Kaname Chidori was furious. How dare that fat waste of flesh do something as archaic as arrange a marriage for Ranma...to someone besides her. She had spent her entire high school life up until now cultivating her image as 'the most popular girl in school that nobody wanted to date' because she had already found her one and only. She hadn't waited this long only to have her love snatched out from under her.
While Kaname was an athletic girl, she wasn't a martial artist so she knew she didn't have much chance of challenging Genma or this friend of his for Ranma's hand in marriage, but she could hopefully provide Ranma some motivation to ditch his father.
"Ranma, why don't you just leave that idiot before he screws up your life any more?" Kaname asked.
"But where would I go, Kana-chan?" Ranma replied.
"You could go to your mom...or...if you want...you can come...um...live with me," Kaname said, her blush clear through the link they shared. "Besides, there's this weirdo that just started school here. I think he's some sort of stalker or something. Every time I turn around, he's following me around watching me. It's really creepy. I'd feel better if you were here with me in case he tries something."
The fight had been short and brutal. Genma lay on the sidewalk twisted in the shape of a pretzel considering just where everything went wrong. Evidently the boy was opposed to having his fiancée chosen for him. Genma hadn't even had a chance to play his 'family honor' trump card before the boy had attacked with an unexpected ferocity.
The boy had knocked him out before he had a chance to get his defenses up properly and once he had come around, all he could do was lay on the wet pavement and whimper.
Genma failed to notice the animal control van pull up while he was considering his situation. Nor did he notice the officer step out of said van with a tranquilizer gun. The first thing Genma did notice was the stinging pain of the dart that lanced into his side, delivering a large dose of sedative into his blood stream.
Genma let out a howl and tried to resist the chemicals, but soon everything went dark again. When he woke up again, he would be wondering how the heck he got locked in a cage at the zoo with his furry arms and legs in bandages.
"Once you're in Chofu, you need to get off at the Jindai stop. There's a park near the train station. I'll meet you there and show you how to get to my home," Kaname instructed happily, already on her way out the door.
"I'll be there as soon as I can," Ranma assured her.
"You know, it'd probably be more comfortable if you traveled inside the train," Kaname giggled.
"And be couped up like a sardine in a can? No thanks. Anyway, it's cheaper to ride on the outside of the train," Ranma mentally snorted.
"By the way, I'm going to call Auntie Nodoka and invite her over for dinner," Kaname added as she walked down the sidewalk. "I know she'll be thrilled to see you again."
"Great idea, Kana-chan," Ranma replied happily.
Kaname's smile widened as she felt Ranma's excitement over their link. When she had first asked about Ranma's mother, she was horrified to find that Ranma knew nothing about her. She encouraged him to ask his father about her but the fat fool refused to talk about it, finally telling Ranma that his mother had passed away. However, something about the way he said it made Kaname suspicious. On a hunch, she had invested a significant portion of her free time searching the public records until she managed to find Nodoka Saotome.
Ranma had been furious with Genma to discover that his mother was still alive and he had asked Kaname to visit her so he could see his mother through their link. Kaname did so gladly. She found the woman to be a little eccentric, but Ranma's mother had been thrilled to meet the girl her son was in love with and intended to marry. That had been a year ago and Kaname had continued to visit Nodoka and have her over for dinner on a regular basis so they could talk about Ranma.
Nodoka supported their engagement and Kaname hoped she could help deal with the idiocy her husband was plotting.
"Our angel is on the move," Sergeant Major Melissa Mao announced. "Sousuke, you're on. Don't get spotted. Kurz, you're in the M9."
"Right," Sergeant Sousuke Sagara replied as he headed for the door.
"Aww, the princess is going for a nice Sunday walk," Sergeant Kurz Webber commented with a lecherous grin on his face.
"Just go, Webber, before I shoot you myself," Mao said in disgust.
"I'm going. You don't need to be that way about it," Kurz said in an amused tone.
Sousuke followed the girl he had been sent to Tokyo to protect using all his skill to remain inconspicuous. He couldn't help but notice how she seemed unusually...bouncy today. Her long teal hair swayed from side to side in counter point to her hips and there seemed to be an aura of happiness around her that left smiles from the people in her wake.
"Something...is different," Sousuke commented absently.
