Disclaimer: I do not own Ranma ½, nor claim to.
"Who's got my back now, when all we have left is deceptive, so disconnected? So what is the truth now?" Creed: Who's Got My Back?
Chapter 7: Aki's Return:
Sakura turned back to the door, seeing a blue haired Amazon standing there. It was Aki, and she was obviously angry about something. Her eyes were turned down to the floor, before they slowly rose up. Sakura took a step back as she saw the rage in the girl's eyes.
"Where . . . is Brick-boy?" the girl asked quietly.
Sakura strained to hear, but couldn't make out the words. "What was that?"
"Where is Brick-boy?!" Aki shouted angrily.
Something was wrong. "Why do you want to see Sauske?" Sakura replied, gaining a bit of courage, and taking a step forward. "Are you mad that you lost to him?" she continued with a sly smirk.
The girl growled a bit, her entire body clenched. "Where is he?!"
Sakura leaned back again. "What . . . what's so important that you need to find him anyway?" It was rare for someone to scare her with their eyes, but it was happening right now.
"He mocked me . . . and all of the Amazons. Brick-boy . . . must pay for that!"
"What are you talking about?" Sakura said slowly, unsure what to make of all this. "After all, you kissed him. If you're so mad, why did you kiss him then?"
"You know nothing . . . of Amazon law, do you Stick-girl?! I will not let him insult . . . my fighting style, or my heritage!" Aki shouted back, starting to walk towards the other girl.
"I may not know Amazon law, but I know insults!" Sakura shouted back. She began to walk towards the other girl. "You haven't once even pronounced my name, or Sauske's. My name is Saotome Sakura, and if you think you can just threaten my brother, and expect me to step aside, you're sorely mistaken!"
"When you deserve my respect, . . . you'll get it! . . . Until then, . . . I don't care!"
"That's a stupid value set! You expect respect, but you won't give it?!"
Aki growled more. "I may not respect you . . . but I respect . . . Anything-Goes Martial Arts fighting style! . . . Brick-boy respected me . . . but he had no respect for the Amazon fighting style! . . . If you want to insult me . . . fine!" The girl lowered her head more, and her voice grew darker and angrier. "But never . . . insult the Amazons!" Her face rose up, her eyes burning more. "NEVER!"
Sakura almost slipped back again, but she held her ground. "Fine." Aki paused, watching her. "Maybe he did insult your culture, somehow. I don't know how, but maybe he did. But I can swear to you one thing."
Aki watched the other girl, standing with her wooden sword, her body seemingly calm and serene, despite her shouts.
"He never meant it!" Sakura shouted, gripping her sword tightly in her right hand. "Sauske would never insult someone he just met! And never someone's fighting style! So don't you go around shouting about him being something like that! And if you think I'm just going to step out of your way," Sakura swung her sword up, readying for a fight, "you're completely wrong!"
Aki paused, clenching her fists. "I do not need to fight you . . . but if you won't move . . . expect no mercy!"
"I'm not. And you're going to get the same, understand?!" Sakura shouted, peering around her sword.
Aki slowly raised her fists around her head. "I am not . . . afraid of you!"
Sakura forced her aura out, surrounding herself with a pale mix of blue and red, blending to form a dull violet hue. Her hands tightened, as her eyes focused on the other girl.
Aki clenched her teeth, and an explosion of red filled the room. The color outdid Sakura's aura, tinting the entire dojo. Sakura watched intently; she would not get caught off guard. Some fake aura burst thingy wasn't going to confuse her.
"REAGHHH!" Aki shouted, punching forward. Sakura flinched, despite any attempt to remain focused. Aki was there, then suddenly she was here. Sakura lost any preparation she had made. She twisted the sword around, but it was too late. She felt Aki's hand smash into her stomach, and the power behind it tossed her into the air. She flowed backwards, straight for the wall.
CRUNCH! Sakura landed in the wall with her back. Her arms swung back, banging on the wall, before she slid down to the ground in a heap. The pair of auras faded away. Aki lowered her hands down, shaking her head. "I told you."
- - -
"Ranma, what is it already?!" Akane shouted, tuning to her husband, as he glanced around.
"I don't know, Akane." He said, before standing up. "I'm just going to go check on some things. I'll be back in a minute."
- - -
Aki sighed, turning to the door. "You told me?" Aki spun back, staring at the collapsed form of the girl. She hadn't moved. "Told me what? Huh?"
Slowly, Sakura looked up, staring at her opponent again. She placed the tip of her sword on the ground, before using it to raise herself back to her feet. "You thought you won, didn't you? Well, I'm not finished yet. And if you think you're any closer to finding my brother, you're still wrong. You're one step further away."
Aki clenched her hands tight again. "You can barely stand! . . . So try this!" Aki let her normal aura loose, before running forward again, charging at Sakura.
