WOMEN OFTEN TIMES SPEAK WITHOUT WORDS
CHAPTER TEXT
Ryoga Girlfriend Chapter 12
Disclaimer: I do not own Ranma ½, Ranma ½ is owned by Rumiko Takahashi and Viz media.
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Time appeared to be at a standstill, Ukyo's form gliding through the air, shards of glass frozen in mid-air, twinkling like bits of diamonds, although beautiful, their airborne nature was to simply fall, cutting anyone who flew through them. The chef narrowed her eyes as her heightened reflexes allowed her pupils to quickly survey the area, catching a glimpse of her target she jumped at the blue haired Tendo, Akane.
"Hiya!" Ukyo shouted, swinging her oversized cooking utensil at Akane.
Reality came back into play, thanks to Ranma, he was able to anticipate Ukyo's strike, but only barely as he shot his hand out, striking the shaft with an open palm, redirecting the attack so that it would harmlessly smash into the wall, causing splinters and wall debris to scatter about.
"The hell, Ukyo!?" Ranma shouted, getting in-between Akane and her attacker.
All of this was so sudden, one minute Akane was talking to Ranma and the next, Ukyo was charging head first into her window, attacking her for who knows what reason. "The hell is right!" Akane demanded, giving Ukyo her traditional death gaze. The two waited in silence as Ukyo pried her spatula from the wall, causing more rubble and drywall to come falling down. "Ranma..." Ukyo groaned, giving Ranma her death gaze as she was filled with ill intent.
Ranma had to take a step back as he knew that look, being friends from such an early age gave him some insight into her tantrums. That was until it occurred to Ranma that his skill level was still much higher than Ukyo's. "Sorry I gotta' do th-"
"Ah!" Ukyo screamed, charging for Akane yet again, ignoring anything Ranma had to say, she was out to wipe away the competition and there was no way she was going to allow Akane to get any further than her or Ryoga for that fact but he wasn't currently present, so she was going to have to make do with Akane.
Ranma finding her pattern all too predictable was able to follow her attack with one of his own. Ranma's open palm would deflect any incoming attacks, although they'd sting the pain wasn't enough to keep him from stopping her, that frustrated and enraged Ukyo quickly decided to trade her speed for strength. "Argh!" Ukyo screamed as she put some serious force behind her attack.
Meanwhile, in the living room...
A loud mechanical humming could be heard from the living room as Kasumi was seen vacuuming the carpet. She took a moment to wipe her brow before hearing the sound of shattering glass. "Oh my..." she sighed, her eyes closed as she placed her hand on her cheek.
Ranma however saw through Ukyo's expression, as he was familiar with it. With inhuman speed he reached his hand out and caught the end of Ukyo's spatula, the vibrations from doing so caused Ranma a small stinging sensation in his palm, this was an opportune moment for Ranma to turn the tables, so, he reached out with his free hand to grab the shaft of the spatula.
Ukyo however only gasped in response to Ranma's grab, not having expected him to take the brute force of her attack with just a hand. She was jolted back to reality by the force of Ranma's pull on her spatula, his difference in strength outweighed that of Ukyo's, despite her adrenaline rush; she was shocked at the time too. "No!" Ukyo screamed before her spatula was torn out of her hands and thrown to the side.
"Got'cha!" Ranma shouted, his pupils resembles pin needles as he focused his gaze and reached for one Ukyo's wrists, jerking her back, since she tried to make a mad dash towards her fighting slash cooking utensil.
"Let go!" she shouted before finding Ranma's head coming towards her own, then everything flashed white once as Ranma had used a headbutt against Ukyo, in an attempt to knock her out. Ukyo fell to her knees but was caught by Ranma, the pig-tailed boy reacted quickly enough to catch her in his arms, a little blood coming from her forehead.
Akane gasped, seeing that Ranma had to resort to such methods. "Did you really need to go that far!?" Akane shouted, in worry for the poor girl. She may have been somewhat insane but she didn't die for her actions, although that was debatable from a non-Nerima point of view. Akane noticed Ranma not responding immediately, taking a few shy steps forward as Ranma appeared stiff, seeing as she was only able to see the back of Ranma's head.
