I got some C&C on the last part, for which I thank everyone!! ^_- 
Here is part two of the story. Please email me, once again, with your
reactions.
This story, and a whole bunch of other crud, can be found at my
homepage:
http:\\www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Garden/2324
Thank you!

 Part Two: Friendships	                 


	"Arashi?" The golden ball hovered nervously over her. "Are you awake?" 
	"Yes. Now go away."
	The ball gave a good impression of a human sigh. "You know I won't."
	Arashi finally pulled the covers off her head. "What do you want?"
She growled. 
	 "I want to know what you think you're doing here! You were nice and
safe in the mountains, why didn't you stay there?"
	Arashi got up and headed towards the bathroom, with the ball
following closely. "You wouldn't understand."
	"Try me."
	Arashi sighed and splashed her face with cold water. "I was lonely." 
	"Lonely? You put the safety of the entire universe in danger because
you were lonely?! And what about that Mousse person you were so taken
with? Do you realize how dangerous it is for you  to fall in love?"
	"Don't exaggerate. And I didn't expect that to happen. I am still
human, you know! You don't realize what it's like for me, day after
day, alone, on that stupid mountain!" Arashi stomped out of the
bathroom and slammed the door behind her. 
	The ball floated through the door to rejoin her on the other side.
"I'm sorry Arashi. I know it's hard for you. It's difficult for all of
us. But you have to be careful. You can't give her something
like that to use against you."
	Arashi sat down on a chair and began to brush out her long, white
hair. "I know. I just wanted to have a little bit of fun and be with
people again. Besides," Arashi turned her head to work on the other
side, "I don't think we'll be seeing her for a good long while. I
defeated her in the last battle, remember?"
	"Well," Her guardian hesitated for a moment. "I suppose. Just be
careful, all right? People like her have a way of showing up even when
you least expect them. And stay away from Mousse. Not," It chuckled
derisively, "That that should be a problem. I don't think anyone could
distract him from that 'Shampoo'!" It disappeared and rematerialized a
few feet away as a hairbrush flew through the space where it had just
been.
                  *                 *                *
	
	Arashi sat at one of the tables of the Neko-Hanten. It was after the
lunch rush and business was slow. The cafe was empty of customers and
sparklingly clean. Mousse had already finished all the dishes and
Shampoo was out on some deliveries. Cologne had told her to take a
break, but she couldn't think of a single thing to do with the free
time. 
	Arashi put her chin in her hands. She yawned. I am so bored, she
thought. I wish something would happen. I've been here almost a week
now, and I still haven't met anyone besides Shampoo, Cologne and Mousse.
She let her head drop to the surface of the table. So bored....
	"Arashi!" Cologne called out from the kitchen. "You're still here?
Good. Would you please run this delivery out for me? I'm afraid
Shampoo won't be back for a while and I'd like to get it taken care
of." 
	Arashi lifted her head from the table. "Sure!" she said, pleased at
the thought of any distraction.
	"Here," Cologne handed her a metal box with the Neko-Hanten logo on
the side and gave her detailed instructions how to get to the place.
	Arashi dashed out the front door, balancing the box in one hand. The
spring sunshine felt wonderful, brightening up the entire city while a
fresh breeze swept away all the memories of winter.
Arashi practically skipped down the sidewalk, dodging between people
as she made her way in the direction Cologne had told her. The Tendo
Dojo, hmm? she thought. Sounds like an interesting place. I wonder if
they'd let me practice there? Right now she was just 
using her apartment to practice in, but it was much too small for her
needs.
	Finally she turned down the last street and saw a building with a
sign by the door which read, "Tendo's Martial Arts: School of
Indiscriminate Grappling". This must be the place, she thought. She 
lifted her hand to ring the bell. Suddenly, the front door burst open
and she was knocked backwards by a huge panda, followed by a
red-haired girl shouting, "Hey! Get back here pop!"
	The unlikely pair took off down the street, leaving Arashi sitting on
the ground, staring after them in amazement. 
	"Those two never learn." A girl with short black hair, wearing a gi,
poked her head out the door and looked after them. Then she noticed
Arashi, sitting on the ground, her box, still in tact, next
to her.
	"Hey, are you okay?" She rushed over to Arashi. "Those jerks!" She
helped Arashi to her feet.
	"Yeah, I'm okay," Arashi replied, "My pride's just a little bruised."
	The girl laughed. "Hey," she said, noticing the Neko-Hanten box, "You
must be the new waitress at Shampoo's restaurant that Ranma was
telling us about. Arashi, right? I'm Akane. Why don't you come in? We
can have some tea or something."
	"All right." Arashi smiled. She liked this girl already.

