Chapter 2: New Acquaintances
Saotome Ranma trudged his way to Furinkan High School, one look from his empty eyes enough to send most people scurrying out of his way. There were some, however, who didn't keep out of his path. "Yo, Ranma! 'Sup?" The martial artist waved tiredly at Hiroshi and Daisuke. "Eh, guys. I'm kinda tired today, leave me alone, 'k?" The pair exchanged puzzled looks, then noticed the glum look in their friend's eyes and decided to let him brood in peace. Just as Ranma was about to reach the front gate, a familiar blue blur appeared before him.
"I see the sorcerer Saotome appears without the face of the beauteous Tendo Akane! Can it be that she has broken her hold over him? Has she finally broken free of thy spell, Saotome?" Kuno Tatewaki, self-declared "Blue Thunder" of Furinkan High, and captain of the same school's kendo club, struck a dramatic pose, lightning crashing behind him. Ranma merely shook his head tiredly. "Yeah, along with everything else she managed to break. Listen Kuno. You can have her, but don't ever let her start to hit you, got that?" The older student shot him a surprised look. "What doth thou mean? I could never imagine the fair Tendo Akane resorting to such vile measures as violence!"
"Trust me, Kuno, she does. More often than not, she does…" Before Kuno could get another word out, Ranma shoved past him, leaving the "True Blunder" behind, wondering what the hell had just happened. He was so engrossed in his thoughts that he completely missed the schoolbell and missed class, thus resulting in a very elated Kuno doing very boring bucket duty.
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By lunch time, half the school was talking about the events that had occurred that morning, from the incidents at the gate to Ranma and Akane not looking at each other in class. Rather, it had been Ranma who had ignored Akane. The girl, on the other hand, had kept shooting murderous looks at the young martial artist. As lunch came, Ranma took his customary shortcut out of the classroom, simply leaping out of the third-story window and vanishing the second he landed on the ground, slipping into his Umi Sen-Ken technique. Once more, he hid deep in a tree, hoping to avoid his fiancees – and his ex-fiancee – for the day.
"Ran-chan! Where are you?" He groaned as he heard Ukyo's voice. It wasn't as if he didn't like her…but sometimes the cook was just a little too much. A little decency and tact might do her a lot of good, Ranma thought sourly. The ring of a bicycle bell accompanied Ukyo's shouts. "Airen! Shampoo bring too too good ramen for lunch! Come to Shampoo and spatula girl!" Ranma's eyes widened as the tree he was sitting in on shook violently. "Aiya! Airen! Come to Shampoo!" Ranma's eyes widened even more as he felt himself slipping from the branch he was sitting on. As he realized he wouldn't be able to save this one, he prayed Akane wasn't anywhere close by.
"Aiya! Airen!" Shampoo caught him in one of her trademark glomps of doom as he fell out of the tree, earning her dirty looks from Ukyo who proceeded to snatch Ranma from her. "Ran-chan, are you all right? You're looking upset? And what's with those rumors that are going around school?" Shampoo shot her interested glances. "What rumors spatula girl talking about?" Ukyo suppressed her anger and stood Ranma back on his feet. "The ones about him and Akane having a fight, and breaking the engagement."
"Well, I had a fight with Akane. Just say it was worse than usual and leave it at that. I broke the engagement and left the dojo. " He mentally prepared himself for the happy outburst from the two women he was sandwiched between. As expected, it came. "Aiya! Airen free to marry Shampoo!" Ukyo, on the other hand, seemed torn between happiness and concern. "Worse than usual? Listen, Ranma, if you want, you can stay with me as long as you want. My door's always open for you." Man, that baka Akane probably really blew it if he's left the dojo. I mean, nothing against Ran-chan, but free food and lodging? He won't give that up without a damn good reason. Damn you, Akane, for doing this to him, Ukyo thought.
"It's ok, Ukyo. I need some breathing space anyway." He shot his friend an apologetic look. Although he didn't return her affections, Ranma still considered her a friend and felt bad about leaving her like this. But he couldn't tell her where he was planning to go even if he wanted to, for one very simple reason: He himself had no idea where he was going to go for his "vacation." She still looked slightly concerned and glanced over at Shampoo smugly, who had taken his comment as an indication that he was planning on staying at the Cat Café. "And no, Shampoo, I won't be staying at the Cat Café, either. I broke my engagement with Akane, but don't get all gung-ho about it, ok?" He sighed. "Look, folks, I need a break. I've had enough of all of this madness, and I want to get away for a while. And, sorry Ukyo, but you ain't coming with me. And neither are you, Shampoo. End of debate." With that, Ranma walked away.
