Subject: [ranmalike fanfic] NARRABUNDAH 1/2, Volume II - chapter 9
From: Ratbat
Date: 4/25/1997, 11:03 AM
To: fanfic@fanfic.com


                        NARRABUNDAH 1/2
                               
                by Urac Sigma with Suzy Styles
                               
                               
                    Volume II, chapter nine
                               
     Otoko wa Onna da! Onna wa Otoko da! Sei no Kubetsu wa
    Muzukashii desuga Kono Fuku wa Muimi desuyo! Sobokusa,
                          Kudasai...!
                               
                               
                      CAST OF CHARACTERS
                               
                          TENDO SUZY
                       Foot in her mouth
                               
                       SIGMATOME RATBAT
                      Head in the clouds
                               
                          TENDO NIKI
                      Fingers in the till
                               
                       KURENAI CHARLOTTE
                   Heart in the right place
                               
                        KUONJI COLLEEN
                      Eyes on the others
                               
                         KUNOU JARRAH
                       Head up his arse
                               
                       HAPPOUSAI GRAHAM
                        Hand up skirts
                               
                          TENDO FIONA
            Bun in the oven (Well - she cooks a lot)
                               
                       SIGMATOME NICOLE
                     One foot in the past
                               
                          TOBOKI EUAN
                      Heart on his sleeve
                               
                         SIGMATOME LEN
       Feet under the table (along with the rest of him)
                               
                         GOSUNKUGI SAM
                        Mind on a trip



             TITLE SEQUENCE.

             [Opening  theme: Little Date (alternate version).
             Finishes  with  a  voice-over from  Suzy  and  an
             appropriate art-card.]

SUZY [VO]:   Otoko  wa  Onna  da! Onna wa  Otoko  da!  Sei  no
             Kubetsu  wa Muzukashii desuga Kono Fuku wa  Muimi
             desuyo! Sobokusa, kudasai...! 



             1. BEHIND KOCHAN'S.

             [Basically,  it  leads onto a small  alley  which
             connects to a vacant lot.]

             [CAPTION:  Neribanda, Japan - Sunday 17 September
             1995 ]

             [Suzy  jumps  down, evidently from a second-floor
             window.  She looks about herself. After a moment,
             Ratbat-kun also leaps down, and manages  to  land
             on   Suzy's   head.   Rather   than   them   both
             collapsing,  though, Ratbat  manages  to  balance
             delicately  on Suzy's bonce. She starts  to  look
             irritable,  then, flips her head back and  Ratbat
             lands undignified on the ground.]

RATBAT:      Och...was that ye grace and finesse, was it?

SUZY:        Nerf. Cuban heels and Suzy's head add up to  more
             than namby-pamby words like that.

             [She helps Ratbat to his feet.]

SUZY:        Well, I don't see her anywhere, do you?

RATBAT:      Iie. Her, her, her...?

SUZY:        Her her her nani?

RATBAT:      Col called her 'he'.

SUZY:        Well,  Colleen's bound to be a bit confused about
             gender,  really. She's been pretending  to  be  a
             boy  for the past, what? Eleven years? Now,  when
             you're  supposed to be a guy, but you're  finding
             that  you're growing different bits from all  the
             other  boys  that  you have  to  hide,  and  your
             body's doing things it shouldn't...

RATBAT:      Ack.   Reminds  me  of  my  first  cross-dressing
             experience.  [Beat]  No, it  reminds  me  of  the
             first  time  I tried going en femme. That  wasn't
             quite my first experience with cross-dressing...

SUZY:        Hontoo? When was your first?



             2. LIVING ROOM IN HAKODATE.

             [CAPTION:  Hakodate, Japan - Friday  4  May  1990
             ]

             [A doorway. Then Len walks in, wearing a tutu.]

LEN [Sloshed]:    I am...so drunk!

             [He collapses.]



             3. BEHIND KOCHAN'S.

RATBAT:      Aaa...ye  dinna wanna know. Maybe not before  you
             come out of therapy, anyway.

SUZY:        Oi! I'm not in therapy!

RATBAT:      Then...this'd be the best way to keep that  state
             of affairs.

