This is the second time I've posted this for a friend, but C+C is desperately required. Thanks.
From: Talen <talen_@optusnet.com.au>
BROTHER OF MINE
Standard disclaimers apply. Takahashi made them all.
PART ONE
Soun Tendo sat down quietly at the dinner table, sheafing through the
mail. A quiet ritual that antithesised the thundering rain outside.
Well, it always rained heavy and irregular in Nerima.
Two bills...
And a postcard.
On the front... pandas and bamboo. Chinese... Soun carefully
turned it over.
Tendo-
Returning from China with the boys
-Saotome
There is the soft sound of the postcard fluttering to the
ground...
And then the noise of Soun Tendo ecstatically bouncing around
the room, weeping tears of joy that threaten to warp the floorboards.
"Kasumi! Nabiki! Akane!" he cried, dancing around the room
joyously. Three girls gathered; one wearing a simple house-dress, with
long brown hair, another wearing casual gear with shoulder length brown
hair and a smug demeanor, and a third, wearing a much-used gi with hair
as dark as Soun's down to the back of her neck. It is clear that the
third was exercising beforehand.
"Yes, Father?" the tallest asks.
"Oh, Kasumi!" he caught her up in a hug, lifting her easily.
"I'm so happy! My friend Genma is coming back from China, with his two
sons!"
"That's lovely, father." Kasumi said, her feet a good five
inches above the ground. "Are they staying here?"
"Yes!"
***
Disclaimer: All the characters from the anime or manga series Ranma �
that are here are the property of Rumiko Takahashi and her spurious
leeching corporations gratuitously cashing in on her good idea.
All original characters are mine and will be defended by Boot, the
K-Mart Wonderdog, Beagle, the Finnish Stunt Badger, and Dubby, the Rabid
Wombat--wrestler and Mole Magnet.
Any correlation in this fic to real life can be put down to hard drugs.
Y�all get that? Good.
***
Brother Of Mine, Chapter 1;
So� which one is Ranma?
***
<this is Chinese,>
***
"No -way- Pop!"
Along a street in Nerima, in the pouring rain, a girl with red
hair done in a pigtail was yelling at a panda, running backwards and
gesturing at it as she ran. Her red Chinese shirt was soaked, plastering
it to her body, and her black Chinese pants, bound at the shins, were
similarly fated. She had a bundle under one arm, but her free arm was
making expressive gestures about where the panda could go, what it could
do, and with whom. Some of the epithets were not physically possible for
a human, let alone a panda.
The panda was desperately trying to catch up with the girl as it
lumbered on in the rain, water sheeting off its thick fur as it
blundered forward. Every time it came even close, the girl darted
backwards with alarming speed, somehow avoiding the paths of the
commuting populace. Behind the panda, a small crowd was beginning to
form that did its best to keep up with them.
"Look, Pop, I don't know or care about you, but I'm betting the
guys agree with me here. I'm headin' back to China for a cure, and I
can't believe you'd think I'd-Hrnnnffff..." she was cut off as a flash
of white from above ducked down and bit her ear, causing her to flinch,
giving the panda the opening it needed to knock her over.
The crowd buzzed about wild animals attacking innocent - if
somewhat crazed - girls in the street. Funnily enough, no-one was silly
enough to attack the creature as it bundled the girl up and began to run
through the rain.
Above, a lone bird gave a shrill cry.
The effect was ruined by it not being an impressive 'screeeeee'
of a hawk, but the half-dead 'kraawk' of a seagull.
People watched the street theater clean and resumed their lives.
Nobody asked how in the hell a bird was flying in rain like that.
A few moments later, a little boy wearing a bandanna and hefting
a pack that was several times bigger than him scampered randomly through
the rain, calling, "C�mon, guys! Where are yooouu?"
***
The door slid open and the panda dropped in, seemingly exhausted. The
girl in its arms stirred, woke up, and pulled herself out of its
clutches. "Stupid old man." she muttered, and turned.
And looked straight at Nabiki Tendo.
"Who're you?"
The girl looked around. Soun Tendo's dance had finally quieted,
but now he sat impatiently waiting for his friend to appear with his
sons. Nabiki sat calmly reading a book, slightly rattled by the presence
of the gigantic panda, and Kasumi and Akane were cleaning out the guest
room.
"Me? I�m Ranma Saotome." She tried dragging the panda�s rear
quarters out of the rain. "Sorry �bout this, Po-" she was cut off as
Soun swept her up in a suffocating embrace.
"I�m sooo happy!!!" he paused. "Where is Genma? Or your
brother�"
"Kuroma." Ranma said, disentangling himself from Soun. "He�s
there." She pointed at the gull sitting on the panda�s back. It was an
ugly gray seagull.
There were a few seconds in which a penny dropped.
"WAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!" Soun bawled. "He�s a ranting lunatic!!" he
dropped to his knees and began to cry.
Ranma dropped to his knees next to him. "Geeze. Calm down.
Sheesh�"
The way Ranma was bending made something obvious to Soun.
Glancing at the girl�s breasts he suddenly began wailing all the louder.
The bird looked up and cocked its head to the side, shaking its
head in an almost human expression of disgust. After a few seconds, it
took wing and circled the room, winding through the door, into the hall.
Nabiki stood up and followed it while the redhead girl tried to
console Soun and try to explain something. Sheesh, why bother when she,
Nabiki, was in the room and in full control of her senses?
Her avian pursuits lead to the kitchen. The bird landed on the
handle of the kettle and began pecking at it desperately.
"Hey!" Nabiki grabbed something near to swat at it with -
conveniently getting a wooden spoon. Oh well. "Get out of here, you
messy bird!" she dived forward. The bird easily flew off the handle,
making Nabiki miss it altogether, her momentum carrying her across the
kitchen and into a porcelain cup, which broke as she hit it.
"Agh!" she leaped to the side as the bird circled the room
again. Nabiki growled and darted after it, attempting to slug it with
the spoon. Miss, miss, miss, grrrrr� there goes a cookie jar full of
Akane�s cooking, oh well, no loss, swing, whoosh, whoops, I hope that�s
not a good teacup, swing, or that one�
The bird cut its flight short as it came near the doorway.
"I�ve got you now�" Nabiki grabbed the kettle and flung it
overarm at the bird.
As the bird�s eyes filled with a sense of dread, a realization
hit Nabiki.
The kettle was full. And it had been boiling.
Whoops.
" Agh!!!"
Soun leapt up. "Something is happening to my daughter!" he leapt
into the next room, tears forgotten.
Ranma looked at the silent heap of Panda in the doorway.
"Geeze�" she muttered.
"Hey, what�s going on?"
A girl with long hair poked her head around the corner of the
doorway. Ranma looked up. "Not much. I�m Ranma Saotome." She waved a
hand lazily. "Hi."
"Dad�s friend? Is that your pet panda?"
She looked down at the furred bulk. "Oh, Pop? Nah. Not most of
the time." She stood up and stepped off the panda�s head. "So, who�re
you?"
Akane grinned. "I�m Akane Tendo."
