Spoiled Brats, Chapter 29

[DarkFyre99]

Spoiled Brats

Disclaimer: The characters from Ranma ½, Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon, and Devil Hunter Yohko that appear in this story are not my own. I'm just playing with them for my own amusement. If anyone else is entertained by this story, that's a bonus.

Chapter Twenty-Nine – Return to Nerima part two: Tendo

Ranma appeared with a pop several blocks from where the Tendo dojo once stood. It had been years since he'd last been that sloppy with a teleport, but he had wanted show off, and he had wanted to make it obvious he wasn't just using some kind of stealth technique.

As he walked towards the former Tendo Dojo, he reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone. Pressing the number seven speed-dial, he waited for the other end to pick up. “Hello, Takeda-obaasan? It's Ranma... Yeah, it went well. I really can't thank you enough for what you've done for me over the years... Okay, I'll see you Friday. Bye.” Pocketing his cell phone, he looked at the place he used to call home.

When he'd been living at the Tendo Dojo, he hadn't realized just how valuable the huge property was, given the value of land in Tokyo. He wasn't surprised that after he left, old man Tendo had done what was necessary to secure his family's legacy. Nor did he blame Akane for volunteering to be the one to do so. He agreed that Kasumi had sacrificed so much for her family already. But he had been surprised what they'd done with the place.

Ranma looked at the sign that had once read “Tendo School of Anything-Goes Martial Arts.” It now read “Tendo All-Girl's Dorm.” Gone was the large two-story home and detached dojo. Instead, a four-story apartment stood on the former property. Going through the gate, he saw that the apartment only stood on half the property. The other half included the old koi pond. Where the dojo once stood was more landscaping, including what he knew to be a rather large outdoor hot tub. He knew that Akane's husband was the younger son of a rather wealthy family, which was why he was free to adopt the Tendo family name, but it was still a rather ostentatious display of wealth.

Ranma's thoughts were interrupted by an angry voice. “You! What do you think you're doing here? This is a girl's dorm!”

He turned around and faced a teenaged girl in a St. Hebereke uniform. The girl had a bag of kendo equipment slung over her shoulder, and she was glaring at him suspiciously.

As politely as he could, he bowed and said, “Hello. I'm Saotome Ranma. I'm here to visit Tendo Akane.”

The girl dropped the bag, and knelt to unzip it. “So, the notorious Saotome Ranma has returned to ruin Manager-san's happy marriage.”

Ranma watched the girl warily. 'I can see Furinkan-cho hasn't changed much since my absense.' “Wait a second, she's just a friend I haven't seen in over ten years...”

Ranma's unease increased when the produced not a bokken, but an actual katana. “I will not permit it!”

“Hey! Wait a second!” He dodged the girl's charge. “Put that away!” He ducked beneath the girl's surprisingly skilled attack. “Dammit!” He summoned a sword of his own and rather quickly disarmed the girl.

Holding the girl at swordpoint, he said, “Now listen here, I don't know what you've been told, and I don't care. Don't ever draw live steel against someone again, unless you're prepared to kill or be killed. Is that clear?”

Before the girl could reply, a very familiar voice called out, “What is going on out here?”

Ranma warily turned his head. “Er... Hi, Akane. Um... I can explain...”

Much to his surprise, Akane, her hair once again grown out, smiled at him. “There's no need, Ranma.” She walked into the yard and picked up the girl's sword. “Sakura-chan, I've told you before that such behavior wouldn't be tolerated anymore.”

“But, Manager-san! This is Sao-”

“Do you like living here, Sakura-chan?”

“Hai.”

“Then I never want to see you draw live steel against another human being. The next time you do, you can go back home. Is that clear?”

“But...”

“Is that clear?”

“Hai.”

“Good. Now go to your room. I'll be holding onto this in the meantime.” She picked up the discarded scabbard, and sheathed the sword. “Honestly, that girl... oh, and Ranma? You can put away your own sword.”

“Oh, right. Sorry.” He grinned sheepishly at his ex-fiancee as he returned the sword to subspace. Akane grinned back. The two stood in the yard several minutes grinning at each other, before Ranma asked, “Do you want to call me 'baka' as much as I want to call you 'tomboy?'”

Akane laughed merrily. “Oh, thank goodness. I was worried it was just me.” Much to Ranma's surprise, she gave him a quick hug. “It's been way too long, Ranma. And what a way to return home.”

“What was that about, anyways?”

“That was Kuno Sakura, Tatewaki and Kodachi's little sister.”

Ranma looked at the woman beside him in surprise. “They had a little sister?”

“She'd been living with her aunt while you were here,” Akane explained as she ushered him into the apartment. “She moved back back home three years ago, and moved in here after about three months of living with her family. She's relatively sane, except for an obsession with perverts.” Akane grinned lopsidedly. “If I was half that bad when I was her age, I'm really, really sorry.”

“I wasn't very mature at that age either, Akane. When am I going to meet your husband?”

