[FFML] [Teaser][Ranma]Never Again

Hi all. I've taken a bit of a break from One War Three Sisters, but I hope to get back to it soon. In the meantime, I'm working on this my most current story. It's sort of a Ranma + Original Character story, one that's done (I hope) a bit more creatively than some of the others I've read (not that they're all bad, mind you. Some of them have been quite good.) Yes, this will eventually be a 'new character solves Ranma's problems' fic, but Amanda probably won't solve them in the way that most of you would first think.

This here's just a teaser of what will soon become a larger story. I hope you all enjoy. If possible, I like C&Cers to pay particular attention to the fighting scenes and some of the ranking terminology I use. If it's accurate, the quality of the fights, etc. I hate writing fight scenes since they take so long to actually WRITE, so I wonder if I'm skimping on them.

Amanda and family are created/owned by moi. Ranma and Co. are owned by the all powerful Rumiko Takahashi and affiliates.

Enjoy!!

Never again, she thought to herself. Never again.
Amanda fingered the school uniform with a feeling of distaste.
The jacket and dress was a dull brown with a white blouse and red tie.
She hated brown. In cosmological terms, she was a winter, and looked
good in white, black, blue or grey. The brown made her look pale and
washed out. If there was one thing she hated about Japan, was the
necessity of wearing school uniforms. If they ever moved back to
Canada, she would never let herself get talked into moving to another
country.
"All right, already, you look beautiful. You're going to be
late for school too, if you don't hurry up."
Amanda turned to the owner of the young high-pitched voice. She
looked back at her younger sister, Veronica. The thirteen year old's
dark brown hair came down to the middle of her back and was tied back
into a loose ponytail. Her hazel eyes glinted mischievously, and she
gave her older sister a grin before ducking back around the corner and
down the stairs.
"Like you care!" responded Amanda loudly, and then shook her
head fondly. The girl was all energy. Sometimes she envied her younger
sister and her limitless optimism. She herself tended to be more
reserved and cautious. After checking over her uniform one more time
and giving a sniff of distain, she ran downstairs and joined her
sibling.
Veronica was already eating her meal, some food left out by
their mother who had left for work an hour before with their father.
Amanda joined her, picking up a spoon and digging in.
"Why are you wearing your hair like that?" asked Veronica.
"Like what?" One of Amanda's hands went to her hair defensively.
She usually wore her hair loose and down her back. Today, she was
wearing it up, partly tied in a tight braid and bound by a leather thong
so she looked like somebody from an episode of I Dream of Genie with the
rest going down to the middle of her shoulder blades.
"Okay, if you want to look the weirdo, go ahead."
Amanda's green eyes narrowed. "Hey, we're both foreigners.
We're going to get enough flak as it is. I doubt my hairstyle is going
to make much of a difference. You remember what happened when we first
moved here, right?"
Veronica shuddered. "Please, don't remind me." On their first
day of school two years ago in Kyoto, they were both subjected to a wide
array of teasing, bullying and social ostracism because of their race.
It took about two weeks for most of it to wear off, and only the most
bigoted continued the persecution. They had both made friends,
eventually.
Amanda picked up a map and studied the route to school. It
would not do for her to get lost on the first day. "Why couldn't they
have enrolled me in a place like Furinken High?" she complained. "It's
a lot closer." Amanda traced the route to the school she would be
attending. The name was, according to the map, St. Heberiki High School
for Girls. The trip there was an extra fifteen minutes, but at least
she would not have boys clambering all over each other to get a look at
her like at her last school. Now, if she could just concentrate on her
studies...
"'Now, Amanda, your father has worked very hard and has managed
to earn him a position that pays well enough that he can afford to send
you to a prestigious school like St. Heberiki High, and I won't have you
being ungrateful for the opportunity.'" Veronica's speech was something
their mother had said to Amanda almost anytime she had complained.
Amanda rolled her eyes. "Don't quote Mom to me, okay? I get
enough of that from her, I don't need it from you. Aw cripes! I'm
late!" Jumping up from her chair, she grabbed her schoolbag and dashed
out the door. "See you later!" she yelled back to her sister. If there
was a reply, Amanda did not hear it.
First Contact
Amanda stared at the several buildings that made up St.
Heberiki. Her new home, six hours a day, five days a week. Six days
every second week. Sighing with resignation, Amanda entered the school
grounds.
The whispers started almost immediately. Amanda would pass a
group of girls and they would stop talking, stare at her as she passed,
