Disclaimer: Okay, okay, so I DON'T own Ranma ½. Happy?
Letting the Truth Out
Ranma's Bright Idea #3
After a long, circuituous route to throw off anyone who might be trying to follow them, Ranma made his way towards the woods behind Furinkan. When they arrived, he set Akane down near the largest hill in the area. "So. Now we can talk," she said, "but what did you want to talk to me about?" He took a deep breath, and realized that, now that it came down to it, he was nearly petrified. But, he knew, he had to do it. Reminding himself of his plan, he started, "Well, Akane, there's somethin' I've wanted ta tell ya for a while, now..." She looked at him, her eyes shining, "Yes, Ranma?" "Well, Akane, I thought ya should know that I..." He stopped. "You what?" She asked, feeling a twinge of irritation. Why couldn't he just say whatever it was? Taking a deep breath, he took her small hands in his much larger ones, looked into her eyes, and started again, "Akane, I lo..." He was interrupted by a cry of "Ranma! Prepare to die!"
A few dozen feet away, and about 30 seconds before, Ukyo glared at Nabiki. "I thought you said you knew where they were going!" she hissed angrily. In reponse, Nabiki shrugged. "I knew approximately where they're going. We just have to find them." she whispered back. Suddenly, they heard a familiar cry of "Ranma! Prepare to die!", and ran towards where Ryoga had just found Ranma and Akane.
Ranma pushed Akane to one side and jumped to the other, keeping both of them out of the way of Ryoga's umbrella. Akane was beyond angry. She knew that Ranma had been about to tell her he loved her, and here Ryoga came and interfered! As Ranma dodged, she summoned her mallet, and prepared to flatten Ryoga, when Ranma suddenly leapt towards her.
As Ranma dodged Ryoga's blows, he prepared to make his move, when suddenly, he sensed that something was wrong. He glanced, but nothing was heading towards him. However, several things were heading towards Akane. Rebounding off the ground, he leapt forward and pushed her out of the way so that the things, sharpened spatulas, he noticed, would miss her. He twisted in mid-air to avoid them himself, but several of them hit the water balloons he'd had concealed under his shirt. Now drenched and female, he turned to Ukyo. "Geez, Ucchan, what'd ya do that for! You coulda hurt Akane!" Realizing that Ryoga was right behind him, he ducked under the blow that, rather than nailing him in the head, whooshed above, instead. Grabbing Ryoga's arm as it passed above him, he leaned forward slightly, throwing the lost boy into a tree. Busy with this, he almost missed Ukyo reply, "That was the idea, you jackass!", as she unlimbered her battle spatula. He couldn't miss the leap she made at Akane, though.
Akane was frozen, as she saw Ukyo leap at her. However, she was saved when Ranma stepped forward and grabbed the spatula in mid-air. Her grip on the spatula caused her momentum to rotate her around it, straight into the ground. "Akane!" Ranma yelled, "Get out of here. I'll hold her off!" She was about to yell back that she was a martial artist too, when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned, ready to hit whoever it was, to find Nabiki standing there. "C'mon sis, let's get out of here before Ranma and Ryoga start throwing chi blasts." As if to punctuate that statement, the currently homicidal pig-boy yelled "Shishi Hokodan!" just then, and a massive blast erupted from his hands. Ranma started to handspring out of the way, but realized that he wouldn't be out of the blast if he continued. Instead, he bent his arms slightly, and then pushed off into the air. The explosion ended up almost directly below him, blasting him higher into the air, but he was nearly completely unhurt by it. Instead, he rebounded off of a thick tree branch, and, on his way down, fired a Moko Takabisha back at the lost boy. He noticed Ukyo lying dazed near the edge of the crater, and decided he could focus on Ryoga for the moment. Before attacking, he looked over and saw Akane and Nabiki leaving the impromptu battlefield. Relieved, he focused once more on fighting. Attacking from mid-air, he launched a series of punches and kicks to Ryoga's sides, bringing his opponent's guard low enough that he wasn't able to block a sudden round kick to the head as Ranma landed. Once more, he flew into a tree, this time knocking it over. Landing in a fighting stance, Ranma called to the already rising Ryoga "Bring it on, pork butt!" Ryoga growled, and the fight commenced in earnest. Soon, Ranma was trying to fend off Ryoga, while keeping Ukyo from going after Akane.
Several hours later, Ranma staggered into the Tendo home, still female, dripping wet, his clothes torn nearly to tatters. He had numerous bruises and contusions. Kasumi, who had been in the kitchen, came out to greet him, and noticing the state of his clothes, remarked, "Oh my! What happened, Ranma-kun?" The redhead went into the kitchen, returning male, and slightly steaming a moment later. "Well, I guess ya know by now that I was tryin' to talk with Akane?" at her nod, he continued, "Well, Ryoga showed up. And so did Ucchan. I started fightin' 'em, and Mousse musta recognized the chi blasts. He arrived and attacked me, too. I don't know why, but Kuno showed up after that, and then Pantyhose Taro, who yelled somethin' 'bout how he saw th' others and decided it looked like fun. Shampoo arrived after that, and, got the idea of what was goin' on from what Ucchan was yellin', and I had ta keep her from goin' after Akane, too. I finally managed ta put out the lot of 'em, an' I'm goin' ta bed." Kasumi nodded, as if this was pretty much what she'd expected, smiled, and replied, "All right, Ranma-kun. Sleep well."
