Rachel was alone. She could see nothing but grey mist rolling around her as she stood on a cold white slab of marble. How far it extended was impossible to determine, and despite her best efforts she could not move from her spot. She continued to struggle until she heard voices.
"The game is proceeding to a nice start. We each hold one of five, so nice to be in a tie already is it not?" Rachel searched for the voice it seemed to come from everywhere at once, even her own mouth. The voice that answered was no easier to locate.
"It is, though I have to say I am disappointed so far, I was expecting you to play a more chaotic game. Your methods have seemed to predictable so far." Rachel renewed her efforts to free herself. Her blood froze at what she heard next.
"Ah, it seems a pawn has awoken on the playing field. It seems she wants to get into the action doesn't it?" A cruel sounding chuckle seemed to surround her and press into her. "It is time she got into the game anyways."
Rachel looked around her, the voices had to be close if they could see her. But her panicked searching revealed nothing but more mist. Then something made her look up, only to see a giant gloved hand reaching for her.
She screamed.
Gasping Rachel sat up in her bed, panting as the dream faded back into the murky depths of her subconscious. But the adrenaline coursing through her body was making it tremble. Panicked eyes searched the unfamiliar room for danger or the hand before she remembered the events of yesterday, and where she was.
Taking a few calming breaths she forced her body to be still. Placing a hand over her face she groaned, "Man…As if yesterday wasn't bad enough, now I'm getting weird dreams again!" Sighing she flopped back down onto the pillow. Reviewing the events since yesterday's unpleasant series of surprises she didn't know what to feel. She had retreated back to her examination bed after observing the scene between Ranma and Dr. Tofu. It had been a while later that Dr. Tofu returned to the room. He then suggested that she stay at the clinic for the time being so he could observe her and work on getting her back home. Rachel having no other option agreed. After being shown to the guest room he had upstairs, she had laid down on and had promptly dozed off when he left her.
It was a small room she noticed, and held a bed, dresser, and small desk. It also had a curtained window that looked over the back lot of the clinic. Pulling herself up and looking out the window she discovered something nice, she could observe the sunrise from here. She also noticed that the sun seemed to be just peeking over the horizon at the moment. With a smile she knew she could do something to temporally take her mind off her situation.
Getting dressed she slipped down the stairs and out the back door. Standing in the slight morning chill she faced in the direction of the sun, spreading her arms wide and let the light and warmth gently caress her. Quietly she closed her eyes and intoned thanks to the Skyfather, feeling the warmth seemingly to surge within her as she did so. It surrounded her and seemed to give her the feeling of being submerged in warm water. She always loved this feeling, and tried to do this little ritual every morning. It always seemed to calm her no matter the troubles she would face in the day ahead. So enraptured was she that she did not feel the presence of her observer until a moment later. His polite cough gently came to her as he politely announced himself.
"Enjoying the morning are we?" Startled Rachel turned her head and opened her eyes, in the doorway with a smile stood Dr. Tofu. He adjusted his glasses as he smiled at her. "I was going to do a few katas, so if you would like you could use the wash room upstairs Miss-, I mean Rachel."
Rachel smiled at the slip, at least he tried. "Thank you Doctor, I think I will." With a bright smile she walked past him back into the clinic. Leaving the doctor to his practice. Making her way back up the stairs and down a short hallway she entered the bathroom. It took her a few seconds to remember the fact that this was a Japanese bathroom, and why everything looked a little different. Instead of a shower-tub combo that was standard in American bathrooms, there was what seemed a giant tub and a reasonably open center area with a drain. A short shower head was attached to the wall over a faucet, next to which sat a stool and bucket.
"Glad I watched way to much anime growing up, otherwise I wouldn't know jack about how this all worked." Rachel mumbled as she pulled out the stool. In Japan, if families could afford it they had what was called a Furo, basically a hot tub in the bathroom. But since it would cost to much to constantly refill it every day, they would refill it every few days. To make the water last longer people would wash themselves prior to getting in, thus they could enjoy a soak, and the water stays cleaner and more sanitary then it would otherwise. After a good scrub and rinse Rachel lowered herself into the furo, gasping in delight as the warm waters covered her. It almost was as good as her morning ritual.
Leaning back she began to organize her thoughts. Ok, fact one is that I am currently in the Ranma one half universe. She frowned, when she thought about that it didn't really say much. She could be anywhere in the original story since at least Ranma's arrival at the Tendo Dojo. If she was in the original story, then that could be bad because she could muck with how things were supposed to go. But there was no guarantee that she was a part of that world.. She only had seen him for a few minutes, and that didn't tell her much either. Ranma was a very popular series and had years of fan fiction, lemons, crossovers, and even alternate universes written by fans for it. For all she knew she was in the alternate universe where Ranma had been born a girl and cursed to change into a guy. She would have to find out more to have a better idea of where she was. Especially if she were trapped in a lemon 'verse.
