The teacher
Part 10
Hearts of luke warm water!!
Makoto Unigawa sat down in a worn out old chair that rested in the
center of her run down looking apartment on the south side of Nerima.
Just outside of her window a wonderful view of Japan Rail's busiest track
awaited anyone who wished to gaze upon it. The neighborhood was a hole in
the city and most of the citizens in the area kept their doors locked
most of the time. Still, it was not a complete slum, most of the
neighbors where working class and good people; only a few exceptions kept
things bad in the area.
She was a pretty woman in her mid-twenties; her long golden hair flowed
to the middle of her back and her body was kept in excellent shape from
the many aerobics classes and various other training she had tried in
order to fix her 'problem'; unfortunately none of them worked very well.
She had an unusual amount of strength in her body, especially for a woman
her size, she was also what most people would call a clutz; a more
accurate term would be walking disaster area. Coordination classes,
etiquette training, tea ceremony, martial arts; You name it and it failed
to cure her; most often with her being thrown from the class by angry
students and instructors. She sighed as she rested her head in her palm
and watched the fuzzy and soundless reception on her tiny television set
in boredom. Turning to her answering machine, she frowned at the single
message that waited for her; knowing it to be a bad idea she pressed the
button to listen anyway.
"Makoto honey, this is your mother calling; I'm worried about you! Your
twenty five years old and still single! I want to have some grandchildren
one day before I die; please honey, call me. I know this guy at work and
he's really interesting! He'd love to meet you, I showed him your picture
and he about died! Tell me when he can pick you up so I can send him
over." She snorted in disgust at the idea.
"Interesting? Mother's code word for repulsive; besides, I've never had
a relationship that lasted longer than a month anyway." she turned her
head towards the clock and frowned before placing a pair of earplugs on.
The whole building shuddered violently as the train roared by angrily;
the television set fell to the ground and exploded in a shower of sparks
causing her to frown even more. "At least this house is perfect for me."
she turned and walked over to the door grabbing her coat and placing the
earplugs on a small night stand.
She dashed down the street as she had every day of her high school life,
a mad and desperate attempt to make it on time. Her job was the one thing
she could do really well without screwing it up, she was a seamstress at
a local tailor. It was her job to size and make suits for the many
customers that came into the store; Ideally she could be making much more
money at her job, but unfortunately it was a small store and her problem
kept her from attempting to 'expand her horizons' so to speak. She burst
into the store and rushed by a stuffy looking man in his late forties.
"Exactly on time Mrs. Unigawa, very good. It seems all those years of
running to classes has paid off in the end." he smiled warmly and sat
down in his chair at the back of the store to await customers; business
was slow here, but she didn't mind. The manager's name was Takeda; he was
a retired teacher from a nearby high school who had taught her and
retired just two years ago. He met her one day after she had been fired
and offered her a job out of pity more than anything else; she had been
grateful and he had been pleasantly surprised at her skills, as was she.
"Do we have any appointments today?" asked the woman as she removed a
thin looking pair of eye glasses and cleaned them delicately; the lens
promptly popped out and she sucked in a quick breath as he placed it back
into the frame carefully, fortunately it went right in. "Lucky." she
muttered looking pleased with herself.
"Actually we do, an old colleague of mine should be here shortly. He was
the English teacher and eventually became the Dean, I haven't seen him in
a few years though; not since I left Furinkan."
"Mr. Kudawa? Ugh." Makoto made a distasteful look and frowned as she
placed her glasses back on.
"No, he retired right after you left my dear, this man is just after
your time. His name is Kagome, he is quite large too." the old man rubbed
at his chin and smiled a little at the memory. "He's known as 'The Iron
Fist', turned Furinkan into a virtual utopia of learning; the delinquency
rate dropped to absolute zero within two years of his arrival; now it's
one of the top rated schools in the nation."
"He sounds...unpleasant." muttered the woman.
"Really? He's not as gruff as you might think." the old man stood up as
a large shadow appeared in the doorway. "Here he is now."
Ryo stepped into the shop with a pleasant smile on his face as he
greeted his old friend. "Takeda, you old dog, it's been a while."
"Yes it has." agreed the old man as he pat his lower back lightly. "How
are things?"
"Can't complain." he turned to see a pretty woman staring at him in
shock. "Is something wrong Miss?"
