A Feather in the Wind
Chapter 6
Ryouga set down the last crate from the ship he had unwittingly boarded. Wiping the
sweat from his brow, he turned towards the captain of the small freighter.
"That's the last of 'em. Anything else you need done?" The grizzled sea-man looked at
Ryouga with a hint of amusement.
"Aye, but not fer ya ta be doin'. Tha rest of me men are gettin paid 'n hitting the town.
Like as not they be drinking their dinner. Ya got yer passage, now git 'fore I get to
whipping at you." Ryouga merely chuckled at the man as he shouldered his pack. Ryouga
turned his back and began walking down the pier.
He considered himself lucky. He managed to avoid getting wet during his unwanted
voyage, and he recognized the port they stopped at. At least he thought he knew it. The
simple wooden piers were cramped with boxes and nets full of fish. People pushed and
shoved at each other in a frenzy along the pier. Ryouga sighed to himself as he realized
that it looked just like every other dock he had seen. Ryouga nimbly wove through the
crowds, wanting only to return to the dojo. It wasn't until he was stopped by an officious
sounding man did he realize exactly how far away he was. The man waved some papers
in Ryouga's face, and asked something quickly in Chinese.
"I'm sorry, I don't speak Chinese very well. Do you know Japanese perhaps?" Ryouga
asked with a resigned tone in his voice. He had seen this type of man before. Customs
inspectors were all alike in all countries. Ryouga felt that these men wanted to do nothing
more than torment travelers with trivial problems, until they were bribed to shut up.
"Ah, yes well I do speak Japanese fairly well. I need to see your passport, and inspect
your belongings before allowing you to exit the port." The man said stiffly, giving the
impression that he had better things to do. Ryouga grinned toothily at him and pulled his
pack off.
"Just a moment, it's in here." Ryouga slipped his umbrella out of its place. "Here, hold
this a sec will ya?" Ryouga casually flipped the umbrella around and aimed the handle
towards the customs agent. The man sneered and pulled at the handle, intending to throw
it into the water when Ryouga let go. Ryouga purposely gave the umbrella a light push
when he let go. The man fell on his back, and the Ryouga continued to rummage through
his pack, ignoring the man who was pinned underneath the crushing weight of his
umbrella.
"Ah, here it is." Ryouga held up his well stamped passport. The customs agent
wheezed a bit as Ryouga held it in front of his face. Ryouga grinned. "I'm sorry, what did
you say?" Ryouga inquired politely as he picked his umbrella up. The customs agent
scrambled to his feet and scowled at Ryouga's passport for a second then stamped it.
"I still need to inspect your bag and inventory it to insure that you are not a smuggler.
This will only take a second." The man rummaged through Ryouga's pack, writing down
all of its contents. When he was done, he handed Ryouga a carbon copy of the inventory.
"Be sure to have that with you when you leave so that proper duties may be assessed.
Enjoy your stay in China Mr. Hibiki." He stiffly bowed before he moved on to another
hapless crewman. Ryouga shrugged his pack on and started walking. On his way off the
pier, he glanced to his left and noticed a passenger liner letting off its passengers. Ryouga
scowled at the pavilion where those passengers dealt with customs. Ryouga snorted and
walked away from the sea-port. He stoically ignored the merchants calling out to sell
their wares, and he ran quickly when he stumbled across the red light district. He caught
tantalizing glimpses of scantily clad women, beckoning him into the shadows. Ryouga
held his nose as he ran, as much to keep the blood in as keeping the odor of societies' filth
out of his nose. He was tempted, but an image of an upset Feather drove him on.
It was not long before Ryouga found himself deep in the wilderness, with no trails in
sight. He breathed the clean air with a sigh of relief. Here was his ultimate chance to get
rid of his curse for good! Ryouga ploughed forward, intent on finding a guide that would
take him straight to Jusenkyo, where he would say goodbye to the pig forever. Ryouga
started humming an old traveling tune to himself as he walked. He had heard it years
before, and the song seemed to help the miles pass quickly. He could not remember the
words anymore, but the tune itself seemed to be burned into his memory. This time as he
walked, for the first time since he had met Akane he did not imagine her by his side. His
imagination provided him with a different travelling partner this time.
Ryouga stopped in his tracks when he thought he had heard something. Ryouga
looked about, straining his senses for any sign of another presence around him. Ryouga
narrowed his eyes as he peered into the underbrush. There was dead silence all around
him. Ryouga slowly pulled his umbrella off his pack, and readied himself for a fight, be it
an animal or human. Snapping his umbrella open, Ryouga gave the bushes another look
over. He cautiously started moving forward again, still tensed for conflict. A feeling of
unease continued to gnaw at his gut, but Ryouga didn't flee. He pressed onward ready for
whatever it was that was making him nervous.
Ryouga whirled and flung his umbrella when he heard a loud crashing noise from the
bushes to his right. The umbrella cut through the bushes like a chain saw, revealed a wild
dog that was foaming at the mouth. Ryouga frowned as the maddened animal charged
him. The dog leapt for his throat, but Ryouga dodged to one side and punched the side of
its head, causing it to fly sideways into a tree. When it didn't get up, Ryouga retrieved his
umbrella and put it back onto his pack and started walking again. The rabid dog slowly
stood, shook its head a little, and then charged Ryouga's back. It leapt for it's goal,
Ryouga's unturned back reflected evilly in it's bloodshot eyes.
Ryouga felt the beast's hot breath on the back of his neck and started to turn just as
he heard a gunshot. Ryouga finished turning and whipped his umbrella out in one smooth
motion. He saw the dog's bloody carcass, torn in half by the high power rifle that a
cloaked figure was slowly lowering.
"Thanks, that mutt almost got me." Ryouga pointed his umbrella towards the ground,
hoping that it would be seen as a non-threatening gesture. The cloaked figure said
nothing, but unloaded the rifle and pointed the barrel towards the ground in the same
manner. Ryouga felt relief flood his system. He knew he was good, but he never had
much reason to dodge bullets before.
