Wrote up most of this earlier this morning. Hope you all like it!
Left off from here.
Kuno. Kuno. Kuno. There was no getting around it. The boy was an imbecile. A simple-minded, stubborn, foolish tool with a great deal of skill with a stick. No matter the angle, no matter the perception, there was no escaping this simple fact: Tatewaki Kuno was an obstacle. A hindrance that needed to be removed post haste.
Through his stubborn stupidity, he would inadvertently interject himself between Ranma and Akane at various intervals, even if neither of them particularly liked him very much. In fact, it would be nearly impossible to make either of them feel anything but revulsion for him. His behaviour would be too off putting. Too forward, too presumptuous, too perverted for their liking. Or for Nabiki’s if he tried setting her mind towards him or vice versa. Such a shame there was no sign of Mariko Konjo and probably wouldn’t be for months yet. That girl was an airheaded cheerleader smitten with him: Boundless material from which he could derive considerable lust. But she attended an entirely different school, and he didn’t particularly feel like trying to guide her this way quite yet when he didn’t even know where the hell that school even was. If only there were other girls, they might serve as…
Nalidiel smiled, and settled by Nabiki to whisper in her ear. “You know, it might be way more profitable and fun to tell Kuno’s fangirls about the engagement. They’d be thrilled that he wouldn’t be able to pursue Akane anymore… Why not write down their names and which classes they’re in, so you know whom to talk to later on?”
The boy himself entered the classroom, and Nalidiel chuckled alongside Nabiki at the sight of the word formed in bruises over his forehead. Buffoon, yes! That did rather describe him perfectly, didn’t it? After rolling her eyes in amusement, Nabiki turned her greedy gaze towards the paper and wrote down three names. Jackpot. Of course Kuno had fangirls. He was the captain of the kendo club, for crying out loud; regardless of his antics, that was bound to make a couple of girls interested in him. It wasn’t exactly like he was ugly or anything. Just brain dead. Hell, some of the girls probably saw him as a project. A real keeper, if they put a little work into him. Or something. Impossible to say, really, as it would depend on the girls themselves.
“Write out a little more about them,” Nalidiel advised. “That way you’ll be able to better plan how best to sell this to them.”
“Hmph! And I thought Ranma Saotome was good!” Kuno blathered on, staring at his forehead in a mirror. “He doesn’t even know how to spell!”
“That’s great, Kuno,” Nabiki said, not really paying him any attention as she wrote down whatever she knew about girls who obviously had a thing for Kuno. Nalidiel watched over her shoulder in rising interest. Three names, eh? He could use that. Definitely use that.
“Who is this Ranma Saotome?” Kuno insisted, leaning over the paper so that Nabiki really did not have any choice but to address him directly. “Why is he so friendly with Akane Tendo?”
“Don’t tell him the entire truth…” Nalidiel whispered. “Not yet. It’ll be more fun if he finds out a different way, and he might spoil other avenues of entertainment by finding out so soon.”
“Our fathers are friends,” Nabiki said, completely honestly. “Old training partners, apparently. They’ll be staying at the dojo for a little bit to recover after a long trip to China.”
“I see,” Kuno thoughtfully said. “So they have merely struck up a friendship because of mutual paternal familiarity? This is for the best.”
Nabiki shrugged and smiled to herself as Kuno went back towards his seat, mumbling to himself as he went. Nalidiel leaned in for a better listen.
“There is a risk he will become attracted to Akane Tendo…” Kuno muttered. “A tremendous one, for who could resist such fire? But no, if they are simply friends and nothing more, then there is nothing with which to concern myself. I shall have to discover the truth myself, and if necessary smite him then!”
“Tatewaki, outside!” the teacher said, and Nalidiel couldn’t blame the guy. The kendoist had started out mumbling but went into a full-blown rant there. Still, the flung eraser was a pretty nice touch. Hopefully it didn’t give his own teachers too many ideas if they were watching this bit…
But Kuno wasn’t quite finished yet as he mumbled one final thing to himself as he closed the classroom door. “Woe betide Ranma Saotome the instant he has any thoughts of lust or attraction towards Akane Tendo, for they shall be his last.”
