Love Letters from the Edge
A Ranma 1/2 Elseworlds by the Scriviner
Foreword:
What actually set off this story was an episode
of Kinyo Chui Ho Wapiko-chan, I saw a couple of
months back, where one of the characters hit her head
and had a long elaborate dream sequence where
everyone was acting the opposite of how they normally
acted. I figured it was a great idea for a fic... but
then I figured, it'd be more intriguing to see if I
could make a single change which would result in a
cascade of events which would lead to the resulting
opposite personalities/behavior in people.
In any case, rights belong to Rumiko Takahashi,
and I wouldn't dream of trying to steal em. C&C
always welcomed and to be sent to ebon@i-manila.com.ph
And now... on with the story...
- - -
Chapter 2: ...Interesting Times.
Kasumi set the last of the plates on the
table... she smiled at Nabiki as the middle Tendo
descended from the stairs, already dressed in her
uniform, but not looking particularly happy about it.
"Oh, Nabiki. Better wake Ranma and Akane up.
They're going to be late for school." Kasumi called
up to her.
Nabiki frowned slightly, (not at Kasumi) as she
glanced back up, she muttered, "Do I have to? Those
two freak me out a little Kasumi..."
Kasumi gave Nabiki an exasperated sigh.
"Okay, alright... I'll wake them up, okay?"
Nabiki grumbled as she stalked up the steps. She came
first to Ranma's door, as indicated by the wooden
sign which said in large English letters 'RANMA'. His
room and Akane's hadn't been touched since they'd
left, except for the occasional dusting by Kasumi.
Soun wouldn't allow it.
She knocked loudly on it, "Hey, Ranma! Get a
move on or you're going to be late!"
She waited for a few seconds... there was no
response. She glared at the door angrily for a few
minutes, then turned the knob to open it...
The room was empty. She glanced around, noting
the bed and everything else in it... not only was he
not inside, it looked as if it hadn't been slept in
at all.
Nabiki got a nagging suspicion and quickly
moved over to Akane's room. Not bothering to knock,
Nabiki quietly eased the door open and peeked in. At
first glance, there was a single figure on the bed,
largely covered by the sheets. Nabiki could see the
rhythmic rise and fall as it breathed...
The mound began to stir and Nabiki nearly
panicked, half closing the door. The mound resolved
into two sleeping figures, as Akane turned over in
her sleep, moving half out of Ranma's enfolding
arms... they both seemed to be wearing similar
tanktops and were still entangled with one another
and with the sheets...
Nabiki could only stare in shock...
Ranma blinked his eyes open sleepily and looked
at Nabiki, "Mmm? Oh. Hi, Nabiki... morning already?"
Nabiki nodded dumbly.
"S'good," he turned towards Akane, still more
than half asleep... for a moment, Nabiki wondered to
herself if he was going to kiss Akane awake.
"Sis... get up... we got school..." Ranma said
softly.
"Don't wanna," Akane mumbled sleepily, her eyes
still closed, "Lemme sleep."
"C'mon... up and at em, sis."
"Lemme sleep a little more..." her voice
dropped to a husky whisper, "I'll do anything..."
"Anything?" Ranma grinned slightly, resting his
forehead on hers.
Nabiki flushed crimson... they couldn't be
talking about what I think they're talking about...
are they?
"Anything..." Akane continued in her sleepy
mumble, her arms wrapping around Ranma's neck.
"Nabiki's here you know," Ranma replied getting
a little nervous as he glanced at her over his
shoulder.
"So let her watch," Akane mumbled.
Nabiki managed to stammer, "I'll... um... I'll
just go on down ahead, why don't I? Right. Scuse
me..." as she hastily backed out of the room.
Akane's eyes finally blinked open to the sight
of Ranma's earnest face, "Did we freak her out
again?"
"I think so," he replied.
She grinned playfully, "She really has GOT to
loosen up."
""I'm wondering what she thinks we were
doing..." Ranma said, moving to roll off of her.
"Isn't it obvious?" Akane kissed her brother on
the cheek, before she rolled off the bed on the
opposite side and the two of them began to change out
of their bedclothes.
Akane and Ranma rushed down the stairs quickly,
dressed once more in their identical red Chinese
shirts, and loose black pants. Kasumi smiled at them,
"Better hurry. Nabiki went on ahead."
"So how do we get to school?" Akane asked
curiously, grabbing at the two proffered lunchboxes.
"I'm walking you there." Kodachi said from the
door, smiling at the two, "Hi, Ran-chan, Akane-chan."
"Ko-chan." Ranma grinned happily.
Akane rolled her eyes slightly, but smiled as
well.
"Let's hurry or we're going to be late."
Kodachi said to the pair, inclining her head towards
the gate.
"You two have a good day at school!" Kasumi
called after the trio as they left. "Oh my... it's so
good that they seem to be getting along so well." She
said to no one in particular.
- - -
"I'm wondering why Nabiki took off so early..."
Akane said, following Ranma on the fence. The two of
them were balancing on it, while holding hands.
Kodachi watched them with a little stab of jealousy.
"Oh, that's easy... she wants to be done with
the boys early." Kodachi replied.
"Boys..?" Ranma said thoughtfully. He spared
little thought to keeping his balance... he and Akane
did this sort of thing so often it was automatic.
Akane raised an eyebrow and pushed her glasses
back with her free hand, "Is she that popular? But I
thought you said she didn't like boys?"
Kodachi laughed lightly. A soft, musical
laughter that reminded Ranma favorably of chimes,
"Oh, you might say that. But to see is to believe I
suppose."
"So how have you been Kodachi?" Akane asked
after a moment. She gave her brother a sly look and
said, "Ranma was wondering about you most of the way
back home."
Ranma gave a choked exclamation and whirled
around to face Akane, "Hey!" He was blushing
slightly.
