Nerima Ward <NW>
No desc yet, because I
am lazy.
~It's not fair...rotten cheater,~ Akane grouses to
herself, three nails sticking out of the corner of her mouth as she
violently hammers a floorboard in place. Sometimes being a violent
maniac has its perks, and driving a nail straight through with one blow
is one of them. ~Stupid shark-man...stupid sword...~ The wall was a bit
easier to fix, since they've replaced the thin barrier numerous times
before. But the floor, with the deep furrows and the splintered wood
needed a lot of work. As for her injuries? Akane bandaged them herself
with Kasumi's help, once she woke up. And she'd made her older sister
swear to secrecy about the affair.
'I don't understand. Ranma should know about this,
you're his fiancee.'
'It's my own business, Kasumi. Besides, I'm fine! He's
got enough to worry about with the next match, don't you think?'
'Mmmmmmmm...'
It was clear that Kasumi didn't like it, but she /had/
promised, and Akane took special care to wear a long-sleeved black
blouse underneath a full-skirted purple jumper with a Parisian pattern
of French words, Eiffel Towers, Arc de Triumphs, and berets. The
bandages wouldn't be noticed, barring bizarre circumstances.
Those NEVER happen around here, do they?
Well, at least so far she's been successful. Ranma is,
for now, completely oblivious to Akane's injuries. He's outside the
dojo right now, doing a bit of stretching before his morning training.
He would be doing it in the dojo, but for some reason, Akane's
insistent he not come in. Weird girl. Ah, well, no big deal. Been a
pretty calm weekend...
Nerima, huh? Chad has a hard time
seeing this as another world, it looks so much like the Tokyo back
home. Except it seems more like the early 90s. When every person on the
street doesn't have a cell phone, that's a clear indicator. Not that
Chad owns one back in his own world, just a hassle, really. But
everyone ELSE has one.
The giant from Karakura has been
meaning to expand his horizons, much like Inoue has been doing, and
what better place to start than a world where he at least knows
someone? Of course, there's no gaurentee Ranma is even home, but he'll
drop in at least and check. Finally reaching the gates of the Tendo
Dojo Chad steps in and looks around. He's rather impressed, an actual
dojo, it must make his apartment look like a hole in the wall... which
it sort of is. Chad keeps his hands in the pockets of the leather
jacket he's wearing today. It's getting cool now that fall is here. Of
course, a big, dark man, in a leather jacket, showing up unannounced?
Nah, not suspicious in the least.
Sometimes Chad is so oblivious to
how others would see him.
Akane Tendo is safe and oblivious for now, then! No
rear door entrance, so no savage combat. FOR NOW. There is, however,
savage nailing of the construction variety. Still...nice of Ranma not
to get nosy, she thinks to herself, pulling back to rest on her heels,
catch her breath, and wipe her brow. It should be time for dinner soon,
then she can take a break.
For a few moments, Ranma doesn't notice Chad's presence. His eyes are
closed as he leeeeeans back, as far back as his limber body will
stretch, and then swings forward again to touch his toes. Ah, there we
go. Time for a proper -- oh, hey. "Yasutora!" Ranma calls, raising a
hand in greeting. (He has yet to learn the nickname Ichigo gave him.)
"Hey, how's it goin'? Good to see ya again!"
Ah, good, he was home! Chad offers a
wave of his own, though much more subdued than Ranma's likely is.
"Hey." He says, as he approaches the Martial Artist. "You left
directions to the place, so I thought I'd drop by while I was in the
area."
Chad takes another glance around his
surroundings before speaking again. Wow, it IS a nice place. "Just
looking aroud the worlds. Lately I've been keeping busy with a few
things." Those few things he's not going to really elaborate on, of
course. "So, this is where you live?"
Ranma grins and nods. "Sure, good to have ya. I been
busy lately too, what with the fightin' tournament an' all. And yeah,
this's the Tendos' house, but me and Pops are stayin' here. Lemme show
ya around a bit."
Ranma leads Chad along toward the dojo, pointing things
out. "That's the main house where we all stay. We got a nice koi pond
over to the left too. Here's the dojo. I spend a lotta time over there,
obviously. Akane's in there now, doin'... Actually, I got no idea what
she's up to."
Chad nods, and follows Ranma on his
tour of the dojo. Such a nice building, and a pond too? Chad would be
perfectly happy living in such a serene place.
Granted he's not aware of the zany
events that surround this place on a daily basis...
