School Daze

A Ranma ½ / Batman Fan Fiction

by

Jeremy Harper

Disclaimer – Ranma ½ is the creation of Rumiko Takahashi. Batman is the creation of Bill Finger and Bob Kane. Both are used without permission.

Chapter 2

Akane, Nabiki and Ranma got to Furinkan in good time, reaching the school gates ten minutes before the first bell. Students filtered in at a steady pace, greeting acquaintances they had not seen since the start of summer break or gathering in groups to talk and gossip before heading to their home rooms. Akane quickly glanced back at Ranma – he had been trailing a few steps behind herself and Nabiki, an abstracted expression on his face, seemingly not paying attention to his surroundings. Akane knew that was not the case, that he was actually alert and very watchful. She shivered briefly, shrugging her shoulders, hoping that Ranma was right, that he only imagined they had been spied on after leaving the house.

"Akane!" a familiar and welcome voice called out. The youngest Tendo looked to the side of the school gates and saw Yuka and Sayuri, the former waving to her. She grinned and waved back.

"I'm going to head up to my classroom," said Nabiki. "I'll see you two later."

"Okay," answered Akane. "Come on, Ranma. I want you to meet my friends." Ranma nodded, letting out a soft breath in an attempt to relax. He had been guarded and alert since he got that strange feeling earlier.

"It's so good to see you," said Yuka, giving Akane a quick hug, and Sayuri followed suit. "We barely got to hang out this break."

"I know, and I'm so sorry about that! Things just got really busy for me."

"Well, a lot of that wasn't your fault," said Sayuri. The two girls were aware of Akane's kidnapping, though they were not privy to the true motivation behind her abduction. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine, honestly," answered Akane. "I'm doing great. It helps that I'm training with people who take my martial arts seriously."

"You're happy with your new sensei?" asked Yuka. "I know you were upset with how your father was not teaching you anymore."

Akane's expression dimmed briefly but she quickly shook it away. "Yoru-sensei has been wonderful. I think I've learned more from him in a few weeks than I have the entire past year. And his chief student is really cool. I've become pretty good friends with her."

"Speaking of new friends, I take it this is Ranma?" said Sayuri.

"Yes," said Akane. "Ranma, these are my good friends Yuka Suzuhara and Sayuri Aida. Girls, let me formally introduce you to Ranma Saotome, my... umm... new friend."

Ranma bowed with crisp politeness. "A pleasure to meet you ladies." The two young women bowed in returned, Yuka smiling cheerfully while Sayuri looked him up and down with open admiration.

"It's nice to finally meet you, Ranma," said Yuka.

"Definitely," said Sayuri. She looked at Akane, smiling slyly. "So, beside the family arrangement, are you two really just friends?"

"Sayuri," said Yuka chidingly.

"Yes, we're just friends," answered Akane, giving the other girl a bit of a glower. She noticed Ranma seemed amused.

Sayuri laughed and smiled cheekily. "That's a crying shame. Still, I have to admire your willpower." She looked around quickly, making sure no one was within earshot. "I don't think I'd be able to restrain myself if this hunk was my fiancé," she finished softly, laughing as Akane blushed and Yuka giggled. Ranma blinked at that, coughing into his fist and blushing slightly himself.

"You're incorrigible, Sayuri," commented Yuka. The other girl shrugged, grinning saucily.

"What can I say? I've always been a free spirit."

"Yeah, and you're lucky that I like you that way," said Akane. "Though I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that my luck ran out. Nabiki's hasn't teased me very much about our... umm... situation."

"Probably because she's been distracted with her own new boytoy," said Sayuri. Akane had told Yuka and her about Nabiki's brand new relationship. "So how about it, Ranma? Do you have any other cute friends coming to visit soon?"

"Ah... none who are on the market right now," Ranma answered.

"Too bad," Sayuri sighed in mock disappointment. She grinned and winked at Ranma. "Still, you can't blame a girl for trying."

Ranma laughed. He was starting to like this girl. "No, I guess you can't." The first warning bell for class sounded.

"We better head for home room," said Akane.

"Wait a moment, Akane," said Yuka, both her and Sayuri's expressions growing serious. "Kuno's back. We saw him when we arrived. He's standing by the front doors. He looks like he's waiting for... someone." Yuka hesitated a moment. "He's in his kendo uniform," she finished unhappily.

