-0-0-0-0-0-
With Grace and Elegance
A Girls Und Panzer/Ranma ½ Crossover
Chapter Seven
Malls and Machines
By: Grounders10
-0-0-0-0-0-
Ranma followed Rin's lead through the crowds of the mall. Below them, cars honked and above them snaked further walkways in a complicated yarn ball of steel and concrete. The other girl weaved through the crowd, barely keeping an eye on where she was going.
Their first stop was a tea shop called '
Hibana's'. It had rows of different teas, stacked floor to ceiling, alongside a smaller selection of coffee beans and all the items one might need for tea or coffee of all types. By the time they left, Ranma had managed to find several tins of Ruby Red tea. She ignored the amused look Rin sent her way.
"Oh," Ranma stopped mid-stride, ignoring the way several people bumped into her, before the window of a shop full of odds and ends. Portraits hung on the wall and nicknacks covered the shelves. Several bins of stuffed animals were visible through the window.
Rin joined her a moment later. "Did something catch your eye?" she asked with a curious tone.
"Oh, erm…" Ranma fidgetted as her eyes darted back to the window. "Maybe?"
Rin rolled her eyes and hooked Ranma's arm. "Let's go take a look around then," she said, pulling Ranma with her into the store. "You're tense, relax and have some fun." She gave Ranma a push towards the plushies before disappearing into an aisle full of animal figurines.
Once she disappeared Ranma let out a breath she didn't realise she was holding and glanced out the window. No Akane and no sign of her Mother. She quirked a smile and shook her head as she walked over to the plushies and picked a plushy dragon from the pile. Its mane had the same colours as Herb. It would go well with her collection of plushies based on the cursed forms of the others in Nerima.
She normally tried to avoid being seen by people she knew buying them. Sure, the entire house, including her mother, knew she had the panda, pig, duck, cat (which was normally placed well away from her bed), and even the makeshift minotaur thing she'd sewn together after fighting Pantyhose Taro, were hers. However, she'd always played them off as things she'd won in games somewhere in town. Trophies, not something she'd purchased.
Plushy acquired she glanced through the pile for anything else. Finding nothing that jumped out at her she moved on, placing the dragon plushie over her shoulders. She poked the nose of the plushy and smirked at the thought of how outraged Herb would be by such an action.
Moving on she walked down an aisle selling larger statuettes. She paused at a lucky cat and frowned briefly before moving on with a shiver. She drifted through the aisles, looking at the paintings and other items on display. It was her responsibility to decorate Matilda House. She wasn't quite sure what she was looking for, but surely something would jump out at her if she kept an eye out.
A few minutes later she turned the corner and promptly bumped into Rin. The other girl fumbled a small statuette which Ranma snatched out of the air before it hit the ground. "Here," she held it out. It was a small horse.
"Thanks. That would have been bad," Rin said, taking it back. "So that's what you spotted in the window. Cute dragon."
Ranma shrugged, a blush appearing as she glanced down at the dragon plushie. "It'll round out my collection," she said.
"You collect dragon plushies?" Rin asked, leading the way toward the front counter.
She shook her head. "No dragon plushies. It's more… More like each one represents someone I met in Nerima. Though Herb here was just passing through at the time," she said. "Met", more like beat.
"Oh, one of those kinds of collections. You'll have to show me sometime," Rin said.
"At some point," Ranma replied as they reached the counter. They paid the distracted clerk and left, adding the dragon to a bag with the tea.
They stopped at a bookstore next. Ranma wandered the isles for a bit before a book titled
'St' Gloriana, A History of Grace and War Volume 1' two feet above her head caught her eye. Taking the heavy book down from its shelf required a jump. Checking the summary it seemed to be a record of St. Gloriana's Sensha-do matches. Only twenty years of them, but…
She flicked it open and started reading. She was still there twenty minutes later when Rin found her.
"Not interested in Sensha-do, huh?" Ranma jumped a little when Rin spoke from practically right beside her ear.
Ranma closed the book with a snap and sighed. "Well…" she trailed off, trying to find the right words. "I've just been doing some reading since I learned about Mum's side of the family and…" she shrugged and waved the book.
"And your family is tied so tightly to St. Gloriana's Sensha-do legacy that it's almost like a family history, right?" Rin asked with a knowing tone.
"Basically," Ranma said, looking down at the book. There was something about Sensha-do that was just fascinating to her. It was weird. She didn't normally feel this sort of curiosity unless she stumbled across someone using a new technique she hadn't seen before.
Rin hummed. "Let's go pay for that, then get some ice cream. There's a nice place just around the corner," she said, prodding Ranma along.
"Okay, okay, give me a moment," Ranma sighed before gathering her bags. They paid for their books, of which Rin had nearly a dozen, and she followed the black-haired girl out into the lights and bustle of the mall. They travelled over the roadway, then up a flight of stairs to a hole-in-the-wall ice cream parlour.
Mooncup's Ice Cream Shoppe had a half dozen small tables as well as the counter itself. They managed to snag the last free table and soon had bowls of ice cream before them. Ranma took a bite of her strawberry ice cream and sighed happily.
"You confuse me," Rin said after Ranma's third bite.
"Hmm?" Ranma blinked at her around a spoonful of ice cream.
"Just… You and Sensha-do," she gestured down at their bags where the book was still, "You say that you've never done nor want to do Sensha-do, but you somehow seem to know more than a little and gravitate towards the books on it. It's just… Confusing is all."
Ranma fiddled with her spoon. "I guess," she mumbled, taking another spoonful of ice cream. She had read a lot of books on Sensha-do over the last few weeks. A lot more than she would normally read on a subject.
"So… Why don't you want to do Sensha-do if you can't stop reading about it?" Rin asked, leaning forward.
She swirled her spoon around the bowl, incidentally whipping the ice cream into something most closely resembling a soft serve, as she thought about how to reply. "It's complicated," she finally said.
"I guessed that much," Rin deadpanned.
Ranma groaned and had a scoop of ice cream. "It's just… It's just really complicated," she said, feeling rather embarrassed to be repeating herself.
Rin sighed and ate some of her own ice cream. Thankfully she didn't say anything as she ate. It gave Ranma time to reorganise her own thoughts.
"It's just…" Ranma trailed off.
