Here are three fics I'm working on, the last one is a repost but
since I only got one response I felt it appropriate.  This is the question
I'm putting out to the list:  Which one of these stories would you most
like to see revised and finished if any?
	The first fic I just started although I've been toying with the
idea for awhile.  It will be dark, but I may make it a dark comedy.  It's
based loosely around the movie of the same name, but mostly concept since
it's been years since I've actually seen it.
	The second fic is my gratuitous otaku fic.  It's very self-explanitory.
	The third fic is chapter 5 of ANK2, I've been thinking of ending it
in the next chapter.  Although it might be hard to tie up all the loose
ends.




Ranma 1/2: War of the Roses

[...]

	Nabiki broke the seal on a new pack of cigarettes.  Before he had
even taken a seat, she was tapping one against the side of the box.  She
leaned back against her desk in casual fashion, her eyes never wavering
from her nervous client.  He sat on her bed quietly, only the occasional
fidget indicated he was alive.

	With a swift flick of the wrist, Nabiki lit her designer lighter.
Besides the desk lamp it provided the only illumination to her room.  She
brought the cigarette to her lips, clenching it gently out of the corner of
her mouth.  The fire danced in her eyes as she brought the flame to bear.
She inhaled deeply, igniting the fragile paper near the end.

	Her countance relaxed slightly as she released the first cloud of
smoke, taking the cigarette between her first and second fingers.  She
stared for a moment at the lit end in the palm of her hand, a thin wisp of
smoke beginning to rise from it.

	She looked up with interest in her eyes.  "Do you smoke?"

	Unprepared for the question it took him a moment before he shook
his head in response.

	"Never start if you can avoid it.  It's a nasty habit, expensive
too.  Almost as expensive as I am, but not quite," Nabiki paused to take a
long drag from her cigarette.  "Before we begin I think I should tell you a
little story.  It'll be off the clock of course."

	She saw her client shift uncomfortably on her bed.

	She locked eyes with him and grinned slightly.  "When someone who
makes 10,000 yen an hour says she'll tell you a story off the clock, you
should listen to what she has to say."

	He found himself trapped by her penetrating gaze as she continued
to smoke with an experienced ease.  The light reflected off the mist
forming around her as she collected her thoughts.

	"It was a little more than a year ago, my little sister Akane
married Ranma.  It was their second wedding, the first I guess you could
say was broken up by a number of concerned parties."  She took another
drag.  "Unfortunately none of them made it to the second event, moreso is
the tragedy..."

[...]




Ranma 1/2: My Fic!

[...]

	So anyway, just the other day I'm sitting around reading my mail
and eating some cold chicken.  I see a few otaku fics and start in on the
delete key, but for once I make a quick scan for anything interesting.
Something catches my eye and I start reading one.  Next thing I know, the
otakufic faerie appears.

	Little floating japanese woman with glasses, I'm sure some of you
are already familiar with her but I digress.

	She says to me.  "Mousse.  I'm the otakufic faerie.  I've been
watching you for awhile.  You never got caught up in that revengefic
fiasco, which is good.  Unfortunately you also delete otaku fics with
extreme prejudice, which is bad."

	What could I say?  She had a point.  "Is this some sort of karma
thing?"

	"Sorta."  This is when she took a seat on my monitor.  "Among my
other faerie/goddess type powers I have the ability to read your mind."

	"Just mine?"

	"You're the only one writing here aren't you?"

	Another good point.  "Okay, I catch your drift.  So what's the
deal?  As if I didn't know."

	"Ha, ha," she gave me a drool look.  "The deal is, I've looked in
your noggin and I've seen the spark of an otaku fic forming in your head.
I'm here to see you go through with it."

	I mulled it over a bit.  "Well I'm busy writing Ai No Kodomo 2
right now and I'm still waiting for C&C on ANK one so I can release it to
RAAC."  Not really, but I figured I should put up some sort of fight or at
least make a shameless plug for my real work.

	"Enough shameless plugging, you know you'll never get enough C&C.
Otherwise we wouldn't be this far into the fic already.  Don't try to
psycho analyze what's going on, just get to it."

