Ki Cutters: 32
The Price II
Shampoo churned through the textbook as quickly as she could without tearing the pages. It was Sunday night and they had several tests Monday, as well as dealing with Nabiki's solution for the Furinkan gossip machine. The three of them in Akane's room made things crowded and Ranma was uncomfortable. Ghost nerve endings from his alternate form were still pinging and twitching from Friday.
Ranma had talked to his mother over the phone at some length Friday evening, reassuring himself that she was all right, learning that Kasumi's quick actions had saved more than his mother. He heard about her rescue of a woman and her children. Somehow, he was not surprised to hear the name Aoshima connected with his tormentors. Asking after his older sister, he discovered that she was shaken by her experience with the oni, but in good health. His mother, in turn, had to be reassured he was all right. Ranma had not yet informed her about how they had dealt with the prophecy. He was torn between his studying, at which the two girls demanded he become more competent, and how to deal with the eventual confrontation with his mother, who might yet blow up over 'manliness'. He jerked alert as Shampoo snapped her book shut with an air of self-satisfied finality.
"Shampoo, do you hafta do that?" Ranma whined. It didn't help that Shampoo the former, or perhaps more accurately, 'fake' bimbo, ripped through school work like he did breakfast, lunch and dinner.
"Leave her alone, Ranma," Akane warned. "You're just mad you can't do it, too."
"Well, duh, Akane! Of course, I'd like to do that!" Ranma scowled. "I have enough trouble with school."
"Trouble you wouldn't have if you stayed awake in class," his fiancée retorted. She softened her stance and patted his shoulder. "You can't help it you had an idiot for a father who thinks an intelligent martial artist is a oxymoron." Her gaze hardened a bit then. "with emphasis on the moron, but with all the stupid things he had you do, you should have known this was one of them."
"Come on, Akane," Ranma retorted. "If everything he taught me was stupid, I wouldn't be much of a martial artist." He was studying calculus, as was she. He frowned at Shampoo as she slapped the book shut and closed her eyes, whispering intently. "Man, it really bites that she can do that. It really does." Shampoo stuck her tongue out as she finished her studying technique.
"Hey, it help, but is not cure all. I catalogue information when I dream tonight. If I not do right, I could end up with 's'il vous plais' as answer to differential equation. Is not perfect solution, Ranma."
"Sort of a deep meditation, then?" inquired Ranma, interested. He frowned, but thoughtfully this time. "Heh! I think I know how you do it, then."
"Ranma, don't be stupid," Shampoo warned. "It not safe to do without much practice… Ranma!"
"Ranma!" Kasumi's voice rang up from the bottom of the steps. "Your mother is here!"
"…"
The three teenagers stared at each other. Ranma rose to his feet. "Wait!" whispered Akane. "Do you think she knows…"
Ranma grimaced. "Natsume said she wouldn't tell, but who knows?" He sighed nervously. "I'm coming!" he bellowed back to Kasumi.
"Ranma?" His mother's voice carried up the stairs. "Meet me in the dojo please, and bring Akane-chan."
"She knows," said three young voices.
"Shit," muttered Ranma. He stood up straight and held out his hand to Akane. "C'mon."
"I coming, too," Shampoo insisted.
"But she didn't ask you," Akane said.
"I come up with idea. If Ranma-mother angry, let her be angry at me," the Amazon insisted.
"I broke it," Akane insisted, drawing a parallel between the activities Friday and dojo rules.
"Aw, man… Didja hafta say it like that? We're coming!" shouted Ranma, deciding he didn't need the argument. One way or another, he wanted to get this over with. His mother had said she loved him. He would have faith in that. "Argue later. Let's go." He stalked out of the room, Akane in tow. Shampoo followed close behind.
"I'm sorry for disturbing you so late, dear," his mother said as they came through the shoji. Nodoka stood weaponless before the shrine of the dojo. "Hello, Shampoo," she added as she caught sight of the Amazon behind them. "When will the Nekohanten be open again?"
"Probably next weekend, Nodoka-san," Shampoo replied.
"Good, I'll be there for your reopening." She turned to her son and his love. "Ranma, I noticed that Natsume was acting a bit off. When I asked her about you, she became quite agitated." She watched their faces. "I also know, from the demon-girl who kidnapped me, what was required to end the attacks on you."
Ranma blanched. "It's over, Mom." He swallowed heavily as Nodoka eyes grew large and shimmery.
"Oh, my poor baby." Nodoka's eyes let loose their tears. She took three quick steps and swept him into a hug. "Oh, my poor baby! Don't hate yourself for this."
"It's okay, Mom," Ranma's voice cracked as he realized how upset she was. "You could even say we won."
Nodoka looked up into her son's eyes. "How could you win against that?" She stared at him. "I know about the statue and the wind demons, and I heard about the demon that threatened everyone at the school with plague."
"Well, I had help winning…" Ranma said gruffly. "Akane and Shampoo, of course. Cologne, Mousse, Ukyo, Ryoga—!"
"Oh, my!" Nodoka backed up and looked at her son. "I never considered…" Her hand came up to her mouth. "Of course. Having a friend help you would solve the problem." Ranma looked at her knowing — just knowing — she had added two and two and come up with twenty-two. "I hope Ryoga was gentle."
"I didn't do it with pig-boy! Okay?"
"Ranma! How rude! Besides, Ryoga doesn't turn into a pig anymore." Her nose wrinkled. "And he does have the advantage of having a similar curse, now."
"I didn't do it with Ryoga, Mom!"
"Don't yell at your mother, dear." Nodoka looked up at his red face and smiled. "I suppose, then, that Tatewaki was still enthusiastic about his 'pig-tailed goddess'…?"
"Mo-om!"
"Actually, I helped Ranma take care of the problem, Auntie Saotome," Akane admitted in a small voice.
