Here's part ten of the story.  Hope you like it.

Once again, the next part of my fic.  As usual, if you need missing parts,
or want to send me C&C, just email me.  C&C is more than welcome.
 
As usual, Ranma and all associated characters are property of Rumiko
Takahashi.  This is a work of fiction written by a fan for fans.  It is
not meant to infringe on any copyrights or offend the creator in any way.
The new characters introduced are copyrighted (to me), and will hopefully
be seen once again in an original work of fiction by me later on this
year.
 
Enough legal/cover-my-butt banter.
 
Happy reading!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chapter Ten

	"So which one do you want to watch?" Ranma asked.
	"I have no idea." Akane replied.  She looked to Ken and Ukyou
expectantly.
	"Don't look at me."  Ukyou said.
	Ken shrugged and looked to Ranma.  Ranma grinned.
	"How about that one?" he asked.
	Akane looked at the film and frowned.  Ukyou stared at it and
laughed.  Ken gazed at the poster and shrugged again.
	"You always watch those martial arts action films." Akane said
shaking her head.  "Why not try something different?"
	"Maybe you should try something other than action movies,
Ran-chan." Ukyou agreed.
	Ranma looked over to Ken pleadingly.
	"C'mon, man.  You know you want to watch an action flick.  How
about it?"
	Ukyou looked over at him expectantly.
	"I don't know.  I'll watch anything."
	Ukyou smiled triumphantly.
	"Ken, Ukyou's got you led by a ring through your nose, you know
that?" Ranma said with a laugh.
	Ken blushed furiously and cleared his throat.
	"A dramatic movie it is!" Akane said.
	Ranma groaned.  Ken shrugged.  Ukyou laughed.

	"I don't see why she was 'lovely.'  I don't get it."
	Akane sighed.
	"You never understand these things, Ranma."
	Ukyou sighed and snuggled up against Ranma's left arm.  She spent
the entire movie leaning up against Ranma's left, while Akane spent the
movie leaned up on his right.  Ranma, being his usual self, couldn't
figure out what to do and simply put an arm around Akane instead of Ukyou.
Ken spent the entire time staring at the screen blankly.
	Now he was trailing slightly and looking around thoughtfully,
casting an occasional glance at Ukyou and Ranma, before quickly turning to
the skyline again.
	"Guys, I think I forgot something in the theater.  I'll see you
all tomorrow." he said suddenly.
	"Okay." Ukyou called dreamily over her shoulder.
	Ranma looked at Akane with a helpless look on his face.  Akane
frowned in disapproval.  
	"Hey, I'll go with you." Ranma offered.
	Ukyou sighed in discontent.  Akane smiled.
	"No, it's okay.  I can handle it.  You three head on back." Ken
called over his shoulder before turning into an alleyway.
	Ranma looked slightly defeated.  He looked over to Ukyou, who
still gripped his arm tightly with a blissful expression.  A look over to
Akane told him she didn't feel the same way.  Akane pivoted on her heel
and stomped into the opposite direction.
	"I'll see if Ken needs some help finding his way back.  I think
that's what your mother meant by keeping an eye out for him." she said
angrily.
	Ranma sighed and shook his head.
	"Look, Ukyou, I should help Ken out here.  He's not too familiar
with Nerima and he might end up as lost as Ryouga.  I'll see you tomorrow,
okay?"
	Ukyou looked up at him disappointingly.
	"But it was turning out to be such a beautiful evening." she
pouted.
	Ranma blanched.  Ukyou was starting to do it too.  He was positive
using the same tactic to stop her would earn more than disapproval from
Akane.  He quickly employed the Saotome Secret Technique.
	"Well, maybe we can do it again another time.  Gotta go! See ya!"
he called as he bolted down the street and into an alleyway.
	Ukyou sighed dejectedly and walked home.

