[FFML] [Ranma 1/2: Alternate Universe]Differing Waters: Chapter Two

I think me pre-readers have vacationed, and I've lost their addresses, so here's the second chapter, hoping they'll find it.

Also, if anyone's wondering of the status of The Slayers: Wild, here's a hint: think fifty percent :D

Troy Thomas

***

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Differing Waters
By Troy Thomas

Ranma 1/2 and its characters are the creations and properties
of Rumiko Takahashi. Excepting flames, if you have any
comments or criticisms, feel free to send them my way.

***

I can be found at the following addresses:
URL: ca.geocities.com/therealsilentnova/fanfiction/index.html
E-mail: Silentnova@go.com

***

Chapter Two

The early morning sun crept over her face causing her to stir
from a dream, which all excepting the feeling was quickly
forgotten. 'Melancholy...' Ranma thought, wishing to vanish
again into imaginings.

After looking at her father, his massive furry body hiding
his true identity, a former human, she quietly sighed.
Fallacy, her soul screamed into the silence of her heart.

Standing, she then walked out of the guest bedroom, perhaps
towards the future, into the dark hallway.

***

"School?" Ranma asked.

"Yes." Soun replied. "If you are to stay here, you will have
to attend the same school Nabiki and Akane go to."

Slowly and cautiously, Ranma replied, "Okay." Looking up, she
watched a large animal walk into the dining room, on two
legs. "Mister Panda, what are you doing today?" she asked.

The panda held a sign reading, "I will look around the
neighbourhood." The panda sat down at the table. "There is
always something for a healthy panda like me to do, if the
panda looks hard enough."

"Is Ryouga awake?" Ranma asked, after a blanket silence
enveloped the dining room.

"Good morning Dad." Akane said, as she entered the room,
before sitting down at the table. "You're up really early,
Ranma." she commented.

"I guess I got a lot of sleep yesterday."

"Akane, would you mind showing Ranma the way to your school
today?" Soun asked. "She'll be attending class with you for
the remainder of the year."

"Of course!" Akane, with a large smile, turned towards Ranma
and said, "That's great news, Ranma! We can become really
good friends!"

"Um, I guess..." Ranma ventured a smile. Strangely, it being
a great surprise, her smile felt genuine. "Sounds good to
me."

***

The door slid open. Nabiki slipped inside the room, and
tiptoed towards the form lying on the floor. Crouching beside
the form, she brought out from her persons a feather, and
then began to wiggle the feather's tip on the form's nose.

The form's face, which was Ryouga's mug, scrunched up, and
his whole head quickly shook, a natural defence against minor
pests.

"Wake-y, wake-y, Ryouga." Nabiki said. "You don't want to
miss the whole morning, do you?"

Uttering a word sounding like pardon, Ryouga then brought his
blanket over his entire head.

"Why can't people ever choose the pleasant option?" Nabiki
asked, a bit exasperated. "And after I went to all the
trouble of trying to wake him up."

Standing up, her hands on hips, Nabiki wore an expression of
indifference. "I suppose I should just wake him the usual
way..." She looked down at Ryouga. "But since he's so darn
cute..."

***

A shocked scream shook the house.

Bringing her attention upwards, away from Ranma, Akane saw
Nabiki walking downstairs with an empty water bucket over her
shoulder. "What happened Nabiki?"

"Ryouga woke up." Akane's sister replied, a smirk wearing
itself on Nabiki's face.

***

"Wow, you scream like a girl." Ranma said, as she walked past
the room Ryouga was in.

"That water was cold!" Ryouga said. He picked an ice cube out
of his hair.

There was a silence. "Ryouga, I guess I'm going to school
with Akane. Are you going to tag along?" Ranma asked.

Looking up towards the hallway, Ryoyga saw Ranma was longer
in sight. "Where are you?"

"In the dojo." A moment of silence followed Ranma's reply.
"Wait, I guess if you're all wet, you'll need to take a
bath."

"I'll just change my clothes. It doesn't matter."

***

Sneezing, Ryouga felt miserable. He sneezed again, punishment
simply for feeling miserable.

"Why didn't you stay at the house?" Akane asked, a hint of
annoyance tinting her voice. "At the least you could've had a
bath."

"I wasn't thinking." Ryouga wiped his nose with his sleeve.
"Besides, I'm not really getting sick. It just looks like
it."

"Just looks like it?" Akane asked. "Perhaps, but it also
sounds like you're getting a cold. What's with all the nose
wiping and sniffing?"

"I don't know, but I am definitely not catching a cold."
Ryouga stubbornly answered. "Besides, if I am getting sick,
I'll just sweat it out, or something."

