Characters from the manga, Ranma 1/2 are the product of Rumiko Takahashi. This fanfiction is not for commercial use and is only for the writer's and readers' imaginations and enjoyment.
I hope you enjoy!
Rewind and Replay
Chapter Three: A Mistake
0600, Monday, 14 May
On Monday, the new exercises for the week's morning session had gone well. Ranma had Akane practicing agility and dexterity training. It had been a mixture of balancing and juggling, though Akane was having difficulties. Akane felt vexed at her own ineptness, since she was only able to handle one heavily-weighted ball at a time for the moment and was continually slipping on the wall surrounding a park. Ranma had maintained his composure and provided encouragement rather than being acerbic.
The remainder of their morning was relatively simple. They had their morning cleanup, breakfast and headed to school. On the way, Ranma had Akane running before him on the walls and fences, coaching her and watching to see if she lost her balance. Akane was doing very well, though she was having her usual self-doubts. Every slip-up reinforced the perception she had garnered while dealing with Ranma and his associates. She had snagged her socks only a couple of times and scraped her leg enough to raise a line of bloody beads once. A trip to the nurse's office cleaned her leg up quickly.
A quick punting of Kuno was the only irritant when they made it to school.
Two groups sat near each other when lunch finally came. Akane with her bevy of friends and Ranma joined by Daisuke and Hiroshi. Their separation was several meters apart.
For Ranma, he had planned on sitting alone nearby like the week prior. His two classmates, on the other hand, had decided to cozy up to him. They figured, perhaps, that they would get some of Ranma's fortune to rub off on them through association and proximity. With five girls nearby, four of them 'available', their hopes were quite high. Having had them as hangers-on before, Ranma was familiar with their quirks and wasn't surprised by their appearance.
"Say, Ranma," Hiroshi said, after polishing off his bento, "now that you're engaged to Akane, what do you two do?"
Grunting his reply, Ranma said, "Training. I'm helping her with her martial arts." He was sitting back, looking up at the bright leaves growing on the trees surrounding them.
Daisuke had a sly grin on his face. "I'm sure that's not all the training, eh, Ranma?" Hiroshi waggled his eyebrows suggestively.
Caught off guard, Ranma blushed, thinking of the previous night's happenings. "N-no! Just jumping, punching and other stuff," he exclaimed.
"Oho! So there's something more than just this so-called training you're doing," Daisuke badgered. He and Hiroshi began listing off potential activities, seeking more reactions.
The girls turned in their direction due to Ranma's vehement denials. Four of them leveled half-lidded glares at the three boys. Ranma sat up, placing his feet together and staring at his knuckles, which were turning white from their grip on his feet. From her position, Akane could see that Ranma was in a bit of a bind. As much as she wanted to save him, she was dealing with her own issues. Her friends were grilling her about the weekend's happenings because she hadn't been around when they had tried to invite her out.
The girls turned their attention back to their own group, dismissing the boys nearby. "So, you're saying that you and Ranma went up to the mountains on a training trip, just the two of you?" Yuka asked. "He didn't try to do anything perverted, did he?"
The other girls had to lean in to hear her reply. "No. He was actually quite the gentleman." She sighed wistfully, remembering the massages and kisses they had shared.
Akane's demure response piqued the girls' interest even more. Sayuri began probing more. "If Ranma is such a gentleman, as you say, then should we be concerned about his chastity instead?" She and the others tittered when they saw the stricken and somewhat guilty face Akane had. "And here we thought you hated men," she accused.
This brought Akane's ire to the fore. Her jaw clenched, "No, I said I hate boys."
"So what exactly is Ranma, if not a boy?" Shikako probed.
Akane found herself in a bind now as well. Her usual recriminations and objections were being used against her. And her own replies were leaving openings for her friends to exploit. She looked over at Ranma, who was in a headlock while being interrogated. It was obvious that he was being questioned about a delicate subject much like she was. His friends' inclinations were known to her. He was enduring it with stoicism. Their conversation would have caused her to come screaming at Ranma in the past. Blaming for these types of incidents had changed somehow. After two years of knowing how he was, she was more inclined to blame the other two, not taking it out on Ranma. She could only sympathize because her friends were more subtle about their own perverted interrogations.
A certain description came to mind. She knew that it fit Ranma well, as he had shown her numerous times. His stance for righting wrongs and dealing justice. The ability to forgive others that had wronged him, but were contrite afterwards. The caring he showed for family and friends when they were in trouble. Even strangers when it came down to it. As she gazed upon him, she said, "Ranma is a man with broad shoulders."
Her friends were speechless at this. Never would they have expected such words to come forth from Akane's mouth. They turned to look at Ranma, sizing him up in their minds. As Akane had been contemplating her words, Ranma had managed to relieve himself of his human leech. His inquisitors were in a pile, legs and arms akimbo. They struggled to pull themselves apart. Though it wasn't necessarily the month for such things as April had been, the occasional sun shower did manage to make its way through Japan. One such made itself known by crossing the schoolyard of Furinkan High School. Unprepared for the eventuality, the students outside were left to the whims of nature.
Ranma was sitting right in the path of the sudden downpour that lasted only a few breaths.
Even though they had been distracted by their predicament, the two boys caught Ranma's transformation. They leapt up to their feet, pointing in surprise, ignoring their own dousing. Akane's group were also stunned at what they had witnessed.
"Did...Wha-...HUH!?" Ranma-onna's surrounding classmates were doing a double-take.
Ranma-onna stood up, shaking off the excess water and wringing the rest out of his pigtail. He looked up into the sky, frowning. Turning back, he gave a level look at the six students that had just seen his change. "What, never seen a guy change into a girl before?" he deadpanned.
The girls turned back to Akane. Yuka said accusingly, "You just said he's a man with broad shoulders. He's a girl! I mean, she-"
Akane made shushing noises, trying to calm the others. "Look, he's cursed. He went to a place in China called Jusenkyo." Hearing this, Daisuke and Hiroshi turned to listen to Akane. The two groups combined themselves as the betrothed explained what had transpired to cause Ranma-onna's curse. When they were done, Ranma-onna pulled out the thermos he had begun carrying recently. He used it to change back to his male form. Having been with her classmates longer, Akane beseeched them, "Please, don't go talking about Ranma's curse. We're trying to let everyone ease into knowing him first before they know about it."
Incredulous looks were exchanged within the group, but they all nodded their assent. "Sure thing, Akane," Makoto agreed. She allowed herself a playful, mischievous smile. "Which one do you prefer, the guy or girl?"
Both Ranma and Akane sputtered at the inference. "The guy," Akane affirmed. Ranma looked at her in mild surprise because she had so easily confessed.
Ranma puffed up, pointing to himself. "Even though I might turn into a girl with water, I'm still a guy," he said with his usual self-conscious confirmation of his manhood.
Hiroshi and Daisuke leered at Ranma. "Could you demonstrate it again?" Daisuke requested, wiggling his fingers suggestively.
Seeing how they were looking at him, Ranma's reply was very cross and abusive in nature. The group laughed together at his discomfiture.
Above them, on the balcony of his class, Kuno leaned on the railing. It had been his custom to eat his lunch then watch the schoolyard below of late. His attention had, naturally, been drawn to Akane, whose presence was not too far from his vantage. Kuno had witnessed the transformation below as well. He was stunned much like the others had been. However, due to his lack of explanation and his own peculiar idiosyncrasies, he drew other conclusions.
"During mine studies, I have learned of such loathsome beings," he grumbled darkly, his voice slowly rising as he pontificated. "Such ones as this are capable of draining the elan vital of their would-be victims. Akane Tendo is in more danger that I had feared. This cannot be permitted." Kuno became much more agitated as he dwelt upon the ramifications of Akane's continued dealings with Ranma. "I shall henceforth seek to rid her and this institution of Ranma Saotome!" he shouted.
Hearing his proclamation, Tatewaki's classmates could only look at him in disbelief. They knew he had a screw or two loose, but were unable and unwilling to confront him. As they watched, he gathered his belongings and left the classroom hurriedly. They gave a sigh of relief, as he wouldn't be a distraction for the remainder of the afternoon. Nabiki, seeing his departure, did not feel the need to worry about it too extensively at the moment. She had already sold him the pictures of Akane.
1530, Monday, 14 May
After classes were finished, Ranma and Akane were at the staff lounge to speak with their teacher. They were attempting to convince him of their desire to test out of their current grade as well as skip through their next. However, they were finding him to be a bit reticent about the whole idea.
"The two of you have already completed your entrance exams for Furinkan High School and were admitted as freshmen." Pulling out their records, he reviewed Akane's first. "Your scores are very good. However, I don't see where advancing to the second grade, much less to the third grade would be possible. What you are asking for is truly unprecedented." He reviewed Ranma's academic record quickly. "As for your tests, Saotome-san, I see that yours are not as good as Tendo-san's." He paused in his analysis, to see if there were any rebuttals.
Looking abashed, Ranma spoke up in his defense, "Well, sensei, my scores weren't that good because I traveled quite a bit and I hadn't been able to study as well as many other students. My father had me on a martial arts training regimen that took me out of school or transferred a lot."
Akane interrupted, saying, "I think it's a testament of his past and his scores that show just how smart he is." Ranma did a double-take at Akane's evaluation. "I know of Ranma's...past." Akane was thinking of the two years they had lived together and how often Ranma had been interrupted from his studies. While his scores hadn't been as well as hers, she had come to realize after seeing his crazy life just how well he might have done if allowed to study. "Ranma's father would often have him miss school or there would be other circumstances that prevented him from going. He caught up with his studies through sheer willpower and his own innate abilities. I think that, should he have had the time to study like any other student, his scores would have been much better than mine, even."
Looking over at Akane, still a bit shocked, he could only mumble, "Thanks."
Their teacher still didn't look impressed. "Yes, well...while that may account for his lower grades, that doesn't necessarily mean that he has studied the material to advance through both first year and second year. Our school system is not set up for students to jump through the grades on a whim."
A variety of other teachers interest had been piqued by the conversation happening within their midst. All of them were familiar with the two students due to the recent morning escapades. If not directly, then by reputation.
One of the listeners happened to be the vice principal, who had come out of his office to speak with one of the other teachers about something. At this point of the conversation he was eavesdropping on, he called out, "Excuse me, Mitsuya-sensei." All eyes turned to the vice principal, even those that were not a part of the conversation. "Might I have a word with you for a moment, please? Bring their folders with you as well."
The silence in the staff room was deafening. It was unknown in Japan for students to, for one, request advancement through the grades. Another was for the school staff to even consider the idea of such. The vice principal's interest in this conversation had caught the teachers off guard.
Seeing the stunned homeroom teacher and advisor for Ranma and Akane unable to move, he cleared his throat. "I will be there in a moment, right after I finish with my business here." Turning away, he quickly finished his conversation with the teacher he had been speaking to only a few moments beforehand.
Pulled out of his thunderstruck state, Mitsuya-sensei promptly stood and went to stand by the vice principal's office. The remainder of the room quickly found other things to be interested in.
Not sure what to do now that their situation had been commandeered by the vice principal, the two students merely stood in place. The vice principal and their teacher went into the office. They went to stand near the door, smiling nervously at any of the teachers in the room that happened to look at them. They had expected they might have to climb the chain of command within the school, though hadn't expected it to happen in this fashion or so quickly.
After approximately ten minutes, the door finally opened. Mitsuya-sensei came out, looking about for them. Noticing them nearby, he said, "Well, er, he wants to see the two of you." He moved away to his desk to sit down, staring at them until they had closed the door. Turning away, he distractedly attended to the work he had been intent upon prior to the two's arrival. On occasion, he would glance at the door while they were in there.
Ranma and Akane were still used to having had dealings with the principal, Tatewaki Kuno's father. His oddities had been an extreme divergence to that of the calm and professional vice principal that they were standing before now. Though not intimidated, they were unsure of how to proceed at the moment. Bowing, they stood until he gestured to the seats in front of him.
