ShadowSoft Inc. Presents: A Ranma 1/2 Fanfic side-story "Careful Destiny" Part Two by: Todd Hill AKA Shadow Stalker Based on: Be Careful What You Wish For... written by: Richard Beaubien Inspired by the "Ranma 1/2" Manga and Anime by Rumiko Takahashi BETA BETA BETA BETA BETA BETA BETA BETA BETA BETA BETA BETA BETA BETA THE NEXT DAY... Morning came all too soon for Ranma Saotome. The combined weight of everything that had happened to Ranma the night before had caught up with him the moment he had turned the lights out. The result of all that was a thoroughly exhausted Ranma who was unable to sleep. When he did finally fall asleep, it had been light and fitful, with him waking several times over the course of the night. He cursed the sun when it rose, bathing his face in its life-giving light. As he lay there, he thought for a moment that he could possibly postpone the challenge to Kuno until tomorrow. But he just as quickly struck that idea down, knowing that he wouldn't be able to sleep at all until he settled the score with Kuno and freed Akane from that damned agreement. Sighing tiredly, he looked at the clock and saw that he still had an hour before he would have to get up. Unable to sleep, he dragged himself to his feet and took a bath. He emerged from the bathroom several minutes later, heading to the breakfast table. He could hear his mother humming to herself as she prepared breakfast. He felt refreshed and a bit less anxious. He frowned to himself, not used to feeling anxious over an impending battle. He nodded a moment later, realizing that the source of his anxiety was all of the expectations that were riding on the outcome of his battle with Kuno. His and Akane's future, along with that of both the Tendo and Saotome families were on the line. He clenched his fists in a show of determination, promising himself that he wouldn't lose. A perky Ranko bounded down the stairs and took her place adjacent to her brother at the table. "You ready for the big showdown, bro?" she asked cheerfully, nudging Ranma with her hip. Ranma looked at her with a wan smile, "I guess I'll have to be. I wasn't able to sleep too well last night." Ranko just smiled and replied, "Ahh, you'll be okay Ranma. Just remember your training." At that moment, Nodoka walked in with breakfast. "My, you're both up early today. You two have something planned today?" She sat the food down on the table, and the siblings started eating. Ranko looked at her brother proudly and said, "Naah. Ranma's challenging Kuno for Akane today is all." Nodoka's eyes widened slightly, and she leveled her gaze at her son. He coughed slightly, seeing her reaction, and forced his half-chewed food down his throat before he choked. "Ranma, you're actually going to go through with that fight? Today?!?" Ranma adopted a no-nonsense look, returning her gaze. "Yes mom, I'm going to take care of it today." "Ranma!" she shouted, exasperated. "You make it sound like you're going for groceries!" "Well, mom, to tell the truth, I *am* a bit nervous about it. But it's something that I still have to do," Ranma said gravely. He resumed eating, to cover up his nervousness. Nodoka resigned herself to the inevitable. "Alright. You listen to me. If things get out of hand, I want you to come get me or your father. Immediately!" she shouted, punctuating it by poking Ranma in the shoulder. "There's no telling what that Kuno character is capable of doing, and I don't want you taking any unnecessary risks!" Her gaze softened, and she stroked Ranma's face. "You remind me of your father when we were dating. He was always ready to come to my rescue, even when I felt it wasn't necessary." She smiled, a nostalgic look coming over her face. Ranma sighed, feeling better knowing that she wasn't going to try to stop him. He quickly finished off his breakfast and, grabbing Ranko's hand, dragged her off to school with him. "Good luck, dear," Nodoka called out to the whirlwind Saotome siblings. "Hey Ranma! Slow down, willya?" Ranko yelled as Ranma blasted down the street towards the school. Nodoka chuckled slightly at hearing Ranko fading protest, and turned to clean the table. `I hope he makes it out okay.' A frown crossed her face. `Kuno better hope that my boy isn't hurt or...' she paused the thought, her eyes regarding her katana that hung on the wall. `... or else he and I will have words,' she vowed severely. **** Ranma released his sister's hand and ran onward. He didn't have to look behind him, however, to know that Ranko was hot on his tail. He rounded a curve and saw the gates of Furinkan High ahead. He poured on the steam, hoping to get to the school ahead of Kuno. He frowned as he neared the school, watching a black limousine drive up to the gates. He watched as Kuno and Akane exited the vehicle, and redoubled his efforts, leaving Ranko in the dust. **** Tatewaki held his hand out for Akane. Gradually she accepted it and stepped out of the vehicle, sighing lowly. `I hate my life,' she despaired internally. When she had originally accepted the proposed joining, she had vowed to make it work. She had also tried in vain to find something likable about Kuno, but she just couldn't. He had been really sweet to her when he was chasing after her, but now that she had accepted him as her boyfriend his interest in her had waned... She had become Kuno's trophy. Something only slightly more than a revered pet. She really hated her life. But she didn't know of any way she could change things. That fact was whizzing through her head as she stood away from the departing limousine. She looked up, taking in the scene before she entered the building, when something caught her eye. She tugged on Kuno's hand, pointing at what she saw. "Kuno-chan," Akane said by reflex, "what's that?" As the thing in question drew nearer, it looked like a dust storm approaching the school. Several people were being drawn to the gates, seeing the disturbance. Several "oohs!" and "ahhs!" could be heard from the building crowd as they watched the dustcloud approach. Someone in the crowd pointed and yelled, "It's a guy! Looks like he's really traveling too!" That brought a *lot* more people out, and the crowd spilled into the street. Akane squinted, trying to make out who it was. She gasped when she recognized who it was. `It's that guy who insulted Kuno in front of the dojo a couple of weeks ago! Looks like he's really angry about something.' Suddenly the figure in the dustcloud began shouting. More heads began turning towards the shouting. "KUUUUUUUUUUNNOOOOOOOOOOO! KUUUUUUUUNNOOOOOOOO!" the voice was heard to say. A guy in the crowd gasped. "That's sounds like Ranma!" Another guy turned to the first one in shock, "Ranma *Saotome?