If asked outright Ryouga Hibiki would admit that he was a very depressed sort of person. He would also immediately insist that his depression was the fault of one Shinji Saotome. While Ryouga did not have any real evidence to back his position, being as stubborn as an army of mules once he set his mind allowed Ryouga to ignore common sense and keep his beliefs.
It was this ignorance of common sense that allowed him to ignore the fact that Shinji was currently in company of Nabiki Tendo and the two of them were obviously talking on friendly terms, something common sense dictated to only happen under very special circumstances. That Mr. Saotome was following the pair instead of playing shogi, was also ignored as a minor detail.
Course of action decided, Ryuoga descended from the rooftop he was watching from with a cry of “Saotome, prepare to die!”
Ryouga could already feel the thrill of battle coursing through his veins, as he neared his target with umbrella first. This feeling was one of the few things he liked about Shinji, for all his faults the guy was the only one who could give him a real fight. That thought was only of unconscious nature though, because Ryouga was already in full battle mode, his thoughts only evolving around the next move he would make once Shinji dodged his initial thrust, like he always did.
The thrill of battle quickly evaporated however, when Ryuoga finally noticed that Shinji’s only reaction to his attack was a widening of the eyes even though he was already within striking distance. Why isn’t he dodging! Ryuoga thought desperately as he tried to stop the downward arch of his umbrella, the realization that a blow like that would kill even Shinji smashing through his mind and lending extra strength to his overtaxed limbs.
Nearer…
Nearer…
Nearer…
And finally his weapon stopped, a mere inch away from crushing Shinji’s head.
Nabiki slapping him so hard that his head rocked to the side was enough to restore the most basic functions of his brain. She seems angry he thought detachedly.
“What the fuck do you think you are doing, Hibiki?” the girl growled, raw anger cracking her normal mask, “You could have fucking killed Shinji with that stupid move! I swear, if I ever find you attacking him again without reason Akane finding out your little secret will be the least of your problems! Is that clear?”
Ryouga nodded quickly, hoping fervently Nabiki would revert back to her old self…it wasn’t nearly as scary.
Instead of saying anything else, Nabiki quickly grabbed Shinji’s wrist and started dragging the boy away.
Still thoroughly confused Ryuoga finally focused on the elder Saotome, who watched Nabiki with a calculating look. “What is going on, Saotome-san?”
Genma’s first impulse was to berate Ryuoga for his actions, but one look at the lost boys deathly white face was enough for Genma to realize that Ryouga did not need anyone heaping guilt on him…he was doing a good enough job of that himself. Quickly filing away his previous train of thought the elder Saotome did the right thing for once and told Ryuoga just what was going on.
The nagging voice in his head, which was telling him that he should have reacted to Ryouga’s attack instead of following his old habits of letting Shinji deal with it, fought bravely before being ignored….
------------------
Further down the street Shinji was still being dragged along by Nabiki. ”Uh...Nabiki-san…are you ok?” he asked reluctantly, causing Nabiki to come to a sudden standstill.
“You ask me if I am OK? That idiot was a hair’s breath away from killing you! Of course I am not OK!”
“Sorry!”
Nabiki barely managed to keep herself from slapping some sense into Shinji, after hearing that. Taking a deep breath to bring her emotions under control she grabbed his arms to stare directly into his eyes. “What are you apologizing for, Shinji-kun? Do you even realize that it was your brain that nearly ended up as wall decoration back there? You should be a little more upset about that.”
“I guess….I…it all happened so fast, it hasn’t really sunk in yet with, Nabiki-san.”
Abruptly Nabiki let go of his arms, once again her usual self. “Good,“ she said while she once again starting to walk down the street, “Once it sinks in, feel free to talk with me about it.”
As he fell into step next to Nabiki Shinji gave the older girl a thankful look. “Thanks.”
“What for?”
“For caring.”
As she felt a smile tugging at her lips, Nabiki couldn’t help but wonder what was wrong with her that day.
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(Posted Sat, 22 Jan 2005 18:31)
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らんま1/2 © Rumiko Takahashi
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