Konnichiwa, minna!
This should be the final version of "O-tomodachi", chapter one. I hope. ^_^
But if I *do* get more C&C, I'll edit it some more and submit it later. I've kind of finished re-writing chapters 2 and 3. I guess I'll wait and see. ^_^
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O-TOMODACHI
CHAPTER ONE
"RANMA!" Akane screamed. Ranma was running for
his life, almost literally.
"What did I do now?!" He demanded as he ran atop
the fence, out of her reach. Actually, she was
wielding a bokken this time and reminded him of
Kuno, which was not a good thought. Akane ran
faster, swinging the sword.
"Take back what you said!" She shouted. Ranma
bent back to dodge a sweep of the blade. "Take
it back!"
"If I knew what I said, I might be able to!" Ranma
retorted, running faster. He wasn't sure exactly
how mad she was at him. Maybe he could calm her
down. . .
"So you've trained longer than I have! That
doesn't give you the right to make fun of me!"
"What?" Ranma mumbled as he ran. Oh, yeah. They'd
been practicing in the dojo and Akane had smashed
several blocks. Right. . .and then what happened?
Ranma said something. . .
"How dare you say that I better stick to jogging!"
She yelled, reminding Ranma of his crime. "I was
working hard, you know! Just because I can't beat
you doesn't mean anything!"
"You're jogging now! And doing a very good job
of it!" Ranma smirked. He stuck out his tongue
and turned up his speed be several notches.
Akane gritted her teeth and tried several slashes,
all of which missed. "See? Told ya!"
"WHAT DID YOU SAY?!"
"I said--" Ranma was cut off as the sword made
contact. "Hey!" He yelled. That one had actually
hurt. For a moment, he considered taking back
what he'd said. Then he noticed Akane fuming.
She swung the bokken again. Ranma cringed and
waited for contact.
He opened his eyes to see the sword broken in
two. Akane had missed and hit a fence. Not
being Kuno, she didn't slash through it. She
stood, gripping the hilt, glaring at him. Ranma
could just feel the hot aura surrounding her.
"I'm outta here," he thought. Not a moment too
soon, for Akane came after him once again. "Can't
catch me, baka manuke!" He shouted. Being called
a stupid idiot did not sit very well with Akane.
She ran after hi m, only to see him speeding away
in a blur.
Akane slowed down and tried to get her breath.
There was no way she'd catch him now. She balled
her hands into fists and groaned. She noticed
that she was still wearing her gi and no shoes,
which would doubtlessly earn her a few stares
as she went home.
Never mind, she thought. I'll get him later.
***
Ranma was still running, not taking a single look
back. He was too afraid that Akane might be still
on the chase. Buildings and parks whizzed by him,
as though her were on a train. He looked around
and realized that he couldn't see the river anymore,
and that was his primary landmark. After a few
more minutes, he began to tire. The fence ended
ahead, so he jumped down. He stopped to rest, but
heard something thumping behind him. It was only a
garbage can falling, but he thought it was Akane
again, maybe with a metal sword this time. He
didn't bother to consider anything, and started
running. Hoping to lose her, he dashed down a
small side street, took several turns, and ran
like crazy.
Had he been looking, he might have noticed several
town signs passing him, but he was going too fast.
He looked around and noticed that wherever he was,
he sure wasn't in Nerima anymore. The houses
looked different. They were newer, and a fair bit
larger. Ranma had had enough. He noticed that he
was next to a small park, which seemed to have a
mini soccer match going on between two boys and a
young girl. As the luck of all Jusenkyo victims
goes, there was a shout from the kids.
"Oi! Abunai yo!" The girl yelled. Ranma turned
around and was greeted by a soccer ball in the
face. It bounced away, and Ranma landed in a pond.
Spluttering, Ranma climbed out, feeling her clothes
soaked with water and dripping with algae. She
grimaced as she pulled several lotus plants off her
clothes, which were also fairly slimy from the
underwater habitat. She wrinkled her nose and
groaned. She took off her outer jacket, leaving
on a white tank top.
"Baka," she thought. "Now I don't even know where
I am." She looked around, and everything was
unfamiliar. She saw several students walking,
and their uniforms were not the same as Furinkan
High School. That confirmed it.
