Yeah, I got another one. It's far from done, though, I think, and
I need some serious C&C. Chapter one is "done" but I'm considering adding
more stuff to it; I'm not sure what. Most important to me right now is how
the meetings of the new character (Shiro) with Ranma characters go over.
Thanks.
alhuang@hcs.harvard.edu
http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/~alhuang
Imagine, if you would, a guy who could get more depressed than
Ryouga, more angry than Akane, and more cynical than...well, just
about anyone in the Ranmaverse. Make him prone to mood swings, and
then give the guy the ability to store and manipulate electrical
charges roughly equal to that found in several large thunderclouds.
Did I mention that he has this reeeeaaally discomforting aura? What
you get is someone who could...well, easily scare the crap out
Kodachi...or maybe....
Most new character fics involve someone more normal than most of
the Ranma gang. I present to you Kurimoto Shiro, the somewhat
unhinged physical incarnation of angst/walking electrical capacitor
who could light up Tokyo for a good few days. I'd say, he fits in
perfectly with the social environment of Nerima. Heheh. Gonna have
fun with this one.... Unlike "Visiting Nerima," this actually has a
plot that follows the new character.
As always, all Ranma 1/2 characters belong to Takahashi Rumiko-san
(while Kurimoto Shiro is my invention, but believe me, there's very
little of me in this guy) and credit for them goes to her. Have fun
reading. (By the way, Kodachi is NOT my favorite female Ranma
character--that distinction belongs to the wonderful Ukyou. I just feel
sorry for Kodachi....)
And now, Oddzilla Productions presents....
"Insanity on 5 Coulombs a Day" by Andrew Huang
(A coulomb, for those who don't remember physics or electrochem,
is a measure of electric charge. 5 coulombs of charge might be shot
around in a particularly large thunderstorm, if it's big enough....)
<...>: thoughts
*...*: sound effects
---------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Chapter 1: Lightning Crashes (thanks and apologies to Live)
"Ah.... Class, I'd like to introduce a new student, Kurimoto Shiro.
He recently moved into the area from Hokkaido, and will be joining
us." Tanaka-sensei was looking a little...uneasy.
Ranma looked at the figure standing next to the sensei. Dressed in
the usual Furinkan boy's uniform, rather tall. His hair was the same
shade of blue as Akane's...rather spiky, too. <A transfer student
again. Wonder if he's also another wandering martial artist. I hope
he's not someone else who's out to find me and kill me....> Shiro
only mechanically raised a hand and waved to the class. There was a
completely blank look on his face. <Naah.>
"Shiro, please sit in the desk there," Tanaka-sensei said, pointing
at the place next to Daisuke. Wordlessly, Shiro walked to the chair,
passing right by Ranma. As he walked past, Ranma's hair stood on end,
and he could hear a quiet hum emanating from the boy.
<Eh?! What was that?> He looked at Akane, who had been on the
other side of Shiro, and he saw that she was also looking somewhat
discomforted. He looked then at Ukyou, sitting two seats away from
Shiro's place. She was staring curiously at the new student. Daisuke
was now sweating. A lot.
"Did you feel that?" Akane whispered.
"Sure did! Hey, why are the lights above him brighter than the
rest?"
"I dunno. I wonder--"
"Ranma! Akane! Quiet, or you'll both be out in the hall!"
"Hai, sensei...."
------------------------------------------------
Lunchtime. So far that whole day, Shiro hadn't said a word to anyone,
including the teacher. Ranma and Akane were very, very curious, and
decided to try to talk to him, despite the odd...aura around him.
Ukyou had left the room, with other things to take care of. Shiro
sat silently at his desk, reading a book.
"Hi! So, you're Kurimoto Shiro, ne? I'm Saotome Ranma, and she's
Tendou Akane." Shiro looked up at the two and nodded. He still said
nothing.
Akane looked at him for a few moments, then decided to give it a try.
"Where in Hokkaido did you come from?"
Shiro stared at her a moment, then finally answered, "And why would
you want to know?"
Akane blinked. This was not one of the more socially experienced
people around, it seemed.... "Just...just curious."
Ranma wasn't sure he liked this guy at all. He was about to add
something when Shiro suddenly seemed to deflate. He put his chin on
his hands.
"Well, it doesn't matter. Got kicked out of that school there...
wasn't really welcome there to begin with. And now, I'm here." He
sighed.
