Chapter 4 - Ryoga's New Problem
A figure sat in the bushes, watching with wide eyes at the battle. This… this was masterful technique. Ranma had been good with martial arts, but they had plenty of that. The sword work by the one with red hair though, that was beauty, grace, and power all rolled into one.
Then, finally, Ryoga went down. The figure smiled to itself. Ryoga was stronger than before, and had even advanced one of the oldest Amazon techniques. So much stronger than before, now that he'd finally thrown away the depression that was holding him back. Believing you could win was half the battle, after all.
She couldn't hear the conversation taking place, but it didn't matter. The important thing was that the Saotome boy had won-
Ryoga rose, glowing as he did so, a brilliant orange color, and hurled the attack at the Saotome. The woman's eyes widened a bit, but nodded shortly in approval. Courage was a good emotion for battle. She watched as both figures finally fell over, and the two girls began talking to each other. Probably about how to get them to a doctor.
The figure smirked and leapt away. Ryoga was looking impressive, much more so than before, except that tendency to get lost and be found at the most awkward of times, and the new boy Kenshin, was incredible. Ryoga had won, but not by much. Besides, no matter which one of them was standing in the end, she'd seen enough. Kenshin was good enough, and his skills would be an incredible asset.
It was all for the tribe of course.
Cologne hopped away, back to the Nekohaunten. She had orders for Shampoo.
Ryoga dreamed.
He and Ranma stood on opposite sides of an open field, facing each other down. Both were ready to attack, as they had been for the most of the past week. At an unknown signal they both rushed for each other, trading blows as they came together in a fierce exchange.
"Ryoga!"
Ryoga grunted his acknowledgement of the question as they kept going. Ranma was in his girl form, dodging backwards. After executing a particularly nasty kick, which caused Ryoga to duck down, Ranma continued.
Ranma grumbled about the lack of connect the kick had. "Look, Ryoga… I know why you're still here." They continued trading blows while she was talking. It wouldn't be the first time that had happened. "It's not going to happen. I'm not going back. I can't go back. Well, at least not yet."
Ryoga started upping his speed, forcing himself and Ranma to work harder. The fight settled into something fairly mechanical as they spoke. "Ranma… do you realize just how badly Akane was hurt by your… passing? You've got a second shot. Use it. I may not be all that smart, but I know that much. I don't think she'd care that you can't turn back into a guy-"
"It ain't Akane I'm worried about. It's momma. The only thing that kept her from splitting my belly before was that I could change back into a guy. I ain't going back just to be killed by my own mother. I ain't gonna try to tell the others just to keep it from her either. I did enough of that as 'Ranko', and I'm not doin' it again."
"Ranma-"
She cut him off with a kick, shaking her head. "That's not the only reason. Remember last week, when you first showed up? Saffron's after me, Ryoga. He's after me big time. The only reason I'm still here is that he's after these people too." Ryoga straightened up, and when he looked closely there were tears in Ranma's eyes. Not actually flowing, but gathering. "I cannot bring that kind of trouble back to Nerima, there's no way. Saffron's stronger now, and he gets stronger every time I fight him. If I can't defend myself, then I can't defend her. I'm not useless Ryoga, I'm worse! With Saffron after me all the time, I can't even approach Tokyo, much less Nerima. At least if he's here he's not after Akane."
They were silent for a time, raining casual blows on each other, both concentrating more on the problem than the fight. Ryoga tried again. "Ranma… you can't just waste your life out here. I mean…"
Ranma's voice was different now. "Ryoga? Did I say anything in there that sounded like 'I give up'? Just because I can't go back now, doesn't mean I can't go back ever. I can beat him Ryoga. I know it. I know how I'm gonna do it too. I still keep practicing every morning, and I've almost got it all down. Saffron's damn fireballs never hurt any less, but my tolerance for heat and pain is increasing. I'm almost ready for him. It'll just take me some time, that's all."
Ryoga sighed, and stood, breaking the fight and wiping the sweat off of his brow, through the bandana. The fight hadn't been that taxing, but the sun was baking the moisture right out of him. "I'll hold you to that Ranma. I still want a serious rematch, not the sparring we've been doing recently."
Ranma relaxed as well and laughed. "Sure. But Ryoga, there's something I need to ask you. A favor. I don't like it, but I need to."
Ryoga looked over at his… friend? It never really seemed that way, but he and Ranma were as close as they could be without being related. He knew that admitting he needed help was a lot harder for Ranma than the concession he'd made above. Being weaker than Saffron was one thing. Ranma could - and would - overcome that. Admitting that there was something he couldn't do was something else. "Yeah?"
"Watch over Akane for me. I know you don't really think of her that way anymore, but I need you to. Don't let anything hurt her Ryoga. It took me two years to wake up from that battle with Saffron, Ryoga. Two years. Akane's probably gotten over me. That's fine. If she's dating someone, that's fine too." Ranma's eyes hardened now. "But listen to me, Ryoga, swear to me. Nothing. Not anything, not anyone. Nothing hurts Akane."
Ryoga starred at Ranma for a while and nodded. "I promise Ranma. I promise."
