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Patchwork Ranma Fanfic
By David A. Tatum and Others
-------------------------
Long (but important) author's notes section:

I doubt most of you remember this, but a long while ago I asked for any...
er, unconnected scenes.  You know, scenes which you initially put into a
fanfic (one which would fit into the Ranmaverse) and later cut out of the
story, but loved so much you couldn't get rid of, or fanfics where you
started writing a sentence or two and then could not continue.  Why? 
Because I had a large number of them, myself, and wanted to write a fanfic
where I took a bunch of my own unconnected scenes and, well, write ways to
connect them.  I didn't have nearly enough, however (I still don't- I'm
only starting this now because I felt like working on something huge which
was not one of my fanfics already in progress but DIDN'T want to start
something that would take up all of my free time), and so I asked for
yours.

Well, I didn't get enough.  At least, not so far.  I think, though, I can
start it without... TOO much trouble.  I could go for twice more the number
of scenes I do have, however, so if anyone has any scenes they would like
to contribute (btw, I don't really want any scenes that are obviously
written for this (but if you DO want to write one for it, I won't object as
long as it isn't TOO obvious)) I would appreciate it if they were to send
them over here.

What I'm going to do is take the scenes I have, and write the story around
them, connecting them together as best as I can, before writing some sort
of conclusion.  Since different authors have different biases about
characterization, this may be (will probably be) rather clumsy at times,
and may occasionally require some deus ex machina.  Also, since I have my
own (freely admitted) biases, what I write might not be exactly what the
author had in mind for the continuation of the scene, but they did give me
permission to use their scene for this fic knowing that I might do
something like that (I hope), so...

Note that some of the fragments are occasionally in a slightly different
format from the rest of the fragment or sometimes my own writing because
I'm cutting and pasting them (I may wind up running a spellchecker on them,
but I won't otherwise change one word in them).  I'll try to point out
where said scene fragments begin and end with a '(frag0)', which would
indicate that, if you were to head to the web page where I have these
stored, you'd find in the 0th position, a link for the file frag0.txt,
which would have a copy of the scene fragment.

Oh, well... Enough about all that.  Enjoy.
-------------------------
500 years ago...

(frag16)
He walked across the sands with the slow, unrelenting tread
that had carried him all through the night before and all the 
day.  He should have fallen; the harsh sun had dehydrated him and
burned his body through the tatters of his clothing.  The burning
sands had scorched his bare feet as he had walked.  

     And yet he walked.  No rest.  No stopping.  Clutching the
object to his chest, he walked steadily to the south.  As the sun
began to set, there was a momentary pause between the two desert
extremes of the day's heat and the night's cold, yet he walked 
the same as he had before.

     No rest.  Never any rest.  And yet also, no suffering 
anymore, and no desire.
(frag16)

"Hey, you!" another man said, stepping in front of the old priest, casually
holding a naked blade.  "What's in the bag?"

"A cursed story," the priest replied, ignoring the blade and walking on. 
"I strongly suggest you not take it from me."

"Oh?" the bandit smirked.  "Is that so?  Try and stop me."

The priest sighed.  Without waiting for the attack, he merely dropped the
bag he carried and kept walking.  "It's all yours, and all that goes with
it.  I suggest you not try to read the scroll, however."

Blinking, the thief stooped over cautiously and picked up the weatherworn
package.  Curiousity got the best of him, and he looked inside.  Pulling
out the yellowed scroll, he started to release the seal...

(part of frag 1, modified)
He felt himself flying in the air.  The scroll seemed to speak to him.

"I lived around the mountains.  There was a cave, where I had concealed my
hoard, but I did not consider it my home.  No, my home was everywhere,
above
green valleys, cliffs that no human could scale, and snowy peaks.  And
above
the clouds, where the sun shone bright and the stars were clear.  When I
was
hungry, I would descend to the forest, roasting a deer whole and eating the
cooked venison in one gulp..."

One week later, he was found holding the same scroll.  He was dead- killed
by his own hand.  The scroll was taken, and not read again for quite some
time.
(part of frag 1, modified)

Today...
(frag3)
They were headed for school: Akane on the sidewalk, Ranma on the top
of the fence.  She was mildly irritated, but he had been doing it for so
long now that she'd finally decided that it wasn't a deliberate insult;
he simply seemed to like walking up there.  That didn't make it any the
less irritating, of course.

    But she restrained herself.  The previous evening, Kasumi had gently
suggested that she try to control her temper more often.  The idea was
ridiculous, of course, and Akane had said as much; on the rare occasions
when she lost her temper, she was always totally justified.  And Kasumi
had had the strangest expression; and Nabiki had started to laugh; and
Ranma had said that --

    Well.

