Disclaimer: This is a work of fanfiction, I do not claim any rights to any of the characters or concepts created or owned by Viz Video or Rumiko Takahashi. This is just the work of one fan to the others. The only characters or concepts that I claim are the ones I created or introduced. That said, I bring you:
Ranma ½: When you are lost in a sea of grief, look for a light to guide you home.
Chapter 9: Finding a new path.
Ranma bustled around the house as he prepared to go on a run after he had seen Shampoo off to work that morning after their morning session. He had switched back after waking up before she had, and made them both breakfast.
They were both excited about the evening session, a feeling of anticipation that Ranma hadn't felt since Akane had been lost to all of them.
Ranma took a slow breath as he forced himself from walking down that spiraling path. He didn't want Shampoo to find a shivering, sobbing and wet Ranma-chan curled up on the floor again. Not today. Today, he was going to go for a jog and check out the local gyms to see what ones were hiring. And also to figure out what gender he needed to be when he applied.
Ranma sighed and laughed softly as he put his shoes on and stepped out of the apartment. He double checked the door before he made his way to the street and started his jog. He still wondered why and when he had started to be so comfortable with his dual nature. When he stopped seeing it as an affront to his overblown sense of masculinity.
He wasn't sure if it had been before or after everything had happened. Probably after, since he just… didn't really care much after that. He once again shook his head before he looked to see where he was, and started to head towards the first place on his list. A list and having planned ahead. Who would have thought that he would actually make plans, and keep to them.
There were six places on his list for today. Two gyms, two fitness centers, one spa and a youth center that was looking for someone to teach self defense courses for women. Depending on how many hours they offered, and what kind of availability they asked for would kind of determine if he needed to find one job or two.
He knew that Shampoo didn't really care, but he had realized it mattered to him. He didn't want to just mooch off of anyone anymore. He wanted to feel like he contributed, like he belonged.
Like he still had some value.
Ranma stopped outside of the first place on his list. It was a chain gym, and he had to admit he found himself less than impressed from the outset. They had been advertising for someone to teach mixed martial arts, and even though it fell squarely into the wheelhouse of Anything Goes, he had some reservations about teaching MMA. He would not be able to draw upon his full expertise and training, and he wasn't exactly inspired by the people he saw walking in and out. They were the kind of muscle-bound meatheads that he had to deal with the entire time he had been in school, and it didn't exactly inspire him.
And at the end of the day, he wanted to be happy about what he did for a living.
Next, he made his way to the one spa on his list for the day. It looked like a rather posh place to him. A lot of pretty younger women, and even some men, passed through the doors. He looked down at his clothes and realized he was probably massively underdressed for this place. Even so, it wouldn't hurt to at least take a look inside, get a feel for the place before he came back properly dressed to see them.
When Ranma walked in, besides the music that played in the background, the first thing he heard was water. Everywhere he looked, there was some sort of feature that involved water. The sheer potential for his curse to act up almost constantly made him pause, then turn and walk out quickly before someone, somehow, splashed him in some way.
Probably not the best place for him to seek work.
He moved on to the next gym, and lingered for a time outside. They had been looking for someone to work as a personal trainer. He wouldn't be infringing on teaching anything of Anything Goes, and it was something that could improve people's lives. It was a definite possibility, especially since it looked like a local place, and not one of the big-name companies.
They also didn't specify if they were looking for a man or a woman, so he could work there in his birth form.
Ranma made his way towards the first of the two fitness centers on the list, and once again looked it over from outside. They had advertisements for new classes, one of them was the Tai-chi and Yoga classes that had caught his attention. They said they were looking for previous experience and courses, but he figured that he had a decent chance of impressing them enough to look past those little things.
He had been the best, after all.
Ranma shook his head and continued on his route as he cut through a park to head towards the youth center, since it was on the way to the other fitness center. As he passed through the park, the feeling that he had been followed, that someone had been watching him, grew until he stopped and looked around as he slipped into his usual non-stance.
After a few minutes had passed, and no one jumped out he felt that feeling of being watched slowly fade. He waited another minute, then started to jog again as he chalked it up to his nerves, all the while he missed the silent figure that lurked behind a tree, and that walked off quickly once he had moved out of sight.
When Ranma approached the youth center, he stopped and observed it again. It was an older facility in one of the less prosperous sections of the ward. That said, the walls had been freshly cleaned, sidewalk out front was in good condition and had been tended to, and the facility looked like it even offered daycare, at least from the many small children that could be seen running around.
Ranma noticed one particularly frazzled looking younger woman who seemed to have her hands full, literally, with three children that seemed to be determined to scatter whenever she managed to wrangle any of them. Impulsively, he moved over and knelt down in front of one of the little boys and smiled at him. The open and happy smile he got in return seemed to lighten the young martial artist's heart just a bit, and managed to allow the young woman to finally get all three back inside.
She stepped out a minute later and bowed deeply to Ranma. "Thank you so much for your help. I think I was losing that war."
Ranma laughed and self-consciously rubbed the back of his head and he fiddled with his pigtail. "I'm just glad I could be of some help."
The woman smiled and nodded before she bowed once again. "You were a great help. You seem to have a good way with children."
Ranma laughed and shrugged. "I just get them, I guess?" Ranma looked over the building, and decided to ask a few questions. "I was curious, have you filled the position yet? The self-defense instructor, that is?"
She paused and looked him over and shook her head. "We haven't yet, but I don't know if you would be a good fit for the position.." She said hesitantly.
"Because of how young I am?" Ranma asked.
She shook her head, and looked over at one of the other young women that was watching the children. At the nod she got, she turned and regarded Ranma before she smiled. "If you want, I can explain the situation to you, if you would like to come to my office?"