"Darn it, I'm turnin' into Ryoga," Ranma thought
angrily. "Oh, well, guess I'll find a bus and go
home on that. . .if I have any money." She searched
through her pockets and found a single hundred yen
coin. "Or I won't do that. Guess I'll ask someone
the way home." She looked around for anyone to ask.
"Are you okay?" a voice asked behind him. Ranma
turned around and found herself facing a girl.
Her face was pretty and delicate, a pale heart
shape. At the moment, her cheeks were lit up.
Her hair was very dark brown, with glossy, golden-
brown highlights where the light struck. Her eyes
were dark blue, the same shade as his, Ranma
realized. Her figure wasn't as well-endowed as
Akane, perhaps, but she was more slender. He could
see that she had a small-hipped, willowy figure.
The red and orange sunset illuminated her face
shades of gold and cream. Ranma swallowed and
wished he hadn't taken such a careful look.
She was smiling sweetly and in concern, but her
look turned to surprise when she saw Ranma's
clothes and hair. "And by the way, you have a
nice little plantation of duckweed in your hair."
She added in a dry tone.
Ranma reached up and plucked it off. "Gee, thanks.
Um, yeah, I just. . .um, fell. I lost my way. . .
do you know where I am?"
"Sure!" The girl sighed. "You're in the Azuba
district of Tokyo." She glanced at Ranma.
"Ore. . .Ore, Saotome Ranma," she said lamely and
gave a deep bow.
The girl hesitated. "Ano. . .Watashi wa. . .Takeno
Himeko. Hajimemashite." She returned the bow, very
stiffly and not very deeply.
"What. . .what happened to you?" Himeko asked,
trying to distance herself. Ranma guessed that
it was the smell of pond scum.
"I fell. Long story." Ranma said stonily. At
least the girl could try and be helpful. It
wasn't _her_ fault about the stupid pond.
The girl instantly turned sympathetic. "Oh, so
you're not. . .never mind. You're all wet. At
least it's not that cold out, considering that it's
November." She looked around. "I have some hot
chocolate, but I don't have a cup. You'll have
to use the cap."
Ranma was shivering a bit. "Sure, that sounds
great."
Himeko took off the cap and started to pour the
hot liquid. "You might want to wash those clothes
when you're done," she said with a laugh. "Sorry
about what I said. I don't exactly see this kind
of thing every day."
"Ups and downs, huh?" Ranma thought dryly. Just
then, there was a thump. Ranma looked up to see
a soccer ball coming at them. "ABUNAI!"
The projectile struck Himeko in the head. She fell
over, released the cup. . .which splashed all over
Ranma. As Himeko cried out and fell, Ranma
automatically went to catch her. . .
. . .
Himeko opened her eyes to find herself looking at
a very handsome, very well-built young man of
sixteen years.
He was dressed in the same fashion the red-headed
girl had been.
She wanted to scream and slap him. How dare a boy
grab her like that? And this was a public park!
She couldn't believe it. Her whole body was reacting.
But as she looked up at him, it was all forgotten.
His hair was black, tied into a thick braid. His
eyes, looking at her in concern, were a beautiful
shade of deep, dark blue. His face was too
beautiful to be true. Himeko had never fainted
in her life, but all of a sudden, she felt dizzy
and lightheaded, as if something was about to
happen. . .
"A-anata wa. . .da-dare?!" Himeko stuttered. Her
face turned a flaming shade of red. She wanted
to disentangle herself from his arms, but something
in her just didn't want to let go. His arms were
so warm, so strong. . .Himeko swallowed. She
hated having someone touch her like that, but. . .
somehow, she didn't mind this time. Even with hot
chocolate all over his hair, his face, and his
shirt, he still looked cute. She wondered what
she was going to do. Boys never did this to her
much. She wasn't bad looking, but she certainly
didn't compare to some other girls at school.
Then natural instinct kicked in. Himeko screamed,
slapped him, and jumped away. She moved a little
further away, panting for breath. She had her
arms crossed over her chest, and she'd dropped
the thermos. Chocolate was now spilled all over
the front of her dress and skirt. She took several
deep breaths, readying to make a quick getaway.
"Ahh. . ." Ranma thought, holding his cheek.
