Guest Ki: Chapter 9
Night School
Akane woke slowly and cried out as she turned. Kami, was she stiff! She wept silently and forced her body to move, just as she had every day for the last ten days now. Ranma was pushing her to the very limits of what she could take. She had begged, pleaded, screamed and sulked since he had arrived, trying to get him to take her seriously as a martial artist. Apparently, he was now. She still couldn't believe that he was actually, really, hitting her! Her dreams had been tumbled collages of Ranma in various stages of jerk-hood underscored by Ryoga's 'I even know why he never said he loves you'.
Her tears though, were for what she feared that meant. He had told her often enough that he could hit just about anybody, except her. He never explained why and Akane was finally beginning to wonder. Had she actually walked away the day she first discovered Ryoga's secret, she would have made another huge mistake, she now realized. One she would have regretted the rest of her life. Akane cursed herself, her runaway imagination, her nasty temper and her sharp tongue before she staggered out of the sleeping bag and took stock of the new day.
The day promised rain, the sky dark and threatening. She tried to judge what time it was. She could tell it was well past dawn. She crouched back under the covers long enough to dress, then stumbled over to where Ryoga lay curled in a tight ball in his bedding.
Soon she was shaking Ryoga awake.
"Wake up, Ryoga!" She was practically slamming him against the ground. "It's way past dawn and Ranma never showed up! Something's wrong!"
Ryoga cranked open an eye and blinked at her. Then he took in what he was seeing.
"Kami, Akane!" Because of the schedule they had been keeping, the lost-boy had not seen Akane in direct sunlight since the training started. Most of Akane's early bruises were fading now, but she still bore beautiful black and blue and green and yellow patches that told their story. This was just the first time he had really gotten a good look at her in daylight. She looked as if she was beaten to within an inch of her life. Ryoga's face twisted. How dare Ranma do this to Akane! "He's going to pay for that!"
"Baka!" she said crossly, sweeping the forest with anxious eyes. "I've been begging him since he came to take me seriously. I only got what I asked for."
"But..."
"Drop it, Ryoga." She sucked in a painful breath as she rose to her feet. "Nothing's broken. Besides, something else has happened. Ranma never came this morning."
Ryoga glanced around then up at the sky. He estimated it was about 8 o'clock. "Maybe it's another of his stupid training ideas?" But even he sounded doubtful.
"Come on," she said, extending a hand. He looked at it as if it would bite him. She glared at him. "If Ranma's in trouble, anything that could stop him is going to need both of us."
Ryoga finally took her hand. Apparently he was used to sleeping in his clothes.
"Ryoga, can you track?"
"Ummm... No."
"You mean to tell me, you live outdoors all the time and you can't track?"
"If I could track, I wouldn't get lost, Akane!" Ryoga slapped a hand over his mouth and blushed. He'd yelled at Akane!
"Oh, sorry!" Akane thought. "How about as a pig?"
Ryoga looked shocked at the suggestion. "Uh, um... Do I have to?"
"Don't worry, Ryoga," she said as she retrieved her pack from the lean-to. "I'll bring along some thermoses of hot water and your clothes."
He stood obediently as she poured cold water on him and gave a curious "Bwee!" as she tied a long string around his neck.
"I need to be sure I don't lose you," she explained. "Let's go!"
P-chan snuffled about for a bit, then moved towards the forest. Akane decided Ranma had been using one of the sealed techniques his father had developed, because the path went straight across open terrain where she should have been plainly visible to them the previous evening. P-chan seemed certain and pushed on.
Towards the opposite side of the island in a hollow, they came across the first downed trees and crushed boulders. A tornado could not have done a more thorough job. Within a thirty meter circle, trees as thick as Akane's waist were ripped and broken; often, larger trees were cracked and leaning.
There were no scorch marks, so Ranma had done all this without overt ki techniques. There was some indication that Ranma had been coming here every evening, enlarging the circle of destruction meter by meter. Even with Akane's new skills, it wasn't easy crossing this area; but they had to, to find a clue to Ranma's fate. It was rough on Ryoga as well. Akane's skills were not perfect yet, and more than once he was squished as she slipped and fell.
