C&A Productions Presents
A Work of Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction
The Ties That Bind
Chapter 6: Inventive Care
By Chris McNeil
Original Concept Provided by Robert Morrison
When Panma Saotome awoke, he was in darkness. For a moment his mind swam
with wild fantasies of being dead and buried, of perhaps already being in the
gloomy dark that was his lot for all eternity. Then rationality took over, and
he shook his head slightly, banishing such idiotic nonsense. He remembered now,
he'd won the fight, Kunou had been unconscious, and his brother had been
there...his wounds had been painful, but nowhere near fatal. He was somewhere
dark, and that was all.
Raising his head, he looked around. At first he thought that he'd been
taken home after the battle, but as his eyes adjusted to the darkness he saw it
couldn't be so. This room was unfamiliar...small and sparsely decorated, with a
row of cupboards along one wall. Panma was lying on a thin bed; above his head
appeared to be some sort of chart or poster, but it was too dim to make out.
Across the room was a door, identified by the thin sliver of light streaming in
from underneath it. Well, he'd find out where he was soon enough.
Panma swung himself up and started to rise, which he immediately regretted.
As his left leg touched the floor, a stabbing bolt of pain caused him to quickly
retract it. Leaning back, he cursed softly at his stupidity. Not feeling any
real pain, he had forgotten about his leg...wait a minute. Panma examined
himself for a moment. He -didn't- feel any pain, except for a now-muted
throbbing in his leg, which was odd, because he knew he had several wounds that
sleep alone wouldn't cure. Looking down, he noted there was a bandage around
his waist, and a thicker one around his injured ankle.
There had obviously been some professional ministrations done here...that
meant he must be in a clinic. Probably some local one known by Akane or Nabiki.
He smiled slightly. Who would have suspected either of the reluctant brides-to-
be would be so concerned for his health? Yet it must have been one of
them...his brother was not noted for being overly concerned about medical
matters. As long as all of Panma's major body parts were still attached - and
they seemed to be - Ranma would no doubt have been content to let him sleep it
off.
Not, Panma decided with a stifled yawn, that rest would be such a bad idea.
Carefully lifting his legs back on to the bed, he rolled onto his side and
closed his eyes with a sigh. It must have been Akane that had taken him here,
he decided. Probably as a sort of repayment for his scaring the crud out of
those idiotic boys chasing her the other day. He'd have to remember to thank
her later.
As he began to doze off, he wondered idly who the doctor he had been
brought to was, then dismissed it from his mind. Plenty of time to find that
out tomorrow...
********
Akane sighed. The breakfast table was eerily silent...well, not really,
because Ranma and his father were making a great deal of noise in their usual
morning duel over every last morsel of breakfast, which was keeping them
preoccupied enough that they didn't seem to notice the lack of conversation of
the rest of their tablemates. Not that that was really a big surprise...Akane
wasn't sure anything could really distract those two from food.
However, as the others had learned to ignore their noisy squabbles, the
table might as well have been silent. Her father was quietly reading the
newspaper, as usual...Kasumi has run out of commentary to make on how beautiful
the morning was, and was simply eating her breakfast, as usual...Akane clenched
her fists for a moment, and then relaxed with another sigh. Nabiki was
completely silent, which was not usual, and occasionally glanced over at the
oblivious Ranma with an unreadable expression. But this she'd expected, and
after what had happened between Akane and her sister yesterday, Akane didn't
really want to hear Nabiki anyway.
Truth be told, there was only one thing that jarred Akane. Panma. Or
rather, his absence. She kept expecting to hear him make a sarcastic comment in
his father's direction, or crack a joke with his brother, or even to get
involved in the ongoing struggle for the miso...and when she realised she'd been
waiting for it, fresh waves of guilt and shame rolled over her.
Much as she would have liked to, Akane couldn't pin the blame for what
happened on Nabiki. Oh, certainly it was Nabiki's idea, and Nabiki had
implemented it and done most of the work...but Akane had gone along with it.
Nabiki had always been prone to believing the ends justify the means, and she
wasn't very considerate of whomever got in her way...deliberately so, as
Akane had seen before in those frequent dates with hapless boys unaware of her
reputation.
And, knowing all this, Akane had gone along without question. She hadn't
stopped to think that Nabiki's plan could have been seriously harmful to more
than just Panma's pride; all she wanted was her unwanted fiancee gone, and
someone who had never done anything to her had nearly paid the price.
In fact, she couldn't even get off that easy. Panma -had- paid a price.
He shouldn't walk for a week at least, and yet Akane knew that he would anyway,
for he was obviously not the type to lay back quietly and recover. No, he would
test the limits of his injury, try to walk and even fight before he should, and
possibly end up being injured again. And it would be Akane's fault, as surely
as if she'd dealt the blow herself.
And what was worst of all, nobody seemed to care in the slightest. Akane
stood, slamming a hand on the table and rattling the cups and bowls. Panma and
Genma paused in mid-lunges, blinking at her, Nabiki raised an eyebrow, her
father peered over his newspaper, and even Kasumi looked slightly shocked.
"Uhh...what's your problem, Akane?" said Ranma after a moment.
"I can't -believe- you!" she shouted in reply. "Your brother's hurt, so
badly Dr. Tofu wanted him to stay in the clinic overnight and rest, and yet you
just sit there like...like he doesn't even exist! Aren't you going to even
visit him before school?"
Ranma pulled back and shook his head emphatically. "No way. BAD idea."
Despite herself, Akane felt rage at his uncaring attitude. "But he's your
BROTHER! Don't you even -care- how he is, how he's feeling!?"
