Guest Ki: Chapter 27
Food for Thought
"Gwen..."
Barry muttered and rolled over in his sleep. In his dream state, he looked into Gwen's eyes from a distance of mere inches, yet somehow, when he reached for her, she was just beyond his grasp. She looked worried, maybe even frightened, and when she spoke he couldn't make out her words. "Gwen, wait! I'll find some way." He reached again, only to have her straining fingers brush past the tips of his. He slammed his fists down in frustration on the hard surface on which he seemed to be laying and a dull booming sound came back like the beat of a huge drum. "Gwen!"
Akane Tendo jerked awake at what seemed like a roll of thunder. While the sparring helped, she still slept poorly and intermittently, sometimes awaking at the slightest noise, to stare for hours at the dark ceiling of her room. "Oh, Ranma," she sighed. It didn't help that someone was walking around wearing his face and acting, at least superficially, like him. She longed to see his face and know that his spiritdanced behind those eyes.
After helping her father deposit the koi back in the pond, she and Barry had raced over to Ryoga's to check out the latest accounts of ki and spiritual projection. Akari had greeted them with the news that she had to return for a week or so to the Unryu farm. This meant a double trip, to the farm to escort Akari home to pick up Katsunishiki. Back to escort Ryoga home, then Akari would return again with Katsunishiki as her guardian. It also meant that Akane would have to be Ryoga's escort this week to the shrines and that Shampoo would have 'quality time' with Barry, whom the Amazon thought was Ranma.
She heard that dull, booming sound again. Felt it, too. She turned her gaze to the window but the clear night sky showed only a few stars in the distant glare of Tokyo's lights.
On top of that, she didn't entirely trust Ryoga yet. With Ranma gone, it was possible that he might think he could try for a relationship again. She knew she could trust him not to hurt her, even provided he was able now, but she didn't trust him not to hurt himself or Akari, by pursuing a relationship that had never existed. She thought about the latest information Ryoga had found on astral projection.
It was an account of a seer who had used her skills to spy upon the preparations of Kubla Khan in the great invasion attempt centuries before. One item that had been stressed had brought dryness to all their throats. 'Before the rising sun, the priestess was forced to return, least the silver thread of life become frayed or broken. When she said she could not attempt to stride the outer planes for many days, the Emperor himself demanded an explanation. He was told that a dead spy did not see anything and that more than a few hours of such wandering inevitably separated body and spirit forever.'
After staring at one another for five or ten minutes in stunned, frightened silence, Barry licked his lips and postulated that this account might not apply, as he felt more than just the astral body seemed to be projected. Ryoga countered derisively that that fact might seal Ranma's fate more certainly. They had nearly come to blows, before Akane pointed out that there was nothing they could have done when it happened, even had they known how.
Akari sat off to one side looking puzzled. They had never bothered to explain to her what was going on, and they talked around the subject well enough to avoid letting her in on the secret. For her part, she was not curious about their efforts. She had a very traditional viewpoint about their research; it was something that Ryoga wanted or needed to do, but was not within her area of interest. Therefore, she busied herself cleaning house and serving them drinks or snacks when they wanted them, but otherwise stayed out of the way. Akane almost envied her ignorance.
The dull, booming sound shook the house again, waking P-chan II who moved to the door and snuffled uneasily. Reluctantly, she swung out of bed and slid her feet into slippers. Maybe she could let him out and see where the noise was coming from. She stepped into the hall, and after listening for a moment, walked downstairs with the pig.
The night was clear. That was odd. She heard the booming sound again and realized it originated from inside the house. Faintly she heard a strangled yell. Leaving P-chan to his own devices, she raced back into the house and up the stairs, taking them three and four at a time. As she passed, she heard stirring in Kasumi's room and knew her big sister was becoming aware of the noise. The dull booming came from the guestroom. She raced over and snatched open the door.
Barry lay on his back, covered from waist to ankles by the blanket. Even as she entered, his arms strained upwards for long seconds, stretching till his back arched off the ground. Then they fell back heavily against the wooden floor on each side of his futon with the booming sound she had heard before. She heard him moan his wife's name in his sleep. Akane winced as Kasumi's voice sounded out in the hall. That last boom had been with the door open. The other members of the household were stirring. Better wake up Barry, before he had to explain who or what 'Gwen' was and why he was talking in his sleep. She knelt beside him leaned forward and whispered in his ear. "Barry!"
He moaned, almost yelling "Gwen!" His arms started to clear the floor again.
"Barry!" she said, shaking him now, "Wake up! You're having a bad… Eeep!"
