Enjoy,

Troy Thomas ^_^

***

Check out my writings webpage. Find my stuff. ^_^
http://ca.geocities.com/therealsilentnova/fanfiction/entrance.html

I hate my e-mail signature, because it's not long enough to say anythin
___________________________________________________
GO.com Mail                                    
Get Your Free, Private E-mail at http://mail.go.com



-- Attached file included as plaintext by Ecartis --
-- File: dw3.txt

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 Three

Ranma leaned against the clinic wall. While looking at Akane, 
who was caringly smiling at the doctor whose name was Tofu 
Ono, she sighed. 'She's really nice,' she thought. A moment 
passed before she redirected her sight at the ceiling.

Ryouga, his head tipped to the side while the doctor applied 
ointment to a cut, looked at Ranma, whose attention was 
caught in thought.

"You're Ryouga Hibiki?" the doctor asked.

"Yes," Ryouga replied.

"I heard about you. You came with a panda, didn't you? Had 
some business with Mister Tendo?" Tofu Ono finished with 
Ryouga's cut by applying a bandage. "How exciting."

"You can say that again," Ryouga admitted.

Tofu looked at Ranma. "And you're Ranma, right?"

Ranma snapped out of a daydream, and then looked at the 
doctor. "What?"

"You're Ranma Saotome, right?"

"Oh, yeah."

"From what I hear, the panda belongs to you."

"Not really." Ranma shrugged. "He really owns himself."

"Hmm..." Tofu smiled. "Earlier today, the panda was here 
looking for a job. What a strange business that was." He 
turned towards Akane. "I almost considered giving one to it, 
the panda seemed so interesting."

"You should've." Akane's face beamed with delight. "Mister 
Panda's really smart. I bet you two could've gotten along 
really well!"

Ranma was reminded of a wild flower, standing tall in the 
sunlight.

"I think I agree, Akane." Tofu turned towards Ryouga. 
"Anyway, we're all finished here," he said. "Try not to get 
into any fights, all right?

"Yes, Sir," Ryouga replied.

"We'll bring you home, Ryouga," Akane said. "And then Ranma 
and I will go back to school."

"Why?" Ryouga asked.

"Cause you're like a dog, I guess," Ranma said, to Ryouga's 
annoyance. "You've just had too much excitement."

***

"He's a really nice man, don't you agree Ranma?" Akane asked.

The two wayward students were returning to the school, having 
delivered Ryouga to the Tendo's without incident.

"He's a good doctor..." Ranma admitted. "Tell me, does Tofu 
Ono practise any martial arts?"

"How could you tell?" Akane asked, astonished.

Ranma put her hands in her pockets. "Just a feeling."

"That's probably it. He's really good," Akane said, pride 
filling her voice.

"You like him?" Ranma asked Akane.

"Um..." The girl blushed, and then turned away from Ranma, 
her gaze intent on the sidewalk. "He's a really nice man. Who 
couldn't like him?"

Ranma also turned her attention to the ground. "But..." she 
inquired.

"But, there's someone that he already likes, and..."

"Humph." Ranma shrugged and smirked, a little in sick 
delight, a little in depression. 'We're girls, but not me, 
really.'

"It's my sister, Kasumi. He gets so... I guess funny when 
she's around him." Akane said, a defeated tone in her voice. 
"How can I compete with her? She's just so perfect."

Ranma didn't answer.

***

Her bag was too heavy. Ranma groaned, the straps rubbing her 
shoulder sore. "Akane, I can't believe I missed this much 
school."

"Don't worry, I'll definitely help you out. I think Nabiki 
and Kasumi will too, so don't worry."

The school day had ended. The two girls were standing beside 
a water fountain waiting for their turn behind a different 
group.

"Are you sure?" Ranma asked. "It's a lot. Everything since I 
left for China."

It was Akane's turn at the fountain. When finished, she 
smiled at Ranma. "Don't worry, this is stuff I know about. 
It's easy. And with Nabiki and Kasumi helping, it won't be 
hard at all." She began walking towards the entrance door. 
"Now let's go."

