Well for those of you who are intrested here is chapter 4 of surprise.
Feedback as alwasy is welcome...also BIG thanks to Hawk for editing this for
me. Enjoy
-- Attached file included as plaintext by Listar --
-- File: SURPRI~2.TXT
Surprise
Usual Disclaimer
Chapter 4
Aftermath
###
One day later . . .
Ranma woke up with a major, major headache. He didn't know
why but he was in intense pain. It was like a constant throbbing in his
head. Every time he moved his head a little the pain would return with a
vengeance. However he also discover that if he didn't move at all the
pain would stop.
"Arrrgh, where am I?" he thought to himself. He was on his
back he realized. "Then that must mean I'm lying down."
He tried to get up but felt something heavy on his chest. "Eh?"
he said, before he looked down to see what that heavy something was.
What he saw there frighten him.
"Shimatta!" he thought aloud in his mind and winced a bit
because he had a headache still. He looked at the heavy object on him.
It turned out to be Misao's form cuddling up to him. Ranma extremely
sweatdropped. He knew how girls reacted to this situation and it
wouldn't be pretty. However, for the life of him, he couldn't figure out
how they got there or how they ended up like that.
That was of course when his father opened the door to his room.
His father walked in with a smile, saw the position he and
Misao were in, turned around quickly and left.
Ranma sighed. He would have to explain this to his father
somehow. However things got worse for him when Misao woke up.
***
"Arrrrgghhh, man what a hangover," she said when she felt she
was lying down, hugging something. Something that was very warm
and comfortable, she had a sinking feeling about this. She decided to
risk it by looking up only to be met by Blue-Grey eyes.
"Umm...hi?" the owner of the Blue-Grey eyes said nervously.
She found something irresistible about those eyes and almost lost
herself in them until she heard his voice.
"Wha?" she said. She debated on whether to kick his ass or not.
She figured it was too early in the morning and her hangover was still
too bad to try and aggravate it with a morning ass kicking so she just
closed her eyes and went back to sleep.
***
Ranma just let out the breath he'd been holding when he saw her
close her eyes. With anyone else he was certain he would have gotten
his ass kick. He smiled a small smile as he saw her sigh contently and
go back to sleep. However he still hadn't figure out how he got there.
He then began to focus his chi, to try and clear the hangover and finally
remember what had happen.
Flashback . . .
"Come on Ranma, just a little Sake won't hurt you," Sano said
as the party was really going into full swing. His father's master was
flirting outrageously with the two girls and his father himself was
getting drunk with Megumi and Kaoru, who were trying to out do each
other. The old man known as Okina was all ready passed out drunk and
the other two member of the Oniwa were getting there themselves.
"No thanks. A marital artist shouldn't poison his body," Ranma
said firmly. He was the only person not drunk yet but had settled for
some tea instead. He then saw Misao and Yahiko trying to out do each
other with drinking sake.
Sano again nudged him. "Come on, this party is in your honor,"
he said as he took another swig of the bottle of Sake on his hand.
"No and I mean No," he said and was about to leave when
Misao came up to him.
"What a matter?" she said looking very drunk right now.
"Mister big bad martial artist can't handle his liquor?" she then leaned
in close to his face. "I understand if you want to wimp out, I mean no
real, true martial arts master can take liquor like we can."
That last statement was all the encouragement that Ranma
needed. "YOUR ON!" he said a he proceeded to try and out drink Sano
and Misao. Misao passed out early into the game but Sano and Ranma
keep at it for a long time. However, Ranma was still a beginner so after
his 10th cup he got dizzy and lay sprawl on the ground but not
unconscious.
Sano however was still drunk and he suddenly had a wicked
look on his face. "Heh heh, this will get weasel girl for sure," he said as
he proceeded to pick up both Ranma and Misao and drag them into a
room. He then lay them both down side by side and left all the while
laughing.
End flashback . . .
"Why that -that" Ranma was thinking of very imaginative ways
to beat the daylights out of Sano.
