Here's chapter 5. I still welcome C&C, and I'd probably get a
really good laugh if someone MST3K'd my fic!8D
Not quite standard disclaimer: The only thing that belongs
to me in this page is Feather and the story line! The rest
is the product of the creative genius Rumiko Takahashi!
Purely non-profit fiction aimed towards entertaining others
via the Internet.
A Feather in the Wind
Chapter 5
Happy sounds filled the night air around the Tendo
Dojo. Weary but exultant warriors had burst upon the dojo,
startling Kasumi. Akane rushed forward to hug her eldest
sister.
"Kasumi! I'm so glad to see you again!" Akane
practically cried into her sister's shoulder. Kasumi gently
returned the hug.
"I'm glad to see you home and safe Akane." Kasumi
spoke softly. Mr. Tendo had heard Akane's shout and rushed
into the room.
"My little girl! You're home safe and sound! Come
here and give daddy a hug!" Mr. Tendo nearly drowned Akane
with his tears.
"Well, what are you waiting for?" Nabiki said as she
walked into the room. Everyone looked at her blankly.
"Tell us what happened! I want to know all the details."
Nabiki sat at the table and folded her hands under her chin.
Everyone started talking at once it seemed, and Nabiki
couldn't make sense of their excited babbling
"Please people! One at a time!" Nabiki shouted over
the noise, bringing a temporary silence. "That's better.
Akane, why don't you start off." Nabiki leaned back to
listen. Before Akane could speak, the slid open, revealing
a heavily bandaged Mousse that was leaning on Shampoo for
support. Mousse's face was pale and drawn, but he continued
on despite his pain, and Shampoo's objections.
"Mousse! I thought we had left you in the hospital!"
Ranma exclaimed.
"You had, but I checked myself out after they stitched
the wounds. I refuse to be locked in there any longer than
necessary." Mousse spoke in obvious pain. To his credit,
he was doing his best not to lean heavily on Shampoo.
Shampoo leveled a glare at Mousse.
"Stupid duck boy! Should go back to hospital and
rest. Be very bad if change...." Shampoo let her words
trail off in an attempt to chastise Mousse into returning.
He shook his head.
"I will heal faster if I am always in your radiant
presence. I would shrivel in that hospital, locked away
from your beauty." Mousse spoke calmly. Shampoo continued
to glare at him for a second before she hesitantly hugged
him around his neck.
"Shampoo no want to see you become cripple. No push
self, is ok?" Mousse would have assaulted the very gates of
Hell if Shampoo had asked him to at that point. Ryouga
walked up to them and patted them both on the back.
"Well then, now that that is settled, why don't you
two come in and celebrate!" Ryouga flashed his teeth with a
grin. "It ain't often we all get together to celebrate
rather than fight!"
"I have some cookies I baked for everyone!" Kasumi
said as she glided into the room carrying a tray laden with
cookies.
Everyone sat about the room and good natured bragging
and banter was the order of the evening. After everyone had
told their personal tale, Kuno stood in the center of the
room and rapped his sheathed sword on the floor for
attention.
"My comrades, it is well that we enjoy this most
glorious victory. The god of victory has smiled upon us,
and yet, we have cause for remorse. Lest we be ungrateful
to he who fell protecting the lovely Akane Tendo, let us
observe a moment of silence for a man of honor amongst
brigands. Our deepest respect for the man who only wanted
to see his daughter again, and died protecting her right to
choose the path of life on which she shall travel. Let us
honor Ryuutsu Maruyama with a moment of silence, and may his
soul travel gently to the next plane." Kuno bowed his head,
and all in the room did the same. Feather started to cry
softly, her sobs piercing the silence. After a minute had
passed, Kuno returned to where he was seated.
"It is well to grieve the passing of an honorable man.
Let us look upon his sacrifice as an example, and take pride
in knowing that thanks to him, we are all sitting here
tonight." Kuno said softly, and then he sat.
In an attempt to lighten the mood, Akane got sodas for
everyone.
"A toast to Mousse!" All eyes turned to Akane, who
was holding an open bottle of coke. "He defeated something
truly evil, and probably saved all of our lives, and nearly
lost his own in doing so!" All present raised their cokes
towards Mousse, even Shampoo reluctantly raised her bottle
for a quick tap with Mousse's. Tears flowed freely from
Mousse as he spoke.
"I don't deserve this friends." He said quietly. "I
just didn't want that thing to hurt Shampoo."
"Nonsense Mousse!" Ryouga said. "You know you
deserve it, that thing must've mangled fifty or more of
those guys, and you downed it with one blow!" He raised his
bottle high. "This Coke's for you!" Everyone laughed. Mr.
Tendo and Genma raised beer steins towards Mousse and then
drained them in one gulp. Kasumi refilled them quickly, and
moved through the room serving everyone else with soda or
tea.
Slowly, the party wound down. Mr. Tendo and Genma
were almost comatose from all the drinking, and Feather had
long since fallen asleep in Ryouga's lap. Mousse seemed to
be half dead as well, Shampoo was struggling to keep him
upright.
"Mousse! No lean that way! Maybe Mousse want go back
to hospital and get strapped to bed?" Shampoo snapped, and
Mousse sat bolt upright. Shampoo stood. "Come Mousse, we
go now. Shampoo see Ranma tomorrow yes?" Mousse stood with
much help from Shampoo. Shampoo gently worked her way under
one of Mousse's arms, and lent support.
"Shampoo, I.." Mousse was interrupted by one of
Shampoo's fingers on his lips.
"Hush Mousse, no spoil evening now." Shampoo led an
overjoyed Mousse out into the night. Ranma and Ryouga
traded glances and a wink.
Kuno stood and looked about.
"As much as I enjoy the company of the fair Akane
Tendo, I should depart for mine own domicile." Kuno bowed
towards Mr. Tendo. "I thank you sir for extending your
hospitality till this late hour." Kuno then strode out the
door and into the night. Ukyou was the next to rise.
"It is getting late. I'll see you later Ranchan!"
Ukyou waved cheerfully as she took her leave. Kasumi saw
the chef out the door, and then turned on her sisters.
"Akane, Nabiki, I want you two to go get yourselves
cleaned up." When they started to protest Kasumi held up
one hand. " I know you want to stay up all night, but there
is school tomorrow, and I want you to be able to study
hard." Kasumi smiled at them. "I'll be sending the boys to
the bath after you get out, so don't feel like they are
being treated special." Kasumi shooed her sisters out of
the room, and then herded the fathers away as well. The
room was empty, save for Ranma and Ryouga, who still had a
sleeping Feather in his lap. They spoke quietly about the
events that had recently transpired.
"After that, I don't think we'll be seeing much of
those guys again," Ranma spoke with confidence, "After all,
we trashed them pretty badly."
"Yeah, but remember we only trashed one of their
compounds, they may have several others, and might want
revenge..." Ryouga muttered darkly, involuntarily clenching
his fist at the thought.
"Let them try," Ranma said as he looked out towards
the pond. A single Koi leapt from the pond, its scales
glittered in the moonlight.
At the devastated compound of the Viper clan, an old
man in a wheel chair surveyed the damage. The recovering
survivors of the assault wearily went about burying those
that were mauled to death by the creature, and tended to the
most serious injuries. Several teams of medics were kept on
constant rotation, treating the men mostly for broken limbs
and nasty bruises.
The old man sighed. With a weak gesture, he summoned
one of the bloodied survivors to him.
"What happened here?" He wheezed. The battered man
spoke slowly, as if he had trouble breathing. The man had a
patch over one eye, and his cheekbones were prominent. His
black hair was matted by blood and mud, and it was apparent
that he was still bleeding from several small cuts. He told
the old man all about the assault at night, Lt. Yama's
betrayal of Ryuutsu, and the terror that was unleashed. The
old man nodded, then spoke again.
"Have the wills of the deceased been found yet?" The
survivor nodded. "Bring them to me so that I may insure that
they are carried out to the best of our abilities." As the
bloodied man turned to leave, the old man grabbed his arm.
"Bring me Ryuutsu's first. He was an old friend of mine,
and I would see him resting peacefully by carrying out his
final wishes." The bloodied man left, and one of the old
man's personal guards approached.
"Sir, we found what appeared to be a funeral pyre in
the woods. In it we discovered what appeared to be the
bones of the creature that escaped." The old man nodded,
waiting for more information. The guard swallowed hard.
"We also recently gained entry into the basement level. The
carnage was.... Awful. I have organized a funeral detail to
see that the remains are properly buried. Among the dead,
we have been able to identify very few of them." The old
man raised a bushy eyebrow. "Most were mauled badly, and the
corpses seem to be suffering from some sort of fast rot."
The guard handed a short list to the old man. "That is the
list of those we have positively identified, in order of
rank." The guard turned on his heel and left. The old man
looked at the list, and right at the top of the list was
Ryuutsu's name.