"Trust me... I had to do that..." Ranma replied, a little blood coming from his head as well, as there was a somewhat pained look in his eyes.
Akane blinked twice, surprised that there was someone other than Ryoga, who had a head as thick as his. "Wow... her head is as thick as yours..."
"Can it..." he said, his eye twitching a little as his hair had lowered to the point that they shadowed his eyes, his teeth gritted ever so slightly. Ranma's chest heaved upwards a bit as he sighed in relief, glad that this whole thing had finally ended, not to mention it gave him an excuse to avoid the conversation prior.
"Why Ranma... why Ryoga..." Ukyo muttered in a hushed and clearly hurt tone, still limp in Ranma's arms. Ranma found himself looking down to her. Akane also found herself intrigued, mostly at the fact that she was conscious enough to actually speak, "why can't you pick... me...?"
Ranma averted his eyes, finding a small blush on his face, feeling a mixture of embarrassed, shocked and frustrated, though knowing that Akane could easily latch onto this, he quickly thought of some scapegoat. "Don't just stand there! She smashed her way through a window!" Ranma shouted, as Ukyo felt a little like a porcupine.
Right before Akane could actually bring them back to the conversation of Ranma's romantic interests, she was snapped out of it by him barking commands. "You don't need to shout!" Akane exclaimed, throwing her arms out to her sides, fists clenched. "I'll get Dr. Tofu!" she said, right before leaving the room.
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Kodachi
Faint sounds could be heard as Kodachi was now returning to the waking world, her senses starting slow, building from her vision issues and then her hearing until eventually she found herself blinking quite a bit. "Where am I...?" she groaned as he felt a sharp pain surge throughout her body. "Oh that's right... that wretched two-bit chef turned on me!" she screamed, standing up as if she was perfectly fine. It did, however, still sting. "Right after some patching!" she stated, moving over to her families medical supplies, thankfully having money had it upsides.
After sufficiently taking care of the pain on the side of her stomach, she stepped down from the wooden floor and down into the shoe section of her house and began to slip her dainty feet into her footwear. "First that awful woman and then my darling..."
There was a sudden buzz, alerting her of someone trying seek passage into their manor. She noticed two police officers standing and in clear view of the security cams. "What could they possibly want?" she groaned in frustration before heading out to greet them.
"Hello officers, how may I help you?" Kodachi asked, poking her head out from the large door to her manor, before stepping out to greet them face-to-face.
"Mam... we're going to need to you come with us..." Officer Hachiro said, reaching behind him for his cuffs.
"I beg your pardon?" Kodachi asked, eyes wide as she had a bewildered look to her face.
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Mousse
Our lone master of the hidden weapon found himself lost in a blurred jungle of madness, spurred only by his desire to save his beloved Shampoo. He believed himself to be a force to be reckoned with, at least, that's what he made himself believe. "Shampoo! Not even mother nature can stop me!" he exclaimed, groaning in pain, his body littered with scars from encounters with animals, tree branches, more attacks by animals and clear signs of tripping into dirt by the weird amount of it hanging from his face. 'I really wish I had my glasses, though...' Mouse thought to himself as tears streamed down his face.
"I need a walking stick..." Mouse muttered as he reached out for any stray branch, thankfully he happened on one, unfortunately for him, there was a squirrel he scared by touching it, causing the critter to lash out by biting Mousse. "Ah!" he screamed, now biting his own lower lip.
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Kuno
Tatewaki Kuno always believed himself to be a true spectacle of a man, unmatched in strength and form. Though his current condition spoke otherwise, very few of his bruises remained unseen as the setting sun behind him was casting a shadow over his beaten body. 'Never have I needed to exert myself this much...' Kuno thought, limping forward.
Shampoo, from a distance away, sighed as she was quite annoyed with this day. First she had fallen for such a lame trick as chucking a sword at someone, then to be reminded of how she lost Ranma. She would have continued to dwell on these thoughts, had she not noticed Kuno limping his way towards a tree.
The purple haired girl's eyes widened as she leaned herself up against a tree, hoping to avoid eye contact. That was the thing, though, why was she hiding from him?
