C&C actively encouraged.

***	I stand outside the gates of Furinkan, my new school.  The gates
loom forbiddingly
before me, like the teeth of an immense hound.  My heartbeat quickens. 
I reach into my
purse and find my lunchtime dose.  Two caplets, in a small plastic
vial.  I shake them, and
they rattle.  
	I wish I could return to my old school, but I could not face them.  My
classmates,
my teammates.  I was their captain, and they followed me, even as my
tactics grew more
and more bizarre.  �It�s not against the rules!� I would say.  �Show me
the rules against
it!�  And I browbeat them, and they fell in line.  Except Eriko.  I spat
on her and called her
traitor, even as they took me away, but she was my only true friend
among them all.  I am
terrified by the thought of what she saved me from.  No, I cannot return
to St. Hebereke.
	My spittle, clinging to her cheekbone, mixing with her tears.
	These are shameful thoughts, and I must banish them.  Dr. Nakajima told
me to
think on the future, and my future is in this building.  My brother is
in here, and he will
protect me.
	Oh, Tatchi.  So strong and so noble.  How I regret all the names I
called you, all
the things I accused you of.  It was so wonderful to be home with you
again and hear you
talk of your new girlfriend... and talk, and talk!  She must be a
wonderful girl for you to be
so crazy about her.
	I must stop using that word so freely.
	Thoughts of my brother make the gates smile, and I push them open.  I
must hurry;
school has started, and I am already late.  
	Inside, boys lie scattered like straws tossed about by a cruel wind. 
As I watch, one
rises painfully to his feet and staggers towards the door.  I move to
intercept him.
	�What happened?� I ask.  �Who did this to you?�
	He smiles.  His cheek is scraped open and his eye is dark and
swelling.  I think he
is missing a tooth.  �Akane Tendo,� he replies, and turns toward the
door again.
	Akane Tendo?  My brother�s girlfriend?
	What madness is this?

		THE ROSE AND THE WORM

		By David Homerick
		
		Based on "Ranma 1/2" 
		by Rumiko Takahashi

	In the echoing halls, I fumble for the paper that has my classroom
number.  341, on
the third floor.  I dart up the stairwell and past rows of closed
doors.  The thought crosses
my mind that school buildings and madhouses are built much the same, but
I cannot tell if
the thought is meaningful.  I find the door.  
	The teacher stops his lecture and chastises me quietly for being late:
�I�ll have you
stand in the hall next time.�  Then he introduces me to the class as
�Upperclassman
Kuno�s younger sister, Kodachi.� A grumble runs through the room at my
brother�s name,
and one girl gives me an icy glare.  Is my brother not liked?  It is the
nature of the younger
students to resent the upperclassmen, but who could not respond to my
brother�s noble
spirit?  But perhaps it is me they dislike.  It has been six months
since the antics of the
Black Rose were the talk of St. Hebereke, plenty of time for stories to
have reached
Furinkan.  Does this school have a Martial Arts Rhythmic Gymnastics
team?  I do not
immediately recall one, but my memories of that time are distorted and
strange.
	Glancing at the enrollment sheet, I see Akane Tendo�s name, and ask the
teacher
to point her out for me.  He indicates the girl who gave me that fierce
glare.  This is my
brother�s beloved?  She is pretty, in a common sort of way, but when my
brother spoke of
her beauty and ferocity I imagined something on a higher plane than this
surly girl.  I take
a seat near her and, when the teacher has his back turned, pass her a
note:  �What
happened this morning?�
	She scribbles a reply and hands it back.  Unfortunately, she is not
careful and the
teacher spots her.  �Miss Tendo, Miss Kuno,� he says, �Perhaps you would
like to
continue this discussion in private.  Go stand in the hall.�
	
	The buckets are heavy, but I am no weakling.  I find this quiet and
restful, much
preferable to a straightjacket or having my hands caned.  I glance at
Akane.  She stands
quite stiff and stares at the wall.  I ask her again about this morning.
	�Ask your brother,� she says.  �I�m not speaking to you.�
	And she does not.  I am reminded again of the asylum, and the thought
strikes me
that I might be back there, and only imagining that I am here.  The
thought takes a terrible
hold over me.  My arms are heavy.  Perhaps I really am in a
straightjacket, and that is why
I can�t move them.
	I fight the notion.  I remember being released from the asylum.  I
remember my
day in detail.  I analyze my own behavior and find it reasonable and
free from paranoia or
grandiosity.  I think about the drugs in my purse, which I will swallow
at lunchtime. 
Slowly the notion begins to fade.  �I�m not crazy,� I whisper.
	�What?� asks Akane.
	�Nothing.� 