    So today, Akane was restraining herself.  It was effortless, of
course; she was, as always, a model of restraint.  Not that she needed
to make an effort.  The sun was shining, the birds were singing, the
smog level was low enough today that the sky was a clear blue, and Ranma
hadn't said anything stupid to her today (so far).  So everything was
perfect, and she was calm and even-tempered, and she didn't have to
restrain her temper at all.

    But it _was_ a bit irritating, the way he always insisted on walking
up on the fence like that.

    So when he started to whistle, and she snapped out, "Do you have to
make such a racket?" it wasn't a sign of bad temper.  It was simple,
ordinary annoyance at having a beautiful day spoiled by such a raucous
noise, and anyone else would have said the same thing.  And so that was
all right, and she was still in perfect control.

    Then he looked down at her (looked _down_ at her!  Like he was better
than her, or something!  Oh, she hated it when he walked up on the fence)
and said, "Man, what's got you so tetchy today?"

    And that was all right, too.  That was just the way Ranma was, and
she didn't have to get upset about it.
(frag3)

Ranma sighed, leaping down to the ground beside her when he realized she
wasn't going to say anything.  "Is this about the promise to stop hitting
me again?"

Akane snorted, not even bothering to answer him.

"I really wish Kasumi'd stop doing that," he said, folding his arms behind
his head.  "You always get so grouchy when she does, and your punches
REALLY hurt when your anger finally explodes."

Akane continued to ignore him.

"Akane!" Ranma snapped, stepping in front of her and bringing her to a
halt.

"What!?" she growled.

"Pay attention to me, okay?  I'd rather you hit me than ignore me."

"Fine!" Akane growled, knocking him through a wall with a right hook. 
"Now, are you going to leave me alone and let me enjoy this day?"

He picked himself up out of the rubble, wincing slightly.  "This was what
we were talking about, by the way."

Akane blinked at him.  "What?"

"What did you hit me for that so 'justifiably' required that you knock me
through a wall.?"

"Well, you were being rude!  Isn't it obvious?"

"No, it isn't," Ranma sighed.  "All I did was ask you to listen to me.  If
you were to be thrown through a wall when you asked a question in class,
would you think it was justified?"

"Um... n-no," Akane replied, confused.

"Well, guess what you basically just did?"

Akane stared at him.  "That's different!  You deserved it!"

Ranma blinked.  "How?"

"Well, you... that is, I... the thing is..."

Ranma just shook his head.  "I'm gonna go on ahead.  If you figure out why
I deserved to be thrown for a wall, let me know.  If you don't come up with
some answer, I don't think I'll be going to that party at your house
tonight, and instead just visit mom's.  And if you don't care about that,
maybe I should just stay there, hmm?"

With that, he leapt back on to the fence and took off.  Akane stared off in
the direction he had left.

"What's gotten in to him?  I hit him all the time... with a reasonable
excuse, of course, and he's never complained before."

*	*	*	*	*

Nabiki sighed, looking around the shop for the gift her older sister had
asked her to buy for her.  She was going to lock herself in her room when
the christmas party Kasumi was putting on happened.  There were going to be
fireworks tonight- and not the pleasant kind.  She was interested in what
was going to happen, but fear for her life made it seem less fun...

She supposed it was partly her fault.  Ranma had been complaining about how
'that uncute tomboy' kept pounding on him in front of her and Kasumi.  She,
of course, had tried to find some way to tease him- she couldn't let it
stand at that.

"Why don't you stop her, then?" she had said.

"Well, she doesn't really hurt me- but most of the time I don't even know
why she's doing it!"

Kasumi, at that point, had taken it on.  "Well, why don't you ask her?"

"She just hits me again!"

"She shouldn't do that- it isn't right to hit a person who doesn't know why
they're being hit."

Ranma looked a bit thoughtful.  "Yeah... it isn't right, is it?  She should
at least tell me why she's hitting me..."

Then Akane had come home, and the conversation had gone downhill from
there.  Kasumi made Akane promise to 'control her temper.'  Her little
sister got upset (of course), and insisted she was always justified on
those 'rare occasions' she actually hit Ranma.  Nabiki had laughed, and
Ranma... surprisingly, Ranma said quite bluntly that she was wrong, and
often hit him when she shouldn't- that she only hit him when she could
satisfactorily explain why she was doing so.

Of course, since she'd just made a promise and Kasumi was right there, the
poor boy was safe from her wrath.  However, by the time of the party that
night, Akane would probably be boiling mad- those promises always upset her
irrationally.

(frag1)
When Nabiki spotted the wrinkled and yellowed parchment scroll for sale,
she
just knew she had to have it.  The thought lasted no longer then a second,
whereupon Nabiki, not one to buy on impulse, pushed the idea out of her
head
and went on her way.

But thoughts of that scroll kept swimming through her head.  Nabiki turned
around, took two steps back towards the shop, and then stopped dead in her
tracks as a suspicion crossed her mind.

