Michael Gutin
Disclaimer: Do I have do one of these for each chapter? Or just the story? Meh, better safe than sorry. CHARACTER'S BELONG TO RUMIKO TAKAHASHI, ANYONE WHO SAYS DIFFRENTLY IS A DIRTY LIAR!
"…" means speech
(…) signifies thoughts
If it's in italics it must be a sound effect
>…> shall be the lovable panda signs
Sick of It
Chapter 2
No Turning Back
Ukyo saw the whole thing. That still didn't quite convince her it had happened. (Ranchan?) she thought desperately (What's wrong with you?)
She ran over to where Akane lay. She could hear Akane softly sobbing, as if her tear-stricken face wasn't enough proof.
(This is bad) Ukyo realized (This is very
very bad.)
As if guided by the hand of God, or perhaps the Devil, no sooner had Ranma left, when Ryoga came staggering into the courtyard of the school.
He gazed around wearily, his eyes came to rest on a sight that broke his heart, Akane, crying. All weariness forgotten, Ryoga quickly rushed to her side.
"What's wrong Akane?" he asked.
Akane didn't even acknowledge his presence; instead she continued to sob and muttered sadly
"Ranma..."
This was more than enough for Ryoga Hibiki.
(How dare he do this to her!) Ryoga raged. "I'll kill him!"
This seemed to shake Akane out of her despair, as Ryoga ran off; Akane realized what he was going to do.
"No Ryoga, stop!" she cried.
Ryoga took no notice and ran as fast as he could to catch that damn Ranma. Akane had no choice but to run after him, she had to stop him...she at least owed Ranma that...
The informant had in his possession gold, knowledge that he knew would get him quite far, all he had to do was...speak of the Devil, there was Nabiki, chatting away with her friends.
The informant got her attention.
"I have some information that would interest you, it's about...them"
he checked her face for signs of recognition, but Nabiki's face was as unreadable as ever.
"Go on..." she encouraged.
"I'll tell you everything...if you'd..."
Nabiki sighed; it always came to this, "Alright, consider your debt repaid."
The informant smiled, this was easier than he had thought. "Well at lunch today..."
Ranma wandered the streets of Nerima again. Not at all as happy as he had been when he came from the school.
(She deserved it) he told himself firmly
(She deserved to hear every word I said to her...) he turned the corner and found himself staring at the Tendo Dojo,
(So then why do I feel so horrible...?)
Shampoo was as lost in thought as she had ever been before.
(Something wrong with Airen, first he no come to school, now he leave house of Kitchen Destroyer.)
She desperately tried to figure out what was wrong. She sighed wearily,
(I just think about it, no solve anything, I need find him.)
Shampoo left her room quickly, stopping only to tell her great-grandmother "Shampoo go find Airen now, bye liao."
Cologne responded with a small smile, before re-focusing her attention to the ramen she was cooking. To her this was a perfectly normal day. For once, she was one of the few people left out of the loop. She had absolutely no idea what was going on with Ranma.
Ranma was running again. He didn't know where he was going, and he honestly didn't care. He had a feeling, a simple gut feeling to run. He couldn't figure out why, so he just kept running. Then it hit him
(I'm running…away…)
He stopped.
(That is what I'm doing isn't it?) he realized (Look at me, the great Ranma Saotome who has never backed down from a challenge, who has never been defeated, and here I am running like a coward. I'm just blindly running, trying to escape what I don't want to do. I'm just like Pops, aren't I? I act tough, but I'm really a coward.)
Slowly, he turned around.
(But not any more.) It's what I've been doing all my life, the reason that things have gotten so out of hand. I told myself I would stop, and dammit, I will! I already did it once with Akane…it felt so horrible, but I did it. I can do it again. I WILL do it again. I'll do it without hesitation until everything is straightened out.)
He realized he'd just been standing there, staring. He started to walk back when he noticed a familiar sight.
(The Nekohanten)
He grinned, here was a prime opportunity. Here is something he KNEW he could do. He would fix the problem with Shampoo at the source.