The arms closed on her like a vise as he muttered his wife's name over and over again. Her hands were trapped against his chest. At this range, she could see the tracks of tears from his eyes. She squirmed, becoming alarmed and very conscious that both Kasumi's and her father's voices could be heard in the hall. Maybe if she stayed very quiet, they would settle back to sleep and she could escape without further embarrassment. Barry had quieted down, now that he was holding something. Maybe... Barry rolled, muttering softly, swinging a leg across her and half pinning her to the floor. It was the final straw. Legs and arms trapped, she used her extensive martial arts skills to find the quickest, most direct path out of this situation. She leaned her head forward and bit his shoulder. Hard!
With an almost apologetic and anti-climactic yelp, he released her and rolled away. Footsteps pounded in the hall and the door was snatched open. Akane had barely enough time to roll to her knees again and look up, masking her fright with anger.
"Akane! What are you..." Soun began to bellow, before it occurred to him he was hoping that maybe... "Ah, well, what's done is done! We'll discuss when to hold the ceremony in the morning."
"Dad!"
"Father, aren't you being a bit abrupt?" Kasumi cut in, while observing Akane and Ranma with a critical eye. "It's probably not what it looks like."
"It never is," muttered Barry, rubbing his shoulder. "What's everyone doing in my room?"
You were having a bad dream," Akane cut in quickly. "Was it about Jusendo again?" She added.
Barry was still disoriented, but nodded in what he hoped was an acceptable manner. "Jusendo…" Ranma's memories about that incident had often plagued him. Having Gwen feature in Akane's role did not suit him at all. Used to controlling his dreams when in his own body, he had not yet mastered that skill in Ranma's. It could have been, in part, due to the fact that these dreams were memories of actual events, and therefore potentially possible to recur.
Kasumi shook her head and rolled her eyes. Taking Soun by the arm, she led him out of the room.
"Barry," Akane whispered.
"Nice catch, tomboy," came his reply. "Was I really having a nightmare?"
"You were calling out your wife's name and pounding the floor hard enough to shake the house," she said. "When I tried to wake you, you grabbed me."
"I what?" he hissed. "Aw, jeez, Akane! Are you all right?"
"I'm fine, but you had me pinned to the floor. I hate to think what Daddy would have done had he seen that!" She shuddered and looked contrite. "I had to bite you to make you let go."
He stared at her for silent seconds and gingerly touched his shoulder again. "Well, now I know why this hurts."
"I'm sorry!" she almost wailed.
"I'm not. I don't think I'm ready to try cross-dimensional bigamy, thank you." He rotated the shoulder and scanned with ki-vision. "Oooh! That's gonna leave a mark!"
"I'm sorry!"
"Let's not get into that again. Tell ya what. I saw a broom handle in the tool shed. How about we keep it by the door so if you need to wake me up again, you can do it from a safe distance?"
Akane huffed considering, then nodded. "Sounds good to me. Goodnight, Barry."
"Goodnight, Akane." He watched her edge out and shut the door, before falling back on his mattress. He wondered how many more surprises this situation was prepared to throw at them. Oh, well. It could wait for morning. They could all wait till morning. Sometimes, these things had a life of their own.
Monday started too early, but then every morning did these days. Barry found Akane ready for her morning run early, a fact that puzzled him until she reminded him about the idea of running to Ranma's parents together before preparing for school. He shrugged and walked outside with her.
Akane took off like a shot, hurling herself over the wall and onto the rooftops with swift sure leaps that left him, temporarily at least, in the dust. Gritting his teeth he rushed after her, only slowly closing. It took them twelve minutes and thirty-two seconds to reach the Saotome house and drop panting into the yard.
"You've been doing this every day, haven't you?" panted Barry, accusingly. He had not quite caught her by the time they hit the yard.
"Better believe it," Akane shot back. "Ranma's in for a surprise when he gets back." She grinned evilly. "I'd love to try that onsen race now!"
"Over-muscled, un-cute, macho chick," Barry said with deliberate cadence. He could almost hear the blood vessels pop as her heart rate and blood pressure soared. "Incoming panda, at your four o'clock and high."
Genma soared over her head brandishing a sign that read, How dare you insult your fiancée!'
Akane fielded a hind paw, threw the panda flat and both moved in with a fine exhibition of tsubo disabling techniques. Soon, Genma lay on his back, twitching spasmodically. Leaving him for the moment, they moved to the house, knocked on the door and were greeted by Ranma's mother.
"Akane, how nice to have you visit. Please come in." Nodoka led the way to the main room. "Ranma, there's tea ready in the kitchen. Will you get it?"
"Hello, Auntie Nodoka," Akane answered her meekly. "We decided we should visit you together." Barry, coming in from the kitchen, frowned. Akane's tone had made it sound a little too cozy.
"Yeah! Akane does her joggin' around this time anyway, so I figured makin' her come all this way might help work off her spare tire," he said, dropping down to begin serving the tea. "Ow!" Both women reacted, Akane punching him and Nodoka using a heavy book that she had at her place to chastise him. He winced and glared at them both.