"Please sit," he requested pleasantly. "I, along with many others in the staff room, I'm sure," he said, "were quite surprised at the request you two are making. There are a few questions I'd like to ask to see whether we would even entertain the idea of you taking the end-of-year exams." His tone indicated that his hearing them out was more to shoot down their request pleasantly rather than truly entertaining the idea. "Firstly, what are your intentions for advancing through one to two grades?" He picked up a pen, holding it over a notepad.
Looking at each other, Ranma nodded to Akane. Taking the lead, Akane said, "We believe that we can pass the tests. We know the material well enough. The first year tests might be a bit difficult for us at this time. But we think that the second year material is actually easier...or, should I say, we're better prepared to do it at this time. Our results would allow us to go into our third year." She smiled tremulously.
"Hmm, yes," the vice principal said, making some notes after hearing her and looking at their records. "It's odd that you think the second year would be easier than the first. If I remember correctly, you're the sister of both Kasumi-san and Nabiki-san?" Akane nodded. "Your eldest sister, as I recall, was one of the top students in her class, attaining the best scores in almost all subjects. Nabiki-san's tests last year were quite good as well. She was the top in her math and did excellently in her other subjects. However, after reviewing your own entrance exam test scores, I find that yours might not be quite as good." Akane sagged a little at this. Ranma looked at her, concerned, his hand twitching at the urge to reach out and grasp her hand. "This does not make for a convincing argument to allow us to spend our time and resources in order to satisfy the fancies of our students." His tone for this last statement seemed to take on a more deprecating aspect.
"Yes, Tsujitani-sensei, it's just that...," Akane looked over at Ranma. Her fiancé nodded encouragement. Turning back, she began again. "Well, I know that this is going to sound a bit crazy, but...do you believe in magic?"
The vice principal's face darkened. His scowl and frown were not encouraging. "Please, Tendo-san, such frivolities should be beneath you."
Noting the reaction Akane received, Ranma's face also clouded over in irritation. "She's not crazy, and she isn't, er, frivolous." Standing, he reached out and grabbed a small vase the vice principal had on one of his shelves and upended it over himself.
The shout of surprise and a mixture of fear the vice principal let out caused one of the teachers outside to knock on the door. The reputation of the two martial artists had spread to the faculty. "Is everything all right in there, Tsujitani-sensei?"
Regaining his composure somewhat, the vice principal called out, "Yes, everything is quite all right." He stared at Ranma-onna, eyes widened to their fullest, who had just shrunk several centimeters and whose form had changed considerably. Lowering his voice, he asked, "I expect that you...have a-, um, an explanation?"
Smirking, Ranma-onna set the vase back down and put the flowers that had fallen out back into it. "Magic is quite real," he affirmed. Ranma-onna then pulled out his thermos and upended it upon himself, changing back.
"How...What..." The vice principal visibly shook himself. Standing, he went to a cabinet and rummaged through it briefly. He pulled out a towel for Ranma, handing it to the teenager. After Ranma had dried himself off, both sat down.
Akane continued, "As you can see, Ranma has a Chinese curse that changes him from a guy to a girl. He received it less than a month ago. Everyone in school would have found out about it eventually, but we have been trying to keep it from getting out. He's not the only one that has been cursed, either."
The vice principal nodded, leaning forward, and asked, "And by others, do you know them personally?"
Picking up from where Akane left off, Ranma said, "Yeah, Pops changes into a panda, and we know several others. One turns into a duck, another a cat, a winged bull monster and there're several others that have weird curses." He deliberately left out Ryoga's piglet transformation. "It's all from a place called Jusenkyo. Me, I fell into the Pool of Drowned Girl. Y'see, what happens is, this place has a bunch of pools that different people, animals and supposedly objects were drowned in. I think objects, anyway. One of 'em was a statue of Ashura?" He smirked at the memory of Rouge's arrival and destruction of the Tendo home. "When we're cursed, if we're hit by cold water, we change. Warm water changes us back."
"Hence the thermos," the vice principal noted. "I...see." He paused to collect his thoughts, holding his hand up to hold off anything else that might be said. "After seeing your demonstration, there is not much else that I can say aside from the fact that magic does appear to be real. That doesn't explain your desire to skip grades."
Ranma and Akane looked at each other again, laughing nervously. Akane picked the explanation back up again, "Well, we sort of died and came back to life." The vice principal blinked several times. Akane waited until the shock had worn off before continuing. "We know it sounds strange, but it's the truth. We're actually supposed to be eighteen now. We were about to take the last of our second year exams when we ended up going to China to help someone out. Well, Ranma and some friends went to help, but I was kidnapped and taken there. Ranma fought with Saffron, the leader of a bird people that lived in a mountain. I died because all the water in my body was dried up and Ranma wasn't able to save me in time. And, um," she shuddered at the memory, a tear tracing a line down her face.
Ranma, instead of hesitating, grasped her trembling hand. "Somehow or another, I destroyed the mountain with my ki and shouting," Ranma said. "I died from a, um..." He paused as he gathered his courage. "I guess you could say that I died from a broken heart," he admitted.
Seeing how distraught the two were, the vice principal couldn't help but feel for them. He sat back, absorbing the story they had just told him. As he pondered, Ranma and Akane were able to gather themselves from their shared grief.
Their emotional state was getting easier to manage as they progressed through the last week. The ability to not break down into weeping or shutting down entirely was due to each other's support. Added to that was addressing the issue head-on rather than trying to repress it. Should it have been one or the other to have died and returned, the returnee would likely have had a much more difficult time with adjusting. The vice principal recognized some signs of their particular distress. He had witnessed it in a variety of students, teachers and even family members who had lost a loved one due to severe traumatic experiences. His own personal experience with it was with his grandfather, who had served during the Pacific War. The reminder brought a lump to his throat.
"I am sorry...," the vice principal started to say. He cleared his throat several times, surprised at how his voice was thick with emotion. Starting again, he said, "I am sorry to hear of your shared loss, though I am glad to hear that it appears to have worked out somehow. That being said, I do believe that we might be able to accommodate your request to skip grades. At first, I was merely interested in finding out what prompted you to ask this, but now I can understand that this may be beneficial to the both of you." He gave a dry laugh in an attempt to shrug off the heavy mood. "Sitting through two more years of lectures you have already gone through would be rather dull, I'm sure." The two in front of him shared the laugh with him, nodding. "Have either of you two told anyone of what happened?"
Both shook their heads. "Nobody knows," Akane said. "We've only been back since the day Ranma first came to stay at our place." They intertwined their fingers, squeezing each other's hand.
After hearing their story and seeing their hands clasping each other's, curiosity got the better of him. "If I may, what is the nature of the relationship between the two of you?"
"We're engaged," they answered together.
Akane further explained. "Our fathers arranged to have our martial arts schools joined. Ranma's arrival is when he was to choose one of us. My sisters pushed him off on me."
Taking umbrage with the last part of her description, Ranma said, "Yeah, as soon as they found out about my curse, they freaked out. Then I got stuck with her." He smiled wickedly Akane. She, in turn, squeezed his hand with her own in an attempt to get him to cry mercy. This didn't work, as Ranma's hand was too large and strong for her to do so.
Noting the good-natured byplay between the two, Tsujitani-sensei couldn't help but smile. "If you'll excuse me for a moment," he requested, standing. He left the room and returned a few minutes later, handing them each a sheet of paper. Looking at the sheet, they saw that it was a page from one of the English exams. "This is from the first term of second year. Move your chairs apart and answer the questions for me, please."
As understanding dawned on the two, they quickly complied. Pulling out their pencil boxes, they used their satchels as impromptu desks and began to fill out the page with answers. While it had been several months since they had done the exam, they recognized it as being similar to the one Principal Kuno had stolen from Ms. Hinako. Glad it was only one page with multiple guess questions, they completed it as quickly as they could, handing the page back to the vice principal. He, in turn, left the room for several more minutes.
Once the vice principal returned, he sat down and smiled. "My my. I hope you realized that this was to see if you could perform before I made a final decision. The exam you just took shows that you're quite capable of understanding the material. I chose English because it's a tad harder to fake knowing the material than most other subjects."
The two indicated their understanding.
"Here is my proposal. Instead of you taking the first year exams, we can skip those. You've stated that you were in your second year already when this tragic event occurred, thus you were preparing for the year-end exams." The two's eyes shone brightly at this. "I will give you this week to study. It only gives you a short time, but with school already in session, time is of the essence. You can do your studying in the library. While I am giving you some leeway, I do expect you to be diligent." He stressed this by looking at them sternly and pointing to each of them. "Additionally, for the exams, while I do want you to have a perfect score on every one of them, I will only accept a seventy percent or higher as passing grades. You will do the second and third term tests. The subjects that you need to focus on are arithmetic, science, English, Japanese and Social Studies. I will waive the others in this case." They nodded. "The examination will begin next Monday. I will have various teachers observing and administering the tests to you during that time."
Akane leaned forward, grateful, "Thank you, Tsujitani-sensei. We'll be sure to do exactly as you say."
"There is one hurdle that I see the three of us having to overcome, however. It may be a bit difficult to explain to your parents the reasoning behind your jump to being seniors. This will likely be disruptive to your fellow students, including your own sister." The vice principal paused, in thought once again. "In the meantime, should you do pass your exams, we will keep this fact under wraps for a little while. But I will have to inform your parents of your advanced placement eventually. While I would rather not outright lie to them, I think a plausible explanation from yourselves or even the truth of the entire matter should be revealed."
Ranma and Akane blanched at the idea of telling their parents. The older men had done enough damage to stunt their relationship with interference. Having the knowledge that the two had already known each other for two years and how they felt about each other was not on their wish list.
"There is also the fact that many of our seniors are preparing themselves for university," he continued. "They are selecting which one to go to at the end of this year. You will also be a part of that. Since this is the case, I recommend you take some serious thought as to what you want to do with your futures. But this may have been in as a part of your plans already. That being said, thank you for your time. And the...ahem...enlightening education you have given me." He smiled warmly.
They all stood, bowing to each other. The youths left the room, smiling. As they exited the staff room, they heard the vice principal calling out the names of a number of teachers.
Quivering with excitement, the two made it out of the building before they finally let it out. They bounced around, letting out whoops of joy at their success. After several minutes of this, they settled down.
"Hey, Akane, I got an idea." Akane looked expectantly at Ranma. "Remember that I wanted to get something for you to fight in? How about we go shopping for an outfit or two for you."
Akane beamed. "Sure! Let's go."
Ranma led Akane out of the school grounds, leaping to a wall, then to a roof. Akane followed. As they continued, Ranma made sure to keep pace with Akane due to her encumbrance and slower speed. All the while, Akane smiled as she enjoyed the fact that she was now able to follow Ranma on the rooftop expressway.
1800, Monday, 14 May
Upon arriving home from their impromptu shopping trip, Akane remembered what the vice principal had mentioned. She had Ranma follow her to find Nabiki. They found her in her room doing some exercises.
"Hey, Nabiki, do you have the notebooks from Kasumi's second year?"
Nabiki stopped for a moment. "Yeah, I have been making some notes in them as well."
"Ranma and I are doing a project with Tsujitani-sensei," she said. "Since you're still using them, can we switch them out with you? That is, when you have your morning classes, we can borrow the afternoon classes, then switch," she explained.
"Yeah, sure," Nabiki agreed. "I left them at school today, though, so you'll have to wait till tomorrow morning to get them."
"Thanks, I'll be sure to get them from you, then." Akane pulled Ranma along with her to her room by the sleeve of his shirt. After he closed the door, she turned, saying, "With Kasumi's notes, we'll be able to study better. Her notes are probably the best thing for us to use at this point. They should be detailed, neat and easy to understand. We'll get the books for our second year either from the second year teachers or from the library."
Ranma nodded at the plan. It was better than floundering. Their own notes were nonexistent now that they were two years in the past.
1530, Thursday, 17 May
School had let out from Furinkan.