Then in one area, the damage was subtly different. Even large trees had not escaped. Akane looked at the ends of the sectioned wood. In some places wood was shredded like excelsior; in others, the wood was cut clean through, as if by an ax or sword, and the edges were so smooth, they might have been polished and waxed.
"Oh, no," Akane moaned in sudden comprehension. "He's gone into Nekoken!" Ryoga backed away alarmed. "Ryoga, is Ranma still in his cursed form?"
Ryoga sniffed about reluctantly, then nodded. The tang of maleness had been absent in Ranma's scent. Ryoga looked about nervously. Ranma in Cat-Fist meant it was very bad to be a small animal. Being close to Akane and the hot water was his only hope if Ranma-cat showed up.
"Find him, Ryoga!"
Ryoga looked up at her, eyes bugging. 'You must be kidding!' he seemed to say. Then with a heavy sigh, he took up the trail.
It was rough. Ranma apparently moved through the trees as often as on the ground. When the trail went tree-borne Akane was forced to follow. Once in a tree, often their only clue was which side of the trunk had the marks of Ranma's leap to the next. The rain began then, causing them to push ever harder; too much of this and the trail would be washed away.
It was well past noon when they tracked Ranma to the place he had cached all the food. A portion of the supplies had been ruined by the neko-claws of kithat had opened the containers. The steady rain made a soggy mess out of the residue. They made a hard decision and spent an hour gathering the supplies and hoisting them out of reach once more. The rain poured down then and they retreated to their camp. It was late afternoon when they arrived utterly exhausted.
Huddled in the lean-to, Akane sat under a blanket and held P-chan much as she had before she discovered his secret. Ryoga wasn't complaining. He was cold and bruised and the warmth of her body was both familiar and welcome, especially in his pig-form. She sat there rocking in an agony of indecision.
"Oh, Ryoga, what are we going to do?"
"Wee-Bwee-Hooo!"
Rain fell in torrents, soaking the ground and raising the level of the lake by nearly a foot. The noise was deafening. Finally however, as hard rains often do, it came to a nearly complete halt, leaving only an occasional raindrop to ring the water in lake and puddles.
"There won't be any trail to follow, will there, Ryoga?" She set him down and reached for the thermos of water. She hoped it would still be warm enough, as most of the firewood would be too wet to heat more. "He could be anywhere out there, hurt, maybe dying! How…"
Then something moved silently in the shadows behind them. P-chan whirled and squealed in warning. Both skittered out of the lean-to take up defensive stances as best they could in the soggy clearing.
The last week had been as hellish on Barry as it had been on the other three. Ranma set super-human standards for himself and somehow made them work, most of the time. It was bad enough to essentially torture Akane into putting out her best effort, but inside Ranma had bled for every bruise, every drop of blood and every insult he inflicted. He demanded that Barry observe Akane continuously with the ki-vision to better determine her physical condition and reserves. He pushed the girl to those limits and somehow knew immediately when Barry tried to underestimate a little to spare her. What made it worse for Ranma was that Barry, having taught equitation to paying customers, couldn't help chiming in, questioning his tactics.
Most paying customers wouldn't have lasted two seconds under Ranma's brutal regimen. In this particular case however, Barry was wrong. Ranma was running Boot Camp, not the School for the TERMinally AGravating Association of Neatly Turned-out Socialclimbers (a.k.a.: TERMAGANTS). All Barry's voiced doubts did, was drive the martial artist into a frenzy of guilt and self-loathing, which he took out on the rocks and trees of the island's far side.
On top of that, Ranma had stayed in female form the entire time. It allowed Barry to experience things his wife could only have told him about (Do not get hentai thoughts here!), and led him to disregard a few that his wife claimed were female conditions, but which may more accurately have been described as out-of-condition conditions.
