Disclaimer: All characters mentioned herein are the property of
Takahashi Rumiko and are used without permission on a solely
non-profit basis. All rights reserved to her.

C&C and MST'ies welcomed and encouraged publicly or privately
at Carlin92@aol.com.

At The Movies

	I love Bruce Lee movies. I can sit and watch em all day. And
with the house empty this weekend, no family, no fiancees, and
no one busting through the walls to challenge me that's what
I'm doing. Yup it's just me, the chips and the Bruce Lee marathon
on Channel 41.
	Since as far back as I can remember, I wanted to be Bruce Lee.
Big surprise, right? I know, me, Saotome Ranma, Heir to the Saotome
School of Anything-Goes wanting to be a great fighter. Wanting to be
a hero. Thing of it is, it's funny, My life's like something out of the movies
most of the time.
	Hell, the stories of some of the things that have happened to me
would make great stuff. Kirin, Toma, Herb and the Musk Kingdom.
Man, Lee-san never had it as bad as I do. Fists of Fury is nothing
compared them. I can just see it now, even something like that movie,
The Lost World, about those dinosaurs that come back to life. Now
imagine something about Ryugenzawa, got a bunch of animals
already there, HUGE. Perfect for an action movie. Any other animals
they needed, just give em a drink of the Water of Life and there they
are! Would be great too, scary as hell.
	For everyone else, of course. Not me, nope. Nothing scares me
you know.
	Except cats, and that isn't even my fault! Stupid Pop's fault,
not mine... tying fish sausage to your kid and throwing him into an alley
filled with cats. Over and over and over...NO! Damn it! Not gonna think
about that! Forget it! Where was I? Oh yeah. Like I was sayin', about the
movie. You could even put Ryouga in it and call it 'The Real Lost World', heh!
	I heard Lee-san did his own stunts too and that some of the stuff
on the screen was real. People actually went after him with chairs and broken
beer bottles and stuff. Him being attacked and all just because people always
wanted to prove they were better than him. They'd be tough because they beat
up the 'Great' Bruce Lee. What a joke.
	He probably hated it as much as I do. 		
	They just didn't get it. Lee-san wasn't great, wasn't a great martial artist
because he threw the hardest punch or had the fastest kick. He was a great
martial artist because he understood the art, he respected it. He learned and
then he tried to teach other people about it.
	How it isn't just about learning how to fight, anyone can do
that. It's a lot more than just a bunch of ways to hurt people. The art taught
me
how to protect myself sure, and that's important. But it's not all it taught
me.
	A lot of the different forms and techniques I learned came from
people looking at animals. Watching how they moved. Studying how they did
things. The way different parts of their bodies worked with each other to come
together in a strong, smooth, graceful way. That is the Martial Arts, right
there.
It's a way of looking at things, almost a way of thinking.
	I can almost hear Nabiki laughing at that now. Probably get a big
kick out of it. 'Yeah right, Saotome Ranma, great philosopher!', she'd say.
She
does that a lot, makes fun of things, of me, of all of us really. Always got a
joke
or a put-down ready. The way she goes on you'd think she only cared about
money.
	Doesn't fool me though. Not anymore.
	I see the way Nabiki looks at her family and the way she looks at
Her when she's sure no one else is looking. She's good though. It's not
Nabiki's
posture and her voice never gives anything away when she's talking. The only
place I can see it is in her eyes. The eyes don't lie.
	Most of the time Nabiki squints, and looks like she's sizing
everyone up. Like I do when I'm trying to scout my opponent and figure out how
to beat them. Even does it when she laughs, which  I've never seen anyone do.
That's how she looks at people, except those few times I've ever seen her
surprised. Then her eyes widen, just like anyone else. Even then, it's less
than
most other people.
	Except around them.
	When she's with them, Nabiki's eyes open just a little wider and
her face softens just a little bit. Easy to miss, I sure did for a long time.
And I've
been trained to notice these things. It's like she's always carrying something
heavy on her back and when she sees them it's taken away. At least for a
minute
anyway.
	Nabiki'd probably just deny it, call me crazy and say I was imagining it or
something. But she doesn't get it, she isn't a martial artist. Never even seen
her in
the dojo or nothin'. Only exercise she gets that I can tell is from those
stupid
workout tapes she uses.
	Shame, she'd probably be great at it if she really tried. Wonder if she ever
took any lessons from Mr. Tendo? I could ask her. No, she'd just laugh and ask
why I was interested. Or worse, she'd try and charge me for the answer.
	Couldn't ask Akane either, that tomboy would think I was interested in her
sister and call me a pervert. Probably hit me with that stupid mallet of hers
too.
	Kasumi'd know, maybe I'll ask her sometime. But not right now.
	I'm busy watching my movie. I love Bruce Lee movies.
	
Notes: 
     I sent this story to the list 2 months ago and am re-releasing it as a
prequel/announcement of the first part of it's upcoming sequel. Part one 
will be released Thursday. <Hopefully I'll have a title for the story by then>
          
                                                                              
Carlin