If this is okay, then I'll be sending it to the raac. Not too much
has changed; just a little bit of continuity editing. Or something like
that. Chapter 2 is still going under massive rethinking. Don't expect
anything for a while.

alhuang@hcs.harvard.edu
http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/~alhuang/

  This is my first fanfic. Hey, I might as well put that expository
writing class to use.... Anyways, the characters (except for Nakamura
Takeshi) are the property of Takahashi Rumiko-san, and the whole Ranma
1/2 idea is hers as well. Heh...well, if this sucks...PLEASE DON'T KILL
ME!!

  Some thanks: Thank you to all the Ranma fanfic writers out there for 
inspiration (of whatever sort), and also to Taleswapper and his little 
essay on Annoying New Characters (ANCs). Takeshi is not superpowerful,
not going to be going after Nabiki (although there are some moments...
well, you'll see when I get to them), he has a somewhat good reason to
be around...and I'm going to be using him to explore the world of Ranma
a little more deeply. I'm going to skip a lot of the introductions
normally found in a "new-character fic" since it's been done already,
and done a lot. It's going to be somewhat of a one-on-one thing, with
Takeshi interacting with individual characters--at least in the 
beginning. Once I get it rolling, I'll try to put things into a bigger
picture. 

Now, Oddzilla Productions presents....

"Visiting Nerima" by Andrew Huang

<...>: thoughts
*...*: sound effects

Prologue
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  Tendo Soun stood by his gate, tears streaming down his cheeks. Not a
new sight.

  But which type, the reader asks, are these tears? Well, if studied 
carefully, they looked like the same ones as when, some time ago, he 
had received a certain postcard with a panda on it from China....with 
slightly less intensity, perhaps. Right now, he was looking at a letter,
addressed to him from California, USA.

  "Oh, Takeshi! It has been a long while! You were but a child when I 
saw you last! It will be good to see you again!" Soun sniffed, and wiped 
his face with his sleeve. Clearing his throat, he called out, "Kasumi! 
Nabiki! Akane!" He paused, and added, "Ranma!"

  There were steps from all around, as the teens came out from the
house. "Hai, Otousan?" came Kasumi's voice.

  Soun smiled as they gathered around. "I have news. The son of an old 
friend is coming to visit. He has been living in the United States for
five years now, but I haven't seen him since...oh, how long has it been?
He will be staying for two months here, to visit Japan. His name is
Takeshi...Nakamura Takeshi." He turned to look at his daughters and
Ranma. They were eyeing him uncomfortably. "Hm? What is wrong"

  Nabiki spoke up. "Anou...the, ah,  son of an old friend, you say?" She
glanced over at Ranma. "You didn't, you know, make some sort of...er,
arrangement a long time ago that we don't know about, did you?" Her gaze
shifted then over to Akane.

  Soun, confused for a moment, suddenly understood. "Ah, ha ha ha! No,
no, of course not! Wait, unless...." Soun's voice trailed off as he went
deep into thought.

  "Otoooousaaaan...." growled Nabiki.

  "No. I had considered it, but no, I didn't." Nabiki sighed in relief.
"Well, then. Yes, Takeshi will be coming in two weeks. He'll be in time
for the last week of school. He'll be going along with you," he nodded
towards Akane, Ranma, and Nabiki, "to observe. His mother here says that
he needs an infusion of Japanese culture, having been out of his
homeland for such a long time." Everyone nodded.

  "Well, then! We should start to prepare for this young man's visit!" 
Kasumi said brightly. Nabiki was not so enthusiastic...at least, not
visibly.

	"Another guest...hmm. I wonder how profitable this situation
might be...."

  "So, Akane, as long as you don't cook, I think he'll like it here,
ne?"

  *WHACK* *SPLASH* "BAKA!!!"

------------------------------------------------

  Two weeks later. Some street in the Nerima district. Late afternoon. 
Nakamura Takeshi was lugging his suitcases along, thinking. 

  <Well, here I am...two months in the homeland. I guess it'll be nice;
it's been a while. Good way to improve my Japanese. I just wish I didn't 
have to leave Jen behind.> He closed his eyes, smiling at the mental
image of his girlfriend.

  He probably shouldn't have closed his eyes, though; otherwise, he
would have seen a pig-tailed youth come running around the corner up
ahead, chased by a mallet-wielding, short-haired girl who glowed 
slightly blue. The youth barely managed to dodge around Takeshi, just as
the girl took a swing. The rush of air from the boy running past snapped
Takeshi back to reality. He opened his eyes, to see--

  *WHACK*

--to see, well, the insides of his eyelids again. He passed out. And so 
began Takeshi's visit.

