Chapter Three: Uninhibited Truths – Honpou Oushi
Honpou Oushi means 'uninhibited truth' or 'wild knowledge.'
It was one of the rare times in her life when Renia didn't say or do the first thing that went through her mind - namely, scream the word 'what' at the top of her lungs. In fact, to her own surprise, she found herself slipping into Maina's room and closing the door quickly and quietly.
"You wanna try that again? From the top, maybe?"
Maina shook her head, keeping her eyes closed tightly and trying to make herself as small as possible. If didn't seem right to her that everything she had been working for for her entire life was suddenly... wrong.
If she wasn't so tired, she probably would have shaken off Renia's arms as they wrapped around her. She noticed then, in some small part of her mind, that she was a little shorter than the elder Saotome. Most of her thought process was going into trying to figure out what was going on...
It was a hug. Renia was hugging her, just minutes after screaming at her. She couldn't hold her tears back any longer, and collapsed against the taller girl, sobbing so hard she thought she might break. She had never been allowed to cry before, never been allowed to show any type of weakness whatsoever. And she certainly hadn't ever been hugged when she was feeling down.
"It's alright, Maina-chan," Renia whispered to her, keeping her tight hold on the girl. "Otousan wouldn't just throw you out, don't worry. You can stay here as long as you'd like... really."
"But... but I was supposed to..." she tried, but her words kept getting cut off by another long, drawn out sob. It was so painful to be crying so freely, but at the same time, it was making her feel a lot better.
"Just shut up for a minute, would ya?" Renia asked with a grin, guiding Maina over to her futon and sitting down on the edge of it with her. "Get a hold of yerself first. I don't care what's goin on, I said I'd be a friend of yours, and I ain't backing down now." That was one thing her mother had trained into her for as long as she could remember. Once a friend, always a friend. Don't offer such a precious thing lightly - and she hadn't. Maina had seemed like a nice person when she first laid eyes on her, and she meant what she had said.
"Even though I came here, looking for..."
"I thought I told ya to shut it."
Maina smiled and giggled to herself. It wasn't the nicest of things to have had said to her, but it was a lot nicer than anything she had heard for a very long time - well, at least the tone in Renia's voice was nicer. She nodded and focused on getting her emotions under control again before speaking again.
"Do you wanna know why I came here?" she asked softly.
"I sure ain't going anywhere until I find out, so... yeah."
"I guess I should start at the beginning, eh?" Maina asked, closing her eyes again to ward off her own emotions. She knew she didn't have to in Renia's company - her previous sobfest had proven that - but she needed to if she was going to tell her anything. "You'll probably recognize my mother's name. Kounji Ukyo, the okonomiyaki chef. She was your dad's fiancée years ago."
"She was?" Renia asked with a small giggle. "Well, that doesn't surprise me as much as you might believe. He did have quite a few. There's still a couple coming around every now and then. The last was a few years ago - we never even learned her name before she was gone."
"What?"
"What what?"
"What do you mean? Mom was his fiancée."
"One of his fiancées. He had more than a dozen, so far as I've been able to figure out. Zaa-chan included," Renia explained. "I never knew about any others that were around before mom and dad got married - they don't talk about that time very often. I've just found little things every now and then, and sometimes Nabiki says something to me, like she wants me to know, but knows she shouldn't tell me."
"I thought mom was the only one..." Maina whispered, more to herself than to Renia. "Well, anyway, she was his fiancée years ago. But then your mother came in and stole her from her in some petty contest. Mom got pregnant with me a few months later and took off from here, vowing to reclaim her honour later."
"Petty contest?"
Maina shook her head. "She never told me what it was about," she explained. "But that's what she told me. Anyway, once I was old enough, she started training me in Martial Arts. My sensei too. They both said for as long as I can remember that I would be the best. The Anything Goes style would carry me to the end, and no one would be able to beat me. No one has in years, either."
"I beat you tonight," Renia pointed out.
"Mousse called that a draw," Maina objected. "So you didn't beat me."
"Then I'll beat you tomorrow." The smile of Renia's face told Maina that, while she was being serious, it wasn't something to fight about now.
"Growing up was tough - sensei would always be pushing me, no matter what time of day it was. He'd get me up at two in the morning, just to make sure I could be ready at anytime. Not only that, but I didn't get a full meal to myself ever! Supper tonight was a dream! I didn't have to fight anyone off for anything I wanted! I knew that it could be like that, but I've never seen it before now..."
