Ranma stood with his legs apart for balance and his back straight, arms ready and at his side. Forcing his breathing to come deeply and regularly, Ranma prepared himself for the foe he faced. Large, impossibly so, the enemy stood placidly as though refusing to even acknowledge Ranma's existence. The boy martial artist glared at his opponent then took a step forward, knowing that he would win whatever the cost. Thus did Saotome Ranma take his first step onto the campus of Saint Mary's International All-Boys school.
Iron Ranma Episode Six!
-Monkey Business-
"Whaddya mean I gotta go ta school!"
Ranma, who had been doing an advanced form based on speed and limiting movement, was brought up short by his father's sudden announcement. He had never before considered school as something he'd ever do and up until that point hadn't even given it a second thought. It wasn't that Ranma had anything against school really. He just didn't want to waste time sitting in a classroom listening to some windbag when he could be outside learning new and stronger techniques.
"I mean that unless I have you attend enough school to get you clear of the system, I'll have hell to pay. Now get back to your form boy, it was sloppy.
Ranma grumbled and returned to his form, but was troubled by the new information. He'd been educated in a very limited fashion but enough to know he had better things to do. There was nothing to be done about it, however, so Ranma chose to push it from his mind and concentrate on his footwork. It helped that every time he made a mistake his father would remind him by launching a pebble at his head.
By the end of the day Ranma was tired, sore, and battered. In all it was an average day. Genma prepared his bedroll and lay down, then grunted and spoke into the darkness.
"Ranma, tomorrow I am traveling to Kamakura. You will be responsible for reaching the school I've enrolled you in. You have everything you'll need in your backpack, so you'll be fine." He then rolled over and got comfortable before continuing. As Ranma began to doze the last words he heard were his father grumbling.
"You'll do our family honor Ranma, or else."
The next day, as Ranma walked towards the main office of the school, he couldn't help but gaze around himself in amazement. There were boys his age all around him, and what's more they looked like they were enjoying themselves. For the most part anyway, a few looked surly or downright unhappy. Finally Ranma approached the doors of the office and let himself in. Inside, a matronly woman with fine silver hair and thick horn-rimmed glasses sat behind a huge oaken desk. She stared down her overly-generous nose at Ranma as the boy stepped timidly inside, then cleared her throat as he dithered near the door.
"May I help you young man?"
Ranma squared his shoulders and walked stiffly towards her desk, then came to an abrupt halt and said, "M'name's Saotome Ranma, an my pop says this' the place I gotta go ta get inta my classes." Ranma wound down uncertainly as he stared at the woman, who had affected a rather horrified expression.
"My word, who ever taught you such horrible bad grammar! No matter, your name is Saotome Ranma you said?"
Ranma nodded in affirmation, coloring slightly at the insult.
"Very well, let me see about you." With that the woman stood and strode over to the far side of the office where fifteen tall steel filing cabinets stood like tin soldiers, guarding the documents they held. The woman moved to one cabinet and produced a key from the folds of her skirt, then unlocked the files and opened a drawer. She rifled through the folders within and drew out a weak looking folder that had 'Saotome Ranma' printed neatly on a tab. That done she replaced the drawer, locked the cabinet, and stepped back around her desk, where she promptly opened Ranma's file and began to read.
"Hmmm, it seems you've been traveling abroad for some time. You'll have to pass a basic aptitude test so we can determine where to place you, but you should get on well here. We have students from all nationalities here so I'm certain you'll make friends swiftly. Now it says here you have no place of residence?" The woman arched her eyebrow questioningly at Ranma, who shrugged helplessly. "Very well, we have dorms just across the street from our campus for boys like you. You are a very rare case Mr. Saotome, I spoke with your father at length and he assures me your mind is of the highest caliber. It had better be."
Ranma gulped at the woman's insinuations, and then followed her as she stood and strode out of her office. She began giving him a tour of the campus and introducing him to some of the faculty members. Her name was Ms. Garell and as the headmistress she commanded respect in the male-dominated hallways. Boys as young as six and as old as nineteen could be seen on the sprawling campus as Ranma trailed behind his tour guide and gaped in wonder. When he had imagined what school would be like he'd been way off.
Eventually the tour led them to the dormitories, where Ranma was shown a room that he would occupy himself.
"Unfortunately, although it is our practice to pair students in these dormitories, we do not have a roommate for you. You will have to make do until we receive another student your age. Testing for placement will be given tomorrow promptly at six in the morning. Be awake and at my office at that time, or there will be no way to admit you to St. Mary's. Come now, let me introduce you the young man in charge of your dorm."
Ms. Garell left Ranma's room and walked down the hallway to the last door and knocked twice. After a short wait the door opened and a boy of roughly eighteen stepped out and bowed towards the Headmistress. He introduced himself as Saskera Ju and smiled warmly at Ranma.
"Hey there kiddo, it's nice to meet you!"
Ranma smiled and bowed, then said "Hi, m'name's Saotome Ranma, an I guess I'll be stayin' here fer now."
Ju nodded and looked to Ms. Garrell, who primly stated that Ju would show Ranma everything he was expected to know and ensure his arrival at her office at six sharp. With that she gave a slight bow and turned on her heal, marching from the dorms.