Ranma nodded, and they went back to sparring, this time concentrating fully, moving as full out as they dared without aggravating Ranma's injuries. They didn't speak of it again. They didn't need to. The next day, Ryoga set out for Nerima, no matter how long it took him to get there.
A young girl with long black hair frowned as she heard one of her patients muttering in his sleep.
"I promise Ranma. I promise."
This wasn't so much shocking as it was irritating. Both he and the other boy were medicated to stay asleep until they were fully recovered, but this one, Ryoga according to her uncle, kept taking in his sleep, about some promise.
The girl sighed and flipped a straying lock of her long black hair over her shoulder. She jumped about three feet in the air when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned to see a skeleton, and started screaming… until she realized that it was just Betty, her Uncle Tofu's skeleton. She scowled, and was about to yell at her uncle… when she realized that it was not Uncle Tofu who had used the skeleton to startle her. It was his fiancé, Kasumi. Her mouth dropped open. "How? What?" The real shock was not Betty, but Kasumi herself.
Kasumi giggled. "Oh my. I appear to have frightened you. Do forgive me."
Megumi Ono's eyes narrowed again. She didn't believe that for a second. Her soon-to-be-aunt Kasumi was entirely too innocent for her taste, and she didn't believe that anything could be as innocent as Kasumi acted. But, that was life.
"Sure… and why's that one-" She jerked her finger at Ryoga "-keep talking about a promise to some guy named Ranma?"
Kasumi's eyes misted over a bit, but quickly recovered. "It was before you came here Megumi. Now, how are they doing?"
Megumi shrugged, and checked her sheet. "Not bad all things considered. They're both exhausted, and pretty bruised, and I'd never believe this rate of healing if I hadn't witnessed it for myself, but I think they'll be up and around by this evening. They should probably avoid strenuous activity for the next week or so."
"Fat chance of that, Sugar."
Megumi turned and glared at the newcomer, Ukyo. She smirked. "Doctor's order's dear. Besides… are you really that desperate?"
Ukyo went beet red, and her face took on an aghast look. "That… You… Why…" She shook her head to clear it. "Look. All I meant was that the moment you let them out, they'll be taking off over the roofs. They're martial artists. They live for 'strenuous activity'."
Kasumi smiled. Megumi was about to dig into Ukyo again, but Kasumi held her hand up, stopping her. "That is true Ukyo, however, I think that 'strenuous activity' is relative for everyone. I don't really think that they would hurt themselves too much doing that."
Megumi grumbled, then shrugged. "What are you doing here, anyways?"
It was Ukyo's turn to shrug. "Just dropping off dinner, Doc Tofu didn't want Kasumi to have to cook tonight."
Kasumi seemed taken aback for a moment, then her face settled on her sunny smile again. Megumi was sure this was only an act. She made it seem like the light in her eyes was coming from the sunlight streaming in the through the hole in the back of her head. "Well, that was thoughtful of him. Thank you Ukyo."
She shrugged. "No problem, Sugar. I was just about to close up for the night when the call came. Still can't believe the number these two idiots did on each other. Oh well. See you Kasumi."
"Of course, Ukyo."
Megumi rolled her eyes, but didn't comment on the Okinomiyaki seller as she left. Better to simply have Ukyo out of her hair for the moment.
The next visitor to Dr. Ono's clinic was Akane. She didn't really want to be here, but her father had insisted, and Auntie had given her some fresh clothing to take to Kenshin, so she ended up not really having a choice. Visiting with Kasumi would be nice enough, but her soon to be step-niece was about as annoying as Ranma had been at his worst, and kept making her itch for her mallet.
It seemed that Kasumi and Tofu were out though, as she entered the clinic. She shrugged and made her way to the examination room to check on the boys.
What she found was vaguely disturbing.
Megumi Ono was in the process of attempting to peel off Ryoga's tank top. While he was unconscious, no less. "What are you doing?!"
Megumi jumped back three paces, blushing. "It's not what it looks like!"
Akane arched an eyebrow. "Just what is it then?"
She growled, and grabbed Ryoga's jacket. "Look at this. It looks and feels like ordinary leather, but…" She pulled on the jacket, bending it around her knee. It hesitated a second, then began to stretch impossibly.
"What the?"
Megumi nodded. "I found out when I tried to tug it out from under the bed. It was caught on the wheel. I thought I'd gotten it out when it began to stretch, but…"
Akane shook her head. "Ryoga goes a lot of places in his travels. He probably just picked it up somewhere. But what does it have to do with you taking off his shirt? I thought Dr. Tofu already examined them?"
She grimaced. "I wanted to see if the rest of his clothing did the same thing, and his shirt seemed like the safest experiment, okay?"
Akane snickered. "Sure. And I'm sure Ryoga's body wasn't tempting you in the least, right?"
Megumi growled. "Listen, you…"
There came a groan from one of the tables then, forestalling any argument. Kenshin slowly raised himself up off the bed, holding his head in one hand. "This one… This one does not feel incredibly well."
Megumi snorted. "I should think so. You've just come off of a very hard battle, Mr. Saotome. You should rest a bit."