"So that's why you had this spaced out look for most of supper, then?"
Maina shrugged. "Didn't know I did. Anyway, as soon as I got my first period, my mom started talking about why I was training. I didn't care for a while, but after she told me for the hundredth time, I started taking it seriously. I was to train to be the best so I could come home and marry Ranma's son. She told me that home was wherever Ranma Saotome lived."
"So you were told for the last three years that you had to..."
"A little more than three years… but yeah. Everyday, at least three times," she said. "It's a matter of family honour that I have to regain. Mom lost hers when Akane stole Ranma from her, and it's up to me to get it back. But now I can't, because you don't even have any brothers!"
"Yeah, and that's so my fault," Renia muttered sarcastically. "It's just me and my sis. Sorry I wasn't born a guy, just for you."
Maina moaned at the sarcasm and flopped back on her bed. It was the first time she had laid down on it, and it felt wondrous beneath her. "I am going to beat that panda into a bloody pulp when they finally get here," she muttered. "And then I'm gonna have to have a good long talk with mom. Obviously they can't make me marry your brother, seeing as how you don't have one!"
Renia was suddenly very quiet, and when Maina opened her eyes, she saw her friend was looking concerned. "You said... panda?"
Maina winced. "Sorry, I wasn't supposed to mention my sensei at all! Can you just forget that, please?"
"Look, I ain't gonna go telling anyone about any of this, alright? The panda... he had a Jusenkyo curse, didn't he?"
"I guess you know now, don't you?" Maina sighed slowly. "They must have told you about Ranma's father, right?"
"Yup. They didn't know what happened to him, though. He vanished during their honeymoon, and hasn't been heard of since."
"Trust me, he's alive and kicking. Kicking hard, too."
It was Renia's turn to flop backwards onto the bed and let out a sigh. "If you were trained by Saotome Genma, then you must be pretty good. He did train my dad and all..."
"I'm the best," Maina said automatically.
"We'll see about that later," Renia replied, her voice a little colder than it had been earlier. "I was trained by the best of the best, or didn't your mother or sensei ever tell you about how good my dad is?"
"Sorry," Maina whispered after a long, tense silence. "I guess I've got this terrible thing with saying things before I think..." To her great surprise, Renia let out a giggle and rolled off the bed with a soft thud. Looking over the edge, she found her still giggling, but trying to stop to say something in response.
"Saotome... foot-in-mouth..." she managed. "Got it too, don't worry."
"This should be interesting then," Maina offered with a grin of her own. "If both of us never watch what we say, and we both think we're the best, I think we're gonna fight an awful lot."
"We'll spar," Renia corrected her. "Fighting means we wouldn't be friends, but that isn't gonna change. But yeah, we'll spar. A lot, too, cause you ain't going anywhere for a long time." She crawled back onto the bed and laid down beside her new friend again. She turned her head to look at her, and rolled her eyes when all she could see was hair - and lots of it.
"You think your dad will let me stay, even though..."
"I don't think it, I know it," Renia cut her off. "Not only will he let you, but no one here'll say otherwise, neither. Not even mom."
Maina didn't reply for quite some time. Finally, she turned to her friend and smiled. "Thanks," she whispered. She didn't get a reply, and was surprised to find that she had actually fallen asleep on her bed. "Oh well," she whispered to herself. "It's still better than the ground outside..."
It was the most amazing thing, sleeping in. Never having had a chance to do so before, Maina wasn't entirely sure what to make of it. There was no alarm going off... no being pulled out of bed and thrown into the air... no being told to start breakfast... there was just silence.
She pulled her blankets up a little higher, enveloping herself in their warmth as she slowly regained consciousness. She wondered, briefly, just how late it was in the day. Surely dawn had broken by now. It took her a few minutes to convince herself to open her eyes, but when she did, she found herself still in darkness.
Thankfully, she had had a good look at the room last night. Throwing back the blankets, she walked over to the window and pulled the shades back. Instantly, her room was flooded with light. It was at least midday, if not almost noon.
