New in Town
-Chiba Hiro
(Disclaimer: A Ranma ½ and Urusei Yatsura crossover. I do not own anything of Rumiko Takahashi's and not for promotion or copy right.)
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Chapter 2: Mixed Feelings
The school bell rings and that signals that it is the end of the school day. In classroom 2-B, everyone rises and says the end of the day pledge.
"Stand everyone!" the representative shouts and stands, and then everyone follows his example. "Bow together!" he shouted out, and everyone bows with him, and everyone says together. "Have a good day, Professor!"
"Oh, you too class!" the teacher bows back to them. "Remember to do your homework, etc, etc. And with that, class is dismissed. Good day!" he bid them good bye for the day, and exited the classroom while everyone started to pack their things and followed after him.
Ranma was one of the last ones to pack his things, and he stood up to go, but saw that Ryuunosuke had not moved to pack at all, but just sat there staring at her desk while twirling a pencil in between her fingers.
Akane went into the classroom to see if Ranma had left, but clearly he had not. "So, Ranma are you coming home with us or not?" Akane asked.
"Nah, you go on ahead, I'll catch up with ya later." Ranma replied, and Akane turned around left him there.
"So, Ryuunosuke, why are you still here?" Ranma asked Ryuunosuke and had not ceased her constant pencil twirling, and continued to stare blankly at her desk, so he tried again. "Ryuunosuke, are you going home or not?" Ranma asked again, but slightly louder.
Ryuunosuke snapped out of it, and looked at Ranma, confused. "Huh, is class over already?" Ryuunosuke asked.
"Whadda ya mean 'is class over'? It's been over for about ten minutes now." Ranma said annoyed. "Were you even paying attention?" Ranma asked.
"Uh, no, I...spaced out, sorta. I am a little tired though." Ryuunosuke said with a weak smile.
"I'm not convinced. Something's telling me that you just wanted to stay here. Am I right?" Ranma pressed the issue further.
"Well, I guess that's true...I, uh, don't really have a place to go back home to." Ryuunosuke admitted.
"What does that mean?" Ranma asked.
"Well, it's a kinda long story." Ryuunosuke said.
"We have all afternoon to talk, why don't we go someplace else? I mean, school would be the last thing on your list of places to stay and chat, right?" Ranma suggested.
"I suppose you're right." Ryuunosuke acknowledged the Anything-Goes martial artist.
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At the park, Ranma and Ryuunosuke were sitting next to each other under a large tree and talking. "Okay, start at the beginning. As a friend, I'd like to hear why you came to this town, you dazed off more times than I could count today, and considering that I only met you this morning, something has to be bothering you right now." Ranma reminded her, and Ryuunosuke nodded her head in agreement.
"Alright, first, let me tell you something about my dad. He wasn't always the best parental figure in my life. My mom disappeared when I was very young, so long ago that I couldn't remember her at all." Ryuunosuke began. "Dad basically took it up on his own to raise me to become a great person, but the thing is...in reality, I'm not a great person, in fact, I'm not that person at all." Ryuunosuke paused to see if Ranma was taking it in first, and she could see he was nodding his head in agreement.
"Oh, go on, don't stop because of me." Ranma encouraged for Ryuunosuke to continue on with her story.
"Ahem, okay then...Where was I? Oh yeah! Well, Dad wanted me to become a great man, he says it was mom's request before she left, and he vowed to see if I became the person mom had expected out of me. Dad said she wasn't specific on what Mom meant on 'becoming a great person someday', and he thought that a great person would have to be a man because the truth of it is that men ruled the world, and most of it is true, then he started me on this path."
"He taught me how to be a man, and I started to believe him and look how that turned out to be. He gave me a man's name, which I detest. He dressed me in male clothes, including the boxers, and insisted that I keep my hair short. He turned me away from a life of a woman, but deep down, I know now of the differences between men and women, but I don't know enough to actually act like one."
"When he turned me away from the path of a true woman, I knew I could never go back, and that's how I came to be what I am, a hardcore tomboy, or boy-boy." Ryuunosuke finished describing herself, and looked up at the pigtailed boy. He was nodding, and he had his eyes closed and his face was expressionless. It is as if he knew what she was talking about.
"I know what that must've felt like." Ranma empathized, remembering all the times his dad treated him the same way, only this was as much the girl's problem as it was his own.
"Yeah, my dad was, or is, the same way. He took me away from my mother when I could barely remember her then. He subjected me to a painful life of a wandering martial artist in search of honing our skills in the way of combat. I spent the last fifteen years training relentlessly in the vast world of martial arts. Martial arts is especially hard when it comes down to being on the path to manhood, and I was pretty much left to face the world on my own, when I was only in diapers too! Just remembering all that sickens me! I still can't believe I managed to live through all that and live to tell the tale." Ranma reminisced.
"Even though it was all sufferable, you managed to gain something from all that?" Ryuunosuke asked in bewilderment.
"Yup, but there is one thing that I learned from past experiences, and that is this world is a cruel one, but inside it, there's a whole bunch of amazing things." Ranma quoted. "And, I can say that all of it was worth the trouble of enduring!" Ranma said cheerfully.