Ranma, Akane and their regular crowd were walking out of the school building. The two were trying to deflect the curiosity of their classmates who were wondering why they hadn't been seen that morning. For the past three days, none of their friends had seen them in class, as they had been in the library studying, even taking their lunch there till now. They were now being ambushed by their group of friends.
"We're working with Tsujitani-sensei with a project," Akane explained.
"What is it about," Makoto asked. "Maybe we could help out as well."
"It has something to do with my trip to China," interjected Ranma. It was actually both of them that had gone to China, but it wasn't wise to let on that Akane had been as well. The details were profound.
The others looked at Ranma with a mixture of questions pertaining to his remark.
Suddenly, Ranma grabbed the collars of Daisuke and Hiroshi as he sensed a killing intent, giving them a toss. They flew away from the group. Meanwhile, feeling the same as Ranma, Akane quickly wrapped her arms around Sayuri and Makoto and leapt away. Ranma did the same with Yuka and Shikako.
"Ranma, prepare to die," came a yell from above.
A crater opened up where Ranma had been walking. Kneeling inside of it was a young man holding an umbrella, wearing travel-stained clothing and a bandanna on his head. He stood slowly to face Ranma.
Ranma released the hold on his two charges. Seeing who had attacked him, he stood to his full height, looking down on his would-be opponent. Their companions and fellow students, who had been wandering around the quad or playing various sports, moved away from the altercation hurriedly. After witnessing the battle Ranma and Akane had fought, they were reluctant to be anywhere near him when the ground began exploding.
"You're still the same, Ranma. All you can do is run away," the figure said accusingly.
Ranma looked past his would-be opponent, catching Akane's eye, and held a finger to his lips, winking. Akane frowned at the gestures. She wasn't too fond of Ranma's teasing of Ryoga, but she held her tongue for the moment. "Hey, um...what's up?" He tried putting on his best confused look. He had been anticipating this confrontation for some time now and was looking forward to what he could do to tweak his old friend's nose as much as possible. "What was your name again...what was it..." He smirked, "Oh, right! Rutabaga!
Akane facepalmed. She recalled that Ranma had forgotten who the young man in front of them was upon his first entrance. She decided to let Ranma play his little game and watch from the sidelines for now.
A vein began pulsing on the figure's forehead.
"Oh, wait, no. That can't be right. Ru Paul!" He grinned maniacally.
The figure clenched a fist and ground his umbrella into the ground, twisting it viciously.
"Nope, that can't be right, either. It's gotta be-"
"Ryoga, you idiot," Ryoga shouted.
"Ryota?"
"Ry-"
"Ryoko," Ranma interrupted.
"Sh-shut up, Ranma! You know who I am," Ryoga accused.
"Yeah, man, I knew who you were as soon as I saw your goofy face," Ranma laughed. "So, what brings you here?"
"I'm here to finish our fight. The one you ran out on!" Ryoga's tone was that of having been mortally insulted. His rage burned deep in his belly, remembering the infernos he had slogged through.
A murmur began around them within the crowd. They couldn't believe their ears. Ranma had run out on a fight?
Hearing the questions popping up around him, Ranma grinned. "I didn't run out on any fight. I waited three days for you before I had to leave on my training trip. You forfeited when you didn't show up, but I still stayed way beyond what I had to."
This, of course, angered Ryoga even more, though some wind had been knocked out of his sails. "B-but... It was a man-to-man fight!"
Ranma gave him a half-lidded glare. "And you didn't show up on the day that you set. Even knowing your horrible sense of direction, I still stayed there for three days," he stressed again. "That was more than enough to satisfy whatever issue you had with me at the time."
The crowd seemed to be muttering their agreement.
"It took me four days to get there! I wasn't out for a stroll. I faced dangers to get to the meeting place for our fight." He puffed his chest out self-righteously.
"Wasn't that meeting place right in between your house and mine at the time, in an empty lot?" he asked accusingly.
Embarrassed, Ryoga scratched the back of his head. "Yeah, it was. But that's beside the point," he deflected. "After you ran away, I followed you to China."
Akane felt her left eye twitching.
"Yeah, so after you forfeited the fight by not showing up, you decided to follow me to China? That's pretty dumb if you ask me," Ranma goaded. "What, did something happen in China while you were there, by chance?" He folded his arms and took what he felt was a questioning stance, tapping his foot. Ranma did his best not to look at Akane.
After having fought with Ryoga for two years, Ranma knew which buttons to push. The fact that Ryoga had followed him to China and had gotten cursed was quite the sore spot. Ranma's enticements at Ryoga's weaknesses, those being his sense of direction and the unmentioned curse enraged Ryoga to the point of losing his sense of reason. Using his umbrella as a leading attack, he tossed it at Ranma. The umbrella opened and began flying towards Ranma. "Argh! Just die, Ranma," he screamed in frustration. The circle around the duo widened even further.
Ranma caught the umbrella, allowing it to pull him back a few meters before it could harm any of the bystanders. He used it to block several of Ryoga's punches before tossing it towards Akane. She picked it up, but still had difficulty with its weight, though not as much as the first time. She left the umbrella where it was and returned her attention to the fight. Continuing to block, dodge and deflect more punches, Ranma led Ryoga back towards the crater. His face was expressionless as he allowed Ryoga to work out some of his frustrations.
"It's not my fault you missed the day of the fight." Ranma ducked underneath a haymaker. "And it's definitely not my fault you followed me to China." Ryoga threw a series of right crosses, followed by a left uppercut. A few more jabs later, using an opening, Ranma punched Ryoga in the chest.
Ryoga spat blood and flew backwards, his body propped up as he came to rest on the far edge of the crater he had made. He did not rise to meet Ranma again, only lying there quietly.
"C'mon, Ryoga. Get up. You done already?" He hopped from one foot to the other in anticipation.
Ryoga continued to lie on the ground, as still as death.
Akane became worried. "Ranma, I think..." She couldn't finish her thought, fearing the worst.
Picking up on Akane's concern, Ranma rushed over to Ryoga's side. He began checking for vital signs. Finding that Ryoga was having trouble breathing, he ripped open Ryoga's shirt. Ranma revealed Ryoga's chest, which was showing a caved-in portion. A massive bruise was already forming. Seeing this, Ranma came to the realization of what had just happened. Akane knelt down across from him.
He looked at Akane fearfully, cursing. "I forgot he didn't learn the Bakusai Tenketsu. I hit him with a slower version of my Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken. I think I broke his ribs. It's pretty bad," he diagnosed.
"We need to get him to the hospital!" Akane cried. She grabbed an arm, trying to lift Ryoga, but with his backpack on and its added weight, he was extremely heavy. She began to pull one of the straps off of Ryoga's shoulders.
Realizing that it would be difficult and likely detrimental to move Ryoga in his condition, Ranma looked between Akane and Ryoga several times before making the decision. He looked around and found what he was looking for. He quickly jumped over to a discarded bottle of water, picking up the half-filled container. Ranma jumped back and upended the contents over Ryoga.
Before her eyes, Akane suddenly saw her beloved P-chan nestled in the ripped shirt that had been worn by Ryoga only a scant second before. She leapt back, stunned at what she was seeing. Her hands covered her mouth, and she began shaking her head in disbelief.
Ignoring Akane's distress for the more life-threatening one before him, Ranma carefully gathered Ryoga's piglet form, nestling him in the torn fabric. He leapt away.
Word quickly spread of what happened. Nabiki ran outside, who had been on cleanup duty for her classroom, finding Akane staring at the spot that Ryoga had been lying minutes before. The elder Tendo tried getting her sister's attention, finally shaking her.
Coming out of her shock, Akane turned to Nabiki. "This...this can't be right. He was P-chan all this time?" Her anger built at the implications, but she stomped it down. Ryoga was in trouble. No matter how mad she was at the moment, her kind nature took over, and she began to worry about his health.
"Who was P-chan?" Nabiki asked. She looked around.
Realizing her mistake, Akane became alert and focused on the sudden issue at hand. "Nabiki, let Tsujitani-sensei know that Ranma and I had to go to the hospital. Someone got injured. We'll explain it to him later. And can you get Ryoga's belongings to the dojo?" Akane stood and leapt away, headed in another direction separate from Ranma's.
Nabiki, confused at this, stared after her sister until she was out of sight. Composing herself, she turned to the surrounding students and began asking questions.
1615, Thursday, 17 May
Ranma was distraught. He hadn't meant to hurt Ryoga, only spar with him like he had always done. Instead, he had forgotten some key points in all the excitement, which had resulted in Ryoga being in a critical state. A lump formed in his throat as he monitored the still form in his arms.
It didn't take him long to make it to the hospital. The ability to go in a straight line and at top speed was much faster than any ambulance could have done. He landed at the emergency room, making his way straight to a gurney. He called out for help.
When a nurse rushed over, she was irritated to see the young man with a small, black piglet. She rounded on him in exasperation. "Excuse me, young man, but we're a hospital for people. You should take your pet to a veterinarian."
Ranma's body tensed as his temper flared. He quickly controlled it. "Get me some hot water." When she gave him an incredulous look, he yelled, "Now!"
The nurse quickly left Ranma while he turned his attention back to his friend. He didn't notice as she went to a policeman that was standing outside the doors. She said a few words and pointed at Ranma.
Feeling a hand on his shoulder, Ranma turned and looked into the eyes of the policeman. "Excuse me, young man, but would you come with me?" The policeman stepped to the side, indicating that Ranma should go with him.
"Wait, no! You got it all wrong, officer. This pig...he's a guy." The policeman looked at the piglet and then back at Ranma disbelievingly. Frustrated, Ranma looked around. Then he remembered something. Reaching around, he felt for his thermos. Finding it, he pulled it off of his shoulder and opened it. The policeman attempted to reach for it, mistaking it as a potential weapon, but Ranma was too quick for him. Opening the thermos, Ranma managed to splash some of its contents on Ryoga.
The policeman let out a yelp as he stepped back. Before him was, instead of a piglet, now a young man with a large bruise on his chest and bloody foam coming from his mouth. The froth bubbled as the boy laboriously breathed in and out. Sensing the dire need, he turned from the injured youth and called for a doctor. The nurse from before looked over and, hearing the policeman's request, rushed over. She gasped at seeing Ryoga.
Ranma stepped out of the way and let the emergency room staff begin their jobs. As they wheeled Ryoga away, he was led to a seat by the policeman. Seeing how distressed and unresponsive Ranma was, he left for a moment, returning with a drink, pushing it into Ranma's hands.
It wasn't long after the policeman had done this that Akane, a damp Genma and Tofu-sensei arrived. They found Ranma immediately. Akane sat at his side.
Ranma turned to her sorrowfully. "I'm sorry. I tried telling you, but..."
Akane shushed him. "Now is not the time." She took a deep breath, frowning. Her temper, which wanted to boil over, needed to be contained. She was doing her best not to make a scene at the hospital. Ranma's distress right now was a small consideration at the moment.
Seeing that Ranma seemed to be in capable hands, the policeman left Ranma to Akane. Genma sat down next to his son. As he was about to say something, Akane caught his eye, frowning, and shook her head. She knew how scathing Ranma's father could be and didn't want to worsen the situation. Effectively silenced, Genma was only able to sit there.
Tofu-sensei, meanwhile, had sought out the relevant staff that would be able to give him information about Ryoga. Unable to get anything significant at the time, he went back to the trio. "It will be awhile before they have anything for us. Right now, there isn't much else we can do but wait until the doctors have identified the extent of your friend's injuries and work on him."
Akane diverted her attention from Ranma. "Thank you, Tofu-sensei. I didn't mean to drag you here. I only meant to get Uncle Saotome."
"No, that's quite all right, Akane. After hearing how upset you were, I couldn't just stay at the clinic and wonder what was going on." Tofu-sensei smiled reassuringly. "I need to make a phone call and will be back right away."