After she had pulled the curtains closed most of the way again, she changed out of her clothes from last night - clothes that smelled somewhat rank, considering she had been working out just before going to bed. Once she had striped out of them, she quickly found another set of her clothes and pulled on a pair of pants. There were four more bras on her bag this morning, one of which seemed to fit rather well. When she had it clasped behind her - a task that was not nearly as easy as she had assumed it would be - she took a deep breath and smiled to herself. Her first time wearing a bra.
It really should have come before she was fifteen.
Wait a minute... didn't Renia fall asleep in here last night? she thought to herself, looking back to the bed, only to find it empty. And when did I get under the blankets, anyway?
A knock at the door interrupted her thoughts, and she pulled her shirt on quickly and crossed the room. "I see you are awake now." Ranma was standing on the other side of the door, and looked a little upset. "Good. Come with me." He turned before she had a chance to reply and started down the stairs.
Figuring she really had better do as he asked, she followed quickly. Doesn't seem quite as understanding as Renia made him out to be last night...
"Have a seat," he suggested, motioning to one side of the table they had sat around last night for supper. It wasn't a suggestion at all, and she knew it.
"I'm..."
"Do you have any idea how hard it was to get everyone else out of the house so I could talk with you alone?" he interrupted her. "I was starting to think you'd sleep passed noon, and I know that Nabiki will be back by then at the latest!"
So that's why he's upset... he's been waiting for me. "Gomen nasai," she said, bowing her head. "I didn't mean to sleep in as long as I did." To her great relief, he cracked a smile then.
"Yeah, I can't blame you too much, though. I don't mind a good sleep in every now and then myself," he said with a shrug as he leaned back.
"So... where is everyone, then?"
"Well, all the other kids have school today," he explained. "The specialized training is going on right now, which says where Mousse, Fenrish, and Shampoo are."
"I didn't think Fenrish was a sensei," Maina interrupted before she could stop herself.
Ranma raised an eyebrow at her in surprise. "You are correct, she isn't," he said calmly. "But she is in training. Right now, I believe she is working on increasing her abilities with a sword under the lead of my wife." The way he said it made it sound like he was expecting her to challenge his statement.
"I understand."
"Good. As for Kasumi and my mother, they are out at the market. Nabiki is out meeting some old friends... in other words, doing some business... and Mr. Tendo has gone to the lumberyard."
"Lumberyard?"
Ranma shrugged. "All the adults know who you are, and knew your mother. He thought it prudent to start stocking up on supplies for repairs now, when he had the chance."
And what does that have to do with mom?
"By now, I assume you've learned the truth?"
His pointed question caught her off guard, but she managed to nod. After the silence started to stretch on, it became apparent that he was expecting an answer. "I spoke with both your daughters last night," she said softly. "Akiko was a little more random, but both said the same thing in the end. You don't have a son."
"That's right. Now, care to tell me what this is all about?"
It took quite a while for her to explain everything to his satisfaction. She was very careful to leave out any mention of her sensei, but aside from that, she went over all the details. Her mother felt that he had betrayed her and robbed her of her honour. The only way to regain her family honour was for Maina to marry Ranma's son. But obviously that plan wouldn't work at all, given how he didn't have one.
"So, what do you plan to do now?" The question was not harsh or pointed. In fact, if she didn't know any better, she almost thought the Grandmaster sounded... concerned.
"I don't know," she said softly. "It wasn't supposed to work this way."
"What would you have done had I refused your claim?" Ranma asked.
"I wouldn't have accepted, and I would have stayed right here until you changed your mind," she said almost at once. "I would have stayed as long as necessary."
He nodded slowly and looked out the tearoom door to the backyard, away from the brunette before him. She hadn't really noticed that the door had been slid open earlier. "How long until your parents show up?"
"My mom said she'd follow me after two months."
"And your dad?"
Maina looked away from him at the sudden question, fighting back the unexpected tears. She felt weak crying this time - last night it had felt right, but now... "I don't have one."
"Sorry," he offered quickly. There was another silence before he finally spoke again. "Do you want to stay here until then?"
"You would let me?"
"I'm not a monster, nor am I the saint I'm sure your mother painted me as. I'm sure both my kids have told you as much."
Maina grinned as the resolution that Renia had told her about finally came to pass. "Thank you, Saotome Ranma."
He waved her off. "None of that, now. I do expect a few things from you while you are here, but I'll get to that in a minute." He looked back out the door. "You two can come in now. No sense hiding there for any longer, I can sense your auras."