She turned away blushing and fiddled with some cloth on a large table
behind her. "No, he said you where big, I didn't think he meant..."
Ryo looked back to the old man and smiled. "I need a suit."
"Tailors don't come cheap." warned the man.
"I know that, but I can't buy clothes this big in Japan; it's cheaper
than having them made in a store." Ryo sat down and looked over at the
woman again. [You didn't tell me you where working with someone;
especially such a pretty young woman.] he spoke in English and smiled
when she either ignored him or didn't understand, in the end it didn't
matter which it was.
[Ah, forgive me, this is Miss Unigawa. She was a former student of mine,
just before your time.] he nudged the man in his ribs. [Nice huh?]
[Very cute] agreed Ryo calmly as he turned back to her, she had a
somewhat upset look on her face and turned away from them.
[She had Kudawa for an English teacher I'm afraid, so she didn't learn
much.] Takeda smiled as a comprehending look crossed his old colleague
face; He walked over to her side and began to speak Japanese again, this
got a decidedly relieved look on her face. "Please fit Mr. Kagome for a
suit." the woman bowed and pulled a tape measure from her belt. Ryo
raised an eyebrow as she brandished it almost as if it where some sort of
weapon.
Ryo found himself met with various scowls as she wrapped the chord
around him at various places taking measurements. "Have you been working
out recently?"
"No, I'm getting out of shape actually." said the man looking
thoughtful. "I'm going to start training my Son-in-law soon, that should
help."
Makoto staggered for a moment and looked skeptical. "His body is solid
as a rock! He must have been to a gym or something before he came over
here." she looked up at him. "Are you sure? If these measurements aren't
exact the suit will be loose and tight in the wrong places."
"Positive." said the man; the look on his face told her he was used to
this sort of thing.
"You have a daughter?" idyll conversation was a normal part of her job,
most men became nervous during the process; especially when a woman was
doing it, this one seemed fairly calm though.
"Yes, she's sixteen." the woman stopped cold and stared at him.
"And she's engaged already?"
"Why not? I approve of the boy, he's an old friend of the family. She
could do much worse than him; besides he is totally loyal and a very good
martial artist, the perfect heir to my school." Makoto sighed and relaxed
a little, that explained his body being so fit.
"An arranged marriage?" she had a somewhat wistful look about her.
"No, they chose this path; well, she did anyway, I don't think there is
much the boy can do about it now." he laughed to himself and turned
around for her when she pushed lightly.
"Sorry, I didn't mean it to sound that way." she pulled the chord
against the inside of his leg.
"Don't be, one of my best friends has arranged his daughter's marriage;
The pair seem agreeable, only when it gets in the way does it become a
problem."
"Sometimes, I wish I had an arranged marriage, you married people don't
know how easy you have it." she snorted and wrapped the measuring tape
around his calf.
"I'm not married." replied Ryo with a small smile.
"Really? I thought you had a daughter?" a familiar feeling started in
her stomach, he would not be the first man to try something like that on
her. Takeda coughed into his hand and glared at her. "I'm sorry, I
shouldn't have..." she muttered quickly.
"It's all right, you should be suspicious; I am a widower, my wife died
many years ago while our daughter was still young." she stepped back with
an even deeper red to her cheeks.
"I feel awful."
Ryo laughed out loud for a moment. "Don't worry, I've had plenty of time
to get over it, talking about it only brings back pleasant memories." he
took her hand and kissed it. "I must apologize, allow me to take you for
lunch?"
She looked at Takeda and the strange man in shock, this was the most
unusual hit she had ever experienced. "Uhhh, I'd have to ask, it's early
and..."
"Go, you need a break." Takeda smiled at Ryo and walked to the back of
the store.
She had been hoping for a save from the humiliation of a date, but it
was obvious that the old man was on his friends side. "Look I hate to
sound rude, but I don't date much anymore. I've got this thing and I just
don't like it much, you know."
"So I am declined?" Ryo looked amused more than anything else.
"I'm real sorry, but you don't want to date me. It never goes well." she
slumped down and looked up at him, he really was quite handsome.
"I think that I do, why else would I have asked you?" he gazed into her
eyes and her resolve was weakening fast.
"Please don't be pushy! I can't...I...ok." she stumbled forward and fell
into his arms after tripping over her own feet. "Ok, you win, but you'll
regret it."
