Hi!

	At the risk of being annoying, I thought I'd post this - it's the 
scene I wrote about six months back and then shelved, that developed into 
the chapter I posted a few days ago.  It's also gives me a context in 
which to post a wonderful little scene Webdragon wrote as an addition to 
The Party which I forgot to attach when I posted it.  Heh - it's 
inclusion would've, ah, carried the story in a rather different direction...

	-Mike
***
            This Will be the Title

     [INTRO]
     "Ah, he just misses Akane, is all." joked one of the guys.
     "What?" exclaimed Ranma, shocked out of his reveries.  "No! 
Not true!  That not it at all!  Why would I miss that tomboy?"
     "Yeah, right..." said Hiroshi, nudging the guy next to him. 
"C'mon, Ranma, it's just us guys... you don't have to pretend..."
     "Yeah!" added Daisuke.  "How far have you, you know, gone
with her?"
     "Hey!" protested the pig-tailed boy, flushing.  "We havn't..."
     "Oh, sure... engaged to her, living in the same house... I'm
_sure_ nothing's happened..."  This from a guy with deep a voice;
Hiroshi couldn't make him out through the brightness of the dancing
flames.  "Especially seeing as she's so cute..."
     "Now cut that out!" cried Ranma.  "She is _not_ cute!  What she
_is_, is violent!"  His hand rubbed his left cheek.  "Why'd you think I
came, anyway?"
     "The beer?"
     "The sake?"
     "Free food?"
     "'Cus it's Kenji's birthday?"
     "Yeah, why _did_ Ranma come?" whispered one guy a little
too loudly to his friend.  "He _never_ comes to our parties!"  
     "BECAUSE AKANE HIT ME!" yelled Ranma.  "She's really,
really pissed at me right now... the last couple of weeks have been...
rough.  Staying at the Tendo's tonight would've been a bad idea."  He
shivered slightly.  "A _very_ bad idea."  He let out a deep breath.  "So
I figured that they wouldn't bug me if I went out with you guys."
     "Oh." The general attention turned away from Ranma once
more, allowing him to stare off into the darkness again.  He
unconsciously started rubbing his cheek.
     "Ya know, now that you mention it... you _have_ been kinda
tense lately, Ranma." said Daisuke, settling down next to Hiroshi.  He
took a swig of his drink before continuing.  "And Akane's been a bit
rougher on you, too.  What's up?"
     "I..."  Ranma started, then closed his mouth.  He squirmed a bit,
flushing slightly.  "I don't want to talk about it.  It's, ahhh... personal."
     Daisuke waggled his eybrows at Hiroshi, grinning.  "Oh, _I_
understand!  So there _is_ something between you and Akane..."
     "WHAT?  NO!" cried Ranma, drawing some stares.  "I already
told ya nothing's happening!  It's... nothing, alright?  I _don't_ want to
talk about it..."
     Daisuke shrugged and backed off.  Ranma returned to his
brooding.  Hiroshi watched Ranma and chuckled.  Probably thinking
about Akane again, although he'd never admit it, he thought to himself. 
Whatever happened, whatever's happening, must be pretty bad to make
him come out to Kenji's birthday bash.  Ranma almost never joined up
with his Furinken schoolmates out of class; at most, he might hang out
with Hiroshi or Daisuke on his way home, or kill some time with them
on quiet weekends.
     And it was obvious, too, just from looking at him.  The way
Ranma sat just a little further back than the rest, just slightly out of the
circle of guys... the way he never caught the little in-jokes, or the lewd
comments about this guy and that girl... the conversations he didn't join,
the mildly disinterested look in his eyes when he did - a lot of little
things that showed that, not only was he not 'one of the guys', but that
he didn't _want_ to be.
     It wasn't arrogance on his part.  Unlike the Blue Moron of
Furinkan High School, he didn't go around demanding respect - and
didn't have to, since he already had it.  Hiroshi shrugged.  Ranma just
lived an entirely different lifestyle, one most people just couldn't relate
to.
     "Shit!  No!  Argh!"
     Hiroshi jumped at the yelp.  He looked up just in time to see
[Guy1] fumble and drop his keys in the fire.  There was scattered
laughter, but he didn't seem too happy.
     "You idiot!  I told you to catch 'em!"
     "Well you shouldn't have thrown 'em!" retorted [G1].  "Now
how the hell am I supposed to sneak into my house?"
     The argument started to degenerate, a couple of the guys
helping them along.  The alcohol made up for whatever wit their words
lacked.  Hiroshi watched them with a contented smirk, enjoying the
