Another one... Another post... 
Another Life
A Phillip Masters Fanfic
Presented by PM Productions
Chapter 5

     Ranma woke up really groggy.  He had spent half the previous night
thinking of the very day that suddenly laid before him.  He was still
unsure whether he should be happy or upset at what was to happen.
Kasumi was such a nice girl.  She didn't really deserve someone like
him.  There was a rich business man out there looking for a woman just
like her... or perhaps a doctor...?  
     He flopped out of bed, being careful not to hit his head on the
nightstand.  Once on the floor he stared up at the ceiling again, taking
in the altered perspective.  He really needed to get back on track with
his training.  Katas and aerobics just wasn't cutting it.  He needed
someone to fight, someone who would fight back, and do it well.  
     He needed his father.
     Ranma jumped up quickly and shook his head.  He mentally chided
himself.  His father was dead, the sooner he faced the fact and moved on
the better.  He went through a few paces, trying to center himself once
more.  The attempt was met with mixed success.  The empty place was
still there, but he could at least get ready for school with a smile on
his face.  Well, most of one anyway.  In his opinion, school was never
something to be entirely happy about.  
     He went downstairs and went through his morning bathroom ritual.
This included everything from washing his face, to making sure
everything was right with his female half.  It was something he learned
on his trip home.  It had been a long two months, amazingly long.
Though, looking back on it, he couldn't remember much of it.  One of the
things he did recall though was Akemi showing him how to take care of
his sometimes female body.  At first it had been almost enough to make
him want to commit ritual suicide, as if his very honor was being ripped
apart and laughed at by the very Gods which had forsaken him.  In short,
it was the most painful and embarassing experience in his life.  
     Even worse than the cats.  
     If anything had come of it, other than his more assured health, it
would have to be his greater awareness of his feminine side.  At first,
he found himself staying a girl all the time, as if he felt becoming a
man again would make him just a mockery.  After a while he became more
used to it, of course, he prefered being a man, but something changed...
inside.  And that's when he met...
     "Ranma!"
     He sighed, putting the comb down and expertly tying back his hair
once again.  "Yes, mother?" he called out.
     "You had better hurry... school begins in fifteen minutes!" she
replied.
     Ranma blinked, then dashed out into the dining room.  The clock
showed that his mother was right, he had been thinking in the bathroom
for a good fifteen minutes... on top of all his preperations!  The long
and the short of it was that he was most likely going to be late...
again!
     "Bye, mom!" he cried as he picked up his satchel and shot out the
door.
     "Bye...," Nodoka returned, after the slam had traversed the house.

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

     Ranma made it to Furinkan in record time.  Though, given that his
run the previous day was the only comparison for "running over the
Nerima rooftops" he found he couldn't be too proud of the fact.  He
looked down into the courtyard, and watched with a grin as Akane
finished cleaning up the student body.  As she approached the building,
he dropped behind her as silently as he could manage.  He poked her on
the back of the head.
     Akane whirled, disbelieving that an attacker had so easily snuck up
on her.  Then, she noticed who it was and blushed.  "Oh, hi, Ranma." she
said, a little too meekly for her own taste.
     "Hey, Akane."  He smiled.  "That's two you owe me."  
     "Cretinous scum!"
     Ranma's face fell as he heard the cry.  "Hello, Kunou." he said,
turning to face the almighty Blue Thunder of Furinkan High.  He once
again found his lordship's bokken pointing at his face.  He once again
moved it to the side. "What do you want?"
     "I would ask you to refrain from touching my weapon, peon!  As
well, by what authority do you speak so knowingly with the angelic
Tendou Akane?"  Kunou was radiating a confidence that could have rivaled
an entire team of High School Football players.
     Ranma actually found himself somewhat envious of that confidence.
He could remember what it felt like.  "By my authority!  By her
authority!  You know what?"  He paused a moment, than yelled, "That's
all that matters!"
     Kunou was obviously just holding back his anger.  "As it seems
words, and my very person, cannot persuade you to take the safe course
and heed my warning I must lower myself briefly to teach you a lesson.
However, it will be worth it, as I am benevolent and would never wish
serious harm to come upon you, as certainly would if you persisted in
your actions."
     "Are you saying you want a fight?" Ranma asked, confused.  He
really wasn't sure what the upperclassman was saying.  
     "Yes, I believe that is what you would term it... being as
uneducated and simple as you are."  
     Ranma nodded, then stepped back.  "Okay, Kunou... come on.  Show me
how 'uneducated' I am."  
     "Kunou!  Ranma!  If you don't come in now, you'll both be late!"
Akane protested as she watched the escalating situation.  She wasn't
sure how good Ranma was at Martial Arts exactly, though he was
supposedly training in it all his life.  
     Neither combatant listened to the cry from the one they were
actually fighting for.  Both were studying their opponent, sizing him
up, waiting for the first move.
     It came form Kunou, in the form of a straight jab with his bokken
toward Ranma's chest.  A simple stroke, simply designed to test the
waters.  Ranma, being rather averted to water in general, took it
straight to heart and knocked the end of the bokken out of the way.  He
quickly slid inside Kunou's defences and socked him a good one in the
jaw.  
     Akane winced as she saw Ranma's iron muscles tense into a fierce
punch that laid Kunou out in the yard.  She was sure she heard a crack.
She was also impressed.  While most people would have just seen the
surface of the fight, she could see the subtlties.  Kunou had only left
one space open for a frontal assault, assuming most likely that Ranma
wouldn't see it that quickly.  Not only did he see it almost instantly,
but snapped the punch itself so fast that it was only barely visible to
the naked eye.  Without a doubt, Kunou had not stood a chance in Hell.
Akane was about to comment to Ranma, but a noise interrupted her.  She
looked back at the building, to see hundreds of students sticking out of
windows and clapping riotously.  
     Ranma, for his part, took in the spectacle with no small awe.
Then, he placed his arm under his stomach and bowed deeply.
     The applause increased.
     Akane looked back and saw what Ranma did, and promptly socked him
in the head.  "Show off." she stated as he fell forward to the ground.
     The applause became deafening.  

