Chapter Nine
One Hell of a Week
Nabiki tapped her pen on the table thoughtfully, milling over the situation. "So you two have a week to train up and beat these two fighters."
Ranma nodded weakly. He had changed into his gi, intent of working out as quickly as possible, Dr. Tofu's warning be damned. Unfortunately for him, the Tendos wanted to know the situation.
"You're screwed, you know." Nabiki was up-front with her assessment. "You got beaten easily, and you expect a bit of training to put you above them?" She looked over to the beaten form of Ryoga, still a dog, who was looking over the gathered people with a thoughtful gaze.
Ranma's eyes showed determination. "We ain't got much choice here, Nabiki. We'll find a way to make it work!" He slammed a fist into an open palm. "In fights like this, it's the more determined fighter that wins. So we're gonna train, then blow these guys away!"
"Water's ready," Kasumi said, walking into the room from the kitchen. In her hands was a familiar brass kettle.
Kari took it. "Thanks, Kasumi." She upended the contents of the kettle on Ryoga, not realizing the implications.
Ryoga made a new record for getting dressed.
"Oh, my," the eldest Tendo daughter commented.
Blushing furiously in shame, Kari turned away. "Er, sorry about that."
Also blushing, Ryoga chuckled. "No... no problem."
Ranma spoke up. "Look, we ain't got time for this!" He grabbed Ryoga by the arm, causing the lost boy to wince. "We have to get training! Pop's told me about a place nearby where we can really train, and we need to get going!"
The bandana-clad boy nodded, a look of fierce determination appearing on his face. It mirrored Ranma's own look. "He's right. We have to start training right now if we want to have a chance."
Nabiki leaned toward the two boys. "It can wait until you explain exactly how Ryoga got his curse." She leveled a glare toward the youngest member of the group, causing Kari to gulp. "After all, somebody told me that he didn't have one."
Ryoga quickly began to speak. "That's my fault, I told her not to tell anybody about my curse."
"Why?" the middle Tendo daughter inquired. "We already knew about Ranma and Genma's, so there was no real reason to hide it."
Ryoga blushed. "I was embarrassed, okay?" He looked Nabiki in the eyes. "I mean, I turn into a mutt!"
Kari noted that Kasumi had taken a seat on the far end of the table. "So how did you get cursed, Ryoga?" the eldest daughter asked.
The Hibiki boy looked down, hanging his head in shame. He couldn't bring himself to tell them.
"He fell in while looking for the bathroom," Ranma said, supplying the answer.
Nabiki blinked. "You're kidding, right?" That was strange at best, absurd at worst.
"It wasn't like that!" the fanged boy cried in protest. After a few moments of thought, he continued. "Well, okay, maybe it was... but it was at night! It was pitch dark outside!"
"Why were you outside in the first place?" the money-hungry Tendo replied, leaning on the table. "Was it an outhouse?"
The pigtailed boy, once again, answered in Ryoga's steed. "Nah, he just got lost looking for the bathroom inside."
"I heard you had a bad sense of direction," Nabiki said after a short pause, "but isn't that a bit ridiculous?"
"You've never really experienced his bad sense of direction before," Kari responded. "He's gotten used to following other people to keep from getting lost, but whenever he goes off on his own, or tries leading somebody..." She shook her head. "Once, a little over a year ago, we ended up in Sri Lanka. And we had been in Hong Kong." She looked dead serious. "We never even crossed any oceans..."
Nabiki didn't know how to respond to that. Instead, she cleared her throat and decided to change the subject. "Well, is there anything else that happened in China? Anything else you're not telling us about?"
Ranma, Ryoga, and Kari all exchanged knowing glances. "No!" they responded simultaneously.
Nabiki shook her head. It was obvious they were hiding something again. But, whatever it was, she was sure she'd find out eventually.
"Look, we'd love to stay and chat, but we have to get going." Ranma was once again tugging Ryoga's arm.
"Sure," Kari muttered, "leave me to deal with her." She directed a glare at the two boys. "Traitors."
"I thought you said you had to be off immediately," Akane muttered. She, along with Kari, Ryoga, and Ranma, were making their way to Furinkan High School. Ranma was currently female, thanks to a certain old lady armed with a ladle. The Jusenkyo-cursed martial artist really needed to learn to avoid her.
"We can at least escort you two back to school," Ranma replied. Truth was, she'd miss the two tomboys when she and Ryoga went off to train. When Ryoga suggested they wait until the next morning before leaving, the pigtailed martial artist quickly agreed.
Furinkan was quickly approaching in the distance. Akane gripped her bag, but didn't do anything else. She was used to being attacked in the morning, but the students had quickly learned that it was a very bad idea after the other three fighters joined her morning brawl.
Well, all of the students except for one.
