Subject: [FFML][Fanfic][Ranma] First Sons, v0.1 (Prereaders and C&C needed)
From: Jonathan Ng
Date: 8/28/1998, 12:31 AM
To: ffml@fanfic.com

"First Sons"
Ranma 1/2 Fanfiction
Jonathan Ng <jonathan@worldy.com>

Ranma 1/2 and its respective characters are owned by Rumiko Takahashi
Publishing Rights go to Shogakukan Inc. Tokyo, Jademan (Holdings) Ltd.
and Viz Inc. for Japan, H.K. and North America, respectively.

<> indicate thoughts

Japanese terms:
Tadaima - I'm home!
Oniichan - older brother
Imouto - younger sister
Otousan - father
Yatta! - expression of joy

All names will be expressed in Japanese form e.g. Saotome Ranma.


Revision History:

August 11, 1998 - start draft
August 28, 1998 - finish draft - a bit over two weeks.

Current version: 0.1

"First Sons" Part 1 - Just a Normal Family...

I'm getting better at this.  Honestly.  Look at the length of this
one... and I'm just getting warmed up.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
"Tadaima!"  Two combined voices rang out.

"Welcome back, Kazuya, Miko, how was school?"

Kazuya threw off his shoes and ran into the living room, where
he knew his mother was waiting.  His raven black hair and pigtail
made him an almost complete copy of his father.

As Kazuya entered the living room, he saw his mother in full view;
bluish-black hair, now grown long and hanging down in flowing waves, 
and an air of kindness not unlike her sister.  "Aw, the usual.  I
finally got my Math test scores and they were great!"  He revealed 
said test paper, showing a score of 85.

"Kazuya, you know you can do better than that."  His mother said 
firmly.  Kazuya was capable of doing better than that, and both he
and his mother knew it.  His father, however, usually railroads him 
in more... "fun" stuff, so to speak.

Miko was a little bit slow, due to the fact that she put both Kazuya
and her shoes away first before stepping in.  "Mother, school was 
fine.  In fact, I was able to enter the school band!"

"That's very nice dear."  Her mother's smile was brighter than the 
sun, and more friendly as well.  "I better get ready for dinner."

Sister and brother looked at each other; expressions of horror were
painted on their faces.  "No!  No!  You've been working hard all
day!  Let us cook dinner!"  They both said, a little too loudly.

"No, I insist.  And you guys are gonna eat it, or else..."

Kazuya and Miko gulped.  Kazuya whispered to Miko, "I'm gonna get 
Father to come mediate this situation.  Stall her until I get back."

"Oniichan!"  But Kazuya already ran off towards the dojo.

				* * * * *

"Dad!"

Kazuya's dad was finishing his teaching to another group.  "All right,
spar amongst yourselves.  What is it, Kazuya?"

"Mom's cooking tonight again."

"Oh great."  He grabbed a towel and wiped the sweat off his face.  He
was a full head taller than Kazuya; but otherwise they both looked
alike.  Currently dressed in his red Chinese shirt and black pants,
he walked back to the living room to speak to his wife.

"Hi, Ranma."  Saotome Akane greeted him as he walked in.  "Almost
finished classes?"

"Yes, for the day.  This is my last class.  It looks like the kids
don't appreciate your cooking much."  Ranma had a wry little smile
on his face.

"They have to appreciate some homemade cooking once in a while.  And
don't think of trying to sneak away, Kazuya-chan, Miko-chan."  The
two kids froze in mid-step.

"I, uh, I have an assignment to do..." Miko stammered.

"Um, I have to practice my katas, that's right," Kazuya stuttered.

"Akane, let them go, for now."  Ranma scratched the back of his head.

"Ranma, I've got to teach them some respect!"

Kazuya and Miko took the temporary distraction to get away.

"See, Ranma?  You've spoiled the kids."  Akane put her hands on
her hips.

"I think I've spoiled you even more."  He grabbed her, held her close,
and then kissed her, straight on the lips.  "Come on.  Let me cook 
dinner tonight.  It takes a lot for me to be doing something a woman 
should do."

"Chauvinist."  Was Akane's only answer.

				* * * * *

After dinner, the Saotome father and son went out to the yard.  A
wooden target was already placed.  Akane, Grandpa Soun and Miko
silently watched them.