* No *WAY!*" Stunned, the two turned to watch as Ranma approached the Kendo champion. Kuno turned at the sound of his name. He watched with mild interest as Ranma approached him. Ranma put on the skids, not wanting to fly by his opponent. He also didn't want to become one with the school gates. He came to a halt three feet in front of Kuno, breathing only slightly harder than normal. "Kuno, I challenge you!" he yelled, pointing at him. Kuno scoffed at Ranma, pointing his bokken at him. "You, challenge me? Surely you jest. And for what reason should I fight a creature as unworthy as you, eh?" Ranma stared directly at him, confidence burning in him like an iron furnace. "I know for a fact that you've said that if you are defeated in combat you will release Akane Tendo from her engagement. That's why I'm challenging you. So LET'S FIGHT!" Akane gasped, her eyes as wide open as possible. She had no idea who this guy was, or why he was doing it, but she sure as hell hoped he won. She crossed her fingers, just to make sure. Kuno, on the other hand, laughed. "It is true that I did utter those words. I did so, confidently, for I knew that only I am destined to have the hand of Akane Tendo." He lowered his gaze, sneering. "I guess that last thrashing I gave you didn't convince you of the futility of defeating me, the great Tatewaki Kuno, the Blue Thunder of Furinkan High, in combat. Very well, I will defeat you again." He brought his bokken into a defensive stance, "Prepare yourself, fool." Ranma threw his backpack to the ground. He brought himself to a fighting stance, saying, "My name is Ranma Saotome, of the Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts. And by all that's holy, I will see you fall!" He cracked his knuckles, awaiting Kuno's move. Akane did the only thing she could do in her current emotional state. She fainted. Gasps, murmurs, and side betting was happening all throughout the crowd. Every student was on pins and needles, waiting for the first blow. Ranko joined the crowd, picking up Ranma's backpack from where he threw it. She stood, rooting hard for her brother. The wind blew, scattering leaves and papers around the street and sidewalk outside the school. Kuno took that as a cue to begin, and struck. **** Ranma didn't even see it coming. Before he could even get his hands up to deflect the bokken, it sailed right at him and tagged him in the chest, knocking him back, but not down. `Damn! He's faster than I thought. You were right Sis. Now it's my turn to take him down a notch.' Kuno laughed scornfully. "You have my permission to concede. I suggest you do, Saotome, before you get hurt." Ranma laughed as well. His however, was cold and even slightly dangerous. "You got your one hit, Kuno. You won't touch me again." Kuno's eyebrow swept up in an unintentional show of respect. "Very well then, to your doom cretin!" he yelled as he charged. Ranma was ready this time, and deflected the bokken with his hands. He immediately followed up with a kick to the kidneys, causing Kuno to gasp in pain. The crowd gasped as well, astonished that someone had actually been able to land a hit on Kuno. Apparently Kuno was stunned too, as he faltered slightly before bringing his bokken up again. Ranma wasted no time in launching a series of punches and jabs at Kuno. But to his astonishment, Kuno was able to deflect the attacks, albeit with some difficulty. The only upside to this for Ranma was that Kuno wasn't able to launch anything offensive at him. Kuno frowned inwardly, but kept a neutral outer expression. Never had he encountered a martial artist of such pronounced skill before. It bothered him that he had not already dispatched of the lower-class martial artist. For surely, Kuno thought, only one as great as himself could bring the Blue Thunder of Furinkan High to defeat. And this Ranma Saotome could not be that man. Ranma on the other hand was in a tree. After that first attack, he had anticipated a greater offense from Kuno. And indeed while Kuno was launching a lot more strikes than his `counterpart' would have, Ranma surprisingly found himself able to keep himself out of harm's way. The fight continued this way for several minutes. Neither combatant gave quarter during the fight, but neither was able to claim an advantage either. Akane regained consciousness during the fight, and watched in awe as Ranma held his own against the Kendo champion. She saw a young girl who looked just like Ranma jumping up and down, screaming, "Whip his ASS bro! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! Nail that SON OF A BITCH!! WOOOOO!!" Without saying anything, Akane cheered for Ranma as well. `I guess Kuno's getting tired, or I'm just getting warmed up,' Ranma thought quickly. He grinned inwardly, his confidence swelling inside him as he continued to parry Kuno's attacks. Kuno's face began to register the frustration that he was feeling. For five minutes he'd tried every honorable trick he knew to try and bring down the cur, but to no avail. Anger flashed from deep within Kuno as he saw Ranma smirk. "How dare you mock me, underling! I will have your head for that, Saotome!" "I don't think so, Kuno," Ranma replied tauntingly, deliberately avoiding any honorifics. Kuno's patience snapped, and he lunged at Ranma desperately, sweeping low with his sword to try and take out Ranma's legs. Ranma saw the attack coming and leapt into the air, landing neatly on Kuno's head before jumping off to stand behind him, with his back turned to Kuno. "Give up yet, Kuno?" he asked, layering the words heavily with taunting and superiority. Somehow, Kuno had managed to keep himself upright, taking the brunt of Ranma's weight on his head without passing out. He turned to face Ranma again, and flushed angrily when he saw that Ranma had his back facing him, a bored stance on the upstart martial artist. Pausing to catch his breath and calm himself down, Kuno sneered, "You're weak Saotome. You may be able to get in a lucky hit, but as sure as the Earth sails through the heavens, I will smite thee!" He crouched into a ready position again, laughing at Ranma. Ranma rolled his eyes and turned to face Kuno once again. He concentrated