Travels, Training and Trials, Chapter 9
Travels, Training and Trials
A Ranma 1/2 fanfic by June “KaraOhki” Geraci
January 2, 2002
Ranma 1/2 was created by Rumiko Takahashi, and its characters belong to her. I'm merely borrowing them. The story below is for entertainment purposes only, and may not be used commercially.
Chapter 9
"Daddy! How COULD you?"
Soun cringed and took a step back. Anger radiated from Nabiki in waves, and Kasumi looked just as upset. He reached for Genma's arm in order to pull him back, but missed as his friend took a step forward.
"Now, now, girls. Don't be upset. I realize we should have asked you to attend the wedding, but--"
Nabiki's slap cut him off mid-sentence. "Liar! You did it this way so we couldn't stop you!"
"They just met!" exclaimed Kasumi.
Soun managed to find his voice. "Girls, please! Not in public!"
Genma rubbed his cheek. "Are you sure Nabiki isn't the martial artist in the family? That's some right she's got."
Kasumi ignored Genma's comment. Her attention was fixed on Akane and her brand-new husband. The two young people were standing a few feet behind their fathers, holding hands and looking quite uncomfortable. Ranma's eyes met hers, and he pulled on Akane's hand.
"Come on. Let's go home." Ranma led Akane around Genma and Nabiki and up to Kasumi, who fell into step with them. Nabiki soon caught up to them.
"What happened?" she whispered. "How did they talk you into this?"
"They threatened us," Akane replied. "Mr. Saotome was going to take Ranma away and never come back."
"And you believed that?" asked Kasumi. "I wouldn't have."
"You don't know my father. He meant it." Ranma shrugged and kept walking. "I promised Akane I wouldn't leave her and I'm not going to start lying to her now."
"But what do you know about being married?"
Ranma lost the fragile hold on his temper. "I don't! Are you happy now that you made me say it?"
"Please, stop!" Akane looked like she was going to cry. "I just want to go home."
"No," said Nabiki in a forceful enough tone to make everyone look at her. "We're going out for a wedding lunch, and THEY are going to pay for it, no matter what it costs. They owe you at least that much."
*****
Nabiki chose one of the most expensive restaurants in Nerima, and got the group a private room with a large table that seated four, and a smaller one for the newlyweds. Ranma and Akane pored over their single menu together while trying to tune out the comments from the other table.
“…look so good together…."
“…much too soon. What were you thinking?”
“It’s not as if they were going to be out on their own.”
“Do you realize how difficult it will be for them at school?”
“I don’t think I’m hungry, Ranma.”
Ranma looked up from the menu. Akane was very pale. "I wish they'd just be quiet. I want to go home."
"You're sure?"
"Yes."
"Then let's go." Ranma stood and offered Akane his hand. She took it and he helped her to her feet.
"Where are the two of you going?" demanded Soun.
"Home," responded Ranma.
Genma grinned. "Starting your honeymoon early, are you boy?"
A low growl from Akane warned Ranma seconds before she struck. Then his father was on his face with a huge lump sprouting from the top of his head. Akane hefted her mallet and gazed at her father and sisters. "Does anybody else have any smart remarks to make?"
Nabiki shook her head. "Not if the two of you sit down and eat something. Otherwise I might, especially since I don't think you'd hit me. You want to punish these two?" she continued, gesturing at her father and Ranma's. "See how high you can drive up the bill."
Genma opened one eye and groaned. "Soun, did you bring your charge card?"
*****
Soun stared in amazement at the pile of dishes on Ranma and Akane's table. They had started off by sharing a bowl of nabeyaki udon, which he assumed would take the edge off their hunger, but that had been just the appetizer. Akane didn't make it a habit to eat a lot, but Ranma ordered several dishes and soon convinced her to taste them all. What made matters worse was that Nabiki kept steering her brother-in-law towards the most expensive items on the menu. When the waiter came in with the Kobe steak, Soun wanted to cry.
Ranma polished off the last bite of steak and sat back with a satisfied sigh as the waiter returned to pick up the empty dishes. The man jumped when Ranma grabbed his wrist and looked at his watch.
"Akane, we've got to go."
Akane blinked. "We do?"
"Yeah! We have to go home and change--we're supposed to be at work in half an hour!"
Ranma got up as he spoke, pulling Akane to her feet at the same time. They were halfway out of the room before Genma recovered enough to speak.
"You two have JOBS?"
"Oops," said Ranma. "Gotta go!" He and Akane vanished.
