ShadowSoft Inc. Presents: A Ranma 1/2 Fanfic side-story "Careful Destiny" Part Four 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 Ranma blinked his eyes to try to clear his foggy vision; only to discover that the milky haze was uniformly thick and surrounded him completely. Looking up only afforded him with a view of a solid rockface that rose out of sight. A wave of vertigo hit him as he craned his neck to look downward and saw no solid surface beneath him. Realizing that he had no option but to climb, he reached his hand up to start his ascent, his fingers searching for a handhold in the craggy surface. "Ow, shit!" Ranma hissed as his arms protested their agony. The slight upward movement sent sharp pains through them, almost causing him to lose purchase and fall into the unknown depths beneath him. Clinging desperately to the rock, despite the pain the stress was causing him, Ranma stabilized himself. `I must've been climbing this thing for a while, now,' he thought wearily. `Where the hell am I, anyway?' "Mmmmmm..." Ranma whipped his head around as the sound reached his ears. The suddenness of the distant noise distracted him from his thoughts and almost caused him to fall from his perch. `What the hell was that?' he asked himself, his eyes scanning the fog-veiled vista surrounding him. `Sounded like a ... a girl,' he thought. His eyes widened suddenly in comprehension. `Could it be?!' He looked up, hoping to confirm his suspicions, but growled in frustration when his eyes refused to penetrate the cloaking mist. "Akane!" he shouted, hoping that her voice was the one that he had heard. He hoisted himself up, his hands finding unusually easy purchase in the rock. He frowned. For the first time, he paid attention to what it was he was clinging. What should've been a cold, unyielding surface was actually soft to the touch. He pressed himself against the rockface as best as he could, and felt an inviting warmth emanating from it. `This stuff feels more like ... skin!' he thought incredulously, his hand making long strokes against the surface. He dismissed the idea as insane a moment later, and resumed his climb. "Mmmmmm... Yesss..." The distant voice came to him again. It was clearer this time, and had an entreating tone to it. It was definitely feminine, but try as he might, he couldn't identify the person speaking or figure out where it was coming from. "Akane?!" he shouted to the mist. "Akane, is that you?!" He began scaling the cliff faster, hoping to reach the zenith before his arms completely gave out. He climbed for a few minutes when his hand happened upon a flat surface just above his head. He brought both of his hands to the edge, and was about to pull himself up, when a voice stopped him cold in his tracks. "Ran-chan..." Ranma's heart stopped for a moment. "UKYOU?!" his shocked voice cried out in the diminishing fog. Hurriedly he scrabbled to the top, standing up once he had gotten both feet on a flat surface. "Unnn..." `She sounds really weak,' he thought in concern as he began trekking towards the source of the voice. He shook suddenly as a strong wind buffeted him. He pushed one of his legs behind him to brace against the sudden gust, and closed his eyes, which were starting to get dry. Then, as suddenly as it had started, the breeze died. Ranma tentatively opened one of his eyes, and gasped at what he saw. The mist had cleared away to reveal a naked girl sitting on the ground with her back to him. She was obviously crying, her whole body trembling visibly. "Ukyou?" he repeated, more softly this time. She did not respond to him, except to give the occasional sniffle or sob. He watched her in silence as she rubbed her eyes. He knelt down behind her, not knowing what to do. `Dammit, I'm not any good at this sort of thing,' he fumed as she wept. Gradually, he brought a shaking hand to her back, stopping just short of actually touching her. "I ... um," he began, halting when words failed him. He socked himself in the face, trying to knock loose the words trapped inside his mind. "Ucchan ... What happened?" She did not respond to him, except to cry harder. Her body started shaking from the weight of the sobs. `Shit!,' he swore, mentally flogging himself for whatever it was that he did to her. `C'mon Ranma! You've gotta figure this out. She's one of your best friends!' He steeled himself, and started again. "Ucchan, please," he said in a voice tinged with discomfort. "Tell me what's happened to you." "You don't love me ..." she said simply, the words trailing off into tears. Ranma suddenly felt very old. It was that same damn argument that had been dogging him for far too long. Ever since that fateful day, when he'd told Ukyou how cute she was, he'd gotten himself saddled with another fiancee. The difference had been that, unlike the other two, this one had been a very good friend from his childhood. Before he'd made the wish that so drastically altered his life, he'd known that he'd eventually have to make a decision, and regretted the coming of that day. The problem with choosing was that he didn't feel the way about Ukyou that she did about him. He never did, really. If he was to make a choice now, he doubted that Ucchan would be the one he'd pick. Ranma shuddered at the thought of his friend's reaction to the news. But he'd already made his decision, hadn't he? He scratched his head as he tried to remember when and how. And more importantly, whom. "Ucchan, I..." he began, then stopped as a vision of Akane's cute, smiling face cut through his confusion. He sighed, hesitantly placing his hand on Ukyou's bare back. Uncomfortable minutes of silence passed before he could speak again. "Ucchan, you're my best friend. But, I ... I want to be with Akane." He lowered his head, concentrating on the misty surface on which he was kneeling. "I'm sorry..." he let his voice trail off, realizing that his words were having no effect on her. He let his hand roam across her back, hoping that the gentle caress would work where his words weren't. He reached her shoulder, and suddenly found his hand covered by one of hers, which stopped him cold. "But, I love you Ran-chan ..." she countered in a feeble voice, disappointment weighing the words heavily. Ranma sighed. "I know you do, Ucchan." He pulled his hand away and sat down behind her, staring at her bare back. "I swear to you, if things had been different ... That is, if I'd never met Akane ... I ..." He looked at the ground again, his expression sullen. `Dammit! Why does this always have to be so difficult? I can tear guys apart with my bare hands, but ...' He looked at the trembling, bare back of his best friend; her despondency underscoring his inability to cope with emotional women. `... but I can't just seem to ... talk to someone-' "Akane ..." she mumbled suddenly, her body now shaking as if cold. He couldn't help noting the near-despair in her voice as she said the name of his one, true fiancee. Guilt seemed to be beating him within an inch of his life. Ranma found himself torn between wanting to comfort his friend's aching heart, and running away as fast as he could. "Hold me. Please, Ran-chan," she entreated, her shivering increasing to underscore her request. Ranma's eyes bulged as he heard her request. "Ucchan! I ... " he said in shock. He wanted to protest, but something inside of him told him to