110Thus, the Stallion Escapes Here
By Lord Raa
Disclaim-me-do: Remember, it's "you learn something new every day." Not nude. So don't go to school naked.
Chapter 6
Ranma looked on at the city in the distance. It had taken ten days to get to Rondel, but he felt that it was worth it. As he looked at the road leading up to the gates, he noticed the buildings gleamed white in the mid morning sunshine.
"¬Spectacular,¬" he said in Japanese.
"Sorry?" Lelei asked.
"Oh..." Ranma paused as he fumbled for the right words. "Err... good vision? No, that's not it... Nice buildings? Good vista? Pleasant scene?"
The apprentice mage nodded. Ranma's learning ability was impressive. From not being able to speak the language to constructing sentences in ten days was almost unheard of. She pondered what her sister, Arpeggio, would think of him.
She would be impressed that Ranma could learn things so quickly, and she would be curious as to the mechanics of what Ranma had termed his curse.
Then Lelei recalled what she'd seen when Ranma had gone through his morning practice. Muscles flexing, athletic ability and cocky grin when he noticed that he was being watched. It made for quite a heady mix.
'Now that I think about it, Ranma himself is probably what Arpeggio will be most interested in,' Lelei decided.
She wanted to warn him that her sister might be looking for a husband, but Ranma had slipped away without her noticing.
"Ran…ma…"
"What's up, Lelei?" Cato asked, returning to the cart after answering the call of nature.
"Ranma's disappeared. He was here a moment ago."
There was a rustling from the nearby treeline before Ranma emerged carrying a brace of game birds.
"Sorry, saw these. We eat?"
Cato blinked. These small birds were a tricky quarry, thanks to their nimbleness and flighty nature. For someone to get two in such short succession without the benefit of traps proved that they had good reflexes.
"We've only got three hours before we to get to city, but if we prepare them on the way, we can eat them when we arrive at Mimosa's," the wizard replied.
"Oh, OK," Ranma nodded as he started to pluck the birds. "You want feathers?"
"Yes," Lelei nodded. She'd heard that noble women liked to show off their wealth with feathers in their hair and hats. This would go some way towards paying for the treatment of Ranma's curse.
Mimosa looked at the visitors to her workshop with an air practised, but feigned disapproval.
"And what brings you here, Master Cato?" she asked, her eyes narrowed with suspicion.
"Arpeg…" the lecherous wizard was cut off from his reflexive answer by an elbow to the ribs from his apprentice and coughed to cover his blushes. "I'm here to see if you can help this young man with a problem."
Ranma smiled before bowing politely. "Hello, I Ranma."
"He's not from around here, is he?" Mimosa asked rhetorically. 'I can't place that accent…'
"We're not sure where's he's from, he hasn't told us," Lelei explained.
"I not speak well, but I bring dinner," the martial artist said awkwardly as he held up two plucked birds.
"Well, it would be rude to turn away someone who's brought food with them," Mimosa said, winking at her visitors. "Come inside and we'll talk. Arpeggio, we've got guests."
Ranma, Lelei and Cato sat opposite Mimosa and Arpeggio.
In order to help explain things, Cato had asked for two jugs of water, one hot and one cold. He gestured to Ranma to begin.
"¬Right, how best to begin?¬ I Ranma, male. Yes?"
"Certainly looks that way to me," Arpeggio commented. 'He's kind of cute, in a rustic sort of way.'
Ranma reached for the cold water and poured some on his head. "I Ranma, girl now."
Mimosa and Arpeggio blinked in surprise. "But… how? That was normal water!"
"Is curse," Ranma answered before reaching for the hot water. "Cold water make Ranma girl, hot water make Ranma man."
The redhead poured some of the hot water over her head and turned her male. "Is from Jusenkyo. Others go to Jusenkyo and get curses. Father turn into panda."
"Panda? What's a panda?" Lelei asked.
"Panda… err… bear, but black and white. Look like punched eyes," Ranma explained gesturing with a fist over his own left eye. "Also very lazy and eat lots."
"I see… so there are others with this curse of yours?" Mimosa asked.
"Yes, but they not here. Not sure where they are. Not sure if can get back home," the martial artist said. He looked a bit sad for a moment before cheering up. "But you good wizards and you cure me, yes?"
"Well, possibly, but it will take some time," Arpeggio said. "And it will cost."
Ranma reached into his shirt and pulled out one of the coin purses he'd looted. "This help?"
Arpeggio took the offered money and counted it. There were four silver coins and ten copper coins. "It's a start, but we will need more. I mean, I'll have to stop taking in other work if you want me to spend all my time on curing you."
"I help out. I do jobs to get coins for you."
Cato nodded in approval. Ranma might be a stranger, but his moral code wasn't completely alien. "Excellent stuff! Now, how about dinner? Ranma found some birds for us to eat…"
The martial artist reached into a bag and pulled out two plucked poultry carcasses. "Lelei have feathers if they help, but bird looked tasty in woods when Ranma saw them."
Arpeggio and Lelei sat beside each other in Mimosa's study looking at reference tomes. "So, how long have you known Ranma?"