Ju watched her leave in bemusement before turning back to Ranma's anxious waiting. Ju was a tall and skinny fellow who turned out to be from Okinawa. His warm and open personality meshed well with Ranma's innocent nature, and the two instantly hit it off.
"So Ranma, you'll be spending some time with us?"
"Looks that way Mr. Saskera, an I guess 'till pops gets back 'm gonna be learnin'"
Ju chuckled at Ranma's loose manner of speech and easy posture, then gestured for Ranma to follow him. As they walked Ju handed Ranma a pamphlet and began explaining the various rules and expectations at St. Mary's. After an hour Ranma's second tour ran down, and Ju excused himself, telling Ranma, "If you need anything just use a phone to page me, but you should be ok on your own. Feel free to wander around anywhere on campus but don't head back to the dorms without someone accompanying you across the street, alright?"
Ranma nodded and watched as Ju wandered off, then shrugged to himself and went in search of something to do. He didn't get far before a group of five twelve year old boys stopped him behind a building. Ranma blinked as he drew up short of the boys, then looked around in confusion. The whole campus seemed suspiciously empty as just moments before it had been bustling with activity.
"Hey kid", Said the larges of the group, a red haired child who was overly large for his age, "I guess you're new here. Well lemme get one thing strait, my name's Mr. Fairfield, and around here's I'm the big fish, ya got that?"
Ranma turned his attention back to the boy calling himself Mr. Jin and cocked his head to one side in confusion. "I get the big part, but why do they say yer a fish?"
Fairfield colored slightly and stuck a thumb at one of the boys standing behind him. "Listen up twerp, this here's Franklin. Franklin's kinda mean when he's missed lunch, and we'd be eating right now if I didn't have to mess around back here with you. Catch my meaning?"
Ranma nodded and hazarded a guess. "Well I hope you an' Franklin work everythin' out, if yer keepin' him away from lunch." Ranma knew he'd be upset about missing lunch too, but didn't know why Fairfield was rubbing Franklin's loss in that way.
"Yer not getting me, punk!" Fairfield was starting to get agitated at Ranma's nonchalant attitude. "I mean if you step wrong Franklin's gonna mess you up!"
Ranma blinked in surprise, and muttered "This must be one heck of a school if ya even gotta walk a certain way." Ranma nodded to himself then looked Fairfield straight in the eye and said with conviction, "Right! I told my pops I'd do m'best, so if I've gotta walk right I better do it! Thank you for warnin' me Mr. Fairfield. I wouldn't want to upset Franklin by walking wrong. But, why does he get angry, shouldn't the school step in?"
Fairfield's face turned an ugly color as his eye started to twitch spastically. He roared in frustration, "NO! Listen ya useless no-brained skinny as a rail loser! I mean that I'm in charge around here! If ya don't want to get hurt, do what I tell ya when I tell ya to do it or else!" Fairfield stopped and breathed rapidly, trying to calm himself down.
Ranma nodded and shrugged. He had been called worse by his father, but he honestly had no idea what had gotten Fairfield so upset. "I don't understand, are you part of the faculty?"
Fairfield shrieked in frustration and yelled, "Knock his lights out Franklin; I'm tired of this kid's smart-assed remarks!"
Franklin nodded then jumped forward, intent on dragging Ranma to the ground. There were a lot of things that Ranma didn't understand about his new school, such as the sleeping arrangements, where Fairfield fit into his list of faculty members that he'd received after his tour with Ju, and when and where he'd go to get fed. One thing always had made sense to the younger Saotome, however, and that was combat. As Franklin leapt forward Ranma slid to the right and watched as the other boy flew harmlessly past. With a loud thud, the aggressive young man landed hard on the turf, not having expected his quarry to be so slippery.
Franklin stood and spat out a mouth of dirt in a fury. He learned once again leapt at Ranma, who again stepped to the side almost casually and allowed Franklin to be carried past by his own momentum. This time however Ranma decided to help the other boy along, and grabbed him by his uniform's belt and hurled him an extra few feet. As the other four boys launched themselves at Ranma the young martial artist began to feel as though he would have had better luck looking for the cafeteria.
Ranma jumped back and towards the wall of the building as he was charged by the four boys. As he backed up they affected looks of feral glee, thinking that their prey was running scared. Too late they realized that he was leading, not running. As Ranma's back hit the wall of the school outbuilding Ranma leapt to one side, grabbing one of the other boys as he went. Spinning, Ranma threw the boy into the wall, then pushed off him and into the air. The other three bullies tried to follow the boy martial artist as he jumped, but as he reached his apex he came even with the afternoon sun, and they lost him in the glare.
Flipping mid-air Ranma came down with his left foot extended and caught Fairfield on the collar, then pushed off with his toes and spun again, connecting his right foot to the side of Fairfield's head. Ranma allowed his momentum to carry him around as he dropped to the ground, and as he landed he was facing the last two boys. They didn't have time to know how outclassed they really were. Ranma slid forward and threw a strong right into the abdomen of the first boy, then spun and caught the last boy across the chin with his left elbow. They both fell to the ground in pain.
