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 now... on with the story...
- - -
Chapter 6: Little Boy Lost...
About a week later, in a small village on the
island of Hokaido...
"Look out! It's a mad boar on a rampage!"
"Shoot! Golly! Look out there's some guy on the
road! He's gonna get hisself squashed!"
"Move it yuh darn fool!"
The boy who was wearing a rather travelworn
outfit, turned slowly. He had a somewhat glazed,
distracted expression on his face. He was somewhat
handsome, the effect ruined somewhat by his somewhat
large canines, his shock of hair held back by a
spotted bandanna, on his back was what must've been
an extremely heavy backpack, lashed to which was an
umbrella, but he moved without seeming to notice it.
He blinked wearily, finally focusing on the rampaging
boar roughly the size of half a volkswagen which was
bearing down on him with incredible speed.
One of the villagers wailed, "He's as good as
dead, Ah cain't watch!"
The boy gave a negligent shrug, a mildly happy
grin on his face as he gazed at the boar. This alone,
by all rights should've given the beast pause, if it
weren't for momentum. He plucked the bamboo umbrella
from his backpack with a single fluid motion, lashing
it out at the giant boar.
A few of the villagers with weaker stomachs
immediately averted their gaze, but those who didn't
saw something incredible.
The smiling boy, holding his umbrella out at
arms length held the pig off easily. They could see
he wasn't even straining as the monstrous boar huffed
mightily against the blockage. It's hooves gouging
deep furrows into the ground as it fought to move
forward. Its tiny, mad little eyes staring at the boy
who'd stopped it. The pig found something very
disconcerting in the somewhat cheerful look the boy
gave it as he continued to hold it off...
"Hello, piggy," The boy said mildly, still
smiling.
The boar, somewhere deep in its crazed little
porcine mind had a good idea that it was by all
rights a big pig. Not just big... he was really
big... as in all capitals BIG. The fact that it had
just been called... piggy... of all things was
obviously NOT a sign of good mental health in the
individual calling the big pig... piggy. Its tiny,
crazed little eyes gazed into the bright happy eyes
of the boy and decided that it had probably met
someone even crazier than it was... and with that...
it backed off.
"I don't believe it..." muttered one grizzled,
old villager, "Did he just outstare a boar?"
"Bye-bye, piggy!" the boy smiled, waving to the
boar as it scurried off, more than a little
embarrassed.
He turned to the villagers, holding up a small
map upside down in one hand, "Excuse me... does
anyone know where Furinkan High School is?"
- - -
Akaru shuffled the papers a bit more on the
desk in front of her. Everything seemed to be in
order, and the transition of power had gone very
smoothly. There were just a few more details that
definitely needed to be cleared up.
Sho poked his head into her office, the dingy
little basement room, although she'd had the boys
clean up the place a bit since she took over, "Um...
boss, Tatewaki Kuno's here to see ya."
Akaru nodded, "Send him in. Thanks. And could
you get me some hot water too?"
Sho nodded in understanding, "Oh, to wash off
the disguise, huh, boss?"
Akaru smiled and nodded, "Yup."
"I tell ya, boss. That disguise is pretty
amazing." Sho said.
"Thanks, you can show Tatewaki in now."
"Sure thing, boss."
Tatewaki smiled tentatively as the larger tough
ushered him into the room. From behind her desk,
Akaru smiled pleasantly, "Hello, sempai."
"I will still have to get used to your looking
like that." Tatewaki said ruefully, shaking his head.
Akaru shrugged, receiving the small kettle of
hot water from Sho, who he then dismissed from the
room with a wave, "Well, I'm still sort of getting
used to it," as she splashed herself with the hot
water, her body shrinking slightly, and the contours
redistributing.
Tatewaki watched in amazement. He'd seen the
transformation both ways a few times already, but it
was always quite a sight to see. He cleared his
throat finally, "I can not believe that they think it
to be no more than a mere disguise..."
"People will believe anything." Akane said
dismissively.
"Um... you said you wanted to see me?"
Akane smiled sweetly at him, "Yes. I've been
looking over Gosunkugi's records, and he kept
surprisingly good ones..."
