Insert Self Here
Chapter Six
First Day in Nerima
***
"Come on, Pop!" Ranma chided as he backflipped from another obvious kick. "I'm not even trying hard!"
Ranma's older and (arguably) wiser father gave his son an irritated glare, before taking on his son a bit harder. As both combatants collided in midair over the koi pond, Genma was able to get in a hit, sending his unfortunate son spiraling for the water below him.
With a mighty splash, an angry and irate Ranma became an angry and irate female Ranma. The boy-turned-girl was about to beat up her father, proving who the better martial artist was, but the older man spoke up.
"Ah, that's enough sparring for today," Genma said, content at having shown his son that he was still the better fighter. "It's about time for some breakfast."
Ranma growled, but relented to the end of the match. She wasn't one to argue with food.
Akane, watching from the living room, was amazed by the match. She didn't like Ranma and his father all that much, but she had to admit they were both fairly good martial artists.
Nearby, Ryoga sat at his place at the table. He had been sitting there for about an hour, not moving for fear of getting lost. At least his spot gave him a good view of the fight, though he was disappointed in its early ending. And its outcome. Ryoga didn't even make a pretense at liking Genma.
Kari, in contrast to everybody else sitting in the room, hadn't even watched the fight. She was tired, though she tried hard not to show it. The night before, she had only gotten a few hours of sleep. That night had been horrible. After agreeing to share Akane's room, Kari had thrown in her pack and stretched out in a nice empty spot on the floor, ready for a night's sleep. But Akane had thought the floor wasn't a place for a young girl like Kari to sleep, and offered up her own bed. Kari had refused, of course, but Akane then moved down from the bed and onto the floor.
"If you won't sleep there, it'll just go without being used." That's what Akane had said. But Kari could see Akane wasn't used to sleeping on the floor. It certainly wasn't hard compared to the rock or dirt of the outdoors, where Kari had sometimes slept, but Akane was used to a nice mattress. So they compromised to sharing the bed.
Kari remained awake most of the night, painfully aware of the girl she was turned away, sleeping peacefully. Stupid Akane, had to go and make things hard on her.
Kari snapped out of her reverie when she noticed Ranma and Genma taking their places at the table. Soun nodded to his friend before going back to the paper, and Nabiki sat next to her father, a manipulative look on her face.
"That was a great show Ranma, Mr. Saotome," Kasumi said as she entered the room, carrying in the food from the kitchen.
"Thanks," Ranma muttered half-heartedly, while his father remained completely silent.
Breakfast was a silent affair. Ranma was feeling a bit down from his loss to his father, Kari was tired, Genma was busy eating, Soun was reading the paper, and the others were all left with nothing to talk about. Once the meal was finished, Kasumi began to clear the table of the dishes.
"I'll help, Kasumi," Kari piped up.
"Me, too," Ranma volunteered, after seeing Kari offer her help. Besides, she was a girl at the moment, so it didn't matter.
"I'm afraid Kasumi will have to do without you two this morning," somebody said.
Kari and Ranma realized that it was Genma who had spoken. "Why do you say that?" the blue-haired girl asked.
"I have something to discuss with you two, and Ryoga, too." Genma looked seriously at the trio.
"Thank you for the offer," Kasumi mentioned as she continued with the dirty dishes into the kitchen.
Kari felt bad that she wasn't able to help out Kasumi, but she was curious to hear what Genma had to say. It was obvious that Ryoga and Ranma, too, were curious. All three teens were leaning toward Genma, who was sitting back with his arms crossed.
"I've been giving this some serious thought," Genma began, looking at the three he was addressing in turn. "And I have reached a decision."
"What's that?" Ryoga asked.
"You'll all be going to school."
Silence greeted him...
"What do you mean, school?!"
Until the information sunk in.
"Just what I said," Genma continued. "We'll be staying here for a while. It's quite possible we'll spend years here, as you'll inherit this dojo one day, Ranma." The older man looked at his son, then turned to Ryoga and Kari. "And since you two insist on staying with us instead of heading home, that means you two'll be here a while as well. I did talk with Soun last night, and he agreed to let you two stay as well, but you must all attend school while you're here."
"School?" Ryoga complained. "Kari and I've studied a bit on the road, sure, but going to school?" He wasn't sure if he was up to it, truth be told.
"I've got no problems with it," Kari said with a shrug. Besides, everything interesting happened at school. Especially when you attended Furinkan High School. Then, with a sudden realization, it struck Kari that she wouldn't be attending Furinkan, she would still be in her last year of Junior high School. She cursed mentally.
"Dang it, Pop, why do I still have to go to school?" Ranma just plain didn't want to go to school.
Nabiki smiled as she passed the trio on her way out the door. "Because you'll never get anywhere without school, Ranma." She smiled as she exited the room, before quickly sticking her head back in. "You'll be heading to the same school as Akane and me, so hurry up, you wouldn't want to keep your fiancé waiting." Then she left for real.
Akane was hurrying after her sister. "Nabiki, wait for me!"
"Hey!" Ryoga called after her. "If you leave, we won't have any way to get to school!"
Akane cursed her luck before stopping at the door. Turning on her heel, she leveled a glare at the two boys. "Well, hurry up!"
***
Four teens walked on their way to school. Akane walked in the front, occasionally turning a glare to her right, where Ranma, once again male, was walking along the top of a fence separating the street from a canal. He was dressed in his usual red and black Chinese outfit. In fact, Akane was the only one wearing a school uniform. Ryoga was dressed in his usual outfit, minus his travelling pack, though he still carried his umbrella. Kari, too, was dressed in her usual lime green outfit.
"When we get to school, we don't know each other," Akane said angrily, directing her comment at Ranma.
"Why is that?" Ryoga asked naively.
Akane sighed. "Because I don't want everybody to know I'm engaged."
"Then you can just say he's a friend of the family," Kari interjected. "That way nobody will know, and you can still talk to each other." It was a simple solution, really.
Akane nodded. "Fine." She turned to look at Ranma. "Just don't go saying anything you're not supposed to."
Ranma snorted derisively. "Like I'm that dumb." He could play along, if that's what they wanted.
"Whatever," Akane muttered, turning her attention away from Ranma, simply staring ahead of her.
Kari felt happy about the situation so far. Things seemed to be going well.
Then she got splashed by the ladle lady, and her mood darkened. Stupid old people.
***
Kari was nearly dry as the four approached Furinkan High School. However, Akane's mood turned darker and moodier. Finally, as the gates of Furinkan appeared in sight, she gave out a war cry. "I hate boys!" The other three stared as Akane ran toward the school and straight into a large crowd of boys who were gathered in the courtyard.
"What's going on?" Ranma asked as Akane began to attack the large crowd.
Kari remembered this part, vaguely. "It looks like there's a bunch of boys trying to beat her up. Looks like she's used to it, too."
"Should we jump in?" Ryoga asked. On one hand, it looked as though Akane could handle this group quite well. But it didn't settle well with him to leave an acquaintance fighting a large group of attackers alone, especially as Akane was a girl.
