Thought I might want to post this in case Tybalt decides to bring the
wrath of da Man down upon my little head for my unintentional posting
spree.   
PM Productions Presents
A Phillip Masters Fanfic
Another Life
Chapter 3

     Ranma lay in his bed, staring at the ceiling and thinking about the
day.  So much had happened, from swimming to Japan and walking across
it, to being reunited with his mother.  All the engagement stuff was
there too, but he didn't particularly want to think about that one at
the moment.
     He glanced over at the rare On Your Mark poster hanging in a frame
next to his bed.  Upon it and angel was floating into the distance,
feeling free and unhindered.  He wished he could feel like that.  Only
at precious few times in his life had he ever even skirted that precious
freedom.  It seemed something always chained him, kept him from doing
what he really wanted to do.  When he was five that was become a manga
artist.  Unfortunately, his penchant for drawing amounted to his
penchant for staying out of trouble.  
     He sighed and turned on his side, facing the door.  Upon it was a
Kiki picture.  He cried out in frustration.  Everywhere he looked people
were happy and could do what *they* wanted to.  Why was he singled out
by the heavens?
     A knock on his door brought him out of his life-bashing session.
"Yes?"
     The door opened and his mother looked in.  "Are you okay?" she
asked, looking concerned.
     "Why do you ask?"  He assumed she was talking about his curse.
     "You look upset about something."
     He felt his eyes tear up slightly.  It was good to have a mother
again.  Suddenly, the room he was in didn't look so foreign anymore.
"Yeah... it's just... my life has been so... disgusting!" he spat the
last word as if trying to remove a bad taste from his mouth.
     Nodoka walked into the room, easily falling back into the 'mother'
role.  She sat on the bed and ran a hand through Ranma's hair.  "You
need a bath, young man."
     Ranma chuckled, "Heh... walking from eastern China to Tokyo will do
that to you."
     Nodoka laughed lightly.  "Yes, I suppose it would."  Her smile
dropped into the concerned look again, "Now, tell me why your life is so
horrible, exactly?"
     "Well, first my father takes me away from you, for over a decade!
On top of that, he drops dead in the middle of a path, I get cursed, now
I'm supposed to marry someone who doesn't even know me!  I've been
pulled from the arms of joy so many times I've almost forgotten what it
feels like... hell, just laughing was like heaven earlier today!"  Ranma
shut his eyes tightly, trying to ward off all the feelings building
inside him.  He felt like hurting something, perhaps himself.
     His mother put a hand on his shoulder, and everything seemed a
little better right then.  "What did your father do to you on the road?"
she asked soothingly.
     Ranma stared at his mother for a moment, wondering if she were
ready for what he had to say.  He figured keeping it from her was not
going to help any, so he began his story.
     Two hours later he made it to Jusenkyo.  He had glossed over a few
parts.  His mother looked about ready to destroy something.  Her look
had turned to one of rightous anger the moment he mentioned the Cat-Fu
incident.  He finished with the engagement to Kasumi.
     Nodoka looked at Ranma with as much compassion as she could manage.
"Oh, you poor child!  I never would have let that man lay a finger on
you had I only known!"  She began to cry, and Ranma sat up.
     "It's not your fault!" he cried, as he just knew she was beating
herself up over it.  "You couldn't have known!  Mr. Tendou says it was
his masters fault."
     "Happosai!" she spat, her tears of pity turning to those of anger.
"That little freak of a man!  I knew he was bad news the moment he came
into my be..."  She stopped and looked back at Ranma.  "Well, be that as
it may, he still shouldn't have done those things to you."
     "If it's any help, I am a great martial artist." Ranma said proudly
with a grin.
     Nodoka smiled, "I'm sure you are, dear.  Maybe you should get that
shower now."
     Ranma nodded, then frowed, "About the curse..."
     His mother put a finger to his lips.  "I will hear nothing of it.
You'll find a cure, I'm sure... and if not... well, then I guess I'll
have to deal with a daughter from time to time.  Worse things have
happened."  She grinned, "Being a woman's not so bad, once you get used
to it."
     "Mother!" he exclaimed, indignant.
     "Just kidding!  Now, get your little butt downstairs, or do I still
have to take your clothes off and wash behind your ears?"
     "No!" he cried and blushed.  He jumped out of bed and ran down the
steps.
     Nodoka followed him out of the room, walking slowly.  She was proud
that even in the face of such adversity her son had emerged so manly.
Even if he could become female, he was still himself, and that's what
counted.  

