Ranma Nibunnoichi FanFiction
by The Reb
archer@senet.com.au
Written on MS-DOS Editor 1.1

Pre-story gloss-over:
It seems this section is getting shorter lately, so I'll be brief. I
gotta point some things out. The skills of the characters I keep
constant from the manga, but their learning conditions allow them to
improve. Ranma, as always, should be seen as the ultimately strongest
fighter in the cast, disregarding the obvious addition. Also, one or
two things may be touched upon, yet never explained. I believe this
reflects real-life situations, where you sometimes never find out the
reason behind some things. Finally, the names of special moves will
ALWAYS be shouted in capitalised romaji, but might be given,
explanatorialy, in English.
  I'm going to use our Australian screen classification system to
offer an idea of this fic's content. I'm sure all you minors on this
list _always_ take notice of the adult warnings on lemon stories,
so I'm safe to assume this will be heeded ^-^. This is NOT lemon,
but one part of it may disturb some people in a similar way.
  The following feature is voluntarily rated M15+, recommended for
mature audiences 15 years and over. It contains medium level violence,
low level coarse language, nudity and adult themes.
  - All you want from a good Ranma1/2 story, of course! (This doesn't
    mean that I would agree with the classification though. I just 
    think that you'll enjoy this if you like kung fu stuff :)

* * * * * * * *

Out of the Clouds.
------------------

THERE HAD BEEN A WIND rushing across the Tokyo area for three days,
and on this dark night it did not let up. The clouds, faint looming
shadows in the darkness, raced over Nerima ward. However, the city was
well lit, and sparse crowds perused the streets.
  The few people close enough to her noticed the unusual girl, who
made her way down the footpath. Her clothes might have been described
as masculine: army fatigues with large pockets and gathered hems;
scuffed leather hiking boots; a thick but unwashed sweater, over
which she wore a vest with more pockets. Her thick shoulder-length
hair was unkempt, though it was windy. But what was most striking was
its greyish colour, which seemed like the result of old age without
the thinning. Her large fringe was controlled by a simple head-band;
her face needed a wash and there was a faint scar curving from beneath
her ear up to her temple. She had a tired and distracted expression
and did not notice her surroundings. Over her shoulder was slung a
light bag, with a single strap; attached to the strap was also a
long, slightly curved package.
  The girl approached an intersection. Sighing heavily, she put her
hand to her face: she had been travelling constantly for a week, and
it was almost fourteen hours since she had begun this day's leg. Her
vision was intact, but she could not concentrate. Noticing a group
of pedestrians standing on the curb, she dimly wondered what they were
waiting for. The red light in the shape of a standing figure meant
nothing to her. Proceeding straight through the crowd, she started to
cross the busy road.
  The tires of a grey Mitsubishi wagon travelling at 70 kmph suddenly
screeched and its horn blared. The girl turned suddenly to face the
low-beam headlights, her grey eyes wide with alarm. The shocked
pedestrians saw a bluish flash as the car hit the girl, and she was
thrown ahead around eight metres; strangely, the vehicle had come to
a dead stop. Its headlights were also cracked.
  Several people hurried to help the girl. She lay in an awkward
position, panting slightly. "Can you hear me, miss?" asked one man,
checking for vital signs. Her eyes popped open and she scrambled to
her feet, gathering her belongings. She said politely, "Just had
the wind knocked out of me. Thank you for your concern, but I'm
fine."
  "Are you sure? You should see a doctor," another said.
  The girl made an effort to escape the concerned bystanders. "Don't
worry! Please!" After bowing in gratitude, she hurried down a side
street, leaving a crowd of confused people on the road.
  When she was out of their sight she leaned against a wall and let
herself breath heavily. That was close, she thought. I hate getting
mixed up with doctors...
  She let the bag slip from her shoulder, and undid the knots holding
the long package to it. Then she loosened the top end and let the
patterned material slide down half the length of the object. It was
a katana, with a black lacquer scabbard and a simply bound hilt almost
devoid of distinguishing features. She turned it over in her hands,
examining it for damage: looking at the tsuba(*), the only decorations
were the kanji _Shou_ [or _ko-_] and _U_ [or _hane_] for 'small' and
'wing' stamped into the metal. Her lips turned up in a satisfied
smile, but before packing the sword away again, she grasped the handle
and the scabbard, and drew it a fraction, revealing a bright golden
blade. The girl's expression became wistful as she gazed at the fine
_bamboo-strip curtain_ temper-line and the obviously masterful
workmanship. She made to sheath it again when--
  "Hey, pretty girl! Let's hit the town!" A small, lecherous yet
comical old appeared out of nowhere and flew at her. Happousai had
just spotted her, and ignoring what she was doing, decided she was
a worthy recipient of his affections.
  For a moment the girl was surprised, then she fathomed his intent
and became enraged. Her eyes blazed. If there was one thing she could
not stand, it was perverted old men.
  A fierce shout was heard, and light flashed between the buildings,
followed by a low, rumbling boom.

