"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 by 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 him, 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 dark black, 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 Minato 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. There was
that river, and he knew some of the houses.
"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 fiancée." 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 Minato.
"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. Ranma nodded. "Tendo
Akane."
Himeko walked up and smiled. "Hey, are you Tendo-san?"
"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.