SUZY:        Ah.  Fair enough. Anyway, Colleen's got all that,
             and  she  probably hardly ever met and  girls  in
             all  that  time, because of the all-boys  school,
             which  wouldn't  have helped the  fact  that  she
             hates  boys.  That, and she's engaged  to  a  boy
             who's  really  a girl only she isn't  really  not
             that  I'd care because you can marry whoever  you
             want     just    as    long    as    it's     not
             andI'llshutthehellupnow.

RATBAT:      Aye, there's that, I suppose.

             [Suzy shoots a look off the back of his head.]

SUZY:        Well...we  saw  her in there, she  went  out  the
             window,  we  came straight after,  and...  [waves
             hand] nothing. Charlotte is gone.

RATBAT:      But  how  did  she move so fast? There's  nothing
             even for her to be disguised as!

SUZY:        You wanna know something, Ratti?

RATBAT:      Um?

SUZY:        I  don't  care. If someone strange wants to  come
             to    Neribanda,   and   then   doesn't   involve
             themselves  with  my  life, then  that's  fucking
             well fine by me.

             [They  walk  back  inside. No  sooner  have  they
             gone, than a patch of dirt suddenly spits up  and
             we  see that Charlotte was buried underneath  the
             whole time.]

CHARLOTTE:   Pffftttt... yuck!

             [She  jumps to her feet, shakes herself off,  and
             is instantly pristine once more.]

CHARLOTTE:   That's so sweet of her - Colleen's going to  play
             hard-to-get, just for me!

             [Skips off.]



             4. FRONT ROOM, KUNOU MANOR.

             [Kunou, Graham and Tim are here.]

GRAHAM:      Now - are we ready?

KUNOU:       Hai!

             [Strikes a pose, holding out his rubber sword..]

TIM:         Han...hai!

             [Looks  about  for  something to  strike  a  pose
             with, and makes do with a feather-duster.]

GRAHAM:      Then let us go forth!

             [They start to walk, but:]

KUNOU:       MATTE-YO!

             [All hold. Kunou looks at his watch.]

KUNOU:       Marmalade Boy is on.

             [Graham  face-faults. The only one  in  shot,  he
             growls and heads for the door.]

GRAHAM:      Well, set your video or something!

             [Cut  to  the  sofa,  where  Tim  and  Kunou  are
             already seated before the TV with popcorn.]

TIM:         The timer's broken, sensei.

             [Graham  freezes, then is instantly on  the  sofa
             with them.]

GRAHAM:      So, is this a repeat or a first-run?



             5. KOCHAN'S.

             [Ratbat and Suzy are entering. On them.]

RATBAT:      ...that still doesnae explain why she called  him
             'he'.

             [Colleen,  meanwhile,  is talking  to  Niki,  and
             responding to something she said.]

COLLEEN:     ...it's because he's a guy!

             [She thumps the counter for emphasis.]

SUZY:        Ah. So Charlotte is a guy.

COLLEEN & NIKI:   Nani?

SUZY:        Weren't you just...?

NIKI:        Shit  no. We were just talking about Nuriko  from
             Fushigi  Yuugi while we waited for  you  guys  to
             finish.

RATBAT:      Oh.

COLLEEN:     But you're right. Kurenai Charlotte is a guy.

SUZY:        You  don't just mean like, as in... 'one  of  the
             guys' or something, do you?

COLLEEN:     Iie!  He's  a  guy. An otoko,  as  male  as  they
             come...

             [She leans over Suzy for emphasis.]

COLLEEN:     He has a penis between his legs.

SUZY:        Big deal. So do lots of girls I know.

NIKI:        Yes,  but  I  think  she means one  that  doesn't
             belong  to  one  of  a long succession  of  other
             people.

SUZY:        Aa. Wakatta ne.

RATBAT [Hopeful/interested]:But he wishes he was a girl?

COLLEEN:     I don't think so, no...

RATBAT:      Then what's with the...

             [Grabs  one of the ever-present glasses of  water
             and  douses  himself, then goes skipping  around,
             big cute eyes, making silly little-girl noises.]

COLLEEN:     That's just how he is.

             [Suzy's brain is on the verge of overloading.]

SUZY:        I  think you'd better tell us this right from the
             beginning.  Why's this yatsu hiding  in  all  our
             stuff, and things?

COLLEEN:     OK, OK...well, you remember that I was in an all-
             boys' school for some time...

NIKI:        No.

