This one's a bit unique for me... instead of just posting it
immediately after finishing (my usual mode) I decided to
wait a bit, and then I looked it over again....
Well, I looked over a few parts of it at least....
For the history if it? Well, it was worked on in bits and
pieces for a while, a couple of lines here and there, mainly.
Missed "Soul of Ice" did you? Email me (not the list, me) and
I'll send ya a copy....
Now if you've read "Soul of Ice" you know that this ain't
really a happyhappy cheerful fic, although there's no 
violence or that jazz either... we'll say it's serious, then.

Enough of what sounds suspiciously like a preface! On with the
disclaimer!

Ranma 1/2 and all characters contained within are the creation
of one (1) Rumiko Takahashi. The author of the following work
does not have permission to use the characters or situations
of Ranma 1/2, and is doing so without intent of financial gain.
Comments, criticisms and all that other kind of groovy stuff it
appreciated, ya dig? ;-)



			Soul of Ice: Counterpoint



	"Wake up."

	Ranma mumbled something unintelligbly in his sleep, and
shouldered the blanket slightly higher.

	"Wake up, Ranma," again the calm voice requested. Again, the
voice was denied.

	The owner of the voice sighed. Obviously more drastic measures
were required. "Sweeto!" 

	Ranma was wide awake and sitting bolt upright, ready to pound
the lecher that was on his... her, breasts. Only... only Ranma was
a he, and there was no one latched onto his chest, or any other
part of him for that matter (having awakened in this predicament
before, one of his first actions upon waking was now to check and
see if there was anyone else attached to him).

	"Whaddaya want, pervert?" Ranma asked in a peeved tone, due in
part (but only in part) to being awoken at this earlier than normal
hour.

	The main reason for Ranma's tone would be to the person who
woke him at such an hour: Happousai.

	"To talk, that's all. This is no place to talk, too many
distractions and too many ears, if you know what I mean. Get
dressed. I'll be on the roof when you're ready."

	"Why should I? Why shouldn't I just go back to sleep instead?"

	"I heard," Happousai said in a too casual tone, "that you had a
talk with Cologne the other day. Can we also not have a
discussion?" 

	Something in Happousai's words or in his tone convinced Ranma,
who merely nodded and waited for the aged martial artist to hop out
the window and onto the roof. Ranma changed silently in the
darkness of early morning (or late night, depending on your
perspective) without turning a light on so as to not wake his
father up (not that Ranma really cared if Genma had a good night's
sleep, mind you, but Happousai seemed insistent that no one
overhear their conversation, and Ranma would respect that wish).
	Upon reaching the roof, Ranma saw Happousai standing there with
an inscrutable expression on his face. A quick gesture with his
head, nothing more than a cocking to one side, and then Happousai
was off, running and leaping with a speed astonishing even for one
a quarter the age of the shrunken man.
	Ranma took the obvious invitation and followed. Their early
morning journey took them from rooftop to a secluded park similar
to the one Cologne had talked to Ranma in before; similar, but not
the same. Their journey crossed worlds, from the darkness of night
into the dim light of false dawn.
	Happousai alighted on the dew-covered grass with an ease that
would have drawn envy in any feline, had there been any around to
witness the feat. Ranma touched down with scarcely less grace,
barely moving the individual blades of grass not directly under his
feet.

	"So," said Happousai, face inscrutable and voice monotone.

	"So," agreed Ranma. "You wanted to talk, so talk."

	"Cologne offered to teach you, didn't she, Ranma? To become
her, and only her, student, yes?"

	"Yeah."

	Happousai sighed. "I wasn't going to do this, Ranma m'boy, but
she's forced my hand. It's not something I like to do, you see."

	"What's that, apologise for all the crap you've put me
through?"

	Happousai barked out a short laugh. "Hardly. You know me better
than that. I don't regret what I did, not one bit.
	"No, I'm going to explain some things to you, and I'm only
going to do it once.
	"She probably gave you some story about her and about me,
right? Something about what Anything Goes does to you. Am I right
so far?"

	"Pretty much. So? You gonna disagree with what she says? She's
right about Mr. Tendo, pops an' Akane, y'know. I don't wanna end up
like that."

	"But she's wrong. Anything Goes, true Anything Goes, isn't like
that. Not like that at all. Before I tell you what we are, let me
tell you about Cologne and her training first. She's unfeeling,
inhuman. She focuses on control and manipulation. Cold, cold, cold,
that's what she is, frozen and unfeeling and static. No joy or
anything at all-- nothing. She would force everyone to dance to her
tune, like puppets for her amusement with no thought of what they
want."

	"And what, you're just mister compassionate, aren't you?"

	"Not compassion, Ranma, but _passion_!" the old man whispered
harshly.