The man with the eye-patch that he had sent to fetch the
wills of the known dead returned, and after handing the old
man a folder, he handed him a neatly folded piece of paper.
"These are all the wills that could be found sir,
Ryuutsu's will is the separate one." After the man had
left, the aged man carefully opened Ryuutsu's will. Early
the next morning, all present at the compound gathered to
hear the old man speak to them.
"I have reached a decision. All of you will be
transferred to the compound of your choice, as this one is
badly compromised and must be abandoned. Any of you who
wish to leave the clan are advised that all memory of the
clan shall be erased, and you will be set up with a new
identity, and a new life. Remember, we care for our own,
and that includes those that were stolen from us. Death
wandered freely here, and we shall pay tribute to those that
fell, and curse the name of the one that brought down wrath
upon us. By his treachery, Yama caused many to die, and his
name shall forever be struck from the annals of our history.
" The old man paused for a second to let his words sink in.
"The old ways of kidnapping our recruits shall never
be
revived. The devastation here shows what happens when we
are not cautious in these times. There are those among us
who longed for the old days. They now remember what
happened many years ago when we raided an amazon village in
China for a recruit or two. That time as well a whole
compound was destroyed. We must not let history repeat
itself again, learn from this experience, and guard against
it ever happening again." The assembled members of the clan
all seemed to start talking at once, some shouting
questions, others just talking to each other. The old man
waited for them to calm down before he spoke again.
"I have a special mission for a single volunteer. No
danger should be involved, but a journey must be made to
deliver a package. Ryuutsu left in his will instructions
that a package is delivered upon his demise. It is our
duty to honor his wishes." The old man eyeballed the crowd.
"I want someone fit to travel to see me before nightfall.
One final note, this site shall be destroyed utterly, and a
shrine shall be built here, to honor those that fell here.
All graves shall be properly marked, and we shall find some
worthy monks to inhabit the shrine. As it is said, it shall
be done." The old man turned from the crowd and rolled into
his pavilion to await his messenger. Shortly, the man with
the eye-patch entered the pavilion.
"Sir?" He spoke hesitantly.
"Yes, you may speak."
"I volunteer for the journey, sir. I discussed it
with my comrades, and they felt that they were needed here.
Also, I am the most fit to travel, despite my injuries."
The old man looked at him again.
"What is your name young man?"
"Ryuunosuke Maruyama, sir."
Ranma woke with stiff muscles the next morning.
Yawning hugely, he kicked at Ryouga who was snoring nearby.
"Wake up pig-boy!" Ranma said as he started getting
ready for school. Ryouga woke and growled at Ranma. Ranma
grinned at his surly friend.
"Man, you have one ugly mug to wake up to you know."
Ranma joked as Ryouga growled again while he dug a fresh set
of clothes out of his pack.
"You aren't much better Ranma." Ryouga grumbled, "But
I'm sure a splash of cold water will fix that problem."
Ranma flinched involuntarily, then turned on Ryouga.
"Don't even joke about that man!" Ryouga laughed as a
flustered Ranma finished getting changed. "Hey Ryouga, you
gonna head back to your place or what?" Ranma asked
suddenly.
"Dunno. I was thinking about it, but Feather still
needs a lot of training, and she looks to me like a sensei.
I guess I could set up camp in the vacant lot..." Ranma
snorted.
"Better get Feather to get you in the morning, or
it'll take you a week to find the dojo again. Either that
or camp in the yard. I don't think Mr. Tendo would be too
pleased to have you moving in, heck I'm feeling a tad
uncomfortable about living here." Ranma looked out the
window. "I feel bad about mooching off the Tendo's, but
somehow I think they want me to stay, even Akane." Ryouga
put his hand on his friends shoulder.
"I'm behind you one hundred percent now Ranma, as long
as you plan on making Akane happy." Ryouga tightened his
grip. "You will make her happy won't you?" Ryouga growled
at Ranma, who slipped out of the iron grip.
"What about what I want?" Ranma asked, a touch angry.
"Why should I marry that uncute, sexless tomboy?" Ryouga
steamed at Ranma's words, but he leaned on the wall and
grinned.
"Are you sure you want to say that Ranma?" Ranma drew
a blank until Ryouga pointed behind him. Ranma turned with
a feeling of certain doom, and saw Akane behind him, mallet
in hand, ready to pound.
"Good point!" Ranma said as he dodged Akane and ran
for the breakfast table. Akane flung her mallet after
Ranma, and grinned with satisfaction when she saw the mallet
imbed itself into Ranma's skull.
"Serves him right." Akane muttered, then she turned
to Ryouga and smiled, "Good morning Ryouga, did you sleep
well?"
"Good morning Akane, yeah I slept pretty well I think,
yeah I did didn't I?" Ryouga rubbed the back of his head
and laughed nervously. Akane smiled at him again, and then
left for the breakfast table. Ryouga sighed. ::Maybe I'm
not completely over her....:: He thought as he followed
Akane to the table. Ranma and Genma were already wolfing
down the food, and Mr. Tendo was reading the morning paper.
Nabiki was calmly eating next to Kasumi, but Feather was
nowhere to be seen.
"Is Feather awake yet?" Ryouga asked as he took his
seat, nodding thanks to Kasumi when she passed him a bowl.
"No, the poor girl was so exhausted after last night
that I told her to sleep herself out this morning." Kasumi
said. Ryouga nodded and proceeded to eat his breakfast.
Immediately after breakfast, Akane and Ranma dashed
for school while Nabiki left in a more leisurely fashion.
Ryouga didn't move from his place at the table, not knowing
what to do. Mr. Tendo lowered his paper.
"Ryouga, I've noticed that you've become much calmer
recently. Have you and Ranma finally settled that grudge?"
Ryouga flinched at Mr. Tendo's wording.
"Yeah, I guess you could say that. We did kinda come
to an agreement I think." Mr. Tendo nodded.
"Good, you have no idea how expensive your fights had
become. The damage you two can cause during a fight is
considerable." Ryouga squirmed a bit. "But now that you
two are friends, we can all breathe a little easier."
"Were we really that bad?" Ryouga asked in a small
voice.
"Uh huh. At one point we had to depend on Kodatchi's
infatuation with Ranma to keep us fed." Ryouga shrank
further into himself and started to shake a little. Ryouga
slowly stood.
"Mr. Tendo, could I use your phone? I need to call
home." Mr. Tendo nodded and pointed towards the phone.
"Be my guest." Ryouga walked stiffly over to the
phone and dialed. Ryouga tapped his foot while he waited
for the answering machine to pick up.
>Hello?< Ryouga's feet slipped out from under him
when he heard his father's voice over the phone.
>Dad? Boy I'm glad I caught you at home!<
>Ryouga my boy! How have you been? You eating
right?< Ryouga laughed as the usual flood of questions
washed over him. Ryouga spent the next few minutes catching
up on the news with his father.
>Umm, Dad? I got a favor to ask you.< Ryouga asked
tenatively
>Go ahead son, you know I'd do everything I can to
help.<
>Well, you see, I'm kinda staying with the Tendo's
right now, and I was wondering if you could send me some
money to help with the food and all? It'll really help out
here.< Ryouga pleaded with his father. He tensed when he
didn't hear anything on the other end of the line for a
minute before his father responded.
>Son, I got a better idea. Give me the address for
the dojo, and I will send you a checkbook. I'm going to set
you up with a checking account, and give you basically an
allowance. Should've done this with you long ago, but the
need hadn't arisen.< He chuckled for a minute.
>Uh, sure Dad, no problem.< Ryouga could barely
contain himself. He told his father the address for the
dojo, and said goodbye. He looked back over at Mr. Tendo.
"Hey Mr. Tendo. My Dad said he's going to hook me up
with some money, so I'll be helping pay for the food, and
maybe help pay for some of the old damages." Mr. Tendo
dropped his newspaper and dashed over to Ryouga. Mr. Tendo
grasped Ryouga's shoulders firmly.
"You'd do that?" Mr. Tendo asked in a hopeful voice.
When Ryouga nodded hesitantly, Mr. Tendo started to wail.
"Such an honorable gesture! Ryouga, you are always welcome
at our table!" Ryouga tried to pull away.
"Um, thanks Mr. Tendo, could you let go now?" Ryouga
looked at the fountains coming out of Mr. Tendo's eyes with
apprehension. Mr. Tendo continued to wail, and Ryouga used
his considerable strength to pull away. Ryouga decided it
was high time he went through his morning katas, and stepped
out into the yard. Ryouga let his mind clear as he flowed
through the motions, letting the dance-like exercise take
over.
Feather woke slowly as a warm beam of sunshine
embraced her face. She sat up in the futon and stretched,
working some kinks out of her muscles. She stood and walked
over to the window. Gazing out into the yard, she saw Ryouga
flowing through his kata. Feather marveled at how fluid his
motions seemed, not at all what people expect if they knew
Ryouga a bit better. The oft times angry and depressed
young man struck people as a person with no grace. Feather
quickly dressed in a gi she had borrowed from Akane and
rushed downstairs to join Ryouga in his morning exercise.
