Disclaimer: This is a fan-fiction and not an official Ranma 1/2 Storyline. All rights to the official name and official characters are reserved for their proper owners.
Before you Read: As the Chapter title suggest, I am starting this story at the same point as the Ranma 1/2 Anime.
Another thing: ++++ Represent any setting change or time-skip.
Episode 21: It's Over/ Episode 22: Something New
Genma quickly killed the 4Runner's engine and looked in the mirror to see the headlights and auxiliary lights quickly fade to darkness.
-Ranma, we're gonna have to cut the lines as well, talk to you soon boy. *boop*
-Soun!- What the hell!? He hung up on me!
-RANMA. Lower. Your. Voice.
-Oh what now Akane?
Akane then proceeds to swiftly Ranma in the left cheek and grabbed his head, showing him the passing Infected that were stumbling to the burning wreak of the AMG Hammer.
After Ranma rubbed the now tender cheek, he listened. He could hear a noise, but he couldn't make out the sound. But after a second he realized it was the psycho screaming Akane's name and all the fucked up things he wanted to do to her.
He screamed as his legs and torso were shattered from the engine block that was set through them. He screamed with lungs that were being burnt as they inhaled smoke. Infected were locking in on him as he screamed for Akane, and after a few minutes, the screams suddenly stopped. The silence afterward didn't offer any kind of comfort. Ranma embraced Akane, who was staring out of her window, a blank expression on her face. Ukyo and Ryoga wanted to say something but they just couldn't.
- You gonna be okay after this Akane?
Akane suddenly snapped out of her daze as if it were any other day, quietly yelling:
-Huh? Nah, he was a psycho and a misogynistic asshole! He harassed women like it was the last day on Earth.
After she ended the sentence, she grinded her teeth.
-EVERY DAY OF THE WEEK.
Ukyo, from the back seat became calm.
-Ya know, I'm glad he's dead. At first I thought, "Oh he's still a human." or "Maybe he just snapped after the Apocalypse." , but now, he kinda deserved that.
Ryoga nodded in agreement. The guy was a menace to society.
They sat in the silence, Infected passed the by as if they were nothing. (Thank God for tint!)
Ranma yawned, took off his seat belt and laid back in his seat.
-Whelp, we're gonna be here for a while, might as well sleep until they're gone. Night y'all.
Ryoga protested from the back.
-What the hell, after what we just went through, you're just gonna sleep it off?
-Uhh, yeah?
-And how? I don't know if you can tell, but it's a little low on space in here.
-I got that bit covered.
Ranma then proceeds to pull a small bottle of cold water from what seemed like outta nowhere and splashed on himself.
-See? You want some so you can be comfortable too?
Ryoga looked at the girl, he deflated as he responded with:
-Yeah...
The red-head then splashed water onto the boy and he turned into a small pig.
Ukyo and Akane silently stared at the cursed boys with judgement as they had no problem in taking advantage of their curses when it convenienced them. But they felt envy as Ranma was much smaller as a girl, anf Ryoga was even smaller! They had more room when they were in their cursed forms and easily found comfort in the small and cramped car. After a few minutes of judgement and word exchanged, they all fell asleep in the car, assured that they were safe. They had no idea what was happening in the other car.
As the adults talked about their worries about the infected and the crazy kid that tried to kill them, Shampoo couldn't help but feel tired after all that had happened.
-(Why everyone so worried, we safe! I try to sleep while they talk. Hopefully we back at home when Shampoo wake up.)
Nobody noticed Shampoo fall asleep as they talked.
HOURS went by and as the Sun rose, the infected began to clear out and go back to where they came from to avoid the light.
Genma and the rest were awake for the whole time with the exception of Shampoo and Nebiki. Shampoo fell asleep first, then a little while after, Nebiki noticed and followed suit.
Nebiki was unlucky enough to wake up first.
-Daaamn what time is it? Are we at home yet?
Genma took notice and responded:
Oh, great timing Nebiki. *yawn* I'm gonna need someone to drive the truck because I'm waaay too tired right now.
Everyone other than Shampoo agreed in unison that they too were too tired (or would simply crash the car if they even touched the wheel...).
-What the hell?! I haven't even driven before, let alone this distance!
Nadoka looked at her with a tired look.
-It's alright Nebiki. *Yawn* I'll show you how in a few minutes.
Soun then looked the 86 and woke up a little.
-Hey... are they awake? We shouldn't risk making any noise. Shampoo, would you mind knocking on their window?
Shampoo was happy to just get out of the truck for even a moment to get away from these people and their endless chatter, so she opened the door and jumped out onto the silent highway. She could hear the fire still raging, but other than the wind, there it was completely silent.
-(FINALLY, I'M FREE FROM-) . . . Wow, Shampoo should get back quickly. She ran to the 86. Although it only took a moment for her to get to the small car, it felt like eternity for her, and she felt a sense of danger nearby.
