Chapter 1: Training and Tribulations
"No please daddy nooo! Not the pit I'll be good don' wanna learn this anymore!!! Not the pit!" Screamed the little boy.
He was fairly young only around six years old or so. His black hair was tied into a pigtail and his bangs seemed to frame his beautiful blue gray eyes. His eyes however held terror the likes man was never meant to know. His face was covered in small scratches and bites that looked to have been made from several small animals.
He was currently covered in a dirty off white gi that was ripped and shredded in places. His arms and legs were tied together with fish sausage and several large chunks of raw fish hung from his neck and dangled suggestively in front of his mid torso.
Below him was a dark pit where a constant yowling and screeching could be heard. This was the current source of his fears. Well that and the middle aged man currently holding him above his head.
"Ranma you sound like a GIRL, grow up and be a man!" He shouted at the boy that was supposedly his son.
"No papa please don't. I don't wanna go in the pit again Nooooo!" The boy pleaded again.
"You are going to learn this technique if it kills you boy!" The man yelled. "Now into the pit and don't come out till you've learned it!" He yelled again while tossing the boy into the pit.
Screams and crying were heard for the next four minutes, then total silence broken only by the occasional bird call.
"Wonder if he's got it this time?" The man said to himself as he lounged on a log and sipped at his drink. Training was hard work after all.
In the pit
As soon as he hit the floor of the pit the cats were on him ripping and shredding his clothes and flesh. He screamed it was the same every time, first the darkness then the eyes, the claws and the fangs. After two minutes of pure torture the food finally ran out. The food ran out but the cats were still hungry. There was a nice boy down here. He smelled like food, felt like food, therefore he was food. They were cats he was their food. They began to attack again in earnest. That was when it happened.
This was his thirteenth time in the pit. It was amazing that he managed to survive the first time much less twelve, however as with all things something must give. In this case it was when that big tom decided to have his neck for a snack, his mind broke and all became black, null and void.
Outside the pit
Genma was leaning over the edge of the pit trying to catch a glimpse of his son when suddenly a terrible scream, like a banshee being neutered with a rusty spoon, emanated from the pit followed by a fountain of blood and various cat body parts. The last thing he saw before he blacked out was a decapitated cat scull heading right for him.
When he awoke the field that he'd used was covered in blood and cat body parts. Fly's and other scavengers were abundant picking at the feast that was laid out before them. Genma wondered how long he'd been out. The sun hung low in the sky so he guessed that he'd been out for about five or six hours or so. Silently he congratulated himself on thinking ahead and not trying to train the boy in the city where this sort of thing would have gotten him in trouble. Patting himself on the back for being such a great teacher, as to teach the boy such a powerful technique. He looked around and not seeing any human body parts in the mix deduced that his son had indeed learned the technique and was alive somewhere.
Giving his body a sniff he decided that it would be best if he cleaned up before he went out and tracked down his foolish son. He set off for his small tent by the riverbank whistling a happy tune completely oblivious to the fact that he had indeed killed his son in more ways than he could imagine.
Somewhere far from the pit
Ranma-neko was frightened, he didn't know who he was, where he was, or what he was doing out here, the only thing that he knew was that he was hungry and cold. His tattered bloody gi hung off his frame wafting in the wind like a red ghost. Turning his head to the side he sniffed the air. Smelling something that could be food he turned and padded off in that direction.
Fifteen minutes later he arrived at a small cottage nestled in a grove of trees. To the left side of the house there was a small creek with a bridge accross it. The cabin itself had moss gowing on the shingles and along some of the outside of the structure as well. It looked like the cabin had seen better days but of course all of this was lost on Ranma who didn't really care. What did catch his attention was the smell of fresh meat that was coming from inside. Cautiously looking around he decided that the best way in would be through the open window to the right of the door. Tensing for a second he jumped inside and took a quick scan around the room. Nothing as of yet was setting off his danger senses so he determined that it must be safe. Looking on the table he found exactly what he was looking for a big hunk of raw meat.
Throwing caution to the wind he jumped on the table and began devouring the meal, gulping down large chunks like they were nothing. Once he was finished he began to clean himself. In the middle of removing a scrap of grass from his hair that he noticed that he was not alone in the room.
He spun around faster than lightning and faced the intruder in a low crouch his pigtail sticking straight out. It was an elderly woman in her late seventies early eighties with light gray blond hair with some dark patches. Her face, which must have been quite beautiful in her day, was now wrinkled but still held a natural kindness that was hard to miss. The dress that she was wearing was extremely plain and looked to have been patched several times. As she began to slowly move towards the boy her steps were extremely graceful and completely silent.
Ranma was about to tense up and run but there was somthing about her that was calm and made him instinctively want to trust her. He relaxed somewhat and let her get closer.
When she was about five feet away she got down on her knees and made a perfect lap for sitting in. She patted her lap with her hand while making soft cooing noises to try and get him to come closer.
After his large meal Ranma was feeling quite tired and a nice soft warm lap seemed the perfect thing to take his cares away. After a quick clean up he jumped down from the table and into the lap almost knocking the old woman down. She quickly started petting him as though he were a cat. She was remarkably good at her task as he started softly purring and quickly fell asleep.
After she was assured that he was asleep she placed her hand on his head and softly chanted some strange words in a language long lost. She closed her eyes as her hand started to glow. When she opened her eyes what she saw almost made her want to throw up despite the horrors she'd seen in her long lifetime this young boy had very much 'gone through hell'. Disjointed images, fragments of a life once lived, pain, suffering, and terror. And through all this the cat, the human destroyed with the rest now only fragments of his former self.
The old woman did something that she hadn't done in over a century, she wept. In a soft voice she said to the sleeping boy. "Don't worry young one, grandmother will help you I promise."
She placed the sleeping boy on the floor careful not to disturb him. She cast a sleep spell to ensure that he did not wake up. Carefully she bent over making sure to not disturb him as much as possible and bit him.
Ten years later
A young boy possibly sixteen or seventeen stood next to a pile of stones. Some of the stones had some runes carved into them. His blue green eyes wept silent tears for his grandmother who he loved dearly and had raised him for all of his life. Pushing back an errant lock of blond hair he said one final prayer, bowed and prepared to leave the only place he had ever known in search of something that he didn't even know he needed.
When she was on her deathbed his grandmother told him that he should try to find his parents. Ever since he was young he knew that she wasn't really his grandmother but over time he just stopped caring. He knew she loved him like he was her own grandson and that was all that mattered. He'd found out a while ago that her own children had died and she was the last of her clan.
And so Ranma Shinkara last of the clan Shinkara got on his wagon heading off for Tokyo to search for his parents or other kin.
Tokyo, Nerima ward, Tendo Dojo
"I'm home!" a young girl's voice echoed throughout the house. "Welcome home." The response came from an older woman.
The young girl was perhaps sixteen or seventeen. She had long blue- black hair that was tied into a ponytail with a bow. She wore a school uniform that had definitely seen better days but had been expertly fixed time after time. Her shoes seemed a bit old and had a couple of holes in them. Upon closer inspection the uniform seemed to be a size too small for her growing frame and assets. If one were to guess that the girl came from a poor family that didn't have much money you would win a prize.
Despite appearances the girl wore a happy smile that seemed to radiate joy as she kicked off her shoes and walked towards the kitchen.
"Hello Auntie do you need any help?" She asked.
The older woman who had copper coloured hair turned around and smiled. She was middle aged but seemed to radiate a sensual beauty that defied her years.
"No, Akane I'll be fine, I'm almost done, why don't you go clean up." She said.
"Ok Auntie I will." She said as she skipped off.
As soon as she left the kitchen the older woman's smile disappeared like somebody shaking up an Etch a Sketch. She thought of how her no good husband and the trouble he'd caused this poor family. Her thoughts then turned violent as she remembered walking up to the door only to find that her husband and the girls father had skipped out the day before she got there. That was two weeks ago. When she saw the condition and heard their story of what her husband had done to thier family over the years, her long dormant mothering instincts took over and she started doing her best to put the house in order.
Turning back to the meal she was preparing, it wasn't much to look at. Rice and some vegetables. It wasn't much but between Kasumi's and her jobs they were slowly making some headway and soon the family would be out of debt, however this never should have happened in the first place. A single tear slipped down her cheek. When she found her husband there would be more than hell to pay.
Near the Bank
Nabiki Tendo was walking along with a small smile on her face. In her purse was the last of the payments. It had taken her ten long years but finally it would be over, all of their debts would be cleared up and the Tendo dojo would be back in the black again. All she had to do is get the money to the bank on time and everything would be fine. Nothing could stop her. Well nothing unless you count those five large men with knives and chains that grabbed her and pulled her into the alleyway. She attempted to scream but one of them put his big meaty hand over her mouth and held his knife to her throat.
"Well well well, lookie what we got here boys." The man said looking up and down her body like he was sizing up a piece of meat in the market and deciding on whether to buy it or not.
Now Nabiki was a Tendo, and is common with all Tendo's is the fact that martial arts runs in their veins. She wasn't as good as Akane or Kasumi but she could take any one of these goons in a one on one. The problem was there were five goons to one of her.
+ Maybe they'll just rape me and leave me alone. + She thought.
"Hey boss I'll take her last k?" One of the uglier ones said.
The goons shared a good laugh at that.
