Ch 3: Stones to Break, Hearts to Mend
"Well boy!" Genma exclaimed, slapping Ranma on the back and pointing at Ryoga, who was currently stuttering as he tried to talk to Akane, "It looks like your chance at a cure is right there!"
"I know pop!" Ranma replied, trying to think of a way to get the location from Ryoga.
Genma leaned toward Ranma and whispered, "Good! Now you're going to go get that cure, right?"
Ranma shot up and nearly shouted "That's right!"
Genma shushed Ranma and pulled her down, continuing in a conspiratorial tone, "Now then, I have a couple of favors to call in."
"What?" Ranma eyed her pop, it wasn't like him to be so generous in doing something for her. 'What's he up to?' Ranma asked herself as she eyed her father suspiciously.
"You'll go to America, get cured and bring it back for me right, boy?" Genma asked.
"What?" Ranma growled at her father then lunged, grabbing both arms and ready to hurt him, "Why don't you…"
Ranma trailed off as she saw the wince of pain cross Genma's face.
"I sprained it." Genma said in reply to the unasked question, and heading off any concern, he started back on the business at hand, "Now… I'll see what I can do."
• • • • • • • • • •
That evening, after eating the food Kasumi had left out for him, Sasuke decided on a whim to see if there was anything being discussed inside that would interest master Kuno… it wouldn't do for him to keep bringing back reports that simply said "Nothing to report"; it made him look like he couldn't do his job as a ninja properly. And, among the few servants of house Kuno, not doing a job properly meant the loss of one's job and for a ninja the loss of honor would be unbearable.
It wasn't until he got to eavesdropping on the Tendo's guest room, where the Saotome men slept, that he actually heard something of interest.
"…told him that my son and his friend would need passage to America and he agreed to take you." Genma was saying with such a tone that Sasuke could almost see the smug smile on his face. "You'll leave tomorrow, just be at pier 14 before nine."
Well, that should be enough to interest master Kuno, Ranma Saotome going to america via ship for some unknown reason. Perhaps the master would reward him for the information!
Sasuke's face fell. Right, like that would ever happen.
• • • • • • • • • •
Ryoga twitched. Finally, after all this time he'd actually done something. Ranma hadn't known weather to try to see if something was wrong or if she should just leave him there to think.
"Where on Earth am I now?" Ryoga suddenly yelled, bursting the thought that she was just thinking, that he might actually know where he was and what he was doing.
"What?" Ranma dropped her pack and shot over to the Lost Boy, staring at him for a moment before continuing, "You're thinking of dragging me halfway around the world and you're lost before we even leave Japan!"
"We're in Japan?" Ryoga asked with a calm and innocent demeanor that shocked Ranma into shutting up. "I thought we would be in Alaska by now…" He trailed off and pulled out a map and began study it intently.
Ranma recovered from her shock and looked over at the Lost Boy, Mr. Drunken-hamsters-have-more-sense-of-direction-than-I-do himself, only to twitch herself as she read "Equador"on the map's side. "Alright! We're going to get there if I have to drag you there myself Ryoga!"
Ranma reached out and grabbed the spot where Ryoga's backpack and strap met on one side and began dragging him in the direction of the harbor. As she walked past her own pack she reached out and grabbed her own pack, swinging it onto her back in a well practiced move that would have left Ryoga blinking in surprise if she hadn't been pulling him along as she marched to the harbor.
• • • • • • • • • •
Tatewake Kuno was surprised to hear that Ranma Saotome would be leaving, to America, for some unknown reason, but he was totally uninterested other than that. If that fool Saotome wanted to go, let him! Then he wouldn't be around to stop him from being with Akane Tendo and the pigtailed-girl! Tatewake smiled at the thought of a Ranma-free life, even if it would be only a couple of months.
Then Sasuke told him of the 'friend' he would be taking with him… and he immediately thought of the pigtailed-girl, whom that fiend had somehow enslaved. Could it be that he was taking her to America for a forced wedding? Or maybe to be forced to work in an evil hive of scum and villainy, like Las Vegas or, he shuddered at the thought, El Paso?
Looking at the clock he saw that it was nearly eight-fifteen, not time to lose! He would havve to hurry to intercept them.
• • • • • • • • • •
The strange sight of the small redheaded girl dragging the tall, muscular Hibiki boy along elicited more than a few stares from people but, paying those stares no mind, she continued on to her goal, a smallish boat named Soyokaze. Ranma's father had used connections with the captain and obtained passage for the two.
"But the sea…" Ryoga whined, "I don't see why we have to go by boat."
Ryoga had been informed of the plan, of course, early in the morning before he had been fully awake and now Ranma was wishing that he'd hadn't been so sleepy. She stopped and whirled on the poor Lost Boy, jabbing a finger in his chest, "Look, it's the only thing my pop could afford! And we're going to be late!" Ranma's voice softened into an annoyed growl, "We need to get on that boat now."
Ryoga was surprised by Ranma's sudden mood-swing, mostly because he didn't pay any attention to the redhead's body-language, but still it caught him by surprise and he took a step back saying, "Hey don't…WHOA!"
The last part of the sentence due to his stepping off the edge of the wharf and into the harbor. The situation was one he was rather used to, despite (or perhaps because of) his Jusenkyo curse. Yet, despite it being a relatively familiar situation, would still put Ryoga in a bad mood… if he hadn't knocked himself out on the way down, that is.