"Airen!" Shampoo yelled and started running after him, only to find herself restrained by the collar of her dress. "Listen, Shampoo. He's mad and he needs to cool down. Give him time." The amazon turned to face the cook. "But Ranma no shouting and yelling, how is mad?" Ukyo grimaced. "His eyes, Shampoo. His eyes tell you more than his words ever could. He had a big fight with Akane, and if I ever find out what that bitch did this time, I'm gonna…" Her thoughts trailed off as an idea came to her mind. She grabbed Shampoo's wrist and raced off. "Aiya! Where spatula-girl taking Shampoo?"
"We're gonna pay a visit to the Tendos."
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Kasumi was sweeping the yard when she heard two pairs of footsteps approach from the front of the yard. Quickly moving to the gate, she was surprised to see Ukyo and Shampoo. "Oh, hello you two. What can I do for you?" she asked as she leaned casually on the broom. She winced slightly as her weight lingered on her cracked ribs for a moment before shifting her stance. The momentary look of discomfort didn't get past the two visitors unnoticed. "Are you all right, Kasumi?" Ukyo asked. The eldest Tendo daughter nodded. "Yes, I'm fine, thank you for asking. So, what brings you here? Aren't you supposed to be in school?"
"School can survive a day without me. We wanted to ask someone…something," Ukyo told her. "About what?" Kasumi looked at them quizzically at he enigmatic reply. "About what the hell Akane did to Ranma. Last time I saw him he's ready to break out into tears, announced he broke his engagement, told Kuno he could have her, and says he's going on a vacation." Kasumi's eyebrows kept raising till they vanished under her long brown hair. "Oh my," she let out. "He did take it quite hard…"
"Take what quite hard? What in the world happened, Kasumi? I've never seen Ranma this close to breaking down…" Shampoo interrupted Ukyo brashly. "What spatula-girl talking about? Airen totally normal, maybe little cold, nothing Shampoo can't fix!" The amazon declared, flashing her cleavage. Ukyo scowled. "I told you before. Didn't you look at his eyes? They were empty. Totally blank. The only thing that's keeping him from crying and breaking down is his stubbornness." Kasumi stared at the other two girls in shock. "Oh my…" She was quite shocked to hear that the young martial artist had taken the fight with his ex-fiancee so harshly, and she was even more surprised to hear about it from Ukyo. But then, she's his oldest friend. She probably knows him better than any of us.
Ukyo turned her attention back to her hostess. "So spill it, Kasumi, what happened? What did Akane do this time?" Kasumi glanced away, not being able to look the okonomiyaki chef in the eye. "Akane…said some regrettable things to Ranma, and lashed out at him, more violently than ever before. She…hit me by accident, and Ranma took me to Tofu-sensei's clinic. The next morning everyone kept pushing Ranma to apologize to Akane, and she kept blaming it all on him…and called him…even more regrettable things." Kasumi bowed her head. "Ranma left after telling Akane some things he…maybe should have said earlier." As she launched into a full-sized explanation of the events of the previous two days, Ukyo and Shampoo paled visibly. By the end of her recollection, both girls were visibly shaking with anger, ready to kill one violent tomboy.
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As the bell rang signalling the end of school for that day, Ranma rushed back, heading for the Tendo dojo, hoping to reach it before Akane got home. He did, in fact, make it in record time, coming to a dead stop on the roof of the Tendo home. As silently as he could he popped open the window to the guest room and peeked in. After making sure no one was inside, he slipped in and grabbed his backpack, filling it with all his belongings in a matter of seconds. He was about to slip back out of the window, when he heard a rustle behind him. He turned around slowly, unconsciously sliding into a defensive stance.