1815, Thursday, 17 May
A couple of hours later, a smaller group sat in the room that Ryoga had been placed in. Genma had left to explain what had happened to Soun. His presence, he felt, hadn't been helpful and had let Akane deal with his stricken son. He wasn't expected back for some time, if at all. Tofu-sensei was by the door, talking with Ryoga's doctor.
Ranma sat between the window and the bed that held Ryoga. His friend and rival was hooked up to various monitoring devices, an intravenous drip and a respirator. He had suffered several fractured ribs and a collapsed lung. Blood, fluid and air had pooled in his chest cavity, but the emergency staff had managed to staunch the flow and drain everything. The lung had a small rupture that they had sealed effectively, stopping it from leaking air, and then re-inflated it. The doctors had then put him into a medically-induced coma so that he could recuperate without worsening his condition.
While they waited, Ranma had managed to regain much of his composure. He still felt guilty at his oversight and would be kicking himself mentally for some time, he knew. Akane had sat next to Ranma the entire time, though she wasn't sure if she was offering her support to him with her presence or what her own motivation was. She could tell that he was feeling terrible about the mistake he had made, but her own anger held her in check from offering words of encouragement.
Tofu-sensei was just returning from speaking with Ryoga's doctor. He sat down across from the two. "Ryoga will be here until he is ambulatory." The two looked at him questioningly at the term, even though they had spent much time around medical facilities. "It means that he can move around. The doctors will monitor his condition and wake him up when they feel his moving about won't cause more damage to his ribs and lungs. It will be just a matter of time."
Now that he had heard that Ryoga was on his way to a full recovery, Ranma was quite relieved. He leaned back, smiling and chuckling at the diagnosis. "Ryoga will be out of here in no time. He heals almost as fast as I do. Give him a few days and you'll see that his ribs will be growing back together."
Curious, Tofu-sensei asked, "You sound as if the two of you have fought quite a bit before. Has he ever suffered anything similar to these types of injuries?"
Looking away, Ranma said, "We used to fight almost all the time whenever he'd show up. Sometimes we'd get to the point where we had simple fractures, but nothin' as serious as this." Ranma turned back to Tofu-sensei. "I was an idiot and forgot that he hadn't received the Bakusai Tenketsu training yet. I hit him just like I used to after he did."
Puzzled at Ranma's last comment, Tofu-sensei asked, "You say that he had received the training before, but now he hasn't?"
Realizing that he had made a slip of the tongue, Ranma looked over at Akane who was glowering at him for his lightheartedness. She facepalmed, shaking her head. "Dummy," she accused. Tofu-sensei looked at the two curiously. "I'm sorry, Tofu-sensei, but could Ranma and I have a moment alone, please?" Nodding at the request, Tofu-sensei left the room.
"Man, you're right, I'm an idiot," Ranma agreed, when they were alone. His shoulders slumped as he looked.
"That' not the half of it," Akane growled through clenched teeth. Taking a deep breath, she let it out slowly and counted each second it took her to let it all out. Ranma kept his mouth shut, recognizing Akane's super-pissed mode. "I don't think it's so bad, Ranma. It is Tofu-sensei. He's helped us so much in the past. Maybe if we explain things to him like we did to Tsujitani-sensei, he'll understand." She sighed. "It might even be helpful to have someone helping us. Trying to keep it a secret between the two of us is pretty hard in the first place."
"It didn't take long for others to find out about my curse, too," Ranma grumbled.
The mention of curses and how soon someone found out about it almost caused Akane to have a violent outburst. Clenching her fists in her lap, she performed another breathing exercise. "Everyone was great about it. They accepted your curse all the same. I'm sure that Tofu-sensei will be fine with our situation if we tell him about it. When he learned about the curses and everything else we had to deal with, he took it in stride like he always does. He even jokes about most everything, too."
Ranma conceded her point, looking at her out of the corner of his eye. "Yeah, I suppose so. The worst is he could have us put into straight jackets and rubber rooms, right?" His attempt at levity fell on deaf ears. Flinching at the glare leveled at him, he turned away.
Akane stood. "Just a second. Let me get him back in here." Akane went over and opened the door, poking her head out to look for Tofu-sensei. She saw him striding back with drinks for them in his hands. He noticed her and quickened his pace. Akane held the door open for him as he came in.
All three were seated and had taken sips of their drinks before Ranma began the explanation, assisted throughout by Akane. Tofu-sensei listened attentively, asking a variety of questions as the story unfolded. The questions were salient and pointed, drawing out more details as the three discussed the fight, their deaths and the subsequent return.
"My, my, that is quite the situation you two have going on," Tofu-sensei said, laughing and slapping his knee. He sat back, pushing his glasses back up. "I'm rather impressed that the two of you have adjusted to this so well. There are quite a few stories either in legends or recent novels that touch on this type of subject. While I'm not quite familiar with it myself, just from talking with you, I find this to be quite extraordinary. It's not quite so far-fetched to me to believe that this could happen to the two of you. With the curse you and your father have, something like the two of you restarting your lives like this doesn't strike me as too surprising."
"That's not the half of it," Ranma complained. "There are so many things that happened to us in the two years. Keeping it all straight is impossible." Akane nodded in agreement.
"Hmm," Tofu-sensei considered, holding a finger to his lips. He held it up in the air, wagging it about. "I have a suggestion. One of the best ways to remember events is to write them down. At first, you might have just the idea or outline of what happened to you. Of course, as you exercise your memory, you'll remember what happened in between those times as well, fleshing out your own story. It would be like writing an autobiography or filling in missing parts of a journal. Don't worry about the timeline too much at first. That will sort itself out. It would be best if you do this individually at first. Once you've been able to get at least your first several months written down, then compare notes. I'm sure you will find some very interesting contrasts," he chuckled. "This will be due to your individual points of view and how you, yourself, view events. The difference in how men and women process information is still one of the great mysteries."
Ranma sighed. "Great, more homework on top of studying for our exams."
Akane elbowed him none too gently in the ribs. "It won't be so bad," she said to him. "We can start on it tonight." She stood up. "Thank you, Tofu-sensei. You've been a great help once again. We truly appreciate what you have done for us." Akane bowed as deeply as she could with the bed in the way. Ranma and Tofu-sensei stood, bowing as well.
Before they left, they made sure to tell the staff that there was to be no water allowed into the room. After explaining Ryoga's curse and demonstrating Ranma's, they were quick to make a sign and place it on the door.
The three left the hospital, going their separate ways. When the two youths arrived home, they found Soun and Genma were on the engawa enjoying tea while Kasumi was in the kitchen preparing dinner. Seeing them home, Nabiki's curiosity at the afternoon's events came back to the fore. "Do you seriously want me to believe that that guy was carrying that backpack and the umbrella? I had to hire a truck to have them delivered here," she said heatedly. "He's a monster."
Ranma shrugged. "I guess you could say he's strong." Akane rolled her eyes.
"Besides that, is he going to be okay?" Nabiki's concern wasn't so much about an unknown boy's health at the moment as it was the medical bills they could be smacked with.
Akane nodded. "He'll be fine. He suffered some broken ribs and a collapsed lung. The doctors have him sleeping until he is able to move around." Nabiki sighed. It was possible that the combination of Ryoga's and their insurance would be able to take the brunt of the costs away.
On the sidelines, Genma heaved a sigh in relief. His concerns had paralleled Nabiki's to some degree. If the costs were to be too high, he would likely have to get more than just a single part-time job. Taking their leave, Akane led Ranma upstairs to her room. She pulled out a pair of notebooks, handing one to Ranma. "Let's get started right away. We should write down the key events, then try to remember when they occurred. We can add details as we remember them. Once we compare them, then we can pull them out and put them in chronological order. If I don't have a binder, I'll get one for this."
Agreeing, Ranma started to walk out of her room. Stopping at the door, he turned around, but couldn't look Akane in the eye as he asked, "Did you wanna talk about...P-chan?"
Akane pulled out her desk chair and sat down before replying. She managed to suppress the anger she was feeling each time the thought of Ryoga and his curse came up. She had many fond memories of her supposed pet, but they were now overlaid with a sense of betrayal and remorse. "I'm still thinking of some questions I want to ask you. So maybe after dinner?"
Ranma nodded and took his leave. He went to his room and found that Ryoga's backpack and umbrella were inside. Sitting down, he began wracking his brain on what had happened to him and Akane the first several months of his life at the Tendo dojo.
2030, Thursday, 17 May
Later that evening, after their dinner, Ranma was crouched on the roof of the Tendo house again. It wasn't long after that Akane joined him. He had been expecting her. Standing, he held a finger to his lips and led her away from the compound.
Ranma stopped at a nearby park, signaling for Akane to be quiet again. He retreated the way he had come, hiding himself from detection. Akane sat on a bench, waiting for his return. It was obvious that he didn't want anyone to follow them, so she bided her time. Several minutes passed before Ranma returned, standing in front of her.
Before she could utter anything to him, Ranma's words rushed out. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you about Ryoga and P-chan. I mean...I tried dropping hints all the time, but..." He stopped the line of explanation, managing to catch himself from saying something deprecating about Akane's lack of awareness. "Well, the whole curse thing was partly my fault, so I felt kinda responsible for it. It's not like I didn't wanna tell you. I just couldn't. And, er, well, it's not like I liked him taking advantage of you or nothin'. In fact, I hated it."
Akane frowned at the rushed explanation, processing what she had just been told. Throughout the entire afternoon and into the evening, whenever her thoughts had strayed to the subject, she had wanted to bash Ranma. She clearly remembered how agitated Ranma had been towards P-chan whenever he had arrived. This last had stayed her wrath to her fiancé more than once. Now was not such a time. She stood and hauled back her arm, slapping him with all her might. Ranma's head wrenched around, his entire body spinning like a top. His body crumpled to the ground, dazed. A red mark began swelling on his face in the shape of her hand. It took several minutes for him to recover. When he did, he shifted his position to where he was sitting in the seiza position. He looked at the ground between them without saying a word. His pigtail hung limply.
Taking in a few deep breaths and letting them out slowly, she finally managed to say, "Liar."
Indignant at the accusation, Ranma was about to say something, but the look Akane was giving him stopped his breath. Her fury was evident, and he could feel it emanating palpably Looking down at her feet, he nodded.
"How about you start from the beginning? I remember you saying that he followed you to China." She crossed her arms.
Glad that he hadn't been launched into the stratosphere yet, Ranma nodded again. Disconsolately, "The guy's an idiot. He followed me to China to Jusenkyo. Like I said before, it was about some stupid bread feud he had with me. I didn't even think nothin' of it, really. You know how horrible his sense of direction is. I didn't really know about it at the time. But...y'know, he's the only guy that can get lost on a one-way street. For the life of me, though, I can't figure out how he was able to follow me and Pops all the way across China. Or back, for that matter."
Akane nodded, knowing full well how Ryoga was prone to disappear within moments if not kept on a short leash. Even then he could end up wandering off. "Perhaps it's something like a homing pigeon," she supplied. "They can return home even if they're halfway around the world. Maybe Ryoga has locked onto you in some way."
Ranma smirked at the description, but quickly sobered at Akane's snort. "Maybe," he hedged. Returning to his narration, he said, "But, as I said, he followed me. On the day that Pops and I got our curse, I was chasin' him all over the place. I was so mad at him, I was ready to skin him and have him mounted. Both of us thought we were locked in the curse forever. Didn't know nothin' about how we could change back yet. I didn't even know Ryoga had followed us. Heck, I didn't even know he got cursed until he came back to Japan and I dunked him in the furo. You remember that night you adopted him?"
Akane tilted her head, retrieving the memory. "I remember."
"When I took him to the bath is when he described how he had been knocked off of a cliff and into the Pool of Drowned Piglet. If I remember correctly, he said somethin' about being nearly cooked." Ranma frowned briefly at his description. "But I promised that I would keep his secret. Warrior code and all. Well, I didn't really tell him, but I felt bad about it, so I...well...anyway, I didn't tell anyone about him bein' a pig. And I don't know who all knows about it, either. Shampoo, Mousse and Akari knew." He paused a moment. "Maybe Pops if I think about it...?"
