Author note: Okay I tried to get this chapter ready in a rather orderly fashion yet as soon as I possibly could without rushing too much. Hopefully those of you who enjoy my stories will definitely enjoy this edition of Crimson Haired Angel.
My main internet is currently down so having to use hotspot which it and my editing software I guess hate each other so hopefully I don't miss anything.
With that said on with the show. -Zeltronica
Crimson-haired
Angel Chapter:4
Cologne sat on the porch of her home, a pipe in hand smoke wafting in the air from its chamber, a thoughtful expression to her features, her thoughts lay with her pupil who was where only the Goddess knew it had been four weeks since the missing scouts and elder, and the remaining three of the rescue team she had sent had returned.
Though she held out hope that Ranma had survived the incident, and was waiting on word from her contacts within the C.C.G. To get back to her with possible good news which would be a welcome turn of events since Ai had all but shut down seeming to not want to leave the hut she was staying in.
Lin, on the other hand, was carrying on like usual not seeming to be phased by the loss of a dear friend who she had come to call a brother even if they were not blood-related, however Cologne could tell it was a facade knowing the raven-haired ghoul was quite bothered by it but then what can one do in the current circumstances the site was currently locked down and still under investigation, dead ghouls, and investigators were still being dug out of some of the collapsing tunnels.
To go there and ask questions could only get suspicion thrown your way and that was something Cologne wasn't willing to allow she didn't want her tribe to become mixed up in the investigation especially since Beijing would be all over it in a heartbeat wanting to use it as an excuse to force the Amazon's to conform to they're ways and customs, that and absorb them into the Beijing system of doing things.
So far her people were able to keep Beijing at bay with a fragile peace agreement, diplomacy between her people and them wasn't the best, that and she couldn't be so sure her people could do much against the Beijing war machine if it came their way they had far too many men and modern weapons, including something she had heard about called a nuclear bomb.
Though to this day with luck Beijing hadn't decided to use such a distasteful weapon on them, most likely due to the fact you can't conquer an irradiated land, plus the Amazon tribes martial-arts secrets and techniques would be lost forever to the annals of time.
Shanpu was in the process of looking over a scroll doing a head count, she automatically scratched off Ranma's name since currently he/she was missing in action, however she observed Ai was nowhere to be found.
She gained a slight scowl to her features, looking over the crowd of Amazon's that currently were all sitting Indian style awaiting the starting lecture that would occur before training would begin, spotting one of her sisters she knew. "Lin Lin front and center!" she called.
A green-haired Amazon jumped up grabbing up her spear, quickly moving to the front about a foot from Shanpu quickly dropping to one knee. "Yes, Big Sister Shanpu?"
Shanpu shot a look of annoyance the green-haired amazon's way before speaking. "Just Shanpu would suffice... Lin Lin, you lead the group in training I will be back soon."
"Yes, Big Sister Shanpu! It will be a pleasure Mam!" Lin Lin called, turning to her training group gesturing for them to stand up.
Shanpu grit her teeth furrowing her brow, popping her left-hand knuckles, however, did her best to swallow her anger, instead turned away and headed in the direction of Lin and Ai's home. Eventually, as she was nearing the home she observed Lin who was walking dragging a stag just behind her on a makeshift sled.
"Lin is Ai home?" she inquired.
The raven-haired ghoul paused in her dragging of the sled and stag, turned to look at the approaching Amazon who had come to a stop three feet away. "Yea last I checked probably reading another book." she casually replied.
Shanpu gave a nod turning her attention to the hut in question. "She has missed three training sessions I won't have her missing anymore," she cooly stated.
Giving an understanding nod of her head. "Totally get you. Look if you want you can try to drag her out of that hut. I am quite sure she won't hurt you but she might give you a fight... I had a heck of a time getting her out the other night when I forced her to go sit outside and get some fresh air." Lin explained, turning to continue her trek to the butcher's hovel.
The lavender-haired amazon watching the raven-haired ghoul head off, she turned her attention to the hut in question and made her way there, reaching up taking hold of the door handle throwing it open before stepping inside it was rather dark inside minus a candle that was lit on a nearby table, sitting at the table was Ai who was indeed reading a book her unkempt hair, and dingy outfit was an eyesore.
She looked towards one of the closed windows preceding to cross the distance, opening it allowing light to pour in, dust could be seen falling through the ray of light that shined upon the ghoul causing said, ghoul, to shield her eyes.
"Dammit, Lin that's bright why you have to go and open the window for anyways huh?" Ai inquired, turning to the person who had opened the window observing it was not her cousin instead a familiar lavender-haired Amazon stood there with a scowl to her features.
Shanpu shook her head negatively, shouting. "I don't know what you think that you can dodge two of my training sessions but you got another thing coming girl... Now get dressed and fix yourself it's time to train not a time to sulk!"
Ai frowned not at all fazed by the Amazon shouting at her. "Look I just need some time away from it all why can't you people just leave me alone for now!"
Shanpu didn't back down, however her features softened. "Look I understand how you feel, but Ranma wouldn't want you sitting here beating yourself up.. Instead I think he would like you training hard. Also, I don't believe for a second he is dead Great Grandmother is doing all she can to find him so please get ready let us keep going until he is found." she assured.
Ai looked over to the lavender-haired Amazon. "You think he is alive too?" she inquired.
"Of course I do," Shampu said with a nod, as she definitely felt the raven-haired sometimes crimson-haired ghoul/girl was definitely alive he wasn't the type to just give up and die.
Ai nodded, before reluctantly closing her book and standing up. "Alright fine you win I'll come to training Shanpu." she said as she turned from the table walking over to where her wardrobe was so as to choose an outfit, while Shanpu left out the door to wait outside giving the girl her privacy.
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20th Ward
Nerima, Japan
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After getting bounced around from one location to another Ranma finally find himself at a state ran group home within the twentieth ward which was the numerical value given to Nerima, Japan, after settling in he found himself dressed in a similar outfit to the one he had left China wearing and sitting outside on the steps of the home which were made of stone that was white in color, and appeared to be well maintained and cleaned, however the same couldn't be said for the rest of the building as the structure was of modern construction, though it had every trappings of what appeared to at one point been a municipal building of typical Japanese construction at some point in its life.
It appeared aged and weathered, though it wasn't necessarily run down looking it just was a very old looking building, there was no lawn out front since right in front of the steps was a sidewalk and before it was a busy road with cars going by at rapid pace.
Behind the structure however there was a decent sized yard that had a steel barred fence that was erect around the properties perimeter which features a small patio with a gazebo which was good for reading and or getting out of the sun, as well as a separate patio with a grill setup though currently wasn't in use.
Most the residence of the home consisted of teens around Ranma's age, though occasionally you could see on rare occasion a younger child staying there, usually that was only temporary until either a home could be found for them or they were shipped off to another state-run shelter.
Hearing the front door being slid open he heard the patter of shoes on the steps, eventually observing both boys and girl's of or near his age all walking by carrying school bags on their person, and dressed in matching school uniforms.
The girl's wore a light blue blazer worn over a white button up blouse and a thin red lace tie, with a black pleated skirts, white knee socks, and black flats on their feet, while the boys all dressed in a dark blue blazers, a white button-up dress shirt, typical red tie, and black slacks, white socks and black dress shoes that shined in the light.
He watched as the last student passed him by finally having peace in quiet within the exception of the occasional car that would pass by as traffic had started to die down, though it would soon pick up again.
Looking up to the sky he observed very few clouds passing by, a light cool breeze blowing a few stray strands of raven-hair that had come loose from his ponytail that was tied back by a black thread.
Reaching into his back pocket he retrieved a small black billfold, opening it too look at his state-issued ID, reading over it observing his picture, then his gaze fell on the name: Saoto Ranma, inside the clear sleeve it had been slid into, on the other side he had a social security card which featured the number the state had issued to him.
Apart of him wanted to find out if his father was still alive, though he didn't know where to start and since he didn't give the authorities his entire real name he wasn't going to get much help from them until he did, however, he felt it was best to leave things as they were.. since even if he did, in fact, have family somewhere around Japan if his father was dead would they want him? That and what if the curse came to light how would they react for that matter.
No, maybe it was best to be under this assumed identity that held a kernel of truth to his true identity since it did feature his real name and not his formal family name.
He put his billfold away, observing a black sedan pull to the side of the road coming to a stop, inside the car sat two individual's one being a man and the other being a Blond-haired woman though he didn't recognize either of them.
