Innocence of Mine Chapter 5 Elementary School Blues, a ranma fanfic

Innocence of Mine

By Douglas Helm and "Tuxedo" Will Wolfshohl

Those characters that are original and the story "Innocence of Mine" are copyrighted ©2006 ShoujoFiction .com by Douglas Helm and Will Wolfshohl. Ranma ½ characters are copyrighted by Rumiko Takahashi.

This story and our many other stories reside at our Shoujo Fiction dot com domain. Comments are welcomed and encouraged.

Chapter 5 - Elementary School Blues

"Come on!" Akane Saotome pleaded in frustrated tone of voice. Nabiki who was lagging several steps behind looked up toward the voice. Her nine year old sister was standing atop a cinderblock fence parallel to the sidewalk looking exasperated. "You're being a real slowpoke today, Na-chan."

"Onee-chan, Mommy says you're not s'pposed to be walking on the fence!"

"You gonna tattle?" her older sister wondered. She was now walking backwards on the fence.

'Should I, Onee-chan?' little Nabiki asked her teen self. 'Well...' the teenaged Nabiki mused, 'I wouldn't admit to it, but if she's doing something wrong...' The teen shrugged. "Iie! I ain't no tattletale!"

"Good! Now hurry up or we'll be tardy, Imouto-chan!" Akane begged. She loved her little sister dearly but sometimes she wished Nabiki would try to have a little fun occasionally and not worry so much. Turning back around, Akane did a cartwheel and started to skip along the fence top. Whining, Na-chan rushed after her sister. The eight year old found it completely unfair that her older sister could be so bright-eyed and bushytailed this early in the morning. In contrast, by the time that Nabiki was roused for school, Akane had already been up for at least an hour working out with her father down in the dojo.

'Forget about her, Na-chan,' Nabiki suggested, 'We got a math test today. You're gonna help me, Onee-chan... ne? Of course, I am!' The teen smiled internally as she felt her younger self sigh in relief. 'I really don't like math, Onee-chan. But I know you said it's important.'

Nabiki momentarily lost sight of her sister as she rounded a corner. Seconds later, Akane let out cry of surprise and said a word that had even the teen Nabiki blushing. Running forward, the pigtailed little girl found herself staring at her big sister lying facedown in a snowdrift.

Nabiki snickered although it was cut short when her sister rolled over and glowered. Instead of backing down, Nabiki sang, "Now whose gon-na be tar-dy, A-ka-NE?" and skipped past her. Akane sat on the pavement dumbstruck by her timid sister's uncharacteristically brash comment.

'Onee-chan!' Na-chan noised, 'You made me look mean!' She took over the internal reins and stopped in her tracks. 'Akane might be hurt. I got to say gomen.'

'No way. It's her own dang fault for not listening to Mommy,' the seventeen year old argued, 'She shouldn't've been on top of the fence showing off.' Before she could respond to her elder counterpart, Akane appeared beside her. The girl didn't say anything so the remainder of their walk to school was made in silence.

# # # # #

"Nabiki-chan!" her friend Minako called out and waved. Nabiki gave Akane a hug, much to the older girl's embarrassment, and rushed over to her friend. Moments later, Ruri joined them and they fell into conversation about that morning's antics surrounding Miko and Niko.

"I can't wait, minna! Their movie's coming out Saturday!"

Nabiki's eyes opened wide. "Nani? Tomorrow?"

Ruri shook her head. "Iie, she means next Saturday."

"Aww, that's a LONG way away," Na-chan whined. 'Maybe Mommy 'n' Daddy will let us go to the movie if we do good on the test,' the teenage Nabiki mused. "Minako-chan, Ruri-chan, did you study for the math test?" she asked her two seven year old friends.

"Math... test?" Minako stuttered, eyes suddenly wide with concern.

"Hai," Ruri remarked, "I did BEFORE Minako-chan came over." Her parents had babysat the little girl while Minako's parents attended a company dinner. She then regarded Nabiki. "You forgot to study too, ne Na-chan?" That was the normal scenario.

"Iie... Why?"

"You're still gonna flunk it."

"Nani?"

"Gomen, Na-chan," Minako remarked with some solace, "But you always fail!" She knew that mathematics was Nabiki's worst subject. She felt marginally better knowing that at least, she'd best her shy friend as per usual.

"But my onee-chan helped me study... even if I didn't like it."

