CLOSED
DOORS
A Ranma 1/2 Alternate Universe
Story by:
Kristin-a-dette
Characters, trademark and inspiration by:
Rumiko Takahashi's Ranma 1/2 & Meteor Garden (Hana Yori
Dango)
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Chapter 5: Harsh Words
"Those who are careful about what they say keep themselves out of trouble." Proverbs 21:23
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During lunch, Akane couldn't find her sisters once again. My gosh, where are they? She thought furiously. She wasn't in a good mood; everywhere she walked, people would look at her and then whisper behind their hands. It's not the end of the world, people. I just yelled at your precious Ranma. Nothing to get too excited about. Irritated, she plopped unhappily on the grass beside the old oak tree.
She glanced scantily at the tree, barely recalling that this place was where she had her first public blow-up with guys who thinks they rule the school, and closed her eyes. Her hand hovered inside her school bag, where her journal was located.
At least, I'm getting more attention now than I ever had from people for the last fifteen and a half years of my existence. She smiled ruefully.
"What are you smiling for?"
She frozed. She slowly opened her eyes, and wished she didn't.
Kodachi Kunou and her gang of wannabes stood in front of her. Their heavily eye-lined eyes and too-shiny lips sneered at her with obvious hate and disgust. Kodachi was ahead of the group, her arms crossed, pushing her too-revealing shirt up, and she stepped towards Akane with something akin to menace.
Akane felt a nervous shiver go down her spine, but she forced her legs to get up. "W-what do you want?" she asked in feigned defiance. Must not let them show that I'm... somehow threatened...
Kodachi glared at her. "Who do you think you are, yelling at my boyfriend as if he was some piece of garbage?"
Akane blinked. Huh? "B-boyfriend? What are you talking about?" She frowned.
The other girl gave out a high-pitched laugh. Akane had a passing thought that she sounded like a hyena. "Who else, stupid? Ranma Saotome, you know, the poor guy you were yelling at yesterday?"
Akane widened her eyes. Oh my gosh, I knew that Ranma Saotome is a player and a jerk, but he must really be so desperate enough that he even went out with this... girl. Kodachi Kunou was one of the most popular and richest girls in school, but everyone knows that she was possessive of her boyfriends to the point that she would even sleep with them so that they won't break up with her. In the end, she was usually the one ending the relationships, but the shocking number of boys who flock around her everyday was staggering.
Well, that proves it, Akane decided. My opinion of Ranma Saotome just went down another notch. She flared her nose and raised her chin. "Yeah, so what?" she glared at Kodachi.
"So what? Let me tell you what's 'so what', missy," Kodachi was incredulous. How dare this... this loser of a girl talk to her like that? "No one, and I mean no one, ever mistreat my boyfriend like that. If you have a problem with him, you better get through to me first."
Akane laughed, her voice slightly high. "Oh my gosh. I can't believe this. Poor wittle Ranma needs some girl to protect him. Aww..." she gave her a mocking smile.
Kodachi screamed in frustration and slapped her, hard. Akane gasped in pain and stared at her, her hand raising to her bruised cheek.
"How dare you? I should kill you for that!" Kodachi cried. Akane just stared at her, her eyes watering.
She... slapped me. And... I didn't do anything... She tried to speak, but no words would come out from her mouth.
Kodachi went on. "... stupid chit! You deserve to be slapped! You... idiot! Why don't you do something, huh? I thought you were more..."
"That's enough, Kodachi." A male voice interrupted her. She turned around to see Ranma Saotome himself, looking at her with an amused look in his face. Akane stared at him, but he was ignoring her. Instead, his full attention was on Kodachi.
"I appreciate how you want to help out, Kodachi," he said. "And I thank you for that. However, I don't recall having you as my girlfriend. Can you possibly clarify that out for me, please?"
Kodachi winced, and suddenly her voice was soft. Her friends tittered silently behind her, shocked at Ranma's frankness. "No... we... never dated... but," suddenly she looked up, determination gleaming from her eyes. "I know we will one day."
Ranma chuckled. "Maybe. Let me handle this, Kodachi. After all, I was the one who got insulted at."
Kodachi smiled as she looked at the girl she just slapped three minutes ago. She snorted, and said, "Pathetic loser." She gave Ranma a flirty smile, then left, with her friends following behind.
Ranma sighed with relief, and then his eyes turned hard as he looked at Akane. The girl looked like she was a deer trapped in front of a hunter's gun, her eyes wide in shock and her hand clutching her face. He clicked his tongue as he drawled out, "Wow, I'd thought you'd hit her back."
She didn't reply.
He smirked. "What, miss? Cat got your tongue?"
A faint spark lit up her eyes at once, but then it disappeared just as quickly.
He chuckled, his voice unfriendly. "Guess you finally know that I have friends everywhere, even in your own locker room."
Akane stared at Ranma helplessly. He's the meanest boy ever... Just because he can get away with things doesn't give him the right to... hurt me... I can't fight back... I already spent too much of my anger yesterday...
Ranma sighed. "You know, I don't think it hurts that much. Just wash your face or something. It will disappear." Ranma was shocked as he hear himself speak. He wasn't this mean to girls before, but somehow, this particular girl got under his skin as much as his older brother does, maybe even more. He winced guiltily inside as he saw her face drooping with hurt and her eyes glistening.
He didn't know why, but this irritated him even more. He growled silently and grabbed her arm. "Come on."