"Yeah right you just want her last so you can 'clean up' eh" One of the uglier goons said to his
+ Oh great of all the gangs I had to run into one with a necrophiliac in it. + She thought ruefully.
One of the goons grabbed her purse and began rifling through it.
"Hey boss lookie here." The thug said as he pulled out the money. The boss whistled, then turned his attention back to Nabiki.
"Well then this is surely unusual getting paid by the whore for a fuck." The thugs laughed at this.
"Now you scream and I cut ya, understand." She nodded her head.
He removed his hand from her mouth and tore off her shirt and then her bra. Her pants and panties were next. He roughly grabbed her right breast and squeezed hard. She winced but bit down the scream. As he removed his member she absent-mindedly made a mental note that it was quite small.
+ Oh kami-sama I'm still a virgin, I didn't want it to be like this, Oh please not like this. +
She shut her eyes tight and waited for the pain.
Two blocks away five minutes earlier
After arriving in Tokyo and storing grandmother's stuff in a rental shed, and selling the horse Ranma was walking on the streets of Nerima. His first order of business was to get some currency.
Apparently paying with rubies and gold coins was not the thing to do if you wanted to be subtle. The owner of the storage shed basically gave him the use of the shed for however long he wanted it. Subtle it was not, effective yes, but not subtle.
On his back was his trusty backpack that was loaded down with pretty much everything he needed, clothing, food, basic necessities etc. It was the more dangerous stuff and his money that he kept in his stuff space. For those who aren't familiar with it stuff space consists of a multidimensional fold in the time space continuum where people can store vast quantities of well stuff and have it available at their fingertips in a matter of seconds no matter where they are. (Basically where Akane keeps her mallet and Mousse his weapons)
Current inventory of his stuff space included 10 rubies, 50 gold coins, 30 platinum pieces, several scrolls with various magic spells or techniques on them, his grandmother's spell book, and her medallion. The rest of her stuff was stored in the storage shed. The appropriate wards and spells pretty much ensured that the metal shed was more secure than the average NATO command center.
As he walked along his danger sense started screaming at him. Something was definitely amiss. As he passed by the alleyway he looked in and saw five men and one naked girl. He immediately saw what the men intended to do to the girl and it sent him into a fury. A mate was to be taken willingly and never ever to be forced. This is what grandmother had told him and grandmother never lied to him. Besides the two mates he'd had in his journey here had both been willing and it was a wonderful experience. Nothing would come of it of course but it had been pleasurable nonetheless.
What those men were doing to that girl was nothing short of robbery. Ranma took a sniff of the air. He could almost smell her fear, no wait that wasn't fear that was, that was. Oh boy this would just not do.
In the alley
Nabiki tensed waiting for him to pierce her and take something that she did not give up freely. It was an agonizing moment that seemed to stretch on for a long long time. She suddenly felt the knife fly from her throat and muffled screaming. When she opened her eyes all of her attackers were on the ground unconscious and bleeding. Further inspection of her surroundings noted a young man with blond hair standing in front of her between herself and her would be rapists. He looked well muscled but sleek in his appearance his long blond hair was braided into a warrior's braid that hung halfway down his back. There were some darker patches in his hair that seemed strange but she attributed it to a bad dye job. Letting her eyes wander further down she noticed that he did indeed have a nice butt.
Sensing that the threat that these men posed was over Ranma decided to turn around and get a better look at the girl he rescued. Her brown hair was cut short and seemed to frame her cute face all the better. Her eyes were the deepest brown and he seemed to fall into them. Her body was athletic but not overly muscled. As he was checking her out she was doing the same.
When he turned around her heart jumped into her throat. Growing up she never really had time for boys that was usually her older sister's area of expertise but this person in front of her was just. just. she couldn't find the words or thoughts to express it. Ok she could find the thoughts but that would make this an NC-17 fic.
Ranma was busy checking her over when he noticed that her nipples suddenly stiffen. He then remembered that she was naked and in an alleyway so she was either cold or turned on. A quick sniff of the air told him it was the latter. Putting on a gentle smile he took off his backpack and began rummaging through it. He pulled out a pair of pants and a blue Chinese style shirt and offered them to her.
Her thoughts on the subject of one pigtailed youth were abruptly cut off as he offered her some clothing. Looking down she finally noticed that she was naked. Quickly accepting the offered clothing and putting it on she noticed that the shirt and pants were huge on her smaller frame. Quickly cinching the waist of the pants so they wouldn't fall off as she walked her naughty thoughts came back about what else may be in those pants of his. Such thoughts were cut off by him speaking.
"Are you ok?" He asked concern evident in his voice.
"I. I think so." She replied a bit shaky.
"My name's Ranma." He gave a slight bow as he introduced himself.
"N....Nabiki." She stuttered this time not from the fright. And why was it getting warm all of a sudden.
Ranma turned to her would be attackers and started going through their pockets. It was then that Nabiki finally took notice of their condition. Each one had a bloodstain around their crotch area and a slightly glazed look in their eyes.
"Are Are they?" Nabiki asked fearful that her savior might have just become a murderer.
"Are they dead? No they'll be fine in a couple of hours." He continued to rifle through their pockets taking money or anything else of value.
"I hate people who think that they can just take what doesn't belong to them." He said as he finished with the last thug and walked over to where she was.
"Hey you OK?" He said as he saw that she was starting to turn green.
"Why? Why'd you?" She tried to say.
"Huh? Oh that well you see they were going to take you then KILL you, I'd say they got off quite lucky ne?"
Ok he had a point.
"Let's get out of here ok?" She managed.
As they neared the entrance to the alley she remembered her purse and was going to go back and get it when she felt a strong hand grab her arm. Still a bit jittery from her near rape her martial training took over. She grabbed the offending appendage she twisted down and around using the momentum to throw him into a wall. Well that's what was supposed to happen. What actually happened was that he did go flying however instead of impacting the nice brick wall with his hard as rock head, he managed to twist around and bounce off the wall and onto his feet.
"Not bad you must be really strong, I mean that was some good distance you tossed me." he noted idly.
"Oh my god Ranma are you alright! I'm so so sorry I really didn't mean to throw you."
"No problem no harm no foul, although why you'd want to go back there is beyond me."
"Well I need my purse it kinda has all my money in it." She replied a bit sheepishly.
"Looking for this?" Ranma said as he held out her purse.
She quickly grabbed it and rifled through the contents. Sure enough the money was in there all of it. No wait there was 7 thousand yen extra. She looked up at Ranma who just shrugged his shoulders.
"Figured you could use the money more than they could. By the way where are you headed I can walk you there."
"I'm going to the bank." She replied.
"Hey me too could you show me where it is?"
She grabbed his arm and started leading him off to the bank. Truth be told she didn't need to touch him to guide him but she wasn't going to let her logic centers have any say in this discussion. As they entered the bank she took note of how few people there were in there. She got in line with Ranma behind her. She absentmindedly adjusted the shirt so it fit her better. After about three minutes in line she finally got up to the teller. She smiled a bit as she put the money down on the counter. The teller knew her and quickly tallied up the appropriate balance sheet and came up with a sum of zero. She smiled as she handed Nabiki her receipt. Nabiki gave a quick bow and then stepped aside so that Ranma could go up to the counter.
When he got there he seemed to reach in to his pocket that seemed much deeper than it appeared. When he pulled out his hand he had two gold coins in it. Her eyes bugged out and her jaw dropped.
"I was wondering if I could exchange these for some paper money." Ranma said simply.
Nabiki who had just moved off to the side saw this and her jaw just dropped. Nobody just carried around honest to goodness gold coins anymore.
The teller wasn't doing a good job either of containing her astonishment either. She mumbled something incoherent grabbed the coins and ran off to the back room. When she returned she didn't have the coins but a small stack of bills. It was roughly 100 thousand yen. He thanked her and turned to leave. When he noticed that Nabiki wasn't following him he gently grabbed her arm and led her out of the bank. This time she didn't react and allowed herself to be dragged out of the bank without any fuss. When the sunlight hit her eyes she was rudely shocked back into reality.
"Wh. Where did you get GOLD coins??" She demanded.
"Oh those it was an inheritance from my grandmother. I've got about fifty or sixty more. I really don't want to spend them so much but since I just got here I needed some quick cash." He responded turning to face her.
After she got over the shock of somebody having so much money and not caring about it wore off she glanced up at him and gave him a very predatory look thinking that he wouldn't notice it or if he did he wouldn't know what it meant. Unknown to her he noticed AND knew what it meant and Oh god was it turning him on. It was then that his stomach decided to remind him that he hadn't eaten today.
"Hey Nabiki do you want to go grab something to eat I'm starving." Even though she was up seven thousand yen old habits die hard, i.e. parting with said seven thousand yen or any portion of it without due cause. Seeing her hesitate he decided to unknowingly say her favorite words.
"My treat."
Her face decided to light up and a huge smile the likes of which had not been seen on her face in over ten years decided to make an appearance. Ranma stumbled a bit.
"So where do you recommend? I'm new here and don't know much." Nabiki stopped and thought for a few seconds before snapping her fingers.
"I know the perfect place." As she dragged him off towards the financial district.
As the couple approached the building Ranma noticed the name of the restaurant.
"Ucchan's?" He asked.
"Yeah she's got the best okonomiyaki that I've ever tasted you're going to love it." Nabiki said as she slid open the door.
"Umm what's okonomiyaki?" He asked.