"Ranma-kun," Kasumi said as she leaned against the doorway. Ranma turned away, partly not wishing to face her, partly trying to hide the tears that kept trying to spill out of the corners of his eyes. He didn't know why he felt that…guilty around Kasumi, but he knew he felt bad for failing her. "Please, Ranma-kun, don't leave. It wouldn't be the same without you," the young woman told him. Ranma shook his head. "Sorry, Kasumi, I can't. I…really want to stay, but…I need a break. I need to get away from all of this, to sort out some stuff." He smiled sadly at her. "You know, lately, I've brought you to bed twice, and both times, something in me felt…content. I owe you more than I can tell you, too. If it weren't for you, I probably woulda gone nuts long ago, or wouldna come back from one of Akane's malletings. And I still feel…guilty for letting Akane hit you. I gotta sort that out, too."
Kasumi let her smile falter, allowing the happy façade she showed everyone to crumble. The young man before her deserved a truthful response – even if it meant destroying his illusions of the unfazeable Kasumi. Heck, if he'd seen her sleeping he probably saw through her act already. For some reason, though, this comforted Kasumi. Ranma glanced up, his eyes widening in shock as he saw her thoughtful, almost sad expression. "That night…I never thanked you for coming to me, for comforting me, did I?" She asked no one in particular. He shook his head. "I…never told you why I was crying either, did I?" Again, Ranma shook his head. "I was thinking of mother…when she was still alive, how happy we all were. I never told anyone this, but sometimes I think…all this burden is becoming too much for me to handle, and when you began helping me with the household…it was so nice to have help, to have someone to talk to, to be noticed." She hadn't turned away from him while she spoke, and Ranma noticed her eyes were brimming with tears, as well.
"Aww, come on, Kasumi, don't cry…I'm sorry…I guess I never thought about how hard it could be for you to take up this role, to be always happy…" She's never allowed to show any weakness, either…like me. Ranma mentally laughed. We have more alike than I thought. "If you go, Ranma-kun…everything will go back to the way it was…I'll…I'll be left alone again," Kasumi shook her head slightly. "I may sound selfish saying this, but I don't want things to go back to normal." She managed a small smile. "Normal was far too boring."
They shared a chuckle, and Ranma turned sober again. "I can only imagine. And I'm sorry for leaving you hanging like this, but if I don't go now I might crack and do something I regret. Tell you what, once I figure out where I'll be staying, I'll send you a note and you can come visit me, how's that sound?" Kasumi smiled again, an honest smile this time. "That would be wonderful, Ranma-kun. But…let me know soon, ok?"
Ranma smiled as he hopped on the window sill. "Count on it." And he leapt off.
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"Tadaima!" Akane announced as she kicked off her shoes at the front door. She was surprised when she didn't hear Kasumi's customary "Okaerinasai" greeting, and peeked into the kitchen to look for her older sister. "Kasumi-oneechan?" She asked an empty kitchen. "Akane." The girl turned around at the sound of the familiar voice behind her. "Oneechan!" Akane's smile quickly paled as she took notice of the serious look on her sister's face. "What is it?" She asked.
´"We need to talk," Kasumi said simply. "About what?" Akane shot her sister a puzzled look. She didn't recall any matter in the household that really needed talking about. In fact, the house had been quite…quiet since the departure of a certain pig-tailed martial artist that very morning. "About Ranma-kun," Kasumi told her. Akane gulped. Her sister had been very defensive of the youth, and she was at a loss as to why Kasumi would go to such lengths to side with him. Maybe because he's the only one to ever help her around the house? Or maybe because he's the only one who shows appreciation for what she does? Akane thought guiltily. No, Kasumi had every right to side with Ranma.
"What about that pervert? He didn't do anything again, did he?" Kasumi shook her head. "Akane…did you ever see Ranma-kun do something perverted?" Seeing her sister's hesitation, Kasumi plowed on. "Did you ever see him not trying to get loose from Shampoo? Did you ever see him do anything dishonorable?" Akane could only feebly shake her head. "Ranma has risked his life and reputation more times than I can count for you, yet you blame everything that happens to you on him. His only fault is that he tries very hard not to hurt either of you. He's trying not to hurt you, or Shampoo, or Ukyo. They are his friends, Akane, and you should respect that." Kasumi sighed. "You know," she whispered, "you know, there is more to Ranma than you make him be. You never even gave him a chance, Akane." Without another word, Kasumi turned and left a bewildered Akane behind. Before she left the living room, Kasumi shot one last question at Akane. "Don't you think it's a little quiet here?"
