without even straining. Hiss full power is probably five or six times greater, but how?! IT'S NOT POSSIBLE!!!"
As she was shaking in terror, Cologne managed to get out one word, "How?"
Ranma chuckled lightly and let down the aura, "Oh come on now. You think someone can go up against constant battles against incredibly strong martial artists all the time, not to mention a guy who's part dragon or a phoenix god, and NOT become stronger? When I finally recovered from my fight with Saffron, I realized just how much stronger I was than from before the battle. I guess fighting like that was excellent training."
Cologne was mentally beating the crap out of herself. Everything he did was training, from eating, to moving around town, to going to school. Either he was training in the way the panda had taught him or he was fighting in some sort of challenge. Mix this with the myriad of styles he had faced, it was no wonder he was so strong.
Ranma smiled to himself. He still had to deal with Ryoga, but that was it. Somehow though, he knew he had missed someone.
"EEEEEEEEEEEEK!!" screamed Mizuho which was quickly followed by a male voice saying, "Hotcha!"
Ranma turned quickly to see Happosai clutched onto Mizuho's breasts as she desperately tried to pull the old pervert off.
"Ranma, please get him off!" she begged, tears forming in the corners of her eyes.
And that was it. Ranma Saotome of the Saotome School of Anything Goes, member of the Nerima Wrecking Crew, and only human to ever defeat Saffron in one-on-one combat, snapped.
Dashing over to Mizuho, Ranma grabbed the top of Happosai's head and squeezed. The pain forced the grand master to let go, much to Mizuho's relief. Happosai was just about to teach his upstart apprentice a lesson when Ranma turned the old man to face him.
A red aura of anger had burst forth around Ranma. Its strength and intensity alone was enough to scorch and crack the cement all around him. The worst thing of all was Ranma's eyes. They burned with the same aura that surrounded his body, giving him a demonic appearance.
"HAP-PO-SAI!" Ranma growled out, "If you EVER touch her again, You. Will. PAY! Do you understand?"
Happosai, Grand Master and creator of the Anything Goes style, wet himself in fear, "Yes! I swear, I'll never touch her or you again, I promise! I'm sorry, please forgive me, I'm sorry!"
Ranma growled, but dropped Happosai to the ground, "Get out of my sight!" he commanded. The little troll was all too happy to oblige and was out of the general area before you could say "panties".
Ranma's aura died out instantly as he turned to Mizuho with a downcast expression, "I couldn't protect you. You trusted me and I couldn't protect you. I am so sorry Mizuho."
Mizuho couldn't believe Ranma was berating himself so harshly after saving her like that. Stepping up close to him, she wrapped her arms around his waist and lightly kissed him on the cheek. At Ranma's shocked expression she could only smile.
"Ranma, you were there for me when I needed you. You gave up everything and did all this for me. How could I possibly ask for anything more?" she said with a content sigh while resting her head on his chest.
Ranma smiled down at her as she pressed against him. Thankfully, most of his brain was still functioning after the kiss, unlike the night before. After a few more moments, the couple broke their embrace and smiled at each other.
"So, where to now?" Ranma asked.
Mizuho checked her watch, "Well, it is almost noon. How about we go home and fix some lunch?"
Ranma was about to answer, but his stomach beat him to it with a loud growl, causing Mizuho to laugh and Ranma to chuckle in an embarrassed manner while scratching the back of his head.
After she finished laughing, Mizuho said, "I'll take that as a yes then. Let's get going, I just went by the butchery the other day, so for lunch we can even have some bacon!"