"Hold, knaves!" In the middle of the schoolyard stood Tatewaki Kuno, bokken raised high. "I will allow your transgressions no longer! This morning, you shall feel the true might of the Blue Thunder of Furinkan High!" As per usual, thunder ominously crashed in the background.
"Ah, I'm gonna miss pounding on this guy," Ranma commented. She flipped her red pigtail over her shoulder. "Mind if I take him on this morning?"
"Go right ahead," Akane answered.
"Hold!" Kuno said, pointing his bokken at Ranma. "I see the vile Ranma Saotome is not here this morning, though you are here in his steed."
Ranma began to panic. She hadn't changed back because she was going to leave to train immediately after arriving, and it hadn't seemed too important, but it looked as if that had been a mistake. Was Kuno going to reveal her secret to the school?
"This vision of loveliness! Tell me, what is your name, O pigtailed goddess?"
Kari sighed. This was the first time Kuno had met female Ranma... and it was playing out just as one would expect.
The kendoist continued to ramble on, ignoring the glare Ranma was directing at him in the way only a Kuno could ignore something. "I see your fighting stance... an experienced warrior, no doubt. Such fiery determination and character, I would date no other!"
He would have continued, undoubtedly, had Ranma not knocked him out with a single anger-driven blow.
"What a... a pervert!" Ranma blew a strand of red hair from her face. "Honestly... who does he think he is?" She shuddered. "This is definitely going to give me nightmares." She looked over to her companions.
Akane and Ryoga, unable to hold it in any longer, began to laugh hysterically.
The gender-switching martial artist looked angry. "Hey! Hey! Just what's so funny!"
Kari sighed again. At least Ranma was leaving for a week... maybe she'd get lucky and Kuno would forget about his new pigtailed goddess.
Not likely, though.
Kari looked out the window. She wondered where Ranma and Ryoga were. Still travelling to their training grounds? Had they reached it already?
"You look lost in thought," a voice commented.
Kari turned to see that Sayuri, Yuka, and Akane were sitting nearby. Sayuri, the one who had spoken, was actually sitting on Kari's desk and the ninja girl had been so preoccupied that she hadn't even noticed.
"What're ya thinking about?" the ponytailed brunette asked, swinging her legs.
"Just wondering where Ranma and Ryoga are," the young ninja replied. She'd been stuck with the two of them for a while, and now she wouldn't be seeing either of them for nine days.
Not until their fight.
Akane snorted. "Those two knuckleheads are probably beating each other senseless." Her eyes softened. "Don't worry yourself over them, they'll be back before you know it and wipe the floor with those other two fighters!" She tried her best to sound sincere; after all, Kari was too young to have heavy things weighing on her mind. At least, that's how Akane felt.
It resembled the way a big sister looked out for a younger sibling.
The ninja smiled. "Yeah. You're right!" Akane always knew how to cheer her up, didn't she?
The bell signaling the start of the next class chimed. Akane, Yuka, and Sayuri quickly made their way back to their seats.
Just in time, too, as Mr. Suzuhara strode into the classroom not even a moment later.
The militaristic math teacher glanced around the classroom. He immediately noticed something was off. "Tendo, Umikage, where are your two friends?"
Akane and Kari began to sweat.
"Er," the youngest Tendo began, rather lamely, "they kind of... got challenged to a fight."
Mr. Suzuhara ran a hand through his close-cropped brown hair. "So... your friends missed class to be part of some common street brawl?"
Kari cleared her throat. "Actually, they're training for the fight. It's not until next Saturday." She winced under her teacher's glare.
"Training?" The teacher's eyes narrowed. "So I take it they'll be missing class until after that date?"
Akane and Kari nodded. It looked like their teacher wasn't taking well to this bit of news...
The teacher nodded. "Commendable. Very well, I'll leave it up to you two to make sure they get caught up when they come back."
The two girls had a strange urge to fall on their faces.
It was two days later, a mild Saturday spring afternoon shortly after school had let out, that Kari would get pulled aside by Yuka and Sayuri and experience something every girl does at least once in their lives.
Akane stood a little bit away, snickering at her young houseguest's obvious discomfort.
"Come on!" Yuka implored, batting her eyelashes as she attempted to look like a wounded puppy. She was pulling a good impression, too. "Akane tells me you have nothing planned! You don't, do you?"
The blue-tressed ninja looked to the side, trying to avoid Yuka's gaze. "Well, no, but..."
The longhaired girl grabbed one of Kari's arms. "So then you'll come, right?" She tugged on one of the green sleeves of the ninja's outfit. "Right? Right?"
Sayuri snickered when Kari shot her a pleading look. She could tell her friend wanted out of this situation, and badly. "You know, Yuka, I think she's never been to a slumber party before."
Kari, of course, hadn't.
Yuka blinked. "Really?" She tugged again. "Now you have to come, Kari!" She gave a reassuring smile. "I swear, it's tons of fun! You'll love it!"
