[Ranma/EVA][FanFic] For the Sake of the Children [10/?]
Anand Rao
Previous chapters can be found at http://www.gsm.uci.edu/~arao02/
Ranma 1/2 is owned by Rumiko Takahashi
Neon Genesis Evangelion is owned by Gainax
For the Sake of the Children
------------------------------
By: Anand Rao
Chapter 10: Project Nova
--------------------------
Ryoga looked up at the redheaded girl in front of him and blinked in
surprise. (This is weird. Guess I should have believed all the
photographs.) The girl picked him up, smiling innocently with delight.
Ryoga shuddered, as memories of another young girl surfaced in his mind.
(There is something of Akane in her after all.)
"You're cute! Where'd ya come from?"
(SEELE headquarters, although you're not really supposed to know that.)
"You look awfully familiar too. I wonder if you belong to one of the
neighbors?" Ranko scratched the little piglet under the chin and took it
back into the house.
(Nope. It really boggles the mind that I managed to get your doorstep
though. I have the strangest sort of luck.)
"You look a bit dirty, too."
(You wander around Tokyo-3's waste disposal center and see how clean you
feel!)
"Hmmm. . . Maybe I should give you a bath."
(Why is it -always- a bath? Where the hell is Ranma?)
"Hey, Otosan! Look what I found!"
Ryoga looked up and snorted in relief as Ranma walked into view. Ranma
blinked and stared at the small animal in his daughter's arms.
"A. . . pig?" he faintly said.
"Yeah! Isn't he cute?"
(I hope you remember me -this- time, Ranma.)
"Can I see him for a few minutes?" Ranma held out his right hand,
struggling to keep it straight.
"Sure, Otosan. Is anything wrong?"
"No, nothing like that. I just want to make sure that pig's clean and safe
before you go about handling it. Wild animals are kinda dangerous."
('Wild' animal?) Ryoga snorted in a slightly offended tone.
Ranma grabbed the pig by the bandana around its neck and quickly walked to
the bathroom. He tossed the pig into the bathtub and turned on the hot
water. Ryoga walked under the tap and let the warm water pour down on him.
"Ah, thanks. I've been stuck as a pig for quite a few days now." Ryoga
splashed the water on to his face, scrubbing away some of the dirt and grime
that had stuck there.
"You. . . you-re alive." Ranma shook his head in disbelief.
"Obviously," Ryoga snorted.
"Well, why didn't you visit sooner, ya moron?" Ranma smacked Ryoga upside
the head.
"Hey! I got lost when I -knew- what the earth looked like!" Ryoga
protested. "After Second Impact, the whole damned map changed! I had no
clue how to get anywhere!"
"Yeah, but it's been fifteen years, Ryoga."
"There's less land around than there used to be." Ryoga grinned. "Pigs
don't swim very fast."
Ranma chuckled and just shook his head. He had expected the same serious,
mostly depressed young man who he knew fifteen years ago. The man sitting
in his bathtub seemed to be a bit more light hearted. "I'll go get you a
change of clothes, then we'll talk."
After Ryoga had finished cleaning up, he and Ranma sat comfortably in the
Saotome living room. "You've done a good job raising your daughter, Ranma.
Akane would be proud."
"Ranko's all I have left of her." Ranma sighed and closed his eyes. "Not a
day goes by that I don't have the energy to release a shishihokudan to make
any of yours seem like a night light."
"Even after all these years?" Ryoga frowned. "Ranma, I loved Akane too,
but. . . that's not healthy."
Ranma started at Ryoga for a few moments then started laughing. "You're
giving me advice about being obsessive? What the hell happened to you, man?"
Ryoga shrugged his shoulders. "The world changed, I guess I changed with
it."
"So, what else are you doing besides meandering around the globe and giving
people advice? Should I call you Caine?"
"Heh. Actually, I'm in Tokyo-3 for a job."
"Really? Doing what?"
"I'll be working at NERV, as a physical trainer for their pilots or
something like that. . ."
"Heh. I guess I'm out of a job, then." Ranma frowned. "At least they could
have told me about it. When do you start?"