Next Time on Teacher One Half Ryoga manages to find his way back to Nerima (No! Not as the bacon! That was just a joke, even I am not that cruel!). How will he handle finding out about Ranma and Akane splitting, not to mention Ranma's new wife? All this and more in the next exciting chapter of Teacher One Half
*_*
Authors Notes First, I have to apologize for many things. First and foremost, I'm sorry for taking so long on this chapter. Recently, life has decided to kick me in the rear while wearing steel toed boots. Between work and college (yep, I'm a college student) I have been really busy. I also have to apologize for any OOC-ness or any parts of the story that are rushed. I am trying to keep this as true to original characters as possible while still showing growth and change. The rushed parts. well, that's just an oops. I have a feeling I rushed parts of this chapter even. I apologize for any writing/grammar errors I have made as well. I do ask that you keep in mind this is the first story I've written since the third grade or so (I'm not joking, I seriously haven't written anything longer than 500 words in at least 4 years, other than this). Also keep in mind that between my junior and senior years of high school, I attended a grand total of 63 days and still passed (they didn't even care if I came or took the test and passed me with a C). In other words, I am really bad at grammar and such. Quite honestly, I have spent at least 30 hours reading a dictionary so far so I could write better, not to mention reading "Romeo and Juliet" so I could write Kuno's lines. OK, almost done. I want to thank EVERYONE who reviewed. When I saw how many I had gotten, I literally cried like Soun Tendo and ruined my wireless mouse. Had to get a new one at Radioshack. Please R&R to tell me what you think. Also, I need to make a request. Anyone out there willing to be a pre-reader or wouldn't mind talking to me so I could bounce some ideas off of you, I would be ETERNALLY grateful. If interested, simply say so in a review and make sure to leave your e-mail. Well, that's it. Seeya!
PS Dear Elisteran,
Actually, I am from Souther New Mexico, Las Cruces to be precise. Surprised me anyone knew what Modern Age Comics was. Next time you go into the shop, tell Ralph to get more Ranma and Please Teacher. As it is, I am having to go on what little I can afford to buy and what I read in the manga when I sit in Barnes and Noble for hours on end.
Disclaimer: *is sitting in a chair and someone in the shadows has a knife to his throat* I, Gekena, do not own either Ranma ½ or Please Teacher. Furthermore, I swear to update in a timely manner, lest my friend do irreversible bodily damage
Chapter 4
Ranma's life had been very strange lately, not that was unusual mind you. Over the past few days the young martial artist's life had been turned upside down. He had met a new teacher who turned out to be an alien and befriended her. He vowed to marry her so she could keep her job at Furinkan. And the most surprising of all, Ranma moved out of the Tendo dojo and declared he would not be part of the engagement his idiot father had arranged.
"Ranma, are you almost done?" came a soft female voice on the other side of the bathroom door.
Ranma looked to the door as he just finished drying off from his bath, "Yeah, be out in a sec."
Ranma felt slightly odd in the new environment. He had never met someone who he was so comfortable around so quickly after first meeting them. Of course, most others he met were out to kill him when they first met, so that could put a damper on a friendship.
Finally finished dressing himself in his muscle shirt and boxer combination, Ranma unlocked the door and stepped into the hall. He seriously doubted Mizuho would intrude while he was in the bath, as Shampoo had done on occasion, but old habits die hard.
Standing in front of him was Mizuho holding her night gown and still dressed in the clothes she wore for the day. When Mizuho saw him, she instantly smiled warmly at him before going into the bath herself. Ranma liked that smile, a lot. Since he had come to Nerima, about the only people nice to him without expecting something in return were Dr. Tofu and Kasumi.
"Both good people" Ranma thought to himself, "if the doc would only be less nervous around her. Even I ain't that bad."
Ranma sat down on the couch and sighed to himself. Tomorrow he was going to tell everyone about the upcoming marriage and he did not look forward to it. Truth be told, he didn't really WANT to marry Mizuho, it's just he couldn't let a friend get in trouble because of him. Ranma had always been that way, doing anything to help his few friends.
"I should probably have given Nabiki some more to warn the rest of Nerima. I can already imagine the damage tomorrow, not to mention how many will be hurt. I can beat 'em in a fight, but it's going to hurt."
Deciding worrying wasn't going to solve anything, Ranma sat on the floor in a lotus position and began meditating. It wasn't his favorite part about the Art, but it was useful in balancing and maintaining your chi, not to mention it helped pass the time. Allowing his mind to become focused only on the meditation, Ranma slipped into a slight comatose state, completely unaware of the world around him.
Fifteen minutes later, Mizuho opened the bathroom door and walked out, wearing a white night gown with orange trim and bows. Entering the living room, she saw Ranma sitting on the floor, deep in meditation. Seeing Ranma wasn't a surprise for the alien, she had asked him to live with her after all. What was a surprise was the pure, white aura surrounding him and pulsing to the rhythm of his heartbeat.
Finally building her courage, Mizuho slowly approached the young martial artist. The closer she got, the more a feeling of peace and well being enveloped her. With every step she felt more and more like she was in heaven and everything was perfect. She didn't even notice how far she had come until she was standing directly in front of Ranma, though he still did not stir.