stop before he said anything he'd regret. She was alone, naked, and upset. He knew that all of this was just too weird to be true. However he also knew that he couldn't just *abandon* her like this. His mind warred silently as he debated what to do. "Please..." she begged, her voice verging on defeat and surrender and cutting through his indecision. `Forgive me Akane,' he thought sadly as he moved forward and encircled Ukyou's waist with his arms. She leaned towards him, her back against his chest, but her face never turning to meet his. Ranma frowned again as his hands slid across her stomach. It felt like a young woman's skin ought to, but her stomach seemed to be awfully ... round for someone as in-shape as she was. He leaned his head forward, and could hear her crying begin to subside. Her long hair obscured his view of her face, so he couldn't tell if she liked what he was doing, or not. He assumed he was doing it right, and pulled her a little closer to him, his hands linked across her stomach. "Mmmmm..." she moaned, seemingly a mixture of pleasure and discomfort. Ranma wanted to say something to Ukyou, but the only thing that he could think of was Akane, and how much he cared for her instead. `That wouldn't help Ucchan any,' he thought dryly. His thoughts stopped abruptly as something in his mind finally clicked. Rubbing his hands across Ukyou's swollen abdomen, his mind verged on panic as he realized that his best friend was pregnant! "Ucchan!" he shouted in surprise, recoiling slightly. He suddenly felt another breeze hit him, and noted how drafty it felt. Looking down, he stifled a scream as he realized that he wasn't wearing clothes any longer. Ranma's heart pounded wildly, their bodies touching far too close for comfort. He desperately looked about for an avenue of escape, but stopped when she spoke again. "It's yours, Ran-chan," she said softly, her hand resting calmly against both of his. He wanted to scream. He also wanted to run, hide ... *anything* to get away from this! He looked about for a way to leave, but the returning mist seemed to be blocking his attempts, which made him all the more desperate. However, even with all of the panic and confusion floating through his mind, a last shred of calm managed to point out a simple fact. Her voice didn't sound right. Turning her around in his arms, he blushed deeply as he was confronted by the beautiful, albeit pregnant, visage of his naked best-friend. Forcing down his embarrassment and curiosity, Ranma ripped his gaze from her swollen belly and breasts. He took her chin in his hand and tried to look at her face, which was still obscured by her hair. "Ucchan! Tell me how this happened!" he fairly demanded, tilting her face up. He jumped back an instant later as the model-gorgeous face of Kinuko Amagi stared back at him. He was instantly on his feet, backpedaling. "Don't you remember, Ran-chan?" she asked with an impish grin on her face. "You were there, weren't you?" Ranma's continued to move away as he tried to deny what he was hearing and seeing. "No! I never met you! I never did ..." he pointed at her swollen belly, "... *that* to you!" Kinuko moved with surprising swiftness for a pregnant woman as she came to her feet and glomped onto Ranma with all of her might. His mind screamed for him to get away from her, but his body refused to cooperate. He grimaced as the close body contact registered in his mind, producing results he didn't want. `You're a big help' he deadpanned as he felt his member stir. "See?! You *do* remember, Ran-chan!" she shouted as she espied his growing erection, elation plain on her face. "NO!" he shouted, almost screamed, as he tore himself from her grasp. He turned around to run away, only to see Akane standing there. Her arms were crossed in front of her, and she had a brittle smile on her face. "I see you've finally made your choice, Ranma," she said solemnly, gazing down at the `obvious evidence.' Tears streamed slowly down her face, and her lower lip trembled. He covered himself instinctively, blushing wildly at his unintended exposure. Meanwhile, his mind had heard what she'd said. "Akane, NO!" he shouted desperately. "I've not made a choice... That is, I haven't made *that* choice... I..." He looked over his shoulder. "Oh, hell!" he swore in disgust as Kinuko walked over to him and glomped onto him again, pressing her body against his. "Yes, Akane. My Ran-chan's back, and we're gonna be one *happy* family. Right honey?" she asked as she landed a loud kiss on Ranma's cheek. Too dumbfounded to move, he could only watch helplessly as the scene played out before him. "Very well, then. Good-bye, Ranma," Akane cried as she turned and ran away. In that moment, something in his mind snapped. Fear and confusion were swept away, to be replaced by a white-hot rage. "NO! AKANE! DON'T GO!" he bellowed as he scrambled to get free of Kinuko's grasp. Despite his efforts, Ranma felt as though he couldn't move. A weight pressing against his chest seemed to restrain him, keeping him where he was despite his struggling. He watched as Akane's departing form dwindled into the distance until she had completely vanished from sight. "There's no sense in struggling, Ran-chan. She's gone now, and I have you all to myself," she gloated. Kinuko smiled widely at him and moved around to kiss him on the lips. With uncharacteristic desperation, Ranma moved his hands to Kinuko's shoulders. As their lips drew closer, he closed his eyes tightly and shoved with all of his might. **** "NOOOOOO!!!!" Ranma yelled as he pushed forward. He gasped loudly for air as his racing heart slowly calmed down. He heard a muffled *thump* a moment later. "Ow, SHIT!" he heard from beneath him. Ranma sat bolt-upright, his hands touching his body. "What the hell?!" he muttered as he opened his eyes, his fingers dancing across his body. He sighed gratefully when he encountered clothing on his chest and between his legs. Darkness greeted him as he scanned the room. He was trying to get his bearings when reality suddenly hit him like a thunderbolt, blowing away the last remnants of his nightmare. It took him a little while to understand that he'd acted out his dream, and that the thump he'd heard had *not* been a part of it. Then a sickening realization hit. "Oh, geez! Ranko!" he shouted as he scrambled to get off of her bed. As his feet moved to touch the floor, he felt something warm, soft, and cushiony beneath them. "Ranma, you're stepping on my butt!" Ranko said with an irritated growl. Instantly he brought his feet back on the bed. Reaching over, he found the lamp that sat next to her bed, and switched it on. He squinted as a dull glare from the light bathed the room. He peered over the edge of the bed to check on his sister, and was greeted with a light punch to the face. He covered his throbbing cheek with a hand, never moving his position. "I'd hit you harder, but I'm too tired right now," she grumbled as she brought herself around. She got to her knees, despite the soreness generated by her injured ankle, and looked at her clock. "Three-twenty-seven in the morning?!" she groaned. "Ranma, couldn't you have picked a better time to throw me out of bed?" He laughed despite himself; Ranko seemed to have a natural way of lightening tension whenever things got too strange or serious. That was one of the main reasons he