Once again her thoughts wandered. "I've got to calm down, it's much
worse when I get excited this way."
"Regret it? Somehow I doubt that." Ryo smiled to himself and realized
that if she was not a normal person, she would probably be pulled into
the web of Nerima permanently. "I think I deserve something out of this
mess." he thought to himself as he escorted her out the door. "Besides,
after Chinese curses, Martial artist, Amazon Villages, and a tiger for a
daughter, nothing short of her turning into a man could phase me."
Ryo stared in silent wonder as the girl blushed deeply and picked out
the remains of a huge salad and drink that had been dumped on his head as
a result of her buttering a piece of bread and losing the knife; the
event escalated as several people found themselves scrambling for cover
or covered in food as the chaos caused by the single butter knife seemed
to envelope the entire restaurant. In a somewhat lucky turn of events the
drink had been hot tea, Ryo stiffened up as she fell forward reaching for
a piece of lettuce in his hair and knocked the table over creating even
more of a mess; somehow she and her clothes came out of the affair
unscathed. "I'm sorry."
One of the men sitting nearby at a table across from them stood up with
a horrified look suddenly forming on his face. "You!?? G-get away!!" he
dashed out of the restaurant as if it had been burning down.
"Well, this is certainly interesting." Ryo rubbed his chin and smiled at
the girl warmly.
"Y-your not angry?" she asked tentatively.
"Of course not, I think this might be just the kind of thing I need." He
reached down and helped her up; meanwhile his mind started to work.
"She's cute, old enough to date, and the perfect opportunity to keep me
on my toes! Besides, my training is getting lax and she looks like she
could use someone in her life; if only for damage control."
Makoto sighed, despite her feelings about the matter from the beginning
she was still hoping for the best; after all, he was kind of handsome.
She waited for him to start yelling or something, but he simply smiled,
reassured her, and helped her up. "I guess he's gonna let me down easy."
"I think I understand, come on we'll go somewhere else." he led her
outside after leaving some money on the table for the damage caused by
the calamity.
Torako snorted as Ryoga slid across the ice with relative ease, he was
still having trouble with his turns though. "Look at those idiots, still
arguing and fighting."
"I don't understand what's going on." admitted Akane.
"I forgave him and he still wants to fight, Ranma I can understand, but
Ryoga is just being stubborn." the tiger girl smiled as her fianc�e
passed nearby and exchanged more blows and expletives with Ranma as they
passed by one another on the ice.
"These two are competing more with each other than that Sanzenin guy."
Akane noted that Ryoga was pushing himself harder than Ranma at the
moment because the pigtailed boy seemed to have gotten the hang of the
turns a little easier. "I thought Uncle Kagome was supposed to come
today?"
"He has some business for tomorrow night to take care of." replied the
red head flatly. "I told him I'd watch the stupid pig skate."
"Tora-chan, are you angry with Ryoga again?" Akane looked worried and
leaned into her friend.
"Huh? I was talking about Ranma, my husband can take care of his own
training now that he has the basics." Akane frowned a little until Ranma
passed by and stuck his tongue out at her friend, apparently he had
overheard.
"Uncute Tomboy!"
"Don't talk that way about her Ranma!" roared his partner angrily as he
started to chase him around the rink.
"Atta-boy, P-chan!" said the girl proudly.
"I told you not to call me that in public!" called Ryoga as he passed
with a huge chunk of ice over his head to crush Ranma with.
"Damn it! Stop tearing up the rink!" spat Akane as she skated out after
them to limit the damage that could be caused by the pair.
Ryo stared at the fountain in the park and grabbed his date by her waist
as she almost fell face first into the water; she had been trying to toss
in a coin and the splash would have disturbed several couples. He had
saved several accidents from even starting as they moved through the park
together and ate at a small Okonomiyaki cart; he looked at the couples
sitting around the pretty water fountain as it sprayed water high into
the air and wisely opted for a nearby park bench instead.
Makoto had remained quiet for most of the date and tried her best to
stay pleasant, she was just waiting for the other shoe to drop; the man
had shown her a picture of his daughter, a very pretty young girl too. He
talked quite a bit and recounted a few pretty interesting stories about
his life getting only minimal information from her. Still, she was having
such a wonderful time and hoped it could last forever, but her break was
almost over now and she regretted it deeply.
