Muyami Academy
What if they ALL went to the same school?
After half a year I finally present a new chapter! My apologies for taking so long.
Ideally, my chapters fall between 30 and 50 k. Chapter 1 was 41 k, Chapter 2, 35 k, Chapter 3, 44 k, and Chapter 4 a whopping 59 k. Chapter 5 was only about 27 k.
What I originally intended to be Chapter 6 grew to over 130 k. I decided to break it into three chapters, but when you read them, be aware that only Chapter 8 has what I consider a nice, dramatic ending. Chapter 6 and Chapter 7 end wherever it seemed most convenient to break that section of the tale off. Thus I have Chapter 6 at 54k, Chapter 7 at 46k, and Chapter 8 at 56k, all complete and ready to go. ^_^
Thanks to my longsuffering prereaders, T.H. Tiger, Bombadil Goh, and my friend Jeffrey Cornish. Thanks also to my most vocal readers, Jed Hagen, Scott Pollert, and William Morse, who have not given up on me and my story. ^_^
DISCLAIMER: Ranma 1/2 characters and stuff, and Inu-Yasha characters and stuff, not to mention Ursei Yatsura characters and stuff, copyright 1999 Rumiko Takehashi. Tenchi Muyou characters and stuff, copyright 1999 Pioneer & AIC. Mamono Hunter Yohko characters and stuff copyright 1999 AD Vision, NCS, Toho Company, LTD, Mad House, and I don't know who else. Koko wa Greenwood characters copyright Yuki Nasu. Mint na Bokura characters copyright Wataru Yoshizume. Other characters and stuff also copyright the creators and owners. Leaves Of Grass written by Walt Whitman and copyright nobody in particular, which means I can rip it off all I want. Despite that, it only appears in this disclaimer. And we won't be doing any more silly songfics to begin each chapter; they're too much trouble and I don't really feel like coming up with any more of them.
Chapter Six
Tentacles of Fate
Akane spent the night in Ranma's room. It wasn't something she would normally consider doing, even if they had separate bunks, and even if the boy was engaged to her, and even if he were injured and unconscious, and even if the boy was really a girl. But, for some reason, she'd been unable to refuse Belldandy.
She stared down at the sleeping form of her iinuzake and sighed. The redhead looked so sweet and innocent, so very different from the boy she was engaged to. They almost seemed like different people to her.
She rolled over and stared at the ceiling, her mind in a whirl.
Ranma had made it very clear that he would be attending school as a boy. He'd made such a big deal of wanting to get his registration straightened out, and yet... if he really felt that way, why had he only brought girl's clothing? Could he have made a mistake, or was it deliberate?
Clearly, his parents wanted a male Ranma. Her father, too, for that matter -- this whole stupid engagement idea of theirs absolutely required it. She'd already learned how important family honor was to Ranma, and yet... Ranma had seemed more relaxed as a girl. He'd been so uptight the last week, more abrasive and prone to insults, as a boy. It might just be the engagement between the two of them, but what if it wasn't? What if, deep down, Ranma preferred being a girl?
Hadn't Ranma admitted she was a girl, in the furo at the Masaki Shrine? It was a reluctant admission, true, but having been raised a boy, Ranma would naturally have a hard time admitting something like that, even to herself.
Akane frowned. Nobody should be forced to become something they weren't. If Ranma really wanted to be a girl, then Akane would do everything to help her. What their parents wanted, and the silly engagement, was not as important as what Ranma wanted.
She sighed, closing her eyes. Ranma might not admit her true feelings again. Akane would have to watch carefully to determine what Ranma's true desires were, and act accordingly
***
Something stood over her, as black as the night. It had many limbs, like the living shadow of an octopus or kraken, and it reeked of evil. She tried to squirm, to get away, but her body didn't respond. She knew she had to flee, but she could feel herself drifting off to sleep. She fought it, but, as the tentacles reached out to wrap around her, the darkness engulfed her.
When she opened her eyes, she was standing on a rock that floated in space, many miles above a rocky ground. Water was falling from the sky like hail, splashing all around her, soaking her, chilling her to the bone. It roared in her ears, nearly drowning out all other sound, and she feared that, at any moment, she might slip from the rock and fall.
Her right arm ached. She glanced down, and saw that it hung limp, and at an odd angle.
She glanced back up, and saw a girl floating through the sky towards her. As the figure drew closer, she could see that it was more demon than girl, with withered red skin, huge, curled horns, cloven hooves, and bright green hair. The demon girl floated to within a few feet of her then hung in the air, studying her.
"Are you a woman or a man?" the demon girl asked. She tried to reply, but found that she couldn't speak. The demon girl floated in a circle about her, until it came around to hover again in front of her.
It grinned, and held up its hand, adorned with a golden ring with a tiny dragon's head. The dragon's eyes flashed red. She was certain she'd seen it before. Then, the dragon opened its mouth, and asked, "Do you want to be a Devil Hunter?"
She nodded in assent, still unable to speak.
"Well then," it asked, "have you ever been penetrated by a man?"
She felt something in her abdomen, then. She could see it as it writhed and moved beneath the skin. Then, there was a rending, piercing feeling in her side, just below her right breast, and inky black tentacles erupted from her flesh, spraying blood in all directions. They grew and flailed about, coiling about her body, wrapping about her neck....
She screamed. The demon girl laughed, and then punched her hard in the stomach. Bile rose in her throat, and she stumbled backwards and fell from the rock.
She plummeted through the night sky. The tentacles wrapped about her and blood oozed from her wound. Slowly she rolled over, so that she could see the ground as it rushed up to meet her, and she wondered if she would die from the impact, or from loss of blood, or if the tentacles coiling about her neck would strangle her first....
