Wild Time Chapter 3 Disclaimer. I don't own these characters. Hell, I don't even own the site your reading them on. I don't even own the clothes I'm wearing. Hell twice, I'm not even wearing any clothes. Ding, ding. The bell on the door to the clinic rings as I push through it slowly. A quick glance to my side tells me that once more, the clinic is without receptionist. I don't know why he even bothers hiring them anymore. They never seem to last the week. A glance to my other side and I take in once more the waiting room. Plush, overstuffed chairs greet my sight. Above them the two signs, "No sex in the clinic" and "No seducing the doctor", have been joined with a third sign. "Yes, this means you". Cute. I'm gonna have to laugh with Ranma about that one. "Oh dear," a voice says behind me. I don't bother to jump. I don't think I could make the trip back down again. "What happened to you, Setsuna?" Ranma asks, sounding concerned. What kind of question is that? I mean look at me! Well, he should be concerned. I mean, its not every day that you have some woman you know drop by with her entire left side covered in ash and burns. I open my mouth to tell him what I think of that stupid question, and then decided that I would be better off not talking. Come to think of it I really shouldn't be walking that much either. Or thinking coherently for that matter. "Setsuna?" Ranma's voice seems to be coming through a hazy tunnel. I'll answer him after I wake up. ***** Have you ever woken up from a feint before? No? It's weird. It's not like waking up from sleep. I mean from sleep it's just one second your asleep, and then BAM! Alarm clock ringing, conscious thought returns and your on your way. Unconsciousness is another matter. It's really slow, One second everything's dark, then you open your eyes. Now everything's white. After that it's like a thick fog burning away in the morning sun. Objects begin to make sense, slowly, and after a while thought even returns. And that's how I found myself. I was in some kind of examination room on a table. The table under me is wrapped in that waxy paper that doctor offices are forced to use on all of their seats. Something about sanitation. Over me is a wooly blanket, warm and safe feeling. I roll over a bit, feeling the paper crinkle uncomfortably against my back and leg, and start to go back to sleep when it hits me. I could feel the paper all over the surface I was laying on. All over. As in no clothes between me and the paper. That was enough to wake me up all the way. Where am I? Did I get doped up by the Jupitarians and do something kinky again? After a second of straining myself, it starts to come back to me. Ranma. I sit up and get off the table slowly. On one of the sides of the room is a mirror, and I catch my reflection in it out of the corner of my eye. Wow. That's a lot of bandages. Sitting back down on the table I had woken up on, I start to check myself over when a knock on the door catches my attention. "Wha?" I speak up so that whoever was knocking could hear me through it. "Are you awake already, Setsuna? I would like to make a quick check up on your wounds, if you don't mind. May I come in?" I don't know how he does it, but even though he doesn't raise his voice at all, I can still hear him clearly. "Su-" I start to answer, before realizing that I'm still wearing nothing but my bandages. Maybe I should cover myself up first? Nah. The little horn dog stripped me while I was asleep, no use being modest now. Instead, I get up on the table and lay down in a provocative pose. "Please, come in," I tell him. The door to the examination room opens up, and Ranma backs into pulling behind him a cart with a plate of cookies and a kettle of tea. I'm up and next to him in an instant. Forget provocative, I want those cookies. I'm reaching for one greedily (they were fudge-mints!) when my arm is suddenly stopped halfway there in a grip like iron. "These are for after the examination, Setsuna," Ranma chides me gently, without even looking at me as he closes the door. My mind freezes. How had he stopped my dread cookie-fist strike? That's my invincible technique! Ranma continues. "Now, please sit back down until I can finish the examination." Alright. Snap out of it Setsuna, gotta keep up with the times. Since he won't give me any cookies, no free peek for him! I wrap myself quickly in the blanket as he turns around. "Let me put my underwear on first, you great big perv." He cocks his head to the side at my demand. "Your underwear? I have all your clothes right here," he answers calmly as he turns around. Reaching onto the bottom tray of the cart, he pulls out a bundle and offers it to me. I take it gingerly. Unfolding