[Ranma][FanFic] Destiny's Wish, Part 34
Mike Koos
Yuka and Sayuri shied a few steps away from Ranma as the other
girl charged full-tilt into the Fuurinkan High courtyard, yelling in
rage.
Saotome Ranma was quite far from being happy.
Her friends couldn't fault her for her anger, however; Ranma did
have a notable temper, but that temper was usually only triggered by
the insanity she had to endure... whether it was the result of her
curse, her 'love life' and others' attempts to guide it, or... Ayumi.
Not to mention several other strange details, as well - details which
Ranma liked to dwell upon.
Being Ranma's friends had allowed Sayuri and Yuka to see and
experience a fair amount of that lunacy for themselves, some of which
incensed them almost as much as it did Ranma.
Such was the case with Kunou's latest 'plan' to claim Ranma as
his. Sayuri had heard through the rumor mill that Kunou desperately
wanted to prove to Mrs. Saotome that he was the only one worthy of
having a relationship with Ranma, as a result of Nodoka's demand that
he leave her daughter alone and never harass Ranma again... or else.
The idiot had apparently, somehow, come to the conclusion that
making Ranma fight her way through a mob of boys *and* Kunou every
school morning would convince Nodoka to change her opinion of him for
the better. He'd made a public declaration the week before that
*anyone* who wanted the chance to date Ranma would have to fight and
defeat her in this newly-created morning ritual. Never mind that
some claimed Ranma and Ayumi had finally declared their love for each
other at the end of Fuurinkan High's latest rendition of 'Romeo and
Juliet' - even if both claimed the kiss had been fake - or that
either Ayumi or Ranma could beat Kunou in a fight with little
difficulty.
Sayuri let her gaze pan across several of the boys rushing forth
to 'greet' Ranma. Some of the boys weren't even fighters at all, as
far as she could tell; those were the people who wore the most
protective 'armor' and carried weapons, with the possible exception
of the Kendo squad members participating in the melee, and who tended
to hide behind the more aggressive.
Not that that meant much against an advanced martial artist like
Ranma. Sayuri wondered if the boys thought mobbing Ranma in high
numbers would make a difference, that Ranma would tire before facing
her last opponent of the morning... Of course, they also suffered
from the assumption that Kunou and Ayumi - or Ranma and Ayumi's
parents - would actually let someone else date Ranma, even once.
Or that Ranma would want to date a boy who had defeated her in a
fight. For a brief moment Sayuri recalled the circumstances that had
engaged Shampoo first to Ranma, then Ayumi. If Shampoo ever decided
to attend Fuurinkan High, would she have to put up with similar
nonsense?
Maybe Ranma was right in branding all of the boys idiots.
Didn't any of them have better things to do than obsess over Ranma?
Ranma was perhaps the worst choice among the girls for one with whom
to try to strike up a relationship, yet all of these boys were
stubbornly competing for Ranma's heart anyway.
Ranma plowed through the mob of boys, her speed and momentum
sending victims flying in almost every direction. Unlike Ayumi, she
actively worked on increasing and maintaining her speed as well as
her strength. The speed training Cologne had intended for Ayumi in
the form of the Kachuu Tenshin Amaguriken had instead been to Ranma's
benefit, boosting the cursed martial artist's speed greatly.
That advanced speed kept her attackers' favored tactic of
ganging up on her from having much of an effect. Ranma merely moved
from fighter to fighter, disabling them before moving on to her next
target. Those who carried weapons managed to last a few seconds
longer by virtue of being able to keep out of her reach for those few
seconds.
Less than five minutes later, the fight had ended.
Ranma made her way out of the field, gingerly stepping over the
prone figures of the boys her attacks had scattered everywhere. Her
friends tried not to look at the aftermath of the fight as they again
followed Ranma - the safest place for a non-combatant within these
morning fights *was* immediately behind Ranma, after all.
"Once more I have the fortune to witness the weak fall in the
face of your superior strength and spirit."
Ranma rolled her eyes. Was it too much to ask for Kunou to be a
part of his own mob? Goodness knew she would have felt a lot better
trashing every last boy in the field, Kunou included, all at once.
But no, Kunou had to stand apart from the onslaught he'd ordered, to
confront his one true love in a climactic showdown.
Kunou strode forward, sweeping his sword into the 'ready'
position. "Ah, but our eternal love ensures that you and I are the
only ones who can sta--"
Having heard more than enough, Ranma removed her foot from
Kunou's mouth and resumed her walk.
Sayuri sighed. This morning routine was quickly becoming just
that - routine. Ranma stepped through the school's front gates,
pounded a few dozen boys into the ground and more or less ignored
Kunou. She hoped that someone would finally put an end to this
stupidity *soon*, or that the boys would finally use their brains and
*not* attack Ranma... honestly, Ranma wouldn't have to beat them up
if they stopped trying to do the same to her, right?
Destiny's Wish
Part Thirty-Four: Decisions
written by Mike Koos
----------------------
The strong smell of cooking food greeted the trio as Ranma
opened the door to their classroom. Yuka let her gaze travel to the
front of the room, where a boy - who didn't quite seem to fit his
Fuurinkan uniform, though Yuka was unsure what had led her to come to
that conclusion - carefully yet quickly poured batter onto a portable
grill sitting atop the teacher's desk, then began folding ingredients
into the mix. "Okonomiyaki?" she said, blinking.
"That's right." The serious expression on the boy's face
darkened ever so slightly. "And I've got something special planned
for Saotome Ranma, whenever he shows up."
Ranma came to stand across the desk from him. "'He?' I'm
Ranma. Do I know you?"
"You're Ranma?"
"Yeah."
"*Saotome* Ranma?"
"Yes." After having had to fend off Kunou and his impromptu
squad of would-be fighters, Ranma's patience this morning was
understandably strained. "I'm Saotome Ranma. There's no one else
here named Saotome Ranma."
The boy deflated. "But... you're a girl."
"So? Is there something *wrong* with me being a girl?" Well,
the fact that she was cursed to become a boy every time she became
wet, but she didn't see the need to tell every stranger she
encountered about her curse. Even the strangers who were looking for
a male Ranma.
"I......" The boy closed his mouth, suddenly unable to find the
appropriate words to say. Had he been tracking the wrong Saotome
Ranma... and for how long? But... that couldn't be possible. Ranma
was now attending school at Fuurinkan High in the Nerima ward of
Tokyo - and Ranma's good-for-nothing father, Saotome Genma, had taken
up residence with an old friend of the family. He *had* to have
found Ranma.
Still... this girl claiming to be Ranma truly did sound and look
like a girl. Making an effort to call up a picture of the Ranma he
remembered in his mind's eye, he compared that image to the girl who
stood before him. Time to take a gamble. "Does the name 'Kuonji
Ukyou' sound familiar to you?" he asked.
Ranma hesitated, murmuring the name to herself. "Ukyou...
Ukyou..." She was reminded of the time Ryomi had first arrived at
Fuurinkan looking for her - though if the Eternally Lost Girl had
visited Fuurinkan and Nerima before that time, Ranma wouldn't have
been at all surprised. Was this boy someone who wanted to settle a
score with her, and only knew her as a boy?
She ran through a list of all the possible enemies she could
recall. No, she hadn't met anyone with the name 'Kuonji Ukyou' after
leaving Jhusenkyou. But Ranma also knew that her father had insisted
on passing her off as a boy several times while she was a child, so
this 'Ukyou' could be someone she'd met on one of those occasions.
What kind of enemy could a child make, who would come searching for
her even after several years had passed?
Ryomi was probably capable of holding a long-standing grudge
like that, but this boy...?
Her eyebrows furrowed as she ran through more of her memories, a
high-speed leap from the present to the past. She couldn't remember
any instances of boys calling themselves 'Ukyou,' yet her mind
latched for a moment on another memory. A child... a girl who was
the same age she'd been at the time, insisting that Ranma call her...
"U-chan," she murmured. One of the few people who had ever been her
friend.
The boy's eyes widened. "What did you say?"
She stared at him. "Nothing. Something else I remembered.
Anyway, I don't remember ever meeting any guys named Ukyou. Sorry."
"How did you know that name? Ranma was the only one I ever
asked to call me by that name. But he was a boy. Unless you *were*
that boy and had an operation or something to turn yourself into a
girl." Ukyou's eyes had gone from wide to narrow.
