Not quite standard disclaimer: Ranma 1/2, characters and
situations therein are in no way owned by the author of this
fanfiction. The aforementioned work, afterwords referred to
as 'Ranma', is the property of Rumiko Takahashi and
associated publishing companies. The author of this
fanfiction requests to not be sued over the rights to Ranma.
That being said, enjoy this work of writing.
Chapter 6
Ryouga set down the last crate from the ship he
had unwittingly boarded. Wiping the sweat from
his brow, he turned towards the captain of the small
freighter.
"That's the last of 'em. Anything else you need
done?" The grizzled sea-man looked at Ryouga
with a hint of amusement.
"Aye, but not fer ya ta be doin'. Tha rest of
me men are gettin paid 'n hitting the town. Like
as not they be drinking their dinner. Ya got yer
passage, now git 'fore I get to whipping at you."
Ryouga merely chuckled at the man as he shouldered
his pack. Ryouga turned his back and began walking
down the pier.
He considered himself lucky. He managed to
avoid getting wet during his unwanted voyage, and he
recognized the port they stopped at. At least he
thought he knew it. The simple wooden piers were
cramped with boxes and nets full of fish. People
pushed and shoved at each other in a frenzy along
the pier. Ryouga sighed to himself as he realized
that it looked just like every other dock he had
seen. Ryouga nimbly wove through the crowds, wanting
only to return to the dojo. It wasn't until he
was stopped by an officious sounding man did he
realize exactly how far away he was. The man waved
some papers in Ryouga's face, and asked something
quickly in Chinese.
"I'm sorry, I don't speak Chinese very well. Do
you know Japanese perhaps?" Ryouga asked with a
resigned tone in his voice. He had seen this type of
man before. Customs inspectors were all alike in
all countries. Ryouga felt that these men wanted to
do nothing more than torment travelers with
trivial problems, until they were bribed to shut up.
"Ah, yes well I do speak Japanese fairly well.
I need to see your passport, and inspect your
belongings before allowing you to exit the port." The
man said stiffly, giving the impression that he
had better things to do. Ryouga grinned toothily at
him and pulled his pack off.
"Just a moment, it's in here." Ryouga slipped
his umbrella out of its place. "Here, hold this a
sec will ya?" Ryouga casually flipped the umbrella
around and aimed the handle towards the customs
agent. The man sneered and pulled at the handle,
intending to throw it into the water when Ryouga let
go. Ryouga purposely gave the umbrella a light push
when he let go. The man fell on his back, and the
Ryouga continued to rummage through his pack,
ignoring the man who was pinned underneath the
crushing
weight of his umbrella.
"Ah, here it is." Ryouga held up his well
stamped passport. The customs agent wheezed a bit as
Ryouga held it in front of his face. Ryouga grinned.
"I'm sorry, what did you say?" Ryouga inquired
politely as he picked his umbrella up. The customs
agent scrambled to his feet and scowled at
Ryouga's passport for a second then stamped it.
"I still need to inspect your bag and inventory
it to insure that you are not a smuggler. This
will only take a second." The man rummaged through
Ryouga's pack, writing down all of its contents.
When he was done, he handed Ryouga a carbon copy of
the inventory.
"Be sure to have that with you when you leave
so that proper duties may be assessed. Enjoy your
stay in China Mr. Hibiki." He stiffly bowed before he
moved on to another hapless crewman. Ryouga
shrugged his pack on and started walking. On his way
off the pier, he glanced to his left and noticed
a passenger liner letting off its passengers. Ryouga
scowled at the pavilion where those passengers
dealt with customs. Ryouga snorted and walked away
from the sea-port. He stoically ignored the
merchants calling out to sell their wares, and he ran
quickly when he stumbled across the red light
district. He caught tantalizing glimpses of scantily
clad women, beckoning him into the shadows.
Ryouga held his nose as he ran, as much to keep the
blood in as keeping the odor of societies' filth
out of his nose. He was tempted, but an image of an
upset Feather drove him on.
It was not long before Ryouga found himself
deep in the wilderness, with no trails in sight. He
breathed the clean air with a sigh of relief. Here
was his ultimate chance to get rid of his curse
for good! Ryouga ploughed forward, intent on finding
a guide that would take him straight to
Jusenkyo, where he would say goodbye to the pig
forever. Ryouga started humming an old traveling tune
to himself as he walked. He had heard it years
before, and the song seemed to help the miles pass
quickly. He could not remember the words anymore, but
the tune itself seemed to be burned into his
memory. This time as he walked, for the first time
since he had met Akane he did not imagine her by
his side. His imagination provided him with a
different travelling partner this time.
Ryouga stopped in his tracks when he thought he
had heard something. Ryouga looked about,
straining his senses for any sign of another presence
around him. Ryouga narrowed his eyes as he
peered into the underbrush. There was dead silence
all around him. Ryouga slowly pulled his umbrella
off his pack, and readied himself for a fight, be it
an animal or human. Snapping his umbrella open,
Ryouga gave the bushes another look over. He
cautiously started moving forward again, still tensed
for conflict. A feeling of unease continued to gnaw
at his gut, but Ryouga didn't flee. He pressed
onward ready for whatever it was that was making him
nervous.
Ryouga whirled and flung his umbrella when he
heard a loud crashing noise from the bushes to
his right. The umbrella cut through the bushes like a
chain saw, revealed a wild dog that was foaming
at the mouth. Ryouga frowned as the maddened animal
charged him. The dog leapt for his throat, but
Ryouga dodged to one side and punched the side of its
head, causing it to fly sideways into a tree.
When it didn't get up, Ryouga retrieved his umbrella
and put it back onto his pack and started
walking again. The rabid dog slowly stood, shook its
head a little, and then charged Ryouga's back.
It leapt for it's goal, Ryouga's unturned back
reflected evilly in it's bloodshot eyes.
Ryouga felt the beast's hot breath on the back
of his neck and started to turn just as he
heard a gunshot. Ryouga finished turning and whipped
his umbrella out in one smooth motion. He saw
the dog's bloody carcass, torn in half by the high
power rifle that a cloaked figure was slowly
lowering.