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Later that day, Akane was wandering the streets of Nerima aimlessly, trying to do something she had never really thought about doing before – thinking about Ranma. Trying to think of the young martial artist as something other than the stupid, single-minded pervert she had made him out to be. She had been surprised when she had realized that Kasumi was right. Ranma had dropped hints here and there before that there was something deeper to him, something that lay underneath the brash and confident boy he showed the world. Her thoughts were violently interrupted as a familiar miniature throwing cooking utensil embedded itself at her feet. As she looked up, Akane gulped. Ukyo and Shampoo were blocking the road in front of her, murder in their eyes.
"What do you want?" The two didn't even flinch at the icyness of Akane's tone. "It's obvious, isn't it? We are here to have a talk." Ukyo told Akane. "About Áiren," Shampoo added. Akane sighed. "What is there to talk about?" Ukyo started counting off on her fingers. "First, your relationship. Second, the way he treated you. Third, the way you treated him. Fourth, what happened last night." Akane's shoulders slumped more with each item the okonomiyaki chef counted off.
"There's nothing to talk about," Akane began. Ukyo interrupted her brashly. "There ain't much to talk about, sugar, but we'll talk, and you'll listen. Got that?" Both girls moved into offensive stances, blocking both ways out of the alley. Akane surrendered to the inevitable. "All right, talk already."
"How many times has Ranma saved you, or come to your rescue?" Ukyo shook her head without even letting the other girl reply. "More times than I can count. He even broke a date with Shampoo, risking his chance to get the instant Nannichuuan to help you against the dojo destroyer. Sometimes it was his fault that you were in danger, but ask yourself this – did he ever let you down? I'll tell you the answer, sugar. Not once. Or you wouldn't be here at this very instant. He never gave up, never surrendered when you were in danger. And how did you pay him back? You hit him and call him a pervert and call him names. From what it sounds like, Akane, you were the pervert. After all, weren't you the one who kept walking in on him in the baths? Wasn't it you who kept the doujinshi in your bedroom?" The girl paused her tirade for a moment. "We all knew Ranma deserved better than you, but you know what? Despite all you put him through, despite all his fighting with Ryoga over you, despite all he had to risk for you – his life, his honor – he stuck with you." Ukyo shook her head sadly, indicating at herself and Shampoo. "Somehow, we both never even measured up to you. We tried our best to win Ranma, but in the end, he chose you. He loved you, you foolish girl." And Ukyo turned around and walked away. Shampoo mirrored her movements. "Violent girl no know what she had," the amazon threw over her shoulder.
Once more that day Akane was left thinking about one Saotome Ranma.
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"Man, this pointless walking ain't gonna get me nowhere," Ranma said to no one in particular. "Hell, I don't even have the faintest idea where I am." It was nighttime, and unknowingly, Ranma's feet had taken him all the way to Juuban district, just off Tokyo. He tossed his backpack to the ground and stretched out on the grass. As he waited for sleep to come, he looked up at the stars in the sky, a slight smile spreading across the boy's face as he recalled camping under the stars like this with his father on their training trip to China. For a moment, the fond memories of sleeping under the clear night sky banished the curse of the curse.
Then the moment of tranquility shattered, and Ranma found that everything he had been trying to avoid came crashing back full force. The memories of Akane's malletings, the anger he felt at Ryoga's cowardly attacks, the pure rage he had felt when Akane had hit Kasumi, and his desire to strike down the offending tomboy at that very instant. The way she had acted that very morning, her accusations. Perverted Bastard! Rapist! Her words echoed in his mind. No! I'm not a pervert! I didn't take advantage of anyone! Dozens of emotions flickered across his face before settling on a cross between anger and anxiety. The memories kept piling up, the treatment of his father, the Neko-Ken, the Amazons. The Neko-Ken. The ultimate martial arts technique. Unfortunately, with a little catch. You go insane. Great. That moron didn't even read one damned sentence further. The bad memories continued to pile up to a steadily growing mountain, until Ranma felt like pulling a Ryoga and releasing the mother of all Shishi Hôkôdans. He felt like crying.