"That was unconscionably rude, Ranma," Nodoka exclaimed. "Even if Akane were an unwelcome visitor, that sort of remark is beyond propriety!"
"What spare tire, Ranma," Akane said with saccharin sweetness. "The one around your hips or your head, Mr. I-got-here-second!"
He grinned and stuck his tongue out at her. "You got a head start. See if that happens tomorrow!"
"Oooh!"
They returned to the Tendo's for breakfast and a quick bath each. Then at high speed, but without appreciable effort, they made it to Ryoga's house. When their knock went unanswered, Barry showed Akane how ki-vision could be used as an aid to picking locks. Letting themselves in, they heard a muffled thumping sound from deeper in the house. Ryoga managed to lock himself in a closet.
Carefully making no inflammatory comments, Barry helped Ryoga find the bathroom, the kitchen and then his own room to change for school. Unlike Ranma, Ryoga actually had uniforms hanging in his closet. Shouldering his pack, which included his books, umbrella and basic survival gear in case he got lost, Ryoga strode through the door and into the closet again.
They still managed to get to school on time, picking up Mousse and Shampoo on the way. Mousse had a new scroll, which he had translated and wanted to give to Ranma to review during a study period or lunch. As they hit the gates, it was evident that there were still five male students who were either stupid or desperate enough to persist in attempting to attack Shampoo. She waved Mousse off and went to work.
Thirty seconds later, five male students were hanging by their underwear from various trees. A permanent marker had been used to inscribe the symbols for 'hentai' prominently on each buttock. Mousse shuddered and looked away. Actually, he felt much better than he had for a while. Shampoo had never attempted to humiliate him that way.
The day went surprisingly smoothly until gym class.
"Hey, Ranma," Daisuke called out as he lathered his hair up after soccer. Daisuke and Hiroshi usually bracketed Ranma in the shower, as he could trust them not to try to trigger his curse. "I heard that Mrs. Morisato and her sister were over at the Tendo's this weekend."
"You heard right."
"Lucky dog! I saw her when Mrs. Morisato started," remarked Hiroshi, rinsing on the other side. "Tall, white-blond hair, really short dress and a body to kill for!"
Barry stopped his rinse and peered at Ranma's friend. "Who are you kidding? She was Akane's height, but thinner, long black hair and blue eyes. She came across as a brainier, younger, more aggressive version of her sister. Her name is Sakurida. I didn't catch the family name."
"Younger?" exclaimed Dai. "How much younger?"
"I thought Mrs. Morisato's sister was older?" said Hiro.
Barry considered and then shrugged. "Sakurida is about our age, by the way. I didn't ask, but maybe she has an older sister as well." He rinsed off and reached for a towel. "Thankfully, they never ran into Pops while I was growing up or with my luck, I'd probably be stuck with another fiancée."
"If she's anything like her sister, that would be luck," sighed Dai. "Not the kind you're likely to…"
Barry suddenly noticed that Dai was staring at him. He looked down. He was still male. What?
"What's that mark on your shoulder?"
"Huh?" Barry glanced down, following the boy's eyes.
"Are those teeth marks? Oh, man!" remarked Hiroshi, almost reverently.
'Shit!' thought Barry. 'Think fast!' A distraction presented itself.
(SPLOOSH!)
"Ha-ha-ha!" Kogara wrapped in just his towel, grinned nastily. In his hands was an empty wash bucket, recently containing about five liters of cold water.
"You trying for Kuno-clone status, Kogara?" Barry said quietly, her higher pitched, feminine voice barely controlling the rage that lit up the blue eyes like arc lamps.
"What do you mean?" Kogara paused his oggling, slightly put off by Ranma's total lack of obvious emotional distress. Hiroshi and Daisuke backed away quietly.
"You splash me with cold water while I'm naked, laugh and you're still standing in arm's reach?" Barry elucidated.
Kogara proved he was not as dumb as a stump. He snatched a sprayer from the wall and turned a stream of hot water on the redhead. Barry felt his body expand and reshape. He sucked in a deep breath and continued to hold Kogara's eyes. The latter stood there, shaken but making no move to escape.
"Good boy," Barry said, wringing out his towel. "Not as stupid, and ya got the guts ta stick around. Please don't do that again." He turned away, ignoring his adversary and began to strip the water off his body with sweeping strokes of his hands. He completely forgot about Hiroshi, Daisuke and 'the Bite'.
No one made any further comment as they changed about Ranma's feminine attributes. Nor did they say anything aboutthat Bite, which was unfortunate. Lunch was only two periods away and rumors runs fast. Four interested parties began to hear and ask and prepare their positions.