All told, it had him worrying about his own masculinity and whether or not he might somehow return home (if he did at all) with the Jusenkyo curse. The punishment Ranma inflicted nightly on him/her-self had been as painful for Barry as for the girl. Ranma's normal consideration for others' pain had been consumed by the need to strike and push her limits until it felt like the flesh was burning from her bones.
Meanwhile as intended, Akane had thrived and developed, if not happily then effectively and far faster than even Ranma had believed possible.
Every day except that last one, Ryoga had objected to the training, usually with offered violence, only to be thrown into, led into or splashed with cold water to 'pig' him, then ignored. At night when Ranma reversed the process, Ryoga would attack her, which Ranma left Barry to deal with, at least until the enraged young man seemed to be getting too much of an advantage, when Barry would have to turn it over to Ranma to finish. The pain received in the attacks seemed to be further punishment Ranma was willing to accept in payment for what she was doing to Akane.
Nekoken had come as an extremely unpleasant surprise. Several times since they'd joined up, Ranma had avoided felines with a distinct shudder. This was disappointing to Barry who rather liked cats. Ranma admitted to ailurophobia and had mentioned Nekoken, but clamped down reflexively on the sensitive topic, not even needing the Dragonball Z cover music before banishing the reference from his conscious mind. When the feral cats had blown up in his face, Barry had been aware of a tremendous flare and twist of Ranma's internal ki, especially the ki most closely associated with the conscious mind.
Barry barely managed to avoid getting pulled down with him. The unexpected yowling and slashing of the cats in the dark panicked him as well. As the change completed, Ranma was gone. Memories were still there, but there was not enough higher consciousness left to manage or utilize them. In its place was a highly energized ki, a self-identification as a cat, an urge to seek food and comfort and, finally, a gentle playfulness and sense of mischief that was all that Barry could identify as part of the conscious Ranma. Worse, despite the sense of urgency, Barry could not take control of Ranma's body while it was in Nekoken. Attempts to manipulate Ranma's ki, as Ranma had done when Barry nearly blasted Ryoga, were so painful to Barry that he stopped immediately. Imaging things that neko-Ranma wanted worked better, so Barry concentrated on food in the hope he could get Ranma back to camp where Akane or Ryoga might know what to do.
They ended up at a point far distant from the campsite where Ranma had earlier stashed all of the party's food. Barry winced as claws of ki shredded metal, canvas and paper with equal facility. Barry, with nothing else to do, took notes on how the Nekoken utilized ki. Ranma's appetite had not suffered from the change either. Hunger satisfied, neko-Ranma stretched and sent a yowl ringing out into the surrounding forest. Barry would have frowned had he been able to. Why did that sound familiar?
Neko-Ranma stretched out comfortably on a raised flat rock that was mostly dry and for a few minutes Barry thought she was going to go to sleep, a concept he welcomed as well. After scratching herself through the expediency of rubbing against the rock's surface, she rolled over on her stomach and, bracing herself on her forearms, yowled again, arching her back slightly then pressing herself very flat against the ground. Barry, having spent 14 hours a day in a barn with dozens of cats around, suddenly knew what was going on. He counted the days. It didn't seem to fit… unless you counted the biological clock based on the length of time Ranma had been forced to stay female.
Most human women pay attention to the calendar because four days or so out of every month are messy, uncomfortable and require some planning to get through with dignity. Animals, however, are equally sensitive to the other part of the cycle and react to the biological imperative with programmed enthusiasm. Yep, neko-Ranma was in season!
After that it had truly been hell, coercing neko-Ranma through the woods and back to the campsite. Mostly it was done with images of the dark-haired girl calling to neko-Ranma and the memories of being stroked by the girl in this condition. It was possible that Ryoga's presence also played a part to the fairly noisy quasi-cat at that point. Barry wasn't concerned too much about Ranma losing her virtue. Ryoga was hardly likely to get romantic with Ranma regardless of the circumstances and there weren't any large felines native to Japan. It was the sheer embarrassment of the situation. In any case, he finally got Ranma to the camp... and no one was there. Neko-Ranma continued to sprawl and yowl until the rain drove her into the shelter and exhaustion finally pushed her into sleep.