"Just…?" Rin said, twirling her spoon between her fingers.
"... My mother would be upset if I did it," Ranma finally said, "Grandma wants me to do it, but doesn't want to force me. Pops is… Well, he would probably rather drag me back onto the road than let me be the Hayashida heiress."
"You two were rather loud that night," Rin mused.
"Get used to it. He'll be back, no matter how much Mrs. Homura threatens him," Ranma said, "He's stubborn like that and it's not the first time he's been run off and left me behind. Of course, those times I didn't care if I stayed or not." Or actually wanted out like that one time in Mongolia with a group of crazy Buddhist monks.
Rin stared at her.
"What?"
"Just wondering," Rin said flatly.
"About?"
"What sort of lunatic your father apparently is," she said with that same flat tone. Ranma snorted, then started giggling at her friend's perplexed stare. Rin eventually just rolled her eyes and went back to her ice cream.
Coming down off the giggles, Ranma finished her ice cream. She twirled the spoon around her fingers thoughtfully, staring into the shimmering patterns it made as she thought. She… could admit that a part of her wanted to do Sensha-do. To feel the tank's rumble beneath her. But at the same time she wondered if her mother would try and enforce the old seppuku pact if she did. It had been declared fulfilled, but her mother really didn't like the sport and…
She sighed.
"Sorry," Rin said a moment later.
Ranma glanced up. "For what?"
"For asking."
She scoffed and waved her off. "It's something I'll have to decide at some point. On one hand, it's like everyone expects me to pick Sensha-do because I'm a Hayashida. Then there's my family which can't seem to decide what any of them want," she said. She dropped her spoon into the bowl and massaged her forehead with her free hand.
Rin stared at her for a long few moments before nodding. "You need retail therapy," she said once she finished her ice cream.
Ranma blinked. "Retail what?" she asked.
"Grab your bags, we're going clothes shopping," Rin declared, sliding out of the booth.
Feeling a touch of uncertainty, Ranma followed her friend out of the shop.
-0-0-0-0-0-
"... the round hit the glacis plate and we were all knocked around like some kami decided to kick the tank. I smacked my head on the gun sights and came to ten minutes later," Rin said from the other side of the changing room door as Ranma held an orange crop top up to her chest. After a moment she rolled her eyes at it and dropped it in the reject pile. It had been Rin's suggestion but it just wasn't her style.
"I guess you lost then?" She asked through the door.
"Oddly, no. The hit knocked me out, but Mizumi, our commander, jumped on the gun right away and her shot knocked out the Panzer II," Rin said, her voice drifting into the distance for a moment before coming back. "We lost the next match though. Greenwoods brought an easy eight with them and, well, H35's don't have that sort of armour penetration even on a good day."
Ranma tried to recall what she knew about the Hotchkiss H35. It was, historically, a rather slow interwar French tank that mounted the 37mm Puteaux SA 18, a World War 1. It didn't really have the firepower to take something like a Sherman.
"No it really doesn't," she agreed. It was a bit like having Gosunkugi square off against Akane.
"Try this," Rin said, tossing something over the top of the door.
Ranma pulled down the white sundress and held it up to the mirror. Shopping with a friend was a different experience from her usual shopping trips. Those were alone or with Akane and her mother. Though, her mother didn't want to go shopping with her as a girl anymore, and doing so had made her unbelievably nervous before anyway. Shopping with Akane had always become rather passive-aggressive the longer it went. It wasn't her fault she just looked better in everything than her fiance did. Shopping for her girl form with anyone else was just weird or ended like the last shopping trip before heading to her Grandma's home, stuffed into the frilliest least attractive pink dress or other ridiculous outfits. While Rin's picks weren't always her taste she also wasn't trying to mess with Ranma or be passive-aggressive.
"Not bad," she said. Maybe worth a try on. She added it to the try-on pile.
It was definitely better with a friend. Hopefully, things would stay like this rather than becoming something silly and complex like every other friendship she'd ever had. She grimaced at herself over another crop top -- why was Rin tossing so many at her? -- as she considered that. The last thing she wanted was Rin to fall for her guy side as well.
Maybe she should check?
"So Rin, is there a guy you like?" she asked. The sputtering that followed brought a grin to her face.
"What brought this on?" Rin asked, her voice a few octaves higher.
"Curiosity," she replied before tossing the crop top into the "maybe" pile. She'd try it on for Rin since she kept trying to put her in one. She reached for another item and blinked as she realised that was the last of them. Time to try on the maybes then. "Sounds like there is though~" She added with the teasing lilt that always drove Akane's blood pressure through the roof.
"Not on your life. Where would I even meet a boy anyway? We go to an all-girls school," Rin said, scoffing.
Was she not interested in guys? Well, it was possible she supposed. She'd oddly never run into it while at Nerima. At least, she didn't think she had?
"So we're not out shopping at the mall right now?" Ranma asked teasingly.
"Well… I suppose so. There's never really been anyone here who's caught my eye though. And other than here it's just the school or my father's workplace," Rin said, sighing just loud enough to be heard through the door. "And how about you? Have you got anyone you're interested in? Surely there's some cute boy you've got your eye on? Maybe someone back in Nerima?" There was a note of curiosity in her tone, alongside a healthy dose of delight at inflicting the same question on Ranma.
Ranma winced as she settled the sundress properly over her shoulders. She probably should have seen that question coming. "You wouldn't say that if you knew what the boys in Nerima were like," she replied, rolling her eyes.
"So what were the boys like? Can't be worse than the kids on the ship," Rin said.
Ranma swirled the skirting and turned to catch her profile. Not bad. It looked good on her. Most everything did, but it wasn't too bad. Maybe something to keep on hand just in case. She hummed and opened the door. "What do you think?" She asked Rin, spinning in place to show it off.
Rin oohed and grabbed her by the shoulders. "That looks good, very cute," She said before stopping Ranma when she was facing the stall. "Hmm…"
"Something wrong?" Ranma asked.
Her friend hummed. "Nope. It really does look good on you. Just a little jealous. You've got a better bum than I do," she pushed Ranma into the stall as Ranma's cheeks flushed. "I'm sure whatever boy you've got waiting back in Nerima will be happy," she teased.