The young girl began to sweat even more. "I'm sure it would be..."
Her friend wouldn't hear it, though. "Come on, Kari! We'll have movies, and eat popcorn, and we can talk about boys!"
That didn't make Kari want to go any more.
"Oh, and then there'll be plenty of ice cream, too!" Yuka continued to list things off while Kari tried to think of a good way out of it without simply bolting for the dojo. That could always be plan B.
"We can even listen to SMAP, I have a few of their CDs..."
Plan B was beginning to look awfully good.
"Oi, Yuka," Sayuri spoke up, "I think you're scaring the poor girl." The ponytailed girl giggled at Kari's plight. She put a hand around Kari's shoulder, drawing her closer. "Look, you don't have to come if you don't want to, but me and Yuka and Akane would really like it if you did come, all right?"
Kari could feel the weight of a guilt trip upon her shoulders. Either way she'd feel guilty, really. Going to a slumber party, sleeping with three attractive girls, and perhaps... she shook her head. She was still attracted to girls, that much never changed from her old life. Her friends, they had no idea what her preference was. She'd feel guilty if she went, a betrayal of trust, perhaps.
On the other hand, it'd give her a chance to get closer with her friends. It was a good opportunity to spend more time with them. Plus they would be disappointed in her if she didn't go, and then she'd feel really guilty.
"I'll go," she relented. As Yuka and Sayuri celebrated, Kari sighed. It was going to be one hell of a night.
"Are you sure about this?" Kari asked, falling back to let Akane ahead of her. "I mean, we do have a math test next Monday. Don't you want to study for that? Mr. Suzuhara's gonna hit us with a hard one, right?"
"Stop trying to get out of this," Akane muttered, feeling a bit annoyed. "It's only a sleepover. You make it sound like you're on death row."
The ninja felt her stomach perform acrobatic tricks. "How oddly appropriate. That's how I feel." The young girl felt out of place going to sleep over at a girl's house. It was like taking advantage of her friends' lack of knowledge.
But, then again, she did sleep with Akane. Kari sighed at that.
"You'll be fine," the youngest Tendo replied. She nudged Kari forward with her right hand, her left occupied with her own blue duffel bag, usually used for some sparring gear but now filled with other items. "Now come on."
Kari herself had a pink duffel bag slung over her shoulder, borrowed from Akane. Apparently her travelling pack wasn't sleepover worthy. She shuffled her feet as she and her companion made their way to Yuka's front door.
Akane rapped on the door with the back of her hand.
It was Sayuri who greeted the two, opening the door and shooing them inside and up to Yuka's room. "Come on, you two! We've been waiting for an hour!"
"Sorry," Akane replied as she and Kari followed Sayuri up a flight of stairs. "Somebody was dragging their feet the entire time." She glanced over at Kari, who was sticking her tongue out at the older girl. She couldn't help but giggle at the younger girl's antics.
The three found themselves in Yuka's room. For Kari it was the first time, so she took in the scenery. The walls were covered in various posters of famous musicians. Kari couldn't place a name to the faces, but several names adorned the posters, all written in English. Jimmy Paige, Kurt Cobian, and Jimi Hendrix were all names that the girl recognized, even if she had never been a fan of their music.
"I thought you were into the Japanese boy bands," the ninja remarked, turning away from a poster of The Beatles. She recalled Yuka's comment about SMAP, the boy band popular in Japan at the moment, one that the public referred to as the Japanese version of the Monkees.
"I prefer them for their looks," Yuka replied, "but I still prefer American or British rock musically." She gave the younger girl a big smile. "But I figured you'd be more enthused if I talked about them!"
"I'm not a big fan of boy bands at all," the ninja remarked, setting her duffel bag on the floor. "I'll stick with good ol' Japanese rock, thank you."
Kari also noticed a large stack of VHS tapes and a VCR next to a rather large television set. The movies were all of a "girl" genre; romance, teen movies, and that such. Kari could respect Yuka's taste in music, but not in movies.
As if she read the ninja's thoughts, Yuka picked up a tape. "Hey, Kari, what do you think of this movie?" She smiled, showing the cover of some obviously romantic chick flick. "I was thinking we could start off with this one! It's really good."
Kari tried thinking of a polite way to say "No way," but Sayuri beat her to it. "No way, Yuka! We always watch what you want to watch." The ponytailed brunette reached into her own bag, pulling out a few VHS tapes of her own. "I brought some Slayers with me. Let's watch this!"
Kari immediately recognized the red-haired anime figure on the covers. He was a fan of Slayers, so of course he recognized the anime and Lina Inverse on the covers. "You have Slayers!" Her eyes lit up. Quickly turning to Yuka, she eagerly pleaded, "Let's watch it. Please?"
Yuka looked hurt. "But... what about my movies?"
Akane nodded. "I'm with Yuka. You can watch plenty of anime on television. Besides, isn't Slayers for kids?" Her lack of anime knowledge was readily apparent.