liked her so much. "Hold on, Sis," he told her as he got up and stepped around her. Reaching down, he scooped her into his arms, and held her close to him. He looked at her critically, a mischievous gleam in his eyes. "You look like hell, you know that?" he asked jokingly, pulling his head back just enough to avoid the irritated slap she launched at his face. "Just put me down, okay asshole?" she growled, although she couldn't hide the smile making its way to her face. He smirked as he sat her down on the bed and knelt on the floor beside her. "How's the foot?' he asked, placing his hand on her shoulder. "Well, I don't think I damaged it any worse," she guessed. "I heard you when you shouted, so I was awake enough to land on my hands and knees instead of my foot after you threw me in the air." She rotated her foot, and winced at the resultant twinges of pain. "The ankle's still sore, but it does feel a little better." She sat up and crossed her arms in front of her. "But forget about me. What made you toss me out of bed in the first place, Ranma? I was having this really realistic dream about me and Hikaru. We were..." she broke off before she let those details slip out, blushing furiously. Ranma avoided her gaze, not really paying attention to her. "I'd rather not talk about it right now," he said absently as bits and pieces of the dream floated back into his mind, causing his stomach to churn uncomfortably. "Besides, it's not all that important right now," he evaded. He stood away from her, avoiding the temptation to kiss her on the cheek after what had happened earlier that evening. "Sorry I kicked you out of bed, Ranko. I'll let you get back to sleep now," he said as he hurried towards the door. "Ranma, wait!" Ranko hissed, stopping him in his tracks. He turned to say something along the lines of `it's none of your business' when the door to her room slid open, and a very irritated Nodoka stomped through. "What's going on, you two?" She pointed at the clock and barely managed to stifle a yawn. "It's three-thirty in the morning, and you're both out of bed!" Ranma cast a sidelong glance at his sister, and saw her nod slightly. "Ranko fell out of bed, Mom. I heard her fall, and came to help. That's all." He shrugged casually, and turned to look at Ranko for confirmation. Nodoka immediately dashed across the room and stood by Ranko's bed. Concern was evident on her face as she bent down to look at her daughter. "Are you all right, dear?" "Yeah, Mom. It was just a bad dream, is all..." She let her words trail off as she saw Ranma head for the door. "Well, since you're all right, I'm going back to bed," he said, waving to both women as he eagerly stepped through the door. "Oh..." Ranko replied with a hint of disappointment. "G'night Ranma" she added as she watched her brother depart the room. Nodoka looked up at the door and smiled. "Yes, thank you for looking out for her, Ranma-dear. Good night." She turned to look at her daughter once the door was closed, her hand gliding gently across Ranko's forehead. "Did you want to talk about it?" "About what?" she replied distractedly. "The dream, silly," she said with a smile, pinching Ranko's nose playfully. She giggled at the ticklish sensation, and pulled her mother's hand from her nose. "It's really nothing Mom. In fact, I'm honestly surprised it happened at all. Don't worry, I think I can keep myself from tumbling out of bed again. Just go back to sleep, and everything will be all right." Nodoka sighed like the beleaguered parent she occasionally was. She wasn't fully satisfied that Ranko was telling her everything, or that Ranma had told her everything either, but let it drop. She knew that her children were very stubborn, and that she might not ever know what had really happened in here. Pressing either of them for more details would be more difficult than splitting the atom with her sword, so she wasn't about to try. What mattered the most to her was that her two children were getting along much better than they ever had before. "Okay, dear," she said as she bent down and kissed Ranko on the forehead. "I love you, little girl. Now get some sleep. We've got a big day tomorrow." "G'night Mom," she said, waving before turning over in her bed. Nodoka turned off the desk lamp and walked out of the room, silently closing the door behind her. `You got away pretty easy this time, Ranma,' Ranko grumbled to herself. `There's got to be one hell of a reason why you kicked me out of bed like that...' She looked at the clock, and noted how much time she had left before morning. Deciding that sleep was more important, she got herself comfortable in the bed. `I'll talk with him tomorrow,' she resolved before closing her eyes and going back to sleep. **** Ranma ran down the hall after he was clear of Ranko's room. Once he was in his own room, he swiftly closed the door. "Man, that was close!" he hissed to himself. Wearily he flipped the light on in his room and shuffled over to his dresser. Fishing out a pair of shorts and a shirt, he shucked off all of his day clothes and put on the other items. Tossing the dirty clothes into his hamper, he turned off the light and sat on his bed. `What the hell am I going to do about Kinuko?' he asked himself worriedly, hunching over and burying his face in his hands. `Ranko said that the pregnancy had been faked, but I just don't know... Kinuko seems crazy enough to say such a thing, but she may have been telling the ... I guess I'm just gonna have to find out the truth, somehow.' His stomach knotted up painfully, and a cold wave of fear ran through his guts. `If she is ... pregnant ...' He felt something akin to panic, and that bothered him more than being a prospective father did. He lay down on his bed and hugged his pillow to himself tightly. His mind was racing at ninety miles a minute, and it didn't seem to be slowing down. `This could kill any chance of me ever being with Akane, regardless of whether Kinuko is pregnant or not.' `*Ever*' his mind repeated loudly. `Also, if she's really pregnant, I can't just leave her alone.' Ranma sighed heavily, the weight of the world on his young shoulders. `I may not have been there to enjoy making the child, but it's going to be a Saotome,' he thought glumly. An ironic smile creased his face, despite the situation. He'd never really considered himself being a father before, and found some sort of odd satisfaction from the possibility of being one. `This is all assuming that Kinuko told the truth, though...' he countered a moment later, his frown returning. `She may have been lying. Although I have no idea why she'd do such an evil thing like that.' He sat up and rubbed his temples to try and stave off the headache that was threatening to build. The more he thought about his predicament, the less certain he was that he could solve any part of it. `This stuff's got me so damned confused... What the hell am I going to do now?!' he asked to the world at large. Unfortunately, no answers came to him. He yawned widely, and stretched his arms outward. The dream had completely exhausted him, and he was too tired to keep his eyes open. `I'll figure it all out later. Just need... sleep...' he thought as his tired mind shut down suddenly. **** THE NEXT MORNING... Springtime was making itself known to the residents of Nerima. The sun rose in the morning sky. Birds