|
|
Author's Notes: Yes! I *told * you I was still working on it! I hope Chapter 3 doesn't take as long...
Disclaimer: Disclaimer: Yeah, I wrote this. No, most of the characters aren't mine. In fact, they belong to Rumiko Takahashi, without whom, Ranma and all his friends wouldn't have seen the light of day. And the world would have been a much poorer place. All Hail Takahashi-sensei!
Another disclaimer: This is a continuation of Chris Jones' "Curse of Silence", which can be found at: Chris' Fanfics .
C&C is appreciated and even groveled for!
************************************************
"When You're a Stranger", Chapter 2
by Deb "SabreBabe" Matthews
Ranma was jolted out of his happy daydream when Akane suddenly nudged him in the ribs. Looking around, he noticed that the bus was slowing down and that Akane was fussing with her bookbag.
{It doesn't look like we're in Nerima anymore,} he thought. When the bus stopped, he hopped up, grabbed Akane's bookbag and held his hand out for her. He smirked when she looked at him like he'd grown a tree on the top of his head. Akane waved him off and they got off the bus. As the bus drove out of sight, Akane hit him in the arm.
'What were you doing back there? Trying to embarrass me?' she scribbled hastily.
"Uh, no. I dunno, it just seemed like the thing to do. Sorry, I wasn't tryin' to embarrass ya or nothin'." Ranma replied.
Akane frowned for a second, then scrunched her face as she thought of something. She turned away from him and waved from him to follow her. Ranma noticed that Akane would start to write something, then erase it and start to write again. After a few tries, she seemed to give up and tucked the writing tablet under her arm. Ranma tugged on his pigtail nervously.
"Uhm, yer not mad at me or nothin', are ya?"
Akane slowed and looked at him. Then she shook her head 'No'. She looked back to where she was walking and started to write again.
'I want to say something, but don't know what to say. I'm just confused right now. Sorry.'
{Confused?} Ranma thought. {What is she confused about? Argh! I'll never understand girls!}
He handed the writing tablet back to Akane. {Okay, I'll ask...} He swallowed the lump growing in his throat.
"What're you confused about? Can I help?"
Akane wrote slowly, taking time to look up to make sure she wasn't walking into anything.
{She looks pretty distracted...} Ranma thought.
Meanwhile, the chaos factor in Akane's brain was at an all-time high...
{WHY IS HE BEING SO NICE? Calm down Akane... now isn't the time to freak out over this. He's allowed to be nice, isn't he? BUT HE'S A BOY! But boys can be nice, right? I mean, Dr. Toufu, he's nice, right? And the other guys in your afternoon school, they're nice, right? Ranma isn't from around here, so he doesn't have to be a jerk, right? HE'S TRYING TO TALK TO ME AGAIN! WHAT DO I SAY??? Just calm down, you can think of something without sounding stupid, right? Sure, I can do that. Not a problem. Right.}
Akane sighed as she finished writing and passed the tablet back to Ranma.
'You've been really nice to me since we met and I'm just not used to that. Most of the guys from Furinkan are jerks and you're obviously not a jerk. I guess I don't know what to think.'
Ranma raised his eyebrows at the off-hand compliment.
"Uhh, thanks, I think."
She smiled at him and turned back away before he could see her blush.
As Akane stopped at the next corner, Ranma had a chance to really take in his surroundings. To Ranma, it looked like they had wandered into a fairly upper class neighborhood. Up ahead sounds of children laughing and play were coming from a nice looking compound of brightly painted walls and fences. As they got closer, Ranma could see a series of single-story buildings, looking new and bright and very well maintained. Since they were heading towards the compound, he wondered if this was the school Akane went off to every afternoon. It looked nothing like Furinkan. In fact, it looked nothing like any school he had ever been to. It looked like...like... he didn't know anything to compare it to. It seemed very pleasant, from what he could see of it. Only the tall multi-storied building on the next block seemed to loom over the complex, casting a slightly cold and sterile feel.
Walking through the gates was, for Ranma, a completely different matter. Akane simply strolled through the gates and greeted the many children and adults on the playground. The playground itself was beautiful, full of bright colours and a variety of equipment that only the very best parks had. But Ranma found a sudden twinge deep in the pit of his stomach when he saw the happy children playing. These weren't the kinds of children he was used to seeing. He remembered Akane's words from the night before about handicaps. 'I've seen worse,' she had said. And here they were. He snapped his head suddenly away from the scene so that he was only looking at the back of Akane's head, trying not to stare morbidly at the children playing.
{I know this feeling ain't right. It's not their fault they ain't... aren't normal. They're happy, it's okay for them to be happy, and I shouldn't stare, 'cause it's rude, but why can't I stop looking at them?}
Akane looked back at Ranma and smiled at him. A kind of 'Don't worry, everything's gonna be okay' kind of smile. Ranma just wished it would be. He felt suddenly very out of place and stomped hard on the urge to turn away and go home. Akane stopped at the double doors and wrote on her tablet again. Ranma looked down and fumbled with his fingers.
{I wonder what she's thinking? She looks comfortable here. I don't wanna get her mad at me, but what do I do? I don't wanna stare, either...} Ranma fretted deep in his thoughts, all while maintaining a neutral face.
Akane handed him her tablet.
'Do you want to go on home now? You are welcome to stay if you want. They don't mind if we have visitors in class, as long as you don't make a nuisance or disrupt the class.' Ranma took a deep breath, trying to clear his mind.
{No, I gotta stay. I can't let something like this throw me off! I'm a martial artist, dammit! If Akane can do it, so can I!} While Ranma struggled with himself, Akane watched his face. She could see he was thinking. Thinking a lot harder about more than hanging out with her for an afternoon. She touched his arm and snapped him out of his thoughts.
She gestured. Ranma had seen that gesture before. It was pretty obvious.
'Are you okay?'
"Uh, yeah, I'm okay. I'm just thinking... uh, just thinking about classes and stuff," he lied. Unfortunately, Ranma was a terrible liar.
Akane took back her tablet and gently pulled him over to a bench on the grass near the doors.
She looked him in the eyes for a minute, then wrote.
'You're not comfortable here. I can see it. Is it because of the school itself, or are you disturbed by the deformities you see?'
{Damn, she's blunt!} Ranma thought. He swallowed hard. He didn't want to admit that he had been bothered by the children's various physical handicaps. He didn't want to admit that Akane's scar gave him the same cold lump in the pit of his stomach. But she knew. She knew and she was confronting him on it now.
{I... I don't wanna hurt her feelings, but I don't wanna lie to her either. Oh manoman, and we were just getting' ta be friends, too,} he lamented.
Ranma took a deep breath, looked sidelong at the playground, and slowly released his breath as he nodded.
"I... I, uh, geez, this is hard," he said in a whispered voice. "I don't wanna feel like this, but they, they all kinda spook me, y'know?" He couldn't look her in the eye. "I feel all weird inside, and I don't know why. I don't like it, feeling like this, you know?" Ranma started to babble and he didn't notice Akane take the tablet back to write again. He was playing with his fingers when Akane handed the tablet back to him.
"Hunh?"
'Have you ever been around people with severe physical handicaps? I wouldn't think you have, since you've been on the road with your father for the last ten years. True?'
Ranma looked at her and nodded again. "It's true. I ain't seen much of anything unless it had to do with martial arts and special training techniques."
Akane gently took the tablet from Ranma and wrote again, her other hand unconsciously fingering the scarf that covered the scars on her neck.
Ranma noticed, however, and cringed. {I can't tell her that. Not that.}
'Then why don't we pretend this is a new training exercise? When you walk into a dark room, it takes time for your eyes to adjust, right? I think you'll find it's a lot the same.' When Ranma finished, Akane erased the board and began writing again.
'I remember feeling the same way you do now when I first came here. I thought it was a horrible thing that I had to be sent away from my family and friends because I wasn't "like them" anymore. And I was scared of the other kids here. But after a few weeks, I wasn't having that horrible feeling in my stomach anymore. The same feeling you're having now, right?'
Ranma sat back, stunned that she really did know about that horrible feeling he was having. He felt ashamed and relieved at the same time. Ranma nodded to her while she continued to write again.
'It's a normal reaction, Ranma. I'll bet you had the same feeling when you were little and had to learn a new technique that looked pretty scary, or when you went to a new dojo and had to meet bigger and tougher opponents, right?' Ranma reluctantly nodded and she began writing again.
'It's okay to be afraid. It's NOT okay for you to run from it or to let it make decisions for you. You understand?'
