I think I've allready posted this, but since I got no
response I'll do so again. 
	'Not Another One!' has been cancelles, but Aeka will
show up in 'And Life Goes On' eventually. I'm planning on
making ALGO a contineous project, something to work on when
I'm stumped on something else I'm working on. Don't expect
too much of it very often.


 
 
                        'And Life Goes On'
 
                Part 1, chapter 1: 'Won't You Dream of Me?'
 
 
        Dreams are extremely important, more than anyone could
 ever imagine. For it is in the dream world in which we lay down
 our personalities, our deepest beliefs and goals. It is the one place
 when you're completely honest with yourself; you don't lie about
 how would keep a wallet filled with thousands of dollars, rather
 than return it to the owner. Or that you want to indulge yourself
 by eating a banana-split that contains a few million calories. 
 
        Dreams are there to keep you from going mad in this world
 we set up with lies; if you're not entirely honest to yourself every
 once in a while, you start loosing your personality; the world is a
 bleak and desolate place. That is why does that don't dream go
 slowly crazy. Dreams are a delicate and dependable part of our life;
 the one thing you enver want to mess with are dreams. 
 
        Don't say that you never dream; you do. The mind hides it
 before you wake up, because the truth in it must be unburied when
 awake, otherwise it is of no use. Dreams are only there to help you
 unveil them.
 
        Ok, you say. I remember the nightmare where I went to school
 naked. Does that mean I want to go to school without any clothes, despite
 the embarrassment? Well, maybe. Or you might want to look a little
 bit deeper into it.
 
        How about the time I dreamt that there was a T-Rex in my house
 along with several other dinosaurs in my apartment, and in order to run
 away with them I had to climb a tree in my backyard with my baby-sitter.
 Does that mean I want my home to be wrecked by gigantic reptiles? Well,
 maybe not, but you wanted your apartment to get wrecked so that you
 could get insurance.
 
        Let's take a boy called Saotome Ranma, for example. Not only he
 can't make heads or tails of his life, he wouldn't even recognize a normal
 life if he saw it. The kid's got furious enemies left and right, a terrible and
 humiliating curse, and enough fiancees to have made Henry IVVV green
 with wnvy. Worst of all, none of these fiancees were chosen by him.
 
        He makes an even worse jumble of all of this by fighting the
 enemies, rather than talk over their problems (Not as if they would
 listen anyway), and let the fiancees do pretty much as they pleased
 (To a certain extent).
 
        There was one other thing he was doing to make this situation
 even worse, and this was just a reaction to a feeling that Ranma was
 extremely confused over. Now, one of the things he hated most was
 to be confused, since it left him vrunable to his nemeses. What puzzled
 this lad so was a girl called Tendo Akane, who happened to be one of
 his fiancees. He didn't understand who he felt about her; since he
 became engaged to Akane, he wanted to hate her with his whole being.
 But if he didn't watch himself, he found himself almost... well,
 liking her. To cover up this confusion, and prevent this feeling, he
 insulted an fought with her, which provoked reactions from Akane that
 are less than likable.
 
        And yet he loved her. This rarely showed when he was awake,
 but in his dreams it's very clear. Of course, most of the time he doesn't
 remember of what he dreamt, but when he does, he's in for a surprise. 
 
 
 
        Shampoo is a very determined girl. It's partially genetics- all
 of her ancestors have been very determined- and partially because of her
 enviroment. Her first 16 years were spent in her homeland, a Chinese
 amazon tribe called Joketsu. No one ever discussed things over in this
 tribe- it was all decided over a fight. That's how they got stupid laws
 such as you must kill a female outsider if she defeats you in combat.
 
         Shampoo was the best of not only her age, but those that
 were ten years younger or older than her. And it's a good thing too,
 because once she left China to follow the one she loved, she found
 that the fights were even harder in Japan. And this was a problem;
 all she had wanted back at home was to be the best. But here, she
 wanted to marry the man with the most competition. And worse
 yet, she couldn't use the 'kiss of death' anymore, as she had found
 that Ranma disapproved of this method. So, to keep him happy she
 had abandoned it.
 
        Fighting was what Shampoo did best; next was making weird
 mind-changing substances. She knew how to make passion spice, noodles
 of loathing and many others. Unfortunately, she had all ready tried half of
 what she knew and she still hadn't gained Ranma's love.
 
        It was on a pleasant Tuesday that Shampoo was flipping the book 
 '1001 fast and easy ways to get your man'. She had ordered it through
 the mail four weeks ago, waited impatiently for it to arrive, and
 now that she had it in her possession she found that she had all
 ready tried half of the techniques in it. And these weren't fast-
 some of them took a year to work!
 
