Max-chan
29th December 2002, 11:25 PM
Sides of the Palace
Chapter 1, Leaving His Life
Author's Notes: You know what really annoyed me? I wrote this chapter
awhile ago and I forgot where I saved it so I had to write it all over
again! I had a lot written too! This is the only story where I know
*exactly* what I want to happen. Shoot, if I wasn't so lazy, I could
write the entire story right now. That's why I believe the chapters to
this particular story will be much longer then my other stories.
*sigh* They may not be introduced in this particular chapter, but the
entire main body of the Ranma cast will be in here. Okay, I'm going to
stop talking now and let you read the fic.
Disclaimers: Ranma 1/2 belongs to Rumiko Takahashi. Not me.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~
"So, I guess this is...good-bye?" he asked her awkwardly.
"Let's just call this...smell-ya-later," she smiled back.
{-Nelson Muntz and Lisa Simpson from The Simpsons}
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~
The beautiful twilight curtain hung over the magnificent field.
Starlight danced off the edges of the flower petals and hopped off.
Faerie-like fireflies weaved through the air, laughing and taunting
the oncoming night. A young girl smiles and hums to herself as she
makes her way through the field. Her short-cut hair makes her face
look slightly pixie-ish. She wears a soft white dress and an
herb-basket is on her back. The girl bends down to pick some Lili
leaves and laughs as some fireflies dance around her nose. Her eyes
cross slightly to follow them. She straightens up, throws the leaves
into her already full herb-basket and pulls a hand through her dark
blue hair the color of clean ocean water.
Seeing the tree up ahead, the girl runs over to it and sits down
underneath it. She takes off her herb-basket and places it beside her.
Closing her eyes, the girl leans back on the trunk of the tree to
rest. Unfortunately for her, rest was not to be.
"Lazy tomboy," a joking voice laughed from somewhere above the girl.
Akane smiled as she felt someone jump from the branches to sit beside
her.
"Hey Ranma," she greeted as she slowly opened her eyes. The pig-tailed
boy gave her a large smile before grabbing her herb-basket. Looking
through it, he made a face.
"Refu sticks? Lili leaves? Muan grass? Geez, what are you planning to
do, Akane? Become immune to my insults? You know that won't work,"
Ranma said.
Akane jabbed him slightly in the stomach with her elbow.
"I'm already immune to your insults, you jerk. These are for Serph,
who's baby is due soon. Hopefully, these will help her with the
delivery," she told him.
"Aw, you know I'm just fooling with you Akane," Ranma joked as he
hooked his right arm through her left one. The two leaned their heads
against each other. They were the best of friends and at the end of
the week, they were going to be the best of couples. They were going
to be married. Akane blushed at the thought of the oncoming wedding.
The whole village was looking forward to it. Everyone knew Ranma and
Akane were going to be married since they were one day old. It was
only natural.
Then, after the wedding-
Akane sighed.
"Hey, what's the matter?" Ranma asked his best friend. Akane shot him
a scowl but didn't say.
"What? Miss me already? Don't worry, I'll win the tournament and be
back rich and famous before you'll even know I'm gone," he told her.
Akane still refused to say anything. The day after the wedding, Ranma
was leaving for the competition in the Central city where the palace
was. The tournament that took place every four years tested the skills
and intelligence of young men. Whoever won the tournament was given
gold, jewels, silk and an official position in the government. It was
the best opportunity and Ranma was the best candidate from the
village. Like his marriage to Akane, it was only natural he would win
the competition.
Akane didn't want to admit it, but she knew she was going to miss him.
She sniffled slightly and felt a stinging in her eyes.
"Oh, don't cry Akane," Ranma begged, but the girl just turned her face
away.
"I'm not crying," she cried. Ranma rolled his eyes. He just didn't
know what to do when Akane was like this. Maybe if he-
Ranma grinned.
"Remember that time when I saved you from the hole and you were crying
and wouldn't let me save you at first because you didn't want me to
see it?" he reminded her.
Akane whirled on him.
"It was all your fault anyway! It wasn't because I didn't want you to
see me cry, it was because I hated your guts," she corrected.
Ranma scowled himself and sat back.
"Yeah, and all because of dumb Missy Ri," he said.
"You kissed her," Akane returned.
"Did not! I told you, I didn't-" Ranma exclaimed but Akane's smile
stopped him.
"Stupid tomboy," he mumbled.
**************** Nine years before ******************
A seven-year old Akane bounced to Nodoka's house.
Passing the porch where she saw Nodoka was, she said, "Hi Nodo-chan.
Where's Ranma?"
The woman smiled.
"In the back. Just head through. I think he has a friend back there
with him," she answered.
Akane nodded.
"Oh, okay. Thanks," she said before going into the house. It was empty
and when she reached the open back door, Akane started a run. She ran
out into Ranma's back yard where she immediately stopped still. Her
eyes and mouth opened wide with shock.
"Ranma!" she cried out as her tears started to run.
The pig-tailed boy tore his lips from that of curly, thick-haired
Missy Ri.
"Akane!" he gasped.
Missy Ri giggled and shook her pretty head.
"Hi Akane," she laughed.
Akane's bottom lip trembled before she pulled it in and ran through
the house.
"Akane, what's the-" Nodoka began before the little girl whirled past
her. She didn't miss the kid's tears though. When her son ran by, she
pulled at his arm and stopped him.
"What did you do to Akane?" she demanded.
"Mom, let me go. I'll tell you later. I promise," Ranma pleaded.
Seeing the desperate look on her son's face, Nodoka let him go.
Akane ran into her house and locked all of the doors. She ran to the
windows and closed the curtains.
Ranma pounded on the door.
"Akane! Let me in! Come on,, Akane! She kissed me! I didn't kiss her!
Akane, listen to me!" he screamed and passers-by watched but he didn't
stop. Akane didn't hear him. She just cried and with every tear she
got more angry. She hated him! She hated him! She hated him!
When Nami came home and saw the sight, she herself gave a slight knock
on the door.
"Akane, dear," she said softly. "It's mommy. Can you let me in?"
The door opened slightly and a small hand pulled Nami inside. The door
shut in Ranma's face.
"Akane, what's the matter?" Nami asked her crying daughter.
"I hate Ranma and I'm never speaking to him again!" she screamed.
Who said Akane Tendo didn't have conviction?
**************** Four years later ******************
Akane sang as she climbed the small mountain. Every so often she would
pull at some plants that grew alongside the mountain and put it into
her herb-basket. Looking up, she gasped. There, a few feet above her
was the Windell leaf! It was a Windell leaf! The girl had to settle
her shaking hands. So what if the distance to the leaf was a little
smooth. It was only a few feet. Akane hitched a breath and placed her
right arm on a rock. Okay, that worked. She moved her left foot and
left hand next, heaving her body upwards.
Suddenly, her left foot smoothed over the rocks. Akane gave a scream
as she lost her footing and her left leg pulled her down. She let go
in panic and started to fall.
Umph!
She hit some shrubs. Akane started to get up. Hey, maybe she was al-
Ahh!
The ground gave out under her and Akane fell some more. She finally
hit ground...underground.
Oh, this was great. Just great.