<Wow. He sounds as depressed as Ryouga.> "Uh, if you don't mind
answering...what happened?" Shiro mumbled something that Ranma
didn't catch. "Er, I didn't hear you...."
"I said, don't worry, you'll find out soon." He suddenly stood up and
shook his head. "My apologies. Life has been rocky lately. I don't
get along easily with people.... I'm...kinda considered...weird...by
just about everyone."
Ranma laughed. "Well, I think you've come to the right place. Nerima is
one of the strangest places in Japan."
Akane felt a little sorry for the guy. "Don't worry. We'll try to
make you feel comfortable. Right, Ranma?" Ranma nodded. A sudden
noise attracted Shiro's attention as she reached out to give him a
pat on the shoulder. He looked back just in time to see her about to
touch his shoulder, and he seemed to recoil. At that very moment,
Kunou entered the room.
"Tendou Akane, I...." As Kunou began to speak, he saw a spark of
energy lance from this unknown student's shoulder to Akane's hand.
She yelped in pain, and this, of course, promptly drove Kunou into a
rage. "HOW DARE YOU INJURE THE NOBLE AKANE!?" He whipped out his
ever-present bokken and pointed it right at Shiro, who hadn't yet
noticed Kunou's entrance (despite his shouting).
"Akane! Gomen nasai! I--" He was cut short by a blow to the back
of his head. Stunned for a moment, he fell over his chair.
"You vile piece of sorcerous scum! That was but a warning. What is
your name?"
Shiro picked himself up off the ground, an unreadable expression on
his face. "I am Kurimoto Shiro. Who the hell are you?"
Kunou's brow wrinkled. "I would expect that lowly trash as yourself
would use such language. I," Kunou began, taking up his usual pose,
"am the rising star of the high school fencing world, president and
champion of the kendo club, the Blue Thunder of Furinkan High: Kunou
Tatewaki, age 17."
For once, no lightning flashed to accompany his usual introductory
speech; however, the hum from Shiro did get a lot louder. Shiro's
facial expression hadn't changed, which was odd--most people hearing
that for the first time usually reacted in some negative fashion.
Heck, most people hearing that after many times do.... His right eye
did start to twitch slightly, though.
"Blue Thunder? You would like some thunder?" Suddenly, Shiro's
face twisted into...well, if the emotion called "rage" ever gained a
face, then this was it. "HERE'S YOUR THUNDER, YOU POMPOUS BAKATARE
YAROU!!!" Arcs of electricity manifested all over his body and rolled
together onto his right hand. He lashed his hand out, touching Kunou
in the center of his chest.
*BZZZZZZZZZZKRAKBLAM* *CRASH*
Kunou was now outside of the classroom, having made the trip back
through the partially closed doorway, taking the door with him. He
was very, very unconscious. Ranma opened and closed his mouth
several times. Akane, wringing her tingling hand, just stared first
at the smoking heap outside and then the crackling energy which
swirled all over Shiro.
Shiro's shoulders suddenly sagged, and the sparks vanished. "Oh,
damn. Well, I guess you know now...."
------------------------------------------------
Much to Shiro's wonder, everyone around recovered quickly from
the initial surprise of the incident. Class had gone on as normal
(well, Furinkan's standard of normal) after the mess had been cleared up.
It was now after school, and Shiro was walking with Ranma and Akane.
"Hey, I told you this place is weird. Really impressive...but what
you did wasn't all too out of the ordinary for this place. Still,
though, I'm kinda curious as to how it all happened."
For some reason, Shiro wasn't too reluctant to speak with them about the
incident. "Started a year and a half ago. I got struck by three
separate bolts of lightning within five seconds." His companions
froze in shock (no pun intended) for just a moment. Shiro continued,
not noticing. "Messed me up real good. I get constant mood swings,
my ki is out of balance, my metabolism is really slow--I'm only this
thin because I eat one meal a day, doctor's orders.... And you saw
what happened earlier." Ranma and Akane both nodded. "I can store a
lot--and I do mean a _lot_--of electrical energy. I can control it
usually, but if I'm distracted and something touches me--" he glanced
at Akane apologetically-- "it'll go off sometimes." He scratched his
head a moment. "There's probably more that it all did to me, but the
doctors aren't sure yet."
Ranma was the first to answer. "Wow...you've had it pretty rough."
"My life was relatively okay until then. Since then...I've had to
transfer to six different schools. Just--just couldn't fit in...." He
sighed.