Shampoo rationalized before relaxing her posture and crossing her arms, a faint blush across her face. "He is weak... he is..." she tried to say, attempting to sound snide but failing on account of the fact that she was watching him with a worried look, becoming alert when she saw him fall too. Shampoo noticed that she wasn't crossing her arms anymore, but rather she was holding on hand out as if to help him stand properly. There was a moment of silence for her as she came to realize her actions. 'He no is ugly...' Shampoo thought, her eyes slowly going wide as a bright red blush crossed her face, her heart racing just from the possibilities.
Shampoo was interrupted from her thoughts as Kuno groaned in pain, holding his side.
"Is you alright?" Shampoo asked, now stepping into Kuno's field of vision.
"You should obviously know that answer..." Kuno commented, looking to her. "You're the one who afflicted me with this wound..." he finished, flashing back to a moment of her kicking him on his side during their final sparring match for the day.
Shampoo looked to her side, recalling that moment quite vividly. Although she didn't think he'd still be feeling the effects of that match. It made her wonder if she really meant what she was thinking, but it was obvious that she just felt that due to his response she couldn't find it in herself to go back to thinking so conflictedly about him. "Shampoo is..."
Kuno purposely avoided her gaze, figuring her response to be some sort of cruel jab at him.
"Sorry." Shampoo apologized then looked away, her expression seemingly uncomfortable.
Kuno had to take a moment to digest this new information, as it didn't make much sense to him. "I-I beg your pardon?"
"Shampoo sorry!" Shampoo exclaimed, sounding like someone who wanted to quickly say what they needed to, but giving him the 'I'm doing this quick! Like tearing off a band-aid!'.
Kuno watched in utter amazement but was snapped out as Shampoo must have noticed his expression and seemed annoyed, then said the following. "Shampoo say she's sorry... now Shampoo have question..." she stated, making direct eye contact with Kuno, she was a bit intimidating. However that was lost on Kuno, still bewildered by what had just happened. "Um..." Kuno cleared his throat, somewhat quickly. "I will allow it."
"Why you save Shampoo...?" she asked, somewhat bashfully, her hands to her sides, clenched as if she were dreading his response but proceeding anyway.
"I-I needn't a reason to save a maiden..." Kuno replied, finding himself feeling a bit shy.
Shampoo had to admit that she did enjoy being called a maiden, well, she did like most of his flowery speak, that was if he wasn't busy trying to be poetic about his greatness.
Both Kuno and Shampoo appeared to be lost in the moment, neither one saying a thing as they both felt somewhat awkward now. This, however was broken by Shampoo, the Amazonian girl made her way over to Kuno and plopped herself down next to him, hugging her knees before resting her head on them, a distant look to her face.
The blue thunder was faced with something he couldn't understand and found himself unable to say anything. He pursed his lips, trying to think of something to change the mood, but didn't get to finish the moment he heard Shampoo speak. "Thank you... for caring about Shampoo..."
Kuno felt a rush of adrenaline course through his body, a faint blush crossing his expression as he thought that she was maybe having a special moment with him. Then Kuno came to realize something, hadn't he liked his pig-tailed girl for her strength and beauty? And had Shampoo not proven herself to be just as strong? Well, strong enough to take him down, that's for certain. 'Perhaps I have not considered my situation enough...' Kuno thought, his eyes landing on her form. He had to admit that what he saw was, stunning, Shampoo did have the body of an Amazon woman, women that were known for being strong. At this point, Kuno was no longer aware of the stinging pain in his side. Now he sat with his legs slightly open and his back pressed up against a tree, a tree that Shampoo was also leaned against.
"K-Kuno..." Shampoo said, actually saying Kuno's name again.
Kuno hearing her begin turned to her the moment she finished calling his name, what he was met with was a cute purple haired girl, with a somewhat cute, cat like expression calling out his name. Kuno acted suddenly, now giving into the same feelings he had given Akane and Ranma's female half, his attempt at romance. "I must confess... I find myself smitten with you, your charm is only rivaled by your wondrous beauty..." Kuno said, going nearly into full Shakespearean mode, holding Shampoo in a romantic dip.
Shampoo felt vulnerable for once, in her shock she allowed him to move her about. "Shampoo no say she-"
"I see you've finally warmed up to the idea, boy..." Cologne commented, noticing how closely the bokken wielder was holding her great-great granddaughter.