Grimacing she quickly moved on before she could pursue that thought. Fact two, I seem to have a time limit to getting back. She thought about it and didn't seem to draw anything more. She supposed that the more she used her power the less time she would have. Frowning Rachel suddenly started to wonder just what kind of power she might actually have, but decided to move on for the time being. One thing at a time like she was always told.
Right. Fact three, I am in a different country with no papers or credentials. I also don't have any cash. For the time being Tofu had said she could stay at the clinic, but she did not want to freeload. She tried to think of various options. She could ask Nabiki Tendo if she had any connections. But that would require money she didn't have, and it was assuming that this Nabiki would be a mercenary like she was in the Original Story. She could petition the embassy to replace documents, but they would have no record of her coming to Japan. Besides, again there was the assumption she even existed in this world. She didn't know exactly how that could end, but it wouldn't be good.
Sighing again she leaned her head back and stared at the ceiling. So basically for all I know, I still know nothing. I apparently am getting powers on virtue that my body was tuned to my world not this one. I also was injured when or as I was brought here, which means that someone pulled me here, or I just stumbled on a cross -dimensional hiccup. She frowned and sat up in the furo. Top it off with the problem of identity and what does that leave me?
She raised her hands from the water and stared at them watching as the water trickled off of them. Dr. Tofu said my Ki was off. Now it's my timer for getting home again. Rachel closed her eyes and leaned her head back in the furo. I don't want power, I don't want the responsibility.
With a snort she opened her eyes and looked back at her hands. Then again, since when has the universe bothered to ask what I might want? She smiled sadly. Can't deny what is there no matter how hard you try, already learned that lesson the hard way once. So let's find out what there is to find out. Sitting up straight she decided to start with the basics, find out what she was dealing with. Closing her eyes she brought her hands close together and gently rubbed them together. Then spreading her hands wide began to slowly bring them together. It almost looked like Rachel was beginning to pray.
As she brought her hands together at a point she felt a slight resistance. It wasn't much, but it felt similar to having two magnets and having them repulse each other. She then tried to visualize and Will the energy to cycle through her hands. Usually when she did this exercise she felt a tingling in her palms as the energy zipped back and forth between her hands. Nothing major, at best it felt like a feather tickling her palms.
But this was stronger, much stronger. As she felt the energy it seemed more viscous, more malleable. It was like trying to shape water all this time and then given clay. She tried to concentrate on a single point to see what it would do, moving the energy from both hands into that point. Suddenly behind her eyelids she became aware of a bright light pulsing in time with her heartbeat, slowly growing in intensity. She tried to ignore it but it became bright enough that she was becoming distracted. Opening her eyes she saw something she would never have said was possible.
Between her palms pulsed a small bight ball of purple light no bigger then your average marble, it seemed to glow internally and what parts of its surface she could make out seemed to flow like water. With a yell she flung it away from herself. It accelerated as if she had thrown a fastball and slammed into the wall across from her, leaving a slight scorch mark. Immediately Rachel stumbled in the furo as she suddenly felt incredibly drained, as if she had just run a few miles from a dead start. Woozily she stood up, water dripping from her naked flesh as she heard the door burst open.
"Miss Hunter! Are you alright?" The Doctor yelled as he rushed into the room, his gi was soaked with the sweat of his practice. Seeing the woman visibly swaying before him Tofu ran to her. Grabbing Rachel by her slender shoulders, he steadied her. "What happened? What's wrong?" His tone was forceful, and he searched her body for wounds. She felt embarrassed at his scrutiny of her nude body, but knew the examination was that of a doctor while caring for a patient.
But at his questions Rachel could only seem to blush and look down, "I'm fine Dr. Tofu, but can I get a towel at least before I start answering questions?" Silence suddenly came down on the bathroom, and only the dripping water from Rachel's hair could be heard. Tofu suddenly realized his proximity to the naked woman, and that he was currently gripping her naked body and visibly looking over her body intently for wounds.
Retracting his hands as if they were grabbing white hot coals he turned his back to the woman and reached out to grab a towel. Blushing he passed it behind him to the woman. "S-sorry about that. But when I felt something and then heard you yell…" He trailed off. Suddenly noticing the scorch mark on the wall.
Rachel quickly wrapped the towel around her. Why am I blushing? She wondered. This isn't the first time someone has seen me naked. Heck, I've been checked out much more vulgarly at the school! Suddenly a thought flashed through her head and she violently shook her head. Ah no! No way in hell is that the reason! I am not going be here long for that to even be a remote reason!