"I've always been a girl!" snapped Ranma, her curse momentarily
forgotten. "Besides, the 'U-chan' I knew when I was little was a
girl, so you can't be her."
Ukyou faltered. "Yeah, well..."
"Unless he's got a curse, too," Ayumi spoke up from where he sat
nearby upon one of the students' desks. Ranma nearly started; she
hadn't bothered to keep track of his location.
"A curse? What are you talking about?" asked Ukyou, slowly
glancing from person to person to see if their faces could hint at
the truthfulness of the boy's words. Curses? No such thing. And
even if curses did exist, what did they have to do with being a boy
or a girl?
Nobody seemed to be overly surprised by the mention of curses;
in fact, everyone was staring at Ranma and him more than the guy who
had brought up the subject of curses. How weird...
Ranma exhaled. "Ukyou, right? Have you ever been to China?"
"No," Ukyou shook his head.
"Have you ever heard of the Nan-nii-chuan or Nyan-nii-chuan?"
"...No." What *was* Ranma talking about?
Was *this* Ranma the same Saotome Ranma he'd known as a child?
A girl. But... if Ranma *was* a girl, that meant... that meant Ukyou
had wasted several years of life on a misguided quest of training,
hunting and retribution.
No! This couldn't be the same Ranma! And yet... she had known
the special nickname for him that he'd told Ranma to use, at a time
when they were friends. Granted, it wasn't exactly a unique
nickname, but only Ranma would know the name. He'd hoped that that
knowledge would be the final nail in the coffin for the boy out there
named Saotome Ranma...
He reluctantly searched his memories. As far as he could
recall, neither he nor Ranma had mentioned what gender they were.
They'd been childhood friends... until he happened to see Ranma's
father running away with the Kuonji family yatai in tow, Ranma seated
atop the yatai waving good-bye to him.
His father had been furious, and from that moment, Ukyou would
train. Genma and his son Ranma would answer for the crimes they'd
committed against the Kuonji family...
Wait a minute. Ah, that was it. His father had been the one
who made him start thinking of Ranma as a boy, by referring to the
Saotome family as "Genma and his son, Ranma." Had his father
believed Ranma to be a boy when Ranma truly was a girl? But that
meant... the promise couldn't be applied here.
Ranma had assumed Ukyou was a girl. If Ranma *had* been a girl,
why hadn't *he* figured out the truth?
The teacher cleared his throat. "Well, now that you've
introduced yourself, Kuonji-san, could you put away your grill and
take one of the free seats? It is time for the class to begin."
Ukyou grudgingly did as the teacher asked, picking a chair close
to the rear of the room. He could see Ranma clearly from his seat;
she gave him one last glance before facing forward in her own seat.
<I'm not gonna let you out of my sight, Ranma. Not until I figure
out what's going on.>
** ** **
"Hey, Ranma," Sayuri called to her friend, shutting her locker
and making another attempt to tug her P.E. uniform into place. Not
that the dreaded uniform ever fit quite right, in her opinion... "You
do know that Ukyou guy's been staring at you all day, don't you? I
thought for sure you would've yelled at him by now."
Ranma unfolded her T-shirt, and snorted. "Sayuri, *everyone's*
staring at me these days. I've got better things to do than stop to
yell at them all."
"She's probably sick of having to deal with the guys, especially
after having to fight them every morning. I know *I* am," added Yuka.
Sayuri wasn't convinced. "But isn't he someone you used to
know?"
"I don't know." Ranma lifted her right foot onto the bench in
front of her locker to re-tie the laces. "I still remember the
*last* person who came here looking for me."
Both her friends shuddered. Happosai was by now well-known to
almost every girl and young woman in the district, through his
actions if not his name. Worse, Ranma had to live in the same house
as the perverted martial-arts master. The same question occurred to
the sisters - how much worse would a youthful version of Happosai be?
"You... you don't think Ukyou's like that old pervert, do you?"
asked Yuka.
Ranma hesitated, making a face. "I hope not." She shut her
locker. "Just what that pervert needs - reinforcements. Can you
imagine what he could do with Ayumi and Ukyou helping him?"
"Er... do I have to?"
Sayuri and Ranma turned in unison to stare at Yuka.
"What?"
Saotome Ranma was a girl.
He'd been keeping a careful eye on her all day; sure, a boy
could possibly - with a bit of effort - pass himself off as a girl in
the Fuurinkan girls' uniform. Fooling the entire school for a whole
term, much less having the necessary paperwork to convince the
administrators you were someone you weren't supposed to be... that,
he knew, was a bit more difficult.
The girls' P.E. uniform was more form-fitting than the simple
blouse and jumper of the normal uniform, and therefore made it even
more difficult for a boy to pretend he was a girl.
Of course, he *had* seen at least one boy try it... Ukyou shook
his head. <I don't want to think about... *him*.>
However, Ranma was clearly a girl. Her build, her unforced
voice, mannerisms and behavior... she was something of a tomboy,
perhaps, but she *wasn't* a boy.
It was more difficult for a boy to pretend to be a girl than for
a girl to pretend she was a boy. Besides which, there couldn't be
many good or sensible reasons for anyone to masquerade as the
opposite gender, as far as he could imagine.
So. The Ranma he'd been pursuing for the last ten years, since
the day they had 'parted company' in Osaka, *was not* a boy. <If
this IS the same Ranma,> he mentally corrected himself, not letting
the Saotome girl stray from his sight. Had he possibly wasted those
ten years preparing to exact vengeance on a person who didn't quite
exist?
<*Now* what am I supposed to do?>
"Kuonji."
Startled, Ukyou tore his gaze away from the distant Ranma and
glanced up. Three of the boys from his class were standing behind
him, the boy who had brought up the notion of curses that morning
their apparent leader.
It was one of his friends who spoke first. "You aren't in love
with Ranma or something, are you? Everyone's seen how you've been
staring at her all day long."
Ukyou snorted. "No. But what business is it of anyone else if
I want to stare at someone?"
The boy shrugged. "Well, it's not safe to stare at Ranma,
that's why. Even if she doesn't pound you for doing it, a bunch of
other people around here, like Kunou, would probably want to kill you
for it. You might've seen all the guys she had t'fight off this
morning... *those* guys are trying to beat her up to get a date with
her."
Ukyou raised an eyebrow at that statement. Some boys were
trying to win a date with Ranma by beating her up? That couldn't
have been Ranma's idea... could it?
"Besides, she and Ayumi are engaged."
"Shut *up*, Dai," the leader of the trio hissed.
Hmm... could this boy be Ayumi, then? "Engaged?" Ukyou
blurted, forcing a surge of anger back. How dare Ranma get
engaged... oh. She *was* a girl, wasn't she?
"My father and her father arranged it without asking us!"
protested Ayumi, in an exaggerated manner that hinted he used that
particular declaration fairly often.
Ukyou was hardly surprised at the thought of Saotome Genma
engaging his child to someone else to be married. Maybe he'd made
this arrangement for his own benefit, too. But... he and Ranma
hadn't run from this engagement. Why?
Well, Ranma was old enough to have a say in her love life.
Maybe she wanted to marry this boy, someday? What he'd heard about
Ranma so far, on the other hand, implied that she wasn't very fond of
boys right now. Any boy.
"What do you want with Ranma?" asked Ayumi. A direct question.
Ukyou reclined backward on his hands. "Let's just say it has to
do with something bad a thief named Saotome Genma did ten years ago."
Ayumi frowned. <Not *another* one.> "That sounds like her old
man, all right. What did he do?"
"It's something that's between me and him only," Ukyou shook his
head. "It doesn't concern anyone else."
"What about Ranma?"
A long pause. "Not her, either."
Ayumi nearly growled in exasperation. "Okay, fine. Since this
is between you and Mr. Saotome, why don't you walk home with me?
Ranma and her dad are staying at my place. You can take it up with
him there." <Better to get it over with right away. And maybe we'll
actually be able to figure out what this guy wants,> he thought.
Ukyou considered the idea, taking a few seconds to relocate
Ranma where she sat amidst several other girls on the sidelines.
"Only if he doesn't find out I'm coming," he said at last. "Does
Ranma walk home with you?"
"No. She usually walks with her friends."
"Huh." Ukyou seemed a slight bit startled at that thought for a
second. "Can you arrange not to let her find out about all this,
too?"
Ayumi shrugged. "I guess so." He turned to face his two
friends. "You aren't gonna tell anyone, right?"