"Ugh," Ranma groaned, the blush fading quickly, "You really wouldn't be saying that if you only knew." She locked the stall behind her and turned to look at herself in the mirror. She turned to see her bum in the mirror. It wasn't too big in this dress, right?
"Unless you tell me why it just sounds like you're telling tales," Rin replied with a teasing lilt of her own.
Rolling her eyes, Ranma sighed. "Fine. Most of the boys at Furinkan were obsessed enough with a girl I know that when upperclassman Kuno, who was the son of the Principal, declared that anyone wanting to date her had to beat her in a fight basically no one hesitated to try and dogpile her every morning," she said.
Rin didn't say anything for long enough that Ranma managed to get dressed again. She plucked at the hem of the long-sleeved, low-back v-neck top and low-rise jean shorts. The top was striped in alternating bands of pink, blue and yellow. She hummed. She liked the top, but the jeans… Jean shorts were really not her thing.
"You said 'basically no one' so there had to be a few who didn't," Rin said as Ranma opened the door.
"Yeah. The science club and anyone who didn't know how to throw a punch," She said, leaning against the door frame. "Not really feeling the jeans.
Rin tilted her head. "Hmmm, you say that but they really show off your legs, and again, that bum of yours. Seriously, you had to have guys asking you out all the time back in Nerima," she said.
"A lot asked," Ranma replied, looking in the mirror. Yeah, they did, but she still wasn't feeling it. She preferred pants over shorts, or at least not jean shorts.
"So your entire school was just worthless then? Also, what sort of lunatic sicks an entire school on a single girl? Why didn't anyone stop it?" Rin asked, frowning hard in consternation.
"It stopped when she wound up with an arranged marriage," Ranma said, ignoring the grimace that spread across Rin's face, "The guy was able to beat up Kuno and the group. With both her and him beating the hell out of them they eventually just gave up. But yeah, the teachers were useless and even after it all stopped, Kuno still had girls simpering over him because of how 'handsome' and 'attractive' he was." She rolled her eyes.
"Was he?" Rin asked curiously.
"Much as it pains me to admit, yes," Ranma grumbled, placing both hands on her hips as she posed in front of the mirror, then shook her head. Nope, it didn't matter how she looked at it she just didn't like jean shorts. "He's one of those 'looks great but is actually loony' type. He went around dressed in a Hakama all the time with a bokken he used for beating people up when they disagreed with him."
"No wonder the school got shut down," Rin muttered.
"It didn't have anything to do with Tatewaki Kuno. That was his old man and I'm not talking about
that," Ranma said, grimacing before closing the door again. She shucked the outfit and dropped the shirt in the yes pile before picking out the crop top Rin had selected.
"Ah… So… Any other guys in the area then? It's not all just one school," Rin said.
"Well... No, but…"
"Oh come on, there has to be someone with positive traits! You don't get an entire town composed of nothing but jerks."
She had a little bit of a point there… If Ranma kept this up she'd start sounding like she just hated people in general so, maybe, she could try and find a few positives? Like say… Mousse? Tall, foreign, fairly handsome if he removed his glasses. Actually, why hadn't he gotten newer glasses? It wasn't like the Nekhanten wasn't making money.
Of course, he was also an Amazon with all the complications that implied so…
Or maybe… there had to be someone? Taro? No, he was just a jerk, and abusive, and probably a murderer actually. He certainly didn't care enough not to. And he wasn't really in Nerima all the time either.
Ranma pulled on the top absently as she sorted the boys she knew in Nerima, trying to think of someone with enough positives to be, objectively, a good catch to a girl. Rather depressingly she was ruling out basically everyone she knew. Hiroshi and Daisuke were both pervs, and she was fairly sure they were buying the pictures Nabiki sold of her. Tofu was too old, seriously why did Akane have a crush on him? Sure he was nice, but he was also like twice their age and that was before Ranma and Kasumi turned back the clock. Hmm, it was probably a good thing he'd left before Kasumi had done that. Who knows how it would have affected him?
She stepped into a knee-length skirt absently and stared at herself in the mirror not really seeing herself. She tapped her chin. Ryouga maybe? There was the pig thing, but she couldn't mention that and, well, he was probably the nicest of her rivals. Handsome, kinda cute when befuddled, a very capable martial artist -- nearly as good as her really -- honestly kind to anyone that wasn't her -- kami but he could hold a grudge -- and very eager to help when someone asked for it. Didn't always know his strength, but he hadn't hurt anyone that way yet. It had certainly helped when he'd had to save her bacon a few times over the last year… His family was fairly well off, even if they didn't often make use of their Tokyo house. He wasn't always in Nerima though… Or even Japan if some of his postcards meant anything.
"There's, maybe one guy?" she said, finally coming back to the room mentally. She pulled at the yellow and blue striped skirt and stared at the black crop top. It was tighter than she normally wore, but unlike her fears, it didn't seem like she was about to suddenly pop out and give everyone an unintended show. Which was, she'd been repeatedly reminded during etiquette training, a very bad thing. Despite how useful it could be when dealing with perverts, or dragon princes.
"Just one?" Rin asked, an unfamiliar tone in her voice.
"Yeah. He's a bit of a wandering martial artist. Comes and goes kinda guy," Ranma said.
"Not really 'Nerima' then, is he?" Rin said like Ranma expected her to.
"He spends most of his time in town, but he's got a sense of direction like a drunk tanuki," Ranma deadpanned as she opened the door, "He's… Kinda cute when he smiles. Everyone seems to think he's handsome and, well, to everyone else he's kind." God her cheeks were going red from saying that, but she had to if she wanted Rin to keep thinking she was a girl. At least she'd managed to find someone that sorta qualified, if you didn't know everything.
Rin raised an eyebrow, though she had a strange smile as Ranma saw her. "To everyone else?"
"We're rivals. We spent a lot of time just fighting it out trying to prove who's better," Ranma said before shrugging. "So, how do I look?" She twirled on the spot.
"Stop that, you're flashing the store doing that," Rin said. Ranma stopped with a roll of her eyes and a grin.
"Nice to see where your eyes were," she teased, getting the reward of Rin sighing and rolling her eyes. Rin spun her around and pushed her back into the stall as she laughed.
"They both look great, and you just like teasing people, don't you?" Rin asked with another sigh.