"Well met stranger. Welcome to my neck of the woods." The voice was rich and soft,
causing Ryouga to face-fault. The figure pulled back the hood and revealed a fairly pretty
woman with short black hair."Uh, yeah. Hi there." Ryouga stammered nervously as he
put his umbrella away.
"You're a long way from the closest village. Where might you be headed?" The
woman asked, giving Ryouga a suspicious look.
"I'm looking for Jusenkyo. It's supposed to be close to some mountains if I
remember..." Ryouga trailed off when he noticed the look of shocked surprise on the
woman's face.
"Jusenkyo?!? That place actually exists?" She said, amazed. Ryouga nodded mutely.
"You can't be serious. No-one goes near where it's supposed to be because of the
amazons. You don't look like you'd be able to deal with those women." Ryouga snorted
his amusement.
"I have fought things that would make your blood run cold. I can handle myself." The
disbelieving look the woman shot his way almost made Ryouga mad. Instead, he casually
picked up a rock and shattered it in his fist. The woman's eyes widened at his feat of
strength.
"Very well, suit yourself." She said as she disappeared back into the underbrush.
Ryouga shrugged and continued on his way, hoping to chance across Jusenkyo.
"Come on Feather," Akane spoke firmly to her friend, "Just because Ryouga got lost
is no reason for you to stop going to school. You are going with us this morning, no
matter what!" Akane put her hands on her hips to emphasize her point. Feather looked up
at Akane with a sheepish look on her face.
"Um, sorry I mentioned it?" Feather pleaded as she started to get ready for school.
Akane giggled a bit and helped Feather get ready.
"Don't worry about it. Besides, I'm sure Ryouga will find his way back soon, he
always does." Akane tried to soothe Feather's nerves. Ever since Ryouga had gotten lost,
Feather had gotten more and more timid around people, not to mention depressed.
Akane sighed to herself. She didn't like seeing anyone she considered a friend
depressed, and not being able to help. Lost in her own thoughts, she walked with Feather
and Ranma to school. Akane started when she heard Feather's gasp, and Ranma's
muttered curse. When she saw what awaited them at school, she began to scowl. Kuno
was standing before the gates, two bouquets of red roses in his hands. In a calm and
collected manner he approached the trio.
"Akane Tendo, your beauty this morn surpasses all mine expectations." He held one
of the bouquets out to Akane. "Please accept this token of my affection, yet they pale in
comparison to thy loveliness." Startled by his calm approach, Akane accepted the
flowers, speechless.
"What are you up to Kuno?" Ranma demands as he drops into a loose stance. Kuno
blithely ignores Ranma, and turns his attention towards Feather.
"Feather Saotome, you have a grace and beauty unable to be described, much as one
is unable to explain why a sunset can bear such beauty." Kuno holds the other bouquet
out to a fiercely blushing Feather. "Please accept these roses, for they symbolize our
feelings." Kuno presses the bouquet into Feather's numb fingers and turns away from
thembefore he starts to walk away. A few steps are taken before he looks over his
shoulder.
"Ranma Saotome, I would meet with you after our classes our done, we have much to
discuss."
"Any time, anywhere Kuno!" Ranma snarls.
"You shall address me as upperclassman, knave. I shall expect to see you in the
second field, alone." Kuno then walks into the school, leaving two very embarrassed girls
and one very angry Ranma.
"I can't believe that Kuno!" Ranma seethes as they walk into the school. "I mean,
giving you those flowers right in front of me! He has some nerve!" Ranma is so busy
thinking of all the different ways he could hurt Kuno, that he missed Akane's blush. ::I
can't believe it, he's jealous!:: Akane thought to herself as she walked automatically.
Feather was silent as they made their way towards class. She knew that she had to go to
class, but the attention she received reminded her a bit of when she was the main
attraction for a side show. Feather shivered at the memory, and did her best to steel
herself for class.
'Focus, find your center and relax. Do not suppress your emotions, for they are your
strength, rather let them guide you towards your center.' Feather remembered one of the
meditation lessons that Ryouga told her a while back, and she exhaled slowly, trying
desperately to find her center. Feather ignored the students around her and closed her
eyes, breathing in long, even breaths. Shortly she felt calm enough to continue, and she
opened her eyes. She was greeted by the sight of several boys from a different class
standing in front of her leering.
"Hey babe," one of them tried to sound suave, obviously the leader of the little group.
The boy was of medium height, and wore wire framed glasses. "What d'ya say about
cutting class with us and havin' some fun?" The rest of the group chuckled behind him.
Feather smiled sweetly at him, and put her hand on his cheek.
"That's nice, but don't you think your teacher might have something to say about
that?" Feather turned his head, and he stiffened. The boys, confused at the other boy's
reaction, looked around, and grew very apprehensive when they noticed their teacher
standing behind them.
"Uh, yeah, he would. Heh heh, just joking around right?" The bespectacled boy
laughed nervously. The teacher cleared his throat and frowned. "Um, maybe after school
huh? My name is Toshi, you wanna go out for some tea later?" He said in a serious tone.
"I'll think about it. Right now, we have to get to class. Later!" Feather waved
cheerfully at the boys as the teacher started to chastise them for even thinking about
cutting class. Feather practically skipped into the classroom and sat down. As she started
to get her books out, she noticed the class was unnaturally silent. Quickly Feather looked
up, and she started so hard she fell over her chair backwards. Standing in front of her
desk was a man with a very loud Hawaiian shirt, a garland or two draped around his
neck, and what looked like a small palm tree planted on the top of his head.
"WHO THE HECK ARE YOU!!" Feather screamed from her prone position on the
floor. The odd looking man grinned toothily.
"Da big Kahuna. Yous in the wrong uniform girl, tha's a demerit." He loomed over
her, "An' dat hair, it's way too long, yous need da bowl cut!" He brandished an oversized
pair of scissors, and he laughed as he started to open and close them slowly. Feather
screamed and tried to scramble away from the mutant Hawaiian when she heard the
distinctive sound of metal striking flesh. Feather looked back, and saw that Principal
Kuno was having a disagreement with Ukyou's spatula, more specifically, they were both
trying to occupy the same space at the same time. Ukyou moved to stand between the
principal and Feather.