"Akane?" the little blonde squawked in a condescending voice, "She's only good at hitting stuff." That girl was scary as far as she was concerned. Nabiki would have jumped to her big sister's defense but at that moment, the bell rang.

# # # # #

'Onee-chan?' Nabiki Saotome asked quietly as she took her seat at her desk near the back of Classroom 2-2.

'Hai?'

'You can ace this, ne?'

'Absolutely!' Nabiki Tendo declared enthusiastically, even if she didn't feel 100 percent confident. 'Uh... But I might not get it perfect. Some of those math questions were really hard!' The eight year old didn't bother pointing out that her passenger had been doing some of Akane's Grade 4 math problems. Fractions? It was Greek to her.

Later that morning as they filed out into the cold crisp air of the schoolyard during lunch break, Nabiki looked for her older sister and was not disappointed in finding her. She was talking with some of her friends from her class. Smiling, and ignoring Ruri and Minako who frowned, she ran over to join Akane and a group of her friends.

"Onee-chan!" she called out. The nine year old turned around, a pained expression passed over her face.

"Nani?" Akane asked in a terse voice.

"Nabiki-oneechan helped me with my math test." One of Akane's friends snickered. Nabiki didn't add that, to her tremendous delight, she had been the first in her class to finish it, a fact that both of her friends took great notice.

"Then why don't you go introduce her to Minako and Ruri. Your little friends are waiting for you." 'Gomen, Na-chan.' Nabiki turned and found that it was true - Minako was indeed waiting for her. She had a scowl on her face and a one little foot tapping as the youngster's fists rested on her hips.

"But..."

"Look, IMOUTO, I don't have time to play with a baby who can't even be in Grade 3," Akane scoffed. She then turned her back on Nabiki. She hated doing that to her sister but her social status demanded it. She promised to make it up to her after school. 'Gomen nasai. Why can't Nabiki be a third-grader?' It was not the first time she'd asked that question. If Nabiki were one, that would make talking to her at school a little more acceptable. 'Mommy just said it was 'cause of when her birthday is.' The youngster sighed internally. It could be worse though; Nabiki could be her older sister.

Crestfallen, Nabiki sniffled, turned, and walked slowly back to her friends. However, she didn't find any solace there because both Minako and Ruri refused to speak to her.

# # # # #

Akane Saotome had changed into her street shoes and was exiting the main Oizumi Elementary School building at the end of the school day, when she saw her sister and her two best friends standing under a large tree. The smallest of the trio (Nabiki) appeared anxious. Ruri was resigned but Minako was looking torn between outrage and misery. Puzzled, she walked quickly and stealthily towards them. It was a difficult task to do considering her brightly-colored school uniform. She arrived just in time to her Minako say, "I'm gonna get a spanking..." The little blonde looked dejected. Akane decided to stay back to observe the three second-graders.

"Why?" Nabiki asked eyes wide.

"You got a better score than me," the child with the red ribbons howled. "Sensei said she was gonna call Mommy!" The little girl had gotten a mere four of the twenty simple addition and subtraction problems right. "It's all your fault, Nabiki!"

"Minako-chan... Why would it be my fault?" Nabiki asked the taller girl, completely bewildered. Tears were starting to form. She still held her test with a big red ninety-five in her hand. 'Why ain't they happy for me?' Neither Nabiki had an answer.

"You could've let us cheat too!" Ruri winced at the remark.

"Even Miko-chan knows it ain't nice to cheat," Nabiki interjected. 'HAI!' the teen Nabiki agreed enthusiastically. "I studied really hard with my onee-chan." 'Ojii-sama will be happy too, ne? Hai! I hope he gets back soon. Hai, he's been gone a long time.'

"You could've let us copy your paper at least," Minako grumbled. She jabbed her finger at Nabiki who backing up, tripped, and fell onto the grass on her rump.

"Gomen nasai, Minako-chan," the pigtailed girl on the ground apologized.

"Minako, are you nuts?" Ruri demanded. Until today, copying off of Nabiki would have been the quickest way to FAIL a math test. She chalked it up to some kind of fluke unlikely ever to be repeated. In Ruri's opinion, Minako deserved whatever she got.

Akane cleared her throat. Ruri's eyes snapped to the sound and went wide. She stared at the sudden appearance of the older Saotome child. "Sempai..."