As Ranma leads them to the de facto
dojo, Chad pauses. "...Akane?" Did he mention an Akane to him before?
Chad doesn't really remember. But he guesses she's one of the Tendos,
unless she's also realted to Ranma.
Akane Tendo pauses in her hammering. She just heard her
name... There, again! But the voice is much deeper than any she's
really acquainted with. Are they talking about her? Ranma and
the...mysterious stranger? Rrrrrrrrgh... She shouldn't eavesdrop. It's
not ethical!
And yet, nonetheless, she finds herself with her ear
pressed against the door, straining to hear what they've got to say.
She's...inspecting the structural integrity of the dojo. Yes. That's
the ticket.
"Hm? Oh, right, you haven't met her yet, have ya?"
Ranma looks mildly embarrassed for not having mentioned her. "Yeah,
Akane Tendo. She's the youngest of Mr. Tendo's three daughters, 'bout
my age. We're, uh..." How to explain it? Ranma waves his hands around,
trying to come up with the right words. "We're kinda, um... Well, it's
complicated." He finally desists, scratching his neck sheepishly.
Chad nods slowly. "I see.
Complicated relationship, huh? I've seen a few of those." Probably
nothing quite like Ranma and Akane, but the Bleach world has stuff like
that too.
Chad takes another glance up and
down the dojo itself. "So if Mr. Tendo is the owner, I suppose his
children practice Martial Arts too?" Afterall, Ranma's a martial
artist, Mr. Tendo LIKELY is, logically.
Akane Tendo scowls. Is it really that hard to say? Is
he /that/ embarrassed about it? Honestly!
It's a hypocritical thought, though. Akane's had a hard
time admitting it herself, which is why she's not throwing things or
making a fuss at the moment. He'll get around to it eventually. But now
they're discussing martial arts. ...What'll he say? She really wants
him to acknowledge her own skill. But she knows he's far better than
she is.
A chuckle. "Yeah, and me an' Akane are actually almost normal compared
to some a' the 'couples' around here." Not that Ranma is naming names.
He nods. "Yeah, Mr. Tendo's one of the teachers of the Anything-Goes
School, even if he does seem to be a bit outta practice. Akane's really
the only one of his daughters who practices, though. She's pretty good.
Not as good as /me/, of course, but still good." He laughs.
A 'couple' huh? Maybe that's what he
meant by 'complicated relationship'. Chad doesn't bring it up, though.
"I see." He replies. "Anything-goes school, I think you mentioned that
before." Almost sounds like it's based around cheating, though Chad
smartly keeps his mouth shut on THAT point, too. "Training so hard to
carry on her father's dojo, that's admirable. Does she enjoy it?"
Ah, well, seems Ranma touched on both points there. He /had/ to brag
about being better. Still...it's true, she can't fail to recognize
that. And he said she was pretty good. She can't help a small smile on
her face as she sits down, resting her back against the door and
folding her arms around her legs as she brings them to her chest. The
stranger even thinks it's admirable! Gosh, that really makes her feel
good. One wouldn't think such an angry girl would possess that kind of
insecurity, but there it is, just the same. "Yeah, I do," she whispers
in response, smiling down at her knees.
Ranma nods enthusiastically. "Yeah, that's what I
practice too. My old man's the other teacher, he's been teachin' me
since I was old enough to walk." If Chad /did/ bring it up, he'd act
affronted for a moment... but then reluctantly admit that yes, that was
what a lot of the school's moves were based around. He blinks at Chad's
evaluation of Akane. "Yeah, I guess it is, isn't it?" As far as
/enjoying/ it... Ranma frowns a bit. "Well... sometimes. Akane's got a
real bad temper, an' she can get real frustrated when she ain't makin'
any progress."
"So did your father and Mr. Tendo
train together as well? That's interesting." So did they bring their
children together to keep the Art alive? You don't see stuff like that
anymore, it's quaint, and appealing. "So, did your parents create the
Art? Or did someone train them?" Poor Chad has no idea the can of worms
he's opening THERE.
He can't help but smirk as Ranma
goes on about Akane's 'bad temper'. "Sounds like a girl from my school.
She can be pretty violent, though she's certainly kind at heart." Chad
can't help but instinctively look over his shoulder before he says that
last part, juuuuust to make sure Tatsuki isn't RIGHT BEHIND HIM.