Ranma nodded, then looked at her. "Your office?"
She laughed and nodded. "You're not the only one around here who is seen as too young, you know. My name is Hinata Sakurai, and I'm the director here."
Ranma hurriedly bowed to her. "I'm Ranma… Thank you very much for having me."
Hinata gave him an odd look, but then led him back and into her office. It was a small office, but the walls were covered in pictures. Some were photographs, others were hand drawn. All of them either showed the building, what Ranma assumed were the staff, and quite a few of Hinata with various teens and children.
Hinata sat behind her desk, and motioned for Ranma to sit as well. Once he had, she chewed on her lip and looked at him. "So, just Ranma? You didn't want to offer your family name?"
Ranma sighed and rubbed the back of his head. "A… lot of stuff happened, and I'm no longer associated with my family. I hope that is okay?"
Hinata's expression softened and she nodded. "We have quite a few kids on the street that have reasons of their own for no longer having a family name. I won't pry, don't worry. But with that out of the way, I should get to the main reason I don't think I can hire you, besides not knowing if you have the credentials for the job." Hinata paused, and poured them both a cup of tea from the kettle on an electric burner. "You see, we used to have an instructor here before, but we had to let him go. He… Acted inappropriately with some of our young ladies, and now…"
Ranma grit his teeth and nodded. "And now they probably won't feel safe with a man teaching them."
Hinata smiled sadly and dipped her head. "I'm very sorry about this, Ranma. You seem like a very nice and earnest young man, and I wish you the best of luck going forward."
Ranma hesitated for a moment, then looked at Hinata. "If that is the case, would it be okay if my twin sister came to apply? We are both very skilled in martial arts, and she won't have the same issue as I do."
"I would love to meet your sister, Ranma. When do you think she can come?" Hinata asked as she watched Ranma. He seemed nervous. Protective of his sister, perhaps? It had started to paint a picture that was all too familiar for her.
Ranma nodded and thought about it for a minute. "She can come by tomorrow, would morning or afternoon work better for you? Oh...and I should warn you… We are very much alike, so she comes across as a bit, well, of a tomboy…"
Hinata grinned. "I was like that when I was younger. If you two feel up to it, have her come by tomorrow and I will talk to her. You are more than welcome to come as well, if that will make you both feel better."
Ranma shook his head. "No.. I think she will be okay here by herself."
Hinata nodded and smiled. She had a feeling that tomorrow would be interesting, she just hoped that it went well.
She had started in this job to help troubled teens and kids, after all.
Ranma bowed in thanks and then looked at his watch. He said hurried goodbyes to Hinata, then hurried towards home. He would check out the other fitness center another time, for now he had to get home and make sure supper was ready before Shampoo arrived.
After that, then they could get down to the real work.
Ranma moved about the kitchen with a bounce in his step. He had to admit, it felt good to get out and explore his possibilities, to see where he could take himself with his own talents again. It's something that he hadn't really done or felt in a very long time, and it seemed to have energized him. He couldn't wait to tell Shampoo that he had an interview for tomorrow already, even if it was as Ranko. He had decided that he would just use the same name for his female form as he had when he had been hiding from his mother. It just seemed like it had been the right choice, and he would stick with it. Anyhow, trying to explain to sane people that both a sister and brother would be named the same thing didn't seem at all likely.
That is probably why the Kuno's never did figure it out.
Ranma made sure that everything was looking like it would be ready on time before he checked to make sure that his practice clothes were ready for after supper. He had been tempted to do the same for Shampoo, but at the thought of going through her clothes to lay out what she would need, he just felt a bit too self conscious and anxious for some reason.
So, probably best to leave that to her.
He had the table laid out by the time Shampoo came in through the door and left her shoes before she walked into the apartment proper. "I'm home!" She called out as she stretched and hung up her jacket on it's hook.
"Welcome home!" Ranma answered as he carried out the last bit of food and smiled at his roommate. "Supper is ready, if you want to change real fast? Afterwards, we should be all ready to start our training. I even found a place where we can actually have room to move, even."
"That sounds good, thank you Ranma." Shampoo said as she started to head towards her room while she was unbuttoning her blouse.
A very red Ranma turned away and made himself busy with fussing with dinner one more time as he did his best to ignore the rustling from Shampoo's room. He hadn't been interested in the sounds before, and he wasn't sure why he found them so… Intriguing now. He shook his head and smiled as Shampoo entered the room wearing a much more comfortable looking pair of jeans and a t-shirt.
"It smells good, Ranma. Thank you." Xian Pu said as she settled in at the table. "So, why the full meal? I appreciate it, but you really seemed to have gone all out on it."
"Well, we are going to need all the energy we have if we are going to start really working… And I wanted to celebrate a bit…" Ranma admitted shyly.
"Celebrate? Did something good happen today?" Xian Pu asked as she put down the chopsticks she had reached for.
"I have an interview tomorrow. Well, to be exact, Ranko has an interview tomorrow." Ranma said as he dished up rice for both of them.
Xian Pu smiled happily. "I'm glad to hear that! So, you have to go as Ranko, then. Where is it?"
"The youth center on the list. They had some issues with the last male instructor, so they wanted a woman this time." Ranma said as he handed the bowl of rice to Shampoo.
"Well, I'm just glad to know you have an interview, and that they will be in very good hands going forward." Xian Pu said happily.
"I haven't gotten the job yet…" Ranma said softly, then jumped as Shampoo laid her hand on his.
"You will, though. I know it. And I think it would be a good fit, for both of you."
Ranma nodded with a thoughtful look on his face, then smiled at Shampoo. "So, are you ready to get started?"
"Once we are done eating? Of course I am! I am in your care, Sensei." Shampoo said with a grin.
"Glad to have you." Ranma replied.