{She can't be right. This isn't fear! I'm not afraid of nothin'! But...she's right. It does feel like I'm a little kid again...just before the... the..c-cat pit. No! It's NOT like that! It's stupid! This is something different! It has to be! I'm a martial artist and I'm not afraid of these people...these kids... they don't scare me! At ALL! Not at all! They can't scare me...}
Ranma nodded unconsciously and handed the tablet back to Akane.
{Oh Ranma, you're thinking about this so hard. Anyone can see it's bothering you, even if you're trying not to show it. How can I get you to understand it's not so bad if you don't dwell on it so much? I mean, I was so busy learning to sign I never had the time to...Wait! That's it!}
Akane stopped what she was doing, composed herself, putting the tablet down in her lap. She finally turned and faced Ranma. She had to turn his face to her, so they were looking directly at each other.
"Akane, wha...?"
Slowly, deliberately, Akane began to sign. Using large, simple gestures that looked nothing like the delicate dance of fingers (that he had seen earlier with Dr. Toufu), she first pointed to Ranma, to herself, then back to him, she gestured between them, them turned and pointed to the doors of the school. Ranma was bewildered.
{What the? Why isn't she using the board? What's she want...wait...}
"You're...yer asking me something? A question?" he paused. She nodded.
{C'mon Ranma, you can do it...}
"Yer asking me... if I wanna come to school with you?" he finished slowly, not sure if that's what she said. He was rewarded when she lightly tapped her nose, then his, and gave him a smile. She began to sign slowly again.
{Yes! He's doing it!}
Again she pointed to each of them, between them, then slowly pointed towards the gates, trailing off towards the bus stop. Then she made a gesture like a tent before putting them back in her lap, signaling she was finished.
{Why is she doing this?} Ranma asked himself.
"Yer asking me if... if I want to go back? Back... home?"
{Yes! Close enough!} She smiled brightly and nodded.
"Yer asking me if I want to stay or go home, right? Why didn't you just use the tablet?" he started complaining. "Hey... waitaminute...that thing with your hands, can I... can I learn that here?"
{He fell for it! Yes!} Akane silently cheered.
She nodded slightly, trying not to betray her excitement.
"Uh, today? Now?"
Akane smiled brighter and nodded more enthusiastically.
"Cool! I wanna learn that...thing you do with your hands! Like you did with Dr. Toufu, not what you just did with me, though. I can learn that here?" he babbled excitedly.
Akane nodded and smiled some more, glad she had taken his mind off of what worried him and gave him something more interesting to think about.
{I hope this works,} Akane thought. {I hope he doesn't get mad about me distracting him like this.} She crossed her fingers and, standing up, led him into the school.
************************************************ Tatewaki sat back in his chair, gazing at the nervous boys in front of him. That's all they were, really, just boys. They had no idea of what it meant to be a man, especially one of his stature and breeding. They never would, either. But he knew their girlfriends secretly wished for him. They all did. Just like She does. She always did. She was just playing her childish games with him, to fend off her glorious step into adulthood a little longer. But, to the matter at hand. An interloper has sought to take his rightful place as Her paramour. And these boys before him knew something about this...! This...!
Tatewaki took a calming breath so as not to unleash the fury building within. It would not do to lose him perfect control in front of the commoners. He was their Lord and Master, and he was their inspiration. Control was his.
He watched as Daisuke and Hiroshi fidgeted. Tatewaki met Daisuke's gaze and locked in on him.
"So, Daisuke-kun. What will you tell me about this Ranma Saotome?" Kuno's eyes bore holes into Daisuke's mind, frying his already frayed nerves.
Daisuke looked down to the floor to compose himself. His hands were already shaking and clammy from apprehension, his lips and mouth dry in contrast.
{This really sucks,} he thought. Reporting to Upperclassman Kuno had to be one of the worst things to happen to him. Having Sayuri find out would be worse.
(Definitely worse.}
"Well?"
Daisuke shifted and glanced at Hiroshi before starting to speak.
"Uhm, well, his name is Ranma Saotome, and he just returned from a training trip in China. He's staying with the Tendo's and he seems to get along pretty good with Akane-san." Daisuke congratulated himself on remembering the honorific Kuno demanded for Akane. No one referred to her as anything less than Akane-san (within earshot of Kuno, of course). But then, Daisuke had recently been "re-educated" on "Akane Etiquette" and still had the bruises and healing scars to show for it.
"I already know that much, Daisuke-kun. I want to know what else you know. You are in his class, are you not?"
"I, uh, I think he's something of a martial artist," he squeaked out through parched lips. "I mean, he broke Kano-kun's hand with just two fingers!" Daisuke hoped that would be enough for Kuno to chew on. It wasn't.
Tatewaki glared.
"I know that, as well. Tell me, did you learn nothing about this interloper while he sat in your classroom? He sits next to Akane, correct? I hear they even shared her books. Am I incorrect in this?"
"N-no, Sempai, you are correct. Akane offered to share her books with him, since he didn't have any of his own. His uniform looked, uhm, borrowed, too. It wasn't new."
Kuno's eyes narrowed as he slammed his fist on the desk.
"So! This low-born peasant cannot afford his own books, let alone his own uniform! And he dares to date with my Akane-san!" He looked back at Daisuke, who was staring at an interesting bit of lint on the floor.
"Is there anything else that you will tell me about this Ranma Saotome, Daisuke-kun?"
"Uh, uhm, not that I can think of at this moment, Kuno-Sempai. I haven't really had much of a chance to talk to Sayuri yet. Akane probably told her all about Ranma-kun."
"If this is true, then perhaps I should be speaking with the lovely Sayuri rather than with you. I'm sure she would be pleased to meet with me tonight and discuss things over dinner."
Daisuke and Hiroshi glanced at each other and paled at the thought of Kuno dating Sayuri. There would most definitely be more than dinner and talking involved, if the rumours were true. Hiroshi opened his mouth to say something, but Kuno as glared at him, Hiroshi's mouth snapped shut and he looked away. It was not his place to say anything, only to witness it. He unconsciously rubbed his arm where he had the reminder of that lesson learned.
Daisuke gulped for air.
"S-sempai, I haven't had a chance to speak to her yet. I'm sure I can talk to her before the end of school and report to you immediately after classes..."
"No, I think I will be asking her myself. I will enjoy such pleasant company tonight, and I have you to thank for it." Kuno waved his hand, dismissing them.
Daisuke felt his guts turn to ice. This was bad. Way bad. Deep into Hell bad. His shoulders slumped as he turned to Hiroshi to leave. Hiroshi didn't look much better.
"Man, there's got to be a way we can warn her," Hiroshi whispered to Daisuke once they got out into the hall.
"I dunno. She's already hung up on the whole 'Kuno's so suave and debonaire and romantic' hook. I don't know why she can't see him for the creep he is. He's got half the girls falling for him all the time!" Daisuke complained in a hushed voice.
Kuno came up behind them and slapped Daisuke on the back.
"I wouldn't worry about your little girlfriend, Daisuke-kun. After all, she'll be with me. I'll show her a wonderful time, one that she'll never soon forget," he said, grinning like a shark.
"By the way, you haven't made a woman of her yet, have you Daisuke-kun?" Kuno said, still grinning. Tossing his head back and running his fingers though his hair, he left with parting words.
"Not to worry. I'm sure I can take care of that for you. Think of it as a small favour, from me to you."
Daisuke and Hiroshi were left standing in the hall, Dai shaking with rage and terror for his girlfriend. Hiroshi stood mute, the witness to it all.
************************************************
Akane led Ranma through the brightly-lit halls to an office. She pointed to the door and gave him the tablet.
'We're stopping in the office to get you a Day Pass. This will let the instructors know you're a guest.'
Ranma nodded and followed.
A few minutes later, they were on their way to Akane's first class.
"Geez," Ranma stated. "That was pretty quick. Do they always let guests into the school like this?"
Akane nodded and wrote. She stopped and erased half of what she was writing before handing the tablet over.
{Oop! I don't want to remind him about why no one wants to come to visit...)
'We don't get many guests, and the majority that do show up are usually family and friends anyway.'
{Wow!} Ranma thought excitedly. {She thinks of me as a friend! Cool!} He grinned a cocky grin as he handed the tablet back to her and nodded.
Akane turned off the main hall and into a hall that was obviously for the youngest children. Bright colours and cartoon characters danced on the walls creating a very cheery atmosphere. There were clouds painted on the upper walls and ceilings, the lights themselves creating the sunshine. The coat hooks were about waist high to Ranma and had little cubbies underneath for shoes and papers.