Sayuri and Kari responded as one. "It's not for kids!"
Several minutes of debate later, a decision was made to watch one tape of Slayers, and then one of Yuka's movie.
For Kari, it was all over too quickly. For after them movies came something that the ninja would rather do without.
Yuka turned off the VCR and television. "All right, enough of that!"
"Yes, please," Kari muttered. She could do without any more of that romantic crap. Sayuri seemed to be of the same opinion, though Akane and Yuka had enjoyed it.
The ninja looked around. "Um, now what?" She felt out of place. Being forced to wear her pink pajamas, which Akane had forced her to bring, was bad enough... heck, being forced to change in the same room as three attractive high school girls was the bad part! She got through that only by staring at a wall and dressing herself as quickly as possible.
Thankfully, the movie watching had put her at ease, but that ease was gone in the face of the awkward (to her) silence following the movies. She wasn't sure what was supposed to happen next.
Yuka leaned forward. "I think... we should ask Akane about her guy problems." Akane's friend was grinning.
"What do you mean?" Akane looked apprehensive.
"You and Ranma!" Sayuri knew what Yuka was doing. "C'mon, Akane, you like him, don't you?" The girl nudged her friend. "You can tell us!"
"Yeah!" Yuka nodded. "We always tell you about the guys we like, so fair's fair!"
The martial artist waved her hands, as if to ward off her friends' words. "No! No! It's all my dad's fault, you know that!"
Yuka looked Akane in the eyes. "So you don't like him at all? Not one bit?"
Akane looked apprehensive, casting a glance at Kari. She couldn't insult Kari's friend in front of her, but also couldn't say she liked the pigtailed boy. "Well, I don't hate him, no... But he's not the kind of person I'd fall for, you know?"
Kari raised an eyebrow. If Ranma wasn't Akane's type, what kind of person was?
Yuka put her finger on her friend's nose. "You're in de-ni-al!"
The girl in question blushed. "Am not!"
Sayuri giggled. "Don't worry, Akane, we're only kidding!"
Yuka pouted. "Oh, Sayuri! You don't have to go and ruin all my fun now." She gave a mock sigh, then stuck her tongue out at her friend.
Sayuri responded in kind.
"Hey." Everybody turned to Yuka, who had a finger under her chin, looking thoughtful. "Akane?"
The girl looked apprehensive. "Yeah?"
Yuka smiled. "If you don't want Ranma, can I have him?"
"They're still engaged, Yuka," Kari deadpanned.
"But if she doesn't want him..." Yuka looked wistful. "It seems like a waste, to me." If Akane couldn't see Ranma's good qualities, that didn't mean Yuka couldn't. She could see a lot of good qualities. She once caught him working out shirtless, so she had a chance to see his good qualities really well.
Akane looked over at Yuka, who appeared lost in thought. "Say, Yuka, what about you? Are there any guys that have caught your attention?"
That snapped Yuka out of her daydream. "Oh, me?"
"No, the other Yuka," Akane responded sarcastically.
Yuka smiled. "Well, what about that cute upperclassman?"
"That's only about half the school," the youngest Tendo deadpanned. "Be more specific?"
Yuka frowned. "Oh, come on... I can't remember his name, but he's in Kuno and Nabiki's class. He's also in the kendo club." Then she smiled, remembering one detail. "I hear he even has his own motorbike! How cool is that?"
"Big deal," Kari remarked. "There's more to people than their appearances, or whether or not they have a set of wheels."
Akane nodded solemnly. "She's right."
Yuka shrugged. "I didn't say I liked him... only that he caught my interest." She looked over to Sayuri. "How about you, Sayuri? It's your turn!"
Sayuri looked down, beginning to idly run her finger over the carpet. "Me?" She blushed. "No, not really. I mean, I guess Ryoga is kind of nice, but even then he really doesn't seem my type."
"Why isn't he your type?" Yuka asked. "I mean, he's cute, strong, and smart, right?"
Kari tried getting over these girls talking about the guy she'd call her best friend. Since when did anybody find Ryoga appealing? It boggled the mind.
"He's too meek," Sayuri responded. "And besides, he doesn't seem to have much smarts outside of the books, you know what I mean?"
"A good point," Yuka conceded. Being that she was the one leading this conversation, she turned to Kari to address her.
Kari began to feel apprehensive. Really apprehensive. She could feel the question coming.
"So, Kari what about you? Are there any guys you like?"
And there it was.
The blue-haired girl tried to think her way around the question. It was really awkward, truth be told, but she kept her cool and thought of a truthful answer to give. "No," she said. "I don't think I've ever met a guy who caught my attention that way." Truth. "I guess none of the guys I've met have ever appealed to me." And that was definitely the truth.
Yuka reached over and patted Kari's head. "It's okay, you're still young."
