"Hey, can you believe this?" asked one of the girls in Ranko's group, as they stared at the large board in the entrance of the Toudai.
"No I can't!" replied another girl.
Yes, many could not believe what has been stated in the board. Many of the girls groaned in disbelief, and some were crying hysterically. The boys neither laughed at the girl's expense, nor did they do anything to cheer them up. It was a silent victory for those who had hated the girl faction of the martial arts club.
Yes, the faction was hated by most of the boys in the Toudai, especially freshmen who just started college. There was an incident when a freshman got lost, and found himself in the changing room of the girls by mistake. Ranko's group closed the doors around him, and prompted to give him the ultimatum. Pay up, or suffer. Naturally, the boy held dearly to his little money, and was awarded by the whole mob of girls in beating him up.
Many people detested the group, and although they were not so vocal about it, many wanted to find out the Goddess Hotline or pray feverishly to Kami-sama to bring the Wrath of Heaven to them.
Deep inside the group gathered at the board, one girl with red hair was shaking. This was not what she had planned, and this was not looking good. She turned 180 degrees, and shouted, "ALRIGHT! GET OUT OF THE WAY!"
The girls quickly got out, giving way to Ranko. Th boys did to, but the others who were still stunned by Ranko's shout were too stunned to move. The angry red head shoved them roughly aside.
In the board, it was clear what made Ranko so angry. It read: Official Martial Arts Team for Tokyo University; Male Faction.
Sakura Season: True Love
Chapter 04: Ultimatum
Ranko rushed towards the dean's office at astounding speeds, her mind still reading the poster's text. No way she would let this slip! She had trained the girl's faction so hard and she just won't the boy's faction trample over their opportunities.
Ranko had, and still wanted the female faction to be the official team of Toudai, so they would have more members, join Tournaments, where they fight other universities and gain more respect. That is all what Ranko wanted. Respect.
Unfortunately, since the male faction was now the official team, all of that goes down the drain. Ranko hated it.
She had tried every way, except dishonoring herself to get money. She started with this anti-hentai group, and earned quite a bit of heavy income. All they needed was a few spies from outside the club, and walkie-talkies. They would be there for the boys who are about to, or are engaging perverted tasks.
With all her thinking, she had accidentally bumped into someone hard. She winced as she felt herself hit something hard, and fell down. She stared at the ground dumbly.
Geez! I really should not take this so heavily! Ranko thought. I just bumped into someone! What a great martial artist I am, huh? "I'm sorry..." and she took a look at the person she had bumped into, and her demeanor changed. It was Buds. "Oh hello..." [Déjà vu?]
Buds gritted his teeth, as Ranko's elbow seemed to have hit his left elbow. A very good shock in his system, but the pain, although unbearable, disappeared after a few seconds. He looked at Ranko and smiled softly. "Sorry too, Ranko. Good afternoon."
Ranko ignored his greeting and stood up, looking at Buds. She was a bit curious. For a week or so, she never saw him. Not that she cared, though, but nevertheless a surprise to her when the boy finally appeared, with a large case on his side. She guessed correctly that it was a guitar.
"Well, look who is back," Ranko stated, looking at Buds directly in the eyes. "Where have you been?"
"Here and there," Buds replied nonchalantly. "I've been... busy for a while. So, how is life on your side, Ranko?"
Ranko was taken aback a bit with Buds' new attitude. "I was on my way to the dean's office when you bumped into me."
Buds frowned a bit. "I'm sorry, but as I recall, you bumped into me, running at a speed where I thought you were being chased by a mob of amorous bulls."
Ranko smiled at that, and with a swift hand movement, she grabbed Buds, who was still sitting in the ground, by the neck and pinned him down. "Would you like to repeat that?" she asked, rather nastily. Buds didn't react like usual. He was actually smiling a bit.
"Hey, come on, Ranko. It was a joke," and he casually took his right arm, and grabbed the wrist of the arm that was holding his neck. "You have to lighten up or else you'll get wrinkles at an early age."