Ranma just grinned as the door shut. It evaporated a moment later when Rin said, "So he's cute and kind, huh? I can see where your eyes are."
Ranma felt her cheeks go red again. Damnit, she didn't mean it like that. "It's not like that," she protested, her voice climbing an octave. She cursed quietly. That was not going to help her case.
"Oh really?" The knowing tone from Rin made her cheeks burn all the hotter.
In a desperate bid to switch topics, Ranma grabbed the next outfit, another sundress (this time in what the label called Celeste) and started changing. "So, you did Sensha-do for three years?" she asked.
Rin hummed. It was a knowing kind of hum. The sort a person who knew they'd won gave before she said, "Four actually." She sounded so smug.
Ranma leaned her forehead against the glass and sighed.
Point, Rin.
"So why did you start Sensha-do?" Ranma asked as she pulled the dress on. As she was pulling her pigtail out from under the collar she felt the hair tie snap. She caught it and sighed as her hair came unbound. And there it was, compounding her feelings of embarrassment. Slipping it into her jacket she combed her hair a little with her hand before looking in the mirror. She blinked at the beautiful girl who blinked back. The dress went really well with her hair, and just looked good on her period, plus her long hair…
She twirled a lock of hair around a finger.
"It was something to do at first, plus my mother insisted it was a good way to build confidence. Something about the thunder of guns and the feel of riding around in an armoured box is supposed to be good for you. Can't say she was wrong. I used to be a nervous wallflower," Rin said
"Really?" Ranma asked, having a hard time picturing it.
"Yeah. Apparently blowing up tanks is good for confidence building," Rin snarked.
Ranma unlocked the door. "They say the same thing about Martial Arts," she said, crossing her arms under her chest. "So?"
Rin stared at her.
Ranma shifted. "So?" she prompted again.
"Why don't you have your hair down more often, you look amazing like this," Rin said, stepping forward and pushing Ranma back toward the mirror. Quite against her will, the redhead found herself spun to face the mirror. "Seriously, your hair has this much body to it. What do you use?"
"Erm… shampoo and conditioner?" Ranma said hesitantly. Kasumi was the one who bought the last few bottles she was using and it was a fairly generic brand. The exasperated look from Rin said that was insufficient. "I'm serious. Kasumi bought the bottles I'm using and they're pretty average."
Rin rolled her eyes. "Okay, next stop? We're getting you proper hair care followed by makeup," she said.
"I have makeup. More than I use, actually," Ranma said, gesturing to the purple eyeshadow she usually wore as a girl. She'd gotten very good at applying that without people noticing it. At this point, she was fairly sure most of Nerima had been convinced it was just part of her curse. It wasn't, just a habit she'd picked up in China when running from Shampoo. Using different colours of eyeshadow had oddly been rather effective at getting the Amazon off her tail. At least until she'd caught on.
"Hmmm," Rin hummed before conceding, "Seriously though, this is your natural hair?"
"As close as it gets?" Ranma replied with a helpless shrug. If you considered magic natural, then sure.
"Hrm… Try on the rest, then we're getting you proper hair care products. Oh, and the dress looks really good. It brings out your eyes, keep it," Rin said before stepping out of the changing room. Ranma blinked at her as the girl closed the door. Ranma reflexively locked it.
She turned back to her hair in the mirror and fluffed it. Having it loose would make it a pain during a fight, or if she decided to be in a tank… But… she clasped her hands behind her back and swayed side to side, watching her hair. Hmm…
Maybe she could wear it loose on occasion. It did look quite nice.
-0-0-0-0-0-
With her hair once again tied up in her familiar pigtail after a not-so-quick stop, Ranma stepped through the automatic doors of '
All Quiet' with an odd combination of trepidation and curiosity. Rin went straight for a rack of magazines as Ranma wandered between the aisles just looking down them. She wasn't entirely sure why she'd let Rin talk her into stopping here…
Okay, that was a lie. She knew exactly why. Her own curiosity for Sensha-do kept bubbling beneath the surface.
The store was… well, saying it was tank-focused was a bit like saying the sun is warm. There was a wall of spare tank parts running the length of the store. They seemed to be more intended as decorations or collector's pieces. They were mostly from British tanks, keeping in line with St. Gloriana's fixation. There was an aisle with nothing but model tanks, another two seemed to be a library's worth of reference books and novels, an arcade with tank-themed games stuffed into the back corner, and bins of plushies. All alongside the usual collection of posters, magazines, stickers, magnets and even a clothing section with replica uniforms from various periods in tank history.
It was just a little obsessive in Ranma's opinion. Though she had to admit the Valentine Mark VI-shaped teapot was kinda cute. As were the Matilda pattern teacups. She drifted by a giant Cromwell-shaped bean bag chair and paused. She hummed thoughtfully at it. She did have an empty spot in her room. A quick test proved it rather comfy as well.
She frowned at it thoughtfully before taking a cardboard tag for it from the rack next to it. It would give her something other than her bed to lounge on while reading. Though, maybe it would be better in the sitting room…?
Thinking it over she wandered into the book aisle. She absently ran a finger along the stacks of books, reading their titles as she went. '
Two Tigers on the Eastern Front', 'Fourteen Second to Midnight and All I Have is a Patton', 'Drinks to Wage Battle Over', 'The Way of the Hayashida, Revised Edition circa. 2005, vol. 1 of 6', 'Brisbane or the Black Prince', 'The Last Tank on Saipan', and-
Ranma stopped and slid her finger back several books. "The Way of the Hayashida?" She murmured, pulling the heavy book off the shelf. It listed her Grandmother as one of the primary contributors. She flipped open the cover and paused at the Mon of the Hayashida. Written beneath it in graceful swirling English, which Ranma would admit was almost painful to decipher, were the words
'With Grace and Elegance We Step Forward to Battle'. She pursed her lips thoughtfully as she stared at it.
She closed the book with a snap and tucked it under one arm before scanning the shelves. It said
'vol. 1 of 6' so she assumed there were more. In the disorganized mess of an aisle, however, she was still searching for the last book, vol. 3, when Rin came looking for her.
"Hey, find something interesting…. Why is there a stack of books on your head?" Rin asked.
Ranma turned to Rin the five books stacked on her head barely wiggling, then back to the shelves. "I needed my hands free," she said as she continued searching.