and then conversation would continue, albeit in muted tones. Momentary
glances from the girls would confirm her suspicions that she was the
topic.
"Here we go again," she muttered to herself. "At least it's not
as bad as Takanomi High." She was interrupted by a high-pitched squeal
of laughter. Amanda could not make out first few words due to distance,
but it sounded like the owner was coming closer.
"...ma, with these delectable cookies, bake by mine own loving
hands, I, Kodachi Kuno, the Black Rose, will pave the way from your
stomach to your heart. Hohohohohohoh!!!"
Amanda shuddered at the maniacal laughter. Distracted, she did
not notice the other students were quickly exiting the area. "Where the
hell is it coming from?" She turned a corner of the main building,
trying to find the source-.
The next thing she remembered was lying on the ground, with a
soft weight on top of her. While not altogether unpleasant, it was
unexpected. What were painful were the aches of the collision. "My
cookies!" came a cry from the person on top of her. The weight left
her, and Amanda heard the rustling of cloth. "My cookies are ruined!!"
Amanda picked herself up, at looked towards the source of the anguished
voice.
Sitting on her knees was an Asian girl, looking to be about
Amanda's age, wearing the same kind of uniform. Her black hair was tied
into a loose ponytail at the right side of her head with a braid coming
down over her shoulder. She was holding in her hands a small bag about
one-third full of small cookies. The rest were scattered on the ground.
"Uhhh...sorry about that," said Amanda uncomfortably in passable
Japanese. "Are you okay?"
The girl glared up at Amanda. "You! Do you realize what you
have done? I work all morning on these! They were meant for my dear
love, but now they're not fit for the lowliest dog! How dare you!"
"Hey, look, it was an accident. I'm really sorry about your
cookies." Amanda fumbled with her purse and pulled out some bills.
"Here, if you want, I can give you some money and you can buy some for
your boyfriend-"
Kodachi contemptuously slapped the money away. "Do you think
mere money can alleviate the trouble you've caused me? I think that I
should teach you a sterner lesson than financial loss could teach."
Pulling out her ribbon, she began to spin it around herself. "Know that
it is Kodachi Kuno, the Black Rose of St. Heberiki High that will teach
you this lesson!"
Amanda could see where this was leading and desperately
attempted to defuse the situation. "Hey, it was an accident, and I
tried to make it up to you. I'm not looking for trouble." Amanda
turned away from Kodachi and began to leave the scene. "What could she
do with a gymnastics ribbon, anyway?" she said to herself.
"Turn your back on me, will you? You think I am nothing? Well,
the Black Rose will teach you different!"
Consequences
To Amanda's surprise, she felt something wrap around her waist.
"What the-?" Kodachi pulled, and with a startled shriek, Amanda was
pulled back to Kodachi. The ribbon unwrapped from Amanda's waist and
pulled back by Kodachi. Amanda stood and stared and the young girl.
"How did you do that?"
"Watch, and learn, cur!" Drawing two clubs seemingly from
nowhere, Kodachi hurled them at Amanda. With a cry of alarm, Amanda
dropped to the ground. The clubs passed through the space where she had
stood and slammed into the wall of the main school building, burying
themselves half way through.
Amanda gaped at them in amazement. She looked back at Kodachi,
her face a mix of anger and fear. "Those could have killed me!"
"Only if you were lucky." Kodachi aimed a kick in Amanda's
direction, but she rolled clear.
All right, Amanda thought angrily. I've had enough of this!
Standing, Amanda used all of her Karate training to knock Kodachi off
her feet with a foot sweep.
Kodachi was so surprised at the counterattack, that instead of
recovering with her usual grace, she fell heavily to the ground.
Launching back on to her feet, Kodachi glared at her opponent. "So,
you're not as helpless as I first thought. So much the better."
Kodachi again launched her ribbon at Amanda.
Amanda sidestepped the weapon and stepped in close. She
attacked with a series of jabs, but Kodachi easily dodged them all.
Jeeze, she's fast! thought Amanda.
Dropping her ribbon, Kodachi pulled out two more clubs. The
first she swung around in a powerful blow to the head.
Amanda blocked it with her left forearm, but the force of the
blow caused pain to blossom at the point of impact. Distracted by the
pain, Amanda could not react fast enough to block the second strike, a
jab from the other club in her ribs. The air whooshed out of her lungs
and she struggled to breath. The first club came around and caught her
on the left cheek. With a choked cry, she fell to the ground, clutching
her face.
"I'm not finished with you yet, girl!" Exchanging the clubs for
her ribbon, she began to mercilessly whip Amanda into submission.
Barely able to breath, with pain radiating from her forearm,
cheek, and ribs, Amanda curled up into a fetal ball and tried to protect
herself as best as she could.

