Subject: [FFML][Ranma]Wasure Hibiki Ch.1
From: Bradley Gilliland
Date: 7/17/1998, 3:26 PM
To: FFML

[FFML][Fanfic][Ranma] Wasure Hibiki Ch. 1

    OK... I'm not going to apologize for how bad my fic is
beforehand.  That is a little too PC for my tastes and quite annoying.
Even though this is my first fanfic, and it won't be the best fic you've

ever read, it won't be the worst, either. :)

    It should be noted, however, in case someone out there decides
they'd like to sue me that I had absolutely nothing to do with the
creation of Ranma. All characters in this are copyright of Rumiko
Takahashi except Wasure Hibiki (whose mine.  all mine!  Well, I did
get a little help from a panda named NuS...).  Please don't sue me
because the only thing I have full possession of is bills, and I don't
think
you'd want those anyway...

    On a lighter note, please flame me.  My ego is far to big for
you to do substantial damage, so I want YOU to tell me what's seriously
wrong with this story so I can fix it.  Otherwise I will go along in
life thinking I'm a much better writer than I really am, and that would
be bad for everyone involved.  Also, if you like my story and want to
tell me how wonderful it is, I certainly wouldn't mind that, either. :)
Don't just tell me "I liked your story alot," tell me what you liked
about it and even why (if you feel like it).

    And now... introducing Wasure Hibiki...
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    The buzzing of her alarm woke Nabiki up slowly...  But not
slowly enough.  When she came to, the first thing she did was roll over.

6:15.  <It's too early to get up.>  She hit the snooze button.

    6:23...  Snooze

    6:31...  Snooze

    6:39...  She rolled over again and looked back at the clock.  <I
think I'll stay in bed all day today and wake up tommorrow...>  At that
thought, she actually smiled before 8.

    But the look at the clock reminded her of much more than just
the time.  Beside her alarm, on the counter, lay the 33,400 Yen she had
made this week.  WAY below average.  And tomorrow was Sunday, the start
of a new week.

    She threw off her covers, shivering at the cooler air outside
her little cocoon and spun sideways.  Annoyed, she thought <Ga, I'm
slipping...>.  She stood, and a quick look outside reminded her that
she hadn't exactly been lazy.

    <Oh, that's right it's summer.  Off season.>  Summer time was
when most students in school are happier, but not Nabiki.  She didn't
have anyone to do homework for, no relationships to break, no boyfriends

to sell flowers to to fix said relationships, no way to raise money.

    Well, not any easy ways, anyway.

    Nabiki looked down at her watch.  <5:45... gotta' get moving->
...she looked back at her crumpled blankets... <or go back to bed.>  Her

subconscious fought for control, but in the end Nabiki won.  She had to
wake up now if she was going to make any money today.

    She stumbled off to the bathroom.  There, she showered and
prepared for the day just like she always did.  As she fixed her hair,
she decided that she actually didn't really hate morning.  After all, it

WAS a lot quieter.

    She walked over to the kitchen after she brushed her teeth and
saw Kasumi fixing rice.  <No matter when I wake up, she's always up
before me...> she shook her head. <I wonder if she even sleeps
anymore...>  "Oh...Good morning, Nabiki."  Kasumi said, seeming quite
startled- <but, then again, when DOESN'T Kasumi seem startled?>.

    "Good morning.  Do you need any help with that rice?"  Nabiki
asked this question for three reasons.  One, she knew Kasumi would
appreciate it.  Two, she knew it would speed Kasumi up.  Three, she
knew what the answer would be.

    "Oh, no.  Thank you, though."  Kasumi smiled as Nabiki sat down
at the table with her usual calculator, pencil, and paper.  Time to plan

out the day...

    Kasumi loved the smell of morning.  It invigorated her and gave
her the energy she'd need during the day.  She fixed the rice with a
new vigor now that Nabiki was here.  Fixing rice was really an artform,
but in the morning no one really cares, and Kasumi knew it.  <Faster is
better.>

    "Good morning girls."  Soun had entered the room.  Why, Kasumi
had been concentrating so hard on the rice, she hadn't even noticed him!

    Her "Good morning, Father," and Nabiki's "Morning Daddy," almost
coincided.

    Soun walked into the kitchen. "Is breakfast ready yet?"

    Kasumi turned and smiled at him.  "Almost.  Just a few more
minutes.  Here."  She gave him a cup of tea.  Soun seemed happy with
the substitute, and walked back into the dining room to sip it and read
his paper...

    Soun sat down and started to read.  He heard Akane get up out of
the corner of his ear.  He heard her go to the bathroom to get ready for

the day.  He heard her get her bucket from under the sink and fill it.
He heard her take it into Ranma's room.  He heard the house wake up.

    "HEY!  WHAT'D YOU DO THAT FOR!"  The second sentence was of a
considerably higher pitch than the first.  Soun drank his tea.  <Hmm, El

Nino ravages North America.>...

    "I said get up, you pervert!"  Akane was red in the face.