Akane stared at him, and finally, she got her voice back. "W-what... what are you doing? Let go!" She tried to yank her arm away, but Ranma tightened his grip even more.
"Finally got your tongue back, eh?" He chuckled. He led her away from the tree, the staring students, and into the back of the school, where hardly anyone was around. He headed straight towards a water fountain in the middle of the school backyard.
Akane struggled. What is he going to do to me? Is he... going to... NO! He can't take advantage of me! I'll kill him! "Stop it! Let go, stupid!"
"Just shut up, OK?" Ranma yelled at her, and gently pushed her towards the water fountain.
She shrieked as he splashed water on her stinging cheek. "Ow! It's cold!"
"Stop moving! Geez, woman!" Ranma glared at her as he grabbed his backpack and rooted inside.
"What are you doing?" Akane demanded, her arm still captured by his other free hand. Her face was hurt and freezing; her shirt wet, and she was ready to kill. Stupid jerk!
"I'm looking for a towel or a handkerchief, OK?" Ranma replied hotly, still searching through his backpack. Geez, this girl...! I'm going to get a headache now! "Where is it..." he muttered to himself. "Shampoo always puts it in my bag for Phys. Ed before I leave for school... Geez, where's that darn towel when you need one?" Finally, he found it.
He began to briskly rub Akane's face with it.
"Hey! You're hurting me!"
Ranma stopped and looked at her. Akane's right cheek was beginning to show a bruise, her eyes red, and she was glaring at him. He put his hands up and said, "Sorry, but you got hurt. I was trying to make you feel better."
"Well, you're not!" Akane yanked her arm from Ranma and stood up. "I don't need your help!" She grabbed the towel from him and rubbed her face dry. "If you're trying to act like a doctor here, well you suck!"
"HEY!" Ranma stood up, indignant. "Stop talking like you think you know everything about me!"
Akane threw the towel at him. "I don't, but from what I can see, you're just a jerk!"
"Look, miss!" He suddenly grabbed her shoulders, stunning her into silence. His face loomed over hers, his breath blowing across her cheeks. Akane stared into his brilliant too-blue eyes, and her face started to flush. With anger or something else, she doesn't know what. He frowned at her; his straight, black brows forming a crease between his eyes. "You don't know me, OK? You may think that you do, because of what you hear from Ukyou or someone else, but let me assure you that you don't! Got it!"
She glared at him, her face adding a new color to her cheeks.
He sighed, and slowly let go of her. "I'm sorry if I made fun of Ukyou, OK? It was just a joke between us guys. It's nothing too personal."
She narrowed her eyes at him. "Oh, I get it. Talking trash about someone else behind their back is not personal. I shouldn't worry about it. I mean, it's only my BEST friend who was getting trashed at. What should I care, right?" She angrily grabbed her backpack from the ground, and started to stomp away.
"That's not what I meant!" Ranma cried after her. That stupid girl. He glared behind her back. Fine, don't accept his apology. Here he was, trying to apologize already and she still get the wrong idea? GEEZ! This is the last time Ranma Saotome will ever let down his pride and humbly ask someone for their forgiveness! "Fine! See if I care! I don't have to say sorry to you! You're the one whose supposed to do it anyway! YOU'RE MAKING A BIG DEAL OUT OF NOTHIN', LADY!"
Akane stopped, then slowly turned around. She stalked her way towards him, and gave him a hard slap.
"Kodachi's wrong. YOU'RE the one who deserves a slap." Then she turned away and ran off.
Ranma stared after her, stunned. Second time... this is the second time she turned her back on me...
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"Where are you going, Tofou?"
He turned around as he heard her voice. She stood behind him in the silent hallway, her arms carrying a thick textbook. Her glossy, long black hair was tied up, with strands of hair on the sides of her face, framing her beautiful, oval face. Tofou slowly gulped as he looked at the girl he had loved since day one, and slowly smiled.
"Oh, I just have to go to the office. I have to tell them I'm not going to be here for two weeks, at the latest." He felt sad as he utter his sentence, and looked at everything but at her.
She looked at him with concern, and... what is that? Alarm? "Oh, I see. Why? Where are you going?"
He smiled gently. "My dad wants me to go to a Doctors-For-the-Future Conference in the city. It's at some hotshot hotel. Very boring." He sighed.
"Aw. It's OK." she smiled at him. Tofou could feel his heart beating faster. "When are you leaving?"
"Um, day after tomorrow."
"So you want me to get all your homework for you, Tofou?"
He laughed. "Naw, it's OK. I'll get my little brother to do it for me."
"But it's no trouble for me. My sister and I are in most of your classes, so it makes sense if we just do it ourselves. No need to bother Ranma." She beamed a grin.
"Ah... uh... yeah, sure if it's OK with you and your sister."
"No problem." She started to walk past him. "Oh, and Tofou?"
"Yeah?" He couldn't help but marvel at her beauty.
"Have fun at the conference." She smiled and continued to walk.
"Thanks, Kasumi." He called out to her. She laughed and gave him a wave.
He stared after her as she turned a corner. Kasumi... He suddenly turned as he saw a girl weaving past him, her face in tears. He recognized her.
"Akane? What's wrong?"
She stopped and stared at him. Her face suddenly went red. Tofou frowned, as he noticed something else on her face.
"What happened to your cheek? Akane? What happened?" He asked with concern.
She gave out a sob and fell against him. Tofou caught her and said, "Akane? Tell me what happened."
"It's R-ranma..." she cried softly against his shirt.
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