Chapter 5: New Beginnings & Old Returns
The sound of a ringing phone broke the silence in the luxurious and spacious apartment. Furnished in the western style, the large rooms and oversized furniture is an expensive luxury that is most often unavailable in Japan, but this wasn't Japan. No, this was South Korea and space wasn't nearly so tight on the large peninsula.
The insistent ringing interrupted the peaceful slumber of the three forms occupying the large, decedent bed. Stirring restlessly, Arata Takahashi raised his head from where he lay between his two bedmates, blinking the sleep from his eyes as he struggled to clear away the cobwebs clouding his mind. Hearing the bedside phone ring again and knowing that no one would disturb him unless it was important, he shifted until he was lying over the nude form of the girl on his left.
Pausing to look down at her youthful face, she couldn't be much more than fourteen if that, he dipped his head down to kiss one of her underdeveloped breasts. She gave a faint moan at the feel of his lips upon her flesh, still caught in the realm of dreams. Arata liked his girls young and the one on his other side was even younger. The illusion of unspoiled innocence did more to excite him than the voluptuous and well developed forms of more mature women ever could.
The ringing of the phone reminded him of why he had awoken in the first place. Leaving his lover's bosom for the moment, he reached over her and took the phone from its place on the bedside table. Rolling back to his place in the middle, he presses the button that activates the phone. Before he can say anything, greeting or just making his presence known, the voice on the other end interrupts.
"Big brother is calling the family together. Come as soon as you are able."
Then a click, as the person on the other end breaks the connection. It didn't matter, Arata knew that voice, knew who was calling for him. Climbing carefully from between his bedmates, he had decided to let them sleep after the exhausting night he gave them, the naked man quietly pads across the bedroom and into the bath. Neither large nor small, with a smoothly muscled build that spoke more of grace than brute strength, Arata has the biseinin looks that speak of a beautiful youth turned to a handsome adult. His refined build and firm muscles those of a lover, not a fighter. Exuding a charm and sensuality that can not be ignored.
Entering the bath, he closed and locked the door behind him with care before turning to face his reflection in the full length mirrors that lined the walls. Looking upon his masculine form in the mirror, a brief look of concentration takes over his face as his body starts to flow like water. Losing several inches in height, Arata's hips, chest and shoulders became more rounded, feminine. Soft, dark hair growing in length until it flows down the smooth curve of her spine, reaching past her slender waist to tickle the cheeks of her backside.
The lady who was now looking back from the mirror has the smooth clear skin of a young girl, but the full bosom and hips of a woman in full bloom. Hers is the ageless beauty that only exists within the pages of erotic literature.
'Amaya girl,' the former man thought to herself. 'looks like we're going home.'
A small, lascivious smile comes over her face, nipples hardening at the thought of seeing her brothers again.
****
Monday morning the sun dawned over Nerima, or at least it rose somewhere behind the thick cloud cover that still filled the sky. It was the first day of the new term at Furinkan and Nabiki was anxious for it to begin. Things had been dry, not the sky mind you, since that joke of a wedding and she was looking forward to making more money. True she had received a generous amount from Kuno baby when she told him that Ranma was gone and the engagement off, but today was the day when she intended to go back to raking in the big bucks. Today their lives returned to normal, like it was before the Saotomes arrived. Today her little sister would stop mopping around and regain her old fire. Nabiki had arranged everything.
While Nabiki was anxious, Akane just wished this day would never come. The idea of returning to school now, without Ranma, was tearing her up inside and she couldn't get over the feeling that her life was headed in a really bad direction. But she was a martial artist too and that meant she would not give up, even if she had to face the fight alone. So Akane rose grudgingly from her blankets and left her room for the furo to prepare for school.
She hadn't gone jogging since the morning she went to see Dr. Tofu, the day he mislead her into thinking that Ranma was alright. She knew he hadn't actually lied to her, she was sure that Ranma really was healthy, very healthy, was in fact a very healthy young woman.
Tears slid down her face as it hit her once again that Ranma was gone, this time for good. She hadn't heard anything from either him or his mother since witnessing the aborted suicide in the park and she resented that he, I'm sorry, she, found it so easy to put their future together behind her.
As for Tofu, it was hard dealing with her anger towards him since he was now at their home nearly as much as she was. Ever since Ranma left the Dr. and Kasumi had been inseparable and Akane suspected that soon there would be another wedding, just not hers.
****
Akane wasn't the only girl looking forward to her first day back to school with dread and foreboding. In Suginami Ranma was also wishing the day had never come, that in fact her mother would have let her finish her final duties. It wasn't that she really wanted to die, Ranma had no desire to see the next life, it was that she really didn't want to live, not the life that now lay before her. Nor did she want anything to do with the school that now lay before her. She never thought she would miss Furinkan, but faced with starting over at Suginami High School she was feeling nostalgic for pineapples.
The layout of Suginami High was similar to that of Furinkan, of every high school in Japan, but instead of a delusional Kuno waiting behind the gate there were rows of cedar trees. 'How original' she thought, couldn't these people get past the name. She felt a hand on her shoulder, her mother's.
Nodoka had her transferred to Suginami High School from Furinkan, hoping that the change of setting would help her to put her past as a boy behind her and start over as a young woman. Something had to be done, Nodoka could tell that her daughter's emotional health was as dismal as the weather. To her horror she was discovering that her husband's methods of raising their child, while limiting enough for their son, were leaving nothing for their daughter. Ranma the boy's sense of self worth was based entirely upon his skill with the art and his manliness, outside of that all he had was his growing love for Akane. Even his 'family' was based around those things and the future Genma mapped out for him.
That was all that he was, she had none of those things.