"He arrived in Coda village about ten days ago. A merchant named Pullo La Sanges brought. That reminds me, we have your samples for you."
"Ah, thank you, I've been waiting for these for an experiment," the older sister smiled. "So Ranma appeared ten days ago, eh? Was he cursed then?"
"Yes. He showed us the curse and Master Cato said we should come here to cure him."
"Unlike your Master to be that kind…"
"I think he wanted to see you," Lelei replied. "I've heard him say your name late at night."
"…" Arpeggio tried to put that out of her mind and turned the conversation back to Ranma. "What do you know about Ranma?"
"Not much. He didn't speak the language until we started our journey here, so he's not really been able to talk about his homeland. But there is something I have learned about it," the younger sister said.
"Oh?"
"He's language uses completely different letters. When he wrote his name, it was like two little pictures, but when he wrote mine in it, it was more like ours, only it spells out sounds."
"What makes you say that?" asked Arpeggio.
"He wrote his name out again, this time showing which letter made which sound. He can read and write, but just not our language."
"Interesting. We should ask him about it."
Back in Nerima, things were falling into a new norm. It was a calm that hadn't really existed since for a long, long time. At the Tendo Dojo, Soun Tendo was even more emotional than ever. He barely had the energy to cheat at go with his old training partner.
Kasumi seemed to be going on as normal, but those that knew her could tell she felt a little saddened at the loss of Ranma. His company always made her day a little brighter.
Nabiki certainly felt the loss or Ranma, her spending money was practically nothing now. Gone were her chances to bilk Ranma from his allowance or money from the Kuno siblings for lewd images of both Ranma-kun and Ranma-chan.
Akane had taken the loss of Ranma the hardest. During their time together, Ranma had often been brash, insulting and downright unpleasant to be around. He didn't like admitting his feelings, which was unsurprising given his upbringing. But when the chips were down, Ranma didn't lose and he would sweat blood to best his opponent.
There was a knock at the door, causing everyone to snap out of their reveries.
Kasumi answered the door and greeted the suited man.
"Hello, can I help you?"
"I'm Toshiro Tamura," the man said with a polite bow. "I'm with the Tokyo Insurance Company and I'm here to speak with Genma Saotome."
"Oh, please come this way."
"Thank you," Tamura said before he slipped his shoes off.
"Mr. Saotome, you have a guest," Kasumi said as she led the visitor to the room where the panda was sitting.
"Mr. Saotome, I am Toshiro Tamura and I am here to offer my condolences on the loss of your son," Tamura said to Soun.
"You're mistaken, Mr. Tamura, but I'm Soun Tendo," the moustachioed man said. "This is Genma Saotome."
The panda waved.
"But that's a panda…"
"I'll get some hot water," Kasumi said before leaving for the kitchen.
"A panda is an unusual pet, Mr. Tendo. Have you thought about insuring it against medical bills?" the insurance man asked, still unsure of what he was seeing.
"He's not a pet. He's my old training partner. Genma Saotome is a strange name for a pet, don't you think?" Soun forced a laugh.
"Perhaps, but it's not my place to comment on such things," Tamura said diplomatically.
Kasumi returned and poured some hot water over the panda. "There you, Mr. Saotome."
"Thank you, Kasumi," Genma said as he adjusted his gi and bandana. "Now, what can I do for you, Mr. Tamura?"
"…" the insurance man blinked before returning to the business at hand. "I am here to offer condolences on behalf of the Tokyo Insurance Company. It is never easy losing a child, especially one with as much potential as Ranma, but I can only hope that this payout makes things as easy as possible."
"I… yes, of course, never easy," Genma said, his eyes lighting up at the thought of that lovely money. He thanked the gods he'd been so wise as to insure his son for such a hefty amount.
It hadn't been easy, but with the offer of a few photographs of Ranma's cursed form, some of the lonelier men at the company had agreed to the policy.
"There is, however, a slight problem, Mr. Saotome."
"There is?" Genma asked, not liking where this was going.
"Yes, unfortunately, due to the incident in Ginza, we will be unable to pay the full amount in a lump sum. Would you be willing to accept the same amount, but spread over the next three years?" Tamura asked, hope audible in his voice.
The crafty man didn't like this new proposition, but given that he didn't really want to make a fuss and delay any payout on the policy, he agreed. "Do you have the first cheque with you?"
"Here is the first cheque for 10 million yen, but I will require your signature to confirm that you are happy with the terms of this new arrangement."
Genma glanced over the contract, it mentioned that it was not possible to pay the full amount in a single lump sum, but the full amount would be paid over the course of thirty six months. He missed the clause that said if Ranma wasn't dead, Genma would have to repay all monies paid out by the company and he faced prosecution for fraud with a minimum sentence of eight years.
"Everything looks to be in order," he said smiling as he signed the documents. "Thank you for your help on the matter."
"No, Mr. Saotome, thank you for your understanding on the situation. I will bid you good day, sir. Mr. Tendo," Tamura bowed before leaving.
Soun turned to Genma. "What does this mean, Saotome-kun?"
"It's a minor change to the insurance policy, Tendo-kun. I'm still getting the money, just not all in one payment."