Ranma awoke.
She sat up and blinked in confusion. She was covered in sweat. Where was she? The last thing she remembered was being attacked by the demon girl with the sea green hair, at the restaurant. She remembered being hurt, badly, her clothing soaked with her own blood, her arm broken, a hole in her chest, and black tentacles....
She stretched her arms out, staring at them. Her right arm was sore, but not broken. She was dressed in blue silk pajamas -- girl's pajamas that her mother had bought for her. But she wasn't at home; she was in a dorm room at school.
Ranma slipped out of bed and stood. She slipped a hand beneath her top, but found no wound. Had it all been a dream? But no, there was dried blood on her skin. Clearly, someone had brought her here afterwards, and dressed her and put her to bed.
In pajamas that she'd left at home.
Ranma frowned.
The room seemed bare. She turned, and saw someone in the upper bunk, face to the wall. So, she had a roommate after all. Didn't he own anything? The only thing in the room, aside from Ranma's stuff, was a vase of red roses on the table.
What had he thought, entering the room last night? Had he even realized that a redheaded girl was asleep in the lower bunk? Or had he helped dress her?
Ranma considered it a moment and shuddered. Then she shrugged it off and began some quick katas to work out the morning kinks.
It was very early, which was good. Ranma liked to get up long before dawn, in order to practice. It also meant she could use the restroom and take a hot bath while everyone still slept.
She glanced to the empty teakettle sitting on the dresser, then back to the door. If she made a quick dash, and got changed before anyone else got up, then she'd be fine. She didn't relish running into any half-naked boys at 5:00 am while she was still a girl.
Ranma slipped out the door and padded down the hall to the toilet. She was in luck - nobody seemed to be up.
There were no urinals. She looked about, then shrugged, and selected a stall. It seemed odd to her, but this was an old building, and anyway, she could hardly use one at the moment.
A few minutes later, she slipped across the hall to the washroom.
***
The sun was just rising in the east. A thick, black shadow flowed down the street, like spilled ink moving across a desk or dirty water running down a windowpane during a rain shower. The shadow moved across a lawn, slithered around the corner of a house, and then slipped beneath a row of bushes.
As it crossed the next lawn, moving like a wide, flat snake over the freshly cut grass, it encountered a small black cat stalking something across the lawn. The cat yowled at the sight of the shadow and fled down the street.
The shadow flowed across another street and around a house. It slithered across the back yard and disappeared beneath a thick outgrowth of ivy.
Behind the ivy, in the mouth of a cave that extended back into the hillside, the shadow pooled around a collection of toppled stones. It seemed to move as if breathing, as if it had a pulse. It almost seemed to be nursing its wounds.
If the shadow could speak, it might have said this:
"Well, that sucked. Back to the drawing board, I guess."
***
Feet landed in grass still wet from the slowly vanishing fog. They planted, and then leapt high into the air. One foot shot out and spun about, connecting solidly with an arm.
Two sets of feet landed again, sending up a shower of dewdrops.
"Too slow," Madoka Mano rasped. "Don't expect me to go easy on you, just because you fought a demon last night. You must always be prepared -- another demon can attack at any moment!"
Holding her arm, Yohko gasped for breath. She glanced up at the windows of the girl's dorm, glad nobody else seemed to be awake or aware of the fight occurring on the front lawn. The less she had to explain to her fellow students, the better.
"I let Ranma and Akane off the hook this morning, given last night's events," Madoka Mano said.
"But not me huh?"
"You're different, Yohko. You're...."
"Yes, I know. I'm the 108th generation Mamono Hunter. You don't have to remind me."
"Then you know why I'm so hard on you! Better me, than the next demon you face!"
Grandmother Mano launched into another flurry of flying kicks and punches, and Yohko did her best to avoid them. After several more minutes they both paused again, facing each other.
"Grandma," Yohko said, "are you really going to train Ranma as a devil hunter?"
"I'll certainly try," Madoka Mano replied. "I think she has the potential too."
"But how?" Yohko asked. "Won't she need a devil hunter's amulet?" She held up the yoma ring that covered the back of her left hand.
Madoka Mano nodded. "Yes, that's true. She'll need an amulet like yours. I don't have one yet, but I have some ideas of where I can get one....
***
Ranma entered the shower stall not a moment too soon. As she turned the handle, emitting a stream of hot water, she heard someone else enter the room. The transformation came, and she became a he. Meanwhile, the new person entered the stall next door.
A few minutes later, Ranma stepped out and toweled himself off. He glanced to the bath in the corner, thinking that a hot bath would have felt better, if he'd had the time. Perhaps he'd find the time this evening, and relax for once.
He felt his arm and prodded his side once again. He couldn't figure it out -- he was certain the arm had been broken last night, and there had been a bloody wound in his side. The skin was still red there, and he'd washed away dried blood, and his right arm was tender and weak. He knew it hadn't just been a dream. So what had happened?
He'd have to ask Akane or Yohko, the next time that he saw them. He seemed to recall Tenchi being there, last night, as well. Maybe he'd know something.
For a moment the image from his dream returned, of black tentacles, reaching out to him, to encircle him, to strangle him, to bury him in a sea of inky black shadow. The vision was very vivid, and Ranma gasped and placed a hand against the bathroom wall.
The vision faded, only to be replaced by a deep foreboding. Something bad was going to happen today. Ranma could sense it, could feel it in every fiber of his being.
Ranma shook his head, and laughed at himself, but deep down, the feeling remained.
He reached for his clothing, then frowned. The girl's silk pajamas were not going to fit his male frame very well, and would look silly besides. He should have thought to grab some clothing before leaving his room.