{We gotta be in the wrong hall. Akane ain't in Kindergarten here, is she?} He reached out and touched her arm, hoping to find out why they were in the wrong hall. Before she could answer, Akane was suddenly mobbed by several small kids, each tugging and waving at her, vying for her attention. Akane tried to sign back to them but she had to juggle the tablet in her hands. After struggling second, she handed the board to Ranma (who was now totally confused), and knelt down to greet each child individually. One pulled at Ranma's shirt and slowly signed unfamiliar gestures to him. Ranma could only shrug his shoulders and grin. He pointed to the tablet in his hands.
"I can't talk to you like that, kid. I don't know how."
The child tipped his head and knitted his little brows. Then he pointed to his ear and turned his head, showing Ranma his hearing aid.
{Great, and the kid can't hear me, either!} Ranma grumbled to himself. {What have I gotten myself into?} Ranma felt his shirt tugged on again. The kid pointed to the tablet Ranma was holding for Akane. Ranma handed it to him.
The little boy sat down on the floor, and very slowly wrote out a sentence in sloppy Kindergarten Kanji. Ranma knelt down to read over his shoulder.
'my name is tomeo. What you name?'
Ranma smiled and wrote on the board.
'My name is Ranma. Glad to meet you.'
Tomeo smiled, stood and bowed. Ranma did the same. Tomeo gestured at Akane, then back to Ranma.
"Friends? Are you asking if me and Akane are friends?"
Tomeo wrote again.
'you akane friend?'
Ranma smiled as he looked at Akane greeting the other children. He nodded.
"Yeah, I'm Akane's friend."
Tomeo looked at Ranma, at Akane, then back to Ranma and got a mischievous gleam in his eye. Ranma wasn't sure he liked the look of it at all. Tomoe kissed the palm of his hand, pointed to Ranma then to Akane and giggled.
Ranma jumped back, hands in warding positions and started babbling loudly. Unfortunately, other children noticed and Tomeo was only too happy to tell them all that Akane had brought her "Boy Friend" to class with her.
Ranma suddenly found himself surrounded by a mob of waist-high terrors all making kissing noises and gestures at him. Akane turned to see what was happening and saw Ranma pinned up against the wall by little kissing bandits.
{What has he gotten himself into?!} She thought. {And do I even want to know?}
Just as she started to break up the fun, another student, much closer in age to Akane and Ranma, wandered out into the hall, obviously looking for the missing Kindergartners. She tapped Akane on the shoulder.
'I kind of figured it was you out here being held hostage by the ankle-biters. Hey! Who's the hunk?' She pointed to Ranma trapped against the wall.
Ranma just looked at Akane and mouthed "Help!"
'What are they saying... waitaminute...' she looked at the kids, to Ranma, then to Akane. 'You're kidding!' She signed excitedly. 'He's you're boyfriend? Akane! You little minx you!'
'No, Oyuki!!' Akane signed back 'No! He's not my boyfriend! He's, he's...' Akane stopped signing and put her head in her hands. {I can't believe this is happening!}
Oyuki would have nothing of it. She pulled Akane's face back up and signed quickly. 'He's what, Akane? Who is he? He's such a babe!'
Akane sighed and slumped her shoulders in defeat. 'He's my fiance.' Oyuki's eyes got very large. She broke out into a smile and shifted into a relaxed stance, contemplating the whole scene.
'Damn! He's a serious stud-muffin! You sure lucked out, Akane! Where'd you pick him up? He looks like he's good with kids, too! Does he have a brother?'
'Arranged marriage,' Akane signed as she waded into the mob to rescue Ranma from further embarrassment. She retrieved her writing tablet from him and bopped him on the head with it, which sent the children into more fits of giggles.
"Wha'd ya do that for?" He complained. "I didn't do nothin'! I was just talkin' to this kid and he starts actin' all weird on me!"
Akane put her hand over his mouth before he could dig himself any deeper than he already was.
Suddenly, the lights went out, and all the children scampered into the classroom with Oyuki quickly running behind leaving Ranma, Akane, and an adult alone in the hall. Akane removed her hand from his mouth, and Ranma whispered, eyeing the teacher.
"Why are the lights out?"
'It means we're tardy,' Akane wrote and she led him into the classroom.
************************************************
Nabiki sat and watched the crowd growing around the gate. She knew that the usual gang of idiots would stop to harass Akane as she tried to meet her bus. This was old news, happened all the time. What was new, was that Ranma was with her today. And after the scene they made this morning, Nabiki wasn't about to put any bets out on them this afternoon. The variables were too unpredictable. For the moment. She would reconsider them once she got to know their new houseguest and Akane's reactions to her sudden engagement.
From her vantage point, Nabiki could see the whole courtyard. Ranma and Akane were quietly sharing their lunch under a tree, oblivious to the gang at the gate. They seemed deeply engrossed in their conversation.
{Hmm, and those two were up pretty late in the dojo last night, too. Akane says they were 'just talking'. Better make a note to check into these 'conversations'. I know a few folks who'd pay quite a bit for Akane's quiet conversations with a boy,} she grinned to herself, mentally calculating the increase of her bank account.
{Then again, with a few subtle alterations, I could rake a mint out of Kuno with it, too.} She shook her head. {No, as much as I could make off of that idiot, I'm not going to sell my sister out to him. He's been the cause of too much of our troubles lately, and I won't cater to him.}
Tapping her pencil on her ledger, she scanned the grounds for a few other faces.
{Hmm, Hi and Dai are missing. And since Kuno isn't here making a scene about Akane and Ranma sitting together, I'd bet my money that he's grilling them for information. Which means he'll probably end up going after one of their girlfriends, since Akane is friends with Sayuri and Yuka...} She thought hard for a moment.
{It'll be Sayuri. She's prettier and is more likely to fall for Kuno's flattery games. Guess I'd better get a move on, if I want to nip this bomb before it goes off.} Nabiki stood up and swept off her skirt. Scanning the crowd, she started off in the last known direction of Yuka and Sayuri. Since they weren't eating with Akane today, they were probably in the cafeteria.
{You owe me another one, guys.} Nabiki wandered off, mentally tabulating Hi and Dai's ever-growing debt.
************************************************
Akane and Oyuki quickly settled into their respective corners, each paired with a long table and small chairs. Ranma followed Akane, but stopped, looking around nervously.
'What's the matter?' Akane wrote.
"Where do I sit?" Ranma whispered, so not to interrupt the teacher taking attendance. "I don't really wanna sit in one of these little bitty chairs! I might break it or somethin'!"
Akane pointed to a chair along the back wall. Ranma retrieved it and pulled it alongside Akane's.
"So," he asked quietly, "why are you and that other girl in a little kids' class?"
Akane smiled, set out her tablet and wrote out her answer.
'Oyuki and I are Teacher's Assistants. We help out with the younger kids to practice their signing.' Ranma looked up and nodded for her to continue. Akane erased the board and started again.
'It's easier to split them up into smaller groups so they don't get bored or distracted. They learn better this way, and we can keep better tabs on their progress.'
Ranma looked at the odd equipment on the table in front of them. Akane caught his gaze and gestured.
'These?'
Ranma nodded.
Akane erased and wrote.
'Those are for the kids with hearing aids.' She pointed to the phone jacks and the power cords.
'They plug the hearing aide into here, and it helps to save on their batteries. In some it helps to amplify the sounds, making them clearer.'
Ranma thought a moment.
"But aren't all these kids, uhm, deaf? They can't hear, right?"
Akane nodded, then gestured and wrote some more.
'The ones with hearing aids are mostly deaf. They have a small bit of hearing, but not enough to make them hear very well.'
Ranma still looked confused. He started to say something, but stopped, not quite able to put his thought into words.
Akane thought for a moment, and tried to fill in the gaps.
'Like being blind, or mostly blind. You can see, but only light and dark, and only some rough shapes, but not well enough to make sense of what's out there. It's like that with some Profoundly deaf kids. You understand?'
Ranma nodded and smiled.
{Yeah, I think I can understand that...}
"Like, like hearing things underwater, right?"
Akane gestured her 'Kinda right' gesture.
'But even more muddled. Maybe even quieter.'
Ranma nodded again, but as he was about to say something else, the teacher released the children to Oyuki and Akane for their practice sessions.
Ranma pulled his chair off to the side so he wouldn't get in the way of Akane's lessons.
{Man, this is gonna be so boring!} Ranma fidgeted a little while Akane greeted each of the four children under her care. All had hearing aids of one sort or another. He watched them with a quiet fascination, wondering what it would be like to not hear the world around him.
{How can I be a martial artist if I couldn't hear? Hell, my old man beats me senseless if I don't hear him sneaking up on me now as it is, but if I couldn't hear him at all...} Ranma grinned wryly. {Then again, I wouldn't hafta listen ta him piss and moan about every little thing, either.}
Looking around the room, he saw Oyuki signing to her group of students. She had a couple more in her group, but none of them seemed to have hearing aids. The teacher had the largest, and possibly the oldest group.