"If you want to try and cut her hair, you'll have to go through me pal." Ukyou stated,
and continued to threaten him with her mega spatula.
"Hey! I thought you gave up on those stupid haircut rules ages ago!" Ranma
demanded as he strode towards them. He kept a wary eye on the principal as he helped
Feather to her feet.
"She got more hair dan da whole class put tagetha! She needs a good clippin', da
health standards and all." He grinned and lunged for Feather with the hair clippers again.
Ukyou tried to hit him again, but he dodged out of the way. Ranma leapt into the fray
with a snap kick that sent the principal flying for the chalkboard. Principal Kuno stood
slowly, and reached into his shirt.
"Yous tha real delinquents here, yous all getting da big Kahuna really mad." He
growled as he pulled a pineapple from his shirt and threw it at Ukyou. She sliced it in
half, and a green cloud of smoke exploded out from it. Coughing and gagging, Ukyou
and Ranma stumbled away from the smoke. Grinning victoriously, the principal
advanced on Feather, clippers in hand.
"Give up wahine, da hair don't hurt none when it's cut!" Feather backed up towards a
window, and she struggled to open it. With a yell, Principal Kuno charged her, at the
same time, Feather managed to throw open the window and leapt out. As soon as she was
clear of the window, Feather snapped her wings out, hopelessly ruining the back of her
blouse, and flew a short distance away from the window. Principal Kuno gaped when he
saw the wings, but he continued to run. He leapt out the window and grabbed for her legs.
Feather wasn't ready for him to perform such a reckless act, and didn't dodge. Principal
Kuno managed to grab one foot, and he looked up, reaching for her hair with his free
hand. Feather turned red with rage and embarrassment.
"You PERVERT!" Feather yelled as she tried to kick him off. When that failed, she
started to rapidly fly in loops and speed dives, trying to get him to let go. The elder Kuno
grabbed her leg with his other hand and held on for dear life. The students in the
classroom gathered around the window to watch the aerial show.
"Hey Ranma, what's with your sister's wings?" Hiroshi asked the still coughing
Ranma. One of the other boys grabbed Ranma's collar and shook a little.
"Don't tell me you let her get cursed as well?" The boy yelled in Ranma's face.
Ranma stopped coughing and glared at him. Realizing that he had made a bad mistake,
the boy let go of Ranma's shirt and backed up a step, sweating nervously. Ranma merely
brushed off his shirt and turned back to the window.
"It ain't my place to tell you. If she wants to talk about it, that's up to her." Ranma
said as he watched Feather do a low pass over the trees, still trying to knock Principal
Kuno off of her. He then turned back to the rest of the class.
"And I do mean IF." Ranma trailed off menacingly and cracked his knuckles noisily
to make his point perfectly clear. After he was certain they understood, he went back to
watching the aerial display.
Feather hovered for a second to catch her breath, and she felt a light tug at her hair.
She looked down, and saw the demented Hawaiian wannabe trying to cut at her hair
while she was resting. With a yell of pure rage, she flew full speed for the window to the
classroom. The students inside scattered when they saw an enraged Feather flying right
towards them, her now unbound hair giving her a wild look. Maybe a meter away from
the window, Feather tucked her wings, and depended upon her momentum to carry her
through. She shot through the window, and unfurled her wings and flapped them a few
times to stop. Principal Kuno wasn't nearly as fortunate, as he had slammed into the wall
just below the window frame. The shock of the impact caused him to lose his grip on
Feather's ankle, and he slowly slid down the wall.
Feather was breathing heavily, her fists clenched tightly at her sides, as she stalked
over to the window and slammed it shut. When she turned around, she noticed the stares
from the rest of the people in the class. Most of the boys were staring in slack jawed
amazement, and a few of the girls had taken to whispering in the back of the classroom.
The anger Feather was feeling fled as embarrassment came forth, then it hit her. The
whispering in the class triggered something deep within her, and her head suddenly felt
like it was full of wool. Feather looked at her shoes, letting her loose hair hide her blush,
and the tears that threatened to stream down her face. She stood like that for a few
minutes, listening to the whispers that danced back and forth in the classroom like
fireflies in the night, until she felt a hand gently placed on her shoulder. Startled, Feather
looked up and saw that Ranma was standing in front of her with a very worried
expression on his face.
"You ok Feather?" Ranma asked quietly. Feather suddenly hugged Ranma fiercely,
and started to cry into his chest. Rather loudly at that. Even though he was startled by her
sudden outburst, Ranma hugged her the best he could, and tried to comfort her. Absently,
he noticed that the whispering had stopped, so he glanced around the room. Not one of
the students was watching the scene unfold before them, rather they were staring at the
door. Ranma shifted his gaze and stiffened. Standing in the doorway, her little hands on
her hips, was a frowning Miss Hinako.
"Mr. Saotome! Just what is going on in here? You had better have a very good
explanation for this!" She wagged her finger at him as she entered the room. Ranma's
mouth worked wordlessly, and Feather continued to cry into his chest. Miss Hinako
stopped a few feet in front of them and stood expectantly. Ranma looked around
desperately for some help, then he looked at Miss Hinako with a sheepish grin.
"Uh, g'morning Miss Hinako. Well you see, the principal kinda scared Feather, and
she's a bit worked up over a few other things, yeah that's it." Ranma swallowed
nervously. Miss Hinako appeared to consider that for a minute, then she smiled.
"Okay, but its time for class so everyone take your seats!" While Miss Hinako
bounced to the front, Ranma coaxed Feather into sitting in her seat. Feather sat and
folded her wings around her like a cloak, like she was trying to hide herself from the
class. Akane and Ukyou cast worried glances towards Feather before paying attention to
class.