Now that Ranma was a girl her father's opinions of masculine vs. feminine only gave her reasons to hate herself. As for the art, she still had all of the skill and knowledge that had carried him to victory over every challenger, but without his chi she was feeling the severity of her limitations. It wasn't as bad as when she was suffering under the moxobustion weakness point, she could still hurt someone but she would no longer provide a challenge for his old rivals, not even Kuno. With her change in gender her love for Akane became an unrequited one and a source of pain, not support. Along with the engagement went her family. Now that Ranma couldn't marry Akane the Tendos had nothing to do with her, they hadn't even called to inquire about how she was doing.
As for her father, Nodoka was disappointed but not surprised. She remembered how Genma felt about their son, why he felt it was necessary to take him on the training trip to begin with. Now that Ranma wasn't a boy and wasn't able to join his family to Soun's by marrying Akane, in Genma's eyes she wasn't fit to be his heir. They hadn't heard from him either, just one more thing telling Ranma she was worthless.
Ranma was sinking deeper into depression. She only got up and dressed in the morning because Nodoka dragged her out of bed and dressed her, she did exactly what her mother told her to and no more. The only thing she did on her own was practice her art, it meant too much to Ranma for her to give it up lightly. Nodoka wished she would, the practice sessions only made things worse. With each kata Ranma's frustration grew, her opinion of herself eaten away be every kick, punch and jump. Nodoka wasn't an expert on chi manipulation, but she equated it to a great musician going deaf. They could still go through the motions and play with technical perfection, but they could no longer appreciate the sound of music or give it that personal element that made it their own. She didn't know what to do, so she took her daughter to a new school and hoped that it would help.
****
Ranma sat quietly in her chair in the headmaster's office, her delicate hands idly playing with the hem of her skirt. She was wearing the school uniform for girls, a sailor suit with a white shirt and navy blue skirt and trim. She was even wearing a simple bra and panties, the unfamiliar garments kept binding and irritating her sensitive skin. In the past Ranma would have fought tooth and nail against wearing the uniform with or without the undergarments, but Nodoka insisted she dress properly for school and she didn't have the heart to fight it anymore.
As for Nodoka, she was discussing her daughters curriculum with the headmaster.
Turning away from the computer where he had been typing, Headmaster Hasegawa looked across his desk at Ranma. "Well Miss Saotome, that takes care of your course schedule. Now what clubs are you interested in?"
The only response he received from her was a slight shrug of the shoulders, eliciting a frown from the headmaster. Between his years teaching and then serving in school administration, he was all too familiar with teenage angst. Students in Japan may not show it as freely as those in other cultures, but it was still there and within their repressed society if allowed to grow uncurbed it more often then not led to suicide. The pretty young girl in front of him looked like she had already passed through angst and was now in a state of depression, a suicide waiting to happen. Her school records from Furinkan were so bollixed that it would have required a fortune teller to make any sense of them so they were no help. What could cause such a beautiful and healthy girl to become so depressed? He decided that it would be prudent to speak with her mother alone.
"There is no need to decide now, clubs don't begin for two weeks yet so you have plenty of time to study your options. For now it would be best if you joined your new classmates in homeroom." The headmaster rose from his seat behind the desk and went to the door, opening it he called out to the secretary in the outer office. "Ms. Ishii, would you summon Mr. Ikeda to my office. I would like him to escort Miss Saotome to her homeroom. Her schedule is in the computer."
"Yes Headmaster, I'll call him right away. Is there anything else?"
"Yes, if you could print out a new student packet for her along with her schedule."
Having seen to that the headmaster turned back to his guests.
"Now ladies, I do hope that Miss Ranma's time here at Suginami High School proves satisfactory. We do our best to prepare our students to be valued citizens of society, all we ask in return is your honest effort. If you give us that then I can assure you that the memories of your time here will be cherished ones."
It was at that moment that there was a gentle knock at the door, which the headmaster immediately opened. Beyond the door was a slim man in his early thirties. His hair was cut short and he was wearing a suit, but somehow he reminded Ranma of Dr. Tofu. He even wore the same glasses.
"Headmaster Hasegawa, I understand that I have the honor of introducing a new student."
"Yes Mr. Ikeda, let me introduce you to Nodoka and Ranma Saotome. Miss Ranma has just transferred here from Furinkan."
The mention of Furinkan brought a speculative gleam to the younger man's eye. The stories of Furinkan and her eccentric headmaster were common fodder whenever teachers from different schools gathered. If the stories were to be believed it was less a school and more of a battleground. Looking at the demure red head before him, Fumio Ikeda couldn't see her as part of such raucous tales. Giving a bow of proper depth he said in a soft and sincere voice, "I am Mr. Ikeda, assistant headmaster. It is an honor to welcome you to our school Miss Ranma. If you will follow me I will introduce you to your homeroom teacher."
Ranma gave her mother a brief glance, as if hoping she would tell her that she had changed her mind and they could go home, but Nodoka only smiled and wished her a pleasant first day at her new school. Giving up on any last minute reprieves Ranma followed Mr. Ikeda, who only paused for a moment to receive a folder from the blue haired secretary before leading her from the room.
Once they had left through the outer door Headmaster Hasegawa gestured for Nodoka to wait before she could leave his office.
"Mrs. Saotome, if I could impose on you, I would like to take a minute to talk with you about your daughter in private. If that would be acceptable."
"Of course Headmaster, I too would like to speak with you about Ranma Chan."
Hasegawa led her back to her seat, then poured her some more tea before returning to his own seat.
"Mrs. Saotome, I must tell you that your daughter's school records are a rather confusing mess. According to them she is actually your son, why they even list her as having attended an all boys junior high school."