"Uh. . . actually, I was supposed to start a few days ago, but-"
"You got lost," Ranma finished.
"Right."
"I guess that explains why I haven't been fired yet," Ranma guessed.
"You were training the pilots?" Ryoga asked.
"Yeah, for a few weeks now."
"Ha! That explains why they hired me! I always was a better martial artist
than you."
"Oh, really?" Ranma's eyes lit up. "Care to prove it? I mean, we do have
a dojo here. It would be a shame to let it go to waste."
Ryoga leaned forward and grinned eagerly at Ranma. "Bring it on."
******************************
Ryoga rubbed his shoulder and winced slightly. "I think we're getting old."
"Speak for yourself!" Ranma retorted. He surreptitiously rubbed a spot on
his ribcage.
The two were sprawled on the dojo floor, neither feeling up to standing at
the moment. Ryoga looked around the dojo. "It's really great that you
built this place, Ranma."
"I got used to having a dojo around. I needed one."
"It's almost perfect. You're just missing one thing." Ryoga grinned slyly.
"Oh? What would that be?" As Ranma recalled, Ryoga seldom had -good-
ideas.
"A woman."
"Ryoga-"
"Just hear me out, okay? You shouldn't be alone. Trust me, it's not a fun
way to live."
"You would know," Ranma replied dryly.
"Yes, I would." Ryoga paused. "But I've been married for over fifteen
years, so some of the memories of that depression are kind of dim."
"M-m-married? To who?" Ranma was beginning to understand the absence of
Ryoga's depression.
"I married Akari shortly after Akane and you took off for China. I wanted
to invite you to the wedding, but I had. . . a little trouble finding the
dojo."
"Akari survived 2nd Impact?" Ranma gaped. "I looked all over the place for
her. . . and you!"
"All over, huh? Did you happen to try Germany?" Ryoga asked with a smile.
"Germany? What the hell were you guys doing in Germany?"
"Well, we went to France for our honeymoon. Akari wanted to meet some pig
ranchers over there. Anyway, while we were there, we decided to visit
Germany and then. . . ."
"Second Impact," Ranma finished.
"Right. The world went to hell, and we ended up staying in Europe longer
than intended."
"Heh. It's strange how life works out sometimes, hmm?" Ranma mused.
"Yeah, it is."
"So, you got a place to stay in T-3?" Ranma asked.
Ryoga shrugged his shoulders. "Figured I'd just stay at NERV HQ. Makes
things easier that way."
"Not by much," Ranma disagreed. "That place is huge, not a nice place for a
guy who can get lost in a closet."
"Ha ha ha. You're in a really good mood for a guy who's going to be fired
tomorrow!" Ryoga snapped.
"Me? You're the one who's missed his first day by a couple of weeks!"
Ranma retorted.
The two friends glared at each other for a few moments then burst out in
laughter. "It's good to see that some things never change."
"That it is, Ranma, that it is. . ."
************************************
As she did every morning, Ranko awoke late and padded into the kitchen. She
was going to be late for school, but she wanted to check up on the pig she
had found the previous day. The sight that greeted her at the dining table
made her smile. "Thank you for feeding him, Otosan. But should he really
be sitting on the table like that?"
Ranma and P-Chan looked up from their respective bowls of fish and rice.
"No big deal, Ranko-chan. He's a fairly clean pig."
Ranko giggled, picked up P-Chan and hugged him to her chest. "Can we keep
him?"
"I don't know." Ranma's voice turned cold as he noticed P-Chan blush.
"Someone else might own him. . . like a butcher shop or something."
P-Chan snorted angrily and jumped out of Ranko's arms. "Otosan! You
wouldn't!"
"We'll talk about it later, eat breakfast then head off to school. You're
late enough as it is."
"Don't you -dare- hurt him!" Ranko glared at her father.
"There's a good chance he'll still be here when you get back from school,"
Ranma assured her. "Now start eating!"
After Ranko left for school, Ranma up-ended a kettle of hot water on P-Chan.
"Care to explain that whole 'butcher' bit?" Ryoga asked as he angrily put
on his clothes.
