The sunlight blanket the rolling mountains in the morning, painting the sky scarlet, orange, and blue. A perfect day, no clouds blotted the sky, no rain pelted the pavement. It was still early morning in Tokyo, yet regardless heavy traffic cluttered the streets. Everyone was still sleeping at the Tendo Dojo, Ranma rolled over on his futon, scratching his stomach atop the cloth of his tank top, and muttering, while Genma, in Panda form, snored like a log sawing threw a tree. Akane, in her room, breathed softly, her eyes shut delicately and P-chan curled up in her arms.
Not a sound was made as Garet crept out the door, in his gi pants, with the matching white jacket draped over his forearm.
He stood in the backyard, and took in the morning tranquility. The sun peaked over the edge of the fence, and warmed the grass near the pond, evaporating the dew that rested upon the thin green strands. Garet sat down on the hard wooden decking, and smiled to himself. His cheek pinched, reminding him of the previous day, being slapped, and ignored for the rest of the day. He decided today he’d act as if it’d never happened. His shoulder was still numb from the wounds, but Kasumi had wrapped it up enough now so that he was mobile, although getting a shirt one was now a constant struggle. He stood up, feeling his back pop slightly, and slowly put on his gi jacket, moving it around his arms. He managed to get the left sleeve on, but the right one became a nuisance.
“Feh. This is never going to work!” he said frustrated, and threw the jacket down, turning away from it. “I’ll go bare chest. Nobody’s awake anyway.” Garet walked out to the dojo, and slid the doors open. It smelt wonderful, just like the dojo back home. The oils they’d used to polish the floor were hinted in the air, as well as the smells of sweat, which Garet didn’t mind. He stepped up to the alter, and bowed his head, closing his eyes and touching his palms together in a prayer. Bowing, he turned, and walked to the center of the dojo, beginning his kata.
Akane felt something wet on her face, and slowly drifted from her dreams to reality. Her eyes opened, first just slightly, then fully. P-chan’s wet nose was pushed up on her cheek, and she smiled down at the slumbering pig, and set him on her pillow. She rose to her feet, and stretched her arms in to the sky, her muscles tensing and relaxing instantly. She was surprised to find that she’d slept in past her normal time. She changed her p.j’s to her gi, and walked downstairs, and to the backyard.
“Oh, What a beautiful sunrise!” she smiled and thought to herself. Something caught her eye on the deck, a white jacket. She picked it up and eyed it curiously. It wasn’t Ranma’s gi, because it was clean, and unstained.. she remembered the night before. “oh...” she spoke aloud, and covered her mouth. “he must be awake already...” She heard something creek towards the dojo, and walked over cautiously, sliding open the screen door, and peeking in.
She watched him move. He slowly stepped right, and motioned both his hands out, in perfect balance. Stepping inward, he drew a breath and snapped a front kick, dropping his foot, and turning, steadying his stance. He’d been practicing for about a half an hour she thought, judging by the sweat that ran down his forehead, and dripped across his chest, absorbing into the bandages around his body. His wraps were no longer white, but yellow, and blood-stained. They clung tightly to his body, thank goodness Kasumi knew first aide. Akane slowly slid the door open and walked in. Garet stopped in the middle of his kata, and turned.
“...Oh... H-hi A-akane.” he stammered. He felt his cheeks turn crimson, and he wiped the sweat from his face, trying to hide the color. His chest tensed, as he visualized her the night before... he’d never seen a girl naked... he blushed deeper, and turned, faced the alter to hide it. “S-so... d-d-d-did you sleep well?” he squeaked, and twiddled his thumbs behind his back, nervous sweat poured down his face now, and blinded his vision slightly.
Akane was in no better shape. She turned, as well, blushing slightly, and responding in a soft tone. “Yes.. I slept well. D-did you?” she said quietly, tugging at the base of her gi, and biting her lower lip. She was so embarrassed by the previous night, and couldn’t bear to face him.
“Y-yeah, I slept pretty good. I think when I finish here, a shower--” he cut himself off, his conscious punching him. He needed a recovery line. “Y-you practice martial arts, right?” he changed the subject rapidly, and fidgeted with his bandages.
“uh huh, I’m not very good...” she trailed off, but smiled. “hey, Why don’t we have a little match?” She questioned, smiling. Garet smiled, and turned to her.