She knocked on the glass and waited for a response. Nothing
She knocked again, a little harder and faster than last time. She looked around, the silence from the endless highway slowly making her more nervous each minute that passed that Ranma didn't answer.
There was no answer.
At her wits end, she started pounding repeatedly on the glass out of fear until there was a response.
At last, Ranma, with a tired and annoyed look on her face began.
-Jeez Shampoo, what's up? We were just sleeping. And why are you outta the truck?
Shampoo's nervousness went away the moment she saw his face and answered calmly.
-We are going home now, do you need someone to drive for you?
-No, I was able to get some sleep along with everyone else, including this guy.
Ranma then held up a waking Piglet Ryoga, who looked like a small ball of short fur and dark skin.
-Good for Ranma.
Shampoo responded with envy in her voice as she envied the group for being able to peacefully sleep without the sound of talking adults keeping her awake for a little longer.
As she returned to the 4Runner, she closed the door, informed Nebiki that Ranma was awake and that she should follow her. The 86's engine roared to life and the driver set the vehicle in front of the 4Runner. Ranma signaled the truck to follow and Nadoka slowly guided Nebiki on how to operate the large truck.
Ranma watched as the 4Runner would slowly follow and then it would stop. It would go, then it would stall and restart. Tired of this cycle, Ranma put her hazard lights on and stopped the car, she went up to the truck, ready to chew out Genma for taking forever and-
-Wait.. is that NEBIKI driving? Has she ever driven before? This can't be good.
She went up to the truck and talked to the driver and passenger.
-So you were the one selected to drive, huh?
Nebiki's face was already as red as could be from embarrassment.
-Say one thing motherfucker, I dare you.
-Wasn't plannin on it. Mom, what are yu tellin her?
-*Yawn* I was just telling her how to drive, that's all.
-Okay, Nebiki, get out and I'll show you how to properly drive this damn thing.
Ranma sat in the driver seat and had Nebiki standing on the step so she could see what she was doing.
The cycle would go: Ranma would explain, Nebiki wouldn't understand, Ranma would explain in simple terms, she would understand, he would move onto another thing, she would have a question about the previous topic and then, repeat.
This cycle would continue for each section that would be involved in her driving for about an hour before she stopped asking questions.
-THERE, do you understand this now?!
-Yeah I get it, let's go home!
Ranma got back in the 86, turned off the hazards and started the engine.
As Ranma started on the highway, the 4Runner stalled.
Ranma was about to hit her head on the wheel before she was able to luckily remember ho to restart the engine after stalling and after that, the drive went smoothly.
As the vehicles arrived home in Nerima, they all got their belongings and headed their separate ways. They needed a damn break from shit like this!
The adult's went home and slept, the teens though, took the day to just learn how to drive each vehicle. Ranma as a female was more quick to anger when someone stalled in his 86. The truck, he was much more lax with, no matter how many times a person messed up.
After everyone had about 20 minutes to learn about how each vehicle drives, the group of teens were almost prepared to drive their own vehicles.
All of them were surprised, usually Ranma struggled to grasp the things that they taught him. Ranma was able to tailor his lessons to each person for each car so that they understood how to drive each car properly.
The next day, the adults were confused and were sceptical when they each said that Ranma had taught THEM something for once. His own father was the first to vocally deny it.
-Bulllllshiiiiiit. I'm traveled all over Asia with my son, there's no way that he can even come close to being able to properly teach a technical skill to another person. I wouldn't trust him to teach a baby how to walk.
To defend her usually idiotic fiancee, Akane took a deep breath before talking.
-Let me show you!
Everyone arguing suddenly stopped to stare at Akane. Her specialty was fighting and nothing else, if there was someone impossible to teach, it was her.
Genma, confident in the failure of his son, spoke almost with pride as he yelled:
-I BET YOU 100,000 YEN THAT HE TAUGHT YOU NOTHING!
The group went outside and Akane looked for Ranma's keys, no where to be found, just like Ranma for some reason.
She then got the keys for the 4Runner and got in the driver seat. She started the engine and successfully shifted into first gear with only a few mistakes.
Genma was flabbergasted by the fact that Ranma could teach anybody anything at all. But something was off. Everyone was here, except for Ranma herself, she was nowhere to be seen.
Night had long since fallen by the time anyone saw the red-headed child. People made assumptions, had ideas and looked around the property with no luck and
She was creeping into Akane's room as she returned, looking tired and dirty as she entered to hopefully sleep without anyone bothering her.
Then the light from a lamp suddenly flashed her and she recoiled in the window frame. Ranma slowly turned to address an annoyed Akane who was sitting on her bed next to the lit lamp
-(Shit!) Oh, hey Akane, I didn't think anyone was still up at this hour. He he he...
-Where the HELL have you been!? We've been looking all over for you, ALL DAY.
Ranma waved her arms around like a damn crazy person to get Akane to quiet down
-Not so loud! I really don't feel like dealing with everyone right now...