Feather's heart was not in the class that morning. She could swear she heard the
whispers shooting back and forth through the class, and feel the stares she was sure were
aimed at her. Just when she thought that she would be unable to stand it anymore, the bell
rang, signaling the first break. Feather bolted from the class, and she ran for the roof.
"What's with Feather this morning?" Ranma asked Akane. Akane shot a hard glance
at him.
"It's just.... Well, you wouldn't understand Ranma."
"What d'ya mean I wouldn't understand?" Ranma started to frown. Akane ignored
him and whispered something to Ukyou, who nodded and left the class. Ranma spoke up
again, "Hey Akane, what do you mean I wouldn't understand?"
"Ranma, it's a little hard to explain." Akane sighed. "You see, I think Feather is
getting really depressed, and all that staring must've scared her." Ranma's face went dark,
and a scowl formed on his face. Akane nodded at his reaction. "I don't know if you
noticed or not, but she's been really sensitive about her wings, and when the class was
whispering and staring at her this morning, she must have been reminded of what that
jerk did to her." Ranma opened his mouth to say something, but Akane firmly placed her
hand over his mouth. "Let me finish! Right now she needs someone to confide in, and it's
a lot easier for a girl to talk to a girl. That's why I had Ukyou follow her." Akane pulled
her hand away from Ranma's mouth. Ranma was still scowling.
"Ok, so what your saying is this, Feather freaked out because what happened this
morning was kinda like what that jerk was doing, and she needs someone she can pour
her heart out to, right?" Akane looked dumbfounded at Ranma.
"You DO understand, don't you Ranma?" Akane's voice was filled with shock.
"Yeah, kinda. I do know that talking about stuff that upsets you can help. I'm not a
complete jerk you know." Ranma grinned at Akane's expression. "Not that I'd ever need
to confide in anyone. After all, I can handle anything life throws at me!"
"Right, what about Jusenkyo Ranma? You don't seem to handle that one too well."
Ranma stiffened.
"I don't want to talk about it." Ranma turned away.
"I thought you just said you understood." Akane crossed her arms.
"I do, but I just don't want to talk about it. It just ain't right for a guy to do that kind of
stuff." Akane scoffed.
"Sure Ranma. Whatever you say." Akane walked away to talk with some of her
friends. Ranma watched her leave, his expression inscrutable. Time passed slowly for
him, his worry for Feather warring with something he didn't really want to deal with.
Ranma gritted his teeth and sat at his desk. He was so occupied with his thoughts, he
failed to notice Akane walk up behind him.
"What's up with you Ranma? You look like you're stressing out." Akane asked, a hint
of concern in her voice. Ranma turned towards Akane with a serious look on his face.
"You know what Akane?"
"What is it Ranma?"
"I've been thinkin' about how you said Feather needed to talk to someone, and well,
you have a point." Akane looked confused.
"Just what are you getting at Ranma?"
"If um, you know, I do ever need to talk, I'll um, see you're," Ranma mumbled
something under his breath. Akane cocked her head and leaned towards him.
"What was that last part Ranma? I didn't quite catch that." Ranma mumbled again,
then he straightened up.
"That is, if I ever need to, you know, um, talk and stuff, I'd talk to..." He swallowed
hard, and the last word he spoke was barely a whisper, "you"
Akane blushed redder that Ranma's shirt, and looked around to see if anyone over
heard their little discussion. When she saw that no-one was paying attention, she faced a
blushing Ranma.
"Thank you Ranma. I.... I feel the same way." Both of them were at a loss for words
at this point, their emotions at odds with their pride.
Ukyou was following Feather at a fair distance. She was trying desperately to keep
her in sight, but it seemed that Feather had the energy of a demon. Ukyou had to sprint
just to keep her in sight. :: Just how far does she plan on running?:: Ukyou thought as she
ran. Feather quickly turned a corner, and Ukyou had to step up the pace to try and catch
up. When Ukyou turned the corner, Feather was nowhere in sight.
"Great, now where did she go?" Ukyou muttered as she looked around. She noticed
the door to the stairs was still open, so she took a chance and ran up the stairs. As she ran,
she heard a door slam open, like it was kicked very hard. Ukyou strained to run faster.
When she reached top of the stairs, Ukyou saw that the door had been forcibly kicked
open, judging by the footprint denting it. Ukyou stopped running for a second to compose
herself, and then walked out onto the roof.
"Feather?" Ukyou called out when she didn't see her anywhere. There was no answer
to her call, so Ukyou started walking around looking for her friend. She walked around
the roof for a while before she spotted Feather sitting on the top of the clock tower.
Feather's hair was tossing lightly in the wind, but she seemed to be staring off into the
distance. Ukyou jumped onto the tower, and walked quietly over to Feather.
"Hey kiddo, you feeling alright?" Ukyou asked as she sat down. Feather started a
little, and looked at Ukyou with haunted eyes.
"Ukyou," Feather's voice was barely a whisper, and even then it cracked a little.
Ukyou got a very concerned look on her face and leaned towards Feather.
"Feather, you gotta talk to me, what's bugging you?"
"I, I remember." Feather said before looking out over the schoolyard again.
"Remember?" Ukyou asked, puzzled. "Remember what?"
"I remember my childhood now. I remember what he was like before the booze,
before the side show, when he was a good man, when all he wanted was the best for
me...." Feather trailed off for a second until she felt Ukyou's arms encircling her in a hug.
"The first thing I can remember about him was that he was sitting across a table from
me, smiling as he watched me eat, but not eating himself. He was sacrificing himself and
his life so I could have a normal childhood at that time. He used to find ways of getting
me whatever I wanted, probably stealing, and making sure I was happy. I guess you could
say he was spoiling me." Feather wiped a single tear from her eye before she continued.
"Then, he started to drink. At fist he'd yell a little, then he'd be all apologetic. Later he
was drunk all the time. We had less and less food to eat. This was when I as about
fourteen or so." Feather started crying, so Ukyou hugged Feather and murmured
comforting sounds, at least she hoped they were comforting.
