Air Ranma (Part #3)
He had made it all the way to Thursday morning before his luck finally ran out. "Stupid lawn sprinklers." And so ducking behind one of the gym buildings a rather large woman began to dig through her backpack looking for a previously prepared thermos before she noticed that she wasn't alone... ...the yelling started just a bit after that. She was humming to herself, actually feeling a bit happy for once, when she ran into her sister in the hallway. "You're looking in good spirits today, sis." Feeling just a little smug Akane replied with, "Of course. I just found out that those two perverts, Noritada and Weddo, are at the nurses station. Some girl caught them peeping at her and finally got annoyed enough to pound them a little." "Really? I hadn't heard about that. Who got them?" She found herself frowning a little as she thought about it. "I'm not sure... I forgot to ask." Then brushing the whole thing off she continued with, "And who cares? I'm just glad that someone caught those perverts and gave them what was coming." Then saying goodbye she wandered back to her class, still happy in the fact that someone at school obviously shared her sentiments about those two jerks.... She found him in his usual spot, muttering aloud to himself and shoveling food into his mouth. One would normally wonder where all that food went, but considering his rather formidable size it wasn't really that great of a mystery. "So, Ranma-kun, got any sisters?" The suddenly coughing fit was rather amusing to watch. Sitting down next to him she dug out her own bento before turning to watch his ongoing display of humming and hawing before he mumbled, "Er... why do you ask?" "Ahem. According to rumor, a couple of our resident peeping perverts ran across a 'raging giantess' during one of their less then glorious moments between second and third period classes, and are currently recovering at the nurses station." "Well, they shouldn't have been doing that! When I-" She then decided that watching him clamp a hand over his own mouth and practically choke himself was much more amusing then his surprised coughing fit. "So, back to my question of siblings?" "Ahh..." She couldn't stop herself from smirking. "I'll take that as a provisional 'Yes'. Have any details about her that you can share? Like, for instance, what she was doing here earlier today?" "Uh... I... don't know." "Come now, Ranma-kun, you can do better then that." Watching as he nervously tugged at his braided ponytail was also fun. "I... um, haven't known her that long." "Sure, Ranma-kun." "No, er, really. I've known her... um, about 2 months now, I think." Then frantically glancing around he suddenly exclaimed, "Lunch!" and proceeded to stuff his face again... much more enthusiastically this time. Grinning at his obvious ploy to get out from under her spotlight, she also began to eat. Friday morning, an accomplishment in his mind. Not only was it the last day of school for the week, but he had actually managed to wake up early enough that he wasn't arriving to class at the last possible minute. Reaching the main gates of Furinkan he spotted a vaguely familiar face approaching at a rather fast pace, and grinned even more. Finally, he would be able to ask that girl about her martial arts forms. He remembered thinking that some of her moves looked a little like- "I HATE BOYS!" *thump* *whack* *crunch* Thirty seconds and twenty-two bruised bodies later he decided that maybe right then wasn't such a good idea.... Lunch time, and Nabiki found herself once more in the school courtyard looking around for a tall and lanky form, and even as she spotted him she questioned herself a little bit about that. Why DID she spend at least part of her lunch time, every day, with him? Shaking her head at the thought she found herself already in the process of sitting down on the grass next to him, even as he waved a greeting between bites of a large sandwich. Pulling out her own bento lunch she asked, "Starting to catch up on that homework yet?" The grunt and look of disgust that crossed his face answered that well enough. "Well, I might be able to help you with it some... though it will cost you." Swallowing the last mouthful he pulled yet another sandwich out of his bag while hesitantly asking, "Cost me?" "Sure. Nothing is for free, you know. If I came over, say... on Sunday, and helped out a little, it would cost you at least ice cream, for example." "Really? Heck, that's easy. Thanks Nabiki!" Scratching the back of his head he then added, "I'm really having a hard time with math... are you good at math?" Nabiki found herself grinning widely as she answered. "Math is most definately one of my specialties." Nodoka's enjoyment of the early Saturday morning quietness was shattered with the sounds of heavy feet pounding on wooden steps, announcing Ranma's emergence from his room. "Good morning Ranma. Breakfast is ready." "Okay!" A moment later his lanky form ducked into the dining area and upon dropping down in front of the table he began cheerfully eating, though merely at a fast rate instead of the near-frantic speeds that he'd had on first arrival. She had discovered that breaking his ingrained habit of eating everything as fast as possible, before it was taken from him, had become an enormous trial that had lasted three weeks. After that, she considered every little bit a vast improvement. "Going to practice in the dojo this morning again?" "Naw, I'm going to try those shoe things you bought me last week." "The what? Oh, the rollerblades?" "Ya, those." "Well, please be careful. I heard that the weather might turn bad today." "Sure Mom." The heavy rain and fast winds almost drowned her eldest sister's voice out as she said, "Thanks again for helping me carry the groceries, Akane." Her attempt to smile in reply was ruined as a sudden gust almost ripped the umbrella from her hands, and it became a struggle to hold onto both it and the two bags of groceries that she had. Temporarily successful in her efforts, she pushed onward with her sister. Still a number of blocks away from the rail station the weather worsened. Seeing one of the public parks up ahead she pointed it out to Kasumi and the two of them dashed forward to find shelter. Quickly making their way to the only park bench with an overhang, she breathed a sigh of relief and set down the now mildly damp bags. Both sisters spent a moment looking out at the rolling black clouds before Kasumi suddenly said, "I hope it lightens up soon. I'm rather looking forward to dinner tonight." Nodding in agreement Akane's eyes swepted across the gloomy and deserted grounds. It was barely past noon, but the storm had come in fast and hard, giving little warning for those who'd been out and about, and the place now had a lonely and deserted feel to it. And then she heard something. Glancing at her sister, and seeing that she had also heard it, Akane peered out into the gloom while straining to hear over the steady pounding of the rain, and just as she thought she could almost make something out a motion from the corner of her eye caught her attention. At the top of some concrete stairs leading down to the open area where they stood a woman suddenly appeared, moving at incredible speed, and just as she reached the first step she crouched for a split second before launching herself into the air. Later that night Akane would find herself wondering if she had dreamed the following few seconds.... The woman, her arms spread wide and legs half tucked beneath her, slowly hurled through the air, her body almost defying gravity itself while simutaneously fighting off the gusts of wind that clawed at her. Her dark hair, which trailed far behind her, whipped back and forth like the tail of a kite, even though it was obviously soaked through. And as she ripped through the sky, her yell of pure excitement reached Akane's ears. Then gravity finally claimed her, and she fell. Opening her mouth to shout... something, Akane found herself just watching as the woman landed, her bent knees absorbing the incredible impact as she dropped from a height of at least six meters, only to keep moving on a pair of rollerblades that were strapped to her feet. Coming to a sliding stop only a couple of meters away from her and her sister, the woman suddenly turned to stare at them. And Akane discovered that she could only stare back. The woman was a giant, easily taller then just about anyone Akane had ever met, easily dwarfing even her own father's considerable height. And with the clothing plastered to her skin, she found it easy to make out the woman's impressive physique, lean but hardened muscles running the length of her entire body. And her hair! It was long enough to actually trail on the ground half a meter behind her! Akane had never seen someone look so... primal, so elemental before in her entire life. But the moment vanished as the woman then took off, disappearing into the rain and gloom as quickly as she had appeared. Turning towards Kasumi, her mouth opened once again to say something, but she quickly found something else to concern herself with... ...like her eldest sister, who was panting heavily as she stared with wide eyes into the distance. |
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