slight fuzziness he could feel.  He could see the keys glinting in the
fire.
     "So get 'em outta there!" yelled [G1]
     "Are you nuts!?"
     The arguments suddenly dropped off as Ranma shuffled closer. 
His eyes gleamed in the flickering light, focused on the metal buried in
the flames.  One hand slowly drew back as he smiled.
     "Hey, watch it!" cried someone.  "You'll get burnt!"  The guys
on either side shushed him.
     "Is he nuts?"  whispered the guy next to Hiroshi.  "Or just really
drunk?"
     "Ranma?" answered Hiroshi.  "Drunk?  Never... he doesn't
drink.  But he's _fast_."
     And then, before they knew it, it was over.  One second, the
keys were in the fire; the next, they were out of it.  They tumbled
through the air and landed neatly on [G1]'s beer bottle, the key ring
smoothly sliding over and down the bottle's neck.
     There was a round of applause as Ranma stepped back.  That
was the other thing about him, though Hiroshi.  Doing stuff like that -he
didn't do it for the attention.  Ranma had already detached himself from
the group again, not embarrassed by the attention, but not trying to milk
it, either.
     "Wow!  That was great, man!  Thanks!" said [g1].  He tossed
a bottle over the fire, which Ranma snatched out of the air with ease. 
"Here's my 'thank you'!"
     Hiroshi saw Ranma glance down at the bottle, make a grimace,
and handed it over to Hiroshi (who gladly took it).  "No thanks." he
said.  "I don't drink."
     [g1] looked surprised, but shrugged.  "If you say so."
     With the little incident behind them, the buzz of slightly-
drunken conversation started up again.  It didn't take long for it to turn
towards the opposite sex.
     "I'm telling you, girls just _love_ it when you..."
     "Like you'd know!  When was the last time..."
     "Ain't Sayuri just so..."
     "So we went out back and started..."
     "Man, was she pissed!"
     "So how'd you calm her down?"
     Hiroshi watched Ranma as the guys joked and boasted about
their female classmates.  Oddly enough, Ranma seemd to be discretly
paying attention, trying to look disinterested while catching every
word.  Hiroshi wondered why... if anyone here knew anything about
girls, it was Ranma.  The guy had three fiancees!  Not to mention the
fact that he...
     "Why don't we ask Ranma?" asked the guy sitting opposite
Hiroshi.  "If anybody ougta know..."
     "What?  Me?" said Ranma, shifting a little closer.  "You think
'cus I've got a couple of fiancees that I know _anything_ 'bout girls?" 
He chuckled mirthlessly.  "Trust me, I don't.  I didn't ask for any of
'em!"
     "That's not what I meant." said the guy.  Hiroshi finally
recognised the voice - it was [g2]; he was a bit of a jerk, a local bully
before Ranma showed up.  "I was refering to the fact that you're a girl
yourself..."
     There was a sudden silence around the fire.  Glancing at
Ranma, Hiroshi could see that he was _not_ happy.  "I.  Am.  A.  Guy!"
stated Ranma.  "A guy, got it?"
     "Yeah, sure... but you turn into a girl, right?"  Hiroshi let out a
low whistle.  Was [g2] drunk?  Or just stupid?  Bugging Ranma about
his curse was _never_ a good idea... he took it pretty seriously.  
     "Yes, I do." said Ranma in a low voice.  "Now drop it."
     "But, c'mon... there's so much we could learn from you!  What
turns a girl on, what feels good... you know, stuff like that..."
     Ranma leaned forward, face dark.  "And why the hell would I
know anything about that?"
     "Right, Ranma.  Like you don't know.  You expect us to believe
you've never, you know... explored a little bit?  Kinda, you know, felt
the differences?"
     Hiroshi saw Ranma flush an angry red, which looked
positively frightning in the dark and dancing campfire light.  "Are you
saying I'm some kinda pervert, eh, [g2]?"  Ranma's hand curled into a
fist.  "I'm a guy, got it?  I'm _not_ a pervert!  Don't... don't ever call me
that, understand?"  Ranma stood up, staring down at the guy sitting
across the fire from him.  "I'm a guy, okay?"
     [g2] gave a small laugh.  "Okay, okay, yeah, you're a guy...
sorry!"  Hiroshi relax a bit, feeling the tension drain away.  Ranma sat
back down, taking a deep breath.  "It's just that..." started [g2], "... that
you sure _look_ like a girl!"  The splash of liquid soared over the fire
and onto Ranma before anyone could react.  And suddenly, their all-
guy party was joined by a single, red-headed girl.
     A moments later, Ranma was standing over [g2], one hand
gripping him by the collar, the other pulled back in a fist.  "You jerk! 