on what he hoped would be his final attack. Nodding at his sister's encouraging words, and sparing a nod and a smile for Akane, Ranma spoke again. "Good night, Kuno," Ranma said dangerously as he changed his posture to face Kuno directly. Kuno blinked at those words, and brought his bokken up to strike at Ranma again. But before he could bring the weapon down, Ranma attacked. "KACHUU TENSHIN AMAGURIKEN!" he yelled, louder than he ever had. His fists were a blur as they met again and again with Kuno. Stunned at the speed of Ranma's attack, Kuno lost his grip on his bokken, which flew away from him due to the sheer force of Ranma's punches. Amazed, he watched it land away from him, clattering uselessly on the pavement. Kuno didn't have much of a chance to curse the loss of his weapon, as Ranma's punches took their toll and quickly sent him into unconsciousness. Ranma stopped his punches when he saw Kuno fall. Ranma collapsed to his knees, but remained upright. He stayed there for a moment, gasping for breath. The stunned crowd stood in silence, unable to believe what they had just witnessed. "YESSS!" Ranko screamed as she ran to her brother's side. She knelt down and gently put her arm around Ranma's waist, helping him up. "I'm proud of you, Ranma. You know, you really must've been pissed off at him. Do you realize that you hit him over a THOUSAND times?" Ranma just kind of stood where he was, trying to get some feeling back into his hands. He looked over his right shoulder, and spotted the bokken that he had broken loose from Kuno's grip. Stepping from his sister's grasp, he knelt down and picked up the weapon. Meanwhile, Akane ran from the crowd towards Kuno and gazed down in amazement at the unconscious figure of her now- former boyfriend. As the reality of all of this sank in, she knelt beside Kuno's dozing body and began to cry. She wept tears of joy and sorrow. Joy that her engagement to Kuno had finally been broken, and sorrow over how weak and powerless she had been while with Kuno. A figure approached her, and knelt beside her. "Excuse me for a moment please?" a polite voice asked. She turned and saw that it was Ranma, holding Kuno's bokken in his hands. "There's just one more thing I have to do to make this official," he explained to her in a soft voice. Ranma took each end of the bokken in his hands, and with all the force he could muster, snapped it in half. It broke irregularly, splinters and jagged edges forming along the break line. Ranma smiled satisfactorily and tossed the broken weapon at Kuno's feet. "Kuno had that coming, taunting me like that." Ranma turned to look at Akane. Her face was red and slick with tears, and her lower lip was trembling. Gently he reached out to her, stroking the tears from her face, and asking, "Hey, you okay, Akane?" Akane flinched slightly at Ranma's touch, but smiled weakly at him in appreciation. "Yeah, I'm okay... I ... umm... " she blushed slightly, turning her face from Ranma's caressing hand. Ranma looked like he wanted to say more, but couldn't find the words. He sat back a bit from Akane, giving her a bit of room. "I... you're ... um... " he said haltingly, stumbling over himself. They sat there on either side of Kuno's still form, looking at each other. Ranma wanted to say something else, but he couldn't think of anything else to say. Besides, he felt that words weren't appropriate at the moment, and settled for simply gazing at Akane. Ranko watched the silent exchange between her brother and who she heard Ranma address as Akane. `Ranma sure picked a cute one, that's for sure. I just wish he'd hurry up and do something!,' she thought, tapping her foot impatiently. After waiting for several minutes for her brother to make his move, she finally got fed up and walked up to him. "Psst! Ranma. Hey, bro!" she hissed. Getting no response from Ranma, she waved her hand in front of Ranma's eyes. `Geez, Ranma. You must really be stuck on this girl,' she thought, chuckling softly at his condition. Finally she tapped him hard on the shoulder, and shook him. Snapped out of his reverie, Ranma looked up to his sister, a dazed look on his face. "Yeah, um... what is it Ranko?" Ranko rolled her eyes and pointed to the school. "Ranma, you can stare at her later. If you don't hurry up, we'll be late for school again." Ranma reluctantly agreed. He turned back to Akane in time to see her standing and walking towards the school, having been snapped out of her trance at Ranko's words. He wasn't able to get her attention, so he stood up and regarded his sister. "Yeah, Ranko. You're right, let's go." Ranma ran off towards the school. Ranko started to follow when she heard a groaning coming from the defeated Kendo champion. "Uhhh... What form of magic did you use against me, Saotome?" he mumbled. Ranko knelt down to him, and saw that his eyes were glazed over. She then started when Kuno suddenly flopped back down on the pavement, apparently unconscious again. Ranko looked at his face. `Yup, he's still out cold. Interesting trick, talking while unconscious,' she thought absently. She decided to wake him up, and slapped her hands against his face. Slowly his eyes fluttered as Kuno regained consciousness. "Hey buddy, you awake?" she yelled at him. He looked up at her, but said nothing. She started to say something else to him when a short-haired girl approached her. "Don't worry about Kuno-chan. I'll take him to the infirmary. Thanks for waking him for me, though." Ranko nodded to the girl, and took off after her brother. Nabiki watched the younger Saotome run into the school building and then regarded the listless Kuno. Reaching an arm down, she tugged Kuno to a standing position. "I do not require your assistance, Nabiki Tendo. I am the Blue Thunder of Furinkan High and... WHA!" he shouted suddenly, stumbling over the remnants of his bokken. Nabiki smiled, gently replying with, "Of course you don't, Kuno-chan." She then proceeded to walk with him to the infirmary, thinking, `Ranma Saotome, eh? You and I have a lot to talk about, yes indeed.' The yen signs were already floating around her mind, the possibilities seemingly many. She smiled to herself, `This could turn out to be a great day.' **** Ranma found it hard to concentrate in class, his mind roiling over the possibilities that had just opened up. Akane was free of Kuno's hold, and his family could (hopefully) return to peaceful relations with the Tendo family. Over the