Akane tried moving her body and though it hurt, everything seemed to
be in order. Nothing was broken. She slowly stood up and looked out at
the hole. Oh this was just great! How was she supposed to get out now?
**************** Two hours later ******************
Ranma whistled as he made his way along the field. In his hand was a
piece of sugarcane he had bought from a stand. The juice dripped down
his mouth slightly as he took a bite. He chewed till the juice and
flavor was all gone before spitting it out. He was about to take
another bite when he heard a scream.
"This is so stupid! Isn't there anybody there? You think there would
be somebody there, but no! Lucky me!"
Ranma smiled quizzically. Those shouts sounded familiar. There was
only one person who could scream in anger like that. The pig-tailed
boy followed the screaming to some bushes. He pushed the shrubbery
aside and looked down the hole at the frustrated female.
"Hey Akane," he greeted amiably. "What are you doing down there?"
Akane stopped her screaming and froze. She knew that voice. Looking
up, she found herself face to face with her worst enemy. Ranma!
Akane turned away and crossed her arms.
"Go away, Saotome," she said. There was no way she was going to let
that jerk see the tears in *her* eyes.
"No," was the quick response. "Looks like you need a little help,
Akane."
The girl practically sizzled.
"Not from you, you jerk!" she screamed, flaring to face him. "I was
doing perfectly fine waiting to be rescued when you interrupted. Now,
don't you have a girl somewhere that's waiting to be kissed?"
"You're *still* mad?" Ranma exclaimed.
Akane refused to answer. She wasn't going to justify her emotions to
him of all people, the jerk.
Ranma was getting mad now too.
"Well, that's really too bad if you hate me because I am going to make
you hate me even more. I'm going to save you, you stupid tomboy,
whether you want me to or not."
Then, he was gone.
Soon, he reappeared with some thick rope.
Tying one end of the rope around his arm, he threw the other down the
hole.
Akane ignored it.
"Don't be an idiot, Akane. Take hold of the rope. Pretend it's someone
else that's helping you instead of me if you want. If I leave, no
one's going to find you for days because I'll tell your mom you
decided to go camping in the woods for awhile. I'm just mad enough to
do that."
Akane bit her bottom lip and stood awhile in thought. Finally, she
latched onto one end of the rope tightly. Ranma started to pull her
up. When she neared the top, Ranma held the end of the rope with one
hand and pulled her hand up with the other.
Snatching her hand from Ranma's and dusting herself off, the
blue-haired girl stated, "I hope you don't think this changes
anything. I still hate your guts, Saotome."
Ranma gave a loud groan.
"Aw, come on, Akane!" he yelled. "I was *seven*! I didn't even want to
kiss her for goodness sakes! You've been mad at me for four years!
Four years! Even if I did kiss her, which I didn't, you have been mad
way too long. Can't you just forgive me?"
The girl refused to say anything.
She couldn't say anything.
Akane had forgiven Ranma years ago, but couldn't tell anyone. After
the big deal she made, she was too stubborn to make up with him. Now,
all her being wanted to tell him this, but-
"Fine!" Ranma exclaimed, throwing his hands up in the air. "You know
what, Akane? Fine! If that's the way you want it, from now on, we're
strangers!"
He stomped away.
Finally, Akane turned around and yelled, "Ranma, wai-" but he was
gone.
Suddenly, a scream was heard.
"Help! Come on! Help!"
Smiling, Akane rushed over and bent over the hole she herself had
fallen in.
"Need a little help, Saotome?" she asked, grinning.
"Not from you, you stupid tomboy," he answered stubbornly.
Akane took the rope and threw it down.
"Too bad," she said. "We're friends and I can't just leave you here."
The pig-tailed boy turned to look at her in shock a moment before
grinning himself. Yeah, and all was right with the world.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~
Akane paced back and forth in nervousness and excitement. Outside of
the house, the music blared and played on. There was laughter and
clinks of glass as mug met mug. Cheers erupted every so often from the
crowd. The swish of Akane's blue dress could be heard in the room as
she walked from one end to the other. She heaved a big sigh before
going faster.
"Oh for goodness sakes, Akane, calm down," Nodoka commanded as she
entered the room and closed the door.
"Nodo-chan," Akane said, coming towards the woman. "Where's my mom?"
"She's greeting the guests and acting as hostess. Oh...you look
lovely, Akane," Nodoka's eyes got watery as she spun the younger girl
around. "You know, this has to be the second happiest day of my life.
For awhile there, I was afraid you and Ranma weren't even going to be
on civil terms with each other and now...now, you're going to get
married! All of you are growing up so fast and I feel so...so old!"
"Oh Nodo-chan," Akane laughed as she embraced the woman who was like a
second mother to her. "You're not old at all. I'm the one that's going
to be all old and wrinkly when Ranma comes back."
"Akane..." Nodoka began.
"No, Auntie," Akane sniffled. Why was she so emotional today?
"It'll be all right. Everything will be wonderful. Don't worry,"
Nodoka said. Akane gave a weak smile. Underneath all her happiness,
there was a horrible foreboding in her stomach. She felt as though
something was telling her not to let Ranma go tomorrow. Something else
was telling her she *had* to let him go tomorrow. It was like closing
your eyes before the village medic pricked you with medicine. You know
there will be pain, but you also know it's for the best.
The door to the room burst open again and this time Nami entered with
Soun. They both had tears in their eyes.
"Ready?" Nami asked her daughter.
Akane nodded and with a soft smile, Nodoka left. The bride put her
hands up and placed the blue veil over her face. Next she felt a
tugging at her left wrist when her mom took the left ribbon. She felt
a tugging at the right wrist when her father took the right ribbon.
The doors opened wide and suddenly she could see everyone staring at
her. The whole village was outside, eating and drinking. Tables had
been set up all around except here. Here, there was a long, empty line
with crowds of people on the side. It was weird. All the cheering and
noise had stopped and an awed, hushed silence had taken over.
The music slowly started to play.
Akane took a huge breath, let it out and started the walk of her life.
Her parents walked, both holding an end of the blue ribbon, a foot
ahead of her. They were leading her, as the ceremony dictated. All
eyes were on Akane but Akane's eyes were on one person.
At the end of the line, in front of the huge fire, stood a young man
in blue. He stood in the center with an all too nervous look on his
face. He tried to stand still, but every so often would bounce from
one foot to the other.
Baka, Akane thought affectionately.
All this while, the slow music had been building and building until
when Nami and Soun reached Ranma, it had hit a crescendo that took the
crowd over like a wave of heartbeats.
Instantly and abruptly, it stopped.
A small smile appeared on the boy's face as he stepped forward. Taking
the first blade from cushion held by the bladeboy, Ranma approached
Nami.
Standing between the bride and her mother, Ranma announced, loud and
clear, "In this blade lies my beauty. With it, I cut the ties that
bind. Do you accept, Nami Tendo?"
Nami respectfully bowed.
With a sure hand, Ranma moved the blade down and it sliced through the
ribbon like liquid. Next, Ranma walked over to Soun.
Standing between the bride and her father, he announced a second time,
"In this blade lies my heart. With it, I cut the ties that bind. Do
you accept, Soun Tendo?"