"Thanks, that mutt almost got me." Ryouga
pointed his umbrella towards the ground, hoping that
it would be seen as a non-threatening gesture. The
cloaked figure said nothing, but unloaded the
rifle and pointed the barrel towards the ground in
the same manner. Ryouga felt relief flood his
system. He knew he was good, but he never had much
reason to dodge bullets before.
"Well met stranger. Welcome to my neck of the
woods." The voice was rich and soft, causing
Ryouga to face-fault. The figure pulled back the hood
and revealed a fairly pretty woman with short
black hair.
"Uh, yeah. Hi there." Ryouga stammered nervously as
he put his umbrella away.
"You're a long way from the closest village.
Where might you be headed?" The woman asked,
giving Ryouga a suspicious look.
"I'm looking for Jusenkyo. It's supposed to be
close to some mountains if I remember..." Ryouga
trailed off when he noticed the look of shocked
surprise on the woman's face.
"Jusenkyo?!? That place actually exists?" She
said, amazed. Ryouga nodded mutely. "You can't
be serious. No-one goes near where it's supposed to
be because of the amazons. You don't look like
you'd be able to deal with those women." Ryouga
snorted his amusement.
"I have fought things that would make your
blood run cold. I can handle myself." The
disbelieving look the woman shot his way almost made
Ryouga mad. Instead, he casually picked up a
rock and shattered it in his fist. The woman's eyes
widened at his feat of strength.
"Very well, suit yourself." She said as she
disappeared back into the underbrush. Ryouga
shrugged and continued on his way, hoping to chance
across Jusenkyo.
---------------------------------------------
"Come on Feather," Akane spoke firmly to her
friend, "Just because Ryouga got lost is no reason
for you to stop going to school. You are going with
us this morning, no matter what!" Akane put her
hands on her hips to emphasize her point. Feather
looked up at Akane with a sheepish look on her
face.
"Um, sorry I mentioned it?" Feather pleaded as
she started to get ready for school. Akane
giggled a bit and helped Feather get ready.
"Don't worry about it. Besides, I'm sure Ryouga
will find his way back soon, he always does."
Akane tried to soothe Feather's nerves. Ever since
Ryouga had gotten lost, Feather had gotten more
and more timid around people, not to mention
depressed.
Akane sighed to herself. She didn't like
seeing anyone she considered a friend depressed, and
not being able to help. Lost in her own thoughts, she
walked with Feather and Ranma to school. Akane
started when she heard Feather's gasp, and Ranma's
muttered curse. When she saw what awaited them at
school, she began to scowl. Kuno was standing before
the gates, two bouquets of red roses in his
hands. In a calm and collected manner he approached
the trio.
"Akane Tendo, your beauty this morn surpasses
all mine expectations." He held one of the
bouquets out to Akane. "Please accept this token of
my affection, yet they pale in comparison to thy
loveliness." Startled by his calm approach, Akane
accepted the flowers, speechless.
"What are you up to Kuno?" Ranma demands as he
drops into a loose stance. Kuno blithely ignores
Ranma, and turns his attention towards Feather.
"Feather Saotome, you have a grace and beauty
unable to be described, much as one is unable to
explain why a sunset can bear such beauty." Kuno
holds the other bouquet out to a fiercely blushing
Feather. "Please accept these roses, for they
symbolize our feelings." Kuno presses the bouquet
into Feather's numb fingers and turns away from them
before he starts to walk away. A few steps are taken before
he looks over his shoulder.
"Ranma Saotome, I would meet with you after our
classes our done, we have much to discuss."
"Any time, anywhere Kuno!" Ranma snarls.
"You shall address me as upperclassman, knave.
I shall expect to see you in the second field,
alone." Kuno then walks into the school, leaving two
very embarrassed girls and one very angry Ranma.
"I can't believe that Kuno!" Ranma seethes as
they walk into the school. "I mean, giving you
those flowers right in front of me! He has some
nerve!" Ranma is so busy thinking of all the
different ways he could hurt Kuno, that he missed
Akane's blush. ::I can't believe it, he's
jealous!:: Akane thought to herself as she walked
automatically. Feather was silent as they made
their way towards class. She knew that she had to go
to class, but the attention she received
reminded her a bit of when she was the main
attraction for a side show. Feather shivered at the
memory, and did her best to steel herself for class.
'Focus, find your center and relax. Do not
suppress your emotions, for they are your strength,
rather let them guide you towards your center.'
Feather remembered one of the meditation lessons that
Ryouga told her a while back, and she exhaled slowly,
trying desperately to find her center. Feather
ignored the students around her and closed her eyes,
breathing in long, even breaths. Shortly she
felt calm enough to continue, and she opened her
eyes. She was greeted by the sight of several boys
from a different class standing in front of her
leering.
"Hey babe," one of them tried to sound suave,
obviously the leader of the little group. The boy
was of medium height, and wore wire framed glasses.
"What d'ya say about cutting class with us and
havin' some fun?" The rest of the group chuckled
behind him. Feather smiled sweetly at him, and put
her hand on his cheek.
"That's nice, but don't you think your teacher
might have something to say about that?" Feather
turned his head, and he stiffened. The boys, confused
at the other boy's reaction, looked around, and
grew very apprehensive when they noticed their
teacher standing behind them.
"Uh, yeah, he would. Heh heh, just joking
around right?" The bespectacled boy laughed
nervously. The teacher cleared his throat and
frowned. "Um, maybe after school huh? My name is
Toshi,
you wanna go out for some tea later?" He said in a
serious tone.
"I'll think about it. Right now, we have to get
to class. Later!" Feather waved cheerfully at
the boys as the teacher started to chastise them for
even thinking about cutting class. Feather
practically skipped into the classroom and sat down.
As she started to get her books out, she noticed
the class was unnaturally silent. Quickly Feather
looked up, and she started so hard she fell over
her chair backwards. Standing in front of her desk
was a man with a very loud Hawaiian shirt, a
garland or two draped around his neck, and what
looked like a small palm tree planted on the top of
his head.
"WHO THE HECK ARE YOU!!" Feather screamed from
her prone position on the floor. The odd looking
man grinned toothily.
"Da big Kahuna. Yous in the wrong uniform girl,
tha's a demerit." He loomed over her, "An' dat
hair, it's way too long, yous need da bowl cut!" He
brandished an oversized pair of scissors, and he
laughed as he started to open and close them slowly.