Hiroshi and Daisuke shook their heads. Ayumi probably wouldn't
pound them outright for telling anyone, but they had no way of
knowing how Ukyou would react.
"It'll have to do," Ukyou sighed. <One way or another, I'll
find out what's going on. Someone still has to answer for their
crimes, and *will*.>
** ** **
Ukyou made a show of walking at Ayumi's side, aware of the
other's presence yet barely paying him any attention. It was
frustrating the boy, to be sure; Ayumi hadn't given up on the thought
of asking him why he'd come searching for Saotome Genma and Ranma.
He didn't like to share much of his story with anyone - why give
other people the chance to discover his shame, if they weren't
already aware of it?
If he had indeed finally found the Ranma he'd known and the
boy's... or *girl's* father, however, Ayumi would probably hear the
complete story before long. By then it wouldn't matter, as long as
Saotome Genma paid for the injustices the man had committed against
Ukyou and the Kuonji family a decade ago.
After that... maybe the matter concerning Ranma could be...
could...
One of the few aspects Ukyou was able to recall of the younger
Ranma was how easily and quickly they had become good friends,
regardless of the questionable start to their friendship. Ranma's
sudden 'vanishing act' had left Ukyou feeling bewildered and
miserable. Why would Ranma leave so soon after they'd become the
'best of friends?'
Ukyou's father had told him that Ranma had only pretended to be
a friend so that the boy and his father could worm their way close to
the Kuonji family, then steal everything within their reach. Yet,
Ukyou couldn't quite believe that of Ranma. The elder Saotome, yes -
there was something about Saotome Genma that had made him feel
nervous and not want to spend time in the man's presence. Not the
feeling that Genma would make a move for one's wallet or throat,
but... something. An odd sense that Ukyou had been unable to
completely explain away, even after these ten years of focusing on
the man and his 'son.'
Ukyou had made it a point on setting out upon his search for
Genma and Ranma not to let many other people become close. It was
best to concentrate on his plan for... revenge... than anything else,
to get the whole situation out of the way.
Honor demanded he track down the Saotome father and son, and
force them to pay for everything they had done. And now... well, he
had spent ten years on that hunt, when - ironically enough - the boy
might not even have been a boy.
Ukyou sighed, hoping Ayumi wouldn't bother to ask him what he
was thinking about. As much as he wanted to put this vendetta behind
him and begin trying to live as close to normal a life as possible,
that 'normal life' might still be difficult to achieve, regardless of
whether he chose to settle down or continue his travels on the road.
If he wanted to have friends, particularly after revealing his
biggest secret... would *anyone* in the ward, including Ranma, be
civil to him once he'd finished his business in Nerima?
<Just great.> Ukyou nearly came to a stop as a realization
struck him. He decided to settle instead for frowning. In all of
these ten years of chasing the Saotome duo, he had barely given his
future a real, concrete thought. His concern had only been with
catching the pair and what he would do with them, no matter how long
the chase lasted. But now... he was sixteen, and had been living a
life that shouldn't have come to exist, with little knowledge of how
to turn that existence around. Would *he* continue to sell
okonomiyaki forever? Wheeling a yatai by himself throughout the whole
of Tokyo, for the rest of his life? Or running a restaurant?
Ukyou was no stranger to the latter choice, or working any of
the positions in a restaurant a boy might possibly work; an
unofficial cross-country manhunt tended to last longer based on how
much money one could contribute to it. Of late, he'd even had enough
money to spare for renting small buildings in the restaurant
districts to use as temporary homes - and in anticipation of perhaps
opening shop.
But was that *truly* what he was supposed to do with his future?
He glanced sidelong at Ayumi. <The guy probably hasn't had
t'worry about *his* future in a long time.>
Ayumi motioned Ukyou to a stop outside the large wooden gate
that led into the Tendo yard. "Okay," he told Ukyou, before the
other could say anything. "I want you to promise you'll keep calm
and quiet no matter what you hear or see, and just play along at
first." When Ukyou gave him a dubious glare, he quickly added, "You
want Mr. Saotome to get away?"
"We'll see," Ukyou coolly replied. An act would make no
difference if this Mr. Saotome wasn't the Genma he hoped to find.
With any luck, however, this would be the end of the search. The
sooner he could exchange this life for something more or less normal,
the better...
He let Ayumi lead him into the house and into the family room,
where - to Ukyou's surprise - a giant panda was well into a game of
shogi with a man who resembled a fairly older version of Ayumi... his
father? Ukyou found himself urgently wanting to ask Ayumi *why* a
member of his family would be playing shogi with a giant panda - then
he realized that this was undoubtedly one of the reasons Ayumi had
told him to keep his cool.
There were such things as animals that had been trained to play
games against human opponents, Ukyou recalled, but he had never heard
of pandas possibly being trained to play a good game of shogi.
<Not to mention cheating.> He boggled as the panda effectively
distracted the man, then turned the board around.
The panda happened to notice him watching while preparing a look
of innocence, and quickly wrote words on a small wooden sign with a
large permanent marker... a request. [Eh-heh. Don't say anything,
please.]
<It can communicate by writing, too!? Okay, NOW this is really
getting weird.>
Soun followed the panda's gaze to see what had caught his
friend's attention. "Ayumi?" he asked. "I didn't know you were
home from school. Who is this?"
"Oh," Ayumi said, forcing a nonchalant tone. "This is... er, a
friend of mine from school." He turned, meeting Ukyou's gaze. "Why
don't you have a seat at the table? I'll make the introductions
after I get some tea."
Ukyou noted that Ayumi still had the same 'trust me and play
along' look to his eyes that he'd worn outside, and finally decided
that maybe, Ayumi's request made much more sense than he'd first
thought. "Uh... okay, sure," he answered with a weak smile.
"Don't forget to bring a cup for me, Ayumi," Soun told him,
trying to keep his attention fixed on the game board as much as
possible. Most of the games he played against his old friend had
come to involve some sort of cheating, whether from Genma or himself.
It had become a commonplace part of the game; either player *knew*
his opponent would cheat, but not quite when. They tended to
approach their games of shogi with much the same principles they used
in a sparring match.
[And one for me, too,] the panda added... pointedly ignoring the
perplexed stare Ukyou gave him.
"Oh, okay, sure," replied Ayumi, fighting the urge to smirk.
Ukyou wondered why the boy was strangely eager to leave the room and
get tea for everyone. What could this delay have to do with Saotome
Genma? Ayumi and his family weren't planning to loose that giant
panda upon him in an effort to delay him, were they? If they were...
well, he'd hate to have to trash a panda, much less an extremely
well-trained panda. The Tendo family and their pet were *not* going
to keep him from catching Saotome Genma... and his son Ranma, if that
boy actually did exist anywhere in the world.
He mentally sighed. Ukyou had repeated his vows concerning the
Saotome family in his mind enough times that it was easy to imagine
the words permanently etched there, somewhere. Even if it took the
rest of his life, he would find Genma and Ranma, and make sure they
paid for what they had done. Absolutely nothing would prevent him
from accomplishing that.
Well, it was easy to repeat vows every day and even pursue
someone around the world for a decade, but what would be the end
result of that pursuit?
Ayumi's return brought an end - if a temporary end - to that
line of thought.
The Tendo boy made a deliberate show of pouring a cup of hot tea
for him before anyone else, then did the same for his father...
saving the panda for last, interestingly enough.
That wasn't the last surprise, however.
When it came time to pour tea for the panda, Ayumi brought the
kettle near the cup the bear held - but at the last possible instant
jerked his kettle upward, letting hot water spill over the panda's
head instead. By reflex, the panda leapt backward, yet not in time
to avoid all of the water.
While Ukyou tried to figure out why his 'friend' would want to
treat a panda the way he had, the animal shifted forms and became a
man.
A man who exactly resembled the most recent pictures of Saotome
Genma he'd found, and committed to memory.
"YOU!" snarled Ukyou. He drew his combat spatula and had it
edged against the man's throat before Genma had completely collected
his senses. "Is THAT one of the tricks you've been using to hide
from me, all this time?"
"As much as I'd like to see Dad get pounded a few... dozen times
for whatever he's done," a girl's voice commented dryly, "I like
to know *why* someone wants to hurt him. So, what's going on here?"
Ayumi glanced in the direction the voice had come to see Ranma
standing in the door to the hallway. "Ranma?"
Soun tried to gain some measure of control as Ranma walked into
the room. "Yes, Ayumi. Would you mind telling me why you are
helping this young man threaten a guest in my home?"
