Hi all, I was fidling around with this little Ranma elsewhere concept
and I felt it might actually be worthwile. So I'm posting it(Reposting it
actually, it seems I still need to figure out how to keep my newsreader from
automatically encoding every file that gets attached. Anyways I'm posting it in
two parts, here's part two
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"He's in your class, you show him to school." Nabiki called
back to Akane as she ran out of the house.
"Hey Nabiki, that's not fair." Akane shouted as she ran down
the hall, right into Ranma, who was wearing his red and black Chinese
clothes and closing his schoolbag.
Ranma looked at her with an apologetic look on his face and
said "I do need someone to show me the way to school."
Akane took a deep breath and relaxed. "Ok let me be your
guide." She responded with a big smile.
"Thanks."
The pair walked to school, Akane on the sidewalk, Ranma
striding on top of the fence.
"Remember don't say a word about any engagements. I don't
want people getting the wrong idea." Akane said to Ranma.
"Don't worry, As I see it, the whole engagement thing is not to
be considered for an entire year."
"Ok." Akane walked a few more feet in silence. Then she
slowed down slightly and said quietly "You were serious, right? About
calling the engagement off if we didn't want it?"
"Of course. That's the right thing to do."
"Good." She increased her pace again. Looking at Ranma she
saw him effortlessly matching her on the fence. "Why are you up there
anyway?"
"Dad always used to make me do a lot of balance exercises.
It's... reassuring to know they're still second nature."
"You've been training for a long time?"
"Started before I could walk. And Pop's always trying to come
up with different challenges to make sure I keep improving." He
jumped off the fence and started walking next to Akane. "He
sometimes shouts at me about my not devoting myself wholeheartedly
to the Arts, but Mom knows how to calm him down. Besides I've
always surpassed whatever standards he's tried to impose on me."
The two continued their trip quietly.
"Well there's the school," Akane said as they picked up the
pace and started jogging down the final block. "Oh yeah, don't get in
my way."
"Are you expecting something to happen." Ranma said as he
looked at the school. There seemed to be a large crowd standing in the
courtyard, and all of them were looking their way.
"It's all that damn Kuno's fault!" Akane said as she broke into a
run. The figures in the courtyard began running toward them as well.
"When will you give up and leave me alone!" She screamed at the mob
as she met it.
Ranma had held off on matching her last bit of acceleration, and
when the mob reached Akane he recalled her request and jumped over
the crowd landing on the wall around the school. He then looked over
the two to three dozen students in athletic outfits, all fighting Akane, and
he could almost immediately see how the odds stacked up. The mob
didn't stand a chance. A few seconds later Akane finished confirming
his assessment.
"I wish they'd all give up one of these days." Akane said to
herself as she looked at her opponents and caught her breath. She
glanced at Ranma who was squatting on top of the wall looking at her
with an analytical look on his face
She looked away from Ranma and started toward the door
when she sensed something being thrown at her. She caught it and saw
it was a red rose. With a little groan she turned and looked at the
source of the projectile.
"Once again these churls fought for the chance to ask for your
hand, what fools!" Said a tall kid in a Kendo outfit as he stepped from
around the tree, holding a wooden practice sword in his hand. He
continued "And now it is time for..." And his monologue stopped, as he
saw Ranma Jump down to land at Akane's side.
"And who might you be who dares to stand so close to the fair
Akane Tendo?"
"Ranma Saotome." Ranma replied as he looked Kuno over.
"Ranma Saotome know that you address the greatest fighter of
this school. I am the rising star of the high school Kendo world, my
opponents tremble at the sound of my name! My peers call me the
Blue Thunder of Furinkan High! I am Tatewaki Kuno, age 17. And
what, Ranma Saotome, grants you the courage to approach Akane
Tendo."
"I'm the heir of the Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial
arts." Ranma replied, adding "And I'm a guest of the Tendo's while I'm
attending school."
"What! You think yourself worthy to share a dwelling with the
Beauteous Akane!" Kuno shouted as he ran toward Ranma.
Ranma casually jumped out of the way as Kuno's downward
slash with the wooden practice sword passed through the air where
Ranma had stood and sliced a large gash in the wall. Ranma took off
his schoolpack as he moved through the air and tossed it to Akane as
he landed. "Hold this please."
"Is there any particular reason you're attacking me?" Ranma
asked as he dodged another series of strikes by Kuno.
*He's Good* Thought Kuno as he contemplated Ranma's
evasion of his attacks.
