DYNASTY - CHAPTER FOUR - PART B
By Sydney Kyle <jantzen77@hotmail.com>
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* * * DYNASTY * * *
A Ranma 1/2 Fanfic
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CHAPTER FOUR:
Part B
Retaliation
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"Wh-WHAT??" shrieked Soun.
Mousse looked like he wasn't sure whether to be thankful or not.
Shampoo looked like she was in heaven. Ryouga looked dazed.
Different thoughts circled around their heads.
"Oh, good!" chirped Kasumi as she caught the last strains of
Cologne's harangue. "Overnight guests!"
"Oh, great." Ranma rubbed his temples. "As if we didn't already have
a certain pig to shelter in this house."
Ryouga was restrained by Akari in mid-lunge.
"What about you, great-grandmother?" queried Shampoo in concern, as
Cologne slid open the shoji.
"I will be fine," responded the old woman. "The clan will not bother
me." Before she let herself out, she oscillated one more time to address
them. "If you are adamant about going out there tomorrow, then I cannot
stop you from going. But expect them to show up. Expect them to fight
you." She set her mouth in a tight, grim line. "And expect them to win."
"Not this time," Ranma said softly.
They all gaped at him, astounded.
He grinned. "I have a plan."
There was a lengthy stillness before Ryouga let out a long breath.
"Well, that's it," he announced with grave finality. "We're dead."
Ranma was restrained by Akane in mid-lunge.
* * * * * *
"Are you sure this plan of yours is gonna work, Ranma?"
Ranma sighed as they trudged together down the corridors that led
to their bedrooms. "That's the two hundred fifty-sixth time you've
asked me that question, Akane," he pointed out tiredly. "I toldja, it
_has_ to work. I mean, there ain't no way it can go wrong."
"What if they don't show up when you want them to?"
Ranma did a double take. "Uhm--ah--"
"What if they kidnap you before you can talk to them?"
Ranma scratched his head frantically. "I'm thinkin', Akane..."
"What if they go for one of the others first instead of you?"
He was racking his brain for some sort of comeback. "Not so fast,
Akane...I'm thinkin' here..."
Akane stopped walking and crossed her arms sternly in front of her
yellow cotton nightgown. "Oh, for crying out loud, Ranma," she snorted.
"Face it--this whole scheme's too dangerous. It's not going to work!"
Ranma stopped as well, his moonlit features contorted in an
irritated frown. "Well, would you rather that I _not_ go to school with
you at all, Akane? That it?"
Amazement and indignation flooded onto her countenance. "N-No!
That's not it at all...I..." She fixed her gaze on her slipper-clad
toes, her fingers bunching the soft canary cotton of her nightgown. "I
just...I just don't want you to disappear on me like that again,
Ranma."
Her last statement was nearly inarticulate and barely comprehensible,
but it hit Ranma like a full-force slap on the cheek. Was it possible
that she really _didn't_ hate him then? Not even after that joke of a
wedding? He hardly dared to even hope.
For a minute he stood there, in his sleeveless white undershirt and
worn yellow blue-lined boxers, unable to formulate some sort of
response to her sentence. Then he opted for the casual reply. "I
thought we weren't talkin' to each other, Akane," he said nonchalantly.
Akane stared at him, as if attempting to gauge what in hell had made
him address that topic, of all things. Then again, she felt obligated to
explain to him why they were suddenly conversing again after that mutual
unspoken agreement they'd made after that wedding disaster. "Well, this
doesn't count, Ranma. You were nearly killed..." She hesitated for a
moment. "And it's funny, but...after what happened
today, it seems silly to be mad about the whole wedding thing, you
know?"
"Yeah," agreed Ranma.
They were quiet again.
Then Ranma spoke. "Akane, the plan _is_ gonna work, you know."
Akane couldn't reign in the wave of doubtfulness that washed across
her face.
"Come on, Akane. You gotta trust me on this. Pop and the others're
all for it, and Shampoo's already placed in that Jusenkyo mail-order
product for overnight delivery. So if and when those jerks show up at
all, I'll be able to fight them on _my_ terms."
Her brows knitted together. "I still want _in_, Ranma."