"Why does this always happen to me. . .and she
was starting to respect me too. . ."
Himeko looked at him. "What? Where'd the girl
go? Is she okay?"
"Er. . .I am the girl. I'm. . .Saotome Ranma still.
I'm the same person. Um. . .cold water. . ." At
least she wasn't going to hit him. That was one
difference from Akane, he thought absently.
"You--you--what? I--I don't want to know any
more." Himeko started backing up. This whole
day had been too weird. She wondered if she
was delirious or something. Being grabbed by
a strange guy, who claimed to be that girl. . .
a guy who was awfully cute, too. . .
"Um. . .wait! Come back here!"
Himeko slowed her steps and turned slowly. Ranma
nodded. "It's okay. Don't worry about it. I. .
.I understand." He smiled.
She glared and walked away. It was getting late,
and the sun was starting to set over the park.
For the first time, Ranma took a careful look at
Himeko.
She was about as tall as his girl form. She was
wearing a seifuku, a sailor suit set with a blue
collar, dark red kerchief tie, and pleated blue
skirt the same shade as the collar and cuffs.
The shirt was long-sleeved and had little cuffs
with red ribbon stripes. The collar also had the
stripes. The shirt ended exactly at the waist,
and when she ran, Ranma could see the waistband
of her pleated skirt. She had little pearl
earrings. She wasn't so bad-looking, Ranma
decided. Nothing like Akane, but certainly not
ugly. Pretty, in fact.
"Matte!" He called to her.
"What?" she mumbled.
Himeko sighed to herself. This was going to be
one interesting day. She'd embarrassed herself,
insulted somebody, and made *them* feel bad. She
had no idea what was going on here, and she had a
feeling that she didn't _want_ to know anyway.
"Well, I still need someone to show me the way
home," he pointed out. "Do you know the way to
Nerima?"
She paused. He was speaking to her quite nicely,
actually. He didn't sound like an idiot, or some
wierdo like those at her school. No, he actually
sounded sincere. In addition, he _was_ very cute,
her brain reminded her. She glanced at him.
Was she supposed to trust this guy? His eyes
looked at her.
"Go ask a policeman," she said, turning away.
She wasn't risking any more.
"But. . .I'm sorry, Takeno-san," he said, trying
to be polite. That didn't come too easily to him,
considering his usual speech patterns. "I. . .er,
it was my fault. It was an accident, though,
really. You fell, and I had to catch you."
"Umm. . ." she was still undecided. Better not to
trust him, she thought. "No. Like I said, just
go ask a policeman. Sorry."
"Please?" He said. Turning his head, he didn't
see a single policeman in sight. Plus, if she
could mistake him for a bum, probably the policeman
would too. He swallowed. "Please? I'm sorry."
Himeko decided to relent. She knew that she
*wanted* to walk with him, but. . .well. . .
"Nerima? Wow, you're quite a distance away. . ."
she said. "Yeah, I do know. Come on, it's hard
to explain. I'll have to walk you."
"No problem," Ranma answered easily. "I don't
mind at all. Do you?" He looked over at her
in the eye.
Himeko's heart started racing. She had blushed
more in the last five minutes than in a lifetime.
"No, I. . .I'd love to. I just didn't want you
to think, you know, that I'm. . ." she sighed
deeply, then smiled. "All right, here we go.
It's this way."
Himeko, he thought, running the name over his
tongue. Hime meant princess, take meant bamboo.
He looked at her. Well, she was good-looking
enough for a princess all right. . .he noticed
that her long, silky hair went nearly to her
waist. It was tied at the base of her neck with
a wide blue ribbon. Her glossy locks were
fluttering behind her as she walked.
She looked up to see him walking on the fence.
With a smile, she ran, leapt up--her skirt flapped
a bit, giving a view of a lacy slip--and landed
on the fence. Even in her slightly heeled shoes,
she walked fairly well on the fence. Ranma was
surprised and pleased.
"Do you do martial arts?" he asked her. She
nodded. "I used to, just a little. I didn't
have much time to train. I'm more interested in
science myself. . ." she shrugged. "I. . .wanted
to continue, but I quit when I was eight or so.
Oh, darn." She wobbled a bit, then jumped off the
fence. She ran again and hopped up. "See? I'm
really out of practice."