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Okay, guess what? That's all the introduction you're getting. Hopefully, 
if I can write this well, you'll be able to understand how Takeshi stands 
with everyone after meeting them (the stuff that I'm omitting). There will 
be references to the first meetings to clarify, but unless those meetings 
themselves are extremely important, they won't be gone into in detail--
and if they are, they'll be flashbacks. Uh, whatever. Anyways, here we 
go....
---------------------------------------------------------------------
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Chapter 1: Lost in Many Ways

  "I still have trouble believing that you were the one wandering
outside of my house all those months ago.... But it had to have been
you. Wait, not that way, not if you want to get to Ucchan's."

  The educated Ranma fan should know who Takeshi was speaking to.

  "Heh...I really don't remember crossing any body of water, let alone 
something as big as the Pacific. I seem to do that too often.  *sigh* 
Thanks for helping me out here. I haven't eaten since...."

  "Since last Friday. I know. Getting stuck inside that closet as a
pig...."

  The two had met--for the second time--in the middle of Takeshi's first 
week in Nerima. Ryouga had, as usual, shown up by throwing his umbrella
at Ranma (narrowly missing Takeshi) and had started to launch into his
time-honored tirade/challenge when Takeshi recognized the bandanna clad
figure. The duel was interrupted before it began by Takeshi. The two had
talked a lot that afternoon--a relatively peaceful one, for which Ranma
had been very grateful.

  "You know, why don't you just tell Akane how you feel? It was easy 
enough for you to tell me about it." Takeshi shook his head. <Ryouga, 
you're such a fool. If you had just tried earlier....>

  Ryouga's face darkened. "It's all _his_ fault. He always shows up and 
ruins the moment!"

  "I don't think it's Ranma's fault."

  Ryouga opened his mouth angrily, but then stopped.  The two paused,
and Ryouga looked down at his feet.

  "My...my heart of glass would break if she rejected me. I...don't know
what I would do if that happened."

  Takeshi shook his head. <Heart of glass? A bit melodramatic, but....>
"I understand, but it's--"

  "How could _you_ understand? You've got someone...Jen, that's her
name, right? I've never had any girl who liked me...except Akane. Sort
of. That's hard enough to deal with, knowing that she only likes me as
her little P-chan...."

  Takeshi discovered Ryouga's secret the morning after they had met, 
when he had gotten up off the floor after another attack by Akane on 
Ranma. He had looked up to see Akane holding a bokken in one hand and
clasping a kawaii black piglet tightly to her chest with her other arm 
while profusely apologizing to Takeshi for the large, side-of-a-wooden-
sword-blade-shaped bruise forming on his cheek. Takeshi noticed the 
bandanna around "P-chan's" neck and had put two and two together very,
very quickly. Hey, Takeshi has above normal intelligence, and he knew
about Jusenkyou already.... Okay, so maybe not that quickly, but he
had become rather suspicious. He had, of course, been sworn to secrecy
by Ranma--fortunately, Takeshi had been so stunned by Akane's blow at
first that he missed the opportunity to ask Akane about all of this, and
had to turn to Ranma to fill him in and make sure about this.

  "That's a hole you dug yourself into. And how do you know that I don't
understand? Jen is the first girlfriend I've ever had. Plus, I never
knew of any girls who liked me before her. Believe me, I've had my share 
of rejection."

  "Really?"

  Takeshi nodded. "Un. There have been other girls that I've liked...
enough that it messed with my head a little bit. That is, I liked them
enough that I spent a lot of time thinking about them seriously. 
Eventually, I told them."

  "That's...commendable."

  "And you know what? They didn't like me. Obviously. It hurt a lot,
I'll grant you that. But at least I knew!" There was a pause. "Here you
are, moping around about a girl who you've liked for a long time now. 
Doesn't it just tear at your heart that you don't even know how she 
feels?"

  That stopped Ryouga short. Was that true? Was part of the reason he 
was so miserable about this because he just didn't know? <Iie.... It'd
be worse if she outright rejected me. Of course...right?>

  The two started walking again, Ryouga so lost in thought that he 
didn't make any wrong turns. Suddenly, the two stopped. They were in 
front of Ucchan's, and at the door stood Akane, looking off into the 
distance at a human-shaped object hurtling away. She looked angry... 
which was nothing new at all. The mallet in her fist confirmed Takeshi's
suspicions. <At least, I didn't get hurt this time. Wow, what a break!>

  "Hey. It looks like she just knocked Ranma far, far away. He won't 
interfere. And if she's angry at Ranma, she would probably be more 
receptive. Go and tell her!"