The engine cut off, the man rolling down the window proceeding to light up a cigarette just as the woman had opened up her passenger side door stepping out revealing she was a rather tall woman, her eyes emerald green, she wore a black three-piece woman's business style suite, on her feet four-inch pumps.
Her gaze fell on the raven-haired boy sitting on the steps, however without a word she passed him by going on to enter the structure, half an hour passed Ranma not at all moving from his spot on the steps, the man in the car Ranma perceived to be a chain smoker as the entire time the car had been parked there, there was a constant waft of smoke rising from the car.
'That can't be too healthy.' the raven-haired martial-artist thought to himself just as he heard the door to the structure slide open, then closed and the sound of heels clicking eventually passing him by as he observed the same woman who had exited the car was now being accompanied by a young teenage girl with light brown hair, dressed in a similar uniform to the other kid's who had left.
She held a light blue sports bag in hand by its white handle, the woman opened the rear passenger side door for the girl who stepped inside, then the car door was closed, and the woman got into the car, the driver tossing what was left of a lit cigarette out the window where it hit the pavement of the street causing sparks.
The black sedan then lurched forward driving off down the road eventually taking a left whilst Ranma followed it with his gaze, before turning back to the pavement in front of him observing the half-smoked cigarette as it rolled via a loose breeze light sparks could be seen as the embers were strewn via the rolling impacts it took.
He eventually became bored of watching the goings on in his surroundings, proceeding to stand up putting his hands inside his pants pockets and started walking in the direction the teens from earlier had gone making sure to keep a watchful eye on his surrounds since the city was very much unfamiliar to him compared to the village in China he had come to consider home.
The 20th ward being Nerima was a complex maze of streets, walkways, and structures and most the streets were bustling with all walks of life which he found himself weaving around various people who were going too and from work and or going about their individual daily routines.
Eventually as time dragged on he found himself coming to a stop, turning his head to the right observing an aging gray stone wall, upon this wall just to the side of the big blue steel gate that slid open and or closed via a motor set into the other side wall was a copper-colored nameplate reading: Furinkan High school, plus it's founding date and so on though Ranma just skimmed over these as they were not very important to him.
Ranma read the name, fishing around in his right pants pocket eventually retrieving a yellow sheet a paper reading it then looking back to the nameplate, a far Larger sign stood not far away reading the same but far bigger.
'Guess this is the place... school what a drag.' he inwardly thought to himself, before pocketing the yellow piece of paper, eventually turning into the currently empty front walkway which was fairly large.
Looking to the main building it became apparent it was that of a four-story structure that had all the typically modern trappings of a Japanese school campus he assumed, the stone wall had accents of light blue and white paint, on the roof a red water tower, up top above the two main doors was a steeple-like construct on top of a square box where the school clock which had three sides which for anyone in the front of the structure could tell the time.
Thunder sounded out, causing him to look up observing dark clouds were forming a light rain had started to fall too which he bolted towards the entrance, narrowly avoiding his curse being triggered. Upon entrance, he observed white tiled floors, a long hallway leading inside.
Eventually following this hall he found himself at the end observing just in front of him looked to be an administrative office, some staff were busying themselves behind desks from what he could see through the large glass windows, also inside this main office was two adjoining offices one being for the principle of the school and the other for the vice principal.
Stepping up to the nearby wooden sliding door, he proceeded to slide it open stepping inside, the receptionist being a small framed elderly woman with a full head of gray curly hair, and wearing a floral print dress sat at the main desk not so much as acknowledging his presence or even noticing the door had slid open continued typing away on a computer, the glare of the ctx monitor shined on her glasses which looked like they belonged on a librarian from the fifties.
He waited for several minutes as he stood at the desk, leaning on it with his elbows before finally speaking up since the woman was definitely zoned into whatever she was doing. "Excuse me Miss," he said, though she kept jamming keys, an ancient industrial printer hummed to life as paperwork started to spit out into the paper tray towards the bottom.
A few more moments passed by Ranma frowned as he was starting to get annoyed as either she had somehow not heard him or she was so enamored with what she was doing she had no idea he was even standing there or had spoken.
That and the other individual's in the office had seemed to pay him no mind either almost as if he was a ghost and they couldn't see him, finally having enough he slammed his fist on the desk. "Can I get some help here or what lady?" he questioned in a half shout.
The lady jumped in her seat letting out a slight scream clutching her chest, her eyes going wide with fright. "Oh Young man what is all the fuss about that you have to scare an old woman to death for?" she inquired.
Ranma gave a slight smirk that wasn't missed by the old receptionist who shot him a dirty look. "I sorry about that Ma'am you were so into your work I stood here for like fifteen minutes now waiting for you and I really don't got all day. The people at the place I am staying told me I need to enroll myself to this school so can you help me with that or what?" he inquired.
The woman looked Ranma up and down, a frown to her features. "Why I never," she muttered to herself, before bending down retrieving a clipboard with several forms, before holding them out for the raven-haired boy to take who took the proffered forms. "Here you will need to fill out these forms you can sit over there and quietly fill them out," she stated pointing with her right index finger to some chairs that sat to the right of the door he had entered.
She then spoke once more. "Also next time might I suggest you use a bit more tact Young Man when trying to get someone's attention Mister?" she inquired.
"Saoto I am Saoto Ranma." the raven-haired martial-artist called, as he made his way to the before mentioned chairs taking a seat in one getting started on writing out the paperwork.
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The paperwork was a pain as Ranma's hand kept cramping up for having written so much he felt he was on his one-thousandth sheet though more like fortieth and final sheet of paper as he filled it out to the best of his knowledge most of it dealing with personal information.
Though in all truth he felt he didn't need school at all, but knew by Japanese law he was required to go to school especially so long as he was apart of a state-funded program, at least until he became the legal age of adult which was a year away.
Course this same program also required him to find a job which he had yet to do, but he still had a month to do so and he knew this would be important lest he wanted to be homeless. Though he already had a plan for what he would do with such a job if and when he got one and that was to save just enough money to get him back to China so he could get back to what he considered family and friends.
Course he knew he could call them to at the very least let them know he was alive and well, but he had never bothered to write down nor remember the village council phone number which happened to be the only telephone in the entire village.
Sending them a letter was out of the question since there again he never had bothered to write down nor remember a mailing address cause he never had to write and or send letters the entire time he had lived with them.
Eventually he finished the last of the main form's signing and dating them, he turned the page observing another six pages observing they were filled with various questions which he assumed must be to determine his level of education which he filled out to the best of his abilities, before standing up from his chair taking it over to the elder woman who just simply pointed at an empty tray that was simply labeled: Enrollment. "Place the forms in the tray and you may go Saoto-kun." she called to which he placed the forms in said tray and waited for just a few minutes while the woman continued to type out something on her computer.
Once finished with what she was doing four minutes later the elder woman straightened her glass looking up to observe the raven-haired boy was still standing before her desk. "Is there anything else you need Saoto-kun?" she inquired.
Ranma had been patient in waiting quickly replied with a question. "Yes is that all I just go? I mean I sat here filling out those papers and you are just going to tell me to go?" he inquired.
The elder woman gave a slim smile. "Why yes Saoto-kun you may go once we have your paperwork all squared away we will contact the home you are staying in and give you a date for when you will start school," she explained seemingly more friendly than when Ranma had first arrived at her desk.
"Oh okay then Mam have a wonderful day," Ranma called, and with two knocks on the desk with his right-hand knuckles he turned away and proceeded to exit the office making his way to the school's exit.
Upon opening the door to exit the structure he observed it was raining with a downcast expression forming on his features, the one large glass door swung closed behind him, he let a sigh escape his lips as he gave his surroundings a cursory glance observing there appeared to be no one around, placing his hands in his pockets he walked out into the rain triggering his curse.
His five-foot-one raven-haired form shortened to that of four-foot-eight, his now her raven-hair changing to crimson color, his now her chiseled chest becoming bulbous until she sported a rather large pair of breasts on her small frame just under her shirt she continued on down the walkway and exited the still open main gate, proceeding to take the path she took getting to the school to head towards the building she currently called home.
Unknown to the red-head a brown-eyed teenage girl with chocolate brown hair worn in a bob seemed to watch her as she disappeared around the corner of the main entrance from the third story window of one of the classrooms.
'Little early to be leaving school... I wonder who she is?' the girl inwardly wondered since she was sure she hadn't seen the girl before now, turning her attention back to the front of the class, her attention was then called by someone whispering her name.