Stepping out of the furo she tapped Dr. Tofu on the shoulder to let him know it was safe to turn around. As he did so she piped up before he could. "It's ok Dr. Tofu, I know that sometimes concern for a patient overrides everything else. Mom did that a lot too." She gave him a smile, but it faded at the shocked look in Dr. Tofu's eyes. "Dr. Tofu?"
Standing up straight Dr. Tofu suddenly turned and walked out the door, never looking back at the woman. "Sorry to have bothered you Miss Hunter. I will be in my office looking over tomes if you need me." With his curt reply over his shoulder Tofu had walked out of the bathroom.
Shaking her head Rachel started to dry herself off. "Weirder and weirder." She mumbled and rolled her eyes. "Do I dare ask what's next?" Her eyes drifted to the scorch mark on the wall. "Right then. Dr. Tofu please wait!" She called out, dressing herself and rushing out the room in record time.
Ranma sat at his desk, his eyes staring out the window at the blue sky and focusing on nothing. He thought about how this morning for the first time in a long time his father had not woken him up with sparring. "Don't want you to be late to school son!" He had said loudly with a laugh. It then got weirder as he got to the breakfast table. Mr. Tendo had been odd as well. Neglecting to read the morning paper he always had. Ranma recalled feeling something was going to happen today, an instinct feeling. Ranma could tell Akane had felt it too, as she had shifted uncomfortably next to Ranma.
Ranma recalled the head of the Tendo Clan looking up. His face though usually warm was unusually stern that morning. "Ranma, Akane, there will be a family meeting tonight. Make sure you are here by dinner, do not miss it." With that puzzling statement Soun had closed his eyes again, only stirring to eat the breakfast Kasumi had laid out.
Suddenly an object bonked him on the head, bringing Ranma out of his reverie. Turning forward he faced the childlike visage of Hinako Ninomiya, one of his teachers. Currently in her child form, Hinako possessed the ability to gather Ki from those around her to revert to her true form and age. Doing so however left the victim of this ability severely drained and unable to move. Perfect for a diplomacy like Hinako. Ranma had been on the receiving end of this attack more then once, him being the reason Ninomiya was brought in.
"Mr. Saotome, please pay attention to the lesson!" Her cute voice rang out. Ranma sat a little straighter to appease the apparent prepubescent instructor.
"Yes Ma'am." Gradually however he drifted back to the window. It wasn't until the bell that he payed attention to the world around him again. Blinking a few times he started to reach for his bento box, when he heard the words he had learned to dread.
"Ranma! I made you lunch today." Came Akane's voice from across the room. Ranma paled. Granted, Akane had improved her cooking quite a bit. She could even make curry that was more or less edible most of the time. But she didn't always try to make curry, and when she did things could get painful for him. This was usually from him refusing to eat what she called 'food'.
"Wow, she even cooks you food. You guys really are fiancées aren't ya?" Came a cheerful alto next to Ranma. Whirling around Ranma faced the smiling Rei leaning against the window and giving him a victory sign.
"Hibiki? When did you get here?" Akane asked as she walked up, holding a crudely wrapped bento before her. Rei chuckled a bit before answering.
"I got here…when I got here?" She supplied.
"What kinda answer is that?!" Asked Ranma. He didn't like the fact that Rei had managed to sneak up on him, he would keep a closer eye out for the American in the future. For some strange reason he felt unnerved by her presence, and would rather she not be there at all. "What do ya want Hibiki?" It wasn't hostile, but it wasn't friendly.
Rei frowned a cute pout. "Well, I'm new here and a little shy. Since I knew you two and our classes have the same lunch break, I was simply hoping to have lunch together." She grinned, the pout disappearing as quickly as it had come. "Besides, I'm curious about Akane's cooking!" She said cheerfully with a clap of her hands.
Ranma was about to protest when the light bulb went off over his head. He might have a way to get rid of Rei and get out of Akane's cooking. Turning to Akane he smiled brightly. "Hey 'Kane I'm, uh, I got to go talk to Miss. Ninomiya real quick. Why don't you give Rei a taste of your cooking?" Like a bolt Ranma vacated his chair, leaving the two girls blinking at his after image.
Akane was the first to recover, "R-Ranma! Oh! I spent all morning making this for you!" She growled at the door where Ranma had left.
"Wow, he moved fast." Rei supplied dumbly. Why the rush to get out of here I wonder?
Akane almost stormed out to find her wayward fiancee when his suggestion clicked in her brain. Turning to Rei she suddenly presented the bento to her. "Well since Ranma left, would you like to have his lunch Rei? I don't want it to go to waste."
