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 8: Kisses and memories...
It was a week later when Ranma and Kodachi
decided to have a more or less private dinner at one
of the local teahouses. Actually, they hadn't
intended for it to be private, as Kodachi's team had
just won a rhythmic gymnastics match against the St.
Hebereke team and they wanted it to be a celebration,
but everyone had declined graciously, more often than
not with a wink and a nudge in the ribs. Unbeknownst
the two, a few of the Kodachi/Ranma in bed photos had
found their way into Furinkan High School's market,
through the assistance of Akane and quite frankly,
the two were regarded as THE hot couple of campus. Of
course there were the new and rather persistent
rumors of Tatewaki and Nabiki's behavior... but
people were keeping their eyes on that and betting
well. Of course, neither of the two knew about this.
They were too busy spending quality time together.
Ranma smiled a little, looking at Kodachi, "So,
you want to go ice skating afterwards?"
Kodachi smiled back, "Sure. Sounds great."
Ranma's glance stole lower down from her face
and he seemed thoughtful...
Kodachi blinked a little at his behavior and
blushed.
"Are you finishing that?" Ranma asked, as he
eyed her plate.
Kodachi's blush deepened slightly as she
realized she THOUGHT he was staring at something
else. "Uh... sure... sure, go right ahead."
He smiled at her once more and gave her hand a
little squeeze, "Thanks," before he began
transferring her leftovers onto his plate.
Kodachi rolled her eyes a little, then smiled
at him, "I thought you were looking at something
else."
Ranma said as he stuffed his mouth, "During
mealtimes, one eats, time enough to look at a pretty
girl later."
She blinked at him and blushed slightly, "You
really think I'm pretty?"
"Course," he mumbled as he dabbed at his lips
with the napkin, "I think you're very pretty, haven't
I ever said so?"
"Not really."
"I think you're gorgeous," Ranma said with some
authority.
Kodachi could only blush.
"You could've said something like that before
you know," she chided him. Ranma looked surprised,
"Sorry, I just assumed you knew, so it was kinda
unnecessary to tell you."
"Well, it's always nice to hear it," Kodachi
added with a small blush.
"Alright," he smiled, "I'll make sure to tell
you once in a while then."
"Good," she grinned.
"Ranma!" a perky girl's voice suddenly cut
across their conversation as a speeding blur ran
across the tea house. Ranma managed to sputter,
"Wha?!" before his capacity for conversation was cut
off... he was powerfully glomped from the side, and
as he turned his face to see who was doing the
glomping, a pair of lips found his and kissed him
passionately.
Kodachi stared as Ranma engaged in a prolonged
lip lock with a rather petite brunette. Her
expression moved from surprised horror... to cold
fury as they continued to kiss for more than thirty
seconds. Ranma had made several attempt to push her
off of him during that period, but whoever the girl
was she wasn't having any of that, and had
subsequently managed to slip into his lap and was
pressing quite close against him.
"Ranma," Kodachi said in a flat cold snarl,
"Who is this?"
The girl was rather cute. Her long, light brown
hair was tied off in a long ponytail which sent it
cascading down her back. She was slender and the very
short, very revealing little black dress flattered
her quite well. She was wearing a few small items of
jewelry, nothing overdone, but mostly served to
impress upon anyone looking the high degree of taste
and expense which had gone into the selection of the
items.
Ranma with some effort finally managed to
dislodge the girl. His face was deeply flushed and he
looked very embarrassed, "Er... ah..."
"Oh, those lips..." the girl murmured swooning
in his lap, "Just like I remember them, those
wonderful kisses!"
"Ranma..." Kodachi's voice had taken a
dangerous edge to it.
"Ahh... er, Kodachi... this is... Azusa...
she's um..."
"Mmm... why so shy all of a sudden, loverboy?"
the girl asked playfully, pulling him closer against
her, "We used to be a pretty hot item."
"Azusa! We were not an item! Never were, never
will be!" Ranma spoke heatedly, obviously scandalized
at the thought, "That's all a delusion of yours!"