"You know, I really am surprised by the way you have grown a backbone," Ranko said threateningly, squeezing Buds' neck softly as a warning. "You are just lucky that I am in a hurry or I would have taken my time with you." She released his neck. Buds let go of her wrist.
Buds raised his eyebrows. "If you were another girl, I would have lewd thoughts myself when you said that..." Ranko glared at the boy, and continued her way to the dean's office.
Buds watched her leave with a small frown, and sighed. Picking himself up by using his right arm as a support, he raised himself very carefully and slowly. He gritted his teeth a bit as his knee suddenly bent to an extent that began to hurt him. It lasted for only five seconds, as he finally straightened up. Buds checked his left elbow, and rubbed it a bit gently. He continued his way towards the Music Club.
++++++++
Ranko went towards the Teacher's Lounge, as the Dean's Office was empty. She knew though, where to find the dean. Looking a bit to the left and right, she finally found the person she was looking for.
"Mr. Genma," Ranko greeted respectfully, bowing at the bald man with small glasses and suit. Mr. Genma was the Social Science Professor, also an actor for the Ranma ½ series, playing as Ranma's honorless father. The real Genma was not like that though.
All students loved Genma as he had arranged trips towards Okinawa and other exotic places for them. He was also one of the professors who listens before teaching. It was normal for the first 15 minutes of the class to be a speaking time, where students ask or talk about anything.
"Oh, Ms. Ranko," Genma replied. "What brings you here?"
"Ano, have you seen Ms. Setsuna," Ranko asked. Genma nodded, and shouted towards behind him.
"Set-chan!" Genma called.
"What is it?" asked a feminine voice, a woman appearing behind Genma. For a few seconds, Ranko looked at her dean briefly. The woman was voluptuous, for the lack of better term. A body screaming and oozing with sex appeal. Long green hair, unbelievably long legs, and quite a friendly personality. And also add that to being engaged to Genma, that gives her a lot of sexy points.
"Ms. Setsuna," Ranko bowed deeply. "I wanted to talk to you about something. I hope we can talk somewhere a bit more private..."
"Ranko-chan, you can talk freely to me in this room," Setsuna replied. "What is it?"
Ranko frowned a bit as the memory of the board came to her mind. "It's about what I had read in the board... about the martial arts team..."
"Oh yes," Setsuna nodded, understanding. "I have called the teachers, and we studied the two factions, and have decided to have make the male factions the official team of Tokyo University."
Ranko frowned deeply. "May I ask why? I mean, have any of the teachers looked at our faction? Most of our students are more than capable of going toe to toe with the average martial artists from the male faction. It is very... disappointing to hear that my faction worked hard and not even be recognized."
Setsuna smiled a bit. "Well, there were a few boys saying the girl's faction has been abusing their authority against boys."
Ranko frowned a bit at what Setsuna just said. "Yes... but we females were just protecting ourselves from those perverted acts of the boys."
Setsuna sighed. "You will never change, Ranko-chan. It is very lucky your mom and I are related, or else I would have taken more drastic actions." She shook her head.
"We don't hospitalize the boys even if they clearly deserve it," Ranko stated calmly. "And it has nothing to do why my faction didn't get a chance to compete against the boys. Maybe something to show you that our faction is much better than the boys."
"Tell me Ranko, does the official team have to consist all of your female members?" Setsuna asked. Ranko frowned.
"No. The team would have a minimum of three members and a maximum of five members... so?" Ranko asked.
"Although we thought your faction would indeed be a formidable one, no one can't deny that the male members have much better members," Setsuna replied. Ranko felt like she had been shot. Her anger went up five notches.
"B-better m-members?!" Ranko gritted her teeth. "Th-those hentais?! Look what happened to the male faction when the females separated! They left the damn club! Those are the guys you call better?! My girls can start kicking their asses WAY QUICKER THAN ANYONE CAN SPIT!"