my shirt, I wince as I realize that over half of it has been completely incinerated. I give it a ginger shake, and more of it dissolves. A quick glance at my pants reveal that it's kind of in the same condition. So are my bra and panties. "Okay," I mange. "You win. Let's get this examination over with." I unwrap myself and Ranma sets to work. He movements are quick and efficient. In a matter of minutes he has finished my general physical and is moving onto my bandages. The entire time, I don't think he took more than two looks at my body, and those were both professional. He does it all quietly too. I hate quiet time. "You know," I speak, killing the calm, "I think I know why you have so much trouble with attempted seductions." "Hmm?" he murmurs as he devotes his attention to unraveling a bandage covering my ribs, apparently not even knowing my breasts two inches from his face. "It's kind of a prove-I'm-still-attractive thing. If you were to just leer at me once, I would be so turned off. But here your are, not even noticing. Makes a girl feel unwanted. "Hmm," he responds, applying gentle pressure to one of my ribs. "You're not even listening to me, are you?" I ask, getting kind of pissed. "Hmm." "I'm gonna shove my boobs in your face if you don't say something besides, 'Hmm'," I tell him, testing my earlier theory. "Hmm?" he asks, looking up at me as though he had just realized I was talking. "THAT'S IT!" I bellow. I had warned him. "HMMMM!" Ranma managed to make out as his arms waved about wildly, his seemingly imperturbable calm discarded when he finds himself planted face first right between my breasts. Hehehehe. **** "So what's the prognosis, doc?" I quip as Ranma steps back from his examination and starts fiddling with a clipboard. I wrap myself in the wooly blankets he had provided. "The prognosis so far is that you're fit enough to eat those cookies," he says as he works a pen up and down on the paper he was filling out. He moves easily with the displaced air I left behind as I moved in for the food and keeps his balance. "As for your injuries, despite the fact that you came in here with second and third degree burns, you are perfectly fine." I look at him with a cookie in each hand just in time to see him put down the clipboard and pin me with a look so intense I froze like a rabbit. "Now," he begins calmly. "Care to tell me what happened?" **** "Setsuna Meioh! Prepare to die!" Ryaga shouts as she charges me. I look up the ground in front of me I had been studying in time to see her and dodge. "Hey, Ryaga," I say pleasantly. "How's it going?" "Because of you, I've seen hell! Now, prepare to suffer!" she attacked. Ryaga is an old friend/rival/suitor from back in the day. I had met her originally on Mars at an all girl school I had been attending for a bit. Her entire family has been victim of some kind of magical random teleportation spell for as long back as anyone can remember. I think her family name is Hibiki or something, but I can never remember. After a nasty incident involving some school lunch room salads, she had sworn some kind of blood feud at me. Despite that, she's always been kind of weird around me, and most of her attacks have some kind of bazzare side effect of knocking of most of my clothes. Then she gets really distracted (and so do most every body else around) and I beat her stupid. Once I had a real battle with her that didn't end with me indecent, and I won hands down, so I know I'm a better fighter. The fight gets on in a typical fashion. Shouts, vows of vengeance, collateral damage, ect. Finally, the two of us separate a bit, her breathing hard, and me totally untouched. Even my clothes have come out in perfect condition. Man today rocks! "Setsuna! Prepare yourself," Ryaga shouts. "My new technique shall defeat you totally!" I smirk a bit. Yea, right. I strike a pose. "Bring it on, chump!" I taunt her. Growling a bit, Ryaga assumes a defensive altered cat stance, and begins to concentrate a bit. What does she thinks she's doing.... My eyes widen as Ryaga's hands start to flicker, and then a fireball starts to form between her cupped palms. "Mars flame," she begins. With a throwing motion the flames launch. "IGNITE!" Oh shit. **** I gulp down a cup of tea, and munch on a cookie as I finish my narrative for Ranma. He, for his part, remains with his head bowed in a meditative position. "So Ranma, what do you think? What kind of attack was that?" I ask. I, for my part, am completely stumped (not that I'd admit it). "It seems to me," he begins slowly, "that your friend has begun to use magic." "WHAT!?" I shriek, leaping to my feat, using my expert skills to keep myself decent despite the fact that I'm only