Mizuho knelt down and looked at Ranma's face. His expression was calm and his eyes closed. Still Mizuho drew nearer to Ranma.
"He so handsome, and kind, and strong, and." Mizuho's thoughts stopped there as she was unable to maintain sentient thought any longer. Leaning forward while staring at Ranma's lips, Mizuho prepared herself to kiss her future husband.
Of course, Ranma chose just that moment to finish meditating and open his eyes. What he saw was Mizuho, WAY to close for comfort. With a startled yelp, Ranma fell backwards and knocked his arm against the table. Of course, on said table there was a glass of water which managed to spill onto the nearest Jusenkyo cursed individual. In other words, instant female Ranma.
Mizuho blushed furiously, realizing how close she had come to kissing Ranma. Immediately, she tried to cover it up by looking busy, "Oh Ranma! Let me get you some hot water. And you can't sleep in that shirt if it's wet. Take it off and give it to me to hang out to dry."
Poor Ranma was still in a slight daze from Mizuho being so close and it took her a few moments to register what the older woman had said. Finally understanding, Ranma looked up to see Mizuho holding her hand out, waiting for Ranma's wet shirt.
"I can't just take off my shirt right now" Ranma said, "I'm in my girl form, remember?"
Mizuho blushed a shade of red very close to Ranma's hair, "Oh! Umm. why don't you go into the bathroom and change then?"
"Uh, Ms. Kazami?" Ranma asked with a confused expression, "Should I change my shirt or back into my guy form?"
Had it been anyone else asking the afore mentioned question, Mizuho would have instantly declared the person insane. As it was, she let out an amused giggle, "Both Ranma. We can't have you in wet clothes and you're supposed to be my husband, not my wife, remember?"
Ranma immediately shot to his feet, a look of outrage on her face, "I'm a GUY! I ain't nobodies wife!"
Ranma's anger shocked Mizuho. She bowed her head and said, "I'm sorry, Ranma. I didn't mean it like that, it was only meant to be a joke. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings and I would never think of you as really being a woman."
The previous fire in Ranma's eyes was immediately extinguished at Mizuho's apology and the sorry and hurt expression on her face, "No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have yelled at ya like that. I just hate it when people think I'm a girl just cause of this stupid curse."
Ranma felt a hand rest gently on her shoulder. "Ranma" Mizuho said softly, "I know you are a guy, you have already proved yourself to be a gentleman many times. Your curse doesn't matter to me. You are my friend. and my husband, and no matter what form you in, that doesn't change a thing."
Ranma tentatively pulled her teacher into a gentle hug. Whenever someone discovered his curse before, they either hated her for it or laughed at her. Now this woman who she had only known for a few days had said it didn't even matter. While she was still incredibly nervous about marriage, she was glad Mizuho had come to Nerima.
Mizuho melted into Ranma's embrace. It felt slightly odd, since Ranma was a girl at the time, and now a bit shorter than Mizuho herself. Nonetheless, Mizuho enjoyed the closeness to her student and soon-to-be husband.
After a few moments, Ranma pulled away and scratched the base of her pigtail sheepishly, "Uh, I guess I'll go change now."
Mizuho simply nodded and the red haired girl left to the restroom. Deciding that it was getting late, Mizuho went into the bedroom to lay out the bedding while Ranma changed. As she looked at the folded futons in the closet, a dilemma crossed her mind.
"Ranma and I will be married in less than a week. It's perfectly normal for a couple to share a bed, right? But. how does he feel about that? Is he ready? For that matter, am I ready? No. I think separate beds would be better for now."
Quickly pulling both her futon and the spare she had luckily purchased, Mizuho arranged the two beds on the floor next to each other, only a few inches separating them. That matter done, she walked into the living room and began nibbling on her favorite snack, pocchi.
A few moments later, a now male Ranma walked back into the room. At his entrance, Mizuho looked up to him and immediately began staring. Ranma had taken off the wet shirt after changing and was now standing there, bare chested, and only wearing a pair of boxers. His muscular, well formed body almost made the female alien drool.
Noticing the glazed look on the pink haired woman's face, Ranma spoke up, "Yo, Mizuho. You said you wanted to hang this to dry, right?"
His question knocked Mizuho out of her prior stupor. Nodding, she took the shirt from Ranma's hands and went outside to hang it up. As she was doing this, a small smile formed on her face as she noted that was the first time Ranma had called her by her first name.
