Chapter 35: Opening Volley!
The sun was still rising as Ranma and Ryoga stood across for each other, bathing both boys in a warm orange light. The clearing in the woods provided their small gathering of spectators the ability to watch from a safe distance, should Ryoga start making liberal use of the breaking point technique.
"So, you can still meet me to fight like a man then, Ranma?" Ryouga asked, sneering with a confidence he wasn't used to feeling.
"Oh lay off it, Co-chan. I can beat the snot out of ya as a guy or a girl," Ranma declared confidently.
Ryoga bared his teeth, before turning towards the treeline where the girls and Mousse were watching. "Hibari! I'm going to win this as the first step to proving I'm worthy of you!"
"Insulting Ranma for his femininity isn't a way to impress me!" the red haired girl shouted back from the trees.
"I-that's just trash talk!" Ryouga replied, his blush visible to the audience despite the distance.
"Are we fightin' or not?" Ranma asked. "If ya want, ya can just surrender now."
"I'm going to win!" Ryoga shouted, charging Ranma.
The pigtailed boy dodged, but was amazed how much faster Ryoga had gotten. "Huh, so you didn't just sit there getting hit by a rock all day?"
Ryouga answered with a volley of punches, keeping Ranma on the defensive. As Ranma swirled out of the way, Ryoga extended a finger.
"Taste breaking point!" the fang boy bellowed.
The explosion of soil and rocks pelted both combatants, Ranma managing to dodge most of them while Ryoga, in the centre of the blast, took the brunt of it without flinching.
"Seems I just gotta let ya do that a bunch and you'll knock yerself out," Ranma taunted.
"Hah, I didn't even feel it," Ryoga declared.
Taking a confident pose to show off his invincibility, Ryoga saw Ranma's fist flying towards his face. The pigtailed boys strike was too fast for Ryoga to dodge, and it collided with Ryoga's cheek in a hard thud.
"You've been slacking Ranma! Your punches back in middle school were harder than that!" Ryoga taunted, having barely reacted to the blow beyond his head turning a bit with the impact.
Ranma struggled to keep the fear off his face. Shampoo had warned him the technique would toughen Ryoga, but he wasn't expecting it to be that big an improvement. As Ryoga launched a counter offensive, Ranma silently accepted that kicks were indeed his best hope. Swinging around to dodge, he left Ryoga's blow overextended, and slammed a foot into Ryoga's side with all his might.
The fanged boy flew across the open field, and slammed into a stand of trees. As the large trunks collapsed into a heap, Ranma ran over, panting. Ryoga was buried alive. Surely the fight was over?
That was when he heard laughter from within the pile of timber. Followed by crashing sounds as Ryoga burst forth from the debris pile.
"Is that really your best shot? I don't even need to worry about blocking!" Ryoga declared, laughing confidently.
Ryoga launched himself forward, a finger extended, and slammed into the earth mere centimetres from where Ranma had been standing. As the hail of pebbles smacked against him, Ryoga growled when he saw how far Ranma had managed to leap.
"Running away are you? Just like always?"
Ranma opened his mouth, instinctively wanting to give a snappy reply, yet had none. Running away to get some time to think had been his plan after the kick failed to do anything appreciable.
Well, one kick had failed.
"Nah, just needed a break from B.O., piggy!" Ranma taunted, filled with confidence and a new plan.
Charging across the field, Ranma decided to see if he could push the speed of his kicks as much as he'd learned to improve his punches. Ryoga found himself receiving a blinding volley of kicks, hitting too fast for him to even think about blocking. The assault had been so fast Ryoga had only become airborne from the force as the last few kicks had collided.
The fanged boy flew in a low arc, before slamming into the ground and digging a trail through the dirt as inertia continued to propel him, despite the resistance from the soil he was ploughing through. He came to a halt not far from a steep drop off of a small creek gulley.
"I'll admit, I felt that one," Ryoga said as he climbed back to his feet. He was hurting and worried he might end up losing the fight, when he looked over and saw Ranma panting as the pigtailed boy headed over to continue the fight. "I guess launching a few dozen kicks is a little tiring, isn't it?'
"Feh, I've got plenty of endurance. I survived dating you for a whole year in middle school afterall," Ranma replied. In retrospect it had taken a lot of endurance on those two or three day walks to help Ryoga find his house or the grocery store or whatever back then.
"I thought you were a virgin!?" Hibari shouted, before bursting into laughter.
Mousse, Ukyo, Ryoga, and Ranma all stared at Hibari in confusion for a moment as they tried to work out the link. Shampoo, for her part, joined Hibari in laughing almost immediately immediately.