Akane sounded hurt as she said, "But why didn't you tell me? I was sleeping with him. I got undressed with him in the room and everything."
"I tried," Ranma said lamely. "I dropped so many hints. I called him pig-boy, Mr. P and all kinds of other names. I mean, heck, all the time we went to school with him, did you see Kuno realize I was his 'pigtailed girl'? It's almost the same thing. Ryoga would be runnin' around, get splashed and then you were huggin' your 'P-chan'," Ranma exclaimed exasperatedly. "After a while, I just kinda gave up."
"You're still not telling the whole truth, are you? I think that you actually helped him keep the secret from me." She flexed her fists menacingly.
Looking guilty, Ranma had to confess to doing so. "Yeah, I did it a time or two. It was part of the promise, like I said. I wanted you to find out, but at the same time I didn't."
Pursing her lips at Ranma's admission, she looked down at her fists. She needed to rail against the injustice and Ranma's odd sense of honor. "It hurts...that you couldn't even tell me, your fiancée." Ranma winced. "Are there any other secrets you haven't told me about?"
Feeling about two inches tall, Ranma shook his head. "Nah, that's pretty much the only secret I kept from ya," he admitted.
"Okay, Ranma." She frowned again. "But why did Ryoga keep on acting like my pet?"
Ranma ground his teeth together. He had expected that this question might come up, but had dreaded it. Just like the curse, though, he didn't want to keep any more secrets from Akane. "He, um, well..." Ranma took in a deep breath and exhaled forcefully. "You know he's always lost, so...he was always lonely. So, when you showed him kindness, he kinda fell for ya," he admitted.
"Oh," was all Akane could say. Several minutes of silence passed as she thought about the implications of Ryoga's actions. There was no way she could punish Ryoga. He hadn't done anything to deserve it yet. That was another Ryoga that was no longer in her world, so to speak. The primary culprit of her wrath was still within reach. Trembling in rising fury as she spoke, "You said that you kept it a secret because of the Warrior Code. What about my honor? Did you ever stop to think about that?"
Ranma flinched, but managed to say, "The first night he showed up, I tried. I snuck into your room and tried to get him out of there. But he bounced around and knocked me onto you."
This confession did not assuage her fury, as she was not in the right mindset to process it. Unable to contain her anger anymore, it exploded forth. Hot tears of betrayal, disgust and pain fueled her words. "Did you get your jollies off of it?" she railed. "Seeing me cuddling a guy to my chest, even if he was a pig? I was right to think you are a pervert. Ever since we came back I was giving you the benefit of the doubt. I guess I was wrong to do so." Fists clenched at her sides, she demanded, "If it hadn't been for Ryoga getting hurt so bad, were you ever going to tell me?"
Ranma shifted his feet guiltily. He shook his head, unable to meet her gaze.
Allowing her righteous fury out, Akane kicked Ranma in the side viciously. He sprawled on the ground several feet away. Picking himself up, he returned to his previous position in front of her. "How could you have let this happen to me?" she screamed. "You're supposed to be my fiancé, the one who protects my honor! Not drag it through the mud like you did and would have continued to do." She let her fists and feet fly, beating an unresistant Ranma. Akane continued to throw accusations and her pain at Ranma throughout.
Realizing what he had allowed for nearly two years, Ranma's guilt for his actions kicked in. Normally he would have permitted Akane to whack him and be done with it. Instead, he thought of the only thing he could truly do for her. Rather than let it be a one-punch ending, he stayed with Akane. Letting her punt or punch him too far away wouldn't let her work out her frustrations. He knew his body could take whatever punishment she could dish out. He'd suffered worse than her tantrums, which it was looking like this would be. His volatile fiancée needed an outlet, which he was willing to provide. It was the least he could do. Even haymakers that would have normally sent him flying were weathered as he dropped his ki down into his feet, planting him in place.
At some point Ranma did manage to lose consciousness. Akane stood over his prone form, panting heavily. Weary from working out her anger, she took a deep breath to try to settle herself. Unable to continue, she turned and ran home. Rather than announcing herself, she returned to her room via the open window, collapsing onto her bed and weeping into her pillow. Eventually, the combination of her rampant emotions and beating Ranma had worn her out. She fell into a fitful sleep.
Eventually, Ranma awoke in the park. His body ached from the beating he had received. It was nothing, he knew, compared to how Akane's heart was feeling. He lay there for a time, reflecting on what he had done.
For two years he had allowed another man into Akane's room to take advantage of her. There had been a multitude of times he had even helped Ryoga keep his secret. Not only that, he had actively set out to deceive her numerous times so that Ryoga's curse wouldn't be found out. The words that had spewed from her mouth were true in many ways, he could see now. When he had laughed at Ryoga's plight at being Akane's pet and used it against him, he had been jeering at Akane as well. Her ignorance had been helped by him, hence her grief. His own culpability in hiding it in the first place for Ryoga's honor could not be assuaged by how he had besmirched Akane's.
Pounding the ground with his fist he left a small crater. He had failed her twice now, he realized. First by not telling her of Ryoga's curse and sullying her honor over his own. His jealousy had overridden common sense. Not only that, the Warrior's Code didn't necessarily mean he had to keep secrets from those he cared about if it was a hindrance to them. That was meant for keeping someone's secret from falling into the wrong hands, such as a bonafide enemy. The second was by letting her die. With all the power he could muster he would do his utmost to never let either again.
Pulling himself up to sit on the bench, he contemplated ways to reconcile with Akane. Thoughts flitted past, but they didn't seem to come close to the pain and hurt he thought Akane was experiencing. Even suicide in a multitude of ways were cast away, though he did linger on it for quite some time. It was a morbid thought and, with the emotional turmoil he had been going through, it was a normal response, though he didn't know that. His chest clenched with each new idea of how to off himself. While he feared the sliding of a tanto blade into his belly, he realized that it would do more harm than good at this point. He knew that Akane loved him and it would hurt her more to have him commit such an act. It was a permanent solution to a temporary issue. Instead, he had to redeem himself in a way that didn't require his ultimate demise. Not only that, their coming back with the realization of their mutual love could not be thrown away like that.
His life had been spent living moment to moment. Even if he had lived at the Tendo's for two years he had treated it as just another stop-over rather than an actual home he would stay for the remainder of his days. Recognizing that his immaturity could cost him his relationship with Akane even at this point, he needed to hunker down and grow up. Equally, his studying earlier had not been up to snuff to what he could do, as it had been their idea together to progress forward. He would have to apply himself to his school studies as if it were a competition or learning a new martial art technique. Being with Akane was of the utmost importance. There was no way he could survive without her. Just the thought of losing her caused his guts to clench nauseously. That was how essential she was to his existence.
There would be no excuses.
To begin with, he decided, he would forgo any intimate contact with her unless she initiated or requested it of him. He at least had to concede that until they were fully reconciled. From now on he had to put her first and foremost. Her honor, wants and needs. Everything!
He needed to figure out her motivations. What she liked about him, what she didn't. Why she was constantly deriding him as a pervert? She had admitted she hadn't trusted him before and had been vindicated with this latest revelation. How could he earn her trust back?
In essence, he had a lot of soul-searching to do. With their death and return he needed to do a better job of being a better man, a fiancé.
Standing, he limped home. Making it back, he slunk his way silently around the house to the bathroom and cleaned himself up, returning to his room and sitting down. Most of his wounds would be memories by the morning, that was how quickly his body would recover. On the other hand, his heart would be feeling each and every blow, both physical and verbal, for some time.
Pulling out his notebook he began writing a list of things he wanted to change about himself in the back of it. Knowing he would likely forget them, he began reciting them to himself and would begin to do so in an effort to achieve his goal.
Respect Akane
Consider her honor above your own
Don't insult Akane outside of training
Try to think before you speak
Think, think, THINK before getting caught up in the moment
Respect Akane and her honor above anything or anyone else
Do things that will make Akane feel special
Listen to her
Find and do things that make Akane happy
Find out what makes Akane unhappy and stop doing them
What can I do to be a better fiancé to her
The list grew as he pondered what he wanted and needed for Akane's sake. Some he found redundant but left them there since they might actually get through his thick skull and stick if he kept on repeating them.
0630, Friday, 18 May
The next morning, Ranma met Akane in the dojo. She was still in her pajamas. Kneeling down, he clapped his hands and abased himself in front of her, prostrating with his head down to the floor. Ranma was lowering himself to show how much regret at his actions he felt. He wanted Akane to understand just how he understood his actions had affected her. His arrogance and ego were being stomped down into a dark corner for the time being. He was pleading for forgiveness, not merely asking. Never having seen him do so the entire time she had known him, Akane was moved. It was apparent that her fiancé was setting aside his immense pride and selfishness.
Ranma's limbs were trembling. "There are no excuses for my mistakes, I am totally responsible for what I have done and sincerely apologize."
Realizing that she was holding her breath, Akane looked away, letting it out explosively. Her temper still raged at Ranma's actions but this might actually be the beginning of her forgiving him. Originally she had only come down to tell him she wasn't going to practice, but his actions had given her pause. She would have to play this carefully herself as she didn't want him to backslide. In a hard tone, "I accept your apology. But don't think I'm forgetting what you did. There's still a lot you have to do to redeem yourself. I'm not in the mood to practice this morning."
Standing, but not meeting her eyes, he inclined his head. She left him in the dojo by himself, tromping back to her room.
As she sat on her bed, she took the time to review what Ranma had said the night prior. Now that she had some time and was more emotionally stable, she was able to focus.
He had admitted to keeping Ryoga's secret. For good or ill, he had kept to it in order to fulfill a promise he had made to the lost boy. In some ways she couldn't fault him, but her feelings of betrayal were foremost on her mind. At least, she had to admit, he wasn't like his father. Genma was quick to forget promises. For the elder Saotome, the means justified the ends. That was evident with his stealing Ukyo's yattai. Snorting to herself, she realized that her father was no better, having engaged his daughters to someone for a meal after losing a duel.
Could she trust Ranma from now on? It was hard to tell. His abasement before her had been genuine. Of that she was sure about. He had also admitted that there had been no other secrets held from her. She would have to poke and prod later as events came about, but she would have to give him the benefit of the doubt.
As she went through what he said, she had to pause at the last of his confessions. He had admitted to trying to get Ryoga out the first night he had become her pet. It was then that she had truly begun to distrust Ranma. Her calling him a pervert the first day he had shown up had become her main condemnation. In hindsight, if Ranma had managed to remove Ryoga without her knowing at the time and stopped any subsequent returns, she wouldn't have been as acerbic towards him. This brought a tightening to her chest as she realized that he had tried to defend her honor. Every time her 'pet pig' had shown up, Ranma had tried to do whatever he could to get rid of him. In fact, she had also used Ranma's jealousy against him, cuddling and spoiling her 'pet' whenever she could in front of him. Had he revealed Ryoga's curse would that have ended, she regretted.
There was also Ryoga's culpability in the matter. This time, however, she knew about the curse and would not allow him to become her pet. She couldn't punish him for something that he hadn't done. It rankled, to some degree, as Ranma was the only one receiving his just desserts. Had they survived Jusendo, and she had managed to find out later, she would have been able to provide an appropriate punishment.
In spite of everything, she loved him with all of her being. This betrayal would take some time for her to fully trust him again. As she had mentioned earlier, she could forgive, but she wouldn't forget.
These facts, as she processed them, were giving her a headache. Rising from her bed, she went to take a bath and get ready for school. As she did so, her thoughts continued to swirl about.
0830, Friday, 18 May
Later, after cleaning up and eating, Ranma was continuing Akane's balance training at her behest while they ran to school. She had improved some, but he hadn't given her full reign of running on the fences without being nearby to catch her should she slip. They hopped down as they came to the end of the fence they had been running on when the school came into view.