*****
Akane pulled her blouse over her head and looked at herself in the mirror. She saw a sixteen-year-old girl--no--married woman, wearing a pair of jeans and a bright blue blouse with tiny white and yellow flowers. Was this what a married woman was supposed to look like? She had no idea. Akane closed her eyes and tried to remember how her mother had dressed. None of the mental images she could summon up had her dressed in jeans, or with her hair in a ponytail. Her mother always wore her hair braided and pinned up, and although Mrs. Tendo had not been so traditional that she always wore kimono, Akane remembered more dresses than slacks.
Akane noted that her hair was rather messy, so she took off the barrette Ranma had given her and brushed it. Then she braided her hair and got out a bunch of hairpins. She had just started to pin it up when Ranma knocked on the door.
"Can I come in, Akane?"
Since Akane couldn't answer Ranma with a mouthful of hairpins, she opened the door and waved him in.
"What are you doing?"
"MMMF!" Akane finished pinning her hair. "I thought I'd try this. What do you think?"
Ranma frowned at her. "I don't like it."
"You don't? Why not?"
Akane gasped when Ranma reached out and pulled a pin out of her hair, and blushed while he methodically removed all of them, allowing her braid to fall. "Your hair is too pretty to hide like that. I really like looking at it."
That was convincing enough for Akane. She unraveled the braid, brushed out her hair, and put it back into a ponytail. "Is this better?"
"Much."
"Then I'm ready. Let's go." Akane started forward, but Ranma held up his hand.
"I came in to ask you for a favor." Ranma reached into his pocket, and drew out a small wad of bills. "Can you hide this for me?"
Akane took the money, stared at it, and looked back up at Ranma. "Why?"
"Because Pop knows I've got money now, and he'll come looking for it." Ranma waited for Akane's nod before continuing. "There's not that much 'cause we spent so much on Nabiki's weekend, but Pop didn't earn it. I did!"
"I've got the perfect place." Akane opened her closet door and pulled out the box of weights. Then she knelt down, picked up her diary, and put the money inside. Before she could replace the box Ranma did it for her.
"Nice hiding place. What's that book?"
"My diary."
"Why do you hide it?"
"Nabiki found it a long time ago and blabbed what it said to everybody, so I said I'd never keep one again. Then I hid it here. Sis can't pick up this box."
Ranma grinned. "Not unless she empties it piece by piece, and I don't think she's likely to." He glanced at Akane's clock and pulled her out of the room. "We've gotta go or we'll be late."
*****
Sayuri found Ryoga waiting at the entrance of his school, just as she had instructed him. If he tried to meet her at the gate he became hopelessly lost.
Ryoga gave her a big grin, accompanied by a hug. "Wave goodbye to this school, Sayuri. You won't have to bring me here anymore."
"You mean?"
"Yup. Tomorrow I start classes at Furinkan." Ryoga began walking, and was pulled in the proper direction by his girlfriend. "That means we can double date!"
Sayuri stopped short. "You mean with Ranma and Akane?"
"Yeah, who else would I mean? Is something wrong with that?"
"No, nothing at all. It's just that they didn't show up at school today. I wonder why."
Ryoga shrugged. "We'll find out tomorrow. You want to go for ice cream?"
*****
Tatewaki Kuno marched up to the Tendo home and knocked on the door. There was no response from inside. He knocked again and waited, but he could hear no signs of life from within the house.
Something was terribly wrong. Akane had not come to school, and her sister had disappeared before the morning was over. Now their house appeared to be empty.
This had to have something to do with Saotome and his unnatural hold on Akane, he reasoned. Something had to be done about it.
*****
Everyone arrived home about fifteen minutes after Ranma and Akane left. Soun was still reeling at the cost of the wedding luncheon and trying to figure out how long it would take to pay off. He went directly to his place at the table and sat down with his face in his hands. His friend sat beside him. Nabiki and Kasumi stood at the other end of the room, watching.
"Don't feel bad, Tendo. We got what we wanted, didn't we?"
Soun looked up at his friend, who was smiling happily. "Yes. Yes, our schools have been united, haven't they?" Genma nodded at him, but then his smile faded.
"Not quite yet, Tendo." As Genma spoke, he got up and headed for the stairs.
"Where are you going?"
"To move my son's things into his wife's room."
Kasumi and Nabiki didn't even stop to think. "We'll do that," stated Kasumi.
"If you really want to be helpful," Nabiki added before Genma could object, "you and Daddy can take apart Akane's bed and bring it downstairs to the guest room, and take the large futon out of storage and put it outside to air."
"But, but--"
"Come now, Mr. Saotome, you don't expect me or Nabiki to have to carry the bed downstairs, do you? Moving Ranma's clothing will be much easier for us."
