Let me know if I should continue...
C&C is very important!
Thanks Skywise for beta reading.
=-=


                               "Mother's Son"
                                   Part 2
                                   of ??
                                      
                             A Ranma 1/2 Fanfic
                              by Shaule Sachs

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Version 1.2

Author's Notes:

(1)     All characters are the property of Rumiko Takahashi and are
used solely for the entertainment and, hopefully, enjoyment of her
fans.

(2)  This is an ALTERNATE UNIVERSE. Something will be the same and
other things will be different. I am using VIZ's graphical novels (one
through eight) and what I can found on the Web and in the fanfics I
have read as source material.

(3)  Suffixes, such as -chan, -panda, and -neko, will be used to denote
people in their cursed forms.

(4) Conventions that shall be used:
        Words that are italic will be between // //,
        Words that are bold will be between * *,
        Words that are underlined will be between _ _,
        Translations will in within >,
        Thoughts will be italicized.
        Author's comments/notes will be within []'s.

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     As is the way of world, Monday once more returned. In many ways
it was a typical Monday... children going back to school, adults going
to work, and a cat in the States kicking a puppy dog off the table. It
was a typical Monday.  Akane woke, got dressed, and walked downstairs.
As usual, Kasumi had prepared breakfast for everyone and Nabiki and
her father, Soun, were already at the table waiting for her.
     What marked this as an atypical Monday was the stranger sitting
next to Soun. They were quietly discussing something with a few hand
movements. They were talking too softly for Akane to make out what
they are saying, and the hand gestures could mean anything. The
stranger was Ranma Saotome, son of Nodoka and Genma Saotome, friends
of her parents. Akane vaguely remembered when she was only four years
old, how Nodoka and Ranma would come over so her parents could go out
by themselves occasionally. Apparently, before her mother's death,
her mother wish to secure for at least one of her daughter's future by
having Ranma marry one of them. It had been ten years since the Tendos
had seen Ranma. In those ten years, he had grown and changed. Although
her own memory was sketchy, at best, Kasumi told her and Nabiki that
she remembered that Ranma was an energetic, couldn't-stand-still child
not like the calm, peaceful teenager that came back to the Tendos to
fulfill their parents' promises. Which of Soun's three daughters were
to marry Ranma is what last night meeting was about. There were merits
for any of the daughters to marry Ranma to fulfill the family's
promise. It was Ranma who pointed out the lateness of night and the
fact that he knew very little about Soun's daughter. Ranma suggested
that they take their time as to avoid rushing into a mistake and to
get to know the Tendo girls. After awhile, Ranma and one of the girls
would agree to be engaged.
     As breakfast commenced, Akane and Nabiki both noticed that Ranma
was not eating. Before Akane could say anything, Nabiki asked, "Why aren't
you eating, Ranma?"
     Ranma politely replied, "I ate at home after practice."
     "Practice?" Akane asked confused, he could not mean...
     "The Art," Ranma answered.
     Seeing his daughters' confused faces, Soun explained, "Yes,
Nodoka is also one of Master Happosai's students. That's how she and
Genma met."
     "Wow..." Akane said softly. So she was not the only female to study
the Martial Arts like she feared.
        They walked in silence towards school for a while until Ranma asked
the girls for some information about the school such as where the
various offices were, where his homeroom might be, and the general
layout of the building.
     When they reached the school gates, they stopped. Nabiki turned
to Akane and said, "Good luck!" and continued on.
     Ranma curious, looked into the school yard and saw a group of
boys standing by the gates. He turned to Akane and asked, "What's
going on?"
     Akane ignored Ranma, backed up a few steps, and ran into the
school yard screaming, "I hate boys!"
     Ranma caught up to Akane within a few seconds and noticing all the
boys charging at Akane. Ranma moved in front of her to protect her.
     Akane screamed for Ranma to get out of her way but Ranma refused
to move.
     "What *are* you doing?" Ranma demanded of the crowd.
     The crowd stopped a few feet in front of Ranma, while kept
himself between the crowd and Akane.
     "What?!?" both the crowd and Akane replied.
     "I ask, what is going on here?" Ranma asked patiently.
     "We're trying to date Akane..." someone in the background stated
lamely.
     "Really?" Ranma replied raising a eyebrow in a well practiced
manner. He continued, "You're *trying* to date a girl by beating her
up?"
     "Well..." someone to the side replied.
     "Could someone please explain the *logic* in that?" Ranma asked.
     "It was Kuno-sempai's idea..." someone in front said to which
everyone including Akane nodded their heads in agreement.
     "Where is the *honor*... in *ganging* up on a single person?" Ranma
asked.
     "Ah mmmmm...." was the only reply.
     "And who are you, cretin, to tell *my* followers what to do or not
do?" came load voice from the back as it moved towards the front.
     "Oh no," the crowd moaned.
        "I am ..." the newcomer dressed in a kempo outfit began, "
Kuno-sempai. Captain of the Kendo Club. Undefeated new star of the High
School fencing world. But my peers (not that *I* have any) call me....
        "The *BLUE* *THUNDER* of Furinkan High!" Kuno ended with a flash of
blue lightning and a roar of thunder.
        "Blue Thunder?" the crowd muttered.
        One of Nabiki's friends asked her, "Have *you* heard that?"
        "News to me," Nabiki replied.
        Ranma simply waited patiently and said, "Neat effects... I am
called Ranma Saotome."
        "That's it?" Kuno asked incredibly.
        Ranma shrugged and said, "I am, what I am. No more. No less."
        "I shall not stand for such impudence.... Die cretin," Kuno said
as he charged Ranma with his bokken sticking straight out.
        At the last moment, Ranma easily side-stepped the bokken and
tripped Kuno up, causing him to fall on his face. Kuno was quickly back
on his feet and attacked Ranma again. Ranma simply side-stepped the
attack once more and tripped Kuno up again. Undaunted, Kuno rushed at
Ranma with his bokken raised over his head prepared to strike but Ranma
jumped over the downward swing allowing it to strike the school's
wall. Ranma's carried him gracefully to a branch of a nearby tree. Kuno
turned around, swung at Ranma only to miss him, but he did managed to
bring down the branch.
        Ranma standing face to face with Kuno said, "Now hold on. This is
getting out of hand."
        "Wow..." Akane spoke her thoughts out loud. "He was next to Kuno
before he could blink."
        "You will bow to my //superior// skills and..." Kuno said as he
tried to hit Ranma but Ranma simply jumped over the bokken to punch him
out with a blow to the head.