Ranma looked over to Misao really quick and remembered a
pressure point that he had learned from Doctor Tofu books, he quickly
used his free hand and hit one of Misao's deep slumber pressure point,
thereby causing her to go into a deep state of sleep.
"There," he said as he slid out of the futon and stood up. He
looked at how peaceful Misao slept again and then proceeded to exit.
The first thing on his mind was to explain what happened to his father,
he didn't want his father to think he was some sort of womanizer. Even
though it might have seemed like that sometimes, especially back when
he was in Nerima.
He walked out only to be greeted by his father, however before
he could speak his father interrupted him.
"Son, I know that at your age you notice girls and all of that but
we are guest at their house," Kenshin said in a fatherly tone. He placed
a hand on Ranma's shoulder. "Look, I just want to let you know that not
matter what happens, I will be there side by side with you."
Ranma facefaulted a bit then regained his composure. "Look,
father, I know it might have looked bad awhile ago but I can swear I did
nothin'."
His father just raised an eyebrow. "Look, son, I told you, I will
be at your side no matter what happens, that I will."
Ranma saw that even though his father would support him in
anything, he wouldn't believe him, well . . . not yet anyway. He
proceeded to tell his father about what Sano did when he was
incapacitated. Kenshin just stood still for a while before he cracked
open a smile. A smile that strangely reminded him of his own when he
had an ace up his sleeves.
"Well son, how about we return the favor?" he asked his son
with a grin.
Ranma matched his father devious look with one of his own.
"Wadda ya had in mind pop?"
"Well as you know, Sano is still knocked out drunk, he is,"
Kenshin said.
"And . . ."
"Well so is Megumi, that she is," Kenshin said. He usually
didn't act like this, but something about his son just brought out the
more wild side of himself. "Wild Stallion," he thought to himself, how
fitting a name for his son.
"And what would that achieve?" Ranma asked a bit confused.
"Well son, lets just say that Megumi is not so fond of Sano, that
she isn't," Kenshin said as he remembered all the numerous times she
and Sano bickered. "WE could put them in the same bed, that we
could."
Ranma thought about it, he was trying to remember who was
Megumi. Then it hit him. "Tousan! Your not suggesting that nice lady
doctor are you?"
All Kenshin did was grin like a Cheshire cat.
"B-but we can't do that to her," he said to his father. He
remembered Megumi made him feel very welcome, she was also the
one that treated his wound and didn't look mad at him while doing it.
He could say that she was the only other person beside Kaoru-dono that
showed him kindness. Misao just scared him with that little stunt she
pulled back at the restaurant.
"That would be the perfect revenge son, however if you don't
want to do it, I won't force you."
"Thanks pop," he said a bit gratefully.
"No problem son. I'm sure Misao will kill him herself once I tell
her, that she will," he said to Ranma. "Now lets go have some tea, eh?"
he said as he led his son to the dining room.
"Sure." Ranma used that time to reflect on the past few days. It
seemed that his father life wasn't as great as his old one either and that
they shared a lot in common. He also noticed that the wound on his
father face seems permanently etched there. He squinted a bit to see his
father scar more clearly, but that was when his father chose to turn and
look at him.
"Looking at my scar?" his father asked him as he touched the
crisscross mark on his face.
Ranma looked a bit embarrassed but nodded.
"It was a long time ago and something I deeply regret to this
day," he then turned to his son. " I would like you to not ask me about it
because it brings back memories and mistakes I'd rather forget," his
father said as he turned his head away.
Ranma nodded again, this time gravely . He wouldn't want his
father to know some of his most personal memories either. So father
and son just walked side by side to the dining room in silence.
***
Somewhere . . .
A lost boy was traveling around looking for his love.
"Damn you Ranma, this is all your fault," he thought to himself
as he found himself in a forest. He turned around to try and find the city
he was just in a while a ago.
Ryoga balled his fist together in frustration. He thought that
with Ranma gone he would have Akane's heart once and for all, but one
day like the rest of the gang, she decided to go and find Ranma herself.
Ukyou left several weeks after Ranma did, while the Neko-haten
packed up the day Ranma left or so they assume when they found the
place abandon the next day. The Kunos stayed back and after 5 months
of not hearing from anyone, Akane decided to leave to find Ranma too.
