I'm almost there...  I just can't seem to see myself beyond 
'Leper'.  I need a life.  I've been staying indoors so long I'm already 
starting to grow molds.
---------------

                                The Leper
                                 Part 12
                        "Through the Broken Glass"
                      by Nikholas "NomaD" F. Toledo


	Ranma 1/2 is the property of Kitty, VIZ and the omnipotent Rumiko 
Takahashi.  I am a property of Switch (so you know who to sue).

	I am NomaD... I am coming... I am near...

	Don't expect any summaries...

	Names and spellings have been explained in part 1...

-----------
WARNING! WARNING! WARNING!
Happiness is learning to forget.
-----------

	"That takes care of him."

	"You said it, Tendo."

	"But Saotome, can you bear disowning your only heir?  What would 
Nodoka say?"

	"That ungrateful boy's nothing but trouble for me, I'm glad to get 
rid of him!"

	"Or, maybe, you just don't want to give up the free board and 
lodging, Uncle Saotome."

	Nabiki emerged from the stairs with Akane and the rest of the 
girls.  Soun turned to her daughter, then to the blushing Genma.

	"Is this true, Saotome?!?"

	Genma pointed to himself and smiled sheepishly until a teardrop 
appeared.

	"Um... er... Tendo..." <splash> "Rowr?"

	Soun eyed his friend, then turned to his eldest.

	"Kasumi..."

	"Yes, father?"

	"Don't boil anymore water for tonight."

	"ROWR?!?  Rowrorr?"

	The panda proceeded to bow and to grab Soun's leg.

	"Let go you... you... freeloader!"

	<BAM, BAM, BAM!!!>

	"What in the world was that?"

	Everyone's heart skipped a beat.  The startling noise left them 
quiet, then they heard it again.

	<BAM, BAM, BAM!!!>

	"Somebody's at the..."

	Akane gulped in surprise.

	"It can't be...?"

	Akane hurried down the steps and exited through the stone pathway.  
Everybody followed suit.  As they neared the back gate, they could hear 
shouting.  They couldn't understand at first but, as they got closer,...

	"-otome, challenge the Tendo martial-arts school as rightful 
successor!  Let me in!  I, Ranma Saotome, challenge the Tendo martial 
arts sch-"

	Ranma seized his shouting when the wooden gates began opening.  The 
gate was opened by Ukyou and his father.  Soun stood in the middle, while 
his daughters stood just behind him.  Ranma just nodded towards Soun but 
the latter did not return the greeting.

	"Ranma Saotome, you have come here without honor.  What do you 
expect to attain with this nonsense?"

	"I expect to get my rightful place as heir to the Saotome..." Ranma 
took a deep breath, "... and Tendo Schools of Anything Goes Martial 
Arts."

	Soun Tendo let the unnerving silence pass before he answered.

	"As head of the Tendo Martial Arts School, I have the last say on 
these matters.  And, by the way you acted earlier, I'm not sure if I 
should... what the?"

	Soun didn't get to finish his sentence because he was immediately 
blocked by a gigantic bulk of black and white fur.  Genma Saotome 
immediately got down on all fours and grabbed Soun's leg.  Pleading panda 
eyes looked up at him.

	"Genma, let go of my leg."

	"Roowrowroowr!"

  	"Fine, then!  Now, let... go!  Now, where were we?  Oh, yes... In 
challenging the school, you will regain your place as heir to both the 
Tendo and Saotome Schools of Martial Arts."

	Akane stepped forward once but held back her words.  She looked at 
Ranma, who understood.  Ranma took in a deep breath and spoke.

	"In challenging the school, I will regain my place as heir to both 
schools AND... MY ENGAGEMENT TO... well, you know..."

	Akane blushed an angry shade of red, but shrugged it off.  This 
would have to do.

	Soun looked at Ranma then to his daughter.  He closed his eyes and 
seemed to be deep in thought.  He looked at his daughter once more.

	"If my daughter permits it.  After all, she has a say in these 
matters.  Akane?"

	All eyes were now on the youngest Tendo.  Akane could feel her 
cheeks warming up.  She twiddled her fingers and found it hard to look 
anyone in the eyes.