There were a few moments of silence. Considering what was about
to unfold in the kitchen, these moments were jewels of red in a white
desert.
"So�"
"So?" Ranma said.
"You do martial arts?"
"Hell, yeah. I�m the best."
Akane looked at her warily. "Want to test that claim?"
Ranma grinned. "By all means."
***
Akane puffed and sweated. So far, she�d unleashed practically everything
she had at Ranma, who had dived, ducked, stepped and glided out of her
way easily. Yet, she had not yet once thrown a punch back at her.
Cursing inwardly, she released another barrage of punches at the
redheaded girl�
Which once more, failed to hit. She was getting annoyed.
The fight had started normal, nothing unusual. Saotome had
stated from the outset that she didn�t hit girls - for some bizarre
reason, - and they had begun.
And not once had Akane hit her, nor had the girl struck back.
"Fight for real!" Akane yelled in frustration.
"Why would I? I don�t hit girls!" Ranma replied, casually being
missed once more.
Akane grunted in rage and pressed her attack.
Ranma watched her incoming assault with dispassionate curiosity,
not moving this time. Akane just raised both hands to ready for a kick,
when, with a blurring speed, the girl arced forward, her arms swinging
outward, roughly slapping Akane�s hands away from her chest, before
Ranma raised her knee to just under Akane�s stomach, not making contact.
Then, with a methodical precision, she wrapped her arms around Akane�s
shoulders and, avoiding looking her in the eyes, lifted her up into the
air, before lowering her feet to the floor. Raising herself slightly
with her feet, Ranma unbalanced the pair of them, sending them to the
ground, Ranma landing with one hand on the ground to support herself,
her other hand resting on Akane�s chest, accidentally. She seemed to
blush for a second, rolled over and sat on the dojo floor. Akane started
to laugh.
"I think I won." She stated simply.
Akane puffed several times in response.
"I�m glad you�re a girl," she said, breaking away and laughing
even more.
"Oh? Why�s that?�
"Because I�d-"
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHH!!"
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!!"
"What the?"
Ranma and Akane ran from the dojo to the kitchen once more.
"GET! OUT! YOU! PERVERT!"
Nabiki was belting at� a naked teenage boy in the doorway to
outside in the living room. who was clinging to the frame, resisting all
attempts by Soun to throw him out with all his might, his hair snarled
tight into a ponytail. But otherwise, totally unadorned.
It was clear that, while he wasn�t nearly as fit as Ranma, he
was more than a match for Nabiki, or even Akane. The spoon she was using
as a weapon was being expertly blocked.
However, he was no match for Soun and Nabiki at once, while
trying to keep from getting wet, so the oldest Tendo was making moves to
throttle him, and beginning to succeed.
"Kuroma! Umm� Mr. Tendo!" Ranma yelled. "Stop!"
Nabiki, excused from this order, continued hacking away at the
nude boy.
"Hey, what�s up, bro?" the naked boy, fending off the attacks,
asked.
"Mr. Tendo� I dropped some clothes back with Pop, could you get
them? And some more hot water?"
"Kuroma?" Akane asked.
"Yes�" Ranma rolled his eyes.
"Hi." The guy blocked another spoon and tried to walk further
into the living room. "I�m Kuroma Saotome�" he ducked another swing.
"And could you stop hitting me?!"
Nabiki failed to comply.
"Sheesh�" Ranma rubbed his eyes.
It was several minutes later. Nabiki was glowering across the table at
Kuroma, who was wearing his damp-but-not-wet clothes, and Ranma had
hauled the panda to a sitting position. Kasumi had come downstairs, and
now the assembled Tendos watched as Kuroma set up a bucket of cold water
and a steaming kettle on the table.
"Now� for now, we�ll just say we�re cursed." Kuroma said.
"Though these two are cursed a few times, with the brains of an ox and
an appetite to match." He paused as Ranma tried to hit him. "Now� Mr.
Tendo, to your knowledge, Po- Genma Saotome has two sons, correct?"
"Yes." he looked at them. "Twins. How could I have known� you
looked like a little boy, Ranma� and your hair-"
"Oh, shut up." Kuroma continued smoothly. "Now�" he picked up
the kettle and poured a bit over Ranma.
The red washed away and the Chinese shirt deflated as Ranma the
girl became Ranma the boy.
Soun just gibbered. Nabiki glowered at Kuroma a bit more. Kasumi
simply said "Oh my" as Kuroma would find only Kasumi could.
Akane was glowing red and seemed fit to crack skulls.
Before she could belt out Ranma, Kuroma tipped the kettle over
the panda.
A bald, naked, man in his forties to fifties emerged from the
flowing water as the fur vanished. A few moments of confusion later, and
he was wearing a white gi and a handkerchief on his head.
"Soun!"
"Genma!"
"Saotome, what is going on?" Soun looked sternly at his friend.
"Well�
Deep in Qinghai province, surrounded by mountains, lies a valley,
shrouded in a dark mist, suffocating sound, and light, an aura of
mystery, a dark shroud that shrouds the shrouded mystery of the land�
The place of cursed springs� Jusenkyo�
"Cut the crap, old man." Kuroma noted, dourly.
"Yeah, get to the point." Ranma snorted.
Genma coughed. "As I was saying�"
Genma stood, his form outlined by the rising sun behind him. Ranma, and
Kuroma, dressed in red and blue gis respectively, each holding a
backpack in one hand, stood next to a short fat man dressed in Chinese
communist clothes. In front of them stretched a plain deceptively dotted
with hundreds of small springs. Several bamboo poles jutted from each of
the springs, rising high above the waters.
"...legendary springs of Jusenkyo." the fat man, a guide, was
saying. "Each one of over hundred springs have tragic legend. Is not
used anymore because it is too dangerous. You no go in too deep, Mr.
Customers. Near the middle many, many very bad springs lie."
If anyone heard the guide, nobody registered it. Kuroma grinned
and dropped his pack. Then, with practiced cynicism and a dour
expression,
"I was not dour." Kuroma noted. "Disgusted. Disappointed, perhaps. Not
dour."
"You were being a grouch," Ranma muttered.
"You try sleeping on rocks and not be a grouch." Kuroma
responded.
WITH A DOUR expression, thank you very much, Kuroma spread his arms wide
as if to embrace the cursed springs. "Go on. This is it? Do your worst,
nation." He laughed.
Ranma looked over his brother�s shoulder. "Doesn�t look like
much, pop."
"Well, boys, neither do you, and we all know you�re a passable
artist� even if you two need a lot of work using the Senken Schools, or
your Twin Fighti-"
Genma was cut off as Ranma elbowed him in the solarplexus
simultaneous to Kuroma leaning his foot out behind him. Genma staggered
back from the cowardly attack and tumbled as Ranma followed up with a
snapped hit to Genma�s head.
"Come on!" Genma snorted, flipping to his feet -"
"Oh, quit covering yourself in glory, pop." Ranma laughed. "We LET you
get back up."
"Get on the poles and get ready. That kind of teamwork�s what you�ll
need later in life!" Genma hopped easily from the ground onto a pole.