The nine year old had been hoping her little sister would stick up for herself. "Are you hurting my imouto?" Akane asked calmly. Ruri rapidly shook her head. Minako, having recovered slightly, quickly helped Nabiki up off the ground before turning her attention to the new arrival.

"Ko-Konnichiwa Saotome-sempai!" Minako greeted her friend's sister and bowed.

As Nabiki got up to dust herself off, Ruri bowed her head and squeaked, "Please don't beat us up, sempai!"

"I'm not a bully," Akane growled menacingly then put her hands on her hips and proudly declared, "I'm a martial artist."

"Nani? There's a difference?" the seven year old blonde asked, although not as coolly as she had hoped. "Gomen."

Akane sputtered for a moment and then elaborated stiffly, "I don't go picking fights or beating up people just for the fun of it. My 'rents would come down on me like a ton of bricks!" 'Especially Daddy.'

"Would you get grounded, sempai?" Ruri interjected.

"Would you get a spanking, sempai?" Minako followed, thus both girls defined what they considered an ultimate sanction.

The nine year old snorted. Not that Akane dismissed such punishments out of hand; they were her mother's domain, for normal kid naughtiness. However, any misuse of her school's teachings or ideals went straight to her father for possible consequences.

"MY dad's a MASTER of the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts. It really does mean ANYTHING goes." Ranma could be quite inventive with consequences if conditions required it. He constantly surprised her in various training exercises. The one involving pickled plums had been a little too creative in her opinion but she had wisely kept that feeling to herself.

"Onee-chan, we should go," Nabiki commented, a little embarrassed.

"Hai!" Akane replied and took her sister's hand. "Come on." As they walked towards the school gate, she thought that Nabiki was pretty good as little sisters went. She'd heard horror stories about some of her friend's little siblings. Outside the gate, both children were surprised to see their mother waiting for them.

"Ready?" she asked her two girls.

"Hai!" they answered.

"Good, well come along. We're going to see Ono-sensei."

"Yeah!" Nabiki chirped. "I can show him my bestest math test ever!"

"Oh my, Nabiki... What have you been doing?" Kasumi asked, finally taking in the rumpled state of her youngest daughter's school uniform. As her mother was brushing off Nabiki's skirt, the child kept trying to show her the math test. Finally giving up, she shoved it towards Akane. "See Onee-chan?"

Akane took the paper, glanced at the mark, and said the first thing that came to mind, "Minako was right. You did cheat."

"DID NOT!" Nabiki wailed.

"Hush!" their mother commanded. "I need to get you to Ono-sensei's, and then, we need to get home and start supper." Nothing Nabiki could say would induce their mother to look at the math test, which Akane still held, instead the trio started down the sidewalk, Nabiki pouting the entire time.

# # # # #

While the three Saotomes headed off towards Dr. Tofu's clinic, Happosai was making his own way back to Nerima. He might have made it in that evening except for a distraction he accidentally stumbled upon along the way.

The old wrinkled grandmaster of the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts had been bouncing from rooftop to rooftop when he came to alight upon one nondescript roof. He was about to launch himself again when he froze in place. His eyes widened and a tiny river of drool started to run down his chin.

Completely unnoticed, Happosai's grip on his gunnysack loosened and its contents slid down the roof and vanished over the edge. The old man didn't even notice. As he moved towards the backyard with its clothesline of gently flapping brassieres, he mumbled, "A goddess must've descended from Heaven... No Earth woman has endowments THAT large!"

He nearly fainted as he realized that he could almost snuggle into one of the large padded cups without trouble. "Kami-sama has blessed me this day!" he whispered, tears rolling down his eyes.

# # # # #

Dr. Tofu Ono looked up from a patient's chart as the door to his waiting room of his Nerima clinic opened. He smiled as he saw Kasumi Saotome enter. He had known her for years. They both attended Furinkan High School - she was a senior when he was a sophomore. He mused if things had been different, if Kasumi Tendo and Ranma Saotome had not been affianced by their fathers when they were small children, Tofu was positive he would have married Kasumi. He had even sought Soun Tendo's permission after he graduated; that was how he had found out about the marriage contract. It made sense to the young physician since given the two fathers longtime friendship. Additionally, that there were no male heirs to the Tendo Dojo and Kasumi had no aptitude in martial arts whatsoever. While the betrothal was certainly a startling even devastating revelation, Tofu was not deluded enough to believe he could talk the elder Tendo out of it. Like the Saotome clan, the Tendo Family was steeped in tradition and honor that martial arts demanded.

