Okay, here's part two. This didn't come out quite the way I would 
have liked it to, and I'm kinda dissatisfied with it. Any suggestions? 
Again, *any* comments or criticism would be appreciated (even a simple 
"Never write anything again" will do). 

Scoop of the Day
A Ranma 1/2 Fanfiction

Disclaimer: Ranma and company belong to Rumiko Takahashi and are licensed 
to a lot of other people who aren't me. This is a non-profit work, so no 
money at all was gained from the production of this story.

Thanks to all those who wrote in response to Chapter One, and special 
thanks to Mike W. Loader who allowed this idea to take flight.

Chapter Two: Follow Ranma!

	"Hey, Noriko, is it true that the Informer isn't going to survive 
another year? What're you going to do?"
	Noriko looked up from her proofreading job and was dismayed to 
see the circle of crew members gathered around her desk, each eager to 
hear her answer.
	"We don't know that for sure; weren't you listening to Sensei's 
announcement?" Noriko replied, annoyed at the reminder. As soon as the 
latest issue of the Informer had been distributed, Mr. Watanabe had taken 
the opportunity to formally let the students know about the financial 
situation of the journalism program of Furinkan. It didn't seem to be 
enough for the students, though, because just one minute after he had 
left the room, everyone ran to Noriko's desk to see if they could garner 
some extra details about the fate of the "Informer." Noriko idly wondered 
if this was how her interview subjects always felt.
	More of her reporters chimed in. "Are we going to have to beg in 
the halls for funds?"
	"Doesn't Mr. Watanabe want to be our advisor anymore? What did we do?"
	"Yeah, was it something we printed last week?"
	"I heard that Principal Kuno thinks that the yearbook is more 
important than the newspaper! At least he's funding yearbook!"
	"STOP SPREADING RUMORS!" Noriko shouted. That shut everyone up. 
Good. She continued, slowly, obviously trying to retain control of her 
already rising temper. "Mr. Watanabe said that as it stands, the paper 
might not receive enough money from the school to continue on, unless he 
can change the principal's mind." *Or somehow scare up some cash, quick,* 
Noriko thought to herself.
	The journalism room was silent, but only for a moment. "Yeah, 
right, Principal Kuno'll change his mind the day that Saotome decides to 
become a girl full time." The crowd slowly dispersed, agreeing under its 
breath. Noriko's pencil went *crack* as she threw control to the wind.
	*I'll get you for this, Ranma*, she thought silently, letting 
shards of wood, paint, and graphite fall to her already cluttered desk. 
It had been just a week since she had made that promise after first 
hearing about journalism's impending demise and had tracked the primary 
cause for lack of funds to Ranma Saotome. However, ideas for revenge were 
scarce. Noriko had managed to crank out a scathing little editorial 
against violence within Furinkan high which got printed in the last 
issue, but she knew that it would have little effect on her quarry. 
Noriko was beginning to feel rather desperate. "Hey, Hikaru! Suzuki! 
You're done with the last assignment I gave you, right?"
	Suzuki briefly looked up from his game of solitaire. "Yeah, 
chief, why?"
	"Well, I've got another one for you! I want you two to follow 
Ranma Saotome for a week."
	Gosunkugi immediately turned a whiter shade of pale. "Follow...Ranma?"
	Noriko's patience was nearing its end. "Yes, follow Ranma; is 
there a problem??"
	"Well...last time someone tried to do that, he ended up in the 
infirmary with multiple dislocated joints," Suzuki answered. "Darn! 
WhereUs that red king when I need it?"
	Noriko stomped her foot in frustration. "That's because it was 
Kuno-sempai's idiot servant, and he was trying to ambush him at lunch! I 
just want you to tail him for a while! Geez! It's like I'm in charge of a 
bunch of scaredy cats or something!"
	Gosunkugi somehow managed to become even paler. "Please, 
Noriko-san...don't mention the word 'cats' to me."
	"Uh...is there something specific we're supposed to be looking 
for?" Suzuki quickly asked, trying to avert a potential explosion on the 
part of his editor-in-chief.
	It didn't work. There was a noticeable *boom* as Noriko's fist 
hit the desk. The king of diamonds dropped from Suzuki's fingers. "Just 
follow him for a week!! Find out what he's about!! See who he hangs 
around with!! Find out *something* about him! And for goodness' sake, 
don't let him know he's being followed!" Gosunkugi and Suzuki quickly 
fled to the relative safety of the hallway, leaving Noriko standing at 
her desk, fuming. 
	Gosunkugi quickly closed the door to the journalism room behind 
him. "Is it just me, or does Noriko-san seem to have it in for Ranma?"
	Suzuki thought for a moment. "Naaaah, chief's probably just upset 
about the paper. I mean, who wouldn't be?"