<hr>
At about that moment it occurred to Ranma Saotome that he was engaged to a girl considered the most attractive and sought after in the entire school. Looking to his left, he could easily see that in her profile. There was a rather fearsome tomboyish beauty in there. The long hair hid it a little bit, but her facial expressions and body language betrayed the truth. Sure, she wasn’t as well built as his girl form but that wasn’t what he was looking for in a girlfriend.
Not that he was looking for a girlfriend. Not in the least. Distraction from his training, none worse. Even if that particular girl did happen to be a martial artist that he could maybe talk to about training techniques, do a spot of sparring with, had her very own dojo, practised the same general school of martial arts even if a different branch…
… Why was he opposed to this again? Oh yeah. Distraction from the art. And the whole thing was his old man’s idea, which meant it had to be a bad one. Not to mention that she had a pretty mean temper, had a crush on that Doctor Tofu guy, and then there was -
“Hey, what was up with that earlier?” Ranma asked, turning to look at Akane and trying not to react at the overlayed mental image of her standing in naught but a towel that randomly inserted itself in there. Damn his imagination for reminding him of those soft curves and barely concealed skin, and…
“Oh, that?” Akane sighed, causing Ranma to blink and break the spell. “Kuno made a proclamation at the start of the school year. Something like, if you want to date Akane Tendo, first you must defeat her in battle. Some nonsense like that.”
“Idiots. Don’t they know the first thing about getting a girlfriend?” Ranma observed, momentarily allowing the more romantic side of his nature out. Sure, he had a romantic side. Stop laughing. It was just that it was buried under mountains of insecurity, his preference to spend time training and, well, it didn’t get the chance to come out all that often. “That sorta thing would just piss you off.”
“Oh sure, and you’re such a great romantic yourself,” Akane said, rolling her eyes. Ranma scowled back at her. “I guess you make a couple all on your own, huh?”
“H-hey, low blow with the gag about the curse! And the only reason I don’t have a girlfriend is because I’d rather focus on training and stuff. If I actually tried getting a girlfriend, I’d sweep her off her feet.”
“Sure,” Akane said. “Right into the nearest bed. Just like all the other boys.”
“Nuh uh, no way. Something like that…” he trailed off, not particularly wanting to finish the thought he’d started. Trick was he could feel Akane’s eyes burning holes in the side of his head, and each passing moment of silence was a little bit more tortuous than the last. “Something like that should be kinda special, you know? With someone you really like.”
Someone you really like. Did he like Akane? When she was nice, she was… nice. Really nice. Fun to talk to. Kinda cute in a tomboyish way, easy to get on with -
“I don’t believe you.”
Ranma blinked a few times and turned to look over at her. “Believe what?”
“Believe you know the first thing about dating,” she said with a playful smirk on her face. “I mean, you are a bit of a showoff, aren’t you? You’d say just about anything to keep people from thinking you can’t do something.”
Oh, now his hackles were rising. “Who says I don’t know the first thing about dating?”
“I did. Just now. Were you not paying attention?” Akane tutted. “Bad sign, that. If you can’t pay attention to a girl you’re having a conversation with, you don’t stand a chance of showing her a good time.”
“I could so show a girl a good time!” he seethed, not really thinking through what he was saying. “Any girl. Anytime. Anywhere.”
“Hm… Alright. How about me, tomorrow night, and I’ll let you choose where.”
“You’re on! It’s a date!”
Ha, he sure showed her! Honestly now, thinking that he didn’t know how to show a girl a good time. He’d have her falling head over heels for him, easily done. That tomboy’s heart didn’t know what was about to hit it!