Kodachi brought a hand up to her mouth to hide
her smile and the light blush coming to her cheeks.
She looked at Akane, wide-eyed, "Really?"
Akane nodded suppressing a giggle, "Sure...
every night it was 'I wonder how Ko-chan is?' or 'I
wonder if she still remembers me?'..."
"Stop that!" Ranma roared, taking a jab at
Akane's midsection... she responded by sweeping his
thrust to the side and simultaneously responding with
a jab of her own to his head... the two began to
fight in earnest, exchanging rapid blows back and
forth, neither one making contact.
"Well it's true!" Akane laughed, ducking a
nasty overhand swipe to her head to which she replied
with a thrust kick to his shin.
"You didn't have to tell her!" Ranma shot back,
blushing furiously as he jumped over the kick and
aimed one of his own snap kicks at her shoulder which
she easily blocked... neither had fallen off the
narrow fence yet. Come to that neither had been hit.
Kodachi could only watch in wonder at the
flurry of blows the two were exchanging. She'd never
seen anyone move that fast... or with such precision.
What she'd seen of the Tendo School of Anything Goes
Martial Art had only been Nabiki's particular take on
the style... which was decidedly less... elegant.
"Er... guys... we're going to be late if you
keep that up..." Kodachi pointed out as the pair
exchanged what was perhaps their fiftieth series of
blows with no contact.
Snapped out of their rhythm, the Tendo siblings
blinked at Kodachi. Ranma bounced off the fence,
landing next to her, "Honest, it's not like that at
all!" he pleaded.
Kodachi looked at his earnest worried face and
had a hard time keeping herself from giggling.
Ranma gulped nervously.
Akane joined Kodachi's giggling.
"What?" Ranma asked finally, getting mildly
irritated.
"Oh, Ran-chan... you needn't have worried about
it. It's really..." the blush which still hadn't left
her cheeks caught fire again, "It's very flattering."
"Told you she wouldn't mind." Akane said with a
superior air.
"You shut up!" Ranma shouted at Akane. It was
half bluster, and half laughed.
"It's really okay?" Ranma asked Kodachi, trying
to hide the smile that was threatening to engulf his
face.
Kodachi nodded, looking down a bit to hide the
blush as it spread. "Yes... really."
Akane watched the two with a slightly superior
smirk, pushing her glasses up her nose once more. It
was so simple... her stupid brother never did learn
how to do things the easy way, she mused.
"Let's go! I want to see if I can catch the
tail end of Nabiki's performance." Kodachi suddenly
said, no doubt attempting to change the topic. She
beckoned them onward, beginning to fall into a run.
"Performance?" The Tendo siblings said
simultaneously as they fell into a comfortable pace
behind Kodachi, Ranma looking up at Akane who was
still running on the fence and looking down at him.
They were still a good three blocks away from
the school when the echoing sounds of battle, screams
of agony and battle cries began to filter towards
them.
"Sounds like a fight..." Ranma said to no one
in particular.
"Hey! That sounds like Nabiki's voice!" Akane
said, slightly alarmed as she jumped off the fence
finally. Picking up the pace, Ranma matched her
speed, the two of them overtaking Kodachi.
Kodachi nodded, smiling slightly, "Nothing..."
she puffed, a little out of breath, "She can't
handle..!" She was surprised that neither of the two
looked as if they'd so much as broken out into a
sweat... and she was already faltering a little. They
easily outdistanced her, running directly for the
noises... she sighed, slowing down a little... well,
it wouldn't hurt to be a little late... she panted
heavily.
- - -
"For the last time you jerks... GET OUT OF MY
WAY!!" Nabiki's carried several blocks as Ranma and
Akane turned the corner. They arrived just in time to
see Nabiki drive the heel of her palm into the jaw of
an awkward, hefty fellow in a hockey mask, while
simultaneously driving a foot behind her into the
groin of a rotund unfortunate in a sumo outfit.
Every male within a few meters of this event
winced involuntarily. As Nabiki was in the center of
a crowd of boys, she took their momentary
stupefaction to do a roundhouse kick knocking three
of the last seven boys into one another and opening
up more room for her to maneuver.
"What is she doing?" Akane asked curiously, her
glasses pushed up once more.
Ranma blinked, squirming uneasily, "Er... it
looks like she's beating the living daylights out of
those guys."
"I can see that," Akane snapped at him testily.
"Think we should help her?" Ranma asked Akane.
"Are you kidding? Look at her!" she replied as
Nabiki nimbly dodged a baseball bat swung by one boy
and drove her knee into his midsection, "We'll jump
in if it looks like she needs help.
Kodachi finally caught up with the pair as
Nabiki handily polished off the last three boys with
single strikes as they tried to rush her. Nabiki
stood in the middle of the school courtyard, totally
unhurt. A large number of unconscious and injured
boys were scattered all around her as she breathed
heavily through her teeth. "You'd think they'd have
all learned by now," she seethed as the bell rang.
The small crowds of milling students who'd been
watching immediately rushed to the main building, a
few shouting, "We're going to be late!!"
"Missed it. Pity." Kodachi sagged.
"What was she doing?" Akane asked Kodachi a
little uncertainly.
Kodachi looked up to answer her, but noticed
the school's watch, "Let's get inside the gate
first... Principal's daughter or not, they'd still
lock the me out." Kodachi said prodding them through
the gates...
Akane and Ranma traded uncertain glances as
they walked onto the school grounds. Nabiki stormed
off into the building ahead of them, ignoring
everyone else. Overhead the sky began to darken and
rumble. Akane gave a nervous upward glance at the
sky. She and Ranma traded a look and they both ran
for the school building just as the first drops began
to fall.