Why'd you go and do _that_ for?"  she yelled.
     [g2] grinned up at the short girl who was threatning him.  "Oh,
wow, kawaii... " he giggled.  One hand reached up and poked a breast. 
"Sure _feels_ real..."
     Several guys grabbed Ranma's arm before she could punch
down.  Hiroshi had no doubt that, if she'd wanted to, she could've
punched anyway.  Instead, after a moments hesitation, she tossed [g2]
to the ground.  "You're an asshole, you know that?"  She turned away. 
"I'm outta here..."
     Hiroshi jumped up after Ranma.  "Ranma, wait!" he cried out,
stumbling after his friend.  Behind him, he could hear Daisuke giving
shit to [g2], most of the other guys backing him up.  Ranma stopped
long enough for Hiroshi to catch up.
     "C'mon, Ranma, don't go..." pleaded Hiroshi, stepping in
beside the redhead as she continued walking.
     Ranma jerked her thumb back at the campfire.  "That's an all
guy party, Hiroshi."  She pointed at her chest.  "I'm a girl now.  I'm
outta place.  I don't see any hot water lying about, and I don't feel like
hanging around that idiot back there."
     "[G2]?  Listen, don't worry 'bout him.  We'll keep him from
bugging you.  I promise."  He stepped in front of Ranma, stopping her. 
"Listen.  Buddy.  You never come out with us.  Relax!  Have some
beer, drink some sake!  Hell, we were gonna take a dip in the pool...
now you can too!"  Noticing Ranma's scowl, he hurried on.  "Hey, we
all know that you're really a guy!  You got nothin' to worry about..."
     Ranma's face fell and she released a heavy sigh.  "Yeah. 
Really a guy..."
     "Hey man, what is it?  What's wrong?" asked Hiroshi in
concern.
     Ranma sighed again and blushed.  "Listen, you gotta promise
to never tell anyone, okay?  It's... it's kinda embarrasing."
     Hiroshi glanced around, checking to see if anyone was near. 
"Hey, I promise.  You can trust me!" he said, and he meant it, too. 
Ranma tended to be pretty close-mouthed about her personal life; if she
felt the need to talk, it had to be pretty important - and Hiroshi felt a
little honoured that's she'd share it with him.  "So... what is it?"
     She mumbled something, staring at the ground, one foot digging
a little hole in the soft ground.  "Ah, I didn't quite get that..." said
Hiroshi.
     "I... I had my first period." repeated Ranma.
     "You WHAT?!" exclaimed Hiroshi.
     "Hey!  Keep it down!" hissed Ranma.  "This ain't the kind of
thing I want people knowing about, got it?"
     "Yeah, I guess not.  I'm not sure _I_ wanted to hear that..."  He
paused for a moment.  "Still... I mean, I don't know much about these
kinda things - I never heard a thing about it when it happened to my sis
- but ain't it kinda late?  You're sixteen, right?  I thought that kinda stuff
started a lot earlier."
     Ranma shrugged.  "I dunno.  Doctor Tofu figures that I never
stayed as a girl long enough for me to notice, or I just got lucky and
always changed before and after it happened.  It's not like I stay like
this for long if I can help it.
     "Anyway, that's why things have been a bit tense around the
Tendo's lately.  When I first noticed a little over a week ago, I guess
I acted pretty weird.  Akane found out, and tried to help..."
     "But you got mad, or insulted her, and got _her_ mad." supplied
Hirsohi.  "Right?"
     Ranma grimaced.  "Yeah.  And it got worse, too.  Nabiki
blackmailed me, Pop called me a disgrace, Ryoga made fun of me...
the worst was Kasumi, who tried explaining it all to me."  She buried
her head in her hands.  "If I hear her tell me that I'm 'blossoming' again,
I'll scream."
     Hiroshi glanced back at the fire as Ranma mumbled something
about how unfair her life was.  He got the distinct impression that his
friends were looking their way.  "Listen, Ranma, we'd better get back. 
Knowing them, they're starting to wonder what we're talking about."
     "Oh, great." muttered Ranma.  "Those perverts'll think we're
doin' somethin' disgusting!"
     Hiroshi shook his head.  Like he'd be so lucky!  "So, you
staying?" he asked.  "Listen, the way your life's going, you _need_ a
night like this to relax.  Here..." he pressed a beer into the red-head's
hand, "Have this.  Have a little drink, take it easy!  C'mon!"  He smiled
a slightly drunken grin, heading back to the party.
     Ranma looked down at the bottle, rubbed her cheek, shrugged,
and walked back to the campfire.  "But if anyone of you guys even
think of touchin' me... " she announced, cracking her knuckles, "I'll kill
you..."