It seemed like forever, but eventually the painful hits
from Kodachi's ribbon stopped. Cracking open one eye, Amanda could see
Kodachi standing over her, basking in her superior fighting skills.
"And let that be a lesson to you never to cross the Black Rose!"
Kodachi glanced at her watch. "Oh dear, if I don't hurry, I won't be
able to make another batch of cookies for Ranma." Kodachi let loose
with a last shot from her ribbon, as though blaming Amanda for her being
late. "Hohohohohohohoho...!!!" Kodachi's laughter faded into the
distance.
Amanda waited several moments before slowly unwinding herself.
Tears of anger and humiliation made their way down her cheeks. Looking
herself over, she seemed not to be too badly hurt. Aside from her arm,
cheek and ribs, her clothes looked fine, if a bit rumpled. Underneath
the clothes, she knew she would soon be covered in bruises. She wiped
the tears off her cheek, glaring angrily at anyone who ventured close.
Awkwardly making her way to her feet, she took a deep breath, and felt
the spot where Kodachi hit her on the ribs catch. Wincing in pain she
walked stiffly away, her head held high and defiant against those who
were even now whispering rumours against her.

Vice-Principal Otemi looked at the young girl sitting before
her. Pulling out a form, he popped open a pen and began to write.
"Now, who assaulted you?" he asked.
"Her name was Kuno," Amanda replied stonily. "Kodachi Kuno."
Otemi stared at the girl for a long moment, then crumpled the
form into a ball and threw it into the trash. "I'm sorry, but there's
nothing I can do."
Amanda stared at him in amazement. "Nothing you can do? What
do you mean?"
"You have to understand, the Kuno's are one of the most powerful
and influential families in Nerima. Not only do they have money and
prestige, but their father is a principal of another school and he also
sits on the School Board. Everyone listens to him." To himself he
thought, Only because they're too damn scared of him, the loony.
"The only thing I understand is that she nearly beat me
senseless! And you're saying you can't do anything?!"
Vice-Principal Otemi nodded. "I'm sorry." It doesn't matter,
he told his nagging conscience. She's just a gaijin.
Fighting back tears, she stood. "Thank you," she muttered as
she left.

She could not believe it. She had always been safe at school.
Before, her tormenters had hassled her on her way to and from school,
but left her alone on school grounds. The teachers had always stepped
in to protect her. It created bad PR when the foreigners went home if
they did not. Apparently this school was different. Here, she was
alone.

Amanda managed to make it to her second class a few minutes
early, having missed the first one while at the nurse's and vice-
principal's office. Quickly finding an empty seat, she sat down.
"Pssst!"
Amanda jumped at the voice behind her. She turned and saw
another Japanese girl with her dark hair tied in a tight pigtail.
"What?" she asked suspiciously."
"My name's Chiyeko. Chiyeko Matsu. What's yours?"
"Amanda Chambers."
"You're the girl that got beat up by the Black Rose this morning
right?" asked another girl sitting in front of Amanda.
A muscle high on Amanda's uninjured cheek twitched. "So?
What's it to you?"
"We just want to let you know that we're not all like that,"
replied Chiyeko.
"Yeah," said the other girl. "She's just the worst."
"Boy, you said it, Nomi. She works almost everyone who's new
over. Especially gaijin."
"But...but..." Amanda fought tears. "How am I supposed to
protect myself? I'm second Dan in Karate, but she went through me like
I wasn't even there."
"Second Dan?" said Nomi in amazement.
Amanda grinned in a depreciating manner. "Junior division.
I've got a year to go before I qualify for third."
"Wow," both of them whispered.
"Well, I can't help you with that part," said Chiyeko, who began
rummaging in her bag. "But I can give you the address of a great
doctor. His name's...uhhh...I think it's Tofu. Here's his card."
Chiyeko shook her head. "I can't believe I still have that thing.
Oops! Teacher's here."
Amanda took the card and smiled slightly. Maybe she was not
alone after all.