	"We're waiting on your cue, not mine."

	"Oh.  Right.  So anyway, let's skip the options stage since I
already know what you'd pick.  The story's falling behind."

	"Okay, so it's yadda yadda yadda.  I get to replace my main man
Mousse.  Yadda yadda, alternate universe.  Yadda, I get to screw things up
as badly as I want to," that's where the evil grin comes in.  "So let's do
it already.  Beam me up, Taki!"

	"Wait!  We need the overbudget special effects first."

	I looked at her for a few seconds and shrugged.  "Sure."

[insert overbudget special effects sequence here.  Courtesy of ILM]

[...]

	So that brings you up to par.  Like many mentally unstable
fanfiction writers before me, I have snapped due to lack of C&C and have
resorted to terroristic otakufic writing.  I just hope I get to keep the
clothes when this is all over, I look styling in chinese threads.

	First on the agenda, the Nekohanten.  Hehehehe.

	Oh, in order to avoid confusion I'll start writing this like a
normal fic.  Private thoughts I'll indicate separately.

	In case you haven't been paying attention, this is an alternate
Ranmaverse and we're replacing their usual Mousse blend with Foldger's
Crystals.  Let's see if they notice...

[...]

	The customers trickled into the Nekohanten, weekdays were always
slow.  Cologne stood on a table and wiped the cups with a lazy stroke.
Shampoo serviced the few customers while Mousse cleared the tables.  He had
a wry grin and he headed back to the kitchen.  "One, two, and cue Ranma."

	Ranma yawned openly as he wandered into the restaurant.  "Yo Shampoo."

	She dropped what she was doing and glomped him imediately.  "Aiya!"

	"No time for love Dr. Jones," Ranma brow furrowed in confusion as
he unglomped the amazon.  "Anyway, it's Akane's night to cook so I thought
I'd stop by for some Ramen."

	"Aiya.  I get you best Ramen in house," she said and skipped her
way back to the kitchen.  She nearly piled into Mousse who was on his way
out.  "Outta they way!"

	Mousse dropped his load of dishes on a table and pulled up a seat
next to Ranma.  "How ya doing Ranma?"

	Unsure if Mousse was about to attack he leaned farther back in his
chair.  "Umm.. fine Mousse," he paused.  "How are you?"

	"I'm fine, fine.  There's something I've been meaning to talk to
you about."

	"Here it comes," Ranma braced himself.

	"Cologne's leaving for China tomorrow and I think we should throw a
party this weekend."

	"Nani?!?"

	"Nothing fancy, I'll handle it but I need you're help."

	"Nani?!?"

	"I need you to ask Shampoo to use the Nekohanten," Mousse thought
about it for a moment.  "Actually I don't need you but you might as well
help."

	"Nani?!?"

	Mousse sighed and tried a different tactic.  "When Shampoo comes
out say 'Shampoo.  We're having a party this weekend.  Can we have it
here.'  When she says yes, eat your ramen and be on your way."

	Ranma felt a strange compulsion to do as he was asked.  Mousse went
back to his cleaning duties and Shampoo returned with a steaming bowl of
Ramen in hand.  "House Special, I make extra special for you!"

	"Shampoo.  We're having a party this weekend.  Can we have it here."

	She thought about it for a moment, he didn't eat the noodles yet so
it couldn't be that.  It was perfect, the only thing holding her back was
the fact that her great grandmother would be out of town this weekend.  She
shrugged.  "Hai."  This was her chance to be with Ranma, and if things got
out of hand she could get Mousse to clean it before the old one got back.

	Ranma proceded to eat his Ramen and leave.

[...]

	Oo, catgirl's going to get it for that one.  Anyway the party's on.
I just had to have a party.  I love parties, and now I'll have them all in
the same place at the same time.  Muahahaha!!!  A little sake, insane
amounts of alcohol and I won't even have to keep them in character.  Tee
hee.

	I think I'll skip straight to the weekend, working at the
Nekohanten is not for me.  If I wanted a crappy job with minimal pay I
would have stayed in the real world.

[...]