"It's okay Feather, let it out, then continue. You need to talk about this." After some
time, Feather managed to stop crying.
"Then, then he started the sideshow act. At first it was a game to me, I'd wear a pretty
dress and makeup, and pretend to be an angel for anyone who paid. I'd smile and wave at
the people, and quote little snippets and psalms from the Bible, and sometimes act like I
was blessing them. He seemed happy for a while, but the extra money meant more booze,
and then...... then..." Feather barely mouthed the words, but Ukyou understood, and a
cold weight settled in her stomach, "Then the beatings began."
Feather stopped talking and pulled the shoulder of her blouse down just enough to
reveal a faint scar on her back, just a little above where her left wing would have been.
Ukyou gasped as she examined the scar. The line was very faint, but still easily visible.
"That happened the first time, he had thrown me into the shelves and it cut fairly
deep. He insisted to the doctor that looked at it that I had fallen off of a slide, and had
used his memory techniques to insure I said the same thing. Since then, he would be
careful to not be that obvious, or he would just alter my memory to suit him. I tried
running away several times, but he would always find me, or a well meaning policeman
would bring me back. Then the beatings would be worse." Ukyou was speechless. How
could she come up with something to say that would help?
"Whenever he had a bad day, or when the show didn't do that well, he would take out
his frustration on me." Feather looked up at the sky. "I'm grateful for one thing though,"
Ukyou looked at Feather sharply.
::What could she possibly be grateful to that guy for?:: Ukyou thought.
"What's that Feather?" She heard herself say, despite her turmoiled thoughts. Feather
looked at Ukyou, and she knew that Feather had heard an undertone of disbelief.
"He never molested me. I'll be forever grateful that he didn't do that." They sat up
there for some time in silence. Ukyou found herself unable to come up with something to
say, so she lent Feather her silent support.
The bell rang, startling them both.
"Oh No!" Feather yelled as she scrambled to her feet, "We missed the rest of the
morning classes! Miss Hinako's gonna kill us!" Ukyou stood quickly, but she wasn't as
panicked as Feather.
"Don't sweat it Feather, we'll just have to weather a reprimand after lunch. Come on,
let's go find Ran-chan." With that, Ukyou led Feather back down the stairs in a search for
Ranma.
Ryouga stared in disbelief at the sight before him. Against all odds, he had found
Jusenkyo. The waters of sorrow had never made anyone as happy, or had looked quite
that beautiful in the eyes of any that had beheld it. Ryouga practically dashed for the
springs, but pulled up just short of one of them.
::Wait a sec,:: he thought as he looked at his reflection in the still water, ::How do I
know which one to jump into?:: Ryouga's mood darkened as he saw no sign of the guide,
or anybody else for that matter. He started walking among the springs, looking for any
clue as to the one he sought.
Hours past as Ryouga walked around. Frustrated, he sat heavily next to one that was
frighteningly familiar. He peered at it closely, then shuddered when he realized that he
had sat down next to the spring of drowned black piglet. It was calm and serene,
oblivious to the pain and suffering that it had caused him when it had touched his life.
Ryouga fought the urge to destroy it on the spot with a Shi Shi Houkoudan, wondering
what would happen if he got splashed with the water for a second time.
"DAMMIT! How can I be so close, yet so far from a cure!" Ryouga yelled to the sky.
Ryouga looked at the ground in front of him in despair, and paused. There, in a patch of
dirt was a set of hoof-prints. Ryouga bent closer and examined the dirt around the pool.
There were several sets of hoof prints leading away from the water. He almost laughed
out loud when he realized how simple it would be to find a spring that had human
footprints leading from it.
Ryouga set about his search with renewed vigor. He walked from pool to pool,
searching for one that had the right kind of tracks. After several hours, he finally found
one that had human footprints leading from it. He noted that they mostly were
accompanied by hand and knee prints as well. In fact, there were a lot of booted prints
around as well.
::Now the question is, what kind of person fell in?:: As Ryouga pondered that
thought, the western sky had begun to decorate itself with the brilliant colors of sunset.
Ryouga watched the sunset as he struggled to decide, jump in now and take whatever
human form goes with it, or wait for the guide to show up and tell him. Ryouga put his
pack down and sat upon it, facing away from the spring.
"Tomorrow sees undone, what happens not today. Indecision brings delays, days lost
lamenting lost days." Ryouga said to himself, then smiled, remembering the last time he
had uttered those words in the cave of lost love. "Might as well!" He shouted as he
jumped into the spring in front of him. The spring behind him glinted almost maliciously
in the ruddy light.Suddenly he felt his body wrack with pain, like he was being flayed
alive. ::I can take any suffering, any pain to be rid of the pig!!:: Ryouga thought fiercely,
trying to block out the pain. He wanted to scream from the agony, but dared not. The
water felt like it was burning his very soul, and he would swear later that the water had
burned off all of his skin during his ordeal. Ryouga struggled to break free of the water's
embrace, his lungs burning with desire for the sweet air above. With a loud gasp, Ryouga
broke the surface. In a pain maddened state, he ran off, fortunate only that he got tangled
in the straps to his pack. He ran off into the night, his pack gouging a trail into the turf
behind him......
When Feather and Ukyou rejoined Ranma and Akane for lunch, a large number of
their classmates converged on them, asking questions about Feather's wings. Ranma
moved in front of the girls.
"Stop it!" He yelled at the top of his voice. The sudden silence that covered the area
was sudden and complete. "Why don't you all mind your business and go away!" Ranma
yelled. His classmates began to argue with him, and the girls took the opportunity to
disappear into a storage shed to eat lunch in peace.
"What about Ranma?" Feather asked when Akane slid the door shut.
"Oh, don't worry about him, he'll be just fine. When they notice we're not around,
they'll split up looking for us, and Ranma will come and find us." Akane said as she
unwrapped her bento.
"How will he know to look in here?" Feather inquired as she got ready to eat her
lunch. Akane smiled.