Akane looked at him, with a determined look on her face. "Well,
you're not going to have to transfer out of this one. We'll make sure
of that."
Shiro looked at her and nodded. "Arigato...I hope you're not in over
your heads, though." He rubbed his chin. "So, you say that this place
is weird? Well, what do you mean?"
*splash*
"Hey! What did you do that for?!"
Shiro turned to see a red-headed girl standing next to Akane, who was
holding a bottle of water. "..."
Akane spoke to the red-head. "Well, showing him is as good a way
as any...."
"You...Rannn...nani? Hmm...." Shiro was looking a little confused,
although definitely not as much as would be expected. The fact that
he was still able to speak was somewhat surprising by itself.
The red-head grumbled a moment. "I'm Ranma. It's a long story, but...in
short, when I get splashed with water, I turn into a girl.
Hot water changes me back to normal...."
Shiro blinked. He blinked some more. Then.... "*snort* *grnf*--
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA...." Ranma was not amused.
Akane quickly calmed Ranma down. "Let him laugh. He's a lot better
than earlier, don't you think?" Ranma-chan grumbled some more, but
didn't say anything.
Shiro slowly recovered. "Heheh...g-gomen ne.... It's-it's just that
I haven't met anyone who actually has a problem that might be as big
as mine...and a funny one, to boot. Heeheehee.... I haven't had a good
laugh since...since.... Well, a damn long time. *snicker*"
Ranma whispered to Akane, "You know, I think he'll fit in here very
well, don't you think?"
Akane nodded. Then, to Shiro, "You know, that's only the beginning
of it...."
------------------------------------------------
Ranma walked in the door of Ucchan's, slightly beat up. It was
rather early in the evening, and no other customers were in, yet.
"Hey, Ucchan.... Akane's cooking again, and I'm starving."
Ukyou looked up, smiling. "Ranchan! Of course! One deluxe, coming
right up."
Ranma sat down in a seat as Ukyou began cooking. "So, Ranchan,
what do you think of that new guy? I liked what he did with Kunou
today."
"You saw that?"
"Yeah. I was walking down the hallway back to class when I saw
Kunou fly out. And even if I hadn't, well, you know how quickly stuff
spreads around school...."
Ranma nodded. "Well...he's kinda strange, but then, we _are_ in
Nerima. He'll fit in perfectly."
"What's he like, though? I heard you and Akane were talking to him
after school." Ranma quickly recounted Shiro's recent past. Ukyou
looked stricken. "Geez! Poor guy!" She thought for a few moments.
"Where does he live? I think I'll deliver him something on the house."
"Dunno. Why not just make him some lunch for tomorrow? Oh, wait...
he only eats one meal a day, and it's not lunch."
"Eh...I'll just make him something tomorrow, and he can bring it home."
Ranma nodded. They settled down and started to talk about other
things. After Ranma finished his okonomiyaki, he got up and
was about to leave. Of course, at that point, it started to rain.
"Aww, man!" Ranma stared out the open door.
"Well, it's kinda to be expected. You know, I think I have a spare
umbrella that you--"
Ukyou was cut off by a huge, blinding flash that was accompanied
immediately with an enormous *KABLAM*, which knocked both to the
floor. Ranma shook himself, got to his feet, and pulled Ukyou up.
"Wow! That hit really close, didn't it?" Ukyou nodded in reply.
Suddenly, there was a *ZZZOT* *BANG* from a few buildings away.
"Huh?"
"What the-- Hey! You crazy kid! You're gonna pay for all of that! You
blew up all the stuff in my window!!" It was the one of the shop owners
down the street from Ucchan's. Then, another voice roared.
"GYAAARGH! WHY DOES THIS CRAP ALWAYS HAPPEN TO ME?!?!"
*BZZZZZZZZZZZZAAAAAAAAAAAAAK*
A bright glow accompanied that sound, and the lights in Ucchan's
(as well as all around) went out for a few moments. Ranma and Ukyou
were getting very badly rattled. Finally, there was a pause, with a
sputtering *pop*. Then....
"Eh...heheh...er...n-n-never mind, we'll just forget about this,
r-right? Heheh...." It was the shopkeeper again. There was a sudden
slam of a door, accompanied with tinkles of falling glass. Ranma and
Ukyou looked at each other.
"Th-that was Shiro...I think." They ran outside. Ranma turned into
onna-Ranma, but she wasn't thinking about that at the moment. Sure
enough, Shiro stood by a burnt out and sparking streetlamp, which
was next to a battered and charred storefront. He looked like he was
steaming with anger...or was that smoke? He was breathing heavily
and snarling. Ukyou stared.