He nodded, and started up the stairs. At the top, however, was Nabiki, her arms crossed. "All right, Saotome, we need to have a talk. My room. Now." Sighing in defeat, he followed her into her bedroom. However, instead of immediately berating him for endangering Akane, like he expected, she looked disdainfully at him a moment. "Ranma, you're an idiot, you know that?" She said. She saw his confused look, and continued, "I know what you're up to. You're trying to reveal Ryoga's curse to that dense sister of mine." At his panicked look, she said, "I respect that. But it's not gonna happen. The repair bills from the damage she'd inflict to the house in the process of injuring you and Ryoga wouldn't be worth the entertainment. Further, after she forgave you, she and you'd end up together, and, in addition to further damage to the house, afterwards, things would get boring, which means less money for me. And that is NOT going to happen. So you might as well just forget it. Understood?"
To her suprise, rather than looking angry and depressed like she expected, as soon as she'd finished, he started to laugh. After a minute, he finally responded. "Nabiki, out of all tha people 'round here, you should know as well as anyone that my life is never borin'! No matter what, new challengers show up, an' the usual gang causes some problem or 'nother. I doubt that even marryin' Akane will get rid of Shampoo, Mousse, an' the old ghoul, or the constant abductions. Ya got NO cause ta worry 'bout things gettin' borin', no matter what. Even *I* figured that out a while back." And with that, he got up, and left, still chuckling, leaving a stunned Nabiki behind.
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Author's Notes: Hmmm. I think that this was one of the shorter chapters, so far. However, I felt that was a good place to end it. Plus, after that scene, I really don't know what happens next yet. What will Ranma's next plan be? Damned if I know. Well, I'll try to come up with something so that it doesn't take several weeks for me to finish the next chapter(s). Hopefully, with a few ideas, I'll be set, and able to write this story through to the end. But, once I do, it's entirely possible that I'll write a sequel, at some point in the future. *shrug* We shall see. Anyhow, until I come up with more ideas for this one, I'm gonna be workin' on some other fics, so check those out. And please, review this one!
Letting the Truth Out
Ranma's Bright Idea #3
After a long, circuituous route to throw off anyone who might be trying to follow them, Ranma made his way towards the woods behind Furinkan. When they arrived, he set Akane down near the largest hill in the area. "So. Now we can talk," she said, "but what did you want to talk to me about?" He took a deep breath, and realized that, now that it came down to it, he was nearly petrified. But, he knew, he had to do it. Reminding himself of his plan, he started, "Well, Akane, there's somethin' I've wanted ta tell ya for a while, now..." She looked at him, her eyes shining, "Yes, Ranma?" "Well, Akane, I thought ya should know that I..." He stopped. "You what?" She asked, feeling a twinge of irritation. Why couldn't he just say whatever it was? Taking a deep breath, he took her small hands in his much larger ones, looked into her eyes, and started again, "Akane, I lo..." He was interrupted by a cry of "Ranma! Prepare to die!"
A few dozen feet away, and about 30 seconds before, Ukyo glared at Nabiki. "I thought you said you knew where they were going!" she hissed angrily. In reponse, Nabiki shrugged. "I knew approximately where they're going. We just have to find them." she whispered back. Suddenly, they heard a familiar cry of "Ranma! Prepare to die!", and ran towards where Ryoga had just found Ranma and Akane.
Ranma pushed Akane to one side and jumped to the other, keeping both of them out of the way of Ryoga's umbrella. Akane was beyond angry. She knew that Ranma had been about to tell her he loved her, and here Ryoga came and interfered! As Ranma dodged, she summoned her mallet, and prepared to flatten Ryoga, when Ranma suddenly leapt towards her.
As Ranma dodged Ryoga's blows, he prepared to make his move, when suddenly, he sensed that something was wrong. He glanced, but nothing was heading towards him. However, several things were heading towards Akane. Rebounding off the ground, he leapt forward and pushed her out of the way so that the things, sharpened spatulas, he noticed, would miss her. He twisted in mid-air to avoid them himself, but several of them hit the water balloons he'd had concealed under his shirt. Now drenched and female, he turned to Ukyo. "Geez, Ucchan, what'd ya do that for! You coulda hurt Akane!" Realizing that Ryoga was right behind him, he ducked under the blow that, rather than nailing him in the head, whooshed above, instead. Grabbing Ryoga's arm as it passed above him, he leaned forward slightly, throwing the lost boy into a tree. Busy with this, he almost missed Ukyo reply, "That was the idea, you jackass!", as she unlimbered her battle spatula. He couldn't miss the leap she made at Akane, though.