"Please stop being so nice to me." she said suddenly.
Ryo stopped and stared at her in surprise. "What?"
"Look, I know there is no chance between us. I'm a freak, the clumsiest
person on the entire planet! I don't want to be hurt again, please just
leave me alone! I'm cursed and I..." she stopped suddenly when he placed
his finger in front of her mouth gently.
"I know, I already figured out about you and your little problem about a
half hour ago." he smiled at her and she felt the blood rush to her face
as her head seemed to float slightly.
"But..." she tried to think of something to say to him and couldn't even
speak any longer.
"I am quite familiar with curses and I know there is always a way to
live with them." he lifted her chin so that she stared into his deep
golden eyes. "Being alone is never an answer."
Makoto felt very self conscious and stupid as she melted under his gaze,
she had never reacted this way to any man before. Ryo was handsome, but
not unbelievably so; many women would consider him too large in fact.
However his next words stopped her train of thought completely.
"I feel I should tell you that me and my daughter are also cursed; I
understand, somewhat, what your going through." he didn't say anything
more as he helped her to her feet and started back towards the store.
"Cursed?" she asked him as she forced him to stop and got another look
of surprise.
"You're a strong woman!" his grin almost made her forget her question,
but her mind insisted.
"What do you mean?" she looked at him coolly and tried her best to
frown.
"Not now; later I will tell you everything; over dinner?" the girl
gasped as she stared at him in shock.
"He's asking me out again? How odd." curiosity, attraction, and just a
tad of lust forced her head to shake up and down violently, so much so
that she almost lost her glasses.
"Tonight, around eight o' clock?" he smiled as she fumbled through the
small handbag in her hands and scrawled down her address and phone number
on a scrap of paper. He merely pulled out a business card with his home
number written just below the school phone number. "Shall I walk you
back?" He took her by the arm and they started back towards the store.
The rest of that day Makoto seemed preoccupied by something and her boss
seemed pleased with her. Somehow, her mind still found time to scold her
on her adolescent behavior to the situation. "I've never been that way
around anyone! It was like I couldn't say no to him or something; He's
handsome in a roughish sort of way, but it will never last, it never
does." she ran her hand absently across her forehead as she brushed her
bangs away. "I don't understand what happened, why did I say yes? It
seems almost too fast for me; but why am I so excited about all this
then? I hope I can come out of this one ok." she returned to her work and
tried to push the thoughts out of her head unsuccessfully.
Ryo sat at home waiting for his daughter to return from the skating rink
with Ryoga; he was almost impossible to keep around; thanks to Torako's
sense of smell and the fact that she really seemed to want him around he
never got far before she sought him out. Still, on occasion he would
disappear for a few days, but he always came back like a faithful dog.
Ryo smiled at the analogy and poured himself a small glass of sake.
Torako was married to him already by Amazon law, so Ranma had already won
the bet technically. Once Shampoo revealed herself to them that would end
the contest, he idly wondered if she would point that out to him or let
it drag on a while.
Sitting alone he found himself in his own train of thought about Makoto
Unigawa. "She's the perfect addition to our little world, with that
strength and those skills she will fit right in here. The curse won't be
out of place either, it's almost too perfect. I'm positive this will work
out too, but why? I'm planning on telling a woman I just met about
something I kept from my best friend for years? This is unlike me, but
still, she's exactly the kind of person I need to ensure my life stays
interesting." he dumped a nearby glass of water over his head and stood
from his seat lazily as he stepped over a set of bags lying on the floor
with customs tags on them. "I have allot to worry about now, but I think
I can manage to work her into the schedule."
A tired looking young girl stepped out of the bedroom and stretched; her
long purple hair flowed down her back in a still uncombed state and she
smiled at her Aunt as she walked by in greeting lazily.
"What are you going to do today Shampoo?" asked the woman politely.
[I'm going to find this Ranma character. Why?] said the girl as she sat
down at the small table in the middle of the room.
"Japanese please. I just wanted to know if you where going to visit your
cousin and her husband tonight, I'll be out myself." Ryo poured them
both some tea and sat across from the girl with a smile.
"I guess I could, he seems kind of quiet though." the Amazon girl
scratched her head and sipped at her drink.
"He's just not used to the idea yet." replied the woman.
"Ah, well he keeps talking about some other male he has to beat up for
stealing something; It's weird." Shampoo frowned a little and made a
face.
