Revision 2 Wed, Jan 24 2001.
by Kit
Greetings.
Like the first time this story posted, I will break it in two. (I hope that should make it a manageable size)
Auther notes to be appended at the bottom.
(I have re-tagged this as semi dark, though I am not quite sure where to draw the line. : )
Disclaimer:
This story is based on the work Ranma 1/2, by Rumiko Takahashi. As such, I neither own any of the charachers, nor plan to make any money off of this work. As I am returning to college, most of my money is tied up beyond my reach.
This is for fun and recreation only.
Oh yes, and don't try this at home.
=====
Of Cats and Men (part 1)
"Well, well, well. What do we have here?" slurred a tall skinny boy as he slipped out from the shadows ahead of a little girl on her way home from school.
"Come this way often, sweetie?" sneered another, larger boy, as he stepped out behind her.
"W- What do you want?" the little girl answered, trying not to sound as scared as she felt. They had waited until she rounded the corner that met into this back alley. The storage boxes and garbage cans dispersed throughout the alley cut off any hope of someone seeing her. She stiffened her stance as she prepared to sprint past the fat one, and back the way she came. Four others stepped into view, devastating her hope of getting past either one of them.
"Well, me and the boys here, ya see," Koji, one of the local high school bullies, began, "saw that you were walking down this alley with no one ta escort ya." She took an unconscious step backward. "So, we thought we'd help." She couldn't help but shiver at his predatorial grin.
"T-th-that's okay. I can make it by myself." Trying to reassure herself.
"Oh, I don't think you understand," Koji smirked. "I know for a fact, there is no way you could make it through here without our help."
She jumped when she felt the wall on her back. They started moving slowly forward, and she hadn't noticed herself backing up. Now she had no where to run.
"Look at her. She wants this so bad, she's trembling." The snickering from the other five grated against every nerve in her body. Her eyes flickering- pleading with them to let her go. She opened her mouth, desperate to scream for help, but only managed a dried whisper.
Koji growled as he jumped forward, wrapping his big beefy hand around her throat. "I wouldn't scream if I." He was cut off by someone screaming to his left.
A young boy in a dirty gi had just jump kicked the smallest of the group. Before any one could do anything; the boy rolled over in mid the air, his bare hands pushing against the rough alley floor adding to the force from his legs kicking the would-be attacker into the wall. Before he could recover, the boy walked over and, with a quick double chop, broke his arm in two places.
Koji pivoted around, bringing the girl painfully in front of him. "Get that little animal and teach him what it means to deal with the Alley Dogs." Everyone quickly produced their favorite teaching implements.
"Let her go," the boy demanded. As the four spread out to give each other space.
"And what, hero boy" one of the Alley Dogs sneered as they advanced. "You'll go easy on us?"
"Come on, you don't really wanna get hurt do ya?" The tall skinny one slurred.
"Maybe he wants a piece too?" The fat one chuckled.
"Na, after what he did to Ken, there wont be enough of him left to let watch." Another answered.
"Too bad, kid." The fat one chided.
Time stopped as a soft wind blew through alley. A small chill went up the girl's back and the young boy's small pigtail seemed to wave the challenge..
"It's a martial arts duty to protect the innocent," the words of his father came softly to him. "And I'd never dream of going easy on ya," he said with finality. 'Let's see, one with a knife, two with pipes and one stupid using a chain in this tight of an alley,' smirked the young boy as he made his plan.
Letting out a length of chain, the first swung the chain at the boy. Waiting until the last possible second, he vaulted over the chain, vanishing from the group.
His knees bent, landing lightly on the head of the first Mr. Pipe, then launched himself at the second. The first hit the wall headfirst, blood spraying over the wall. The flying punch to the diaphragm of the other reduced him to a coughing fit, as he tried vainly to recover his breath.
Rolling up to his feet, the boy effortlessly dodged the knife jab from behind. Grabbing the knife-hand, he helped him to continue the lunge far beyond his balance. As they both fell the boy rolled across the gravel until once again at his feet. This time his head high and his arms out like an Olympic gymnast, a grin on his face that suggested that of a wild predator. The man stayed on the ground with his knife stuck in his belly. A quick duck and roll and the man with the chain clobbered the second Mr. Pipe, who just recovered his wind. A swift kick and two jabs to vital spots and both men fell.