Nabiki knew of magic.  It wasn't even a question of believing in magic;
living
around a sex-changer who fell into a magic pool, and who regularly ran into
magic mushrooms, magic fishing rods, magic flying ships, and other such
things
made magical powers as much an established fact to her as bullet trains and
stock market exchanges.  She returned to the store, and gazed at the scroll
like Ranma gazing at an enemy.  The scroll seemed to enlarge in her
perspective, demanding that she reach for it and snatch it up, a strange
fascination suggesting she unroll it to look upon the writing inside. 
Nabiki
concentrated against the alien desire...  she was _not_ going to be
controlled
by an old relic that wouldn't even make a museum exhibit.  If it wanted her
to
read it, she would, but only under her own terms.

Nabiki bought the scroll and pocketed it.  Late that night, she took a deep
breath, laid the scroll out in front of her, and opened it.  It was blank,
but she could see images and hear voices when she looked at it, images and
voices from very far away.

She felt herself flying in the air.  The scroll seemed to speak to her.

"I lived around the mountains.  There was a cave, where I had concealed my
hoard, but I did not consider it my home.  No, my home was everywhere,
above
green valleys, cliffs that no human could scale, and snowy peaks.  And
above
the clouds, where the sun shone bright and the stars were clear.  When I
was
hungry, I would descend to the forest, roasting a deer whole and eating the
cooked venison in one gulp.  Occasionally I would search for others of my
kind; my mother fell victim to an illness only a few decades after I was
hatched, and I had never seen even one dragon other than her and me.

"I barely paid attention to most of the humans whose villages spread over
the
land year after year.  I would notice them the most as they ran, little
ground-limited figures scattering at my presence like clouds from my
beating
wings.  Sometimes they would stop, place gold in front of me, and run.  The
gold went straight into my hoard.  Sometimes they would lead cows to me,
beg
for mercy, and run, especially when an accident had happened to their
village
and they felt that something needed appeasement.  One asked me for rain
during a famine; I took pity on him and later that night cast a rain spell
at his fields.  Sometimes they would aim their bows at me, shoot, and run;
my
answer to that was a burst of flame.  And occasionally, I would talk to one
for minutes at a time, when I needed a particular item for my hoard that a
human could easily find.  They always kept their deals with me, even when
the deal was very imbalanced in my favor.

Nabiki chuckled.  That dragon surely knew how to run a good business.

"But one day, one group of humans was different.  The lead human, a man in
armor, shouted out a phrase and sent a pillar of energy up into the air. 
Ki,
I would later learn it was called.  I had never learned to dodge
properly--I
had never before encountered an attack that could cause me any injury. 
Under
the pounding of so many of these attacks--even though no single human could
create more than one or two--I found myself tossed around, still in midair.
I breathed down at the humans and dived several times, crushing and burning
some of the unlucky ones, but still not avoid all their attacks.  Then a
volley
of arrows came at me, several hitting the inside of my open mouth.  A
single
breath turned them to ashes, but I could feel my reactions slowing.  They
must have been poisoned.

I found myself falling.  I tried to flap my wings but could muster barely
more than a twitch.  This was it, I thought; I'll be joining you, Mother. 
I
hit the ground and lost consciousness as the humans rejoiced.

I woke up to wetness.  It was all around me.  I tried to fly away, but only
managed to flail at the water.  My wings were missing...  had these
insolent
humans clipped them?

I heard a voice.  A human one, but louder than I had ever heard from a
human.
I lunged at it, but only tripped and fell.

The human laughed.  I could see he was my height, and as I examined myself,
I
realized that I myself had been turned into a human.

"Welcome to the village of the Musk Dynasty", said the human.  "We've taken
monkeys, tigers, and wolves as brides by the power of the Nyannichuan and
the
Chiisuiton, but nobody's ever taken a dragon in almost 300 years."
Nyannichuan, girl-drown-spring.  It must be a magic pool, I realized.

He threw more water on me, from a ladle he was carrying with near
reverence.  I
barely felt even a tingle.  "Now it's permanent.  Some lucky man is going
to
marry you, probably the prince.  A tiger is hard enough to control; I wish
him luck with a dragon."

"Hey, boss", said a short armored man carrying a bow, "think she can
understand
you?"  His eyes roamed up and down my form, as if he had never seen someone
like me before.  The taller human laughed and shook his head.  "The
Nyannichuan doesn't affect a creature's intellect.  But with a body like
that,
who cares about intellect?"

I was in no position to disabuse them of the notion that dragons were
anything
like monkeys, wolves, and tigers.  I knew that my first step would have to
be
to escape, and one human without scales and claws fighting against a
batallion
with scales of metal and swords in their hands didn't stand a chance.  So I
would have to see what I could, learn what I could, and escape later.