Kari knew it was meant in jest (at least, she hoped so,) but she still didn't know whether to be amused or insulted. She decided to at least pretend to be amused. Giving a smile, she responded, "Gee, thanks."
"No problem," the girl responded. "By the way, are you guys hungry? My mom bought a ton of ice cream." Turning to Kari, she added, "Even that mint chocolate-chip you're so nuts about."
Now there was a subject Kari could deal with.
And deal with it she did. Three bowls worth. Akane was beginning to wonder if the young ninja had spent too much time with the Saotomes.
After the ice cream came music. Akane forced them to listen to SMAP. After that, Yuka played one of her Led Zeppelin CDs. She thoroughly enjoyed their music, despite the fact only Kari fully understood the lyrics. Kari, thankfully, had brought along some of her own CDs and made her friends listen to Loud Crime City, a popular Japanese rock band.
"Not bad," Sayuri admitted as the song ended. "Where'd you get that CD, though? I don't think I've seen it at the stores."
"It's at the stores," Kari replied, "but this cover art is special, only available on CDs purchased at their live concerts. I dragged Ryoga to one before we left to China, that's where I got it." She conversed back and forth with Sayuri over music while Yuka and Akane tried their best to keep up, though both failed.
"Hey, hey," Akane said during a lull in the conversation, "it's getting late. Don't you think it's about time to head in?"
"I guess so," the ninja responded.
"Yeah," Yuka agreed. She pulled the extra futons out and the group began to lay them out.
As she was laying out her bedroll, Sayuri spotted something on the ground. "Oi, Kari, isn't this one of yours?" A kunai lied on the ground near Yuka's dresser.
"Yeah," Kari replied, "I guess it slipped out of my outfit while I was getting changed." Normally, she'd never let that happen, nor overlook it if it did. But she had been preoccupied with not peeping at her friends while she was changing, and was nervous enough to both make the mistake and not notice it.
"Here," Sayuri said, reaching out and grasping the kunai. Unfortunately, she ended up grasping the weapon by the blade. A gasp of pain and a sudden spurt of blood alerted everybody to what had happened.
"Sayuri!" the three others cried.
"Stupid!" Kari yelled, appearing beside her friend. She grabbed Sayuri's arm, which she had clutched to her chest, and pulled it out so she could see the damage herself. "You don't hold it by the blade, stupid!" She didn't mean to be so insulting, but it was a tense situation. Sayuri's palm was bleeding, and the cut seemed pretty deep.
"What do we do?" Yuka asked.
"We get her to a doctor," Kari responded. The girl tore a strip off of the bottom of her pajama shirt, wrapping her friend's hand with it. "This'll do until we can get you to a doctor." She turned to Akane. "Dr. Tofu lives at his clinic, right?"
"Yeah," the girl replied. "Are you going to see him?"
"He seems to be a competent man," the ninja replied.
"I'll go with you," Akane said firmly.
"I need you to," Kari replied. "I don't know the way to his clinic from this part of town." Turning to Sayuri, she said, "I'll carry you, okay?"
"I can still walk fine," Sayuri said, obviously fighting back tears of pain. She was trying to seem tough, Kari would guess.
"I know," the blue-haired girl said in response. "But me and Akane can move faster than you can, and we need to reach the clinic quickly to treat your hand."
Everybody saw the wisdom in that. "So I guess I'll stay here?" Yuka asked. She figured as much, but wanted confirmation.
"Yeah," Kari replied. "You can tell your parents what happened, okay? We'll probably be at Dr. Tofu's until the morning." It was already 2 AM, so that wasn't unexpected.
"All right," Yuka replied as Kari began to piggyback Sayuri.
It was awkward, truthfully, as Sayuri was quite a bit taller than Kari was. Nonetheless, the girl managed to carry Sayuri all the way to Dr. Tofu's clinic, keeping pace with Akane, who as going quite fast.
Akane began to pound on the door. "Dr. Tofu! Open up! Please!" She reinforced her words with more door pounding.
It wasn't long before the door opened, showing Dr. Tofu, dressed in the same green tang outfit that Kari and Akane had seen him in when they had picked up Ranma. He was sweating, apparently having been practicing even at this late hour. "What's the problem?" he asked, concern obvious in his voice. He knew it was a matter of some importance, for three girls to show up at his clinic at 2 AM while still wearing their pajamas. Kari's were ripped, no less.
"Sayuri got a nasty cut," Kari replied, setting Sayuri down. She could walk on her own, after all. "Can you take a look at it?"
"Where were you cut, Sayuri?" Dr. Tofu asked as he stepped aside, allowing the girls entry into his clinic.
As she sat down on a bed, Sayuri winced from pain. "Er, my hand." She held forth her bandaged hand toward the doctor.
