Ranma 1/2 is the property of Rumiko Takahashi, oh, so is Urusei Yatsura. Juxtaposition ------------------ By: Anand Rao Chapter Three: Misunderstandings? With These People? ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sakura looked at the individual standing in front of her and narrowed her eyes thoughtfully. "I've heard of shape-shifting curses before, but nothing that was water-based," she said. She held out a cup of water that Ranma accepted gracefully. "Do you know of a cure that might work?" Lum asked. Morning classes had gone by relatively uneventfully and she had decided to use the lunch break as an opportunity for Ranma to meet with Sakura. "This isn't something that we should rush into," Sakura warned. "Anything I do now might have some undesired side effects." Ranma poured the cup of warm water over his head. "What kind of side effects?" he asked. "You might become stuck in your cursed form. You might develop a female persona and perhaps even fall in love with a man," Sakura explained. Ranma shuddered. "I see what you mean. Anything else?" "You may split into two different people, one male, one female. You'll be your own sister," Sakura smiled. "Or lover, if you're into that sort of thing." "I think I'm gonna be sick," Ranma gagged. Lum only nodded her head in agreement, but her face had turned a bit pale. "Well, you get the general idea. Let me look into it a bit and I'll let you know if I find anything." "Sure thing, Sensei. That sounds just fine. Thanks. . . I think." "We should be heading back to class," Lum said. "It was nice meeting you, Ranma. I hope you turn out better than he who held your name," Sakura said evenly. "Er, yeah. See ya later." As the left the nurse's office, Lum sparked in anger. "Nobody seems to care that Darling's gone!" she exclaimed. Ranma yelped in pain as a stray bolt of electricity hit him in the shoulder. "Hey, watch it!" Lum calmed down and blushed slightly. "Sorry about that, Ranma. I just wish. . . everyone didn't hate Darling as much as they do." "Well, I doubt anyone's missin' me back in Nerima," Ranma replied, rubbing his shoulder. "Really, Ranma? What about the girl you're engaged to?" "Who, Akane? I. . . I don't know how she feels. . ." "Do you love her?" "What? That uncute tomboy! Please!" Ranma exclaimed. "You're like Darling. You don't realize how much happier you'll be if you just admit your true feelings." "Come on, lunch's almost over. We don't wanna be late for class," Ranma replied, quickening his pace towards the classroom. (Boys,) Lum thought disparagingly. She sighed and followed after Ranma. **************************************** "You have one day, Akane," Nabiki said, handing her younger sister a small folded slip of paper. "Then this information is up for sale." Akane unfolded the slip of paper and read the address written on it. "Thanks, Nabiki. I might be home kind of late, okay?" School had finally ended for the day and Akane decided to check up on Ranma; just to see how he was adjusting, of course. She didn't -really- care about him, or anything. She wasn't worried about Shampoo getting to him first; nope, not at all. "Sure thing, Akane, and say hi to Ranma-kun for me." "Where's Ataru? I don't want him pestering me for the next few hours," Akane said. "Don't worry about it. He's probably off chasing after a few dozen of your classmates." "Nabiki. . . are you sure you want to go out with him? I mean, he might. . ." "Daddy and the Saotomes aren't going to let up on it, Akane. Besides, if I handle things correctly, I could get rid of him permanently," Nabiki explained "What do you mean?" Akane asked. "You'll see, Akane, you'll see," Nabiki smirked. "Nabiki. . ." "Hey! How about a date? Come on, what's your number?" they heard Ataru call out in the distance. "I'll be leaving now." Akane sighed. Nabiki smiled sympathetically as Akane walked away. (Good luck, Akane.) ************************************ Ranma was pleased to note that his first day at Tomobiki high school had ended rather quietly. "I guess this place ain't as bad as I heard," he mused aloud. He stretched his arms wide and sighed. He had left Lum at school with her friends and had decided to explore the new city that would serve as his home. (It beats homework, anyway,) he reasoned. More than once he resisted the temptation to go to Nerima, to one dojo in particular. (I don't got a connection to them any more, and the sooner I realize that, the better,) Ranma thought sadly. It had hurt though, more than he was willing to admit. In the past two days everything he knew and cared about had been taken away, and he was still unsure of what he had gotten in return. (I have to start all over. Again. I can deal with it, I know I can! Just. . . just like always,) he thought, trying to stay focused and determined. The roar of a very familiar engine interrupted Ranma's