When Feather got outside, she attempted to mimic his
motions, but she failed miserably as Ryouga started moving
through more complex combinations. Feather sighed and
proceeded to do the basic kata she knew well. Her long, red
hair swirled like liquid fire around her as she concentrated
on the kata.
Ryouga noticed Feather going through the kata, and
stopped doing his own to call out spot corrections in her
form.
"Don't overextend like that, it could cause you to
lose your balance." Feather didn't respond, but went
through the kick again. "Good. Try to relax, and let the
motions flow by themselves." Ryouga watched her with a
critical eye for a few minutes before he spoke again.
"Finish your kata and we'll work a bit more on your
kicks."
Once they were inside the dojo, Ryouga thoroughly went
through all the different kicks in great detail,
demonstrating each one several times before coaching her.
By the time Ranma and Akane had made it home from school,
Feather was exhausted. Akane peeked into the dojo to see
how she was doing.
"Hi Feather! How was your training today?" Akane
asked when Feather walked over to her and slumped to the
floor.
"Hard. I don't know how he does it. He must be doing
each exercise or attack three or four times more than I am,
and he barely broke a sweat! Here I am, totally exhausted,
and the rock over there is sparring with Ranma like we
didn't do anything all day!" Feather pouted. Akane
concealed a smile behind her hand.
"He has been training for a long time Feather, and he
almost constantly travels, so he's got more stamina than
most people." Feather snorted.
"More stamina than an ox you mean. Oh well, I guess
I'm just mad at myself for not being able to keep up."
Akane giggled.
"You get used to it. I've had a hard time dealing
with the fact that Ranma is so much better than I am. It
just ticks me off when he forgets that I'm skilled as well."
Akane patted Feather on the shoulder before heading inside
to do her homework.
That evening, while the while they were eating dinner,
someone knocked at the door. Kasumi stood quickly.
"We have visitors, I'll go see who it is." She walked
towards the door. She opened it and smiled at the man
standing there, despite his bedraggled appearance and the
eye-patch. He was carrying a fairly large case, and
appeared to be around twenty five or so.
"Why hello there, what can I do for you?"
"I'm sorry for bothering you so late miss, but does
Feather live here?" The man spoke softly, and sounded very
tired.
"Yes, she does live here, why don't you come inside
and I'll get you some tea." Kasumi opened the door wider to
let the man inside. She led the man to the main room, where
the others where still eating. Before anyone could react,
the man bowed to them.
"Good evening, my name is Ryuunosuke, and I am an
emissary from the Viper clan." Everyone at the table
started, and Ranma and Ryouga jumped to their feet. Feather
was too stunned to even move. "I have been sent to carry
out the will of one of our elders that died in the most
unfortunate incident that occurred several days ago." After
these words, Ryouga tensed even further.
"And just what was his will?" Ryouga asked
suspiciously. Ryuunosuke gestured towards the case he was
carrying.
"To deliver this to Feather, and to tell you
all that if you ever need the clans help, the means to
contact us are in the case. You are honorary members by
decree of the ancient elder, and are to be treated with
respect by the entire clan." Ryuunosuke set the case down,
and popped the latches. He then stepped away from the case,
and looked at Feather. Feather swallowed hard, and moved
towards the case. She gasped when she opened it. Inside
the case there was a photo album, a leather bound book, what
looked like a small jewelry chest, and money, lots of it.
She looked at Ryuunosuke with her surprise evident on her
face.
"This is.. unbelievable..." Feather stammered as she
opened the jewelry case. Inside, there were several
expensive looking rings, a necklace or two, a pair of jewel
encrusted bracers, and a full neck choker that had a very
large emerald set into the clasp. "I, I don't know what to
say..." Feather trailed off, and looked up at the smiling
Ryuunosuke.
"It was my father's wish that you get mother's
jewelry, as well as that photo album. The money was my
idea, and the book describes how we may be contacted. I'm
sorry I wasn't able to grow up with you as your brother."
Feather gaped at him, while Nabiki came to a conclusion.
"Your Ryuutsu Maruyama's son aren't you?" Nabiki
stated more than asked. He nodded.
"I didn't know what kind of esteem you held my father
in, so I kept silent about that. I would have understood if
you had attacked when I first said that I was part of the
clan." He grinned at Ranma. "It wouldn't have been the
fist time I was beaten into the ground by you." Ranma
rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.
"Um.. sorry about that, I was a bit mad at the time."
Ranma laughed a bit about that, and Ryuunosuke joined him.
"I was just trying to protect my wife, she's pregnant
with our first child, and I didn't want her getting hurt."
Ryuunosuke admitted. "Fortunately, she wasn't hurt, and
she's due soon, so I must take my leave of you and hurry to
our new home." Ryuunosuke bowed again, and turned to leave.
"Wait!" Feather cried out as she hurriedly stood.
Ryuunosuke turned back towards her. Feather bowed to him.
"Thank you for bringing this, and I hope to see you
again soon." Ryuunosuke smiled at her words.
"I'll be sure to visit sometime with my wife and
child. See you later my friends." Ryuunosuke left the
dojo, a huge smile on his face. Inside, Feather was gaping
at the money in the case. Ryouga sat down next to Feather.
Feather looked up and gazed over at Mr. Tendo.
"I think I could afford to get my own place with
this," Feather spoke quietly.
"Your more than welcome to stay with us" Mr. Tendo
said, "But if you feel you need your own place, we'll do
everything we can to help you get started." Feather gave
the startled Mr. Tendo a hug.
"Thanks for everything Mr. Tendo......" Feather was
at a loss for words, her emotions choking her. Nabiki,
eyeballing the money, cleared her throat.
"That may be a lot of money, but ongoing expenses will
eat it up fairly quickly. Unless you get a steady source of
income, it will break you to move out." Feather looked
abashed, and Ryouga spoke.
"My father was supposed to start up a checking account
for me, and he told me that if I needed more to leave a
message on his machine." Nabiki raised an eyebrow at him.
"Oh? And just how much is he giving you?" When
Ryouga told her, Nabiki's eyes widened. "He can afford to
give you THAT much every month?" Nabiki started to
calculate in her head what kind of place he could afford,
based on the figure that Ryouga's father was giving him each
month. Ryouga blushed a little.
"I kinda asked him for some money to give Mr. Tendo in
return for his hospitality." Nabiki nodded, then she
grinned.
"For a small fee, I can tell you how you can get your
own place, and have plenty leftover to handle any and all of
the bills that may come up."
"What kind of fee?" Ryouga asked
"Oh, I'd say a 20,000 yen fee should just about cover
it...." Nabiki grinned evilly, that is until she found
herself being menaced by Ryouga. Nabiki suddenly realized
that she didn't have anything on Ryouga that would cause him
to back off.. "Did I say 20,000? I meant 2,000 yen."
Nabiki laughed nervously. Ryouga settled down and dug 2,000
yen out of his pocket. "Thanks for the business. Your
solution is simple. Become roommates." The chaos that
resulted in the room rivaled a riot.
After everyone had calmed down (slightly) Nabiki
continued her explanation.
"I merely meant that if you two shared an apartment,
you would be able to afford it without working for about
three or four years without any outside income. You needn't
sleep in the same room, but it is the most economical option
for you." Nabiki said trying to further calm down the
tempest before her.
Feather looked around desperately. She didn't object
to staying near Ryouga, but she had absolutely no idea about
what to do about getting an apartment. She was just
starting to get used to living free again, and the thought
of moving out was overwhelming. Ryouga had passed out, an
over active imagination coupled with his shyness had
overloaded him. Ranma and Akane seemed to be slightly
furious at the attempted matchmaking. Mr. Tendo looked
thoughtful though, Genma did as well. Everyone looked as
though they were going to speak again when Feather spoke up
herself.
"Well, I'm going to bed, we can talk about this in the
morning!" She struggled for a second with Ryouga's
unconscious form, and then carried him upstairs. She
dropped him off in Ranma's room, and she went over to
Akane's room and promptly went to sleep. Downstairs, Mr.
Tendo closed up the case, and took it with him to hide in
his underwear drawer. ::If there's one place on earth the
master wouldn't look for something, it's in a man's
underwear drawer!:: He grinned to himself as he settled in
for the night. Genma was thinking furiously about
possibilities.
::Feather's an orphan, so she needs someone to care
for her, she wants to learn martial arts, and she has money!
Maybe I should adopt her into the family and train her as
well. Ryouga's not bad, but the Anything Goes school could
always use more dedicated students....:: Grinning at these
thoughts, he quietly retired. Ranma and Akane angrily
confronted Nabiki.
"Are you trying to pair those two up?" Akane asked
her sister.