The Japanese girl twisted the sword around, horizontal to the ground, and the blade behind her. Her legs slid apart, balancing herself carefully. Her aura flowed out naturally this time, much wider, without a single trace oif red. Her eyes grew cold, unemotional. It was time for the Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken.
Aki was running at almost full speed, but the other girl's eyes were keeping up this time. She leaned back, pulling her hand back, before focusing on her exact target. She punched forward. "REAGHH!"
Sakura slid smoothly aside. "Wrong." She replied stoically. Her mind was completely focused this time, because nothing on the outside beyond Aki even registered in her mind. "Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken." (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire) Her left hand pulled back, while her right hand swung forward. The sword followed.
The sword swung across her body, hitting Aki in the bottom ribs. She lost all contact with the ground, and floated away to the other side of the room. THUMP! She bounced on the ground, before sliding along the floor.
Twisting around while sliding, Aki flipped onto her hands and knees, crouched like a small tiger. Her eyes regained their flaming red, and her aura became a deeper crimson.
Sakura became more focused, ignoring even the pain in herself easily. Her mind had only one purpose: defeat Aki. No other thought entered her mind. She swung her body around, turning perpendicular to the Chinese girl, while swinging her sword back to her right side, in front of herself, and turned her eyes to meet Aki's.
There was a pause, as both girls stared at each other, mentally preparing to strike. This next hit might just decide their fate, so neither one was going to rush in too fast. But neither one could wait forever.
At the same spot in time, both Sakura and Aki charged forward, running straight for the other. The door slammed open, but neither one took notice. Sakura swung her sword across, while Aki punched straight for her opponent's face. Both struck their target, and both felt their opponent's hand grab them on the shoulder.
Well, not really. Ranma gritted his teeth through the pain in his back and cheek, while holding the two girls apart. The swirling auras faded slowly, as the two combatants realized that the fight was over.
"Sakura, stay right there." Ranma muttered to her as he turned to Aki. Sakura nodded, lowering her sword down to the floor.
Ranma looked at the Chinese girl. "As for you, your mother and father are getting ready to leave. You better get goin'." He let go of Aki's shoulder, but she didn't move. "That means now."
The younger girl dashed out the door. Ranma slowly followed, before closing the door behind her. "Sakura." His daughter perked up, looking over at him. "Sakura, what . . . the hell . . . is WRONG WITH YOU?! Did ya not hear what I said an hour ago?! Huh?!"
Sakura sighed, leaning her sword behind herself to try and hide it. "Well, um, . . . the thing is . . ."
"Sakura, I don't want that! Didja' or didja' not hear what I said?"
"Well, yeah, I did, . . . I think."
Ranma was now facing her completely, walking back to the dojo, staring at his daughter. "What do you mean, 'you think'?"
Sakura shrugged. "What was it you said again?"
"What did I . . . I said 'No fighting with their daughter'. Did you hear that?"
She nodded quickly. "Oh, yeah, that. I remember hearing that."
Ranma shook his head, before glancing around the room. "So why is it, when I come in here, I find you two beating each other up, and smashin' the walls? Huh?"
"Oh, right, the wall. Well, actually, she hit me into the wall, so it's not really my fault, and . . . uh . . . well . . ." Sakura mumbled, knowing everything was just getting her deeper and deeper into trouble. She had no idea how she could talk her way out of this, if it as even possible.
"Sakura, it was one thing ya had to do. One. No fightin'." Ranma said quietly, before his voice rose up again. "How hard is that to do?!"
"Listen, I didn't start this. She did. She came in here, insulting us, and the dojo, and then she comes back and starts threatening Sauske. If you think I should just step aside and let her go after Sauske, then I definitely won't listen."
"But you coulda' been killed, Sakura!"
She smirked. "I don't think so. I was just about to win when you came in. I would have hit her with my sword before she punched me, and I know she would have . . ."
"That's not what I meant!" Ranma shouted. He took a deep breath. "What I meant was, once you did win, she would have given you the 'Kiss of Death'. Then, she woulda' come back and killed ya. I really don't want to deal with any more of those, okay!"
"What?" Sakura said, before she turned pale. "Did . . . you say . . . 'Kiss of Death'?"
Ranma nodded. "That's right, Sakura . . . something wrong? . . . Wait a sec'. Where's Sauske?"
- - -
Sauske rolled over in bed, but he couldn't get comfortable. He knew he was forgetting something, but he couldn't figure out what it was. He knew he was now "engaged" to that Chinese girl, so he really didn't want to go back down. Something inside him, though, said he needed to go back down for Sakura's sake. But why?
"Oh, wait, I remember. Because, if Sakura wins, then the Chinese girl will have to . . . oh no!"