- - -
Nabiki strode confidently into her sophomore
classroom. Outside, the brief squall had stopped and
the sun was shining again. A few of the girls, her
friends, smiled at her in congratulations. What few
boys were in the class kept well away from her, and
if they weren't cowering in terror, they were doing a
convincing simulation. The rest of course had already
been carted away to the infirmary. Only one boy
wasn't shying away, if anything he was simply sitting
distractedly at his desk, jotting something down in a
small bound journal. It was of course, Tatewaki.
As Nabiki passed she paused to glare at him.
Hiding a nervous gulp, he hurriedly shut the journal,
leaving his pen inside to mark his place to look up
at her. A terrorized smile on his face, "Er...
Greetings, Nabiki Tendo... did you have an enjoyable
time dispatching those miscreants?"
Nabiki leaned close, frowning furiously and
muttered, "Not a word, Kuno. Breathe one word of the
stupid engagement to ANYONE and I'm going to kill
you. Got that?"
"Absolutely, Miss Tendo."
She gave him a derisive snort and stomped
angrily over to her own table. The ladies of the
class seeing the shaken Kuno began to talk
animatedly, if in hushed tones among themselves.
"Did you see that?", "Nabiki talked to a boy!
Tatewaki no less!", "She's already got all the boys
chasing after her and now she's going after Tatewaki-
sama! Hmph!", "No way.", "Only man with any brains or
class in this place and now she's picking on him...",
"She's just plain mean."
In the interests of peace and tranquility, it
was fortunate that this escaped Nabiki's attention.
Her attention totally consumed with rereading a
small, delicately folded piece of stationary. And
blushing.
- - -
Meanwhile in the freshman classroom...
The teacher stood at the head of the class and
looked over the transcript he had in hand, "Everyone,
these are Akane and Ranma Tendo, they're brother and
sister and they'll be transferring to Furinkan High
School for this term..."
"Yo," Ranma said giving a quick wave.
"Hi," Akane with a smile and formal bow, "Nice
to meet you all."
The students in the class looked at one another
and the soft whispered muttering commonly associated
with the rumor mills began to turn...
"Tendo? Are they related to Nabiki?", "No
way...", "Cool outfits...", "Are they twins?",
"Whooo... she's almost as cute as Nabiki...",
"Shaddup, no one's as cute as Nabiki!", "Oh yeah?!"
"Yeah!", "What about Kodachi?", "Ranma, huh... not
bad, almost as good looking at Kuno-sempai...",
"Cuter!", "No way!"
Ranma blushed slightly as he noticed Kodachi
giving him a small, half hidden smile from her seat.
She could hear the rumors beginning to crop up. By
the looks of things, the new Tendos looked like they
would be popular additions to the Furinkan community.
"AHEM," the teacher rumbled pointedly, stopping
the mutterings, "It seems that they recently came
from China, so let's all give them a warm welcome,
however, that doesn't excuse the fact that they and
Kodachi Kuno were late. So I'm terribly sorry, but
you three have to go stand out in the hall."
As Kodachi rose, there were murmurs of protest
from the class, but she silenced them with a sweet
smile and walked out smoothly, following the Tendos
just as the class began.
- - -
The three found themselves standing in the
hallway carrying a pair of buckets each... For Ranma
and Akane it was practically a joke... neither looked
as if they were having any difficulty at all.
Kodachi's arms were already beginning to feel a mild
strain.
Akane glanced at Kodachi, "Boy, this is kind of
brutal... I would think with your dad as the
principal, you'd be immune to this sort of thing."
Kodachi smiled gamely back, "Of course not.
Fair is fair. I have to take my punishment like
everyone else."
Akane shrugged, "I guess. I just would've
thought you would've had some sort of special
privilege or something."
"Well everyone lets me go first at the food
line, does that count?" Kodachi smiled.
Ranma finally spoke up, "Hey, Ko-chan... what
was that fight earlier all about anyway?"
"Yeah I was wondering too." Akane said.
Kodachi chuckled softly, "Oh, that. Well...
Nabiki's always been popular with the boys since she
transferred here. She wasn't too happy about it
because there were always these guys underfoot trying
to ask her for dates."
"Nabiki? Really?" Ranma asked in surprise.
Akane grinned at him, "What's the matter, can't
believe good looks run in the family?"
"Well... that's true." Ranma replied.
Kodachi gave a grin and continued, "In any
case, she got fed up with it and last term, she
finally told this one really obnoxious guy that the
she'd never date anyone who couldn't beat her."
The Tendo siblings blinked, "She said that?"
they asked simultaneously.
Kodachi nodded, "She most certainly did. Next
thing anyone knew, the boys had gotten it into their
heads that the only way they could get a date out of
Nabiki was if they managed to defeat her in combat.
So they've been attacking her like that every morning
for the past term or so. Nabiki's social calendar to
date however remains rather empty."
"Every morning?" Ranma said.
"And she always wins?" Akane asked, intrigued.
"Well, you did see what happened, right?"
Kodachi asked with a smile. "the guys tend to get in
one another's way instead of cooperating, and Nabiki
IS pretty good."
"Why hasn't she just told them off?" Akane
asked.
Kodachi shrugged, "She tried a couple of times,
but I guess the boys didn't listen. Some people think
she enjoys beating their heads in, though." She gave
a slight wince as she shifted the buckets.
Akane gave a slight nervous glance at the
buckets and shifted back uneasily.
"What's wrong Akane?" Kodachi asked, noting her
discomfiture.
"Um... nothing. Just don't want to get my
clothes wet," she said weakly. Her brother gave a
relieved sigh.
"I wonder how this is going to affect their
engagement?" Akane mused, trying to change the topic.
Kodachi shook her head, bemused, "Well, my
brother is well liked by the girls here, but he's too
shy and bookish to do anything about it. He and
Nabiki never did seem to like each other much, even
before the engagement. I'm not sure how people would
react to it, but I'd guess it wouldn't be too good if
people found out."
"How's that?" Ranma asked.