They took me off to a building and shut the door.  I could once have
destroyed
a building like this in but a few moments, but now locked doors were a
barrier.
The walls were made of granite blocks, the roof made of irregularly-placed
wooden bars that let in a bit of light.  A cage, down to the straw floor
which
faintly smelled of urine and the total lack of those resting places...
chairs...  that humans sat on when they were not walking around.  They were
treating me like an animal!  As if on cue, a human lowered a plate of raw
meat
down through the wooden bars, the pieces bloody and with bits of wool still
attached.  I wasn't feeling very hungry, and the prospect of eating this
without any fire in my mouth made me even less so.

But I was _not_ going to let myself get beaten by these humans.  There has
to
be a way.  I looked at the plate.  Smooth...  volcanic glass, it looked
like.
Volcanic glass could hold an edge.  Maybe if I smashed this?

Three throws against the wall later, I was rewarded by a pile of
sharp-edged
fragments.  Next, something to attach this to.  I squinted at the bars in
the
fading sunlight.  This wood was left exposed to the elements, and I knew
what
happened to wood left like that.  I picked the most rotten looking bar and
tried to fly up to break it off.

I jumped about two feet off the floor and fell.  Cursing my own stupidity,
I considered options for getting up there without flying.  This weak human
form....  if only I _could_ fly up there.  I imagined myself jumping up,
being lifted on the winds, and never coming down, and instinctively made my
move, about to fly again.

I found myself rising, despite my lack of wings, and the bars pressed
against
my face.  I was exhausted, but somehow I had managed to fly up to the
ceiling.
Later I would learn that those of the tribe with dragon blood would use
this
flying technique themselves in battle.

Grabbing a bar with one hand, I cut away at the rotten spots with the
sharpened
glass shard held in my other.  The bar fell down, shortly followed by
myself,
landing in the straw.  I hollowed out part of one end of the wood bar, and
tied the glass shard into it, making a crude spear.  Now to wait, probably
until the night ended.  I yawned.

I fell asleep soon after, but even as a human I was naturally alert.  A
scraping sound woke me from my sleep, and then a creak.  I opened one
eye a crack and looked towards the door, which was ajar, the glint of the
sun
on a mailed hand visible on its edge.  The human opened the door and came
into full view, wearing chain mail and carrying a weapon.  I grabbed the
spear from its hiding place in the straw and thrust it at his unprotected
face.  It went into the human's eye socket and almost completely through
his
head, and he let out a scream, went into convulsions while blood gushed
out,
then died.
(frag1)

"...biki?" someone was saying.  "Are you okay?"

Nabiki blinked, returning to reality.  "Huh?  Oh, right.  What's up,
Kasumi?"

"Did you remember to get me that gift?" she asked.

"Gift?"  Nabiki couldn't remember what gift Kasumi was talking about for a
moment.  "Er, no, sorry Kasumi.  I didn't find anything appropriate."

The older sister frowned slightly- well, as much as she ever frowned.  "Oh,
too bad.  Father will be so disappointed not to receive a gift this
christmas..."

Nabiki shrugged.  "Oh, well.  Is it okay if I skip the party tonight,
Kasumi?  I found this scroll while I was out shopping, and it's very
interesting...."

"Father would miss you if you didn't show up..."

That was as close to saying 'no' as Kasumi ever got.  Nabiki sighed.  "What
time does it start again?"

*	*	*	*	*

A half hour later, the party had started.  Akane was looking around for
Ranma, Ryouga was lost in the middle of the room, Ukyou was discussing
cooking with Kasumi, and Shampoo was looking for Nabiki.

"Where Ranma?" she asked when she found her.

"Huh?" Nabiki asked, surprised.  She hadn't been expecting any customers
tonight, and so had allowed herself a few sips of the authentically
prepared eggnog.  It was dulling her senses a bit, and she wasn't quite
sure she heard Shampoo correctly.

"Ranma not at party- Nabiki always know where for right price.  Where
Ranma?"

Nabiki caught sight of Akane, gift in hand, looking around nervously.  What
had happened was obvious.  "Five thousand yen."

Shampoo handed over the cash.  "Here money, now talk."

"Ranma and Akane had a fight about how she hits him all the time.  They're
trying to avoid each other."

"So where Ranma?"

Nabiki shrugged, taking another sip of her eggnog.  "Making himself as
hidden as possible.  Even I can't find him."

Shampoo growled slightly.  Turning around, she started to leave the Tendou
dojo.

"Shampoo!" Mousse cried, running towards her with his arms outstretched.

*CRACK*  He dropped after making impact with Shampoo's fist.  Nabiki,
witnessing the incident, winced.

"Shampoo not in mood.  Sleep here night- see you home, Shampoo kill!"

Mousse merely moaned in response.  Nabiki shook her head at their antics
and finished off her glass of eggnog.  After Shampoo had departed, Nabiki
walked up to the chinese boy and splashed him with water.

"Enough partying for you, I think... but I want to know why Shampoo was so
upset," she said, starting for the kitchen.

"Kvack," was all he answered.