Kari thought much the same thing. "Damn it, I'm not just going to sit here and leave her to fight by herself." As far as Kari saw it, just because Akane could handle it doesn't mean she shouldn't get any help. She leapt forward into the fray, landing a quick snap kick to a baseball player's jaw as he was bringing back his bat. She turned to her next victim without pausing to see how the baseball player was; she hadn't hit him that hard, after all.
Akane's fight was over in approximately eight seconds. Having three martial artists like Ranma, Ryoga, and Kari backing up the already-devastating Akane meant nothing but injury to her attackers.
"I didn't need your help, you know," Akane mentioned. She couldn't help but feel a little angry; after all, she had handled those boys quite well for weeks before Ranma and the others ever set foot in Nerima.
"But that doesn't mean we can't help you out anyway," Kari piped up. "It's not like a duel, there's no reason not to have some backup. It just gets things over with much quicker."
Ryoga nodded solemnly. "We knew you could handle it, but it doesn't seem right to leave a friend fighting alone against a large group like that."
Akane could understand that, at some level, and was about to say something to that nature, when her speech was cut off before it began by a rose flying toward her, though the rose itself was deflected by an object that suddenly appeared in its path.
Ryoga lowered his umbrella. "Who the hell are you?"
A fair distance away, underneath a large tree, a boy appearing to be a year or so older than Ryoga snorted. He was dressed in a traditional kendo outfit, minus the protective gear. Billowing hakama and loose open shirt was matched with the bokken in his hand. "Plebian, who do you think you are to interrupt the duel between my fair tigress and those who admire from afar?"
It took a second for Ranma and Ryoga to translate that in their heads, but Kari was quicker. She read Shakespeare. "I hardly think what they did counts as 'admiring from afar,' and that wasn't much a duel." Kari gave an even glare to the noble-sounding boy. "You must be Tatewaki Kuno. I've heard that you're a nutcase, but you're worse than I thought if you allow this. No real martial artist just allows this stuff to go on." The girl was pleased with her impromptu tirade, it really made her sound quite dignified.
Kuno laughed. "I see my reputation proceeds me. Now, what are your names, curs, so that the great Blue Thunder of Furinkan High School may know those he smites."
Ranma was the first to speak. "My name's Ranma Saotome, of the Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts." The boy tossed his school bag, given to him by his idiotic father, onto the ground.
Ryoga twirled his umbrella in his left hand, still holding his own school bag in his right. "Ryoga Hibiki."
Kari smirked a bit, realizing just how outclassed Kuno was in this fight. "Kari Umikage, heir to the Umikage line of warriors." She left out the ninja bit, that would likely start the samurai-admiring Kuno on a rant against ninjas.
Kuno smirked, raising his bokken into the air. "I saved my introduction for last, as is only fitting for a warrior of my stature. I am the rising star of the high school kendo world, whose name strikes fear into those whom muster my distaste. I am known as Tatewaki Kuno, age seventeen, the Blue Thunder of Furinkan High!" Somewhere in the background, a bolt of lightning flashed across the sky.
Ryoga snorted. "Blowhard."
Kuno heard the remark. "Cur! You dare belittle the noble name of Kuno?" Kuno leveled his bokken at the bandana-clad boy. "Have at thee!"
Ranma, Ryoga, Kari, and Akane were all standing in a loose group, but they were far enough apart that they immediately recognized that Ryoga, alone, was the target of Kuno's attack. The bokken-wielding boy started with a quick slash to the side, which Ryoga easily blocked with his umbrella.
"A lot of talk, but no skill to back it up." Ryoga was smiling; taunting Kuno was fun.
Kuno growled, but gave no reply except for a few more quick slashes, the first few Ryoga simply blocked, and the last of which Ryoga leaped over, landing behind Kuno. The foolish kendoist felt a horrible pain across his back as Ryoga's bamboo umbrella connected, sending him flying almost ten feet, until the wall surrounding Furinkan stopped his flight. He didn't move the crater his impact made.
"I was expecting better," Ryoga commented, placing the tip of his umbrella on the ground and leaning on it.
Kari scowled. "Damn it, I wanted to put that arrogant jerk in his place!"
Ranma had a matching scowl. "Yeah, ya jerk!"
Akane was in shock. "He beat Kuno so easily! Only one blow!"
***
In her classroom, Nabiki was thinking much the same thing. "One blow! One blow, and he beat Kuno!" Realizing something else, Nabiki came close to pulling out her hair. "And I didn't collect any bets! No money made, plus everybody knows how strong he is. Nobody'll bet against him now!" She felt close to the verge of tears.
***
"It looks like it's gonna rain," Kari commented, looking toward the sky.
"We'd better get inside, then," Ryoga said quickly, heading toward the school.
Ranma shrugged and followed, but Akane didn't.
"Wait!" she cried.
Ranma and Ryoga stopped, turning toward the girl. "Yeah?" they asked simultaneously.
Akane paused, blinking at the synchronized response, before continuing. "What about Kari? The middle school is almost a mile away, she'll never make it before the rain."
Kari ran that over in her mind. "Well, that sucks." It was going to rain in less than a minute, that didn't give her much time to make it there. She wasn't sure if even she could run quite that fast.
"She can come with us today, I'm sure they won't mind," Ryoga replied. "But let's just hurry, before we all get wet."
The four, content with Ryoga's decision, rushed inside, barely avoiding the sudden downpour. Akane led the three others to her classroom just as the late bell rang.
"Cutting it close, Ms. Tendo," the teacher, a man in his mid-thirties, droned. He paused when looking at her companions. "I was only informed of two new students, not three."
"I'm sorry," Kari said, bowing politely, "but I was walking with my friends before heading off to middle school, but the sudden rain caught me off guard. I was hoping you wouldn't mind if I sat in today."
The teacher seemed confused, but he accepted the story, as it was raining. Besides, she was so polite. "All right, you can have a seat toward the back."
Kari bowed again, then followed the teachers directions.
"As for you two," the teacher continued, turning to Ranma and Ryoga, "you have to introduce yourselves to the class."
"Ranma Saotome, heir to the Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts."
A few kids recognized the Anything Goes style as Akane's, and a few others speculated if he was anywhere near as good as that Ryoga kid, whom had been seen by most of the students there beating Kuno.
Said fanged boy took his spot in the front of the class. "Ryoga Hibiki, self-taught martial artist and a better fighter than Ranma."
Ranma snorted, but didn't reply. He was used to Ryoga's usual barbs.
"You two can take any empty seats," the teacher said, realizing the two were finished.
Ranma nodded and took a conveniently empty seat next to Akane. Ryoga took a different conveniently vacant seat, this one next to Kari in the back.
The teacher started his class, English, with no further ado. He didn't make sure Ranma and Ryoga knew what he was talking about; as far as he was concerned, he would continue class as usual. Ranma had a hard time staying awake through the class, as he knew virtually nothing of English. Ryoga and Kari, however, had a very easy time with the class.
"I didn't know you knew English," Ryoga mentioned.