He shrugged, and started to wrap the towel around his waist. At the same time, the person in the second shower stall stepped out, took one look at him, and screamed.
***
The black cat ran. It didn't know why it was running, it only knew that it's instinct was yelling, "Get Away Now!" Hanging around shadows that moved on their own had been instantly catapulted to the top of it's "Things I Don't Ever Want To Do" list, and so it ran.
The cat tore down the hillside and through someone's backyard. It dashed through a thick hedge, across the street, and up a wide stone pathway. When it reached a water fountain, it went left.
It came to a sudden halt before a large, three-story building of stone and brick. It was breathing heavily, it's eyes still wide with fright, but the morning air was still. Slowly, the cat began to calm down.
Wide steps led from the stone pathway up to a set of double doors in the side of the building. Rose bushes lined the walls. The cat's eyes narrowed slightly.
This building, the little cat thought, was familiar.
Dark hands reached down and lifted the cat before it even knew someone was there.
"Oh, how cute!" a girl exclaimed. The cat found itself pressed tight against a teenage girl's bosom.
"Eep!" the little cat squeaked, and promptly passed out.
***
A girl's scream echoed throughout the second floor of Matsukata Hall.
Nabiki rolled out of bed and hit the floor -- five feet down. She cursed and groaned, thankful that at least it was carpeted, rather than tiled, then got to her feet.
The scream continued. It sounded suspiciously like Ayeka, her roommate. What had the snooty Princess riled up now?
A door slammed. More screams ensued. Curious, despite being still half-asleep, Nabiki yanked her door open and stuck her head out into the hall.
Across the hallway, another door was flung open, and Akane's roommate, Nanami Jinnai, stuck her head out. The girl was wearing a rather revealing nighty, Nabiki noticed.
A naked and very male Ranma ran between the two, moving like a bat out of hell. His face was bright red, and looked very confused.
Nanami shrieked and slammed her door shut. Ranma, of course, was long gone, and certainly hadn't stopped along the way to get a good look at anyone. Still, it wasn't every day that you had naked men running through the girl's dorm at 6:00 am. Or at any time of the day, for that matter.
Girls, in various states of dress, were running down the hallway after Ranma. Nabiki raised an eyebrow, then, grabbing a robe, decided to follow, at a more sedate pace. After all, it wouldn't do to miss the action, would it?
"My, my," Nabiki said, as she strolled down the hallway. "There's never a dull moment with Ranma around...."
***
Someone ran into the room and slammed the door shut.
"Ranma?" Akane leaned over the edge of the bunk, got one look at the still naked and still male Ranma, flushed bright red, and disappeared beneath her comforter.
"Akane?" Ranma asked, confused.
"What are you doing?" she yelled out. "You're naked!"
"This is my room, right?" Ranma replied. "This is my room, isn't it?"
"Yes, of course it is! Why are you a guy?"
"I was born that way," Ranma said, blinking in confusion.
"Baka! Why are you a guy right now?"
There was a knock at the door. Several female voices could be heard on the other side. "Ranma? Akane?" a voice called out. "Is there a boy in there?"
Akane lowered the comforter and looked at Ranma. "Cover yourself, you idiot," she hissed. Ranma grabbed a blanket off of his bed and wrapped it around himself.
"Let me guess," Akane said. "You ran down the hall like that, naked."
"Hey!" Ranma said, "there was a girl in the bathing room! I panicked! And there were more girls in the hall... why are all these girls here? This is the boy's dorm, isn't it? Why are you in my room?"
"This is the girl's dorm," Akane said. She climbed down from the top bunk. "You've been assigned to the girl's dorm, Ranma. And since you were hurt, I spent the night in here, just in case you needed anything."
There was a more forceful pounding at the door. "Open up! There's a naked man in there, and we're not going to leave until you turn him over to us!"
Akane sighed. She opened a window, then carefully removed the flowers from the pot she'd placed them in last night -- roses that Belldandy and Keichi had brought up, after everyone else had gone to bed.
She turned to Ranma.
"What are you doing?" Ranma asked suspiciously.
"Saving you," Akane replied, "although I really don't know why I bother." She upended the pot of water on his head, then opened the closet and pulled out a nightgown. "Here, put this on. I'm opening the door."
"I'm not going to...."
"Ranma," she said, "I'm not going to watch you get beat up twice in twelve hours. Put it on. Now."
Ranma quickly slipped the nightgown over her head. Akane opened the door, and a half-dozen girls poured in.
"Where is he?" one growled. "Where's the pervert?"
"He jumped out the window," Akane said. "We were too scared to try and stop him."
The girls filed over to the window and looked down. Two stories below were the rose bushes, and beyond them, soft grass.
"Hope he hit the rose bushes," one of the girls snarled. "Of all the nerve!"
A couple of girls glanced in the closets and searched the room, just to be certain. After several moments, they began to file out. As the last of them left, Akane shut the door and turned back to Ranma.
"So why am I in the girl's dorm?" Ranma asked, opening her closet. "I thought you said this was my room."
"It is," Akane said. "You were registered as a girl, remember?"
Unseen by either of them, beneath one of the desks, a head arose like a ghost through the floor itself. It had spiky, sea green hair, and rose just enough to get a clear view of the room.
"Yeah, but I thought I got all of that straightened out at registration," Ranma said. "Why didn't Nabiki do something about this? She was in charge of getting our rooms squared away."
Akane rolled her eyes. "Ranma, you were probably assigned to the girl's dorm weeks ago. Nabiki can't fix something like that -- you'll have to go through registration." She paused, then added, thoughtfully, "But you already knew that, didn't you?"
But Ranma wasn't listening to her. Instead, she was staring into the closet.