SUZY:        Well, you do now...

             [Flashback to:]



             6. SCHOOL CORRIDOR.

             [A  lot  of  boys in school uniforms are  milling
             about.  In a 'clearing' in it, a slightly younger
             Col (dressed as a boy) sits, reading a book.]

             [CAPTION:  Kyoto, Japan - Monday 24 January  1994
             ]

COLLEEN [VO]:I  don't  know quite why or how he first  noticed
             me,  but all of a sudden he started vying for  my
             attention.

             [A   nearby  vent  flips  open,  and  a   younger
             Charlotte  (in seiraa fuku) pops out, carrying  a
             big bundle of flowers.]

CHARLOTTE:   Kuonji-chan!!

COLLEEN [VO]:At  first  I thought the same that you did.  That
             he was a girl. But as time wore on...

             [Col tentatively pokes at Charlotte's chest,  and
             finds nothing there.]

COLLEEN [VO]:...I  soon learnt that that was just the  way  he
             dressed.

             [Charlotte  tentatively  reaches  towards   Col's
             chest  in  return.  We see  a  full  screen  hit-
             effect,  then  cut to Charlotte embedded  in  the
             opposite wall. Dissolve.]



             7. LAUNDRY.

             [Just an ordinary laundry.]

COLLEEN [VO]:I kept trying to escape him,

             [Col  rushes  in  and leans panting  against  the
             washing-machine.]

COLLEEN [VO]:but  he was a master of disguise and hiding,  not
             to mention one hell of a tracker.

             [The  washer  pops  open,  and  Charlotte  bursts
             forth,  carrying a heart-shaped  box  of  sweets.
             Col jerks back, angry.]

COLLEEN [VO]:Eventually  I  realised I had  to  do  something.
             So...I  [almost  shamefaced] went  and  told  him
             about my engagement to Ratchan.

RATBAT [VO]: Oh,  nice.  Charlotte gets  told.  I  don't.  Are
             there any other fiances I should know about?

SUZY [VO, unintentionally  firm]:  How  about  you  just  hope
             there's not.

CHARLOTTE:   Come on, Col-chan! Why won't you go out with  me?
             Not even once?

             [Something clicks in the younger Col's head.]

COL:         Because I'm engaged to someone else!

             [Charlotte is momentarily taken aback.]

CHARLOTTE:   Nani? I don't believe you!

COL:         Well, it's true!

             [Charlotte  folds  his  arms  and  looks  at  her
             squarely.]

CHARLOTTE:   Dare, then?

COL:         Here. His name's Sigmatome Ratbat.

             [Col  fishes a photo out of her pocket and  gives
             it  to  him. Charlotte looks at it for a  moment,
             then:]

CHARLOTTE [Aghast]:    Masaka...

             [Col looks satisfied until he goes on:]

CHARLOTTE:   That's absolutely disgusting...!

COL:         Nani?  You  don't think someone my age should  be
             engaged?

CHARLOTTE:   Never   mind  you,  you  hentai!  You  disgusting
             bloody predatory paedophile!

             [Col looks blank. Blinks: bink!]

COL:         I what?

CHARLOTTE:   Don't  pretend  you don't know what  I'm  talking
             about!

             [Shoves  the photo - a picture of Ratbat when  he
             first met Col - under her nose.]

CHARLOTTE:   He's about five years old!

             [Col face-faults.]

COL:         That's not what he looks like now!

CHARLOTTE:   Oh,  I  think  you're just making up stories  and
             showing  me  pictures  of  friends  of  yours  to
             confuse  me! You're hiding that you can't  resist
             me! [Laughs]

             [End flashback.]



             8. KOCHAN'S.

COLLEEN:     So,  as you can imagine, that didn't go down  too
             well.  He  kept  after me for  months,  right  up
             until  I  moved  here.  I thought  I  might  have
             finally thrown him off. [Beat] Guess not.

NIKI:        That doesn't explain the girl-look.

COLLEEN:     Oh,  that's nothing. That's just how he  dresses.
             I think he just likes girls' clothes better.

SUZY:        Yeh, that makes sense.

RATBAT:      ?

SUZY:        Well,  there's plenty of females that  wear  male
             clothes. I mean...well, I always do.

NIKI:        Always?  I saw you wearing a skirt not two  weeks
             ago!