"Right."

Outside, Akane scowled at the young man waiting at the 
school's gates.

"Tch. Where has the coward run gone?" Kuno asked.

Akane growled as she removed her bag. Before the bag hit the 
ground, she rushed towards Kuno, fist at chin level.

Kuno's bokken whipped out, and he quickly deflected Akane's 
punch, parrying with his weapon steadily held forward. "Dear 
Akane, I wish I had the heart to fight you. Alas, now my sole 
intent is the defeat of Ryouga Hibiki. With my noble quest 
finished, then we shall re-engage in our poetic struggle of 
love."

Akane's scowl grew. She quickly threw a flurry of punches at 
Kuno's head, only to find Kuno blocking every shot. She 
kicked low, but Kuno instantly stepped back. She punched 
high, but Kuno's bokken blocked the fist's way.

"Damn!" Akane turned from Kuno, and then punched a nearby 
tree. Leaving an imprint of her fist, she stared at the tree 
hoping it would turn away in absolute shame.

To her secret surprise, Kuno said nothing. In fact, she felt, 
knew his attention was not at all focused on her.

"You there, Fiery Red-Hair Goddess." Akane listened to Kuno's 
annoying words. "Tell your boyfriend he'll face defeat at my 
hands!"

"My what?" Ranma screamed.

However, Kuno turned away from the girls, leaving only an 
envelope to flutter to the ground.

Ranma, irritated, walked towards the envelope. She read 
outloud the words written on the envelope, "Ryouga Hibiki, 
prepare to meet defeat at the end of weeks, this Sunday, 
school grounds."

***

"Boyfriend... I'll kill him... boyfriend!" Ranma snarled. She 
kept her hand tightly clamped on the envelope, unknowing of 
the damage she was causing to it.

"Ranma..." Akane said, a little worried. "The challenge." She 
watched as the pressure Ranma exhibited on the envelope 
slowly turned the paper in dust.

Ranma ignored Akane, and muttered, "Boyfriend! That's 
sick..."

"Maybe I should hold it." Akane smiled, a little concerned, 
holding out her hand towards Ranma.

Ranma looked at Akane's hand, and then at her face. "Huh? 
What?"

"I was just saying maybe I should hold the challenge," Akane 
replied.

Ranma opened her hand above Akane's open palm, and tried to 
drop the challenge into the girl's hand, but found what was 
left of it sticking.

Akane found herself holding dust. "You crushed it all?" she 
asked, her voice worried but astonished.

"Whoops. Guess I didn't know my own strength." Ranma began 
walking towards the nearby Tendo dojo. "But that's okay, I 
remember what it said."

Ranma felt Akane's eyes boring into her back. "Well, I 
remember what it basically said..." She looked at Akane. 
"Hey. There's no need to worry!"

"But Ranma, there was a letter inside the envelope!" Akane 
admonished. "We need to get another letter, or else..." She 
began to growl, "Kuno probably has some stupid plan to make 
life even worse for Ryouga."

"You're worried about Ryouga?" Ranma asked.

"A little," Akane admitted. "Even though he's a boy, I don't 
think he's like the guys at school... He's a lot nicer, but a 
little shy."

"Hmm. So then you're saying we should go find Kuno, and get 
another letter, right? Or else Ryouga won't know what to 
expect from Kuno at the dual, or whatever that letter said."

"It's a lot of trouble, but we don't have any choice," Akane 
said, turning around to return to the school.

Ranma began to follow Akane. "Alright, but if that pervert 
calls me Ryouga's girlfriend again, I won't guarantee that I 
won't kill him."

Akane looked at Ranma. "What's wrong with that?"

"It's just sick." Looking at the sky, Ranma shrugged. "Me and 
him."

Akane smiled, a little knowingly.

***

They stood in the gymnasium. They watched kendoists spar, 
hoping to spot someone. However, they did not watch for 
entertainment.