Nabiki blinked.  "I think I'll wait for tomorrow.  This eggnog is strong
stuff- your quack sounded slurred.  I might not understand it all if you
told me now...."

*	*	*	*	*

Ranma frowned.  Akane had said nothing to him after his threat.  He decided
to stay at his mother's for the actual party- perhaps to show her he wasn't
bluffing- but he couldn't stay away completely.  The party was over, and he
was surveying the house from the walls.

Mousse, in his duck form, had been stuck in a cage that was hanging in the
window to Nabiki's room, Ryouga was not to be seen (though Ranma suspected
he was being P-Chan for the night), Ukyou was sleeping in the dojo on a
borrowed futon, and everyone else was in their own beds.  Everyone except
him.

Sighing, Ranma leapt onto the roof, sitting over Akane's bedroom. If things
didn't start getting better soon, he'd move out... whatever he felt for
Akane.  Sadly, he wrapped himself up in a blanket and fell asleep. 
Suddenly, he was back at Jusenkyo, falling towards the pond...

*	*	*	*	*

(frag14)
Akane sat by the campfire and chewed the meat off the rib she was
holding. Tossing the rib away, she asked, "So now that we've kissed, what
do we do now?"

     "Get naked and use those condoms Nabiki gave you, of course," Ranma
replied, leering at Akane.

     "Sounds good, but can I have some more barbecued pork before we do
it?" Akane asked, slipping her gi top off.

     Ranma started to drool at the sight of Akane's breasts or maybe
because the pig smelled so good. They both probably taste good. "Of
course," Ranma replied, then quickly carved a piece of the barbecued meat
off the small pig that was roasting over the fire and handed it to Akane.
Akane finished her meal, then got up and headed for the tent. After Akane
turned her back, Ranma dropped a yellow and black bandana into the fire.

     "What do you think we can catch tomorrow for dinner?" Akane asked,
as she slipped out of her pants before she entered the tent.

     Ranma pulled off his gi as he walked to the tent. He glanced at a
large sack that was hidden behind a large bush. "Oh, maybe some wild
chicken." He grinned, then entered the tent with Akane.

     The wind blew the top of the sack open, a large blood covered
spatula could be seen sticking out of the sack.
(frag14)

"Ack!"  Ukyou was suddenly awake and breathing heavily.  "Wierd dream.... 
Akane and Ranma kissing and sleeping together?  He turning Ryouga and
myself into food?  What a nightmare..."  She shuddered, and decided not to
go back to sleep that night, instead getting up to head to the kitchen for
a cup of coffee.

*	*	*	*	*

"RANMA!  PREPARE TO DIE!"  Mousse cried, descending from the rooftops,
weapons flying towards his mortal enemy.

"URK!" the poor teenager cried as the blades tore through his body.  Mousse
landed nearby and saw him go through his last death throes.

"Hahahahaha!"  Mousse laughed maniacally, resting one foot on the chest of
his vanquished foe.  "So, Saotome, you are not the fighter you thought you
were, are you?  Shampoo will now be mine!"

Looking on in horror, Akane could barely speak.  "M- mousse?  Do you know
what you just did?"

Mousse looked in the direction of her voice, and apologetically said, "I'm
sorry for having killed your fiancee, Akane, but it was the only way-"

"Um, Mousse," Nabiki interrupted, calmly steadying the arm of her sister
before she collapsed in shock- it was the first time Akane had seen a dead
body, and the fact that it was someone she knew made it much worse.  Nabiki
was better off, however, having seen the grisly shape their mother was in
when she had been killed by those muggers nearly ten years before.  "Unless
I am TERRIBLY mistaken, Gosunkugi has never been Akane's fiancee."

Mousse slowly lowered the glassed from the top of his head over his eyes. 
"Gosun...kugi?" he asked, looking at the corpse in terror.  "Not... Ranma? 
I killed... an... innocent man?"

Mousse-duck awoke uncertainly.  Was this dream trying to send him some sort
of message?  That he should perhaps be more careful?  That he shouldn't
just be grabbing random people and calling them shampoo?

Sighing, he noted he was still locked in a cage.  Deciding it wasn't worth
trying to pick the lock, he decided to just lie down and keep resting.

*	*	*	*	*

(frag13)
"You may kiss the bride," the priest said, smiling.

Ryouga closed his eyes, bent his head down, and his lips met those of his
new wife's.  There was a gentle pressing of lips, as she tilted her head
back.  Claps, cheers, and whistles signalled the congradulations of the
guests as their arms tightened around each other, each trying to bring
themselves closer.

For some reason, all the claps and cheers stopped.  Suddenly, and very
briefly, Akari's hand tugged against him even harder than before, and her
lips pressed that much harder against his.  Her body moved closer to him,
and her head started to draw back, ending the kiss.

