Quantum Destinies
A Ranma Fanfic
By Steven Thesken (jurai-knight@home.com)
This is purely a work of fanfiction done for fun, so please read and
enjoy. Comments and Criticisms are always welcome. It helps me to
know what is working, and what I need to work on to improve my
writing. Flames are ejected into an appropriate receptacle.
This idea occurred to me after I finished the science-fiction novel
"Paths to Otherwhere" by James P. Hogan, a great book by an author I
have long liked.
Ranma and all other associated characters are owned by Kitty and the
ever-creative Rumiko Takahashi. This is primarily a Ranma fanfic,
but I will be bringing in characters from other series for added color.
They will mainly be used for lesser roles or villains. Any new
characters are the property of the author.
Version 1.0 of this story may be found on a few places on the Web
since I first began writing it, or you may email the author for them:
Cursed One's Anime Fanfiction
http://members.xoom.com/Cursed_One/fanfic.html
Gorlando's Tribute to Ranma 1/2
http://home.one.net/~gorlando/Anime/ranma/index.html
Nostradamus Vault of Anime Fanfics
http://Nyx.Webjump.com/
Author's Note: Thoughts will be bracketed by a * on each end. Any
speech other than Japanese will be bracketed by < and >.
Starting in this chapter I am making a list of reoccurring worlds:
Earth #0001-001 - The world of Scholar Ranma (Imperial Earth).
Earth #0016-502 - The world of Martial Ranma (Standard Storyline).
Chapter One contains a brief explanation of some of the terminology
and pseudo-science used.
What has gone before in this story....
On a parallel Earth that diverged from the standard Ranma timeline
over five hundred years ago, the Empire of Japan rules almost half the
world and has done so for almost a century. A young scientist named
Ranma Saotome has returned to Japan with his father for the first time
in ten years to study at the Imperial Academy. There he met Akane
and Nabiki Tendou, who were studying at the Academy to become
members of the Imperial Security Directorate. Ranma constructed a
device that enabled him to mentally link himself with alternate
versions of himself on other timelines and did so with another version
of himself, a young martial artist. The link copied much of martial
Ranma's skills into the scholarly Ranma, and he used those skills to
fight Akane Tendou to a standstill. Meanwhile, Kodachi Kunou
escaped from an Earth being torn apart by civil war by transferring her
mind to this one. Changed by her experiences, she dealt with the
bullying White Lily and earned an enemy for herself in her new life.
Kodachi sought out Ranma, who was a friend in her old life, but ran
away at the last moment in tears, confused at her feelings. Her older
brother Tatewaki saw this and assumed Ranma to have seduced and
cast aside his innocent sister. Seeking vengeance, he ran into Nabiki
and learned Ranma's name. Finally, on the way home, Ranma assisted
Akane against a foursome of martial artists brought together by a
mysterious figure and learned more about the other Ranma in a
strange dream.
Chapter 3 - Parallels and Permutations
***** Earth #0001-001
The arrival of dawn found Ranma already waking up. Yawning, he
looked over at the small clock next to his futon and saw that the time
read 6:29 in the morning. Surprised at waking before his alarm for
the first time in a long while, Ranma rolled over and tapped it off. For
some reason, waking up had always been hard for him, but not today.
He yawned once more, stretching his body lazily, feeling faint twinges
that were the remnants of the previous day's bruises and injuries.
Ranma sat up in bed, still stretching. He barely remembered his
head hitting the pillow last night, even with his superior abilities of
recall. His bruises were greatly faded from the day before, his health
restored by a restful night's sleep. He stretched his arms out once
more, feeling only the ghosts of pain. A smile on his face, he felt
energized as he anticipated the infinite possibilities awaiting him with
a new day.
Slowly making a fist and relaxing it, Ranma recalled the many
strange events of the previous afternoon with crystal clarity. Even
now, his memories of the fight with Akane Tendou left a vague
tingling along his nerves, and Ranma found that to be unsettling.
Remembering the fight against the four young men who had been
menacing Akane, he also felt a sense of satisfaction at their defeat. All
of these new feelings were almost as odd as his dreams during the
night had been.
The spirit, or perhaps more accurately the coalesced memories of
the other Ranma, had visited him in his dreams like a phantom,
bringing a few explanations that left Ranma feeling less than fully
satisfied. He felt that there was so much more to know about just that
one life; he had only barely scratched the surface. The curse from
Jusenkyou was a surprising revelation, especially when he had felt it
happen to him in his dream.
Ranma sprang out of bed, momentarily pausing in a single-armed
handstand, and landed on his feet with a light thump. He stood in
front of his mirror, dressed only in his boxer shorts underwear, and did
a few martial arts stances. *There's no reason why I can't take up the
Anything-Goes School, I suppose,* Ranma thought with a smile. *It's
not like I'm going to have to fight anyone. It will just be good training
for my body.*
A flash of lightning lit up the skies outside, followed immediately
by a short downpouring of rain. Ranma looked out his window and
frowned. *Looks like I should bring my umbrella today,* he thought,
ignoring any possible portents in the event.
Ranma began to dress for the day. He pulled a clean uniform from
his closet, recalling briefly the dressing down that he received from his
mother over the several small tears in the material from his scuffles
with Akane and the Wolf Pack. Luckily, he now owned six, and she
would have a week to mend the damaged one. As Ranma dressed,
most of his thoughts were focused on dealing with Akane's disturbing
new level of interest in him, and he thought that perhaps avoiding the
issue entirely was the best course of action for himself. Unfortunately,
he was also still feeling the love of the other Ranma in his memories
for the other Akane, and they were getting mixed in with his own
feelings, confusing him about how he really felt about his own. He
hoped that the effect was only temporary.
Ranma snorted lightly, remembering Akane's demands yesterday for
him to fight her. *I am _not_ going to fight with that uncute tomboy,
despite what she may think. If she's looking for some sort of stupid
challenge for her martial arts skills, then she can just look somewhere
else. I have much more important things to deal with in my life, like
where the hell are the trousers for this uniform?* Ranma quickly
rummaged through his closet until he found them hanging towards the
back.
Struggling into the dark blue trousers, Ranma hopped around on
one foot as he pulled them up. A clean, white shirt went on and was
tucked in quickly, followed by him pulling on some clean socks, and
his jacket. He fumbled with the collar for a moment as he looked at
himself in the mirror. With a smile, Ranma walked out of his room.
All was quiet for several moments.
Ranma peeked his head back into his room, grimaced at forgetting
his bookbag in his rush and picked it up. *I just need to get myself
something quick to eat, and I'm out of here,* he thought as he snagged
it up from the floor. *Now how am I going to avoid Akane Tendou for
an entire day? Hmmm... I suppose I could just lock myself in my lab
space for the day. After all, I'm ahead in all of my subjects. Yeah...
that's what I'll do.*
Ranma grinned as he walked down the stairs. The day was looking
up for him now that he had solved the Akane Tendou problem for the
moment. He was sure that a longer term solution would present itself
to him eventually. Ranma ignored another rumble of thunder from
outside. *Odd... we weren't supposed to be having any rain at all this
week,* he thought with slight puzzlement, stopping in the hall and
peeking out the window to watch the rain still coming down.
"How are you feeling this morning, Ranma dear?" asked Nodoka,
hearing him moving around in the hall.
*My mother has ears like a bat,* Ranma thought in amusement. He
knew that he was not being extraordinarily noisy, so he was surprised
that she heard him. He set his bookbag down in the hallway by the
front door and went into the kitchen.
"I'm feeling better today, Mother," Ranma replied, sitting down at
the small table in the kitchen. He smiled reassuringly at her. "You
were right. A good night's sleep was what I needed."
"So how is your project going?" asked Nodoka, sliding a bowl of
rice and a small plate of fried eggs and bread in front of him. Ranma
felt his mouth watering from hunger, and he also felt the strangest
urge to eat quickly, in case someone might try to take it away. He
shook his head to clear his thoughts, before thinking for a moment on
how he should try to answer her.
"I had a major breakthrough on it yesterday, and it has me pretty
excited," Ranma finally said, beginning to quickly wolf down his
breakfast after speaking, while his mother's back was turned. She
turned back and blinked at how much he had eaten while Ranma went
on. "I want to confirm my test results today before I tell Pop, I mean
Father, about it." Ranma contented himself with a slower eating pace
while Nodoka watched him, sipping her tea.
"You and your father get so wrapped up in your theories and work
sometimes," Nodoka said, clucking her tongue. "There's much more
to life than science, Ranma. When are you going to get a girlfriend?
Should your father and I plan to arrange a marriage for you?"
Ranma suddenly paused in his eating and coughed, getting such a
strange look on his face that it gave Nodoka pause. She looked at him
with surprise evident on her face. "Is something wrong, Ranma dear?"
"Uhh, no," said Ranma, though he was greatly surprised that she
mentioned such a thing after what he had just experienced. He smiled
in a disarming fashion. "I don't think an arranged marriage would be
such a good idea right now. I'm sure that I can find a nice girl on my
own that you'll like."
"But Ranma dear," said Nodoka seriously. "You are getting to an
age where we should be planning for your future. I don't know what
sort of strange ideas that you might have picked up on your journeys;
but in the Empire, an arranged marriage is expected for someone of
our station. After all, the Saotome family is descended from samurai,
landless though they were, and many of your ancestors have served
some of the greatest of the Noble Families. Besides, your father and I
were an arranged marriage after all, and look how happy we are."
"But..." said Ranma. Nodoka's steely-eyed gaze prevented him from
speaking further. *At least it's not going to be to a Tendou,* he
thought, attempting to remain cheerful. *Just what I needed in life
though, some woman to tell me what to do, like Mom does with Pop.*
"This isn't something that's necessarily going to have to happen
tomorrow, Ranma," said Nodoka firmly. "But I want you to keep it in
mind. A marriage involves family honor, after all. Now that you've
been home for a while, I was thinking about discussing it with your
father."
"All... all right," said Ranma with a hint of concern in his voice.
*I'm sure that Pop will set her straight, won't he?* He went back to
eating the last of his breakfast, but with his appetite gone due to the
shock, it was an effort.
Nodoka watched Ranma as he finished eating. He got up from the
table and gave her a kiss on the forehead before he walked out of the
kitchen. She watched him walk out into the hallway, slip on his shoes
and pick up his bookbag, and then leave out the front door. Nodoka
smiled when he came rushing back into the house a moment later to
pick out an umbrella.
*I swear that that boy is getting to be as eccentric as his father,* she
thought, turning around to busy herself with getting Genma's breakfast
ready. *Maybe I _should_ talk with Genma about arranging a wife for
Ranma. He might have some ideas. After all, it's never too early to
start planning for the future.*
******************************
At the Academy, a special early morning meeting was taking place.
Seated behind a small desk in one of the sublevels of the Academy, a
figure with his face concealed in shadow gazed at his four assistants
with a coldly speculative look, not liking what he saw. All four of the
Wolf Pack wore varying degrees of bandages on their faces and limbs.
Only Anji was meeting their leader's gaze as he sat back in his chair
and regarded them all coolly.
"I sincerely hope that you're going to tell me that you have dealt
with the matter of Akane Tendou," the partially hidden figure said
mildly. The four shuffled their feet, and even Anji looked distinctly
uncomfortable. Their leader sighed and tapped the fingers of his
hands together. Soujirou was the only one smiling, but he always
smiled, even though he was studying the floor with as much interest as
several of his teammates were.
"There was an... unexpected complication, Boss," said Anji in his
best attempt at diplomatic tones as he could manage through the thick
bandages covering his face. His stance shifted uncomfortably. "She
had help."
"Yeah, Boss!" blurted out Akio. "There must have been more of
Nabiki's people waiting for us when we ambushed Akane. We coulda
dealt with the bitch alone."
"More?" inquired their leader mildly. "How many more, Akio?"
"Four, maybe five guys... it all happened so damn fast!" said Akio
nervously. Kena grimaced and put his hand to his face, adjusting his
grip at the last moment so his broken nose was not touched.
"It... uhh... wasn't quite as Akio said, Boss," said Anji, sending a
withering look at his smaller companion. "Kena can tell you who it
was better than I."
"I will overlook your failure to report information to me accurately
for this one time only, Akio," said their leader coldly. "Do it again,
and the consequences will be dire. Do I make myself clear? Unless, of
course, you wish to challenge me for leadership. Any of you?" All
four of the Wolf Pack, even the powerful Anji, quickly shook their
heads, fear evident on all faces but Soujirou's. He still wore his usual
smile, but his gaze was lowered.
Their leader shifted his attention to the suddenly-sweating Kena.
"Report, Kena," the shadowed figure said mildly. "Who, pray tell,
took down half of you so quickly?"
"It was that new guy, Boss," squeaked Kena nervously. "It was
Ranma Saotome." He pulled out one of his balisong knives and
nervously began flipping it around in his hand, making a staccato
clicking sound. "He surprised me when I went to deal with him." The
memory of that loss burned like a fire within him, alongside the very
real fear of his boss for his failure.
"Are you trying to tell me that one of the toughest martial artists at
this Academy was defeated by that book-loving, pansy of a cadet,
Ranma Saotome?" their leader asked quietly, continuing to tap his
hands together by the tips of his fingers. "I've seen Saotome fight
myself, only just last week. He shouldn't have been able to last five
seconds against you, Kena. The man's a weakling scholar, not a
warrior!"