"wwwWWAAH! AHHhhhh... wwwWWAAH! AHHhhhh... wwwWWAAH! AHHhhhh..."
The odd sound came from the back of the shelter. Akane tentatively reached into the shelter for her pack and extracted a battery-operated lantern. As the light flared, the interior of their shelter became visible. There, lying on her back and peacefully snoring, was the missing martial artist. Akane and P-chan's eyes met.
Seconds later a short, red-haired form somersaulted out into the clearing. She came to rest in a hip-deep puddle; her eyes wide and facing back at the two irritated individuals glaring at her across the distance traveled in a perfectly rotten day.
"Wadja do that for?"
'You'd think you'd learn to stay on your side, you red-haired twit!' grumped Barry. 'So that's the Nekoken, huh?'
"What?"
On an island in a lake in the mountains west of Tokyo, three martial artists — a girl, a boy-who-was-sometimes-a-pig and a girl-who-was-usually-a-boy — sat around a fire. As it had been a perfectly rotten day, the girl demanded to cook. The girl (who was usually a boy) began to make typical comments about this idea and seemed to be silently pummeled from within. After a moment to reflect, this individual agreed, much to the silent dismay of the boy (who was sometimes a pig), but on two conditions.
The girl had to taste everything first and nothing went in the pot if it didn't come from their food supplies or hadn't been approved by the other two.
The passable, spicy, fish chowder resulted in praises and relief on one hand and shy, beaming appreciation on the other.
Ranma rose to her feet, and regarded the others.
"Well, it looks like ya got in some good trainin' in spite of my screw-up." She grimaced and looked at her feet. "I'm sorry, Akane. We'll start your Amiguriken trainin' tomorrow." She turned to fade into the woods as she had the past week, when the dark-haired girl leaped to her feet.
"You're sorry?" Akane growled. "You're sorry!" Ranma turned back tight-lipped, ready to face more abuse as her fiancée stomped up trembling. Hands grabbed the smaller girl by the shirtfront and lifted her off the ground. Ranma didn't resist.
"Not only did I miss my training today," Akane began with a shake, "but we spent at least sixteen hours hunting you down! We lost part of our supplies because you got hungry while you were in Nekoken. I am not happy about all this." She shook Ranma again and, to the redhead's horror, began softly weeping.
"Ah, jeez! Akane, I—Urk!" Then Ranma's eyes bulged as Akane caught her in a fierce hug.
"Don't you ever, ever scare me like that again!" Ranma caught her breath as Akane slammed her back down to a sitting position beside the fire. She shied away as Akane plopped herself down and glared.
"Wa-wadja want, Akane?"
"You are staying here! Not out in the woods!" Each word was delivered like a blow and while Ranma flinched at each delivery, her face, which had been so blank of late, showed alarm. Akane crossed her arms and said flatly, "I'll climb into your sleeping bag again, if I have to, to make sure you do!"
Inside Ranma's head, Barry chuckled, 'Tempting, isn't it? Too bad you've got a built-in chaperone, right now.'
'Shut up, pervert!' Ranma's fist clenched in response to Barry's jibe.
"Ran-MA!" Ranma jerked back to the outer world.
"Okay, Akane! Whatever you say!" Her hands came up wardingly. She turned away, grumbling about stupid, bossy, un-cute tomboys.
(BAM! CRUNCH! POW! SMASH! WUMP!)
'Owowowowow-ow!-OW!'
'I... (Groan) …guess this means... (Hiss!) …you two...have... (Owie!) …made up? Right?'
They all slept in camp that night and Akane placed her bedroll within arm's reach of Ranma. It did not surprise Barry at all to discover their hands tightly entwined across that space the following morning.
"I thought this was done with nuts in a fire?" Akane looked doubtfully at the pile of berries at Ranma's feet. She picked one up and examined it in the early morning light — small, dark, about the size of a thumbnail. "Or maybe with fish, like you learned it at the carnival?" She looked hopefully at Ranma.