"Humph." Akane sniffed, but quickly shook off her annoyance
to make room for anger. "I'll just go on ahead. I have
something to take care of."

"What do you mean?" Ranma asked. She looked forward, and saw
her answer. "Oh."

Before Ranma could ask anything more, Akane darted forward
with a growl in throat.

"What's with all the boys?" Ryouga asked.

"Beats me." replied Ranma.

A sudden movement to her right caused Ranma to look to her
left. "Nabiki?"

"Take care, Ranma, Ryouga." Nabiki smiled at the latter, who
in return scowled. "My little sister's about to fight."

A friend of Nabiki's added, in an exasperated voice, "She
does this every morning." The friend trailed behind Nabiki,
who was walking beside Ranma.

"Who's she going to fight? One of those boys?" Ranma asked.

In response, Nabiki frankly stated, "No, she's fighting all
of them." much to Ranma and Ryouga's astonishment.

Almost as though Nabiki's words were a cue, Akane threw her
first punch knocking a boy unconscious.

Shouts of "Akane be careful, he wants to beat you!" and "I'll
be the one to defeat you, Dear Akane!" littered the air above
Furinkan High.

Arriving at the school gates, amid many prone forms of beaten
and unconscious boys, Ranma and Ryouga stared at Akane, whose
face was covered with disgust.

"Fair Akane..." Ranma looked further ahead for the owner's
voice, past Akane, towards the school, and saw a young man,
dressed in traditional garment of a rich hemming, standing
before the front entrance.

"A dancer and strength, comparable to only a beautiful
stallion charging over the plains, you have once again set
soaring my heart, so intent only on you."

"Kuno." Akane uttered the young man's name quietly, slowly,
and dangerously. "Leave me alone."

"If I left you alone, how would I, how could I win your heart
and hand?"

"You never will, so leave me alone!" Akane growled.

"Tch, so be your words, but your battle against me shall
betray your true feelings." Kuno drew his bokken, "Let us
make ready for dance."

"Akane..." Ranma began.

Turning around, Akane said, her voice concerned, "Stay out of
this, Ranma. You could get hurt."

"Humph, you don't just think I'll just stand here and watch,
do you?" Ranma asked, crossing her arms.

"It's a challenge between me and him! Stay out of it,
please!" Akane said.

"Akane! Here I come!" Kuno shouted, rushing towards Akane.
"Strike! Strike! Strike!"

However, before Kuno could reach Akane, somebody grabbed
Kuno's bokken, and then said, "Heh, if you're attacking
somebody, you should at least give it everything you've got.
Holding back is rude."

"Who are you to interrupt our match?" Kuno growled.

"Ryouga! You jerk!" Akane shouted.

"What match? You were just fighting to lose, loser!" Ryouga
responded to Kuno's question. "Don't hold back."

Akane gasped.

"What are you so surprised about?" Ranma asked. "A guy
usually holds back when he's fighting a girl."

It began to rain.

"Ryouga...get out of my way." Akane said, her voice trembling
with anger. "Just get out of my way."

"Huh?" Ryouga stepped away from Kuno, releasing his grip on
the kendoist's weapon.

Akane charged forward, fist clenched. It, her hand, quickly
connected with Kuno's face. "You jerk!" He felled onto the
hard ground, unconscious.

The rain fell, it's intensity growing.

Akane stood over Kuno, her face covered with rage. "All these
mornings...He could've beaten me at any time, because I only
just win when I fight him." She closed her eyes. "The jerk."

The rain wasn't noticed.

***

"My name is Ranma Saotome, I just returned from a training
trip to China. I've just moved into the Tendo home, and now
will attend school here."

"Thank you Ranma." said the teacher. "And who are you?" he
asked, looking at Ryouga.

"Ryouga Hibiki. I'm only auditing the class today." he
replied.

"Oh. I hope you find us to be fair and courteous, Mister
Hibiki." the teacher replied.

***

"Nabiki Tendo, I would ask you who that boy named Ryouga
was." Kuno said, his voice a whisper.

"You would?" Nabiki replied.

Kuno looked at Nabiki. "Please, no games, Miss Tendo."

"Alright, Mister Kuno, I'll be serious then, but it won't be
as fun." Nabiki began to raise her fingers as she counted off
Ryouga's points. "I guess you already know his first name:
Ryouga. His family's name is Hibiki. He carries an umbrella
around with him, and he's always wearing those bandanas."

"Humph, I already gathered as much, Miss Tendo. What can you
tell me that don't I know?"

"You mean, like where he's staying?" Nabiki asked.

"Yes." Kuno pinched the bridge of his nose. It was a certain
headache whenever speaking with Nabiki Tendo.

"Well, he's staying at my home, and..."