Ranma held up his hands in protest, absently whapping his father over the
head as the elder Saotome tried to take this opportunity to snatch his rice.
"Listen Akane, I know what you're thinking, but you don't know Panma like I do.
When something like this happens, you gotta give him his space. He's been hurt,
and he didn't do near as good as he expected to in that match yesterday. When
something like this happens, he gets upset with himself, which makes him upset
with everythin' in general. If you go there tryin' to help him, you'll just..."
"I don't care!" interrupted Akane hotly. "How do you know if you don't
try? This wasn't just losing one of your stupid matches...he could have gotten
seriously hurt in that fight yesterday, and we had to leave him at the clinic
alone! He needs to know his family and friends are still thinking about him!"
"And since when are you either of those?" interjected a soft voice. Akane
turned to stare at her sister for a moment, and her face slowly drained of
colour as the statement - and its implications - registered. Without a sound,
she turned and walked out of the room. A moment later, the silent group
remaining heard the front door open and slam shut.
"Aw geez," said Ranma after a moment. "I guess I'd better go after her
before she does something she regrets. She probably even forgot her bag..."
"It's in the hall beside her door," offered Nabiki, expression still
carefully blank. Ranma looked at her, his own face unreadable, but then shook
his head and ran off with a muttered thanks. A minute later, they heard him
dash to the front door, and then he was gone as well. Silence reigned for a
moment, broken only by the sound of Genma taking advantage of Ranma's recently-
vacated breakfast.
"Oh my," said Kasumi, breaking the silence. Up to this point she had
appeared to be in a state of mild shock from Akane's unexpected outburst, but
then that was more or less the same reaction Kasumi gave to most unusual events.
Now, however, she was frowning slightly with worry. "I had been planning to
ask Akane to return a book I'd borrowed from Dr. Tofu, but I hadn't expected her
to leave so early. I suppose I'll have to do it myself when I go shopping this
afternoon."
"No, sis, you'd better do it now," said Nabiki. "After all, I'm pretty
sure Ranma didn't bring the lunches, and if you head out quickly you can catch
them while they're still at Dr. Tofu's."
"Why, you're right!" exclaimed Kasumi. "That's very thoughtful of you,
Nabiki." Carefully picking up the discarded bowls and cups, Kasumi bustled off
into the kitchen.
Watching her go, Nabiki slowly smiled. "Don't mention it."
********
"You say you're looking for -what-?"
"Furinkan High School." The boy looked around suspiciously, as if
suspecting his destination of hiding from him for some unfathomable reason. "It
should be around here somewhere."
The farmer scratched his head. "No high schools around here, boy. What
part of Japan did you reckon it was in?"
"Tokyo, of course!" He glanced at the acres of open field surrounding him.
"This...this isn't Nerima ward, is it?"
"Nope," replied the farmer, shaking his head. "In fact, boy, Tokyo's a
good four hundred kilometres from here." He gestured vaguely in a southward
direction.
"I see," sighed the boy. "Well, I'd best be going then. Thank you for
your help." Turning, he began walking at a brisk pace, checking his map
frequently and muttering under his breath. So astonished was the farmer by the
boy's apparent intention to walk the huge distance, that it wasn't until he was
out of sight that he realised the boy had not gone in anything even remotely
resembling the direction he'd pointed out. After a moment's puzzlement, he
shrugged and returned to his work. Probably a practical joke of some kind.
Kids these days...
********
When Panma awoke for the second time, he was, predictably, considerably
less tired. That was the good news. The bad news is that practically every
other measure of his physical well-being was considerably worse...and in a
rather painful fashion. His leg, especially, throbbed fiercely.
For a moment, he considered lying there in the faint hope all this pain was
a nightmare that would perhaps end soon, then pushed the idea down
contemptuously and fluttered his eyes open. Straining to focus, he pushed
himself up, repressing a groan of agony with no little difficulty.
"Ah, you're awake!"
Panma flicked his gaze sharply over to the other side of the room, and then
relaxed as he saw the unassuming man there. He seemed to be fairly young, late
twenties at most, and wore a plain black gi. His warm brown eyes shone out from
behind thin glasses, and his open, friendly face sported a small smile.
"You would be the doctor, I presume?"
The man nodded. "Doctor Ono Tofu, at your service." He bowed and Panma
nodded, the closest he could approximate returning the gesture in his current
state. The doctor rose from where he had apparently been sorting through some
files and walked to Panma's bedside. "And you must be Panma Saotome. I've
heard a lot about you."
"I'm sure you have," Panma said dryly, wincing again as he rose to a
sitting position. Carefully, he swung his legs over the side of the bed, but
even this movement sent his left leg to throbbing again, as did Tofu's hands as
he carefully unwrapped the bandage to examine the ankle. Panma bore the pain
without complaint; it was nothing compared to what he'd gone through before,
after all.
"So I hear you and your brother are staying at the Tendo Dojo," Tofu said
as he examined the injured leg.
"Yes," Panma replied, "we arrived the other day...much to the irritation of
everyone."
"So you're Panma, and your brother's...Ranma, right?" He looked up, and at
Panma's nod he chuckled. "Wild horse and rebellious horse...there's a lot of
animals in your family!"
"More than you imagine, doc," Panma sighed. Then he grinned. "There's our
father Genma, for example...he may be a dark horse, but people who know him
think he's more of a..."
At that moment, the door slid open, and Akane rushed in. "Oh Panma, you're
awake! I just came to see...well...I...oh, Dr. Tofu! You're here too?"
