Chapter 7: Tomorrow's Groom?!
Shampoo came to with a pain in her head like she'd not felt since foolishly trying to take on an adult warrior when she was eight. While preparing to curse Ranma for the pain her jumbled memories slid back into place and she realised it was not the diminutive redhead who had beaten her, but rather a handsome black haired lad. Who happened to have an unfortunate wardrobe. Shampoo sighed happily, overjoyed to be all but engaged to such a good looking boy. Then she looked around and realised he'd run off. Sighing sadly the Chinese Amazon wandered to the front of the mostly evacuated bath house, preparing to go back on the hunt. The blonde girl had seemed to know both Ranma and the handsome boy, and as such Shampoo was filled with hope that she'd find both her goals.
Reaching the front of the business she was surprised to see a panda walking up to the business, a towel over its shoulder and bathing supplies in hand. Shaking her head and blinking to make sure her eyes weren't playing a trick on her she realised it was almost certainly Ranma's pet panda. What luck.
She strode up confidently, a large smile on her face. The panda spotted her and its eyes grew wider than she thought a panda's could. It let out a panicked snort before turning tail and fleeing. Shampoo chased after, knowing from experience the panda was slower and easier to track than Ranma. Eventually the bear lead her to an impressive walled home, with a couple of fierce looking thugs guarding the front. They let the panda in, but seemed unlikely to let Shampoo follow. Preferring to avoid a pointless fight in unknown ground Shampoo found a nearby roof to hide on and try to work out the best entrance. Eventually she spied a corner of the multi-building estate which looked unattended and slipped in.
Sneaking along her nose was eventually filled with the smell of cooking, and her stomach grumbled. Having only eaten some rice crackers since leaving the ship the previous evening she found herself drawn to the smell, and had soon managed to sneak into the kitchen. There she found a woman of about nineteen or twenty with long dark hair cooking away. The girl seemed to be preparing a truly generous amount of food and Shampoo found herself entranced. Then the girl turned around, planning to double check her recipe book.
"Oh, hello," she smiled, "Are you one of Hibari's friends?"
Shampoo's eyes filled with panic at being spotted, but Tsugumi misread it as the more general panic which came from guests visiting a yakuza home.
"Perhaps one of Ranma's then?"
"Shampoo here for Ranma, yes. Also... black haired boy. Clothes... like Ranma clothes."
Tsugumi wasn't sure how Ranma could have a friend he'd invite back who thought he was a girl but figured that the girl had gotten in, so must have come in with Ranma. Shrugging, she gave directions to Ranma's room. Shampoo smiled, thanked her, and then headed off. Shampoo munched on some of the food she'd managed to pocket without Tsugumi noticing. A few twists through the hallways and she came upon what she was fairly certain was the right room. Taking a deep breath and preparing to draw her chui she opened the door.
Apparently it was the wrong room as a handsome black haired boy jumped to his feet from the bed. Shampoo's heart quickened with romantic sentiment (okay, more lust... but romance would follow right?) and she leapt at him with open arms. Ranma was confused by the move clearly not being an attack, and was thoroughly glomped when Shampoo collided with him. The crashing sound when the pair fell into a chair caused shuffling across the divider and Hibari burst in just as Shampoo grabbed Ranma's cheeks. A second later and their lips were together while Ranma's eyes grew comically in fear.
Hibari's eye twitched.
Shampoo finally let go and smiled seductively.
"Airen," she whispered softly.
"You didn't tell me the kiss of death was so... passionate," Hibari stated coldly.
"I-that-well," Ranma's mouth was fairly operational, but his brain was not.
Shampoo stood up and handed Hibari a small booklet. The blonde flipped through many pages of Chinese, recognising some of the characters, but not knowing the Chinese grammar needed to read it. She was about to give up when the Japanese section was finally reached.