chirped and sang as they sailed through delicate breezes laden with the scent of cherry blossoms and other assorted flora. Trees glowed with brilliant green as new leaves, just sprouting from long-dormant branches, expanded and grew. The overall effect was pleasing and tranquil. It was drawing a lot of people out of their homes on the sunny weekend morning, encouraging them to enjoy the day. Through it all, Ranma slept. In his deep slumber, he was immune to the call of the natural beauty occurring out of his open window. The clock on his dresser read eight- fifteen. The door to his room slid open, and the cheerful face of his mother peeked through. "Ranma, you awake?" she called softly in his direction. Ranma groaned slightly, scratched himself in a ... private area, and rolled over in the bed, sound asleep. `He could probably sleep forever if he was allowed to,' she thought with slight distaste. Nodoka opened the door fully and walked to Ranma's bed. She bent over and placed one of her hands on his shoulder. She sprung back in shock as Ranma rose up, his hands automatically assuming a fighting stance. "Hey, watch it!" Nodoka yelled, more out of surprise than anger. She pulled her hands away from his shoulder, but kept them close. Ranma blinked stupidly for a second as he woke up. As realization of who was sitting next to him finally dawned, he calmed down and let his breath out in a long `whoosh.' "What's all that about, Ranma-dear?" Nodoka asked concernedly as she ran her fingers through her son's hair. "It's nothin', Mom. I just wasn't expecting anyone to come in here, is all." Ranma sat up in his bed, propping his back against the wall. Taking that as an invitation, Nodoka sat down next to him on his bed. She frowned as she noted the muted tension in his eyes. She reached out to comfort him, and could feel the tension working through the muscles of his arms as she took hold of them. "My goodness! You're strung tighter than piano wire!" She looked at him closely. "What's the matter with you, Ranma-chan?" she asked in concern. Ranma crossed his arms in front of himself defensively, and put some distance between he and his mother. "I told you it was nothin', Mom!" he shouted with a little more intensity than he meant to. Nodoka's concerned gaze became an angry glare. "Don't presume to take that attitude with me, young man!" she retorted. Her gaze bored into him, as her entire demeanor became *very* intimidating. He found himself wanting to slink away from her, quickly. Martial artist or not, woman or not, she was still his mother, and a definite force to be reckoned with. "You've *never* spoken to me like that before in your *life.* What's going on, son?" Ranma pressed himself as far into the wall as his back would allow him to go, trying to escape the intensity of her withering glare. He brought his knees up under his chin and looked at the bedsheets. "I just had a bad dream..." he began, but was cut off before he could complete his excuse. "I'm not buying it this time. First Ranko says she has a bad dream, and now you? Surely you can come up with a better line than that. As tense as you are, it has to be something more than just a dream!" She held her gaze on him, awaiting his answer. "Okay, okay!" he shot back, holding his arms up in a gesture of surrender. "I've got a pro... that is... I'm under a lot of pressure today." `No shit, Mr. Master-of- understatement!' he added to himself. "There's a lot riding on what happens at the Tendo Dojo. I'm worried..." A knowing look slowly erased the frown on Nodoka's face. "Well, that's perfectly understandable dear. After all, it's not every day we get the chance to make up with friends we haven't seen in years." She sighed as she pulled her son to her in a hug. Ranma responded hesitantly, not speaking as he held himself close to his mother. "Your father and I owe you a lot for that," she continued. "Believe me, all of us are going to do our best to see that this reunion happens as it should." She pulled him away from her, and looked into his eyes, her face very serious. "Even with this reunion, though, you *don't* have to go through with all of it." "What do you mean, `go through with all of it?' I don't understand what you're saying," he told her. "This silly engagement business of yours, son. I may not be too up on what kids your age do these days, but I'm pretty sure that getting married at the age of sixteen while still in school is not on top of any person's list." She crossed her arms in front of her. "Besides, there's not too many reasons why someone at your age would want to get mar..." she broke off, blanching as an obvious answer came to her. "My God, Ranma! You and she haven't..." She stopped herself, stricken. Her breathing grew shallow, and she looked as if she was about to faint. Ranma's eyes grew enormous as he understood what his mother was thinking. "NONononono!" he shouted, quick to allay her fears. `It's bad enough that I *may* have fathered one child. To have mom think that me and Akane had sex and I got *her* pregnant is even worse!' He waved his hands frantically in front of Nodoka, trying to make sure she understood the word `no.' "I've never done anything like that with Akane!" he hissed, blushing furiously. Nodoka's heart restarted after hearing him say that. She placed a hand to her chest, the faint feeling that had come over her starting to disappear. "Thank goodness for that! I don't know what I would do if you got someone pregnant before you were married!" Ranma's intestines tied themselves in square knots. He forced himself to laugh, hoping he didn't look as worried as he felt. "I don't think that'll be a problem, Mom." His eyes almost fell out of their sockets when she spoke again. "You sound like you really like that girl, son. Just promise me that if you and Akane decide to become ... intimate, you'll be sure to use protection, okay?" She stood from the bed, a nervous laugh escaping her as she saw his mouth gape in disbelief. Nervousness gave way to a slight irritation as their generation gap started to widen. "Oh, come on, Ranma! I'm not so old that I don't know what a sixteen-year-old thinks about!" Her features softened a bit. "I know I can't stop either you or Ranko from having sex with whomever you want. I don't mind, as as long as you act responsibly when either you do it." She started laughing again as Ranma's incredulous look got worse. It was as if he wouldn't be able to keep himself upright without help. "I mean, really! What would I do to you if you had sex with someone? Make you commit seppuku for soiling a girl's honor?!" She scoffed at the preposterousness of the idea. "Come on, Ranma. Be realistic! I may be traditional, but even *I* wouldn't deign to kill my own son for that! Abandoning the mother, on the other hand..." Nodoka stopped talking when she realized that he wasn't moving anymore, mistaking his lack of movement for boredom. She sighed and turned around to leave his room, missing the blank expression on her semi-conscious son's face. "If you ever want to talk more about this, just ask me. Okay, Ranma?" His head twitched involuntarily, which she took as an affirmative nod. She walked out of his room, chuckling as she closed the door behind her. "You'd better get ready, son," she yelled from the hallway. "I have to give your sister a bath soon, so I'm in a