wearing a blanket. "How the hell did she do that?" "Well, magic itself is present all over the galaxy. It's separated into various elements and such. You should know that much," Ranma admonished. I nod in return. Magic 101, every freshmen has to take it. "Well some people are able to tap into it without the use of standard machinery. You should know that much too. You said that Ryaga was from Mars?" I nod, and he nods to himself in return. "I've always had an unprovable theory that the planets themselves affect the population that live on them strangely." "Um, like hair color and stuff?" I guess. "Exactly," Ranma agreed, taking a bit out of one of the cookies he had managed to grab through the blur that was me eating. "In the old days, green hair was unnatural, but these days, most Plutonians have it. I think that since Ryaga is from Mars, she has managed to use her planets affinity for fire to tap into the ever present magic around us and use it." "Shit," I mutter. "How am I suppose to use a technique like that? I'm not a Martian!" I slump back down on the table I had woken up on, dejected. "Hmm," Ranma says to himself quietly, and I look up at him annoyed. "Remember what happened last time you started that," I warn him, and he puts up his hands in a warding gesture. Somehow he manages to do that while looking calm and dignified. "When I was younger," he began slowly, "I was in a situation very similar to yours." "I bet. An idiot father that dragged you all over the known system to train your for martial arts while simultaneously pissing off or engaging you to every person you came across, until finally when you settled down they all ganged up on you en masse?" I ask sarcastically. Ranma smiles, ever so slightly. "Something like that. I remember once I had a rivalry with a friend, very similar to the one that you seem to be having with this Ryaga." "So?" I ask, starting to get interested despite myself. "In fact, he came up with a technique very similar to the one your Ryaga has..." Ranma trailed off slowly, looking lost in thought. "Some kind of magic projectile blast that?" I ask skeptically. How many people can come up with something like that? "Something like that," he nodded. "Well?" I ask. "Well, what?" he asked, seeming to shake himself awake. "Ranma," I growl. "Don't make me punish you again." Ranma's face seemed to freeze for a second, before he startled to chuckle. "Most people would not consider that to be a punishment, Setsuna." "So you want more?!" I challenge, moving to unwrap myself again. He shakes his head, and averts his eyes, still smiling. That's kind of pissing me off again. What's wrong with looking at me, damn it? "Peace, peace," Ranma pleads. Growling, I sit back again. "So what did you do about your rival's technique?" I demand "Well," he began. "I had no chance of reproducing it. I just couldn't get the same kind of energies that he could. So I made a new one with energy that I could use." "Wait a second," I interrupt. "With energy you could use? How does that help me?" "Well, you are a Plutonian. And Pluto is the patron planet of time," he points out. He leans forward and starts to give me an intense searching look. I gulp back what ever sarcastic remark I was about to make, and the thought struck me that, my, it is rather hot in here, I wonder if he'd mind if I took off my blanket? Flushing, I look away from his look. "I think," Ranma murmurs to himself. "I think you might be the one." I force myself to look at Ranma again, and suddenly it occurs to me that he is VERY attractive, and I am almost naked as it is. I lick my lips as I look at his face, and something else occurs to me suddenly. His face, while attractive had a strangely timeless look to it. Like some kind of stone statue that has smoothed itself down a bit over time, but hasn't lost it's features. And as quickly as the look had came, it is gone, and Ranma is drinking his tea like nothing had happened. I gasp a bit at the suddenness of it. He gives me another look, though nowhere near as intense as before, and I try to cover up my surprise. "How do you know so much about magic, Ranma?" He blinks at that, and then lowers his gaze to study his tea intensely. "A long time ago, I came across a... a magical artifact. It was entrusted in me to protect until the one who is meant to use it reclaims it. I've had it for so long that....that I've picked up a bit about how to use it." The air around us becomes kind of awkward, and I look at the tray for more cookies, but they're all gone now. "I..I have better be going," I finally say. "And where are you going to go?" Ranma asks. "Back to challenge Ryaga. I can't let anyone beat me, magic or not." "Dressed like that?" he