	Later that afternoon, Suzuki and Gosunkugi met after school 
behind the large oak tree [do oaks grow in Japan?] just outside the 
school gate. Suzuki had his notepad and pencil with him, while Gosunkugi 
brought along his trusty camera, along with another strange object. "Hey, 
Hikaru, what's that trinket supposed to be?"
	Gosunkugi fingered the talisman hanging from its chain. "I wear 
it whenever I have to go near Saotome. It's supposed to ward off disaster 
as long as the potion I steeped it in lasts."
	Suzuki rolled his eyes. "Does it work?"
	Gosunkugi shrugged. "Well, it's hard to say. The last three I had 
were broken after the first day of wearing them."
	Suzuki looked less than convinced, but decided to let the matter 
drop. "Shhh!" he hissed, motioning for Gosunkugi to duck. They knelt 
behind the tree and watched a pig-tailed boy wearing Chinese clothes walk 
past, hop onto the fence, and continue walking. "There he is! Let's 
follow him!" Suzuki whispered.
	"Are you sure this is supposed to get us information about 
Ranma?" Gosunkugi whispered back as they started after Ranma.
	Suzuki shook his head. "Not really, but do you want to tell that 
to chief?"
	Gosunkugi sighed and continued to follow after Suzuki, hoping for 
the world that he looked inconspicuous. 

	Ranma Saotome walked on the fence towards the Tendo dojo, lost in 
idle thought. He had left school later than usual, having spent the 
earlier part of the afternoon avoiding Akane's latest "assignment" from 
her Home Economics class. She had said that they were muffins, and had 
handed Ranma one. When her back was turned, though, Ranma dropped the 
RmuffinS onto the floor on a whim, instantly regretting it when the 
muffin continued to crash through the floor and onto a hapless Kuno on 
the first story, sending him into yet another dazed reverie about his 
"osage no onna" and Akane.
	"Stop insulting my cooking!" Akane had yelled, chasing Ranma 
around the school with the remainder of her muffins. Fortunately, the 
muffins were sufficiently heavy so that Ranma was able to easily outrun 
Akane and hide out in the boysU locker room until Akane gave up and 
walked back home without him, muttering "Ranma no baka" all the way.
	*Stupid girl. Why does she have to keep trying to poison me with 
her lousy cooking, anyway?* Ranma thought to himself. It wasn't that 
Ranma always set out to tick off Akane (well, sometimes it was good for a 
laugh or two), but her cooking was so *bad!* *I didn't even say nothing; 
I just dropped the muffin on the ground, that's all!* He laughed silently 
to himself at the memory of the "muffin" dropping onto Kuno's head, 
knocking him cold. *Who woulda thought a muffin could be so dangerous? 
Maybe I should of kept them, and used them as weapons, or training 
weights, or...*
	Ranma froze. Slowly, he turned around, not expecting to see 
anyone, but taking a look anyway. Sure enough, no one was in sight, but 
Ranma knew that someone was following him. He concentrated for a 
moment...yes, there was definitely someone there. He could feel his 
presence. And maybe someone else's as well. Was it Ryoga? Ranma quickly 
eliminated the possibility. It wasn't Ryoga's style to sneak up on 
people, even if he had sent Ranma another of those blasted formal letters 
of challenge just a week ago. Not Shampoo, either. Mousse? Or Kodachi? 
Well, whoever it was, he decided he was better off finding out as soon as 
possible.

	Suzuki and Gosunkugi stayed huddled behind a nearby tree which 
they had dove behind when Ranma stopped walking. "I think he knows we're 
following him!" Gosunkugi whispered.
	Suzuki snorted. "Yeah, right," he responded. "Whaddya think he 
is, some kind of magician or something?"
	"Yo, Gosunkugi! What're you up to this time?" Ranma's voice came 
from in front of the tree.
	"Then again...," Suzuki sighed. He turned around to see Ranma 
standing over them, arms crossed. 
	"So, following me around again, huh? And who's your friend?"
	"Uh...I'm Toren Suzuki, from the 'Informer,'" Suzuki managed to get 
out. 
	"The 'Informer,' huh? Does this have anything to do with that 
anti-martial-arts article that was printed last week?" Ranma asked, 
suspicious. Ranma remembered being none-too-happy about the things that 
were said in that editorial. Kuno, on the other hand, spent the next 
hour-and-a-half ranting and raving about the dishonor the editorial had 
dealt him. He was quickly sent to the hall with buckets of water, after 
which he continued to rant until Miss Hinako "disciplined" him.
	"N-no!" Gosunkugi blurted out. "That wasn't us, that was our 
editor who wrote that!"
	"Well, then, what're you following me for..." Ranma broke off 
suddenly, glancing quickly around. "Hey, listen, you two had better clear 
out of here, quick."
	Suzuki looked dubious. "Clear out? What's the matter, are you sc--"
	"RANMA, PREPARE TO DIE!" came the all-too-familiar yell, followed 
ever-so-quickly by a flying kick delivered by a bandana-ed teenager 
carrying an umbrella.
	Ranma easily dodged the kick and assumed a defensive stance. 
"Geez, Ryoga! Don't you ever let up?"
	"Have you forgotten? It's time for me to rid the earth of 
you!" Ryoga hurled his umbrella at Ranma, who sidestepped it with little 
effort.
	"Don't you ever get tired of this? You sound like a bad comic 
book or something!" Ranma retorted.
	"Shut up! This is for all your injustices to sweet Akane!" Ryoga 
aimed a vicious punch at Ranma, who casually deflected it.
	"Gosunkugi! Take your friend and get the hell out of here!" Ranma 
shouted. 
	"What about you?" Suzuki yelled.
	Ranma side-stepped again to avoid the umbrella returning in the 
opposite direction and continued to block Ryoga's frenzied punches and 
kicks. "Don't worry about me; this happens to me all the time! Just get 
away from here!"
	Ryoga charged Ranma, who rolled back onto the ground and used his 
momentum to slam him into the pavement. Ryoga, to say the least, was 
angry. 
	"Using dirty tricks, eh, Ranma? I'll destroy the very earth on which 
you stand!" Ryoga pulled his arm back, index finger extended. "BAKU-SAI..."
	Gosunkugi tugged at Suzuki's arm, but Suzuki had picked up 
Gosunkugi's camera from where he had dropped it and was busily snapping 
pictures of the fight. "C'mon! Let's get out of here!" Gosunkugi urged, 
tugging at Suzuki's arm.
	"Just one more shot...there! Okay, let's git!"
	Unforunately for Gosunkugi and Suzuki, it was already too late. 
"...TEN-KETSU!!" Ryoga shouted, driving his finger into the breaking 
point of the cement. The shockwave from the exploding concrete threw 
Gosunkugi and Suzuki onto their backs, knocking the wind out of both of 
them and giving them nasty bruises.
	Then the five thousand six hundred and forty seven sharp 
fragments of shattered concrete pelted them at full force.