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

     After having to hold buckets again during first period, Ranma was
wondering if he could ever actually get to learn any history.  Akane was
with him, but she was actually ahead in the class.  He would have to ask
her to help him study sometime.  
     Lunch was almost boring.  Food went where it was supposed to,
gossip went where it was supposed to, and everything was all good.  
     P.E. was physically educational.  They kicked around a ball, trying
to get it into the opposing side's goal.  Ranma was eventually benched
for being able to make a score every time he kicked the ball.  He was
the goalie!  His team still managed to win, 49 to 12.  The one point the
opposition had scored against Ranma was done by Akane, when she slammed
the ball into him so hard him and the ball flew clear into the goal
netting.  She had been rather apologetic, explaining that it was a way
she relieved tension.  
     Ranma pointed out to her that she didn't knock the lungs out of any
of the other goalies she faced.  She had simply glared at him and walked
off in a huff.  Ranma, as usual remained confused and staring at her
back.  

-------------------------------------------
 
     The final bell sang its toll and the students were free once more.
Ranma headed straight for the men's changing room, and ignoring the
baseball team's attmpts at recruiting him, he changed into a white suit.
His mother had bought it for him right when she heard about his date
with Kasumi.  He had tried to protest, but not very hard as he couldn't
say he particularly wanted to go seeming like he didn't put the effort
forth to care.  
     He used the mirror near the door to double check his hair, and
finding one incredibly handsome fellow looking back at him, strolled...
no... strutted out the door.  
     As he walked down the street his walk began to falter slightly.  By
the time he made it to the road the Tendou's resided on, he was a
nervous wreck all anew.  What would he say to her?  He had a sinking
feeling that when he laid eyes upon her he wouldn't be able to form any
congnative thoughts. 
     The front walk stretched before him like an endless desert.  His
mouth dried out and his palms just refused to stay dry.  He tried to dig
up some confidence, like he used to, and found an empty well, dried up
through disuse and abuse.  After what seemed like an hour he made it to
the front door.  He raised his hand and knocked carefully, trying not to
sound too eager, yet still apply enough pressure so a person could hear
it anywhere in the house.
     After a few moments, centuries to Ranma, the door opened... and
there she stood.  His brain shifted into neutral and he simply stared at
the vision before him.  Kasumi was wearing a casual dress, something you
might see on a new mother in the park on a Sunday afternoon.  On her, it
looked like the finest silk, accentuating everything that made her so
beautiful.  She wore no makeup, for she needed none.  Any attempt at
coloring or shading would have actually *subtracted* from her natural
perfection.  Her hair was in its usual ponytail, simple yet stylish.  
     All this was fine for Ranma, but what did him in was the smile.
The very look on her face.  She was a goddess... he couldn't put it any
other way and not feel he was lying to himself.  He... he didn't deserve
this!
     "Good afternoon, Ranma." Kasumi said, in her soft melodious voice
that sent shivers up his spine.
     The very slight tensing of his back muscles was enoug to pull him
out of his mindless admiration.  "H... hello, Kasumi." he returned,
unable to come up with anything else.  Once again the porch fell into
silence.  
     Behind Kasumi's smile, there laid a little girl.  That little girl
was looking up at her mother and asking where babies came from.
     The mother looked down knowingly, smiled lovingly, and pointed at
Ranma. 

END Chapter Five
Hey, five down, and lord knows how many left to go!  Most likely quite a
few (see 25 or so, and that may simply be the first volume).  The next
part will feature Kasumi and Ranma's (don't you feel the chemistry? ^_-)
stroll through the park... and a stop for food.  You know Ranma.
Anyway, don't kick me over the mystery behind Ranma's recent past... In
know I'm dragging it, but it'll be thoroughly explained in future parts,
I promise!                      
Thanks for reading,
PMasters (10-13-98)  

"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)