Soun bowed respectfully.
The blade came down on the ribbon, cutting it.
Now, Ranma walked to stand in front of Akane.
He bent down on both knees and offered the blade to her over his head.
He announced, "In this blade lies my soul. I cut your ties. You may
take this blade and rush it over my head. You may take this blade and
slice away my beauty. You may take this blade and cut out my heart. I
await my punishment."
Knowing her part, Akane reached up with both hands and pulled the blue
veil off her head. She placed it on the blade in Ranma's hand and
knelt down in front of him. She put her shaking hands under the blue
veil and held the blade with Ranma.
It was her turn now.
"You broke my ties. I am tied to you forever more," she announced.
Ranma smiled.
Akane smiled back.
They leaned in for a kiss.
The crowd erupted in cheers, tears and laughter. People ran over and
crowded around the newlyweds.
"Okay, okay. That's enough of that. Save it for tonight," a friend
laughed as he pulled Ranma up.
"Yeah, tonight," giggled a girl, pulling Akane up.
"Okay, now let's have some fun!" somebody yelled.
So they did.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~
"All right! All right! We'll never get anything done if you keep
pestering us!" Ranma laughed as he closed the doors to the bedroom.
"Can you believe those guys?" he asked Akane who was taking off the
small jewelry she had on.
"They're a riot," Akane answered. The two smiled at each other and
then their smiles faded somewhat. A blush bloomed on Akane's cheeks
and she glanced nervously at the bed.
"Um, Ranma..."
"Akane, I don't want to," Ranma cut in quickly. Akane turned hurt and
angry eyes to his.
"What?" she asked in shock.
"No! Not like that!" Ranma instantly protested, holding his hands up
in front of him. "Hear me out, will ya?"
Akane sat down on the bed.
"Don't I always?" she sighed.
Ranma sat down next to her.
Finally he spoke, "I'm going to be leaving tomorrow, Akane. I've
thought about this a lot and I've decided we shouldn't do this
tonight. If we do something like...this, I can't just leave you in the
morning like I will. What if I get you pregnant? I know I said I'll be
back soon, but who knows when I'll be back! What if I die? I don't
want you with a baby to raise by yourself."
Akane no longer looked angry, but slightly miffed and annoyed.
"First of all, you jerk, I wouldn't care if I had to raise a baby
alone! Not that I would raise it alone. Have you forgotten about my
mom and your mom? It'll be okay-"
"No, Akane! You're not persuading me out of this! If you don't agree,
I'm walking out of this room and everyone will think we fought," Ranma
said and stood up. He felt a tugging at his hand.
Akane gave him an exasperated but endearing look.
"You wouldn't object to sharing a bed on our wedding night, would
you?" she questioned.
Ranma smiled and this time, it was he who blushed.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~
It was a clear day when Ranma left. The whole village was there to
wave him off and nobody was more sad to see him go than his one-day
bride. Akane sniffled and tears ran down her cheeks but not once did
she cry out or sob. Ranma had a packet over his shoulder which
contained his clothes. Everyone went up to wish him a personal
farewell and the most intimate was saved for last. Nami told him to
hurry up and come home safely. She didn't want her daughter to become
a widow at such a young age. Soun commanded that he not get involved
with any other girls. He didn't want his daughter to be heartbroken.
Genma demanded his son not to come back until he has won that
competition. This prompted Nodoka to slap him on the back of his head.
Nodoka told her son he could come home whenever he wanted to and she'd
always be there.
Then it was Akane's turn.
She led him forward a little distance so that the crowd could see but
not hear them. Both of them looked down at the ground.
"Um..." Akane began.
"Yeah..." Ranma ended.
Finally, Akane burst out with a, "Oh, this is stupid!" before jumping
up and giving Ranma a big, fat kiss straight on the lips. The crowd
'awwwed.'
When they separated, both of their faces were flaming red.
"Don't forget to come back, you jerk," she cried and hiccupped.
"I won't and I'll be rich and we'll live in a-"
"No, no, no," Akane laughed. "Just come back."
Then, reluctantly, they moved apart and Ranma turned to the crowd. He
waved to them and he was off. He never saw his village again.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~
Sometime later, Ranma arrived in a town. Since it was nearing the
afternoon, he decided to get a bite to eat before moving on. The
villagers had sold some of their belongings and chipped in to give him
money for the trip. All their hopes were on him and he couldn't let
them down. Ranma entered the hotel/restaurant and sat down.
The waiter came by.
"What would you like, sir?" the waiter asked.
"Anything you have will be fine," Ranma answered. "But a glass of
water first would be nice."
The waiter nodded and left. He received enough orders like this from
wandering travelers. He would just bring the man a moderate meal of
vegetables, meat and rice with something sweet on the side. He left.
Ranma looked around and assessed his surroundings in an innocent
fashion. The restaurant sure was crowded. It must be the hour.
Suddenly, the boy felt a tap on his shoulder. He looked up to see
another boy standing there with a back pack.
"There are no seats left. Can I sit here with you?" the boy with the
back pack asked. Ranma nodded and gestured to a seat at the table. The
boy sat down and placed his back pack beside him. Ranma noticed he had
a yellow with black...were those squares?
Ranma smiled at the boy.
"What's your name?" he asked.
"Ryoga Hibiki. What's yours?" Ryoga asked.
"Ranma Saotome," Ranma answered. "Where are you heading?"
Ryoga looked suspicious before deciding there was no harm in it and
answering, "I'm heading to the Central city."
Ranma looked shocked and pleased.
"For the competition?" he asked.
"Yes..." the bandanna boy replied hesitantly.
"Me too!" Ranma exclaimed, clapping Ryoga on the back. "When did you
leave?"
Ryoga mumbled something.
"What?" Ranma asked, indicating for the other boy to speak louder.
"Two years ago," Ryoga answered loudly.
Seeing Ranma's shocked face, he explained bitterly, "I have a bad
sense of direction. I left two years ago because I knew I'd get lost."
An idea sparked in Ranma's brain.
"Hey, I have an idea. Why don't you travel with me?" he suggested.
Ryoga gave a mocking grin.
"Aren't you afraid of the competition?" he poked.
"Competition? There's no competition! I'm the best! I'm going to win
it! You can keep me company on the journey," he laughed. Ryoga's eyes
narrowed
"Don't kid yourself, Ranma. I'm going to win it," the badanna boy
announced.
They both grinned at each other. Then, the food came and they dug in.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~
"We'll meet at the food stand downstairs, okay?" Ranma said as he
headed into the bathroom. "The one with the big red sign that says,
'Moon cakes'."
"All right, all right. I know. I'm just going to order some food from
the kitchen. I'm not that bad, you know," Ryoga protested, slightly
angry. Ranma didn't even bat an eyelash.
He said, "Yeah, I know exactly how good your sense of direction is."
The two had been traveling for a few days now and was nearing the
city. Ranma found out first hand many times just what Ryoga meant when
he said 'a bad sense of direction'.
"Go take your bath. I'll go order the food than we'll meet at t he
stand downstairs," Ryoga repeated. Ranma chuckled and ducked out of
the room. He went down the hall to the bathroom the guests in the
small motel shared.