	"Um... well..."

	Akane did look up though and the first thing she saw was Ranma's 
gaze.  His eyes seemed to be pleading with her, as if begging her to 
brave even for this one instance.

	"Yes.  It's okay with me."

	Silence followed as everyone was caught by surprise at Akane's 
hasty reply.  Soun held his daughter's shoulder.

	"Are you sure about this, Akane?"

	"Yes, Dad, I'm sure."

	"Are you really sure about this, Akane?"

	"YES, I am!"

	"But..."

	"DAD!"

	Tendo turned to the dojo challenger.  "Well, then, I guess that's 
settled.  Come back here tomorrow after school.  We will commence the 
challenge by then."

	"Tomorrow?!?  Where the hell am I supposed to stay over..."

	"That is not my problem!  Look here, Ranma..."

	"WAIT!"

	All eyes turned to the new voice.  Ukyou took a moment to make sure 
she had everyone's attention.

	"I think I have that covered.  Ranma, you're staying over at my 
place.  Look, guys, it's late.  Let's just all get some sleep and settle 
this by tomorrow."

	And with that, the great gates of the Tendo household closed with 
an audible 'THUD!'.

	The two stood under the night-lights for a while.

	"Well, that's that.  C'mon, Ranchan.  Let's get outta here."

	"Thanks, Ucchan."

	"No problem, what're friends for?"

	Ranma exhaled a sigh of exhaustion... then headlocked Ukyou and 
gave her a noogie.

	"Yow, let go!"

	"Best friends, Ucchan.  Best-of-friends."

	The two walked side-by-side, into the darkness.  The night was 
finally over.

----------
Earlier that day...

	"Now what do I do?  I just mess things up everywhere I go.  Maybe I 
should just go back to China, but how am I suppose to do that without 
causing one singular explosion?"

	Kii plopped down on the grass and lay himself, arms outstretched.  
He was lying half-naked in the park, not that he cared anyway.  At least 
he wouldn't cause anymore trouble here, since most of the things here 
were alive.  He was a pathetic sight, broken glasses, torn pants and all 
- that is, if anyone had seen him.  The trouble is his destruction had 
become so catastrophic that he'd been featured as a local news item.  The 
local networks even featured footage of him live in action.  Now, anybody 
who saw him shied away out of fear and respect (mostly fear).

	"Funny.  I would've been okay with this in my old school.  But back 
then they didn't know what I was capable of.  That's probably it, I 
guess."

~~~~~~~~~~

	"Hey, Ucchan!  Ucchan!"

	It took Ukyou a while to notice Kii.  Her mind was in such a 
terrible turmoil, she didn't want to see him right now.

	"So what'd you get this time?"

	"Huh?  What?"

	"Tsubasa, of course."

	"Oh, homemade spatula-shaped chocolates and a letter."

	"You mean a LOVE LETTER."

	Ukyou jabbed Kii on the arm.

	"Ow!"

	"Cut it out!"

	A moment of silence passed.  The two exited the school and went to 
the field.  The next class wouldn't start until half an hour.  The two 
found themselves a tree.

	"You know, I'm still wondering what happened to Tsubasa."

	"You and me both, who would've thought he was... er... you know..."

	"How does it feel being chased by that creep."

	"Gives me the shivers!"

	The two laughed heartily.

	"Big disappointment if he finds out you're a girl.  By the way, can 
I ask you something?"

	"Go ahead."

	"Where were you during second period?"

	Kiiroi saw that he struck a nerve.  He could see all the life 
drained out of Ukyou's face.  Ukyou turned away, she bit her lip and held 
it all in.  Kiiroi was a look of bewilderment.  He didn't think that 
being absent in second period was that big a deal.

	"Ukyou?  You okay?"

	"I... I'm fine."

	He could hear the tremble in her voice.  Never had he seen her this 
vulnerable.  If anybody saw them, they would have immediately seen 
Ukyou's true colors.

	"You wanna talk about it?"

	Ukyou snapped around.  Kii saw tears fall from her face as she 
turned.

	"No, Kii!  I DON'T want to talk about it.  I'm sorry, but I'm in a 
situation where I'm being torn apart by what I feel and what I have sworn 
to do.  For once, I'm actually happy with my life.  For once, I'm not 
thinking about honor or revenge or Ran..."

	"What?"

	Ukyou managed to stop herself.  She kept her emotions in check.  
She was focused on her objective.  She will not be stopped, not even by 
herself.

	"Kii..."

	"Hmm?"

	"Am I your friend?"

	"Of course you are.  You're my very best friend."

	Ukyou winced once, but when she opened her eyes all emotions had 
been erased.  It was time to move on.

	"Then remember me that way."

	With that, she stood up and walked away.  He was not that surprised 
when she didn't come for third period.  He didn't see her anymore that 
day.  When the announcement came the next day, he wasn't the least bit 
shocked.  He was alone again... and the pain never felt so great.

