Chapter 11
Ranma was a little fussy and kept shaking about. It kind of annoyed the eldest Tendo but she didn't show it.
"Ranma, you need to relax. This isn't going to hurry things up with you trembling like that." Kasumi said.
"I'm not trembling." Ranma countered.
"I would if I was you. You're taking a Kuno out on a date. Who knows what she'll do to you." Nabiki added.
"You're not helping me Nabiki." Ranma said.
"Think of it as a sisterly duty to Akane. I mean, you are her fiancée and you're taking someone else out. You're one cold hearted bastard." Nabiki said with a smirk. Ranma gave her a dirty look while Kasumi giggled.
"That's enough Nabiki, he made this deal and now he must uphold it. Besides, it's nice to see him in something other than his Chinese clothing." Kasumi said. She stepped back and looked at him. He was wearing shoes, slacks, a shirt and a jacket. He looked at it with distain and looked at the two sisters.
"Do I really have to wear this?" Ranma asked in a whinny voice.
"Yes." They both said. Ranma accepted his fate and reluctantly agreed. The two girls led Ranma out of his room. They passed by Akane who just glared at Ranma and rushed into her room. There was a loud slam but it was ignored by Ranma. As he entered the dining room, he was not surprise to see both Genma and Soun standing there. He sighed and took off the jacket, handing it to Kasumi.
"We can do this one of two ways. You can let me pass or I can put you down." Ranma said.
"I've had enough of this boy." Genma said with authority.
"Yes, you have hurt my little girl. You will march upstairs right now and beg for forgiveness." Soun ordered.
"The second choice it is." Ranma said with a bored tone. The two growled at him and charged. Ranma caught both men and twisted their arms together. There wrist in a painful lock, Ranma led both men toward the outside. He then threw both men into the koi pond. He took the jacket back and put it back on.
"Well, I'll see you guys later." Ranma said and left the compound. The two waved at him until he was out of view. Nabiki then looked at her elder sister.
"So, this doesn't bother you?" Nabiki asked. Kasumi sighed and looked at her sister.
"I've told you before that I'm fine. He's just too young for me. It wouldn't be proper." Kasumi said.
"Yeah, I guess you're right. You keep telling yourself that and maybe it'll be true." Nabiki joked and walked back into the house. Kasumi just sighed and followed her in.
It was now two o'clock and Ranma was waiting at the train station. It was the meeting place where he and Kodachi would meet.
"Ranma-sama!" a voice called out. He looked up to see Kodachi walk toward him. He took her in and had a small blush on her face. She was wearing a red blouse that showed off her shoulders, the sleeves were hanging around her upper arm. She was also wearing a pair of dark blue capris and dark blue open toe sandals. She dressed her face up moderately, giving her an older look.
"Wow, you look great." Ranma said honestly.
"Thank you Ranma-sama. You also look very good. You clean up nice." Kodachi said. Ranma rubbed the back of his head before holding out his arm.
"Shall we go my lady?" Ranma said with humor.
"Yes, we shall." Kodachi said and took his arm. They boarded the train and made their way to Tokyo.
Ranma and Kodachi were sitting in a nice restaurant. Ranma had to make such that he thanked Nabiki for this. It wasn't too expensive and it had a nice atmosphere. He looked at Kodachi.
"So did you like the movie?" he asked.
"Yes, how did you know I was a fan of 'Love Hina'?" Kodachi asked.
"You can thank Nabiki. I don't know how she does it but something in my gut tells me that I don't want to." Ranma said.
"That reminds me, why are you engaged to such a person as Akane Tendo?" Kodachi asked.
"Chalk that up to my moron of a father. He made this pact with Akane's father but the pact is pretty much null and void, seeing as he has engaged me to a bunch of other girls." Ranma said.
"You're kidding?" Kodachi said.
"I'm not. The worst thing about it is that he did this to feed himself or to rob them blind. Let's just say that I don't respect my father and I won't be doing anything he says." Ranma explained.
"What about your mother?" Kodachi asked.
"I never knew her. My father took me from her when I was two. I've spent fourteen years on a training trip, learning the Musabetsu Kakutō Ryū. That's when I learned who my father really was." Ranma said.
"That's so sad." Kodachi said.
"Well, I am not here to tell sad stories. You've learned a bit about me and now it's my turn." Ranma said.
"Well, you know my brother. Like you, my father was a no show in my life. I never knew my mother as well. My brother told me that she passed a year after my birth. I don't know it he told me that just to protect me but it was something that I accepted. I really don't get along with Tatewaki because I find him bothersome. My hobbies include gymnastics and flower arranging." Kodachi was about to continue when their food arrived. They thanked the waiter and went back to their talking.
It was now eight o'clock. Ranma was walking Kodachi back home. He had to admit that he had a good time. Kodachi didn't try anything. He learned a bit about her and found that she was pretty interesting. She had her faults but they were enough for him to not stay friendly with her. Kodachi learned a lot about her interest as well. She found him to be smart, funny and witty. She decided to take things slow with him and then make him hers.
They reached the Kuno estates after five minutes of walking. Kodachi stood in front of Ranma.
"I had a really nice time." Kodachi said.