"I believe I have! I now see that she's-" Kuno got as far as saying before finding himself flat on his face, Shampoo having shoved him off and down into the ground.
Shampoo panted deeply as she had a very uncomfortable look to her face, her face a beet red color. Feeling something wrong about how Kuno was handling this situation, not to mention the fact that a delusional weirdo has now suddenly gained interest in her. That's when it hit her, she didn't want someone who lived in a fantasy. This was still the same weirdo that believed keeping half nudes of Ranma's girl side was still okay, this was the guy who believed himself to be on a level all his own.
Cologne saw this and sighed, shaking her head. "And here I thought we'd make some more progress."
Shampoo stumped off, calming her furious blush. Kuno however was left to twitch somewhat like a cockroach, as having his face shoved into the ground was probably not too pleasant of a feeling.
"Hm... I don't think he's going to wake up." Cologne commented, poking Kuno's corpse with the end of her cane.
"M-my fair kitten..." Kuno muttered, now dispelling Cologne's assumptions of Kuno's death.
"Scratch that... he's fine." Cologne commented, smiling now. Now she was honestly just proud of seeing him actually holding Shampoo. Mistake or not, Kuno was getting with the program.
"Master Kuno!" Sasuke cried from within a pair of bushes, screaming as he fell over, recovering quickly, although he was a ninja and was able to not only both stand up, he was also able to apply some first aid to himself, in the form of a band-aid on his forehead. (You know, I find myself recalling lots of animes that do the band-aid thing...)
"Sasuke, thank goodness you're here..." Cologne said, sounding relieved. "You can carry the boy."
Stolen novel; please report.
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Ranma
Both Ranma and Akane bowed before Dr. Tofu as he waved them off, waving to them with an expression akin to that of an alcoholic, as clearly both Ranma and Akane had noticed him waving to Kasumi in the nearby window. There was a moment of silence as Akane and Ranma found themselves feeling odd, mostly cause now they were alone and that meant that Akane could probe for answers. Ranma knew this and began to make his way towards his room, power walking his way back.
"Ranma!" Akane said, speaking up, stopping him. "We need to talk... please..."
"I said I wanted ta' be alone, Akane..." Ranma replied, trying to ignore her by continuing to walk inside.
Akane couldn't take it anymore, Ranma was failing to see her in need, running away from what he knew was his responsibility. "You're so stubborn Ranma! Stubborn like a child!" Akane shouted, her voice cracking in-between words, sounding as if she wanted to cry.
Ranma stopped himself from opening the door, there was a briefest of pauses as Ranma found some sort of excuse. "Geez Akane! This is what bugs me about you! Your timing is terrible, we just sent a friend to the hospital and you wanna' talk about our feelings!?" Ranma shouted, unable to face her during his rant, shortly after Ranma opened the door. "I already told you I picked you anyways! So just be happy with that!" Ranma screamed, then shut the door behind him.
He leaned his back against the door and dipped his head down low, his eyes shrouded by his hair as he pursed his lips and then grit his teeth.
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Ryoga
There was a calm serenity, leaves rustling gently in the wind as they danced in the night. It was then that one of those leafs had been rustled a little too much and gave way to the force of the wind, fluttering down towards the ground, landing on the back of a collapsed Ryoga Hibiki. Who currently rested on his stomach, showing that some time had gone by since he had allowed himself to slump over. The soothing chirps of crickets in the night also did little to calm him.
'I must really be cursed...' Ryoga thought, being confronted by his issues again. Though he figured that once he had run away from his feelings for Ranma, he could move on with his life. The tightness in his chest spoke otherwise, showing this tactic to be ineffective. 'I just need time... I'll get over...' Ryoga gulped before releasing a deeply held in sigh, showing his inner turmoil as still present. 'Ranma...' he thought to himself, his inner voice sounding as like it held some hesitation.
Ryoga clenched his fists in the dirt, bundling up some dirt in-between his fingers as tears streamed down from the side of his face, as his head was resting on its side. Ryoga allowed himself slip into despair, which also allowed him to slip into a deep sleep.
