[Ranma][Fanfic] Destiny's Wish, Part Seven

[Mike Koos]

The umbrella flew from Ryomi's hands toward Ranma and Ayumi.
"What now?" Ryomi drew out another handful of bandannas and sent
them spinning into action. "You can avoid my umbrella, but you'll
never escape from all the bandannas!"
Ayumi had precious little time to think. Ranma still lay on the
ground behind him, and he didn't want to see her get hurt. Nor did
he want to see himself pierced or diced by their opponent's weapons.
What Ryomi lacked in precision or subtlety she made up in raw power.
The girl was right; if the umbrella missed its targets, they
would still have to contend with all the bandannas careening around
like enraged hornets... dangerous to the touch. How, then, to avoid
both? Ryomi seemed to have an endless supply of bandannas. If they
decided to stick in one spot, Ryomi would merely clog the air with
bandannas until they had no other option but to be sliced to ribbons.
Not a particularly appealing association.
So - only one thing to do. As the umbrella drew close Ayumi
timed a kick to strike it on its side, nudging it around to where he
could grab the umbrella's handle. He scooped Ranma up into his arms.
Popping the umbrella open, he turned it into a shield against the
bandannas while he carried Ranma away to safety. "Don't let go!"
Ayumi warned him.
Even as a boy Ranma instinctively reacted as Ayumi imagined a
girl might in this situation - 'she' held on to him tightly, a sense
of fear slightly evident in 'her' eyes. They vaulted up and away.
All Ayumi wanted to do was get Ranma out of danger.
"Come back here with my umbrella, you *cowards*!"
"I'll be back in a minute!" replied Ayumi.
All of the students gathered were talking among themselves,
especially Hiroshi and Daisuke. Wasn't Ryomi's umbrella supposed to
be extremely heavy? Well, it had been for them... they'd tried and
couldn't lift it off the ground. So how was *Ayumi* able to lift it?
If he could, then Ranma could, too. Wherever she had gone... Maybe
the girl's friends knew.
Ayumi settled for alighting on the aluminum roof covering the
bike racks, using the umbrella to slow his descent. Ranma would be
out of danger here for the moment.
Again... why was he doing this? When had he come to care so
much about Ranma's well-being? This was her fight and he'd somehow
managed to become a major part of it. Oh, Ryomi had called *him* out
earlier, but the one she'd really wanted to fight was Ranma. Now
Ryomi had it in for both of them.
It all reminded him of Ranma's fateful first day of school, when
the girl had intervened in his daily fight against what some people
had come to call the 'Kunou crew.' And Kunou himself, who was now
something of a lovesick puppy with a passion for Ranma. <Eww...> the
thought alone made him sick. Thank goodness he was a boy. What if
things had been different? Were he a girl, would Kunou have
developed a crush on *her*, too? Or worse, what if Kunou had been a
girl? Ayumi made a silent promise to himself - he would stay far
away from Jhusenkyou and any ponds that would turn him into a girl, if
such things existed. Ranma seemed to think so, at any rate. It was
her hope to one day return to Jhusenkyou and find that pond, so that
her curse would be neutralized.
He exhaled. Ranma. Wait - weren't they still... holding on
to... each other? Yes, Ranma was still keeping his hold on Ayumi,
almost as though he wasn't aware the jaunt had come to an end. Ayumi
blushed; he could feel Ranma's hair brushing against his cheek.
Ranma slowly became aware of what was going on. He relaxed his
grip. And looked, to his shock, straight into Ayumi's face. Ayumi
was embarrassed... Ranma edged away from him on her knees.
They both sat there for a second or three staring at each other,
equally embarrassed, not saying a word. Just one more awkward moment
in a growing line of uncomfortable instances between them.
"You?!" they each shouted, if only to dispel the impression
that either of them was really embarrassed by the fact that they had
been locked in an embrace.
Ayumi had yet to get used to hearing male Ranma speak the
informal feminine version of Japanese. He'd thought about asking her
to try to speak like a guy when she actually *was* a guy, but given
that the transformations were fast and could happen at any time,
remembering to speak like a boy would be the least of her concerns.
Another silent, tense four seconds passed between them. They
forced themselves to look away from each other. Both fumbled for
something else to say.
"This is all your fault, you know! If you hadn't been trying to
run away like that..." Ayumi cleared his throat.
"*What*? I was just trying to change back! I'm not as fast
when I'm a guy!" She felt she needed the slight edge to keep ahead
of Ryomi's brute-force attacks.
"Oh, don't give me that! You were running away!"
"Like *you* were doing any good!"
"I was winning!"
"Only because you got upset when she called you a girl!" Ranma
snorted. "It's an insult to all girls, saying a pervert like you's a
girl!"
"What did you call me?"
Ranma and Ayumi were too caught up in their argument to see
Ryomi strolling up to the rack. <We're supposed to be fighting and
*they* take time out to flirt?> She removed her belt and shook it to
make the belt turn solid... like a sword. Ryomi used the new blade
to cut a wedge from the support pole closest to Ranma and her
boyfriend.
The roof moved underneath them.
"Why do you ask that every time I say something? Geez, you'd
think you were deaf."
"I'd rather be deaf than a sex-changing tomboy weirdo like--"
All of a sudden neither of them had a roof left to sit on.
Thinking fast, Ayumi grabbed for the umbrella and Ranma again as
the roof collapsed, burying the bikes below. Ryomi was in the air at
once, using her multi-purpose belt-slash-weapon as a lasso to snare
whoever she could.
Ayumi held the umbrella out and let the belt tighten around it.
They were all falling back to Earth now; with any luck maybe he'd be
able to reverse the attack and yank Ryomi out of the air.
The belt cut cleanly through the umbrella and severed the top
half. Ayumi gaped. So much for that idea...
He felt Ranma try to push away from him. "Let go of me, you
pervert!" The boy drummed both fists on Ayumi's chest.
"Idiot!" Of all the times to come up with another argument!
"I'm holding you for your own good, not because I love you or
anything!"
Tears welled up in Ranma's eyes. Once they landed, at last
apart from each other, Ranma slapped him.
Not one of her usual 'How dare you!' slaps, either. Ranma had
put all of his weight behind this one. Enough of a blow that it took
Ayumi a few seconds to make sure all of his senses were still there.
"If worrying about me is such a big strain on your life, then don't
bother!"
He stormed away.
Ayumi watched his retreating back for several steps. "Ranma..."
he ran to the transformed girl's side. "Ranma!"
"I... uh..."
Ranma stopped. "We don't know each other." The boy wheeled
about to face him. "From this point on, our engagement is OVER!"
His declaration made, Ranma ran away.
Ayumi didn't bother to stop him.
Things had definitely changed. Originally he'd have celebrated
if *anyone*, particularly Ranma, were to call off the engagement.
Ayumi was forced into an engagement to a tomboy with a
gender-changing curse and about as much defiance as him. Neither of
them wanted to be engaged to begin with. "Once we get there, we're
strangers. Got it?" he'd told her on the way to her first day of
school at Fuurinkan High. "I don't even want you in the same area as
me if you can help it."
She had glared at him. "What are you so worried about? You
think I *want* people to know I'm engaged to a hormone-crazed macho
pervert!?"
Despite all their arguments, he was developing feelings for her.
<No! How did... can this happen?>
"When you smile, you're really cute..."
His own words. Whether Ranma believed it or not, it...... it
was true. <There. I said it! Are you happy now?> Terrific; he had
developed a soft spot for the kawaikunee tomboy.
"Ayumi?"
A girl's voice. Not as familiar as Ranma's, but he knew who it
belonged to.
Sayuri called his name again. "Ayumi!" He turned to look at
her. "What's going on? Where's Ranma? And... who was that guy?"
His voice went unexpectedly hoarse. "Ranma's... gone home."
Apart from the crowds, Ryomi was walking off in an entirely new
direction. She smiled. The first part of her plan had come to pass.
Now, all she had to do was find the Tendo Dojo and end Ranma's
miserable existence for eternity...