"This is the shed he always ducks into when he's been splashed." She moved aside a
couple of boxes to reveal a mini stove and a kettle. "Think of it as a kind of a safe spot
for us. For some reason, no-one ever thinks of looking in here." Feather giggled, and
started to eat her lunch. Akane glanced at Ukyou, who gave her an 'I'll tell you later' look.
The girls talked about little things for a few minutes before a sudden gust of wind
blew past them. They turned around and saw Ranma perched on the window sill.
"Finally lost those jerks." Ranma said as he jumped down. Ranma slumped against
some boxes, and absently accepted the lunch that Akane held out for him.
They finished eating, talking only occasionally about mundane things. Ukyou and
Feather were scolded when they returned to class, but they took it in stride and managed
to get through the rest of the school day without incident.
As they were packing their books after class was over, Ranma held his bag out to
Akane.
"What's this for Ranma?" Akane asked. Ranma shrugged, but continued to hold out
his bag.
"Could ya take this back to the dojo? I gotta deal with Kuno's challenge remember?"
Ranma's tone was that of the long suffering.
"Oh, well don't take too long beating him up Ranma, I'm cooking dinner tonight."
Akane announced with a huge smile. Ranma nearly jumped away from the mere notion
of Akane cooking, until he remembered what the last meal tasted like.
"Uh, sure I guess. As long as it turns out like last time, right? Well, good luck with
dinner Akane, I gotta run!" Ranma sprinted out of the door, heading towards something
he was sure he could handle. Akane fumed a little.
"I swear, he didn't have to make it sound like I'm still having trouble. The last dinner I
made turned out just fine!" Ukyou looked at Akane with light interest.
"Oh, so you finally learned how to cook Akane? Boy, that's going to make it even
harder for Ran-chan to choose." Ukyou said just a little flippantly.
"What's that supposed to mean Ukyou?" Akane asked, a small frown forming. Ukyou
smiled as they started to make their way out of the school.
"Well, everyone knows that we are Ran-chan's only real choices for marriage. I mean,
Kodachi's plain crazy and Shampoo's only real claim is those stupid laws, but we were
both engaged by our parents to Ran-chan. That makes us kinda like friendly rivals, right
Akane?" Akane seemed to be angry for a second, then realized that Ukyou was right.
"We can be civil about this Ukyou, you're the only one of the fiancee's that ever takes
Ranma's feelings into consideration when you do something. Besides, I haven't forgotten
all that you did for us when Ranma was hurt." Ukyou grimaced a little at the memory.
"Hmmph! It wasn't like I had a choice, you were devastated, and unable to fend off
Kuno, and Ran-chan was too hurt to resist Shampoo or Kodachi. The way I see it, I was
the only one who didn't try and take advantage of the situation to get closer to Ran-chan."
Akane laughed a little.
"You want to come over for dinner Ukyou? Since we're friendly rivals as you put it."
Akane smiled sweetly. Ukyou blanched, remembering the last time she ate Akane's
cooking.
"Uh, I gotta take care of the restaurant, so maybe next time ok?" Ukyou started to
edge away, then practically ran for her place, waving back at Akane and Feather.
"Really, she could have at least offered to try it. Oh well, come on Feather!" Akane
broke into a run, "I want to get an early start on dinner!" They ran the rest of the way to
the dojo, laughing and giggling.
Ranma stood alone in the second field, mentally preparing himself for what he was
sure was going to be a fight.
"Hark and well met Saotome." Ranma spun on his heel to face Kuno.
"What do you want Kuno?" Ranma asked, but was ready to dodge any attack. Kuno
frowned.
"You will address me as upperclassman. Nevertheless, I find myself in a quandary
Saotome. I would date your sister, but honor requires that I obtain the permission of her
older brother, you Saotome. I am unused to dealing with you on this level, so I will be
frank. What must I do to curry your favor, and obtain permission to date with Feather?"
Kuno stabbed his bokken into the soft earth, and sat next to it. "Mind you, I will do
nothing that would be a stain upon my honor, but I will do what is necessary." Ranma
was speechless for a minute.
"Hold up Kuno, when have you ever sought permission from the families of the girls
that you chase?" Ranma asked as he sat down across from Kuno.
"The honorable Mr. Tendo never objected to my wooing of the sweet Akane, and the
Pigtailed Girl has no family that I could discover. It is my experience that the elder
brother is oft times the one whose permission must be obtained. For it is with the heir of
the family that such a responsibility falls, and thus I find myself here speaking with you,
though I would rather be seeking out my loves." Kuno leveled his gaze upon Ranma, and
waited.
"Um, well, I guess I should ask you to give up on Akane and your Pigtailed Girl if
you wanna date with Feather. More importantly, find out how Feather feels about you.
She might already have someone in mind." Ranma thought of how she acted around
Ryouga, and frowned. "In fact, I'm sure there's someone she already likes."
"How unfortunate. I will endeavor to discover her true feelings on the matter, and
learn the truth. And yet, I find my heart divided upon my loves. I'll take my leave of you
now Saotome, and I shall ponder what we have discussed this afternoon." Kuno stood,
bowed to Ranma, and left. Ranma sat there for a while, then slowly made his way back to
the dojo.
On the way, he heard a familiar cry.
"Where on earth am I now!!" Ranma grinned, and proceeded to track down Ryouga.
Ranma jumped over a wall, and saw Ryouga asking directions from a store keeper.
"Hey Ryouga! It's been what, more than a month now?" Ranma yelled in way of
greeting, and ran up to his friend.
"Ranma! I've been to Jusenkyo!"
"Well duh Ryouga, that's why you change." Ranma said sarcastically, not realizing
the importance of Ryouga's statement. Ryouga hit Ranma upside the head, and yelled in
his ear.
"No you idiot! I've been there again!" Ranma grabbed Ryouga's shirt.
"No kidding! You brought me back some nannichuan didn't you Ryouga old pal! I
knew you'd wander back there one of these days!" Ranma practically danced around
Ryouga. When Ryouga didn't say anything right away, Ranma stopped dancing around.
"Wait a sec, don't tell me you fell in a different one by mistake?"