"Ah... that's all quite interesting, but I fail
to see--"
"And I noticed your name on his list of
assets... and some interesting marks on his tally
sheets..." she continued, still smiling.
"Oh... ah, you don't say..? I wonder how that
could've..."
"He had you listed under the 'Loveletters
solicitation, production and delivery department' as
head and only member of the production staff." Akane
grinned.
"That was in his records?"
"I told you he kept very good ones." Akane
grinned.
"Er... well, yes... I did write love letters on
demand for him... if I understand correctly he made a
fairly handsome profit off of the freshmen populace--
"
"A profit none of which you got any part of, I
also noticed."
Kuno shifted uncomfortably, "Ahh... well... it
was..."
Akane smiled slightly, "I was looking over his
payment records and you were not being recompensed at
all for your services, now this tells me a couple of
things..."
"Does it?"
"Yes. First of all, since Gosunkugi has been
very fastidious about keeping these records, it
doesn't strike me as likely that he would forget to
include how much you were costing him, so it seems
likely that you weren't being paid at all. Since he
didn't note any alternate means of payment like he
did for some people, you were apparently doing it
entirely for free which leads me then to the obvious
conclusion that he was blackmailing you for your
services," Akane leaned forward smiling cattily at
him, "Which in turn leads me to the obvious
question... what did Gosunkugi have on you?"
Kuno leaned back in his seat gulping nervously,
"Ahh... erhm, how... how interesting... well... I see
you haven't simply been sitting idle then..." he
laughed nervously.
"So... are you going to tell me or not?" Akane
continued smiling, "I mean we're practically family
and all... even if I am helping you break up
reasonably with my sister..."
"Er..." Kuno blushed, "This is rather a
delicate private matter which could result in a great
deal of personal embarrassment for me and for certain
others... so I'm afraid I would prefer not to divulge
the matter for which Gosunkugi was able to impress my
services."
"Ahh... well if that's the case, then I guess
I'm going to have to find some other means of
persuading you," she grinned, leaning back languidly.
"Er..."
Akane lightly ran her hand along the somewhat
damp collar of her blouse, "I really would like you
to stay on in your former position, but, since I'm
not like Gosunkugi. This is not even mentioning how
close," she paused, savoring the word, "Our families
are, it seems to me we could probably work out some
sort of..." she paused again, smiling almost
meaningfully at him, "Arrangement."
Kuno gulped nervously, "Are you offering what I
think you're offering?"
Akane tossed him a sheaf of papers, "Standard
employment contract, with the usual bonuses
commensurate with your position..."
"Ahh..." Kuno cleared his throat, catching the
papers, "But... what if I wish to stop writing for
you? I mean, this is quite a generous..." as he
glanced at the paper he blanched, "Is that a weekly
figure?"
"Plus bonuses of course." Akane grinned.
"I don't know what to say..."
Akane smiled, "Say yes."
"Ahh... well, this is certainly more than my
allowance... I accept then, I suppose. Provided the
work load remains the same as before?"
"Of course. Wonderful!" she smiled then glanced
at her watch, "Say... Tatewaki, could you do me one
more favor?"
Tatewaki relaxed a bit, "Ahh, certainly."
Akane swiveled her chair a bit, "The arm rests
on this are kind of loose, "Would you mind coming
over here, and kind of putting some extra weight on
them to jam them back into the sockets?"
"Oh, certainly." Tatewaki nodded, moving around
the desk. He rested his hands on the ends of the
armrests, leaning forward, over Akane.
Akane gave another glance at her watch as he
stood over her, before she suddenly snaked her arms
up to encircle his neck. Kuno glanced down at her as
she did this about to ask what she was doing. It was
at precisely this point that the door opened.
Sho poked his head in, "Hey, boss, I'm going
off shift. It's Shigo's... er... I'm interrupting
aren't I?" he blushed.
Both Akane and Tatewaki turned to look at him.
Their position did seem somewhat compromising,
especially when one considered that Tatewaki seemed
to be leaning over her, keeping her pinned to the
seat, and her own arms were wrapped around his neck.
Kuno blushed deeply, but stood frozen. Akane merely
looked at Sho with a mild smile, "Please knock next
time."
