Without You
I don't own Ranma ½ or the characters, however any OCs in here are mine!
Sorry people but you must go at least one more chapter without knowing who the students are. Don't worry, I'll be introducing them in the next chapter, which I will hopefully have up for next weekend.
Also, I'm not quite certain if people on planes going to or coming from Japan would go to Alexandria International Airport. I'm letting you know that right now. And I did as much research about it as I could but found nada.
She had tried so hard to sleep, even for a few minutes, on the plane but nothing worked. Akane was just too worked up about finally being able to go to America to actually sleep.
Instead Akane rotated between watching some American movie, reading her novel, 'Emma', and daydreaming of what life in the United States might be like. There were always the rumors that Akane heard about Americans, and most of them were rather negative. Of course all the rumors came from people who had never been to America.
I can't go into the country with any biases, I have to go with an open mind, Akane thought as she fastened her seatbelt and the television monitors turned off.
"Ladies and gentlemen we will soon be landing at Alexandria International Airport in Louisiana. At this time please turn off all electronic devices, fasten your seat belts, and make certain your seat and tray are in the upright position. Thank you," came one of the flight attendant voices over the intercom.
Plucking her headphones off her head, Akane adjusted her seat and stared out the window. She was fortunate enough to have a window seat; she was going to get a bird's eye view of her new home, even if it was dark outside.
"First time in America?" inquired the man next to Akane. He seemed to be very nervous about the flight since he gripped the armrests so tightly that his knuckles were turning white and he had his eyes closed, as though in pain.
Figuring out that the man was afraid to fly and was talking to keep his mind off the fact that the plane had suddenly jolted downwards to make its descent, Akane decided to speak with him.
"Yes," she replied in English. The man seemed to be American and probably understood very little or no Japanese.
"What are you coming for? School, family, work, or a new life?" continued the man, a smile twitching at the corners of his lips.
"For it all, and perhaps a bit more," answered Akane, not quite certain what she really was going to America for. Sure, she was going for the training her uncle offered, the chance to go to college, but she was also going for her own reasons. Akane felt the need to get away from the craziness of Nerima, the fiancées, the disastrous weddings, and…Ranma.
"Ah," the man sighed as though recalling his own experiences, "out to find yourself, your own niche in life. I did that and nothing good came of it with me, but," he opened his eyes for the first time and gazed at Akane, "hopefully it'll be different for you."
With an appreciative nod, Akane turned her gaze to the window and saw the lights of the city and airport blinking out at her. Please, don't let me regret any of this.
Following English directions were a bit more difficult than what Akane thought it would have been. Americans just spoke too fast for her understanding that Akane found herself having to ask repeatedly for directions to where she went to get out of the terminal.
When she found her way out of the terminal, Akane didn't have to look any further than a tall, Japanese man who stood with a cheerful smile and had red-probably dyed-hair. Despite not having seen him for at least ten years, Akane recognized the man as Kamui Kusankagi, her twenty-ish year old cousin.
"Akane!" he greeted, approaching the girl and giving her a hug then lifting her up and spin around a few times.
"Kamui, is that really you?" Akane asked, still speaking in Japanese and she wanted to kick herself; she was in America now, she had to learn sooner or later to use the English language.
"Of course, do you know any other guy that could possibly look this handsome?" Kamui joked, giving Akane a playful wink. "Now, what do you say we go look for your luggage and then drive home for some sleep, unless you're not tired from all the sleep you got on the flight over."
Smiling weakly, Akane assured, "I didn't sleep at all. I was just too excited to sit still long enough to fall asleep without my mind wandering off."
"Oh wow, you were that excited? That's great; you'll be even more excited when I tell you that tomorrow night you're going to be introduced to our martial arts students. There are three who are especially interested in meeting you, other than Matsu," hinted Kamui, causing Akane to groan.
"You shouldn't have said that, now you've got my curiosity piqued and I won't be able to sleep at all tonight!" Akane complained, punching her cousin's shoulder lightly; she wasn't quite certain how much force he could sustain quite yet.
Kamui laughed delightfully as he took Akane's hand and led her to the carousels in search of the luggage. "That was the whole idea coz, but be assured that once we get home or even in the car, you'll fall fast asleep."
Finding the correct carousel after fifteen minutes of searching, Akane watched the many pieces of luggage travel around the trek until she found her suitcase and plucked it off the conveyer belt.
Glancing down at the suitcase, Kamui raised an eyebrow. "Only one?" he asked.
"Well, I figured that I didn't need to bring much since I would probably end up buying most of my essential needs here after I've been settled in with school and a job," explained Akane.
Nodding at the reasoning, Kamui shrugged, "That's very reasonable and very logical of you Akane."
"That better not be an indirect insult," warned Akane, her hand ready to pull out the mallet if necessary. Although Akane figured that mallet would be too much at the moment and decided that she wouldn't bother with the mallet, even if provoked.
"Nah, just an observation and a compliment," assured Kamui, unaware that his cousin had been ready to draw out her infamous mallet. Having not seen his cousin for about ten years, Kamui had no idea that Akane ever used an oversized mallet to hit people-mostly one particular person-into the air.
Relaxing, Akane just muttered, "Oh," and blushed a bit in embarrassment. Here she was in America for almost an hour and already she was accusing people of insulting her and on the verge of pulling out her mallet. "Sorry," she mumbled, following Kamui out to the garage where her cousin had parked his car.
"Don't worry about it Akane, I can see where you would have taken what I said as an insult. It's all good," reassured Kamui pressing a button on his keychain to unlock the car doors.
Pausing momentarily in the back of the Ford Escort, Kamui opened the back latch so that Akane could set her suitcase and carry-on in the back. With her bags in the back, Akane moved to the passenger side of the car and waited for Kamui to get into the car before she did.