        <:What a rip-off,:> Shampoo thought. <:I don't have time
 for all this waiting, I want Ranma now!:> She sighed, and started
 imagining their marriage; of Ranma telling how deeply he loved her;
 the strong and courageous children they would have. Snapping out
 of her daydream, she continues searching.
 
        <:Let's see.... this takes less than a day, but I have no idea
 where to get a dragon's heart. No good, this one takes a month,
 this one doesn't work half the time, I've already tried this one...:>
 Shampoo pulled her and screamed. "Shampoo so frustrated! At this
 rate, Shampoo never get married!"
 
        "What's wrong, Shampoo?" Shampoo suddenly felt relieved;
 her great-grandmother was intelligent and could surely think of a way
 to help her. 
 
        "Shampoo buy new recipe book, but is useless. And this book
 was last in catalogue. What Shampoo do now?" As she asked the old
 woman for help, she went on looking in the book. Cologne hopped to
 Shampoo on her staff, and read over her shoulder.
 
        "Turn back two pages." Shampoo did so, and Cologne quickly
 read it. "Oh, I know someone that used that one. It's very effective,
 you might want to try it." Shampoo skimed it.
 
        "Aiya, but this take two days!"
 
        "True, but it lasts a life-time. While others take a second and
 lasts a day, this one takes longer to work but the effects are permanent.
 I'd say it's worth the wait." Shampoo pouted, she wasn't all that patient. 
 
        "All right, if great-grandmother say so." She picked up the book
 and carried it into the kitchen. Setting it onto the counter, she gave
 herself the time to read the whole thing slowly and carefully.
 
        "It say....
        " 'Dream-lover chicken soup. Make normal chicken soup,
 and... (A long recipe follows). After man eat this, in about 2 or 3 days  he
 will have excessive dreams of the person he loves, and will remember them
 all. He will realize his love for this person, and marry them. The effects are
 forever, since he truly is in love with her, not by some drug.' 
        "This perfect! Shampoo know Ranma love her, just to shy to say so!"
 Shampoo started to get to work, not aware of the the disaster she was making.
 
 
Chapter 2
 
                        'And Life Goes On'
 
                Part 1, chapter 2: Won't You Dream of Me?
 
 
        Shampoo eyed the room carefully for any awake people, and gingerly
 entered Ranma's room. It was a good thing that there was a full moon that
 night, otherwise Shampoo might have stepped on Genma (sleeping as a human,
 for a change) and set off the alarm throughout the house. Or maybe Genma
 would have gone right on sleeping, being so used to pain.
 
        One might ask Shampoo why she was sneaking into Ranma's room
 at night; is she trying to seduce him, abduct him, or what? What she held
 in one hand might hold the answer to that question; it's a bowl of chicken soup.
 
        Yeah, that makes a helluva lot of sense.
 
        Shampoo makes her way to the snoring Ranma stealthily, and squats
 next to him. After admiring his sleeping form for a few seconds, Shampoo
 remembers what she came in here for. She spoons a bit of the soup, props
 up his head, and feeds him a little. Some of it dribbles out of his mouth,
 but most goes in. 
 
        She continues feeding him until most of it has been fed to him
 (another good portion of it is on his chin and shirt), and lays him back down
 gently. Wiping what she can off the nightshirt and her hand, she holds his
 hand a little, watching his chest rise and fall. She thinks of the happy times
 they'll have once they are together and married, all the things that the future
 holds for them. The young, yet gorgeous, girl strokes the hair from Ranma's
 forehead, and lifts herself up, not wanting to leave but knowing if she stayed,
 Akane might run in and ruin everything. 
 
        *:Sometimes, Ranma.... sometimes I wish you and I were the only
 people on this planet. No one to interfere with us... you'd be all mine, no
 one to fight you for. But don't worry Ranma, soon, we'll be together. Sleep
 tight, my love.:* She left the room then, only Ranma's stained shirt
 and the bowl as proof that she had been there.
 
        Meanwhile....
 
 
 
        Ranma was NOT happy. He had just been chased by twenty
 or so cats, which didn't turn out to be so bad because he stopped
 running away from them and pounded them all into the ground.
 Which was definitely sweet.
 
        All was fine and dandy as Ranma stood upon the huge pile of
 cats, but then this huge Akane, who really didn't look like her, rather
 she looked like a 50 year old woman who had ten lemons for lunch
 but really WAS Akane, and things went downhill from there. First,
 she blamed Shampoo's sudden appearance on Ranma, which made
 no sense at all because all she was doing was standing and doing
 nothing, no reason for Akane to get all riled up about it. And worse
 yet, Akane started shoving some food down his throat; it was tasty,
 but there are better ways to enjoy a meal by having an ugly lady
 stuffing it into you.
 