"Look, you may have been a pervert around Akane, but ya ain't pulling that
shit around my daughter, got it?"
Ryoga rolled his eyes. "That was over fifteen years ago! Besides, you were
the pervert in our group, not me."
"Yeah right. Let's get to NERV HQ so I can see that tight-ass Ikari chew
you out."
****************************
"Good morning, Ranko!"
"Good morning, Asuka."
Ranko sat down at her desk and let out a breath. She had run to class, and
was, amazingly enough on time.
"It was great spending the night at your place the other night. We should
do it again some time!"
"Yeah! It was a lot of fun! Do. . . do you think Rei had a good time,
though?" Ranko glanced at the blue haired girl who was sitting quietly at
her desk.
"Oh, who cares about her?" Asuka snapped.
"Asuka, that's mean!"
"Seriously, Ranko," Asuka protested. "She's -always- that!"
"I suppose. . ."
"Did. . . your dad talk about me at all?"
"No, should he have?" Ranko sounded confused.
"Well, never mind. I saw him training the other morning. The way he moves!
God, he's gorgeous." Asuka sighed.
"I really wish you wouldn't talk about him like that. It's kinda weird."
"I just can't help it. You're so lucky to get to live with him."
"Eww! Asuka, stop! He's my father for cryin' out loud!" Ranko yelled.
"Oh all right! When's our next training session, anyway?"
"I dunno. I think Otosan has a meeting with Commander Ikari today or
something."
Asuka shuddered. "I hope everything is okay. . ."
****************************************
Ryoga thought back to the days in junior high school when he had had to
stand in the principal's office as he was being accused of truancy.
Standing in Gendo Ikari's office now, felt alarmingly similar.
"Would you care to explain why you are four days late?"
"Only four? That's not too bad for you, Ryoga!"
Of course, Ranma was with him this time. Ryoga had not yet determined if
that made the situation worse or better. He wasn't scared of Ikari. Ryoga
wasn't scared of anyone, including the members of SEELE who he had met. He
was scared of what these men would do. These were men who dealt in
subterfuge and subtle manipulation. These skills, Ryoga sorely lacked.
(Maybe if I told Ranma- No. I can't tell him. Not yet.) Ryoga cleared his
throat. "I got lost."
"Lost," Gendo repeated flatly.
Ranma shrugged his shoulders. "Yeah, Ryoga gets lost all the time. It's
just the way he is."
"The two of you know each other?"
"We met in Junior High and were friends for a while, but then we lost touch
after 2nd Impact," Ranma explained. "It's an old story, eh?"
Gendo silently agreed. Many people had lost touch with family and friends
after that fateful day. "With this liability of yours Hibiki, I'm not sure
how useful of a trainer you will be. In any event, I have decided to split
the pilots between you. Hibiki will train Pilot Langley, while Saotome will
train Pilots Ayanami and Ikari."
"Sounds fine to me."
Ryoga nodded his head in agreement.
"Very well, you're dismissed."
When the two friends left Gendo's office, Ranma let out a huge yawn and
stretched his arms. "That wasn't so bad."
"Maybe. But I don't trust him."
"Anyone who uses children to fight his battles is a sneaky bastard in my
book," Ranma agreed.
Ryoga quirked an eyebrow. "Reminds you of old Genma, does he?"
"Huh? I hadn't really thought about that, but yeah, maybe a little. Only
difference is, my old man's an idiot." Ranma paused. "Ikari's pretty
smart." he reluctantly continued.
"That makes him all the more dangerous."
"Are you seeing something that I'm not?' Ranma asked.
"What do you mean?"
"Where's all this hostility coming from? Sure, he's an asshole, but he -is-
stopping those monster things from destroying Japan."
"Yeah, but he might destroy the world in the process," Ryoga muttered.
"What? This guy 'steal' bread from you too?"
"Are you -looking- for a good ass-kicking, Ranma?"
Ranma smirked and playfully shoved Ryoga. "As if you could. . .
bacon-breath."
Ryoga shoved him back. "I think I could take on a little girl like you."
"Moron. That's a pretty stupid insult now, don't you think?"