SUZY:        Well...it was a guy skirt!

NIKI:        Anyway, what about bras and stuff?

SUZY:        Shitagi doesn't count!

RATBAT:      Nee, what type of underwear does Charlotte wear?

COLLEEN:     What?! Why would I know about his underwear?!  Am
             I supposed to be some kind of hentai?!

             [She  pulls  out The Spatula and thumps  her  off
             her stool. Suzy and Niki barely bat an eyelid.]

SUZY:        It  works better if you say 'Ratbat no baka' when
             you do it.

NIKI:        Ee.

RATBAT [Broken]:  I'd just...wondered...ouch...



             9. MEADOW.

             [Actually,  the first shot we see is  Charlotte's
             underwear   [bikini   briefs,   for   those   who
             wondered]  as  he skips down from somewhere  into
             shot,  his dress lifting as he does. We see  that
             he  is  carrying a flower, plucking  petals  from
             it.]

CHARLOTTE:   She    loves    me...[pluck]...she    loves    me
             not...[pluck]...she   loves    me...[pluck]...she
             loves me not...

             [He's run out of petals.]

CHARLOTTE:   Nani?  She  loves me not? Oh, bum! I  don't  like
             that  one  either! [Looks up, beyond the  meadow]
             Oh,  who needs these silly flowers? I know  where
             Colleen herself is!

             [Throws  the  last  petal  and  stalk  over   his
             shoulder,  then skips off. We pan to behind  him,
             where  quite  a large pile of petals and  stalks,
             about  as tall as he is, has built up. It  has  a
             candle sticking out of the top of it.]

GOSUNKUGI [Muffled]:   Um...hello?



             10. KOCHAN'S.

             [Everyone's   thinking  things  over.   Niki   is
             looking a bit fed-up.]

NIKI:        Isn't   anyone  of  a  normal,  clear-cut  gender
             anymore?  You're a girl but you used to dress  up
             as  a  guy. Suzy's a girl that dresses  in  guy's
             clothes.  Charlotte's a guy but he looks  like  a
             girl.  And  Batti-chan  here  changes  sex  every
             seven  minutes or so. [Beat] This is  getting  to
             be gender-bender capital of the world!

SUZY:        Quiet, or I'll tell everyone about when you  went
             to  school with socks stuffed down the  front  of
             your trousers.

             [Niki rolls her eyes.]

NIKI:        Ah, bite my snatch.

             [That  activates Suzy's incest gland. She  slides
             right up to Niki.]

SUZY:        Ohhh...can I?

             [Niki  returns Those Eyes, then snaps  them  back
             to normal.]

NIKI:        Well, rather you than her.

             [Indicates Ratbat. Suzy starts to look  put  out,
             then she has an idea.]

SUZY:        Aha! Just tell him you're an onna!

COLLEEN:     How will that help?

SUZY:        Well,  he must be gay, right? I mean, it  was  an
             all-boys  school,  he must have  thought  he  was
             coming onto another guy!

             [Colleen looks rather shamefaced.]

COLLEEN:     Um, no, actually.

RATBAT:      He  saw  through  it? He must  be  good  at  this
             detective lark.

COLLEEN:     Um...I kinda accidentally gave it away to  a  few
             of the guys...

             [Flashback to:]



             11. CHANGE-ROOM.

             [A  PE change-room. Col (in boy uniform) is here,
             with  a  few  other  guys around  her.  Charlotte
             isn't  far away, but obviously he isn't  obsessed
             yet.]

             [CAPTION:  Kyoto, Japan - Wednesday  10  February
             1993 ]

             [Col  hums Rock the Planet to herself as she gets
             changed  for class. She removes the jacket,  then
             the  shoes  and  trousers.  All  fine.  Then  she
             removes  her shirt, and suddenly her breasts  are
             quite noticeable - and quite exposed. It's a  few
             moments  before  she notices, then  she  suddenly
             looks down.]

COL:         Aaagh!

             [Covers  herself damn quick. No-one noticed...did
             they? End flashback.]



             12. KOCHAN'S.

             [Colleen  feels  all the other  eyes  staring  at
             her.]

SUZY:        Manuke.

COLLEEN:     I  didn't bind yet! I hadn't noticed how big they
             were!