"Oh, Akane!" Nodoka released her son and took in Akane's blushing face. "But would that work?" She turned and confronted Shampoo. "Oh, dear. Does this mean all-out war with your people, Shampoo?"
"No, no!" Shampoo waved her hands.
Nodoka didn't seem to be listening. She got a thoughtful look. "Perhaps if he did it with you the same number of times, you two could call it even…"
Shampoo froze in the midst of her attempted explanation while Ranma and Akane face-faulted with dull booms into the dojo floor. The purple-haired girl turned toward them with a now familiar look on her face – wide-eyed innocence with the tip of her tongue protruding from between her quirking lips – Shampoo loved misunderstandings. Akane tackled her and tried to muzzle her as Ranma once again took up the painfully embarrassing subject of his 'deflowering'.
"No, Mom. Akane and I did it using instant Nanniichuan, a sort of temporary curse made from the cursed springs. I turned into a girl, Akane turned into a guy and…" His voice dropped low. "Wedidit," he mumbled.
Nodoka looked like she wasn't certain where to turn. "Ah… That is…" She swallowed and glanced at Akane, who was subduing Shampoo's humorous inclinations, then back at Ranma. "Oh, my!" she said finally. Akane gave Shampoo a sharp glance, then disengaged before Ranma's mom got the wrong idea about them.
"Shampoo come up with idea," the Amazon admitted, rising. "Ranma want way to win against demon, but too many demons. You guess they just keep coming, yes?" Nodoka nodded. "I thinking Ranma need someone he really trust." She glanced at Akane and smirked. "Amazon law not let me deliberately change to male, but sister of heart not Amazon yet, so… she agree." Shampoo licked her lips wickedly. "Tomboy make very good boy! Yum!"
"Shampoo!" screeched Akane, face flaming.
Ranma simply hid his face in one hand. This just got worse and worse.
"Akane was… manly… with Ranma?" squeaked Nodoka. Akane and Ranma flinched.
"Don't do us any favors, Shampoo," Ranma grumbled.
"It's all right, Ranma," his mother reassured him. "I was simply startled." She took a deep breath and let it out. "What do you look like in your cursed form, Akane?"
"Let's not go there!" Ranma said belligerently. "We couldn't think of any other way out and people were gettin' hurt." Ranma remembered the tiny winged form he had handed Cologne. He wondered what happened to it. The old ghoul said she was contacting Phoenix Mountain.
"Actually, Ranma," Nodoka chose her words with more care. Her son was obviously not happy with the solution. "I'm simply happy it was Akane instead of one of those demons. When Natsume was so reticent about telling me, I was afraid…"
"Mom," Ranma said with a hint of his old bravado, "Ranma Saotome don't lose."
"Doesn't lose," she corrected him absently, which sent Shampoo into snickers for some reason. "I was needlessly afraid that one of the demons had raped you. That demoness was fairly certain that, if that happened, you would conceive…" Ranma looked sick again, even knowing what could have happened. His mother was distressingly well informed. "At least we don't have to worry about that. Do we?" she asked pointedly. At his appalled look, she retreated. "No, I suppose not, though you would probably have beautiful children…"
"Mom!" Ranma whined. Shampoo had collapsed into hysterics again as Akane looked on disgruntled.
Nodoka closed the distance and hugged him warmly, again. His pigtail tried valiantly to escape. "Oh, Ranma, I was so worried."
He felt her tears against his neck and decided, nutty or not, she was his mother and she cared deeply about his health and happiness. He patted her awkwardly.
"I didn't come over yesterday because I was afraid of what I would see in your eyes. I was so angry that anyone would make you the prize of some pointless contest."
Ranma exchanged a look with Akane over his mother's shoulder. "Why should Akane have all the fun?" he offered weakly. His fiancée stuck out her tongue.
"At least I got to trash the bad guy this time," Akane replied, as if that were some sort of door prize. Nodoka eyed her, but observed no sign that this was an attempt at humor.
"Trashed him good, too," Ranma admitted.
"A-Akane defeated that… that…"
Ranma took his mother by the shoulders and backed her away slightly. "Hey! Akane's no slouch anymore. Besides, the prophecy stipulated that she would gain enough power to 'lay her enemies low'. I doubt that jerk is fool enough to ever come back."
"I no think Senbei what Akane laid," offered Shampoo from her reclining position on the floor.
Akane gave her a deadly look and stated flatly, "Senbei irritated me." She didn't mention that she hadn't liked being interrupted but Shampoo got the hint.
Ranma grimaced as his mother eyed Akane in a new guise: heroine. "I… I see." Nodoka smiled at Akane. "I hope you were gentle with my son for his first time." She gave a slight tilt of her head and crinkled the corners of her eyes to show Akane she was teasing.
"F-f-first time?" three teenagers squeaked. Akane winced. Nodoka, fortunately, completely missed the suddenly pale, shaken look that flashed across her son's face. Akane had seen that look far too often the last three days. Each time she saw it, she felt as if another nail was being driven into the coffin that held their relationship.
Outside the dojo, two figures listened intently in the shadows.
oOo
"Ranma?" Akane sat up in her bed and looked around. The window was cracked open slightly, letting the delicious scents of an early spring into her room. The object of her search was not visible. She pulled on her robe. With the Chinese staying as their guests due to the destroyed Nekohanten, cuddling had been suspended. Even now, Shampoo slept on her side on the spare futon laid out on the floor of her room. It was early yet; school wouldn't start for three hours.
Akane sighed; her supposed shout to Ranma must have been in her dreams and non-vocal. She felt incredibly empty and lost without him. She missed his warmth and the silky feel of his muscles… and she didn't much care which form he was in.