What surprised everyone were Happosai, Genma and Soun
determination to find Ranma again so that he and Akane could wed.
They had called in all of their family members and relatives, they called
in any favors they could get from officials, which surprise everyone
because who would have thought Genma knew people in high office.
Through it all however Nodoka remained calm, cool and collect.
Genma didn't blame her for her little unfaithfulness for he had done
things that were far worse to Ranma. However he was still hell bent on
having the only heir to the Saotome branch of Anything Goes to unite
with the Tendo branch. So with connection to people they never knew
Genma had, they were able to put out a wanted list throughout out most
of Japan.
So Ryoga with Akane safety on his mind walked forward letting
his instinct guide him.
***
Ranma was in the dinning room when it happened. Misao had
just woken up and was about to kick his ass for taking advantage of her
when she was drunk when his father stepped in to save him. Although
Ranma felt he didn't need to hide behind his father he was touched by
how much his father cared for him, unlike a certain baka panda he
knew.
After learning the truth Misao had stormed out muttering threat
and curses until she came up with an idea for payback. What she did
was have one of the Oniwa girl snuggle up to Sano in his sleep and
pretended they had share a night of passion. It worked like a charm with
Sano waking up finding a girl in his arms. What they didn't account for
was Megumi unexpected reaction as she had quickly slapped Sano and
yelled at him for being such a womanizer, taking advantages of a girl
while she was drunk. Which now brought him up to the current
situation.
He didn't want to go out there just yet figuring that he just get
involved in it somehow and that was something he didn't need. He
listened as his father, who had gone out there earlier to try and calm the
two down. He heard Misao explaine what happened and what Sano did
to her that made her mad and get revenge like she did. Finally after
everyone calmed down they made their way to the dining room.
It was still early in the morning and he still needed to get his
morning workout out of the way so he could be energized for the rest of
the day. He saw that only Misao had entered and so he wondered where
the rest went.
"Misao-san?" he asked her. Normally he didn't use formality
but since his father use it he figure he could too.
Misao just looked at him funny. "Umm, Misao would be just
fine," she said. Then to his surprise she looked down in embarrassment
and started to twiddle her two thumbs. "Umm...about how I acted this
morning�I -I'm"
Ranma saw where this was going and held up his hand. " It's
ok!" he said with a wide smile to make her feel better. "I'm used to
misunderstandings like that, no biggie, as far as I'm concerned, it is
behind us ne?"
Misao looked up and him and shared his smile. "Ok, we'll start
over from the beginning," she said then with a graceful bow introduced
herself to which Ranma replied likewise with an awkward bow of his
own.
"Sorry," he said looking a tad embarrassed at his clumsiness at
introducing himself. "Genma never did teach me manners or much else
anything beside martial arts," he thought grimly.
Misao smiled at him in response, a very cute and adorable smile
too, he noted unconsciously. He then remembered what he wanted to
ask her about. "Hey where are the others?"
Misao looked confused then realized that Ranma had been there
all the time and hadn't been out there with the rest of them. "Well after
we solved the little misunderstanding," Ranma raised his eyebrow to
what "we" she was referring to, the only voice he heard out there trying
to get them all to stop arguing was his father's, not to mention that she
was the one that started it. "Baka-Yahiko and Kaoru-san woke up and
well Kaoru said that after last nights party we were low on food, so
we're going to go shopping. The others are getting ready to go."
Misao then had a thoughtful look cross her face. "You know,
you could come too."
Ranma thought about it but decided that he'd rather practice then
go shopping with some girls. He shuddered as he remembered how the
girls back in Nerima made him carry all of their stuff while they had to
jump from every single shops on the streets. "Nah, I'll just stay her and
wait for you guys to come back."
Misao just shrugged, she wasn't gonna force him, well not yet
anyway. "Oh well, your lost," and with that she proceeded upstairs,
changed and within a minute went back down wave goodbye at him
then left.