Akane's lips tightened into a thin line as her fists clenched. Ranma frowned, his blue eyes narrowing.

"Are you alright?" asked Sayuri, her own expression one of anger on behalf of her friend.

"I am," said Akane. "And I'll be better off than Kuno if he tries anything. Kairi-senpai taught me a move last lesson that I would love to try out on a pervert stupid enough to bother me."

Sayuri relaxed slightly. "That's my girl."

"Thanks for the warning."

Yuka gave Akane a quick hug. "Friends stick together."

"That they do," said Ranma. He gave his fiancée's shoulder a quick, reassuring squeeze. "You ladies ready for class?" The three girls nodded and the quartet stepped through the school gates.

Tatewaki Kuno stood at the top of the steps, on watch, and upon spotting Akane he descended. Students slowed as he passed, watching him with morbid curiosity. He held his bokken reversed in his left hand, gripping it beneath its guard. His right arm hung somewhat stiffly at his side. He met Akane in the middle of the courtyard, blocking her path. The youngest Tendo glared balefully at him, while Sayuri and Yuka scowled. Ranma looked on. He seemed only mildly curious, but out of the corner of her eye Akane noticed his elbows and knees crooking slightly as he settled into the deceptively relaxed stance he favored at the start of a fight.

I hope it doesn't come to that, she thought grimly. I've enjoyed not having to worry about fighting at school.

"Akane Tendo," said Kuno. He spoke slowly, as if picking each individual word with great care. "It is good to see you again."

"I can't say the same, Kuno," she retorted, not bothering with even a pretense of politeness. "I have nothing to say to you. I don't even want to look at you."

Kuno winced. "You are unkind, my fierce tigress. I merely wish-"

"I don't care. Do you dare think that I owe you any kindness, after everything you've done to me? If it hadn't been for Nightwing, you and all those other stupid perverts would still be harassing and attacking me. Or maybe I'd be-" She cut herself off with a snap of her teeth, looking down at the pavement as her breath rasped harshly. She blinked rapidly, trying to stop the tears welling in her eyes. Her two girlfriends looked at her with deep concern, and Ranma stepped closer to her. Akane regained control of herself, drawing in a great breath before lifting her head and spearing Kuno with a glare of disgust and contempt. "Leave me alone," she ground out through gritted teeth.

The older student sagged, looking defeated. He shook himself, looking as if he was going to attempt to defend himself when his gaze shifted to Ranma, who he noted was standing close to Akane. Too close. Kuno's eyes narrowed sternly.

"Who are you?" he demanded.

Ranma canted his head slightly. "Ranma Saotome."

"You stand rather close to Akane Tendo, Ranma Saotome. You are overly familiar with her. I do not approve."

Akane flushed angrily, but Ranma simply snorted, his mouth curving in a disdainful half-smile. "How familiar we are with each other isn't any of your business. I'm Akane's friend, and you have no say on who she can be friends with."

Kuno scowled. "You cur! I'll teach you to respect your superiors!"

"You'll do nothing!" snapped Akane. "Leave us alone, or I swear this time I'll break your arm instead of dislocating it."

Kuno drew himself short. The crowd that had gathered to watch the confrontation murmured. The general school population had not been aware of Akane having another fight with the upperclassman since that memorable day when he and his henchmen had been confronted by Nightwing. Kuno closed his eyes tightly and drew a great breath through his nose.

"Very well," he said. "I will leave you alone for now, Akane Tendo." He sneered haughtily at Ranma before turning on his heel and striding arrogantly toward the school building. Akane glared after him, her chest rising and falling sharply as she struggled to control her anger.

"Akane?" said Yuka.

Akane nodded. "I... I'm fine. Could you just give me a minute? I'll see you in class."

"Okay. We'll see you in a bit." Her friends headed for the front door. The gathered students began to disperse, still talking among themselves, some of them glancing at Ranma. A new face was always noteworthy, but a new student already so familiar with the school idol was especially gossip worthy. He stayed with Akane, watching her with concern.

"Are you okay?" he asked quietly.

"I dunno." She gulped down a shaky breath. "I was hoping I wouldn't have to deal with Kuno. But now..." she shivered. "What he's done to me... what he nearly did to me at the temple... I thought I put that all behind me." She shook her head then looked at her fiancé with a shaky but honest smile. "I'll deal with it."