"Um... yes boss." Mumbled the tough, shuffling
backwards, avoiding looking at them directly.
"And lock the door behind you!" Akane called
out to the embarrassed henchman merrily.
"Akane!" Kuno said, the shutting of the door
stirring him out of the shock. He pulled back, "What
was that for?"
She flopped back into her chair, crossing her
arms and looking up at him playfully, "Don't get so
defensive... it's part of the plan remember?"
"But I was under the impression that some other
woman would be..." Kuno blushed again.
Akane laughed then patted him lightly on the
cheek, "Who else could we trust with this? Besides,
who knows, if we get someone else to act the part of
the other woman, she might even fall for you for
real."
"I beg your pardon?" Kuno looked disturbed at
the thought.
"Why not? You're good looking, rich, you're a
nice guy... maybe you're a little shy, but you're
quite a catch."
Kuno merely blushed and mumbled an uncertain
thank you.
She looked at him closely, unbidden a slight
blush was rising in her cheeks as well. She gave him
a small, uncertain smile, trying to regain control,
"Ah... nevermind, Tatewaki-sempai... you've got a
poetry club meeting to attend in ten minutes, you'd
better get going."
"I do? Oh, yes that's right..."
- - -
About a week afterwards, at a little used
forest road somewhere in the middle of nowhere...
"So Tokyo is this way?" the bandana clad boy
asked the man again uncertainly pointing down the
road.
"No, no, no! It's that way!" The infuriated man
replied, pointing in the opposite direction. They'd
gone over this at least twelve times already.
"Alright. That way. Got it." the boy replied
cheerfully, heading entirely off the road, right into
the dense forest.
The man merely shook his head and shrugged.
There was just no helping some people.
- - -
"Hey, Tatewaki!" Akane called out, waving to
him at dismissal time.
Kuno turned around, smiling diffidently at
Akane as she approached him, "Oh, hello, Akane. Can I
help you?"
"Have you seen Ranma?" Akane asked.
"I believe he, Nabiki and Kodachi were going
for some ice cream."
"And they left without me?" she felt miffed.
"Well... you were busy with running your...
ahem, business."
She sighed, "Yeah, I guess. Why didn't you come
along?"
"Well... I feel a great deal safer being in
Nabiki's presence when you are nearby."
"Really?" Akane said grinning slightly.
"Something the matter?" Tatewaki asked, mildly
concerned.
"Not really. Oh! I've got something for you,"
she said smiling.
"More requests?" he asked pleasantly. He'd been
learning that she was a far better boss than
Gosunkugi had ever been. Prettier, certainly. He
blinked as the thought crossed his mind and quickly
slapped it down.
She stood in her usual Chinese shirt, bouncing
lightly on the balls of her feet, "No... just a
little bonus. A kind of thank you for the good work
you've been doing these past couple of weeks..."
"Ahh... well, that's very nice of you Akane,"
Kuno stammered a bit embarrassed.
A few of the sharper-eyed students noticed this
little exchange and paid attention.
She opened her bag and pulled out a small
package, tastefully gift-wrapped in simple brown
paper. She handed it to him with little ceremony and
a bright smile, "Here."
- - -
"Excuse me... is this Furinkan High School?"
The student eyed the bandana clad boy with a
small degree of confusion. Very pointedly, he jerked
a thumb at the large sign directly in front of the
boy, which said in quite large letters, 'FURINKAN
HIGH SCHOOL'.
The boy with the bandana smiled broadly,
"Great! I finally made it!" he turned again to the
student he'd asked earlier and said, "Tell me, where
can I find Akane Tendo?"
"Akane? Well she's usually..."
"Is this what I think it is?!" a happy voice
suddenly cried out from the center courtyard.
In the brief lull of the noise there was a
reply, "It certainly is, a first edition copy of
Shakespere's sonnets," in a voice which our bandana
clad wanderer knew better than his own... a voice
he'd been yearning to hear for oh so very long.
Akane's voice... Without wasting another second, he
immediately dashed into the courtyard, intent on the
source of the voice.
- - -
Tatewaki Kuno was hugging Akane and whirling
her around with mad, gleeful abandon. He was also
laughing quite loudly and didn't seem at all
concerned about witnesses.