Finished with that chore, Mizuho walked back in and said, "Well, we should probably go to bed. It's pretty late and we could both use some rest."
Ranma nodded in agreement, "Yeah, tomorrows a big day. We should get plenty of sleep." Then mentally added to himself, "Tomorrow is going to be a really, really bad day."
Mizuho walked to the bedroom and opened the door, "Don't worry, I already set out your bed for you."
Ranma looked around the living room curiously, "Uhh, where?"
Mizuho actually paused for a second, trying to find out if he was kidding or not. Seeing his confused expression, she decided he wasn't and laughed a little while saying, "Your bed is in the bedroom of course."
Ranma froze. He couldn't have heard her right. Mizuho's bed was in the bedroom, so that couldn't be right, could it? Walking cautiously to the door he peered inside. Yep, there were two beds, side by side.
"Uhh. wait a minute, I can't sleep in the same room as you!" Ranma said in a slight panic.
Mizuho blinked in surprise and confusion, "Maybe it's different here on Earth than I thought, but don't a man and wife usually share a room?" Mizuho then blushed, "And usually a single bed?"
Ranma had to admit that what she said was technically correct. Despite knowing this, he still knew he couldn't spend the night in a girls room. It wasn't right! OK, so they would be married soon, but it still didn't feel right.
Scratching his head nervously, Ranma said, "Would it be OK if I slept in the living room? I like you Mizuho, but I wouldn't sleep with you in there too."
Mizuho was slightly disappointed by this, but resolved not to push the pigtailed martial artist into anything he wasn't ready for. After hearing his life story, she could easily understand his reluctance, even if it did sadden her slightly. She merely nodded to the younger man and began picking up his bedding. Ranma immediately began picking up as well and they had the futon set up in the living room in a few short moments.
"Well, I'm gonna get some sleep. Night Mizuho!" Ranma said while stifling a yawn.
Mizuho leaned in quickly and gave him a small kiss on the cheek. When she pulled back, she had a light blush and said, "Goodnight, Ranma. Sweet dreams." Then walked into the bedroom and closed the door.
As Ranma's mind was busy thinking on the kiss, his body went into automatic and crawled in bed, hoping to get to sleep quickly.
3 hours later, Ranma lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling, still awake.
"She kissed me. She just kissed me." was the thought that had been playing over and over for the past few hours like a broken record.
The sound of a door sliding open temporarily brought Ranma back into rational thought. Mizuho walked out of her room, eyes half-way closed. The woman walked to the kitchen table, picked up a few sticks of pocchi, and returned to her room while nibbling on them.
Ranma watched the scene in silence. After a few moments, he shrugged to himself and decided to finally go to sleep. His last thought before drifting off to sleep was, "She sure is something. This just might be the best thing to happen to me in a long time."
*_*
The next day was a weekend, so of course school was out. Despite this, there was a small group standing outside the gates of Furinkan High. Nabiki had done as Ranma paid her to and informed the rest of the Wrecking Crew, though not without charging each of them of course. The only member of the NWC that wasn't present was Ryoga, since he was probably lost only kami knows where.
In the distance, two figures are seen walking to the school. The first; a male with black hair, black kung fu pants, and a red Chinese shirt; is talking animatedly to the second' a woman with pink hair, wearing a dark blue, sleeveless top, and a light purple dress that reached just down to her knees.
"Make sure to stay near me at all times. I have a good guess what's about to happen and it ain't gonna be pretty. As long as your close, I can protect you." The man said, obviously being Ranma.
Mizuho nodded to Ranma and edged a little closer to him. She had heard about what the other martial artists were capable of and did not want to be on the receiving end of their violence.
Ranma continued his warnings "Make sure to especially look out for Shampoo and Kodachi. I don't think the others would actually try and hurt you, since you're not a martial artists or nothing. Shampoo will see you as an obstacle and to her 'obstacle is for killing'. Kodachi. she's just plain crazy, let's leave it at that.
Mizuho smiled at him, "Don't worry, I'll be alright, I have faith in you."
Ranma smiled quickly at her, but then looked at the group assembled, his group really. All of them were connected to him in one way or another. The Nerima Wrecking Crew, some of the strongest, most skillful martial artists on the planet. This was DEFINITELY going to be a bad day.
