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 33

Beta: Niana Kuonji

“Crap!”

Ranma woke tangled in his sleeping bag and spent several minutes trying to get untangled without tearing the bag. Finally getting unwrapped, he crawled out of the tent and stretched, yawning.

“Rio, if there isn’t coffee, I’m gonna . . .” Ranma accepted the cup with a sign of content. It was nice to have company on this, especially company who actually helped out.

He would work out, then come back, eat lunch, then try to patrol the valleys. He knew something was up here that didn’t belong. He just couldn’t find it.

“Ranma! Come see what I found. I’ve never seen anything like it before.”

Ranma finished his coffee and went to see what Conroy had found.

What the Sergeant had found was a striking board. Ranma eyed it for a minute, then laughed.

“I knew this area was familiar. Now I know why. I trained here when I was younger. Pop built that striking board for me when I was about twelve.”

Conroy eyed the thing for a minute and rubbed the back of his head. What was this? It looked like a gate or something, only it was solidly set into the ground with three horizontal boards about chest high on Ranma.

“You used that when you were twelve? How’s it work?”

Ranma just nodded and squared up to the apparatus. He stood about six inches away from the boards and touched the tip of his middle finger to it. Then he punched it. The thunk raised Conroy’s hackles and he shuddered as he realized that Ranma was going to punch it again.

“Hey don’t do that! Are you crazy? You’ll break something.”

“Nah, it’s made of ebony. I won’t break it. It’s lots better than punching trees. I don’t have to worry about killing the tree.”

Tap, thunk. Tap, thunk. Tap, thunk. It went on for a good hour as Rio and Conroy listened to Ranma torture himself.

“I can’t stand it. He’s ruining his hands. I’m gonna go stop him.”

“Sarge, ya can’t. He’s a big boy and he knows exactly what he’s doing. He’s making sure he can fight whatever he runs into and you know that we’d do the same thing, if we could. We can’t diminish his efforts, just because he’s a kid. He’s a better man than the two of us put together. He’s been fighting all his life and when he was given a chance to get out of it, he turned it down cold. All he’d had to do, right at first, was tell Steven he wanted out.”

“Rio?”

“Yeah.”

“Sometimes I hate you.”

“Me, too.”

~ * ~

Vignette

“I’ve been reading some of the testimony Saotome gave on his training. Did you know that his father used to tie him up in the dojo and leave him over night?”

“Damn it, I wish he wasn’t in prison.”

“You crazy? Why?”

“Because then I could find him and beat the shit out of him.”

“Look here: says the old goat took a strap to him too.”

“Well, now we know why he doesn’t think it’s all that unusual to be beaten. It’s a wonder he’s not mean as a snake. Instead, he has no idea of his own worth.”

~ * ~

Ranma came back to camp, wiping sweat from his chest with a small towel. He looked at the coffee pot and grunted his disappointment. He wanted some more coffee.

“Ranma, explain something to me. Why did you stand so close to the target?”

“Because I need some practice in short strikes. If you have plenty of room to get up momentum, it’s easy to generate a powerful punch: got lots of distance to build up speed. But with short punches, you need to generate power in a short distance and I haven’t practiced that like I should have. Pop was always keepin’ me at a distance, so I’m gonna take advantage of the situation and get in some practice and work on keepin’ my calluses built up. Is there any antiseptic? I got in a coupla bad licks and skinned up a knuckle.”

Ranma held out his left hand to show the third knuckle skinned nearly to the bone.

“It’s not too bad. It’ll heal in a day or so.”

Rio just got up and walked into the woods, swearing. Ranma watched him go with a puzzled expression on his face.

“What’s his problem? What’d I do?”

“What makes you think you did anything?”

“Well . . . when I’m around and people act like that, it’s usually something I did. I haven’t the faintest idea why; but I know it’s so. I’m just a shit magnet, that’s all.”

Conroy felt like choking someone. Or several someone’s, starting with Genma and ending with Downs. Ranma was convinced that everything that went wrong near him had to be his fault. And the way he’d been raised was why.