There was a brief pause, as their leader collected himself from his
brief outburst of anger. Akio and Kena tried to hide behind the stoic
Anji, and Soujirou simply stood his ground and smiled his usual smile.
Their boss fixed each of them with a penetrating stare. Akio and Kena
redoubled their attempts to conceal themselves behind Anji's bulk,
Anji continued to radiate his stoicism, but Soujirou's smile lost a little
bit of its luster.
"Shall I take care of Ranma Saotome for you, Boss?" asked Anji in a
dangerous and quiet tone. "I would consider it an honor if you would
give me that task. There is no possible way that he could be able to
stand up to my strength in a face-to-face fight. He struck me from
behind before, a coward's attack. I will enjoy breaking all of his limbs
in repayment." Anji stretched out his arms and closed his hands into
fists, the tendons making slight cracking sounds. Even the foursome's
shadowy leader looked mildly impressed at the sight of such raw,
physical power.
"You have my permission, Anji, to deal with Saotome as you see
fit," said the shadowy figure. "Wait a short while though, and allow
yourself to heal. If he has been hiding his true level of skill from us
all, then it would be best if you fought him at your prime. Only that
accursed Tendou girl has ever managed to defeat you at full strength,
and I doubt that mousy little Ranma Saotome is as great a fighter as
she."
Anji smiled, bringing his hands together in a thundering salute to
his chosen leader, one massive hand grasping another equally massive
fist. He bowed deeply in respect. "This task will be my pleasure, sir.
The coward Saotome will fall by my hand. Have no doubts on that."
"Do not fail me in this task, Anji," said the shadowy figure quietly.
"I intend to run this Academy once all possible challenges to my
power among the student body have been dealt with by the four of you.
After Ranma Saotome and the two Tendou sisters have been... dealt
with, then I fully intend to take over Nabiki Tendou's complete
organization. But that day will not come until those three learn their
place in the new order that I seek to establish on this campus. So do
not fail me, Anji. It would be... a grievous error on your part."
Anji went down to one knee, bowing his head low in supplication.
The other three quickly did the same.
******************************
Akane and Nabiki walked alongside each other down the street,
underneath umbrellas. Nabiki wore her usual thoughtful look on her
face. Akane's face, healed enough to remove the few bandages she had
worn the night before, was quite unlike her usual frown. Instead she
wore a pleasant smile.
"All right, Akane," Nabiki said finally, unable to contain her
curiosity anymore. "What are you so happy for?" Akane would say
nothing at dinnertime last night, only humming happily. Nabiki
found the change to be rather disturbing.
"I've finally found the man that I've been looking for, Nabiki," said
Akane happily. If anything, her smile got even wider.
"Oh?" replied Nabiki, somewhat sarcastically. "So who is this
paragon of martial arts fighting skill?"
"Promise that you won't laugh?" asked Akane, uncertainty showing
on her face briefly as she looked at her sister.
"Would I do such a thing?" Nabiki replied. There was a brief pause
as Akane said nothing, and Nabiki shrugged. "All right, I promise."
"It's Ranma Saotome," said Akane, a blissful look on her face.
******************************
Ranma sneezed. He looked up at the storm clouds that were still
lightly raining on him and shook his head. *I hope I'm not coming
down with something,* he thought with mild concern. *I haven't been
sick since I was a little kid. But... why else would I sneeze?*
Ranma continued down the rain-slickened streets, the Academy
almost within sight.
******************************
"You've finally lost it, Akane," Nabiki replied, her voice laden with
sarcasm. "You've been beating him up quite easily in your class for
what... six weeks now? And today you expect me to believe that he's
turned into some sort of martial arts superstar overnight?"
"Ranma finally showed me how much of a man he is yesterday,
Nabiki," said Akane, beginning to get angry. "You can ask anyone in
my physical training class! Ranma was able to fight me to a
standstill!"
Nabiki looked at Akane with one of her patented "I'll believe it
when I see it" looks. "Uh huh, sure sis...."
"Fine," huffed Akane. "Be that way about it. When Ranma gets to
the Academy this morning, I intend to finish the fight. Then you'll see
the real Ranma Saotome."
As they neared the gates of the Imperial Academy, a lone figure
stood solemnly, holding an umbrella in one hand and armed with a
bokken in the other. The distinctive dark-blue uniform of Whitehall
Academy rested on his frame. Rain dripped from the lowered tip of
the weapon, as it projected beyond the protection of his umbrella. A
look of noble determination was upon his face.
Cadets passing Kunou eyed him in speculation, but none cared to
approach him. The manic look on his face did not invite casual
conversation. Those of Nabiki's organization already present on
campus waited to talk to their leader, certain that she would know who
this stranger was. They were convinced that Nabiki knew everything
when it came to people. Because frequently she did, and this time was
no exception.
*Vengeance shall soon be mine, Ranma Saotome,* Kunou thought
with cool malice. *Today I shall teach you what it means to treat my
beloved sister as you have so obviously done. And my skill with this
weapon shall be how I instruct thee.* Kunou raised the point of his
bokken a small amount and resumed his waiting.
"Who do you suppose that is?" Akane wondered, as they passed by
the stoic-looking Kunou standing outside the gates of the Academy.
She peered at the armed figure through the light rain in curiosity.
After all, she lived to find new opponents for herself.
*Tatewaki Kunou,* thought Nabiki, instantly recognizing the young
aristocrat by his mannerisms and weapon, even before she was able to
clearly see his features. A slight smile appeared on her face. *He said
that he would teach Ranma a lesson in public, 'for all to see his fall.'
This promises to be interesting.* Nabiki gently nudged Akane gently
in the ribs. "I think he's here for Ranma."
"What makes you say that?" Akane demanded. When they got
closer, she turned to size up Kunou. *Hmm... kenjutsu, obviously. I
wonder if he's any good? From his stance, he appears capable.* She
paused at the gate area to observe Kunou.
Nabiki continued on into the courtyard just beyond the gate, a few
of her operatives immediately rushing up to meet her. She silenced
their imminent questions with a wave of her hand. They contented
themselves by simply clustering around her.
"Ladies... I feel a new betting opportunity about to begin today,"
Nabiki said cheerfully. "Keep your eyes upon yonder armed nobleman
when Ranma Saotome arrives. There's going to be a fight today, and
that means money for us. Are we clear?" Her assistants all nodded
and scattered to lay the groundwork for betting among the groups of
cadets already on campus.
Far from ignoring Akane's earlier statements about Ranma's new
skill, Nabiki had added it to what she already knew about it from other
sources. If Ranma had really become as good as people were now
saying, then things were going to get very interesting around the
Academy. Fighters tended to draw other fighters seeking to test their
skills. *If my instincts are right, then this is only the beginning,*
thought Nabiki with a pleased smile.
Nabiki had done some checking on the two combatants in question.
By all accounts, Ranma had indeed fought Akane to a total standstill.
Kunou, despite what she thought of as mere boastfulness about his
skills, was a near master-level fighter with his chosen weapon and
truly was undefeated for the past three years. His duelist ratings, very
well-documented on the Imperial Datanet, left no doubt as to that fact.
Dozens of young noblemen had fallen to his skill with a bokken
already.
Based on that, Nabiki decided that Kunou was the definite favorite
in this contest. Her sister was an excellent fighter, and Ranma would
have to be equally capable to battle her to a standstill. But Kunou had
gone up against some high-quality competition. The only question
now was what odds to give on Ranma to encourage some bets on him.
Nabiki doubted that many would bet on such an obvious underdog like
Ranma Saotome.
*Uh oh,* thought Nabiki suddenly. *I forgot about Akane.*
******************************
"Hi there," said Akane brightly. "I'm Akane Tendou." She walked
over to Kunou and stood next to him. The young aristocrat looked her
over once, grunted briefly in disinterest, and then returned his eyes to
scanning the street for Ranma's arrival. Akane wasn't used to being so
casually and quickly dismissed by a boy, and her eyes narrowed in
irritation. She also felt a subtle tingling in the air when she got near
Kunou, a feeling that only Ranma had previously engendered in her on
their first meeting.
Kunou was lost in his thoughts. One of the many commoner girls
that attended the Academy had just approached him, but as one of the
lower-born she was beneath his notice. Her name did not even register
upon him, so he briefly acknowledged her presence with a glance and
a grunt, before returning his attention back to his more important task.
But there was a subtle itching at the back of his mind.
"If you're here looking for a fight, why not try me?" Akane said
loudly, irritated at being ignored. She was determined to teach this
arrogant stranger a lesson in respect with her fists. She dropped her
umbrella and bookbag and raised her hands, the light drizzle already
beginning to dampen her short hair.
Kunou looked back at Akane and froze, as if truly seeing her for the
very first time. To him a choir of angels seemed to sing behind his
back, and Akane appeared to blaze for a shining moment with light to
his eyes. The effect quickly faded, but Kunou knew in that moment
that he had to have this girl standing before him. As he thought her a
mere commoner, he was certain that she would, of course, be willing
to submit herself to his desires. That she was apparently a fighter as
well would also make his taming her all the sweeter. Kunou bowed
slightly to her but did not remove his eyes from her face. *She is
magnificent!* he thought in wonder.
"Such a beautiful rose to find in such an unlikely place," murmured
Kunou softly. "You have fully captured my attention, fair maiden," he
said more loudly. "Hear now and know joy, Akane Tendou, for I am
Tatewaki Kunou, the rising star among the nobility of our great and
powerful Empire, undefeated in a multitude of battles, the proud heir
to the noble House of Kunou, and your new love... at your service. My
heart is now thine, and if a fight with me is what you seek then my
sword arm shall show the strength of my newfound love for you.
Prepare to be conquered, fair Akane." Kunou dropped his umbrella
and pointed his bokken at Akane in a dramatic gesture. Lightning
flashed across the skies behind him.
Akane blinked. A faint blush briefly appeared on her cheeks, and
she was suddenly uncertain how to respond for a very brief moment.
Violence seemed to be the easiest answer, so she attacked. Her initial
punch was quickly blocked by Kunou's weapon, and the battle was
joined.
*He's good,* Akane thought, ducking under Kunou's swing. Her
return kick was swiftly blocked by the pommel of his weapon. Akane
felt her blood begin to sing within her. Battle against a strong
opponent was what Akane lived for, and Kunou was giving her what
she craved. *He's very good.*
*She has talent,* noted Kunou approvingly. He dodged aside from
a high spinning kick from Akane and forced her to retreat with a quick
series of thrusts with the point of his bokken. *She is but merely a
female though, and no woman is ever going to defeat Tatewaki
Kunou.*
******************************
Nabiki quickly got busy taking bets on Akane's fight with Kunou,
cursing herself for not remembering her little sister's passionate
addiction to combat sooner. If Akane ever saw a likely male opponent,
then a fight challenge was usually only moments away. The action
between the two of them was going on fast and furious each time she
looked up, but Akane was holding her own against Kunou.
"I bet five hundred yen on the new guy!" shouted one male cadet,
pushing his way up to her and waving money.
"Gotcha covered," said Nabiki with a grin. She quickly wrote out a
receipt with a well-practiced move and pocketed the money before
moving on to the next one. Around her, other members of her large
organization present on campus were doing the same.
******************************
Akane managed to finally duck in under Kunou's guard and brought
a swift uppercut up under his chin. Kunou managed to shrug it off,
but the brief hesitation in his movements allowed Akane to hit him
solidly several more times. He slashed out at Akane with his weapon,
and she danced away from him. It had been a long time since Kunou
had felt himself to be so challenged, and he found himself enjoying it a
great deal.
*She is quite formidable,* Kunou thought with pleased surprise.
His initial admiration for Akane's skill and strength continued to grow
with each passing exchange of blows. Each strike that she managed to
land only seemed to increase his lust for her. *I must have her! She is
so unlike the many soft women of the nobility. So few of them would
even dream of demonstrating such strength. This Akane Tendou is
truly a paragon of feminine might... a veritable tigress! I must prove
myself worthy of her!* Kunou swiftly lashed out at Akane and
managed to score a hit upon her arm.
Akane grunted in pain as she maneuvered around Kunou. That last
was the most solid strike that Kunou had hit her with, the earlier ones
were more glancing. She smiled mirthlessly, showing teeth, as she
leaped up and attempted a high kick. *If only this was Ranma that I
was fighting like this,* she thought, in a brief moment aside. Akane
simply wasn't feeling quite the same level of excitement fighting
Kunou that Ranma had brought out in her during their fight. It was
close, but the magic and raw passion just didn't seem to be there.
Ranma came around the corner at that moment and saw all of the
commotion in front of the gateway to the Academy. He stopped, not
quite believing his eyes. The drizzle had lessened to almost nothing,
but bright flashes and loud thunderings from the sky spoke of more
rain on the way. Before him, fighting fiercely, were Akane Tendou
and a figure that he knew almost instantly from his new memories.
*Tatewaki Kunou... what is he doing here? And why is he fighting
Akane?*
Kunou suddenly noticed a figure standing by the gateway, letting
his attention wander briefly. *That's him!* Kunou thought with a
sudden rage. Ranma Saotome had finally arrived, and Kunou found
himself caught on the horns of a dilemma: finish his conquest of the
fair Akane Tendou now, or leave off and thrash the villainous Ranma
Saotome as he felt the pigtailed boy so richly deserved? Decisions,
decisions....
