Part 3: The Calm Before the Storm
After-school fights with Kaimen became a normal routine. Everyday he challenged Ranma. At first Ranma tried to get the boy to back down peacefully, but this only brought Kaimen to attack his fiancée instead.
Following their first encounter with Kaimen, a heated discussion between Akane and Ranma assumed. She was mad that Ranma interfered and wanted him to respect her abilities as a martial artist. Ranma, in turn, wanted to protect Akane. After much bickering, a compromise was reached: Ranma relented to let Akane handle future fights with Kaimen, on the condition that he would step in the moment he thought she needed help.
So, everyday Kaimen would leave the battlefield broken and bruised, care of Tendo Akane. Yet, he miraculously managed to return the next day refreshed and better than the day before. Kaimen was still below Ranma's level, but he was unmistakably improving by leaps and bounds. Within a week, his skinny figure expanded into sculpted, lean muscle. The strangest thing was that Kaimen's height was also increasing; he was now only a few centimeters shorter than Ranma.
Ranma watched the fight between Akane and Kaimen with intense concentration. He cringed as each blow missed Akane by a margin too close for his comfort. Being able to study Akane in action had shown him her exact flaws as a fighter. She really did have a lot of potential, but she also needed a lot of work. He recalled when Akane wore the enchanted battle dogi, which released the full potential of any martial artist. Akane had become so skilled that even Ranma couldn't lay a hand on her.
Kaimen feinted a kick to the right. At the last moment he brought his arm to the left and managed to hit on Akane in the face.
Ranma exploded. In a blur of motion he was in front of Kaimen, hitting the strange fighter repeatedly. Eerily, Kaimen made no move to defend himself. A smile shown through his broken lip.
"Stop, Ranma!" Akane grabbed her fiancée's arm. "I'm okay. Let him go."
Slowly, Ranma became aware of himself. He blinked and let go of Kaimen. Disjusted with himself, he turned around and ran.
Akane chased after him. "Ranma, wait!"
Ranma wanted to be alone, but at the same time he wanted to have Akane at his side. It was all very confusing. In the end, Ranma stopped to let Akane catch up with him.
Akane reached with Ranma, concern etched over her face. It was unlike Ranma to loose control like that, but at the same time she couldn't blame him. There had always been a creepy feeling she got from Kaimen, but now she was genuinely concerned. In the beginning she appreciated having someone she could actually spare with, as Ranma never took her seriously -- but the way Kaimen was growing and improving was inhuman. Worse, was that Kaimen had reached the point where she could hardly hold him off. At the rate he was improving, neither she nor Ranma would be able to lay a hand on him.
Ranma fumed as he walked. He couldn't decide who he was more upset with: Akane, Kaimen, or himself. He was mad at himself for losing control and not protecting Akane well enough, mad that Akane kept insisting to fight her own battles, and both mad and slightly alarmed over Kaimen. Ranma prided himself on his quick ability to master any form of martial arts, but Kaimen's rate didn't seem possible. Kaimen's eerie, masochistic grin filled his mind.
Akane could tell Ranma was upset. The brooding silence tugged at her.
"Ranma?"
"Yeah?" he answered, his voice gruff.
"You okay?"
He stopped and turned to look at her face. A small purple bruise was blooming on her right cheek. Akane's strength wasn't a problem; she could dish it out as easily as take it, but he knew it had to sting. She would sport that bruise for a while.
"I can't even protect you from that creepy Kaimen guy. Then I lost control and nearly beat him to death! How am I supposed to be okay?"
"You can't protect me from everything in the world, Ranma, and you shouldn't have to! I'm a martial artist, too."
"But you couldn't even avoid that hit today!"
"I know!" Akane shouted. Her face flushed with shame at the memory of it. She stared intently on the ground, unable to bring her eyes to look at his accusing ones. "That's why -- why I want you to train me."
"Eh?!"
Akane turned to look him straight in the eye. "You never spar with me seriously, Ranma. So how am I supposed to get any better?"
Ranma gulped. It made sense, but training Akane meant he would have to hit her. "I don't think I can do that," was his answer.
Akane turned away from him. Her fists were clenched. "Fine, Ranma! But you can't always be there to save me, you know. I need to be able to protect myself."
He hated the amount of sense she was making. Ranma put his hand on her shoulder, coaxing her to face him. "I'll think about it, alright?"
"Yes or no, Ranma," she replied, her voice leaving no room for compromise.
He stared at the bruise on her cheek. All those times he refused to spare with her, maybe, just maybe, if he had she would be without that bruise right now.
Akane was glaring at him, waiting for an answer. 'Even if I have to hit her, I could pull my punches', he thought. If it prevented her from being hurt worse in the future, he could live with himself. It would be worth it.
"Alright," he consented, afraid he'd regret it later. "I'll do it."
Her face instantly brightened. "You mean that?"
"Yeah, well you need it!" Ranma brought his hand out and started to count on his fingers. "You're slow as molasses, your defense is full of holes, your balance is all off--"
Akane interrupted his tirade with a light punch to his arm. "You don't have to rub it in!"
Ranma smiled mischievously at her, the tense mood from before evaporated. "You really are a tomboy, you know that?"
"You!" she swung her bag at him, knowing he would dodge it easily.
"See what I mean!"
"Baka!"
"Uncute!"
The words were playful and they both knew it. She spun around and stuck her tongue out at him. "I'll show you who's slow. Race you home!"
Ranma smiled. Might as well start training her now.
A/N: Please review. Both negative and positive comments greatly appreciated. I'm always eager to improve my stories. I read every review and constantly revise my work based on your input!