Subject: [fanfic][R1/2] Samurai Sunday
From: Benjamin Elgin
Date: 6/30/1996, 10:45 PM
To: fanfic@fanfic.com
Reply-to:
Benjamin_Elgin@hmc.edu


Hey everyone;

In an attempt to make up for publicly humiliating myself *twice* by
forgetting to change headers, I am now going to atone by posting an Actual
Fanfic to the list.  Nothing particularly special about this one; just your
everyday Ranma episode.. I like to think it has the tone of some of the
earlier anime eps.. sort of.
Anyways, even though I wrote this over a year ago for a college humanities
class, all C&C are welcome, as I'm sure it could use some work.  Enjoy...

Oh, and based on some comments I've seen on the list, I have obediently
placed extra return characters between all the paragraphs. ^_^

 = = = = =

Benjamin Elgin
October 27, 1995

                     Samurai Sunday

A fan-fiction written for Humanities class...
based on Ranma 1/2 characters and situations (c) & created by Rumiko Takahashi

	
	Ranma stared at the ceiling of his bedroom and listened to the sounds 
of the Tendo Dojo awakening around him.  He could here Kasumi in the
kitchen, up already fixing breakfast.  Nabiki shuffled past his door in her
bathrobe brushing her teeth.  Soun rustled his newspaper in the dining hall.
As he lay in the early morning sunshine, he reflected that it wasn't a
bad life living here.  Now and then, it was even kind of peaceful.

	"Ranma Saotome!" Genma yelled as he threw open Ranma's door.  
"How can you lie there in bed when it is only one day until the samurai 
tournament?  You should be training already!  You must prove that martial 
arts are superior to the sword!  You must uphold the honor of your 
father!  You must urf growl urgl!"

	His tirade ended in a grumble after Ranma flicked a pail of water 
lying in the corner of the room onto his father with one swift motion of his
feet without getting out of bed, leaving Genma in panda form.  "What's
that, pop?" he asked sleepily.  "Don't worry about me, I can take a
clumsy swordsman any day."  Growling again, Genma whacked ranma out of bed
with a large wooden sign reading, "Practice makes Perfect!".  "All right,
all right, I'm up!", Ranma yelled as he sailed out the door.


	Akane, however, was already up and practicing in the training hall.
With a succession of moves too fast to follow with the eyes, she nailed a set
of targets tacked to the wall, leaving dents in their place.  "You're up
awfully early," observed Ranma as he leaned against the doorway.  "Perhaps,
unlike you," Akane panted without relaxing from her training posture, "some
people want to win this tournament for the Tendo Dojo."  "You take
everything too seriously," retorted Ranma, "After all, the only one around
here any good with a samurai sword is Kuno, and even you can beat him."
"And just what do you mean by that?!" Akane growled as she hurtled one of
the heavy circular targets towards Ranma's head.  Ranma quickly ducked
the projectile, which careened past him, sailed into the yard and rebounded
off Genma's head just as he was drying off from a hot shower, knocking
him into the pond where he immediately returned to panda form.  "Violent
tomboy..."  muttered Ranma as he wandered off to train elsewhere.  Akane
glared after him before returning to her training with renewed energy.
"Ranma, you jerk!"


	The Tendos and Saotomes were not the only ones up early this 
clear Saturday morning.  Kuno Tatewaki stood with sword outstretched and 
eyes closed in his own training hall, the sun rising through the window 
behind him.  "The samurai tournament," he intoned to himself, "is an 
opportunity that cannot be missed.  When I win, surely Akane will see 
that the might of my sword is superior to the uncouth fist-fighting of 
that scoundrel Ranma.  I shall defeat them both and win the tournament, 
and then she shall date with me."  Here Kuno raised his sword to the 
heavens.  "And I will win, for am I not the rising star of the high 
school fencing world, the Blue Thunder of Furinkan High, Kuno Tatewaki!"  
He then brought his sword down in a wide slash, neatly slicing in two the 
stone pillar which stood before him, and smiled at victories to come.


