Disclaimer: These characters are not mine. They belong to the wonderful Romiko Takahashi and her licensees (Viz Communications in North America). This work is strictly for the non-profit enjoyment of fans. No copyright infringement is intended. Thought of the Mongoose A Ranma 1/2 Fanfic by Tom Wrensch Part 3: Kuno Draft 1999-06-11 ================================= Akane walked warily up the stairs, pausing at the top to check down the hallway in *both* directions. The day before her father had showed her the folly of checking in only one direction before assuming it was safe. Everything seemed clear so she quickly took the four steps to her bedroom door and slipped inside. She leaned back against the door and sighed in relief. Her room was the declared 'safe zone' for today, so she didn't have to worry about ambush until she tried to leave. She stretched and rooted through her workout cloths, both of her white sleeveless shirts were dirty, so she decided to go with her old yellow gi. A gi was more practical for a sparing session anyway. When Ranma had offered to help her train, she thought they would spar and drill in the dojo or something. They were doing some of that, but he had also recruited their fathers for a little game of ambush Akane. Each of the three surprised her several times a day with attacks she couldn't dodge or block at normal speed. She grinned as she remembered Ranma's first attack. Ten minutes after they set up the game rules he dropped on her from the ceiling. She was being mercilessly tickled before she even realized he was there. Of course she had retaliated and the ambush had turned into an impromptu wrestling match, with her father as referee and Gemna-panda as scorekeeper. She hadn't had that much fun in *ages*. Ranma's tickle attacks weren't bad. Her father used the more traditional and painful method of light blows to sensitive areas. Ranma's father was the worst, using killing blows pulled just short of their mark. She touched the side of her neck where four tiny scabs marked the points four panda claws had been positioned to rip out her left jugular. She wondered how a five-hundred pound panda could move so silently. The training was weird, but it was working. She'd been attacked five times today and had managed to block four. The exception was a particularly sneaky early-morning tickle attack by Ranma. Now dressed for her after school sparring session, Akane debated the wisdom of leaving her room by the door. Any one of the three could have set a trap in the time she'd been in here. She decided the window was the best choice and jumped down to the garden. It wasn't until *after* she jumped that she noticed the black-and-white blur moving toward her landing point. She pulled up the mindset and charged her body with the ki necessary to operate in high-speed mode. The world slowed, her plummet turning into a lazy drift. With more subjective time to observe she saw she was in more trouble that she originally thought. Gemna-panda was carrying a bo stick, Ranma was moving in from the dojo, and her father was closing in from the gate. Watching the relative speeds she could guess the plan. Gemna-panda would use the bo stick to attack her in the air, probably as a diversion. Ranma would incapacitate her with a throw or tackle, and her father would arrive a moment later to deliver the 'finishing' blow. She allowed herself a moment of satisfaction. They thought she was good enough to use a triple-team attack! She was also happy to see that they didn't really understand the technique she used. They must still think it was some kind of speed technique like the chestnut fist. If they knew its real strength - the time to think and plan in battle - she would be faced with something more subtle. After a few (subjective) seconds of through she decided that the weakness of their plan was timing. If one of them was off by more than a fraction of a second they would get in each others way and probably hurt each other more than her. Now all she had to do was watch for a chance to slow down or speed up one of them. Her chance came when Gemna-panda tried to tangle her feet with the bo stick. A strong downward kick on the end of the stick drove it straight into the ground just in front of Gemna-panda. The blow also forced Akane to rise several meters into the air, giving her a chance to watch the results from relative safety. There was no way she could have planned things better than they turned out. Gemna-panda ran into the bo stick, sprawling directly in front of Ranma who ran into the unexpected obstacle and ended up laying face down on his fathers stomach. Soun attempted to dive over the panda, but didn't take Ranma into account, ending up laying face down and crosswise on Ranma's back. Best of all, Akane's boost from kicking