"Sure! I never turn down free food." Taking Ranma's seat Rei smiled as she opened the bento. The smile became strained as the girl was presented a substance she didn't quite know how to classify. It was green, having white speckles she guessed was the rice. Meaty lumps floated in the green…whatever, and something red was splashed all over the top. "Akane? What is this?" Rei asked calmly.
"Teriyaki chicken." Akane cheerfully replied.
Hesitantly Rei picked up the chopsticks provided her and gently prodded the food before her. She half expected it to prod back. "Of course it is." Rei said with a forced smile, purposefully she snagged a meaty chunk and put it in her mouth.
It was only reflex that caused her to swallow, something her body rebelled against immediately. With one hand to her mouth and the other stretched before her to push anything in her way aside, Rei dashed for the nearest bathroom. Akane blinked a few times, "I wonder if I used to much horse radish again?" She wondered aloud.
A few minutes later Rei staggered back into the classroom. Her hair was slightly unkept now and she seemed to be breathing a little on the heavy side. Going up to Akane she placed one hand on her shoulder before looking up at her.
"Akane? Did I do something to piss you off?" She asked seriously.
"N-no. Rei what's wrong?" Akane asked hesitantly.
"What's wrong?! Akane you just tried to poisin me!" Rei yelled.
"Well if you don't like the taste just say so! No need to be so rude about it." Akane said with a humph. Rei's left eye started to twitch suddenly. Standing strait up she looked the slightly shorter girl in the eye.
"That so? Ok then Akane, say 'Ah'." Akane missed the dark undertone.
"Wha-?" The puzzled girl started to ask. She was cut off by Rei snatching the chopsticks laying on the bento and a piece of 'meat' to place in her mouth. Akane immediately started to turn green before imitating the way Rei had run to the bathroom only moments before.
"Maybe that will teach her to taste her own cooking before she serves something looking like that again!" Rei muttered before looking around the classroom. She spotted her true target for coming to this classroom. She had been delighted to find out that she shared a classroom with Ranma and Akane. Sneaking up Rei suddenly pounced, clasping her hands over the eyes of the raven haired girl before her. "Guess who Reiko?" She said brightly.
With a shriek and her long hair trailing behind her the shorter girl was out of her seat in a flash. Her eyes wide eyed towards the girl who had attacked her the day before. The girl's friends who she had been talking to glanced between the two with curiosity.
Rei simply pretended to be concerned with the fright she had put into Reiko. "Oh geez I'm sorry Reiko. I didn't mean to scare you so much." She walked over to the trembling girl and gently rested a hand on her shoulder. Suddenly she tightened her grip, not enough to hurt or look threatening to the seated girls but enough to get Reiko's attention. As she looked over Rei's face flashed a look to dare her to act up. The others missed it but Reiko did not.
"Hey Reiko," spoke up one girl, "What's up? You know her?" Rei looked down at the brown haired girl.
"Oh, sorry, I'm Rei. I just got here from America a few days ago." Rei said happily as she bowed to the group of girls. Standing up she gestured to Reiko, sho had stopped trembling but continued to seem nervous around Rei. "We meet at a bakery last night and she agreed to help me catch up on some stuff we never covered in America." She turned to face Reiko. "Right Rei?" She asked with a slight emphasis.
Acting startled Rei responded quickly, "O-oh right. Um, where did you want to meet up again?" She said meekly. She knew she was doing a horrible acting job, but she usually was very quite to begin with. Reiko hoped that the other girls wouldn't care enough in the end to notice the difference.
Rei reached into a pocket and pulled out a folded slip of paper. Handing it to Reiko she continued. "Oh, I was hoping you could come by my apartment later. I hope you can read that, I'm afraid my Kanji isn't so great." She said with a blush. Reiko was amazed at the other girl's acting ability. It was almost making her doubt last night had happened at all.
Unfolding the paper left her with another surprise. Rei's Kanji was perfect, almost as if she had grown up writing it. She quickly read the note before putting it in her school blouse pocket. "No I can read it, should I come by after school?"
"If it isn't to much trouble I'd appreciate it." Rei said with a bow. Reiko had to again remind herself of the previous night's encounter.
"No, it will be fine. I will see you then." Reiko replied.
"'k then, see you later Reiko!" Rei said with a smile and walked away waving. Reiko took her seat again and went back to eating, trying to enjoy her mother's cooking. She was interrupted by the same friend from earlier.
"Nabiki will want to see that you know. You probably should take it to her now."