"You never asked," Kari replied with a shrug. "I never knew that you could speak English either."
Ryoga gave a sheepish grin. "I've been to America, I had to pick it up."
Kari doubted that. He'd probably just wandered onto an American military base in Japan, most likely. But, then again, Ryoga had known Chinese as well, and that was harder to explain...
First period was finished without incident, and the bell rang for break. The teacher packed up his supplies and left the classroom as the students stood and walked over to their friends, chatting amiably.
Ryoga and Kari continued sitting, not feeling the need to chat with Ranma or Akane. They were quizzing each other on English. They had been doing it for a few minutes, to pass the time through English class, which was far below either of their levels. However, they stopped when two figures approached their desks. Said two figures also weren't Ranma or Akane, they noticed, but two girls neither of them knew.
"Hello," one of the girls, with light brown hair pulled into a small ponytail to the side, like what Kodachi would have, except shorter.
"You're Akane's new house guests, right?" the other girl, with long dark brown hair, asked.
"Erm, hello, and yes?" Kari said uncertainly, replying to both of them.
"Oh, we didn't introduce ourselves," the one with lighter hair gasped. "I'm sorry. My name's Sayuri."
"Yuka," the other girl said, smiling. "What're your names?"
Ryoga and Kari simply gave their names, after which Sayuri and Yuka took seats on top of Kari and Ryoga's desks, beginning to create small talk. Kari wondered if Ranma ever had to put up with this stuff.
Ranma sweated as Hiroshi and Daisuke, again, tried to pry information about Akane out of Ranma. Akane had told people that Ranma, Ryoga, and Kari were living with her, without mentioning anything about the engagement. Ranma briefly wondered what kind of questions they would ask if they knew that, and was glad they hadn't found that out.
But still, these kind of questions...
"Pervert," Akane muttered.
Everybody jumped as the door slammed open, revealing an intimidating man with a military buzz cut. As he glared at the now silent group of the students, the bell beginning the next class rang. Everybody jumped to their seats as Kari stared openly at the man. "This guy... can't be our teacher, can he?"
Her suspicions were confirmed when the man walked up to the board. "I hear we have some new students," the man began in a gruff voice. "I intend to see just how well you've learned math before Furinkan." He immediately picked out the new students. After all, they weren't even wearing uniform.
The rest of the class sighed in relief as they realized they would be spared, for a while anyway.
The man turned to the blackboard. Picking up a piece of chalk, he quickly jotted down an equation. "Solve for x in this equation." He turned around and pointed a finger at Ranma. "You do this."
Unfortunately, Ranma's snoring must have been too loud for him to hear the teacher's order.
The teacher growled and promptly beaned Ranma in the head with an eraser, waking up the slumbering boy.
"Huh? What?" Ranma seemed confused.
"You, hall, now."
Ranma drooped his shoulders and trudged out the door.
"Maybe you'll give me a better answer, girl," the teacher growled, looking at Kari.
"Me?" Kari asked.
"Yes, you," the math teacher replied. He obviously didn't realize that Kari wasn't actually part of the class.
Shrugging and deciding not to bother explaining, Kari simply answered the question. "Five." The question was simple algebra, she didn't even need the calculators that most of the class was employing.
The math teacher was taken back slightly, but easily recovered. "Correct." He quickly erased the problem and replaced it with a new one. "How about this question, for the boy sitting next to you?"
The class continued like that. The teacher would continually come up with newer, more difficult questions for Kari and Ryoga to answer, picking only them and nobody else. Ryoga did fairly well, and Kari only missed one. The period was almost over when a sudden shout came from right outside the classroom door.
"Never! I shall not allow it!"
Kari recognized the voice as Kuno's. She groaned; things only went downhill from here.
"Allow what, Kuno?" came Ranma's voice. By now everybody, even the teacher, were curious. Most students were out of their seats, rushing over to the sliding panels between the classroom and hallway.
"This farce of your engagement to Akane Tendo!"
That's when all hell broke loose. The students crammed into the hallway, shouting questions, while Ranma and Akane vainly tried to protest the accusations. "It was our parents!" "We didn't do nothin'!"
Then Ranma was forced to backflip as Kuno slashed downward. He almost landed atop a group of students. "Jeez, Kuno!" Ranma complained. "This ain't no place to fight. Follow me!"
Kuno placed his bokken on his shoulder. "Lead on, cur, I'll allow you to choose your grave."
Ranma ran off, Kuno on his heels, just as Ryoga and Kari managed to muscle their way through the crowd.
"They're getting away!" a student shouted, prompting all of them to run after the Saotome boy and his upperclassman. Ryoga and Kari were at the front, making sure Ranma stayed in sight.
That's when Ranma stopped by an open window. "This way, Kuno!" He leapt out the window.
"I follow!" Kuno shouted, leaping out after Ranma.
"You idiot, this is the third floor!" Akane screamed from right behind Kari.
"That fool, there's a pool down there," Kari muttered, leaning out the window.
Ranma noticed that as well. "Oh, no!" He braced himself for impact, but was somehow diverted at the last second.
"How'd he do that?" one of the students asked in awe. He looked like he was going to hit that pool dead-on!
"I think Kuno's out cold," another student remarked.
Kari and Ryoga rushed down, taking the normal route via the stairs.
***
"Damn, that was close," Ranma muttered, glaring at the pool with hatred. If that thing hadn't knocked him out of the way in time, he would be a wet redhead and the world would know about his curse.
"You're one lucky bastard," Ryoga said as he approached his friend, rival, whatever. "You almost ended up telling the entire school about your curse."
Ranma scowled. "I know, Ryoga."
Kari smiled. "Well, you didn't, so it's a moot point, eh?"
Ranma shrugged. "I guess."
"Let's go back to class," Ryoga piped up. "We still got a lot of school left."
The trio walked back into the building, leaving Kuno floating face-down in the pool.
***
School was relatively painless for the remainder of the day. No more annoyances from Kuno, which slightly irked Ranma and Kari, actually, as neither had a chance to pound him. The schoolwork was easy for Kari, slightly less so for Ryoga, and Ranma slept through classes except when forced awake. Kari did, of course, reveal that she wasn't part of the class, and that caught most of the teachers off guard. They assumed she was just a young-looking high school student.
"I wish," Kari grumbled at that thought as she trudged back to the Tendo Dojo with Ranma, Ryoga, and Nabiki. Akane had stayed behind to talk with her friends, so the trio left with Nabiki instead. Nabiki was mostly silent, though, leaving the three to talk amongst themselves.
Ranma looked toward Ryoga. "So, lost boy, have fun today?"
Ryoga twirled around his umbrella absently. "It wasn't as bad as I thought. Kari and I have gone over a lot of it before."
"Yep," Kari said with a smile. "I told you it'd come in handy, Padfoot."
"Padfoot?" piped Nabiki. She had been listening to their conversation, and that caught her interest in particular.
"It's a nickname," Ryoga explained. "Kari insisted on calling me that, for some reason. I think it's the name of some guy in a book."
"Righty-o," Kari replied.