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Ranma
After some time had gone by and he was pretty sure Akane wasn't going to bother him; for a bit. The Saotome prodigy had secretly managed to get himself into the kitchen well enough to slip by, completely unnoticed, taking a water bottle all the way to his room. From there Ranma had his back leaned back against the door, squeezing the bottle in his hands twice, clearly nervous for what he was about to do.
"If I'm gonna' think like a girl..." Ranma muttered, unscrewing the lid to the bottle she doused it over her head, changing him back to his female form. "I might as well be one!" Ranma exclaimed, blushing and also shivering, since she had just dropped cold water onto her head. Ranma bite her lower lip and allowed her thoughts to linger towards all her experiences with Ryoga, even the more intimate ones.
Then there was the confession and although Ranma wouldn't admit it, she had been a bit charmed by Ryoga's actions. There was something strangely adorable about how he handled himself, although that could be terribly annoying too, it reminded her of how she felt for Akane sometimes. Then there was Akane, she wasn't sure what to think about her right now. What else did she need? Ranma pretty much offered herself without so much as a contest and Akane still wants to question her on things involving Ryoga? Ranma sighed, she knew there was a reason for her actions, it was just that she'd rather not deal with them at this very moment. Why was that, though? Ranma pondered as she allowed herself to throw the water bottle in her hand to the side, now just leaning against a wall, hair damp as well as a bit of her outfit.
Ranma sat in silence for a good well, letting her mind drift until her mind went back to Ryoga. Out of nowhere Ranma snorted, her thoughts leading to all the times she's messed with Ryoga, how she could easily mess with him, how whenever she needed someone to help whenever it was most important, Ryoga was there, whenever Ranma got to comfortable, Ryoga would remind Ranma to keep her skills sharp. In some ways, they motivated one another. She found herself thinking about the positives to Ryoga, then found her face becoming bunched up, there was something keeping her from admitting her feelings. Like, what would others think? She was a man in real life anyways! Sure she had done some less than heterosexual things but she always had some sort of goal when doing so! She never did it because she wanted to! Well, a few antics aside she has never really dressed like a woman or acted like the woman because she wanted to. 'If that's true, why are you still think'in bout him.. as a girl?' Ranma's inner voice spoke, causing the crimson haired teen to shake her head. 'I gotta' be goin' nuts... why would I say dat!?' Ranma thought.
"But I became a girl to be more okay with... thinkin'..." Ranma spoke, muttering in a soft tone the entire time. There was some flawed reasoning behind Ranma's actions.
'You like him... you've thought about it so many times now, you're running, just like he is... why don't you man up, huh!?' Ranma's inner voice spoke with a passion.
"Cause it ain't that easy! I can't just be with a guy cause I like em'!" Ranma shouted, accidentally revealing her true feelings, causing her to stop suddenly, her own words sinking in. Slowly Ranma's eye twitched as she fell onto her knees, her head leaned back like a turkey's on a rainy day, although turkeys were lucky enough to have the option of drowning from such a stupid action, Ranma however, was not so fortunate.
"I like Ryoga... I like Ryoga... I... like...Ryoga..." Ranma repeated over and over again, sounding to be complete in disbelief.
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Ryoga & Cologne
Morning came as rays of light bombarded Ryoga's face, the sun's beams dancing across his eyelids eventually caused the lost boy to wake from his deep slumber. 'Guess I was too depressed to have any dreams..' Ryoga thought, his frown remaining ever present.
"My, my... I have to say, I did not expect to find you of all people here, having troubles with your relationship, perhaps?" Cologne asked, standing near the boy.
Ryoga's eyes widened when he noticed Cologne speak, out of instinct he jumped to defend himself. He however knew that there wouldn't be a fight, what reason was there for them?
"I see breaking your habits isn't easy... especially now." Cologne commented, sliding her arms into her long sleeves, presumably crossing her arms underneath.
"Huh?" Ryoga asked, raising his head as he caused it to drop when Cologne spoke to him. "What do you mean?" he asked.
"Perhaps we should speak elsewhere..." Cologne commented, walking away from Ryoga. The lost boy only watched, as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing. Was Cologne going to give him advice on Ranma?
"Child..." Cologne said, looking over her shoulder. "Are you coming?"