Kodachi leaned forward, her eyes gleaming
dangerously, "Oh, do tell."
"Yes..." Azusa sighed, melting against Ranma
once more, "It's been three long years without my
honey-pie, and I've missed him so MUCH!"
"It's... not what it looks like, Ko-chan! I can
explain."
"Don't you Ko-chan me, you two timing pervert!"
Kodachi snapped at him.
"But..!"
Azusa giggled cutely, nipping at Ranma's neck
as Kodachi watched, her face blushing in
embarrassment at being seen with such a...
demonstrative couple. One of whom was her... well...
her Ranma!
Another voice suddenly called out, "Azusa,
where did you wander off to this ti... Tendo!" the
last was more a snarl than anything else.
Ranma looked up to find a rather handsome boy
of about sixteen who looked halfway scandalized and
halfway furious. He was impeccably dressed and wore
his clothes well.
Ranma was still about half a conversation
behind, "Wha..? Who..?"
"Ranma Tendo! It is you! After all these
years!" the boy said heatedly. With a visible effort
he managed to control himself. He took a deep breath
and said in a far more relaxed, though forced tone,
"If you would kindly unhand my partner, we shall be
on our way."
"I'm not being unhanded by anybody! I'm staying
with my Ranma!" Azusa replied with a sniff.
"Sanzenhin? Is that you, man?"
"Yes, It is I, Mikado Sanzenhin, now release
Azusa before I..!"
"I'm not holding her!" Ranma shouted back at
him, "You tell her to let go of me!"
Kodachi sighed in confusion, "Look, Ranma...
you seem to be having a lot of fun over there, I'll
just go home on my own, alright? I don't think
anything else needs to be explained."
"But I can explain! Honest!" Ranma cried to
her.
Azusa went back to snuggling with Ranma,
punctuated with soft giggles.
Mikado's attention was suddenly drawn to
Kodachi, and an eyebrow raised in interest, "Ahh... a
young lady taken in by Tendo's wiles? Has he once
again cast his evil spell upon some virtuous maiden?"
"I don't cast evil spells, you moron!"
"Don't give me that Tendo!" Sanzenhin snapped
back, "Ever since our duel, Azusa's been utterly
useless as a skating partner! She may have had her
faults before, but you've made them worse!"
"It's not like I did it on purpose, you know!"
"Duel?" asked Kodachi who was now feeling
rather baffled by the entire conversation. She was
still quite upset at Ranma. Not quite mad at him per
se, but definitely miffed.
"Nothing of consequence, fair lady..." Mikado
smiled at Kodachi, taking her hand, "I am Mikado
Sanzenhin, and I would be terribly honored if I were
to make your acquaintance."
"Hey, Mikado! Get your slimy paws off Kodachi!
She's not interested!" Ranma called out.
"Oh, stop worrying about that girl, Ranma-
sweetie," Azusa said as she snuggled up to him even
more, "You've got your loving Azusa-chan right here
for you! Anytime!"
"Will you get offa me?!" Ranma said, pushing
her away again.
Kodachi blushed slightly at Mikado's opening
line but her attention was called back to Ranma by
his cry. She frowned at him sternly for a moment, as
he was still in the process of extracting himself
from Azusa's arms, then composed her features into
radiant calm and smiled brightly at Mikado, "I am
Kodachi Kuno, pleased to meet you."
"The pleasure is all mine," the boy replied, as
he bent down to kiss her hand.
Ranma, who had finally managed to get Azusa off
of him, snapped out his hand catching Mikado's hand
by the wrist, "Lay one lip on her and you answer to
me, Sanzenhin," Ranma said coldly.
Mikado frowned at Ranma, "Is she something to
you?"
"She's... we're..." he glanced helplessly at
Kodachi who looked back with cold disdain.
Kodachi gave an injured sniff and pointedly
looked away from him.
"Give it up Mikado... you know he's a better
man that you are," Azusa said with a faint giggle.