    "Well, ya didn't hafta do THAT!"  Ranma stood up quickly.  He...
er, SHE... was quite angry.  Her red hair matched her face well.  "We
don't hafto get up so early, you know!  It's summertime, and I don't
have any schoolwork to get ready for, and Pop isn't around to train, so
I'm sleepin in!"  Ranma lay back down and stubbornly folded his
...(sorry)... HER arms across HER chest.

    Akane face also matched Ranma's hair.  "Well, if that's the way
you're gonna' be...FINE!"  Akane marched out of the room, leaving Ranma
to himself (er herself or whatever).  If Ranma wasn't going to get up
when she told him to, she was going to do whatever it took to get him
up some other way.

    Nabiki was the first to talk to Akane as she marched into the
dining room.  "Hey, Akane.  Where's your fiance?  You aren't going to
let him sleep in THAT easily, are you?"  Akane ignored her as she
straight into the training hall.  She grabbed the first weapon she saw,
then put it down and looked for one without sharp edges.  She grabbed
the bo staff and started to march back to Ranma's room.

    "Hey, sis.  Let me handle this.  Have some breakfast."  Nabiki
held up her hand as Akane re-entered the dining room.  Akane WAS hungry,

so she decided to go ahead and eat.  Nabiki disappeared and after a few
minutes, a few snapshots, and a few screams from Ranma, Nabiki was back
in the dining room.  "He's up,"  she said, obviously happy (though not
really smiling).

    <I just wish he'd get up with the rest of the family every now
and then...>  Akane thought as she ate rather hastily.  <Besides, it
shouldn't be below him to train with ME even now and then.>  She watched

Ranma get out of the bathroom, male once again...

    <Aw... man.  I wish they'd leave me alone.  I didn't do nothin
ta them.>  Ranma sat down and started to eat the rice Kasumi sat before
him.  The only thing he had to do all day was eat... and maybe train
with Akane.  Pop was missing.  P-chan was on a training mission.  The
freak was sorting panties.  Ranma played with his rice <Ga... today's
gonna be SOOOO boring>...

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

    Ryoga looked up to the sky.  <Where am I?  Maybe I should ask
for directions.>  He walked over to the nearest male pedestrian.  "Can
you tell me where I am?"  The stranger turned his head and Ryoga jumped
back, fingers twitching.  <It CAN'T be...>

    The boy he had turned around said only one word.  "Brother?"

    Ryoga stared at him for a second.  "Is... is it really you?
Wasure?  WASURE!"  Ryoga hugged his brother with every ounce of
emotion that he'd ever wished to unleash on Akane.

    Wasure actually possessed power capable of pushing him back.
"Of course it's really me."  Ryoga quickly looked him up and down.
Just about the right age (only a year younger), just about the right
height (a little taller than him), and dressed just like him, only in
green instead of yellow.  Oh, wait, he had no leg bindings <...but then
he hadn't seen me since I adopted those.>  Ryoga started crying.  <I
finally have a family again.>...

    Wasure grabbed Ryoga's hand.  "And it's really you.  C'mon,
we're going home."  Wasure started walking, but Ryoga stood his
ground.

    "You remember where home is?"  Ryoga still had tears streaming
down his face.  Wasure frowned.  Ryoga was being silly again.

    "Of course I do.  Let's go."  He yanked on Ryoga's hand again.
This time Ryoga let his hand fall from Wasure's.

    "Are you sure?"  Ryoga had gone from tears of joy to a look of
suspicion.  Wasure could tell from Ryoga's expression that something
here wasn't right.  He didn't like the look he was getting.

    "Look, Ryoga.  Mom told me to try to find you while I was out.
I did.  Now I have something else important I have to do.  I'll just do
that, go home, and tell Mom to let Checkers go find you if you don't
wanna come home with me.  I don't want to have to drag you there."

    Without warning, Ryoga grabbed Wasure's headband and slipped it
off of Wasure's head.  "Ha!  I got you Ranma!  My brother would NEVER
remember..."  Wasure countered right into Ryoga's face.  He was
startled by Ryoga's sudden move.

    "Hey!  What's the matter with you, Ryoga?"  His short hair, cut
just like Ryoga's, blew in the wind as Ryoga lay on the ground with
his green bandana in his hand.  "I'm leaving, you can find your OWN way
home."  With that, he ran down East 9th Street...

    Ryoga lay on the ground and wondered why he was there.  As he
got up, he noticed that in his right hand he held a green bandana.  <My
brother!  The weak one!  I actually saw him!>

    And Wasure had hit him.  (No, it hadn't been hard.  He just got
him in the right place.)  But why?  Ryoga flushed red when he
remembered.  <I mistook Wasure for Ranma.  How could I be so stupid!>
He nearly destroyed a nearby wall with a punch of frustration.

    "Curse you, Ranma!  You made me scare off my little brother!!!"

    He looked off toward the sunset.  The clouds were criss-crossing
in front of it.  <I'll never make that mistake again.  I should just
listen to my heart more instead of always letting my head get the best
of me!>  His head came down as he held the bandana tight in his fist.
Tears again filled his eyes.  <He said he had something important to do,

but what?>  He looked up.  <I think he went this way.>

    He walked off into the sunset, vowing to follow his brother
ANYWHERE the next time they met...