"A yen for your thoughts?" A voice asked beside him. Ranma glanced sideways, to find that a young man had sat down next to him. "You're not from here, are you?" The stranger said. "I've never seen you around, and Juuban is a small district." Ranma smiled. "Juuban, huh?" The pig-tailed martial artist replied, glad for the distraction from his depression. The stranger smiled an turned to look at the martial artist. "You look like the kind of person who usually finds solace in the stars," the man continued, seemingly not caring if Ranma paid attention or not. "Not this time, though. You're not finding what you're looking for in the stars tonight."
Ranma shook his head and chuckled without humor. "You don't know how right you are," he told the other man. "May I ask what troubles you?"At Ranma's sour face, the stranger chuckled, as well. "Let me guess. It involves girls?" "How'd you know?" The stranger leaned back. "Your eyes. Plus, common sense. Girls always evoke that kind of trouble." Ranma laughed out loud. "Hit the nail on the head."
They sat in silence for a moment, before Ranma began. He didn't know why he started, maybe it was the rush of emotions he had experienced earlier, maybe the pent-up anger at his ex-fiancee, he didn't know. But this time, no tears would come. Instead, the words flowed. "Well, you see, before I was even born, my father made this deal with his best friend. They wanted to unite their schools of martial arts, and promised to marry their children. So, now I got stuck engaged to his friend's daughter. I guess this would be a good time to tell you a little about the Tendos," Ranma returned his gaze to the stars, not caring all that much that he was opening up to a complete stranger, in the middle of a park in a district he knew nothing about, and he knew no one in. "There's their father – my father's friend – and his three daughters. His wife died prematurely, and ever since then he's been a little on the off side. He's a nice person, though, even if he overdoes it a little sometimes. There's Kasumi, his oldest daughter. She's…sweet, gentle, caring. She took up her mother's place after she died and kept the household running. Kasumi is happy, but always sad, she's wise, yet naïve, gentle, but insistent." Ranma sighed. "If I were asked to describe a goddess, Kasumi would fit the bill perfectly."
Ranma shifted to make himself more comfortable. "There's Nabiki, the middle daughter. She puts up a cold façade, and she's the one who earns the money with her little enterprises in school. If there's an intrigue somewhere, you can be sure Nabiki has info on it. She acts like a mercenary, but she cares about her family when it really counts. Then, there's Akane. Tendo-san's youngest daughter." Ranma's face turned sour. "She's the exact opposite of Kasumi. She's temperamental, unrestrained, violent. She thinks everything can be solved by violence, and keeps hitting other people – she never listens to what you have to say, and she doesn't care. She thinks all boys are perverts, yet she falls all over an... old acquaintance of mine. Everything that happens she blames on someone else, Akane never accepts blame or responsibility for anything. She can't cook, yet forces everyone to eat her food. I pray you never taste it, or you might end up in hospital with food poisoning – she mistook the kerosene for vegetable oil once – but never once tastes her own cooking. She thinks she's the best martial artist in all of Nerima, but she has done nothing but break bricks and beat up dummies. She thinks she excels at it all, but she can't stand someone who surpasses her in anything."
"So, surely you picked Kasumi when you found out when you were engaged to one of them?" The stranger asked. At Ranma's shake of head, he shot him a bewildered look. "Then at least the second daughter? I mean, she doesn't sound too nice, but compared to the way you describe this Akane, she seems like an angel." Again, Ranma shook his head. "You see, my father took me on a training trip to China before he told me of the engagement. Without knowing a word of Chinese, mind you. Which meant he didn't understand a single word of what was written in the travel guide about the training grounds of Jusenkyo. Or the hundred or so warning signs around the place. They're a bunch of springs – actually, they're a crapload of springs. And they're cursed – they ain't called 'Pools of Sorrow' for nothin', ya know. Whatever drowned in them last, you turn into it after you fall in. Well, Pops and I fell in. He fell into the Spring of Drowned Panda, while I fell into the Spring of Drowned Girl – the Nyannichuuan. Now, every time I get splashed with cold water, I turn into a girl. I turn back into a boy with hot water. Pops is the same, except he turns into a panda." Ranma didn't know why, but somehow he felt at ease talking to the stranger about his curse.