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

     After the bath, Ranma walked out into the dining room feeling
refreshed.  His mother had laid out a four course meal, and he could see
that she spared no expense.  "Is this for me?" he asked incredulously.
     "No, it's for my Uncle, who also arrived earlier today." she said
sarcastically.  "Of course it is!  Eat up!"
     Ranma sat down, a little daunted by the feast before him.  Then,
his instincts took over and he emptied the plate with flair and drama to
rival the greatest thespian.  He smiled up at his mother and said,
"Good."  Then, he stopped.  "Mother?"
     Nodoka watched as her son turned into something new, and animal.
Her eyes widened and she could feel a little of her control slip.
"Ranma!"  She balked slightly as he flinched.  She softened her voice,
"That is not how you will eat in this house."  She picked up her
chopsticks, "You will use proper utensils and manners."
     "Yes, mother." Ranma replied, looking at his plate sadly.  He
picked up his pair of chopsticks and expertly clicked them together.
His father and he had always used them, but the amount of food had just
overcome him.  "I'm sorry." he said to his mother and dug in at a more
steady pace, trying to remember what he could of proper eating
convention.
     "It's okay... I realize you've been on the road a long time, and
with your father.  Just try to use control... in everything you do."
She went back to eating her food.
     Ranma nodded and went back to his plate, getting more for it from
the countless pots covering the table.  "So, I've told you my story,
what have you been doing?"
     Nodoka looked over at him.  "Oh, this and that.  Mostly just
working odd jobs to keep busy. For instance, I work at a resturaunt
called Umika during the morning, and in the afternoon I help around a
small flower shop named Hanna, Etc.  Tomorrow I have an interview with a
nice young man who runs a bicycle shop by the name of Oe... but I think
I'll cancel that.  I want to spend my weekends with you now, that's when
I was going to work there."
     Ranma nodded in understanding.  He knew the importance of keeping
busy.  "You have friends around here?"
     Nodoka laughed a little.  "Of course!  More than I can handle
sometimes.  I'm surprised none of them have come by yet this evening...
it must be divine intervention."
     She turned her smile to the door as a knock struck it.  She looked
back to Ranma, the smile still there.  "Me and my big mouth, ne?"
     Ranma grinned.  

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

     The next morning, Ranma arose from his bed.  Good thing they made
singles so long or he would have never fit on his childhood mattress.
He stretched and went into a kata.  He found himself missing his father
now that he wasn't around to fight with.  At first it was just Ranma
getting the tar squeezed from him, but after a few years it started to
be a real fight.  After five... well... he missed the old man.  
     He dressed in some clean clothes and headed down to the bathroom to
get cleaned up.  He passed by the kitchen and could smell the wonderful
aroma coming from it.  "Smells great, mom!" he yelled as he went into
the bathroom and picked up his toothbrush.  It seemed after he went to
sleep the night before she had set all his things out for him where they
belonged.  Though the brush was new... and had *Lupin* on it?!  "Mother!
What's with the toothbrush?"
     "It was one I had left in the package when you left... it's the
only one I could find on such short notice!" came back.
     Ranma blanched slightly.  The device he was about to scrub the
inside of his mouth with was probably worth more than he was to a
collector.  Then, he shrugged and went to work. No use crying about it
now after all.
     He had finished and was sitting eating breakfast, when his mother
said, "I managed to call Furinkan this morning and enrole you... while
it's kinda far from here they made an exception as I know the
super-intendant.  The bus arrives in five minutes, so you'd better get a
move on!"
     Ranma looked at his mother, digesting what was just said.  He
briefly wondered if that was the school Nabiki went to, as she had not
told him the day before.  "That's okay, mom, I'll just walk."
     "But it's over ten miles from here!" she protested.
     Ranma rose from the table while emptying his glass.  He smirked,
"No problem."