Ranma once again found himself alone but he didn't mind, at
least he would have total concentration to do his morning practice. He
then looked around for a suitable spot to get started. He soon found a
clearing near the wells and decided to start there.
He got himself in a standard position then started his Kata.
While doing his kata he started to reflect on how drastically his life had
changed in just nearly half a year. He found out just 6 months ago how
Genma was not his real father and that his real father was a kind and
gentle man. He discovered that he had no love for Akane or any of his
fianc�e. He thought he did once but then after seriously reflecting on
what kind of life he and Akane would have together and how Akane
had treated him throughout the year he came to a conclusion that a
marriage with her would go nowhere. He thought of her more as a
possession then anything, he realized that now and also that he could
not do that to her or to any of his fianc�es. He knew that Akane was a
really sweet girl deep down inside and underneath all of that tomboy
exterior but then again so were all girls, she was just like one of any
girls really. What made her special to him at first was her offer of
friendship and her continual patience with him but now he came to
realized that all girls are like that, they just hide it so they won't be hurt.
He could never love Akane because they were too alike but they would
disagree on everything. They argued way too much to be compatible.
His thought then jumped to his best friend, Ucchan. Ukyou was
a great friend and all. She was a sweet girl and gentle and open with her
affection but then he still couldn't get past the fact that his friend wasn't
a guy. Well he thought she was a guy at any rate but she had been living
her life as a guy. He found that Genma was to blame for most of that.
No matter how hard he tried, he could only picture Ukyou as a friend
and nothing more.
His thoughts now turned to Shampoo. She was sexy and sultry
but then she turned into a cat. He shuddered at that. Nope, definitely not
someone he would consider, she would make a good friend if she
weren't so hell bent on having him as her husband. Then there was her
grandmother who would stop at nothing to get him. He had a feeling
they wouldn't give up that easily. Sooner or later they would find him
and then . . .
Ranma, feeling frustrated launched into a more complex kata.
Unknown to him two figures were watching at him from a distance.
"He is not bad is he?" Seijiro asked as he evaluated Ranma
skills.
"He is Himura son after all," Aoshi replied.
"That he is," Seijiro said as he looked at Ranma. "Seeing him
practice like this reminds me a little of the time when I trained
Kenshin."
"Well . . .it has been a long time since I tested out my Kempo
skill, I've found none worthy since I became leader of the Oniwa
banshee." Aoshi said.
Seijiro just raised an eyebrow at him. "Going to beat the son
since you can't beat the father eh? I thought you would have been over
that by now." Seijiro said jokingly.
Aoshi smiled a bit. "Well then you just have to tell me, do you
think your student could have beaten me without a katana or a
sakabatou?"
Seijiro thought about that and had to admit, Kenshin was nearly
invincible when it came to fighting with a katana or a sakabatou but his
Kempo fighting skills left much to be desired.
Without waiting for Seijiro answer, he stepped forward and
called out to Ranma. "Ranma-san."
Ranma stopped his kata and looked at who uttered his name
with such respect in it. "Um...yes?"
Aoshi walked up to Ranma and stare at him straight in the eye.
"You would do me a great honor if you would spar with me."
Ranma sweated a bit at that. "Uh- well . . .I don't know if I
should, I mean I am a guest at your house after all, it wouldn't be right
to beat up one of my hosts."
Aoshi had to smile a bit at Ranma confidence. "Well it just a
friendly little spar.I trust that you with all your skill can hold back
appropriately." He said, trying to play on Ranma ego.
Aoshi little gambit paid off as Ranma looked more certain.
"Ok., your on."
Author notes:
Dear readers of any if not all of my works, I am truly sorry for not
updating a much as I have use to. I thank you all for you patience and
am sad to announce that I have job and school to balance so I have to
stop writing for a bit. I will take a crack at it every chance that I get but
I found that more and more difficult now. I am sorry for leaving you
guys(and girls of course) hanging but this should only be half of what I
had plan for chapter 4. So I guess 4a is the title to this fic. Anyway just
to let you guys and gal know that I am alive but not kicking as much as
I use to. Thank you for all of your support. A proud fan of Couple
crossover ^_^.