thoughts. He stopped walking and looked up to once again see Benten's air bike flying overhead. She was flying around rather erratically, and black smoke was billowing out of the red bike from behind. "Oh shit," Ranma murmured as Benten started a nose-dive. "Damn that bitch!" Benten growled as she tried to regain control of her bike. She had been flying around minding her own business, when Ran got it in her head to shoot her. So she buzzed by Ran's spaceship a couple dozen times, big deal! That wasn't any reason for her to wreck Benten's precious bike. The flames behind her grew and she quickly began to lose altitude. Benten accelerated towards the ground and her grip on the handlebars began to weaken. "Shit!" she screamed, trying to hold on tightly. As the ground grew closer and closer, she closed her eyes and braced herself for the inevitable. Suddenly, she was pulled off the bike as a pair of strong arms held her gently around the waist. She opened her eyes and found herself looking at Ranma's face. He moved her into a more comfortable position, one arm under her legs, while the other supported her back. They continued to ascend for a few more seconds, then Ranma looked down past Benten, and tightened his hold on her. "Hold on," he said. Benten silently complied as they began to fall. She heard a loud explosion beneath her and gasped in realization. "My bike!" she yelled, trying to twist around in Ranma's grasp. "Hey! Settle down, will ya?" Ranma exclaimed as the heat and shrapnel from the exploding air bike washed over them. Ranma gritted his teeth as a piece of hot metal tagged him in the back. He landed softy on his feet, still cradling Benten in his arms. Benten stared at the red wreckage that was her beloved red bike. "I just got it waxed too," she said faintly. "Are you okay?" Benten blinked and looked up at Ranma's concerned face. She got angry at the way he was holding her and she glared at him. She pulled her fist back to hit him, but then his eyes drew her in. His eyes showed sincere concern, not the bravado, or lechery she was used to seeing from the males at Tomobiki. Her face softened and she relaxed her fist. "I. . . I'm fine," she replied softly. Ranma breathed a sigh of relief and gently set her down on her feet. "You gotta be more careful. Girls shouldn't be ridin' around on dangerous machines like that," Ranma chided. Benten's eyes narrowed dangerously. "What the hell is wrong with a girl riding a bike?" she demanded. "Um, nothing, nothing!" Ranma quickly replied. "I just meant it'd be a shame if a cute girl like you got hurt or something!" Benten's anger faded and she thought about what it had been like to be held in his arms. She had felt safe; as safe as if she was riding a bike she had tuned herself. For the first time in many, many years, Benten blushed. "Oh. . . well, um, thanks for the assist, ya know?" she finally replied. (I don't believe this shit,) she thought, mortified at her actions. "No problem," Ranma easily replied. "So, what ya gonna do about your bike?" "I'm going to have to talk to Lum. I need her spaceship to get to the insurance company and the aircycle dealer," Benten sighed. "Well, she was back at the high school when I left," Ranma replied. "Do you, um, mind if I walk home with you?" Benten asked. "To wait for her there, I mean." "Er, sure, let's go," Ranma replied. He didn't her the soft gasp behind him, or the quickly disappearing footfalls as Akane ran away, tears of betrayal blinding her eyes. ****************************************** Ataru wiped his face and glared at the old woman as he walked by. "What is it with this place and water?" he wondered aloud. While on his way home from school, he had already been splashed with cold water three times. It had started with a sudden but short-lived rainstorm as soon as he exited the school building. There hadn't been a storm cloud in the sky earlier, so he did not think to carry an umbrella. Later, as he was crossing a street, a car and driven through a large puddle, splattering water and finally, the old woman had splashed him as she emptied her dirty water onto the sidewalk. Ataru sighed and then heard a sympathetic snort from behind. He turned around and instinctively glanced down. He bent down and picked up the small black piglet that was curiously staring at him. If Ataru didn't know any better, he would have said that the pig had a resigned look on its face. "Looks like I'm not the only one who got splashed," Ataru said, noticing that the pig was rather wet. The pig nodded its head and Ataru smiled. "You're a smart one, aren't you? Are you hungry? I'll take you home and have Kasumi-chan fix you something to eat," he promised. Ryoga's ears perked up momentarily at hearing Kasumi's name. (What are the odds? He can't be talking about Akane's sister. . . After all, he doesn't live with the