"I will not accept that!" Sanzenhin shouted at
her.
Azusa gave a little shrug and glomped against
Ranma once more.
Mikado slammed the table with his fist, his
eyes wide and staring, "I am better than he is! I
have been practicing for the past three years and I
am better than he could ever be!"
Ranma seemed to take offense at this, "Hey..."
"... I'll even prove it! I challenge you to a
rematch, Ranma Tendo!" Mikado cried out, his
composure totally blown to shreds.
Kodachi blinked, interested despite herself, "A
rematch of what?"
"Er..." Ranma started to say.
"And I'll even prove it with his girl!" Mikado
continued ranting, oblivious to the stares the other
patrons were giving him.
With a single fluid motion, Mikado's grip
shifted on Kodachi's hand to her fingertips, and
pulled her up and out of her seat, into his arms.
Ranma, distracted by Azusa was unable to stop him as
he pulled Kodachi into his arms, his face inches from
hers.
"Wha--?" Kodachi started to say, but she was
cut off as Mikado pressed his lips against her and
kissed her.
It was a pretty good kiss... Kodachi continued
resisting for all of a few seconds before she relaxed
into it.
Ranma rose up with a cry, pitching Azusa off of
his lap, just as the kiss ended. Kodachi swooned back
onto the chair, blinking and a little dazed.
Mikado gave a smug grin, "Hah. I'd like to see
you beat that."
"You are dead!" Ranma growled, cracking his
knuckles.
Mikado interrupted, still grinning smugly, "Oh,
certainly! All you must do is acknowledge that I'm
the better man and I will gladly allow you to pummel
me into submission."
Ranma looked torn, but at about that point,
Kodachi seemed to recover from her shock. She stood
up slowly and calmly, then with an almost leisurely
movement, slapped Mikado into the far wall of the
teahouse.
Azusa winced cutely, "Ohh! That had to hurt!"
Mikado peeled himself off of the wall and
shouted at Kodachi, "What did you do that for!?!"
"Pervert!" Kodachi shouted back at him,
"Masher!"
"Er..? What?" Mikado looked almost stunned by
the accusations, "No! Of course not! You were
enjoying yourself weren't you?"
Kodachi looked close to tears, "Pervert!" she
shouted at him again. Most of the other people were
nodding in agreement.
Ranma smirked, "Well, it looks like you haven't
learned all that much."
"Hah! You still haven't done anything. What's
the matter? Chicken?" Mikado taunted.
Ranma gave a suppressed growl and suddenly took
Kodachi's hand. She blinked in surprise at him as he
pulled her against his body and kissed her as well.
Kodachi's eyes widened in surprise as Ranma's lips
touched hers and she seemed to panic for a few
seconds before she melted into the kiss. It went on
for quite a long time...
Azusa watched them for a while before she got
bored and hopped over to help the stunned Mikado up.
And still the kiss continued.
A few patrons alternated between watching the
kiss and glancing at their watches... and still the
kiss continued... good breath control there...
Mikado was already tapping his foot impatiently
as the two continued...
... it went on for a little while yet past that
before they broke off... Ranma still darting close
occasionally to plant soft lingering kisses on her
cheek as they pulled away... Kodachi gave a faintly
puzzled smile, before she suddenly collapsed in a
dead faint in his arms.
There was random scattered applause from the
teahouse patrons.
Ranma gave them an embarrassed smile as Mikado
sputtered incoherently.
Azusa grabbed onto Mikado by his scarf and gave
a sharp tug, dragging him along after him, "Come
along, Ranma-sweetie beat you fair and square Mikado-
chan! Again!!" she added in a sing-song voice.
"No! Impossible! How could any woman resist my
kisses and yet fall for that uncultured lout's!?!
They cooked this up between them! They must have!
Release me you wench--aghk!" Mikado called out
incoherently as the much smaller girl easily dragged
him away.
Azusa stopped at the door, turning to wink at
Ranma who was still cradling Kodachi in his arms,
"I'll see you really, really soon, Lover-boy."