The future young doctor had went away quietly to lick his wounds. By the time he returned, Kasumi was in her third trimester with Akane. He was glad he could remain friends with Kasumi and her children. He even became friends with Ranma, respected the young martial arts master, and felt relief over time that Kasumi at least had a man who treated her right.

"Konnichiwa ladies!" he declared and bowed flamboyantly. Akane and Nabiki giggled. "What can I do for you, Saotome-san?"

"I wonder if we could speak privately, Ono-sensei?" Kasumi asked formally.

"Certainly," Tofu replied and motioned for her to come into his small office. Kasumi told her daughters to wait quietly and went into his office taking a seat as Tofu closed the door.

"Tofu-sensei, I'd like you to have a look at Nabiki," Kasumi requested. "She's been sleepy a lot lately... Out of sorts sometimes too."

"Can you tell me more, Kasumi-san?" The mother of two gathered her thoughts and started to explain.

Meanwhile, Akane was trying to cheer Nabiki up. Nothing she did though was working. Her sister refused to look at her and instead, the youngster was stretched out on her back on one of the couches and mumbling to herself.

"Na-chan!" Akane finally shouted.

"Nani?" Nabiki asked, sounding much more like her old self.

"Don't be mad at me."

"I'm not, Onee-chan," Nabiki remarked. She then shifted to her knees and pressed her small nose to the window to look outside.

# # # # #

Dr. Tofu watched Kasumi lead Akane by the ear into his second examination room. He figured, hoped, that Kasumi would only scold Akane for walking the fence that morning. The fact that her nine year old had confessed to such a transgression was slightly puzzling. The doctor suspected it had a lot to do with Nabiki, exactly how though he wasn't sure.

"Come on, Na-chan," Tofu instructed and led the youngster into the other examination room and closed the door. "Can you sit on the table for me?" The little girl nodded and skipped over to the bed. She sat there, legs swinging slightly, looking rather happy.

"So, Na-chan, how was school?" Tofu asked while he pulled up a low chair and started a physical exam.

"Sugoi!" the youngster chirped, "Look Ono-sensei, I got a '95' on my math test!"

"Honto?" Tofu questioned in an interested voice. "You must have studied hard."

"Hai. My onee-chan helped me."

"Akane-chan helped you? That was nice of her."

Nabiki shook her head. "Not Akane, sensei, Nabiki-oneechan."

"And who is she?"

"She's older than me and likes math a whole lots." The eight year old made a disgusted face. "But we gots a good mark. She's really nice and very pretty."

"I see... Is she here with us now, Na-chan?" The girl nodded. "Where is she?" Tofu asked, looking around as if in apparent attempt to find this amazing tutor.

"Here, sensei!" Nabiki squeaked. "I'm sitting on Onee-chan's knee."

Tofu smiled knowingly. "Oh... It's nice to meet you, Nabiki-oneechan." He bowed to the little girl.

The youngster frowned and began in an uncertain voice, "She says 'Yo'... 'Nee-chan was worried you'd go..." The youngster paused for a long moment before continuing, "Psy... Psycho-spastic, whatever that is, at seeing Kasumi since you gots a thing for her." Giving the doctor a deeply puzzled look, the eight year old asked, "What do you have for Mommy, sensei?"

"I... uh..." Tofu was flustered. His glasses fogged over for a moment. "I mean..."

"Oh!" Nabiki declared, eyes wide, "Nabiki-oneechan said you loved Mommy, ne?" Tofu nodded. How could she have known? Maybe the child had overheard Kasumi mention it.

"Na-chan, I don't suppose I could talk to your onee-chan... alone?"

"Hai! I'll go play with Miko-chan and Niko-chan!" Before Tofu could react to that statement, little Nabiki's body crumpled forward. Out of instinct, he caught the small form. Apparently, she had fainted. Her Ki still seemed strong. Before he could begin to make a determination, the little body shifted and straightened.

"Baka..." the eight year old mumbled, a small hand rising to be stared at as the fingers flexed and unflexed.

"Nabiki?" Tofu asked.

The eight year old lifted her eyes and a grin grew on her face. "Yo, Tofu-sensei! Gomen about scarin' the poop outta ya."

"You're the person Na-chan refers to as 'Nabiki-oneechan', ne?" he asked warily. There was a definite presence, which was both familiar yet unfamiliar at the same time.