Akane took advantage of that moment of distraction to punch
Kunou solidly across the jaw. Her other fist came around a single
moment later to rock his head back in the opposite direction. Stunned
by the savage attack, Kunou fell backwards. Akane finished him off,
knocking him unconscious with an axe kick dropped across his
stomach. The young aristocrat lay still, and Akane stood up, feeling
somewhat disappointed. *Another weakling male,* she thought,
frowning.
Her face lit up with a smile when she saw Ranma standing nearby.
*Ranma,* she thought with a sudden rush of desire. *Now you can
finish your fight with me and claim your reward. I've waited so long
for a man like you.* She hurried over to him.
*Uh oh,* thought Ranma. *She spotted me.* He had been trying
to edge around the fight, but the press of the crowd prevented him
from making very much progress. Ranma made a valiant attempt to
escape through the crowds, but Akane managed to get a firm hold on
the back of his collar. He tried to shrug her off, but it was no good.
"Hello, Ranma," said Akane softly, feeling her face blush with a
familiar excitement. Her heart was still racing a little from exertion
during the fight with Kunou, and Ranma's presence kept it going and
was even speeding it up. *Now that the preliminaries are over, Ranma
and I can have our own bout,* she thought with a smile. Akane felt a
faint tingling wash over her nerves in his presence, a slight taste of the
sensations that had come over her during her fight with him yesterday.
"Uhh... hi, Akane," said Ranma lamely. He grabbed hold of her
hand and managed to pry it from his collar. "Nice fight." He winced
inside at making such a stupid-sounding comment. Akane was staring
at him with a promise of imminent mayhem mixed with lust in her
eyes, and he frankly found the combination to be quite disturbing. She
reached out a hand to brush the front of his uniform lightly, and he
moved a half-step back.
"Did you really think so?" Akane asked him happily, linking her
hands behind her back in a demure pose. The stance thrust her chest
forward a little bit. She smiled brightly when she noticed the effect
that she was having on Ranma and took a half-step forward. "I would
have far preferred to be fighting with you, Ranma."
*Yikes!* Ranma thought, with an internal grimace of fear. *This is
much worse than I thought.* He tried to keep his eyes on Akane's face
with mild difficulty, as she stepped a little closer. *All girls have an
agenda,* Ranma remembered his double saying in that strange dream.
He moved another half-step back. His thoughts were becoming rather
confused from the remembered feelings of love from the other Ranma
towards the other Akane. It was getting to be a mild struggle to fight
the attraction he felt for her.
"Kunou looked tough," Ranma finally said, purposely ignoring her
comment.
"He wasn't anything that I couldn't handle," said Akane softly, her
eyes dancing with amusement. She had never felt this giddy around
any boy before. It only added to the strength of her desires to fight
with Ranma, to have that intense surge of emotions and wondrous
passions fill her once more. A seductive smile appeared on her face.
"So are you ready to fight me for real today? I promise it to be an
unforgettable experience."
"Uhh... no thanks," said Ranma, backing away from Akane and
waving his hands in negation. He kept moving backwards at a pace
matching hers. "I've got a lot of work to do down in my lab, so I really
should be getting to it. Maybe after classes."
"But Ranma..." said Akane. She started to walk more quickly
towards him, and Ranma took off at a full run, dodging through the
press of cadets with great agility. Akane tried to pursue, but she was
held back by the crowd. The old anger that Ranma used to fill her
with bubbled back to the surface like a geyser. "Ooohhh, damn you,
Ranma Saotome!"
******************************
Over by Kunou's fallen body, Nabiki finished counting the last of
her winnings. By a little judicious oddsmaking, she managed to
overcome her initial wrong guess about the level of Kunou's skill
compared to Akane's. It cut into her profits more than she cared for,
which didn't leave her feeling very charitable towards the young
nobleman, currently lying unconscious on the wet pavement.
"Help me carry this idiot over to the Academy infirmary, will you
Yohko?" asked Nabiki. The other girl bent down and lifted Kunou up,
and between Nabiki and Yohko they got him up onto his feet, sort of.
Yohko grunted with effort as the two girls got under Kunou's
shoulders to carry him.
"Man," said Yohko. "He weighs a ton. Why are we doing this for
him, Nabiki?"
"Well, let's just say that I'm trying to preserve a potentially lucrative
business contact and just leave it at that," replied Nabiki. She hefted
her half of Kunou's weight, and the two girls trudged to the Academy
building with him suspended between them, his feet dragging behind
them.
******************************
Ranma finally reached the door to his lab. *Man, what is with that
Akane Tendou?* he thought as he rummaged in his pocket for his
keys. *She just gets done with one fight, and she's eager to begin
another? How did I ever get myself tangled up with a borderline
psycho like that?* He pulled his keyring from his pocket.
Ranma unlocked the door to his lab, flipping on the main light
switch. The fluorescent lights flickered on slowly, snapping into full
luminosity one by one. He closed the door, relocking it behind him,
and set his bookbag down by the door. Ranma breathed in a deep
breath and let it out slowly. Here he felt safe. Here he could continue
to explore the new frontier that he had finally breached. Here he did
not have to deal with the likes of Akane Tendou.
Ranma walked over to the area around his workbench, running a
hand along the cloth covering it, a smile on his face. He flipped on the
main power bar and let the equipment begin to warm up as he started
to remove the tarps covering everything. He felt a sense of expectancy
wash over him at another chance to see what other secrets were held
behind the quantum barriers.
The monitor blinked on, and Ranma sat down and began tapping
away at the keyboard. The screen cleared, and printed out:
*SELF-CHECK COMPLETE
*ALL LOGIC COMPONENTS ARE FUNCTIONING WITHIN THE
DESIGNATED PARAMETERS
*QUANTUM FLUX COIL IS FUNCTIONING WITHIN THE
DESIGNATED PARAMETERS
*NEURAL INDUCTION SENSORS ARE FUNCTIONING WITHIN
THE DESIGNATED PARAMETERS
*SYSTEM HAS 11 QUANTUM COORDINATES STORED IN
STABLE MEMORY
*TIME DURATION OF RECENT TEST RUN: 60.00 MINUTES
*SCAN FOR NEW COORDINATES:
Ranma typed "NO" on the keyboard and hit the enter key. The
screen cleared once more.
*PLEASE INPUT QUANTUM COORDINATE FILE DESIRED:
Ranma sat back and thought for a long moment, one finger tapping
at his temple as he gazed at the screen. *I suppose I should simply
take them in order of discovery. As they progress further and further
out across parallel time, it would enable me to see if there are any
patterns to the changes. It will be... interesting to see how these new
experiences compare to my first live test run.* Excitement filled
Ranma as he bent down and typed away for a few more moments at
the keyboard. The monitor cleared and read:
*QUANTUM COORDINATE FILE #0000001 LOADING INTO
ACTIVE MATRIX... PLEASE STAND BY...
*MATRIX LOADED... FILE #0000001. DETAILS?
Ranma typed out "YES" for a response, and the screen began to
print out more information on the file.
*FILE #0000001 - QUANTUM DIVERGENCE POINT OCCURRED:
2 YEARS
2 MONTHS
12 DAYS
3 HOURS
56 MINUTES
51 SECONDS AGO.
As Ranma watched, the counter kept increasing the seconds count.
*Hmmm,* he thought with an intrigued smile. *That would be a few
weeks before I had my dream.*
*SET CYCLE INTO ACTIVE MODE: YES
*SET TIME DURATION FOR TEST:
Ranma thought about it. The first test run had been for an hour,
and it had been a success. The memory transfer appeared to take place
very quickly, so the time set might not matter. Unfortunately, he had a
lot of ground to try and cover today, so he couldn't be overly generous
with his time for each one. With a grin of anticipation, Ranma set the
timer for thirty minutes instead of sixty once again. The computer
screen cleared, and the familiar double sine wave patterns appeared.
The system was ready to initiate synchronization.
*WAITING FOR SIGNAL FROM NEURAL HEADSET
Ranma settled himself into a comfortable position on the couch and
placed the headset over his head. The thrill of discovery tingled inside
him from the prospect of seeing another life that he could have lived,
seeing another possibility. As he relaxed back onto the couch, the
faint background hum of the Resonator was a familiar tickle running
along the inside of his skull. *I wonder what this life will be like?*
The last thing he remembered was the soft computer-generated
voice making its solemn pronouncement, "Activating cycle."
******************************
***** Earth #0001-411
Ranma found himself sitting in a darkened laboratory as lightning
flashed outside the small windows. A notebook was in front of him,
filled with schematics for some sort of computer design. It was a
completely unfamiliar design to him, but it tingled on the edge of
comprehensibility. He was wearing casual clothes and a white lab
coat, instead of any sort of uniform. *I don't attend the Academy
here?* he wondered. *Curious.*
Ranma looked up and saw a cloth-covered figure resting on an
operating table in the middle of the room, surrounded by a multitude
of tools and electronic components. *I really hope that isn't a dead
body,* thought Ranma solemnly.
While waiting for his alternate self's memories to be made available
to him, Ranma screwed up his courage, swallowed once, and walked
the short distance to the table. White cloth covered a shape that gave
every indication of being a corpse. A flash of lightning lit up the skies
beyond the window that was almost immediately followed by a loud
crash of thunder. Ranma lifted back the cloth as another bright flash
of lightning occurred outside.
Beneath the cloth was revealed the face of an adolescent Japanese
girl with reddish hair, apparently asleep. Her features were unfamiliar
to Ranma, which worried him a little. The rush of memories from his
alternate should have occurred by now, unless there was some variable
factor of which he was still unaware of. Tentatively, Ranma poked his
right index finger against the cheek. He let out a sigh of relief when
he felt warm flesh at his touch.
A hand suddenly came down on his shoulder, and Ranma came
close to expiring from heart failure on the spot. He turned around and
saw his father looking at him with a smile.
"Can't get enough of looking at her, Son?" asked Genma. "This is a
stunning achievement that you've done. The Empire will record your
name forever in the history books as one of the inventors of the world's
first artificially-intelligent android."
Ranma's alternate life's memories came crashing in at that moment,
filling his awareness. He had received an invitation to study with the
occasionally erratic scientist and genius, Professor Kyuusaku Natsume,
at Mishima Heavy Industries. Ranma remembered the invitation from
his own life, but he had finally rejected it in order to pursue his own
goals of creating the Resonator.
In this timeline, he apparently accepted, as there was no memory of
ever even having such a dream in this life. He had a well-equipped lab
space here in the Ministry of Science, fully funded by Mishima. Old
Man Mishima loved Ranma like an adopted son for all of his efforts on
the company's behalf. Anything Ranma requested was delivered to
him within hours, a heady thing to realize. The only thing missing in
his life was a companion, and Ranma was surprised to realize that that
was why his counterpart had encouraged the Professor to make the
prototype android female. He shook that thought off.
"It _is_ quite an achievement, isn't it?" said Ranma with pride. *I
never knew I had such a talent for computer technology,* he thought
as he pulled the sheet from the figure. *My alternate managed to
improve the original neural network designs created by Professor
Natsume just before his death in that car crash that killed him, his
wife, and their son.* Ranma felt a single tear roll down his cheek at
the memory of the funeral. Professor Natsume had taught Ranma's
counterpart almost everything he now knew about cybernetics and
computers.
*At least in this timeline, his work was completed,* thought Ranma
with a large feeling of pride. *This was my alternate's tribute to him,
as well as solving the need for an organic component in the central
processor. NK1124... Nuku Nuku. An entirely new line of android
companions for the very wealthy that could also double as bodyguards
was created, to challenge JuGen Corporation's solitary preeminence in
the field of artificial people. Old Man Mishima gave my alternate
NK1124 as a bonus for a job well done.*
Nuku Nuku was dressed in a skintight, white silk jumpsuit and
boots, which hid none of her rather impressive figure. Her designation
number was stenciled into the fabric in bold, blue letters and ran down
the length of one thigh. Ranma could not easily bring himself to stop
looking at her. *She's gorgeous,* he thought with a smile.
*So many differences for such a small amount of time,* Ranma
thought with a smile. *Changing one event changed my entire life.*
Ranma never attended the Academy in this life, nor did he ever need
to. Mishima Heavy Industries was willing to fund his research whims
until the end of his days after his successes in helping bring the NK
Project to a profitable conclusion. He received an induction into the
Ministry of Science as well.
"I didn't mean to take you away from your work, Son," said Genma
pleasantly. "The new Science Minister needed a report from me, so I
just stopped in to say hello. Your mother wants you home for dinner
tonight as well, so don't get too caught up in your work. She told me
that she would have a surprise for you, so be prepared. I'll be back to
pick you up for the train ride home at five." With a wave, Genma
departed.
Alone in the lab, Ranma's attention was drawn back to the silent
figure lying on the table. According to his counterpart's memories, he
was currently working on upgrading her central processor unit and
neural network. A command phrase appeared in his thoughts.
"Wake up, Nuku Nuku," Ranma said softly. The girl's eyes blinked
open, jade green in color. She stretched her arms out to the sides in a
way that did marvelous things to her chest, in Ranma's opinion. He
smiled at the android girl.