Ranma knew what she meant. "Yeah, I know the
feeling. You really want to keep going, but
it's a struggle, isn't it?"
Himeko sighed. "Yeah. Kempo took up so much
time. . .I quit. And I didn't regret it one bit."
She frowned. "Well, maybe a little."
"Kempo?" Ranma was pleasantly surprised. "Hey,
that's the one I study, too! Maybe you and I can
practice together!"
Himeko shook her head. "You'd be too good for
me," she said with a grin. Her voice softened
and her eyes got a bit dreamy. She was blushing
fiercely again, and she was looking up at the
heavens as if to thank God.
"Thanks," Ranma said. He wasn't sure what to say.
They walked in silence for a while, and Himeko
turned around. The sky was darkening, the orange
colors changing into darker blues and violets.
He could see a single star.
Himeko kept walking, but she would lose her balance
every now and then and have to get off and get on
again. Ranma wondered why she was trying so hard
to walk on the fence. She took glances every now
and then to make sure she was going the right way.
"We're supposed to turn in a few blocks. . .I hope
I don't miss it." She hopped off carefully and
landed rather awkwardly, but she didn't hurt
herself. Looking around, she beckoned for him to
get off the fence. They turned down several
streets, and Ranma found himself looking at the
river.
"We're here," Himeko announced unexpectedly. Ranma
looked around. Finally, things were looking familiar.
"You're in Nerima, but I don't know where you
live. Nerima's a big place. I guess you're home
now," she said with a wistful smile. Her eyes
were gazing at him earnestly, but with a little
shadow of pain. "I. . .I'll be going home.
Have a good evening." She smiled.
"Hey, wait," Ranma said. "It's getting really
late. Why don't you come over for a bit? Akane
would probably like to meet you."
Himeko bit her lip. "Who's Akane. . ."
"My fianc�e." Ranma glanced at her out of the
corner of his eyes.
"Oh." Himeko said. Of course, the good guys were
always taken. Then again, after the way she'd
treated him, he wasn't going to be too eager to get
to know her better. Shocked, she looked at her
hands and began playing with them. "I mean, I
don't want to. . .impose on you any longer.
It. . .it was great, knowing you. I'm so glad. . .
you. . .you'll remember me?" It was crazy. She'd
insulted him, hit him, yelled at him, and now she
wanted him to remember her. And they'd barely
seen each other for. . .twenty minutes?
Ranma looked around. He was in Nerima again.
That was odd, he could have sworn his run took
much longer. Maybe he'd taken some turns before
Azuba.
"What the heck?" Ranma thought. "It's not like
this is our last goodbye or anything." Man,
this girl was weird.
Out loud, he said, "All right, if you're sure.
But it looks like rain. Can I at least get you
an umbrella or something? Don't want you getting
soaked. . ."
He's actually concerned, Himeko thought with a
shiver. "Um. . .that's all right. . .I'm. . .
I'll be just fine."
"Do you want to call your parents from the house?"
Ranma asked.
"Um, no. . .my aunt's not going to be home tonight."
"Aunt?"
"Yeah. I. . .my parents died when I was little.
I live with Obaa-san."
Ranma barely had time to digest this fact when he
saw Akane running in the streets, evidently
searching for him.
"Ranma!" She called. "Hey, I was worried about
you! What's going on? And who's. . .she?"
"Is that Akane?" Himeko asked. She walked up
and smiled. "Hey, aren't you Tendo Akane?"
"Um, y-yeah. How'd you know?" Akane sounded
rather surprised.
"Ranma told me about you," she said with a little
smile.
Akane blushed. "Oh, is that so. . .hey, it's
going to rain. Come on in for a bit. We can
take you home later."
"No, I'm going. Sayonara." Himeko turned and
ran off.
It was getting darker by the minute. Squinting,
Akane could barely make out Himeko's rapidly
retreating figure. She heard a faint tapping of
heels on concrete, and then no more.
"Let's go, Ranma. Kasumi has dinner ready." Akane
nudged him and tapped hi m on the shoulder.
"Hey, are you there?"
"Oh, ah, thanks," Ranma said mindlessly. "OK,
let's go."
Akane stared after him.
End of Chapter One
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Keigu.
Irene
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