	"Now, let me tell you about our school, about what we aren't
and what we are. 
	"They're wrong about you; she's wrong about you, Ranma--
Akane's wrong! You're not the pervert, her family is!" Happousai's
face contorted with a brief spasm of rage. "The Tendos have
perverted my school. It was never meant like that. They aren't
practising Anything Goes, but instead some mockery of it!"
	Happousai changed tack now, his voice coming down, becoming low
and sybilant. "Your father, now he's a true master of our style, or
he was at least. Not anymore though. Not since he sealed away the
Umisenken and the Yamisenken.
	"Our style... what we practise.... Our philosophy is to enjoy
ourselves. We use what makes us happy to become better martial
artists. Your father knew this, once. He created a set of
techniques based upon getting things from people. I, well, you know
about my focus.
	"The Tendos-- Soun isn't a practicioner... he gets no joy from
his tears, only more tears and more heartache-- if he ever learned
the Shi shi hokoudan I would actually be worried about him.... 
	"Akane... bah! She barely practises. Protest as much as she
wants, whine as much as she wants, but you know as well as I that
she's not one of us; Akane is not really a martial artist. She
doesn't have the commitment to the Art it takes. You know this, I
know you do. 
	"I'll tell you something else, just because I'm feeling nice
(unsettling as that sounds); that's the real reason she gets mad at
you, Ranma. Because, against you and almost everyone who came here
because of you, Akane finally sees her inadequacy. She's forced to
see that she isn't a martial artist after all, and she can't handle
that.
	"That's important because our school is about adapting our
desires to make a style. If she was a true member of our school, if
she really wanted to be a martial artist, wanted to hold her own
against us bad enough, she might be able to use that want to form
her own style. 
	"Why do you think I haven't actually taught you anything? you,
who are to be my heir, Ranma? You've got to make your own
particular style, your own sets of moves based on what motivates
you the most-- that's our true power. All I've done is offer you
the opportunity to find your style. Everything I've done to you has
only made you a stronger fighter, a better opponent, Ranma, while
leaving you your freedom. You can be sure Cologne won't let you
have that. With her, there is only one correct way-- hers."

	"You're saying all the shit you've put me through was just
training? All your panty-raids and stuff were for my benefit?"
Ranma protested incredulously.

	Happousai's laughter barked out once more. "Of course not! I'm
a dirty old man, and I _like_ women's panties, I _like_ stealing
them and caressing a woman's breasts. Yeah, I do those things
because I enjoy doing them, but they also serve as training for
you, since you have to stop me. 
	"Become my heir, Ranma. Find what it is that drives you, that
you enjoy the most and use that to perfect your technique."

	The old master turned from Ranma and walked east out of the
enclosure, back into the world and into the risen sun. Ranma
watched him leave and then made his own way through the world of
the trees, as the morning sun filtered through the leaves and made
strange patterns on the wooded floor.


Strange ramblings from a strange man: 

	I dunno, the dialogue feels a little disjointed or something to
me, like Happi jumps around from point to point a little to
quickly. It is possible that he might do that, I suppose, since
he's not really given to explaining himself, and would be somewhat
unused to doing that....
	So, in Soul of Ice I used Cologne's point of view, now I use
Happi's pov... Who is right? Are either of them right? Are either
of them wrong? What arguments is Happousai not considering, or what
are some flaws in his arguments?
	I said it before in Soul of Ice, and I'll say it again: this is
merely one way to look at the series-- it's not the only way, nor
is it necessarily the best way... just, a way. I'm not even saying
this way is how I view the series (although I'm not saying it
isn't, either, so take that however you will ^_^ ).

So, I've got probably 4 different stories for Soul of Ice, one for
Cologne's path (Thesis), one for Happi's (Antithesis), and two
others (Synthesis-- Broken, and Hypothesis).... At least, that's
how I see it.... 
When will I do them? Eventually, I suppose....
If you have a particular vision for a particular path, email me and
we can talk about it-- I'm perfectly willing for other authors to
take on one of the choices. After all, even the ones I have ideas
for (and I don't for all of them), everything's pretty hazy... more
of some feelings, and some directions to be explored; nothing
concrete at all.
Oh yeah, the original "Soul of Ice" will now undergo a name change
and become "Soul of Ice: Point" mainly to better fit this into it....


And remember! be happyhappy funfun!

Matthew "Maybeso" Lewis is:
That guy with "Maybe" and/or "Definitely" in his name on IRC
See him on FFIRC! [bachman.newberry.edu fanfic]
Sojiro_Seta on Kawaiimuck
	maybeso@ican.net
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"The world, however, is not for Fun," Khattam-Shud replied. "The
world is for Controlling."
	"Which world?" Haroun made himself ask.
	"Your world, my world, all worlds," came the reply. "They
are meant to be Ruled. And inside every single story, inside 
every Stream of the Ocean, there lies a world, a storyworld, that
I cannot Rule at all. And that is the reason why."
		--from Haroun and the Sea of Stories by Salman
		  Rushdie (p.161)
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