Akane looked down at the gently snoring Shampoo and blushed. The Amazon had named her 'pervert-girl' over a year ago and here she was proving it — had proved it with the use of the Instant Nanniichuan. Ranma's reactions in girl-type had excited her, even as she had been forced to maintain a certain clinical distance to overcome the peculiar mechanics of sex from the male viewpoint. While she had been, for the most part, unaffected emotionally by their bizarre union, she had to admit, if only to herself, a sort of fascination in wondering if you had to be male to cause that sort of reaction in a girl, and speculating whether Ranma would cause those same reactions in her when it came time for them to do it 'right'.
She swept the grounds with her ki senses to try to discover Ranma's present location. Mousse still slept the sleep of the overworked in the spare room and Cologne, Ling-Ling and Lung-Lung… were not in Nabiki's room. A brief use of her tracking sense caught them across town in the direction of the Nekohanten, probably getting things set up for the solution Nabiki had devised. Switching back to ki vision, she noticed her father and stepmother cuddled together in the master bedroom. Kasumi was still asleep… Ah! Ranma was in the furo.
A faint smile replaced her previous frown. Maybe she'd take him up on the suggestion he made yesterday morning and join him there. But first she'd need to select her clothes. With a deep sigh, she swung out of bed and began selecting what she was going to wear that day. She groaned as she opened her lingerie drawer and found the neat packages of brand new underwear. Happosai had apparently paid a visit last night. Grimacing, she held up sheer thongs and lacy, almost transparent bras, shuddering at the sight. She just wasn't comfortable wearing stuff like this and it was pure hell trying to return them. Thank kami Happi had been missing during the fulfillment of that prophecy. He might have tried for the prize himself. She selected the least offensive of the available undergarments along with a pants suit. School or no, there was no way she was going to leave herself open to Happosai's skirt flipping or an errant breeze.
Softly, she slipped down the stairs. She wondered if she could still shock Ranma. Akane moved aside the house slippers and the sign, carefully slid the door soundlessly in its track, and stepped into the steamy room. Ranma sat with his back to the door, apparently lost in thought as he soaked in the water of the tub. "Ranma," she whispered.
Her fiancé had been 'cooking' in the hot waters of the tub in an attempt to reassure himself of his maleness and relax enough to get some sleep. The errant memories disturbing his dreams since Friday had not helped. He had been deep in thought when Akane's sultry whisper brought him an extreme awareness of his present circumstances.
The water surged as he turned around and pressed himself into the back wall of the tub, eyes wide. "Aka-aka-kane?"
She smiled and let her robe slide sensuously off her shoulders. "May I join you?" she said huskily. "I missed you this morning."
His gulp echoed in the room. "I don't think that would be a good idea right now," he whispered.
"Why?" she asked simply, hanging her robe up and moving over to the faucets. "You've seen it all before." Inside she exalted in the feeling of power his reaction gave her.
"It's just… not a good time."
Akane checked herself at that. When any girl was in the fertile portion of her cycle, it was distraction for Ranma's neko-heightened senses. She was not currently fertile. She sniffed the air. Kasumi or Shampoo might be, but if so, the traces were too slight for her own augmented senses to detect. "I don't understand," she said finally.
Ranma slowly moved toward her side of the tub. "Why did I ever say you were un-cute?"
Akane smirked. "You also said I was built like a stick…"
"Willowy," Ranma elucidated, "I like willowy."
Akane blushed at his gaze and his redefining of the old insult. "Ahhh… (gulp!) …and my thighs were t-too thick…"
"Chicken legs are a turn off. I wanted to push ya away then. Yer legs made me want to…" His hands coming out of the water seemed to speak for themselves, 'Let me run my hands over you'.
"Ranma!" she protested. Damn! He had turned the tables and was seducing her with his eyes and his words. And she didn't think he had any idea he was doing it. "Ummm…" Her voice shook. "What about strong as a gorilla and dumb as an ox?" She sighed, she wasn't certain if it was with relief or disappointment as his eyes darkened and he drew back from the edge.
"You are strong, very strong," he said in that caressing voice. "Maybe ya don't always see what's there, but ya learn fast and you're kind." He shivered despite the hot water. His eyes, dark with passion, captured hers. "I… I want you, Akane. I just… want you."
Akane's heart was in her throat. Her knees turned to jelly and she sank down right where she was and stared at him, her mouth dry. "I want you, too, Ranma," she admitted. 'Oh, my god,' she thought, 'this is it. I pushed him… us… too far. We're not going to walk away from this one.' A throbbing was beginning to peel her mind away as Ranma began to rise out of the furo. She licked her lips frantically as she saw the evidence of his desire.
"Woo-hoo! Go for it!" grated an unpleasant voice.
"Damn you, freak!" Ranma roared.
"Grandfather!" Akane's respectful label was not matched by her tone of voice.
Akane wasn't sure how she managed to get to her feet and into her robe as she turned and glared at the old villain. Ranma had subsided somewhat in the tub and watched the old man warily.
"Awww… Aren't you gonna put on a show for me?" Happosai asked. "I even brought my video camera along." He patted a compact camcorder that he held with his other hand.
Ranma growled and surged out of the tub, grabbing a towel on the way. "Bath's yours, Akane," he snapped as he dove past her at the pest.
Happosai cackled and dodged Ranma's first grab but was tagged by the second. Protesting, he was dragged from the room, leaving Akane in relative peace. Outside the door, the ruckus went on. Ranma 's voice suddenly changed pitch, indicating his interaction with cold water. She almost hoped he had wound up in the pond so he could rejoin her in the bath. Her hand lay lightly on her chest revealing the pounding of her heart. It still raced at the thought of Ranma holding her and filling the aching emptiness within. Then she heard Shampoo and Mousse's voices added to Ranma's angry feminine tones. She quickly, almost roughly scrubbed off and slid into the tub. She had to be strong. Somehow, they would discover what was necessary to resolve Shampoo's honor and then… She hugged herself. That day couldn't come soon enough.