Ryoga rolled his eyes and made his way down to the kitchen. He reached
the bottom of the stairs without trouble and smiled triumphantly to
himself.
See Ranma, he thought t o himself as he took a wrong turn and walked
right past the kitchen and food stand. I'm not that bad.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~
Ranma waited around the motel and food stand for three days. On the
fourth day, he decided if he didn't leave, he wouldn't make it in time
for the competition. So, with a last farewell to Ryoga and wherever he
was, the pig-tailed boy made his way to the Central City. He traveled
for two days before he met his second companion. How they met were
quite odd actually. Ranma was walking into a new city and had just
been reminded by his stomach that he needed fuel for the road. Seeing
a crowd in a certain restaurant, and curious along with hungry, the
traveler walked into that restaurant. He pushed his way to the front
and was slightly amused by what he saw.
Two chefs were arguing over a large, messy, iron, flat stove. They
were face to face with each other. The skinny, young chef was yelling
at the older, bearded chef. He was saying something along t he lines
of 'you can't have one of your own assistants be the judge because he
would be biased and that's not fair'.
The older chef retorted with, "Well, how do you suppose we compare
then? Who should be the judge?"
The younger chef waved absently at the crowd and screamed, "Any one of
these people here! They're strangers! They won't be afraid you'll fire
them!"
"Fine!" the older chef yelled. "Pick one and have them compare! Real
gold isn't afraid of brass!"
The young chef seethed a second and glared at the old chef in hatred
before grabbing the arm of the nearest person. The nearest person just
happened to be Ranma Saotome.
"You!" the young chef yelled though Ranma was right beside him.
"What's your name?"
Her fingernails were digging quite painfully into Ranma's arm.
He wrenched it from the other boy and replied, "Ranma Saotome."
"Saotome-san," the older chef said politely. "Will you please do us
both the favor of tasting some food and deciding which is more
delicious? We would be extremely grateful."
"Cut the smart mouth, Inus," the younger chef said before turning to
Ranma. "Are you going to do it or not?"
Ranma shrugged.
"Sure. A free meal is a free meal," he said. Two dishes of okonomiyaki
was pushed in front of Ranma's face. Picking the first one up, Ranma
took a bite out of it. He quickly devoured the rest of it.
"Well, what do you think?" the older chef asked.
"It's delicious. The best okonomiyaki I ever had," the pig-tailed boy
answered and the older chef looked pleased. He folded his arms.
"Don't get too cocky yet, Inus," the younger chef said. He shoved the
other dish of okonomiyaki into Ranma's face. Shrugging, Ranma took a
bite out of it. His mouth promptly fell open and his eyes widened. He
grabbed it and ate the rest.
"Well?" the young chef prompted.
Ranma started to stutter.
"I...that...I...wow...is there more...I...WOW!" he exclaimed. A large
smile of pleasure spread across the younger chef's face, softening it.
He turned to the older chef.
"I guess that means I won, Inus," he said.
The older chef just grumbled something and told his assistant to get
the spatula and return it to the younger chef. The assistant did so
and the crowd dispersed.
The young, skinny chef secured the large spatula onto his back while
Ranma asked, "Is there any more of that okonomiyaki left?"
The chef grinned at Ranma.
"Sure, honey. I'll make you all the okonomiyaki you want. You helped
me a lot there. Just let me pack up my stuff. By the way, what did you
say your name was?"
"Ranma," the pig-tailed boy asked. "What's your name and how did you
get into the fight with that guy?"
The chef started to talk, "The name's Ukyo Kounji. I was on my way to
the tournament in the Central city (and making my money by cooking
along the road) when Inus sent his dirtbags to steal my spatula. He
thinks it's the spatula that makes my okonomiyaki good. Stupid idiot."
Ranma was getting excited now.
"You're heading to the tournament too? I'm heading there myself!" he
told the chef.
Ukyo turned to face him, his packing all done now.
"Well, isn't that weird! Why don't you travel with me? I'll make you
all the okonomiyaki that you want, sugar," she said.
Ranma agreed and they set off.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~
That night in the shared hotel room, the two talked of their lives.
Ranma slept on the floor while Ukyo slept on the bed. They were
alternating each night like with Ryoga. Ukyo told of his life first.
His father had been an okonomiyaki chef and it sort of was a family
tradition for the oldest son to be a chef. Ukyo used to travel with
his father but when his father died when he was very young, Ukyo had
lived mostly by himself. When he heard about the competition, he knew
that was what he needed to do. Maybe get some money into the family
well. Then, it was Ranma's turn. Ranma talked about growing up in his
village and how everyone was depending on him to win. He talked about
his mother and father, but when he started talking about Akane, Ukyo's
face got sad.
"You're married, sugar?" Ukyo asked from his place on the bed.
"Yeah!" Ranma answered in excitement. "She's cute and has the most
awful temper. You wouldn't believe it. She's my best friend..."
Ranma's smile got wistful and Ukyo moved onto his elbow to look at the
pig-tailed boy.
"I think I'm really doing this for her. Ever since we were little, I
always felt as though she was bigger than our lives, more than
anything I ever knew. I don't think I would have been happy if she had
to stay in our village the rest of her life just because of me. I
think...I think...I want to be worthy of her...y'know?"
Ranma turned to Ukyo.
The chef's eyes looked slightly wet. They were sad, but bittersweet
sad. A bittersweet sad that Ranma could do nothing to prevent.
"She's a lucky girl," Ukyo whispered before turning over in his bed.
The lights went out and Ranma went to sleep. He never knew he broke a
heart that night.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~
The next day, Ukyo was gone and the room was paid for. Ranma searched
in vain but could not find his new friend. Deciding that Ukyo left for
the Central city without him, the village boy made his way to the
competition.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~
Akane stared vacantly out the window of her home. She had decided to
stay with her parents until Ranma came back. There was a glass of
water in his hand and raised to her lips but she did not drink. She
could not drink. Her mind was off somewhere else. Her body was gripped
in a horrible feeling.
"Akane, darling?" a soft voice inquired and the glass of water dropped
from Akane's hand. It crashed to the floor.
"Oh, I'm sorry," the girl said as she bent down to clean up the mess.
"Akane, are you okay?" Nami asked her daughter. "You've been like this
since Ranma left."
"It's okay, mom," Akane said as she picked up a piece of glass. It cut
into her slightly and a little blood oozed out. She seemed dazed by
it. Akane snapped herself out of her thoughts and turned to her mother
with frightened and confused eyes.
"I just have the most horrible feeling," she told her mother. "Like I
was picking up pieces of broken glass. I know it's going to hurt and I
know what will happen but I do it anyway."
The girl took a deep breath and got up to hug her mom.
"I don't think I should have let him leave," she whispered.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~
Ranma grinned to himself as the wind ruffled his hair and pig-tail.
The busy, looming entrance to the Central city stood before him. He
settled his pack of clothes and moved one foot into the city.
