"See you at school!" a smiling Nabiki said with a short wave, as she headed toward the exit of the Tendo residence. Staring after her with bleary eyes, Ranma sat at the dining table, slowly chewing his breakfast and trying to figure out what was so wrong with her sentence. For one, she had never bothered to greet him on her way out before. And two, he realized with a small start, it was Sunday.
Frowning, he cast his eyes over the only other person at the table - a happy, humming Ryoga, who looked remarkably better-rested than Ranma felt. He sighed. If Akane was here, maybe she could tell him why Nabiki was bothering to go to school on a Sunday.
The answer became clear as soon as he and Ryoga got close to Furinkan. Instead of only Akane waiting for them, as he'd expected, there was a large crowd of Furinkan students, despite the fact that it was the weekend. Among them was none other than Nabiki, who was getting yelled at by her younger sister.
"This is completely messed up, you can't-"
"It's fine! Look, no one's going to interfere!" Nabiki said, waving her hands as if the movement or her words were in any way soothing. "But if there's going to be a fight, isn't it a shame to not have anyone there to see it?"
Stomping a foot, hands balled into fists, Akane said, "You're only doing it to make money from betting on the fight!"
Nabiki's eyes caught Ranma and Ryoga, who had slowed to a walk in their confused approach. Her pacifying expression instantly shifted into something much more predatory. "Hey, look, they're here! Let's stop arguing and get this show on the road!"
"Ranma, what in the world is going on?" Ryoga said, his face more confused than Ranma had ever seen it.
He shrugged. "Who cares. Just Nabiki bein' Nabiki. You wanted a fight, so let's do it!"
"But Ranma," Akane said, turning his way, "with all these people, and the clou-"
"Akane, it's fine. I'm ready for this to finally happen, okay?" Ranma said, not even looking at her. He knew without a glance that she was glaring at him now, and he had no need or desire to see that.
"If anyone wants to change their bets, now's your last chance!" Nabiki shouted. Instantly a few people came forward, glancing at Ranma and Ryoga with looks that made Ranma uncomfortable. Like they were looking at cattle.
Doing his best to ignore them, Ranma stepped a few paces away from Ryoga. "You ready?"
Ryoga grinned. "I've been ready."
Without another word, Ryoga rushed at Ranma, less enraged but more focused than he'd been the night before. Striking forward with several short jabs of his umbrella, he grimaced as Ranma easily dodged each jab. Ranma felt a smile spreading across his face; it was nice to fight someone just for the sake of a good fight, instead of the constant training with his father, or the fight the other night, where his only goal had been to end it as quickly as possible. There was also no reason to worry about any nasty underhanded tricks, like in his fight with Kodachi. If there was one thing he most remembered about fighting Ryoga years ago, it was the boy's intense focus on "honor."
Trying to ignore the collective gasp the move earned from the crowd, Ranma leapt into the air, dodging a strong swipe of Ryoga's umbrella. Bouncing off a telephone pole, Ranma leaped forward with a kick, aiming for Ryoga's face.
"Yeah, Ranma!" someone in the crowd shouted, briefly drawing his attention.
His eyes snapped back to Ryoga as he felt something wrap around his leg - a bandana, it looked like, similar to the one still wrapped around Ryoga's head. Crap, if he'd still been looking-! But it was too late, and Ryoga clearly had no intention of cutting him any slack. With a sharp pull of the bandana, Ryoga brought his opponent's body crashing into the ground, cracking the concrete with the force of the impact.
Clearly, Ryoga had gotten better. The old Ryoga would never have managed something like that, even with the opening. But Ranma had no time to reflect - Ryoga was leaping at him, umbrella stabbing downwards toward Ranma's prone form. Barely managing to roll out of the way, Ranma gasped as the umbrella's impact with the ground created an explosion of pressure, forcing him even farther away than he'd expected - and bringing Ryoga, who hadn't let go of the bandana, right along with him. The two of them rolled across the ground, kicking and punching at each other and mostly missing. The cheering crowd didn't seem to notice. Ranma did manage to successfully kick Ryoga's hand though, finally gaining his leg's freedom.
They both leaped to their feet at the same time, and Ryoga jabbed forward, striking Ranma with nothing but air. His umbrella, the both of them suddenly realized, had gotten left behind in the ground. Reaching into his pocket, Ryoga came at Ranma with another bandana, trying to capture Ranma's arm, but this time Ranma was prepared. He nimbly dodged to the left, then got a good kick in on Ryoga's stomach, sending the boy flying back - right to his umbrella. Dammit.
"Kick his ass, Ryoga!" a girl in the crowd screamed.
Hoping to reach Ryoga before he could regain one of his weapons, Ranma charged, throwing a punch once he was within range. But Ryoga was faster than he'd hoped, and before Ranma's fist could connect with anything, he felt the flat top of the umbrella press into his chest, lifting him up and tossing him high into the air.
