Fighting Blind
I know that there's a disclaimer somewhere in this.
<>: Thoughts
Chapter 8
Akane and Her Sisters Part 1
(No, we're not talking about THAT episode!)
"When I was five, Genma had taken me away from my mother for a
training trip. Life was very harsh as my father subjected me to what
he thought would make me into a great martial artist. However, Genma
has all the intelligence of a tree stump!" Ranma said the last part with
some anger, his voice had no indication of any respect for his father.
"Now that's not very nice to speak of your father like that."
Kasumi interjected. "I'm certain that he had all your best interests
and welfare in mind."
Ranma snorted. "Hmpf! It was more like he had only HIS best
interests and welfare in mind. To him, I was just his meal ticket!"
"What do you mean?"
"I can assume that Genma hasn't really told you anything except
that fairy tale about me being kidnapped by the Amazons and being
brainwashed by them?"
Kasumi gave a 'mmm-hmm.'
"Well me tell you, I am thinking quite clearly. If it wasn't for a
gentle Amazon healer, I would have never have lived past my ninth
birthday."
"What happened?"
"After a series of so-called training exercises, which included
stealing, lying and cheating, my father came across a manual that
described a technique called the Neko Ken or Cat Fist. He thought it
would turn me into an unbeatable fighter and the training was
deceptively simple. He wrapped me up in fish sausage and threw me
into a pit of starving cats."
"Oh dear. That's�" Kasumi couldn't think of anything to describe
it. Who would do such a thing to a child? When she imagined an
image of Genma throwing a young boy into a pit of howling and
starving felines, she tried very hard to keep that tea she drank from
coming back up.
"Let me tell you, it was something that I never want to experience
again. However, I was subjected to that training process several
times, when I didn't learn the technique on the first try. And every
time that he subjected me to that, I felt a small part of my very sanity
being eaten away. Kami-sama only knows what would have
happened to me if I had been thrown in that pit one too many times.
Mind you, he didn't just use fish sausage. He threw me in with
sardines, fish cakes, smelt and even bathed me in fish oil." Ranma's
tone became sarcastic. "Yeah. Like that's going to make a difference!
However, around the tenth attempt, my father had thought that he
was using too much bait and not enough cats. So he threw me down
into the pit with twice as many cats and only half the food. That
proved to be the worst decision he could ever make." Ranma paused
and then said in a low and sad voice. "The cats became more
maddened with hunger with so little food and they attacked me with
even more ferocity. The last thing I saw was a set of claws as they
ripped my eyes apart." Ranma tapped the right side of his face near
the temple, indicating the scars.
Kasumi was rendered speechless.
Ranma's senses detected the emotions coming from Kasumi. He
felt her shock and horror. He nodded and continued on. "Despite the
hospital's best efforts, my eyesight was permanently gone. Some
structural surgery corrected most of the superficial damage, but my
eyes were rendered useless because of the training. After all this
however, Genma had learned absolutely nothing from the experience.
A day after I had gotten out of surgery, he broke into the hospital he
stole me from the intensive care ward to continue the training. For
two years, he dragged me all over Japan and China while beating me
senseless. Genma did nothing for my handicap and expected me to
adapt as he continued the training. I couldn't even defend myself as
my health deteriorated. My father wasn't very much when it came to
childcare and it wasn't long before I was just barely getting by on
what little food that I could get from him. Then, when I just turned
eight, he got wind of some legendary healing spring in the Quinghai
province in China. He took me there and almost drowned me several
times, hoping that the waters would restore my sight. As it turned
out, the healing spring was just a myth and the place was actually the
water supply of the Amazon village."
"So� that's how you became part of the Amazons?"
Ranma nodded. "A kind healer by the name of Jasmine rescued me
from Genma and helped me heal both physically and mentally. She
gave me a proper diet, made certain I had my vaccinations and cared
for me as if she was my own mother. In fact, she was about the
closest thing to a mother that I ever had. Genma had never let me
contact my real mother or even know where she lived. After all I had
been put through, you can probably guess why. Although Jasmine
couldn't do anything for my eyesight, she was acquainted with a
master of a fighting style called the Unseen Light. He was the one
who helped me overcome my disability. He and Jasmine raised me like
the parents that I never had."
"I� see." Kasumi said quietly. Her heart went out toward this
young man. He was showing a vulnerability that appealed to her,
which made her mothering instinct come to the surface. She was also
impressed with the way he was handling his disability. He displayed
a kind of strength and maturity that she had not expected from
someone younger than she was. He was tall, handsome and was very
sure of his abilities. He also had a gentle side to him and it was very
easy for her to take a liking to him. He wasn't like the 'perverted jerk'
that Akane had labeled him as when she came home from school that
day.
Ranma continued with his narrative. "In any case, My father had
already proven that he couldn't make a good call in judgment if his
life depended on it." Ranma said as some of the anger came back into
his voice. "I want nothing more to do with him and I certainly won't
uphold any bargains that he made on my behalf. Knowing him, he
probably made that pledge when he was drunk. Either that or he was
trading me off for some food."
"What do you mean?" Kasumi asked, still in a state of disbelief
over what he had told her so far. There was more?
"He hasn't told anyone about those OTHER little details, now has
he?" Ranma took Kasumi's silence as an affirmative. "Well, even
though he wasn't raising me any more, he still considered me as a
bargaining chip to feed his fat stomach. About a year ago, some guy
came to the village with his daughter and claimed that Genma had
agreed to engage me to the girl in exchange for some rice, pickles and
a fish."
Kasumi was a little more than shocked at that revelation. "Now,
you must be joking." A look at Ranma's stern expression told her that
he wasn't. "But� the pledge to our family�"
Ranma shrugged. "Must have slipped his mind. And that wasn't
the only time he's pulled that stunt. Including the promise he made to
your family, by my count, I figure that Genma had engaged me to no
less than fifteen girls. One of those times, he engaged me to triplets.
That stupid panda doesn't know what restraint is, much less a vow of
honor. Nearly all those families had come to the village looking to
claim me. Of course, that doesn't include all the restaurants and
businesses that Genma had cheated out of the bill and USED ME for
collateral."
"He� did that?!" Kasumi mind reeled and it was apparent that she
was reaching her threshold on reality. This was father's 'dear old
friend?'
Ranma nodded again. "Whenever my father would eat or take
something in China, he would always say, 'Send the bill to the
Joketsuzoku, care of Ranma Saotome.' Since he would always get
away without paying, the businesses had no choice but to look up
the village and demand payment. Kami-sama!" Ranma huffed in
annoyance. "That happened so many times that the Amazons had to
give out death threats to several dozen restaurant owners and
business people before they got the hint to leave us alone! That was
one reason why I left the village. I didn't want them to be bothered
any further by Genma's stupidity!" Ranma's voice went up a few
notches as his temper began to simmer. Using his senses, he
detected the disbelief and shock in Kasumi, then calmed down a bit.
"If you still don't believe it, then find out for yourself. Next time you
see that fat panda, mention the name Daijkoku, Li Zang or Kirachi and
watch his reaction. I'll bet that he'll either sweat a lot or try to avoid
the subject. If there's one thing that my father was good at, it's
dodging the consequences of his actions."