"Although he's right there, I think I'll wait until tomorrow to
make him something...." Ranma-chan nodded, not saying a word. They
quickly ducked back into the store. Shiro shuffled by, head hanging
low, all traces of anger gone; rather, he seemed depressed--again. He
was muttering to himself.
"Damn lightning strikes. I hate it when I get overcharged. This day
really sucks. Dammit, my life sucks." He walked on, not noticing the
stares from Ranma and Ukyou--or everyone else around.
"Mood swings? I'll say.... Remind me never to get him angry at me."
Ukyou, eyes wide, nodded back at Ranma.
"Likewise...."
------------------------------------------------
Shiro sat on his bed in his new room. It had been a long first day
at school, and with that incident with the shop--but somehow, it
felt...better than his last experiences. <Of course. That Ranma guy
and Akane were pretty friendly to me. It was so easy to talk to them.
And no one's ever tried to talk to me like that ever since....> His
eyes narrowed with the memory of that infamous day....
He had just moved to a new school, because of the job that his
father had taken. It had been two days since getting there, and he was
beginning to get settled in, even starting to make some friends among
his classmates. Then, a huge storm had blown up in the middle of gym
class, outside. Before he could run inside, the skies flared three
times in rapid succession....
When the other students had gotten up from being knocked down by
the shockwaves, they found Shiro lying in a smoking heap eight meters
away from where he had been standing, twitching badly. He was in the
hospital for three weeks. When he got back, things never were the
same.
He had very little control over his energy output back then. It
just scared the hell out of everyone around him. That damned humming,
too.... After accidentally blasting a teacher, it was decided by the
school that it would be best if he, well, attended another school. And
so his school hopping began.
Over time, he did manage to better harness the energy crackling
within him, but...the lightning strikes took their toll mentally and
physically. His brain chemistry was slightly messed up, his body
reacted strangely to all that was going on--and he had this nasty
tendency to attract further lightning bolts. It didn't hurt him
anymore, but to those standing too close to him, it could be very
disastrous.
This, of course, led him to feel very, very lonely. Depression was
one of his natural states of mind, partly because of his loneliness,
and then boosted by the slight mental imbalances brought on by the
lightning. Another was anger. Depression, after all, is just anger
without the enthusiasm. And he had plenty of power to fuel his
depression with enthusiasm. Maybe the first time he got kicked out
of school wasn't really his fault, but the other five certainly were,
at least partially. He easily angered and would start to blast people
who got on his nerves somehow. And finally...after all that he had
been through, he found it extremely hard to trust anyone at all.
Six different schools later, his family had decided to get out of
Hokkaido, partly because he was starting to get rather well known on
the island, and partly because of another job offer. His parents had
heard of odd circumstances surrounding the Nerima area (and Furinkan
High in particular) from friends, and decided that maybe he would
fit in better there.
Shiro blinked. <Hey, they did say that, didn't they? And...I guess
they might be right.> Shiro lay back on his bed, hands behind his
head. <Maybe...maybe my life doesn't suck that much after all.>
------------------------------------------------
"I don't believe it! Kunou was in a fight with a new student, and
I wasn't there?!" Nabiki grumped to herself as she changed into her
pajamas. "Could have made a lot of money off of that...." She walked
to the door, to find Akane standing just outside.
"Oneechan, believe me, I don't think you should consider Shiro a
business opportunity."
"And why not?"
Akane told her the circumstances of the "fight" and Shiro's past.
Nabiki blinked a few times. "Eh.... I'm sure I can find some way--"
"Oneechan, please. Shiro's life has been pretty hard. I've promised
him that I'd try to make him feel comfortable and fit in around here. And
I really don't think that you trying to make a profit off of him
is going to help that cause in the least." Nabiki frowned. "Please?"
Nabiki sighed. "Well...how about if I talk to him first? I guess I
could afford to give him a cut from what I make off of him. That
should make him feel comfortable, ne?"
Akane eyed her sister for a few seconds, then nodded. "I guess
that's fair enough...." Nabiki smiled and walked off to the bathroom.
Ranma came up from behind.
"Did I hear her correctly? She's willing to give someone a cut of
her profits!?"
Akane growled at her fiancee. She was still a little ticked at him running
out on dinner. (Of course, pretty much the entire family had
run out on dinner....) Ranma backed up, holding his hands in front of
him. "Calm down! I'm sorry already!!"