Ranma looked at her like she'd grown another head. "We already
talked about this, Akane," he said as sensibly as he could. "It's too
dangerous for someone like y--"
"You mean for someone of my _skills_, right?" Her voice was
ominously quiet. Sort of like the gentle hissing of a cobra before the
bite.
Ranma gulped. If there was anything Akane didn't want to be reminded
of, it was her fighting skills--or lack thereof. "Uhm--no! No!
'Course not!"
It was to no avail, of course. After all, it _was_ one in the
morning, and an Akane deprived of sleep was an Akane he didn't want to
mess with.
"Have it your way, Ranma," she huffed, then stormed down the hallway
ahead of him. A quarter-minute later, he heard her slam the door of her
bedroom with a force that initiated a tremor that could have registered
a 9.5 on the Richter scale.
Ranma stood there, motionless.
Then Akane poked her head one more time out of her bedroom door.
"And one more thing, Ranma Saotome--"
He looked up.
"--I don't care if I _do_ catch Shampoo on your bed again!!!"
This time it was a 10 on the Richter scale.
Ranma remained still. Then a tiny smile stole across his mouth.
"She's so cute when she's angry," he murmured.
And he retired to his room for the night.
* * * * * *
Ryouga waited for the aftershocks to pass before reclining back down
on his futon. He sighed, recalling Akane's outraged parting words to
Ranma after the first initial quake. Briefly he wondered if that was the
kind of goodnight that Ranma received every night.
How different it was when Akane had bid _him_ goodnight. She'd
graced him with that gentle smile of hers, made sure that he was
comfortable on the futon she'd rolled out for him on the floor, made
certain that he had an extra blanket, then whispered, "Good night,
Ryouga" before exiting the living room.
Akane had been so attentive toward him, and so hostile toward Ranma.
And yet, there was a certain _something_ between her and Ranma that
Ryouga could never, ever make out.
Mousse's snoring at the other side of the room intruded his
cogitation for a second, and Ryouga opened his bleary eyes. Mousse was
on his side, dead to the world, glasses perched atop his head in an
awkward angle, his long raven hair radiating from his head like the
spokes of a wheel, his mouth yawning open as he slept. Apparently, he'd
been too tired to arrange himself in a comfortable position or even
conduct his customary checks on his beloved Shampoo, who had taken up
residence in the Tendo dojo guest room. Not that Ryouga expected her to
actually _stay_ there, of course. She would probably find some way to
sneak over to Ranma's bed.
Ryouga scowled. What did that Chinese Amazon girl see in Ranma,
anyway? Yeah, he'd beaten her once or twice, but what kind of girl would
fall in love with a guy who defeated her?
A Chinese Amazon, of course.
Still, Ranma certainly didn't seem to return her sentiments. Mousse,
on the other hand, was crazy about her, and yet she shot down his
romantic fantasies the most ignominious ways conceivable.
Ryouga wondered briefly if that was some sort of parallel to his
predicament with Ranma and Akane.
Damn.
He turned restlessly in the futon and punched the pillow. All
thoughts of the Dragon clan and all that had happened tonight were
banished from his head. Instead he mulled over his dilemma.
What did Ranma have that _he_ didn't? Well, for starters, he turned
into a girl when he was splashed with cold water. He was the best
martial artist in Nerima. He had somehow managed to land himself four
fiancees--Akane, Kodachi, Shampoo, and Ukyou.
Come to think of it, what did Kodachi ever see in Ranma? Ryouga
wrinkled his nose. Never mind. He would rather not know. Shampoo--well,
with her it was all about some sort of nutty Amazon tribal law. And
Ukyou...Ukyou was the most stable one in that lot, along with Akane.
What the hell did _she_ see in Ranma, anyway?
Ryouga sat up and pulled off his long-sleeved travelling shirt. For
a spring night in Nerima, it was unusually warm.
He collapsed back on the sheets and shut his eyes. He was exhausted
from thinking. All he wanted was to drift off to sleep, where he would
be free to dream about Akane...
"Ryouga-sama?"
He laid himself flat on his stomach. Damn. He was already beginning
to hear things.