"I don't think the boy would appreciate your touching his things," continued Genma, who had followed the girls upstairs.
"Nonsense, he's family now," said Kasumi as she brushed past him and into the room Ranma shared with his father. "There's a screwdriver in the kitchen drawer to the right of the sink. You'll need it to take the bed apart."
The look of defeat on Genma's face was nearly funny.
*****
"Which drawer is Ranma using?"
Nabiki opened one at random. "No idea." Then she closed it. "Not this one. Let's see…yes, Ranma's things are here." She began emptying the drawer and stacking everything into Kasumi's outstretched hands. "Would you look at this. I wonder how he got it." Nabiki's fingers wiggled one end of Akane's hair ribbon, which was back in Ranma's notebook. "Think she gave it to him?"
Kasumi took the book, careful not to dislodge the ribbon. "Maybe. I think it's sweet."
The girls gathered up the contents of the drawer and carried it to Akane's room. Soun and Genma were just coming out, Soun carrying the pieces of Akane's bed frame and Genma carrying the mattress. As soon as they were out of the way Kasumi put her pile of Ranma's things on Akane's dresser and began opening bureau drawers. In a very short time they'd moved enough of Akane's things to give Ranma a drawer for himself, and then they returned to the guest room, where they found Genma sitting on the floor holding Ranma's pack, which was open. He immediately closed it and put it into Nabiki's outstretched hands.
"Thought I'd give you girls a hand. Tendo is putting the futon outside for you."
"Thank you," replied Nabiki. "Is there anything else of Ranma's here?"
"Not that I could find," replied Ranma's father. Nabiki looked at him sharply. Something about what Mr. Saotome had said, or the way in which it was said, had rubbed her the wrong way, but she didn’t yet know him well enough to say what it was. She took the pack and returned to Ranma and Akane's room. Kasumi started downstairs, but Nabiki grabbed her sleeve, dragged her inside with her, and closed the door.
"Do me a favor and stay here while I get my books from my room."
Before Kasumi could say yes or no, Nabiki was gone. She returned a couple of minutes later empty-handed.
"I thought you were getting your books."
"I forgot that I ran out of school early today. They're still there." Nabiki sat at Akane's desk. "I'm going to sit right here until Akane and Ranma get home from work."
Kasumi looked lost. "Why?"
"Didn't you see? Uncle Saotome was going through Ranma's pack, and he looked really guilty when we walked in on him. Whatever it is he's looking for, he didn't find it, and I'm not giving him a chance to try again."
The conversation was interrupted by a loud rumble of thunder. Kasumi ran to the window and looked out. "Oh, no! The futon!" She ran into the hallway, crying out to Genma. "Uncle Saotome! Hurry! We've got to get the futon in before it pours!"
"But Tendo just put it out to air!"
"It's as aired as it's going to get."
*****
Mr. Maeda was sitting in his office above the warehouse, looking down through the glass windows at his employees. He made a habit of glancing at them now and then to see what and how they were doing. In the past it had paid off well, because he was able to see who worked hard, who didn't, and once caught someone pilfering goods.
This particular afternoon, most of his attention was focused on the two youngest members of his staff. He had known Akane Tendo for some months, and considered her an excellent worker. When she had introduced Ranma Saotome to him, he had hesitated at first to hire him. Evidently the young man was a boyfriend, and Mr. Maeda felt that this might be a distraction. Ranma had proved him wrong. When Mr. Maeda gave him something to do he did it, with no hesitation or dawdling. If he happened to pass Akane as she worked, instead of stopping to chat with her he would smile and continue whatever it was he had been assigned to do. When Mr. Maeda had given the pair the job of inventorying the frozen foods he felt that it was a test for them. If they could complete the job without allowing their evident attraction to one another to distract them, then they would have passed it. They did.
Something had changed. Ranma and Akane were working hard, as usual, but something was different. Mr. Maeda watched and wondered as Ranma passed Akane, turned red, and kept going without saying a word. Akane didn't say anything either, but looked at the floor until Ranma was past her. Then she glanced in his direction just as he was looking over his shoulder at her.
"Something is going on. I wonder what."
*****
Kasumi was in the middle of preparing dinner when the doorbell rang.
"Father, my hands are full. Can you get that? Father? Mr. Saotome?"
The reason for the lack of response was very evident once Kasumi left the kitchen, having hurriedly cleaned her hands. Her father and his friend were slumped over at the table, sound asleep. Empty sake bottles littered the table and the floor.
Kasumi thought that perhaps the men had a reason to celebrate, but she wondered if her sister and Ranma felt the same way. Then the doorbell rang again and she hurried to see who was there.