Ranma sensed that Kasumi was still in a state of disbelief and
decided that she needed some time to think about what he had just
told her. Placing some yen coins on the table to pay for his tea, he
got up and nodded his head to Kasumi. "It has been a pleasure
talking to you Miss Tendo. It was good to get some of that off my
chest. But remember that I have nothing against you or your family,
other than the fact that your father is determined to force me into a
marriage with Akane. However, since this is due to one of Genma's
promises, then I will refuse it. Furthermore, and please forgive the
crude remark, but I have no intention of wedding an ill-mannered
brat."
Kasumi was about to protest to the description of her younger
sister but Ranma held up a hand. "I'm sure that you consider Akane
as a good person, and underneath all that hostility, she might be.
However, you have to agree that she needs to improve on her
treatment of others, especially toward the opposite gender. She also
requires a serious attitude adjustment and has to realize that the
world is not there just to suit her. She tends to judge people by her
own narrow-minded standards and I find that reprehensible. I cannot
understand why no one has taught her better manners. If she is not
shown that her behavior is unacceptable, she'll go right on thinking
that it is. Sooner or later, someone else BESIDES ME is going to put
his foot down and SHE'S going to be UNDER it!"
Kasumi couldn't help but nod at that assessment. Akane was a bit
self-absorbed and the elder sister had despaired when her sibling
couldn't control her temper and lashed out at people in anger. She
had to admit, Akane's temper tantrums were unbecoming and
showed that she was slow in maturing. She gasped a bit when Ranma
gently placed his fingers on her face, then relaxed as she realized that
this was how a blind individual could see another person's face. She
let this little lapse in proper manners go as she closed her eyes and
let him run his fingertips across her cheeks, nose and mouth. She
shivered slightly as his warmth passed over her. Then he withdrew
his touch and sat up.
"I'm very surprised that you are related to Akane and her father.
You're very different from your sister and Mr. Tendo. From what my
fingers have just told me, you have a face which matches the beauty
of your soul." Kasumi blushed at the comment. Ranma then quietly
walked toward the entrance, pausing at the door to say something
else to Kasumi. Without turning around, Ranma said, "Oh, and by the
way Miss Tendo. I would prefer that the knowledge of my�
condition, remain between the two of us. It's not that I have anything
to hide, but I'd rather not be an object for anyone's pity." With these
words, the Unseen Light martial artist left the shop and headed for
home.
The eldest Tendo daughter sat in her booth and was deep in
thought. This Ranma Saotome showed great insight despite his
inability to see. He was mature and quite refined, considering that he
had lived in a simple and isolated environment for most of his life. He
had endured incredible hardships, which had only made him stronger.
Kasumi did not feel any pity for Ranma. Rather, she was in awe at
how he had overcome his disability. He had suffered much at the
hands of his father, and the promise between the Saotomes and the
Tendos would only subject him to more pressure and pain, especially
since both fathers were determined to have Akane marry him. With
the youngest sister's violent tendencies, Kasumi couldn't help but
feel sorry for Ranma.
There was no doubt in Kasumi's mind. Ranma Saotome was a
special person. He was the sort of person that Kasumi could become
very fond of, and perhaps, someone she could love.
Meanwhile, Ranma walked along the streets deep in thought.
<Why the heck did I tell her all that?>
The blind boy couldn't understand it. One moment he was just
sitting down and having a cup of tea. The next moment he was
relating his life's story to her. He couldn't help it. Something about
her personality and aura just made him want to open up. She
reminded him so much of Jasmine and he felt� comfortable talking to
her. From what he read of her aura, Kasumi was a gentle soul. She
was caring, polite and would make any man who married her look
forward to coming home every night. If it weren't for that stupid
pledge, Ranma might have let himself fall for someone like her. She
wasn't a fighter, but she had an inner strength that easily rivaled any
warrior in the village.
<What am I thinking? I can't get involved with her! She's a Tendo
and I swore that I would never uphold the promise that idiot Genma
made! No sir! Not in a billion years!> He then chuckled a bit. Besides,
I don't want to have a lot of jealous Amazons after me. Back in China,
Ranma had quite a few female warriors whose goal was to capture his
heart.
The very next day, Nabiki and her factors were gathered in front of
a large tree in the school yard. After handing a large wad of yen
notes to an excited student, she turned to her crew to assess the
damage.
"All right girls, just where do we stand?"
One subordinate with long brown hair looked down at a printout
and read out the results. "We were really lucky Nabiki. Most of those
bettors already had money owed to us and their winnings canceled
out their debts. We only ended up paying off eleven thousand yen
overall."
Another girl nodded. "Yeah, but we can't take another loss like
that. Boss, I think that it would be best not to have odds put on
Saotome again. He's just too good!"
Nabiki nodded as she gave out new instructions to her crew.
"Keep tailing that new guy and find out all that you can about him. I
know its been tough trying to keep tabs on him, but something's
bound to slip out sooner or later. I'll do the same. There's something
about Ranma Saotome that doesn't feel right and I aim to find out
what. I have a feeling that he may yet be profitable. And with any
future fights, have the bets made on Ranma based on how fast he
wins, how many hits he takes or something along those lines."
After her lackeys left, Nabiki was deep in thought as she
considered her options. She thought of the events of the previous
day and had to agree with her flunky. Ranma had shown
extraordinary ability and it wasn't good for business if she had to
keep on paying off wagers made on him. If he continued to win, then
Nabiki would have to declare bankruptcy before she graduated. The
loss she suffered today was sizable but manageable. The dojo's
budget was going to be tight this month though. However, this was
not a favorable condition. She had lost her hold on a number of
students since their debts were canceled out. Furthermore, she also
had her family to think about.
Soun Tendo may own a dojo, but he didn't teach any classes.
Soun had proven too emotional to be a sensei and Akane was his
only student. His tended to let his emotions out at full blast and this
was seen as a lack of discipline, driving away any potential pupils.
Also, since he didn't have any regular source of income, it had fallen
to Nabiki to support the family and pay the bills. Kasumi was already
overburdened with the household duties and Akane was too busy
with Kuno and the other boys to be of any help. Unfortunately, since
the school board did not normally allow students to hold jobs, Nabiki
had been forced to find other means of generating income.
It was her reputation as a mercenary, which had earned her the
nickname of the Ice Queen. As much as she liked the control it gave
her over the other students, she found that it also had its drawbacks.
Just about all the boys in school were afraid of her for fear of being
blackmailed or charged for services. Getting a date was hard enough
and after Kuno had made that stupid decree with defeating Akane,
Nabiki was forced to spend her weekends alone. This was one of the
things that she resented about her younger sister. Akane's vanity
had gotten a big boost and although she constantly denied it, Nabiki
knew that the little princess enjoyed the attention she received.
<Spoiled brat.>
Thinking of Akane made Nabiki think of Ranma again. He was a
mystery. He was handsome, tall and showed considerable skills in the
martial arts and music. He had shown great respect toward the
opposite gender. His actions so far had been the main topic of the
school. The martial arts clubs wanted to sign him on. The music
teacher had been having wild dreams of crushing the competition of
the other schools if she could get that flute player. Apparently,
Takariko Shinsho had taken it personally with regards to Furinkan's
poor music performance for the last three years. Lastly, nearly all of
the eligible girls, herself included, had been captivated by his good
looks and charm. Here was someone who would not bow and scrape
to Akane and wasn't afraid to give her a piece of his mind.
