Ranma 1/2

Disclaimer: I don’t own Ranma, Rumiko Takahashi does. I just borrowed some of the characters. Rated: NC-17

Shades of Home

Chapter 9

They fussed at me. I forgot the Disclaimer. Like I own anything in the Ranma verse. I do not own Ranma. He belongs to Rumiko Takahashi. I just snitched him for a while. I make no profit from this. Please don't sue me. All you'll get is a junk yard hog.

This chapter is dedicated to dogbertcarroll Thank you so much.

Chapter Nine: Training

"Mornin', breakfast." Ranma mumbled his way out of bed through the shower and into the main room again. "Let's see. Eggs, bacon, tea. and no one t' try stealin' my food before I can get it int' my mouth. Am I dead? Is this heaven? No, just a good place t' be for now. No one attackin' me, no fiancees t' deal with. All I need t' do is train and loaf. ‘Ray for me!" Ranma ate his breakfast slowly savoring the taste for a change. {I wonder why I haven't hurt someone for snatching food from me. I'm always hungry so it don't make sense. Everyone is always tellin' me I don't have any patience. Maybe it's just that it has always been strained to the breakin' point. Idiots! What do "they" know anyway?}

Ranma started his routine by running around the perimeter of the Compound. There was a nice path all the way around just inside the fence. {Wonder how far it is around? Who cares? I'll just run til I'm tired."}

When he got near the field of stakes, he swerved off to do kata on top of them. He also worked out with the chain dart until he was sure he remembered how to use it without hurting himself. He threw the shurikin and darts.

{Lunch. I deserve it. That was a good start. I need t' increase my endurance and flexibility.} Ranma knew that if he didn't give himself an honest evaluation he was going to fail at a critical moment. A moment when failure meant disaster. {Tell me I'm not responsible. Try havin' my life for a while. I've always been responsible. For myself and Pop. Like he's got a responsible bone in his body. I get myself int' all kinds of messes tryin' t' be the responsible one. I'm supposed t' be the kid for Kami's sake.}

After lunch Ranma switched to Ranko and started all over again.

"Excuse me, Mister. Is there any reason I can't swim in this lake?" Ranko squatted in front of the fisherman, blinking as the man flinched. "Sorry, I didn't mean t' startle you."

The man stared for a moment. It wasn't every day a gorgeous red-headed goddess appeared in front of him.

"Un . . . Sorry, didn't mean to stare. I don't see any reason you couldn't swim if you want to. It's cold and deep but if you stay close to the shore it's not too bad."

Ranko stood up. "Thanks." She dove off the dock and started across the lake.

"Hey!! You don't want to do that. Come back here." Corporal Jenks was one of the men Steven had sent to keep an eye on Ranma. "It's five miles from here to the other side. You'll drown."

Ranko dog paddled for a moment. "Shit! Is that all? I won't even get a good start. I'll have t' do laps." At Corporal Jenks face, Ranko sneered. "Don't get your shorts in a bunch. I can swim t' China."

Jenks got on the radio. "He . . . she is swimming across the lake. You'd better send up a rescue chopper. She's going to get about half way across. It's too cold to swim in."

{I'll do ten laps. That ought to build up some endurance} Ranko switched to Ranma after the first ten laps and did ten more. He loved the feel of the cold water against his skin. It was one of the things he had really missed; being able to swim without turning into Ranko.

Control sent the chopper, but when they saw Ranma he was on the return leg and making about five Knots. (About six land miles an hour)

The rescue diver eyed Ranma. "I thought you said it was a girl. That's a man if I ever saw one. He's not in any distress that I can see. Head back."

After completing his training Ranma returned to the cottage. {Home at last. I need t' sit and figure out
what I'm gonna do.}

Ranma trained for a week. He had decided that he needed to work on flexibility as Ranma. He was doing well with weapons however. His sword work was improving quickly and he now could throw anything and hit his target.

