Ranma was aimlessly wandering around the road. After he heard Ukyo's plan, he got way too anxious and excited that he wanted to be alone for some moment to think about this topic, because the plan she mentioned to him earlier, though it was exciting, was not as easy as it sounded. On the other hand, it is a lifetime opportunity for him to live a life he always dreamed of living, that he thought he could never achieve in this lifetime.
He didn't even know where he was walking towards. The neighbourhood was so quiet and the road was only lit by the streetlights and the full moon above. The weather was also doing wonders to his mood, it's neither hot nor too cold; it's too perfect for him! And the breeze that sometimes fouls up now and then, was giving him a feeling as if he was standing by the bay of a sea.
He gave a pleasant sigh and decided to rest on a nearby stool. He sat there spreading his thighs loosely, relaxing his muscles fully as he looked up at the open night sky. The sky was twinkling with countless stars, it was very hard to see stars from his parent's house; that's why he cherished the view immensely.
Life is hugely modernized where he lived, people are always too busy and their schedules are always too rushed for them to sit for a moment to appreciate the beauty of the nature that God showered upon human beings. But this town is completely opposite from that place. Although modernized, but it has touches of old cultures and nature altogether; so quiet, so full of life, so relaxing... giving a homely and comforting feeling .
He took a deep breath of fresh air and pleasantly closed his eyes. He is wholeheartedly thanking his God countless times, for giving him this opportunity to escape that golden prison he calls home. And now, this plan of Ukyo's; if it works it will surely change his life for sure. A charmed smile spared on his face as he recalled for the third time what Ukyo had said to him;…
Earlier at the apartment
"Ucchan, I know you always want to see me happy and trust me, I really appreciate that. But please, don't give me any false hope. The level of emotional turmoil I am going through right now, I don't think I would be able to handle any…"
"Aww, you overthink too much, my God! Don't you trust me, Ranchan?"
Ranma sighed and said,
"Yeah, I do.. but.."
"No buts! First listen to me carefully .." She took a deep breath and said with a big smile on her face,
"You don't like the lifestyle that you are living now, isn't it, Ranma? In short, you hate it..!"
Ranma nodded his head plainly. Ryoga smirked at that and passed a comment,
"Dumb!"
Ranma and Ukyo glared at him as Ukyo continued saying as she kept staring at Ryoga,
"What if I tell you that you can switch your identity and live a normal life here; only if;.." She looked at Ranma and said , "You want to,Ranchan!"
Ryoga stopped munching on his cookies and looked at both of them as if they had gone crazy. Ranma blinked his eyes in confusion and asked her,
"Switch identities? What do you mean by that?"
Ukyo smiled and tried to explain clearly,
"Ranchan, let's not make it too complicated, alright? You hate your identity! You hate your life! You want to live a peaceful life, just like an ordinary person does!With less money, no status, just like a regular person, living a simple carefree life.. And on the other hand, a guy we both know is continuously dreaming about having what you have and he is dying to take your place, to live a lavish life like yours.. You understand whom I am talking about?"
Ranma saw Ukyo slyly smiling at him and mischievously twinkling her eyebrows at him. Ranma puts one and one together and turned to look at Ryoga, who was looking back at him with a dumbfounded expression on his face.
"Ya mean, RYOGA?!"
Ranma turned to face her with an uncertain expression, wanting her to explain further to him. Ukyo giggled hard looking at Ranma's confused state, then she said,
"That's right, my friend! At least NOW he will come in handy!"
Ranma shook his head in confusion and asked her in disbelief,
"Ucchan, this is not making any sense to me! I am confused!"
"Oh honey, I explained this to you so easily, but still you didn't get it! Okay; let me try it this way then. Ranchan, think about it, what if I give you an opportunity, so that you can live like an ordinary person; just like a regular student does and not like the way you are living now .."
"But how are you going to make this happen?" Ranma asked doubtfully.
Ukyo rolled her eyes and said,
"Who is the head of that College, Ranchan?"
Ranma gulped and said,
"Your… father.."
She smiled cheekily and asked again,
"And who is his boss?!"
Ranma became speechless as he kept looking at her with a stupefied expression.
Ukyo sighed and said,
"Look, my plan is simple! My dad had already told everyone to keep the news a secret that the great Saotome's only hair is going to study in his college; and thankfully, he didn't speak much about it. And anyway, you have always been low profile, I hardly saw you in any magazines or news or tv! So , if the news ever brakes out, I bet no one would ever find out who the real Ranma Saotome is, unless we introduce you to them.. That's why, I will ask my father to introduce Ryoga as the Saotome and you as a ummmm, you know we can introduce you as Hibiki if you want or just an individual student. It means , you will take Ryoga's position and he will take yours! So, what do you say? And please, don't tell me that you still haven't got what I said!"