"Once again, you are fortunate your mom and I are related," Setsuna replied calmly. "Well, how about a proposal? If you beat the three chosen members of the team, then we will let the female faction be the official team player of Tokyo U."
"Fine," Ranko said, finally calming down. Her anger went out a bit, and her thinking went foggy for a while, but now, it was clear. "It's much better that we are given a chance... by the way, who are the three male members in the team?"
Setsuna looked surprised. "Huh? Have you forgotten the three of them? The best of the male group?"
Ranko looked blank for a while, trying to search her memory. Then, she blinked as it finally came to her mind... There was Tarou... and Mousse, and...
"WHAT! DAMN IT, NOT 'HIM'!" Ranko shouted.
++++++++
Mousse punched the air with a quick, but powerful blow. "Now, when punching, remember that we are not only using our fists, but also our hips, and body weight," Mousse instructed to the few number of boys in front of him. "Slowly practice moving your waist while punching..."
The male student body did as they were told, slowly moving their hips when they punch. Mousse was not a sensei, actually, but as he is one of the most experienced males in the group, he was more than enough to help the students in improving.
There were lots of holes in the male faction, and it was clear to Mousse that the members should really improve. Low on numbers, few with adequate skills, it was a lost war if the female faction would declare open war on them... Xian Pu would come to him... make him her slave... he would do anything she wants...
While Mousse's imagination was running somewhere, Tarou and Aaron watched the events play out.
Tarou looked the same. Brown short hair with a few curls in the side, and steel gray eyes, he was one of the boys the girls would so much love to meet. Pretty boy looks, nice toned muscles, and the attitude of a loner made him the one of the most coveted boys in the University. It also helped that he usually wore sleeveless shirts with pants.
Beside Tarou was figure shrouded with mystery. Aaron Savakadan, or the name he earned, 'Kessen no Akuma', Demon of Battle. Skinnier than Tarou, yet a bit more well toned, and shorter, this gaijin had made a tremendous impact on how the female faction have treated the male faction. Wild black hair with red streaks, shoulder length tied in a small ponytail, this green eyed male was also one of the girls would love to know.
Cold, emotionless face, but very vicious in battle, the boy was considered a genius with his staff skills. Able to beat mobs and groups of enemies, and the elegance of his style of clothes, he was the hot number in any mystery. He wore loose white pants, white rubber shoes with black stripes, a white shirt, usually buttoned up, and with a kanji sign at the back, saying 'Demon'. On his green eyes were small rectangular glasses, clear when looked at directly, but the light refracts to colors when looked at other angles.
Both boys looked at the scene calmly, not speaking, not even doing anything but breath. It was a calm moment for them, not really looking forward to anything, and not really reminiscing. It wasn't until when Aaron stood up, his glasses went down his nose, and his eyes seem to steel that Tarou looked at him worriedly.
"What is it, Aaron?" Tarou asked.
Aaron seem to ignore the question as he took a deep breath, breathed out and went to a relaxed posed. He put his hand beneath the nose-bridge of his glasses, and pushed them back up and finally replying Tarou's question. "Someone was talking about me..." he said in an emotionless voice.
Tarou raised his eyes at that. "How do you know?"
"I was about to sneeze," replied the boy emotionlessly. Tarou fell down.
"Y-you think someone was talking about you because you were about to sneeze?" Tarou asked, standing up again.
"Of course," Aaron said in the same emotionless tone.
"You are one weird cold bastard..." Tarou replied, thinking it was boring enough...
"That I am," Aaron replied, same usual tone.
Tarou tensed a bit, his smile going to full view. It was getting boring in the room. He needed some excitement. "A cold bastard who cannot fight."
SHINK!
Tarou jumped out of the way as Aaron suddenly had a maniac grin in his face, and a 7 foot staff made of silver colored metal with small orbs at each end. It was a family heirloom of the Savakadan Family, and passed down through the years. It can be shortened by some mysterious means, and elongated also by mysterious means.