“Ranma. You’re a valuable person, and even if you weren’t the best martial artist in the world, you’d still be valuable. Why don’t you believe that?”

“Who, me? I’m good at what I do. I’m the best there is. I just understand that the price I pay for being this good is pain. I learn quickly and I’m really good but I’ve been studying since I was old enough to understand what Pop was tellin’ me. So stuff hurts, so what? If I want to be good, I gotta work out. I gotta practice and the price of mistakes is pain. Pain is the body’s way of tellin’ ya not to do something. But as to being valuable? Yeah, but I’m no more valuable than any other person on the planet--except for a few, I’ll admit I don’t think some people are worth the skin to hold them together.”

Rio came back in time to hear this and he looked at Conroy with such a disgusted expression that he had to turn his head away so Ranma wouldn’t see him mirror it.

“I…Ranma, I just give up. I wish you could understand how much we all value you. We like you and respect you. You’re just so used to being abused that you think it’s normal.”

Ranma smiled: he’d never thought of the way he’d been raised as abusive, it was just the way it was. When he’d moved in with the Tendos, Soun had made it plain that he wasn’t putting up with some of Pop’s more outrageous activities but only because it was too noisy early in the morning. That was when he’d started thinking about things, and when he’d come to the Compound he’d found out that not every learning experience hurt.

“Geez, guys, don’t make a big deal out of the past; it’s over, I lived through it and I’m stronger for it. Now is the time for me to make changes in my life. You won’t see me putting up with stuff like I used to. But ya gotta understand something else. I can stand a lot of pain. Stuff that would have you flat on the ground, I don’t even notice. . .can we change the subject? I’m bored.”

~ * ~

Steven slammed the drawer. He was tired of the trial and everything to do with it. He couldn’t find Ranma and he wanted him to come down so he could tell him the good news.

“Dorie, go find Ranma. I don’t care if you have to beat the bushes personally. I want him down here when Downs is sentenced. I want him to see that fuck in chains and I want him back where I can . . . well, shit, take care of him. He doesn’t even realize how badly we all miss him. “

“Okay, I’ll go up and find him. But you know how much I hate the woods. You owe me so big time. It’s gonna hurt, boy.”

“Yeah, but I love it. Go find him for me.”

“Okay, okay. I’m going! Just stop slamming that drawer. You’re going to bend it.”

Steven looked at Dorie with one of those looks that only old married couples have.

Dorie requisitioned a helicopter and headed up country. It wasn’t that hard to find Rio and Conroy. Ranma was another deal altogether: His two companions admitted that they didn’t see him for most of the day, as he worked out then left to patrol, looking for whatever it was.

Dorie just sat down and waited for him, it had been three days and Steven wanted Ranma back. She filled the men in on what they’d missed. Everything about the trial and ended up saying that Steven wanted Ranma back at the Compound. And he wanted him now.

When Ranma finally came back to camp, it was almost dark and the helicopter was wanting to leave. Dorie had already had Rio and Conroy pack up everything, if Ranma wanted to stay he’d have to reset his camp.

“There you are, young man. You’ve led me a merry dance, I’ll tell you. Steven is having fits. He wants you back down country now. It’s been three days and nothing has shown up. You said you’d come back if we came for you.”

Ranma hung his head--he’d been so sure that there was something. But he couldn’t find it so he was ashamed.

“Okay, I’ll come peacefully. Take me away.”

Ranma was startled when Dorie just put her arm around him and drew him into a hug. After a quick, fierce squeeze she took him by one wrist and hauled him to the helicopter.

“Get in, quick. If we don’t take off soon, I’m going to have to spend the night up here and I hate the woods with a passion. “ Dorie got on the intercom, “Okay, guys, go. Go!”

The chopper took off and Ranma sat down on the nearest seat. He didn’t want to go back, he hated the Stockade but he knew that if he didn’t go back, he’d lose everything he loved. He couldn’t spend the rest of his life running. Anyway, there was only sixty more days to serve, if they didn’t add to his sentence for ‘escaping’.