Feather screamed and tried to scramble away from
the mutant Hawaiian when she heard the distinctive
sound of metal striking flesh. Feather looked
back, and saw that Principal Kuno was having a
disagreement with Ukyou's spatula, more specifically,
they were both trying to occupy the same space at the
same time. Ukyou moved to stand between the
principal and Feather.
"If you want to try and cut her hair, you'll
have to go through me pal." Ukyou stated, and
continued to threaten him with her mega spatula.
"Hey! I thought you gave up on those stupid
haircut rules ages ago!" Ranma demanded as he
strode towards them. He kept a wary eye on the
principal as he helped Feather to her feet.
"She got more hair dan da whole class put
tagetha! She needs a good clippin', da health
standards and all." He grinned and lunged for Feather
with the hair clippers again. Ukyou tried to
hit him again, but he dodged out of the way. Ranma
leapt into the fray with a snap kick that sent the
principal flying for the chalkboard. Principal Kuno
stood slowly, and reached into his shirt.
"Yous tha real delinquents here, yous all
getting da big Kahuna really mad." He growled as he
pulled a pineapple from his shirt and threw it at
Ukyou. She sliced it in half, and a green cloud of
smoke exploded out from it. Coughing and gagging,
Ukyou and Ranma stumbled away from the smoke.
Grinning victoriously, the principal advanced on
Feather, clippers in hand.
"Give up wahine, da hair don't hurt none when
it's cut!" Feather backed up towards a window,
and she struggled to open it. With a yell, Principal
Kuno charged her, at the same time, Feather
managed to throw open the window and leapt out. As
soon as she was clear of the window, Feather
snapped her wings out, hopelessly ruining the back of
her blouse, and flew a short distance away from
the window. Principal Kuno gaped when he saw the
wings, but he continued to run. He leapt out the
window and grabbed for her legs. Feather wasn't ready
for him to perform such a reckless act, and
didn't dodge. Principal Kuno managed to grab one
foot, and he looked up, reaching for her hair with
his free hand. Feather turned red with rage and
embarrassment.
"You PERVERT!" Feather yelled as she tried to
kick him off. When that failed, she started to
rapidly fly in loops and speed dives, trying to get
him to let go. The elder Kuno grabbed her leg
with his other hand and held on for dear life. The
students in the classroom gathered around the
window to watch the aerial show.
"Hey Ranma, what's with your sister's wings?"
Hiroshi asked the still coughing Ranma. One of
the other boys grabbed Ranma's collar and shook a
little.
"Don't tell me you let her get cursed as well?"
The boy yelled in Ranma's face. Ranma stopped
coughing and glared at him. Realizing that he had
made a bad mistake, the boy let go of Ranma's shirt
and backed up a step, sweating nervously. Ranma
merely brushed off his shirt and turned back to the
window.
"It ain't my place to tell you. If she wants to
talk about it, that's up to her." Ranma said as
he watched Feather do a low pass over the trees,
still trying to knock Principal Kuno off of her. He
then turned back to the rest of the class.
"And I do mean IF." Ranma trailed off
menacingly and cracked his knuckles noisily to make
his
point perfectly clear. After he was certain they
understood, he went back to watching the aerial
display.
Feather hovered for a second to catch her
breath, and she felt a light tug at her hair. She
looked down, and saw the demented Hawaiian wannabe
trying to cut at her hair while she was resting.
With a yell of pure rage, she flew full speed for the
window to the classroom. The students inside
scattered when they saw an enraged Feather flying
right towards them, her now unbound hair giving her
a wild look. Maybe a meter away from the window,
Feather tucked her wings, and depended upon her
momentum to carry her through. She shot through the
window, and unfurled her wings and flapped them a
few times to stop. Principal Kuno wasn't nearly as
fortunate, as he had slammed into the wall just
below the window frame. The shock of the impact
caused him to lose his grip on Feather's ankle, and
he slowly slid down the wall.
Feather was breathing heavily, her fists
clenched tightly at her sides, as she stalked over to
the window and slammed it shut. When she turned
around, she noticed the stares from the rest of the
people in the class. Most of the boys were staring in
slack jawed amazement, and a few of the girls
had taken to whispering in the back of the classroom.
The anger Feather was feeling fled as
embarrassment came forth, then it hit her. The
whispering in the class triggered something deep
within her, and her head suddenly felt like it was
full of wool. Feather looked at her shoes, letting
her loose hair hide her blush, and the tears that
threatened to stream down her face. She stood like
that for a few minutes, listening to the whispers
that danced back and forth in the classroom like
fireflies in the night, until she felt a hand gently
placed on her shoulder. Startled, Feather looked
up and saw that Ranma was standing in front of her
with a very worried expression on his face.
"You ok Feather?" Ranma asked quietly. Feather
suddenly hugged Ranma fiercely, and started to
cry into his chest. Rather loudly at that. Even
though he was startled by her sudden outburst, Ranma
hugged her the best he could, and tried to comfort
her. Absently, he noticed that the whispering had
stopped, so he glanced around the room. Not one of
the students was watching the scene unfold before
them, rather they were staring at the door. Ranma
shifted his gaze and stiffened. Standing in the
doorway, her little hands on her hips, was a frowning
Miss Hinako.
"Mr. Saotome! Just what is going on in here?
You had better have a very good explanation for
this!" She wagged her finger at him as she entered
the room. Ranma's mouth worked wordlessly, and
Feather continued to cry into his chest. Miss Hinako
stopped a few feet in front of them and stood
expectantly. Ranma looked around desperately for some
help, then he looked at Miss Hinako with a
sheepish grin.
"Uh, g'morning Miss Hinako. Well you see, the
principal kinda scared Feather, and she's a bit
worked up over a few other things, yeah that's it."
Ranma swallowed nervously. Miss Hinako appeared
to consider that for a minute, then she smiled.
"Okay, but its time for class so everyone take
your seats!" While Miss Hinako bounced to the
front, Ranma coaxed Feather into sitting in her seat.
Feather sat and folded her wings around her
like a cloak, like she was trying to hide herself
from the class. Akane and Ukyou cast worried
glances towards Feather before paying attention to
class.
