Chapter 3: Sparring and sneaking
Truth is in the mind of the beholder.
Akane concentrated hard, passing through the moves of a particular Kata Ranma had shown her half an hour ago. She knew she had yet to perfect it, but merely not stumbling and embarrassing herself had caused her spirits to rise aplenty. Akane hated getting embarrassed in front of her fiancé. She was also not sure she could control herself not to act in the face of his often-hurtful comments. The younger Tendo had seen the signs alright. Ranma tended to favor remaining silent these days, often fidgeting and thinking very carefully before talking. It still wasn't enough, as she had almost pounded him thrice since their little talk during the school break.
"That's more like it, Akane. It was yet your best try" commended Ranma, who was performing a far more complex exercise. "Let me guess, you were thinking of something else and you let your body work by its own, right?" he asked chuckling. "Repeat it a few times every day and your speed will go up in no time" he added, not missing a beat when he had to dodge a combo of two fast straight punches designed to catch him off guard. "See, it already helps" he went on, ducking under a high kick and promptly jumping as Akane's other foot swiped the floor moments later.
"Come on Ranma, spar with me for real!" she demanded, pulling three fast successive kicks that her fiancé avoided without even blinking. "Is it so much to ask you to treat me as a martial artist for once?" she added, jumping a meter from the ground and spinning in the air while passing next to the pig-tailed martial artist, foot extended. Ranma, with an unreal show of agility, clamped his toes on the floor and leaned way back, his spine almost horizontal, without touching down.
"Hey, I'm the best after all" he responded, propelling himself backwards and on a handstand. "I'm entitled to hold back, you know" he went on, his hands leaving the ground just as a roundhouse kick whisked below him. He landed on his feet a few meters away and Akane noticed in frustration he wasn't even breathing hard. His infuriating overconfident smirk was starting to get to her.
"You are an idiot, Ranma" she all but yelled, her punch missing his face as his head tilted to the side. The wall far behind him protested, a slight indention appearing in line with her hit. "This is just your stupid no-hurt-girls gimmick talking" she spat, her other hand trying to emulate the chestnut fist with inadequate, however impressive speed. "You are doing the same mistake my father does" she complained, unleashing a combo of multiple kicks. "How am I going to learn without getting hurt?" she continued, attempting a desperate plunge. Ranma simply somersaulted above it. "How am I going to beat that Shampoo bitch without getting hurt?" she followed, her hands touching down, then reversing her momentum, causing her to kick backwards with both feet. The pig-tailed martial artist leaped high, his feet clamping at one of the dojo's ceiling beams. He remained there upside-down, peering at his fiancée below as she fumed.
"I demand that you hurt me, Ranma Saotome!" she bellowed enraged, very much like a battle cry. In a feat of strength she had no idea she could do, she left the ground rapidly, twisting in the air. Her right foot kicking upwards, she smashed cleanly through the ceiling beam Ranma had been dangling from, creating a hole that let the sun creep in. That was when she realized what she had done, losing all the self-control her tightly reigned anger had given her. Instead of crashing on the cold floor, she landed smoothly in the hands of a certain very impressed martial artist. "Please..." she finished, her voice meek and her eyes damp.
They both remained still for some moments enjoying each other's touch. "How long are you going to hold me like that?" she inquired, although from her tone she was far from complaining.
Ranma leaned forward, then whispered in her ear. "You are the one holding for dear life, tomboy" he indicated and Akane blinked once before seemingly teleporting away with an 'eeep' sound.
"J...jerk!" she accused, her voice hardly sincere. She promptly decided to change the subject, looking upwards and gasping. "How exactly did I do that?" she asked awed. "My leg should have broken after something like that, yet I hardly feel sore..."
Her fiancé's smile was exceptionally wide as he alternatively regarded her and the dojo's new hole. "Simple. You used your chi to increase your jump height, power and endurance, all at the same time. In fact, up until you realized what you were doing, your body was glowing all over."
Akane's face went blank. "But you never taught me how to do that" she countered.
Ranma smirked. "Now that you actually did it, I can teach you how to improve. But you had to do it once yourself before I could do anything to help you. No sense in lecturing when you can't believe you can do it."
"Does that mean..." she started tentatively, stopping cold as Ranma picked a nearby bucket of water and doused himself.
The now redhead assumed a real battle stance, smiling cockily and simply goading her fiancée to attack. Akane rose a brow but nodded, punching forward powerfully. The next thing she felt was the wall colliding with her back and an agonizing fire burning in her abdomen. She blinked, collecting herself from the floor and gawking. Her fiancée had remained still, her palm extended forward. "That means the first part of your training is finally complete."
"You actually hit me" she muttered, nursing a rapidly developing bruise. Her look of pain and astonishment melted into the most beautiful smile Ranma had ever seen in his life. "Thankyouthankyouthankyou" she exclaimed, performing an impromptu victory dance, then dashing in to attack again.