"Hey Nabiki what you going to do for lunch?" a green-eyed teenage girl with curly light brown hair inquired in a whisper. Nabiki looked to her friend and associate quickly whispering a reply, posing a question of her own. "Not sure as of yet, Hey Saeko are you aware of any new transfer students with red-hair attending school?"
The girl revealed to be Saeko gave her a questioning look, "No not that I know of... Well, we did get that Gosenkugi-weirdo.. but other than that I don't of anyone else. U'm why do you ask Nabiki?" she inquired.
"I just saw a girl with red-hair leaving out the main gate I was just curious," Nabiki replied, turning her attention back to the front of the class observing the teacher was in the process of writing out a grammar related sentence on the chalkboard.
Nabiki hated unknowns and thus made it her business to gather as much intelligence on her peers as best as she could using her system of contacts which included her six best friends which were her lieutenants, the information gathered would come in handy later if she so chose to exploit the information for monetary gain... Of course, this earned her the moniker: The Ice Queen of Furinkan High as many a student had fallen for her exploitative methods.
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Ranma continued her trek in the rain, muttering under her breath due to the fact she wished she had brought an umbrella the rain now having thoroughly soaking into her clothes making them practically stick to her body.
Of course, this did nothing to hide her ample chest if anything made them more pronounced much to her dislike as she wished they were slightly smaller due to the fact their large size made them bounce a little more than she ever would want.
Pausing in her step next to a building she looked to her reflection in the window of the shop observing a red-head with a perturbed expression staring back at her. 'Uhg look at you; soaked to the bone, you stupid ghoul.' she thought now really wishing she had an umbrella as the rain seemed to pick up more.
Though she had gotten quite used to the ghoul-girl in the reflection of the window, she still very much identified as a male which meant that her cursed-bodies assets tended to bother her in the fact they were flawless and had curves in all the right places making her buxom.
With that she turned from the reflection continuing on towards the home, though she knew she would first need to change back to male before entering the home which meant she needed to stop somewhere to find hot water lest she reveal her curse to her peers at the home and she didn't much feel ready to do any explaining about Jusenkyo to anyone at all, that and add the combination that said curse was also a ghoul might complicate things further.
Eventually, she happened upon a small cafe with a sign reading: Anteiku cafe, a small sign sat just in front of the main entrance listing the specials for the day, she proceeded to enter, then followed the stairs up to the second floor where the cafe was located.
At the top of the stairs she opened the door entering, a bell sounded out allowing the staff to know a potential customer had entered the store, Ranma glanced around observing a bar with chairs, an elder man stood just behind the counter cleaning a glass, six stools sat just in front of this, three booths sat just in front of the front windows all occupied by customers.
She glanced down observing the wood floor which seemed to have a shine to it, then looked around observing a sign pointing to the restrooms which meant she would have to pass the bar and take a left.
"My Miss you seemed to have got caught in the rain." the elder man called, placing the glass on the counter.
Ranma nervously reached up scratching the back of her neck, stifling a nervous laugh. "Yea Mister I kinda got caught without an umbrella," she replied as she started towards the bar.
The elder man was rather tall and lean, his white hair swept back, she couldn't quite see the color of his eyes cause they seemed to be mostly closed, he wore gray slacks, a white button-up shirt, worn over this was a black vest.
"Would it be alright if I have some hot water?" Ranma inquired, proceeding to fish out some yen from her currently soaked pocket.
The elder man chuckled at the redhead's words. "Hot water?" he inquired looking to his menu board observing what he already knew about his cafe and that there was no price for hot water.
"Yes please, Mister... I'll pay you how much you want?" Ranma inquired, placing several coins on the counter.
The elder man observed the coins on the counter and it wasn't even enough for a small coffee, he then looked to her currently damp clothing. "Say, Miss, how would you like a cup of coffee on the house." he offered.
Ranma gave the elder man a puzzled expression. "U'm are you sure Mister?" she inquired.
"Yes, of course, its the least I can do for a delightful girl such as yourself." The elder man said, proceeding to make a small cup of coffee for the girl who took a seat at the counter.
Ranma gave a slim smile, pocketing her yen, "Gee thanks Mister I really do appreciate this."
"Don't mention it. Feel free to wait out the rain here if you like." The elder said, proceeding to wipe down the counter.
A few minutes passed, the customers at the booths all had left, a raven-haired woman dressed in a similar outfit to the manager picked up the now empty tables, wiping them down so they would be ready for the next customers.
The elder man looked to the red-head who had been quietly sipping on her coffee. "So are you from around here?" he inquired.
"Yes and no. I was born somewhere here in Japan, of course, I don't remember much of it since my pops took me on a martial arts training journey when I was very young. Course all that is ancient history since my Pop's most likely is dead and I am currently living in a state-run home for orphaned teenagers." Ranma explained, taking yet another sip of her coffee.
The elder listening to her words, "I see so you are a martial artist and you are not quite sure if your father is dead or not, though since you are living in a home I take it the authorities have been unable to locate him alive or dead."
"That pretty much sums it up, Mister," Ranma called, taking yet another sip.
The elder gave a wan smile. "My name is Yoshimura feel free to call me that. You Miss what might I call you?" he said with a question.
Ranma sipped on her coffee once more finishing it off. "Saoto 'm my name is Saoto Ranma but you can just call me Ranma... Mr. Yoshimura this coffee is excellent," she stated a smile crossing her lips.
The elder revealed to be Yoshimura seemed to beam with pride at the compliment. "Thank you Ranma-chan we here at Anteiku pride ourselves on making the very best coffee for our customers," he replied, though internally he thought the girl's name was a bit unusual since it typically was a name given to boys, however he knew from past experience there were parents who named their boys unorthodox names such as Sue.
Eventually the rain died down, then stopped entirely and Ranma was on her way, but not before collecting a small cup of hot water she took with her, the elder man watched her leave with said cup a curious brow raised as most leave with coffee, tea or anything other than plain hot water in a cup, but it wasn't his place to question strange habits of his potential customers, especially since he was so sure he would see her again sometime in the near future.
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Later the same day...
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With the day winding down the red-haired girl, now thanks to the hot water from earlier turned raven-haired boy returned to his current home in Japan, observing no one was loitering on the steps Ranma entered the building, tossing the cup she was holding in the nearby wastebasket, proceeding to the first office on the left picking up a pen and started signing his name on the paper lying on the clipboard just on the right side of the window.
Four elder women were busying themselves with office work inside, the lady at the front desk looked to the raven-haired boy taking notice his hair was wet and his clothes still damp, speaking on this, "Saoto-kun your hair and clothes are all wet what did you do get caught in the rain without an umbrella?"
With a nervous laugh, as he put the pen down next to the clipboard, Ranma instinctively scratched the back of his neck with the fingers of his left hand. "Yes Miss Yoiko-sama I had to go enroll for school, and was looking for a job." he casually answered with a small lie at the end.
Ranma didn't mind the woman at the desk she was rather nicer than the rest of the staff, standing at five-foot she was rather attractive for a woman in her late thirties, hair raven worn long and in a ponytail tied back by a emerald green bow, emerald green eyes, fair complexion, and typically always wore a typical dark gray three-piece woman's business suit with four inch black pumps.
Of course, she wore light makeup with red lipstick, though the raven-haired martial-artist figured the woman hardly needed any makeup at all.
The woman revealed to be Miss Yoiko shook her head at him, but with a smile spoke up. "Well that is admirable that you went to look for work Saoto-kun, but if you get yourself sick you won't be able to make it to your first day at the job should you get one. So with that said go get yourself cleaned up and changed young man."
With that said the raven-haired boy was off like a shot heading towards his living space which wasn't very big it consisted with a bed, a small black trunk at the foot of the bed that he kept his belongings in, it was locked via a key padlock.
He produced a key proceeding to kneel down removing the lock on the chest opening the lid, he then looked over the contents of the chest observing the shirt he had worn upon arrival to Japan which was clean, a pair of black trouser pants, as well as a white muscle shirt and a pair of yellow and green boxer shorts, he then observed the hand crafted leather pouch which held the mask he had been given by Lin as well as the quinque that had been given to him by the Amazon Matriarch Great Elder Cologne.
He looked to the pouch a little longer than most the items inside the chest, his mind wandering as deep down he was still very surprised he got them through customs and they had not bothered to check the contents or anything, the only thing he could think of is they were so swamped with deportations they just hurried the lot of them through.