"There are lotsa ways to build speed, Akane," she replied smirking, sure to get a reaction out of the girl. "We're gonna work on 'em all this week." Ranma continued to train his fiancée while in cursed form. Though at Akane's insistence, she transformed in the evenings before dinner, much to Barry's relief.
"Cologne said it's traditionally done with chestnuts, but you can use fish, or anything for that matter, in water or..." She flicked a berry, which splatted against Akane's gi.
"Hey! That stains!"
"Awww! Which do you want more, Akane, the Amiguriken or a clean martial arts uniform?" Ranma sneered. "Oooh! It's so important to be a fashionable and neat martial artist!" Ranma brought her hands up and acted like a ditz. "I can't stand to get sweaty or dirty!" The last she intoned in a high-pitched, nasal whine that made Barry wish he had teeth to grind. Akane's reaction was immediate.
"Grrr! Get on with it, Ranma!"
"Okay, Akane. We'll work up till I hafta use Amiguriken to throw them. Here we go!"
Splat! Splat! Splat! Splat! Splat! Splat!Splat!Splat!SPLAT!SPLAT!SPLAT!
"Auggh!"
"I wouldn't worry too much, Akane," observed Ryoga. "I think spots look fine on you." He was a little too close to the dark-haired girl.
"Baka!" (BAM! punt! splash! 'Bwee!')
"Feel better?" Ranma sarcastically inquired as she looked out into the lake. "No! You baka! This way! Over here! Oh, hell!" Ranma retrieved Ryoga and his clothes from the lake. Minutes later, with P-chan and his clothing drying out on the shore, they tried again.
Splat!Splat!Splat!Splat!Splat!Splat!Splat!Splat!Splat!Splat!Splat!Splat!
Splat!Splat!Splat!Splat!Splat!Splat!Splat!Splat!Splat!Splat!Splat!Splat!Splat!Splat!Splat! Splat!Splat!Splat!Splat!Splat!Splat!Splat!Splat!Splat!Splat!Splat!Splat!Splat!Splat!Splat!
The sequence lasted two seconds and this time Akane pulled it off. Her euphoria lasted only momentarily. In her excitement, she wiped her hands on her gi. She now had distinct purple handprints, many in suggestive areas. A red-haired girl and a small pig snickered. Both P-chan and Ranma landed in the lake this time.
Just before dinner, Akane retreated downstream to wash and change. She removed her clothing and discovered to her annoyance that the juice from the berries had soaked not only the gi, but also her underclothes and skin as well. She found a reasonably comfortable rock and began to scrub... and scrub... and scrub some more.
Her enraged screams brought both Ranma and Ryoga rushing down the shore ready for World War III. Ranma boggled, then groaned. Ryoga boggled and stared. Where had she gotten that tight purple suit? His nose twitched. She might as well be naked.
As she turned away, yelling about 'peeping perverts', he suddenly realized that she was naked... and purple. Ranma had not directed any berries at her face, so the result was a vividly purple Akane from the neck down to her knees.
Well, the front of her anyway.
Ranma averted her eyes and snagged Ryoga in pig-form. He had developed a massive nosebleed and fainted into the water at the lake's edge. Backing away quickly, she called out to the snarling girl. "Don't worry, Akane! Yer almost fast enough now. Maybe tomorrow we can try it with the fire and nuts!" Her sense of humor asserted itself and she added. "That is unless ya want to even out yer color and try the technique with yer back turned?"
Akane went dead silent for two seconds. Then, "rrrRRRAAANNN-MMMAAA!"
But Ranma was already fleeing back up the shore laughing hysterically.
"Kachu Tenshin Amiguriken!" Two voices shouted in unison.
Sptt!Sptt!Sptt!Sptt!Sptt!Sptt!Sptt!Sptt!Sptt!Sptt!Sptt!Sptt!Sptt!Sptt!Sptt!