“Sure, I spar with my sister all the time. Y-you don’t mind sparring a guy?” he questioned curiously.
“No way! Before Ranma came along, I used to fight off tons of guys every day! ” she smiled.
“Oh that’s right, I remember you writing me that, I didn’t believe you until you sent me that picture Nabiki took of you clobbering that Fencer, boy!” he laughed, scratching the back of his head, and stood at the opposite end of the dojo. They both bowed to one another, and took a stance.
“Okay, get ready!” Akane called, and charged at him with a front punch. He easily dodged it, and attempted to trip her from behind. She jumped out of the way of his leg, and threw a roundhouse at him as he stood. Garet flipped backward, and charged at her as she came out of the kick, tackling her to the floor, and pinning her arms.
“GOTCHA!” he cried out, holding her wrists to the floor with his hands. Her legs were immobilized by his shins, resting on her ankles. “HA HA HA!” he laughed triumphantly, but froze looking down. It wasn’t his sister he pinned, it was Akane. He didn’t even realize it, and they froze looking at one another. They could feel each others body heat circulating around them, and Garet lost his train of thought in her eyes. He was hypnotized.
Akane was totally shocked under him, feeling his weight on her stomach, and having no limbs to swing at him. She fell victim to his gaze moments later. They stared at one another, motionless, and Garet released his tight grip her hands. Thank god she was still half there. Akane positioned herself and threw her weight into her final move. She flung him across the dojo, and both were thankful. Garet flew threw the air, seeing nothing but her movements, and just as he realized where he was, he hit the floor. It was a dead center blow to his back, and he slid a few feet on the dojo floor, before coming to an abrupt stop. Akane stood and ran to him. Garet groaned, and rose to his feet. He rubbed his back, thanking the heavens that he didn’t land on the wounds. He turned to Akane, and grinned, tripping her to the floor.
“Sucker!” he smiled, and tapped her forehead. He helped her off the floor, and bowed to her. “good match, you gave me one heck of a run for my money!” he smiled, and walked to the door of the dojo, turning back, he laughed and said “... if those beautiful eyes of yours hadn’t distracted me, maybe I wouldn’t have taken that hit. see ya, Akane!” he grinned, and walked out of the dojo, bowing as he exited. Akane sat down stunned on the floor, and looked at her soul for a moment.
“N-NO FAIR! I want a rematch!” she demanded, and got up, chasing his trail. She entered the house, and saw him pulling on his shoes at the exit. “W-where are you going?” she questioned, wiping the sweat from her forehead with her sleeve.
“Oh, I’m just going for a quick jog..” he smiled, and held out his hand, “Would you like to join me?” he questioned, tightening his hands into fists, and jogging slightly in place.
“S-sure! I jog every morning, I just woke up a little late today!” she gladly smiled, and jogged out the door with him. Ranma sat atop the stairs, and watched them leave. He clenched his fists, but relaxed them.
“He’s not her type anyway.” he muttered to himself, and crossed his arms behind his head, a look of indifference on his face. He wasn’t going to waste his time on some American boy, it would just cause trouble. Ranma headed downstairs to the bath, dropped his clothes, and rinsed off. He felt himself change, and she stood up, and stepped into the steamy bath water, closing her eyes. “nonsense...” she thought to herself.
Garet followed Akane’s lead. It wasn’t his custom routine for jogging to follow his partner, but since he was a guest, and knew nothing about Nerima, maybe this once he’d take a tour guide. The giggled, as Akane told him stories of each place they passed. “This is my High school, Furinkan high. See this door, this is where I used to fight off all those boys!” she giggled, and Garet laughed, staring at some of the blood stains still on the floor. He looked to Akane, the sun danced across her face as she laughed. He blushed and pushed away the thought of kissing her. He knew it would never work, and didn’t want to allow himself to wander... “OH! See this place?” Akane interfered his thoughts, and pointed to the Cat Cafe. “This is where your sister is staying, do you want to visit her?” she questioned, as they slowed their pace.
“Sure, I’d like to meet this Shampoo person anyhow!” Garet smiled, and they walked inside. The restaurant was relatively empty, since it was so early in the morning, and Garet heard some laughter in the back. He walked back towards the kitchen, and called out. “Hey! Jamie! Are you here?” he questioned, trying to see.