He had even got worried at one point when the quinque, and the chains he was wearing had set off the metal detector, however, was relieved when the guards hadn't stopped him, but rather the young boy who was behind him, the entire time the ghoul investigator that had 'rescued' him from the traffickers was watching him up until he boarded the plane.
Also inside the chest was the torn and ragged cloak he had been wearing during the rescue attempt on the elders was also neatly folded, he had yet to bother repairing it and wasn't quite sure why he had kept it, but then again it could have been cause Ai had crafted it for him which probably is the reason why he insisted on keeping it when one of his supposed rescuers attempted to throw it away.
Also inside was a manga depicting girl's in sailor outfits, that appeared to be fighting some strange tentacle demon which he never understood the appeal of such an entity, however none the less he was enjoying reading the manga so far since it being his first was given to him by one of the boys that was staying at the home before he moved out due to turning seventeen years of age.
He looked up from the chest to his bed observing the western style white metal bed posts that were aged with the paint pealing, a small bed with a white cotton bed sheet, and the typical institution style blanket which was rough to the touch and wasn't the warmest blanket on earth, his sapphire eyes then fell on the window which had wire-mesh on the inside which made the outside hard to see depending on the time of day and whether it was cloudy or not outside, two white curtains sat just in front parted allowing the sunlight to shine down onto the bed.
He let a tired sigh escape his lips as he was so tired of seeing this view every time he got something from his personal trunk, he hated the white painted stone brick walls were in places said paint was peeling away.
Though currently everyone was still away from home at school, he hated that when the other kids were not at school they were in this very room either talking among themselves rather loudly which sometimes annoyed the raven-haired boy cause at least in the Amazon village if things got too loud he could always go somewhere and find quiet when he needed it, but here if someone was sick he could hear the coughing, and if not coughing it was snoring which constantly sometimes made it hard to sleep.
No it was safe to say in a lot of ways he totally hated living in this place and couldn't wait for himself to turn seventeen and move out, though that future was uncertain as he wasn't entirely sure on where he would go, though he knew if he somehow found a way back into China the Amazon's would gladly take him in he would first need to acquire the means to get there.
Grabbing up the muscle shirt, as well as the yellow and green boxers as well as a pale with bathing supplies he then proceeded to close and lock the trunk before standing and turning away heading for the bathing room.
The bathing room was rather standard for a home this large, it had the wonderful matching stone walls with peeling paint like that of the rest of the building, a large sliding glass window which currently was closed and the glass so covered in dust you wouldn't need to close the blinds if you didn't want to be seen, the slight difference being was instead of white tile floors this one had lime green and black checker colored tiles, eight shower alcoves and a large heated gray tub that was currently devoid of water.
Upon entering said room he observed he was the only soul inside, he crossed the distance between himself and the empty bath proceeding to turn on the hot water dial, water began pouring into the tub from the spigot, watching a moment while water flowed into the tub he then crossed the distance to a small alcove with a stool and a drain and shower, he placed the pail with his bathing supplies down just inside then began stripping off his soaked clothes tossing them into a pile, taking a seat on the stool he began taking out the shampoo, conditioner, soap bar then turned on the spigot in front of him proceeding to fill the pail up with cold water.
He knew he had to do things in rather quick order as he sometimes found himself with company in the bath since this was a rather large tub it meant it could hold up to eight people, typically the tub was full of water since it was heated he figured they had just cleaned it and had yet to fill it again so he decided to wait a few minutes before rinsing himself as he didn't want his curse becoming known to the world just yet.
Once his bath pail was filled, he then proceeded to upturn it over his head instantly triggering his curse, and gaining a slight shock from how cold the water was that had he now she had just poured over himself.
"Damn that's cold!" she exclaimed, while consciously trying to keep her voice down.
She looked to the mirror as she put the bucket down, the red-head in the mirror stared back at her in the mirror not with a sapphire gaze but that of brimstone, she sometimes wondered what triggered this effect as she had yet to manage to quite control it, but she felt it had something to do with mood.
She quickly went about bathing, turning on the hot water to the small shower head as hot water cascaded all over her person allowing yet another change of gender this time to male he then turned the shower head off, then proceeding to use soap to lather her now his skin up, eventually turning on the shower allowing it to rinse the soap off, then proceeded in shampooing and conditioning his hair.
Eventually he was finished with that, then opted to turn off the shower proceeding to stand turn about heading over to the tub which was just now nearing overflow, he quickly shut the water off stepping inside before lowering himself in the tub to take a relaxing soak, the warmth of the water easing his worries for the time being.
That was until he heard talking of many voices indicating he was about to be joined by several other teens who had opted to bath at that time, he shook his head in mild annoyance as he just knew peace and quiet was never in the cards so long as he lived in this household.
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Three days later...
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It had been exactly three days since Ranma had enrolled at the school he had been assigned and yet he hadn't heard back from them regarding his start date, it was morning time a light cool breeze settling in as it had rained all day the night before, parts of the pavement were still damp, even the steps were slightly damp however this never discouraged him from doing what he liked in the morning and that was sipping on a mug of coffee, as he sat on the steps looking to the currently empty road and sidewalks which any minute now would see lots of cars and pedestrians going both too and from their various destinations in front of the building he stayed in.
Sipping from his coffee he listened to the nearby birds that were perched on the telephone wires nearby singing natures song, he looked to the sky which was rather clear the sun shining brightly, the sound of a motor in the distance signaling a car was nearing his location.
Just like clockwork the day had begun, the teens in the home he stayed all exited the building bypassing him and on to their various destinations, all except one boy who paused taking a seat next to Ranma putting his school bag down.
The boy when standing was five-foot-four tall, lean and had dark brown hair, blue eyes, he wore a standard dark navy blue school uniform, a white button-up shirt worn under the blazer, black tie. "Say don't you ever go to school?" he inquired.
Taking yet another sip of his coffee, the raven-haired martial-artist considered a proper response before finally speaking up. "Still waiting on my enrollment forms to go through the proper channels. They have yet to give me a start date," he said truthfully.
"Say Daisuke isn't it?" he inquired.
The boy gave a casual nod of his head, "Yea that is my name." affirming that Ranma was right about his name, he then spoke up once more. "So which school are you enrolling in if I might ask Saoto-kun?"
"Ranma you can just call me Ranma. As for the school, it's Furinkan High assuming they accept my enrollment otherwise I may have to apply elsewhere." Ranma said with a slight chuckle before sipping from his mug.
The teen revealed to be Daisuke chuckled at this. "Right well Ranma not to worry I am sure they will accept your enrollment they kinda have to it's not like you are signing up for college entrance exams especially your freshman high school year," he assured.
Just then the door was heard sliding open, before being slid closed, a teen just a little shorter than Daisuke had stepped out his hair light brown, light blue eyes and wearing the same school uniform as his friend, a school bag in hand.
"C'mon Dai' we going to be late," he called as he walked by and down the stairs, heading in the direction of the school.
Daisuke let a sigh escape his lips before standing up. "Well see ya around Ranma take it easy," he called, proceeding to follow his friend to school.
"Hey Hiroshi wait up man!" he shouted as he went into a slight jog to catch up as the raven-haired martial-artist followed him with his sapphire gaze.
He then drank what remained of the now lukewarm coffee in his mug with a tip back of his head, swallowing it he then stood up proceeding to head back inside the building. "Well guess gonna put this mug back in the kitchen then do some trainin'" he muttered to himself out loud since it had been awhile and he knew he had become rather lax when it came to his martial arts which he knew better he knew he had to keep it up every day as it wasn't something you could just stop doing for an entire month and expect to win a fight if one should occur.
He typically before the events of current date tried to train once a day, but with the way things had been as of late he just hadn't found the proper time, but now he believed he could take the time to get back to his normal regime as he wanted to be in top shape as it didn't hurt to have training if and when the need should arise to use said martial-arts.
Though he always preferred to only use it in self-defense situations, accepting a challenge should one be given and never backing down from a fight no matter how trivial it might appear so long as a formal challenge had been given.
Of course he also knew if he ever expected to use the quinque in his pouch properly he needed to do more training with it, but he hadn't found a proper location as he didn't want to be wielding it openly in front of people since typically it was a weapon only carried by C.C.G. Operatives and not just given to the common civilian much less a teenager such as himself.
He also knew from what he was told some quinques had various ranks based on the ghoul's they were made from, though he had little knowledge of what his was ranked what he did know was it cut ghoul's and that was all that mattered to him.