" 'The laws of the Joketsuzoku' " Hibari read aloud, then began to skim through the rest. "Huh, so... if an outsider is female and defeats one of them she's given the Kiss of Death-"
"I knew that," Ranma interrupted.
Hibari stared at him with lidded eyes. "To continue: if a male outsider defeats one of them, he's then given the kiss of marriage."
"Wǒ ài nǐ"
"What does that mean?" Ranma asked.
Hibari rushed off to grab a Chinese-Japanese dictionary. "Ah, it means... 'I love you'"
The blonde's eye twitched again, and then Hibari flipped through the dictionary rapidly to give a response. "Ta shi wo de weihenfu... I think?"
"You... oh weihunfu!" Shampoo replied, before her eyes grew dark. "He now for Shampoo."
"You don't even know his name," Hibari shot back.
Shampoo's reply died in her throat.
"It's Ranma," Hibari said, smiling. Ranma's eyes grew with fear, not sure how the Amazon would respond.
Shampoo looked terrified for a moment, then gave a long reply. "Rènhé qítā míngzì de méiguī wén qǐlái dōu hěn tián."
Hibari looked to Ranma and shrugged. "No way I can manage to work that one out."
Shampoo snuggled back into Ranma, causing Hibari's blood pressure to rise a bit more.
'Why should I care?' the blonde thought angrily. 'He annoys me every chance he gets. He flaunts that curse all the time. He's fool of himself. He refuses to admit his feelings. He's... adorable when he gets flustered. Honourable. And so amusingly loud about his masculinity it's easy to tease him right back. The first proper friend I've managed to make in years. And he definitely has feelings for me. I can see it.'
"What about your hunt for... er... the 'other' Ranma?" Hibari asked, hoping to get Shampoo to stop nuzzling the boy.
It worked. Shampoo shot right up to attention and turned to Hibari. "Where girl-type Ranma?"
"Closer than you would think," Hibari replied.
"Where? Shampoo need kill."
That shook Ranma out of his day dreaming. Having finally noticed just how cute Shampoo was he had felt quite open to her advances. The fact the girl wanted to murder him was very much a mood killer. The murderous glare also ruined the cuteness.
"In the house somewhere," Hibari shrugged. "I don't track 'either' Ranma's every movement."
Shampoo seemed reasonably convinced and stormed off to hunt her prey. Hibari then turned a judgmental eye to Ranma.
"So... you seemed a little too happy with that," Hibari replied. "What's she got that's so great? You don't seem nearly as happy when I hug you. Do I need to start trying to kill you too?"
Ranma glared as he stood up. "I dunno. Maybe having an actual girl pay attention to me is nice."
Hibari was about to counter (somehow... the specifics weren't clear yet), when Tsugumi appeared at the bedroom door. "Dinner is ready. I do wish you'd told me you were having a guest over though. Have to stretch the food a bit thin. No thirds tonight Ranma."
The three headed down to the family dining room, but Hibari kept walking into the kitchen. Ranma was confused, but just sat down to eat. Battling extra fiercely with his father before the rest of the household had even arrived, Ranma was caught off guard when cold water suddenly splashed over him.
"What was that for?" Ranma yelled, glaring at the blonde holding an empty glass.
"Oops, I guess I tripped a little."
In an instant Shampoo appeared, chui drawn.
"Girl type Ranma! Shampoo kill!"
Ranma yelped in panic and was chased out of the dining room, past a startled Tsubame.
"What was that about?" the brunette asked.
"Ranma-kun's new girlfriend is a little moody," Hibari pouted as she sat down to eat.
"Girlfriend? That hatred seemed rather convincing," Tsugumi replied, staring at the blonde she considered her brother.
"That's because she wants to kill girl Ranma," Hibari said and laughed.
The others stared confused, only broken from their silence when Suzume marched in.
"What did I miss?" the blue haired nine year old asked.
"What do you mean by girlfriend?" Genma asked. "How did he win-er, half win, that Amazon maniac?"