Nodoka was well disciplined at playing the role of a stoic Japanese housewife, but Hasegawa still noticed a slight tightening around the eyes when he mentioned Ranma's school records.
"My daughter's schooling has been somewhat … unusual. It makes perfect sense though if you keep Ranma's upbringing in mind. You see Mr. Hasegawa, Ranma was raised by her father." Nodoka used the distraction of sipping her tea to buy time to order her thoughts. "My husband has a very limited view of the role of women in society. In his mind women are weak, emotional creatures." Again she stopped to take another sip. Hasegawa could tell that this was difficult for her to confide to a stranger, but Nodoka pushed on for the sake of her child.
"More than anything Genma wanted an heir to carry on his art, a male heir. Ranma is an only child …" a pained grimace crossed her face, "and Ranma was a great disappointment to him."
Hasegawa had seen this before with other families. Now young Ranma's depression was starting to make sense. It didn't matter how beautiful or talented she was, in her father's eyes all that mattered was that she wasn't a boy.
Having reigned in her emotions, Nodoka continued. "Genma was so fixated on having a proper heir that he took Ranma away on a ten year training trip to … fix her. My husband raised our child as a boy, or at least his image of what a boy should be. Consequently she has difficulty expressing her emotions. She also holds her art and the somewhat twisted form of honor that my husband taught her above all other concerns. The unpleasant result of all this is that she now hates herself for being a girl."
She paused again, taking another sip of tea.
"Genma wanted more than just an heir to carry on his art, he wanted a family line that would preserve it into the future. For this purpose, before he and I even met, Genma made an agreement with his friend and fellow master to unite their schools and families through their children. Ranma was engaged from before she was born to one of the children of my husband's friend. Ranma and her … fiancé were both sixteen when their fathers told them of the engagement. I wasn't there …" Nodoka trailed off, her voice tight with emotion and Hasegawa realized that while her husband spent ten years trying to fix their daughter, Nodoka wasn't a part of her child's life.
"… I've been told by those who were that neither child took the engagement too well. In spite of their original resistance though, I know that if things had happened differently my child would be happily married now. I don't know any of the details, no one who does will talk about it, but about a month ago something happened while they were in China. I do know that there was some sort of fight and that Ranma's fiancé nearly died." This time Nodoka nearly choked on her tea, so she put the cup down and didn't touch it again. "Ranma has frequent nightmares. Kasumi, that's Soun's, my husband's friend's oldest daughter. She told me that Ranma regularly has nightmares that mostly relate to her training, but two nights ago I found her in the furo still half asleep. She was scrubbing her hands raw and crying that whatever it was only she could see wouldn't wash off."
Hasegawa was growing uncomfortable with where this story was leading. He wasn't a psychiatrist but he had enough training to guess that it was blood she was trying to wash off and not the blood of the fiancé that nearly died. Mrs. Saotome said all of this took place in China, but should he call the police anyway? Clearly Ranma was torn up about what happened but was she a threat to herself or others? He was pulled away from having to decide now by Nodoka's voice, she had more yet to tell.
"Whatever happened in China, Ranma was … injured in such a way that left her unable to fulfill the role of heir. She lost everything, her future, her art and worst of all, her fiancé. She suffered that loss to save … Ranma isn't very good at expressing her feelings, but she loves her fiancé and the thought that they will now live separate lives … that is what really hurts. I'm hoping that a new school will distract her from her loss, maybe give her a chance to start over."
Hasegawa couldn't in good conscience hold back any longer. "Mrs. Saotome, is there any chance Ranma might be a threat, intentional or not, to her classmates?" He tried to use his expression and tone of voice to relay to her just how serious his question was. He could not accept a student who might threaten those already under his care.
She gave him a smile that was half painful grimace and half pride. "You need not concern yourself that my child might hurt others. One of the few good things her father taught her was that her art was to protect others and that killing, even an enemy was a failure on her part, a cause for shame."
Hasegawa was beginning to get a clear picture of Ranma's plight. First was the perceived misfortune of being born a girl, disappointing her father who desired a boy. Then, the one task for which her father held her to be qualified, to marry the son of his friend, uniting the two families to form one bloodline and preserve the fathers' art was taken from her by this mysterious injury. He could only presume that it was the loss of a woman's ability to bare children if it made her unfit to marry the other heir. If that was the case then she would live a lonely life indeed, for though her beauty would win her a place as any man's mistress, without the promise of children she would never marry. Now add that she may be carrying the shame and guilt of having killed an opponent, even to save a loved one and it all added up to one ugly outcome for her. Trying to put as much empathy in his voice as possible, he asked her about one of the hardest things to ever confront an educator.
"Mrs. Saotome, given the severity of your daughter's loss and … shame, have you taken any steps to prevent her from taking her own life?"
Nodoka couldn't hold back a bitter laugh, nor the tears in her eyes.
"Ranma won't…"
While she struggled to reign in her emotions, Hasegawa searched through all of his experience with children and their parents for a way to convince her of the need to act before it was too late.
"You have to understand," Nodoka said interrupting his futile search, "I already told you how much Ranma values honor, he …" Tripping over her own tongue, Nodoka squeezed her eyes shut tight and swallowed the painful lump in her throat. "A week ago Ranma gathered the families together and with the help of Dr. Tofu Ono, she explained that she could no longer fulfill any engagements arranged by her father. She apologized for her dishonor, then asked me … she took me alone to a nearby park." Again she paused, struggling to control herself enough to continue. "She had already made all of the preparations … she asked me to serve as her second, she begged me to let her die with honor. I value honor as much as my daughter, but I couldn't lose her so soon, not after waiting for ten years … You don't have to worry about Ranma committing suicide. She promised me that she wouldn't take her own life and my daughter never breaks a promise no mater how much it hurts her, but I do fear that if given the chance she will let her life go."