Dr. Tofu examined the makeshift bandage before unwrapping it. He gasped at the wound that the strip of cloth had hidden. "Wow, this is pretty bad." He opened a nearby drawer, pulling out several objects. "What did you cut it on? A knife?"
"Kunai," Kari replied. "I left it out carelessly." She mentally chastised herself for not noticing.
"I'll have this fixed up in no time," Dr. Tofu said. "But I'll have to call your parents and make you stay until morning."
Akane and Kari stayed and watched while Dr. Tofu did his work. After he was done, Akane and Kari took a seat on the edge of Sayuri's bed. The patient was sitting, smiling at the doctor. "Thank you, Dr. Tofu," Sayuri said.
"No problem," the young man replied, "just glad I could help you." He began to put away his medical supplies.
"Doctor, we can stay here with Sayuri, right?" Kari asked, concern for her friend obvious in her voice.
"Of course you can." Dr. Tofu smiled. "You said you were at a sleepover, right?" At the ninja's nod, he continued. "You must be tired. You can take the other patient beds, if you want."
"Thank you, Dr. Tofu," Kari replied.
"Yeah, Dr. Tofu." Akane paused a moment, considering something. "Can I use the phone to call Yuka? I'm sure she's worried sick."
"Go right ahead," the young doctor replied.
As Akane walked past Dr. Tofu to get the phone, she began thinking. Something felt off when she was near the young doctor. She didn't blush like she normally did, nor did she feel anything special. Was she... finally getting over her crush?
"I'm afraid I must be off to sleep," Dr. Tofu said once Akane was finished with the phone. "I'd recommend you all do the same, all right?"
A chorus of acknowledgement was the response.
The doctor flipped off the lights as he left the room, prompting Kari and Akane took the beds to either side of Sayuri.
"Good night," the three said to each other.
Before she drifted off to sleep, Kari heard Sayuri speak to her. "Kari?"
Kari had been lying with her back toward Sayuri. She rolled over to face the girl. She noticing Sayuri staring into her eyes, even in the low light. "Yeah?"
Sayuri's statement was simple. "Thanks."
The young girl smiled. "No problem."
Everything was back to normal next Monday, except Sayuri has her right hand in bandages. She was permitted to have somebody else take notes for her in class, which Yuka did for her, due to her inability to write with her left hand. In most classes, she was even excused from homework. Even Mr. Suzuhara excused her from homework; he had even let her off from the test they had in class that day.
As school let out and people began to leave, Yuka handed Sayuri the last class's notes. "Lucky," she remarked. "You don't have to do any homework."
"Except English," Kari commented. "That teacher isn't very understanding, is he?"
"He is a bit of a stick-in-the-mud," Sayuri replied with a giggle. "But, still, I'd rather have my hand be better." She held up the offending body part. "I usually go swimming on Mondays, but I can't with my hand like this."
"Swimming?" Kari asked, cocking her head to the side. "But I thought the school swimming pool was closed to students after school, unless you're on the swim team."
"It is," the ponytailed brunette responded. "But there's a public swimming pool nearby. I usually go there. It's Olympic-sized and has amazing coaches available most of the time." She sounded like an advertisement; it must have meant that she was really enthused about that pool.
Kari seemed excited. "Really now?" She'd looked for a public pool earlier, but hadn't found any. "You'll have to show me it some time!"
"I suppose I could take you there today, if you want," Sayuri replied. "It's not like I have anything else to do." She ended that with a wry chuckle.
"Do you swim, Kari?" Yuka asked, curious.
The ninja stared at her friend. "You saw me fight, didn't you?" She raised a finger. "I, for one, am more at home in the water than I am out of it." She nodded.
"Do you have a swimsuit?" Akane asked.
"In my travelling pack back home," Kari responded.
So Akane, Sayuri, and Kari said goodbye to Yuka and made their way to the Tendo home. As they entered, Kasumi greeted them. "Oh, hello Sayuri. Will you be staying here long? I'm making sukiyaki tonight, and I would be more than happy to set you a place."
"It's all right," the girl replied. "I'm just here so I can show Kari the way to the public pool. I'll probably head home after that."
"C'mon, Sayuri," Kari pleaded, tugging at her friend's sleeve. "You can come back here with me, too! Kasumi's sukiyaki is terrific, you'd be missing out."
"Well, I guess I can," the girl responded, unsure.
"Good!" Kasumi said. "I'm always happy to feed Akane's friends." She smiled. "Kari's, too."
Kari smiled absently as she and the other two made their way upstairs to her and Akane's room. She felt happy that Kasumi had included her in the statement. The smile wore off as Kari began to browse through her pack, looking for a swimsuit. She found them.
Kari had never been fond of swimming, or water at all, in her past life. In this one, however, she had quickly grown accustom to water. Sendai was a city known for both its trees and its fountains. And her father, in training Kari, had brought the girl to public pools at least once a week. Occasionally he'd try and teach her some tricks with the water, such as walking on the surface of water, but mostly it was just swimming and getting used to being near the source of her ninja clan's power.