Outside, Ranma eyed the diminishing speck she had launched over Tokyo to the applause of a duck and a cat. She leaned back against the side of the house and wondered whether she should bless or curse the interruption. Akane had pushed all the right buttons, but now the body was wrong… or right. This body had experience and sensory memory now. She wondered how Akane felt and debated joining her in the furo after all. Certain parts of her body tingled invitingly at the thought. She turned.
Ranma glanced over at two of their guests in front of the garden shoji. Shampoo and Mousse were holding up signs with 6.0 and 5.8 respectively. She was momentarily shocked to see her young cat, Kiku, on the veranda behind them, sitting up and apparently applauding as well. She rubbed her eyes, opened them again and saw the calico cat washing herself with studied indifference. Debating whether she was hallucinating, Ranma was distracted when she heard Kasumi's light footsteps on the stairs and Soun's grumbling voice answering Ninomiya's sleepy query. What Kiku might or might not have been doing was disregarded in the realization that any personal privacy was out of the question. With that realization, she could remember the issue of Shampoo's honor without hormones blinding her. It also brought Ranma's self-image to the forefront. Her arms came up to cross over her breasts in an attempt to still the throbbing there. Her body reacted in a very feminine manner to the desire that raged within. In all honesty, it was very tempting to consider doing this again… and that, in and of itself, was terrifying.
While Shampoo and Mousse sought out the kitchen and hot water, Ranma sank down beside the koi pond and gazed into the misty waters. Numbly, she watched the fish, recently re-introduced to the pond, moving beneath the surface. Their gaping mouths disturbed the surface as they congregated, hoping to be fed. "Whatever happened to Ranma Saotome, man among men?" she asked quietly, feeling very alone. "How do I find me again?" She knelt there contemplatively while the koi lost interest, staring at the pretty redheaded reflection in the water. The outward rolling wave of heavy ki laid the grass flat and sent the koi scattering to the far side of the pond. "I-I want…" she whispered.
A warm hand broke through her misery. "Oh, my! For a moment, I thought Ryoga's curse had changed again." Kasumi smiled warmly as she lifted the hand from Ranma's shoulder and reached into the small bowl of fish food. Ranma listened as she broke into a light, almost wordless song and cast the flakes of fish food to the excited koi. The morning seemed to brighten. She heard Shampoo's cheery greeting to Soun and Ninomiya. Ranma watched the fish tumble over each other before again feeling the light touch of Kasumi's hand on her shoulder, a warmth that offered healing and balance. "Ranma, aren't you cold?" Kasumi asked. "Come back in the house. You know how Father is when you're like this." She offered him a kettle with her other hand. She lost a little of her smile when Ranma didn't immediately reach for it.
Ranma looked down at her bare breasts and towel-wrapped hips. "Kasumi… Why?"
Kasumi's face became concerned. She understood very well that Ranma wasn't simply referring to her present condition. "Why, Ranma?"
Ranma nodded and elaborated. "Why me?"
"If not you, who would it be? Akane?" Kasumi asked. Ranma frowned. The idea of Akane having a permanent Jusenkyo curse like hers was disturbing. "Ranma, I think you'll feel better once you use this hot water."
"Why?"
Kasumi blinked at her. "I'm sure Akane would appreciate it," she suggested, head tipping to one side. Ranma considered that and the sensations experienced earlier that morning in the bathroom made her blush, the fair skin of her body picking up the heat of passion and embarrassment.
"Why?" she said, not believing she had said that. Ranma knew very well 'why', but…
"She appreciates her handsome fiancé," Kasumi giggled. "It helps that you tell her you love her. Any girl appreciates that from the one she loves." She encouraged the petite redhead to her feet and toward the kitchen. "But I think it's also because she feels very protected and secure when you're a boy." She giggled and offered the kettle once more. "Oh, my! I haven't heard 'why?' so often since Akane asked why our mother had to leave us." She turned away as the change in size threatened to disrobe him.
He secured his towel self-consciously. "Sorry about that." He met her eyes and saw the tears.
"Ranma," Kasumi said, her voice gentle, "what you're really asking me is something I don't have an answer for." She stood there and Ranma realized she was wringing the hem of her apron. "The only advice I can give you is work from what you know, your Art, your honor and your heart. Build on that. Find some quiet time to talk with someone who really cares about you." She turned away. "But right now, you should get ready for school."
"But Kasumi…" he began. Akane's sister seemed to hold the mysteries of life in her words, taking on an aspect much like Baradandya Morisato's.
"Yes, definitely get ready for school," she repeated.
"Why?" he blurted, though that really hadn't been the question he had planned to ask.
Kasumi froze at that and rolled her eyes. "First, because you need a good education. Second, because you need another bath after dealing with Grandfather. Third…" she let her lips quirk in a decidedly un-Kasumi-ish expression, "because you are a handsome young man wearing only a towel and you're making me think decidedly un-sisterly thoughts."
He gulped as she turned back to the kitchen, humming. 'Kasumi?' He retreated toward the bathroom. "Sheesh! Was that Kasumi?" He bumped into Akane exiting the bath and received a blood-boiling kiss as they passed. His masculinity fortified by the sisters' dual opinions, he did as he was asked and prepared for this school day.
oOo
As they entered into the school grounds that morning, the noisy buzz of conversation died as they approached. It was a warm day that promised an early spring. Hiroshi and Daisuke spotted them first, and broke off an intense conversation with about a dozen guys to intercept them. Almost simultaneously, Yuka and Sayuri noticed Akane and Shampoo and waved silent a gossip ring they were participating in. The unofficial representatives of the male and female contingents of Furinkan students stepped up to face the martial artists just inside gates. "Easy, Ranma," the pigtailed martial artist murmured to himself.
