Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ The One Left Behind ❯ Chapter 5 ( Chapter 5 )
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: ashez2ashes 
Anime/Manga: Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Adventure / Angst / Comedy | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 07.04.2002 | Pages: 6 | Words: 3.4K | Visits: 341 | Status: Completed
Anime/Manga: Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Adventure / Angst / Comedy | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 07.04.2002 | Pages: 6 | Words: 3.4K | Visits: 341 | Status: Completed
Contact Info:
ashez2ashes@yahoo.com
aol instant messenger: ashes chan
http://www.geocities.com/ashez2ashes/
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Disc laimer: Don't own Ranma. Never have, never will. In fact, I don't want to own Ranma. I want to own Ryouga! Mwhahahaha...err ha.
Ranma: I'm in this chapter! Yeah!
ashes: Why do you keep showing up in my disclaimers?!
Ranma: Cause I'm _THE MAN_.
ashes: .....
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The One Left Behind
Part 5
----
I'm...in Nerima?
I'm...I'm...in Nerima!
I'm...err...repeating myself.
But I'm in Nerima so who cares! Whoo hoo! I can repeat things all I want! REPEAT! REPEAT! REPEAT! REPEAT! REPEAT! REPEAT! REPEAT!
Hey, that word sounds weird now.
I'm finally going to have my revenge. I'll finally show them how strong I am and that they left the wrong one behind. I'll make them pay for all the nights mom cried herself to sleep. I'll make them pay for letting me be the only one at mom's funeral. It rained so much that day...
GRRRRRRRRRWWWWWRRR
Wha?
GRRRRRRWWWWWRRR
Where is that growling sound coming from?
A couple of passerby glanced around, wondering where it was coming from too. Was it that purple grisly bear again?
GRRRRRRRWWWWWRRRRRRR.
OOOOOOOOOOOOH! It's me! When was the last time I ate anything anyways? Hmmm, at least five days...um...that can't be good.
Ack...vision...blurring...must find food...
"Come and get it! Fresh bread! The last bread of the day!"
I squinted across the road and saw a kinda fat lady selling bread at a little stand. Wow! How lucky! I'm just in time!
I grabbed my pack and ran over...I was almost there--
CRASH!
"Ow..." I sat up from the ground and rubbed my head. Gah, now the world's even MORE spinny. Whatever the hell I hit was pretty hard...I didn't get hit by a truck again did I?
"Ow..." said the pigtailed truck wearing a red shirt.
Err, wait. That's some guy.
The world spun a couple more times as I got up slowly and picked up my pack. Did the thing get heavier all of a sudden? Oh well... "Um, sorry for running into you. Excuse me."
"Eh..." The guy stood up looking confused as if no one ever apologized to him before. He brushed some dirt off his Chinese shirt. "Yeah. It's ok. I guess."
I turned around and walked away...
Ack! Chinese shirt?! If he's wearing a red chinese shirt, that can only mean one thing!
I ran back to him.
"I'm not in China am I?!"
"You're in Japan..." The guy looked at me like he'd never met anyone who didn't know what country they were in.
"Oh. Good."
I ran toward the bread stand again, passing various people hanging around in the park and a little dog walking around sniffing the ground. Hmm, he must be hungry too.
Finally, I reached the lady and reached out my hand for the last loaf of bread. My fingers curled around it as I pulled--
and pulled...and...huh?
I looked over, and saw the Pigtailed Guy holding onto the bread too.
"Hey! Let go of my bread!" I glared at the pigtailed boy. Who does this complete stranger think he is?! Trying to steal bread from a starving man! It's like he's Ranma or something!
The Pigtailed Guy glared back. "I was here first!" He pulled the bread toward him.
I braced my feet on the ground and pulled back. "Let go!"
"You let go!" The stupid guy pulled _MY_ bread toward him again and then tried to sweep my feet. My martial artist instincts kicked in and I barely jumped in time.
"Go get your own damn bread!" I kicked at his side, which he avoided. He's not bad... Ha! Good! Go ahead and try to knock me down a couple more times China boy! If he's a martial artist, I'm allowed to beat him up!
The pigtailed boy looked mildy surprised and then grinned. "Look over there!"
"Eh?" I turned around and almost lost my handhold on the bread. Ack! "Hey! Only cowards resort to tricks! Why don't you fight me for real?!"
"Really?" The pigtailed boy's face looked all happy as if I'd just given him the bread. "Ok! Let's fight for it!"
Huh? Why is he so happy about it?! He probably thinks I'll be easy to defeat! I'LL SHOW HIM!
"FINE! PREPARE TO DIE PIGTAILED GUY!"
The Pigtailed Guy sat the bread down out of our way.