They slowed to a walk as they entered the school grounds. As they did so, they spotted a small crowd that had gathered inside, forming a semicircle. As they were passing the threshold of the gates, Akane noticed a white powder. Reaching down, Akane found it to be a coarse material, reminiscent of...salt? She sniffed at it. Experimentally, she tasted a bit, confirming her suspicions.
Ranma stopped, looking back at her. "What is it?"
Akane turned to Ranma, "I'm not sure. But this is salt."
The two looked around guardedly. They noticed that there were symbols and designs marked out on the ground between them and the edge of the gathered students. Ranma and Akane began to skirt the edge of the symbols before stopping when they saw Tatewaki Kuno step out of the crowd. Just a couple of steps behind him were several other people that did as well. They surrounded the symbol. Seemingly out of nowhere, Ranma and Akane were cut off from behind as well.
Kuno was in his habitual kendo outfit. He had his bokken, held in place on his left side by his belt. While he hadn't shown his face in the mornings the past week, they were not surprised at his presence now. One of the people that had followed him set down what looked like a large box filled to the brim with a variety of items, some sticking out at odd angles. The others, they noted, were dressed in a variety of religious attire.
"Come, thou foul and wicked beast, Ranma Saotome," Tatewaki called out. He held his empty hand out, making a gesture for Ranma to approach.
Ranma sighed, handing his bag to Akane. He shook his head in resignation as he began walking towards the kendoist. He looked down at the symbols he was stepping over curiously. They held no meaning to him, so he turned his attention away.
Just as Ranma reached the center of the symbols, Tatewaki held up his hand. "Hold, fiend." At this, those in the religious attire began chanting.
Ranma took a closer look at them. All appeared to be of senior high school or perhaps college age. There were a variety of religious factions represented. He could tell there were Shinto, Buddhist and Christian. Some appeared to be, at least in his estimation, professional onmyoji, or spiritual exorcists. He had consulted one on a couple of occasions. "What kind of idiocy are you up to, Kuno? Quit clownin' around."
Holding out his hand, Kuno's assistant handed him a stack of papers. Ranma watched as Kuno began throwing the papers at him, many sticking to his clothes. Looking down, he realized that they were talismans mean to seal a variety of monsters. He began brushing them off. As he was looking down, he saw that the symbols on the ground had begun to glow with a bluish color. This was due to the chanting from the onmyoji, he reasoned.
Seeing that the talismans and the chanting were having no effect, Kuno called out. "It is as I feared. Thou art a most troublesome and pernicious succubus."
Ranma's brow furrowed at the label and accusations. "A what?"
Tatewaki paused in the act of throwing what appeared a water balloon. "A succubus," Kuno sneered. Raising his voice for the benefit of the crowd, Kuno explained. "A succubus is a vile creature that seeks to feast upon the vitality of their victims. Their counterpart is the incubus, though some legends state that these vampiric beasts are one and the same, able to change their form and shape. Either form is one of seduction."
"Hey, I ain't no succubus or incubator, or whatever you're talkin' about," Ranma rebutted. He pointed his thumb at himself. "I'm a guy and I'm just here to go to school."
"Falsehoods he speaks," Tatewaki yelled. "Lies and untruths are in the very nature of such degenerate creatures such as he. Why, he has come to steal the nectar of the sweet Akane Tendo. To violate her in the most unseemly manners possible.
Now Ranma was getting mad. The accusations of perversion were a sore point. He had been accused of being a pervert on many occasions when that could be the furthest from the truth. The imagery that Kuno's accusations elicited were also disturbing. "Shut up right now, Kuno. I ain't in the mood for your idiocy." He began to advance forward.
"Freak," Kuno called out as he threw what was in his hand.
Ranma could have dodged. He probably should have, but he didn't. The water balloon hit him squarely in the face, changing him to his girl form. Everyone that was paying attention witnessed the transformation in its entirety. Akane gasped. The two Christian clergymen stopped their chanting, noting that he wasn't dissolving into a bubbling mass of goo from holy water like in the movies.
"See," Kuno gloated, as Ranma-onna shook his head, clearing the water from his face and hair. "See this abomination? Why, we must all join together to wreak havoc upon this demon that hides itself thus." A murmur began to make its way through the crowd, much of it frightened.
Unbidden, fury raged through Ranma-onna's body and mind. Being called a pervert, freak and abomination in front of the school was just too much for his tortured mind. He had lived with the curse for two years, all of it unwanted. It had caused him much grief in that time. No less than the fear and worry he had gone through thinking he might have to commit ritual suicide because of the contract with his mother. Now, after having the added pressures of his guilt concerning Akane's honor, killing an opponent, his and Akane's death, then severely injuring Ryoga unintentionally, he was at a point that he couldn't take what was happening to him. It was like a proverbial pressure cooker that had become overheated. His temper blew up.
As he began yelling at Kuno and the rest of the assembly, Ranma-onna felt a part of his mind detached from the rest of himself. He was saying what he had felt for so long, but had held in. He also didn't want to say it, but the words were coming unbidden to his lips, and he could not stop them. "I ain't a freak. I'm a guy. I got a curse while I was out training in China."
Ranma-onna's aura burst from his body, engulfing him and an area of about three meters around him. It was a sickly greenish-yellow that Akane recognized as a depressive ki signature, though it was tinged with darker colors as it flared, beginning to concentrate in Ranma's belly. It was odd that the students were able to see it, but there was a collective gasp from everyone. Was it because of the chanting and the magic circle that she and even the students could see the aura? Normally it would have looked like a heat signature, if noticeable at all.
Ranma-onna's voice, fueled by his ki, was one of sorrow, grief and self-loathing. "My life has been hell since I got it," he said to a cowed Kuno. "I get hit by water out of nowhere almost every day. I change from a guy to a girl because of this...I'm not the only one, either, dammit! It's not just being a guy to a girl, either." A sob escaped his lips as he crossed his arms over his stomach, hunching over slightly. "You don't know how it feels to have all of your bones and muscles change. Shrinking and losing body parts while others grow on you. Suddenly feeling tits on your chest instead of muscles. Losing your manhood every time to...to...ARGH!" Ranma-onna's voice carried, even though he lowered it as he admitted, "I'm not here to hurt Akane. I care for her more than anything in the world." He looked Kuno in the eyes, freezing the taller figure in place. "IT. IS. A. CURSE!" Ranma-onna's scream of frustration seemed to have an effect on everyone around him. The silence resonated with the feelings Ranma-onna had expressed.
A tear rolled down Akane's face as she heard Ranma-onna's frustrations. She realized that she was as guilty as Kuno with regard to calling him a host of names, especially a pervert. The previous night's accusations and this morning's revelations rang in her ears. Realizing that her own words had hurt Ranma to the core just as his had done to her, she bit her lip in consternation. She jumped forward to her fiancé, stopping in front of the smaller figure. She had to head off a Perfect Shi Shi Houkodan before Ranma could destroy the school grounds and anyone within its blast radius. His ki was almost built up to the point where he would have to release it. No matter how much anger she felt towards him, the devastation that he could cause would be enormous. Akane reached out and grasped his head, leaning her own forehead against his. "It's going to be okay, Ranma. Shhh." She gathered Ranma-onna into a hug, finding herself suddenly grasped just as tightly. Ranma-onna buried his face into Akane's chest and fought off the tears as well as he could, but to no avail. At this, Ranma's aura collapsed in upon itself and seemed to dissipate into the ether. Akane raised her face and called out to everyone, "Go away! You've had your show. Just go to class."
Most of the assembly complied. The clergymen and spiritualists had stopped their chanting and looked at each other guiltily. Their powers had not done anything to the boy-turned-girl. There was no sign of demonic powers being trapped, exorcised or otherwise. They turned their attention to one Tatewaki Kuno. Ignoring his protests, they dragged him off for a frank discussion elsewhere.
After a few minutes, Ranma-onna's tears subsided. "Not very manly of me, is it?" He looked down at himself.
"It's all right," Akane said placatingly. "Sometimes you just have to let it out. You can't hold it in all the time." She sighed, looking down into his eyes. "Just like secrets, you can't hide stuff like this from me. I'm your fiancée and I'm here to listen when you need someone to talk to. Come on, we need to go." They quickly headed in to work on their morning studies. Any remaining students opened a wide path for them.
1200, Friday, 18 May
At lunch, Akane went off to do the usual exchange of notebooks with Nabiki, so she had told him they would meet at their usual spot. She had considered eating her lunch alone, since she was still mad at Ranma. Upon reflection, she decided that he needed to be monitored. Knowing him, he did not take well to being rejected. While she wanted to have her own space in light of recent revelations, she had to find a way to get Ranma out of his funk. The first idea she had come up with was to have him eat with their normal group if they decided to show up.
Everyone was making sure they were not around Ranma. As he walked through the hallway, they would jump into the nearest rooms or flee the other way. When he exited the building, students fled like minnows from a shark, giving him a wide berth. Ranma scowled at their idiocy, but really couldn't do anything about it. He'd scared them with his curse and temper. Ranma plopped down in his usual lunch spot, back to everyone. Opening his bento, he began eating it at a pace that was normal for a regular person, which indicated he was still wallowing in a depressive state.
Unbeknownst to him, six students were hesitantly standing behind him. They all looked at each other, not knowing what to do. The boys gathered their courage and walked over, sitting on either side of Ranma. They opened their own lunches and dug in.
Surprised at Daisuke and Hiroshi joining him, Ranma glanced at each one, looking silly as he was in the middle of stuffing some rice into his mouth, his chopsticks sticking out. He pulled them out and swallowed. "What's up?" he asked with forced cheerfulness.
"The sky," Hiroshi said snarkily. Daisuke snickered.
Ranma rolled his eyes and went back to eating. Emboldened by the fact that the boys hadn't combusted, the girls found their places as well. They were soon joined by Akane.
Their lunch proceeded quietly. Everyone seemed reluctant to participate in small talk, much less address the morning's drama. Finishing his bento, Ranma set it down and looked around at the group. As he did so, everyone aside from Akane appeared to avoid eye contact with him. He was about ready to get up and leave.
Tired of the silence, Akane was the first to speak. "He's still the same Ranma," she chided. "Yesterday was an accident. And we all know that Kuno is an idiot. He just went too far this morning." The rest agreed about Kuno and his antics.
"What was the deal with that guy yesterday?" Yuka asked, feeling a bit bolder.
Ranma took a moment to gather his thoughts. When Akane was about to speak up, shook his head, pointing to himself to indicate he wanted to talk. "He's a buddy of mine from middle school. We used to spar all the time. I made a big mistake, thinking that he was tougher than he is. But I also forgot that I had been doing some training that, well, went beyond what he could handle, I guess. Ryoga is going to be fine, though." Ranma smiled, trying to return levity to the group.
"Does he have a curse, too?" Daisuke asked. "I could have sworn he disappeared when you splashed him with water."
"Yes," Akane confirmed, her animosity leaking out. "He turns into a little black piglet. The bandanna on his head becomes a collar when he changes."
"Aww, that sounds so cute," Shikako said. The other girls agreed. Akane fought the scowl that wanted to mar her brow.
"Meh, what sounds so cute about a pig?" Hiroshi said in reproof. They liked to wallow in mud and everyone knew they were little fatties.
Sayuri retorted with, "All you and Daisuke are interested in are perverted things. You wouldn't know what cute is if it came and smacked you in the face. Some people keep miniature pigs as pets these days. They're better than most dogs, they say."
"Well, I guess I wouldn't mind turning into a pig if I could get hugged to your chest," Hiroshi said, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.
This started an argument that lasted several minutes between the girls and boys. Ranma wisely stayed out of it, Hiroshi's words hitting too close to home.
The warning bell rang and the students gathered their belongings to head inside. Ranma and Akane headed back to the library for their studies, saying their goodbyes to the others. "It's nice that all of us were able to eat together," Akane commented.