Barry noticed something wrong by the frigid demeanors and frosty looks from Shampoo and Kodachi. Akane wasn't much better, though she felt distressed rather than angry. Ahead of him, Ukyo turned around and gave him an indecipherable look, part amusement, part worry and part anger. He wasn't sure what was going on, but figured he better be on guard. He was walking on eggshells as he went out to meet the girls at lunch. Kodachi and Shampoo seemed to be joining up against Akane who had set her back to a tree to prevent being flanked. He looked around for Ukyo. She was flipping okonomiyaki, but her stance held a set stillness that betrayed her awareness of the tension. It was unclear which side she would come down on. He wondered what had sparked it this time.
"You have bite?" Shampoo demanded.
Barry boggled. Then he laughed. His snickers infuriated all three girls and the only thing that saved him was the fact they were unwilling to join together.
Kodachi gained control of herself first. "Ranma-darling," she drawled with elaborate smoothness, "I've heard some rather disgusting rumors concerning yourself and a certain… person." She shot a poisonous look at Akane.
"We want know if true!" demanded Shampoo.
"What's the rumor mill grinding today?" Barry asked, amused. Those idiot hentai at gym! They saw what they wanted to see, of course.
"The hoi polloi have offered that you and that Tendo creature you board with have, have… I blush to even think it."
Akane growled. Barry looked sideways at her and debated playing dumb and asking Kodachi ever so innocently, 'Whatever do you mean?' He decided Akane wouldn't put up with it.
"No."
"No, what?" asked Shampoo trying to work out grammatically just what he was answering 'no' to. "No mark on airen neck?"
"Oh, there's a mark." He opened his bento and began diving through it. Somehow there would be a misunderstanding; that was obviously norm in Ranma's life. He might as well get some nourishment while he waited for the fun to begin. Akane had done a good job this time. She was showing improvement in more than martial arts lately.
"What is mark?" demanded Shampoo glowering.
"I say let's see for ourselves," said Kodachi making a lunge for his collar.
Barry dodged her easily. Mousse could have seen her coming. He hadn't anticipated Akane swinging in from the side to put the Black Rose down with a subtle tsubo strike and deflect Shampoo's initial probing attack. Akane responded almost eagerly, moving in with grim determination.
"Whoa! Whoa! Hinako's doin' lunch, fer kami's sake! She sees you two rumbling… I said 'stop'!"He pushed between them, hurling them both back.
"Shampoo see where wind blows." Eyes tearing, she turned and began to run, only to be brought up short by a firm grip on her arm. He ducked and blocked as she actually lashed out at him and maintained the grip.
"Akane, let's get this over with," Barry said over his shoulder. "The rumors'll die if these two realize what happened.
"Is mark?" Shampoo demanded again sullenly. "Is Akane bite?"
"Is bite, yes," he told her, "It wasn't from any 'throes of passion', though." He released her arm and knelt beside Kodachi. "Yo, Rosie! Time for wakey-wakey." He pressed several spots on Kodachi's neck and sent a surge of ki to places he wanted to stay clear of.
"Ohhh… What happened?"
Barry glanced at Akane. "I think your passionate nature caused you to faint, Kodachi. Now, why don't we talk about this over lunch, without any fighting that'll get us ki-drained by Miss Hinako?"
Kodachi jerked upright and felt her head astonished. "I feel remarkably well. Oh, yes, the mark." She glared at him. "I think you should talk fast."
Barry turned to Shampoo. "Ya still have nightmares about Phoenix Mountain and Jusendo?" The Amazon went still.
"Mousse tell you?" she asked furious. "Shampoo not even tell Grandmother."
"Just a good guess. I can't imagine going through what you did and not having nightmares about it." He turned to Kodachi. "It was the nearest thing to hell you can imagine and, if things had gone differently, Shampoo, Ryoga, Akane, Mousse and a lot of other people besides yours truly, would be crispy snacks for the worms in China." Kodachi's eyes grew round.
Shampoo shuddered and nodded. "Airen fight Saffron, Phoenix Lord. Is kami, but Ranma win. Shampoo caught by mind control, but Ranma free. All dead if airen fail."
"Kami don't exist," insisted Kodachi.
"That's open for debate," offered Barry. "He thought he was; and he could fly and throw fire around like water." He frowned reflectively. "And it was Mousse that freed you with that mirror…"
"How did you-!" Kodachi's eyes grew wider. Mad as she was, she trusted in Ranma's basic decency to buffer possible retaliation to her actions. As she looked into Barry's eyes, he let leak through the bleak grimness and horror that Ranma had felt in Saffron's destruction. She fell silent.
"Is there a problem over here?"
Barry looked up. He had thought Miss Hinako was on lunch patrol, but it was Mrs. Morisato that gazed back at him. Something about the way she held herself indicated an awareness of the tension in the air. Barry felt that if necessary, she could deal with almost anything that came up.