                      RANMA 1/2 : Little Wing
                            by The Reb

The day was bright and it was late morning. The recent winds had
completely stopped, birds flew freely in the sunny air. The people
of Nerima ward were nicely wound-down for a Sunday afternoon of
_relative_ peace.
  The paper doors of the Tendou residence where open wide to the
beautiful day, and Akane sat at the table sipping tea and occasio-
nally looking at the noisy Saotomes sparring in the garden. Sounds
of Kasumi came from the kitchen. Nabiki had not been around the
past few days.
  Although all that they had been through was more than most people
experienced in their entire lifetimes, nothing much really changed
in the past year. Despite everything, the many characters were still
on their respective and various vendettas. Ranma still had multiple
fiancees, Akane still had multiple wannabe suitors. Ryouga had
returned to the dojo and was nestled in Akane's arms right now. As
for Happousai...
  The fight had been going on since Genma had finished breakfast
when he announced it. Ranma had hardly eaten, but he stood up to
his father and quickly got into the mood. In the course of events,
the man became a panda, but this did not make it easier for Ranma.
Perspiration literally sprayed off of Ranma whenever he spun to
avoid a strike, and the panda's fur was soaked when Ranma connected.
Like all training with his father the combat was simple, but the
elapsed time had begun working on Ranma. He breathed heavily.
  He stood in a classical wushu stance on a rock by the pond. One
leg raised and bent, one hand flat in the air. Genma, across the
garden, seemed to smirk, then displayed a sign: "Now, son, try to
knock me down... (he turned it around) I want to show you something."
  Ranma charged, shouting, "I was going to anyway!" When he was
within range, his fist flew: the panda did not move. The blow
connected, but...
  Ranma's eyes widened. It was like his hand hit a solid steel wall,
but did not make a dent. Not even the fluffy fur bent under the
force. Genma counterattacked and his opponent landed in the pond.
  Akane gaped. Ranma raised herself from the water, the loose gi
and her red hair dripping. Incredulity. "How did you do that?!"
  The panda approached but then Happousai appeared without warning
and clung urgently to Ranma's chest. Instinctively, she booted him
into the sky, but then he appeared in front of her and grasped her
hands. Suddenly looking very serious, he said to the surprised
Ranma, "Ranma! I need your help!"
  She regained her composure and whapped the old master over the
skull. "Why should I help you?"
  Happousai continued, "Last night I was maliciously attacked by a
big ugly girl... and her horde of ninja!" He jumped about and waved
his arms to emphasise, as Ranma stepped out of the water. "I
managed to escape, but she is still out there! On behalf of your
master, you must seek revenge!"
  "Look, Jijii," Ranma said crossly, "I gotta talk to Oyaji about
something. Come bother me later. Or better yet, go away altogether."
  "What? That 'hard-body' defence move?" scoffed the little man.
"Anyone with the slightest experience in chi control should be able
to pull that off."
  The panda and Akane joined them. "What do you mean, Ojisan?" the
girl asked.
  Ranma spoke thoughtfully, "Any sufficiently skilled martial artist
can move his chi energy around to any part of his body. I should have
realised."
  "That's right," Happousai picked up. "By focusing his energy on
his torso, Genma became invulnerable there, at least for as long as
he could stay concentrated."
  Ranma was still in a fighting mood, and now that she knew how to
do it, she felt ready. She took a stance. "Okay, Oyaji! Your turn!"
  The panda turned to Ranma, but Happousai stepped up and hit her in
the belly. She was thrown into the air and landed back in the pond.
  Happousai muttered, "It's not something that you learn overnight."
Genma nodded.
  Kasumi appeared on the balcony and announced that lunch was
prepared, so they filed inside, leaving an angry Ranma still face-
down in the water.