<hr>
Most people used their lunch break to ingest food, discuss trivial matters with friends and generally unwind from sitting at a desk for a few hours. Not so Midori Hisamatsu, who could be found each and every lunch break swinging a bokken in the kendo club training room. Without fail, she would gravitate towards this area, spend all but five minutes engaged in creatively rigorous training, and then use the remaining time to towel off and consume her lunch.
Each day. Without fail.
It might have seemed hard for some people to understand, but for Midori this was not simply some after-school club or a fitness regime. She lived kendo. She breathed kendo. She lived kendo. It had always been her dream to be the captain of the club for her school, and yet, and yet, and yet! It was snatched out from under her. Cruelly taken from her by a boy in her very own year, though not from the same class.
And no matter how diligently she trained, no matter how ridiculous her regimen, he always surpassed her. Every single time. But it was all she could do to keep on working, keep on trying, and eventually some day she would succeed in climbing that plateau.
This was also an excellent time for her to meditate on matters that occurred in her life outside kendo. Her body knew what needed done, so her mind naturally went to other places and drew upon other thoughts. A relative’s birthday, an upcoming school event or in this case a piece of gossip spreading across the school like wildfire. A form of gossip spread by way of a question.
“Who is Ranma Saotome?”
Yes. That was the question. But it had been spoken aloud, and not by Midori. Her body tensed and she stopped midswing to peer at the figure standing nonchalantly in the doorway, inspecting her nails as though she hadn’t even heard of the idea of giving a fuck.
“What do you want, Nabiki Tendo?” Midori asked, holding the pose in what she supposed was probably an intimidating manner to an outside viewer. In which case, good. This girl Nabiki was dangerous in a way she wasn’t entirely sure she could handle.
“To answer that question, of course. For a fee.”
Midori sniffed. “Why should I care about this new student? He has nothing to do with me.”
“Are you sure?” Nabiki replied, her tone rather like that of someone engaged in an argument they had already won. “Did you see the fight with Kuno? Your club captain went all out, and Ranma wasn’t even trying. Aren’t you interested in finding out more?”
“Did he… hurt the captain?” Midori asked. “I mean, I do not particularly care one way or the other if that… that inconsiderate lout did get himself hurt, but he <i>is</i> our club captain and if he has been injured I must enact… retribution upon this Saotome boy.”
“Just his ego, but that’s not what you’re really interested in. Don’t you want to know why he came to school with Akane and how those two know each other? Just 500 yen, and I’ll spill the beans.”
Midori scoffed at that. Of course she didn’t care about such idle gossip. Why should she? It was none of her business whether those two came to school together, whether he carried her into the school grounds on his back, whether they waltzed in together… It didn’t matter one slight little bit. After all, it wasn’t like if Akane got herself a boyfriend it might free up Kuno so that she could have a go at him. It wasn’t like that news would fill her heart with so much joy she might well die there and then. It wasn’t as if she cared. It wasn’t as if -
“Here. Five hundred yen. Tell me what you know.”
Nabiki smiled, and started to speak, and Midori’s heart absolutely did not fill up with enough joy to choke an elephant. Because that would imply she liked Tatewaki Kuno, her handsome and strong and talented club captain, and that simply wasn’t true at all.
<hr>
A short time later, the Furinkan fashion society was in the middle of their own lunch meeting. By which it is meant that one of its members was using the clubroom for her own purposes as per usual.
Utako Matsuda's section of the room had a particular theme resonating throughout, which is hardly surprising to learn. Fashion is an artform, and it is inevitable that an artist would retain common themes throughout their work. In this instance, she had a bit of a traditional approach, one might say. Her preferred item of clothing was the kimono, an elegant mode of dress that quite literally translates into "a thing to wear" when expressed in English. While most Japanese wore Western clothes in the modern era, there were still numerous people throughout Japan that preferred the more traditional style of clothing, and besides which they were still worn on special occasions. It was just an evolving tradition that would continue to do so, as many traditions do. It is, after all, the most ancient tradition of the human race for traditions to adapt or be lost to ever-changing times.