Tofu smiled warmly at her. "Of course I am. After all, I wouldn't be much
of a doctor if I wasn't with Panma now, would I?" Then he laughed as if he had
said something very funny. Akane looked down and flushed slightly.
Panma decided, in the interests of diplomacy, not to comment on the
doctor's obviously...lacking...sense of humour. Settling for merely raising an
eyebrow in amusement, he shifted his attention to the now-silent Akane. "Well,
I certainly hadn't expected to see you here this morning. Something up?"
"No, not really," she said quickly. "I just came...well, I mean, I just
wanted to see if you were...alright, and..." She trailed off, looking even more
embarrassed.
"I don't think you need to worry too much," Panma said dryly. "The doc
here is apparently pretty good at his job, so I should be back on my feet in no
time." After a moment, he added, "Thanks for asking, though." Little miss
tomboy Tendo was about the last person he'd expected to show up and offer
concern, but maybe she was finally getting over the nasty shock of finding out
he and Ranma had had the gall to be born as boys.
"Oh, it was no problem. I'm glad you're feeling better." She laughed, a
bit nervously, and Panma chided himself for his previous thoughts. She had
obviously been worried, and that was nice of her, if a bit naive. Besides,
wasn't it Panma himself who had been constantly reminding his brother how nice
she'd been when thinking they were mistreated females?
As if summoned by that thought, the door opened once again to admit his
brother. As he scanned the room, Akane shot him a vicious glare, which was lost
on him as he sighed in relief and gave a cheery greeting.
"Good morning to you as well," Panma replied drily. "Should I be expecting
more guests at this little party?"
Naw," said Ranma, waving his hand. "Akane came out after you, so I headed
out to make sure you didn't, like, throw her out or anything..." Panma blinked,
and as Ranma noted the expression he laughed. "Oh come ON, bro. You know how
you are when a fight don't go your way..."
Akane clapped a hand against her forehead, muttering something under her
breath, as Panma fixed his brother with an icy stare. "First," he said in cool,
measured tones, "I -won- the damn fight, which means it did go my way in the
most important sense. Second, I'm a lot less likely to get annoyed by visitors
when they're not constantly smirking and making veiled comments about the fight.
Third, at least I don't curl up in my bed and sulk, unlike -some- people I
know."
"Yeah RIGHT," scoffed Ranma. "Remember that match before my fourteenth
birthday? You acted practically like a hermit for the next week, and when Pop
asked you what your problem was, you damn near..."
With a growl, Panma hurled a pillow into his brother's face, cutting him
off. As his brother spluttered in surprise, he levered himself off the bed and
drew himself into a combat stance, injured leg drawn up against his chest. "So
I wonder how long -you'll- stay in hiding when a cripple kicks your behind, dear
brother."
Ranma began to laugh. "Oh, come -on-..." he began, but Panma leaned
forward, flicking out his palm like a viper. Staggering back a bit, Ranma
rubbed his chin and glared at his brother. "Alright, then, that's the way you
want it? Then I'll..."
Suddenly Tofu was there between them, preventing any further conflict.
"Alright you two," he said, a touch of severity in his tone. "Ranma, you should
know better than to bother your brother right now." Panma smirked, but the
expression was replaced by one of contrived innocence when the doctor rounded on
him. "And you, young man, should definitely know better than to start fights
while you're injured. Now sit down, and let me have a look at that ankle."
Panma obediently settled back to the bed, flashing another hidden grin at
his fuming brother as he did so. Tofu kneeled, examining the leg. It was
swollen, but noticeably less so than yesterday. "Remarkable," commented Tofu
after a moment. "It's come along a lot faster than I expected. You should be
back on your feet in four days, maybe even three. Still," he cautioned, looking
up, "Don't take chances with it. Try not to walk for a few days, and -no-
martial arts. Alright?" Panma grimaced, but then acquiesced with a sigh.
Satisfied, Tofu reached for the bandages. "Now, I'll just rewrap this..."
"Why hello there!" Everyone looked over at the sound of the voice,
accompanied by the door sliding open.
"O-oneesan?" said Akane after a moment, her voice weak. "How...I mean,
why...?"
Kasumi smiled brightly. "You forgot your lunches, Ranma, Akane, so I was
hoping to catch up with you before you went to school." She held up three
wrapped packages. "And I brought something for poor Panma, too. How are you
feeling today, Panma?"
He gave her a ghost of a smile and waved his hand deprecatingly. "I've
been worse." He gave a look of disgust at his brother, who was openly drooling
as he inhaled the aroma of the boxed lunches, and then looked down. "Doc," he
said with some acerbity, "d'you think maybe you could see your way to rewrapping
those bandages sometime soon?"
Tofu didn't respond. In fact, Tofu had not moved since Kasumi had entered
the room. A few uncomfortable moments passed as he sat there like a statue,
staring at the new arrival who, obliviously, was greeting Ranma and Akane.
Presently, Panma scowled and leaned over closer to the immobile physician.
"Listen doc," he began, but was cut off as Tofu almost casually shoved the wad
of bandages into his mouth.
Without even looking at his patient, Tofu straightened, twiddling his
fingers. "W-why hello Kasumi!" he said brightly. "What an amazing thing to
meet you here, of all places!"
"If you say so..." she replied dubiously. Meanwhile, Panma spat out the
bandages and glared at the doctor's back.
"Doc," he growled, his voice low and ominous, "if that was your idea of a
joke..."
Tofu turned, seeming to see him for the first time. "Why hello there.