Sayuri scowled as she realized she was now standing next to Hiroshi. She still had not forgiven him for the ninja episode. Daisuke and Yuka shrugged and linked hands comfortably in counterpoint. They all watched Ranma and Akane's faces with concern, searching for some clue for a starting point. As Sayuri and Hiroshi were a bit distracted by personal issues, and their friends didn't appear to be forthcoming, Yuka opened the conversation lamely. "Hi, Akane," Yuka began. "Uh… About Valentine's Day… It was kinda weird, wasn't it?"
Ranma and Akane's expressions changed to chagrin. "Kuso!" Ranma muttered. They looked at one another. Yuka was right! Friday had been Valentine's Day.
"With everything happening," agreed Akane, "I totally forgot." She turned to her friend. "What did you hear about it, Yuka?"
Yuka looked terribly embarrassed. She made several false starts and stared at Shampoo as if she couldn't decide what to say. A glance at Ryoga, who was holding hands with Ukyo, broke away in a blush and, finally, she couldn't say anything at all, at least not in this mixed company.
Daisuke took over. "So, you guys ran into those monsters that were running around Nerima last Friday?" At their nod, he looked distressed. "We, uh… heard they wanted to, um…" He looked at Ranma and swallowed dryly.
"I had one of those things grab me and demand I show him 'the redheaded one'." Hiroshi shuddered putting in his yen's worth. "He was scaly and had teeth like a shark. He said he was going to…" He gulped and looked ill. "Anyway, I pointed him toward the bay. He yelled that I was lying and that he was gonna kill me. That's when a truck drove by and he dropped me to start chasing the truck." He nodded to Ranma. "Was that you and Ukyo on the truck?"
"Actually, it was Ryoga with Ukyo, Gos, Mio and two other friends ya haven't met," Ranma informed him. "They were running a diversion while we… tried to fix things."
"See? I told you, Hiroshi," Sayuri growled, glaring at the boy who flinched at her tones. "That other story was just the sort of nonsense that only perverts, like certain people I know, could have thought up." Her subsequent red-eye made her former boyfriend groan in response to her not-so-subtle insinuations.
"I didn't start that story, Sayuri," he complained.
"Su-ure you didn't," Sayuri sweetly replied. "Well, I never saw anything particularly strange last weekend. Come on! Akane and Ranma in a ménage a trois with Ryoga? Ridiculous!"
Ryoga grabbed his nose at the thought. Ukyo stifled a chuckle and smacked him on the back of his head. "Yeah, like you could survive an experience like that," she whispered. He nodded in miserable agreement.
"Sayuri, you weren't even in town last week!" complained Hiroshi, beginning to get angry.
From the gates came a hollow laugh. "So the great Ranma Saotome got screwed."
Ranma's head swiveled and his blue eyes went dark. He had almost forgotten Kogara had been among the possessed on Friday. The dark circles under his former classmate's eyes and unkempt hair made him wonder for a moment if he had become repossessed by the oni. "Go home, Kogara. You don't belong here anymore."
"Who did the honors, pervert?" Kogara asked, ignoring him. "One of those oni things you dragged into school with you? Or did you find out what tentacle sex is like?" He sneered at them all as the loud popping of ligament over bone indicated tempers held in check. Ranma's face went white, remembering what nearly happened, then flushed red in rage.
Shampoo and Akane gasped, ducking away as his aura flared hot. This was a bit more reaction than the plan called for. Ranma's aura swirled then brightened and solidified, a feline image becoming dominant in its heat, ears flicking back, a semi-transparent tongue licking its muzzle. Kogara gulped and then recovered sneering, trusting to Ranma's control to continue to torment him.
That changed when a curious and alarming thing happened. Ranma's aura silvered and darkened, as the flicker of displacement was replaced with a layer of mist. Hot aura was suddenly replaced by cold. Moisture in the air became frozen and swirled as the air changed direction and sank, thrusting a foggy bank out in a widening circle about Ranma's feet. There was a crackle and pop as the pavement fractured with the sudden change of temperature. The feline aura became a chilly blue. Everyone backed up further, stepping away from the icy zone around the martial artist. Kogara promptly lost control of his bowels as he discovered the soles of his shoes were frozen to the sidewalk.
"Ranma!" Akane shrieked. She stepped into the frosted area, protecting herself with her own hot aura. Convection began to create a vortex between them. She was very glad she hadn't worn a skirt today. Her tone of voice broke Ranma's focus. He glanced aside to the dark-haired girl he loved, her hair lifting in the roaring updraft their auras created. "Ranma, he's not worth it," she told him, holding his gaze desperately. "You fought kami and oni to a standstill last week. Don't lose what we won over the likes of him." She edged closer, using her own aura to stave off wave after wave of cold. "Baka! Don't lose control," she whispered. "Hold on a little bit longer…"
(CRACKA-BOOOOOM!)
Everyone still loitering in the schoolyard found reasons to back up further. The towering form was clad in armor that looked like it was made out of bones and white fur. A bronze helmet with wickedly curving ram's horns and a closed visor covered the proportionately tiny head of the figure. A sword that looked like it would cut down a sequoia hung loosely in one hand. For a moment, it stood preternaturally still.
"Ranma Saotome." The voice sounded like something that might whisper out of a skull. Several shrill screams answered it as students decided this was simply not the way to start a Monday.
"Get everyone back, Akane," Ranma spoke quietly. His aura remained cold. "Wadja want?" All eyes turned back to the horrific figure just inside the school gates.
"All of your suitors are gone, Saotome," whispered that terrible voice.
"Really?" Ranma glided away from the students. "Then after I defeat you, it will all be over."
"Yes-s-s!"
"Sounds good to me. Let's dance."
The bone-armored being struck. The sword wailed as it cut through the air at Ranma, who slid aside from its path like smoke. Ranma leaped in striking and the being seemed to fade lithely away from his blows as if anticipating them. It struck again, a series of crossing blows that glanced sparking from hastily erected shields. Ranma was driven back by a speed and power that seemed to match his own. Then its other arm swept forward and a fireball burst forth. Ranma easily deflected the projectile into the air, using a modification of the Hiru Shoten Hai, where it went off like a bomb. His aura flared hot again and a duel that combined martial arts and ki pyrotechnics lit up the schoolyard.
