[Fanfic] Bakamoichigei #7

Bakamoichigei #7
(Even a Fool Has One Talent)
Caryll Griffin

Ryoga dropped down to one knee. Sweat dripped off his face as he tried to catch his breath. He hadn't expected the Ki ball to be that big! He leaned against a nearby tree panting. He was drained. Drifting off to sleep, the last thought that ran through his head was, Miyoko.

Akane sat by Miyoko's bed in the nurse's office. Ranma stood by the doorway scratching his head nervously. The nurse walked back in carrying a bowl of water and a wash cloth. Akane stood up and walked over next to Ranma as the nurse sat down, laying the cloth on Miyoko's head. The nurse examined Miyoko one more time and then turned to Ranma and Akane.
"Well? What's wrong with her?" Akane looked at the nurse with pleading eyes. The nurse shrugged. Suddenly a ragged Ryoga rushed into the room. "Ryoga? What are you doing here?!"
Ryoga paid no attention to Akane and rushed over to Miyoko's side. He took her hand and to everyone's surprise, she opened her eyes.
"A-Are you all right Miyoko?" Ryoga's voice was full of concerned. Miyoko weakly smiled at him and squeezed his hand.
"M-Maybe we should take her to Dr. Tofu's." Ranma suggested weakly. Ryoga nodded without turning around. He stood up and picked Miyoko off the bed, holding her in his arms. She laid her head against his chest and held onto his shirt. He turned around and headed to the door. He stopped right outside, waiting for Akane and Ranma.
They lead him outside and they walked in silence to Dr. Tofu's. Miyoko held onto Ryoga's shirt and listened to his rapid heartbeat. He looked down at her and she looked up. She smiled again at him and he smiled back, bending his neck to kiss her.
Ranma walked next to Akane with his hands in his pockets. Akane glanced over her shoulder to see Miyoko and Ryoga kiss. She sighed softly to herself and inched over toward Ranma. Ranma paid no attention to her until she slid her arms around his. Ranma held his breath. He wasn't sure what to do, Akane was holding his arm. He looked down at Akane and she smiled up at him. He relaxed a little.
They walked up to Dr. Tofu's clinic. Akane reluctantly let go of Ranma's arm as they walked in. Ryoga followed right behind them with Miyoko still in his arms. They stood in the doorway as Dr. Tofu led a patient out. He saw Ranma and Akane, and then he saw Ryoga holding Miyoko. His eyes suddenly filled with concern.
He ushered the patient out and walked up to them.
"Ryoga, what's wrong with Miyoko?" He adjusted his glasses. Ryoga walked over to a nearby bed and laid her down. He stood protectively by her bed, holding her hand.
"We don't know. She just collapsed in the hall! The nurse didn't know what was wrong with her." Akane took a step toward Dr. Tofu. He walked over to the bed and gave Ryoga a reassuring look. Ryoga stepped out of his way. Dr. Tofu smiled at Miyoko.
"I hear you collapsed. How are you feeling?"
"I-I'm fine now. I was just tired I guess." She smiled weakly at him. Dr. Tofu looked her over thoroughly and then turned back to Ryoga. He gently put a hand on his shoulder.
"Ryoga, I'm going to need you to leave for a moment."
"But wh-" He looked pleadingly at Dr. Tofu.
"Akane. Why don't you go get Ryoga some tea?"
"Yes, Doctor. C'mon Ryoga." Akane led Ryoga out of the room. Dr. Tofu turned back to Miyoko and watched for a moment. She seemed to be getting a little weaker. Dr. Tofu concentrated for a moment and then turned to Ranma.
"Could you go get Ryoga? I need to talk to him."
"But you just made him leave." Ranma was confused. What was Dr. Tofu doing? He shrugged and brought Ryoga back in. Ryoga immediately walked over to Miyoko's bedside and she seemed to get a little stronger. Dr. Tofu took a note of this. He nodded toward Ranma and Akane, who now stood in the doorway, and they walked out of the room shutting the door behind them. He turned to Ryoga.
"Ryoga, I have something to tell you. Miyoko. Her Life Ki is very weak..." Ryoga seemed to be getting nervous. He continued, "There's something else. It seems that yours and Miyoko's Life Ki are connected. Whenever you aren't near her, her Life Ki decreases a little. Also, have you noticed that your Ki techniques are stronger?"
Ryoga considered this. "Well, now that you mention it, hai."
"Have you done any Ki techniques lately?"
"A-Actually I have. This afternoon really..."
"That's what made her collapse. When you did that technique, you tapped into Miyoko's Life Ki. Now, it seems that your Life Ki was stronger to begin with, so I don't think you'll have to worry about getting weak yourself." Dr. Tofu helps Miyoko sit up and pushes a spot on her back. Miyoko slides off the bed and stands before Ryoga.
"Wow! What was that? I feel better already!"
"That was a pressure point to help build up your Life Ki. It'll take me awhile to figure out who did this and find a cure, so I want you two to stay together as much as possible." He chuckles as the two entwine hands. "But I have a feeling that won't be a problem!" They blush.
"Arigato, Doctor!" They say in unison. Ranma and Akane show up in the doorway and Dr. Tofu explains the situation to them before they leave.
