Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ Wounded (now with spacing) ❯ Chapter 2 ( Chapter 2 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

By: Bate

Chapter 2

Nabiki walked into the fight-club, her cold eyes calculating everything she saw, from the prices on peoples clothes and shoes and jewellery, to the room itself and the scarce inventory. She got several lustful stares as she stood unaffected in her navy blue micro business skirt and jacket, balancing perfectly on her high heals. She stared right through people, making several shiver from her icy smile. Akane walked up next to her, wearing a warm yellow long-sleeved silk shirt, ordinary black pants, and shoes comfortable for a long walk or a fight - with hidden steel inside the leather. Hidden in her pockets she had something to put her fingers through that gave her a much harder and vicious punch, and Nabiki had a gun and a maze and some other un-lady like stuff hidden in her smart purse and on some unmentionable parts of her body. Akane immediately noticed several of the people the red-head had mentioned the night before. Carefully making sure that Nabiki also noticed them, she scanned the crowd that was larger than the day before.

“Let's take a look at the fighters.” She said, motioning for Nabiki to follow.

“This is an interesting place. I don't believe we've been so deep in the slum for a long time, dear sis.” Nabiki drawled in a low voice to Akane.

“Just don't let the wrong people hear what you think of them, Nabiki. I doubt even I can take on this crowd, even with all the practise I've got…” Akane's thoughts briefly went to earlier school years, but as she spotted some of the fighters she shoved her thoughts to the back of her mind. Most of them were as the rumours had told them, and the corrections the red-head had made was right on the spot. Akane and Nabiki ignored the comments several of the fighters made, and silently discussed amongst themselves before Nabiki pulled up her cell phone and made a call. While she talked on the phone, Akane felt a pair of eyes on her back, and as she turned she saw a young man around her own age - late teens or early twenties - in Chinese style clothes, looking at her with clear blue eyes. His black hair was pulled back into a tight pigtail, and he had a nearly invisible scar going from under his left eye down to his jaw. He seemed kind of familiar, and she almost smiled to him before she remembered where she was and what she was doing. She realised he had to be Ranma Saotome, whom the red-head had such high thoughts about. Before she could change her mind, she walked towards him. With a business-smile, she held out her hand to him.

“Hello. My name is Tendo Akane. You are one of the fighters tonight, correct?”

“Saotome Ranma… Yeah, I'm a fighter.” He took her hand and shook it slightly, holding it a few seconds longer than necessary. He glared over to some guys who commented on Ranma getting lucky and being asked to share the goodies, before he turned his back to them. “Just ignore them. A bunch of idiots, that's all they are.”

“Oh, and that makes you?”

“Wanna find out?”

“Right now I just want to know if you're a good fighter.” Akane managed to pull herself together as soon as she realised she was actually flirting with him. She almost thought she saw a disappointed look in his eyes, but it was gone the next second. She was still a bit shaken up at the feel of his rough hand, and was thankful when Nabiki came to join them.

“Tendo Nabiki, Akane's employer, sister, and proud owner of Tendo Enterprises. So, you're the one who's gonna win us some money tonight.”

“Nabiki! Manners!” Akane gave her sister an irritated glare.

”Relax sis, I'm sure you can take care of things if I screw up. Right, Saotome?”

Ranma looked at the sisters, and couldn't resist to smile at their bickering. He felt the envious stares most of the guys in the room gave him, and enjoyed it, but even though Nabiki had a cold, sexual seductiveness over her, he would rather have continued with the careful flirting with her sister. Akane looked even sweeter today in her more casual clothes, and he could feel the warmth from her personality radiate off of her. The warm yellow shirt she wore gave her eyes a golden tone, and he was surprised at the immediate attraction he felt. He thought he had imagined things yesterday, but if anything Akane effected him even more today.

“You wouldn't get all the money I'm gonna win you tonight if your sister could take me that easy, now would you..?” Ranma gave Nabiki a naughty smile, which she returned with a shark-grin.