"And of course you arrived in your cursed forms?" The other man asked. Ranma nodded. "It was pouring that day, and Pops had knocked me over the head. So you can imagine the Tendos' reaction when a giant panda walked through their front door with an unconscious girl over its shoulder. When they found out about the curse, Kasumi and Nabiki immediately shoved Akane forward to take up the engagement." Ranma smiled wryly. "Not that I blame them, it musta been quite a shock. I seemed to hit it off pretty well with Akane, she offered to spar with me and asked if I wanted to be friends. Anyway, Akane walked in on me in the bath later on – totally disregarding the 'occupied' sign – and of course yelled 'hentai' and proceeded to hit me when she found out I was really a guy. Things have been going downhill ever since then. I had to save her from others and herself more times than I can count, and she kept blaming me for everything that went wrong in her life. To top it off, this old friend of mine got a curse from Jusenkyo, too – how he got it is another story – but he turns into a piglet. And Akane thinks he's her pet, so she sleeps with him and generally keeps him around. And that bastard made me swear on my honor I wouldn't reveal his secret. Anyway, I thought things had gotten better after last month." Ranma paused a little.
"What happened?"
"Saffron of Phoenix Mountain happened. We went on a training trip, and Akane got kidnapped again. Saffron nearly killed her." The young martial artist shook his head. "You're talking about the Phoenix God Saffron?" The stranger asked. "Yeah. Anyway, I had to kill him. He got reborn immediately, but as a tiny little bird, so we left him alone. Akane and I went back, and we had a wedding. Unfortunately, it was crashed. Someone invited my other fiancees, and they blew up the chapel, quite literally." Noticing his companion's raised eyebrow at the mention of his "other fiancees", Ranma sidetracked. "My greedy, good-for-nothing father promised me to just about every girl out there for as little as a bowl of rice and a pickle. Oh right, and two fish. Can't forget those two fish. Last count was at…hm…I think thirty-seven so far. Anyway, they bombed the wedding. After that, Akane kinda blamed me for it, saying I told them to ruin the wedding because I didn't want to marry her – although it was her who had been struggling against the wedding tooth and nail before. I tried to be nice to her for the next couple of weeks. I also started helping Kasumi with the housework. I never realized it, but she does more work than the rest of us put together – I don't know how she does it all in one day. Anyway, I found her asleep on the kitchen counter one night and brought her to her room." Ranma didn't know why he said that, but he continued nonetheless.
"One day I got up earlier than she did, drew a bath for her and made breakfast. Anyway, that night I heard Akane scream in her room and ran up to see what happened. Turns out she had been chasing her pet pig to give him a hot bath – of course he panicked at the mention of hot water, and ran away. A booklet had dislodged from under her pillow, and she had slipped on the doujinshi. She looked up, saw me, and started yelling and screaming and hitting. She went crazy, not even thinking who or what she was hitting – half the time her kicks and punches weren't even going my way. Akane almost destroyed the interior décor, and I'm pretty sure Kasumi wouldn't have liked that. Anyway, Kasumi jumped in and tried to separate us. Akane was too far gone and just kept punching, and hit her. I took Kasumi to a doctor after that."
Ranma's voice had been getting colder as he recounted the events of that night. "The next day, Akane stood up at the breakfast table, made a fuss, and accused me of being a pervert and a rapist, of walking into her room with perverted intentions. She said she'd chased me out with her righteous fury, and that I subsequently had hit and taken advantage of Kasumi. I…snapped." Ranma sighed as he told the other man how he'd walked out of the Tendo home this morning. "I couldn't care less about what she calls me, or that she blames me for everything. But what I couldn't take was…was…"
"Was that she accused you of hitting and taking advantage of Kasumi, right?" The stranger smiled. "You don't seem the type to do that sort of thing. More like the kind of person who respects others for what they can do, and holds honor in highest regard." They sat in silence for a while, before the stranger spoke up again. "You like her, don't you?" "Who?" Ranma returned the question. "You like a girl, and she's not one of your fiancees." He shot a smile at Ranma. The pig-tailed martial artist was glad the darkness hid his blush. "Kasumi? I…I don't know."
"Yes, Kasumi. You like her, but you don't know if you love her yet – that's what you meant when you told her you needed time to figure things out this afternoon, isn't it?" The stranger didn't wait for Ranma's reply. "I can't fault you," he chuckled. "If she's just half of what you told me she is, she's a dream come true."