"Excuse me? You just said he's staying under the same roof as
Dear Akane?" Kuno asked, with a voice indicating he wouldn't
listen to any answer other than what he wanted to hear. He
had also shouted his question.

"Mister Kuno..." the teacher warned.

"Yes, Kuno-Baby, but not in so many words." Nabiki responded.
"He arrived yesterday."

"That...that..."

"Mister Kuno, outside! You are being a distruption!" the
teacher shouted.

***

Ranma stared at her notebook. The words had no meaning. They
meant nothing.

"Are you having trouble, Ranma?" Akane asked.

"Uh, not really. I'm just bored." Ranma ventured to answer,
silently hoping Akane wouldn't ask anything more.

The classroom door violently slid open. "Ryouga Hibiki,
prepare to die!"

"Huh?" Ryouga looked up, and saw Tatewaki Kuno. "You again?"

"Die, Hibiki!" Kuno charged towards Ryouga's desk, slicing it
in half with his bokken.

"Whoa!" Ryouga said, before falling forward since his desk no
longer could support him.

Lying with his rear end in the air, and his face planted on
the floor. Ryouga pushed himself up to a standing position.
"You know, that really hurt!" A carpet burn decorated his
face.

"It is but a hint of the punishment I shall place onto you!"
Kuno screamed, bringing his weapon horizontally towards
Ryouga's neck.

Lifting his left arm, Ryouga blocked the swing, and then
lunged at Kuno with an uppercut.

"No fighting..." the teacher meekly said.

The whole class looked at him.

The teacher quietly ventured, "No fighting, in the
classroom." He submissively pointed outside. "There,
instead." He sat down, and shamefully hid his face behind his
notebook.

"Those two..." Akane growled. She gripped the edge of desk,
leaving imprints of his hands.

Watching Akane curiously, Ranma was suddenly surprised when
Akane launched herself out of her desk towards Ryouga and
Kuno, who were busy trying to toss each other outside through
the classroom windows, which weren't open.

She booted the two outside. A second later, everyone was at
the window looking down at the two martial artists, who were
still fighting, despite the three story fall they had both
experienced.

"Whoa." Ranma said.

***

"Ryouga, you okay?" Ranma asked.

"Yeah." Ryouga responded, who sitting underneath a tree,
nursing a sore arm and leg.

"The teacher sent me to find you." Ranma said. "Lucky you
didn't try to find your way back to the school, or else you
might've never made it back."

"Right."

"Humph, something wrong?" Ranma asked, crossing her arms.

"Nothing that a long haired girl, who's nothing but trouble
can't make worse!" Ryouga grumbled.

"Trouble? Yes, I guess I was going to go to the trouble of
bringing you to the doctors, but I guess I'll only mess that
up too, huh?" Akane said, appearing from behind Ranma.

"Ack!" Ryouga fell backwards. "I didn't know you were there!"

"So you think it's okay to talk like about me when I'm not
around?" Akane growled.

Ryouga desperately looked at Ranma, who was leaning against
the tree, watching the sky. He looked at Akane, who was
angrily awaiting an answer. "I...I'm sorry."

"Wha..what?" Akane shouted in surprise.

"I'm sorry?" Ryouga asked, pushing back against the tree.

Curiously, anger forgotten, Akane looked at Ryouga. "What do
you mean by that?"

"I mean, I'm sorry. You're right. I shouldn't be talking
about you behind your back. I shouldn't be talking about you
at all, if I don't have anything good to say." Ryouga began
to blush. "It's a mean thing to do."

There was a moment's silence, before Ranma said, "Corny."
Turning about, she began to walk away. "Well, I guess we
should get going to the doctors then."

"Wait up Ranma, someone needs to help Ryouga get there."
Akane said.

"Right." Ranma responded, before again turning around and
hefting Ryouga onto her back. "We all set?"

"I think so." Akane replied, smiling.

Again, Ranma returned a genuine smile. 'Twice in a day. How
about that?'

The three began to leave the school grounds.

"You know, I feel as if though we're forgetting something."
Ranma said, before they passed through the gate. "But it's
probably not important."

***

Blinking his eyes open, he saw the ground, far below where it
should've been.

"What?" he asked, in a groan, before tumbling down, hitting
the ground with his head, which left an imprint, in the
ground.

"That...that cretin!" Kuno said, falling backwards onto his
back. "He hasn't heard the last of Tatewaki Kuno, Blue
Thunder of Furinkan High!"

Lightning flashed and danced in the sky. Rain began to fall.

"From this day forth, I dedicate my life to..." he paused,
and then almost as if on cue, a thunderous explosion erupted
throughout the world, "the utter defeat of Ryouga Hibiki!"

End Chapter Two

***