Colliding SYmphonies Production.
Characters forementioned are property of Capcom, Shogakukan, ShonenSunday
Used Without Permission for entertainment purposes only.

Ver. 1.2

C&C welcome-but an I read it message will suffice.

The Twisted Roads We Follow

Part one--Enter the Cherry Blossom!

Ranma and Akane were late.

That in itself is nothing particularly out of the ordinary.

As they rounded the corner, bickering noises could be heard bouncing off the
walls. ". . .your fault Ranma!" a shrewish voice wailed.

"Whaddaya mean all my fault!? I'm not the one who decided to level the bathroom
sink cause I couldn't get my hair to lay the right way!"

Akane fumed, taking a shot at Ranma on the fence with her school bag. Ranma
easily hopped over it. "Well I wouldn't have had to if you hadn't drenched me!"
She shook her head, some moisture escaping her head.

"I told you I didn't mean it! I was aiming for the old man!" he whined, trying
ineffectually to argue his point. Overcast had set the rather dull tone of the
day ever since daybreak as the two rounded the last bend. Ranma dismounted the
fence a few yards later after it ran out. "Never mind, jeeze. Stupid girl never
listens. . ."

"Who's that?" Akane questioned abruptly as they came up on the school. Ranma
looked up and could plainly make out 2 figures, one obviously Kuno, the other
was much smaller, wearing an old style fuku a bit like Kodachi's, yet blue.

"Dunno. Wonder what Kuno is up to?" Ranma noted that the girl seemed to be
wearing sneakers as he got closer. By the time the two reached the gate they
could hear Kuno's voice distinctly.
====
" . . .it is truly in your fortune that you have happened upon the most
prominent figurehead of this highschool. I, the strongest of the Kendo, the most
scholarly poet of the senior class, the most respected . . ."

"Or neglected!" roared from an upstairs window.

" . .Blue Thunder of Furinkan High!" his proclamation brought forth a mighty
rumble of the heavens. "It is I, Tatewaki Kuno. I who would allow you the
benefit of the date with my company, new school girl!"

"Oh please," answered the girl in a rough language dialect. "I'm already late,
now get out of my way, Sempai." Ranma noted how short she was, just barely
shorter than Akane. The girl with short brown hair moved forward towards the
gate, but Kuno moved between and held up his bokken in a menacing fashion.

"Nay, be-little my generous offer, my sweet guest at Furinkan. Do me the
pleasure of thy name?"

"Thy?" she exclaimed, confused by his language "Gah, what is your deal!? If you
don't move I'll move you!" she threatened, approaching Kuno confidently.

Ranma could clearly tell she was more than ready to back that ultimatum up. He
had sized up many an opponent in his time, including bullies and trash talkers,
and this quite small and slender girl was exhibiting neither of those qualities.
(Yeesh. I hope she's not in over her head. She even more rough looking than
Akane!) Her face wore more lines and wasn't quite as soft as Akane's her hair
also a bit ragged compared to Akane's.

 The girl took a few more steps, and when Kuno did not move, she did.

She lunged lower than his weapon point and slammed him three times in the gut
with her right fist. Kuno winced, but tried to be perform a counterstroke while
reciting; "Oh but the flower shows her thorns!" His stroke cut downwards, but
she was so much shorter than him and so close, that it was bound to be
ineffectual. As Kuno over swung, the girl spun on the balls of her feet to the
side of the blow and buffalo punched Kuno in the exposed ribs.

After landing the blow, she darted past his cringing form.

After a moment, Kuno recovered and proclaimed to the entrance, "I shall have thy
name before this day is done, My Thorny Flower!"

While Ranma was still studying the whole encounter, Akane had started running
for the door, blowing by Kuno. "Ah Hey! Wait! No Fair!" Ranma looked up at the
clock over the school. "Oh man!"

After a bit of measuring, Ranma leapt from the stone wall to bound off of two
trees. After jumping from the last tree, he clenched to the outer wall of the
school. after a bit of climbing, he came to his classroom window.

Face to face with the homeroom teacher.

"Ranma."

"Hai, sensei?" he said, scratching the back of his head, a silly smile breaking
through his face.

"I appreciate your enthusiastic attempt at punctuality. . ," Ranma noticed Akane
sneak in while the teacher was inattentive, ". . .but next time, use the door."
he patted Ranma on the cheek. "Kay, young man?"