That's when they reached the Tendo Dojo. The group stopped chatting as they took off their shoes in the entrance, calling "We're home!" to whoever was in the house.
Nabiki headed upstairs, walking past a solemn Soun and Genma. Kari, Ranma, and Ryoga started heading toward the back porch. "Girl," Genma spoke as Kari passed, causing the group to pause.
"What is it?" Kari asked, turning toward the elder Saotome.
Genma looked serious. "We have something to discuss with you."
Ranma could tell something was up, so he did what any man would do. "Catch ya later, Kari." He immediately took upstairs, to go check out his room, or something.
Ryoga shrugged and followed, giving an apologetic grin to Kari as he did so.
"Bastards," the girl mumbled under her breath. Turning back toward the two older men, Kari sat down at the table. "So, what's the deal?"
Genma cleared his throat. "We got a call today."
Kari was confused. Who would call, and about her no less?
"From Furinkan," Soun clarified. "You were, apparently, there today?"
"Yeah," Kari replied. "It was raining in the morning, and it seemed kind of useless to leave in midday."
"We gathered as much," Genma said. "But several teachers called, and they want you to stay in their class."
"What?" Kari asked, unsure if she heard the man right.
"They want you to skip your last year of middle school," Soun replied, "and attend Furinkan High School. I realize it'll probably be a difficult decision, but it is a great opportunity."
"I'll do it," the young ninja said quickly. "Is that all you needed?"
The Tendo father blinked. "Er, I suppose."
"So I can just go to Furinkan tomorrow?"
Genma nodded. "They did say they'd get it done, so I imagine you don't have to worry about much."
"Great, then!" the girl replied, smiling. "I'm gonna go beat up the boys. See you two later!" She walked up the stairs, looking like a predatory cat stalking its prey.
"That was simple," Genma said. "I thought you said it'd be hard?"
"I thought it would be," Soun explained. "Most kids don't like skipping grades. Keeps them away from their peers, and all that."
Genma nodded. "Well, her peers are Ranma and Ryoga, so it makes sense."
"I suppose." Soun thought about it, and it made sense.
Genma cracked a smile. "Another game of shougi?"
"Yes, let's."
***
Kasumi was humming a song to herself as she chopped vegetables for dinner when she caught two figures flying through the backyard. She recognized Ranma and Ryoga's silhouettes, as well as Kari's when the girl leapt after the two. A shout of "Traitors!" wafted in through the air.
Kasumi smiled. They were such good friends!
***
Kari felt odd. She knew she should be excited, really, now officially attending Furinkan High School, but she couldn't muster the energy to be properly excited. As she trudged along to school with Ranma, Ryoga, and Akane, she wished that she could, you know, sleep in a different room. Without a girl in the same bed.
She claimed to still be a guy inside, but look how much her psyche was dissimilar to that of an average boy's.
"Wait a minute, guys," Akane said, halting the group.
"What's the hold up?" Ranma asked.
"Kasumi asked us to return these books, remember?" Akane held up said books, a few miscellaneous books dealing with Chinese medicine. She hadn't wanted to take them, but Kari insisted, as she wanted to meet Dr. Tofu.
The four entered Dr. Tofu's clinic, a normal-looking establishment with a sign in front, claiming moxibustion, chiropractic care, and other forms of medical relief. Kari glanced around the spacious interior. It appeared like any other medical facility, except perhaps with the noticeable lack of a secretary, which most any medical place would have.
"Nice place," Ranma commented.
"Yeah," Kari agreed, turning around to face Dr. Tofu and his skeleton just as the bony hand reached for her shoulder. "Hello, doctor."
Dr. Tofu chuckled. "Caught me in the act, did you?"
"I didn't even notice you," Ryoga said. "You're pretty good."
Akane looked over to her companion. "Of course he is." She handed Dr. Tofu the books. "Here you are, sir."
Dr. Tofu smiled, moving Betty to one arm and taking the books with his free hand. "Thank you, Akane." He glanced at her companions. "Might I ask who your friend are?"
"Oh!" Akane blushed as she realized she hadn't even introduced them. "These are Ranma, Ryoga, and Kari."
The three waved as they were mentioned in turn.
Akane motioned toward the young doctor. "And this is Dr. Tofu."
"I'm sure we'll have time to chat later," the doctor said amiably, "but you should get going, or you might be late."
"See you later, Dr. Tofu!" Akane called, waving as she left.
"Bye," Ranma mumbled, waving. Ryoga followed suit, and Kari simply waved before disappearing from sight.
***
And so Kari made her way to Furinkan High School, ready to face any challenged that came her way. But would she truly be ready when her first great challenge comes?
Next time: Delinquent Duo, Mikado and Azusa Arrive!
***
End Chapter Six
To be continued...
***
Author's Notes: Whee, such a long time between updates. Blame many things, such as my seeing a play, my going to Disney, AP exams, and my recent addiction to Langriesser, a video game you're all better off not playing, unless you want to waste your lives away. I curse my friend who gave me the game, and you know who you are. Oh, and in this chapter, Ryoga's nickname is, indeed, from Harry Potter.
On another note, let's move onto Naze Nani ISH, where we (by we, I mean just me) will explain ki techniques, since I have nothing better to do. Even though they haven't really even made an appearance, but oh well.
Ki (which is the same thing as qui, chi, chakra, and the myriad of other names for it) is the internal energy produced by the body. Using meditation or breathing techniques increases the build-up of ki, but overall it's a natural body mechanic to build up ki. Martial artists develop their limit on ki like a muscle, by exercising their ki, by using it often.
Ki travels through the body in ducts, the main ones being called the inner coil system. This isn't stolen from Naruto, BTW, it's from texts on meditation. Anyway, these ducts are invisible, just as ki is, unless expelled with enough force to create visible energy.
In ki techniques, there are four different classifications of techniques.
Enhancement: Also called Augmentation, this is done by almost all martial artists to some level. Using their ki to enhance their body. It makes them stronger, faster, better. Sometimes special techniques can be used for even better versions of normal enhancements; super bursts of speed, for example, even though they normally don't move that fast.
Projection: Generic ki blasts fall under this category. Basically, projecting ki in its raw form. Examples include the Shishi Hokodan, the Mouko Takabisha, Goku's Kamehameha, and Ryu's Hadoken. Simple, yet effective. Not really all that versatile, though.
Manipulation: This involves using ki to manipulate material things. Ryoga's Bukusai Tenketsu is an example, Ryoga using his ki to explode rocks (material things.) Kurama, from Yu Yu Hakusho, manipulates plants using energy, so that would fall under this category as well.
Materialization: Any form of conversion of ki to another form is considered materialization. Forming fire or electricity, an energy conversion, falls under this, as well as any sort of actual materialization using ki. Examples include Kyo's fire abilities, and other stuff like that.
And thusly, Naze Nani ISH ends. With not a bang, but a whimper. Yeah. Anyway, see you next time! I hope...