"Apparently when a man beats a warrior from her village they have to marry him," Hibari related. "It's only the girls they have to kill."
Genma slammed a fist into his palm. "If only I'd known. Could have saved a lot of headaches in China."
"Should we call Suba and Seiji to help out?" Tsugumi asked.
"No," Genma replied. "Suba has proven a quick learner, but he's still not at that Shampoo girl's level. Seiji... simply will never have the speed. This is a matter for true martial artists, like Ranma or myself."
"I'll put a kettle on," Hibari said and shrugged. "I figure she's chased him enough to keep him from getting ideas."
Once the kettle was heated Hibari quickly tracked a terrified Ranma to the rafters of the dojo while Shampoo was hunting about outside. A bit of water and he was safe again, though didn't stop giving Hibari a stink eye the whole evening. Eventually Tsugumi convinced Shampoo she couldn't stay the night and things calmed down a bit.
Ranma found himself relaxing against a tree on the edge of a field when Hibari hopped down from the branches above. The blonde smiled, before blushing shyly.
"R-Ranma-kun, there's something... something I have to confess."
Hibari slid close into Ranma's personal space and the boy was left awkwardly shuffling away on his back and elbows, not having room to stand with Hibari so close.
"Ya can confess, sure, but... but give me some breathin' room."
Hibari blushed again, "Ranma, the truth is..."
The blonde removed her loose sweater to reveal a full female figure. "I'm really a girl."
"W-when did you get to Jusenkyo?" he stammered.
Hibari leaned forward and cuddled on him. "I didn't. I've been tricking you the whole time. I'm sorry. It just seemed so fun."
"W-wait, Hibari," Ranma. "We shouldn't..."
Ranma's eyes slowly opened as he awoke from the very confusing dream, but he found that the sensation of a girl snuggling him hadn't stopped when he awoke. Groggily his eyes adjusted to the darkness and he realised Shampoo was wrapped around him just where Hibari had been in the dream. His eye twitched, angry at his subconscious.
'There's a beautiful girl in my bed, and my mind makes me think about a boy instead,' he thought angrily. '...Okay, so the girl wants to kill me half the time, while the boy wants... I don't want to think about that. Whatever my subconscious says.'
At that he began trying to pry himself out of the sleeping Shampoo's iron grip, only to have it grow tighter the more he struggled. Then the door to Hibari's room slid open, the blonde giving him a nasty glare, before raising Seiji's squirt gun. Ranma's eyes grew in terror as he struggled to escape with greater urgency, but failed to move before the water got him.
At least the change shrunk him enough to slip out of Shampoo's grasp, but the water had also awoken the Amazon.
"Darling?" the girl muttered as she held a terrified Ranma's cheek. Then her eyes finished opening. "Girl type! Shampoo kill!"
Ranma fled down the halls in a panic while Hibari headed down to have breakfast. Tsugumi was already dishing out rice when the blonde sat down. A few moments later Ranma ran through the eating area, angry Shampoo on his tail.
"Oh," Tsugumi sighed. "They're back at it. Did she not go home last night?"
Hibari shrugged angrily. "I should probably get lover boy some hot water so we can go to school. With his marks he can't afford to miss classes."
"That's probably a good idea," Tsugumi replied.
Ranma glared at Hibari as they changed their shoes at school.
"She managed to sneak in while I was asleep. You of all people should know how deep of a sleeper I am," Ranma fumed.
"Mhm, you're totally innocent," Hibari grumbled. "Not a two timing deviant at all."
Ranma stomped after Hibari. "You're calling me a deviant?"
Ranma found himself receiving the silent treatment the rest of the day at school. Half way through the morning he had decided to return it. He instead spent most of the day wondering why having Hibari upset with him was bothering him so much. Was he really such a deviant he wanted the Oozora clan's heir's affection? Once more he found himself repeating that mantra 'It's the curse'. Shiina was giving him dirty looks the whole day for upsetting Hibari as well, not that he cared too much.