{Okay, so maybe this isn't exactly Kindergarten. Mebbe it's a beginning class?} He looked back to Akane for confirmation of his hunch. She was slowly signing, making large, deliberate gestures, and having each child repeat them.
{That don't look much like what she was using outside earlier. But it don't look much like the signs she used when she was talkin' ta Dr. Toufu, either. Kinda like a little of both,} Ranma mused. He continued to watch Akane, only to discover his hands wouldn't stay still. He tried to mimic the gestures discreetly, but suddenly one of them made sense. He knew what it meant, and his hands responded accordingly. He felt like a man who had learned to read for the first time, which in all actuality, he was. He could hardly sit still from that point on.
Akane watched him from out of the corner of her eye and smiled.
{Good! He's distracted enough to learn without being weirded out by the people around him. I hope this holds for the rest of the day,} she mused.
{This is so cool!} Ranma watched the gestures very carefully. He was certain he could pick out a few more before the class was over. {I know that one was to ask for more... rice? Soup? I'm not sure, but it was more food, I just know it!}
Ranma scooted his chair in a little closer, just to make sure he wasn't missing anything.
************************************************
Meanwhile, back at Furinkan...
Daisuke sat back in his chair and thrummed the desk nervously, waiting for the teacher to turn her back to the class.
{All I need is just a second to get this to Sayuri. She has to get this, I can't let her get trapped into a bad situation with Kuno.} His eyes narrowed. He leaned forward and nearly pounded his desk in frustration. {I can't believe that pompous ass! Who the hell does he think he is, telling me he's doing me a little favour by doing Sayuri?! I oughta beat the crap out of him,} he sighed, his shoulders slumping. {Shyeah, right. Like I'm a fighter. Like I can even come close to beating Kuno. Huh, like I need to get thrown out of school and into the canal. Probably with cement shoes and left for fish food.}
The teacher finally turned to write on the board, Dai took the chance to toss the badly mangled note onto Sayuri's desk. Her eyebrows disappeared under her bangs, then looking over to Dai, she smiled and blushed prettily. Daisuke sighed, remembering to release the breath he'd been holding.
{Ohpleaseohpleaseohplease, let her listen to me this time!} Dai sulked behind his textbook, knowing full well that this little 'liaison' probably wasn't going to work out the way he wanted it to.
Sayuri discreetly opened the note.
'Sayuri,
Please, please, please, pay attention this time! Kuno-sempai is gonna ask you out tonight. He wants to ask you questions about Ranma and Akane. Please say no and don't go out with him! I'll tell you more during break.-Daisuke'
Sayuri gasped and clutched the note to her chest.
{Kuno-sempai's going to ask me out! I can't believe it! It's a dream come true!}
Daisuke heard the gasp and knew she wasn't going to cooperate. He dreaded the note that would come. Sure enough, a few minutes later, a neatly folded packet with hearts drawn all over it was plopped onto his desk. He scooped the note into his lap as he looked up from his book to make sure the teacher hadn't noticed. Sayuri's flowing script was filled with excess curls and little hearts everywhere. But the content didn't warm his heart at all.
'Dai,
I can't believe it! Kuno-sempai is really going to ask me out? Really? I hope you're not jealous, but he's just dreamy! I've always wanted to go out on a date with him, just once! I'm so glad you two are friends! I never thought you'd do this for me! Oh, thank you! Thank you! (glomps and kisses)
-Sayuri
P.S.- I'll talk to you during break! -S'
Dai groaned and bashed his face into the book on his desk.
{She didn't listen. Now Hi and me gotta try to talk her out of this. I hope Yuka will help. She's not as flaky...} Dai was beginning to regret dating a girl who thought with her hormones. {Okay, granted, I hoped I'd get lucky, but somewhere along the line, I kinda fell for her. Dammit Sayuri! Get your head outta those stupid romance novels and pay attention to what's happening around here! Can't you see what a bastard Kuno is?}
Hiroshi looked on as his pal quietly banged his head on the desk. Shaking his head, he started writing a note to Yuka, hoping she'd help talk some sense into her friend.
************************************************
Ranma practically bounced to Akane's next class.
"That was fun! I didn't know it was that easy to learn sign language! Can we learn some more? Today? What's your next class? Will there be more sign language there?" Ranma's hands were reciting the few gestures he had learned over and over. Akane had to stop him a few times and correct his "pronunciation", but for the most part, he had them down correctly. She was smiled broadly, happy that he was able to forget about his earlier apprehension. But he was going to be in for a big surprise in her next class. Akane handed him the tablet.
'My next class is English.' She tried to hide her grin.
Ranma stopped dead in the hall.
{English? Ew!}
"Whadda ya mean, English? Ya can't talk, why do ya have to learn English?"
Akane bopped him with the tablet, then continued to write. Ranma glared.
"Wha'd ya do that for? I was just askin'..."
She handed him the tablet and started walking down the hall again.
'Just because I can't speak it doesn't mean I can't read or write it. And I can sign, so I have to learn to sign in English as well.'
Ranma tried to read and follow Akane at the same time, all while dodging various other students coming and going from different classes. Most looked like they were carrying athletic gear.
"Wait, sign in English? You mean you have to learn to sign in a different language, too? How the heck do you do that?"
Akane began signing to him in English.
{It looks the same ta me,} Ranma thought. He shook his head, not understanding.
Akane waved him on, pulling him towards another classroom. This one was full of older students, mostly their age, some quite a bit older. This time, Akane took a seat with the rest of the class and Ranma pulled up a chair next to her.
"Okay, how is this sign language different from what you were teachin' in the other class?" he whispered.
Akane slid the tablet over to him.
'We have to learn new signs to sign in ASL.'
Ranma wrinkled his nose.
"What's ASL?"
Akane scribbled quickly as the instructor came into the room.
'American Sign Language.'
The teacher started with a volley of gestures, his hands quickly dancing before the class responded with a similar exchange. Ranma was stunned at the pace. It was much, much faster and far more intricate than what he had just been practicing with in the last class.
{Man, I'm outta my league here. I'm havin' trouble just tryin' ta see if I know any of the signs. Nothin' looks familiar. Mebbe this isn't what I wanna learn after all.} Ranma groused to himself.
Akane noticed Ranma looking downcast and lost, so she slipped a book out of her bookbag and passed it to him along with her tablet.
'You're sitting in an advanced class. That's why it looks so hard. Practice what we were doing in the other class. It'll help keep you from getting too bored.'
Ranma looked at the Primer and smiled. It had lots of pictures and basic instructions for each sign.
{Now this I can understand. Wait, she said this was an advanced English class? Just how good is she anyways?} Ranma pondered Akane's scholastic abilities for another minute before shrugging it off. The book in front of him was much more interesting than any of the books at the other schools.
{This is so cool!}
Ranma's hands slowly and carefully began forming each of the gestures pictured in the book, while Akane continued her English lessons at breakneck speed.
************************************************ Hiroshi caught up with Yuka at her locker on their way to gym class.
"I got your note, Hiroshi. I can't believe Sayuri is actually going to consider dating with that egotistical back-stabbing bastard. I thought she had a better head on her shoulders than that." Yuka grumbled.
"I know, I know," Hiroshi replied. He looked at the floor and shuffled his feet a bit, trying to decide what to do. "But she's you're closest friend, and all Kuno wants to do is get information from her about Akane and this new guy, Ranma." He hesitated.
"And get into her panties," he whispered.
"What? What did you say?"
"Look," he whispered, pulling Yuka aside. "Kuno wants to break Sayuri in, as a 'favour' for Dai. Dai is freaking out, trying to get that ding-bat girlfriend of his to get her head out of the clouds and pay attention to what's going on around her. We gotta get to 'Yuri before Kuno does, or she's gonna be inna world of hurt, understand?"
Yuka's eyes got large and she fell back against her locker, taking in the news.
"Geez, Hi, I always knew he was a creep, but this is even worse than his usual, isn't it?"
"No, Yuka," he whispered. "This is about par for the course."
"Look, I'll tell you everything Akane told us, and you can tell Dai, and he can tell Kuno after school, so then 'Yuri'll be of the hook, right?"
"I dunno. Kuno won't let her go that easily. You see how bad he's going after Akane. But tell me everything about Saotome anyways. It's always good to have a bargaining chip."
"'Kay, look, I'll meet you after gym. I'll try to talk some sense into 'Yuri during class and we can meet up after school and work from there. Okay?"
Hiroshi nodded again and picked up his gym bag.
"Yeah, it'll have to do for now. I'll let Dai know what's going on. See ya later."
"See ya."