***
EternallyLost
spiffystudios@hotmail.com
http://www.fanfiction.net/~eternallylost
Chapter Six
First Day in Nerima
***
"Come on, Pop!" Ranma chided as he backflipped from another obvious kick. "I'm not even trying hard!"
Ranma's older and (arguably) wiser father gave his son an irritated glare, before taking on his son a bit harder. As both combatants collided in midair over the koi pond, Genma was able to get in a hit, sending his unfortunate son spiraling for the water below him.
With a mighty splash, an angry and irate Ranma became an angry and irate female Ranma. The boy-turned-girl was about to beat up her father, proving who the better martial artist was, but the older man spoke up.
"Ah, that's enough sparring for today," Genma said, content at having shown his son that he was still the better fighter. "It's about time for some breakfast."
Ranma growled, but relented to the end of the match. She wasn't one to argue with food.
Akane, watching from the living room, was amazed by the match. She didn't like Ranma and his father all that much, but she had to admit they were both fairly good martial artists.
Nearby, Ryoga sat at his place at the table. He had been sitting there for about an hour, not moving for fear of getting lost. At least his spot gave him a good view of the fight, though he was disappointed in its early ending. And its outcome. Ryoga didn't even make a pretense at liking Genma.
Kari, in contrast to everybody else sitting in the room, hadn't even watched the fight. She was tired, though she tried hard not to show it. The night before, she had only gotten a few hours of sleep. That night had been horrible. After agreeing to share Akane's room, Kari had thrown in her pack and stretched out in a nice empty spot on the floor, ready for a night's sleep. But Akane had thought the floor wasn't a place for a young girl like Kari to sleep, and offered up her own bed. Kari had refused, of course, but Akane then moved down from the bed and onto the floor.
"If you won't sleep there, it'll just go without being used." That's what Akane had said. But Kari could see Akane wasn't used to sleeping on the floor. It certainly wasn't hard compared to the rock or dirt of the outdoors, where Kari had sometimes slept, but Akane was used to a nice mattress. So they compromised to sharing the bed.
Kari remained awake most of the night, painfully aware of the girl she was turned away, sleeping peacefully. Stupid Akane, had to go and make things hard on her.
Kari snapped out of her reverie when she noticed Ranma and Genma taking their places at the table. Soun nodded to his friend before going back to the paper, and Nabiki sat next to her father, a manipulative look on her face.
"That was a great show Ranma, Mr. Saotome," Kasumi said as she entered the room, carrying in the food from the kitchen.
"Thanks," Ranma muttered half-heartedly, while his father remained completely silent.
Breakfast was a silent affair. Ranma was feeling a bit down from his loss to his father, Kari was tired, Genma was busy eating, Soun was reading the paper, and the others were all left with nothing to talk about. Once the meal was finished, Kasumi began to clear the table of the dishes.
"I'll help, Kasumi," Kari piped up.
"Me, too," Ranma volunteered, after seeing Kari offer her help. Besides, she was a girl at the moment, so it didn't matter.
"I'm afraid Kasumi will have to do without you two this morning," somebody said.
Kari and Ranma realized that it was Genma who had spoken. "Why do you say that?" the blue-haired girl asked.
"I have something to discuss with you two, and Ryoga, too." Genma looked seriously at the trio.
"Thank you for the offer," Kasumi mentioned as she continued with the dirty dishes into the kitchen.
Kari felt bad that she wasn't able to help out Kasumi, but she was curious to hear what Genma had to say. It was obvious that Ryoga and Ranma, too, were curious. All three teens were leaning toward Genma, who was sitting back with his arms crossed.
"I've been giving this some serious thought," Genma began, looking at the three he was addressing in turn. "And I have reached a decision."
"What's that?" Ryoga asked.
"You'll all be going to school."
Silence greeted him...
"What do you mean, school?!"
Until the information sunk in.
"Just what I said," Genma continued. "We'll be staying here for a while. It's quite possible we'll spend years here, as you'll inherit this dojo one day, Ranma." The older man looked at his son, then turned to Ryoga and Kari. "And since you two insist on staying with us instead of heading home, that means you two'll be here a while as well. I did talk with Soun last night, and he agreed to let you two stay as well, but you must all attend school while you're here."
"School?" Ryoga complained. "Kari and I've studied a bit on the road, sure, but going to school?" He wasn't sure if he was up to it, truth be told.
"I've got no problems with it," Kari said with a shrug. Besides, everything interesting happened at school. Especially when you attended Furinkan High School. Then, with a sudden realization, it struck Kari that she wouldn't be attending Furinkan, she would still be in her last year of Junior high School. She cursed mentally.
"Dang it, Pop, why do I still have to go to school?" Ranma just plain didn't want to go to school.
Nabiki smiled as she passed the trio on her way out the door. "Because you'll never get anywhere without school, Ranma." She smiled as she exited the room, before quickly sticking her head back in. "You'll be heading to the same school as Akane and me, so hurry up, you wouldn't want to keep your fiancé waiting." Then she left for real.
Akane was hurrying after her sister. "Nabiki, wait for me!"
"Hey!" Ryoga called after her. "If you leave, we won't have any way to get to school!"
Akane cursed her luck before stopping at the door. Turning on her heel, she leveled a glare at the two boys. "Well, hurry up!"
***
Four teens walked on their way to school. Akane walked in the front, occasionally turning a glare to her right, where Ranma, once again male, was walking along the top of a fence separating the street from a canal. He was dressed in his usual red and black Chinese outfit. In fact, Akane was the only one wearing a school uniform. Ryoga was dressed in his usual outfit, minus his travelling pack, though he still carried his umbrella. Kari, too, was dressed in her usual lime green outfit.
"When we get to school, we don't know each other," Akane said angrily, directing her comment at Ranma.
"Why is that?" Ryoga asked naively.
Akane sighed. "Because I don't want everybody to know I'm engaged."
"Then you can just say he's a friend of the family," Kari interjected. "That way nobody will know, and you can still talk to each other." It was a simple solution, really.
Akane nodded. "Fine." She turned to look at Ranma. "Just don't go saying anything you're not supposed to."
Ranma snorted derisively. "Like I'm that dumb." He could play along, if that's what they wanted.
"Whatever," Akane muttered, turning her attention away from Ranma, simply staring ahead of her.
Kari felt happy about the situation so far. Things seemed to be going well.
Then she got splashed by the ladle lady, and her mood darkened. Stupid old people.
***
Kari was nearly dry as the four approached Furinkan High School. However, Akane's mood turned darker and moodier. Finally, as the gates of Furinkan appeared in sight, she gave out a war cry. "I hate boys!" The other three stared as Akane ran toward the school and straight into a large crowd of boys who were gathered in the courtyard.
"What's going on?" Ranma asked as Akane began to attack the large crowd.
Kari remembered this part, vaguely. "It looks like there's a bunch of boys trying to beat her up. Looks like she's used to it, too."
"Should we jump in?" Ryoga asked. On one hand, it looked as though Akane could handle this group quite well. But it didn't settle well with him to leave an acquaintance fighting a large group of attackers alone, especially as Akane was a girl.