"Ranma," squealed Nuku Nuku happily. She launched herself at
him from off the table, catching him up in a warm hug. She was a
little shorter than him, so her head was able to rest quite comfortably
against his shoulder. Ranma put his arms around her and felt odd
about the whole thing, maybe even a little sad. *I have all the research
materials that a scientist could ever ask for, but I had to build myself a
woman to love in this life,* he thought with shocked realization.
*Maybe this isn't as good a life as I originally thought.*
The pleasant feel of the android girl in his arms kept distracting
him from feeling too morose though. She was so cute, and looked and
felt so much like a real girl, that it was extremely difficult to think of
her as artificial. And, surprisingly enough, this Ranma loved her very
deeply, even though she was a machine. It was a rather sobering
realization to him.
Ranma looked down into a pair of concerned-looking green eyes.
Her eyes were at about the level of his chin.
"You feel sad, Ranma," she said. "I can tell from your body posture
and muscle movements. Tell Nuku Nuku what's wrong."
"Do you... love me, Nuku Nuku?" asked Ranma uncertainly, already
knowing the answer but feeling that he had to ask anyway.
"Of course I do, you silly," she said with a smile. "You are the only
man in the world for me. Let Nuku Nuku show you." She pulled his
head down into a kiss. Their lips touched, and Ranma felt waves of
emotion fill him from the depths of his alternate's mind. Her fingers
ran through his hair lightly as the kiss deepened, and he tightened his
arms around her. *She even smells like a real woman,* Ranma
thought idly.
Ranma pulled his head back, gently breaking the passionate kiss,
his very first. Nuku Nuku smiled up at him with warmth and trust
glowing in her eyes, before snuggling her body against his and resting
her head on his shoulder once more. *She feels so... real,* he thought
in amazed wonder. His initial doubts about her began to fade, and he
became even more impressed with the level of sophistication of her
construction. She _was_ a real woman, in everything that mattered.
"Ranma?" asked Nuku Nuku against his chest. "When will you tell
your parents about you and me?" Her voice had gone soft. Ranma
saw a few brief memories of his alternate's attempts to do just that, but
never quite finding the courage. His mother was beginning to pressure
him to find a wife, to carry on the Saotome name. How could he tell
his mother that he had fallen in love with his own creation?
"I... don't know," said Ranma quietly. Sadness filled him. "My
mother wouldn't understand. She wants me to marry, but I don't think
that she would appreciate you as much as I do." He felt her hug him
tighter, warm against the cold sadness that filled him from her obvious
unhappiness.
"Nuku Nuku understands," she said softly. She looked up at him
with tears in her eyes. "Perhaps I could be your mistress? I don't need
to be your wife. I only want your love."
"That... would be acceptable to you?" asked Ranma, surprised.
"Of course," she replied brightly, her tears fading. "I only want to
love you. I owe everything that I am to you." She snuggled against
him once more, looking content. Ranma looked around the well-
equipped but sterile lab, a far cry from the humble one that he had in
his own timeline.
"I do love you, Nuku Nuku," Ranma said, feeling the truth in his
words, at least as far as his counterpart felt.
She looked up at him with a smile, before kissing him once more,
her mouth opened slightly. Ranma felt her tongue brush against his
lips during the kiss, and he wasn't sure what to do. His hands stroked
down the back of her head, and Nuku Nuku leaned back against the
table. She moved her hands into a light grip on either side of his head,
gently caressing his hair as she kissed him.
*This is certainly much better than any of my Academy classes have
ever been,* was Ranma's only thought. He concentrated on learning
more about the best ways to kiss, and Nuku Nuku appeared to be more
than eager to teach him what pleased her.
The brief time went by quite pleasantly for both of them.
******************************
***** Earth #0001-001
"Recall complete," the computer voice spoke.
Ranma blinked rapidly and inhaled deeply several times, an echo of
the passions that he had just been experiencing slowly fading in his
mind. The quiet solitude of his lab now surrounded him as he slowly
removed the neural interlink headset. *What an experience,* thought
Ranma.
Sitting up, Ranma brushed his fingers against his lips, imagining
that he could still feel the android girl's lips touching him there. In his
mind he could see the elements that went into her construction, some
of them quite revolutionary concepts. They were the legacy of a man
who died on both worlds, but on Ranma's own world Mishima Heavy
Industries never completed the NK Project. He remembered reading
about it in one of the publications of the Ministry of Science, but the
exact details were never revealed for corporate security reasons.
Ranma got up and splashed a little water on his face from the sink
in his lab. He rinsed out the mug on the small shelf below the mirror
and filled it with water. Raising it to his lips, he toasted his reflection
with a smile. *May your life in that other timeline be a very happy
one, Ranma.*
******************************
Kunou awoke to the feel of a cool cloth on his forehead. He sat up
with a grunt of pain to see Nabiki seated next to him, calmly flipping
pages in one of her textbooks. She glanced over at him.
"Finally awake, Milord Kunou?" asked Nabiki mildly. "I was
beginning to wonder about you." She calmly set down her book.
*Looks like your head is harder than I thought it was,* she thought
with an internal smile of amusement.
"Akane Tendou," murmured Kunou with a sudden smile. He
whirled to face Nabiki. "I must have her!"
*Hmmm,* thought Nabiki with a slight frown. *Either his head
isn't as hard as I thought, or perhaps Akane hit him harder than I
thought she had.*
"Nabiki Tendou," said Kunou solemnly. "Loathe though I am to
give more money into your greedy, grasping hands, I fear that I cannot
live without my new-found love for the fair maiden, Akane Tendou. I
need your... help." The last was spoken through gritted teeth.
*Correction,* Nabiki grumbled in her thoughts, *Akane didn't hit
him hard enough.*
"My sister isn't really anything that I can sell, Milord Kunou," said
Nabiki neutrally. His description for herself she filed away to raise the
eventual price for any future services that she gave him. *Although
selling Akane _is_ an intriguing notion,* she thought with an internal
smile. "I'm not exactly sure what aid I can offer you in this."
"Anything!" cried Kunou in desperation. "A lock of her hair, some
simple photographs, anything that I might treasure until I am able to
prove the strength of my love for her! I shall conquer her with that
strength! But until that day I require some small tokens of her to
enable me to carry on."
Nabiki's thoughts briefly whirled over the possibilities. A wealthy
fool of an aristocrat was practically begging to throw a great deal of
money at her for pictures of her younger sister and a lock of her hair.
This was the sort of thing that Nabiki lived for; things did not get any
better than this. The thought of all that profit brought a cool smile to
her face.
"Perhaps I might be able to assist you in this, Milord Kunou," said
Nabiki, nodding in an encouraging fashion. "Photographs of my sister
I can take for you easily enough, and a lock of her hair is also doable.
Beyond that I can't promise anything."
"Done!" said Kunou excitedly. He took Nabiki by her hands,
causing her to feel that strange, almost electric, tingling that she had
felt at their initial meeting. It was much like meeting Ranma had been
like, and it caught her by surprise. Kunou was too caught up in his
fervor for Akane to notice the surprised look that briefly appeared on
Nabiki's face. "Despite your mercenary ways, Nabiki Tendou, I trust
thee to maintain these dealings as a secret between us? T'would not be
seemly for a noble Lord of the Empire, such as myself, to be seen
consorting with the likes of a money-grubbing woman such as thee."
Nabiki felt a strong sense of irritation burn across her mind like a
flash fire, but she kept her features calm through long practice. *That
arrogant, overbearing, half-witted, strutting peacock....* she thought in
anger, but she kept these unexpected feelings hidden behind a mask of
calm. That she had felt herself attracted to such a man as Kunou
somehow made it even worse for her. *You will pay for that remark,
Tatewaki Kunou. Have no doubts on this. Oh, how you'll pay....*
"Of course, Milord Kunou," said Nabiki neutrally. A predatory
glint appeared in her eyes. She intended to utilize all of her skills to
wrest as much money as she could from this situation.
Then a thought struck Nabiki, one that would allow her to deal with
Akane's new and unexpectedly strong interest in Ranma. "There is a...
slight problem, however," Nabiki said diplomatically, feeling gleeful
inside. "One that I feel you should be made aware of, Milord Kunou."
"Problem?" asked Kunou, his face falling into a frown. "What sort
of problem do you speak of, Miss Tendou?"
"Well... my sister already happens to have another suitor for her
hand," said Nabiki in a casual tone of voice. "She speaks of him quite
highly."
"Another seeks the hand of my one, true love?!" roared Kunou, as
he grabbed Nabiki by the shoulders. "Tell me the name of my rival
that I might eliminate his interference!"
*Wow,* thought Nabiki. *That sure caught his attention.* She felt
a little bit guilty about what she was about to do to Ranma, but she felt
confident that it was for his own good. Having someone like Kunou
set himself between Akane and Ranma would only help her own case
when she finally decided to ensnare the scholar for herself. And with
Akane dealing with her new suitor, Nabiki was sure that it would keep
her distracted and away from Ranma.
"First, Milord Kunou, please remove your hands from my person,"
said Nabiki calmly. "I'm afraid that you are wrinkling my uniform."
She watched Kunou release her, pleasant thoughts about the large
stumbling block that she was about to toss in Akane's path filling her
mind. *This is almost going to be too easy,* she thought with an
internal smile, holding out her hand.
"Two thousand yen for the name of Akane's suitor," Nabiki said
pleasantly. Kunou slapped two thousand-yen notes into her hand very
quickly, and she closed her fist around them, feeling warm inside.
*Once Kunou makes his intentions known, Ranma is sure to feel even
more disinclined to return Akane's affections. This is for the poor
boy's own good, after all.*
"Well?" said Kunou impatiently. Nabiki wrinkled her nose slightly,
trying very hard not to laugh at the irony of the situation.
"Akane is interested in Ranma Saotome, Milord Kunou," Nabiki
said calmly. There was quiet for the space of several very long
moments. Nabiki wasn't sure if Kunou had heard her, and she was
about to repeat herself when Kunou got an interesting look on his face.
It was as if an intense fury was being suppressed within him by only
the slimmest of margins. That was perfect, as far as Nabiki was
concerned. Inside, she exulted at her spontaneous plan taking shape
right before her eyes.
"That fiend, Saotome," murmured Kunou, gripped in the midst of
his fury. "First, he seduces and callously discards my beloved,
innocent sister. Now he seeks to keep me from my own one, true love.
I shall have VENGEANCE!" He sprang from the cot that he was
seated upon and quickly ran from the room.
Nabiki stared after the departed nobleman with a speculative look, a
little surprised at Kunou's reaction. *I hope he doesn't hurt Ranma
very badly,* she thought, a little worriedly. *I was expecting him to
try to win Akane, instead of wanting to beat Ranma to a pulp. Sorry
about that, Saotome. I hope your new skills are enough to keep your
hide intact.*
******************************
***** Earth #0016-502
Ranma was sleeping quite peacefully at his desk during homeroom.
The remainder of the class was sitting around casually while their
instructor was out of the room. Akane watched Ranma with a distinct
frown on her face. *That idiot,* she grumbled in her thoughts. *Does
he really expect to sleep his way to good grades now?* Akane recalled
Ranma bragging about doing exactly that on the way to classes earlier
that morning. Hitting him had made her feel a little better.
"Hey Akane," said a familiar voice from behind her. "What's the
matter with Ranma honey today? He's been asleep since a minute after
he walked into class. Is he sick?"
Akane ground her teeth together for a long moment before turning
around. Ukyou was leaning against the desk just behind her, the long
handle of her large combat spatula visible over one shoulder. Akane
tried to paste a smile on her face as Ukyou watched.
"Ranma didn't sleep well last night," said Akane with a brief frown,
sending another worried look in Ranma's direction. "His father tossed
him out the window when Ranma woke him up for the third time last
night by talking in his sleep."
"Talking in his sleep?" wondered Ukyou. She studied the sleeping
martial artist briefly before turning back to Akane. "What was he
saying?"
"Mister Saotome said Ranma kept talking all sorts of nonsense,"
said Akane, sending another worried look at Ranma. "The third time
Ranma woke him up, he said that Ranma was having a conversation
with himself. That was when he threw him out the window." Akane
shook her head.
******************************
Ranma was dreaming that he was in a classroom. All of the other
seats were empty though, which struck him as odd. Someone was
seated behind the instructor's desk when he lifted his head from the
desk. He was surprised to see himself seated behind the desk, looking
at him with cool amusement. The other Ranma was dressed in a
school uniform of a strange type, a little different from the ones at
Furinkan.
"Ready for another talk?" asked the other Ranma, walking around
the desk and seating himself on top of it. "I can only assume that's
why you're asleep again."
"I'm asleep?" asked Ranma. "I don't feel asleep. Who are you?
Have we met before?"
The uniformed Ranma put his face in his hand and made a soft,
grumbling remark about dullards and jocks that Ranma didn't quite
catch. He looked back up a moment later. "Trust me, my friend,
when I tell you that you're asleep. We've met a few times before. You
don't remember?"
"Not really," said Ranma. "Why do you look like me? And why are
you wearing a school uniform?" The other Ranma grimaced and faded
slightly.
"I wasn't expecting to have to explain my situation again," said the
uniformed Ranma with a sigh. "And I'm afraid that I won't have time
to do so." He faded a little bit more, and a disconcerted look crossed
his face.