With the demeanor of a teacher, Ranma said, "Let's see what you can
do with the Moko Takabisha."  He indicated the target, the center
of which was 5cm in diameter.  "You're aiming for precision here,
which also means you have to control the size of the chi ball you
have.  Hit the target, and the target _only_, with your Takabisha."

At that, Kazuya concentrated, filling his inner self with confidence.
His right hand glowed with a familiar amber light.  He allowed it to 
grow one centimeter, two... five.  He aimed... and fired.  The tiny 
ball of chi zoomed towards its target... and hit the target, charring
it.

Ranma walked up to examine the target.  "Hmmm, the size of the ball
is pretty good... but your aim is a bit off."  He took out the target
board for Kazuya to see.  The chi ball missed by one centimeter.

"Aww, come on, Dad.  It was a distance of twenty meters and it's hard
to concentrate to get that precise size of a ball!"  Kazuya 
complained.

"Sorry, no excuses, son.  I want you to continue practicing until you
get it right, along with all the other exercises."  Ranma held his
ground.

Soun interrupted with a wail and a, "My son-in-law and my grandson are
getting along so well!  Genma would be proud!  Waaah!"

"Grandpa Soun!"  yelled Kazuya and Miko at the same time.

"Some things never change."  Ranma and Akane sighed.

				* * * * *

It was a fine day in Nerima.  Kazuya and Miko woke up to the sounds
of the birds chirping in the distance.  As a matter of fact, they
always woke up this early... to beat their mother to the kitchen
for breakfast.  The two Saotomes were possibly the only kids their
age to wake up this early.  As usual, they got up, brushed their
teeth, rushed down, and prepared breakfast, all in record time.
Akane came down just as they were finished.

"Breakfast?  It's nice of you to prepare this, but why?  You don't 
like my cooking?"  Akane yawned as she came down the stairs.

"No!  We just like to wake up early so you wouldn't have to work
as hard.  I mean, you do teach classes too, right?"  Kazuya responded
quickly.

"Fine!  Saves me of having to wake up so early."  Akane deadpanned.

They settled down and ate.  Just as they were finished, Ranma came
down the stairs, yawning.

"Whoops!  We're finished breakfast already.  We forgot about you, 
Dad.  I'm sorry."  Miko said with a wink.

"Don't worry!  I'll whip up something for him."  Akane grinned from
ear-to-ear.

"Ummm... Akane, can we skip breakfast today?"  Ranma had a look of
horror on his face.

"Ranma..."  Threatened Akane.

"Let's spar, sis."  Kazuya told his sister.

"Alright."  Miko followed him into the dojo.

				* * * * *

At the dojo, Miko and Kazuya stood in ready positions.  Then Miko 
initiated the attack, striking a dozen times at Kazuya's body, all
of which missed.  Kazuya then counterattacked, striking Miko a dozen
times.  Miko kicked at Kazuya in retaliation; her efforts were 
successful, and Kazuya got slammed to the other side of the dojo wall.
Seeing an opening, she built up confidence, charged her hands with
chi...

"Moko Takabisha!"  A ball of yellow chi about a half meter in diameter
came zooming towards Kazuya.

Kazuya narrowly avoided it.  It struck the dojo wall instead.  Were
it several years earlier, the wall would have crumbled... but instead,
it disappeared, thanks to the dissipative metal that Aunt Nabiki gave
Kazuya for his thirteenth birthday to cover the dojo with.  It was the
first time Kazuya performed the Moko Takabisha, and Nabiki just said,
"It's better than having to repair the dojo all the time."

"Impressive.  Moko Takabisha!"  A returning ball flashed from Kazuya's
hands.

Miko ran out of the path of the Takabisha, and it too dissipated.

"You won't believe this next one..." said Miko with a grin.  "Moko
Takabisha..."  She tossed the chi ball at Kazuya, low.

Kazuya jumped straight up... and Miko's Moko Takabisha rose up and
hit him straight in the stomach, knocking him into the wall.

"Rising!"  She finished.

"Yatta!  I beat oniichan!"  Kazuya's sister continued to jump up
and down.

"Ouch... You are getting better at this, but I'll beat you next time."
Kazuya grinned from his position on the floor.  "We've still got an 
hour, let's go take a bath and get dressed for school."

"Oh no you don't."  The first son of the Saotome family glanced up at
the voice.  It was Saotome Ranma, their dad.  "You two are too big to
be taking baths together.  And tsk, tsk, Kazuya-kun, being beaten by
your own sister."