The middle daughter had been surprised when she learned that her
father had promised to engage him to one of his daughters. Lately
though, Soun and his freeloading friend were absolutely determined
that Akane marry him. Nabiki wondered why that was. After all, the
pledge did not specify which daughter he had to marry. But after
returning from their latest attempt to retrieve Ranma, the two
conspirators were goading Akane to defeat Ranma. Something that
Nabiki seriously doubted that Akane would do anytime soon if ever.
That got her to thinking. If they were so determined that Ranma marry
Akane, then why the big deal over her defeating him?
Ranma was a mystery, and if there was one thing that made
money, it was finding out the secret to that mystery. Nabiki made a
mental note to find out just what that secret was as she saw Ranma
and the Amazons approach the school.
For the rest of the school day, Nabiki watched Ranma from afar.
As usual, Ranma was confronted several times by Kuno in his quest
to free Akane and his Amazon beauties. Of course, Ranma paid no
heed as he took out the poetry-spouting kendoist with no more effort
than was necessary each time they clashed. She made careful
observations to his behavior and tried not to get too close. It was at
that time that she noticed a few things.
At about lunch, Ranma was playing that silver flute of his when
Kuno appeared to attack him.
At noon�
"Ranma Saotome! Prepare for your final reckoning!"
Ranma's seventh sense was already tracking Kuno's wooden
sword as it came down on top of him. A moment later, it made a deep
gash in the tree that the blind martial artist had been sitting against.
Ranma was already out of harm's way as he moved over to the side
and used a sweep kick to knock the kendoist off his feet. He was still
playing a lively tune on his instrument as he waited for Kuno to rise.
Kuno became even more enraged as his opponent didn't seem to
be taking him seriously. He charged at him and swung at him several
times, but Ranma simply danced out of the way.
"Fiend! You dare to mock the great Blue Thunder?"
The blind martial artist made a casual flip over Kuno's head,
pausing in his playing to rap his opponent on the noggin with his
flute.
"How dare you! Arrrrgh!" Kuno launched another attack, only to
have it turned aside by a roundhouse kick. Another slash was
evaded, then another and another. By this time Kuno became really
steamed. "You continue to mock the great warrior Tatewaki Kuno?"
Ranma stopped in his playing as he landed a dozen feet from his
antagonist. "Warrior? Oh please! You're not a warrior. You don't
have any clue to that concept."
"Take this fiend! STIKE! STRIKE! STRIKE! STRIKE! STRIKE! STRIKE! STRIKE!"
Ranma's sixth sense picked up the increase in ki as he weaved
back and forth to dodge the sudden barrage of thrusts that the
kendoist directed at him. Nabiki saw that the statue behind Ranma
was beginning to crumble as Kuno continued his assault Ranma.
"Whoa. Just by the air pressure alone!" <Kuno's never done this
against Akane. Then again, I've always suspected that he holds back
against her.>
Ranma however, wasn't too impressed as he continued to play, his
melody picking up the tempo in time with the sword thrusts. <Cute,
but it's nowhere near as fast as the Amaguriken technique. Oh well.>
After a few more of the attacks, Ranma could sense that his opponent
was tiring. His breathing was getting heavier and he was starting to
sweat a bit. <Time to end this.> As the last thrust went by, Ranma
stopped in his playing and used his flute in a twisting motion to
disarm Kuno.
The kendoist was shocked that this upstart was winning as he saw
his weapon go flying off.But this time, he came prepared. Reaching
into his robes, he withdrew a second bokken and charged.
His slash however was parried as Ranma focused his ki into his
flute, strengthening the metal until it was as strong as steel. Before
Kuno could react, Ranma sent a rabbit punch to his gut, then
followed through with a seven-hit combo to his face and chest with
the flute. Kuno staggered back as Ranma took a stance with the flute
held high.
"Listen up Kuno. Here's some ancient Chinese Amazon advice. A
true warrior looks to the eyes and SEES with the mind and heart."
Ranma then used his senses to determine where the sun's rays were
directed, then used his flute to reflect the sunlight into Kuno's eyes.
"Aaaaaaaah!" Kuno winced as he got an eyeful of brightness. He
closed his eyes and had one arm held up. He then felt something slam
into his gut. The kendoist reeled back from the force of Ranma's kick
and slammed into a wall causing concrete to crumble. He slumped to
the ground and lost his grip on his bokken. The wooden sword
clattered to the ground as Kuno was on the ground dazed.
Ranma then said, "An idiot such as yourself is content to stare at
his opponent's weapon." Ranma then calmly walked toward the
school, resuming his melody on the flute.
Nabiki was impressed at how Ranma handled Kuno so easily, but
then she got to thinking. Ranma's eyes did not shut themselves
when he reflected that light. They didn't even blink and he got the
same brightness as Kuno did. As she thought about that little
exchange, she also realized that Ranma hadn't even looked in Kuno's
direction once. A couple of other times when Kuno attacked him,
Ranma had left his back wide open, and yet would always counter the
kendoist with casual ease. It was almost as if he had some kind of
built-in radar. She went to follow him some more.
As the day wore on, Nabiki made several more observations on
Ranma. Unknown to her, the subject in question had long since been
aware of the middle Tendo sister tailing him. Either it was her or one
of her flunkies. Not that Ranma cared about it. He knew that his
actions were causing many people to wonder about him, but so long
as it wasn't used against him, then he would let them wonder. In any
case, he had wanted to get some more information on Nabiki. After
meeting Kasumi, he had been wondering just what the rest of the
Tendo family was like. What better way to find out than to study
Nabiki as she was studying him?
Nabiki kept out of sight and would usually put a distance of thirty
feet or so between them. By using the telescopic lens of her camera,
she would snap pictures of him as he went about his business.
However, as she was observing him, he was studying her.
Ranma's seventh sense was unlike any other sensory ability as it
gave him a three-dimensional view of his surroundings. It had a
normal range of fifty yards in all directions, and could detect things
as small as a beetle. With increased concentration, Ranma could
extend that range to one hundred and fifty yards or use it to probe
beneath the surface of an object. This ability served him well back in
the village as a healer as it allowed him to assess a physical injury
without the use of x-ray machines or sonograms. He could easily
locate Nabiki no matter where she hid. His sixth sense had an even
greater range and was finely tuned. As of now he was picking up the
Tendo girl's aura as she was hiding behind a tree, at a distance of
twenty-five feet, nine inches from where he was standing. He began
focusing his senses on her and smiled a bit at her attempts at trying
to remain hidden. Making a bit of a display in trying to look casual,
he began reading into her aura.
He detected a strong will and a keen intelligence. It was like
Kasumi's but it was more cunning. He also sensed a bit of a self-
imposed barrier as well, similar to what he found in the elder sister.
Ranma assumed that she had shared the same tragedy as her sibling.
It was directed a little differently however. Instead of feigning
ignorance and indifference to the outside world, Nabiki's aura
showed a commanding nature to it. Unlike Kasumi, who tended to
discount the bad characteristics about people and things, her
younger sister's personality was read as one who takes control of her
environment and the people in it. She dealt with her pain by taking
charge and giving orders. Ranma also discovered a curious side to
her as well as a hidden sensitive side that was suppressed. In a way,
she was the middle sister in the metaphysical sense. Kasumi was the
serenity and the calm while Akane was the fury and high emotions.