"Do I know you?" Genma asked Ukyou, narrowing his eyes. The
boy presently only had the advantage due to chance; if the
weapon-wielding upstart - a fool to think he could face off against a
skilled martial artist trained in musabetsu kakutou with a *weapon* -
thought he could keep the upper hand, he would soon see the error of
that belief. Clearly, he did know something about how to fight...
but had made a poor choice in opening moves.
An unimpressed Ukyou returned the gaze. "My name is Kuonji
Ukyou," he said. "Maybe now, you'll remember who I am."
"Well, Dad? He does seem to know you."
Genma's eyes widened in surprise and recognition, an act each of
the trio took as a sign that he did know Ukyou...
His gaze found the open door leading outside into the garden.
In their rush to confront him, Ayumi, Ukyou and Ranma hadn't bothered
to place someone between him and the room's most obvious exit.
Well, for him, anyway.
By the time Ayumi and Ranma realized his intent, he had already
leapt through the door and was almost directly over the
more-than-familiar koi pond.
He rose from the water a moment later - a panda yet again -
bringing another wooden sign into view. [Did you know that pandas
are an endangered species?]
Ukyou drew an array of small throwing spatulas from within his
dress jacket, spreading them before him like a hand of cards. "I
don't know about normal pandas," he said, "but YOU'RE certainly in
danger."
Naka winced as the sound of a chain of crashes filtered into the
hall from the family room. He edged away from the spot near the door
where he'd been eavesdropping. <I'm not sure I want to know what
they're doing to him.> His imagination and the commotion from the
neighboring room would be a safer alternative, in his opinion. <I
bet Dad's crying as usual in there by now. I can't hear him over
whatever's going on in there, anyway. Oh, well.>
"Gomen kudasa--i!"
He brought his head up upon hearing the familiar, yet
unexpected, call. It was easy enough to tune out the chaos that had
become a normal part of their household, such as Ranma and Ayumi's
arguments. Being able to pay attention to every other noise while
tuning out the expected chaos... now, that was a skill. A skill he
hadn't entirely perfected; Kasuga was better than him at that sort of
thing, and without being obvious about it, too.
The martial artists of the house were supposed to have some
talents in that field as well - all a matter of how someone paid
attention to his or her environment, Naka surmised. He vaguely
recalled his father trying to help him learn that skill, though at
the time neither of them had assumed they would later need to contend
with loud crashes and explosions in their own house.
Naka sprinted to the foyer to greet their guest, grateful that
Kasuga wasn't home to let everyone in the family room know someone
else had come to visit. He knew exactly who their visitor was from
her voice and polite call... there was something he wanted to discuss
with her before she joined the chaos.
It took another handful of minutes for Ayumi - with Ranma and
Ukyou's help - to maneuver Ranma's giant panda of a father back into
the family room, where they could safely corner him in the far end of
the room.
Not about to give the man-turned-panda a new chance to escape,
the trio formed a tight semi-circle around him. Ukyou brandished one
of the few throwing spatulas he had left for effect. "I don't care
how many of those ridiculous signs of yours it takes - I want to know
everything. Now."
"If you want to ask him something, there are better ways of
doing it," someone observed from behind them. While the panda
nervously raised a sign that read, [H-hello, Dear...] into view, the
three teenagers turned to face the newcomer.
Nodoka maintained a stern yet unreadable expression as she
studied the scene before her, making no effort to hide the katana she
held tightly in her right hand - her faithful heirloom - or the
kettle of hot water she held in the opposite hand. <Thank goodness
for Naka's foresight,> Nodoka mused. Her husband had the frustrating
habit of running away from his problems. Worse, Genma had somehow
come to the conclusion that transforming into a panda would solve the
problem of having to explain himself... or delay matters until he
could run away, again.
Naka had thoughtfully taken her on a detour to the kitchen for
some hot water; the boy had also had a few interesting things to
mention.
Peripherally, Nodoka noticed Soun lying probe and unmoving on
the outer deck of the house, and *tsked* in disapproval. No doubt
the man had tried to block the path of a panda steamroller and three
not-quite-happy teenagers.
Ukyou barely had time to wonder who this woman was and what kind
of threat she might be, if she held an unsheathed katana, before
Ranma exclaimed, "Mom!"
Ranma's mother? She did bear a strong resemblance to Ranma, at
that. Yet... Genma had been on the road with Ranma, alone. Mrs.
Saotome hadn't been with them, and in all the 'investigating' he'd
done barely mentioned her at all... in fact, some of the reports he'd
heard stated that Mrs. Saotome had passed away. More of Saotome
Genma's scheming? There *were* some benefits to severing ties with
the rest of the world...
"Now, dear," Nodoka said, pouring a small amount of the water in
the kettle over her husband, "would you like to tell us why this
young woman wishes to hurt you?"
"Young woman...?" Ranma blinked.
Genma prostrated himself at his wife's feet. "I'm sorry! I
didn't mean to get Ranma engaged to Ukyou!"
The same thought flashed through Ayumi and Ranma's minds.
<Engaged!?>
"Of course you did!" snarled Ukyou. "You made all the
arrangements with my father and made us believe Ranma was a boy just
so you could run off with our yatai!"
Nodoka narrowed her eyes. She knew Genma would tend to avoid
telling anyone the entire story until the last possible moment.
Sighing inwardly, she subconsciously tightened her grip on her sword
and chose her next question.
"...You're a girl?" Ayumi took advantage of the brief silence
to ask Ukyou.
Everyone fell uncomfortably silent, switching their attention to
Ukyou.
Ranma was the first to break the silence a moment later.
"U-chan... it *is* you... isn't it?"
"Don't call me that!" Ukyou snapped, though she had caught the
hope slightly hidden in Ranma's eyes and voice.
Nodoka intervened. "Please, calm down, Ukyou-chan." She noted
the girl's wince at her use of the word 'chan.' Something to do with
the reason why Ukyou was dressed in a Fuurinkan boys' uniform? "Why
don't you tell us the full story in detail?"
She kept an eye on Genma while Ukyou told her version of the
story. Her husband's behavior had changed very little over the years
he spent on his 'training trip' with Ranma. If anything, that time
had only reinforced it.
Genma became more and more agitated as Ukyou continued her
account. Nodoka couldn't believe what she was hearing; her husband
had actually passed little Ranma off as a boy, making an agreement
with Ukyou's father to engage Ukyou and Ranma, then fleeing with the
Kuonji yatai - the only means of food and support the family had had
at the time?
And to think she had foolishly trusted him to take proper care
of their baby girl, on the road. She'd dwelled on that regret quite
often since that day, but the truth of the matter was that she had
*let* Genma leave with Ranma, even knowing her husband's character.
They were both to blame.
"So, is that why you were dressing like a guy?"
"Yes," Ukyou answered Ayumi's latest question, wondering why no
one else in the room appeared as surprised or startled as she thought
they would be at the idea of a girl pretending to be a boy. "It was
my father's idea, in the beginning - because of the shame our family
bore, I could no longer be a girl until Genma and Ranma paid for
their crimes." Ranma took on a nonplussed look at that.
"But... it wasn't my fa-- er, decision!" Genma protested.
"What do you mean, it wasn't your decision?"
"I left the decision to leave up to Ranma," he replied, hastily.
"I gave her a choice - which did she like more, Ukyou or okonomiyaki?
She chose okonomiyaki."
Ukyou rounded on Ranma. "You WHAT?"
Nodoka placed a hand on Ukyou's shoulder to restrain her. "Do
you honestly expect us to believe, husband," she leveled an even
glare at Genma, "that you wouldn't have run or even taken Ukyou with
you if Ranma *had* chosen Ukyou? At any rate, I don't doubt that
traveling with you would have our daughter tending to think with her
stomach first."
"Yeah. He would've run away no matter what, wouldn't he?"
Ukyou agreed, her anger evaporating... if only for the moment.
"Perhaps. He lied to your father, promising to engage his 'son'
to you. The longer he remained there, the more chance he had of you
or your father discovering the truth."
Ranma gave her father one of her strongest glares. Ayumi
winced; that was the type of glare she normally reserved for him.
Oh, sure, she did save a number of glares for her father, but
somewhere along the line Ayumi had become her primary target. Or so
he believed. "So, how many *other* people did you engage me to for
food, Dad?" Ranma's voice rose. "Or maybe you've SOLD me to a few
people?"
Nodoka paled. That was a possibility that hadn't occurred to
her.
