Angrily, Akane slammed the door behind her. Growling, she stomped into the living room and let herself fall down into a chair.
"Yo, sis!" Nabiki said as she looked up from her manga. "What's bitten you?"
"Those stupid girls from Kodachi's gymnastic team," the Jolteon snarled. "They told me I should probably give up martial arts... the only thing I would be good for would be providing power in case of a blackout."
Nabiki winced. "Ouch... did they just want to tick you off or did they have a reason for saying that?"
"Isn't it obvious?" Akane asked. "Kodachi must have told them to bother me... that stupid pest plant obviously hasn't the guts to face me directly..."
Her feline sister smirked. "Well, in Kodachi's case I think you should say: She doesn't have the roots."
Akane chuckled weakly. "Nabiki, that joke was pretty lame..."
Just then, Ranma entered the room. "Hey, have you two seen Ryuko?"
Akane shook her head. "No, not since this morning. Nabiki?"
"Nope," the Meowth replied. "Why, you think she might get as lost as her cousin?"
"Well..." Ranma sighed. "She's a Hibiki... so it might be right to worry."
"Don't worry too much, Ranma," a voice suddenly came from above. "I just saw Ryuko on her way home from Ucchan's..."
They looked up and saw Happosai's cloth-like face looking through the ceiling, grinning at them.
"Do ya have to do that all the time?" Ranma said in an annoyed tone of voice.
Happosai grinned even wider. "If you got it, flaunt it," he said. "Now, if you would excuse me... I have to take a look at my beautiful collection..."
"Been on the hunt again, eh?" Ranma grumbled. "You know that you're an old, lecherous pervert, right?"
Happosai nodded. "Yup! And I'm proud of it!" He pulled his head back through the ceiling.
At that moment, Ryuko entered the house. "Hey, I'm back," she said.
"Hi there, Ryuko," Akane said. "You were at Ucchan's?"
"Um, yeah! How d'you know?"
Ranma gestured upwards. "The old perv saw ya when he was floating around, collecting underwear..."
Ryuko sighed. "Figures..." She hasn't been staying for long in Nerima, but knew Happosai's manners very well by now. "I'm just happy he has chosen to leave me alone..."
Nabiki snickered. "Might be because you hit him once with your Thunder Wave..."
Ryuko nodded. "Yeah, might be..." She then looked seriously in Ranma's direction.
"Um... is something wrong?" he wanted to know.
"Ranma... can I talk to you in private?" she asked him.
Curiously, the Tendo sisters exchanged a puzzled look. That wasn't like Ryuko, being so secretive about something...
"Um... sure! Of course!"
"Good! Akane, Nabiki... if you need us, we're in the dojo." She pulled Ranma after her.
Akane sighed. "I really don't wanna know what the jerk did this time..."
----
In the dojo, Ryuko turned around to face the pig-tailed Charmeleon. "Ranma... as you know, I was at Ukyo's today... and she told me why she hasn't come to school recently."
"Well... okay... But why...?"
Ryuko took a deep breath. "She also told me about the conversation you had with her on Tuesday."
Realization dawned in Ranma's head. "Aaaah... so that's what this is all about..."
"Yes, it is... Ranma... Ukyo told me about everything you said to her... that she is your best friend and all."
"Uh... is that a problem?"
Ryuko shook her head. "No, actually, I think what you did was very responsible... even if a little bold. Although, I have to say the pressure from making that decision had depressed her greatly. I had to comfort her a little..."
Ranma instantly felt guilt invading his heart. "Is... is she okay?"
Ryuko nodded. "Yes, she's fine. She said you were absolutely right, and while she had a hard time accepting your words, she inwardly felt that they were true. I think she has managed to accept the situation... and she wants to try seeing you as a friend once more."
Ranma let out a breath of relief. "That's good to hear... All the time, I was worried I had done the wrong thing... But, you know: I just had to do something about this. Mom was right: Now that we all have those new powers, the dangers of involving bystanders has increased greatly, and Ucchan always made the impression of being the most understanding of my fiancees... And I really didn't want to hurt her, you know?"
Ryuko smiled and nodded. "Good! That's all I wanted to hear." She then tilted her head. "Um... and what about Akane?"
Ranma became uncomfortable again. "She... is the one I wanted to talk to next... But it's not going to be easy... you know how quickly she can get angry."
Ryuko nodded. "Yeah, might be a problem... but don't worry, Ranma! I think, in the end, she will understand. Um, by the way... You DID already choose one of your fiancees, right?"
"Um... yeah, of course I did."
"Ah, okay then." Inwardly she thought: Well, now that Ukyo is out of the question, there are only Shampoo and Akane left... I doubt Ranma would be as weary of his life as to choose Kodachi.
All of a sudden, a black shape burst into the room. When it stopped, Ranma and Ryuko recognized Konatsu, his black fur a mess, and his leaf-like tails crumpled.
"Ranma," he gasped. "You have to help me..."
"Whoa, what happened to you? You got into a hurricane or something?"
"No! It's Ukyo! He's got Ukyo!"
"What?" Ranma instantly was on edge. "What do you mean? Who got Ucchan? What happened?"
"It's Tsubasa!" Konatsu tried calming himself down. "He has kidnapped Ukyo... I couldn't stop him..." He looked down at the floor in shame.
"Tsubasa?" Ranma asked in bewilderment. "That crazy disguise guy? But that can't be... even Kuno would be easily be able to beat him, he's a wimp!"
"Not anymore..." the Sneasel-ninja shook his head. "He's a Ditto-morph now, Ranma... and it looks like he can more than just turning into his opponent... He turned into a Machop... I wasn't able to stop him..." He groaned and clutched his side. "You know, fighting beats both ice and dark..."
"And then? What happened? Did Ucchan fight him too?"
"He... he turned into an Abra. She attacked him... he grabbed her... and then, he teleported himself away... taking her with him." Konatsu knelt down. "I failed her... forgive me, Ranma..."
Ranma snarled. "Whatever his reason was, this time he's not gonna get away with this... I'm going to make that transformation freak pay for what he did!"
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(Posted Sun, 22 Oct 2006 22:16)
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