The group watched as Ranma approached them with Mizuho. Some knew who she was since they were in her class, while others merely guessed who this new face was. All knew that whoever she was, she was trouble for them.
Finally in front of the group, Ranma spoke out, "I guess yer all wonderin' why I called you out here."
"Indeed son-in-law. While it is a nice day out, I doubt you just wanted to chat." The Amazon matriarch Cologne said, eyeing the newcomer.
Ranma braced himself for what was to come. With his resolve firm, he gestured to Mizuho, "This is Ms. Mizuho Kazami, a new teacher at Furinkan. I wanted to tell you all that me and her are gonna be married in less than a week. That means any other engagements or anything like that are off."
Ranma had been expecting an explosion of fiancés and rivals at the announcement, all after either him or Mizuho. What happened was silence, pure silence, for a good five minutes. No one moved, no one spoke, everyone just stared at Ranma and Mizuho.
It was Kuno who finally spoke, "So, the villain Saotome seeks to add the fair educator to his harem along with the tigress Akane Tendo and the free spirited Pigtailed Girl. I, the great Blue Thunder, cannot allow such a travesty to continue! Have at thee!"
Kuno came running at Ranma, boken raised to attack. Behind him was Shampoo who decided to skip a speech, but did manage a few curse words in Mandarin. As Kuno slashed, Ranma delivered a quick snap kick to the idiots head, knocking him to the ground a few feet away.
Shampoo attacked Mizuho with her bonbori. The woman pulled back in fear, but was rescued as Ranma appeared in front of her and delivered a light punch to the oncoming weapon. This threw Shampoo off balance as she tried to keep from falling backwards from the counter attack.
With Shampoo still struggling to regain her form, Ranma brought his right hand into the air with the palm facing down, while his left hand was about 3 feet below his right, with the palm facing up. He moved both hands in a clockwise motion, all the while bringing them closer and releasing hot chi. When the hands had switched positions they were only a foot apart and the left was now on top, Ranma drew back his right fist and channeled some cold chi into it.
"Hiryu Shoten Ha Revised! Tiny Twister!" Ranma cried out as he punched directly in the hole of hot chi still in the air. The result was a miniaturized horizontal tornado that picked Shampoo up, spun her around many times very fast, and then dropped her to the ground.
The attack didn't really harm the Chinese girl and she'd probably not even have a bruise from the fall. However, she was out of the fight due to the fact the world wouldn't stop spinning and she felt like she was going to lose the ramen she had for breakfast all over the sidewalk.
"Saotome, you enemy of women! How dare you harm my dear Shampoo!" Just guess who said that one, think hard now.
Mousse threw chains that had a mixture of sharp and heavy blunt objects on the end of them out of his robes. Ranma blocked any attacks that would put Mizuho in danger and dodged the rest, all the while running to Mousse. As soon as he was close enough, Ranma let loose with a barrage of punches, compliments of the Katchu Tenshin Amuguriken. The final blow was a roundhouse punch that landed the blind duck-boy right on top of Kuno.
Both Kodachi and Ukyo were about to join the fray when Ranma held up both hands and cried, "Hold it!" The surprise alone was enough to stop them both in their tracks.
Ranma pointed to the two man pile to his side, "I gotta talk with them. Be right back."
Ranma then walked over, grabbed the two unconscious martial artists, and began dragging them away, Mizuho following close behind. After walking about 50 feet, Ranma set his rivals down and began slapping them lightly, trying to wake them up.
"Uhn. what? Saotome you foul sorcerer, I shall." "Wh-what the. Ranma Saotome I." Both idiots were silenced as Ranma simply covered their mouths with his hands.
"Listen" he began, "I got some good news about Akane, Shampoo, and the Pigtailed Girl that you guys want to hear."
Both of the men calmed down and Ranma removed his hands before turning to Mousse, "Mousse, you like Shampoo, right?" Mousse nods, "And you can't be with her because she's supposed to marry me, right?" nod again, "But if I am already married, that makes Shampoo available, right?" Mousse began to nod before stopping in utter disbelief. After a few moments he jumped up, danced around, hollered for joy, and generally acted like Tofu when he sees Kasumi.
Ranma then turned to Kuno, this would be slightly more difficult and a lot more annoying. While talking had never been his strong side, Ranma had managed to come up with a pretty good speech that should get Kuno off his back, even if it was a bit humiliating.