"Hello! Anyone here?" Amanda stepped into the front office of
Dr. Tofu. "Seems nice enough," she said to herself.
"Hi, can I help you?" Dr. Tofu stepped out of one of his rooms.
Spying Amanda he smiled and walked over to you. "Hello there," he said
cheerfully. "What can I do -" Tofu stopped when he saw the bandage
over her face. "Looks like you had a bit of an accident. Let me guess.
A softball right?" Tofu motioned for Amanda to enter the room he had
just left.
"No," she muttered darkly as she entered. Sitting down on one
of the examination tables, she looked around. In one corner was a
rubber skeleton. For some reason, it looked like it had suffered a good
deal of abuse, if the chips and tears were any proof.
"All right, let me take a look at that." Tofu gently pulled off
the bandage on her face. "Hmmm, that's a nasty bruise you've got
there."
"Tell me about it."
"Have you put anything on it?"
"The nurse put some rubbing alcohol on it, but that was about
six hours ago."
"I've got something better than that." Standing up he picked up
a clipboard with some papers on it and handed it to her. "I almost
forgot. You're a first time patient, so you'll have to fill out some
forms." Going to a cabinet, he began to rummage around. "So, what's
your name?"
"Amanda. Amanda Chambers."
"Pleased to meet you." Finding the salve, he stood and came
back to her side. "As you've probably figured out, I'm Dr. Ono Tofu."
Amanda smiled wryly. "Well, I'd hate to think you were the
receptionist."
Tofu laughed. "Yes, I can see how you might find that alarming.
Here we go." Applying the salve to the bruise, Amanda sighed in relief
as the pain quickly receded.
"Thanks."
"Your welcome. Now, I know that's not all. From the way you
walked in, you look like you're in quite a bit of pain." His tone
became fatherly. "What else is there?"
Sighing with resignation, she rolled up her left sleeve.
Surrounded by a family of smaller welts was the large bruise caused by
Kodachi's club.
"Wow, that's almost as bad as the first one. And what are
these?" He took a closer look at the smaller injuries. "Do they go all
the way up your arm?"
"Uhhh...well-" Amanda tried to figure out how to get him to
back off. Unfortunately, her ribs twinged, and she grunted in pain.
Tofu gave her a stern look. "I can't help you if you don't tell
me what's wrong. If you're not going to be honest with me, you can walk
right out that door. I can't help someone who isn't willing to be
helped."
Amanda gave up. "I've got the one on my face, the one on my
arm, another big one on my ribs, and a whole family going from my back
down to my shins."
Tofu's eyebrows rose up as she listed her injuries. Standing
up, he began searching around the room for something. "I'll need you to
undress," he told her as he searched.
Her eyes widened and she turned red as a beet. "A-all the way?"
she stammered.
"No, just down to your underclothes should be fine."
Face flaming, she scrambled out of her uniform. Tofu pulled out
a chart and put it on another clipboard. Walking around her, Tofu began
marking down the location of the injuries. When he reached the bruise
on her ribs, he tsked, and paused in his examination to put some more
salve and a bandage on the wound, then continued his examination.
"I'm done you can sit down now. No," he put a hand on her arm,
and shook his head as she reached for her clothes. "There are still a
few more things I want to do." Putting the clipboard on a counter, he
sat down beside her. He stared at her for a few moments, his expression
serious. "Amanda, the wounds you've received are similar to defensive
wounds." He put his arms around his head and drew his knees up to his
torso. "You were like this when you were attacked, right?" Amanda
nodded wordlessly. Taking a deep breath, he gave her his most intense
stare. "The large wounds were created by blunt objects like fists and
the smaller ones by a whip-like object, like a belt. Amanda, I have to
know. Did either of your parents do this too you?"
Amanda's mouth dropped open as she gaped at him in astonishment.
"N-no! They'd never do anything like that!"
"Amanda-"
"I'm telling you they didn't do it! I got into a fight at
school with some crazy girl called Kodachi. She uses Rhythmic
Gymnastics equipment like weapons. Her clubs and ribbon did it to me!"
Tofu nodded. "Ah, that makes sense. I've seen injuries caused