"For…?" Rin asked, eyeing the stack.
"The last book," Ranma replied, stepping around her friend to reach the next part of the shelf. "It has to be here somewhere, but this place is more disorganized than Pop's backpack."
"... Shouldn't you already have that book?" Rin asked, looking at the title.
Ranma glanced up at the books and shrugged. "There's probably a set in the house, but it isn't mine and I'm… kinda trying to keep this quiet at the moment," she said.
"Ah… Hmmm, where have you checked?" Rin asked. Once the areas were pointed out the both got to work and it wasn't much longer before Rin held up a book just as thick as the other five. "Found it."
Ranma took it with a grin. "Thanks," she said, bouncing the small stack of books off her head and into her hands. "That should be everything." She glanced down at the stack of books. It was going to be interesting to see what her family's actual philosophy was. At least, what the version her Grandmother espoused was.
Rin checked her phone. "It's a little after twelve… Lunch?" she suggested.
"After we pay, sure. Got a place in mind, or are we just going to wander?" she asked.
Rin grinned, "I've got a few in mind. Have you ever had Mexican food before?"
"No?" At least, she didn't think so.
"Then this will be fun."
Ranma gave her friend a sideways look. That sounded oddly ominous.
-0-0-0-0-0-
"Okay, how?" Rin deadpanned as she stared flatly at Ranma.
Ranma took another bite of the spicy burrito with a slight smirk. She swallowed. "You haven't been to India before, have you?" she asked. Korea, Thailand and China had also had hotter than the burrito she was eating. She took another bite. It was rather tasty.
"I've eaten Indian food. You'll find Indian restaurants all over the ship. Apparently, it's popular in England and you've seen how English people here tend to act," Rin said.
Ranma glanced at the two cups of nearly untouched black tea they had been served with the meal. "You mean to the point of parody? I doubt even the English eat Mexican with tea," she said.
"Oh, I doubt that as well, but this place has always insisted on it. Even when no one ever drinks it." Rin said, rolling her eyes, "But I've had Indian before but it's never been particularly hot."
"Order something spicy next time," Ranma said, finishing the last of her meal. She politely wiped her lips with the napkins provided and checked her nails. "So any ideas where we need to go next?"
Rin sipped the soda she had ordered and frowned. "Well there's always more boutiques, but I think we've pretty full up on what we can carry… At least I am. You just balance it on your head somehow," She said, casting her an exasperated look. "People from Nerima are strange."
"Says the girl that lives on a floating city the size of Nerima," Ranma replied sarcastically.
"Which is normal for girls our age," Rin said.
Girls their age. Right. Ranma sipped at the last of her soda. "I could carry some of yours if you want. It's not really a problem," she said. The loud scream of a dozen horns being hammered all at once cut off their conversation. It was immediately followed by the sound of a much louder pair of horns.
"Those are fog horns," Ranma said, looking out the window reflexively. There wasn't much point. Their only view was the walkway outside and the dozens of people peering over the railings at the cars below.
"I didn't hear a crash. I wonder what's happening," Rin said, getting out of her seat. She scooped up bags. "Let's find out."
Ranma shrugged and grabbed her bags, following the other girl out to the walkway. A mass of people were leaning over the railing staring down at the roadway. Ranma gently pushed her way in between two couples, making room for Rin as she did so.
The source of the commotion was obvious rather quickly. The intersection up ahead was blocked by a pair of light tanks. Ranma raised an eyebrow at the commanders of a Vickers six-ton -- which if she recalled was known as the T-26 when the USSR had fielded it -- and a Matilda Mark I as the two young girls seemed to be shouting at each other from atop their vehicles. They had attempted to turn into the same lane at the same time and were now blocking all traffic. Each vehicle had different variations on St. Gloriana's insignia on the sides. The T-26 had a red teapot while the Matilda had replaced the sakura blossoms with several sprigs of bamboo coming from the teapot.
"Oh kami," Rin groaned.
"Recognize them?" Ranma asked as she eyed the two younger girls. The one on the Mallida Mark I had her brown hair in a, slightly messy, bun and was dressed in a blue version of St. Gloriana's British Grenadier-inspired Sensha-do uniform. The other girl had straight blonde hair down to her shoulders and was dressed in shorts and a grey tank top with a brown bomber jacket thrown over her shoulder.
"The T-26 is Starboard 16 Public Middle School," Rin said, "One of the other schools onboard ship. The other is Gloriosa's Middle School. They're both technically branches of St. Gloriana's. Same administration at the top just like all other schools on board, but Starboard 16 gets public funding whereas Gloriosa is a private school. They both contribute to the middle-school Sensha-do junior circuit aboard ship."
"Onboard the ship? How does that work? There's not exactly a lot of room here," Ranma asked.
"There's a few places set aside for Sensha-do. Both internally and on the upper deck," Rin said with a shrug.
The Gloriosa girl made a rude gesture and the 16th girl replied with one of her own. Ranma restrained herself from rolling her eyes as the honking horns around them grew. Who thought that giving big steel boxes with treads to a bunch of tweens was a good idea?
"In case you can't tell," Rin continued, "Neither group likes the other. They're close enough together that they compete for the same training facilities. Gloriosa gets them most of the time because they have more money."
"Aren't the training facilities public?" Ranma asked.
Rin shook her head. "It's complicated. The grounds are technically publicly owned, but they're leased to private organisations who run and maintain them," she said, "At least, that's how it's done on the Ark Royal. Schools have to pay for time and the more money a school has…"
"The further out it can reserve time," Ranma said.
"Precisely. Which is why those two groups hate each other," Rin said, gesturing at the two girls who had devolved to hair-pulling, wrestling across the gap between their tanks as the crews watched and cheered their commanders.
"This… is embarrassing," Ranma deadpanned.
"It really is," Rin sighed.
"Keep an eye on these," Ranma said, pushing her bags into Rin's hands. The other girl staggered under the weight.
"Wait- what are you doing?" Rin demanded as Ranma flashed her a smile.
"Putting an end to this before someone actually gets hurt," she replied, throwing herself over the side of the walkway.
"RANMA!" She laughed as Rin's shout was echoed by a couple hundred gasping in horror. That never got old.