"Good samurai" Ranma said in a voice imitating Kuno, "I tell thee that I am not the sorcerer you make me out to be. I am but a warrior myself that has had a curse placed upon me by a sorcerer. Today I celebrate that the curse has been lifted and neither Akane Tendo nor the Pigtailed Girl are drawn to me against their wishes."
Kuno blinked a few times before his eyes widened in surprise, "Speak ye the truth? Both Akane and the Pigtailed Girl are free of his vial clutches?"
Ranma shook his head, "Sadly, no. Whilst I was able to free myself from his dark clutches, alas, my power was not enough to free them and they are still bound to his will."
Kuno stood up striking a righteous pose, "Then I, Tatewaki Kuno, shall endow upon them my love that they might be free of his evil clutches."
Ranma smiled, his speech worked perfectly, just as planned. Right at that moment, he had an idea. It might be different from the original, but he could still pull it off.
Ranma snapped his fingers to gain Kuno's attention, "I know of but one weakness to the sorcerers spell. His hold on Akane Tendo is the focal point of the magic. Should you break his spell over her, the Pigtailed Girl shall be released as well, but only once Akane has been freed."
Kuno nodded sagely, "Then I shall venture now to the Tendo Dojo that Akane might come into my open arms and share my love, along with the Pigtailed Girl!"
With that, Kuno began walking towards the Tendo residence. Once he was gone, Ranma burst out laughing.
"BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Oh kami, that actually worked!" Ranma managed to say after his laughter died down. Mizuho had yet to stop laughing herself. Ranma acting like that was hilarious
*_*
From a distance, Happosai and Cologne stood off on their own watching both the fight and how Ranma handled Mousse and Kuno, though they were out of hearing range to tell what was said, the results were plain enough.
"That move of Ranma's was fairly impressive" Happosai mused, "Didn't know that old technique of your people could do that."
Happosai didn't really care who Ranma married, as long as he was still able to play his tricks on the boy, or rub all over Ranma's female form's breasts, he was happy. Looking at Mizuho, he decided that he needed to investigate her further, especially one certain area.
Cologne didn't even pay attention to Happosai as she watched Ranma. Her trying to get Ranma had long ago outgrown the Kiss of Marriage. The boy had proven himself to be an incredible martial artist, perhaps even better than any of the amazons. The tribe needed him so they could have strong children and strong future warriors. Hell, the boy even defeated Saffron. SAFFRON! The monster she had heard about since she was a child. She would find a way to make Ranma join the tribe, one way or another.
*_*
After Ranma and Mizuho finished laughing, they both calmly walked back to where Kodachi and Ukyo were waiting. Ranma could only shake his head in amazement. After all this time, all he had to do was tell them to stop?
After looking at them for a few seconds, Ranma asked, "Do either of you really think you can beat me?"
Kodachi thought for a moment before sighing, "It is true. Ranma-darling's prowess is too much for even I, the Black Rose of St. Hebereke, to defeat. I shall stand down today, but be warned; I shall never allow a foul commoner like her to be wed my darling Ranma." And with that, Kodachi leapt onto the rooftops and took of towards the Kuno estate, showering black rose petals and laughing like a maniac the entire way.
Ranma then turned to Ukyo. The okinomiyaki chef had tears flowing from her eyes, "Ranchan, what are you doing? You're supposed to marry me, your cute fiancé, remember?"
Ranma felt horrible. Despite the tricks she tried against he and Akane, despite bombing the wedding, despite everything, he still thought of her as a friend, and it hurt like hell to see her cry. Ukyo moved to turn away but Ranma rushed forwards and gently grabbed her shoulders, forcing her to face him.
"Ukyo, when we were little kids, you were my best friend in the world. We used to play and spar, I really enjoyed it. I hated the day I left and Pop stole your dowry. I. I'm sorry, but I can't marry you. I want to make you happy, to keep you from being sad, but I can't. You probably hate me, and I can't blame ya, but I still want to be friends. I don't want to go through life with you hating me, I can't. Please, Ucchan?"
Ukyo looked up at him, tears still in her eyes, "Oh Ranma!" With that cry, Ukyo buried her face in his chest and hugged him close to her. Ranma was nervous at this point. Part of him wanted to comfort his friend, the other part kept expecting Mizuho to pull a mallet out (this was the nervous part obviously).