"Mrs. Shunrai, how nice to see you!"
Kasumi's neighbor bowed. "I'm terribly sorry to bother you, Kasumi, but I must ask a favor."
*****
"Good night, Mr. Maeda!" Akane smiled at her employer as she hung up her apron. "Do you still need us on Wednesday?"
Mr. Maeda checked his schedule. "Yes, Miss Tendo. I'll need the two of you."
Akane felt Ranma's hand enclose hers, and give it a little squeeze. "Akane isn't Miss Tendo anymore. She's Mrs. Saotome."
"Ah, is that so? My congratulations to you both!" Ranma was astonished when Mr. Maeda bowed to them, and only barely managed to return the gesture.
*****
"He didn't seem too surprised," remarked Ranma as the warehouse door shut behind them.
"Why should he be?"
"I don't know too many people my age who are married."
Akane giggled. "Then you'll have to meet some. We've got one married couple at Furinkan, and two girls who are also married."
"Huh? Where are their husbands?"
"They got married when the girls were in their junior year, and the guys were in their senior year. So now the girls are seniors, and their husbands are in college."
Ranma thought about the concept as the pair continued walking. "Isn't that kinda hard on them? Being apart?"
"Well I don't really know the girls in the senior class very well, but I did overhear Ami saying that she missed her husband. In fact, she said--" Akane stopped talking abruptly, and looked extremely embarrassed.
"What?"
"She, um, said she missed having him there to keep her warm at night."
"Oh." That bit of information was a little more than Ranma could respond to intelligently. It set his mind on a train of thought that his and Akane's busy day had kept him from considering before. He and Akane were married. Married people slept in the same bed, and they did more than just sleep.
But Akane was afraid of men. Did that still include him? It seemed too big a question to ask. Instead, he reached over, gently took his wife's hand, and steered her around a large puddle. "Come on. Let's go home before it starts raining again."
They didn't make it. When the Saotomes returned home, Akane was soaked, and Ranma was soaked and female. Ranma noted that Akane was shivering as they removed their shoes.
"You need a hot bath."
"So do you," replied Akane.
"You go first."
They ran up the stairs to get dry clothes. Nabiki met them at the top.
"Kasumi and I moved your things into Akane's room, Ranma."
Ranma turned very red, and glanced sidelong at Akane, who looked just as embarrassed. "Thanks."
*****
Dinner was quiet. Soun and Genma had to be awakened to eat. They smiled a lot, but said very little, to the newlyweds' great relief. Once they finished eating they started one of their games, but it was evident to everyone that they were not really paying attention to the game, but to their children. Akane's response to that was to volunteer to do the dishes, and she soon vanished into the kitchen. Moments later, Ranma followed her.
"You want some help?"
Akane smiled. "Sure."
Soon Akane was washing, while Ranma dried.
Nabiki hadn't taken long to excuse herself and go upstairs, and Kasumi followed soon afterwards. She opened up her bedroom door and a gray blur shot out. "No! Get back here, Tora!" The kitten didn't listen.
"YAAAAAAAAAAH!!!" Ranma's scream and the sound of a dish hitting the floor and shattering drew everyone into the kitchen. Nabiki was the last to run in, and she was nearly knocked over by Ranma, who ran out of the kitchen at top speed, followed by Akane and a small gray kitten. Ranma made it as far as the hallway, where he plastered himself against the wall. Akane got between her husband and the kitten, who seemed to have taken a great liking to him and was trying to rub against his legs.
"What is Tora doing here?"
"Get it away!! Get it away!!"
Kasumi snatched up the kitten and backed away. "The Shunrais had to go away for a few days. Mrs. Shunrai asked me to watch Tora. I thought if I kept him in my room Ranma's allergies wouldn't be affected."
Nabiki raised an eyebrow as she gazed at Ranma, who was now shivering, and still had his eyes focused on the cat. "He's not sneezing, and if you ask me, he's scared to death."
Ranma began edging away, just as his father snatched Tora from Kasumi's arms and began to weep. "My son! How you embarrass your father with this fear!" He waved the cat under Ranma's nose, causing him to be come even more agitated. "You must overcome this!"
"STOP THAT!!" Akane snatched Tora from Genma's hands and practically threw him at Kasumi. "Get him out of here before--"
It was too late. A yowl from Ranma drew everyone's attention to him. He was crouching on the floor, making strange cat-like noises. Genma immediately backed away.
"Don't go near him! He's very dangerous when he's this way!"
That was enough to make Soun, Nabiki, and Kasumi back off. Akane, however, sat down close to Ranma and looked into his eyes. "I don't think you'd hurt me, would you?"