"Dresses?" Ranma squeaked. "Skirts? Blouses? These are all of my girl's clothes! What is this?"
Akane smiled. "It's okay, Ranma," she said. "You don't have to pretend with me."
Still ignoring her, Ranma began yanking dresser drawers open. "Bras? Panties?"
"I understand why you're doing this," Akane continued. "It must be hard on you, having to hide the truth from your parents, and from everyone around you. But you don't have to hide anything from me, Ranma. I understand."
Ranma paused, looking confused. "Excuse me?"
"There's nothing wrong with being a girl, Ranma."
Ranma's confusion deepened. "Akane, what the heck are you blabbering about?"
"Ranma," Akane said, "you admitted the truth to me in the bath at the Masaki shrine. You really are a girl, aren't you?"
"No way!" Ranma growled. "I'm a guy!"
"Yet you packed your suitcase with only girl's clothes."
"No I didn't! Why would I do that?" Ranma exclaimed. "Anyway, mom and pop would freak out."
She turned again to dig through the dressers some more. "Don't I have any guy clothing?"
"No-oo," Akane said, as she sat on the bed watching. "Oh, and your Chinese outfit got torn to shreds last night. We threw it out."
"You did? What about the boxers?"
"Ranma, they were soaked in blood!"
Ranma groaned. "Great. This is just great."
Akane frowned. "Are you sure you didn't do this on purpose?"
"Of course I'm sure! What kind of a guy do you think I am?"
"One who's sometimes a girl?"
Ranma grimaced.
"Well, I suppose at the moment I don't have a choice," Ranma said, "but what am I supposed to do once I get the dorm assignment straightened out? I guess I could get Tenchi to lend me something...."
"Well," Akane said, "I'm glad you're feeling better. Our first class in an hour, so I'm going back to my room and get ready. From what I hear, the first day is a short one; just one morning class, then we'll have the rest of the day to settle in. There's Opening Ceremonies, and then a fair in the afternoon where you can sign up for the school clubs. Do you want to join the martial arts club? I heard it's good."
"Are you kidding? School martial arts clubs are a joke. Although," she added, "Yohko's grandmother says this teacher's really good...."
Akane frowned. "Well, we could try it at least. I'll see you in class then, I guess. Oh -- Yohko still wants to help us get fitted for our uniforms. We're supposed to meet her at noon for lunch, and then she'll take us there."
Ranma groaned. "I'll have to straighten that out, too. Does Yohko have to be there?"
"She's the one who knows where it is."
"Yeah, but if I'm trying to get things straightened out, and she still thinks I'm a girl...."
"So? Tell her the truth. Tell her you're really a guy. You're going to have to, sooner or later. I don't know why you keep putting it off." Unless you really want to be a girl, Akane added silently.
"Because," Ranma said, "she's my friend. And I've been lying to her...."
"More lies will not make things better," Akane said. "Anyway, see you back here at noon, okay?"
As she stepped into the hall and closed the door behind her, Akane sighed.
Oh, Ranma, she thought, why can't you be honest with me? And if you're telling me the truth, then you're not being honest with Yohko.
You'll have to decide who you really are at some point, Ranma. You can't hide the truth forever....
***
As the door closed, Ranma got dressed, selecting a white silk blouse and a pale pink dress that her mother had liked. She checked herself in the floor-length mirror on the back of the door, then her eyes drifted to the reflection of the floor behind her... to where a green-haired girl's head was sticking out of the floor.
Ranma spun about and dropped into a defensive crouch. Slowly, the strange girl rose out of the floor, until she was floating a foot above it.
For a moment, Ranma saw a sea of alien tentacles, black as night, reaching out for her....
She shook her head, and focused on the girl, who was watching her curiously.
"How do you do that?" Ranma asked.
The girl shrugged. "I'm not human," she said. "I've always been able to fly, and phase through objects."
Ranma eyed her cautiously. "You don't seem very much like a demon," she said.
The girl laughed. "Demon?" she repeated. "I suppose I am something of a demon... I'm the one in the legends, anyway. But I'm nothing like that creature we fought last night."
Images flashed through Ranma's mind, of something as black as ink, with many tentacles, standing over her. She gave an involuntary shudder.
"Okay," Ranma said, "I can buy that you're not really a demon. You're a... an alien, I suppose. Right?" The girl nodded, and Ranma continued. "So, what's this about? If this is about me kicking you back in the cave... look, I'm sorry, but I thought you were trying to hurt Tenchi. But you've already given back as good as you got, and more... we can call it even, if you like, although I wouldn't mind another rematch."
"This is not about the cave," the girl said. "This is about Tenchi, and about you. I had to know. You're really a guy, aren't you?"
Ranma nodded.
"You just turn into a girl sometimes? I won't even ask how, but that's it, right?"
Ranma nodded again, frowning.
"So that means that you're not in love with Tenchi, right? And he's not in love with you?"
Ranma nearly choked.
"WHAT?" she yelled. "Me, in love with... that's SICK!"
The green-haired girl raised her eyebrows.
"I suppose it would be, if you're really a guy," she said. "Well, that's good. If you'd said anything else, I would have hurt you again." She began to sink back through the floor. "Oh, by the way," she said, before vanishing completely, "the name's Ryoko."
After Ryoko left, Ranma slowly turned back to the door.
"What next?" she wondered. She caught her reflection in the mirror again, and smiled weakly at the beautiful redheaded staring back at her.
"Well," she said, "maybe it won't be so bad. Once I explain that I'm a guy, they'll check my records, and the rest should be easy...."
Doubt nibbled at the corners of Ranma's mind, and the earlier sense of impending doom welled up within her. She quickly stepped into the hallway and slammed the door on her room, and on her doubts and fears.