        Something strange happened afterwards, though. Akane
 'got younger', her face was no longer sour, and she looked like
 herself. In fact, she had a much calmer and sweeter expression
 than what we usually see her with. 
 
        Ranma changed, too. Not physically, but the state he was
 in. Just two seconds ago he was scared out of his mind, annoyed
 and angry. Now, looking at this peaceful Akane he felt ashamed
 that he could be so mean to her. He waved to her shyly, motioning
 to come nearer; she skipped to him.
 
        "Hi, Ranma." Her voice was soft, a softer tone than this
 tomboy had ever used on Ranma. "Sorry for hitting you all the time."
 Ranma gulped, not expecting any of this; usually, he found, when Akane
 was being extra sugary to him, she pounded him two seconds later.
 
        "D-don't think of it." He stammered, not quite sure how to act
 when Akane was genuinely happy to be with him. He tried to avoid
 her gaze by taking a look at what she was wearing he regretted it.
 Generally did not like Akane's fashion sense, but right now he loved
 it. She was wearing a sun dress; it was a light shade of blue;
 it's straps were thin; the skirt flared out a bit, joined
 with a white belt, and on her feet were Mary Janes. The
 outfit added to her present cuteness.
 
        He just looked at her, blinking. *She actually....
 she actually looks cute. No, not cute. Beautiful, maybe?*
 She took his hand in concern, and asked him,
 
        "Ranma, are you all right? You're just standing
 there, I'm worried about you." Ranma took a double take;
 Akane? Worried about HIM? He tried to laugh the strange
 feeling he was getting off.
 
        "Oh, I'm fine, don't sweat it Akane." It didn't work;
 the warmth he felt earlier took over him; there wasn't a
 cruel thought about her in him now. Looking at the empty
 beach which had suddenly appeared before them, "Race ya."
 She grinned and kneeled, displaying her tomboyish nature.
 
        "You're on." He kneeled next to her, counting 1 to 4,
 and then shouted,
 
        "GO!" They jogged, not going for speed, just fun.
 Akane giggled, happy to let out the energy within her, and
 Ranma was content to see Akane being more like herself. 
 
        The two fell onto the sand after a few minutes, a bit
 tired. When Akane regained her breath, Ranma was very
 surprised to hear "Get up, you moron!"
 
        "Huh?"
 
        "Get up all ready!" A wave came over the couple,
 and Ranma awakes to find herself spitting out water, and
 to see Akane holding an empty bucket of water. "If you
 don't hurry Ranma, you won't get any breakfast." She stared
 at her, not quite sure of what was reality and dream-land yet.
 
        "Akane?... Weren't we on the beach a moment ago?
 You were..." She mover her hands a lot, trying to figure
 out where the sand and the docile Akane had gone. "What
 the hell's going on here?"
 
        "I dunno, but you were probably dreaming. Why on
 earth would I be on a beach with you?" She left, leaving
 Ranma-chan even more confused. 
 
        *Why would I dream about Akane and I on the be-*
 and then it hit him *I thought she was beautiful! Do I have a
 fever or somethin'? Man, that was spooky.* Shee stood up,
 not noticing the ramen bowl by his bed.
 
 
                        'And Life Goes On'
 
                Part 1, chapter 3: Won't You Dream of Me?
 
 
        As Ranma clambered down the stairs, he gave some
 serious thought to his dream last night; he could vaguely
 remember having such dreams before, but it scared him a
 little to have such a vivid memory of it. He could still recall
 Akane's smile, and how warm it had made him feel inside.
 
        "Morning, Ranma." Kasumi greeted him, as he entered
 the dinning room. He took a seat next to Akane, and began to
 furiously eat the food laid out in front of him. Akane watched,
 disgusted by her fiancee's manners.
 
        "I can see why Kuno and the others think so lowly of
 you; you've got the decency of a pig." Ranma paused a moment,
 considering a reply that would get him tossed into the pond by
 Akane; deciding upon it in less than a second, he opened his
 mouth and...
 
        Nothing. Even now, as she started their morning fight,
 he could still see the image of the kind, gentle Akane from his
 dream. He simply couldn't snap back at her, or didn't want to.
 It'd blow away one of the few nice memories he had of Akane.
 