Ranma's response was to leap at Akane and knock her over.
"Ow." Akane reached behind her and rubbed the back of her head, which had hit the floor. She tried to sit up, but Ranma's weight had her pinned to the floor. He was curled up on her stomach, and it sounded to her like he was purring. She reached up and gave him a little push. "Ranma, let me up!"
The only response she got was more purring. Akane felt a pair of hands on her shoulders, and realized her father was trying to help her sit up. Ranma hissed at Soun, who backed up very quickly once he'd accomplished his mission. Akane reached out and tentatively patted her husband's head.
"Um, nice kitty?"
"Meow!" Ranma sat up and kissed Akane playfully. Then he curled up on her lap and resumed purring. Within seconds, he was sound asleep.
Genma came forward. "He'll be back to himself once he wakes up." He lifted Ranma from Akane's lap so that she could get up. "We should put him to bed."
"Why does he get this way, Akane?" asked Kasumi. She was still holding the kitten, and staying as far away from Ranma as she could. "You knew what was going to happen, didn't you?"
"Ask his father when he comes back downstairs," replied Akane. Her words were accompanied with a glare at her father-in-law's back. Then she followed him.
*****
"Do you want help undressing him?"
Akane felt her face getting hot. "Just put him on the futon. I think I can manage." She pulled back the covering and Genma set Ranma down. He looked like he wanted to say something, but instead left the room, closing the door behind him.
Undressing Ranma was harder than Akane anticipated. He was a lot heavier than he looked. Akane considered calling Genma back to help her, but she thought better of it and struggled to do it herself.
Getting Ranma's pants off was fairly easy, but Akane soon discovered that getting a snug shirt off a sleeping person was a very difficult task. She thought Ranma's shirt would rip as she got it off his right arm, and getting it out from under him was even more difficult. Akane pushed Ranma onto his side, and worked his sleeve off his left arm. She could not believe that all of the pushing, shoving and tugging hadn't awakened him. She threw the shirt aside and sat there trying to catch her breath. Ranma curled up into a ball, put his arm under his head, and smiled. He looked perfectly relaxed and content, and was even snoring lightly.
Akane suppressed the urge to hit her husband, or to shake him. What good would that do? Instead, she sat there and studied him. She had never seen a boy in his underwear before, and it seemed different than seeing a boy outdoors wearing a pair of shorts. This was more--what was the word?--intimate. The girls at school called Ranma a hunk, and Akane couldn't see any reason to disagree. Then she blushed, covered Ranma up, and got off the floor. She had no business thinking such perverted things.
She sat at her desk and stared at Ranma, trying to figure out what to do next. It was much too early to go to bed, and the thought of getting into the futon with Ranma frightened Akane too much to even think about.
"I want a bath," Akane muttered. Having made that decision, she opened the bureau drawer where she kept her pajamas. It was full of Ranma's clothing. That made Akane even more uncomfortable, and she was out of the room and headed downstairs as soon as she located her things.
*****
Before entering the bathing room, Akane took a detour to the guest room. As she had suspected, her bed was there. It wasn't made up, but it would only take a moment to get sheets and blankets from the linen closet. Then Akane wouldn't have to go upstairs, but would be able to sleep in the bed that had been hers since she was four years old. She stared at it for a few seconds more, quietly slid the door shut, and headed for the bath. She couldn't decide what to do.
Akane scrubbed, turned the lights down, and sank into the steaming water. The bath had always been her place to sit and think, and she had a lot to think about.
Her life had changed forever, and she couldn't decide whether that was good or bad.
On the minus side, this would probably make dealing with Kuno a lot harder. Then again, she and Ranma were perfectly capable of putting him in his place any time they had to.
Boys made her nervous. Ranma made her nervous. But she had admitted to herself that she was attracted to Ranma. She hadn't been able to take her eyes off him as he slept upstairs. Did that make her nervous? Very, but in an interesting sort of way.
Akane forced herself to be honest. She had married Ranma willingly. Perhaps their marriage had come sooner than she had originally planned, but it would have happened eventually.
As she ascended the stairs, Akane realized the most important aspect of what had occurred: she had always feared being alone. She would never have to worry about that again. Akane's serious expression softened into a smile, and she practically flew up the stairs.
Ranma was still asleep, and didn't appear to have moved at all. Evidently the Neko-ken had taken a lot out of him. Akane knelt down and gently touched Ranma's hair. Then she turned out the light and joined him in the futon. She gasped when her husband's arms closed around her, and he pulled her close.
It took a minute or two for Akane to realize that Ranma was still asleep. It took only a minute or two more for her to join him.