Because of that, the girl owned several sets of swimsuits. Most were one-piece suits, but some were two-piece. It was a simple two-piece suit that the girl chose. "All right," Kari said, holding the suit. "I guess I'll take this one!"
"Its cute," Akane said, with Sayuri nodding in agreement.
"Let's go," Kari said, walking to the door of the bedroom.
"Wait," Akane said, causing Kari to stop and look at her curiously. "Don't you need a bag to put it in? Or to put your clothes in once you're there?"
"I guess so," Kari replied, scratching the back of her head. "But I don't have any, besides my travel pack. And that'd be a bit out of place, you know?"
Akane quickly grabbed a pink duffel bag, tossing it to Kari, who reflexively caught it. It was the same bag the ninja had used for the sleepover. "You can use this," the youngest Tendo said. "In fact, you can keep it. You seem to need it often enough." She smiled.
Kari blushed. A gift, from Akane? The fact that the bag was pink didn't matter; it was the thought that counted, right? "Th-thanks, Akane." She quickly shoved the swimsuit into the bag.
"Come on, then," Sayuri said. She led Kari out of the house and to the public pool. It was only a ten-minute walk from the dojo, so close that Kari was surprised she hadn't noticed the pool before.
Inside, Kari entered the women's locker room and quickly changed into her swimsuit. She exited, blushing as she noticed herself being looked over by her friend. She was used to being in a swimsuit, even a two-piece one, as she frequented public pools before. But something about being under Sayuri's gaze made Kari's cheeks redden. "What do you think?" Kari asked, showing off her red swimsuit with a little twirl in place.
"You look cute in it," Sayuri replied. She really did think Kari looked cute in it. Maybe even a bit older, Sayuri though; even if she was still short and flat-chested, Kari appeared closer to her real age wearing that swimsuit.
Kari giggled. "Thanks." She made her way over to the water.
After an hour of swimming, practicing all the different swimming styles Kari knew of, she and Sayuri made their way back to the dojo. They made it just in time for Kasumi's meal.
It was a normal Wednesday at Kolhotz High School. The final bell had just rung and the class was dismissed.
A boy, wearing his large white coat over the normal school uniform, packed up his things. He was the class representative, an office granted to him by students who looked up to his ability, both in athletics and in school.
"Nanashi," another boy greeted him, "do you want to spar after school?"
Nanashi nodded his assent to Ryo.
"Good," Ryo responded. "We need to keep in practice for Saturday." Ryo was many things, but stupid was not one of them. He knew he was stronger than Ryoga, and Nanashi stronger than Ranma. But he also wasn't about to lose a fight based on arrogance or underestimating his opponent. He'd train as if he was fighting a stronger opponent.
Nanashi was thinking much the same thing. He and Ryo often thought along the same lines; one of the reasons they got along so well.
Another person made his presence known. "Sakegachi, Machiho."
The two second-year high school students turned their head, spotting the one who had addressed them easily. Mikado Sanzenin, male half of the Golden Pair, stood at the doorway of their classroom. "What is it, Sanzenin?" Ryo asked, voicing the question both he and his friend had.
"You're going to fight those two again, aren't you?" Mikado shifted his gaze to the side. "I saw one of them after your last match. He wasn't in very good shape."
"He'll have recovered by now," Ryo replied simply. He scoffed at Mikado. "But why are you so concerned? I didn't take you for the humanitarian type." He smirked.
"You're dangerous," Mikado replied, looking Ryo in the eyes. "I know I can't beat you, and I don't know if there's anybody who can. But you keep feeling the need to prove you're the best. Both of you. You're going to seriously hurt somebody, and I think that this time might be it."
Ryo scoffed. "You're right, Mikado. We are dangerous." With a grin he added, "Maybe even more than you think." The bandana-clad youth grinned. "Tell you what, Mikado... Why don't you come watch? It'll be an eye-opening experience, I'm sure." The teenager picked up his schoolbag, slinging it over his shoulder. "Nanashi and I reserved the soccer field for this event, you know. It'll be this Saturday, noon."
The skirt-chasing figure skater looked away. "I have no desire to see you beat up some other helpless martial artist."
"That's their own fault," Ryo responded. "If somebody claims to be a martial artist, they shouldn't be as defenseless." He paused. "But you should still come and see us fight. When we defeated you and your partner, we were holding back. A lot." Seeing Mikado look at him, Ryo smirked. "Saturday, neither of us will hold back at all."
Mikado felt scared. Not for himself, but for those who were going up against that pair.
Nanashi and Ryo, sensing the conversation was over, pushed their way past the skater.
Mikado made a small prayer. He didn't want to see his school be home to anybody's death.
"They haven't come home yet," Akane said. It was Saturday morning, and the Tendo home was unusually somber.