------------------------------------------------
Shiro met up with Ranma and Akane at the school gates as they
arrived. Before they could say anything, though--
"You! Infernal sorcerer! You dare approach Akane and--urf." Kunou's
tirade was interrupted with a punch to the stomach from Akane.
"Leave him alone! It was an accident yesterday, okay? Shiro wasn't
trying to hurt me."
"So, he has enchanted your fair mind as well? Then--...uh...."
Kunou Tatewaki is a stupidly brave man. It's patently obvious, with
all the idiocies that he's committed in the past. He's taken on Ranma
many, many times, despite having been thoroughly thrashed prior and
getting thoroughly thrashed every time after. But even _he_ has an
ingrained survival instinct. Fortunately, it finally kicked in here.
Shiro was half-crouching right in front of Kunou, hands held out in
front, palms facing each other. Arcs of blue-white electricity leapt
back and forth between them. "Listen up, you Blue Thunder freak. I
wasn't trying to hurt her, you hear me? It-was-an-accident--! Now...
LEAVE ME ALONE!!!!!" He punctuated the last sentence with huge pops
of energy.
Kunou was momentarily speechless as the words registered in his
mind. He blinked a little bit, before finally kicking his brain back
into gear. He set his usual arrogant sneer on his face and looked at
Shiro.
"Very well. Since both you and Akane profess the incident to
be merely a mishap of fortune, I will not hold it against you. But
know this--I will be carefully watching you. If you do hurt her again,
I _will_ come to punish you." Kunou turned away and walked in the
school. But despite his (stupidly) brave words, there was a noticeable
shudder seen in him as he passed through the doors.
Shiro still hadn't moved from his stance, and lightning still was
bouncing between his hands. Cautiously, Ranma walked in front of him
and waved a hand. "Shiro? You okay?" Ranma noticed that Shiro's eyes
were rather unfocused, and he backed off uneasily.
Slowly, Shiro lowered his arms, blinking. "Dammit...."
Ranma smiled. "Wow! You actually scared him off! That has never,
ever happened before!" He started to clap Shiro on the shoulder, but
barely remembered in time not to do that. Shiro only nodded, and
walked off through the doors.
Above, out of her classroom window, Nabiki stared in amazement at
the scene. <Chikusho...another chance lost. I've got to talk to him
as soon as I can!>
------------------------------------------------
The day was much more peaceful than the morning. Shiro actually
started to take part in class, answering a few questions here and
there. The other students were getting used to his presence, as well.
At lunch, he accepted Ukyou's gift a little suspiciously, but Ranma
assured him that everything was okay. It was at that point that Nabiki
entered the room. She made her way over to Shiro, and bowed slightly
before him.
"Kurimoto Shiro. I've heard about the things that you've done here
lately.... I'm Tendou Nabiki, Akane's sister, and I have some...er,
business propositions to discuss."
Shiro narrowed his eyes as his usual cynical nature kicked in. "Oh,
really? And why should I trust you?"
Nabiki was taken aback a little by this. <Has Ranma been telling him
about me or something?> "Why...have I yet given you a reason not to
trust me?"
"Well, you haven't given me any reason otherwise, either."
Nabiki smiled. "Well, cautious, aren't you? Please, let's talk this
over...." She tilted her head over towards the door. Shiro looked at
Ranma and Akane. Akane quickly bent down to whisper in his ear.
"I think it'll be okay. I talked to her last night, and she's agreed
to help you out here...just be careful, though." Shiro nodded.
"All right, then." He got up and walked out the door, with Nabiki
following close behind.
"You sure about this?" Ukyou moved up next to Akane.
"I don't think you can ever be really sure with Nabiki...but I'm
going to give her the benefit of the doubt this time." They turned
back to eating lunch.
Five minutes later, Shiro re-entered the room. He looked...pleased. "So,
Shiro, what happened out there?"
Shiro turned to Ranma. "If she makes as much money as she claims,
and enough weird stuff happens around me, I might not have to get a
job here." He sat back down at his desk and started reading another
book.
Ranma blinked, then muttered to himself, "First he manages to scare
Kunou, and now he's cut a deal with Nabiki. How does he do it?"
------------------------------------------------
Ryouga stared at the gates of Furinkan. "At last! I'm back...." He
checked the clock on the tower. "School should be out now. Where's
Ranma? Ah!" He charged forward. "SAOTOME RANMA! DIE, DAMN YOU!!!"