"Oh, so you like changing into a girl now, hmmm?"
"What? Ryoga, how could know about Akane's death and not know about this?"
Ryoga frowned, their banter forgotten. "Know about what?"
"I was cured," Ranma softly replied.
"What! When? How?" Ryoga grabbed Ranma's shoulders and began shaking him.
"Hey, ease up! " Ranma pulled himself out of Ryoga's grasp.
"When did you get cured?"
"Fifteen years ago, right before Ranko was born and Akane. . . "
"Is it something I can use? Did you bring any of it with you?"
"It's a healing spring in the Himalayas. I. . . I don't recommend it though.
The cost is too high."
Ryoga sighed. (So much for that idea.) He gently put his hand on Ranma's
shoulder. "What did it cost you?"
"My wife." Ranma turned away and continued walking.
********************************************************
A few moments later, the two friends were sitting quietly in of the myriad
of cafeterias that were a part of NERV headquarters. They simply drank tea
in silence, neither wanting to broach the subject of Ranma's curse and
subsequent cure.
The silence was just started to get uncomfortable when someone called out
Ranma's name. The two martial artists looked up to see Misato walking
towards them. "I heard you've got a new colleague." She smiled expectantly
at Ryoga.
"Captain Katsuragi, this is Ryoga Hibiki." He turned towards Ryoga.
"Ryoga, this is Captain Katsuragi. She's uh. . . in charge of the kids or
something. . ."
"I'm head of operations," Misato supplied, her voice a bit tight. "Oh, and
it's Major now." Normally, she wouldn't flaunt a promotion, but she felt
Ranma deserved it.
"Right. Major."
Misato sighed. That is, if he cared.
Ryoga smiled and stood up. "Congratulations on your promotion, Major."
"Thank you, Ryoga. It's a pleasure to meet you, and welcome to NERV."
"Thanks, I'm sure I'll enjoy my stay here."
Ranma snorted. "Hey, Misato, you hear about how Ikari set us up?"
"Yes, I've been briefed on the situation. All we need to do now is break it
to the pilots." Misato shook her head ruefully. "Asuka is not going to
like this."
Ryoga smiled at Ranma. "You got a loyal student there, eh?"
"No offense, Ryoga," Misato said, "but Asuka has a bit of a. . . crush on
Ranma."
Ryoga's smile turned into a mocking scowl. "Some things never change, do
they, Ranma? But she's only a child! Have some decency for God's sake!"
"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?" Ranma demanded.
"You and your womanizing ways! You've always been good at leading women
on!"
Misato's eyebrows shot up. " 'Womanizing'? 'Leading on'? This should be
interesting. . ."
"I've never been a womanizer and you know it!"
"No use trying to deny it, Ranma! Shampoo, Ukyo, Akane, Kodachi. . . it was
just shameful how you treated them."
Ranma knew that Ryoga was only teasing, but by no means was he going to let
it slide. "Ha! At least I was popular. The only way you could get into a
girl's bed was by turning into a pig!"
Ryoga winced. "That was below the belt."
Misato blinked. "Excuse me. . . did you just say, 'turning into a. . .
pig'?"
Ranma waved her off. "Inside joke."
"Right. . ." Misato nodded her head slowly.
"I'll bring the pilots by your place today after they finish school. Would
that be acceptable?"
"Sure, no problem."
"Great. Oh, and Ranma? This will probably be the last time we hold a
training session at your place. Commander Ikari wants all further training
to be conducted within NERV headquarters."
Ranma sighed. "He and I are going to have a long chat about that."
"Well, I have some paper work to sort through. I'll see the two of you
later."
"Bye, Misato."
"See you later, Major."
After Misato left, Ryoga and Ranma sat in silence once more. Finally, Ryoga
said, "Friendly sort, isn't she?"
"Who, Misato? Yeah, she's nice."
"Hmmm. . ."
"What?"
"Nothing. Let's head back to your dojo, eh? I'd like to spar some more."
Ranma smiled and stood. "Always ready to kick your ass, P-chan."
***********************************************************
"He's cured."
"It's a surprise, but not a problem."
