First of all, I'd like to thank everyone for their positive comments 
of the Teaser for "Future".  I will be working on it, but of course, 
there can be no Future without a...
______________

				  PAST
(A Ranma 1/2 fanfiction written by The Flashman [MXJK67C@Prodigy.com] 
and possible due to the creative genius of Rumiko Takahashi.)

	"It's opening!  Get back!"
	"I can't!  He has to be stopped!"
	"Wait!  He's not..."
	"I know."

	The time: Somewhere in the past
	The place: Nerima, Tokyo Japan

	The night sky.
	It's full of stars.
	Sometimes, there are shooting stars and the night in question was no 
exception.  There were two of them that night.
	Shooting stars the size of human beings.
	The larger of the two crash landed in the middle of a major street, 
it's impact creating a crater eight feet long and eight feet deep.  
The impact ruptured a major gas line and three buildings were 
incinerated in an instantaneous inferno.  Those caught in the blaze, 
were either in too much suffering or too much panic to notice the 
large, humanoid... thing, pull itself out of the hole and slip into 
the shadows.
	The other "shooting star" splashed down into a small river by the 
side of a road.  The impact caused a gigantic pillar of water to 
shoot up and when it was calm once more, bubbles churned and a head 
poked out of the water.  A small flicker of red light gleamed off the 
helmet on the head and green eyes with thin iris's took a careful 
look around before the head submerged itself once more.

	The room shook slightly from a distant explosion and a sleepy 
martial artist by the name of Ranma Saotome sat up, rubbed his eyes 
and muttered, "What the hell was that?"
	He was promptly clocked on the top of his head by a sign that read, 
<It was just an earthquake.  Not even a 3.0.  Go back to sleep, 
boy!>

	In a room down the hall, a girl named Akane Tendo was awakened by 
the sound and vibrations as well, but, due to the lateness of the 
hour, she also dismissed it as a minor earthquake and went back to 
sleep.

	Elsewhere, a tall, muscular man with green eyes and white hair, 
wearing blue jeans and a white t-shirt under a brown leather jacket, 
got the shock of his life.
	He was looking at himself.
	For a span of five seconds.
	Before the copy snapped the original's neck with a quick, effortless 
jerk of its hands.
	Without a backwards glance, the "man" walked into the night.
	His orders were simple.

	Another man, in another part of town, was equally surprised as a man 
pulled himself, coughing and gagging, out of the water, over the 
fence and onto the road.  The man who had come from the water, looked 
at him for a few seconds and said, "I need to borrow your hat and 
coat."
	Then he knocked the first man out with a well placed chop to his 
neck.
	Placing on the coat and hat, after slipping his long, blond pony 
tail through the hole in the back of the hat, the man walked into the 
night.
	His mission was simple.

	The time: The next night

	Akane waved to her friends as she left the movie theater.  She 
hadn't gone to the movies (without her dad making it a forced date 
with Ranma) for a long time and she was glad for the freedom.  True, 
the only movie there had been any tickets left for had been "Mothra 
2" but it had turned out to be pretty good, despite what reviews had 
said.
	Stretching her arms and walking off for home, Akane smiled, happy 
that she had been able to watch a movie and enjoy herself for an 
evening, without some form of chaos intervening.
	It was at times like that, Fate proved to be a mean little bastard.

	Whistling tunelessly, Akane continued on her way... and stopped when 
she got the sensation of someone following her.  She turned her head 
to check (with the way her life was, not following up gut instincts 
could have gotten her hurt) and noticed a man in a black trench coat 
and a blue baseball cap, which had a long blond pony tail sticking 
out the back.
	The way his green eyes seemed to be regarding her, raised her 
suspicion and began to walk again.  As she hypothosised, the man 
immediately began to continue walking as well, matching her pace.
	She slowed her pace and with one quick backwards glance, saw that 
the man did the same.  Suddenly, the man increased his pace slightly 
and Akane did the same...
	Then she realized her mistake.
	Though the man was behind her, he was now leading.  She had to 
either get away, or find a place where she could fight him.  There 
were too many people on the street for her to do so immediately.
	She started to move faster, running without trying to look like she 
was running.  Pushing past people, she took another backwards glance.