We both fell into fighting stances. I could tell he was pretty good from his stance...which looked vaguely familiar. Oh well. I gathered my energy and focused it to a razor sharp point. I wasn't going to pass out here. I can't be brought down until I get my revenge on Ranma! We both glared, waiting for the other to make a move. After awhile when it was obvious that pigtailed boy wasn't gonna move, I caved. My muscles clenched and I readied myself to jump--
CHOMP!
A little dog grabbed the bread and happily walked away.
Huh?
..........
"AHHHHHHHHHHH!"
" AHHHHHHHHHHH!"
The bread seller lady glared at us. "Well SOMEONE is going to have to pay for that."
"I'm not payin for nuthin I didn't eat lady!"
He's got a point there. It wasn't MY fault there were bread-stealing dogs roaming the park! If it was my dog, It might be my fault. Grr...but MY dog was eaten by that damn sumo pig! Poor, poor checkers I knew her well.
"I think the pigtailed guy is right. Sorry ma'am. Make the dog pay."
"PAY FOR THE GODDAMN BREAD NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
..........
Me and Pigtailed Guy threw some money toward the lady.
"Thank you for your buisness!" The lady picked up her cart and walked away, whistling happily.
I looked around. No food...this wasn't good. "What do we do now?"
"We could still fight."
"I guess we--"
GRRRRRRRWWWWWRRRRRRR
"Ah!" I heard some guy scream. "He killed him!"
Err...world spinny...how did I end up on the ground? Maybe I take nap. Nap be good...
"He's dead!" some lady in the park said. Wow...losta people in the park...Neato...
"No he's not!" Pigtailed Boy shook me by the shoulders. "Wake up man!"
Why am I laying on the ground? Hmm..oh yeah. Food. I need some of it. "Food....blacking out..."
"That poor boy!" That was that lady again. I like that lady.
"I ...I didn't do nuthin!" I heard a gulp and then felt my shoulders being shook a bit more. "What's wrong with you? Don't go dying and getting me blamed for it!"
"...I haven't eaten in five days..."
My eyes focused and I saw Pigtailed Boy lean down next to me on the ground, looking at me. "At least you haven't had to eat poison food the last five days."
"I'd take poison food over no food."
"He's trying to finish him off!" I like that stranger guy too. Heh heh...This is kinda funny...
I snickered.
"What's so funny?!"
"Eh..." I got up slowly...The world turned inside out..."Hmm...I'm kinda hungry."
The pigtailed boy caught me before I fell down again and helped me stand. Hey...that's kinda nice of him. He's still a bread-stealing jerk though.
"Why didn't you eat something?"
"I was lost..."
"It's no fun fighting you like this..."
"I can still fight..." I pushed away from him. Whoa there's the ground again...Spiiiiiny...
"Ack! Stop moving man! Fine. I'll take you to the dojo, Kasumi can fill you up with non lethal food, and then I can beat you up."
Food be good. I like food.
"Ok...err I mean I'll beat you up instead..."
We started to walk off into some kinda direction. At least, I think I was walking...
"I haven't seen you here before. Ya new?"
"Err...I'm looking for someone."
"Who? You're not looking for me are you?"
"Nah, I'll recognize this guy when I see him. He's my brother."
"Ooooh. By the way, my name is--"
----
"Oh poor dear. He passed out."
Wha? Where the hell am I now? I'm...hearing voices. Oh no! I waited too long to eat and died! Oh the unfairness of life! Damn you Ranma! Damn you Genma!
I half opened one eye and closed it quickly.
It doesn't look like the River Styx. It kinda resembles someone's house...What if I'm on a houseboat on the River Styx?! That's even worse!
"Hey, bandanna boy. Wake up."
There are those voices of the dead again. Cut down in the prime of my life, before I could get my revenge! Such a tragedy...But I'll get to see Mom again. She'll be so disappointed...
"Come on! Get up man!"
Huh? Is that Pigtailed Guy?
I slowly opened my eyes. I seemed to be in some kind of house. It looked like a normal house...no shrunken heads, shinagami, or anything. That's a good sign.
I slowly sat up, ignoring the pounding in my head. The room focused a bit more...
"Bringing hobos to the house now? At least he's a good looking one."
I looked up and noticed a girl with short black hair and even shorter jeans glaring at me. Wow...those jeans really WERE pretty short...
ACK! LOOK AWAY!
I looked to the left and noticed another girl with short hair, glaring at me suspiciously. She had a gi on, and looked like she had just gotten back from a training session. The sweat on her body made her white top...
ACK! LOOK AWAY!
I turned to the right and noticed a longhaired lady in a dress smiling at me. She was perfectly poised and kinda motherly like. Phew! I'm safe. Standing next to her was Pigtailed Guy.