Sptt!Sptt!Sptt!Sptt!Sptt!Sptt!Sptt!Sptt!Sptt!Sptt!Sptt!Sptt!Sptt!Sptt!Sptt!
Sptt!Sptt!Sptt!Sptt!Sptt!Sptt!Sptt!Sptt!Sptt!Sptt!Sptt!Sptt!Sptt!Sptt!Sptt!
Sptt!Sptt!Sptt!Sptt!Sptt!Sptt!Sptt!Sptt!Sptt!Sptt!Sptt!Sptt!Sptt!Sptt!Sptt!
Sptt!Sptt!Sptt!Sptt!Sptt!Sptt!Sptt!Sptt!Sptt!Sptt!Sptt!Sptt!Sptt!Sptt!Sptt!
The air ripped with the sound of its own displacement. Hands dealt and hands received. For an interminable fifteen seconds, the movement continued at an inconceivable pace. With a last crackling clap of miniature thunder, two young women faced one another across ten meters of space. Steam drifted from raised forearms, breath sighed in unison from parted lips and whistled between clenched teeth. Brown eyes glared into blue.
Lips quirked and the blue eyes crinkled.
"Nice job, student."
"YES!"
Akane danced around in an overabundance of reaction ending in a crushing hug for her teacher. Not far away, a mouth quirked in a sad smile exposing rather more canine than is usual in humans. Ryoga slowly walked over to the celebrating pair and grinned again, a bit more naturally. Ranma's eyes were bulging and she was trying to get Akane's attention before her air gave out.
"Heh-heh! Umm... Akane?" Ryoga ventured, biting his lip. "Akane! Ranma needs to breathe. Hey, Akane!"
The cavorting merely changed focus.
"Urk!" Ryoga said intelligently. Damn, Akane was strong! She danced around for another minute while Ryoga turned a nasty shade of purple before she finally released him. He hit the ground beside a recovering Ranma.
"It's a good thing we're tough martial artists, isn't it, Ryoga?"
Ryoga groaned.
Akane was in heaven. She had the two best martial artists she knew training her. That one of them was her fiancé and steadily showing her greater attention was icing on the cake. At Ranma's urging, Ryoga started sparring with Akane as well. His initial gentle defense was cut through like butter and he rapidly discovered that Akane took no prisoners.
After that, he threw more and more into offense, only to discover that the only way to beat her without hurting her was to wear her out. Ranma, or Barry using Ranma's skills, was able to deal with her but it took a bit longer every day. They solidified the techniques Akane was familiar with and helped her develop new ones. Ranma was particularly miffed when Akane proved she could nearly match his ability at high-speed multiple kicks. Ryoga grinned; it was good to see the arrogant Ranma sweating a bit.
Occasionally, Ranma would decide Akane was too full of herself and made her cook. While this often brought her back to earth, the simple requirements of camp cooking gave her an edge. Provided she remembered to taste everything she was beginning to earn some praise from her fiancé in that field as well.
A week later, as it got dark, Akane and Ryoga were given a light show courtesy of Ranma and Barry. Akane saw for the second time the Ribbon of Light and was astonished by Ranma's super-powered ki-blast. Ranma again tried the ki-sword with better success than before. Barry had learned some things about focus from the Nekoken experience and used it to guide Ranma into solidifying the blade with a denser energy level. He was disappointed it wouldn't cut stone because he'd originally hoped for a weapon like the Nekoken claws, but under the control of Ranma's conscious mind.
After the special effects, Ranma asked Akane to throw rocks at him using Amiguriken speed. It took a bit of argument and a few calculated insults, but she agreed.
"Kachu Tenshin Amiguriken!" The pebbles were launched with blinding speed.
The whine of ricochets was loud in the lengthening shadows and Ryoga hit the dirt, yanking Akane down with him.
"What the hell was that, Ranma," Ryoga bellowed as they cautiously raised their heads again.
"Kami! Wadja hit the dirt for? I wasn't lettin' any go your way."