"Always good to find partner with endurance," Shampoo said between the giggles.
"I but wh-Oh! No! I didn't mean that!" Ranma protested, turning beet red.
"Didn't mean what? I'm confused?" Ryouga asked, while Ukyo joined in on the laughter.
"I didn't need that mental image!" Mousse blurted.
"Bah, you probably picture it out of focus anyway," Shampoo replied.
Ranma attempted to further protest his innocence, while teasing erupted from the peanut gallery.
Growing more frustrated at his inability to follow the conversation, Ryoga released a primal roar before throwing himself at Ranma, attempting to tackle the pigtailed boy. Ranma yelped, having been distracted by embarrassment, and stumbled as he lept. Not watching his footing well, Ranma tumbled down onto the edge of the drop off and then slid down the muddy incline towards a small stream below.
By the time Ranma was done tumbling, it was an angry and damp redhead glaring up from the bottom of the small ravine.
"Heh, looks like we'll find out if your claim you can beat me as a girl is true or not," Ryoga declared, looking down at his foe.
"Why don't ya come on down and try me? It'll be a nice quick fight."
"I'd prefer to stay dry myself, thanks," Ryoga replied.
Grumbling, the short redhead decided to take this as a chance to get a short breather while analysing the easiest way back up. A tree a short distance away looked springy enough.
Ranma leapt over and bounded off the young flexible trunk. Getting a good amount of air, Ranma hoped to use the added benefit of gravity to get a little more force in the next volley of kicks. Ryoga attempted to dodge, but Ranma managed to twist through the air in a down right catlike manner and strike true with the first kick. Ryoga made no effort to count, but suspected at least a few dozen kicks had hit before Ranma made landfall.
Stumbling back, Ryoga had to grimace. "So You can still hit. Wasn't quite as hard as before though. I could probably take another two or three of those easy. How many more do you think you can give?"
Panting, Ranma winced at the news. The short redhead knew one or two more was the limit. Ranma didn't like the idea of gambling that much. Curse Ryoga's thick skin. Blows just bounced off.
Blows. That wasn't the only option in a martial artist's playbook, as recent sparring with Akane had reminded Ranma so well.
Smiling, the redhead beckoned Ryoga with one hand. Unsure of Ranma's intentions, Ryoga hoped it was just the pigtailed girl's idea to accept the loss more quickly, and decided he could help with that.
Ryoga was more annoyed than anything as Ranma dodged. He then felt Ranma's hand on his shoulder. Followed by the small girl's mass swinging around his torso. And then strong thighs pressing against his arm and neck.
It took Ryoga a moment to realise he was locked in a flying sankaku jime choke hold. Ranma using a grappling technique was so unusual he'd left himself wide open to it. Still, Ryoga was the better grappler of the two, so there was no need to worry. It wouldn't be hard for him to wiggle out from between her legs.
Wait. Her legs.
Suddenly Ryoga began to to blush at the thought of where he was, and therefore what was just in front of his face. Suddenly, he felt light headed a bit faster than he thought the chokehold should have meant.
"Woah!" Ranma yelped as Ryoga tumbled over. Realising the fanged boy was out cold already, Ranma was a bit surprised. "Huh, I guess I was squeezing harder than I thought?"
"No! No, no, no!" Mousse protested as he ran over and tried to shake Ryoga awake. "Come on! You can't lose! How are you supposed to break up Saotome and Oozora if you lose?"
"Mousse," Shampoo said coldly as she walked over. "What did I tell you about trying to intervene in Airen's relationship!?"
"I-I wasn't intervening! I was just supporting a fellow martial artist on his path to self betterment!" Mousse insisted, scrambling over to kowtow at the base of a tree that he'd clearly mistaken for Shampoo.
"Mousse, you idiot," Shampoo hissed under her breath.
Ranma, feeling a bit tired still, struggled to her feet. Only to be tackled from three sides by Hibari, Shampoo, and Ukyo, who all wrapped her in a congratulatory hug. Ranma was already feeling a bit overwhelmed by the attention when she received a kiss of each cheek, one from Hibari and the second from Ukyo. (Shampoo abstained from kissing to maintain plausible deniability on her 'forget the engagement' act.)
As Ukyo and Hibari glared at each other from either side of Ranma, the short redhead was busy blushing furiously while her pigtail stood on end.
"A guy could get used to this kind of attention... or a girl. A girl could get used to it too," Ranma muttered absently.
Hibari and Ukyo's glares shifted target to her face.
"I'm not playing to share," Ukyo protested.