Ranma rapidly blinked his eyes, his heart started pounding hard, too anxious to even think about the possibilities. Ryoga cleared his throat and said,
"What if , what if Mr and Mrs Saotome finds out about it? I am sure they are going to kill me for pretending to be their son!"
Ukyo smirked and said,
"Don't panic, kiddo! They won't find out about it.."
Ryoga growled and stood up in haste and said in a heated tone,
"How could ya be so sure about that huh!"
She grinned cheekily and said,
"Because, I know something that you might not know, Honey.." She crossed her arms over her chest and said, "Mr and Mrs Saotome will be too busy for two years; actually , they are on a mission to expand their business with the help of Shampoo's family. So they won't be able to make time to come here to see how Ranma is doing.. Isn't it correct, Ranchan?"
Ranma looked at Ukyo with a confused state of mind and nodded his head, saying,
"They asked me to join them on my holidays.."
"See! I told you!" Ukyo said, excitedly clapping her hands. "So that means, there is Zero percent chance that they will pop up here anytime! Because you should know by now how seriously they take their schedules!"
"So that means.." Ryoga whispers dumbfoundedly.
Ukyo giggled and said,
"That means, we are now all free to do whatever we want to do! So Ranchan, tell me what you think if my master plan!"
Ranma began to sweat hard as he became completely speechless. He rapidly blinked his eyes and blankly stared at Ukyo. After a long moment of dramatic pause, she cleared her voice and asked,
"Uhhh.. Ranchan!"
Ranma plainly looked at her and said,
"Yeah?"
"Huh!" She was surprised by his reaction. She thought he would be as excited about this plan as she was, but it was looking as if he still didn't get the real meaning of what she meant to say to him. She tried to hide her disappointment as she asked him again, "I guess, you don't like the idea then. Its okay, honey, if you don't want it then.."
"OF COURSE HE WANTS TO DO IT!" Ryoga cried out in urgency as he ran to Ranma's side . He grabbed Ranma's shoulder tightly and shook him violently, saying, "Ranma! My buddy, listen; don't lose this superb opportunity! You won't get this chance ever again, brother ! Please say yes! Please , please.. please, YOU HAVE TO SAY YES!"
"Wait a second; Why are you getting so worked up about this , my God!" Ukyo asked as she crossed her arms over her chest in a suspicious manner.
Ryoga pouted at her and said,
"He is my friend, Ukyo. We grew up like two brothers. I know what he desired for all his life and as his brother it's my duty to show him a clear vision of his desire.."
Ukyo twirled her one eyebrow up and said,
"Aha! Is that so? But why do I feel like it's someone else's hidden desire trying to get out of its sack?"
Ryoga growled in annoyance and said,
"I only want to help my buddy here, Miss Ukyo! Please don't try to imply something so improper on me. I am innocent!"
Ukyo couldn't hold back her giggle as she shook her head and dismissed him by saying,
"Yeah yeah! We all know how innocent you are, Ryoga honey.. Anway, you are the one who is going to be benefited by it.."
"Oh, woman! Just keep quiet! We have more important things to deal with now! Such as, making Ranma realize how important this opportunity is for him."
"For him! Or for you , Ryoga?" Ukyo asked, laughing.
"You know what…" Ryoga started to protest but he paused and took some deep breaths to control his anger. Then turning to Ranma he asked impatiently,
"And why are ya standing here like a damn puppet, Ranma? Don't ya want to do it?"
Ukyo sighed, noticing Ranma's troubled face. She smiled at him and went towards him. Holding his hands tightly, she assured him in a gentle tone,
"Honey, don't worry about it too much! If you agree to go with this plan, that's great, I promise I will always be by your side to protect you.. And if you don't then.."
"HE WILL SURELY TAKE YOUR OFFER, UKYO!"
Ukyo growled at Ryoga and snapped at him,
"Don't force him, stupid! Let HIM decide what he wants to do.."
"RANMA ! WHAT ARE YA WAITING FOR! SAY SOMETHING !" Ryoga cried out , ready to shed tears.
Ranma blinked his eyes and looked at Ukyo, then said with a blank expression on his face,
"Uh, I need ta think 'bout this matter." Ryoga tried to convince him again but before he could say anything, Ranma said in a hard tone, "ALONE!"