As usual, he threw his umbrella at Ranma, who ducked. Suddenly....
*ZZZZAPBANG*
Ryouga dodged a charred mass of...something flying back at him.
"Nani?!" He looked at the figure who had appeared behind Ranma.
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TRYING TO DO, BAKA?! YOU COULD HAVE HURT ME!"
"Shiro! Calm down! Ryouga wasn't trying to hit you!" That was
Akane's voice.
<Who's Shiro? And where's my umbrella?> Ryouga was suddenly
faced with a tall vortex of electricity standing in front of him. He
backed away from it nervously. "Huh!?"
The swirl of energy hissed at him. "Dammit, if it's not one idiot
trying to hurt me, it's another--"
"SHIRO! I told you, he wasn't trying to hit you! Geez, listen to me!"
Ryouga could only stare at this...thing in front of him. Suddenly,
all of the energy dissipated, revealing a tall boy with an angry,
angry, _angry_ look on his face. "Well, you better not do that again!"
He sighed, and put a hand to his forehead. "Sorry for overreacting.
But I was having a rather peaceful day until that--umbrella came
flying at my face."
Ryouga shook himself. "Uh...oh, okay. Uhm...speaking of my umbrella,
where...where is it?" The boy pointed behind Ryouga, indicating the
smoking heap that had been flung back at him earlier. "Urk--what did
you do to it?!"
"I guess I kinda fried it. Wait...you're Ryouga, huh? Ranma tells
me that you're the guy who I sound as depressed as."
"Y-yeah, I'm Ryouga...who're you?"
"Kurimoto Shiro. I'm new here...."
Akane walked up between the two at this point. "Ryouga, please....
No fighting with Ranma for now, okay? I'm trying to make Shiro feel
welcome around here, and so's Ranma."
Ryouga blinked. "Ranma? Since when was Ranma ever nice enough to
want to do that?"
Shiro bristled a little. "Well, he has, okay? Lay off him." He
pointed a finger at Ryouga, with a crackle of electricity at the tip
to reinforce his point. Ryouga frowned, then reluctantly nodded.
Akane turned to Ranma. "And that means you too, all right?"
"Hey, Ryouga's the one who's out to kill me...."
Shiro looked at the clock. "Hey, I gotta go. My okaasan signed me
up to see a therapist...not like it ever did me any good before." He
walked off.
Ryouga stared after him a moment, then turned to Ranma. "Wait. He
said that you're saying he's as depressed as I am?" Ranma nodded.
Ryouga shook his head. "What's his story?" They told him.
<Wow...he's been pretty lonely, too.> "I can kinda understand him.
All right, I'll help you guys out. You're off the hook for now,
Ranma...."
"Who, me? _You_ should be the one who's glad, P-chan. You couldn't
beat me on your best day!"
"Who're you calling P-chan!?"
Akane rolled her eyes. <Didn't they just promise....>
------------------------------------------------
Shiro walked towards his house. <Well.... I wonder if this sensei
is going to be any help. I hate wasting money like this....> Sighing,
he turned the corner, walking by a ramen restaurant. <Nekohanten? "Cat
Cafe"? Odd name....>
His thoughts were interrupted by long-haired boy in white robes
flying out of the door of the Nekohanten. He landed with a *thud*,
and his glasses bounced off his face. Normally, Shiro would have just
kept on walking, but.... <Hey, if people around here are willing to
pull for me, then....> Shiro walked over and picked up the glasses,
and then headed to the boy, who was blindly groping about.
"Here you go...." The boy quickly took them and put them on.
"Oh...domo arigato...." Then, he turned back towards the restaurant.
"Shampoo! I only--" *SPLASH*
Shiro suddenly found himself in front of a duck wriggling out of the
clothes that had just been on that boy. <Waitaminute.... Another...?>
"Aiyah! Mousse stop bothering Shampoo!!" A purple-haired girl with
a bucket stomped out to fetch the duck.
<Mousse? Shampoo? Are those....> Shiro suddenly remembered. <Oh
yeah! They're the Chinese people that Ranma mentioned. He never said
anything about Mousse having a curse, though...must have forgotten. I
wonder who Cologne is, though.> "H-hello, you're Shampoo, right?"
The girl looked at him. "Hai. That Mousse. You...you...." Shampoo
suddenly froze as she drew near to Shiro, and started to sweat. She
hurriedly picked up Mousse, and backed away. "M-must go now...."