Nabiki was smack dab in the middle. She had control, yet she could
let out strong emanations that were just as powerful as any kick or
punch. Nabiki could fight back. It was just that she did it in a different
way. Instead of using her fists and feet, she used her mind. Ranma
had learned early on in the Amazon village that not all battles could
be won by physical means alone.
Ranma continued to let Nabiki tail him as he went through the day.
He went up against with Kuno a few more times and would give him
several lessons in proper manners as he thrashed him. Nabiki made
more observations and compiled them with the reports of her other
associates. After the final bell had rung, Ranma left the school with
his sister Amazons as Nabiki set up a small meeting with two of her
lieutenants to compare notes.
"All right girls, just what have learned about Saotome?"
Minaka, a pretty girl with brown hair did up in a ponytail, began
reading her report. "Well, Ranma has already gone up against Kuno
ten times today. As per your orders, we began taking bets on how
fast Ranma could defeat him. We made a profit of seven thousand
yen total."
"Not bad." Nabiki nodded to the other girl. "How about you
Sayako? Anything unusual about Saotome?"
The girl had short black hair cut in a mannish style. She looked
down at her notepad and read over what she had written down. After
a moment, she said, "Well, I haven't exactly seen anything totally
bizarre or anything, but I did notice a few things."
"Like what?"
"Well, I've got him in my history class. Mr. Shinako asked him to
read a passage from our text. When he started reading�"
"Well, what is it?"
"He didn't seem to look at the book he was reading. His eyes
weren't moving and he ran his fingers along the page. He bent over a
bit toward the book."
"Well� that's interesting. It could be that he's near-sighted."
"No way!" Minaka protested. "After what I saw in gym class, he
can't be near-sighted!"
"What do you mean?" Nabiki asked with interest.
"I saw him practice archery at the target range and he hit a perfect
bull's eye every time! And he did it from a distance of a hundred
yards! He even split his arrows like in that foreign movie Robin Hood.
Later on, I saw him secretly shoot some baskets in the old court
behind the school. He did it all from beyond the three point line.
Seventy-five consecutive baskets, and nothing but net! Coach
Nagera has been pestering him to sign up for the basketball and
archery teams. Now you can't tell me that he's near-sighted when he
can do all that."
Nabiki nodded as she turned to Sayako. "Well, that scratches that
theory."
"Then again," Minaka continued. "If you want to know any
strange things about him, I did see a few things that were peculiar."
"What kind of things?"
"Well, remember those seventy-five consecutive baskets? Well
get this. He did make thirty of those baskets while he had his back
turned to the hoop."
"Say what?" Sayako said in surprise.
"No, I mean it. I have the videotape. It looked like he was just
playing around. He made some fancy rebound and hook shots, but
every throw went through the basket dead on. It was like he knew
where the basket was. That guy must be psychic or have eyes in the
back of his head."
"That could just be pure luck." Sayako suggested.
"No, I don't think so." Nabiki interjected. "Thirty consecutive
baskets without even seeing the hoop? You girls know that I pride
myself on math and what Minaka has described was impossible. The
odds of doing what Ranma did are astronomical." She looked back at
Minaka. "What else can you tell me about what you saw about him?"
"Well, seeing him fight Kuno all those times got me to thinking.
Have you ever noticed that Ranma almost never starts an attack?
Except for that fight against that Ryoga guy, he always seems to let
his opponent make the first move, and then he turns it against him.
It's as if he's always waiting for the other guy to make a move before
doing something."
"Yeah, I noticed it too." Sayako nodded as she thought back to
Ranma's previous fights. "Come to think of it, I don't remember him
actually FACE an opponent."
"What do you mean?" Nabiki inquired.
"Well, have you actually seen Ranma make eye contact with
whoever he's fighting? I mean, Kuno has tried to get him from behind
a lot, but Ranma never seems to turn in his direction. He'd just use
some kind of fancy move while still having his back to him and Kuno
would be sucking dirt. It's like� I don't know, his body's got some
kind of early-warning system and that he reacts on reflex when
someone tries to blind side him."
The middle sister of the Tendo clan thought back to all the times
Ranma had fought against Kuno, Akane, and Ryoga. She had to
admit. Her flunkies were right. It seemed that Ranma possessed a
sense of awareness of his surroundings that was way better than
anyone else she knew did. Her father had once spoken about a
martial artist's heightened sense of his environment, but what Ranma
was capable of went far beyond anyone's perception of the concept.
Just how was Ranma able to accomplish this?
Nabiki shook her head in weariness. There were just too many
variables for her to sort out at the moment. She decided to end the
meeting and head for home. After dismissing her flunkies for the day,
she made her way to the Tendo compound. As she entered the
house, she noted that her father and his friend were not out on the
back porch playing their usual game of shogi. It had become a habit
for those two to partake in a few games before and after dinner. Of
course, Soun and Genma were more skilled at cheating than at
actually playing.
"Hello Nabiki, welcome home."
The middle daughter nodded to her elder sibling. "Hi Kasumi.
Where's Daddy and that friend of his?" Nabiki's eyes slightly
narrowed as she saw the tiny, almost imperceptible irritation in
Kasumi's expression when she mentioned Genma.
Kasumi quickly smothered her newfound disgust of Genma as she
replied, "Father and Mr. Saotome went out. They told me that they
had a little business to take care of."
Unknown to Nabiki, Kasumi had confronted Genma with his past
actions. She had approached the fat martial artist while he was
playing a game of shogi with Soun. She was holding some mail at the
time. When her father had asked if there were something for him,
Kasumi had decided to test out Ranma's claims of Genma's
dishonorable conduct.
An hour ago�
Kasumi rifled through the mail. Most of it was junk mail with
advertisements for some restaurant. She began reading out aloud,
"I'm afraid it's all just more junk mail, father. There's a flyer for the
opening of a new restaurant that belongs to a family named�
Daijkoku."
"Gulp!" Genma flinched a bit the sound of the name.
"Saotome? Is there something wrong?"
"Oh no! Nothing's wrong Tendo!" Genma began laughing
nervously as he instinctively edged away a bit.
Kasumi continued reading the flyer. "It seems they're advertising
a sale at their grand opening. The first hundred customers get a free
appetizer of fish, rice and pickles."
Genma paled a bit as he edged away a little more. Kasumi could
see the first beads of sweat forming near that cloth he wore on his
bald head.
"Saotome?"
"Isn't it a bit warm tonight?"
"Well, I suppose so Saotome."
Kasumi maintained her gentle appearance as she looked at the
flyer. "Oh my, here's a picture of the owner. Oh what big ears he has!
And this must be his daughter beside him. She's very lovely. She'd
make a beautiful bride"
"Let me see that Kasumi." Soun said as he reached out for the
flyer.
It was then that Genma went into a state of panic. Grabbing his
friend by the shoulder, he quickly said, "Hey Tendo! Why don't we
go out and hit that new bar that opened up? We can grab a couple of
drinks while we plan to get Akane with Ranma!"
"Now? It's a little early for that."