The demon possessed wild animal, for no normal kid could do this, surveyed the damage about him. His attempt to wipe a spot of blood off his check only spread it like some dark demonic markings. His eyes settled on Koji and the girl. Without flinching, he lashed out with his foot, breaking Mr. Chain's hand and two of his fingers. When there was no yelp of pain, he marched toward the last two witnesses.
Koji may have been the biggest in his gang, but he wasn't stupid. Throwing the girl toward the ground, he made a mad dash for the other end of the alley.
Taking off as soon as Koji had started to move, the boy jumped at an impossible angle, catching the girl midway through her fall. Rotating his body in mid air like a cat, he used his moment to pull her back to her feet and landed on the other side of her. Spinning, he started to chase after him as a voice called out.
"Stop, please let him go." The boy stumbled to a stop and turned around to face the girl with a puzzled look on his face.
"They wanted to hurt you." The boy said.
The girl shivered from the sight in front of her. She wasn't sure why she called out to him. He was clearly kami possessed and her mind was still shouting to run away fast as fast as she could. That he had just saved her couldn't quite calm her fear of him. More than anything the others had did or said, she knew she wouldn't life two seconds past what ever this kami planned.
"Please, don't you think you hurt them enough?" She asked in a very uncertain voice. 'He almost killed 5 people just now, and you want to provoke him?!' the more rational part of her mind screamed.
"But, they were gonna hurt you," he answered as if that could justify any action. She wondered if, to him, that it would.
"You are a much better fighter than they are. You couldn't you have just run them off or something?" She felt a little more confident, he hadn't attacked her yet. Some part of her wondered if he might be some kind of personal guardian kami, like in the stories her father told her. Only he didn't just chase the monsters away.
"Once you commit, you must go all the way. It's all or nothing," the young boy replied in an almost lecturing tone. "If I'd let up, they'd just be back here tomorrow."
"Look at them!" she said, almost breaking down into tears.
"They deserved what I had to give'em."
"No body deserves that."
He shifted his weight back and forth, his lips silently moving as he tried to think of a response. "Look," he said finally. Taking a step forward, he watched her eyes get real big as she started trying to back away. He stopped, closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
"I thought you needed help," he said after a moment.
She looked down. Everything was still too unreal. 'A nightmare, this had to be a nightmare, and any moment now, I'm going to wake up.' After a few seconds of not waking up, she looked up at the boy. The expression of his face was closer to that of a lost puppy than the monster she had just seen.
"I'm Ranma Saotome of the Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts." He began, with the phrase his dad had drilled into him every since he could talk. "It's a martial artists duty to protect the helpless," he said bowing to her. Then looking her straight in the eye with the most vibrant blue eyes she had ever seen, he finished, "and I promise I ain't going to hurt ya."
She blinked. What ever she might have expected next, that had not been it. After a moment of hesitation she smiled, "Pleased to meet you, my name is---"
-----
"Hiromi-chan!" Ranma breathlessly mouthed as he jumped up from his seat, knocking his disk over. Everyone in the class stopped and looked at Ranma, who was looking toward Akane. Akane blinked as she stared back at him. Thoughts of embarrassment lost as she looked in his eyes.
"While I am glad you have deemed to wake up for my class, I will not tolerate any disruptions Saotome-kun. Sit down now, or go out to the hall." The teacher barked. He couldn't understand why the other teachers couldn't maintain order on this class. Of course he had only just taken over for Suzuki-sensei, who had taken an indefinite leave, just a few days prior.
"All right, young man," Hanaka-sensei, their teacher began, after it became apparent he was being ignored.
"No!" Ranma shouted suddenly, cutting off the teacher. With a single step he dove over Akane's desk, right through the closed window.
Everyone in the class was suddenly up and over to the windows, before Hanaka could even think. Never had he had a student try to kill himself before. After the initial shock wore off, somewhat, he morbidly moved to join the students looking out the window.
Below, on the school grounds, Ranma looked around confused. He had just seen a ten year-old girl fall out the window. He had jumped to try to save her, but now she was no where to be found. He might have considered it all a dream, if it hadn't been for the pain he felt when he broke the glass. He wiped the blood from the numerous small cuts along his brow.