~~~~~~~~~~

	Kiiroi paused for a moment his face was that of resolution.  He has 
caused so much trouble both physically and emotionally to those he knew 
and those he didn't know.

	"That's it, I guess.  Since I'm just causing trouble, I might as 
well leave.  I could probably go up to the mountains where all I can 
break is rocks.  I'm gonna miss this place, though.  I better go get my 
cat and say good-bye."

	Kiiroi got up and started walking.  He paused and stared straight 
at the glaring setting sun in front of him.  He managed to smile, even 
after all that's happened.

	"Talk about the irony of ironies."

	Kii turned and walked the other way.  His face was clear of the 
shame he felt.

	"Only heroes ride into the sunset..."

----------
Later that night...

	"No, you're not, and that's final!"

	"But, Dad!"

	"I don't want to hear another word..."

	Nabiki joined in the conversation.

	"And just who's gonna fight the young Saotome?  You, my beloved 
father?"

	Soun Tendo was silenced by his daughter's sly remark.  She did have 
a point, though.  But, if Akane fought him, then she'd be giving him the 
match.  But, if Soun fought him, then it would seem that he would also be 
giving him the match.  He knew everybody wanted Ranma back, but he'd make 
sure that Ranma was going to learn his place in this household.  But, 
what else could they do?

	"Why not let somebody take your place, father?"

	Everybody stared at the eldest Tendo sibling.  Soun was perplexed 
by the idea, but...

	"Is... is that possible, Kasumi?"

	"Well, YOU are the head of the school, so you have jurisdiction 
over all challenges.  You and Akane can't fight Ranma, because of how you 
both feel about him, and neither of you can do this with your emotions in 
the way..."

	"Plus the fact that Dad's but is gonna get whipped."

	"NABIKI!  Hold your tongue!!!"

	"Yeah, whatever.  Look, everybody, it's way past my bedtime, so we 
better decide who'll fight Ranma.  It has to be somebody who can almost 
match his abilities but not enough to win.  In doing so, Dad will have 
taught Ranma his lesson but, at the same time, not have jeopardized the 
future of the Tendo School of Anything-Goes Martial Arts."

	Everybody paused for a moment to think.

	"What about that Hibiki lad?"

	"What?  Ryouga?  But who knows what part of the world he's in right 
now?"

	"Hmm.  I suppose it would take a miracle for him to arrive by 
tomorrow.  Who else?"

	"Rowr!"

	All eyes turned to the panda.

	"You wanted to say something, Saotome?"

	"Rawrorawr!"

	"What?"

	"RAWRORAWR!"

	"WHAT?"

	"RAAWROO... (pause, sigh)"

	Out of frustration, Mr. Panda brought out his signboard and magic-
marker.  He carefully made out each letter and started spelling H... A... 
P... P... O... S...  Soun snatched the board away from his furry friend.  
His face was a mask of white.

	"Genma Saotome!!!  Are you out of your mind?!?"

	Genma just held out another signboard with a giant question mark on 
it.

	"If he wins against your son, he'll become the heir to the Tendo 
School and..."

	Then both guys shifted their gaze to the youngest Tendo.  Akane 
just gave them a quizzical look.  Then it all dawned on her...