course of the morning, he'd also noticed that a *lot* of students were now paying attention to *him*, and that was making him very uncomfortable. He hid behind his books for the most part, trying to separate himself from the scrutiny of others. Math class came, and Ranma's tension became palpable. He arrived to the class early, and sat at his assigned seat. He watched the door, and almost jumped out of his chair when Akane walked in. He smiled to her, and his heart leapt when she returned it. The class had started, but Ranma wasn't noticing. He kept staring at the youngest Tendo girl, and finally screwed together the courage to pass her a note he written in one of his previous classes. Akane took the proffered note from the classmate at her end of the note delivery chain. She looked at it, just able to read Ranma's chicken scratch on the front. "To Akane Tendo, urgent." She quietly opened the note, looking around to see if anyone was watching her. The note read: "Dear Akane, My name is Ranma Saotome, and I want to speak with you today. Will you please join me for lunch after class?" Akane snickered to herself, seeing the heavy amounts of erasure and re-writing that Ranma had done over various parts of the message. She folded it back up, and put it in her book bag. She then turned to face him, smiling at his expectant look. Slowly, and clearly she mouthed, "Yes, I'd like to." A big smile formed on Ranma's face as he saw what she said. `Yes! The first step's been taken,' he thought, exultant. He turned quickly to face the blackboard again, hoping not to catch the instructor's ire again. This teacher was a new one on him, but he quickly learned that Onsen-Mark Sensei was not one to toy with. Ranma fidgeted for the remainder of class, impatiently awaiting the bell for lunch. **** Nabiki sighed as she looked Kuno's way again. She had decided to remain with Kuno until he felt better. He had passed out again as soon as his head hit the pillow on the infirmary cot. Before that he had been mumbling semi- incoherently about vengeance against that `knave Saotome for tricking him into defeat, bla bla bla.' Nabiki had to admit to herself that Ranma Saotome had to possess some powerful capabilities of his own to trounce Kuno so soundly. She thought hard about a way to turn Ranma's power to her advantage, but nothing came to the fore. She regarded Kuno again, smirking. `At least I'll be able to sell Kuno- chan pictures of my sister again,' she thought happily. Suddenly Kuno bolted upright out of his bed, a wide- eyed expression on his face. He turned to look at Nabiki, who was sitting on a chair beside his bed. "Nabiki Tendo, why am I here?" he commanded in an imperious tone. Nabiki looked at him with a faux-shocked expression and said, "Why, Kuno-chan! Don't you remember? You lost that fight to Ranma Saotome and were knocked out. I had to carry you here." Kuno's face locked in a half-snarl, half-shocked expression. "How could a simpleton like Saotome defeat someone of my stature? Could you answer that question for me, Nabiki Tendo?" Nabiki smiled, trying to butter up the rich fool. "Why, Kuno-chan, he had to have been lucky. That's the only explanation for it." Kuno calmed, and he seemed to be considering Nabiki's words. "You may be right, Nabiki Tendo. Perhaps a return challenge is in order," he said, attempting to sit up in the bed. The world swam around him as dizziness overcame him. With some effort, he managed to keep his sitting position on the cot. "Perhaps later, Kuno-chan," Nabiki deadpanned. Kuno sat motionless on the cot for a few moments, allowing the world to stop spinning. Eventually he answered Nabiki with, "Yes, later." Kuno reviewed the fight in his mind. Saotome had truly been astounding in that fight, although Kuno was loathe to admit that to anyone. `What possessed Saotome to do this anyway?' he asked himself tiredly. He sighed lightly, realizing that he had lost Akane. `Oh well, it's not that bad,' he thought, trying to console himself. `Akane had apparently lost her spirit anyway. I could no longer love her.' Kuno paused in his thoughts, wondering if he hadn't been too cruel to Akane. `No,' he answered himself. `She surely was blessed with my presence while with me, and will come to regret my absence now that she has gone.' The only thing lingering in his mind, except for finding out how to defeat Ranma, was, `Is there another female of beauteous quality and the nature of a huntress at the hollowed grounds of Furinkan High?' Nabiki could hear the rusty scheming wheels turning in Kuno's mind, but decided to get the information from him later. She was going to miss the whole day if she didn't return to class soon. "Come on, Kuno-chan. You're feeling better, so let's get back to class," she told him. Kuno stood from the cot and regarded her with his standard upper-class demeanor. "I will allow you to escort me to class, Nabiki Tendo." Nabiki rolled her eyes and dragged Kuno from the infirmary. **** The bell rang and everyone sprinted out of the classroom, intent on devouring their meals. Ranma stood from his desk, watching his classmates go. As he stood there, snickering at the sight, a hand gently lay against his shoulder, causing Ranma to whirl around, startling Akane. Ranma flushed, and apologized instantly. "I'm sorry, Akane. I didn't mean to make you jump like that. You caught me by surprise is all." He smiled at her, then extended his hand out to her. "Shall we eat?" he asked. Akane took his hand, blushing slightly. "Yeah, Ranma. Let's eat!" she replied, allowing Ranma to lead her out of the classroom. Disengaging their hands, they walked next to each other slowly out of the building. At the door, Akane looked over at Ranma. "Ranma, I..." she began to say as they cleared the threshold and entered the school yard. She didn't get a chance to say anything else as both she and Ranma were suddenly confronted by the entire school populace. Both facefaulted as they were assailed by a collective cheer from the crowd. Everyone within eyesight of the couple stood, applauding the one who had defeated Kuno that morning. People came up and clapped Ranma heartily on the back. Ranko, who had been at the front of the crowd when Ranma and Akane emerged from the building, now stood back a bit so that Ranma could enjoy the moment, although she couldn't restrain herself from jumping in the air and cheering along with the rest of the crowd. Akane soon found herself