As they walk home, Miyoko and Ryoga happily hold hands.
"Wow! Ryoga really looks happy. I've never seen him that happy before!" Akane leans over and whispers in Ranma's ear. Ranma shivers as he feels Akane's breath over the side of his face.
At the Tendo's, everyone is sitting around the dinner table. Ryoga and Miyoko are sitting next to each other and Akane is sitting next to Ranma. Under the table Miyoko tries to discreetly inch her hand over to Ryoga's but Akane sees her. Akane gets a mischievous glint in her eye and sneaks her hand over to Ranma who is wolfing down his food.
Ranma stops when his bowl is empty, holding it up for seconds. His other hand falls under the table onto his lap. Akane snakes her hand over to his lap and wraps her fingers in his. Ranma's eyes widen and he almost swallows the chopsticks that were sticking out of his mouth. He looks over at Akane with wide eyes and she just grins at him.
After dinner Miyoko makes her way to the most familiar and most comfortable place she knows of; the practice hall. Ryoga follows close behind, the words of Dr. Tofu echoing in his ears and another unfamiliar feeling in his chest.
In the practice hall, Miyoko leans up against Ryoga, her cheek against his chest. Ryoga's arms protectively wrapped around her chest. She leans up and kisses him gently. He kisses her back and they just freeze there for several seconds. They break the kiss and Miyoko sits there with her head resting on Ryoga's shoulder, her face against his neck.
Akane walks into the practice hall but sees Ryoga and Miyoko and just silently steps back out. She walks back to the house and sees Ranma sitting in front of the TV. She walks over and sits down next to him.
Ranma just glances up and smiles at her. She slowly scoots toward him and eventually ends up leaning against him. Ranma freezes. Akane is laying against his shoulder. The only thing he can really do is put his arm around her shoulder. So he does.
This time Akane freezes. She wasn't exactly expecting this. She had expected him to maybe call her a tomboy or something dumb like that. She slowly relaxes, laying her head against his shoulder. As they sit there together, they don't here the several clicks and whirring of a camera. Nabiki smirks as she steps back and heads to her room.
"These could come in handy." She smirks before walking up the stairs.
In the practice hall, Miyoko and Ryoga are still just enjoying one another's company. Miyoko is the first to break the silence.
"Ryoga? Who do you think did this? The whole Life Ki joining?"
"I don't know. I just don't know."
Miyoko snuggles up against him and he sighs contently. They fall asleep together in the practice hall. In the living room, Akane falls asleep still laying against Ranma's shoulder. Not wanting to disturb her, Ranma just leaves her there, to eventually drift off to sleep himself.
Kasumi looks in the living room to see the two asleep. She smiles to herself and walks into the kitchen putting away several bottles of cooking herbs with Chinese characters on them.
The next morning, Miyoko wakes up and sees she's with Ryoga. She smiles and brushes a loose strand of hair off his face. She stretches and flicks her tail to work out the stiffness. She stumbles toward the door and into the house. She starts to feel a little weak and walks into the kitchen. Kasumi is already in the kitchen making breakfast.
"Good morning, Miyoko-chan!" Kasumi gives her her patented smile. Miyoko smiles back weakly and takes an offered piece of food. She walks out of the kitchen rubbing her head.
Akane walks in from the living room and smiles at Miyoko. Suddenly Akane's eyes widen. Miyoko gives her a weird look.
"W-What?"
"M-Miyoko! Look at your hand!"
Miyoko looks down at her hand and her eyes widen too. Without noticing it, Miyoko had somehow formed a Ki ball in her hand. She lifts up her other hand and the Ki ball gets bigger.
"Quick Miyoko! Get out of the house or you'll blow it up!"
Miyoko runs out of the house, and past a dazed looking Ryoga. There is a loud boom and bright flash of light that comes from the garden. Ryoga runs outside to see Miyoko collapse. He runs to her side.
"Miyoko! Miyoko!" Ryoga screams in panic. She opens her eyes and looks up at him.
"W-What did I just do?"
"I-I don't know! But it-it looked like a Shishi Hokodan! D-Do you know-"
Miyoko shakes her head and Ryoga helps her stand up. He helps her into the house and they sit down on the couch. Ranma walks in from the garden with a confused look on his face. Akane follows.
"Miyoko, I didn't know you were trained to do the Sishi Hokodan."
"That's the point! I never was! I-I don't know what happened!" Miyoko just stutters out. Ryoga puts a comforting hand on her shoulder.
"Hai! She was just standing there and all of a sudden I noticed she had a Ki ball forming in her hand! M-Maybe it has something to do with her being connected with Ryoga!"
"Maybe we should ask Dr. Tofu. I mean you could do another one of those at any given time! That's kinda dangerous!" Ranma said standing up.
"Well, I could train her how to use it. Then she can control it." Ryoga looks from Miyoko to Ranma and Akane. They all nod and after breakfast Miyoko leads Ryoga back out to the practice hall.