Panma, wasn't it?" Before the astonished boy could respond, he turned back to
Kasumi. "Panma here is one of my new patients. He hurt his leg, but I think
he'll be better soon. Won't you, Panma?"
Panma angrily started to open his mouth, but whatever he had planned to say
was cut off as the doctor grabbed his wrist and wrenched it around his back,
forcing Panma to twist into a highly uncomfortable position. "I'll just finish
this up quickly and then I'll be right with you, Kasumi!" Tofu stated,
scrutinizing Panma's neck with apparent interest.
Ranma blinked. The thing with the bandages had been funny, but this was
getting way too weird to be some sort of joke. "What's with him?" he asked,
looking over at Akane.
The younger Tendo daughter had an unreadable expression on her face, but
her words had a bitter tinge. "Isn't it obvious?"
"Well...not really, but if he don't quit it, Panma's gonna hurt him."
In fact, Panma seemed to have reached that point already. His face nearly
purple with rage, he growled incoherently and lashed out with an elbow at Tofu's
face...only to miss as the doctor coincidentally ducked his head to examine
Panma's lower back. In doing so, however, he released his grip on the arm, and
Panma whipped around to face him, fists clenched.
"Panma!" chided the doctor severely. "I can't finish my examination if you
keep moving around like this!"
"I'll show you examination, you nutcase!" snarled Panma. He threw a
vicious punch straight at Tofu's neck, but just before it connected, the doctor
moved with astonishing swiftness, sliding to the side, then grabbed the
outstretched limb and began to scrutinize it as Panma stared in shock.
"No way!" said Ranma in disbelief. "He can't be -that- lucky!"
"He doesn't have to be," replied Akane. As he looked at her, she shrugged.
"Dr. Tofu's a martial artist too...a really good one." There was a note of
pride in her voice.
"Hmm," said the doctor, "your arm seems to be awfully tense, Panma. Let me
help it relax a bit." He jabbed with a fingertip on Panma's shoulder, and
suddenly the arm dropped limply to his side. Panma stared at it in horror.
"Alright," Tofu continued, "now let's get a look at that ankle..."
Startled Panma might have been, but he was far from stupid. As Tofu
reached down, he levered himself up with his good arm and flipped off the bed,
staggering over to carefully lean against the wall. "Uh...don't worry about it,
doc," he said hastily. "I'm feeling much better now...why don't you talk with
Kasumi? I'm feeling great, really."
"K-k-kasumi?" stammered the doctor. He turned, the lenses of his oddly-
fogged glasses peering wildly around before settling on a mounted skeleton in
the corner. Walking over, he introduced himself and began rambling to it about
the weather. Kasumi,behind him, giggled.
"Weird, eh, bro?" commented Ranma.
"Tell me about it," he growled, trying to rub some feeling back into his
arm. Then he blinked and looked over at his brother. "Hey, where'd Akane go?"
"Huh?" Ranma looked beside him, but Akane was nowhere to be seen. "That's
weird, she was here a moment ago..."
"Oh dear," Kasumi commented, "and she forgot her lunch and bag again..."
"L-l-lunch? For -me-? Oh Kasumi, you shouldn't have!" With a nervous
laugh, Tofu grabbed the pillow off the bed and began running around in circles,
mumbling something about napkins.
"Ranma," said Kasumi seriously, "do you think you could take her things for
her?"
"Well," began Ranma uncomfortably, "I dunno...Panma could use some help
getting home, and I don't think Akane'd really like to see..."
"Of -course- he will," interrupted Panma. "Your overwhelming concern for
me is touching, bro, but I'm just fine, and besides, you and Akane have to go to
school anyway." Limping forward, he pressed the two lunches and bag into
Ranma's hands, accepted his own with a gracious thanks, shoved his brother
through the door, and shut it behind them. "Oh quit that," he snapped irritably
at his glaring brother.
"Why should I?" Ranma retorted. "You're about as 'just fine' as Kunou must
be, and Akane'd probably bite my head off if I showed my face!"
"I'll be absolutely peachy as long as I stay out of the good doctor's
hands, brother. More to the point, you have more important things to do."
"Like what?"
"Like comfort your darling fiancee, you dolt."
Ranma snorted. "Yeah, right. Like she really wants to see -me- right
now."
"She might. Didn't you even figure out why she left?"
"Crush on the doc. I'm not a -total- idiot, you know."
Panma nodded. "I'd figured that was it...she wouldn't leave if she was
just disapproving of the matchup, although I was too busy to watch her closely."
Rubbing his arm again, he winced and grumbled, "Though I don't know what she
could see in tall, dark and psycho back there."
"So what's this got to do with me?"
With a sigh, Panma prodded his brother in the chest. "Ranma, Ranma,
Ranma...the little lady's upset, hurt, heartbroken, what have you. Go comfort
her."
"You're nuts!"
"I don't mean THAT, you idiot. Go bring her her lunch, say something
meaningless, let her talk to you. It'll make her feel better, which'll make her
feel better about -you-. Which means she might start acting more like the girl
we met when we first came, y'know?"
"But..." Something seemed to occur to Ranma, then he sighed. "Fine. You
sure you'll be okay heading home, though?"
Panma waved his good hand dismissively. "Don't worry about it. Head after
our favourite heartbroken tomboy while you can still find her."
Ranma rolled his eyes, but obediently walked out. There was no reasoning
with Panma when he wanted you to be part of his schemes. Once, just once, he'd
like to see one of his brother's overly-clever plans fall flat on its face. A
dose of Panma actually being wrong once or twice would do wonders for Ranma's
position when they argued.