'How could she have fallen through a closed window,' he thought. He shook his head, trying to clear the fog away. 'What would a little girl be doing in a high school class room anyway,' Ranma found himself trying to reason. "Was I dreaming?"
"I have had enough, Saotome-kun," Hanaka yelled through the broken window. "Consider yourself on detention. And I think a parent-teacher conference would be in order too."
Ranma looked up at his classroom. Students were now looking out of most of the windows on this side. Dream or not, he didn't think he would quickly forget the look of terror on her face. It was like something out of a nightmare. His expression tightened as he thought of the girl's expression. 'She was kinda cute, for her age,' Ranma shook his head, 'What am I thinking.' He took a deep breath then a thought came to him, "She was afraid of me."
"Did you hear me, Saotome-kun?" The angry voice of his teacher settled down upon Ranma snapping him back to his surrounding.
Ranma looked around, this was not the time or place for this. He turned and started running for the fence. With a single bound he jumped up and over the wall and was gone.
"Okay class," Hanaka turned to face the rest of his class. "I want you to start reading pages 134 - 167 and due the questions at the end of the chapter." Hanaka turned and left the classroom, not even waiting for the students to get back to their seats. 'I need a smoke break,' Hanaka thought as he walked down the hall. He had quit just 2 years earlier.
-----
'Why do I have ta go to school,' young Ranma reasoned with himself. 'It's not like they ever teach anything fun or useful. Nothing like what dad teaches.' Wearing the school uniform from his last school made him stand out from the others making their way into the schoolyard. His father had told him that it was normal and accepted for a transfer student to wear the uniform of his last school for the first few days, so that other students could see where he was from. A theory that didn't match the reality of how most of the other kids treated him whenever he transferred in. Ranma thought it was just an excuse until the old man could find a proper uniform for him.
"Ranma?" a voice ahead of him called out.
Ranma looked trying to find the source of the voice. Someone who knew him already. Finely, as he made his may forward, he saw her. "Hiromi? What are you doing here?"
"Duh, I go to school here. Are you transferring here?" She asked.
"Uh," Ranma responded intelligently. "Ya, I guess, for now at least." Ranma stood there like a deer caught in headlights. Normally it took him days before he could find any good friends, now here was someone talking to him on the first day.
"So, you going to tell me your homeroom, or are you going to keep it a secret."
"uh -oh, its uh, its," Ranma reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. "Um, 3-E" he finally answered looking up to see her eyes light up and a huge smile on her face. He wanted to remember this moment forever.
"I know where that is!" She giggled out. "Follow me." She turned and forged a path through the other students toward their classroom.
-----
Kasumi positively glowed as she leaned back, allowing the warm waters of the furo to work their magic. Taking a deep relaxing breath, she wondered at how much she had really needed this. While she usually didn't allow herself such luxuries as a mid-afternoon soak, she had found herself thinking about this all day.
Most of the wash was hanging, or could wait till later. Both Father and Mr. Saotome were fed. The cleaning was done. And her favorite TV soaps had become so boring, for some reason, lately. Luck, this day seemed to smile upon her.
She looked over at her free sample of bathing oil. That nice young man had insisted she at least take home a sample. She had tried to politely turn down his sales pitch, but had been so passionate about it. So when he offered her a free sample, how could she turn that down?
She had forgotten to try it last night. And when she came in to clean the furo, after everyone had gone off to school, she noticed someone had already added it to the warm water. While the bottle was larger than she would have thought for a free sample, she definitely didn't want to miss out because she waited too long.
She let out a deep soul-cleansing sigh. Maybe she would go borrow another book from Dr. Tofu when she was done. "Ahh," she sighed, "all is right with the world."
-----
"Thanks for walking me home," Hiromi said.
"No problem." Ranma replied, beaming with joy. "I guess those bullies learned their lesson, huh?" She looked at him and frowned. Suddenly he felt like he had just been caught doing something wrong by his dad.
"Maybe, then again, they might have learned if you had gone easier on them too." Now it was Ranma's turn to frown.
"People like that never learn. You have to show them.." He stopped when she turned her back to him.