Raiko looked over at Miya. Miya was tall for a Japanese high school girl and strong to boot, this earned her a special spot on Nabiki's enforcer squad. It was also plain unlucky for Reiko that she happened to share a class with her, as Miya insisted they share lunch together every day. Especially since Reiko was one of Nabiki's spies. She suspected that Miya's interest in her came from a higher source then her own reasons.
Reiko sighed, packed her leftovers and stood up. "You are right Miya, I'll go see her now." Miya nodded and went back to eating. Reiko walked out the door slowly, cursing being made a pawn by two dangerous women.
It was later that afternoon that Ranma and Akane returned home. They both noticed that the house seemed still, almost deathly so. Kasumi greeted them at the door. "Oh my, there you two are. Ranma, your mother is here and I think that Father and the Saotomes are waiting to speak to with both of you."
Akane looked up at the boy beside her, "Ranma, do you have any idea what this is about?"
Ranma simply shook his head and followed Kasumi leaving Akane to bring up the rear. The older sister lead the pair to the family room, where the three elders sat at one side of the table together, with Soun on the left, Genma on the right, and Nodoka
In the middle . Kasumi gestured to two seats on the other side before heading to the kitchen. "I'll just make up some tea while you talk." Ranma and Akane took their seats and looked across the table at their parents, all of whom had their eyes closed.
Soun coughed into his hand, "Thank you Kasumi, that would be nice." The five of them sat like that for a full minute before Soun finally opened his eyes to look at the two. "Son, Akane, do you care for each other?" Soun had a uncharacteristically serious expression on his face.
Immediately the two teens began their tired routine of denying any affection towards each other. Shouts of "me marry that pervert?" and "Who'd want to marry an uncut chick like you?" filled the room. The parents just sat their, Genma's and Nodoka's gazes added to Soun's. Eventually the teens caught on to their parents behavior and settled down. Again the group sat in silence for over a minute.
"Are you quite finished yet?" This came from Nodoka, speaking calmly and formally as always. However there was an edge preasent in her speech that wasn't usually there. Namely the katana she always wore that was unwrapped and placed on the table before her. "We were not asking if you wished to be married," she continued, "We were asking if you two cared for each other."
The two teens couldn't answer. Their voices suddenly lost and their gazes refused to settle on anything, especially each other or their parents. It was now Genma's turn to speak, "Boy, we know you care for Akane. You even killed a God to save her not less then two months ago. Why can't you admit it?" His tone was gruff and direct, and Ranma for the first time in many years could not meet his father's gaze.
Nodoka took out a piece of paper and with a sigh placed it on the table. "Ranma, you and Akane have been engaged for over two years now. Next year you graduate and it was our hope that by then you would be taking over the dojo and married." Sliding the paper forward she continued, "Thus it is our decision that unless you two confess to your feelings right now, you will have one final chance to prove you are worth being together before…before we switch your engagement to one of the other Tendo daughters." The Saotome patriarch finished.
The teens looked at her in shock. The piece of paper being slid towards them was clearly a contract, and from where this conversation was taking them even Ranma had an idea of what it was for. Nodoka pressed on, "This is an official legal contract, that in two days you will go on a date. The contract states that unless you two come home, together, then your engagement will be voided permanently. This means that you two will never be allowed to be engaged even if you desire it in the future. Do you understand?" A flash of concern came across the two father's faces before being hidden again.
Akane had had enough, "B-but why are you doing this? This isn't fair how you are putting us on the spot like this!"
"Because what you two seem to forget and thus take lightly is that this is a matter of family honor." Came Nodoka's curt reply. Ranma visibly winced at his mother's remark. "We had given you two time as we hoped you would proclaim your love on your own, this apparently will not happen any time soon and thus we are all here today. We choose Saturday because it will not be a school night and shouldn't interrupt your studies. You will go out on Saturday, but what you do after that will decide the fate of your relationship, remember that." The two teens simply sat in a mix of shock, anger, and curiously a hint of fear.
Numbly they signed the contract before being sent to their rooms to work on their studies. Genma and Soun turned to the woman between them. "Nodoka, " started Soun, "We never said anything about an official contract. That was quite clever of you." Soun said with a smile.
"Clever?" Was her calm and very quite reply.
"W-why yes dear, so that if they failed then they could still come to us and beg to be married eventually." Genma nervously supplied. Both fathers suddenly had the gut feeling that they had made a very big tactical mistake by having the Saotome mother present for their scheme.
"They will do no such thing because we will hold them to the contract. If my son is truly manly then he will find a way to finish this test successfully." Nodoka said simply. Both fathers blanched at the full realization of their mistake.
Upstairs a certain sister was also very pale. She had one rule that she tired to keep in her own twisted way. Never hurt her family. As she looked at the pile of yen on her desk, she had to wonder if she had just inadvertently done so.