Akane smiled a little at him, and thrust out the bundle in her arms. "Here. Your mother sent me by with some more clothing for you."
Kenshin nodded and took it. Then he seemed to be waiting for something. Then they blushed, realizing, and headed out the door, closing it after them.
They stood there for a bit, letting the silence grow uncomfortable, when the walls shook with a sudden crash. The two girls looked at each other, then headed for the door. They got there just in time to be hit by Shampoo, who came flying through the door unconscious.
A minute earlier, inside the room, Ryoga Hibiki was adjusting his eyes to the light as he lay on an unfamiliar cot.
Then he was jolted awake by one of the walls caving in.
Where the wall once was, stood Shampoo, in all her amazon glory, the last two years, only really adding to her physical beauty. That wasn't the problem. The problem was the half naked Kenshin standing frozen, staring at the intruder.
Shampoo leveled one of her Bonbori at Kenshin. "Shampoo challenge Kenshin. Now."
Kenshin just stared at her, dumbfounded. "Oro?"
"Now wait a minute!" At Shampoo's letter of challenge, Ryoga was on his feet in an instant. He easily knocked Shampoo aside, the blow knocking her unconscious and through the door as he did so. "No one's getting their hands on this scumbag except…" Ryoga froze in mid-sentence and turned to look over at the door. At the unconscious amazon. Akane was looking at him, and trying not to laugh. Ryoga looked down at Shampoo. "Is she…? Did I just…?"
Akane nodded, smirking, and really trying desperately not to bust a gut. "Yes. Yes you did."
Ryoga started smacking himself in the head. "Not good. Definitely not good."
Megumi looked around, at the still frozen Kenshin and the self-flagellating Ryoga. "Someone want to tell me why he's hitting himself?"
Akane grimaced. "You mean they didn't tell you? Amazon marriage laws. If an outsider male defeats an amazon woman, she had to marry him."
Megumi shuddered a bit. "And a woman?"
Akane shrugged. "The amazon has to track her down and kill her."
Shampoo got groggily off the floor then. She looked over at the occupants of the room. As she remembered what had happened, she looked over at Ryoga, and gaped. She had disobeyed her great grandmother. Nothing good could come of this. She asked. It was surely not what she thought it was, it could not be. "Did lost boy…?"
Ryoga nodded dumbly. Shampoo started crying. "Lost boy not supposed to defeat Shampoo! Kenshin supposed to be Shampoo. Kenshin supposed to be Shampoo's new Airen!"
This broke Kenshin out of his daze and he quickly put on his shirt. He looked at Akane. "Oro?"
Akane shook her head. "Airen means husband."
Kenshin nodded, then looked at Ryoga. "This one is happy for you, Ryoga."
Megumi just shook her head at the antics before her. No wonder the other medically inclined in the family had not wanted to assist her uncle. This entire place was insane. Well, I suppose that not even the Kami possibly could make this any worse.
The Kami do not like to be mocked. They really don't. It had resulted in several bad things happening in Nerima before. They demonstrated this time by having Ukyo run in the front door, waving a piece of paper in her hands.
A few seconds later, several screams came out of the clinic.
Megumi and Akane went: "WHAT?!"
Kenshin croaked out a confused "ORO?!"
Shampoo responed "AIYAAA!"
Ryoga, perhaps unsurprisingly, roared: "RANMA, THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!"
Shampoo was on her knees with her head bowed in front of her great grandmother, scared out of her mind. She did not know how the old woman would react to this. "Shampoo fail great grandmother."
Cologne arched an eyebrow. "What happened, child? Were Kenshin's wounds greater than anticipated? Did he fall before you?"
Shampoo shook her head. "Is worse. If that, Shampoo would try again when he rested. Shampoo defeated by lost boy."
Cologne sighed. This was troublesome. The Hibiki boy was a good student, and seemed to be of excellent breeding… but that sense of direction… she shuddered a bit. She sighed. "It may not be all that bad Shampoo. Ryoga seems a caring boy, and surely we could find some way of helping him with his problem of getting lost…"
"Is still worse."
Cologne closed her eyes. How could it possibly get worse than this? It was a simple job, after all. She braced herself, a funny feeling of nostalgia coming over her. "Tell me Shampoo."
Shampoo held a piece of paper up for her. "Shampoo ask for this, so she have proof."
Cologne nodded, and unfolded the paper to read.
To my darling daughter Ukyo,
I know these past few years have been tough on you, since your fiancé died, and I hope you are doing well. But do not despair, my child, for I have new hope for you.
Recently, a wandering martial artist visited me, Tejiro Hibiki. Recognizing the surname from your letters, I immediately invited him in to talk, knowing the high standard you held his son's martial arts to.
Rejoice my daughter, for you have a new fiancé, Ryoga Hibiki.
Sincerely,
Your father.
Cologne, having finished reading the letter aloud, fell off her staff.
Mousse, upstairs, having heard the whole thing through the floorboards was deeply concerned. This simply could not be… Ranma was dead, so Shampoo should be his now, by default. Nothing good could come of Ryoga's continued presence.