Tarou blocked the first strike aimed for his head, and lashed out with a fist which would have connected to Aaron's face, if the latter didn't duck, and spinned his staff to strike from above Tarou's head.
Tarou raised his arm to block again, but he was met with a surprise as the Aaron grabbed the other end of his stick, and spun it in the other direction, right next to Tarou's chin.
Tarou closed his eyes, waiting for the strike, but when nothing happened, he opened it again, only to see Aaron smiling at him like a maniac, and one end of the staff right beneath his chin.
"You left this open, tsk, tsk, tsk," Aaron said, still with a grin. Taking his staff to a neutral position, the staff shrunk back to a compact size of one foot. His face reverted back the same cold emotionless expression. "Still haven't improved..." he said emotionlessly.
"Whatever asshole," Tarou said, frowning. "I'll get you one of these days."
"You will try..."
++++++++
Four girls were inside the girl's locker room. One of them, Ranko, told
"WHAT?!" shouted Kiima.
"I said I just dove us to hell," Ranko replied sorrowfully. "I demanded the dean to make us the Tokyo U Official Martial Arts Team, and she said that if we can beat their three best fighters, she would do so."
Reiko grinned. "So, we will have to fight that bastard Aaron, right?"
Ranko frowned towards the girl. "How can you be so happy?! In three days time, a tournament will be held here, and we ain't prepared!"
"Hmm, this is difficult," Xian Pu replied. "Mousse may not be as fast as I am, and he is reluctant in fighting me, but he is still a highly skilled Kung Fu practitioner."
Kiima nodded. "Yes. I might know Tarou's style, but I have not yet been able to create moves to counter them."
Reiko huffed. "Heh, Aaron won't know what hit him."
Ranko drew an annoyed breath. "Look, I really don't much care of your vendetta with 'him', okay, but even if you did win, we still have Tarou and Mousse to take care off." Looking at the three girls, she frowned. "Tomorrow, we will practice thrice as hard as usual. We need to be in our best condition at the tournament. In three days, we either win, or lose, and ladies, I prefer to win."
Xian Pu, Kiima, and Reiko nodded.
"Alright, girls, see you tomorrow" Ranko said, nodding towards them. Xian Pu waved goodbye with a small smile, and Kiima left without a word. Reiko just smiled mysteriously, and left without a word. Ranko sighed as she saw her three friends leave. After a minute, she too left, not looking back.
++++++++
"I saw him, but I don't believe what I saw," Ranma told Yuka. "I mean, did you see him?"
Yuka nodded, with a disbelieved face. "He had a guitar... and he quit the basketball club..."
"Do you think he was abducted by aliens, and those aliens changed his mind?!" Ranma asked desperately. "I mean, what if Buds was sent back with a hidden program in his brain to kill the human race! With his guitar!"
Yuka laughed. "Ranma!" she playfully punched Ranma's shoulder. "You have been watching too much sci-fi flicks."
Ranma grinned, and rubbed his shoulders. "Ow! That hurt!"
Yuka rolled her eyes. "If you expect me to kiss that and make it better, you are just asking for another fist." And she raised her fist threateningly.
"Hey!" Ranma said, slowly backing away from Yuka. "I don't want to be beaten up by a cute tomboy!"
"Why you...!" Yuka grinned. "Come here!"
And with that, Yuka and Ranma playfully wrestled in the grass field. Ranma tried to escape Yuka's initial tackle, but ended up kissing the ground, and Yuka, using her body momentum, pinned Ranma down with her two hands in the shoulders.
"I win!" Yuka said, smiling. She let go of Ranma and pulled down one of her eyes, and took her tongue out to him.
"No fair!" Ranma complained. "You pinned me down when I was not yet ready!"