SUZY:        How can you not notice your own tits?!

COLLEEN:     You  know how it is when you're growing  up!  You
             don't  really  notice there being much  for  ages
             and  ages,  then suddenly - foop!  -  there  they
             are!

             [Ratbat   looks  as  if  she's   going   to   say
             something, then changes her mind.]

SUZY:        Not that quickly.

COLLEEN:     OK,  so  I  missed gakko for a day or  two,  then
             didn't reassess the morning I went back.

SUZY:        How many days or two?

COLLEEN:     Six months.

RATBAT:      Kah!

NIKI:        Wow.  Look  at  you guys. Colleen  forgets  about
             hers,  Ratbat's  got  four of  'em,  and  one  of
             Suzy's  is  missing its nipple. [Looks proud]  At
             least someone around here is normal.

             [Suzy,  Ratbat and Colleen look at  Niki's  chest
             (let's  face  it,  she's not exactly  bosomically
             deficient,  to put it lightly), then  up  at  her
             face.]

COLLEEN, RATBAT, SUZY: Normal?

NIKI:        I  can see I'm just going to be picked on all day
             today.

             [She is about to sulk out when Colleen snaps  her
             fingers.]

COLLEEN:     I know what I could tell him, though!

RATBAT:      I  don't like the way you're looking at me  right
             now.  I kinda feel like a spatula sitting between
             you and your griddle.

COLLEEN:     You're here now! You're not just a photo!  I  can
             show  you to him, and he might believe that we're
             actually engaged!

             [Suzy suddenly grabs Colleen by the collar.]

COLLEEN:     Oi!

NIKI:        Nee, Suzy-chan! She's only doing it to get rid  of
             Charlotte!

RATBAT:      Aye,  it's  not  like it's going to  really  mean
             anything!

COLLEEN [VO]:Chikusho!

NIKI:        You needn't get quite so jealous.

SUZY:        Why  would  I  be jealous? Who says I'm  jealous!
             I'm not jealous!

COLLEEN:     Hnnhh...then why did you grab me?!

SUZY:        I didn't!

COLLEEN:     ...

SUZY:        Um, I thought I saw a bug.

             [Lets  go  of  the  chef and  traces  her  finger
             through the air.]

SUZY:        Han,  see? There it goes. Zzzz-zzzzzz. Hah.  It's
             got red stripes on...it goes faster.

NIKI:        Suz?

SUZY:        Ee?

NIKI:        Shut up.

RATBAT:      All we gotta do now is find the geezer.

             [Colleen looks around for a moment.]

COLLEEN:     It's  just  like before! As soon as you  actually
             want to talk to him, he's nowhere to be found!

             [Suzy  nudges  Ratbat,  and  points  towards  one
             wall. They speak in low voices.]

SUZY:        I  haven't seen that big lamp around here before,
             have you?

RATBAT:      Nuh-uh.

SUZY:        I'm thinking cross-dresser.

RATBAT:      Aye.

             [They   get  up  and  go  a  big,  ornate-looking
             lamp/ornament  display that could easily  conceal
             a person. They shout at it.]

SUZY:        Hey! Come on out of there!

RATBAT:      It's no nice to skulk about like that!

SUZY:        It  makes  people nervous when they know  you  do
             that.  And  it certainly won't help your  chances
             with Colleen!

             [Colleen  and Niki watch them, bored  expressions
             on their faces.]

COLLEEN:     Why  do you think they're talking to my new  lamp
             I got this morning?

NIKI:        I have no idea, I think they're mental.

RATBAT:      Ye canna keep shtum like that forever...!

             [Behind  them,  the  door  opens  normally,   and
             Charlotte just walks in.]

CHARLOTTE:   Ohayo!

             [Suzy and Ratbat start, and turn around.]

SUZY:        If anyone ever asks, we deny it to the grave.

RATBAT:      Agreed.

COLLEEN:     Ah. Charlotte. I've got something to tell you.

CHARLOTTE:   And I've got something to give you!

             [Whips out a present from behind her back.]

COLLEEN:     Grrr...!

             [Takes  the  present and puts it aside,  next  to
             Niki.]

CHARLOTTE:   What  have you got to tell me? [Eyes bright] That
             you'll go out with me?

COLLEEN:     No. Do you remember, ages ago? When I told you  I
             was already engaged?