Finally back home the silence of their walk from school was broken by an indigo streak that glomped onto Ranma.
"Airen!" Shampoo yelled as she tackled him.
For a brief moment Ranma felt a pang of attraction to the beautiful Amazon, until the image of her trying to kill him popped back into his head and he began trying to pull himself out of her iron grip. His complete lack of success came as no real surprise, but seemed to gradually infuriate Hibari with each passing second he failed to escape. Eventually the blonde couldn't take it anymore, and grabbed the glomping Amazon by the ear, tugging painfully.
"Aiya!" Shampoo shrieked as she let go of Ranma. "Nà shānghài!"
"Shanghai?" Ranma asked, though no one was listening.
"Straw-hair girl let go of ear!" Shampoo yelled.
"Straw-hair? How dare you!" Hibari hissed, but let go of the Amazon's ear. "If you stopped assaulting my fiancé then you wouldn't get your ear tugged."
Shampoo glared back. "Airen seem not like you. Shampoo no like either. You try to get in way with boy Ranma every time... And straw-hair girl always hiding girl Ranma."
Shampoo's eyes drew narrow and cold before she continued. "You clearly obstacle. Shampoo not like obstacle. Kill obstacle."
Without a second of hesitation she drew her chui and lunged at Hibari. The blonde dodged past and ran into the Oozora compound. Shampoo gave pursuit, and Ranma hurried to make sure no one was killed. Shampoo had learned the layout of the home that day while hunting for Ranma's girl form (whom Shampoo had never seen leave the home, so she assumed was hiding somewhere) preventing Hibari from having much of a home advantage. A few thugs loyal to the Oozora who were on guard duty found themselves knocked unconscious by and angry Shampoo when they tried to intervene.
As Hibari reached the courtyard of the Oozora home the blonde turned into a defensive stance near the koi pond. A plan was starting to form in her mind. Maybe not a very good plan, but a plan nonetheless. Just wait for Ranma to get near the water, and the 'airen' issue would be fixed.
Shampoo smiled as her prey had slowed to a halt and she charged aggressively. The the Amazon's surprise rather than dodging as Hibari had only done before (fearing the Kiss of Death) Hibari ducked under an overconfident chui swing and struck the Amazon in the gut hard. Shifting back a bit Shampoo's face had a deadly smile grow on it as she realised this foe would actually be a worthy opponent.
In fact Shampoo had to admit her foe was marginally faster than herself, and nearly as strong. Hibari on the other hand was left scrambling, realising that Shampoo's technique was far cleaner and honed to kill. Ranma watched intently and would have agreed with both fiancées' opinions if he'd known what those opinions were. Over all the balance of speed versus skill left the two quite even for the moment, but as the fight went on exhaustion would cost Hibari's advantage faster than Shampoo's. Shampoo however was in no mood for patience and continued to launch mildly reckless assaults waving her chui around terrifyingly. Shampoo was furious about losing to one foreign girl and refused to let it happen again.
Hibari was turning the fight to get closer to Ranma, planning to distract Shampoo by tossing him into the koi pond (and possibly confuse the girl enough to get her to listen to logic), but wasn't having much luck against Shampoo's vicious aggression. Hibari decided to gamble, and and dove for Ranma, managing to grab him by the hand at the cost of a chui blow to her free arm. The pain from the blow forced Hibari to cry out, and the enraged blonde found the strength to toss Ranma at Shampoo with her one good hand.
Confused by the projectile coming for her, Shampoo stumbled out of the way, afraid to harm her beloved. As Ranma fell just short of the koi pond Shampoo turned back to Hibari.
"You risk Airen! You pay!" she declared boldly.