~ * ~

Ranma yelped as Steven jumped into the helicopter and grabbed him. He almost ducked, then he realized that Steven was hugging him fiercely. Ranma hugged him back: it felt good, he couldn’t ever remember his old man touching him except to hit him or punish him in some other way.

“Hurry up, you’ll miss the sentencing. They finished the trial about noon and they’ve been deliberating ever since.”

Ranma was glad he was at least half-way clean. He’d been bathing in the mountain stream and was wearing his last clean uniform. He looked every inch a proud young soldier.

“OK, Steven, I’m comin’. I don’t want to miss it either. I’ll get back to the Stockade and watch from there.”

Steven grabbed Ranma by a wrist {What is with these two and wrist-grabbing?} and dragged him toward the court: He wanted to surprise Ranma with the verdict and sentence. He had no idea that Ranma didn’t know that the two counts of assault filed in his, Steven’s, behalf had been dropped.

“Well, I see you caught Saotome. We’ll just get him restrained and . . .”

Ranma eyed the guard and then looked at Steven. Steven smirked at him and raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah, if ya can get ‘em on me, I’ll wear ‘em.” Ranma’s accent got worse and worse the madder he got and the swearing did, too.

Ranma stood and waited as the man wrestled with him. He didn’t fight or try to get away, he just stood there, refusing to move or help in any way.

“Okay. I think that’s enough. If you’re through making a fool of yourself, we’ll go into the court room. I don’t want to miss the verdict.”

Ranma looked at the frustrated guard and snickered.

When they entered the room everyone in it fell silent--this lasted for about ten seconds and then the whole room just stood up and saluted, standing at attention until Steven nudged Ranma in the back. Ranma returned the salute and the room sat back down as one.

Ranma was directed to a seat by the bailiff and smiled happily as he realized that he had Sunny on one side and Ryouga on the other, Kuno was next to him and the rest of the group was on the other side of Sunny. All his secondary team was behind him.

~ * ~

Vignette

“Will you look at that kid? Every man in the room is at attention and he looks like he just got a new bike for Christmas.”

“I think one of the reasons Downs hates him so much is because no one will ever put him down and keep him there.”

“You’re right. Proud, haughty, arrogant and brash, but he’s got every right to feel that way. He’s also kind, good hearted, brave, loyal, and totally guileless. I wish he was my son. I’d treasure him the way he should be.”

~ * ~

The judges walked in and sat at the table. Everyone sat down, waiting respectfully until one of the judges should begin to talk.

“Well, I think I speak for both of my colleagues, as well as myself, when I say that this man is one of the worst criminals to stand before us for many years. I’m not going to waste the court’s time, much less yours, by recapping the charges laid against this man. The significant ones are Forgery, Misappropriation of Funds, and attempted manslaughter. Combined counts for charge one: twenty one counts. Combined counts of charge two is ten; combined counts for charge three is forty six.

“If we were to go through each charge individually we would be here for a week. If anyone wants to read them for themselves they will be available for perusal, and now summary of sentences for all counts. Guilty on all counts of all charges; the combined sentence amounts to three hundred twenty four years. No possibility of parole.”

The room went wild. Ranma just sat for a minute, then he started giggling. Not laughing or chuckling-- giggling. He didn’t know if he was getting hysterical or what, but he couldn’t stop. At least until Sunny wrapped her arms around him and hugged him hard enough to make his ribs creak.

“Oh, wow. I don’t believe it, what a rush. Hey, Steven, thanks for letting me be here. We really got him.”

Ranma stood up and headed for the door. “I better get to the Stockade myself. I just hope I didn’t get any extra sentence for escapin’.”

That was when they all realized that Ranma had no idea he was free. “Un, Ranma, just go. You’ll get a nice surprise there. You really will and we’ll be close.”

So Ranma went to the stockade, but it wasn’t that bad. He got to walk behind Downs as he struggled to walk. He didn’t look very good, he was practically being carried by the guards.