THERE IS NO TATSUKI ONLY ZHUUL! Actually, just a
hammer. But Akane was nice about it, she threw it underhand, so it
would land on the top of Ranma's head, instead of pitching it straight
at his face. She glares from the small space between partially-opened
door and wall, fists clenched. "WHO has a real bad temper?!"
CLONK. Hammer connects neatly with skull. "Who do ya
/think/, tomboy?!" Ranma snaps back. "Maybe if ya didn't do crap like
that, I wouldn't /say/ ya had a bad temper!" He tosses the hammer aside
and rubs his head, scowling.
Then he remembers Chad is still there. "Ahahaha, sorry.
This's Akane. Akane, uh, this's my friend Yasutora Sado, from Karakura.
Met him one a' the first times I went through the Gates."
Chad sensed the hammer. He could
have stopped the hammer, but Ranma likely could have too. He didn't, so
Chad didn't move either. It wasn't too fiercely thrown, by Chad's
standards, anyway. Chad turns in Akane's direction and blinks. Wow, she
even sort of resembles Arisawa.... a little stockier in the legs, but
close.
"Pleased to meet you." Chad says
with a slight bow. Despite this his head doesn't even come close to
being lower than Akane's or Ranma's. "I was just in the area, sorry for
intruding on your home."
Akane Tendo folds her arms crossly. "Then you shouldn't
say things that MAKE me mad!" she counters petulantly. But the anger
dissipates shortly enough once introductions are made, and she, too,
bows in greeting. "Nice to meet you, Yasutora. And you don't have to
say that, you're not intruding," she laughs, flapping her hand. Then
she pauses. Looks at Chad. Looks at Ranma. Her eyes draw an invisible
arrow from the top of one's head to the other...and her jaw drops. This
guy is HUGE!!! "Er...where did you guys meet, anyway?" she smiles,
rubbing the back of her neck.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Ranma mutters. But he's not the
type to stay angry for long, so once Akane calms down, he does too. "We
met in his home town. I was hangin' out there after seein' a coupla
ghosts fight. We met up, talked for a while, and ended up havin' a real
good spar." They should do some more sparring some time. It's always
nice to fight with a friend rather than an enemy.
Chad is totally oblivious to Akane's surprise at his
height. He only nods as Ranma informs her of how they met. "Yeah. My
world has a pretty high concentration of spirits, violent ones too.
Among... many other things." He doesn't get into it, Karakura's become
such a hotbed of activity that it's too easy to get informed about it.
If you at all listen to trans-gate news, anyway. "I'm a high school
student there, though I'm also a part of the IPA."
Yes Akane, high school student.
Akane Tendo looks from Chad to Ranma, that mind's arrow
still flashing. "A spar, huh?" Look, look, back and forth. "Who won?"
She asks only to save Ranma's pride, she /knows/ it must have been
Chad. Chad doesn't look like the type of guy who would go down in a
fight, not against Ranma. Maybe if Ranma went all out, but he wouldn't
do that in a spar. "Your high school sounds...unusual." He was probably
held back for years, but she doesn't say so. That would just be plain
rude. However, she doesn't seem all that phased about ghosts, having
dealt with a few angry spirits herself.
Ranma smirks at Akane. Does she really need to ask? "I
did, a' course. It was close, though. Neither one of us was goin' all
out, obviously." He laughs and adds, "Yeah, like /Furinkan/ is anything
like a normal school, eh?"
Chad nods. "He's good." Is his reply. Then, he
chuckles. "I'm beginning to wonder if there is such a thing as a
'normal' school." From what he's seen, it's hard to say. "I'm only 15,
it makes me wonder what is in store for me in University."
Chad shakes his head at the prospect. University?
Long ways off. Looking up at the sky (he doesn't have a watch, but the
sun tells him what time it is!) he looks back towards the gate.
"Anyway, I should head back. Sometimes traffic at the Terminus can be
thick. But perhaps I'll stop by again sometime?"
Akane Tendo gapes openly at Chad. Fifteen years old... He looked like
he would be in his late 20's! And how did Ranma beat such a beefcake
anyhow? It boggles the mind! Akane turns her wide eyes towards Ranma,
almost disbelieving. But, slowly, a small smile starts to slip across
her face. Well, why not? He's managed to get this far in the
tournament! Internally, she's very proud of her fiance. "We'd like
that, Yasutora," she smiles. "Come by and have dinner with us sometime,
Kasumi loves to cook."
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