"Yeah no kidding," Ranma said, "They're doing just
fine without you butting in." Nabiki was nonplussed by
their accusations.
"Did it ever occur to you two that when I told them
that rooming together was their only chance, was a ploy to
get her to stay here?" Ranma and Akane drew a blank look,
"Feather needs a family right now, and being in an apartment
by herself would devastate her." Comprehension came slowly
to Akane, however Ranma remained clueless.
"I see, so Feather stays here, and she starts making a
normal life for herself. Then, whenever she runs into
something she doesn't know how to deal with, we step in like
her family would, and help her out... Nabiki you're a
genius!" Akane reasoned, a smile growing on her face.
Ranma finally understood.
"I get it, but what would your dad say Nabiki? He's
already raised three girls, do you think he'll want to take
responsibility for another one?"
"Already taken into account, my soon to be brother in
law. You see, it appears that your father is starting to
get ideas about adopting Feather into your family. He was
unusually quiet this evening, and that means he's up to
something. If he does actually do that, she will literally
have her family, ready made with brother, sister, and the
family pet." Nabiki smirked at the expression on Ranma's
face. Akane looked thoughtful for a second and then asked
her own question.
"What about Ryouga? She's become so attached to him,
that if he wanted to move into an apartment, she would go
with him." Nabiki smiled greatly.
"If she stays, she'll want her own room right?" The
others nodded, "They have more than enough to have two or
three rooms added and still have plenty left-over. With the
money Ryouga's father is giving him, he would be able to
afford to pay rent, and that will help keep food in the
pantry." Nabiki grinned evilly, "I know just the contractor
to call in to add the rooms. He would have them in, and
seeming like they've always been there in less than a week."
"Nabiki, you've thought of everything!" Akane said as
she hugged her sister.
"I know, someone here has to." Nabiki said.
The next morning, Ryouga woke slowly. He was
thoroughly enjoying the sensation of waking up in a warm
futon, a slight autumn chill in the air around him, and
delicious scents teasing at his nose. He thought back to
the few times his whole family had been in his house at the
same time. Smiling, he closed his eyes again, and drifted
back through his memories... Only to be jolted wide awake by
the sounds of a furious battle going on outside.
"What on earth?" He yelled as he quickly jumped out
of the futon to see what was going on. He rushed down the
stairs and looked out in the garden. There he saw the
Saotomes going through their usual morning practice.
Suddenly he remembered where he was, and why he had passed
out the night before. He blushed slightly as he cast his
gaze over towards the gate, and saw Feather and Akane were
returning from a jog. Ryouga relaxed and walked into the
kitchen. Kasumi was there, working busily on breakfast.
She noticed his entry, and smiled at him.
"Good morning Ryouga, sleep well last night?"
"Yeah, best sleep I've had in ages." Ryouga's stomach
growled. Kasumi giggled at the suddenly blushing martial
artist.
"Breakfast will be on in a minute or two Ryouga, why
don't you sit down at the table." Ryouga nodded, and turned
to leave. A Large drop of sweat suddenly formed on Kasumi's
face. "Um, Ryouga?" She said, "The table is over there."
"Oh, thanks Kasumi."
Out in the yard, Ranma was attacking Genma with a
fierce series of kicks. Genma had deftly blocked them, and
stepped forward to take advantage of an apparent opening.
Ranma surprised him when he rolled between Genma's legs,
grabbing them in passing, and dropped his father on his
face.
"What's the matter old man? You shoulda seen that one
a mile away." Ranma gloated over his fallen father, not
noticing a hand snaking towards his leg. Genma quickly
grabbed Ranma's ankle, and forcefully pulled him off
balance. While Ranma was off balance, Genma sprung to his
feet and kicked Ranma solidly in the ribs. Ranma flew
backwards and landed in the pond. There was a resounding
crack when his head hit one of the rocks.
"That's what you get for not paying attention boy!"
It was Genma's turn to gloat. He turned pale when he saw
Ranma-chan float back to the surface, face down in the
water. Akane rushed into the pond, screaming Ranma's name.
"NO! Not again!" Akane wailed as she pulled Ranma's
limp form out of the pond. Ryouga walked over to see if his
friend needed any help.
"What do you mean, 'not again'?" Ryouga asked. Akane
quickly explained about Ranma's previous personality switch.
Ryouga stared at her for a second, then burst out laughing.
Akane's anger started to boil, as she glared at Ryouga.
"And just what are you laughing at?" She growled.
Ryouga stifled another laugh.
"I, heh heh heh, could imagine Ranma running around a
shopping mall with you..." Ryouga broke into helpless
laughter again. Feather pulled him away before Akane could
throw him into the pond.
Some time later, Ranma-chan slowly woke up. Her head
was still throbbing, and she groaned as she sat up.
"Are you awake Ranko?" Kasumi asked quietly. Ranma-
chan looked at her suddenly.
"Kasumi?" Ranma-chan asked in an unusually sweet
voice. Kasumi nodded, and then proceeded to gently clean
the back of Ranma-chan's head. Ranma-chan hissed as the
alcohol soaked cloth touched the raw skin.
"I'm sorry, did that sting?" Kasumi tried to be even
gentler, but she didn't pause from her task. "Auntie
Saotome showed up while you were still knocked out. Mr.
Panda barely jumped into the pond before she saw him. Kuno
is here as well, he wanted to talk to Akane." Ranma looked
at Kasumi confused.
"Why would Mr. Panda be afraid of Auntie Saotome?"
She asked, Kasumi stopped cleaning the wound, and looked
Ranma-chan in the eye.
"Tell me, what is the last thing you remember?"
Kasumi asked, a slight bit of urgency in her usually calm
voice. Ranma-chan looked puzzled for a second, then she
grabbed the back of her head again and groaned. When she
looked up, her expression was clear.
"Are you ok Ranko?" Kasumi asked. She looked visibly
relieved when she saw a normal grin show up on Ranma-chan's
face.
"Yeah, the back of my head hurts, but I remember who I
am." Kasumi smiled again, and gracefully stood.
"I should be getting started on lunch now, you should
rest for a couple of minutes before you come down." Kasumi
silently closed the door behind her. Ranma-chan lay back
down on the futon with a sigh. She was grateful for the
gentle help from the eldest of the Tendo girls, and she
would do serious bodily harm to anyone who dared to hurt
Kasumi. ::Waitaminute!:: Ranma-chan thought as she sat bolt
upright, ::Mom's here, I may not be able to see her as her
son, but I'll be damned if I'm not going to spend time with
her.:: Ranma-chan hurried out of the room, and started to
walk down the stairs. She had taken maybe two steps down
when a wave of dizziness hit. She grabbed desperately for
the stair rail, but missed it. As she started to fall, she
idly wondered how much it was going to hurt.
"Whoa there," Ryouga had come out of one of the rooms
just in time to see Ranma start to fall. He hurried towards
the top of the stairs and quickly grabbed Ranma-chan and
pulled her back to the top of the steps. Normally, this
would not have been a problem. In fact, it should have been
a good thing, but several coincidences played together to
turn the worst light on things. One of Ryouga's hands
happened to have landed, in an unfortunate area, and Kuno
had witnessed this, and jumped to conclusions.
"Ryouga you fiend! How dare you take advantage of the
pigtailed one so, I shall smite thee!" Kuno yelled as he
charged. Ryouga for his part, had finally realized where
his hand had ended up, and was paralyzed, blood streaming
from his nose. Ranma-chan was too dizzy to even realize
what was happening, and was basically limp in Ryouga's arms.
Luckily, Ryouga's survival instinct kicked in just in time
for him to dodge a slash from Kuno. Not wanting to leave a
weakened Ranma with Kuno, he shifted his grip slightly and
raced down the stairs and outside.
"Coward! Stand your ground and fight me!" Kuno
roared as he gave chase. Feather had heard the commotion,
and ran to see what was going on. Akane was too busy in the
kitchen with Nodoka to even bother with what was going on.
All Feather saw was Ryouga, blood all over his face and
shirt and carrying an unconscious Ranma-chan, being chased
by an angry Kuno waving his bokken in the air. Feather
snapped her wings out, tearing the back of the T-shirt she
was wearing to shreds, and flew to help Ryouga. She flew
over Kuno, and landed in front of him and assumed a ready
stance while she dismissed her wings.
"Kuno, I challenge you!" She yelled, hoping she would
be able do delay Kuno just long enough for Ryouga to get
away. Kuno came to a stop in front of her.
"A challenge? Very well, I shall face thee, and
should you win, I shall allow you to date with me!" He
raised his bokken in a salute to her. "And should I win, I
shall date with thee!" He yelled as he slashed quickly.
Feather jumped up and forward, landing on Kuno's shoulders.
She reached for his head to do a neck throw, but Kuno ducked
his shoulders, and took a quick step forward. Feather
tumbled to the ground, shaken. Kuno turned around and
started to slash at her prone form.
