Chaotic Waters Act 1, Chapter 16: Decisions and a Deserved Punishment.
Okay, good mood gone.
Michiru couldn't stop her eye from twitching as she looked at the wall of teenage girls blocking her from the changing room. Some of them were even holding broom handles like they were gonna try to fight her if she insisted on coming in.
Seriously?
Gosunkuki was more intimidating than these girls, hell the old lady who would always splash her back in Nerima was more intimidating than these girls!
"Is there a problem?" She asked, straining to keep a polite tone and not just push her way in.
"We don't want you or your girlfriend in here perving on us!" One girl snapped, glaring at the teal haired girl. "You two and your sick freak thoughts need to stay away from us!"
"Ok, that's going too far."Her eyes narrowed sharply as she glared back at the girls. "First of all, Sasaki-san isn't my girlfriend. And secondly-" She growled, cutting of another girl who looked about to protest. "We have never done anything together except sleep in the same apartment, in different rooms, because we were talking and it got too dark for her to walk home on her own in a district whereyouma are known to pop up."
"Then why was she in your apartment then?!"
"For fucks sake, I just said we were talking, classmates talk, it happens!" The teal haired girl exclaimed, throwing up her hands. "She was trying to help me out with something personal, neither of us were trying to get in each other's pants!" Were all high school girls this paranoid about things that didn't matter?"Though, going off of that nice boobs comment Mayu made somehow I get the feeling she wouldn't mind getting into my pants, not that these girls need to know that."
"And what about you and Prince Tenoh?!" A girl in the back yelled.
"Oh my gods, they actuallydocall him that."She stared wide-eyes at the girl who had spoke. "You havegotto be kidding me."
"Ha! So you did sleep with him!"
"The hell I did!" She snapped, glaring at the girl who had spoken until she shrank back. "Whether you all believe me or not I haven't slept with anyone at this school!"
"You were seen going into his apartment with him!"
"And what-" She started, gritting her teeth. "-was the weather like two days ago?"
"...what does that have to do with anything?" One of the girls in the front muttered, Nishikawa unsurprisingly.
"I was eating at a ramen shop and Haruka came in to eat something. We talked for a bit and, when I walked out to leave, it wasraining. He offered to let me use one of his towels since his place was closer and after both of us dried off he thought I should stay the nightforthe same reason I thought Sasaki-san should."
"Do you honestly expect us to believe that that's the truth?" Nishikawa asked, glaring at the teal haired girl.
"Yes! Because it is!"
"I can believe that, she's too ugly to date Prince Tenoh." One girl muttered.
She had to fight to keep the amused look off of her face, after all Haruka and herweregoing on a date later, albeit a fake one."And besides-"She thought to herself, warmth spreading across her cheeks."-he called me pretty...actually, now that I think about it, why does that make me happy? It really shouldn't, I'm a guy after all."Then again...did that really matter? Tsubasa was a guy and he liked being called pretty. Maybe she was like that too? Shedidlike a lot of girly things, like eating parfaits and collecting makeup, not that she ever really wore any before she donned her Michiru disguise, aside from the occasional bit of eyeshadow. Honestly it was a miracle she managed to keep her collection a secret while she'd been living at the Tendo's, what with how nosey the middle Tendo sister was. Then there was that thing she did whenever she wore a new skirt or dress, she always had to do a little twirl if she was alone. Kasumi actually did see her do that once...come to think of it, it wasn't long after that the eldest Tendo sister had given her some of her old makeup to throw away. Old makeup that looked like it had never been used. Old makeup that would be the start of her collection. A collection that Kasumi had to have known about considering how much the older Tendo cleaned."Son of a bitch, she knew the whole time!"
"Hellooo, are you even listening?!" One of the girls remarked, waving her hand in front of the teal haired girl.