Sitting in the car, Akane let everything from the material of the seat to the steering wheel and dashboard sink into her. It wasn't her first time inside a car but it was such a rarity that it took Akane a few seconds to pull herself from her awe-struck moment.
"Buckle up," Kamui reminded, pulling his over his shoulder and snapping it into place.
"Right." Reaching over her shoulder, Akane found the strap and gave it a tug until she found the buckle, then she zipped it across her form to snap it in place. "Is this your car or is it Uncle Shihiro's?"
"It's mine," answered her cousin, starting up the car, "I pay the bills for this thing all by myself and I keep it in great condition. Dad uses it every now and then when he needs to lug new supplies to the dojo or even to the house for home improvement projects that mom has planned for him."
Akane raised an eyebrow slightly. "Home improvement projects?"
"Yeah, mom has a long list of stuff she wants re-modeled in the house. Like there was the porch in the back, but that's done, then there's the kitchen, living room, computer room, and the basement," clarified Kamui with a sort of bitter laugh. "You see, mom's under the impression that almost every single one of these projects should take no more than a week to do, but with my classes, dad's job, and the dojo to run, there's limited time to do half of the work my mom wants."
"Maybe I can help," offered Akane.
Glancing at his cousin, Kamui smiled gratefully. "We'd love to have your help Akane, there's so much to be done and with the limited manpower we need all the help we can get. Especially from people who don't mind doing some of the heavy lifting work," Kamui added.
Shocked, Akane couldn't believe that her cousin was actually accepting her help. She knew that if she had offered her help at home someone, most likely Ranma, would give her a reason or a myriad of reasons why she couldn't help. One of those reasons would be because she was a woman.
"So," Akane began, "who are these people who want to meet me? Are they students at the dojo?" Ever since Kamui had mentioned the fact that there were some people who were interested in meeting her, Akane couldn't help wondering who they were.
"Yes, they're students at the dojo, exceptional students mind you. Dad thinks that you'll like them a lot and he plans to have them be your main sparring partners beyond himself, Matsu, and me," responded Kamui, not even bothering to keep his cousin in suspense. "Personally, I don't think he could have chosen better. You'll really like them when you meet them tomorrow night."
Seeing how much information she was already able to extract from her cousin, Akane tried to pry for more. "You're not going to even tell me their names?" she taunted.
Kamui flashed her mischievous smirk and a wink. "Now why would I do that when they can introduce themselves to you tomorrow?"
Leaning back into her seat, Akane pouted a bit with her arms crossed.
"Hey coz," Kamui spoke up, "as much as I love speaking to you in Japanese, do you want to practice conversing in English a bit? I mean, you're going to have to sooner or later and I just thought that maybe you would like to practice…"
"That would nice," agreed Akane. "I do need the practice."
Waking up to the contented warmth of a giant blanket, sunlight, and a comfortable mattress to snuggle into, Akane felt like she never wanted to get up until she realized that she was not in her room.
Jolting up into a sitting position, Akane found that she was not in her room but rather a room that inhabited a television, computer, book shelves, and piano in the corner. This was most certainly not her room.
Glancing down, Akane found that she wasn't sleeping on a bed but rather a futon.
Where am I? she wondered. Was I kidnapped again? Where's my captor? Where's Ranma?
Getting off the futon, Akane saw a pair of youthful eyes watching her curiously from the doorway. The eyes belonged to a young boy of eleven years who stood there nonchalantly with his hands stuck in his pockets and his body leaning against the doorframe.
"Are you Akane?" he spoke up in English, looking the girl up and down one last time before staring Akane in the eyes.
"I am," nodded Akane, remembering that she was at her Uncle Shihiro and Aunt Lorain's house in Louisiana, USA, "you must be Matsu. You've really grown."
She couldn't believe that the nearly pre-teen before her was the same little baby that she had held as a young girl. Ten years ago he was so small but even then he was a little fighter, and was fairly strong.
"You don't look so strong," Matsu stated bluntly.
Akane's eyes widened and she found herself to be speechless.
A nervous chuckle was heard from behind Matsu as Uncle Shihiro stepped behind Matsu and put his hands on the boy's shoulders. "Now, now Matsu, that's not very nice or very smart thing to say. Never underestimate anyone, for you never know what real strength a person has until you actually spar with them," advised Shihiro. "Go help your mother with laundry."
"Oh okay," sighed Matsu, reluctantly leaving the door to go assist his mother.
"Sorry I wasn't able to pick you up personally last night, I had to handle an ordeal with one of my students," explained Shihiro with an apologetic smile. Akane didn't say anything or make a move; she was still deciphering what her uncle had told her.
"Don't I get a hug at least?" he laughed, holding out his arms.
With a smile, Akane approached her uncle and gave him a hug. It was a bit different from the greetings Akane was used to receiving: death threats, 'I'm going to defeat you' threats, ceremonial bowing, or even the throwing of lethal objects.
"It's good to have you here, Akane," Shihiro muttered, patting his niece on the back.
"It's good to be here," murmured Akane, with a content smile. I'm here and there's no turning back, at all. No returning to Nermia, to Ranma.
Thank you to: Hanoi, Dream Crazy, The Liz, WW1, Genkai Lady, Mensa-13, Miko Kagome Archer, ranmakane4ever, AmayaSaria, Ulitheal, meia, f-zelda, panda-tiney, Hououza, Tenshi-no-Hana-chan, shadow-mistress, black-lotusblossom, Gennie Kag's and Sess's Child, Nonny, and the-shadow002. Wow, that's…one, two…twenty reviews! Oh my God, that's a lot of support. Thanks so much.
Oh yeah, Hanoi, I'm going to take you up on your offer to proofread my chapters in the future for grammar mistakes. No offense to anyone else, Hanoi just offered help.