"Nonsense! The sooner we can get her married to my son, the
sooner will the future of the schools of the Anything Goes Martial
Arts be assured! Besides, we could use a good drink right about
now."
Soun looked at his friend with some confusion, then shrugged.
"All right. I guess we can do that." He looked up at Kasumi. "We'll
be out for a while so tell your sisters that we'll be taking care of
certain matters."
"All right father."
A few minutes later, the two schemers went out the door and were
long gone, leaving Kasumi alone with her thoughts. Her mind was
not at all filled with kind images as she realized that Ranma had been
correct. His father was a dishonorable pig. Looking down at the flyer,
she breathed out a sigh of relief. Fortunately for her, she had yet to
tell an untruth as she read the flyer out loud.
"Come to the grand opening of the Daijkoku Restaurant of Martial
Arts Takeout."
Uh oh!
The present time�
Nabiki arched an eyebrow when Kasumi had told her that their
father and his friend were out drinking and taking care of business.
<Either they're planning to jump Ranma again and try to drag him
into the dojo, or they've come up with some half-baked scheme to get
him and Akane together. I still don't get why they're so set on
hooking him up with her though.>
"Akane not home yet?"
"No, she told me that she was going out with some of her friends
to a movie. She'll be back later. In any case, I am glad that you're here
Nabiki." Kasumi paused for a moment while wringing the dish towel
she had in her hands. "I� need to talk to you about� Ranma."
"Oh? What do you mean?"
"Well, there's a few things that I have to tell you about Ranma.
You see� he and I have had a little discussion."
"You've met him? You talked to him?"
"Yes, I met him in a coffee shop yesterday, and he told me a few
things that Mr. Saotome had neglected to tell us."
"Really? Tell me all about it." Nabiki hadn't expected Kasumi to
have any information about the mysterious boy. Then again,
information was information, no matter where it came from.
"Well�" Kasumi wasn't sure if was right to reveal Ranma's
condition, but after hearing his tale, she felt that it was unfair that
Akane was so quick to judge him and that others wanted to use him
for their own greed. Then she remembered Ranma's request to keep it
a secret, as he had no wish to be pitied. But what Kasumi felt for him
was not pity, at least for his condition. She had a great deal of
admiration and respect for him being able to cope with such a
disability and besides, his maturity and gentle nature appealed to her.
After a long moment, she finally decided not to keep it bottled up any
longer. She had to tell someone. Since her mother was gone, Nabiki
was the most likely to understand. However, she knew of her sister's
ways.
"Nabiki, before I tell you anything, you must promise to me that
you will not use this information against Ranma."
"What?"
"I mean it Nabiki. Ranma has gone through a lot of pain and
suffering. Far more than you would ever know. I will NOT stand for it
if you were to use this information to exploit or hurt him!"
Nabiki was about to protest but then saw the seriousness in her
eyes. She was very surprised and a little intimidated by it. She had
rarely seen her older sister get this worked up. The only other times
she would be this way is when their father would go into one of his
emotional outbursts or when Akane would throw one of her temper
tantrums. That was a Kasumi in which to be reckoned with. The fact
that she was showing an interest in a man was also cause for
concern. The sweet, innocent keeper of the Tendo home had yet to
show any attraction toward the opposite gender as she had kept
mostly to the house.
Kasumi's sister looked at her and saw that tiny spark in her eyes.
It was just a faint glimmer, but it was there all right. Nabiki had prided
herself on being a good judge of character and she could tell by the
signs. Big sister was attracted to Ranma. Whatever he said to her
yesterday must have had a big impact on her.
Kasumi was not a very easy person to get close to, since she had
taken over their mother's duties after she had passed away. She was
always ready to make any sacrifice to ensure that her family ate well,
lived in a clean home and wore clean clothes. She had become
isolated from the outside world and had given up on trying to find
her own personal happiness, in order to make her family happy.
Nabiki did occasionally forget the things that Kasumi had to
surrender in order to care for them. Now it seemed that she had a
good chance of actually finding love. If Nabiki were to hurt Ranma,
then she would be hurting Kasumi as well. With that thought in mind,
she decided that any information she got on Ranma would remain
between the two of them. Despite the loss of potential profit, Nabiki
decided that it was not worth losing the respect and love of her
sister.
"Okay sis. You got my word. I won't tell anyone who doesn't
know."
Kasumi looked at her sibling for a while, before nodding. "Nabiki,
have you noticed his attitude toward Akane?"
The money-earner of the family smirked at that. "Who hasn't
noticed it? Ranma treats her like a five-year old and he doesn't stand
for any of her outbursts. He makes her look like an immature brat and
he's not afraid to give her a piece of his mind. He won't let her get
away with her little tirades." Nabiki smiled a bit more. "Not that I'm
putting Akane down, but I think it was about time that someone gave
her a lesson in humility."
"Yes, Ranma had mentioned to me about his dislike of Akane's
attitude toward boys and he's quite adamant about not marrying her.
However, I think I know the underlying reason as to why he doesn't
give Akane the benefit of the doubt."
"Why is that?"
Kasumi thought back to that first day when Akane came home
from school and labeled Ranma as a perverted jerk of a boy. "I think
Akane made a grave error in judgment when she first met Ranma. She
categorized him in the same class as all those other boys who
attacked her every morning. As soon as she saw that he was a boy,
she immediately decided that he was after her like all the others."
"Okay. So what does that have to do with anything?"
"To someone like Ranma, judging someone merely because of his
appearance is very insulting. Ranma can't help the fact that he's a
boy, but as soon as Akane saw him, she simply saw another boy to
pound on."
"Well, I can understand how something like that would make a
person feel offended, but that doesn't explain why he treats Akane
the way he does. And what do you mean by saying someone like
Ranma?"
Kasumi took a deep breath, then dropped the bomb. "You know
the old saying that you shouldn't judge a book by its cover? Ranma
can NEVER make the mistake of judging a person on appearance
because� he is blind."
As soon as these words were uttered, Nabiki's lightning-quick
thought processes ground to a halt.
In another part of town, Akane was walking alone down the
streets. She and her two friends had gone to see the newest film, but
she had barely concentrated on the pictures on the screen. No, her
thoughts were a million miles away and they were all focused on one
thing. Defeating Ranma Saotome. After exiting the theater and
bidding her friends goodbye, she plodded along, not particularly
caring where she was heading.
Ever since she had witnessed Ranma's fight with Ryoga, she had
been training hard to try to increase her skills to finally show that
arrogant boy what a 'true' martial artist was capable of. It hadn't
helped matters that her father and that friend of his were goading her
on about getting her fianc�e. She had thought that they were
encouraging her to train, but they kept on making it look like some
ridiculous, misguided attempt to win his love. Hah! As if she would
ever marry that stupid jerk! She just wanted to show him and
everyone else that Akane Tendo was second to none, especially not
second to some boy!
But the problem was, just how was she going to do it? After
seeing the techniques that Ranma had used against his rival, the
youngest Tendo sister had been trying to duplicate those moves. So
far, she hadn't come close to even a tiny fraction of the ki techniques
she had witnessed. She had spent many hours last night trying to do
the Shi Shi Hokodan or the Spirit Seeker with no success.