"Anyone can change, if given the chance. And everyone deserves the chance to redeem themselves. If any of them had died, you would have taken any hope they had of changing."
He looked down at the ground while absently rubbing a recent bruise hidden under his long sleeves. Somehow this seemed worse than any lecture his dad had given him. He still wasn't sure why he enjoyed being around her, especially when she smiled. And he hated it when she seemed upset. He became determined to make her happy while he was here. "I'll think about what ya said. See ya tomorrow." He said as the turned to head back to the vacant house his dad had found.
"Wait," she called. Suddenly not really wanting to see him go yet.
"What?" he said while turning around.
Whatever gave her the strength to call out now left her. "I- uh, do you have, I mean, would you like to see my cat?"
"Sure! I love cats." Ranma beamed, 'Dad should be out until late tonight.'
"Great, we have two cats. The big one name is.."
She led him into the apartment building, telling him all about their cats.
-----
"Hey, wait up." Nabiki shouted to her young sister as they left the school at the end of the day. Akane turned and looked very annoyed, but she waited. Nabiki smirked. That meant she wasn't really angry or she would have just kept on, oblivious to her calls. 'You are so easy to read, Akane.'
"What do you want?" Snapped Akane.
"Just to have a nice walk home with my sister, like we use to do." Nabiki chimed.
"We never walk home together and I'm not in the mood." Akane replied, not really turning down Nabiki's offer.
"Want to talk about it?" Nabiki probed. She had heard several versions already. Everything from Ranma attacking Akane and she throwing him out the window to Ranma tying to kill himself. In short, nothing believable. The only thing she was sure of was that Ranma had jumped through a window then ran off.
"No." she said after a few seconds.
Nabiki hid her smirk; 'about 2 more blocks should do it.'
"Why, Nabiki?" Akane stopped 2 blocks later and turned to face her sister. "Why would he just take off like that."
Nabiki blinked. "We could ask him when we get back."
Akane humpf'd. "Probably went to go see that violent Chinese bimbo of his." Akane's expression darkened considerably.
'Akane calling someone else violent,' Nabiki quipped to herself. "If that's true, you could maybe get father to forget about the engagement." Nabiki watched Akane's expression soften as she cast her eyes down at the ground.
"You think so?" She said meekly.
"He wasn't very happy when she first showed up, as I remember." Akane only nodded slightly. 'Time to up the ante,' Nabiki thought. "I am sure I could get a picture or two that would that would make daddy's blood boil."
"So, you think he likes her more?" Akane said in a slightly high pitch than normal.
"Who cares. With the way she acts, I could probably get a whole roll of shots in no time. If I presented them to him just right, he would kick the both of them out without hesitation," Nabiki turned away slightly, to pretending to be look away.
"Y- you don't have to do that," Akane said very softly while staring intensely at the ground.
"Oh," Nabiki said turning back around smiling. "I thought you said you didn't want to be engaged to him."
"Why would I want to be engaged to a stupid perverted jerk like him!" Akane snapped, unable to stop the burning feeling in her face as Nabiki cornered her. After a moments pause, she continued, "it's just . you don't . wouldn't that destroy their family name?"
"It's just an offer." Nabiki had a few thoughts herself on the Saotomes' good family name. "Just let me know if you change your mind." Nabiki turned and continued on as if nothing had happened, a little to Akane's relief. This conversation had been very illuminating, even if she didn't learn what she really wanted to know. 'Ranma, you had better be worth my little sisters attention.'
-----
Yuota waited as Hiromi saw Ranma to the exit of the building. Once she came back in and closed the door he called over to her.
"What," she asked with all the annoyance that a 10 year-old girl can deliver.
"I don't like you playing with that boy." He said matter-of-factly.
"I don't care what you think, oniichan." She replied and started to head off to her room.
"Well, Mom and dad don't know it yet, but I heard he put 5 boys in the hospital last week."
"I know." She replied over her back.
"You know!" He said jumping up and following her down to her room. "What do you mean you know?"
"I was on my way home, and they tried to attack me. He saved me." She said with quite a bit of enthusiasm.
Yuota blinked. He wasn't sure what to think of that. "Well, I see. Still you don't need to be around that kind of person." He tried lamely.