She turned and ran back in. Shiro was stunned for a few seconds. Then
his face fell.
<Damn. DAMN! That stupid "aura" of mine....> "AAARGH!!!" Shiro
stomped off, pausing only at a fire hydrant to grab a hold onto it
and pump a few hundred volts into it in his anger. One of the covers
popped off, and water went gushing everywhere.
<Damndamndamndamndamndamndamn....>
Therapy wasn't going to help very much at all, today.
------------------------------------------------
"Shiro, Shampoo apologizes for what happened yesterday. She didn't
know about...what happened to you." Ranma was walking on top of the
fence, as usual. It turned out that with just a slight detour, Ranma
and Akane could walk with Shiro to school.
Shiro looked up at Ranma. "Oh...that. Okay." He didn't look any
happier, though.
"And when were you talking to Shampoo, huh?!" Akane glared up at
Ranma. He started to sweat.
"Uh...uh...well...she just wanted to ask me about Shiro...."
Akane humphed, but did nothing further. Ranma sighed in relief.
"Say, Akane, why do you seem so...uh...."
"Jealous? Heck if I know." Ranma was promptly knocked off the fence
with a punch from Akane.
"I AM NOT!!"
Shiro decided that it was a good idea not to keep asking. However,
Ranma (after climbing back up the fence--he had barely managed to hold
on to it and not fall in the water, for once) decided to keep talking.
"Oh yeah, we never told you. Akane and I are..." Ranma made a face,
"...engaged." Shiro blinked a few times. "And...uh...Shampoo and I are
kinda engaged too...." This time, Shiro stopped walking.
"Y...you have _two_ iinazuke?"
Ranma laughed nervously. "Nonono...of course not!"
"Oh. But then...."
"He's got three, the baka...."
Now, Shiro facefaulted.
"Ukyou's the third."
"U...Uk...UKYOU!? You're engaged to a g--"
"Nononono...Ukyou's a girl. She only dresses like a guy."
"Don't forget about Kodachi. She's decided to chase after Ranma too."
Shiro sat up. "You...have..._four_ girls chasing after you?!"
"Hey! Who said _I_ was _chasing_ after _that_ hentai?!!"
Shiro started to laugh. "Man, this is a weird place! I think....
I...." Shiro's shoulders suddenly slumped--like they did so often.
"You...you have four girls chasing after you...."
Ranma looked at him a little nervously. "Uh...yeah...um...what's
bothering you, though?"
Shiro slowly picked himself up. "No one. I got no one. *sigh* Dammit.
I got no one." He started walking again.
Akane looked at him, a sad expression on her face. "Ohh.... Poor
guy...."
Ranma nodded, then chuckled. "Well, I sure wouldn't mind handing
Kodachi off to him or something."
"And what about Shampoo and Ukyou, huh?"
"Er...anou...."
"BAKA!!!"
As Shiro walked, ignoring the commotion behind him, he suddenly
realized something. <Hey. Why did I just react like that? It's not
like....> It was true--ever since he had gotten struck by lightning
the first time, he never had really thought about girls at all. <I
wasn't even making any friends at the time. Why would I have worried
about girls?> He sighed again. <Whatever. It doesn't matter....>
------------------------------------------------
It had been a week since Shiro entered Furinkan. And, true to
Akane's word, Shiro was actually feeling comfortable. It was the
first time in a year and a half. However, there are certain things
that simply can't be escaped, no matter where you are.
Shiro was BORED.
There had been little homework assigned, somehow, and he was
already finished. The computer...well, he hadn't been allowed near
one since the incident--the magnetic field he generated could wipe
out the hard drive, plus it screwed up the monitor, and other pieces
of hardware didn't deal too well with that. Plus, of course, there
was always that risk of him blasting the computer. He was tired of
reading, for once. There wasn't anything good on TV. As for the
piano.... "It has to be the _one_ day that the piano's getting tuned."
He didn't feel like bothering Ranma and Akane; they had already gone
out of their way to be nice to him. Ryouga...was lost. Shiro sensed a
kindred spirit with him, and wanted very much to talk to him, but he was
never around. He wasn't sure about approaching Shampoo and
Mousse, not without Ranma and Akane there also...and Ukyou was
probably busy with her restaurant.
So he decided to just take a walk.
------------------------------------------------
Happosai bounded over another gate. "What a haul!" (If I have to
describe further what he's doing and who's chasing after him, then
you'd better watch some more Ranma.) He cackled.