"Surrender, lest I harm thy beautiful skin in my
eagerness for victory!" Kuno pressed his advantage, but
Feather rolled backwards and flipped away. She landed and
faced off against Kuno again. After a few tense moments,
she raced towards Kuno, and landed several punches on his
face, and a kick in his gut. Kuno bent forward from the
kick, but he slapped his bokken across the back of Feather's
knee. Feather buckled, and Kuno was about claim victory
when, instead of falling, she bent over backwards, performed
a handstand and twisted, her legs spread. Both of her feet
hit Kuno in the chin before she was forced to roll away
again. When she stood , she saw that he was stunned by the
blows. She ran towards him and landed a fierce roundhouse
on the side of his head. Kuno flew sideways into a tree and
lay still. Feather put her hands on her knees and panted.
She wasn't expecting to win, but fortune had smiled on her.
Exhausted, she sat down, not noticing that Kuno was starting
to rise again.
When Ryouga noticed that Kuno wasn't chasing him
anymore, he slowed to a stop and put a struggling Ranma-chan
down.
"What do you think you're doing idiot?" Ranma-chan
yelled at Ryouga. Ryouga looked at her and grinned.
"Would you rather have Kuno hugging you to death when
you're too weak to stop him?" Ryouga asked. Ranma-chan
immediately calmed down, then noticed something.
"Hey Ryouga, what's with all the blood?" Ryouga
blushed fiercely and turned away. He mumbled something
incoherent. Ranma-chan walked next to him. "What? I
didn't hear you there man. Speak up." Ryouga turned his
head away and spoke again.
"I uh, you know, kinda grabbed uh your chest when you
started to fall." Ryouga couldn't look at Ranma, he was too
embarrassed. Ranma-chan started to laugh at Ryouga.
"Don't worry about it man, you were just trying to
help right? Just don't make a habit of it..." Ranma-chan
trailed off menacingly, then laughed at Ryouga's expression.
Ryouga joined in a few seconds later. Then Ryouga looked
around confused.
"Ummm, Ranma?"
"Yeah?"
"Where are we?" Ryouga continued looking around, a
lost expression covered his face.
Ranma-chan sighed as she covered her face with her hand.
"We're maybe a block from the dojo, come on." Ranma-
chan said as she grabbed Ryouga roughly by the arm and
dragged him in the right direction. After walking for a
minute, they saw Feather fighting off Kuno as he ran after
her with a bouquet of roses. After being kicked away by
Feather, Kuno noticed Ranma-chan.
"Oh my pigtailed goddess! How my heart hast longed
for thee!" Kuno declared as he ran swiftly towards his
'love'. Ranma-chan started backing away, knowing that she
was in no shape to try and fight Kuno off. Ryouga
interfered with Kuno's advance with a solidly swung umbrella
strike, sending Kuno towards the horizon.
"Jerk" Ryouga muttered as he walked towards Feather.
"Hey, you ok Feather?" She didn't respond, and was
breathing heavily. Ryouga noticed the tears on the back of
Feather's T-shirt, not to mention her smooth skin
underneath. He managed to contain his nosebleed and turned
away. Ranma-chan walked up and knelt next to Feather.
"Heh, welcome to the club Feather." Feather looked at
her quizzically.
"What club?" She asked.
"Why the G.C.B.K. of course." Ranma-chan started to
snicker a bit. Feather looked confused, so Ranma-chan
continued. "The girls chased by Kuno club. You will be our
newest inductee. Whether or not you'll be a permanent
member is yet to be seen." Feather giggled at Ranma-chan
for a while, and was still giggling once they returned to
the dojo. Akane and Nodoka were coming out of the kitchen
when they showed up. Ranma-chan winced a little as she
realized what was going on.
"Akane, did you cook dinner tonight?" Ranma-chan's
voice trembled in apprehension. Akane glared at Ranma-chan.
"Right! And I made plenty for everybody, so be sure
to eat up!" Ryouga started to look slightly panicked, while
Feather looked around her in confusion.
"What's the big deal? I'm sure Akane cooked us
something nice, so let's go eat." Feather said cheerfully
as she walked to Akane's room to get a new shirt. Ranma-
chan walked up to Nodoka.
"Auntie Saotome? Is, is it safe?" Ranma-chan asked, a
worried tone in her voice.
"Now Ranko, I'm not going to spoil dinner for you by
telling you what it tastes like. Now be a good girl and
help Akane and I set the table ok?" Nodoka moved back into
the kitchen, a worried Ranma-chan behind her.
Once every body was around the table, Akane and Nodoka
brought out the.... food. Everyone at the table, save
Kasumi and Feather, shivered at the sight. The dish
appeared to be a lumpy mass of ingredients, what appeared to
be some kind of vegetable stuck out at odd angles. Despite
its appearance, Nodoka didn't hesitate in putting it onto
the table.
"Akane worked very hard on tonight's dinner. She was
a great help in the kitchen, and I must say she has gotten a
lot better." Nodoka said as she sat down. Akane served the
food, and sat back to see the reactions. Nodoka confidently
took the first bite, and showed no adverse reaction.
Encouraged by this, Ryouga grabbed his chopsticks and took
some of the unidentifiable dish. He carefully ate some, and
his eyes went wide. He was frozen in shock, as Ranma-chan
was looking with a little trepidation at her plate. Nodoka
discreetly elbowed Ranma-chan, and she took a bite and
started to chew. She looked thoughtful as she chewed
slowly. Feather didn't know what the big deal was, so she
just ate it without any hesitation. ::A little bland, but
it's alright I guess:: She thought as she ate. Ranma-chan
finished her first bite and smiled.
"Way to go Akane! This is actually edible, maybe even
a little tasty." Ranma-chan finished off her plate and held
it out for seconds. Akane blushed as she filled up Ranma-
chan's plate again.
"That's very nice of you to say that Ranko, Akane
poured her heart into making this. It's too bad Ranma
wasn't here to taste this meal. Next time, we'll work more
on appearance Akane." Nodoka said, a slightly wistful smile
on her face. She opened her mouth to say something else,
but was interrupted by Mr. Tendo crying wildly.
"My little girl is cured! She can cook at last!" Mr.
Tendo wailed, his tears spraying everywhere.
"Daddy please! I'm glad you liked it and all, but
you're overreacting!" Akane tried in vain to get her father
to stop crying. Ryouga was still in a state of shock,
unmoved and still holding his chopsticks in his mouth.
Soon, there wasn't any food left on the table, and Akane and
Feather started to clean up the table, insisting that Kasumi
take the night off. Nodoka had gone into a different room
to talk with Mr. Tendo, and Ryouga was wandering the house.
Ranma-chan leaned back and was picking at her teeth with a
toothpick.
"Ranko? Do you mind helping Akane out with the
dishes? I want to talk with Feather for a minute." Nodoka
said as she walked back into the room, holding a piece of
paper tightly. Ranma-chan nodded and took the dishes out of
a startled Feather's hands.
"You wash, I'll rinse ok?" Ranma-chan was heard to be
saying as they vanished into the kitchen. Nodoka and
Feather sat down at the edge of the porch, staring out at
the pond.
"Feather, I found a letter from my husband this
morning. He explained to me that you are an orphan, and how
he would like you to become the daughter we never had."
Nodoka smiled gently at Feather, "I've spoken with Mr.
Tendo, and he feels that it's a great idea, and doesn't mind
if you stay here. What I want to know is what you want to
do. If you don't want to be part of our family, I'll
understand. If you do, you have the choice of staying here,
or coming home with me." Feather looked at Nodoka, tears
starting to form in her eyes. Feather tried to talk, but no
words could make it past the tightness in her throat.
Feather hugged Nodoka and cried into her shoulder. Nodoka
gently hugged Feather back and looked up at the starry sky.
"It's ok Feather, I understand." She whispered.
"It's not that," Feather said in between sobs, "It's
just, this will be the first family I can remember being
in!"
Quite a while later, Feather made her way towards the
bath. she was reeling a little from how much had happened.
After Feather had stopped crying, Nodoka had told her that
she would be starting school the next day. When Ryouga
found out, he declared that he would go as well. Akane and
her sisters had raided their closets, looking for an old or
shrunken uniform for Feather to wear. Kasumi had found a
sailor suit style uniform in the back of her closet. When
Feather tried it on, the hem of the skirt was on the floor,
while the blouse itself was fairly tight. Kasumi and
Feather giggled about it while they made the necessary
alterations. ::It's amazing how quickly Kasumi altered that
uniform. I didn't think it would be ready until morning::
Feather shut the door and shrugged out of her clothes. She
hummed a little tune to herself as she cleaned herself, and
then set about the task of cleaning her hair. A dark blur
by the window caught her attention for a second, but when
she didn't see anything else, she shrugged and started to
rinse off.