"My father is an old friend of her fathers from their training days.
I'll be staying at the Dojo for a while. And why are you so concerned
about Akane and who she associates with?"
"On the day I prove my worthiness by defeating her in combat
she will be free to admit her love for me, and I will not allow you to put
that day off by your interference!"
Ranma glanced ad Akane who was looking at Kuno with an
increasingly angry look and said, "Have you ever considered what
she'd say about that prediction?"
"Enough talk!" Kuno responded as he rushed Ranma sword
swinging down. Ranma avoided the slash by jumping into the air.
Kuno looked up to see Ranma dropping from the height he had
risen to, and swung his sword up in another attack. Ranma struck at
Kuno with the first two fingers of his right hand. Both aimed for their
opponents heads.
It started to rain.
Ranma felt the change occur, and decided that the fight needed
to be ended. As his feet touched the ground, he swung up his left leg in
a fast circular kick which knocked Kuno across the schoolyard.
Ranma immediately ran into the school.
"Hey didn't Ranma look a little different all of a sudden?"
"I could have sworn he shrank, but that's impossible."
"Yeah, must have been an illusion."
"Damn, the rain wasn't due till around ten." Ranma commented
as she took her pack back from Akane. Reaching into it she pulled out
a thermos with which she shifted back to his original form.
"How would you know?" Akane asked as they walked to their
classroom.
Ranma pulled out a small radio tuned to the weather channel
and said "I've had a good motivation to learn about Meteorology."
"HE'S HER FIANC…E?!" Kuno screamed in the class.
"Kuno, that's not what I said." Nabiki responded.
"Then..." Kuno started but was cut short by an eraser thrown
by the teacher.
"KUNO stand in the hall!"
"yes sir"
"And so... Mr. Saotome, if this is so simple would you care to
try explaining it!?" The teacher said as he glared at Ranma's Yawning
face.
Ranma blinked in surprise a moment, then glanced at the
equations on the board. "935 units squared, right."
"... Uh, yes, but it's the process that's important."
Ranma silently stood and walked to the board. Pausing to put
on a pair of reading glasses he wrote out a very quick and accurate
solution to the extensive integral equations. "Any questions?"
At this moment the door of the room slammed open and Kuno
stormed in dressed in the mornings kendo outfit again. "Ranma
Saotome, I WILL NEVER ACCEPT YOUR ENGAGEMENT TO
AKANE TENDO!!"
Immediately all the boys in class were shouting at Ranma for
becoming engaged to Akane while all the girls were pestering Akane for
details.
"HOLD IT!" Ranma called out, then he stepped backward to
avoid a downward slash from Kuno's wooden practice sword.
"forcefield on." He said quietly as he stepped back toward Kuno.
Kuno attacked again but found that his sword was now
bouncing off an invisible sphere surrounding Ranma. "What sorcery is
this!" He screamed
"It's a forcefield generator," Ranma calmly replied, holding up a
metallic device about the size of one of one of the pocket computers. "I
traded the technology with a friend, but that's not important. Akane and
I are not engaged. I'm merely a guest of the family at this time."
"But Nabiki Tendo said,"
"When I arrived my father and hers wanted to engage us, but I
talked them out of it. I'll stay there for one year, and then if there's any
engagement to be made we'll be the ones to make it."
Kuno stood still trying to figure out what was going on. This
ended when the teacher whacked him on the head with a ruler while
stating "You have Detention for the rest of the week! Now go stand in
the hall!!"
"yes sir."
After an otherwise quiet day Akane, Ranma and Nabiki started
home, Ranma wringing water from her pigtail as she walked toward the
gate. "Damn, why don't they look where their throwing that water."
She sighed and added "If only I hadn't used up all my hot water this
morning. I'll have to work on something to deal with that. Oh great."
the final statement was a reference to Kuno's decision to stand in front
of the gateway.
"Where is Ranma Saotome." He called out.
Akane looked at Ranma and said, "He got called away."
"Ha, the cowardly cretin fled in fear of my invincible skill! Truly
he is no real man!"
Ranma responded to this statement with a quick kick to Kuno's
stomach. "If you want to fight me, Tell Me!" She added angrily.
Kuno shook his head and stepped back up to the trio. "How
amusing." Kuno replied as he readied his Shinai. "Very well, I shall
challenge you, and if you win I shall allow you to date with me!" he said
as he stepped forward slashing at Ranma.