However despite having it he preferred hand to hand combat, or blunt force objects like a quarterstaff though such means hardly would do him any good against a ghoul, though he half wondered if hand to hand was completely out cause if enough force was applied it could do damage to a ghoul after all he found that out the hard way during training when in cursed form he fell from a pretty high up ridge and didn't land properly on his feet hitting the ground rather abruptly with a painful splat.
Though the damaged healed up quickly, it didn't change the fact it had hurt and he didn't get up right away and had to just lay there to contemplate what had gone wrong with his landing.
Eventually he found the kitchen placing the cup on the counter, looking around he didn't see the staff lady that usually was in the kitchen, but then she sometimes took smoke breaks so wasn't too unusual so he just continued on heading for the back patio area which was just large enough he could use it for training.
Along the way, he grabbed up a clean neatly folded white cotton towel from the laundry closet, then continued on until he was outside setting the towel down on the nearby table that had a folded umbrella.
The only soul in the back area beside himself was indeed the kitchen attendant who was smoking away on one of her cancer sticks, she flashed him a smile, before erupting into a coughing fit, to which he simply gave a smile back as he preferred the person preparing his food to like him rather than dislike him though he did display a slight look of concern at least until the lady had got her coughing under control taking a final puff on her cigarette.
'I wish those things didn't exist.' he thought to himself as they seemed to kill more people via second-hand smoke rather than the smokers themselves, meanwhile the cigarette companies were making billions of dollars off the very people they are killing.
He undid the ties on his shirt before taking it off and neatly folding it laying it beside the towel he had brought with him, now he was only wearing the loose-fitting black trousers, as well as his white muscle shirt. He took five steps towards the middle of the yard, giving the area a cursory glance.
He waited a moment waiting for the kitchen attendant to leave which she soon did after snuffing what was left of her cigarette out in the yellow cup sitting on the steps beside her on the left side. Once she had gone back inside Ranma then started with some stretches making sure to limber himself up.
Slowly closing his eyes he took a breath then exhaled it slowly, repeating this for several moments before finally breaking into a Kempo stance going into a slow-motion kata that sped up as he went to eventually seemingly repelling invisible opponents that came at him.
He seemed to do this for what seemed forever, eventually breaking into another martial-arts stance seemingly to go on the offensive, and back again to the defensive this went on for a few hours before he finally gave it a rest grabbing up the towel to wipe the sweat that was glistening his skin off.
He was rather winded from his workout, though he was winded he knew it was from lack of exercise as of late, but from this point on he wasn't about to go without training again cause to him according to his father life was like a battlefield and one must be prepared every day as if it was his or her last.
"Stupid old man just what are you up to at this very moment?... Are you even alive still?" he questioned out loud to no one, in particular, knowing full well he wasn't going to receive an answer. Though he wasn't sure if he would ever get an answer since he had no idea what part of Japan was the location he was born at, nor the location his father called home.
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Elsewhere In-
The 20th Ward...
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In a small tavern that served cheap liqueur as well as cheap eats two individual's sat at the bar drinking sake, a small television was displaying the latest news, though the music slightly drowned out any information the news later said, and the lighting was rather low so you barely could make out the features of any of the patrons who were also in the bar at various tables drinking their sorrows away.
The floor was rather dingy, smoke wafted in the air, the bartender looked to be an individual who had been through some rough times as he had a hard and distinguished look, his hair dark and graying, a deep scar ran down from his one good eye, the other appeared as if his eyelid had been sealed shut, He wore a cheap gray suit and a dingy brown hat.
The two individual's at the bar was none other than Genma who didn't look much different from the day he last had been with his son, his gi was stained and not as white as it should be, he wore his usual patterned gray bandanna atop his balding head and wire frame glasses over his steel gray eyes.
The man beside him was rather tall and lean individual with long raven-hair, light brown eyes, a mustache sat just under his nose, like Genma he also had a gi on, but his was dark brown and was clean and free of stains.
"I don't know Tendo... I really don't know it's been quite a long time If he even survived I wouldn't know where to begin a search I had looked everywhere for half a year before the Chinese authorities deported me back to Japan having got tired of my constant queries." Genma said as he downed his cup in one go, tapping the bar as the bartender filled it up.
He then went on to speak once more. "However if you had seen that explosion I guess it is highly unlikely he survived at all... Even if he survived the initial explosion he would have been burned all over and succumbed to his wounds. So I guess it is too hopeful that he survived and is living somewhere in China alive and well... Oh dammit boy why did you have to try and play hero to a girl you didn't even know..." he trailed a stray tear falling from his right eye.
The raven-haired man listened to his friend, taking yet another drink from his cup finishing it off, considered a change of topic speaking on it. "Say Saotome what about the rest of your family how are No-chan and the kid's doing?"
Genma quickly wiped the tear away composing himself, as he took a sip from the contents of his cup considering what to say. "Well No-chan she is later today supposed to report to the headquarters to train a new batch of ghoul investigators, as for Rei-chan she should be in school right now, and well," he took a long pause before speaking "Well Ryuo he still suspended for fighting... I swear he isn't like Ranma was when he was that age...Ranma would never use the art for anything other than self-defense... course he was so much more skilled than Ryuo was at this age... If only No-chan would let me take the boy on a training Journey I know I could straighten him out!" he exclaimed.
Tendo listening to his friend's words took another drink from his cups contents, turning to look at his friend a moment before speaking. "Its not my place to judge on these things Saotome my friend, but have you considered the possibility that maybe you are being a bit too hard on Ryuo I mean from what you have told me Ranma was a prodigy and you are expecting Ryuo to somehow be just like his big brother or even better at the art of which those standards may very well be impossible to achieve at this stage of his life he is just a little kid after all and will need to grow up a little more before he can even achieve such a level in the art.
Of course he meant well with his words, but he wasn't entirely truthful as he kinda wanted to tell his friend a hard truth that just maybe it was possible that the training trip was a bad idea from the start and very well may have been the exact reason Ranma wasn't with them right now, though he decided to keep that to himself as he didn't want to create tension between himself and his friend who sometimes could prove cemented in his ways.
Of course he knew Ryou was coming along in his training quite well from what both Genma and No-chan had told him, and from what he was told about Ranma he was performing impossible feats at the age of nine and was a very quick learner who much to his own fathers admission was seeming to learn a lot faster than he would have liked and was afraid he would surpass him at the martial arts around the age of sixteen should he had lived that long.
"Perhaps you are right Soun Tendo my old friend... perhaps you are right.. but I will be damned if I don't make sure he follows the path to martial righteousness and make him a man among men!" he exclaimed drunkenly, as the amount of sake he had consumed was slowly catching up with him.
Soun chuckled at his friend's words. "I am sure you will my friend... I have complete confidence you will do just that," he said as he downed yet another drink.
The bartender poured Genma yet another drink, the balding martial-artist stared into the bowl for a few long minutes, before downing it in one quick motion his thought with the son he had lost, he had never once told his friend... nor his wife about the curse his son had acquired, both knew about his own but he felt if his wife had known their son not only had a female curse and was unable to fulfill a promise of becoming a man among men, and was on top of that a ghoul his wife would personally see to it he committed seppuku on the spot.
The woman was old fashioned almost too a fault, and she came from a long line of nobility who adhered to samurai traditions, which in contrast his lineage didn't even make the cut but for some reason the woman had taken it upon herself to fall in love with him and have children, he internally felt he didn't deserve her at all.
That and wondered why she was with him, but he wasn't going to question the woman's loyalty and love for him as that could lead to the nail in his coffin or at least a free one way trip to the dog house... As it was things were kinda rocky since he had returned home without their son, nor had returned with their son's body leaving the poor woman to grieve over an empty grave.
Retrieving a photo from the pocket from within his gi with his right hand he looked upon it with sad eyes as it depicted a young boy with raven-hair that looked to be a small baby, he had no other photo's of Ranma as he had failed to get a more recent picture of his son, so it was all he had to remember him by.
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One week later-
Ranma goes to school...
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It was an early Friday morning the night before Ranma finally had received word back from the board of education regarding his enrollment to Furinkan High school, and according to them, he had passed the education exam assessing his abilities indeed informing him he would be starting his freshman year. Of course, he wondered what it would be like as he hadn't been to a school since he was little.