When they got to the stockade, Ranma followed them until they got to intake, then he turned aside and went to a desk, waiting for the man to look up so he could find out what he was supposed to do. Happily, he didn’t miss Downs screams of fear as the man found out what an intake exam consisted of.

Ranma snickered--let the fool be humiliated. He even hoped it hurt, just a little.

“Hey, come back here!”

Ranma turned just in time to see Downs running down the hall toward him. He waited until the runaway was close to him and then he put his hand out in a halt gesture. A quick push created a wave of air pressure that knocked Downs back into the arms of the MP’s who grabbed him, nodded to Ranma, and dragged Downs back into the intake area.

Ranma couldn’t resist following him and when Downs managed to make another break for it he caught him by one arm and held him.

“Help me! I don’t belong here, I was just doing my job!”

“Yeah, which messed with the lives a’ everyone ya got near. I don’t feel sorry for ya’ in the least. Stay away from me in the yard ‘cause I’ll pound ya. I gotta go back in and I ain’t takin’ no interest in you an’ your problems.”

Downs drew himself up indignantly. “I can do anything you can.”

Ranma looked at Downs for a long time, slowly letting his eyes wander over the overweight, out-of-shape executive-type.

“You’re all blow and no go. You couldn’t do on your best day, what I can do on my worst. Those guys’ll eat ya alive . . . ” Ranma turned to the guards. “”Keep your hands on him, will ya? That’s the second time in less than five minutes you’ve let him get away. What’s the matter with ya?”

“Well, none of us want to touch him. He’s just creepy. Sorry, we’ll take hold of him from now on.”

The two guards grabbed Downs and dragged him back to the examination room, kicking and begging.

Ranma snorted. He couldn’t believe that the man was such a mess already. Life without possibility of parole? He might not serve a very long sentence. Or he’d be in hell for the rest of his life. {I hope he don’t die of a heart attack}

“Saotome! McIntosh wants you in his office. Better hurry. He’s having some kind of fit.”

“Shit. I just hope they didn’t add too much time to my sentence.”

Ranma hurried, noticing that the MP didn’t follow him, just watched as he headed in the right direction.

“Saotome, come in.”

McIntosh couldn’t believe the hesitant way Ranma came into the room. He looked like he was afraid he was in trouble. “What is it, Saotome? What’s wrong?”

“Why don’t you tell me? I know I just ran off from the trial. I told them I wasn’t escaping but you never can tell with adults what they’ll decide.”

“Oh . . . I see . . . well. The news isn’t good.” Ranma sagged, he knew it.

“For us, that is. Steven never pressed charges against you, Downs did it in his behalf while he was suspended. Steven protested the charges, so they were dismissed. With time served and time off for good behavior . . . you’re free.”

Ranma blinked at McIntosh for a second.

“Wha…? I’m free? I’m FREE! Yippee! Wow . . . oh . . . Wow! I can go? I don’t have ta stay?”

“Yeah, get the hell outta my Stockade.” Ranma turned to go. “Hey!” The boy looked back over his shoulder. “If I never see you here again, it’ll be too soon. Now get goin’.”

Ranma turned back and stood at attention, saluting McIntosh. McIntosh stood up and returned the salute with a flourish.

Ranma decided to take off fast before someone found out that there was some kind of mistake. Buck headed him off quickly.

“Don’t run off just yet. You have to sign these papers, but you won’t have to go back for your stuff. I packed it up for you.”

Ranma signed the papers and grabbed his duffel bag.

Sunny nearly knocked him down when he got out the door. She grabbed him and climbed him like a tree, pressing her lips to his, she kissed him until he felt light headed. He dropped the duffel and wrapped his arms around her and kept kissing her, until finally he had to come up for air.

“Sunny, let me catch my breath, I’ll drop ya. Gods, I’m so glad ta just hold ya. I missed ya so much. Damn it!” Sunny let her feet drop. The rest of the Brat Pack wanted their turn at him.