Feather gratefully sank into the hot bath, gritting
her teeth slightly as the water lapped over the small
scrapes and bruises on her arms. She leaned back and closed
her eyes, her red hair floating around her like a red aura.
She didn't notice two beady eyes open up in a darker corner
of the bathroom, and she definitely didn't hear it's silent
footsteps. It crept slowly but surely towards the
unsuspecting girl, and rubbed its tiny hands together in
anticipation. Suddenly it leapt for it's goal, and Feather
opened her eyes to see a shriveled old man in a ninja outfit
in mid-leap headed straight for her. She screamed as the
world's most feared pervert latched onto her.
"Hiya sweetie! Haven't seen you around here before,
so I decided to say hi." Happosai chuckled as Feather tried
in vain to dislodge him.
"Get offa me you pervert!" She screamed as she tried
using a brush handle like a crowbar. Happosai didn't loosen
his grip at all.
"Now why should I do that? I'm perfectly comfortable
where I am! Ahh, how sweet!" Happosai buried his face into
her chest, totally ignoring her efforts to dislodge him.
Ranma-chan and Akane burst into the bathroom, and
immediately tried to pull Happosai off.
"Leggo ya old freak!" Ranma-chan growled as she
pulled. With an evil grin, Ranma-chan grabbed the old man's
ear and started to twist. Happosai went from chuckling to
screaming in pain in an instant, and turned to fight with
Ranma-chan. As he let go, Feather jumped back, and Akane
swung her hammer of doom. Happosai nimbly dodged to one
side and stood with his back to the door.
"Ranma! You should treat your master with more
respect than that! I will punish you!"
"When did you become my master, freak?" Ranma-chan
taunted. Happosai's battle aura flared, causing Ranma-chan
and the others to back up a step. Ranma-chan got ready to
attack, then relaxed.
"What's the matter Ranma? Giving up?" Happosai
asked, and then was infuriated when Ranma-chan didn't
answer, in fact she seemed to be ignoring him completely.
"I will make you pay for stealing an old man's happiness!"
Happosai ranted as he summoned his aura to leap into
battle..... and was stopped short by a crushing grip.
"And just what do you think your doing?" Ryouga
growled, his face a mask of absolute rage. Happosai writhed
in the vise like grip.
"Insolent boy! I will not forgive this outrage!"
Happosai shouted. Ryouga ignored his struggles, and slammed
the lech into the floor face first, destroying the tile.
"Ditto, freak." Ryouga snarled as he threw the
withered old man out of the window. When he turned to see
if Feather was all right, he made an inarticulate noise and
his nose bled as he saw that Feather was naked. He quickly
turned away and started to stammer apologies. Feather
grabbed a towel and wrapped it around herself.
"It's ok Ryouga. Who was that old freak?" Feather
asked, still looking angry. Akane started to explain to
Feather about Happosai while Ryouga and Ranma-chan
discreetly left the bathroom. Ranma-chan was shaking her
head.
"Oh man, why did that freak have to show up again?"
Ranma-chan muttered. Ryouga growled deep in his throat.
Ranma-chan glanced at Ryouga, and saw that his aura was
flaring. "Calm down man! The freak's gone for now, so save
your strength for the next time." Ryouga stopped glowing,
and looked down at Ranma-chan.
"You seem awfully calm about this." Ryouga said.
Ranma-chan shrugged.
"Been dealing with the freak longer. Kinda gotten
used to fighting with him. Also, you're around, and that
makes it a lot easier to beat him up." Ryouga shrugged, and
walked away from his friend to set up his tent in the yard.
He wouldn't survive the blood loss if he tried to stay in
Ranma's room that night, as Nodoka was staying in the guest
room.
Early the next morning, Ranma-chan crept into the yard
to awaken Ryouga.
"Hey, stupid! Wake up, we gotta get ready for
school." Ranma-chan shook Ryouga forcefully. Ryouga
stirred, then sat up. He mumbled something and laid back
down. Frustrated, Ranma-chan punched Ryouga in the gut.
Ryouga woke instantly and grabbed Ranma-chan's throat.
"What was that for?" Ryouga said loudly. Ranma-chan
struggled against the chokehold for a second, then Ryouga
loosened his grip.
"Come on, we have to get ready for school. We need to
get you and Feather registered, and I need to get some hot
water on the way there." Ranma-chan choked for a minute
after Ryouga let go. Ranma-chan hurried out of the tent
while Ryouga got into a clean set of clothes. Once he was
dressed, Ryouga broke down his tent and packed his backpack
with practiced ease. Kasumi appeared on the porch.
"Breakfast is ready Ryouga, hurry or you'll be late!"
She called out to him. Ryouga shouldered his pack and
walked into the house. Everyone else was already eating, so
he joined them and ate quickly. He glanced at Feather, and
decided she looked good in the school uniform. She had her
hair in a ponytail, tied with the bandanna he had given her
shortly after they met, and she was also wearing the choker
with the emerald on it. Ryouga blushed when he realized
that he was staring, and went back to stuffing himself. As
they were leaving, Nodoka, Kasumi and Mr. Tendo wished
Feather luck on her first day, and saw them out to the gate.
After a quick stop at Dr. Tofu's for some hot water,
they made their way towards Furinkan High School. Upon
entering the gates, Feather could swear that everyone was
staring at her. She looked around the schoolyard, and saw
that many of the boys were leering at her, and more than a
few of the girls were sighing after Ryouga. Suddenly
nervous, she grabbed Ryouga's arm, looking for support.
Ryouga had noticed the stares, but had gone into a state of
bliss when Feather grabbed his arm, so he missed the hateful
stares that many of the male students were sending his way.
Feather saw the envious looks that the girls were sending
her way, so she tightened her grip.
"Hey Ranma!" Hiroshi and Daisuke sauntered up to him.
"Who's the new girl, and why is she hanging all over Ryouga
like that?" Hiroshi asked. "Man is she hot!" Daisuke was
practically drooling. Ranma frowned at his friends.
"Her name is Feather, and she's my sister, so be nice
to her." Hiroshi and Daisuke gaped at him for a minute.
Daisuke's jaw worked uselessly, while Hiroshi grabbed
Ranma's shoulders.
"Wait just a second! You told us earlier that you
were an only child, and now you have a sister? What's going
on Ranma?" Ranma grinned at their shocked expressions.
"Well, Feather's an orphan, and my folks decided to
adopt her. She's been through a lot, and I recommend, for
your health, that you be, polite, around her." Ranma
cracked his knuckles. Hiroshi paled a bit at the veiled
threat, then he grinned.
"I gotcha, we'll be perfect gentlemen. I'll just have
to be suave and sophisticated....." His voice trailed off
as he and Daisuke walked off. Akane glared at Ranma.
"Why did you threaten them Ranma? Those two are
harmless." She asked, with a slight edge to her tone.
Ranma laughed.
"It was for their own good. Ryouga would beat them
into a pulp without a second thought if he believed they
were bugging Feather at all. At least now they have a
chance to avoid a bad beating." Ranma grinned maliciously,
"Besides, I always wanted to do the 'over-protective big
brother' routine. It's kinda fun." Akane giggled for a
second at that and Ranma shrugged. "Also, Feather seems to
be more shy than Ryouga. Think about it, new girl,
unattached as far as anybody can see, the guys are gonna go
nuts when they see her." Akane nodded, remembering fighting
off hordes every morning.
"Ok, you've got a point Ranma." Akane caught a
glimpse of Ukyou, and waved. "Hey Ukyou! Over here!"
Akane waved vigorously. Ukyou spotted Akane, and made her
way over to them.
"Morning Ran-chan, Akane! I thought I saw Feather and
Ryouga in the yard a minute ago, are they going to school
now?" Ukyou said as she started walking next to Ranma.
Ranma nodded.
"Yeah, they're going to be in our class too. Mom and
Mr. Tendo pulled some strings and old favors to get them
into our class. Mom also decided to adopt Feather into the
family, so she's my sister now." Ukyou smiled.
"That's great Ran-chan! Maybe you all would like to
come by the restaurant after school to celebrate."
"We'll see what happens, ok Ucchan?" Ranma said,
hoping to avoid sounding too enthusiastic about it. He
glanced at Akane out of the corner of his eye, hoping that
she would remain calm. Akane was smiling, and proceeded to
talk with Ukyou about little things. Ranma heaved a silent
sigh of relief. ::Heh, looks like Ukyou and Akane are
getting to be good friends. That'll make my life easier.::
Ranma thought as he walked behind the two girls. They
arrived in class at that point and sat at their desks.
Miss Hinako practically skipped to the front of the
classroom when the bell rang.