"But still...my situation is different. I'm a girl with the challenge of trying to overcome the boundaries of my boy side. How can I learn to get past all that?" Ryuunosuke said glumly.
"Wanna hear my secret?" Ranma asked Ryuunosuke in a whisper. She nodded. "Well about my training journey, I happened to cross this valley in China that held curses in the springs, and I happened to obtain one of them, so my predicament ain't too different than yours." Ranma said.
"Cursed? In what way?" Ryuunosuke asked in confusion.
"It'd be best to show you what I mean, but that story can be saved for another day. Now on to the problem of what prompted you to come to this particular town." Ranma backtracked to the original subject.
"Well, as I said, my dad wanted me to become a great man, and not only was it for mom's sake, it was also for our family business. You see, my dad started the idea that he wanted to own his own business and make money because we were so poor. He started his business small, and it was known as the beachside tea house, or Hamachaya. He got this crazy idea that when he passed away, that I'd be the one to take his place as a man, hence the word man. Now, I'm a girl, I can't be a man, but in his own twisted mind, he wants me to take over as his only 'male' heir." Ryuunosuke said.
"Everyone knows that the beach is known as a place to go to in the summertime, where it mostly attracts people to go to. Our shop gains a sky rocketing amount of customers and profit during the summer, because that's where most people go to when it's hot. But, it's not until after the summer is over is when my dad and I begin to lose our customers and sky high profits, and now we're at the brink of poverty because dad always wastes his money on paying his debts."
"So, I'm assuming that you're not telling me the whole thing, right?" Ranma asked.
"No, I'm not done yet. In fact, last year during the summer, at our previous town, Tomobiki, we lost our shop over a fight." Ryuunosuke continued.
"So, you lost it in a fight?" Ranma asked.
"To put it simply, me and dad were fighting over something stupid again, and then we break the shop into smithereens, then our hopes sky rocket, and as a result, we have to constantly be searching for work in order to get enough insurance money to cover the damages, and we double it when dad decided that he wanted to rebuild the shop, and now he has to work double time."
"What happened to you in your previous town?" Ranma asked.
"He got fired yet again, and that brings us to why I said 'I don't have a home to go back to.'" Ryuunosuke said. "I'm seventeen now, and that means I'm eligible to take care of myself, and that's what I said to the old man, I said 'I don't want any part of this business anymore, I'm moving out now.' I turned to leave him with my bag in hand, and I was surprised to see that he wasn't shocked to hear that."
"He simply said 'the path of a true man lies even further ahead. Life will get complicated in the future, but I know you will accomplish it. You are destined to take over the family business, but before you do, you have to assume greatness, and that is for you to do alone.' After that he said something about having a happy eighteenth birthday, but in reality, it was my seventeenth birthday." Ryuunosuke said.
"Oh, I see. So, where are you staying at now?" Ranma asked.
"That's kinda what I wanna know, I don't have a place to go to, and apartments here are too expensive." Ryuunosuke said regretfully.
Ranma looked up at the sky, and saw that it was about to rain. "Come on, you can go to where I'm staying at. It's not my permanent home either, but my dad's friend was kind enough to let us stay there for a while. I'm sure he won't mind." Ranma suggested.
Ryuunosuke looked uncertainly at the martial artist, and thought for a few moments. *Well, he is offering his hospitality, and it would be rude to refuse a kind offer, so why not try it? On the other hand, it does appear that I would be intruding on Ranma's dad's friend's kindness, and I'd hate to abuse it. Oh, I don't know what to say!* Ryuunosuke pondered all this in her head, and pounded her skull in frustration.
"Well, why don't you stay for a while until we find you a better place to live at so we don't have to constantly breathe down your back? I mean, it wouldn't be forever, right?" Ranma asked cheerfully.
"But, won't I just be abusing your kindness like that, I mean, I'd hate to intrude." Ryuunosuke said uncertainly.
"Sure, you don't have to hold back on our account, feel free to come by and stay with us if you want. If you decide on what to do about living arrangements, just call on me and I'll help you the best I can!" Ranma stated.
Ranma turned to leave, and started running off, but Ryuunosuke yelled to him: "Wait, hold on! Wait for me!" Ryuunosuke shouted out, but thunder started rolling and rain poured on them really hard. In the distance, Ryuunosuke could see that Ranma shrunk in size, and his hair changed color also.
"What was that?" Ryuunosuke asked to no one in particular and began following after Ranma's changed figure. "Wait, hold on!" Ryuunosuke called to the martial artist, but received no reply, but kept on running down the street toward an old Japanese house/dojo.
Ranma disappeared inside the doors, and Ryuunosuke stared at the large dojo/house. "Wow, it's huge! I bet it could house three families. Oh well..." Ryuunosuke said to herself, and turned to leave from her spot just when the door slid open, and a redheaded pigtailed girl pulled her by the wrist unexpectedly and led her hurriedly inside the house.
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A/N: Well, this chapter came out sooner than expected, so I hoped you guys enjoyed it at least. Review, comment, or rate this chapter, whatever, I don't care as long as you took the time to read it. My plans for the future chapters are going to include Ryoga Hibiki and Kuno (maybe). Thanks!