Kuroma bent over and retrieved a long bokken from his pack,
grinning as he did so. "Come on, pop. We�re not goin� to go easy on you,
y�know."
"Hah!" Genma hopped onto yet another pole. "You�ll wish!" he
chuckled and danced easily along.
"Sirs! SIRS!" the guide hollered as the boys leapt onto the
other poles, one boy maintaining an artful - almost graceful - balance,
even weighted with his bokken, while the other one - almost identical,
but for the difference in outfit colour and the effort the armed boy had
put in to taming his hair, - arced from pole to pole with almost no
apparent effort. "You no hear -" he paused. "Oh, I give up." He sat
down, hands on his knees and waited. Why, he asked himself, did he ever
bother?
Ranma chuckled as he leapt from pole to pole, using his
increased mobility to herd Genma towards Kuroma, whose reach advantage
would force Genma to make a stupid attack.
Kuroma hopped over his father�s head, his bokken whirling in a
flurry of whisper-quiet slashes that regularly missed Genma, whipping at
the fatter man�s clothes with deliberate ease. Genma shot upwards with a
fist, preparing to strike his son in the stomach as he moved.
Damn, he twisted in mid-air, using that training his mother gave
him -
"The Fu-Dan-Ran-Bu." Kuroma muttered. "And I used the Rigyohonshin, not
the Bullet Dance."
Nobody noticed Soun pale.
Kuroma�s foot cracked into the side of Genma�s head, causing the bigger
man to spin crazily. As his arms flailed out slightly, a flying kick
from Ranma struck him in the chin.
Genma knew his limits and flopped off the pole.
Ranma grinned from the top of the pole and turned to his
brother.
Who, for all his amazing art and grace, tumbled off a pole.
"I did NOT." Kuroma snarled, grabbing his father by the front of his gi.
"The damn pole you fell off hit the pole I was on!"
Genma sweatdropped. "Er� I admit, I may have been in a poor
position to observe�"
"Perhaps because pandas have the worst eyesight out of any
animal of their type?" Ranma asked.
"What?" Akane asked, genuinely confused.
"Look," Ranma recommenced. "Since pop and Kuroma weren�t exactly
able to see�"
"Are we done?" Ranma asked, laughing.
"SIRS!" The guide yelled. "SIRS!"
"What?" Ranma turned to the guide, away from Kuroma�s spring.
Suddenly, a white bullet shot out of the water and clipped
Ranma�s ear. Ranma clutched his bleeding ear and tumbled sideways down
the pole, landing on the soft earth, rolling with the impact�
"SIIIIIRS!!!" the Guide yelled desperately, running at full pace
towards the trio, artfully avoiding every spring as he went.
And just then, a Panda sprang from the spring Genma had been
knocked out of, and took an expert swipe at Ranma�s form as he tried to
get to his feet. Ducking desperately, Ranma rolled back again,
And *sploosh*, into a spring.
"What has this got to do with how you -" Nabiki began.
"Shut up." Kuroma snorted. "Look, anyway�"
"Sirs, sirs, you fall in the Nyaniichuan! The Spring Of Drowned Young
Girl!"
"Pardon?" Ranma asked.
"Sirs, girl drown in that spring fifteen hundred years ago! Now
anyone who fall in spring, they become a girl!"
Ranma blinked and looked at the guide. "Whatever. Where�re pop
and Kuroma?"
"Mr. Customer�s father fall in the Shaomniichuan. Spring of
drowned Panda. Now he panda!"
Ranma turned to look at Genma. Then, sneaking suspicion leaked
into his head and he glanced down at himself. Opening his gi carefully,
he saw� no, SHE saw�
A pair of breasts.
Her scream echoed through Jusenkyo.
"POP!" She launched herself from the spring and aimed a
snap-kick to her father�s head. Halfway through the arc she doubled up
in pain, just as the panda swatted her in the head. Genma made several
vague gestures involving the unconscious Ranma.
"Other son, Mr. Customer?" The panda nodded. "He fall in the
Spring of drowned gull. He there on pole, sir."
"Krawk." Kuroma said.
Genma�s eyes widened. He proceeded to gesture.
The Guide shook his head. "Here, Mr. Customer," he said, handing
Genma a signboard and a marker. I find it work well for other
customers."
*Thank You.* Genma signed. *Do you mean we are trapped as this?*
"Oh, no!" The guide smiled. "You but need hot water and you
change back! But cold water change you back again, and sir-" before he
got any further, Genma began running away from the valley as fast as he
could, in some kind of unholy terror.
Behind them, there was another sploosh and Kuroma swooped off
after his father.
With that, Kuroma walked out the back doors, his face stormy. Ranma
followed, glancing back at Akane and blanching sheepishly.
Nabiki glowered at Kuroma�s back all the way.
Ranma cracked all his knuckles as the pair stood under the awning
watching the rain fade away.
Kuroma had always been the smart one. He had never had the flair
for the art that Ranma did - he had been tutored by his mother, largely,
- but he�d always had a good sense that Ranma lacked. Perhaps the two
went hand in hand.
Right now, Kuroma was sitting quietly and seething.
"What�s up?" Ranma asked eventually. He knew what was, but
Kuroma was a talker.
"It happened again� now they think I�m some demented pervert�
and add to that what Pop said�"
Ranma shrugged. "He�s got to be kidding. Anyway, we�ll get you a
cure as we get me a cure."
"I dunno. It�s nice most of the time� being able to fly. Even if
it is in that body." He paused. "It�s just the turning into a human
naked that seems to bug me. And it happens at the most inconvenient
times."
Ranma shrugged. "I think that Akane girl is going to kill me."
"Why?"
"Remember that look that psycho chick gave us just before you
knocked pop out?"
"Yep?"
"Same look."
"Ooooh dear." He shrugged and stood. "Tell you what� if it comes
down to it, I think you should be the one."
"Why?"
"You�re the right heir. I mean, you know more and more varied
arts, you�re better conditioned - physically - and�"
"And I don�t seem to be a pervert right now." Ranma finished.
"YOU PERVERT!!!"
Kuroma and Ranma turned at the same time to the door. "See, I
told you so-" Kuroma began.
Akane belted Ranma in the chin and sent him spinning out into
the rain.
"Or maybe I was wrong." Kuroma noted as Ranma-chan staggered in
out of the rain. "What was that for?" he demanded of Akane.
"You� You� You� PERVERT!" She, once again ignored Kuroma and
yelled at Ranma, before she ran upstairs, crying.
"Damn." Ranma noted. "I have to go change again."
Kuroma held up the empty kettle. "Pop needs more water than you
do, and a lot more than I do." he paused. "Take a bath."
Ranma nodded. "Hey, Kuroma?"
"Yeah?"
"Y�think he�s serious?"
"If he is, go for the old one. She seems to be the only one who
isn�t mad at the Saotome line right now."
Ranma slipped off her shirt and pants quietly and slipped into the
steaming water. He relaxed and breathed deeply, shutting his eyes -
which were _his_ eyes now, not hers, - and waited for the final changes
to happen.