He went to meet his destiny.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~
A look into the future: "It's not fair, Akane! It's not fair! Every
guy that I've loved has loved another and this time...this time! This
time he loves someone that looks exactly like me!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~
Author's Notes: E-mail me at silverflame_maiden@hotmail.com
Chapter 1, Leaving His Life
Author's Notes: You know what really annoyed me? I wrote this chapter
awhile ago and I forgot where I saved it so I had to write it all over
again! I had a lot written too! This is the only story where I know
*exactly* what I want to happen. Shoot, if I wasn't so lazy, I could
write the entire story right now. That's why I believe the chapters to
this particular story will be much longer then my other stories.
*sigh* They may not be introduced in this particular chapter, but the
entire main body of the Ranma cast will be in here. Okay, I'm going to
stop talking now and let you read the fic.
Disclaimers: Ranma 1/2 belongs to Rumiko Takahashi. Not me.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~
"So, I guess this is...good-bye?" he asked her awkwardly.
"Let's just call this...smell-ya-later," she smiled back.
{-Nelson Muntz and Lisa Simpson from The Simpsons}
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~
The beautiful twilight curtain hung over the magnificent field.
Starlight danced off the edges of the flower petals and hopped off.
Faerie-like fireflies weaved through the air, laughing and taunting
the oncoming night. A young girl smiles and hums to herself as she
makes her way through the field. Her short-cut hair makes her face
look slightly pixie-ish. She wears a soft white dress and an
herb-basket is on her back. The girl bends down to pick some Lili
leaves and laughs as some fireflies dance around her nose. Her eyes
cross slightly to follow them. She straightens up, throws the leaves
into her already full herb-basket and pulls a hand through her dark
blue hair the color of clean ocean water.
Seeing the tree up ahead, the girl runs over to it and sits down
underneath it. She takes off her herb-basket and places it beside her.
Closing her eyes, the girl leans back on the trunk of the tree to
rest. Unfortunately for her, rest was not to be.
"Lazy tomboy," a joking voice laughed from somewhere above the girl.
Akane smiled as she felt someone jump from the branches to sit beside
her.
"Hey Ranma," she greeted as she slowly opened her eyes. The pig-tailed
boy gave her a large smile before grabbing her herb-basket. Looking
through it, he made a face.
"Refu sticks? Lili leaves? Muan grass? Geez, what are you planning to
do, Akane? Become immune to my insults? You know that won't work,"
Ranma said.
Akane jabbed him slightly in the stomach with her elbow.
"I'm already immune to your insults, you jerk. These are for Serph,
who's baby is due soon. Hopefully, these will help her with the
delivery," she told him.
"Aw, you know I'm just fooling with you Akane," Ranma joked as he
hooked his right arm through her left one. The two leaned their heads
against each other. They were the best of friends and at the end of
the week, they were going to be the best of couples. They were going
to be married. Akane blushed at the thought of the oncoming wedding.
The whole village was looking forward to it. Everyone knew Ranma and
Akane were going to be married since they were one day old. It was
only natural.
Then, after the wedding-
Akane sighed.
"Hey, what's the matter?" Ranma asked his best friend. Akane shot him
a scowl but didn't say.
"What? Miss me already? Don't worry, I'll win the tournament and be
back rich and famous before you'll even know I'm gone," he told her.
Akane still refused to say anything. The day after the wedding, Ranma
was leaving for the competition in the Central city where the palace
was. The tournament that took place every four years tested the skills
and intelligence of young men. Whoever won the tournament was given
gold, jewels, silk and an official position in the government. It was
the best opportunity and Ranma was the best candidate from the
village. Like his marriage to Akane, it was only natural he would win
the competition.
Akane didn't want to admit it, but she knew she was going to miss him.
She sniffled slightly and felt a stinging in her eyes.
"Oh, don't cry Akane," Ranma begged, but the girl just turned her face
away.
"I'm not crying," she cried. Ranma rolled his eyes. He just didn't
know what to do when Akane was like this. Maybe if he-
Ranma grinned.
"Remember that time when I saved you from the hole and you were crying
and wouldn't let me save you at first because you didn't want me to
see it?" he reminded her.
Akane whirled on him.
"It was all your fault anyway! It wasn't because I didn't want you to
see me cry, it was because I hated your guts," she corrected.
Ranma scowled himself and sat back.
"Yeah, and all because of dumb Missy Ri," he said.
"You kissed her," Akane returned.
"Did not! I told you, I didn't-" Ranma exclaimed but Akane's smile
stopped him.
"Stupid tomboy," he mumbled.
**************** Nine years before ******************
A seven-year old Akane bounced to Nodoka's house.
Passing the porch where she saw Nodoka was, she said, "Hi Nodo-chan.
Where's Ranma?"
The woman smiled.
"In the back. Just head through. I think he has a friend back there
with him," she answered.
Akane nodded.
"Oh, okay. Thanks," she said before going into the house. It was empty
and when she reached the open back door, Akane started a run. She ran
out into Ranma's back yard where she immediately stopped still. Her
eyes and mouth opened wide with shock.
"Ranma!" she cried out as her tears started to run.
The pig-tailed boy tore his lips from that of curly, thick-haired
Missy Ri.
"Akane!" he gasped.
Missy Ri giggled and shook her pretty head.
"Hi Akane," she laughed.
Akane's bottom lip trembled before she pulled it in and ran through
the house.
"Akane, what's the-" Nodoka began before the little girl whirled past
her. She didn't miss the kid's tears though. When her son ran by, she
pulled at his arm and stopped him.
"What did you do to Akane?" she demanded.
"Mom, let me go. I'll tell you later. I promise," Ranma pleaded.
Seeing the desperate look on her son's face, Nodoka let him go.
Akane ran into her house and locked all of the doors. She ran to the
windows and closed the curtains.
Ranma pounded on the door.
"Akane! Let me in! Come on,, Akane! She kissed me! I didn't kiss her!
Akane, listen to me!" he screamed and passers-by watched but he didn't
stop. Akane didn't hear him. She just cried and with every tear she
got more angry. She hated him! She hated him! She hated him!
When Nami came home and saw the sight, she herself gave a slight knock
on the door.
"Akane, dear," she said softly. "It's mommy. Can you let me in?"
The door opened slightly and a small hand pulled Nami inside. The door
shut in Ranma's face.
"Akane, what's the matter?" Nami asked her crying daughter.
"I hate Ranma and I'm never speaking to him again!" she screamed.
Who said Akane Tendo didn't have conviction?
**************** Four years later ******************
Akane sang as she climbed the small mountain. Every so often she would
pull at some plants that grew alongside the mountain and put it into
her herb-basket. Looking up, she gasped. There, a few feet above her
was the Windell leaf! It was a Windell leaf! The girl had to settle
her shaking hands. So what if the distance to the leaf was a little
smooth. It was only a few feet. Akane hitched a breath and placed her
right arm on a rock. Okay, that worked. She moved her left foot and
left hand next, heaving her body upwards.
Suddenly, her left foot smoothed over the rocks. Akane gave a scream
as she lost her footing and her left leg pulled her down. She let go
in panic and started to fall.
Umph!
She hit some shrubs. Akane started to get up. Hey, maybe she was al-
Ahh!
The ground gave out under her and Akane fell some more. She finally
hit ground...underground.
Oh, this was great. Just great.