As Ranko he wasn't far behind either. She did a lot of running and swimming. She needed endurance and strength. Handling the naginata was improving upper body strength and climbing the cliff to meditate was getting her legs in shape too. The fan was a real fooler. It looked like an ordinary paper fan but the ribs were steel and, as Ranko, it could fool an opponent in to making a disastrous mistake.

{All in all I think I'm getting where I want t' be. I need t' get some more yoga lessons and I want my own sword. Meditation is really helping me center. I feel like I'm getting back in control again} Ranma sat in the hot tub, letting the water soak away his aches and watching the sun go down.

Ranko missed a punch. "Ow! Damn it! That hurt!" Ranko took off her necklace and touched it to his wrist. Switching was getting easier and easier.

Ranma flexed his hand carefully. "Damn it, I think it's broken. Shit!"

Ranma knew he was being watched, he'd seen the flickers of reflection off what he assumed was glass and he'd found what he thought was the main observation post. Now he headed for the tower.

Oran was watching Ranma through a telescope. He felt strange watching someone who knew that they were being watched. Ranma had even waved at him once

"Yow! What the hell? Where did you come from?"

Ranma landed lightly on the railing of the tower, right in front of Oran. They were 30 feet up, but Ranma had dropped down.

"Uuuummm, I jumped? Look. I'm sorry I scared you. I got a little problem and I wondered if you could tell me where Sunny is. I don't feel like goin' all the way down to school if she's gone ta town or somethin'." Ranma extended his swollen, purpling hand to the man.

"Oh! Geeze, what the hell happened to you." Oran looked at Ranma's hand and felt slightly sick.

"AW! I feel really dumb. I got careless and missed a lick while I was trainin'. It's not the first time I've done somethin' like this and it won't be the last. Ya can't punch a rock without some accidents once in a while. Now where's Sunny?"

Oran pressed the call button on his com. unit.

"This is Oran. Ranma has hurt himself. Please send a medic as soon as possible."

"I don't want a medic! I want Sunny! No one else is gonna' touch me."

Ranma got stubborn. He didn't trust completely yet and didn't want strangers touching him.

Oran reached out to pat Ranma on the head. "Don't worry, boy, the medics are really good. They ‘ll have you fixed up in no time."

But patting Ranma on the head or any where else is like trying to catch the wind in a net. Ranma moved his head just enough to avoid the pat.

"I'm not a dog! If you don't tell me where Sunny is I'll go find her myself, but my hand really hurts and I'd rather not have t' run t' the school. All I want is for you t' tell me if she's there. Shit! I'll ask myself."

Ranma reached out and pushed the call button.

"Hey! I don't want a medic! I wanna know if Sunny's at the school."

"Ranma?! You hurt yourself? We'll send medics if you need them." Sergeant Samuels answered the second call himself. "What do you need?"

" Damnit! I asked you if Sunny was at school! Why don't you people fuckin' listen?"

"Sunny is at school. But if you have hurt yourself we need to have one of the real Doctors look at you. I'll arrange it!" Sergeant Samuels had a feeling that he was talking to himself.

"He's gone! Took off running the minute you told him where Sunny is. I never saw anything like it!"

Oran was still trying to believe what he'd just seen. Ranma had dropped from the railing to the ground thirty feet below and hit running. He was already out of sight.

Ranma burst through the gate and headed across the quad. "Sunny! Hey!! Sunny! Where are you? Sunny!" Ranma stood outside the building and yelled. He didn't feel like running around even the small class building looking for her.

"Ranma I'm so glad you decided to come back we missed you I want to tell you all about Kuno and all the other wonderful things that . . . "

Ranma stuck his hand in Sunny's face. "I broke it. Fix it, will ya? It's really startin' t' hurt."

Sunny eyed Ranma's hand. "Well, you really did it this time. You fighters are so careless of yourselves. You should take better care. I'm going to have to set that bone back in place before I heal it. You've dislocated one of the small bones of your hand."

"Yeah! Right third metacarpal. Hurts like hell. Can't you hurry?"

Ranma had tucked his hand into his left armpit trying to ease the pain.

"Well, give me your hand back and I'll try to set it back in place. Then I can heal the strained tendons and bruising. But I can't do anything until the bone is back in place. Sit down and put your hand on your knee."