The boy jumped up out of bed, pulling on a nearby shirt and pants, before ripping the door open, and bolting out into the hall. He sped through the hallway, before turning on a dime, and hopping all the way down the flight of stairs, and running for the dojo. The door was just up ahead, and he ran faster. He reached out, grabbing it, and flinging the screens aside.
"SAKURA! Don't fight her! She's going to kill . . . you?"
"Oh, you're awake. Sit down." Ranma commanded, pointing to the spot next to Sakura. He did what he was told, and Ranma walked back to close the screens.
"Daddy?" Auska asked from the hallway sleepily, rubbing her eyes. "What's going on?"
Ranma turned back to the two sitting children. "Stay there." He walked out into the hall, before taking his youngest daughter by the hand. "It's nothing too bad, Auska. C'mon, you need to be getting some sleep."
Auska nodded sluggishly, walking along to the stairs. "What . . ." she yawned loudly, "was the loud noises?"
"Oh, There was a fight or two in the dojo, and Sauske went running through the halls. Nothing more than that." They walked up the stairs to the second floor.
"I thought you said no fighting tonight, daddy?"
Ranma smiled, opening his daughter's door for her. "Well, at least someone was listenin'."
Auska yawned again. "Are they in trouble?"
Ranma paused, as he helped her back under the covers, and pulling the blankets up. "I don't know yet."
Auska nodded drowsily on the pillow, mumbling something as she fell back asleep. Ranma sighed, smiling more, before fixing her blankets, and walking back out the door. He slowly closed the door. "Uncle Ranma?" another girl asked behind him. He spun around, seeing Amy leaning around the edge of the wall. "Is something wrong?"
Ranma smiled again. "No, not really." He started walking down the hall to her. "C'mon, let's get you back to bed too." Amy nodded, smiling, and walked along slowly with Ranma.
- - -
"What do you think is going to happen to us, Sauske?" Sakura asked, turning to us.
Sauske sighed. "Let's see. Probably, we're going to be grounded again."
"Well, yeah, but the 'You coulda' been killed!' part isn't really going to be good, now is it?"
"Good point."
Ranma slid the door open, slightly less angry than when he first talked to Sakura. Slightly. The smile was gone. "Here's what you two are goin' to do. You're both grounded for the next two days, minimum. And if I catch you doin' anything else as stupid as this for the next week or two, it's goin' to get worse."
The two children nodded.
"You know the rules. After school, you come straight home, no interruptions. Then, it's homework first, chores second, training third, free time last. And once you're home, you stay home. Got it?"
They nodded again.
"All right. Go to bed, and we'll finish talkin' about this tomorrow."
With that, the three of them left the dojo slowly.
- - -
Keira brushed her hair several more times, looking into the small mirror hanging over her desk. Slowly, she reached back, retying her brown hair into a long braid. Quietly, she heard a knock at the door. "Come in." she said loudly.
She watched in the mirror as the door opened behind her back, and her brother Haku leaned in. "Um, hi, sis."
"What is it, Haku? Shouldn't you be in bed by now?" Keira said rudely, still angry with him impersonating her at dinner.
"I, um, just wanted to say sorry for pretending to be you, . . . you know, at dinner."
Keira paused, thinking it over, before going back to braiding her hair. "Okay."
"O . . . okay? You mean, you forgive me?"
"Sure, why not." She continued braiding her hair, before taking a piece of white ribbon from her desk.
"Okay, Keira. Thanks."
"One thing, Haku."
"Huh? What is it?" he asked, ducking back into the room.
"About what you said." She tied the ribbon into a small bow, locking the end of the braid tight. Haku twitched a bit, remembering what he had said ("Oh, Sauske, it would be so amazing to see you do that. You're just so cool and cute!"), as Keira turned back around. "Why did you say all that?"
"Oh, well, um, I heard you say it once, so I figured it wouldn't be so bad if I said that. And then we could all have a good laugh about it."
Keira paused, before smiling a bit, and turning back to her desk, putting things away. "Yeah, that would've been nice. What did he do when you told him that?"
Haku sighed. He was safe. "Oh, you should have seen him. I never saw him so shocked before. Not like an angry shock, but like a 'Whoa, really?" kind of shock."
She giggled a little. "I wish I had seen him when that happened."
"Haven't you told him that before?"
"Well, if you must know, . . . no, I haven't. Now that I think about it, though, I don't remember telling you that either."
Haku began to sweat a little. "Well, I must've heard you while you were talking to someone else."
"No, I can't remember anyone else I told it to. What was the last time I said that?" She furrowed her brow, tying to remember. "Heck, the last time I ever said that was when . . ."
"What?" Haku asked timidly.
"When I was re-reading my diary to myself . . . hey, Haku!" She spun around in her chair, ready to face her brother, her face red with rage.
Her brother was gone.