being pushed further and further away from Ranma as the crowd pressed, trying to get closer to the newfound campus hero. She could see Ranma trying frantically to push his way through the crowd to get back to her, but the throng was too dense. Soon the mass of people had pushed Ranma away from Akane's line of sight. A half smile that had been on her face slipped away as she suddenly became hit with a wave of disappointment. She was looking forward to speaking with Ranma. She had so much to ask him, especially about what he had said about her two weeks ago. `I want to know why he referred to me as his fiancee,' she thought again. She started to approach a nearby bench when a hand grabbed hers. She looked up to see a young girl with blue eyes and sporting a pig tail tugging at her hand. "Hey you're Akane, right?" Ranko said in her characteristic enthusiasm. Akane nodded slowly, "Uhh... yeah. Who are you?" "I'm Ranko, Ranma's younger sister. Anyway, wasn't he supposed to be eating lunch with you, or something like that?" she pressed. Akane blushed, aware again of how active the grapevine was at school. "Well, yes.. but he seems to have been abducted by everyone," she said, indicating the departing dustcloud. Ranko looked at the crowd and laughed. "That's my brother for you. C'mon! Let's catch up with him" she said enthusiastically. Akane didn't even have a chance to protest as the younger Saotome dragged her towards the crowd and Ranma. **** Ranma clawed uselessly for purchase against the crowd, hoping to get above and beyond them. Fortunately he managed to keep his calm as he struggled among the people. He didn't like being in the spotlight, and the size of the crowd wasn't helping matters any. Boys and girls alike were badgering him with statements and questions, but he didn't even try to respond. "How did you do it, Ranma? Can you beat him up again, Ranma? You dating anyone, Ranma? Why did you challenge Kuno, Ranma?" A hand grabbed his arm, and pulled him out of harm's way. Once he and his rescuer were a safe distance from the oblivious crowd, Ranma looked up to thank the person and was confronted by the scheming smirk of Nabiki Tendo. "Nabiki?!" Ranma asked,. slightly stunned. Immediately his hand went protectively to his pocket. "How much do I owe you?" he asked disgustedly. Nabiki's eyebrow swept up in surprise at Ranma's question. "I don't know you, do I Saotome?" she asked, slightly irritated. Seeing the crowd start to approach, she cut off any response, and spoke quickly. "I'll worry about that little detail later. Don't worry `bout the rescue, it's on me. Just consider us even, okay Saotome?" "Even for what?," Ranma asked, his eyes narrowing. "Well, I had to find some way to thank you for getting my little sister Akane out of that stupid engagement to Kuno- chan." She leaned over to him a little, a conspiratorial look on her face. "And I also wanted to thank you for beating him in the fight; I won a lot of money betting on you." Ranma groaned, seeing that apparently some things weren't different in this Nerima. "Okay, whatever Nabiki. I..." Nabiki saw Akane and that girl that was with Kuno after the fight approach ahead of the crowd, and hastened to get away. "Oops! I gotta run. Here comes my sister. I'll talk to you later, Saotome!" she yelled as she sprinted for the school building. Ranma watched as Nabiki tore around the corner of the building, and heard her run up the steps and inside. He turned his head, and saw Ranko and Akane approaching. Along with the rest of Furinkan High. He made a move to turn and run, but stopped, feeling the solid wall of the school building against his back. Having nowhere to go, he hung his head and resigned himself to the inevitable. Ranko and Akane arrived next to Ranma. Ranko noticed the look on Ranma's face, and became concerned. "Hey bro, you okay?" Ranma turned to her, merely replying, "I will be once lunch is over." He looked at Akane, saying "Akane, I'm sorry about lunch. I really want to talk to you, though." Akane nodded her head in agreement. She tried to reply, but couldn't get her voice to carry over the din of curious students that had suddenly arrived. The questions started up again, with the crowd pressing hard against the three. "You going to run for class president next year, Ranma? What's the story with you and Akane, Ranma? Are you prepared to die, Ranma?" That last question stopped the crowd in its tracks. Ranma, Akane, and Ranko turned suddenly in the direction of the questioner. The crowd parted to show the glowering faces of seven members of the Kendo team. They were all wearing the same Kendo outfit that Kuno usually wore, and they all had murder on their mind, if their posture was any indication. The one who asked the question pointed his bokken at Ranma and spoke again. "We all know that you're a wimp, and you hate martial arts. You were lucky, Saotome. There's no other explanation for the way you defeated Kuno- Sempai. We will avenge his loss to you, and bring honor back to the Kendo club!" he declared mightily, raising his bokken to the sky in a gesture of triumph. Ranma grunted in satisfaction, glad to have something he could deal with presented to him. Ranko's eyes narrowed dangerously at hearing the soon-to-be-dead-Kendoist refer to her brother as a `wimp.' She maneuvered herself so that she and Ranma were bracketing Akane, preparing for the worst. "Watch what you say lardass, or we may have to make you eat those words!" Ranko retorted hotly. The loudmouth Kendoist smirked, then laughed arrogantly. Ignoring Ranko, he directed his comment solely to Ranma. "So, wimpy widdle Ranma needs a widdle girl to protect him," the lead Kendoist taunted in a mocking voice. Ranma's gaze became murderous at that, and he flexed his fingers, eager to put the guy down. Ranko reacted similarly, although she grinned coldly. The crowd began backing away from the Kendoists and the Saotomes, not wanting to get hurt. "Little girl, eh? I'll be glad to show you what this little girl can do, asshole. That is, if you're man enough to try me," Ranko challenged him, looking him straight in the eye. The guy returned the gaze, his confidence never wavering. "Out of the way, bitch. This is between me and the wimp... ahhhh!" the Kendoist screamed as Ranma leapt in front of him and kicked him square in the face. The Kendoist landed on his back, with Ranma standing on his face. "Watch what you say about my sister, asshole!" Ranma