Well, here it is; my very first fanfic.  Yes, it's Ranma (geez, sorry) and no, I don't think it introduces anything REALLY original.  But it's a good read (no, really); it has its moments.  Send lots of C&C, and smile, I like teeth. (?)

Upcoming: A Fanfic based on "DNA Squared!"  Ew... maybe not.



		"A Hair Raising Matter"
		A Ranma 1/2 FanFiction by Neill Walker


	Akane sat on the porch, enjoying the warmth of the setting sun
and the cool breeze that ruffled her hair.  She swung her legs and
thought, "What a nice day this is...  So peaceful."  Peaceful?  Her life was
never peaceful.  But today was different, she hadn't fought with Ranma at
all.  Probably because he'd spent most of the afternoon in the bathroom;
what could he be doing in there?  She looked over her shoulder towards
the bathroom door.

	Ranma stood in front of the mirror, frowning, twisting his head
from side to side, trying to bring the back of his head into view.  "Why on
earth did I ever take this out?" he asked himself angrily.  "For years I've
just left it alone, and now..."  It had taken him an hour of twisting, pulling,
and cursing, and he'd only managed to make two braids in his hair. 
Exasperated, he let his tired arms fall to his side.  He grimaced as he felt
his two braids unravel and come to rest on his neck.  "Aargh!"

	The door opened a crack and Genma popped his head in. 
"What's the matter, son?  Having a little trouble doing your hair?  After ten
years you still need your old man to do it for you, huh?"  Genma's biting
comments were pushing Ranma over the edge.  Still, he maintained his
composure.  "You can fight off martial arts masters, save the city, but you
still can't make a braid," grinned Genma.  "Not to mention your problem
with women!"  Ranma cracked.  He could feel his ears getting warm, his
cheeks glowing red.  Gritting his teeth he said, "At least I HAVE hair, you
cue-ball.  The only time you can brag is when..."  With that he swung his
hand down into the sink, pushing a wave of water at Genma's face.  "Rowf
roooowwf growf!"  Panda threw his hands in the air, as if to say, "Fine,
have it your way."  He turned and left, leaving his shredded clothing on the
floor.  Ranma turned back to the mirror and began twisting his hair again.

	Genma stormed towards the kitchen.  "Ungrateful little..." he
thought.  Turning the corner, he glanced up in time to see Kasumi's wide
eyes as he knocked a serving tray out of her hands.  "ROOOOWFAIIEEEE! 
HOTHOTHOT!"  Screamed Genma, hot tea splashing everywhere. "Oh, my!"
said Kasumi as Genma panted, naked, in the middle of the kitchen. 
Realizing his situation, he turned and ran, in the opposite direction,
towards the stairs.  "Gotta find some clothes..."  Nabiki was just coming
down the stairs, and Akane was moving in on his left.  Panicky, he dove
into the closet and shut the door.

	Nabiki sat down at the table, setting her notebook and calculator
in front of her.  "Hasn't Ranma gotten out of the bath yet?" she asked
Akane.
	"I don't think so.  I was going to check if something's wrong."

	"You do that," replied Nabiki with a wink.  

	Akane frowned.  "Is that all you think about?"  Nabiki just
shrugged her shoulders and began writing.  Akane knocked on the
bathroom door.

	"Come in," said Ranma.

	  Akane opened the door, slowly, and stepped inside.  "What's
taking you so long?"  

	Ranma's shoulders slumped.  "It's this damn braid!  I don't know
why I took it out!"  He was very frustrated.  His hands shook, his arms were
sore, and his scalp felt like it was being pulled from his skull.  "GRRR! 
STUPID HAIR!"

	"Why don't you let me help, Ranma?" Akane inquired.  She was
 feeling so good today, why not spread it around?

	"YOU??  You think I'd trust YOU with MY hair?  After what you did
to yours!?"


	Akane's eyes grew wide as she felt her bliss slip away. 
She Inadvertently reached up to touch her hair.  Tears welled up.  "Uh,
oh," thought Ranma, "Now I've done it."  He closed his eyes and prayed,
"Anything but the hammer..."  But the hammer didn't come.  In fact, all he
felt was a cool draft of air; when he opened his eyes, she was gone.

	Akane flew out of the bathroom, towards the stairs.  Her shock
was giving way to anger.  "A-Akane?"  The voice came from the closet. 
"Please get me some clothes..."  She heard, but didn't answer.  It gave her
an excuse to go into Ranma's room; maybe she could break something. 
Her feet pounded up the stairs and down the hall.  Nabiki's eyes followed
her all the way up.  She chewed her pencil then shook her head.  "No
money in this one," she thought.  "Or maybe..."