"...fuck it, I'm not being late to class."Michiru thought, pushing her way past the other girls. "Look if you all want to think I'm some kind of slut, go right ahead, won't change the truth." She said without turning around. "Haruka and I didn't do anything and neither did me and Mayu, 'sides she was too busy staring at my brother to flirt with me, let alone sleep with me."
"Wait what?/You have a brother/Sasaki-san's straight?!"
-Juban Station-
Over the two years since Genma and Ranma had come to Nerima, certain truths had formed in the minds of the other residents.
"If a red-head is talking to a food vendor, then said vendor will give her enough free food to ruin the profits for the day."
"If you see a panda, something has been stolen."
"Tendo Nabiki is a demon."
"If you see a teen with a pigtail, things are about to get weird"
"Tendo Kasumi is a saint among women and any who make her angry will see the heavens rain down divine judgement upon them...unless you give her consent."
...Okay so that last one wasn't as well known to most of the people in Nerima, just a small group of her submissi-err friends. Either way most of the people in Nerima knew about those truths. One said "truth" that the people of Nerima knew was that Ranma got his hair brained schemes from his father.
Had they seen Nodoka that day they would have immediately shifted the blame to her.
That is, if they recognized her.
A crisp suit and tie, sleek black pants and shoes, and not a sword in sight. The woman's look was so completely different from her norm that few would immediately know who she was, and that was before all of the other changes. Her shoulder length red hair had been cut even shorter, to the base of her neck, and dyed black, she'd bound her breasts, she'd even used some makeup to appear more masculine! Very few would be able to tell she was not a man from a distance, and even fewer would stop her to take a closer look.
To be honest the thing that irritated her the most about her current look was the change in hair color. If anything she found the disguise...strangely freeing, like a weight she hadn't known about had been taken off of her. Really, she shouldn't be doing this, walking around pretending to be a man, it just seemed so dishonorable.
Even if the sight of her reflection in the glass windows she passed sent a shiver of glee down her spine for some reason.
Now...where was her child?
-Juban High-
His throat was still sore. Every breath, every swallow, every word he spoke hurt."Maybe I should have stayed home? It's not like Kaioh and I need to go on our "date" today in particular...nah, I'll be fine, it's probably just a cold."He mused."Still...I wasn't expecting mom to send me that box of stuff from when I was a kid, let alone that there would be that group photo I took with the others in there."He'd barely had enough time to put all of his things away before leaving to get to class!
"Hey, Tenoh! Nice job with the new girl!" He heard one of the guys in his class call out, probably Uchimura.
A quick glance proved his suspicions to be true much to his annoyance, he couldn't stand the guy. "Nothing happened. It was raining, I let her use a towel because we both got caught in the rain." He said firmly."No way in hell am I letting him know she used my shower, or that I ended up on top of her!"
"Yeah right, a girl like that? No way you kept your hands to yourself!"
I'm gonna kill him. I can fly him above the clouds and drop him into the Mariana Trench with weights tied to his ankles, no-one will ever find him except the fishes...okay maybe I hung out with Hibari too much as a kid."he mused."Well that and I still fall out of the sky half of the time, releasing mana in a constant stream and holding onto something is hard, even more so when it's yourself."Shaking his head, he glared at his classmate. "Like I said, nothing happened. We talked, she used a towel to dry off, we talked some more, and then she spent the night because it was dark and this is Juban. You know the youma capital of Japan?"
"Wait really?" The boy scoffed incredulously. "If she'd been in my apartment I wouldn't let her leave without getting a little something in return." The lecherous grin on his face told the blond all he needed to know about what exactly his classmate meant.
"And that right there is why you'll never have a girlfriend." He muttered, closing his eyes and turning a corner."...note to self, give this guy's name to Hibari. She'll scare him straight and then some."
"I didn't think you'd be such a-" Uchimura cut himself off with a strangled noise, much to the blond racer's confusion.
"What now?" He muttered, opening his eyes.
Death greeted him with a smile.