"And what kind of person is that, huh? One who would do anything for me?" She said thinking of the fight the other day, and the half-dozen romance mangas laying about her room
"I heard both he and his father are drifters," he said indignantly. "You can't trust those kind of people. They would do anything, if it suited their tastes, without care for other people." He walked around the room, his arms waving back and forth, "I have heard that people have started losing stuff every since they came to town."
"He's not like that!" She defended.
"Of course, you don't think he's like that. Your just a little girl, what do you know of the world."
"You're only one year older than me, and I know you don't know that much more than I do."
"Listen to you. A few days with him and your back talking your older brother."
"Like I never put you in your place before!"
"Just wait till mom gets back from shopping!"
"You wouldn't dare!"
"Just watch me!"
"You do that, and I'll tell her about your picture taking."
Yuota's eyes got real big, "You wouldn't!"
"As long as you don't," Hiromi finished with a smirk and crossed her arms.
-----
"What do you think your doing!" Akane huffed, after having climbed onto the roof.
"Uh," Ranma jumped a little in surprise, realizing just how little attention he had been paying to his surroundings.
"Well!"
"Thinking, what's it to ya."
"And you have to do this over MY room?"
Ranma looked around and from the position of the tree found she was right. "I just needed to be alone, and this was a comfortable spot."
"Okay," she began. She looked around, as she wasn't quite ready to let him off the hook yet. She fidgeted with the question she wanted to ask, but wasn't sure she wanted to know the answer.
"So, is this where you ran away from school to?" She asked instead.
"I didn't run away!" was his knee-jerk response. Taking a deep breath, he tried again. "I went to a couple o' places, but there just seemed to be too many people, so I came here 'nstead." He didn't know why he tried to hold back on his usual responses. After all, he had already tried being nice when he first got here, but everyone made it obvious they didn't want him here. Just for some reason, he didn't feel like being alone right now.
"Who is Hiromi?" Akane finally brought herself to ask; her voice was almost a whisper.
"I don-" he began, his face contorted in that silly expression she had seen when he was trying to remember Ryouga's name. She had to fight not to laugh.
'She's that girl I saw.' Ranma thought. "I don't know."
"Then why did you shout her name before you jumped through the window?" Akane growled, growing angry again.
"I shouter her name?" He didn't even remember saying it.
"So you do know her!" Akane countered.
"No." Ranma shifted his position back to looking off the roof into the distance. Akane anger continued to grow as he just sat there, obviously lying to her.
"At least I don't think so." Ranma said at last, narrowly avoiding being kicked off the roof.
"What do you mean you don't know." Akane asked, barely holding in her anger in check.
"I thought I saw a girl fall out the window."
"There was no one at the window, you were dreaming." Akane pronounced, case solved. He is an idiot and possible insane as well as a pervert.
"Usually, my nightmares don't get me to jump out of windows."
Akane blinked. Something in what he just said didn't quite sound right. "How often do you dream of girls throwing themselves out of windows?"
"This is the first, I think," he smirked. "Usually I don't remember too much, just the." he trailed off. He almost admitted to being afraid of a stupid dream. It was bad enough they now knew of his fear of cats.
"H- how often do you have nightmares?" she asked, unsure what she thought he was going to say.
"Oh, about the same as everyone else I suppose. Three or four times a week."
Akane turned away from him, trying not to cry. Ranma caught her movement out of the corner of his eye. 'Great, now she thinks I can't handle stupid dreams.' "Well, guess I should wash up before dinner." He stood up, and jumped back down the ground. Akane turned back to stop him, but couldn't find the words.
-----
"Hey you," a boy called out across the yard to where Ranma and Hiromi where having lunch. Ranma looked up at the boy making his way toward them and smirked.
"Your that kid that put my brother in the hospital, aren't cha." The boy stated. Several other boys started to form a circle surrounding them.
"Maybe, what of it." Ranma said simply.
"You must be dumb or something." He smirked. "First you come here, and attack my family. And now you're trying to take my girl away from me."
"They tried to attack me. And I'm not your girl, Giru!" Hiromi replied.
"They attacked you?" One of the boys in the back asked, he hadn't heard that part of the story.