"Ryouga. Over here."
The next second he propped himself up on his elbows, shrinking
slightly back as his vision was accosted by a brilliant shaft of moon-
light. The glare softened somewhat as his eyes adjusted to the glare,
and he was astonished to see the slim silhouette of a young girl
outlined in the opened sliding doors that led to the patio.
"A-Akari?!"
In response, she closed the shoji, strode past Mousse to where
Ryouga was sprawled on his futon, and kneeled beside him. "Hi, Ryouga."
Ryouga stared up at her, his throat constricting. Akari Unryuu was,
without a doubt, one of the most beautiful girls he'd ever met--and,
seeing as how he spent about seventy percent of his life on a global
trek meeting countless girls of different nationalities, that
certainly meant something. "Akari...what--what're you doing here?"
She tucked a stray strand of brown hair behind her ear, a demure
gesture. "Grandfather was wondering where you were. I told him, and he
insisted that I stay with you, no matter what."
Ryouga chewed on his bottom lip. He'd long suspected that maybe the
old man was resorting to great lengths to fixing him up as his grand-
daughter's fiance, and now that suspicion had just been confirmed. "You
know...Akari, you really didn't have to do that--"
"It's all right, Ryouga," she interrupted him softly. "I _wanted_ to
stay with you."
The expression on his face was something between incredulity and
gratefulness. When she slipped onto the futon beside him, he didn't
protest. They'd spent more than one night curled up in the same bed for
warmth during the winter nights, in the guest room of Grandfather
Unryuu's country house. It was an example of the trust they retained
between each other, and oddly enough, the old man didn't seem to mind.
For some reason, he actually encouraged it.
Ryouga shifted his body a little, mildly surprised that he couldn't
even feel his nose heating, even though Akari's clothes were the only
things that separated his skin from hers. He supposed that it was
because he was already accustomed to her so close to him.
"Hey, Akari?" His voice was muffled in her hair.
"Yes, Ryouga-sama?"
"You're not mad at me, are you? Not even after I decided to leave?"
She snuggled closer to him. "No. And neither was Grandfather. He
just felt that you needed a little more time to think."
"Akari," Ryouga began tentatively, "you already know I love Akane."
She nodded, the crown of her head colliding gently against his chin.
"I know that, Ryouga-sama. But I'm not going to stand by and give you up
without a fight. Not this time."
He just nodded, not trusting himself to say another word. He
tightened his arms around her and fell asleep, too fatigued to care
what the other occupants of the house would say if they caught him in
this compromising position.
Akari promptly fell asleep as well.
And outside, several figures watched from hidden crevices, stoic and
unwavering, never ceasing their vigil on the Tendo dojo.
Inside, their targets slumbered in blissful ignorance.
* * * * * *
Ranma tapped his pencil faster against his desk.
The coil of tension in his stomach was stretched tight to the
breaking point, and he was literally aching for something--anything--
to happen in order to break the state of monotony that currently
reigned.
The morning had gone off well enough. He'd woken up with Shampoo
curled up beside him on his futon, and Mousse had chosen that exact
moment to come barging in screaming, "How dare you defile my beautiful
Shampoo!!" This had only earned him the reward of getting up close and
personal with the bedroom wall, compliments of Shampoo. Ranma was only
glad that Akane had overslept, otherwise he was certain that he would
be would be getting intimate with the bedroom wall as well. He'd
showered, dressed himself in a sleeveless white Chinese shirt and dark
pants, then headed down for a hurried breakfast. On the way he'd bumped
into a sullen Akane, who'd promptly demonstrated to him in no uncertain
terms that she had no intention of speaking to him today. After nursing
his swollen jaw a bit, Ranma had quickly devoured his breakfast and
checked the living room to make sure that a certain someone was up and
about and hadn't wandered off in the night trying to locate the
bathroom. His sudden entrance, of course, had scared the hell out of a
shirtless Ryouga, who'd been cuddling in his futon with a sleepy-looking
Akari. Ryouga had practically flown out of his bed and dived into his
shirt with blazing speed, much to Ranma's amusement. A few rounds of
teasing and prodding from Ranma regarding Ryouga's nocturnal activities
had resulted in yet another blow to an already-sore jaw.