Feather's heart was not in the class that
morning. She could swear she heard the whispers
shooting back and forth through the class, and feel
the stares she was sure were aimed at her. Just
when she thought that she would be unable to stand it
anymore, the bell rang, signaling the first
break. Feather bolted from the class, and she ran for
the roof.
"What's with Feather this morning?" Ranma asked
Akane. Akane shot a hard glance at him.
"It's just.... Well, you wouldn't understand
Ranma."
"What d'ya mean I wouldn't understand?" Ranma
started to frown. Akane ignored him and whispered
something to Ukyou, who nodded and left the class.
Ranma spoke up again, "Hey Akane, what do you mean
I wouldn't understand?"
"Ranma, it's a little hard to explain." Akane
sighed. "You see, I think Feather is getting
really depressed, and all that staring must've scared
her." Ranma's face went dark, and a scowl
formed on his face. Akane nodded at his reaction. "I
don't know if you noticed or not, but she's been
really sensitive about her wings, and when the class
was whispering and staring at her this morning,
she must have been reminded of what that jerk did to
her." Ranma opened his mouth to say something,
but Akane firmly placed her hand over his mouth. "Let
me finish! Right now she needs someone to
confide in, and it's a lot easier for a girl to talk
to a girl. That's why I had Ukyou follow her."
Akane pulled her hand away from Ranma's mouth. Ranma
was still scowling.
"Ok, so what your saying is this, Feather
freaked out because what happened this morning was
kinda like what that jerk was doing, and she needs
someone she can pour her heart out to, right?"
Akane looked dumbfounded at Ranma.
"You DO understand, don't you Ranma?" Akane's
voice was filled with shock.
"Yeah, kinda. I do know that talking about
stuff that upsets you can help. I'm not a complete
jerk you know." Ranma grinned at Akane's expression.
"Not that I'd ever need to confide in anyone.
After all, I can handle anything life throws at me!"
"Right, what about Jusenkyo Ranma? You don't
seem to handle that one too well." Ranma
stiffened.
"I don't want to talk about it." Ranma turned
away.
"I thought you just said you understood." Akane
crossed her arms.
"I do, but I just don't want to talk about it.
It just ain't right for a guy to do that kind of
stuff." Akane scoffed.
"Sure Ranma. Whatever you say." Akane walked
away to talk with some of her friends. Ranma
watched her leave, his expression inscrutable. Time
passed slowly for him, his worry for Feather
warring with something he didn't really want to deal
with. Ranma gritted his teeth and sat at his
desk. He was so occupied with his thoughts, he failed
to notice Akane walk up behind him.
"What's up with you Ranma? You look like you're
stressing out." Akane asked, a hint of concern
in her voice. Ranma turned towards Akane with a
serious look on his face. "You know what Akane?"
"What is it Ranma?"
"I've been thinkin' about how you said Feather
needed to talk to someone, and well, you have a
point." Akane looked confused.
"Just what are you getting at Ranma?"
"If um, you know, I do ever need to talk, I'll
um, see you're," Ranma mumbled something under
his breath. Akane cocked her head and leaned towards
him.
"What was that last part Ranma? I didn't quite
catch that." Ranma mumbled again, then he
straightened up.
"That is, if I ever need to, you know, um, talk
and stuff, I'd talk to..." He swallowed hard,
and the last word he spoke was barely a whisper,
"you"
Akane blushed redder that Ranma's shirt, and
looked around to see if anyone over heard their
little discussion. When she saw that no-one was
paying attention, she faced a blushing Ranma.
"Thank you Ranma. I.... I feel the same way."
Both of them were at a loss for words at this
point, their emotions at odds with their pride.
Ukyou was following Feather at a fair distance.
She was trying desperately to keep her in
sight, but it seemed that Feather had the energy of a
demon. Ukyou had to sprint just to keep her in
sight. :: Just how far does she plan on running?::
Ukyou thought as she ran. Feather quickly turned a
corner, and Ukyou had to step up the pace to try and
catch up. When Ukyou turned the corner, Feather
was nowhere in sight.
"Great, now where did she go?" Ukyou muttered
as she looked around. She noticed the door to the
stairs was still open, so she took a chance and ran
up the stairs. As she ran, she heard a door slam
open, like it was kicked very hard. Ukyou strained to
run faster. When she reached top of the stairs,
Ukyou saw that the door had been forcibly kicked
open, judging by the footprint denting it. Ukyou
stopped running for a second to compose herself, and
then walked out onto the roof.
"Feather?" Ukyou called out when she didn't see
her anywhere. There was no answer to her call,
so Ukyou started walking around looking for her
friend. She walked around the roof for a while before
she spotted Feather sitting on the top of the clock
tower. Feather's hair was tossing lightly in the
wind, but she seemed to be staring off into the
distance. Ukyou jumped onto the tower, and walked
quietly over to Feather.
"Hey kiddo, you feeling alright?" Ukyou asked
as she sat down. Feather started a little, and
looked at Ukyou with haunted eyes.
"Ukyou," Feather's voice was barely a whisper,
and even then it cracked a little. Ukyou got a
very concerned look on her face and leaned towards
Feather.
"Feather, you gotta talk to me, what's bugging
you?"
"I, I remember." Feather said before looking
out over the schoolyard again.
"Remember?" Ukyou asked, puzzled. "Remember
what?"
"I remember my childhood now. I remember what
he was like before the booze, before the side
show, when he was a good man, when all he wanted was
the best for me...." Feather trailed off for a
second until she felt Ukyou's arms encircling her in
a hug.
"The first thing I can remember about him was
that he was sitting across a table from me,
smiling as he watched me eat, but not eating himself.
He was sacrificing himself and his life so I
could have a normal childhood at that time. He used
to find ways of getting me whatever I wanted,
probably stealing, and making sure I was happy. I
guess you could say he was spoiling me." Feather
wiped a single tear from her eye before she
continued.
"Then, he started to drink. At fist he'd yell a
little, then he'd be all apologetic. Later he
was drunk all the time. We had less and less food to
eat. This was when I as about fourteen or so."
Feather started crying, so Ukyou hugged Feather and
murmured comforting sounds, at least she hoped
they were comforting.
