Well...

I suspect that, as Vince's sole fellow writer on this series, 
I ought to weigh in with my thoughts on his work.  It's 
really a pity how so few folks will probably end up reading 
it; between the Fire Tripper header (indicating a relatively 
obscure source) and the "spoiler" remarks at the beginning, 
so many folks will completely skip over this little gem.

And it really is that - so much of it has the feel of its original 
creator that the reader can practically imagine Rumiko-
megami-sensei coming up with a continuance in this vein. 
Certainly, the "dried bonito" sequence is particularly 
Takahashi-esque; Shukumaru's assertion that he "got 
lucky" to acquire the dried fish from some woman he'd 
rescued, and Suzuko's (understandable, considering HER 
recent experience) misunderstanding of the meaning of his 
phrase is just the sort of foot-in-mouth, poor-choice-of-words 
type of scenario you'd expect from the creator of Ranma 1/2, 
ne?

And, just as in the original, Suzuko meets herself... only 
this time, an older version of herself.  The epiphany of 
recognition isn't here, but there are other things to work 
out this time.  Personally, I was surprised that Shukumaru 
and young Suzuko didn't actually, uh, get together 
(especially given that older Suzu had apparantly 
encouraged them at first) - I half-expected that when 
she went back the seven years, she'd arrive newly 
pregnant with Shuhei (although, come to think of it, 
I'm not sure I caught the boy's age).  The jealous-of-herself 
concept seems odd (I can't see myself bothered in such 
a situation, but I can't see myself in such a situation, 
after all.  Gee, if ONLY I was competing with myself for 
Ran-chan's affections  ^_^ ), but it makes better sense 
with the ending assertion.  Besides, it's certainly a 
plausible interpretation.

In summary:  Folks, even if you're not familiar with 
FireTripper (and what with the anime being out of print, 
to the best of my knowledge, it's gonna be hard to 
become familiar with it at this point) you've gotta read 
this thing.  It'll bring you up to speed in no time, and it's 
an excellent story in its own right.  Kudos, Vince, and 
best of luck in future endeavours, ne?

Itsu mo,
Ucchan  ^_^