Mousse grinned as he began to plot on how to destroy the lost boy.
And if his plan worked… he'd even get help disposing of the menace.
Been a bit since the last chapter, or even since Phoenix Ascendant. But, I was attempting to work through a major amount of writer's block on two other stories, but I finally got off my butt and belted this one out.
Okay, Ryoga inheriting the engagements was good fun, but don't expect it to take a forefront in plot. It's going to be minor really, considering that Shampoo and Ukyo aren't really all that interested. It was just fun, and it was a good way to lead into the Ryoga/Mousse fight, in which I finally reveal the last of my new Ryoga's secrets.
J writes:
thanks! although, hope you don't mind my nitpicking. looks sheepish just warning ya.
Ryu Sou Sen, not "Son". not katana, that'd be metal; bokken as Kenshin would definetly need a license (especailly Nodoka) on owning a katana. although i do question Kuno's right to bear one himself, seeing how he waves it like a total moron...
Ryouga beat a Saotome with courage? snorts Genma, probably if he got depressed or pissed enough (i'm biased here ;p). and Kuno... aims a large sake jug toward his head at the same speed the Shinkansen, AKA Bullet Train, goes
My reply:
Nitpicking is good, as it allows me to really take a look at the small details as you do. And it shows that people actually care bout the story, which is always good.
About the attack name. I've seen it written a lot of different ways by a lot of different people, and I've determined it probably just depends on the translator involved. I'm keeping it, but you'll never really see it change. Just try to forgive that sort of thing. And thanks to everyone who sent in about the katana/bokken mistake. That was an oopsie. It's fixed now and I'll try not to do it again.
It was a demonstration of Ryoga's new techniques, and how he's abandoned his previous depression, giving him a fresher outlook on life. I suppose how possible you think Ryoga's victory is, is how much you like Ryoga. And I liked Ryoga early in the series, but he sucked after the Shi Shi Hokudan, so I changed it. And yes, Kuno is the largest idiot of them all. At least his father actually borders on competency.
Sephirat writes:
i guess it's a little too late to point this out now that Kenshin is going to Furinkan but i guess i will anyway. Kenshin is older than Ranma by 2 years and with 2 more years passing before Kenshin's appearance he'd be way too old to be going to high school now.
My reply:
I mentioned this, but perhaps it wasn't clear. It's Nodoka's choice. Kenshin missed his last two years entirely, so he has to take at least this semester. If he passes, Nodoka won't make him retake the others.
Uenki writes:
Excuse me, but are you planning on adding the Rurouni Kenshin-gumi into into it, meaning Kenshin/Kaoru, Sano/Megumi, Yahiko?
I don't know if you are a shipper of Ken/Kao, but I just thought that it would be more interesting as Kaoru could go from Tokyo to Nermia (sp? Am I wrong?) to find the wandering Samurai...
Yes, Kenshin had a gang, still wanna ask yer, are you planning to add in Sanosuke or the fox lady, Megumi?
I do hope you will, as that plot will be thickened instead of hanging down here...
Sincerly,
Uenki.
My reply:
It may not have been as obvious as I'd hoped, but Ryoga, in addition to being tailored to my personal tastes, has been recrafted to be more like Sano. Akane is taking a Kaoru like place, we introduced Megumi in this chapter, and Yahiko… well, he's coming, I'll say that much.
I do like Kenshin/Kaoru in a pure Kenshin universe, but this isn't one, as you can tell. And Nerima is a part of Tokyo, not really another town as some think it is. It's a district. Really. It's on the map.
And it wasn't the Kenshin Gumi that was Kenshin's 'gang' as you could probably tell. This is AU, so I've taken a few liberties.
dogbertcarroll writes (chapter 3):
It'd been two years since they'd seen a Saotome, and they had been suffering withdraw like symptoms. LOL. Cute bit.
Akane with the mallet has got to go. Kenshin is suppose to be a trained fighter and should react to sudden attacks by instinct. Meaning one flattened Akane. I never found her abusing people amusing. shrug But that's just me.
My reply:
Yes, that was fun.
In the Kenshin manga, Kaoru does actually nail Kenshin with a Shinai when she's frustrated with him, and then drags him off. The only difference was the use of a mallet, and that she dragged him off roof hopping. And I agree that Akane's 'abuse Ranma' phase i.e., the entire series, wasn't all that amusing. The mallet bit won't be common, just something to throw in a little comic relief when I need it.
dogbertcarroll writes (chapter 4):
One of Ryoga's Bandannas to the face would have left a deep cut if it didn't take off part of his face altogether. Ryoga uses the iron cloth technique and turns them into razor sharp projectiles.
Great chapter otherwise. Everything is fitting neatly together and I really like Ryoga being his equal rather then outclassed.
My reply:
Whoops again. This I didn't fix. I'm going to maintain Ryoga purposely left the edge off that one to get Kenshin's mind back on the fight. Either that or he modified the technique to be non lethal. Take your pick. But it's really an oopsie. Heh.
And yes, I'm glad there are some people out there who agree Ryoga deserves a little respect.
Wow. A lot to talk about that time. Keep it up, people.