<Arrgh! What were those moves? How did they do that? It's not
fair! I'm supposed to be the best in Nerima! It should be easy to do
what they did!>
Akane was so engrossed in trying to figure out how to beat
Ranma, that she failed to notice that she had entered a bad part of the
city. The neighborhoods were quite dirty and were frequented with
muggers, thieves and yakusa. One particular party had their eyes set
on the wandering Tendo girl.
They were part of a street gang and were quite amused that
someone like Akane would just wander into their part of town and
decided to have a little fun with her. They began following her.
Meanwhile, Ranma was leaping from rooftop to rooftop after
finishing his delivery for Pepper's Place. As soon as he came close to
within three blocks of where Akane was, his superior hearing picked
up the sound of a scream Ranma stopped suddenly when he heard
the noise, and listened for a moment. When her heard another
scream, he ran off in that direction to investigate.
Sometime earlier�
"Well, well, well, who do we have here?"
Akane broke her train of thought as she heard these words.
Looking up, she saw that a small group of boys were in front of her.
She immediately noticed where she was and she began to get on
edge. In her mind, she was chiding herself for not paying attention to
where she was going and for letting these hoodlums get close to her.
Taking a few steps back, she prepared for any violence as she said,
"Ah sorry. I took a wrong turn."
The leader of the gang gave her a smirk as he said, "Damn right
you took a wrong turn. This is our turf and we don't like people
passing through without paying the proper toll. So hand over all the
money that you got."
"I don't have any money." Akane didn't like this situation. The
group outnumbered her by twenty to one and she was backing into
an alley with no exit. She began assessing her opponents and saw
that these boys were a lot tougher opposition than the normal mob
she faced every morning. Nearly all of them were brandishing a blunt
or sharp weapon and it looked like they knew how to use them. Still,
she was Akane Tendo of the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts!
She was contemptuous of anyone who relied on weapons and as her
father had taught her, the best weapons were the ones that she had
been born with. She slowly took a ready stance as she tried one final
time to reason her way out. "I really don't want to do this so if you'll
just step aside and let me pass, then you'll never have to see me
again."
The leader of the band was a tall, heavily muscled boy with long
black hair. He wore a combination of a blue jeans and white shirt and
black boots. He also sported an open faced leather jacket with a tiger
imprinted on the back. He smirked down at her prey, which happened
to be a half a head shorter than she was.
"Well now. It seems that the little kitten thinks her claws are sharp
enough to go up against me, eh?"
Another one of the gang tapped her leader on the shoulder to get
her attention. "Hey! I think I recognize her. That's Akane Tendo."
"Akane Tendo?" The leader said, then gave Akane a sneer. "Ah
yes, now I remember. You're the little princess that beats up forty
boys every morning while going to Furinkan, right?" He didn't even
bother to wait for Akane to reply. "Well now, the tales of your little
exploits have reached us here and I'm HONORED to be facing
against such a worthy opponent." The leader said the last bit with
sarcasm. "So tell me Tendo, are you as good as people say you are?
Or are you just taking that martial arts stance for show?"
The last comment stung Akane's pride as she tensed up. No one
insults her skills as a martial artist. She had gotten quite enough of
that from Ranma's taunts.
"Why don't you step up and find out for yourself?"
The Tigress snickered as she took a step forward and said, "You
know, I think I will. In fact, a cute little girl like you should be able to
AMUSE us all after our little dance. If you don't have any money
then I think we can think of� OTHER ways that you pay. "
The rest of the gang gave off hoots and shouts of encouragement
as they made a circle around the two combatants. Wagers were made
among the gang members as to how long Akane would last against
the leader. Some of the wagers were not about fighting either.
Akane warily took a ready stance as she began assessing her
opponent and the situation she had gotten herself into. This was not
good. The other boys were cutting off her routes of escape and it
looked like the leader was no slouch when it came to close combat.
Even if Akane were to defeat their leader, the other members would
surely jump her. For the first time in her life, Akane knew true fear.
This was not like the daily fights against a horde of misguided suitors
and Kuno. The stakes were far direr. The prize to this fight was her
very life and perhaps something more. She didn't like the leering
glances these boys were giving her.
"Let's get started shall we?" The boy took a kickboxing stance.
"The sooner we finish this warm-up, the sooner we can get to the
REAL workout." The last part was said with a meaning that everyone
understood. There were several more hoots and shouts as Akane
began to feel the fear that made her fight so hard every day.
Akane took in a deep breath as her opponent charged at her with a
roundhouse kick. The Tendo girl barely managed to duck the blow as
she punched at her foe's midsection.
Unfortunately for her, the street fighter twisted to the side so that
her punch barely glanced off his flank. The force of her strike was
wasted as he twisted and delivered an elbow strike to Akane's face.
Akane brought her arms up to block, but the force behind the blow
was more than she counted on, as she was sent backward. She did a
tuck and roll, and came back to her feet.
"Not bad. But I could see that one coming a mile away." The gang
leader came at Akane with a triple punch, high-kick combination with
a speed that was greater than what Akane was used to. The Tendo
girl valiantly tried to dodge, but her reaction time was too slow. She
managed to fend off the punches, but the kick caught her in the chest
and her breath was driven out of he as she was sent sprawling
backward.
Akane recovered and charged at him again, trying for a two-hit
strike to the face. The first punch was evaded easily and the second
punch just grazed the gang leader's cheek. Akane then followed
through with another set of punches, but these too were easily
dodged or blocked. Akane continued to throw punch after punch,
but the gang leader dodged them. Though his speed was nowhere
near Ranma's, Akane's habit of telegraphing her moves was still
enough for him to see and counter.
"Oh come on now. I would have thought that the great Akane
Tendo was better than this." The arrogant boy then countered with a
fast strike to her solar plexus. Akane managed to block, but was
caught completely off guard as the street fighter spun around and
kicked her in the side with a reverse spin kick. At the same time, he
took out a small object from his coat pocket. Then a moment later,
Akane heard the hiss of metal and a flash of silver. She then felt a
sharp pain in her right arm. She backed off and looked down at her
forearm. Her eyes widened as she saw a crimson line across it. She
looked up and saw her opponent casually flipping a butterfly knife in
his right hand.
"Hey! No fair! You're not supposed to use weapons!" Akane said
angrily.
"Hey, I didn't hear anyone say any rules." The boy shrugged as
he lunged at Akane with the knife. Akane had to side step, then grab
the extended wrist in her hands. She began applying pressure to get
him to release the knife and managed it. When the weapon dropped
from his grasp as he winced in pain, Akane pivoted and threw him
over his shoulder. The gang leader crashed into a set of trashcans,
causing garbage to scatter. He was a bit dazed as Akane charged to
finish him off.
Unfortunately for Akane, the gang leader grabbed hold of some
gooey material from the trash and flung it into her face while shouting
out, "You little bitch!"
The youngest Tendo girl staggered back when her eyes were
suddenly blinded. It was then that she felt something slam into her
gut and caused her lose her breath. She then felt a pair of fists plow
into her chest as the leader of the gang started hitting her at full
force. Pain like she never felt before was registered as she tried to
fight back. However, her fights with Kuno and the other boys at
school had never prepared her to take damage at this level. Kuno had
always held back and the other boys would try to take her down with
the least amount of force as possible. As a result, her endurance and
threshold to pain was relatively low. Her stamina was also lower than
her opponent's was. She couldn't even use her Stonebreaker Fist on
her attacker, as he wasn't letting up for a moment for her to get her
focus.