bit of a rush. I've started cooking already, so breakfast will be waiting for you when you get downstairs." The sound of her laughter grew lighter as she descended the stairs. Ranma twitched occasionally, so astounded by his mother's words that he couldn't move with any semblance of coordination. While admitting that she wasn't about to kill him for any `indiscretions' had calmed his worries greatly, the fact that she had spoken so openly about ... *sex* flew in the face of the demure woman he'd known for many months as his `Auntie Saotome.' `I've been under the assumption that Mom would act like she did those times I'd seen her at the Tendo Dojo,' he told himself in confusion. "Strange..." he mumbled. Finally getting his own breathing under control, he slid out of bed. Legs wobbling only slightly, he got his workout clothes from the top dresser drawer and dressed quickly. `What I need right now is a good fight,' he told himself. Cinching the belt tight on the gi that Ranko had given him, Ranma exited his room and went downstairs. **** Genma Saotome patted his rumbling belly, trying to silence the marauding beast within. The enticing smell of his wife's wonderful cooking wasn't helping matters at all. He found his attention torn between the culinary delights being prepared in the next room, and the morning news droning from the TV in front of him. He turned up the volume as CNN-Nihon returned from commercial, hoping that the distraction would quell his hunger momentarily. "Police officials in Osaka were stunned last night after they responded to an alarm at the Osaka- Hanes factory. Osaka-Hanes is an American-owned company that specializes in men's and women's undergarments. According to lead detectives at the scene, Hanes' *entire* inventory of women's panties and bras disappeared during the thirty-minute window of the plant's shift change." "Officials aren't speculating as to the method used by the criminals to take the seventy-eight thousand pairs of looted lingerie, but suspect that it is the work of a team of professionals..." Genma shook his head in disgust, and changed the channel to a local station. "Damn college kids," he muttered absently as he settled the remote back on the table. A greasy-haired young man appeared on the screen, gesturing to a map of eastern Japan. "Well, the Americans say that April showers bring May flowers. Too bad I have a brown thumb." Stale laughter from the anchors greeted the poor joke. The weatherman chuckled nervously and continued his forecast. "Anyway, we seem to be following that trend this weekend. Saturday will see an increasing chance of showers and thunderstorms during the evening hours, continuing on into Sunday. Highs in the mid-twenties, with humidity levels near one-hundred percent." Genma's attention was caught by his son as he descended the stairs. "Morning, Ranma," he said with a warm smile on his face. "I was beginning to wonder if you were ever going to get up." Ranma stood next to his seated father and smirked. "Rough night," he said, dismissing the unasked question. "Pop, you up for a workout? I'm a little tense." His father smirked mischievously. "Sure, why not? Since your sister is laid up with her ankle problem, I wouldn't mind you helping me with my morning workouts in the meantime." He jumped up and stood next to his son, pounding him on the back. "Let's go!" he said with a big grin on his face. "Honey, Ranma and I are going outside for a little workout before breakfast!" Genma shouted over his shoulder. He didn't even wait for a response as he guided Ranma out the door and headed for the training hall. **** Akane Tendo didn't know what to think. After getting up, she'd decided to read her diary, and wound up reliving a lot of things she'd rather not have remembered at the moment. It was the dawn of a new age of freedom for her, an era that began when she'd had her ties to Kuno irrevocably severed. With such a radical change in her life staring her in the face, Akane felt that she had to leaf through parts of her past, if only to remind her of where she was. After experiencing the pain of her time with Kuno, as expressed through the words of her diary, she cleared her mind and recorded the previous day's events with a touch of hope. Once finished, she laid her pen down, closed the cover to her diary, and placed it back in her desk. She yawned and stretched, the bed still looking inviting. She stopped herself from indulging, however, knowing that sleeping the whole day away wasn't very healthy. As she began gathering her clothes for her morning bath, her stomach rumbled loudly. She blushed deeply, embarrassed despite knowing that she was alone in her room. `Goodness, I forgot to eat last night! I hope I didn't worry Kasumi and Nabiki too much by not coming down for dinner,' she thought, her eyes turning towards her door. It was closed, but not locked. She was sure that they had come in at some point to look in on her. `They must've been worried about me, and decided to let me be alone.' She smiled to herself. `They're so good to me,' she thought with a happy heart. Her stomach grumbled again, causing her to grimace. She patted her abdomen delicately, trying to shush her pangs of hunger. Akane pulled out a pair of shorts, and a light sun- shirt from her closet. Getting her underwear and a towel, she opened the door and walked to the change room. Not seeing a sign on the door, she entered and stripped. Balancing a washcloth on her head, she stepped into the bathroom and sat on a stool. She scrubbed herself lingeringly, luxuriating in the feeling of the soft brush on her skin as she cleansed herself. Her breath left her lungs in a rush as she dumped a bucket of water on her head, rinsing off the soap and dropping her body temperature somewhat Shivering, she grasped her washcloth tightly in her hands as she walked over and submerged herself in the bath. "Ahhhhhh!" she sighed, her body loosening up as it soaked in the hot water. `That feels soooo gooood.' She flexed her toes, stretching her legs to the full length of the tub. `I can't remember the last time I've felt this good,' she thought with a grin. `It's almost been so long that I've enjoyed myself that I had forgotten what it was like.' It was a bit of an exaggeration, she knew, but she couldn't deny the effect Kuno's choke-hold affections had had on her lifestyle and her heart. At that, she felt herself slip towards depression again. Vivid memories evoked by the reading of her diary were catapulting her mind into the past. Scenes of her as an apprehensive girl morphed into that of a woman torn between feelings of love and despair. `How could I have let myself go so far in eight months?' she asked herself. `Who knows what would've happened if Ranma hadn't come along when he did?' Akane found herself asking. She shuddered at the thought of enduring more time under Kuno's control, and what she would've done for him, or more to the point, would've been told to do. `Easy girl,' she cautioned herself. `It's over now. If nothing else, Kuno's a man of his word. If he promised, in public, to give me up, then that's what he's going to do. No need to worry about things that aren't going to happen.' She closed her eyes, and submerged herself deeper into the water, bringing it to her chin. `Ranma Saotome,' she mused. Akane'd recalled him vaguely from before, seeing