	Noriko sat in the journalism room early the next morning nursing 
a cup of cocoa and jotting down ideas for her next editorial. This was 
the one time Noriko had to herself before the craziness started all over 
again with school starting and the arrival of her crew. *Hmmm...maybe I 
can do one on vandalism and property damage next, maybe? I could probably 
link it to martial arts again.* She took another sip and sighed in 
contentment. *If only the rest of the day could be this peaceful,* she 
thought to herself.
	The door flew open, followed by two figures who looked nothing so 
much as rejected mummies from a tryout for a B-movie. They limped 
silently into the room, swathed in bandages from head to toe. Noriko 
noticed that one of them carried a camera along with what looked like a 
broken piece of jewelry hanging from a chain.
	Suddenly, Noriko understood. "Omigosh! Suzuki! Gosunkugi! What on 
earth happened to you?!" She flew from her desk towards them, barely 
catching Suzuki as he fell to one side. 
	"Mhee mrai moo molloo Rnnnmoo..." Suzuki began weakly. 
Frustrated, he ripped the bandages from around his face, revealing a 
dozen or so gashes, cuts, and puncture wounds. Noriko gasped in shock. 
"We tried to follow Ranma Saotome after school."
	Gosunkugi followed suit, revealing a similar condition. "We 
tracked him for a short while, but then that Ryoga guy came, and there 
was a fight, and..."
	"And what??" Noriko asked, anxiously.
	"I...I don't remember," Suzuki said uneasily. He had a vague 
memory of a shout, and then an explosion, throwing them back and Ranma 
and the crazy bandana man into the canal. Then Ranma...was it 
Ranma?..punted a small animal into the air, and... Suzuki shook his head 
again. A clinic. He was at a clinic, getting treated by a man with 
glasses. Gosunkugi was there, too. A young lady entered, and...pain. Lots 
of pain and shouting...was that Ranma shouting? More treatment, and 
waking up at his house, wrapped in bandages. Seeing a girl walk away with 
Gosunkugi on her back. *Strong girl, did she carry me, too?* Blackness...
	"I don't remember, either," added Gosunkugi. "I remember that 
Ranma was there for most of it, though." Gosunkugi ruefully fingered the 
broken remains of his talisman. "I guess that makes four," he remarked to 
no one in particular.
	Noriko's feelings swiftly went from concern and sympathy to anger 
and hatred towards Ranma Saotome. *First the paper, then this! How dare 
he attack my reporters! And without any provocation, too!* she thought, 
her hands beginning to shake. 
	Suzuki and Gosunkugi, noticing Noriko's mood change, backed off a 
little. "Hey, don't worry about it," Suzuki offered. "I'll be sure to get 
something good on Ranma soon, as soon as I can walk, that is."
	Noriko shook her head, realizing that she had been misunderstood. 
"No, no, it's nothing like that. I'm not mad at you two. I should never 
have sent you to do something so dangerous." She took a deep breath, 
trying to calm herself. "It's all the fault of that accursed Ranma! It 
wasn't enough that he jeopardize the paper, but now he attacks my own 
crew as well!"
	Gosunkugi quickly nodded in agreement, but Suzuki was doubtful. 
"Are you sure about that, chief? I don't think it was like he was trying 
to hurt us or anything..."
	The words went right past Noriko as she tore up the notes she was 
writing for her next editorial. *This new development makes it a whole 
different ball game,* Noriko thought darkly. *Then again, drastic times 
call for drastic measures.*

End part two

Well, that's it for now. Please, send me suggestions on how to make this 
part better, because I kind of think it sucks right now. The next part 
should be a little more interesting. Again, thanks to all of you who 
graciously responded to the first part; it's real encouraging to know 
that people actually read this!

---
Raphael See