	Shampoo was serving breakfast customers at the Cat Cafe as her 
Grandmother Cologne hopped over to the window on her staff and examined a
bill poster there with squinting eyes.  "Look at this Shampoo," she called,
"I bet Ranma will enter this samurai tournament.  If you enter and beat him
he will surely be attracted to you."  "Ah," said Shampoo as she came over to
look at the poster, "is good idea, Grandma.  Shampoo will use her hunting
sword, win tournament.  Then Ranma date with Shampoo!"  Smiling at the
thought, Shampoo almost tipped the plate of chow mein she was balancing
expertly.  "We will be ready tomorrow," croaked Cologne, "for now, attend to
out customers."  "Okey-dokey, great-grandma."


	Unknown to everyone in the town of Furinkan below, 
another contestant stood on a high hill looking down at the city.  He was 
clothed completely in traditional samurai garb, and his face was 
concealed behind a black veil.  A long and polished samurai sword was 
clutched in his hand and gleamed in the morning sun.  As he gazed at the 
peaceful town below, he spoke: "But one day more.  One day more and I 
shall bring all these pathetic commoners to their knees.  The true power 
of the samurai clan of Gengi shall be known once more."  The mysterious 
figure laughed an evil laugh to himself, a laugh which was carried by the 
wind down into the town.  

	Ranma, training in the yard with Genma, glanced up momentarily when 
he thought he heard a strange sound, and Genma, back in human form, took the
opportunity to land a blow which sent Ranma sailing straight into the pool.
"Ranma!" he yelled, gazing into the water into which the boy had sunk, "You
are too slow!  You must not let down your guard in the contest! You must..."
and got no further than that when female ranma jumped out of the pond and
bounced off his head, sending him into the water as well.  The panda arose
dripping, holding a sign which read "PRACTICE!".  "Oh, give it a rest, old
man," Ranma grumbled as she stalked off to find some drier clothes.


	The day of the tournament was bright, sunny, and noisy as the entire
township of Furinkan gathered near the high school's athletic field to
see who would sign up for the day's activities.  Kuno, spotting Ranma and
Akane in the crowed, called out, "So, Ranma, have you come to sign up for
the tournament, or would you just like to concede my superior abilities with
the sword right now?"  "Put a sock in it, Kuno," Ranma replied.  "Such an
attitude," Kuno retorted, "is unbecoming one of your low birth Ranma.  I,
the Blue Thunder of Furinkan High, shall win this championship."  "You seem
sure of yourself today," Akane chimed in.  "Dear Akane," Kuno replied "if
you perchance defeat me in this tournament, I shall allow you to date me."
"So who asked you?" Ranma interrupted, and proceeded to send Kuno flying
over the crowd with a swift kick."  "Hmph," Akane glared at him, "and who
asked you for your help?"  But just when Akane was about to apply a swift
kick of her own in Ranma's direction, another voice called out.  "Nihao!"

	"Ranma," Shampoo called, pushing her way through 
the crowd, "I look all over for you!"  "Hey Shampoo," Ranma returned, 
"what brings you out here?"  "I enter contest," she replied, "win I."  
"You?  You gotta be kidding."  "You no think I win?  Then Ranma promise 
make.  If Shampoo win, Ranma date with Shampoo?"  "Huh? Uh..  I"  Shampoo 
fixed Ranma with an extremely cute stare and fluttered her eyelids.  
"Uh..  sure," Ranma stammered, "I.. uh..  don't see a problem with that."  
Akane, who had been watching this exchange with a blank expression, 
decided that this would be an opportune moment to finish that swift kick 
she had started back in the last paragraph.  "Ranma, you jerk!" she 
exclaimed as Ranma sailed off to other parts of the crowed.  "Hm.." 
Shampoo glared at Akane, "you I see in tournament."  "That you will, 
Shampoo," Akane grumbled, stalking off into the crowd.