The Girl, Her Eyes.
-------------------

Students had filled the home-class of 1-F on the sunny, birds-
chirping-and-fluffy-clouds morning. The teacher said, "We have a
new student with us today."
  Indeed, everyone's attention was focused on the girl at the
front, who stood beside her name in chalk. Most noticeable was her
thick grey hair; and unlike several recent additions to the class,
she wore proper uniform. "My name is Imai Kohane," her face lit up
in a cute smile, and she bowed. "I'm happy to meet you, and I'm glad
to be here."
  "Please take a seat, Imai-san," the teacher instructed. "Perhaps...
ah, the one in front of Tendou-san is free."
  Kohane collected her things from beside the teacher's table and
walked up the isle towards her desk. Ranma and Akane both watched
her. Like everyone else, they noticed her striking hair first... but
there was something inexplicably interesting about her. As she
approached, they saw the amazing grey of her eyes. Then she directly
met Ranma's stare.
  If he had been moving, Ranma would have frozen. He took a quick
breath. He could not describe the experience - in Kohane's eyes
danced the power of life itself, almost as if a suicidal could find
hope and reason in there. There was also wisdom, but Ranma was
struck most by the ultimate strength he could see, as a martial arts
master, within the girl's soul. The eyes were sometimes described as
the windows of the soul, but he had never seen it so clearly.
Kohane's eyes opened a fraction wider in the second she gave Ranma,
revealing yet more of her inner power. A barely noticeable, knowing
smile twitched at her lips' corner. Then she removed her gaze from
Ranma, pivoted and sat in the chair, placing her bag and the attached
package on the floor.
  Looking over her shoulder, she whispered, "Hello. I'm Kohane."
  "Uh, Tendou Akane," she managed to reply. Akane was surprised at
the difficulty she had in meeting those eyes. She was certain that
they twinkled with a kind of energy before Kohane turned her
attention to the teacher.
  Ranma had his face lowered, trying to work out just what-the-hell
had happened. He needed to talk to her, but in that brief contact he
felt so out of his depth. As the teacher began, Ranma looked up and
prepared for class. He glanced briefly at the girl and still felt
over-powered, though her face was entirely curtained by her hair.
  He shivered as he opened the text book.