As the battle raged, students were joined by other interested parties. Urudu and Baradandya came out, joined moments later by Nabiki and Sakurida then Mousse and Cologne. The latter pair took up positions beside Shampoo and Akane. Atsuko Natsume took one look at the raging battle and grimaced as her overrides kicked in. She grabbed Ryunosuke before he could protest and raced away. They heard a general scream from the crowd as the thing apparently tagged Ranma with some sort of attack.
Her little brother flushed with rage and fear that one of their friends would be hurt. "Put me down, Nuku! Go help Ranma!"
"You know I can't, little brother."
Ryunosuke said five rather uncommon words that dealt with politics, fishing, aeronautics, personal relationships and making ice cream. She stopped. "How did you find my back door, Ryu?" she asked.
"Does it matter? Don't you want to help Ranma? That thing's after him, not me."
The android nodded. "I'm gone." Ryunosuke covered his head with his arms as her churning feet kicked up divots of lawn.
The fight, however, was already over.
The bone-armored figure had cast aside its sword, perceiving that Ranma had been stunned by its last blow. As it towered above his crumpled form, water gushed from the lifted visor to drench Ranma and transform him to her. "You're mine!" it hissed. It leapt at the red-haired form before it.
At Ranma's apparent weakness, the other martial artists leapt forward to the rescue. Before they could reach the two, Ranma released a wave of force that seemed to explode like a bomb. Everyone flung themselves prone, Mousse whipping his robes about as he collapsed on top of the others, shielding them from debris. As the cloud of dust and smoke disappeared, Ranma, female but defiant, stood in the center of a crater and bits of bone littered the surroundings. The creature was nowhere to be seen. Akane flung herself forward to pull Ranma into an almost Amazonian glomp. "Owww…" was Ranma's first comment on the victory. Then, "Show's over, folks. Let's get to class before we all get bucket duty."
Nuku-Nuku slowed her rush to a trot, then to a walk. It seemed everything was under control. She was curious though and poked around a bit, picking up a piece of bone and sniffing it. She walked to the crater and found the sword. She hefted it with surprising deftness to anyone watching. She gazed thoughtfully at Ranma, Akane and Ryoga, and finally studied Mousse. Last into school, she continued to analyze her data as she stood outside her classroom, buckets in hand.
oOo
After ensuring Shampoo had her lunch, Mousse and Cologne left the Furinkan grounds and made for a convenient alley. With the matriarch on lookout and after scanning the area with his ki vision, Mousse shrugged, twisted and spilled two Amazon girls out of his sleeves. Ling-Ling and Lung-Lung groaned, stretched and patted themselves. "Nice catch, Mousse. It very strange sitting in ki pocket," said Ling-Ling.
"Lung-Lung think it like sensory deprivation. Could not feel or smell or see anything." She eyed Mousse. "How long we in there? After Ranma throw us at Mousse, it hard to tell time."
"About ten minutes," Cologne calculated as she hopped over. The twins exclaimed in surprise. It had evidently felt like much shorter. "Adequately done. Much more polished than that business with your dragon-mecha or that phoenix sign."
"Thank you, Great-grandmother," the twins chorused. "You think no one realize we on stilts in costume, then?"
"I'm just glad we had enough old bones to make that armor," Mousse sighed.
Lung-Lung swung her arm about. She had sat on her sister's shoulders, wielding the sword. "Ryoga's ki technique do good job make sword easy to swing, even on end of pole."
"Akane using Nekoken to cut sword very impressive," admitted Ling-Ling. "You sure learning Nekoken would be bad thing?"
"The benefits are far out-weighed by the problems, children," Cologne rasped. "Now let's get on with today. We have a business to run."
"You think Ranma okay, now?" Lung-Lung asked.
"He will be provided you two can keep your mouths shut," Cologne warned them. "I just hope no one realizes that your armor was made out of the old chicken, duck and pork bones from the Nekohanten's dumpster."
oOo
"Great fight, man!" Hiroshi slapped Ranma on the shoulder. "What was that thing?"
Ranma shrugged. "Who cares? I'm just glad it's all over."
"Eeuw! I wonder what sex with that thing would have been…"
"Drop it, guys!" Ranma half-rose and glared. His face saddened when they cringed away. "People got hurt this time. This wasn't a walk in the park." He looked bitter to their eyes.
"Who got hurt?" Daisuke asked. At the look on Ranma's face he asked more quietly, "Was someone killed?"
"No one you guys would know," Ranma answered sharply, thinking about the Phoenix Mountain male who had been foolish enough to try to grasp the Taochinpang's power. Cologne said she had contacted the Chinese Tengu again to return their 'hot water tap'. He looked across the room at Akane. She had one advantage over him in this. Ukyo and Shampoo backed her up and helped to interrupt or distract her interrogators when they got too aggressive or insistent. He saw her eyes glance across and hold his, and for a moment literally nothing else in the room existed.
"Yo! Ranma?" Hiroshi was waving a hand in front of his face. He jerked back and eyed his friend sharply. "You zoned out there, man."
"I did?" Ranma swallowed dryly. The one thing Ranma despised most in himself was loss of control. He was beginning to realize that what he had done with Akane on Friday was a major loss of control. Ranma looked up again to meet Akane's eyes and could tell she was wishing they were anywhere else.
Mrs. Morisato walked in, looked curiously at the group of students quizzing the martial artists and set down the stack of papers she carried with her on her desk. It was a testimony to everyone's curiosity that no one had intercepted her at the door to relieve her of her burden. Akane used her presence as an excuse and skipped over to her desk. Some of the fear of discovery was ebbing and she wanted to ask about a few things. "Good morning, Mrs. Morisato."