	     *          *         *
	
	"So," Arashi said after they sat down at the table together when the
bowl of ramen had been safely delivered to a grateful Mr.Tendo, "What
was that, anyway? That knocked me down, I mean. I could have sworn,
just for a minute, that it almost looked like... a panda. It was
someone in costume, right? Or something..."
	"Um." Akane looked unconfomfortable for a moment. "It's complicated.
So where are you from?"
	"China. Near Joketsuzoku."
	"Really? That's right near where Shampoo is from, isn't it?"
	"Yes. Well, actually, I lived on a mountain nearby. I studied Martial
Arts there."
	"Really?" Akane's eyes lit up. "I do too! Do you want to see our
training hall?"
	"Sure!"
	The two girls made their way out to the dojo. Arashi stood in the
middle of the floor and stretched out her arms. She took a deep breath
and turned in a circle.
	"Ah, space!" she sighed. "I haven't seen this much space since I came
to Japan!"
	Akane smiled. "Would you like to train here? I sure dad would say
it's okay. I mean, if you don't have a place to train already."
	Arashi turned to her. "Could I? I looked around for a place when I
first got here, but I've just been using my apartment until now, and
that's way too small for my needs. My style requires a lot of 
room."
	"What do you study?" Akane asked curiously.
	"Well, it's a very, very old style. It does't have a name. If it ever
did, it must have been lost a long time ago. What about you? The sign
at the front says 'indiscriminate grappling'. Sounds interesting."
	"Yes. It's also called Anything-goes. Basically, it isn't any one
particular style. It takes the best from many different disciplines
and combines them."   
	"Wow. That does sound interesting." Arashi glanced at her watch. "Oh,
no, the dinner rush is going to start, and if I'm not there, they're
going to be short-handed!" She dashed towards the front door. "Thank
you for everything, Akane," She said. "If there's anything I can to to
help you out, just let me know, okay?"   
	"Sure." Akane waved goodbye as Arashi dashed off down the street.
	Arashi made it to the cafe just before the first dinner customers
came in. She tied a clean white apron around her waist and set to work
cleaning the tables. Cologne pogoed out from the kitchen to see who
was here.
	"Ah, it's you. What took so long?"
	Arashi smiled down at the table. "Oh, nothing. I just made a new
friend."
	"Well, that's good." 
	"Is Mousse around anywhere? I could really use some help on these
tables."
	"He's by the door, but I don't think he'll be much help right now.
I'll go and get Shampoo." She turned to return to the kitchen.
	"By the door?" Arashi moved over to the doorway. "No he's not.
There's no one here but... a duck?!?!" She moved a little closer.
"I've never seen a duck with glasses.... wait, glasses?!" She bent 
down to look in the duck's face. It tried to hide under its wing, but
she lifted up the wing and inspected it. "Mousse?" She finally
whispered. The duck looked sheepish.
	Arashi stood back. She closed her eyes and shook her head. Then, she
very gently picked the duck and carried him out to the kitchen.
Cologne turned around when she came in. 
	"Ah, I see you found Mousse."
	Arashi set the duck on the floor. "Okay. First I'm knocked down by a
giant panda in the middle of Tokyo, I've never seen Shampoo and that
little cat together, and now you're telling me this duck is
Mousse. Would you mind telling me.... WHAT is going on around here?"
	"Oh, I forgot." Cologne pogoed over. "It can be somewhat unsettling
to someone who isn't used to it. Have you ever heard of Jusenkyo?"
	"The cursed training grounds? Yes, but I thought no one was stupid
enough to train there any--- oh." She looked down at the duck,who
looked even more sheepish. "So who's the panda, then?"
	"That is my future son-in-law's father."
	"Ranma? But the person chasing after him was a girl. Oh, I get it.
Another Jusenkyo victim?"
	"Yes. Very sharp."
	Arashi shook her head. "I get the feeling I'm missing a whole lot
around here."
	Cologne smiled. "Don't worry. Let's serve the customers that just
arrived, and I'll tell you the whole story."

			*	*	* 
	Arashi pivoted in a tight half-circle, transferring her weight to one
foot while the other lashed out in a kick. Her oppent dodged and
struck back with fists almost too fast to see. Arashi ducked, 
and swept her leg around in a sweep kick. Her opponent somersaulted
into the air, punching downwards as Arashi punched upwards. Two wrists
met in midair. Her opponent landed gracefully on her feet as Arashi
pulled herself up. They held the "gaurd" position for a few moments,
then dropped their fists and bowed to each other.
	"Good match. Guess it's another draw, huh?" Girl-Ranma picked up a
towel from the floor where she had left it when they began their
practice spar.
	"Would have been better If I could have used my weapons." Arashi
picked up her bo staff from the corner. And my full power, she added
silently.
	"Of course, if I were fighting as a guy, there wouldn't even be a
contest!" Girl-Ranma put her hand behind her head and laughed. Arashi
said nothing, but smiled secretively.
	Akane stuck her head in the door. "Are you two finished yet?"
	"I think so," Arashi said. She turned to Ranma. "Unless you want to
go again?"
	"Um, no. I uh, have homework to do. Yeah."
	"All right." She turned back to Akane. "I think I'll practice solo
for a little bit. I've really fallen behind on my training lately. The
cafe has been so busy."
	Akane nodded. "Okay. Just remember, we were going to see that soccer
game later."
	Arashi smiled. "I remember." Akane withdrew, with Ranma following. 
	Arashi began her workout. There was no need to stretch, as she had
already done that before she sparred with Ranma. She began her bo
staff exercises, starting with the easy moves, then working up to 
the more difficult ones. As she moved, a familiar light began to glow
at the end of her staff. When she noticed it, she stopped practicing
until the ball had grown big enough to detach itself from her staff.
	"Arashi," the ball spoke in worried tones. "I have some bad news. We
sensed an evil presence near here. She's back."

	           End of Part Two


Okay. That's it. I know all you out there are probably 
screaming- "She beat Ranma! I thought she said it wasn't
self-insertion!! Ahhhh! Ahhh!" Well, I stand by my words. There is a
very, very good reason why Arashi could beat Ranma- it's revealed in
Part Four.

Thank you, and keep dreamin'!


_________________________________________________________
DO YOU YAHOO!?
Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com