Yuka banged her head against the locker. {I cannot believe my best friend is this dense!} She grabbed her gym bag and headed off to class, her brow furrowed with worry.
Around the corner, an upperclassman with a hand-held tape recorder stepped out, looking down the hall where Hiroshi and Yuka had run off. Switching off the recorder, he hit a few buttons on his pager.
{Kuno-Sempai is going to be very happy to hear this.}
Further down the hall, a student finished snapping off a roll of film. The camera with the telephoto lens was rather expensive, but had been worth the investment and was already paying for itself with compromising photos. Nabiki grinned like a shark.
{If Kuno and his lackeys think they're going to ruin a girl's reputation just to get to my little sister, they have another thing coming!}
***********************************************
Akane looked more than a bit frazzled by the end of class. The class was grueling, but necessary if one wanted to become fluent in ASL. Ranma, one the other hand, still had his nose stuck in the Primer she had given him an hour ago. He was now following behind Akane, half looking where he was going, half plowing through students trying to scamper out of his way. His free hand was slowly forming new gestures as he learned each new sign.
Akane had to reach out and grab his shoulder when she turned a corner and nearly lost him to the flowing crowd. She pointed to a set of double doors at the end of the new hallway.
"Huh, whuzzat?" Ranma looked up from the book long enough to get his new bearings. Akane pulled the book out of his hands and stuck it back into her bookbag.
"Hey! I was still reading that!" he complained.
Akane pulled out a pair of sneakers from her bookbag and pointed to the double doors again. Ranma's eyes lit up.
"You mean it's time for gym?"
Akane nodded.
"Cool!" He jogged down the hall to the doors. "I'll meet ya on the other side, okay?"
Akane nodded and waved, then headed for the girls' locker room.
Ranma happily bounced through the double doors, then suddenly came to a dead stop. The gymnasium he expected was not what he got. He was brutally reminded why these kids went to this particular school, and it wasn't because they couldn't talk. Many other students already there, several in wheelchairs, some with arm or leg braces, and some without arms or legs at all. Some had assistants working with them, some were helped by friends. The room itself looked more like a huge rehabilitation center, rather than a gymnasium. There were more mats than he had ever imagined in a single space, and some mats were so thick they could qualify as a western-style bed! Huge balls, blocks, small sets of stairs, and other odd appliances he couldn't understand the use for.
Off to the side, separated from the rest, were gymnastics equipment.
{Now those I understand,} he thought. The balance beam, the tumbling mats, the horse and the uneven bars, that was familiar territory. There were only a few students working out there, watched over by a dark gaijin girl with a long black braid.
{She kinda reminds me of one of those American Ainu,} he noted.
In the back, behind a huge heavy grey curtain, he heard more familiar sounds of a ball being chased, the sound of sneakers hitting the floor, the shouts of outrage and cheers of victory. But to get there, he would have to pass through the area with all the other...students. The ones that made him feel awkward. The ones that made him nervous. He stood at the doors, frozen, until someone else tried to come through and slammed into him.
"Oh, sorry! I didn't see you there. You really shouldn't stand in front of the doors like that. You might get hurt. Are you new here?" She signed quickly, not sure if he could hear her.
Ranma nodded.
"Yeah, new. I-I'm here with Akane. I'm just waitin'..." He handed over his day pass.
"Ah, I understand now. C'mon, away from the door before you get hurt." She pulled him away from the door and into towards the gymnastics corner. Just in time, since no sooner than he moved then Oyuki plowed through the doors just ahead of Akane, who was still pulling on her sneakers. Ranma smiled. Akane had changed into a yellow t-shirt, bright red gym shorts and had pulled her long hair into a ponytail. She didn't have her scarf around her neck, but he was still stunned by the overall effect.
{Wow, she's kinda cute! Even dressed like a tomboy!} He decided to call out to her before she took off without him.
"Hey, Akane!"
Akane turned to his voice, smiled and waved. She signed briefly, rolled her eyes and threw her hands up in the air. Then, she gave him the "Just a minute" gesture, and took of after Oyuki. Ranma blinked and shrugged to himself.
{At least I'm not standin' in the middle of the crippled kids' space.} He winced. {Aw, man, I don't wanna think like that! It's just, it's just...} he couldn't finish the thought. {I guess I dunno what I feel. I wanna feel bad for 'em, but they all look pretty happy.} He turned away and looked towards the small gymnastics group beginning their warm-ups. Ranma watched them go through their paces, trying to figure out why each of them "belonged" in a school like this. For the most part, they looked normal.
{But somethin' ain't quite right. Those two might be siblings, 'cause they got the same thing wrong with their faces,} he thought. Noticing that their instructor signed as well as spoke, he guessed the others couldn't hear. {'Cause if they were like Akane, she wouldn't need for the teacher to be signin' to her. So they must be deaf.} He congratulated himself on being able to "guess what's wrong" with the kids, then he immediately felt bad about it.
{Aw, man, I can't go on thinkin' bad things like this about people! It ain't their fault!} He looked up again in time to see the kids lining up at a corner of the large tumbling mat. Or, rather, their instructor was trying to get them all in one corner.
One young girl was bouncing around on the tumbling mat, full of confidence and ready to spring into her routine. What struck Ranma the most is that she was missing half of her left arm.
{How can she do gymnastics with only one arm?} He thought. {It's tricky enough with both as it is.}
Suddenly the little girl set off to her corner, turned and sprung into the air, twisting, turning, cartwheeling, flipping, and twisting as though she were immune to the forces of gravity.
"Whoa...!" Ranma was speechless. The missing arm wasn't even a factor in her ability. As soon as she took off, he was instantly (albeit unconsciously) gauging her abilities as a martial artist. "She's seriously flyin'!" he whispered to no one in particular. "But at this rate, she's gonna land hard. She's got too much speed and power goin' and not enough focus."
Sure enough, as she came in for her finish, she landed with way too much inertia, bounced and ended up being thrown back onto her butt. The others giggled a little but clapped enthusiastically.
Ranma found himself smiling and clapping as well as Akane came up next to him. She nodded at the girl who was giving her bows and clapped as well. The girl with the braid waved to Akane and then turned back to her charges, giving them new instructions to work on.
"She's got some great aerial moves, don't she?" Ranma asked.
Akane nodded, then pointed to herself and Ranma, then over to the big grey curtain that had piqued his interest earlier.
"Is there a ball game goin' on back there?" he asked.
Akane nodded and regestured.
"Yeah, I'd like ta go play." Akane smiled and jogged over to the curtained off area with Ranma in tow.
Behind the curtain was a fast and furious game of Anything-Goes basketball. Or, at least, that's what it looked like. There wasn't even any way to determine who was on who's team. Just whoever had the ball tried to make a basket while everyone else tried to stop them. Ranma grinned.
"This is my kinda game!"
Akane rolled her eyes and smiled, signing to the nearest player that she and Ranma wanted in on the game.
Tamaki was the first to see them and alerted the rest of the mob to the newcomers.
"Hey, Akane! C'mon in! We could use some better players around here!" He "nyaa'd" and stuck his tongue out at one of the other players. His taunt was returned with the ball bouncing off of his head. He laughed with the others and waved Akane and Ranma in. Ranma noted that Tamaki slurred his words a little and had the same facial features as the two smaller kids at the gymnastics mat.
{Hmm, he must be their big brother or somethin'.} His thought was brought up short as the ball came near him. Actually, the ball was still halfway across the court, but Ranma felt it was close enough to go for it.
Ranma found it disturbingly easy to dodge and avoid the others coming in to steal the ball from him. The one with the leg braces bothered him the most.
{Why is he playin' ball with the rest of us? Don't he know he's way out of his league?} Unfortunately for Ranma, he was blindsided and body-checked into the wall as Akane flew past and swiped the ball from him. She grinned wildly, looking for an out when she was suddenly surrounded by the others. Ranma watched the standoff as Akane adapted her responses to each of the other players. Eventually, she did a simple slow "duck-and-weave" maneuver and made a basket.
{She- she's holdin' back! She's just playin' with them!} Ranma felt anger grow at Akane's apparent slight against the other kids. As he watched, everyone continued to laugh and tease each other, no one really trying to go "full out". Ranma blinked.
{They're all just playin'! They're just...playing! It's just a game to them...} A new thought dawned in Ranma's head.
"It's just a game," he whispered to himself. He let himself be drawn back into the mob of laughing, shouting youth.
It wasn't long before the others figured out Ranma was a ringer, and he quickly found himself being targeted for more and more creative plays. Eventually, the entire game degraded to a free-for-all round of "Keep Away" alternating with "Dog Pile on Ranma". After a few rounds of total insanity, Ranma found himself dragged to the floor by the sheer mass of kids hanging off of him, trying to keep him from the basketball net. He tossed the ball as he fell, only to see Akane bat it down from the air and bounce off aimlessly into a corner.