"N-no! Nobody else! I swear!"
"I don't wanna hear it!" his daughter yelled, before turning on
her heels and running out of the room. They heard the sounds of
Ranma bounding up the stairs to her bedroom and slamming the door.
Nodoka sighed, again fixing Genma with her gaze. "I hope that
you are telling the truth." If only they didn't have to wait for
people to track Genma and Ranma here to be sure...
She returned her attention to Ukyou. "I could likely repay you
for the cost of the yatai, but that would be the easy way of dealing
with this. Since my husband is responsible for lying to your family
and taking the yatai, he will work to reimburse you for all the
related costs." Without looking at the man in question, she added,
"I assume you are no stranger to working off your debts, dear?"
"But you can't--"
"I can," she informed him. "You are the one who has dishonored
our family through your own actions. That is why *you* will work and
pay Ukyou the money you owe her family in full, no matter how long it
takes." Nodoka paused for a breath. "I will not have you running
from this bill, either. Not like you have done in the past."
Happosai had been a bad influence, indeed.
Ukyou watched the would-be argument with interest. She was
admittedly glad to see Genma being 'put in his place' - by his wife,
no less - even if Mrs. Saotome had brought the whole matter to less
of a conclusion than she'd been envisioning for the past decade.
Nobody had had much of a chance to pound on the man, for example.
And Ranma... well, Ranma was far from being thrilled with her father.
Ranma.
"As for the engagement between you and my daughter," Mrs.
Saotome was saying to her, "you must understand that I cannot
consider that valid."
Ukyou nodded. "Of course." If only she'd known Ranma had been
a girl from the start, just as Ranma had recognized *she* was a
girl... But why hadn't Ranma noticed her "friend's" true gender this
time?
The older woman carefully sheathed her katana. "Ukyou-san. It
sounds to me as though you were Ranma's friend before the
'engagement.' Perhaps you could be her friend again?" Nodoka seemed
about to sigh, then changed her mind. "I know she's upset at the
moment, and could use someone to talk to; I would normally be the one
to do so... but I still have some matters which I must discuss with
my husband." She made an obvious show of tightening her fingers
around the hilt of her katana.
Ukyou found herself swallowing hard, eyes widening. "I-I guess
so." Now... where was Ranma's room?
To Ukyou's relief, Ranma kept a small plaque nailed to her door,
telling everyone exactly which of the bedrooms which of the upstairs
bedrooms was hers.
The walls - or was that the door? - were thin enough that she
could hear Ranma's faint crying. That thought still somewhat jarred
her. Ranma was a girl, living as a girl, practically married off to
that Ayumi guy... and crying.
Not that she could blame Ranma for breaking into tears. Ranma
had been able to live her life as her true self, for the most part,
all these years, with Saotome Genma putting her through who knew what
and using her a tool to gain him whatever he wanted. How could he
treat his daughter like that?
Ukyou had suffered through a few of her father's own odd schemes
- the most notable one requiring her to legally become a boy until
'he' found Genma and Ranma and made them pay for what they'd done to
the Kuonji family honor. Though, in truth, she had never determined
what difference being a boy would honestly make in her 'mission.'
She knocked tentatively on Ranma's door with her knuckles.
"Ran...... Ranchan?" Ukyou decided to risk using the nickname she'd
given Ranma while they had been friends. "It's me... Ukyou. Can I
come in?"
The long silence that followed was enough to set her to
fidgeting. What was she going to do, or say? She'd been tracking
Ranma for years, believing Ranma was a boy, and ready to exact
whatever painful vengeance she could the moment she caught him.
Trying to console a distraught, *female* Ranma while wondering for
some reason if there was the slightest chance they could resume their
friendship - now, *that* was a turn of events she had never imagined.
Ukyou finally heard Ranma shift. "...O-okay."
Warily, she edged the door open enough to allow her to slip into
the room, then shut the door once more. Ranma's bedroom, like Ranma
herself, could potentially be described as 'tomboyish...' even
considering that Ukyou had no true idea how a girl's bedroom was
supposed to appear. It was sparsely furnished, more in the way of
functionality than decoration; her life on the road would have led
Ranma to look at everything she owned in a practical light.
Ranma sat on the edge of the bed, her clothes and hair still a
bit out of place. Clearly, she had tried to straighten herself
before answering. Her eyes were dry, but the red and puffy look that
proved she'd been crying remained.
"Hey... are you okay?" Ukyou asked, searching for something to
say that at least sounded appropriate.
"I'm fine."
"Oh, come on, Ranchan. I saw what happened downstairs, too, and
so did your mom." Ukyou settled into the wooden chair before Ranma's
desk. "She said..."
She cleared her throat and started anew. "She... your mom said
maybe we should try to be friends again."
Ranma hesitated. "But you said you've been tracking us all this
time, so you could--"
"I didn't know you were a girl," interrupted Ukyou. "My dad
told me that you were a boy, and I'd been engaged to you before you
and your dad took off. That was when Dad ordered me to hunt you two
down and... restore our family's honor."
"As a boy."
"Yeah," Ukyou nodded, hoping to hide her blush.
"Couldn't you tell I was a girl, though?"
Ukyou shook her head. "I don't think it really mattered to us
at the time. Right?"
"I guess not," agreed Ranma. "But tell me - if my mom thinks we
should try to be friends again, what do you think?"
"Well... I haven't stopped to make any other friends since Dad
sent me after you. I was too busy trying to follow you two
everywhere. But now that everything's supposedly resolved, and I
know the truth about you..."
"What about your father? Do you think he'll like the way all
this turned out?"
Ukyou's expression fell. "I don't know. He... passed away four
years ago. I was making the occasional phone call to him, but it
took them a while to track me down to tell me he had died."
"Them?"
"Uh... the lawyers or police, I guess. I don't know. I didn't
feel I could go home to attend his funeral because I'd more than
likely lose your trail."
"But you could go visit him now," Ranma pointed out, unsure if
she should comment on Ukyou's choice.
"Maybe," Ukyou replied. "But... not yet. Not until I'm
absolutely sure everything is resolved. I mean, for all I know, your
dad might run off again, and I'd have to go looking for him. I have
to be sure."
Ranma smirked. "If Dad runs away, I'll help you look for him.
We could always drag Ayumi along to help, too." <With my luck, Mom
and Uncle Soun'll send him along anyway, just like last time.> A
sudden thought sobered her. "Ukyou..."
"You can call me 'U-chan' again, if you want."
"I... have to tell you something," Ranma insisted. "I wouldn't
be surprised if it messed everything up all over again, but... I'm
not gonna lie and try to keep it from you, if you're serious about us
being friends again."
Ukyou's eyes widened slightly. "What is it?"
"Do you remember how we were talking about curses this morning,
in homeroom?"
"...Yes." Ukyou felt the same sense of confusion she'd had when
Ayumi suggested she might have a curse. What *did* curses have to do
with Ranma?
Ranma stared at the thick socks covering her feet. "Before I
came to live here, while Dad and I were going through China, we went
through this old training ground. Jhusenkyou. Dad picked up the
curse that turns him into a panda there, and I got one that turns me
into a boy. I know it sounds crazy, but..."
<...but you saw Dad change,> Ranma mentally finished, as she
caught sight of the puzzled look on Ukyou's face.
"You're kidding, right? Why would you want to be a boy?" If
this was a joke...
Ranma frowned. "I don't *want* to be a boy. I'm just stuck
with a curse that turns me into one anytime I get hit with cold
water." Anticipating Ukyou's next thought, she continued. "I'll
show you if you don't believe me. Just let me change clothes, first.
I don't want to ruin another uniform when I... change."
Ukyou's eyebrows furrowed in concentration for a second. "Wait.
Jhusenkyou... that sounds familiar."
"Well, uh... it's an old training ground, like I said, hidden in
a mountain range and forest. Bunch of pools with bamboo poles
sticking up everywhere, so you can test your balance." Almost as if
*daring* people to stand on those poles without falling into the
water, Ranma had mused on occasion. If Jhusenkyou was such a tragic,
dangerous place, why didn't its caretakers take stronger measures to
make sure no one fell into the pools, including removing all the
poles?
Unless someone *wanted* people to be cursed...
"Yeah! I remember that place."
"You went to Jhusenkyou?" Her first instinct was to ask Ukyou
if she was cursed, too - but common sense told her Ukyou would've had
a different reaction to the issue if she did have a Jhusenkyou curse.