"Hey!  She caught me by surprise!"  Whined Kazuya.

"Miko-chan, you take a bath first.  I'll practice with your brother."
The patriarch of the Saotome family suggested in a firm tone.

"Alright, otousan."  With that, Saotome Miko left the dojo.

"Let's do it."  Ranma motioned for the boy to stand up.

Kazuya did as told, and they sparred.  Attack, parry, attack, parry...
it was almost a routine for them now.  Even so, Kazuya never could get
up to his father's level in fighting.  After twenty minutes, Ranma was
able to wear his son down.

"So how were you... " Dodge. "able..." Parry. "to avoid mom's cooking?"
Block.

Kazuya was too slow to avoid the kick Ranma sent his way, and he went
down.  Ranma winked at him.  "I have my ways.  Now let's go take a
bath, father and son."

In the bath, Ranma splashed himself with cold water, and scrubbed 
himself with soap.  "Good work, son.  You've got the basics down pat, 
but you need to work on endurance."

Kazuya gazed up at his raven-haired father.  "It's always endurance.  
Endurance, endurance, endurance.  I think I'm gaining it just listening
to you say the word."

"You know, son, you're not the strongest guy in the world.  You're far
from it.  And to be able to win them, you have to learn to take hits."
They went into the tub, letting the hot water wash away their aches and
pains.

"Okay."  Kazuya knew he couldn't win his father in an argument anyway.

				* * * * *

For the first time in years, Miko and Kazuya walked seperately to 
school.  Miko was actively participating in several clubs at Fuurinkan,
and went out early to practice.  Kazuya attended several clubs as well,
but since he doesn't have as many talents as Miko, he couldn't attend
as many.  Miko left right after her bath, and Kazuya enjoyed the 
relative silence, actually.  Not that his sister wasn't fun to be with;
quite the opposite, actually, with her bouncy bluish-black hair in a
ponytail and her generally bouncy attitude, Miko's enthusiasm was quite
contagious.  But the damage to his ego by today's sparring match, plus
the fact that they were two different genders, Kazuya wasn't in much
of a mood to be together with her.

"Hey, Kazuya!  Fine day!"

It was Hibiki Kenichi, Ryouga's son.  Both Kazuya and Kenichi were
in their school uniforms.  Kenichi had thoughtfully decorated himself
with a yellow and black banadana, which matched the one on his guiding
pig, P-chan.  The black pig was about the size of a dog, and it was 
tied to Kenichi by a metal chain.

"I miss summer."  Kazuya said as they walked.

"Me too.  Dad taught me some new tricks.  Can't wait to use them on 
you."  Kenichi flashed a toothy grin at the pigtailed boy.  It was
indeed a rare moment when his dad came back to see him; Ryouga often
brought Kenichi to training trips where he'd get lost until at the
age of nine Akari got Kenichi his guiding pig.  Ryouga manages to
find home and the Tendo dojo once in a while, but usually it takes
months.  So every time Ryouga came home, he would train with Kenichi
for a month or two and wander off again.

"Hey, I haven't been slacking off myself."  Kazuya returned the grin.

"How about two days later, after school?"  Kenichi suggested.

"Sounds great.  I don't think I have any clubs that day."  Kazuya 
replied.

"Hey, we're at school.  And as usual Mr. 'Shooting Star' is here."
Kenichi deadpanned.

The person in question was currently wearing a school uniform with
a bandoleer of mini-spatulas and a bokken by his side.  He was 
currently talking to some of his colleagues.

"Hey, Kazuya, Kenichi.  Where's your sister?"  The bokken-wielding boy
politely asked.

"We went to school seperately.  My sister had something to do."  Close
enough.

"Too bad.  I wanted to ask her out for a date.  We would make a fine
couple."

Kenichi's heart skipped a beat.  He knew Kunou Hoshio, AKA Shooting
Star, had interest in Kazuya's sister, but he never knew the 
egotistical boy was that serious about her.  He unconsciously wrung his
hands.

"At ease, Hibiki-kun."  Kazuya's palm on his shoulder seemed to ease
him a little.  "Bye, Kunou-kun.  If you want to ask my sister out, go
ahead."

