A Story from "The Bet" Crippled: Body & Souls By Bryan Neef From an idea by Gregg Sharp Episode 3: Visitors Ranma 1/2 is property of Rumiko Takahashi. Publishing rights are held by Viz in the US and Shogakukan in Japan. My purpose is to honor the creator and her works. No infringement intended. *** Ranma sat in his chair, fighting his homework. He still hated school, but not nearly as much as he had before the incident. He also hated himself more. The frustration built to the point he snapped the pencil in two. "Why won't this work?" he growled as he threw the offending material onto the table. Nabiki looked at him from the kitchenette. She shook her head as she stepped into the main room. When she took Ranma in, she knew he would be difficult. She still wished he were better. "Honestly, Ranma, you're as bad as a child. You don't need to fight it so much." "That's easy for you to say. You're good at this stuff!" Nabiki sighed as she picked up the book. "Hai, Ranma. I'm good because I work at it. I also use it every day. Tell you what, after dinner, I'll help you with this." Ranma grumbled something as he nodded. Nabiki smiled, patting his hand before returning to her dinner preparations. "I've got some news for you." "What?" asked Ranma as he flipped through his history book. "I've found a rehabilitation program that should help your muscles and keep you in shape." "Well, my upper body is fine, but I'd like to get more out of my workout. What kind of 'rehab?'" Nabiki smiled her mischievous smile as she brought out the plates. "Swimming." "Swimming? You mean I have to be a girl for it?" "Hai. I'd rather you do this than your 'jogging.'" Ranma glared at her for a moment. "Why?" "Because I can workout with you. I don't like the idea of you being out there alone." Ranma raised an eyebrow. "You can always come too." Nabiki stared at him for a moment, then laughed. "Tell you what, I'll jog with you in the morning, and you swim with me in the evening. I don't want to fight of any men by myself." Ranma smiled. "All right. If I don't like it, we quit and find something else." "Fair enough. So, when do we start jogging?" "Six in the morning." "Six?" "Hai." *** Tanaka Tomoko finished packing her bag. She turned to her husband. "Are you sure you want to do this?" asked her husband, Hiro. "Hai. Ranma needs us. I mean, he was so full of life before the attack." "That may be him trying to make up for his loss." Tomoko glared at her husband. "At the very least, he was an athlete. You saw how well toned his muscles were." "So did the twins." Tomoko smiled at her husband's observation. "The children truly liked Ranma. Even with his curse." "True. They actually haven't seen it, but they accepted it well enough. He did seem left out when we all talked." "So it's settled, with Ranma an orphan, we bring him into our family." "What about his 'secret admirer?' Do you know who he is?" "No. Ranma couldn't figure it out either. The one woman he thought it was acted totally surprised when she found out he was alive. I don't think she knew." "I see. Well, at this point, all we can do is offer him a family." "I know, Dear." In the hall, three teens listened at the door. The twin girls looked at each other, smiling. Their younger brother caught the smiles and groaned inwardly. The trio stepped back, moving to the family room. "This is so cool. Mom and Dad are really going to try to adopt Ranma," spoke Kei, one of the girls. "Maybe. It sounds like he already has someone," replied the boy, Isao. "True. But who? I say we talk to his old friends and see if they know anything," replied Yuri, the other girl. Isao frowned. "Won't that end up hurting him? He told us everyone he knew wanted him dead." "Don't be silly. He's just emotionally traumatized. He'll be afraid of everyone. It's our job to help him." "We can help him by not telling his old acquaintances he's alive. Especially Tendou Akane." *** "How far do you usually go?" asked Nabiki as she gasped for air. "I don't know. I usually pass the school and apartment three or four times." "Three or four times?" "It's the only way I can come close to the workout I got before..." Nabiki continued jogging, not quite realizing Ranma had stopped. She cursed when she noticed. She jogged back to him. She patiently waited for his anger to leave before speaking. "I'm sorry, Ranma. I didn't mean to bring the panda into this." He looked at her in an emotionless gaze. "I know. Let's go home. We need to get ready for school." "Right. I think I need to work into this, though. Keep in mind, Saotome, I won't give up on this." Ranma gazed into Nabiki's caring eyes. He smiled a little. "I know. I'm glad you're here, Nabiki." "So am I, Ranma. Let me push you back." Ranma nodded as he closed his eyes. Memories of his life on the road with his father flooded his mind. Each image was of a training regime. A gentle tear rolled down his cheek. Nabiki saw the tear. "Say, Ranma, have you given any more thought to joining me in earning money?" "I don't know what I can do. You can't even sell pictures of me." "Nor would I. Why don't we work together at lunch. I'll show you the basics." "I guess. I don't know what else I could do." "You could smile more." Ranma snorted. "Why are you so nice?" Nabiki remained silent for a moment. "When you were hurt, I watched as...Akane went on as if nothing happened. I woke up, Ranma. Akane did to you what she did to me years ago. You're not as lucky as I was. I want to make sure you don't become what I was." "What happened?" Nabiki sighed. "Do you mind if I tell you later? It still hurts. More so now." "I guess," sighed Ranma. The pair continued up the street in silence, each lost in their own thoughts. The voice brought them back to the world. "Hey, Babe! Why don't you dump that loser and join some real men?" Nabiki cursed to herself when Ranma stiffened. "My friend's more of a man than you ever will be," she replied coldly. The man stepped up to the pair. "C'mon, Babe. I bet he urk!" The man clutched his throat from Nabiki's strike. She kept going, only glancing back at the man. "Insult my friend and you insult me." They soon reached the apartment building. The guard smiled as he let them in. They entered their home in silence. Ranma wheeled himself into his room. Nabiki sighed as she removed her headband. she thought as she retrieved her clothes. "Ranma, you go ahead and take a bath. I'll work on breakfast." She heard the bathroom door close hard. She sighed as she looked at her hand. She clenched her fist.