Date: Mon, 15 Mar 1999 15:23:18 GMT
From: Gary Kleppe <kleppe@execpc.com>

                            HEARTS AND MINDS
                                PART TWO

                       Ranma 1/2 manga fanfiction
                             by Gary Kleppe

	As always, feedback will be greatly appreciated, and public
response is preferred.

Here ya go...

Preludes and previous parts can be found at
<http://www.execpc.com/~kleppe/comics.html#ham>.

                                 ______


	"Base to patrol four. Patrol four, report. Over."

	Corporal Sarlag spoke into his radio unit. "Patrol four. Entering area
C. Everything appears to be clear. Over."

{"Sarlag"?  What the *bleep*, er... I don't recognize the ethnicity of
that name.}

	"Good." Sarlag had heard stories about these so-called Amazons.
Supposedly, they were taught to fight with swords and clubs before they even
learned to read and write. They held combat tournaments where even the kids
participated. The whole point of it was to make them into complete maniacs by
the time they were grown up -- so that even with a shot-off arm and facing a
dozen armed men, they'd attack, just to be able to kill one more person before
they got blown away. Sarlag didn't want to take any chances with people that
crazy.

{"It's just a flesh wound!  Come back!  I'll kick ye to death!"  :) }

	Sarlag silently grumbled some choice curse words at the idiocy of his

curse-words

partner.

	"Yes. Thank you very much." Tofu smiled politely as he accepted the
plastic box from the flight attendant. Flipping open the lid revealed a cold cut

cold-cut {? iffy}

sandwich, a salad, a roll with margarine, and a few strawberries. Not exactly
the height of dining elegance, but it would satisfy his hunger nicely.

	He stared up at the ceiling as he chewed on a mouthful of lunchmeat, and
wondered about the strange effect Kasumi had on him. Was it love? Being near her
felt like flying too close to the sun -- its radiance blinding, engulfing,
burning away his thin, fragile veneer of rationality. But today, she had changed
something. Now, instead of flooding out everything else, her light glimmered
tantalizingly at the edge of his senses. There was something there that he
couldn't zero in on, couldn't comprehend.

{Nice.}

	It was true. *People don't like to hurt nice guys.* Yet, somehow, they
always managed to do it anyway.

{ouch.  Been there, so this rings very true to me.}

	He couldn't let the same thing happen again. Tofu promised himself that
he'd talk to Kasumi, find out how she really felt. Soon.

{But not just yet?  Careful, Tofu, "soon" can turn into "too late" quicker
than you'd think...}

	"As for my pop here, he ain't hungry. Matter of fact, I'll have his, if
that's okay."

{Ah, revenge is best served cold... unless there's a microwave handy.  :) }
 

	Head bent down, Genma held a paper sack under his mouth. A low gurgling
noise issued forth as he threw up into the bag.

	"Don't worry, Pop. The life of a true martial artist is filled with
airsickness. Right?"

{When... oh, that's right, Ranma grew a sense of humor.  Excellent.}

	Kodachi's mouth curved into a predatory smile. Her eyes remained locked
with Ranma's as she slipped out of her seat to stand in front of him. Tofu
gulped. They weren't... they COULDN'T be about to....

	"Ranma!" Shan Pu rose. "What you doing?!"

	Ranma turned. "Huh?"

	"You can no have fight here! This is AIRPLANE!"

	Ranma blinked. "No duh, Shan Pu. I wasn't gonna.... How stupid do you
all think I *am?*"

{"oh, about that stupid..."  :)  It's particularly amusing that it's
Shampoo, that inveterate abuser of doors, windows, and walls, who
points this out. This whole exchange dances somewhere between realism
and vaudeville.  Applause, and giggles.}

	A passenger stepped forward. "Excuse me, stewardess. There's a panda
stuck in one of the bathrooms."

{Oh, ick.}

	The man began to unbuckle his own trousers. Ti Pi's hand reached down to
her leg and found something metallic. The man leaned over...

	... and screamed in pain as Ti Pi's dagger sliced into his chest. Blood

{This an area in which I am glad to have no direct experience, but
I understand that the human rib cage has evolved to protect the chest
from slices quite well.  An upward stab might be more effective, or
perhaps a gutting stroke, especially given the starting position of
the knife...  Oh, yeah:  "You!  Out of the gene pool!"  :) }

leaked out of him and splattered down onto her shirt. She twisted the knife, and
the blood gushed faster and faster, and she smiled grimly, though she took no
pleasure in the act. The man's eyes gaped in dull astonishment, as if he
couldn't believe it could possibly end this way. Then they went blank, as he
stopped moving, his blood still pouring into a crimson pool on the ground.

