(C&C welcome. Not to mention needed)

THE PROTECTOR
By Angela Jewell

An Alternate Reality Fanfic:
Same beloved characters, but whole new twists...

Standard Disclaimer: Ranma 1/2 is the property and creation of Rumiko Takahashi—there are lots of other names that are supposed to go here as well, but sadly, they all escape me. And more importantly, none of them are mine.

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Chapter 4
School Daze
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Which was strange… he rarely ever got angry. The ability to mask and control emotions was one of the first things he'd learned at the academy. But with her he always seemed to find his control slowly slipping away. And this time was no exception…

He abruptly stopped running. Grabbing a hold of Akane's arm, he brought her to an abrupt halt. "What the hell is your problem?" he demanded, no longer able to hide his frustration.

Akane, looking irritated, snatched her arm away. "We don't have time for this," she replied. "We're already late as it is."

"Who cares if we're late! This is important."

"Oh, and my life isn't?"

Ranma frowned. "That's not what I meant and you know it."

"Oh really?" Akane took a step back as she glared at him. "All of this is just temporary for you, but this is my life and I don't like some stranger like you suddenly butting in!"

Ranma's mouth fell open as he stared at her. "Butting in?" he yelled in disbelief. "Whose fault do you think it is that I'm here anyway, moron? I'm not doing this for fun ya know."

"Then quit," she shot back angrily. "You obviously don't want to be here, and I don't need you here."

"Ha! That's a laugh," Ranma said, grinning. "I've seen you fight, remember?"

Akane's face reddened. "Why do you have to be such a jerk?" she yelled, exasperated. "I never asked you to critique my fighting style, so just shut up."

Ranma, despite himself, smiled. For some odd reason he found himself actually enjoying their little spat. At least her angry responses were better than her silent ones.

"What are you smiling about?" she demanded.

Ranma shrugged. "I don't know," he answered truthfully, the smile never wavering. "I just noticed that you're kinda cute when you're angry."

Akane's mouth fell open in surprise—surprise which quickly turned into embarrassment. He was joking, right? She eyed him suspiciously, waiting for anything that would give him away: the curling of a lip as he fought back a laugh, the twitching of an eye—but nothing happened.

Suddenly flustered, she turned away from him. "It's a shame, really," she said after a moment. "You're never cute." Without glancing back, she resumed her sprint to school.

Ranma actually found himself laughing as he followed after her. But the good feeling didn't last long: the closer they came to the school, the more uneasy Ranma found himself becoming. Akane had even begun to slow down; no doubt sensing something was wrong as well.

It didn't take him long to realize what.

There, standing before the entrance to the gate, was a very large, very angry, crowd of boys. Standing behind them on the steps to the school was Nabiki Tendo, looking satisfied and happy as she leafed through a thick pile of bills.

Akane, now that he looked at her closely, seemed unbothered by the whole thing. She had an air of indifference, if not a little annoyance, as they slowly approached the entrance.

"What's going on here?" Ranma whispered, no longer able to hide his curiosity.

"Nothing," Akane replied calmly. "This happens every morning."

"Every morning?" Ranma's gaze shifted back and forth between Akane and the group of boys. "What does?"

Akane looked at him in surprise. "You mean you didn't read about this in my file? And here I thought your agency was all knowing—all seeing—"

"Cut the crap and just tell me."

Akane ignored the comment and sighed. "You'll see soon enough." Stepping before the boys, she held her bag tightly in her fist as she took up a fighting position. "Okay," she said, "Who's first?"

The boys, however, ignored her. Dark, angry expressions clouded their faces as they stalked past, all of their eyes focused intently on one person: Ranma. Akane watched them curiously, unable to mask the surprise and confusion as she watched them slowly advance on her bodyguard.

"Nabiki tells us your Akane's fiancée," one of the braver boys spoke up. "Is that true?"

"Huh?" Ranma glanced over at Akane who was staring back, equally confused. Then, her eyes suddenly widened in understanding as her eyes fell on her older sister across the courtyard. Muttering angrily under her breath, Akane headed towards the stairs, leaving Ranma behind to deal with the angry mob.

"Nabiki," she yelled as she reached the school doors. "How could you?" she demanded.

Nabiki shrugged. "Can't blame a girl for wanting to make a little extra yen," she replied innocently.

Akane's hands balled into fists at her sides. "Tell them you were joking," she ordered.

The Middle Tendo girl looked at her as if she had gone mad. "Akane," she answered incredulously. "Do you have any idea how much that information cost them? Forcing me to shatter their delusions would only make them angry and broke." Pausing for a brief, dramatic moment Nabiki set her piercing eyes on her younger sister. "Did you ever stop to think about them?" she demanded.

Akane's mouth fell open in surprise: she didn't know what to make of such twisted logic.