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

     Ranma ran... no, flew over the rooftops of Nerima.  The chill early
morning wind tried to deter him but failed.  He faced it with a passion,
feeling truly free for the first time in years.  He could be the angel
in his poster, or the witch on her broom.  He could be... himself.
     It was about time.
     He came to Furinkan High School.  It appeared perfectly normal,
except for the hundred or so guys grouped at its front gates.  He leapt
to the top of the building in a mighty final leap, then dropped to the
ground, slamming his hand on the ground with a resonant slap.
     All heads turned to him.  A familiar voice cried out, "Ranma!"
     He looked to the source of the voice and found Nabiki running
toward him.  "Hey!  How was your first night at home?" she asked with a
smile.
     "Great!" he answered, then frowned lightly while looking at the
crowd.  "What's with all this?"
     Nabiki rolled her eyes.  "It has to do with my sister, Akane.
These boys have it in their heads that if they beat her in combat they
then have the right to date her."
     Ranma's eyebrows raised, amused.  "Did she claim this?"
     Nabiki looked aghast, "Of course not!  No, it was Kunou Tatewaki,
the village idiot."  She saw the look on his face and said, "He's the
VI, but he's a great sword fighter."
     "Ah."
     That's when a cry erupted from outside the schoolyard gates.  
     "I HATE BOYS!!!!"
     "Here she comes." Nabiki stated, moving out of the way of the gate.
     Ranma, interested, watched as Akane came charging into the yard
like a schoolgirl right out of some manga.  She met the group of boys
with some serious thunder.  Male students went flying everywhere.  Kendo
students, kempo students, judo students, tennis students... hell, even
art students.  Ranma walked to the end of the fight, followed by Nabiki.
     "There's Kunou." she pointed out, nodded her head near the doors of
the school.
      Ranma looked, seeing a slightly older boy weilding a bokken and
dressed up in samurai garb, like in Rurouni Kenshin.  He had caught the
movie on the way home across Japan.  He had felt the need for
civilization, and figured a movie was something even his ignorance
couldn't screw up.  However, this young man did not seem to have the
prowess of Himura.
      Akane made it to the last boy and quickly knocked him into happy
land with a roundhouse.  She stood in the middle of the carnage, the
sole survivor, breathing heavily.
     Ranma walked up behind her and poked her on the head.  She whirled
and tried to grab his shirt.  He moved slightly to the left and grabbed
her arm.  "Hey, it's just me." he warned as he let her go.  
     She glared at him a moment, then recognition showed through.  "Oh,
it's you again.  Are you going to Furinkan now, Ranma?"  
     "Yup." he answered, then smiled, "So, do I get a date with you
now?"
     She punched him in the nose lightly, "Baka."
     Ranma stumbled backward as if stunned, "Okay, okay!" he laughed.
     "Who are you!?" came an ear-splitting screech from right behind
Ranma.
     He swirled while his ears rang and found himself staring at the
point of Kunou's bokken.  "Hey, look now," he said slowly as he moved
the weapon out of his face, "I was just talking to a friend... no need
to get upset."
     "You would pretend to claim friendship with the noble Tendou Akane?
What gives you the right, peon?"
     Ranma had no clue as to what a 'peon' was, but he didn't like the
sound of it.  "Hey, cool it, or I'll have to hurt you."
     Akane came up on his right and hastily said, "He's my older
sisters' fiancee, Kunou, Saotome Ranma."  She looked at Ranma, "Ranma,
Kunou Tatewaki."
     "The Blue Thunder of Furinkan High!" Kunou added as if it were
expected.  A bolt of lighting shot across the sky and thunder rolled
impressively across the yard.  
     Ranma looked up and his eyes widened.  Nabiki noticed this and ran
up, taking him by the arm.  "Come on," she said with a smile, "we don't
want to be late on our first day do we?"
     He looked at her a moment, then nodded furiously.  "Of course not!"
He began to move to the enterance, then turned back and quickly yelled,
"Later, Kunou!"
     "That's upperclassman!" he returned with flourish.  
     Rain poured down upon his might.

END Chapter Three
Ah!  Another done already!  Aren't you proud?  And I'll only send it
once!  Please send comments as usual, I look forward to them.
Thanks for reading,
(10-9-98)  

"I'm only holding back the rain.  So many raindrops, so many pains.  I
want to find my train someday.  As seasons go past the station." - Tokyo
Babylon OVA 1
/ E-mail at:  PhilMasters@webtv.net /
Web page pending use of a computer!
"...has anyone ever used something alive for a coat of arms?" - The
Sailor Who Fell From Grace With The Sea (Mishima Yukio, 1965) / 
"You see, what you call a cat, we use as armor." - Rune (El-Hazard,
1994)