Next, to his bed he had a school bag that was largely devoid of books, with exception of a journal and a pencil, and a calculator he had been given by one of the teens who had moved away from the home. Of course he was feeling antsy as he wasn't quite sure what to expect on his first day, but he had his two friends Hiroshi and Daisuke if he had any questions he had grown close to them during his time at the home even as brief as it was.. all three of them had hit it off rather well.
Both Daisuke, and Hiroshi wore the usual school attire, as for Ranma's outfit he had on a pair of dark blue trouser style pants with flared legs, a red-n-white long-sleeved silk Chinese style shirt, the ties were white, the buttons holding the shirt closed were gold, his collar was black, the inside white as for the sleeves he had the cuffs rolled back the inside like the collar was also white, on his feet a pair of black kungfu slippers.
Reaching down he picked up his school pack as both his friends waved at him to follow them to which he was quick to catch up heading for the homes front door which served as the main entrance.
Upon exiting the structure the first thing the trio observed was it was rather sunny outside with very little cloud cover, the breeze was rather cool for the moment, though according to the weather lady from the night before it was going to get pretty warm with very little chance of showers.
However despite what the weather woman had said Ranma was taking little chances as he also packed an umbrella that was clasped onto the school bag by a couple of black-n-white ties, also tied on by similar ties was the custom leather pouch which was firmly against the back side of the bag.
Today was supposed to be an inspection of the teen's personal effects which would be performed while everyone was away from the home, and he didn't wish to explain the contents to anyone in the home, nor the authorities who would no doubt be called upon discovery of said items.
Though he felt it was questionable that the home had policies allowing the search of a personal space without the person of interest actually being present which is why he thought it was unethical, but he was just a teen staying in the home so what grounds did he have to question such practices... This just made him, even more, want to get of age and move out. Of course, running away from the home was an option he wasn't in a hurry since the home did provide free food and a roof over his head.
The trio made good time only stopping briefly to get a few things from the convenience store, Ranma paused at the door deciding to wait outside since he had no money, while Daisuke, and Hiroshi continued inside.
A few moments later both Daisuke, and Hiroshi returned from inside the store observing their friend was leaning against the wall of the store his right knee bent with his foot against the wall, and his other firmly on the ground at an angle with his hands in his pockets, his school bag sitting on the ground next to him.
"Hey, I got something for you," Hiroshi called, tossing a silver package at the raven-haired martial-artist who reached out catching the item observing it was a pork bun.
Ranma quickly unwrapping the packing quickly devoured it, both Daisuke, and Hiroshi had looks of surprise on their faces as they had never seen a pork bun vanish so quickly.
"Jeez guys thanks," he called with his mouth still full before finally swallowing, crumpling the package and tossing it into the nearby waste container.
Hiroshi nervously chuckled, but decided to lean against the wall next to his friend and eat his food while sneaking peaks at his watch, replying with, "No problem Ranma what are friends for."
"Yea Ranma that is what pals do," Daisuke called, opening up his own pork bun package and eating it much like his friend Hiroshi was at a slower pace than Ranma had consumed his. Ranma smiled at this as he really did appreciate what his friends had done for him.
He then went on to say, " I really do appreciate this and when I get the chance I will return the favor. I promise you both." to which Hiroshi, and Daisuke gave a knowing nod as they were quite sure their friend would make good on his promise.
Eventually, the trio continued on to school the trip was rather uneventful having made it to the Furinkan High School main gate which was wide open, the gray stone wall that surrounded the perimeter was rather dingy from years of weather and was in need of a good cleaning.
In the main courtyard many students were loitering about chit chatting, some were in the process of entering the main building, Ranma stood still briefly looking to the school he had only briefly entered once before to enroll feeling a little strange as he had gotten used to the educating system the Amazons had which consisted of a small classroom whereas this was something on a larger scale.
Each class could hold up to an access of forty students, only equivalent was the elementary school he had briefly attended for a year and a half before leaving Japan for China with his father, however only differences between that school and this one was the elementary school was an all-boys school and was made for younger children.
Whereas this one was made for older teenagers, and had both genders all attending classes together, of course, he was sure their policies were more strict than that of the elementary school for good reason as the school's purpose was to turn children into well mannered and contributing young adults.
He looked up scanning the building once, before turning his gaze downward observing his friends were heading inside to which he quickly made his way to the entrance to follow his friends inside since Daisuke, and Hiroshi were going to give him a brief tour of the school.
Eventually he and his entourage made it to the classroom he would be spending his freshman to senior year in, several girls were sitting together their desks pulled together seeming to play a game of go, and gossiping with one another, while boys gathered together chit chatting about the typical boy things such as cars, girls, and sports.
Looking to the back left corner of the room he observed an empty desk and headed over to it to sit down, while Hiroshi, and Daisuke joined in with the other boys in the classroom.
Ranma let a sigh escape his lips, turning his head to the left to look out the window which gave a good view of the courtyard which had slowly emptied out, he continued to look out the window observing a girl dressed in traditional Furinkan school attire, her long cobalt-blue hair tied back by a large yellow bow was running through the gate, the clock reading: 7:20am exactly which meant school wasn't far from being in session which would be 8:00am exactly.
He couldn't tell from this distance if she was cute or not, but she seemed to be in a hurry however soon slowed her pace, he then observed a large group of teenage boys running at her all of whom were wearing various sports equipment.
He then witnessed a high paced martial-arts battle ensue, though he could hear yelling outside he couldn't make it out since the window was currently closed, but he could have sworn he heard one of the boys exclaim "Akane give me your love!" before he was quickly reduced to a heap on the ground, the boombox he was holding hit the ground with a silent crash and the cassette ejected the tape stringing out of it as it clattered to the ground.
"Wow she is something else," he said aloud without realizing it.
A girl with long raven-hair that was sitting directly in front of him was jotting some notes down in a journal, turning her head to look out the window. "Yea that's Akane for you... I wouldn't worry about it though this happens every day so it is nothing new." she nonchalantly rattled off turning her attention forward not at all stopping with her note-taking.
"Wait you say this happens every day?" Ranma inquired since he wasn't quite sure he had heard right since he was mesmerized by the sheer speed the blue-haired girl was dispatching her foes.
The raven-haired girl with straight long hair stopped jotting her notes setting her number two pencil down on the desk, turning to look at the raven-haired boy behind her. "Yes, every day... Upper Classman Kuno made some stupid speech during grammar class about the way to Akane's heart was to beat her in martial combat. Since then the boys of the school try their luck every day. It is a hopeless battle if you ask me... What do you think?" she inquired.
Ranma turned his attention to the raven-haired girl just as the girl had finished dispatching the last boy quickly shaking his head negatively. "I personally don't feel guys have any right to lay a hand on a woman no matter what the reason is," he said as of a matter of factually.
However that was only partially true as he felt that if a woman was threatening his life he would do everything in his power to subdue her peacefully with very little harm, but unless life threatening he would stand firmly by his beliefs that a man has no right to hit a woman.
"Wise words coming from a boy if you don't mind my saying, The names Sayuri, what is yours if I might ask I don't believe we have met yet?" she inquired of the newest member to her classroom.
Ranma gave a slim smile. "Yea we haven't met yet cause I just transferred in. My name is Saoto Ranma, but you can just call me Ranma." he relayed.
"Well Ranma I hope you like it here in our quaint little school, but if you will excuse me I need to finish jotting these notes down." the raven-haired girl said turning her attention back to her journal picking up her pencil to begin writing once more.
Ranma with a nervous chuckle spoke up whilst scratching the back of his neck. "Yea sure thanks I will certainly try," he said turning his attention back to the courtyard this time observing the blue-haired girl was walking in a semi-circle, a tall dark brown-haired boy in a blue robe, with black pants, was circling with her, in his right hand he held firmly a wooden training sword which indicated to Ranma the boy was training in the art of the sword and by proxy the way of the samurai as his clothes were consistent with those of the kendo club which he had seen during his brief tour of the school.
The duo then launched at one another in a blur both seemed to not give an inch and seems to be at a standstill, though eventually the raven-haired boy seemed to gain the upper hand and had the girl revealed to be Akane on the defensive and backpedaling quickly.
'I get that this happens every day... but is it truly right to just sit here and do nothing?' he inwardly wondered to himself, observing a latch on the window that he could easily flip, and slide it open.
Back with the combatants below, the boy with the Bakken charged forth with a flurry of strikes that Akane quickly bobbed and weaved around somehow avoiding being struck, eventually had to backflip away as something blurred down right between herself and her opponent, the raven-haired Bakken wielding boy quickly leaped back just before he could be kicked by the newcomer who had leaped down between them from somewhere unseen to himself.
