Hello!  I've been lurking for a few weeks, enjoying everyones stories.  This
is the first fanfic I've written, and I never can judge my writing, so C + C's
are MOST welcome, please tell me if this story is worth continuing or not.  I
can NEVER think of titles, not even for school reports, so bear with me here.
Here are the first two chapters:


                                Chapter 1


     Ranma awoke early, as he did every school day.  His father would be
waiting for him outside.  It was custom for the two of them so spar before
sitting down to breakfast with the Tendo family.  Ranma walked into the
bathroom to prepare for the day.  He turned on the hot water and let the tub
fill as he removed his tank top and boxers.  When the tub was full enough, he
took a running leap and jumped in...*SPLASH*.  The water was cold!
     "What the-" sputtered Ranma-chan as she surfaced.  "What happened to the
hot water?"  Grumbling, she washed up and dressed in her gi.  As she walked
into the living room, she called to Soun Tendo's oldest daughter. 
     "Hey, Kasumi, what happened to the hot water?"
     "I'm sorry, Ranma, there is a problem with the pipes.  I'll go heat some
water now."
     Ranma-chan sat down next to the large panda in the living room.  "Heh,
got you too, old man?" she asked.
     The panda held up a sign that read, "No sparring today."
     Kasumi walked out from the kitchen carrying a kettle of boiling water. 
She poured the water onto the panda and Ranma-chan.
     "Ow!" cried Genma.  "Kasumi, dear, it doesn't need to be quite so hot." 
He turned to his son.  "Ranma, go get dressed for school."
     "Hey, what's up, Pop?  How come we aren't gonna fight today?" Ranma
asked.
     "I will tell you when we are all assembled for breakfast.  Now go."
     Grumbling, Ranma stood and went to his room to change.  As he walked down
the hall, he brushed past Akane.
     "Watch it, you pervert," she growled.
     "Geez, Akane, what's with you this morning?" Ranma asked.
     Akane continued walking towards the living room, ignoring him.  
     *Crazy tomboy,* thought Ranma.  Why did it bother him when she ignored
him?  He should be glad he didn't have to deal with her.  *Damnit, Akane.* 
Why did she get under his skin so easily?
     *Stupid pervert,* thought Akane.  She sighed.  She wished she could be
nicer to Ranma, but she was afraid that if she let her guard down, her true
feelings for him might show through.
     Akane sat at the table next to her sister, Nabiki.  Her father was
already kneeling at the head of the table.  Kasumi brought the meal out on a
tray and began to serve everyone.
     "Ranma Saotome!" called Genma, "hurry up!"
     "I'm coming, I'm coming," growled Ranma, as he took his place at the
table.  He stuck his tongue out at Akane.  She glared at him.
     Genma cleared his throat.  "Ranma," he began, "I know you want to know
why we did not train this morning."
     "Yeah, Pop, what's up?" asked Ranma.
     "We have to go away for awhile," answered his father.  He looked down at
the table, avoiding the hurt look in his sons eyes.
     "Oh my," said Kasumi.
     "Are you in some kind of trouble?" asked Nabiki, narrowing her eyes.
     "No no, nothing like that," answered Genma.  "Well, sort of.  You see --"
     "I see how it is," interupted Ranma.  He stood up and glared at his
father.  "What is it this time, another fiancee on her way here?"
     "Ranma!" cried Akane.  "Why don't you let him explain?"
     "No, you don't understand, Akane.  We've always been runnin' away from
something.  Even the trip to China was so HE could hide out from these guys
he'd stolen food from."  Ranma glared at his father.  "Well I'm not goin'!"
     Genma stood and faced his son.  "How dare you talk to your father that
way?  You haven't even heard what I have to say."  With that he grabbed Ranma
by the collar amd threw him into the garden, where he landed with a familiar
*splash* into the pond.
     "What'd ya do THAT for?" sputtered Ranma-chan.
     "Now you _listen_ to me, Ranma.  Yes, there is some trouble coming." 
Ranma-chan narrowed her eyes.  Kasumi gasped.  Genma continued, "I can't
explain right now because I don't know much myself.  I can tell you that it's
NOT my fault.  This time."
     "Look, Pop," said Ranma, pouring hot water on his head.  "Even if there's
trouble, why should we run from it?  We're martial artists, aren't we?  We
should stay and fight."
     "Ranma is right, Saotome," said Soun, speaking for the first time that
morning.  "If there's some sort of problem, we can help."
     Genma sighed and sat down, defeated.  "All right, Tendo," he said, "but