him occasionally with his Anime-club friends at the far corner of the school lot during lunch. Aside from that, he had been nothing to her. In fact, it hadn't been until one day, three weeks ago, after Ranma had challenged Kuno in front of her house, that Akane realized that they were in the same classroom. During that time, she'd been so involved in handling her tumultuous life that she hadn't even noticed anyone else in the class but her closest friends. `I was wrong about his motivations,' she thought. `When he'd challenged Kuno that day, I had hoped Ranma would win. But when I saw how handily Kuno had beaten him, I assumed that the whole thing had been staged by Kuno to keep me in line. I didn't trust Ranma after that.' She shook her head. `I should've realized sooner that Ranma was for real. The way he was looking at me in class after that fight was a dead giveaway.' `I ignored him, instead of putting it all together that day. Come to think of it, I believe he's liked me for awhile,' Akane concluded. "Well, he's certainly proven that now, hasn't he?" she asked herself aloud with a giggle, referring to the landmark fight that won her freedom from Kuno. `But why did he do that for me? He challenged Kuno, twice, for me.' A vision of Ranma during the fight came to her. His toned, muscular body putting out more damage than he seemed capable of doing. That scene was then replaced with one of his confident, smiling face. His blue eyes gazed right into the very depths of her soul. A little fantasy began teasing at the edges of her mind. She and Ranma, together. A small, involuntary shiver coursed through her at the mere thought of that. Akane urged the fantasy to begin, eager to see how it played out. She met with frustration, however, when it ground to a halt before it could get anywhere. The reason why was soon evident. Regardless of how much Akane liked Ranma, of how attracted she felt towards him, she was still too shaken by the months of engagement to Kuno to appreciate and pursue her feelings of longing. That both angered and saddened her at the same time. She grit her teeth, frustrated by her tangled emotions. Not paying attention to what she was doing, Akane pulled her washcloth in half. The fabric tore in two ragged pieces with a very loud ripping sound. Her eyes snapped open at the noise, and she sat up quickly in the bath. Akane groaned as she looked down into the water and surveyed the damaged washcloth still clenched tightly in her hands. Her head whipped up a moment later as a voice broke the silence. "Hey, Akane. If you wanted to be left alone, you should've put the sign out on the door," Nabiki quipped from her seat. "You didn't have to get angry about it." Akane blushed deeply. She hadn't heard her older sister walk in. It bothered her that she was so out of practice that she could be caught off guard so easily. She could see, though, that Nabiki had just gotten in and was only now starting to bathe. "Sorry, Nabiki. I was just thinking, is all. That wasn't directed at you..." Nabiki smiled to her younger sister. "Hey, it's okay Sis. After the day you had yesterday, you're allowed a little insanity." She smirked, then gasped as she dumped water over herself. Nabiki stood and walked to the bath, her whole body trembling. Akane noticed this and got up, stepping out just as her sister got to her. "Hey, Akane. You don't have to leave," Nabiki fairly shouted, concern leaking into her voice despite her best effort at neutrality. "That is, if you don't want to," she added, placing a hand on her sister's shoulder. Akane stood motionless for a moment, not fooled by her sister's outer calm. `She's obviously concerned with me. I've never seen her so ... affectionate before,' she thought, looking into her sister's eyes. "Thanks, Nabiki. I'll be okay," Akane said as she pulled her sister to her, wrapping her arms tightly around her. A very flustered Nabiki found herself speechless at Akane's open affection. Very hesitantly, she reciprocated, wrapping her arms around her sister. "We're all worried about you, Akane," Nabiki said with uncharacteristic emotion. Her hold on her younger sister tightened. "You sure you'll be okay, Akane?" Nabiki looked into Akane's brown-eyes with her own, and could see how much inner- torment lurked within. Akane kissed her sister on the cheek and stepped out of the embrace. "Yes, Nabiki. I'll be just fine. But I'm glad you're worried about me. Yours and Kasumi's love has been the main thing that's helped me through all of this, and I appreciate what both of you have done for me." She walked towards the door of the changing room. "You'd better get in the bath before it gets too warm for you," Akane warned, winking to her sister before she closed the door behind her. Nabiki took Akane's words under advisement and stepped into the bath, wincing slightly as the overly hot water scorched her legs and bare bottom. She eased herself into the water, only gasping again when the hot water hit her breasts. Left alone in the bathroom, Nabiki remained motionless in the bath until the water became comfortable. Her face was completely expressionless, but her body was in complete turmoil. Never had she expressed or felt such a deep level of concern for her sister as she had in that instant. Nor had she been that close to Akane before. She didn't know what to make of her reaction to her sister's warm embrace. She felt a deep-seated love for her sister; the special kind of love that one sister could give to another. But she had felt something else during their exchange. Something that stirred an undercurrent of worry within her. `Akane's embrace had been a little *too* friendly,' Nabiki thought. She brought a hand to her cheek, remembering the kiss her sister had planted there. A shocking realization set in as she put it all together, and her cheeks flushed horribly. `Akane's flipped! She has to have! Why else would she have been so affectionate towards *me* just then? Could it be that she's losing interest in boys?' Nabiki was too stunned to conceal her reaction. She'd always figured that Akane's sexual preferences had been undecided in the past. `Perhaps Kuno's bad influence has turned Akane towards ... girls?!' Nabiki shivered in the warm bath and hoped that she was wrong about her sister. Horribly wrong. She also hoped that her pleasurable reaction to Akane's intimate contact wasn't what she thought it was. That would likewise be wrong. Horribly wrong. **** Akane closed the door to the change room behind her, a smile on her face. `That was very sweet of Nabiki to be so worried about me,' she thought, her faith in her sisters' love and concern being confirmed once more. Akane dried herself off in the change room, then dropped the towel in the clothes hamper. She caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror as she reached for her panties. She dropped her arms to her sides and eyed herself critically. "Not bad," she admitted aloud, posing with her hands on her hips, her eyes traveling up and down her nude reflection. Close to eight months without training had allowed Akane's body to soften a bit. She wasn't fat by any stretch of the imagination, but she had definitely grown some feminine curves during that time. Akane's body was less angular than when she was in training. It was more sinuous, more curvaceous, sexier. Case in