Renia and Akiko both stepped out from behind the wall, looking a little sheepish at being caught. Maina met Renia's eye, and the taller girl shrugged. "I thought you said they were at school," she said, looking back to Ranma.
"I said they had school. I didn't say they went. I asked them both to stay, so they could help you get settled in. I know yesterday was a bit of a hassle," he explained.
Maina nodded and smiled over to both of them. Akiko was practically bouncing up and down in excitement, and Renia was sporting a relaxed grin. "What was it you wanted me to do?" she asked before going over to them, looking back to Ranma as he stood.
"Oh, not much. You practice the Art, so I expect you to keep training. We have various sensei here, and while training, you are to address them as such. I'll test your skills tonight and figure out where you are to go," he explained.
"Will I be training under you, too?"
"Everyone here trains under dad," Akiko said at once. "But we all call him Ryu-sensei while he's teaching."
Ranma groaned and looked over to his youngest daughter. "Now why did you have to tell her that?" he asked. "Now she's not gonna stop, either!"
"What else?" Maina asked. She didn't want to interrupt, but she did want to get upstairs with at least Renia. Akiko was a little too hyper for her liking, but she could sort that out, she was sure.
He didn't reply right away. Instead, he suddenly vanished from the room. Neither Renia nor Akiko seemed fazed by this - in fact, they seemed to think it was a perfectly natural thing to do. A minute or two later, he was back again, but this time, Nabiki Tendo was with him. She handed Maina a bundle of papers and, with a broad grin, walked off to the kitchen for a bite to eat.
"What's all this?"
"Those are your school papers," Ranma answered easily. "You are now registered at Furinkan High, and will probably be in the same class as Renia. Minoru is in the year below, as is Setsumi, even though she's a year younger." He then looked back to her as he was leaving the room. "Alright with you?"
"Hai..." she said hesitantly.
"Great. I'm going out to join my wife in the Dojo. If any of you need anything, you know where to find any of us."
"Hai... Ryu-sensei."
He stopped at the door and smiled to her. "I'm only that when I'm teaching. Otherwise, Ranma is just fine."
"Hai... Ryu-san," Maina said with a grin, getting the victory sign from both Renia and Akiko.
He left shaking his head. "I think you'll fit in fine around here."
Maina turned quickly before either Renia or Akiko had a chance to say anything and ran upstairs. She shut the door to her room and leaned against it, breathing heavily. Why am I running again? she thought, clutching her arms across her chest. The feel of the papers in her hand brought her senses back. Pulling out the first page from the envelop, she found her name written across the top in both kanji and romanji. She didn't understand anything else, though.
"Hey, Maina!" Renia called, pounding on the door behind her. "C'mon, open up!"
"But..."
"Look, I got rid of my sis, so don't worry. It's just the two of us!"
She sighed, knowing already what good it did arguing with her. She was more stubborn than anyone she had ever met! "Sure... c'mon in," she said in a listless tone.
Renia whirled on her the moment she was inside. "What's up?"
"Uh..."
"Look, Akane's always sayin how I can read people better than anyone. Something's wrong, so spill it!"
"Do you always call your parents by their names?" Maina asked, trying to divert the other girl's attention. Renia just frowned at her, so she sighed and handed over the package.
"School stuff. What's the big deal?"
Maina turned away from her friend and looked out the window. "It's just that... well... I've never been to school."
"Never?"
"Never."
Renia shrugged. "No big deal. Okaasan can get you up to speed faster than you can think about it, don't worry. She's the best with schoolwork and anything like that!"
Maina shook her head. "I don't think so," she said harshly. "Even if mom was wrong about some things, I ain't just gonna turn around and start liking Akane right away. She stole Ranma from my mom!"
"Look, first of all, I don't call..." Renia started, and then sighed and shook her head. "Never mind. Look at it this way, would ya? If yer mom and my dad had gotten together, where would that leave us?" She didn't really give her a chance to answer. "We wouldn't be here! Ever think about that?"
"That doesn't matter!" Maina shouted back. "I've hated her for years! Even before I knew what hate was, I hated her! I can't just turn around now since you ain't a boy and start liking her!" She threw the door open and stormed out, trying to get away from Renia. She needed time to cool down, and she knew it. "She stole Ranma from mom! She's a temptress, and I'd be surprised if she hasn't gone behind Ranma's back at least once already!"