"Aw, man, Akane, that woulda made it!" Ranma groused.
She stuck her tongue out at him and smiled as the others pulled themselves off of the pile. Her hair was glistening with sweat, even though she didn't seem to push herself that hard in the game, she did put all her effort into having fun. Ranma looked up as she shook out her long hair, sending out droplets of sweat all around.
{Woah, I take it all back,} He thought about his earlier comments about her being "kinda cute". Akane was flushed and shimmering in the gym lights. {She's beautiful!}
Akane caught him staring at her with a big goofy grin on his face. He looked mesmerised.
{Why is he staring at me like that? Oh no! He better not be thinking those kind of thoughts about me! He better not be a pervert! I just spent all this time with him! What will people think??} Akane started to work herself into a nice tizzy as she glared down at him. Ranma snapped out of him warm fuzzy fantasy long enough for his Danger Detectors to go off.
Looking up, he saw the object of his growing affection glaring and glowing down at him.
"Uh, Akane? You okay? You look fit ta be tied... Did someone hurt you?" he asked as he stood up.
Akane thought about punching him. Really, she did.
{But he looks so concerned...} Her face softened as he held his hand out for her. {Maybe, maybe he is a little different from the other guys. He seemed to have a lot of fun here today... Not like the other jerks at Furinkan!} Her features hardened again. Ranma noticed and he stepped back involuntarily.
{Damn! I never know what she's thinking! I thought for a minute there she was gonna belt me or somethin', then she gets nice, then she's back ta looking like Hell on earth again. I gotta learn to talk to her better!}
"Uh, Akane...?"
Akane snapped out of her current Baka-Bashing train of thought and noticed that Ranma had stepped away from her. She felt suddenly disheartened.
{Ohno! I've scared him off! He doesn't like me because I'm too much of a tomboy, I just know it! He thinks I'm ugly! He thinks...}
"Hey, Akane..." Ranma grabbed her shoulder and gently shook her out of her thoughts. "Are you okay? You didn't get hit in the head or nothin', didja?" He hovered close to her, making sure she wasn't going to fall over on him. "You ain't gonna faint on me, are ya?" He said with an unsure grin.
Looking up into his eyes, Akane saw that he really was concerned about her, and not just trying to cop a feel or peek down her shirt. He was meeting her eye to eye, and treating her like a real person. Not like a freak and not like a prize to be won.
{Maybe he really does like me...as a person!} Akane shook her head, clearing her thoughts and pulling her eyes away from his hoping he wouldn't see her blush. She took a deep breath, then smiled back at Ranma. She slowly used one of the new signs he learned earlier that afternoon.
'Drink?'
Ranma blinked.
{Hey, I know that sign!}
He slowly repeated it to her and spoke at the same time.
"A drink? Am I thirsty?"
Akane smiled broadly and nodded.
"Yeah, I am, actually. Where?"
Akane pointed and walked towards the wall to a water fountain. Ranma groaned inwardly, knowing that if he got too close, he'd end up sharing his worst secret with the a bunch of people he had just met. He followed Akane, admiring her lithe and powerful form.
{Wow, I guess she is a martial artist! None of the other girls I've met look like that!} He shook his head, trying to clear his head before the thoughts wandered off into areas better left unexplored. For now.
{I sure hope the water behaves itself this time. This has been the best day I've had in ages and I don't wanna have it get messed up 'cause of this stupid curse!} He hesitantly approached the water cooler and Akane handed him a paper cup.
{Cool! A cup! This'll keep me from havin' ta lean over too close to the fountain. Mebbe I'll get lucky this time.} Ranma filled his cup and smiled as he drank down the cool water. Although the game had barely taxed his resources, it sure was nice to sit back with a cool drink, a pretty girl and a few new friends. Ranma winced.
{Geez, did I just think that? I sound like a beer commercial!) Ranma refilled his cup and leaned against the wall, watching as the other kids filled their cups and caught their wind. Tamaki came up and softly punched Ranma in the arm.
"You play a good game, Ranma-kun! Are you going to be going to school here with us? I heard you are Akane's boyfriend." He smiled at the last part, looking across the room at Oyuki, who was making funny faces in their direction. Ranma blushed and rolled his eyes and looked back at Akane. Akane blushed and stuck her tongue out at Oyuki, who fell over in a fit of giggles.
"Uh, well, Akane and me, we, uh..." He looked over to Akane for support. She nodded and signed to Tamaki.
'We're engaged.' She finished.
"Engaged? Like, you're gonna be married?"
Ranma nodded.
"Yeah, if we agree at the end of a year, we'll be m-married," Ranma blushed and looked more than a little nervous.
"You don't look to happy about it, Ranma." Tamaki pointed out. Akane scowled and turned away.
"Th-that's not it! Really! I mean, it's our parents idea! They kinda engaged us without tellin' us about it first. We just made a deal with 'em that if we still like each other after a year, then we'll agree to the marriage."
Akane's ears pricked up.
{'If we still like each other...' He likes me? He really likes me now? Oh, Ranma!}
Akane spun around just in time to see the basketball come flying right at them. More accurately, at Ranma, who was still holding his cup of water...
Akane gestured frantically at Ranma, who noticed she was in distress.
"Akane? What's wr-..."
**Splash!**
"Oh no!"
Akane rushed to his side, her hands over her mouth in shock, not knowing what to do for him. Ranma felt her world crash around her and waited for the laughter and/or screaming to begin. Tamaki simply looked stunned, as did the others around them.
"Uh, forgive me, Ranma-san, but you just turned into a girl," Tamaki pointed out very politely. The others concurred and nodded and looked back to Ranma and Akane for the explanation. Oyuki came bounding over to see what had caused the sudden bout of silence.
Ranma gulped, as all eyes were on her and they wanted an answer. She looked to Akane, who looked just as upset as she felt.
"Uh, Akane, could you get some hot water, please?" Akane nodded and ran out of the gym at breakneck speed.
"Why do you need hot water, Ranma-san?" Tamaki asked.
"It's, uh, it's hard to explain this," she pointed to her now-feminine form, "without it." She sighed and looked down at the floor. "This is really awkward, you know."
She felt a hand tap her on the shoulder. It was Oyuki and she began signing to her. The girl with the braid had come up to see what the commotion was and quickly translated for her.
"We don't mind, Ranma-kun. You don't have to tell us anything if you're not comfortable. But you don't seem very happy about...whatever just happened. If you want to talk about it, this is the best place to be." The girl with the braid grinned. "And my name is Wren. Wren Loonsfoot. I hear you're Akane's fiance, right? Glad to meet you." She held out her hand. Ranma blinked at the sudden change of topic and lack of reaction to her sudden gender change. She hesitated, then shook Wren's hand just as Akane came back with a kettle of hot water.
"I'm Ranma Saotome. Sorry 'bout this."
Akane stepped up with the kettle and poured a bit on Ranma's head. Instantly, Ranma was himself again, and everyone around him just stood and stared.
"I guess an explanation is in order," he said meekly.
Akane signed, allowing Wren to translate.
"I can tell them for you, if you want. You don't have to go through with this. I know how much you hate it..."
Oyuki didn't let her finish. Wren kept pace with them without hesitation.
"He should tell us, Akane. Everyone here is dying of curiosity, even if they're too polite to ask him about it. And if it's something he's not comfortable with, talking about it with others will help."
"But I don't want to get comfortable with it! I just want it gone!" Ranma shouted.
"Sorry. I didn't mean to shout. I just want to be a guy again, not some half-guy freak."
Wren stepped in.
"Why don't you tell us what happened, so we can understand what's wrong. We'll be better able to help you out more if we know more about your condition." Ranma looked seriously at Wren, then to Oykui, then to Tamaki, and to the others, finally ending with Akane.
{No one's laughin' at me. Nobody's freakin' out. No one's tryin' ta grab me or nothin'. Are they waitin' for me to turn my back or somethin'?} Ranma decided to take a chance.
{After all, it ain't like I have ta come back here again...}
He leaned against the wall and told him the tale of how he and his father traveled to the Cursed Training Grounds of Jusenkyo and how he got cursed to become a girl with cold water.
There was a lot of excited chatter at the end of his tale, especially when Akane poured cold water on him, then hot water, to demonstrate the curse. Wren merely smiled enigmatically to herself, and Oyuki appeared to be deep in thought. Tamaki retold the story to others who were outside of hearing and demonstration range, and a few just wandered off, content with the explanation as it was given the first time. Akane sat near Ranma, her arm tentatively across his shoulder to give him comfort. Ranma, for his part, was still confused by the lack of attention his curse demonstration was bringing. But one little boy from the gymnastics group pretty much summed up everyone's overall impression.