	Akane looked about the theater in frustration.  Ken wasn't there.
He apparently didn't show up for the mystery things he forgot.  That was
twenty minutes ago.  Ranma showed up five minutes after she had arrived at
the theater and she sent him back to the dojo in a fit of anger.  It
probably wasn't a good idea, but she was hoping that Ken would show up.
She sighed.
	"Where are you?" she muttered to herself in frustration.  She
decided it wasn't going to be at the theater by a long shot.
	As she walked down the street looking about for him, she wondered
what could have spurred him to leave suddenly.  Nothing came to mind.  As
she wandered about the streets looking for him, she gazed at the blinking
stars and wondered why thing had seemed to be going so well, only to have
them turned around just as easily.  First the hugging and the kissing
between her and Ranma before the movie.  Then the complete turnabout with
Ukyou snuggling up to him with little protest.  It made her frustrated and
sad thinking about it.  Akane started walking home, following a path her
feet put forth for her, and ran into someone.
	"Excuse me." she said quietly.
	"Akane?"
	She looked up to see Ken leaning against a fence around the park
near the dojo.
	"So what are you doing here?" she asked.
	"Just looking.  It's pretty nice out."
	"It is.  Did you get what you were looking for?"
	"Yeah."
	Akane looked at him intently as he gazed out at the sky.  Ken was
lying and she knew it.
	"Well, I'll see you later." she said as she turned to head home
	"Akane, may I ask a personal question?"
	Akane stopped.
	"Sure.  What's on your mind?"
	"You care about Ranma a great deal, don't you?"
	Akane blushed.
	"Yes, I do." she said, barely above a whisper.
	"Does it hurt as much as it makes you feel good?"
	Akane blinked.
	"I guess so.  Ranma and I get into fights a lot, but it's just the
way we are.  We don't mean to hurt each other, but we say thing or do
things before thinking." She replied as she walked over to lean on the
fence next to Ken.
	"Does he love you as much as you love him?"
	Akane laughed quietly.
	"I guess I 'm not sure why, but I'm sure he does." she said with a
laugh.
	"It's a great feeling, isn't it?"
	"What is?"
	"Being loved in return by the people you love." Ken replied.
	"Yes.  It is." Akane replied with a soft sigh and a smile.  "It's
the greatest thing in the world."
	A moment of silence passed before either spoke.
	"Well, I guess I'll see you later." Ken said as he slowly moved
from the fence back towards Ucchan's.
	"You too." Akane replied.
	She watched as Ken's figure slowly melted into the darkness and
disappeared.  She turned to look back at the stars as they twinkled and
winked at her.  Being in love was a good feeling.  The best, she decided.