What was not so traditional was for a designer to emblazon the face of their one true love all over their work. Well, not just the face. Also the name, in at least one instance the image of a shooting star, or hearts patterned in the shape of any of the previously mentioned. At the moment she was hunched over a desk, doodling her next work. It consisted of white cloth and a bright blue thunderbolt right down the back, representing the new and exciting nickname she had heard him proclaim that morning during his daily ritual of testing and refining his skills and definitely <i>not</i> trying to persuade Akane Tendo to date him by way of combat. Because that would be stupid, and Tatewaki Kuno was anything but stupid! He was smart and handsome and brave and caring and would never, ever do something so reckless or insensitive or downright goofy.
“A blue lightning bolt?” Nabiki observed, peering over Utako’s shoulder at the doodle. “I’m not sure I understand.”
“Well, it’s very difficult to draw thunder, so I figured it would have to be the lightning.”
“I guess that makes sense. Still, it looks pretty tacky…”
“What did you want again, Nabiki Tendo?” Utako glowered, suddenly realising just who she was talking to. The devil incarnate. Her true love’s greatest tormentor. Her antagonist, her nemesis, the incarnation of everything she hated -
“Oh, I just thought you might be interested in finding out who that Ranma guy was,” Nabiki said, bouncing on her heels in that innocent way that only real demons can manage.
Utako scowled at her for a moment. “I know your ways, ice queen. How much will this set me back?”
“I’m feeling generous for once. Just five hundred yen, even in spite of the ice queen remark. I’d take advantage of that generosity, as it’s not likely to come back anytime soon.”
She thrust out the amount and dropped it into Nabiki’s outstretched palm, feeling all dirty and unclean and <b>ugh</b>! This had better be worth it.
“Ranma Saotome… Is my future brother-in-law. He is engaged to Akane, as of yesterday.”
“… Engaged?”
Akane Tendo was engaged? To this Ranma Saotome boy? That was… incredible news! She had been expecting to learn something like "they're dating" or something like that, but engaged? Incredible! Simply incredible! Especially that she was only learning of this now. After all, Nabiki would've sold that information as soon as she had the opportunity to do so. And given that, why would she delay until now, unless, of course -
<i>"Ranma, we can't keep this from my family any longer," Akane said, her arms locked around Ranma's back as his were around hers. "I love you so much I want to shout it from the rooftops."
"Alright, Akane. No more sneaking around behind everyone's back. I've been meaning to ask this for a while, but… marry me, and we'll be together forever."</i>
Such a wonderful story! It brought tears to Utako's eyes, imagining the pair of them sneaking out each night. Perhaps initiated by a chance encounter, leading to a discovery of mutual interest that blossomed into something deeper, something more profound, something wonderful and magical that would bring them eternal happiness!
(As an aside, at that particular moment in time the pair of them were “engaged” in a heated argument over what the best Godzilla enemy monster was. An argument that came very close to the two of them just making out over the rest of lunch if not for a light drizzle making Ranma curse the heavens instead, raised fist and all.)
And it would bring Utako happiness as well, because now Tatewaki, her dearest Tatewaki, had no more excuse to challenge Akane Tendo each morning. Why, it was unthinkable that he would even harbour the pretense of pursuing an engaged woman. It just wasn't right.
Because, as Utako had known and always known to be true, love triumphs over all. Love finds a way. Love prevails. She looked down at the design and smiled. This would have to wait. There were other things she had to do right now. Things which were more important. Things she would do in the name of love.
<hr>
“Come in,” Yuya Nakayama said, moments before there was a knock on the door. She loved doing that. Nobody ever seemed to work out that she had excellent hearing and could hear a pin drop at twenty paces. Always freaked them out, always set them on edge. Sure, it wasn’t real fortune telling, but part of that did have to involve setting the sceptics up with a little doubt in their doubt. Otherwise it would interfere with their destiny lines, which always wound up fouling the reading. Which of course was why scientific analysis of any given reading always came back negative. Not because the method was wrong, it was always the person and the setup interfering in the reading. Because, fah, what did scientists really know? Bunch of arrogant know-nothings!