"You don't have to deal with it alone," Ranma said. "My offer still stands. J'onn would be more than happy to... to talk to you." He paused a moment. "The therapy sessions I've had with him helped me greatly," he finished softly.

"I'll give it more thought, Ranma. Thank you. We better get going."

He nodded in agreement and they walked slowly to the steps. Ranma frowned thoughtfully as they went.

"Kuno's wound up even tighter than I thought," he muttered. "I thought with Talia gone he'd settle down, but no such luck. Stupid bastard." Ranma sighed. "At least he didn't try to start a fight, so maybe he'll eventually relent. Optimism doesn't cost anything."

"What are you going to do for now?" Akane asked.

"Be very watchful. Worse comes to worst, Nightwing will pay him a visit. We'll figure something out. My word on it."

"Thank you," Akane said sincerely.

Ranma gave her a cocky grin. "All part of the service, Akane."

"Oh Nabiki, he's cute!" squealed Junko.

"I don't think cute quite fits," said Misato. "He's hot. Exotic. A lot of people have a thing for blond haired, blue eyed gaijin, but looking at this guy, red hair and green eyes seem so much more yummy."

"I'll be the last person to argue about that," said Nabiki, looking fondly at her phone.

The screen showed Roy dressed in a tight black t-shirt and blue jeans, muscular arms folded across his broad chest and a cocky smile on his face. She swiped the screen, bringing up a selfie she had taken with him. In it she wore a low-cut blue tank top and had her free arm draped over her boyfriend's shoulder. His arm was wrapped around her, hand resting just beneath her breasts, and the couple grinned happily at the camera.

"You two look disgustingly good together," said Misato. "So, is he the one?"

"Well, I don't know about that," said Nabiki. "But he has a lot of checkmarks in the plus column."

"Such as?"

"Besides being handsome, ripped and loaded? He's a great kisser." Nabiki squirmed a little at the pleasurable memory of the intense make-out session they had the night he rescued her from Merlyn. "He's funny, smart, and has traveled a lot. He's worldly, nothing like the boys around here."

"And you think you're woman enough to hold on to a guy like that?" Misato asked, though with a friendly smile.

Nabiki smirked back and shrugged. "What can I say? I like a challenge, and I'm off to a good start. I kept his interest for the two weeks he was here."

"Still, he lives all the way over in California," Junko pointed out. "That's going to be tough."

Nabiki shrugged again. "Yeah, it is. But it's not like we're going into this blind. Roy and I had a few long talks about it. He's willing to make an effort, so there's no way I'm not going to. We both think it's worth it."

Junko shook her head and sighed. "You're so lucky, Nabiki," she said wistfully.

The three girls turned away from the windows where they were hanging out by in time to see Kuno stalk into the class room and sit at his desk. He had changed into his school uniform and appeared furious, his aristocratic face pale and strained. Nabiki looked at him with cool disdain.

Misato noticed her ire. "You're finally angry with him?" she asked, surprised.

"Yes."

"Took you long enough. What did he do?"

"Went a step too far. That's all I'm going to say."

"What, he stop buying your photos?"

Nabiki grimaced. "No. Don't push this, Misato."

"Fine, fine. But considering he spent all last term picking fights with your sister and you barely blinked, you being ticked at him now has got me curious."

Nabiki frowned but said nothing. Misato had a valid reason for her curiosity. While Kuno's harassment of Akane had made Nabiki unhappy, the middle Tendo had never done anything to help her. Indeed, she had taken a guilty pleasure in her seemingly perfect little sister's predicament, and had even exploited it for her own profit, selling Kuno candid photos of Akane. Nothing obscene or even risqué – Nabiki had not been willing to compromise her sister's privacy that far. Just pictures of her training in a gi or jogging in a t-shirt and running pants, nothing else. But even for such tame pictures Kuno had paid Nabiki so much that she saw no reason not to continue supplying him. But when she had learned of his role in Akane's abduction, any previous goodwill toward her classmate evaporated, leaving behind only cold anger. Her anger at Kuno had intensified after her own kidnapping at the hands of Merlyn and Hugo Strange, since she now knew on a personal level how scary the experience had been for Akane.