	"Ack!  No way!  There's no way that old creeps gonna be my fianc�!"

	"I couldn't agree with you more, Akane.  Besides, if the master 
ever finds out that you're the prize at stake then I'm sure he'd be more 
than willing to beat up Ranma."

	They all pondered on the situation once more.

	"Mousse?"

	Then everybody started laughing.  Kasumi giggled while the rest 
wiped their tears.  When the commotion died down, Soun Tendo once again 
controlled the floor.

	"I shouldn't have said that.  Back to the matter at hand..."

	"Kuno?"

	"You'd be better off with Mousse."

	"Then there's nobody left, except..."

	"Ra rowrng Riwarori!"

	A number of sweat drops appeared.  Genma knew he killed the moment.

	"That's right, the young Niwatori."

	Kasumi approached her father and held his arm.  "Father, I don't 
think..."

	"What?  He's the only one left, what choice do we have?"

	Akane followed and held his father's other arm.  "You see, dad..."

	As if on cue, the two siblings turned their heads toward their 
sister.  Question marks popped out of Soun's head.

	"Nabiki?"

	Nabiki just held her head down, hand over her eyes.  Then she 
heaved a sigh.

	"Dad, you better sit down, I've got something to tell you..."

----------

	At the sound of footsteps, Ranma turned around.  He was surprised 
to see her, especially at this hour.  She was wearing cut-up jeans for 
shorts and shirt two sizes bigger for her.  She looked stunning.  Then 
again, she was always beautiful.  Even back then when he first realized 
that she was a 'SHE'.  He wasn't kidding when he said...

	"Boy, you look cute."

	Ukyou was struck by the sudden compliment.  She felt her face 
blush.

	"Stop that!  Look what you made me do!"

	Ukyou quickly covered her face with her hands.  Then she proceeded 
in joining him.  But instead of sitting beside him, she placed herself 
behind the counter where she was most comfortable.

	"So, you couldn't sleep, too?"

	"Yeah.  But probably for different reasons."

	"I'm just pretty nervous about tomorrow."

	"Who do you think you'll fight?"

	"Dunno.  It's most probably Mr. Tendo, 'coz he's not gonna let me 
fight Akane, that's for sure.  What about you?  Whatcha doin' up in the 
middle of the night?"

	"I've been thinking about Kii... and what he did to you."

	Ranma instinctively touched his chest on the spot that Kii jabbed 
earlier.

	"Aw, forget about it.  It wasn't his fault.  I know I should be 
upset, getting kicked out of the Tendo household and all, but at least I 
know that Nabiki is wallowing in guilt.  Where is Kii, anyway?"

	"I don't know.  I hope he's all right..."

	Ranma could see the grief in her face.

	"He really means that much, huh?"

	"It's just that he's always been there.  Back then, we had so much 
in common.  We both had secrets to keep, we both needed companionship...  
But, if didn't meet me, none of this would've happened..."

	Ranma could see that Ukyou was trying hard to fight back the tears.  
Ranma reached out his arm over the counter and held her by the shoulder.  
Ukyou trembled at his touch, then the tears came and they didn't stop.  
Ukyou crumpled on the countertop and sobbed unendingly.  Ranma could only 
hold her and comfort her.

	"Don't say that, Ucchan...  I'm sure Kii would say different.  I'm 
sure he'd do this all over again, just to be with you..."

	But that seemed to worsen the situation.  Ukyou's head snapped back 
and she pointed an accusing finger at Ranma.

	"You don't understand, Ranma!  He's here not because of me... he's 
here because he's got no place to go!"

	"What?"

	A moment of silence passed.  Ukyou stopped trembling and she was 
able to relax.

	"The reason why he went here is because he couldn't go back to our 
old school."

	Ranma gave her his undivided attention and urged her to go on.