She jumped up, running out into the hall. She heard a shuffle as she stepped outside her room. "So, changed into the furniture, Haku? Don't think I won't find you!"
She started walking down the hall, passing by a small table on the left side, and a bookcase on the right. SMACK! She punched the bookcase. Nothing. "Not you, eh?"
SMACK! Keira kicked the table against the wall. Nothing. She sighed before turning and walking further down the hall. She walked past a lamp on her left, and walked towards a large mirror. Behind her, the lamp was sweating a bit, but didn't move.
"You're this mirror, aren't you?" She said slowly, standing with her back to the lamp. She reached her hand back, and . . .
Spun around, grabbing the lamp with both hands. "Gotcha!" She stared right at the white lampshade, before it morphed into her brother's head.
"Oh, heh heh, hi Keira. Something wrong?" he said cautiously.
"You were spying on me, weren't you?"
"Keira." Her mother said behind her. "It's time for bed. For both of you. No more fighting."
"But he was spying on me!" Keira protested.
Ukyo shook her head. "If you don't want him to, don't forget to close your door next time."
Keira gasped back, before turning a pale red on her cheeks. She had left her door open? That didn't make anything better. She dropped Haku, walking to her room. "Good night!" she huffed, before closing the door behind her.
Ukyo turned to her son. "So, what was she talking about?"
"Oh, nothing too important." Haku replied, shrugging his shoulders.
- - -
Akane slid down into the bed, before Ranma rolled over, reaching his arm around her back. "Well, you're still awake."
"Can't sleep without ya."
Akane smiled, snuggling in. "Well, I guess today is finally over."
Ranma sighed. "Yep. Finally."
"So, what happened with Sakura, Sauske, and . . . what was her name again? Aki?"
"Yeah, that's it." Ranma said, yawning. "Do you really want to know now?"
"Why not."
"Okay . . . well, Sakura almost got herself killed by defeatin' Aki, and earning the kiss of death. Oh, and Aki and Sauske are engaged."
"Engaged?"
"He beat her in a fight, so now they have to get married."
"Reminds you of Shampoo, doesn't it?"
Ranma sighed again. "A little. But I still got the best one here."
Akane smiled. "What did you do to them?"
"Both grounded for two days, and if they do anythin' stupid, they'll get more."
"That's good for now." Akane said, yawning again.
"Okay."
"Doesn't Sakura have Kendo Club tryouts tomorrow?"
"She's goin' to make them up after she's free again."
"She agreed to that?"
"No, but that's what I'll tell her."
"Oh, okay." There was a short pause, before Akane spoke up again. "Do you think we're under-reacting to all this?"
Ranma snuggled closer, closing his eyes. "We can be angry in the morning."
Akane sighed, smiling. "I like that idea."
Next Chapter: A new day dawns, and Sauske and Sakura have to go back to school again!
Well, the chapter is over, so on with the reviews:
Judah: No, this isn't a crossover with Naruto. I had some notes last time talking about this, and I'm sorry if it was confusing. Here's the deal: There are characters in this story using the names of other anime/magna characters, and the character Naruto looks similar to how he does in Naruto. But that's all. In short: this is not a crossover fanfic.
Kunoichi Konatsu:
Age: 38
Occupation: Assistant Chef at "Ucchan's"
Strength: 2
Stamina: 3
Speed: 4
Ki: 2
Aura: 1
Special Techniques: 1
Konatsu, like Ukyo, has changed very little over the years. Appearance-wise, he has retained a similar look to himself, and appears to have aged only a few years. However, he does still continue to cross-dress, at least during his working hours.
His only real technique and martial arts ability is that of creating multiple bodies, along with the know-how to use traditional ninja weapons. With the exception of an occasional duel with Ranma, and some powerful martial artist where everyone must ban together to defeat him or her, the only consistent training or workout he has is training with his children, although most of that is with Keira.
The reason is simple. Haku does not have much interest in open fighting. Instead, he prefers his ability to imitate other objects and people quickly. And spying. And while Konatsu has taught Haku some of those abilities, most of it was self-taught.
Keira, however, has taken the more traditional approach to ninjutsu, and it's there that Konatsu has most of his current training. From the use of shurinkans to sword technique, from speed to technique practice, Konatsu has taught Keira everything he knows, and she has grown to the point where she has surpassed his abilities.
At Ucchan's, Konatsu still does most of the cleaning, and works diligently without any complaints. He has learned to make okonomiyaki, but rarely does, and most of them don't taste up to par with those of his wife.
Overall, Konatsu has remained the same as when he first arrived at Nerima. The few changes in his life were his marriage to Ukyo, and the birth of his children. He still is dedicated to his work, and, like Ukyo, has kept the same job since he first arrived in Tokyo. He may not have improved his martial arts abilities personally, but he has passed the skills he knows onto his children, teaching them their amazing fighting abilities.