"I can be more than enough for you all on my own," Hibari countered, moving in so that Ranma could feel the taller redhead's breath.
A stroke from Hibari's hand down her pigtail cause Ranma to shiver, and then Hibari's softly kissing her lower neck proved too much, turning Ranma fully to jelly.
A flustered Ukyo struggled with the sensuality of it all. "W-well, come on. Let's get back to camp. I'll cook you up a lunch worthy of a winner, Ranchan."
Ranma could only smile dumbly. The warm feeling of being surrounded by love was addicting, even if she could sense the tension between Hibari and Ukyo, but had no idea how to fix it.
Ryoga awoke to the sound of annoyed cat meows. Sitting up in the grassy field, it took him a moment to spot the black kitten tied to one of the nearby trees.
"Heh, I guess you got in trouble with Shampoo, eh?" Ryoga asked as he walked over to Mousse.
The cat of a boy glared angrily in Ryoga's general direction.
"Hey, it was your idea... and I-I guess maybe I'm still not over Ranma? Or not over Ranma's girl side at least," Ryoga explained as he untied the other boy. "Man, Shampoo is good with knots, I might just have to cut these."
Ukyo groaned as something poked her side. When the poking repeated, she begrudgingly opened her eyes. There was a dark shape over her in the tent, and it took a moment for her to realise it was Ranma. The other figure gave her a silent shush, and then a head gesture to the outside. Ukyo nodded tentatively, and followed silently as Ranma slipped out.
If Ukyo had been a bit more lucid, her heart would have been thumping in anticipation. Instead it was more confusion and worry about tripping or making any noise.
Only once they were firmly out of hearing range did Ranma stop and turned to Ukyo.
"You said you weren't 'playin' to share' today, and I just gotta ask: why not?"
Ukyo blinked in confusion. "I, well, it's just not how it's done? Love's an all or nothing game."
"But why's it gotta be?" Ranma asked as he nervously rubbed the back of his neck. "I've been thinkin', ever since Shampoo was sayin' she liked the idea of sharin' and... I don't get why people dont?"
"Is it so bad to want all of someone's heart, Ranchan?"
"I dunno Ucchan, but I do know that how much I care about ya doesn't seem ta decrease how much I care about Hibari. It makes bein' around more than one person make so much more sense. Wait, d'ya... d'ya think that means I can't love somebody with all my heart? That's there's still extra space left?"
Ukyo watched Ranma's face turn pained by the fear that was bubbling in his chest. Seeing him looking so hurt, Ukyo had to look away, staring up at the endless sea of stars above them. It was a humbling reminder of how small they were in this vast universe, and, if the universe was so big, maybe there was room to try something new.
"I don't know, Ranchan. But, if you really think love can work with more than two people, I'll at least try. You have to get Hibari to agree though, and not to see me as playing second fiddle. If I share, it's as an equal... and I still can't promise that's something I can do."
Ranma smiled that adorable and innocent smile he did sometimes (and she did quite often). "Thanks Ucchan. I'll try talkin' ta her, see how it goes."
Ranma, now back in Tokyo, was starting to fall asleep as she stared at her newest opponent. This one was more insidious than any she'd faced before, wearing her down relentlessly.
"I told you to pace your summer break homework better," Hibari said from somewhere behind her.
"Hey! I finished like two thi-" Ranma began protesting as she swivelled her chair around. What she saw surprised her. "Y-you're blonde again."
"Yeah... tomorrow's the first day of a new semester. Kaori might try something, and I don't want to have to worry about a wig while she's plotting her pointless pranks. And I wouldn't put it past dad to be extra annoying for the first day of school too," Hibari replied casually as she walked over and sat down on Ranma's bed. "You could go as a redhead tomorrow though. Do your 'girl mode' debut."
"I...er, well... I do feel a little less fidgety in girl mode," Ranma said, half to herself. "But, I'd feel awkward tryin' ta ask the girls ta let me in the changeroom though. An' if I was girl for everythin' else... then the guys'd harass me like crazy if I changed with them. I ain't scared a' that, but it sounds annoyin', y'know?"
"I suppose that's fair. Too bad though, I was hoping to do your makeup again."
Ranma blushed and began to twiddle her thumbs while glancing nervously towards Hibari. "Well, today's its own day. And I could use a break from homework."
Hibari smiled and leaned forward to softly tap Ranma on the nose with her index finger. "Homework first. The makeover is your reward. I will, however, be happy to provide some very hands on tutoring."
"Th-that sounds nice too," Ranma replied, turning even redder. Serious relationship discussions could wait a little longer.