	"C'mon lazy!  Rise n' shine!"
	Ken groaned and turned away from the sudden intrusion of sunlight.
He pulled the sheets over his head.
	"Get up!  You're going to be late if you don't!" Ukyou exclaimed.
	"Late for what?" Ken mumbled through the sheets.
	"School, of course!  We're enrolling you today!"
	"We are?"
	"Didn't you say you'd start classes?"
	Ken mumbled an incoherent reply from under the sheets.  Ukyou
reached a toe out and flipped the sheets back to reveal a very groggy
waiter.  Ken waved an arm, searching for the sheets.  Ken mumbled
something about wearing only a pair of boxers before pulling the sheets
back up to cover himself again.  Ukyou sighed and pulled the sheets back
again, tossing them completely off the futon.  Ken covered his face with
is pillow and groped for the sheets again.  Ukyou shook her head and sat
on Ken's stomach, earning a loud exhale from Ken.  She started poking his
bare chest as she sat on his stomach.
	"Wake up!  You're going to be late!  You don't want to be late!
You want me to tickle you until you're awake?" she said impishly.
	Ken was groggily waving his left hand around in defense as his
right held his pillow over his head.
	"C'mon!  Wake up!  You sleep like a brick!" she shouted.
	Ukyou grabbed the pillow and tossed it away.  After seeing him
simply respond by covering his face with his arms, she started beating his
chest with both fists.
	"Wake up!  Wake-oof!"
	Ken's hands quickly batted her arms away, but made her fall
forwards.  She landed, sprawled out face to face with him.  Ken blinked,
before blushing.  
	"If this is how you wake people up, I'm surprised you're not
married yet." he said with a silly grin.
	Ukyou quickly sat up, realized where she was sitting and quickly
stood up and to the side brushing her hair from her face and straightening
her clothes.
	"Get up you jackass.  We have to get you to the principal's office
before the bell if you're going to enroll." she said in a flustered voice.
	Ken sat up and rubbed his eyes.
	"Sure thing." he said with a quiet chuckle.
	Ukyou grit her teeth and shook her head before going back to the
restaurant in a huff.  When Ken got to the bathroom, he saw a uniform on
the floor by the door.
	"This uniform for me?" he called out.
	"Yes." came the shouted reply.
	Ken wondered where she had gotten the uniform.  It was odd.  When
he held out the uniform it fit perfectly, yet he couldn't remember trying
one on.  The only time he'd gone out shopping with anyone was once with
Ranma's mother, and another with Ukyou and Nabiki.  Ken frowned.  It was
odd, but he shrugged it off.  He wasn't one to question gifts that came
from people he knew.
	After a quick shower he threw on the uniform and walked down to
the restaurant.  Ukyou gave a quick look and smiled in approval.  
	"It fits really well." she said in surprise.
	Ken raised an eyebrow.
	"You didn't think it would?" he asked.
	"Well, I wasn't sure if it would when I go it."
	"You bought this for me?  You weren't planning on me coming to
school were you?"
	Ukyou blushed, and quickly turned around.
	"Nope.  I just thought that you were going to enroll, that's all.
I took the liberty of buying one in anticipation.  I didn't plan anything.
I just assumed.  Is that bad?"
	Ken laughed.
	"No, it's not.  I appreciate the thought.  It's quite nice.  Is
this some kind of universal uniform?"
	Ukyou looked at him questioningly as she started for the door.
Ken followed.
	"What do you mean?" she asked.
	"Well, you seem to be wearing the same uniform."
	"And?"
	"I just wondered if women wear the same uniform."
	"Did you see women wearing the same uniform when you visited the
school?"
	"No."
	"There you go."
	"But then why are you wearing one?"
	Ukyou stopped and blinked.
	"Habit, I guess."
	"Oh."
	Ken followed Ukyou to Furinkan in silence the rest of the way.
When they both arrived, students were just starting to enter the building.
Ukyou quickly dragged Ken past the incoming crowd of people and into the
building to the principal's office.  If people had paid attention, they
would have noticed a rather worried look on Ken's face.  However, life in
Nerima had accustomed them to the oddities of life around them.  They paid
no mind to those events simply labeled odd.
	When Ken left the principal's office with Ukyou, he had a
perplexed look on his face.
	"You weren't kidding when you said the principal was a little off
the wall." Ken remarked.
	Ukyou snickered.
	"Off the wall is an understatement." she replied.
	"Why was he growing a palm tree on his head?"
	"Just one of his quirks."
	"And the banana print suit?  Same thing?"
	Ukyou nodded as they walked to class.
	"What about the hair cutting?" Ken asked.
	"That too."
	"I guess off the wall is a little understated." he said with a
chuckle.
	By the time both got to class, the students had taken their seats.
Ken looked about the room as Ukyou walked over to the short, rather
underaged teacher.  As Ken gazed about the room, nodding to the wave from
Ranma, Ukyou explained things to the teacher.  After a short exchange,
Ukyou took her seat as the teacher walked to meet Ken.  Unfortunately for