The nice lady looked like she was about to walk over, when short jeans girl walked in front of her and bent toward me.
"Are you rich?" She squinted at me, as if appraising a piece of beef at a butcher shop.
"Err...no." I shook my head.
"Nabiki!" The martial arts girl glared at...Nabiki? I guess that's her name.
Nabiki giggled, walked away, and proceeded to ignore my existance.
What have I gotten myself into? I'm...sitting on some strange girls' floor!...I suppose there's only one thing I CAN do.
I jumped to my feet. "I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to impose on youI'lljustleavenowexcusemybadmanors!"
"Hello! My name is Kasumi Tendo." She smiled impossibly bright, and I felt that if I would ever accidentally do her any wrong, the void to hell would instantly suck me up. You gotta watch out for that void. It's everywhere...
Kasumi's smile seemed to widen, if such a thing was possible. "It's no trouble at all! No one ever brings any of their little friends over.
I blinked. "Little?"
Pigtailed Guy blinked. "Friends?"
I shook my head and bowed. "Hello. I'm sorry. You are mistaken, Miss. We're really enemies and we're going to have an ultimate battle later."
Kasumi's smile stayed in place. "Will you be staying over night?"
"Huh?" Don't...understand....very...confused....must smile and nod anyways.
"I'll have to set an extra place for your ultimate enemy friend." Kasumi walked off to the kitchen gracefully. At least, Pigtailed Guy looked confused too.
"Um...uh..thank you?"
"You're welcome!" Kasumi called super cheerfully from the kitchen.
Martial artist girl seem to change her mind, and walked up to me. "Hi I'm Akane. Whatever he's done to you." She pointed at Pigtailed Guy. "I'm sorry."
Pigtailed Guy glared at Akane. "I didn't do nuthin!"
"Huh?" Sooo...very...confused. I've been saying 'huh' a lot lately...This town seems a little odd to me. That Kasumi lady seems really nice, though. I guess I can stay. I don't want to disappoint her. She reminds me a little of my mother when she was younger...except without the giant umbrella...or the hitting...or the obsession with honor and seppuku...
I can still hear her voice like it was yesterday...'Ryouga! You failed your geography test! Commit Seppuku! Ryouga! You tracked mud into the house! The family is disgraced! Commit Seppuku! What do you mean you let the kid live that tried to steal your pocky?! What kinda man are you? Commit Seppuku! You forgot to buy eggs on the way home from school?! I don't care that you actually MADE it home! Seppuku!'
Ah. I really miss her.
Akane and Pigtailed Guy sat down at the table as Kasumi set out the food. I walked over and sat between them. Now what? I feel really...awkward. A few minutes passed and two older men joined the table. One was dark haired and had a moustache, the other was bald with a white gi on. Baldy looked kinda familiar...Heh. I meet a lot of people on my travels. He could be anyone.
Pigtailed Guy leand back and raised an eyebrow at Akane. "Are you really gonna wear your practice clothes?"
"What of it?" Akane glared at the boy.
Pigtailed guy shrugged. "Whatever. If you want to be all stinky, that's your business."
Ack!
I leaned back just in time as Akane punched the guy in the face. Pigtailed guy looked cross-eyed for a few moments.
People shouldn't be acting like that at the dinner table! Someone else could accidentally get caught up in the ensuing void to hell!
"That was very rude."
Akane and pigtailed glanced at me, all surprised. What's their problem? I leveled a nice, cold, ruthless, smoldering, threatening glare at Pigtailed Guy...it was pretty cool. I coulda been in a samurai movie.
"You shouldn't have said that to her."
Akane became instantly friendlier toward me.
"Thank you, Ryouga." She smiled at me. Wow...she's got a pretty smile. Baldy's eyes widened and he shifted in his seat a bit. He must be really hungry. The food has to be great if he's all anxious and nervous for it to come. It's been a long time since I've had a home-cooked meal by a lady!
Okonomiyaki doesn't count. And let's not even get into the lady thing.
I paused as food was sat down. I filled my bowl up quickly...Baldy and Pigtailed guy were having some kind of war over the pickles...They must be really good pickles. In several seconds they had inhaled the pickles and moved their reign of terror to the curry. As I watched the Pigtailed Guy and Fat Bald Man ripping into their rice, I got the sudden urge to eat politely. VERY politely. The pretty Akane girl kept glancing at them and grimacing.
I took slow deliberate, orderly bites. I even employed that whole napkin thing.
Akane paused in eating and smiled at me again. "So how'd you meet the jerk?"
I shrugged. "He stole my bread."
Akane transformed into the void to hell personified and turned toward Pigtailed Guy. "YOU STOLE BREAD FROM A STARVING PERSON?!"