(Here I come Old Ghoul…)
Nabiki was mad. Oh, she hid it well. After all, this had been a true test of her vow, and she was going to be damned if she broke down now. None of this, however, deterred from that fact that she was mad.
(Saotome, what have you done?)
She had heard about the event. Not the details, but her sister's tears had been enough. She was going to make Ranma pay. As she sat out planning what she would do to him, she felt a twinge of sadness.
She realized that she had actually grown fond of Ranma. She didn't love him, it was nothing like that. He had just become an unnervingly big part of her life. It had been mostly business, collecting debts, taking pictures, the occasional blackmail, but it was a part of her life just the same. She recalled the time she had posed as Ranma's fiancé, she had found it exhausting at the time, but when she looked back, it had actually been pretty fun. Fun…that's what Ranma had been to her, a source of amusement. If she ever felt bored, she always knew something was going on in Ranma's life to keep her entertained. And on the rare occasions when things were peaceful, it took hardly any effort to stir things up again.
But those days were over. Whatever Ranma had done, he had gone too far. He had made Akane cry on more than one occasion, but this was different. Akane had been crying, really crying, in public, without any embarrassment.
(Oh when I get my hands on you Saotome…)
Though nobody knew it, she was very protective of her family. A member of her family had been hurt. Any desire for money had been squelched by the need for revenge.
(You WILL pay Saotome…)
Cologne looked up.
(There's that son-in-law of mine) she thought.
The figure stepped out of the shadows. He stopped, then merely glared at the Amazon Elder.
(What is he mad about this ti..)
Cologne realized that something wasn't right. The boy! His face was different. But she couldn't quite place it…
He spoke.
"It's over"
"Excuse me?" Cologne retorted.
"You hear me you old bat. The engagement to Shampoo, I won't put up with it anymore"
"You know the rules sonny" she replied offhandedly.
This caused Ranma to laugh. It was not his teasing laugh, or his arrogant chuckle. This was a laugh that made her blood run cold.
"You Amazons!" he spat, treating the word 'Amazons' as if it were a curse word. "I know you're laws, you backwards Chinese assholes. It's all about fighting, isn't it?"
Cologne would have been enraged at his insults, was she not otherwise occupied with being completely shocked.
"Well…Oh Most Honored and Cherished Elder, how about this, we fight, if I win, you haul your sorry ass back to China and take Shampoo with you, and if I lose…I'll marry Shampoo. Meet me in the empty lot in two days."
Cologne smiled, "Deal"
Genma was going to find that boy and teach him a lesson. Sure to any outside observer he looked like a Panda playing with a tire swing, but on the inside he was plotting.
(Where would the boy run off to? Perhaps Ucchan's or Nekohanten? Hmm, and if he didn't go there, I can just get some food as a constellation prize.) He got up and started walking when he was stopped by Soun.
"Where are you going old friend?" Soun asked.
>To Ucchan's, I have to find food…er, the boy!>
As luck would have it, there was indeed both food and Ranma at Ucchan's. Ukyo had left school after lunch, and had just gotten into her restaurant and started up the grill when Ranma stepped inside.
"Hello…Ukyo" he said.
(Not Ucchan?) though Ukyo (This is bad, after what he did to Akane, what's he gonna…)
"I'm sorry" Ranma said quietly.
"Huh?" said Ukyo, utterly confused. (He's not getting mad, he's actually being…nice…maybe he's going to propose!) she looked at him, and her new found happiness faded. (His eyes…whatever he's going to tell me, it's not going to be good …)
Authors notes: Yeah, I know, this chapter is a lot shorter than the first one. But I have my reasons. Also I would like it to be noted that I wrote the bulk of this and half of the first chapter at 2 a.m. in the morning, which seems to be the time when my writing is at its best. Anyway I hope you enjoy.
And don't forget to comment. I do actually read them and at least consider what you guys suggest. And the compliments! Don't forget those. They're more motivating then you think.