"It's okay Feather, let it out, then continue.
You need to talk about this." After some time,
Feather managed to stop crying.
"Then, then he started the sideshow act. At
first it was a game to me, I'd wear a pretty dress
and makeup, and pretend to be an angel for anyone who
paid. I'd smile and wave at the people, and
quote little snippets and psalms from the Bible, and
sometimes act like I was blessing them. He
seemed happy for a while, but the extra money meant
more booze, and then...... then..." Feather
barely mouthed the words, but Ukyou understood, and a
cold weight settled in her stomach, "Then the
beatings began."
Feather stopped talking and pulled the shoulder
of her blouse down just enough to reveal a
faint scar on her back, just a little above where her
left wing would have been. Ukyou gasped as she
examined the scar. The line was very faint, but still
easily visible.
"That happened the first time, he had thrown me
into the shelves and it cut fairly deep. He
insisted to the doctor that looked at it that I had
fallen off of a slide, and had used his memory
techniques to insure I said the same thing. Since
then, he would be careful to not be that obvious,
or he would just alter my memory to suit him. I tried
running away several times, but he would always
find me, or a well meaning policeman would bring me
back. Then the beatings would be worse." Ukyou
was speechless. How could she come up with something
to say that would help?
"Whenever he had a bad day, or when the show
didn't do that well, he would take out his
frustration on me." Feather looked up at the sky.
"I'm grateful for one thing though," Ukyou looked
at Feather sharply.
::What could she possibly be grateful to that
guy for?:: Ukyou thought.
"What's that Feather?" She heard herself say,
despite her turmoiled thoughts. Feather looked
at Ukyou, and she knew that Feather had heard an
undertone of disbelief.
"He never molested me. I'll be forever grateful
that he didn't do that." They sat up there for
some time in silence. Ukyou found herself unable to
come up with something to say, so she lent
Feather her silent support.
The bell rang, startling them both.
"Oh No!" Feather yelled as she scrambled to her
feet, "We missed the rest of the morning
classes! Miss Hinako's gonna kill us!" Ukyou stood
quickly, but she wasn't as panicked as Feather.
"Don't sweat it Feather, we'll just have to
weather a reprimand after lunch. Come on, let's go
find Ran-chan." With that, Ukyou led Feather back
down the stairs in a search for Ranma.
-----------------------------------------
Ryouga stared in disbelief at the sight before
him. Against all odds, he had found Jusenkyo.
The waters of sorrow had never made anyone as happy,
or had looked quite that beautiful in the eyes
of any that had beheld it. Ryouga practically dashed
for the springs, but pulled up just short of one
of them.
::Wait a sec,:: he thought as he looked at his
reflection in the still water, ::How do I know
which one to jump into?:: Ryouga's mood darkened as
he saw no sign of the guide, or anybody else for
that matter. He started walking among the springs,
looking for any clue as to the one he sought.
Hours past as Ryouga walked around. Frustrated,
he sat heavily next to one that was
frighteningly familiar. He peered at it closely, then
shuddered when he realized that he had sat down
next to the spring of drowned black piglet. It was
calm and serene, oblivious to the pain and
suffering that it had caused him when it had touched
his life. Ryouga fought the urge to destroy it
on the spot with a Shi Shi Houkoudan, wondering what
would happen if he got splashed with the water
for a second time.
"DAMMIT! How can I be so close, yet so far from
a cure!" Ryouga yelled to the sky. Ryouga
looked at the ground in front of him in despair, and
paused. There, in a patch of dirt was a set of
hoof-prints. Ryouga bent closer and examined the dirt
around the pool. There were several sets of
hoof prints leading away from the water. He almost
laughed out loud when he realized how simple it
would be to find a spring that had human footprints
leading from it.
Ryouga set about his search with renewed vigor.
He walked from pool to pool, searching for one
that had the right kind of tracks. After several
hours, he finally found one that had human
footprints leading from it. He noted that they mostly
were accompanied by hand and knee prints as
well. In fact, there were a lot of booted prints
around as well.
::Now the question is, what kind of person fell
in?:: As Ryouga pondered that thought, the
western sky had begun to decorate itself with the
brilliant colors of sunset. Ryouga watched the
sunset as he struggled to decide, jump in now and
take whatever human form goes with it, or wait for
the guide to show up and tell him. Ryouga put his
pack down and sat upon it, facing away from the
spring.
"Tomorrow sees undone, what happens not today.
Indecision brings delays, days lost lamenting
lost days." Ryouga said to himself, then smiled,
remembering the last time he had uttered those words
in the cave of lost love. "Might as well!" He shouted
as he jumped into the spring in front of him.
The spring behind him glinted almost maliciously in
the ruddy light.
Suddenly he felt his body wrack with pain, like he
was being flayed alive. ::I can take any
suffering, any pain to be rid of the pig!!:: Ryouga
thought fiercely, trying to block out the pain.
He wanted to scream from the agony, but dared not.
The water felt like it was burning his very soul,
and he would swear later that the water had burned
off all of his skin during his ordeal. Ryouga
struggled to break free of the water's embrace, his
lungs burning with desire for the sweet air
above. With a loud gasp, Ryouga broke the surface.
In a pain maddened state, he ran off, fortunate
only that he got tangled in the straps to his pack.
He ran off into the night, his pack gouging a
trail into the turf behind him......
-------------------------------------------
------
When Feather and Ukyou rejoined Ranma and
Akane for lunch, a large number of their classmates
converged on them, asking questions about Feather's
wings. Ranma moved in front of the girls.
"Stop it!" He yelled at the top of his voice.
The sudden silence that covered the area was
sudden and complete. "Why don't you all mind your
business and go away!" Ranma yelled. His classmates
began to argue with him, and the girls took the
opportunity to disappear into a storage shed to eat
lunch in peace.
"What about Ranma?" Feather asked when Akane
slid the door shut.
"Oh, don't worry about him, he'll be just fine.
When they notice we're not around, they'll
split up looking for us, and Ranma will come and find
us." Akane said as she unwrapped her bento.
"How will he know to look in here?" Feather
inquired as she got ready to eat her lunch. Akane
smiled.