said ominously, grinding his foot into the guy's face to punctuate the statement. The student obliged Ranma by passing out. Another person from the Kendo group yelled "GET HIM!" and the entire group rushed Ranma's position. Suddenly Ranma, Ranko and Akane were swarmed by bokken-wielding, skirt-clad figures swearing vengeance on behalf of their fallen leader. Akane gasped, watching the fight boil around her. She took some small comfort from the fact that the Saotome siblings were trying their best to see that no harm came to her. She wanted to assist them, and felt a sudden pang of regret that she had let her Kenpo training lapse during the year and a half that she was tied to Kuno. Frustrated, she let Ranma and Ranko carry on the fight. Ranma smiled to himself, satisfied that these people were definitely not a threat. One of the crazed Kendoists charged at him, swinging wildly at Ranma with the bokken. Ranma easily dodged the lunge, and responded with a chop to the back of the assailant's neck, knocking him out. Ranko wasn't having as easy a time. She had already dispatched one of the fighters and was looking for number two. Unfortunately, figuring her to be a worse threat than Ranma due to his past reputation, three students beset her at the same time. Unable to contend with three, Ranko was caught unprepared. Two of the Kendoists held her still, while the third one began slapping and punching her viciously. Too proud to scream, Ranko instead tried in vain to free herself from the grip of the hentai Kendoists. Akane, who had been watching Ranma pulverize the Kendo students on his end, whirled around at the commotion behind her. She gaped wordlessly at the unfair attack they had launched against Ranko. Angered beyond words, she reached up swiftly and grabbed one of the Kendoists by his shoulder and turned him to face her. Not waiting for a response from the jerk, Akane punched him square in the face with all of her might, swept his legs out from under him and finally followed up with a devastating kick to the groin. The felled student grabbed his agonized privates and screamed in pain. Akane looked at her hands, balling them into fists again. `Whew! That felt good! I haven't done that in a while...' she thought, enjoying the feeling of punishing the guy. She looked to the other one that was still holding a weakened Ranko back from attacking, and readied herself for another assault. Ranma had just finished breaking a bokken over the head of a Kendo student, bringing his body count to three unconscious, when he heard someone scream in pain behind him. With no-one left to fight, he turned to see what his sister was doing. He gasped in shock at what he saw; Akane had just pounded the hell out of a guy, and two others were double teaming Ranko! Furious, Ranma leapt at the student holding Ranko back and began tearing him apart. The stunned student didn't even have time to fight as Ranma knocked him down to the ground. Kneeling, Ranma quickly seized the Kendoist by his throat and punched him time and again until the student's face had been cut severely by the impacts. Still enraged, Ranma dropped the limp student's head and charged after the remaining one. The lone student's eyes went wide as he saw how badly he was outnumbered. Deciding to get in one more hit before running, he swiped at Ranko with his bokken as hard as he could. He connected, opening a gash in her face. "We toldja you should've stayed out of the fight, little girl! You won't be forgetting that now, will you?" he taunted as he lowered his bokken. Not bothering to survey the damage he'd caused her, the student turned to run away before Ranma could get to him. Ranma broke his sprint and knelt down by his sister, who had dropped to her knees after getting hit. "I'm gonna kill that coward," Ranma spat viciously. He put his arm around her protectively as she knelt there, motionless. Ranko brought her hand up to the gash on her cheek, dabbing gingerly at the bloody, broken skin. "You're gonna have to wait in line Ranma. That bastard's mine!" she swore, standing up slowly. She ignored her protesting muscles and grabbed a bokken from one of the felled students. She then sprinted off in the direction of the departing Kendoist. Ranma and Akane took off after her, ignoring the groans as they stepped on and over the Kendo students they'd knocked out earlier. **** Ranko poured on the steam as she started closing in on the fleeing student. She saw him turn to see if he was being pursued and heard him gasp in surprise. She smiled thinly, knowing that she was going to enjoy hurting him. With the gap narrowing quickly, Ranko brought her bokken into play. Without even breaking stride, she threw the bokken at the Kendoist's legs. The throw was true, and suddenly the students legs were entangled by the bokken, halting his run and thrusting him face-forward into the ground. Ranko reached the student and kicked him in the ass. "Who's the little girl now, asshole!" she taunted, kicking him again. The Kendoist put on a brave front trying to hide his terror. Forcing a sneer onto his face, the student quickly got up and faced her. "Don't taunt me, you little bitch. I'll..." he said, before getting interrupted. Ranko flushed red at the name and got up in his face, staring eye to eye with him. "Listen to me, WIMP! You're about to feel very bad, you emasculated son of a bitch. So quit talking and start fighting me!" She followed her comments up with an open-handed slap to the face. The taunting worked well as the student lashed out at her. Although Ranko had been slowed by the beating she had endured, she was still able to deflect the strike. Incoherent with rage, the guy lashed out at her again with his bokken. Ranko anticipated the attack and grabbed the blade as it whizzed past her head. Twisting the blade in her grip, she wrenched it from his hands. Quickly she tossed it far away from him, leaving him weaponless. Desperate to get away, he decided to rush her. He charged, yelling like an enraged animal, with his hands stuck out in front of him to grab her by the neck. Ranko dropped to one leg, cursing at the pain as she did so. She managed to complete the leg sweep, however, and sent the guy toppling face-first into the dirt again. Hobbling back into a standing position, she rubbed her sore leg, waiting for the guy to stand up again. He got to his hands and knees, but didn't stand completely. "Come on, you little