	Reaching the rock's surface, Ti Pi began to crawl on hands and knees. As
long as she didn't stand up, the concave shape of the rock would make it
unlikely for anyone to spot her from below. Of course, if they had flying
scouts, she would be dead obvious, but she would just have to hope that that
wasn't the case. Her eyes scanned over the rock, and saw three people sprawled
near its edges. Closer examination confirmed that all three were lifeless. Each
had a narrow, bloody hole running through the head. One of them was Zhen.

{Another area in which I have no direct experience, thank goodness... but don't
bullets to the skull reult in neat entrance wounds and very messy exit wounds?
Or are you implying that these AREN'T bullet wounds?}

	"You? Who said anything about you?" Someone stepped through the soldiers
and took the seat beside Huang. Though her hair had turned whiter, and her face
bore many more wrinkles than it had, Lan recognized her immediately. A ghost
from the past, come back to haunt her.

	"Zhen Biaozi."

{Wait, isn't he... oh.  Got confused with "Zhen Ben" in the last scene.
Never mind.  For a second I thought REAL ghost.}

	"Let's return to the matter at hand," Huang said, his demeanor
businesslike. "Those of you in this room are guilty of treason against the
Mongol empire. The penalty for this offense is death."

Mongol Empire  {?  you capitalized Mongol Army earlier... on the other hand,
you're consistent about not capitalizing "empire" for the rest of the text.}

	"Thank you." The man with the gun stood back. Huang went around the rest
of the table, and all the other elders agreed.

	"Excellent." Huang smiled. "Now, you will all follow me."

{Tight, gripping scene, summing up the sitation nicely.}

	*No more,* Lan vowed to herself. The Amazons were warriors, but not
stupid ones. They died in battle only when necessary.

{This is especially important for a matriarchy, of course.  A group which loses
some of its men can recover a lot faster than a group which loses some of its
women; this is thought to be one of the original reasons for human sex-role
separation, which has men do the dangerous stuff.}

	Huang spoke into some sort of device, shaped like the bill of a large
bird.

{er... that doesn't sound like a bullhorn, which looks a lot more like a flower
than a bird-bill.  I'm having trouble picturing this...}

Amplified, his words resonated over the area. "This village is now a part
of the Mongol empire. You have no choice in the matter. Any acts of treason will
mean death, not only for the ones caught, but for any who might have reported
them and did not." He handed the sound device to Lan. A man stood next to her
with a gun, eyeing her warily, as if to remind her what would happen if she were

remind her of what

to say the wrong thing.

doing. Think of our history. I am sure you all know of the Three Years of Hell."

{...well, we don't, but I guess we can imagine...}

	At the major's direction, the troops began dismantling the fence. The
Amazons could go about their business, as long as they understood who was now in
charge. *It's not going to be that easy,* she told Huang silently. His troops
may have managed to capture the village, but the hearts and minds of the Amazon

might have {?}

people were unassailable territory, and always would be.

{Echo of the title, of course.  Nice.}

	At the adjacent table, Ranma argued with Akane. Kodachi had fought with
him on the tarmac as soon as the plane had landed, and once again beat him
easily. By the time Akane had made them stop, Ranma had been slammed into the
ground chin-first, kicked in the face several times, and slammed into the ground
again. The most he'd been able to do to Kodachi was to accidentally tear her
dress, revealing the black rose leotard underneath. Yet still, he'd wanted to
keep fighting, protesting loudly as Akane dragged him away. Kasumi admired his
dedication to his art.

{... even if others think it bullheadedness.  If you want to win, having
someone on your side who just won't give up is a virtue... and you can't
turn that quality off like a lightbulb.  Glad someone's cutting Ranma some
slack.}

	The source of her aura remained a mystery to her. But she was sure that
the only way to keep it was to stay a noncombatant. She knew that if she were to
take up fighting -- whether or not she used magical aids like the sensei's
clothes -- the aura wouldn't remain. And the danger, of course, was that someday
she might meet opponents who weren't affected by it, and be helpless before
them. But she had to be true to herself.