“I like you already, Saotome.”

“Actually… maybe you could take a bet from me too. On me, of course.” Ranma looked at Nabiki questioningly.

“With pleasure, young man..! Let me just get the details, before you go and make us both rich.”

Akane watched the exchange between Ranma and her sister, trying to ignore the distracting effect Ranma had on her as she expanded her senses to be prepared for trouble. The air was tense with expectations, fear and fighting spirit. There was a low buzz all over the place, and she could see the man in the purple fur coat standing surrounded by several not-so-innocent looking bodyguards on the other side of the ring, and a large - but nowhere near fat - woman in tight leather pants and a latex top strolling through the crowd that parted before her, a whip hanging from her belt.

“I have also heard about your company, Tendo Nabiki, and I'm thinking about hiring you to find a couple of people for me. Is that within your area of expertise by any chance?” Ranma asked.

“Nothing is impossible, Saotome. Maybe we should meet somewhere else and discuss matters? If you win, I'll buy you a drink at a bar I know downtown afterwards, if you'll join us?” Nabiki's eyes already shone with curiosity and dollar-signs.

“I don't drink alcohol, but I'll join you for some juice or tea instead. But right now I think you better move back to your places. Not long before you're rich now.” Ranma smiled slightly, and the smile grew the tiniest bit as he turned to Akane and nodded politely. He then turned and walked to the back to prepare. Akane stood a moment and admired his cat-like grace, before Nabiki pulled her roughly back to reality.

“Snap out of it, sis. Wow, I've never seen you drool over a man like that since you had that crush on Dr. Tofu when you were little.” Nabiki teased.

“I was just calculating his fighting skills! I think he's a lot more dangerous than he looks. I probably would have changed the numbers on him after seeing him, but I'd still like to thank the red haired girl I met yesterday. Hmm, wonder where she is now…” Akane frantically tried to shift Nabiki's interest from Saotome and over to something less embarrassing, and started to describe the meeting she'd had yesterday with the girl that gave her all the useful information.

#8#8#

Ranma could feel her eyes burning into his back as he walked away. He felt strangely clumsy and was relived when he felt her eyes leave him. Some of the guys he'd talked with since he'd arrived came over to him and wanted details. He tried to brush them off, but they still kept making obscene suggestions to him for several minutes until the first match started. Ranma tried to concentrate on analysing the fight, but found himself scanning the crowd looking for the Tendo sisters. They weren't so hard to find, `cause Akane's shirt shone brightly yellow in the dark crowd. He looked over at them for a minute or two, and remembered that they would meet again later at a bar ifwhen he won. For the first time in several years he felt motivated by something else than his own foolish pride or his love for the Art. The first fight was over, and he began to look forward to his own fights.

#8#8#

Akane tried to spot Ranma while she talked with Nabiki. The first couple of fights had gone the way they hoped, and had earned them a fair amount of money. Nabiki was in a good mood, and not even the slimiest of comments could dampen their spirits.

“There he is. Looks like he's next.” Nabiki bumped into Akane and pointed down by the ring. Akane flushed red as Nabiki hadn't been fooled by her pretence of not being interested in anything about Ranma.

“Oh… Well, it'll be interesting to see if he's as good as I think he is.”

“Yeah, and that's the only reason that you've been scanning the crowd for him since we found our seats…” Nabiki laughed. “Don't worry, sis. I've got a feeling that we'll see more of him in the immediate future. And he seemed to eat you up with his eyes, so I'd say you've got a fair chance with him…”

The next fighters got ready as soon as the ring was cleared. Ranma walked in, standing casually, while his opponent showed off his muscled body to the audience, acting like a pro wrestler. The `judge' made his speech, and the fight was on. The big-muscled guy attacked Ranma viciously, but every time it looked bad he hit only air. Ranma danced around the large man, taunting him, and just slapped him lightly now and then. The crowd laughed at the angry man charging around the ring like a bull, and they clapped and whistled for every show Ranma made for them. Soon, the crowd roared for a kill - meaning that they wanted Ranma to charge the larger man - and Ranma turned to the audience and shouted out,

“Do you want me to end this? Should I take him down?”