“He'll be here soon,” an unfamiliar voice said. A woman in her mid twenties stepped out of the hallway half hidden behind the stairs nearby. “He asked me tell you he's redrawing the last panel, but he'll be right out after he's scanned it.” She leaned towards Ranma. “So you're the famous Saotome Ranma. You're not exactly what I expected.” He was forced to take a step back when she reached out to caress his chest. “You aren't seeing anyone right now, are you?”

Akane grabbed the woman's arm, pulling her away. “That's enough, Kotone-san.”

“Oh, come off it, Manager-san. He's a total hunk, he obviously has money, and you're married. You have no right to be jealous.”

“I'm not jealous. I'm protecting my friend from you.”

“And I am seeing someone, Kotone-san,” Ranma added.

“Well, you can't blame a girl for trying, can you?” She waved as she started up the stairs. “Have fun, you two.”

“Honestly, that girl is shameless.” Akane said, leading Ranma down the first floor hall. “So are you really seeing someone, or was that just a line to get Kotone off your back?”

“I'm really seeing someone, Akane. And we just recently got engaged.”

“I see...”

A man was waiting for them in a rather large living room. Ranma was rather surprised to see a wide-screen TV along with some rather high-tech AV equipment. Three sofas surrounded a table in the middle of the room, facing the entertainment center.

“You must be Saotome Ranma.”

“And you must be Tendo Ken. Nice to meet you.”

“Likewise. Why don't we sit down.” He gestured to the low table in the middle of the living room. “Akiko-chan was kind enough to prepare some refreshments.”

“Thanks.” Akane and Ken took the sofa farthest from the doorway, while Ranma sat in the longer middle section, but close to the two Tendos. Ranma noted wryly that Ken sat between the him and Akane. “So, Ken-san, I understand you're a manga artist. I even picked up the first couple volumes.” Ranma smirked at the two of them. “I have to admit, the general premise of the whole thing is rather absurd. The idea that a bunch of women would fall in love with one man is a bit far fetched.”

Akane, who'd been taking a sip of tea, choked.

“That's true, but it I have to admit the format has proven rather popular. It's even being turned into an anime.” Tendo Ken looked over the rim of his own tea cup. “So, what have you been doing with yourself?”

“I got into show-business. You know about my curse, right?”

“I've heard about it.”

“Well, fortunately, stunt women are in rather high demand...”

Ranma trailed off as a girl about Minako's age jumped over the couch, landing almost into his lap. “Hi, Oji-san!” The girl, a blonde foreigner, looked at Ranma suspiciously. “You're not Oji-san!”

“No, I'm not. I'm Saotome Ranma.”

“Hi, I'm Susan Carlos! Say, you're kind of cute!”

Akane sighed. “Susan-chan, this isn't a good time right now...”

“But Oba-san! I figured you'd want to see the new Devil Hunter Yohko trailer!”

Ranma frowned. “I didn't think it would be released this soon.”

“It's an advanced copy that got leaked onto the internet.”

Akane glanced apologetically at Ranma. “Susan, I'll see it later.”

“Oh, come on Akane, I know you want to see it now,” Ken said with a sly grin. “She's got a total lesbian crush on Takeda Megumi,” he added as an aside to Ranma.

“I do not have a lesbian crush on Takeda-sama!”

'I don't believe this.' Ranma thought. “I'm kind of curious myself.”

“Great! I'll go play it now!” She grabbed a remote from the table, and turned on the TV.

“Susan, you didn't do something with the TV again, did you?” Akane asked.

“Just added a wireless media server.”

“You're supposed to ask permission first.”

“But then I wouldn't be able to do this!” She pressed a button on the remote, and a somewhat grainy video began playing on the TV. “Sorry about the resolution, but this was the highest one they had.”

From the sound system, a deep male voice began narrating the images on the screen, which Ranma recognized as coming from the previous installments of the Devil Hunter Yohko series.

“She faced the evil power of the Hell Master...

“She battled against the Legion of the Damned...

“She withstood the fury of the Evil Elementals...

“And on February 3rd, Mano Yohko faces her greatest challenge yet...”

Mano Yohko ran across campus, crying out, “Out of my way! I'm late!”

“College.”

Yohko raised her hand in class. “Sensei, would you believe a demon ate my homework?”

Yohko held the attention of a devil beast, while several young men and women ran away.

The professor, a handsome man with long hair and glasses, looked at Yohko in amusement. “Well, Mano-san, for such a unique excuse, I'll give you until tonight to turn it in.”

Akane looked at the screen in amazement. “Ranma... was that Mousse?”

Ranma fought off a smirk. “It sure looked like him.”

Ogawa Chigako flopped down on a bed in a dorm. “So let me get this strait. This guy is handsome...”

Yohko and a very handsome young man exchanged glances as they passed in a hallway.

“He's smart...”

Yohko and the same young man stood at the same laboratory table, working on a chemistry experiment.

“And he's interested in you.”

Yohko and the man were dancing at a college function.

Chigako looked at Yohko, who was sitting on the other bed. “So... demon?”

Yohko nodded. “Demon.”

