HANDS UP, EVERYONE WHO SAW THIS COMING
				by Scott K. Jamison

	We join the battle already in progress...
	"Die, Ranma!" yelled Ryouga, in the stereotypical manner he 
always did, fangs bared.  He swang his fist in a blow that would have 
taken the head off a mortal man, but Ranma ducked.
	"No thanks," replied Ranma in the flip manner guaranteed to tick 
Ryouga off further.  "I gave at the dojo."  He launched a series of kicks 
that landed but did little damage.  To Ryouga, that is.  To the wall 
behind the lost boy, they did a lot of damage.
	Being made of wood, it splintered, and began to fall over.  A 
female voice on the other side screamed.
	"Kuso!" swore both the martial artists simultaneously, and broke 
off their fight.  Moving quickly, Ryouga grabbed the sturdiest-looking 
beam in the wall, stopping its further decline, while Ranma vaulted 
over the wall and used his Chestnut Fist speed to catch the smaller 
fragments falling towards the girl who had screamed.  This maneuver was 
thankfully possible using martial arts physics, rather than the standard 
variety.
	"Is she clear yet?" asked Ryouga.  
	Ranma looked.  The girl had picked herself up and was outside 
where the wall would come down.  "Yup."
	Ryouga dropped the wall.  He could have kept it up all day, but 
the awkward position he was in had made his back cramp.  "Ranma, this is 
all *your* fault."
	"My fault?!  I didn't suddenly decide to attack someone over a 
muffin!" Ranma retorted.
	"How dare you insult Akane's cooking!"
	"Um...are you two going to start all over again?" asked the girl. 
	Actually looking at her, Ranma saw a rather cute (nope, not gonna 
go there, he thought) girl, a little younger than himself, with dark hair 
worn to just below her shoulder blades, and brown eyes.  She was wearing 
a brown and white sailor fuku with a red scarf, which didn't belong to 
any of the schools in the neighborhood, and the currently fashionable 
"loose socks".  She was frowning.
	"Well, er..."
	"You see, Ranma, you've upset this nice girl!  You should 
apologize!" 
	"Me?!  You're the pig-headed one!"
	"Excuse me!" shouted the girl, apparently realizing the situation 
was fast deteriorating.  "Are you two so full of yourselves you can't do 
anything but fight?"
	"Uh, no, I just...sorry about this."  Ranma mumbled that last 
bit.  "Say, are you new around here?"
	"Yes, I'm just visiting the area and checking out the high 
schools."  She looked a bit wistful.
	"No offense, but why Nerima?" asked Ryouga.
	The girl looked a little nervous.  "Umm, someone spread some 
silly rumors at my junior high, and I don't want to have to deal with the 
results, so I'm looking for a place most of my old classmates won't be."  
Under her breath, she muttered, "Baka Ojii-san."
	"Well, you definitely don't want to attend Fuurinkan High," Ranma 
assured. "The Principal is a nutcase with a haircut fetish, the Kendo 
team captain is a pervert who won't take no for an answer, and it's 
constantly visited by insane martial artists who fight whenever they 
meet."
	"Like you, right?"  The girl managed a smile.
	"Um, well, I do seem to be caught up in it way too often."
	Ryouga snorted.  "Because of you, all of us have seen Hell."
	"Uh, "Hell"?" the girl suddenly seemed worried.  "Do demons 
appear at your school?"
	"Rarely.  Why do you ask?"
	"Uh, no particular reason....  Do you know about the other 
schools in the area?"
	Ranma sat on Ryouga's head to think, deftly leaping away when the 
other objected with his fist.  "Well, Tomobiki High has demons and aliens 
who actually attend classes, and a really bad pervert problem.  St. 
Hebereke is a girls' school, but I know the Gymnastics team captain, and 
she's an incredibly dangerous fruitcake.  Kolkhoz is okay, I hear, though 
you gotta stay away from the ice skating team."
	Ryouga tried to put something in.  "What about that one on the 
other end of Nerima, what'sitsname?"
	"Regularly attacked by military hardware.  And one of the 
teachers is a mad scientist in his spare time."
	"Wow," breathed the girl.  "It sounds like everywhere in Nerima is 
nuts."  Under her breath, "And I thought my area had it bad."
	"You might try over in Juuban," Ranma suggested.  "I hear their 
monster problems have declined."
	"`Declined?'  No, I don't want to know.  Oh, I should introduce 
myself.  I'm Higurashi Kagome."  She bowed.
	"I'm Saotome Ranma."  He waited for his companion to speak up, 
but Ryouga seemed speechless.  "And this lunkhead is Hibiki Ryouga."
	"Hey!"  That brought the lost boy around.  "Uh, one of my 
ancestors was named Kagome."
	"Really?"
	"Yep, there's an old family legend--"
	"Thanks," interrupted the girl, "but I've had all the old legends 
I can stand.  I may see you again, if I transfer to the area."  Under her 
breath, "And if that idiot Inu-Yasha doesn't get us both killed..."
	As Kagome hurried off, Ranma turned to Ryouga.  "So give with 
this old family legend."
	"You really want to hear it?"
	"Why not?  I really don't know that much about your family, 
'sides, we've fought enough for one day."
	"Well, there's not much to it.  According to the story, this 
Kagome married some part-demon guy, and their daughter married a Hibiki, 
and ever since all us kids have these fangs and superhuman strength."
	"You get the problems with directions from that too?" asked 
Ranma, and for once Ryouga didn't hear a taunt in his voice.
	"No, that's another family legend, one I'd rather not talk 
about.  Hey, we have the sword this part-demon guy was supposed to have 
used back at the house.  It's not much to look at, but if the legend is 
right, it's got hidden powers."
	"Really?  We should look at it sometime."
	The two friends walked off into the street, not worrying about 
the fantastic adventure to come.

	"Ranma 1/2" and "Inu-Yasha" were created by Rumiko Takahashi, and 
no infringement is intended.

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