And the head continued to draw back, and the body contined to move in- more
than was humanly possible.  Ryouga snapped his eyes open in wonder.  The
look went to horror as her head fell to the floor, and her headless body
draped itself against him, a sword leveled where the neck had been.  All in
attendance stared aghast at Nodoka, who's cold eyes leveled themselves with
Ryouga's.
(frag13)

He would have screamed, but suddenly he was awake, and someone else was
screaming louder...

*	*	*	*	*

Akane grumbled as she settled down into her bed.  Ranma really HAD skipped
out on the party, and she wasn't pleased one bit.  Why was he complaining? 
Especially now?  He knew that it was his fault that she hit him- but today,
he seemed upset about it.  Like it was her fault.

She sighed, turned out her light, and fell asleep.

(frag15)
Akane was in a large black room. "Where am I?"

"Akane?" she heard some ask.

She turned to the direction of the voice. "Auntie Saotome, hi."

"Hello, Akane. Have you seen Ranma lately?"

Akane looked down. "No. He's on a training trip."

Nodoka sighed. "I've heard that you and Ranma haven't been getting 
along."

<Well that was straight and to the point.> "Um, yes. He's a bit too 
manly. He's a perverted, insensitive, jerk starting fights Ryoga, 
flirting with Shampoo and constantly trying to piss me off."

"He's the one at fault?"

"Of course he is."

Nodoka leveled her gaze at Akane. "You know Ranma loves you. He's 
said it a couple times now and never denied it. How many times have 
you told him how you feel?"

Akane blinked. <How did she know that?> "He's never said in a way I 
know he means it. Besides, he's always doing something stupid."

"Akane, is Ranma really the one at fault in your relationship?"

"Yes."

"Perhaps, you need to see the truth." Nodoka waved her arm behind 
herself and a corridor suddenly appeared.

Akane shrugged and entered. She heard Nodoka say, "Who's at fault?"

Soun and Genma appeared on her right. Genma shifted from human to 
panda, and raised a sign she was sure said, "I'm just a panda. It's 
not my fault."

"We merely want you to together. Sure we can be frustrating, 
especially when we interrupt the events we want to happen. But we 
mean well. We have little of the blame." He looked at the panda. 
"Well, if you don't consider what he's done before he arrive at our 
home."

Akane continued on and heard again. "Who's at fault?"

Nabiki appeared on her left. "I'd rather not have Ranma as a brother-
in-law with all the trouble he causes. But if he can tolerate me using 
him for money, then I guess I can tolerate him. I hold little of the 
blame."

Akane walked past her. "Who's at fault?"

A duck formed to her right, and then transformed into Mousse. "Why 
would I be at fault? Besides wanting Ranma dead, that is. I'd love it 
if he were to marry you."

She moved on. "Who's at fault?"

The area to Akane's left was illuminated by a pair of candles revealing
Gosunkugi. "I l-love you, Akane. I'd do anything for your love. But I 
came too late to stand a chance."

Akane shock her head trying to remember who he was. "Who's at fault?"

Kodachi appeared on her right. "I deserve Ranma-sama's love. Not you, 
you worthless commoner. But alast, my dear Ranma-sama ignores me. I 
have to go to extremes just to have what little blame in hurting your 
relationship. 

Akane continued to walk down the corridor. "Who's at fault?"

Kuno appeared on her left. "The sorcerer does not deserve such a 
beauty as yourself, but woe I am but an annoyance and do little to 
actually harm your relationship."

Akane continued on. "Who's at fault?"

Ukyou appeared on the right. "I have loved Ranchan since we were kids. 
I have tried to convince him I am the better choice. But in the end... 
I only want Ranma to be happy. I hold some of the blame."

Akane walked on. "Who's at fault?"

Neko-Shampoo appeared on the left. She transformed into her human 
form. "Ranma is Shampoo's and not violent kitchen destroyer's. 
Pervert-girl will not take airen away from me! I've tried everything I 
could think of and then some to get my husband away from you. But I 
only hold some of the blame."

Akane walked past her. "Who's at fault?"

Akane blinked seeing P-Chan on her right. She then gasped when it 
turned into Ryoga. "I love you and I'd do anything for you. You 
deserve better than that Ranma so I've done everything that I could to 
help break you two apart. I'm sorry that I've caused you pain by 
starting fights between you and Ranma, but in the end- it's all his 
fault, right? I'd like to be the one most to blame, but I'm not."

Akane was in a state of shock. "Who at fault?"

Ranma appeared at her left. "It's not my fault. I've lived on the 
road with that worthless father of mine. How do you expect me to know 
about love and stuff. Sure I've made some mistakes, and a good portion 
of the blame is mine, but I'm not the one who holds the most blame."

<Ranma isn't the most at fault?!> Akane traveled on. She came to the 
end of the corridor and it ended with a mirror.

"Who's at fault?"

"I am," the image in the mirror replied, while flashes of memories 
went through Akane's head.