Ranma suppressed a shudder as he wondered to
himself what he was going to do about waking Kodachi
up. And what he was going to tell her.
- - -
At around the same time, Akane was walking
home, alone. She'd put in a bit of extra time at her
'office' just to have something to do.
She knew Ranma had a date with Kodachi and
while she didn't begrudge the two of them their time
together, she was starting to miss having Ranma's
undivided attention. Or Tatewaki's for that matter.
Since her last argument with Nabiki, he'd been
spending an awful lot of time with Nabiki... Either
he was starting to really take the engagement
seriously or something else was up. She'd have to
look into that. Purely for professional reasons, of
course, she reasoned to herself... she had to know
what was going on.
Regardless of what it was she felt very
isolated and lonely. She'd be happy if she could even
see Ryouga. But he still hadn't come back for his
stuff, which was still at the Kuno Mansion. No one to
talk to, no one to be with... she sighed heavily, and
didn't notice as a car speeded past her, running
through one of the common puddles and splashing her
with water. She winced at the water a little but
barely noticed as her body shifted into a perfect
duplicate of Ranma's.
"Ranma! Ranma!" a voice called out behind
Akaru. Akaru blinked looking around for his
brother... only to realize that he was probably who
the person was addressing.
He turned and found just behind him was Ryouko
who was smiling happily. She looked somewhat travel
worn and bedraggled. Still in the same outfit she'd
worn when she'd gotten lost a week ago.
"Oh, hey, Ryouko," Akaru gave a wan smile.
"Hey, you okay?" Ryouko asked, looking somewhat
concerned.
"Nah, I'm fine, just thinking of some things,"
Akaru answered easily.
Ryouko glanced around, "So what're you doing in
Okinawa?"
Akaru blinked then stifled a giggle, "We're in
Nerima, Ryouko."
"We are?" Ryouko blinked, "Oh. Yeah. I knew
that."
Akaru smiled, "Come on... you thirsty?"
"I had a soda two days ago I think." Ryouko
replied thoughtfully.
Akaru chuckled, "Come on. I feel like having
something," then almost as a slightly unpleasant
afterthought, "My treat."
Ryouko smiled brightly, "Sure!"
They walked easily down the street, chatting of
nothing much in particular. Mostly about where Ryouko
had been the past week or so. Every so often Akaru
had to gently put a hand on Ryouko's shoulder and
gently steer her towards the right direction. After a
while, Akaru tired of this and simply took Ryouko's
hand to make leading her around easier. Ryouko
noticed but didn't seem to comment. For some weird
reason neither could pinpoint, this seemed to be
almost entirely familiar.
"So," Ryouko asked finally as they were getting
close to the restaurant, her voice a tentative and a
little uncertain, "How's Akane doing?"
"Oh? Um... she's fine... she's alright..."
Akaru sighed slightly. This was the problem when you
had no one to talk to. He took one look at Ryouko's
earnest smiling face and softened slightly, "Well...
she looked kinda down when I saw her earlier."
"Oh. What's wrong?"
"She's just... lonely, I guess."
Ryouko blinked thoughtfully, "She misses
Ryouga?"
"Well... yeah... and then there's Tatewaki and
Nabiki..." Akaru continued distractedly.
"What about them?" Ryouko asked.
"Oh, I guess she must be feeling a little
jealous... I mean he used to spend all of his time
with Akane... so..."
"Well, what about Ryouga?"
Akaru gave Ryouko a small smile, "Well, it's
like this... me and... Akane are still fairly new to
this area. We've only been here about a month or so.
Akane still barely knows anyone, she's been spending
so much of her time wrapped up in... moneymaking
she's forgotten how to make real friends anymore..."