Ryouga's almost imperceptible nod, while only a very slight movement, managed to
destroy Ranma's hopes. Suddenly, they looked like the two most miserable people on
earth.
"I couldn't find the guide anywhere, so I thought I could figure out which one was the
nannichuan on my own. I checked the banks of a lot of those springs, looking for human
footprints leading out from it." Ryouga spoke like he was already dead. "I finally found
one close to sunset almost a week ago. Rather than take the chance of getting lost, I
jumped in. The pain was.... almost unbearable. When I finally broke the surface, the pain
had driven me mad, and I ran, I think. When I came to my senses, I had somehow gotten
into the cargo hold of an airplane. I thought I was extraordinarily lucky, since I was
human at the time, I was myself!" Ranma patted Ryouga on the back.
"At least your free of the pig! Even if you fell in the spring of drowned pervert, it's
gotta be better than being a pig." Ryouga gave a little half smile, then sank in depression
again.
"Come on Ranma, let's go get something to drink."
"No problem, that place over there has a soda machine..." Ryouga shook his head.
"No, I mean a real drink. I don't care if we have to raid Kuno's wine cellar, but I really
could use a drink!"
"You drink Ryouga? I thought you only drank water since your on the road all the
time." Ranma sounded a little shocked, but led Ryouga towards a nearby bar.
"I've been to Germany a few times. It's a lot easier to get beer than water. Some
people think it's funny to give some poor lost kid a beer, but I can handle the stuff."
Ryouga spoke quietly as they walked into one of the more disreputable bars in town. The
broken doorframe should have been the first hint, but the two depressed martial artists
trudged in anyways.
Inside was a mess. Broken chairs and tables were piled in one corner, and tough
looking bikers lounged around the bar. Loud heavy metal music was blaring, and there
were more than a few passed out, or knocked out people around. Ranma and Ryouga
ignored this, and walked straight to the bar.
"Get us a bottle of the strongest stuff you got." Ryouga growled as he sat on a patched
stool. The bartender gave Ryouga a once over, and crossed his arms.
"Sorry son, we don't serve minors here," No sooner had the words left his mouth had
Ryouga grabbed the front of the man's shirt and dragged him halfway across the bar.
Ryouga spoke in a dangerously low voice, looking straight into the now frightened
bartender's eyes.
"I said, a bottle of the strongest stuff you got. I'm too tired to argue with you, and
would just as soon toss you out and get it myself," The bartender nodded vigorously, and
Ryouga let go. The bartender produced two shot glasses, and poured them both some
whiskey.
"Thanks. Leave the bottle." Ryouga said tersely, and knocked his drink back quickly.
"You've done this before, haven't you Ryouga?" Ranma said before he sipped his, and
nearly choked on it. Ryouga slapped him on the back hard.
"Slam it down, don't sip on it, and yeah, I've hit a couple of bars before. That was
right after my first trip to Jusenkyo." Ryouga poured himself another drink, and downed
that one as soon as he had finished pouring. Ranma poured himself another and kicked it
back the way he saw Ryouga drink it, his pride not letting him have less to drink than
Ryouga. The bartender gave them a concerned look.
"Um, you two seem worked up by something, need to talk about it?" The bartender
hoped that they would start blabbing away about whatever bothered them, and then leave.
"No, you wouldn't understand." Ryouga said flatly.
"Try me." The bartender grinned, and refilled Ryouga's glass for him.
"Picture this if you will, think of what it means to be one of the best fighters in the
world, able to shatter a rock with one finger, and then poof. You can't fight anymore.
Then poof again, your back to the way you were. Imagine this happening several times a
day. Now think of what happens when you finally find a cure, and botch it up because
you were too impatient to wait for the guy to come along and tell you which cure to take.
I took the wrong cure, and at the same time, was unable to bring back a cure for my
friend, who suffers from the same problem." Ryouga said, then drank another shot. The
bartender turned to Ranma.
"Ok, howzabout you?"
"I'm the friend he was talking about." Ranma said flatly, and took another drink
himself.
"Well, sounds to me that you two need to go out and get the right cure, as you put it."
The bartender said with a smug look on his face.
"Ain't that easy." Ranma said, still trying to match Ryouga drink for drink, "You see,
the cure is in China, and we don't have enough money to go there." Ranma took another
shot. Ryouga nodded his head, and downed another. One of the bikers had overheard
them, and shambled over.
"Yous two don't look none to tough. I think I can handle either of ya." Ranma and
Ryouga looked at each other.
"You want to take him Ryouga? I don't have as much anger to work out of my
system." Ranma said. Ryouga grinned and nodded as he slid off of the stool.
"Your move." Ryouga said noncommittally. The biker's face flushed, and he charged
with a roar. Ryouga calmly sidestepped, kneed the man in the gut, and flattened him on
the ground with a palm strike between his shoulder blades. The man tried to get up, put
Ryouga calmly placed his foot on the man's back.
"I don't feel like seriously hurting you. Go back to your drink, 'k?" Ryouga said, a bit
of boredom in his voice. When he continued to struggle, Ryouga demonstrated what he
meant by hurt, by punching straight into the floor, burying his arm up to the elbow in
solid concrete. The man flinched since Ryouga's fist impacted the floor mere inches away
from his nose. The man's eyes went wide when Ryouga pulled his arm out, and there was
no sign of injury whatsoever. Ryouga turned back to his seat, and the biker crawled away,
doing his best to avoid being noticed by the drinking martial artists.
Some time later, a thoroughly drunk pair staggered from the bar. The bottle and their
pockets had run dry, and it was time to find their way home.
Akane was upset. Ranma had not come home yet, and her dinner was getting cold.
She had worked on it since she got home, and the food looked like it was really good.
When the sky began to darken, Akane stood up.
"Go ahead and eat you guys, I'm going to look for Ranma." She announced.
"Atta girl Akane! You make you father so proud, looking after your fiancee like
that!" Mr. Tendo said happily while Genma-panda grunted and nodded, reaching for the
food. Akane did her best to ignore them, and started walking towards the door when she
heard a loud crash, and slurred curses.