He had almost missed her.
After making such a dramatic departure Ranma had doubled back,
heading into the school building to find some hot water and then
change into her school uniform before heading home by herself.
<Stupid jerk pervert...>
Ayumi trailed her at a distance. She was in no hurry; after
all, if she went home and told Mr. Tendo and her father that she'd
called off the engagement, they'd undoubtedly clobber her again to
show her the error of her ways.
Actually, she had a lot more than that on her mind, and felt
like letting it stay there until she found a better use for it.
Anger. Yes, good. She was angry. At whom? Ayumi, for
starters. Ryomi, Dad... ah-ha, a little resentment there, too.
Right now, the brain-dead hentai pervert was first in line.
Why did he have to be such a jerk? Treating her the way he
did... like a little child who couldn't be trusted to make her own
decisions! Did he think he was her elder brother or something?
She came to a stop. All this anger made it hard to rant
properly. Scream? No, not here. But maybe...
There was a utility pole nearby.
She wound up and aimed a fist at one of the flyers stapled to
the pole - an advertisement for some place or other, she didn't care
- and hit it squarely. Hard enough of a blow to make the entire pole
shake. It made her feel a little better. Except for one thing.
<Oww! My ankle...>
Ranma looked down at the foot in question. She hadn't moved it
since feeling the pain... having braced herself on it for the punch.
<Must've sprained it when I took that fall.> She sighed. <I'd
better go to the clinic later.>
Ayumi reached the pole. It was still vibrating from the sheer
force of Ranma's punch. <Yeah, she's really mad, all right.>