Kari thought much the same thing. "Damn it, I'm not just going to sit here and leave her to fight by herself." As far as Kari saw it, just because Akane could handle it doesn't mean she shouldn't get any help. She leapt forward into the fray, landing a quick snap kick to a baseball player's jaw as he was bringing back his bat. She turned to her next victim without pausing to see how the baseball player was; she hadn't hit him that hard, after all.
Akane's fight was over in approximately eight seconds. Having three martial artists like Ranma, Ryoga, and Kari backing up the already-devastating Akane meant nothing but injury to her attackers.
"I didn't need your help, you know," Akane mentioned. She couldn't help but feel a little angry; after all, she had handled those boys quite well for weeks before Ranma and the others ever set foot in Nerima.
"But that doesn't mean we can't help you out anyway," Kari piped up. "It's not like a duel, there's no reason not to have some backup. It just gets things over with much quicker."
Ryoga nodded solemnly. "We knew you could handle it, but it doesn't seem right to leave a friend fighting alone against a large group like that."
Akane could understand that, at some level, and was about to say something to that nature, when her speech was cut off before it began by a rose flying toward her, though the rose itself was deflected by an object that suddenly appeared in its path.
Ryoga lowered his umbrella. "Who the hell are you?"
A fair distance away, underneath a large tree, a boy appearing to be a year or so older than Ryoga snorted. He was dressed in a traditional kendo outfit, minus the protective gear. Billowing hakama and loose open shirt was matched with the bokken in his hand. "Plebian, who do you think you are to interrupt the duel between my fair tigress and those who admire from afar?"
It took a second for Ranma and Ryoga to translate that in their heads, but Kari was quicker. She read Shakespeare. "I hardly think what they did counts as 'admiring from afar,' and that wasn't much a duel." Kari gave an even glare to the noble-sounding boy. "You must be Tatewaki Kuno. I've heard that you're a nutcase, but you're worse than I thought if you allow this. No real martial artist just allows this stuff to go on." The girl was pleased with her impromptu tirade, it really made her sound quite dignified.
Kuno laughed. "I see my reputation proceeds me. Now, what are your names, curs, so that the great Blue Thunder of Furinkan High School may know those he smites."
Ranma was the first to speak. "My name's Ranma Saotome, of the Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts." The boy tossed his school bag, given to him by his idiotic father, onto the ground.
Ryoga twirled his umbrella in his left hand, still holding his own school bag in his right. "Ryoga Hibiki."
Kari smirked a bit, realizing just how outclassed Kuno was in this fight. "Kari Umikage, heir to the Umikage line of warriors." She left out the ninja bit, that would likely start the samurai-admiring Kuno on a rant against ninjas.
Kuno smirked, raising his bokken into the air. "I saved my introduction for last, as is only fitting for a warrior of my stature. I am the rising star of the high school kendo world, whose name strikes fear into those whom muster my distaste. I am known as Tatewaki Kuno, age seventeen, the Blue Thunder of Furinkan High!" Somewhere in the background, a bolt of lightning flashed across the sky.
Ryoga snorted. "Blowhard."
Kuno heard the remark. "Cur! You dare belittle the noble name of Kuno?" Kuno leveled his bokken at the bandana-clad boy. "Have at thee!"
Ranma, Ryoga, Kari, and Akane were all standing in a loose group, but they were far enough apart that they immediately recognized that Ryoga, alone, was the target of Kuno's attack. The bokken-wielding boy started with a quick slash to the side, which Ryoga easily blocked with his umbrella.
"A lot of talk, but no skill to back it up." Ryoga was smiling; taunting Kuno was fun.
Kuno growled, but gave no reply except for a few more quick slashes, the first few Ryoga simply blocked, and the last of which Ryoga leaped over, landing behind Kuno. The foolish kendoist felt a horrible pain across his back as Ryoga's bamboo umbrella connected, sending him flying almost ten feet, until the wall surrounding Furinkan stopped his flight. He didn't move the crater his impact made.
"I was expecting better," Ryoga commented, placing the tip of his umbrella on the ground and leaning on it.
Kari scowled. "Damn it, I wanted to put that arrogant jerk in his place!"
Ranma had a matching scowl. "Yeah, ya jerk!"
Akane was in shock. "He beat Kuno so easily! Only one blow!"
***
In her classroom, Nabiki was thinking much the same thing. "One blow! One blow, and he beat Kuno!" Realizing something else, Nabiki came close to pulling out her hair. "And I didn't collect any bets! No money made, plus everybody knows how strong he is. Nobody'll bet against him now!" She felt close to the verge of tears.
***
"It looks like it's gonna rain," Kari commented, looking toward the sky.
"We'd better get inside, then," Ryoga said quickly, heading toward the school.
Ranma shrugged and followed, but Akane didn't.
"Wait!" she cried.
Ranma and Ryoga stopped, turning toward the girl. "Yeah?" they asked simultaneously.
Akane paused, blinking at the synchronized response, before continuing. "What about Kari? The middle school is almost a mile away, she'll never make it before the rain."
Kari ran that over in her mind. "Well, that sucks." It was going to rain in less than a minute, that didn't give her much time to make it there. She wasn't sure if even she could run quite that fast.
"She can come with us today, I'm sure they won't mind," Ryoga replied. "But let's just hurry, before we all get wet."
The four, content with Ryoga's decision, rushed inside, barely avoiding the sudden downpour. Akane led the three others to her classroom just as the late bell rang.
"Cutting it close, Ms. Tendo," the teacher, a man in his mid-thirties, droned. He paused when looking at her companions. "I was only informed of two new students, not three."
"I'm sorry," Kari said, bowing politely, "but I was walking with my friends before heading off to middle school, but the sudden rain caught me off guard. I was hoping you wouldn't mind if I sat in today."
The teacher seemed confused, but he accepted the story, as it was raining. Besides, she was so polite. "All right, you can have a seat toward the back."
Kari bowed again, then followed the teachers directions.
"As for you two," the teacher continued, turning to Ranma and Ryoga, "you have to introduce yourselves to the class."
"Ranma Saotome, heir to the Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts."
A few kids recognized the Anything Goes style as Akane's, and a few others speculated if he was anywhere near as good as that Ryoga kid, whom had been seen by most of the students there beating Kuno.
Said fanged boy took his spot in the front of the class. "Ryoga Hibiki, self-taught martial artist and a better fighter than Ranma."
Ranma snorted, but didn't reply. He was used to Ryoga's usual barbs.
"You two can take any empty seats," the teacher said, realizing the two were finished.
Ranma nodded and took a conveniently empty seat next to Akane. Ryoga took a different conveniently vacant seat, this one next to Kari in the back.
The teacher started his class, English, with no further ado. He didn't make sure Ranma and Ryoga knew what he was talking about; as far as he was concerned, he would continue class as usual. Ranma had a hard time staying awake through the class, as he knew virtually nothing of English. Ryoga and Kari, however, had a very easy time with the class.
"I didn't know you knew English," Ryoga mentioned.