The gang leader was a more seasoned fighter than Akane. Living
on the streets had taught him the value of not letting his opponent
have a chance to fight back. He knew several different styles and was
able to pick up on Akane's kenpo training. He had found out early on
that Akane was strong, despite the fact that she was shorter and
younger than he was. Those near misses had shown him that getting
hit by her was not a good thing. Right now, he had Akane dazed and
off balance, so he continued to hit her with fast jabs and quick kicks,
aiming for her more sensitive areas. He also saw that anger made her
more reckless and taunted her at every opportunity.
After taking several hits to the ribs and abdomen, Akane fought
back with a hard right to his face. She felt a bit of satisfaction when
her fist connected with her opponent's nose. However, the strength
in which she put into the punch was less than effective as she had
already begun to tire from her exertions and injuries. Her previous
battles had also not given her much on stamina and she was
breathing hard.
The larger boy ignored the bloody nose and grabbed her still
extended arm in a viselike grip. He then shot one fist straight toward
her shoulder while twisting the arm with the other hand. When the
blow connected, Akane let out a scream as she felt her shoulder pop
and the arm bone wrench free from her socket. She then felt even
more pain as the gang leader swung her by the injured arm and
slammed her into one of the alley's walls.
Before Akane had a chance to get up, she was savagely kicked in
the side, and then she felt a tremendous blow to her temple. Akane's
vision swam as she blindly lashed out with a fist. Unfortunately, it
was with the dislocated arm. She fought back the urge to scream out
in pain as it moved forward. The blow was stopped as the street
fighter grabbed her wrist and hauled her up with one hand. Akane
cried out in pain as the gang leader mercilessly slammed a fist into her
gut then released his hold on her wrist. He whipped his leg around
and delivered a kick to her left side. Akane was sent back down as
she crashed into some more trashcans. She felt a sharp pain in one
leg as something cut into the skin. Focusing down at the ground, she
saw a gaping cut in her right leg and nearby, a broken bottle had
some red stains on the jagged edges.
Akane held back the urge to cry as she was on her knees and in
some serious pain. This was not at all like the fights at school. There
was no honor or formal challenges. Her opponent was relentless and
wasn't giving her a chance to fight back. Unlike Kuno and the boys
at school, the gang leader wasn't pulling any of her punches and had
cheated a couple of times. What few hits Akane had managed to land
on her were not as damaging as her own injuries. Now he was coming
to finish her off.
Akane knew that she had made a grave error in accepting his
challenge. Unlike her usual opponents, the gang leader was a far
more seasoned fighter and had no qualms in taking advantage of a
downed opponent or not sticking to the rules. His street-fighting
skills were more than a match for Akane's moderate combat abilities.
The youngest Tendo daughter had gotten so used to the daily
brawls at school that her martial arts ability had not improved
significantly since they started. Ranma's assessment of her skills had
proven to be correct. She had fallen into a pattern and had no
incentive to improve. As a result, her movements had become
predictable and easy to counter. Despite her brute strength and
aggressive behavior, it was no substitute for strategy. She had
fought blindly, hoping that her usual berserk tactics would work, but
the gang leader had broken through her awkward movements and
almost non-existent defense.
"Not bad Tendo. You actually managed to hit me a few times. But I
win." The boy spat up a little blood as he dusted herself off and then
walked over to where Akane was still on her hands and knees. "Well,
now that the preliminaries are over, let's get on with the main event!"
Akane's eyes snapped open at that comment as she looked up
and saw the evil smile he was giving her. There was no doubt in her
mind what would happen if she were to let him come any closer. With
a desperate strength she got to her feet and tried to rush past him.
However, the big boy proved to be too fast for her as he grabbed a
handful of her blouse and threw her back onto the ground. Her top
tore off, leaving the upper part of her body exposed except for her
bra.
"Well now, I'm in for a real treat." Her tormentor smiled as he
gazed on her breasts. He then lunged at her.
Akane tried to kick out at her attacker but the boy used his right
leg to block it. Akane screamed out as he landed on top of her. Then
she felt some hands grab hold of her wrists. She felt more pain in her
dislocated arm as it was pulled further from its usual place. She
looked up and saw that two members of the gang had grabbed hold
of her arms and were leering at her.
Akane's fear tripled as she realized that her worst nightmare was
about to come true. She stiffened as she felt the gang leader tear off
the remainder of her school dress, exposing her bare legs and panties.
She let off another scream, hoping that her cries would be answered,
but no one seemed to hear her calls.
"Man, I love it when they scream! Makes it better!"
"Save some of her for the rest of us boss!"
"Sorry guys, but she's just too cute to share!"
Akane's heart was beating hard as she realized that she was just
one step away from being raped. All of her training, all those years of
practice and those early morning fights had meant nothing. Despite
her hard work to prevent this from happening, her worst nightmare
was about to become reality. She writhed and struggled to free
herself, but with two toughs holding both her arms, one of which was
seriously damaged and the large boy pinning her down, it was no
use. When she felt the gang leader's cold hand brush against her
panties, she felt a nauseating sickness overwhelm her. Akane fainted
from the strain as her undergarment was ripped away.
Just as the leader was about to unzip his pants, something sharp
pierced the nape of his neck. It felt like a bee sting, but as soon as the
pain was registered, he experienced a feeling of dizziness. Suddenly,
he slumped over Akane like a rag doll, totally unconscious.
The two boys who had been holding Akane's arms wondered why
their leader would just drop off like that when they also felt
something sting into their necks. They raised their hands in reflex to
the sudden pain, but then collapsed to the ground like sacks of
potatoes.
The rest of the gang was in a state of confusion as to what was
going on when three others suddenly yelped in pain and then
dropped to the asphalt. Realizing that they were being attacked, the
remaining street toughs began taking stances and brought out their
weapons. It was then that they heard a bone-chilling Chinese war cry
as Ranma Saotome leapt down from the roof of a two-story building.
One minute later�
Ranma had made short work of the gang when he had come down
to Akane's rescue. Despite his inability to see, his martial arts
training in both the Unseen Light and Amazon Wu Shu was more
than enough to beat back the attackers. The gang members were
astounded at how easily he dodged their attacks. They couldn't
blind-side him, couldn't get him from behind. It was if he knew what
they were about to do before they did. One member thought that they
would have more of an advantage in the dark and used his throwing
stars to take out all the lights that were illuminating the alley. This
turned out to be a big mistake as Ranma's blindness gave him a major
advantage.
After giving them all painful demonstrations of what he was
capable of, the street toughs got the message and left the scene.
They picked up their fallen comrades and made a fast departure from
the alley.
After making certain that his enemies were gone, Ranma rushed
over to the bruised and bloody form of Akane. He reached out with
his senses and gave a sigh of relief as he ascertained that Akane was
just unconscious from the head injury and the loss of blood. He then
set to work in tending to her injuries.
Using the Hidden Weapon techniques that he had learned from
his battles with Mousse, he began making his tools as a healer
appear. Although he didn't like the myopic martial artist, he had to
admit that his techniques were extremely useful in carrying his
medical supplies as well as weapons. Using his seventh sense and
enhanced sense of touch, he began probing Akane's body for the
extent of her injuries.