        "Need hearing-aids, Ranma? I'm sure I could get you a
 pair, at a bargain price." Nabiki offered, pleased to have found another
 possible money source in Ranma; she knew he wouldn't want Kuno
 to know he needed them, or Ryoga, or anybody else for that matter.
 
        "I don't need no hearing aids." He mumbled, not wanting to
 put up with Nabiki this morning; not that he ever wanted to, anyway.
 *How Nabiki is related to Akane I'll never understand; I mean, Akane's
 so much swee-* He bit on his chopstick hard, breaking it in half, again
 surprised what was running through his mind. "Ow!" 
 
        "Aw, what's wrong, did poor Ranma bite his tongue?"
 Akane asked, using a mocking tone she reserved for P-chan.
 Ranma spit out the broken half of his chopstick to show his sudden
 cause of pain. Everybody just looked at the broken chopstick, and
 resumed eating, not impressed by the hardness of his teeth; it after
 all, was no harder than his head.
 
        
        Ksaumi observed her family and friends in the silent way she
 always did; noticing the odd events that were caused because of
 them, but not making much out of it. Kasumi figured that if it was
 any of her business, she'd be told about it. Above kindness, above
 being a good role model to her sisters, Kasumi valued privacy.
 
        She noticed her youngest sister was again starting to bicker
 with Ranma, and smiled to herself. She admitted, at first she had
 puzzled over this remarkable behavior, even if it didn't have nothing
 to do with her. Well, actually it did, since she was the one to clean
 up their messes, but that was besides the point. Kasumi finally decided
 that it was another form of practicing; she didn't know if there was such
 a thing as 'Verbal Fights Martial Arts', but knew if there was Akane
 and Ranma would be the top fighters. And who knew, with so
 many different and unique martial arts styles Kasumi has witnessed
 in her 19 years, it could very well exist.
 
        "Aw, what's wrong, did Ranma bite his tongue?" Kasumi was
 touched; Akane, finally worried about her fiancee! Well, maybe it
 wasn't so good Ranma had broken his chopstick; did he have to
 demonstrate his martial arts skills at the table?
 
        Ranma got up to get a new one, and Kasumi felt a pang of
 guilt, thinking how she should have gotten it for him. Deciding to
 make it up for him later by making his favorite dinner, Kasumi then
 tried to start a conversation going. "What are you going to do today,
 Akane?" Akane munched, clearing her mouth of all food before she
 answered.
 
        "I'm going to the movies with some friends." Nabiki perked
 up her ears; knowing Akane's plans always came in handy, her
 admirers always are willing to pay a pretty sum for that information.
 
 
        "You're going to that new martial arts film?" Akane eyed her
 sister suspiciously, knowing all ready how she planned to use this piece
 of news; and she knew the last thing she wanted was to have Kuno
 crash into the theater, searching for her.
 
        "Naw, we haven't decided yet. And I doubt we'll go there
 we get enough of that here. And it's live, to boot." Akane didn't
 feel too bad as she watched Nabiki's face fall a little; the less
 Nabiki knew, the less embarrassment and trouble she'd cause for
 Akane.
 
        
        Ranma pretended to be eating, but secretly listened in on
 their conversation. *Akane's going to the movies? I wonder- no, 
 wait, I don't care what Akane's doing, she doesn't in the least
 interest me. Not in the slightest, uhn-uhn.* Ranma ate faster,
 wanting to concentrate on stuffing the food down his throat rather
 than on Akane.
 
        He felt a hand on his shoulder's, and heard "Ranma-kun,
 why not join Akane and her friends?" Ranma spat out half the
 contents of the food in his mouth, and Akane wrinkled her face. 
 
        "Dad! I want to have a normal, peaceful day for once! Not
 only I don't want him there, but he'd bring with him anything but peace!"
 
        "Don't make it sound like I wanna go with ya, I've better
 things to do than hand out with a group of dopey girls!" Ranma
 slammed on hand on the table, raising himself a little. Akane
 imitated his moves, and asked sweetly,
 
        "Like what?" He face faulted, trying to quickly think up an
 answer.
 
        "I, uh, that is, I'm going to visit Ucchan's." By reading her
 face, he knew he had made a mistake. He raised his hands to
 protect his face from a blow, but to his surprise, none came.
 
        "How good for you, Ranma." She gave him a sweet smile,
 sat again, and ate the remaining bits of food in her bowl, as Ranma
 sat confused. Putting the bowl down, she stood up. "Oh, and Ranma...."
 
        "What?" A fist answered his question, followed by angry stomps. 


*= Thoughts (duh)
<:= Thouts in Chinese 


	Isabel Arantes