It had been another great day for the old hentai. His bag was just
about bursting with his goodies. <Time to head home.... Now, to lose
these lovely but dangerous ladies. Why can't they just appreciate my
needs? Oh well.>
Happosai hopped several buildings, a tree, two more gates, and now
leapt over a garden wall. There was a tall boy walking on the other
side, right in Happi's path. Of course, Happosai took no real notice. He's
jumped off of Ryouga's and Ranma's and others' heads before, eh? His
feet touched down on this particular head....
*BZZZZZKRAK*
Happosai found himself flung high, high, high up into the air,
smoking slightly. "Yeeeeaaargh.... That hurt!!!" He lost his grip on
the sack, which burst. "NO! NOT MY PANTIES!!!!"
He looked down, at the youth picking himself up off the ground. "He's
going to pay for that!!!"
------------------------------------------------
"What the hell was that?!" Shiro rubbed his head where something
had hit him. He looked around, but nothing. <Wait, maybe it went....>
He looked up. Many, many...well, somethings were fluttering down
through the air. He caught one--then immediately dropped it.
"Underwear?! Where'd this come from?" Suddenly a mob of women
came around the corner. They stopped upon seeing all the undergarments
floating down.
"Where'd that hentai little troll go?" demanded one of the women. She
was wielding a particularly sharp-looking wakizashi. All of them, in
fact, were armed somehow. Most men, upon seeing this for the first
time, would have been very nervous...but this is Shiro we're talking
about.
"Troll? I...haven't seen anyone...." He shrugged, then continued
walking. <Well...what else does Nerima have to offer?>
------------------------------------------------
Kodachi smiled. She had done it....
Her paralyzing roses were well known. Less well known, perhaps, were
her attempts at making love potions. But it was going on...she
had sent Sasuke to raid the recipe books of that old Amazon, and
(after several failed attempts and one hospital stay) he had actually
succeeded! She had mixed up one particularly promising potion, which
was related to the purified extracts of passion spice, only a little
more specific in nature. The recipe claimed to drive the male vic--
er, recipient wild with passion for whichever female he laid his eyes
upon right after it took effect (yeah, that same old targeting system).
It only worked for a few days, but she was sure that would be long
enough to finally tear her Ranma-sama away from the enchantments of
Tendou Akane and the evil osage no onna who dared take her
beloved's name.
However, a crude potion just wasn't her style. Nay, Kurobara no
Kodachi was above those sorts of devices that mere peasants used. So,
she had altered one particular batch of her flowers so as to carry the
potion--and they had worked just perfectly. What was more, the potion
was even more effective as an aerially borne agent--the effect took
hold much, much faster. Instantaneously, almost. It was perfect!
(If you're wondering how she knows it all works...she does have lab
mice that she tests this stuff on. Sure, what may work on a mouse may
not work on a human...but hey, this is fiction--Ranma fanfiction, to boot.
^_^)
She quickly gathered up a bunch of the modified flowers, and, for
old time's sake, she tossed in a generous number of paralysis gas
roses. (She's also made sure that the two don't counteract each other.)
"Oh-hohohohohoho! Ranma-sama, here I come!" She bounded out the door.
It was a busy evening on the streets of Nerima.
------------------------------------------------
"What time is it? Eh. Should probably turn around...." Shiro had
reached the edges of the Furinkan school district (although he didn't
know that fact). "Wow. The houses are pretty big around here."
He turned the corner--
*THUD* *poof* *koff koff*
--and found himself knocked to the ground. A long-haired girl clad in a
leotard sat on the pavement in front of him. <Who is _she_?> She had
been holding this bunch of black roses (now in _his_ arms) which had
apparently...exploded? Something like that. Whatever had happened,
he was now breathing in what he assumed to be a prodigious amount of
pollen. <Kinda smells strange--> *waCHOO* *koff*
Kodachi stared at the boy in front of her. Now, Kodachi _is_ nuts.
We all know that. But she's far from stupid. I mean, how would she
know how to mix up all these nice chemicals and breed toxic plants
the way she does? She saw what happened to those flowers with this
guy and immediately realized the implications.
"Oh, no."
>From the desktop of the Taiwanese-American-German-Scot,
Wakko "Andrew" Huang
Brought to you by his computer, Oddzilla
Oddzilla says, "Ryouga and Ukyou! Ukyou and Ryouga!"
http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/~alhuang