A figure sat in the bushes, watching with wide eyes at the battle. This… this was masterful technique. Ranma had been good with martial arts, but they had plenty of that. The sword work by the one with red hair though, that was beauty, grace, and power all rolled into one.
Then, finally, Ryoga went down. The figure smiled to itself. Ryoga was stronger than before, and had even advanced one of the oldest Amazon techniques. So much stronger than before, now that he'd finally thrown away the depression that was holding him back. Believing you could win was half the battle, after all.
She couldn't hear the conversation taking place, but it didn't matter. The important thing was that the Saotome boy had won-
Ryoga rose, glowing as he did so, a brilliant orange color, and hurled the attack at the Saotome. The woman's eyes widened a bit, but nodded shortly in approval. Courage was a good emotion for battle. She watched as both figures finally fell over, and the two girls began talking to each other. Probably about how to get them to a doctor.
The figure smirked and leapt away. Ryoga was looking impressive, much more so than before, except that tendency to get lost and be found at the most awkward of times, and the new boy Kenshin, was incredible. Ryoga had won, but not by much. Besides, no matter which one of them was standing in the end, she'd seen enough. Kenshin was good enough, and his skills would be an incredible asset.
It was all for the tribe of course.
Cologne hopped away, back to the Nekohaunten. She had orders for Shampoo.
Ryoga dreamed.
He and Ranma stood on opposite sides of an open field, facing each other down. Both were ready to attack, as they had been for the most of the past week. At an unknown signal they both rushed for each other, trading blows as they came together in a fierce exchange.
"Ryoga!"
Ryoga grunted his acknowledgement of the question as they kept going. Ranma was in his girl form, dodging backwards. After executing a particularly nasty kick, which caused Ryoga to duck down, Ranma continued.
Ranma grumbled about the lack of connect the kick had. "Look, Ryoga… I know why you're still here." They continued trading blows while she was talking. It wouldn't be the first time that had happened. "It's not going to happen. I'm not going back. I can't go back. Well, at least not yet."
Ryoga started upping his speed, forcing himself and Ranma to work harder. The fight settled into something fairly mechanical as they spoke. "Ranma… do you realize just how badly Akane was hurt by your… passing? You've got a second shot. Use it. I may not be all that smart, but I know that much. I don't think she'd care that you can't turn back into a guy-"
"It ain't Akane I'm worried about. It's momma. The only thing that kept her from splitting my belly before was that I could change back into a guy. I ain't going back just to be killed by my own mother. I ain't gonna try to tell the others just to keep it from her either. I did enough of that as 'Ranko', and I'm not doin' it again."
"Ranma-"
She cut him off with a kick, shaking her head. "That's not the only reason. Remember last week, when you first showed up? Saffron's after me, Ryoga. He's after me big time. The only reason I'm still here is that he's after these people too." Ryoga straightened up, and when he looked closely there were tears in Ranma's eyes. Not actually flowing, but gathering. "I cannot bring that kind of trouble back to Nerima, there's no way. Saffron's stronger now, and he gets stronger every time I fight him. If I can't defend myself, then I can't defend her. I'm not useless Ryoga, I'm worse! With Saffron after me all the time, I can't even approach Tokyo, much less Nerima. At least if he's here he's not after Akane."
They were silent for a time, raining casual blows on each other, both concentrating more on the problem than the fight. Ryoga tried again. "Ranma… you can't just waste your life out here. I mean…"
Ranma's voice was different now. "Ryoga? Did I say anything in there that sounded like 'I give up'? Just because I can't go back now, doesn't mean I can't go back ever. I can beat him Ryoga. I know it. I know how I'm gonna do it too. I still keep practicing every morning, and I've almost got it all down. Saffron's damn fireballs never hurt any less, but my tolerance for heat and pain is increasing. I'm almost ready for him. It'll just take me some time, that's all."
Ryoga sighed, and stood, breaking the fight and wiping the sweat off of his brow, through the bandana. The fight hadn't been that taxing, but the sun was baking the moisture right out of him. "I'll hold you to that Ranma. I still want a serious rematch, not the sparring we've been doing recently."
Ranma relaxed as well and laughed. "Sure. But Ryoga, there's something I need to ask you. A favor. I don't like it, but I need to."
Ryoga looked over at his… friend? It never really seemed that way, but he and Ranma were as close as they could be without being related. He knew that admitting he needed help was a lot harder for Ranma than the concession he'd made above. Being weaker than Saffron was one thing. Ranma could - and would - overcome that. Admitting that there was something he couldn't do was something else. "Yeah?"
"Watch over Akane for me. I know you don't really think of her that way anymore, but I need you to. Don't let anything hurt her Ryoga. It took me two years to wake up from that battle with Saffron, Ryoga. Two years. Akane's probably gotten over me. That's fine. If she's dating someone, that's fine too." Ranma's eyes hardened now. "But listen to me, Ryoga, swear to me. Nothing. Not anything, not anyone. Nothing hurts Akane."
Ryoga starred at Ranma for a while and nodded. "I promise Ranma. I promise."