	"After I left, I didn't know what became of Kii and Tsubasa and the 
rest of the guys.  But then the love letters arrived.  The first one, 
Tsubasa wrote what happened the day after I left.  Apparently, Shin, the 
school bully, gave insulting comments about my 'cowardice'.  Kii didn't 
like what he said, especially behind my back, so the two got into a fight 
in the cafeteria.  As usual, Kii devastated Shin's bat and Shin couldn't 
catch him, much less touch him.  But then, he got lucky and struck once, 
struck hard..."

~~~~~~~~~~

	"What the...?"

	The cheering stopped, replaced by a blanket of impenetrable 
silence.  Then the murmurs and bustling began.  Even Shin was dumbstruck 
by what he just did.  He just stared at his fist, finding it hard to 
believe that he felled the legendary Niwatori with just one blow.  The 
crowd started parting as a figure clad in a baby pink blouse entered the 
scene.  Tsubasa stood over the fallen Kii.

	"You have got to be kidding me!"

	He paced around Kii then looked at Shin.

	"This?  This is what you've been afraid of?  This guy can't even 
harm a fly!  I should've seen this all along...  He was too good to be 
true..."

	Tsubasa leaned on the ground and grabbed Kii by the chin.  He took 
his moment, letting Kii take in the humiliation.

	"What do you have to say for yourself, Niwatori?"

	"Only this..."

	With all his speed and all his strength, Kii struck Tsubasa across 
the jaw.  For his part, Tsubasa didn't see it coming, but neither did he 
flinch.

	"Oh, I'm sorry.  Was that suppose to hurt?"

	Still holding onto his victim's chin, Tsubasa drove the face 
straight down on the concrete floor... and through.

	Everybody 'ooh!'ed in unison.

	Tsubasa grabbed Kii by the hair and lifted Kii's head close to his 
own.  And he whispers...

	"Now, there'll be nobody to stop me from pursuing my one true 
love..."

	<Slam, Crash!>

	He lifted it once more...

	"Oh?  Surprised?  Don't be... You see, I know her little secret... 
She still thinks I'm a perv or something but I actually know she's a 
'she'..."

	<Slam, Crash!  Slam, Crash!>

	Kii was already starting to lose consciousness.  Tsubasa lifted his 
head once more...

	"And now, I know your little secret, too... I know you can't stop 
me and I know that you can't show your face on this school again, 
loser..."

	<Slam, Crash!  Slam, Crash!>

	"But now, I have the advantage... you know why?"

	He shook Kii's head urging a response but there was none.

	"No?  Okay then, I'll tell you.  I know something that Ukyou 
doesn't know and you probably haven't figured it out, too...  I know 
that... you're in love with Ukyou Kuonji... and guess what?  You can't 
have her..."

	Tsubasa leaned closer thinking he heard Kii speak.

	"What was that?"

	"I won't... let you..."

	"IN YOUR DREAMS, MISTER!"

	Tsubasa flashed with rage as he rammed Kii's face again and again 
on the ground.  He probably would've sprung a pipe if he continued but 
when he noticed that Kii's face wasn't bleeding, he stopped.  He let go 
of the dangling head.  Kii could remember falling then... nothing.

~~~~~~~~~~

	"Tsubasa!"

	And then he woke up.  His breathing was staggered and his body was 
covered with sweat.  He tried to remember where he was and found himself 
on somebody's garden.  He couldn't remember anything except...

	"... you're in love with Ukyou Kuonji..."
	
--------------
end of part 12
--------------

	Thank you for waiting this long.  I was delayed for a semester 
because I was still trying to adjust in my new course.  But now I'm back 
and the long drought is over.  For comments and suggestions, please write 
to the "Nikholas F. Toledo Zu" at niftol@i-manila.com.ph, care of NomaD.
 
	I'd like to thank the following people:

Switch, he's finally graduating and most probably make a name for 
himself.  Did you know he was in last year's Asian Games?  Just a piece 
of trivia for you.

Nomadess, we're turning five this coming February.  And then she's 
leaving me for Texas.  And she expects me to wait 5 years...  I don't 
think I can hold out that long.

Elf, she's doing pretty well for herself.  I still haven't read 'Through 
the looking glass' which I promised to read a long, long time ago.  
Sorry.

	Sometimes, what's wrong is the right thing to do.
                                               - Pacey in Dawson's creek

P.S. If anybody's got nice pix of Katie Holmes, please send me some.

-NomaD-
:):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):)
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