Ranma raised her brow, then sighed. "Oh boy, I sure hope you are serious, Akane. You know what they say, be careful what you wish for because it might come true" she admonished, ducking under a high roundhouse kick and kicking at her other leg at the same time, sending her fiancée for a painful rear landing. Akane never let her smile diminish, recovering and attacking again. Only to find herself airborne in no time, shortly colliding with a wall. "It's high time you learned to reinforce your body with chi" lectured Ranma, her voice oddly devoid of emotion. "You need to feel its flow inside you and learn to redirect it where it is needed."
Akane collected herself, then nodded, marveling at how much worse than her fiancée she was in terms of skill. She knew that Ranma was good, but now she could see firsthand just how good. And I can tell she is still holding back, she shivered, feeling sad for herself. She barely managed to saw a kick that seemingly came out of nowhere, throwing her arms before her, aligned in a solid 'X' shape. She willed herself to feel the energy she knew was inside her and sighed in relief as she appeased the result, a defensive block that could stop a wrecking ball. Then Ranma's overhead twisting heel kick actually connected, causing the air around them to produce a cracking sound, and she gasped as she felt every bone in her arms, shoulders and spine creaking. As she stumbled backwards dazed, she glanced in the redhead's eyes and felt a cold chill entering her being. She barely had time to realize the cold was real when Ranma followed with a second, much softer kick that totally blasted past her defenses, hitting her just below her neck and sending her flying again.
She was much slower to rise this time, gladly accepting a helping hand from her sensei. Somehow, that word felt right when tagged on Ranma, she decided. "That's enough for today" stated the redhead emotionlessly. "You did really good, but we are just getting started. A soak in the furo and rest are mandatory to help your body recover. You'll also be really hungry at dinner. If you absolutely have to do something until tomorrow, try to feel you chi and nothing else." She recited and Akane still marveled at the lack of emotion.
Ranma started walking towards the exit, when a hand touched her shoulder. Akane felt the chill spiking through her senses. "When are you going to drop the Soul of Ice?" she asked silently, almost pleadingly. Ranma's temperature returned to normal at once and Akane gasped when she saw tears on her face.
"I'm sorry, Akane" apologized Ranma as she turned and Akane gasped again, for she saw the hurt in the redhead's eyes. "I couldn't do it otherwise."
The black-haired girl promptly crashed her smaller fiancée in a mighty embrace. "Thank you Ranma. Thank you so much for training me, sensei" she blurted, idly wondering why her eyes also felt wet.
They remained silent for a long time before she sensed Ranma tensing. She quickly let go as her fiancée produced a thermos-out of nowhere she noticed in disbelief-and changed back into her birth form, wiping her eyes all the while. Ranma's visage hardened and he glared at the door that slid open. "Taro" he challenged, his frown turning to surprise when he saw Nabiki following suit. "What did we miss?" he asked cocking a brow.
The Chinese fighter went to say something but cringed as Nabiki stepped on his foot with force. "You will all shut up and open your ears people. I will make this work and nobody will mess it up. That's especially for you Saotome so, for once, listen."
Taro yawned, stretching on his seat and looking away from the book he had been reading. All in all, things had gone way too smoothly. Ranma and Akane complained at first but were fast to grudgingly accept him once Nabiki recited his stay's rules. Soun and Genma had been indifferent, sparing a glance towards his person and quickly acknowledging him before resuming their tries to find new ways to steal at Shogi. Nodoka had shot an appeasing glance, quickly nodding in approval, while Kasumi had offered him an outright smile while making sure there had been enough food to satisfy everyone.
Taro actually smiled at the memory of Kasumi. He could still hear her whistling a happy tune in the kitchen while washing the dishes and felt a sudden pang of guilt for not offering to help. She was too much like his mother, he realized. The unfortunately named fighter raised a brow as he saw Soun and Genma creeping down the stairs, laughing quietly among themselves and removing what seemed like burglar masks. Dismissing the somewhat disturbing scene, he turned his attention to his book. He knew that everybody else was either locked in their rooms, like Nabiki, who had left muttering something about stock shares, or had turned in early, like Akane, who had seemed exceptionally weary and curiously giddy.
Sometime later, after Soun and Genma retired, Kasumi left her kitchen, approaching Taro. "I have readied you futon in the second guest room, Taro-kun" she chirped happily, although she was definitely tired. "Feel free to go sleep anytime."
The otherwise cocky fighter felt overwhelmed. "Thank you, Tendo-san" he replied somewhat hastily.
Kasumi graced him with a smile. "None of this" she chided. "Kasumi will do just fine. Sleep tight, Taro-kun" she offered, retreating to her room.
Taro couldn't help but smile back, then sigh. He waited a bit more, then rose determined. Retrieving a shovel and a sensor device from his backpack that lied forgotten next to the koi pod, he silently crept beneath the Tendo home.
Ranma sighed contently and stirred, having barely started waking up. He felt wonderful, he realized. Ever since he had returned from China, he had had to fight for his sanity almost every night, as nightmare upon nightmare would plague him. Perhaps I'm starting to recover, he thought, not halfway awake yet. He admired the softness of his futon as well as a feeling of warmth that somehow filled his being. He first realized something was wrong when he heard a second content sigh that knew was not his own. He slowly opened his eyes and gulped as he realized the extend of his situation. Inches from his face, Akane was lying, still asleep with a smile plastered on her face.