Unfortunately for the Amazon, the distraction of dodging and then wanting to make a proclamation bought Hibari a chance to slide in, past Shampoo's defenses. A flurry of blows with her good arm connected painfully, and Shampoo stumbled back a few steps. The extra range opened her up to a number of kicks, followed by a leg sweep. As she fell her grip loosened on one of her chui, which a desperate Hibari pulled from her hand, and then used to hit Shampoo's other arm. The Amazon dropped her other club as pain shot through her wrist. She then found a colourful weapon in her face in the hand of Hibari.
"I win," the blonde said, hoping Shampoo wouldn't continue the fight. Hibari knew that it had only been luck that let her gain the edge.
Shampoo nodded, "Straw-hair girl win."
Hibari dropped the chui to the side, and collapsed to her knees. Then the Amazon lunged, about to place the Kiss of Death, when she found herself stopped by a hand grasping her shirt collar. Turning she saw Ranma was the one responsible.
"I think you're about to give the wrong kiss," Ranma told her with a smirk.
Shampoo stared at him confused, before turning to see an angry Hibari. However, Hibari's anger was now pointed at Ranma, rather than Shampoo, and the Amazon was deeply confused. Ranma pulled her back a bit, before moving over to grab a protesting Hibari's shirt at the waist. As the blonde struggled with her one good arm Ranma sighed.
"Come on, would you really rather she try to kill you than know the truth?" Ranma asked.
Hibari scowled, but with only one good arm wasn't able to stop Ranma from lifting the shirt, and instead the blonde was just left grumbling that today was the wrong day to not have a bra (but Tsubame had gotten rather good at preventing any undergarment borrowing lately...). Shampoo gasped as she registered the masculine chest of Hibari.
"B-but straw-hair gir... boy... fiancé of Airen? How can be boy?"
Ranma blushed, and began to stammer and answer, when he felt an angry one handed shove and stumbled into the koi pond. Angry and redheaded he climbed back out, ready to yell at Hibari, but was cut off by the blonde. Shampoo meanwhile seemed to have smoke coming from her ears as the handsome boy Ranma was apparently replaced with the hated girl Ranma.
"As you can see," Hibari laughed and walked over to Ranma, pulling his shirt open to prove the point (and get a little revenge). "Ranma's really a girl. She's simply as fond of the whole crossdressing thing as I am."
Shampoo's eye twitched. Then tears began to flow down her cheeks. The sudden collapse was enough that Hibari even felt sorry for the girl, and moved to comfort the Amazon, when suddenly Hibari found Shampoo's two hands on her cheeks. Then Shampoo's two lips on her own lips.
Hibari was stunned as the indigo haired girl stood up, still crying, and ran off. With a graceful leap she cleared the outer walls and was on her way.
Hibari was only half aware of Ranma examining her wrist, and muttering that it was probably broken.
Ranma headed into the Oozora home, and emerged a few minutes later accompanied by Suba and Tsugumi, who was carrying a first aid kit. As the eldest Oozora daughter was wrapping the painful wrist and agreeing a doctor should take a look at it, Hibari slid out of the stunned daze.
"She... she kissed me," Hibari whispered. "That was my first kiss."
"At least it was a girl, no?" Tsugumi said, smiling uncertainly. "Poor Ranma-kun had to have his first with a boy. Always worried what happened to him would happen to you."
Hibari drifted away for a moment, then replied. "I suppose Ranma and I are even then."
"What's that mean?" Ranma grumbled.
Hibari just sighed.
Chapter 7.5: Chez Tendo (aka the B Plot)
Kosaku stepped nervously off the train at Tokyo Station, wondering if the emotional mustachioed man his mother had sent him to live with would really be there. He didn't know who the man was, so wondered why his mother would ask him to move all the way to Tokyo to live with a stranger.
"Ah, Kosaku-kun," the tall martial artist known as Tendo Soun said happily, "What a joy to finally have you in Tokyo... If only it had been under happier circumstances."
Soun grabbed one of Kosaku's bags and led him through the station.
"We'll take a taxi to the dojo," Soun announced, "You're probably too tired to deal with the subway today."