She looked to him imploringly, her need ringing in her voice.
"I don't want to lose my child, but she is almost a stranger to me and I don't know how to help her."
For a traditional woman like Nodoka Saotome to ask for help from a stranger, that was enough to assure him that she was taking her daughter's needs seriously. For Hasegawa this was a relief for he was no longer on unfamiliar ground, there were procedures for dealing with this. Opening a desk drawer he removed a small filing box from which he removed a business card. Presenting the card to Nodoka he told her,
"I promise Mrs. Saotome that we will do all that we can to help your daughter, but I must advise you to seek professional help. This is the name and number of a psychiatrist that often helps us with our students. There is no shame in asking for or seeking help and there is too much at stake not to. Please Mrs. Saotome, take Ranma to see the doctor, she can help."
Nodoka accepted the card with trembling fingers.
"I'll try but I'm not sure how Ranma will take the idea, her father raised her to be self reliant, never asking for help."
"Then it might be best if her father was involved, having been her mentor for so long his opinion will bear the most weight."
Another bitter laugh from Nodoka.
"My husband hasn't seen or spoken to Ranma since the day she told us. Most likely the only thing he would tell her is how disappointed he is in her and that she should have done the honorable thing."
Now Hasegawa was grasping for straws, "There must be others who hold influence over her, friends from her old school perhaps. I know it might be too painful, especially if he has pushed her aside, but maybe you should speak to her former fiancé. If she loves him so much, maybe he feels the same way about her. As her mother I know you don't want to consider this, but even if he won't marry her, he may still have a place for her in his life."
Hasegawa had never considered telling a parent to encourage their daughter to become a man's mistress before, and no bones about it that is what he was doing now, but given what he suspected about Ranma's condition that was probably the only hope she had to experience love in her life and better it be with the one she loved then to settle for the first man who would take her.
Nodoka understood what the headmaster was suggesting, even if he wasn't coming right out and saying it. She herself had been guilty of recommending that her son take Ukyo and Shampoo has his own mistresses. She knew that such an arrangement would at least in the short term save her daughter, even if the situation wasn't what the headmaster believed when he recommended it. She released that small hope and let it flutter to the bottom of her belly. No, it wouldn't work. Even if Akane loved Ranma enough to engage in a lesbian relationship, any man she married wouldn't likely accept it. If Akane found a truly manly man, one who was willing to share his own love with two women who loved each other, in her mind Ranma was still a man herself and would never be able to give herself to another. No, like her mother Ranma would probably spend the rest of her life alone and unwanted. The thought did cross Nodoka's mind that maybe if Ranma drank enough Sake, maybe then she could accept a man's touch long enough to gain a child of her own. Nodoka knew what Ranma would think of that suggestion, but she also knew how much having a child could mean to a woman and in spite of Ranma's previous gender she was a woman now. Apparently all the way down to her soul.
****
There was still some time left before classes started when Ranma followed Mr. Ikeda from the headmaster's office, so he took her for a brief tour of the school. He showed her where the cafeteria and school commissary where. He showed her the gym, grounds and ( shudder ) girls locker room. During it all he was very friendly and charming, trying to draw her out of her shell. She could tell he was handsome in a boyish sort of way and she did find him charming. She also knew that most girls would probably have a crush on him by the time he led her to her homeroom, but try as she might she couldn't look upon another guy that way and she did try. She knew life would be easier, that her mother would be happier, if she were to find a nice young man to marry. Her mother still wanted grandchildren and Ranma didn't look forward to spending her life as a spinster, but she just couldn't do it. Ranma gave a small smile on the inside, maybe she could find a nice girl who would like to play house with a hot little red head. Then she thought of Akane, of Akane with another man and she knew that she could never give her heart to anyone else, man or woman. She had already lost it to a tomboy who was the best of both. When at last Ikeda brought her to the door of her class room and handed her off to her teacher she was relieved to see him go. When the teacher, Ms. Shiori Sato, wrote her name on the board using the kanji for 'Wild Orchid' she didn't bother to correct it.
****
For Akane the walk to Furinkan that morning was an especially lonely one. She couldn't stop glancing up at the fence, looking for Ranma. She closed her eyes and swore that she could feel his presence. Only it lacked the confidence and lightness of spirit she remembered, instead it felt like he was drowning in despair. She opened her eyes, stopped looking up at the fence and tried to push him from her mind. When she passed the old woman washing her front walk she nearly broke down into tears. Picking up her pace she crossed to the other side of the street, away from the fence. Now she was feeling anxious to reach the school, the walk brought back too many memories and she longed for the easy company of her friends Sayuri and Yuka. She could now see the top of the building and the clock ahead, rising over the surrounding trees and man made structures. By the time she reached the school gates she was practically running.
Her stride and her spirit both broke as she passed over the threshold.
****
Nabiki was in the window of her homeroom waiting for her little sister's arrival. The morning had been a busy one and even arriving early she nearly hadn't had enough time to do all of her business before Akane's arrival. The morning had been spent restarting her old betting pool after the summer break, laying the odds and taking bets on how long it would take her little sister to finish. She was a little surprised by how many were betting Akane would not only be late to class, but would miss first hour all together. Knowing her sister she had placed the odds on such an outcome extremely long. Maybe, she thought, she shouldn't be so surprised. The students at the school hadn't really seen Akane in action since shortly after Ranma's arrival. Unlike Nabiki they didn't realize that between Ranma's clumsy training and their many adventures, usually started with a kidnapped bride, her little sister was far better than she was last year at this time. Their ignorance made her smile, she was expecting to make a lot of money this morning. This wasn't all about money though, in her own way Nabiki loved her sister and this was for her own good. Ever since the Ranma incident Akane had been mopping around the house, a wane shadow of the girl she was before the Saotome idiocy. Nabiki knew her sister and she knew all that was needed to relight the fire in her spirit was to make her angry and nothing made her madder than what was even now waiting for her to arrive.