She landed lightly on the roof of a sedan and flowed smoothly into a leap that carried her forward over the remaining distance to land beside the arguing girls. Before they, or their crews, could protest, Ranma snatched them both up by the backs of their necks and held them up.
"That's enough," she scolded the two younger girls with as cross of an expression as she could manage. "You're making a scene."
"Ack."
"Getoff!"
The two squirmed in her grip. She rolled her eyes and brought their heads together with a clunk. Both crews winced. "I said, 'That's enough'. Neither of you are very good at listening to your seniors, are you?" she asked rhetorically as the two girls clutched their heads. She placed her hands on her hips and loomed over them letting her ki leak into the air. Both stared at her wide-eyed and trembling. Channelling Michiru during their rushed etiquette lessons she said," "You've blocked traffic," she punctuated it by poking both in the forehead, "started a brawl in public," she poked them in the same spot, "and shown a deplorable lack of either grace or elegance." Had she seriously just said that? "What do you have to say for yourselves?" She crossed her arms and stared at them trying to project as much of a sense of disappointment as possible.
"They hit us!" The Starboard 16th girl blurted out only to freeze as Ranma's gaze shifted to her.
"Only because they turned left when they shouldn't have!" the Gloriosa girl snapped, only to be in turn subjected to Ranma's displeasure.
"Whatever the case," Ranma said, tapping both in the forehead again. They clutched their foreheads as they flinched. "Both your vehicles are still mobile and, as I can clearly see, undamaged. Was anyone hurt by the collision?" She asked, shooting a glance at the two crews. The three girls looking out of the hatches seemed fine. No injuries from how they moved.
"N-no…" The T-26 commander mumbled. Her counterpart simply shook her head.
"Then get moving. You," she pointed at the Gloriosa girl, "Back your Matilda up and let the T-26 through. You will go to your destinations and you will not try to restart this argument. Am I clear?"
"Yes, Ma'am," both girls said, snapping to attention.
Hiding her surprise, Ranma smiled. "Good, now get moving before someone calls the police," she said. With alacrity, the two girls scrambled for the hatches of their tanks. As they did that Ranma spotted the nearest walkway and jumped. People shrieked as she grabbed the railing and used it to flip herself over them. She landed lightly and stepped back to the railing. People hurriedly stepped aside to make room for her as she peered down at the two tank crews. The Matilda backed up, nearly hitting a Honda sedan, and the T-26 accelerated into the gap without delay. Moments later they were both gone around the corner.
"There we go," Ranma said as traffic started moving again. As cars went by the walkway she was on they honked their horns and to her surprise hands popped out of passenger windows to wave at her. She waved back and turned away to find most of the walkways in her view were lined with people staring at her.
It started somewhere behind and above her, a single person clapping and soon a round of applause and a few wolf whistles went around the walkways. Cameras flashed. Ranma felt her cheeks grow warm as her eyes darted about. This wasn't how it normally went.
Then Rin popped out of the crowd. "There you are," her friend said, forcing her way through the crowd with too many bags hanging off her arms.
"Ah, oops?" Ranma said, hurrying over and taking back her bags. A few more wolf whistles went about as the applause slowed and stopped. People started going back to other things, though the cameras continued flashing.
"Did you have to jump off the walkway?" Rin asked, "You just about made my heart stop for a second."
"It's not that far a drop," Ranma said. Rin stared at her. "What?"
The black-haired girl shook her head. "Nothing, nevermind. I guess Nerima really is as crazy as they say. After that, let's just go do something less exciting and then go home. I know an antique store on the way back to the lifts. It always has something interesting."
"That sounds good," Ranma said, letting the other girl take the lead through the crowd of people who kept giving her wide-eyed looks. It was like they'd never seen a capable martial artist before.
The walk to the antique shop grew less awkward as they went. As the shoppers who had missed the incident mingled with the crowds she found fewer and fewer eyes on her until they reached a small, slightly hidden, antique shop that was stuffed between a sushi restaurant and a fish and chips takeaway shop.
The shop was fairly quiet as they entered, the bell sounding positively loud as the door closed, cutting off the roar of the crowd. The store itself was a mix of cluttered furniture and neatly organised shelves filled with items from books to statuettes and many other items.
"There, out of the crowds," Rin sighed, "There were a lot of people staring at you."
"I noticed. A lot more than I'm used to," Ranma said, rubbing her arms. Even in Nerima, she didn't get that many stares.
"Take some time to look around. The longer we're here the less likely you'll be recognized," her friend said, disappearing into the shelves.
Ranma followed her advice and started a circuit of the shop. She spotted Rin speaking with an older gentleman as Ranma started down an aisle full of statuettes. Her eyes nearly glazed over. This wasn't the sort of place she tended to frequent, especially after the reputation places like it had developed in Nerima. Antique stores always seemed to double as unknowing magic shops staffed by people underqualified in magic. At least in Nerima. And that wasn't including the pawnshops whose proprietors were often more educated in magic yet somehow less caring about where their stuff wound up. Certainly not when Kuno waved enough money on their noses.
No, antique shops were not high on Ranma's list of favourite stores.
She eyed an Egyptian-looking statuette of a cat with a raised paw as she passed it on the other side of the aisle. She would swear that its eyes were following her.
She paused and took two steps back then forward again.
Yep. They were following her.
She quickly moved onto the next aisle. Whatever was the magic deal with that statuette it could be someone else's problem.
The next aisle was full of books, mostly old European texts, and scrolls. She had to admit the Ark Royal really did try to play to St. Gloriana's obsession with Britain. She had to wonder if the other school ships did similar things, but that seemed rather silly. It was probably just the Ark Royal being as weird in its own way as Nerima was.
She plucked a book with a flaking gold leaf depiction of a sword on the leather front cover from the shelf and carefully opened it. Despite the condition of the cover, the pages within were in rather good shape… And apparently about some sort of martial art. She flicked through the pages gently.
It seemed to be focused on swordplay. Hrm… It was written in what looked like an archaic form of English. Reading it would be a pain in the ass, but it had techniques she hadn't seen before…
Her eyes flicked up from the page to the shelf and she paused. Right where the book had been was the Egyptian statuette. Its eyes were fixed on her. She quashed the surge of fear and took a step back.