"I suppose they'll just show up at the fight," Kari replied.
Nabiki scoffed as she sipped her coffee. "How typical."
"Maybe." Kari looked down at her plate of food, moving some of it around with her chopsticks. She didn't feel much in the mood for eating. "I'm worried about them, though."
Genma guffawed. "My boy'll win this fight easy! After all, I trained him." Thinking a moment, he added, "Ryoga will win, too. He's trained with me and my son. So there's nothing to worry about!"
Genma's words didn't inspire much confidence in the girl, however.
After everybody had finished their meals, Kari, Akane, and Genma began to leave. As they did, Kari looked over her shoulder. "Kasumi? Nabiki? Mr. Tendo? Aren't any of you coming?"
"I'm sure it'll be fine," Soun said, not looking up from his newspaper.
"And I have so much to do," Kasumi replied. "I simply couldn't leave!" She smiled. "Wish Ranma and Ryoga luck for me, though."
"Will do," Kari replied with a grin. She waited a moment for Nabiki's response.
The middle Tendo, sensing Kari waiting on her, looked the younger girl in the eyes. "What? I'll be heading over at my own pace, thank you very much."
"All right," Kari replied. And so the group left.
On their way, they picked up Dr. Tofu. Not only did Kari figure he would enjoy watching, but she also wanted to have him close at hand in case something went horribly wrong. She prayed his services wouldn't be needed.
As the four arrived, they noticed Nabiki already there, likely having caught a bus instead of walking on foot, working the crowd for bets. The crowd was decently-sized; a decent number were from Furinkan, obviously having heard in some way, either through Nabiki or else by the constant worrying Kari had done. The rest were from Kolhotz, having heard from Ryo or Nanashi.
They quickly pushed their way to the front of the crowd. There, Kari spotted a familiar face. "Mr. Suzuhara?"
The math teacher turned his head. "Ah, so I see you are skipping school this morning Umikage, Tendo."
"What about you?" Kari asked, approaching the teacher. He had a good spot, the very front of the crowd.
The man grinned. "I just couldn't miss this fight." He chuckled. "I called in sick today."
For some reason, the girl was reminded of her old middle school's vice principal.
Mr. Suzuhara began to chat amiably with Dr. Tofu as Akane, Kari, and Genma waited. It wasn't long before Ryo and Nanashi showed up, standing at one end of the field. A few minutes later and Nabiki joined Kari and the others, obviously having collected on all she was able to.
"What's keeping those two?" Akane asked, tapping her foot.
Nabiki checked her watch. "It's still only noon, sis. They're not that late."
The youngest Tendo scoffed. "They probably trained themselves to exhaustion, the idiots." Her voice, however, carried worry, not scorn.
"I have faith in them," Kari said, her voice confident and sure. She wished she felt that sure inside.
Five minutes later, the crowds hushed. Two figures made their way onto the field.
"We're here, just like you told us to be." Ranma looked Ryo in the eyes from across the field. His outfit was a bit torn up and his face was dirty, but he appeared perfectly fine, otherwise. His companion was in similar shape.
Ryo smirked. "And here I thought the two of you had done the smart thing and run off." He held his right hand in front of him, forming a claw. By tensing the muscles of his hand, he cracked his knuckles. "That beating two weeks ago will be nothing compared to the one that you two receive today."
"We're ready for you two," Ryoga replied, stepping forward. He didn't have his travelling pack, but he held his umbrella. "Let's get this over with."
"Give us a minute," Ryo said, waving his hand. "Me and Nanashi have been waiting for this moment." He grinned. "Waiting a long time. You can surely wait a few more minutes so we can begin to savor this moment."
"This isn't a game!" Ranma cried. "This is a fight!"
"You're right about that," Ryo said, suddenly serious. He stepped forward, but a hand on his shoulder stopped him.
"Let me go first." Nanashi rarely spoke; in fact, most of Kolhotz never heard him speak even once. Even in class, he was able to communicate through gestures or by simply having Ryo speak for him. When he spoke, therefore, people listened.
"All right." Ryo stepped back, allowing Nanashi to walk forward.
Ranma walked forward to meet him.
"Let's have a good fight," Nanashi said, slipping into a fighting stance.
Ranma smiled. "Yeah. Let's." He held his fists in front of his face, almost a boxing stance. "Now let's get this thing started!"
From the sidelines, Kari gave a prayer for her friend.
Ranma and Nanashi rushed toward each other, and the fight began.
End Chapter Nine
To be continued...
Author's Notes: Wow, another chapter finally done! And it took 3.5 months, to boot!
And to top it all off, nothing gets accomplished!
Well, I won't say that. A lot was accomplished. Most of it, however, was set up for later chapters. Allow me to say, however, that every scene in this chapter is important in some way. I hope you're not disappointed in me.
I also hope you don't kill me for leaving such a cliffhanger.