Once home Ranma went up to her room and locked the door behind
her. She hastily tossed her bookbag into a corner and dropped into
the chair at her desk... to do exactly the same thing she had done
outside, except this time she wasn't going anywhere.
Her mind drifted, searching for memories.
Several years past...

"Tadai--ma!" Little Ranma threw open the door to her father's
apartment. She'd run directly home after school, hoping Father
hadn't heard about what happened at school today. Things were
confusing enough as it was.
Hmm... he didn't seem to be anywhere around...
Genma appeared behind her. "Ranma," he said, sternly, arms
folded. To a child Ranma's age he could be very intimidating.
So he *had* heard. "Father!"
"One of your teachers called today. She said you were in
another fight."
Her expression fell. "Yes..."
"Did you win?"
"No, the teachers broke it up." Ranma took her backpack off.
"They wanted me to bring you a note to sign..."
"Oh." The disappointment in Genma's voice was crystal-clear.
"Maybe next time. Now hurry up and change into your training gi. I
have some exercises for you to learn."
Ranma gave the note a brief glance and then looked up at her
father. "...Father?"
"Yes?"
"I'm confused. They told me at school I shouldn't be fighting,
'specially since I'm a girl. They said it's not proper for a girl to
fight."
"They did?"
"Yeah. They said that no one should fight, that we should just
try t'talk our way out of it."
Genma knelt in front of his daughter. "Ranma? Let me ask you
one question. Do you want to be one of the strongest martial artists
in the world?"
"I wanna be the strongest!"
"Good, good." Genma nodded. "Then always remember this: Those
who try to talk their way out of a fight are those who do not have
the strength to fight to begin with."
Ranma wasn't through asking questions. "But what about all th'
people who say I shouldn't be fighting 'cause I'm a girl? They say
it's not fem... famine..."
"*Feminine*," her father corrected.
"Yeah. I heard them say it's too bad I don't have a mother,
'cause she woulda taught me to know better."
"Well, umm..." hemmed Genma.
"What was Mother like?"
He always dreaded this question, of course. Genma had gone to
great lengths to keep Nodoka's influence out of Ranma's life and
training - which he considered to be the same thing - even to the
point of telling Ranma and everyone else who asked that her mother
was deceased.
It was bad enough maintaining the girl's edge as a fighter
without her picking up influences from everyone else. Perhaps it
would have been better to train Ranma in near-seclusion.
As for the 'agreement' Nodoka held that both he and Ranma had
signed, yes, it was valid... but he was trusting Nodoka to give up
easily and not do anything about it. So far he hadn't heard any
reports of Nodoka trying to locate them. If she wasn't bothering to
track them now, what were the chances Nodoka would come after them
when the time came?
"You would have liked her," Genma told her at last. "She was a
lot like you."
"Really?"

<Was he telling the truth?>
<Am I a lot like Mom was?>
Ranma became aware of a faint knocking at her window, just above
the desk.
Her room was in the second floor of the Tendo home, so not just
anyone could walk up to it and knock. And out of the people that
could... well, to be honest she knew of only one person who liked
coming in through her window.
She'd guessed right. Ayumi was there, hanging upside-down from
the gutters by his feet, tapping at the window. He hadn't bothered
to change his clothes since coming home from school, either.
Ranma slid the window open. "What do you want?"
"Uh..." the boy twiddled his thumbs.
"You thought I was gonna be crying on my bed, didn't you?"
More fidgeting. "...But..."
She wrapped a hand around the base of her desk lamp. "You don't
have to worry. I'm fine, so go away!" To add weight to her words
she threw the lamp into Ayumi's face and slammed the window shut...
on the cord, which was still plugged into the wall. When Ayumi
didn't move, she closed the curtains as well.
<Boy, that went well...>