Pigtailed Guy stopped with his chopsticks in mid-air. "It was _MY_ bread."
Akane looked at me with pity. "You poor person..." She glared at Pigtailed Guy again. "You shouldn't pick on the weak, jerk."
I started to choke on my curry.
Pigtailed boy grinned evilly. "Yeah, you're right. I shouldn't pick on WEAK and DEFENSELESS people."
My chopsticks snapped in half.
Kasumi sat down at the table with us. I really should have helped her bring the things to the table...whoops. It's for the best. She probably didn't want one of her dishes to end up in Kyoto. Kasumi smiled at me.
Man...what's up with all these girls and their smiles? They're killing me.
Kasumi smiled even wider and handed me a new pair of chopsticks. Ack...another smile. "What brings you to Nerima?"
"Are you trying to kill someone?" Akane took a sip of water.
"Um..."
Baldy coughed.
"Is he trying to kill you?" She pointed at Pigtailed Guy.
"Nah, I already asked him that." Pigtailed Guy shoveled more food into his mouth. "He's looking for his brother."
Baldy began to choke.
"Why are you looking for your brother?"
Pigtailed Guy swiped some of Baldy's food as Baldy began to cough violently.
"Um...well...it's..."
"What's wrong?" Kasumi tilted her head and looked up at me with these big huge motherly eyes and oh damn Ican't lie to this woman. But I can't tell the truth! And...ack! THOSE EYES! DOESN'T SHE HAVE TO BLINK?!
Can't...resist...Aw damn it.
"I'm looking for him to get revenge...for the way they treated my mom." I concentrated on the food on my plate.
Akane's voice got softer. "Your mom? What happened to her?"
"Oh um......" DAMN IT! SHE'S GOT THE EYES TOO! I glanced back down. "She... died..."
Baldy passed out.
Pigtailed Guy took advantage of the situation and stole Baldy's whole plate. "What's wrong with you Pops?" He poked him with his chopstick.
"I'm so sorry..." Akane glanced sadly down at her plate. "I know the feeling. My mom died when I was little."
"Oh! I'm sorry Miss! I didn't mean to make you sad! Please, excuse me. I shouldn't be eating your food, taking advantage of your kindness! What kind of horrible person am I?!"
Akane smiled again, the sadness gone from her eyes. "Calm down! Don't be silly! Eat!"
I smiled back and started to eat my food. It was pretty good. Kasumi was a very good cook.
Pigtailed guy looked at Akane out of the corner of his eye and then at me. His eyes seemed to narrow just slightly...Hmmmmm...OH! He's jealous? So he likes her? I hope they're not related or anything. I never want to relive that day with the family in the wilderness...Banjos still haunt my dreams.
Hee hee...I've got an evil idea. Time for revenge.
I leaned over toward Pigtailed and lowered my voice to a whisper. "I'm sure she'd smile at you too, if you were nicer to her."
Pigtailed Guy missed his mouth with his chopsticks and almost poked himself in the eye. "Whatever." He wiped a stray kernel from his eyebrow.
I've found a weakness in my opponent. Heh heh...
I should ask these guys if they know anything about Ranma and Genma. They look like nice people. That pigtailed guy doesn't seem too bad. I guess I could ask him later...
Ack! What is his name?
"It's nice to see such a polite young man." That was Kasumi again. I'm...polite? When did that happen?
"Yeah, I wish _SOMEONE ELSE_ had some of your manners." Akane rolled her eyes.
Manners? How bad _IS_ this guy? AND WHY DOESN'T ANYONE SAY HIS NAME?!
"Um...Mom taught me to always be polite to girls..."
Baldy's unconscious body twitched.
Pigtailed Guy looked weird for a second. Was that a...sad look? It's hard to tell...it was gone pretty quickly.
I need to know his name! Man, this guy brings me to dinner at his house and I don't even remember his name?! I can't challenge him later and go, 'I challenge you! Guy-who-fed-me-dinner-but-I-don't-remember-your name-! Prepare to die!'
Feh, no way. You gotta know the name of someone before you have an honorable ultimate battle with him. It's the honorable thing to do. And it's one of the EASY codes to follow. Not that I pick and choose the codes I like or anything...
Awww, man. I can't ask him now! How would that look? They know MY name and everything! Maybe if I wait around and listen, eventually one of them will say his name. Yeah...that's what I'll do...
Boom! Boom! Boom!
I dropped my chopsticks in surprise.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
That's not...no it can't be...can it?
I glanced around...several minutes passed... Then I heard...THE OINK.
And I knew I was doomed.
-----------------
Send C&C to:
ashez2ashes@yahoo.com
http://www.geocities.com/ashez2ashes/
Ryouga: Ranma's out of character! He's being nice!