Michiru was standing there in her gym uniform smiling gently at the two of them with her eyes closed and it was the most terrifying thing he had ever seen. She didn't glare, she didn't shout, she didn't do anything except smile. Really how bad could it be, it's not like she could have heard this idiot open his mou-"Uchimura-san, Tenoh-san."
Fuck. She did hear him, and she was definitely pissed about it.
"I'm afraid something you said caught my attention, though I don't think I heard it correctly." The teal haired girl said sweetly, turning her head to face Uchimura. "Could you please repeat what you said...something about getting something in return?"
"Ahhh it was nothing!" The other boy said quickly waving his hands in front of his face. "It's not worth getting murdered-I mean, it's nothing important!"
"Really? In that case I will have to ask you not to say such unimportant things again..." She trailed off opening her eyes and fixing the idiot with a frigid stare, her smile unwavering. "Am I understood?"
"Yes!" The boy managed to squeak out before dashing inside the gymnasium.
"That...was terrifying." Haruka shivered, staring at his classmate with wide eyes. "Forget about the date, just do that to the students here, no one will say anything bad about you again."
"I wish, it's less effective when used on a large crowd." Michiru muttered, the terrible smile fading into a slight frown. "Trust me, if that was all it took I'd've used it on the idiots back home." She glanced at him before taking a closer look, her frown shifting into concern. "Hey...you don't look so good, you sure you're okay to do the date after class? We can always do it another day if you're not feeling well."
"Huh? ...oh, right, the date! No, I'm fine. I probably just didn't get enough sleep is all." He said, waving her off. "Besides, I said we could do it after class, and a man's gotta keep his word right?"
His classmate was silent for a moment, her eyes filled with...something Haruka couldn't identify. Guilt? Loss? Something in his words had had some kind of impact with the teal haired girl, her shoulders drooping as if she had been reminded of a weight she'd been carrying all along. "Yes...a man should keep his word." Her reply was so soft and so very sad that all the blonde could do was stare at her back as the girl walked into the gym.
Why did he have to say that? Why did Haruka have to remind her that she needed to go back? She'd been away from Nerima for almost a month at this point and what did she have to show for it? Nothing. If anything she had even less of an idea what she should do then before! Come to think of it, the last time she'd practiced the Art was back at the Tendo's! Her time away had clearly made her soft and yet...and yet...
She didn't want to go back.
In just a few days she'd received more support than she'd ever had in her entire life. There were people here who cared about her and not just what she could do for them. They cared about her well-being, about her happiness, about...well,her. True it was only Sasaki and Haruka, but still... those two had shown more consideration for her than anyone in Nerima ever had. Every day there had been a struggle, she couldn't walk two feet without someone attacking her or something crazy happening. But here? Here the days had been...calm, fun even! Working at the shrine, going to club meetings, even the two times she'd spent the night with her classmates. She'd enjoyed almost every minute here in Juban and for once in her life she could actually say she felt happy! Why couldn't the gods or fate or whatever just give her a break and let her be happy?! She didn't want to go back to Nerima and marry anyone there, she didn't want to have people trying to attack or kill her every five minutes, she didn't want to be forced to be a ma-
Her arm shot out to stop the red projectile that was flying at her face. She twisted her body and released it, flinging it back in the direction it came from.
Right into Uchimura's crotch.
She winced, watching the perverted boy seize up after the dodgeball slammed into his family jewels before he collapsed on the ground groaning in pain.
"Oops." Was all she could say as every male there started at her in abject terror, save Haruka who gave her a discreet thumbs up.
Maaaybe gym class wasn't the best time to think about things?
-Juban streets-
Perhaps coming to Juban without a plan aside from finding Ranma had been a bad idea? Sure she'd left when the Tendo's were at school, less chance of Nabiki following her that way, but she still didn't have a cluewherein Juban her son was.
"Are you sure you even have a son?"