Ranma made up her mind to hobble downstairs. While she could
feel sorry for herself all night long, her ankle needed attention.
Kasuga was in the kitchen, stirring together a pot of soup for the
night's supper and taking the occasional taste.
"Hmm," he said to no one in particular. "It needs a little
salt."
Ah, she hated to interrupt him when he was having fun. "Kasuga?"
Kasuga turned. "Ah, Ranma... I didn't hear you come in. Did
you just get home?"
"Er, yeah," Ranma put more weight on her uninjured ankle.
"Sayuri and Yuka wanted to take me to an ice cream shop after
school." Hopefully neither Sayuri nor Yuka had called looking for
her.
"Oh, did you have fun?"
Strange question to ask of a tomboy like her. "I guess.
Anyway, I just wanted to say I might be late for supper. I tripped
on the way home, and I think I sprained my ankle. I'm gonna go to
Dr. Tofu's and have it looked at."
Kasuga turned his attention to her ankles. "Which one?"
"This one," she lowered the sock, placing her worst foot forward.
"Hmm... it does look a little dark and swollen. Okay, I'll make
sure to save something for you. Where's Ayumi? He ought to help you
get there. I really don't think you should be putting much pressure
on that foot."
She raised her eyes. "I don't... know." Realizing how that
must have sounded, she quickly added, "It's okay, Kasuga. I can make
it on my own."

Ayumi leaned against the wall of the dojo and sighed. The words
Ranma left him with at school were still playing back in his thoughts.
She had slapped him. <'If worrying about me is such a big
strain on your life, then don't bother!'>
Then, <'We don't know each other. From this point on, our
engagement is OVER!'>
He caught sight of his shirt. A new one, to replace the one
Ryomi had cut. <I really should apologize...> Yes, that was the
right thing to do. Ranma did have feelings, and he'd trampled all
over them.
Now could he explain *why* he had done it?
Ayumi ran into the house and up the stairs to Ranma's room. She
wasn't there. He ran down the stairs. Maybe elder brother had an
idea as to where she was. "Kasuga?" he called.
"In the kitchen!" came the answer.
"Ranma?" asked Kasuga, in response to Ayumi's question. "Oh,
she's gone to see Tofu-sensei about a sprained ankle. I told her she
should wait for you, but-- huh?" The latter, because as he said it
he realized Ayumi was no longer in the room to listen to him. Oh,
well, one more plate of food to save from supper - assuming Father
and Mr. Saotome didn't eat everything first. Compared to them,
Naka's appetite was diminutive.
Kasuga smiled to himself. Ayumi may make a big production about
disliking the whole prearranged-marriage idea, Ranma, and annoying
her... but unavoidably, he was coming to care for the girl. For the
first time since their mother's passing, Ayumi was beginning to open
up.

The girl walked slowly along the road, dragging one ankle as she
walked. She wore the girl's uniform of Fuurinkan High - a sky-blue
jumper over a white dress shirt, with longer sleeves as something of
an indication of the weather or seasons - and a pig-tail of black
hair swaying back and forth with a faint rhythm.
"Ranma...!" Ayumi jogged up to her. "Ranma!"
Her gaze drifted to the sky. "Nice weather we've been having
lately." The voice was distant and had a touch of sadness to it.
Huh? This was not the greeting he had expected to receive.
He'd expected at the very least for Ranma to lash out at him in anger
or annoyance. But here she was being civil to him, and he wasn't
sure how to follow up on her observation.
<Well, say *something*, you idiot!> "Er... yeah."
Ranma said nothing.
"Ranma..." Ayumi tried to keep pace with her. "I... I'm..."
Better start again. "I'm sorry... 'bout what happened. I didn't
mean what I said."
"Well, this is an unexpected surprise..."
Now that was more like it. "But..."
She lowered her head slightly. "You don't really need to
apologize. I did overreact a little, I guess."
Ayumi fell in behind her. "You sure you're okay? Umm, if your
ankle hurts I can carry you."
"Stop trying to be so nice. You'll make me throw up."
They arrived at the clinic seven minutes later. Genma the panda
let them in - did he *always* remain in panda form while working at
the clinic? - then went back to sorting a load of cloth towels. A
panda, doing laundry.
Tofu's sight fell on the cut on Ranma's cheek and her ankle...
her limp was enough to point the doctor in the right direction.
"Ranma-chan... what happened?"
Ranma smiled. "Good afternoon, Tofu-sensei. I... had a little
accident coming home from school. I tripped..." She ran a finger
along the cut on her cheek. "...and got a little scraped up, too."
"Let me take a look at your ankle first," the doctor patted the
examination table. "Have a seat."
Ranma did so. Dr. Tofu eased the sock away from her foot; Ranma
and Ayumi had customarily taken off their shoes at the door. "Ranma,
you've got a minor ankle sprain here. The good news is, it should be
better in no time at all."
"That's good," the cursed girl straightened her legs.
"Now, as for that cut, I'll put something on it. It's a shame
to have a face as cute as yours marred by anything."
"Thank you, sensei," Ranma smiled again. Genma, however,
frowned... which seemed more menacing coming from a panda. Ayumi
kept an eye on him. What was the old man thinking?
Ranma hadn't yet told anyone all her reasons for despising her
father and everything he had put her through, but it was clear Mr.
Saotome wanted to control a lot of aspects of her life. Good thing
she was now at an age where she could do something about it.
Was her disrespect toward her father justified? Only time would
tell. Assuming Ranma's past continued to come back to haunt her.
She wasn't concerned about it, though. He could tell this by
the smile she wore, even as Dr. Tofu fitted a bandage to her cheek.
"I guess this means you and Ayumi are competing now to see who can
get the most injuries, huh?" Tofu grinned. "Ayumi's got a good head
start, however, and I think you had something to do with that."
Ayumi watched Ranma laugh.