"And besides," Nabiki continued with a shrug. "I did you a favor. If they think you're engaged, then they'll finally stop challenging you. Even I'm getting sick of it," she informed her with narrowed eyes. "Besides, this way everyone wins, and," she finished proudly, "it didn't cost you a thing."

Akane paused momentarily, considering her sister's words. It would be nice to get to school every morning without daily obstructions, that much was true—but she had never wanted it to come about this way. If the boys stopped fighting her, she wanted it to be because she had beaten them into submission—not because she had stooped to underhanded tricks like this.

"He has a girlfriend," she said instead, hoping to appeal to Nabiki's sensitivities. "What about poor Ranko?"

Nabiki shrugged. "I'm sure Ranko wouldn't mind helping me make a little extra money, Akane. After all, it's not like you and Ranma would actually be doing anything—it's an engagement in name only." Sighing in frustration, Akane groaned. She should have known that wouldn't work. She forgot her sister didn't have a sensitive side.

"Besides," Nabiki continued. "How else would I explain Ranma?"

"Well, think of another way," Akane ordered. "There's no way I'm letting everyone think I'm engaged to him." Before Nabiki had time to object further, she turned and walked away, ending the conversation.

Seconds later she heard Ranma's voice calling her.

"Hey, Akane," he yelled, waving her over. "I could use your help over here."

Akane glared once more at Nabiki before heading over to join him. Pushing through the thick crowd of boys, Akane finally reached him. "What is it, Ranma?" she asked.

Ranma smiled down at her as he took a step closer. "They don't believe we're actually engaged," he told her, his eyes laughing as he closely watched her reaction. "But I figured if they heard it from you, they'd havta accept it."

Akane looked at him as if he'd gone mad. "What do you mean, 'really engaged?'" she asked, speaking slowly and carefully. Silently, she prayed she'd misheard him.

Ranma laughed, grinning. "You know," he nudged her. "About how we're engaged. For real. Right?" he winked at her, and Akane felt like punching him.

"Is it true he beat you in a fair fight, Akane?" One of the guys asked, tears streaming down his face.

"Well, yeah," Akane said slowly, "but—"

"Dammit!"

"That jerk! He beat us to it!"

Any further explanation was quickly ended as all of the boys around her began talking and arguing at once.

Akane took this opportunity to move closer to Ranma. Kicking him in the shin, she whispered, "What do you think you're doing?"

"Aw, Nothin'," he said nonchalantly. "Just having a little fun with 'em."

"You think this is FUN?"

Ranma shrugged. "Well, not so much fun as it is funny," he smirked.

Akane groaned. He was actually enjoying this! The idiot. "And what about Ranko?" she demanded, glaring at him. "Did you even stop to think about her?"

"Why would I do that?"

Akane looked at him, disgusted. "Because she's your girlfriend, you insensitive jerk!"

Ranma laughed uncomfortably. "Oh yeah," he replied. "Guess I forgot."

"Forgot?" Akane turned away, visibly shaken. "What she sees in you I'll never know."

Ranma allowed a smile to slowly stretch across his face. "Heh," he told her, smirking. "At least I got a girlfriend. No guy would ever date a tomboy like you."

"And just who are you calling a tomboy?"

"Oh no. You've become stupid now too!"

"Stupid? Why you—" Without thinking, Akane sent her fist directly into Ranma's face. Smiling, she watched in satisfaction as her 'fiancée' went flying across the school grounds, only to land flat against the brick wall.

Pushing through the large horde of boys, she stalked angrily towards the doors of the school, her head held high; never once glancing back.

"There's no way he could have beaten her," she heard one of the boys say. "Not with that kind of defense."

*          *          *

At that moment, Akane watched as Ranma slowly turned towards her. He looked startled for a moment, but then he smiled—a slow arrogant smile that reached his eyes—then, he winked at her. Akane could feel herself blushing as she quickly looked away. That jerk. This was all his fault, and he had the nerve to wink at her?

She stiffened, horrified, as she heard a whisper coming from the offending party.

"Hey, Akane!"

Akane kept her eyes focused straight ahead, ignoring him.

"Yo, Tomboy!" This time it was accompanied by a poke in the arm.

The pencil she was holding in her hand quickly snapped in half as she turned towards Ranma. "What!" she yelled, not bothering to lower her voice. A few seconds later she heard the familiar sound of her teacher:

"Tendo. Saotome. In the hall. Now!"

Throwing an angry glare in Ranma's direction, Akane headed towards the front of the class, Ranma following closely behind her.

*          *          *

"Stop it," she ground out.

Ranma turned to look at her. "Stop what?"

"Whistling."
He stuck his tongue out at her, and smirked. "Don't wanna," he said.

Akane's grip on the water buckets tightened.

"What was that back there anyway?" Ranma suddenly asked. "All those guys… never took ya as the popular type."