"Hey, just what do you think you are doing?" Akane inquired of the newcomer who sported raven-hair tied back in a ponytail, wearing an outfit outside the regulation from the typical school uniform.
"Stopping this nonsense. Guys shouldn't be trying to beat up on a girl." Ranma called, tossing his school bag he had brought with him to the girl. "Here old my bag please."
The raven-haired kendoist backed up eyeing the newcomer up and down. "Just who might you be?" he inquired.
"I am Ran-" Ranma started to say finding himself interrupted by the kendoist, a small rumble of thunder heard in the distance.
The kendoist looked to the newcomer standing straight. "Wait isn't it more proper that I introduce myself first? Very well that I shall," he stated before speaking once more. "I am the undisputed... Undefeated champion of this schools Kendo club, I am known as the Blue Thunder of Furinkan High!" he exclaimed just as the cloudy and stormy sky lit up with a crackle of lighting followed by a deafening thunder crack.
"It is I Kuno Tatawaki age seventeen at your service creten." The boy revealed to be Tatawaki Kuno called proudly, causing Ranma to feign being awestruck.
Above from one of the classroom open windows, a female voice says "Did he just call himself the Blue Thunder?"
"Yea.. though last I heard he was calling himself shooting star." came the voice of a male student called to the first voice that was heard.
Sitting on the window seal of Ranma's classroom sat a brown-haired boy a leopard patterned bandanna tied loosely around his neck, he wore the typical school uniform that the rest of the boys wore at Furinkan High.
He watched on as the kendoist postured a slight smirk to his lips revealing a fanged tooth on the left side of his mouth.
"Whoever this new kid is he has a pair to be fighting Kuna on his first day," he said with a chuckle, to which several of the students now crowding the window with him chuckled at his words knowingly.
'I swear I know this kid from somewhere.. it's been years but could it really be?' the fang-toothed teen inwardly questioned.
Ranma straightened his posture having heard the Bakken wielding teen introduce himself, then went into a speaking poetically enough that he was sure Shakespeare would have been proud if it didn't sound so insane. Eventually, once he was sure the kendoist was done he spoke up.
"We-we..." He paused to compose himself before resuming. "I-I well I am Saoto Ranma of the.." he paused once more considering his words before finishing. "It doesn't matter where I am from what you need to know is I Saoto Ranma will accept your challenge!" he exclaimed taking on a Kempo stance, then with his left-hand fingers, he beckoned the kendoist to attack.
Akane grit her teeth still holding the boy revealed to be Saoto Ranma's bag, backed away giving the two room, though she felt she needed to say something to the newcomer. "Look you really don't need to do this you're just going to get yourself hurt," she warned.
"Thanks for the concern but I assure you I go-" Ranma started to say finding himself interrupted as Kuno launched forward almost faster than the eye could see, well a well-trained eye that is barely giving him enough time to weave around the blade, he then backpedaled with Kuno following suite using his Bakken in a flurry of various jabs and slicing motions.
Hearing a slight cracking noise he turned his head slightly eyeing the school wall behind him which was cracking due to the wind pressure alone off the Bakken Kuno was using. 'Wow that is insane.' he noted to himself realizing he had best make sure he didn't get hit at all or he may not even get to live through his first day at school.
Back up in the school window, the fang-toothed boy raised a curious brow, balling his left fist bringing it down in his right-hand palm. 'Though I recognized him that is Ranma he was in my class back then... Saoto...Saoto I guess that could have been his sir name but I could have sworn it was something else.' he pondered on this but drew a blank.
The one thing he did remember was he and Ranma was not on the best of terms, as he saw it the boy below owed him for a few wrongs he had done in the past. 'I'll make you pay just you wait Ranma.' he darkly and inwardly promised the raven-haired martial-artist who was now standing atop of the kendoist sword balancing on it while with his right hand was quickly poking the poor boy's forehead just as lightning had flashed and rain had started to pour down in buckets.
He then lost sight of Ranma as he had vanished from view without him or anyone else noticing, Kuno said something incoherently before falling face first into the now muddy ground, Akane stood there with a bewildered expression having realized Ranma had vanished and not only that she then looked down realizing she was no longer holding his bag.
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A few moments later in an equipment shed a female Ranma let a weary sigh escape her lips, tossing her back down, she then took her trousers off and started wringing the water out of them into the nearby sink, she looked over at the door observing she did indeed make sure to bar it shut so it couldn't be slid open.
She turned her attention back forward proceeding to lift one leg sliding them into the damp item, eventually doing the same with the other before sliding them back into place, her gaze falling on the mirror observing her ghoul eyes glaring back at her.
"This is just what I needed.. fucking had to rain and now look at me I might be attending my first day at school as a ghoul," she muttered to herself proceeding to lean her forehead against the mirror since she could hear the rain seemed to have no signs of letting up anytime soon.
Though she would never indeed attend school as a girl much less a ghoul-girl. No rather she would leave the school grounds taking an absence on her first day then risk the chance of anyone finding out about her secret knowing full well she wouldn't have too many options available if she wanted to live.
Calming her mind she looked to the sink observing both a hot and cold water knob, she reached over rotating the hot water dial until the sound of flowing water reached her ears, steam started to waft into the air.
Reaching down she placed her right hand under the gushing water pulling it away realizing the water might be a tad too hot, however she heard the door to the shed start to rattle a voice calling from behind it.
"Hey Saoto are you alright in there?" came the voice of the girl Ranma remembered being referred to as Akane.
Gritting her teeth Ranma hurriedly cupped her hands with the hot water attempting to ignore the stinging as she brought the steaming liquid over her head inducing a change of genders.
"Yea... I am fine." Ranma said before speaking once more as he kicked the pole holding the door closed away at which it slid open and Akane stepped in turning with her umbrella still outside proceeding to close it, once inside she shut the door behind her.
Ranma turned the water to the sink off, proceeding to pick up a nearby towel to dry his hair and face. "How did you find me?" he inquired.
"I took Kuno to the medical room and happened to see someone in here so I figured it was you since P.E. classes have been canceled this week," Akane said casually pointing to the window the raven-haired martial-artist was standing in front of, as she watched the raven-haired teen hang the towel he was using on a nearby rack.
Ranma looked over his shoulder observing the window. "Oh..." he trailed, his thoughts moving to wonder just how much the girl had actually seen, and how careless he had been to somehow have not noticed a fucking window allowing anyone to see him half naked especially in that curse form of his.
"Did-uh... Did you see me? I mean." he inquired his speech not very coherent, his features turning a sickly pale.
Akane raised a questioning brow "See what Ranma?" she questioned pausing a moment before speaking again. "Look if you are saying you got undressed to try and wring the water out of your clothes then no I didn't. I could only tell you were in here nothing more," she answered her cheeks turning red.
Eyeing the girl skeptically a moment Ranma quickly realized the girl wasn't lying and was completely embarrassed by the notion she may have seen him with his pants off, and therefore had not seen he was a girl at the time. This gave him a sense of relief as he wasn't going to have to do anything he would regret down the road, nor would he have to run away and be on the run.
The color on his face returning, as he then spoke up. "Well, I guess we better get inside were both late enough as it is."
The blue-haired girl nodded her head in agreement sliding the door to the equipment shed open as she stepped out opening her umbrella, Ranma following suite sliding the door shut behind him.
Akane looked at the raven-haired boy's neck. "Your neck looks like Kuno nearly had to breathe out your neck," she commented, watching as Ranma reached up rubbing the spot he had been struck which was quite bruised and was slowly turning a shade of blue.
'A bruise from that... I didn't even feel him strike me.' Ranma inwardly thought to himself before both he and Akane made their way into the school and headed for their perspective classrooms which unbeknownst to either of them was one in the same.
Eventually, the duo made it to class, both seeming surprised they were in the same class together both took their perspective seats the Teacher seemingly deep into the book he was reading then looked up and announced the class had a new student who had just recently transferred in.
Then he went on to explain to the class that being new did not excuse Ranma of being late and that he was tarty, then turned to Akane saying she should know better and both were sent to the hall where they both stood holding two buckets of water each out in the hall just to the left outside the classroom door.
Ranma still had his school bag hung by a strap on his shoulder as he wasn't willing to let it out of his sight, his gaze staring straight out the window off into the distance, attempting to ignore the strain the completely full buckets were having on his arms.