"You've got to be kidding me!" She shot back. "You can't tell me that you've never had it."
"No not that I can remember."
"Ohh then you're in for a treat." She almost giggled before catching herself. Nabiki Tendo does NOT giggle like a little schoolgirl.
Since it was an off-hour the restaurant was fairly deserted. In another half an hour though it would be packed to the rafters with the supper rush crowd. Behind the counter was a girl about his age with long brown hair and brown eyes. She was cute enough. Giving her a quick check over he smiled just to be friendly and sat down. His smile though caused a reaction that he sort of expected. She blushed then began to 'react' to his presence. Yup she was definitely a girl.
"So sugar who's you're friend here?" She directed her question at Nabiki while never taking her eyes off Ranma.
"His name's Ranma." She answered back.
This had the effect of 10 grams of pure caffeine injected directly into her bloodstream.
"RANMA!!!" She yelled while jumping over the counter and attempting to grab the boy in an Amazon glomp (Watching Shampoo perform the technique all the time you eventually pick it up.)
The Amazon glomp however does have a fatal flaw since if you're opponent is fast they can dodge and you fall flat on your face. Case in point.
As she extracted her face from her floor she looked up at him. "Why Ranchan?"
"Umm I'm sorry miss Ucchan is it? I've never seen you before." Ranma was starting to be wierded out a bit. Women throwing themselves at him was not that uncommon since well he was pretty damned sexy if you asked him yourself, but a mistaken identity was something else entirely.
"But. But you're name's Ranma Saotome right?" She looked up.
"Umm no it's Ranma Shinkara." To tell the truth he had no idea if his first name really was Ranma. It was the first thing that came to him when he 'woke up' so it's possible it's his name.
Nabiki watched as Ukyo went from adrenaline high to crash in the span of a microsecond. She knew full well what Ukyo's reaction would be to 'Ranma' and that was part of the reason she brought him here. Dinner and a floor show what more could you ask for in a restaurant.
Ukyo for her part tried to salvage some of her dignity. Well as much dignity as someone can salvage considering she just tried to jump a total stranger. Nabiki was trying her hardest to hold in her laughter at the situation and failing miserably. Once she'd gotten back to the other side of the counter she took a deep cleansing breath and started her pitch.
"Welcome to Ucchan's I'm Ukyo Kuonji what can I get for you today?"
Nabiki for her part tried to remember to breathe. Ranma was having a much better time and only managed to break down a couple of times. Once things calmed down Nabiki explained how she met Ranma and then proceeded to order for the both of them since Ranma had never had okonomiyaki before.
Ukyo smiled. A newbie in her restaurant. Well this was just too good an opportunity to show off and possibly make a lifetime customer. She began working on her super deluxe specials making sure to put just an extra amount of effort into each one. When she was done she flipped one a piece in front of her customers. Ranma was impressed with the dexterity and obvious skill. It was the food itself that had much to be desired. He cautiously took a bite.
"How is it sugar?" Ukyo looked at him expectantly.
"It's really really good, never had anything like this before." It was horrible, but grandmother had taught him tact. He used his speed to finish off the rest of the terrible garbage hopefully before his taste buds were overly assaulted. When he was finished he leaned back and patted his stomach.
"Best one of those that I've ever tasted." And hopefully the last one of those god-awful things as well. How anybody could eat this garbage was beyond him.
Ukyo beamed at this. She was cute but just not his type.
Nabiki on the other hand was savoring hers. It wasn't often that she got to go out. In fact during the last ten years she could probably count all the times she's eaten out on one hand. Well that and the okonomiyaki was damned good.
"So Ranma yen for your thoughts." Nabiki said in between bites.
Ranma waited until she went and was about to take a sip from her glass.
"Well I was thinking that you were thinking about how to get into my pants."
"PPPPFFFTTT" Ukyo was now covered in Mountain Dew and Nabiki spit.
Ranma turned to her with a slightly amused look on his face.
"Just remember Nabiki-chan what I said about taking things that don't belong to you."
Her eyes went wide at this suggestion. While it was true that she planned on trying to get him as a boyfriend and maybe a bit of the old horizontal while she was at it, she never considered just skipping all the way to step c, and here he was just suggesting that they jump in the sack and have a go at 'er. Her head spun around almost planting her lips on his.
He pulled back a bit gave her a smile and a wink then went back to his drink. After a couple of sips he continued. Nabiki was still in shock of course. Here she was all ready to seduce him and use every trick she knew of just to get him into the horizontal mambo with her and it turns out all she had to do was ASK!! 'Oh Ranma how was your day today and by the way do you want to go upstairs and have wild carnal sex?' Of course he was a guy but that type of response was just too straight forward for her to accept at face value. She would of course have to 'test' this theory.
While Nabiki was off in la la land Ranma was talking to Ukyo about possible places to stay while in Nerima as he may be there a while. Ukyo for her part was thinking quite hard. (Oh yeah right she was just trying to think of where she was going to put him. Her room might be a good place)
The thing with Nabiki's brain is that it has been built with multiple redundant safeguards so while the main cognitive functions were off traipsing through pervert's land the redundant systems were working on things like trying to keep up with a conversation. Being automatic systems they were ruled by instinct mostly and therefore when it came time to form some kind of response they of course formed the most logical automatic response a young active teenager with severely repressed hormones could under the circumstances.
"You could stay at my house." She blurted out well before her higher brain functions could come back online.
"If it wouldn't be too much trouble. I'd be willing to pay for a room if you'd like." That did it. Her faculties were given a hard reboot on the word 'pay'.
"Rent would be around 25,000 yen a month and that does not include food." She said.
"Sounds great." Actually he didn't know how that sounded that was around a quarter of his money just for rent, he had no idea Tokyo could be so expensive. Doing a quick calculation in his head he dug out 15,000 yen and handed it to her.
"Umm what?" She asked.
"Well it's 25,000 yen per month right. Well it's not quite the middle of the month so I calculated the daily rent and am currently paying you the amount till the end of the month. Next month I will pay the full 25,000." He said as he gave her a smug smile. Two could play that predator prey game. Guess who was the predator this time.
Nabiki sat there opening and closing her mouth like a fish out of water. This time it was Ukyo's turn to laugh her ass off. Ranma handed Ukyo the appropriate amount for the meal and got up to leave. Nabiki was still sitting on her stool dead to the world. Some would say that Nabiki OS is one of the most stable operating systems for brains that exist today. However even the best-built software and hardware can become non functional when it encounters a situation that it was never programmed to deal with. In Nabiki's case one Ranma Shinkara has currently cause two simultaneous crashes in the span of two minutes. Granted the crashes were probably helped along by some certain thugs still lying in an alley. The system operators decided that since two system crashes had taken place in such a short period of time, they decided to take everything but autonomous functions offline temporarily to cold boot the system.
Nabiki OS 4.3 Ram 4 TB Processor Quad Xeon
Cognitive functions [OK] Backup systems [ONLINE] Spatial orientation [FAILURE] Failure? Diagnostics [orange]
As each one of her systems came back online only the spatial orientation systems seemed to be in constant failure. A diagnostics proved that the system was operational however the signals it was sending to the brain and what the brain perceived as reality were completely different. The spatial orientation system kept telling the brain that the body was currently in flight while the brain kept responding that the human body couldn't possibly fly. The result was a conflict. The resolution to this conflict was to open her eyes. Well she was flying. The spatial orientation system blew a raspberry at the brain. The brain refusing to admit defeat started analyzing the relevant data. The conclusion it reached through logical means was that she was being carried by Ranma at high velocities on the rooftops of Nerima towards what looked to be her home. See nice and simple conclusion. The brain did a 'suck it' maneuver in the general direction of the spatial orientation systems. It was then that the spatial orientation systems decided to point out that they were moving at HIGH velocity well above street level and panicking right about now would be a good idea. The brain for once agreed.
"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE" Nabiki screamed as she latched onto the first available solid structure. In this case it was Ranma's neck.
"Oh I see you're awake now." He said casually not seeming to notice the now terrified girl in his arms. "Just relax we're almost at your house."
Segmentation fault core dump.
By the time they arrived at the gates of the Tendo compound she finally got her brain started up again. She would have to make sure that they threw in some subroutines that would at least allow her to function when Ranma decided to do something unexpected. (As if that would help)
As she opened the gate she smelled her aunt's cooking and she saw her younger sister practicing in the yard in her old gi. Her movements were graceful and full of power. Nabiki smiled at this. Her younger sister was always better at martial arts than she was. Over the years it was this proficiency that helped get their family out of some tough scrapes. While she was nowhere as good as Cologne or Happosai she still ranked up among the top fighters in Nerima, somewhere below Shampoo but above Ukyo. It was this fact that kept her practicing. She needed to be the best. She was disturbed from watching her sister by a low whistle from Ranma.
"Wow she's got some moves." He wasn't lying she was fairly good. Nowhere near him of course but fairly good nonetheless.
"That's my little sister Akane why don't you challenge her to a match?"
"Huh me? Oh no I'd never do that." He replied waving his hands trying to deflect the question.
"Oh and why not afraid she'll make you look bad?"
"No no nothing like that I'm actually afraid of making her look bad."
Nabiki laughed out loud at this. "Pretty full of ourselves aren't we?"
"Yup."
It was the laugh that caught Akane's attention. She looked up from the kata she was performing towards the source. She immediately caught sight of the new person beside her sister. She ran over to them.