Akane tried moving her body and though it hurt, everything seemed to
be in order. Nothing was broken. She slowly stood up and looked out at
the hole. Oh this was just great! How was she supposed to get out now?
**************** Two hours later ******************
Ranma whistled as he made his way along the field. In his hand was a
piece of sugarcane he had bought from a stand. The juice dripped down
his mouth slightly as he took a bite. He chewed till the juice and
flavor was all gone before spitting it out. He was about to take
another bite when he heard a scream.
"This is so stupid! Isn't there anybody there? You think there would
be somebody there, but no! Lucky me!"
Ranma smiled quizzically. Those shouts sounded familiar. There was
only one person who could scream in anger like that. The pig-tailed
boy followed the screaming to some bushes. He pushed the shrubbery
aside and looked down the hole at the frustrated female.
"Hey Akane," he greeted amiably. "What are you doing down there?"
Akane stopped her screaming and froze. She knew that voice. Looking
up, she found herself face to face with her worst enemy. Ranma!
Akane turned away and crossed her arms.
"Go away, Saotome," she said. There was no way she was going to let
that jerk see the tears in *her* eyes.
"No," was the quick response. "Looks like you need a little help,
Akane."
The girl practically sizzled.
"Not from you, you jerk!" she screamed, flaring to face him. "I was
doing perfectly fine waiting to be rescued when you interrupted. Now,
don't you have a girl somewhere that's waiting to be kissed?"
"You're *still* mad?" Ranma exclaimed.
Akane refused to answer. She wasn't going to justify her emotions to
him of all people, the jerk.
Ranma was getting mad now too.
"Well, that's really too bad if you hate me because I am going to make
you hate me even more. I'm going to save you, you stupid tomboy,
whether you want me to or not."
Then, he was gone.
Soon, he reappeared with some thick rope.
Tying one end of the rope around his arm, he threw the other down the
hole.
Akane ignored it.
"Don't be an idiot, Akane. Take hold of the rope. Pretend it's someone
else that's helping you instead of me if you want. If I leave, no
one's going to find you for days because I'll tell your mom you
decided to go camping in the woods for awhile. I'm just mad enough to
do that."
Akane bit her bottom lip and stood awhile in thought. Finally, she
latched onto one end of the rope tightly. Ranma started to pull her
up. When she neared the top, Ranma held the end of the rope with one
hand and pulled her hand up with the other.
Snatching her hand from Ranma's and dusting herself off, the
blue-haired girl stated, "I hope you don't think this changes
anything. I still hate your guts, Saotome."
Ranma gave a loud groan.
"Aw, come on, Akane!" he yelled. "I was *seven*! I didn't even want to
kiss her for goodness sakes! You've been mad at me for four years!
Four years! Even if I did kiss her, which I didn't, you have been mad
way too long. Can't you just forgive me?"
The girl refused to say anything.
She couldn't say anything.
Akane had forgiven Ranma years ago, but couldn't tell anyone. After
the big deal she made, she was too stubborn to make up with him. Now,
all her being wanted to tell him this, but-
"Fine!" Ranma exclaimed, throwing his hands up in the air. "You know
what, Akane? Fine! If that's the way you want it, from now on, we're
strangers!"
He stomped away.
Finally, Akane turned around and yelled, "Ranma, wai-" but he was
gone.
Suddenly, a scream was heard.
"Help! Come on! Help!"
Smiling, Akane rushed over and bent over the hole she herself had
fallen in.
"Need a little help, Saotome?" she asked, grinning.
"Not from you, you stupid tomboy," he answered stubbornly.
Akane took the rope and threw it down.
"Too bad," she said. "We're friends and I can't just leave you here."
The pig-tailed boy turned to look at her in shock a moment before
grinning himself. Yeah, and all was right with the world.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~
Akane paced back and forth in nervousness and excitement. Outside of
the house, the music blared and played on. There was laughter and
clinks of glass as mug met mug. Cheers erupted every so often from the
crowd. The swish of Akane's blue dress could be heard in the room as
she walked from one end to the other. She heaved a big sigh before
going faster.
"Oh for goodness sakes, Akane, calm down," Nodoka commanded as she
entered the room and closed the door.
"Nodo-chan," Akane said, coming towards the woman. "Where's my mom?"
"She's greeting the guests and acting as hostess. Oh...you look
lovely, Akane," Nodoka's eyes got watery as she spun the younger girl
around. "You know, this has to be the second happiest day of my life.
For awhile there, I was afraid you and Ranma weren't even going to be
on civil terms with each other and now...now, you're going to get
married! All of you are growing up so fast and I feel so...so old!"
"Oh Nodo-chan," Akane laughed as she embraced the woman who was like a
second mother to her. "You're not old at all. I'm the one that's going
to be all old and wrinkly when Ranma comes back."
"Akane..." Nodoka began.
"No, Auntie," Akane sniffled. Why was she so emotional today?
"It'll be all right. Everything will be wonderful. Don't worry,"
Nodoka said. Akane gave a weak smile. Underneath all her happiness,
there was a horrible foreboding in her stomach. She felt as though
something was telling her not to let Ranma go tomorrow. Something else
was telling her she *had* to let him go tomorrow. It was like closing
your eyes before the village medic pricked you with medicine. You know
there will be pain, but you also know it's for the best.
The door to the room burst open again and this time Nami entered with
Soun. They both had tears in their eyes.
"Ready?" Nami asked her daughter.
Akane nodded and with a soft smile, Nodoka left. The bride put her
hands up and placed the blue veil over her face. Next she felt a
tugging at her left wrist when her mom took the left ribbon. She felt
a tugging at the right wrist when her father took the right ribbon.
The doors opened wide and suddenly she could see everyone staring at
her. The whole village was outside, eating and drinking. Tables had
been set up all around except here. Here, there was a long, empty line
with crowds of people on the side. It was weird. All the cheering and
noise had stopped and an awed, hushed silence had taken over.
The music slowly started to play.
Akane took a huge breath, let it out and started the walk of her life.
Her parents walked, both holding an end of the blue ribbon, a foot
ahead of her. They were leading her, as the ceremony dictated. All
eyes were on Akane but Akane's eyes were on one person.
At the end of the line, in front of the huge fire, stood a young man
in blue. He stood in the center with an all too nervous look on his
face. He tried to stand still, but every so often would bounce from
one foot to the other.
Baka, Akane thought affectionately.
All this while, the slow music had been building and building until
when Nami and Soun reached Ranma, it had hit a crescendo that took the
crowd over like a wave of heartbeats.
Instantly and abruptly, it stopped.
A small smile appeared on the boy's face as he stepped forward. Taking
the first blade from cushion held by the bladeboy, Ranma approached
Nami.
Standing between the bride and her mother, Ranma announced, loud and
clear, "In this blade lies my beauty. With it, I cut the ties that
bind. Do you accept, Nami Tendo?"
Nami respectfully bowed.
With a sure hand, Ranma moved the blade down and it sliced through the
ribbon like liquid. Next, Ranma walked over to Soun.
Standing between the bride and her father, he announced a second time,
"In this blade lies my heart. With it, I cut the ties that bind. Do
you accept, Soun Tendo?"
Soun bowed respectfully.