"Good morning all you good boys and girls! Today we
have two new students, so everybody be really nice to them
ok?" She giggled as she waved for the new students to come
in. "This is Ryouga Hibiki and Feather Saotome!" The
entire class started whispering. Miss Hinako gave the class
a stern glance, and it was quiet again. Ryouga was
uncomfortably rubbing the back of his head, and Feather was
plain overwhelmed. "Mr. Hibiki has been travelling for sooo
long now, so everyone be really nice to him ok?" She
giggled and then frowned at Feather. "Miss Saotome! Why
don't you have the right uniform on?" Feather sweated for a
minute, and then she spoke.
"Um, this is my uniform from my old school. I haven't
had a chance to get a new one yet, since I found out I was
going to be transferring here last night." Feather wasn't
exactly lying, just leaving out a ton of details. Miss
Hinako considered this for a minute, then smiled.
"Ok! Just as long as you have the right uniform by
next week young lady. Now, let's see where you're going to
sit." Miss Hinako made quite a show of looking for seats.
"I know! Miss Saotome, why don't you sit next to your
brother, and Mister Hibiki, you sit over there in the back.
I know you two will be good students, won't you!" Ryouga
nodded vigorously as he took his seat, while Feather just
sat with an amused expression on her face.
During the first break, a crowd of boys formed around
Feather's desk. Startled, she looked at the boys in
confusion.
"So, are you really Ranma's sister?" One of the boys
asked her. When she nodded, another one spoke up.
"You into martial arts too?"
"A little" Feather was starting to feel trapped, as
the boys pressed in closer. Only Hiroshi and Daisuke stood
back a little, remembering what Ranma had told them earlier.
"You wanna go out for tea sometime?" A different boy
asked, and was immediately pounded into the ground by the
other boys. Then they all started asking questions at once,
and Feather started to shrink into her seat.
"Hey! Back off ya jerks! You're scaring her!" Ranma
yelled as he started to toss them away rather forcefully.
Ryouga had started to get out of his seat to help, then sat
back and grinned. After the first two had been thrown, the
rest backed off quickly. Feather looked at Ranma with a
great amount of relief.
"A little curiosity is fine, but you're pushing it. I
expect all of you to behave around my sister, got it?"
Ranma growled. The boys nodded a hasty affirmative, then
promptly started arguing about who would get to talk to her
first. While the rest of the boys were arguing, Hiroshi
made his move.
"Hi there, my name's Hiroshi. If you need anything,
and I do mean anything, you just let me know ok?" He smiled
his best smile, and winked. Feather smiled at him a bit
timidly. The bell range again, and Hiroshi looked at the
clock in disgust.
"Darn... Hey I'll talk to you later ok?" He said as
he quickly returned to his desk. Class seemed to fly by for
Feather as she tried to soak up all the knowledge she could.
When lunch time came around, Feather snagged Ryouga
before he could wander off, and they went outside with their
lunches. Once outside Feather was besieged again by many of
the boys from her class. Ryouga tried glaring at them to
scare them off, but the boys were ignoring him. The boys
pressed in tighter and managed to separate Feather from
Ryouga. Ryouga looked around, desperately trying to spot
Feather in the crowd. When he couldn't see her, he started
pushing his way through the crowd. He tossed the boys
around like rag dolls as he steadily advanced, his anger
clearly showing on his face. He burst out of the crowd and
found himself at the wood line. He looked all around, but
he couldn't see the school anywhere. Ryouga yelled his
frustration into the sky and started to wreck havoc on the
crowd of boys again. Unfortunately, he was being led away
by the boys he was attacking. After a minute or two the
boys scattered, leaving Ryouga alone in the woods. Ryouga
growled and started running, hopefully towards the school.
Feather was beginning to panic. The boys were
pressing in on her, and all of them were talking at once,
asking questions on one sort or another. She couldn't see
Ryouga anymore, and the boys had totally surrounded her.
"GO AWAY!! LEAVE ME ALONE!!" Feather yelled, and
tried to push her way through the crowd. Some of the boys
made room for her, but more often than not, they tried to
press in. Scared out of her wits, Feather sat in place and
started to hug her knees. Silently, she started to cry.
"Oh man, you guys made her cry!" One of the boys
said. Another one turned on him.
"What do you mean 'you guys'? You're here with us
ain't ya?"
"Boy is she cute when she's crying."
"Hey! Let me through! I gotta comfort her..."
"Yeah right, like I'll let you through to her!"
The crowd of boys continued to argue, not a single one
of them noticed Hiroshi and Daisuke slip away from the
crowd. What they did notice was a most noble figure that
addressed them.
"What is the meaning of this rabble? Tell me lest you
feel the wrath of Blue Thunder of Furinkan High!" Well, at
least _he_ thought he was a most noble figure. Many of the
boys fled from Kuno, still fearing the senior. Kuno
frowned, and brought one of the fleeing boys up short.
"Tell me cur, what is the meaning of this?" Kuno
asked in a low, menacing voice. The boy swallowed hard, and
glanced back towards the crowd.
"Ah, upperclassman Kuno... Uh well you see...." he
stammered.
"Out with it fool! What is going on here?"
"Um, you see, there's this new girl in class, and we
wanted to know a bit more about her, so we are asking her a
few questions." Kuno raised an eyebrow.
"You call this," He gestured towards the crowd with
his bokken, "Asking her a few questions? Doubtless you're
curiosity is steeped in base lusts, and you and your
despicable friends have her cornered. Ah the tragedy! Fair
maiden! I, Tatewaki Kuno, shall defend your honor from
these miscreants!" Kuno yelled as he charged into the
crowd, swinging his bokken swiftly. It was over in a
moment, and Kuno stood alone. The rest of the young men had
either scattered, or been roughly flung away by the force of
Kuno's blows. Kuno regarded the fallen boys with a
contemptuous glare. Then his gaze fell upon Feather, still
hugging her knees. Kuno rushed towards her.
"Ah! If I had but known that thy presence would grace
these hallowed halls of learning, I wound have sought thee
out earlier." Feather didn't respond to his presence.
Slightly disgruntled by the lack of reaction, Kuno moved
closer. "Do not fear any longer, for I have scattered these
curs to the winds. Mayhap you would be able to find comfort
in mine embrace! Come! Leap into my arms, and let us be
off!" Kuno spread his arms wide, hoping for some sort of
reaction. Feather still didn't move. Kuno was getting
worried, as lunch was almost over. He finished closing the
distance between him and Feather, and stabbed his bokken
into the ground.
"Come, fair Feather. It is nearly time for us to
return into these hallowed halls of learning. Allow me to
lend mine incredible strength to you, and assist you to thy
class. Tell me, which class is yours?" Feather made
several inarticulate noises, but made no effort to stand.
Kuno made a decision and pulled his bokken out of the ground
and stuck it into his belt. He then gathered Feather into
his arms, and made his way into the nurse's office.
Back in Ranma and Akane's class, there was a small-
scale riot going on. Ranma had most of the boys in the
class cowering in a corner.
"What did you say you guys did?" Ranma growled. He
was flanked by Akane and Ukyou, both of them glaring at the
cowering boys, while Hiroshi and Daisuke stood a bit behind
him with smug looks on their faces. One of the young men
swallowed hard.
"We... We tried to ask Feather a few questions."
Ranma glared at him. Ranma would have pursued the matter
further, but Miss Hinako came back into the classroom.
"Hi everyone! Did you have a good lunch? I know I
did!" She enthused. The students rushed back to their
seats. Miss Hinako looked the class over, and frowned.
"What happened to Miss Saotome and Mr. Hibiki?" Ranma stood
at his desk.
"Miss Hinako, I gotta go find them! Let me go look
for them!" Miss Hinako considered this for a minute, then
nodded.
"Hurry and come back Mr. Saotome, or I'll count you as
cutting class!" Ranma rushed out of the room. Akane and
Ukyou exchanged worried glances before facing front.
Ranma raced down the hallway, hoping that Feather and
Ryouga had gotten lost on their way to class. As he ran by
the nurse's office, he skidded to a stop and peeked in. In
one of the beds was Feather, and Kuno was sitting next to
the bed. Ranma ran into the nurses office. Kuno stood
quickly, and readied his bokken.
"Hold Saotome! I will not allow you to practice your
foul sorceries upon this fair maiden!" Kuno snarled at his
sworn foe. Ranma glared at him.
"Give it a rest Kuno. Miss Hinako sent me looking for
her. She's late for class." Kuno didn't budge.
"You will address me as upperclassman. As you can
see, she is in no condition to return to her class. She was
weeping in the yard when I found her. She is so frail, like
her namesake, and yet, she has a strength that makes my
heart soar upon the skies, carefree in the wind when I am
but near her. I.." Kuno broke off when he saw Ranma
shaking in rage, his aura flaring abruptly.
"When I find the bastard that made her cry, I'm going
make him regret it." Ranma ground out from between clenched
teeth. Kuno regarded Ranma warily, half expecting him to
lash out.
"Saotome, state your intentions towards Feather, as I
would not see her in thrall to your evil ways." Ranma's
aura suddenly stopped flaring, and he started laughing at
Kuno. "I fail to see the humor in my question Saotome.