Ashes: Actually, Ranma's really not all that--
Ranma: Ryouga's out of character! He hasn't hit me for no reason ONCE!
Ashes: Hey...
Ryouga: What do you mean FOR NO REASON?! DIE RANMA!
Ashes:......
ashez2ashes@yahoo.com
aol instant messenger: ashes chan
http://www.geocities.com/ashez2ashes/
-----
Disc laimer: Don't own Ranma. Never have, never will. In fact, I don't want to own Ranma. I want to own Ryouga! Mwhahahaha...err ha.
Ranma: I'm in this chapter! Yeah!
ashes: Why do you keep showing up in my disclaimers?!
Ranma: Cause I'm _THE MAN_.
ashes: .....
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The One Left Behind
Part 5
----
I'm...in Nerima?
I'm...I'm...in Nerima!
I'm...err...repeating myself.
But I'm in Nerima so who cares! Whoo hoo! I can repeat things all I want! REPEAT! REPEAT! REPEAT! REPEAT! REPEAT! REPEAT! REPEAT!
Hey, that word sounds weird now.
I'm finally going to have my revenge. I'll finally show them how strong I am and that they left the wrong one behind. I'll make them pay for all the nights mom cried herself to sleep. I'll make them pay for letting me be the only one at mom's funeral. It rained so much that day...
GRRRRRRRRRWWWWWRRR
Wha?
GRRRRRRWWWWWRRR
Where is that growling sound coming from?
A couple of passerby glanced around, wondering where it was coming from too. Was it that purple grisly bear again?
GRRRRRRRWWWWWRRRRRRR.
OOOOOOOOOOOOH! It's me! When was the last time I ate anything anyways? Hmmm, at least five days...um...that can't be good.
Ack...vision...blurring...must find food...
"Come and get it! Fresh bread! The last bread of the day!"
I squinted across the road and saw a kinda fat lady selling bread at a little stand. Wow! How lucky! I'm just in time!
I grabbed my pack and ran over...I was almost there--
CRASH!
"Ow..." I sat up from the ground and rubbed my head. Gah, now the world's even MORE spinny. Whatever the hell I hit was pretty hard...I didn't get hit by a truck again did I?
"Ow..." said the pigtailed truck wearing a red shirt.
Err, wait. That's some guy.
The world spun a couple more times as I got up slowly and picked up my pack. Did the thing get heavier all of a sudden? Oh well... "Um, sorry for running into you. Excuse me."
"Eh..." The guy stood up looking confused as if no one ever apologized to him before. He brushed some dirt off his Chinese shirt. "Yeah. It's ok. I guess."
I turned around and walked away...
Ack! Chinese shirt?! If he's wearing a red chinese shirt, that can only mean one thing!
I ran back to him.
"I'm not in China am I?!"
"You're in Japan..." The guy looked at me like he'd never met anyone who didn't know what country they were in.
"Oh. Good."
I ran toward the bread stand again, passing various people hanging around in the park and a little dog walking around sniffing the ground. Hmm, he must be hungry too.
Finally, I reached the lady and reached out my hand for the last loaf of bread. My fingers curled around it as I pulled--
and pulled...and...huh?
I looked over, and saw the Pigtailed Guy holding onto the bread too.
"Hey! Let go of my bread!" I glared at the pigtailed boy. Who does this complete stranger think he is?! Trying to steal bread from a starving man! It's like he's Ranma or something!
The Pigtailed Guy glared back. "I was here first!" He pulled the bread toward him.
I braced my feet on the ground and pulled back. "Let go!"
"You let go!" The stupid guy pulled _MY_ bread toward him again and then tried to sweep my feet. My martial artist instincts kicked in and I barely jumped in time.
"Go get your own damn bread!" I kicked at his side, which he avoided. He's not bad... Ha! Good! Go ahead and try to knock me down a couple more times China boy! If he's a martial artist, I'm allowed to beat him up!
The pigtailed boy looked mildy surprised and then grinned. "Look over there!"
"Eh?" I turned around and almost lost my handhold on the bread. Ack! "Hey! Only cowards resort to tricks! Why don't you fight me for real?!"
"Really?" The pigtailed boy's face looked all happy as if I'd just given him the bread. "Ok! Let's fight for it!"
Huh? Why is he so happy about it?! He probably thinks I'll be easy to defeat! I'LL SHOW HIM!
"FINE! PREPARE TO DIE PIGTAILED GUY!"
The Pigtailed Guy sat the bread down out of our way.