coward! Stand up and fight! You know, you talk awfully big for a guy who can't fight. And you sure are stupid, picking on someone you don't even know. I don't know why you try to fight anyway, since you hit like a little girl!" she spat, trying to goad him into continuing the fight. At that moment Ranma and Akane arrived on the scene, and watched as Ranko yelled at the lone student. Ranma rushed to take care of the creep when he heard Ranko yell at him. "Stay away from him, brother. He's *mine*! I'll let you have him afterwards, *if* I let him live," Ranko stated ominously. Ranma nodded silently and stepped back a respectable distance, with Akane joining him. Ranko turned back to her adversary, who had assumed a standing position again. His face was white hot with impotent rage as he brought his hands up in a ready position. "You're mine, little bitch!" he spluttered. Ranko readied herself as the student charged at her again. This time Ranko brought her leg up and kicked him squarely in the midsection as he came by, causing him to gasp loudly in pain. Not waiting for him to fall to the ground again and catch his breath, she followed up with a chop to the back of the neck, making him stumble drunkenly. The student whirled around to face her again, and got a foot in his face as Ranko jump-kicked him, causing him to fall on his back in a daze. Rage possessing her completely now, she straddled him and repeatedly punched him in the face until her fists were sore. Not satisfied with that, she then grabbed two handfuls of hair and began slamming his head into the ground, yelling "Who's a wimp?" at him with every impact. Ranma approached his sister cautiously. She had already knocked the guy out, and he wasn't feeling the pain she was dishing out. Without touching her, he shouted, "Ranko, stop!" She continued slamming the boy's head into the ground unabated, ignoring her brother's words. Ranma sighed, not wanting to interfere, but knowing that he had to stop her. He stepped behind her and grabbed her from behind, pinning her arms under his. Ranko squirmed in his grasp, but didn't kick out. Instead she yelled, "Ranma! Lemme go! This asshole deserves it!" Ranma pulled on her, trying to get her away from the student. Ranko held onto the student by his hair and by clenching her thighs against his flanks, resisting her brother's pull. She wanted to do more damage, and kept shouting for her brother to leave her the hell alone. Finally, with a mighty yank Ranma separated his sister from the doomed Kendoist. Akane had watched wordlessly throughout the beating, (she wouldn't call it a fight). She then winced as she watched Ranma try time and again to pull his sister from the unconscious student. She flinched when he finally succeeded. "Ouch! That's gonna hurt in the morning," she observed aloud as Ranma walked Ranko towards her. Ranma looked at Akane quizzically, wondering what she was talking about. Akane pointed to Ranko's hands, a slight grimace on her face. Ranma looked where Akane pointed, and smirked. "Yeesh, Ranko. You weren't fooling around, were you?" he asked rhetorically. Ranko looked at the contents of her hands and smiled. She clenched her fists, holding tightly the clumps of bloody hair she'd yanked from the guy's head when Ranma pulled her off. "I think he'll be remembering me for a while to come," she said mirthfully, prizing the hair into the pockets of her pants. She then sagged against her brother, exhaustion catching up with her. "Ranko!" Ranma yelled in alarm, catching his sister before she could fall. Akane got on the other side, each putting one of Ranko's arms around one of their shoulders and the other around her tiny waist. Together they walked the unconscious Ranko to the infirmary. **** Kuno `ohh'ed to himself as he watched Akane and Ranma cart Ranko away from the battle scene. Having hidden among a small cluster of trees for the duration of the battle. He smiled thinly, pleased and upset with his Kendo club. He was pleased that they would defend the honor of their leader so voraciously, but was equally upset that they were unable to complete the task they had set out to do. He would have been more upset if he had ordered the attack himself and they failed as badly as they did here. Kuno digested what he saw of the battle. `Ranma Saotome is indeed a martial artist of some ability. How he achieved this in such a short time is unknown.' Kuno grudgingly acknowledged that Saotome was a true force to be reckoned with. Irritated, he pushed the image of Ranma from his mind and concentrated on what else he saw. `Akane seems to have regained some of her spirit. Surely it must be due to the fact that she grows restless in my absence, knowing that I, the great Tatewaki Kuno, am not there to protect her. Fear not Akane, I will allow you to come back to me,' Kuno thought grandly, please with himself over the kind gesture he was willing to bestow Akane. He then clenched his fist and gasped as the visage of Ranko Saotome flitted through his mind. `She fights most masterfully for one so young. And her beauty! Were she not of Saotome's blood she would be a most perfect woman. I must find out more about her!' he vowed silently. He waited a few moments for the three to enter the building before he headed back inside himself. **** Ranko groaned as she came to in the infirmary. She opened her eyes slowly, and saw a worried Ranma and Akane at the side of her cot. She closed her eyes again quickly, fighting off the sudden wave of nausea that threatened to overcome her. She slapped a hand listlessly against her forehead, noting how cold and damp her skin was. Again she creeped her eyes open, and regarded Ranma with a wan smile. "Hey, didja get the number of that truck..." she broke off, snorting at her own bad joke. Ranma smiled and sighed relief as he dropped to his knees next to the cot, wrapping her up in a hug, his head resting on her chest. "Thank God you're okay, Sis. Damn I was worried about you!" he said, choking back a sob. Ranko put a hand on her brother's head, running her fingers through his hair. "Yeah, I'm okay bro. Although I won't be soon if you keep squeezing me that hard," she gasped. Ranma's grip relented a bit, and he sat back beside Akane. Ranko sat up in her cot, propping her back against the wall of the room. "Uggh! How long was I out?" she asked, blinking to try and clear the blurriness from her vision. "About twenty minutes, Ranko," Akane said. "How