"Ran-MA!"
Ranma smirked and stuck his tongue out at Akane. "Chic-ken!"
(SPLOOSH!)
"It wasn't amusing," she snarled holding her canteen out and shaking it at the transformed boy. "That scared me!"
"Okay, okay! Sorry!" She twisted her shirtfront to get rid of some of the excess water. "I call it Tatehifu, 'Shield-Skin'." Ranma shrugged. "It's a rotten name, but it acts like heavy armor. I bet it could stop a cannon shell!" She rolled her eyes as they gingerly rose. "Only problem is I can't move while I'm doin' it. It's like bein' sealed in a skin-tight glass case."
"That sounds really useful," Akane drawled a little sarcastically. "Thanks, Ryoga," she said, pointing to the ground. "I felt much safer down there."
"Akane…" Ranma covered her face in disgust while Ryoga went into Akane-induced stutter-mode. It was only the ninth or tenth time that day. Akane was in tune with Ranma for a change and after a few seconds of Ryoga's verbal stumbling, she jammed her hands on her hips and glared at him.
"Ry-O-ga! What is it?"
Ryoga winced and his eyes dropped to the ground.
"Ummm… I, ahhh…" He cursed his tongue, which wouldn't even let him ask for forgiveness. "I think I ought to be getting on my way."
His audience stood slack-jawed for a second.
"Hey, Ryoga!" exclaimed Ranma. "What about the ki techniques? We were gonna…"
"Where will you go, Ryoga?" Akane looked up at Ryoga. "Will you try to find Akari again?"
Ryoga shuddered. "I couldn't go back to that, Akane. Akari is one of the sweetest girls in the world, but the pig farm... I can't ask her to give up her entire life and I couldn't live... there." He straightened and grinned. "But it's time to go. I guess I'll be wandering again, not that I really have any choice in the matter."
"You're not going anywhere until we can make sure you get back to Nerima all right," Akane said setting her hands on her hips and daring him to argue. "You need your pack and supplies. We'll go with you to Komoro. It has at least one train that runs straight through to Tokyo. I'm sure Kasumi can meet you."
"But… I can't ask that! Not after…"
Akane reached up and silenced him with two gentle fingers on his lips. Ryoga froze.
"Ryoga… You're forgiven, okay?" Ranma fought down a surge of jealousy as Akane stood only inches away from Ryoga. "If I had spent more time listening and less time being angry at everybody, I would have figured it out myself a long time ago."
"I'll be sorry to see ya go, P-chan," Ranma drawled as she moved, hips swaying, to interrupt the moment. "When I think of all the times I was yankin' yer chain with some disguise or trickin' ya inta thinkin' ya got a girlfriend…" This elicited a scowl from Ryoga and a punch in the arm from Akane. Blue eyes looked up from the elfin face and gazed into Ryoga's green ones. "Still, no reason why I can't have a little fun with a friend." Akane and Ryoga emitted nearly identical growls.
'Ranma,' Barry warned. 'Don't go there!'
"There is one thing we need ta work out, though," Ranma added, changing the subject. "We need ta protect Akane's reputation." Ryoga wrinkled his brow in confusion. "I mean… I know ya haven't... and the Tendos know ya haven't... But its gonna be hard on Akane if we can't keep the rumor mill down to a low roar."
"What do you mean, Ranma. If P-chan's gone..."
"But P-chan ain't gone, is he, pork chop? Unless ya got some Nannichuan on ya, people are gonna find out. All ya need is fer word ta start gettin' around that ya change into a little black pig with a bandanna..." She cracked her knuckles. "The simplest thing ta do is that anyone stupid enough to openly say anything gets pounded by whoever's closest for being a pervert."
"Yeah," grunted Ryoga with more animation than they'd seen in him that day. "I can live with that!"
"Baka!" Akane said in disgust. The two blanched. "Violence is not the way to deal with the rumor mill. You guys do that and the rumors will only get quiet when we're around." She watched the light of battle die in their eyes with some satisfaction. "The next thing you know, some clueless reporter is sniffing around trying to check a story about two guys, two girls, a cross-dresser and a pig in very nasty circumstances. Let's get Nabiki to handle this."