She caught sight of her sister coming down the street towards the school. Already Akane seemed better, no longer shuffling along like a zombie, she was almost skipping down the street towards school. Nabiki smiled, this couldn't be working out better cause she did plan it.
Looking down into the front courtyard she saw her sister stop just inside the gates, confronted for the first time in nearly a year by the recently reformed Hentai Horde. There in the courtyard were more than two score young men dressed in assorted sports equipment, shouting out "I love you Akane" and "date me Akane". If somehow they weren't enough fuel for the fire then hiding behind a tree in his customary place, no doubt practicing his lines, was the number one pervert himself, Tatewaki Kuno. Nabiki was sure that by the time Kuno started spouting bad poetry her sister would be jolted out of her depression and started on the not so long road of getting over Ranma. She pulled her thoughts back from her musings, returning her attention to her sister in the courtyard. She wasted a moment wondering why Akane wasn't already hammering her way through the waiting horde, screaming her hatred of the very boys who were already charging towards her.
Akane was just standing there, frozen, when the first boy reached her.
****
Katsuro Hamada was the school's record holder in the one hundred meter dash and to his regret that meant he was the first boy to reach Akane. He wasn't a fighter, but he was used to grabbing the baton during a race and that is just what he did. Only this time the baton in question was the right shoulder strap of her school jumper.
The feel of his hand on her shoulder caused Akane to snap. She let loose a scream of shear terror, then with little control but inhuman strength she struck poor Katsuro with her book bag sending him tumbling back into the path of the stampeding hoard of hormonally driven animals where he was thoughtlessly trampled. Katsuro would be spending the rest of the day not in class, but the hospital, his body crushed beneath the careless feet of his fellows.
Akane didn't see it, wouldn't have cared if she had. When she saw the hoard of boys charging towards her, heard them declare their intent to defeat her and make her theirs, all of the fear she had left behind while Ranma protected her came rushing back. At first she was frozen by fear, but when she felt Katsuro's hand seize the strap of her jumper the sweet little girl Tofu had once described, even the tomboy Ranma teased about having the strength of a gorilla disappeared and in her place was a terrified animal intent only on escape. She lashed out with the club of her bag instinctively. With all of her considerable strength made even greater by fear, she dislocated Hamada's jaw. Broken free of her paralysis she fled back through the gates and down the road towards home and safety, the broken strap of her dress flapping in the air behind her, her book bag left lying on the ground forgotten.
Nabiki watched her sister run away, the hoard of boys falling into stunned silence. She saw Kuno step out from behind his tree, rose falling from his hand. Nabiki was still staring out the window, her jaw hanging open when the first grinning student arrived to claim his winnings. Turning from the window she watched in dismay as more eager students entered the room to obtain what was theirs, each babbling excitedly about how much money they had won on such long odds. Classes were forgotten, so many students had only one thing on their minds, how badly Nabiki had slipped over the summer. As for Nabiki, having set such long odds she didn't have enough money in the pool to cover all of the bets and was forced to put a serious dent in her own considerable stash. Akane's little stunt had cost her a fortune, more than she could make in several months. For the first time in her life Nabiki gave off a battle aura, a red one filled with rage. Akane was going to pay.
****
Ranma was sitting quietly in her desk, her head down and shoulders hunched. She could hear Sato Sensei droning on about some dead Englishman who sounded like Kuno's kind of writer. She could feel the stares of her classmates and wished she could curl up and disappear.
She was doing her best to do just that when an icy dagger of fear pierced her heart. She jerked as if she had actually been stabbed, knocking the contents of her welcome packet off of her desk its pages spreading across the classroom floor.
She heard a scream, the voice was so clear that the person who uttered it might have been standing right beside her. She knew that voice and she had never heard her scream like that before.
It was Akane and she was terrified.
She gave no thought to where she was, her only concern was that the tomboy needed her. Forgetting the loss of her chi she made a suicidal leap out of the third story window, her body hurtling towards the ground below. She didn't care, she had to get to Akane. Her need to protect the girl she loved caused the manna within her to surge forth in a radiant wave, filling her so full that it threatened to burst from her skin. When she hit the ground there wasn't even enough force in the impact to bend the blades of grass beneath her feet. Without so much as a stumble in her step from the three story drop she was racing across the soccer field at speeds that Katsuro Hamada couldn't even dream of reaching. Her red hair, having escaped its pigtail, was flickering like dancing flame with the force of her passage.
Shiori Sato and all of her students rushed to the classroom windows expecting to see the depressed and suicidal girl lying broken on the ground. Instead there was no sign of her and search as hard as they might all they could see were the milling and confused boys on the soccer field.
****
Noriko Matsumoto had been coaching girls sports in Japanese high schools for thirteen years, the last four at Suginami High. Once she had dreamed of coaching a university team, perhaps even an Olympic team. After four long years at Suginami her only wish was to just once steal a victory from Ogikubo High, to silence that braggart Yoichi Kobayashi. Yoichi may have been born a woman, but like her name she was far too masculine to be mistaken for one. Several of the coaches suspected that she had abused anabolic steroids during her formative years. Whatever the truth may be, Yoichi had once been a member of the Japanese Olympic Women's soccer team and she never let anyone forget it. She never stepped outside the limits of acceptable behavior, but she was always quick to remind everyone that since she took over the Ogikubo girls soccer team they had taken every championship. The problem was Yoichi's reputation drew every girl with great talent to her school, leaving schools like Suginami with those she refused. Noriko had all but given up on her dream and these days her only real pleasure came from watching the boys teams run around in their shorts, something her husband would not appreciate if he ever realized she wasn't just there to watch him coach his own athletes.