Explain yourself and your relationship with her!"
"Kuno you moron, Feather's my sister!" Ranma laughed
even harder when Kuno's jaw dropped. Kuno recovered
quickly.
"I see, although I do find it unusual that an
honorless cur like you would defend your sister. Very well
Saotome, I will allow you to awaken her for her classes."
Kuno lowered his bokken and stepped aside. Ranma walked up
to the bed and gently shook Feather's shoulder.
"Hey, wake up. It's time for class." Ranma said
quietly. Feather stirred and looked up at Ranma with teary
eyes. She started crying again, and Ranma hugged her
awkwardly.
"Ranma! I was scared! They had surrounded me, and
led Ryouga off somewhere. Then they kept pressing in
tighter and tighter. I felt like I couldn't breathe, and
there was no room..." Feather sobbed into Ranma's shoulder
and hugged him tightly. Kuno stood silent for a change, and
felt a longing in his heart.
::I would be the one she opens her heart to...:: Kuno
thought as he watched Ranma try to comfort her. ::It's
seems I must now seek the approval of her brother to date
with her, and yet I must defeat him to free Akane Tendo and
the pigtailed girl from his lecherous ways. Ah, the course
of true love is never easy. I must contemplate how I must
proceed.:: Lost in thought, Kuno was unawares of Ranma
leading a sniffling Feather from the infirmary.
When Ranma returned to class with the teary eyed
Feather, Miss Hinako stopped her class and glared at
Feather.
"And just why are you so late you naughty girl? Happo
five yen..." She never finished, as Ranma became a blur of
motion and snatched the coin away from her.
"Hold on teach! She got scared from being in a new
school, and was in the nurses office." Ranma returned the
five yen piece to Miss Hinako. "It ain't her fault fer
being late, so don't go and drain her ok?" Ranma left a
startled Miss Hinako and took Feather to her seat. Miss
Hinako stared at them, and then she frowned.
"Where is Mr. Hibiki?" Ranma shrugged.
"I couldn't find him, he probably got lost."
Somewhere near the coast, Ryouga wandered into what he
thought was a restaurant. He stopped just inside the doors
when he noticed that the room was full of sailors just
sitting down for lunch.
"Excuse me, but which way is it to Tokyo?" Ryouga
managed to ask before the sailors tackled him. A while
later, Ryouga found himself painting the side of the cabin.
::Great, I'm stuck on this boat going who knows where, all
because they think I stowed away on purpose. At least they
don't have me painting the side of the boat...:: Ryouga
continued to paint, wallowing in his misery as the ship
continued on its course away from Japan.
After school let out, Feather went in search of
Ryouga. Ranma was getting worried, hoping that Feather
wouldn't get lost looking for Ryouga. Akane noticed the
look on his face.
"What's wrong Ranma?" She asked.
"I'm just worried about Feather. She's out looking
for Ryouga right now, but he could be just about anywhere.
I'm hoping she doesn't get herself lost looking for that
idiot."
"Don't worry so much Ranma. After all, doesn't Ryouga
always find his way back to the dojo eventually? All we
have to do is convince Feather to wait here for him. I'll
cook dinner tonight to help her stop worrying." Akane
scowled as Ranma flinched. "Now what Ranma?"
"Not much, I just hope it's like what you cooked last
night rather than that toxic sludge you usually come up
with." Akane seethed at the remark.
"You had better at least try it! Besides, I can cook
now, remember?"
"Yeah yeah, I'm hoping that it wasn't a fluke. Come
to think of it, didn't Mom keep you in line the whole time?"
Ranma was oblivious to the rising battle aura coming from
Akane.
"Ranma! You will eat tonight's dinner and like it!"
Akane had grabbed her hammer from mallet space and pounded
Ranma with it for a while. After she had pulverized Ranma,
Akane stalked towards the dojo. Ranma was twitching a
little, and he was groaning.
"Stupid tomboy." He muttered. Akane turned around
and stuck her tongue out at him.
"I heard that pervert!" Akane made another face at
Ranma before running into the dojo.
Ranma painfully stood, and walked into the dojo,
muttering to himself. Just as he stepped through the door,
Happosai confronted him. Ranma grunted at the old man, and
tried to go around him. Happosai moved in front of him.
"Not so fast my boy, I have some questions for you."
Ranma glared at the old pervert.
"What do ya want freak?" Ranma kept his guard up.
"That girl who was here last night. Who was she? Is
she going to be here much more? She's just my type you
know, long hair, big eyes...." Happi jumped up and grabbed
the front of Ranma's shirt. "You gotta tell me! You
gotta!" Happosai pulled on Ranma's shirt while he got big
puppy dog eyes.
"Geez lighten up freak! Her name's Feather. You
better leave her alone if you know what's good for you."
Ranma grabbed Happi by his collar and held him eye to eye.
Happosai chuckled in anticipation. "I said you'll leave her
alone freak!" Ranma yelled as he threw Happosai into a
wall. Unhurt, Happosai bounced to his feet. Ranma tried to
kick him, but Happi just bounced away, laughing his head
off. Ranma kicked his shoes off just as the door open
again. A downcast Feather trudged in. Ranma got a worried
look on his face.
"Hey Feather, any sign of Ryouga?" Feather merely
shook her head as she took off her shoes. "He'll show up
sooner or later, so don't look so down 'k?" Feather looked
up and gave a weak smile before heading into the house.
Ranma shrugged his shoulders and followed her into living
room. Mr. Tendo and Genma were playing shoji in one corner,
while Nabiki was going through some stock reports. Akane
was sitting at the table fuming a little.
"Kasumi wouldn't let you in the kitchen huh?" Ranma
smirked. Akane glared at him.
"If you must know, yes. She said she had been working
on a special dinner to celebrate Feather's first day at
school." Ranma sat down next to her.
"That's too bad. I was kinda looking forward to
eating some edible food that you cooked. It's a nice
change." Akane blushed fiercely at his words, and a
tenative smile grew on her face.
"You, you mean it Ranma?" Akane barely whispered.
"Sure I do Akane. Now I don't have to worry about
fighting your cooking off." Ranma grinned, but Akane
started to lose her temper again. Before she could launch
Ranma into orbit, Feather sat next to her and leaned on her
shoulder.
"I don't know what to do Akane, Ryouga's been missing
since lunch and I'm getting worried." Akane looked startled
for a second, and then smiled at her friend.
"Don't worry Feather. He's been travelling on his own
for years and he gets where he's going.... eventually.
He'll be back by next week." Kasumi stuck her head out of
the kitchen.
"I'm sorry everyone, but it looks like dinner won't be
ready for a couple of hours. Akane, why don't you take
Feather out shopping for a while, it might cheer her up a
bit." Akane nodded. As the girls got ready to leave, Ranma
started to tag along, but Kasumi snagged him by the collar.
"I could use some help in the kitchen Ranma, I have a
lot of vegetables that need to be sliced." Kasumi smiled
and led Ranma in to the kitchen, not giving him a chance to
object. "Oh yes, would you keep Happosai out of the kitchen
as well? He keeps trying to snitch some of the meat while
it's cooking." Ranma grinned and cracked his knuckles.
"Sure thing Kasumi. I'll keep the freak out of your
way."
At the local mall, Feather was going from store to
store with a gleeful expression on her face. Akane smiled
as her friend became more and more excited. Feather tried
on dress after dress, but she couldn't find one she liked.
She stepped out of the dressing room wearing a black evening
dress that was low cut and backless.
"What do you think Akane? Is it me or what?" Feather
giggled as she posed in front of the mirror. The saleswoman
smiled.
"That looks very elegant on you."
"I don't know Feather. Isn't that kind of dress the
type you wear to those really snobbish parties?" Akane
snickered while Feather frowned a bit, and ducked back into
the dressing room. A couple of minutes later she came out
again in a pale blue sun dress, and the blouse was once
again backless.
"How about this one Akane? Isn't it just the cutest
thing?" Akane smiled
"I like that one Feather, why don't you get it."
Feather ducked back into the dressing room again. When she
came back out, she had many dresses draped over one arm, and
only a few on the other. She held the smaller amount out to
the saleswoman.
"I'll take these."
"Here, why don't you give me the ones you didn't want.
I'll put them back on the racks for you." Feather paid for
the dresses, and the saleswoman carefully hung the selected
dresses on a hanger and wrapped them in paper. She deftly
tied a knot at the bottom of the bag, then handed Feather
her purchases.
"Thank you for shopping, and we hope to see you again
soon!" The saleswoman gave a slight bow as Feather and
Akane left the store giggling. As they started walking
home, Feather gazed at the darkening sky.
"Maybe the world is not such a dark and lonely place"
She whispered to herself. Akane and Feather walked giggling
and talking into the evening.
End Chapter 5
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