	Ranma slumped down in front of the table, his hair clinging to his
neck and shoulders.  "Nabiki..."

	"What am I, some kind of hairdresser?"  She could read him like a
book.  

	Ranma pulled out his wallet.  "How much?"  Nabiki smirked.

	"Dinner's almost ready," smiled Kasumi. "Call everyone for dinner
in about five minutes."

	"Alright," answered Ranma, then to Nabiki, "Ow, do you have to
pull it so tight?"

	"Well you do deserve it..."  

	Ranma sighed.  "Ya, I guess..."

	Akane stormed into Ranma's room.  "That ungrateful... why is 
he always so mean?"  She felt tears in the corner of her eyes but 
forced them back, behind anger.  She reached out to grasp the closet 
doors, but her foot caught the leg of a chair.  Her elbow struck the
desk, and she stumbled head-first into the closet doors, which were 
flung open by the force of her head.  On her knees now, the tears 
began to flow.  

	A yellow strip of fabric unraveled above her and waved in 
front of her face.  "Why am I such a klutz?" she thought.  "It's no
 wonder Ranma doesn't like me.  That jerk."  Wiping away her tears, 
she saw the fabric hanging before her.  "What's this?  His Christmas 
scarf?" Rage engulfed her now, "I spent a whole week knitting that 
scarf, and he stuffs it in the closet with his worn-out clothes!!?"  
Looking closely at the scarf, she sobbed, "He probably hated it!  
It's so ugly!  Why can't I do anything right?"  Akane swung her arm 
up, yanking the scarf away from her face.  The yellow fabric gave more
resistance than she expected, but she was too angry to worry about 
it.  Suddenly something struck her head, hard.  She grimaced in pain.
A small wooden box tumbled off her forehead and came to rest on the
floor, some white paper scraps escaping through the partially open
lid.  The scarf was loosely tied around it.  Between sobs she untied
the scarf and picked up the loose paper scraps.  "What's this?" she
wondered aloud.  "A picture?"  She turned the paper in her hand,
revealing a photograph of herself, wearing a yellow dress.  "That's
my new school dress," she thought.  Tears still ran down her cheeks.
Curious, she picked up the other photos.  "Me and Kasumi, me and
P-chan." She chuckled sadly, "me and Ranma."  The photo showed them
frowning, arms crossed on their chests, looking up and away from each other.

	The sound of footsteps on the stairs caught her off guard,
and she sat up straight, quickly gathering the rest of the stray
photos, embarrassed about her snooping.  The footsteps stopped down
the hall.  "Just Kasumi," Akane sighed.  Still, she began to push the
photos back into the half-open box.  Her hand pressed into something
soft, strange.  Glancing over her shoulder, she slowly lifted the lid,
and searched for the object.  Under more photos, she found what she
was looking for.  A lock of long black hair, carefully woven at the
top with tiny threads, and topped by a leather cord that was decorated
with beads, forming a necklace of sorts.  She stroked the hair; it was
so soft and fine, almost alive... "Oh, Ranma... I can't believe you
kept this."  The tears welled up once more.

	"Akane?"  Ranma called as he ran up the stairs.  "Dinner's 
re-" Akane shot to her feet, the box spilling off her lap.  
	"I was  just..."  she stammered, then rushed past him through the
doorway.  Tears spilled from her cheeks. She slipped into her room and
slammed the door.  Confused, Ranma peered after her, then sulked. 
"Is she still mad? She must be.  How am I going to fix this one?"  He
definitely couldn't think it through on an empty stomach, so he walked
back down the stairs to the table.

	"Looks delicious!" he said halfheartedly as he plopped to the floor.

	"Just like always," cried Soun.

	"Where's Mr. Saotome?" Nabiki inquired.

	"It's not like him to miss dinner.  Did you call Akane, Ranma?"
asked Kasumi.

	"Um, I don't think she's hungry tonight."  He could feel his cheeks
turning red.

	"Mm-hmm, I'm surprised you're eating tonight, Ranma."  Nabiki
scowled at him.

	"Something wrong between you and Akane, Ranma?  Something
I should know about?"  Soun waited for a response.  Ranma squirmed
under his glare.

	"Well, um, you see..." he mumbled.