Ranma agreed. "Yeah, It kinda surprised me. I was thinkin' that I might've scared them off with what I did this morning."
"The girls have been my friends for a long time, so it's not too much of a surprise that they ate with us. But the boys are just strange." Akane was about to call them perverts, but stopped herself. Instead, she snorted in disgust.
"Yeah, those two. Before, they hung out with me even after all the crazy stuff started happening here at school. Heck, they seemed more interested in my girl side than anything, I think." He shook his head ruefully.
"I'm sure things will get better from here on." They entered the library and sat down. "We'll just have to watch out for the idiots around here is all," Akane warned. She handed Ranma a notebook and they began their studies.
1530, Friday, 18 May
After school, they headed to the hospital to see Ryoga. They checked in at the desk, finding that there had been no change. Relieved that there had been no complications in the first twenty-four hours, the two entered Ryoga's room.
He still lay there with the machines beeping and the mechanical whooshing of the respirator that supplied Ryoga a forced air supply. Akane began washing his face and arms down with lightly dampened washcloths. They didn't dare bring anything with water into the room for fear of changing him into a piglet and complicating matters. Ranma watched as Akane administered to his friend.
Unable to stand it any longer, Ranma left the room and went outside. After she was finished with Ryoga, Akane followed him out.
"You shouldn't blame yourself too much, Ranma. It was an accident. When he wakes up, we'll be able to talk to him and set things right. I talked to Daddy, and he said that Ryoga can stay with us until he is better." Ranma acknowledged Akane's attempt at consolation, though it still did little to assuage his guilt. "Besides," she continued, "this got me to thinking."
Looking over at Akane after she paused, he asked, "Yeah?"
They started walking from the hospital to go home. "It's about the Bakusai Tenketsu. Even though it was invented for mining, I think it might be good for us to learn it, too."
Ranma pondered the idea. He hadn't learned it, nor did he know the exact particulars of how it worked. "I dunno. I didn't really have a need for it before," he shrugged indifferently.
"Even though you might not have needed it, maybe now is the chance for us to learn it. We've seen Ryoga use the technique enough that we should know how it works, to a point. I watched Cologne training Ryoga the whole time. I think I remember it well enough to get the training method across. Up in the mountains there are plenty of boulders for us to use. With how fast you learn techniques, it shouldn't be too hard for you to grasp it. I want to be tougher and that's one of the fastest ways to do it. Besides, even if you might not want to learn it, I do."
"Hmm. Maybe." He looked over at Akane. "Besides, if you learn it, wouldn't-" Stopping himself before he said anything more, Ranma looked guiltily at Akane. He remembered what he had written in his notebook.
Sensing he had about to insult her, Akane looked at him levelly.
"Nevermind," he stated. They went home.
2030, Friday, 18 May
Akane lay on her bed, her covers pushed down to her waist as she contemplated recent events. Again.
Emotions still roiled through her body as she had thought about the case of Ryoga and Ranma's secret. She needed to push through it, so she could move on. Otherwise, it would eat at her and make the relationships she had with Ranma and her family worse. Earlier she had worked out so that her body would be tired, and she would be able to relax without pent-up energy. Now her mind could focus more on the details rather than the way her body reacted to the emotions.
Playing through her head the times Ryoga had shown up and, subsequently, P-chan, she realized that the signs had been there, but she hadn't put them together somehow. There were the piles of clothing, his backpack and the bandanna he constantly wore. The last of which turned into a collar. Then a stray memory came to her. Hadn't Ranma poured hot water on Bess, the neighbor's dog? Ranma had turned her head just to ensure she wouldn't be getting an eyeful of a naked boy. That had been the very same night she had found her Ryoga in her room! How she could have missed that after all that time made her feel like an imbecile.
Not only that, she vividly remembered that Shampoo had said only those involved were Jusenkyo cursed. As she replayed events, Ryoga had been a part of the expedition. At the time, she hadn't processed the fact that he had been present for all the happenings between Captain Kiima and the Nerima crew. She had chalked it up to him helping Ranma.
Ryoga's crush, or as Ranma had said, love, was not a factor in her ruminations. If he had truly loved her, he wouldn't have put her into such a situation. No matter how much he had screamed at Ranma for his plight, he was ultimately responsible for his actions. Just because he couldn't get over a bread feud he had followed Ranma to China. As Ranma had described, he hadn't known Ryoga had followed him there. Then, when coming to the Tendo home, he had fought Ranma in the middle of a rainy night, subsequently finding himself lost in Akane's room.
With Ryoga's being predisposed to ignoring to his emotions, she needed to make sure he didn't fall for her again. While his antagonism towards Ranma hadn't been a major factor to their relationship, it had been caused a great deal of angst for Ranma. Right now he didn't need that. She would rather see them as friends than rivals. Having been with Ranma for two years had shown her that he had so few he could depend on. Ryoga had, on numerous occasions, helped Ranma when the need arose. They would likely need that assistance again in the future.
She could only assume that Kasumi and Nabiki hadn't known. Kasumi would likely have told the family and done something about it, as his sleeping with Akane would have been seen as improper. Nabiki, on the other had, was an enigma. Would she have told someone or would she have manipulated the martial artists through blackmail? While she hadn't seen those types of interactions between the two, that didn't mean that they hadn't happened.
What about Uncle Saotome and her father? The idea that either of them knowing and not saying anything, to her, didn't seem too far-fetched. They were the disciples of Happosai, a renowned pervert.
Uncle Saotome was someone of suspect motivations. Since the trip to China was only for those with a Jusenkyo curse, his being there with Ryoga made it clear that he had found out about it. But when? If he had known about it for a while, what would his motivations have been for doing so? Keeping Ranma jealous? A litmus test to gauge Ranma's feelings for her?
Even her father was suspect. Hadn't he engaged his daughters after losing an eating battle? There were other instances where his ideas of propriety, compared to her own, were on opposite ends of the spectrum. He had wanted her and Ranma to go to an onsen where her fiancé could "deflower" her if they could win a race. But would he have kept the secret from his daughters? She could only hope that he had the wherewithal to protect her from a strange man. The thought that, should he have known and not said anything sent a shiver of dread down her spine and made her stomach clench.
Who else close to her could have possibly known? Obviously the Amazons had, as Ranma had admitted. It wouldn't be too hard to figure out why Shampoo or Cologne had wanted to keep the secret. Mousse would have kept quiet on orders from an Elder, such was their society. Or he hadn't cared one way or the other. Ukyo? That was questionable. It had seemed the two were getting along, but in hindsight, the two had merely been trying to break her and Ranma up. That's likely the reason why the haunted cave had been suggested. But for her to know of the curse and kept quiet? Akane couldn't be sure whether Ukyo would maintain the secret.
Akane's thoughts finally wandered back to her fiancé. Unconsciously, her fists clenched her blanket in a death grip.
His reasoning for keeping Ryoga's secret were skewed. After getting to know Uncle Saotome, it was a wonder Ranma's sense of right and wrong had some semblance of societal norms. While he had admitted to wanting to tell her about the curse and Ryoga posing as her pet, he hadn't done the right thing in the end. Claiming it was because of the Warrior's Code, he had kept from telling anyone, especially her, about Ryoga's curse. If they found out about it on their own, there were no issues apparently.
What would she have done should she have found out about the curse before Jusendo and coming back in time? Nodding to herself, she realized that she would have broken off the engagement to Ranma permanently. Had it been before, she would have been devastated and there was no telling how far she would have gone. Simply beating him like she had in the park wouldn't have sufficed. The feeling made her feel sick.
That didn't let him off of the hook, so to speak. Justice needed to be served. His abasement to her had taken a lot for him to do, she knew. With the morning's show at school, it was obvious that Ranma was suffering inside. She couldn't turn a cold shoulder to him. She would rather have liked to distance herself from her fiancé for a time, but reality was being cruel. With his mental and emotional state the way it was, she was the only one around that could pull him back from the brink of self-destruction. Tearing down a mounting on top of himself to bury them at Jusendo after realizing she was not coming back to him was evidence enough to his destructive abilities. He was a danger not only to himself as shown by the morning's loss of control indicated.
Looking back on her actions the previous night, she felt some shame. After she had yelled at him about how he had debased her honor, he had shown silent remorse the only way he seemed to know how. Ranma had actively provided himself for the beating, never saying a word. Was that the kind of relationship she wanted with him? To let her anger rule and use him as a punching bag? That was not a healthy way to deal with one's issues. Both had issues with communication, and they needed to learn how to discuss them. Rather than an all-out physical confrontation, she needed to re-learn how to work things out with Ranma. Otherwise, she could seriously hurt the young man or, if she wasn't careful, drive him away should he find it to be too much even for him.
Rolling over onto her side, she cast her gaze around her room. Only the dim glow from the street lights was able to penetrate through her window. Dark shadows were cast, much like the ones presently in her heart. Hopefully, in the days to come, light would be shed so that she could finally come to a decision on how to proceed appropriately. With the gravity of the situation she found herself in, only a day of soul-searching would not be enough. Closing her eyes, she sought the peace of sleep and what answers dreams might bring to her.
0830, Monday, 21 May
Monday morning came faster than Ranma and Akane had expected. They had focused on studying the entire weekend. Throughout the day, they had performed a light workout but nothing too strenuous. Just enough to get any kinks out and relieve their stress. They had studied in Akane's bedroom together. The two had the second year books issued by the teachers as well as all of Kasumi's notebooks available for it. Sitting side-by-side together, they had studied as diligently as they could. On occasion, when neither of them could understand a lesson, they had relied upon Kasumi for assistance. While she had gladly helped, Kasumi had left each time astonished and curious about their ability to perform as well as they were with the advanced material.
Now, though, they were in the library again, this time with a teacher present. Said teacher had an exam for each of them to go through. There were a total of five subjects that they had to go through two times, one for each of the last two terms of second year, equaling a total of ten exams. Even with the amount of studying and how fresh their subjects were in their minds, they were still nervous. If they didn't at least get a passing grade in all the classes, they would remain in their first year of high school. Or, at least, move to their second year with Nabiki. The hardest hit to them would be if either one were to stumble and be left behind while the other advanced. Ranma, who had studied the subjects as diligently as he was to martial arts, was still sweating at the possibility of not achieving a seventy percent in any of his subjects.
As they progressed through the next five days, a variety of teachers were assigned to administer the tests. The teachers sat Ranma and Akane at either end of a long table in a corner of the library. They, themselves, would sit in the middle, so they could watch. Though they were polite, the two students could tell that they were perturbed at the special treatment the youths were receiving and the extra task that had been forced upon them.
By the third day of their examinations, the teachers' attitudes had changed considerably. Each subject for the day was graded as soon as they had been finished. The first subject, arithmetic, was their most impressive. At the end of each day, when they had finished, they would sit and wait for the results of their examinations. Ranma, who had never studied as diligently as he had the past week, had the most amazement at his own scores. Akane, for her part, was envious of Ranma, since she had always scored much better in math than he had, though she was still ecstatic with her own.
Emboldened by their success, the two went out for a celebratory ice cream their first afternoon of examinations. Ranma, of course, had to change into a girl, so he could enjoy it without reservation. Upon returning home, they performed a review of the next day's subject.
Except for their celebratory ice cream, this continued throughout the week.
On Friday, after they were done with their tests, they went with their homeroom teacher to the staff lounge. Upon entering, the two were greeted by a round of applause by the teachers that were in the room. Ranma and Akane bowed back, embarrassed by this display of congratulations and respect.
Turning to them, their homeroom teacher said, "I must apologize to you as well as offer my congratulations to you on your success. It appears that my thoughts to your capabilities were shortsighted. I am deeply humbled this day. You have...you have opened my eyes to something I had lost some time ago as a teacher." Again he bowed to them.
"There is no need for you to apologize, Mitsuya-sensei," Akane consoled. "It is just that we have a...unique situation. Something we can't disclose to anyone. We were just fortunate enough that Tsujitani-sensei was able to help us in the way that he did. The both of us truly appreciate the hard work and dedication you put in to your teaching."