"You never asked," Kari replied with a shrug. "I never knew that you could speak English either."
Ryoga gave a sheepish grin. "I've been to America, I had to pick it up."
Kari doubted that. He'd probably just wandered onto an American military base in Japan, most likely. But, then again, Ryoga had known Chinese as well, and that was harder to explain...
First period was finished without incident, and the bell rang for break. The teacher packed up his supplies and left the classroom as the students stood and walked over to their friends, chatting amiably.
Ryoga and Kari continued sitting, not feeling the need to chat with Ranma or Akane. They were quizzing each other on English. They had been doing it for a few minutes, to pass the time through English class, which was far below either of their levels. However, they stopped when two figures approached their desks. Said two figures also weren't Ranma or Akane, they noticed, but two girls neither of them knew.
"Hello," one of the girls, with light brown hair pulled into a small ponytail to the side, like what Kodachi would have, except shorter.
"You're Akane's new house guests, right?" the other girl, with long dark brown hair, asked.
"Erm, hello, and yes?" Kari said uncertainly, replying to both of them.
"Oh, we didn't introduce ourselves," the one with lighter hair gasped. "I'm sorry. My name's Sayuri."
"Yuka," the other girl said, smiling. "What're your names?"
Ryoga and Kari simply gave their names, after which Sayuri and Yuka took seats on top of Kari and Ryoga's desks, beginning to create small talk. Kari wondered if Ranma ever had to put up with this stuff.
Ranma sweated as Hiroshi and Daisuke, again, tried to pry information about Akane out of Ranma. Akane had told people that Ranma, Ryoga, and Kari were living with her, without mentioning anything about the engagement. Ranma briefly wondered what kind of questions they would ask if they knew that, and was glad they hadn't found that out.
But still, these kind of questions...
"Pervert," Akane muttered.
Everybody jumped as the door slammed open, revealing an intimidating man with a military buzz cut. As he glared at the now silent group of the students, the bell beginning the next class rang. Everybody jumped to their seats as Kari stared openly at the man. "This guy... can't be our teacher, can he?"
Her suspicions were confirmed when the man walked up to the board. "I hear we have some new students," the man began in a gruff voice. "I intend to see just how well you've learned math before Furinkan." He immediately picked out the new students. After all, they weren't even wearing uniform.
The rest of the class sighed in relief as they realized they would be spared, for a while anyway.
The man turned to the blackboard. Picking up a piece of chalk, he quickly jotted down an equation. "Solve for x in this equation." He turned around and pointed a finger at Ranma. "You do this."
Unfortunately, Ranma's snoring must have been too loud for him to hear the teacher's order.
The teacher growled and promptly beaned Ranma in the head with an eraser, waking up the slumbering boy.
"Huh? What?" Ranma seemed confused.
"You, hall, now."
Ranma drooped his shoulders and trudged out the door.
"Maybe you'll give me a better answer, girl," the teacher growled, looking at Kari.
"Me?" Kari asked.
"Yes, you," the math teacher replied. He obviously didn't realize that Kari wasn't actually part of the class.
Shrugging and deciding not to bother explaining, Kari simply answered the question. "Five." The question was simple algebra, she didn't even need the calculators that most of the class was employing.
The math teacher was taken back slightly, but easily recovered. "Correct." He quickly erased the problem and replaced it with a new one. "How about this question, for the boy sitting next to you?"
The class continued like that. The teacher would continually come up with newer, more difficult questions for Kari and Ryoga to answer, picking only them and nobody else. Ryoga did fairly well, and Kari only missed one. The period was almost over when a sudden shout came from right outside the classroom door.
"Never! I shall not allow it!"
Kari recognized the voice as Kuno's. She groaned; things only went downhill from here.
"Allow what, Kuno?" came Ranma's voice. By now everybody, even the teacher, were curious. Most students were out of their seats, rushing over to the sliding panels between the classroom and hallway.
"This farce of your engagement to Akane Tendo!"
That's when all hell broke loose. The students crammed into the hallway, shouting questions, while Ranma and Akane vainly tried to protest the accusations. "It was our parents!" "We didn't do nothin'!"
Then Ranma was forced to backflip as Kuno slashed downward. He almost landed atop a group of students. "Jeez, Kuno!" Ranma complained. "This ain't no place to fight. Follow me!"
Kuno placed his bokken on his shoulder. "Lead on, cur, I'll allow you to choose your grave."
Ranma ran off, Kuno on his heels, just as Ryoga and Kari managed to muscle their way through the crowd.
"They're getting away!" a student shouted, prompting all of them to run after the Saotome boy and his upperclassman. Ryoga and Kari were at the front, making sure Ranma stayed in sight.
That's when Ranma stopped by an open window. "This way, Kuno!" He leapt out the window.
"I follow!" Kuno shouted, leaping out after Ranma.
"You idiot, this is the third floor!" Akane screamed from right behind Kari.
"That fool, there's a pool down there," Kari muttered, leaning out the window.
Ranma noticed that as well. "Oh, no!" He braced himself for impact, but was somehow diverted at the last second.
"How'd he do that?" one of the students asked in awe. He looked like he was going to hit that pool dead-on!
"I think Kuno's out cold," another student remarked.
Kari and Ryoga rushed down, taking the normal route via the stairs.
***
"Damn, that was close," Ranma muttered, glaring at the pool with hatred. If that thing hadn't knocked him out of the way in time, he would be a wet redhead and the world would know about his curse.
"You're one lucky bastard," Ryoga said as he approached his friend, rival, whatever. "You almost ended up telling the entire school about your curse."
Ranma scowled. "I know, Ryoga."
Kari smiled. "Well, you didn't, so it's a moot point, eh?"
Ranma shrugged. "I guess."
"Let's go back to class," Ryoga piped up. "We still got a lot of school left."
The trio walked back into the building, leaving Kuno floating face-down in the pool.
***
School was relatively painless for the remainder of the day. No more annoyances from Kuno, which slightly irked Ranma and Kari, actually, as neither had a chance to pound him. The schoolwork was easy for Kari, slightly less so for Ryoga, and Ranma slept through classes except when forced awake. Kari did, of course, reveal that she wasn't part of the class, and that caught most of the teachers off guard. They assumed she was just a young-looking high school student.
"I wish," Kari grumbled at that thought as she trudged back to the Tendo Dojo with Ranma, Ryoga, and Nabiki. Akane had stayed behind to talk with her friends, so the trio left with Nabiki instead. Nabiki was mostly silent, though, leaving the three to talk amongst themselves.
Ranma looked toward Ryoga. "So, lost boy, have fun today?"
Ryoga twirled around his umbrella absently. "It wasn't as bad as I thought. Kari and I have gone over a lot of it before."
"Yep," Kari said with a smile. "I told you it'd come in handy, Padfoot."
"Padfoot?" piped Nabiki. She had been listening to their conversation, and that caught her interest in particular.
"It's a nickname," Ryoga explained. "Kari insisted on calling me that, for some reason. I think it's the name of some guy in a book."
"Righty-o," Kari replied.