The sky was shifting colors by the time they left the clinic,
warm hues smearing and blending behind the clouds. Evening was well
on its way.
"I feel better now, don't you?" Ranma's step was a bit
livelier, although she played it safe by not putting too much stress
on her sprained ankle. She knew how to live with injuries; this
wasn't the first time she'd gotten herself hurt and definitely
wouldn't be the last.
Wait. Shouldn't Ayumi have said something by now? "Ayumi?"
"Hey, where'd you go?" She looked over her shoulder at him.
Ayumi was lagging behind and seemed to be lost in thought.
"Ayumi?"
"Tofu-sensei said you have a cute face. That was a nice thing
to say."
"Oh, I don't know," Ranma said, spreading her arms and walking
an invisible tightrope, one foot in front of the other.
"What do you mean, 'I don't know?'"
"I'm... really not worried about that. Whether I'm cute or not."
Yeah. Right. Then why had she reacted the way she had when he
told her she was really cute when she smiled?
Ayumi placed himself in her path. "But it's true. You really
do look cute..." Just saying the words made him wish he were in
another hemisphere. He could barely bring himself to look her in the
eye.
If he had, he would have seen her eyes grow large. "What?" he
asked.
"You don't have a fever, do you?"
"Of course not!"
"I'm fine." Ranma clasped her hands behind her back. "You
don't need to bother with cheering me up."
"That wasn't what I was doing! Just 'cause I wanted to give you
a compliment..." He stopped, but she didn't.
"I told you, I'm not worried about whether or not I'm cute."
"Well, you are, whether you like it or not."
The compliment made her pause. She glanced back at him. "Huh?"
Ayumi had taken up a perch atop a pole in a chain-link fence
overlooking a storm drain, his back to her. "Uh, er... yeah! It's
true," he fidgeted. "But that's just what I think..."
"Ayumi."
Her voice was gentle and without any traces of hidden intent.
"Thanks. I'm glad to hear it, even if you aren't telling the truth."
She beamed at him warmly.
A weapon more deadly than any he'd ever faced, the smile hit
Ayumi with every last bit of its brain-numbing force. By all rights
he would have dropped off the side if his footing had been any worse.
Not only that, the setting sun was behind her, framing her face in
soft light and enhancing the effect.
He fought to keep the blush from showing on his face. <She
really is cute...>
Ranma prodded him with a finger. In his state it was enough to
send him tipping over into the storm drain below. "Gotcha!"
She was paying him back for his little stunt in the dojo, he
supposed. He surfaced, spitting out a mouthful of rainwater - at
least he *hoped* it was rainwater - to find her leaning on the fence
above, arms folded. "What'd you do that for?" spluttered Ayumi.
Ranma laughed. "There, now we're even. You can stop feeling
guilty now, right?"
"You are NOT cute!"
She stuck her tongue out at him. "So what?"

Somehow, some way, the Lost Girl had wound up in Okinawa. Ryomi
considered herself fortunate that she had never unintentionally left
Japan in her lifetime - *yet*.
<Just you wait, Ranma! When I find the Tendo Dojo, we'll settle
this once and for all.>

(...to be continued...)

----------
Credits:

Written by: Mike Koos
Prereaders: Richard Beaubien, Tom Williams, David Wills

With apologies to Rumiko Takahashi...

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.mother.com/~makoto/stories.htm
Comments and questions welcome.

**********************************
* Mike "Ranma Saotome" Koos * "I can do nothing to stop you. Your
* (AKA "Makoto Kino") * background music is too strong for
* -------------------------------* me."
* Internet: mak...@mother.com *
* * - Whose Line is it Anyway?
**********************************
WWW: http://www.mother.com/~makoto/stories.htm