"Hey Nabiki who's he?" She asked.
"His name's Ranma, 'Kane and he's going to be staying here for a while." That immediately brought a frown to her face. She like the rest of the sisters had had their fill of freeloaders over the years now her sister brings in some guy off the street for no reason. Nabiki noticed her sister's apparent discomfort.
"Don't worry he's paying rent." This brought her out of some of her funk. "And he's a martial artist." Ok that did it.
"You're a martial artist?" She just had to challenge him. "How about a little match?"
"Uhh no I don't think that'd be a good idea." Wrong.
"I challenge you then! Come on let's fight." Akane has always been a little high strung.
Shrugging his shoulders to remove his pack he gave a little sigh. + Oh well if she wants to fight I'll just have to take it easy on her though. +
The two fighters got into the middle of the yard near the koi pond. Akane took up a loose stance whereas Ranma took up some strange stance neither Akane nor Nabiki had ever seen before. Nabiki got between the fighters and held up her arm.
"Ok rules are Anything goes, no maiming or killing your opponent." She dropped her arm. "Begin."
Akane was about to rush forward and attack before Ranma was ready, however Ranma had different plans as he too rushed forward at speeds that seemed impossible and came to a stop about a meter behind Akane. ETA 1.2 seconds from the start of the fight Akane collapsed on the ground.
Error 2: You should not be seeing this error
Some time later both Akane and Nabiki woke up in the dojo. Nabiki noticing that she was staring up at the ceiling decided to get up and see exactly what was going on. To her left her little sister was also staring at the ceiling with her best 'what the FUCK just happened' expressions. Ranma noticing that the two girls had just woken up decided to check up on them to make sure they were ok.
"Hey Akane was it. I'm really sorry bout that." He started.
"What?" Was the only intelligent reply she could come up with.
"Yeah I really shouldn't have held back that much. I know you are a proud martial artist and all and want to be treated with respect and such." Well it was sort of the truth he was holding back just not as much as he was implying. The only reason he said it was it would really really get under her skin and piss her off.
It's strange how sibling minds work. At the exact same moment they both thought. + He was holding BACK!!! + Unfortunately the Akane OS was nowhere near as stable as her sisters and promptly crashed. Ranma sighed. "Well I guess we should get her to her room. This dojo probably isn't the best place to take a nap."
He picked her up like she weighed nothing at all and Nabiki proceeded to lead him to the house and then up to Akane's room. When he entered her room he thought that he'd entered one of the guest rooms. There was almost nothing in the room. Over in the corner there was a sleeping mat that was unrolled on the floor with a pillow and some covers. By the window there was a plant and on the far wall there was a single poster. The poster was what originally caught his eye, as it was obviously computer generated. On it was Jet Lee and Bruce Lee seemingly going at it with a dragon and a phoenix in the background. Overall it was tasteful and quite a nice piece.
As he placed her on her 'bed' he noticed something. The sheets were quite old. Turning around he happened to look in her closet. In it hung 3 school uniforms that had obviously seen better days, a yellow sundress and a blue t-shirt and a pair of blue jeans. That was it. No undergarments whatsoever. + They can't possibly be that poor. + There was definitely something wrong in this house and he would be damned if he wasn't going to figure it out. Following Nabiki back downstairs into the living room he noticed there was nothing in there, it was like they were in the process of moving and the furniture hadn't arrived yet. The only objects in the room were a shoji board and some cushions.
"So Ranma what style do you practice I've got to admit it's pretty good." Nabiki said finally. It was amazing that her curiosity lasted this long.
"Well the style is called the Seven Lucky Gods School of Martial Arts. I'm in the speed school." Of course it was a lie but there was no way he could possibly explain to her his real style.
"Never heard of it before. Do you think you could teach me a few moves?" Ok she was hooked. Anybody that can take down her sister in under two seconds is just damned good. The fact that she would probably get into some grappling with his body was just an added bonus.
"Sorry, you see I kinda made a promise to someone never to teach the school to outsiders." Well that was basically the truth. "But if you want to spar sometime I'd be happy to. I can help you get your speed up if you want."
"My speed? Hey I'll have you know that I'm pretty fast." She felt several slashes of wind whip past her head and then she felt. different. Reaching up to touch her hair she noticed that it was restyled. She had short braids all over the place.
Slowly turning her head she gaped at him.
Trap V: Checksum error
"You sure you don't want speed training?" he said as his hands whipped out again returning her hair to normal.
"gggglllll" Oh real smooth Nabiki.
"I'll take that as a yes then."
It was around this time that a voice was heard from the kitchen.
"Children dinner's ready."
"Coming Auntie." Nabiki said as she got off the ground and headed towards the kitchen area. Ranma of course followed.
As they arrived at the table Ranma noticed that it wasn't really a table at all. It was just a slab of chipboard held up by cinderblocks. Oh yes something had to be done. Taking in the rest of his surroundings he noticed the woman that had called them. She was middle aged but quite beautiful nonetheless. Her copper coloured hair only seemed to accentuate her natural beauty. She was busy setting the table when she looked up and noticed there was an extra person in the room.
"Oh hello there who might you be?" She asked.
"His name's Ranma Shinkara auntie. He's going to be in town for a while and needed a place to stay." Nodoka's smile turned into a frown at that. "He's paying of course." Those few words made everything better and the smile returned.
"Oh how wonderful but Nabiki where is he going to stay?" She asked.
True to form Nabiki froze. She had been so busy trying to figure him out, she completely forgot that they were out of room. Auntie Nodoka was staying in the first guest room, Happosai was in the second guest room and the master bedroom was off limits to everybody. This was when Ranma decided to come to her rescue.
"You know the dojo seems to be unoccupied could I stay there?"
"The dojo of course!" She shouted. Why hadn't she thought of it.
"What are you talking about the dojo for?" Akane said as she came around the corner.
"Just trying to figure out where Ranma can stay. By the way how you feeling sis?"
"I'm fine, I just never thought somebody could move that fast!" She stared at him. Here was a martial artist of some caliber, if she could get him to train her. Little chibi figures of her dancing on Shampoo's corpse flitted through her mind.
Noticing the break in the conversation Nodoka decided that now was as good a time as any to start supper. Ranma looked at the food on the table and instantly felt sick to his stomach. + Uhg they're expecting me to eat that! Gotta be polite but how. + And the light bulb goes on.
"Excuse me for a minute." He said as he ran outside and grabbed his pack then ran back inside. "Almost forgot there for a second." He started rummaging through his pack and eventually pulled out a large slab of dried meat. "I'm just paying rent, I'm not paying for food."
"Oh don't be silly, sure it isn't much but as long as you're staying here you are welcome to it." Nodoka chided him. "Now put that away I'm sure you'd much rather have some fresh rice and vegetables than that old dried out hunk of meat."
"Ahh." His response however was cut of by the clarion cry of "What a haul, What a haul!" It was then that his danger sense decided to go off. Klaxons rang off inside his head warning him of great danger in the immediate area. A more appropriate response would be 'I sense a great disturbance in the force.'
The ancient master rounded the corner with a large sack slung over his shoulder. It was positively brimming full of panties and bras. Ranma was so shocked by this that he didn't react in time to save his supper. Happosai bounded over the table, snatched the dried meat from his hands and in one gulp, downed the entire thing. Now all his life Ranma has had a bad temper. It was only in the last few years of his grandmother's life that he learned to control it somewhat. It wasn't much of a control as a delay. The pervert would pay, but not now.
In the span of the next thirty seconds the old master devoured half of the rice and vegetables, belched quite loudly and then bounded up to his room. After taking several minutes to come back to himself he took a quick scan around the table and noticed that all of the women were almost in tears.
"What was that?" He finally asked.
They told him. They told him everything the old pervert ever did. Ranma simply nodded at this acting completely calm the entire time. When they were finished he tried to decide what to do. Acting horrified would be a good start.
"That's that's horrible! Why don't you just kick him out, I mean he's not paying or anything!" Excellent.
"We can't. He's the master, even if we ganged up on him he could still beat us with one hand tied behind his back!" Akane cried.
"So he's really that good eh?" The others just nodded. "Ok I'll keep my distance from him then. Thank you for the warning." He got up and shouldered his pack. Giving a big fake yawn he stretched and said.
"Well it's been a long day I think I'll turn in. Good night everyone." He bowed and then left for the dojo. He was in no way tired but he needed to blow off some steam or else.
About four hours later he was lying on the floor starting to drift off to sleep when his danger sense went off. Two minutes later he heard the door to the dojo slide open and the soft padding of feet on the wooden floor. It was the old guy.
"I know you're not asleep." He finally said. "I know what you are, and I know why you're here." There was a soft rustling of cloth and a glint of steel.
"So you're here to kill me. Correct?" Ranma replied.
"That's right." He tensed ready to strike.
A flurry of motion burst into his sight. When it was over Ranma was kneeling about 3 feet away. It was then that Happosai noted two problems. The first problem was that his windpipe was crushed making the act of breathing quite difficult. The second problem was his heart, which was formerly in his chest, was currently in Ranma's mouth. He tried to scream but problem one included the fact that his voice box was crushed so he did the first thing that came naturally. He dropped to the floor dead.