------------------

P-Chan was startled awake by Akane screaming. He looked up at her, and 
somehow her unfocused eyes focused on him. He felt himself being 
grabbed forcefully, as Akane ran out the room with him.

The pig became frightened when he noted the destination appeared to be 
the kitchen. When they got to the bathing room he sighed in relief 
that the furo was empty. He then panicked again when Akane turned on 
the shower, the hot shower.

"A-Akane I can explain..." Ryoga stammered, while in his birthday 
suit.

"Explain? I don't want you to explain. Just get lost, you pervert." 
She assisted him with a LEO uppercut.

Akane collapsed onto her knees, while the hot shower continues to spray 
on her. Tears rolling down her checks. "My fault. My fault. My fault."
(frag15)

*	*	*	*	*

Ranma was awakened from nightmares of his past life by a martial artist
flying past him.  That didn't usually happen to the person he saw it was,
but he didn't have time to think about it.  Coming from the hole in the
roof which he made while flying, he heard someone crying- someone he cared
about deeply.

"Akane?" he asked himself.  Shaken out of his stupor, he hopped down into
the bathroom next to Akane.

Akane was kneeling there, weeping, repeating, "My fault... my fault... my
fault..." over and over.  Ranma frowned, not liking the way she looked at
all.

"Akane?  Are you okay?"

"Ranma, I'm sorry!" she cried, looking at him with a tear-stained face. 
"It's all my fault!"

"I gathered that," Ranma said dryly, handing her a wad of toilet paper he
grabbed from a nearby dispenser.  "Now, dry your tears and tell me what is
it you're all at fault for?"

Akane sniffed, wiping her face.  "Our relationship's troubles, my hitting
you, your and Ryouga's continued rivalry..."

Ranma shook his head.  This wasn't right- this wasn't the Akane he knew. 
What had happened?  How had she found out about Ryouga?  Why was she
feeling so... guilty... all of a sudden?

"Akane, stop it.  You aren't at fault for all of that.  True, you've done
some things to cause us troubles, but so have I.  I don't always deserve
it, but I really don't mind you hitting me when I DO deserve it.  And, as
far as Ryouga goes... well, how DID you find out about that, anyway?"

Akane blinked.  "Well, I... I had this nightmare, and Ryouga admitted it in
my dreams..."

Ranma blinked back.  "You DREAMED that he was P-Chan?  That doesn't make
any sense..."

"Well, it's true... maybe I've known it for a while and just not realized
it until now, but now I KNOW I know.  And I'm sorry- I suddenly realized
that you and he fight over me a lot, and that I've been blaming you for
trying to protect me from his... perversions."

Ranma looked around nervously, surprised that no-one had walked in on them
yet- usually when he and Akane started talking, half the neighborhood burst
in on them.  "And what else did this dream tell you?  That everything is
your fault?"

"Well..." Akane answered.  "Yes.  Or no.  Not really, but... it showed me
I'm a lot more to blame than I ever imagined I was..."

Ranma wasn't quite sure what to say.  The dream was right- she was a lot
more responsible for their fights than she ever believed she was- but that
knowledge was hurting her badly.  Ranma wasn't quite sure what to say. 
Looking up through the hole in the cieling, he noticed the sky was still
dark and the starts were still out.  It was too early to get up.

"Akane... it's late.  This was just a nightmare- maybe some of what it said
was right, but... well... things like Ryouga's curse shouldn't have come
out until he was ready to tell you, and... well, maybe it would have been
better if we'd settled our argument before you went to bed last night-"

"Oh, Ranma, you were right...  I shouldn't be hitting you as often as I
do..."

Ranma nodded.  "Well, I'm glad you've finally realized it.  As I was
saying, you had a nightmare.  As a matter of fact, I was having a bunch of
nightmares, too- kept dreaming about falling into Jusenkyo again and again,
and then the dreams turned into the battle against Saf- er, the closest
thing to death I've ever faced.  Perhaps we should go back to our bedrooms
and go to sleep, and hopefully dream something other than nightmares- it's
late, and we can talk about this some more in the morning.  As it is, I
doubt either of us slept soundly- if we talk now, we're likely to get into
another fight... which I really don't want to do right now."

Akane nodded, sniffling.  "You'll be here tomorrow, right?"

"Er..." Ranma hesitated.  He wasn't planning on going to his mothers, but
Akane thought he might.  Perhaps she'd finally taken his threat seriously
after he didn't show up at the party, which could have lead to her
nightmare.  Still didn't explain how she found out about Ryouga, though. 
"Right.  I'll be here- I'm not planning on leaving for long without telling
you first.  Besides, I was hoping to work out in your dojo tomorrow."

Akane looked a little nervous when he said 'dojo,' but nodded.

*	*	*	*	*

Ranma sighed.  Akane had left for a morning jog before they could talk- but
perhaps she hadn't wanted to begin their conversation until after
breakfast.  At any rate, he decided to fill the time before breakfast
(which had been delayed- for some odd reason, Kasumi had overslept) by
doing something useful that DIDN'T involve his father.