Ahh� as his body slipped into its proper positions, and certain
bones recalibrated themselves, he contemplated his life thus far.
So. Cursed. Turn into a girl with the cold water, guy with the
hot. He still had nightmares about one day going girl and never turning
back. Kuroma�s feeling low because his curse got him into a situation
his precious skills couldn�t get him out of. Genma�s pleased as punch
because he�s finally got a chance to-
"PERVERT!!!"
God, he was thinking too much� even hearing that girl in here.
What brought that on? Maybe dad�s promi-
*WHACK*
Ranma sat up in the bathtub and glared around the room.
Akane was sitting on the other side of the tub, pulling her
knees up to her chest and trying to hide herself with one hand, with her
other hand balled up into a fist.
"Get out. Get out now."
Ranma looked at her, figured out what happened� and rolled out
of the bath at speeds that would have made a cheetah proud. Not even
Kuroma was that fast.
"So, Saotome." Soun sipped his tea. "Who do you think?"
"At first, I thought Kuroma would be perfect. He�s honest, kind,
and he�s a streak of his mother in him, which seems to me a good thing."
he looked moodily at his tea. "Considering what�s just happened�"
"Nabiki is out. And Kasumi� she prefers older men, I am certain.
Besides� Kuroma seems to have little in common with her."
"Oh?"
"She�s clean."
They both laughed heartily. "Yes, Kuroma�s not neat, that�s for
sure."
Another pause. "Akane?"
"Not for Kuroma. He�s not her type."
"Ranma and Akane then?"
"Perfect."
Genma and Soun shook hands and Ranma�s fate was sealed.
"Jusenkyo, huh?" Nabiki muttered, sitting down on her bed angrily.
"Pervert, coming in here and�"
She finally paused and listened to herself. God, she was talking
like Akane. Getting all hepped up over something that wasn�t his fault
and not her problem. She took a deep breath. She hadn�t known, and he�d
been doing what was, from his perspective, one of the best things. Birds
don�t like the rain, she thought. Don�t they?
She reached lazily for one of her textbooks, flipping to the
front of her basic biology. Yep, birds avoid flying in the rain. Which
makes that poor kid�s decision a perfectly viable business tactic. Now,
if only he hadn�t apologized so damn much.
Ah well.
She got out her notepad and began scribbling down information.
This�d be useful, she felt certain.
=================
Name: Kuroma Saotome
Sex: Male
Age: 16
Height: 5�9�
Weight: 90-100 lbs ???
Eyes: Brown
Hair: black, short
Associates: Ranma Saotome, Genma Saotome
Enemies: Nabiki Tendo, perceived
History: ???
Viability: ???
Misc: Becomes a seagull when touches cold water. No idea why. Ref to
�Jusenkyo�
Name: Ranma Saotome
Sex: Male, most of the time
Age: 16
Height: 5�10�
Weight: 90-100 lbs
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Black, pigtail
Associates: Genma Saotome, Kuroma Saotome
Enemies: Akane Tendo
History: ???
Viability: ???
Misc: Becomes a girl when touches cold water. Ditto Jusenkyo.
=================
Nabiki closed the laptop and prepared for bed.
Just then, Ranma tore past the open doorway, naked.
She paused and contemplated how recent events seemed to be
getting worse before closing the door and getting into bed.
She also made a note to set the alarm early and to lock the
door. No chances being taken here!
***
Ranma tore through the living room area, buck naked, black
pigtail flying in the wind. He was looking behind him and didn�t notice
minor things, like his excessive speed indoors, or the fact he was
naked, or the-
*WHAM*
Wall in front of him.
"Ouch." He slid off the wall and into unconsciousness.
*.*.*
" �scuse me,"
Kasumi looked up. She had just begun cleaning the kitchen after
the guests had given their introductions, and now, at the door, there
was a little boy.
"Yes?" She smiled and kneeled so she could look him in the eyes.
"Ummm�" he paused and seemed to take a deep breath. "Can you
tell me where I can find or take me to the Tendo Dojo in Nerima?"
Kasumi smiled at this little boy, who seemed tanked up with
nervousness. Kasumi was about to think of him as disarming when she
noticed something.
On his back there was a backpack that was fully a head larger
than him, and in his round, dark eyes, there was a certain element of�
oldness�
"Yes, you�re here�" she began, smiling. "Are you looking for
someone?"
"YAAAY!" He danced around, spinning easily despite the obviously
ponderous weight that he hefted on his small frame. He didn�t even
notice as his backpack gouged a deep scar into the doorframe. "I FOUND
it!" He smiled and stopped, then seemed a bit ashamed at his outburst.
"I�m sorry� have Mr. Saotome and Ranma and Kuroma arrived yet?"
Kasumi blinked. "Why, yes, they have. What�s your name? I�m
Kasumi Tendo." She smiled gently at him.
"Ryouga. Ry-ou-ga Hi-bi-ki." he stated, as though reading
something memorized off a slate.
***
Ranma sat up in bed, talking with Kuroma. Kuroma was on his side, trying
to drift into sleep, but not trying that hard.
"So�"
"Well?"
"Akane thinks I�m a pervert."
"Nabiki thinks I�m a pervert. I�m not losing sleep over it.
Besides, it was your fault; you didn�t leave your shoes outside, and
hey, she thought it was empty."
Ranma paused and thought about that one. Compared to Kuroma,
Ranma slept like a log.
"Well� you heard what pop said."
"Oh, come on. Like they�d put you with her. They might put me
with her, because I�m smarter, but they�d put you with that Nabiki girl.
She�s bright - or so Kasumi tells me."
"Kasumi�s nice."
"Yeah. Like mom. But not."
"But not?"
"Yeah. She doesn�t have a clue, really. Mom�s not that bright,
but at times she�s pretty cluey. And Kasumi seems dense as lead."
"Nice, though."
The two boys sat in silence in the guest room as the night
closed in. Their sealed packs rested in the corner.
Then, with a THUNK that would make anyone proud, the door swung
open, Kuroma shooting up straight like a ramrod. With a certain sense of
dread, he saw the little yellow-shirted, black-haired, bandanna-clad boy
leap from the doorframe to his chest with a bear-crushing force.
"Kurooooooooomaaaa!!!"
Kuroma had no choice but to respond. "Erk!" he said as they
thudded to the ground.
The hyperactive child darted over to Ranma and good-naturedly
shook him like a ragdoll until he woke up too. Kasumi watched from the
doorway, trying to mask her obvious worry at the child�s good-natured
wholesale property damage.
"Er, Kasumi?" Kuroma croaked, nursing his ribs. "Can you get us
a kettle again? Quickly?"
Kasumi nodded and hastily rushed downstairs.
***
Soun and Genma looked across the shoji board at each other. Upstairs,
the chaos that Genma had carefully avoided was ensuing as the Hibiki boy
began his wholesale destruction.
"Do we tell them now?"
"I think we shouldn�t have beaten around the bush. I mean, after
all, we want the girls to have some choice�"
"My boys are men. They�d do it anyway."
"Perhaps." Tendo paused. "Tell them tomorrow morning. Subtly."