That's what she was doing when a red haired streak in a blue skirt went flying by her at unbelievable speeds. Weaving its way unerringly between the boys on the field before they even realized it was there, then leaping over the perimeter fence landing on the bonnet of a parked car and from there springing to the roof of the two story building across the street. The boys on the field were staring at the roof top where the girl had disappeared, their minds filled with the image of perfectly formed legs flashing under a blue skirt. Tadashi Matsumoto, Noriko's husband, was trying to cough up his whistle and as for Noriko, she was caught up in a vision of Yoichi sitting behind her at the awards banquet for the champions of the Tokyo tournaments.
****
Ranma was racing across the rooftops of Suginami, her skirt and hair flying loose behind her. She was running as fast as she could, far faster then she ever had with the aid of her chi. So fast she didn't even notice the times her running steps found purchase without the benefit of either rooftop or solid ground.
****
Tofu was sweeping the walk in front of his clinic when he heard the staccato tapping of racing feet on the street at the end of his block. He also heard broken sobbing. Watching down the empty street to the intersection on the corner he saw a familiar figure go running by, Akane. Ever since he and Kasumi had … well ever since they had taken that leap forward in their relationship, breaking him of his tendency to turn into a dancing idiot in her presence, Tofu had been spending his evenings at the Tendo home. With Soun gone on his training trip and Ranma … with no men present in the home, Tofu felt it was now his duty to watch over his soon to be family. He and Kasumi had yet to tell anyone what they … even if no one knew, if his engagement to the oldest Tendo daughter wasn't yet official, it was too late for him to turn his back on his duty to them and he wouldn't even if he could. Dropping his broom on the walk, not even pausing long enough to lock the clinic doors, Tofu was running for the home of his heart.
****
Kasumi had seen her sisters off to school and cleaned up after breakfast. She then set out to run her errands at the market before returning home to do laundry, which she wouldn't dare hang out to dry because the constant cloud cover threatened more rainfall at any moment. She was just closing the compound gates behind her when she heard the rapid patter of running feet. Turning to see who was coming she saw racing down the street towards home, tears running heedless down her pale face, was Akane.
It took quite a while for Kasumi to calm her baby sister down enough to learn what had happened when she arrived at school. Long before then Dr. Tofu arrived in pursuit of Akane. Once they learned what had happened, while Kasumi comforted her sister, Tofu called the school demanding an explanation. Kasumi had never heard him get angry before and she found it exhilarating knowing that it was in defense of her family. She blushed when she heard him introduce himself as the fiancé of Akane's sister and inform them that with the family patriarch out of town he was taking responsibility for the family. He was still yelling at them when Kasumi took Akane upstairs and put her to bed. Kasumi left Akane huddling under her blankets, her body shuddering with her ragged sobbing. Kasumi was making her way to the kitchen to fetch Akane some soothing tea, smiling at Tofu who was still yelling into the phone when the front door blew open behind her. She turned just in time to see Ranma Chan wearing a white and blue sailor suit and stocking feet, her hair settling loosely around her shoulders. Before she could say a word Ranma was racing up the stairs. They heard her foot falls race down the hall to Akane's room. Tofu fell silent in mid shout, absently placing the phone back on its cradle. Exchanging a look the two care givers followed their unexpected visitor up the stairs, stopping outside of Akane's door. Without a word they both placed an ear against the wood to listen. Kasumi blushed and her stomach developed butterflies when Tofu rested his hand on her shoulder.
****
Ranma didn't know how long it took her to get to the Tendo's, but in her worry for Akane it felt like forever. As she raced across the roof tops of Tokyo there was a voice in the back of her mind that was trying to remind her that she shouldn't be able to do this anymore without the aid of chi, she ignored it, only having room in her thoughts for Akane. The tomboy needed her and that made her feel alive in a way she had last felt when she visited the shrine along the Kandagawa River. Then the power she felt had been trying to take her away, but now it was speeding her to Akane and for the first time she didn't feel like it was a curse. Having hardly noticed the passage of miles beneath her feet she found herself landing outside the Tendo door in a flower garden that she didn't remember being there when she left. Dismissing the flowers as unimportant and entering the house she didn't even register the presence of Kasumi and Tofu in the front hall before racing up the stairs, following her feelings as they led her to Akane. She stopped in the hall outside Akane's room, her eyes on the yellow duck shaped sign hanging on the door. On the other side of this door was Akane, would she welcome her or … Ranma didn't know and was afraid to find out. She hesitated, her hand on the door knob, afraid to turn it. What if Akane couldn't accept her, even as a friend. Could she handle just being friends with the tomboy? She didn't think so.
Ranma was never the sharpest kid in class, but her ears were and standing there in front of Akane's door they picked up the quiet sound of Akane's crying. Ranma forgot her fears, Akane was hurting, she needed her. Hesitation gone Ranma entered the room where she had spent so many hours, not always pleasant hours, but they were numbered among her fondest memories. The room hadn't changed any since she was last here, the bed was still against the wall in front of the balcony, the desk near the window and weights and a bamboo sword in the corner. The only thing that was different was the girl curled up and hidden under the blankets on the bed, crying softly to herself.
Ranma knelt beside the bed, "Akane" she said softly.