"What's going on?" asked Ranma, getting up from his desk. "You
look like some sort of ghost."
"I guess I could be called a ghost of a sort," admitted the uniformed
Ranma. "A ghost of a life that you never lived." There was another
brief flickering in his figure, and he faded some more. "I'm afraid that
your subconscious can't hold an entire extra personality in suspension,
Ranma," said the other Ranma calmly. "Most of what I was has now
faded away. I have been feeling it for a while now, as bits of myself
vanish into the nether regions of your mind. I don't even remember
how I came to be here anymore. All I know is that I'm you and you're
me, but from different Earths."
"Did we talk about your world before?" asked Ranma. "It's hard for
me to remember."
"I'm afraid that history isn't my strong suit," said the blue uniformed
Ranma. He faded visibly a little bit more before stabilizing again. A
frown appeared on his face. "I think this might be the last time that I
can talk to you, even through a dream, Ranma. My personality core is
breaking down and being absorbed into your subconscious. All of the
knowledge that I have remaining will now be yours, at least as much
as your own mind can manage to remember. Memory is a funny
thing...."
The figure of the other Ranma suddenly blew away like smoke in a
breeze.
******************************
The bell rang for the end of class, and Ranma suddenly jerked
awake. He had been dreaming about something fairly important, but
he couldn't seem to remember what it was.
"<Ready for English class, Ranma?>" asked Akane in accented
English. She always enjoyed teasing Ranma with her speaking ability.
English was one of her best subjects, and one of his worst.
"<English is a second language to me,>" replied Ranma in a sleepy
tone of voice. His words were slurred from his drowsiness, but his
pronunciation was still better than Akane's.
"Ranma, you jerk!" Akane shouted at him. She sat back in her seat
and grumbled at him for showing off.
******************************
***** Earth #0001-001
Akane sat in class, bored, softly tapping her pencil against her desk.
A faint smile was on her face as she remembered the thrill of facing
Ranma in combat yesterday, accompanied by a very light blush on her
cheeks. *How could I have missed seeing his strength?* she wondered
idly. *Ranma is far more than he appeared to be at first. To hide such
skill at martial arts, to pretend to be so inept and weak, takes a special
sort of ability. I wonder what other secrets he could be hiding from
me?* Akane sighed dreamily at the newfound mystery of Ranma
Saotome.
"Psst... Akane," whispered a female voice from behind her. The
instructor was currently writing a long diagram of a piece of classical
literature on the blackboard. Akane turned around, confident that he
wouldn't be looking at the class for the next ten minutes, at least.
Behind Akane was Yuka Masami, one of her best friends at the
Academy, despite Yuka's disinterest in the martial arts. A pretty girl
with long brown hair, Yuka wore the gray uniform of a Security cadet
with a single stripe on her sleeve. She smiled at Akane, and softly
whispered, "Is it true, Akane?"
"Is what true?" Akane whispered back, looking puzzled.
"About you and Ranma Saotome, silly," whispered Yuka, still
smiling. "I heard that he managed to beat you up pretty good during
sparring yesterday. Is that what's got you looking so distracted today?"
"Well... he did sort of surprise me with his martial arts skills
yesterday," whispered Akane, feeling her face blush again. "He's a
much better fighter than I ever thought he was."
"Aaannnd?" whispered Yuka, drawing it out as she leaned forward
on her desk.
"I... I think he's the one," whispered Akane, feeling embarrassed.
"Oh Yuka, I've never felt anything before like what I felt fighting
Ranma yesterday. It was magical. Ranma Saotome showed me how
much of a man he was yesterday. He was actually winning when the
coach ended the match." A brief quiver of happiness ran through
Akane at the memory of Ranma's skill and strength overpowering her.
"You'd better stake your claim soon then, girl," whispered Yuka
with a smile. "I've been hearing rumors that a few of the other girls
started really noticing Ranma after the two of you fought yesterday.
Seems like you're not the only one who's taken a fancy to the new
martial artist on campus."
"WHAT?!" shouted Akane, shooting up to her feet. The class came
to a grinding halt around her, and the instructor glared menacingly at
Akane.
"Akane Tendou, go stand in the hall!" ordered the instructor. "I
will not tolerate any such outbursts from any cadet in one of my
classes." He pointed at the door, and Akane walked to it, her right eye
twitching slightly.
*No one is taking Ranma Saotome away from me!* Akane thought
fiercely. *He's going to be mine!* She stomped into the hall and
picked up both buckets of water. The exercise would help her calm
down.
******************************
Kunou came tearing up the last of the stairs and spotted Akane as
she stood at the far end of the hallway. "Ah, my love," he said softly
with a smile as he raced towards her, overwhelmed by the strength of
his passions for the girl. "Now I shall begin my efforts to free thee
from that villainous Saotome. Ready thyself for the rapture of my
embrace, Akane Tendou!"
Akane looked over at the young nobleman coming towards her and
blinked in surprise. Kunou almost caught her up in a brief hug before
she knocked him through a nearby window. She stomped over to the
window and glared down at the fallen aristocrat, currently lying
stunned but otherwise unhurt on the grass three stories below.
"I want Ranma Saotome, not you!" she shouted down at him before
stomping back to her original position.
Down below, Kunou gathered his thoughts as the passions that had
so recently overwhelmed him faded slightly.
*But wait,* Kunou thought for a moment. *Perhaps t'would be
better to give my new love a gift. Yes! I shall bestow upon Akane
Tendou a symbol of my yearning for her. Then I shall sate the need
for conflict which burns within her breast before I claim her for mine
own. Vengeance against Saotome can wait for one more day.*
He then passed out.
******************************
Ranma walked back over to the couch and pulled the keyboard into
a comfortable position. The screen lit up with the data from his last
test run. *Another successful run makes me two for two,* thought
Ranma with a smile. *Time to pull up the data on file number two.*
*QUANTUM COORDINATE FILE #0000002 LOADING INTO
ACTIVE MATRIX... PLEASE STAND BY...
*MATRIX LOADED... FILE #0000002. DETAILS?
Ranma typed out "YES" for a response, and the screen began to
print out more information on the file.
*FILE #0000002 - QUANTUM DIVERGENCE POINT OCCURRED:
16 YEARS
11 MONTHS
17 DAYS
19 HOURS
12 MINUTES
8 SECONDS AGO.
The counter kept increasing the seconds count as Ranma watched it.
*Still in band one, but past the halfway point,* he thought with an
intrigued smile. *Hmmm. That would be about the time that I was
conceived. A life that was different even before my birth, but... how
much different?*
Ranma settled down on the couch and relaxed. The neural headset
was placed on his skull, and he waited. The computer finished the
final synchronization with the expected words, "Activating cycle."
******************************
***** Earth #0001-812
*It looks like I'm still in my lab at the Academy,* Ranma thought,
staring at a familiar-looking circuitboard with a hot soldering iron in
hand. *I guess the divergences weren't all that great for this one.*
Feeling an uncomfortable crick in his counterpart's back from the
stooped-over position, Ranma sat up straight, stretching the shoulders
back. Something felt off. Ranma set the hot soldering iron down in
the holder before suddenly realizing that there was something _very_
different about his counterpart.
He was a she.
Ranma sprang up from the stool that she was seated upon in a state
of shocked surprise, knocking it backwards with a loud clatter onto the
concrete floor.
*Whatthehellisthis?!* the now female Ranma thought in extreme
amazement. A girl's Academy uniform in Science blue rested on her
body, the long skirt softly rustling as Ranma moved. Blinking in
extreme disbelief, staring down at a body that so strongly reminded
him of the dream from last night, only one thought was on Ranma's
mind. *I'm a girl,* Ranma thought in shocked wonder.
After a few long moments of staring down at the borrowed body,
some of the memories from this life began to flood into his awareness.
Ranma was quite amazed at both the differences and similarities that
existed. For example, instead of Ranma Saotome, his female alternate
was named Ranko Saotome. That was only the simplest of the many
differences between them. Her life had paralleled his to a very great
degree, the schools attended, the people met, but colored differently by
being a female.
One major difference in their lives came during her tenth year,
while studying in France. One of her chemistry instructors turned out
to be a highly ranked Savate fighter as well, and trained Ranko in the
kickboxing style at her request. She loved it and advanced so quickly
that Genma had been amazed. From that point onwards, he made a
point of encouraging her to study as much of the martial arts as she
desired, as long as it didn't impact on her scholastic studies. Ranko
did it for the exercise mainly, to keep her figure, but Ranma was very
surprised to discover in her memories a secret thrill at competition.
Six years after that first class in Savate, Ranko had earned black
belts in three other styles: Muay Thai, Tae Kwon Do, and Kempo.
During that time Ranma also saw in her memories a fair number of
back-alley fights around the world that Genma had never been aware
of. Ranko held a secret pride in her heart at never having lost a fight.
Ranma was a little bit disconcerted to discover that she rather enjoyed
beating up male opponents, especially all of those that she held to be
her mental inferiors.
Ranko didn't bully people or go out looking for trouble, but trouble
always seemed to find her. Currently, her favorite target to tease and
fight with was a male Security cadet near her age by the name of
Kaneda Tendou. They had a semi-fierce rivalry with each other that
would have stunned the Nodoka of this world if she knew of it. She
was apparently determined to turn her tomboyish scholar of a daughter
into a more ladylike and proper Citizen. The efforts had produced
some severe tensions between mother and daughter.
*It couldn't be..." Ranma thought, seeing a face suddenly appear in
his thoughts that looked disturbingly like how a male version of Akane
might appear. Kaneda, like his female counterpart on Ranma's own
timeline, assisted Nabiki as an enforcer. He teased Ranko mercilessly
at times, and they had fought frequently since her arrival on campus
six weeks ago. She always managed to defeat him, and her memories
were full of incidents where she called him an idiot or a macho jerk.
Feeling uncomfortable at examining such thoughts, Ranma turned
his attention back to Ranko's physique. Her body felt very fit to him,
and he lashed out with a quick side kick to test it, only a little bit
hindered by the skirt. Ranko's foot snapped out, and Ranma was able
to hold her body easily in balance on the other foot as he raised the
kicking foot up over her head. Despite her scholarly upbringing,
Ranma knew that she was also a very impressive fighter. He felt a
little guilty that he had not done the same in his own life.
It was something that he intended to rectify. *Sensei Takami is
going to find an eager student from now on,* Ranma thought with a
smile. There was no way that he was going to let himself remain in
poorer shape than a female counterpart of himself. His male ego
simply balked at the idea.
Ranma slowly lowered the kicking leg back down to the floor,
feeling the distinct differences in balance and the lowered center of
gravity that went with a girl's body as opposed to a man's. It was an
educational experience for him as he put Ranko's body through its
paces for several minutes of katas. She was in somewhat better shape
than he was, even after his intensive training over the last six weeks.
That fact made him feel like a slacker.
After he finished, Ranma walked over to the sink in the lab a little
nervously, suddenly very curious to see what his female counterpart
looked like. *This is what I would have looked like if I had been born
a female,* the boy temporarily turned girl thought. Reaching the sink
and mirror, Ranma just stared in surprise at the reflection, raising one
hand up to touch a cheek and watching the girl in the mirror making
the same gesture. *This is... so strange,* Ranma thought. The
appearance of the girl in the mirror was also shockingly familiar.
It was Ranma-chan.
There were subtle differences, but the face in the mirror was almost
identical to the other Ranma's cursed form. Reddish hair, far lighter
than Nodoka's own dark red coloring, was worn pulled back into a
loose ponytail and tied with a gray ribbon. Bright blue eyes were wide
with surprise in the reflection. Strangely fascinated by the sight, and a
little weirded out, Ranma was only able to stare at the female face in
the reflection. *I'm... she's gorgeous,* Ranma thought briefly, then
slapped himself across the face to shake himself out of his reverie.
*Get a hold of yourself, Ranma,* he commanded himself. He
briefly looked up at the clock on the wall, noting by the time that he
only had a little bit less than ten minutes left, before turning to look at
the stack of equipment on the workbench. There was a Resonator unit
in the midst of production, but Ranma noted that the assembly was
only about halfway done. As far as he could tell, examining each of
the components carefully laid out on the workbench, all of it was here,
including a shiny quantum flux coil. Ranma realized that Ranko must
have been in the process of final assembly of her own device when he
appeared in her mind.
Ranma sat down on the couch, a brief memory of the struggle that
Ranko had in dragging it into the lab by herself appearing in his mind,
and he immediately crossed Ranko's legs in a very ladylike manner.
He froze for a long moment.
*What?* he thought, mildly stunned, realizing immediately what he
had just done so naturally in this body and staring at the results of the
casual mannerism. *I... I didn't even think about it. I just sat down
and did it because it felt right.*
A bead of sweat appeared on Ranko's forehead.
Ranma purposely uncrossed her legs and sat with them slightly
apart, like a man would, and leaned forward to think. His borrowed
body's breasts pressed against the arms, and he quickly leaned back in
surprise, disturbed at the unexpected sensations that touching them
caused. *I didn't realize that they would be so sensitive,* he thought
casually, looking down at them, and recrossing her legs because they
felt wrong spread apart like that. There was another brief pause.