Ranma managed to keep from saying that would embarrass the three of them by simply saying, "Thanks, sensei."
The two turned to the rest of those assembled in the room. Together, they bowed again and said, "Thank you."
The vice principal was waiting for them in his office. Closing the door behind themselves, they sat down at his invitation.
"Your test scores are remarkable. With the events that transpired last week, I was beginning to have concerns," he admitted. "Forgive me for saying this, but I still had some doubts about the veracity of your story. Even with the demonstration you provided with your condition." He nodded towards Ranma. "After receiving word of your first set of test scores, I was relieved to see that your story was confirmed. My fears have been allayed due to your passing all of your exams. Beginning on Monday, you will be placed in class 3-C."
The two looked at each other, smiling broadly. The had done it. Their placement was confirmation of their success.
Continuing, he said, "I spoke with the instructors for your classes. They have provided the appropriate notes up to this point. However, the remainder of the school year will be left to you." He handed a pair of folders with a variety of tabs delineating their third-year subjects within to the two. "Once again, I also encourage you to take into consideration your future plans. With this acceleration, you are now expected to have an idea of what you want to do in the future. As you have mentioned before, you are both martial artists. I did a bit of research and found a college that may best suit you. It is called the International Bushi University. Its focus is on the martial arts in its many aspects. Personally, I would like to encourage you to attend the university. This university is relatively young compared to others like Tokyo University and such." He held out another folder for them. Inside was a pamphlet and various articles detailing the university he was describing. "Let me add: Sometimes, it's not what you know but who you know. By going to there, you should be able to meet a good many other martial artists, creating a network for yourselves. This network, in turn, can then send referrals or, as word of mouth spreads of your dojo, students will seek you out."
Akane smiled. "My sister has said the same thing before."
Ranma sat forward. "Later this year, the principal will be here, coming back form Hawaii. I can't remember exactly when just yet, but I do remember that it was snowing at the time." The vice principal's smile thinned at the mention of his absent superior, but he did not interrupt. "We didn't get along too well. Can we expect to have any problems with him when it comes to us advancing?"
"No." Elaborating for their benefit, he continued, "If it's snowing by the time he does return, you will have at least one term finished along with the requisite exams. When he does decide to come back, by that time, you will likely have shown yourselves capable of being third-year students. Should he attempt to send you back to first year, then he will have an uphill battle with myself and the Board of Educators. Speaking of which, I was able to convince them not more than an hour ago, after showing the results of your exams from earlier this week and this morning, to allow you to skip first and second years. I had some small push-back, but your results were what convinced them in the end. Be assured that I did not divulge anything concerning your...circumstances."
The two looked relieved at this last comment. They had already allowed themselves too much of an opportunity for the vice principal to abuse this knowledge. He seemed, to them, to be worthy of their confidence.
A thought occurred to Ranma, making him chuckle. This drew the other two's attention. Explaining, he said, "Y'know if we had stayed as freshmen, we would have been here for three years. Now that we're gonna be seniors, it's only gonna be for one year. The craziness that seems to have followed me here won't be so bad. All the duels, disruptions and craziness that is around me will be gone from Furinkan when I graduate."
The vice principal gave another thin smile. "That is a very good point. I do wonder, however, if it is due to your influence or if it is Nerima's unique history of attracting the oddities of Japan...and elsewhere."
The three reflected on his words for a moment before standing. Bowing and shaking hands, Ranma and Akane took their leave.
Outside, the two turned their attention to other matters as they traveled to the hospital to check on Ryoga.
"We need to see when we can sit down with Tofu-sensei about our timeline," Akane said as she roof-hopped with Ranma. "I want to see if he has any input on how to get past some of our problems."
"Yeah," Ranma agreed. "I've got a feelin' things are about to start kickin' up real soon. Lookin' at my notes, I think we're about to have problems with Kodachi and Shampoo."
"You're right. We had to deal with Kodachi before Shampoo. I'll get in touch with the girls in the Rhythmic Gymnastics Club when we get home and see when their next tournament with Kodachi's school is supposed to be. Maybe we can head her off before she can take out our team."
"How about we just have them stay at the dojo? That way we can protect all of them at the same time. Much easier that way if you ask me." They entered the hospital and headed to Ryoga's room. This time, Ranma administered to Ryoga's needs. As he did so, he picked up the conversation again. "She fights too dirty for our girls, though. Who do you think should go against her?"
Akane chewed on the idea for a while. Knowing Akane's previous desire to help the team out, he kept quiet for the time being. He wanted to see how Akane would react to his question. It wasn't until they were outside that Akane replied finally. "There's other training I need to do in order to catch up to you. I'm still too much of a klutz," she admitted. "Just like you said, remembering your fight with Kodachi, she fought dirty. She was pretty skilled with the equipment she used, too. If I fought her now, I don't think I'd have much of a chance. If I could fight as I normally do, then I wouldn't hesitate, but Rhythmic Gymnastics? I doubt that I'd be able to beat her with the equipment or, well, I'd end up getting disqualified because I punched or kicked her. Also, I don't think any of the girls on the team would even have a chance, either, for that matter." She stopped on a roof, turning to Ranma, who had done likewise. "We should put our best foot forward, which is you." The humble pie she had just eaten was bitter, but she managed to swallow it down along with her pride.
Ranma nodded. He was glad that Akane was aware of what she was and wasn't capable of. She was taking more than just her pride into consideration. He didn't want to see Akane humiliated, much less hurt by Kodachi due to the underhanded tools she would use. "All right. How about we get the girls to stay starting tomorrow, I can practice with them in the meantime, and we'll let Kodachi try to do her thing. When we chase her away, we need to let her know I'm her opponent. That way the girls don't get targeted, and they can stay home afterwards."
Akane smiled at the plan. "After I call the team captain, I'll get with Tofu-sensei right afterwards." They continued their journey back home.
Author Notes:
My thoughts and some minor spoilers
Continue reading at your own risk after the ...'s!
The idea for their college is not made up. I stumbled across it while I was doing some research on the story. I merely changed Budo to Bushi
Wikipedia: International Budō University (国際武道大学 Kokusai Budō Daigaku) (IBU) is a private university in Katsuura, Chiba, Chiba Prefecture, Japan, established in 1984. The university has a specialized curriculum in physical education, specifically the budō Japanese martial arts, sports, and physical culture.
A bit of info about why I have Ranma seeming so smart. During the English test score arc with the principal, Ranma had a fairly decent score, even if you couldn't see it or it wasn't said. (Give Back the Tests! (テストを返せ! Tesuto o kaese!)) At least, that was the gist of the story. Ranma had commented that his attempt to get the tests back was to show he wasn't stupid. There is also a scene where Ms. Hinako is teaching while Ranma has his book propped open and eating. She doesn't drain him even though he is doing something that would label him as a delinquent. Is it because of the times he's evaded her ki draining abilities or because of his test scores?
There are additional clues to his mental aptitude. Learning techniques after being shown once (Umisenken), from scrolls, and a multitude of other sources shows that his mind is adept. His learning of the Hiryu Shoten Ha was the fastest Cologne had ever seen. I don't agree with some fanfic authors that make it seem as if he's a numskull and needs tutoring. The tutoring by Akane is only shown during the anime, not in the manga. Why not translate all this over to school if he actually applies himself?
I've taken the liberty of him putting forth the effort to actually study and perform well on his exams. The issue, IMHO, is all about motivation. Ranma was always focused on martial arts. This time around, he wants to be in the same grade as Akane and, knowing she takes school fairly seriously, makes the effort to please her. If he were to be a grade or two behind, he wouldn't be able to graduate with her. There is a lot of pressure about how well he should do on the exams. Bending his will towards learning his schoolwork with Kasumi's notes, he has shown how well he could do when necessary.
As for Kasumi...I think she's actually quite smart. Many of the quips she has made show her depth of intelligence. She was relegated as a background character that takes care of the household. She says that younger men bore her, indicating that she needs someone with experience and knowledge rather than immaturity. Kasumi has borrowed books from Tofu which, I'm sure, are not necessarily easy reads considering their source. During the Parlay du Fois Gras arc it shows she has some understanding of French. She also has a humorous side as shown when she messes with Ranma or others on occasion. A very subtle character compared to Nabiki's manipulative side and Akane's aggression/sweetness. Note that intelligence and wisdom are two separate measurements. She might not be as wise as she could be, as evidenced by her cluelessness of Tofu-sensei's antics and the reason behind them. Then again it could be that this is the only way she has seen him.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
I know that some people may be thinking I'm having Ranma and Akane totally out of character. Let me explain some of my reasoning behind how and why I'm writing them the way I am.
There is considerable thought that goes into what and how I am writing the characters in this story. It is definitely not them just rehashing everything and making everything all WAFF. As you have noticed with Ryoga, they will make dreadful mistakes, even having foreknowledge of many of the events that transpired originally.
First off, the two do truly care for one another. Whenever it's just the two of them, they hang out and enjoy each other's company. There may be a bit of abrasiveness, embarrassment or other factors from external sources that hinder them. Overall, though, in the manga, you can see a variety of scenes where they're talking about their adventures and encounters in a friendly manner.
It's not till later as the various fiancees, rivals and angst-filled escapades that things do come to a head between the two. But their caring for one another eclipses all of this in the end. They go out of their way to help each other. Their feelings, while not expressed verbally, are best realized by their actions. Yes, Akane does hit Ranma a bit, but that's partly a gag from Takahashi, and it's not nearly as frequent or violent as many fanfic writers like to portray. But Akane does it mostly when Ranma is caught in a compromising position (Shampoo in the bathtub with him) or when he is very insulting to her.
The way I'm bringing them back is through a very traumatic experience. Akane died because of Saffron's interference. Ranma, feeling this loss, dies as well, as you see from the dream. Trauma, even of a much lesser degree, can have some serious effects to one's psyche.
I have firsthand experience at how PTSD works. I suffer from it myself and have a number of fellow service members that suffer as well. There are many commonalities. Sudden changes in moods, how we deal with issues, overflowing of emotions, etc. In my case, I have anger and depression issues. I know others that have gone to other extremes where they become physically abusive to others or themselves, becoming promiscuous, reclusiveness, hypervigilance and a myriad of other issues. I have even felt a disassociative state much like I described with Ranma's encounter in this chapter. Things I've said that still came out even though I didn't want to say them.
For Ranma, I've put in a bit of depression with some hypervigilance and anger. As hinted, them sharing the experience together and supporting each other is very helpful. It's much like the group therapy I've gone through. For them, too, is the realization of feelings they have for each other. It is very therapeutic to have someone that you love beside you as you work through these issues. As they continue to explore and realize the depths of love they have for each other, the better they will become as people. It is easier to mend with someone beside you rather than alone. I know this quite well with the love and understanding I get from my wife, daughters and fellow service members.
You might be wondering why Akane isn't getting as angry more often, as I just described for PTSD symptoms. Everyone deals with trauma differently. She already has her anger issues, but they've somehow been superseded by how she feels for Ranma. By being his support, she is maturing at a very rapid pace. Which, in turn, is a therapy for her. It may sound counterintuitive, but I have also found that my helping others helps me work out some of my own issues. Not fully for me, but in Akane's case, it is having a sobering effect along with her maturation as a young woman. As they say, hindsight is 20/20, and with what the two suffered, she has plenty of it. With this, she is not taking chances at screwing things up between the two of them this time around.
I'm not sure yet, as I continue writing, how I will deal with the PTSD issue throughout the story. Right now, it is a major plot device for me. Will it be permanent? Will they be able to overcome it without serious scars to their psyche? Shall there be relapses later as they deal with issues that they had dealt with before, but are now at a different place in their lives? I have yet to see. As I continue with this story, I do hope you stay with me as I explore their relationship and the lives they're living under my authorship.
If you are experiencing issues such as this, I encourage you to seek help as well. And remember, you're not alone.
Thanks.