***

	I like ta think that the new version is a bit better...
	And here's Webdragon's excellent scene:
	If ya like it, tell him at: kmark@odyssey.on.ca

------

        Then she got up and began to dance.  No one could say whether 
it was the fire that made everybody hot, or otherwise, but one thing 
was for sure...she was...*sensuous*.  No shrinking violet or timid
creature here...here was a *woman* in every sense of the word - 
powerful yet coyly shy, demure without being boring, as exciting
as the blood and sensations coursing through their veins...

        Hair spun in the air, a crimson pigtail as red as the flames,
like she was a fire sprite come out of the crackling embers.  Lithe, 
smooth and teasing lips opened slightly as her eyes sought those
around the fire, making them her own, but just as she was about
to commit herself she twirled away again, out of reach.  Chest heaving
slightly, legs lifting in time to everybody's heartbeats, slim
arms sliding erotically around her breasts and neck and hair and hips,
stroking each in turn just long enough for that moment of excitement, but 
no longer.

        She tilted her head to one side and let her hair fall in that
direction, exposing her neck, even as she put her hands on her breasts 
and lifted them up, tossing her head back and facing the stars above with 
an arched back.  Then she resumed her dance, a dance with no music...for
this was as primal as can be, as quintessential as the emotion that hung
over the fireside; the pounding of hearts served as drum beats, playing
background to the female figure in garments of flame and midnight, for 
she _was_ the music.

        She spun close to Hiroshi, lowered her eyes at him and
opened her mouth, as if to kiss him, but she smiled and drifted over to 
the next guy, light as a feather in the wind.

        Then, facing the stars again with her eyes closed, she slowly,
painstakingly, and almost shyly, began to take her shirt off.  The
fires cast shadows on her face, and body, and her loose shirt,
and she let out a sigh - a light whisper on the breeze it seemed - as
ties undid themselves and her shirt came off and fluttered away on the 
wind.  The temperature shot up and the drumbeats came faster, and
faster as many pairs of eyes roamed over her smooth belly, lingered
on her hands cupped over her breasts, begging, pleading, demanding
that she lower her hands.  She let out a small sigh, lips parted,
before she slowly, agonizingly, began to slide her hands off her 
breasts, and.....