Junko interrupted her thoughts. "You know, it always surprised me you never tried to date Kuno."

Nabiki snorted contemptuously. "Please! I mean, yeah, he has money and looks. But even leaving out his obsession with Akane, I prefer my men to have at least a modicum of brains and common sense."

"I thought that would have been a plus, though. Him being such a dip you could have gotten a lot of nice things out of him."

Nabiki thought that over a moment then shrugged. "That's a good point, but even so it still wouldn't have been worth dealing with that moron."

With that comment the final bell rang and the girls took their seats. Nabiki's desk was next to Kuno's; she resolved to speak to the class rep at the end of the day to see if she could move her assigned seating – the farther from Kuno, the better.

For the next few classes Nabiki did her best to ignore him and concentrate on the lessons but she found it difficult. She could feel the tension seething in Kuno, a great pressure building, threatening to explode to the detriment of all around him. After their third class ended and the teacher departed the room Kuno turned to her.

"I wish to speak with you, Nabiki Tendo."

She did not bother looking up from her notes. "A thousand yen," she said.

"What?" She had never charged him for just speaking to her.

"I have no wish to listen to you right now, so if you're insistent about wasting my time then you have to pay for the privilege."

Kuno inhaled sharply in annoyance but did not hesitate to take out his wallet and produce a one-thousand yen note. Nabiki deftly snatched it, stuffing it in her purse.

"What do you want, Kuno-baby?"

"This morning a boy accompanied your sister to school today. A rude cur by the name of Ranma Saotome. He spoke most disrespectfully to me and had the audacity to claim he was her friend. With effort I refrained from treating him as he deserved, not wishing to upset my beauteous fierce tigress, but I wish to know more about him. What do you know of this Saotome, Nabiki Tendo?"

She pursed her lips as she pondered his question. She had been thinking about the best way to announce Akane's engagement since the walk to school this morning, taking into consideration Kuno's likely reaction. A part of her had been hoping – foolishly perhaps – that his recent experiences would have made him docile, but in this case luck was not on her side. Maybe he could mitigate his response, but one look at his face, jaw clenched and teeth bared, made the prospect seem dim.

Damn it, she thought. Kuno was eventually going to find out, if not from her then from someone else when the news of the engagement finally broke. However she did not want to be responsible for setting him off and any subsequent explosion.

"I am waiting, Nabiki Tendo," he said impatiently.

Well, nothing ventured... "Alright, but it'll cost you. Ten-thousand yen."

His brows lifted slightly. "That is an exorbitant price."

"Take it or leave it." She hoped he would leave it, even though she would lose out on the money. He hesitated, but only for a moment before opening his wallet again and offering her several more yen notes. Nabiki sighed as she accepted them.

"Alright, I'll tell you. But I want you to listen and listen well. Akane and Ranma are not going to go through with this arrangement."

"What arrangement?" Kuno demanded.

This is going to suck. "Akane and Ranma are friends, but they're also something more. My father had an agreement with Ranma's father, something they came up with when they were younger. They're both martial artists and wanted to unite the two schools they practiced. So they decided that their children would marry."

Kuno's face flushed deep crimson as his hands clenched tightly on top of his desk, knuckles going white. "What?!" he shrieked. Immediately all eyes turned to him. "Akane is engaged to that wretch?!"

Damn it! "Yes. They're formally engaged, but they have no plans on actually getting married. Ranma's parents are not his current guardians. His foster father was against it, but then agreed to follow the letter of the agreement to satisfy both families' honor. So they are engaged but they're not under any obligation to get married, and will break it off when Ranma turns twenty-one. They're just friends."

Kuno was not listening to her. His brain had imploded at thought of Akane being engaged to someone other than him. He slammed his fist against the desk top, denting it, and jumped to his feet. "I will not allow this travesty! I forbid it!"

"You have no right to forbid anything, Kuno!" shouted Nabiki, getting up as well. He ignored her and rushed out of the classroom. In the hall a teacher shouted at him, demanding to know where he was heading. "God damn it!" swore Nabiki. She sunk down back into her seat, snarling as she held her forehead.

Ranma Saotome was bored.

It was not the teacher's fault. Mrs. Misawa was quite good, and under other circumstances he would have listened to her lesson on Sengoku-era Japan with greater interest. But in truth Ranma found school to be a little silly. Even before becoming Bruce's ward he had never cared for it. But now...

