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, na? 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 neck (at the place where it
joined his 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 arms 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 swirling, crackling energy.

  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 gets too close to my head or sometimes my
hands--" 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 raised an eyebrow.

  "And why are you such the...ah, what was that reference...good
Sami...Sama...er, never mind. Why are you such the benevolent one all of
a sudden?"

  Akane paused a moment. "Well...I don't know. He seems to be a nice guy
who's gotten a bad break. And _I_ know about bad breaks," she muttered,
thinking about a certain martial artist living under the same roof. "I
just feel like helping out. So I'm asking you, don't pull any of your
stuff with him, okay?" 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 pop 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 agree 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 tight vortex of electricy pointed at his face.

  A voice behind 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 the hands of 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? At least while Shiro's around. 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. He didn't
really know this Shiro fellow; it wouldn't be right to start anything 
with him without reason. However, the fact that he was a friend of
Ranma's clearly counted against him.

  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.... At least they 
_did_ wait until Shiro left.> "Ranma! Stop picking on Ryouga!"

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

  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."

=============================
  Hmm.... Shiro has already blinked, stopped dead in his tracks, and 
facefaulted. He would be expressing even more surprise at this point. 
But I'm not sure how I'd write that. Eh...on with the story.
=============================

  "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 her 'Ranma-
sama' too."

  Shiro sat up. "'Ranma-sama?'" he mumbled. Then, "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,
and it screwed up the monitor along with 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 saw 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 vict--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 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