Nerima was, for the most part, a poorer ward of Tokyo. That wasn't to say it was the slums, but it did attract poorer families such as newly wed couples. It also attracted a few gangs. Most gangs learned to work under the radar, as ever since the Nerima Wrecking Crew known as Ranma and his life arrived the number of powerful martial artists in the area had risen dramatically. This made for poor business if you relied on intimidation and robbery to make a living.
Unfortunately those martial artists couldn't be everywhere, and weren't actively trying to cut down on the crime. This meant that there was still crime, and there were still gang infested areas. Reiko wished that Rei had chosen a nicer place to live about the time as one of said gangs took notice to her.
"Hey there sweet thing, how about you come over here so we can have a little party." Reiko tried to ignore them, she was only a few blocks from Rei's apartment building. She instinctively knew she would be relatively safe if she got there and started to increase her pace. The gang took interest and like a stalking predator they began to follow her, all the while spewing vulgar suggestions.
Finally the apparent leader grew bored and rushed Reiko, grabbing her arm and dragging her back to be surrounded by the group. What few people that were on the streets quickly cleared it, not wanting to get involved. Reiko dismayed to catch a glimpse of a sign, she was just across the street, from Rei's apartment, if only she could…
A fist to her stomach brought her back to her situation, gasping she collapsed to her knees, her uniform getting dirty. She almost laughed as she found herself worrying about her uniform at a time like this. The leader grabbed her hair and yanked it back. He was handsome, and if it weren't for the sneer on his face and the situation she was in she might have found him attractive. Now all she could do was listen to him.
"Good, nice to see I got your attention bitch. What? Thought you were to good to hang out with gentlemen like us?" He laughed as his gang jeered at her. Tears began to well up in her eyes as she felt the hopelessness of her situation. She was totally at their mercy. Her mind had begun to play the various scenarios and fears of what they were going to do to her when she heard a familiar voice call out.
"Hey Ogata! What did I tell you if I saw you sliming up my front door step again? This time I gonna cut you where others can see it!" The leader's face paled at the voice.
Reiko took the opportunity, "Rei! Help!" She screamed out, she couldn't see her but Reiko knew Rei was there.
"That you Reiko? Guess I need to make sure this scum realize that you have a VIP pass from now on." She heard knuckles cracking and a rush of footsteps. Immediately the guy on her right was yanked away, Rei stood there in black cargo pants, navy blue t-shirt, and a seriously pissed off look on her face.
Rei placed three jabs to the man's kidneys before kicking him away. Turning she grabbed another man's arm as he tried to punch her and flipped him onto the man she had just kicked away from her. As she fought Reiko compared her to the other martial artists that were in the area. She would say at best Rei was at Akane's level, but only in capability to take on multiple foes. Rei didn't have the speed of Ranma or the toughness of Ryoga, nor did she have the grace of a martial artist. Reiko winced as Rei took a punch across the face, Rei simply wiped the blood off her lip before charging back into the fray.
Reiko sat there amazed. No, Rei wasn't anywhere near Ranma's level. But she had an animalistic grace and a ferocity in combat that the others didn't. Ranma wouldn't take cheap shots, or kick a guy when he was down, but Rei did and more. Where other martial artists struck to disable, Rei struck to put down.
Finally it was just Rei and the leader left standing. The other gang members lay on the ground, groaning if they were conscious and still if they weren't. Ogata reached behind him and brought out a Tanto. "S-s-stay back! I'll cut you if you get any closer."
Rei simply tilted her head, "Oh you must be joking. Drop the knife Ogata, I promise not to cut off anything…vital if you do." She said with a velvet purr in her voice. Rei shuddered in fear, so did Ogata.
"I said stay back, stay-" He was cut off as Rei's arm blurred. Pain laced across his face and he felt a wetness start to run down his cheek. Reaching up he felt a warm wetness and bringing his hand into view revealed it was covered in red. Blood, his blood. Reiko finally scooted away as the leader lost bladder control. The throwing knife clattered to the ground behind him.
"Your move Ogata, next one goes into your eye. I would strongly recommend running away now like a simpering little girl." The leader of the gang proceeded to do that, dropping the knife as if it where white hot and running for the hills like his life depended on it. It probably did. Rei simply scoffed and walked over to pick up her throwing knife. Wiping it on a nearby thug's shirt she placed it back in its holster at the small of her back. Turning to face Reiko she walked over and offered a hand. "You ok there Reiko?"