asks, his voice even. I glance down at myself, and suddenly remember what I'm wearing, or, rather, not wearing. I blush a bit, and I notice Ranma's lips quirk ever so slightly into a smile. "Oh, yeah," I supply sheepishly. "Actually, Setsuna," Ranma says, sounding hesitant. "If you're going to challenge her, there's something I'd like you to have. Please, wait a minute." He left the room quietly. After a minute of uncomfortable silence (which I killed by humming) Ranma returns, bearing a bundle of clothes. "These used to be mine. Back when I was more active in the art, this was almost my trademark armor. I would like you to have them," he says, laying the bundle on the bed next to me. I look at it blankly for a second, speechless, and when I look up to thank him, he has already disappeared. Five minutes later I find Ranma in the waiting room, calmly watching the T.V. Despite the fact that I'm as quiet as a ghost, he turns when I enter and gives me a look. Well, I guess I can let him do that. After all, I am wearing his clothes. I have to admit, they are comfortable. More than that, actually. There's something about the red silk shirt and black kung-fu pants that seems...right. I had to wear a pair of boxers with them, and rather than a bra I'm using some of the bandages from earlier, but still I feel like there is some kind of power in these clothes. Like they've seen more than I have, and have taken a bit of those experiences into themselves and became stronger for it. "So, um, Ranma," I begin, and then smack myself upside the head in my brain. 'Idiot. You sound like a little stuttering kid'. I try again, as he remains silent, waiting. "After I finish kicking Ryaga into next week, you want to hit the town for a bit?" "Setsuna..." he says quietly, and I interrupt him before he can say anything else. "I know about the whole, 'no sex with the doctor or in the clinic' rule, but if you're not in the clinic, and not acting like a doctor, you think you might want to hook up, or something?" I finish lamely. Ranma's face is unreadable. And sexy. Very sexy. Finally, he answers. "We'll see." **** "Back for more, Setsuna Meioh?" Ryaga laughs superiorly. I grit my teeth. That is such an annoying sound. "I'll beat you again this time too!" she declared, striking a victorious looking pose. "Less talk, more fight. I got a date after this," I smirk nastily. My smirk only widens when Ryaga looks a little green. Around us, all the usual hanger-ons rivals and fiances get really funny expressions on their faces. "You man-whores!" Akane declares, turning on the other fiances. "Which one of you is going out with that prude later!?" I ignore the carnage that my remark sets off, and focus on Ryaga. After the green phase has passed, she starts to look pissed. Alright, now the fun starts. "Why you..." she sputters angrily, and then, "Mar's Fire IGNITE." This time I know what's coming at me, so I don't stand around gawking like an idiot. I clear the fireball with feet to spare. Ryaga looks a little more pissed at that. The following fight seems to me to be more like a paintball contest crossed with a barbecue. Ryaga has herself firmly entrenched by now, and there's no way I can get close enough while dodging all the fireballs. It's hard. I'm good enough to keep myself from being burned physically again, but for how long? Ryaga isn't an idiot. No one can be and produce a technique like this. SHIT! That was a little close. I step back a bit and Ryaga seems to sense a lull in the battle. "Ha ha ha ha ha!" Ryaga ha ha ha ha ha-ed. "I almost had you that time!" What!? I look down at myself and freeze. Ranma's shirt! A good portion of the red silk sleeve has been crisped. Ryaga says more after that, but I hardly even notice. DAMN IT! I was going to keep this shirt! Ranma had loaned it to me, and here I am, burning it up! How am I going to impress him like that!? Slowly, as my rage builds, I feel something else building as well. Something...old. The world around me seems to slow, the shouts and noise dimming to inaudibility. I look up, feeling like I'm the only one in the world really moving, and there it is. Another fireball coming at me. That old thing in me breaks. Even as the fire comes at me, my hands move in an old pattern. "Pluto Dead Scream," I whisper in a voice that demands to be heard. The blast of green power (temporary sector of temporal instability, I think without realizing it) overpowers the ball of fire blasting at me. It brushes through easily, shattering and dispelling the fireball, which looks pathetic in comparison to my attack. I didn't get a chance to see what happened after that, because then my world dissolved into a white mist and I knew no more.