                        *CUT*
                        (grin)

***

	Well, _I_ like it... <grin>  I to think I _almost_ had Ranma and 
Hiroshi, ah, try some some stuff.  Resisted the temptation, though...

	Finally, and I don't quite know why I'm posting this, though I 
hope maybe someone'll find it interesting - a bunch of stuff I cut out.  
Yeah, I know, it's a bit lame, but by the time I finish a chapter I've 
usually got all sort of failed beginnings or scenes I ended up cutting or 
replacing, usually by my own decision, advice from a pre-reader, or 
because of C&C from the FFML.  I dunno.  I always find it kinda 
interesting to see where the story _almost_ went, where it _could_ have 
went, or to look back over my own writing process.  <shrug>  I don't 
expect anyone else to, but, who knows?

*** 

	[Original Ryuta-Ranma confrontation]

     She took a step forward, fighting back the urge to leap forward
and plant her fist in his face.  "Tell me something, Ryuta." she said, her
voice dangerously calm.  "Where were you two weekends ago?"  He
looked a bit surprised at the unexpected question, but Ranma didn't
give him the chance to answer.  "I. . ." she continued, ". . .was at a
small Okinawan village.  With my dad.  The locals were being plagued
by some kinda beast.  We never found out what it was, but it attacked
during the night, rising from the waters and catching us by surprise.  It
tore the walls down like paper; its claws sliced through concrete like
butter; it picked up my dad in one hand and threw him through the roof. 
It had some kind of shell, too - most of our punches and kicks bounced
off.  But you know what?  I beat it.  With Ryoga's help. . ." she
amended.  "But I still won.  I broke two ribs and lost lots of blood -
but I won.
     "So if you think I'm the least bit worried about you, or your
two friends, or that moron who's been trying to sneak up behind me. .
." she said, jerking her thumb over her shoulder, "You're mistaken. 
Compared to what I deal with on a daily basis - you're nothing.  I
could've beaten you when I was twelve; now, you're not even worth
my time.  If you think you can scare  me. . . if you think you can taunt
me. . . you're wrong.  You're shit, Ryuta.  Piss off. . ."

***

	[Original scene after the guys head off to swim.  Replaced by 
Akane and her friends - this new character was a needless addition.  She 
was going to supply a bikini for Ranma.]

     "Your brother sure throws a great party!"
     Akemi nodded mutely as she picked up a few more empty
bottles.  "Yeah.  Sure," she muttered, as the girl ran off to join the fun. 
Great party if you were with classmates - or drinking - or with your
boyfriend.  Not, she added, if you were stuck cleaning up after your
stupid brother and his drunken friends.  But somebody had to maintain
a semblance of order, run damage control on the house.  Man, big bro's
gonna owe me big time, she grumbled, dumping an ashtray.
     "Hey."  She felt a tap on the shoulder.  "Hey.  You Kiyoshi's
sister?"
     With a sigh, she turned to the speaker.  She did not recognize
him.  "Yeah.  I'm _Akemi_.  I've got a name, you know."
     He nodded, obviously not having heard a word.  His face was
quite flushed; since it was not all that hot outside, that meant he had
been drinking.  Probably quite a lot.  "Yeah.  [Guy] sent me. 
Something about. . ."
     "Yeah, I know," she interrupted.  "Where is he?"
     "By the pool.  The change-rooms."
     She nodded.  That made sense.  "Okay.  Tell him I'll be out in
a 'sec."  She paused for a beat.  "No.  Wait," she added.  "First, help
me haul this case of empties into the back room."
     The guy glanced outside, towards the pool, then back at her. 
Akemi grimaced internally as she felt his eyes crawl back and forth
over her body.  Creep.  Asshole.  "You going to help me or not?"
     "Sure."  He tried a disarming grin while hefting up the case. 
She was not impressed, and directed him towards the room.  "Say,
aren't you kinda young to be at this party?" he asked.
     "It's my house, baka!" she exclaimed.  "I'm Kiyoshi's sister,
remember?  Beside, I'm fourteen - I'm not that young!"
     He just smiled in response.  Booting the door open with his
foot, he leaned into the back-room and dropped the case next to a stack
of others.  "There," he said.
     "Thanks."
     There was a pause.
     "My name's Seiji."
     "That's nice."
     Akemi turned away and headed for the swimming pool.