"Where is he?" Akane asked.

Heads began to turn towards Akane and Ranma, both who began 
to worry.

"Isn't that Akane and the new girl?" someone asked.

Another joyfully shouted, "Hooray! Akane's come to watch me 
easily defeat you cretins!"

"Hey! It's me who she's gonna be watching!" someone else 
shouted.

In one short moment, the former grace of the kendoists 
descended into the gym's basement, locking the door behind 
it, as the martial artists began to fight each other. Of 
course, the kendoists remained in the gym.

"I don't think Kuno's here, Akane," Ranma stated.

"I'm just glad they're not fighting me." Akane said, her face 
expressing both relief and annoyance. "I hate having to fight 
these loonies."

"Where do we go now?" Ranma asked.

***

"I'm afraid I don't know where Master Kuno is, Miss Tendo," 
the school secretary said. "If he isn't with the Kendo 
Practise Club, then I'm at a loss. Whenever he disappears for 
intense training, that's what he does. Disappears."

"How great!" Akane fumed. "The one and only time I'm ever 
going to look for that stupid pervert, and I can't find him!" 
She smiled in retrospect. "But it'll be nice for while it 
lasts."

"What about Ryouga?" Ranma asked.

"Unfortunately, he'll just have to prepare himself for 
anything." Akane said. "There's nothing else to do, if we 
can't find Kuno."

"You mean you don't know where his house is and can't look it 
up?" Ranma asked, as the two left the office. "Maybe he's 
there."

"I mean I don't where his house is, and I don't want to look 
it up," Akane replied. "It's enough he's after me. He'd 
become even worse if he suddenly thought I was after him!" 
She pronounced 'him' as though it was slime she immediately 
wanted out of her mouth. 

***

Ryouga looked up after getting nailed in the head by a 
pebble. "Ranma? Akane?"

"Kuno wants to fight you on Sunday in the back school yard." 
Ranma said, walking into the kitchen, dusting off her hands, 
having just been holding a dirty pebble.

"Huh?" Ryouga stood up, and began to follow Ranma. "What do 
you mean?"

"You know, fight? Martial arts. Kung-Fu action?" Ranma 
grabbed an apple and returned to the living room. "It's 
pretty easy to figure out."

"Ryouga..." Akane wore a worried frown. "I think Kuno's 
planning something... You should be prepared for anything."

"Anything goes..." Ranma said, before starting on her apple, 
exiting the house.

"This Sunday, huh?" Ryouga began to walk to where he thought 
Ranma had gone. "I guess I should start training too, then."

"Oh hi, Ryouga," Kasumi cheerfully said. "Did you come in 
here to help with dinner?" She smiled with a sunny and 
unassuming expression.

"Um, isn't Ranma in here?" Ryouga asked, blushing. "I was 
going to ask her to help me train..." An apple core bounced 
off his head. He looked towards where the apple had come from 
with a glare on his face.

"I think she's outside in the back, Ryouga." Kasumi kept her 
attention on the stove. "Are you lost? If you are, then you 
just walk through the living room, where you just came from, 
to get there."

"Thanks Kasumi" Ryouga said. "But I already figured that 
out."

***

"Wow, you're just a ton of trouble, aren't you?" Ranma asked. 
"Do I got to hold your hand to take you to the school on 
Sunday, just so you don't get lost for another duel?"

"Cut the crap, Ranma," Ryouga said, cracking his knuckles. "I 
need to train. I'm not as good as I can be."

"Well, I guess I can help you out. But, you know..." Ranma 
unconcernedly put her arms behind her head. "How much can I 
help you? I'm too good to be a practise partner for you, you 
know."

The mood of Ryouga's face seemed to grow darker with every 
one of Ranma's words.

"I mean, I'd feel like a bully fighting you..."

A fire began life in Ryouga's eyes.

"Like a professional against an amateur..."

His fist began shaking.