Ranma did as he was told. Then he shut his eyes.

"Ok. I know what you‘re gonna do. I'll shut my eyes so I won't dodge you. SON-OF-A-BITCH!!!" Ranma clenched his teeth. It hurt when Sunny forced the bone back into place by thumping it between his knee and her fist. "Sunny, that HURT!"

"I know!! I know!! But what am I supposed to do. That's the only way to do it. If you would go to the infirmary, I could have used a sedative and you wouldn't even know it was done."

Ranma shook his head. "They wouldn't let you do it. They'd wish me off on some bored medic or somethin. I don't trust anyone but you. I don't want anyone else touchin' me and I wouldn't take a sedative even if you gave it to me."

Sunny took Ranma's hand in both of hers. "Well thanks for the compliment. I need a little more practice, I've got permission to work on people with Mom's supervision. But I'm not going to wait for her while you suffer. I'll just get grounded and so what." Sunny's hands started to glow golden

"Hey! Grounded?" Ranma tried to snatch his hand back. Sunny clung to it or rather it stuck to hers.

"Ranma don't do that! You can't pull away when I'm healing you! It feels funny. Bad funny! Gimme!" Sunny pulled Ranma hand back, steadying herself against his shoulder.

"I hope I have enough power to completely heal you. I haven't healed anyone since we converted your collar. It really took a lot out of me and Mom said that I'd be weak for a long time. Why are you pulling away again. I'm almost done"

Sunny slumped against Ranma suddenly.

"Shit! Stupid girl! Why didn't you tell me you weren't better yet? You shouldn't be healing me. Damnit!" Ranma steadied Sunny, letting her rest against his shoulder.

"It's Ok. I didn't complete the healing. I just did enough so it won't hurt. Mom can finish." Sunny rested her head against Ranma's shoulder and sighed. "You smell good."

"Here! Let me . . . "

Ranma jumped straight up taking Sunny with him.

"Wha . . . Where'd . . . Shuba, you scared the hell outta me. Don't sneak up on a guy like that." Ranma looked down from the branch of a large oak tree. The branch happened to be about fifteen feet up the tree, thick enough to hold two comfortably.

Shuba sighed {Damn he's still as twitchey as they come}, "Ranma look around. All that yelling! Everyone and his brother is standing around watching. Come down before you drop Sunny. Her mom would kill you."

Ranma dropped back to the ground holding Sunny gently. "As If!! I never drop anyone." Ranma stuck his nose in the air. "I never drop anything. ‘Specially not a person. Sunny you can let go now. We're on the ground."

Sunny dropped her feet to the ground as Ranma tipped her up to standing.

"Ranma how did you dislocate that specific bone. What were you punching? There isn't a punching bag up on the mountain."

"I was breaking rocks and I got careless. Pop wouldn't even have let me stop training, it's such a small injury. But I'm not training hurt anymore; it's not a good idea. If you train with an injury, it never heals quite right."

Shuba and Sunny both made faces. "Well, I would just like to give your Pop a piece of my mind," Sunny humped, crossing her arms over her chest.

Shuba nodded and looked like he wanted to do more "I'd like to know where your dad got some of his ideas."

Ranma pulled a lock of Sunnys' green hair. "I'd like for you to give him a piece of your mind, he needs all the brains he can get. And, Shuba he gets his ideas from every crackbrained book he can find."

Ranma jumped as he realized that he was surrounded by strangers, most of them men. He jumped over the heads of the crowd and ran.

"Damnit, I hoped he would stay. Well . . . he's still really jumpy." Shuba looked around at the crowd. "Hey the show's over. Go about your business. Damnit!"

"Shuba I really wish you'd go up the mountain and make Ranma come back down I don't think it's good for him to be training all alone in some of the worst conditions we have that . . . " Sunny ran down and sighed. "Poor Ranma I hate his Pop."

"Yeah, Unfortunately so does he." Shuba shook his head "I just hope the old fool doesn't show up before Ranma works through this."