And wasn't that the question of the decade? She gave birth to a son, she knew that, but the child she'd seen emerge from the canal had most definitely been a girl, in body at least. Such a little thing had not stopped her from recognizing her child, how could it when the girl before her had the same deep blue eyes as her son? Sure, the girl's appearance had made her suspicious that they were related somehow, but it had been those eyes that had told her everything she needed to know.
Of course the fact that her child was magically cursed and not a crossdresserhadtaken her a moment to process.
Still...even when she had thought her child was a crossdresser, that hadn't stopped the sheerjoyshe'd felt upon reuniting with her child. She'd been so confused though about why her son looked the way he did that she'd just...acted like her child was just another young tomboy that first time. And then, when they'd met again at the Tendo's, Ranma had been putting on that "cute Ranko" act that she...well she'd just played along.
"And it had nothing to do with how much you've always wanted a daughter of your own, ever since Saeko had hers."That...that might have something to do with it if she was being honest with herself.
The two of them had been childhood friends and classmates throughout Nodoka's entire time in school. "Close as sisters" that was how people used to describe the two of them back when they were children. Of course, back then this had amused the two of them greatly, they had done some things that were very unsisterly. Saeko had actually been the first person she'd kissed her first other things as well, not that her husband ever knew. It was actually because of Saeko that Nodoka had met Genma, something the other girl deeply regretted. The two of them had snuck out to go to a party on her eighteenth birthday and...well...things happened. A couple weeks later she found out she was pregnant and a few months after that her and Genma were wed.
Saeko hadn't talked to her for a month after the wedding, out of guilt or anger Nodoka had never been able to figure out, even after all these years. They'd drifted apart slowly until, not long after Genma had left with their child, Saeko had called her for advice!
She had found herself pregnant with her own child in a surprisingly similar series of events that Nodoka had and needed advice from someone who understood. Of course, Nodoka had been more than thrilled to help out and reunite with her old friend and so, without even thinking about it, she'd jumped in head first. It had been amazing, being there for her old friend, watching her slowly start to show her pregnancy and be there after the woman gave birth. Nodoka had actually been one of the first people to hold the newborn girl! That single moment had made her wish for a daughter of her own, a daughter that Genma wouldn't take away from her, that wouldn't have to learn the martial arts unless they wanted to, a child that could be best friends with Saeko's own child. Of course, her wish had been impossible, Genma was traveling all over the world with Ranma and wouldn't be back for some time, but it had been fun to dream a little.
They still found the time to meet up and talk occasionally, once or twice a month, but was hard for the other woman to find the time with her career and her own family.
"And speaking of family, you're still avoiding thinking about what to do with yours."
As for as her husband was concerned...well after the folder she'd received from Nabiki he wouldn't be her husband for very much longer if she had anything to say about it. She didn't care what reason the man gave her, there was nothing that could ever excuse putting their child through the Neko-ken training. But her child? Her baby?
...no, there was nothing in this world or any other that could ever make her abandon those deep blue eyes again. No matter what she found, whether it be a son or a daughter, she would be there for them as she should have from the very beginning.
All she had to do, was find them.
-Inside Crown Game Center-
"You know, one of these days you have to teach me that smile trick." Haruka said as he dipped a French fry in ketchup before popping it into his mouth. "I would love to use it on people when I'm feeling more like a girl."
The two of them had left the school after their respective clubs let out, something both of them had forgotten about much to Michiru's amusement and had made their way here. It wasn't the sort of place she'd normally go, arcades weren't really her thing, but the milkshake she'd ordered had surprised her with how good it was.
"I could try to teach you how to do it, but you'd have a hard time pulling it off." She replied, taking a small sip of her vanilla milkshake. "The hard part is giving off the feeling of both vulnerability and danger at the same time."
"You don't think I could be dangerous?"