	At lunchtime, I eat quickly, swallow my medication, and set off to find
my brother. 
Inquiries lead me to his table, where he is seated with a girl I do not
recognize.  
	�Hello, brother dear!�  I say.  We are always somewhat formal in
public.  �It�s so
good to see you.�
	�Ah, sister,� he replies.  May I introduce Miss Nabiki Tendo, sister of
my dear
Akane?�  Turning back to her, he adds, �This is my sister, Kodachi.�
	I bow.  �Pleased to meet you.�
	She raises an eyebrow.  �Hey, there.�
	Hey there.
	She taps the table, drawing my attention to five snapshots she has laid
out.  They
are of Akane, most of them showing her practicing some kind of martial
art, perhaps
karate or kenpo.  �I�ll take them,� my brother says.  He reaches into
his wallet and begins
counting out thousand-yen notes, laying them on the table.  Nabiki leans
forward with
greedy eyes.  At ten, she reaches forward, but I slam my hand down on
top of the pile. 
Ten thousand yen of our much-depleted family fortune... for these?  What
is my brother
thinking?  Is he thinking at all?
	�Brother dear, why are you buying pictures of your girlfriend from this
person?   
Surely you can take pictures of her yourself.�
	Nabiki throws me a poisonous look.  I stare icily back.  
	My brother speaks.  �My beloved is very shy, and does not like to be
photographed.  With her sister, however, she is willing to display the
rare loveliness which
you see before you.�  
	�And then this creature sells them to you for two thousand yen each? 
Dear
brother, you are being used.�  It is a very old scheme, but a reliable
one.  A samurai,
young, naive, becomes enraptured with a geisha, and she leads him to
believe she returns
his passion.  Blinded by love, the samurai does not realize how much he
is paying for
access to her until he is ruined, whereupon he is discarded like a
broken chopstick.  �Go
sell your sister elsewhere,� I tell Nabiki.  �We don�t need her here.�
	Nabiki says nothing, merely looks expectantly at Tatewaki.  He does not
disappoint her.  �Surely ten thousand yen is but a small price to pay
for such beauty as
this?�
	�Dear brother,� I say.  I had best not attack Akane, though she is
doubtless equally
involved in this charade.  He is so besotted that he will disbelieve
anything I say.  �Have
you not told me she loves you well?�
	�Her love for me is higher than the highest mountain, and deeper than
the deepest
ocean.  The tallest tree is nothing compared to her love for me.  Her
love...�
	I see fit to interrupt him before he conjures another stale image.  �If
you have her
love, then what need have you for these trinkets?  Especially at these
prices, dear brother.�
	He waves a hand airily.  �The true samurai does not concern himself
with money. 
It is beneath him.�
	I see an opening and dive for it.  �Of course not,� I say in mock
horror.  �That is a
matter for women.  And as your sister, and the female head of your
household, I must
insist that you not spend this money.  Please, brother.  Allow me to
handle this matter for
you.�
	He is silent.  Nabiki, with a great show of casualness, reaches forward
and adjusts
one of the photos.  �Look at her, Kuno.  Look at her.�
	He picks up a photo and examines it.  I hold my breath.  He sighs,
closes his eyes,
and sets it down.  �Very well, sister dear.  On your advice, I will
forego this purchase. 
But be advised that this is a sore trial for me.�
 	Nabiki leans back coolly, but her eyes betray her poise.  They are
dark with anger. 
�Little sister�s looking out for her big brother.  How sweet.  But
little sister doesn�t know
what she�s dealing with.�  She scoops up her pictures and stands up. 
�When your brother
changes his mind -- and he will -- the price will be fifteen thousand.� 
She turns and
saunters away, like cat feigning uninterest in the bird it was too slow
to catch.
	 

***

NEXT TIME: At home with the Kuno siblings.  Memories of madness. 
Akane's new fiance.

-- David