After hugging and back-slapping all around, Ranma said good-by to Rio and Conroy. Skeeter, Dave, Doug, and Pete stood back, shuffling their feet.

“What’s the matter? Oh, hey! Guys, I’m not mad at ya. You did what you thought was right. If ya wanted to attend memorial services for a friend, more power to ya. Come here!”

Ranma got the four men in a huddle hug then pushed them away gently. “Go back to barracks, get some beer. Whatever you want, I’m goin’ home.”

Sunny grabbed his hand and immediately started fussing at him. “Ranma, I don’t know how you do these things to yourself! This knuckle is skinned almost to the bone.”

The warm feeling of being healed made Ranma shudder. It felt so good! “Sunny that feels so good I don’t even know how to start tellin’ ya.”

Sunny just grabbed his hand and danced ahead of him all the way to the dorm; the rest of the group just followed along behind, hiding their amusement.

Ranma went to his room, he’d missed it so much he couldn’t believe it. He put his things away and went to the common room. Everyone was waiting there for him.

Amidst all the idle chatter they enjoyed that night, Ranma learned several things.

“Kuno, hand me a piece of that pepperoni will ya?”

Kuno handed over the requested pizza.

“I finally passed that damn calculus test,” Ranma remarked around a mouth full of pizza. His pleased smirk made everyone else uncomfortable.

“Uh, Ranma, Downs pulled a fast one on us. We didn’t have to go that far. He had us in college courses that we shouldn’t have to take for three or even five years.”

“Yeah, well, now it’s over with, we got the credits, didn’t we? I don’t see a problem. Now we can take stuff we’re interested in without havin’ to argue with some idiot about it.”

Kuno chewed his pizza without much enthusiasm.

“Hey Kuno get cold on ya?”

“No, I’m just not very hungry. While I am delighted that you are free, I have problems.”

Ryouga reached over and patted Kuno’s knee. “Don’t let it get ya down, pal. Now that Ranma’s out, I’ll go see what I can do. Leela will just love your house.”

“What’s up?” Ranma looked from one to the other.

“Well…” Ryouga looked at Danny and Kuno who both nodded their heads. Ryouga went on to explain that Danny was going to Officer Training School (OTS) in America soon and Kodachi was getting so out of hand that Kuno wanted him to go see if he couldn’t do something for her.

“So I’m going with Kuno day after tomorrow and I think Danny is leaving next week. And where I go, Leela goes.”

“Steven know about this?”

“Yeah, he’s the one who made arrangements for Danny to go, there’s to be no more stealing. If we want a magical item, we just condemn it and go get it. There’s an international law. I don’t remember exactly what it is supposed to cover but we’re stretching it to fit.”

“That’s good, but Leela is going with you, how’s that work?”

Leela smirked at Ranma and took Ryouga’s hand in hers. “Tatsu being what he is, and my job getting gone like that, I’ve been elected his keeper. So my new job is to make sure he gets where he’s supposed to be, when he’s supposed to be there. It’s soo hard. I just can’t . . .”

Ryouga shut her up by kissing her. For quite a long time. When he was done he started fussing a little. “Well, Ranma, you don’t need to look so smug. I’m tired of being the Eternal Lost Boy. I can’t find my way around the Compound without help and if I wind up in an area with no signal, I’m in real trouble. Leela just stays with me almost all the time, anyway, so she might as well get paid for it.”

Ranma held up his hands in a sort of ‘don’t hit me’ gesture.

“I didn’t say a word, did I? If you can get away with it, more power to you . . . um, Kuno, when you get back I want to get you to teach me how to talk better. I heard the guys in the Stockade talkin’ about me. They said I sounded like a real hick. Back from the stick, head too thick. That kind a thing. I got to get myself together. I can’t be doin’ what I’m doin’ and sound like a hick kid. I need to command respect up front, instead a havin’ ta smack some fucker around t’ get it.”

Kuno nearly laughed in Ranma’s face. The more upset he got the worse he talked. He sounded almost civilized most of the time anyhow, but when he got mad or something, he went from a little crude to almost incomprehensible.