A resounding slap echoed throughout the otherwise still Tendo residence. Maina didn't even have a chance to react to the welt on her cheek before she found herself being hauled off into the backyard and thrown to the grass.
"That's it, Maina-chan!" Renia screamed. "Friend or not, I ain't gonna let ya talk about mom that way!" She gave her no chance to prepare herself before launching at her with a hard kick.
It was only thanks to her brutal training that Maina managed to dodge it and end up on her feet again. Although she could never bring herself to thank her sensei, she might have to beat him a little less severely next time she saw him.
With a spinning leap, she flipped over Renia and tackled her from behind, binding her arms to her side. Apparently it was a move that the red head was used to, however, because with an odd twist, she was free and Maina was in the air without any support.
She landed hard on the ground, but rolled aside of the next attack before leaping to her feet again. Deciding that her defense wasn't going to be enough forever, she spun aside of the next strike and started an attack of her own.
Catching Renia's left arm, she turned hard and threw the girl with all the strength she could muster. For her part, Renia simply went with the throw and landed on all fours facing her again. In an almost animal-like move, she shot forward again, tackling Maina at the knees, sending her crashing backwards into the Dojo steps.
With a tremendous effort, Maina managed to lift up both herself and Renia with her hands and pushed off the ground. She was sure in the air she would be able to get free and finish the fight.
She knew that the original Saotome branch of the School of Anything Goes was in midair, but she assumed that Renia wouldn't be as well trained as she was. When she found herself pinned beneath the taller girl on the ground again without any idea how it happened, she realized her mistake.
With a hard spin from her body, she managed to free herself, but ended up crashing headlong into the doors of the Dojo, smashing them open and landing on the wooden floor before leaping back to her feet.
"Look!" Renia demanded, pointing over Maina's shoulder. "If you can look at that and honestly believe that my mom has eyes for anyone but my dad, then... then..." Apparently she didn't know what that meant, and Maina found herself turning despite herself. She half expected to see the two on the floor ravaging each other like wild animals.
She did not expect to see them flowing seamlessly together as they almost danced across the floor. They were moving completely in time with each other - every punch, every block, every kick, every step was perfectly aligned with both the one before it and the one after it, and with each other's movement.
Maina stood transfixed as she observed the two perform nearly impossible flips, only to end up fully back-to-back again to defend each other from invisible attacks. While one threw a high punch, the other defended. When the other then kicked out, the other flipped over as though to protect both of them at once.
This was the kata that she had sworn she did not want to see. She couldn't look away as she watched, though. Renia was right - no one who did not completely trust and cherish the other could ever come close to pulling off such seamless teamwork.
The Setsuai no Kata.
When the two paused at the end and allowed their ki to surround them in a bubble to shield them, Maina found herself clapping despite herself. Renia echoed her clapping from behind her, and together, they seemed to draw the two powerful Martial Artists out of the trace that they had found themselves in - out of their own little world where only the two of them existed.
It was Akane who made the first move, and stepped towards Maina, holding out her hand. "You must be Maina. Ranma told me all about you... welcome to the Tendo Dojo," she said with a smile. She was breathing a little heavier than could be considered normal, but nowhere nearly hard enough considering what she had just taken part in.
Ranma hadn't even broken a sweat yet.
Maina took a step back, not taking Akane's hand. Instead, she just stared at her. "So... you are... Akane?"
Akane seemed to find the question somewhat amusing, given how she smiled as she pulled back her hand. "Yeah. Though it seems half the students insist on calling me Kou-sensei within these walls. I believe a certain baka husband of mine put them up to it to get even for something..." she said with a grin, looking back to Ranma.
"My mom told me all about you, Akane Tendo."
"No, it's Saotome now."
"I'll stand by what I said," Maina said firmly. She might have been impressed by the kata, and she couldn't find herself able to doubt the fact that they loved each other now, but that didn't take away from the fact that this was still the woman who had ruined her mother's life. The woman she had hated for almost fifteen years.
Akane closed her green eyes slowly, and Maina noticed almost instantly the thin red aura that had suddenly leapt up around the older woman. "Despite what your mother might have told you, I married Ranma out of love, and nothing else. We both loved each other... I loved him before your mother even came to this town in the first place."
"You stole him from her."
Maina had to grit her teeth not to be pushed back suddenly. Akane's red aura had leapt up around her, making it almost look like she was on fire. "I did not!"