<Hmmm, a few bruised ribs, several large bruises to her upper
body, mild concussion and a large gash on her right leg. Some other
cuts on her as well as a dislocated right arm. Fixable though.>
Ranma silently thanked his adopted mother Jasmine and his old
sensei Koga for training him as he set to work. He also gave a nod of
thanks to Razor, the weaponsmith. Like all the things that the young
blade maker made, the silver flute that he had crafted for Ranma had a
few hidden surprises in it. By activating a small switch, a thin sheet of
metal would cover the holes and activate a small, air-compression
mechanism. The instrument became a fully functional dart launcher
that shot out tiny, sharp projectiles that contained a special, fast-
acting knockout drug. This was what he used to take out five
members of the gang.
A few pressure points applied to the right spots brought Akane
back from a near comatose state to a dreamlike state of sleep. After
receiving a concussion, Ranma didn't want any complications with a
loss of consciousness. After minute, Akane's moaned and her eyes
flickered a bit. Satisfied that Akane would remain at least conscious,
the blind boy concentrated on her other injuries. With a quick
motion, he reset her arm back into her shoulder while using a
pressure point to deaden the pain. Her leg was expertly bandaged
and the secret herbal solution that he had applied to her wounds
would make certain that there would be no infections. In fact, the
solution would prevent scars from being formed as it accelerated the
damaged tissue's healing processes. Akane's head also had a
bandage wrapped around it. Utilizing certain pressure points, Ranma
relieved Akane's tired muscles and stimulated the bruises to heal
faster. Her bruised ribs were also checked and tended to with some
more pressure points. After ten minutes, Ranma completed his
ministrations on the fallen Tendo. Making a small blanket appear he
gently wrapped up her body
During his treatments, Akane's eyes had opened and she watched
with surprise as Ranmatended to her wounds with all the gentle care
that Dr. Tofu had given her in the past. She looked down and
observed with fascination as his skilled hands worked with precision
and speed. She felt absolutely no pain whatsoever as he removed the
tiny shards of glass from her leg. After striking a few pressure points
to deaden the nerves, Ranma used some kind of blurring motion with
his hands to take out each splinter and any other debris. Then he
applied some foul smelling lotion to her wounds and wrapped them
up with some bandages that he made appear out of nowhere. For the
longest time, Akane said nothing as she let Ranma do his work.
After the last wound had been tended to, Ranma made his healing
supplies disappear and picked up Akane in his arms. The Tendo girl
gave a surprised yelp as she felt herself being gathered up in his
muscular arms.
Ranma smiled as he bent his head toward Akane. "Oh good,
you're awake." Of course, he didn't tell her that he had already
sensed her regaining consciousness some time ago.
"What are you doing? Put me down you pervert!" Akane realized
she was all but naked underneath that blanket and she tried to swing
at Ranma, but he easily brushed off the weak attack.
Ranma sighed as he leapt to the top of a near by roof with Akane
still in his arms. Akane could do nothing in her condition as she was
being carried. "Sheesh. You'd think that a person would be a little
more grateful after someone saves her life."
"I didn't need your help then and I don't need it now! Put me
down!"
Ranma gave her an annoyed look and said in a calm voice, "You're
in no condition to get home on your own and I certainly won't leave
my patient in a place like that."
"I didn't need your�"
"Oh sure. I suppose that you had those boys right where you
wanted when they almost raped you. Just what were you thinking
back there? "
Akane became silent as she remembered that part. "Well� I would
have�"
"Would have what?" Ranma interrupted. "Tendo-san, you were
barely conscious when I found you. If I had gotten there one minute
later then you wouldn't be here arguing right now."
"Why you�" Akane's reply was cut short as he struck the Mute
pressure point on her vocal cords. Akane tried to say another nasty
remark but found that the muscles to her voicebox were frozen. She
became angry at being silenced but then Ranma's expression turned
stern.
"Your choice Tendo-san. You can either agree to keep quiet and
I'll unfreeze your larynx. Or you can a wait a week in silence for the
pressure point to wear off."
Akane fumed for a moment then realized that she was letting her
anger get the better of her again. It had not helped her in her fight
against those boys and she realized that Ranma was right. He had
saved her and tended to her injuries without taking advantage of her.
She looked into the depths of those blue eyes and saw that he was
genuinely concerned for her well being, just like Dr. Tofu did
whenever she went to his clinic. Right now, he was a little irritated
over her stubbornness and she had to admit that it wasn't doing her
any good.
After a long while, Akane nodded her assent not to argue and
Ranma tapped the release point to her vocal cords. Ranma shook his
head and mumbled, "Why do I always get the patients that give me
the most backtalk?"
Akane's eyes narrowed a bit at those words but said nothing.
Then, she got to thinking about what had happened in that alley. It
was true. With no thought to his own safety, Ranma had taken on a
band of merciless thugs to save her life. He had also given her
medical treatment that would have given Dr. Tofu a run for his
money. It was so confusing. They had been against each other like
cats and dogs ever since her father had announced the engagement.
She had seen no reason to try to understand this boy as she had
assumed that he was like all the others. He had certainly humiliated
her during that first challenge fight and had referred her as a 'brat'
ever since then. And yet, here he was, carrying her home after
beating off her attackers and binding her wounds. He had not done
anything to hurt her and he was caring for her like a doctor would his
patient. He had displayed remarkable healing skills and Akane
couldn't help but wonder how he did some of those things. His
personality had taken on a totally different appearance from the
arrogant, condescending person she knew as he had made certain
that she felt no pain during his treatments. For a brief moment, Akane
was reminded of the gentle chiropractor that she had a crush on.
<Maybe� I was wrong about him.> She gazed at the boy who had
saved her as they came near his home.
To be continued�
Author's Notes
Well, I hope this rewrite has made it a bit more smoother,
especially with that fight scene between Akane and that gang leader.
She did manage to get a few hits and the leader did have to cheat a
bit to win. However, I do think that maybe now Akane has gotten a
bit more humbled from this experience.
Let's face it, Akane IS an immature brat and before Ranma arrived,
she had been having it too easy. I mean, no one had corrected her
behavior or attitude toward boys. She had gotten a big ego from all
her fights and had pictured herself as a hotshot martial artist. She had
thought she was the most popular girl in school and had lived in her
own world with herself as the center of attention.
The reason why I wrote this chapter was to not only focus on the
aspects of the Tendo sisters, but also to give Akane a big slice of the
real world, heavily seasoned with its dangers and served with a side
of humility. In the original series, she was always the one being
rescued, the one that was always being chased for her looks and
almost never had to pay for whatever mistakes she made, get
seriously hurt or be held responsible for her childish temper tantrums.
And I found it quite unfair that her lashing out at Ranma never made
her suffer any repercussions. Well, not in this story or any other tale
that I write. She's going to have to take her lumps just like everyone
else, though I'll admit that this one lump was a doozy!
As for that little added scene with Kasumi confronting Genma, yes
it does mean that Ranma's other fianc�es have started to appear in
Nerima and that will mean more headaches for our blind martial artist.
Also take note that Kasumi's telling of Ranma's secret will have some
serious consequences and Ranma may just change his perceptions
about her because of it.