  Ryouga stared at Akane. She still hadn't seen them. "RANMA NO BAKA!!!"
She suddenly relaxed, looking a little tired. Shaking her head, she
turned and walked into the restaurant.

  "Well? What are you waiting for!?"

  Ryouga opened his mouth, then closed it. He started to move towards 
Ucchan's but suddenly stopped. He whirled to face Takeshi. "Anou, I, uh,
I'm not in the mood for okonomiyaki all of a sudden...uh, let's go to
the Nekohanten! Yeah...." He turned in a random direction and started
walking.

  Takeshi sighed. "Not that way. You're a lost cause." <In more ways 
than one. You're a coward, too.> Takeshi wanted so much to tell Ryouga
that, but he had learned never to insult a martial artist's courage. He
caught Ryouga's arm and pulled him in the right direction. "I don't get
it. I've seen you fight Ranma a few times already. That takes guts--he's
really good. You've faced numerous monstrosities, according to your
stories. And yet...." He trailed off. To continue would be dangerously
close to breaking his self-imposed rule.

  "And yet, I'm a coward when it comes to girls," Ryouga finished. That
caught Takeshi a little off guard. He continued. " I can't even stay
conscious when I see too much of a girl's body.... Yeah, I guess this
all doesn't make that much sense. But you gotta understand that Akane's
the first girl I've really ever liked." 

  "Really? Wow! You're kind of a late starter, I gotta say."

  "Hai. For the most part the past few years, I've been too busy trying
to find my way somewhere to get emotionally involved. This is so...new
to me."

  "You? Afraid of the unknown? Heh." Takeshi's brow furrowed. "What's
with not going to Ucchan's, anyway, really? I mean, if you weren't ready
to tell her yet, you didn't have to. I know you're able to behave semi-
normally when you're with her...." <Unlike Toufu-sensei and Kasumi...
*brr*> He rubbed his still slightly sore neck at the thought of _that_
incident. "Why couldn't you even face her this time?"

  Ryouga shrugged. "I dunno. I guess...I guess I was worried that 
because we'd been talking about this, I'd blurt out something stupid." 

  "Well, at least you didn't try to pin this one on Ranma, like you
always do." Ryouga glared at Takeshi, then he suddenly stopped.

  "Why am I even telling you all of this? I barely know you."

  Takeshi smiled. "I make fast friends...plus, I guess I'm easy to talk
to. I've always been like that."

  "Wow. Is it the same with girls?"

  "Yeah, actually, they talk with me a lot, too." Takeshi's face turned
a little dark. "It's not as great as it seems, though. You can't imagine
what it's like when the girl you like is asking you about how to get the 
attention of another guy...one that she likes."

  "Ooh. That's gotta hurt."

  "You got it. Hey, you know, it's not like you're all that hard to talk
to, either. So far, you're the only one I've mentioned Jen to around
here."

  "Really?"

  "Hai. You've already met her, for one thing, when you were Stateside--
that is, in the US. You're a nice guy, for the most part, I can tell.
And, I guess.... Like I said, I do understand you, what it's like to be
so lonely."

  "The world is a cold and lonely place. You can't imagine--oops.
Sorry."

  "Right. Really, really depressing. Last year, I might have even been 
depressed enough to use your shishi houkoudan, if I knew how to throw
ki.... It took me weeks to fully understand that that Jen actually likes
me, and that we're dating. Ah! Here we are, the Nekohanten."

------------------------------------------------

  As they ate (well, it was more like Ryouga doing an impression of 
Ranma by swallowing entire bowls of ramen as Shampoo watched in 
amazement), Ryouga suddenly stopped in the middle of his fifth bowl.

  "Don't...don't you think Ranma is at least _somehow_ responsible for 
all of this? At least some?"

  Takeshi shrugged. "He did accidentally knock you into the spring. I'll 
give you that. But I really think this has very little to do with him."

  "But--"

  Takeshi continued, not noticing the interruption. "Well, except for 
those times he tricked you into thinking he...she was your fiancee. 
There's another problem--you're easily distracted. I mean, sure, some 
bakatare stunt like that might throw you off, but you should have still 
been able to brush him...her off and keep talking to Akane and just say 
that you like her."