	A few minutes later, the crowd quieted as loudspeakers around the 
field clicked on.  "Attention spectators," they droned, "the contestants
have all been chosen.  The competition will be done on an elimination basis.
Every time someone loses a battle, they will lose a point.  If you lose too
many points, you're out of the tournament.  The last contestant left in
wins.  We will now begin the tournament.  First match: Ataru Morobishi
versus Shutaro Menduo."  Ranma, watching the first bout from the sidelines,
noticed Nabiki standing nearby.  "Hey Nabiki," he called, "what brings you
out here."  "Oh, there's always money to be made at a contest," she
replied.  "Of course," Ranma said, "So who's got the odds in this match?
Do you know these people?"  "Yeah, they're just some out of towners from
Tomobiki.  Menduo's pretty handy with the sword, but Ataru could beat him
if he puts his mind to it."  "Uh-huh.  So, who do you favor to win the
tournament?"  "Well, that's a tricky one.  You're pretty good, Ranma,
but you never know when Akane might get the better of you.  Kuno doesn't
stand a chance.  But then there's always that weird guy over there..."
"Huh?" Ranma asked, following Nabiki's gaze to where a man dressed in
extravagant samurai robes and holding a long samurai sword stood among the
crowd.  "How odd we didn't notice him before."  "Yeah, I don't think
he actually entered the tournament, though.  But he's sure dressed for
it..."


	"Second fight: Ranma Saotome versus Akane Tendo."  Ranma strode 
into the field, saying, "So, Akane, looks like we get a warm-up match
together.  Too bad I have to take a point away from you."  "Don't get
your hopes too high, Ranma," Akane, still in a sour mood, growled.  "You
know, Akane, you're not very cute when your in such a bad mood."  "Ranma,
you jerk!"  Akane yelled as she opened with a flurry of well-placed punches
which Ranma just barely blocked.  "Not bad," he remarked, "for a start."
"Well, unlike some people," she replied, "I've been making good use of my
time and practicing."  Akane proceeded to get in a volley of kicks, which
Ranma again barely blocked.  "You know something?" Ranma pondered, "Maybe
you're right, Akane, I could use a bit more practice."  At that, he
pulled a quick kicking move which tripped Akane, then bounded off the field.
"Ranma, you jerk!" Akane repeated, "You can't run away when you were
losing!  You make me so mad!"  After a pause, the loudspeakers declared,
"The judges were unable to reach a decision, so the match is declared a
tie."


	Several hours later, the loudspeakers had a special announcement:  
"The tournament has no come down to four contestants remaining.  Akane
Tendo, Kuno Tatewaki, Ranma Saotome, and Shampoo.  Each of them need lose
only one more fight to be eliminated.  The next match will be...  hey,
who's that on the field?"  All eyes turned toward the extravagantly
clothed figure suddenly standing alone on the grass.  "I wish," the figure
said, "to enter this tournament."  "Sir," the loudspeakers replied, "I'm
afraid the time for entering is past.  Now if you will kindly vacate..."  "I
wish," he repeated more forcefully, "to enter."  "Um..  you see sir, that
would be highly irregular..."  At this point the figure raised his large,
gleaming sword and pointed it towards the officials' stand.  "I will," he
said, "enter the tournament."  "The mysterious man with the large sword will
enter the tournament," the loudspeakers agreed.  "The tournament has no come
down to five contestants remaining.  Akane Tendo, Kuno Tatewaki, Ranma
Saotome, Shampoo, and the mysterious man with the large sword.  Now then,
the next match will be Kuno Tatewaki versus Akane Tendo."

	As Kuno and Akane took their places on the field, Kuno intoned, 
"Remember, dear Akane, that there are rewards if you beat me."  "Oh, you
mean I never have to see you again?  That would be worth fighting for,"
Akane replied.  Meanwhile, on the sidelines, Nabiki had taken the mysterious
figure aside for a chat.  "So," she bargained, "you'll give me those
samurai shoes in exchange for my sneakers if I help you thin out the
competition?  You want to get rid of the other guy with a sword, and the
Chinese girl, right?  Then take this bucket and.."  She whispered in his ear
and then walked off, asking anybody who cared to listen if they would like
to buy an authentic pair of Samurai footwear.