Akane nodded grasping the situation, "The girls
would resent Nabiki... the boys would resent
Tatewaki..."
"Although not necessarily," Kodachi continued,
"You see..."
They looked up in surprise as chimes sounded on
the school's PA system.
"Good morning, everyone," came Principal Kuno's
cultured voice over the speakers, "I'd just like to
take a few moments of your time for a special
announcement..."
Kodachi and Akane's eyes both widened, "He
wouldn't!" they said simultaneously.
"Wouldn't what?" Ranma asked baffled.
"This is to inform everyone of the engagement
of my son, Tatewaki Kuno..."
- - -
Every eye in the room turned to look at
Tatewaki as the announcement continued. His face was
horror stricken and utterly mortified as he listened
helplessly to his father's... his IDIOT father's
announcement.
Nabiki's face held an entirely different
expression... a mixture of bewildered embarrassment
and righteous fury as she heard the principal's voice
continue. Her hands grasped the table so tightly it
was cracking under her fingers...
"No, no, no..." Tatewaki murmured to himself
like a prayer of protection... because he knew he'd
be needing one very soon.
"... to Nabiki Tendo..."
Too late! Tatewaki leapt to his feet, clutching
his journal worriedly as he made a mad dash for the
door. Everyone looked about in confusion asking each
other, asking Nabiki everyone looking for
confirmation. A few heavily bandaged boys struggled
to their feet determined to catch up with him. Nabiki
roared, "Come back here you wimp!" as she dashed off
after Kuno.
"...I'd like everyone to help congratulate the
happy couple!" the principal's voice continued, but
no one was listening anymore as people streamed out
of the class room, some wanting to know what was
going on, some intent on protecting Kuno from Nabiki,
some intent on killing Kuno, others just intent on
Nabiki. The teacher simply stood dumbfounded as his
class emptied into the halls.
- - -
"He did it. I don't believe my father could be
that foolish..." Kodachi sighed.
"Well, I guess we get to see what happens now,"
Akane shrugged, grinning a little.
Ranma perked up a little, "What's that rumbling
noise?"
Almost without warning the windows to the
classroom behind them burst open, the entire class
crowding forward each trying to make themselves heard
over the confused babble of voices.
"Kodachi, is it true?!", "Hey, are you guys
related to Nabiki?!", "Is Tatewaki really going to be
married to Nabiki?", "Kodachi! What was your brother
thinking?", "Say are you available for a date later,
cutie?", "Why didn't you tell us?", "Is it true?",
"How long has your brother been seeing Nabiki
secretly?", "C'mon you can tell us!", "Did Nabiki
really force herself onto your brother and she's now
preggers?"
Akane stepped closer to her brother without
thinking, the two of them moving into a defensive
stance automatically. Ranma meanwhile smiled
sheepishly at the crowd, as Kodachi crowded against
him.
"It's not what you think guys..." Kodachi
smiled uneasily at the crowd.
The cries of "Kodachi, tell us what's going
on!" were picking up steam even as the teacher inside
the classroom tried desperately to regain control.
Akane grinned, thinking quick... she stepped
towards the other wall of the hallway and said to the
class at large, "I am now hereby accepting wagers as
to how long the Tatewaki Kuno, Nabiki Tendo
engagement will last! Place your bets folks!" Akane
pulled out a small pad and a pen.
The class gave a roar of approval and the cries
shifted from ones of curiosity to ones of greed as
people called out wagers. Of course this conflicted
with the noise already produced by those people who
were STILL curious.
Ranma sighed and rolled his eyes, moving
himself protectively close to Kodachi. She didn't
seem to notice Ranma's proximity. Kodachi was too
busy being... she wasn't sure WHAT the right emotion
was... probably being astonished... at Akane, "What?!
What are you doing Akane?!"
Akane muttered in a soft voice to Kodachi,
continuing to smile the whole while, "Getting their
focus off of you..." she nodded to Ranma who nodded
back.
Ranma scooped Kodachi up in his arms and had
ducked down the hallway before their confused
classmates could register the fact... Akane accepted
the class' bets and did her best to explain away the
situation as her brother and Kodachi rounded the
corner.
"You didn't need to do that!" Kodachi sputtered
from Ranma's arms, "I could easily have answered the
questions, this wasn't necessary."
"Yeah, maybe," Ranma replied, "On the other
hand, sis wants a chance to check the field... and I
think she was trying to get me alone with you," he
blushed slightly.
Kodachi also blushed as she was carried further
down the hall, "You can stop and let me down already
you know..." she said after a few seconds of quiet
running had passed.
Ranma slowed to a stop, gently letting Kodachi
back onto her feet. She was smiling awkwardly at
Ranma who was also giving the same smile back.
Kodachi frowned slightly then asked, "What do you
mean Akane wanted to check the field?"
"Er..." Ranma hesitated for a moment. He
glanced back, but they were far enough away that the
noise from the class was merely a dull chattering,
"She likes to size up every new school we go to for
possible ways to make more money."
"She does that?" Kodachi asked.
"Yeah... stuff like her taking bets, making
friends with the right people..." then he added in a
grumble, "Renting me out to the varsity teams on a
per hour basis... whatever we had to do to survive."
"I guess life on the road must've been pretty
difficult for you?"
Ranma smiled gamely back, "Well, a bit, but it
was fun too. And we had each other so that made
things a lot easier."
Kodachi didn't know what to make of that
statement, but an odd twinge of jealousy made its
presence known. She merely nodded quietly.
The awkward silence stretched out for a
painfully long time. They both moved as if to speak,
but there was an interruption as Tatewaki came
barreling down the stairwell, slamming the door shut
behind him. In his panic and terror, he did not spot
them immediately and ran back into the direction
where Ranma and Kodachi had come from...
With a powerful scream of rage Nabiki burst
through the stairwell door as well, splintering the
wooden door to matchsticks. "Kuno! You are dead!"