We both fell into fighting stances. I could tell he was pretty good from his stance...which looked vaguely familiar. Oh well. I gathered my energy and focused it to a razor sharp point. I wasn't going to pass out here. I can't be brought down until I get my revenge on Ranma! We both glared, waiting for the other to make a move. After awhile when it was obvious that pigtailed boy wasn't gonna move, I caved. My muscles clenched and I readied myself to jump--
CHOMP!
A little dog grabbed the bread and happily walked away.
Huh?
..........
"AHHHHHHHHHHH!"
" AHHHHHHHHHHH!"
The bread seller lady glared at us. "Well SOMEONE is going to have to pay for that."
"I'm not payin for nuthin I didn't eat lady!"
He's got a point there. It wasn't MY fault there were bread-stealing dogs roaming the park! If it was my dog, It might be my fault. Grr...but MY dog was eaten by that damn sumo pig! Poor, poor checkers I knew her well.
"I think the pigtailed guy is right. Sorry ma'am. Make the dog pay."
"PAY FOR THE GODDAMN BREAD NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
..........
Me and Pigtailed Guy threw some money toward the lady.
"Thank you for your buisness!" The lady picked up her cart and walked away, whistling happily.
I looked around. No food...this wasn't good. "What do we do now?"
"We could still fight."
"I guess we--"
GRRRRRRRWWWWWRRRRRRR
"Ah!" I heard some guy scream. "He killed him!"
Err...world spinny...how did I end up on the ground? Maybe I take nap. Nap be good...
"He's dead!" some lady in the park said. Wow...losta people in the park...Neato...
"No he's not!" Pigtailed Boy shook me by the shoulders. "Wake up man!"
Why am I laying on the ground? Hmm..oh yeah. Food. I need some of it. "Food....blacking out..."
"That poor boy!" That was that lady again. I like that lady.
"I ...I didn't do nuthin!" I heard a gulp and then felt my shoulders being shook a bit more. "What's wrong with you? Don't go dying and getting me blamed for it!"
"...I haven't eaten in five days..."
My eyes focused and I saw Pigtailed Boy lean down next to me on the ground, looking at me. "At least you haven't had to eat poison food the last five days."
"I'd take poison food over no food."
"He's trying to finish him off!" I like that stranger guy too. Heh heh...This is kinda funny...
I snickered.
"What's so funny?!"
"Eh..." I got up slowly...The world turned inside out..."Hmm...I'm kinda hungry."
The pigtailed boy caught me before I fell down again and helped me stand. Hey...that's kinda nice of him. He's still a bread-stealing jerk though.
"Why didn't you eat something?"
"I was lost..."
"It's no fun fighting you like this..."
"I can still fight..." I pushed away from him. Whoa there's the ground again...Spiiiiiny...
"Ack! Stop moving man! Fine. I'll take you to the dojo, Kasumi can fill you up with non lethal food, and then I can beat you up."
Food be good. I like food.
"Ok...err I mean I'll beat you up instead..."
We started to walk off into some kinda direction. At least, I think I was walking...
"I haven't seen you here before. Ya new?"
"Err...I'm looking for someone."
"Who? You're not looking for me are you?"
"Nah, I'll recognize this guy when I see him. He's my brother."
"Ooooh. By the way, my name is--"
----
"Oh poor dear. He passed out."
Wha? Where the hell am I now? I'm...hearing voices. Oh no! I waited too long to eat and died! Oh the unfairness of life! Damn you Ranma! Damn you Genma!
I half opened one eye and closed it quickly.
It doesn't look like the River Styx. It kinda resembles someone's house...What if I'm on a houseboat on the River Styx?! That's even worse!
"Hey, bandanna boy. Wake up."
There are those voices of the dead again. Cut down in the prime of my life, before I could get my revenge! Such a tragedy...But I'll get to see Mom again. She'll be so disappointed...
"Come on! Get up man!"
Huh? Is that Pigtailed Guy?
I slowly opened my eyes. I seemed to be in some kind of house. It looked like a normal house...no shrunken heads, shinagami, or anything. That's a good sign.
I slowly sat up, ignoring the pounding in my head. The room focused a bit more...
"Bringing hobos to the house now? At least he's a good looking one."
I looked up and noticed a girl with short black hair and even shorter jeans glaring at me. Wow...those jeans really WERE pretty short...
ACK! LOOK AWAY!
I looked to the left and noticed another girl with short hair, glaring at me suspiciously. She had a gi on, and looked like she had just gotten back from a training session. The sweat on her body made her white top...
ACK! LOOK AWAY!
I turned to the right and noticed a longhaired lady in a dress smiling at me. She was perfectly poised and kinda motherly like. Phew! I'm safe. Standing next to her was Pigtailed Guy.
The nice lady looked like she was about to walk over, when short jeans girl walked in front of her and bent toward me.
"Are you rich?" She squinted at me, as if appraising a piece of beef at a butcher shop.