********
Akane didn't know what street she was walking along, nor did she care. She
was dimly aware that she'd be late for school if she didn't head there very
soon, but couldn't find enough concern to even look up and figure out what
direction she was going in.
What a joke. She was the most sought-after girl in school; she literally
had to beat off boys on a daily basis. She hated it, she hated them; most of
the time, her friends knew better than to discuss boys at all around her.
And now, she was driven almost to the point of tears - she would NOT cry,
she was not crying - and over what? A man. Nothing but a man. Even if it was
Dr. Tofu...
"Hey."
Suppressing a growl of irritation, Akane looked up, to see Ranma sitting on
the fence. Just what she needed. Another boy. "What do you want?"
"You forgot your bag and lunch." He tossed the aforementioned objects to
her; she caught them more out of reflex than desire. There was a moment of
silence, then he ventured hesitantly, "You cut out of there pretty quick."
"It's not like anybody noticed, right?" She turned away and continued
walking. It had been all been a colossal waste. Why had she even bothered?
All Panma and his brother cared about was their stupid fighting; she should have
left them alone to it. Maybe they'd finally tear each other apart and leave
her...
"Actually, Panma did notice. He sent me after you."
Jolted out of her thoughts, Akane scowled. Ranma had hopped down and was
walking beside her. Why couldn't he just go away?
"I suppose I oughta apologise to you, actually."
This was even more of a jolt. Too surprised to even be angry, Akane looked
up. "What do you mean?"
Ranma shrugged uncomfortably. "You were right, back there. I think it
really meant something to Panma that you came to see him."
"Yeah right." She laughed, but there was little humour in it. "That would
be why he ignored me to start fighting with you when you came in, right?" Not
that she cared. She had only been repaying her debt. That was all.
"Nope," said Ranma, shaking his head, "that's why he completely forgot
about the doc - and he was MAD at the doc, let me tell ya - as soon as you left,
and damn near hurled me after you just 'cause he thought you were upset. I
betcha he would've come himself if he thought he could've caught up with you."
"Maybe he was just trying to get rid of you." Why wouldn'the drop the
subject? She just wanted to forget the whole mess...
"Hey, I might have been wrong before, but I really -do- know Panma. What
happened back there was just him playing around, and besides, he won that
round."
Akane shook her head in wonderment. "How do you figure that? Dr. Tofu got
mad at both of you."
"Yeah, but he hit me, and I couldn't get back at him for it. Panma loves
to pull stuff like that. Anyway, like I was saying, normally he'd keep me
around just so he could gloat, knowin' I wouldn't hit him when I was carrying
him home. Plus he really wasn't in good shape, so he could use the help."
"Okay, so what? I'm happy for him. Now that you've seen I'm fine, why
don't you go help him?"
"Well, I would, 'cept he'd probably hit me again 'cause I didn't do what he
told me to."
"And what was that?"
"Help you out."
"And what," said Akane, her tone even and measured, "makes you think I need
any help?"
"Hey," protested Ranma, "I know I'm not as smart as Panma, but I'm not
stupid, y'know. You got a thing for the doc, right?"
"So what if I do?" she snapped. Then she coloured slightly. "Not that I
do, or...err...well, it's none of your business," she finished lamely, then shot
him a glare as if daring him to comment. He didn't, and after a moment she
dropped her gaze to the road. Maybe he was right; he did know Panma, after all.
She supposed it helped, a bit, knowing he had appreciated her gesture. For all
the good it did.
********
Ranma breathed a silent sigh of relief. He'd been sure she would've
slugged him for that. Okay, what'd his brother want? Get her talking.
Alright, then, maybe if he acted like he hadn't heard... "So, you known him for
a long time?"
To his immense shock, instead of blowing up, Akane seemed to deflate a
little and looked forward again. "Ever since I was little. Whenever I'd get
hurt, he'd always make it better, and...he was just so nice. He's always been
there for me, always had time for me...he's not stupid and immature, like most
boys..." She trailed off, and there was an uncomfortable silence for a moment.
Okay, listening part achieved; time to get her talking again. "I
see...uh..." He racked his brain futilely. How did Panma expect him to do
anything about this? Ranma didn't know anything about talking to girls... "I
guess I know what you mean, sort of. I mean, it's always been just me and Panma
and Pop, and Pop's well...you know, he's Pop. We've been on the road all the
time, so it was hard to make friends. Panma and I pretty well had to put up
with each other for all these years, so we got to overlookin' all the annoying
parts about each other. If we weren't brothers like that, I sometimes wonder if
we'd get along so good."
He listened to himself with some astonishment. Where was all this coming
from? Akane was watching him with an unreadable expression, which at least was
better than being angry or upset. "I know it's not really the same thing, me
and Panma being brothers while you and the doc are...uh...friends and all, but
you know what I mean? Maybe you're closer to the doc 'cause he's the only guy
you could really talk to who wasn't your dad." Geez, what prompted all THIS
stuff? It's weird, he guessed, the stuff you said when you just let yourself
talk without thinkin'...
"I see. So, you think he doesn't see me the same way, then?"
"Wha? Oh, er..." Ranma thought furiously. Still hadn't hit him, that was
good, keep talking... "I dunno. I don't think right now, no. But no matter
what, you gotta talk to him if you really like him like that. You haven't,
right? Nah, but he'll never catch on unless you tell him; just walking out
whenever Kasumi shows up ain't gonna clue him in." Well, that at least he
was sure of. Akane could probably jump out of a cake and tapdance and the doc
would never notice, if Kasumi was there.