Notes:
Well it's finally done. I got the inspiration for this one and said to hell with it and just started writing. No Ranma is not evil.
e-mail [email protected]
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"No please daddy nooo! Not the pit I'll be good don' wanna learn this anymore!!! Not the pit!" Screamed the little boy.
He was fairly young only around six years old or so. His black hair was tied into a pigtail and his bangs seemed to frame his beautiful blue gray eyes. His eyes however held terror the likes man was never meant to know. His face was covered in small scratches and bites that looked to have been made from several small animals.
He was currently covered in a dirty off white gi that was ripped and shredded in places. His arms and legs were tied together with fish sausage and several large chunks of raw fish hung from his neck and dangled suggestively in front of his mid torso.
Below him was a dark pit where a constant yowling and screeching could be heard. This was the current source of his fears. Well that and the middle aged man currently holding him above his head.
"Ranma you sound like a GIRL, grow up and be a man!" He shouted at the boy that was supposedly his son.
"No papa please don't. I don't wanna go in the pit again Nooooo!" The boy pleaded again.
"You are going to learn this technique if it kills you boy!" The man yelled. "Now into the pit and don't come out till you've learned it!" He yelled again while tossing the boy into the pit.
Screams and crying were heard for the next four minutes, then total silence broken only by the occasional bird call.
"Wonder if he's got it this time?" The man said to himself as he lounged on a log and sipped at his drink. Training was hard work after all.
In the pit
As soon as he hit the floor of the pit the cats were on him ripping and shredding his clothes and flesh. He screamed it was the same every time, first the darkness then the eyes, the claws and the fangs. After two minutes of pure torture the food finally ran out. The food ran out but the cats were still hungry. There was a nice boy down here. He smelled like food, felt like food, therefore he was food. They were cats he was their food. They began to attack again in earnest. That was when it happened.
This was his thirteenth time in the pit. It was amazing that he managed to survive the first time much less twelve, however as with all things something must give. In this case it was when that big tom decided to have his neck for a snack, his mind broke and all became black, null and void.
Outside the pit
Genma was leaning over the edge of the pit trying to catch a glimpse of his son when suddenly a terrible scream, like a banshee being neutered with a rusty spoon, emanated from the pit followed by a fountain of blood and various cat body parts. The last thing he saw before he blacked out was a decapitated cat scull heading right for him.
When he awoke the field that he'd used was covered in blood and cat body parts. Fly's and other scavengers were abundant picking at the feast that was laid out before them. Genma wondered how long he'd been out. The sun hung low in the sky so he guessed that he'd been out for about five or six hours or so. Silently he congratulated himself on thinking ahead and not trying to train the boy in the city where this sort of thing would have gotten him in trouble. Patting himself on the back for being such a great teacher, as to teach the boy such a powerful technique. He looked around and not seeing any human body parts in the mix deduced that his son had indeed learned the technique and was alive somewhere.
Giving his body a sniff he decided that it would be best if he cleaned up before he went out and tracked down his foolish son. He set off for his small tent by the riverbank whistling a happy tune completely oblivious to the fact that he had indeed killed his son in more ways than he could imagine.
Somewhere far from the pit
Ranma-neko was frightened, he didn't know who he was, where he was, or what he was doing out here, the only thing that he knew was that he was hungry and cold. His tattered bloody gi hung off his frame wafting in the wind like a red ghost. Turning his head to the side he sniffed the air. Smelling something that could be food he turned and padded off in that direction.
Fifteen minutes later he arrived at a small cottage nestled in a grove of trees. To the left side of the house there was a small creek with a bridge accross it. The cabin itself had moss gowing on the shingles and along some of the outside of the structure as well. It looked like the cabin had seen better days but of course all of this was lost on Ranma who didn't really care. What did catch his attention was the smell of fresh meat that was coming from inside. Cautiously looking around he decided that the best way in would be through the open window to the right of the door. Tensing for a second he jumped inside and took a quick scan around the room. Nothing as of yet was setting off his danger senses so he determined that it must be safe. Looking on the table he found exactly what he was looking for a big hunk of raw meat.
Throwing caution to the wind he jumped on the table and began devouring the meal, gulping down large chunks like they were nothing. Once he was finished he began to clean himself. In the middle of removing a scrap of grass from his hair that he noticed that he was not alone in the room.
He spun around faster than lightning and faced the intruder in a low crouch his pigtail sticking straight out. It was an elderly woman in her late seventies early eighties with light gray blond hair with some dark patches. Her face, which must have been quite beautiful in her day, was now wrinkled but still held a natural kindness that was hard to miss. The dress that she was wearing was extremely plain and looked to have been patched several times. As she began to slowly move towards the boy her steps were extremely graceful and completely silent.
Ranma was about to tense up and run but there was somthing about her that was calm and made him instinctively want to trust her. He relaxed somewhat and let her get closer.
When she was about five feet away she got down on her knees and made a perfect lap for sitting in. She patted her lap with her hand while making soft cooing noises to try and get him to come closer.
After his large meal Ranma was feeling quite tired and a nice soft warm lap seemed the perfect thing to take his cares away. After a quick clean up he jumped down from the table and into the lap almost knocking the old woman down. She quickly started petting him as though he were a cat. She was remarkably good at her task as he started softly purring and quickly fell asleep.
After she was assured that he was asleep she placed her hand on his head and softly chanted some strange words in a language long lost. She closed her eyes as her hand started to glow. When she opened her eyes what she saw almost made her want to throw up despite the horrors she'd seen in her long lifetime this young boy had very much 'gone through hell'. Disjointed images, fragments of a life once lived, pain, suffering, and terror. And through all this the cat, the human destroyed with the rest now only fragments of his former self.
The old woman did something that she hadn't done in over a century, she wept. In a soft voice she said to the sleeping boy. "Don't worry young one, grandmother will help you I promise."
She placed the sleeping boy on the floor careful not to disturb him. She cast a sleep spell to ensure that he did not wake up. Carefully she bent over making sure to not disturb him as much as possible and bit him.
Ten years later
A young boy possibly sixteen or seventeen stood next to a pile of stones. Some of the stones had some runes carved into them. His blue green eyes wept silent tears for his grandmother who he loved dearly and had raised him for all of his life. Pushing back an errant lock of blond hair he said one final prayer, bowed and prepared to leave the only place he had ever known in search of something that he didn't even know he needed.
When she was on her deathbed his grandmother told him that he should try to find his parents. Ever since he was young he knew that she wasn't really his grandmother but over time he just stopped caring. He knew she loved him like he was her own grandson and that was all that mattered. He'd found out a while ago that her own children had died and she was the last of her clan.
And so Ranma Shinkara last of the clan Shinkara got on his wagon heading off for Tokyo to search for his parents or other kin.
Tokyo, Nerima ward, Tendo Dojo
"I'm home!" a young girl's voice echoed throughout the house. "Welcome home." The response came from an older woman.
The young girl was perhaps sixteen or seventeen. She had long blue- black hair that was tied into a ponytail with a bow. She wore a school uniform that had definitely seen better days but had been expertly fixed time after time. Her shoes seemed a bit old and had a couple of holes in them. Upon closer inspection the uniform seemed to be a size too small for her growing frame and assets. If one were to guess that the girl came from a poor family that didn't have much money you would win a prize.
Despite appearances the girl wore a happy smile that seemed to radiate joy as she kicked off her shoes and walked towards the kitchen.
"Hello Auntie do you need any help?" She asked.
The older woman who had copper coloured hair turned around and smiled. She was middle aged but seemed to radiate a sensual beauty that defied her years.
"No, Akane I'll be fine, I'm almost done, why don't you go clean up." She said.
"Ok Auntie I will." She said as she skipped off.
As soon as she left the kitchen the older woman's smile disappeared like somebody shaking up an Etch a Sketch. She thought of how her no good husband and the trouble he'd caused this poor family. Her thoughts then turned violent as she remembered walking up to the door only to find that her husband and the girls father had skipped out the day before she got there. That was two weeks ago. When she saw the condition and heard their story of what her husband had done to thier family over the years, her long dormant mothering instincts took over and she started doing her best to put the house in order.
Turning back to the meal she was preparing, it wasn't much to look at. Rice and some vegetables. It wasn't much but between Kasumi's and her jobs they were slowly making some headway and soon the family would be out of debt, however this never should have happened in the first place. A single tear slipped down her cheek. When she found her husband there would be more than hell to pay.
Near the Bank
Nabiki Tendo was walking along with a small smile on her face. In her purse was the last of the payments. It had taken her ten long years but finally it would be over, all of their debts would be cleared up and the Tendo dojo would be back in the black again. All she had to do is get the money to the bank on time and everything would be fine. Nothing could stop her. Well nothing unless you count those five large men with knives and chains that grabbed her and pulled her into the alleyway. She attempted to scream but one of them put his big meaty hand over her mouth and held his knife to her throat.
"Well well well, lookie what we got here boys." The man said looking up and down her body like he was sizing up a piece of meat in the market and deciding on whether to buy it or not.
Now Nabiki was a Tendo, and is common with all Tendo's is the fact that martial arts runs in their veins. She wasn't as good as Akane or Kasumi but she could take any one of these goons in a one on one. The problem was there were five goons to one of her.
+ Maybe they'll just rape me and leave me alone. + She thought.
"Hey boss I'll take her last k?" One of the uglier ones said.
The goons shared a good laugh at that.