"Actually, it's the opposite." The teal haired girl explained, leaning back into her chair. "You already give off a subtle feeling of being dangerous, most people wouldn't pick up on it. The only reason I noticed is because...well I've been around people that actuallyaredangerous." That was putting it lightly, Mouse threw around sharp weapons like confetti, Ryoga could blow up a mountain with his Shin Shishi Hōkōdan, and Happosai or the Old Ghoul? The less said about them the better. "It probably has to do with the martial arts training you've done."
The blonde blinked in surprise, slowly lowering the burger he was about to take a bite of. "How...?"
"I can see it in how you move. You studied Karate and...Judo if I had to guess."
"...have I ever told you that you scare me?"
"No, but it's nice to feel appreciated." The teal haired girl said with a smirk, nibbling on one of her own fries. "To tell you the truth, most of the people I know would have been able to figure out that much." Hell, the Ghoul and the Perv probably could have figured out when the racer first started practicing the Art.
"Jeez, who do you know, ancient martial arts masters who live up on a mountain?"
"Kind of? I mean she runs a restaurant where i used to live before here but she's from a mountain village in China."
"...you're telling me you know an ancient martial arts master, from a secluded mountain village in China, that runs a resteraunt...in Japan?"
"Unfortunately." Michiru grumbled before taking a bite of her own burger. "She's more trouble than she's worth, trust me." True the amount of martial art techniques the ancient amazon knew was insane, but it wasn't worth putting up with her.
Haruka tilted his head in confusion, the straw of his soda held between his lips. "What do you mean?"
The teal haired girl bit her bottom lip as she thought about which example to use and what all she could say of it. "...How much do you know about pressure points?" She asked after a moment.
"Just that there's a lot of them and some martial arts focus on them, why?"
"There's a lot you can do with them." Michiru began, fiddling with a french fry. "You can cause someone severe pain or dull it, you could paralyze someone's limbs, or even stop someone's heart." She shuddered, feeling the old crone's staff press into her chest. "There's even one to mess with your sense of temperature. If it's used on you, even lukewarm water feels like it's scalding."
"Yeah right, like something like that exists!" The blond exclaimed with a laugh before wincing and putting his hand on his head.
"You okay?"
Slowly, Haruka pressed the outside of his cool drink to his head before nodding. "Headache." He grunted, closing his eyes against the pain.
"If you want, we can stop here, I'm sure Nishikawa and Hasegawa-san have seen enough at this point." Michiru whispered, glancing at another booth where the two girls could be seen spying on them. She looked away and shook her head, did those girls really think they were being stealthy? Her eyes drifted back to her "date" and started to get up, only to freeze at the boy's look of confusion.
"What are you talking about? The date hasn't even started yet."
...what? That couldn't be right, what they were doing now, talking and eating together could definitely be considered a date, Haruka had even paid! Not that Michiru actually followed that nonsense of the guy paying for everything on the date, but still! "I don't...I mean this seems pretty date-like to me."
For a moment, her classmate just stared at her before he started muttering something angrily under his breath.
"What was that?"
"I said I'm going to strangle your fiancé." The blond growled. "If you think just hanging out is a date then obviously he didn't know what the hell he was doing. What was he thinking, taking a pretty girl on crappy dates?"
Oh, her face was doing that thing again where it turned as red as her undyed hair, lovely. "S-he never uhm...well he never took me on any dates."
"Is he gay? Seriously, tell me he's gay, that's the only possible reason I can think of."
"Well...he did have a crush this one doctor his family saw..."
"I fucking knew it!" The blond exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air before wincing again in pain. "Owww, note to self, no yelling with a headache."
A strange fluttering built in her chest, like the flapping of a butterfly's wings. It grew and grew, filling her from the tip of her head to her toes, getting stronger and stronger until it burst from her lips in a fit of laughter. This strange boy that was sometimes a girl, this strange girl that was sometimes a boy, how alike they were. Just as her body changed at the drop of a hat, how this boy saw himself changed as well. In a way, they were two sides of the same coin.
Two parts of a whole.