Ryoga looked like a deer caught in headlights, but quickly came to his senses and began walking behind her. "I am but..."
"Hm...?" Cologne hummed, quirking a brow towards the raven haired teen.
"Why are you helping me?" Ryoga asked, now very confused.
"Call it a whim... but there really is no reason for us to quarrel over the past? Besides, Shampoo is taking a liking to another." Cologne commented, leading them towards her campsite.
Ryoga glanced over the site and saw that there was four tents, three being relatively the same, however the fourth one was small, almost the size of a dog house. The biggest thing Ryoga noticed however was that Sasuke's feet were sticking out of the smallest tent.
Ryoga now had a moment to actually notice this strange pairing. "Are you sure it's okay to talk while they're asleep?"
"Boy, do you think I'd move about so freely if I was worried about these three?" She asked with a quzzical look.
Ryoga assumed that maybe Shampoo was a heavy sleeper, however he didn't find himself concerned with how Kuno felt about anything.
"I see you've gotten my point... now perhaps we can move onto your dilemma?" Cologne asked.
"What is there to say?" Ryoga replied, his voice sounding defeated. "I failed... I never even had a chance..." Ryoga paused, placing his hand to his forehead, running his hand through his hair before stopping half-way, looking off to the side. "He's a guy after all..." Ryoga attempted a smile, but it was clearly fake. 'Besides... he has Akane...' he thought, remembering Ranma's rejection.
"To be honest, I never bought his sudden interest in you... I could tell from the moment Shampoo told me about it that this whole thing was orchestrated by him, I bet he's glad I didn't catch wind of this soon enough." Cologne explained, meeting Ryoga's eyes. "I only caught it soon enough, soon enough to make the decision of letting the boy go through with his crazy plan, mainly because I wanted to see the repercussions of his actions and then poke fun at it... but perhaps that was a bad call..." Cologne commented, looking off to the side.
Ryoga felt as though he had something to say but found that no words came from his mouth, the elder was right. It was all some sham for Ranma to get past some obstacles in her life but it ended up doing so much damage to Ryoga's and Ranma's already strained relationship, now there truly was no one for him to come back to, no one was waiting for him, for anything.
Cologne sensed a heavy ki aura surrounding her suddenly and noticed Ryoga looking down at the ground, directly in front of him. "I can see this has gone too far... you were smitten by the idea, weren't you, Ryoga?" She asked, trying to look him in the eyes.
"It's not just that!" Ryoga exclaimed, he quickly tried to cover his mouth, hoping not to wake anyone, especially not Shampoo.
Shampoo from in her tent stirred in her sleep for a bit, squinting her eyes as she hugged a spare pillow she kept in her tent. Then her eyes fluttered open as she heard someone speaking. Instantly her eyes widened as she heard that familiar but often times pissed off voice.
"No one needs me anymore..." Ryoga admitted, being at his most vulnerable, especially everything that happened between him and Ranma. He just needed someone to vent to. "I'm going to be as lonely as I used to be, I'm going to spend my nights alone, outside... only this time, my heart's been broken twice..." Ryoga fighting back tears again, his head tilted downwards slightly, enough to keep his eyes from being within Cologne's view, his efforts however were in vein as Cologne could still see his tears running down the sides of his face.
Cologne sensed that his feelings were genuine, given how true his feelings for Ranma were. It actually seemed kind of funny to her, but in a cute way, here she was listening to someone who took a fake relationship too far and was actually considering helping him. 'I wonder if this will be the right decision...' she thought, hoping she wouldn't regret the following suggestion.
"Ryoga... I can see why you're feeling the way you do, although, I have to wonder why you'd think speaking about all this to me is such a good idea... or if you're just so sad that you'd be willing to speak to anyone about this." Cologne cleared her throat, before beginning. She saw from the corner of her eye, that the lost boy lowered his head, feeling somewhat embarrassed.
"Anyways, since you've come this far with the Saotome child, I have to ask... are you not bothered by the fact that Ranma's also a boy?" Cologne asked, sounding a little unsure.
"I was at first... but I don't give a damn about all that now, I've lived my whole life following some kinda' ideal relationship, one man and one woman... I know Ranma has his girl side, but at this point I could care less." Ryoga said, staying firm the entire time. He knew his feelings for Ranma were strong now, he needed them to be, especially for that time when he confessed to Ranma, in front of everyone.