"He's a good man and will be easily trained, I've known him many years;
he's a student of mine, very strong boy."
"I suppose, for a male anyway. After I kill Ranma I'll spend more time
visiting, I'm sorry I can't be around more." she gave the doorway a dark
glare and sipped at her tea again.
"I understand, 'The Kiss of Death' is not to be taken lightly." Ryo
nodded looking serious. "Feel free to stay as long as you need to."
"Thank you, I am very grateful." said the Amazon politely to her
hostess.
"No need to be, you are family after all."
Torako sat down next to her father as he watched the yard lazily from
the porch, she turned to him and smiled. "Your a man again so she is gone
yes?"
"Left about two hours ago." her father smiled and put his arm around
her. "How did it go at the rink?"
"Ryoga's gone for a while again." she laid her head across his lap and
stretched out in the cat-like way she always did things. "He'll be back
in time for the match, they'll crush those annoying people easily."
"That's good, even if it's not unexpected." Ryo closed his eyes and
enjoyed the moment.
"Father, why can't I stay with my husband?" she curled up slightly and
half closed her eyes.
"This again? Ko-neko, he isn't ready; I know you are, but Ryoga doesn't
realize that you are already married; after your wedding you can do as
you like, just be patient and enjoy your youth and innocence." he smiled
down at her and pet her head lightly.
"I know, I won't get another chance right?" she had a little edge to her
voice.
"That's right, relax will you? He's yours, I know you realize this, I
already believe he would give his life to protect you Ko-neko. Nothing
could take him away from you now; Things are about to get exciting around
here, you'll be having so much fun soon you won't think about it much."
"I doubt that Daddy." the girl giggled slightly.
"I used to think that, but after I married Talcum we didn't do much
after the first few times for about a year. The Musk king was quite
tenacious, he was a great opponent and a good friend." Ryo looked lost in
memories for a moment.
"I thought you hated him, he tried to kill her and force you to marry
him as I recall." the tiger girl frowned and sat up.
"At first yes, but eventually he did it more because it was expected of
him. We actually started to enjoy it after a while, I never really did
beat him. Actually after the first attack he never brought the whole
village into it, his or ours; As a matter of fact you where almost
engaged to his son; Unfortunately he passed on before we could reach an
agreement, things fell apart after that."
"Your so weird daddy." Torako went back to lounging with her head in his
lap.
"Yes I am Ko-neko, but those where good years for us, when we did get
around to it we always enjoyed it more because of it I think."
"Daddy...Who is that I smell?" her tone had immediately gone from
wistful to playful.
"Someone I met today, I have a date later actually." Ryo spoke quite
frankly and didn't even sound embarrassed.
"You think she'll stay around a while?"
"Possibly permanently, I like her even though we only spoke for a short
time." he grinned at her smugly.
"She certainly does smell good." Torako gave her unusual perspective on
the situation and forgot about the conversation.
"Ko-neko?"
"Yes Daddy?"
"You have no room to call me weird child. You'll be alone with your
cousin tonight, try not to get in too much trouble."
"What could we possibly do?"
"A certain incident involving a caldron of noodles and the counsel of
elders comes to mind..."
"Daddy! We where six!"
Ryo stood in the doorway of the small run down apartment in a rather
cliched manner, in his arm was a small bouquet of flowers. He rang the
doorbell and smiled when she opened it nervously, as she exited he
quickly placed his foot over the trail of toilet paper attached to her
heel and removed it before she noticed; he took her arm. "Shall we go?"
"I hope this goes better than it did earlier." she blushed and took the
flowers. "I should put these in water. She managed to dump out the entire
contents of her dish rack tearing a vase from the run down looking
dishwasher in the tiny kitchen area. "Oops."
Ryo smiled and helped her replace them quickly before taking her by the
arm again and guiding her out of the apartment carefully. He was not
encouraged by her comment. "Hey, I made it out of the house this time."
They stood outside of a very nice restaurant near her home and she
stared at it in terror. "I can't go in there! I'll destroy it and
embarrass everyone!"
"Relax, I've got it covered. I promise you'll be fine." Ryo smiled and
drug her behind him into the building despite her miniscule struggles.
She finally accepted her fate and was slightly relieved when he chose a
table on the wall near the back.