The five boys had been defeated soundly in a just a few moments, and even though Ranma hated fighting people who were so clearly outclassed he knew that even untrained fighters could be dangerous in a group. Straightening his shirt Ranma walked off in search of the cafeteria, wondering if he could find someone more willing to show him how to walk the correct way.
Elsewhere, south and west of the Tokyo metropolitan area, Saotome Genma was walking up the steps to a Buddhist temple located in Kamakura. One of his old friends had settled in here, and Genma intended to pay the old girl a visit. It helped some that an ancient Shaolin Boxing technique was rumored to be held in safety by the monks at the temple. Genma thought that with any luck he'd be able to convince Miku to let him 'borrow' it for a while.
Genma chuckled evilly as he crested the steps to the temple, and then stopped in amazement. Instead of the serenity of an ancient Shaolin temple, filled with meditating monks and incense, Genma found the place overrun by what appeared to be tourists. His jaw dropped as he watched them wander the sacred grounds snapping pictures and laughing merrily while their children ran through the gardens and capered around their parents' legs. An elderly monk approached Genma as the martial artist stood there in shock, but Genma barely noticed the man until he cleared his throat. At that point Genma jumped spectacularly, having been frightened out of his wits by the monk.
"Excuse me, sir, but are you here to tour the temple?"
Genma shook his head and found his tongue, saying, "No, I am on a long pilgrimage, and would seek the monk known as Seta Miku."
The elderly Buddhist nodded and replied, "She is in deep meditation, but I will take you to her. Come, follow me, and please ignore the cameras. Just act naturally, pretend they are not here so that their experience may be authentic."
Genma gaped at the old monk's back as the man turned and began walking towards the temple's main building. After a moment's hesitation he followed the monk into the temple. After a short walk Genma was led to a simple looking room with wooden floors and no window. Incense hung heavy over the head of the woman sitting in the center of the room meditating. The walls were sparsely decorated with scroll paintings, and there was a Bonsai tree sitting on a low table next to a futon in one corner. The old monk excused himself and left Genma to watch his old friend meditate. After a few minutes she opened one eye a looked up at Genma speculatively.
"You're back Genma?"
Genma nodded affected a roguish grin before saying, "Well you know how things go Miku, Business calls you away but pleasure always brings you back"
Miku closed her eye and appeared to return to meditation. Genma was just about to speak up again when she said, "Genma, you bastard, you left me here half dead. Seven years ago."
Genma's smile slipped a little and he chuckled nervously. "You aren't still sore about that are you Miku? I mean, accidents happen, and there isn't much anyone can do! Besides, the past is the past right?" Though her expression didn't change, Genma had the distinct impression he'd just put his foot in his mouth.
"No Genma, I'm not upset." Genma breathed a sigh of relief while Miku continued, "I'm not upset because the monks here treated me with kindness and respect. They guided me to find enlightenment. I believe that I was about to reach that before you walked through the door."
Genma suddenly began to sweat bullets, though his old friend's voice had never changed pitch. He found her perfectly schooled features to be very unnerving.
"So you see Genma, I am not upset that you left me here to die while you made off with the Sacred Scrolls of the Dragon Clan. I am not upset that you have avoided me for seven years. In fact, I am not even upset that you have set back my journey to enlightenment by perhaps another seven years."
Genma arched his eyebrow and said, "Ah, well that's good. If you're not angry then I have a little something I'd like you to help me with." He failed to notice a muscle in Miku's forehead begin to twitch.
"And what would it be that this one could help you with?"
"I am looking for an ancient Shaolin scroll that details an ultimate technique that can only be learned by the most skilled male martial artists!" Genma was so wrapped up in his thoughts of the scroll he completely missed Miku shift her center of balance slightly forward.
"And you heard it was at this temple did you?"
"Of course, and I knew that if you were still here I'd be able to acquire it easily!"
Miku opened her eye again, deep ice-blue iris meeting his bespectacled brown eyes. She studied him for a few moments before forming her reply. "So you want the scroll?"
"Yes, it is likely to be on a scroll."
"And you came to me, who you left here half-dead while you ran off with scrolls that we promised each other we would share" Miku opened her other eye, which Genma noted had an angry red iris. He gulped and realized too late exactly what Miku had been getting at.
"Err, well yes but you said you weren't still sore about all that."
"I lied."
AUTHOR'S NOTES!
Ah yes, it's me again! No I didn't fall off the face of the earth, I started school. I plan on updating weekly, and if I can I'll try to churn out two chapters a weekend, but don't hold me to that! In case anyone is curious St. Mary's is an actual school in Japan, but I'm fudging things a little for my own uses, such as the real St. Mary's is taught primarily in English, a langue Ranma is not so good with. I hope no one minds.
Thank you for reading my story, please review even if you don't like it. In fact especially if you don't like it tell me why and how I might improve! This is my first fan fiction and I am writing it primarily to sharpen my skills as an author, so any input is welcome. Enough rambling from me, stay tuned for the next episode of Iron Ranma: Shaolin Shuffle!