the bo stick landed her directly on top of the pile. Once she had her balance on her fathers back, she relaxed the mindset. Gails of laughter came from the porch. Kasumi was there, laughing so hard she had to support herself against the house. Nabiki too had been watching and was giggling as she pulling the lens cap off her ever-present camera. Before jumping down from the pile Akane did a few poses for Nabiki. * * * * Akane missed another block and Ranma was forced to pull his punch. "Come on Akane, focus." He said in exasperation. Akane tried to look contrite, an attempt ruined by her giggling. "I'm sorry Ranma, I keep remembering how you all looked lying in a pile like that." Ranma threw up his hands in frustration. "Great, so we looked hilarious. Face it, you got lucky." Akane sobered a bit, but couldn't completely suppress a grin. "There was less luck involved than you think." Ranma bit back his reply. He was irritated. Irritated because Akane had beat their ambush, irritated because she wouldn't focus on their sparing, but mostly he was irritated because she had gone back to wearing her ratty old gi to train with him. Didn't she realize how much nicer she looked in the white shirt and fighting pants she'd been wearing? Fine, if her success this afternoon was going to her head, then he'd make use of that. "All right." Ranma said. "I've got an idea. Since you managed to beat all three of us you shouldn't have any trouble beating just me, right?" "Ah..." Ranma grinned at her uncertainty. "So we fight. If I win you go back to wearing the white shirt and pants thing when we practice. If you win I'll take you out for ice cream. "So it seem's your up for a *real* challenge." Akane said, her grin returning. "I accept." They faced off in the middle of the dojo. Akane seemed to just stand there, though Ranma knew she was accessing her new technique. He charged her at full speed, hoping to get a few strikes in before she could start blocking. Unfortunately she managed to block his first attack and they started a cycle of block and attack that would have been a blur to most people. Ranma pushed his speed up as far as he could without actually using the chestnut fist and started slipping a few strikes past Akane's defense. After getting in five good blows Akane's speed suddenly increased and *he* was the one unable to block everything coming at him. He thought and slipping into a full chestnut fist attack. Akane *still* managed to block most of the strikes, but enough got through to send her flying back to land heavily on her backside. When she held up her hand in surrender Ranma let his exhausted arms drop to his sides. "I win." he announced. "You had to use the chestnut fist to do it." She countered, sticking out her tongue. Yeah, I did." Ranma admitted. He decided she deserved more than that for her performance. He kneeled down in front of her, putting both hands on her shoulders. "Akane, that was amazing. You're faster than anyone I've ever fought except Cologne and Happosi. I'm really proud of you." Akane gave him one of the sunny smiles that made him feel warm all over. "Thank you. That means a lot to me." Akane seemed to lean forward a little. A thrill ran though his body and he leaned forward a bit to see if she really wanted to... "Hold foul sorcerer. Remove thy hands from the beautius Akane." "Arrrgggg!" Akane yelled. "These interruptions are driving me crazy!" "What do *you* want Kuno?" Ranma asked. "You, Saotome, shall pay for forcing my sister to be committed to an insane asylum." Kuno moved his bokkan to a ready position. "I had nothing to do with it." "Silence knave." Kuno roared. "Your magic caused my sister to lose, for while the fair Akane is powerful, my sister with her many tricks cannot be beaten so easily." "Sorry Kuno buddy. Akane's gotten a lot better and she just plain creamed your sister." "Your lies ill become even you Saotome." "Hey!" Akane jumped up and stalked over to Kuno. "Why can't you believe I beat Kodachi?" "While you are both beautiful and skilled my love, your skill cannot match my sisters. She is, after all, a Kuno." "That's it!" Akane shouted in Kuno's face. "I challenge you Kuno. If I beat you, you have to go through the same thing your sister did." "And if I win?" Kuno asked haughtily. "Then I'll go on a date with you." "I am sorry my love, but even for such a boon I cannot consider allowing one such as myself to be poked and prodded by those so called doctors." Ranma considered the situation. He could probably push this thing either way. If he got Kuno to agree and Akane won, they might get rid of Kuno for a long, long time. If she lost, she'd be forced to go out with that pervert. She had gotten a lot better, but Kuno was pretty good too, there was no guarantee she would win. "Hey Kuno, how about I