"I've got to be careful, I can't afford to pay for anything if I break
it." she reminded herself out loud and got a wary stare from the waiter.
Of course the first thing she did was knock her water glass off the
table, she watched it fall and paled for a moment before it vanished just
before hitting the floor; water and all. She almost gasped in shock when
it appeared just as it had been before she touched it. "Huh? How did?"
Ryo merely smiled at her. "So tell me more about yourself."
She relaxed slightly and bumped into the waiter causing him to teeter
for a moment, but almost as if by magic he righted himself suddenly and
regained control of his tray as he passed to deliver food to another
table. I'm uhhh..." she noticed something flash as the third accident
occurred, this time it was merely directed at her. A champagne bottle
cork made a bee line for her head and vanished beside her head, this time
she noticed a flash of silver. "His watch! He's doing all this! How?
It...it's, sweet." she relaxed a little more. "First thing's first, what
did you mean earlier by 'I have a curse too?"
"Right to the point eh? Very well, in the Quinghai province in the
Bayankala mountains of China there is a spring that holds magical powers.
It's called Jusenkyo, the pools of sorrow. if someone falls into one of
these springs they take on the body of the last creature unfortunate do
drown there. There is a way to turn back, but it is only temporary." he
smiled at her and watched her reaction.
"Right, what did you do fall into a tiger spring or something?" she
didn't even realize the subconscious connection she had made.
"No, "The Spring of Drowned Mother. My daughter is a Tiger." Ryo said
this with a completely serious look on his face.
"If this is a joke it isn't funny." Makoto looked angry, but not too
much.
Ryo simply took his water glass and demonstrated for her in the middle
of the restaurant. She gasped and found a hand over her mouth. "Shhh,
nobody noticed dear." the woman opposite her winked and smiled. "Curses
can be incredibly difficult to live with, mine attracts water like you
wouldn't believe."
"What the hell are you doing?!" whispered Makoto harshly. "Wh..."
"Can I take your order?" asked the waiter as he stood by the two women
and smiled at them. Makoto was startled and almost jumped out of her
skin, only Ryo's gentle intervention kept her from knocking the poor man
over.
"I'll start with some hot water if you don't mind, give us about five
more minutes after that." Ryo smiled and winked at him warmly, he
returned the smile and bowed before walking off.
"Does this sort of thing happen all the time?" Makoto was taking it
surprisingly well considering the situation. Sitting across from her was
her date, a beautiful thirty two year old woman.
"Relax, I'm still a guy on the inside; unfortunately that's not what
counts is it?" the older woman sighed and adjusted her clothing slightly
by undoing the collar and taking off her tie. "It would happen all the
time if it wasn't for my skills, and the fact that both me and my
daughter have a guardian spirit. That's why my eyes are gold, they where
brown when I was born." he smiled at her skeptical reaction.
"Oh, so it's ok to believe in curses, but not spirits? You said you
where cursed didn't you?" he leaned in and stared her directly in the eye
causing her to blush.
"It was a figure of speech! Besides aren't you being a little up front
about this? What about all these people!?" she turned away from the
woman's gaze uncomfortably.
"I want to have an honest relationship, this is an important part of who
I am. Besides, you are cursed, whether or not you believe in it is
irrelevant. The question is who and why? Are your parents like this?"
"No! My great grandfather was, that's what I've been told anyway. Are
you saying this is some sort of family curse?" she had a horrified look
on her face.
"Yes, but if it's missed two generations it will probably end with you.
I know a fair bit about curses, it's sort of a hobby of mine." this got
another scandalous reaction.
"You curse people for fun? Are you some sort of witch?"
"No, you misunderstand me, I learn about them; what kinds there are,
what they do, if they can be cured, how to do it if it can be done; that
sort of thing. To be honest all I really do is collect books on the
subject; my training and my job don't leave much time for study about
such things. I'm more of a well informed idiot as far as curses are
concerned."
"That sounds strange." she admitted.
"I'm a teacher and martial artist, I know it sounds strange to you at
this point; you don't know me. I'm not here to argue about this, I just
wanted you to know up front." Ryo rested her head in her hands and the
waiter returned with the hot water. Makoto gasped again as she saw him
transform before her just after the man left.
"What if someone saw you?" she gasped after glancing around.