Ranma nodded, and they went back to sparring, this time concentrating fully, moving as full out as they dared without aggravating Ranma's injuries. They didn't speak of it again. They didn't need to. The next day, Ryoga set out for Nerima, no matter how long it took him to get there.
A young girl with long black hair frowned as she heard one of her patients muttering in his sleep.
"I promise Ranma. I promise."
This wasn't so much shocking as it was irritating. Both he and the other boy were medicated to stay asleep until they were fully recovered, but this one, Ryoga according to her uncle, kept taking in his sleep, about some promise.
The girl sighed and flipped a straying lock of her long black hair over her shoulder. She jumped about three feet in the air when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned to see a skeleton, and started screaming… until she realized that it was just Betty, her Uncle Tofu's skeleton. She scowled, and was about to yell at her uncle… when she realized that it was not Uncle Tofu who had used the skeleton to startle her. It was his fiancé, Kasumi. Her mouth dropped open. "How? What?" The real shock was not Betty, but Kasumi herself.
Kasumi giggled. "Oh my. I appear to have frightened you. Do forgive me."
Megumi Ono's eyes narrowed again. She didn't believe that for a second. Her soon-to-be-aunt Kasumi was entirely too innocent for her taste, and she didn't believe that anything could be as innocent as Kasumi acted. But, that was life.
"Sure… and why's that one-" She jerked her finger at Ryoga "-keep talking about a promise to some guy named Ranma?"
Kasumi's eyes misted over a bit, but quickly recovered. "It was before you came here Megumi. Now, how are they doing?"
Megumi shrugged, and checked her sheet. "Not bad all things considered. They're both exhausted, and pretty bruised, and I'd never believe this rate of healing if I hadn't witnessed it for myself, but I think they'll be up and around by this evening. They should probably avoid strenuous activity for the next week or so."
"Fat chance of that, Sugar."
Megumi turned and glared at the newcomer, Ukyo. She smirked. "Doctor's order's dear. Besides… are you really that desperate?"
Ukyo went beet red, and her face took on an aghast look. "That… You… Why…" She shook her head to clear it. "Look. All I meant was that the moment you let them out, they'll be taking off over the roofs. They're martial artists. They live for 'strenuous activity'."
Kasumi smiled. Megumi was about to dig into Ukyo again, but Kasumi held her hand up, stopping her. "That is true Ukyo, however, I think that 'strenuous activity' is relative for everyone. I don't really think that they would hurt themselves too much doing that."
Megumi grumbled, then shrugged. "What are you doing here, anyways?"
It was Ukyo's turn to shrug. "Just dropping off dinner, Doc Tofu didn't want Kasumi to have to cook tonight."
Kasumi seemed taken aback for a moment, then her face settled on her sunny smile again. Megumi was sure this was only an act. She made it seem like the light in her eyes was coming from the sunlight streaming in the through the hole in the back of her head. "Well, that was thoughtful of him. Thank you Ukyo."
She shrugged. "No problem, Sugar. I was just about to close up for the night when the call came. Still can't believe the number these two idiots did on each other. Oh well. See you Kasumi."
"Of course, Ukyo."
Megumi rolled her eyes, but didn't comment on the Okinomiyaki seller as she left. Better to simply have Ukyo out of her hair for the moment.
The next visitor to Dr. Ono's clinic was Akane. She didn't really want to be here, but her father had insisted, and Auntie had given her some fresh clothing to take to Kenshin, so she ended up not really having a choice. Visiting with Kasumi would be nice enough, but her soon to be step-niece was about as annoying as Ranma had been at his worst, and kept making her itch for her mallet.
It seemed that Kasumi and Tofu were out though, as she entered the clinic. She shrugged and made her way to the examination room to check on the boys.
What she found was vaguely disturbing.
Megumi Ono was in the process of attempting to peel off Ryoga's tank top. While he was unconscious, no less. "What are you doing?!"
Megumi jumped back three paces, blushing. "It's not what it looks like!"
Akane arched an eyebrow. "Just what is it then?"
She growled, and grabbed Ryoga's jacket. "Look at this. It looks and feels like ordinary leather, but…" She pulled on the jacket, bending it around her knee. It hesitated a second, then began to stretch impossibly.
"What the?"
Megumi nodded. "I found out when I tried to tug it out from under the bed. It was caught on the wheel. I thought I'd gotten it out when it began to stretch, but…"
Akane shook her head. "Ryoga goes a lot of places in his travels. He probably just picked it up somewhere. But what does it have to do with you taking off his shirt? I thought Dr. Tofu already examined them?"
She grimaced. "I wanted to see if the rest of his clothing did the same thing, and his shirt seemed like the safest experiment, okay?"
Akane snickered. "Sure. And I'm sure Ryoga's body wasn't tempting you in the least, right?"
Megumi growled. "Listen, you…"
There came a groan from one of the tables then, forestalling any argument. Kenshin slowly raised himself up off the bed, holding his head in one hand. "This one… This one does not feel incredibly well."
Megumi snorted. "I should think so. You've just come off of a very hard battle, Mr. Saotome. You should rest a bit."