	"I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE!"  A crash echoed through the
house as the closet door flew off its hinges.  "I'M SO HUNGRY!"  Genma
streaked out of the closet and leapt towards the table.

	"Well, I just lost my appetite," stated Nabiki.

	"Oh, my!"

	"You've ruined this fine dinner, Genma!"  Soun began to sob. 
Genma didn't even look at them.  He just sat there, naked, stuffing his
face.

	"Phew, thanks, Dad," Ranma said under his breath, as he slunk
towards the stairs.  Genma provided a means of escape, but he still hadn't
thought of anything to say to Akane, if he was going to say anything at all. 
These fights usually blew over in a couple days anyway...

	But for some reason, he couldn't just let this one pass on it's own. 
His words had been particularly harsh; he insinuated that her hair was
ugly, which of course it wasn't, but her hair was a very tender subject.  She
had always been so proud of her long flowing locks, and when she lost it
all...  "I even made it sound like it was her fault," he thought.  He began to
wonder whether being alone with his conscience was any better than facing 
the Tendous.  He turned into his room; his mind jolted out of it's 
introspection when he saw Akane in the darkness, beside his dresser.  
"Hey!"  he shouted, then softly, "What are you doing in here, tomboy?"

	Akane jumped at the sound of his voice.  "Ranma!"  She spun
around to face him, holding something in her hands.  Ranma was close
enough to see the tears on her cheeks.

	"I just wanted to say... I'm... I'm...What's this?"  His face turned
bright red.  "Where did you get that??"

	Akane looked down at the hair-necklace in her hands.  "I'm sorry,
Ranma, it just, it just fell out of your closet!  I... I was getting some clothes
for your dad... I'm sorry."  Her eyes were so big, she was scared,
trembling, waiting for something, anything.  Ranma was confused. 
Shouldn't HE be the one apologizing?  What was he going to say about
that box?  "I wish I had eaten more," he thought, his mind (and stomach)
churning.

	"Do you... really think I'm not cute?  I mean... my hair..."

	"What?  No, I think... um, that..."  He thought, "I can't believe she
found all those pictures!  What am I going to do?"

	"Ranma...?"  Oh, man she was cute.  He could feel himself being
pulled in by her liquid brown eyes.  His face moved closer to hers.

	"Akane..."  He whispered.  He could feel her breath on his face. 
His heart was racing.  Akane reached up and tied the necklace around his
throat, then laid her hands on his shoulders.  Their lips brushed against
each other...  Suddenly the room went white.  Akane stiffened and pulled
back.  Ranma spun around, blinking.  Soun stood in the doorway, crying, a
camera in front of his face.  A Polaroid drifted down to the floor.

	"Oh, wonderful!  We'll set the wedding for tomorrow!  It's official! 
Sealed with a kiss!"

	"But I never... WHAT MAKES YOU THINK I WOULD KISS THIS
TOMBOY??"  He booted Soun down the stairs.  Soun just babbled
incoherently, overcome with happiness.

	"You jerk!"  Akane pulled the necklace, choking him.

	"Ak-ak-Akane-" Ranma sputtered.  She scowled at him and
bopped him on the head with a mallet once, twice, three times, before
storming out of the room.

	"Such a beautiful couple," smiled Kasumi as she turned and left. 
Ranma struggled to catch his breath and stop his head from spinning. 
When the world turned right-side up, he bent down to pick up the photo. 
"We are a beautiful couple," he thought.  Then he heard Akane pounding
on the walls in her room.  "Were a beautiful couple."  Gazing at the photo,
he felt his heart race again.  It wasn't a real kiss, but you couldn't tell that
from the picture.  Slowly (sadly?) He walked to the closet, and bent down
to pick up his little box and the photos strewn about.  He took a last glance
at his new photograph, then placed it in the box and closed the lid.  Rather
than hide it in the closet, he sat it in the center of his desk.  Suddenly he
remembered the necklace; he caressed it with his fingers.  "I'll keep it on
for just a little while," he thought, as he lay back on his futon, and fell
asleep to the rhythmic pounding next door...
-----
Neill Walker
walkersp@oanet.com
http://www.oanet.com/homepage/walkersp/index.htm
OAA, UAM
-----
[Win95]: Proud of yourself?
Well, ya.  For a first attempt I figure it's pretty good.
[Win95]: But it's only 20k!
Hey, size has no bearing on quality.
[Win95]: I take up 70megs...
Like I said, size has no bearing on quality!