Akaru's voice grew sadder as he tried to speak as
objectively as possible about his own life, "Aside
from Ranma, Tatewaki was practically the only
reasonably intelligent company she'd found... and
sure there's Ryouga and she DOES want to see him
again, but it's... he's always missing! She just
wants someone who's going to be there for her! And
she... she's just so lonely!" Akaru bit off his last
words. It was getting difficult to talk, the lump in
his throat had grown and tears were starting to form
in his eyes... he didn't even know why he was telling
all of this to Ryouko of all people, but it just
started pouring out...
Ryouko put a hand to Akaru's arm smiling gently
at him, "Come on... let's have that drink. You need
to sit down and have a bit of a rest..."
Akaru nodded slowly and did his best to smile
back, knuckling the tears away ineffectually. He said
in a quavering voice, "Scuse me... got something in
my eye..."
Ryouko smiled sympathetically, pulling him
into a seat... which as a result of the fact that she
was leading they ended up in the next restaurant over
a small teahouse.
Akaru smiled weakly, "I'll... order us
something okay?"
Ryouko nodded, smiling at him.
The rest of the teahouse was suddenly abuzz
with rumors as they settled down into their seats.
"Hey, wasn't that the guy who was making out with
those two girls?", "Wow, a third one? This guy's some
sort of Casanova", "Who cares, he kisses well enough
to make that girl faint, I want some of that...",
"Such scandalous behavior!", "Where does he get the
energy for it?", "You could always ask him.", "I want
to know how come none of the girls seem to mind...",
"What a man!", "Wanna find out what his secret is?"
Akaru pushed his glasses up in confusion as he
managed to pick up some of the conversations. Ryouko
simply blinked at the other patrons in confusion.
Most of whom were staring, right up to the point that
they noticed either Ryouko or Akaru staring back.
Akaru took his time, slowly scanning the other
patrons and seeming to memorize their faces. Most
turned away under his intense glare, others stood up
hurriedly to leave. There was a certain something
behind those eyes which promised swift and just
retribution. Adding to this fact was Akaru's obvious
upset.
The waiter passed their table carrying two cups
of tea for a couple on the next table, but as luck
would have it, one of the patrons intending to hurry
away from the intensity of Akaru's stare collided
with the waiter, sending the two cups flying...
sending them, and their hot contents splashing all
over Ryouko and Akaru.
There was a moment of stark crystal clarity as
the waiter turned to apologize profusely to the boy
and girl who'd been sitting at the table... he was
pretty certain that the boy had been wearing the
glasses and the red silk Chinese shirt and that the
girl had been in a yellow tunic and had the
bandanna... not the other way around.
Akane stared at Ryouga. Ryouga stared back at
Akane.
"That was you?!" they both shouted at the same
time.
"I'm terribly sorry about that, sir, ma'am..."
the waiter started to say.
Akane turned her fierce glare at the waiter and
said in a low controlled voice, "You'd better clean
this up and give us both complimentary cups unless
you'd like me to have a word with your manager. I can
get you fired for this you know."
The waiter squeaked and scuttled off.
Ryouga blinked in confusion, and began to pat
himself down, the shock of the transformation not
only surprised him, it was like having a cloud lifted
from his mind... or at least turning the lights on in
a room, "I... I'm a guy? I'm... hey, I'm Ryouga
Hibiki! I gotta kill Kuno!" he added in a furious
voice, then his face became puzzled as he remembered
their earlier conversation, "Erhm... okay, so maybe I
don't..."
Akane looked at him, "You'd forgotten?"
Ryouga nodded a little sheepishly.
"That bump on the head... and..." she looked at
him closely, "you've got a Jusenkyo curse."
Ryouga nodded miserably, "Yeah. I followed you
and Ranma all the way to Jusenkyo, but I kind of
slipped and fell into spring of drowned young girl.
So... how about you?"
"I jumped into an unpatterned spring after
Ranma did." Akane answered, "So I turn into him
whenever I get wet."
"But Ranma really is around, right?"
"Yeah, I didn't mean to fool Ryouko... that is
you... I just got splashed before I noticed it,"
Akane replied.
"Oh... I... I'm sorry. Didn't mean to fool you
either, I just forgot I was me..." Ryouga looked
really embarrassed.