***
Somewhere else, absolutely nothing was happening.
But it was happening somewhere else, mind. Totally unimportant.
*SPLOOSH*
"Just where the hell am I _now_?!"
Well� okay, it is kinda important.
***
"Spring of drowned YOUNG boy?" Kasumi asked.
"Yeahuh." Kuroma noted sourly, glaring at the kettle on the hot
pad. It was resoundingly failing to steam, a fact that was annoying
Kuroma almost as much as Ranma, who was having to contend with the
hyperactive and overjoyed boy who was casually flinging him around the
room. "The Xiaochiniichuan."
"Huh?" Ryouga suddenly darted to Kuroma�s side. "Whassup?"
Just as Kuroma�s shoulder threatened to dislocate from the
unintentional pressure the boy was applying, the kettle began to steam,
and Kuroma seized his chance. With a splash, Ryouga was doused and
suddenly, where a small boy was perching on Kuroma�s shoulder, there was
a bulky boy.
Whose added weight made Kuroma collapse.
"Aw, geeze." Ryouga picked Kuroma up easily. "Sorry about that."
He set Kuroma on his feet.
"Hey, Ryouga. What�s with the sugar rush? You�re not usually
quite that wired when you�re� like that�" Ranma noted, looking at the
shorter boy.
"Hm?" Ryouga shrugged, then suddenly remembered, breaking into a
melon-wide grin. "I found this place!" he put his hands on his hips and
grinned happily. "I was right behind you guys when Genma hit you, and I
managed to find this place in just under an hour!"
Kuroma wheezed. "I told you�" he coughed and hit his chest. "I
told you that you�ve got a better sense of direction when you�re a kid."
Kasumi blinked. "Kuroma, may I introduce myself to -"
"Hello, Kasumi," Ryouga bowed shortly, his respect radiating off
him. "Sorry for the door. And wall."
"And my ribs." Ranma muttered. "Come on, Ryouga, you can sleep
upstairs in our room."
***
Kuroma hauled himself out of bed slowly and looked sidelong at Genma and
Ranma, and, over the furred bulk of the panda, Ryouga. Rolling his eyes,
he strolled out of the guest room, his pajamas whiffing as he walked.
Nabiki sat up and reached for her camera unconsciously. Hmm� morning�
photos. Akane. Kuno-baby. Heh.
She sat up as money clicked into her mind and she prepared for
another photo shoot.
Kuroma rolled his neck and flopped into the furo, the warm water he�d
used to scrub himself trickling down him, reaching out with his foot to
touch the tap with his foot, starting the flow of boiling hot water,
even moreso than normal. Kasumi was probably already awake, as testified
by the already-full furo. Good� hot water was good. Always good. No
birds here, ma�am.
He leaned back as the water flowed onto his feet. At six in the
morning, he was the earliest riser of the whole Saotome clan - not even
mother woke up as early as he - but he�d always felt deader in the
mornings. Ranma would take a moment to wake, but after a few minutes,
he�d be fine. Kuroma needed a soak to wake up, that was sure.
Yawning loudly, he lowered his head and nodded off slightly. Not
sleep, mind, just the fainter realms of rest where sleep eludes the
seeker and pounces upon the unwary. Kuroma�d heard of people drowning in
bathtubs thanks to this. His paranoia kept it from happening, but he
always thought it�d be a fitting end for him, the bird-brain.
He shook his head and turned off the hot water with his foot.
Ahh� the water was painfully hot, but then, he was more than used to it.
Besides, with his tendencies, heat was an addiction.
He quietly sat up. Soaping off and drying off wasn�t the order
of business. Waking up was. If only he hadn�t his curse, then he could
just splash cold water in his face like he used to. He�d tried it once
or twice, but the only net result had been a wet and tired seagull.
Looking around the room, he saw�
*click*
Nabiki grinned. She had no idea what did it, but she�d been strolling to
Akane�s room, and here she was, and Kuroma was sitting in the furo,
totally zoned out, naked. Kuroma looked up at her as she clicked off a
few more shots, and brought his hand to cover his groin, blushing
furiously.
"Heheh. Horse in name and nature, hm?"
"Um?! What?! No!" Kuroma muttered. "No, Really!"
"Sure, sure." Nabiki grinned. Watching this kid squirm was fun.
His appearance of urbane intellect shattered and he wriggled like a
schoolkid.
"Don�t stress about it. I can keep your secret. If you�ll give
me some information about you a bit later."
Kuroma felt very, very small as Nabiki walked towards the
kitchen, whistling �Macho Macho Man.�
***
"Hurry up, Nabiki, we�ll be late!" Akane yelled up the stairs
"Oh, come off it," Ranma began from the doorway, "where�re you
going anyway this time in the morning, -"
"Son!" Genma materialized behind him. "Be kind to your fiancee!"
"Fiancee?!" Ranma whirled on Genma like he�d just ordered Ranma
to perform a detailed sex act involving a chicken.
"Fiancee?!" Akane demanded in slightly less descriptive terms.
"Why, yes, you two are engaged." Soun nodded.
"Whaaat?!" Ranma demanded, grabbing Genma by his white gi front.
"You mean that promise wasn�t just smoke?"
"It�s been decided on, Ranma, and you knew about it beforehand.
You will be Akane�s fianc�, and there�s no way out of it."
"Since when do I get a say?"
"You don�t." Soun noted from downstairs.
Genma�s face twisted in a sly smile. "It�s a matter of honour."
Ranma blanched. "Ak."
"True; we promised you two to each other many many years ago;
before you were born, in fact. To unite the school of Anything Goes
Martial Arts. And since Kuroma doesn�t practice Anything Goes, or at
least very well,�"
Ranma released his father and stormed down the stairs, scowling.
"Damn you, old man."
"Now hurry up for school! You�ll be late!"
"Honour?"
"Yep. He�s obsessed with it." Kuroma kicked a stone. "Two things
in his life. Martial Arts and his honour. I think it�s stupid, and dad
only has it when it suits him - which defies its existence, - but
Ranma�s got spine."
"Good lever." Nabiki noted. She paused. "Do you think they know
we�re already gone?"
Kuroma shrugged. "Doesn�t matter."
"So, honour�"
"Yeah, and I�m betting that your dad�s applying pressure to it
right now."
"What? Why?"
"Well, y�see�"
"The two schools are separated because� the master� taught us each
separate things. Of course, we are greatly skilled and mighty, but we
want the school united. Since we couldn�t do it ourselves, we had to
oblige our children to do it."
"But that sucks!" Ranma noted.
"Boy, you�re getting cocky. This is a matter of honour, and
therefore, you can�t shirk it."
"I�m not shirking it, I�m just very mad about it."
"You think I�m getting m-" Ranma swatted his hand over Akane�s
mouth. She proceeded to bite his hand until he let go. Fortunately, it
was long enough.
"Sure, sure, engaged, we�re fine by that, now come on, let�s
beat it."
With that, Ranma and Akane were out the door and Ranma was
running like all hell.
"Yep."
"That sucks."