Given a sudden moment to focus on something other than his opponent, Ranma rolled his eyes as he realized the crowd below was making a fuss at this sudden turn of events. He could make out Nabiki and Akane's faces - one gleeful, the other horrified. Both got on his nerves. But then that look on Nabiki's face turned to irritation, as she realized what Ranma had realized the moment he was thrown - his trajectory was taking him away from Furinkan and into the neighborhoods nearby.
"Wait, you gotta stay where everyone can see!" she cried angrily.
But it was too late - Ryoga was already leaping after Ranma, apparently caring as little for Nabiki's words as Ranma did. He aimed a kick at the still airborne Ranma, which was a bit foolish since it was so easy to see coming. But Ranma wasn't one to ignore a good opportunity in a fight. He dodged and returned with his own kick, sending Ryoga careening into the ground even faster than the lost boy had done to him earlier.
Alighting on a rooftop near Ryoga's new hole in the street, Ranma could still hear Nabiki yelling, and, in fact, it sounded like she was getting closer. Mischievous side flaring up, he shouted down at the slowly standing Ryoga, "Hey, catch me if you can!" Then he ran, hopping from roof to roof and laughing the whole way. Though he almost certainly could have outrun and lost Ryoga, he instead kept his pace fairly slow, and checked constantly to make sure the guy was still following him. It was only Nabiki he was trying to lose, afterall.
Suddenly, Ranma felt something hit his cheek. Something light - but wet. A raindrop. No.
Stopping at the edge of a rooftop and turning toward Ryoga, he shouted, "W-wait, maybe we actually should stop-"
"Nonsense!" Ryoga shouted, charging forward like an angry bull.
Leaping backward to avoid an incoming kick, Ranma watched as Ryoga flicked his umbrella open to cover himself, just as the rain began to pour. That familiar tingle rippled through Ranma's body, which was suddenly much smaller than it had been in most respects. Landing on the ground, he quickly put some distance between himself and Ryoga, which was made easy by the fact that Ryoga had frozen in place, staring at Ranma in horror.
"R-Ranko…?"
Well that lie didn't last long. "I… um… yeah." Finding it difficult to maintain eye contact, Ranma tried to find the words to explain. "Ranko… is me. Ranma. I haven't actually got a sister. Just a curse."
Confusion quickly turning to fury, Ryoga took a step forward, still keeping his body squarely beneath the open umbrella. "W-why!? Why didn't you just tell me!?"
"I-I… I didn't want ya to laugh at this awful curse I'm stuck with," Ranma lied, to both Ryoga and himself. He hadn't quite managed to accept the fact that part of him enjoyed the fact that his two forms were separate identities to most people. And he had no clue why he enjoyed that separation.
Somehow, this explanation just made Ryoga angrier. He straightened his posture, gaze cold. "That you call that adorable form a curse is what's truly laughable."
Jutting his lip out and crossing his arms, Ranma tried to ignore how cold he was starting to feel, standing and soaking in the rain as he was. "Ain't nothin' laughable 'bout this, ya jerk!" He paused, realizing that there was nothing to stop Ryoga from telling other people about him now. Other than the guy's sense of direction, but still, he could certainly wind up within earshot of people Ranma didn't want him to be in earshot of. "Hey, but, uh, 'Ranko' is real in the sense that I've been usin' that name an' identity at school… so don't say a word ta anyone from Furinkan, or my Pops, for that matter, 'kay?"
"Feh," Ryoga muttered, rolling his eyes. "I've no desire to reveal your secret." Shifting back into a fighting stance, he roared, "All I want is to FIGHT!"
Then he charged. Before Ranma could decide how to react to that, his mind picked up on something else entirely - the sound of a camera snapping a picture. His head swiveled to the side, where he saw none other than Nabiki, camera in one hand and umbrella in the other, smirking right at him.
"Gotta make sure I've got proof of how this fight ends!" she yelled at him, before he was able to ask.
Ryoga was upon him now, barely giving him time to fall to the ground - the only dodge he could manage quick enough to avoid Ryoga's attack. Hearing the creaking of metal, he looked up and realized that Ryoga had punched right into a metal telephone pole, which his hand was currently embedded in. A brief feeling of relief flooded Ranma over the fact that it hadn't been his face.
Rolling to the side and leaping back to his feet, Ranma looked at his opponent, realizing with surprise that the anger from the night before was back in full force - if not stronger. "R-ryoga, you okay, buddy…?"
"We are NOT buddies!" Ryoga shouted, throwing something at Ranma. Three somethings, in fact, which flew through the air like buzzsaws. Managing to dodge two of them, Ranma grimaced as the third cut into his shoulder, slicing clean through the fabric of his shirt. What the hell had pissed Ryoga off so much!? Ryoga reached into his pocket and pulled out more headbands - three of them - which he immediately hurled at Ranma. So those were the buzzsaws.
Leaping back and to the side to dodge the incoming projectiles, Ranma shouted, "Wait, what's goin' on!? This was just a friendly match a second ago, but you're pissed at me again!"
"I don't know what you're talking about!" Ryoga practically screamed, leaping into the air to go for another downward strike, this time with only his fist. But with anger came recklessness, which made his tells easier to pick up on. Ranma easily dodged, leaping onto a nearby building. Good thing, too, because the impact from Ryoga's attack was much stronger than it had been in front of Furinkan. The concrete split apart like broken ice, creating a ring of carnage that took up nearly the entire width of the street.