"I'm sorry, Mrs. Morisato," he said carefully. "I'm afraid a rumor about me got out of hand and it upset some people all out of proportion."
"Perhaps you should enlighten those most concerned?" she suggested. "I'm sure this can be dealt with without further trouble."
Barry watched Ukyo, mega-spat in hand, edge closer. He groaned. "Sensei, in my experience, that doesn't happen to me."
"Honestly!" Akane burst out. "He had a nightmare! I tried to wake him. He grabbed me while he was still asleep and I got scared and bit him! All right?"
"That must have been a terrible dream," Mrs. Morisato said into the silence that followed. "Would you like to talk about it?"
"Not really."
Mrs. Morisato looked taken aback. "Very well. I must respect that."
"Mrs. Morisato," Barry said, reaching out to her, "I'm not rejecting your offer; but do ya mind if I talk to ya about it some other time and place?"
The teacher straightened and smiled. "Anytime." She looked across the yard and frowned. "Oh, my! I think I need to talk to those three; they're intimidating Mr. Gosunkugi again." She hurried off.
Barry shook himself. Mrs. Morisato was a mystery to him. He turned back to find Kodachi glaring at Akane.
"Do you really expect us to believe such a tale, Tendo?"
"Just because you would take advantage of a situation, Kuno…"
"Ohohohohoho! A manly man, such as Ranma, could not resist such an opportunity." She looked Akane up and down. "Little as there is."
"Why you…" Akane and Kodachi each took a single step forward to renew hostilities. Barry stepped between just in time to be nailed from both sides, as Akane struck with a straight punch and Kodachi pulled a club from somewhere and lashed out sidearm. The two glanced startled at his twitching form before locking eyes and glaring at each other again.
"Children!"
Startled, the two combatants looked up to see Mrs. Morisato gazing at them reproachfully. They stepped back, abashed. Even Kodachi's face twisted in unfamiliar regret.
"I'm sorry," Akane said in a small voice.
"My foul temper… I apologize for my unseemly actions here," Kodachi murmured.
They glanced up and were rewarded by Mrs. Morisato's frown's disappearance. She said more gently, "I can think of someone else you should both be apologizing to." She glanced down and was mildly surprised to see the boy in question struggling to rise to his feet.
"S'all right, I'm used to it," he grated. Shampoo caught him under the arms and helped him rise. Akane and Kodachi winced at the crackling sound that came as his ligaments snapped back into place. He leaned to one side then the other and more popping could be heard, each retort a slap at the two girls who had put him there.
Mrs. Morisato frowned again. "If I could, I'd talk to both of your parents about such antisocial behavior. All you succeeded in doing is harming the very person you're concerned about. I don't want to see this happen again."
Barry groaned to himself. To this crew, that just meant be sure of your target before letting fly, and no witnesses around.
"Kodachi, I suggest you accept Ranma and Akane's contention that nothing happened. Especially since Shampoo seems able to corroborate the contention of the bad dreams. I think, considering what is involved, that if they had, um…done it, Akane would certainly not deny it, as it would provide validity to her claim." Mrs. Morisato's cheeks flamed as she spoke.
As Kodachi apologized again, ceding the argument, he wondered if Baradandya Morisato was subconsciously reviewing certain recreations common to herself and her husband. The exasperated look she shot him took him by surprise. He bowed slightly in apology and received a look he could only interpret as 'Men!'
"Lunch is nearly over," the teacher reminded them. "I suggest you all use the time left to finish your lunches and return to class."
"Yes, ma'am," they chorused.
For a change, they all ate their own food. Akane chewed mechanically contemplating what had happened. She had almost finished her bento, when it struck her that this time she had finally done it completely right. Her face lit up, she turned to comment to Barry, who in Ranma's absence, could at least offer some constructive criticism (i.e. praise) and stopped. Barry was nowhere to be seen. "Oooh! That… that…" She was going to give Barry a piece of her mind when she caught up with him.
"Who were you talking to dear?"
Alarm bells were going off all over the place, but disturbed the current inhabitants of the library not at all. Ranma swallowed convulsively. How do you explain to someone that you were calling long distance to Japan in an attempt to find someone who probably didn't exist here?
"I was going to call… Mom's to… (Think! Think!) …check about Brandon's birthday, but when I got on the line there was this guy talking in a foreign language; Japanese, I think. At least, I think I caught 'Domo arigato' and 'Nihongo-ga-dekimasu-ka'."
"And that tells you this person was speaking in Japanese?" Gwen looked definitely disbelieving. "What does it mean?"