get the pigtail girl to go out with you on the same date?" This should work. Kuno would never pass up both Akane and his 'pig-tailed girl' at the same time. And if Akane lost he'd be there to keep Kuno under control. Drool started forming at the edges of Kuno's mouth. "Both?" he asked. "Yeah, both." Ranma said. he thought. "Very well Akane Tendo, I accept your challenge. Beware, with such stakes I cannot go easy on you." Ranma squeezed Akane's shoulder. "Nothing fancy, just take him out. I *really* don't want you to lose this one." "Only if you remember where we left off when Kuno interrupted." Akane whispered back. Ranma blushed and pulled at the collar of his shirt in embarrassment. "Umm...okay." "Step away foul sorcerer, that we may fight without your dishonorable interference." "Sure Kuno." Ranma walked out the door to the walkway to the house. Finding a convenient fire bucket he changed into his girl form and walked back in. He doubted Kuno would object to his presence in *this* form. "Kuno! Ranma told me about the challenge. I will go on a date with you and Akane if you win." Ranma-chan narrowed her eyes. "If you lose and don't follow through on your promise I will consider you completely dishonored, and will have nothing more to do with you." "Do not fear my goddess, I shall not lose." Kuno said in his usual pompous way and moved his bokkan to a ready position. * * * * Akane moved into a defensive posture but didn't pull up the mindset for high-speed mode. She had found she couldn't understand what people were saying in that state and had to wait until Ranma called the start of the match. Ranma-chan held up a hand. "Ready... begin." he said as he dropped his hand. Kuno charged, waving his bokkan in a bewildering pattern that Akane had never seen him use before. She pulled up her mindset and the weaving bokkan became a slow graceful motion tracing out...words. Akane snorted and blocked what probably seemed like a blindingly fast bokkan strike to the side of her head. Kuno moved back and began his special multi-strike technique. Akane had to admit it was impressively fast, though slower than Ranma's chestnut fist. She was about to jump forward and knock the bokkan out of Kuno's hands when the first pressure wave struck. She almost lost her balance but the push was slow enough that she was able to compensate. After that she watched Kuno's bokkan closely and saw how he added a twist to the blade to direct the pressure waves in a particular direction. She also found she could see the waves by the rippling distortion they caused. She reached forward to block the nearest wave and found that pushing at it canceled it out. She decided to just stand there and block the waves, letting Kuno wear himself out. After what felt like way too long Akane realized she would die of boredom before Kuno would tire. She had his pattern down, so the next time his bokkan came forward she leaned in and grabbed the tip, yanking it as hard as she could. Akane ducked under the wooden sword as it flew over her head, then stepped forward and started using Kuno as a punching bag. A few hundred punches later Akane stepped back and relaxed the mindset. It would be much more fun to watch him fall over at normal speeds. Ranma-chan clapped. "Not bad, four or five seconds, you could have done better though." she thought. How fast had she pushed this technique in the last few days? "I could have done it faster, I was trying to figure out that air pressure trick he does." "Yeah, it's a pain." Ranma-chan agreed. "You can't see them so you gotta guess where they're going to show up by the way he moves his sword. "Actually you *can* see them. They look like the shimmer over a road on a hot sunny day." Akane replied. Kuno groaned in pain. "Welcome back Kuno." Ranma-chan said. "I-I've been defeated" "Yes." Akane said. "You choose to believe that I was not as good as a Kuno. Now you have to keep your promise." "I-I...Yes. Let it not be said that a Kuno would not keep his word. I will do as you say." Kuno got unsteadily to his feet and stumbled out the door to the yard. Akane suddenly felt exausted. Her legs start to give and she had to sit before she fell. She put her head down on her knees and tried to stop the shaking that swept through her. She felt Ranma's hand on her back and heard him ask if she was feeling well. "Sorry." Akane managed to mumble. "Looks like you're going to have to take care of me again." Her energy spent, Akane let herself fall into unconsciousness, knowing Ranma would be there for her. * * * * Ranma and Akane were eating lunch together. This was not unheard of, and usually led to some kind of amusing altercation. Somehow though, This time seemed to be different. They were simply eating and talking. They weren't interrupted by rogue fiancees, bokkan-wielding