	The sun went down over Nerima, the evening sky turned many
beautiful shades of red.  Mousse sat upon the roof of the Nekohanten and
waited for the first of the partygoers to arrive.  He sent out the
invitations just the other day, it didn't take much to amass a large crowd
of people.  Where ever Ranma went, a crowd was sure to follow.

	Mousse jumped down from the roof as Ranma arrived.  He would be the
first, Mousse had seen to that.  "Ranma, you made it.  Where's Akane?"

	"We had a fight, she might show up later with her sisters."

	"Don't worry, I'm sure she won't miss this."

	"That's what I'm worried about."

	Mousse escorted Ranma in.  All the decorations were already up, the
food was laid out across the counter.  A nearby table held a vast
assortment of alcohol along with a few sodas and juices.  Ranma looked
around for signs of Shampoo, but she was nowhere to be seen.  "Ooo, is that
a platter of gyoza?"

	Mousse answered his thoughts.  "She's upstairs getting ready.  You
know how girls are."  He grinned evily.  "Why don't I get you a drink with
that?  The others will be arriving soon."

	Unaccustomed to drinking Ranma began to shake his head, his mouth
full of gyoza.  "I dunno, it's not really my thing."

	"Ranma.  Tonight drinking is everybodies thing.  By the end of the
night everybody's going to be either drunk out of their minds or laid or
both."  Mousse leaned in closer.  "If you and Akane want to be alone
tonight my room's right up the stairs, first door on the left."

	Ranma nearly choked.  He recovered but was still slightly red.  "I
think I'll take that drink now."

[...]

	One down.  By the time Ukyou arrived, Ranma could barely stand.  To
his credit he was doing pretty good for awhile there, but once he started
doing shots with Shampoo he went downhill fast.  Shampoo didn't fare as
well, but I guess spiking her shots wasn't very nice of me.  She was so
gone by the time Ukyou showed she gave the poor girl a hug when she walked
in.

	At least there'll be no fighting tonight, everything will be
resolved by the bottle and if that doesn't get them I'll just do it the old
fashioned way.  Peer pressure.

	So anyway, things were starting to pick up.  After Ukyou and
Konatsu came Ryouga and Akari.  I predated his invitation to get him to the
Nekohanten on time and gave Akari instructions to guide him.

	From there they trickled in, the Kunos trying to be fashionably
late.  Akane and her sisters, including Natsumi and Kurumi I might add.
For some reason Shampoo kept hugging new arrivals, I guess she's one of
those overly friendly drinkers.

	I guess I should get back to the party.

[...]





Ranma 1/2: Ai No Kodomo 2 - The Summer of Love
Chapter 5 - The Cat's Out of the Bag

[...]

	Spice looked up into a face she knew as well as her own.  "I not
think you have it in you."

	He crouched to face his sister sitting on the sidewalk.  "We have
to talk."

	She took on a faraway look and sighed.  "At least I not have to
marry you."

	"Damnit sis, will you shut up and listen for a sec?"  He waited for
her undivided attention and then did a quick scan of the area.  "Let's go
inside, someone might be watching."

[...]

	Midori opened her eyes with great effort.  She was recovering
faster than last time but she urgently felt the need for a bath or sleep or
both.  Noriko slapped her gently on the cheeks as Midori's eyes rolled
around loosely in her head.

	Sakura let out a puff of air.  "That must have been some kiss."

	Midori could see she was inside the Kuno estate now.  She
recognized the two girls as the ones she delivered the pizza to.

	Noriko released Midori's head which fell back, producing a dull
thud as it hit the wall.  "So what should we do with her?"

	Sakura sat back on her haunches.  "Well she can't stay here, mom'll
be back in a couple hours."

	"Maybe we should find Xian," Noriko said thoughtfully.

	"Hey, keep your mind on the problem!"

	"I am!  I just figued if he did this he could undo it."

	Sakura sighed.  "Well it looked like he was heading to the
Nekohanten.  At least that would make the most sense."

[...]

	Spice followed her younger sibling to the back corner of the
restaurant.  He took a seat with his back to the wall where he could get a
good view of the front door.  The feeling began returning to her arm as she
took a seat across from him.  "You want talk, we talk."