Ranma and Kodachi stood rooted in surprise.
Kodachi looked as if she were about to call out to
the Tendo sister, but Ranma could see she was utterly
furious. Over the Principal's announcement, no doubt,
so he reasoned it was a fairly safe assumption that
his elder sister would not be particularly happy with
ANY Kuno at this point. So he didn't waste time
thinking or reasoning with Nabiki. He scooped up
Kodachi, and dashed off after Tatewaki, rounding the
corner with impressive speed. Nabiki caught the
movement, but not who it was... but there was only
one person hiding from her, wasn't there? Nabiki
snarled as she ran down the hall. Behind her, the
rest of her class came pouring out of the stairwell,
all still shouting questions.
Akane, meanwhile, was busy with the beginnings
of getting to know everyone better. She bantered
easily with her classmates, accepting the bets,
giving out slips, chatting and gathering gossip... it
was a good start.
Just as she accepted a ridiculously large bet
on 'tomorrow', Tatewaki Kuno barreled down the hall
at high speed. The crowd's attention suddenly shifted
to him. The crowd,, which had by this point
surrounded Akane, moved with surprising speed to
surround Kuno to badger him with their questions.
Tatewaki had run to this particular hall in
hopes of finding assistance from his sister.
Preferably in hiding him... he gave an alarmed cry as
the crowd surged towards him, thinking that the crowd
which had been chasing him had somehow managed to get
ahead of him.
Akane on the other hand was not too happy at
losing the attention of her new classmates. But she
could also see Kuno's obvious distress and panic. She
felt a momentary sympathy for the poor boy as he
stood rooted in mortal terror. Tatewaki's eyes
constantly scanning the crowd for signs of Nabiki.
Akane sighed sympathetically and jumped over the
crowd. She flipped easily over them landing next to
Tatewaki before the mob could.
"Where's my sister?! She must help me! Nabiki's
going to kill me!!" Kuno said quickly.
An anonymous wit in the audience called out a
wager on the order of 'one hour'.
"She went down that hallway," Akane replied,
"Didn't you pass her?"
Tatewaki was about to say 'No' when a number of
things occurred simultaneously. The crowd managed to
surround the two of them, pinning them next to the
windows. Ranma, also somewhat panicked and still
carrying the struggling Kodachi, careened down the
hall weaving in and out of the crowd, and
occasionally jumping on people's heads just to get
past.
"Outta my way! Coming through, one side!!
Coming through!" Ranma cried out as he passed.
Neither of the two couples noticed each other
due to the mob... however what happened next got
everyone's attention.
Nabiki skidded to a halt at the corner,
noticing the crowd with Tatewaki at the very center
of it all. She managed to roar out, "KUNO!!! You are
a DEAD MAN!" before the OTHER crowd... barreled into
her.
In response, Akane grabbed Tatewaki by the
collar and pulled him with her out the window, "Time
for a quick escape Kuno-sempai..." she called out to
him.
Tatewaki screamed, "But we're on the third
floor!"
"It's no problem sempai, really! This is
nothing..." Akane replied confidently, shifting him
so that she had him cradled in her arms. It was
difficult as she was much smaller than he was, but he
was certainly in no position to resist.
Tatewaki clung on for dear life, remarking as
they passed the second floor, "At least the pool
should cushion our fall..."
Akane cried out in alarm. "Water! Why does it
always have to be water?!" as her horrified gaze took
in the sight of the placid filled pool.
Simultaneous with Akane's leap, Nabiki's bellow
sent portions of both crowds running off in various
directions... except for those who were watching in
horrified fascination as Akane and Kuno jumped out
the window. Various screams, cries for help and
terrorized calls were made and somewhere along the
line, someone must've pulled a fire alarm, perhaps by
accident, perhaps not, sending people from ALL the
classrooms streaming out, adding to the milling
confusion already existing.
Ranma didn't notice this at all as he carried
the younger Kuno off well ahead of the first crowd,
the second crowd, or the new and much larger crowd
which was being formed by the fire alarm.
And as Ranma ran down the stairs, everyone else
was too confused or distant, (or in Tatewaki Kuno's
case unconscious from the impact) to notice the
soaking wet figure, with the face and form of Ranma,
easily lift Kuno out of the pool, and bear him off
somewhere safer.
- - -
Ranma stopped running by the time they'd
reached the rear of the gym. He hardly looked winded
as he spared a backward glance him, "I think we lost
her."
Kodachi gave him a rather sardonic look, "I
think we lost everyone. Why did you pick me up? I've
got two perfectly good legs you know," she lifted
first one dainty foot then the other, as if to
illustrate the point.
Ranma paused a moment to admire them as her
skirt hiked up a little. "Erhm... no argument," he
said after a moment. He caught himself staring after
a moment and tore his gaze away to meet hers, "Er...
um... I wanted to make sure we got away from
Nabiki... she looked really ticked."
"True enough," Kodachi sighed, "I didn't
realize she'd be this angry about the engagement.
Poor Tatchi."
"Yeah," Ranma sighed in agreement.
They were silent for several long moments.
Ranma's thoughts, what could be discussed of them,
were mostly a confused jumble, but uppermost was the
thought of how light Kodachi seemed in his arms...
and so warm. Kodachi's thoughts, in addition to her
annoyance at her father, not to mention worry for
both her brother and Nabiki, were constantly being
interrupted by how comfortable Ranma's arms felt...
how nice it was...
Kodachi chanced to glance at Ranma who was
staring off quietly into the distance, to notice a
slight blush beginning to develop on his cheeks. She
was unaware that her own face was developing a
similar blush.
"Ahh..." Kodachi said softly after a few
moments, "Maybe you should put me down."
Ranma blinked in surprise, glancing at her. He
smiled sheepishly, "Um... Er... yeah... I guess I
ought to," he said a little regretfully.
