Ten Months In Tokyo An Original work by Josh Heistman 2001 Script G Productions Chapter Four: Close Calls… Part Two! (Or 'When Disasters Strike!') Disclaimer: I, Josh Heistman, do not own Ranma 1/2, its characters or locations. The abovementioned entities are the intellectual and creative property of Rumiko Takahashi and Viz Communications, Inc. (and not me). I do not claim ownership of the abovementioned entities, nor will I be profiting from the use of them. Please, please don't sue me! Thanks. Mike and Ukyo walked along the sidewalks of Nerima together, just chatting about life in general. "So, M-chan, how do you like Nerima so far?" Ukyo asked, as they stopped at an intersection. She saw Mike think for all of six seconds before he looked over at her and smiled. "I love it." He replied, nodding his head. "I can't think of anywhere I'd rather be than here. And thanks, Ukyo, for coming by and offering to hang out with me today. I thought I would die of boredom at the dojo, no offense to the Tendos." Ukyo just gave him a strange smile as the sign changed to walk and they proceeded across the street. "Wow, you find life around here boring?" she asked. He must not have seen Ranma change yet…she thought to herself. "Don't worry, things will pick up, eventually. Life in Nerima is never normal for more than a week at a time." Mike nodded, before looking back over at her. "Why do the Saotomes live with the Tendos?" Ukyo blinked, stopping dead in her tracks. Mike, confused, turned to face her. She seemed to be very angry about something. "What's wrong, Ucchan?" he asked, as she began to redden slightly. "You mean, they never said a word about it?" she asked, unbelieving that no one in the whole dojo had breathed a word about the engagement since the boys had arrived. Mike, as was expected, shook his head. Ukyo sighed. "Well… the reason that Ranma-honey and his father are living with the Saotomes is because… is because…" she hesitated, not wanting to say the words. It tore her up inside that she had to explain to Mike the situation, which had already caused her so much pain and sadness. The tone of anger in her voice changed to one of regret. "…Ranma and Akane are engaged…" Mike's eyes widened at the news. Those two were engaged?! "How did that happen? They can hardly have a conversation without coming to blows over it…" "It was arranged by their fathers a long time ago. When they were both very young, and couldn't disagree with the decision." Ukyo replied, her sadness deepening. She remembered when she'd first arrived in Nerima, and about how Ranma had called her cute. Back then, Ranma and Akane fought so much that Ukyo thought she'd win Ranma for sure. But, over the course of the last year, Ranma never accepted Ukyo or Akane (or Shampoo, for that matter) as his fiancée. But she'd never lost hope. Someday, she swore to herself, she would have the man she loved for her very own. Mike noticed some tears forming in Ukyo's eyes. He tilted his head. "Ucchan… are you all right?" he asked. Ukyo looked up at him through misty eyes, before wrapping him into a tight hug, going into a full-on cry on his shoulder. Shocked, he wrapped his arms around her, as people slowed down to look at them as they walked by. "I love you, damnit…" he heard her say into his shoulder. His eyes grew wide, hardly believing that he'd just heard what he'd just heard. A rush of happiness rose up inside of him. He squeezed her tightly back. Had Ukyo just admitted her feelings for him? It really didn't seem like something that he had expected to happen anytime soon, if at all. But there it was; she'd said the words that he had wanted to hear from her ever since he first saw her at Ucchan's. He looked down at her with a smile. "Ukyo, I…" Before he could get it out, she pounded a fist on his chest. "Damnit, Ranma… why can't you see just how much I love you?" Mike's feeling of elation disintegrated into nothing. He could feel his body temperature rise as he mouthed the name of the threat to his being with Ukyo. 'Ranma.' Temperatures were also rising between Don and Kuno. Some sharp words between the two followed by a deadly silence enhanced the impact of the actions that lie ahead. The crowd was growing restless at the inactivity. The cop had finished his rice ball and was grumbling about being really thirsty, but no one cared. Nobody could take their attentions away from the fighters, awaiting what was looking to be a grand finale. The birds had stopped singing, the traffic grew quiet, the wind stopped blowing. Dead silence. Eerie silence. Don opened and closed his hands nervously at his sides. He planned his moves carefully in his mind. He could afford no mistakes. He knew that the fight couldn't go on for much longer; neither of them would hold out. It was like a game of chess: each move affected those that came after. He rubbed his right arm. Kuno was really doing a number on it, one that he'd not soon forget. It hurt, all right… but Don thought past the pain, to the task at hand. He stared across the field at Kuno… Kuno picked a twig out of his hair. Twisting it between his thumb and forefinger, he thought of Don, and how he would dispatch him. He had proven to be a serious foe, a force to be reckoned with, if you will. But, Kuno thought, it would prove to be merely an act of futility. Kuno had seen weakness in his enemy: the right arm, which he had stricken repeatedly with his bokken. And Kuno planned to exploit that weakness in every way he could, at every possible chance, and with extreme prejudice. He snapped the twig in half and narrowed his eyes, staring back at Don with fire in his eyes. Almost as if it were cued, the two fighters charged each other. The crowd started to shout again, waking up the now-sleeping cop. When they were within two feet of each other, Don and Kuno began to circle. The air around them began to heat up, as if their battle auras were charging up for a final confrontation. Round-and-round they went, staring each other down. Don threw a punch every now and then, and Kuno swung his bokken, but neither of them intended to make contact. As he moved past a tree, Don examined the branches. But the circling motion caused him to move out of reaching distance, so he couldn't execute his plan