Akane sighed and leaned back, "Well..."
"Er... yeah," Ryouga's face suddenly clouded
again as he remembered the night from the week
before, "I can sort of understand your being lonely
and all... I felt that way the whole time I was
looking for you," he added accusingly, "But you knew
I was looking for you and you were still sleeping
with Kuno."
"I thought he was Ranma," Akane shrugged,
getting back in control of herself and the situation.
It was all well and good if she let others see her
lose control while a guy... but not as herself... it
just... would not do.
Ryouga's eyes bugged out, "You..! And Ranma?!
Sleeping together?! I'd think you'd've noticed the
differences! I mean with your brother! That's
scandalous1 that's... that's... that's... really
bad!"
Akane seemed a little off put by Ryouga's
reaction, "Oh for goodness sake Ryouga, I was only
with Tatewaki for an hour or two, I managed to get to
Ranma later that night, why are you so surprised... I
mean you knew Ranma and I slept together."
"No... not like you and your brother sleeping
together back when you were staying with us," Ryouga
blushed deeply, "I mean, sleeping together sleeping
together!"
She gave him a level look, "Are you talking
about sex?"
"Yes!" Ryouga sputtered, his blush worsening.
"I didn't have sex with him!" Akane shot back,
trying to remain calm but her fists had clenched, How
dare he make such accusations!
"That's not what it looked like to me!" Ryouga
replied heatedly, slamming his fists on the table.
"Oh you were watching were you?" Akane asked
him sarcastically.
"No! I mean yes! I mean..! what the heck else
could it have been, I mean you were on top of him and
he was saying your name over and over and..."
By this point in time it should be noted that
people had already begun keeping notes... this was
getting REALLY juicy.
"Will you keep your voice down?" Akane asked
him pointedly.
"Er... I... that is..."
"First of all," Akane said coolly, "I just met
him again a few months ago. I like him, but I don't
like him THAT much. Yet. I don't know what you think
of me, but I am most certainly not just going to do
THAT with anyone just at the drop of a hat!"
"That's not what I meant..." Ryouga began to
say defensively.
"Second," she said, reaching across the table
and collaring him, dragging him closer to her face,
her lips nearly touching his ear, "Didn't I promise
you once that as long as we were an item, I wanted my
first time to be with you?" she said continuing in a
softer tone, "Have you EVER known me to break a
promise?"
Ryouga gulped nervously at their proximity,
"I... yes, you did promise, but... that was two
years... I mean, no you've always kept your wo--"
Akane continued to murmur into his ear, "And
third, we NEVER officially broke up Ryouga... we're
still an item. Don't you forget that."
Ryouga stammered incoherently, the scent of her
hair, her shampoo... the spilt tea... it was all
beginning to overwhelm him, he felt himself getting
dizzy.
Akane kissed him softly on the cheek, "I still
love you, you big dope..." she released his collar
allowing him to flop back into his seat, she
continued in a normal speaking voice, but there was
an undertone of sadness to her words, "But I don't
know if I want to stay in a relationship with someone
who I can't rely on to be there when I need him."
"A-Akane..." Ryouga stared helplessly at her,
"I still love you too... I can change! I'll be there
for you! I promise! I'll... I'll learn how not to get
lost! I will! I promise."
She sighed, "Oh Ryouga... I wish I could
believe that. I really do. It's just, I know you'll
eventually manage to wander off somewhere again, and
get lost for who knows how long... I'm not sure I
want to have to keep waiting for you."
Ryouga slipped out of his seat quickly kneeling
next to Akane. He held her hands clasped in his,
"Please! One more chance! I beg of you..! I followed
you all this way... I've spent the past two years of
my life just searching for you! I won't give up
without a fight! I won't!"
A nearby little old lady prodded Akane, "I'd go
for it, dearie... you don't usually get 'em that
passionate nowadays."
Akane blinked as the lady passed by, then
looked back at Ryouga. She smiled gently at him.