"Only to see if you were there. I didn't go in - but if you and
your dad had been there, I might have. Anyway, I asked the guy who
worked there where you went, and left." One side of Ukyou's lips
turned upward into a smirk. "He kept saying something about curses,
tragic stories, and warning me not to go in there. I guess he wasn't
just babbling, then, huh?"
Ranma raised an eyebrow. "I should know." She was barely able
to keep herself from sounding bitter. Goodness knew her curse wasn't
the only thing twisting her life in little convoluted loops, though
it was one of the crucial factors.
When Ukyou remained silent, she decided to let the subject
drift. "Like I said, it's not that I *like* being able to change
into a boy, but..." Her expression fell.
"It doesn't make a difference," Ukyou concluded, shaking her
head. "As long as you weren't a boy when we met in Osaka, you have
nothing to worry about." Thank goodness the agreement between their
fathers at that time had been verbal-only... she wouldn't have been
at all surprised if Genma had arranged for his daughter to legally be
a boy, somewhere, and the thought of being paper-bound to marry a
male Ranma wasn't appealing... particularly when she knew Ranma's
true gender.
And why did she have the suspicion her late father would insist
the original engagement could continue if Ranma was able to become a
boy?
<If she *is* cursed, she knows what it's like to be a boy,> she
realized. <Not just binding her chest and dressing like a boy,
either - actually being a boy.>
...A girl, forced to be a boy...
Ukyou regarded her friend, who was watching her in much the same
manner, tensed and waiting to see what she would do. She stood.
"C'mon, Ran-chan. I want you to show me that curse of yours in
action."
** ** **
Yuka couldn't believe what she had heard. "So what you're
saying, is your dad actually thought he could get away with engaging
you to more than one boy?"
"I... guess," said Ranma, at a brief loss for words. Her father
had *known* Ukyou was a girl, but Sayuri and Yuka weren't yet aware
of that detail - or the "boy's" secret.
Sayuri feigned a look of great concern and urgency. "Yuka,
don't you know how serious this is? For all we know, Ranma could be
engaged to half the boys in Japan!"
"What about the other half?"
"He'll get to them tomorrow," Sayuri giggled.
"It's not funny!" their friend groused. "He'd probably do it,
too, if he thought he would get something out of it."
"But at least you got it all cleared up," Sayuri commented, as
the trio continued their walk to school. Often, anything in the
district that involved Ranma, Ayumi or their families wound up
spinning wildly out of control.
"Yeah! And who knows, huh? Maybe one of us can get a date with
Ukyou-kun now that you two aren't attached," chimed Yuka. After all,
the boy was cute, if a little strange...
Ranma merely gave her friend a disbelieving stare, then laughed.
Yuka blinked. "What? Don't tell me there's something else
about him you... haven't told us yet?"
Shrug. "Yeah." The thin smile that formed upon Ranma's lips
slightly unnerved both of the sisters at once. "But I haven't asked
Ukyou yet if... if he minds anyone else knowing."
She paused for a breath, and to gauge the pair's reaction.
Sayuri could be a gossip at times; she kept too close to the school
grapevine for Ranma's comfort, even if it allowed Ranma a better
chance of keeping ahead of all the rumors involving her. And Yuka...
well, Yuka still had a habit of occasionally speaking before
thinking. She did trust her friends, however, and as much as she
wanted to let them know the truth, Ranma wasn't sure how much of that
truth Ukyou wanted everyone else to know.
"Umm... would you guys mind if we take a detour for a little
bit? There's something I wanna do before school."
"Huh? Like what?"
"You'll see."
The first thing Sayuri noticed about the building to which Ranma
ultimately brought them was that it was smaller than any of the other
restaurants on the street.
A restaurant? Why in the world had Ranma insisted on coming
here, on their way to school? The place wasn't even open for
business... through the windows, she could see chairs stacked on
tables, boxes piled atop the hot-plate counter that ran the length of
one side of the main room and in the rear stairwell, which most
likely led to an apartment. Everything seemed to be in a state of
cleaning, repair or rearrangement.
Yuka's voice caused her to start. "'Coming Soon: 'U-chan's
Okonomiyaki.' Proprietor: Kuonji Ukyou,'" her sister read from a
sign taped near the door... if a notice scribbled on a sheet of
notebook paper counted as an official business announcement.
"Oh, I get it," Yuka gave Ranma a knowing grin. "You're not
attached to Ukyou-kun, but you're seeing him behind Ayumi's back."
Her sister and friend rolled their eyes in concert. "You watch
too many of those evening dramas, Yuka," Ranma told her.
"So?"
"*So*, you're seeing romance where there isn't any," Ukyou said
wryly, stepping around the corner of her building from the alley.
"Ukyou!"
"I was just arranging a few things out back," she explained.
"You didn't tell them, Ran... ma?" No sense fueling Yuka's
imagined... what was that word? Romantic trysts?
"What? Tell us what?" Sayuri asked.
Ukyou adopted an innocent expression. "That I'm a girl?"
She had the pleasure of watching the sisters' eyes widen to
their limits. "*What*!?" they both managed to yell. It was another
moment before Sayuri could sputter, "No way!"
<That answers my question,> thought Ranma. For Yuka and Sayuri,
anyway. <Maybe she doesn't care anymore if anyone knows she's a
girl?> she wondered, just as her gaze fell upon the Fuurinkan boys'
uniform Ukyou had thought to wear. <I'll have to ask her.> How hard
could it be to get a school to change Ukyou's records from 'boy' to
'girl...?'
Ranma nodded. "She really is a girl."
Fortunately, Ukyou was present to save her from the awkward
moment that followed. The disguised girl fished her keys out of a
uniform pocket. "C'mon inside for a moment, and I'll prove it to
you."
<Her friends are strange.>
That was putting it lightly, as Ukyou had once heard someone
say. She was 'a part of the group' now, she guessed, well into the
walk to school with Ranma and the twin Yobuko sisters and trying not
to wince every time one of the trio tried to nudge her into a
conversation. Yuka tended to bring up the weirdest things to talk
about, occasionally with the intent of taking a poke at Ranma.
Not being able to participate in conversations because she was
barely aware of the school 'scene' or gossip was one thing, but what
did the movie preferences of what sounded like a Western
rock-and-roll singer have to do with any of that? Ukyou shook her
head.
Sayuri was the more quiet of the pair, though she had the
tendency to ramble if she found herself in a discussion about
something going on socially.
They were - more or less - about a block from the school's front
gates now, and the sisters were only now becoming tense. The lunatic
scheme where a mob of idiots were hoping to win the right to date
Ranma by beating her up before homeroom, no doubt. Okay, clearly
there were guys who thought that actually was a good idea; Ukyou
figured it wasn't much of a shock that those same guys returned
morning after morning only to be easily beaten by Ranma.
Stubbornness, perseverance and the ability to weather no end of
injury from a fight she could admire, but not when the fighter
should've had the good sense not to become involved in a situation
like this.
Ranma, unlike her two friends, only showed slight hints of being
tense or otherwise anxious. She could tell that the other girl was
thoroughly ready to wade into the thick of an all-out battle. That
was understandable; Ranma was sourly anticipating the need to have to
beat up a few dozen boys.
Ukyou gave a passing thought to the combat spatula currently
strapped to her back. Ranma was a capable fighter - she'd have to
be, to contend with the boys every school morning - but if Ranma
thought she was going to stand back and let her friend endure this
alone...
Ranma sprang forward into a run at the instant the school's
gates came into view, leaving Ukyou, Sayuri and Yuka behind.
The courtyard was unexpectedly silent.
"What...?" she breathed while skidding to a halt... then
blinked, as though surprised to hear herself speak. No mob of *boys*
out to get her, or their terminally deluded leader?
"*Hey*!" Ranma surveyed the courtyard. "Where is everyone?"
<Yeah, I can just imagine it... "If you wish to date the fair Saotome
Ranma, you must first scare her half to death by leaping out of
hiding, and *then* beat her up."> Okay, so maybe she was
paraphrasing what the idiot would say. It wasn't as if the tactic
would work.
Sayuri peered around the edge of the gates, followed closely by
her sister and Ukyou. "Gee, Ranma, usually you just leave the guys
in a pile on the ground. You're getting neater."
"That was a bad joke, neechan." Yuka groaned, shaking her head.
She edged onto the would-be battlefield, slipping past Ranma as the
others worked up the courage to approach.