"No," she said firmly, closing the book firmly. With nowhere to place it, she stuck it under one arm and started walking down the aisle. She paused at a stack of scrolls marked 'from Tibet' and plucked one off the top after checking for the statuette. With luck, the stupid thing was just curious and not about to stalk her right out of the shop.
Yeah, she wasn't that lucky.
The first was a bust, being little more than rambling about crop failures in the 3rd century. The second was something about fortune-telling via thistles. The third… Well, Happousai would have liked the third.
The fourth was interesting. She was sure it had been written off as superstitious nonsense whenever it had been last read, but she recognized the terms within. She carefully rolled the scroll back up and slid it into its protective casing. She had uses for a technique to turn the ability to feel ki into something refined enough to act as a substitute for vision.
She turned to head for the front counter and let out a shriek of fear as she jumped back. Hanging from one of the low-hanging chandeliers by its sculpted tail was the cat statuette, the tips of its ears hanging just in Ranma's vision inches away from her head.
The sound of running feet came from the next aisle over. "Ranma?" Rin called.
A man's voice called, "Is everything alright?" The feet turned at the back of the hallway and Ranma glanced back to find Rin stumbling around the corner. She looked back at the statuette- which was gone. She spun in place looking frantically as her heart rate slowed down.
"Ranma?" Rin asked again as she reached her.
"Stupid statuette," was all Ranma said as she got her breathing under control.
The proprietor groaned. "Of course. You met Sandy," he said. Ranma gave him an incredulous look.
"Sandy? You named that thing?" she asked.
"Named what?" Rin asked, sounding confused.
"The statuette," Ranma said at the same time the old man said, "It's complicated."
"What statuette?" Rin asked, looking from one to the other.
"There is an old Egyptian statuette I acquired some time ago," the proprietor said, "It's a simple sandstone cat sculpture. Likely dedicated to Bast, though I have my doubts about that…" He shook his head with a frown, "Most of the time it stays still, but at times it will stalk my clients around the store. It's harmless."
"It was hanging from the chandelier!" Ranma said, waving at the empty spot where it had been hanging.
"Yes, it does that," he sighed, "If it bothers you that much, perhaps we should deal with any purchases you wish to make so you may leave sooner, rather than later?"
"You can't be serious," Rin deadpanned, "Statuettes don't hang themselves from chandeliers."
"I'm from Nerima," Ranma replied flatly.
"This isn't normal here!" Rin protested, only to notice that Ranma wasn't looking at her anymore, but at some point over her shoulder.
Ranma stared at the Statuette that had appeared between eye blinks on the shelf. It looked like it was laughing. Rin turned and blinked.
"Has that always been there?" she asked.
"No, it most certainly hasn't," the proprietor said, picking up the cat statuette and tucking it under his arm. He turned and started walking toward the back. "Back to the back room for you. What have I told you about scaring my customers?" he scolded the statuette.
"Um…" Rin turned to Ranma who simply patted her on the shoulder.
"Let's go wait at the front counter. There are a couple of things I want to get," she said, turning and walking to the front counter.
They both stopped on seeing the cat waiting by the register. A moment later a cry of anger erupted from the back rooms. "I SAID STAY PUT!" The proprietor emerged from a back door and stormed back toward the front counter.
"My apologies," he said as he picked up the cat and set it behind the counter, "Why don't we ring up your purchases…? Ten percent off for the troubles."
Ranma placed her book and scroll on the counter carefully. Right. She was hitting her limit for weird shit today. "That's fine," she said as Rin did the same. The other girl looked even more disturbed than Ranma felt.
In the window behind the proprietor Ranma caught a glimpse of yellow. She looked up from the counter and for an instant caught sight of what might have been a yellow with black spots bandana before its wearer disappeared into the crowd.
Had that been Ryouga? She shook her head. It wasn't very likely that Ryouga was wandering around the ship. He'd have to take a boat to get on board first.
Nothing strange happened as the proprietor bagged their purchases and they left with all due speed. Once they were safe on the walkway outside she turned to Rin. "And that is why I don't like antique shops," she said to the wide-eyed girl.
"Please tell me this isn't what a normal day looks like to you?" Rin asked.
"Thankfully, no," Ranma said, taking her by the arm and guiding her back toward the lifts. She had had more than enough shopping to last her for quite a while. "Let's go home, alright? Do some studying or read a book or something." Something less exciting than being stalked by a statuette of her worst fear.
"We do have class on Monday," Rin agreed, slowly calming down.
The ride back up the lift occurred in peace, as did the trip back home. Ranma waved goodbye to Rin as she practically dashed to her front door from the sideway. "See you in class!" she shouted.
"See you on Monday!" Rin called back, waving before disappearing inside.
Ranma sighed. "What a way to end a shopping trip," she sighed, walking up to Matilda House. She let herself in with a cry of, "I'm home!" Tsuya appeared momentarily along with one of the maids. Ranma vaguely recognized her from when she'd arrived.
"There you are," Tsuya said, "I was starting to wonder when you were coming home. Did everything go well?"
"It was fine," Ranma said, "Ignoring the tanks blocking traffic and the stupid cat statuette." She huffed as the maids relieved her of the bags. "Drop them in my room. Oh, and we should be getting a delivery from a store called 'All Quiet' at some point."
"And what could you possibly have ordered from there that is so large you couldn't carry it home yourself?" Tsuya asked.
"I could have carried it, but a bean bag chair is a bit awkward even for me, especially with crowds," Ranma said.
Her minder hummed and followed Ranma up the steps. "And what is this about tanks and statuettes?" she asked.
Ranma explained the day she'd had as they walked up to her apartment and the maids started unpacking her bags for her. She let them. "And so we decided it was enough shopping for the day and headed home," Ranma said with a shrug from lying on her bed. "... Where's Kasumi?"
"Studying in her room," Tsuya said, shaking her head, "Something, I think, you should get to as well."
"I know, I know," Ranma groaned, "Give me ten minutes and I'll get to work."
"Ten minutes, no more," Tsuya cautioned, "Also, should I be concerned about how little care you seem to have about a haunted Egyptian cat statue?"
She waved her off. "I've seen weirder," she said.
"That's what has me concerned," Tsuya said before dropping the matter and departing after making sure Ranma's new clothes were off to the wash.
Ranma yawned and reluctantly sat up. It was time to study.