Ranma could defeat whole mobs of men in a fight without breaking a sweat. He could shatter concrete with a punch. He could assess and evaluate a crime scene with a single glance. He could expertly pilot and maintain multi-million dollar vehicles. He led a team of unique teens which included a girl who could fly and lift an Abrams tank over her head with one hand, a boy who could throw balls of water with enough force to shatter titanium steel like glass and was no slouch in the strength department, and another boy who could finish a 200 meter sprint in under a second. And despite all that power, they looked up to him and respected his leadership. He had been to other worlds, other dimensions. He had fought and defeated some of the most dangerous men and women alive.

With all he could do and all the experiences he had, it was hard for Ranma to take school seriously.

But Bruce and Alfred expected him to attend school and do well. Since he respected them, loved them as if they were his father and grandfather (and far as he was concerned they were, Genma Saotome be damned), he did so.

Still, it did not keep him from being bored.

Thankfully one of the things Bruce had taught him was how to compartmentalize his mind and intellectually multi-task. So while part of him listened to Mrs. Misawa and took notes, the majority of his awareness sifted through the events of the day.

He mulled over the feeling he had of having been watched this morning. It had been brief, a pin-prick against his perception, almost unnoticeable, but it still concerned him. Another thing Bruce taught him was to trust his instincts, it could and had been the difference between life and death in the heat of battle. But he had also warned, paradoxically, instincts could be wrong. Ranma was starting to think that this was such an incident. He had been somewhat keyed up this morning, since he had spent much of the previous evening thinking about Kuno, and that could have made his perception overly sensitive.

Ranma frowned, tapping his pen against his chin. He was not happy with this morning's confrontation. As he had said to Akane, he had hoped that between his recent experiences and Talia no longer whispering in Kuno's ear the older student would leave Akane alone. But it seemed not to be the case, and Ranma was coming to the grim conclusion that Kuno was too obsessed to be reasoned with or scared off. Still, the kendoist had not started a fight, so maybe the situation could be controlled without resorting to more drastic measures.

Ranma glanced over at Akane; she was listening to Mrs. Misawa with an adorable look of concentration. Ranma smirked and looked down at his own notebook. His fiancée had calmed down quickly once she had gotten to class. His smirk faded a little as he returned to a problem he had been wrestling with for the past couple of weeks – whether to train Akane as a super-hero.

He sighed inaudibly. It was not as if she did not have the talent – far from it. She possessed phenomenal physical ability, was very intelligent and perceptive. Both Yoru-sensei and Kairi had commented on how quickly she learned new forms and moves, incorporating them into her sparring repertoire almost seamlessly. There was no question she would make a great costumed adventurer.

But the thought of Akane actually doing the things he did on a regular basis...well, it scared him. Ranma made a brief face. He hated to admit, even if only to himself, of being scared, but there was no denying it. The thought of her putting herself on the line against men like the Joker or Brother Blood chilled him to the bone. Two nights after he and Roy had rescued Nabiki, he woke up from a nightmare where Akane's fight with Hugo Strange had been a lot less successful. It had taken him hours to fall back to sleep.

Ranma did not want to see any of his friends get hurt. He could still recall vividly the feelings of horror and despair he had when earlier this year Garth had been struck by one of Kanto's exploding daggers, his formidable Atlantean toughness unable to completely absorb the destructive power of elite Apokolyptian battle tech. It had left him bloody and unconscious, and only a quick application of Mark Moonrider's Mother Box had kept Tempest from dying. Afterwards it had taken him months to recover. But now he was fully healed and back doing fieldwork. Ranma was happy for Garth and was looking forward to the next time he could work with him.

Despite not wanting them to be injured, Ranma had no problems with his friends risking their lives. He could not figure out why he was being a hypocrite when it came to Akane doing something similar. The mere thought of it felt intolerable.

He sighed again, shaking his head slightly. I owe her an answer, he thought. I don't want to hurt her, but I also don't want to see her hurt. Damn, this is a mess. Maybe it was time to get some of the others' opinions on this, maybe even canvas Bruce for once, since the final decision to train Akane ultimately laid with him.

Ranma blinked at the fine hairs on the back of his neck prickled, his danger sense buzzing in the back of his head. Faintly he heard the slap of feet in the hallway, steadily growing louder as someone ran quickly toward the classroom. Ranma stood up.