idiots, or violent fanged boys. Several of the wiser - if more cynical - students decided it was too quiet and put as much space as possible between themselves and the volatile couple. A collective sigh of mixed relief and anticipation when through the gathering as Nabiki shoved her way through the crowd and stomped over to her sister. It wasn't quite the usual fare, but anything involving these three was bound to be interesting. "Yo, Nabiki, what's up?" Ranma asked in greeting. "How could you?" Nabiki said to her sister, ignoring Ranma completely. Akane paused with her chopsticks halfway to her mouth. "How could I what?" "How could you force Kuno to have himself committed." Nabiki said impatiently. "Just though his sister would like a little company." Ranma said cheerily. "I don't care about Kodachi, but having Kuno committed was a big mistake." Akane put down her bento box. She wasn't going to get anything to eat until this was over. "I didn't 'force' them to be committed. The challenge was they had to go in for psychiatric evaluation. If they ended up getting committed, it's because they needed to be." "Damn it Akane, I get over forty percent of my income from Kuno, not to mention the money from bets on his fights with Ranma." "So that's what this is all about? Money?" Akane asked. "All!" Nabiki said, outraged. "Mom's trust pays the property taxes, and dads few students barely put food on the table, how do you think we pay for all the repairs? You and Ranma cause a lot of damage." Akane looked guilty at that. "Umm... I'm sorry onechan. He's been such a pest this last year..." Ranma could see that Akane was almost in tears over her sisters disapproval. His eyes narrowed in anger and he stepped between the two, facing Nabiki. Nabiki opened her mouth for a no-doubt scathing comment, but took a step back when she saw the look on Ranma's face. "Stop it Nabiki. Now." Ranma said in a dangerous voice. "You dare yell at your sister for what she's done to Kuno? She's *helped* him. All you've done is milk his delusions for all the money you could. You've even stooped so low as to sell pictures of your own sister to that perverted scum. Nabiki took another step back, her face white. "B-But the repair costs..." "What damage have Akane and I done to the house in the last six weeks?" Nabiki's eyes glazed for a moment as she went into 'accountant' mode. "30 thousand to repair the new 'door' into the living room and 26 thousand for the kitchen 'skylight' last week, and...umm that's all." She sounded surprised by her own conclusion. "The 'door' was Shampoo - don't you bill the Nekohauten for that? The skylight was Happosai throwing your father into next week. How did Akane and I cause that? Don't go blaming us for stuff we didn't do." Akane moved next to Ranma, his defense of her seemed to have cheered her up. "The fact is we're just not fighting like we used to, so there's a lot less damage. You're probably making *more* money now - even with Kuno gone." She said. Ranma had a rather nasty idea. Before Nabiki could recover he stepped up and put an arm across her shoulders. "Don't worry about him Nabs." He said in a low voice that only Nabiki and Akane could hear. "Once Akane and I are married she'll be head of the household. We'll have lots of say in things like arranging marriages." Akane looked at him in surprise then her face lite in understanding. She moved in front of her sister and took both her hands. "Ranma's right, we'll make sure you have a good, loving husband. You don't have to keep up this affair with Kuno-sempi anymore." A look of horror and revulsion crossed Nabiki's face. "Y-You wouldn't!" Akane patted her hand in mock sympathy. "Oh, but we could. We'll do *anything* to make sure our dear sister is as happy as we are." That was too much for Nabiki. She pulled away from their grasp and with one fear-filled backward glance, dashed into the crowd. Somehow Ranma managed to keep from laughing. He looked over at Akane and saw the same strain not to give into the laughter dancing in her eyes. "Shall we continue eating?" he asked with a bow. "Yes, by all means." Akane managed with only a single stifled giggle. * * * * On the other side of some shrubs a short distance away Ukyou stood in front of her portable grill, the smoke from several burnt okonomiyaki drifting past her face. She asked herself. Something was going on, something big. It had been too quiet the last few weeks and she'd been letting things slide. It was time to take action. She scraped the dead okonomiyaki's off her grill and began planning. ===END PART 3=== C&C *very* welcome, flames ignored. Please send comments to twrensch@geocities.com. My completed stories and relatively complete drafts are posted at http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Dojo/5201/.