Nodding Reiko took the offered hand and stood up, feeling a sudden surge of relief at her rescue she burst into tears and began hugging Rei tightly. Rei simply blushed at the girl and petted her hair while holding her. Glaring at any man on the ground around them who dared groan to loudly.
A half hour later had Reiko in a bathrobe sitting across the table from Rei. After Reiko had calmed down Rei had brought her to her apartment. Telling the girl to strip and shower Rei had proceeded to place the soiled school uniform in the wash. Then she had waited patiently for Reiko to finish before giving the girl a bathrobe and seating her at the table.
Reiko twitched nervously, the girl before her fast becoming an enigma. Between the intimidating demoness from the day before, the playful friend at lunch, and the fierce defender from just a while ago she did not know which face was truly Rei's. Reiko studied the face of Rei, who in turn seemed to be studying her face. Reiko tried a few times to open her mouth to say or ask something, but each time her voice caught and she could say nothing.
Rei suddenly smiled, it wasn't the cheerful smile or viscous smile from before. It was a simple smile of amusement that shocked Reiko for some unknown reason. "You want to know why I stuck my neck out for you, don't you?" Rei asked simply. This startled Rei into finally answering."
"Y-yes. I'm grateful but you…um…" Reiko couldn't finish the sentence, causing Rei to smile even more.
"You weren't expecting me to help out someone I supposedly thought was disposable?"
"Y-yes." Reiko blushed and looked down, for some reason she felt ashamed.
"Don't feel bad Reiko, Nabiki doesn't strike me as one who really cares about her followers. If she did, she would have gotten more info on me before having you tail me off school grounds." Rei stood up and moved to the fridge, "Care for a drink?" Rei asked in a friendly tone.
"Why?" Reiko suddenly said. "Why are you being so nice all of the sudden?" Reiko burst out. Rei ignored her before grabbing a carton of orange juice and two glasses and brought them over to the table. Calmly she pored out two glasses before pushing one in front of Reiko.
Rei took a sip before putting on that same amused grin. Resting her head on the back of her laft hand she stared back at Reiko. "It may seem strange to you, but when I adopted you, well I adopted you. In America I ran an organization similar to Nabiki's. But instead of blackmailing anyone I just gave them respect, and they respected me back. Same situation here. I plan to usurp Nabiki's control, and I'm going to need followers, not blackmailed lackeys like Nabiki has."
Reiko was simply confused, "Why are you telling me this? I don't understand."
Rei sighed before refilling her glass, "Reiko, I already told you that if you betrayed me then you would regret it. Therefore if you choose to risk that by telling Nabiki all of this it won't change the outcome. But if you work with me I will give you the respect you would never get under Nabiki and you would be an equal in my organization at the school. Yes there will always have to be a leader, but it is in how that leader acts that reflects the quality of their followers. Nabiki relies on blackmail, I rely on my people's desire to help me."
Reiko was in shock. Especially at how the girl before her was revealing so much. Nabiki kept saying that knowledge was power, if that is true then Rei had just given a large chunk of it to her. Nabiki never would have done this, or if she did reveal anything it was under threat of blackmail. Granted Rei's threat on her life wasn't any better, but she had protected her, explained things to her, and was extending her hand in partnership to her. All of it taking Reiko by surprise. She looked down at the glass before her, untouched until now. Holding the glass gently she began to drink. Maybe working under Rei wouldn't be so bad, it simply had to be better then working under Nabiki. Rei simply smiled more at her guest's sign of acceptance.
"So then, how about being friend's for real Reiko?" Rei smiled, "And maybe helping me take Nabiki down a peg or two?" Reiko shook her head.
"First tell me this, back at lunch you were definitely relying on threats, and you can fight much better then your average brawler. Why should I trust you now?"
Rei didn't skip a beat in answering. "Because I hadn't explained anything to you yet of course, and I knew those girls had something to do with Nabiki, your face told me that. As for me fighting, well let's just say that I grew up in a rougher school district then most high school girls. Not to mention my home life." She tilted her head gently to Reiko, "Satisfied? At least for now?" Reiko thought it over, it all seemed plausible.
She smiled, "Alright, friends." With that the two girls got to scheming.
"Ok, I'll be back shortly." Rachel called back over her shoulder. She had just finished dinner with the Doctor, and explained that she wanted to get out and stretch her legs a bit. She didn't know where she was going but she had a bit of an itch.
Wandering around she saw a few familiar places from the anime. The school, Ucchan's, she even walked by the dojo. Finally she walked beside the canal until she came upon the footbridge. Leaning out she watched the water flow underneath the bridge carrying bits of wood and leaves.