"Yeah, yeah," muttered Ukyou. "So what happened? The guys
chicken out?"
Ranma wasn't about to let her guard ease back to normal levels.
"Them, maybe. But not Kunou. He'd still be out here." Or try to be
there, even after being put in traction - though she left that
thought unspoken.
"Huh."
"Hey, I think I know where everyone went," Yuka announced from
the doorway at the other end of the path. "There's a notice over
here - they're having a mandatory assembly in the auditorium in about
five minutes." <If we hadn't stopped to pick up Ukyou, we would've
been here a lot sooner,> she told herself. <But then, we wouldn't've
found out the truth about Ukyou-chan... and we'd probably have t'run
through the stupid boys again, too.>
"Does it say what the assembly's about?"
"Do they ever?" snorted Ranma. "We might as well see what it's
about. They *did* say it's mandatory, right? Anything that gets me
out of having to deal with Kunou and his squad for the morning is a
good thing."
Ukyou laughed. "That works, I guess."
** ** **
*Why*...?
The question refused to leave Ranma alone, lingering in her mind.
Why had her mother gotten involved in *her* problem, her fight?
Ranma mentally fumed as she pushed her way through the crowds of
students leaving the auditorium, replaying what had happened during
the assembly. She didn't even know how her mother had learned about
Kunou's proclamation and the morning fights... but somehow, her
mother had.
Worse, she'd talked the assistant principal into letting her
tell the *entire* *school* that she'd had Kunou brought up on charges
for all the boy had done and was doing to her daughter - and anyone
else who continued to harass Ranma would face much the same
punishment.
Ranma's scowl deepened. As if she weren't already embarrassed
enough! She imagined most of the crowd must already be laughing at
how the great Saotome Ranma had to have her mother take care of her
fight for her. Dad would definitely gripe about it.
Well, when it came to her father, she could always flatten him.
Or Ayumi, or the occasional rogue boy. But every single student in
the school?
Speaking of the baka, what *did* Ayumi think of all this? And
her friends, too - especially Ukyou?
Nodoka was waiting for her in the wings. Ranma was fairly
familiar with the entire stage, more so after the lunacy that had been
billed as an adaptation of 'Romeo and Juliet;' some of the sets they'd
used that night were still stacked against the walls, even the damaged
sets.
And one semi-battered balcony.
"Ranma-chan!" Nodoka called to her.
Ranma sprinted up the stairs and leapt, landing neatly beside her
mother. "Mom," she said in a low, urgent voice before Nodoka could
shake her head, "what was that about?"
Nodoka studied her daughter for a moment. "I'm sorry. I can
guess you are more than likely embarrassed by all of this. But once I
learned what that Kunou boy has been forcing you to endure each day,
in spite of the warning I gave him... I had to take action."
"But--"
"Ranma, everything he did in his pursuit of you was wrong. I've
noticed you have been rather lenient and forgiving when it comes to
that boy, willing to simply ignore him. You asked me not to worry
that he had insisted on appearing in that play opposite you; I heard
what happened as a result. Granted, most of that mess was the fault
of your father and Soun, but..."
She could see from Ranma's wince that the cursed girl didn't want
to think about *that* aspect of the play for a while. "I am well
aware that you are a martial artist and prefer to deal with your
problems and fights yourself. Surely, however, you understand that by
allowing him to continue and escalate his advances, you are also
encouraging him?"
"Mom, I've tried to stop him. All the time! You've seen how
much he listens! And this..." Ranma leaned against a nearby wall.
"This is a lot worse than anything he's done. Naka said he even tried
to keep Kunou from making that declaration, but he couldn't stop him,
either. And it didn't seem like the school was going to do something
about it..." She sighed. "I never considered calling the police on
him. He'll probably be back soon to start everything all over again,
anyway."
Nodoka frowned. "Yes, he might." If destroying the boy's sword
and telling him straight to his face not to bother her daughter
couldn't convince Kunou Ranma wanted to be left alone, what would it
take? "I realize that. That is why I have been thinking quite a bit
about... something else."
"Something else?" Ranma echoed. She didn't like the sound of
those words; did her mother have an even more drastic plan of dealing
with Kunou in mind?
"What would you say if I asked you to come live with me?"
A straightforward and simple question, one she wasn't nearly
ready to answer. It took a few seconds for Ranma to find her voice.
"Wh-what?"
"I would like you to live with me, in my home. Now, your
engagement to Ayumi-kun will continue to stand. I know that moving
will mean you'll need to transfer to a different school, and it will
be difficult to be with the friends you have made here, but... I want
to take you away from as much of this lunacy as possible." <Oh, I
wish I could take away your curse as well...> She forced a smile. "I
want to give you an honest chance at living a normal life, even with
your curse in place."
<Then what about the engagement?> Ranma thought, wryly.
"And while we do not plan to nullify your engagement, I think
you're still too young to worry about marriage. It can wait until
you're older and have finished college. To be honest, I don't see why
it's truly necessary for you to live in the same house as Ayumi-kun
until that time. Do you?"
Another delaying tactic, then. Maybe she did have some kind of
feelings for the hentai baka, but... couldn't she have a choice?
Knowing that her parents had planned her future - the boy she would
marry! - before she could talk or walk always annoyed Ranma.
Well, that wasn't *completely* true. As long as she remained
a martial artist, married Ayumi and had at least one son to keep the
schools' forms of musabetsu kakutou alive for another generation, she
could do whatever else she wanted with her life.
Never mind how ill the thought of having children with Ayumi as
their father presently made her feel.
<Maybe I DO need a change...>
Nodoka noted the reluctant expression on her daughter's face.
"I hope you don't think I'm attempting to push you into a decision,
dear," she said. "Take as long as you want to think about it all and
decide. I would like you to do me a favor, however."
Ranma brought her head up. "Hm?"
"Don't let your father or Uncle Soun know that I have invited
you to live with me. They *should* be made aware of this, but... I'm
worried that they may panic and try something extreme to force you to
stay or otherwise marry Ayumi-kun well in advance." That the two men
would interfere so much with a school play, of all things, for the
express purpose of maneuvering Ayumi into kissing Ranma was a fair
example of *that*. Briefly, Nodoka wondered if Ranma would better
recognize the warning signs of her husband's schemes before her,
especially when Ranma was the target of most of that scheming.
The smile Ranma offered her was understandably strained. "I
won't tell them. And..." She hesitated, startled by the slight
numbness she felt. "I'll... I'll think about it."
Move out.
A test question blurred as Ranma's attention again drifted to
her future. Idly, she began tapping the eraser of her pencil against
her desk - then, remembering she was supposed to be taking an exam,
Ranma switched to chewing on the metal end of the pencil instead.
Her mother was offering her a chance to move out, to live in her
house. Away from her father, whatever fraction of a normal life she'd
come to know in Nerima, and the people she now helped care for as a
'family...' in favor of a different 'normal life.'
But did she want that change?
There was nothing preventing her from visiting her mother now,
and Saotome Nodoka wasn't about to disappear from her life if she
decided to stay here.
Ranma believed she was far more familiar with the practice of
starting over in a new 'home' than she felt she should be. Yet a part
of her did want to leave most of the madness in her life behind -
whatever she *could* leave behind - and live with her mother, as she
should have been all these years. <But no, Dad had to take me out on
the road and tell me Mom was dead.>
She forced her attention back to her test, quickly answering the
next handful of questions.
It hadn't taken Ayumi or her friends long to notice she had
something occupying her thoughts; she had no intention of letting
their teacher find her distracted as well.
<I bet Shampoo, Ryomi and Kodachi would love to see me leave, so
they can get closer to Ayumi.> Maybe then the baka might run away
with one of them, freeing her from having to marry him.
After all, it wasn't as though *she* wanted to be married to the
hentai, was it? Nah. <Our parents are the only ones who want that.
Not us.>
Ranma set her mind to completing the next round of test questions
before attempting her own.
Aside from the chance to spend far more time with her mother than
she did now, was there any actual guarantee most of the weirdness that
infected her life now wouldn't follow her if she moved out? <More
wishful thinking,> she sighed.
She caught Ayumi stealing a glance at her, peripherally, and shot
a quick glance of her own at his paper. <Hey! He's what... two pages
ahead of me?> Time to push the whole issue of leaving aside and
concentrate completely on her exam.