***
Fresh from a shower, Akane returned to her room to find it occupied by a slender girl with short, reddish-brown hair, brown eyes, and a cute face.
In all the confusion of the prior evening, she'd completely failed to meet her new roommate. Akane flashed a friendly smile and stuck out her hand. "Hello!" she exclaimed. "You must be my roommate! My name's Akane! I hope we can be friends! Oh, I'm sorry that I wasn't here last night, but my friend was hurt so I spent the night with her."
"That's okay," the other girl said, "it gave me a chance to unpack and set everything up." She took Akane's hand. "I'm Nanami Jinnai, and I'm studying journalism and, well, small business as well, I guess. As long as it helps me make money!"
Akane laughed. "Make money? That sounds just like my sister."
"Really?" Nanami said. "Anyway, that's what all this equipment is for... I hope you don't mind...."
For the first time, Akane noticed all of the equipment packed into Nanami's side of the room. There was a refrigerator, a stove, a large griddle, a deep fryer, a microwave oven, a rice cooker, a coffee pot, a teakettle, and knives, pots, pans, and just about anything else a restaurant kitchen might require.
"Wow," Akane said. "I'm impressed. Is all this cooking equipment yours?"
"You bet! A girl's got to make a living you know! Money doesn't grow on trees; you have to work hard for it"
Akane laughed. "My sister wouldn't agree," she said. "Maybe you're not like her after all."
"I'll be using this stuff during lunch and dinner," Nanami said, "so if you or your friends want a good meal, just let me know! My prices are very reasonable! And if you want to use any of my equipment when I'm not using it, I'll only charge a very small fee!"
"A small fee, huh?"
"Very reasonable, trust me!" Nanami said. "You're my roommate after all!"
Akane frowned for a moment, then a smile spread across her face. She slammed her fist into her palm.
"Okay!" she said. "I know just exactly what I'm going to do, too! I'll make a chicken curry and invite Ranma, Tenchi, and their friends over for dinner! What a perfect way to celebrate our first day at school!"
Nanami smiled sweetly, having no idea of the terror of an Akane Tendo meal.
"Why, that's a wonderful idea, Akane...."
***
"Ryoko, Ifurita, class is starting in a few minutes! You two better hurry!"
As Ranma stepped out of her room she nearly collided with a tall, willowy foreign girl. The stranger had light brown hair that fell past her waist and the face of an angel, full of innocence and empathy, and she wore a beautiful dress that swirled about her and made Ranma, despite her white blouse and pink dress, feel somehow coarse and not nearly as feminine.
Which, on reflection, was an odd way to feel, considering Ranma didn't want to be feminine.
The foreign girl was talking to two girls, one with bright blue hair and another, with sea-green hair, who had been in Ranma's room not two minutes ago.
Ryoko raised an eyebrow. "Class?" she replied with a sneer. "No thanks! I'm only here to watch over Tenchi...."
The foreign girl paused, looking startled.
"Well," she said, "I suppose skipping the first day won't hurt too much. Of course, your friend Tenchi will be in class....
"What about you, Ifurita? You're not going to skip too, are you?"
The blue-haired girl glanced up, and shrugged her shoulders.
"I don't really care," she said. "I wasn't supposed to awaken this early... I'd rather sleep, and dream, until the time comes to wake...."
The two disappeared down the hallway.
"What a strange pair of girls!" the other said. She turned and spied Ranma.
"Oh, Ranma, good morning!" she exclaimed with a smile so full of joy that all of Ranma's doubt and fear instantly vanished. "You look so much better this morning! Are you feeling okay?"
"Um," Ranma said, somewhat confused. "Sure, I guess. Um... forgive me, but do I know you?"
"Oh, I'm sorry!" The girl placed a hand to her lips in a move that instantly reminded Ranma of Kasumi Tendo. "My name is Belldandy, and I'm President of the dorm."
Ranma's eyes grew wide. "What? But you're a girl!"
"Well, of course. It's a girl's dorm, after all."
"Oh, yeah," Ranma said, laughing nervously. "I keep forgetting."
"Really?" Belldandy asked. "Well, I suppose we did have a naked man running around her this morning. I'll have to complain to the president of the boy's dorm -- I hope that didn't disturb you."
"No, no," Ranma replied. It occurred to her that now might not be the best time to try and explain her curse.
Belldandy laughed, and added, "Being in charge of so many girls is kind of a new thing to me, but if you need anything, I'm right below you in room 101! Oh," she added, "if you don't mind, there is something that I need to ask you. When I was inspecting you last night, I noticed that you bore a curse...."
"Y-y-you d-d-did?" Ranma gulped.
"Yes. Akane said that it would be best if you explained it to me."
A light slowly dawned in Ranma's eyes. "Y-you mean... you don't know what my curse is? Then how did you...."
"Ranma!" another voice called out. Ranma turned to see Yohko heading down the hallway towards her.
"Yohko," Ranma replied with a weak smile. Now was definitely the wrong time to try and explain her curse.
Yohko caught Ranma's hands up in hers. "Are you okay?" she asked, concern in her face. "You were hurt really badly last night!"
"I was?" Ranma replied. "I feel okay...."
"That's wonderful!" Belldandy said, clapping her hands together. "Yohko did such a good job of healing you!"
"Healing me?"
"Devil Hunter mind trick," Yohko said with a wink. "Something I learned from Haruka, an ancestor of mine."
Ranma nodded, and the paused.
"What actually happened last night?" she asked. "I remember the fight with Ryoko, and then... I thought I saw... something. It was black, with tentacles, but... I can't tell if it was just part of my nightmare, or...."
Belldandy's eyes went wide. "Did you dream about the demon? How awful!"