Ukyo gently smiled at that and said,
"Take your time, Ranchan.. Please don't force yourself to do something that you don't want to do !"
Ranma shook his head and said in a shaky tone,
"Ucchan, would ya please wait for me here for some moment. I want to go out and think about this. I have to go out of this house, I need to cool down first ."
"But Ranchan, you barely know this area. You might get lost!" Ukyo said worriedly.
Ranma smirked at that and said,
"I know you will find me anyways!"
He winked at her and without further ado, he left the house.*
PRESENT TIME
The moment Ukyo had revealed her plan to him, he got ready on his one toes. He became so excited to hear it that he got confused about how to react to this news. He wanted to jump in joy and cry in happiness at the same time. But he controlled himself when he saw how his all-time arrogant buddy Ryoga suddenly became so thoughtful. He was enjoying his change of behavior so much that he wanted to tease his patience for much longer.
He laughed to himself when he remembered his expression when he declared that he was leaving the home to think about this matter. He looked as if he was ready to pull his hair off in frustration.
"That Idiot!" Ranma muttered to himself.
Ringgg.. Ring..*
Ranma sighed and took out his cell phone from his pocket. He smirked and mumbled to himself,
"Speak of the devil!" He shook his head and casually answered the call,
"What's up!"
"What's UP! WHERE THE HELL ARE YA!" Ryoga snapped at him over the phone.
Ranma smirked and casually replied to him,
"Hmm.. here and there.. Why.."
"What! I am sure you have lost your mind, man! Anyway, come to the point, what have ya decided?"
"What to decide?" Ranma asked jokingly.
"WHAT! LOOK, BUDDY, IF YA.."
"Oh just shut up, would you, Ryoga!" Ukyo intervenes in the middle and took the phone from Ryoga and started talking with Ranma,
"Ranchan! Where are you now! It's been one hour already!"
"Don't worry, Ucchan! I am just wandering around."
"You just can't be wandering around the place you barely know!
Ranma tried to protest, but he stopped when he realized that she was right. Because he had no clue where he was sitting now. He cleared his voice and said,
"Uhh, ... Ucchan, I think I maybe kinda, sorta.. got lost ?"
"WHAT!Oh my Goodness! I knew that! You shouldn't act so irresponsible, Ranchan!" She said in a panicked tone.
"Hey, hey calm down! Its okay, I am still in the town! Its just.. There are lots of alleys and narrow paths, I forgot where I came from."
Ukyo took a deep breath and said,
"Okay, calm down! Now please do one thing for me , search little bit and try to find any shop or any name of that area so that we can come and get you.."
Ranma looked around. He stood up from his chair and began to look for some clues. He scrunched his eyes and tried to read one signboard,
"Uhh.. It says, Dr Tofu's clinic .. Do you know where it is?"
"Oh! Don't worry.. You are at a safe place. Don't move around too much. It's not that far from here. We are coming to get you. Don't worry.."
Ranma smiled and said,
"Yeah no problem. Take yar time.."
He hung up the call and looked around his surroundings. It was indeed a very beautiful place. The park he was standing at was surrounded by big long trees. The wind began to blow finely, making it feel like a tremendous atmosphere. He took a deep long breath as the fresh breeze washed over his face. Then suddenly he heard a sound coming from a far distance..
Ding*
He opened his eyes immediately as a sense of deja vu ran through his whole body when he heard the faint sound of a shrine's bell. He gulped hard as he looked around his surroundings. He was lost in an unknown place, the breeze was blowing, he could hear the Shrine's bell, long big trees surrounding him... Is that means..
Sweat began to drench his forehead, as a chill ran through his body. Goosebumps picked up on his skin as he rubbed his arm with his other hand and decided to leave the area. He took some steps towards the pathway, but stopped, when he heard some sound coming from not so far from him.
The wind suddenly picked up its speed and for some reason he started to pant as he got mixed feelings about leaving the place or not.
"Oh man! This is weird! Am I ... am I dreaming again?!"
He couldn't think much as he again heard some noises coming from inside of a nearby park. Taking some deep calming breaths, he decided to check the place where the noise was coming from.
Hesitantly, he turned on his heels and started walking inside of the park. He kept taking deep breaths, his body tingly with anticipation. Shortly, he reached the place where he thought he had heard the sound coming from. He released a big sigh of relief when he saw that there was no one there and the sound suddenly stopped. He decided to leave that place as quickly as possible and go towards that doctor's clinic to wait for his friends. He turned to leave, but he could take only two steps forward and he had to stop again. The sound again came to his ear, he quickly turned to his right side and the scene that welcomed him, took his breath away.