"She can't refuse a handsome looking guy like me.  Good advice, 
Kazuya.  I'll be seeing you in class."  Kunou Hoshio flashed a 
confident smile, then attended to his other classmates.

Kenichi grabbed Kazuya and slammed him against the school wall.  He
held enough of his strength, though, so the wall didn't rupture.

"Hey, Kenichi, can't we talk?"  Kazuya was sweating a little bit.

Kenichi hesitated, then said, "It's about Miko.  I-I-I think I like 
her."

Kazuya put two and two together.  "Oh, I get it now.  You want to go 
out with her.  Well, then, just ask her.  If you don't, then she'll 
go out with the biggest ego in the world."  Kazuya grinned, knowing a 
little about how love worked.  His sister would be safe in Kenichi's 
hands.  "Just do it quickly, or else you can expect a beating tonight."

"Hah!  Like you'd ever beat me!"  Kenichi taunted.

"We'll see about that, but right now we've got to get to class."  
Kazuya deflected that statement.

				* * * * *

The students of Class 1-E snapped to attention when Hinako-sensei came
into the room.  Still in child form, but the male population of 
Fuurinkan patiently waited for someone to get in trouble, when the
bell rang...

...when Saotome Kazuya and Hibiki Kenichi burst into the room.  They
saw Ninomiya Hinako-sensei's five-yen coin, and blanched.

"Happo go-en satsu!"  The English teacher proceeded to relieve Kazuya
and Kenichi of their chi.  That prompted the transformation between
her child form and her adult form.  _That_ prompted the dribbling of
every male student in the classroom, with the notable exception of
Kazuya and Kenichi.  Those two latecomers staggered to their desks and
fell into their chairs, exhausted.

"Now we're ready for class."  The adult-looking teacher went back to 
the front of the class.  "All you good students, please turn to page
155 of our English reader."

As the class went on, Kazuya managed to slip a note past 
Hinako-sensei's unsuspecting eye to Kenichi.  It read, "Please ask my
sister out - Kazuya".  Kenichi then tried to pass a note to Miko, but
it got intercepted by Hinako-sensei... who gave Kenichi the draining
of his life.

<Oh well, there's after school to consider.> Kazuya noted offhand, then
went back to his English lesson.

				* * * * *

In P.E. class, track and field was the main theme.  Of course, Kazuya,
Kenichi and Hoshio consistently got first, second and third place
respectively in the 100 meter dash, despite Kenichi's slight habit of 
wandering lost.  Meanwhile, the girls were practicing their long jump.

All the females in the crowd were admiring the boys as they waited for 
their place.  Or, rather specifically, one boy.  That boy was Hibiki 
Kenichi.  They took in every movement of his, the power of his steps, 
the way the sweat glistened off his face, adding an ethereal quality 
to his innocent features.  The only exception to the girls was Kunou 
Kyoko.

Fujiwara Megumi was fazed by the sight.  "Kenichi is so adorable."

Her sister, Nanami, agreed, "Yeah."

Kyoko just rolled her eyes and sighed.

Miko caught this.  "Kyoko, you just don't want Kenichi-kun because
you've got somebody else.  If I'm not mistaken it's that stupid 
oniichan of mine, right?"

"No!  There's nothing between Kazuya-chan and me."  Kyoko blushed.

Every girl there noticed the suffix.  "Kazuya-*chan*?"  That caused
Kyoko to blush even more furiously.

"Um, that was a... a mistake, yeah, that's right, a mistake."

"Kunou Kyoko, next!"

<Whew, saved by the teacher.>  Kyoko prepared to jump.

				* * * * *

Kazuya, Miko, Kenichi, Hoshio and Kyoko hung out after school at the
local mall.  Kazuya and Kyoko went a step ahead of the others.  Kenichi
and Hoshio were on either side of Miko, trying to 'claim their 
territory.'

"Um, Kyo-chan, your hair looks wonderful today."  Indeed, her
shoulder-length cropped chestnut hair made her features stand out more.

"Thanks, Ka-chan."  Her smile blossomed fully, and Kazuya was in bliss.

"Let's get something to eat."

"Sure."

Meanwhile, behind the couple, Kenichi and Hoshio were getting into an
argument.

"I'm so much better than the Hibiki boy.  Won't you go out with me?"

"Oh yeah?  You think you're better than I am, huh?  Let's have a fight
to see who gets to go out with Miko-chan."

"Oh yeah?"