"Hai!" the youngster replied with a nod. "Not sure... Maybe you can do an aura thing. I could probably answer some really boring questions but Na-chan would want me to explain to her and that can take forever sometimes." She whispered, "Little kids you know..."

"Why are you around Na-chan?"

"I don't mean Na-chan any harm, Tofu-sensei. I'd be pretty baka to do so. I'm Nabiki TENDO." The little girl sighed. "Nabiki-chan's a very nice person, but she needs some help growing out of her shell."

"Where is she?" the doctor asked. "She mentioned something about playing with Miko and Niko?"

"Yeah, she took off and left me holding the reins so to speak. I didn't think she could give up control to me that easy."

"You sound worried," Tofu remarked.

"Yeah... Well..." There was a pause and the youngster's head turned as if to glance over her shoulder before looking back at Tofu. "She's gonna have to face up to some big stuff like telling someone about... stuff at school, sensei."

"Nani? Like what?"

"If Na-chan wants to tell you, she can. In fact, let me get her. We need to pee somethin' fierce and if I let us wet ourselves again, I'll never hear the end of it." Again, the small body slumped shortly to return.

"Onee-chan was right! Can I use the bathroom, Ono-sensei?" Dr. Tofu nodded mutely and let the youngster go. He watched as the little girl ran from the room. He cupped his chin with his right hand and pondered over what he'd encountered.

# # # # #

"Is it anything serious, Tofu-sensei?" Kasumi asked a short time later as the pair sat alone in Tofu's small office.

"No," Tofu explained, "I examined her, Kasumi-san. Physically she's fine. There are signs that she has some extra Ki. Given how strong your husband is though, that's not unexpected. It's certainly healthy and positive."

"But her behavior?"

Tofu considered, "Nabiki-chan has always been quite introverted and shy with other children, mostly due to her petite stature. It's possible that she wants to expand her horizons a tad. I think maybe there's something going on at school which is putting some extra stress on her that Nabiki's now handling it in ah... a unique way."

"Honto? At school, like what?"

Tofu rubbed his earlobe thoughtfully for a moment. "Nabiki-chan did say that her friends were a bit upset that she got a better mark than they did on a math test today. Anytime there's a disturbance in the equilibrium of a social group, there's bound to be chafing until new roles are determined." The woman stared blankly. "She might just be worried that her friends won't like her anymore if she performs better at school."

"Oh my!" Kasumi hadn't considered that possibility. "But she is okay though, ne Tofu-sensei?"

"Hai! If you're looking for something truly concrete, think of it as Nabiki starting to eke out a place for herself with the guidance of one of your ancestors. A preteen girl most likely." Kasumi blinked in puzzlement. "Your father told me once he was happy you had given one of your children the name of Nabiki."

Once Kasumi was reassured her youngest daughter was in no danger, she came out to the waiting room to find that both her children were in a good mood. The girls were chasing each other about, laughing and giggling. Akane had taken the mild scolding well, accepting the fact that fence-walking without supervision was not something either of her parents condoned, even if Ranma had done it during his teen years. Now was it something Kasumi secretly wanted Nabiki to try.

"Well, come along we need to get home and start supper. Your father's probably starving after his workouts all day."

"Can we go skating after school tomorrow, Mommy?" Nabiki asked.

"Since you got such a good grade on your math test, Nabiki-chan, I think we can."

"Onee-chan too?"

"Well..." Kasumi paused.

"Please Mommy? I like skating with Akane! She's really good."

"Hai. We'll all go skating tomorrow then."

"Yeah!" Nabiki shouted while jumping around. She halted and gave her mother a serious look. "You don't think I cheated... ne Mommy?"

Kasumi's eyes went wide. Kneeling down, she rested her hands on Nabiki's shoulders and stated, "Iie! Of course not. What made you think I would?"

"Well, Mommy, Minako-chan and Ruri-chan thought I did. Minako-chan said she'd get a spanking 'cause I did..." That didn't make any sense to her. "She did really bad on it." 'Minako should've studied.' It was that simple to the second-grader.

"Well, Nabiki-chan, I know you wouldn't cheat. You studied hard and tried your best and I'm proud of you." Nabiki beamed happily. Akane smiled. "Now come on, girls, let's get home before your father goes and buys out the Cat Café and Ukyo's."

End of Chapter 5

Coming next in Chapter 6 - Ready! Set! Flush!