"That's a pretty cool trick! Would you do it again, please, Ranma-san?"
Ranma blink-blinked.
{Boy, today's just been full of surprises!}
"Oh, uh, sure. Okay. Akane, can you get..."
Splash!
"...the cold water. Thanks." He wiped his wet hair from his eyes and held his pants up with his other hand. Akane smiled broadly, happy that Ranma wouldn't have to worry about his curse at this school. She had secretly hoped that this would be the case, but doubt had nagged at her.
Ranma reluctantly withstood a few more demonstrations of his curse for others who were late showing up for the initial surprise. Word got around fast in the gym, and before long, everyone who was interested in the spectacle had their curiosity satisfied. Yet no one teased Ranma about his "unusual talent". Lots of comments, mostly to the tune of "Wow" and "That's pretty cool!" and "Can you teach me to do that?". Eventually, the warm water ran out and Ranma didn't want to head home as a girl.
"That's okay, Ranma-kun. It's the end of the day anyways. We won't keep you here any longer. Why don't you and Akane head home now? We'll see you tomorrow, yes?" Wren asked.
"Uhm, well, we'll see," Ranma hesitated. He wasn't sure he wanted to come back to this school again but with Akane around, it had been more fun than any other school he'd been to in ages. Akane led him out to the hall, then pointed to the girls' locker room and to her gym clothes.
"Oh, yeah, I understand. I'll wait here for ya then." He leaned against the wall next to the door and reflected on how his whole day went.
{Well, I guess it could have been worse. I didn't get in any fights. I didn't get detention, and I learned a few new signs today. And my curse didn't freak anyone out. Yet.} He shuddered at the last thought. He knew it was just going to be a matter of time before he changed at the wrong time in front of the wrong people and all hell would break loose. It was just the sort of thing the kami liked to pull on him.
Akane came out of the locker room and looked at her watch. Her eyes got big and she pulled on Ranma's arm and pointed out the front doors before she started jogging.
{Ah, hell, I'll bet we're late!} Ranma groused. {It's all my fault. If I hadn't had ta stand around and explain ta everyone about this stupid curse...} he rambled on as he jogged out the doors after Akane. They broke into a run when they got outside, barely making it in time to catch the bus back to Nerima.
**************************************************
Ranma and Akane made it home late in the evening, long after everyone else had already been home from school. For Akane, this was normal. For Ranma on the other hand...
"Oh, hello Ranma! I thought you would be home much earlier. But it was very nice of you to escort Akane to her afternoon classes. Did you have a nice time?" Kasumi greeted them both at the door with a tray of juice and biscuits. Ranma all but pounced on them while Akane rolled her eyes and waited until they got to the table and she had unloaded her homework for the evening.
Genma had been pacing like a caged animal ever since Nabiki had come home alone hours ago.
"Boy! Where have you been?" He made a dive for the tray, which Akane quickly pulled out of his path. She remembered his eating habits from the night before.
"Not to worry, Saotome!" Soun appeared behind Ranma and smacked him on the back. "Ranma here was just looking out for his fiancee! I'm so happy! Our schools will be joined at last!" Soun started in on the waterworks as Genma glared and growled at his wayward son.
"Hey! Don't look at me like that, Old Man! It ain't my fault there's some creep out there out ta get Akane hurt! And besides," he went nose to nose with Genma. "Akane told me last night that she goes to a different school in the afternoon. It ain't like it woulda killed ya to ask somebody where we were!"
"Oh dear. Is Tatewaki-kun still bothering you, Akane?" Kasumi asked. Her brows were furrowed and she was looking rather un-Kasumi-like.
Akane glanced over to Ranma, then sighed and nodded as she set out her books and notes.
"Well, I certainly hope he gets over himself and leaves you alone, Akane. This obsession just isn't healthy!" Kasumi finished before going back to the kitchen. Akane nodded to herself while Ranma and his father continued their staring contest. Soun continued a silent weeping for his daughter as he strolled back to the shogi game.
"Come, Saotome, let's finish this game now that Ranma and Akane are home safe and sound. After all, I'm sure they have plenty of homework to do before dinner anyways." Ranma smirked, knowing full well that, even though he hated homework, his father hated him doing it even more. If it didn't have anything to do with The Art, then it was a waste of time. But if it gave Ranma a chance to be a burr in his father's backside...
"Yeah, Old Man. I'm already behind in school from that stupid training trip in China. How'm I s'posed to catch up with my studies if ya don't let me do my homework?"
The soft clinking of shogi tiles and bottle of warm sake was the clincher.
"Alright, Boy, have it your way. But if you think I'm going to let you get lazy with all this bookwork, you're in for a surprise!" Genma retreated to the shogi game and a comforting cup of sake to soak his worries in.
{That girl is going to make Ranma soft! Look at him! He spends the afternoon babysitting her and now she's got him doing bookwork! I've got to find a way to break up this insane engagement up before too much damage is done to the boy.} Genma mused, so deep in thought he missed his turn twice.
{Man, I really hate doin' homework. How come Akane makes it look like fun?} Ranma, deep in his own thoughts, had stopped writing in exchange for simply staring at Akane doing her work. Unfortunately, Akane had noticed that he wasn't writing in his notebook anymore. She peeked sidelong to see what he was up to, and saw him staring at her, a glazed, faraway look in his eyes.
{Oh great! He's daydreaming! He better be thinking about this homework and not having perverted thoughts about me!} She grumbled to herself.
{And what if he is thinking about you, then what?} Akane set her jaw and nearly snapped her pencil.
{Then I'll have to pound him into paste! The pervert! And I thought he was a nice boy!}
**SNAP!**
Akane's pencil broke, snapping them both out of their respective daydreams.
"Akane! You okay? You broke yer pencil. You havin' trouble with one o' the assignments or somethin'?"
Akane looked up and into Ranma's face and saw only concern. Not a sign of any of the alleged perverted thoughts crossing his face. She released the breath she had been holding and shook her head. Akane pushed her writing tablet over to him after scribbling out a quick response.
'No, nothing like that. My brain wandered off and I followed it too far along, I guess.'
"Uh, yeah. I do that sometimes too. Homework's pretty boring stuff, innit?"
Akane gave him a wry grin and nodded. Rewriting a bit on the tablet, she fished out another pencil and went back to her homework.
'Yeah, it's boring, but I'll be happy to spar with you when we get done with it, okay? There wasn't a lot of homework today.'
"I'd like that, Akane. I just don't like doin' homework. I only do it 'cause the Old Man gets his panties inna bunch when I do." He grinned evilly at Akane. Akane looked back at the two old men playing shogi and grinned back at Ranma. She gave a 'Thumbs-Up' and pointed back to the books. Ranma nodded and set to his own notebook.
They made good time finishing up the assignments.
{Wow, it's a lot easier having someone to study with,} thought Ranma. {And she's helpin' me catch up on a lot of stuff, too. If I'm lucky, I won't have to get stuck in summer school again, like always. Pop hates it when I gotta go to summer school, but it's all his fault anyways! If he didn't drag me all over the place during school I wouldn't miss so much and get so far behind!} Ranma sighed. {Then again, I wouldn't be the great martial artist I am if I wasn't always training and learning new techniques. Wish there was a way I could be a great martial artist and not fall behind in school...}
Akane pushed her tablet over to him as she packed up her schoolbag for the night.
'Why don't you get changed? I'll meet you in the dojo in a little bit after I put this stuff away and get my gi.'
Ranma smiled and nodded to her as he bounded up the stairs to the room he and his father shared. His new school clothes went flying into a corner as he rummaged for a clean gi to wear. After he was dressed, Ranma gave his poor school uniform another glance.
{Aw, man! I didn't bring the rest of them home from school! I'll have to wear this one again tomorrow.} He picked it up and tried to straighten it out and smooth out some of the wrinkles and smudges from the ball game earlier. He frowned.
{Okay, mebbe I can ask Kasumi ta wash it tonight, if it ain't too much trouble...} Grabbing the rest, he went in search of Kasumi.
Kasumi had just answered the phone as he got down the stairs, so she was easy to find. Akane and Ranma met just outside the kitchen. Akane gestured to his laundry and raised an eyebrow.
"I kinda left the other one back at Furinkan. We left inna hurry, remember? I was gonna ask Kasumi if she could wash these for tomorrow." Akane nodded in understanding. Kasumi relayed the message to Akane.