	He wasn't there anymore.
	She stopped moving.
	Where was he?
	Had he not really been following her?  Had it been her imagination?  
Had he reached his street and turned?
	No.  She could still feel his eyes on her... somewhere.
	She saw a blue baseball cap sticking out above the masses, heading 
towards her.
	No.  That was a man wearing a red shirt and jeans.
	She saw black coat tails out of the corner of her eye.
	No.  That was an old, white haired woman.
	Her heart beat raced as someone behind her said, "Excuse me..."
	She whirled around and readied her fists, determined to defend 
herself.
	A brown eyed man with green hair raised his hands in a defensive 
gesture and said, "Whoa!  Sorry."
	"What do you want?" Akane asked, trying to hide the tension that had 
gripped her throat.
	"You look lost," the man replied, "Do you need help?"
	"No," Akane said, trying to make her smile look more polite than 
nervous, "I'm okay.  I'm just waiting for someone."
	The man looked at her queerly, then shrugged and walked away.
	Where was he?
	Had he jumped up to the roofs somehow?  That wasn't impossible, 
given the type of people who lived in Nerima.
	Her head turned skyward.
	Nothing except the occasionally chimney.
	Wait.
	There!
	Almost impossible to see, a vague outline against the shadows.
	It was him.
	Akane turned her gaze back to ground level.  There was an alley only 
a few steps in front of her.  She went into it and turned around, 
waiting.
	It was dark, the walls of both buildings unwashed and blackened with 
soot and grime.  A smell that assaulted the nostrils filled the air 
with the building tension.
	Akane waited.
	A falsetto male voice, almost too soft to hear, asked, "Are you 
Akane Tendo?"
	Her eyes widening, Akane whirled around towards the source.
	How had he jumped down from the roof so silently?
	He walked towards her, the shadows cast by the brim of the baseball 
cap hiding his face.  "Who are you?" Akane asked.
	The man raised his hands quickly.
	Given her current state of mind, it was only natural for Akane to 
reflexively punch the mystery man in the chest.
	All the blow did was wrinkle the coat.
	The man looked at where her fist had impacted with his chest.  His 
eyes mirrored the mixture of surprise and confusion that were in 
Akanes'.
	Taking another step forward, the man started to say, "Now hold on a 
se..."
	Akane kicked him with a roundhouse.
	The mans' hat was knocked off but the man, who the kick had not 
effected, grabbed it in midair and put it back on before Akane could 
get even the slightest glimpse of his face.
	Grabbing a garbage can that was filled to the brim with a mixture of 
decaying material, Akane flung it at her opponent.  The man smashed 
the can away with his right arm, garbage flying like confetti.
	He growled, "That's it."
	Before Akane could blink, the man planted his white gloved fist into 
her stomach, dropping her to her knees, gasping for breath.
	"Now," the man said, "You're going to..."
	Akane grabbed the lid off another garbage can and smashed it into 
the mans' face.  Then she grabbed the can, got up to her feet and 
tossed its' contents in his face.
	While the man reflexively covered up, Akane ran out of the alley and 
back into the streets.
	The one who had been following her ever since she had left the Tendo 
Dojo earlier in the evening, sighed and leapt back up to the roof 
without a single sound.

	The place: The Tendo Dojo
	The time: Two hours later

	*BRRRRIIIIIING*
	Kasumi, who was in the kitchen, called out, "Ranma, could you get 
the phone, please?"
	"Not really," Ranma replied from somewhere upstairs, "I'm a little...
 busy with personal stuff at the moment."
	*BRRRRIIIIIING*
	"Ranma, if you're going to the bathroom, just say so."
	"KASUMI!"
	*BRRRRIIIIIING*
	Wiping flour off her hands, Kasumi went out into the hall and picked 
up the receiver.  "Hello?" she asked.
	"Kasumi?" Akanes' voice replied, nearly drowned out by loud, techno-
ish music in the background.
	"Oh, hello Akane," Kasumi said, "I was getting worried.  I thought 
the movie would have let out earlier than this."
	"It did," Akane said, "but I think I'm being stalked.  I tried 
confronting the guy but... but..."
	"I understand," Kasumi said, knowing how hard it was for Akane to 
admit when she was out matched, "Grandfather Happosai brought Father 
and Mr Saotome with him on a training trip, but I'll get Ranma to 
bring you home."
	"Thank you.  I'm at some... dive, called Tech Noir.  It's..."
	"Oh my, you mean the club on the corner of Sakura Lane and Orochi 
Avenue?"
	"Kasumi... how did you know?"
	"Oh, I've been there once or twice.  The people there are nice."
	"...."
	"Hello?  Akane, are you there?"
	"Uh... yeah.  I'll be waiting.  'Bye."
	"Good bye."
	Kasumi was about to go back to the muffin batter she had been 
preparing, when there was a knock at the door.
	"Oh my," she muttered as she went towards the front of the house, 
"what now?"
	She opened the front door and gasped as a large man, with green eyes 
and white hair, wearing blue jeans and a white t-shirt under a brown 
leather jacket, looked back.  The man asked, his voice empty of 
emotion, "Excuse me, but are you Akane Tendo?  I need to speak with 
her about... her future."
	"No, I'm afraid not." Kasumi replied, "She's not home right now."
	"Do you know where she is?"
	"She's at a club called Tech Noir.  I can give you the address."
	"No, thank you.  I know where it is."
	With that, the man walked away.
	"Hmmm..." Kasumi thought aloud, "what a strange fellow."