"Yeah right you just want her last so you can 'clean up' eh" One of the uglier goons said to his
+ Oh great of all the gangs I had to run into one with a necrophiliac in it. + She thought ruefully.
One of the goons grabbed her purse and began rifling through it.
"Hey boss lookie here." The thug said as he pulled out the money. The boss whistled, then turned his attention back to Nabiki.
"Well then this is surely unusual getting paid by the whore for a fuck." The thugs laughed at this.
"Now you scream and I cut ya, understand." She nodded her head.
He removed his hand from her mouth and tore off her shirt and then her bra. Her pants and panties were next. He roughly grabbed her right breast and squeezed hard. She winced but bit down the scream. As he removed his member she absent-mindedly made a mental note that it was quite small.
+ Oh kami-sama I'm still a virgin, I didn't want it to be like this, Oh please not like this. +
She shut her eyes tight and waited for the pain.
Two blocks away five minutes earlier
After arriving in Tokyo and storing grandmother's stuff in a rental shed, and selling the horse Ranma was walking on the streets of Nerima. His first order of business was to get some currency.
Apparently paying with rubies and gold coins was not the thing to do if you wanted to be subtle. The owner of the storage shed basically gave him the use of the shed for however long he wanted it. Subtle it was not, effective yes, but not subtle.
On his back was his trusty backpack that was loaded down with pretty much everything he needed, clothing, food, basic necessities etc. It was the more dangerous stuff and his money that he kept in his stuff space. For those who aren't familiar with it stuff space consists of a multidimensional fold in the time space continuum where people can store vast quantities of well stuff and have it available at their fingertips in a matter of seconds no matter where they are. (Basically where Akane keeps her mallet and Mousse his weapons)
Current inventory of his stuff space included 10 rubies, 50 gold coins, 30 platinum pieces, several scrolls with various magic spells or techniques on them, his grandmother's spell book, and her medallion. The rest of her stuff was stored in the storage shed. The appropriate wards and spells pretty much ensured that the metal shed was more secure than the average NATO command center.
As he walked along his danger sense started screaming at him. Something was definitely amiss. As he passed by the alleyway he looked in and saw five men and one naked girl. He immediately saw what the men intended to do to the girl and it sent him into a fury. A mate was to be taken willingly and never ever to be forced. This is what grandmother had told him and grandmother never lied to him. Besides the two mates he'd had in his journey here had both been willing and it was a wonderful experience. Nothing would come of it of course but it had been pleasurable nonetheless.
What those men were doing to that girl was nothing short of robbery. Ranma took a sniff of the air. He could almost smell her fear, no wait that wasn't fear that was, that was. Oh boy this would just not do.
In the alley
Nabiki tensed waiting for him to pierce her and take something that she did not give up freely. It was an agonizing moment that seemed to stretch on for a long long time. She suddenly felt the knife fly from her throat and muffled screaming. When she opened her eyes all of her attackers were on the ground unconscious and bleeding. Further inspection of her surroundings noted a young man with blond hair standing in front of her between herself and her would be rapists. He looked well muscled but sleek in his appearance his long blond hair was braided into a warrior's braid that hung halfway down his back. There were some darker patches in his hair that seemed strange but she attributed it to a bad dye job. Letting her eyes wander further down she noticed that he did indeed have a nice butt.
Sensing that the threat that these men posed was over Ranma decided to turn around and get a better look at the girl he rescued. Her brown hair was cut short and seemed to frame her cute face all the better. Her eyes were the deepest brown and he seemed to fall into them. Her body was athletic but not overly muscled. As he was checking her out she was doing the same.
When he turned around her heart jumped into her throat. Growing up she never really had time for boys that was usually her older sister's area of expertise but this person in front of her was just. just. she couldn't find the words or thoughts to express it. Ok she could find the thoughts but that would make this an NC-17 fic.
Ranma was busy checking her over when he noticed that her nipples suddenly stiffen. He then remembered that she was naked and in an alleyway so she was either cold or turned on. A quick sniff of the air told him it was the latter. Putting on a gentle smile he took off his backpack and began rummaging through it. He pulled out a pair of pants and a blue Chinese style shirt and offered them to her.
Her thoughts on the subject of one pigtailed youth were abruptly cut off as he offered her some clothing. Looking down she finally noticed that she was naked. Quickly accepting the offered clothing and putting it on she noticed that the shirt and pants were huge on her smaller frame. Quickly cinching the waist of the pants so they wouldn't fall off as she walked her naughty thoughts came back about what else may be in those pants of his. Such thoughts were cut off by him speaking.
"Are you ok?" He asked concern evident in his voice.
"I. I think so." She replied a bit shaky.
"My name's Ranma." He gave a slight bow as he introduced himself.
"N....Nabiki." She stuttered this time not from the fright. And why was it getting warm all of a sudden.
Ranma turned to her would be attackers and started going through their pockets. It was then that Nabiki finally took notice of their condition. Each one had a bloodstain around their crotch area and a slightly glazed look in their eyes.
"Are Are they?" Nabiki asked fearful that her savior might have just become a murderer.
"Are they dead? No they'll be fine in a couple of hours." He continued to rifle through their pockets taking money or anything else of value.
"I hate people who think that they can just take what doesn't belong to them." He said as he finished with the last thug and walked over to where she was.
"Hey you OK?" He said as he saw that she was starting to turn green.
"Why? Why'd you?" She tried to say.
"Huh? Oh that well you see they were going to take you then KILL you, I'd say they got off quite lucky ne?"
Ok he had a point.
"Let's get out of here ok?" She managed.
As they neared the entrance to the alley she remembered her purse and was going to go back and get it when she felt a strong hand grab her arm. Still a bit jittery from her near rape her martial training took over. She grabbed the offending appendage she twisted down and around using the momentum to throw him into a wall. Well that's what was supposed to happen. What actually happened was that he did go flying however instead of impacting the nice brick wall with his hard as rock head, he managed to twist around and bounce off the wall and onto his feet.
"Not bad you must be really strong, I mean that was some good distance you tossed me." he noted idly.
"Oh my god Ranma are you alright! I'm so so sorry I really didn't mean to throw you."
"No problem no harm no foul, although why you'd want to go back there is beyond me."
"Well I need my purse it kinda has all my money in it." She replied a bit sheepishly.
"Looking for this?" Ranma said as he held out her purse.
She quickly grabbed it and rifled through the contents. Sure enough the money was in there all of it. No wait there was 7 thousand yen extra. She looked up at Ranma who just shrugged his shoulders.
"Figured you could use the money more than they could. By the way where are you headed I can walk you there."
"I'm going to the bank." She replied.
"Hey me too could you show me where it is?"
She grabbed his arm and started leading him off to the bank. Truth be told she didn't need to touch him to guide him but she wasn't going to let her logic centers have any say in this discussion. As they entered the bank she took note of how few people there were in there. She got in line with Ranma behind her. She absentmindedly adjusted the shirt so it fit her better. After about three minutes in line she finally got up to the teller. She smiled a bit as she put the money down on the counter. The teller knew her and quickly tallied up the appropriate balance sheet and came up with a sum of zero. She smiled as she handed Nabiki her receipt. Nabiki gave a quick bow and then stepped aside so that Ranma could go up to the counter.
When he got there he seemed to reach in to his pocket that seemed much deeper than it appeared. When he pulled out his hand he had two gold coins in it. Her eyes bugged out and her jaw dropped.
"I was wondering if I could exchange these for some paper money." Ranma said simply.
Nabiki who had just moved off to the side saw this and her jaw just dropped. Nobody just carried around honest to goodness gold coins anymore.
The teller wasn't doing a good job either of containing her astonishment either. She mumbled something incoherent grabbed the coins and ran off to the back room. When she returned she didn't have the coins but a small stack of bills. It was roughly 100 thousand yen. He thanked her and turned to leave. When he noticed that Nabiki wasn't following him he gently grabbed her arm and led her out of the bank. This time she didn't react and allowed herself to be dragged out of the bank without any fuss. When the sunlight hit her eyes she was rudely shocked back into reality.
"Wh. Where did you get GOLD coins??" She demanded.
"Oh those it was an inheritance from my grandmother. I've got about fifty or sixty more. I really don't want to spend them so much but since I just got here I needed some quick cash." He responded turning to face her.
After she got over the shock of somebody having so much money and not caring about it wore off she glanced up at him and gave him a very predatory look thinking that he wouldn't notice it or if he did he wouldn't know what it meant. Unknown to her he noticed AND knew what it meant and Oh god was it turning him on. It was then that his stomach decided to remind him that he hadn't eaten today.
"Hey Nabiki do you want to go grab something to eat I'm starving." Even though she was up seven thousand yen old habits die hard, i.e. parting with said seven thousand yen or any portion of it without due cause. Seeing her hesitate he decided to unknowingly say her favorite words.
"My treat."
Her face decided to light up and a huge smile the likes of which had not been seen on her face in over ten years decided to make an appearance. Ranma stumbled a bit.
"So where do you recommend? I'm new here and don't know much." Nabiki stopped and thought for a few seconds before snapping her fingers.
"I know the perfect place." As she dragged him off towards the financial district.
As the couple approached the building Ranma noticed the name of the restaurant.
"Ucchan's?" He asked.
"Yeah she's got the best okonomiyaki that I've ever tasted you're going to love it." Nabiki said as she slid open the door.
"Umm what's okonomiyaki?" He asked.