It was Ranma stepping between the two that ended the argument. For his part, he had a very soft white blue aura surrounding him. It wasn't nearly as large as Akane's, but somehow it was even more unsettling.
"Unless you wish to be injured on only your second day within this house, I must insist that you step down, Kounji Maina." When she made no motion to move, she suddenly found herself flying from the Dojo, landing hard on her back in the grass outside. She had the impression that no hand had been laid on her - it had been entirely Ranma's aura that had thrown her so fiercely. It was still around him, and still looked insignificant. But she knew otherwise, without question now. "I made a request of you on your first day here. Please do not make me repeat myself."
"Gomen... Akane," Maina managed from the ground, bowing her head slightly. "It is very hard for me..."
"You appear to have inherited your mother's stubborn streak, not to mention her hardheadedness. She chased Ranma for ten years, even though she barely knew him."
"Don't throw me out... please..." she whispered.
Renia put an arm around her and helped her to her feet. "They won't throw you out," she whispered. "But don't think I'm happy with you right now either," she added with a warning squeeze. "I'm still your friend. I just happen to be your friend that's pissed at you."
"I want to see you in action," Akane suddenly said, breaking the silence that had fallen after Renia's declaration. "I want to see you fight."
"Gladly," Maina said at once, shaking off Renia and turning to face Akane squarely. "I'll show you just what I'm made of."
Akane shook her head. "Not me." Akane raised a hand in a wave, and Maina turned around quickly to find Shampoo coming out of the house. She had no idea when the sensei had returned to the house, or when the specialized classes had ended, or even what time it was anymore. "Sensei Xian Pu, I request your abilities to test this girl."
Shampoo looked startled for a moment at the official declaration. Usually, only Ranma called her by her real name rather than butchering it. It was only during training, but it was still better than nothing. To have Akane suddenly call her out like this...
"Xian Pu can do that," she said with a small bow towards Akane and Ranma, and then another towards Maina. "Renia, please step back, allow Maina be tested."
"One thing," Akane said, stepping between the two quickly. "No ki attacks, or even ki charged attacks. Understand?" Both nodded, and everyone stepped away from the two fighters.
Shampoo took a step back as well to gauge her opponent. Maina was standing with a loose stance, and had a small grin on her face. It actually caught Shampoo off guard for a moment – if not for the fact that the girl before her had long brown hair rather than a short red pigtail, she would have thought she had gone back in time and was facing Ranma all over again. There were other obvious differences in physical appearance, but the stance and attitude were nearly a perfect match…
Rather than test her defense right away, she waited for Maina to attack. She wasn't disappointed, either, as Maina leapt into the air and kicked down hard. She caught the foot easily with her forearm, but was knocked backwards by the other foot as the girl spun around to finish the kick.
Hmm, she not bad.
With a smirk, Maina leapt up from her crouch to attack again. Again, Shampoo blocked with a forearm, and again Maina spun around to finish the kick. This time, however, the Amazon ducked beneath the foot and kicked out with her own, catching the prone Maina in the stomach and knocking her backwards.
For her part, Maina caught herself on her hands and flipped backwards. She whipped her hair out to try and catch Shampoo's foot, but she had already recovered. With a small growl, she attacked again, intending on finishing the fight once and for all. When her opponent actually managed to block most of her punches and kicks, she was quite surprised. Finally, she leapt forward over the purple haired woman and landed behind her, kicking back to hit her in the back.
Only she met with no resistance and fell backwards. When she leapt back to her feet, she found Shampoo standing squarely a few steps away. She didn't really have time to think before the attack began - and though she managed to block a good deal at first, she couldn't keep her muscles moving fast enough to block every punch.
Shampoo hit hard, too.
Finally managing to get her distance, she was surprised when Shampoo bowed to her. "What, it's over?" she asked.
"Shampoo know what she needs to," Shampoo said with a grin and another bow. "As a sensei, I will not do more for now." She then turned towards Ranma. "Maina style much like Ranma many years ago. Almost the same as when first met."
That seemed to catch Ranma's interest, and he turned towards her. "Really? And you say Ukyo trained you?" Maina grinned and nodded. That should show him that he married the wrong woman... "Anyone else?"
"Uh... here and there," she stammered. She should have expected the question to come, but she was under direct orders not to tell anyone about Genma. "Mom did a lot of it, though."