point; her hip bones, which used to poke out rather severely on either side, had completely disappeared beneath a soft cushion of fat. She frowned as she pinched the skin covering her hips and raised a slight bit of the fat in- between her fingers. `While having a body like this *is* rather attractive,' she began, thrusting her hip out towards the mirror slightly. She held her pose for a moment, staring hard at herself. Then she blew her breath out in exasperation. `Who am I kidding? I'm horribly out of shape,' she scolded herself, returning her arm to her side and straightening her posture again. Akane didn't deny the benefits of her outward appearance, though. Due to the lack of exercise, her breasts had been allowed to grow along with her hips. She was almost the same cup-size as Nabiki, and quite proud of it. `I'd sure hate to lose these,' she thought with a pout, cupping her breasts loosely with her hands, feeling the heft of them as they rested in her palms. She laughed at the foolishness of such an idea, doubting that she could exercise them completely away, even if she was inclined to try. But she was willing to lose a cup size, if that much, if it meant regaining her prowess as a martial artist. That was one goal that she had etched firmly in her mind. Kuno's interference had forced her to abandon her pursuit of knowledge in Kenpo. Now that she was free of him, she intended to resume training. She wasn't sure how to go about that, though. She hadn't told her father about the breakup yet, and wasn't sure how he'd take it. Besides that, she and he weren't exactly on the best of terms at the moment. After all, it was his fault that the engagement had not only occurred, but that it had been allowed to drag on for as long as it had. She was quite sure that she was going to have to go elsewhere, for the moment at least, to train in Kenpo. Where could she go? She couldn't think of anyone at the moment who would be able to help out, so she let the question drop for now. `I can at least do some basic stuff by myself in the dojo until I find someone to train me,' she thought finally as she slipped her shirt and panties on and walked out of the change room. `Maybe I should work out sometime today. That might make me feel better,' she admitted. `Besides, I haven't been inside the dojo since... since that *farce* of an engagement ceremony that daddy had in there.' Akane scowled at the memory, realizing that if she was to ever exorcise the demons of her past, she would have to start with the place where it all began. With that in mind, she rushed to her room and changed into her gi. **** Ranma brushed a damp strand of hair out of his eyes. His breathing was growing ragged, and his arms were sore. Despite the two weeks of intensive training he'd done with his sister, he was still out of shape. There was no-one better on the planet to illustrate this point to him right now than his father. Genma was facing him, his gi plastered to his sweaty body and his stance wavering slightly. Both were fairly close to collapse. "Not too bad, for a beginner, boy!" he taunted between gasps, smirking all the while. "Just be glad there isn't a Koi pond nearby, old man. Otherwise I might've been forced to give you a bath. You stink!" Ranma grinned also, making an exaggerated motion of pinching his nose. "You want to clean me up, eh? Well stop talking and start moving! Come here and get some!" he shouted, motioning to his torso with both hands. Genma tightened his posture up, drawing on his reserves as he awaited Ranma's move. Ranma smiled as an evil idea came to him. Spotting a pail of water and a mop sitting just outside the door to the training hall, he positioned himself for his next attack. "Watch out for me!" Ranma shouted as he surreptitiously began untying his belt and wadded it up in his hand. Then, hands by his sides, he leaped towards his father. Genma charged forward as his son began moving, and extended his arms outward to try to grab Ranma before he could bring his legs to bear against him. He looked positively stunned the next moment when his son landed right in front of him. Ranma threw something to the floor, then vaulted to his right just before his father could reach him. Genma tracked the object Ranma had thrown, and once he realized that it was the belt from Ranma's gi, he knew he was being tricked. He quickly turned in the direction his son had jumped, but he was nowhere to be seen. Genma yelled out in shock a moment later as stinging-cold rainwater splashed down from overhead. Ranma landed away from his father, nearly doubled over in laughter, the empty pail rattling as it clanged to the floor behind him. "You should ... you.... you should see... HAHAHAHAHAHA!" He had to bend over to catch his breath, his lungs threatening to burst from the heavy breaths he was taking. "Oh geez! It looks like I cleaned more than your clock, old man! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Genma kept a smile from crawling onto his face, merely wiping the water from his face and forehead instead. He didn't want to concede the fight quite so quickly, although he was impressed that his son had progressed so far in so little time. `Perhaps that little hentai was good for something, after all. Look at what he's done for Ranma,' he mused, feeling a somewhat-misplaced bit of gratitude for Happosai's intervention. Genma let the laughter go on for a little while longer before he finally allowed himself to smile, nastily, as he saw an opening in Ranma's defense big enough to fly a stealth bomber through. Ranma's breath left him in a WHOOSH! as his father nailed him with a flying tackle that looked more like it was from American Pro Wrestling. Too winded from his laughing bouts, Ranma was in no condition to pry his father's dense bulk off of him. He slapped the mats, conceding his defeat. Genma stood up, and held his hand out to his son. Ranma warily accepted the offered hand, not sure that his father was finished. "That was a good stunt you pulled, son," Nodoka said from the doorway, surprising both men. "But you shouldn't have let your guard down like that," she teased mildly. She walked over to her husband, mindful of the puddles still on the mats. "Looks like you're all wet, dear," she chided, patting Genma's wet chest with her hand. Ranma groaned at the remark, and rushed out to get the mop. Besides, he wasn't too comfortable with seeing his parents being so publicly affectionate, much less being together on a permanent basis. He waited until they finished their inevitable kiss before walking back into the training hall, mop in hand. "Thank you, dear," Nodoka said as she took the mop from his hands. "You two need to get inside. Breakfast is ready and Ranko's already at the table-" She broke off suddenly as she was buffeted by a strong wind indicating Ranma and Genma's hasty departure. She shook her head slowly in disbelief, watching the eating dynamos as they fought to see who would get through the door of the house first. She dried up the mats of the training hall and put the mop away, taking her time before getting back into the house. `If they'd waited five more seconds, then they would've known that I hadn't *served* breakfast yet.' She giggled to herself, knowing the dour looks she'd be getting from both of them once she finally got inside. **** Akane swept her long hair, now