do you feel?" "Like hell. I feel like someone did a flamenco dance on my head with steel tap shoes. Other than that, I'm just dandy." They all chuckled at the vision created by her metaphor. "By the way, Akane. Thanks for the assist. You showed some pretty good moves out there." Akane blushed slightly, then anger flashed in her eyes. "Well, I couldn't stand by watching those three gang up on you. It just wasn't fair, so I decided to help even the odds a bit. I can't believe how easily fighting came back to me after being out of practice for so long." Although, she added to herself, I saw just how rusty I was. She smirked inwardly, thinking that a little training might be just the thing to banish Kuno from her mind for good. Ranko winked conspiratorially at Ranma when Akane wasn't looking. Ranma shook his head, and shifted uncomfortably where he sat. Ranko frowned slightly, thinking about something. She suddenly perked up, saying, "Akane, can I speak alone with my brother for a moment?" Akane smiled and grabbed Ranko's hand. "Sure. You did well out there, Ranko. Ranma's right to be proud of you." Ranko blushed at the praise. Akane then turned to Ranma, "I'm going back to class now. I'll see you after school, if that's okay." Ranma's eyes widened a bit at that, but he managed to smile, saying "Sure thing Akane." She stood and walked out of the infirmary, closing the door behind her. Once she was gone, Ranko began her inquisition. [to be continued...] **** Author's notes: Well, here I go again. ^_^ (those of you who've read "The Prince and the Lecher" will understand that remark...) I was simply minding my own business, and reading the first two sections of the story "Be Careful What you Wish For" by Richard Beaubien. After completing that, I re-read part one, and said to myself "What if *this* happened instead of *that.*" Well I shouldn't have done that, because here I am clattering away at my IBM keyboard like a man possessed. Two days have seen me crank out 21 pages in Word for Windows, and I've still got a lot of ideas floating around in the old bean. Some people may wonder about the content (boy *that* was obtuse!). Well, as of this writing: (1/30/96): I've only gotten the groundwork laid down for this unintentional project. Ranma has made his wish, and has awakened to a strange version of his previous existence. As the writer, I made a couple of decisions as to how the wish affected him: Ranma's wish caused his environment to change. Lives were re-written and locations changed to accommodate his wish. This means that he did NOT jump to an alternate universe/dimension/plane of thought/etc. Therefore his means of escape from that existence are reduced to one, which is the second wish. The wish is supposed to be very powerful, and the intention behind the character of the vendor was that he was to be very VERY selective in who gets the wishing broach, almost as a guardian or keeper of the artifact. Another effect of the wish was that Ranma's mind was supposed to have been altered so that he wasn't so damned infuriating and quick to fire off his mouth. A higher level of maturity was something I was trying to add into Ranma's character for this story, to help make his living in this dimension more sane. I'm debating, however, the merit of continuing to do so, as the humorous content of the story is obviously diminished when I do that. I may have him mellow out once he hits stable ground in this existence. The second wish: I'm really against him using that second wish for right now. He's got a lot of potential in this existence considering that about 85 to 90% of his antagonists and extra fiancee's aren't around to punish him. I'm hoping for a more solid and romantic `second chance' between Ranma and Akane. Although I will also admit that a love triangle is inevitable. In fact, the gears are already turning . Incidentally, should Ranma have to use the second wish to return himself to his cursed state (and hence everything around him revert to normal), he will retain full knowledge of everything that had occurred during the first wish. If I write it past that point, I would have a fertile bed to plant new ideas for that existence as well. (2/3/96): Based on all of the excellent suggestions from the readers on the Fanfic ML, I have *slightly* (yeah, right!) expanded on the training footage between Ranma and Ranko. Expanding the fight between Kuno and Ranma is my next big project. I also corrected some small errors in the story that were pointed out in e-mail. (2/8/96): Well, since my last posting, something good has happened to me. After over three months of unemployment courtesy of AT&T, I now have a job! I am working as a Systems Admin for Newberry College. That being the case, my work on "Careful Destiny" has been lacking in volume. But fear not, dearest reader, for I have not been idle. In this iteration: * The fight scene between Ranma and Kuno has been updated. I still feel it's a bit weak, but I leave that judgment up to the reader(s) ^_^ * I have added some extra dialogue following the end of Kuno's fight. * Intrigue inserted (well, I hope it's intriguing ^_^;; ) * Fixed some more errors pointed out by my valued readers * Typed this section up at the end of the fanfic * Split the document into two sections to make it easier to send across the net. I have a 14.4 connection, and that's hard on the phone bill sometimes... Acknowledgments: I'd like to thank Richard Beaubien first and foremost for granting me the permission to write this side-story based on his. Prior to writing this thing, he's never even heard of me. I understand that he's continuing the mother- story from which this one is based. All I have to say is, "Go for it man!" ^_^ It's been a real treat writing this thing and playing around in his dimension (so to speak). It wouldn't have been possible without his work as the base. So to him, I say Domo Arigato Gozaimashita! Bert Van Vliet. You're the one who gave me the writing bug . Prior to picking up my first BubbleGum Zone printout, I was clueless as to the ways of writing fanfic. What a difference a year makes. You're a good friend, and I thank you for the support. Hail SkyKnight! ^_^ Thank You for tolerating my unusual style of writing. I'll get better, I promise ^_^ And now for my .sig! Later, Shadow Stalker (Protoculture Addict) (Moderator: The Robotech Echo) sstalker@delphi.com -or- betasysop@mci.newscorp.com <--- try this address first!