don't say I didn't warn you."
     The others returned to their places at the table and waited for Genma to
begin his explanation.
     "Ranma, do you remember when we were training in the forests of
Hokkaido?" he asked.
     "Yeah, that was when you were training my endurance by having me run up
and down the stupid mountains."
     Akane's jaw dropped.  "You _ran_ up the mountains?"  she asked.
     "Yeah, well, when you got a bunch of cats running after you, you get a
little motivation, ya know?" Ranma shrugged.
     Genma cleared his throat.  "Anyway," he said, "it was there that we came
upon a small tribe of savages.  They were less than thrilled to see us,
especially since we were sparring on their sacred land."
     "Oh yeah, I remember that," said Ranma.  "You went talked to the Chief
for a while and then we hightailed it outta there."
     "Yes, well, while I was talking with him, I sort of made a deal with him
to let us go."
     *Here it comes,* thought Akane.  "What sort of deal?" she asked.
     "Oh, just that Ranma would marry his daughter and then become the Chief,"
said Genma.
     "WHAT?!" shouted Ranma, Akane, Nabiki, and Soun.
     "Oh my," said Kasumi.
     "Dammit, Pop, how could you do this to me again?  How is this not your
fault?" asked Ranma.
     "Saotome, old friend, how could you have _forgotten_ our _arrangement_?" 
asled Soun.
     "Look, Tendo, it was the only way to get out of there alive.  There were
too many of them for us to fight our way out.  Where would out arrangement be
if Ranma was dead, hmmm?"
     "So what are you going to do now?" asked Akane.
     "Well," said Genma, "my plan was to run away and have you tell them we'd
died in combat."
     "Oh, I don't think you could afford a lie that large, Mr. Saotome," said
Nabiki.
     "What?" said Soun.  "They're coming _here_?"
     "Well, yes, you see, the other day the Chief's best hunter found me, and
I sort of mentioned where we were staying."
     Ranma, who had been hunched over grumbling this whole time, suddenly
exploded.  "Why?  Why is it always me?  Why couldn't _you_ have married her?"
     "Oh, come now my dear Ranma," said Nabiki.  "You know no girl can resist
you."
     "_Nabiki_," said Akane, "come on.  This is serious."  She looked at
Ranma.  "What are you going to do?"
     Ranma shrugged.  "I have no idea," he said.
     "Children," began Soun, "you had better get to school.  Mr. Saotome and I
will discuss our options.  We should have a plan by the time you get home."
     "I knew I could count on you, Tendo," said Genma, patting his friend on
the back.  "What do you have in mind?"
     "Let me _think_, Saotome!" said Soun, throwing his friend into the garden
pond.
     Nabiki shook her head as she walked out of the house.  She'd sell this
new information around school and make a mint.  Her life had never been so
profitable since the Saotome's came to live with them.
     Akane handed Ranma his school bag.  "C'mon, we're gonna be late," she
said tightly.
     Ranma's rage was hard to miss as he walked along the fences on the way to
school.  People on the street gave him and Akane a word girth.  Ranma looked
down at Akane, who was ignoring him with a glare on her face.  "Hey," he said,
"what're you mad at _me_ for, huh?  I didn't do anything."
     "No, of course not," spat Akane.  "You're always so innocent.  And now
you have _four_ fiancees.  I might as well just step out of the way."
     "Whaddya mean?" asked Ranma, jumping off the fence to walk along side
her.  *I knew it,* he thought.  *She can't wait to get rid of me.  How could I
have though that she might--*
     "Ranma," said Akane, interrupting his thoughts, "we're only engaged
because of our fathers.  From the way your dad engages you to everyone to
solve a problem, well, it just doesn't have any real meaning anymore.  We
should drop the whole thing."  A lump rose in Akane's throat.  *There,* she
thought, *I'm giving him a way out.  He'll probably jump at the chance to
leave.  To leave _me_*
     Ranma was stunned.  Did she mean it?  All the times they had fought,
she'd never told him she wanted him out of her life.  "If...if that's the way
you want it, Akane."
    "It is," she said, tears forming in her eyes.  She began to walk faster so
he wouldn't see.
     "Well, fine then!" he shouted to her.  "See if I care!"  He took off
toward the school at a run.  *I do,* he thought miserably.  *I do care.*
     Akane watched him run away.  *Fine,* she thought.  *He couldn't wait to
get away from me.  And I thought that he might...that he might actually...THAT
STUPID JERK!"  She began to run as well, but just so she wouldn't be late for
class.