The first day of the semester was generally a casual affair. Handing in homework from the break. A good quarter of the students begging for extensions, with a wide range of excuses. Teachers discussing the rubrics for the semester ahead. Kaori attempting to socially assassinate Hibari and having it blow up in her face (the idea to wear stilettos to out seductress the blonde had led to her nearly twisting her ankle). The usual.
Oh, and Shiina had tried to challenge Ranma to another fight. It... well, it hadn't gone well for the lanky boxer, though Ranma had to respect that he'd obviously been training hard over the summer. (But had focused far too much on dodging, in Ranma's opinion.)
Now the classes were done, and Ranma was hoping to escape from school for the day. He'd never understand people who hung around for hours in their clubs. There was so much more to do off school grounds.
Ukyo was similarly hoping to leave, although the chef's logic was focused more on profit margins for the restaurant than an innate disdain for school.
Shui and Hibari were in no hurry however, sharing the gossip they'd heard from other students. Between the bits Hibari got from the girls and what Shui got from the boys, they were trying to figure out if two students who talked about a summer romance were actually talking about one another or not.
"Hibari!" a girl called out, not far down the hallway. "The volleyball team is having tryouts! Let's get going!"
"Volleyball team? Ya want ta join a team?" Ranma asked.
"Nah," Hibari replied dismissively. "It's just that the captain, Ootori Jun, is really handsome. All the girls love to watch her, so the volleyball team practices are usually closed. Otherwise they can barely hear each other over the audience."
Ukyo shook her head. "I'll never understand why so many girls are so fond of the 'handsome girl' category."
"If you don't want to come along, you don't have to," Hibari replied, sticking her tongue out while she was already jogging off towards the other girls.
"Yeah, I'm good," Ukyo shrugged. There were many better things to do with her time. "I guess it'll be just you and me then, eh Ranma?... Ranma?"
"Jun-sama! I love you!"
"Sempai! You're amazing!"
The cheers of the girls spectating nearly drowned out the sound of the practice itself. Well, almost... Captain Ootori's shouts at the tryout candidates were quite loud. Watching from the second level walkway above the gym, Ranma, Hibari, Rie, and Shampoo were enjoying the view themselves. (How Shampoo had managed to find a kettle, get changed, do her hair and makeup, and still arrive at the gym only a few moments after them, Ranma and Hibari couldn't begin to speculate.)
"Y'know, I always did think girls with short hair looked good," the black haired Ranma commented absently.
Suddenly the crowd of girls around went quiet as they noticed the intruder in their midst (Rie herself blushed, having not registered the form Ranma had taken). Feeling nervous about being the only boy in the crowd, and worrying about the daggers the girls were staring, Ranma produced a water bottle and dumped it over her head to take female form.
A ripple of whispers spread at that, followed by the girls around nodding and going back to shouting their love of captain Ootori.
"That was odd," Ranma half whispered to Hibari and Shampoo.
"This whole event is odd. I knew that Wakaba had reputation for having some lesbians, but this... this almost all the girls in school?" Shampoo replied.
"Those two things are related. You see, girls having a crush on someone like Ootori-sempai is considered perfectly heterosexual," the blonde explained.
Shampoo and Ranma stared at her, utterly confused.
"Ootori's butch enough that it's seen as girls being interested in boys, but still shy and young, so they're afraid of actual boys and cling to masculine girls instead," Hibari continued. "Ranma, having been in male form earlier, threatened that appearance by showing that a guy could like Ootori."
"This 'girls really want boy, but scared' idea... it is male logic, isn't it?" Shampoo asked.
"Yeah, basically," Hibari replied.
"This is why you not let men run things. End up with nonsense like thinking blatant lesbianism really about them."
Rie blushed, wanting to protest. She was pretty sure she did just think Ootori was handsome...
Ranma, for her part, was wondering if that meant she had just gained at least honorary 'girl' status, going by the whispers before she was accepted. The redhead couldn't help smiling.
"Huh, I guess that's the last of them. I might have to lower my standards," Ootori-sama declared as another girl collapsed panting and sweating on the edge of the court.
"C-c-captain! What about me? Y-you said I'd get to try out after helping as a team manager all last semester... d-do you hate me?" the girl who had been handing her balls all practice exclaimed, bursting into tears.
The captain looked rather annoyed, and let out a frustrated sigh. "Fine, sure. We'll see if you've improved any."
"Thank you!" the girl cheered, before running across to the other side of the court.
Captain Jun waited for the girl to get into position. She shook her head as she realised the girl's stance was far too weak. Still, she had promised.