Ranma fell to the floor and passed out. Akane looked to see if he was okay, but was relieved to see that Ranma was just tired after being out all day. She would barrage her fiancee tomorrow with questions, but for now, she'd just let him sleep.
End of Episode 21: It's Over
Episode 22: Something New
Ranma woke up, looked around, still out of it from just waking up. He looked at the time and it was . . . 3 IN THE AFTERNOON?!
The Red-head ran from the room and looked for Akane. After looking all over the house, he was standing in front of the house, out of breath.
-Where the hell is this girl at?
Then a tap came from behind him. It was Ryoga.
-Hey man-
-AHH! Fuck, don't sneak up on me like that dude!
-Whoa calm down Ranma, everybody's off today so their out doing their own things. Akane's hangin out with Shampoo right now and their just out training and destroyin useless property.
Why, you need her for somethin?
-Well, I kinda hoped she wasn't here.
-What do ya mean, aren't you two inseparable at this point?
-Well, I got a surprise for her. Come with me and I'll show ya what it is.
Ryoga blushed and softly spoke.
-Ya know, you didn't have to tell me something like that...
-NOT THAT KIND OF SURPRISE YOU PERVERTED CHILD!
The tow walked for a few blocks before the next question was raised.
-So what surprise is sooo important, that you couldn't hide at the Tendo's?
Ranma stopped in front of a random house and looked at it.
Ryoga was puzzled and lost on what the hell Ranma was doing, then he saw Ranma pull out a key that had a logo on it, but Ryoga couldn't make it out.
-It's in here Ryoga.
Ranma lifted the garage to reveal a 1970 Datsun 510. It had been painted blue, the same shade as Akane's hair. Ryoga noticed that it was a little taller than Ranma's 86 and had armor attached to it on the outside.
-You're . . . gonna . . give this to your fiancee? As a gift?
Ranma looked at Ryoga, proud of himself and glimmer of light in his eyes.
-It's the perfect gift, isn't it!?
-I mean... It IS the apocalypse after all, so yeah, it is a pretty good gift I guess. Does it have gas?
-Full tank, spent half of yesterday siphoning fuel from other cars.
Are you gonna drive it to her at home? How will you know what to do?
Ranma smirked.
-That's what I need you for!
As he said this, Ranma pulled out his group's phone and Ryoga's group phone.
-When did you get those...?
-Just took them from the common room.
The sun was on the horizon when Akane and Shampoo returned home.
-See ya later Shampoo, that... was actually really fun and I was able to relieve some pretty deep stress, so thanks for today!
One more thing though. Have you seen Ranma anywhere? He had the nerve to pass out in my room last night then not even wake up in the morning.
-No, not today, but Shampoo kick Ranma will get ass later!
-Thanks Shampoo, but I'll do it myself when I see her!
As the two went their separate ways, it was Ryoga waiting for her at the door.
-Hey Ryoga, I'm trying to find Ranma, do you know where that idiot is?
-Well give me a second.
Ryoga went inside for 3 minutes and then came back outside.
-Well, I think you should wait by the road, I'm pretty sure he'll show up there.
-Okay... Thanks?
The girl was pissed off. How dare her fiancee just disappear again!
After a minute of waiting outside, she saw a car coming down the road, it's engine making a similar sound to Ranma's 86, but it wasn't red. It was blue and it was a different car!
-What the hell?
The car stopped next to her and a familiar red-head stood out of the car.
-Hey Akane!
-YOU. Where have you been, I haven't seen you since yesterday! You could've left a note at least!
-Okay, I understand that you're a little... upset right now-
-Yeah I'm pretty pissed Ranma what the FU-
-Can we argue AFTER you test out your car!?
-... Wait, what?
-This was the reason I was gone. I saw how determined you were to learn how to drive that I thought you should have your own car.
I tried to get something that was tough enough to take a hit, but fast enough to kepp up with me and pops on these roads.
Akane stood at the entrance, looking at the Navy blue car. She had watched Ranma, Genma and Nadoka drive and wanted to be able to have a vehicle of her own one day.
Ranma didn't wait. She walked around and got into the passenger seat and stared at Akane until she got in the driver seat. Ranma motioned Akane forward and she drove.
They gt to the highway and she drove east for a few miles, at one point she was going over 100 miles per hour.
Ranma watched her. She seemed to still be in a state of shock to have her own car. They were driving for over an hour before they passed the Tendo house and parked the car in the garage across from the 86 and 4Runner.
-So Ranma, how did you get everyone to give you the OK to get another car?
-What do you mean?
-Well, we have limited resources and it's been hard enough to get fuel as it is. I'm sure everyone wouldn't have easily said yes just like that.
-Well, here's the problem. I kinda only told Ryoga and nobody else, not even my family. Why? Should I have asked?
Akane, with small tears of rare happiness just laughed at Ranma's stupidity and hugged him as a sign of gratitude. Softly she whispered to Ranma.
-Ranma you dummy.
End of Episode 22: Something New