	On the other sideline at this time, Ranma was watching the fight
with interest while Shampoo clung to his arm like a parasite.  "Shampoo," he
complained, "you're getting in my way; I can't see."  "Shampoo
preparing for date with Ranma," she replied.  "Look, Shampoo," Ranma
squirmed, "you haven't won ye.."  But he got no farther before the two of
them were both doused with a bucket full of cold water.  Ranma took one look
at the cat clinging to her arm and bolted across the field, running straight
between the battling Kuno and Akane.  "Pig-tailed girl!" Kuno exclaimed, and
bent over to kiss her hand as she passed.  "An opening!" Akane shouted, and
with two quick kicks knocked away Kuno's sword and sent him flying high
into the air.  "Akane's point!" the loudspeakers boomed, "Kuno Tatewaki
is out of the tournament, and quite likely out of the city as well by now.
Next match: Shampoo versus the mysterious man with the big sword."

	"Wait a minute," the loudspeakers corrected themselves a moment 
later, "we have just been informed by the mysterious man with the large
sword and half-empty bucket that Shampoo is no longer available.  By the
way, someone get that cat off the field!  Anyways, in that case Shampoo is
disqualified and our next match is the mysterious man versus Akane Tendo."
Akane and the mysterious man moved into position across from each other on
the field.  "All right, whoever you are," Akane said, "let's see how good
you are."  She moved in and began with a series of swift and accurate
punches which the man effortlessly blocked with his blade.  Meanwhile, Ranma
returned to the sidelines, damp but male, having purchased a rather
expensive kettle of hot water from Nabiki.  As he arrived he saw Akane try
out a flurry of kicks which the mysterious man again blocked.  This went on
for some time, until Akane finally stepped back for a moment, winded.

	"So," intoned the man, "do you wish to admit defeat now, or shall we
continue this futile exercise?"  Akane merely glared at him for a minute,
when suddenly a smile came over her face and she giggled.  "Eh?" the man
wondered, "has my prowess with the blade driven you mad?"  "No," she
replied, regaining her composure, "its just that I think I know how to
defeat you."  "Really?" the man replied, "In that case..."  Saying no more
the man reached out with his long sword and neatly stuck the flat side of it
through the belt of Akane's outfit, then lifted her off the ground.
"H.. hey!" she yelled, "put me down."  The man then calmly proceeded to
deposit Akane outside the field boundary, and declared loudly "Akane Tendo
has left the field and thus forfeited the match."  He punctuated his
statement with brief but meaningful jabs of his sword in the direction of
the officials' stand.  "Yes," the loudspeaker agreed, "Akane forfeits."
"But," it added as an aside to the mysterious man, "don't push your luck.
You won't get away with that again."  The man nodded in slow assent.  "Next
match: the mysterious man versus Ranma Saotome."

	"What?!?" spluttered Akane from the sideline.  "I'll handle 
this guy," Ranma said as he strode past her onto the field.  "You better 
hope you will," Akane shouted after him, "I'll never forgive you if you 
let this guy win."  When Ranma had reached his position, the mysterious 
man addressed him, "So, Ranma, we meet at last."  "Do i know you?" Ranma 
queried.  "Perhaps I shall tell you," replied the man, "after I beat you 
to a bloody pulp."  "We'll see about that," Ranma retorted, and rushed 
forward to begin exchanging blows.  The battle was fairly even for quite 
a while; neither opponent could get through the other's defenses.  
However, after some time had passed, it was clear that Ranma would tire 
sooner.  Eventually, Ranma let a sword strike slip through, and the 
mysterious man nicked his shoulder, drawing blood.  Ranma winced, and the 
man nicked his other shoulder.  As Ranma began to let down his guard, the 
man yelled "Flat-Sword Baseball Hard Strike!" and knocked him a stunning 
blow with the side of his blade which sent Ranma sprawling across the 
field.