"Indeed. It could have been worse. You might have had to marry
me." he laughed. "Naah, they�re smarter than that. They�d team an artist
with a brain, not a brain with a brain. Artist with artists, yeah."
"Why not Kasumi?"
"She�s nineteen, isn�t she?"
"Well, yes."
"Lovely as she is, I�ll pass."
Nabiki nodded. "Anything else? You practice Saotome style
Anything Goes, right?"
"Yeah." He paused. "Well, I don�t do it that well. I didn�t
major in it, as it were."
"What do you do?"
"I did a few basic schools. My mother�s sword school. Some old
school my old man made and gave mother." He shrugged. "Not that good.
Ranma�s a lot better than me. And you�re nastier with a spoon."
"Oh." Nabiki laughed. "You really need to explain fast, don�t
you?"
"Hell, yes." Kuroma noted, glumly. "Can I have the film now?"
Nabiki smiled. "Not yet. Now, about these curses�"
Ryouga sat quietly at the table. No-one else was there and there was
only a small amount of food left over from breakfast, which he was
picking through quietly.
"Ryouga?" Kasumi asked. "Why aren�t you going to school?"
Ryouga shrugged sadly. "Kuroma left without me." he sighed.
"You can still go. Nabiki dragged him out early�" Kasumi began.
"No I can�t." Ryouga rested his elbows on the table, then his
forehead on his hands. "I can�t find it."
"You just take a -" Kasumi began.
"No, no, I can�t. Really. I was really lucky last night that I
found this place." He sighed heavily. "I� I� Igetlosteasy�" Ryouga
coughed. "And Kuroma usually helps me out."
Kasumi sat down across from him. "Does your� other� form do
something to this?"
Ryouga blinked. His humiliating family curse� and she didn�t
mind?! He nodded. "Kuroma thinks that I lost my sense of direction a
while ago. Before I turned ten, at least. After that, I� just got lost a
lot. My parents seemed to expect it� so� they�" he pointed at the pack.
"I haven�t seen my mother or father for over five years." he sighed
again. "My curse makes me about nine or so, so I still have a sense of
direction." He sighed. "But I keep breaking things� and people." Ryouga
sighed heavily once more.
Kasumi nodded. "Well, if you can�t go to school, well," she
stood up. "Would you like to help me out today? I need to clean around
the house, and I�m sure you can help. And when I go to the store, I�ll
get you some thermoses for water. Then maybe you can get to school
tomorrow."
Ryouga�s face broke into a smile of joy.
Ranma belted along the railing at top speed, Akane running along at
ground level.
"So�" Ranma noted as they ran, "what�s the big thing?"
She rolled her eyes. "One of the guys said that anyone who beats
me in a fight gets to date with me."
"Sheesh. That�s pretty suck. That�s the sort of thing pop�d do."
She slowed down a bit. "What was with that, anyway?"
"They said we had to be engaged. I heard nothing about ever
being married."
She stopped altogether and looked up at him. "You�re devious."
"Hang around Kuroma. He�s even worse."
"Oh? And why is that?"
"He�s this bad all the time. I hope he doesn�t wind up shafting
Nabiki."
"Oh� that�d be one to see."
Kuroma looked quietly at his shoes while Nabiki trolled around the
school. She�d made him carry her books so far, but he could tell she was
going to do worse. Much, much worse.
Still, he noted, Ranma�s got it no better with Akane.
Akane knocked a hockey clubber for six. "Get out of here, you
perverts!!!" she took out a sumo clubber�s knees. "Get away from me!"
Ranma observed quietly from the wall. "You want some help,
Akane?"
"Not from you!"
He grinned and lay down on the wall. "Fine by me."
"Dog! Have you no honour?"
At that word, Ranma sat straight up. "Excuse me?"
The crowd had thinned to a battered field of unconscious and
beaten clubs. Educative force meets Martial Art. And Martial won.
Standing above the carnage, with a glittering katana in one
hand, a boy with brown hair was observing Akane quietly. Until, however,
Ranma�s offer of aid and her response.
"Regardless of whether she desires it, no man would refuse a
woman the aid she doth desire yet durst not ask for."
"Even if she doesn�t want my help, I should give it to her?" he
paused. "That�s just stupid." there was a pause. "I�d never cross that
gorilla."
"Gorilla?!?" the boy paused. "Who are you, dog?"
"Oooh boy."
"What?" Kuroma looked up.
"Kuno�s going to try and take on Ranma. Now, this is why I
wanted you here. Y�see, Kuno�s got a nasty toy that he thinks makes him
some kind of god."
"That sword."
"Yep. Family sword, he thinks it makes him more powerful."
Kuroma paused. Then, he sighed. "You want me to disarm him?"
"I want you to whale the tar out of him, Kuroma."
He paused. "�Scuse me? Ranma�ll do that on his own."
"Kuno�s good."
"Ranma�s better. If I could take Kuno, Ranma could in his
sleep."
Nabiki sighed. "Yes, but-"
"But what?" Kuroma asked.
"I have film. I want you to fight him, beat him, and I explain
later."
Kuroma paused. "Have you got anything remotely sword-like?"
"What??"
"I only know two barehanded styles. And one�s pretty underhanded
and I�m no good at the other. I need something I can use as a sword."
"What about that?" she pointed at Kuno�s glittering blade. "You
could disarm him, couldn�t you?"
"That�s his family blade!" Kuroma shouted.
"So?"
"It�d be like you wanting to use mine!"
There was a quiet pause.
"You have one?"
"Yes!" he snorted. "Rankai."
"You named a sword?"
"Hey, it�s my style."
"You have no style, boy."
He rolled his eyes. "I can�t fight without a sword well enough
to really beat this guy quickly. I should have brought Rankai."
"And why?" Nabiki rolled her eyes. "I mean, if you can use any
sword-"
"I see no sword presenting itself."
Nabiki rolled her eyes and looked around. The kendo club had
been the last wave of Akane-obsessive to be kicked senseless.
"Would this do?" she held up a bokken.
He looked at it like a drowning man looking at a glass of water.
"Well. I suppose." He took it and strode on.
"Mayhap you wouldst come down off thy perch so we may parley in actions,
not words. Or have you no spine to match your tongue, dog?"
Ranma balled up his fists. "You want a fight?"
Kuno�s response was cut off as a hand tapped him on the
shoulder.
As he turned, a fist wrapped around a bokken cracked into his
jaw.
"Sorry, no time for honour, I have some negatives that need
burning."
"What?" Kuno asked, dazed.
That�s as far as he got as Kuroma released a blistering
combination of slashes, thrusts, and clandestine kicks and punches. No
words were wasted as the ponytailed Saotome did everything he could with
a blunt sword to an armed foe. He battered and struck, his knowledge of
nerve points swiftly immobilizing Kuno. With one final swing, he knocked
the sword out of Kuno�s hand and drove the bokken, parallel to the
ground, into the upperclassman�s stomach in a backhanded swing like a
baseball bat.
When Kuno hit the floor, Kuroma turned around and ran back to
Nabiki without even looking at Ranma and Akane.
"Hm." Ranma noted.
"What?"
