Don't shoot me.  I was listening to the stereo in the car
and a certain song inspired me to write this story.  I can't say
what story or you'll know what it's abotu before you read.  I
know it seems very similar to some of Jeff Rutsch's stuff, but it's
not a ripoff in the least.



			What in the World...

{all standard disclaimers apply}


"Kuno-chan's a real sore loser."

"I can see...  I hate this damn curse."

***

She plucked the object out of the air and stared in surprise as
the rose petals drifted to the ground.  "What the...?  Flowers?"
She looked at Kuno, still stunned.

"My pig-tailed goddess," he said in a husky voice.  "I love you."
He turned and walked away.

Ranma stared at his retreating back in complete disbelief and
utter horror.

***

"He said WHAT?"

"You heard me.  And I don't wanna say it again.  I'm gonna have
nightmares about this."  Ranma was sitting on the floor of Akane's
room sulking.  He felt he had a right to.

Nabiki smirked.  "I think it's cute.  You're just his type,
Ranma."

"Shut up, Nabiki."

"Aww, come on, Ranma.  Can't you take a joke?"

Ranma glared at Nabiki.  "No."

Akane was sitting on her bed, thinking.  "He's gotten worse,
hasn't he, sis?" she asked.

Nabiki's smile faltered.  "What do you mean, Akane?"

"This thing with Ranma.  It's not natural.  And the speech
contest.  It's just not right."

Nabiki nodded, scowling a bit.  It hadn't been that long ago that
Kuno was completely normal.  He had slowly deteriorated over the
past few months and was acting completely irrational.  "Maybe he's
finally snapped."

Akane frowned.  "I hope not.  He could be dangerous."

"As far as I'm concerned, he's already dangerous," Ranma said,
rising from the floor.  "Next time he touches me, I'm sending him
into another time zone."  He smashed his fist into his palm,
completely frustrated by being hit on by another guy (even if he
was exceptionally sexy as a female... not that he'd ever noticed).

"I'm gonna check on dinner," he declared and left the room.

"He's starting to scare me, Nabiki," Akane said as soon as Ranma
had shut her door.  "He's getting closer every morning."

Nabiki nodded.  "I don't know what to tell you, Akane.  I just
don't... know what to say."

***

Kodachi hummed happily to herself, checking on each of her plants.
They were all so full and leafy.  She was very proud of them, even
if the only person that ever saw them was her brother.  She
changed one of the fluorescent bulbs and smiled at the bushy
plant.  They were all doing well.

She went to the little enclosure and shut the door tightly behind
her.  The de-humidifier was whirring happily in the corner,
pulling all the moisture out of the air.  Kodachi touched some of
the leaves, judging how close they were to being done.  At least
three were ready and she picked up the plants.

Leaving the enclosure, she carried the dried plants over to one
of her workbenches and began to work on them.  It was a slow
process; she was VERY careful.

Finally finished, she pushed aside the plastic bags.  There were a
group of them for the regulars, and another group for the
spontaneous buyers.  She also kept a small amount to take into the
house.

She looked over at the beakers, flasks, dishes, scales and Bunsen
burners set up on another bench.  She still hadn't quite gotten
that down; the resulting crystals still had strange affects on
those that took them.  She looked at the row of small vials and
sighed.  They would be hard to get rid of.

"Kodachi!"  Her brother burst into the greenhouse like a bull
chasing a cow.

"Yes, brother dear?" she asked sweetly.

"Is it not that time?" he asked imperiously.  "I require my...
my..."

"Your fix, brother dear?"  She batted her eyelashes at him.

His eyes were wild momentarily.  "Do not insinuate such lies about
my person!  I only require a... boost."  His eyes lit up.  "And
then I shall destroy that cur Saotome, and have the pig-tailed
goddess all to myself!"

"And Akane Tendo," Kodachi said, handing him one of the vials.

"And Akane Tendo!"  He stormed out of the greenhouse, his form
obscured by the frosted glass.  "So says Tatewaki Kuno, Blue
Thunder of Furinkan!"  Lightning broke across the sky and a peal
of thunder shook the windows.

Kodachi looked at the baggie she had planned on taking with her
and decided it was most definitely not enough.

END

-- 
Lara

o------------------------------------------------------------------o
| Danger!  Thrills!  Guns!  What more could a gamer want than Tomb |
| Raider?  In it, you play hacker dream date Lara Croft (packs     |
| heat, back flips, has improbable breasts), as she leaps, swims,  |
| and shoots her way through various lushly depicted exotic        |
| labyrinths.  There's not much brain-work required here -- just   |
| keyboarding -- but it's hard not to be entertained by Lara's     |
| derring-do.  You go, girl!                                       | 
|       --- Newsweek                                               |
o------------------------------------------------------------------o
    lara@emunix.emich.edu | http://www.emich.edu/public/llb/