"Whatever, weakling!" Yuka joked, then laughed. "Sigh..." Yuka slid down the grass, and looked up in the sky. "I remember we used to do this when we were still kids... we wrestled until one of us would pin the other down, huh?"
"Yeah," Ranma recalled, closing his eyes. "Good old times... hey, remember the time we were swimming so many times in your house?"
Yuka stiffened, and closed her eyes as some painful memories came back. She sat up, with the grass rustling at her wake. Ranma opened his eyes, as he felt the surroundings turn a bit cold. He looked at Yuka who was sitting up already. He frowned.
Something was wrong, he could feel it. Slowly approaching Yuka, Ranma put his arms on the girl's shoulders. "Yuka... hey, are you okay...?"
"Looooove, is a many splendor things!" a voice suddenly caught the attention of Yuka and Ranma. "It's the April rose... that onlyy grows... in the earrly spring!"
Turning around, they saw Buds smiling at them, his hand holding his guitar. Ranma balked, and Yuka blushed. "HEY!" Ranma shouted.
"What?" Buds asked, looking confused. "I thought you guys would like some music, to increase to mood."
Yuka blushed even more deeply than before. Ranma's face also seem to hold a bit of red. "T-that is not your business!" Yuka replied in a small voice.
"Whatever..." and Buds began to play another song. "Put your head on, my shouullders... whisper in my ear... baby."
Yuka blushed in a more unbelievable shade of crimson, and Ranma looked so embarrassed that he couldn't say anything.
"You guys don't like that?" Buds asked. "Fine... How about this?" and he began to play again. "It's hard to say what it is I see in you..."
"SHUT UP!" Yuka and Ranma shouted, began to rush at Buds hoping to sock his mouth. Buds grinned as he saw the reactions. He stopped playing, and raised his hands slowly, his guitar hanging from his shoulders because of the strap.
"Okay, okay, geez," Buds began. "I'm going already. If you wanted to be alone, you should have said so..." and with that, Buds turned around, and walked away.
Yuka and Ranma sighed, saved from embarrassment. It was not that their relationship was a secret, but still...
"Listen to the rhythm of the falling rain... telling me what a fool I have been..."
Ranma and Yuka both twitched. "Can I kick his ass now?" Yuka asked.
"Please do..."
++++++++
It was just about half an hour since Ranko had left Tokyo U, and taking the rail transport, she was able to get to the station somewhat near her home. She would walk maybe two kilometers before reaching her home, but then, it was nothing for her. She could walk five kilometers if she needed to.
A few passing girls in high school uniforms made Ranko look.
Oh yeah, it is Rana's dismissal at this time, Ranko thought. Maybe I can go and pick her up...
Deciding on that, Ranko changed her course a bit towards Rana's school. It was not much further, maybe a good 200 meters.
A few minutes later, Ranko finally saw the school building, where Rana studied. It wasn't exactly as well established as Tokyo U, but it was still respectable all girl high school.
Ranko was about run towards the entrance when someone caught her eye. Walking slowly, she slowly approached a male who's back was turned to her.
Hmm... those clothes... that guitar... no mistake. It's Buds, Ranko thought, and move towards a corner to hide herself. What is he doing here? Maybe picking up his sister? I never did know if he had one...
Suddenly, Buds waved in the direction of the entrance of the high school, and to Ranko's surprise, and very nasty shock, she saw her sister, 'her' 'sister' walking out, waving back to Buds.
Rana and Buds looked at each other, smiling. Rana was talking about something, and buds just nodded, smiling back, and telling her something. Ranko was still too far to hear them, but up to that point, it was not much important, as Ranko's blue eyes became as cold as steel as she saw Buds and Rana walk away together...
To Be Continued...
NEXT: Ohmigod! The tournament coming up, and Ranko would never forget what she saw that day! Would she snap? Would she try to kill Buds? Or worse...?! Tournament pressure is there, and her sister is somewhere there, what can one feminist do?!