"Yes." Kodachi said, also a little reluctant...
she could definitely get used to this.
"Uh-huh," Ranma agreed. Glancing off into the
distance once more... he was certain he could
probably hold her like this for days...
The two once more lapsed into silence.
Kodachi bit back a giggle, "Any time now,
Ranma."
"Oh," Ranma said, shaken out of his stupor once
more, "You meant now?"
"Yes," she said unable to keep the amusement
out of her voice anymore, "Not that I don't... you
know..." she blushed more, "Enjoy, you holding me in
your arms like this, but people will talk."
"Well, maybe it'd get the heat off of Tatewaki-
sempai and sis." Ranma replied thoughtfully.
"Oh, you want to make that sacrifice for them
do you?" she asked coyly.
Ranma stammered, the blush on his own face
deepening, "Well... you know... it's... we... I mean
if they don't... we do, right? So we get... you
know... get along... okay, right?"
Kodachi nodded slowly, "I... I guess. By the
looks of things now, they look like they won't last a
week much less a year."
Ranma said shyly, "Well... you know... honor of
both schools at stake and everything... Guess we have
to keep them from killing each other." He finished
weakly.
She nodded in agreement a little reluctant,
"We'd better talk to them."
"Yup."
"I'm glad we understand each other."
"And if they still don't..."
"I wouldn't really mind. If they broke up... I
mean..." Kodachi said after a moment, returning his
smile.
Ranma gulped nervously, "Really?"
"Yes, really," Kodachi replied, her arms around
his neck tightening slightly.
Ranma smiled weakly, looking into her eyes, "Me
neither."
There was another long silence as they
exchanged glances, broken only by the distant clamor
of the fire alarm and the milling students who had
only now come out of the building.
Kodachi said finally as a gust of wind blew
past, "You really should put me down, though."
- - -
Akane... no... she or rather HE was Akaru at
the moment... sighed. He laid Kuno down gently
against the tree, his face sleeping peacefully,
despite the fact that he'd managed to get himself
knocked unconscious when they'd hit the pool
together. The bump was minor, and wasn't likely to be
very serious, but he wanted to make sure. The
infirmary would've been the best place to take him,
only Akaru had no idea which way it was... and even
worse, the building was in the process of being
evacuated, making looking for the infirmary all the
more difficult.
He gave a disgusted snort, rubbing his chest
lightly. "Stupid curse," he muttered before giving
Kuno a second look.
They'd both managed to loose their glasses in
the pool, but Akaru had managed to grab them both
before they'd gotten too far. Kuno's face was very
aristocratic. And handsome, he admitted to himself.
Tatewaki was quite handsome. His curly hair tousled
and damp from their immersion in the pool, he still
managed to look charmingly disheveled rather than
messy. Kuno's uniform, like his own clothes were
soaked. But that would dry out easily enough, once
the clouds cleared up again. And the body underneath
was surprisingly well muscled. Interestingly enough,
unconsciousness notwithstanding, Kuno had managed to
keep a death grip on his journal. It was fortunate
that the leather outer casing was on it, otherwise,
the paper would've been reduced to runny pulp.
Akaru reached a hand down to take the journal
out of Kuno's grasp... nominally to allow it to dry,
actually out of curiosity. But the unconscious boy's
grip was surprisingly strong, and Akaru was forced to
give up. Before he could really stop to think about
it... he reached a hand up, lightly caressing
Tatewaki's face... causing him to stir.
Panicked and embarrassed, Akaru leapt to his
feet as Tatewaki blinked his eyes groggily awake,
"Uh... what happened..." he looked up at Akaru who
was towering over him. His eyes were of course blurry
enough for lacking their glasses. It was made all the
worse by the fact that Akaru stood backlit by the
glare of the sky...
Tatewaki groaned softly, "Oww my head... Ranma?
Is that you?"
"Er... yes, Kuno-sempai..." Akaru lied.
"Where did my glasses... what happened?"
"Nabiki chased us... I... er... Akane pulled
you out of the crowd. Oh and here's your glasses..."
Akaru added, handing over one pair of spectacles.
"Akane did that? Well, I must remember to thank
her then," Kuno replied easily. He squinted at
Akaru's hand offering the glasses. As he accepted
them, Akaru immediately bolted, oddly flustered and
self-conscious.
As Kuno looked up again, several things weren't
quite right. First of all, Ranma or who he thought
was Ranma had disappeared. There wasn't anyone
nearby. Second the glasses not only didn't fit right,
his vision was STILL blurry. And worse, his glasses
were expensive wire frame aviator glasses... these
were cheap black plastic hornrims... he took the
glasses off to get a better look at them... if
anything they reminded him of Akane's glasses...
- - -
Nabiki grumbled angrily at the end of the day,
it had been bad it had been lousy it had been
terrible. She wanted nothing more than to get home,
back to the dojo and take her stress out on some
bricks as soon as possible. She opened her shoe
locker just as she was getting to leave. She closed
her eyes before reaching in. She hoped there would be
one today. There was always one, sometimes no more
than a few hastily jotted down words instead of his
usual eloquence, but he never forgot. Never. But she
was always worried that whoever it was would stop.
Considering the day's events, she couldn't blame
him... she lowered her hands onto her shoes, her eyes
still closed. Then she felt the texture of paper and
gave a relieved sigh. He hadn't forgotten.
She pulled the sheet of paper out, it's outer
edges slightly wrinkled and watermarked. Handwritten
on it, in beautifully rendered brushstrokes was:
Dearest Nabiki,
You have been busy.
I will be thinking of you.
Do not forget me.
As always, it was unsigned, but she knew the
handwriting so well that there was no need. For a
brief moment, the scowl on her face vanished,
replaced by a relieved, happy smile as she held the
paper close to her heart. Before anyone else could
see, she refolded the paper carefully, slipping it
into her pocket.