"All six of them tried to, anyway." Ranma said as he shifted positions slightly. He was still sitting, but now could easily jump or strike out. He cursed himself mentally for letting himself relax into the less defensible position. A mistake he would not be telling his father about.
"He beat-up all six of Koji's gang?" Another boy said softly.
"Not all of them, Koji didn't have a mark on him."
"That's because he ran away." Ranma added nonchalantly.
"He made Koji run away," yet another boy paraphrased. The more the other boys heard, the more it was clear Giru had not told them the whole story. It was also becoming very clear that they might not want to mess with this boy.
"You got lucky, that's all. Your nothing," Giru shouted, realizing that he was losing most of his crowd. When it became apparent that he might lose them all if he didn't do something, he decided to do just that.
Giru launched his fist forward, the blade of his knife pooping out of its sheath so fast, almost nobody noticed it. And just as suddenly, Ranma was not where he was suppose to be. Looking up, he was rewarded with two feet planted in his face, and he went down fast. Ranma jumped off him, before he hit the ground, landing just to Giru's right.
"Your gonna pay for that one." As Giru got back up and glared at Ranma, Ranma saw the stern look on Hiromi's face, that some how seemed to shout at Ranma that she was not happy.
Giru revealed a second knife in his other hand and he launched into a combination of punches and jabs. Ranma started dodging and weaving throughout. Giru had some training in marital arts and had been, until now, the toughest boy at school. It was clear to about everyone except for Giru, that he was very outclassed.
Quickly teachers came and broke up the fight. Sending Giru to the principal's office. All of the teachers who had come over, where very please with how Ranma had handled it, having only seen him dodging and refusing to even once hit his opponent, so they didn't bother sending him to see the principal.
Ranma was happy because that meant his father wouldn't be called in. The other kids were happy to see Giru get trashed, even if he hadn't been hit after the first initial kick. Happiest of all was Hiromi; 'Everyone deserves a chance!'
-----
"By soft what light through yonder gate would grace such a fair and noble warrior. Tis the morning, and my chance to renew her hope of being freed from the bonds that that that miscreant Saotome would place upon you."
"Doesn't he ever learn?" Ranma asided to Akane.
"And fear not pig-tailed girl, where ever his dark arts may have hidden thee. I shall endeavor to free you both, so that you may enjoy the attentions I may visit upon you."
A shiver ran up Ranma's spine as Kuno's words reminded him of certain dreams that he had awoken from in a cold sweat. An angry battle aura flared around Ranma, to those who could sense them. "She is never going to like you Kuno!" Ranma shouted as he started toward Kuno to teach him a lesson or two.
Akane, however, got to Kuno first, with her fist readied to knock him into next week. She had plenty of reason to be upset with Kuno for just being here. When she noticed Ranma's reaction to Kuno's speech, of which the implications disturbed her greatly anyway, she felt she had to react.
"So, the beautiful tigress wouldst spar again with me." Kuno pinned. "If you should win, I will allow you to date with me!" Kunou called, as he attempted to block Akane's strikes.
"Hey, he was mine!" Ranma shouted at Akane, extremely upset to have a girl fighting for him. Then he saw it. Kuno was bringing his boken down with all his strength, and his target, standing with her back to him completely unaware, was a little girl dressed in a light brown school uniform looking happy to see him.
In a flash, Ranma had jumped over Akane taking the boken hit square on his back. The follow through tackle brought both of them to the ground. Both, rolling over, sprang back to their feet.
"So Saotome, you would fight with me at last." Kunou called. The fog that veiled Kuno's mind and protected him from all the evils of a world filled with his insane family lifted slightly. He had hit Saotome fair. And knew that whatever dark magics he used to protect him were not working now. He was the best fighter of the most powerful marital art. Victory was his today.
Ranma huffed, as he tried to get his bearings back. Fortunately, Ranma's tackle knocked his arm such that the effectiveness of his attack, already weaker since he was fighting a 'girl,' was substantially less than his full strength, which could break concrete with air pressure alone.
Ranma looked over to where the little girl was standing by Akane. Both were looking at him very angry for his attack on Kunou. Turning to look Kuno straight in the eye. "If you ever try to hurt her again," Ranma said softly, yet with as much hatred and venom as he could, "I will kill you." Ranma's battle-aura flashed as he said the last. Then, leaving the entire student body behind stunned, he walked into the school.
