Haruka lay where she fell for a full minute before she was able to breathe almost normally again. When she finally did, she couldn't stop herself from emitting a drawn-out groan.
Michiru made a move to go help her, but Setsuna put a restraining hand on her arm. When she looked back, Setsuna just shook her head. Michiru studied Setsuna for a moment as she turned her attention back to filming. She was smiling slightly, and her lips were twitching.
Upset at Setsuna's apparent apathy toward Haruka's well-being, she accused, "You think this is funny."
"Whatever gave you that idea?"
Deciding not to argue the point, Michiru voiced her most immediate concerns. "What if she's really hurt? That attack... she came down flat on her back, what if she came down head first? Even transformed, a fall like that could break her neck!"
With her off hand, Setsuna waved a dismissive hand. "She'll be fine. Ranma has it under control."
"What does that mean?" Michiru (almost) demanded (not quite) impatiently.
Setsuna glared at her over the camcorder briefly. "What it means is Ranma will only use techniques he thinks Haruka can handle. He does his utmost to make sure his opponent isn't permanently damaged... most of the time." Michiru said nothing, but her lips compressed. Glancing at her and seeing that her point had gotten across, Setsuna continued. "Even if something were to go wrong and Haruka was in real danger, he would save her."
"How can you be so certain of that?"
Setsuna's voice held a clearly amused tone as she countered, "Are you doubting his abilities or his character?"
"Setsuna! That's not... I..." As she trailed off, Michiru glanced at Hotaru. She didn't seem any more worried that Setsuna. In fact, her eyes were bright with anticipation, like she was eager to see more of her new teacher in action. She thought it best not to bring such doubts up where Hotaru could overhear. "What did you mean 'most of the time?'"
"Now isn't the time to discuss that. In fact, I'd rather Ranma told that story himself. He's already suspicious that I knew so much about him; if we all had such foreknowledge, he may think we're trying to set him up for something." She gave no outward sign, but Michiru could sense that Setsuna enjoyed the irony of her last statement. "I'll have to look into his life a little more thoroughly, but even having just seen the highlights, I saw Ranma helping his enemies on more that one occasion. Good enough?"
Michiru sighed and settled back into her chair. "I suppose..."
"Very well. Do you-- Oh good, she's getting up."
Indeed, Haruka had rolled to her hands and knees and was staggering to her feet. It was not lost on her that Ranma hadn't moved to finish her. Perhaps that was all he had and was counting on the whirlwind thing to knock her out. Well, she had a surprise for him.
'Disappointed' would not even begin to describe what she felt when she discovered that not only did he not seem very surprised, but he looked absolutely delighted that she could continue. On top of that, he was standing there nearly fresh as a daisy! He wasn't even in a stance; just standing there with his hands in his pockets!
"Whenever you're ready, Haruka-chan. I can wait." That infuriating smirk of his was still present as well, though much smaller.
Indignant anger flared in her before she squelched it. "Don't get angry, he's doing it on purpose. Don't get angry, he's doing it on purpose..." As she repeated that mantra, she maintained eye contact. In as cool a voice as she could manage, she said, "Don't call me that."
His only response was to cock his head to the side and shrug. Not really a concession, but at least he acknowledged her 'request.' She found his willingness to wait quite galling; or rather, the implied suggestion of weakness. At the same time, she couldn't help but admire his sporting attitude. Either way, she was going to take advantage of that.
Haruka looked over herself and felt for any new sore spots. She grimaced as her hand encountered the knot on the back of her head. She ran a mental check and decided that since she didn't feel dizzy, and her vision wasn't swimming or spotty, she probably didn't have a concussion. She then tried to work some warmth back into her arms, "Whatever that whirlwind thing was, it was cold!" Her neck was stiff too, but when she tried to work the kinks out, pain lanced up her spine, so she left it for later.
About then, Ranma decided she'd had enough time to pull herself together, "Hey, wanna see somethin' cool?"
Haruka instantly took a more defensive posture, cautiously closing to a distance where (she hoped) he couldn't dodge another World Shaking or five. "What do you got?"
"Heh, watch." With that, Ranma began focusing for a weak ki blast. After all, he didn't want to be totally drained of energy. He could see that Haruka was tired, but thought she could still dodge the blast, given the amount of time he gave her to prepare for it. "Moko..."
Haruka, for her part, just stood there in confusion for a second, as she couldn't fathom what he could possibly be doing. Startling realization (the kind where one has to swallow their heart to get it back in place) came when she noticed his hands were glowing. "No time for a World Shaking... Shit, shit, shit! Hell with it! One last shot!" And so she charged.
Ranma saw her coming, but she was moving much faster than he expected and there was only so much he could do without losing control of the ki blast. He was able to lean away some to avoid a fist to the face, but his limited mobility meant he still took it on the side of his chest. "...Takabisha!"
The blast took Haruka in the right shoulder, spun her completely around, and flung her some 4 meters away. Ranma had a thoughtful frown on his face as he approached her, rubbing his chest.
On the sidelines, Setsuna showed concern for the first time since the fight began, "Oh, dear..."
Hotaru and Michiru turned surprised faces to her. "What is it, Setsuna-mama?" "What's wrong?"
Setsuna clicked off the camcorder, "I was unaware that he could do that." Michiru's brows knit togather, but Setsuna held up a forstalling hand. "Come, this match is clearly over, and we need to attend to Haruka. I suspect that Ranma didn't intend for that last attack to hurt her as much as it did."
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(Posted Tue, 02 Dec 2003 14:13)
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らんま1/2 © Rumiko Takahashi
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