"Don't worry," Yohko said. "You won't see that demon again. We killed it."
"Then there really was a demon?" Ranma asked. She could almost see the tentacles again, reaching out....
Warm arms encircled her. She was embraced in a fierce hug.
"Don't worry, Ranma," Belldandy whispered into her ear. "The demon's gone. Everything will turn out fine."
And, strangely enough, Ranma could actually feel Belldandy's warmth and kindness driving back the darkness within her. For the first time since she'd awoken, her sense of dark foreboding melted away.
"Well," Belldandy said, as she released Ranma. "You two had better hurry. You don't want to be late for class on your first day!"
"Come on, Ranma!" Yohko said, dragging her friend down the hallway. "Walk with me to class! We can check out all the boys!"
***
"Cousin! Ayeka!"
Early morning sunlight scattered across the still-wet grass, promising a warm day ahead. Tenchi Masaki, walking to class with Lady Ayeka and a dorm mate of his named Shun Kisaragi, paused to look over his shoulder. His cousin Akane Tendo was running up the path behind them. He felt Lady Ayeka's grip on his arm tighten.
"Good morning," Akane said, coming to a halt. "Can I walk to class with you three?"
"Sure," Tenchi said. "You met Lady Ayeka last night, and this is Shun Kisigari. He lives in the room next door to mine."
Lady Ayeka, dressed in her usual Juraian robes, looked picture-perfect. Tenchi was dressed in the same casual clothes he wore at his grandfather's shrine. The person next to him, dressed in a loose sweatshirt and loose pants, looked for all the world like a young girl with long, pink hair.
Akane's eyes widened. "Shun?" she asked. "You... you're... I mean, nice to meet you," she said, bowing.
Shun laughed, and even his voice sounded feminine. "I know, I know," he said, "you can go ahead and say it: I look like a girl. I don't mind. It's kind of fun, actually."
"It is?"
"Sometimes," Shun said. "For example, since my roommate isn't arriving until today, our dorm President has decided to play a joke on him. They're going to tell him that I'm really a girl, and see how long it takes him to realize the truth."
"Really?" Akane said. "That seems kind of cruel...."
"I suppose it is," Shun said, "but the President and his roommate aren't cruel, they just like practical jokes. Anyway, what can I do? If I don't play along, they'll only make it harder for me... but I think it'll be fun! I like a good joke too!"
Akane frowned. And what if that new person was Ranma? she thought. Then she wondered why she was feeling so protective of her fiancee, who'd been cruel and thoughtless to her on several occasions.
When she glanced back at her companions, she noticed, for the first time, the dark circles under her cousin's eyes.
"You look tired, Tenchi," she said. "Did you not get enough sleep?"
"It's that green-haired demon," Ayeka spat. "She kept Lord Tenchi awake all night!"
"Who? You mean Ryoko?" Akane's face grew angry. "If that green-haired demon is still bothering you, Tenchi, I'll...."
"No, not her!" Ayeka replied. "I mean the other green-haired demon -- the oni, Lum. She and that lecherous boy, Lord Tenchi's roommate, were fighting each other all night!"
"Oh," Akane said. She had seen the strange girl in the tiger-stripped bikini flying through the halls yesterday.
Tenchi scratched his head. "Ah, Miss Ayeka, it wasn't really that bad...."
"Don't try and defend them, Lord Tenchi," Ayeka replied haughtily. "Azaka and Kamidake witnessed everything, so I know all about it. Something needs to be done about that girl; she's almost as bad as Ryoko!"
"It was pretty noisy last night," Shun admitted, "and it didn't help having that idiot Jinnai laughing hysterically half the night. If it keeps up, Mitsuru sempai is sure to do something. That's our dorm President, Mitsuru Ikeda."
"Jinnai?" Akane replied. "That's my roommate's name -- Nanami Jinnai."
Shun nodded. "Katsuhito Jinnai is her brother. He says he's running for student body President, but Shinobu sempai -- that's Mitsuru sempai's roommate -- will beat him. But Jinnai was in his room cackling all night, like some madman plotting to take over the world. Between him, and Lum and Ataru, and that guy with the motorcycle, and those other guys who were installing arcade games in their dorm room... well, I don't think anyone got a lot of sleep last night."
"Well, give it time," Akane said. "It's only the first day, after all. Anyway, that's what I wanted to talk to you two about. I'm making dinner in my room tonight, and I'm inviting both of you, and Ranma and her friends. Can you come? Shun, you're invited too, if you like."
Aware of his cousin's many famous cooking disasters, Tenchi managed to not stiffen up. "S-sure," he said. "That sounds... just g-great."
"That's very kind of you to offer, Akane," Ryoko said. "I'd be honored to come. Unless...."
"Unless?"
"Is that fossil woman coming as well?"
Akane blinked. "You mean Ryoko?" She frowned. "I hadn't thought of her. After last night, I'd rather not see her again... but isn't she your friend or something, Tenchi?"
"She's not Lord Tenchi's friend!" Ayeka exclaimed. "She's a bloodthirsty mad woman! You saw what she did last night; if you invite her, she'll ruin everything!"
"Ayeka..." Tenchi began.
"Well," Akane said, "I won't invite her, then. I don't like her anyway; she hurt Ranma bad."
"It's not that easy," Tenchi said. "Not including her will just make her angry. She's not really a bad person at heart, but she can be really violent and unpredictable when angry...."
"Don't worry, Lord Tenchi," Ayeka said. "She won't dare cause a scene with me there. I'll see to it personally that she doesn't interfere."
"That's what I'm afraid of," Tenchi said forlornly. "I've got a bad feeling about this."