"I don't want to date with you!" Ranma replied as she jumped
over the blow and landed on Kuno's sword with her left leg. As Kuno
stared at her leg, she leaned forward and kicked him in the face with a
hard blow by her right leg.
Kuno collapsed and just lay there as the trio walked past (and
on in Ranma and Akane's case) him. *She is formidable! and such
beauty!* he thought just before passing out.
"So, I hear you've got magic powers." Nabiki said to Ranma as
the trio walked home.
"There's nothing Magic about a forcefield." Ranma replied in a
slightly annoyed tone. "It's simply an application of the Schrodinger-
Steamhead principle, Your familiar with that, right?"
"We'll take your word for it." Nabiki replied as she patted
Ranma's arm.
"Ok, but I want to know why you told Kuno that Akane and I
were engaged?" Ranma said in annoyance. Akane glared at her older
sister as well.
"Hey, I was just explaining why you were at the Dojo and he
ran off right after I mentioned that Daddy was thinking of engaging you
and Akane."
"Actually that was you." Akane replied in an annoyed tone.
"Well I managed to explain the full story to Kuno later, and I
think he's got it. Of course you can never tell with Kuno."
"By the way Ranma," Akane added "Why didn't you use that
forcefield thing this morning?"
"It's dishonorable to use technology in a duel situation unless
that's what's being used. Anyway, it's a bad idea to get too reliant on
any type of technology." Ranma replied. She paused to glance at her
watch. "Excuse me, I'd better drop by Noriko's school."
"Expecting trouble?" Nabiki asked.
"Noriko's a good kid!" Ranma said in an annoyed voice.
"Although she does have a bit of a temper and a tendency to overreact.
Anyway Mom wanted me to walk her home her first day."
"So what do you think?" Nabiki said as she and Akane
continued on to the Dojo alone.
"What do you mean, Nabiki?" Akane responded.
"About Ranma! Are you sorry he messed up that engagement
thing yesterday?"
"No way!" Akane responded angrily. Then she smiled and
added, "He is a lot nicer than I was expecting, but I don't intend to
marry anyone I don't want to."
Nabiki shrugged her shoulders and responded. "OK, no
engagement talk. But I hope you don't mind if I take that as an
invitation to see what he's like myself?"
"I thought you didn't want him?"
"I didn't want to be engaged to him. I don't mind getting to
know him. Especially if he can make really profitable gizmos." Nabiki
responded with a smirk and a wink.
"I might have guessed." Responded Akane as she rolled her
eyes.
*This is the place.* Ranma thought as he approached the
elementary school. Hearing a loud Kiah he thought *And that confirms
it.* He ran along the street to the source of the little battle cry, a tight
circle of school kids. His six year height advantage allowed him to see
into the center of this circle, where Noriko was circling with a boy who
was about a foot and a quarter higher than her. Noriko was smiling, the
sun glistening off the faint sheen of perspiration from a workout. The
boy had a very uncertain look on his face and seemed to be sweating
enough to fill a bathtub. Ranma decided the older kid could use a way
out.
"Hey sis!" He called out as he casually leaped over the crowd
to land next to Noriko. Her opponent flinched away from his sudden
appearance, Noriko turned her head at him and told him to butt out of
the fight.
Her opponent took this opportunity to back up to the crowd,
and pausing he said "You're lucky he showed up!"
Ranma didn't want to let some honor feud develop between
Noriko and this kid, but he also knew how Norkio felt when he
interrupted her fights. "Hey, when she tells me to back off, I back off."
he said as he stepped back from Noriko.
The older kid regarded Noriko with a slightly alarmed
expression which he quickly suppressed. "We'll finish this another
time!" He shouted as he turned and made his way through the crowd
and down the street as fast as he could without actually seeming to run.
With his departure the crowd began to disperse and wander home
Noriko looked after him with a furious expression, which she
quickly turned on her elder brother. "What's the idea of interfering
Oniichan?!"
Ranma sighed and shook his head. "Noriko, you should
always leave your opponent a way to retreat honorably unless you want
to begin a bloodfeud. That kid knows you're better than he can handle,
but you haven't beaten him up so he doesn't have to retaliate to save his
face. I don't think either of us want to deal with Mom learning that you
grades are suffering because your to busy fighting your classmates."
Noriko still looked annoyed, but she deflated her anger and
said "Ok, Oniichan." She then glared at him and added. "But if you
interfere with a fight of mine again..."
"Don't worry I'm not that sort of Brother." Ranma responded as the two
of them set off
for the Tendo home.