"Maybe you're right."
Geez, you'd almost think she thought what he'd said made sense. Ranma
checked an impulse to grin. Maybe talking to girls wasn't too hard after all.
********
Panma gingerly limped out of Doctor Tofu's clinic, carefully avoiding
putting more than the slightest bit of weight on his injured leg. Which made a
sort of ridiculous half-hopping stride...scowling, Panma looked up, ready to
verbally skewer any overly-amused passerby.
"Dear me. You look like you could use a little help."
And his gaze fell upon a girl, gazing at him in an expectant fashion.
Black dress, hair with a ponytail...not familiar. But no...there was something
about her... "Do I know you?"
Putting a hand to her mouth, the girl laughed softly. "Oh no, I don't
believe you do. My apologies for not introducing myself earlier." She bowed
gracefully. "Great sir, I am but a poor admirer who had the great good fortune
to watch your magnificent match yesterday. If it pleases you, sir, my name is
Kodachi Kunou."
An admirer, huh? Well that was different. Ranma would be...wait a minute.
"Kunou?" he repeated, drawing back slightly. Now he saw where the strange
familiarity came from.
She put her hands up placatingly. "Yes, great sir. But fear not, for I
mean you no harm. Rarely have I been so pleased as I was to see you crush my
doltish brother." She smiled. "I have been eagerly awaiting a chance to meet
you...Panma Saotome."
Kunou's sister, offering to help him? And more than a little interested in
him, if her act could be believed. "Well, this is a little unexpected. I'll
tell you now, though, that if you have anything funny in mind, I'm not nearly as
helpless as I might look."
Her smile broadened. "I wouldn't dream of it...Panma." She moved forward,
offering her arm. "Shall we go, then? You shall arrive home more quickly, and
we may have a chance to talk."
Panma hesitated a moment, then shrugged and acquiesced. He could use the
help, and besides, he had no doubts that he could overpower her if she tried
anything. "Thanks."
"Oh, you are most welcome, dearest Panma." She supported him easily, to
Panma's slight surprise. She was stronger than she looked. "So, I gather that
you and your brother arrived only recently to our fair city. What brought you
here?"
"Our father. Some sort of old family agreement. We're supposed to be
getting engaged to two of the girls at the place we're staying."
Kodachi's grip on him tensed, tightening momentarily. But when she looked
at him, her face was calm. "And which lucky girl might you be engaged to,
Panma?"
Oh, she definitely had an interest. Putting on a slightly confused
expression, he replied, "Oh, it's not such a big thing. Is it really important
to know?"
"It could be."
Panma looked down at those smouldering violet eyes, at the almost hungrily
parted lips, and suddenly lost all interest in playing this particular game.
Hastily, he changed the subject. "So, Kodachi, might I ask -you- a question?"
She looked almost amused. "Of course, dearest Panma."
He looked around the street they had just turned on. "You just met me,
apparently, and yet somehow you not only knew to find me at Tofu's clinic, but
without any prompting from me, you've been steering us directly towards the
place I'm staying. Somehow, I don't think you're just lucky."
She blinked, and then smiled again. Drawing back slightly, though not
releasing him, her hand fell towards the waist of her dress. Panma watched
cautiously as she drew out a small black object from a hidden pocket, but her
attention was not directed at him. With a flick of her wrist, she spun the
object out, and Panma noted that it appeared to be some sort of gymnastics
ribbon.
There was a flurry of startled movement in a nearby tree as the ribbon
lashed out, and then with a squawk a dark object fell out...and then was jerked
to a halt, dangling, the ribbon wrapped around its ankle. The new arrival was a
short, skinny boy, dressed in a plain black school uniform. He had sunken
cheeks and a pasty complexion, and his eyes stared nervously at Kodachi. In one
hand he tightly grasped a camera.
"This boy occasionally gathers information for me," explained Kodachi,
smiling at the helpless figure, who flinched.
Panma waved a hand dismissively. "Oh, him. Should've guessed, but I
thought he was just some twit stalking Akane or something."
Kodachi laughed, and the boy flinched again. Actually, Panma almost did
too. That laugh of hers was definitely...interesting. "That is perhaps not so
far off the mark, dear Panma. But he does, as I said, gather information for me
on occasion. Hence, I did know a little about you before our fortunate
meeting."
"Right." Panma resisted the urge to shrink away as Kodachi once again drew
up to him, seeming to almost accidentally snuggle closer than before in trying
to shift his weight. This girl was definitely to be handled carefully. "Shall
we go now, then?"
"But of course," she said with another of those smiles, drawing him down
the street. "For all of my information, however, I find myself eager to learn
more about you, who have made such an impact in this place in so little a time.
And your great strength, to crush my brother...intrigues me. I am sure you have
many fascinating stories to tell..."
"Uh...well..."
The skinny boy, who had been occupied with trying to carefully set his
camera on a nearby branch for safety, suddenly noticed that the two were now
receding down the street. "Umm...h-help, please?" he said, but his thin, reedy
voice failed to carry to them. "B-before you leave..." he started, louder,
but again got no response. Helplessly, he watched them turn around a corner and
disappear from sight.
********
With a sigh of resignation, Hikaru Gosunkugi flopped down, slowly swinging
back and forth by the ankle. Hopefully, somebody would be along shortly to let
him down. Or maybe he'd just hang suspended here all day, nobody noticing or
caring. It would be just his luck.
With a wince, he tried to stretch up to massage his aching leg, but this
just exhausted him, and after a few moments he slumped down, dangling loosely.