"Oh… that." Her expression grew dark. "It's Kodachi and Kuno's fault," she muttered. "Kodachi made some big proclamation at the annual speech contest—said all female students should 'band together to rid the school of the insolent wretch Akane Tendo' or some other such nonsense."

Ranma laughed. "Insolent wretch, huh?"

The look Akane gave him quieted him immediately. "Anyway," she continued, sighing. "Kuno, feeling he had to 'protect my honor,' said that anyone able to defeat me honorably in combat would win a date with me." Shaking her head, she laughed bitterly at the memory. "Ever since then, all the guys in school have waited by the gate, hoping for a chance to beat me up, so they can get a date." She smiled happily as she lifted the pail she was holding higher. "But no one's been able too yet," she finished triumphantly.

Ranma smiled. "Good to know that brute strength of yours comes in handy," he teased. Akane glared and stuck her tongue out at him.

"What about that Kodachi chick? Whaddya do to piss her off so bad?"

Akane grinned. "The better question would be what haven't I done?"

Ranma raised a questioning eyebrow.

"We've never gotten along," she explained. "Ever since Kodachi transferred here after getting kicked out of her All-Girls School. She joined our school's rhythmic gymnastics team, but kept trying to cheat, so the other girls on the team asked me for help."

He looked at her expectantly when she didn't elaborate. "And?" he prompted.

Akane smiled. "Let's just say she's not on the team anymore," she replied happily.

Ranma laughed. "Well, they sound… interesting. Where are they, anyway? I don't remember seein' em this morning, an they don't seem like the type I'd easily forget."

"Oh, they're gone for awhile," she told him. "They got another lead on their dad and are trying to track him down."

"…Lead?"

"It's a long story," she replied, not wanting to go into the Kuno's long, detailed history. "But don't worry, you'll get to meet them sooner or later. Whether you want to or not," she added under her breath. "If, of course, you're still here by then," she corrected.

Ranma waved her comment aside. "Heck, if anyone needs protection, it's you," he told her. "I've never heard of anyone being threatened by so many weirdo's at once before… not counting myself, of course."

"Ha! Like anyone would waste energy on you," she replied.

Ranma leaned against the wall, easily balancing the buckets he was holding in his hands. "Aw, I always attract trouble," he said. "You'd be amazed at the number of strangers that seem to have it in for me."

Akane raised an eyebrow. "No," she answered thoughtfully. "I don't think I'd be too amazed. I've met you, remember? I don't blame them."

"Gee, thanks."

Akane smiled brightly. "You're welcome."

Their eyes met for a moment, and for that brief second they forgot they were supposed to hate each other. But the moment quickly passed, and they immediately looked away, blushing furiously.

After that, the only sound in the hallway was of water splashing against buckets.

*          *          *

But the reprieve didn't last long...

Almost immediately after exiting the school she heard shrill, horrible laughter coming from the exit gate. Slowly, with growing dread, she turned towards the sound, knowing instinctively who it was even before she saw her. Like she feared, Kodachi Kuno stood on top of the school wall—a long, green ribbon, held stiffly in her hand.

Turning around, Akane walked back inside… or would have if Ranma and their emerging classmates hadn't been blocking her escape.

"Don't tell me," Ranma laughed, "that must be that Kodachi-chick you mentioned, huh?"

Akane nodded, cursing her luck. She had hoped Kodachi would be gone a lot longer—they had been gone for weeks at a time before when they searched for their dad. 'What made them come back so early,' she wondered. She had hoped she'd at least be able to avoid Kodachi long enough to clear up the whole fiancée mess. Now she knew she'd never hear the end of it.

Groaning, Akane turned back around to face the crazy gymnast.

Kodachi Kuno dropped effortlessly from the wall, still laughing as she walked gracefully towards Akane. "Well, well, well. It appears that Akane Tendo has managed to steal another poor unsuspecting male from the female populace. Tell me, Tendo," she said, motioning towards Ranma. "What did you do to this one? Knock him out first before dragging him back to your lair?"

"Ha Ha, very funny," Akane said, rolling her eyes. "It'll be awhile before I have to stoop to your petty tricks, Kodachi." Grabbing a hold of Ranma's sleeve she started leading him past the leotard-clad girl.

Kodachi took another step, blocking her path. "Leaving so soon?" she asked, her voice full of false concern.

Akane sighed in frustration. After the mess Nabiki had made, all she wanted to do was go home and break some bricks—getting into another pointless fight with Kodachi was the last thing on her mind. She turned to Ranma. "Hey, can't you take care of her for me?" she whispered. "You're supposed to protect me, right?"

He raised an eyebrow and smiled. "So, you're admitting that you need my help after all?"