"Yeah, I did too. Maybe we can do this again." Ranma said.
"I'd like that too." Kodachi said. She moved closer before get on her toes and kissing Ranma on his cheek. She bid him good night and entered her home. Ranma put his hand on his cheek and smiled. He turned and made his way home.
Ranma was trying not to laugh but he was failing. Not even the glares of Akane and Ryoga, who was in P-chan form, deterred him from laughing. The reason of his merriment is what just happened back at the ice rink. A week ago, he was forced to take Akane to the ice rink because he went out with kodachi. Lucky for him, her friends and P-chan was with her. Apparently, someone named Azusa also liked P-chan and took him away from Akane. She began to call him 'Charlotte', which made him, laugh.
Akane made a fuss and was about to pound Azusa, her partner Mikado appeared and gave Akane P-chan back. Akane was thankful until he attempted to kiss Akane without her permission. He winced as Akane showed him what she thought of that. That's when Azusa challenged her for 'Charlotte'. Akane agreed not knowing that the two were the famous skating team from Kolhotz High School. Like always, Akane didn't care. Later in the day, Ryoga offered to help as he flat out refused to help her.
The day of the match came and the two teams faced off. It was clear who the better team was as Mikado and Azusa dominated most of the match. That's when Ryoga got stupid. Frustrated with flow of the match, he decided to destroy the ice below. That turned out to be a stupid idea as there was water under it. It was very funny to watch as the moron attempted to keep his curse a secret from Akane. Still, it proved to be the best thing to happen as Akane used her herculean strength to smash the two with a piece of ice. Out cold, Akane and Ryoga were named the winners. How Ryoga still managed to drop into the water, Ranma will never know.
He turned his attention back to Akane.
"Well, at least you won this fight. Maybe next time, you'll think before you act." Ranma said.
"How about you shut it? You're just jealous that Ryoga helped me and you didn't." Akane said mockingly.
"Yeah, that's the reason. It can't be because you're too impulsive." Ranma mocked. Akane looked ready to hit him but held herself back. They reached the compound and entered. When they did, they were surprised to see a young girl in Chinese clothing. She turned to look at them and Ranma instantly recognized her. Nabiki saw them and smirked.
"Hey Ranma, you have a visitor from China." Nabiki said. The girl looked at Ranma with a critical eye and patted his chest.
"No Ranma, who you?" she asked in broken Japanese. Ranma just sighed and looked at the girl.
"Nǐ jiào shénme míngzì? (What's your name?)" Ranma asked in perfect Chinese. This surprised everyone in the room. The girl quickly got out of her shock and faced the boy.
"Wǒ de míngzì shì Xǐ Fàshuǐ. Nǐ shuō wǒ de yǔyán. (My name is Shampoo. You speak my language well.)" Shampoo said.
"Xièxiè. Néng tán dé sīrén ma? (Thank you. Can we speak in private?) Ranma asked. Shampoo nodded and Ranma led her to the dojo. Everyone was still in shock at what just happened. After it wore off, everyone rushed to the dojo to listen in on the conversation. They watched as Shampoo and Ranma speak in the girl's native tongue. The girl had several facial expressions that ranged from shock to annoyance. The last expression was something like acceptance. The two continued to talk as if they were working out some sort of deal.
It took them several moments before Shampoo nodded and bowed to Ranma. Ranma returned the gesture and led Shampoo out of the compound. Once she was gone, Ranma was suddenly bombarded with questions. He let them get it out before calling for them to stop. They returned to the living room where Ranma prepared himself to speak.
"As my father probably knows, that girl is from a tribe of Amazons. After we were cursed, the guide took us to her village. She was fighting another opponent when we arrived. As she won, we were eating her prize. She took offense to that and wanted my father's skin as a rug. I challenged her for the food and won. She then kissed me on the cheek, scaring the guide. He quickly got us out of there." Ranma explained.
"Why would he rush you out of there?" Kasumi asked.
"there is a law in her village that when a warrior loses to another woman, she is to hunt that woman down and kill her. Guess what form I was in?" Ranma said.
"Oh come on, that can't be true." Nabiki said. When she saw that Ranma was serious, she was floored. She turned to Akane. "This tribe is a bigger sore loser than you Akane." Akane gave her a glare.
"So what did you two talk about boy?" Genma asked.
"I told her the truth. I told what happened before we came to her village and that I was ignorant of her laws. I offered her a chance to regain her honor in a match a week from now. She promised to drop the kiss of death and not place any other kisses on me should I win. I swore on my school's honor and she swore on her village's honor. Win or lose, everything gets settled." Ranma said.
"Well, that shouldn't be hard. She is a girl after all." Genma commented. It got him a glare from Akane. Ranma just shook his head.
"one day old man, that type of talk will get you killed. I'm not about to take any chances so I'll be training. Something tells me that it will not be easy." Ranma said. He stood and made his way upstairs. He was a bit tired and wanted to get some sleep. He would need it against Shampoo.
Authors' Notes: Happy New Years! I received a new computer for Christmas so, I won't have to use my busted up laptop. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this new chapter. I put up some Chinese but I placed the meanings of the words. Anyway, have a Happy New Year.