"This is the shed he always ducks into when
he's been splashed." She moved aside a couple of
boxes to reveal a mini stove and a kettle. "Think of
it as a kind of a safe spot for us. For some
reason, no-one ever thinks of looking in here."
Feather giggled, and started to eat her lunch. Akane
glanced at Ukyou, who gave her an 'I'll tell you
later' look.
The girls talked about little things for a few
minutes before a sudden gust of wind blew past
them. They turned around and saw Ranma perched on the
window sill.
"Finally lost those jerks." Ranma said as he
jumped down. Ranma slumped against some boxes, and
absently accepted the lunch that Akane held out for
him.
They finished eating, talking only occasionally
about mundane things. Ukyou and Feather were
scolded when they returned to class, but they took it
in stride and managed to get through the rest
of the school day without incident.
As they were packing their books after class
was over, Ranma held his bag out to Akane.
"What's this for Ranma?" Akane asked. Ranma
shrugged, but continued to hold out his bag.
"Could ya take this back to the dojo? I gotta
deal with Kuno's challenge remember?" Ranma's
tone was that of the long suffering.
"Oh, well don't take too long beating him up
Ranma, I'm cooking dinner tonight." Akane
announced with a huge smile. Ranma nearly jumped away
from the mere notion of Akane cooking, until he
remembered what the last meal tasted like.
"Uh, sure I guess. As long as it turns out like
last time, right? Well, good luck with dinner
Akane, I gotta run!" Ranma sprinted out of the door,
heading towards something he was sure he could
handle. Akane fumed a little.
"I swear, he didn't have to make it sound like
I'm still having trouble. The last dinner I made
turned out just fine!" Ukyou looked at Akane with
light interest.
"Oh, so you finally learned how to cook Akane?
Boy, that's going to make it even harder for
Ran-chan to choose." Ukyou said just a little
flippantly.
"What's that supposed to mean Ukyou?" Akane
asked, a small frown forming. Ukyou smiled as they
started to make their way out of the school.
"Well, everyone knows that we are Ran-chan's
only real choices for marriage. I mean, Kodachi's
plain crazy and Shampoo's only real claim is those
stupid laws, but we were both engaged by our
parents to Ran-chan. That makes us kinda like
friendly rivals, right Akane?" Akane seemed to be
angry
for a second, then realized that Ukyou was right.
"We can be civil about this Ukyou, you're the
only one of the fiancee's that ever takes
Ranma's feelings into consideration when you do
something. Besides, I haven't forgotten all that you
did for us when Ranma was hurt." Ukyou grimaced a
little at the memory.
"Hmmph! It wasn't like I had a choice, you were
devastated, and unable to fend off Kuno, and
Ran-chan was too hurt to resist Shampoo or Kodachi.
The way I see it, I was the only one who didn't
try and take advantage of the situation to get closer
to Ran-chan." Akane laughed a little.
"You want to come over for dinner Ukyou? Since
we're friendly rivals as you put it." Akane
smiled sweetly. Ukyou blanched, remembering the last
time she ate Akane's cooking.
"Uh, I gotta take care of the restaurant, so
maybe next time ok?" Ukyou started to edge away,
then practically ran for her place, waving back at
Akane and Feather.
"Really, she could have at least offered to try
it. Oh well, come on Feather!" Akane broke into
a run, "I want to get an early start on dinner!" They
ran the rest of the way to the dojo, laughing
and giggling.
Ranma stood alone in the second field, mentally
preparing himself for what he was sure was
going to be a fight.
"Hark and well met Saotome." Ranma spun on his
heel to face Kuno.
"What do you want Kuno?" Ranma asked, but was
ready to dodge any attack. Kuno frowned.
"You will address me as upperclassman.
Nevertheless, I find myself in a quandary Saotome. I
would date your sister, but honor requires that I
obtain the permission of her older brother, you
Saotome. I am unused to dealing with you on this
level, so I will be frank. What must I do to curry
your favor, and obtain permission to date with
Feather?" Kuno stabbed his bokken into the soft
earth,
and sat next to it. "Mind you, I will do nothing that
would be a stain upon my honor, but I will do
what is necessary." Ranma was speechless for a
minute.
"Hold up Kuno, when have you ever sought
permission from the families of the girls that you
chase?" Ranma asked as he sat down across from Kuno.
"The honorable Mr. Tendo never objected to my
wooing of the sweet Akane, and the Pigtailed Girl
has no family that I could discover. It is my
experience that the elder brother is oft times the
one
whose permission must be obtained. For it is with the
heir of the family that such a responsibility
falls, and thus I find myself here speaking with you,
though I would rather be seeking out my loves."
Kuno leveled his gaze upon Ranma, and waited.
"Um, well, I guess I should ask you to give up
on Akane and your Pigtailed Girl if you wanna
date with Feather. More importantly, find out how
Feather feels about you. She might already have
someone in mind." Ranma thought of how she acted
around Ryouga, and frowned. "In fact, I'm sure
there's someone she already likes."
"How unfortunate. I will endeavor to discover
her true feelings on the matter, and learn the
truth. And yet, I find my heart divided upon my
loves. I'll take my leave of you now Saotome, and I
shall ponder what we have discussed this afternoon."
Kuno stood, bowed to Ranma, and left. Ranma sat
there for a while, then slowly made his way back to
the dojo.
On the way, he heard a familiar cry.
"Where on earth am I now!!" Ranma grinned, and
proceeded to track down Ryouga. Ranma jumped
over a wall, and saw Ryouga asking directions from a
store keeper.
"Hey Ryouga! It's been what, more than a month
now?" Ranma yelled in way of greeting, and ran
up to his friend.
"Ranma! I've been to Jusenkyo!"
"Well duh Ryouga, that's why you change." Ranma
said sarcastically, not realizing the
importance of Ryouga's statement. Ryouga hit Ranma
upside the head, and yelled in his ear.
"No you idiot! I've been there again!" Ranma
grabbed Ryouga's shirt.
"No kidding! You brought me back some
nannichuan didn't you Ryouga old pal! I knew you'd
wander
back there one of these days!" Ranma practically
danced around Ryouga. When Ryouga didn't say
anything right away, Ranma stopped dancing around.
"Wait a sec, don't tell me you fell in a
different one by mistake?"