"He�s not as good as you say. I was thinking he was at least as
good as Kuroma."
"And?"
"Kuroma was fighting below level there. He hates bokken. He
prefers Rankai." He shrugged and dropped off the wall. "We getting to
class?"
Water is an interesting fluid. The human body is seventy percent to
thirty percent water, depending on what textbook you read. The problem
with measuring that adequately is that at any given time there are a few
pints of �water� making up blood, urine and other fluid, and other water
compounds being shifted around the body. Therefore, at any time in the
body there can be anywhere from thirty to seventy percent water content.
It is also the only fluid in the world to appear in all three
forms in nature; ice, water and steam. No other fluid does this.
It is also a totally neutral substance with no alkaline or
acidic qualities.
It is also, Kuroma reflected, damn heavy when thumped in a
bucket and enforced as a punishment.
"Where does that guy get off? I�m new here! I don�t know the
rules, how am I meant to know that-" he began.
"Picking up another classman by the wrist and flinging them
through a tilting window onto a verandah is against the rules?" Akane
muttered sourly. "Just a guess."
"Hey, Ranma does it to me all the time."
"Well, yes, but we�re trained." Ranma noted.
"Well, belting me with the bookbag was excessive." Kuroma noted
to Akane.
"You almost killed him!" Akane yelled.
"Wha?" Ranma and Kuroma looked at Akane like she�d said the
single stupidest thing ever.
"He could have gone over the rail!"
"No, he wouldn�t have." Ranma noted, trying to understand just
where Akane was coming from.
"Oh?!" Akane demanded, in full swing now.
"No." Kuroma�s face was knit into deep thought.
"Just why is _that_?"
"Because I was holding his wrist." Kuroma said in his
�talking-to-idiots� voice.
"So, he might have gone over the edge and-"
"No he wouldn�t�ve. We�re better than that. We don�t go ape in a
fight." Ranma said.
"Fight!? Fight?! What did he do to you?"
"What do you care, tomboy?!" Ranma demanded, blindly defending
his brother, who had facepalmed about halfway through that sentence and
showed no signs of moving his hand away.
Akane�s fury increased.
"Hey, if it weren�t for you, we�d still be in there, not in
trouble or nothin�! I mean, hell, you didn�t have to get _me_ out here,
too."
"Well, you _did_ yell out in class, Ranma."
"Well, she was-"
"What did Kenji do to you?!" Akane re-demanded.
"He said you had a hot piece of butt!!!" Kuroma yelled in
response, exasperated.
The hall went very, very quiet as a blush unfolded from Kuroma�s
neck and flowed up to reach his ears as he realised how stupid the
statement was without the bad language Kenji had used.
Akane was being forced to revise her opinion of Kuroma. His
original persona had shown that he had, overall, much more brains than
Ranma, but he was certainly some kind of pervert. After all, two boys�
living alone� no friends� they made stories about this sort of thing�
At this point, the author belts anyone submitting him a Ryouga/Ranma
story.
�but, he seemed nice enough. And to beat up a guy for� being a pervert�
"You still shouldn�t have thrown him."
"Right."
"I�ll punch next time," Kuroma noted, chuckling to himself as
the situation visibly defused.
"Yeah, right. You�ve got no muscle in those arms of yours."
Ranma taunted.
"Hey? Who kicks whose ass every time he tries to use the most
basic Yamasenken? Huh?" His brother sniggered back.
"Hey, well, that�s-" Ranma protested.
Thirteen seconds later, Ranma and Kuroma were squaring off,
keeping their buckets in the air by letting go of them, swinging out at
the other, and grabbing the bucket again. It was dazzling to watch, the
speed and grace was amazing.
"How do you two-?"
*SPLOOSH*
Akane learned quickly about diverting Ranma and Kuroma�s
attention when they were juggling buckets of water mid-fight. It was a
technique that obviously took a lot of concentration. It was also
painfully obvious that it had been Kuroma who had screwed the rhythm
when she�d interrupted him. Ranma was still juggling his two buckets,
admittedly female, the dramatic size change not putting her off her
pace, and swinging pointlessly at a bird that was now nine inches tall
and clearly not compensating for its difference in size.
"Crawk." The gull bit her on the leg while waddling away. Just
as she was about to draw her foot back and convert the bird to a
touchdown, Ranma chose that moment to display an amazing talent in
Saotome Anything Goes Martial Arts Contortion.
"What�d you do that for, you stupid uncute tomboy!" Ranma
demanded.
Ie, putting both feet in your mouth at once.
*WHAM*
Kuroma was airborne while the brawl continued. Geeze, those two�
Far away�
Always a good place. Far Away, that is. That�s the best place
for bad things to happen.
Right now, bad things were happening in large amounts. Most
involved an instrument of blunt trauma (a mallet) and an object capable
of maintaining a staccato rhythm (Ranma�s skull.) From here, those
things are far away. From there, this place is far away.
It�s a wonder this Far Away place ever has anything done in it,
let alone maintaining that whole long, long, time ago deal.
Anyway, while we�re Here (tm), several characters are standing
on a beach. However, as the narrator has gotten all tangled up in their
tenses (this being a time of poortense,) we will now revert to past
tense; as we should.
<So�>
<So?>
The two figures looked at each other. One�s black hair, down to
its waist and covering its robes, fluttered gently in the sea breeze.
The other�s, kept short with one single, short ponytail, failed to
flutter as impressively. Both were taking a good deal of care to keep
away from the water.
They looked up. The gulls wheeled around, carefree.
<I hate them.> the long-haired one said.
<Gulls?> His shorter-haired companion asked, peering skyward.
<Yes.> He paused. <They live on garbage. And they�re dirty. And
look, they can�t even fly right.>
A hawk suddenly darted down like lightning and speared a
seagull. The bird was devoured by the raptor without the greater
predator ever slowing.
<She is impressive.>
<Yes.>
<She will never be yours, Mu Tse. If nothing else, because there
will always be stronger men.>
<The power of my love will conquer! If she will only see-> the
long haired one began to rant.
The other one sighed.
<Mu Tse, be silent.> a dry voice said from behind.
The boy stopped his diatribe. Behind him, a hunched-up old crone
with an oversized walking stick hopped over to the two. Only Mu Tse
turned to look.
<She will not be yours, ever. Get that in your skull. I will
have prot�g� here kill you first. Are we clear on this?>
<You would never do that! And he would never-> he began.
He stopped as the taller, short-haired man lifted him off the
ground by his neck, applying pressure to muscle groups with his huge
hands. A moment in which Mu Tse reassessed the man�s loyalty to the
crone passed, and then, he was dropped to the ground.
Behind the shorter frame of the withered old lady, a figure in
black robes was sinuously moving its hands through the air.
<Are you done, Sorcerer?> Mu Tse began, but was stopped as the
walking stick cracked into his nose and spun him around.
<Be silent. The spell is difficult, even for one of this level
of skill.>
Clouds gathered and swirled in a vortex above the chanting
figure, faint mist rising from the ground, arcing into the sky to become
clouds.