“Welcome, Nabiki Tendo!” Yuya said, taking her seat at the desk she set up specifically for fortune telling readings. “You were expected. More pictures of Kuno in training so soon? You are quite busy, aren’t you? And that houseguest of yours -”
“Yes, those houseguests you didn’t predict,” Nabiki said. Plural? Interesting. Yuya had actually only known about Ranma living there based on what she had overheard during that fight earlier in the morning, and what others had pieced together that she overheard over the course of the day. "I was thinking you might be wanting to learn a little more about them. After all, you've not had the chance to read his fortune, have you? I bet you'd be really interested in finding out who he is."
"Hmph, I do not need to read this Saotome boy's destiny line to figure him out," Yuya said. "He is quite clearly dating your sister. Any fool could guess at that. Even in spite of her proclamations of hating boys, she could no more resist the pull of destiny tugging her away from Tatewaki Kuno than he can resist that same pull towards me."
Oh, that look in her eyes. She simply didn't see it, did she? Nabiki Tendo simply did not comprehend how anyone could possibly want Tatewaki Kuno the way that Yuya did, it was written all over her face. But… Hold on… Was there more to this story than met the eye? That too was written over Nabiki’s face, and -
“Five hundred yen, and you get a clearer picture.”
There was. There was more to this than she’d first believed. Not dating, then? But that didn’t make sense. Why would he show up with Akane Tendo like that and be so familiar with her if they weren’t dating? Yuya hesitantly passed the requested money over and listened very intently to what Nabiki had to say.
“Ranma Saotome is my future brother-in-law. He is engaged to my little sister as of yesterday.”
Engaged? Well, that was a fair bit more… definite than a mere boyfriend. Nabiki turned on her heel and skipped out of the room, leaving Yuya struggling to pull out her chart depicting the romantic lines throughout the entire school. In the middle of which lay Akane Tendo, with most of the boys displaying a one-way attraction towards her… An attraction which would likely cease soon enough if this engagement turned out to be an accurate piece of information. The repercussions throughout the school would be enormous! New romantic entanglements would begin and end, and for a moment she was worried that her own might be among those altered… But no! It was as the eye of the storm, that single point in a cup of water that remained still no matter how much the rest was stirred. Tying her to Tatewaki Kuno. The big doofus with the handsome face and hot body. Yuya sighed and pulled out one of the pictures Nabiki had sold her just yesterday. God, he was so sexy!
<hr>
So, those were the three girls infatuated with Kuno? Well, Nalidiel would have considered them weirdos… But this was <i>Ranma 1/2</i>; weird was kind of expected. Looks like the infamous love decahedron was going to get a little bit more complicated, but… Those three should definitely provide ample distraction for Kuno, letting him get on with what really mattered.
In this instance: Breaking Nabiki Tendo to his will. He was no expert in this field, but it seemed to be going quite well so far. She was doing almost anything he’d suggest now, it seemed. Though he hadn’t really pushed the boundary on that too much yet… It was the sort of thing she might have gone through with anyway if her thought process had been very slightly different, like “Here’s an idea to make some cash or have some fun that won’t take much effort.” Convincing her to, say, head into the bathroom to masturbate or walk through the corridors naked were a bit beyond his reach for the moment, but he was certain that if he kept on working on her he’d soon start seeing results….
- The three girls intercept Kuno to try to ask him out, and chaos ensues.
- Nabiki finds herself becoming increasingly horny as the day progresses.
- Nalidiel goes for a different approach with Nabiki.
- Kuno finds out about the engagement and attempts to attack Ranma later than usual.
- The next night, Ranma and Akane head out on a date. This is too different from expected events for Nalidiel to ignore, so he tags along.
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