"Hm... I see you've gone through quite a bit to reach this resolution, otherwise you wouldn't have said all of your little speech with such passion." Cologne added, chuckling lightly.
"T-That's right..." Ryoga blushed, since how he got to this mindset was somewhat... intimate. All those kisses and even that one groping flashed in his mind.
"Hm... glad to see your mood's changed now that you've had someone to talk to." Cologne responded. "Child your emotional well being seems to be quite fragile when you've formed attachments to others... simply jumping from feeling to feeling, it's because you're scared, scared to be alone... I know that feeling all too well. I lost Shampoo's great-grandfather awhile ago... my I miss him, but there are many moments where I've wondered what would have happened, had I learned to put my issues aside and give someone else a chance, someone I had a thing for, long ago... now I'm forever left wondering what could have happened and what we could salvage, if anything at all..." she said, looking down to the ground as she swore a mental image of Happosai flashed in her mind.
Cologne decided Ryoga needed someone to relate to, someone who had made a mistake. Why did she feel inclined to tell him? She wasn't even very sure. Maybe this was her way of venting as well. Although she made sure to be a bit subtle, Ryoga was able to catch on, she was talking about Happosai. 'Who the hell else would be old enough to try and salvage a broken relationship with?' Ryoga thought.
"Oh... but you're much too young for such things, but perhaps I can help you be prepared for it." Cologne said, trying to crack a smile, as she was trying to do a good deed, for a clearly just as confused and naïve young man. "What I'm saying boy is, you're too young to live with regrets... " she said, pausing for a bit. "I say keep trying. You are deterred much too easily, have you stopped to consider the possibility that Ranma may have grown closer to you in that time?" Cologne asked, watching Ryoga's reaction being that of someone who just found out that they weren't sure. "Boy, women often times speak without words, it sounds confusing I know, it just means you need to pay attention to how they feel about you..."
Ryoga swore he felt as though he was in a room alone while he listened to Cologne, speaking without words, how do people speak without words? Sure there was sign language and other methods but he was pretty sure this wasn't what she was hinting at, she seemed mystical enough for him to safely assume that. His thoughts centered around all his latest attempts at getting Ranma.
Ryoga found himself thinking back to the expressions on Ranma's face, if Cologne was hinting at what he thinks she was, then he had to see if Ranma showed signs of not having any feelings for him. Those moments they kissed without warning, how they willingly engaged in the action, the fact that Ranma sounded disappointment at the mention of them just being friends, how Ranma willingly goes out of her way to help him.
This revelation startled him...
Cologne hummed to herself, smiling. 'This is also perhaps the best way to punish Ranma for not taking my Shampoo when he had the chance...' Cologne thought. "Seems I still got it..."
"I gotta' go..." Ryoga announced, seemingly looking in the direction of Nerima.
"To your left, Ryoga..." Cologne commented, sighing.
Ryoga blushed, however that did not take away his determined look, although now he was a very serious man, with a rose-y red tinge to his cheeks.
Shampoo all the while listened to this and found herself losing confidence, from what she heard she was pretty sure that her great-grandmother had just made Ryoga realize that there's still a chance for Ryoga and Ranma.
Shampoo squinted her eyes, feeling some past memories for Ranma. She really did enjoy being Ranma's first kiss, she had hoped that meant she'd have that advantage or at least hopes she had that advantage. She had hoped one day he'd accept the honor of being betrothed to a proud Amazonian woman, but that never really happened. There were times he showed her kindness but that was strictly platonic.
It was then that she opened her tent, her hands keeping the flaps open; on her knees. "Great great-grandmother... is Ranma?"
"Yes. Ranma's available..." Cologne commented, looking out in front of her, expecting Shampoo to run immediately in some desperate attempt to return to her fantasy life, expecting Ranma to just cave in one day to her feelings.
There was only the sound of water running and bird chirping in the distance, that got Cologne to look over her shoulder to see a perplexed girl, though she was clearly unsure of how to proceed with her feelings.
"Do you really wish to go, my great-granddaughter?" Cologne questioned, her gravely tone cracked a bit more than usual.