*What the hell am I thinking?!*
Ranma forced himself to sit up straight and look over the notebook
used by his counterpart in her work, slowly flipping through its pages.
*All of the equations and schematics look right,* he noticed, casually
rubbing at her lower lip with her thumb. All of a sudden, her hand
paused in the midst of flipping pages. *Hello... what's this?*
Ranko had apparently had a dream similar to his own vision, only a
little less than two years ago, but she had been able to bring back more
information about the parts that Ranma thought were junk data. She
had made several notes on them, writing such things as 'anti-gravity?'
at a few locations around the equations and schematics. Ranma stared
at the figures. Even as fragmentary and incomplete as they were, there
was a little more here than he had received in his own dream. Ranma
briefly wondered how two such different people could have had almost
the same dream, although Ranko's was a little more recent and had
been more complete.
"Hmm," Ranma mused aloud. "This might make an interesting
experiment to try in the near future." The equipment shared several
components with the Resonator, but there were a few circuitry designs
that did not quite make sense to him. He committed it to memory,
hoping that it all made the transition back to his body successfully.
Being in a girl's body like this was making him feel a bit nervous and
reminded Ranma more than he cared to know about what it must be
like for his Jusenkyou-cursed martial artist counterpart.
Ranma sat back on the couch, noting that only a couple of minutes
remained before recall mode activated. Suddenly curious to see more
of the body he temporarily possessed, Ranma reached up and slowly
undid the bow around the collar and set it on the couch. The uniform
jacket joined it a few moments later. Ranma hesitated at removing the
white cotton blouse, and contented himself with staring down at a very
surprisingly well-endowed chest for a teenaged girl for several long
moments.
*This is just such a strange experience,* Ranma thought, as he very
tentatively touched one breast. It felt pleasant to do so, and he guiltily
dropped his hand after a minute of that, feeling Ranko's face blushing.
Noticing that only a minute remained, he pulled the blue jacket back
on. He started to replace the bow when his thoughts grayed out.
******************************
Ranko awoke on the couch, puzzled by the time loss that had just
occurred. *I guess I must have decided to take a nap,* she thought in
mild confusion. *I wonder why I don't remember?* She idly retied
the bow around her neck, puzzled that it had come undone like that.
She hopped up off the couch and stretched her arms out, before doing
a brief kata to loosen up.
*By this time tomorrow, I'll be able to begin my experiments,* she
thought proudly. *Let that overly-macho moron Kaneda laugh at me
then for being an unfeminine bookworm. Hmmm... that reminds me, I
still owe him a serious pounding for grabbing that feel during our last
sparring match, the stupid pervert. He can claim innocence all he
wants.* She cracked her knuckles softly, grinning.
With a soft chuckle, Ranko imagined the beating that she was going
to give Kaneda for trying to feel her up during practice. Fighting with
him was always enjoyable, but she would never admit it to an arrogant,
macho chauvinist like Kaneda Tendou. If she didn't know that he was
the best male fighter at the Academy, she would probably be a bit more
forgiving to him. *As good as he is at martial arts, he should know
better than to grab a girl's chest, the idiot, even if it might have been
an accident. I'll teach that Kaneda a lesson that he won't soon forget.*
******************************
***** Earth #0001-001
Ranma laced his fingers together and stretched his arms up over his
head, palms outward, feeling the tensions move out of his shoulders.
When he brought his hands down, he slid the headset off his skull and
left it resting on his stomach. He put his hands behind his head and
stared upwards at the ceiling of his lab with a hint of amusement.
*I have a counterpart who is female... how truly odd,* Ranma idly
thought. When he closed his eyes, he could see her face in the mirror
clearly. *She's also a martial artist. My quantum sister, the tomboy
scholar-warrior.* That thought brought a faint chuckle to his lips.
*Still, there's no way that I'm going to let a girl version of myself be a
better fighter than me. That just ain't gonna happen. Looks like I will
have to train myself harder starting later today.* Ranma didn't even
notice the slang in his thoughts.
Ranma sat up and reached for his bookbag. Humming a faint
melody, he pulled out one of his blank notebooks and tossed it on the
workbench, while he rummaged around for a pen. The memories of
the information from Ranko's notebook apparently made it back okay
when he was recalled back to his own body, but he wanted to get the
information down on paper as soon as he could, not quite trusting his
memory for such an intricate level of details.
*Anti-gravity,* thought Ranma with a smile. He hopped off the
couch and sat himself down on the stool next to his workbench. He
clicked the pen open and flipped to a clean page in the notebook. *If I
can get this all down and solve for the missing parts, then I could go
down in Imperial history for two great achievements.* A glow of
pride filled his thoughts for a long moment.
After basking in his brief fantasy for a short time, Ranma bent over
the notebook and began to write, slowly and carefully.
******************************
Kodachi was quietly reading a book of poetry during lunch period
on the front lawn of Blackhall Academy, for once not needing to
contend with the White Lily, when a shadow fell across her. She
immediately leaped from her seated position into a midair somersault,
landing on her feet ready for a fight. Expecting to see Asuka standing
there, she was quite surprised when the looming figure was revealed to
be her own brother, especially since he was armed with one of his
bokkens and wearing a manic expression. She also noticed several
colorful bruises on his face.
"Brother dear," said Kodachi, pleased. "This is a pleasant surprise.
Have you come to join me for lunch?" Without speaking, Kunou
slowly sat down, his expression grim.
"My dear sister," said Kunou solemnly. "I have come to forbid you
to have aught further to do with Ranma Saotome."
"What?" asked Kodachi, surprised. "How did you know?" Inside,
Kodachi's mind whirled with questions.
"So... you do not deny knowing the vile miscreant," sighed Kunou,
louder than Kodachi cared for. She noticed with mild despair that
several girls nearby were listening. "T'is as I suspected then. When
did the base-born scoundrel Saotome seduce thee?" All of a sudden,
all other conversations around the pair ceased. Several more girls
around them began listening as Kodachi felt a blush cross her face.
Kunou did not appear to notice or care.
Asuka Saginomiya heard Kunou's statement from her position
among the columns at the front steps of the Academy and smiled. *So
the oh-so-perfect Kodachi Kunou is a fallen woman, eh?* she thought
with a deep level of amusement. Asuka cocked her head to listen to
the quite interesting conversation more attentively. She quietly sipped
from the juice container held in her hand. Kunou was normally a
tiresome sort in her eyes, but occasionally he provided her with rare
amusement such as this news of his sister.
"B... brother," said Kodachi nervously. "It is not as you think. I
have not even ever spoken to this Ranma Saotome of which you speak.
He is a stranger to me." She stood before the still seated Kunou, who
appeared as stoic and unyielding as a statue for a moment.
"Then why did you run home in tears after gazing upon the foul
knave?" asked Kunou loudly, turning his fierce gaze upon here once
more. "Be not saddened, my sister. I intend to avenge the insult done
to our House and to you on the morrow. On that day, I shall punish
Ranma Saotome with the full measure of my skills. He shall rue the
day that he ever heard the name of Kunou."
"You mustn't!" shouted Kodachi, suddenly afraid for the scholarly
Ranma. As far as she knew, Ranma had no combat skills beyond the
basics provided by the Academy. "He is innocent of any wrongdoing.
He has done _nothing_ to me!" Kodachi bent down and grabbed at
Kunou's shoulder as she pleaded with him. Kunou looked at her with
sudden rage.
"Innocent?!" roared Kunou, as he shot to his feet. He raised up his
bokken to point at the heavens and struck a noble pose. "This day I
have found my one and only true love, only to discover that she pines
for this self-same scoundrel, Saotome! The same man who has caused
my sister tears! Nay, I say it shall not be so! On the morrow, I shall
smite the villainous Saotome and avenge your dishonor! Then he
shall cease to be a hindrance to my noble cause of love as well!"
*What did he say?* Asuka thought disbelievingly. *One true love?
That is what he once called me!* She slowly rose to her feet as Kunou
continued his rant, a deep scowl appearing upon her face. Her cronies
watched her with wary eyes, uncertain what actions that their mistress
intended.
*Ranma is involved with another?* thought Kodachi in surprise. A
sinking feeling filled her heart. "Who is this new love of whom you
speak, brother dear?"
"Ahh..." sighed Kunou softly. "Her name is Akane Tendou. I bore
witness to her grace and strength this very morn, and I bear the marks
of her fighting spirit with pride. Truly she is a goddess above all other
women, a lady of noble birth laboring at the Imperial Academy as if
she was a mere commoner. Never before have I encountered a woman
with such spirit, nor her equal in strength among any of the daughters
of the nobility of the Empire."
Asuka Saginomiya crushed the small juice container that she was
holding in her hand when she heard that statement, a few droplets
spilling to one side. *How _dare_ that man compare some obviously
common, low-born strumpet to such a nobly-born lady such as
myself!* she thought with fury. *How dare he call another my equal
in his heart, that pompous bastard!* Asuka threw the crushed lump of
waxed cardboard at the trash can with all her might, hearing it thunk
against the inside before falling.
Her four cronies stood around Asuka, not daring to approach too
closely when she was in such a mood.
*Akane Tendou?* thought Kodachi with surprise, then began to
laugh. Kunou looked at her with a shocked expression.
"Sister... why do you laugh so?" said Kunou, wearing a puzzled
expression. "Have you taken leave of your wits?"
"It is just that... you and Akane Tendou..." chuckled Kodachi softly,
striving to control her mirth. Her former worry was replaced by relief.
*If the Akane Tendou here is anything at all like her other versions
that I have seen in this quantum band, then she is not anyone that I
will have to worry over taking Ranma from me,* she thought with a
smile. *Ranma Saotome is no fighter to capture her interest, so he is
safe from her attentions. My brother, on the other hand, is another
story.*
"Sister..." murmured Kunou in mild anger. "I do not see a reason
for mirth in this situation. Here I tell you of my finding the perfect
woman for myself..."
There was a sudden roar of feminine rage from behind him. Kunou
blinked and turned around. Asuka stood behind him, almost glowing
with rage. Surprised, Kunou stared at the sight as if mesmerized.
"You DARE to say that a lady like myself is less than some Imperial
Academy COMMONER?!" shrieked Asuka into Kunou's face. Totally
nonplused, Kunou only gazed back.
"Be off with you, Miss Saginomiya," said Kunou with irritation as
he waved his hand at her in a dismissive gesture. "I speak with my
sister now on matters of import. I truly care not what a shrew such as
thyself thinks of my private affairs." Kunou turned back to face his
sister and quickly found his face slammed down into the turf, Asuka's
foot on the back of his head.
"Don't you _ever_ dare turn your back on me when I am speaking to
you, Tatewaki Kunou!" shrieked Asuka in a full rage. "I demand that
you apologize to me for your statement! I find it a grievous insult!"
She gracefully stepped off of Kunou's head and folded her arms across
her chest. Her four assistants formed up ranks behind her.
Kunou drew himself back up to his feet, and to his full height, and
stared at the simmering and haughty-looking White Lily. A few small
lumps of dirt fell from his face. A look of extreme annoyance crossed
his features as his grip slowly tightened on the pommel of his bokken.
"If you were not a lady of a noble House..." said Kunou quietly.
"I thought you liked warrior women, Kunou-chan," said Asuka, her
mannerisms quickly changing to one of sweetness as she cooed at him.
Kunou frowned at her, and she smiled back in a saccharin-sweet way.
She giggled lightly at his discomfiture.
"Trifle not with mine affections, Asuka Saginomiya," said Kunou
quietly. Kodachi stood to one side and regarded the scene with intense
interest. "My heart has flown to another, and no words of thine shall
ever change that. Truly, you shrew, now that my noble heart has been
claimed by another, I can see thee for your true self as a spiteful,
vindictive harridan. The powerful enchantment that was once cast
over me by your beauteous features is ended, so... begone." He made a
shooing away gesture with his hand briefly, before turning his back on
her once more to face Kodachi.
Kodachi watched Asuka's face take on the most interesting series of
expressions, trying hard not to smile. For a year, Kunou had pursued
the cold Asuka with no return of interest on her part. Now that he had
apparently found another to replace her, the White Lily gave off all
indications of jealousy over it. It was a very educational and amusing
sight for Kodachi.
*I will win your heart back to me, Kunou,* thought Asuka with a
tightening of her lips. *Only so that I may crush it beneath my heel as
you so very richly deserve.* With a last glare at the Kunou siblings,
she stalked off, trailed by her cronies.
"That was most unpleasant," said Kunou in a very stiff tone of
voice, after Asuka had departed. "I know not what madness ever
caused me to show interest in such a vile creature. Truly she is like a
demoness in human form, and I am glad that she shall trouble me no
more. Now I might turn my full attentions to the beautiful, sweet, and
virtuous Akane Tendou."
"Brother dear..." said Kodachi quietly, gazing at him with hooded
eyes. "I fear that I must... decline to follow your instructions regarding
Ranma Saotome. You are so very wrong about him."
"I?! Wrong?! Never!" shouted Kunou. "I have seen this villain
with mine own eyes, and he is far beneath suitable for a delicate flower
of nobility such as thyself. I forbid you to see him." Kunou sheathed
his weapon and folded his arms; the matter was closed as far as he was
concerned.
*Oh no, you will not prevent me from seeing Ranma, if I so choose,
brother dear,* thought Kodachi defiantly. *I will have back at least
the friendship... and possibly more... that I had with his counterpart.