"Mr. Saotome, is there a problem?" Mrs. Misawa asked. Akane looked at him in curious surprise.

Before he could answer the classroom door slammed open and Kuno charged in, his face twisted and flushed with volcanic anger. He was in his kendo outfit, with the addition of a white cloth tied around his forehead.

"YOU!" he roared, pointing his bokken at Ranma. The students closest to the furious upperclassman scrambled out of their seats and away from him.

"Mr. Kuno, what do you think you're doing?" Mrs. Misawa demanded angrily. Kuno ignored her, continuing his rant.

"I will not allow it! Do you hear me? It will not be borne! A lowly cur like you engaged to Akane Tendo! I will oppose this travesty with all the might of my noble body!"

At this announcement the classroom exploded, the students shouting questions or in disbelief. Ranma immediately locked down his expression and risked a quick glance at Akane. She had paled almost snow-white, her eyes blown wide. She started to tremble. Goddammit! Ranma swore silently. If there was a worse way to have their engagement announced he could not think of one. He shifted to screen his fiancee and focused on Kuno.

"Don't see how it's any business of yours, creep," Ranma said, going into an active guard.

"It is my business because Akane Tendo belongs to me and only me!" Kuno roared back. "Have at you!" He charged, barreling through desks as if they were nothing more than straw, bokken raised high over his head. Ranma sidestepped at the last possible instant, the wooden blade cracking the air and gouging the linoleum floor with a terrific crash. Ranma readied to counter but before he struck Akane threw herself at Kuno, slapping him across the face. The sound of her palm meeting his cheek boomed like a gunshot and sent the upperclassman crashing to the ground, bokken flying from his grasp. Kuno groaned, shaking his head, looking up with bleary eyes. Akane loomed above him, fists clenched, legs spread, her face that of a Fury.

"Leave me alone!" she screamed at him. "I don't belong to you! I'm not yours! Haven't you done enough to me?"

"A-akane," gasped out Kuno. "But I love you."

"No you don't! If you loved me you wouldn't have attacked and harassed me for months! You wouldn't have kidnapped me! You wouldn't have nearly-" she slapped her hands over her mouth, a great heaving sob wracking her body. "I hate you," she whispered, the softly spoken words somehow carrying to every corner of the classroom. She turned from him and fled blindly from the classroom.

Ranma spared Kuno one brief, furious glance. The older boy looked nearly as pale as Akane, the expression on his face one of devastated disbelief. You're mine, Ranma thought viciously. But Kuno would keep. Right now helping Akane was far more important. Ranma left the classroom, chasing after his fiancée.

He found her by her leaning against her locker, face buried in her forearms, shoulders heaving. Ranma grimaced, sympathetic pain a sharp ache in his chest. He approached her quietly, biting his lower lip before speaking.

"Akane." She turned to him. Her face was flushed from crying, her eyes wet, her cheeks soaked with tears. Ranma took a handkerchief from his back pocket and offered it to her, grateful that he listened to Alfred about always having one on hand, even though he thought it a prissy sort of habit. Akane accepted it, wiping her eyes and face and blowing her nose.

"Let's get out of here," Ranma said.

"But it's the first day of the term," she protested weakly.

"Damn the term. You're in no shape for this place right now, and if the administration doesn't understand that then they can go to hell. Do you want to go home, or would you like to come over to my house?"

"Your house," she said without hesitation.

Ranma smiled gently and took her free hand. "Come on, Tomboy. Alfred and I will take care of you."

Author's Notes: All of you give PurseMonger a thank you – initially this chapter was only 1500 words or so, but she commented that it felt like the story hadn't made much progress. After giving it some thought I agreed with her and ended up about tripling its length. Hopefully I did well, and you enjoyed this.

In an unwritten story I have in mind called Shadows Linger Ranma tells Akane of the trauma caused by the Cat Fist training and how J'onn J'onzz, the Martian Manhunter, helped put his sanity back together. He also offers to arrange therapy sessions with J'onn, to help Akane deal with the PTSD she's suffering from her kidnapping at the hands of Kuno and Talia al Ghul.

Thanks again to the wondrous PurseMonger for her pre-reading, suggestions and enthusiastic support.