Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ The Revolution ❯ Chapter One ( Chapter 1 )

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters from any anime series found within this Ranma 1/2 - Mystery crossover. Ranma and the other series (you'll find out what it is in the next chapter) both are licensed by Viz Media in America and are copyright their respective owners.

 

The Revolution

Chapter One

By Dr. Suekeiichi Kaiton

(Suekeiichikaiton@yahoo.com)

 

He arrived home at three to an empty house; his mother was out at work until five, threw the rose into the trash in the kitchen and made a pot of tea. Nodoka tended to enjoy the western teas so he made orange pekoe just in case she wanted a cup when she came home. The house was silent and dark as he went up to his room, it wasn't quite April yet so the weather was still cold, which seemed to permeate the house with chill drafts and icy spots. His room was at the end of the upstairs hall on the other end of the house from Nodoka's separated by two guest rooms and a study on one side and the toilet and stairs on the other. The room was dark with the drapes closed.

 

He set the tray down on his desk and opened the dark red curtains back to let in the falling sunlight from the city. His futon was rolled up in the closet and the only decoration his room held was a single abstract painting of a white barge moving against black waves. He'd asked his mother about the painting but she never gave him any definitive answer, just smiled and said something about painting it during her high school years. Anyway, he had to get down to studying if he wanted to be accepted anywhere before the next school year. He had his eyes set low, small technical schools at his mother's behest, and exclusive universities with physical education programs, he knew his grades weren't up to snuff and certainly knew he wasn't suited for a boring sedate job behind a desk. Genma, who now lived somewhere in Hokkaido suggested joining the police force, although Ranma thought that was just so his father's criminal record could somehow disappear. The academy seemed like a good idea for a little while but it, like so many of his other dreams faded over time. Now he just wanted to open a dojo and be done with it, he still needed some business classes under his belt to manage his own dojo but he was sure they'd be no problem.

 

It wasn't that he was stupid, far from it; it was just that he lacked understanding of certain key concepts concerning the outside world. A problem stemming from his harsh childhood and Genma's chauvinistic teachings, thankfully a year with his mother reversed all but the worst damage - he was still afraid of cats, though…

 

Switching on the light and sitting down at the desk he started reading through the chemistry book, trying to catch-up on the lecture he'd slept through. He didn't think of Ena or her odd behavior, nor did he look at the pile of her dirty clothing in the far corner of his room. Even though she didn't want a commitment she kept a lot of her clothing at his house, came over every day, and slept in his room most nights. She refused to visit his house when she was on her period, so during those few days he visited her at her curry-stinking apartment where the walls were so thin you could hear the fat otaku next door jerking off to “Ichigo Mashimaro”.

 

Roughly an hour later he heard the door close downstairs and Nodoka popped her head into the room. She was dressed in a deep burgundy business suit with a slit up her skirt hitting the rounded bulge of her hip. Her hair was twisted into an attractive bun with a few strands falling beside her ears; she wore dark red lipstick, and a hint of blush. He supposed her was still attractive but couldn't really give a good opinion considering she was his mother.

 

She worked at an advertising firm in town specializing in travel. He really didn't know her actual position but it was high considering she often entertained clients at home and was constantly on the phone with one intern or another about fonts and images, and typesetting. At first he thought, sick as it was, that she was whoring herself out in order to ink deals but a few months later he dismissed it as a figment of his imagination. Really, his mother wasn't desperate enough to debase herself sexually.

 

Despite his vehement denials of her sexual behavior, he failed to notice the lipstick on her collar or the scent of perfume that wasn't her own on her sleeves.

 

“You're home early, Ranma, I thought you had classes until four.”

 

“The professor got sick so I was finished at two. I ate lunch with Ena, though; she'll be dropping by tonight.”

 

“That's nice, dear, I brought a guest home with me won't you come down and say hello?” Nodoka unbuttoned her suit jacket and undid her bun.

 

Ranma nodded. “Sure, I'll be right down.” Nodoka left. He crossed to the closet and pulled on a sweater. From the sound of it, his mother had water on the stove for tea. He couldn't hear the guest, which either meant they moved too silently for him to hear or they were sitting in the tearoom. It was probably the latter, at least he hoped. He's been able to sense presences for the past ten years, it wouldn't do to all of a sudden find a person immune to his ki feelers. Flicking his pigtail behind his back, Ranma walked to the stairs and looked down into the tearoom. Sure enough there was a shadow of someone on the couch.