Mu Tse and the man just waited, Mu Tse gaping openly while his
companion simply watched. The withered old woman silently watched the
birds.
Without any kind of warning, a single, lone bolt of lightning
arcs from the clouds into the hunting hawk.
Instead of a lump of charred feathers dropping into the waves,
the hawk circled tightly, feathers whispering, and began to fly away.
Destination� Japan.
<Don�t be gone long, Xian Pu. I love you.> Mu Tse whispered to
the departing shape.
As if to mock his sentimentality, the hawk screeched its lone
cry.
"So, boy, how was your first day at school with your fiancee?"
Ranma blinked. The sentence in bits made sense, but as a whole,
something about it seemed wrong.
"Oh, just peachy, pop." Kuroma noted from his book on the
lounge. "We watched a certain female gorilla hoe her way through the
better part of a student body, I engaged an armed kendoist equipped with
a bokken, a guy insulted Akane, I threw him out a window, a certain
tomboy belted me in the head for it, and Ranma called her a violent
maniac, following which, we were sent out of the room where the violent
maniac dumped water on us both, beat Ranma up, chased me away, and then
tried to beat me up when I changed back because she hadn�t grabbed my
clothes in the hall."
"You insulted your fiancee?!" Genma demanded of his
older-by-twenty-minutes-son.
Kuroma shrugged and turned the page.
It seemed, to him, at least, to be a moderately normal-ish
afternoon. Well, as normal as any time they weren�t traveling somewhere.
He was on the lounge, dressed, sketch pad on the coffee table,
schoolbook on his knees and his mind far away, dreaming of flying. This
was a sort of thing for which Kuroma had hoped for a long time; a life
that was semi-normal.
Genma was berating Ranma. It was something of a sibling irritant
that Genma gave up on molding Kuroma into a �real man�, which was fine
by both; Ranma didn�t have Kuroma�s brains and Kuroma lacked the two
years of conditioning that Ranma had.
The additives were Kasumi, who was doing something motherly in
the kitchen, with an overly cheerful Ryouga helping her � Kuroma�s brief
interactions with the woman led him to believe that she generated work
in a sort of field, meaning that, at any time, she could be cheerily
busy � Nabiki, who was sitting opposite him counting bills, the ashtray
on the table, from which ashes of a burning set of negatives could be
found, and, considering how quickly Akane had pressed herself into
Kuroma�s perceptions of Normality, no Akane.
Kuroma had a bad feeling about that girl. She loomed up in front
of him like an iceberg and seemed to fill his immediate future, which
seemed impossibly short. It seemed that she had the reasoning capacity
of a Millwall brick, and the mannerisms of a Glasgow cobblestone.
Even if he got out of having her as a wife, it was more than
possible that he would never escape her as a sister. And considering how
wonderfully she seemed to be taking this engagement, it was clear she�d
make his life as hell as much as she�d make Ranma�s.
And so, his brain, in defense, had, like some kind of clay,
absorbed the shape of Akane and her abusive mannerisms into his
perception of just how things should be. After all, if one is to face
torture, it is slightly less terrible when it is some kind of chore.
And now, he could feel the slight buzz of her aura as her
oversensitive ears picked up the noise of her being insulted. Well, it
was with good grounds; he called her a gorilla, a tomboy, and a maniac.
Any second now�
"RANMA YOU JERK!!!"
Kuroma raised an eyebrow. Hmm. Interesting.
Akane was a blur as she streaked downstairs, pulling a mallet
out of apparently nowhere, and with an underhand swing, knocking Ranma
clean through the roof.
"WHAAAAAT�D IIIIII DOOOOOO???" Ranma�s voice rang back.
Kuroma glanced up from his book. "Hey, what�d you do that for?"
"You heard what he called me!"
Kuroma looked up at the hole in the roof. Then at Akane, who was
still glowing.
"Fair enough." He looked back at his book.
Author�s Notes:
Ah, yes, I finally made the first chapter.
Sorry about the lack of titanic events, but this is my first
chapter and I�m trying for orientation right now. Also some hints have
been dropped for future points, and I will continue to drop long-term
hints up to the half-way mark� feel free to e-mail me with �huh� and
�whuh?�, or C&C.
Okay, now, stuff I mention that you might not know�
Bokken; A bokken is a sort of wooden practice sword. According
to my biology teacher, they�re a good deal heavier than a baseball bat
and can do a good deal more damage, even hold a slight edge. They�re
used in kendo primarily, but I suppose you can guess that Kuroma doesn�t
do Kendo, Hm? Kuno, on the other hand, *does* do kendo.
The springs� I only invented the Spring Of Drowned Gull. I
could have used Duck, but Ducks aren�t that good at flying (we have them
near my house). Kuroma ain�t going to try swimming either.
Ranma�s attack on Akane� weeell, I hate to point this out, but
he didn�t attack her. He knocked down her defenses, incapacitated her,
but he didn�t attack her.
Yes, the Xiaochiniichuan does exist; it was used by Lukkosai,
and since, yep, you guessed it, he�s not turning up in here, I decided
to give it to Ryouga. Yes, I think Ryouga would have been a hyper little
bundle at nine or so if he didn�t get lost all the time. I don�t know
how much of his past is expounded in the mangas, so feel free to correct
me. It�s an alternaverse, so I�m bending the rules a bit - hell, a lot.
Akane�s psychosis. Er� for now, I say, don�t worry. I don�t see
Akane as a psycho-bitch-killer-slut-bag. It gets explained.
Translations for Arts and techniques�
Fu-Dan-Ran-Bu - �Wind-Bullets-Wild-Dance� - It gets explained in
detail later, but for now, it�s just a dodge technique.
Yamasenken - �Mountain of a thousand fists� - It gets explained
more later, but suffice to say, it�s REALLY cool.
Rigyohonshin - �Full Body Carp Wave� - a twisting maneuver used
in Manga 28 to get out of a bear-hug. From what I�ve read and seen of
it, it seems to involve shifting the center of gravity and as such, in
my opinion, can be used as an excuse for Kuroma�s course change in mid
air. It is related to the bearhug Ranma uses on Akane.
Thanks where they�re due, even if this is just one chapter. To the
prereaders;
Chris McNeil, aka Blade, for all the great pictures, info,
background, support, and all the other sick stuff (sick as in the
Australian colloquial for �good�) he does being himself. *chuckles*
Akogare no Blade-sama indeed�
Anand Chelian, for a contrasting viewpoint, even if he won�t
preread and for the above quote.
Bob Macfie, for his amazing chess metaphors and deep,
philosophical discussions - keeps me from getting to cheerful and
therefore losing my cynicism. Also kept me from getting a bit too tense.
LizMUN, aka Evil Kasumi. In the immortal words of Daffy Duck;
"Pronoun Trouble."
DaveCatt, aka The Leaping Gnome, for �Akane The Vampire Slayer�
and allowing me to have some input on HIS fic while aiding this one�
Tarou be kickething bottom!
--
Talen
Remove the b from .comb to e-mail
"Obtenez la Vache. M�fiez-vous du Fromage"
http://www.crosswinds.net/~kuroma/
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