"Oh yeah?!"

Miko ran ahead, resisting the urge to scream and blast them both.  She
bumped into her brother and Kyoko, who were staring at each other 
deeply, about to share a kiss.

"Imouto, them bothering you again?  Alright, you can come with us."
An irate older brother said.

Behind them, sounds of fighting was heard.  The trio ignored them.

After they were long gone, Kenichi shouted, "I won!  Miko-chan!  Where
are you?"  He then took P-chan to find her.  After an hour, he went
back to the Tendo dojo, and knocked on the door.

Saotome Miko greeted him.  "Hi, Kenichi-kun."

Kenichi twiddled his fingers and looked down.  "Miko-chan... would you
go out with me on a date?  Uh, I mean..."

Miko smiled, and Kenichi brightened.  "Sure, but not today.  It's eight
already.  How about tomorrow night?  We can double with oniichan and
Kyoko-chan."

Kenichi jumped up.  "Yatta!  Thanks, Miko-chan."  And he kissed her on
the cheek, then bounced away to his house.

Miko just scratched her head.  "Interesting boy."

"He's just nervous."  Her brother suddenly appeared behind her.

"Huh?  Oniichan, you shouldn't do that."

"I've known him all my life.  We're best buddies."  Kazuya ignored her.
"I just want him to treat you right."

"Why are you suddenly talking like Papa?  You're not a year older than
me."

"Just felt like it."  He gazed at the stars, wondering if they could
broadcast the future about relationships, and if he and Kyoko were
destined for each other.

"I'm doing my homework, then practicing my flute ensemble.  How about 
you, oniichan?"

"I'll just practice my martial arts.  I'll be in the dojo if you need
me."

"Bye, oniichan."

"Later, sis."

				* * * * *

"Dad, I have something to talk to you about."

After about an hour of practicing the flute, Miko went straight to her
dad, to ask for help.

"How's daddy's little girl?"  Ranma wore the smile he usually did when
he saw one of his kids.  It was the fact that they were _his_ kids, he
guessed... not anyone else's.  It made them special to him, since he
helped create them, to train them, to raise them.

"Well, there's this guy I like at school..."  Miko started.

"I'm not very knowledgeable in that department, and you know that.  Go
talk about it with your mom."  Her father tried to brush the question
away.

It came anyway.  "He asked me out.  He's Uncle Ryouga's son."  Uncle
Ryouga came to visit whenever he could; his last visit was about two
months ago.  Such is the path of a man who is eternally lost.  Kenichi
hates that his dad sometimes goes out for months at a time, but he 
knows that his dad can't help it.

"Do you like him?"  Ranma queried.

Miko responded, "I don't know, exactly... he's nice, but he fights with
Hoshio-kun all the time.  I guess I like him."

"I'd say go with who you like then.  Oh, and the way Hoshio and Kenichi
fight is normal.  Me and Ryouga used to do that all the time."

"Thanks a lot.  I just needed to say that."

"Give me a hug."  They hugged each other, and then Ranma hustled her
off to bed.

				* * * * *

Ranma heard a knock.  He opened the door and found nothing but a note
tacked to it.  He read it.

"Ranma, I challenge you to a duel.  I'll promise you you'll be in for
a surprise.  Meet me in the open field near the Fuurinkan tomorrow at 
six."

Ranma's heart sped up as he read the note.  A duel!  Akane would kill
him for wanting to go there, but it was the first duel he had after
he got cured.  And he was itching to use his new strength and 
abilities against a _real_ opponent.  His son was a good sparring 
partner, for sure, but he wasn't of caliber yet.  Sometimes he would
think of giving up on Kazuya, but then he'd have to face Akane.
Besides, the boy was finally starting to show real potential.

His mind was made up.  Since Akane was teaching the class at six, he 
could easily sneak out and back again.  Akane wouldn't notice anything
until it was too late.  He shook vigorously from the thrill, the 
excitement of the challenge.

He let out a small, controlled laugh, and laughed, and laughed, but
with extreme will he controlled it.

				* * * * *

Kenichi's head was in the clouds in English class the next day.  Kazuya
had to save him twice from Hinako-sensei's coin.

"Hey, Kenichi, whazza matter?  The double date is set."  Kazuya 
regarded his long-time friend, after class.

Kenichi sighed.  "I still can't believe it.  I'm actually gonna go out
on a date with Miko-chan."