The crowd shouted several methods and things they wanted him to do, but Ranma just stood there grinning, looking like he didn't notice the large man sneaking up on him from behind. At the last second, he back flipped over the man behind him, delivered several hard kicks and punches to the man, almost too fast to see, and stood casually with his hands behind his head and watched as the man slowly fell to the ground with a great thump. There was silence for a split second before the crow went wild. Ranma bowed theatrically and left the ring to the shouts of Saotome! Saotome! Saotome!

“Wow… He isn't as good as he hinted, or as good as I thought…. He's a hell of a lot better than I had ever imagined! That's a walking goldmine!” Nabiki was already calculating all the opportunities.

Akane just stared. She couldn't believe how good he was. How much better than her he was. She felt strangely proud of him, and was immensely jealous of his skills. She knew they had seen close to nothing of his real skill and strength, but even the small amount he showed told of a world-class fighter.

Both Tendo girls watched in silent awe the rest of the night, not seeing anyone near Ranma's league, and Nabiki even got tears in her eyes when she thought of all the money they won on him. The crowd loved Ranma, and they laughed at the way he showed off and gave them a show different from anything they'd ever seen before.

Akane suddenly noticed that the large woman with the whip was talking to some important looking men who gestured to Ranma. She immediately remembered her duties as her sister's bodyguard, and whispered quickly to Nabiki to make an escape through the nearest exit. They ducked low behind the people standing around shouting encouraging to Ranma, and made it to the door before anyone cared to take notice of them. The guard was so entranced with watching Saotome show off that Akane had plenty of time to knock him out before he realised what was happening. Out in the chill air, Nabiki hurried to a waiting car. Entering, she pulled out a plump envelope which she handed to Akane.

“I think you'll get in and out easier without me to worry about. Give this to Saotome, it's his winnings from the bet, and get him out here so we can go have a drink and celebrate.”

“Okay. I'll be right back!”

Akane sprinted back in past the knocked out guard, and chose a long path around the room with less people in it. As soon as she reached the doors to the changing rooms, she waited until she was sure no one saw her before she slipped inside. Tiptoeing around several corners, she hid in the deep shadows between lockers, and waited. She almost yelped from surprise when the door into the changing rooms went up with a bang. There was a lot of noise and laughter, and several of the fighters passed her talking loudly. Finally Ranma came in, smiling broadly at all the attention the others gave him. Akane almost fell out of the shadows as Ranma stopped next to the place she was hiding in and whispered quietly without looking in her direction,

“Miss Tendo… This is a guy's changing room, you really shouldn't be here… Listen up, this is what we're gonna do…” Ranma explained the way to the back door, and walked on as if nothing had happened, joking with the other men in the room and drawing their attention while Akane slipped out of the shadows and sneaked back to the door she had been told to wait at.

“You really should change your habit about strolling around these guys all the time” This time Ranma's voice made Akane jump, as she hadn't noticed him walking up behind her. She spun around quickly, tripping over her own feet, and bumped roughly into Ranma who stood closer to her than she had thought. He kept her from falling down on the floor, holding her gently to him as she slowly looked up at him, her eyes wide with shock.

“Um…ah…money…” she pressed the envelope shakily to him, her heart racing, and not because he had surprised her. “…drink…Nabiki…outside…” she babbled on, feeling her face flush tomato red as she breathed in his warm scent.

“Well, you're not the most well-spoken girl I've run into, but you get the important parts across…” He looked down at her, his eyes darkening in colour, and slowly let her stand on her own feet. “Listen, there's this guy guarding the door outside. The easiest way to get out without questions is if you pretend to be an infatuated fan or something, and we can walk off into the sunset together - or at least to the bar.” He said with a cheeky grin. He held out his arm, indicating her to lean onto his shoulder, and smiled.