Akane was frozen, as she saw Ukyo leap at her. However, she was saved when Ranma stepped forward and grabbed the spatula in mid-air. Her grip on the spatula caused her momentum to rotate her around it, straight into the ground. "Akane!" Ranma yelled, "Get out of here. I'll hold her off!" She was about to yell back that she was a martial artist too, when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned, ready to hit whoever it was, to find Nabiki standing there. "C'mon sis, let's get out of here before Ranma and Ryoga start throwing chi blasts." As if to punctuate that statement, the currently homicidal pig-boy yelled "Shishi Hokodan!" just then, and a massive blast erupted from his hands. Ranma started to handspring out of the way, but realized that he wouldn't be out of the blast if he continued. Instead, he bent his arms slightly, and then pushed off into the air. The explosion ended up almost directly below him, blasting him higher into the air, but he was nearly completely unhurt by it. Instead, he rebounded off of a thick tree branch, and, on his way down, fired a Moko Takabisha back at the lost boy. He noticed Ukyo lying dazed near the edge of the crater, and decided he could focus on Ryoga for the moment. Before attacking, he looked over and saw Akane and Nabiki leaving the impromptu battlefield. Relieved, he focused once more on fighting. Attacking from mid-air, he launched a series of punches and kicks to Ryoga's sides, bringing his opponent's guard low enough that he wasn't able to block a sudden round kick to the head as Ranma landed. Once more, he flew into a tree, this time knocking it over. Landing in a fighting stance, Ranma called to the already rising Ryoga "Bring it on, pork butt!" Ryoga growled, and the fight commenced in earnest. Soon, Ranma was trying to fend off Ryoga, while keeping Ukyo from going after Akane.
Several hours later, Ranma staggered into the Tendo home, still female, dripping wet, his clothes torn nearly to tatters. He had numerous bruises and contusions. Kasumi, who had been in the kitchen, came out to greet him, and noticing the state of his clothes, remarked, "Oh my! What happened, Ranma-kun?" The redhead went into the kitchen, returning male, and slightly steaming a moment later. "Well, I guess ya know by now that I was tryin' to talk with Akane?" at her nod, he continued, "Well, Ryoga showed up. And so did Ucchan. I started fightin' 'em, and Mousse musta recognized the chi blasts. He arrived and attacked me, too. I don't know why, but Kuno showed up after that, and then Pantyhose Taro, who yelled somethin' 'bout how he saw th' others and decided it looked like fun. Shampoo arrived after that, and, got the idea of what was goin' on from what Ucchan was yellin', and I had ta keep her from goin' after Akane, too. I finally managed ta put out the lot of 'em, an' I'm goin' ta bed." Kasumi nodded, as if this was pretty much what she'd expected, smiled, and replied, "All right, Ranma-kun. Sleep well."
He nodded, and started up the stairs. At the top, however, was Nabiki, her arms crossed. "All right, Saotome, we need to have a talk. My room. Now." Sighing in defeat, he followed her into her bedroom. However, instead of immediately berating him for endangering Akane, like he expected, she looked disdainfully at him a moment. "Ranma, you're an idiot, you know that?" She said. She saw his confused look, and continued, "I know what you're up to. You're trying to reveal Ryoga's curse to that dense sister of mine." At his panicked look, she said, "I respect that. But it's not gonna happen. The repair bills from the damage she'd inflict to the house in the process of injuring you and Ryoga wouldn't be worth the entertainment. Further, after she forgave you, she and you'd end up together, and, in addition to further damage to the house, afterwards, things would get boring, which means less money for me. And that is NOT going to happen. So you might as well just forget it. Understood?"
To her suprise, rather than looking angry and depressed like she expected, as soon as she'd finished, he started to laugh. After a minute, he finally responded. "Nabiki, out of all tha people 'round here, you should know as well as anyone that my life is never borin'! No matter what, new challengers show up, an' the usual gang causes some problem or 'nother. I doubt that even marryin' Akane will get rid of Shampoo, Mousse, an' the old ghoul, or the constant abductions. Ya got NO cause ta worry 'bout things gettin' borin', no matter what. Even *I* figured that out a while back." And with that, he got up, and left, still chuckling, leaving a stunned Nabiki behind.
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Author's Notes: Hmmm. I think that this was one of the shorter chapters, so far. However, I felt that was a good place to end it. Plus, after that scene, I really don't know what happens next yet. What will Ranma's next plan be? Damned if I know. Well, I'll try to come up with something so that it doesn't take several weeks for me to finish the next chapter(s). Hopefully, with a few ideas, I'll be set, and able to write this story through to the end. But, once I do, it's entirely possible that I'll write a sequel, at some point in the future. *shrug* We shall see. Anyhow, until I come up with more ideas for this one, I'm gonna be workin' on some other fics, so check those out. And please, review this one!