Akane smiled a little at him, and thrust out the bundle in her arms. "Here. Your mother sent me by with some more clothing for you."
Kenshin nodded and took it. Then he seemed to be waiting for something. Then they blushed, realizing, and headed out the door, closing it after them.
They stood there for a bit, letting the silence grow uncomfortable, when the walls shook with a sudden crash. The two girls looked at each other, then headed for the door. They got there just in time to be hit by Shampoo, who came flying through the door unconscious.
A minute earlier, inside the room, Ryoga Hibiki was adjusting his eyes to the light as he lay on an unfamiliar cot.
Then he was jolted awake by one of the walls caving in.
Where the wall once was, stood Shampoo, in all her amazon glory, the last two years, only really adding to her physical beauty. That wasn't the problem. The problem was the half naked Kenshin standing frozen, staring at the intruder.
Shampoo leveled one of her Bonbori at Kenshin. "Shampoo challenge Kenshin. Now."
Kenshin just stared at her, dumbfounded. "Oro?"
"Now wait a minute!" At Shampoo's letter of challenge, Ryoga was on his feet in an instant. He easily knocked Shampoo aside, the blow knocking her unconscious and through the door as he did so. "No one's getting their hands on this scumbag except…" Ryoga froze in mid-sentence and turned to look over at the door. At the unconscious amazon. Akane was looking at him, and trying not to laugh. Ryoga looked down at Shampoo. "Is she…? Did I just…?"
Akane nodded, smirking, and really trying desperately not to bust a gut. "Yes. Yes you did."
Ryoga started smacking himself in the head. "Not good. Definitely not good."
Megumi looked around, at the still frozen Kenshin and the self-flagellating Ryoga. "Someone want to tell me why he's hitting himself?"
Akane grimaced. "You mean they didn't tell you? Amazon marriage laws. If an outsider male defeats an amazon woman, she had to marry him."
Megumi shuddered a bit. "And a woman?"
Akane shrugged. "The amazon has to track her down and kill her."
Shampoo got groggily off the floor then. She looked over at the occupants of the room. As she remembered what had happened, she looked over at Ryoga, and gaped. She had disobeyed her great grandmother. Nothing good could come of this. She asked. It was surely not what she thought it was, it could not be. "Did lost boy…?"
Ryoga nodded dumbly. Shampoo started crying. "Lost boy not supposed to defeat Shampoo! Kenshin supposed to be Shampoo. Kenshin supposed to be Shampoo's new Airen!"
This broke Kenshin out of his daze and he quickly put on his shirt. He looked at Akane. "Oro?"
Akane shook her head. "Airen means husband."
Kenshin nodded, then looked at Ryoga. "This one is happy for you, Ryoga."
Megumi just shook her head at the antics before her. No wonder the other medically inclined in the family had not wanted to assist her uncle. This entire place was insane. Well, I suppose that not even the Kami possibly could make this any worse.
The Kami do not like to be mocked. They really don't. It had resulted in several bad things happening in Nerima before. They demonstrated this time by having Ukyo run in the front door, waving a piece of paper in her hands.
A few seconds later, several screams came out of the clinic.
Megumi and Akane went: "WHAT?!"
Kenshin croaked out a confused "ORO?!"
Shampoo responed "AIYAAA!"
Ryoga, perhaps unsurprisingly, roared: "RANMA, THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!"
Shampoo was on her knees with her head bowed in front of her great grandmother, scared out of her mind. She did not know how the old woman would react to this. "Shampoo fail great grandmother."
Cologne arched an eyebrow. "What happened, child? Were Kenshin's wounds greater than anticipated? Did he fall before you?"
Shampoo shook her head. "Is worse. If that, Shampoo would try again when he rested. Shampoo defeated by lost boy."
Cologne sighed. This was troublesome. The Hibiki boy was a good student, and seemed to be of excellent breeding… but that sense of direction… she shuddered a bit. She sighed. "It may not be all that bad Shampoo. Ryoga seems a caring boy, and surely we could find some way of helping him with his problem of getting lost…"
"Is still worse."
Cologne closed her eyes. How could it possibly get worse than this? It was a simple job, after all. She braced herself, a funny feeling of nostalgia coming over her. "Tell me Shampoo."
Shampoo held a piece of paper up for her. "Shampoo ask for this, so she have proof."
Cologne nodded, and unfolded the paper to read.
To my darling daughter Ukyo,
I know these past few years have been tough on you, since your fiancé died, and I hope you are doing well. But do not despair, my child, for I have new hope for you.
Recently, a wandering martial artist visited me, Tejiro Hibiki. Recognizing the surname from your letters, I immediately invited him in to talk, knowing the high standard you held his son's martial arts to.
Rejoice my daughter, for you have a new fiancé, Ryoga Hibiki.
Sincerely,
Your father.
Cologne, having finished reading the letter aloud, fell off her staff.
Mousse, upstairs, having heard the whole thing through the floorboards was deeply concerned. This simply could not be… Ranma was dead, so Shampoo should be his now, by default. Nothing good could come of Ryoga's continued presence.