- - -
Akane and Ranma walked morosely into the Tendo
household, followed closely by a simmering Nabiki.
All three called out at the same time, "We're
home!"
Kasumi peeked out of the kitchen, wearing her
usual sunny smile, "Oh, welcome home. How was
school?"
"Lousy," Nabiki said.
"Could've been worse," Ranma and Akane said
together.
"I'm going to the dojo..." Nabiki said and
stalked off before anyone else could say anything.
"Oh my..." Kasumi murmured, "So how did your
first day turn out? What happened?"
"Principal Kuno announced Nabiki and Tatewaki's
engagement to the whole school," Ranma explained,
"Next thing we know, there's a riot... then the fire
alarm went off, and about three fourths of the male
student body of the school is out hunting Tatewaki.
On the upshot all of our morning classes got
cancelled, and no one showed up for the afternoon
classes."
"That's nice," Kasumi replied happily, "Well, I
need to get back to my cooking..."
As Kasumi stepped back into the kitchen,
humming merrily, Akane turned to her brother, "You
know... nobody can be that cheerful... is she on
medication, you think?"
Ranma gave Akane a disapproving glance and she
grinned playfully at him, sticking her tongue out.
"Come on... let's join Nabiki in the dojo...
she really looks like she needs to talk," Akane said.
Ranma gave her a worried glance, "You've got
another scheme again..."
"Trust me! Everything will be fine. I promise,"
Akane smiled brightly at him.
"Yeah, but there's usually a catch somewhere,"
Ranma shrugged as she tugged him towards the dojo, he
muttered darkly, "I still remember your scheme with
Azusa..."
"It worked didn't it?" Akane asked with an
enigmatic grin.
"Yeah, but I ended up in twice as much trouble
because of it!"
"But I got you out, didn't I?" Akane smirked.
"Well... yeah..."
"See? It'll work out great trust me!"
"Alright already. Hey, what happened to your
glasses?"
"Er... must've lost them somewhere..." Akane
said vaguely.
The two found Nabiki who had since changed into
her gi in the process of shattering five stacked
hollow blocks. Bare handed. With a single strike.
"Wow." Ranma muttered.
Akane nodded slowly and moved her mental
assessment of Nabiki upward by another notch or so.
Nabiki dusted her hands then whirled around
suddenly, facing the two, eyes furious, "What do you
two want?!"
Akane approached slowly, "Well... we thought
you might like to talk..?" she said smiling
placatingly.
Ranma, a bit more timid, took a step back...
whooo boy she was really ticked...
Nabiki glared at the two for a long moment then
seemed to suddenly deflate... as if all the anger had
been suddenly let out of her. She straightened up,
chuckling wryly, "I guess this isn't exactly the
homecoming you two were expecting, huh?"
Akane smiled at her, "No... not at all."
Ranma shook his head.
Nabiki smiles sadly, "Sorry... I know I haven't
exactly been acting like the best big sister in the
world... a bit like an insane raving madwoman, hmmm?"
"Erhm... I wouldn't say that..." Ranma began to
say.
Akane kept a diplomatic silence.
Nabiki grinned at her two younger siblings,
"Okay... enough of this... I need to relax and you
two can help me."
Ranma and Akane traded glances, "You want to
take a bath with us?" they asked incredulously.
Nabiki blushed crimson, "No! That's not it!"
She went down into a combat stance, "Let's spar."
"But there's two of us..." Ranma started to
say.
"And I fight fifty guys everyday, come on...
Fight me!"
The two glanced at one another then back to
Nabiki. They shared a shrug and also went down into
defensive stances side by side.
Nabiki dropped to a very low crouch, whirling
her leg out to sweep her two siblings, but Akane and
Ranma picked up on the move very quickly, both
leaping straight up into the air to avoid the leg.
Nabiki glanced up, watching in surprise as
Akane leapt to a height of about six feet, somehow
kicking out and flipping over onto Ranma's shoulders
just as he landed. Before Nabiki could reposition
herself, Akane had launched herself from a crouch on
her brother's shoulders into a flying shoulder tackle
right at Nabiki's head.
Thinking fast, Nabiki rolled backwards as Akane
sailed over her. Her bare feet catching Akane in the
stomach, but Akane's forward motion and her own
backward roll combined to keep either of them from
getting hurt. Akane touched ground lightly, rolling
quickly back to her feet as Nabiki kicked back up.
Ranma wasted no time as Nabiki regained her
feet and sent a roundhouse kick at her. Nabiki ducked
under it, rising back into a vicious uppercut as
Ranma's leg cut the air above her. Ranma, managing to
retain his balance, despite the awkward position,
leaned back just far enough to avoid Nabiki's punch.
"Ahem," Akane said distinctly, sending her own
leg around in a low sweep for her sister's legs.
Nabiki barely managed to see the attack coming. She
leapt out and sidewards, trying to keep herself from
being boxed in by her two siblings. She grinned. She
hadn't fought anyone this good in a long time. The
three whirled to face one another, returning to their
ready stances.
Nabiki grinned, "Hey, you two are really good."
"Thanks," Akane returned the grin.
Nabiki gave a battle cry and suddenly rushed
towards them, fist raised for a thrust strike. She
lashed out at Akane as she came within range. The
younger girl whirled around and sidestepped,
intending to deliver a blow to Nabiki's back while
she was still unbalanced from the strike. With
perfect timing, Ranma dropped to the ground, whirling
his own leg out into a low sweep. They attacked
Nabiki simultaneously from above and below, moving in
opposite directions.