That's when they reached the Tendo Dojo. The group stopped chatting as they took off their shoes in the entrance, calling "We're home!" to whoever was in the house.
Nabiki headed upstairs, walking past a solemn Soun and Genma. Kari, Ranma, and Ryoga started heading toward the back porch. "Girl," Genma spoke as Kari passed, causing the group to pause.
"What is it?" Kari asked, turning toward the elder Saotome.
Genma looked serious. "We have something to discuss with you."
Ranma could tell something was up, so he did what any man would do. "Catch ya later, Kari." He immediately took upstairs, to go check out his room, or something.
Ryoga shrugged and followed, giving an apologetic grin to Kari as he did so.
"Bastards," the girl mumbled under her breath. Turning back toward the two older men, Kari sat down at the table. "So, what's the deal?"
Genma cleared his throat. "We got a call today."
Kari was confused. Who would call, and about her no less?
"From Furinkan," Soun clarified. "You were, apparently, there today?"
"Yeah," Kari replied. "It was raining in the morning, and it seemed kind of useless to leave in midday."
"We gathered as much," Genma said. "But several teachers called, and they want you to stay in their class."
"What?" Kari asked, unsure if she heard the man right.
"They want you to skip your last year of middle school," Soun replied, "and attend Furinkan High School. I realize it'll probably be a difficult decision, but it is a great opportunity."
"I'll do it," the young ninja said quickly. "Is that all you needed?"
The Tendo father blinked. "Er, I suppose."
"So I can just go to Furinkan tomorrow?"
Genma nodded. "They did say they'd get it done, so I imagine you don't have to worry about much."
"Great, then!" the girl replied, smiling. "I'm gonna go beat up the boys. See you two later!" She walked up the stairs, looking like a predatory cat stalking its prey.
"That was simple," Genma said. "I thought you said it'd be hard?"
"I thought it would be," Soun explained. "Most kids don't like skipping grades. Keeps them away from their peers, and all that."
Genma nodded. "Well, her peers are Ranma and Ryoga, so it makes sense."
"I suppose." Soun thought about it, and it made sense.
Genma cracked a smile. "Another game of shougi?"
"Yes, let's."
***
Kasumi was humming a song to herself as she chopped vegetables for dinner when she caught two figures flying through the backyard. She recognized Ranma and Ryoga's silhouettes, as well as Kari's when the girl leapt after the two. A shout of "Traitors!" wafted in through the air.
Kasumi smiled. They were such good friends!
***
Kari felt odd. She knew she should be excited, really, now officially attending Furinkan High School, but she couldn't muster the energy to be properly excited. As she trudged along to school with Ranma, Ryoga, and Akane, she wished that she could, you know, sleep in a different room. Without a girl in the same bed.
She claimed to still be a guy inside, but look how much her psyche was dissimilar to that of an average boy's.
"Wait a minute, guys," Akane said, halting the group.
"What's the hold up?" Ranma asked.
"Kasumi asked us to return these books, remember?" Akane held up said books, a few miscellaneous books dealing with Chinese medicine. She hadn't wanted to take them, but Kari insisted, as she wanted to meet Dr. Tofu.
The four entered Dr. Tofu's clinic, a normal-looking establishment with a sign in front, claiming moxibustion, chiropractic care, and other forms of medical relief. Kari glanced around the spacious interior. It appeared like any other medical facility, except perhaps with the noticeable lack of a secretary, which most any medical place would have.
"Nice place," Ranma commented.
"Yeah," Kari agreed, turning around to face Dr. Tofu and his skeleton just as the bony hand reached for her shoulder. "Hello, doctor."
Dr. Tofu chuckled. "Caught me in the act, did you?"
"I didn't even notice you," Ryoga said. "You're pretty good."
Akane looked over to her companion. "Of course he is." She handed Dr. Tofu the books. "Here you are, sir."
Dr. Tofu smiled, moving Betty to one arm and taking the books with his free hand. "Thank you, Akane." He glanced at her companions. "Might I ask who your friend are?"
"Oh!" Akane blushed as she realized she hadn't even introduced them. "These are Ranma, Ryoga, and Kari."
The three waved as they were mentioned in turn.
Akane motioned toward the young doctor. "And this is Dr. Tofu."
"I'm sure we'll have time to chat later," the doctor said amiably, "but you should get going, or you might be late."
"See you later, Dr. Tofu!" Akane called, waving as she left.
"Bye," Ranma mumbled, waving. Ryoga followed suit, and Kari simply waved before disappearing from sight.
***
And so Kari made her way to Furinkan High School, ready to face any challenged that came her way. But would she truly be ready when her first great challenge comes?
Next time: Delinquent Duo, Mikado and Azusa Arrive!
***
End Chapter Six
To be continued...
***
Author's Notes: Whee, such a long time between updates. Blame many things, such as my seeing a play, my going to Disney, AP exams, and my recent addiction to Langriesser, a video game you're all better off not playing, unless you want to waste your lives away. I curse my friend who gave me the game, and you know who you are. Oh, and in this chapter, Ryoga's nickname is, indeed, from Harry Potter.
On another note, let's move onto Naze Nani ISH, where we (by we, I mean just me) will explain ki techniques, since I have nothing better to do. Even though they haven't really even made an appearance, but oh well.
Ki (which is the same thing as qui, chi, chakra, and the myriad of other names for it) is the internal energy produced by the body. Using meditation or breathing techniques increases the build-up of ki, but overall it's a natural body mechanic to build up ki. Martial artists develop their limit on ki like a muscle, by exercising their ki, by using it often.
Ki travels through the body in ducts, the main ones being called the inner coil system. This isn't stolen from Naruto, BTW, it's from texts on meditation. Anyway, these ducts are invisible, just as ki is, unless expelled with enough force to create visible energy.
In ki techniques, there are four different classifications of techniques.
Enhancement: Also called Augmentation, this is done by almost all martial artists to some level. Using their ki to enhance their body. It makes them stronger, faster, better. Sometimes special techniques can be used for even better versions of normal enhancements; super bursts of speed, for example, even though they normally don't move that fast.
Projection: Generic ki blasts fall under this category. Basically, projecting ki in its raw form. Examples include the Shishi Hokodan, the Mouko Takabisha, Goku's Kamehameha, and Ryu's Hadoken. Simple, yet effective. Not really all that versatile, though.
Manipulation: This involves using ki to manipulate material things. Ryoga's Bukusai Tenketsu is an example, Ryoga using his ki to explode rocks (material things.) Kurama, from Yu Yu Hakusho, manipulates plants using energy, so that would fall under this category as well.
Materialization: Any form of conversion of ki to another form is considered materialization. Forming fire or electricity, an energy conversion, falls under this, as well as any sort of actual materialization using ki. Examples include Kyo's fire abilities, and other stuff like that.
And thusly, Naze Nani ISH ends. With not a bang, but a whimper. Yeah. Anyway, see you next time! I hope...
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EternallyLost
spiffystudios@hotmail.com
http://www.fanfiction.net/~eternallylost