Ryouga's almost imperceptible nod, while only a
very slight movement, managed to destroy
Ranma's hopes. Suddenly, they looked like the two
most miserable people on earth.
"I couldn't find the guide anywhere, so I
thought I could figure out which one was the
nannichuan on my own. I checked the banks of a lot of
those springs, looking for human footprints
leading out from it." Ryouga spoke like he was
already dead. "I finally found one close to sunset
almost a week ago. Rather than take the chance of
getting lost, I jumped in. The pain was.... almost
unbearable. When I finally broke the surface, the
pain had driven me mad, and I ran, I think. When I
came to my senses, I had somehow gotten into the
cargo hold of an airplane. I thought I was
extraordinarily lucky, since I was human at the time,
I was myself!" Ranma patted Ryouga on the back.
"At least your free of the pig! Even if you
fell in the spring of drowned pervert, it's gotta
be better than being a pig." Ryouga gave a little
half smile, then sank in depression again.
"Come on Ranma, let's go get something to
drink."
"No problem, that place over there has a soda
machine..." Ryouga shook his head.
"No, I mean a real drink. I don't care if we
have to raid Kuno's wine cellar, but I really
could use a drink!"
"You drink Ryouga? I thought you only drank
water since your on the road all the time." Ranma
sounded a little shocked, but led Ryouga towards a
nearby bar.
"I've been to Germany a few times. It's a lot
easier to get beer than water. Some people think
it's funny to give some poor lost kid a beer, but I
can handle the stuff." Ryouga spoke quietly as
they walked into one of the more disreputable bars in
town. The broken doorframe should have been the
first hint, but the two depressed martial artists
trudged in anyways.
Inside was a mess. Broken chairs and tables
were piled in one corner, and tough looking bikers
lounged around the bar. Loud heavy metal music was
blaring, and there were more than a few passed
out, or knocked out people around. Ranma and Ryouga
ignored this, and walked straight to the bar.
"Get us a bottle of the strongest stuff you
got." Ryouga growled as he sat on a patched stool.
The bartender gave Ryouga a once over, and crossed
his arms.
"Sorry son, we don't serve minors here," No
sooner had the words left his mouth had Ryouga
grabbed the front of the man's shirt and dragged him
halfway across the bar. Ryouga spoke in a
dangerously low voice, looking straight into the now
frightened bartender's eyes.
"I said, a bottle of the strongest stuff you
got. I'm too tired to argue with you, and would
just as soon toss you out and get it myself," The
bartender nodded vigorously, and Ryouga let go. The
bartender produced two shot glasses, and poured them
both some whiskey.
"Thanks. Leave the bottle." Ryouga said
tersely, and knocked his drink back quickly.
"You've done this before, haven't you Ryouga?"
Ranma said before he sipped his, and nearly
choked on it. Ryouga slapped him on the back hard.
"Slam it down, don't sip on it, and yeah, I've
hit a couple of bars before. That was right
after my first trip to Jusenkyo." Ryouga poured
himself another drink, and downed that one as soon as
he had finished pouring. Ranma poured himself another
and kicked it back the way he saw Ryouga drink
it, his pride not letting him have less to drink than
Ryouga. The bartender gave them a concerned
look.
"Um, you two seem worked up by something, need
to talk about it?" The bartender hoped that they
would start blabbing away about whatever bothered
them, and then leave.
"No, you wouldn't understand." Ryouga said
flatly.
"Try me." The bartender grinned, and refilled
Ryouga's glass for him.
"Picture this if you will, think of what it
means to be one of the best fighters in the world,
able to shatter a rock with one finger, and then
poof. You can't fight anymore. Then poof again, your
back to the way you were. Imagine this happening
several times a day. Now think of what happens when
you finally find a cure, and botch it up because you
were too impatient to wait for the guy to come
along and tell you which cure to take. I took the
wrong cure, and at the same time, was unable to
bring back a cure for my friend, who suffers from the
same problem." Ryouga said, then drank another
shot. The bartender turned to Ranma.
"Ok, howzabout you?"
"I'm the friend he was talking about." Ranma
said flatly, and took another drink himself.
"Well, sounds to me that you two need to go out
and get the right cure, as you put it." The
bartender said with a smug look on his face.
"Ain't that easy." Ranma said, still trying to
match Ryouga drink for drink, "You see, the cure
is in China, and we don't have enough money to go
there." Ranma took another shot. Ryouga nodded his
head, and downed another. One of the bikers had
overheard them, and shambled over.
"Yous two don't look none to tough. I think I
can handle either of ya." Ranma and Ryouga looked
at each other.
"You want to take him Ryouga? I don't have as
much anger to work out of my system." Ranma said.
Ryouga grinned and nodded as he slid off of the
stool.
"Your move." Ryouga said noncommittally. The
biker's face flushed, and he charged with a roar.
Ryouga calmly sidestepped, kneed the man in the gut,
and flattened him on the ground with a palm
strike between his shoulder blades. The man tried to
get up, put Ryouga calmly placed his foot on the
man's back.
"I don't feel like seriously hurting you. Go
back to your drink, 'k?" Ryouga said, a bit of
boredom in his voice. When he continued to struggle,
Ryouga demonstrated what he meant by hurt, by
punching straight into the floor, burying his arm up
to the elbow in solid concrete. The man flinched
since Ryouga's fist impacted the floor mere inches
away from his nose. The man's eyes went wide when
Ryouga pulled his arm out, and there was no sign of
injury whatsoever. Ryouga turned back to his
seat, and the biker crawled away, doing his best to
avoid being noticed by the drinking martial
artists.
Some time later, a thoroughly drunk pair
staggered from the bar. The bottle and their pockets
had run dry, and it was time to find their way home.
Akane was upset. Ranma had not come home yet,
and her dinner was getting cold. She had worked
on it since she got home, and the food looked like it
was really good. When the sky began to darken,
Akane stood up.
"Go ahead and eat you guys, I'm going to look
for Ranma." She announced.
"Atta girl Akane! You make you father so
proud, looking after your fiancee like that!" Mr.
Tendo said happily while Genma-panda grunted and
nodded, reaching for the food. Akane did her best to
ignore them, and started walking towards the door
when she heard a loud crash, and slurred curses.