Sitting in a taxi a few minutes later Soun decided to re-start their conversation.
"So, you're in your first year of high school, no?"
"Yes sir."
"Ah, the same age as my dear Akane."
"So, um," Kosaku mumbled, "How do... did you know my mother?"
"Ahhh," Soun began, his eyes filling with nostalgia. "We were young. Harue and I... it was a lovely time, even if she chose your father instead. I don't regret it though, I found my own wife not long after and enjoyed the years I had with her."
Kosaku grew wistful and pulled out a photo of his mother. He sighed as he looked at her face.
"I miss her..."
"I wish I could tell you it will get easier," Soun told him, placing a hand gently on the boy's shoulder. "Whenever you remember it will hurt."
The cab pulled came to a stop, and Soun paid the driver. Kosaku took his luggage out of the trunk and followed Soun into the home labeled 'Tendo Dojo' on the sign. As they crossed the gate a friendly young woman of nineteen with long brown hair and a maternal air was standing to greet them.
"Welcome home father," Kasumi said before bowing to Kosaku, "It is a pleasure to meet you, Sakomoto-kun. My name is Kasumi. I am sorry to hear about your mother, but hope you will feel at home with us."
Kosaku bowed back. "Thank you for your concern and hospitality."
Behind Kasumi a girl with brown hair in a pageboy haircut appeared with a predatory smile. "Not half bad looking."
Kosaku blushed, but also felt a twinge of fear upon seeing the girl. She was definitely pretty, but held a cold atmosphere about her.
"The name's Nabiki by the way," she said.
Walking around an external corner of the house, sweating in a gi, came a pretty girl Kosaku's age with long blue-black hair. She grumbled when she saw him.
"Daddy... why did you agree to let a boy stay with us?" she grumbled.
"Akane, please be nice," Soun begged. "He's an orphan, and his mother was an old friend."
"Hmph, boys are perverts," she grumbled and stomped off.
"Please forgive Akane," Kasumi told Kosaku. "She's having some issues with the boys at school. It's... tainted her views of boys in general."
Nabiki and Kasumi went back into the house, with Soun leading Kosaku up to a guest bedroom.
"Wow, those are all your daughters?" Kosaku asked.
"Yes, indeed. My three precious girls," Soun replied with happy tears.
"Having only girls really makes the place so bright and nice."
"That's mostly Kasumi's doing," Soun replied. "She's been the pillar of the family for so many years, since my dear wife... passed on."
They arrived at the guest bedroom and opened the door. The decoration was fairly spartan, with just a bed, a desk, a chair, and a closet, but it was enough. Kosaku flopped on the bed, happy to find it had a good mattress.
"After your travelling you could probably use a bath," Soun nodded. "The furo is just down the way, I'm sure you can't miss it."
"You know, that does sound like a plan," Kosaku replied with a stretch.
It was as easy to find the bathroom as Soun said and the tired Kosaku wandered in, though he was too tired to notice the 'occupied' sign. As such he'd removed his shirt, and was unbuckling his belt, when Akane emerged from the bathing area in only a towel. Her eyes flashed with rage as he blushed and tried to look away, too stunned to say anything.
"Pervert!" she yelled as she punched him in the cheek.
Kosaku was knocked off his feet and lay sprawled on the floor. Akane grabbed her clothes and hurried back into the bathing area to dress. When she emerged the orphan boy was sitting up again, rubbing his sore face.
"It was an honest mistake, I swear," he apologised. "I didn' think ta check. Never needed ta at home."
"Hmph, you're a boy. I didn't expect any different."
Hibari sat quietly in the restaurant booth fiddling with her cast. The doctor's had said it would be at least a month before she'd get the cast removed. When Hibari had told Ranma he'd just laughed, before returning with some foul smelling powder that he mixed in water. As she'd tried not to gag drinking it he explained it was some kind of traditional remedy a monk had showed him when he was travelling in the mountains north of Hiroshima. Ranma was confident the wound would be healed in a week with a couple more treatments. Then he'd dragged her off for ice cream.