"In fact, it'd plain be wrong of me to fight you." Ranma 
looked up at the great big blue sky. "That's just how good I 
am. It'd be a sin! Kicking a puppy, really."

"Enough talk, Ranma. Instead... die!" Ryouga shouted, 
charging at Ranma, his fist held high.

"Whoops." Ranma jumped above Ryouga, easily avoiding the 
punch. While in the air above the lost boy, she pushed down 
on his head propelling herself higher into the air.

Ryouga began removing from his head and then tossing bandanas 
at Ranma. "Take this, Professional."

"No thanks, Amateur." Ranma confidently smiled, as she 
descended, moving her head side to side to avoid the 
strangely sharp objects. Upon landing, she quickly asked, "I 
never knew you had so many of those. Weird." She instantly 
stood in a defensive stance, awaiting Ryouga's next attack.

Ryouga lifted his umbrella off the ground, which had been 
lying beside the house entrance steps. "Humph. It may be 
weird, but it's very effective." He rushed forward, intending 
to knock Ranma out of the sky if the girl again tried jumping 
over top of him by swinging his umbrella in down and upward 
slashes.

Ranma backtracked away from Ryouga's swings. She had her 
hands in her pockets and a smile on her face. "What is this? 
You're fighting me with an umbrella?"

"It isn't an ordinary umbrella, I'll have you know!" Ryouga 
reached back, and then quickly swung the umbrella at Ranma's 
head.

However, Ranma placed her arms up intending to break the 
weapon. Unfortunately, she was sent backwards in a mad 
tumble.

Ater turning the tumble into a roll, Ranma then stood up, a 
grin on her face. "You're pretty strong." She looked at the 
weapon in Ryuga's hand. "I still don't get that though."

"Heh." Ryouga madly grinned. He gestured for Ranma to attack. 
"You interested in fighting now, little girl?"

"Little girl?" The joy in Ranma's face died, leaving room for 
a rage to grow. "I'll show you..." she spat, jumping towards 
Ryouga, "who's a little girl!"

Ryouga brought his hands up to defend against Ranma's sudden 
kicks. He didn't even see Ranma pass through the space 
previously seperating him and her. 'Damn! What'd I say now?' 
he wondered, before getting his wind knocked out from a kick 
to his stomach.

"Am I a little girl, now?" Ranma slowly but fiercely punched 
down towards Ryoyga's head, which lay on the ground stunned.

A moments passed before Ryouga realised his situation. He 
swiftly kicked up forcing Ranma to back away, and then rolled 
backwards to give himself breathing and thinking room.

"Crap!" Ryouga muttered. He realised he earlier dropped his 
umbrella. "Ranma, what the hell is your problem?"

Glaring, Ranma slowly lowered her fists, relaxing her body. 
However, the expression on her face remained. "Go to hell." 
she said, before turning to walk into the house.

Slowly, battle left his bones. Ryouga looked to the ground, 
to the pool, and then muttered again, "Crap!"

The problem, he realised, was Ranma was a little girl, with 
an emphasis on the second 'was'.

"Damn me Ranma... I'm so sorry." Ryouga looked at the house. 
He looked at his umbrella, which a moment later he picked up. 
"Damn me. I'm so stupid."

In the dojo, lay his travelling bag. He picked it up, and for 
a moment thought, 'What... How can I...' He allowed no words 
to voice his fears, his mistakes, his apologies.

When outside the dojo, once more, he looked at the Tendo 
house, before walking out of the compound, his pack-sack 
equipped, his umbrella ready.

"Damn me," he was heard to say, before leaving the dojo's 
range of sight.

End Chapter Three

***

Author's Notes:
Thanks to my pre-reader, Orlean. I'm especially grateful for 
his help.



             .---Anime/Manga Fanfiction Mailing List----.
             | Administrators - ffml-admins@anifics.com |
             | Unsubscribing - ffml-request@anifics.com |
             |     Put 'unsubscribe' in the subject     |
             `---- http://ffml.anifics.com/faq.txt -----'