"Oh, Akane, that was Mrs. Suzuki. She needs you to go to the store for her tonight. She knows it's kind of late notice, but she really hopes that you would be available?" Kasumi's soft voice really didn't leave Akane much of a choice. Mrs. Suzuki was very old and shouldn't really be living on her own. But Akane made money on the side by running errands for many of the elderly around the neighborhood and they had grown dependant on her. Her shoulders slumped and she nodded.
'Be there in a few,' she signed to Kasumi. Kasumi smiled and returned to the phone.
"She'll be right over, Mrs. Suzuki. Yes, she's a wonderful girl. Yes, I'm sure she'll make someone a wonderful wife. Good-bye Mrs. Suzuki." Ranma blushed profusely as Kasumi hung up the phone.
"Isn't Akane a nice girl, Ranma?"
"Uh, yeah. Nice." He stammered. "I'll be waitin' in the dojo!" He scampered off as fast as his feet would carry him, dropping his uniform ont eh floor in his rush to the dojo.
"Oh," she thought aloud. "I wonder if he needed his uniform washed. It certainly looks like it could use a bit of cleaning and a few stitches here and there." Kasumi gently carried the well-worn uniform off to her room to find some matching thread.
Akane left as soon as she got changed back into some street clothes.
"Borrow Nabiki's bike," she signed as she passed Kasumi in the hall.
"I'll let her know, Akane! I'm sure she'll be glad to lend it to you!"
**************************************************
Much later, a weary Akane stumbled in.
'I'm back!' She signed to no one in particular.
{Not that anyone can hear me anyways,} she groused. Mrs. Suzuki was a particular old bird who always waited to the last minute to ask for help. And it was usually Akane she asked for. Tonight had been particularly grueling, since she had waited until her larder was nearly empty before asking Akane to do the shopping for her. As it was, Akane had to make two trips (by bicycle) to get all the required groceries back to Mrs. Suzuki's home. And then, of course, Akane needed to put them away, since poor Mrs. Suzuki couldn't lift and bend as well as she used to. But all in all, Mrs. Suzuki was a nice lady who paid Akane well to run her errands for her. And she did fix Akane something to eat for her efforts.
Akane pulled on her house slippers and went to the dojo to see if Ranma was still interested in sparring a bit before going to bed.
{It'll sure feel good to stretch out all these sore muscles.}
Akane heard the ruckus of Smack! Thump! and a variety very rude insults coming from the dojo long before she got there.
{Ranma and his father must be sparring already.}
She peeked in through the doors when she got there, to make sure everything was all right before entering. Instead, what she saw stunned her.
Ranma and his father were bouncing around the dojo like ping pong balls, colliding in mid-air, breaking apart and ricocheting off of the dojo walls and ceiling for a string of continuous attacks. It was something out of a manga, or even a popular anime movie she'd seen on tv. The levels of martial arts that Ranma and his father were sparring at were totally unreal to her. Akane collapsed to the ground outside in shock as waves of self-doubt raced through her mind.
{They- they're so good! Ranma must have been seriously holding back when we sparred! I- I'm nowhere near that good. I'll bet he's probably laughing at me behind my back at how slow and clumsy I am! He's like a force of nature and I'm- I'm just a turtle!} She sighed deeply, stood up and walked back to the house.
{It's better that he's sparring with his father anyways. I'd just hold him back in his training. No wonder Father wants him to inherit the dojo by marrying me. I'm just a novice compared to him.} Akane stopped when she got to the furo and collected her things for a bath.
{I suppose I was never really was Daddy's heir. I mean, even though I learned the Art better than anyone else here, I didn't do nearly as good a job as Ranma did.}
Akane quietly went through her bathing routine, still deeply nursing the doubt eating away at her heart. Finally, she sunk into the furo, letting the heat of the water ease the tenseness in her muscles.
{You know, it's always been said that you arrange marriages for your ugly, unwanted daughters because they are so hard to get rid of. Is that what Daddy was thinking? Oh, Kasumi and Nabiki went through their little "Good Daughter" routines, but everyone knew I was supposed to be the heir to the dojo. What good is an instructor if he can't talk? And even worse if it's a girl, right? So, I get to marry Ranma to help Daddy save face and save the Tendo family from dishonour.} Akane rolled over and rested her chin on her arms over the side of the furo.
{I wonder if Ranma's in on all of this? I wonder what he's thinking about this whole arranged marriage thing? I know we had that long talk last night, but was he being sincere? And his curse! I know he doesn't like it, but it's a thousand times better than being a girl who can't talk. I might as well not even be alive sometimes.}
Akane stood up and tried to shake off her growing depression.
{Argh! Alright, that's it! Now I'm getting depressed again. Dr. Toufu said it was this kind of thinking that would keep me stuck in the dark ages! I have to change my attitude in order to change everyone else's perceptions of me. I have to show them I'm definitely the Heir to the Anything-Goes Tendo Ryuu!}
She slumped her shoulders as she dried off and dressed for bed.
{Okay, I'll show them first thing tomorrow. After I've had a good night's sleep.}
***************************************************
"Yeow, that's cold!" Ranma griped as she soaked herself down for her bath routine. She was sporting several new bruises and a really, really sore leg.
{Hmph! The Old Man wasn't fooling around tonight. He's really pissed off with me, just 'cause I spent the day at school and did my homework like a normal student. And now he's got this crazy idea that Akane's gonna make me go soft or somethin', like I'm gonna lose my edge just 'cause I'm spendin' time with her. Dammit! We're engaged! Ain't an engaged couple s'posed ta spend time together?} Ranma scrubbed extra hard, trying to get the creepy feeling off of himself. For some reason, listening to his father rant about "That girl" and "how she was nothing but trouble" freaked him out. He even refused to call Akane by her name. Ranma shivered again, although she was unsure if it was from the cold water or from the battle in the dojo. As she sank into the furo, she became male again and he stretched out and luxuriated in the delicious heat of the steaming water. This was a rare treat for him. Ranma was used to a long, hard life on the road, and baths were usually taken in a river or a lake. A public bath was "a waste of money" and hot springs were even harder to come by. Ranma sank down to his nose, bubbled in the water for a few moments, then came up for air. He rolled over, resting his chin on his arms crossed on the edge of the furo.
{I wonder where Akane is now? I didn't see her in the house, but Nabiki's bicycle was parked out back again. I wonder why she didn't come out to spar with me like she said she would?} He drummed his fingers and thought some more. {I mean, she didn't even stop to say good-night or nothin'... Oh man!} He suddenly slammed his fist on the tile. {What if she overheard the Old Man pissin' and moanin' about me and Akane bein' together?! Oh, man, I'd run off and not say goodnight too!}
Ranma quickly hopped out of the furo and dried himself off. He thought about what to say to Akane and what kinds of knots he was going to tie Genma into when he got back from the bar later. {It'd serve the Old Man right if she went and told her father. I mean, who's stupid enough ta insult yer host's daughter? That's askin' ta be thrown out...} Ranma suddenly got a cold lump in the pit of his belly.
{Does that mean they'd throw me out, too? I mean, we did kinda agree ta marry. Sorta.} Ranma shook his head, trying to derail where that train of thought was headed.
{I'll just find out if Akane's okay. I'll apologise if I have to, and beat the Old Man for it later.}
Ranma stopped outside Akane's door and stared at the wooden duck that served as the nameplate. He kept trying to knock, but always held back at the last second.
{Man, apologisin' is a lot harder than it looks! Okay, this is it! Fer real this time!} He took a deep breath and knocked as softly as he could. He pulled his hand away as if the door burned his knuckles and held it behind his back. His other hand played with his pigtail nervously. No answer.
"Uhm, Akane?" He asked quietly. After a few minutes of arguing with himself, he finally gave in and cracked the door open and peeked inside. Akane's room was dark, save for the moonlight streaming in through the window over her desk. He could see the moonlight shining off of her blue-black hair which was splayed all over her pillow and fell streaming across her shoulder and onto her blanket. Ranma let out the breath he had been holding and sighed. Akane was asleep, and looked as though she had been for a while. She had a sad smile in her sleep, causing Ranma to wonder what she had heard while he was "sparring" with his father.
"I wish I knew what to say. I hope she'll still be my friend in the morning..." Ranma whispered to himself. He quietly left her room, gently closing the door behind him.
Flopping down on his mattress in the spare room he shared with his father, Ranma stared at the ceiling and wondered what tomorrow would bring and if he would have to be back on the road again before lunch.
{I hope not. I think I'm startin' ta like it here...}
*************************************************
Meanwhile, over on the Furinkan soccer field...
"Where the Hell am I now???"
A lone figure staggered as though he'd been walking for several days without end. He had barely made his way across the field when the evening timer on the sprinklers went off.
"Ack! No! Bweee!!!"
End Chapter 2