***
Despite Belldandy's warnings of being late, Ranma, Yohko, and the others arrived early for class. Yohko, in her quest to find the perfect boyfriend, took the opportunity to drill her friends about every boy they saw.
"That one?" she asked.
"His name is Mitsuru Ikeda," Chigako Ogawa stated authoritatively. "He's a senior and President of the boy's dormitory. His roommate, Shinobu Tezuka, is expected to become the Student Council President. Together they are the most sought-after boys in the entire school."
The clock clicked closer to eight o'clock. The girls -- Yohko, Chigako, Akane, Nabiki, and Ranma -- milled near the window, watching the students still headed into the building and those inside the classroom.
"That means I probably have no chance," Yohko said with a sigh.
Nabiki watched with half-lidded eyes from a spot near the window. "Impressive," she said. "You've got a lot of information for someone who's only been on campus a few hours."
"It's no accident," Chigako replied. "I downloaded a list of enrolled students a week ago, and went from there."
Nabiki nodded. "Very impressive," she said. "Although, there must be a few holes in your database. I'd be happy to help you fill them in...."
"What about that one?" Yohko asked.
"Makato Mizuhara," Chigako said. "Nice enough guy. Good at track, also interested in science."
"Oh!" Akane said, "I know about him! My roommate Nanami likes him!"
Yohko sighed. "Of course. Then what about the one next to him? He's not bad looking. What do you think, Akane?"
"I'm not interested in boys, Yohko."
"The Chinese boy?" Chigako said. "That's Mousse. Blind as a bat, and I think he's engaged to the purple-haired girl."
Yohko sighed again.
"And those two are Hiroshi and Daisuke," Chigako said.
"Hmm, pretty average," Yohko replied. "Anyway, I don't like how they're staring at us."
"Well, we're starting to scrape the bottom of the barrel, unfortunately," Chigako said. "Um... the one with the pink hair...."
"That's not a boy, that's a girl dressed as a boy," Yohko said.
"No, not her. Her name is Utena Tenjou. I mean the other one with pink hair."
Yohko blinked.
"That's not a boy, that's a girl dressed as a boy."
"That's Shun Kisaragi," Akane said. "He's nice, for a boy."
"Then he's far too girlish for me," Yohko said. "What about...."
"Keichi Morosato," Chigako said. "Belldandy's boyfriend."
"Everyone's got a girlfriend already," Yohko sighed. "It's hopeless for me."
"Wait," Chigako said, "that one over there. He must have just registered. I don't have any data."
Yohko gave the boy a long, hard look.
"Hmmm. What do you think, Ranma?" she asked.
Ranma looked up. "Think?" he said. "About what?"
"Honestly, aren't you even paying attention? You'll never find a boyfriend that way!"
"Boyfriend?" Ranma asked. "Is that all you can think of? Boys?"
"Ranma, the boys do it too," Akane said. "In fact, several of them are scoping you out right now."
"What? But that's...."
"Perfectly natural," Nabiki said smoothly. "After all, they're boys, and you're a girl... a very pretty girl."
Ranma growled low in her throat.
"Anyway," Ranma said, "I thought you had a boyfriend."
"He hasn't been around," Yohko said. "I need someone I can depend on." She stared at the unknown boy a moment longer. "Well, he's handsome, if you ask me," she said.
Nabiki sighed. "I don't like to give out information for free," she said, "but, in this case, I'll make an exception."
"Oh?"
"He's rich, but stupid, and prone to obsession. Stay away."
Chigako was busy typing the information into her computer. "Name?" she asked.
"Tatewaki Kuno."
"Kuno?" Akane shot up. "What's he doing here? I transfered to Muyami Academy to get away from that jerk!"
"As I said, he's prone to obsession...."
"That idiot! If he even comes near me, I'll...."
"Ranchan!"
A boy that Ranma didn't recognize latched onto her arm. "Ranchan! Your beauty surpasses the heavens! Say that you'll go out with me!"
Ranma struggled to pull her arm free. "Do I know you?" she growled.
"One of your admirers, apparently," Nabiki said. Ranma attempted to pry the boy loose.
"Ataru Moroboshi," Chigako replied, checking her hand-held computer. "You don't even want to think about him, because...."
The strange boy finally let go, after repeated blows to the head.
"DARLING!" a girl's voice rang out. Lum, the alien girl with the green hair, horns, and tiger-striped bikini, dropped from the ceiling to hover over Ataru. She reached out -- there was a massive electrical discharge -- and Ataru collapsed into a smoking heap on the floor.
"...Because," Nabiki said, "he's a lech and is engaged to an electricity-throwing alien babe."
"Exactly," Chigako added.
Ranma shuddered, then pillowed her head in her arms. "Wake me when class starts," she said.
"Say, Ranma," Yohko said, "I was going to ask you -- what were you talking to Belldandy about this morning?"
"Um... just general stuff," Ranma said.
"Was it about your curse?"
Ranma's head shot up. "M-m-my c-c-curse?"
"Yes," Yohko said. "Belldandy said you were under a curse last night, and Akane said it was true, but only you could explain it. Can you tell me what it is? Maybe Grandmother and I could help!"
"I... uh, I'd rather not talk about it just now," Ranma said.
Yohko looked hurt, but then smiled. "Okay, Ranma, if you don't want to talk about it, we won't."
"You're going to have to explain it eventually," Nabiki said.
"You just shut up!"
Yohko glanced from Ranma to Nabiki, then Akane, and then back to Ranma. The clock continued to click. There was less than a minute to the start of class.
"Say," Nabiki said, "isn't that Ryoko, out there in the trees? I wonder what she's up to?"
"Who cares about her?" Akane growled.
"Nabiki," Chigako said, "you were here last year. What's our homeroom teacher like?"