Akane was still shaking slightly, and without managing to think of anything else to do, she obediently stepped up to him and let him put his arm around her shoulders. They went to the door, and walked outside tightly against each other. The big, beefy guard gave them a glance, and just smiled knowingly to Ranma with thumbs up, before they rounded the corner. Ranma didn't let go immediately, but slowly let his arm slip down her back, resting it lightly against the small of her back.

“So, where's your sister?”

Akane managed to pull her self together, and led him towards the waiting car. She slid in first, and Ranma followed closely.

“Congratulations Saotome. Tonight you've made me a very happy woman, and there aren't many men who can claim that.” Nabiki smiled coolly at him, and tapped on the glass wall behind the driver. The car pulled out from the parking space, and 10minutes later they arrived at a small but cosy bar.

#8#8#

The bar was neither shabby nor expensive, it was just right. They took seats at a small corner table, and ordered something to drink and some snacks. As soon as they had been served, Nabiki pulled out her own notebook.

“You mentioned you might have a job for us. Feel like discussing it now?”

Ranma sipped his ice-tea slowly, trying to formulate what he wanted to say, and what he didn't want to say. He looked over at Akane, who was back to her old self - he guessed, and back to Nabiki.

“Yes, there's two things I would like you to do. First, I want you to find my mom.”

“Your mother. Okay, what's her name, how old is she, when did you last see her, and under what circumstances..?”

“Her name is Saotome Nodoka. I don't know her age. Last time I saw her I was 6 years old. That's 14 years ago now.”

“…That complicates things… Is there anything else you can tell us. Where did you live then?”

“I can't really remember… but my pop's name is Saotome Genma, maybe that'll help. I want you to find him too. Him I saw 3 years ago. In China.”

“So you want us to find your parents, Saotome Nodoka and Saotome Genma, and you don't really have any information that can help…”

“No, that's the whole point! If I had known anything at all, I might have found them myself! All I know is that we lived in Japan before my stupid old man took me away on that 11 year long training trip…” Ranma tried to calm himself, and closed his eyes breathing deeply. He knew it wasn't fair to take his rage out on them, but it was a sore spot he had.

“Don't worry, if anyone can find them, Nabiki can.” Akane patted his arm reassuringly, but pulled her hand back as he looked up at her. She blushed again as he continued to stare at her for several minutes.

“Thank you… Anyway, before my pop left, he told me a couple of things, but I don't know if it's true or not. First, he told me about an agreement he and my mom had made me sign, that stated that if I didn't return a `man amongst men', me and my pop would have to commit seppuku.” Nabiki's face hardened, and Akane gasped in horror. “Then, when I said I still wanted to go home, he told me that my mom had died during our trip. I don't know if it's true, `cause if the seppuku part is true, then that would explain why he didn't want me to see mom.”

“But…why didn't he want you to contact your mother?” Akane asked confused.

“4 years ago, my old man took me to some old Chinese training grounds called Jusenkyo. There's lots of springs there, and we were supposed to train aerial combat. What he didn't bother to stop and find out from our guide is that every spring there is cursed… If you fall into one, you change into whatever drowned there every time you're hit with cold liquid, and return to normal with hot liquid. My old man fell first, into the Spring of Drowned Panda… I was so shocked I fell into another spring…”

Akane and Nabiki gaped, not quite believing him, but hearing the sincerity in his voice.

“Ehm… If this is true, what does it have to do with your mother?”

“Because I fell into the Spring of Drowned Girl… and returning with the body of a girl supposedly isn't all that manly, even though I don't change on the inside.”

“…I… I hope you understand that I require a bit more proof than just your word for it, since I do not know you…” Nabiki was about to toss her cold lemonade at Ranma when Akane grabbed her glass.

“You could at least pretend to have manners from time to time, Nabiki. He would be pretty sticky if you're going to pour that over him. Why not ask for hot and cold water, if he agrees to demonstrate it to us.” She turned to Ranma. “Would that be okay for you, Saotome? It doesn't hurt you or anything, I hope?”