Tendos.) he thought. He considered jumping out of Ataru's grasp, but decided to wait until he had been fed. Ryoga felt slightly guilty for getting food in this manner, but given his current situation, he had few options available. About fifteen minutes later, the lecher and the pig arrived at the Tendo home. (This can't be right! What are we doing here?) Ryoga wondered. Ataru removed his shoes and entered the house. "I'm home!" "Hello, Ataru-kun," Kasumi greeted. "How was your first day at Furinkan?" "Not bad! I met twenty-three girls with serious potential, and I only got slapped six times!" he exclaimed. "My goodness!" "Oh, I also found this little guy on my way home." Ataru held out Ryoga for Kasumi to see. "You found P-Chan! He's been gone for such a long time. Akane will be so happy," Kasumi gushed. "P-Chan?" Ataru repeated, looking at the little black pig. "Yes, he's Akane's pet." "Hmmm. . . Do you think Akane-chan will be -grateful- that I found him?" Ataru asked. "Oh, I'm sure she will," Kasumi replied. "She just got home a few minutes ago and went straight to her room." Kasumi frowned for a moment. "I don't know what's bothering her, but seeing P-Chan is sure to lift her spirits." "I better go deliver him to her then," Ataru said, then started giggling. "Maybe Akane-chan will reward me!" Ryoga glared at Ataru. He did not appreciate the boy's casual attitude towards Akane at all. Ataru bound up the stairs and stopped in front of Akane's room. "Akane-chan!" he called out, banging on the door loudly. "Go away! I'm not in the mood for your perversion, Ataru!" Akane yelled back. "Oh, come on, Akane-chan," Ataru pled. "There's someone here who wants to see you." The bedroom door burst open and Akane grabbed Ataru by the scruff of the neck. "I don't care if someone wants. . . " Akane trailed off when she saw the little pig in his arms. "P-Chan!" she cried, releasing Ataru and grabbing hold of her pet. She hugged him to her chest and rocked him back and forth, while Ataru looked on in envy. "You've been gone for so long, P-Chan! I've missed you so much!" Tears flowed freely down Akane's face and she kissed the little pig on its snout. A wave of dizziness over took Ryoga, but he managed to fight it off. (Something's -really- bothering her,) he realized. (Well, maybe she just misses P-Chan. After all, I haven't been around here much since I last found Akari's farm.) "I found him," Ataru said proudly. "Yup, I must have saved his life! I mean, there he was, walking along the sidewalk, and who knows what could have happened! Someone could have stepped on him, or he could have been hit by a car, or he could have been chased by a dog, or worse!" Ataru paused for effect. "Someone could have tried to cook him!" Ryoga found himself nodding his head in agreement, all of those things had happened to him at one time or another. Akane looked up at Ataru's hopeful face and sighed. "Th-thank you," she grudgingly replied. "You're welcome, Akane-chan!" Ataru beamed. "Now, how about a little reward?" He leaned towards Akane and puckered his lips. "Sure. . . I'll give you exactly what you deserve!" Akane yelled, slamming her fist into Ataru's outstretched face. Ataru's head jerked back and he fell flat on his back. (Nice hit, Akane-san,) Ryoga thought, nodding his head firmly. Akane slammed the door shut and sat on her bed, still cradling Ryoga in her arms. "Oh, P-Chan, what am I going to do?" Ryoga snorted questioningly in response. "I guess. . . Ranma really didn't love me. He didn't really say it back in China," Akane sniffed. (What do you mean, Ranma doesn't love you? What the hell happened?) "If. . . If he loved me, he wouldn't have been holding that girl today. He. . . used to hold -me- that way!" Akane cried harder. As she gently pet her pig, the tears stopped and she took a deep breath. "Maybe. . . maybe the only connection we had was that engagement and now, that's gone too." (The engagement's off? Again? Damn! What did you -do-, Ranma?) "Then there's that idiot, Ataru," Akane grumbled. "He's a worse pervert than Ranma ever was!" (What?!) "One of us has to marry him! Can you imagine being engaged to an idiot like that?" Akane asked. (Marry him?) Ryoga shook his head. "I don't want that pervert anywhere near Kasumi or Nabiki; they can't defend themselves like I can, but. . . I don't want to marry him either!" (Time to settle this right now! Dammit, Ranma, where are you?) Ryoga thought, jumping out of Akane's lap. He ran to the door and starting tapping on it, then looked back at Akane. "What's the matter, P-Chan? Do you need to go the bathroom?" Akane asked. Ryoga just tapped on the door again. "Okay, baby, I'll let you out," Akane said soothingly. "Just be sure to come back soon, okay?" **************************************** "Why does she have to be so. . . so. . . aggressive," Ataru wondered. He touched