Ranma exaggerated a dejected look and ansered, "Hai, sensei."

"Now come in. We have an announcement." the plain grey haired man made his way
to the front of the class as Ranma hid behind him until he came to his seat.
"Hiroshi, goto the janitor's storage and tell him I sent you."

"Hai, Sensei." Everyone took a sea as Hiroshi took off out of the room. The
teacher had followed him to the door, left it open, and shortly re-entered
followed by the girl Ranma and Akane saw outside.

(Her. .. hmm. .) Her posture was energetic, still a bit glowing from her
exertion with Kuno.

"This is our new student who transferred from Setagaya, upper Tokyo. Her name is
Sakura Nagasaki. Jikoshokai," he told her.

Sakura bowed, a long hair band whipping excessively. "I'm 16, and I'll be
joining the running team and the photographer's club for the newspaper.
Yoroshiku." Akane could tell she was straining to speak in proper form, almost
as much as Ranma does.

The teacher stood in front of her. "Now then for seat placement."

At that moment, Hiroshi crashed through the door, holding a desk assembly rather
clumsily. "Could some-one, uh. . ."

====

By lunch, a downpour had developed, meaning the interioir of the school was
unusually crowded with teenagers. Most of the student body had opted to remain
in the classrooms. Ranma was a bit strangled, so he booked it down the longest
hallway to the stairwell, where he could look out the window. He simply leaned
against the window frame, occasionally answering a greeting from the student
body. He usually couldn't remember their names, but everybody knew who Ranma
was. (I hate that,) he thought, stroking his clenched fist. (Oh, well.) He
relaxed as he continued to look out the window.

Akane had started wandering the halls. (Where did he get to? That jerk! After I
made him this lunch surprise!) After a bit of working her way through the halls,
she noticed Ranma at the window by the stairs. She began moving with purpose
towards him.

Ranma, out of the simple contrast of clothing, noticed Sakura descending from
the stairwell.

Akane saw Ranma's attention waver to the upstairs. After a moment, she saw
Sakura descend to come beside Ranma. (What is he doing?)

Sakura leaned against the window opposite of Ranma. "So they don't care much
about the dress code here, pony boy?"

"Huh?" Ranma was pretty stunned at her forwardness. "I guess. . .But the
principal is more into fashion than, uh, con- conforming everyone."

"Sa, naa?" she sighed, looking out the window.

Akane was clenching the bag she was holding. Nabiki came up from behind her. "He
doesn't waste time, does he?"

"Shut, up."

Nabiki draped an arm over her shoulder. "You know, I found out she got kicked
out of her old school for fighting. Laid out most of the judo and Greco teams."

"Hm," Akane fumed, tearing the bag slightly as she watched Sakura and Ranma.

"Be careful of Kuno," Ranma warned.

"Huh?"

"He can get you if you're not ready."

"Oh please. Who are you to talk? I've seen molasses faster than him."

"Hey, I was just tryin ta warn ya."

"Yeah, yeah. My hero, Ranma."

"Huh?'

"Yeah, It didn't take long for the gossip circle to spew about you." She looked
him up and down. "You don't look like too much."

Ranma felt his pride o meter needle flail violently at the last remark, but
tried to remain calm. "Yeah, well, I don't fight girls."

"Ooo, should I be impressed by your gentlemanly demeanor? Gag me, popularity
hog."

"RANMA!" Ranma turned casually to Akane, as did Sakura who was wondering who the
noisy girl was. "What are you doing!?"

Ranma looked at Sakura a bit disgusted, then back to Akane, then at the ground
as he walked away. "Not a damn thing. . ."

Akane watched in confusion as Ranma walked away. "Hey, wait! Don't you want your
lunch?" She said, moving to follow him.

Sakura watched them leave. (God, playboys like that make me sick. He such a. .
.a . .boy. Even got a girl making him lunch.) she lightly wrapped the wall with
her knuckles. (He'll get his. . .)

--
       ______________
       | Colliding  |
       | SYmphonies |
_______|____________|____________________________________
|HTTP://www.abraxis.com/ryougaecho/CollidingSYmphonies/ |
|_______________________________________________________|
| "You too small. You should learn to run, not fight."  |
|                                                       |
|   Karate master speaking to Master Tatsuo Shimabuku   |
|  as a child. Master Tatsuo later founded Isshinryu    |
|_______________________________________________________|