Ranma had staggered out of the room after informing Ryouga that he was
ready to depart for school, and was subjected to another round of
nursing by Kasumi before setting out with Akane towards Furinkan High.
The trip had gone smoothly, with no sign of any armored samurai
figures or whatnot. And of course, Akane ignored him the whole way.
<It's for her own _good_,> Ranma thought, his brow creasing. <These
people're dangerous. I ain't lettin' get mixed up into this 'cause of
me. Nope, I've seen that happen back on Mount Phoenix, and I ain't
gonna let _that_ happen again...not ever...>
He heard a snap and quickly glanced down at his hands. Great. He'd
broken his pencil in half. He fought back a chuckle.
<Geez, man, get a grip on yourself! It ain't like-->
"Perhaps you would like to share your thoughts with us, Mr.
Saotome?"
The stern, dry-humored voice of Sensei Tanaka was enough to bring
Ranma out of his trance-like state. "Yes, sensei?"
Sensei Tanaka drilled at him through strict steel-rimmed spectacles.
"You were not paying attention to the lecture, Mr. Saotome."
Ranma eased back languidly in his chair, acutely aware of his
classmates' eyes trained on him. "Uh, sorry 'bout that, Teach."
"Mr. Saotome," fumed the sensei, "I have had quite enough of your
sarcastic remarks. I see that your reputation indeed serves you well--"
Ranma sighed. The Hinako incident. His attack on the principal with
the pineapple fetish. His penchant for entangling himself in countless
exhibitions of martial arts violence in and out of the campus. His
reputation was notorious indeed.
"RANMA SAOTOME."
Ranma looked up, just in time to see Sensei Tanaka's admonishing
expression melt into one of shock and disbelief. A swift glimpse at his
fellow students revealed that this wasn't Sensei Tanaka speaking.
"RANMA SAOTOME. SHOW YOURSELF TO US NOW."
That voice...it wasn't human. Loud and soft at the same time, and
seemingly close yet distant. Smooth yet guttural, like one disemodied.
It reverberated throughout the history classroom's walls, sending
chills through Ranma's spine.
Ranma slowly got up from his desk, and the entire class followed.
"DID YOU REALLY THINK THAT YOU COULD ESCAPE US?"
Outside, through the enormous sliding glass windows of the room,
Ranma could see them, all thirty of them, clad in their iridescent
armor of red, gold, green, and black, gathered in a half-circle. In the
middle was a figure garbed in red and gold, whom Ranma pinpointed
easily as the leader of the throng. The same one who'd brought Ranma
down the first time he'd faced off against them.
"FACE US, SAOTOME!"
Furinkan High stood still and silent, with the entire student body
holding their breath as they congregated at the eastern windows.
Hiroshi and Daisuke appeared at Ranma's side, examining the regiment
below them with rapidly increasing alarm.
"Geez, what'd ya get yourself into _this_ time?" muttered Daisuke.
Hiroshi studied the grimness on his friend's face with growing
apprehension. "Ranma," he began cautiously, "what're you gonna do now?"
* * * * * *
Shiro snorted in derision as he turned away from the building. These
upperworlders. All cowards. He would not have even considered the
thought of calling out the target for a showdown if Lord Takuma had not
insisted upon it. Takuma had been certain that the target would come.
The clan wasn't even supposed to _be_ here. The emperor and empress
had forbidden them from hunting down the last five. But then again,
Shiro knew better than to question Lord Takuma's orders.
He was on the verge of commanding the others to disperse, when
without warning, a white blur streaked down from a third-story window
and came to a rest directly in front of the clan.
Shiro stared. In front of him was a boy, about sixteen years old,
clad in a loose white Chinese shirt and dark pants, with thick dark
hair tied tightly back into a pigtail. There was an unmistakable flare
of determination in his gray-blue eyes.
Shiro smothered a satisfied grin. "Ranma Saotome, I presume?"
The boy didn't bat an eye. "Bingo."
=end of Chapter Four=
Next: Ranma vs. the Dragon clan--with a few additions, and a cure...
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