Akane laughed with him, clinging to his neck as
he spun her around. She knew he'd like her little
gift to him but she didn't expect him to be this
grateful.
"It's wonderful, thank you!" Kuno whooped
happily as he whirled to a stop.
Akane smiled up at him, his arms were still
around her waist and her arms were around his neck,
"I thought you'd like it."
"How did you know?" he asked.
"I have my ways..." she smiled mysteriously.
It was at this precise point that the bandana
clad boy stumbled onto the scene, "Akane! Akane
it's..!" he stopped... stunned, "... me."
He stared intently at the girl... it was
definitely Akane. Almost nothing had changed about
her... except for one thing. She was in the arms of
another man. The perpetually cheerful look which he
had worn for years was suddenly wiped away. And he
could swear her heard something like a crash and a
tinkle... the sound of a heart shattering... he
stared at them... utterly devastated.
Akane and Tatewaki both turned to look at him.
Kuno merely stared wondering who this person was.
Akane was reeled in surprise, but recovered quickly.
She immediately let go of Kuno, breaking free of his
arms and ran towards the bandana clad boy, smiling
happily, "Ryouga?! Ryouga Hibiki! It is you!"
But as she got closer the dark cast to his
features became more and more obvious. She slowed to
a walk and asked softly, "Ryouga?"
Ryouga gave a sudden roar, pushing past Akane,
tears streaming in his eyes as he leapt at Kuno.
Tatewaki gave a strangled yelp, leaping out of the
way quickly. Ryouga's fist crashed into the cement
walkway, a circular area the size of a car shattered
into fragments. He snarled incoherently, lashing a
fist out in Kuno's direction, but the bespectacled
young man had the presence of mind to duck behind
Akane.
"Ryouga! What's wrong with you?!" Akane
screamed at him.
Ryouga rose to his feet, still surrounded by
the shattered walkway, tears streaming down his
cheeks, "I just spent the past two years looking for
you... I followed you for thousands of miles... even
all the way to CHINA, only to find out you've gone
off with another man, and you have the nerve to ask
me what's wrong?!"
Akane blinked at Ryouga. Then looked over her
shoulder at Kuno. She adjusted her glasses, "Oh,
Ryouga... this is not what it looked like?"
"Oh yeah?! Well didn't everyone just see you
two hugging?!"
There were affirmative nods from the gathered
crowd.
"Er..." Kuno started to say.
"Well I guess I don't need an explanation
anymore why you didn't meet me for our last date
then?" Ryouga said sulkily.
"Ryouga... I waited three days for you in the
living room."
"Yeah, but when I'd got there on the fourth day
you'd already left with your brother!"
"Ryouga," Akane began patiently, "Why did it
take you four days to find the living room of your
own house?"
"What?! You don't think I was wandering around
Japan for my health?! I tried to get back as fast as
I could!"
"You were waiting at his house for four days?"
Kuno asked Akane.
She shrugged, "We were living together."
Murmurs of shock and surprise rippled through
the crowd... date... lost... living together... Bad
sense of direction...
"Hey, are you Akane's boyfriend?" asked one of
the freshman girls of Ryouga.
"I was." He replied flatly.
More murmurs and rumors spread...
"You!" he pointed at Kuno, "What's your name?!"
Tatewaki was feeling somewhat annoyed at the
imperious tone that the boy in the bandana was using
on him. He frowned, straightening up to his full
height, "I am Tatewaki Kuno and you, vile recreant...
boyfriend or no boyfriend have no right to speak to
Akane Tendo in so disrespectful a manner!"
"Enough talk!" Ryouga said unshipping the
umbrella from his backpack. He flung it powerfully,
snapping it open in midair as it whirled outwards. It
flew in a tight arc as Akane grabbed Kuno and
shouted, "Down!" missing them by a hairsbreadth.
The flying umbrella's handle whacked a few
students as it flew past them, before it circled
around the courtyard, and back into Ryouga's hand. He
snarled at Akane, "Akane Tendo, I'm going to destroy
your happiness!"
Akane blinked at Kuno, "Tatewaki... am I
happy?"