 

He passed the closed door and entered the kitchen to prepare the tea when he heard the whistle slow before falling silent. Brushing aside the short curtain he saw the guest setting the kettle on an unlit burner.

 

The woman, a girl really, had deep purple hair tied in a tight ponytail at the nape of her neck. The hair fell perfectly straight down to the small of her back. She was tanned, although not excessively so, and moved with an air of clumsiness Ranma always associated with those not trained in martial arts. Really, normal people had no grace compared to a Tai Chi master. Her eyes were deep brown with a hint of red? Maybe, he couldn't tell from across the room. Her thin, long hands tapped the loose tea leaves into his mother's good porcelain teapot and filled it with piping hot water, obviously used to performing such a task. Was she a new OL at the firm? Occasionally his mother brought home newbies to make they feel more at home in the office; after all, it was easier to talk to a superior if you considered them your friend.

 

The girl turned to him and graced him with a tentative smile, serene but glib, and set the kettle down.

 

“You must be Nodoka's son, Ranma, am I right?” He nodded. “I'm Shi, I just started at your mother's office today. Pleased to meet you, Nodoka has told me so much about you.”

 

“Er…thanks.” Ranma wondered what she was doing, sure his mother could have just wanted to make the newcomer relaxed but there seemed to be something else her words, as if she was saying something else but it was lost in translation. If he didn't know better, and know that Nodoka simply adored Ena, he'd have thought this a prospective marriage meeting. The girl was around his age, and seemed perfectly healthy, slender but not emaciated with a reasonable amount of muscle in her arms and calves. “I was just going to make the tea.”

 

“No need, I've done this before. Do you take sugar?” She set the pot and three dainty cups on a tray.

 

“No, but my mother does.” He reached up into a cabinet and took down a glass canister of sugar cubes, setting it beside the cups. “Do you take milk?”

 

Shi shook her head. “No, does your mother?”

 

“No.” Ranma took the tray from the table and led the girl into the tearoom. “Excuse me for just a moment.”

 

“Of course.” She began pouring the tea.

 

He walked up the stairs unable to reason why the girl, Shi, was here and what his mother was planning. Nodoka's door was shut when he reached it so he knocked softly.

 

“Come in,” came the reply from the other side. He walked in and waited while his mother finished tying her obi and tucked her kimono under her breasts. “What is it, Ranma-dear? Shi is waiting downstairs.”

 

He decided to be blunt. “What is she doing here, Mom, why did you invite her to come here?”

 

“Ranma, Ranma, Ranma, you don't think I'm trying to set you two up, do you? I know how you feel about Ena, I would never interfere in your relationship.” She tied her long red hair back with a white ribbon and brushed a bit of lint from her cheek. “Shi is just new at the office and I wanted to make her feel welcome.”

 

He didn't believe her but couldn't do much considering she was his mother. He nodded and walked with her back downstairs. After giving Shi a brief farewell he allowed the two their privacy and returned to his reading. As he sat at his desk with the lights turned on against the gathering dark, two small eyes peered in through his window.

 

At five, Shi left the house and Nodoka began preparing dinner. Shi walked about a block away from the Saotome home before leaning against a concrete retaining wall. It had taken a lot out of her to continue the charade but it'd paid off, she knew Ranma was the one now, could smell it all over him like the faint scent of soil and flowers after a spring rain. He was the only one she'd ever found and she didn't plan to let him escape, no, he would lead her to the treasure she sought for so long. Gathering herself once again, the girl known as Shi strode into the night.

 

Back at the Saotome homestead, Ranma was just finishing his chemistry problems when the doorbell rang. Slapping the paperback text closed, he walked downstairs and opened the door to find Ena standing silently in the dark. He looked straight into her eyes. She broke the gaze and pushed by him into the hall, removing her thigh-high leather lace-up boots in the foyer. Ranma simply started after her but it was too late, she'd already made it into the kitchen and he knew better than to interrupt his mother's information pumping sessions. His cause lost for the time being, he shut the door and sat down in the tearoom. He felt like something had changed, something intangible that he couldn't see, much less fight.