"Hinako-sensei?" Nabiki said. "I've got no idea. She wasn't here last year."
"Oh!" Yohko exclaimed. Another boy had entered the classroom. He had long black hair, tied at the base of the neck, and a very beautiful face.
"Who...?" Yohko began.
"I..." Chigako began. "I... don't know. He must have just transfered in; I don't have any information yet."
"I do," Nabiki said. "His name is Ukyo."
The warning bell rang.
"Well, it's been fun," Nabiki said, "but I have my own class to get to." She headed for the door, then called out over her shoulder, "Meet me in the lunch room, after class. We need to talk business, Chigako...."
Yohko took her seat, still staring across the room at the long-haired boy.
"Ukyo?" she breathed. "Ooh, he's beautiful! I think I'm in love!"
***
While Nabiki and Chigako compared notes in the cafeteria, Akane and Yohko watched as Ranma, once again, demonstrated an ability to consume food faster than a pack of starving wolves.
"Ranma-chan," Akane finally growled, "didn't your mother teach you any manners?"
"Huh?" Ranma asked, between shovelfulls of food.
"I mean, can't you eat in a somewhat ladylike fashion?"
"Oh -- sure. Sorry," Ranma said. She swallowed and set her chopsticks down. "But I'm done anyway."
"So, Akane said, "are you coming tonight?"
"Coming?" Ranma blinked, her face blank. "You mean to get our uniforms? I thought that was at noon...."
"No, you idiot! Haven't you been listening? I'm inviting you, and Tenchi, and all of our friends over to my room this evening. Nanami has all the equipment you need to run a restaurant, and she said I could use it. So I'm going to make dinner for everyone!"
Ranma blanched. In just a week she'd had more than enough experience with Akane's cooking to last a lifetime. A sense of impending doom, which had nothing to do with demonic black tentacles, enveloped her.
"Are you sure that's wise, Akane?" she asked. "I mean, you don't want to kill off all of your friends on the first day of school do you?"
Anger filled Akane's face. "Ranma, you idiot!" she yelled. A heavy textbook bounced off of the redhead's forehead.
"Ranma!" Yohko chimed in. "That was very rude!"
"Not as rude as Akane's cooking...."
This time, Akane did more than simply throw a book at her friend and part-time fiancee. When she was done, Ranma lay in a crumpled heap on the cafeteria floor.
"Are you done beating on me?" Ranma wheezed. "Because I have to visit registration before noon...."
"That's okay, I have to buy groceries for dinner," Akane said, "and do some laundry too, if I get the chance. Yohko, want to come along?"
Yohko smiled. "Well, I was going to accompany Ranma," she said, "but since she's being so rude... sure!" She glanced over at Ranma, still struggling to stand up. "Maybe that'll give our friend time to learn some manners...."
***
The little black cat stirred. It felt warmth... warm hands and arms holding it gently against a warm body.
"Ah!" a pleasant voice exclaimed. "Are you awake, Mr. Cat?"
A very soft, rounded body. The little cat opened its eyes. A beautiful girl's face looked down at it. She had brown skin and hair of black tinged with a dark purple. Large glasses made her eyes seem even bigger and more full of compassion, and her smile was like bright sunshine. Contentment washed over the little cat like an ocean wave, and it snuggled against her breasts.
Against her....
The little cat's eyes grew even wider. Blood appeared at its nose, and trickled down the side of its face.
The door opened, and a girl with pink hair entered the room. It was a dorm room, the cat realized, a girl's dorm room in fact. It sniffed the air, testing the various smells, including the fragrant scent of flowers, roses in particular. There was one scent, at least, that seemed really exciting, but the cat couldn't quite identify it.
"Utena-sama!" the dark-skinned girl exclaimed. "Isn't it adorable? Can I keep it?"
The pink-haired girl sighed. "What is it now Anthy?"
Suddenly the cat was dangling between two hands, with nothing else to support it. Anthy held it out for Utena's inspection, before again cradling it against her bosom.
Utena grinned. "Well, she's very cute!"
"Utena-sama," Anthy said, "Mr. Cat is not a girl."
"Ah," Utena said. "But, won't he try to hurt Chu? I mean, he's a cat, and... Chu is a mouse, isn't he?"
The black cat sniffed the air again. So that was what it smelled! A mouse! What fun!
"Oh," Anthy said. "I hadn't thought of that!" She held the little cat up in front of her face. "Now, Mr. Cat, you are definitely not supposed to hurt anyone, especially my friend Chu. Is that understood?"
The little cat didn't respond. Deep down, it sensed that chasing mice was, for any cat, a fundamental, inalienable, God-given right.
"Now, where should I keep you?" Anthy said, looking about. "In the desk drawer? No, that's where Mr. Mongoose lives."
She walked across the room, giving the cat time to consider what living in a desk drawer with a mongoose might be like. The very thought brought a small shiver.
"In the closet, with Mr. Octopus?" she continued. "Yes, perhaps that would be best...."
The black cat didn't need to think twice about that one. Being stuck in a closet with an octopus was instantly number two on it's "Things I Don't Ever Want To Do" list, right after hanging around shadows that moved on their own. The little black cat yowled, and bolted, right out the open window.
"Oh, Mr. Cat! No!"
Only then did the cat realize they were on the second floor.
As it fell, twisting about, it noticed an open window, directly below it, set at ground level, apparently leading to the basement. This seemed like a good place to hide, providing that it survived the fall.
It wondered, briefly, if there was some trick to landing on your feet. Was it instinct, or was it something you needed to practice first?
Aiming for the rose bushes seemed like a mixed blessing, at best. The little cat closed its eyes, and prayed to whatever cat gods might exist....
*to be continued*