"Err...no." I shook my head.
"Nabiki!" The martial arts girl glared at...Nabiki? I guess that's her name.
Nabiki giggled, walked away, and proceeded to ignore my existance.
What have I gotten myself into? I'm...sitting on some strange girls' floor!...I suppose there's only one thing I CAN do.
I jumped to my feet. "I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to impose on youI'lljustleavenowexcusemybadmanors!"
"Hello! My name is Kasumi Tendo." She smiled impossibly bright, and I felt that if I would ever accidentally do her any wrong, the void to hell would instantly suck me up. You gotta watch out for that void. It's everywhere...
Kasumi's smile seemed to widen, if such a thing was possible. "It's no trouble at all! No one ever brings any of their little friends over.
I blinked. "Little?"
Pigtailed Guy blinked. "Friends?"
I shook my head and bowed. "Hello. I'm sorry. You are mistaken, Miss. We're really enemies and we're going to have an ultimate battle later."
Kasumi's smile stayed in place. "Will you be staying over night?"
"Huh?" Don't...understand....very...confused....must smile and nod anyways.
"I'll have to set an extra place for your ultimate enemy friend." Kasumi walked off to the kitchen gracefully. At least, Pigtailed Guy looked confused too.
"Um...uh..thank you?"
"You're welcome!" Kasumi called super cheerfully from the kitchen.
Martial artist girl seem to change her mind, and walked up to me. "Hi I'm Akane. Whatever he's done to you." She pointed at Pigtailed Guy. "I'm sorry."
Pigtailed Guy glared at Akane. "I didn't do nuthin!"
"Huh?" Sooo...very...confused. I've been saying 'huh' a lot lately...This town seems a little odd to me. That Kasumi lady seems really nice, though. I guess I can stay. I don't want to disappoint her. She reminds me a little of my mother when she was younger...except without the giant umbrella...or the hitting...or the obsession with honor and seppuku...
I can still hear her voice like it was yesterday...'Ryouga! You failed your geography test! Commit Seppuku! Ryouga! You tracked mud into the house! The family is disgraced! Commit Seppuku! What do you mean you let the kid live that tried to steal your pocky?! What kinda man are you? Commit Seppuku! You forgot to buy eggs on the way home from school?! I don't care that you actually MADE it home! Seppuku!'
Ah. I really miss her.
Akane and Pigtailed Guy sat down at the table as Kasumi set out the food. I walked over and sat between them. Now what? I feel really...awkward. A few minutes passed and two older men joined the table. One was dark haired and had a moustache, the other was bald with a white gi on. Baldy looked kinda familiar...Heh. I meet a lot of people on my travels. He could be anyone.
Pigtailed Guy leand back and raised an eyebrow at Akane. "Are you really gonna wear your practice clothes?"
"What of it?" Akane glared at the boy.
Pigtailed guy shrugged. "Whatever. If you want to be all stinky, that's your business."
Ack!
I leaned back just in time as Akane punched the guy in the face. Pigtailed guy looked cross-eyed for a few moments.
People shouldn't be acting like that at the dinner table! Someone else could accidentally get caught up in the ensuing void to hell!
"That was very rude."
Akane and pigtailed glanced at me, all surprised. What's their problem? I leveled a nice, cold, ruthless, smoldering, threatening glare at Pigtailed Guy...it was pretty cool. I coulda been in a samurai movie.
"You shouldn't have said that to her."
Akane became instantly friendlier toward me.
"Thank you, Ryouga." She smiled at me. Wow...she's got a pretty smile. Baldy's eyes widened and he shifted in his seat a bit. He must be really hungry. The food has to be great if he's all anxious and nervous for it to come. It's been a long time since I've had a home-cooked meal by a lady!
Okonomiyaki doesn't count. And let's not even get into the lady thing.
I paused as food was sat down. I filled my bowl up quickly...Baldy and Pigtailed guy were having some kind of war over the pickles...They must be really good pickles. In several seconds they had inhaled the pickles and moved their reign of terror to the curry. As I watched the Pigtailed Guy and Fat Bald Man ripping into their rice, I got the sudden urge to eat politely. VERY politely. The pretty Akane girl kept glancing at them and grimacing.
I took slow deliberate, orderly bites. I even employed that whole napkin thing.
Akane paused in eating and smiled at me again. "So how'd you meet the jerk?"
I shrugged. "He stole my bread."
Akane transformed into the void to hell personified and turned toward Pigtailed Guy. "YOU STOLE BREAD FROM A STARVING PERSON?!"
Pigtailed Guy stopped with his chopsticks in mid-air. "It was _MY_ bread."