Now, Akane, this is English class, the teacher chided her with a smile. Greet me appropriately. Akane nodded and tried again.
Good morning, Mrs. Morisato. Your husband, Keiichi, well he is?
Keiichi, my husband, is well, Mrs. Morisato corrected her grammar slightly. The kobolds did no lasting harm. The teacher turned to Ranma. Ranma, could you please thank your mother? Sora Hasegawa is one of my dearest friends. It was very courageous of her to help Sora get to the Temple with her children.
Ranma frowned as he puzzled out her idiom. Of, course. Mother is…ichibam? Brave.
Try 'very brave' or 'bravest', Ranma, Mrs. Morisato suggested.
Thank you. My mother is very brave. Children, she would not in danger leave.
"You know you're going to have to tell us what happened, Ranma," Himoni called out good-naturedly.
Ranma winced. To escape the thought of the interrogations to come, Ranma pointed to the pile of papers. What are the papers?
Mrs. Morisato grinned, a cheerful look that took their breath away. A friend of mine draws manga. She's quite good at it. I've brought photocopies of one of her stories for you students to translate the Japanese into English. Then we'll see how that compares with what the professional translators at her publisher did with it. Ranma, Akane? Since you're right here, why don't you each take a stack and pass them out to your classmates. They quickly distributed the stacks of papers and sat down to review what they had.
Ranma looked curiously at the image of an angry young woman who appeared to be doing something similar to his Mouko Takabisha. He flipped a page. Unlike a lot of manga girls, she actually seemed normally developed instead of voluptuous, and pretty instead of stunningly gorgeous. Still, he had an uneasy feeling about this Lina Inverse and her companion, Gourry.
oOo
Because of the morning's events, the full force of the gossip and rumor was focused primarily around Ranma during the lunch recess. Instead of eating, gossip groups formed. The martial artists circulated to control the direction of the rumors.
"That was some fight this morning!" Dai enthused.
"Jeez! Watching you these days is like the middle of a fight scene in DBZ!" Hiroshi grinned. "What did you beat that thing with finally?"
Ranma shrugged. "I don't have a name for it yet."
"That's Ranma," Ukyo chuckled from her grill. "Innovate and win!"
"At least you didn't have to use the Saotome Secret Technique," snickered Asuko.
Ranma eyed him to see if he was being insulted then relaxed again. "Retreating when you're at a disadvantage is a legitimate tactical move," Ranma said a little defensively. He looked dissatisfied when nobody challenged him on that assertion.
Ryoga thumped him on the shoulder. "After that cold-cat aura you showed off this morning, I don't think anyone in their right mind is gonna argue with you." Ryoga showed a fang in a slight smile. "Kogara was definitely impressed."
Ranma gave Ryoga a faint smile, but couldn't hold it. He considered the result of this morning's ploy with some dissatisfaction. True he had fought his best and beyond over the last five days. All of them had. Was that what was wrong? Was it due to the fact he was getting undeserved credit? Finally he said, "I couldn't have done this without all of you, Ryoga."
Ryoga looked startled, caught off guard by the simple thank you. He thumped Ranma on the shoulder again. "Hey! Anytime, Ranma." Ukyo also looked up and smiled her thanks for the acknowledgement. Shampoo caught his eye with a worried expression and shook her head faintly.
Hiroshi looked puzzled. "Can you tell us what happened? I mean we saw the thing with the statue… And were they really trying to do… that… with your girl type?"
"Why was Kogara acting like you…" Daisuke shut up as Ranma fixed him with a look that froze his blood.
"Yeah, they wanted ta screw me as a girl." Ranma's voice was flat. "Kogara's just ticked 'cause he didn't get to do it."
"The pervert," growled Akane, who had been quiet till now. She leaned gently against Ranma's arm then laid her head on his shoulder for a second. Hiroshi and Daisuke lost track of their questions as they saw the obvious affection Akane felt for Ranma.
"Aw, man! And you're still gonna tell us ya haven't done it?" Dai whined. He froze as Akane eyed him unfavorably. He swallowed and backed up slowly.
"Though it's none of your business what we do, Daisuke, I want to make it clear that we have not ever violated Shampoo's honor. She is, in some ways, more a sister to me than my own sisters are. We cannot 'do it' until her honor is satisfied." She turned her gaze back to Ranma. "No matter how much we wish we could."
Shampoo was smiling cheerfully at this display, which left Ranma's friends at a loss on where to take the discussion from there. They retreated in confusion, leaving the five martial artists alone for a few moments.
"Woo! Shampoo thought Ranma going to have to get creative," the Amazon murmured. Ryoga looked puzzled.
"Remember Rychan?" Ukyo injected, drizzling sauce on one of her creations. "We weren't even going to mention what the demons wanted."
"Well, yeah! I understood that," Ryoga shrugged. "But everybody had a pretty good idea what those things wanted before we got here. What's the problem?"
Ranma tweaked Akane's nose. "I can't believe you told them we haven't done it with a straight face, tomboy." He 'urked' and shifted aside suddenly. Akane had pinched him.
"We haven't, baka! Not in any way that really counts," Akane blushed.
Ranma eyed her in disbelief then let it drop. He really didn't want to talk about it, but how could something that did that to him not count? They sat up straighter when Nabiki Kagazumi wandered by, eyed Shampoo then fixed her gaze on Ranma. "Ranma-san, can I talk to you for a moment?"
"What is it, Nabiki-san?"
"I just want a private word with you."
Akane frowned. "You and Kuno are getting along all right, aren't you, Nabiki?"
Nabiki looked startled then gave a slightly goofy grin. "Very well, thank you, Akane-chan,but why do you… Oh." She blushed. "I don't intend to poach, Akane."
"You better not," Akane told her in better humor. She nudged Ranma. "Go on, baka."