Akane also stood there staring off in the same direction much the same way as the boy next to her, though she seemed to have a little more trouble than the boy was at holding the buckets but was managing.
"You know this is your fault right?" she inquired in a whisper of the boy, who turned his head towards her.
Ranma grimaced at the girl. "My fault what the Hell is that supposed to mean?" he shot back in a whisper.
"Yea I had it handled... I finish my fights leaving ten minutes left to get to class. You had no business getting involved in my fights." Akane stated as a matter of factually.
Ranma grumbled inwardly before exclaiming. "Fine next time you get attacked I'll just let them do it cause you seem to have everything under such good control!"
"I wish you would I don't need some boy to save me... Also don't even think about it its that thinking right there is the whole reason I really hate boys!" Akane exclaimed with a hint of anger.
Ranma blinked turning his attention back to the window. 'Thinking what the Hell is she talking about?' he inwardly inquired though he got no answer, of course maybe it was best he didn't get an answer as that would just mean he was losing it.
"Look I don't know what you are getting at. I just felt since you had to wade through that horde I would help you against the last guy... I don't want a thank you, and if you thinking I thought I could convince you to date me that isn't true at all, I mean why the hell would I wish to date a tomboy like you anyhow?" he questioned.
Akane with a look of shock, that quickly turned to one of anger. "What did you just say?" she inquired to make sure she heard right.
Ranma scowled turning t look to the now red-faced girl who seemed very angry. "Like I said I don't want to date you your totally not my type, and plus I already got someone I am interested in and she is much cuter than you!" he exclaimed.
Akane sputtered a moment attempting to compute what was just said to her, she then shouted. "Just who might that be huh? Cause your hand doesn't count!." she dropped a bucket covering her mouth having said the last, just as the hallway window slid open and their fellow classmates started asking questions of Ranma about his love interest, the bucket she had dropped clattered to the floor spilling its contents all over the white tiled floor of the hallway.
Ranma kept quite feeling angry at the girl's comment and was feeling frustrated by the many questions he was being asked, though he did his best and gave no answers to their various inquiries all thanks to his big mouth which caused the girl next to him to become angered enough to shout.
'Me and my big mouth.' Ranma thought to himself just as the teacher within the classroom ordered all the students back to their seats, he then stepped out.
The man was an older individual in his early forties, he was tall and slim wearing light gray slacks, a white button-up shirt, a pair of wire frame glasses worn over his steel gray eyes, his hair worn short and was raven with streaks of gray running throughout it, just under is nose sat a neatly trimmed mustache.
He held a stern expression to his facial features, he looked to the blue-haired girl before speaking. "No talking the both of you this is a punishment, not a reward. For your outburst, you both will spend two hours in detention after school understood?"
"Hai." both Ranma, and Akane said in unison giving a deep apologetic bow to their teacher.
The teacher then pointed to the floor. "Tendo go to the janitors closet and grab a mop and clean this mess up," he ordered before heading back inside the classroom sliding the door shut behind him.
Setting her one filled bucket down on the floor, she bent down grabbing the one that had spilled picking it up by the handle carrying it with her as she stormed off towards the before mentioned closet to get the cleaning supplies she would need.
XXXXXXXXX
Reunion with
an old friend?
XXXXXXXXX
The rest of the first classes went pretty uneventful the time for lunch had finally arrived, most teens at the school were having lunch within their classrooms as was customary since they didn't exactly have a cafeteria like American schools, there was a commissary like store to buy food and drink if the students hadn't brought their own food and drink with them.
If a student wasn't eating in class with his or her friends he or she was out in the courtyard, or on the roof of the school eating his or her lunch since most schools such as Furinkan tended to leave the roof unlocked and had a perimeter railing surrounding the roof to prevent a student from accidentally falling off the roof if one got too close to the edge.
Also on the roof on top of the square like structure that also served as the stairwell building atop its roof sat a small silver water tower, atop this roof sat Ranma along with Daisuke, and Hiroshi who were all eating the lunches they had brought with them, though Ranma hadn't brought his own he had managed to snag something from the commissary as he had luckily managed to be the first in line.
The boys joked among themselves chatting about random subjects whilst eating their food and partaking of their drinks, not at all aware someone had just joined them on the water tower roof, the fang-toothed individual watched the trio for a few moments before clearing his throat.
Hearing this Ranma and his friends looked over observing the brown-haired fang-toothed boy. "Hey, you need somethin'?"
"Yea... I came to see you Saoto." The fang-toothed boy said as he held a patterned bandanna that looked like the one hanging around his neck called in a seemingly calm tone of voice.
Ranma gave the boy querying look, as his danger senses perked up, proceeding to take a drink whilst keeping an eye on the boy, finally swallowing. "Okay, what you need? Do I know you?" he inquired not at all recognizing the boy.
"Yea I think you know me Ranma. You sure you don't know me? Don't tell me you forgot about your old pal Hibiki?" the fang-toothed boy inquired.
Daisuke, and Hiroshi quickly moved to get away, as they watched the boy retrieve an umbrella that was slung over his shoulder by a leather strap as if it was an assault rifle.
Both of them held up their hands. "Look Ryoga we didn't do anything so please don't hurt us." they both called in hopes that would somehow keep the boy revealed to be Hibiki Ryoga from hurting them since they already knew of the boys legendary temper and what he did to an entire group for knowing someone else he wasn't fond of.
Though they hadn't heard the entire story themselves so they didn't know if those others had it coming or not, what they did know was the fang-toothed boy was bad news for anyone that crossed him in some shape or form.
"Get out of here this is between me and my old pal Ranma there," Ryoga ordered, pointing with his umbrella towards the ladder to which the two boys quickly scrambled down the ladder.
Ranma finished up the last of his meal, crumpling the package. "Hibiki...Hibiki... I vaguely remember you come to think of it didn't I always walk you home at you insistence cause you said you were new to the neighborhood?" he inquired as he slowly got to a standing position.
"Ah, so you do remember me?" Ryoga inquired as he rushed forward swinging his umbrella in several precision strikes that the martial-artist before him somehow managed to expertly dodge them backpedaling towards the railing on the water-tower roof.
Eventually, Ranma found his back against the railing, quickly rolling to the side narrowly avoiding being crushed by the umbrella only to watch as the railing was crushed inwardly as the steel easily gave way under the weight of the seemingly bamboo umbrella which seemed as if it was made of some kind of titanium or something.
'Jeeze this guy is a monster.' he thought to himself scrambling to his feet, going on to say "Yea I remember leading you home, of course, it took me awhile to figure it out but you for some reason find it super easy to get lost in a bathroom if you don't have someone to follow out the door."
"Shut up and fight me!" Ryoga roared as he continued his assault becoming more infuriated as the raven-haired martial-artist continued to avoid his attacks as if they were nothing, not even a trace of concern was on his opponent's features.
Ranma frowned at his old acquaintance continuing to bob and weave not even angry as of yet, he was more interested to know just why his old acquaintance was so angry and determined to fight him.
He considered for a bit as he continued to avoid his opponent's strikes until finally, a light bulb lit up inside his head. "Is this about the bread feud we had back then?" he inquired.
"Yes... No I mean what does it matter fight me!" Ryoga shouted as he wanted revenge against his old friend for the wrongs he had endured all thanks to the boy who was staying on the defense not even trying to fight him which was making him angrier.
Ranma grit his teeth as he was starting to get frustrated over what he deemed senseless, he wasn't about to fight for no reason, especially over a stupid bread feud he and his friend had in elementary school. "Dammit Ryoga is it about the bread or isn't it if it is I don't want to fight I'll buy you whatever you want." he offered since he hated fighting over silly things.
Not seeing the full and sealed soda can that had toppled over Ranma stepped on it as it rolled he lost his footing, observing the umbrella coming in for another strike that was definitely going to connect with his abdomen, he quickly slung his book bag down allowing it to take the brunt knowing the quinque steel may absorb the strike either that or it would be crushed and crushed into his ribs.
He then found the bag slammed into his abdomen and Ranma was quickly hurled into the air where he sailed through the air off the building leaving him four stories in the air from the ground below, Ryoga watching him go shouted at him. "Get back here Ranma I ain't done with you don't you dare run away again!"
'Fuck me he has insane strength!' Ranma inwardly exclaimed feeling pain in his ribs on the right side where his school bag was crushed into him, he then looked down a look of horror overtaking his features as he realized he was heading straight towards the school swimming pool. -To be continued...