Mousse grinned as he began to plot on how to destroy the lost boy.
And if his plan worked… he'd even get help disposing of the menace.
Been a bit since the last chapter, or even since Phoenix Ascendant. But, I was attempting to work through a major amount of writer's block on two other stories, but I finally got off my butt and belted this one out.
Okay, Ryoga inheriting the engagements was good fun, but don't expect it to take a forefront in plot. It's going to be minor really, considering that Shampoo and Ukyo aren't really all that interested. It was just fun, and it was a good way to lead into the Ryoga/Mousse fight, in which I finally reveal the last of my new Ryoga's secrets.
J writes:
thanks! although, hope you don't mind my nitpicking. looks sheepish just warning ya.
Ryu Sou Sen, not "Son". not katana, that'd be metal; bokken as Kenshin would definetly need a license (especailly Nodoka) on owning a katana. although i do question Kuno's right to bear one himself, seeing how he waves it like a total moron...
Ryouga beat a Saotome with courage? snorts Genma, probably if he got depressed or pissed enough (i'm biased here ;p). and Kuno... aims a large sake jug toward his head at the same speed the Shinkansen, AKA Bullet Train, goes
My reply:
Nitpicking is good, as it allows me to really take a look at the small details as you do. And it shows that people actually care bout the story, which is always good.
About the attack name. I've seen it written a lot of different ways by a lot of different people, and I've determined it probably just depends on the translator involved. I'm keeping it, but you'll never really see it change. Just try to forgive that sort of thing. And thanks to everyone who sent in about the katana/bokken mistake. That was an oopsie. It's fixed now and I'll try not to do it again.
It was a demonstration of Ryoga's new techniques, and how he's abandoned his previous depression, giving him a fresher outlook on life. I suppose how possible you think Ryoga's victory is, is how much you like Ryoga. And I liked Ryoga early in the series, but he sucked after the Shi Shi Hokudan, so I changed it. And yes, Kuno is the largest idiot of them all. At least his father actually borders on competency.
Sephirat writes:
i guess it's a little too late to point this out now that Kenshin is going to Furinkan but i guess i will anyway. Kenshin is older than Ranma by 2 years and with 2 more years passing before Kenshin's appearance he'd be way too old to be going to high school now.
My reply:
I mentioned this, but perhaps it wasn't clear. It's Nodoka's choice. Kenshin missed his last two years entirely, so he has to take at least this semester. If he passes, Nodoka won't make him retake the others.
Uenki writes:
Excuse me, but are you planning on adding the Rurouni Kenshin-gumi into into it, meaning Kenshin/Kaoru, Sano/Megumi, Yahiko?
I don't know if you are a shipper of Ken/Kao, but I just thought that it would be more interesting as Kaoru could go from Tokyo to Nermia (sp? Am I wrong?) to find the wandering Samurai...
Yes, Kenshin had a gang, still wanna ask yer, are you planning to add in Sanosuke or the fox lady, Megumi?
I do hope you will, as that plot will be thickened instead of hanging down here...
Sincerly,
Uenki.
My reply:
It may not have been as obvious as I'd hoped, but Ryoga, in addition to being tailored to my personal tastes, has been recrafted to be more like Sano. Akane is taking a Kaoru like place, we introduced Megumi in this chapter, and Yahiko… well, he's coming, I'll say that much.
I do like Kenshin/Kaoru in a pure Kenshin universe, but this isn't one, as you can tell. And Nerima is a part of Tokyo, not really another town as some think it is. It's a district. Really. It's on the map.
And it wasn't the Kenshin Gumi that was Kenshin's 'gang' as you could probably tell. This is AU, so I've taken a few liberties.
dogbertcarroll writes (chapter 3):
It'd been two years since they'd seen a Saotome, and they had been suffering withdraw like symptoms. LOL. Cute bit.
Akane with the mallet has got to go. Kenshin is suppose to be a trained fighter and should react to sudden attacks by instinct. Meaning one flattened Akane. I never found her abusing people amusing. shrug But that's just me.
My reply:
Yes, that was fun.
In the Kenshin manga, Kaoru does actually nail Kenshin with a Shinai when she's frustrated with him, and then drags him off. The only difference was the use of a mallet, and that she dragged him off roof hopping. And I agree that Akane's 'abuse Ranma' phase i.e., the entire series, wasn't all that amusing. The mallet bit won't be common, just something to throw in a little comic relief when I need it.
dogbertcarroll writes (chapter 4):
One of Ryoga's Bandannas to the face would have left a deep cut if it didn't take off part of his face altogether. Ryoga uses the iron cloth technique and turns them into razor sharp projectiles.
Great chapter otherwise. Everything is fitting neatly together and I really like Ryoga being his equal rather then outclassed.
My reply:
Whoops again. This I didn't fix. I'm going to maintain Ryoga purposely left the edge off that one to get Kenshin's mind back on the fight. Either that or he modified the technique to be non lethal. Take your pick. But it's really an oopsie. Heh.
And yes, I'm glad there are some people out there who agree Ryoga deserves a little respect.
Wow. A lot to talk about that time. Keep it up, people.