"You've got to be kidding me!" She shot back. "You can't tell me that you've never had it."
"No not that I can remember."
"Ohh then you're in for a treat." She almost giggled before catching herself. Nabiki Tendo does NOT giggle like a little schoolgirl.
Since it was an off-hour the restaurant was fairly deserted. In another half an hour though it would be packed to the rafters with the supper rush crowd. Behind the counter was a girl about his age with long brown hair and brown eyes. She was cute enough. Giving her a quick check over he smiled just to be friendly and sat down. His smile though caused a reaction that he sort of expected. She blushed then began to 'react' to his presence. Yup she was definitely a girl.
"So sugar who's you're friend here?" She directed her question at Nabiki while never taking her eyes off Ranma.
"His name's Ranma." She answered back.
This had the effect of 10 grams of pure caffeine injected directly into her bloodstream.
"RANMA!!!" She yelled while jumping over the counter and attempting to grab the boy in an Amazon glomp (Watching Shampoo perform the technique all the time you eventually pick it up.)
The Amazon glomp however does have a fatal flaw since if you're opponent is fast they can dodge and you fall flat on your face. Case in point.
As she extracted her face from her floor she looked up at him. "Why Ranchan?"
"Umm I'm sorry miss Ucchan is it? I've never seen you before." Ranma was starting to be wierded out a bit. Women throwing themselves at him was not that uncommon since well he was pretty damned sexy if you asked him yourself, but a mistaken identity was something else entirely.
"But. But you're name's Ranma Saotome right?" She looked up.
"Umm no it's Ranma Shinkara." To tell the truth he had no idea if his first name really was Ranma. It was the first thing that came to him when he 'woke up' so it's possible it's his name.
Nabiki watched as Ukyo went from adrenaline high to crash in the span of a microsecond. She knew full well what Ukyo's reaction would be to 'Ranma' and that was part of the reason she brought him here. Dinner and a floor show what more could you ask for in a restaurant.
Ukyo for her part tried to salvage some of her dignity. Well as much dignity as someone can salvage considering she just tried to jump a total stranger. Nabiki was trying her hardest to hold in her laughter at the situation and failing miserably. Once she'd gotten back to the other side of the counter she took a deep cleansing breath and started her pitch.
"Welcome to Ucchan's I'm Ukyo Kuonji what can I get for you today?"
Nabiki for her part tried to remember to breathe. Ranma was having a much better time and only managed to break down a couple of times. Once things calmed down Nabiki explained how she met Ranma and then proceeded to order for the both of them since Ranma had never had okonomiyaki before.
Ukyo smiled. A newbie in her restaurant. Well this was just too good an opportunity to show off and possibly make a lifetime customer. She began working on her super deluxe specials making sure to put just an extra amount of effort into each one. When she was done she flipped one a piece in front of her customers. Ranma was impressed with the dexterity and obvious skill. It was the food itself that had much to be desired. He cautiously took a bite.
"How is it sugar?" Ukyo looked at him expectantly.
"It's really really good, never had anything like this before." It was horrible, but grandmother had taught him tact. He used his speed to finish off the rest of the terrible garbage hopefully before his taste buds were overly assaulted. When he was finished he leaned back and patted his stomach.
"Best one of those that I've ever tasted." And hopefully the last one of those god-awful things as well. How anybody could eat this garbage was beyond him.
Ukyo beamed at this. She was cute but just not his type.
Nabiki on the other hand was savoring hers. It wasn't often that she got to go out. In fact during the last ten years she could probably count all the times she's eaten out on one hand. Well that and the okonomiyaki was damned good.
"So Ranma yen for your thoughts." Nabiki said in between bites.
Ranma waited until she went and was about to take a sip from her glass.
"Well I was thinking that you were thinking about how to get into my pants."
"PPPPFFFTTT" Ukyo was now covered in Mountain Dew and Nabiki spit.
Ranma turned to her with a slightly amused look on his face.
"Just remember Nabiki-chan what I said about taking things that don't belong to you."
Her eyes went wide at this suggestion. While it was true that she planned on trying to get him as a boyfriend and maybe a bit of the old horizontal while she was at it, she never considered just skipping all the way to step c, and here he was just suggesting that they jump in the sack and have a go at 'er. Her head spun around almost planting her lips on his.
He pulled back a bit gave her a smile and a wink then went back to his drink. After a couple of sips he continued. Nabiki was still in shock of course. Here she was all ready to seduce him and use every trick she knew of just to get him into the horizontal mambo with her and it turns out all she had to do was ASK!! 'Oh Ranma how was your day today and by the way do you want to go upstairs and have wild carnal sex?' Of course he was a guy but that type of response was just too straight forward for her to accept at face value. She would of course have to 'test' this theory.
While Nabiki was off in la la land Ranma was talking to Ukyo about possible places to stay while in Nerima as he may be there a while. Ukyo for her part was thinking quite hard. (Oh yeah right she was just trying to think of where she was going to put him. Her room might be a good place)
The thing with Nabiki's brain is that it has been built with multiple redundant safeguards so while the main cognitive functions were off traipsing through pervert's land the redundant systems were working on things like trying to keep up with a conversation. Being automatic systems they were ruled by instinct mostly and therefore when it came time to form some kind of response they of course formed the most logical automatic response a young active teenager with severely repressed hormones could under the circumstances.
"You could stay at my house." She blurted out well before her higher brain functions could come back online.
"If it wouldn't be too much trouble. I'd be willing to pay for a room if you'd like." That did it. Her faculties were given a hard reboot on the word 'pay'.
"Rent would be around 25,000 yen a month and that does not include food." She said.
"Sounds great." Actually he didn't know how that sounded that was around a quarter of his money just for rent, he had no idea Tokyo could be so expensive. Doing a quick calculation in his head he dug out 15,000 yen and handed it to her.
"Umm what?" She asked.
"Well it's 25,000 yen per month right. Well it's not quite the middle of the month so I calculated the daily rent and am currently paying you the amount till the end of the month. Next month I will pay the full 25,000." He said as he gave her a smug smile. Two could play that predator prey game. Guess who was the predator this time.
Nabiki sat there opening and closing her mouth like a fish out of water. This time it was Ukyo's turn to laugh her ass off. Ranma handed Ukyo the appropriate amount for the meal and got up to leave. Nabiki was still sitting on her stool dead to the world. Some would say that Nabiki OS is one of the most stable operating systems for brains that exist today. However even the best-built software and hardware can become non functional when it encounters a situation that it was never programmed to deal with. In Nabiki's case one Ranma Shinkara has currently cause two simultaneous crashes in the span of two minutes. Granted the crashes were probably helped along by some certain thugs still lying in an alley. The system operators decided that since two system crashes had taken place in such a short period of time, they decided to take everything but autonomous functions offline temporarily to cold boot the system.
Nabiki OS 4.3 Ram 4 TB Processor Quad Xeon
Cognitive functions [OK] Backup systems [ONLINE] Spatial orientation [FAILURE] Failure? Diagnostics [orange]
As each one of her systems came back online only the spatial orientation systems seemed to be in constant failure. A diagnostics proved that the system was operational however the signals it was sending to the brain and what the brain perceived as reality were completely different. The spatial orientation system kept telling the brain that the body was currently in flight while the brain kept responding that the human body couldn't possibly fly. The result was a conflict. The resolution to this conflict was to open her eyes. Well she was flying. The spatial orientation system blew a raspberry at the brain. The brain refusing to admit defeat started analyzing the relevant data. The conclusion it reached through logical means was that she was being carried by Ranma at high velocities on the rooftops of Nerima towards what looked to be her home. See nice and simple conclusion. The brain did a 'suck it' maneuver in the general direction of the spatial orientation systems. It was then that the spatial orientation systems decided to point out that they were moving at HIGH velocity well above street level and panicking right about now would be a good idea. The brain for once agreed.
"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE" Nabiki screamed as she latched onto the first available solid structure. In this case it was Ranma's neck.
"Oh I see you're awake now." He said casually not seeming to notice the now terrified girl in his arms. "Just relax we're almost at your house."
Segmentation fault core dump.
By the time they arrived at the gates of the Tendo compound she finally got her brain started up again. She would have to make sure that they threw in some subroutines that would at least allow her to function when Ranma decided to do something unexpected. (As if that would help)
As she opened the gate she smelled her aunt's cooking and she saw her younger sister practicing in the yard in her old gi. Her movements were graceful and full of power. Nabiki smiled at this. Her younger sister was always better at martial arts than she was. Over the years it was this proficiency that helped get their family out of some tough scrapes. While she was nowhere as good as Cologne or Happosai she still ranked up among the top fighters in Nerima, somewhere below Shampoo but above Ukyo. It was this fact that kept her practicing. She needed to be the best. She was disturbed from watching her sister by a low whistle from Ranma.
"Wow she's got some moves." He wasn't lying she was fairly good. Nowhere near him of course but fairly good nonetheless.
"That's my little sister Akane why don't you challenge her to a match?"
"Huh me? Oh no I'd never do that." He replied waving his hands trying to deflect the question.
"Oh and why not afraid she'll make you look bad?"
"No no nothing like that I'm actually afraid of making her look bad."
Nabiki laughed out loud at this. "Pretty full of ourselves aren't we?"
"Yup."
It was the laugh that caught Akane's attention. She looked up from the kata she was performing towards the source. She immediately caught sight of the new person beside her sister. She ran over to them.