Ranma on the other hand, watched as he seemed to tumble backwards in slow motion, was able to do nothing to keep the other martial artist from taking the plunge.
"Aw crap…" Ranma grumbled, as she dove in after the now pig, thinking of being even later to that ship.
It didn't take more than a minute to retrieve the small black piglet, and as she was climbing up she saw a hand offered to help her back onto the docks, as she grabbed the hand she heard the only words that were guaranteed to make her day more interesting, in the Chinese sense of the word. "My pigtailed goddess!"
Now that Ranma found herself 'saved' by Kuno, and subsequently pulled into one of his long-winded, poetic, and irritating speeches, she had the overwhelming desire to punt him into the stratosphere, but she was late for her boat… "Look Kuno, I appreciate the help but I've got to get on that boat." Ranma interrupted and nodded to the Soyokaze.
"Then I, Tatewake Kuno, shall escort you to yon vessel!" Kuno jumped at the opportunity to escort his pig-tailed goddess wherever she wanted, completely forgetting that he'd previously thought that Ranma Saotome was going to befoul her pureness once she was aboard the vessel, and thrusting his arm around hers as he dragged her toward the Soyokaze.
"You know, if you wanted to sail the sea with me, you had but to ask."Kuno said, ignorant of Ranma's struggle to free herself, Kuno then lost himself in his own thoughts, thoughts which are best left as an exercise to the reader.
• • • • • • • • • •
The captain, one Justy Tylor, welcomed the two aboard. The tall one with the unruly brown hair and bokken must be Ranma, his friend Genma's son, which meant that the small, curvy redhead must be the 'friend' Genma had told him about… he honestly wasn't expecting that, so he did what he always did in cases of the unexpected, mentally shrugged and let events take their own course, 'winging it' and playing by ear.
"You must be Ranma," Justy said with a big smile, shaking Kuno's hand. "Your father didn't tell me that your 'friend' was going to be such a good looking girl!" Justy said with a wink and a nudge.
Kuno felt the rush of vindication at hearing the captain's words, not that he expected anything else. It still felt good to be right though! But wait! He had been referred to that swine, that cad, that dark-hearted Ranma Saotome!
"If you two haven't tied the knot… I could do it while we're in transit." Justy offered, interrupting Kuno just before he was about to scream his indignation at being mistaken for Ranma Saotome.
Kuno dropped all his indignation with that offer, he could marry his pigtailed-goddess! What luck! No, wait, this had to be a dream! Only one way to find out…
Kuno put his head through the wall of the captain's cabin.
"I guess that's a no… " Justy mumbled at the twitching form embedded in his wall.
• • • • • • • • • •
Ranma groaned as she walked down the corridor to her cabin. What on earth had led up to Kuno, Kuno of all people, coming on this trip with her? It made little sense, even less than was normal for her life.
Looking up Ranma saw she was at her cabin, opened the door and tossed her luggage, and Ryoga on the floor beside her small bed as she pulled herself up to rest a bit. As she stared at the ceiling and thought about her current situation she drifted off into sleep and strange dreams.
She dreamed of being a knight, her old male form, trying to save a princess, only when he got to the tower in which the princess was supposedly kept hostage, all he found was a mirror that reflected himself back as his cursed form.
Ranma found his dream-self looking into the mirror, then being pulled into the feminine reflection and becoming the girl… and when she turned around Kuno was there, saying he would free her from her glassy prison… so that Ranma might date with him!
• • • • • • • • • •
Ranma woke with a scream, not hers, but Ryoga's scream of "Ranma! How dare you!" as he flew toward her mid-air and mid-attack. Ranma leapt out of the bed just in time to avoid a flying kick from Ryoga.
"Ryoga!" Ranma screamed, trying to get his attention as she dodged a punch, well his attention on speaking and not fighting.
"Ranma! You were trying to kill me!" Ryoga growled as he threw several more punches, "Now die!"
Wha?" Was all Ranma could say before she had to devote her full attention to blocking and dodging.
"Suffocation!" Ryoga yelled, still pressing his assault, "I didn't think you'd stoop that low!"
"What are you talking about, blockhead?" Ranma countered, mounting her own counter attack and forcing Ryoga to block and retreat a little. "I did no such thing!"
"Of course you did," Ryoga retorted, launching a counter-counter-offensive, "Stuffing a poor unconscious pig under all your luggage!"
"Wah?"Ranma paused, recovering just in time to deflect a punch that would have knocked the wind out of her had it connected.
"I don't even know how you could manage to bring two backpacks of stuff!" Ryoga yelled, throwing more punches and a few kicks in for good variety.
"One of them's your backpack." Ranma said dryly, blocking the punched and dancing around the kicks.
Ryoga stopped his assault mid-punch and said, "Oh."
That was when several members of the crew, the Captain, and Kuno burst into the room.
(Continued)
Author's Note: Well, here it is, the next chapter. I finally got around to writing it, yay!
Anyway, there's more to come in the next chapter. What's going to happen now that Kuno's aboard, mistaken as Ranma. What about Ryoga, caught assaulting a girl in her room? What about getting to America and finding that cure?