***

	[Original 'I can't go swimming scene'.  Turned into - heck, a 
lot.  All that Ranma/Hiroshi stuff and Ranma introspection.]

     But, she admitted, maybe something good had come of all this. 
Hiroshi had been. . . what, _there_ for him.  She could not remember
the last time someone had been.  After all, who could he turn to? 
Fiancees, rivals - no.  Pop?  Hah!  Nabiki?  She shuddered.  Kasumi? 
Maybe.  But she should not have to.  She should be able to turn to her
mom. _She_ would understand.  But then, she would probably have to
kill her and pop for being unmanly, for having betrayed their oath -
assuming Ranma could even build up enough courage to reveal herself
to Mom in the first place.  That left. . . who?  Friends.  And for the first
time, Ranma felt that maybe she had someone she could turn to with her
problems.  She ignored the small voice in the back of her head telling
her she was a fool, that there would be consequences to pay on
Monday at school; instead, she smiled.
     Her countenance darkened as noises from the pool intruded. 
She gazed longingly over at her classmates and. . . and friends,
swimming, playing, talking, yelling, bonding, having fun.  She would
not borrow a classmate's bathing suit; it would just be too weird,
strange.  She would _not_ borrow Akane's; she still had absolutely no
urge to talk to that tomboy.  A t-shirt would not be enough: she had
learnt to deal with the lingering eyes of other guys, but _that_ would be
drawing just a little too much attention.  With a sigh she lifted herself
to her feet, overcame the momentary dizziness and rush of blood, and
decided she might as well go home.
     "Hey!  Where ya goin'?"

***

	[First try at the Ranma/Akane big argument.  Flop.  Not mean 
enough, too quick...]

     "You're a _girl_!"
     "Hey!"  Ranma sounded genuinely upset.  "I'm a guy! 
Alright?"
     "In a bikini?  Then you're a pervert!"  Akane regretted her
words the moment she said them; she could see a sudden flash of injury
and anger traverse Ranma's eyes.  But it was too late, of course.
     Ranma lips curled into something resembling a snarl.  "You're
just jealous!"
     "WHAT?"
     "Oh, yeah, I can tell.  You wanna swim, too, but you can't, or
you'll drown!  You wanna hang out with your friends, but they
probably don't want a tomboy like you hangin' around them!  You'd
like to show off you're bikini, but you know I'd look better in it!  Don't
worry, Akane, it might be kinda small for me around the chest, but I'll
try not to strain it or nothin'."  Ranma looked at her in disdain. 
"Whatcha do tonight, eh, Akane?  Sulk? _I_ hung around with my
_friends_, I talked, I had a good time - did _you_?  No?  No surprise,
you kawaiku. . ."
     She fed him the bikini with her fist.  Ranma's head snapped
back from the impact and she staggered back, tripped, fell.  The
crimson suit fluttered to the ground and settled over her.  Akane
stepped up to her, stood over her, unexpectedly hot tears running down
her cheeks as she screamed at him.  "You jerk!  You, you, you
asshole!"  How could she, how dare she, say those things?  Ranma was
drunk - Akane could see that now - but that was no excuse, no, not for
what she had said, never.

***

	[Considered adding a scene anout Akane leaving the party, her 
thoughts, introspection.  Not necessary, and didn't want to deal with it 
yet.  Considered having her bump into Ryoga, too, and have him accompany 
her back to the party - would've made it easier fro Akane to haul Ranma's 
unconscious butt back home...]