** ** **
Ranma swept her gaze across the shoes lined against the steps of
the foyer, while raising one of her feet behind her to slide the shoe
there off, then the other. With luck - she hoped - she had a chance
to talk to Kasuga alone for a while without anyone else eavesdropping
or whatever; Kasuga was the only person in the house with whom Ranma
felt she could discuss her mother's request. Certainly not her
father, uncle or Ayumi... and she didn't want to think about what Naka
might do with *that* information.
Kasuga's worn pair of loafers rested in the corner next to his
father's sandals - Uncle Soun preferred not to leave the house as much
as possible.
She set her pair of black flats on the lone step beside Kasuga's
shoes. Dad's shoes were missing - the old man was probably at work,
though none of the adults would mention what that work was... he
definitely hadn't gone back to his old 'job' at Dr. Tofu's clinic.
Ayumi and Naka were either on their way home, or had already
returned and left again. Whatever the case, the time to talk to
Kasuga was now.
Dr. Tofu was also an option, admittedly... but Tofu-sensei's
schedule had grown unexpectedly busy these past few weeks, and Ranma
did not want to risk interrupting her unless absolutely and truly
necessary.
After easing into her house slippers and making a brief stop to
leave her bookbag near the foot of the stairs - everyone knew better
than to mess with *her* stuff... well, except the old pervert,
anyway - Ranma crossed the hall to the kitchen.
"Kasuga?"
The eldest Tendo boy looked up from glancing through the
afternoon newspaper. "Oh, Ranma. How was school, today?"
Ranma blinked. "Well... okay, I suppose. Kasuga, if I--" She
caught herself. "I want to ask you about something that happened this
morning, but... you have to promise me you won't let anyone else know
about it, for now."
Kasuga tried to discern the emotion on Ranma's face, but
couldn't; Ranma was fairly skilled at hiding her emotions if she
wanted to do so. "I won't tell," he assured her after a moment's
thought. Inwardly, however, he wasn't as certain as he appeared.
Ranma's words were setting off an alarm in his mind. Had something
terrible happened to Ranma...?
He had his answer a moment later, after Ranma explained. "I
still don't know if I should move out or not," she concluded. "What
do you think?"
"Hmm," Kasuga murmured. "So, what reasons do you have for not
moving out?"
"You mean other than moving away from the life I have here?
Umm..."
He smiled. "Ah, you've come to like it here."
Blink. "Well... maybe." She fidgeted for a second. "You would,
too, after living on the road for as long as you can remember.
Kasuga, this is the first time I've really had a permanent place to
stay, with electricity and water and insulation, and everything. My
own bedroom, my own bed." Ranma let out all her breath in a low sigh.
"I feel like I'm really helping around here. With Dad, I had to do
all the work because he said it was my duty as a girl, and he was too
lazy to do any of it."
Kasuga stopped to lower the heat under one of the pots on the
range. "Ranma-chan, I've always been grateful for all the help you've
given us. You know that. But I wouldn't want you to pass on this
chance to be with your mother in favor of doing chores here. If
that's what you're worried about--"
"You'll all get along just great even without me being here,
right?"
That gave Kasuga pause. "That isn't quite what I meant to say.
Still, I imagine we'll be getting along as well as we were before
you came to live with us."
Ranma remained quiet, choosing instead to stare at him in
disbelief. He laughed. "I understand that this isn't an easy
decision. If I were you, I'd probably choose to move out... but
don't feel you should do that because *I* think it's the best choice."
A memory of his own mother surfaced, a fair part of her words
lost to the shorter attention span of a younger Kasuga - until he
pushed the recollection back into the corner of his mind in which he
kept them locked away; he didn't feel like thinking about that.
"Are you sure there aren't any other reasons you might not want
to leave? Like Ayumi, for example?"
"I don't--" Kasuga's question finally registered amidst Ranma's
drifting thoughts. "That-- he's got nothing to do with this," she
quickly told him, feeling the blood rise in her cheeks. <Wonderful.
Like he's going to believe me, now.> Definitely not, if she was
blushing. Why did everyone want to think she loved the baka?
While Ranma attempted to invent a decent enough reason for
changing the subject, the phone rang.
"Would you answer that for me?" asked Kasuga. "I need to watch
what I have on the stove."
Ranma stepped around him, reaching across the counter to grab the
phone. <I should've used the one in the hall,> she realized. "Hello,
Tendo residence. Ranma speaking."
"Is this Saotome Ranma?"
A man's voice. Why would an adult be specifically asking for
her? There was no reason for anyone at the school to be phoning her
- unless someone else had learned about her mother's offer. Or maybe
whatever school she might be attending after moving had decided to
call her in advance... "Yes. I'm Saotome Ranma."
"My name is Fujimura Kazuhiro. I represent Studio Star Light."
Ranma started. Someone from a studio was calling *her*?
"The reason I'm calling, Saotome-san," Kazuhiro continued, "is
because I happened to be present for your performance in your school's
presentation of 'Romeo and Juliet.'
<Uh-oh...> Anything that happened as a result of *that* mess
probably wasn't going to be good.
"Hmm," the man hemmed, when she didn't respond. "At any rate, in
spite of all of that confusion... you showed what I believe is true
potential and talent."
Another blink. "......What?" Ranma finally managed to blurt,
somewhat weakly.
"I occasionally act as a talent scout for our studio, and it's
my opinion that you could be an excellent actor or singer, if you're
willing to pursue either career. Apart from that play, Saotome-san,
how much experience do you have as an actor?"
She glanced nervously at Kasuga; the boy was more or less
preoccupied with whatever he was preparing on the stove, as far as she
could tell. "I... I played several roles in school plays when I was
younger, but... that play two weeks ago was the first chance I've had
to do any real acting since then." Especially when her father had
been thoroughly dead-set against her being involved with such a 'waste
of time.' If it had nothing to do with the Art, the heir to the
Saotome school of musabetsu kakutou would have nothing to do with it.
She certainly couldn't be allowed to have a life of her own, oh no...
"Do you sing?"
"I haven't really tried to sing, that much, in a long time,"
admitted Ranma.
"Oh? That's a shame, because you have such an interesting and
unique voice." The man paused for a breath. "Actually, I wanted to
wait until I had a definite, possible avenue for you before I called.
How would you like to start a career as an idol singer? We can help
you work on your singing at our studios, if necessary, but I think
you'll be an excellent singer. As an idol, you will also be able to
explore roles in acting - including voice acting, if you prefer - and
continue to be an actor even after the end of your career as an idol
singer."
"So, do you think would you be interested in becoming an idol?"
Ranma's breath caught in her throat. She was being given a
chance to be an idol singer, and an actor? What would Yuka and Sayuri
say? Everyone was offering her such interesting changes to her
life... but could she allow either of those changes? Or both?
Did she *want* those changes?
Her mind despaired. Mr. Fujimura essentially wanted her to
decide on *both* issues here and now, rather than wait. She'd just
lost the opportunity to spend time considering her options, what she
wanted to do with her life.
<Well, Ranma? What DO you want to do?>
<end>
------------
Notes: Yes, this is the 'final' story in Destiny's Wish. Why? Well,
I plan to start another series later describing what happens
afterward, but I want to leave the possibility open for exploring
other outcomes (which should *not* be taken as a hint about which
choices Ranma's going to make. ^_^).
What kept this story from being released for quite some time? Aside
from the usual problems with 'real life,' part 34 was originally
planned to be a different story. However, I didn't really care much
for that particular story, and with readers wanting to see Instruments
of Change and A Call to Action more than Destiny's Wish, part 34
was eventually set aside for a while. I later threw the part out in
favor of what was originally part 35, the story above. The original
story MAY show up someday - retooled, for the next series or its
possible variants.
Special thanks go to all the readers and fans of this series. Thanks
for reading all of these stories, and I hope you'll be here for the
series to come. ^_^
------------
Credits:
Written by: Mike Koos
Pre-readers: Richard Beaubien, Kevin D. Hammel, Jonathan Ng, Tom
Williams
With apologies to Takahashi Rumiko...
All parts of this series are available at the RAAC archives at
ftp://ftp.cs.ubc.ca/pub/archive/anime-fan-works
or from my WWW pages at http://www.anime.sobhrach.com/~makoto/
Comments and questions welcome.
*****************************
* Mike ('Kino Makoto') Koos * "I can do nothing to stop you.
*---------------------------* Your background music is too
* email: mak...@mother.com * strong for me."
***************************** - Whose Line is it Anyway?
http://www.anime.sobhrach.com/~makoto/