“No, I hardly notice the change itself. It's gotten me into a lot of trouble, I can tell you. Fighting people when it starts raining, and before I know it, I shrink into this female form, and the people I fight often gets so shocked they faint. Although that has actually been an advantage sometimes.”

Ranma intently studied his hands as Akane went to the bar and asked for hot and cold water. He knew it was stupid of him, but he hoped that they would react differently to his curse than the way so many others had. He willed his hands not to tremble, and looked at Akane as she came back with the water.

“Just pour some of the cold water over my head.”

Akane did as she was told, and dropped the glass when he shrank into a form she knew from before. The red-headed girl. Nabiki was speechless, looking himher up and down, and reached out a hand to prod himher. Ranma winched, and Akane looked sternly at her older sister.

“Nabiki, that's not polite!” Akane poured some hot water over Ranma before Nabiki could embarrass him too much, and dumped down into her chair just looking at him. “Well, that explains a thing or two… And your father felt that this was in violation with the agreement you had with your mother?”

Ranma looked shocked at her. He had often gotten the reaction that Nabiki showed, being prodded and looked at like a strange caged animal, but he had never seen anyone react like Akane. She was a bit pale, but otherwise she could still talk, and she didn't shy away from him.

“Eh… Yeah. Pops felt that me coming home as a girl didn't qualify as manliness. And he was so scared of his own hide that I believe he might have lied about mom being dead, and I also think that could be why he disappeared himself - `cause I still wanted to go home.”

“I can't believe I didn't see it… Your eyes are the same, your hair the same - except the colour - and the scars are the same… I must have been blind.” Akane shook her head, smiling slightly.

“You seem to be pretty comfortable with this. Why?”

“Well, it's not the first time I've come across something a bit out of the ordinary. I've seen my share of magic and special talents, and besides - you haven't done anything to make me pissed off or anything. Would you feel more comfortable if I behave like Nabiki here..?” Nabiki twitched slightly as her name was mentioned, but she still stared unblinking at Ranma, looking like she was expecting rabbits to jump out at any minute.

“No, that's okay. I'm kind of tired of the freak-show response I usually get. Anyways, do you think you can find them? I think I've told you most of what you need to know about the situation.”

“I'll take Nabiki home and get her out of this catatonic trance, and we'll see what we can do. How do we contact you?”

“Just leave a message at the club that you've got news for me, and I'll call you back as soon as I can. I've rented an apartment not far from the club, but I haven't got a phone there yet.”

“Okay, we'll do that. I'll get my sis home now, and we'll probably talk again later, Mr Saotome. Have a nice night, and congratulations on your victory.” Akane bowed to him and more or less carried her sister out of the bar after taking care of the bill.

#8#8#

As Akane went to bed that night, her thoughts kept returning to Ranma Saotome. She had surprised herself with her calm acceptance when he'd told them about his curse. The only explanation she could think of is that she subconsciously had recognised the girl she met the first day, and she liked him either way. Not that she swung towards girls, but she didn't know many female martial artists - and none as devoted to the art as herself. She had hoped to make a friend, and she still wanted that, even though the girl turned out to be a boy. Besides, he looked like he could use a friend. The relief had shone clearly in his face when he saw her reaction to his revelation, and she had felt a compassionate tug in her heart at the loneliness he radiated.

Nabiki had babbled on about curses and magic for several hours before she got her self-control back and her mask of ice slid back in place. They had discussed how to approach the job of finding the Saotome couple, and had contacted people for a standard search to begin with. That involved checking the papers on people travelling between Japan and China for the name Saotome, looking through the last 15 years or so. They would also check all the official search engines - like death-, birth-, and marriage records - for the family name, and hopefully they would get lucky and be able to narrow down the search to specific arias instead of the whole of Japan.

She wiggled into a comfy position under her blanket, and before long she dreamed sweetly.