  Ryouga thought for a long moment, and then, more to himself, perhaps,
said, "Maybe it's time I started making some changes...." 

  Takeshi nodded. <Yeah, I'd say it's about time. But I think it may be
too late already.... Even with all the abuse between Ranma and Akane, I 
think....> He shook his head. <Whatever...I haven't been around long 
enough to judge.> They continued eating.

------------------------------------------------

  That night, at the Tendou-ke....

  "Ite." Takeshi rubbed his head, wincing. Again, Akane had been trying 
to hurt Ranma. Again, Takeshi got hurt in the process. It was amazing 
that he didn't get hurt earlier that day outside of Ucchan's; he was 
certainly thankful for that. <Hmm...what was she ticked off about this 
time, anyway?> She had yelled something...about him picking on P-chan.
<But....>

  He stopped in the hallway, seeing a black piglet nosing open Akane's 
bedroom door, who also stopped when he noticed Takeshi. Takeshi glared
at him. P-chan gave the piglet equivalent of a sheepish look, and then
dashed inside. He shook his head in disgust. <That saying in the US...
"Some things never change." At least, some people just can't let 
themselves change.> Ryouga was a good man overall, very honorable, but
this....

  <Character flaw.> Takeshi shuddered. His literature class apparently 
wasn't letting him go, even though it was weeks after school had let
out. <Well, it does kind of fit, though....> He was about to walk off
to bed, when he saw P-chan come back out. He shot a baleful look at
Takeshi, then ran off, away from Akane's bedroom...right into the same
closet that he had been shut in for the past weekend. With a small
smile, he picked up P-chan out of the closet and, watching carefully for
Akane, walked him to the bathroom. With a snort of thanks, the piglet
ran inside. Takeshi walked back toward the bedrooms.

  "Maybe there _is_ hope for him, after all." He stopped to see Akane 
bounding up the stairs.

  "Goodnight, Takeshi. Oh...gomen, I don't know how my aim was that off.
I was sure that pot was going to hit Ranma, not you...."

  "It's all right. Goodnight, Akane."

  She walked into her room, and Takeshi continued off to the guest room,
flopping down on the bedroll.

  "Hey! Where's P-chan? RANMA!!!!!" *STOMP STOMP STOMP....*

  Takeshi smiled. Softly, he said, "Believe me, Akane, it's better this
way. Sorry, Ranma, I hate to get you into trouble like this." Suddenly,
he started. She was going to go after Ranma again! <Wait, he's outside. 
Surely, I'm safe this time.> He relaxed. He knew it was possible for her
to get mad at Ranma without getting himself hurt--the incident earlier 
today was proof of that. There was indeed shouting outside. The only
thing he did manage to hear clearly, though, was--

  "BAKA!!!!!" followed by a solid mallet strike. <That trick with the 
mallet...that's so cool! I wonder-->

  *CRASH* "Urkgl...."

  Ranma had flown through the window and landed right on top of Takeshi.
He dizzily rolled off the hapless bystander, muttering, "Kawaiikune
otemba...gomen...gomen...." before collapsing on the floor, unconscious.
Takeshi was now assuming the fetal position on his bedroll.

  *gasp* <How the HELL does she manage to hurt me every time she pounds
Ranma!? Well, almost every time. Small comfort....>

------------------------------------------------

  Ryouga, back to human form now, thought over the day's conversations
with Takeshi and the night's events as he walked to the Tendou's front
door.

  "Yeah, I guess he's right. But...it's so hard!!! Argh! And I guess I
can't blame Ranma for this. At least, not all of it."

  He suddenly raised his head high and his fist upward, shouting, "I
swear, I will tell Akane of my love for her! Someday!!" He instantly 
clamped his mouth shut, horrified. <No! I'm not ready to....> He
stopped, looking around.

  There was a moment of silence.

  "WHERE ON EARTH AM I NOW!??!?!?"


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Well, that's chapter one. Perhaps a little less funny that I would have 
liked, but...oh well. It's supposed to be more serious, I guess. C&C is
welcome. In fact, it's requested...I'm new at this, and I'd like
feedback. Flames, however, will be tossed out without any hesitation.
What's next? Hmm. Something about Nabiki....


>From Andrew Huang, Taiwanese-American-German-Scot Harvard Student :P
Brought to you by his computer, Oddzilla
Oddzilla says, "Ryouga and Ukyou! Ukyou and Ryouga!"
http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/~alhuang
Kurimoto Shiro's manager, DBTFH