It almost seemed... anti-climactic to Ukyo to go to school the next morning. After her first night as a super hero, an aborted fight with a Super Villain and a real Demon, then a quick escape from some overly-concerned police, school seemed so... mundane.
Reaching her classroom, she realized she hadn't seen Kuno in any of his usual ambush points. But then she shrugged. Maybe Kuno's new trick took more out of him than they realized. Or maybe he just short-circuited. She laughed softly at that thought.
Then Ranma and Akane showed up, a few minutes early (as was usual when Kuno didn't attack.) Looking at Akane, Ukyo let out a quick bark of laughter before she could stifle it.
The youngest Tendo sister was doing a slow burn - a rare sight since she usually raged. All over her face where doodles and words done in marker, recognizable as Ranma's usual scrawl. It took Ukyo a minute to figure out that they said, "Too Slow," "Learn to Block," "This is sad," and "Ranma was Here." Ranma, for his part, was looking only mildly sheepish.
"Hey, Ranchan?" Ukyo whispered to Ranma when Akane took her seat, stiff-backed. "What's up with Akane?"
Ranma seemed to be unsure if he should laugh or blush. "Well, Akane and I, well, we were sparrin'. She needed to tighten up her defense... a lot... so I started writing on her when she missed a block. But... uhh... well, Nabiki gave me the wrong marker, so those are going to be there for a few days..."
Ukyo blinked. She wasn't sure she liked the idea of Ranma and Akane sparring seriously. "She looks... mad."
Ranma nodded, and seemed... glad? "Yeah. And it was worse last night, believe me. But right now she's managing to keep her head, which is progress. I figure if she doesn't snap and go on a murderous rampage in a few days, she might finally be on her way to taming that temper of hers."
Ukyo's eyes narrowed. Not good news. "Nabiki did it, you say?"
Ranma nodded. "Yeah... but I wish I'd thought of it..."
Ukyo shook her head, exasperated. Then thought of something else. "Wait, what was Nabiki doing there in the first place? She doesn't usually watch you practice unless she's taking pictures."
"Nope. She was trainin' too."
"What?!"
Now Ranma grew serious. "Yeah. With all the wackos running around this city... well, I can't always be there to protect 'em. So I'm making sure that Nabiki and Kasumi can at least protect themselves somewhat."
Ukyo swallowed, suddenly a bit nervous. "Yeah... that super brawl last night was only a couple blocks away from the Uccahn's." A sudden thought occurred to her. "Maybe I could join you guys in practice?"
Now Ranma became slightly nervous. "Ahh... won't that make running your restaurant harder? And besides, Konatsu should be more than capable of helping you train."
Ukyo wasn't about to give in easily. "I'm sure I can work it out. If nothing else, this will give you guys a bit of variety..."
Ranma sighed. "Well, I'll have to go over it with them... how about I tell you tomorrow?"
Ukyo smiled. She knew Ranma would eventually cave, no matter what the Tendo girls said. Score one for the Cute Fiancee! "Tomorrow, sugar."
Ranma suddenly thought of something. "Hey, Ucchan? Did you see Kuno this morning?"
"Nope." Ukyo said with a shrug.
***
Nabiki was sore. And she was sure someone was going to notice the black and blue marks when they got to gym. She hated this training. She always thought she was in good condition... but 'Good' wasn't even 'barely adequate' to Ranma.
The truly sad part was that both Kasumi and Akane took things better than she did - both the necessity of the trainin... and the actual training itself.
And where the hell did Kasumi learn how to throw like that anyway?!
"Hey, boss!" One of Nabiki's friends/underlings suddenly rushed up to see her, whispering urgently. "Did you hear what happened with Kuno?"
Nabiki frowned. She didn't like it when something happened she was unaware of. "No. What?"
The girls looked worried. "Kuno flipped out yesterday! He apparently decided that those new powers of his made him some kind of avatar for the Kami's justice or some such. Last night he nearly killed a gaijin who got a bit drunk and was making a scene of himself. And then he did kill the police officer who tried to stop him! He managed to lose the police somewhere downtown, but he's now a wanted felon! And the police are out for blood in this case!"
Nabiki paled at the news. She never actually thought Kuno would do anything like that. Now though... Kuno had crossed a major line. It was one thing to talk about killing people, and that was all Nabiki had thought it was - talk. Now... Kuno was a killer, and he probably wouldn't hesitate to kill again.
Nabiki slumped down in her desk. Kuno would eventually be coming for Ranma and Akane. She'd fed his obsessions long enough to know that. And that fight could turn potentially lethal.
Nabiki swore to keep her ears open for any news about him. There was no way he'd catch her by surprise... "Anything else?
The girl nodded, "Oh yeah! There was this big brawl near the Ucchan's last night..."
***
Shampoo was worried. Kodachi was late. The training session last night had been humiliating for the aristocratic girl, but it should not have been debilitating. And Kodachi had impressed her as someone who would not let minor discomforts stop her. So where was she?
Then Kodachi walked in, but to Shampoo something was definitely wrong. It seemed her usual store of energy was absent today. What could have happened.
When Kodachi took her seat near Shampoo, the Amazon asked, "Is you all right?"
Kodachi corrected her, but without any drive. "You mean 'ARE you all right?,' Shampoo..."
Now Shampoo was certain something was wrong. "What happened?" She asked in a commanding voice.
Kodachi listlessly began to explain. And Shampoo learned of how Kodachi came home from the training session to find the Kuno Mansion swarming with police officers. Of the hours of questions and learning what Tatewaki had done. And then going back to the mansion... alone. Being unable to contact her father, and then she ended up sleeping near Midorigame's pond for some degree of comfort.
Shampoo frowned. "And now?" She asked.
Kodachi shivered. "I... don't know." She said softly. "I never thought he'd actually kill someone. I've come close, a time or two, by accident. When one of my victims would have an allergic reaction to something I'd used. But I always made sure they got help in time if that happened. But now, Tatewaki's killed someone. Deliberately. And I don't know what to feel. We never really got along well or anything... but he is my brother. And, in our own demented way, we were always there for each other..."
Shampoo could tell that Kodachi was nearly crying, revealing all this to her. "Shamp... er... I do not know what to say. I help anyway I can."
Kodachi giggled a bit. "That is... 'I will help in anyway I can', Shampoo." Then she got serious. "I... do not think I could stand being alone today. If it isn't too much trouble... maybe I could stay at your restaurant tonight? Or maybe you could come to the mansion..."
Shampoo was startled a moment. Kodachi seemed more vulnerable than she had even known the girl before... and she was coming to her for emotional support? It was a stunning experience to realize that over the last day, Shampoo had become Kodachi's closest friend. "Ah... Shampoo sure we work something out with Great-Grandmother..."
Kodachi tsked. "And you were doing so well this morning, too..."
Shampoo could tell Kodachi was smiling, and reciprocated. It wasn't like Shampoo had many friends herself...
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(Posted Sat, 14 Dec 2002 19:04)
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