"But when did you take out a life insurance policy on Ranma?"
"I did what I had to," Genma replied. "After all, with his passing, he can no longer take over the dojo. How else was I to be taken care of in my old age? Life as a martial artist is not known for its pension."
Soun blinked. Genma was perfectly right, but how did he manage to get such a payout for Ranma?
"Well, since you've now had a windfall, perhaps you could contribute to the upkeep of this house, Saotome-kun?"
"I've got to wait for the cheque to clear, Tendo-kun, no bank would cash this much money without asking questions."
"True… Wait, it's an insurance payout, what's the problem?"
"Well, I don't want to pay the fees…" Genma countered weakly.
At the Itazuma base, Nodoka was enjoying gunnery practice with the 12.7mm machine gun. One of the other soldiers had drawn ears onto a silhouette as part of a joke.
Fortunately, Nodoka had seen the funny side and drew a smily face on the target with an excellent demonstration of control on a fully automatic machine gun. The rest of the soldiers who were training with her soon realised that attempting to prank Nodoka Kuribayashi would result in trip to the hospital.
Private Kuribayashi finished her box of ammunition, enjoying the recoil and the smell of the weapon she handled so deftly.
Sergeant Akira Tomita was curious as to what it was that some of the enlisted men were so enamoured with as he walked towards the range. He noticed that some of the lonelier soldiers were watching a female solder fire the machine gun with a gleam in their eyes. It wasn't unusual for a woman to be a skilled weapon operator, and the old cliché of 'girls with guns' was a popular one with many men in Japan.
However, there was something about the way Nodoka handled the 12.7mm that had attracted their attention that was different to the average action movie. Tomita followed their eyeline and shook his head.
When the gun fell silent, he called the Private for a quick word.
"Sir?"
"I appreciate that you enjoy the 12.7mm, it's a powerful weapon that can do a lot of damage," the Sergeant said.
"It's a versatile weapon, Sir."
"Yes, but how should I put this? If you are selected for duty on a high recoil weapon, you might want to…" he coughed, embarrassed by the subject of this particular conversation. "Ensure that you have appropriate support."
"Support, Sir?"
"Support… in the…" Tomita gestured to his chest with a hand. "Area."
"Oh…" Nodoka said, finally understanding why she'd gained an audience for her practice. "Well, most of my clothes are being laundered, Sir. Rather than go without any support, something that would be a mistake, I had to choose something that was more form over function."
Slightly red-faced at the topic, the Sergeant told the Private that she should get some more supporting garments to ensure full combat efficiency once they went through the Gate.
"Yes, Sir, I will go shopping for more sports bras once I get a free moment."
"Very well, Private," Tomita said, saluting.
A few days later, in Rondel, Ranma was beginning to get a touch of cabin fever. He knew that he should leave the wizards to do their thing without him getting under their feet, but there wasn't anything for him to do.
It seemed weird to say so, but Ranma kind of missed his father. 'At least if Pops were here, I could practice.'
Shaking the nostalgia for the source of most of his troubles from his mind, Ranma decided that he would have to train himself if he wanted to keep in peak physical condition.
He knocked on the door to the study and got the reply "come in."
"Hello? I go for a run. Be back later, is OK?" the cursed youth asked.
"Of course, Ranma," Cato said.
"Oh, while you're out, could you pick up something for dinner?" Mimosa asked with a smile.
"Sure," Ranma smiled back before leaving the mages to continue their work.
Now armed with permission to leave the workshop, Ranma thought about the route he should take for his run. After a few moments' thought, he decided to run along the wall that separated the R & D section of the city. It would be interesting, a long enough run to exercise him and he wouldn't get too lost.
Navigating around strange cities hadn't ever really been a problem for any of the Saotomes, certainly never to the point where they'd be mistaken for Ryoga, but why take risks in a land where there were people who rode dragons into battle?
The walls that surround the Research district didn't cover the area Ranma thought they did. He'd already completed two laps by the time the sun had started to move in the sky. He shook his head.
"¬If I don't get some good practice in soon, by the time I get back to Nerima, I won't even be able to defeat Kuno,¬" he complained.
"Hey! You up there on the wall!" a stern voice called out, attracting the martial artist's attention.
"What?"
"You're not supposed to be up there! Get down now or I'll arrest you!" the man in uniform instructed.
An evil thought entered Ranma's head. "Have to catch me first!" he called out before running across the rooftops of Rondel.
The member of the City Guard blinked in disbelief that a man could move so fluidly across such uneven terrain before giving chase
To be continued…
Now, I believe that some people raised some points in their reviews regarding Ranma's abilities and the like.
And, yes, Ranma should be able to wipe the floor with those he encounters, but I've tried to balance things for the sake of the narrative. If Ranma was to go full force, people would ask awkward questions about his origin and he'd find himself in even more trouble than he is now.
There's nothing wrong with enjoying a good power fantasy, but writing one doesn't really appeal to me. Maybe I would feel different if I was using my own characters rather than writing fanfiction. Who knows.
I have started work on chapter 7, so it's only a matter of time before I update this one again.