	The place: Tech Noir
	The time: Five minutes later

	She knew that the first rule of dealing with a stalker was to stay 
in a public place, but Akane had meant it when she had called the 
club a dive.
	Overhead, strobe lights in all colors of the rainbow, pulsed in a 
way that would have caused epileptic fits in most people who were not 
caught in the grip of alcohol or, given the more subtle smell that 
was mixed in with the heavy odor of tobacco, more powerful 
distractors.
	However, after leading her follower on a merry chase through the 
more populated streets of Nerima, it was the place that had the most 
people in it at the time of night that it was.  She was lucky that 
the bouncer had decided that she looked old enough and let her in 
without having to show a form of ID, although the smile he gave her, 
told Akane that she'd have company at her table soon.
	"Ranma..." Akane thought, "Please get here soon.  I know that guy is 
here.  Where?"
	At the front of the club, there was a small commotion, but Akane was 
too caught up in her nervousness to notice the bouncer who had smiled 
at her earlier, fall to the ground, a few of his teeth missing, due 
to the punch of a shadowed stranger.
	Akanes' eyes scanned the dance floor; filled with bodies that 
gyrated either to the song, "Hurricane" or to more personal music 
selected by narcoliptic DJs.  Her eyes scanned the bar and...
	There!
	Sitting in the third seat to the right.
	It was him.
	The man in the black coat and blue baseball cap made no move towards 
her, with the exception of his eyes.
	Those eyes were cold and calculating, constantly evaluating and 
reevaluating her.  Waiting for the right moment.
	Time slowed for her, as a large, muscular figure engulfed her in his 
shadow.  Akane looked up and saw a man with blazing green eyes 
looking down at her.  "Found you." was all he said.
	Then, time slowed even more as he raised his right arm and, 
impossibly, a thin beam of light emanated from the top of his wrist 
and glowed against her forehead.
	Akane reached behind her, ready to bolt up to her feet and smash her 
chair into the guys' face.
	A white glow formed across the knuckles of the muscular mans' hands 
and Akane realized that she wouldn't have enough time to fight back.
	"RAJIGEKI!"
	Akane opened her eyes, not remembering when she had shut them.
	The muscular man had been sent flying, a few arcs of electricity 
sparking off his deathly still body.  Akane turned and saw the man 
who had been following her, tear off the coat and, after slipping his 
long, thick blond pony tail out of the back, throw the hat away.
	The man was dressed in white and red armor, with two circular, green 
gems on his chest.  His stomach had yellow... vents?  On his head was 
a white and red rimmed helmet, with a blue jewel sitting directly 
above his forehead.  His face was angular and seemed slightly too... 
perfect, for it to be truly human.
	A slight, deep humming sound could be heard over the music, the 
source of which, was the glowing green sword currently held in the 
strangers right hand.  The tip was pointed at the downed muscular man.

	Naturally, even those who were under the influence reacted as Nerima 
citizens did when violence broke out.
	They ran.
	A horde of panicked humanity passed around the too stunned to move 
Akane, who was watching the muscular man get up as if nothing had 
happened to him.  Then, she was pushed to the ground by the red and 
white stranger as an energy discharge erupted from the muscular man's 
right fist.
	Somewhere behind her, Akane heard people scream in agony.
	The stranger stood and raised his glowing sword, which suddenly 
turned the blue and white color of electricity.  "RAJIGEKI!" he 
shouted again, aiming the sword at the muscular man.
	The man took the blast of electricity that came forth from the tip 
of the sword, but did not go down this time.  The stranger growled 
and raced forward, his blade suddenly becoming pure fire.  
"RYUENJIN!" he cried as he performed a spinning uppercut with the 
fiery blade in place of his fist.
	The two of them were lifted into the air three feet and the stranger 
landed on his feet, while the muscular man fell onto his back and 
stopped moving.
	The stranger moved over to where Akane stood watching and said, 
"Let's get out of here!"
	"Huh?" Akane replied, confused, "Why should I go with you?!  You've 
been stalking me for most of the night!"
	"We don't have time to argue right now," the stranger shot back, a 
sense of urgency in his voice, "he's going to get up soon and then, 
since he's found you, he's going to drop that fake form and kill you.
"
	"Kill me?"
	As the muscular man started to pull himself to his feet, the 
stranger said, "My name is Zero."
	Then, as he held out his hand, he said eight famous words...
	"Come with me if you want to live."

To be continued...

The Flashman
(Proud member of The Church of Tsukino Usagi)
Loyal G-Fan
www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Dojo/3105/
May The Spirit Preserve You!