"I'll say," Kurz laughed over the comm. "She's practically skipping. I bet she's on her way to a romantic rendezvous with her boyfriend. Ah, young love!"
"Pipe down, Kurz," Mao interrupted. "Sousuke is right though. There is something different about her. Keep your eyes open."
"No worries there," Kurz drawled teasingly. "I won't take my eyes off our angel."
"The subject appears to be entering the park," Sousuke reported.
"Keep your distance," Mao advised. "We don't want her to realize we are following her."
"Roger. I should be able to use the vegetation for cover," Sousuke replied, slipping off the path and into the bushes.
The teal haired girl continued down the path for a short distance before seating herself on a park bench. Her head swiveled from side to side as she scanned the area as if looking for someone. It was clear that she was excited about something from the way she didn't seem to be able to hold still. If she wasn't kicking her legs, her fingers were tapping on the bench."
"What's going on?" Mao asked.
"She's just sitting on a bench," Sousuke reported from his position in the bushes. "Hold on..."
Mao and Kurz both snapped alert at the urgency in Sousuke's voice.
"What is it?" Mao demanded.
"Susupicious male. He seems to be trying to approach Miss Chidori without being detected," Sousuke reported. "I am moving to suppress the threat."
Ranma tried to keep his emotions in check as he sneaked through the trees of the park. He wanted to surprise Kaname and it was a real challenge with their mental link, especially after he spotted her sitting on a bench fidgeting excitedly while she waited for him. She was just as beautiful in person as the images of her she had sent him while looking in the mirror. Memories of some of those teasing poses as she stood in front of the mirror in her swimwear nearly caused him to loose his concentration and give himself away as he silently slipped closer.
Ranma froze suddenly as he felt something metallic touch the back of his head.
"Don't move," a male voice ordered. "Who are you and what do you want with Miss Chidori?"
Ranma cursed himself for being so intent on sneaking up on Kaname that he had been ignoring his surroundings. Oh, well, it wasn't like he wasn't able to deal with this.
Ranma spun around without warning, catching his assailant off guard with his speed. In the same motion, Ranma grabbed the wrist that was holding the weapon to his head, taking note with some displeasure that it was a gun, and twisted, locking the elbow. His delivered a couple of hard kicks to the attacker's ribs and reached over to prise the pistol from the captured hand as the air exploded out of the attacker's lungs. It was only then that Ranma noted his attacker was a boy about his age, currently hunched over, grasping his damaged ribs with his free arm. Another twist on the arm and a slight tug sent the boy the rest of the way to the ground where he landed on his stomach with Ranma kneeling on his bruised ribs.
Ranma released the boy's arm momentarily as he dropped the magazine out of the pistol and ejecting the round in the chamber confirming it was a real handgun, not one of those replicas that seemed so popular in Japan lately.
"Sousuke?" a familiar voice asked.
Ranma looked around to see Kaname was approaching, obviously having noticed either the sounds of the scuffle or a stray thought Ranma had broadcast to her.
"Ranma!" Kaname smiled happily.
"You know this guy, Kana-chan?" Ranma asked.
"Yeah, that's the creepy military maniac that keeps stalking me," Kaname explained.
"Oh, really," Ranma said darkly, turning back to the boy pinned under him. "So you don't mind if I have a little chat with him then?"
"Please do," Kaname sniffed disdainfully.
"Look, prick," Ranma said to the boy, "I don't know how you managed to get a real gun in Japan, but it ain't gonna help you against me."
"W-who are you?" the kid asked, the pain in his ribs making the question come out in a gasp.
"I'm Kana-chan's fiancé," Ranma informed him, "and if I catch you bothering her again, I'm gonna snap your spine like a dry twig. Got it?"
Ranma illustrated the point by crushing the high-strength polymer frame of the pistol in his hand, allowing the shattered pieces of plastic and bits of metal to fall to the ground. The boy's eyes widened.
"B-but that's impossible," he gasped.
"Got it?" Ranma demanded sharply, momentarily applying more pressure to the boy's ribs.
"Un-understood," the boy answered.
"Good," Ranma said, standing up. "So Kana-chan—"
Whatever Ranma had been about to say was interrupted by his fiancée pouncing on him as he turned toward her, wrapping her arms and legs tightly around him and laying a passionate kiss on his lips.
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(Posted Tue, 06 Jan 2009 19:38)
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