You shall not stop me in this.*
The two Kunou siblings stared at each other for a long time, both
lost in their own thoughts, both looking adamant.
******************************
Asuka walked through the corridors of Blackhall Academy, and her
thoughts were dark. *That arrogant, pompous, infuriating... ooohhhh!
He makes me so mad! I will teach him that he should not trifle with
the White Lily's tender feelings like that!* Feeling a very light tap on
her shoulder, she whirled. Azusa Shiratori, one of her assistants,
quickly scampered back a little at the look on Asuka's face.
"What is it?!" shouted Asuka. "Can't you tell that I am brooding?"
"My apologies, Milady," said Azusa with a bow. "I was wondering
what you intended to do about your new rival?"
"Akane Tendou is no rival of mine!" blasted Asuka. Azusa eeped
and hid behind Ayako Mitsui, Asuka's second in command and a
powerful martial artist in her own right. Asuka looked at Ayako, and
a sudden smile crossed her face. "Ayako, I have a small task for you."
"I am at your command, Milady," said Ayako, bowing slightly. "Do
you wish me to deal with this commoner on your behalf?"
"A tempting thought, but no," said Asuka mildly. "Find out all that
you can about Akane Tendou and Kodachi Kunou's lover. I have a
plan in mind to punish the two scions of the House of Kunou... an
amusing plan indeed." She turned to face Ayako. "Now go and gather
me all the information that you can on the ones called Akane Tendou
and Ranma Saotome."
"As you command, Milady," said Ayako, bowing. She vanished in
a blur of motion, leaping away from her leader into the shadows.
******************************
Ranma leaned back from the workbench and looked up at the clock.
*Almost time for physical education class,* he noted with a sigh. He
gazed down at the notebook and flipped back through the pages. A
large number of them were now filled with duplicates of the equations
and schematics from Ranko's notebooks. He shook his tired hand and
stood up.
*Every class I was able to skip today, but not this one,* Ranma
thought with a smile. *It's just as well. I need to get some exercise
anyway.* Ranma leaned back and his spine cracked and popped.
Ranma shut down power to the Resonator and threw a tarp over the
components. He stuffed all of his notebooks into his bag with a smile,
pleased with the amount of work that he had completed. Most of the
details from Ranko's notebooks were now transcribed into his own,
and Ranma considered that to be a job well done.
******************************
"This is a rather unusual request that you have made, Miss Kunou,"
said Dean Fuyutsuki. Seated across from him was a slightly nervous-
looking Kodachi. She had requested a leave of absence from all of her
afternoon classes in order to meet with the Dean of the Imperial
Academy.
"I understand, Dean Fuyutsuki," said Kodachi somewhat shyly. "I
hope you do not think me ill-mannered in making such a request to
you directly like this. I am simply finding myself somewhat less than
fully challenged by the curriculum at Blackhall, and I was told that
there might be some research projects that I could assist with taking
place here." She sat with her hands folded demurely.
"Research projects?" asked the Dean in surprise. "There aren't any
such projects taking place at the Academy. Well, except for one of the
cadets... Ranma Saotome. But I don't think that he would be open to
having an assistant at this time, even one so lovely as yourself, Miss
Kunou."
"Ranma Saotome?" asked Kodachi, acting as if she was surprised to
hear the name. "Not _the_ Ranma Saotome... winner of the Imperial
Medal of Scholarship for his paper on temporal flux states in a low-
gravity environment?" Dean Fuyutsuki looked surprised for several
moments. *Good thing I did some research on Ranma before coming
here,* thought Kodachi with an internal smile.
"Yes, he is, as a matter of fact," said the Dean with a smile on his
face. "His current project involves some ground-breaking work in the
field of quantum mechanics." Sitting back, the Dean thought for a
long moment, *Kunou... Kunou... where have I heard that name
before? Ahh, I have it.* Dean Fuyutsuki blinked and then smiled at
Kodachi.
"I would love to have an opportunity to meet Ranma," said Kodachi
with a pleasant smile. "I'm sure that I could be a great help to him in
his current work."
"Very well, Miss Kunou," said the Dean with a smile, folding his
hands before him on the desk. "Ranma has a lab space located in the
lower basement, room five. He's at his physical education class right
now, but he has a free study period that he uses for his work. He will
be down there within the hour. Just tell him that I said it was all
right."
"Thank you, Dean Fuyutsuki," said Kodachi, standing up quickly
and bowing deeply. She left with a smile on her face.
*Interesting,* thought Fuyutsuki, after Kodachi left. *She seemed
to be quite strongly interested in young Ranma in particular, despite
her attempts to portray herself otherwise. Perhaps I should keep an
eye on the young Miss Kunou and Mister Saotome. Yes, that would
perhaps be very wise.*
******************************
Ranma pumped his arms and legs as he ran around the track as fast
as he could. Off to one side, Sensei Takami held a small stopwatch in
his hand and watched him closely. Ranma's attention though was not
on the coach, it was on pushing his body even faster and harder than
the coach ever had. He was on his third full speed kilometer already,
and his lungs were starting to burn in his chest like they were on fire.
*Ignore the pain,* Ranma thought. Memories of training under the
other Genma popped up in his mind as fatigue poisons slowly built up
in his body. *Don't stop running.* As bad as it was feeling now, he
was sure that the late afternoon session was going to be worse, because
Ranma had requested it be made so. The coach had actually looked at
him with a great deal of respect and then sent him out to run on the
track while he timed him for speed. Ranma kept putting one leg in
front of the other and kept pushing himself, striving to keep going.
Akane watched Ranma run by her and the rest of the cadets at a
sprint, lapping them once again, as they jogged along at a slower pace.
She shook her head in amazement, even as she admired his stamina.
*Why won't he fight me?* Akane thought with irritation. *He must
have felt the same things I did. I know he must have.*
Before Ranma had gotten very far ahead of her, Akane suddenly
broke from her place in line as her competitive nature refused to let
Ranma outdo her, even at such a thing as running. She managed to
pull up next to him and grinned evilly at him, before accelerating past
Ranma to her top speed. *I'll show you that I can run you into the
ground, Saotome,* she thought boastfully.
Ranma glared at Akane's back as she sprinted on ahead of him. *So
you want to try and show me up, Tendou? I don't think so. Ranma
Saotome doesn't lose.* With that thought, Ranma began pushing
himself even harder and poured new speed into his legs.
Ranma had already run a full kilometer further than her at his top
speed, so Akane was very surprised to see him slowly gaining on her
as they went around the track. After another kilometer, he managed to
pull up next to her and returned her earlier grin with a slightly tired
one of his own. They continued on, running neck in neck, as the rest
of the class finished their usual three kilometers.
Sensei Takami had a smile on his face as he watched the two young
athletes spurring each other on. Ranma was on his fourth kilometer
now, and Akane was now on her third at his pace, after running two at
a slower speed. Both of them were still matching each other pace for
pace.
*I'm the best athlete at this Academy, Saotome,* thought Akane,
pushing herself a little harder and pulling ahead of Ranma again for a
brief time. Exhaustion was starting to catch up with her, and she
angrily ignored it. *You're not going to outrun me!*
*Push it harder, Ranma!* he thought angrily at himself, as he drove
his body to go even faster to keep up with Akane. But he was getting
tired. *You're not gonna lose to that tomboy, are you? Hell, NO!*
The two of them pushed on through another kilometer, and Ranma
managed to catch up to Akane once more and then pass her. *I'm not
ever gonna lose to a girl!* thought Ranma. *Not ever again!*
At Akane's seventh kilometer at full speed, and Ranma's eighth, the
contest was Ranma's when Akane couldn't keep up the pace anymore.
She collapsed and tumbled onto the grass as Ranma went a little bit
farther ahead before stopping himself. Both of them were exhausted,
but Akane felt a happy glow inside her.
Ranma had beaten her again.
After class, Ranma stood under a spray of hot water in the showers
for a long time. His muscles felt like jelly, but the tiredness was a
good sort of feeling now. He ducked his head under the water as he
leaned against the wall, feeling the cool tiles against his forearms as
they supported him.
The water suddenly turned freezing cold.
"AIEEEE!" screamed Ranma, dashing out of the spray and panting.
Sensei Takami grinned at him, even as Ranma glowered back after
briefly glancing at his chest.
"It's only a little cold water, Saotome," said Takami, grinning, as he
tossed the pig-tailed boy a towel. "I just wanted to congratulate you."
"For what?" asked Ranma, shivering a little from the after-effects of
his cold water shower. He dried off quickly and wrapped the towel
around his middle.
"Today you managed to tie the record for a five kilometer run by a
first year cadet. Three seconds faster and you would have broken the
Academy record," said Takami with a smile. The coach shook his
head in disbelief. "If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn't
have believed it. You've only been training for less than seven weeks,
and you've managed to do something like that. I'm actually eager to
see just what you can do if we up your conditioning training level
again."
"I'm ready, but I really am most interested in martial arts training,"
said Ranma. "I want to be faster and stronger than I already am. Can
you help me, Coach?" Sensei Takami scratched behind his head after
removing his ever-present dark green cap.
"I spent ten years teaching boys how to be soldiers in the Imperial
Army, Ranma," said Takami after he replaced his cap. "I believe that
you can improve your strength and endurance, but it won't be easy
from this point on. I suspect that you're currently at a plateau in your
training, although I've never seen anyone get to your level so quickly.
I was expecting to be working with you for months, not weeks, to get
you this far."
"I can do better, Coach," said Ranma with certainty. "I _know_ I
can."
"I believe you, Ranma," said Takami with a serious look. "I don't
know why, but I believe that you've only just scratched the surface of
what you're truly capable of. I confess that I wasn't sure about you in
the beginning, but you've surpassed all my expectations so far. So be
prepared to work your ass off from here on out. This has been the easy
part up until now." Sensei Takami laughed with false malice.
"Thanks, Coach," said Ranma sincerely. *I need to find a teacher
though,* he thought with concern. *The Coach and the martial arts
Masters on campus can take me up to a certain level, but if I want to
strive to the other Ranma's level of skill then I'm going to need to find
a martial arts Master of extraordinary ability to study with. How am I
going to do that?*
******************************
Ranma unlocked and opened the door to his laboratory, before he
set his bookbag down just inside. His hand went unerringly to the
light switch on the wall, flicking them on. He walked in as the
overhead fluorescent panels snapped on, shutting and locking the door
behind him. With only an hour available, Ranma knew he would only
have time for a single run.
Flipping the cover off the Resonator, Ranma flipped the main power
bar back on and let it run through self-check while he pulled out his
notebook and made a few more notes on the variability in times before
his three quantum counterpart's memories were available to him. He
was sure that there was some unknown factor involved in the delay
that he wasn't seeing just yet.
Hearing a beep, Ranma looked up and grunted when he saw that the
Resonator was ready for him. He tapped away at the keyboard, setting
up for the next experiment. He pulled up the next file in rotation and
waited for it to load.
*QUANTUM COORDINATE FILE #0000003 LOADING INTO
ACTIVE MATRIX... PLEASE STAND BY...
*MATRIX LOADED... FILE #0000003. DETAILS? YES
*FILE #0000003 - QUANTUM DIVERGENCE POINT OCCURRED:
38 YEARS
0 MONTHS
11 DAYS
17 HOURS
20 MINUTES
25 SECONDS AGO.
*Band two... hmmm,* thought Ranma as he hefted the headset up.
*The differences will start becoming more radical from this point on
outwards.* He eyed the clock for a moment to mark the starting time
and then settled back with the headset resting on his head.
The two sine waves moved together on the screen, and quantum
synchronization occurred.
******************************
***** Earth #0002-585
Ranma found himself holding lightly onto a strap connected to a
wall stanchion. In front of him was a large video screen currently
displaying the Earth from space. He almost immediately lost the food
in his belly and felt as if he was on a free-falling elevator car. *I'm in
space?* he thought with surprise. *What am I doing in space?*
Ranma glanced down at his clothes and saw that he was wearing a
pale blue jumpsuit with the kanji for "Saotome, Ranma" stenciled
across a patch on his right breast. His body felt fit and well-trained,
roughly at the same level as his own was now. He felt with one hand
along his collar and was a little surprised to discover rank insignia
there.
Seeing a dim reflection of himself in the glass of the monitor tank,
Ranma tried to discern what rank he was wearing on his collar. If it
followed standard Imperial patterns, then he was a lieutenant, junior
grade. *What is going on here?*
Ranma turned around to see several people watching the monitor
that he stood near. He recognized Ukyou among them, just floating
into the room through an open hatchway. She was wearing a pale blue
jumpsuit like his own, but her patch read "Saotome, Ukyou" on it. On
her collar were ensign's pips. Her expression was worried as she
floated over to him, and she hugged him when she got near.
"Oh, Ranma," she said sadly. "Hold me until it's over." Unsure
what she was talking about, Ranma acceded to her soft-voiced request
and put an arm around her, feeling the warmth of her body against his.
A flood of memories filled his mind from his counterpart at that
same moment, some very familiar but most very different from his
own life. He held onto Ukyou and let them begin to settle into his
awareness, his other hand wrapped into the wall strap to keep from
floating off.
This Ranma Saotome had been chosen to participate in a very noble
achievement by the Empire, the colonization of another star system by
means of a slower-than-light multi-generational ship, the Yamato.