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

    "There now!  Isn't that better?"  Soun had insisted, and it
hadn't included marraige to Akane, so Ranma could handle a little
housework.  <That's another day wasted.  I hate summer.>

    Ranma looked back at the patched up dojo wall.  It DID look
better.  "So... how much do ya think this is worth?"  He asked Soun.

    Mr. Tendou looked back at him with thin eyes.  "I should think
that housing and feeding you and your father would be enough, Ranma."

    "But you paid Nabiki!"  Ranma insisted.  He wasn't going to let
vacation money escape his grasp THAT easily.

    Soun cleared his throat and turned to admire the beautiful new
dojo wall.  "Well, that's different.  She's my little girl..."

    Nabiki, standing nearby, finished his sentence for him.  "...and
you're a freeloading houseguest.  Don't worry, Ranma-baby.  Need a loan?

All you need do is ask."  She re-entered the house with a big smile
plastered on her face.

    "But I DID MORE WORK THAN SHE DID!"  Ranma made his final plea
with no one really listening to him.  <Oh wait, there Akane.>  "So,
you're finally back from shopping with Kasumi, huh?"  <What a gyp.  She
gets to leave when she was the one who made this hole in the first
place...>

    Akane had that hurt/mad look on her face that only SHE has...
"Well, you don't have to pretend to be glad to see me!"  She stormed
back into the house, shopping bags that were once in hand entering a
few seconds before her.

    "Tomboy," he muttered, again to no one in particular.  This time
it was Soun that heard him.  He looked up again when Ranma looked back
up at him.

    "You know..."  Soun cleared his throat again, "You might want to
watch what you say to Akane."  He looked back, "You never know what
might happen to someone who's disrespectful to his fiance."

    "Uh..."  Ranma really wished that Mr. Tendou wouldn't do this.
<It's not like he scares me or nothin'.  I just wish he wouldn't make me

out to be such a monster.  I didn't ASK to be engaged to that tomboy...>

    "There."  Soun got off his ladder and admired the wall after one
last smooth over.  "Good as new."

    A hole about the size of a freak appeared as a creature of
darkness leapt into the night.  "I'm off!"  A quick look back gave Ranma

a good view of Happosai's better side.  "What a haul!  What a haul!"
would
be drowned out that night by the sobs of Soun...

    "I wish I knew where Pop was," Ranma said as he sat to eat the
late dinner that Kasumi had prepared for the family.

    "Probably out on some training mission," said Nabiki as she
counted out the day's earnings with a frown.

    "Nah,"  Ranma said with confidence.  "He'd never think of going
on one of those crazy trips of his without draggin' me along."

    "Maybe he just wanted to get away from YOU," Akane said with
just a HINT of bitterness.

    Ranma just took it in stride.  "Yea, shure.  I wish."

    Kasumi spoke next, "Oh!  You don't think he's been adopted by
anyone again, do you?"

    The entire table sat silent at the possibility.  Ranma spoke
first, "I dunno, maybe."

    Akane turned to Ranma.  "Well, don't you think we ought to go
look for him?"  Her eyes were turned to Ranma's in concern.

    "Nah, he can find his way back here when he wants to.  It's not
like he's P-chan, where he could go off for a stroll and we never see
him again."  That remark earned Ranma a healthy swat from Akane (sending

his face directly into the Sukiaki) before causing her to storm away.

    "Well, it's not like I care!  He's not MY father!  I just
thought you might be concerned for him!"  She was in the bathroom and
out of sight by the time she had stopped talking.

    Soun took one last look back at the day's work, now ruined, and
headed back to his room.  "Good night everyone."...

    Nabiki turned to her father, "Night Daddy."  After scanning the
room, she saw that only Kasumi, Ranma, and she were left in it.
Convinced that there was no more money to be made today that couldn't
be made tommorrow, she got up and started toward HER room.

    "Well as much fun as this day has been, I'm going to bed, too.
Night everybody."  Ranma muttered something as Kasumi said her
goodnight.

    Nabiki walked into her room and got into her nightgown.  She
piled her money from the day on the countertop with the rest of the
week's earnings.  <34,750 Yen.  Ga.. I AM slipping!>  She slid under her

covers and let her head hit the pillow.  It was soft and inviting after
the hard work she'd done that day.

    She grunted in disgust as she stared at the celing.  <1,350 Yen.
For a hard day's work. On the last day of a bad week.  I know I can do
better than that.  I hate summer...>  She rolled over and let
subconscious take over.  <Oh, well...  There's always tommorrow...>

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
 I have no idea how long this series is going to be so don't ask.
If all goes as I plan, this should conclude open-ended (but resolved.)
I guess I'm projecting about 10 Chapters at this point, maybe more.
Maybe less.  If you don't like my story, please tell me.  If you like my

story, please tell me.

This story was proofread by a panda named NuS.  Any grammar
problems should be brought to his attention, not mine.

Phoenix1138 <geneg@apex.net>
P.S.:  (Does anyone out there know how to autosign on Netscape 4.0?
I can't figure it no matter how hard I try.  If you know, then I'd
appreciate it if you'd enlighten me!)