Ken, he failed to realize the short girl was the teacher.
	"Hiya!  So what's your name?"
	"Excuse me, but where's the teacher?"
	The teacher pouted like a small child.  Ken frowned as a thought
passed through his mind.  The teacher was apparently just a little girl in
a loose fitting yellow dress.
	"I'm perfectly old enough to be a teacher!"
	"I didn't mean to say that you were too young." Ken quickly
replied apologetically.  "I just didn't understand that you were the
teacher."
	"You aren't going to cause trouble are you?"
	"I'll try not to."
	"Try?" the teacher asked with a frown.
	"Well, what do you want me to do?"
	"Put away the sword!"
	Ken fidgeted uncomfortably.  His sword was his security blanket.
It made him comfortable and he hated forgetting it.  The times he did, and
realized it, made him fairly nervous.
	"Is it okay if I just wear it on my back?  I promise not to take
it out."
	"Give me the sword."
	"I'm afraid I can't." Ken replied apologetically.
	"Why not?!"
	"Well, it's extremely valuable to me.  It's like a family heirloom
of sorts.  I'm the only one who can take out the blade without hurting
myself, and I don't want anyone to get hurt by it."
	"Are you saying I'm not strong enough?"
	Ken winced.  That wasn't what he meant.
	"You-you delinquent!" the teacher yelled.
	Ken backed up.  So much for my first day, he thought morosely.
	"Happo go-en satsu!"
	Ken blanched as he saw a swirl of energy form around her as she
waved a five yen piece in a slow arc.  Ken grit his teeth as he felt his
life energy draining from him.  It wasn't painful, just tiring.  Ken
closed his eyes and started tapping into energy reserves.
	"What is he trying to do?" Ranma whispered quickly to Ukyou.
	"I have no idea!  Is he trying to get us all in trouble?!" Ukyou
shot back at Ranma.
	"He's lasting a lot longer than I expected." Akane said as she
leaned over to talk to Ranma and Ukyou.
	Ken fell to one knee.  This wasn't what he expected.  Ukyou had
warned him that school was going to be interesting, but this was beyond
interesting in his opinion.  Ken grit his teeth as he sat crouched on one
knee.  The teacher was probably still standing there with a smug smile on
her face.  Ken decided to try to finish it.
	"An ki draining technique?  Interesting." he said through clenched
teeth.  "How do you do against ki channelers?  Especially when they're set
to drain?"
	Ken was now on all fours.  It was tiring, and starting to become
painful now.  He sat back and concentrated.  To Hinako Ninomiya, it
appeared as though he'd given up.  
	"Still feel like fighting, delinquent?" she asked smugly in a now
husky voice.  She sauntered a little closer to Ken's hunched form as her
body grew to adult proportions.
	Ken struggled to all fours and began reciting something
Hinako-sensei couldn't understand.  As he held his hands open, palms out
and opposing one another, a faint black aura tingled with electric blue
began swelling between them.  The aura expanded, making a kind of visible
swirling shield emanating from Ken's hands.  As he moved his hands apart,
the shield opened wider.  With a loud 'kiyai,' Ken shut his eyes and grit
his teeth.  People around them saw the swirling lines of energy leaving
Ken focus on the vertex of the energetic shield he had created.  There was
a tense moment, then a loud sucking noise as air tried to fill a vacuum.
The force from the energetic void pulled desks, papers, and people towards
the point between Ken and Hinako-sensei.  Hinako-sensei stumbled forward,
caught off guard by the sudden implosion.  Ken, expecting the inward
force, restrained himself against the teacher's desk.  Everything came to
a sudden and screeching halt.
	"That was rather unexpected." Hinako-sensei said.  As she
straightened her now tight fitting dress, the boys in the first few rows
ogled.  The girls behind them reached out to backhand them or shook their
heads in disappointment.
	"So when's detention?" Ken asked.
	Hinako-sensei glared at him.
	"We will discuss that later.  For now, please introduce yourself.
I have a class to run and wasting time is not a part of the curriculum."
	Several students choked back giggles and only muffled sniggering
could be heard.
	"Well," Ken started sheepishly, "My name is Chai Tse-Khan.  I
guess you could say I from America.  I'm Taiwanese, but I was born in the
United States."  Ken finished with a nervous laugh and scratched the back
of his head.  Blank stares and raised eyebrows met his gaze.  This is
worse than being interrogated, Ken mused.
	"So you know how to fight?" a lone voice called out.
	Ken turned slightly to address the voice.
	"I think you already know the answer to that one, Ranma." he said
with a laugh.
	Ranma gave a friendly laugh.
	"You really want me to answer that one?" he asked.
	Hinako-sensei cut them off.
	"Very well, now that you've been introduced, please take a vacant
seat." She said dismissively.
	Ken scanned around to see Ranma, Akane, and Ukyou quickly clear a
spot between the three of them, despite the protests of the students
around them.  Ken smiled and seated himself next to his friends.
	This is definitely going to be interesting, he decided.