                        Chapter 2

      Ukyo hurredly closed her shop so she could leave for class.  She hated
to close up every day, but the truant officer had made himself very clear
about her absences on his last visit to Ucchans Okonomiyaki.  *Oh well,* she
thought, *at least at school I get a chance to see my Ranma-honey.*  With that
last thought she gathered her school bag, and set off for Furinkan High
School.
     Ukyo arrived just in time to see Ranma running towards school at full
speed.  She reached out and grabbed his collar.  "Whoa, Ranma-honey, where's
the fire?" she asked.
     "Wha...Ukyo?" he asked, startled out of his thoughts.
     "It's me, sugar.  What's going on?"
     Ranma opened his mouth to answer her when a loud voice shouted across the
yard.  "Akane Tendo, I love you!"  Everyone turned to watch as Tatewaki Kuno
rushed at Akane, his sword drawn.
     Ukyo sighed.  This was the part of the day she hated the most.  Her
Ranchan would go running over to "save" Akane, and beat Kuno to a pulp.  She
glanced over at Ranma.  He stuck his hands in his pockets and walked glumly
towards the building.  *Ahh,* thought Ukyo, *they had another fight.*  That
explained Ranma's hurry to get in the building.  She smiled.  *Well,* she
thought, *_someone_ has to cheer him up.*
     "Hey Ranchan!" she called to him.  "You're not yourself this morning. 
What's wrong?"
     "Sorry, Ucchan," he said tightly, "but if I tell you, you'll probably get
mad at me too."
     "Look, sugar, sorry if you haven't noticed, but Akane and I happen to be
_very_ different people."
     Ranma sighed.  "Ok, I'll tell you.  But don't say I didn't warn you."
                **************************************************

     Akane felt her temper rise as she watched Ranma and Ukyo walk off
together.  *So!* she thought, stepping over Kuno's prone body, *he just
couldn't _wait_ to get to Ukyo.  No wonder he ran off in such a hurry.  What a
jerk!!*  She seethed as she took her seat in class.
     By lunch, everyone with 2000 yen to spare had heard about Ranma new
fiancee and his fight with Akane.  Akane had her hands full with potential
suitors eager to offer their sympathies.  Ranma watched as Akane smiled and
chatted with each boy that came to sit with her.  *What is she doing?* he
thought.  *No wonder she was in such a hurry to call off the engagement.*
     "Yoo-hoo, Ranma-honey.  Earth to Ranma."
     "Huh?  Oh, sorry, Ukyo, did you say something?"
     Ukyo sighed and smiled at him.  "I asked how your class was," she said.
     "Oh.  Um.  It was fine."  Ranma turned his attention to his lunch and
began shoving food in his mouth.  Ukyo watched him with a small smile still on
her face.  *Of course he's still a little upset right now,* she thought.  *But
 I'll be here for him even when she's long gone.*  She had a nagging thought
about Ranma's newest fiancee, but she pushed it to the back of her mind.
                *************************************************

     Akane forced a smile at her admirers.  Out of the corner of her eye she
saw Ranma starring at her.  She turned her smile up a notch and began to
flirt.  "Oh, Hiroshi, you're so funny," she said, smiling sweetly at him. 
Then she noticed Ranma had turned his attention back to Ukyo and her smile
faltered.  *I can't do this,* she thought.  Akane stood and walked out of the
lunchroom, not noticing that Hiroshi had passed out and was lying on the
floor.
                **************************************************

     After class, Ranma began the short walk back to the dojo.  He spotted
Akane walking ahead of him.  He sighed, and then called out to her.  "Yo,
Akane, wait up!"
     Akane's heart stopped at the sound of Ranma's voice.  *Cool it,* she told
herself, *he probably just wants to borrow money to take Ukyo out.*  Slowly,
she turned to face him.
     Ranma walked towards her, trying to keep his temper under control.  He
couldn't think of anything to say to her.  "I'll, uh, walk you home?" he said
lamely, after a long pause.
     Akane sighed and was about to answer when she found herself suddenly
facing a bicycle basket.
     "Nihao!" called out Shampoo, the owner of the bicycle.  "Shampoo bring
Ranma special ramen for dumped boy."
     "Urk," said Ranma from the ground as he struggled under the weight of the
bike and the Chinese girl riding it, "who are you calling dumped?"
     "Akane dump Ranma, yes?  Shampoo here to celebrate."
     Ranma stood just in time to see Akane's face flush with anger.  "That's
right, Shampoo!" she said.  "You, Ukyo, and this savage girl are welcome to
him."  She turned and stomped off towards home.
     "Akane, wait!" Ranma called.  "Wai--mmpph."  Suddenly his mouth was full
of ramen.
     "Is good, yes?" asked Shampoo happily.  "Shampoo now defeat spatula girl
and savage girl, and Ranma free to marry."
     "Shampoo..." he started.  He was about to try and explain the situation
to her, when he was interrupted by a loud voice calling his name.
     "Ranma Saotome!" called out the female voice.  "My husband!  I have come
for you!"


That's all so far.  Should I keep going?  Should I run myself through with
Nodoka's katana?  Let me know!  Thanks for reading :-)

        Yuffie Kisaragi