When the girl didn't respond to that, Ranma reached out and slowly drew back the blanket until she could see her face. Ranma's heart gave a small lurch, Akane's face was pale and her eyes were all puffy from crying. Looking into her eyes Ranma could see the pain dwelling there. She had to struggle to swallow the lump that formed in her throat.
"Akane, what's wrong?"
Seeing the concern openly displayed on Ranma's face, Akane couldn't help but feel better.
"Ranma, what are you doing here?"
Ranma felt a pool of ice water settle in her stomach, Akane didn't want her here. She started rising from her knees, stammering out an apology.
"I'm sorry, I know I don't, I mean …" Ranma couldn't face the rejection she knew was on Akane's face so she cast her eyes down, staring at her navy blue socks.
"I know I shouldn't be here since I can't be your fiancé anymore." Now it was Ranma's turn to fight back tears.
Akane reached out and took her hand before Ranma could try to flee. She gave it a reassuring squeeze.
"It's okay, I'm glad to see you."
Ranma raised her eyes meeting Akane's, afraid of what she might see there but hopeful that she was wrong.
When Akane saw her apprehension, she gave her a friendly smile and another squeeze of the hand.
Ranma couldn't take her eyes off of that beautiful smile, words might lie but that smile told her that Akane really was glad to see her. An answering smile arose on her own face and to Akane it seemed to shine as bright as the sun. Ranma shrugged her shoulders and absently dug her toe into the floor, trying to act nonchalant. Her act had Akane laughing inside, it was now Ranma who was holding her hand tightly.
"Well, you know, I was just close by and I decided to stop by and see what was up."
Ranma's head craned around on her slender neck, as if casually looking about the room but Akane could tell that the red head's eyes never left her own. For the first time since Ranma pulled back the blanket from her head, Akane got a good look at her and what she was wearing. Her eyes threatened to pop out of her head, her jaw nearly hitting the floor. Ranma was wearing a sailor suit, a white and dark blue school uniform with a skirt and wide collar.
She was beautiful.
Breathless, Akane asked her, "Ranma, what are you wearing? Is that a school uniform?"
This morning Ranma couldn't have cared less what she was wearing, now she couldn't contain her embarrassment at being seen in such a girly outfit.
"Well, yea. You see mom transferred me to Suginami High School and since today was my first day there and because she registered me as her daughter, well she made me wear the girls uniform."
Akane couldn't believe what she was hearing.
"Close by? Ranma, Suginami High School is not close by unless your on a bullet train."
Ranma gave a full body blush.
"Yea, but you know how boring I find school and I didn't like the way everyone kept starring at me in this skirt. So I decided to leave and, well you know, since I didn't have anything better to do, I figured I would just stop by and make sure you…" Throwing her shoulders back, forcing a smirk onto her face. "You know how much I like Kasumi's cooking and I figured maybe she still had some breakfast left over."
Ranma was trying to act like coming to see her meant nothing special, was just something to fill time, but again Akane wasn't fooled by her act and knowing how much Ranma still cared for her made her feel all warm and funny inside. That was when she noticed the dirty wet footprints Ranma left when crossing the room to her bed. Looking down she saw that Ranma's socks were soaking wet.
"Ranma, your socks are soaked. Why … where are your shoes?"
She gave the blushing girl a look that screamed Kasumi, or more recently Nodoka. The effect it had on Ranma was unmistakable.
"Heh heh, I think maybe I left them in the lobby at school."
"If your shoes are in a cubby at school, then where are your slippers?"
Now Ranma looked really sheepish and her voice squeaked when she answered.
"Under my desk."
Akane felt her exasperation rise at her fiancé's … at Ranma's foolish impulsiveness.
"You baka, do you want to get sick?"
Using the hand that Ranma was still holding she pulled the smaller girl onto the bed.
"Take off those wet socks right now Ranma, your feet must be freezing."
Akane helped her take off the offending articles of clothing. Seeing the way her touch caused goose bumps to rise on Ranma's skin when they brushed against each other filled Akane with the desire to wrap herself around the other girl and never let go. Once the socks were lying in a sopping wet pile on the floor Akane pulled the unresisting Ranma under the covers with her. Curled together both girls felt a warmth filling them from the other, a warmth that came from the inside too. Soon both girls had faded into a contented sleep, for Akane it was the first since Ranma left, for Ranma it was the first since returning from China.
****
Kasumi quietly pulled the door closed, her other hand on the wooden yellow duck to keep it from rattling and waking the girls sleeping within the room beyond. Turning to Tofu she gave him a smile that told him that at last all was right in the Tendo home. Taking his hand she led him downstairs to the dinning room. Once safely away from the girls sleeping upstairs, Tofu tugged on her hand causing her to turn towards him as he pulled her close. Now he was giving her a smile, one that had nothing to do with Ranma or her sister. A smile that carried a very different meaning, one he couldn't have given her just two weeks ago because he would have long since been dancing with his skeleton, Betty. Pulling the girl he loved close until he could feel her all along the front of his body, Tofu gave her a kiss that made her toes curl. Kasumi made a token effort at resistance when he dropped her apron on the floor at their feet, but then she felt his hands pulling up her blouse and moving across her sensitive flesh. She couldn't contain a low moan rich with desire. If there was one thing you could say about Tofu, it was that he was good with his hands.
The insistent ringing of the phone drew Kasumi from her state of satisfied bliss. Raising herself up on her forearms she looked down onto Tofu's face, there was a dazed smile plastered across it. The feel of his naked chest against her own bare flesh distracted her from the phone until its shrill scream reminded her that there were two girls upstairs who would be very surprised to find her and Tofu naked on the floor. Grabbing up her blouse she ran to the phone in the hall, stopping its ringing before it drew the others downstairs. Pulling on her blouse, too self conscious to even speak on the phone without something on, Kasumi said hello to whoever had forced her away from her languid rest. Still pulling up his pants Tofu followed her into the hall. He felt a little bad about their improper behavior, but not bad enough to stop when it made him feel so good and so close to the girl who had been haunting his dreams since she was a teenager.
