(takes a deep breath, braces self)  Okay...

A while back, (about February or thereabouts), there was a thread going 
on about the idea of a crossover between two of Takahashi Rumiko-sensei's 
works:  Ranma 1/2 and Laughing Target (from Rumic World).  I didn't give 
the matter much thought at the time; I wasn't familiar with the latter 
short story.

I got a copy of the manga for my birthday a while back, and I was creeped 
out.

I was also haunted by the fic idea... for rather obvious reasons.

Here then is the beginnings of what I see in such a crossover.  Some of 
you may point out that this material has already been made available for 
display at my website, and you're quite right, but I could use more 
commentary on the ongoing work, and the FFML is the place to go for 
commentary, ne?  But if you do wanna check out the full work in progress, 
you can find it (and others like it) at: 

http://members.aol.com/ukyoukwnji/unfinshd.htm

Anyway, I've got it to a reasonable stopping point here, so... this is 
its debut.  A teaser, I suppose, but I need to know... am I on the right 
track?

*****

The day was coming to an end at Kotobuki Boys School, and the students 
began to filter out of the campus gates. A thin young man strode 
hurriedly away, trying to escape the rest of his classmates as soon as 
possible. 

To no avail. A larger student emerged shortly from the campus, and 
bellowed at the wiry young man, "Oi, Kuonji!" 

Tora-sempai. Ukyou Kuonji stopped in her tracks, and put a hand to her 
forehead. There was no escape from the all-seeing eyes of the bullying 
senior. She would have to face him, whether she wanted to or not. 

But she would not allow him to see her weakness. She took a deep breath 
before turning on her heel to face him as he approached. "What is it, 
Tora-sempai?" 

By now, the older boy had caught up, and had draped a more-than-brotherly 
arm over her shoulder, pulling her along with him. "Walk with me for a 
while, would you, Kuonji?" 

It nearly occured to Ukyou to ask if he was afraid of something, that he 
needed companionship so badly all at once, but such a comment might 
(deservedly) be interpreted as a taunt, and that might get her into a 
world of trouble and hurt. With as bland a voice as she could muster, she 
spoke: "What is it, sempai? Is something wrong?" 

"You bet there's something wrong, Kuonji. I watched you changing after 
gym class this afternoon." Ukyou felt her face pale at that, but tried to 
put down the fear that rose up in her gut. She tried to imagine what she 
would think if she really were a guy... 

"I didn't know you were into boys, sempai." Now her tone was taunting in 
earnest. She knew such an accusation, even in jest, would cause trouble 
for her. But the alternative was unthinkable for her. 

"I'm not, Kuonji...chan." Tora spun her to face him, and clamped his free 
hand over her other shoulder. Ukyou looked quickly and desperately around 
her; she had not been paying attention to where they had been walking, as 
she had been trying to weigh Tora-sempai's words and actions. It turned 
out he had guided her to a secluded section of a nearby park, a grove 
surrounded by trees. They could not be seen from the street. The 
unthinkable was rapidly approaching. "You know, you just accused me of 
being a pervert, and yet here you are, a girl in a boys school, in the 
locker room with the rest of us, all hung out for you to see... so, who's 
the pervert now?" 

Ukyou couldn't respond to that; it really hadn't occurred to her. She 
could care less about boys. After all, the last boy she had cared 
about... it was nine years ago, now... had... had... she couldn't bear to 
think about it. She had sworn off men, and to that end had, in effect, 
joined the enemy to hide from them. Now, she was about to be exposed... 

...In a big way. Tora-sempai began to unbutton his fly. He took his... 
asoko... out and waved it at the trembling girl. "Well? Whaddya think? 
You've seen it every day, all this semester, and I never thought it 
mattered, ne? But it did, didn't it? You ain't got one of these, do ya? 
Well... 

"I'm gonna be real generous and give *this* one to you. How's that sound, 
Kuonji-chan?"  'Kuonji-chan.' She'd never been addressed like that; she 
hadn't had the '-chan' diminutive attached to her name since... since 
that boy abandoned her. The last person to ever refer to her as a child, 
as a girl. 

She felt herself being thrown to the ground, landing hard on her ass. 
Tora-sempai knelt down in front of her, and reached for the waistband of 
her pants. He began to undo her fly, fumbling with the buttons much as he 
might with his real girlfriend's bra strap. 

Ukyou's chi began to flare inside of her. Sempai or no, this was 
unforgivable. She reached for her spatula and swung... 

...only to have her followthough stopped by Tora-sempai, who held onto 
the handle with a grip of iron. "Ah-ah-ah... I know how you fight, 
Kuonji-chan, and I'm not lettin' ya do that. Not until I've had my fun. 
Not until you find out what a real man feels like..." The smile on his 
face oozed menace... 

...and then froze as he stared, slack-jawed, into the younger student's 
eyes. They had gone pure white, soulless, and furious. A rumble built up 
in Ukyou's throat that grew into a roar: "Toooooo-RAAAAA!!" 