CHARLOTTE [Flat]: Oh. What is it to now, a tribble?

COLLEEN:     It's still to the same guy. See? He's real!

             [Points  to  Ratbat.  Charlotte  looks   at   her
             blankly.  Colleen realises and sighs. She  throws
             a  kettle at her, flooring her and splashing her,
             causing  the  change. Colleen reaches  under  the
             counter  and gets the photo, then jumps  over  it
             and goes to them. Hold on Niki and the present.]

PRESENT [Softly]: Buki.

             [Niki looks a bit bewildered, then takes the  lid
             off the box and looks in. She whispers.]

NIKI:        Euan-kun?

B-CHAN [OOV]:Buii!

             [Niki reaches in and withdraws B-chan.]

NIKI:        Kuso,  can't  you  go  anywhere  without  someone
             stealing you?

             [B-chan  gives  the best shrug a little  pig  can
             give while a human's holding him by the collar.]

B-CHAN [Sad]:Buki.

NIKI:        I'll  take  you out back and get you some  water.
             Mind you, though, it's g-- nani?

             [B-chan is shaking his head vigorously.]

B-CHAN:      Buiiiiii!

             [He nods back at Suzy.]

NIKI:        [Sigh] Fine. Whatever!

             [With  the  single hand holding his  collar,  she
             flicks  him  back towards Suzy, who catches  him,
             slightly surprised.]

SUZY:        B-chan? Where did you come from?

B-CHAN:      Buiii.

             [He  then  goes  to  sleep on  her  folded  arms.
             Meanwhile,  Ratbat and Colleen  (doing  very  bad
             we're-a-couple  poses) are facing Charlotte,  who
             looks slightly disappointed.]

COLLEEN:     You believe me now, then?

CHARLOTTE:   Hai...hai. I'm just going to have to accept  that
             you're engaged to Sigmatome Ratbat...

             [As  Charlotte bows his head, Colleen sighs  with
             great  relief.  Suddenly Charlotte's  head  snaps
             back up.]

CHARLOTTE:   So  that just means that when you go out with  me
             it'll be adultery! But who cares, right?

             [Grins happily and giggles.]

CHARLOTTE:   I'll see you later, Colleen!

             [He  skips  off, still giggling. Everyone  stares
             after him, frozen.]

COLLEEN:     I...hate...everything.

             [She keels over. Dissolve.]



             13. LIVING ROOM.

             [Mix  in. Niki, Suzy with B-chan, and Ratbat-chan
             enter,  passing Fiona, who is playing cards  with
             Nicole.]

FIONA:       Ohayo  gozaimasu. Aa, Suzy-chan - I see you found
             B-chan.

SUZY:        Hai.  [To  Ratbat] Do you think she'll find  away
             to get rid of him now?

RATBAT:      As  long  as  that  thing's  name  isn't  [checks
             herself] Tendo Komoriko, I don't care.

NICOLE:      What's this?

NIKI:        Oh,   we're  just  sorting  out  love  lives   of
             everyone in the ward, don't mind us.

NICOLE:      Oh. Fair enough.

             [The  kids  are about to pass out  of  the  room,
             when  they stop, seeing that Tim has appeared  at
             the big window-thing. Fiona looks up.]

FIONA:       Ahh, Tim-chan. This is a nice surprise!

             [Tim  looks  slightly disappointed as  Kunou  and
             Graham come  up behind him.]

TIM:         I'm afraid this is...an official visit.

FIONA [Downcast]: Oh.

KUNOU:       Hodjsuke-kun! Read it to them!

TIM:         Hai,  Kunou-sama. [Realises something] [Whispers]
             You'll need to give me the scroll first, sir.

KUNOU:       I  do  not  have the scroll! 'Twas  thy  task  to
             bring it!

TIM:         If I recall sir, it was in your hand.

KUNOU:       Then  why dost not I have it? I remember  I  felt
             it as it was passed to another!

             [They turn to Graham.]

KUNOU:       Thou must have it, sensei.

             [Graham looks guilty.]

GRAHAM:      So  I forgot it! I was too caught up wondering if
             the  long-haired  guy was  going  to  be  on  the
             terebi!

             [Kunou  and  Tim  cover their  faces  with  their
             hands.   Kunou   turns   to   the   Tendos    and
             Sigmatomes.]