	"Man, what did you do?"
	Ken looked up from his lunch.
	"Just some of the hocus pocus I picked up from wandering.  I take
it you want me to teach it to you?"
	Ranma nodded his head enthusiastically.
	"If I knew that one, Hinako-sensei wouldn't be able to get me with
the drain!"
	Ken laughed.
	"It takes a lot of practice and repeated beatings to do it.  You
have to be willing to lose a lot to gain a little, so to speak."
	Ranma frowned.
	"Well, since you put it that way..." he trailed off.
	Ken laughed.
	"Well, I'm sure with your skill you'll be able to pick it up in no
time."
	"Hey, aren't you supposed to go help open Ucchan's no?" Ranma
asked.
	"Yeah.  I have to meet Ukyou out here.  She's inside talking to
the principal.  Beats me why."
	Ranma and Ken stood up from their seat under a large tree near the
gate.  Akane ran up to the both of them with a grin.
	"So what did you do to Hinako-sensei?" she asked eagerly.
	"I told you that my 'talent' is taking energy and moving it
around." Ken replied.
	"Right.  You said you take things that are ki manifests like
emotions and direct them at people.  I don't see how that helps.  Did you
flood her with emotions?"
	Ken smiled.
	"Close.  Since I can channel energy, I act as an outlet or an
inlet for it.  I simply used a ki maneuver that absorbs energy instead of
outputting it."
	"So you both were draining ki from each other?"
	"More or less.  Since we were trying to drain the same energy from
the same place, we just make a kind of vacuum.  It got to big to manage so
it imploded."
	"So I take it you're fine now?" she asked skeptically.
	"Well, I'm still a little tired."
	"I noticed you starting to doze off during the lectures."
	Ken grinned sheepishly.
	"Yeah.  That ki attack really put me under.  She do that to you
before I came in?  I saw you falling asleep too."
	Ranma colored slightly.  Akane simply laughed at him.
	"Ranma just likes to sleep." Akane said with a grin.
	"Speaking of which," Ranma started, "when are you coming by to
start sparring?"
	"Tomorrow sound good for you?" Ken asked.
	Ranma was about to reply, but was cut off by a rather energetic
okonomiyaki chef.  Akane glared at him, but his apologetic look, combined
with a look of terror and helplessness, was enough to convince her it
wasn't his doing.  
	"So you're coming to help open Ucchan's, Ran-chan?"
	"I think Ran-chan's a little busy." Akane said flatly.  "We've got
some classes to finish." she finished, as she took Ranma by the ear and
yanked him away from Ukyou.
	"Hey!  What's the big deal?" Ukyou protested.  She yanked Ranma
back.  Unfortunately, Akane still had a fairly good hold of Ranma's ear.
Ranma yelped in pain.
	Ukyou quickly took him aside to nurse his sore ear and coo sweet
nothings to make sure it was working properly.  Akane groaned as Ranma,
being Ranma, melted under the feminine affection.  Akane shook her head in
frustration and glared at Ranma before pivoting on her foot to walk away
in disgust.  It was then that she noticed Ken.  He was looking rather
dejected and leaned against the tree he had been standing next to with
Ranma before Ukyou whirled Ranma away.  There was a sad wistful look on
his face.  At first she thought he might be bored, but there was a strong
underlying feeling of sadness.  She walked over to him.  The minute she
came into sight, Ken quickly turned away and shuffled a toe through the
dirt.
	"You okay?" Akane asked.
	"Yeah." Ken replied quietly.  "I'll be fine.  Just a little tired
from Hinako-sensei's little trick."
	"It's more than that isn't it?"
	"What makes you think that?" Ken asked defensively.
	"You've got that look."
	"I'm just a little drained from that thing Hinako-sensei does.
That's all."
	"I know it's got nothing to do with that."
	"How would you know?"
	"I get that look a lot, too.  My sisters tell me all the time.
Nabiki likes to make fun of me about it."
	"What look?"
	"The one that says you're really hurt.  You're jealous, and sad