The blade came down on the ribbon, cutting it.
Now, Ranma walked to stand in front of Akane.
He bent down on both knees and offered the blade to her over his head.
He announced, "In this blade lies my soul. I cut your ties. You may
take this blade and rush it over my head. You may take this blade and
slice away my beauty. You may take this blade and cut out my heart. I
await my punishment."
Knowing her part, Akane reached up with both hands and pulled the blue
veil off her head. She placed it on the blade in Ranma's hand and
knelt down in front of him. She put her shaking hands under the blue
veil and held the blade with Ranma.
It was her turn now.
"You broke my ties. I am tied to you forever more," she announced.
Ranma smiled.
Akane smiled back.
They leaned in for a kiss.
The crowd erupted in cheers, tears and laughter. People ran over and
crowded around the newlyweds.
"Okay, okay. That's enough of that. Save it for tonight," a friend
laughed as he pulled Ranma up.
"Yeah, tonight," giggled a girl, pulling Akane up.
"Okay, now let's have some fun!" somebody yelled.
So they did.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~
"All right! All right! We'll never get anything done if you keep
pestering us!" Ranma laughed as he closed the doors to the bedroom.
"Can you believe those guys?" he asked Akane who was taking off the
small jewelry she had on.
"They're a riot," Akane answered. The two smiled at each other and
then their smiles faded somewhat. A blush bloomed on Akane's cheeks
and she glanced nervously at the bed.
"Um, Ranma..."
"Akane, I don't want to," Ranma cut in quickly. Akane turned hurt and
angry eyes to his.
"What?" she asked in shock.
"No! Not like that!" Ranma instantly protested, holding his hands up
in front of him. "Hear me out, will ya?"
Akane sat down on the bed.
"Don't I always?" she sighed.
Ranma sat down next to her.
Finally he spoke, "I'm going to be leaving tomorrow, Akane. I've
thought about this a lot and I've decided we shouldn't do this
tonight. If we do something like...this, I can't just leave you in the
morning like I will. What if I get you pregnant? I know I said I'll be
back soon, but who knows when I'll be back! What if I die? I don't
want you with a baby to raise by yourself."
Akane no longer looked angry, but slightly miffed and annoyed.
"First of all, you jerk, I wouldn't care if I had to raise a baby
alone! Not that I would raise it alone. Have you forgotten about my
mom and your mom? It'll be okay-"
"No, Akane! You're not persuading me out of this! If you don't agree,
I'm walking out of this room and everyone will think we fought," Ranma
said and stood up. He felt a tugging at his hand.
Akane gave him an exasperated but endearing look.
"You wouldn't object to sharing a bed on our wedding night, would
you?" she questioned.
Ranma smiled and this time, it was he who blushed.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~
It was a clear day when Ranma left. The whole village was there to
wave him off and nobody was more sad to see him go than his one-day
bride. Akane sniffled and tears ran down her cheeks but not once did
she cry out or sob. Ranma had a packet over his shoulder which
contained his clothes. Everyone went up to wish him a personal
farewell and the most intimate was saved for last. Nami told him to
hurry up and come home safely. She didn't want her daughter to become
a widow at such a young age. Soun commanded that he not get involved
with any other girls. He didn't want his daughter to be heartbroken.
Genma demanded his son not to come back until he has won that
competition. This prompted Nodoka to slap him on the back of his head.
Nodoka told her son he could come home whenever he wanted to and she'd
always be there.
Then it was Akane's turn.
She led him forward a little distance so that the crowd could see but
not hear them. Both of them looked down at the ground.
"Um..." Akane began.
"Yeah..." Ranma ended.
Finally, Akane burst out with a, "Oh, this is stupid!" before jumping
up and giving Ranma a big, fat kiss straight on the lips. The crowd
'awwwed.'
When they separated, both of their faces were flaming red.
"Don't forget to come back, you jerk," she cried and hiccupped.
"I won't and I'll be rich and we'll live in a-"
"No, no, no," Akane laughed. "Just come back."
Then, reluctantly, they moved apart and Ranma turned to the crowd. He
waved to them and he was off. He never saw his village again.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~
Sometime later, Ranma arrived in a town. Since it was nearing the
afternoon, he decided to get a bite to eat before moving on. The
villagers had sold some of their belongings and chipped in to give him
money for the trip. All their hopes were on him and he couldn't let
them down. Ranma entered the hotel/restaurant and sat down.
The waiter came by.
"What would you like, sir?" the waiter asked.
"Anything you have will be fine," Ranma answered. "But a glass of
water first would be nice."
The waiter nodded and left. He received enough orders like this from
wandering travelers. He would just bring the man a moderate meal of
vegetables, meat and rice with something sweet on the side. He left.
Ranma looked around and assessed his surroundings in an innocent
fashion. The restaurant sure was crowded. It must be the hour.
Suddenly, the boy felt a tap on his shoulder. He looked up to see
another boy standing there with a back pack.
"There are no seats left. Can I sit here with you?" the boy with the
back pack asked. Ranma nodded and gestured to a seat at the table. The
boy sat down and placed his back pack beside him. Ranma noticed he had
a yellow with black...were those squares?
Ranma smiled at the boy.
"What's your name?" he asked.
"Ryoga Hibiki. What's yours?" Ryoga asked.
"Ranma Saotome," Ranma answered. "Where are you heading?"
Ryoga looked suspicious before deciding there was no harm in it and
answering, "I'm heading to the Central city."
Ranma looked shocked and pleased.
"For the competition?" he asked.
"Yes..." the bandanna boy replied hesitantly.
"Me too!" Ranma exclaimed, clapping Ryoga on the back. "When did you
leave?"
Ryoga mumbled something.
"What?" Ranma asked, indicating for the other boy to speak louder.
"Two years ago," Ryoga answered loudly.
Seeing Ranma's shocked face, he explained bitterly, "I have a bad
sense of direction. I left two years ago because I knew I'd get lost."
An idea sparked in Ranma's brain.
"Hey, I have an idea. Why don't you travel with me?" he suggested.
Ryoga gave a mocking grin.
"Aren't you afraid of the competition?" he poked.
"Competition? There's no competition! I'm the best! I'm going to win
it! You can keep me company on the journey," he laughed. Ryoga's eyes
narrowed
"Don't kid yourself, Ranma. I'm going to win it," the badanna boy
announced.
They both grinned at each other. Then, the food came and they dug in.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~
"We'll meet at the food stand downstairs, okay?" Ranma said as he
headed into the bathroom. "The one with the big red sign that says,
'Moon cakes'."
"All right, all right. I know. I'm just going to order some food from
the kitchen. I'm not that bad, you know," Ryoga protested, slightly
angry. Ranma didn't even bat an eyelash.
He said, "Yeah, I know exactly how good your sense of direction is."
The two had been traveling for a few days now and was nearing the
city. Ranma found out first hand many times just what Ryoga meant when
he said 'a bad sense of direction'.
"Go take your bath. I'll go order the food than we'll meet at t he
stand downstairs," Ryoga repeated. Ranma chuckled and ducked out of
the room. He went down the hall to the bathroom the guests in the
small motel shared.