Devil Hunter Yohko leapt from a support pillar, launching a magical attack at the devil beast as it ran head first into the pillar below her.

“Devil Hunter Yohko...”

Devil Hunter Yohko faced off against several devil beasts.

“Is...”

Devil Hunter Yohko nimbly dodged several tentacles that were reaching for her.

“Back!”

On the screen came the title of the movie: Curse of the Warlord

“Coming soon to a theater near you.”

Akane sighed when the trailer ended, holding her hands close to her heart. “Oh, this looks like it'll be the best one yet,” she said, a bit starry eyed.

Ken turned to Ranma and said, “See... total lesbian crush.”

“Will you stop saying that?”

“Show him your Takeda Megumi membership card, dear,” Ken teased. “She's number 17! She saw her when she played the villian's henchwoman in 'Onigumo Four,' and it was love at first sight!”

“Will you please stop?” Akane begged.

Ranma spotted a karaoke machine. “Say, Akane, what's your favorite Takeda Megumi song? Nevermind, I think I can guess.”

“It's not a crush!” Akane insisted indignantly, ignoring Ranma. “I just happen to admire her! She's a great actress, she's really pretty, and she's a martial artist like me, and she even does her own stunts. And she's a real life devil hunter too!”

Ranma grabbed a glass of water, and carefully splashed himself, changing into her “tomboy” guise. She wasn't surprised, given Akane's rant, that a Takeda Megumi karaoke CD was already loaded in the machine.

“She's a sensitive soul, unlike some people I can name! Her songs of lost love really touch my heart! I can just feel the sadness in her voice when she starts singing...”

o/~ On that day, we walked our separate ways o/~
o/~ I wonder what kind of excuses I would come up with now o/~
o/~ I sense weakness which could not be concealed every time I stumble blindly o/~
o/~ Your presence that day, slowed me down o/~

Ranma kept singing as she watched Akane turn to her in confusion. She also saw Ken's eyes narrow in thought, before opening wide to stare at her.

o/~ If you recall, we were very alike, right? o/~
o/~ Whether it was our untruthful words, or our retreating figures that pretended to be brave o/~
o/~ I’m sure the circumstances are the same for the both of us. o/~
o/~ Our emotions were the same, and I’m not strong enough to tell you about my insecurity o/~

Susan was the second one to get it. Akane, on the other hand, still looked confused. Ranma had long wondered if Akane was really as oblivious as she appeared to be. Ranma got her answer that night. It took nearly the whole song for Akane to put two and two together.

o/~ An eternal dream, if I keep on tracing the painted world, o/~
o/~ I will find those times and your radiance there which existed without changing. o/~
o/~ See, you will be rewarded everything o/~
o/~ In the middle of a continuously bewildering journey, o/~
o/~ I bore my wounds within the fragments of regret but o/~
o/~ The answers I kept on searching for is here now, and I held onto your small hand… o/~

“Ranma...”

“Yeah, Akane?”

“Don't tell me you're a Takeda Megumi fan too!”

Ranma wasn't the only one to kiss tatami. Tendo Ken did manage to find his voice first. “Dear, I don't think he's merely a fan.”

“You mean...”

“That's right...”

“She's your fiancee?” She frowned, obvious to the fallen around her. “She always claimed she was a lesbian... wait, I bet it's because of your girl side! That's probably the only way she could marry another girl.” She glanced at the others around her. “What's wrong?”

Ranma triggered her full Megumi persona. “Akane?”

“Ranma? You're...”

“Hai. I'm Takeda Megumi.” Ranma cocked her head at her ex fiancee. “Akane, are you alright?”

“I suppose that mean's your Megumi's brother Kappei as well.”

Ranma shifted back to her normal appearance. “That's right. And before you ask, I started abusing instant twin powder in order to keep up my busy schedule. Kasumi really read me the riot act when I went to Toufuu for help.”

“Oh.” Akane stared at Ranma a few seconds, before asking. “So who is your fiancee?”

“Well...”

A second junior high girl burst in the room. “Manager-san, guess what!”

“What is it, Akiko-chan?”

“Aino Minako-chan just announced on her blog that she's gotten engaged!”

Ranma felt a chill down her spine.

“At her age? She's barely old enough to date, let alone think of getting married. So what's the name of the pervert she's getting married to?”

“Her Megumi-sempai's brother, Takeda Kappei!”

Ranma gulped when she felt a very familiar buildup of angry ki.

“Ranma....”

- + - + -

Author's Notes: The excerpts from the song above was Hikari, performed by Jyukai, which was another song from Fate/Stay Night. As usual, I tweaked the translation I found for better effect. The funny thing is that when I first created Ranma's signature song style, I chose songs primarily for their tone, and how they made me feel, not for the lyrics (which, being in Japanese, I don't understand). Not only did the lyrics match the tone of the music, but the translated lyrics were eerily appropriate.

Coming up, part three of Homecoming: Kuonji.

[Ordieth117]

Hilarious chapter.

[Dumbledork]

That was great. Especially the scene with the oblivious Akane. Can't wait for more.