a cut on his lip and winced in pain. "She's as strong as Shinobu! Ah well," he sighed. "She'll come around eventually." After Akane had unceremoniously knocked him on his backside, Ataru decided to take a bath. He sunk down into the steaming furo and smiled in pleasure. "Nothing beats a hot bath after a day of Girl Hunting!" The door to the bathroom slowly creaked open and Ataru looked up in expectation. (Maybe Akane-chan wants to take a bath with me! Or maybe Kasumi-chan wants to wash my back! Or maybe. . .) Ataru frowned in disappointment when P-Chan walked through the open door. "Oh. It's you." He leaned back in the furo and put his arms behind his head. "So, you need a bath too, eh?" P-Chan walked purposefully towards the furo then jumped in. "Hey, careful! You might drown!" Ataru exclaimed as he leaned forward. He reached out his hand, hoping to save the little pig. Instead, he found himself staring at a young man who seemed to have suddenly appeared in the furo. "W-w-who are you?" Ataru asked, jerking his hand back. "My name is Ryoga Hibiki. I'm a. . . friend of Akane-san's." Ryoga cracked his knuckles meaningfully. "I want you to leave her alone." "Hey! Who are -you- to interfere in my Girl Hunt?" Ataru demanded indignantly. "You leave Akane-san out of your Girl Hunts, you Pervert!" Ryoga yelled. "Are you in love with her or something?" Ataru asked suspiciously. "Akane-chan and I might get married some day. I can chase her if I want!" "N-no, I'm not in love with her! She's just a good friend!" Ryoga blushed, then took a deep breath. It was the first time he had admitted that vocally since meeting Akari. "Then I suggest you stay out of our business." Ataru whipped out his mallet and slammed it on top of Ryoga's head. "All pretty girls belong to me," he said simply. "Have a nice nap." "That. . . hurt." Ryoga began to glow bright blue and his eyes blazed with rage. Ataru blinked in surprise. (Wow! He has a hard head!) He gulped nervously as Ryoga slowly pushed the mallet off his head. "Uh. . . . Sorry about that," he said lamely. "Die!" Ryoga roared, launching himself towards Ataru. **************************** Akane walked downstairs, a puzzled frown on her face. "P-Chan? Where did you run off to?" she called out. She walked into the kitchen where Kasumi was busy preparing dinner. "Kasumi, did P-Chan come down here by any chance?" "Why, no, Akane. I haven't seen P-Chan since Ataru-kun brought him home." "He just up and ran out of my room. I don't know-" "Akane-chan! Save me!" Ataru screamed. Naked and soaking wet, he ran into the kitchen and hid behind Akane. "Oh my! Is anything wrong, Ataru-kun?" Kasumi asked. "There's some crazy guy in the bathroom! He growls and has large fangs and glows this really weird blue color!" Ataru explained. He embraced Akane tightly. "Please, Akane-chan, use your magnificent strength to save me. Defeat that fanged monster!" he pled. "You. . . you pervert!" Akane spluttered. "I'll show you magnificent strength!" She broke free of Ataru's grasp, grabbed his arm and tossed him through the kitchen ceiling and into the evening sky. "Looks like we'll have call the repair crew again," Kasumi observed. "My goodness, Ataru-kun is rather. . . well-endowed, isn't he?" A light blush covered Kasumi's face. "Hmph. He doesn't having anything on Ranma," Akane replied, realizing too late what she had said. "Akane, you didn't!" "No, it was nothing like that!" Akane hastily replied. "I just, er, caught a glimpse of him that first day when I walked in on him in the bath; a small glimpse." "Oh, I see. I hope who ever attacked Ataru is gone, I really don't have enough food for a guest tonight," Kasumi fretted. "I'm sure he was just making it up," Akane easily replied. "Maybe. . ." "Well, I'll go check it out, just to be sure." "Thanks, Akane," Kasumi replied gratefully. "Just be careful, okay?" Akane promised that she would and wearily walked to the bathroom. (That Ataru! Honestly!) She sighed in exasperation. She glanced around the outer bathroom and then the furo area. As she expected, the bathroom was empty. "Ha! I knew it." She walked back into the kitchen and smiled at an expectant Kasumi. "I was right, Kasumi. No 'fanged monster' in sight." "Oh, good. That would have been frightfully inconvenient just before dinner." "Uh. . . right. I'm. . . going to go look for P-Chan now." "Okay, I'll let you know when dinner's ready." "Thanks, Kasumi," Akane replied, exiting the kitchen. (Maybe he went back to my room.) She walked back upstairs, hoping that she had not once again lost her pet, so soon after finding him. As she reached the top of the stairwell, she noticed a familiar figure standing in front of Ataru's door. "Ryoga-kun!" "Akane-san!" Ryoga jerked back then smiled sheepishly at Akane. "H-how have you been?" "I'm. . . fine, Ryoga-kun. What are you doing here? Did you get