	He took a moment to collect his thoughts.  He decided he would
start with the most pressing matter.  "Do you remember Tsu No?"  He
surprised her with his Chinese, Xian was always better with languages than
she was.  Rarely using their native toungue was one of the little things he
did to annoy her.

	She realized suddenly that it would be best to keep the
conversation private, she reverted to Chinese as well.  "Snow?  Always wore
white.  The only person to train with daddy besides us?  The crazy bitch we
grew up with?"  Spice started to fume, but caught herself.  "Yes.  I
remember her quite clearly.  I haven't seen her since she was banned from
the village last year."

	"Okay, well I guess you could say I have."

	Spice nearly jumped from her seat.  "She's here?  In Japan?"

	"Well yes, but there's more to it than that."

	"Where is she?!?  I'll kill her this time!"

	He sighed.  "That would make my life alot easier, but there are
some things you should know," he took a deep breath.  "First, you can't
kill her.  She is your sister by law."

	Spice stood up suddenly, fire in her eyes.  "That ended when she
was banished."

	He sighed again.  "True, but that was before she married me."

	Spice fell back into her seat, her fire doused.  "What."

	"She jumped me near the Great wall.  We fought.  I lost," he
shrugged.  "I couldn't do anything about it.  Insted of killing me she
decided we were married.  I've been running ever since."

	Spice stared straight down, her head resting on the table and her
arms splayed out around her.  "How long ago?"

	"Last month I guess."

	She remained motionless until it occured to her.  She looked up
with a puzzled expression.  "You weren't in China last month."

	"That's the other thing I should explain..."

[...]

	Seki dumped the first load of dishes into the sink.  His sister was
handling most of the customers while Spice and her brother sat at the back
table a few feet from him.

	Kune decided to hang around with Seki after lunch.  He didn't have
anywhere else to go so he figured he'd stay and help out.  He stood a
little ways from Seki and dried off some glasses that were just washed.
"Have fun the other day?"

	Seki had his attention focused on Spice who was too focused on her
conversation to notice.  "Huh?  What?"

	"When you kissed Megumi.  Did you have fun?"

	The mention of Megumi snapped his attention back to Kune.  "Oi
Kune, I'm so sorry.  I swear it wasn't my fault."

	Kune put his hands up to calm Seki down.  "Don't worry, it's
nothing like that."

	"So you're not going to kill me?"

	"Kill you?  I should be kissing your feet.  She's been nicer to me
in the last two days than she's been to me in the last two years."

	"Really?"

	"Yeah, I figure it's some sort of guilt thing."

	Seki pondered that thought.  "So you want me to do it again?"

	"Don't push your luck," Kune picked up a nearby cup of dishwater
and threw it at Seki.  Prepared for the reaction he ducked, sending the
water into the dining area.  Seki turned around to come face to face with a
slightly damp, very annoyed tiger.

[...]

	Ukyou tried in vain to stop the customers from running out of the
Nekohanten, but once the first person started screaming it was all
downhill.  She had been watching when the transformation took place, it was
the only reason she didn't run and scream herself.

	After the first wave ran out she threw her towel down and stomped
on it.  She took a deep breath and walked up to Spice and her feline
friend.  "I'm not even going to ask Spice."  She turned to the tiger who
was trying to remain incognito.  "I suppose you'd like some hot water?"

	The tiger nodded vigorously, an innocent grin on it's face.  Ukyou
grabbed it by the nape of it's neck and walked it into the kitchen.  Kune
and Seki backed away.  It gave them both an evil eye in passing.

	Ukyou pulled at the tiger's neck to keep it moving.  "Seki, go get
a change of clothes and a towel for kitty here."

	Seki was eger to obey, jumping down from the counter and running
into the back.  He returned quickly, Ukyou already had the hot water from
the tap ready.  She grabbed a nearby bowl and filled it in the sink.  "Why
don't you two go check on Spice while he changes."

[...]

	Spice sat in an almost catatonic state.  She didn't even bat an eye
as Kune and Seki took seats on both sides of her.  They exchanged worried
glances.  Seki was the first to speak.  "Are you okay Spice?"

	She blinked slowly and continued to stare out into space.  "My
little brother is a bengal tiger."