"Ranma..." he heard her whisper and he gasped as he noticed his hand was cupping a very soft but firm mount of flesh. Her favorite pig-patterned nightclothes were made of thin material, he decided blushing, before shaking himself awake once more. I'm so dead, he thought as he slowly removed his hand from her breast, doing his best not to wake her up. He was beat red by now as he tried to exit the bed-her bed he noticed with a sense of ever-increasing dread. Just as he realized there was no way in hell to calm down enough to use the Umisenken, Akane's eyes opened slowly and she regarded him adoringly. Then her smile died a horrible death and her eyes went wide.
"What are you doing in my bed, you pervert!" she shrieked, her face so red from embarrassment and anger that matched his Chinese shirt. Foot, check!
"I don't know how I got here" he complained, also shouting. Mouth, check!
"What do you mean you don't know?" she snapped back, her eye twitching.
"It's not that I'd want to sleep in you bed, anyway!" he shot back, then froze as he heard himself. Insertion, most definitely check!
As soon as the large mallet appeared in her hand, he knew there was no hope for him. At the last possible moment, however, something clicked inside him, much like divine intervention. His hand moved rapidly and he smoothly cupped her cheek, causing her to gasp and freeze in mid-swing. A new flush rose on her face.
"R...Ranma?" she asked uncertainly, as she noticed his lips were too close to hers.
The pig-tailed martial artist used the instant to collect his wits. "I meant that I would never come to your bed without your permission. I would never do that" he declared calmly but firmly. He sighed in relief as Akane seemed to lose some of her tension. "This headache is killing me" he muttered, a bit louder than he intended, as he slowly retreated from the bed.
Akane, mallet still in hand but somewhat relaxed, watched him stunned. Suddenly Ranma's face went blank and his brain rebooted. "Headache" he whispered. His hand reached for his head where he found what he was looking for. "Big bump" he followed, staring at his still dazed fiancée. "Panda!" he exclaimed as in revelation, putting two and two together.
At that point, Genma burst into Akane's room, almost using the Yamisenken to clear the door. "What a wonderful surprise" he bellowed. "I accidentally stumble on such a delightful sight. Now the schools can be joined!"
"Panda!" growled Ranma menacingly as his sanity decided it was past time for vacation. Two wide sets of eyes regarded him.
"Ranma?" asked Akane unnerved, the fiasco forgotten for now.
"Son?" followed Genma, ignoring his danger sense that was entirely too busy declaring DEFCON ONE.
A blood red aura surrounded Ranma as he finally snapped and snatched Akane's mallet right out of her lax hand. "PANDA!!" he roared, catapulting himself towards his father, hammer caught between fingers and toes. They both disappeared from sight, tumbling down the stairs, Genma producing very realistic pig squeals while Ranma cursed in five different languages, pounding away mercilessly and throttling at the same time.
Akane finally recovered, touching the cheek Ranma had cupped and sighing. A small smile appeared on her face as she remembered her last dream, a smile that turned wicked as screams of bloody murder resounded from downstairs.
When she cleared the bathroom, Ranma, that had somehow changed into female type, was done pounding her father into a pretzel, swinging once more and scoring the koi pond. Needless to say, wet panda pretzels are entirely too difficult to unwind. The rest of the family was already around the table, watching intently. Nodoka and Taro were clearly enjoying themselves while Soun was as pale as Death after blood donation. Nabiki was dabbling with her digital camera, doing her best not to cackle and Kasumi seemed frozen in her 'oh my' stance, complete with the usual mouth-covering hand.
"Sorry about that" muttered Ranma sheepishly as she walked to Akane and returned the mallet, which she promptly conjured away.
"Sorry about doubting you" she whispered back, her smile a bit marred. They soon joined everybody else at the table, Akane shooting murderous glances towards her cowering father.
"Nice form" commented Taro while stuffing his mouth, still chuckling.
"I'm not in the mood, Taro" replied Ranma dangerously, her eyes still gleaming and Taro decided to skip the PMS joke he had in mind in favor of keeping his head on his shoulders. Kasumi, always the big sister, soon brought her some hot water, changing him back and filling the thermos he produced. That helped to lift his spirits for a while. "At least the old freak is not here" he muttered, then stopped as everybody glared at him.
"What a haul, WHAT a haul!" came the inevitable cry from afar and Ranma let his head hit the table with a resounding thud.
"It never fails" commented Nabiki, watching Taro wearily as the chopsticks in his hand snapped.
Genma, still in the koi pond, weakly raised a sign to request help, sighing as he was ignored in the ensuing chaos.
10-12-2006: I hope you enjoyed this chapter. The Soul of Ice is very handy even outside battle, but the price is that everything comes back to flood you when you drop it. And keeping it for a long time might cause Nabikification XD. Don't you dare hope I will keep updating so often, though...
I welcome any input, but I really want to know what all you readers think about the R-A parts. This is the first time I really try my hand in romance...
Don't forget to review, esteemed readers!