Despite herself she found herself being swayed by his
enthusiasm. Tatewaki had been great company for a
time... but, Ryouga's devotion called desperately to
her, and she could feel it beginning to work...
She smiled brightly at him then said, "Oh, get
back in your chair you look ridiculous," her tone was
half teasing, half playful, and Ryouga knew what it
meant when her eyes lit up like that.
All but stumbling on his own feet, Ryouga
managed to get back to his feet.
Akane held up a finger, "Alright. One chance.
I'm giving this one last chance..."
"That's all I'm asking for," Ryouga beamed
happily.
"Oh, shut up," she said lightly, collaring him
once again, but this time pulling her towards her
into a passionate kiss... There were cheers and
applause from their audience.
Ryouga managed to return the kiss for a few
seconds, before he fainted from sheer happiness.
Akane sighed happily, playfully mussing his
hair as he lay sprawled and unconscious on the table,
"Okay, so maybe it's not such a bad idea..." she said
softly.
- - -
Kodachi awoke slowly. She was fairly
comfortable. Obviously she'd been lying on something
soft. She opened her eyes fully to see Ranma kneeling
next to her as she lay on a futon. His expression
seemed to be torn between worry and happiness. She
didn't recognize the room, but realized after a
moment that it was the Tendo house. The living
room... then she remembered why she'd been
unconscious. She quickly got up, moving into a
kneeling position, not looking directly at Ranma. She
blushed furiously and several emotions were duking it
out for a chance to be featured on her face.
"Um... sorry about that, Ko-chan... I... well,
I kinda lost my head there and wasn't thinking
clearly."
Kodachi turned towards him slightly, her head
still low, she glared at him through her bangs,
"You'd better be able to give me a satisfactory
explanation for your behavior and who those people
were or I will do something very unpleasant to you...
then when I'm done, I will tell my father... and he
will tell your father... and they will BOTH do
unpleasant things to you."
Ranma gulped nervously, "Okay... explanation...
alright... it started about three years ago. Akane
and I were staying in Tokyo, not too far from here.
Anyway, we'd been kind of living off of our savings
at the time, but we didn't have anywhere to sleep, so
we were camping out at a vacant lot, except that
isn't really all that important to the story...
anyway...
"Akane decided she wanted some ice cream and
drags me along... she conned this guy who was about a
year or so older than us into buying the ice cream
for her, only problem is that when he does buy her
the ice cream he says he'll take payment back and
kisses her without warning. And it wasn't even a
cheek thing, full on mouth with tongue and all.
Kodachi blinked, "That was that Mikado person?"
"Precisely. He was kinda weird even back then.
Anyway... after he finishes the kiss, Akane gives him
this look... like he's the lowest scum on the planet,
I think you know what I mean..."
"Yes," Kodachi agreed.
"Pretty intimidating, I ought to know," Ranma
continued, "She used to practice that on me. Then she
says to him quite clearly and loud enough for
everyone in the restaurant to hear that her brother
could kiss better than Mikado could."
Kodachi blinked, "What?!"
Ranma nodded, "Yup... so Mikado starts ranting
and screaming about how no one could possibly out
kiss him, how she was lying yadda-yadda-yadda. Next
thing I know, Akane was there grinning like a shark
and I've been challenged to a kissing duel. In a
week's time, there would be three girls, we kissed
each of them once... whoever the majority of the
girls preferred would be the winner."
"You agreed to THAT?!" Kodachi sputtered.
"Akane's really persuasive..." Ranma replied
sheepishly, "Anyway... a week passes, we go to the
designated spot, and find that Mikado's brought in
his skating partner, Azusa, as one girl, and this
cheering squad bimbo who he knew had the hots for
him... and somehow, I'm not sure, Akane got the third
girl he brought in ruled out and herself included."
"I see..." said the faintly puzzled Kodachi...
"You what?!"