The others blanched again. Ranma was never happy dealing with the middle Tendo sister. Ryoga muttered something under his breath and blanched because he suspected how much pain he was going to receive going public with his curse and remembered all too clearly just how Nabiki trapped him before going to the vet's.
"What's wrong, Ryoga?" asked Akane crossly.
"Heh, heh-heh! Nothing, Akane, really. I... uh, just don't think I want to deal with Nabiki under the circumstances."
"What circumstances?" she said flatly with a hint of restrained mayhem.
"Ummm... You remember I bit your dad right before you left?"
(BAM!) "I just did," Akane commented blowing on her fist. Ryoga giggled a bit wildly and crawled back.
"Ummm… Well, some other things happened, uh, after you left."
"What, Ryoga?"
"Uhhh, heh-heh, heh..."
Ranma placed a restraining hand on Akane's shoulder then leaned toward Ryoga. "Ya passed the point of no return, man," she murmured to him. "If ya tell her, she'll beat on ya till she feels better. If ya don't tell her, ya get to find out how far that Bakusai Tenketsu training will take ya before ya do talk, then she'll beat on ya till she feels better." She released her hold on her fiancée and waved her in Ryoga's direction. Akane looked curiously at her, then nodded firmly as she redoubled her glare on the lost-boy.
Ryoga big-sweated and swallowed. As Akane's arm began to draw back, he began. "Well, I jumped out Akane's window and landed on Nabiki's head. I think she was going to sunbathe 'cause she had on a bikini... I think."
"You think?"
"I'm not sure. I knocked her down, but when I started to run, Kasumi was there, so I turned around and saw... saw..." he stuttered. "Anyway, there wasn't much covered so I guess it was a bikini..."
Akane suddenly giggled. "I know the one. Go on."
"Ryoga," inquired a puzzled Ranma. "Why were you jumping out the window?" She watched as his face went really red and he looked pointedly at the ground.
Akane's reaction was even more severe. She clapped a hand over her mouth and went white as a sheet. Ranma still heard the whispered, "Oh, kami, Ryoga!" that the hands cut off.
"C'mon, what's the big story here?" Ranma was frankly getting creeped out by the frozen tableau of Ryoga, red face looking at the ground, and Akane looking at Ryoga as if he had grown a second head. "Hel-LO?"
"Oh, Ryoga! They didn't…?"
"Didn't what?" injected the redhead.
"They... we... the vet… Oh, my God!"
Ranma was growing concerned. What did the vet…? "Oh, kami!" Eyes huge and hands over her own mouth, Ranma stared at Ryoga in horror. She suddenly remembered the conversation she had had with Soun and Genma just before leaving.
"Calm down, you two," Ryoga grumbled. "I got away! Okay? Ranma?"
Ranma was slumped on the ground in a faint.
Later; "So-o-o manly, Ranma! Fainting like that," Akane chided her fiancé moments later, grinning at the revived and embarrassed girl.
"C'mon, Akane! Can't a guy empathize?"
"You're not a guy right now!"
"Get me some hot water."
"Why? So you can faint again?" Akane smirked but she was relieved, too. "Or do you need to make sure everything's there?"
"Akane!"
Ryoga, relieved at the reduction in tension and change of subject, was encouraged to stumble on through the story of his last days at the Tendos, culminating with Nabiki capturing him from under her bed.
"She slept with you in her bed?" Ranma boggled.
"She had pictures of us… doing what?" Akane screeched. "But we never...!"
Barry smacked Ranma with a ki-jolt in order to take control and put his two cents in. "Right before taking you to the vet's, she just happened to be coming back from a bath and was stark naked when she pulled you out from under the bed?" They exchanged glances.
"NABIKI!"
In Nerima, a shorthaired girl sneezed as she played with a graphics-editing program on her computer.