He'd definitely be late for classes, no matter what. Have to go out in the
hall, among humiliating stares, trying to carry those heavy buckets...he
cringed at the thought. He'd be a laughingstock...at least people just ignored
him now. Being ignored had its advantages...
He felt a surge of anger at the green-clad man who was the source of all
his current and future torment. Well, technically, Kodachi might have been more
responsible...but his mind balked at trying to get any revenge on her. She
might find out, she might take her own revenge. His skin crawled at the
thought. Or she might...laugh...at him. Laughing would be bad enough. No,
better to stay away from Kodachi if at all possible.
Then again, the man in the green costume...what did she call him...ah yes,
Panma Saotome. Kodachi seemed to like this Panma Saotome. If they were a
couple...then, perhaps, he could seize this opportunity to have his revenge on
both Panma and Kodachi, without her ever having a chance to know it was him.
Especiallysince Panma and Kunou seemed to be enemies...yes, yes, Gosunkugi
felt the first faint stirrings of a plan. A good plan, an excellent plan. A
plan that could not fail.
Without quite noticing, Gosunkugi had begun chuckling, a sinister sort of
chuckle that conveyed the depths of his brilliant, malevolent plans for awful
revenge. Conveyed it so well, in fact, that he noticed a passerby who had
apparently been coming to help him down quickly scurrying away, casting fearful
glances over his shoulder.
Gosunkugi gritted his teeth. This too was Panma Saotome's fault. Even
when he wasn't actually here, his nefarious influence was reaching out to plague
Gosunkugi's life. But he would pay...oh, yes, he would pay...
"Curse you, Panma Saotome!" he cried, raising his fist in anger...and
banging his knuckles against the tree bark. "Owww!" He withdrew the hand
hastily. That had hurt. His leg hurt too. Also, his head was starting to feel
kind of funny, probably from being upside down so long. All Panma's fault. All
his insidious doing. Gosunkugi could hardly wait until he got down from this
tree, until he could put his plan into effect. In fact, he could...actually,
his head was -really- not feeling too well. Also, things were spinning all
around, which was making it even worse.
Before he could fully concentrate on whether this was some new evil
attributable to Panma Saotome, Hikaru Gosunkugi slipped peacefully into
darkness.
********
Akane stalked through the gates of Furinkan, glaring around at the
assembled crowd. "Alright," she growled, putting her fists up, "who's first?"
Ranma came in more slowly behind her, nursing his bruised cheek. He would
-never- understand girls. Geez, a little advice that she should maybe try
actin' a little more feminine to get the doc's attention, and she blew it all
out of proportion. He shoulda known it was just a fluke when that talkin' stuff
seemed to be working before.
Suddenly, he noticed that the fight hadn't started yet. All the stupid
guys were clustered around, all right, but they hadn't made any moves to attack.
Akane was only looking around, puzzled. "What's with you guys?" she asked,
lowering her fists a little. "Either get on with it or get out of the way! I'm
probably going to be late already!"
One of the boys, a boxer, stepped forward. He hesitated a moment, then
bowed his head. In a tear-choked voice, he said, "Akane...we must admit our
defeat."
"Huh?"
Another boy, a gymnast, stepped beside the first. "In light of our great
respect for Panma Saotome after his struggle yesterday, we have decided the only
honourable thing to do is accede to his wishes, and no longer challenge you."
Turning, he pressed his hands to his face and ran off, sobbing a little too
loudly to be believable. The rest of the crowd started to follow suit.
"Wow," commented Ranma, "guess Panma threatened them worse than I thought."
Trying hard to ignore that now-familiar gnawing feeling of guilt in her
stomach, Akane adopted a skeptical expression. "You really think that was it?
I mean, they didn't stop last week..."
Ranma shrugged. "Maybe, but they saw what he did to Kunou yesterday.
Since Kunou seemed to be the biggest fighter around here, I'll bet that whatever
he told them, they must've...oh geez, speaking of the idiot..."
Akane blinked, and then looked in the direction of Ranma's gaze. Standing
by the door of the school, formerly hidden by the crowd of boys, was indeed
Kunou. He smiled condescendingly through the large mass of bandages wrapped
around his face and started towards them. She groaned. "Oh no..."
"Wow, I'm pretty surprised he can still walk today," Ranma said. He
scrutinized Kunou, who was definitely swaying more than a little as he came
towards them. "Although not by much. Still, I gotta admit, he might be a bit
tougher than I thought."
"Well, might as well get it over with," she sighed, starting forward.
Ranma followed, shaking his head.
"Ah, Akane Tendo," said the kendoist, pointedly ignoring Ranma. "How the
flower of your beauty is complemented by the glory of the morning, like the dew
upon the purest white lily. I see without surprise that that wretched cur,
Panma Saotome, has shamefully hidden himself in some recess and shows himself
not. This is of no great surprise, however, after the thrashing I gave him
yesterday. Perhaps he is now aware that none of his dishonourable tricks and
sorcery could save him from my superior prowess." He raised his bokken, swayed
a little, then caught himself and smiled again. "And now, since the rabble have
been so good as to remove themselves from our path, shall we contest?"
Akane clenched her fists again and took a step forward, but was brought up
short by a hand on her shoulder.
"Hey Akane..." Ranma said, looking daggers at Kunou, "...let me."
"Uh...right," she said, drawing aside. Cracking his knuckles, Ranma
stepped past her.
"Ah, Ranma Saotome," stated Kunou, affecting to only notice him now. "I am
heartily surprised that you dare to show your face. Did not mine demonstration
of unstoppable skill convince you of the futility of struggle?"