{I really like this notion.}

	"Akane and Ranma will be all right. They can take care of themselves
better than any two people on the planet. And Nabiki is crafty enough not to get

{"On the planet" is very space-age, Western thinking.  I think that way, but
I'm a techno-geek.  I think Soun'd say "in the world."  Your call, of course.}

near something she can't handle. But Kasumi...." Soun sighed. "Kasumi shouldn't
be anywhere near something like this."

	"She's had training, hasn't she? From that aged priestess?"

	"A few years. If she'd been able to start years earlier...." Soun wiped
his forehead with his hand. "I took those years from her, Nodoka-san. She had to
spend them cooking, cleaning... being the parent that *I* should've been."

{Ouch.  Can't say he's wrong, either.}

	"Possible is all we have." Nodoka smiled at Soun. She wanted to say
something to make him feel better, but she seemed to be failing miserably at
that so far. What advice was she qualified to give? By all reckonings, she was
much more of a failure at parenting than he. She still remembered vividly the
day on which Genma had taken Ranma from her. With the promise that he had
signed, there had been no way for her to refuse -- not without staining the
family honor. But it had hurt, and still did. Part of her always felt that Ranma
had run away from her because he had been unhappy with his mother; that Genma
had had to take him away because she didn't have what it took to be a good
parent.

{This, OTOH, is silly -- of Nodoka, not you.}
 

	A smooth voice issued forth from the computer speaker. "Windows
zero-three conflict error. This application will shut down due to an error.
Please reboot your system."

{Frighteningly plausible.  Of course, Linux could have taken over by then.  :) }

	"Mom and Dad get take-out *every* week," Hikaru said, as if he were a
lawyer arguing a case.

	"Mommy! Daddy!" Ririko cried.

	Nodoka sighed as she walked over to the stove, turning off the burner.

{Grandparents.  *sigh*  Hope R&A don't have to retrain the kids when
they get back...}

	Ukyo smiled at the clerk as she stepped away from the counter. She
walked along a narrow walkway led around the perimeter of the ice rink. Skaters
flew by on the ice as she passed. Pop music blared over loudspeakers, the lyrics
unintelligible. And Ukyo laughed. Autograph? As it happened, she was here to
collect Mikado's skull imprint on her spatula. The mark of a true fan.

{Hey, I'll bet she could sell it for big yen.  :)  }

	Reaching the other side, she stopped and looked around. She heard
Mikado's voice from a balcony directly above her.

	"So do you finally understand?"

	"Understand what?" Azusa's voice.

	"What I've been trying to explain for the past fifteen minutes!" Mikado
sounded agitated, frustrated.

agitated, even frustrated.  {?}

	"Never mind. The point is, she will undoubtedly tell everyone that she
has no intention of going through with the wedding. When that happens, I will
announce to all of her friends and everyone else how cruelly she broke her
promise and my heart by unexpectedly jilting me. Everyone will blame her, and
feel sorry for me. Legions of women will no doubt want to comfort me, while she
will find it impossible to even find dates." He began to speak slowly and
emphatically. "Now, do you understand?"

{I don't understand either.  Why's Mikado telling Azusa this?  I can see why
Ukyo's overhearing it, of course, but...}

	Ukyo silently scrambled up the steps to the balcony. The song coming
over the loudspeakers faded out. A new one began; Ukyo couldn't tell the
difference between it and the last one. And a new plan formed in her mind.

{heh.  Like like it when external reality reflects internal reality.}
 

	"Yes. My answer's yes. After all, what girl *wouldn't* want to be
Sanzenin Mikado's wife?" It took all of her self control not to giggle.

self-control

	Ukyo kissed Mikado.

{Wonder how much self-control THAT took...}

	Of course, Ranma didn't understand. It was clear to Tsubasa what Kasumi
was saying. Ranma, deep down, wanted to be a woman. How could he not? But his
male insecurity wouldn't let him admit to himself the superiority of the female
sex, so he struggled against it. It was obvious.

	Would Ranma really go to Jusenkyo during this trip? Tsubasa had no clue.
But *he* would go there. He knew a good thing when he saw it. And then all of
Ranma's women would be attracted to him.

{Oh, ick.  I had no idea Tsubasa was that twisted inside.  It's plausible,
though.  I foresee all kinds of bad things coming from this.}

	From the next room over, bedsprings squeaked violently, as voices called
each other's name in impassioned gasps. Ranma and Akane. It was a safe bet that
they weren't practicing martial arts. Mu Si sighed. How he wished that he and
Shan Pu could have....