"Eeep!" 'Think fast, Barry's bod! Have you ever read Japanese or a book with Japanese in it?' An answer came back quickly. "Oh," he said more confidently, "didn't you read Shogun? 'Domo arigato' is short for 'domo arigato gosaimasu', which is 'thank you very much'; and 'nihongo-ga…'"
"Never mind," Gwen waved him silent and shook her head. "I came looking for you because it's time for lunch. I was thinking buffet. How does that sound to you?"
Barry's memories kicked in. A long table filled with food… all-you-can-eat-type food! Many varieties. His eyes widened and almost teared. So emotionally stirred was Barry's 'house-sitter', that he did not even protest the unconsciously prompted, "I love you!" that popped out. His stomach growled audibly.
"I'll take that as a yes," Barry's wife said smiling. Barry had seemed reticent since the accident and the unprompted declaration soothed her hurt feelings. "Come on, Brendan," she said when that party wanted to head back to the dinosaurs. "Time for buffet."
"Can't we have pizza?" the youngster whined.
"Not this time, short stuff," said Ranma firmly. "I'll show you how a martial artist really eats!"
"I can't believe you did that!"
They sat in the car following the buffet. Ranma had been distinctly Ranma. (Buuuurp!) "It was good." He patted a straining stomach. "Ya have to admit it was a balanced meal."
"If you're a weight-lifter!" Gwen exclaimed in return. "You ate enough for three, maybe four, people!"
"I was hungry," Ranma answered reproachfully. "It was all you can eat."
Brendan's eyes were huge. "You ate the dinner and six plates of fruit and vegetables from the buffet! And so fast! That was neat!"
"I wish you'd warn me before you do something like this," groaned Barry's wife. "You do realize he's going to try to pig out next time we go, just to 'be like Daddy,' don't you?"
"He'll only try it once, unless he really needs it," Ranma observed.
"Great. You can clean it up!" she retorted, disgusted. "I just hope I don't have to clean up after you!"
They drove slowly back to the mother-in-law's house. Barry heaved himself out of the car and winced. The damage from the fall from the horse was almost healed, but enough remained that the meal was a strain on the small of his back. He walked uncomfortably into the house.
Maybe he had overdone it. He settled himself into the recliner and watched as Brendan cued up the videotape again, rewinding it of course, so he could see it from the beginning.
"Brendan, clean up this room!" came Gwen's voice. The boy looked longingly at the lead-in coming up on the screen.
"Get going," Ranma said, taking the remote from his fingers. "I won't watch till you're back.
He switched the VCR off and began searching channels. He had no idea what he was looking for, but serious effort would have to wait until this meal digested. He was becoming aware that Barry's body was not used to gorging in the manner he was used to. It was just a little uncomfortable. Gwen came through, sighed at him in exasperation and let a hand stroke lingeringly across his cheek.
That was another situation that might cause problems. If Barry hadn't been injured, last night might have gotten interesting. Barry and Gwen were… affectionate. Ranma was not Hiroshi or Daisuke. He might be slandering them, but he suspected his hentai friends would, had they been in his position, considered it a learning experience. After all, what Gwen didn't know wouldn't hurt her, right?
Ranma was not of that opinion. More, he knew Barry was not of that opinion. He remembered how Barry had 'ducked', as Ranma in his inebriated state decided he was going to kiss Akane. Ranma's guest had attempted to provide him with some semblance of privacy and tried to avoid sharing what he felt should be a private experience between them. Ranma was grateful to him for that, even if it hadn't worked out.
He found that he had cycled through the available channels and took stock. He hadn't seen anything on eastern religions and philosophies, no martial arts, or even any animé, for that matter. He was beginning to get the hang of flipping through Barry's memories. And those memories told him that the eastern philosophies were not held in high regard in this region. In part, this was due to the exploitative and irrational actions of high profile personalities, who claimed these philosophies as their 'inspiration', when obviously the only thing that inspired them were drugs and bed-hopping. It helped explain the failure of Ranma's own efforts at the library. Most of those books were either sponsored by these maniacs or written by them. Ten thousand year old Atlanteans, indeed!
"I'm back!" caroled Brendan, leaping up the side of the recliner to land with a thump on Ranma's over-full stomach. He twitched the remote out of Ranma's spasming hand and turned on the VCR again.
He slid off Ranma's lap as that individual came to an abrupt decision and, in typical Ranma fashion, acted without delay or unnecessary movement. The recliner folded in. Ranma stood up and staggered across the room to the door of the bathroom, where he fell down in worship to the porcelain god. After several long, painful moments, he wiped his mouth.
"I warned you," faintly came the almost smug voice of Barry's wife.
Ranma groaned. He had to get out of here!
Barry, Akane, Ryoga and Shampoo walked toward the Nekohanten after school. As they walked, Barry muttered over the account Mousse had provided at the beginning of the day. Akane glowered at him from the side, still irritated by the fact that she hadn't been complimented in a timely manner over a meal where she had soloed and done well. Shampoo skipped along. She planned to ask her Grandmother to let her translate this evening's offering. Ryoga pondered something, ponderously.