	Kune sat back, relieved to hear her speak.  "So we've noticed."

	Seki smoothed back the burgundy hair on Spice's head.  "Are you
going to be okay?  Do you need to lie down or something?"

	Spice nodded meekly.  "That sound good.  I think I take a little
nap now."  Her body went limp as her head hit the table.  "Nite nite."

[...]

	The cries of 'Wild Tiger, run for your lives' could be heard for
blocks.  Sakura and Noriko just looked to each other as they got within a
couple blocks of the Nekohanten.  Between them they dragged along Midori
who was still too dazed to walk.

	They thought about leaving her behind, but it seemed kind of rude.
Progress was slow despite the excellent shape the girls were in.  It helped
that Midori was still wearing her rollerblades.

	Somebody pushed past Sakura and nearly knocked all three of them
over.  Like a white blur, it was gone before Sakura or Noriko could say
anything.  Sakura considered it briefly, for someone of their size they
were packing alot of weight.

[...]

	Kune started on his way home, he decided against waiting for the
dust to settle.  Things were getting too weird, and guilt or not Megumi
wouldn't be too thrilled to find out he spent the entire day in the
Nekohanten.

	As he rounded a corner he was nearly knocked over by a white blur.
It was female, but the only other thing he noticed was the wicked looking
battleaxe she produced while flying past him.  It nearly took his head off,
but Kune wasn't one to hold much of a grudge against a female.

	He looked once in the direction she came and by the time he turned
back she was gone.  Kune shrugged it off and tried to remember which way he
was going.  It was one of the strangest days he'd ever had and he wanted to
get home before it got any stranger.

	"Hey Kune, you missed a great movie."

	Kune sighed.   Too late.

[...]

	Ukyou gave Spice a little shake to wake her up.  She snapped up and
looked around quickly, unsure if she was still dreaming.  She spotted her
brother over Miss Kuonji's shoulder.  He was wearing some new clothes and
drying his hair with her 'Hello Kitty' towel.

	"You didn't mention Jusenkyo."

	"I was just getting to that part."

	"How long you cursed?"

	"It's not what you think Spice, there's more to it.  Hear me out on
this."

	There was a loud crash.  Everybody looked to the front door.  Spice
and Ukyou barely had enough time to dodge the giant battleaxe that came
flying at them.

	"Duck!"  Spice yelled to her brother.

	Used to projectile attacks he grabbed a nearby searving tray and
swatted it out of the air.  It hit the table next to him and spit it in
half.  He used the same tray to block the assortment of knives and shuriken
thrown by the same person.  "Dangit Snow, you have a serious attitude
problem."

	The stranger in white smiled at her prey.  "What can I say dear, I
don't take rejection too well."

	"I got two words for you: seek help," he emphasized his point by
throwing down his mutilated serving tray.

	Spice got back up to stand near her brother.  He readied herself
into a defensive stance which she mirrored perfectly.

	Snow took on a crazed look, reflected by the twin broadswords she
pulled from each sleeve.  She poised herself to pounce like a cat who has
her prey cornered.

	Suddenly Spice was noticably shaken, even moreso after looking at
her brother standing next to her.  The only difference was the grin on his
face.  It was the final taunt that prompted Snow to action.

	Before she could charge though, the world went dark and she
collapsed in heap.  Her swords clattered to the floor uselessly.  Xian bent
down to examine the fallen amazon grabbing another handful of movie popcorn
as he did.  The same hand he used to pinch the nerve in her neck.  "Do I
have to do everything myself?  I thought you said you'd handle it."  Xian
looked up to Spice.  "Hey sis.  Are there any leftovers?  The theatre
raised it's prices again."

	With one situation under control, Spice used every ounce of
strength she had left to remain calm.  "If you there, who the hell this?"

	The person next to her scratched the back of his neck and tried not
to look too sheepish.  "It's not what you think Spice."

	The Xian at the door swallowed his popcorn and took that as his
cue.  "Oh.  Well sis, meet your brother Xiang."

	"Hiya," Xiang wiggled his fingers as Spice turned to stare at him
dumbly.

[...]