This had to stop. There was no telling what civilians might wander into this area and get hurt, not to mention Nabiki was entirely too close to the situation. Part of him thought she'd deserve whatever happened to her, but the more reasonable part of him knew that a hit like that would destroy her. Unless she'd been doing a bunch of resistance training he didn't know about, which… no, she definitely hadn't.
A grapple might do it. Leaping back into the fray, Ranma leaped over some frenzied swipes from Ryoga, right over the boy's umbrella. Now behind him, Ranma grabbed Ryoga by the arms, pinning the thick-muscled limbs to his side. Ryoga barely managed to keep the umbrella over their heads.
"The hell do you think you're doing!?" Ryoga yelled, pushing back against Ranma's hold with as much force as he could muster. It was almost enough, Ranma had to admit, but not quite. A sudden hard kick to Ranma's shin almost caused him to lose his grip, though. He barely managed to keep it, and retaliated by trapping Ryoga's attacking leg with one of his own.
Having now lost the use of three of his limbs, Ryoga roared, shaking from side-to-side to no avail. When he bent down with his one free leg, Ranma at first thought nothing of it. He realized far too late what was about to happen. Ryoga shot his leg back up, launching the both of them into the air like a rocket. Caught by surprise, Ranma's hold loosened just enough for Ryoga to free himself, knocking the redhead out from under the cover of the umbrella.
...That umbrella. Ryoga had been keeping it firmly over his head since the moment it started raining. The desire not to get wet was understandable, but it was especially understandable to someone like Ranma, with a Jusenkyo curse. Did Ryoga have…?
As the two of them landed a few paces away from each other on a rooftop, Ranma immediately charged back toward Ryoga, dodging a punch and returning with a kick. But this time his target wasn't Ryoga's face or body or anywhere else Ranma usually aimed for. It was the hand holding Ryoga's umbrella. He landed the hit, too, though Ryoga's grip proved stronger than he'd hoped. The umbrella didn't go flying, but it did shift enough that it briefly stopped covering Ryoga entirely.
Eyes wide in horror, Ryoga quickly pulled the umbrella back, but not fast enough to prevent rain from hitting him. He didn't pull it back over his head, however, instead turning it even further so that suddenly it acted as a shield between him and Ranma, one that Ranma unexpectedly found himself bashed backwards by.
Stumbling, Ranma barely managed to maintain his footing on the rain-slicked roof tiles. What was more concerning, though, was the fact that Ryoga was retreating fast, dragging his umbrella behind him and disappearing off the edge of the roof.
Immediately charging after, Ranma halted when a voice called out to him. "Damn, he's running away? The people who bet on you are gonna be thrilled!"
Glaring down at the street to his right, Ranma saw Nabiki, smiling up at him, camera still in her hands. Wait, camera…
Leaping down right in front of her, Ranma said, "Hey, you were snappin' pics, right? Did you see if the rain transformed Ryoga when it hit 'im?"
The way her eyes widened did enough to answer the question by itself. "Wait, he's like you?"
"I dunno!" Ranma said, throwing his hands up. "Dunno why else he'd try so hard to keep himself covered in the rain, though. Or why he'd run when I ruined that."
A familiar, unwelcome smile creeped onto Nabiki's face. "Well, when I get these developed, I'll tell you if it shows anything." The smile grew. "For a price, of course."
Rolling his eyes, Ranma said, "Yeah, yeah." Looking back at her out of the corner of his eye, he grinned. "You realize those pics 'a me fightin' Ryoga show Ranko, right? Anyone placed a bet on her?"
Nabiki's happy expression dissolved into a murderous glare.
Still grinning, Ranma said, "Welp, gonna go try an' find him, bye!" Without another word, he took off, running down street after street with no sign of Ryoga, or of anything, really. He'd hoped he might see some animal that, like, had a bandana or something. But there was nothing. Sighing, he came to a stop under an overhanging roof, getting mostly free of the rain for a few moments.
Damn this rain. He'd so wanted this Ryoga business over and done with. Of course, knowing Ryoga, there probably would've eventually been another challenge thrown Ranma's way, but at least it wouldn't have the backing of years of desire and denial behind it.
And then there was the curse. Ryoga had to have one, right? Ranma couldn't think of another reason that the guy who'd been so insistent about fighting would suddenly run away. Why he wanted to hide a curse when Ranma had literally just been shown to have one, Ranma had no idea. Maybe it was really embarrassing? Regardless, Ranma was going to find out what it was. Especially with how mad Ryoga had seemed about Ranma's curse. Which was baffling, honestly. If Ranma could just find him, he could force an explanation out.
He sighed again, looking out at the still pouring rain. Once it stopped, Ranma would find Ryoga. But until then… he sat down on the ground with a soft squishy thump. Hit butt felt even colder now, pressed against the fabric of his soaked pants. Whatever. It didn't matter. Soon enough he'd be on the run again, but for now… for now all he could do was wait.