by her before. Usually gymnasts from other schools, though."
"You mean this style of fighting is normal?"
"In Nerima, at least. I've never heard of it practiced anywhere
else. I'll need you to lie down on your stomach."
"Why?"
"Well, first I want to use some pressure points to ease the pain
and increase the blood flow to the injured areas and help relieve the
pain. Second, I want to give you a massage on your back, arms and
calves. You've basically been pounded by a meat tenderizer, and if you
think you're stiff now, just wait until tomorrow."
"Ummm..."
"If you're that uncomfortable, I could try calling in my old
nurse. She left to work for her family restaurant nearby."
Amanda sighed in resignation. "No, it's okay, I guess. What do
you want me to do?" Tofu began to poke several points, and as he did
so, she could feel the delightful sensation of numbness spread over much
of her body. After about a minute, he stopped. "Wow, that feels great!
I barely feel anything, now."
"Good, because the massage won't be all fun and games. Your
muscles are tender and knotted up tight. It'll be quite painful at
first. If you could lay down now, please?"
"Oh, joy."
Starting on her shoulders he slowly and expertly moved his way
down her back. He was right; it was painful. Even with her nerves
dulled by the shiatsu she could still feel the sharp aches and pains as
he dug into the muscles, massaging out the knots.
"I usually don't let a guy get this far on the first date," she
managed to choke out between gritted teeth. Tofu had the grace to turn
bright red, and the sense of humour to laugh, albeit a bit nervously.
"Don't worry, Doc. I won't go around telling people you molested me."
"That's not something to joke about. Something like that is
quite serious." Holding up her arms he massaged the knots first out of
her right arm, then did the same for the left, moving carefully around
the large bruise on her forearm.
"I know, but I just couldn't help myself. Your reaction was
worth it."
"Yes, I suppose it was." Tofu was about to move to her calves,
but stopped when he heard the front door open.
"Hey Doc, you here?"
"Yes, Ranma. You wait there, I'll be out in a minute."
"Hey, Doc, am I glad to see you." The door to the room opened
and Amanda saw a young Japanese man with a pigtail wearing a red Chinese
shirt and black silk pants standing in the doorway. He sported two
large bruises on his cheeks, the bruises roughly the shape of palm
prints.
"HEY!" cried Amanda indignantly. She tried to move her arms to
cover herself, but Tofu's massage had relaxed them to a point where they
barely reacted to the signals coming from her brain. "Get out you
pervert!"
Almost faster than the eye could see, Ranma jumped back and
slammed the door. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" he cried, alarmed.
Tofu shook his head. "You'll have to forgive Ranma. He's one
of my regulars, and he's gotten use to just coming in and seeing me
almost any time. Here, let me finish up with you." He quickly worked
the muscles out of her calves, and then stood. "You lie there and relax
for a bit. I'll look at Ranma and be right back."
"Okay." Amanda lay there, enjoying the peaceful lassitude that
Tofu's massage had given her. I'll have to come here more often, she
thought to herself. This feels so nice...

Amanda slowly awoke a part of her regretting that she was coming
out of her sleep. She could feel a blanket over her, and she opened her
eyes. Sitting on the other side of the room was Tofu, busy filling out
some forms. At the sound of her rustling he looked up.
"Ah, you're awake. That's good."
"What happened?"
"You fell asleep. That happens sometimes. How are you
feeling?"
"Fine, I guess." The pain that she had lived with for the past
several hours was muted and distant. "How long was I out?"
"I'd say about half an hour. You can get dressed now." When
she had finished dressing herself, he handed her a small bottle of the
salve he had used on her bruises. "Use this twice a day on the large
bruises, and only on the small ones if they start giving you trouble.
Come back to me in about a week and I'll see how you're doing. Okay?"
Amanda nodded. "So, after your National Health Insurance subsidy, the
cost comes to about 1000 yen."
"Thank you." Paying Tofu, she left.
"See you in a week!" he called after her, waving.

Adam