"You own a dojo in this district, Akane-san?" Kohane asked between
mouthfuls. Her lunch had begun the moment she was out of the room,
following the recess bell.
  "Yes. My father is a master of the Musabetsu Kakutou school. He
has trained me since I was old enough to break my toys."
  The two girls laughed and walked out of the building. A perfect
day, and students had already begun the usual lunchtime activities.
  "The weather is far more agreeable than it was last week," observed
Kohane. Akane agreed.
  As they headed for the shade of a tree, Ranma exited the door. He
had experienced something quite weird in that class. Logarithms had
just not made that much sense before. He only realised it when the
bell snapped him out of whatever 'trance' he was in. Usually he was
bored senseless; today he was almost interested senseless. And Ranma
could only draw the conclusion that it was something that Kohane had
done. It gave him more reason than ever to confront her. Now he
followed, but kept his distance from her, still indecisive of how
to go about it. At least Akane seems to have hit it off, he mused.
That was a promising sign.
  Akane inquired, "What school did you come from?"
  "Actually, I just arrived in Tokyo yesterday. I haven't been here
in so long, I got lost." She sat on the grass with Akane. "I was in
North-Eastern China up until then. You see, I'm a martial artist of
sorts myself. I've been training on the mainland for a fare few
years, as well as visiting old friends and things like that."
  Akane just listened and nodded. She regarded Kohane as pretty, but
Akane did not miss the faint scar on her face. She thought it sort
of blemished her features when obviously visible.
  Without indicating anything out of the ordinary, Kohane turned her
head, and the scar into view. "The story behind this is a long one."
Then she stood the long, thin package on end. All who had noticed
this had been obviously curious. "And I'll show you this soon. No
one who is truly interested deserves to miss this." She grinned 
wide.
  Distracted now by this display of intuition, Akane asked, "I have
a... friend who was in China recently as well..." Suddenly she saw
Ranma in her peripheral vision. He seemed to be doing nothing except
pretending not to look at them. Inexplicably, Kohane followed the
line of Akane's peripheral attention, looking over at the boy.
  "He's that guy..."
  "Ranma!" Akane called. "Come and meet Kohane - she's been in China."
  He approached and was grateful that Kohane turned her face away,
allowing him to do so. Akane smiled up to him and prompted, "Well?"
  "Ah, er... Saotome Ranma." He fidgeted, drawing a frown from
Akane. He tried to resume, but Kohane turned her eyes on him and
paralysed him again.
  Kohane stood and placed both hands on his shoulders, her arms
straight. She comfortably matched him in height. "Hello, Ranma-kun.
Relax! I'm your friend. You don't need to fear me."
  Akane stood too and tried to retain her composure at this
familiarity. "Have you met before or something?"
  "No," Kohane closed her eyes. "Ranma simply has such heightened
awareness that he is mesmerised by my inner spirit." She pulled him
down as they sat again. "You didn't need to think I was an enemy,
Ranma-kun, just because I have such strength."
  Akane felt like she missed something. "What are you talking about?
Do you mean martial arts?" Ranma was acting weird. "Ranma, do you
feel okay?"
  Ranma's discomfort ebbed from Kohane's words. His confidence and
control were returning, but all he could say was, "Teach me."
  This really bewildered the short-haired girl. She looked at Kohane.
Is Ranma actually in _awe_ of her? she asked. Akane met her eyes
again, directly this time as her head turned. Her eyes blazed.
  He finally regained himself enough to look at Akane. "Y-yes.
Akane..." He stopped. If she did not see it, it was too hard to
explain. "I'm all right now, Akane."
  Kohane was grinning madly. In finding someone of Ranma's level of
perception, she could not help it and had to spook him. There was no
harm in it but he had over-reacted a bit. She clapped her hands.
"Listen! You're both martial artists and I know I can trust you. All
I need right now are friends." Her face took on a demure expression.
  Akane pinged into a smile. "Of course, Kohane-san." Ranma simply
looked relieved and hopeful.
  Screams interrupted them, followed by maniacal laughter. Happousai
bounded into view with his trademark sack, and the schoolgirls
stampeded after him. He spotted Kohane as she saw him.
  "YOU!!" she shouted angrily, springing up.
  "It's that girl!" Happousai said, taken aback.
  Shouts of 'Pervert!' and 'Thief!' persisted as they sized one-
another up.
  Abruptly, Happousai was crouching behind Ranma (still seated),
saying, "That's her, Ranma! Now is the time to avenge your master!"
  Akane put a finger to her forehead in bemusement. Kohane continued
to glare at the old man.
  "I thought you said she was ugly?" said Ranma contemptuously.
  "Hey!" Kohane looked even more menacing.
  Ranma moved away from the man. "Let me get this straight: You were
looking for girls to molest, and when you found _her_, she nailed
you."
  Happousai blithered for a response.
  "You're right, Ranma-kun. However, it seems my business with him
is yet to finish."
  The stampede arrived, brandishing brooms, rakes and gym equipment
threateningly. Their advance was halted when: "Leave him to me,
friends." Kohane held out a restraining arm. Everyone suddenly felt
that this girl would handle it. The hand swung to point at
Happousai, standing alone now. Then Kohane simply shouted, "I hate
perverts!"
  Happousai decided to take this horrible girl out in one fell
swoop. Laughing evilly, he was surrounded by his battle aura. "Too
bad!" he yelled and reached out with a gigantic hand.
  The surrounding students gasped. Ranma and Akane looked worried.
But Kohane, unfazed, leaped and somersaulted, alighting right in
front of Happousai. Emitting a kiai which froze the lecherous master
in place, Kohane brought her hand palm-down on his head.
  The aura immediately vanished. Kohane stood still. Her skirt and
hair was blown dramatically by a sudden breeze. She held her hand
horizontally in the air, at the same height as when it connected.
The underside momentarily held a blue-white glow, then it was gone.
  Then the students crowded in to see the paper-thin Happousai, and
to congratulate and thank the new girl. Only Akane and Ranma stayed
back. Akane looked at Ranma in wonder.
  "So that's what you meant by 'teach me.'"
  Ranma just nodded. It was something of a revelation for himself.