"Tomboy," he snorted. He rose to his feet and stepped aside with the ninja-girl. "Watcha want, Nabiki?"
"Ranma, about that monster you fought this morning…"
Ranma gulped. Why hadn't he thought of the other top martial artists at the school? Some of the ninja were getting pretty good — almost ready to try for ki vision. Had Nabiki seen through their ploy? "What about it?"
"You realize that thing was using Amazon-style Chinese Broadsword?"
Ranma didn't know what to say, so he punted. "You noticed?"
"Mousse-san looked like he was catching something when he threw himself on top of Shampoo and Cologne." She kept her face emotionless.
"Oh?" Ranma cursed silently. They couldn't afford more people finding out what was going on. "What do you think he caught?"
"I don't know. But I'm worried my sensei and friend might be trusting someone he shouldn't."
Ranma sighed. "Would it help if you knew that I know what he caught, that it was expected and that you don't need to worry?" He met her eyes and held them.
Nabiki went still and gazed back thoughtfully. "This is need-to-know, isn't it?" He nodded. "Are you okay, Ranma?" she asked quietly, concern tinting her voice.
He grinned, a little of his old cockiness resurfacing. "Ranma Saotome don't lose." 'I hope,' he added to himself.
As he walked with his friends toward the gates after school, he considered how everything had changed in the last three days. Certain repressed memories were his, again, including knowledge that two of his teachers were honest-to-kami goddesses. He and his friends had challenged demons and kami alike, and won, sort of. Hopefully, they had covered their tracks about how they had won. He didn't want either Akane or himself to face the speculation and gossip that would come if it became known that they had done the deed and in what manner. With any luck they could now put this behind them.
He felt the vibration in the ground before he detected the unusual aura Atsuko Natsume, better known in their circle as Nuku-Nuku, gave off.
"Hey, Ranma!" A voice disturbing like Ranma's as a girl, called from behind them. Akane, Shampoo, Natsume, Ukyo and Ryoga turned with him as the pretty strawberry-blond android raced up to them. "You have a minute?" Ranma glanced at Akane and then nodded and glided over.
Nuku sighed. It was too bad Ranma was taken. He was so very catlike that instinct and programming both spurred her to flirt at times. Fortunately, she was normally so physical that no one, including Ranma and Akane, had realized she was flirting. She grabbed Ranma's arm and dragged him over to where she had hidden the sword from the fight that morning. "Jeez, Nuku! Watcha want? Whoa!" She felt Ranma stiffen when she hoisted the heavy weapon.
"Look at this Ranma!" she said excitedly. She turned the sword right and left with deceptive ease. Ranma knew the thing weighed more than twenty kilos.
"Yeah! Heavy, isn't it?" If Ranma hoped his response would distract her, he was disappointed.
"Heavy?" Nuku blinked at the weapon and shrugged. "I suppose so… But that's not what's so interesting. It's made out of 440 Stainless. And the edge isn't ground on, it was cut onto the blade with something like a laser."
"Really?"
"Yes! And that's not all!" Nuku exclaimed. She wrenched at the leather wrapping the hilt. "The leather is fairly new – the way it is trimmed is very crude when compared with the sword itself. The tang of the sword is like a steak knife. There are two wooden plates, smoothed to fit a hand, glued to the tang. The wooden plates are also cut, not ground or sanded. The glue, by the way, is also modern." Ranma's mouth was flapping at her revelations. "Don't you find that strange?"
"Uh, yeah, Nuku. Real strange."
"And I found chicken bones at the crater. Do you think that thing's armor was made out of chicken bones? I think it was made out of chicken bones! Wouldn't it be funny, Ranma, if it was made out of chicken bones?" Nuku's eyes were wide at the possibility. "I mean… Shouldn't it have armor made out of human bones? It's supposed to be a demon, after all!"
"Uh…" Ranma looked desperately around. 'Akane!' he thought, but she was busy talking to Yuka and Sayuri. The latter was looking apologetic. 'She should be, after yakkin' like she did.' He jerked his attention back to the talkative android. "I guess fear is a matter of perspective. What if his armor had been made out of cat bones?"
Nuku-Nuku's mouth opened and she froze. Her eyes widened. "Oh, that's so gross!" Her hand clapped up to cover the orifice. Her eyes caught Ranma's accusingly. "Ugh! The very idea… Disgusting!"
"It's a matter of perspective," Ranma said, some of his confidence returning. "Maybe he was a demon that normally scared chickens?" He winced. Had he actually suggested that?
Nuku's mouth closed and she considered. "Huh… I didn't think of that. I guess you have a point." She ruffled her fingers back through her hair. "I guess I'm still trying to reprogram to accept the concept of demons and kami." She looked at the sword. "In light of that, it would make sense for it to carry a gigantic aberration of a Ginsu knife."
Ranma tried to avoid showing shock over the fact that she was buying the idea. "I… I guess."
"Want it?" she asked, holding the weapon toward him. "You martial artists do take trophies, right?"
Ranma took the sword from her. "Uhhh… Yeah, I guess," he repeated. 'Whew!' he thought. "Maybe Kasumi can use it ta cook an ostrich or somethin'…"
"Oh! If she does, can I come to dinner?" Nuku's eyes were wide and pleading. After all, it wasn't every day a cat had a chance at a bird that size.
Ranma sweated nervously. "Uhhh… sure…" he managed as he backed away to rejoin Akane for the trip home. "I'll let her know… if we ever… uh… cook one."
Nuku skipped in place, purring, then lunged to give the so-so nice person a hug. "You are so nice, Ranma! I…" She stopped realizing there was a large hole in the air. "Ranma?" She glanced around then recalled the Nekoken. "Aw… Must've had a relapse." Turning, she moved to seek out her brother, resuming her purring at the thought of a huge roast ostrich. "Poor guy," she thought wistfully. "But then his life could drive anyone crazy."