Akane looked at me with pity. "You poor person..." She glared at Pigtailed Guy again. "You shouldn't pick on the weak, jerk."
I started to choke on my curry.
Pigtailed boy grinned evilly. "Yeah, you're right. I shouldn't pick on WEAK and DEFENSELESS people."
My chopsticks snapped in half.
Kasumi sat down at the table with us. I really should have helped her bring the things to the table...whoops. It's for the best. She probably didn't want one of her dishes to end up in Kyoto. Kasumi smiled at me.
Man...what's up with all these girls and their smiles? They're killing me.
Kasumi smiled even wider and handed me a new pair of chopsticks. Ack...another smile. "What brings you to Nerima?"
"Are you trying to kill someone?" Akane took a sip of water.
"Um..."
Baldy coughed.
"Is he trying to kill you?" She pointed at Pigtailed Guy.
"Nah, I already asked him that." Pigtailed Guy shoveled more food into his mouth. "He's looking for his brother."
Baldy began to choke.
"Why are you looking for your brother?"
Pigtailed Guy swiped some of Baldy's food as Baldy began to cough violently.
"Um...well...it's..."
"What's wrong?" Kasumi tilted her head and looked up at me with these big huge motherly eyes and oh damn Ican't lie to this woman. But I can't tell the truth! And...ack! THOSE EYES! DOESN'T SHE HAVE TO BLINK?!
Can't...resist...Aw damn it.
"I'm looking for him to get revenge...for the way they treated my mom." I concentrated on the food on my plate.
Akane's voice got softer. "Your mom? What happened to her?"
"Oh um......" DAMN IT! SHE'S GOT THE EYES TOO! I glanced back down. "She... died..."
Baldy passed out.
Pigtailed Guy took advantage of the situation and stole Baldy's whole plate. "What's wrong with you Pops?" He poked him with his chopstick.
"I'm so sorry..." Akane glanced sadly down at her plate. "I know the feeling. My mom died when I was little."
"Oh! I'm sorry Miss! I didn't mean to make you sad! Please, excuse me. I shouldn't be eating your food, taking advantage of your kindness! What kind of horrible person am I?!"
Akane smiled again, the sadness gone from her eyes. "Calm down! Don't be silly! Eat!"
I smiled back and started to eat my food. It was pretty good. Kasumi was a very good cook.
Pigtailed guy looked at Akane out of the corner of his eye and then at me. His eyes seemed to narrow just slightly...Hmmmmm...OH! He's jealous? So he likes her? I hope they're not related or anything. I never want to relive that day with the family in the wilderness...Banjos still haunt my dreams.
Hee hee...I've got an evil idea. Time for revenge.
I leaned over toward Pigtailed and lowered my voice to a whisper. "I'm sure she'd smile at you too, if you were nicer to her."
Pigtailed Guy missed his mouth with his chopsticks and almost poked himself in the eye. "Whatever." He wiped a stray kernel from his eyebrow.
I've found a weakness in my opponent. Heh heh...
I should ask these guys if they know anything about Ranma and Genma. They look like nice people. That pigtailed guy doesn't seem too bad. I guess I could ask him later...
Ack! What is his name?
"It's nice to see such a polite young man." That was Kasumi again. I'm...polite? When did that happen?
"Yeah, I wish _SOMEONE ELSE_ had some of your manners." Akane rolled her eyes.
Manners? How bad _IS_ this guy? AND WHY DOESN'T ANYONE SAY HIS NAME?!
"Um...Mom taught me to always be polite to girls..."
Baldy's unconscious body twitched.
Pigtailed Guy looked weird for a second. Was that a...sad look? It's hard to tell...it was gone pretty quickly.
I need to know his name! Man, this guy brings me to dinner at his house and I don't even remember his name?! I can't challenge him later and go, 'I challenge you! Guy-who-fed-me-dinner-but-I-don't-remember-your name-! Prepare to die!'
Feh, no way. You gotta know the name of someone before you have an honorable ultimate battle with him. It's the honorable thing to do. And it's one of the EASY codes to follow. Not that I pick and choose the codes I like or anything...
Awww, man. I can't ask him now! How would that look? They know MY name and everything! Maybe if I wait around and listen, eventually one of them will say his name. Yeah...that's what I'll do...
Boom! Boom! Boom!
I dropped my chopsticks in surprise.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
That's not...no it can't be...can it?
I glanced around...several minutes passed... Then I heard...THE OINK.
And I knew I was doomed.
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Ryouga: Ranma's out of character! He's being nice!
Ashes: Actually, Ranma's really not all that--
Ranma: Ryouga's out of character! He hasn't hit me for no reason ONCE!
Ashes: Hey...
Ryouga: What do you mean FOR NO REASON?! DIE RANMA!
Ashes:......