KUNOU:       Chotto matte, kudasai.

             [They  disappear for a few seconds, and  we  hear
             some  furious crumpling, ripping and  scratching.
             When   they  return,  Tim  is  holding  something
             behind his back.]

KUNOU:       Proceed, Timothy.

             [Tim   brings  out  what  is  behind  his   back.
             A...well,  not quite a scroll. More a ripped  bit
             of  newspaper scrawled on with magic  marker  and
             sticky-taped to a popstick.]

TIM [Reads]: Now  hear  this,  as  it is  an  announcement  of
             formal challenge!

             [Len  (panda) and Bobbi enter the room as he says
             this.]

TIM[Reads]:  Let   it   be  known  that  the  Rejinra   master
             Happousai   Graham  has  issued   the   following
             statement:  At  this time in  three  days,  there
             shall   be   a   contest  between  the   sensei's
             champion,  Kunou  Jarrah,  and  the  chosen  best
             student   of  Rejinra's  sole  current   teaching
             place,  the Tendo Dojo. Should his student  fight
             the  dojo challenger to a standstill, the sensei,
             will  -  as  his  right under the  traditions  of
             Rejinra  - take charge of the dojo - and  be  its
             sole and rightful owner!

             [He  rolls  the 'scroll' back up.  All  three  of
             them  bow. Dumbfounded, the other seven bow back.
             Tim, Graham and Kunou leave, and then we see  the
             reaction  of Suzy, Ratbat, Bobbi, Niki,  Len,  B-
             chan, Fiona and Nicole: what on Earth do they  do
             now?]

NIKI:        Kunou trained by Happi Gra-Gra?

RATBAT:      That  could be nasty. You've seen how  good  they
             both were before.

SUZY:        Hai. A scary combination. Kuso.

NICOLE:      Can he do that? Make that challenge?

SUZY:        I'm afraid so.

BOBBI:       Well,  it seems there's only one thing I  can  do
             about this.

NIKI:        Right. I'll start the book on it.

BOBBI:       Niki-chan!   Don't  you  appreciate  what   might
             happen here!

             [Niki shrugs.]

NIKI:        Yeah, I could clean up.

BOBBI:       And we could lose the household's only source  of
             income!

             [Niki turns stark white and passes out.]

FIONA:       So  what  is  it you said you were going  to  do,
             Okaasan?

BOBBI:       I  am  going to go away, and find myself a  very,
             very, very large Scotch - and drink it.

             [Len nods.]

LEN:         Mrowf.

             [Len  holds  up  a sign: 'At least we  understand
             the gravity of the situation.']



             END CREDITS.

             [With the alternative version of Equal Romance.]

                          Tendo Suzy
                          SUZY STYLES
                               
                       Sigmatome Ratbat
                          URAC SIGMA
                               
                          Tendo Niki
                         NIKI O'BRIEN
                               
                       Kurenai Charlotte
                       CHARLOTTE SAROSSY
                               
                        Kuonji Colleen
                         COLLEEN HICK
                               
                       Happousai Graham
                        GRAHAM HENSTOCK 
                               
                       Hodjsuke Timothy
                           TIM HODGE
                               
                       Sigmatome Nicole
                         NICOLE WYLIE 
                               
                            B-chan
                          EUAN BOWEN
                               
                         Gosunkugi Sam
                           SAM SMITH
                               
                               
                          written by
                          URAC SIGMA
                             with
                          SUZY STYLES
                               
                   creation and development
                          URAC SIGMA
                          SUZY STYLES
                          EUAN BOWEN
                         LEILA FETTER
                               
                       with apologies to
                       TAKAHASHI RUMIKO
                       (amongst others)
                               
    http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/1778/bundahalf.html
                               
               (c) Recycadelic Cacti MCMXCVII

+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
|   'Och, fine...it's bad for a boy to sleep with a girl, but not for a | 
| girl to sleep with a pig.'                                            |
|   'Yes! ...No! It's a principles thing!'                              |
|                   - Sigmatome Ratbat and Toboki Euan, NARRABUNDAH 1/2 |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Commander Urac 'Ratbat' Sigma         u962986@student.canberra.edu.au |
| Come on down to the Ratcave - http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/1778 |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+