	With heavy steps Akane slowly made her way home.  It was late.  A
cool, stiff wind blew over her, tugging fiercely at her skirt, billowing
her shirt.  She shivered, pulled her jacket around her tighter.  Minute
particles - dust, crumbled leaves, specks of dirt - stung her eyes, and
she blinked, eyes tearing.  Even after the wind died down, the tears
continued to flow.
     "Stupid baka," she whispered hoarsely.  Why did these things
always have to happen, why did they always have to fight?  There had
been times, preciously few, when they had both put aside their pride
and stubbornness and sheer stupidity - like after Ranma's return from
battling Herb and the Ming Dynasty, during their walk back from
[Shinnosuke place's], those few meaningful moments after destroying
the spring at [Toma's Island] - times when, maybe, just maybe, there
was something between them, something beyond a forced engagement,
constant bickering and unending animosity.  But. . . no.  Not after
tonight.  She had hurt him, deeply - Akane was not too sure how, but
she knew him well enough to recognize when he was deeply wounded
- and he had hurt her in ways she still did not fully comprehend.  Akane
absently rubbed her wrist; there was no pain, but there still felt the
phantom fingers of his hands clasping hers.
     "Damn you, Ranma," she muttered, and stumbled to a stop.  A
wooden lamppost caught her as she leaned back, hugging herself in the
pool of light it generated, tears glistening on her cheeks.  "Why
couldn't you just walk home with me?"  Kiyoshi's house was only a
couple of blocks behind her, and her house was still far away - so very
far, and the walk felt so lonely.  Akane felt no fear in walking back so
late: the streets were mostly safe, and, besides, she was a martial
artist.  But at this rate, she realized, it would take her forever to get
home.  Looking around, she situated herself.  There was a small park
across the street, and she decided to take a short rest, to get herself
together and drive Ranma, his words, his threat, from her mind.

***

	[First try at Ranma trying to find the bathroom.  Got off track 
really fast.  Might still use this scene someday.  DId steal a single 
line from here, though...]

     "Hey, what's so funny?"
     With a small gasp Ranma spun towards the intrusion, and fell
back a step.  "Hey -"
     "Whoa there!  Jumpy?"  The boy indicated the redhead's raised
guard.  "Bit defensive, aren't we?"
     Ranma grinned sheepishly.  "Sorry.  S'instinct."  He looked
closer at the newcomer, not quite recognizing him.  Taller - though that
was not surprise, it seemed _everybody_ was taller than him when he
was in cursed-form, it was one of the things he hated most about the
curse - dark haired, well-built, fairly handsome. . . Ranma shook his
head (which did wonders for his sense of balance) and berated himself
for that last observation.  Men don't find other men handsome, he
reminded himself, men don't look at that kind of thing, we're not
supposed to notice!
     "Really?" asked the guy.  He smiled slightly.  "You take
martial arts?"
     Smirking slightly, Ranma answered, "Yeah, I guess you could
say that. . ."
     "Really?"  The stranger raked his hand through his hair and
leaned back against a cluttered, messy counter.  It suddenly registered
upon Ranma that they were in the kitchen.  Dozens of dirty glasses and
bottles and cups lay scattered among spills, blobs of chips and dip, and
little fruit wedges.  He took a short drink from his glass, savoured the
taste for a moment, and smiled.  "I haven't seen that many girls taking
martial arts before."
     After pondering for a second where his own glass had
disappeared to, Ranma thought of Shampoo, Ukyou, Kodachi, and
Akane, and laughed.  "Heh.  Some of the best martial artists I know are
girls."  Then she leaned forward.  "But none of 'em are as good as
me," she confided.  "No one is!" she added a moment later.  She
momentarily forgot about her bladder as, finally, after all night, she
found someone who seemed to have an interest in her favourite subject
as well.
     "Of course they're not," the boy smirked, and Ranma fought
down a scowl.  He's just humouring me, he realized, humouring the
cute little drunk girl.  Of course, he _was_ cute, and little, and drunk,
and a girl, so perhaps the mistake was understandable.  Ranma forgave
him and decided not to prove exactly how good the heir to the
Musabetsu Kakudou Ryu really was.
     "You any good?" Ranma asked.
     The guy visibly swelled up a bit.  "Well, I'm ok," he said with
false modesty  "I've only got my second degree black belt in Karate,
after all.  See?"  He lifted the hem of his shirt and revealed the
slightly-worn belt beneath.  Ranma fought down a laugh.
     "Oh!  Can I touch it?" He cooed, eyes opening wide with
insincere awe.
     After a moment of eyeing her suspiciously, the boy asked,
"You're mocking me, aren't you?"
     "Well. . . a little bit."
     "Fine," he snorted, sounded a little put-out.  "What belt do you
have, then?"
     Ranma shrugged.  "None, really."
     "Ha!"
     "I've never really bothered to go in and get myself tested." 
Unless you count the fights with Pop, and Ryoga, Mousse, and Kuno,
or Cologne and Happosai, or with Herb, Kumon, Tarou and Kirin , as
_testing_, she thought to herself somewhat smugly.  "My pop taught me,
but never bothered grading me."