"So we both kissed the three girls once
each..." he pressed on before Kodachi could have a
hance to really get the image in her head, "He
started. Turns out he was bribing Azusa with a teddy
bear or something to vote for his kiss and she had no
idea WHAT was going on... the other girl was pretty
much guaranteed to vote for him, and Akane was pretty
much in my corner... they all get kissed by him, he
gets a 'not bad' rating overall, but mostly because
Akane was being really critical, then I took my
turn..."
"And..?" Kodachi prodded.
"Azusa and the other girl, Mariko... they...
um... fainted. Akane swayed a bit... so I got a
really good overall rating... and I won."
Kodachi took a deep breath. If she hadn't
actually felt the impact of his kiss, she would've
doubted the truth of that... but she knew what it
felt like... and nodded, "What I would like to know
is where you learned to kiss like that..?"
Ranma looked definitely embarrassed... "You
promise not to laugh or get mad?"
Kodachi gave him a faintly puzzled look,
"Alright, I won't..."
"Um... well, I spent the week between the
challenge and the actual fight learning how to
actually kiss..." Ranma said sheepishly.
Kodachi blinked, "Learning?"
"Yeah, Akane found me all of these manuals and
I kinda treated it like learning a new martial arts
technique... so I kept practicing with Akane for the
week... I mean, I didn't have anyone else to practice
with... and I had NO idea what I was doing half the
time..."
Kodachi was doing her best to look at him
coolly, but her blush totally ruined the effect, "You
were kissing your sister... like you kissed me?"
"Um... yeah... although I gave you just the
basics, because I was trying to keep you from
fainting..." he added, "Guess it didn't work. And
anyway, it was like a fighting technique, only...
well, it was a lot more fun to practice..."
She raised an eyebrow, "Do tell... this still
doesn't explain Azusa..."
"Oh, that. Well, after the competition, she
kinda... erhm... attached herself to me... so did the
cheerleading girl..." he said worriedly, "One kiss
and they kind of... you know... um... wanted me. Me
and Akane had to clear out of the neighborhood..."
"Your lips are dangerous weapons then..."
Kodachi said firmly.
"Um... sorta..." Ranma nodded miserably.
"Well," Kodachi said sternly, looking him
straight in the eye now, the flush on her cheeks not
receding at all, "There's only one thing to be done
then..."
"Wha--?"
She reached a hand out, and pressed her fingers
against his lips, she had a slightly wicked smile on
her face, the blush only making her look all the more
beautiful to him, "That being the case, then, I'm
claiming these lips as mine... make certain to use
them wisely and only on my direction... do you
understand me?"
"Um... no."
She gave him a fierce look, collaring him and
pulling him a little closer. She was surprised by her
own boldness... but thought of having to share those
kisses with ANYONE was jarring, "Kiss anyone but me
in that way again and I will kill you," she said
sweetly.
"Um... I can... live with that..." Ranma said
smiling sickly... this is why he didn't go around
kissing more women... they always ended up acting
strangely afterwards.
"Good," Kodachi smiled as her blush deepened,
she averted her gaze from him, "Now perhaps... I
should start for home..."
"I'll walk you there... I'd've brought you all
the way home, but the dojo was closer, and I didn't
want to have to explain to Aunty and Uncle why you
were out cold."
Kodachi giggled, "I suppose not. Although I've
spoken to mother and she would have absolutely no
objection to the idea... of... you know... us."
Ranma looked at her thoughtfully as they rose
to their feet, "Think we should try to make it more
official?"
Kodachi held Ranma's hand and they looked at
one another. They both smiled at the same time, "Why
not?" then laughed merrily.
Kodachi got a playful gleam in her eye as a
thought occurred to her, "By the way Ranma... does
Akane still have those books you used to train with?"
"Um... no, we sold them after that. Why?"
"Because I thought perhaps I could learn how to
do that... I think perhaps you might enjoy that..."
Kodachi said, blushing shyly.
"Well..." Ranma smiled back, "I could always
teach you personally...
"Do tell..."
- - -
end chapter 8
(
geocities.com/the_vault_fortress)