"The love bug strikes again."  Kazuya quipped.  "Let's go to our next
class before you lose it completely."

As they left, rumors were flying around about Kenichi and Miko's 
'relationship' among the female population of Fuurinkan.

"Oh no!  Kenichi's going on a date!  I wanted to go out with him 
first!"

"Me too.  Who's he going out with?"

"I think it's Kazuya's sister Miko.  I heard it's a double date."

"Well, that pretty much rules out all of us.  We can't argue about it
to her, and we certainly can't fight her."

"What about Kazuya?"

"You know he's taken by Kyoko."

"A girl can dream, right?"

"Life just isn't fair sometimes."

				* * * * *

The movie they saw at the double date was a romance.  It would have 
been perfect were it not for Kenichi's constant babbling.  The other
three must have told him to shut up a dozen times.  It was getting on
the girls' nerves.  After the movie, Kazuya dragged his male friend 
into the washroom.

"Kenichi, you're nervous."  Said Kazuya, matter-of-factly.

Kenichi managed to stammer a, "I'm okay, really."

"I've known you all my life and I know you're nervous around girls.
So am I.  But please do try and not make it so distracting.  Treat it
like a martial arts challenge."  Kazuya smiled.

Kenichi nodded.  "Will do.  Wouldn't want to spoil what's going on 
between you and Kyoko..."  He let the sentence hang.

"Hey!  You're the one on trial here, not me."  Kazuya grinned.

"Alright, I suppose you'll tell me when you're ready.  Let's go."

				* * * * *

Akane finished the last class of the day, and cooking for her and 
Ranma.  She even lit candles and set the tables, just like she'd seen
on TV.  She heard a knock on the door.  <Who could that be, at this
time of day?  It can't be Ranma... where's that baka anyway?  Maybe
it's the kids... but they're supposed to be out.>

She took off her apron, and opened the door.

She gasped in shock when she saw who it was.

				* * * * *

Kenichi did calm down after.  They had dinner at a decent restaurant,
and they enjoyed it the whole time.  Of course, the boys took care
of the bill (what fun would there be if the girls had to pay it?)
and hung out at the mall until it closed.

"Bye!  It was fun!"  The four took off in their seperate directions.

"Oniichan, today was fun.  Let's do it again."  Miko smiled as they
walked.

"Yeah, whatever."  Kazuya didn't pay particular attention to the words.
His mind was off in the sky.

When they finally reached home, they noticed a body sprawled out on the
front porch.  It was female, had red hair, and if Kazuya was 
clear-headed, he may have said it bore a resemblance to his father, and
him.

They saw their mother standing, shocked.

"I think we need to get Dr. Tofu and Kasumi... and Tatewaki and Ukyou."
said Akane, blankly.

"Mom?  Who's this lady and why is she on our front porch?  And why is
she unconscious?"  Kazuya asked.

"T-this lady... is your father, Kazuya-chan."  His mom told him.  Her
face looked like she had seen a ghost.

"My *father*?!" The teenagers' voices rang out at the same time.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Author's Notes:

Do I have any?  Sure.  This is quite long.  I kept bonking against
continuity errors.  Oh, boy.

Yes.  This concentrates more on the kids than the parents.  And yes,
Ranma will die at some point.  It has to, to serve as catalyst for the
coming situations.

I'm also going to write an interlude to this.  *That* will concentrate
more on the history of what's between now and the end of the manga
series.

I'm all done.  C&C away!!!  P.S. I need prereaders for the upcoming
chapters and interludes, as well for Frozen in Form (I've got the first
two chapters finished).  I promise that it won't take too much time off 
you...
(especially since it took me two weeks to finish a draft...)



----------------------
Jonathan Ng
jonathan@worldy.com
alternate address: jonathan_ng@my-dejanews.com
Organizing Editor of Ficsation magazine

     "It feels like ten kilos of life in a five-kilo box."  His voice
gained in strength and lightened in tone.  "I can only feel a trickle now,
like dust motes floating in a sunbeam, one by one, just moving through me,
but it's just so right there's no describing it.  It tickles a bit, feels
like a first kiss or the jolt you feel when the flux in sabacc just makes
your hand better than what you were already betting." - Two Jedi trainees
discussing the Force

	-Excerpt from I, Jedi, P.96, (c) Michael Stackpole