Akane glared. "Of course not," she whispered furiously. "But if you're going to be here, you might as well make yourself useful." Moving behind Ranma, she gave him a small shove, pushing him forward. "So get to work," she commanded.

Ranma glanced at her over his shoulder. "Okay, I'll help you," he said at last. "But first you have to promise that you'll be nicer to me from now on." Akane stared at him in disbelief. "And that you'll stop acting so uncute and macho all the time, and you gotta start to listen to me when I tell ya to do something as well as admit that I—"

"Oh, forget it," Akane muttered, throwing her bag to the ground. "I'll do it myself." Ignoring the other students who had filed out of the school, Akane began to walk towards Kodachi.

"Aww, wait a minute." An arm appeared out of nowhere, stopping her, and she looked up at Ranma, surprised. "I'll take care of her," he told her firmly. Lowering his arm, he took a couple steps towards Kodachi, fixing her with his most charming of smiles. Akane watched happily, imagining the look on her rival's face as Ranma washed the floor with her. The gymnast, however, watched him curiously, unaware of the danger.

"Your name's Kodachi, right?" Ranma asked, taking another step closer.

A small blush appeared on Kodachi's face, and she nodded, smiling seductively. "Yes," she replied. "But I am known by many names." Akane fought back the urge to gag.

Ranma seemed not to notice. "What a beautiful name," he replied.

Kodachi nodded as she too took a small step forward. "It is," she said. "But I have yet to learn yours."

"Ranma," he told her. "Ranma Saotome."

"Ah, exquisite."

Ranma shrugged. "It's okay. I guess."

Akane looked at him in disbelief, disgusted. "You have got to be kidding me!" she yelled, rolling her eyes as she stalked past. "You call this taking care of her?"

Ranma raised a questioning eyebrow. "What did you want me to do?" he asked confused. "Hit her?"

"Of course not, dummy!"

"Well then, what? She's a girl, Akane! No matter how crazy she is, I can't very well just drop-kick her!"

"So, what? Were you going to seduce her then?"

Kodachi watched them closely, her eyes growing angrier as they seemed to forget all about her. "And what is this harridan to you, Ranma-dear?" she demanded.

"You're unbelievable!" Akane went on, ignoring Kodachi. "What are you? Some kind of womanizer?"

"Ha! You wish! You couldn't get a normal guy if you tried!"

"You are such a jerk!"

"Oh yeah? Well you're an angry, uncute, tomboy!" he yelled. Putting his hand to his head, he laughed bitterly. "I can't believe I actually thought you were cute this morning! A guy would have to be nuts to find you even bearable to look at!"

Akane saw red; pulling her arm back, she made a move to slap him. But Ranma was too fast. Easily he caught her hand in his, stopping it before it could connect.

If anything, the action only succeeded in making her angrier. "That's it!" Akane yelled, yanking her hand out of his grasp. "I don't even care anymore. I hope you and Kodachi have a wonderful life—the two of you deserve each other!" Piercing him with one last hateful glare, she turned around and ran out of the school yard, her long hair trailing behind her.

Ranma watched her go, suddenly guilt-ridden. "Great. Just great," he muttered. Frowning, he took off after her, cursing under his breath as he ran at full speed.

All of the students in the courtyard watched them go, stunned.

"Wow!" "Must be a lovers spat."

Kodachi, as if emerging from a daze, turned to the student who had spoken. "What did you just say?" she demanded, taking a threatening step towards the unfortunate boy.

Daisuke nervously backed away, looking to his friend Hiroshi and then the crowd for help… but everyone avoided eye-contact as Kodachi continued to advance closer. "Well," he began uncertainly. "He's her new fiancée, so…"

"Fiancée?" Kodachi's eyes narrowed threateningly. "What do you mean, fiancée?" she demanded.

"He—he beat her in a fight," he replied quickly.

Kodachi's mouth fell open in surprise, and she took a small step back. "You say he defeated her?" she asked quietly.

Daisuke nodded.

Slowly, a smile crept over her face. "I see," she replied softly. Standing tall, she laughed, twirling her ribbon in the air. "Let it be known," she announced, addressing all of the students around her. "That I, Kodachi Kuno, shall snatch the very happiness out of Akane Tendo's hands! Ranma Saotome will be mine!" Laughing wildly, the completely sane gymnast took to the air, quickly disappearing from view.

"Okay, now that was weird," Hiroshi remarked. Classmates around him nodded their agreement.

Meanwhile, Nabiki Tendo stepped out from behind a nearby tree, smiling. Things were going a lot better than she expected... and if all else failed, at least things in Nerima would get a lot more interesting.

She just hoped Ranma and Akane allowed her to live long enough to witness it…

Holding her satchel tightly, Nabiki headed through the gate, trying to drown out the sound of gossiping students as well as Kodachi's lingering laughter.

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End of Chapter 4
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CHAPTER 5