Kodachi walked elegantly into the changing room, idly twirling a hoop about the fingers of one hand. Ignoring the other girls, she made her way to her locker and began stripping off her uniform.
The other girls, as usual, ignored her in such a way as to make it perfectly clear they were avoiding the poisonous snake in their midst, and Kodachi, as usual, completely concealed how this made her feel.
“Tomomo, your brother attends Furinkan High, does he not?”
The girl addressed startled. A discrete space developed around her as the other girls moved away. “Ah, y-yes, C-captain Kodachi,” she managed.
“Has he ever mentioned a ‘Saotome Ranma’, by any chance?”
Tomomo blinked. “Ah, yes,” she admitted. Greatly daring, she added, “She’s a freshman who arrived a couple of weeks ago – very p-pretty, he says…” she trailed off, wondering if telling the infamous Black Rose that someone else was noted for their good looks was entirely a good idea.
“‘She’?” queried Kodachi, finally turning to address the girl directly. She covered her surprise with a semblance of thought. “Curious. My brother has been declaiming on the subject of a boy of that name becoming engaged to a girl he is interested in.”
“Ah, um…” said Tomomo, who had met Kodachi’s brother on one of his visits to the St Hebereke’s campus. She knew what she wanted to say on that subject, but lacked the courage to say it to Kodachi’s face.
“Of course, my brother is a delusional idiot with the hormonal response of a rabbit on Viagra and the social graces of a very refined ape. I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised he should make such a mistake.” Tomomo – and the remainder of the class – refrained from openly agreeing with Kodachi. “If she is pretty, I don’t suppose your brother has vouchsafed you a description of her?”
“Um, yes,” said Tomomo. “She’s a redhead, quite short, and rather – ah – busty. He says she’s a better fighter than Tendo Akane, as well,” she added quickly.
“Hmm, intriguing. Does that indicate that she shall become the replacement victim of the Furinkan High tradition of beating up the toughest girl in the school for a ‘date’?”
“I, um, don’t think so,” said Tomomo carefully. “Shinji says she prefers boys to fight each other over her…”
Kodachi’s lips twitched. “Which is undoubtedly true. After all, I’m sure he heard it from a boy… ohohohohoho!”
Genma gingerly rubbed at the site of the injury left by the monstrous torture implement wielded by that self-proclaimed veterinarian (he had to avoid scratching himself with his own claws, that was it) and plotted. Escape was imperative; they hadn’t been kidding about the bamboo. Nor was there any sign of a civilised bed being provided – he had been willing to put up with no end of privation in the name of training the boy, but his son wasn’t in the cage…
Hmm. Perhaps if he took the boy back to Jusenkyo – avoiding the women from that village, of course – and got him an animal curse, he could put the boy in a cage for training. It would be just like those times the Master chained him and Soun to a tree and cooked and ate all their food just out of reach.
Of course, it would be irresponsible to apply the final refinement the Master devised, of freeing them and hiding himself and the chains just before the arrival of the villagers they had stolen the food from. The mobs had always tended to demolish things, and if they wrecked the dojo there wouldn’t be anywhere to sleep. Not to mention, nowhere for Kasumi to cook.
But before he could do that, he had to get out of this cage. The handyman with the bent and thermos had left while the vet was setting up, taking the provisions and hot drink with him. The keepers had all left with or shortly after the vet; Genma understood that the keeper who had spoken to the vet was a senior keeper, and therefore the others had to be seen to be doing something while he was around. Martial Artists didn’t have to appear busy for their bosses, a significant and obvious superiority of the way of life.
However, noises just out of his sight indicated that some of the keepers were still between him and the exit, and there were no convenient blankets in sight. Since no one other than employees of the zoo had passed by since he woke, this area probably wasn’t open to the public – meaning that questions would be asked if he simply walked out in full view. Genma had learned, over the years of training his son, that ‘questions asked’ often meant ‘answers sought’, which could all too easily lead to chasing him out of town.
Besides which, someone had stolen his gi and glasses.
“Alright, final equipment check. Everyone, we’ll start with our carry-on luggage; ready?”
“Yes.” “Yes.” “Hmp. Yes.”
“Passport.”
“Yes.” “Check.” “Hmp. Here.”
“Japanese visa.”
“Yes.” “Yes.” “That’s a credit card, Siobhan.” “Hmp. Visa, here.” “Nissa, you’re no fun. Here’s the visa.”
“Driving license, valid overseas.”
“Yes.” “Too young to drive, remember, Sander?” “Hmp, here.”
“Airline tickets we’ll collect at the airport, I’ve got the paperwork for that. Same for the hotel bookings.”
“I wanna try one of those capsule hotels.”
“Siobhan, we’ve already been over this…”
“None of the rest of us do. Carry on, Sander.”
“Car hire paperwork, also in my bag. Everyone except Siobhan insured to drive it, check. Money, everyone?”
“Yes.” “Yeah. What little I get.” “Hmp. Yes.”
“Credit card.”
“Yes.” “Yay!” “Don’t spend it all at once, Siobhan. And yes, I have mine and the one on the clan account.”
“Notebook and pens.”
“Yes.” “Check.” “Hmp. Of course.”
“Snacks.”
“Jelly Babies.” “Liquorice Allsorts. D’you think Pocky tastes any better than regular snacks?” “Spillers Winalot dry mix.”
There was a short pause. Sander broke it. “Pauric, won’t dog food give away that we’re… not human?”
Shortly after the final bell of the day rang through the school, and the main rush of departing students passed through the gates towards destinations in the rest of Nerima (and elsewhere), a lithe figure presented itself elegantly in the entryway. She turned her head gracefully, scanning the departing crowds, and lifted an arm imperiously.
A boy, singled out by the gesture, paused uncertainly. “Uh… can I help you?”
“Perhaps. I seek either Tendo Akane, or Saotome Ranma; would you be able to direct me to them?”
“Uh…
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(Posted Fri, 26 Oct 2007 23:05)
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らんま1/2 © Rumiko Takahashi
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