Ryoga took a deep breath and tried to keep from screaming into the phone.
"How the hell did your sources miss that?" After returning home, Ranma and
Ryoga had sparred and reminisced while waiting for Ranko to return from
school.
When Ryoga and Ranko 'officially' met, he was introduced as an old family
friend, and all was well but for a brief moment of awkwardness when Ranma
had to assure Ranko that her new pet pig would return shortly from wherever
it was hiding.
"I never told anyone about Ranma's little. . . problem. The curses were
never important to the mission, Ryoga. You know that," the voice on the
other end of the phone replied.
"It still would have been nice to know."
"For you, maybe." The voice sighed. "How's he doing, anyway?"
"He's surviving, like the rest of humanity. Look, I gotta get going, is
everything in place?"
"Yes, Kaji will probably make his move tonight."
"Good, I'll talk to you later." Ryoga turned off his cell phone and slipped
it into his pocket. He glanced around the Saotome home and scratched his
head. "Now, which way to the dojo?"
***********************************************************
"B-But it's not fair!" Asuka practically wailed.
"You know I don't make the decisions around here, Asuka. This was Commander
Ikari's idea."
"I don't -want- to train with someone else, I want to train with you!"
Misato sighed and rubbed her forehead. "Please don't make this any harder
than it already is."
Ranma, Ranko, Misato, and the three Eva pilots were in the Saotome dojo.
They were about to start their next training sessions when Ranma had broke
the news about Ryoga to the group.
"Well, why can't Wondergirl or Shinji train with this new guy? Why does it
have to be me?" Asuka whirled towards Ranma. "Do. . . do you not like me
anymore, Sensei? Am I not good enough?" she demanded.
Ranma suppressed a groan as he stared at Asuka's angry face. It was obvious
that the girl was trying very hard to hold back the tears.
"Ranma had nothing to do with this, Asuka. Like he said, this order came
from the Commander himself."
"It's a stupid order! What does -he- really care about us, anyway?" Asuka
folder her arms across her chest and turned away from everyone.
Misato sighed once more and glanced meaningfully at Ranma. Ranma gave her a
'who, me?' look, and the glance became a glare.
Ranma cleared his throat, walked up to Asuka and gently put his hands on her
shoulders. "Asuka, your 'official' training will be with Ryoga, at NERV
head quarters from now on. Ryoga isn't that bad a guy, he's been a friend
for years, and he's almost my equal in the Art."
"I don't care," Asuka whispered softly.
"Yeah. . . well, like I said, that was your 'official' training.
Unofficially, you can come here any time you want, and train with Ranko and
me. I know Ryoga wouldn't mind, and I'd enjoy having you here."
Asuka turned around. "Really?"
Ranma smiled. "Of course."
"I guess that could work. . ." Asuka's forehead furrowed as a thought
occurred to her. "Special training? Just the two of us?"
"Er. . . something like that." Ranma scratched the back of his head.
"Ranko will probably be joining us. I need to continue her training too."
"Good. That will be fine, then." Asuka put her hands on her hips. "Well,
where is this new sensei of mine, anyway?"
"Didn't he say he just had to make a phone call?" Ranko asked.
"He should be here any time now." Ranma laughed nervously. (I -knew- I
shouldn't have left him in the house alone.)
Meanwhile, Ryoga tried to find his way out of the Saotome bathroom.
*****************************************
Chapter 10: The End
Notes: Well, damn, it's been a long time, hasn't it? Somewhere in the
vicinity of 17 months since I posted chapter 9. Oh, which reminds me, if
you want previous chapters, go to http://www.gsm.uci.edu/~arao02/
This was mainly setup, so those of you who have been prodding me might be a
bit disappointed, but this was needed. With Chapter 11, things should pick
up a bit. No bets on when that will be released. I want to finish the next
chapter of Heart of the Immortal and maybe Juxtaposition first. Oh, and I'm
also reworking Brothers In the Art. What I REALLY need to do to get going
on this is rewatch NGE. It's been over a year since I saw the series and
I've forgotten some of the finer details. Ah well...
Later, guys, and thanks for your patience.
Namaste,
Anand
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