The rest of the day passed quietly with her nose in several books. At long last, however, she put them away sometime after dinner and sat down before her vanity mirror. Brush raised to brush out her damp hair she paused. In the mirror, sitting on a bookshelf behind her, was the cat statuette.
Whipping about, she tossed the brush before she could properly see the target… which wasn't there when she saw the brush smack into a book hard enough to bounce it off the shelf. She stared wildly about.
Nothing. "I'm seeing things," she muttered, turning back to her vanity to grab another brush.
The scream she let out on seeing the statuette sitting in the middle of her vanity table was nearly high enough to shatter glass.
-0-0-0-0-0-
"I still can't believe you screamed, Ranma," Kasumi said at breakfast the next morning. Her yawn failed to conceal a grin as she nibbled on a muffin.
Ranma glared at her over the top of her meal before darting to the window sill where the silly statuette was sunning itself in the early morning light. "You would have too," she grumbled.
"It's adorable," Kasumi said with a mischievous smile.
"You say that now, but what happens when it jumps you in the middle of the night?" Ranma asked, pointing her fork at Kasumi.
Kasumi hummed and shrugged. "It hasn't," she said. She shivered slightly in the breeze that rolled through one of the open windows. The Ark Royal always had a breeze on the top deck.
"It's been one night. Do you really think that it's not going to take the opportunity to?" Ranma asked.
"It seemed to be fascinated by you, not me," Kasumi replied, glancing at the window sill herself. "And I think it's cute."
"It's haunted, not cute."
"That's just your fear talking."
Ranma stared at Kasumi as she pulled out her phone and snapped a picture of the cat statuette basking in the sunlight. "Did you even pay any attention to what happened in Nerima?" She asked.
Her friend smiled. "Of course I did. Which is why I'm sure this is harmless. What are the odds it decides to kidnap you for marriage?" she asked. Ranma groaned.
"At least seventy percent? Weren't you paying attention in Nerima?" Ranma asked.
She shrugged. "Oh I was, but other than Togenkyo there was never really a risk for me and even then," She shrugged.
Ranma groaned as she giggled.
"Relax Ranma, don't get too wound up," Kasumi said, reaching over to pat her on the arm.
"We're being haunted by a cat statue. Excuse me for being just a
little bit tense," Ranma said, running a hand over her face with a groan. Why did it have to follow her home? She didn't dare break it, as much as it scared the pants off her she didn't want whatever was inside it to get out. The last thing she wanted was to fight a
cat demon or whatever was in there.
It was probably a cat demon. That was just how her luck went.
Breakfast was finished with one eye fixated on the statuette to keep it from disappearing. Ranma eventually had to give up keeping an eye on it once the food was done. She had studying to do. Sure there wasn't any homework, but reading ahead was the only way she was going to stay in her current class. She really didn't want to start bouncing between classes because she'd been slacking.
That took up the rest of her morning. After lunch, she spent most of the next several hours running through martial arts forms. It was good to get some practice in.
It was after dinner when, while trying to ignore the presence of the cat statuette on her desk, Ranma cracked open the first volume of
'Way of the Hayashida' and settled in to read the book on her new beanbag chair.
-0-0-0-0-0-
Excerpt from Way of the Hayashida, Vol. 1, Preface
:
[..]I have often been asked why the Hayashida school's motto emphasizes grace and elegance. At first blush, I can understand how one might wonder how battle meshes with grace and elegance. Battle is harsh, brutal, and oftentimes bloody. It is not a place for ball gowns or kimonos, the traditional items of grace and elegance. Yet, there is something that is just as often forgotten about how one survives battle. How one emerges victorious when the dust settles and the casualties are counted. Those who lead others must appear to be above the chaos. They must embody the idea that there is a plan in every action; that no matter the unexpected occurrence it has already been anticipated. A leader must have clarity of mind, composure of self, and confidence of command, or as St. Gloriana's so adroitly phrases it, Grace and Elegance.
"With Grace and Elegance, We Step Forward into Battle"
These are the words of the school for which we prize more than anything else: forethought, composure, and self-confidence. Just because you might find yourself surrounded on four sides by an enemy unit you failed to anticipate doesn't mean that showing your panic will help your people. So long as they believe that you have a plan they will do their jobs. Whether driving, loading, or firing, so long as the commander keeps their head a unit will continue to function. So long as they continue to perform their roles no situation is untenable. Victory might still be stolen from certain defeat.
I have done it, and so can you.
Throughout these books, I will discuss methods for keeping your calm, actions to take when the unexpected occurs, how to anticipate the unexpected, and most important of all: how to adapt to changing circumstances. With Grace and Elegance does not mean keeping with the original plan no matter the cost. It means evaluating every option and selecting, with speed and confidence, the best one for the current situation. [...]
Excerpt from Way of the Hayashida, Vol. 1, Chapter One: History
:
[...] On the question of the origin of the Hayashida's motto, it does not originate, as some claim, from the motto of St. Gloriana's Girls College. The truth is the inverse. The motto of St. Gloriana's is in fact derived from that of the Hayashida School's motto of 'With Grace and Elegance we step forward into battle' though that motto is itself a paraphrasing of a much older text written by a currently unknown ancestor of the the Hayashida some three centuries prior.
The motto of the Hayashida can be understood as a shorthand for the doctrine of the school. Beginning with the meaning of [...]
-0-0-0-0-0-
A/N: … So apparently this has been quite anticipated by some to the point where my poor editor
@Gekkou_Yoko has been getting bombarded with questions as to
when the next chapter was going to come out. Well, here's chapter seven. I really hope it's been worth the wait. What do you think Gekkou?
Gekkou_Yoko: It's been a long time coming.
Grounders10: Well yes ^^; Maaaybe a bit too long. ^^;
Gekkou_Yoko: Now, do Taste of Peaches.
Grounders10: Already reminding myself where we were on that. Chapter writing should start soon~
Gekkou_Yoko: *sips coffee and shoves some into the Kyuubi's hands*
Grounders10: … Why do I feel like I'm going to have a few long nights coming up?
Gekkou_Yoko: *sips coffee* No clue.
Grounders10: … HELP! SOMEONE RESCUE ME!
Gekkou_Yoko: *grabs fireaxe and firelady costume*
Grounders10: *Flees… into the writing room*