"Trust me, vanilla cancels the flavour," a short redhead said with a chuckle as he handed her a bowl of ice cream. "I could tell by the face you were making you were still tasting it."
Hibari looked down at the adorable sundae and was surprised Ranma would buy such a thing, even for her. Then she was even more surprised by the parfait in front of him (which did not seem long for this world the way he was digging into it). The decor in the parlour was also quite pink and girly. No wonder she was looking at a little redhead, rather than the handsome boy with black hair he tended to be.
"How did you find out about this place anyway?" Hibari asked.
"Heard some classmates talking about it," Ranma replied with a shrug. "Supposed to be kinda expensive, but I never pay for ice cream."
"So it wasn't really 'your treat' then?" Hibari asked, before sticking her tongue out in a playful manner.
"Hey, I still did the flirtin' needed to get this. Last time it was you that had to do that. Though with the cast you could probably do a real good tragic story ploy."
Hibari just rolled her eyes and ate some more of her sundae. Looking over at Ranma polishing off the last of his parfait she couldn't help but find his behaviour adorable. It was honestly a bit unnerving for the blonde, who had never had real romantic interest in a girl. Then again, Ranma was still Ranma right? So he was always a boy. She found herself trying to mentally transform the redhead back into his true form, and was left wondering if his male form had ever given quite so large a smile as he was making now.
"Now don't get the wrong idea. This ain't a date. Just two guys hangin' out. Recuperatin' from a fight an' all."
"Yep, that's us. Just a couple of macho dudes."
"Hey! Less complainin' or I steal some ice cream."
The next morning Kosaku and Akane were walking towards Furinkan high school in a bitter silence. The boy had given up on apologising after the twentieth time or so, and was instead wondering if he should run away. As they round the gate of the school Kosaku was stunned to see what looked like four or five different sports teams, a few of whom seemed to have equipment from multiple sports, standing at the ready.
"This is why. I. Hate. BOYS!" Akane shouted as she charged at the crowd.
The howls of pain where interspersed with requests for a date, which left Kosaku scratching his head.
"If this is what the Tokyo dating scene is like then I might be in trouble for that bet," he muttered under his breath.
"This happens every morning," Nabiki shouted from an upper floor window.
Kosaku nodded, and began to sneak around the edge of the fight. He apologised as he stepped on someone, but soon made his way around the chaos and began to head towards the school when he saw a tall guy with a bokken and a rose probably a year older than him lurking behind a tree. Kuno was preparing to make a dramatic entry as the fighting began to die down, when Kosaku addressed him.
"So, are you waiting for her to tire out before attacking?" he asked. "That seems pretty dishonourable."
Kuno seethed and pointed the bokken at Kosaku. "Who art thou to discuss matters of honour with one as noble as myself?"
"What's with da funny words pal?" Kosaku replied in full Kyushu accent just to annoy the clearly stuffy teen.
"Thou are a peasant who canst barely speak!" the tall would be samurai roared.
"Maybe, but at least I ain't hidin' behind a tree," Kosaku shrugged, before starting to head away towards the school.
"Halt rogue!" Kuno yelled. "Thou arrived with the fair Akane. Acting rather too familiar for thine own good. Perhaps thou needeth a lesson in manners rogue."
"Listen, pal, I don't know who ya are, but you're really starting to tick me off," Kosaku replied.
By this point Akane had walked over to find out where Kuno was, and face palmed as she heard the argument. She thought about interrupting, but then decided maybe Kosaku deserved to learn the hard way after the whole shower incident.
"Hah, so the cad has some fire in him. Ah, but I should introduce myself, as is customary," Kuno began, "I am Kuno Tatewaki, the undefeated rising star of the high school kendo world. Captain of the kendo club. Known to all as the Blue Thunder of Furinkan High."