	"Ranma, you idiot!" Akane yelled from the sidelines, "How can you 
let yourself get beat up like this?  What the heck have you been 
practicing all day?"  "This," Ranma replied, getting shakily to his feet.  
"I wish," he announced to the officials' booth, "to forfeit the rest of 
my match and leave it to Akane Tendo instead."  "What?" Akane shouted, 
striding to meet him in the field, "you can't quit now!"  "But you're in 
better shape to fight him."  "I was disqualified!  What's with you 
anyways?"  "You silly girl, can't you see I'm trying to apologize?"  
"Apologize?  By getting yourself beaten?"  "Hey, if you think that was 
fun out there..."  While the two continued yelling, the mysterious man, 
growing impatient, wandered over to the officials' booth.

	"Maybe you're right," Ranma said, as Akane agreed, "yes, perhaps you
are."  "I'll fight him," they both concluded at once.  "What?" they both
asked.  Suddenly they were interrupted as the loudspeaker announced, "The
mysterious man has announced that he will now fight both Akane and Ranma for
the prize.  Resume the fight."  "Huh?" Akane and Ranma looked at each other
in confusion.  The mysterious man immediately took advantage of their
indecision: "Flat-Sword Second Strike!" he yelled, and knocked them both
backwards with his sword.  "Hah hah.." he chuckled, "it will indeed be a
pleasure to beat you both soundly once and for all."  As he recovered from
the blow, Ranma remarked, "My, but isn't he the mass of cliches this
afternoon."  "Look, partner," Akane growled at him, "if we're gonna beat
this guy together we've gotta regroup."  She then whispered something to
Ranma who looked surprised for a second, then intrigued.  "Not a bad idea,"
he remarked, "for a normally slow chick like you."  "Just shut up and follow
me," Akane yelled.

	Akane and Ranma both ran towards the man as he raised his sword 
again.  He drew back and yelled, "Flat-Sword Third Strike..."  Before he could
swing Ranma jumped up and landed, balancing expertly on his sword.  As he
looked up startled at Ranma, Akane ducked below his sight, and Ranma jumped
off the sword and over his head.  The man began to turn quickly to follow
Ranma's movement, but as he began to do so he suddenly found himself falling
flat on his face, whereupon Ranma landed on his back and sent his sword
flying from his grasp into the air with a swift kick.  "...and you're
out."  Akane declared, as she caught the sword and pointed it at his nose.
"Point, set, and match to Akane and Ranma!" the loudspeakers declared
joyously.


	Back at the Tendo Dojo, Genma and Soun were congratulating Ranma and
Akane on their victory.  "That was quite some stunt you two pulled," Soun
commented.  "Yes," Genma agreed, "how did you manage it?"  "Well," Ranma
replied, "we knew we weren't getting anywhere with a straight attack, so
we needed something else."  Akane continued, "I noticed while fighting him
earlier that their was something odd about his costume.  It was all perfect
for a samurai, except for his shoes, which seemed to be a pair of blue
sneakers.  So anyways, I just tied his shoelaces together."  "After that,"
Ranma concluded, "he was a pushover, you might say."  "Ah, Genma," Soun
gushed, "is it not truly a miracle to see this young couple working together
at last?"  "Indeed," Genma agreed, "It warms my aging heart.  I'm so
happy for you son!"  Upon which he patted Ranma on the back so vigorously
that he knocked him straight into the backyard pond....

      END


+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+
| Ben Elgin Benjamin_Elgin@hmc.edu              http://www2.hmc.edu/~belgin |
< Harvey Mudd College: East 116 x4855                 ^_^    Anime Forever! >
|Member of the #SkAS#: Skuld Appreciation Society - The goddess of debuggers|
+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+
  "listen: there's a hell of a good universe next door; let's go"