"Well, you have been rather chirpy of late."
Kuno replied thoughtfully, adjusting his glasses.
"You're not helping," she frowned at him.
"Prepare to DIE!!" Ryouga roared as he tore
forward at tremendous speed. Akane roughly shoved
Kuno aside as she leapt over Ryouga. Most of the
other students scrambled to get out of the way of the
mad charge, and everyone watched in amazement as he
crashed into the cement wall of the school... then
crashed all the way THROUGH the wall. They could
eventually hear his voice fading in the distance
screaming, "Where are you Akane?! There's no use
hiding!"
Everyone could only watch in mingled awe and
confusion as his voice faded into the distance, the
sounds of him crashing through wall after wall
punctuating his cries...
"That... was your boyfriend?" Tatewaki finally
asked Akane.
"Um... he didn't always used to be so high
strung," she replied weakly.
- - -
Akane sighed as she relaxed on the porch of the
dojo. Ranma walked up behind her, plopping down to
sit next to her, "Hey, sis... I heard Ryouga dropped
by the school after classes today."
Akane sighed, "Please... don't remind me."
Ranma looked surprised, "Why? I thought you'd
be happy to see him?"
"Well, I take it you didn't hear the rest of
the story?"
"What happened? All me and Kodachi hear was
that he came to the school..."
"Well... he caught me... er... being hugged by
Tatewaki..."
"Ohh boy..." Ranma winced, then blinked, "Why
was Tatewaki hugging you?"
Soun poked his head around the corner, "Who was
doing what?!" he asked suspiciously.
Akane looked at her father in surprise, "Ahh...
no one, daddy."
Soun gave a shrug and an indifferent nod and
went back to his room.
"Anyway, he went nuts," Akane continued
worriedly, "Did plenty of damage to the school."
"Who did?" Nabiki asked as she walked in,
followed by Kasumi who was putting the plates on the
table.
"Her old boyfriend," Ranma replied.
Nabiki and Kasumi both stared at Akane, "You
have a boyfriend?" they chorused.
Soun's head poked around the corner again, "Did
I hear right? My little girl has a boyfriend?"
The Tendo siblings all turned to stare at their
father a little anxiously.
He nodded approvingly, "Bring the boy around
sometime, I'd like to meet him," he said before
disappearing around the corner again.
"I can't believe dad just said that," Ranma
said.
Kasumi gave a little disapproving glance at
Akane and then said primly as she set the table,
"Well you're a little young for that aren't you?"
"So... let's hear about this boyfriend, sis."
Nabiki inquired.
"Well, Ranma and I met him about two years ago,
when we were wandering all over Japan looking for his
parents." Akane began, "We didn't always have a place
to stay so sometimes we... er..."
"You what?" Nabiki prodded.
"We challenged dojos," Ranma continued, "And if
we won we'd ask them to let us stay there and feed us
or else we took their shingle away. We never lost."
He added proudly.
Nabiki blinked, "You two were dojo destroyers?"
Ranma squirmed uncomfortably, "Well... not in
so many words..."
Akane shrugged and grinned, "Basically. But its
not like we ever actually took away anyone's dojo
sign. They were always more than happy to house us
and feed us to get their shingle back."
"I still don't see how this relates to your
boyfriend, Akane," Kasumi prodded.
"Well... about two years ago, we challenged the
Hibiki dojo..." Akane continued. She blushed and
smiled slightly at the memory.
"Their top student was the school's heir,
Ryouga Hibiki," Ranma continued, "Anyway, I beat him
and his dad let us stay there for a couple of
months."
Akane meanwhile had been reduced to staring out
at the koi pond, with a wistful smile on her face.
Ranma glanced at her and seeing she was in no
condition to continue the story, he shrugged and
pressed on, "Well we got to know him pretty good, he
was a nice guy, good martial artist. Strong as an ox
too... and we ended up sorta buddies. Then one time
we're hanging out on his porch and he confesses he's
in love with Akane."
Akane gave a brief sigh. Nabiki stared at
Akane. She'd never seen her sister, (at least in the
past month that they'd had to get reacquainted with
one another) reduced to such a level of... she didn't
even know what to call it.