Her bare hands slashed at his head, and tore a good-sized chunk off of 
his face. The sempai fell on his face between her legs, and she hurriedly 
backed away. She could hear the murmur of her friends approaching, and 
she stood up; whether he was dead or not would not matter now. They would 
attend to him.... 

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ukyou Kuonji presents 
A Ranma 1/2 - Rumik World crossover 
WHEN THE TARGET LAUGHS 
All rights to characters and scenarios belong to Rumiko Takahashi. 

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ukyou Kuonji walked away from the grove of trees. Alone. 

Behind her came sounds of chirping and howling, as if the unholy 
offspring of a coyote and a cicada were rejoicing over a freshly killed 
meal. Because that was what Tora-sempai had become. 

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ukyou sighed as she proceeded to her job at a local okonomiyaki-ya. It 
looked as if she was going to have to change schools again. 

In her short life, this had become something of a pattern: as soon as she 
was discovered, she would have to transfer out as quickly as possible; 
before the school's faculty figured her out. And so, over the last nine 
or ten years, she had slowly been making her way north and east, towards 
Tokyo. She was well aware of how all roads led to the capital, and if she 
was patient enough, the closer she got to Tokyo, the more likely she was 
to obtain news of the Saotomes' whereabouts. 

It was always her fellow students who picked up on her first. Apparently, 
the adults that ran and staffed boys' schools throughout Japan were 
beyond entertaining the possibility that a girl might even *try* to 
attend, let alone fathoming the possible reasons *why*. But it was 
always best to leave before some fellow student squealed on her. 

Not that Tora-sempai's punishment was a common occurrence. Usually, it 
wasn't a serious matter for her to be discovered; at one school she 
remembered quite fondly having been nicknamed 'Shun' after a character in 
a manga series that had garnered fans around campus at the time. Of 
course, once she heard that bets were being placed on her gender, she was 
forced to transfer out again before some of the older boys resorted to 
strip-searches to find out. 

Sometimes, it was only one boy in the whole school that figured her out: 
Tsubasa Kurenai had been like that. He had actually picked up on her 
femininity almost from the day she enrolled in his school, and, not 
having much other opportunity to meet other girls, fell madly in love 
with her. His inimitable logic had concluded that, since she liked to 
cross-dress herself, the kind of boy she would like would have to be a 
cross-dresser too, and he proceeded to follow through on this conclusion. 
For his pains, he received a terrible reputation as a pantywaist, and a 
severe scorings regularly from his beloved Ukyou's combat spatula. 

But she reckoned his presence more as a nuisance rather than a threat. It 
was what spared him from a much worse fate. 

Because, as a lone girl amidst a pack of predatory boys, the ability she 
had to use deadly force could be sorely tempting... 

------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Tadaima, Mitsukuru-sensei!" Ukyou's face was a happy mask as she walked 
into the okonomiyaki-ya. 

"Okeri nasai, Ukyou-kun." Mitsukuru-san was a kindly older man that had 
all but adopted Ukyou since she had arrived in ___. He had been impressed 
by his young charge's skill and understanding of the art of okonomi-yaki, 
and had trained her as best he could. "How was school today?" 

At her mentor's question, her face fell. Her role as a boy was one thing, 
but as a rule, Ukyou was not good at telling lies. 

Mitsukuru's face was sympathetic. "Bad day, huh? Classes, or...?" 

"Bully... after school... tried to..." It was all Ukyou could do to keep 
from actually crying. Boys didn't cry, after all. Of course, boys don't 
get threatened with rape, either... 

Mitsukuru walked around the counter, and placed his hands on Ukyou's 
shoulders. "There now, son. Bullies are a part of life, a part of growing 
up, I'm afraid. Fight them when you can, endure them when you must. It 
will pass, eventually..." He lifted Ukyou's chin to look him in the eyes. 
"I know you're strong enough to take care of yourself against them." 

A sad little smile grew on Ukyou's face... the things Mitsukuru-sensei 
didn't know... 

------------------------------------------------------------------------

It had been a busy day at the okonomiyaki-ya, and as the last few 
customers of the night paid their bills and left, Ukyou hung out the 
"Sorry, we're closed" sign in the window. That accomplished, she turned 
to her mentor. 

"Mitsukuru-sensei, I..." 

Mitsukuru could tell something was up. Something that ran deeper than 
simply being bullied on the schoolyard. "Ukyou-kun... what is it? You can 
tell me, you know..." 

<No, I couldn't, sensei...>

*****

I hate this story, I really do.  I hate the thought of where this has to 
go... 

Those of you that have known about this know that.  I don't wanna be the 
evil one... but who else *could* be, after all?  Kami-sama...

Anyway, opinions?  Comments?  I wanna hear it... should this even be *done*?

Always,
Ucchan