“Bro? Is that you?” she giggled, and the laughter continued. “Come back here, quick!” she called, and he and Akane lifted the curtains and walked back to the kitchen. Akane face faulted, and Garet just stared. Shampoo and Jamie had MuMu the duck tied up, and were waving fish at him. He tried in vain to get the fish, but it was to no avail. Shampoo and Jamie were on the floor laughing, rolling on their backs as Cologne looked on.
“What the hell are you doing?” Garet laughed, and grabbed his stomach giggling. “That poor duck, where did you find it?” he questioned, looking to Akane who had a shocked expression on her face.
“It’s Shampoo’s follower! he like, totally worships Shampoo Garet, it’s cool!” Jamie laughed, and grabbed a kettle of hot water. “Watch this!” she said, splashing the duck. Mousse formed and angrily covered himself. Garet’s face twisted in shock, as Jamie threw cold water onto Mousse, and he reformed into the duck. She laughed, and threw another fish at the duck, then grabbed it before he could snarf it up.
“Shampoo hate mu mu the duck, so no let him chase me with flowers!” Shampoo giggled, and stood up, facing Garet. Jamie smiled, and stood next to her.
“Bro, this is Shampoo, she’s that Amazon chick that I’ve been talking to for all those years! Isn’t this awesome?” she grinned. Garet smiled at Shampoo, and bowed to her.
“Um, it’s nice to meet you.” he said politely, and turned to his sister. “Sis, I really gotta finish my jog, I’ll see ya!” he waved, and turned to leave with Akane, who stood silent.
“Nice to see you again Akane!” Jamie called, as they ran out the door. Garet snickered, thinking of the duck as they jogged outside, and returned to a normal pace.
“Akane, what was that duck all about?!” He asked confused. Akane hung her head low, and replied, slightly laughing,
“Boy, have I got a lot to tell YOU!.”
Ranma paced the halls of the house impatiently, constantly looking at the clock. It had been hours and Akane and Garet were nowhere to be found. He considered looking for them, but decided against it, considering the consequences if Akane questioned him. If she knew he worried about her... He heard some laughter outside, and ran to the nearest window, staring down.
Garet and Akane ran into the gates, and giggled. Akane had flowers in her hand, and she smiled cutely at Garet. They walked to the gates of the dojo, and Garet snuck around and grabbed the hose. He turned the water on, and called for Akane.
“AKANE!” he cried out, holding back his eminent laughter. “I was wondering, do you have a Jusenkyo curse too!?” he called and sprayed her with the hose. Akane’s eyes bulged as the liquid hit her, soaking her with bitterly cold water. She grabbed a filled bucket and splashed him, giggling.
“I don’t know, HOW ABOUT YOU!?” she cried out, as the water covered him. They laughed uncontrollably, splashing each other. He disarmed Akane of her bucket, and grabbed her, hosing her down playfully, until not a single part of her body was dry.
Ranma glared down at her and Garet, his anger covered by a green-eyed monster. “I don’t know how you enjoy that, she’s so UNCUTE!” he called from the window. Garet felt Akane tense at the words. He had gotten a few letters from her telling how disappointed she was that Ranma didn’t think she was cute. He had promised himself that if the day ever came where he could help her feel better, he’d take it by the reigns and go for it. Determined, Garet called back at Ranma.
“You’re so right! She’s not cute at all!” he stated, dropping the hose, and looking to Akane, smiling. “She’s beautiful.” he grinned, and bowed before her. Akane blushed deeply, and looked at Garet, who was looking towards her.
“R-really?” she questioned, looking into his eyes. He was so hypnotized by the brown, he nearly forgot who he was.
“Yes, Akane.” he smiled, and blinked. Ranma gaped, he was angry, and couldn't’ control it. Akane didn’t pay a bit of anger or pride at him, she looked only to Garet. Fear and jealousy rising, Ranma called out once more, determined.
“You can have her, an uncute tomboy like that will never make a good wife for me!” He said as usual, turning to leave the window. Garet looked to Akane, and grinned slyly, then he faced the window, and called out once more.
“I’ll take you up on that offer, Ranma! If you don’t want her, then she’s mine.” he stated, and Ranma tripped. He rose to his feet, looking down at Garet, and nodded his head.
“FINE!” he called out, and slammed the window. Akane fell to her knees, watching Garet turn off the hose and walk into the house. Another fine mess she’d gotten herself into... now what should she do?!