Ranma looked over to Mizuho who simply smiled and nodded. Ranma understood her gesture and wrapped his arms around the crying girl, trying to comfort her. After a few minutes, Ukyo let go of Ranma and pulled away while wiping away her tears.
"Guess I never really did have a chance, did I sugar?" Ukyo asked with a wistful smile.
Ranma smiled back, "Nope, I'm sorry but you'll always be 'Ucchan' to me."
Ukyo nodded sadly before looking at Mizuho, "We need to talk sugar, alone."
Ranma looked slightly nervous about that so Ukyo added, "Don't worry, I'll bring her back in one piece, I promise."
Ukyo then walked up to Mizuho and began leading her to other side of a nearby building.
*_*
"So Ms. Kounji, what is it you wanted to." Mizuho stopped when Ukyo turned around and she saw the fires burning in the brown haired girls eyes. An audible gulp could easily be heard from the teacher.
"Now you listen here" Ukyo said in a dark, firm, threatening voice, "Ranchan is my best friend. I swear, if you hurt him you'll have to deal with me, got it?"
Mizuho nodded quickly, not wanting to get on Ukyo's bad side. With the nod, Ukyo immediately began smiling again, "Well, I guess if you're going to be Ranchan's wife, we should get to know each other. Stop by my place any time, I'll tell you what he was like when he was younger. There are some pretty funny stories!" Ukyo then began laughing.
Mizuho joined in the laughter, "I can imagine!"
*_*
Ranma was nervous as he waited for the two girls to return. He didn't think Ukyo would hurt Mizuho, but still he worried. Just then the two came around the corner, laughing with one another.
"Well then" Ranma thought with a smile, "That went better than I thought it would."
Ranma heard a slight "ahem" and looked down to see Cologne. He mentally sighed to himself, it still wasn't quite over.
"Son-in-law" Cologne said while glaring at Ranma, "You realize that our laws demand you marry Shampoo. Whether or not you marry this girl does not change that."
Ranma used his patented smirk that always really pisses his opponents off, "Let's see. I ain't gonna just 'fall in love' with Shampoo, I'm not stupid enough to fall for one of your little tricks or spells anymore. Face it Old Ghoul, you lost."
Cologne growled and put her cane in a ready position, "There are other ways Son-in-law. I have been going easy on you, but I feel it's time to take things seriously."
Ukyo and Mizuho were close enough now to see what was going on and both seemed worried. Ranma. Ranma just seemed very annoyed.
Ranma's eyes narrowed and he sneered at the old woman, "Fool! You actually think you could force me to do anything?!" To emphasize his point, Ranma held up his right hand and pushed his confidence based chi into it, just a little bit. A yellow aura appeared around his hand and moved like flames.
Honestly, if you were to simply look at the aura Ranma was producing it wasn't all that impressive by Nerima standards. However, Cologne wasn't simply looking at the pure energy, she was feeling it, and what she felt terrified her.
"Oh gods!" she thought to herself in horror, "He has enough power to not just destroy the village, but vaporize it, along with the surrounding area for miles! And he's showing that much energy without even straining. Hiss full power is probably five or six times greater, but how?! IT'S NOT POSSIBLE!!!"
As she was shaking in terror, Cologne managed to get out one word, "How?"
Ranma chuckled lightly and let down the aura, "Oh come on now. You think someone can go up against constant battles against incredibly strong martial artists all the time, not to mention a guy who's part dragon or a phoenix god, and NOT become stronger? When I finally recovered from my fight with Saffron, I realized just how much stronger I was than from before the battle. I guess fighting like that was excellent training."
Cologne was mentally beating the crap out of herself. Everything he did was training, from eating, to moving around town, to going to school. Either he was training in the way the panda had taught him or he was fighting in some sort of challenge. Mix this with the myriad of styles he had faced, it was no wonder he was so strong.
Ranma smiled to himself. He still had to deal with Ryoga, but that was it. Somehow though, he knew he had missed someone.
"EEEEEEEEEEEEK!!" screamed Mizuho which was quickly followed by a male voice saying, "Hotcha!"
Ranma turned quickly to see Happosai clutched onto Mizuho's breasts as she desperately tried to pull the old pervert off.
"Ranma, please get him off!" she begged, tears forming in the corners of her eyes.
And that was it. Ranma Saotome of the Saotome School of Anything Goes, member of the Nerima Wrecking Crew, and only human to ever defeat Saffron in one-on-one combat, snapped.