"Hey Nabiki who's he?" She asked.
"His name's Ranma, 'Kane and he's going to be staying here for a while." That immediately brought a frown to her face. She like the rest of the sisters had had their fill of freeloaders over the years now her sister brings in some guy off the street for no reason. Nabiki noticed her sister's apparent discomfort.
"Don't worry he's paying rent." This brought her out of some of her funk. "And he's a martial artist." Ok that did it.
"You're a martial artist?" She just had to challenge him. "How about a little match?"
"Uhh no I don't think that'd be a good idea." Wrong.
"I challenge you then! Come on let's fight." Akane has always been a little high strung.
Shrugging his shoulders to remove his pack he gave a little sigh. + Oh well if she wants to fight I'll just have to take it easy on her though. +
The two fighters got into the middle of the yard near the koi pond. Akane took up a loose stance whereas Ranma took up some strange stance neither Akane nor Nabiki had ever seen before. Nabiki got between the fighters and held up her arm.
"Ok rules are Anything goes, no maiming or killing your opponent." She dropped her arm. "Begin."
Akane was about to rush forward and attack before Ranma was ready, however Ranma had different plans as he too rushed forward at speeds that seemed impossible and came to a stop about a meter behind Akane. ETA 1.2 seconds from the start of the fight Akane collapsed on the ground.
Error 2: You should not be seeing this error
Some time later both Akane and Nabiki woke up in the dojo. Nabiki noticing that she was staring up at the ceiling decided to get up and see exactly what was going on. To her left her little sister was also staring at the ceiling with her best 'what the FUCK just happened' expressions. Ranma noticing that the two girls had just woken up decided to check up on them to make sure they were ok.
"Hey Akane was it. I'm really sorry bout that." He started.
"What?" Was the only intelligent reply she could come up with.
"Yeah I really shouldn't have held back that much. I know you are a proud martial artist and all and want to be treated with respect and such." Well it was sort of the truth he was holding back just not as much as he was implying. The only reason he said it was it would really really get under her skin and piss her off.
It's strange how sibling minds work. At the exact same moment they both thought. + He was holding BACK!!! + Unfortunately the Akane OS was nowhere near as stable as her sisters and promptly crashed. Ranma sighed. "Well I guess we should get her to her room. This dojo probably isn't the best place to take a nap."
He picked her up like she weighed nothing at all and Nabiki proceeded to lead him to the house and then up to Akane's room. When he entered her room he thought that he'd entered one of the guest rooms. There was almost nothing in the room. Over in the corner there was a sleeping mat that was unrolled on the floor with a pillow and some covers. By the window there was a plant and on the far wall there was a single poster. The poster was what originally caught his eye, as it was obviously computer generated. On it was Jet Lee and Bruce Lee seemingly going at it with a dragon and a phoenix in the background. Overall it was tasteful and quite a nice piece.
As he placed her on her 'bed' he noticed something. The sheets were quite old. Turning around he happened to look in her closet. In it hung 3 school uniforms that had obviously seen better days, a yellow sundress and a blue t-shirt and a pair of blue jeans. That was it. No undergarments whatsoever. + They can't possibly be that poor. + There was definitely something wrong in this house and he would be damned if he wasn't going to figure it out. Following Nabiki back downstairs into the living room he noticed there was nothing in there, it was like they were in the process of moving and the furniture hadn't arrived yet. The only objects in the room were a shoji board and some cushions.
"So Ranma what style do you practice I've got to admit it's pretty good." Nabiki said finally. It was amazing that her curiosity lasted this long.
"Well the style is called the Seven Lucky Gods School of Martial Arts. I'm in the speed school." Of course it was a lie but there was no way he could possibly explain to her his real style.
"Never heard of it before. Do you think you could teach me a few moves?" Ok she was hooked. Anybody that can take down her sister in under two seconds is just damned good. The fact that she would probably get into some grappling with his body was just an added bonus.
"Sorry, you see I kinda made a promise to someone never to teach the school to outsiders." Well that was basically the truth. "But if you want to spar sometime I'd be happy to. I can help you get your speed up if you want."
"My speed? Hey I'll have you know that I'm pretty fast." She felt several slashes of wind whip past her head and then she felt. different. Reaching up to touch her hair she noticed that it was restyled. She had short braids all over the place.
Slowly turning her head she gaped at him.
Trap V: Checksum error
"You sure you don't want speed training?" he said as his hands whipped out again returning her hair to normal.
"gggglllll" Oh real smooth Nabiki.
"I'll take that as a yes then."
It was around this time that a voice was heard from the kitchen.
"Children dinner's ready."
"Coming Auntie." Nabiki said as she got off the ground and headed towards the kitchen area. Ranma of course followed.
As they arrived at the table Ranma noticed that it wasn't really a table at all. It was just a slab of chipboard held up by cinderblocks. Oh yes something had to be done. Taking in the rest of his surroundings he noticed the woman that had called them. She was middle aged but quite beautiful nonetheless. Her copper coloured hair only seemed to accentuate her natural beauty. She was busy setting the table when she looked up and noticed there was an extra person in the room.
"Oh hello there who might you be?" She asked.
"His name's Ranma Shinkara auntie. He's going to be in town for a while and needed a place to stay." Nodoka's smile turned into a frown at that. "He's paying of course." Those few words made everything better and the smile returned.
"Oh how wonderful but Nabiki where is he going to stay?" She asked.
True to form Nabiki froze. She had been so busy trying to figure him out, she completely forgot that they were out of room. Auntie Nodoka was staying in the first guest room, Happosai was in the second guest room and the master bedroom was off limits to everybody. This was when Ranma decided to come to her rescue.
"You know the dojo seems to be unoccupied could I stay there?"
"The dojo of course!" She shouted. Why hadn't she thought of it.
"What are you talking about the dojo for?" Akane said as she came around the corner.
"Just trying to figure out where Ranma can stay. By the way how you feeling sis?"
"I'm fine, I just never thought somebody could move that fast!" She stared at him. Here was a martial artist of some caliber, if she could get him to train her. Little chibi figures of her dancing on Shampoo's corpse flitted through her mind.
Noticing the break in the conversation Nodoka decided that now was as good a time as any to start supper. Ranma looked at the food on the table and instantly felt sick to his stomach. + Uhg they're expecting me to eat that! Gotta be polite but how. + And the light bulb goes on.
"Excuse me for a minute." He said as he ran outside and grabbed his pack then ran back inside. "Almost forgot there for a second." He started rummaging through his pack and eventually pulled out a large slab of dried meat. "I'm just paying rent, I'm not paying for food."
"Oh don't be silly, sure it isn't much but as long as you're staying here you are welcome to it." Nodoka chided him. "Now put that away I'm sure you'd much rather have some fresh rice and vegetables than that old dried out hunk of meat."
"Ahh." His response however was cut of by the clarion cry of "What a haul, What a haul!" It was then that his danger sense decided to go off. Klaxons rang off inside his head warning him of great danger in the immediate area. A more appropriate response would be 'I sense a great disturbance in the force.'
The ancient master rounded the corner with a large sack slung over his shoulder. It was positively brimming full of panties and bras. Ranma was so shocked by this that he didn't react in time to save his supper. Happosai bounded over the table, snatched the dried meat from his hands and in one gulp, downed the entire thing. Now all his life Ranma has had a bad temper. It was only in the last few years of his grandmother's life that he learned to control it somewhat. It wasn't much of a control as a delay. The pervert would pay, but not now.
In the span of the next thirty seconds the old master devoured half of the rice and vegetables, belched quite loudly and then bounded up to his room. After taking several minutes to come back to himself he took a quick scan around the table and noticed that all of the women were almost in tears.
"What was that?" He finally asked.
They told him. They told him everything the old pervert ever did. Ranma simply nodded at this acting completely calm the entire time. When they were finished he tried to decide what to do. Acting horrified would be a good start.
"That's that's horrible! Why don't you just kick him out, I mean he's not paying or anything!" Excellent.
"We can't. He's the master, even if we ganged up on him he could still beat us with one hand tied behind his back!" Akane cried.
"So he's really that good eh?" The others just nodded. "Ok I'll keep my distance from him then. Thank you for the warning." He got up and shouldered his pack. Giving a big fake yawn he stretched and said.
"Well it's been a long day I think I'll turn in. Good night everyone." He bowed and then left for the dojo. He was in no way tired but he needed to blow off some steam or else.
About four hours later he was lying on the floor starting to drift off to sleep when his danger sense went off. Two minutes later he heard the door to the dojo slide open and the soft padding of feet on the wooden floor. It was the old guy.
"I know you're not asleep." He finally said. "I know what you are, and I know why you're here." There was a soft rustling of cloth and a glint of steel.
"So you're here to kill me. Correct?" Ranma replied.
"That's right." He tensed ready to strike.
A flurry of motion burst into his sight. When it was over Ranma was kneeling about 3 feet away. It was then that Happosai noted two problems. The first problem was that his windpipe was crushed making the act of breathing quite difficult. The second problem was his heart, which was formerly in his chest, was currently in Ranma's mouth. He tried to scream but problem one included the fact that his voice box was crushed so he did the first thing that came naturally. He dropped to the floor dead.
Notes:
Well it's finally done. I got the inspiration for this one and said to hell with it and just started writing. No Ranma is not evil.
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