Every member of the crew on board, himself and Ukyou included, had
been computer-selected for their suitability for this mission. In the
cargo bay were frozen sperm and ova for animal populations to be
created on their new world, as well as several thousand human
embryos. Ranma was the most junior member of the astro-navigation
section, and his wife Ukyou was one of several young biologists who
worked in the hydroponics bays and monitored the cryogenic storage
units.
What had started out as a grand adventure to prove the Empire's
superiority and a vast public relations coup, unexpectedly turned into
the last hope for mankind. It became the means of saving a small
portion of the human race from the terrible madness that was about to
consume their home. With only days left before mission launch was to
occur, the remnants of the old Ottoman Empire and the Russians
declared war on the Empire of Japan.
The crew had watched as news broadcasts relayed the unfolding
events. The two allies threw the combined weight of their militaries
against the Empire and managed to force an opening across the
borders, their troops spilling onto Imperial soil. The Emperor had
made several demands for them to withdraw, but they were refused.
The price of that defiance was about to kill a world.
"Look!" shouted one of the other occupants in the room, pointing at
the monitor behind Ranma, a young man who was unfamiliar to him
at the moment. "It's started...."
Ranma turned and looked, while Ukyou hid her face against his
chest and cried. He wasn't sure what he was supposed to be seeing at
first, then his eyes widened in horror.
Plumes of light were beginning to sprout across planet Earth, the
distinctive sign of nuclear weapons detonating across the surface. He
could only imagine the devastation that was now raging around the
world. As Ranma watched silently, the islands that he had once called
home were covered in a multitude of circles of light. It was a horrible
microcosm of the destruction that was spreading over the whole Earth.
"My God..." Ranma heard someone say softly behind him. Ukyou
simply kept her face buried against his chest and cried. Ranma knew
that his parents were down there, and a wave of remorse filled him.
Not knowing what else to do, Ranma pulled Ukyou in tighter, feeling
her body shaking against his with sobs.
This Ranma and Ukyou were newly married, part of a policy for the
crew in an attempt to minimize sexual frictions by providing stable
family bonds. They were actually paired up during training when the
new policy was announced and were still in a process of adjusting to
each other. These adjustments occasionally led to some spectacular
arguments and fights, but there was a strong love bond building
between them.
After several long minutes, the destruction began to fade as the last
of the bombs fell. All that was left behind were glowing patches of
heat and radioactivity across the surface. Towards the end of the vast
conflagration, there was a white flash and a vast explosion from one of
the regions of southern China that caught Ranma's and several other's
attention. *A last missile impact?* he wondered, somehow doubting
that was what it was. His counterpart had no knowledge of anything
of strategic value in that area that was worth targeting with such a
large-yielding bomb. He suspected that he would never know.
"It's all over..." whispered several people around them, stunned by
the sight of Earth destroyed so quickly. Ranma gently stroked Ukyou's
hair
"Let's go back to our cabin," said Ukyou as she looked up, the
remainders of tears in his eyes. "I have something that I need to talk
with you about, Ranma."
"All right," he said. She gave a brave attempt at a smile and kicked
off from the wall, shooting like a slow ballistic missile towards the
open hatchway. Ranma found himself watching her trim form with a
smile on his face. *She sure is cute,* he found himself thinking.
Confident that he had his space-legs now, Ranma did a very quick
mental calculation and shoved off from the wall with his feet. His
body flew through the air with a tremendous feeling of freedom, even
as a heaviness hung inside him at the loss of his parents on this
timeline. With a slight smile at his newfound skill, Ranma shot
cleanly through the hatchway and narrowly avoided colliding with
someone coming the opposite way.
"Sorry about that," Ranma called back, not recognizing the other
person. A curse was shouted back his way, but Ranma didn't pay any
attention to it. Behind him, Ryuu Kumon continued forward.
Ranma banked around a corner with an acrobatic move, still finding
himself unable to catch up with Ukyou flying on ahead of him. His
knees soaked up the impact from the wall and shot him off in the new
direction. In his mind he saw a rough map of the vessel, built to hold
three hundred people. There were only one hundred and twenty-eight
people aboard now, possibly the last survivors of the human race in
this timeline.
Ukyou stopped suddenly and Ranma collided with her with a thud,
sending them both bouncing off from each other slowly.
"Ow!" cried Ukyou. "Watch where you're going, Ranma, you jerk."
She thumped him across a shoulder with her fist.
"Sorry about that," said Ranma with sincerity. "You surprised me
when you stopped so suddenly."
"What did you expect me to do?" asked Ukyou in puzzlement.
"This is our cabin, after all."
*Oops,* thought Ranma, suddenly remembering that fact. *That
will teach me to pay more attention on these jaunts to my memories,
and less on the cute girls I keep finding myself around.* He watched
her unlatch and pop open the seal on the door.
Beyond was a _very_ small living space, but a few tokens of a life
now lost behind them populated it. A single bed was hinged up
against the wall. Ranma suddenly recalled that the habitat area that
their cabin was in could be spun for gravity around the ship's central
axis. That wasn't going to happen for several weeks to ease
navigation, as the vessel accelerated around the sun in a slingshot
maneuver. He looked around at the small homey touches, Ukyou's
work, he imagined.
Ranma looked at a small framed photo of himself, Ukyou, and his
parents attached to one wall. He and Ukyou were dressed in their blue
flight suits, and he was flashing a proud thumb's up in the direction of
the camera. Ukyou was leaning on his shoulder from behind him, her
wedding ring glinting from the sunlight. Everyone looked happy, and
the scene brought a small lump to Ranma's throat. He floated in mid-
air and wiped a few tears from his eyes. *Guys don't cry,* he thought.
A pair of arms wrapped around him from behind and Ukyou
nuzzled against his right ear. She said nothing, only holding him
close to her. Ranma dimly noticed the feel of her breasts pressing
against his back. It was making him feel a little... uncomfortable.
"How are you holding up, Ucchan?" he asked softly. Inside, he was
literally of two minds about what he just saw. The astronaut part of
him, memories called up by the recent event, felt deep sorrow from the
loss of most of the people that he ever knew. The scholar part of him
was more distant, viewing these things as something happening to
other people, so he was not as touched. It was a safety net against the
dark sadness that would have filled him otherwise.
"I'm doing well enough, I suppose, Ranma," Ukyou whispered into
his ear. She kissed him lightly along the back of his neck and then
chuckled. "You're acting like a solid rock emotionally, as usual. Care
to tell your beautiful bride what you're feeling?"
"I think the shock has numbed me a little," Ranma said, hedging a
little with what sounded like a reasonable answer. He turned around
to draw her into his arms. "So what did you want to tell me, Wife?"
"You're going to be a father, Ranma," she said, lowering her eyes
shyly, a small smile on her face. Ranma felt his brain make a sort of
'erking' sound even as Ukyou continued speaking. "I found out
yesterday, shortly after we left Earth orbit."
Ranma felt his vision black out as recall occurred.
******************************
***** Earth #0001-001
Ranma heard an urgent pounding against the door as he readjusted
himself to his present surroundings. Blinking his eyes open, Ranma
pulled the headset off and set it down on the floor next to the couch.
He sat up and wondered who could be wanting to see him down here.
*Only the Dean has ever even been in here,* he thought, feeling rather
puzzled.
Ranma set the system into standby mode with a few clicks on the
keyboard. Most of the components hummed down into a low-energy
use setting, the monitor blinking off. Ranma set the headset up onto
the workbench with the rest of the equipment and flipped a tarp over
the lot of it.
There was another loud banging at the door.
"I hear ya!" shouted Ranma. "Hold on, and I'll be right there!" He
walked over and unlocked the door, expecting to see the Dean on the
other side of the door.
Ranma was very surprised to see Akane Tendou standing outside
the door. His eyes went wide, and he tried to shut the door in her face.
Akane quickly slammed her foot down in the space, blocking the door
from closing.
"Oh no you don't, Saotome," Akane said in calm tones. She pushed
the door back open against his half-hearted resistance. "You and I
have some unfinished business to deal with. I came to find a man to
challenge my skill, but instead I find a boy cowering in the basement."
She entered the lab in a single stride and shut the door behind her.
Ranma sighed. *This is not what I want to deal with right now.*
Akane looked around Ranma's lab space with some interest. It
didn't look like much to her. A tarp covering something on the large
table in the middle of the room caught her eye. She walked towards it,
and Ranma made a move to block her, but she managed to dodge
around him.
"So this is where you go to hide every afternoon?" she asked with a
frown. "You don't know how hard it was for me to find you down
here." Akane lifted up one corner of the tarp covering his equipment.
"So what's under here?"
"That's sensitive equipment that I'm working with," said Ranma
stiffly. "It's nothing that someone like you would ever be interested
in." Ranma quickly tugged the tarp corner back down. Akane pulled
it back up, and added a glare in Ranma's direction for good measure.
Ranma pulled it back down once more, and returned the glare.
"Just let me see it, Saotome," said Akane through slightly gritted
teeth. "Don't make me have to hurt you... again." Without waiting for
a reply, she slugged him in the jaw. Surprised by the suddenness of
the attack, Ranma flew back, bounced off of the couch with a notable
lack of grace, and landed face-down on the concrete with a soft thud.
"Ow," Ranma muttered to himself as he raised himself off of the
floor. *Why doesn't this uncute tomboy just leave me alone?* he
thought with a grumble.
Meanwhile, Akane was looking over his equipment with a great
deal of interest. She casually dropped the tarp on top of Ranma's
prone form. Ranma muttered softly about violent tomboys from
psychotic families while he was underneath the tarp, before pulling it
off of himself and standing up. Akane looked innocently at him.
"Ready to fight me now?" she said with a teasing grin. When he
didn't make any response, she slowly started flipping a few switches on
the console. Ranma felt his face twitch each time she did.
"Believe me, I'm considering it," said Ranma softly, going over to
the other side of the table in an attempt to calm down.
"Oh?" said Akane with a bright smile. She slowly clenched her
hands into loose fists, turning to look at him with a sly look. "Really?"
"Look, Tendou," Ranma said, sitting back in his chair as he spoke.
"I have no interest in whatever sick fantasy you have about me. I'm a
scholar, not a fighter." Akane glared at him venomously.
"That's not it at all!" Akane shouted at him. She stomped over to
him and loomed over him in the chair. "I've fought my way through
almost every male cadet at this Academy. None of them have been a
challenge for me. You were a pathetic joke when you first arrived, so I
never bothered really fighting you."
Ranma felt himself tense at the insult. *Uncute tomboy,* was the
lightest of curses that he hurled at her in his thoughts.
"Then I saw you yesterday..." Akane said, her expression softening
into a seductive smile. Ranma found that to be even more disturbing
than her anger, for some reason.
"I wasn't myself yesterday," said Ranma, as he tried to scoot his
chair away from her. Akane wasn't looking to be very stable in his
eyes at the moment. He wanted to put as much distance between him
and her as he could, but his escape was thwarted.
"I don't care!" shouted Akane. She quickly grabbed both arms of
his chair and looked him straight in the eyes. "I need a challenging
opponent to improve my skills. You have the potential, especially
after the way you fought me yesterday. I've never felt like this about a
boy before, Ranma." She raised a fist up under his nose. "Don't make
me have to be more persuasive with you."
A large bead of sweat appeared on Ranma's forehead.
There was a gentle cough behind Akane.
"Am I interrupting anything?" asked a voice that was surprisingly
familiar to Ranma. A somewhat hesitant female voice called from the
doorway. "The door was unlocked, so I just came right in."
Akane quickly turned her head to look over her right shoulder at the
unexpected intruder while her fist still hovered beneath Ranma's nose.
Ranma craned his neck to look past Akane, grateful for the unexpected
interruption. Kodachi Kunou stood there with her school bag held in
her hands before her. Her well-tailored, Blackhall Academy uniform
showed off her figure surprisingly nicely to Ranma's eyes. Ranma
blinked as he recognized her.
*Kodachi Kunou?* he wondered, his eyes wide with surprise.
"Who is this person, Ranma?" asked Akane with deadly calm in her
voice, turning her eyes back to look at him. The smoldering passion
that was in them so recently had been replaced by a jealous anger. Her
fist was still held in its position in front of his face, and he suddenly
heard the knuckles popping slightly as it tightened. He saw the lithe
muscles in her forearms bulging outwards a little.
Ranma swallowed down a suddenly dry throat. *I'm so dead,* he
thought, certain that his doom was upon him. He began to pray in his
thoughts.
"Dean Fuyutsuki sent me down here to see you, Saotome-san," said
Kodachi pleasantly, smiling sweetly at the pair. "He thought you
wouldn't mind some help with your project. I just know that it will be
a very great pleasure working with you."
The solid oak armrest held in Akane's other hand suddenly gave off
a loud cracking sound when she squeezed it. Her gaze pierced through
him, pinning him to the chair. Ranma wanted to answer her, but his
throat didn't seem to work.
*This isn't good,* Ranma thought in a mild panic, feeling himself
starting to sweat.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
My heartfelt thanks goes out to all of my usual pre-readers for all of
their comments and suggestions. A special thanks goes out to D.B.
Sommer and Michael Allen for their most detailed help with grammar
and plotting.