"Serve!" Jun shouted, lobbing the ball across to the girl.
Trying to bump the ball towards the team member standing in the setter's position, the girl accidentally sent the ball flying wide. With the ball arcing awkwardly through the air, the girls in the crowd began to grow excited that it might land in the hands of any of them. They'd get to return it to Ootori-sempai, and get her personal attention!
"Oh," Hibari said, slightly surprised as the ball fell into her hands. "Don't worry, I'll send it back!"
Tossing the ball up lightly, Hibari pulled her other arm back before slamming into the ball with a graceful serve. The thunder-like crack as the blonde's hand slammed into the ball was followed a split second later by a second crack as the volleyball collided with the court floor and smashed through the wooden structure.
When the dust cleared, the volleyball team was scattered across the court, panting from their mad dash out of the way of Hibari's volley. As well, most of the girls in the gym were staring over (or up) at Hibari.
"Heh, oops. Sorry," the blonde said nervously. It was only then that she realised Captain Ootori was nowhere to be seen...
"That was the best serve I've seen all year," Jun said softly, suddenly, at most, half a metre behind Hibari.
"Ooh. You're fast," Hibari replied as she turned around, amazed the older girl had made it up to the second level so quickly.
Jun took Hibari's hands in hers and brought them together, as if she were making an intimate romantic proposal. "Would you care to join the volleyball team?"
"Woah! Hey! Give her some space pal," Ranma declared, elbowing her way between the two of them. "Don't be getting so chummy with my fiancée!"
Jun blinked in confusion as she looked back and forth between the two (incredibly cute) girls. They were engaged? But how could...
"You're Saotome Ranma and Oozora Hibari, aren't you?"
"What's it to ya?" Ranma asked.
"I've heard about some of your exploits... you both would make amazing members for my team," Jun replied. "What do you say?"
Ranma gave the handsome girl a judgment glare. "If ya've heard about me, then ya know that, despite appearance, I ain't exactly girls' volleyball material."
"Don't worry, we'll see how you play first, worry about technicalities later," Jun countered, grabbing both girls by the elbow to lead them off.
"Woah, hey!" Ranma protested. "I said I ain't joinin'!"
"Let go!" Hibari added. "Ranma can't play, and I won't join a club without my fiancée!"
Jun was indignant, not used to hearing 'no'. Her annoyance was only held back by her uncertainty at how to respond. (And a bit of fluster over how cute these two were.)
"Yo! Oozora, there you are!" a boy's voice called out from the crowd.
Turning, Hibari saw a blonde boy who was awkwardly navigating through the crowd of girls. He was being very apologetic and trying to give everyone plenty of space. Jun saw him as well, and couldn't help glaring at him for interrupting.
"Takanashi! Hey, what's up?"
"I've got great news! My bands doing a show for the cultural festival! We really need you to sing though, it would make the performance so much better!" the boy with platinum blonde hair asked.
"Ooh, that sounds fun. Let's go Ranma, maybe we can get you a spot in the show too!" Hibari declared, grabbing her fiancée's wrist and following the boy.
Ranma gave Jun a mischievous smirk and a shrug as she followed Hibari. "How can I pass up the chance to be a rockstar?"
The volleyball captain watched their receding forms in shock. She couldn't let two potential teammates who were that cute just walk away... and, more rationally, she also couldn't let her team's best bet at a championship title walk away either.
Jun sat in her room, lost in thoughts of the two cute girls she… needed to recruit for the volleyball team. Definitely nothing more. Why did Ranma have to really be a boy, though? It wasn't fair.
"Wait, if Ranma's a boy, then I've finally had my first proper crush," Jun whispered to herself. She knew she wasn't a weirdo like her brothers…
Ranma and Hibari were changing their shoes for the morning when captain Jun strolled up to them. The short haired girl gave Ranma a once over. And then a twice over for good measure, before sighing in disappointment.
"Needed ta see the proof I can't join the team?" Ranma asked.
"I'm still not admitting defeat on that," Jun snapped. "This was about something else!"
Ranma was preparing a witty retort when a passing student let out a yelp.
"My juice!"
As was inevitable, there was now an annoyed redhead standing with shoes too big for her, juice dripping from her bangs.
"Ew, this smells like tomato, clams, and pineapple," Ranma grumbled.
Even with the juice and annoyed expression, Ranma was suddenly too adorable in Jun's eyes. Especially when complemented by Hibari, who had produced a towel to try to dry Ranma off. Blushing, the volleyball captain spun around and stormed off. She needed to focus if she was going to make this situation end in her favour.