"Oh my! What language! Akane, would you be a dear and chase off those drunks
please?" Kasumi said, one hand held delicately up to her mouth.
"Sure thing Kasumi! I feel the need to vent a bit anyway." Akane cracked her
knuckles and walked out to the gate. As she got closer to the gate, she could almost
understand what the drunks were wailing about, but she prepared to face them, ready for
anything.
Well, just about anything. She jumped backwards when the gate opened violently,
and just about tore a vocal cord with her yell of surprise.
"RANMA?!???!! RYOUGA?!?!?!"
Her shout summoned the rest of the household. There, staggering in the yard was a
very drunk pair. They were clinging to each other for support.
"Hiyash Akane! We's home," Ranma announced with a stupid grin. After Ranma's
greeting, Akane stormed around the side of the house. Ryouga muttered something under
his breath. Ranma turned his head. "Yeah, thatsh a true sshhamesh, wanderin' ta Jasenko
and notsh findin' tha shpring." Ryouga raised his head.
"Itsh not my falt. I shlipped in and ... woomph, I blacksh out. We curshed folksh stick
tagatha right Ranma?" Ryouga's voice was very slurred, but his pleading tone was
enough to make all of the Tendos feel sorry for him.
"Poor Ryouga!" Kasumi said to Nabiki, "Now he has a curse. I wonder which spring
he fell into?"
"I'll lay you a bet that he turns into some small, weak animal Kasumi," Nabiki said,
"It's the most annoying thing that could happen to a strong boy like Ryouga. I say a
hundred yen is good," Kasumi looked at her sister strangely, the produced a list.
"Ok Nabiki, your hundred yen against doing all the shopping for a week,"
"Deal sis,"
Feather tried to drag the boys into the house, and get them to stop yelling.
Exasperated, Feather backed up from them and put her hands on her hips.
"Honestly, what has gotten into you two?" Feather scowled at them before she turned
to look for Akane. "Hey Akane, you going to help me get these two inside?" Feather
called out. Akane returned with a running garden hose in hand.
"No problem. This ought to at least get Ranma to shut up." Feather reached for the
hose, a yell of warning somehow lodged in her throat as Akane turned the hose on them.
The cold spray of water managed to silence everyone in the yard. Feather couldn't look.
Ryouga had confessed to her about what he had done as P-chan as an explanation as to
why she couldn't tell Akane. Everyone else in the yard was in shock. Instead of
changing just Ranma, Ryouga changed had as well. His fangs grew , and his face grew
longer. Gray fur sprouted over every inch of his body as he lurched forward onto all
fours. In the blink of an eye, Ryouga had transformed into a very large wolf. The only
real clue that it was still Ryouga was the bandanna that somehow remained loosely tied
around his thick neck. He looked about as irritated as a wolf could get.
"R, Ryouga?" Akane said as the hose slid out of her numb fingers. Ryouga merely
whined as he rolled onto his side in the growing mud puddle. Nabiki, scowled, and held
her hand out to Kasumi.
"Might as well give me the list, I'm going shopping after school tomorrow." As
Nabiki spoke, Feather turned to look, and did not have to fake any kind of astonishment.
"Ryouga! What happened!" Feather screamed as she ran over to him, and hugged him
around the neck, burying her face into the amazingly soft fur. Ryouga twisted a little and
nudged at Feather with his muzzle. The touch of his cold nose made her let go of his
neck. No sooner had she done that then he started to lick her face.
"Ah! Hee hee hee, stop it Ryouga!" Feather giggled as she tried to fend him off
laughingly. Then seriously pushed him away as she smelled his breath.
"Phew! Ryouga look that way, your breath reeks!" She turned her face away from
Ryouga and watched Akane stalk over to Ranma, who swept her into a tight embrace.
"Ranma! Let go of me right now!" Akane struggled uselessly against Ranma-chan's
strong arms.
"Why? I shink I'll fall if I let go.." Ranma-chan let go however, and then passed out.
Akane caught her limp form, and with an exasperated sigh, dragged Ranma-chan into the
house. Ryouga's tongue lolled out in the wolfish equivalent of a laugh.
"Ryouga, come on, let's get you inside." Feather stood held a hand out, expecting
Ryouga to follow. Instead, Ryouga whined a little as he finally passed out. Feather
sighed as she tried to pick him up. She half carried, half dragged Ryouga's sodden form
into the dojo. She saw where Akane had dumped Ranma-chan off, and dropped her
burden right next to the now snoring Ranma-chan. Akane walked back into the dojo with
a pail of water and a couple of washrags.
"Here, let's clean them up a bit, then get to bed ourselves." Akane offered one of the
rags to Feather, who accepted, and proceeded to try and wash all of the mud and grime
off of Ryouga. Akane started to clean Ranma-chan up, pausing only to kick their fathers
out of the room.
"I really don't need them going on about how fiancees look after each other right
now." Akane wrung out her rag, and dipped it in the bucket. "I wonder if Ryouga's curse
was why they went and got drunk. As long as I've known them, they haven't willingly
gotten drunk."
"I hope they'll be ok Akane. They both seemed rather bummed out, and after you
splashed them, they were getting hysterical." Feather pulled a particularly large clump of
mud out of his fur, "Look on the bright side, he's housebroken." Akane giggled at
Feather's observation, and finished cleaning Ranma-chan off.
"There, Ranma's all cleaned up. How's Ryouga coming?" Akane asked. Feather
shrugged.
"He's as clean as possible without a good hot bath, and a lot of soap." Akane and
Feather left the empty bucket in the dojo, and closed the door.
Feather looked back at the door and sighed. As she made her way back towards
Akane's room, she couldn't help but feel sorry for Ryouga.
"To be so close, yet so far. It's almost as if the world really is out to get him." Feather
sighed as she made her way up the stairs. Ryouga may be back, but she was certain that
his new curse was only going to make things more.... interesting.