"Wow, did you see that, Ranma stopped Kunou without even hitting him!"
"Oh, that's so romantic, how he took that hit for his fianc�e!"
"Did you hear what he said to Kunou?!" Everyone began gossiping about what they thought they had just witnessed thus a large number of students found themselves late for their first class.
The fog that protected Kunou's mind from the evils of the world slowly descended back to its proper place. Kuno was now convinced more than ever that he had always been right about Saotome. Only a demon's eyes could flash the way his did. And the way he took that hit, even knowing his protection was not strong enough to stop his righteous blade, proved that the best way to defeat the black curse's hold on both his tigress and his pig-tailed goddess was to beat them. Oh, how he hated and loathed the idea, but he would not - no, he could not betray them. He would do what his duty, his honor demanded, and free them both personally.
-----
"Oh, hello Saotome-san. Won't you have a seat?" The schoolteacher began.
"What has my boy done this time?" Saotome grumbled. Too many times he had had this talk. If only he could get them to understand that this was part of his son's training, but they never understood.
"He is a wonderful boy, Saotome-san. You should be proud of him." Genma blinked, then decided he would take up that offer to sit down. "He has been doing much better than his previous records would indicate." Genma only nodded, that would allow him to keep him out longer next time they had to move.
"And he shows a very active imagination, as you can see from one of his writing assignments here," she continued. Genma only nodding. He wasn't really listening, as this was not the way most of these parent-teacher conferences usually ran.
"As you can see, your son has been a delight to have in my class. And after the other day, I think all of the teachers wish they had."
"The other day?" Genma interrupted. "Why, what happened?"
"Oh, he didn't tell you?" She smiled good-naturedly. "Well, boys will be boys, I guess." She then proceeded to tell him about the one-way fight as she and the other teachers had witnessed it.
-----
"I'm home," Nabiki called out automatically. Something was going on, but she didn't know what yet.
On her way up the stairs to her room, she took a deep breath and let it out slowly.
'Okay. First, Ranma.' She thought. He was acting weird. Then again, they had only been here a few weeks; this might not be all that strange of a behavior from him. After all, considering what she did know of his upbringing, Nabiki unconsciously shivered, who knows what else may be running around in that head of his.
Absently she wondered what it would take to get Ranma to see a shrink. Not that thought that much more of their opinion, but if Ranma was dangerous. She let that thought trail off as she remembered Ranma curling up in Akane's lap. She was the only one he would let get near him. At some deep level, he trusted her. 'Of course with that idiot of a father, ' Nabiki smirked.
Akane needed to quit hitting Ranma. 'If he stopped trusting her,' Nabiki thought as she opened her door. She hadn't had time this morning for her normal soak in the furo, and she had blamed most of her day on that.
As she stepped out into the hallway, Saotome-san also stepped out into the hallway. He turned at her and smiled as he started down stairs in only a towel, carrying his bathing supplies. She glared at his back. 'Hadn't he heard of ladies first?'
"Want me to drag him outside and beat him up for you?" Akane asked from behind, only slightly startling her. They both laughed.
"Hey, is that a new perfume you're wearing?" Nabiki asked.
"Nope." Ranma called from behind Nabiki. "That's a bath oil." Akane and Nabiki both looked at him with shock. Ranma made a show of smelling the air and continued. "A special strawberry-apple mix with yewkuptus and," pausing to think, "geranium." He smiled.
"When did you become an expert on bath oils?" Akane inquired.
"Just one of those things you pick up on the road," Ranma replied with a shrug. "Suppose to help you relax, and good for the skin," he recited in a soft almost sweet tone. As he slipped into his room he added, "Oh, and good for school I think. Something about helping thinking or memory or somethin'."
-----
Pin-pon, pin-pon.
"Hello?"
"Uhm, is Hiromi-chan there?" A tentative Ranma squeaked through the building intercom.
"Silly, its me!" Hiromi giggled back.
"Great! Would you like to go cat huntin' with me?"
"Cat hunting? What do you want with cats?" Hiromi asked playfully.
"The old man wants me to try to get as many of the strays around as I can."
"Uh huh?"