Ryoga rolled his eyes and made his way down to the kitchen. He reached
the bottom of the stairs without trouble and smiled triumphantly to
himself.
See Ranma, he thought t o himself as he took a wrong turn and walked
right past the kitchen and food stand. I'm not that bad.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~
Ranma waited around the motel and food stand for three days. On the
fourth day, he decided if he didn't leave, he wouldn't make it in time
for the competition. So, with a last farewell to Ryoga and wherever he
was, the pig-tailed boy made his way to the Central City. He traveled
for two days before he met his second companion. How they met were
quite odd actually. Ranma was walking into a new city and had just
been reminded by his stomach that he needed fuel for the road. Seeing
a crowd in a certain restaurant, and curious along with hungry, the
traveler walked into that restaurant. He pushed his way to the front
and was slightly amused by what he saw.
Two chefs were arguing over a large, messy, iron, flat stove. They
were face to face with each other. The skinny, young chef was yelling
at the older, bearded chef. He was saying something along t he lines
of 'you can't have one of your own assistants be the judge because he
would be biased and that's not fair'.
The older chef retorted with, "Well, how do you suppose we compare
then? Who should be the judge?"
The younger chef waved absently at the crowd and screamed, "Any one of
these people here! They're strangers! They won't be afraid you'll fire
them!"
"Fine!" the older chef yelled. "Pick one and have them compare! Real
gold isn't afraid of brass!"
The young chef seethed a second and glared at the old chef in hatred
before grabbing the arm of the nearest person. The nearest person just
happened to be Ranma Saotome.
"You!" the young chef yelled though Ranma was right beside him.
"What's your name?"
Her fingernails were digging quite painfully into Ranma's arm.
He wrenched it from the other boy and replied, "Ranma Saotome."
"Saotome-san," the older chef said politely. "Will you please do us
both the favor of tasting some food and deciding which is more
delicious? We would be extremely grateful."
"Cut the smart mouth, Inus," the younger chef said before turning to
Ranma. "Are you going to do it or not?"
Ranma shrugged.
"Sure. A free meal is a free meal," he said. Two dishes of okonomiyaki
was pushed in front of Ranma's face. Picking the first one up, Ranma
took a bite out of it. He quickly devoured the rest of it.
"Well, what do you think?" the older chef asked.
"It's delicious. The best okonomiyaki I ever had," the pig-tailed boy
answered and the older chef looked pleased. He folded his arms.
"Don't get too cocky yet, Inus," the younger chef said. He shoved the
other dish of okonomiyaki into Ranma's face. Shrugging, Ranma took a
bite out of it. His mouth promptly fell open and his eyes widened. He
grabbed it and ate the rest.
"Well?" the young chef prompted.
Ranma started to stutter.
"I...that...I...wow...is there more...I...WOW!" he exclaimed. A large
smile of pleasure spread across the younger chef's face, softening it.
He turned to the older chef.
"I guess that means I won, Inus," he said.
The older chef just grumbled something and told his assistant to get
the spatula and return it to the younger chef. The assistant did so
and the crowd dispersed.
The young, skinny chef secured the large spatula onto his back while
Ranma asked, "Is there any more of that okonomiyaki left?"
The chef grinned at Ranma.
"Sure, honey. I'll make you all the okonomiyaki you want. You helped
me a lot there. Just let me pack up my stuff. By the way, what did you
say your name was?"
"Ranma," the pig-tailed boy asked. "What's your name and how did you
get into the fight with that guy?"
The chef started to talk, "The name's Ukyo Kounji. I was on my way to
the tournament in the Central city (and making my money by cooking
along the road) when Inus sent his dirtbags to steal my spatula. He
thinks it's the spatula that makes my okonomiyaki good. Stupid idiot."
Ranma was getting excited now.
"You're heading to the tournament too? I'm heading there myself!" he
told the chef.
Ukyo turned to face him, his packing all done now.
"Well, isn't that weird! Why don't you travel with me? I'll make you
all the okonomiyaki that you want, sugar," she said.
Ranma agreed and they set off.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~
That night in the shared hotel room, the two talked of their lives.
Ranma slept on the floor while Ukyo slept on the bed. They were
alternating each night like with Ryoga. Ukyo told of his life first.
His father had been an okonomiyaki chef and it sort of was a family
tradition for the oldest son to be a chef. Ukyo used to travel with
his father but when his father died when he was very young, Ukyo had
lived mostly by himself. When he heard about the competition, he knew
that was what he needed to do. Maybe get some money into the family
well. Then, it was Ranma's turn. Ranma talked about growing up in his
village and how everyone was depending on him to win. He talked about
his mother and father, but when he started talking about Akane, Ukyo's
face got sad.
"You're married, sugar?" Ukyo asked from his place on the bed.
"Yeah!" Ranma answered in excitement. "She's cute and has the most
awful temper. You wouldn't believe it. She's my best friend..."
Ranma's smile got wistful and Ukyo moved onto his elbow to look at the
pig-tailed boy.
"I think I'm really doing this for her. Ever since we were little, I
always felt as though she was bigger than our lives, more than
anything I ever knew. I don't think I would have been happy if she had
to stay in our village the rest of her life just because of me. I
think...I think...I want to be worthy of her...y'know?"
Ranma turned to Ukyo.
The chef's eyes looked slightly wet. They were sad, but bittersweet
sad. A bittersweet sad that Ranma could do nothing to prevent.
"She's a lucky girl," Ukyo whispered before turning over in his bed.
The lights went out and Ranma went to sleep. He never knew he broke a
heart that night.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~
The next day, Ukyo was gone and the room was paid for. Ranma searched
in vain but could not find his new friend. Deciding that Ukyo left for
the Central city without him, the village boy made his way to the
competition.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~
Akane stared vacantly out the window of her home. She had decided to
stay with her parents until Ranma came back. There was a glass of
water in his hand and raised to her lips but she did not drink. She
could not drink. Her mind was off somewhere else. Her body was gripped
in a horrible feeling.
"Akane, darling?" a soft voice inquired and the glass of water dropped
from Akane's hand. It crashed to the floor.
"Oh, I'm sorry," the girl said as she bent down to clean up the mess.
"Akane, are you okay?" Nami asked her daughter. "You've been like this
since Ranma left."
"It's okay, mom," Akane said as she picked up a piece of glass. It cut
into her slightly and a little blood oozed out. She seemed dazed by
it. Akane snapped herself out of her thoughts and turned to her mother
with frightened and confused eyes.
"I just have the most horrible feeling," she told her mother. "Like I
was picking up pieces of broken glass. I know it's going to hurt and I
know what will happen but I do it anyway."
The girl took a deep breath and got up to hug her mom.
"I don't think I should have let him leave," she whispered.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~
Ranma grinned to himself as the wind ruffled his hair and pig-tail.
The busy, looming entrance to the Central city stood before him. He
settled his pack of clothes and moved one foot into the city.
He went to meet his destiny.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~
A look into the future: "It's not fair, Akane! It's not fair! Every
guy that I've loved has loved another and this time...this time! This
time he loves someone that looks exactly like me!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~
Author's Notes: E-mail me at silverflame_maiden@hotmail.com