lost?" "No! I mean. . . er, I was looking for Ranma. . ." "Oh, I see. Ranma doesn't live here anymore, and I doubt he'll ever be coming back," Akane replied bitterly. "Akane-san, what happened? And what's the deal with that guy, Ataru?" "You've met Ataru?" Akane asked, blinking in surprise. "Er, I sort of ran into him earlier when I was looking for Ranma," Ryoga laughed nervously. "He mentioned a 'girl hunt' and being engaged to you!" Akane suddenly giggled, realizing who Ataru's 'fanged monster' was. "Come on, Ryoga-kun," Akane said, motioning towards her room. "I'll fill you in on what's been going on for the past two days." ****************************************** "Ranma-chan, this might sting a little. . ." "Don't worry about it, Mom, I've had worse." Benten stared guiltily at Ranma as his mother dabbed antiseptic on his back. "I'm really sorry, Ranma." Ranma shrugged his shoulders and winced slightly at the pain. "Quit apologizin' already, okay? It wasn't your fault." When they had reached the Moroboshi home, Benten finally noticed the wound on Ranma's back. The fact that Ranma had gotten hurt saving her made her feel horribly embarrassed for some reason. (It's not that big of a cut,) she tried to rationalize to herself. She -did- like looking at Ranma's unclothed chest, however. "You're such a brave young man, Ranma-chan, saving a young lady in distress like that." "Thanks, Mom," Ranma paused then sighed. "I'm used to it," he muttered. "I'm home!" Lum called out, flying into the room. "Welcome home, Lum-chan." Mrs. Moroboshi placed a large bandage on Ranma's back then gently patted him on the shoulders. "There, all finished." "Great." Ranma grabbed the red shirt that was sitting next to him and shrugged it on. "Hey, Lum, how's it going?" "Hi, Ranma. What's going on?" Lum shot a puzzled glance at a blushing Benten. "I had, er, a little problem with my bike, and Ranma helped me out." "A little problem? That thing's a flaming hunk of junk now!" Ranma snorted. "Hey!" Benten glared at Ranma, her guilt and blush quickly forgotten. "Benten, did you. . . crash?" Lum cringed as she asked the question. Benten was very proud of her cycling skills. "No! Ran shot me down!" "Oh, I guess you'll need another ride to the insurance agency then." "Right! Come on, Lum, let's get going!" Benten stood up and grabbed Lum's arm. "I can't leave now, filing a claim takes weeks! I still need to get Darling back!" Benten sighed and relaxed her grip. "Well, shit, Lum, what am I supposed to do until then?" "You can stay in my ship until then. Please, Benten, just be a little patient?" "I'm gonna go nuts, being cooped up in your ship all day. . ." Benten glanced at Ranma and an inspired smile grew on her face. "On the other hand, I think I can I find a way to keep busy." _____________________________________ End - Chapter 3 _____________________________________ Authors Notes: First off, I'm not dead. Honest. I still write. Kinda. I was going to wait until I finished the whole fic before posting it, but since life has gotten even busier than usual, I decided to post what I have. I've been working on this story since October. Yeah, I've slowed down lots. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed what I have so far. I haven't had so much fun writing a fic since Stained Glass Mind, (which is being rewritten, in case you were interested.) Hey, acknowledgments first, then I'll move on to a status report.... Special thanks go to Fred Herriot and the TSY crew, believe it or not, their fic inspired me to write this one. I sat down one week and read the 50 core chapters. *_* You got to respect authors who are obviously having fun. That's my motivation too. Thanks to Phillip Masters for the title! "My Son, the Lecher," (the original title,) just didn't fit for what I had in mind. Thanks to Gary Kleepe for keeping me honest. Akane was a lot meaner before he got his hands on this fic. I trust his ability to keep characters IC more than any other Ranma-fic writer I've met. I had a bunch of prereaders who were very supportive and kept me interested in the fic. Thanks to: John Peasley, Ed Becerra, Saitou, Karaohki, Nightman, Su, (Hi, imouto!) Donny Cheng. . . ack, I'm forgetting people! (Remind me for next time, guys.) Status Report: *sigh* Not much to say here, I'm afraid. Juxtaposition chapter 4: Being written; about 30% done. For the Sake of the Children, chapter 10: about 10% done. (I'm having difficulty *believing* in this story right now, and that's making it hard to write.) For the Love of a Mortal, chapter 5: Not even started. Only Begotten Son, chapter 2, about 30% done. Child of Balance, Not even started. Stained Glass Mind rewrite, I'm in the middle of what was chapter 2. Actually, chapters 1 and 2 are going to be put together... That's all folks, feel free to C&C in any way, shape, or form. Namaste, Anand.