"This is so weird. It has just got to be all a dream!" The woman moaned. Tofu had been quite ever since the morning, not that she knew how he normally acted but he shut himself into his study and only came out to care for patients. She tried asking him what was wrong a few times, but he quickly made an excuse to go back to his study. Whatever had set him off so badly, Rachel felt she wasn't going to like it.
"Perhaps, but then again dear lady perhaps you will be simply thrilled." Rachel's eyes widened at suddenly hearing British English behind her. Whirling around she was faced with a peculiar sight.
He was tall, maybe as tall as Dr. Tofu was. His nationality was mixed but he appeared to be more European then anything else. With cleanly cropped blonde hair and crystal blue eyes while wearing a white suit, he was extremely handsome. He quite easily was in his mid twenties. "Surprised Miss Hunter?" He asked with a cool and smooth baritone.
"Y-yes." She admitted, "Who are you? How do you know me?" She managed to get out. She didn't know why, but her senses were screaming at her to get away from this man, but she found her legs were seemingly paralyzed.
"Why Rachel, we spend so much time together and you don't know who I am? I'm hurt, truly I am." He mock pouted as he walked up to the wall beside her. Peering out he asked playfully, "Truly, have you no guesses at all as to who I am?"
'K I'm with a nut job. I think that is obvious enough. Thought Rachel ruefully.
"Oh come now Miss Hunter, is a nut job the best you can come up with?" Asked the strange man with a grin.
What?! Is he some kind of mind reader? Rachel wondered bewildered. The man again seemed to brighten his smile at her unspoken question.
"Verily. Though mind reading is nothing compared to what powers I really posses. Come now, try harder, it makes the game no fun if the pawns never play." The man continued to grin as Rachel took a few steps back, her legs suddenly working again.
She remembered the dream, or what she had thought a dream. One of the voices had spoken of a pawn needing to get into the game. Then a hand reaching for…
"Ah splendid, you do remember! Then follow it to its natural conclusion my dear girl." The man said brightly.
If he was one of the ones talking about using me in some kind of game…then he or his friend must have brought me here! She looked upon the man with fear. What is he? A God?
"Brilliant! Though I must say I am not a God. But yes I am the one who brought you here." The man clapped his hands in appreciation. Rachel growled at the placating manner he was treating her.
"Stay out of my head! Just what do you want? Why am I a pawn in this little game? What am I special in some way?" Yelled Rachel.
"So many questions." The man scoffed, "Special? Dear girl do you think you might actually be here because you are special?" The man was incredulous before bursting out laughing. A moment later he looked up at the woman with a nasty grin. Rachel suddenly was reminded of a predator's eyes, and they were looking at his prey.
"Poppet there is absolutely nothing special about you. Even you magick, which will manifest shortly, were not the reason you were chosen. I simply needed a pawn, and there you were. Your…powers were nothing more then a convenient accident. But I'm sure you will be thankful for them in the time to come." The man said simply, but the meaning behind the words were clear.
"Who are you?" Rachel asked, fear creeping into her voice. The man stood straight before bowing with an arm across is waist.
"Loki, at your service." The man said with pride. Rachel simply stood there, call him Loki? Call him a God of mischief and mayhem? "Now then, I believe it is time to talk about your terms of service."
What if I don't want to be of service Loki?" Rachel spat out. Suddenly it was as if someone had placed her heart in a vice, crushing the life from her. Gasping she dropped to her knees, placing on hand on the ground and the other to her heart.
"If you don't wish to serve then you will die, it is as simple as that Rachel." Loki stood over her, his voice flat and the playful tone gone. "I do not have time for games, I need a servant who will do as I say, if that is not you I will simply destroy you and claim another." Bending down he placed his moth beside her ear. "Do you understand me?"
Rachel simply nodded and immediately the pain vanished. Gasping for breath she heard a slap on the pavement beside her, it was a plain manila envelope. "All that you are required to do for now is to get a job at Furinkan High School. Inside that envelope will be everything you will need to get started, things like you license and visa. It will also have education documents to prove you are certified to teach like you were in your world." Loki continued.
Rachel grasped the envelope in suddenly shaking hands. True to word inside the envelope was just as Loki had said, along with a several bills of Yen. "That's it, you want me to get a job at the local school? That's my big important job and why I was dragged into this world?" Rachel asked incredulously.
Loki simply laughed. "Patience, Miss Hunter. It will all be revealed in time. Oh, and do make sure to become friends with Ranma. It will make your ultimate goal so much easier." With that Loki simply faded away, leaving only the envelope in the woman's hands as evidence to his presence.
Shakily Rachel regained her footing, looking down at the envelope a moment she turned and made her way back to the clinic. She would play along for now with this 'Loki' to find out what he wanted. But if history served, if it involved Ranma it couldn't be good.