"Moshi moshi, this is the Tendo residence… oh, good morning aunty its good to hear your voice … Ranma, yes he is here … for a little while now, he's with Akane."
Kasumi succumbed to a delightful shudder when Tofu wrapped his arms around her waist from behind, the feel of his cotton pants rubbing against her bare legs reminding her that all she was wearing from the waist down were her shirt tales.
"Oh aunty, I'm sorry … I understand … yes I would have been worried too … Ranma is, aunty, Akane came home from school this morning and she was very upset. Has anyone ever told you about how the boys used to attack her every morning trying to force their attentions on her until Ranma put a stop to it … yes, that's right. Well, apparently word got around that she and Ranma are no longer engaged and when Akane arrived at school this morning she found the boys waiting for her. She ran all the way home … aunty, Akane was very frightened and hurt by what happened at school and she didn't stop crying until Ranma arrived … no aunty, I don't know how Ranma could have … Oh my! Yes aunty, I can imagine they were quite upset … no, I understand … right now … aunty, today when Ranma arrived was the first time I've seen Akane smile since the meeting in the dojo and, I would really rather not interrupt them yet.."
She didn't feel it prudent to mention she was uncomfortable confronting the girls with her blouse open in front and Tofu doing such wonderful things with his hands.
"Yes, we will have to talk to them about … yes aunty, I agree. We'll be waiting for you to arrive. It will be nice to have visitors again. The house has been so empty since father and uncle Genma left … oh, I thought uncle would have told you. The day after you and Ranma left grandfather Happosai returned. He was quite concerned when I told him about what had happened to Ranma. He immediately grabbed father and uncle, he said they had something very important to do and it couldn't wait … I don't know where he took them or why … yes, they should have told you … I know, Ranma tries to act indifferent but his father's approval has always meant so much to him … We'll be waiting … goodbye aunty."
Kasumi hung up the phone with a concerned sigh that caused Tofu to stop what he was doing.
"Kasumi," Tofu's voice took on a concerned, even disappointed tone. "I take it Nodoka doesn't approve of Ranma being here."
"No, she … Nodoka doesn't … Nodoka considers us to be a part of Ranma's family. She is worried about what will happen to Ranma when … when Akane moves on and finds a nice young man to be her husband."
Kasumi brushed off his hold and started to button up her blouse, her feet carrying her back to the dinning room and the rest of her clothes. She pulled up her skirt while Tofu gathered his own scattered garments.
"What has aunty Nodoka upset is that the school called and said that Ranma suddenly left during class. They said that she became very upset and then leaped out of a third story window."
Making final adjustments to her clothes, Kasumi continued her voice filled with concern.
"She says that the school called the police and … she said the school's headmaster is worried that Ranma might try to kill himself."
****
Nodoka Saotome hung up the phone for the third time. After speaking to Kasumi and learning that Ranma had indeed gone to the Tendo's, she first called the headmaster and then the police to tell them that her daughter was safe. It had taken some fast talking and in the end she had to agree that she would bring Ranma by the headmaster's office so that he could personally verify that she was safe, but she convinced them not to storm the Tendo home and take Ranma into protective custody. She also had to promise that Ranma would go to see the school's psychiatrist after classes tomorrow. Now the hard part would be convincing her daughter that it was for the best. She only hoped that Akane and Kasumi would be able to help her with that.
Putting on her rain coat and taking an umbrella from the stand by the door, Nodoka left the house and began her trip to Nerima. When she left the shelter of her home the rain wasn't falling and she could feel warmth on her face. Looking up she felt her spirits rise as she saw the sun breaking through the clouds for the first time since this nightmare had begun.
Author's notes:
This is the part were the story begins to become...uncomfortable.
For those who might be puzzled; yes Arata is a man, yes he did turn into a woman and no, it isn't a Jusenkyo curse. Each of the brothers have their own gifts and their own form of villainy. In Arata's case, it is the immorality of the sexual deviant. He leaves rape to some of his more violent brothers. I have written up each of the brothers, along with their powers and vices. Now I just have to introduce them in ways that showcase their individual natures. Originally I had one three page scene that introduced all of the brothers here, but it was far too narrative so I'm trying this instead.
As if that wasn't hard enough to write, I now have Akane and Ranma together again...and their both girls. I've considered several ways to deal with this, including giving Ranma the ability to assume his male form for brief periods ( as TJG suggested ). I've also considered just making them a lesbian couple, or giving Akane a curse of her own. At the moment I'm leaning towards the last, it fits with parts of the back story you don't know yet. Still, I am undecided and would welcome any input or opinions.
There are only four more chapters of this story already written, so I'll have to make some decisions soon if I am going to continue it.
Question: If you took Ranma ( as I have written her so far ) and threw her in with a shrink, what would happen?
That is the scene I left off on and I'm about ready to just skip over it. Any suggestions?
Again, I apologize to any Nabiki fans out there. She isn't intended to be a villain and she is only trying to help her little sister, she just believes in tough love. She also has a bit of a temper as you'll see in the next chapter.
As for Nodoka stopping Ranma from committing seppuku; first you have to remember that Ranma has lost the strength from her chi, leaving it a match of muscle. Second, Nodoka stopped her more with her words than with her physical strength. Ranma isn't really suicidal, she just doesn't think she has much to live for.
Any advice is appreciated and criticism, as always, is welcome.