Kuno paused while posing dramatically, as if expecting the declaration to bring forth thunder. The storm clouds had rolled into a different part of Nerima that day though. (Hibari had thankfully brought a thermos of warm water for Ranma after hearing the morning's weather report.)
"Uh, alright," Kosaku shrugged, "Sakomoto Kosaku. I'm just stayin' with the Tendos for a bit."
"Cur!" the tall kendo champion shouted, and he lunged with a strike of his bokken.
Kosaku tried to dodge, but his minimal fighting experience wasn't enough to keep him out of harm's way and the Sakomoto boy received a nasty wallop to the head.
Kosaku came to in the nurse's office, with Akane watching him nervously.
"I didn't realise he'd hit that hard," she said sheepishly as she saw him stir. "He rarely uses that much force against me... Honestly a little insulted."
Kosaku rubbed his head gingerly. "How did I get here?"
"Well... I gave Kuno a good thrashing, then brought you over," Akane shrugged.
"Oh... Thanks. I thought after what had happened you hated me."
"I still think you're a pervert," Akane replied. "But you were pretty funny how you got under Kuno's skin, so maybe you're not all bad. Still a boy though, so you're on thin ice. Anyway, we should really get to class."
Kosaku nodded and they head out into the hall. After climbing a few flights of stairs Kosaku was surprised to see a boy in a familiar bandanna. The boy also looked surprised to see him.
"I'm back in Kyushu aren't I?" he grumbled, "I swore it was Tokyo that was north of Sendai, not Kyushu."
"You're in Tokyo," Kosaku told the strange lad. "Nerima too actually."
"Wait, really?" Ryoga said with his face lighting up. "Haha! Now I just need to find Wakaba High."
"Wakaba?" Akane mused, "I think that's the school on the south-west end the ward. You're at Furinkan right now. A teacher could probably help you out better than I could."
Ryoga blushed, nervous about an attractive girl talking to him, but managed to stammer: "Thank you miss."
He then ran off, into a janitor's closet.
"Strange boy," Akane said, as they heard the crashing of various cleaning supplies.
The boys' gym glass had a moment to relax, and were watching the girls play baseball when Kosaku found a couple of boys sitting to either side of him. Both were wearing smiles that were a little too big.
"So, you're staying with Akane, eh Sakomoto?" the boy with fluffier brown hair asked.
"Er, yeah. Her dad is a family friend, so I'm staying at the Tendo Dojo," Kosaku replied.
"You lucky dog," the one with flatter dark hair laughed, "What I wouldn't give to see Akane all the time... Anyway, how long until you plan on trying to make a move?"
"What?" Kosaku blundered. "With Akane? She's not exactly boy friendly."
"That's true, Nabiki'd probably'd be a bit for fun. If you know what I mean," the lighter haired one laughed.
Then the one with darker hair leaned in to whisper a more explicit explanation of just what his friend meant. Kosaku blushed, and almost wished he hadn't known all those terms.
"You guys are as bad as my best friend back home," Kosaku replied.
"We remind you of your best friend? I think that's a very good sign. Don't you agree Hiroshi?" the darker haired one laughed to his friend.
"Indeed, should be the start of a wonderful friendship. I told you we wouldn't regret talking to him, didn't I Daisuke?" Hiroshi replied.
Kosaku burst out laughing, "Your name is Daisuke?"
"What's so funny about that?" the short haired Daisuke asked.
"My pal back home was named Daisuke too. I guess both your parents chose the right names," Kosaku replied, still laughing.
A baseball to the face interrupted Kosaku's laughter.
"Ooh, today is not your day," Daisuke commented.
Akane ran over to check on him. Sure, he was a boy, but she really didn't think he deserved that much beating in one day.
"I'm sorry. I wasn't aiming for you. Honest," she said. Studying the red mark on his cheek for a bit she came to a decision. "You're going to Dr. Tofu's first thing after school. Two head blows like that..."