"Gee, we sure do spend a lot of time in here!" Miyoko smiles at Ryoga. He nods and smiles also. He goes about working on Miyoko's knowledge of the Shishi Hokodan. He has her build up her Ki and form it into a ball. She is able to do it and even keep it that way before it explodes outward.
"Now, the hard part. To master the Shishi Hokodan, you must gather your strength from your emotions. Your depression." Ryoga nods to her to try.
"But I'm not depressed!" Miyoko looks unsure but stands her ground.
"B-But Miyoko, what about that time...in the practice hall...?"
"But that was before...before I fell in love, with you Ryoga!"
Ryoga just stands there staring at her in disbelief. He opens his mouth to speak but no words come out. Tears of joy slowly flow over his cheeks. He takes a very slow and unsure step toward her. She takes a step too, until they are standing right in front of each other. Miyoko slowly places her hand on his cheek. He puts his arms around her waist and Miyoko stands on her toes, kissing him tenderly.
Outside a figure watches them in the shadow of a tree. He twirls a boe in anger and jumps up onto the roof. Standing right outside of the practice hall door, Akane watches them. She smiles and doesn't notice when Ranma walks up behind her and looks into the practice hall, too.
"Gee! They sure have gotten real friendly quickly haven't they? You'd think Ryoga would've nose bleeded by now!" Ranma snickers as he imagines Ryoga's nose exploding. Akane jumps just now realizing Ranma was there.
"Baka! Don't do that!" She playfully swats at his pig-tail hanging in her face because Ranma is bent over her back to see into the practice hall. Ranma smiles back, both not noticing the position they're in.
"So? What do you think?" Ranma asks as he turns back to the couple in the practice hall.
"About what?"
"About Ryoga and Miyoko. Why do you think they're moving so fast?"
Akane shrugs. "I don't know. But I think it's probably because of their backgrounds."
"Backgrounds? What does that have to do with anything?"
"Well, both Ryoga and Miyoko have the worst of luck. He has the worst sense of direction and Miyoko has a tail and tiger ears! Not to mention they were both dumped by their families-"
"Whoa...wait a minute, Ryoga wasn't dumped by his family! They just have such a bad sense of direction they've been lost too!"
"Really? He told me he was dumped. Maybe he thinks he was, or he thinks it's close enough. Either way..."
"Hai, I see what you mean."
On the roof, the figure leans over the side roof listening to the conversation below. They snort at the comments made and pull something out of the backpack sitting in front of them. It's a strange looking ring that extends out to wrap around his wrist. A ruby red eyed dragon's head sticks out on his finger. The sun catches the eyes of the dragon making them twinkle.
Ranma and Akane make their way into the house to see Nabiki watching an American basketball game on TV.
"Hey, Nabiki. What are you watching?" Nabiki looks up at Ranma and smiles her devilish smile feeling the chance to make a little money.
"It's an American basketball game. They seem to love the sport over there..." she smirks "I hear it's a real challenge to play. Not many can cut it."
"Ha! I could play that simple little game of theirs! How hard can an American game be?"
"Oh really? I bet um, hmmm, 1500 yen that you couldn't win a game of two-on-two basketball! What do you say Ranma?"
"Heh, no problem!"
"Then it's a deal! I'll call Kuno-baby, oh and Ukyo too. I'm sure Ryoga wouldn't mind being on your team!" Nabiki smirks and walks over to the phone. Ranma just stares in disbelief at what he had just done.
"Nice going Ranma! You don't have that much money!" Akane crosses her arms and frowns. Ranma makes a cocky smile and puts his arms behind his head.
"Aw come on Akane! This is gonna be EASY! I mean, Kuno and Ukyo?! I bet they've never even played before!"
"You haven't either Ranma!"
Ranma literally wilts. "Oh-Oh yeah...."
Akane smirks and walks off toward the practice hall with Ranma walking behind her. As Akane nears the door, she makes a lot of noise, warning the couple inside. When she opens the door, she sees Miyoko and Ryoga quickly step apart. She smiles and pushes Ranma ahead.
"Uh, Ryoga, I made a bet with Nabiki that I could win a game of American Basketball, and I was wondering....couldyoubemyparner?"
"What? Is that how you ask a favor-oof?"
Miyoko elbows him in the side and he looks down at her. She frowns at him and he grins sheepishly.
"Um, I'd be....happytobeyourpartner."
Miyoko smiles at him and he smiles weakly back at her. Ryoga and Ranma were gonna be paired up no matter how much they hated it. Outside the door, Nabiki looks in and smirks. She loads her camera with new film and chuckles to herself.
"This is gonna be good....."

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To be Continued...
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C&C is welcome! What do you think? Should I go ahead with the Basketball game? Tell me! ^_^

The sig isn't automatic anymore so this is all you get! :P
Caryll Griffin
mmccrabb@nv-vb.mindspring.com