Nabiki moved automatically, snapping her rear
leg straight, she sprang forward, narrowly avoiding
both attacks. She rolled back to her feet lunging
back at both of them with a series of combination
kicks and punches. This sort of maneuver always
worked well on the guys who attacked her in the
mornings... but she was amazed to find Ranma and
Akane easily ducking and weaving between each strike,
but even more amazing was that neither got in the
other's way. They spread out on either side of her,
forcing her to divide her attentions between the two,
her every strike avoided.
Akane and Ranma both watched Nabiki's furious
attack. It was an all out assault, but she left
surprisingly few openings in her defense... the two
waited until they found a particularly large gap in
Nabiki's defenses... then, the two, without a word
exchanged between them reached out suddenly. Akane
touched a finger to the middle of Nabiki's chest and
Ranma touched his own finger to Nabiki's back, along
her spine.
Stunned Nabiki glanced at one... then the
other... then back, "I can't believe you both got me
at the same time," she said weakly and breathlessly.
Akane and Ranma both said suddenly, glancing at
each other, "We did?"
They both peered over Nabiki's shoulders to
look at what the other had done.
There was a moment's pause before all three
suddenly burst into laughter.
Nabiki grinned when they'd managed to recover
their breath, "I'm just glad it was you two who beat
me."
Akane looked thoughtfully at Nabiki, "Instead
of those guys at school right?"
Nabiki flushed slightly, "A bunch of raving
idiots."
"Don't you get tired of it all, Nabiki?" Akane
asked slowly. Ranma knew she was baiting the hook...
he just hoped he didn't get too badly caught up in
the fallout this time.
"Of course I'm tired of it," Nabiki said with a
sigh, "Every single day... I mean, get real. The
training is good and all, but they're getting really
tiresome about it."
Akane grinned, "Well, I think I can rid you of
that problem easily... and at the same time quiet
down the rumors in school... if you're willing to
consider it."
Nabiki looked up at her sister in surprise and
disbelief, "Really?"
Ranma shook his head and sighed.
Nabiki glanced at him, "You mean she can't?"
"Erhm... no... no..." Ranma said hastily as
Akane whirled to glare at him, "If she says she can
do it, she can probably do it..."
Nabiki looked somewhat suspiciously at Akane,
then sighed, "If you think you can, I'd really
appreciate it."
"Well, you'll have to cooperate and do exactly
as I say, Nabiki, alright?" Akane smiled
thoughtfully, "And we'll have to talk to Kuno-sempai
too..."
Nabiki's eyes narrowed, "Tatewaki? Why do you
have to talk to him for?"
Akane smiled slyly, "He's an important part of
the plan..."
Soun stepped into the dojo beaming happily at
the three of them, "Ahh... so good to see my beloved
children practicing together."
A chorus of greeting came from the three.
"Oh, Nabiki... your fiancé is here." Soun said
gravely, but the wink and the distinct impression of
a leer in his voice ruined the effect.
Nabiki gave a low growl, her fist clenching.
Tatewaki peeked nervously around the doorway
and caught sight of the simmering Nabiki, then looked
at Soun, "Uncle Tendo, I told you not to say that..."
he said in a quavering voice.
Nabiki's face was absolutely furious... and if
someone had managed to put a coal in her hand at that
point, it would no doubt have been crushed to
diamond.
"I'm here too!" smiled Kodachi cheerfully from
the door.
Ranma's face immediately brightened up as he
moved to the door to meet her, "Hi, Ko-chan."
"Hi, Ran-chan." Kodachi moved closer smiling
happily at him.
Soun raised an eyebrow, glancing at the happy
couple of Ranma and Kodachi... then at the decidedly
less than happy couple of the simmering Nabiki and
the cowering Tatewaki... well life wasn't perfect, he
shrugged.
"I'll leave you kids here." Soun said giving
the impression of nodding approvingly to Tatewaki,
clapping the young man on the shoulder, "Take good
care of my little girl, alright? You have my
permission to take her out tonight, but bring her
home at a decent hour."
"But..!" Tatewaki began to protest. However it
was too late, Soun had already made his way back to
the house.
Akane smirked, catching Tatewaki's arm, and
pulling him into the dojo, "Ahh... just the man I was
looking for..."
"I beg your pardon..?" Tatewaki asked half in
shock.
"So you're here to take Nabiki out?" Akane
grinned, "It certainly makes things easier all
around..."
Nabiki gave a derisive snort, "I wouldn't go
out with him if his life depended on it."
"Actually it does, Nabiki..." Akane said
slowly, "If your admirers catch up to him, he's dead
meat."
Tatewaki managed to continue in a small voice,
"Actually, I'm just here to ask Ranma if he saw my
glasses when he pulled me out of the pool."
Ranma on hearing his name called managed to
tear himself away from Kodachi for a moment, "Um...
pool... what..?"
"Did you see my spectacles when you rescued me
from the pool? You gave me someone else's pair...
they must've fallen..." Kuno held up the pair of
black hornrims.
Akane squinted, "Hey... those're mine..." she
gave a faint blush, "Oh yes... Ranma did find your
glasses Kuno-sempai..." she shot him a look and he
returned a confused glance, but nodded, "He gave them
to me for safe keeping," as she pulled Tatewaki's
wireframes from her pocket.
The two traded glasses and put them on, looking
much more comfortable as they smiled at each other...
"Er... yeah... right... safekeeping." Ranma
said after a while. Kodachi shot him a puzzled
glance, but he smiled nervously and nodded to her.
"Well, you got what you came for, now go away,
Tatewaki." Nabiki snapped.
"Wait... wait!" Akane said, standing in the
middle of their small gathering, "Hear me out
everybody. If everyone will just please cooperate, we
will not only be able to get rid of Nabiki's
unwelcome suitors, keep Kuno-sempai safe from her
admirers, keep our family honor, and still allow the
two of you to spend as little time together as you
want." She grinned.
All four stared incredulously at Akane.
"It's really perfectly simple..." Akane grinned
as she outlined her plan.
- - -
end chapter 2
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