Right in front of his eyes, he saw none other than the girl of his dreams. But like his fantasy, she was not wearing any white silk clothes; instead, she was wearing a simple white tee shirt with a black shorts. She does have a katana in her hands, but it was a wooden katana, not as sharp as he saw in his dreams. Her hair was the same, beautiful black-blue colour, but instead of a bun, her hair was tied up into a small ponytail.
But there were some similarities too. Like the way, she was fully focused on performing her kata with her katana. Her movements were sharp, her speed flawless, just like he saw in his dreams. She looked so focused that she didn't even notice his presence at all. He still couldn't see her face clearly, because of her swift movement and the approaching darkness.
He kept looking at her with an awe expression on his face. He never saw anyone as graceful as her. For some moment he even forgot how to breathe, his heart beating hard, his body became completely numb. He forgot the track of time and didn't even realize that he was gawking at her for a long time. Suddenly, his leg began to feel like jelly as he rested his back over one of the tree to take some support to stand up correctly as he began to thought to himself..
'Am I dreaming again?! But that can't be..! This can't be a dream! But, how can this be happening ! No.. No .. I must be dreaming.. This can't be trusted.'
He kept thinking to himself as suddenly she stopped her movements. His eyes went wide in fear, his heart thumping in anticipation as he saw his dream coming to reality. He saw her slow, lazy movements as she walked towards a nearby bench. She took her water bottle out from her bag as she began to drink from it. He still couldn't see her face because he could only see her backside. She put down her bottle on the bench again and took out one yellow small towel out and started rubbing her face with it.
Ringgg*Ring*
Hearing the sudden ring of Ranma's phone, both of them froze in surprise , Ranma quickly tried to switch off his phone in a panic state and when he again looked up to see her, she was looking back at him with wide disbelief eyes. He got completely caught off guard by her look. It felt to him as if he had forgotten how to react or how to talk to anyone. His eyes unblinking , wide with surprise, mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water, as he saw the girl of his dream standing not too far from him. In his dream, he never saw her face due to her face being covered, and now, he also couldn't see her face because she was holding her towel over her nose.
She looked as surprised as him. Her beautiful brown eyes were the final proof to him that this was the same woman he had always seen on his dreams. Her look was surprised at first, but the surprise didnt last longer as her look slowly turned into fierce annoyanced one. Ranma didn't know what to do at that moment, he was just hoping this to be just a dream, so that he can again wake up to find himself on his bed, alone… But what happened next is not what he was hoping for.
With slow and deliberate movement, she casually removed her towel out from her face and looked at him heatedly.
Ranma took a sharp breath of surprise as he finally saw her face. For the last five years he kept having this dream and he never saw her face. He tried to visualize how she might look without her mask, whenever he thought of her, a beautiful image would flash out into his mind. But now as he was seeing her, his all imagination became true, because for him, he never saw anyone as magnificent as her! In one word, her beauty was taking his breath away..
"Excuse me,? Were you spying on me?"
Hering her voice, he became even more shaken . His body became regid, his mouth open wide, his eyes wider. Her angry brown eyes became curious as she looked at him suspiciously. She carefully came closer to him and asked him again,
"Can't you understand what I am saying to you?"
Ranma started sweating hard as his body began to tremble visibly. She got worried now and started to come towards him,
"Hey, are you alright? Do you need any help? Are you lost?"
She was nearing him as she reached out to help him. But before she could touch his shoulder, his body shook violently as he rushed out from that place and started running with every strength he had.
She looked at his running figure with shock, her hand still in the mid air as she got even more dumbfounded by what just happened… After some moment of surprise filled silence, she said to no one in particular,
"What in the world!"
A/N: I am sorry for the delay guys! But believe me I had valid reasons for that! Three days ago, I was happy that I have finally gotten rid of that problem and now I can give my time to writing. But a new surprise was waiting for me.
I had to go to dr, and dr told me that the cyst that I have on my right shoulder, is infected :(.. So, now I am going through antibiotics T-T.. Because its on my right shoulder, my right arm and hand is also affected and its paining. Which means, I can't write too much :(. Because while I am writing now, its paining..
So, I will take some rest. But that does not mean I won't post. I will try to post regularly. Maybe a little late or the chapters little too short, but still i will try my best.
Don't forget to leave me your review and tell me your opinion. It always makes my day when I see your reviews on my page. Thank you for your support and love. I really appreciate it!