because you care about someone and you think they don't think anything of
you."
	"That's ridiculous."
	"Is it?"
	"Yes."
	"Then why are you so defensive about it?  Methinks you protest too
much." she said with a knowing smile.
	Ken snorted derisively.
	"You must be out of your mind."
	"Then why is it whenever Ranma's with Ukyou, you always move away.
You always end up off to the side, just out of view.  You always look so
sad when it happens."
	"You look like that most of the time I see you with Ranma, you
know."
	"I know.  It's hard not to, especially since Ranma and I really
started thinking seriously about each other."
	Ken raised an eyebrow.
	"And this is supposed to help me how?"
	"Ranma and I took so long to finally tell each other how we felt.
I think we always knew, deep down somewhere.  If you care about Ukyou the
same way she cares about Ranma, then tell her.  Try to get close to her.
Ranma and I care about each other a lot.  I think Ukyou might not like
what becomes of it.  Please be there for her.  She'll need someone like
you to be there for her when Ranma makes his decision."
	Ken looked away, staring at the ground in thought.  He turned to
look back at Ukyou fawning over Ranma.  A sad look passed through his eyes
again.  A frown set in on his face.  Akane found it an uncomfortable
sight.
	"Tell Ukyou I'll meet her at the restaurant.  I'll open up
regardless of whether she's there or not.  I have some things to take care
of before things open."
	Akane sighed.  Ken was trying to block things out, the same way
she had when she felt the same way.  It wasn't going to help him, and it
was only going to hurt.  It was something she was all too familiar with.
Akane turned away as Ken leaped over the wall outside Furinkan.  She
returned her gaze to where Ranma was standing, with a dejected look on his
face.  Akane laughed.  Apparently, Ranma had his fill of Ukyou's feminine
charms.
	"Ukyou, what will Akane think?" Ranma protested.
	"She'll get mad, dump you, and then we can get married." Ukyou
replied sweetly.  Ranma looked over to Akane who stood glaring at him.
	"You're acting like Shampoo!" Ranma quickly admonished.
	Ukyou sobered slightly.
	"What?"
	"And don't you have a restaurant to open?" Akane added.
	Ukyou blanched.
	"You're right.  Where's Ken?" she said quickly as she straightened
her clothes.
	Ukyou quickly glanced around.  Akane calmly walked over to where
Ukyou was glancing around angrily.
	"Where did that jackass run off to?  I told him to meet me here."
	"He left to open the restaurant." Akane replied nonchalantly.
	"He did?  That's great!  It's nice to know I found such good
help."
	Akane smirked.
	"Are you sure he isn't better than just good help?"
	Ukyou glared at Akane.
	"What are you implying?"
	"Nothing." Akane said casually and walked away.
	Ukyou looked over to Ranma who simply shrugged.
	"Are you going to ask me out or something?" she asked expectantly.
	"What?"
	"A real man would ask his woman out on a date.  Women love it when
people they care about ask them out."
	Ranma smacked his fist into his open palm.
	"Ucchan, you're a genius!  I should have thought of that sooner!"
	Ukyou blushed.
	"You're too kind, Ranma.  Will you be coming after the restaurant
closes?  Ranma?"
	Ukyou looked over to see Ranma deep in thought.  He suddenly
straightened up.
	"That's it!  Sorry, Ucchan, but as much as I appreciate the offer,
I don't think I should head out there.  It's a great idea though.  I never
would have figured it out on my own.  You're a pal!" Ranma called over his
shoulder as he bolted after Akane.
	Ukyou stood aghast as Ranma left.  Everything fell out from her
world all at once.



*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Ethan Tsai
1 N. College Street
Northfield, MN 55057

Member of SAUCE (it's what should* go on the okonomiyaki)
Civilian Advisor to the Warehouse, Chemical Superfreak
	Free Consultation on a Referral Basis
Member of USSRTFW:SR

TSAIE@Gridley.ACNS.Carleton.edu
http://public.carleton.edu/~tsaie/ethan.html