(frag6)
Ranma studied the notes he had taken.  Normally, he didn't write much down
in class, but these weren't class notes.  No, he was getting ready for the
last test he would ever have to take in his one true calling- in two weeks,
he would see if he were to become a master- or even a grandmaster- of his
school.  The five Grandmasters of Anything Goes Martial Arts were coming to
the Tendou Dojo, and there was no telling when they would come again.  His
and Akane's fathers had both failed their first time, and this was only
their second chance to move on to a higher rank.  Soun has said it was
perhaps their last chance to force Happosai away from the dojo, as well,
because if they could pass the test for Grandmaster, they would outrank
him, and HE would have to follow THEIR commands.

The test was... well, not too surprising, considering the nature of his
style.  Create a kata with all the moves and variants he had added to
Anything Goes, and perform it for the Grandmasters.  If he had thirty
unique moves in his kata, which truly were new to the school, he would
become a Master.  One hundred and twenty, and he would become a
Grandmaster.  Ranma was hoping for the later, but found himself six short.

"Six moves... hmm, maybe I could try coming up with some revisions to these
moves... ah, well."  With that thought in mind, he stood up and headed off
to the dojo.  A few hours there, and he was pretty sure he could come up
with at least one more move.

He slid open the door and noted Akane was inside, sitting with her back to
him.  He was about to leave, when he noticed that Akane wasn't meditating
like he first suspected, but was, instead, trembling as if... she were
crying.

"Akane?" he asked.  "Is... something wrong?"

Akane leapt to her feet and spun around, furiously wiping her tears from
her eyes.  "Ranma?!  What are you doing here?" she asked, her voice
shaking.

"I was coming to practice.  Akane, why are you crying?"  He cautiously took
a couple of steps towards her as he spoke.

"It's... it's... it's this whole test thing!  I'm not going to pass!  I
can't find enough moves- I've done my best, but I'm still six short of
being a Master!  SIX!  I'll never learn that many in time to prepare for
the test... and if I can't pass, than everything I've done in my life up
till now... all my life, I've been getting ready for this day, and I'm
still not ready!"  She was getting hysterical as Ranma reached out for her
and pulled her into his arms to cry.  He hadn't done this very often- and
normally, only after he had saved her from a fate worse than death (like
the time she'd been trapped in that cursed doll), but now he knew that she
needed someone to comfort her, and so pulled her in to cry on her
shoulders.

"Shh... calm down, Akane," he whispered softly.  'Six techniques, eh?' he
thought.  'Huh, funny, I need six techniques myself in order to pass to
Grandmaster.  I wonder...'

"R-ranma?" Akane sniffled.  "If I don't pass, will you... will you
still..."

"Don't talk like that, Akane," Ranma said, forcing a smile in order to try
and cheer her up.  "Oddly enough, I need six techniques for my Grandmaster
form..."  He put his hands on her shoulders and pushed her away a bit. 
"Akane, I've been thinking about it for a while," he lied.  In truth, the
idea had just hit him.  "There's nothing to say we can't make a joint form.
 I might not be able to teach you all of my moves in two weeks, but suppose
we create a form where you start, say, ninety moves into my form.  Then,
for the last six moves, we create some two-person moves- and you and I,
together, perform them."

"T... two-person moves?" she asked uncertainly.

"Well, yeah- I mean, when we quit fighting for a while, we work well
together.  We both need six moves, right?  And Anything Goes doesn't
include many teamwork skills, right?"  Akane nodded to each question. 
"Well, wouldn't it be a lot easier to add skills from an area our school
has almost ignored?"
(frag6)

Akane sniffled again, then nodded slightly, shifting out of his arms. 
Ranma was a little surprised- yesterday, she was overreacting to everything
and pounding him for trivialities, and today she had already twice had fits
of sobbing (once in his arms) and had apologized for everything she'd ever
done to him.  She'd been upset over two completely different things, and...
well, they hadn't really talked about either of them.

'Sheesh,' he thought, 'I guess I got to her more than I planned yesterday.'

"Ranma?" Akane said, wiping the tears from her eyes.

"Uh, yeah?"

"Can we talk about yesterday and last night?"

Ranma blinked.  "Sure..."

"Breakfast!" came Kasumi's call from the house.

"But let's wait until after breakfast, okay?"

Akane nodded, and they ran off to the breakfast table...

*	*	*	*	*

Still need to use:
frag2
frag4
frag7
frag8
frag9
frag10
frag11
frag12

I actually know what I WANT to do with them, but the uses I have in mind
are all for much later in the story- I want some more scene fragments to
help write some of the story between now and then (since there would be a
HUGE section of non-scene writing, which would kind of unbalance the
project, IMO...).  So please, send some in...
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