***

	[This was the original ending.  It sucked.  I dumped it.  It 
distracted from the ambiguity of the current ending - it came right after 
the dream-sequence - but didn't add anything]

     Akane looked down in disbelief at the unconscious, half-naked
girl sprawled out on the bed before her.  She had stormed back to the
house sustained by righteous fury, but now her target was already
passed out in a drunken stupor.  The idiot had been drunk before
leaving, but nowhere close to this, there was no way Ranma would
drink himself into such a state, he never drank, he hated losing control. 
And as a girl, too, she noted worriedly.  What could possibly drive
him to do this?
     Then the redhead's eyes flickered briefly, focussed on Akane;
a ghost of a smile played across his lips.  "A. . . Akane. . ." he
whispered, and then slumped further into the bed.  She looked down at
him, still angry, still annoyed, and now totally confused.  The urge to
kick him through the roof was still there, but what would be the point? 
She could just leave him here, let him recover on his own and stagger
home in the morning, but, somehow, that felt wrong, too.
     "You idiot," she muttered, slipping her arms beneath the girl. 
She hauled him off the bed, his body a dead weight in her hands. 
"Hey, Ranma," she said, giving him a shake.  His head flopped
loosely.  One eye cracked open.
     "Akane,"he said, almost inaudibly, "I, I. . .lo. . ."  And then his
look widened, he coughed, horrid and strong scent of alcohol
wrinkling her nose, he tried closing his mouth, but burped a sick
gurgling sound, and a mouthful of thick, stringy, viscous liquid spurted
from his mouth.  Akane jumped back in surprise and dropping Ranma
into his own bile, but a spattering of it stained her leg.  The collapsed
Ranma half-rolled onto his side, red shirt absorbing the fluid, mouth
gaping open with drool and stomach fluids still leaking out and pooling
on the floor.
     "You. . . !" she started to exclaimed, but a single look at Ranma
stopped her.  Passed out, half-fetal position, covered in puke and
unconsciously still dry-heaving, how could she yell at him?  What
would be the point?  For Ranma, the party was most definitely over. 
She should leave him here, he deserved everything that happened to
him, this was a lesson he would not soon forget. . . but, somehow,
Akane could not bring herself to abandon him.  With a sigh she once
again reached down and hefted the stinking, dirty, unconscious girl
onto her back.  Akane made the only choice she could: she carried
Ranma away from the party and started the long walk back home.

***

	There was one more scene - a rewrite of the one above, that 
actually did add something, but I'm saving it for something else.

	Anyway.  DOn't know if you found this the leastbit interesting or 
not.  <shrug>  Hope you did.  Almost all my serious stories produce loads 
of scenes like this.  One Bad Day had wonking huge scenes cut out, and 
Apron Strings had two or three attempts at the same scene removed.  Hmmm, 
maybe I'll add 'em to my webpage.

	Later!
	(And sorry if this counts as an odd spam-variant)
	-Mike Noakes

***
This and my other fanfics at:
http://aix2.uottawa.ca/~s669330
***