Ranma nodded and turned back to Akane. The two spoke quietly for a moment before turning back to her. "Alright then," Akane said with what looked like a forced smile. "It looks like you'll fit in with the advanced students for now."
"For now?"
"Yeah," Ranma said. "For now. We'll see what later brings, but for now, you can join the class about to start in the yard. We only started this exercise yesterday, so you can join in. You'll be working with Akane." He didn't have to say what he was thinking. She got the message loud and clear anyway.
She is your sensei and you will treat her with due respect.
"Hai, Ryu-sensei." She then bowed to Akane, even though it hurt her inside to do so. "Arigato Kou-sensei."
I'd like to take a quick moment here to mention something that I'm sure people will point out to me before too long. Life energy, the aura, or whatever you wish to call it. Ki.
This is not really an easy topic to cover quickly, but I'm going to try anyway. Ki is the Japanese term for the aura, one's life energy. I won't get into what that covers, but take it at a relative face value. Chi is the Chinese term for the same thing. Many people seem to use ki and chi interchangeable, but for Japan, ki is technically sound. In Indian, by the way, the same term is called Prana.
So, why am I mentioning this now? Well, aside from this life energy that ki represents, ki also has another meaning in Japan (well, at least one other that I'll mention here). Aside from this, is means pure. Clean, pure, raw, crude. Sort of a mix of all of the above, in fact, would be the most accurate. Keep this in mind for Renia's nickname by Fenrish – Ki-chan. She is called this for a couple of reasons – aside from the fact that the name Renia means pure, her personality tends to be a little raw/crude at times, too. And when she's pushed into a corner, her fighting can be, too – but it is effective.
kayemsi: I'm glad you think so – both about the story and about Maina's obvious sensei. You're right, too, by the way, with Ukyo having to beat it into Genma to be willing to train her daughter… but it worked in the end. She did turn out a little bitter, but more of that will be explained once she actually shows up. But that won't be for a few chapters yet.
a: I'm quite impressed that anyone managed to pick up on that, bravo. I'm not sure what told you exactly, but it will be an issue later, you can be sure of that. As to their story… that will also come to light once Ukyo makes her appearance in future chapters. She certainly did mess up Maina's life, though, didn't she?
There will be a difference between Ranma/Genma's style, btw. It should become apparent in a couple of chapters, actually, when Ranma sits back to watch Renia and Maina spar. Genma's is more brutal and direct, while Ranma's is based more on ability – he sees Renia moving like an animal (almost catlike…) while Maina is sticking true to form. But that'll be better explained later.
nonengel: Yeah, it was a little painful… and this one's not much better overall. Hopefully the talk is up to standard. Once her sensei's name comes to light – two chapters away, btw – Ranma will definitely take to her a little more, and try to help more than he did before. Like you said, he knows what she's been through.
Krizz: I hope it lived up to standards. As to Ranma and Akane's ki training… yeah, I'll go into some detail, but nothing too much. After having my last story striped from the sight, I'll be cutting back a little in this department. The full thing will be at mediaminer, simply because I can post it there without worry. I get no reviews whatsoever there, but it will be up there, just like the full version of Shadows are Stirring. I know you've already seen the chapter, thanks for looking at it. (In truth, I had meant to send it to my beta, and sent it to you as well by mistake, but I appreciate you looking at it all the same…)
Wonderbee31: Jusenkyo waters very well may come into play, but I doubt in the fashion that you might expect. As for feeling sorry for Maina… you will, I expect. The arrogance thing should be fun to bounce off Renia's own, mind you. Ukyo's story will be a little worse.
Well, I assume that most of you have noticed the fact that the prequel to this – The Shadows are Stirring – has been removed from this site. That would explain my absence for the past while, given how I wasn't allowed to post new chapters since it happened. Today, that ban has been lifted. You can expect to see Shadows are Stirring back on this site before too long, but it will be a trimmed version – more so than before. I guess I should have listened to the Doc on that, and fixed it beforehand. Oh well, live and learn, right? You can find the full version at mediaminer, or check my bio for a link.
Hope everyone enjoyed this chapter – please let me know what you all think. Thanks again to AriesNoShion and SilverBullet23 for their help. Also to Krizz, who took a look at this beforehand as well.
That is all from within The Shadows for now…