"Well, he said something 'bout get'n some cat treats, like fish-sausages and catnip. I guess he's wanting ta get'em a good home or somethin'."
"Cool!" Hiromi replied cutely. "Count me in!" She released the button and when to grab her coat.
"You're going out with that homeless boy?" Yuota said as she opened the door.
"I am going out to save the kittens!" She replied theatrically then shut the door behind her as she left.
-----
Akane awoke to her alarm going off. But she didn't move to shut it off. Something was in bed next to her, and it wasn't p-chan. Slowly she looked over and saw Ranma's face nuzzled up against hers.
Ranma slowly opened his eyes, acutely aware that there was not an alarm clock in his room.
"YOU PERVERT!" Akane screamed as she grabbed the closest thing and silenced her clock against Ranma's head forever.
Ranma quickly jumped out of the bed after that.
"GET OUT! YOU PERVERT!" Akane continued as she looked for something larger to grab.
"It's not what it looks like!" Ranma attempted.
"Then what is it! Huh?!" Akane dared.
Ranma's mind quickly searched for something that might work, since he didn't have a clue why he was in her bed. 'Ah ha!' he thought. "It's not like I'd want to sleep with you or nothin'!"
Two seconds later, Ranma found himself hurtling out the window only to make a very familiar landing. "Water. Why's it always got to be water."
"Was that Ranma's voice I heard from your room Akane?" Nabiki asked from the doorway.
"I don't want to talk about it! Doesn't anybody knock around her!" Akane said as they both looked down at the remains of her door. The bottom had been completely shredded into confetti, leaving the top held on by one hinge to swing open freely. They both looked up at each other.
Akane walked out past Nabiki and up to the guestroom where Ranma and his father where staying. Akane walked up and put her hand out to open the door, then she hesitated.
Nabiki, following her train of thoughts, and privacy not being her biggest concern reached out to grab the door.
As the door crumbled to the floor, they both gasped at what they saw. The room was a total wreck. Hugh scratches marked the walls. Torn clothes where everywhere. Nabiki was the first one to recognize Genma's unconscious form tossed upside down in one corner. He looked severely beaten, but still breathing.
"Well, I guess there will be plenty for breakfast." Nabiki said as she quickly spun away and started down the stairs. "If you want to lay him down properly, I'll give Dr. Tofu a call." Nabiki called back to Akane, not bothering to turn around. She knew she would lose it if she did.
-----
Ranma puzzled as he waited by the school gate to protect Hiromi on her way home. Every since lunch, she had either been avoiding him or out right glaring at him.
"Hiromi-chan!" Ranma called out as he saw her approaching. She immediately bore into him with that same glare.
She didn't say a word when she got to the gate. She just kept walking. Ranma followed her, not knowing what to do.
"Giru had to go to the hospital last night," she finally said about 2 blocks later.
"So?" Ranma answered back.
"The police wanted to talk to you, but the teachers all defended you, describing how you didn't even try to hurt him."
"Ah, they didn't have to do that." Ranma remarked.
"You did it, didn't you?"
"He tried to attack me last night." She stopped and turned to look at him for the first time since they left the school grounds.
"He has both his arms broken, both of his legs broken, one of them in two places, a cracked rib and a broken nose," she almost sobbed.
"He didn't learn, so I had ta teach 'em!" Ranma said, getting defensive. "Besides you weren't there!"
"Oh, so you think I only care about what you do in front of me!" Tears freely flowing down her face now.
"Look," Ranma started.
"No, you look! I don't want to walk home with you any more. You don't care about anyone but yourself! I can't and I won't be friends with someone like that!" She turned and stormed off toward her home.
Ranma just stood there, not knowing what to do.
=====
Auther's notes: This story takes place after Shampoo has returned and Ranma has defeated the 'old mummy' : ) for the Phoenix Pill. Thus Ranma is male, amazingly enough for most of this story. Also the Neko-ken training has been reveiled, and is still fresh on most of their minds.
Some sceens still need a little work, i think. As for the changes from Rev 1 to Rev 2: I have extended some of the minor plot points some what, as well as added a few new clips. The largest change was breaking from the more contrived plot point to bring the story to a conclusion, to something that (hopefully) flows with the story better. Any and all C&C would be welcome.