this time around. But he'd be back around before too long… Kuno held his weapon at the ready, awaiting the correct moment to launch his final attack. There was no turning back now. Defeat was not to be considered; victory, the only option. Suddenly, a loud cracking sound was heard, and Don lashed out, swinging something at Kuno. Instinctively, Kuno parried with his bokken. Don grinned; in his hands was a sturdy tree branch. "Excellent reflexes, Kuno…" Don conceded, "Let's see how long they last." The two exploded into a game of attack and defend, strike and parry. Don's improvised fencing rivaled Kuno's kendo expertise in every way. "It's amazing what fear can bring out in a guy." Commented a girl in the crowd. Kuno tried frantically to hit Don, but the tree branch repelled all of his swings. A drop of nervous sweat rolled down the bridge of his nose and onto his lips. His tongue poked out to catch the salty droplet. He lunged forward once more, and Don reached up to block. But instead of withdrawing, Kuno forced his bokken into the branch, attempting to snap it in two. A crackling noise was heard, but the branch held on long enough for Don to push back Kuno, who backpedaled away, skidding to a halt just out of reach of Don. Gritting his teeth, Tatewaki charged, screaming at Don. Don was caught off guard: Kuno had been a pretty calm fighter up until now. Thinking quickly, he stepped off to the left to avoid the charging samurai. Kuno blinked; he was running too fast and couldn't slow down in time. As Kuno ran by, Don stuck the branch between his opponent's knees. In a goofy, tangled mess, Kuno fell to the ground. He lay stunned in the dirt. Don leaned over and grabbed Kuno's ankles again. The crowd cheered enthusiastically. The cop looked on curiously, wondering what was about to happen. Kuno hissed a profanity up at Don, who only grinned back. He began to spin Kuno around once again. But this time, Kuno was ready. Midway through the whirl, Kuno attempted to strike Don in the head with a powerful knockout blow from his bokken. Unfortunately for the both of them, he missed, hitting Don's already badly injured arm. The sound of cracking bone could be heard by everyone around as Don's forearm fractured. Don winced in excruciating pain, one hundred and sixty pounds of centrifugal force pulling on his fractured limb. He yelped, the pain too much for him to bear, and let go, sending Kuno flying into a nearby tree. Sasuke, who had been filming the whole time, fell out of the tree and into a bush. Don and Kuno both lay, motionless, on the ground. Everyone murmured amongst themselves, not sure what to think. The cop stepped into the clearing where the boys had been fighting, waving his arms. "All right folks!" he shouted, "I guess it's a draw!" That night, at the dojo, Dr. Tofu set Don's broken arm. "It's not that bad… just a stress fracture." Explained Dr. Tofu. "It shouldn't need to be in the cast for more than a month." Don groaned. A month seemed like an awfully long time to be in a cast. And it was his right arm that Kuno had broken, too. Being right-handed, Don knew his life was going to be far from great for a while. Meanwhile, in the dining room, Ranma was talking to Daisuke and Hiroshi, who had seen the fight and who had brought Don home. "So, how'd he do?" Ranma inquired, very interested in the response. Daisuke nodded. "Considering it was his first fight with Kuno, I'd say not bad at all." "Yeah… aside from the fact that he got his arm broken, he did pretty well…" added Hiroshi. "Kuno seemed to have improved since last week, too!" he added. "Obviously, considering the shape he left Don in…" Ranma mused. "I wonder if Kuno's training has made him good enough to beat me…" Class the next day proved to be quite an ordeal for Don. Kuno, bandaged and bruised, did not speak all day (a first, according to some seniors). He only glared at Don from his new seat in class. Mr. Natsushita had asked Nabiki to take noted for Don while he was wearing his cast, a task that she graciously accepted. Don tried to relax all day, but the pain in his arm was constantly bothering him. Lunch was no picnic for Don, either. (Author's note: this is the worst pun I've ever made… sorry about that…) He found that eating with his left hand was severely difficult. Nabiki jokingly offered to feed him, and they both got a good laugh out of it. Though, Don thought, it didn't seem like that bad of an idea… He shook his head, clearing the thought from his mind. No way… That afternoon, Alex ran home ahead of everyone else. About halfway to the Tendo home, Ranma caught up to him, turning around in front of the American and skidding to a halt. Alex stopped cold, tilting his head. "Hey, Ranma, what's the big idea?" Alex asked, a tiny hint of anger in his voice. "If I don't hurry, I'm going to be late…" Ranma blinked. "Late for what, exactly…?" Alex gave him an almost confused look. "You mean your dad didn't tell you? He's starting to train me this afternoon. I figure I can improve my mental discipline as well as my fighting ability." Ranma couldn't help but laugh at this. "Oh, please… a kindergartener could teach you better mental discipline than my old man…" Alex scratched his head. "But… didn't you train under him, Ranma?" "Not for the most part. Sure, when I was a little kid, he taught me the basics, but mostly he taught me how to get a free meal. Most of my good techniques I've learned on my own out of sheer necessity." Ranma explained with a slight smile. "You'd be much better off letting me train you." "I dunno, Ranma…" Alex said with a grin. "He seemed awfully enthusiastic about training me. And besides, maybe you're worried that I'll get better than you. I mean, if you trained me, you could leave out just enough to make me good, but not good enough to beat you…" "Suit yourself…" Ranma laughed. "If you really think that my pops can train you better than I can, well, that's fine with me. But I've got more ability in my little finger than that old man has got in his whole body." Alex stepped around Ranma, giving him one last cold look. "I'd love to prove you wrong, Ranma… I'll be expecting a match when I feel ready, okay?" And with that, he ran off, leaving a stunned Ranma standing alone on the sidewalk.