"Oh my! What language! Akane, would you be a
dear and chase off those drunks please?" Kasumi
said, one hand held delicately up to her mouth.
"Sure thing Kasumi! I feel the need to vent a
bit anyway." Akane cracked her knuckles and
walked out to the gate. As she got closer to the
gate, she could almost understand what the drunks
were wailing about, but she prepared to face them,
ready for anything.
Well, just about anything. She jumped backwards
when the gate opened violently, and just about
tore a vocal cord with her yell of surprise.
"RANMA?!???!! RYOUGA?!?!?!"
Her shout summoned the rest of the household.
There, staggering in the yard was a very drunk
pair. They were clinging to each other for support.
"Hiyash Akane! We's home," Ranma announced with
a stupid grin. After Ranma's greeting, Akane
stormed around the side of the house. Ryouga
muttered something under his breath. Ranma turned his
head. "Yeah, thatsh a true sshhamesh, wanderin' ta
Jasenko and notsh findin' tha shpring." Ryouga
raised his head.
"Itsh not my falt. I shlipped in and ...
woomph, I blacksh out. We curshed folksh stick
tagatha
right Ranma?" Ryouga's voice was very slurred, but
his pleading tone was enough to make all of the
Tendos feel sorry for him.
"Poor Ryouga!" Kasumi said to Nabiki, "Now he
has a curse. I wonder which spring he fell into?"
"I'll lay you a bet that he turns into some
small, weak animal Kasumi," Nabiki said, "It's the
most annoying thing that could happen to a strong boy
like Ryouga. I say a hundred yen is good,"
Kasumi looked at her sister strangely, the produced a
list.
"Ok Nabiki, your hundred yen against doing all
the shopping for a week,"
"Deal sis,"
Feather tried to drag the boys into the house,
and get them to stop yelling. Exasperated,
Feather backed up from them and put her hands on her
hips.
"Honestly, what has gotten into you two?"
Feather scowled at them before she turned to look
for Akane. "Hey Akane, you going to help me get
these two inside?" Feather called out. Akane
returned with a running garden hose in hand.
"No problem. This ought to at least get Ranma
to shut up." Feather reached for the hose, a
yell of warning somehow lodged in her throat as Akane
turned the hose on them. The cold spray of
water managed to silence everyone in the yard.
Feather couldn't look. Ryouga had confessed to her
about what he had done as P-chan as an explanation as
to why she couldn't tell Akane. Everyone else
in the yard was in shock. Instead of changing just
Ranma, Ryouga changed had as well. His fangs
grew , and his face grew longer. Gray fur sprouted
over every inch of his body as he lurched forward
onto all fours. In the blink of an eye, Ryouga had
transformed into a very large wolf. The only
real clue that it was still Ryouga was the bandanna
that somehow remained loosely tied around his
thick neck. He looked about as irritated as a wolf
could get.
"R, Ryouga?" Akane said as the hose slid out of
her numb fingers. Ryouga merely whined as he
rolled onto his side in the growing mud puddle.
Nabiki, scowled, and held her hand out to Kasumi.
"Might as well give me the list, I'm going
shopping after school tomorrow." As Nabiki spoke,
Feather turned to look, and did not have to fake any
kind of astonishment.
"Ryouga! What happened!" Feather screamed as
she ran over to him, and hugged him around the
neck, burying her face into the amazingly soft fur.
Ryouga twisted a little and nudged at Feather
with his muzzle. The touch of his cold nose made her
let go of his neck. No sooner had she done
that then he started to lick her face.
"Ah! Hee hee hee, stop it Ryouga!" Feather
giggled as she tried to fend him off laughingly.
Then seriously pushed him away as she smelled his
breath.
"Phew! Ryouga look that way, your breath
reeks!" She turned her face away from Ryouga and
watched Akane stalk over to Ranma, who swept her into
a tight embrace.
"Ranma! Let go of me right now!" Akane
struggled uselessly against Ranma-chan's strong arms.
"Why? I shink I'll fall if I let go.." Ranma-
chan let go however, and then passed out. Akane
caught her limp form, and with an exasperated sigh,
dragged Ranma-chan into the house. Ryouga's
tongue lolled out in the wolfish equivalent of a
laugh.
"Ryouga, come on, let's get you inside."
Feather stood held a hand out, expecting Ryouga to
follow. Instead, Ryouga whined a little as he finally
passed out. Feather sighed as she tried to
pick him up. She half carried, half dragged Ryouga's
sodden form into the dojo. She saw where Akane
had dumped Ranma-chan off, and dropped her burden
right next to the now snoring Ranma-chan. Akane
walked back into the dojo with a pail of water and a
couple of washrags.
"Here, let's clean them up a bit, then get to
bed ourselves." Akane offered one of the rags to
Feather, who accepted, and proceeded to try and wash
all of the mud and grime off of Ryouga. Akane
started to clean Ranma-chan up, pausing only to kick
their fathers out of the room.
"I really don't need them going on about how
fiancees look after each other right now." Akane
wrung out her rag, and dipped it in the bucket. "I
wonder if Ryouga's curse was why they went and got
drunk. As long as I've known them, they haven't
willingly gotten drunk."
"I hope they'll be ok Akane. They both seemed
rather bummed out, and after you splashed them,
they were getting hysterical." Feather pulled a
particularly large clump of mud out of his fur, "Look
on the bright side, he's housebroken." Akane giggled
at Feather's observation, and finished cleaning
Ranma-chan off.
"There, Ranma's all cleaned up. How's Ryouga
coming?" Akane asked. Feather shrugged.
"He's as clean as possible without a good hot
bath, and a lot of soap." Akane and Feather left
the empty bucket in the dojo, and closed the door.
Feather looked back at the door and sighed. As
she made her way back towards Akane's room, she
couldn't help but feel sorry for Ryouga.
"To be so close, yet so far. It's almost as if
the world really is out to get him." Feather
sighed as she made her way up the stairs. Ryouga may
be back, but she was certain that his new curse
was only going to make things more.... interesting.
End Chapter 6
Author's notes:
Well, It's been a while hasn't it? Sorry it took so long for
me to post this chapter, but things have been rather hectic
for me lately. Let me know what you think, by e-mail or
guestbook. Comments and criticism always welcome.