Ryoga was not, by any standard, stupid. At times he might seem slow on the uptake, but on the whole, it was preoccupation, not lack of intellect, that was his downfall. Periodically, Barry or Akane would reach out and steer him back on course. Ryoga was considering a concept that Barry proposed at the end of lunch, that Ryoga's curse of directionlessness was due, at least in part, to the over-focused manner in which he automatically fell when not distracted by a companion.
Barry had suggested that this would permit a Hibiki to marry and manage some sort of family life during a child's formative years, as the companion would, at least temporarily, offset the curse through attention. As the children of such a union grew, they would become more demanding of the companion's time, thus leaving less time to offset the Hibiki wandering sense. He had other theories about why a wife might 'catch' the Hibiki curse, but those Ryoga shot down.
"Wadja mean it's not contagious?" Barry demanded. "Ya said yerself that yer mom got lost when ya were six! How'd that happen if she didn't catch it?"
"My mom is a Hibiki fourth cousin!" snapped Ryoga. "She always got lost all the time! My dad claimed they just wound up in the same place so often, it was inevitable that they married." He shouldered his pack uncomfortably. "So how does that fit your theory?"
Barry snickered. "I can see it now — two hearts, lost and weary, crying out from the dark street on which they find themselves. 'Where the hell am I?' they scream to an uncaring sky. But the call is heard, eyes meet, lips part to say softly, 'You? Again?'" He dodged a swing as Ryoga made an inarticulate complaint. "'It must be… destiny,'" he added, clutching his chest dramatically.
Ryoga had chased him across half the school grounds, the pursuit only ending when Akane intercepted Barry-baka for her own reasons, something about the quality of Barry's lunch.
Ryoga had not been able to shake the words from his mind though. Had Barry actually come up with the true source of the Hibiki curse? It fit Ukyo's problem sort of, too. She had become so focused on her perceived misdeeds that she systematically lost track of her surroundings. Guilt had been her driving emotion; anger and depression were his, he had to admit. If he gave up the obsessive emotions, could he break the curse, insofar as it affected him? If so, that meant that all Ukyo would have to do was give up her guilt and feeling of rejection to escape her private bit of hell. He'd have to talk to her about it at lunch tomorrow. Maybe together they could work out the answer to their mutual problem.
"She's real nice, Ryoga."
Ryoga frowned. He had, of course been floating in the clouds of his own thoughts. He had no idea whom Barry was speaking about, certainly not Ukyo.
"Who?"
"Akari, dummy! The reason Akane's takin' you to the temple today."
"Oh." Ryoga frowned, deciding more than a grunt would be required here. "She's a very nice girl."
"Hard to believe you two have been livin' together under the same roof."
Barry's words sank in, along with several possible interpretations. Ryoga, naturally, chose the worst. "What do you mean by that?" he demanded. He stopped, fists clenched and glowering, while everyone skipped out of range.
"Nothin', man; nothin' at all! Really!" Barry held up his hands and Ryoga slowly subsided.
"You better not have," he growled. "I don't deserve her. I haven't touched her."
"No matter how much she wanted ya to?" inquired Barry.
"Will you shut up?" Ryoga nearly screamed. Then his shoulders slumped. Realization that he hadn't even thought about Akari since she left and guilt over the fact he had been thinking about Ukyo suddenly overwhelmed him. "What am I gonna do?"
"Ryoga, if yer that incompatible…" began Barry.
"I said, 'shut up', Ranma," Ryoga growled. A familiar green aura began to flicker about his shoulders.
Barry glanced around. Ryoga was leaking angst and depression all over the place. However, the busy streets were no place to let him build into a depression blast. He needed something to distract him and help him work off the emotional dumps he had lost himself in. There was one tried and true method he could use. Oh, well…
"Ya know, piggy, that's a real unhealthy habit you have," he observed.
"Don't call me that!" Ryoga growled.
"Whatever! No need ta put yer tail in a coil," Barry added.
"What did you say?"
"I can't believe he said that," groaned Akane quietly.
"No need ta go off yer feed."
"That does it! Prepare to die, Ranma!" bellowed Ryoga. He slid out of his pack, leaving his umbrella behind. "Ki-yah!" He unleashed a powerful straight punch, but Barry wasn't there. A series of high-speed strikes, blocks and evasions moved them down the sidewalk toward a building undergoing renovation. Used to such activities, the residents of Nerima stepped aside to let the combatants through. Barry broke contact again with three swift back flips, the last taking him up the scaffolding to the second floor level. Ryoga snarled and followed him.
"What they do now?" asked an exasperated Shampoo.