Dashing over to Mizuho, Ranma grabbed the top of Happosai's head and squeezed. The pain forced the grand master to let go, much to Mizuho's relief. Happosai was just about to teach his upstart apprentice a lesson when Ranma turned the old man to face him.
A red aura of anger had burst forth around Ranma. Its strength and intensity alone was enough to scorch and crack the cement all around him. The worst thing of all was Ranma's eyes. They burned with the same aura that surrounded his body, giving him a demonic appearance.
"HAP-PO-SAI!" Ranma growled out, "If you EVER touch her again, You. Will. PAY! Do you understand?"
Happosai, Grand Master and creator of the Anything Goes style, wet himself in fear, "Yes! I swear, I'll never touch her or you again, I promise! I'm sorry, please forgive me, I'm sorry!"
Ranma growled, but dropped Happosai to the ground, "Get out of my sight!" he commanded. The little troll was all too happy to oblige and was out of the general area before you could say "panties".
Ranma's aura died out instantly as he turned to Mizuho with a downcast expression, "I couldn't protect you. You trusted me and I couldn't protect you. I am so sorry Mizuho."
Mizuho couldn't believe Ranma was berating himself so harshly after saving her like that. Stepping up close to him, she wrapped her arms around his waist and lightly kissed him on the cheek. At Ranma's shocked expression she could only smile.
"Ranma, you were there for me when I needed you. You gave up everything and did all this for me. How could I possibly ask for anything more?" she said with a content sigh while resting her head on his chest.
Ranma smiled down at her as she pressed against him. Thankfully, most of his brain was still functioning after the kiss, unlike the night before. After a few more moments, the couple broke their embrace and smiled at each other.
"So, where to now?" Ranma asked.
Mizuho checked her watch, "Well, it is almost noon. How about we go home and fix some lunch?"
Ranma was about to answer, but his stomach beat him to it with a loud growl, causing Mizuho to laugh and Ranma to chuckle in an embarrassed manner while scratching the back of his head.
After she finished laughing, Mizuho said, "I'll take that as a yes then. Let's get going, I just went by the butchery the other day, so for lunch we can even have some bacon!"
Next Time on Teacher One Half Ryoga manages to find his way back to Nerima (No! Not as the bacon! That was just a joke, even I am not that cruel!). How will he handle finding out about Ranma and Akane splitting, not to mention Ranma's new wife? All this and more in the next exciting chapter of Teacher One Half
*_*
Authors Notes First, I have to apologize for many things. First and foremost, I'm sorry for taking so long on this chapter. Recently, life has decided to kick me in the rear while wearing steel toed boots. Between work and college (yep, I'm a college student) I have been really busy. I also have to apologize for any OOC-ness or any parts of the story that are rushed. I am trying to keep this as true to original characters as possible while still showing growth and change. The rushed parts. well, that's just an oops. I have a feeling I rushed parts of this chapter even. I apologize for any writing/grammar errors I have made as well. I do ask that you keep in mind this is the first story I've written since the third grade or so (I'm not joking, I seriously haven't written anything longer than 500 words in at least 4 years, other than this). Also keep in mind that between my junior and senior years of high school, I attended a grand total of 63 days and still passed (they didn't even care if I came or took the test and passed me with a C). In other words, I am really bad at grammar and such. Quite honestly, I have spent at least 30 hours reading a dictionary so far so I could write better, not to mention reading "Romeo and Juliet" so I could write Kuno's lines. OK, almost done. I want to thank EVERYONE who reviewed. When I saw how many I had gotten, I literally cried like Soun Tendo and ruined my wireless mouse. Had to get a new one at Radioshack. Please R&R to tell me what you think. Also, I need to make a request. Anyone out there willing to be a pre-reader or wouldn't mind talking to me so I could bounce some ideas off of you, I would be ETERNALLY grateful. If interested, simply say so in a review and make sure to leave your e-mail. Well, that's it. Seeya!
PS Dear Elisteran,
Actually, I am from Souther New Mexico, Las Cruces to be precise. Surprised me anyone knew what Modern Age Comics was. Next time you go into the shop, tell Ralph to get more Ranma and Please Teacher. As it is, I am having to go on what little I can afford to buy and what I read in the manga when I sit in Barnes and Noble for hours on end.