Ranma rolled his eyes, "Turns out, Akane was
listening to the whole thing and the next thing I
know the two of them are an item."
Kasumi held up a hand, a very subtle change in
the usually placid expression on her face, "When they
were fourteen at the time?"
Nabiki raised an eyebrow.
Ranma did some quick mental calculations,
"Yeah... yeah... I think so... or about thirteen and
three quarters something like that."
Kasumi smiled vaguely, swooning as she got to
her feet, "Excuse me, I feel faint," they heard her
murmur as she went into the kitchen.
"You should've seen em... all sweet and mushy
the whole time..." Ranma said.
"And you were living in the same house with
him?" Nabiki asked, "Didn't his parents object or
something?"
Ranma replied, "Well, you see his entire
family's got this problem. None of them have a sense
of direction. They get lost going to the bathroom. We
had to walk Ryouga to school everyday or he'd be lost
for weeks. As it was we got to his parents at the
house maybe once every other week or so."
"We had to leave kinda sudden... and they never
really had a chance to say good bye," he finished.
"So now he's found her after all these
years..." Nabiki hazarded a smile, "Sorta romantic if
you ask me. He sounds like a really sweet guy."
Akane sighed, turning to face Nabiki, "Oh he
is... sweet, kind-hearted, sensitive. Only now I
think he's out to kill me and Kuno-sempai."
Nabiki blinked, "Wait a second... I think I
missed something. I thought you said he was your
boyfriend?"
"Uh-huh."
"So why'd he be trying to kill you? And
Tatewaki?"
"Er..." Akane started uncomfortably, "Well, he
caught us hugging. In front of the rest of the
school. And he's got a hair trigger temper."
For some reason she couldn't quite fathom,
Nabiki suddenly felt her anger begin to rise. She
spoke in a low voice glaring at Akane, "Let me get
this straight, Akane... you have a boyfriend who's
been looking for you for a couple of years now..."
Akane nodded noting Nabiki's expression.
"... and you're sleeping with Ranma..." Nabiki
continued.
Akane nodded again.
Nabiki leaned forward, "And now you're making
moves on Tatewaki?! My fiancé? Haven't you got ANY
shame?!"
Akane' jaw dropped and she felt her own temper
begin to rise. She'd never been the focus of Nabiki's
anger before, at least not to this extent, and she
certainly did NOT appreciate Nabiki's tone of voice,
"Look... what Ranma and I do is our business, not
yours, even though you keep trying to peek in on
us..." Akane smirked in satisfaction as Nabiki gaped
and blushed, "As for Tatewaki, for your information
HE was hugging ME. Which I might also add is none of
your business either, since, if I do recall
correctly, you don't even WANT him as your fiancé!"
"Oh, so maybe you do?" Nabiki snapped back,
rolling her sleeve up, "Going to two-time this Ryouga
person? No wonder he's after you."
"Oh yeah?!" Akane shot back, rising to her
feet.
"Yeah!" Nabiki replied, likewise getting up.
Ranma's head whipped back and forth between his
sisters, he shushed them desperately, "Hey, guys!
Keep it down! You don't want dad finding out about
that too soon, he's go nuts... that or start
crying... or both..."
It was a little too late however, as the two
had leapt out into the courtyard as the sun dipped
below the horizon and began exchanging blows.
Ranma slumped, watching the two trade punches,
kicks, blocks, and dodges. Fortunately they were more
or less evenly matched, neither one getting a good
shot in. Kasumi finally stepped out of the kitchen
and blinked at her two sisters, "Sparring before
dinner to build up an appetite," she said cheerfully,
still holding the ice pack to her head, "What a
wonderful idea!"
Ranma's mouth quirked as he muttered to
himself, "Kodachi'd laugh. Who'd believe my sisters,
actually fighting over Tatewaki."
Kasumi smiled vacantly at him then went back
into the kitchen for some more ice.
He did his best to suppress a snigger, as he
rose to his feet to break it up, he couldn't help but
wonder where Ryouga was...
- - -
"This is the way to Tokyo right? You're sure?"
"NO! This way! Stupid idiot!"
- - -
end chapter 6
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