"I think they're playing," grumbled Akane. It wasn't like Barry to pick a fight. Ranma, yes; but that was different. So what was he 'playing' at?
It may have started out as playing on his part, but Barry was becoming concerned. Ryoga was cutting his margin of error right to the nub, even sloppy as he was with rage. Scaffolding and workers survived the hide-and-seek through the structure before the two made contact again, the force of the blows echoing in the afternoon traffic. The battle dodged between cars and bicycles, and traveled back onto the sidewalk, where a boy with a water pistol brought it to an abrupt end.
"Awww, jeez!"
"Squeeee!"
The boy looked at the pair, then at his squirt gun and tentatively fired it off at a playmate. She promptly chased him down the street yelling threats.
Barry sighed, partly in relief. She glanced at the little black pig Ryoga had become and grinned slightly. On the ki level, he seemed to have worked off his depression for now. "Feelin' better?" she asked. She offered a hand to Ryoga, intending to carry him back across the street. The hand received toothy attention. "Ow! Dammit, Ryoga!"
"Squeeee, hee, hee, hee…"
"Jerk!" Barry exclaimed. "How much are you gonna laugh when I leave you here on the street?" Ryoga-pig frowned then looked up and down the street. "Hey, a block down, one of Shampoo's competitors has a special today, Szechwan pork and fried rice." Feigning indifference, Ryoga walked up to his redheaded adversary and leapt up into her arms. "I thought you'd see it my way. Feeling better?" Barry picked up Ryoga's clothes and started back across the street. The porcine martial artist nodded absently. Sometimes a good rousing fight, especially if you can claim at least a moral victory, can be cathartic. Across the street again, she bundled the clothes into his pack and then heaved the whole thing up on one shoulder, umbrella and all.
"How do you do that," Akane asked her softly. "Besides Ryoga and… You're the only one who can just heave his stuff around like that."
Barry glanced at Akane, then at Ryoga. Snickering slightly, she said, "Let's just say that it's not a matter of strength, Akane."
Akane grimaced, but let matters rest, which was just as well. Barry had considered proclaiming some outrageous remark such as, 'Only Ryoga's true soul-mate could lift his umbrella!' Then she remembered it was all too likely to be taken seriously around here. The last thing she wanted was to give Ranma back his body, only to find he had picked up Ryoga as another fiancé. Yuck!
Ranma crawled gratefully into bed and let Gwen pack a heating pad against his back. Though now only a little impaired, he spent the remainder of the day convincing Gwen that he was still an invalid. In place of the tea, so 'off' to his sense of taste, was a mug of cola, a surprisingly affordable item here in the States. He browsed a science fiction novel by A.E. van Vogt in the hopes that some memories of Barry's really had indicated a heavily psychic slant that fit in with his experience. Gwen left him alone for a while to see to her mother and finish the dinner dishes.
Van Vogt was interesting, but not what he was looking for. He tried Andre Norton next, then Anne McCaffrey. They were all interesting and even seemed to have sources of insight to his problem, but none gave more than a light touch to the mechanics by which their characters performed their magic or psi-powers or whatever. One of the closest, most frustrating experiences he had, was in reading the critical chapter in Edgar Rice Burroughs's book, 'Princess of Mars' where the hero was transported, or translated, to Barsoom. Almost to a 'T', it fit what happened to Barry and himself, except for their lack of reference. It felt right, though. He lay there on his side thinking furiously. Maybe he needed to develop some reference that would take him back. Some set of memories, or if Burroughs's account was taken literally enough, something that was so necessary to him, that life itself was unimportant.
Akane. He had so often come to her rescue. Wasn't she important enough to bring him back? To be honest, as much as he liked everyone back home, she was the only thing, …well, besides martial arts, that he would really regret losing. It was worth trying. He turned more on his back and tried to put himself into a trance state. He focused on Akane, her dark eyes, her soft, sweet-smelling hair, her smile... Especially that drop-dead, beautiful smile that left him breathless every time he saw it. He remembered the hard-soft feel of her body in his arms, the beat of her heart…
"I'm climbing into bed, love. Brace yourself."
Gwen's words shattered the floating sense of unreality he had been building. He almost wept as the vision, the waking dream of Akane, fled into the dimness of the shadows. He gritted his teeth and tensed as Gwen arranged herself so her body lightly wrapped about his from behind.
As she stroked his hair, he felt Barry's body respond to her warmth and closeness. Then he was fighting a desperate battle to keep the body passive to the presence at his back. He whined faintly, a sound generated by frustration and desperation. Gwen murmured an apology, to which Ranma offered a strained if unintelligible reply. He dared not think of Akane, least the combination of his desire and Barry's body's patterned behavior lead to areas he really did not want to investigate.
Concentrating on the sound of a single clapping hand, he settled down to guard against himself. He would not be able to seek Akane tonight.