"Yeah, she is…"
"Say, do you have a place to spend the night?" Ranma suddenly glanced over at the stranger's question. "Not really. I was planning to camp out here, like I used to." "Tell you what, why don't you come to my place? I'd like the company, and you can stay as long as you like." Ranma grimaced. "Nah, I wouldn't want to impose."
"Oh, I insist," the stranger said, and Ranma could hear the smile. "All right, thanks," he told him. Suddenly, he laughed. "What's so funny?"
"Oh, nothing. Just the fact that I never realized how talking actually helps," Ranma told him. "My name is Saotome Ranma," he added. The stranger nodded. "Meiou Ryoko." Ranma kept laughing. Ryoko wasn't Kasumi, but he had been a good listener nonetheless, and Ranma did feel better.
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Ranma woke up the next day early as usual, for a moment suspicious at the lack of his father throwing him out of the window before remembering where he was. After he fully woke up, the young martial artist made his way out of the house as quietly as he could. He didn't see any trace of his host, and assumed Ryoko was still asleep. The greater was his surprise when he opened the door and saw Ryoko not only up and in the backyard, but going through a complex kata that rivalled some of Ranma's. As he finished with a fluid roundabout sweep and roll, Ryoko fell back into a ready stance, then turned to face Ranma. "Morning. Up already?"
"Yeah. I was going to practice some before breakfast…" Ranma started. His host smiled. "Well, the court is all yours. I'm gonna start making breakfast – anything you'd like?" The Saotome shook his head. "Not really." Ryoko nodded as he headed inside, leaving Ranma alone outside. He started on his katas as as he waited for breakfast.
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Ryoko glanced up from the breakfast table as he heard his guest enter through the door. "Help yourself, Ranma," he said as he handed the other man a bowl of rice and pickles. To be honest, Ranma didn't expect the food to be good, but he was hungry nonetheless, and it would be rude not to eat. As he ate, he noticed – even though he was inhaling it at almost impossible speeds – that it was surprisingly close to the quality of Kasumi's cooking. Eyeing the man on the other side of the table, Ranma assessed his host for the first time. He was a lean man of average height, maybe three or four inches taller than Ranma, seemingly in his mid-twenties, with a slightly darker complexion. He looked Japanese, though. The oddest thing Ranma noticed about Ryoko were his eyes and his hair color. Ryoko's hair was green, a green so dark most would dismiss it as black, but Ranma picked up the fact that under the right light, his hair shimmered in a dark emerald color. The thing that set off Ranma most about the other man, though, was his eyes. Ryoko's eyes were a deep, dark shade of red, and Ranma could see the age and experience behind those eyes. Age and experience way beyond his apparent physical age, much like Ranma's own. Maybe that was why he felt so comfortable talking to the other man, they both carried burdens that were way too heavy for them, but none other wanted – or could – carry.
Somehow, he felt sorry for the guy who ever had to face Ryoko's angry stare. "So, wha' d' ya do, 'f ya d'n' m'n me 'skin'," Ranma mumbled through a mouthful of rice. At Ryoko's amused glance, he swallowed and repeated himself. "What do you do, if ya don't mind me asking?" "I work part time as a doctor in the local hospital, and teach at the local high school. We get all sorts of weird cases here in Juuban," Ryoko said with a friendly grin. Hm… a martial arts doctor…sounds familiar, Ranma thought with a smile. "What do you mean, weird cases?"
"Ah, you probably won't believe it till you see it, but we get regular monster attacks here. Most of the people got used to it that Juuban is a little weird." Ranma chuckled at his host's explanation. "Oh, trust me, I've seen some weird stuff." Arching an eyebrow, Ryoko leaned back in his chair and put down his bowl and chopsticks. "As weird as youma appearing out of thin air and magical girls in shorter-than-decent skirts appearing to fight them?" Ranma smirked and shook his head. "Actually, no. I've seen worse. A lot worse." Both men chuckled. "Really? You'll have to tell me about it sometime. But…" with a glance at his watch, Ryoko rose from his chair and grabbed his jacket from the chair. "I gotta get to work."
As he walked out of the door, he turned and looked at Ranma again. "By the way, if you plan on staying away from your problems for a while, I suggest that you enroll in the local high school. Juuban High is the big white building complex just east of here. You can't miss it."