{Aw, c'mon, do the "marital arts" pun!  Pleeeease?}

	Then there was Azusa. Sweet, childlike Azusa. It felt... wrong... to
even think those kind of thoughts about her. Originally he had thought that with
his help she might be cured of her autism, or whatever it was, and they could
get married. But as he'd gotten to know her, he'd realized how silly that idea
had been. It wasn't a disease; it was who she was.

{Nice.}

	Mu Si sighed again as he lay down on the bed. It was bad enough that
he'd never be with the one he'd spent most of his life pursuing. But lately, it
seemed more and more likely that he'd never feel the touch of a woman at all.
*Any* woman. And he wondered, why? Had the gods some special destiny in mind for
him? Or were they punishing him for some unknown misdeeds? Perhaps they had
someone perfect for him waiting until it was the right time to meet. He prayed
to the gods for an answer.

{And the 8-ball said: "Nice Guys Never Get Any."}

	"Great, see you in a few minutes! Oh, and don't tell anyone where you're
going, all right?"

	"Okay." He hung up the phone, mulling everything over in his mind.
Coincidence, he told himself. It *had* to be coincidence.

{...of course, even nice guys can hope.  :)  Cute.}

	"Akane, if I'm ever stupid enough to... leave myself open... around her,
promise you'll get me away. Beat the crap out of me if you have to."

	"I promise." She purred softly as she snuggled closer to him, savoring
the warmth of his body. His hand caressed her shoulder. Tomorrow, they'd go back
to the real world with all of its conflicts and complications. But for now, at
least for one stolen moment, she felt content.

	"Akane?"

	"Mmm?"

	"ONLY if you have to."

{Aww.  You KNOW how I feel about this sort of stuff.  Applause.}

	Abruptly, Saotome Genma walked past, barely acknowledging Mu Si's
presence. His face bore an odd, wayward smile, as if he were a cat who'd eaten
his owner's prized canary. From the numbers, he had come from the direction of
Kasumi's room. *No,* Mu Si told himself. There had to be a reasonable
explanation.

{*snicker*  Is she going to have a reputation when this trip is over?  :) }

	Kasumi disappeared into the bathroom, and came back out carrying
something. Mu Si stretched his neck, and saw that she had a teakettle in one
hand, and a large cup in the other. She moved around to stand behind him. "Now,
I want you to just relax, and feel your manhood."

	"Excuse me?" Mu Si said, embarrassed.

{You just don't lose a chance, do you?  The double-entendres are coming
hard and fast...  :)  Giggles.}

	In his mind, he still felt the other body's presence; reaching for it
with his mind, he changed himself into the duck, and then back to normal.
Jumping into the air, he cheered with delight as he changed forms at the top of
his leap, then again as he landed. It was like being cured. No, it was better
than being cured. "This is... incredible! How can I thank you?"

	Kasumi smiled. "Just go and win the fight."

{*blink*  Okay, that's plausible; I can easily believe Kasumi has taken
cluelessness so far that it's gone right out the other side to a Zen
artlessness capable of reshaping reality to The Way It Ought To Be.
But... Ranma's going to blow a gasket if Kasumi doesn't tell him about
this little trick REAL soon.}

	AUTHOR'S RAMBLINGS: The bit about the nanniquan not being able to cure
the curses is not Ranma 1/2 canon. In fact, it is probably wrong, since the
instant nanniquan provided a temporary cure in vol. 8. On the other hand, if
curing the curses were so simple, why don't people who get cursed simply jump in
the curing springs right away? Anyway, the assumption here is that Jusenkyo
can't be used to cure Jusenkyo. This is not canon, so please don't think that it
*has* to be that way because HaM said so.

{Good disclaimer.  I decline to take sides in the matter, and don't have
a problem with this "breach of canon".}

And please don't start an FFML spam
thread on this. If you can't think of anything else to say about this story,
read the "What is C&C" supplement to the FAQ.

	Thanks for reading, and as always, I'd like to know what you thought.

I think you oughta write faster.  :)  Seriously, this is good stuff, and
I'm enjoying reading it.  In particular, your taste for interspersing humor
and drama appears to match mine; too much of either gets tedious, but
trading off can take a story a long way.

Thanks for writing and sharing!


Vince Seifert    Network Analyst     seifertv@csus.edu
http://webpages.csus.edu/~seifertv/  updated 1998Jun04
CSUS hired me to build their network, not to speak for the university.