"Oh, it convinced me of something all right," growled Ranma. "Especially
that part about 'dishonourable tricks against superior prowess' and all that.
Yeah, you sure taught me a whole lot. How about I return the favour?"
Akane lowered her head, feeling her face colour in shame. So that was it.
Even Ranma knew what had happened. Except he thought it was all Kunou's idea,
of course. If he knew the truth, he wouldn't have come after her no matter what
Panma had said. And she had hit him for saying something rude...like she
had any right to that. He had been trying to help, even if he was being stupid.
Helping her, instead of helping his brother, who could barely walk.
That was it. As soon as she had a chance, she was going to tell him the
truth. And Panma too. They'd know, and then they'd hate her, stop trying to
help her. They'd leave her alone, and she'd stop Nabiki from doing anything to
bother them. She owed them that much, at least. In fact, she owed them a lot
more, and...
The loud crack jolted her out of her thoughts, and she looked up, startled.
Ranma and Kunou stopped short a few strides from meeting each other, staring at
the...umbrella that was buried in the concrete between them.
"No."
The two combatants, Akane, and the few students who had been watching the
upcoming confrontation turned to stare at the source of the voice, as a figure
stepped from behind a nearby tree. He was a boy, around the same age as Ranma
but shorter and more heavily built. His outfit, a yellow tunic and green pants
laced at the bottom, was travel-worn and dusty, and he had a large backpack
slung casually over his shoulders. His mop of slightly unkempt black hair was
held out of his eyes by a yellow and black bandanna, and his rugged features
were set in a frown as he looked at Kunou.
"Who are you, peasant, to dare stand in the way of the great Tatewaki
Kunou?"
The boy stepped forward, absently reaching down and yanking the umbrella
out of the small crater it had created. "You don't need to know who I am. All
that matters is that I am going to be the one to fight Ranma Saotome today."
Looking up, he locked gazes with the kendoist. "I, and I alone."
Kunou looked scornful. "So, cur, you would stand between Tatewaki Kunou
and his rightful victim? Very well. I shall use your feeble body as a training
exercise before I smite him. Have at thee!"
With that, he launched himself forward, his bokken lancing out directly at
the newcomer's chest. The boy looked at this for a moment, then just before the
tip struck him, swung the umbrella up and knocked the bokken away. Before Kunou
could recover from his lunge, the boy reached up and grabbed him by the front of
his outfit. Half-turning, he swung Kunou around and let go. Several students
hastily dove out of the way as Kunou went sailing past them to smash head-first
into...and then through...the outer school wall.
His foe already forgotten, the boy turned to face Ranma, smiling in
triumph. "So Saotome," he stated, "we meet again."
"Who's he?" whispered Akane.
"Umm...I dunno," replied Ranma, "but he looks familiar...hey, wait a
minute." Walking up, he scrutinized the nonplused boy carefully. "I know!
You're...uh...that Hibiki guy, right?"
The boy smiled unpleasantly. "Heh. To pretend to have so easily
forgotten...you haven't changed, Ranma. Yes, my name is Hibiki...Ryouga
Hibiki!" Raising his umbrella, he poked Ranma in the chest, driving him back a
step. "I will ask you but one question before you die, Ranma..." He paused, and
then suddenly poked Ranma in the chest again, raising his voice. "WHY?"
"Uh...why what? Is this a trick question or somethi..." he was poked
again, and looked annoyed. "Hey! Quit that, man!"
"You know why what, you coward!" Ryouga cried.
"No I don't!"
"Yes you do!"
"No I don't!"
"How dare you pretend ignorance!"
"Ignorance of -what-? I haven't even seen you in...geez, years! Not since
junior high!"
The boy lunged with his umbrella again, but this time Ranma backpeddled.
"Hah! Precisely!"
Ranma blinked. "Precisely what?"
"That is precisely the point!"
"-What- is?"
"That you haven't seen me in years! THAT is the matter at hand here!"
Ryouga swept his umbrella back into his backpack, then pointed accusingly at
Ranma. "That is the proof of your dishonour!"
"What is? What dishonour? What proof? What are you talking about?"
Ranma scratched his head. "Geez, Ryouga, I didn't remember that you were so
confusing."
The other boy clenched his fist, trembling with anger. "ENOUGH!" he
roared. "I have had enough of these games. You know perfectly well what I
mean, Ranma!"
Finally angry, Ranma yelled back, "No I -don't-! Now either say what you
mean or get lost, 'cause I got to get to class!"
"Heh. So like you, Ranma, to let petty things interfere in a matter of
honour." Reaching into his backpack, he pulled out a somewhat battered piece of
paper and whipped it at Ranma, who caught it deftly. "But I expected this.
This time, Ranma Saotome, you had better be waiting, or I shall hunt you to the
ends of the earth!" With that, he turned and sprinted off through the gate.
Akane looked over at Ranma, who had opened the note and was looking at it
with a puzzled expression. "What's that?"
"It's a challenge, to meet him on the baseball field after classes this
afternoon." With a shrug, he shoved it into his own backpack. "But I don't get
it. I ain't seen Ryouga in years. What's he want to challenge me for?"
Akane opened her mouth to respond, but at that point the bell went off.
"Oh darn, we better hurry or we're going to be late!" She took off towards the
doors.
"Right," he said, hurrying after her. He wondered again about Ryouga, and
then dismissed it from his mind. Whatever the problem was, he'd find it out
this afternoon...
To Be Continued...