        Kuno, after a quick change into his school uniform, entered his
homeroom. After awhile, he noticed the other students were snickering
at him. After a while, he could no longer stand the others talking
behind his back stood up and said, "It was a lucky blow! It will not
happen again!"
        "Ah, Kuno, you haven't seen your face recently, have you?" Nabiki
could not help tease.
        "Huh?" Kuno asked not understanding.
        Nabiki with a smile handed Kuno her pocket mirror and pointed out
the markings on his forehead that was the true cause of the snickering.
Written on Kuno's forehead was the word 'buffoon' in marker.
        "And you only felt *one* blow?" Nabiki inquired.
        "Maybe Ranma Saotome is an adequate artist... not that he is at
my level of perfection," Kuno began. "But he can't even spell!"
        "Huh?" Nabiki asked not understanding.
        "The correct spelling of 'buffoon' is," Kuno said as he wrote
'boofun' on the chalkboard.
        "No, it isn't," Nabiki replied. "This is..." as she wrote
'buffoon' underneath Kuno's attempt.
        Kuno turned to Nabiki and said, "I detest you."
        To which she replied, "I'm *so* glad."

        Akane's homeroom, unlike Kuno's, was quiet. All the students
were looking at Ranma, who was standing in front of the class as the
teacher introduced him with. "Class," he said, "This is Ranma Saotome.
Our new student. However, even though you have been in China until
recently, it doesn't excuse you and Miss Tendo from being late. So both,
you and Miss Tendo, can go stand in the hall for being late."
        With that, Ranma and Akane were sent to the hall each with two
full buckets of water they had to hold. Once settled out in the hall,
Akane turned to Ranma and said, "It's *ALL* your fault!"
        "Huh?" Ranma replied as he snapped out of the meditation he had
began to pass the time.
        "If you didn't interfere with *my* fight," Akane explained. "We
would have been on time! *I* finish *my* fight //before// school starts."
        Ranma was puzzled. All he had done was shed some light of reason
on a mob scene. That most had agreed to stop attacking Akane had
pleased him. Ranma believed that the martial arts were for the mastering
of oneself and only to be used as a last retort to in defend oneself. He
simply stopped a pointless battle before it began. Ranma simply asked,
"You //enjoyed// fighting with *all* those //boys//?"
        "No! But..." Akane began.
        "Then why?" Ranma asked in puzzlement.
        "Because, one day Kuno-sempai pronounced that any boy who wishes
to date me had to defeat me," Akane explained. "You're the first
person to confront Kuno and survive."
        "Still..." Ranma said.
        "Boys are stupid," Akane said in a voice that meant, 'End of
discussion.'

        During a lull in class, Kuno asked Nabiki about Ranma.
        "... And he's to marry one of us," Nabiki concluded.
        "What!" Kuno exclaimed as he stood up. "I'll not stand for this!
He wants my pretty Akane! There is no other choice... What mere mortal
can resist her beauty. It is like... the coming dawn. He shall not
bathe in her presence. Not while there is still breathe in this body!"
        "Kuno," the teacher said, "go stand in the hall for disturbing
the class."
        "RANMA SAOTOME!" Kuno screamed as he ran out of class.

        "Why did you interfere," Akane asked after the silence got to
her.
        "Huh?" Ranma said. "Why? It is one's duty to help others when
one can."
        "RANMA SAOTOME!" a scream came down the hallway.
        "You shall *NOT* marry *my* Akane," Kuno, who had changed into a
blue kempo shirt and black, traditional pants, said as he came
barreling down the hall.
        "What?!??" Ranma, Akane, and Akane's classmates exclaimed.
        "Aren't you moving *too* fast, Akane?" one girl said.
        "He is //cute//," another girl said.
        "But, Akane said she despises boys," a male student proclaimed.
        Ranma jumped over Kuno's attack while Kuno shouted, "Stand your
ground."
        // This isn't the place to fight, // Ranma thought to himself.
//I have to lead him out of here. //
        "Follow me, if you dare," Ranma said to Kuno.
        "There is *no* place under Heaven you can go that you will escape
by wrath," Kuno said.
        Ranma jumped out of the nearby window and Kuno followed him.
        "We're on the *third* floor," one of the guys exclaimed.
        "Lucky, the pool under that window," another guy said.
        "Lucky?!??! If only he knew..." Ranma whines.
        With a loud splash both Kuno and Ranma landed in the pool.

[=== End of Part 2 ===]
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-- 
Zaxxon <sachs@knuth.mtsu.edu>			http://www.cs.mtsu.edu/~sachs
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
"That's the difference," the Phoenix said. "You see only black and white 
with the occasional grey, me, I see shades of green, blue, and brown."