Shampoo blushed and then squinted her eyes shut, shutting her tent flaps and rustling around her tent, jumping out, completely geared for battle, going as far as wearing that red breastplate armor. Each hand holding a chui as they dangled to her sides.
"That girl only likes to learn things the hard way..." Cologne sighed, lowering her head as Shampoo dashed by.
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Nabiki
To say that Nabiki was annoyed would be an understatement, ever since the events involving her helping Ranma change into a girl for Ryoga, Soun and Genma took it upon themselves to ground her for "Aiding in the sabotage of the Tendo Dojo of Anything Goes Martial arts!" That wasn't even taking into account that Happosai still wanted her to uphold her end of the bargain, even to the point of going to her school.
"Come on! We both know what happened to Ranma and Ryoga! Now I ain't got my actors!" he shouted, angry but having small tear drops hanging from the corner of his eye.
Nabiki groaned as she walked down the hallway, her handbag swaying to her right. "Hm..." she thought, not noticing how much Happosai hopping about Happosai was doing. That's when it hit her! "I actually have something better, you old prune..."
"I'm not a prune!" Happosai exclaimed. "And I want my models!"
"Want some models, huh?" Nabiki said, holding one hand up to her face and pressing the tip of her index finger in the the middle of her bottom and top lips. "I think I can work something out..." Nabiki muttered, smirking now.
"Oh...?" Happosai's eyes widened to the point one could swear there was a star shaped glimmer in his eyes. Nabiki pulling out her phone and making a call, speaking in her version of business talk. Then it happened again, she made another call and even laugh once during her second phone call. "So..." Happosai began.
He only saw Nabiki raise a finger, telling him to hold on for a moment. Then two dust clouds made their way over to the two, Happosai jumping back in fear, only to hear the sound of screeching car tires, but in actuality it was the screeching of two students shoes.
"Y-You're kidding..." Happosai stared in awe, as what he was greeted by one male student with what he assumed was an extreme case of bed head and a girl with red hair and green eyes.
"I remembered that a certain pair of people owed me a favor... and since they can't repay me the normal way, I told them they could clear their debt." Nabiki smirked, crossing her arms.
"Uh... yeah... we have names you know...?" the red headed girl said.
"Trust me it's better that he don't know your name..." Nabiki commented. "Besides, your job is to follow Happosai's orders for a few days, is that understood?"
Both sighed in defeat, especially the boy that looked like Ash. "I knew styling my hair after Ash was a stupid idea..."
Happosai however seemed giddy that now he could his strange version of live action fanfiction. "Hey Nabiki! You get me more suckers for today and I'll make it just for two days!" Happosai shouted, hoping to get more out of the deal.
Nabiki was about to leave the two to their doom, until she stopped to listen to him. She quickly, without saying a word, picked up her cell phone and pressed it against her ear.
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Ryoga
The lost boy found himself needing all his focus not to wonder in a different direction. That required him to not run as fast as he possibly could, also to punch any tree blocking his path. He gritted his teeth as maintaining this idea was effective in keeping him in the right direction but it'd be nighttime by the time he'd finish punching down all the trees.
"Damn it!" Ryoga exclaimed, bumping his head against another tree blocking his way, losing some hope of making it to Ranma within the day.
That was until he saw from the corner of his eye, Shampoo dashing through the tires. Clearly dressed for battle, his mind instantly put together that she must have been trying to go back to her old ways, this could work to his advantage. 'This means I'll have to deal with her before Ranma... but if I have to...' Ryoga thought as he narrowed his eyes and gave Shampoo chase.
"Wait for me Ranma..."
"...you, too, Akane."
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END OF PART 1
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What does that mean, Ryoga!? Ryoga!? Come on! Man! Tell us! Oh wait... I'm writing the story.
Here's chapter 12 with a bit of polish to help it be a little better!
Anyways, I'm working on a new oneshot and getting back to a story for my girlfriend I hope to have the time to work on soon. We're also considering moving sometime soon and we need savings help so if you could please consider donating it would really help and whatever you guys decide to do is cool at the end of the day we just hope there are some of you that enjoy reading this.
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Foxes from the Foxxy~
DaisukiFox~