secured by a sequence of yellow bows, behind her as she marched to the door of the Dojo. It was still fairly early, and everyone else was still asleep, giving her some time to herself. `Perfect,' she thought with gusto, relishing a warmup. She rubbed her hands together in anticipation of her workout, and reached for the door handle. As her fingers grazed the smooth wood of the door frame, intense flashbacks suddenly overwhelmed her. She froze in place, her hand outstretched and still reaching for the door. The ghosts of the past filled her mind with doubt and worry, making her shrink away from the building's doorway. Akane couldn't control her reaction, despite her best efforts. `Why can't I do this?!' she fumed bitterly. Tears coursed down her cheeks, betraying the tangle of emotions that were dominating her mind. `If I can't do this, I won't be able to do anything anymore!' she despaired. `I *have* to do this!' she vowed, steeling herself for what had to be done. Gripping the handle firmly, she yanked to the side and slid open the door to the dojo. Her eyes opened in shock when the handle of the door snapped off in her hand. She winced as she heard the door travel off of its rollers and continue to slide across the dojo, until it impacted with the adjacent wall on the far end of the hall. Akane bigsweated as she heard the door slap against the floormats of the dojo. She reluctantly poked her head in through the doorway and looked to where she heard the door fall. She saw it laying at the corner of the hall, in three jagged pieces. `Daddy's not going to like this,' she worried, sure that she didn't want to be the one to tell him. `Well, at least I'm in the dojo, now. Might as well ... practice?' Akane stopped her thoughts in their tracks, as she swung herself around in a slow arc, taking in the whole dojo. She stared, slack-jawed, at the devastation set out before her. "My God! What happened in here?!" she whispered to herself. Joists for the roof were cracked, or in some cases, missing altogether. There were fist-shaped holes in the floor. Also, shoeprints were all over the walls. "Looks like one hell of a brawl took place in here." She eyed the devastation closely, and could tell that this had happened recently. The breaks in the wood were fresh, and rain hadn't come in to damage anything further. "Must've been within the last couple of days," she surmised. There was no sign of dust or debris, so she assumed that her father had cleaned up the mess right after the fight. `I don't know who could have caused such damage to this place, but she, or he, was good enough to hold their own with my daddy,' she concluded. `I'd like to meet this person.' She shrugged her shoulders, and walked to the dojo's doorway. `It's too dangerous to practice in here now. I guess my return to training will have to wait until this place is safe to work out in. That, or until I find another place to go for my workouts.' With that, she turned her back on the dojo and walked out. `At least daddy won't mind the door being broken,' she thought with a laugh. `With everything that's broken in there, it's probably the least of his concerns.' `I wonder when he's going to fix up the place,' she asked herself as she returned to the house. Untying the belt to her gi, Akane slowly made her way upstairs. Once in her room, she stripped and donned her shorts and shirt again. She hung the gi on the hook on her door, as a reminder that training was postponed, not abandoned. She would return to that dojo one day. Feeling a little better about herself for conquering the dark spirit of the Dojo, she tied an apron on and dashed into the kitchen. `I think I'll cook breakfast for the family. Kasumi deserves a break after what she did for me yesterday.' Akane skipped across the hallway and down the stairs to the kitchen, a mischievous glint in her eye. **** True to form, Ranma and Genma were both fit to be tied by the time Nodoka made it through the back door of the house. Neither she nor Ranko could contain their laughter, which threatened to escalate as both men glared at them in return. "Honey, we're hungry. And we're also on a tight schedule, *remember?*" Genma warned. Nodoka looked at the nearby wall clock and tsk tsked at her husband. "Darling, we have over an hour before we have to be there! Goodness, you are so impatient sometimes!" she chided softly. "That may be so, but did you have to take so long in getting back in the house, *dear?*" he pressed. Nodoka giggled as she walked past them and into the kitchen. "Did you *really* have to stop in the flower bed and smell *every* flower, Nodoka?" Full-blown laughter erupted from the kitchen, accompanied by the sounds of dishes clattering. "Now now, Genma. You can calm down, now. Here's the food," she said, bringing out two trays of food. She jumped out of harm's way as Ranma and Genma leaped onto the food, inhaling it before Ranko could get her share. Fortunately her mother had kept enough food away for both of them. Two minutes later both men came up for air. "Ahhh, that was good!" Genma said as he patted his stomach. He pulled Soun's list out of his pocket, and stood up. "Genma, we just sat down to breakfast. Where do you think you're going?" Nodoka asked sternly. "Honey, you forgot that I have to pick up some parts and come back here *before* we leave for Soun's." Nodoka's eyes widened slightly. She had indeed forgotten about that. "Ranma, you'd better get a bath before I get back. Best that we not be late, right?" Ranma stood from the table, agreeing with his father. "Right, Pop. I'd better get on it, then," he said as he sprinted for his room. Genma bent down and brought his arm around her slim waist, brushing her ear with his lips. "I love you," he said, meeting her lips with his as she turned to kiss him. "I love you too, panda-bear," she said affectionately, clasping his hand with hers. They reluctantly withdrew as Genma glanced at the clock again. "I'll be back in a little while," he said, mussing Ranko's hair as he walked to the front door and left the house. As the door closed, Ranko turned to her mother. "I hope I'll find someone that I can have fun with, Mom. You know, like the way you and Pop get along. I like that." Nodoka clasped her hand to her heart, a satisfied smile on her face. Sure they'd had rough times in the past, but Ranko was right. Nodoka wouldn't trade her life with her family for anything. **** [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. Some people may wonder about the content (boy *that* was obtuse!). Well, as of this writing: (9/24/96): Released the first alpha of part four for editor input. 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 ^_^ My music library, for inspiring me in times of need: * Robotech 10th Anniversary Perfect Soundtrack Album * Char's Counterattack Soundtrack * Gundam 0083 Soundtrack * Gundam Singles History Soundtrack * Entire BubbleGum Crisis Soundtrack set * The Macross Complete Soundtrack * Macross II Soundtrack * Macross Plus Soundtrack * Vampire Princess Miyu Soundtrack * Ranma 1/2 Calendar CD `94 * Project A-ko #1 Soundtrack * Megazone Two-Three part 2 Soundtrack * Babylon 5 Soundtrack * Mortal Kombat Soundtrack * The Collected works of John Tesh and Bob James And now for my .sig! Later, Shadow Stalker (Protoculture Addict) (Moderator: The Robotech Echo) sysop@newberry.edu