Genma had kept him away from people for the most part, so Ranma had only talked to him and a few farmers. Most of his other Sensei hadn’t let him talk much, they’d only given him orders. In consequence, Ranma had never had much practice talking until he’d been in middle school and by then his speech patterns were set.

“I’ll be glad to help you. First thing, don’t talk when you’re mad. You really sound like a rice planter-- your accent’s awful. You should calm down first. It’s a good idea, anyway. Gives you time to think about what you want to say. Also, try to use complete sentences with other people. I’m afraid that this group has gotten into the very bad habit of communicating in partial sentences.”

Ranma chewed and swallowed hurriedly, he’d thought that Kuno was going to talk longer, so he’d crammed most of a piece of pizza into his mouth.

“Sorry about that. I figured you’d lecture for a while. I really appreciate it, Kuno . . . if I’m stepping out of line tell me. What’s wrong with Kodachi? She really losing it?”

“That last sentence should be ‘Is she really losing it?’.” Ranma nodded. “And yes, she is really losing it, in a big way. I left Sasuki in charge of her but he can’t seem to manage her anymore. No medication that we’ve tried seems to work. Some of them aren’t right, they have too many side effects, and others, when we get the dosage strong enough to control the symptoms, they make her lethargic. It’s getting out of hand rapidly and the Kuno businesses need my attention as well.”

“Businesses? I thought your Dad took care of that?”

“My Father couldn’t take care of a setting hen with a nest of chicks, much less a thriving business. I’ve been taking care of the family fortune since I was fourteen. That’s why it’s in as good a condition as it is.”

Ranma thought for a while chewing slowly.

“So . . . gimme a slice of that Hawaiian, will ya. . . . you’re going to take Ryouga and Leela and catch up on things at home. Danny’s goin’ to OTS, so that leaves me and Sunny and Shuba here to take care of business on this end.”

Ryouga sighed, he hated to leave Ranma so soon after he got out but he’d been putting off going to see Kodachi so he could be around for Ranma, and glad he’d stayed too. But now they couldn’t put it off anymore.

“Yeah, I hate to leave ya so soon but we really need to get Kodachi under control--she set the house on fire and the only thing that saved it was Sasuki. And you shouldn’t be so negative. You can depend on Steven, really, he just got off track a little. I know you suffered for it, but in the end, it helped us all.”

“Yeah. I’m not mad at Steven anymore. Like ya said. But there’s still something up there and it ain’t good. I’ll just bet it shows up the day after you both leave. I got belly rumblin’s.”

“Ranma, that’s just too much pizza and excitement and not enough rest. I’m tired.” Ryouga stretched and yawned.

Kuno looked at his watch and declared that, as it was almost 3am, he was going to bed.

“Hey, where’s your watch? Saotome, get that watch back on your wrist right now.”

“Damn, I forgot it! I took it off because it pinched me between it and the handcuff. I’ll put it on before I go to bed.”

“Okay. By the way I like the bracelet around your arm like that. It shows off your muscles. Very sexy.”

Ranma grabbed Sunny, nuzzled her neck and mock snarled, “I’ll show you sexy.” Sunny squealed and smacked him with the flat of her hand. Ranma looked around, an elaborate expression of puzzlement on his face. “A fly? Did I feel a fly land on me? Or maybe it was a flea.”

“Oh, you! Go to bed.”

Ranma went to bed in his own bed and slept like a log.

~ * ~
Vignette

“Hey, Ryouga, what’s that noise?”

“Dunno. Better find out.”

“Hist! Sunny, you hear that?”

“Yeah, don’t worry.”

The deep rumbling noise continued, soft but persistent.

Kuno and Ryouga edged further into the room; Sunny was leaning against the wall close to the head of Ranma’s bed, watching him sleep.

“What is it?”

Sunny turned her head and smiled slightly. Then both boys recognized the sound. Ranma was purring.

~ * ~
Yeah I know Ranma’s a civilian and he’s not supposed to salute anyone or be saluted. It’s a fiction so they do.