"I wouldn't have changed unless no one was looking. I can feel someone's
eyes on me." quickly he changed the subject. "Tell me about yourself,
after all that is why I wanted you to come with me."
Almost immediately she forgot about the previous moments as his golden
eyes seemed to freeze up any possible thought or resistance. "Uhh, I'm
twenty-five years old, and still single. That's about all there is."
"Well, It's something we can work with isn't it?" the rest of the night
went beautifully.
Ryo helped the woman stagger back to her apartment, they had gone
dancing and amazingly he had prevented her from knocking over any of the
other people. Quickly she realized where they where and her laughter
stopped suddenly. "I guess this is goodnight then?" she said as she
leaned against the door with a somewhat saddened look.
"I suppose so," he stepped back and she clung to him a moment too long
and almost fell forward again, he caught her gently and righted her at
arms length away from him. "I've got something to do tomorrow, I'd love
it if you could come along with me. It's a skate wrestling match at
Kolholtz high school. My daughter's fianc�e is competing, it's just after
school hours."
"I'd like that, it's my day off and I was just going to sit around
here." she looked down at the floor and blushed yet again, it was a
wonder there was any blood left to make her legs work and keep her
standing.
"When would be a good time to come by?" he was smiling with that proud
accomplished look on his face that he always seemed to have.
"I uh, When does it start?" she stammered nervously.
"Is One o' clock all right?"
"Fine." it was all she could manage at the moment.
"All right then, I'll see you then." he stepped back and she walked into
her apartment.
"Ryo." she looked back and called his name softly; he turned and smiled
waiting for her to speak. "I...had a wonderful time."
"The honor was mine Makoto." he bowed politely and turned away.
Makoto Unigawa slumped against the door with a shocked look on her face;
for the first time in her life a date had gone well. "Well, there was
that little curse thing at the beginning." she reminded herself and
quickly pushed it aside; even with that it was the best date she had ever
been on in her entire life. Quickly she dashed over to her phone and
dialed as fast as she could, after several screw ups she slowed down and
carefully pressed each number.
"Hnnn, h-hello?" a tired female voice answered.
"Yui-chan! I had a date!" cried the girl excitedly.
"Oh, Makoto-chan, not now. I don't need to be depressed for work
tomorrow!" the girl had a slightly edgy sound to her voice; any other
woman would have recognized the attitude and hung up in embarrassment.
Makoto didn't have much experience in such things and had no clue.
"No! You don't understand Yui! It went well! We had a great time!" the
girl was almost in tears she was so happy.
"Oh, that's great Mak....WHAT???!!!!"
In the back ground another voice floated to Makoto and she vaguely
heard. "Huh? Whas happnin babe? Is evr thin all right?" the voice sounded
dazed and tired, but not sleepy.
"Are you busy Yui?"
"No, tell me everything; I want to know how the hell this happened!" Yui
shoved her husband off the bed and waited for the explanation on her best
friend's only good date to record eagerly.
TBC...
Next time: Ryoga and Ranma vs. Mikado and Azusa.
Wheeeee!! I've got another fun set of characters to play with, Makoto,
her mother, and Yui will all become part of the story; but not so much as
to distract from Torako and her friends adventures. Besides, how could I
pass up the opportunity to torture you and make you wait for the ice
skating match until the next post? I needed a way to expand Ryo's
character and this seemed like a good way. Ryo's role in the story will
grow as things start to come back from his past. Lots of ominous
foreshadowing and other miscellaneous mysteries in the plot. [Shadowy
figures, relationships with know characters that are questionable, Shady
deals and secrets involving some of the cast, and other surprises that
you know are going to change the story, but aren't quite sure how. Hee
hee [patented evil/lecherous laugh.]
BTW. Having a Japanese cousin who visits regularly has really helped
Shampoo's Japanese. It also doesn't hurt that they are good friends with
each other. Ryo and Torako go back to Joketzuko about once a year for at
least a week during vacations; I'm considering having him take Akane
along on one of the longer trips in their past [[around age eight or
nine]] for more story ideas later on; a sort of Tenchi Muyou Ryoko/Ayeka
thing from the TV show.
________________________________________________________________
YOU'RE PAYING TOO MUCH FOR THE INTERNET!
Juno now offers FREE Internet Access!
Try it today - there's no risk! For your FREE software, visit:
http://dl.www.juno.com/get/tagj.